10 things to make a Sox fan smile

View from inside Green Monster at Jet Blue.

1.  Last year Donald Trump tweeted that A Rod is “an average player now that he is unable to use drugs.”  2 days ago, Trump compared singer Debby Gibson to Derek Jeter and then said, “We love Derek.  That’s not an A Rod statement.  It’s a Derek statement.”  Another slap.

2.  Yankee set up man David Robertson was diagnosed with a sprained foot after slipping on a step while emptying a box in the recycling can outside his home. His Opening Day is in jeopardy. The NY Daily News reports that the Yankees are alarmed.  Love it.

3.  Lawrence McCutchen, Buc centerfielder, wore #25 before veteran A.J. Burnett arrived in the Steel City.  McCutchen told A.J. he could have his old numerals if he agreed to pay a fee of $500,000.  Turns out the financially shrewd Pirate was just starting high so that Burnett could feel good about working him down.  The 2 players settled on a $20,000 payment.  In what major field is McCutchen’s college degree from Oklahoma, you ask ?  Why, a B.S. in Economics, of course.

4.  Felix Doubront has just completed a sterling outing against the Yankees in Tampa as I write this.  The lefty went 4 innings, yielding 2 hits and 0 runs. He faced only 14 batters to secure 12 outs.  This guy is going to contribute.

5.  The Red Sox will be a lot harder to hate in 2012 according to the Wall Street Journal.  The primary reason for this is that “goofy, slow, arrogant”, and yes, “excellent”, Jonathan Papelbon is now a Phillie, and has been replaced by “a pair of genial, vanilla New Yorkers.” i.e.,  Andrew Bailey and Mark Melancon.  Perhaps the WSJ is forgetting that Yaz and Rico were both mild mannered New Yorkers that thrived in Boston in an era when the 5 Boroughs lacked no bellicosity for the Sox.

6.  The two jamokes broadcasting tonight’s Yankee – Red Sox game from Tampa on YES just said that Pete Rose had 33 triples for the minor league Tampa Tarpons in 1962 or 1963.  Pretty close.  Charlie Hustle had 30 triples for the Class D Tarpons, batting .330 and leading his team to the best record in the Florida State League in 1961.  The Manager of that team ?  Double no-no man, Johnny Vandermeer.

7.  Clay Buchholz spoke with self-confidence to Ron Chimelis of the Springfield Republican after pitching 4 scoreless innings on Sunday.  He said he knew early in spring training that he would “…be ready to throw with maximum effort in game situations.”  The lower back stress fracture is a thing of the past.

8.  Tom Caron explained on NESN.com that Pedroia, Ellsbury, and Gonzales are all each capable of winning the 2012 AL MVP.  Moreover, Caron said, “I do expect Adrian Gonzales to have an even bigger year this year.”  Seriously, Tom ?  Better than  2011, when he posted .338, 27, 113, and a league-best 213 hits ?    I’ll have whatever Tom is drinking.

9.  The Globe’s Pete Abraham predicts that these 5 Sox will be on the D.L. on opening day:  Carl Crawford, Rich Hill, Bobby Jenks, John Lackey and Dice K Matsuzaka.  Crawford won’t be out for long.  And MLB.com’s Ian Brown reports that Dice K threw free and easy on Saturday.  The Interminable One may be back earning his pay before Hill, Jenks and definitely before John Shell Lackey.

10.  WEEI’s Gerry Callahan took credit this morning for the installation of 258 seats inside the Green Monster at Jet Blue Park in Fort Meyers.  The self-absorbed Callahan explained how the idea to create those seats was derived by Larry Lucchino from a conversation Callahan had years earlier with the BoSox President.  I guess you have to have a healthy ego to be the unerring airborne voice of authority in Boston.  Crazy Callahan.

Go Sox.

What Will You Do in the Off Season ?

Big Papi's Body Langage says it all.

Well, the Sox gave away another one last night.  They could have gained 1.5 games vs. TB for the Wild Card but they blew a 4 – 1 lead.

Ho-hum.

The hopeful & forgiving part of my brain, the part that gives Jose Canseco the benefit of the doubt, the part that voted for O’Bama, the lobe that reluctantly acknowledges that Jeter and Cano are outstanding players, that part of my brain is looking past the end of the season and asking, WHAT AM I GOING TO DO WHEN THE SEASON ENDS NEXT WEEK ?

Well, I have been meaning to research a historical list of Baseball players with the most anatomical names.  Ed Head and Bill Hands to name two. And there are the lighthearted citations of Johnny Dickshot and Nippy Jones.

The list explodes when nicknames are mixed with proper surnames

Like Footsie Blair. Clay Barfoot.  Barry Foote.  Footer Johnson.  

Jerrod Head. Ralph Head.  Chase Headley.

Bird Eye Truby, Eyechart Mientkiewicz, Human Eyeball Lord, Eagle Eye Hemphill, Camera Eye Bishop.  Wagon Tongue Adams.

 

Iron Hands Sullivan, Handy Andy Pafko.  Brad Hand. Rich Hand.

 

 

There are 3 HOF’ers. Rollie Fingers, Three Finger Brown and Shufflefoot Boudreau.

 

Piano Legs Hickman, Piano Legs Gore.

 

Three Finger Newkirk.

 

Jim Hearty, of the 1894 San Fran Hot Peanuts.  What a cool name.

 

Derek Livernois.  Gary Tongue.

 

Ears Mossi.

And my personal favorite, Walt “No Neck” Williams.  The hustling little man on The 70’s ChiSox who well matched his nickname visually.

Who did I leave out ?

BACK TO UGLY REALITY

Even though the team has lost 6 in a row, 8 of 9, 13 of 15, and 18 of their last 26 games, the mission has not changed.  The Sox have got to put their best team on the field 6 more times.

The Probables haven’t been fully announced.  Here is what is on the team sites:

Fri, Sat, Sun at NYY:  Lester v TBD, Wake v TBD, TBD v TBD

Mon, Tue, Wed @ BAL: all TBD.

I expect they will start Beckett & Lester as per the norm in the final 2 BAL games.  That means they have to pick two guys to start on Sunday and Monday.  It’s a crap shoot.  Lackey and Miller are the worst of the remaining choices.  Bedard is a Box of Chocolates.  The rotation should round out as follows:

Fri  @ NYY  7:05    Lester vs. TBD.

Sat @ NYY  4:10    Wake vs. TBD.

Sun at NYY  1:05   Bedard vs. TBD

Mon @ BAL  7:05  Lackey vs. TBD 

 Tue @ BAL  7:05  Beckett vs. TBD

 Wed @ BAL: 7:05  Lester vs. TBD.

Lackey could swap days with Bedard but The Sox will probably see if an extra day of rest helps the most flawed starter on the team.  God only knows who Baltimore will start.  Now that the Yankees have clinched, expect them to rest CC, Nova and Colon.  Expect they will throw AJ at us this weekend with some minor leaguers, which is all in our favor, my fellow Sox fans.

I have never been and will never be a supporter of the New York Yankees.  But I must say something here.  After beating the hell out of Tampa this week, the Empire may further ingratiate themselves to Sox fans by starting poor pitchers and September call-ups all weekend against us.  In so doing, the Yankees may do more to help the Sox at season’s end then the Sox themselves are doing.

What a crazy flipping upside down year.

Yankees: Be Happy Lee in Philly !

This was not the first time that the Yankees lost out on Cliff Lee in 2010.

On July 9, TV reports announced that the Bombers were very close to completing a deal with Seattle to make Lee a Yankee.  Then a last minute trade sent Rangers top prospect Justin Smoak  to Seattle and landed Lee in Arlington, disrupting Yankee plans.

At the time, Smoak said he felt honored to be the main bait in a deal that landed a guy who looked to be in the hunt for the 2010 Cy Young Award with an 8-3 record, a 2.34 ERA, and 5 complete games in 13 starts.

But despite how heated the bidding for Lee was, it should be noted that his second half performance in 2010 was far from Cy-worthy.   Smoak’s reverence may be as unnecessary as the disappointment felt by Yankee fans today.

Truth is that Cliff Lee may not be healthy enough to warrant a 5 year contract.  He was on the needle to recover from an abdominal strain when playing for Seattle this year, and he went back on the needle to pitch into August and September for the Rangers.

Cliff pretty much spent the month of April taking injections and resting.  He made his first start on April 30, thus missing 5 starts.  He was very good throughout May to July, making a stellar 14 quality starts in 16 tries.

The injections were of platelet-rich plasma, the powers of which for healing muscle strain are as mysterious as those of aspirin.  Mysterious, and in-demand by rich athletes.  Tiger Woods and Hines Ward are users.

After six weeks of treatment and recovery in March & April, Lee was back on the hill for the Mariners.

It is a risky proposition to give a 32 year old pitcher with a recurrent injury $106 million for 5 years.  The Yankees might not be so disappointed this time next year if Lee pulls another muscle and takes a hiatus.

The media frenzy over the competition has occluded more than just Lee’s health history.  There is the matter of his contributions to the 2010 campaign for Texas.  Today’s AP wire story on the Lee signing by Philly said,” Seattle traded Lee to Texas in July, and Lee pitched the Rangers into the World Series for the first time.”

Did he ?  Yes, he had a great D.S. & L.S. before recording a 6.94 ERA in the W.S..  But he didn’t propel Texas into the playoffs.

The Rangers won their Division by 9 games.  In the 11 starts Lee made for Texas, the Rangers lost 7 times including a string of 5 consecutive losses that were also non-quality starts from Aug. 11 and 31.  His ERA in that stretch was 5.21.

Funny thing happened after that point in time:  Cliff had more injections and sat out almost two weeks in September.  He then came back and posted a 1.61 ERA over 4 starts in that month.

Now I like the September, and I like the May through July.  But his April and August were throw aways.  If the pattern of injury and decline continues in Philadelphia, no way will the Phillies be getting their money’s worth.

So take solace, Yankee fans.  Your team is at a clear disadvantage against the refurbished Red Sox, but at least you have not been set to take another Pavano-like fall with Cliff Lee.

Reggie Jackson: All Star Games, fibs & fleas

Reggie Jackson, sometimes accused of lying or exaggeration in his playing days, was asked on MLB TV recently how he felt about giving up vacation time to play in the All Star Game back in the day.

To paraphrase, Reggie replied that he usually lit out of the ASG right after its conclusion because players didn’t have their own private

planes back then, and, they had to scramble back to their team.

He further said that in his “14 or 15” AS games, he usually played 9 innings, implying that All Star Games were more demanding when he played.

I don’t know why that sounded like B.S..  Maybe it was tone.  Maybe it was a memory of Billy Martin telling the Press that (in reference to Steinbrenner & Reggie), “One’s convicted, the other is a born liar.

Maybe that was it.

But it did sound like B.S..  So I checked it out.

Reggie was selected for 14 All Star Games.  He started in 10 of those games.  He started in 6 of his first 7 between 1969 & 1977.  He started in 4 out of his last 5 ending in 1984.

(That he was an ALL Star starter at both ends of his career is a testament to his home run power and personal charisma.  And Reggie would agree with that.  After all, when a handsome, ripped Jose Canseco shocked the world with titanic moon shots in 1986, Reggie told the media that the person Jose most reminded him of was, well……himself.)

Here’s the year-by-year break down of the Jackson ASG selections:

1969: Started & played 5 innings.  1971: Pinch hit for Vida Blue with a HR off Dock Ellis.  1972: Started & played 10 innings.  1973: Started & played 8 innings.  1974: Started & played 9 innings.  1975: Started and played 6 innings.  1977: Started and played 4 innings.  1978: selected, but did not play.  1979: Played 3.5 innings.  1980: Started and played 4.5 innings. 1981: Started and played 3.5 innings.  1982: Started and played 4.5 innings. 1983: selected but did not play.

1984: Reggie started and played 3.5 innings in his final ASG.

There is a heroic dimension to this story that must be appreciated.

As he came out of these games, he was replaced by marginal men like George Hendricks, and Hall of Famers like Jim Rice, Rickey Henderson and Dave Winfield.

In All Star appearances that spanned 3 decades, he was on the field with Willie Mays, Roberto Clemente & Ernie Banks as well as Tony Gwynn, Cal Ripken and Darryl Strawberry.

His long sailing All Star ship was steered by Managers from Mayo Smith to Harvey Kuenn to Joe Altobelli.

It’s a stellar run.

Still, he did exaggerate some in that TV interview when he suggested he was usually on the field for 9 innings. Out of 14 ASG’s, he played in 9 in which he appeared in 4.5 innings or less, including 2 in which he only sat on the bench.

But what’s a little self-embellishment among friends ?

As much as I look skeptically at Reggie’s current “devotion” to the pinstripes, as much as I suspect he’s always placed himself way above any team or colleague, I can’t help but like Reggie Jackson.

The record also shows that Billy Martin liked Reggie when he wasn’t driving him crazy.

So what lying was Billy referring to any way ?

I couldn’t find an answer easily by googling, but I did dip into three vintage Bomber books and instantly whiffed the ego driven battle that drove Martin to make that comment.

In Sparky Lyle’s 1979 book, The Bronx Zoo, he wrote, “Reggie is now saying that Billy makes up excuses for not playing him, which I can’t understand.  Reggie once went up to Billy and said, ‘I don’t want to play because so-and-so is pitching.’.  Then after the game George wanted to know why he didn’t play.  Reggie turned around and said, ‘Beats me.’”

That type of Reggie story is not a unique.

In Billy Martin’s 1987 book, Billy Ball, he wrote that Reggie defied him right before the “liar/convict” fiasco. Martin suspended Jackson for his defiance.  Upon returning from the suspension, says Martin, Reggie called a press conference and explained that he had done nothing wrong to deserve the suspension.  The public charade by Reggie made Martin boil.  Martin was soon further enraged when Coach Dick Howser told him that Reggie had just lied to Steinbrenner about spending his banishment working out.

Martin then lost it.

Manipulations.

Misrepresentations.

In Jackson’s 1984 book, Reggie, he retells the banishment story and the ensuing liar/convict episode without any mention of speaking to the media upon returning.  He said he was crushed, that he no longer wanted to play, that he was defeated, that he intending to apologize to his team mates (and not Billy) but circumstances prevented him from doing so.  He never mentions that he played innocent with the press.  He wrote that he just reported, stayed mum, & next thing you know Cedric Tallis was telling him that Billy had uttered the unutterable, and the cleaver was falling.

It sounds like Reggie was an All Star at playing games in the clubhouse as much as he was on the field.

But there is no outrage here.

Who am I to judge a man who hit 563 HR’s before steroids entered the game ?

Big players have big egos.

Big egos bring blind spots.

In time, and with the perspective of age, an All Star perhaps bends the truth a little whereas he broke it cleanly as a younger man.

It doesn’t matter to me.  He’s still the young muscle man who bashed an impossible  dinger into the light tower at Tigers stadium four decades  ago.  That’s the Reggie I will always recall.  Young, earnest, and as far as I knew, honest.

Every dog has a flea or two.

So if a fan chooses to ignore how Babe frequented whorehouses, and that Ted was a lousy family man, or that a young Rapid Robert spoke against rookie Jackie Robinson, well I won’t complain.

I’m getting older, too.

George, the poor little rich boy

Life seems like a long series of hello’s.  By the time we are George Steinbrenner’s age, we understand that life has actually been a long series of goodbyes.

George is saying goodbye now.  He turned 80 four days ago.  It is written that he was damaged by a stroke in 2003, and was later debilitated by Alzheimers.  He has not been running the Yankees for 5 or more years, I have read.

In his wake George leaves 11 pennants, 7 Championships, one felony conviction and a related banishment from baseball, one $100,000 fine for hiring a gambler to find embarrassing information about one of his players, a second banishment, unscrupulous business dealings including the bilking of taxpayers, broken promises, ruined careers, and on the flip side kind acts that include rebuilding burned homes and funding college for the poor.

One wonders if many of the kindnesses that George performed were inspired by a sense of guilt.

Don’t take my word for the above.

Read Pete Golenbock’s book, GEORGE, The Poor Little Rich boy who Built The Yankee Empire. (Wiley, 2009).

What rules ?

The defining moments of Steinbrenner’s life story involve his actions leading to a felony conviction for illegal campaign contributions to Richard Nixon’s Committee to Reelect The President (C.R.E.E.P.) in 1972.

Newspaper pundits and the spirit of Billy Martin are indebted to George’s criminality, which enabled Billy to fire off, “One’s a born liar, the other’s convicted.”, to describe George & Reggie.

But that unforgettable line is not what makes his C.R.E.E.P. conviction a window into George’s psyche; it is the way he recklessly with premeditation & without concern for others required loyal employees to break the law on his behalf, and when caught he ultimately blamed the whole thing on an innocent, ruining at least one life and career, while making others miserable and scared.

In 1972, George decided to donate $100,000 to C.R.E.E.P..  He cut a personal check for $75,000.  That was perfectly legal.  Then, he decided he was above the law prohibiting the contribution of corporate funds to an election committee.  He browbeat eight of his American Shipping employees into a secret scheme to contribute about $25,000 in company funds.  He paid a bonus to each employee of $5,000 gross.  The employees wrote personal checks to C.R.E.E.P. equal to the take home amounts.  The employees, who made about $15,000 per year, a very good wage in 1972, were too scared to object.

Subsequently, the Government found the donations by the eight Am Ship employees to be suspicious and investigated Am Ship (along with American Airlines and others) for illegal campaign contributions.

With Steinbrenner’s company under threat of prosecution, George was front and center in a drama of manipulation and deceit.

The Prosecutor gave all accused corporations a chance to plead guilty privately and receive a slap on the wrist.

Only one C.E.O. said “no thank you” and forced the U.S. to mount a prosecution, declining the stay-out-of-jail-free card.

Steinbrenner, who had orchestrated the entire scheme, now lied to his 8 employees, telling them right until the night before trial that he would never let them go to court.  He would go to D.C. and get his wrist slapped, ending the ordeal.  In the meanwhile, he required them to deny everything.  Admit nothing.

He didn’t keep his promises.

In the months leading up to the trial, he brought in his personal attorney, Jack Melcher, to counsel him.  He asked Melcher to speak with the employees, too.

Ultimately, George kept his hands clean until the courts convicted him.  He made the employees endure the trial.  When they testified, their denials held up for a while but eventually one confessed that he had been told to lie on the stand by Jack Melcher.

To his death, Melcher insisted that was untrue and that George had manipulated the employees into pinning the whole thing on him.

George was convicted of a felony.   Melcher, who was only guilty of being Steinbrenner’s lawyer, was soon investigated by the Ohio Bar Association.  The Bar found him clean.

Then something strange occurred.  Something that almost never happens after a lawyer has been cleared by the Bar.  A second Bar investigation was launched and a hearing was set up.  Melcher, who had suffered a serious heart attack in 1971 didn’t believe he would survive the stress.  He resigned from the Bar.

For the rest of his life, George Steinbrenner was thus able to say that he had made a mistake, but that he was  victimized by a bad lawyer in the process.

What is so revealing about Steinbrenner  is that he chose to scheme and break the law, make 8 employees suffer, ruin someone’s career and do it all with  impunity.

He knew he could  manipulate or donate his way out of almost anything.

Brilliant.  Charismatic.  Attractive.  Energetic.  A gifted generalist.  A gifted salesman.  Instinctively Strategic.  Driven.  Rich.  Connected.

He was all of the above.  And he believed that the rules simply did not apply to him.

Not A Baseball Guy

I wince when I see that the last name listed under the Board of Directors of The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is George M. Steinbrenner III.

He must have paid for it in cash.  He surely didn’t get there by being a knowledgeable baseball man.

Golenbock reveals George as unaware that with two outs and a runner on third,that the run scoring from 3rd on a grounder doesn’t count when the out at first is recorded after the run scores.  He doesn’t know the rules.

Golenbock paints George’s acumen for assessing young talent as deficient.  George instructed Gene Michael to trade young & artistic Bernie Williams for being too soft.  He ordered Michael to contact every MLB G.M. and offer up Williams.  Michael knew George was wrong.  He made the contacts but withheld Bernie’s name.

Imagine the Yankees without Mariano Rivera.  George did not see the potential in 21-year-old Mo.  He ordered Michael to trade him to Toronto for David Wells.  Michael refused.  At the time, Mo was registering a 0.17 ERA w a 5 – 2 WL in the Gulf Rookie League.

Golenbock repeatedly shows how incompetent George is as a baseball talent man.  And yet, when his Player Development people built a winner, he got rid of them because he will not share the spotlight of success.

After returning from a 2.5 year banishment after the 1995 season, George fired GM Gene Michael and the entire Player Development team that brought the Yankees to their first post season in 14 years, the people who signed and developed Jeter, Posada, Rivera, Williams and Pettitte, the people who traded for or signed O’Neil, Boggs, Knoblauch, Girardi and Tino Martinez.

Mitch Lukevics was on that Player Development team.  He was canned with the rest of his colleagues after the 1995 post-season concluded in an LDS defeat by Seattle.

Today, Mitch and former Yankee colleague Bill Livesay have transformed a Tampa Bay team from one that had never won more than 71 games in a year to a pennant winner and perennial contender.

George didn’t know or didn’t care how valuable Michael, Lukevics and Livesay were to the Bombers.  In 7 years in the Bronx, they drafted 62 Yankee picks that played in the MLB.  From 1996 through 2008, the span starting after they were fired, not one 1^st round Yankee draft pick had played for the New York Yankees.  Not one.

The Resourceful & Respected Joe Torre

Joe Torre has something in his background that no other Manager in the Steinbrenner era had:  His father was a NYPD night shift detective and “an abusive bastard”.  “Being a victim of abuse enabled him to handle and endure the humiliations of another abuser, George Steinbrenner.”

“Clueless Joe”, as the media first tagged him, turned out to be the perfect man for the job.

And…..‘Torre’s brilliance was to defend Steinbrenner to the world but in private to tell him he was full of shit.”

The Good Wife

Old family friend Patty Stecher quoted George’s wife, Joan as saying, “I don’t know why I married George.  I should have known because when I went out with him on our first date he talked for 3 hours about himself.”

The Good with the Bad

Golenbock details George’s cruelty and narcissism until it blurs.

But there are two passages about the good works that Steinbrenner has performed.  The longer of the two is the final chapter, titled, “George, The Munificent”.

George’s business crimes, social crimes and his personal cruelty are certainly somewhat balanced by his acts of generosity.

Golenbock doesn’t spare the rod.  But he does endorse George as a first ballot HOFer.  After all, his financial backing delivered 11 pennants and 7 Championships.

After spending over 300 pages revealing George as felonious, sadistic and narcissistic, Golenbock’s endorsement rings hollow.

It will be impossible to not pity Steinbrenner given that the stroke and Alzheimer’s have silenced the man.

Forgiving hearts will vote him into the HOF, I expect.

Some will believe he has earned a plaque.

And some of us believe that his plaque is tarnished.

Joe Buck can’t hold tongue. Hamels doesn’t have it.

Hamels mildly imploded after 3.1 Hitless.

Happy Halloween.  The night of costumes came to us with Game 3 of the 105^th World Series wrapped inside it.

Speaking of costumes, there was a day in 1999 that I eschewed my Red Sox garb and went to Yankee Stadium dressed in UConn paraphernalia.  Standing in the line for the tinkle room, New Yorkers extended congrats  for UConn’s recent National Title. They paired knowing nods with arrogant, conceited sentiments like, “There’s nothing like a championship.  We ought to know.  We’ve got 26 of ‘em.”

Screw you, Yankee Fan.  Bleeping bleepers.

It is nothing in particular and everything in general that makes me root against the Yankees.  Thus, I settled into my couch, notepad in lap, on Oct. 31, 2009, to observe game 3, hoping against hope for my Yankee-hating peeps in Philly.

Top of 1^st

With Jeter retired, and a 2-1 count on Damon, the “Yankees Suck !Yankees Suck !” chant breaks out in Citizens Bank Park.  A sign of good things to come, I thought.

Bottom of 1^st

With Rollins perched on 2^nd and Pettitte facing Victorino, a new chant broke out:  “You Use steroids !  You Use Steroids !”.  Nicely done, Philly Fans.

End of 1: Hamels looks locked in.  Pettitte wriggles out of a jam.  0-0.

Top of 2^nd

Fox cheats America, showing a commercial instead of Cole Hamels plunking A-Rod. With Mr. Kate Hudson at first, Fox’s Joe Buck calls a balk on Hamels.  The Umps do not agree.  Shut up, Joe Buck.

Soon, Cano is batting and his batting glove moves take on an OCD-like quality. Pull, pull, pull, snappity, snappity, snap.  Get the hell back in the box, dude.    He strikes out, missing the ball by three feet.

They earn $201 Million, but they were as hapless as the Washington Nationals.

Bottom of 2^nd

Jason Werth’s awkward, reaching half-swing on a 3-2 pitch catches the jet stream and lands 10 rows in front of Harry the K’s restaurant, about 20 rows past the left center wall.  A 394 footer.  Liberty 1, Evil 0.

Feliz then shows he too can reach awkwardly across the plate and make contact, doubling to right. And Ruiz walks.  Then Cole Hamels, who batted .148 this season, drops a perfect BUNT in an impossible place for a single to load the bases.  Joy spreads across New England as Jimmy Rollins strides to the plate.  It’s looking bad for Big Andy.  He walks Rollins, gifting him an RBI.  Then, after getting ahead 0-2 to Victorino, Pettitte forgets how to keep it out of the strike zone and the Flyin’ Hawaiian strokes a sac fly to center.

End of 2: Hamel looks solid.  Pettitte melts down.  Phillies 3, NYY 0.

Top of 3rd:

It just can’t be more efficient.  Jeter makes Hamel throw him 6 pitches to get a line out, but Cabrera and Pettitte only require 3 total pitches combined to be retired.

Bottom of 3^rd

Ryan Howard K’s for the 8^th time in 11 WS at bats.  Werth and Ibanez give it a ride, but Andrew Eugene Pettitte has a 1-2-3 inning.

Somewhere Susan Waldman is saying Andy looks just like Sandy Koufax.

End of 3: Crisp, exciting pitching. Keep it going and we’ll all be in bed at 10:30, dreaming happy Phillie dreams.   Good guys lead, 3-0.

Top of 4^th

Damon, batting .125 and looking every bit of 36 now, lifts a weak fly to RF.  They are going down like lambs.  Then, after Tex waves at a 1-1 pitch, Joe Buck announces that Hamel hasn’t allowed a hit.  It’s Top of the Fourth and the Fox play-by-play man strikes the first drum beat for a nationally televised no-hitter, breaking all the rules of Baseball mojo  !!!!  The Baseball Gods react quickly to the Buck boondoggle.  Teixeira walks on a pitch that looks like a strike out on replay.  A-Rod doubles.  No, wait, the ball hit a TV camera on the Right Field wall.  The play is under review as  “Yankees Suck !” begins anew.  Whoops.  The Umps reverse their original call; it’s a 2 run HR.

Screw you, Joe Buck.  Keep your mouth shut next time.

Bottom of 4^th

Pettitte comes out sharp, getting ahead of Feliz 1-2, inducing a grounder to 3rd.  But A-Rod then shows why his zone rating is below average, throwing wildly.  E-5.  Runner at first.  Was the Curse of A Rod setting the stage for a Phil’s rally ?  Nope.  A grounder, a sac bunt, and a soft fly to RF later, and no damage is done.

End of 4: Bad things happen to good people.  (Non-Yankees.)   Phils 3, Yankees 2.

Top of 5^th

When Hamels can’t get Swisher to swing at two crap pitches on 0-2, the Son of Steve lined a double to left.  Hamels then gets 0-2 on Cabrera, and K’s him on a change in the dirt.  With one out and a man at second, Pettitte steps into the box for an easy out via the Cole Hamel express.  But wait, Hamels declines the heater and tosses a curve that Andy times for a solid single to CF.  Swisher then beats Victorino’s throw to the plate.  On the very next pitch, the first pitch to Jeter, the Yankee captain flairs a safety to almost the exact same spot in CF that Pettitte reached.  Two on, one out, and Damon, now batting .111, neatly lines an 0-1 pitch to the gap in RF for a 2 RBI double.

Suddenly, the Phillies’ clear advantage in pitching evaporates.

Tex walks.  Hamels yields to Happ.  Arod lines out.  Posada pops out.  The damage is done.

Bottom of 5^th

As Pettitte gets Victorino to line out to  CF, I realize that with two consecutive World Series appearances Shane Victorino has become as recognizable to me as the mailman.

October is now a Philadelphia thing.

Pettitte retires Utley, 3-1, busting his bulk up the line to nip the fleet Phillie.  Howard pops weakly to Jeter to end it.

End of 5: How quickly things change.  Yankees 5-3.

Top of 6^th

After registering one out, Happ allows a moonshot to Swisher.  Yankees, 6 – 3.

I cheerily recalled how in April I had seen the Phils win 13-11 in the only game I ever attended in Philly.  The Phils came from behind four times, over coming 5 homers by the Nats.  No lead is safe in Citizens Bank Park.

Middle of the 6th

And on that happy note, I retired for the evening after 36 outs, in the middle of the 6^th, with New York ahead by 3 runs.

I had a lot planned for Sunday morning.

It was 11:24 pm, EST.

I would arise to the bad news.  Yankees win.  Y-A-N-K-E-E-S win.

But I won’t let one win bother me.  They won have 112 games in 2009.

I’m OK if they win one more.

But only one more.

My ultimate prize this year is to see the stuffed shirts in the boroughs denied the right to crow about a 28^th Championship like it was their birthright.

Screw ‘em.

Joe Falls: 50 Years of DiMaggio, Kaline & Jordan

There is much to like about Joe Falls book, “50 YEARS OF SPORTS WRITING, And I still can’t tell the difference between a slider and a curve.”  (Sports Publishing, 1997.)

This 187 page tome navigates Falls’ personal experiences with DiMaggio, Williams, Mantle, Jordan, Nicklaus, Schembechler, Hayes, and on and on and so forth.

Joseph Falls, son of a New York City cop, at the age of 17 in 1945 took a job as a copyboy for the Associated Press. After an apprenticeship of eight years, Falls moved to the Detroit bureau of the AP, where he flourished. He was hired by the Detroit Times in 1956 to cover the Detroit Tigers, and continued that beat with the Detroit Free Press from 1960 to 1978.  Later, he moved to the Detroit News, where he was a columnist and Sports Editor.

Those of us living outside of Greater Detroit in the 60′s and 70′s knew of Falls because he wrote a weekly column in The Sporting News.

What a writing cast the TSN had !

Furman Bisher.  CC Spink.  Jerome Holtzman.  Dick Young.  Jim Hawkins.  Joe Falls.  That stable of Sporting News columnists doled out exotic, intoxicating Baseball intelligence, covering the turf from the Oakland Alameda County Coliseum to Shea Stadium.  The Baseball Universe in 48 tabloid pages, a 4-color photo of Reggie Jackson on the cover.

In 2001, Falls won the J. G. Taylor Spink Award from the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Falls may have started as a humble copyboy, but he ascended to a prominence that unlocked doors that other writers could only dream about opening.

In 1965, not long after making the transition from reporter to columnist, a colleague suggested that Joe interview Walter Hagen, who was 73 and lived within a day’s drive of Detroit.  Hagen, who won 11 Majors, picked up the phone but was silent as Falls said hello.  After an uncomfortable silence, Hagen’s housekeeper came on the line and explained that the Golf HOFer was unable to speak because he had throat cancer.  But Hagen knew how respected Falls was, and granted him a meeting.

When Falls arrived for the interview, Hagen was smoking a cigarette and wearing a white bib.  Hagen is  a prime example of why Falls says that Golfers are the nicest athletes to interview.  He was welcomed into the lakeside Hagen home.  He spent two delightful hours “chatting like mad”, Falls talking, Hagen signing to the housekeeper, and the housekeeper speaking for Hagen.  After Falls knew it was time to leave, Hagen offered a demonstration of his golf swing.  He took his stance, drew back his club, and swung through an invisible ball.  Hagen then let out a loud whoop.  “Oh”, said the housekeeper, Mr. Hagen made a perfect shot, right into the middle of the lake.”

Falls was transfixed.  He had met a sporting legend, sick and failing, and felt his robust love of life.

Falls was, above all, a fan of Sport.

As a reporter, he set aside his childhood allegiances, like the one he had with the Yankees.

He found joy watching athletes push themselves to excellence.

He felt their pain as well.

As in the case of Mickey Mantle…….immediately after the conclusion of the 1960 World Series…

“Mazeroski’s home run against the Yankees in 1960…I  can still see Yogi Berra going back for the (homerun) ball…”

“It was a difficult moment for me.  I was old enough to know better, but I was still a Yankee fan.  I felt suffocated.  But I knew I had my work to do.  My feelings for the Yankees had fallen away when I became a baseball writer and saw them up close.  They were very arrogant, even nasty.  Mickey Mantle, Whitey Ford, Billy Martin and Clete Boyer always seemed to be laughing at those around them, mostly the newspaper men, making them look stupid whenever they could.  These players had been my heroes; now they were distasteful people.”

“Mantle was a little different from the others.  When he was around Martin, Ford and Boyer, he could be a smart aleck, very cutting, trying to get laughs from them.  When you got him alone, he was much different.  He was pleasant and cooperative, and this is the Mickey Mantle I chose to remember when he died.”

“Anyway, when I walked into the Yankee dressing room that day, Mantle was sitting in front of his locker with his head down.  He was crying, and the tears were spotting the floor.  I knew, in that moment, the measure of a man.  He was a big star – a celebrated figure – but he was also an athlete – and now he was crushed.”

“At that moment, Elroy Face, Pittsburgh’s great relief pitcher, appeared in the doorway.  I thought he had come over to offer his congratulations or condolences to the Yankees.”

“He had an awful expression on his face.  He looked around the room and said, “F—  you guys.”

“Some memory.”

This poignant, hardcover collection of memories was  gathered by a man that few players hated,  most  respected.

Falls takes you places you cannot go on your own.  His decency and fairness gained him entry into insulated clubhouses and homes.

It is a great read.

A-Rod Outing Good for Baseball

Reporter Roberts outed A-Rod

“Sunlight is the best disinfectant”  (Brandeis)

The biggest apple on the tree is a rotten.

 

Hardly anyone is surprised.  Look at the bulging neck, bustin’ biceps, and pants- poppin thighs that coincided with increased power numbers.

 

Young A-Rod had the potential to be a .350 hitter with 27 to 30 HR’s per year.

 

Now he is among the top 5 all-time producers of 50-HR seasons.

 

Never was believable.

 

Without Sports Illustrated’s Selena Roberts and David Epstein, we’d never be sure.  Hats off to them.

 

There are over 100 other lesser stars that are also steroid cheats.

 

Let’s hear who they are.

 

While TV’s talking heads rant about A-Rod’s stats and how unfair it would be to out the other cheaters, let’s give thanks that expediency has been served.

 

Turning in the big guy could be a productive step toward getting steroids out of the game permanently – if responsible people take action.

 

We have got to know the rest of those names.

 

The Commissioner & Union (on an opium jag) together could….

…call on S.I. & the Feds to expose the rest of the names

…amend the record book.

…receive $1 Million per team to develop an effective HGH test

…receive $ 1Million more per team to creative an ongoing PED test development fund

…let the BBWAA worry about who gets into the HOF.  Trust in them to keep out any tarnished qualifier including A-Rod, Clemens, McGwire, Sosa and Bonds.

 

Bob Hohler wrote the story in the Boston Globe about SI’s outing of A-Rod.

 

When I asked Bob what he thought of the MLB and the MLBPA potentially clearing the air, Bob replied that the Union is “more interested in protecting their stars than outing them.”

 

Bob Hohler is right.  Odds are that great efforts will be made to suppress the rest of the info.

 

The players would sue the Union for damages if they revealed the names.

 

And in truth, the Commissioner won’t lead the way either.  He won’t disrupt the money machine.

 

That leaves it to the Selena Roberts and David Epstein’s of this world.

 

Independent Journalism with significant readership can drive change.

 

We cannot count on guys like John Heyman to do the politically difficult work.

 

Nor can we rely on Sean Casey, Al Leiter – and all the rest sitting in front of the brand new cameras of MLB TV.

 

Peter Gammons at ESPN – can we count on you to drive the process?

 

Tom Verducci – reporting stalwart, craftsman  – can you turn on your new employer and speed the process ?

 

I hope someone will.

 

How about it, Selena & David ?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Brian Cashman: I didn’t want the job.

 

Brian Cashman was persuaded by Yankee uber-fan Albert Hamrah to speak at a breakfast of the Middlesex (CT.) Chamber of Commerce on Feb. 3.

 

Hamrah is a Yankee fan of some 70 years.  He persuaded dozens of Baseball players to speak at Charity Baseball Dinners for decades.

 

There’s something different about being a Red Sox or Yankee fan in central or northern CT..   Fans near Boston or New York will never understand the local electricity. 

 

Every day Sox and Yankee logos are worn by neighbors shoveling snow, strangers standing in the grocery check out, friendly or not-so-friendly partiers standing side-by-side at the local bar.

 

New Yorkers and Massachusetts dwellers do not live with the same innate potential for judgment, disparagement and conflict that exists in Connecticut.

 

You cannot hide from the rivalry.  It makes the world turn here.

 

30 years ago there was bitter hatred.  Today, there is mild resentment between the tribes.  Given the talent on each team, there is opportunity to touch the heart of the other side by acknowledging the excellence of a Pedroia or a Rivera – between digs about how Posada has donkey-like ears, or Big Papi is fat and actually 39.

 

The crowd at the Chamber breakfast was overwhelmingly a Yankee-one in spirit.  The Sox fans present were polite and reserved.

 

The entire crowd was courteuous and supportive of Cashman.

 

And why not – he’s intelligent, down-to-earth, and long winded.  Perfect.

 

Cashman first acknowledged the UConn victory over Louisville the night before, citing a childhood opposition to the Cardinals that stemmed from his Kentucky upbringing, which also spawned a love for the Dodgers, dislike for the Yankees, and hatred for the Reds.

 

Young Cashman was a Yankee hater.

 

Cash bonded with the audience.  He said he recognized many faces in the crowd, including the guy who looks like Veritek and freaks him out.  He acknowledged Connecticut’s divided heart; the tension gives him a body tick the further north he drives up I-91.  He says he has moved around quite a bit, but Connecticut is the greatest place that he has ever lived.

 

Cash said that even though we have a great rivalry, it doesn’t mean the Yankees do not have the utmost respect for other people.  Two weeks ago, the Yankee GM presented Dustin Pedroia with the A.L. MVP Award in New York.  “It’s important to show respect for others and the great things they do and what they accomplish.”

 

Cashman’s path to the GM job was not unlike that of Theo Epstein’s rise in Boston.

 

They paid their dues, baby.

 

The big difference was that Epstein wanted the power.  Cashman is too smart to want to be George’s whipping boy. 

 

The Boss is legendary for tough love.  Cashman believes Donald Trump stole “You’re Fired” from George.

 

While an undergrad at Catholic U., Brian got an internship at the Yankees.  He worked in player scouting during the day, and security at night.

 

GM Woody Woodward offered Cash a full time position after graduation.  Brian followed the contrarian strategy of taking the work that others avoided.  He became an expert in player immigration issues, scheduling, and the Instructional League.

 

He became well rounded.

 

In 1992, Boss George took a sabbatical from his hands-on style of team management.  In George’s absence, GM Gene Michael gave Cash an Assistant GM’s position, which he worked for 6 years.

 

In 1998, GM Bob Watson pulled Cash aside on Ground Hog Day and told him he had submitted his resignation and recommended Cashman to be his replacement.

 

Cash told the audience, “…..and my first reaction was – Bob, is there anyway we can work this out ?  I kid you not.  I tried every which way to talk him out of it because at this point in my life I never wanted to be the GM of the New York Yankees……And…there are times….to this day….I still don’t want to be the Yankees GM….I say that  not half-joking because it is such a difficult position.  At times it is a no-win position….because when you win it’s (due to) George’s money…..When you lose  – it’s your fault.  The truth is always somewhere in between.”

 

Cash saw things that had prejudiced him against the job.  Like when Woodward – known as The Pharmacist for the bounty of vitamin supplements that helped him deal  – got his beatings from George.  For one, there was the time that Woodward traded Joe Niekro for catcher Mark Salas.  George had heavily pushed Woodward to make the trade.  But  Niekro, now a Twin, came into the Stadium and shut out the Yankees for 7 innings.  After the 7^th, George had Woodward on a conference call in a place easily overheard, and a passing Cashman heard George tell Woody that “This is an embarrassing situation.  You are going to go down and take full responsibility.”  George was typically loud about it.  Cash remembers walking by and thinking, “I would NEVER, EVER want to be the Yankee General Manager.”

 

But George did accept Bob Watson’s endorsement of Cashman and invited him to the Regency Hotel in Feb. 1998 to have a life changing meeting.

 

Cashman was not excited about the job as he drove in to meet George.

 

He told his wife that he would accept the job. And that “this would be the first day…of the last days….of his Yankee career.”

 

He mustered a squeaky, “I’m your man.”, when George offered.

 

Cash says he believed the GM job – and the franchise – is bigger than himself or any one person, and thus was unsure if the job would work out.  He didn’t want a multi-year contract.  He asked George for a handshake on one year deal.  A 1 year try out.

 

George jumped.

 

Cash explained further, “As an Assistant GM, I was out of the spot light, behind the scenes.  The GM position is a public job.”  One way of explaining the good with the bad is that “the higher a monkey climbs a tree, the more you can see of his ass.”

 

Cashman did damn well when he climbed the tree.  Soon after accepting, he traded for Chuck Knoblauch, the Yankees won 120 games in a season plus a World Series, and Cash signed a 3-year deal.

 

Cash had learned plenty from his associations with Yankee Managers Dallas Green, Bucky Dent, Lou Pinella, Stump Merrill, Bucky Showalter, Joe Torre and Billy Martin.

 

He learned plenty from former GM’s, including Bob Quinn, Syd Thrift, Gene Michael, Arnie Peterson, Clyde King, Woody Woodward, and Pinella.

 

 

On What is Needed:

 

Cash heads into his 12^th season as GM with XX World Championships in his pocket and a new turn-back-the-clock Stadium that fans will love.

 

He recognizes that it is the team performance, not the Stadium that counts.

 

The constant effort to always be the best carries on.  They aim to erase the memory of a 3^rd-place finish in 2008.

 

 

 

Here is what Cashman is looking for:

 

• For Sabathia, Burnett & Teixeira to blend in
• For a healthy Posada and Rivera; both are coming off shoulder surgery.
• For a healthy Wang, who suffered a bad foot injury last year
• For a healthy Matsui, coming off his second knee surgery in two years
• For A-Rod and Jeter to be A-Rod and Jeter
• For Cano and Melky to have bounce back years
• For a Right Fielder to emerge from a group including Nady & Swisher

 

Cash said the competition is difficult – to say the least.  He told Hartford Courant writer, Dom Amore that yes, the Yankees won the Winter.  But the Yankees usually do win the winter.  It’s the Summer that counts.  And the competition is waiting to have their say.

 

 

On Joe Girardi:

“He did a fantastic job on the field managing through injuries and player performances that needed improvement….his area of improvement is dealing with the media……Joe will have more tools to go to battle with this year…”

 

 On Melky Cabrera:

“He had a tremendous winter ball…2008 was an off year, he’s better than that…he has to come in now and compete with Brett Gardner for the Center Field spot….Brett is hungry, he wants it, Brett is a lot like Pedroia, undersized but done it at every level, A, AA, AAA, showing people……Melky is working on being more selective at the plate, he’s a heck of a defender, a switch hitter, can run a little, and can throw…..I think the fan base questions Melky (talent-wise) more than we do….Melky has a challenge he’s got to face….(either way) we expect the offensive output at Centerfield to be better than what fan’s expect, (it will be) at or above league average…”

 

The Good Ones Find A Way

 “We need more guys like Mike Mussina….he had to figure out what went wrong in 2007….he went back….he figured out a way…he came back to win 20 games after not knowing if he could ever pitch again and win….We need more of what Mike Mussina did.

 

“I believe if you are a competitor and you care about what you do, and you take pride in what you do…and if you stumble and fall you get back up.

 

“The good ones always find a way.”

 

“The bad ones always find excuses.”

 

As a Sox fan, I can’t wish Brian too much luck.  But he’s a worthy opponent. An intelligent man doing an impossible job for an impossible family.

 

REVIEW: PRIDE AND PINSTRIPES MEL STOTTLEMYRE

PRIDE AND PINSTRIPES, The Yankees, Mets, and surviving life’s challenges.  By Mel Stottlemyre with John Harper.   Harper, 2007. 269 pages.

 

 

Mel’s baseball journey broaches three baseball dynasties:  one that was ending (’64 Yankees), one that should have happened but did not (the 1980’s Mets), and one that did come to full fruition (the Jeter era Yankees.).

 

The portrait he paints of what the Mets could have been and should have been alone makes the book worth reading.

 

*************

 

Stottlemyre doesn’t waste anytime painting George Steinbrenner as a meddling, former Assistant Football Coach (Northwestern 1955, Purdue 1956) who secretly believes the Yankees “….should win all 162 games in a season, or at least come close, the way a powerhouse football team might go 11-1 in college, or say 14-2 in the NFL.”

 

Stot dances right up to the cutting edge of brutal, fire-breathing honesty about George.  Then, so as not to totally offend, he backs off, softens his stance, and points out that George has a good side. 

 

Then he points out that the good side only comes out when things are generally going George’s way. 

 

The hatred burns quietly.

 

Mel joins the late Bobby Murcer in having written a recent memoir that reveals Steinbrenner as a Baseball amateur who attracts talent with his millions, and drives talent away with his personality.  

 

It appears that George has no loyalty to his team.  His true loyalty is to burnishing his legacy as the Yankee owner who bought all the booze and then stirred the drink, too.

 

The only thing new about any of this is to hear it directly from a classy guy like Stottlemyre.

 

 *************

 

Mel Stottlemyre’s playing career is well known to 50-something fans.  Hailing from little old Mabton, Washington, he excelled in High School Baseball while avoiding Football, which his disciplinarian Dad simply forbid.

 

Mel threw in the mid-80’s while at Mabton High where his Class of 1959 numbered 24 Seniors.  Yankee Scout Eddie Taylor signed Mel out of Yakima Junior College, signed him right in a Mabton mint field in the midst of crop workers and farm equipment, for no bonus, $400 a month, and a roster spot on the 1961 Harlan (KY) entry in the Appalachian League.

 

God granted Mel a naturally occurring sinker.  He put it together with a little slider and minor league hitters were flummoxed from Day 1.  He went 9-4 in Harlan and Auburn in 1961.  Them he notched a 17-9 record with 8 shutouts in Greensboro (1962).  He spent the 1963 season in AAA Richmond adjusting to the demands of pitching to adults, producing a 7-7 mark.  Then in 1964, emerging from the Richmond Bullpen to which he had been demoted, Mel notched 10 consecutive wins as a starter.  He had learned to set up hitters, getting them to think slider and then throwing sinker.

 

By July, 1964, the Yankees were in a pennant race with the Orioles and White Sox and were in need of pitching.  On Aug. 12, 1964, Stottlemyre walked form the Concourse Plaza Hotel to Yankee Stadium, where he made his MLB debut.  He induced 19 ground ball outs, winning a complete game 7-3 victory over the White Sox.  Mantle, who hit two home runs that day, one a 500 footer, graciously stood with Mel for photos.

 

An untouted rookie in a pennant race, Mel became a sensation.  He finished 9-3. He made 3 World Series starts, all against Bob Gibson

 

1964 was the last good year for the Yankees until 1970.  Aging stars, the first MLB draft, and a lack of young talent all took their toll on Yankee fortunes.

 

Mel was instantly the ace on a bad team.  How do these number sound to you ?  20-9, 2.63 in ’65.  12-20, 3.80 in ’66.  15-15, 2.96 in ’67.  21-12, 2.45 in ’68.  20-14, 2.82 in ’69.  15-13, 3.09 in ’70.  16-12, 2.87 in ’71.  14-18, 3.22 in ’72.  16-16, 3.07 in ’73.

 

Stottlemyre would make $13 million a year today.  Regardless of the W’s and L’s, his ERA and 272 IP average per year would make him a #1 starter almost anywhere.

 

 

 *************

 

 

A torn rotator cuff ended his career 16 games into the 1974 season.

 

The Yankee Doctor caring for Mel’s shoulder was woefully inadequate.  First, they rested him, then they ordered him to pitch through the injury.  Later, in Spring of ’75, the Yankees sent Mel for dangerous X-Ray therapy.

 

Perhaps fostering what would become a full blown grudge against George later in life, the reckless X-Ray therapy became in Mel’s mind the potential cause of his son Jason’s death in 1981 from Leukemia, and his own Multiple Myloema in 2000.

 

 

 *************

 

Stotlemyre’s story also includes 10-years stints with the Mets and Yankees as their pitching coach.

 

He reminds us of what a cocky and powerful team played at Shea in 1986……..

 

“….Davey set the tone….the players took it from there, playing with a swagger that rubbed some people the wrong way, making us a hated club as the wins began to pile up, but we weren’t interested in making friends that year.  In fact, our guys were more than happy to brawl…”

 

Mel brings us back to young Doc Gooden, before the drugs, when he threw a 97 mph heater and a 12-to-6 curveball that froze batters.  At age 21, he simply made men look like boys.  He looked to be a sure fire HOF’er, no doubt.

 

Stot also recalls the improbable Mets comeback in game 6 of the 1986 World Series  – a little too clearly for this Red Sox fan.

 

 

 *************

 

The Yankee Years were glorious.  He was tight with Zim, had a great relationship with Torre, was close to the Pettitte’s and Jeter’s while getting along with the David Wells types.

 

On David Wells:  “Sometimes perfect, sometimes perfectly exasperating.”

 

 

On Andy Pettitte:  Anti-Pettitte ramblings reverberated constantly within the Yankee organization, dating back to the very start of his career and emanating from Tampa.  His soft body must mean that he is lazy.  No matter Andy’s real world results, the whisper campaign persisted:  He could not be counted on to be a consistent winner.  The whisper continued right up until he left in 2003.

 

When Pettitte was at a low point in his Yankee career circa June 1999, meddling George wanted to trade the lefty.  Stottlemyre went to Cashman.  “Brian…look at Andy Pettitte as if he was on another team, not the Yankees.  Look at what he has done during the season and in the post-season, and let’s say you had the opportunity to make a deal for him and have him pitch in Yankee Stadium, where you love having left handers.  You’d give up almost anything to get a guy like him.  Yet, we already have him and there’s this talk about trading him.  I can’t understand it.”

 

Cashman:  “I can’t argue your point.”

 

After lobbying by Mel and Torre, Pettitte survived the trading deadline.  And George’s comment to the press was none too supportive:

 

“He should be very relieved…Certain people put a lot of faith in him.  Now we’ll see what kind of man he is.  This is a very defining moment for him.”

 

That was classic George, trying to motivate people by challenging their manhood.

 

 

*************

 

 

Stottlemyre crosses an entire era of baseball history in this memoir.  There is much more on his sons Todd and Mel, Jr., the Mets, Zimmer, Jeter and Joe.

 

He also shares his personal ordeal of losing his son, Jason to leukemia.  Stottlemyre is a man of character.   He explains how he made it through the loss and then continued on to more challenges and conquests.

 

When facing his own cancer challenge in 2000, he received letters from others with multiple myloema.  They said they watched the Yankee games hoping to catch a glimpse of him in the dugout.  They wanted to see the man who had the disease that they had, who did his cell therapy and chemo, and now was back at work trying to win a championship.

 

At first, Mel wrote letters back to these people.  Then, it occurred to him that a telephone call would have a greater effect.  His call startled them.  Who would think that the Yankee Coach would take the time to reflect on their letter, never mind respond to it ?

 

He chatted with them, exchanging info on how their cancer treatment was going and how they were feeling.

 

He set a great example.  He used his special status as a baseball hero to bring hope.

 

The inclusion of his cancer battle in this book was intentionall.  He wanted to help others with multiple myloema resist giving in to the fear of imminent death.

 

Mel is a character guy.  That come through loud and clear.

 

Always focused.  Always professional.  Loyalty.  Family.  Perseverance. 

 

*********.

 

 

I give the book 4 stars out of five.  Regardless of your team loyalty, you’ll find this book worth reading if you remember watching Joe Pepitone or Thurman Munson play.

 

Younger Yankee devotees will enjoy the insights from the 90’s.

 

Current Mets fans, having suffered unspeakably for the last two years, should wait until the Mets win another Division before reading this book.  The memories of what should have been are only salt in the wound, at present.