Daily Archives: December 7, 2008

Is it me, or has the three-week time frame since the Yankees extended the six-year, $140 million offer to CC Sabathia represented a Dead Zone? John Harper noted as much in today’s Daily News.

Perhaps the greatest hitch in the lack of offseason movement so far, as many local scribes have hinted, is Scott Boras, who not only represents Sabathia, but the three other major names in whom the Yankees are reportedly interested: Mark Teixeira, A.J. Burnett and Derek Lowe. Maybe it’s also because the local headlines have reflected a fascination with the Plaxico Burress PR disaster and the BCS College Football mess.

As we all know, New York, despite its fervor for the Giants, Jets, Rangers and the Knicks, is a baseball town. Keeping up with everything at this time of year is no small feat. I applaud our Diane Firstman for linking the hell out of the coverage, which can get messy.

Every year, I try to observe which reporter has the goods on the story — or stories — and gets the jump on his competition. Here’s how you know: When a reporter from a competing newspaper — and yes, they all read each other — credits you by name in a column, you’re on point.

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Jose Calero believes in gods.

He figures the gods are against him if the elevators aren’t working when he delivers pizzas to one of the tall apartment buildings. If he has to climb above the fifth floor he becomes convinced that the gods hate him.

“They always show their feelings,” Calero explained. “If things go bad then I try and do good and make the gods happy. Things are always better when the gods are on your side.”

Calero doesn’t believe in a specific god.

“I believe in all gods,” he said. “There are different gods for different things: Elevator gods and money gods, too. Once I was out of cash and wasn’t even going to be able to buy groceries, but I found $20 on the ground. The gods were looking out for me.”

The gods gave him a landlord who lets the rent slide sometimes and friends who look out for him.

“I’ve got it pretty good,” Calero admitted. “I just need the gods for the little things like elevators and money and baseball.”

Calero paused and dug around in his pocket. He pulled out a coin and flipped it in the air.

“I bought a newspaper this morning and got this back as change,” he said. “I thought it was a quarter at first, but it’s a coin from Panama.

“That’s a sign from the gods,” Calero continued. “Mariano is from Panama and next year is sure to be his best ever.”

Someone pointed out that every year is Mariano Rivera’s best ever.

“But this will be even better,” Calero insisted. “He will save the final game of the World Series and lead the parade downtown.”

Calero smiled.

“There is no stopping us now. The baseball gods are on our side.”

  They don’t make ballplayers like Joe Pepitone anymore. I’ll leave that up to you, the reader, to decide whether that is something good or bad for our great game.

By the time that Topps issued this card as part of its 1968 set, Pepitone had established himself as arguably the most colorful character in the history of the Yankee franchise. That was certainly a tall task of grand proportions, given the precedence of former oddball Yankees like Frank “Ping” Bodie, Lefty Gomez, and manager Casey Stengel.

Considered a can’t miss-prospect who was fully capable of playing all three outfield positions and first base, Pepitone first reached the major leagues in 1962, joining a Yankees team that featured a conservative front office and a staid approach to playing the game. Pepitone’s flamboyance ran counter to the Yankee way. Incredibly vain, he arrived at spring training flashing a new Ford Thunderbird, bragging about his new boat, and wearing a new sharkskin suit. When the young star didn’t hustle during the regular season, he was greeted with angry catcalls from his veteran teammates, reminding him not to “mess with their money.” They were referring to their almost annual World Series shares, which they felt would become threatened if Pepitone’s lack of hustle continued.

Off the field, Pepitone’s love of the fast lane reflected the lifestyle preferences of established Yankees like Mickey Mantle and Whitey Ford. Yet, there was something different about Pepitone’s way, which was less discreet, less subtle, and far more palpable. In perhaps his most blatant indiscretion, Pepitone occasionally didn’t show up for games, leading to speculation that he was being pursued by bookies for unpaid gambling debts.

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You can read it in the Sunday Papers … but start here:

• Tyler Kepner of the Times has an article on the arrival of Scott Boras at the Winter Meetings.  Here’s an excerpt:

Boras’s guiding principle is that it takes only one team to set the market, and he offered a hint of that theory when asked his opinion about the effects of the overall economy on baseball. “I think there are 30 economies in baseball,” Boras said, referring to the 30 major league teams, and adding later: “We know baseball had record revenues, and the profits that are in the barn for many owners are extraordinary. There are clubs that run their business appropriately, and we all know it’s good business to have good players.”

• Bill Madden previews the Yanks and Mets tasks at the Winter Meetings.  He includes a decidely different opinion on the issue of arbitration vis-a-vis Pettitte and Abreu:

As of yesterday, only eight of the 171 free agents had signed, and while the slow market figures to pick up somewhat in Vegas, other than the Yankees, Red Sox, Angels and, to a lesser degree, the Braves, the depressed economy appears to have most teams  disinclined to enter into expensive long-term contracts.

That is why Cashman wisely chose not to offer arbitration to Abreu or Jason Giambi, neither of whom is likely to get more in multi-year offers than they were making in one year with the Yankees.

• The News’s Anthony McCarron has the latest on Brian Cashman’s pursuit of C.C. Sabathia.
• SI’s Jon Heyman may have some unpleasant news for Cashman …. Sabathia is anticipating the Brewers upping their initial offer:

Brewers general manager Doug Melvin reportedly will meet with Sabathia’s agent Greg Genske at the winter meetings, and while reports have indicated that the confab will provide Melvin a chance to gauge Sabathia’s interest, more importantly, it is believed that the Brewers will either at that meeting or soon after signal a willingness to enhance their initial bid.

• McCarron also catches up with former Yankee star Ed Figueroa, who now owns two restaurants in Puerto Rico.
• The Post’s Kevin Kernan details the work Ian Kennedy has been doing this off-season to correct the flaws apparent in his 2008 performance:

The former USC star went home and worked with pitching guru Tom House, who has been the Trojans’ pitching coach the past two years.

“I got some tips and started applying those and it made the break of my curveball better and the command of it extremely better,” Kennedy said from Puerto Rico. “Now I know what I have to do. Before I was just throwing it to throw it and try to throw it for a strike and not have any idea.”

Essentially, Kennedy is holding onto the baseball longer, and that makes a difference in break and command. As a result, he can make in-game adjustments to get the results he needs.

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