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News of the Day – 9/1/09

Today’s news is powered by the Captain, talking to Cal Ripken:

  • Post-season ticket information for those of you with full-season plans (all 2 of you):

Regular season ticket prices for full-season ticket licensees (non-Suites) will be replicated for the 2009 American League Division Series (i.e., a Main Level ticket that costs a full-season ticket licensee $60 in the 2009 regular season will cost the same licensee $60 for the ALDS), however, full-season ticket licensees (non-Suites) of $325 Field Level seats may purchase their seats for the ALDS at the lower price of $275 each.

For full-season ticket licensees (non-Suite), prices will range from $5-$275 per ticket for the ALDS, $10-$350 per ticket for the ALCS, and $50-$425 per ticket for the World Series.

Full-season Suite licensees in the Legends Suite, Delta Sky360° Suite and Jim Beam Suite, have all already paid their Suite license fees. Accordingly, they will only be required to purchase their Suite tickets, which will range from $65-$275 per Suite ticket for the ALDS, $115-$350 per Suite ticket for the ALCS, and $150-$425 per Suite ticket for the World Series. As with the regular season, Legends Suite licensees will also be required to pay a per-game food and beverage fee, but not a Suite license fee.

Though the Yankees have not announced their plans, (Francisco) Cervelli and (Ramiro) Pena are likely to highlight the team’s September callups.

Though the Yankees will not announce the rest of their callups until Tuesday, there are plenty of candidates who will receive consideration. Chief among them is Shelley Duncan, who endeared himself to the Yankees during a 2007 power binge and is leading the International League with 27 home runs.

Also likely to return to active duty is Brett Gardner, who has been on the disabled list since July 26 with a fractured left thumb. The Yankees will not immediately activate Gardner, but should do so sometime in mid-September after he has completed a rehab assignment.

The Yankees acquired Minor League outfielder Freddy Guzman from Triple-A Norfolk in Baltimore’s system in exchange for a player to be named later or future cash considerations.

Guzman will be assigned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, the Yankees said.

In 95 combined games with Triple-A Tacoma, Pawtucket and Norfolk this season, Guzman batted .218 (72-for-329) with nine doubles, four triples, two home runs, 16 RBIs and 38 stolen bases.

He appeared in the Majors with the Padres in 2004 and the Rangers in ’06 and ’07.

  • On this date in 1957, the Yankees purchase Sal “the Barber” Maglie from the Dodgers‚ but he is ineligible for World Series play. Maglie is the last man to play for all three New York teams.
  • On this date in 1990, the third inside-the-park grand slam of the season is hit, by Boston’s Mike Greenwell off Greg Cadaret‚ as the Red Sox beat visiting New York 15-1. Greenwell’s grounder eludes Jesse Barfield in the RF corner: Barfield’s shoe-top miss on August 14 gave Luis Polonia his slam. Greenwell’s only other inside-the-park slam was also off Cadaret‚ in 1989 at Fenway Park. Boston jumps on Yankee starter Andy Hawkins who lasted 1/3rd of an inning. Hawkins has now pitched a total of one inning in 3 starts at Fenway Park and given up 18 runs (ERA 162.00).

Categories:  Diane Firstman  News of the Day

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30 comments

1 RagingTartabull   ~  Sep 1, 2009 10:08 am

the Jesse Barfield era really was two tons of fun

2 Shaun P.   ~  Sep 1, 2009 10:15 am

[1] His cannon arm from RF was often cited as proof of his "outstanding" defense. I wonder, by the metrics, just how outstanding it really was. I remember watching that game and cringing in horror throughout a lot of it, but I watched the whole thing. Not much more we could do back then.

3 Rich   ~  Sep 1, 2009 10:26 am

The most interesting proposed call up candidate I have seen is Mike Dunn.

Why do they want Guzman? He's not young and he seems to be pretty bad.

Speaking of Barfield, about two months after the Leiter for Barfield trade in 1989, John Sterling proclaimed it "a steal." Sadly, he meant for the Yankees. Yup, he was a clown back then too.

4 RagingTartabull   ~  Sep 1, 2009 10:33 am

[3] well in fairness, Leiter did spend 4 seasons in the injury wilderness before emerging in '93. Barfield wasn't very good, but when you consider the other guy basically spent the entire Bush administration on the DL...

5 Rich   ~  Sep 1, 2009 10:41 am

[4] And Barfield has been in retirement since the first Bush Administration.

It was a short-sighted trade that was made because Dallas Green didn't like Leiter (and temporarily ruined his career by leaving him in for 163 pitches on a cold night in April of 1989, which is why Leiter needed to go on the DL), and Sterling was a jerk for presuming to judge a trade two months in.

6 RagingTartabull   ~  Sep 1, 2009 10:47 am

[5] oh it was a terrible trade, and Green completely botched Leiter's early career (his being one of the many cases from David Clyde to Mark Prior that has led us to the current insanity of "Rules" and "Maps" for young pitchers)

I'm just saying then when you had Barfield who was crappy but at least a live body on a baseball field vs Leiter who was perpetually in MRI limbo...at the time the deal would have to have been looked at as a wash. "over the hill guy vs a guy that never made it"

Of course history proved that wrong, but hindsight 20/20 and all.

7 Rich   ~  Sep 1, 2009 10:57 am

[6] OK, my point is simply that I was opposed to the trade at the time because Leiter was one of their few pitching prospects, while Barfield was already in decline...and that Sterling was and is a shill.

On the bright side, Waldman has often told the story about how George Bell once verbally savaged her as a reporter in the Toronto clubhouse, and that Barfield came to her defense.

8 Shaun P.   ~  Sep 1, 2009 10:57 am

[3] Entirely a guess - Jackson is going on the 40-man roster and getting called up, which means SWB needs someone who can play CF full-time during the IL playoffs.

As for a 40-man roster spot for Jackson - yankees.com says Nady and Wang are both already on the 60-day DL, but that Kevin Cash is still on the 40-man. It'd be easy to DFA Cash and add Jackson.

9 Raf   ~  Sep 1, 2009 10:58 am

Dallas Green didn't like a lot of people...

1989 was such a weird year. Odd that they gave up on Leiter despite the pitching problems they had that year (though in fairness it was kinda early in the season). They ran through a lot of arms that season. And because they traded Clark the offseason prior, and Winnie was out with a back injury, and Rickey was unhappy, they didn't have much in the way of offense either.

IIRC, Barfield was supposed to provide the RH power that the team was missing @ the time. Steve Balboni wasn't cutting it.

Andy Hawkins' 1990 season was flat out miserable.

10 RIYank   ~  Sep 1, 2009 11:02 am

[8] Yes, I'm sure that guess is right. Freddy Guzman is plainly not a MLB prospect, so the whole point is for him to play in Scranton for a couple of weeks and then the playoffs.

11 Raf   ~  Sep 1, 2009 11:09 am

Green completely botched Leiter’s early career

I don't know if that's entirely accurate. By the time Green showed up, Leiter had parts of 2 seasons under his belt, and 5 as a pro.

84: 57IP
85: 120
86: 117
87: 123 (ML/MiL)
88: 70 (ML/MiL)
89: 30 (26-NYY/6-TOR/8-Dunedin)

12 Shaun P.   ~  Sep 1, 2009 11:10 am

[10] I know they need to add Jackson to the 40-man roster anyway - to protect him from the Rule 5 draft this offseason - but part of me wishes they'd let him stay in AAA for now.

I guess, with the lead being what it is, there's no better time to call him up and see what he can do in some garbage time starts down the road. He certainly can't hit worse than Melky . . .

13 RIYank   ~  Sep 1, 2009 11:16 am

[12] I have no problem letting A-Jax get a peek at the big time. He's definitely better off in AAA next year, at least the first half, but giving him a whiff of the Bronx is a good thing.

14 Rich   ~  Sep 1, 2009 11:24 am

Raf, Leiter was 23 in 1989. No sane person leaves a 23 year old pitcher in for 163 pitches on a cold night, and it was subsequent to that abomination that Leiter experienced arm serioius problems.

15 RIYank   ~  Sep 1, 2009 11:50 am

So, in that interview I wish Jeter would just come out and say whether he wants to play every day. Why all the hedging???

16 Raf   ~  Sep 1, 2009 11:59 am

[14] Leiter had also thrown near 500 professional innings by that point

17 thelarmis   ~  Sep 1, 2009 1:05 pm

[15] bottom line: he wants to play every day!

18 Yankster   ~  Sep 1, 2009 1:20 pm

[15] hilarious. you're being sarcastic right?

19 The Hawk   ~  Sep 1, 2009 1:48 pm

I like how in that interview Jeter refers to the two managers he's played for as "Mister Torre" and ... "Girardi". I wonder where his loyalties lie?

20 Rich   ~  Sep 1, 2009 1:51 pm

[16] What does that have to do with having him throw 163 pitches on a cold night? I wouldn't want CC to do it. Seriously, what's your point?

21 a.O   ~  Sep 1, 2009 1:54 pm

[19] I noticed that too. But I wouldn't read too much into it. After all, he played with Girardi.

And that brings to mind another fun idea. Jeter is hands-down one of the smartest ballplayers in the game today. I think he's an ideal candidate to be a modern-day player-manager. But he probably wants nothing to do with that. Still, I think he could do it.

22 thelarmis   ~  Sep 1, 2009 1:59 pm

[21] he wants to be an owner.

23 a.O   ~  Sep 1, 2009 2:05 pm

[22] So do I.

Maybe after doing that for a while, he'll go all Ted Turner and show up in the dugout again.

24 thelarmis   ~  Sep 1, 2009 2:17 pm

[23] i wanna be a drummer! ; )

i actually got to meet Ted Turner on a benefit gig i did a few years ago. he was really cool, nice and down to earth. everything in this town says "Turner" on it; i don't even notice it anymore...

25 a.O   ~  Sep 1, 2009 2:38 pm

[24] Funny you mention that. I just met Ted in Montana last week. My impression was a little different, but no less positive. I actually mentioned his stint as manager, and he laughed. Fascinating to see where Ted, cable TV, and the Braves have gone since those days...

26 Raf   ~  Sep 1, 2009 2:48 pm

[20] That it isn't as cut and dried as Green ruining Leiter's career with 163 pitches. Leiter isn't the only pitcher ever to pitch in cold weather? Do you think he was cold when he was throwing?

After losing considerable time last season with a finger blister and a bad back.... - NY Times report after the trade...

Ever think that maybe, just maybe, that pitching with a bad back and blisters, he altered his mechanics, and that screwed him up as well?

I wouldn’t want CC to do it.

All well and good, but in CC's age 23 season, he tossed 188 innings. And he already had tossed 819 (587ML/232MiL) innings. I know you're not comparing the two, I'm just using him as a frame of reference.

27 bp1   ~  Sep 1, 2009 3:17 pm

[19] Definitely time for Jeter to drop the whole Mister Torre stuff. That might be ok when you're a fresh faced rookie, but at some point it gets a little weird. The mgr is part of the team - wears a uniform. Reserve the "mr" stuff for the owners of the team who pay your salary.

And while I'm being a crab - that whole interview was lame. I mean - was there a point to be made there, or was it just an excuse for Cal to point out - again - that he played every day and today's players don't? Whatever.

I wish Jeter said "Yeah - they don't let me play every day like you - but they're going to let me play shortstop", lol.

28 Rich   ~  Sep 1, 2009 3:24 pm

[26] What difference does it make if it has been done on other occasions; it still shows a reckless disregard for a young pitcher's well being.

If your point is that it's not rare, name some other young pitchers who were left in for 163 or more pitches on a cold night.

Why do I care if he felt cold? Pitching in cold weather can lead to arm injuries.

btw, Leiter blames Green for his injury. Green, the moron, was trying to teach Leiter a lesson.

I wouldn't want this to happen to a pitcher in perfect health. What Green did would give Dusty Baker a hot flash.

29 RIYank   ~  Sep 1, 2009 3:41 pm

[18] Yeah, I was joking. The only thing Jeter says in the interview is that he would prefer to play every day. He says it about eleven times.

30 Raf   ~  Sep 1, 2009 4:53 pm

If your point is that it’s not rare, name some other young pitchers who were left in for 163 or more pitches on a cold night.

How many young pitchers have pitched on cold nights over the years? I would suspect that in the 70's & 80's there had to have been several young pitchers 23 & below who have thrown as many pitches as Leiter has in a game, who have thrown as many innings as Leiter in that timeframe (March/April/May)

Why do I care if he felt cold? Pitching in cold weather can lead to arm injuries.

Pitching in general can lead to arm injuries. There have been all kinds of pitchers hurt in all kinds of weather.

Green, the moron, was trying to teach Leiter a lesson.

Yeah, how to pitch and work out your own jams. No less an authority than pitchers like Tom Seaver, Nolan Ryan, and Jim Kaat have mentioned that pitchers need to learn to do this.

I used Sabathia before. By the time he was 23, the same age as Leiter, he threw 800+ innings. 300 more innings than Leiter. There have been other pitchers that have thrown more pitches and innings than Leiter than the same age. Why haven't they blown up and Leiter has?

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