Before you settle in front of the tube for an afternoon of football, here’s what is going on:
- PeteAbe from LoHud gives us audio clips from various Yankees and general gossip while at the Joe Torre event Friday night.
- Over at Newsday, Ken Davidoff compares the organization-building philosophies of the Yanks and BoSox. Here’s an interesting quote from Theo Epstein on the philosophy they employ:
“I think the goal is always to build a healthy organization. We try to keep that in the front of our mind,” Epstein said this past week at the general managers’ meetings in Dana Point, Calif. “If we ever get too focused on having to fill this hole, or having to get better in this area, we take a step back and say, ‘Does this make sense for what we’re trying to do over five to 10 years?’
- The Post’s Kevin Kernan has a nice piece on star pitching prospect Dellin Betances, who conceivably could be with the big club in 2010.
- ESPN reports that Willie Randolph was named to be bench coach of the Milwaukee Brewers. Good luck Willie!
- From the “Does the construction union know about this?” department, “with the help of a few legendary players and Bronx teenagers, the New York Yankees carried pailfuls of dirt taken from home plate and the pitchers’ mound at their old home to a new one Saturday.” (Source: Canadian Press). Here’s MLB.com’s coverage of the “event”, including video.
- Today’s birthdays: The only player in ML history whose last name begins with Mm, Kevin Mmahat, turns 44. Kevin’s “career” consisted of 4 games in 1989, giving up 13 hits and 8 walks in 7.7 innings. Dion James is 46.
- On this date in 1953, the United States Supreme Court rules 7-2 that baseball is a sport and not a business and therefore not subject to antitrust laws. The ruling is made in a case involving Yankees minor leaguer George Toolson, who refused to move from Triple-A to Double-A.
- On this date in 1998, Catfish Hunter announces that he is suffering from Lou Gehrig disease. Hunter will succumb to the disease less than a year later.
Pete has a lot of respect for Donnie, huh? I supported choosing Joe over Donnie last season for manager, though I kinda figured Donnie would make a good manager someday. Perhaps it's just circumstance or bad timing that Donnie looks so good and Joe looks wanting in comparison. But I still think the Yanks, limiting their options as they did, made the better choice for the time being. That's not to say they should never consider Donnie in the future (or never be the ones to give him his big break), but for now I agree with Pete's sentiment that it was best for him not to get the job, as it seems he's picked himself up very nicely without it (and good for him).
That said, I have to again (and perhaps without base) wonder if Joe is not just a bit paranoid about his own prospects, having chosen coaches that are less-inclined/equipped to take his place should there have been major upheaval from the very beginning. The only case you can make in that regard is Tony Pena, and that wasn't even his choice (and look who just landed on the bench right next to Joe?) What's likely to be most telling in this season is how Joe handles his new(?) roster and starters. If we see a repeat of his actions from last year, injuries or not, he's a done deal by August. I don't like the way the franchise has been going the last few years with Mad Lib players filling in for not-signing key free agents or developed farm hands, but what can I do? Cross my fingers, I guess...