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I often felt like I was being jipped when I was a kid. Whatever I had, it never seemed to be enough. Didn’t have enough presents, stuff, didn’t get enough attention, not unless I was acting the fool. It’s part of the territory when you are a twin, I suppose. So I often was envious of the “things” that my friends had–a t-shirt, or a pair of sneakers, a book or a guitar. I remember my friend Matt Cantor being at Yankee Stadium twenty-five years ago when Rags threw his no-hitter against the Red Sox. Normally, it would have been just the kind of thing that had me green with envy. I don’t recall much about that day–I’m sure I watched the game, but I don’t have a clear memory of it. What I do remember is feeling happy that Matt got to see it in person. At that point, Yankee pleasures came in small doses, and this was surely an unexpected surprise–the great Wade Boggs stuck out to end the game no less. I was not jealous that I wasn’t the one at the game, I was just excited that someone I knew was there. Hey, if it wasn’t me, might as well have been Matt, who a die-hard Yankee fan.
Twenty-five years ago. Jeez. Think I’ll go change my diaper now and put in my teeth.

Couple of nifty birthday’s today, including Satchmo’s even though he was born on Aug 4th:

How about our very own Boss George Von Steingrabber:

It’s easy not to think about the Boss these days.  He isn’t brought up much.  His sons are running the family business now.  But he turns 78 today and has always been very proud of being a Patriot, a Yankee Doodle Dandy.  Here’s wishing the old guy a happy birthday.  Yeah, he just might be one of these after all:

I love almost everything about this movie.  It’s such a ton of fun.  One of the subway hostages in the movie was played by a woman whose daughter was my babysiter when I was mad young.  Also, years later, when I worked in the movie business, I got to know the wife of the sound guy.  She is a wonderful New Yorker, with stories for days and the accent and attitude to match.  She grew up in Little Italy, and her husband recorded wild sound for most of the movie’s audio.  In the final scene, when the subway screeches into a downtown station, the sound effects came from sliding the shower rings in their bathroom. 

A&E recently released a six-dvd set The Boston Red Sox: The Greatest Games of Fenway Park.  The most interesting selection is September 30, 1967, the second-to-last day of one of the most thrilling pennant races of em all.  Yaz hit his 44th dinger of the year in this one.  The broadcast is dated, but in a fascinating way–there are zero graphics and no instant replays, making it something out of the stone age.  The announcers call the game like they were on the radio (funny, because today, radio broadcaster’s have the benefit of the televised replays).  I couldn’t hear any Stadium noise, sound effects or even music from the organ.  Of course, most of the players look smaller (a rookie Reggie Smith was lean and mean), but the big guys–Killebrew, Kaat (who started the game)–look strapping, no matter the era.  Funny thing about the game, Sparky Lyle warmed up briefly in the bullpen during the early innings.  I also learned that Jose Tartabull, Danny’s father, was on the Sox that year, and he was the guy who pinch-ran for Tony C after the young star was beaned in the face on August 18th. 

The set is worth picking up for this game alone.  One thing that struck me while watching, however, was how dull the game was as a televised sport.  Although the space on a ball field is flattened-out to an extent that is nothing short of dismaying these days with the use of the center field zoom lens, all the bells and whistles today make for a more satisfying experience, particularly on an HD set.  It’s no wonder that football surged ahead of baseball in the nation’s imagination during the late sixties.  The game was built for TV.  I assume that replays and even some graphics were used during post-season baseball in ’67 and I’m certain that the NFL was using replay by this time.  Funny, but when you watch the next game in the set, Game Six of the 1975 World Serious, it’s as if you’ve entered the Modern Age. 

Pete Abe had an interesting bit yesterday about Mariano Rivera’s numbers in save situations and non-save situations.

Last night, I got a note from my pal Rich Lederer…

“I noticed where Mo lost his third game of the year despite putting together an ERA less than 1.00. How unusual is that combination? Well, here is a list of all the pitchers who have lost more than one game while posting an ERA under 1.00.”

LOSSES            YEAR   L    ERA
1  Tim Keefe        1880    6   0.86
2  Ferdie Schupp      1916    3   0.90
T3  Chris Hammond      2002    2   0.95
T3  Jonathan Papelbon    2006    2   0.92
T3  Dennis Eckersley     1990    2   0.61

The news of Jules Tygiel’s passing has left me feeling blue.  Here’s something silly to bring a smile to your face.

I always wanted an older sybling as a kid.  That wss the best way to learn about cool music, or so it seemed to me.  My parents had a decent-sized record collection but my father did not like Rock n Roll.  He was always too grown for that.  My mom did, however,  she didn’t buy many albums, so the hardest-rockin records we owned were Simon and Garfunkel, Judy Collins and A Hard Day’s Night (and the only reason we had that was because Dad was friends with one of the actors in the movie).  Most of the vinyl in our house was comprised of original cast recordings–My Fair Lady, Oklahoma, The King and I, West Side Story, A Chorus Line.  My twin sister became an avid fan of the Musical Theater, while I…did not.

There were a handful of comedy records however (Tom Leherer, Peter Sellers, Mel Brooks and Carl Reiner), none more enticing than this one, Bill Cosby’s third album, released in 1965.  First of all, there is cover, with a young Cosby, the most amiable-looking of guys.  Two, the title fascinated me.  I mean, when you are seven-years old there aren’t many deeper philosophical questions than the simple ones–"Yeah, why is there air anyway?"  (One of the other Cosby records we had, I Started Out as a Child, struck me as being very deep too.)  

Above all, there was Cosby’s material, instantly accessible and appealing.  The man simply sounded funny.  He made my father laugh and that was a big deal.  At a time when my father was often sullen, his moods increasingly dark due to too much drink, listening to him laugh was a thrill.  It was exciting to see him happy, if only for a moment.  My father laughed from the gut–it was an almost violent reaction.  He laughed loudly and his face would turn red.  I remember being both charged-up by the force of his laughter and also frightened.  Mostly, I recall sharing something with him.  Being connected by laughter.  If he thought Cosby was funny, it was okay for me to laugh as well.  To this day, when I listen to this record, I can tell you where my dad laughed.

Here is one routine from the album.  Enjoy.  

As Bob Timmermann reported earlier today on The Griddle, historian Jules Tygiel died yesterday.  The cause was cancer.  He was only 59.  I got to know Tygiel a little bit over the past five years–he was helpful when I was researching a book about Curt Flood.  Later, he continued to be generous and forthcoming with whatever questions I lobbed his way.  I am so sad to hear of his passing. 

His most enduring work, Baseball’s Great Experiment, is seminal, academic in its approach, thorough, rich, exacting and an amazing reference book.  It belongs on the short list of great baseball histories. 

From the Game Thread:

Millwood’s looking like Scott Feldman tonight…

…And the Yankee offense is looking like Marty Feldman.

Rangers 3, Yanks 2.  Mariano takes the loss.  This one hurts like a Molina cross-up to the cubes.

Joe G’s got some ‘splainin to do.  Yankee fans, please stay away from sharp objects.

Our Man Joba is on the hill tonight. This is the first really good hitting club he’s faced since becoming a starter. Let’s hope the Yankees’ maddeningly uneven offense puts it together against Kevin Millwood and tells us something good.

Let’s Go Yan-Kees.

Here is a nice vignette from Mark Winegardner’s book about the legendary scout Tony Lucadello, "Prophet of the Sandlots."  (For more on Lucadello, check out Gare Joyce’s terrific e-ticket piece.) The following took place at a Michigan-Michigan State game on a chilly spring day in 1988.

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SI.com caught up with Gillette’s new pitch-man, Derek Jeter.

Act like you want it, What! Bring the Drama, act like you want it.

I love Dumb Fun.

It ain’t easy being Lou. 

Before there was Manny being Manny, there was Rickey being Rickey.  At least according to a New York Times piece from the late 1980s I read about Henderson not too long ago.  Manny being Manny is cute so long as he hits like a Hall of Famer.  Sammy Sosa was chased out of Chicago the moment his skills declined.  While I don’t think the same holds true for Ramirez in Boston–hey, two championship rings buy a lot of rope–have you noticed that Manny being Manny has become a catch-phrase to take Ramirez off-the-hook whenever he acts like a putz?  Chacon got released.  Manny apologies.  Chacon is washed-up, Manny still rakes.  Manny being Manny.  Sort of like Shaq being Shaq. 

According to reports, outfielder Brett Gardner has been called-up to the majors.  David Robertson made his debut yesterday, allowing a run. He didn’t have command of his curve ball but the heater looked lively.

According to Buster Olney:

I don’t know what’s wrong with Yankees outfielder Hideki Matsui, but it would not be a surprise if he has a serious ligament issue. If this was a minor cleanup situation, the Yankees could keep Matsui out now and have him back sometime in August, but that is not how the Yankees are handling this. If Matsui is seriously injured and eventually requires season-ending surgery, it figures the Yankees will be poking around and looking for an outfielder — or a first baseman.

With Godzilla on the shelf for who knows how long, there has been talk of Barry Bonds.  The fellas over at No Maas are all for it.  What do you think?  I don’t imagine that it’ll happen but it’d sure keep us busy with banter, man.

I watched most of yesterday’s game on the Mets’ network, listening to Gary Cohen and Mex Hernandez call the game.  I like the Met guys, although Cohen gets jacked-up more now that he’s on TV.  That’s fine because in general, he just gets out of the way and let’s the action unfold, without the need to put exclaimation points on every call.  I know Cohen grew up rooting for the Mets which is why I was puzzled at something he said yesterday. 

Ron Darling, the third guy in the Met booth, was calling the game for the TBS Game of the Week, and over at YES, David Cone and Ken Singleton were doing with the game with Michael Kay.  Cohen mentioned that the grouping of Hernandez, Darling, Cone and Singleton represented the four best trades in franchise history. 

I get the first three, but to suggest that the Mets got the better of the deal that sent Singleton, Mike Jorgeseon and Tim Foli to the Expos in exchange for Rusty Staub seems misguided at best, sentimental at worst. 

The trade took place on April 2, 1972, a few months shy of Singleton’s 25th birthday.  In his second season with the Expos, Singleton played 162 games, hit .302/.425/.479, with 26 doubles, 23 dingers, 100 runs scored, 103 RBI and 123 walks, good for a 148 OPS+.  In comparison, Rusty Staub’s best season with the Mets from 72-75 was 1975 when he hit .282/.371/.448 in 155 games, with 30 doubles, 19 dingers, 93 runs scored and 105 RBI, good for an OPS+ of 131.  Staub was three years older than Singleton and by 1979 he was a platoon player.  In a long, 23-year career, Staub’s line is .279/.362/.431.  In a much shorter career (15 seasons), Singleton’s line is .282/.388/.436.  After the trade, Singleton put up OPS+ seasons of 153, 165, 152, 155, and 142.  They were all full seasons.  Staub, put up OPS+ seasons of 131 and 137 in full seasons, and 147 as a pinch-hitter for the Mets in 1981.

Jorgensen and Foli had some productive seasons too. 

Maybe it’s me.  I was too young to follow the team during the early 70s but looking at the numbers, I’d say this was one of the worst trades in Met history. 

Joe Girardi has yet to be impressed with Ian Kennedy.

Here is the latest from Tyler Kepner and Pete Abe:

"Right now we’re not really thinking of him," he said. "We like the way our other (starters) are throwing the ball. I mean, you have to earn your call-up. … You have to earn your spot back. You have to pitch well to earn your spot back. He has to pitch well. He was optioned out, this is him getting right. This is like the other 175 players in the minor leagues, or however many there are."

I wanted a split, and I wanted the Yanks to beat Oliver Perez. I got the split. Perez didn’t throw a three-hitter as I feared, it was a two-hitter. Seven innings. And he didn’t walk a batter. Believe that. Eight K’s too. The Mets’ southpaw, fighting to remain in the rotation, was brilliant on Sunday as the Mets shut the Yankees down, 3-1. The Yanks had four hits on the afternoon.

The best moment of the game came in the fourth with Derek Jeter on second and the Mets ahead, 2-0. Perez fell behind Alex Rodriguez 3-0, and then Rodriguez destroyed the 3-1 pitch, high and foul to left field. So close… The TV cut to the blimp angle which showed lightning cracking through the New York sky–it started raining but the game wasn’t delayed. Perez fired two more fastballs and Rodriguez put good swings on them but could only foul them back. Another fastball, foul tip. I kept waiting for him to go to the slider. But Perez challenged Rodriguez with another fastball, right in Rodriguez’s kitchen. Rodriguez swung and missed it. It was a Junior Miss Bob Welch-Reggie scene (Rodriguez just missed all day long; in his next at-bat, he skied a pop-out two miles in the air, and in the ninth, he narrowly missed a homer against Billy Wagner).

Darrell Rasner did okay; Jose Reyes had another lapse in form, as he threw down his glove in anger after making a throwing error in the eighth inning (a ball first baseman Carlos Delgado should have caught), but the Mets got a much-needed win all the same. Delgado had a solo homer, Bill Wagner got the save.

If the Yankees could only win one game this weekend I wanted it to be today’s game. That’s what I was saying all last week. I said two things: I hope the Yankees split the series and if they can only win one, let them beat Oliver Perez on Sunday. Perez is like AJ Burnett to me. Not as good, but still. Loads of talent, great "stuff" yet hopelessly erratic. Million Dollar Arm, Ten Cent Head kind of guy.

Of course, I’m more than half-expecting Perez to go out and throw a three-hitter. Walk five guys but still win.  He is 4-1 lifetime vs. the Yanks.

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