The House that Ruth Built

Already

2007-02-19T13:33:27Z

The new Carl Pavano doesn't seem much different from the old Carl Pavano. He spent ten weeks in the off-season to strengthen his body and vowed that he would be different from the pitcher who has lost all credibility with his team, the fans, and the media by missing almost two seasons due to injury. So much for that. Less than a week into spring training he missed drills yesterday because of "heavy legs." Way to get in shape and tough it out Carl.

Courtesy of the NY Post.

Please Go Away

2007-02-19T11:57:55Z

Tim Hardaway in an effort to diffuse the furor over his remarks last week about John Amaechi:

"It was like, you know, I had killed somebody. ... I never knew that this was going to escalate that high."

Obviously he didn't; otherwise, he never would have gone on the public airwaves to denounce gays and say that he hated them. Setting aside the hatred and prejudice in those words - there's nothing for me to add to what's already been said - it's pretty naive to think you can slam a minority group and get away with it. How else do you think people would react? It's like saying, "I hate African-Americans" or "I hate Chinese people." People are going to react negatively to such blatant and hateful bigotry. Tim Hardaway should just shut up and crawl away to the same hovel that Jimmy the Greek, Al Campanis, and Mel Gibson had to crawl into after their own bigoted rants. If I never hear the words Tim Hardaway again, I'll be happy.

Name That Tune 1

2007-02-18T12:59:57Z

Picking up on a favorite pastime at Plum Crazy, I bring you Name That Tune. Snippets of song lyrics for your use in identifying the song title. Post subtle clues alluding to the title, nothing that will give it straight away.

Name this pup:

You saw me standing alone/Without a dream in my heart/Without a love of my own

Remember, don't blurt, be subtle, leave a clue.

Still Stumped?

2007-02-18T12:52:18Z

Anyone out there still wondering why former NBA player John Amaechi never came out while he was still in the league? Turn to Tim "I Hate Gays" Hardaway and your confusion will be cleared up.

Expanding My Horizons

2007-02-17T12:59:42Z

For various reasons, I have decided not to post at Plum Crazy anymore and instead post exclusively here on all stuff. Originally, this site was about the Yankees, but now it will be about whatever - politics, news, entertainment, diversions such as polls and quizzes, you name it. The name will stay the same, however, as I like it and am a huge Yankees fan. Next up is a redesign of the site and an attempt to establish a readership since no one outside the immediate family knows this site exists.

No Room For Sentiment

2007-02-10T18:19:01Z

Yesterday's news was that Bernie Williams would accept a minor league contract and battle for a job in spring training. Last night, the Yankee legend threw cold water on that theory, meaning his days as a Yankee are over. I can't say that I blame Williams for rejecting the offer. It was an insult to an all-time team great who has been nothing but a class act during his entire tenure with the club. The end of his career here is a sad day.

Part of me doesn't fault the Yankees. Their mission is to put the best product on the field and to win. If they don't feel that a player is part of the equation, their prerogative is to move on and use players who they feel can contribute the most.

But Bernie Williams gave the Yankees so much during his 16-year tenure. He was a star performer for most of his career and a linchpin when they won four titles in five years. He is one of the teams legends, ranking high in the club's record books. More to the point is his class. Bernie played with a quiet, dignified air, never once acting the part of a star, even though he was one and had every right to. After all he has meant to the team and to New York, combined with the fact he can still play, he should be allowed to leave on his terms, when he is ready. The Yankees owe him more than a minor league contract and only the thread of a chance to make the team.

I can understand carrying twelve pitchers on the team, but I can't understand putting three first basemen on the roster at the expense of Bernie. The Yankees are choosing Josh Phelps, Andy Phillips, and Doug Mientkiewicz over him. Maybe Bernie deserves a shot at the right-handed component of the first base job. Neither Phelps nor Phillips are anything special. Nor, for that matter, is Mientkiewicz.

Last year, Bernie showed he can still be a productive player, more productive than Phillips. He helped keep the Yankees afloat when they were decimated by injuries. The Yankees could have and should have found a way to keep him on the team for one more year or even two if that's what Bernie wanted. There is also the practical matter that they really should carry five outfielders and give up one of the first basemen. All around it is a bad, heartless decision.

All I can hope for at this point is that Bernie retires. He should only be a Yankee. To seem him finishing his career in some other uniform would be sadly wrong. A retirement, no matter how forced, seems to be the best choice now that his time here is over.

Get Well Soon Bobby Murcer

2006-12-30T11:38:25Z

I didn't know until yesterday that Bobby Murcer had brain surgery. A colleague told me that it was for an aneurysm, but I learned this morning that it was for a brain tumor. There's no report yet on whether it was benign or malignant or on his prognosis. I wish the same for Bobby Murcer that I would wish for anyone who's just had a brain tumor removed. That he recover completely, that the tumor is benign, and that the tumor doesn't grow back. Yet this one hits a little closer to home since it's someone who while I don't know personally do know in a way. I watched him as a player growing up, remember his heroics in the Yankees first game after the death of Thurman Munson, and have known him all these years as an announcer. I don't think much of him as an announcer; still, he comes across as a gentleman and a genuinely nice man. Of course, I would still root for his recovery if he weren't a good person. But the fact that he is makes me root and care a little bit more. Best wishes for a full and complete recovery Bobby.

Cross posted on Plum Crazy.

Yankee Doodle Andy!

2006-12-10T12:42:30Z

Yankees fans are nothing if not loyal. Once a player worms his way into our heart, it's hard to dislodge him. Scott Brosius was a mediocre ballplayer, yet he will always be loved by today's fans for his big homeruns in the 1998 and 2001 World Series. Three words: Scotty Brosius, MVP! Paul O'Neill was serenaded like few players are serenaded in Game 5 of the 2001 World Series, and on the downside of his career, Bernie Williams is more beloved than ever, as fans realize his playing days are coming to an end.

Thus, I am sure that most Yankees fans are like me pumped that Andy Pettitte is coming back. Not only was he a key cog during the 1996-2003 run of excellence - he pitched the game of a lifetime in Game 5 of the 1996 World Series - but he was an easy guy to like. A good citizen, hardworking, and humble. There was a period early in his career when the sentiment was that he lost it, but he rebounded and showed a heart of stone as he came through time and time again during the regular season and big playoff moments. Sure, he had his clunkers in the post-season, but he came up big in several clutch situations.

Bringing Pettitte back brings back someone who is beloved and someone who should round out the rotation nicely. He still seems to have plenty left, even if there is a question mark about his elbow. He should slot in nicely behind Chien-Ming Wang in the rotation and give them another arm they can count on in the playoffs. With a front three of Wang, Pettitte, and Mussina, they have the type of staff good enough to carry them through post-season series. Pettitte also gives the Yankees depth. They now can keep Jeff Karstens, Daryl Rasner, and the not-quite-ready-yet Philip Hughes at Triple A, along with newly acquired Humberto Sanchez, giving the Yankees numerous options if someone - hello Randy Johnson and Carl Pavano - is hurt.

The Yankees made a good off season potentially great with the signing of Pettitte. Welcome back Andy!

Hall No?

2006-12-10T12:22:10Z

Joel Sherman opines today that Mark McGwire doesn't deserve to in the Hall of Fame because steroids made him into the "great" ballplayer he turned out to be:

For the first 990 games of his career, a period from 1986-94, McGwire was an injury-prone first baseman who produced an offensive performance roughly equivalent to that of [Jay] Buhner. . . Then, suddenly, McGwire's career swerved toward greatness. His body broadened and his success soared.

Sherman has a compelling point. From 1996-1999, McGwire's batting average spiked to .289 and his median number of homeruns was 62. Contrast that to the pre-1995 McGwire. Tossing out 1993-1995, in which he missed considerable time, leaves us with dramatically different numbers for McGwire earlier in his career. His batting average was .248 and median number of homeruns was 36 between 1987 and 1992.

Granted, neither Sherman nor I have proof that McGwire started injecting steroids after 1994, but the circumstantial evidence is hard to ignore. Based on these numbers, I'd have to agree with Sherman that McGwire does not belong in the Hall of Fame.

Cross posted on Plum Crazy.

RIP

2006-11-24T02:01:34Z

Pat Dobson. I knew the name only, as part of the quartet of Baltimore Orioles pitchers who each won 20 games in 1971. At age 64, he died too young.

It's All In The Name

2006-11-23T02:54:45Z

I've always referred to Gary Matthews Jr. as "Sarge Jr." because his father Garry Matthews was Sarge. Today, I learn that GMJ is referred to as "Little Sarge." I like mine better.

Jeter: The Fallout

2006-11-23T01:07:21Z

Predictably, there was major fallout in today's news following Derek Jeter's second-place finish in the A.L. MVP balloting. The N.Y. Post blamed it on anti-New-York bias, with the headline Jeeted. Mike Lupica agrees that Jeter was probably the right choice, but didn't blame it on any bias against New York. In the meantime, Chicago Sun Times writer Joe Cowley is taking serious heat for placing Jeter sixth on the ballot. I think Lupica has it right and that Cowley has no right voting for the MVP.

]]> Jeter wasn't robbed and didn't lose because of a bias against New York. Hideki Matsui lost the A.L. Rookie of the Year balloting because of a bias against the Yankees big spending ways. All of a sudden, writers made up this rule that the best rookie had to be a true rookie, even though Ichiro won both the Rookie of the Year and MVP awards in his first season. But A-Rod won the MVP last year even though he was a Yankee. You can't blame this one on pure Yankee hating.

Jeter lost because of the misperception that he was surrounded by more good players than Hugh Hefner is surrounded by hot babes, making him less valuable than a one-man wrecking crew like Frank Thomas, and because a number two hitter is less sexy than a slugger like Morneau. The first argument is trotted out by Cowley, who left Carlos Delgado and Vernon Wells off his 2003 ballot and was suspended as a result, and is specious. Three Twins finished in the top seven of the balloting. No other Yankee finished that high. A-Rod was the next best Yankee in 13th place.

Based on the results, Morneau was indisputably surrounded by better talent than Jeter. Writers who favor Morneau point out that the Twins took off when he took off. Not quite true. The Twins made a number of roster changes right before they got hot, including adding Francisco Liriano to the starting rotation. By comparison, the Yankees lost three key players to injury for much of the season and had two other key players - A-Rod and Giambi - have off seasons. The starting pitching was spotty, too.

Jeter had arguably his finest season and was clearly the MVP on his team, something that you can't necessarily say about Morneau. For all the numbers he put up, finding a good first baseman is easier than finding someone like Joe Mauer, a catcher who led the league in hitting.

Yes, I am biased as a Yankees fan, and no, it's not the end of the world that Morneau won. He had an outstanding season. Still, I feel Jeter should have won.

Cross posted on Plum Crazy.

The Moose Ain't Loose

2006-11-22T22:20:19Z

Glad to hear that the Moose will be back. He's still got some juice left in the tank. More moves are necessary to flesh out the rotation or at least give the Yanks some depth. Who knows whether Johnson can give anything after back surgery or what Pavano can provide. Though I'm not nuts about some of the names being tossed around. Miguel Batista. Ted Lilly. I'd rather see Humberto Sanchez get a shot along with Jeff Karstens and Daryl Rasner. Maybe even more so I'm intrigued by the prospect of seeing Proctor in the rotation. In Brian Bruney and Chris Britton, the Yanks have a couple of arms who could fill in ably for Proctor.

The Escape Clause

2006-11-22T22:12:07Z

A-Rod can opt of his bombshell contract at the end of next season. He will have two years left on the contract at that point and will have minimum another 5 good years left in him. Do you think he and Scott Boras aren't paying attention to the mad money being thrown around this off-season - see Alfonsio Soriano, Juan Pierre, Sarge Jr. - and aren't drooling at what he will fetch? Sure, he won't snag the same $25 million per, but he's looking at another long-term deal. Six years is my guess at $20 million per. No way he doesn't opt out or negotiate an extension with the Yankees.

Albatross

2006-11-22T22:08:49Z

Thy name is Sarge Jr.

$10 million a year for 5 years for a journeyman who's had but one decent season in his career. Who is 32 and will be 37 when the contract is up. Tori Hunter dough for a guy who's not even in the same hemisphere as Hunter as a player.

The Angels will rue the day, probably starting next season.