Tagged: Yankee Stadium
Yes, it is early in the season, but still…
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I fully understand that this
is only the end of the 2nd week of baseball… that being said, I’m
still angry.
How many times is Girardi
going to send Wang out to the mound to pitch 1+ innings? At some point you’ve got to realize that Wang hasn’t
worked his issues out yet.
Why not bring Phil Hughes up
to replace Wang for a start or two while Wang corrects his delivery? The main
thing with Wang is that his body is getting out in front of his arm and when a
sinker ball pitcher drags his arm through the delivery, the result is a sinker
that doesn’t sink. Its not a major issue, as a major leaguer, Wang should be
able to fix that rather quickly, but he hasn’t.
Anthony Claggett, poor guy,
was called up today. It’s unfortunate for him that he had to stay out there for
so long even though he was getting rocked. I can’t even imagine how this will affect
his psyche. I hate when young guys get
used like that… basically the way they treated Claggett tells me that they don’t
care about his development as a pitcher, they only care about getting someone
in to take some slack for the other guys on the pitching staff no matter who it
is or where he’s at in his development. It’s disheartening.
I don’t fully blame our
pitching staff either. Our outfielders made a few errors today. The hitters are leaving way too many people
on base. It seems like the only time we score is when we hit a homer. The
Yankees cannot survive on homers alone. The way the Yanks are playing right
now is so reminiscent of last year… No consistency!
I know you want to protect your
guys late in blow out games (rest and all that) Girardi, but when you take
everyone out, it just shows that you have no faith in your team and you’ve
given up… If I paid hundreds of dollars to go sit in a new park, you better try
everything you can to win and you dang sure better not give up in the 4th
inning!!!
I would not be surprised one
bit if Pavano came out and shut out the Yankees tomorrow. C.C. isn’t doing as great
as he could be, Wang is really bad, Joba is doing ok, A.J. is amazing, and Andy
is doing ok… In the pen, Mo and Bruney are the only guys I trust, and our hitters
still have yet to learn how to manufacture runs. Oh and don’t forget about Girardi,
the manager who just sits in the dug out ignoring the fact that his team is getting
their butts kicked…
Oh I guess a congratulations
is in order, Congrats Eric Wedge on your 500th win as the Indians’
manager.
FINAL WHISPER: This is crap something
needs to be done and it needs to be done quick or else I’m going to scream. Oh
and I like how the Yankees are now the laughing stock of the majors… deserve a
new stadium my —beep—-.
Baseball Nerdish as Always,
– Brit
Living on a Prayer
Dear God:
This is Brit, you know, the Yankees fan. I don’t know if you surf the web, but if you do… I’d like to write this open prayer-letter to you. I know you’ve heard this same dialog half a million times now from me, but I figure if I write it down and put it on this blog it will be on here forever and I can stop bothering you every day with the same requests.
God, I know I always say, “If you let the Yankees win this time, I’ll stop bothering you about sports” only to say it again the next day, week, or season. But this time, I’m serious… If you help me out with these twelve requests, I will stop bothering you with baseball prayers, I’ll help the poor, nurture the sick, whatever you want me to do…
1. I want to personally ask you to make this spring training go by fast. I’m sick of writing about Alex Rodriguez, steroids, shady cousins, and disappointed players and fans. This plea is purely selfish; true I want the best for Alex, but honestly…
I need something to blog about other than Alex. I also would like to get through an episode of A Show of Their Own without mentioning the “S-word,” (steroids). I think the faster these pointless (well pointless to fans) exhibition games are over and real baseball starts everything will blow over. The media will have a pennant race to write about, injuries to report, and quotes about the game to record. They will have little interest in steroids, at least that’s what I’m hoping.
2. I want to get back to baseball, the actual game, not all the off field drama. What ever happened to the good old days where baseball players were baseball players, not Hollywood celebrities with a gang of paparazzi surrounding them. I want to return to that time. Why does it matter who’s dating what model or who’s living’ it up in some club? That’s the players’ business, not ours. Sure, its fun to see a different side of the players. It makes me feel like I know the players on a more personal level, but I don’t think this celebrity worship is good for baseball.
3. Please give Derek Jeter the range, strength, power, and speed to play shortstop until he’s 100 years old. I just cannot imagine a world without Jeter at short. You allowed me to “come up” with Jeter, Mo, and Posada and so, I think it would be really cruel for them to be taken away from me.
4. Please help Girardi see that Joba needs to be in the bullpen, forever. He’s not a starting pitcher, not in the majors. Help Girardi, Cashman, Steinbrenner, and et. al. see that Joba can help us more if he comes out of the pen. It would make more sense to have Joba come out of the pen for 65 games or so and help us win games with his power pitching rather than him start for 30 games and get taken out after 3 or 4 innings because everyone knows what he’s got and he’s not letting the ball fly.
5. Also, God… Please help our young pitchers. Hughes and Kennedy especially. I really think they can be great starters for us down the stretch, but I want to see them in the minors to start the year. Make them earn their way back up to the majors with good old fashion hard work and scoreless innings. I know they can do it, they’ve done it before. Oh, also, please keep Phil Hughes in triple-A until July 1st (you know why).
6. Please help Jason Johnson overcome his battle with cancer. He seemed to be working really hard to get back to the majors with the Yankees this year and I don’t want him to not be able to accomplish that.
7. Please help Edwar Ramirez gain some weight. It worries me to watch him pitch. If a line drive ever hit him square, he’d probably die. I think the ball would actually pass through his body… that’s how tiny he is.
8. Help Wang, Posada, and Matsui heal completely. If we want to win this year, we need them to be on top of their game! How cool is it that our Ace from the last few years is now our number 3 starter!
9. Please give Nick Swisher patience. I don’t know what Girardi has in store for Nick, but I like this guy. He’s like a miniature version of Giambi. Very spunky. I don’t want him to get discouraged and lose his charm and personality in the club house.
10. Help A.J. and C.C. fit in perfectly with the team, perform well, and stay healthy.
11. Make the New York Media realize that C.C. would like the dots in his name since, in fact, it is the initials of his first and middle names.
12. Help the Yankees stay healthy and help the Yankees win the division and the World Series for the next 100 years in a row.
You’ve given me and the Yankees so much in the past, but I hope you will find it in you some where to grant me these twelve requests. I know I’m not the only Yankee fan praying for these things, so I hope you will take the other Yankees fans’ prayers in to account to.
——– Amen.
Well, that’s it. The end…
Today is moving day for the Yankees. At 7a.m. the Yankees began moving employees into their new offices at the New Yankee Stadium. So, with most of the staff in their new office and everything on schedule, is it time to officially stop calling the new stadium “New Yankee Stadium” and just saying “Yankee Stadium?” For me, I guess I’ll still be calling it New Yankee Stadium until I actually go to the new stadium this summer and realize that old Yankee Stadium is now just a pale shadow of it’s once jubilant self. Don’t get me wrong, I can’t wait to cozy up to the new stadium, but at the same time, I’m not willing to let go of the old stadium that I basically lived in during the summer. Pete Abraham has some great pictures up on his blog. Check it out here.
As for yesterday… sorry for not posting, I had a great idea for a blog, but I think it’s a bit overkill now. My power was out for most of the day and didn’t come back on until late last night. Central NC got its first bout of substantial snow since 2003 this past week. So, naturally, my power goes out. I passed the time by listening to my ipod. Anyway… the power is back on now.
I didn’t get to see the entire press conference for Jeff Kent, but I caught some of it on highlights and online. Gah, it was depressing! I’m not even a fan of the guy and I was getting emotional (not that I dislike him, I just never followed him or his teams). Jeff spoke about all the sacrifices he and his family have made over the years for his career and he admitted that he was just tired after 17 seasons. It really made me think of Derek Jeter. This will be Jeter’s 15th season in pinstripes (if you count 1995, when he played 15 games). That depresses me guys, to just think of Jeter not being at SS for the Yankees one day. I think I’d rather die (JUST KIDDING). It’s strange to think about… Listening to Jeff Kent also made me feel a bit selfish. It’s like, I know these players have families that they hardly see, but as long as they make me happy by playing baseball it’s ok (see that’s so selfish). Anyway, I wish Jeff a happy retirement.
Final Whisper: Is anyone going to the season home opener at (New) Yankee Stadium?
Baseball Nerdish as Always,
Brit
Giving up already?
The new year has come and gone and my first bit of temptation to break one of my new year’s resolutions manifested itself today. If you forgot my New Year’s resolutions, you can refresh your memory here.
No, I didn’t crack an A-Rod/Madonna joke, I went to the Yankees’ team website and saw this…
The one New Year resolution that I was actually serious about (or thought that I could stick with) was to “stand strong and not buy every single novelty first season patch, coin, dirt, etc.”
Now, I’m not a shoppaholic, although, I do enjoy a good shopping spree on the Don Edy Hardy website every once in a while… But, seriously, I’ve got to have this patch. Maybe I’ll buy a framed picture of the old stadium and the new one with the patch in the frame? OOO or maybe it will have the last season patch and the inaugural season patch too!!! For starters, maybe a tee shirt?
I’ve got to do something to control these urges, but every time I go to Yankees.com I’ll be face-to-face with my temptation. Help me out here guys! Should I just give in? At least it’s a cool looking logo. I feel sorry for Mets fanatics… they have to sport this thing for a year!
Hmm… I wonder how much dirt from the new stadium will cost? Maybe I can go on a tour of the new stadium and just scoop some up off the warning track like I did at the old one. While I’m at it, I’ll get me some grass too. I’ll have to bring a small pair of scissors with me to cut the grass… I don’t want to uproot any of the sod. Just kidding… I’m not going to do this, so please don’t arrest me if stealing dirt is a crime (I assume it is since they sale it).
On a different note (well sort of), the local radio station I listen to (107.9 WLKN) had their mid-day show on with Candy and Potter (a hilarious married couple). Candy and Potter brought up this story about a woman who went to rehab because she was addicted to Pop, Soda, Coke (what ever you like to call it). Then they had people call in and say what they need to go to rehab for. Well, I had to call in and share my Yankees addiction with the Charlotte Metro area. I usually don’t call in to stations, but it was just so true that I just had to.
Final Whisper: What are you all addicted to? Is it Yankees baseball like me?
Baseball Nerdish as Always,
Brit
Resolutions
Monday on A Show of Their Own we are going to start off by discussing our Yankees New Year Resolutions. I don’t usually make resolutions; I’d just break them on January 2nd anyway. But, since my Yankees are involved I thought I’d give it a go.
So, without further ado, here are my 2009 Yankees New Year Resolutions:
– I resolve to lay off the A-Rod & Madonna theories and jokes.
– I resolve to not care if Jeter ever gets married
– I resolve to make everyone else see how great a pitcher Phil Hughes is
– I resolve to not lust for Grady Sizemore during Yankees/Indians games
– I resolve to not yell at my television when I’m subject to watching Yankees/Red Sox games on NESN
– I resolve to not to make fun of the NESN commentators accents.
– I resolve to stand strong and not buy every single novelty first season patch, coin, dirt, etc
– I resolve to not let fans from other teams get on my last nerve
– I resolve to learn more about our prospects
– I resolve to watch as much of the MLB Network as my life allows
Final Whisper: I think the last two resolutions are the only ones that stand a chance…
Baseball Nerdish as Always,
Brit
Yankee Stadium Eulogy
Losing a loved one is one of the most difficult things we can go through in life. Sunday, September 21, 2008 was a bitter sweet day for all of us Yankee Fans as we bid farewell to our loved one, Yankee Stadium. I cannot express what I am feeling right now and only time will help me accept the fact that the House that Ruth Built is no more. I will never forget the sight of past Yankee greats honoring the legendary Yankee Stadium on Sunday. I’ll never forget the sight of Derek Jeter and the 2008 team saluting their fans on that fateful night.
The House that Ruth Built was a great friend to all her fans. She was the kind of friend that stood by you no matter what. She was there for twenty-six World Series, thirty-seven pennants, three perfect games, three papal visits, football games, boxing matches, and countless game changing homeruns. She was also there for the lackluster ’80s, the strikes, and throughout the Mitchell Report Scandal. She had a face lift over the years, but was still our faithful Yankee Stadium. She was there for us when Lou Gehrig started his 2,130 consecutive games played streak and she was there for Lou Gehrig Appreciated Day as a dying man stood in front of thousands of unknowing fans and told them he was the luckiest man on the face of the earth. She was there for the start of DiMaggio’s fifty-six game hitting streak, The Mick’s major-league debut, and Don Larsen’s perfect game in game five of the 1956 World Series. She was there as Maris broke the Babe’s single season homerun record. She was there for Chambliss’ ninth-inning heroics in game five of the ALCS in 1976, and who could forget how she felt the night Reggie Jackson hit three homeruns in game six of the 1977 World Series. She was there for Righetti’s no-hitter, Abbott’s no-hitter, and Gooden’s no hitter. She was there for David Wells’ and David Cone’s perfect games. She was there on Yogi Berra Day to welcome back her dear friend, Yogi. She was there as a grieving nation searched for normalcy during 2001 World Series. She watched as Aaron Boone lifted the Yankees to the World Series with a solo shot off Wakefield in the bottom of the eleventh inning of game seven in the 2003 ALCS. She watched in angst as Jeter dove into the stands against Boston in 2004.
The House that Ruth Built became a home to many athletes and fans over the years. No matter where you are from, how old you are, or who your favorite team is, you cannot deny the energy and history that engulfs Yankee Stadium. I can recall the first time I ever met her. It was a cloudy June day and the White Sox were in town. There has never been greener grass, bluer seats, whiter façade, a more kempt field; she was beautiful. Not only did I take in a great game, but I met several other wonderful Yankee fans that day. The House that Ruth Built tends to bring out the best in me. I’m shy by nature, but I’ve never missed an opportunity to meet someone new while I’m with Yankee Stadium. Yankee Stadium has meant a lot in my life. She helped me put life into perspective after the tragic events of 9/11 and she helped me to realize what I want out of my life. I can also remember the last time I saw her. It was an amazing day to say the least. Not even torrential rain could stop our great time. She had aged on the outside, but she was still beautiful on the inside. Her history, her energy, her kempt field, and signature white façade was still breathtaking.
Yankee Stadium was not perfect; she had an agenda. She punished generations of fans by making them listen to Liza Minnelli after losses, but she also treated us to Frank Sinatra after a win. She demanded excellence and for the most part, she got it. She loved to watch the grounds crew perform YMCA while working on the field during the seventh inning stretch. She forced us to say Day-Oh at her whim. She knew how to get a crowd of 55,000 on their feet. She’s very superstitious and never missed an opportunity to tell others about her ghost sightings. She also knew how to convince the most rational fan to believe in ghosts. She connected generations of Yankees fans; for four hours, the young were old enough and the old were young again.
Yankee Stadium will soon be gone, but we are here to celebrate her life. This is not the time for us to grieve her death; it’s time for us to celebrate her long, wonderful life. We must keep these memories and pass them down to the next generation of Yankees fans so her mystic and history is never forgotten; something tells me that’s the way she would have wanted it. Yankee Stadium wanted to make us happy, so let’s pay tribute by remembering all the great times and how she touched our lives. We should all be thankful to have been so lucky to have known her. My only regret is that I’ll never be able to work with the House that Ruth Built. The House that Ruth built was more than just a building, more than just a stadium. There may be another Yankee Stadium, but there will never be another House that Ruth Built.
Final Whisper: Thanks for the Memories!
Baseball Nerdish as Always,
Brit
Brit’s Top 10 Yankee Stadium Moments
1. Babe Ruth christens stadium with its first homerun: Ruth’s homerun marked the beginning of The House that Ruth Built. In front of 74,200 fans, Babe Ruth hit the first ever homerun in Yankee Stadium. Ruth’s homer was a three-run homerun that capped a four-run third inning against Boston. The Yankees went on to win the game 4-1.
2. Lou Gehrig’s speech on Lou Gehrig Appreciation Day: On July 4th, 1939 Lou Gehrig stood before thousands of adoring fans and delivered the most famous speech in Yankees history. Yankees fans may not be able to recite the Gettysburg Address, but every Yankees fan (young or old) can recite Gehrig’s famous “Today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth…” speech. That day Gehrig’s uniform number became the first to be retired in all of Major League Baseball.
3. Don Larsen’s perfect game in the 1956 World Series: Larsen wasn’t the best pitcher on the 1956 team, but he threw the only perfect game in World Series history during game 5 of the 1956 series. It was a 2-0 win for the Yanks. All Yankees fans can remember seeing Yogi Berra run and jump into Don Larsen’s arms after the final out was made (most of us, however, saw it on ESPN classic).
4. Reggie Jackson becomes Mr. October: Whether he said it or not, Reggie was the straw that stirred the drink. It was October 18th, 1977; the Yankees were locked in a battle for World Series victory with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Reg-gie Reg-gie Reg-gie could be heard throughout the stadium as Jackson hit three homeruns in game six of the 1977 World Series.
5. Derek Jeter’s Final Game Speech: The entire day (Sunday, September 21st, 2008) was magical. Fans packed the House that Ruth Built for one last hoorah. The day before, Jeter was hit by a pitch on the left hand in the 9th inning. He immediately left the game. It was unclear if Jeter would be able to play in the final game at his home of thirteen years. Jeter was far from 100%, but still played. He went 0-for-the-game, but was the bright star of the game. Jeter admitted he didn’t prepare a speech, but when time came he delivered one of the best speeches in the stadium’s history. He gave fans words of comfort, advice, and thanks. Afterwards, the team took a trip around the warning track for the final time saluting fans.
6. George W Bush gives crowd a thumbs up after 9/11: The tragic events of 9/11/01 put life into perspective for Americans. 9/11 effected many Americans, but New York was at the heart of it and really needed baseball as a way to escape from the sorrow, the fear, the tragedy. Baseball took a short hiatus, but was back for the World Series. The Yankees were looking to be back-to-back-to-back-to-back World Champions. George W. Bush became the first President to throw the first pitch at Yankee Stadium during the World Series. Before he threw the pitch he looked up at the crowd and gave everyone a “thumbs up” as to say, “We may be down, but we’re not out. We’ll get through this hard time together as a nation.” The Arizona Diamondbacks went on to win the 2001 World Series in Arizona.
7. David Well’s perfect game: David Wells and Don Larsen both threw a perfect game at the same high school. On May 17th, 1998, David Wells threw the first regular-season perfect game in Yankees history. Paulie was in Right Field and made the final out and with a fist pump it was final. The team rushed the mound to congratulate Wells. The hoisted him up on their shoulders and carried him off to the dugout, were he was prompted for a curtain call. In his book, Wells claimed he was hung over during the game. It’s not clear whether this is the truth or not, but one thing is for sure, the ghosts of Yankee Stadium were out that day.
8. David Cone’s perfect game: On July 18th, 1999, thousands of fans packed Yankee Stadium to welcome Yogi Berra back home on “Yogi Berra Day.” Don Larsen threw the ceremonial first pitch to Yogi Berra that day. David Cone was on the mound for the Yankees that day and pitched the second regular-season perfect game in Yankees history. Cone battled through the game, he never went to a three-ball count during the game. No Yankees fan can forget the sight of Cone dropping to his knees and grabbing his head with both hands. Girardi rushed the mound and pulled Cone on top of him and a dog-pile ensued. The eerie thing was Cone’s pitch count ended at eighty-eight. Cone says he looked behind home and saw an “8” painted in the grass in honor of Yogi Berra and got chills when he realized he had only tosses eighty-eight pitches.
9. Chris Chambliss’ 9th inning homerun in game 5 of the 1976 ALCS: On October 14th, 1976 the Yankees were taking on the Kansas City Royals in game five of the American League Championship Series. The Yankees were searching for their thirtieth pennant. The game was tied going into the bottom of the ninth inning. Chris Chambliss came up to bat and sent the ball sailing over the wall. As he made his way around the bases, fans rushed the field. Chambliss stumbled rounded second, and had to fight his way around the bases. Fans were jumping on him and patting him on the back. He made a bee-line to the dugout after he made his way around the bases. A teammate asked him if he ever touched home plate, Chambliss realized he didn’t, so with the help of a police escort, he made his way back out to touch home plate and officially sent the Yankees to the 1976 World Series.
10. Aaron Boone’s Walk off HR in 2003 ALCS: Scott Brosius had retired and the Yankees were searching for a third baseman. Aaron Boone filled the hole (for the most part) during the season. On October 16th, 2003, the Yankees were playing their rival, the Boston Red Sox in game seven of the ALCS. The Yankees battled back and the game remained tied until the eleventh inning. Aaron Boone led off the bottom of the eleventh inning. Knuckleballer, Tim Wakefield was on the mound for the Red Sox. Boone wasn’t a great knuckleball hitter, but he connected for a solo shot off Wakefield that sent the Yankees into the 2003 World Series and earned them their thirty-ninth pennant.
Final Whisper: I cannot believe the stadium will be gone next year.
Brit
The Yankees Baseball Whisperer 