Daily Archives: July 27, 2006

Neil deMause has a column in the Villiage Voice about politics, the city of New York and the New York Yankees.

City documents newly uncovered by the Voice reveal that the New York Yankees billed city tax- payers hundreds of thousands of dollars for the salaries of team execs and high-powered consultants to lobby the city and state, thanks to the team’s sweetheart lease deal engineered by the Giuliani administration.

“You’ve created this weird circular situation where the city is, effectively, paying with taxpayer money to have itself lobbied for potentially more taxpayer money,” says Common Cause’s Megan Quattlebaum, one of several government watchdogs who were dumbfounded when the Voice told them last week about the deal. “Taxpayers would not be pleased at all to hear that the city is subsidizing someone to come back and hold their hand out to lobby for more.”

And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Continue reading if you have the stomach for such things.

The Goon Show: Part II

When I was thirteen years old I met Mike Fox, my dad’s old pal from his days in show business. Three years later, I visited Mike in London during a summer trip to my grandparent’s home in Belgium. “Hope and Glory,” John Boorman’s autobiographical story about growing up in England during the Blitz had just been released. Mike was the camera operator on the film and was duly proud of his work on it. He took me to a cast and crew screening in London, one of the highlights of my vacation.

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Pete Abraham, the Yankee beat reporter for The Journal News, has an interesting, insider’s take on Yankee skipper Joe Torre today over at The Baseball Analysts. I was going to put up an excerpt but I couldn’t trim it down sufficiently…instead, just head on over to Rich and Bryan’s terrific site and check it out for yourself.

“I feel like we robbed the bank tonight – twice,” A-Rod said. “They may have played the better game but we won.”
(N.Y. Daily News)

Alex Rodriguez led off the top of the eighth inning last night with his team trailing 4-2. Jaret Wright had allowed all four runs and didn’t make it out of the sixth. Meanwhile, after scoring seven runs on just four hits on Tuesday night, the Yanks had collected nine hits in the first seven innings with just two runs to show for it (both runs scored on Andy Phillips’ first inning single, his first of three hits). Francisco Cordero faced Rodriguez now, and kept throwing fastballs away. The count went full and Cordero went away again, but not far enough, and Rodriguez stroked a line drive over the center field fence onto the grass to bring the Yankees closer. A nice early birthday gift for Rodriguez (2-5) who turns 31 today.

Bernie Williams followed with a walk and then Phillips dunked a single into left. Melky Cabrera was asked to bunt the runners over. He stabbed weakly at the first pitch and fouled it off. According to manager Joe Torre after the game, the bunt sign was then taken off. But Cabrera missed it and he lunged again, to no avail. To make matters worse, he attempted to bunt again on the very next pitch. He fouled off a couple of pitches and worked the count even and then slapped a double into the left-center field gap (the outfield had been playing in). Suddenly, the Yanks were ahead by a run, and Larry Bowa was pumping his fist and shouting at Cabrera. Sal Fasano, who reluctantly had roughly 20 inches of hair cut off before the game, bunted Cabrera to third. And Melky came home on a wild pitch from Cabrera.

Everything appeared to be in order. But Kyle Farnsworth could not get loose, bothered by a stiff back. Torre absolutely wanted to stay away from using the over-worked Scott Proctor, so rookie TJ Beam started the eighth. But he could not put away the Rangers’ lead off hitter, Gary Matthews, Jr, who drew a nine-pitch walk. Beam, a lanky right hander, then fell behind Ian Kinsler. Another base on balls was unacceptable so Beam’s 3-1 offering was right over the plate. Kinsler drove the ball to right center field. It skipped over the fence for a ground rule double. Torre, furious, walked to mound and summoned Proctor, then returned to the bench and simmered.

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