Daily Archives: January 22, 2009

Yes, you can.

Even she can too.

Converse were the joints back when, huh?

There’s two old-timey parks left (Yankee Stadium, even the original model, was never a ballpark now, was it?).

Fenway:

And Wrigley:

I’ve only been to Fenway once, back in 1999.  Saw them play and beat, the Tigers on a Saturday afternoon.  I found the park strange and fascinating.  I liked the intimacy, the vibe outside on the street.   I’ve never been to Wrigley.  Man, that’s a trip I’ve got to take one of these days.

Powered by the knowledge that there will be one less drunken person in a major league ballpark next season (and he’s a mascot, no less!), here’s the news:

• Fox Sports.com’s Ken Rosenthal thinks the Yanks shouldn’t sit on their off-season laurels at this point, and go after Ben Sheets and Juan Cruz:

Both Sheets and Cruz are Type A free agents who were offered salary arbitration, but they would cost the Yankees only fourth- and fifth-round draft picks. The Yankees already have signed three higher-ranking free agents — Mark Teixeira, Sabathia and Burnett.

Sheets, while a physical risk, could be the Yankees’ answer to Brad Penny and John Smoltz, both of whom signed with the Red Sox for relatively low base salaries with the chance to earn significantly more through incentives.

Cruz, on the other hand, makes more sense for the Yankees than he does for any other club. Teams are reluctant to forfeit a first-round pick for a setup reliever. But an aggressive spender such as the Yankees, because of a flaw in the compensation system, gives up a lower-round draft pick with each Type A free agent that it signs.

[My take: You must know by now that I’m a big Ben Sheets fan.  But since he ended last season with some arm issues, I’m going to want to see what he looks like in Spring Training before making a big push for him.  But really, the Yanks still need a back-up (or starting?) catcher more than a #5 starter.]

• MLB.com reports that hitting coach Kevin Long is feeling good about the off-season work done by some of his students.  An excerpt:

Robinson Cano met with Long in November, working out in the Dominican Republic and continuing the adjustments that the hitting coach suggested late in the season. Cano had hit rock bottom in terms of frustration, and only a September surge helped him raise his average to .271.

With Long’s help, Cano has reduced movement at the plate, tweaks that remain constant in the overhauled stance that will be on display next month. But Long said he was blown away by other changes Cano has made, hiring a personal trainer to help reduce his body fat and add muscle for the year ahead.

“The trip to the Dominican went above and beyond what I expected,” Long said. “Really, I just expected to go out there and see where he was from an offensive standpoint and mechanically, and mentally talk to him about his game plan for winter ball.

“To go out there and see what kind of shape he was in was a pleasant surprise, to say the least. He’s worked hard to get himself in shape and get himself looking like a top-notch ballplayer.”

(more…)