Monthly Archives: April 2009

Here’s a sampling of some old Coming Attractions to chew on.

My dad’s old friend Bill Tinker said this movie was “Heavy on the unbearable, light on the being.” I didn’t get the movie at all when I first saw it at 16 but later on, I got it. The two female leads are devastating and Daniel Day sports a hellacious head of hair.

I love the early New York City scenes in this movie.

My favorite Robin Williams’ perfomance.

I remember watching this one as a kid on a Sunday afternoon with my old man when he was living in Weehawken, New Jersey.

Dag, this movie still creeps the hell out of me. It has to be one of the most unsettling action movies ever made.

Today’s news is powered by new music from DEVO! (Yeah yeah, I know . . . they’re not cool like Stevie or Miles, but hey . . .)

“DON’T SHOOT” – DEVO from DEVO Channel on Vimeo.

• Tyler Kepner applies something akin to “six degrees of separation” to get us from having Ruben Rivera on the roster to acquiring Nick Swisher.
• Sticking with Swisher, MLB.com profiles the hot-hitting Yankee:

“I’m absolutely loving it,” Swisher said. “It’s like I almost don’t want to wake up. I don’t want to soak it in right now. I want to keep that fire, keep that passion and keep that attitude going right now.

“When I come to the ballpark, I feel confident. I know in this game, you’re going to go through ups and downs, but right now, things seem to be going pretty well.”. . .

“He’s playing well, he really is,” Girardi said. “He’s swinging the bat well, played a nice first base [Saturday] and had some tough throws that he had to dig out. Left-handed or right-handed, he’s always a tough at-bat.”

• The Times’ Vincent Mazzolli wonders how one could better spend the $10,600 it costs for four of the best seats at the new Stadium:

Autograph collectors like me can take $10,600 and buy a dozen baseballs signed by Alex Rodriguez (about $350 per ball), a dozen signed by Derek Jeter (about $300 a ball), and still have enough cash to get every other player on the 25-man roster to autograph an individual ball.

Last month, I really let the wrong pitch go by. Rather than invest $10,600 in three hours of baseball, I could have bought 10,600 shares of Citigroup stock on March 6. The share price has tripled.

There are a great many other ways to spend $10,600. You can spring for 14 Frederic Fekkai haircuts at $750 a pop, or treat yourself and 85 of your closest friends to orchestra tickets for “The Lion King” on Broadway ($121.50 per ticket on Broadway.com).

Maybe one day, someone will make a movie about the skyrocketing costs of raising a baseball family, especially in Ruth’s old neighborhood. They could call it “The Bronx Is Burning a Hole in Our Wallets.”

(more…)

I feel like that title’s probably been used before, but all my Easter puns were in rather poor taste.

Joba Chamberlain made his first start of the season this afternoon, finally giving fans something to talk about besides his efforts to butter up arresting officers while drunk, and thank god for that. He pitched a somewhat rocky but ultimately effective six innings, giving up three runs, but only one earned (thanks to a late and just correction from the official scorer). The Yankees rallied from 3-1 to take a 4-3 lead in the seventh, but the bullpen couldn’t hold it, and the Royals came back from the dead salvaged the final game of the series, winning 6-4.

Mark Teixeira was out today again with a sore wrist that they’re (for now) calling tendonitis, which sent me and, I’m sure, thousands of others scurrying to WebMD. Not that helpful, though as usual I picked out four or five new fatal diseases I could conceivably have.  Anyway, with Teixeira out and Posada and Damon resting, the Yankees didn’t put forth their strongest lineup – Gardner leading off, Melky in left, Molina behind the plate, and of course Cody Ransom still at third, doing all he can to make sure Yankees fans properly appreciate and respect the talents of Alex Rodriguez.

In the top of the first Brett Gardner singled, stole second, moved to third on a groundout, and then dashed home on a wild pitch that never got all that far from catcher John Buck — manufacturing a run with that speed we’ve been hearing so much about. Said David Cone, who I think is developing a bit of a man-crush: “There’s no hitch in that giddyup!”

After that first inning, Gil Meche settled down in a big way and once again made me feel like an idiot for having made so much fun of that signing. He allowed scattered hits here and there but kept the Yankees from putting anything together for the next five innings.  Meanwhile, Chamberlain started off great, with two super-efficient 1-2-3 innings, before allowing a solid John Buck homer to left in the third inning. But his biggest struggles came in the fourth, as he got himself into a hole with a walk and a hit batter. He managed two outs, but then Alberto Callaspo reached on a Nick Swisher error (inexplicably scored a hit at first), and new Joba nemesis John Buck singled DeJesus and Teahen home. It was 3-1 KC.

By this time Meche was in his groove, and the Yankee offense sputtered for a couple innings They finally broke through in the seventh: Swisher and Matsui each swung at Meche’s first offering and singled; Nady doubled Swisher in; Cano reached on an error while Matsui came home; and finally Melky Cabrera’s second double play of the game was good for an RBI. Okay, so it wasn’t exactly an overwhelming show of force, but it looked like it was going to get the job done. Brian Bruney pitched a strong seventh, too.

So it seemed the Yanks had resurrected staged their comeback – but after Damaso Marte’s two outs in the eighth, things fell apart for the bullpen. Joe Girardi was making a lot of moves, searching for most advantageous matchup, and I’m sure he’s going to be heavily criticized for that, because why bother when you’ve got God Mariano Rivera available? I wonder if the Yankees have specific health-related reasons for not wanting to use Mo more than one inning, in which case Girardi’s moves wouldn’t seem all that unreasonable to me — as Dolly Parton once sang, “Well, it looked good on paper” — but who knows.

Anyway, it went like this: Billy Butler pinch  hit for lefty Jacobs, so Girardi swapped out Marte for Jose Veras, who promptly gave up a walk. Then Phil Coke came in to face Brayan “[Sic]” Pena, who promptly tied the game with a double. Callaspo singled, and John “Yankee Killer” Buck doubled, and the Royals had a two-run lead that Joakim Soria, who is a serious badass, had no trouble nailing down securing. Afterwards Coke, who looks about 17, wore an expression that suggested he was barely suppressing the urge to hurl himself off the nearest tall building. Somebody please give that kid a Cadbury Creme egg and a hug.

The Yanks are off to Tampa, and I’m off to do my taxes. Actually, I wouldn’t take a Cadbury Creme egg or a hug amiss right now either.

The wife just called from the Twin Cities.  She’s on her way home from Albeturkey, New Mexico, waiting for a connecting flight.  It is bright and sunny and cold in New York today, Easter Sunday.  I’ve got the windows open, soup is on the stove.  Time to warm up the day-old baguette, fix a salad and have some lunch. 

Joba makes his season debut this afternoon in KC as the Yanks go for the sweep.  Good day for a feast, eh?  House money.  Step on ’em, boys.  Let’s Go Yankees. 

In keeping with the long-playing jazz record theme here’s a classic from one of the true masters–Lee Morgan.

Cold Chillin

Mark Teixeira was a late scratch on Saturday night night, and is listed as day-to-day with a sore left wrist.* But the Yankees didn’t miss him as Nick Swisher played first instead and had another great game.  He walked twice, hit a triple (belly-flopping into third), and a home run.  Picked up three more RBI.  Swisher also made a nice pick on short-armed throw by Sabathia to end the seventh inning.  He’s been Mr. Everything for the Yankees this week–a likeable, loose personality on a hot streak.  I can see him being a good New York player, can’t you? Like Dykstra.  Or Lerityz.  Or Kevin Millar, who would have done well here in his prime. 

Swisher has gotten good press this spring as a fun clubhouse presence.  He gives the Yankees some physical swagger without any trace of menace.  Swisher’s a got a Cheshire Cat grin and a round, cartoonish face.  Steve Lombardi compared him to Jack Black and that’s not a bad call, but it’s not perfect either.  There’s something more there.  I’m not sure what the call is, but I do know that Swisher has got tremendous hair, almost a retro-Donnie Baseball look.  

Swisher seems perpetually cheery, hyper-active, effusive; a more Golly Gee-earnest Jason Giambi.  After the game tonight he told Kim Jones that he had three Red Bull in him and he was just looking forward to going to the clubhouse to try and relax.  He may be amped, but Swisher also shows patience at the plate.  And he’s got pop in his bat.  The homer he hit from the right side was crushed. 

The Yankees scored six runs in all, including a two-run double by Jorge Posada, more than enough for Sabathia, who delivered the goods in his second start.  He wasn’t dominant but Sabathia was able to work out of trouble, getting some big strikeouts, and a couple of inning-ending double plays.  He pitched shutout ball through seven-and-two-thirds. Struck out six and didn’t walk a batter.  6-1 was the final as the Bombers won their third straight.   

(more…)

Tonight CC stands for Clean Crib.  As in the Mrs is returning from a week at her sisters’ in New Mexico tomorrow.  And you know I’m a have this place lookin respectable by the time she comes through the door.  So I’m doing laundry, and I’m cooking Ratatouille and I can’t wait to watch CC Sabathia pitch tonight. 

I don’t know about you, but I love Saturday night games.  I know I’m showing my age.  I don’t go out on Saturday night.   We go to sleep when people are headed out.  Pretty soon I’m going to be playing Bridge.  But I like getting stuff done during the day and then getting to chill out to a game at night.  It’s a small, good treat.  

The Royals had a rough time against the lefty Andy Pettitte yesterday.  I hope that Sabathia can build on that.  KC does not not have an imposing line-up.  Let’s see if the big fella shook the nerves out of his system in Baltimore and…

Let’s Go Yan-Kees.

I’ve often bemoaned the disappearance of creative and original nicknames from today’s major league scene. “Jeet” for Derek Jeter, or “A-Rod” for Alex Rodriguez are not real nicknames; they’re merely abbreviations that tell us nothing about a player’s personality, his history, or his style of play. A similar fate has befallen nicknames given to teams of specific years or eras. Outside of the detestable “Idiots” nickname given the 2004 Red Sox or the “Moneyball” appellation given to the A’s (more of a reflection of philosophy than team), I can think of few recent instances where teams have earned colorful side names for something other than commercial purposes.

In contrast, baseball history is chock-a-block with inspired and colorful nicknames for some memorable teams. Here is a list of some of the best ever, including two incarnations of some great Yankees teams.

“Murderers’ Row:” 1927-1928 New York Yankees: No team nickname has matched the fame of “Murderers’ Row,” which actually originated as a 19th century reference to an isolated row of prison cells featuring some of the worst criminals of the infamous Tombs prison.  The baseball version of Murderers’ Row included four future Hall of Famers—Earle Combs (batting leadoff), Babe Ruth (batting third), Lou Gehrig (in the cleanup spot), and the often overlooked Tony Lazzeri (batting sixth). The ’27 Yankees didn’t receive much punch from the bottom of the order, where weak links like third baseman Jumping Joe Dugan and catcher Pat Collins resided, but the top six batters in the lineup almost always did the damage of nine full men.

“The Gas House Gang:” 1934-1939 St. Louis Cardinals: This name originated with a neighborhood on the lower east side of Manhattan, where a violent group of young men tormented citizens and came to call themselves the “Gashouse Gang.” The Cardinals’ version of the “Gang” wasn’t quite as vicious as the street thugs, but they did feature a number of ruffians, including infielders Leo Durocher and Pepper Martin, outfielder Joe “Ducky” Medwick, and ace pitcher Dizzy Dean. The Cardinals of that era played a hard-nosed brand of ball, sliding hard into bases, knocking over opposing defenders, and rarely backing away from on-field brawls. Off the field, they were often just as wild, as they laid waste to hotels and restaurants with a series of pranks and practical jokes.

“Whiz Kids:” 1950 Philadelphia Phillies: Coming out of nowhere to win the National League pennant, Eddie Sawyer’s “Kids” featured a day-to-day lineup of players almost exclusively under the age of 30. The oldest regular was 30-year-old first baseman Eddie Waitkus, but the stars were 23-year-old Hall of Famer Richie Ashburn and the 25-year-old Del Ennis. The starting rotation was also headlined by two youngsters, Robin Roberts and Curt Simmons, whose combined total of wins (37) nearly matched their collective age (44).

“Big Red Machine:” 1969-1976 Cincinnati Reds: Some newspapers and magazines began to refer to Cincinnati’s dynamic offensive team as the “Big Red Machine” as early as 1969 and ’70, but the name really caught on when the franchise steamrolled the rest of the majors in winning the ’75 and ’76 World Championships. That mid-1970s run included a four-game annihilation of the Yankees, a series that too often seemed like Thurman Munson battling alone against Cincinnati’s entire 25-man roster. The Machine’s cast of characters changed significantly from 1969 to 1976, with Lee May, Tommy Helms, and Bobby Tolan eventually giving way to George Foster, Joe Morgan, and Ken Griffey Sr. The constants were Hall of Fame talents Johnny Bench, Tony Perez, and Pete Rose, though both Perez and Rose switched positions in mid-stream; Perez moved from third base to first, and Rose, the Hall of Fame exile, went from right field to left field to third base. Combining power and speed, few teams in history have matched the offensive potency of “The Machine.”

“Pittsburgh Lumber Company:” 1970-1976 Pittsburgh Pirates: The Lumber Company name didn’t really take hold until the mid-1970s, but in retrospect, the 1971 world championship team should be included. Using a free-swinging approach that might not have been fully appreciated by some Sabermetricians, the Pirates pummeled their way to five division titles, one pennant, and a World Championship during the first half of the decade. Other than Willie Stargell and Bob Robertson, the “Lumber Company” didn’t like to take walks, which they generally regarded as unmanly. Instead, Roberto Clemente, Al Oliver, Manny Sanguillen, and Rennie Stennett preferred to swing the bat early and often, and they did it well, banging a parade of singles and doubles in a constant barrage against opposing pitching staffs. When you can hit as well as those guys did, the swing-first philosophy does work.

(more…)

Stinky, funky Saturday fromage.

First up, the Wood Man:

So, who remembered that Shelley Long was once fetching? I’ll never forget how funny Henry Winkler and Michael Keaton were.

How about this showdown with the scene-stealing Forest Whitaker?

Or how about this misbegotten cheapness?

Keeping it in the Eighties, let’s all cool out to this:

Today’s news is powered by a nice video tribute to Lou Gehrig:

• Let’s start with 2 trivia questions (only one Yankee-related).  1) Who was the first pitcher to win a Gold Glove and a Silver Slugger in the same season? 2) Who was the last player to hit into four DPs in one game.  (answer at the end of the column)
• Kat O’Brien of Newsday notes how close the Yanks came to NOT getting Mark Teixeira:

Up and down the Yankees’ organization, from Johnny Damon and Jorge Posada to Joe Girardi and Hal Steinbrenner, the sentiment on Mark Teixeira early in the offseason was that he would be playing elsewhere in 2009.

Steinbrenner, the last word in ownership, had the power to change that if he wanted to sign Teixeira. But the Yankees were locked in on pitching, to the point that Teixeira was not on the agenda.

“Teixeira never was really an option,” Cashman said. “It was something I kept pushing, but it was not really being accepted by above me . . . I guess persistence paid off. I knocked on that door, I guess, just enough that someone finally answered. Hal really gave me the OK to pursue it over a few-day period. And at that point, I still thought the Red Sox were getting him.”

• Bob Klapisch has seen A.J. Burnett, and likes what he sees:

A tough, John Wayne-type, Burnett doesn’t do team therapy, and he stops short of calling himself an ace, but talent evaluators will nevertheless tell you the 32-year-old right-hander is by far the Yankees’ most intimidating pitcher.

Burnett has the stuff (96-mph heat), the guts (he threw that decisive curve with the bases loaded and a full count) and the stoic nature to lead the Yankees. He’s quiet, but not in a meek, Chien-Ming Wang sort of way. Fierce, but not on the dangerous roller coaster that Kevin Brown used to ride.

• Joel Sherman has some thoughts on the Captain:

It is only three games, but Derek Jeter has seemed to think more like a leadoff hitter in this go-around in the spot. He has shown a greater willingness to work the count. His career norm is to see about 3.7 pitches per at-bat, but that is 4.1 so far this year and what has stood out is a few at-bats where he was down in the count quickly and still generated a long turn at-bat.

The other element that has stood out with Jeter is that he has seemed to lose a step or two running to first base. He has hit some slow rollers that memory suggests he beat out in the past and now he was clearly out at first base.

• Meanwhile, PeteAbe is similarly concerned about Hideki Matsui:

Hideki Matsui is 1 for 14. That one hit was a home run, but still.

I know it’s only four games, but is this a concern? He’s also running to first base like he needs a walker.

[My take: So we’ve got our own version of Edgar Martinez?]

• PeteAbe does have some happier news . . .:

The bullpen over the last three games: 10 innings 0 hits, 0 runs, 3 walks, 12 strikeouts.

• Alex Rodriguez update . . . (absolutely no mirror-preening included):

Alex Rodriguez is to resume baseball activities Monday, more than a month following hip surgery on March 9.

The third baseman has been working out in Vail, Colo., since the operation. The Yankees start a three-game series Monday at the AL champion Tampa Bay Rays, and Yankees manager Joe Girardi said the three-time AL MVP will resume swinging a bat after he reports to the team’s minor league complex.

Girardi said Friday that Rodriguez has been swinging a broom for the past few weeks and slowly increasing his workload.

(more…)

The Yankees scored two in the top of the first against Sidney Ponson yesterday afternoon, and Andy Pettitte made those runs hold up with seven stellar innings in which he allowed just one run on three hits and a walk as the Yankees beat the Royals 4-1 in Kansas City’s home opener.

Pettitte’s was the best performance by a Yankee starting pitcher this season and underlined the strength of this year’s team: starting pitching depth. There’s not a man in the Yankees’ rotation that you wouldn’t want to have on the mound on any given day (yes, even A.J. Burnett, my complaints about him stem largely from his injury history and his contract, in other words the possibility of having him not on the mound but still on the books). The Yankees opened the season by having their top two starters, CC Sabathia and Chien-Ming Wang, get lit up, but Burnett and Pettitte brought them right back to even in the blink of an eye. Sabathia takes his second turn tomorrow, then Joba Chamberlain gets his first on Sunday, then back around again. If those five starters can stay healthy (admittedly a huge “if”), the Yankees will have a very realistic expectation of winning every game they play. They’ll still lose about 60 of them, but it won’t be because they were outmatched on the mound. That’s a tremendous advantage for a ballclub, in terms of strength and strategy as well as confidence.

(more…)

Kansas City Royals

2008 Record: 75-87 (.463)
2008 Pythagorean Record: 72-90 (.444)

Manager: Trey Hillman
General Manager: Dayton Moore

Home Ballpark (multi-year Park Factors): Kauffman Stadium (97/98)

Who’s Replaced Whom:

• Mike Jacobs replaces Ross Gload
• Coco Crisp replaces Joey Gathright and Mark Grudzielanek
• Willie Bloomquist replaces Esteban German
• Brayan Peña replaces Mitch Maier (minors) and Ryan Shealy (minors)
• Sidney Ponson replaces Brian Bannister (minors)
• Horacio Ramirez replaces Luke Hochevar (minors) and Brandon Duckworth (minors)
• Kyle Davies takes over Brett Tomko’s starts
• Juan Cruz replaces Ramon Ramirez
• Kyle Farnsworth replaces Leo Nuñez
• Doug Waechter replaces Joel Peralta
• Jamey Wright replaces Yasuhiki Yabuta (minors) and Jimmy Gobble

25-man Roster:

1B – Mike Jacobs (L)
2B – Alberto Callaspo (S)
SS – Mike Aviles (R)
3B – Alex Gordon (L)
C – Miguel Olivo (R)
RF – Mark Teahen (L)
CF – Coco Crisp (S)
LF – David DeJesus (L)
DH – Billy Butler (R)

Bench:

R – Willie Bloomquist (UT)
R – John Buck (C)
R – Tony Peña Jr. (SS)
S – Brayan Peña (C)

Rotation:

R – Gil Meche
R – Zack Greinke
R – Kyle Davies
R – Sidney Ponson
L – Horacio Ramirez

Bullpen:

R – Joakim Soria
R – Juan Cruz
R – Kyle Farnsworth
L – Ron Mahay
R – Robinson Tejeda
R – Doug Waechter
R – Jamey Wright

15-day DL: RF – Jose Guillen (groin), LHP – John Bale (thyroid surgery)

Projected Lineup:

S – Coco Crisp (CF)
S – Alberto Callaspo (2B)
L – David DeJesus (LF)
L – Mark Teahen (2B)
L – Mike Jacobs (1B)
R – Billy Butler (DH)
L – Alex Gordon (3B)
R – Miguel Olivo (C)
R – Mike Aviles (SS)

(more…)

In the wake of the Wall Street Journal article highlighting the hard times for baseball beat writers, I’m in the process of getting comments from former colleagues and current and former beat writers on the baseball beat, and other beats, to get their takes.

There were some great comments here at the Banter, so if you have any questions you’d like to submit, e-mail me here.

The Yankees lost the first two games of the season because their starting pitchers weren’t sharp. CC Sabathia and Chien-Ming Wang combined for this line in those two games: 8 IP, 17 H, 13 R, 1 HR, 8 BB, 0 K, 3.13 WHIP, 14.63 ERA. End of story. Neither was suffering from anything worse than poor mechanics (Wang) or a simple lack of feel (Sabathia). I’m not concerned about either, and Sabathia will be back on the bump tomorrow.

The bullpen coughed up four insurance runs after the Yankee offense pulled within a run in the opener, but in the last two games, the bullpen contributed eight hitless, scoreless innings. Included among those were perfect frames from Phil Coke and Brian Bruney, who had given up the four runs on Monday. Every man in the pen pitched in the series. The only one who remains a concern moving forward is Damaso Marte, who faced two batters on Monday. He gave up a two-RBI double to the lefty (both runs being charged to Bruney) before getting the righty to ground out.

Also encouraging is that the offense scored 21 runs in the first three games, showing resiliency by rallying back to within a run of the O’s in the first two games, then dropping 11 runs on Baltimore in the finale. Perhaps the best news to come out of the opening series is that the hitting star of the series was Robinson Cano, who went 6-for-11 with a double, a home run, and three walks. Last April, it took Cano eight games to get six hits, 12 games to get two extra-base hits, and 19 games to draw three walks; this year each took him just three games.

The other hitting star of the series was Nick Swisher, who only started in yesterday’s finale, but delivered a pinch-hit double in the opener and a pinch-hit walk in the second game. Yesterday, he went 3-for-5 with a double and a tie-breaking home run, collecting a career-high five RBIs. Xavier Nady had two doubles and a walk himself, but Swisher has already given Joe Girardi reason to reconsider how he deploys his two right fielders.

Other positives: Jorge Posada picked up a double, a 425-foot home run, and a walk in eight trips. He also threw out a stealing Brian Roberts by so much that Roberts turned around and headed back to first base (where he was tagged out). Derek Jeter went 5-for-13 with a homer, a walk, and a steal. Ramiro Peña singled in his first (and still only) major league at-bat yesterday. After starting the season 0-for-8 with a walk, Mark Teixeira went 3-for-6 with a double and a game-tying homer to finish the series; the double came in his only right-handed at-bat. Johnny Damon went 3-for-11  with a triple, two walks, and a steal. Even Jose Molina reached base twice in four trips.

The bad: While Hideki Matsui homered in the opener, that was the only time he reached base in ten at-bats. In his pinch-hit appearance yesterday (his only at-bat of the series), Melky Cabrera missed badly on three straight Matt Albers breaking balls.

Less noticeable was the fact that the Yankees won the war on the bases. The Bronx Burners went 4-for-4 in their own steal attempts and threw out (or picked off) four of the seven attempting Oriole base stealers.

Finally, the defensive upgrades at first base and center field, as well as in right field when Nick Swisher was out there yesterday, where instantly noticeable, and Cano’s fielding seems to have rebounded along with his bat.

Of course, it was just three games . . .

Today’s news is powered a nicely-done video tribute to Nick Adenhart:

• The Yankees react to the news of Adenhart’s death:

Jose Molina and Edwar Ramirez both played with Adenhart in the Angels organization, and each of them remembered the 22-year-old as a terrific teammate.

“He was an awesome kid,” said Molina, who was in spring training camp with Adenhart in 2006-07. “He was kind of quiet, but that may have just been because he was a rookie.”

Ramirez said he used to hitch rides with Adenhart every day in spring training. He was thrilled when he heard the pitcher had made his big-league debut last May, then watched the highlights Wednesday night after Adenhart pitched six scoreless innings against the A’s.

“It’s shocking. He was a great guy,” Ramirez said. “When I saw that he made it to the majors, I was so happy for him. And after last night? It’s horrible.”

• MLB.com’s wrap-up of Thursday’s game.
• MLB also reports on Nick Swisher’s adjustment to a bench role:

While Swisher is grappling with the idea of not being an everyday player, he keeps a random assortment of artists like Akon and Flo Rida filling the air. There may not be four guaranteed at-bats a night, but the beat must go on.

“Whether you’re playing or not, you try to keep the energy level high,” Swisher said. “It’s a little different when you’re not playing, but you try your best to keep it up. You want to try to be the same guy all the time, and sometimes it’s tough. But we’ve got a great group of guys.”

(more…)

There was one kid on my high school team who took baseball very seriously.  It almost hurt to see how much he cared.  Birdie was one of the two best players on the team and he desperately wanted to play professionally.  His father was a constant, critical presence, sitting in a lawn chair by himself up the first base line.  Brooding, silent.  When Birdie struck out, tears welled in his eyes.

He went to Vanderbilt and then transferred to a smaller school in Southern California so that he could play ball.  Birdie became a relief pitcher.  He was wild, a red ass.  He grew a beard, put on weight and his claim to fame was that one season he led his league in appearences and hit batsman.

Birdie is in his late Thirties now but he still pitches, still plays in the summer leagues.  He called me from Florida last night where he spent the past week vacationing with his wife and small son.  I told him that the Yankees won their first game and that AJ Burnett pitched okay. 

“You know I love that guy,” Birdie said.  “He’s just my kind of pitcher.  Great stuff, but horsesh** erratic.”

Burnett didn’t throw a gem but he pitched okay.  His fastball was in the 91-94 range, not 95+, but his breaking ball–what I’m guessing is a hard slider–was impressive and he featured it almost every time he got two strikes on a batter.  Burnett worked out of a bases loaded jam in the third, allowing just one run to score in the process, and he pumped his fist (something he did several times) when he struck out Aubrey Huff on a full count slider.

“That takes some guts,” Teixeira said of the pitch selection. “If he doesn’t get the right feel on the ball, that’s ball four and who knows what can happen. He threw a great pitch.”
(Mark Feinsand, N.Y. Daily News)

It’s funny how time works in baseball.  Mark Teixeira hit a home run on the second pitch he saw in the top of the fourth inning and quickly rounded the bases, tying the score at one (Luke Scott later hit a solo shot off Burnett to left center field in almost the same spot).  Three batters later, Nick Swisher was badly fooled on the first pitch, a change up in the dirt, and put forth a half-hearted swing.  He smiled and nodded his head and then looked at the next four pitches before swinging again and fouling off a 3-2 fastball.  In the meantime, the pitcher Alfredo Simon threw over to first to check on Robinson Cano a few times, and also met with his catcher.  The at-bat must have lasted a good five minutes.  It was almost boring as a spectator but it made me appreciate the level of focus and concentration that is required of the pitcher, batter, fielder and umpire on each at-bat during a game.   Swisher ended the showdown when he popped a fly ball just over the fence in right for a two-run homer that gave the Yanks the lead for good.

Swisher ended the day with three hits and five RBI, while Cano had three hits, a walk and scored four runs.  Cano has drawn three walks in three games.  Go figure that now. 

In the end, it was a blow-out, 11-2 win.   Burnett threw 98 pitches and was removed with one out in the sixth.  A quartet of Yankee relievers–Coke, Veras, Bruney and Rivera–kept the O’s scoreless the rest of the way and the Bombers secured their first “w” of the season.

Ramiro Pena singled in his first major league at bat in the ninth inning.  He was batting from the left side but is a switch hitter.  Before I got off the phone with Birdie he asked me if I could name any left-handed hitting shortstops.  Not switch hitters but strictly left-handed hitters.  For the life of me, I couldn’t.  

Little help?

The Orioles have made short work of both CC Sabathia and Chien Ming Wang, so it is up to AJ Burnett to have a good start this afternoon. The Yankees are looking for their first win of the season, and Burnett is looking to make a good first impression. I say he comes through and the Yanks get off the schneid.

C’mon fellas, whatta ya hear, whatta ya say?

Let’s Go Yan-Kees.

Just an awful story out of Los Angeles this morning.  Nick Adenhart, a young pitcher for the Angels was killed in a car accident early this morning.  Here is a piece that Rich Lederer wrote about Adenhart.  Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family and the Angels organization.

I’m going to ruin the peaceful, easy feeling we’ve enjoyed recently from the lack of Alex Rodriguez news or headlines.  After all, the mishegoss machine will crank up next week–if not sooner–when Selena Roberts’ anticipated Rodriguez biography is released.

But I enjoyed Bill Simmons’ recent piece on Rodriguez:

Of all the ways A-Rod has been described over the years, nobody has ever used “bad person.” We hear he’s awkward, needy, annoying, easily rattled, humorless, obsessed with his image, unsure of himself and unable to fit into a group dynamic. Jason Gay, who profiled him recently for Details magazine, claimed that, out to dinner, A-Rod made his order based on how he wanted Gay to perceive it, not by what he wanted. He’s simply a strange guy, not someone you’d want to drive cross-country with, for sure. But he’s not a bad guy.

Comparing him with Barry Bonds, it’s no contest. Bonds hogged three lockers, disparaged teammates, antagonized media members and allegedly cheated to get an edge. He sounded like an unequivocal nightmare, a perfect storm of rudeness. Other notorious cancers (Carl Everett, Albert Belle, Jeff Kent, Ugueth Urbina) earned their reputations by being hotheaded or fighting teammates or barking at team employees. In the end, even Manny went to the dark side, becoming such a distraction that Boston paid the Dodgers to take him.

…I will even go this far: There are undeniable positives to having one antisocial wild card in any close-knit environment. You know that one grating guy in your dorm hall or in your office? Don’t you like bitching about him? You lob grenades at him as soon as he leaves the room. He’s your running joke, an easy target. But he’s also a galvanizing force, one of the few things that bring everyone else together: a mutual contempt for one human being that won’t go away. You’re stuck with him, so you make the best of it — by belittling him.

It’s a common bond of sorts. Even as you believe he’s tearing your group apart, he’s bringing it closer and distracting anyone from turning on someone else. He’s your mean decoy, your Paula Abdul, your Newman. He’s your necessary evil.

*