Blog Archives

I thought that we would all be spending a good deal of time during the Hot Stove season talking about Labor/ Management politcs. But it looks like that won’t happen. Go figure. Talk about an unexpected, but happy surprise.

Here are two Yankee items of interest in today’s Daily News:

1. Scott Boras says Alex Rodriguez will be a Yankee next year.

2. According to Bill Madden, the Yankees plan to pick-up Gary Sheffield’s option only to trade him.

Elsewhere, Jack Curry has a piece on Joe Girardi today in the Times; Mike Plugh has a knucklehead idea; SG takes a closer look at Mr. Matsuzaka, and finally, Steve Goldman and I chatted about Curt Flood recently, and our conversation is part of the latest installment of “The Pinstriped Bible.”

The World Serious moves to St. Louis tonight. If the Cards can’t win behind their ace, Chris Carpenter–who has been terrific at home this year–they am in deep doo doo. For you history buffs, I’ve got a write-up of the 1968 Serious between the Cards and Tigers over at SI.com.

Go Baseball.

So that ‘splains why the Gambler’s been on a roll. Lester Hayes ain’t got nuthin’ on you, babe.

Pine-tar or not, the new-and-improved (and very demonstrative) Kenny Rogers continues to roll. The man has not allowed a single run in three playoff starts. He must have sold his soul to the Devil. How else to explain how the formely timid Gambler has turned into the Raging Bull of baseball? You gotta laugh about it at this point. Wha’ happen, dude?

…Or battle of the once and future chumps, however you’d like to put it. After the Cards rolled over the Tigers in Game 1, it’s Jeff Weaver and Kenny Rogers in Game 2. It’s been my feeling all along that Rogers won’t win a pressure game this October. This isn’t exactly a 2-0 game, or a 2-2 game like the one Weaver started in the NLCS, but there is some heat on the Tigers to win tonight. Let’s see if the real Gambler finally shows.

If there are any Met fans you are trying to console today, you might want to point out the following quote:

“It is designed to break your heart. The game begins in the spring, when everything else begins again, and it blossoms in the summer, filling the afternoons and evenings, and then as soon as the chill rains come, it stops and leaves you to face the fall alone. You count on it, you rely on it to buffer the passage of time, to keep the memory of sunshine and high skies alive, and then, just when the days are all twilight, when you need it most, it stops.”

-A. Bartlett Giamatti

I feel you, bro, I can relate.

After Game One of the ALDS, I was riding home on the subway when I ran into a charming couple. They were both wearing Chien-Ming Wang shirts and in no time we got to chatting. They are originally for Tawain but met at Syracuse University. They now live in California and were on the East Coast for a week. First, to see Wang pitch, then to return to Syracuse to get married. Just the two of them (they will have a ceremony for their families back home at a later date). Anyhow, Jason and Ann were absolutely delightful, friendly and warm, and when I told them that I had recently gotten engaged myself, they just lit up and insisted I take a picture with them. I agreed only if they promised to send me a photo of their wedding. Dig it (and forgive the bounciness of the subway):

Now for the real scoop:

Jason and Ann, who is cooler than you? Here’s wishing you a long and happy life together. (And yo, if you catch this, e-mail me again, I lost your address.)

Rick Cerrone, the Yankees head of media relations (not the former Yankee catcher), will not be back next season. Jason Giambi had surgery yesterday, with Andy Phillips and Randy Johnson up next.

Holy Smokes, that was a great game. Well, the sun will come out tomorrow, as they say. But it’s gray and raining in New York this morning. My condolences to the many fine Met fans around town, and my congrats to Cardinal fans everywhere.

Game 7 tonight at Shea. Let’s hope it’s a good one.

You Gotta Believe.

There was no game last night, but plenty of action in the St. Louis press.

The first Alex Rodriguez trade rumor has sprouted up, what with Sweet Lou taking over for Dusty Baker in Chicago. Rich Lederer asks some initial questions. Also, while you are there, check out Jeff Albert’s examination of Derek Jeter’s swing.

Right on time, the Mets busted out in a rather royal way last night against the Cardinals, knotting the series at two. Nervous National League-rooting New Yorkers were finally able to get some sleep last night. In the end, I say the Metropolitans take it in seven.

Looks like Sweet Lou is about to land a new gig.

Many sympathetic observers feel that the Yankees need to trade Alex Rodriguez this off-season. But Benjamin Hoffman offers evidence that Rodriguez should stay in pinstripes.

I may be in the minority here, but for sheer entertainment value, I really miss this guy.

The Mets lost 5-0 last night and I’m sure panic has started to set in for some Met fans, what with the prospects of Oliver Perez pitching for their team tonight in what will be the biggest game of the season to date. But it’s not like the Cards are throwing Bob Gibson out there either, and my feeling is that the Mets romp in Game 4 (with Perez throwing a gem) and find a way to even this series. Meanwhile, yes, I did sleep better knowing that the Yankees weren’t the only team to get stomped by the Tigers.

The Mets lost a tough, but exciting game last night to the Cards while Kenny “The Animal” Rogers continues his improbable run as October playoff stud, bringing the Tigers within a game of the World Serious. More baseball this afternoon and tonight. Mm, mm good.

Nice trick, Smiling Jack. But can The Gambler do it twice? Game 3 of the ALCS kicks off later this afternoon in a very chilly Motor City.

I enjoy going to Artie’s Deli on the Upper West Side because the food is decent. Artie’s is a neo-old-sytle Jewish Deli (it’s only been around about a half-a-dozen years) without the neighborhood prices. I grew up on the Upper West Side, and Broadway is now littered with big chain stores–Staples, Circut City, Victoria’s Secret, Godiva. Artie’s stands out–not because the food is so terrific–but because it’s not outrageously over-priced. There is something synthetic about it, but if it doesn’t have the history of other classic Jewish deli’s like Katz’s or Ratner’s or the Carniege, it does have its heart in the right place, and it does provide some of the atmosphere you like to see in such an establishment.

I arrived early for a dinner date with a friend last night and saw that my favorite waitress was on duty. When the plump, black hostess greeted me, I pointed to the waitress, an squat, older woman who has the gruff disposition (not to mention charm) of a William Demarest character, and said, “I’m meeting a friend and want to sit in her section.” The hostess grabbed two menus and as she led me to a table said, “Are you sure you know what you are doing?” “Yeah, I know exactly what I’m doing.”

(more…)

I don’t have much of vested interest in the ALCS playoffs but am rooting for the A’s. Man, Frank Thomas just missed hitting a game-winning grand slam in the ninth inning last night. Instead he popped-out to end the game. It reminded me that when I played baseball in high school, missing a fat pitch and popping it up felt much worse than striking out. Yo, did you guys see Rodney in the eighth inning? Christmas. His change-up/fastball combo was simply devastating. And though I’ll continue to pull for Oakland, I don’t really dislike the Tigers. Heck, I predicted that The Gambler wouldn’t win another game in the post-season, but up 2-0, at home, he’s got zero pressure on him. So let me revise that: Kenny Rogers will not win any kind of pressure game this October.

Here’s a thought: how much of a boost does Pudge Rodriguez’s reputation get should the Tigers win? Yeah, he’s already a Hall of Famer, but I mean, he was just killed a few years ago when he bolted Florida for the pathetic Tigers. While there has been more than a fare share of snickering when it comes to Pudge’s svelt figure over the past two years (he was one of the lucky ones who didn’t get caught, the thinking goes), he continues to be a dangerous defensive catcher and still has some life in his bat. He’s had a ton of talented pitchers to work with in Florida and now, in Detroit, but he certainly hasn’t screwed them up. How you like me now, indeed.

As for the NLCS, I’ll be honest, deep-down, I just don’t have it in me to actively root for the Mets. I’ve tried to do it, cause they are from New York and all, but I suppose it just goes against my nature. That said, I wouldn’t be upset if they won it all as they are an exceedingly likable bunch. Not only that, but I’ve got some very dear friends that are die-hard Met fans and I would just be thrilled for them should the boys from Queens pull it out. I interviewed “the voice of the Mets” Gary Cohen the other day for SI.com. Check it out. My hunch is that we’re going to see the Mets and Tigers in the Serious. As far as match-ups go, we could certainly do worse.

ESPN is currently filming an 8-part TV movie version of Jonathan Mahler’s hugely entertaining book, “The Bronx is Burning.” Since ESPN has yet to make a credible movie, count me skeptical that this will be any different, even though gifted actors like John Turturro and Oliver Platt are featured in this one (imagine, Turturro playing both Billy Martin and Howard Cosell during his career, that’s some kind of feat). Roger Catlin, TV critic for the Hartford Courant, dropped by the film set a few days ago. Check out his write-up. The biggest sign of trouble?

The screenplay was vetted with Major League Baseball to avoid the kind of confrontation that led ESPN’s critically lauded series “Playmakers” to be canceled over objections by the NFL.

“One thing we were cognizant of was our relationship with our very valued partners,” Semiao says. But there’s nothing in “The Bronx Is Burning” that is injurious to baseball, all agreed.

Who wants to see a sanitized version of the Bronx Zoo? That’s like watching “Good Fellas” on broadcast TV. But we are talking about a Disney movie, after all. Who knows, maybe we’ll be surprised.