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Roger Angell embraced the Yankees’ early-season struggles as a welcome surprise. In the latest Talk of the Town (peace to TFD for the link), Angell notes:

This was miserable or delightful, depending on where your loyalties lay, but most of all it was weird. It was glorious…The Yankeesí losing streak suspended all this, for a while at least, and what was refreshing about it was that the Yankees were suddenly so bad, at the plate and afield, that they seemed removed from the games, spooked or laid low not by the opposing pitcher or sluggers but by some cosmic change of terms. They were playing in a cartoon or on an asteroid landscape.

Of course, the Yankees 8-4 come-from-behind-win against the A’s last Tuesday changed the team’s fortunes (at least for the moment). They’ve won six straight, and for Angell, it’s back to business as usual, in which “Confirmation replaces expectation at these levels of sport, and fun feels prearranged.” However discouraged, Angell does a nifty job of describing how the Yankees got their groove back:

The double, by pinch-hitter Ruben Sierra, curved sharply toward foul ground in deep left field but then changed its mind and hit the line instead

Sweep Dreams

What could be finer than the Yankees sweeping a series at home? Oh, the Red Sox getting swept in a three-game series against the Texas Rangers? Sure, that’s a start. Mike Mussina struggled early again yesterday, but a 4-6-3 double play saved his bacon in the third, he gained his composure–retiring the last eleven men he faced–and only allowed two runs in seven innings of work. Down 2-0 in the third, Hideki Matsui doubled and advanced to third on Ruben Sierra’s flyout. Then he tagged and scored on a shallow pop fly to left.

Jason Giambi (2-4) nailed a solo homer into the right field upper deck to tie the game in the fourth. The game remained tied in the seventh, when Jorge Posada led off with a double. Matsui followed and singled to right. Posada was waved home by Luis Sojo and scored. Juan Gone’s throw missed the cut-off man and Matsui alertly moved to second. Godziller moved to third on wild pitch and scored on a sac fly by Ruben Sierra.

Tom Gordon and Mariano Rivera finished the Royals off and the Yanks have now won six straight. For the last couple of years friend Greg G has been saying that Rivera needs to hit more batters, just to keep them honest. Well, after giving up a single to start the ninth, Rivera did just that, plunking Joe Randa, and putting the tying run on base. Next, he blew away Matt Stairs and Desi Relaford, then got a ground out to end the game.

Joe Torre, who missed Saturday’s game to attend his daughter’s communion, notched the 800th win of his Yankee career.

Back in Business

Jon Lieber pitched seven solid innings against the Royals in his Yankee debut on a warm Saturday afternoon in the Bronx. The Yankee offense provided him with plenty of cushion for his first win in almost two years (it was the fifth consecutive win for New York). Derek Jeter had three hits, and Alex Rodriguez added two, as did Jason Giambi, who also walked twice and was hit by a pitch. Rodriguez has a twelve-game hitting streak working. Hideki Matsui homered, scored three times and collected three RBI, but it was Ruben Sierra who was the slugging star of the day, hitting a three-run homer in the third and a grand salami in the eighth.

Two night ago my girlfriend scolded me for regularly cursing Sierra out. It’s not so much that she likes Sierra–which, incidentally she does–but she hates to hear me dog any of the Yankees. She thinks it’s negative karma. I tried to convince her that Ruben, Ruben is all warshed up as a player, and she said “Well, what about the hit he got the other night to win the game?” Doesn’t matter, he’s still garbage, I reasoned.

Well, I’m sure Emily is pleased that her boy had such a good day, and so are most Yankee fans I figure. The only people who should be upset are Royals fans who have to stomach getting killed not just by Rodriguez, Giambi and Sheffield, but old man Sierra as well.

I didn’t get a chance to watch the game, so if anyone has any impressions–particularly of Lieber–that they’d like to share, I sure would appreciate hearing from you.

Strictly Business

Oh, I almost forgot to mention ol’ Rocket Clemens, who won his major league-leading fifth game of the season last night. His ERA this year is 1.95. Here is the quote of the night:

“It’s amazing how a man his age still throws 94 or 95 [mph],” said Cincinnati’s Jacob Cruz, who struck out three times against the 41-year-old Clemens. “I’m upset that he didn’t retire. We all are.”

Bet the Astros would beg to differ.

Spring is easily my favorite season of the year in New York City. (Fall is second.) The way the weather is right now, chilly in the morning, chilly at night, and lovely during the day–is choice. I love it. All of the trees now have buds, and some are almost in full bloom. Women are wearing skirts and dresses again. Hello? Yams galore. Oh baby, how about those NYC legs? Hey now. Talk to me, talk to me.

I went out to dinner with a friend from high school who just bought a two bedroom apartment on 115th street just off Broadway. Which means that it’s essentially on the Columbia University campus. We went out for Indian and then took a walk on the campus. Dave’s father went to graduate school for business at Columbia during the late 1960s. His pop went on to become a successful and financially comfortable executive who retired early, golden parachute and all. His parents now live in Florida year-round.

Not so long ago, they visited Dave in New York and took a stroll on the Columbia campus. It was the first time Dave’s dad had set foot on Columbia since he left grad school in 1968. He told his son that he would have to step over protesting bodies in order to get to class. Which just goes to show, no matter how much attention the hippies got, twenty years later, there were a whole lot of guys who retired early with golden parachute deals too, man.

The weather was great and riding the train home, even waiting for the bus, was pleasent simply because it felt so good to be out. As the subway moved above ground through the northern Manhattan streets, I thought about how much I love living in New York City, how proud I am to call it home.

When I got home Carlos Beltran had just hit a one-out single off Mariano Rivera. It was the ninth inning and the Yanks were ahead 5-2. As I hugged Emily and we said our hellos, Rivera walked Mike Sweeney and Mel Stottlemyre came out for a talk. Mo then blew away Matt Stairs swinging and got Ken Harvey to wave at a pitch two feet over his head to end the game. Fourth in the a row for the Bombers and there was more smiles to be had. (Royals manager Tony Pena even got into it flapping his arms like a chicken after the Royals intentionally walked Alex Rodriguez and then Gary Sheffield in the fifth inning.)

As I learned in the highlights, the game was all about Javier Vasquez, who is the most impressive pitcher on the Yankees staff so far this season.

According to the Daily News and the New York Times:

“I saw it early on,” Torre said. “He’s very comfortable with himself. He has a lot of confidence. You recognize that when he gives up a home run like that and then buckles down. He’s very professional. He seems to be mature beyond his years.”

“The thing I’m most impressed with is how he bounces back after a bad pitch or a bad hitter,” said Joe Torre, the Yankees’ manager.

“He throws a lot of strikes. He gets ahead in the count and keeps hitters in a defense mode. He throws a very lively fastball, plus he has a slider and a changeup that he is confident to throw at anytime. For a kid 27 years old, that’s pretty amazing. He came here knowing how he wanted to pitch, and he wasn’t going to change that.”

Mike Scioscia once told George Will that a pitcher has his best stuff working only 60-70 percent of the time. The rest of the times they have to concentrate on the craft of pitching more than they can on having dynamite stuff.

“It’s never easy, but I felt good,” Vazquez said. “The guys put five runs on the board and that helped. I’m a fastball pitcher and it was there for me today. I didn’t think my stuff was so great, but I mixed the pitches up pretty good.”

The win was important because it gave the Yankees a winning record for a month in which they played poorly. In fact, they have now had a winning record in the month of April for 13 consecutive seasons. Considering how they must have felt after getting their asses handed to them by the Red Sox, it is something to feel good about. I sure know that I feel good about it.

The Yankees are like the great rap duo EPMD: no matter how you slice it, it all comes down to Business. I have to admit, I’m not a business-minded person at all. At least not naturally. But growing up following the Yankees, I’ve grown to appreciate their Business-like approach to the game. I do admire the fact that Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter work so hard to maintain a high level of performance. Some people find it boring and I can understand that. I find it comforting.

I always slapped hands, or high-fives when the Yankees, or any team I rooted for, won a game. But starting in 1998, my brother and I just gave each other a firm, hearty hand shake. Maybe a pat on the back. We got so used to watching the team win, and shake each other’s hands at the end of the game, we just thought it was the most natural thing to do as well. Any other kind of celebrating–unless the game was appropriately dramatic–seemed exessive, in bad taste.

On Wednesday night, when the Yankees beat the A’s all of the guys I was with who were Yankee fans shook each other’s hands. Job well done guys, nice doing business with you.

Going out of Business?

Speaking of business, that’s just what Pedro Martinez seems to be giving the Boston Red Sox. According to the Globe, Pedro will test the open market at the end of the season:

“I will consider any team as of now,” he said. “The Dodgers don’t have the same people that were there when I was mistreated. I’m open to anybody, just as I am open to anybody in the future.”

…”I’ll play for anybody, but I’m not going to say I’m going to try to play for the Yankees before I give Boston the opportunity to sign me,” he said. “Boston has probably the same chances the Yankees will have.”

Check out some of the fine voices from Red Sox Nation linked to the right for the fan reaction.

Certainly Out of Business

Sometimes you have to wonder how the Mets do business at all. It can’t just be about bad luck. Jose Reyes had a setback in rehab and will be shut down for more than a minute. How long before he returns is anyone’s guess. Lee Jenkins reports in the Times:

“He feels like maybe he came back too soon,” [Reyes’ agent, Peter] Greenberg said. “He’s dejected, frustrated, very upset. He’s kicking himself.”

So are the Mets, who have been treating Reyes for almost two months with no real results. Reyes will undergo a treatment program in Port St. Lucie that includes weight lifting, aerobics and exercises in a pool

Derek Jeter blasted the first pitch (a fastball) he saw from Barry Zito last night out near the monuments in left center field and ended his hitless streak at 0-32. Oakland’s third baseman Eric Chavez connected for a two-run shot off of Kevin Brown in the top of the first, and Jeter stabbed Scott Hatteburg’s liner to end the frame (nice play). Then he homered and there was relief in the Bronx.

Barry Zito pitched a strange game, alternating filthy curve balls with flat change-ups and mediocre fastballs. His hook is a beautiful pitch to watch, and seemingly impossible to hit. But it wasn’t enough. Alex Rodriguez hit a solo homer to left off a fastball in the third, and Bernie Williams hit his first home run of the year–a solo shot–off a hanging change up in the fifth to give the Bombers a 3-2 lead.

Jermaine Dye collected his first hit of the series–an RBI double–in the sixth which tied the game. However, the biggest shot of the night came in the bottom of the frame, when Mr. Magoo, Miguel Cairo smacked a horseshit cut-fastball for a three-run homer, putting the Yankees ahead for good. It was the first time Zito had ever given up four dingers in a game.

Kevin Brown wasn’t terrific either. He left some sinkers up in the zone, and after giving up a lead-off single to start the seventh, pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre visited the mound to give the bullpen some time to ready itself. Brown’s face looks very much like a cartoon. He’s got a sharp nose, and a seemingly permanent frown. His chin sticks out and he’s got a buldging adam’s apple. Nasty McNasty himself, Brown isn’t the sort of pitcher who takes kindly to visits from any coach, no matter how esteemed. When Stottlemyre reached the mound, Brown turned his back and walked away. Stottlemyre was left there with Giambi and Posada. He must have appreciated Brown’s old-school disposition because he laughed out loud.

Brown couldn’t put the next batter, Bobby Crosby away on a 3-2 pitch, and the rookie doubled to left. Brown’s night was over. Paul Quantrill relieved him and got out of the inning only allowing one run to score. The A’s put another run on the board in the eighth, and Mariano Rivera replaced Flash Gordon with runners on the corners and two outs. He threw one pitch to Crosby, who grounded out to second.

Bubba Crosby had an RBI infield single in the ninth, and the Sandman retired Oakland 1-2-3 to seal the three-game sweep for the Yankees. While Jeter’s home run was the highlight of the night for the Yankees, my favorite moment of the game came in the bottom of the seventh. Bernie Williams lead off against erstwhile Yankee reliever Chris Hammond. Hammond’s best pitch is a Bugs Bunny change up. With two strikes, you could see that Williams was fighting to remain patient, and keep his hands and weight back. Hammonds floated an Eddie Lopat special that tailed inside and Williams almost dropped his right knee to the ground and made a desperate stab at the pitch to foul it off. At the last possible moment, he chopped it foul toward the Yankee dugout. It looked as if a bumble bee suddenly zipped towards his face, and Bernie tried to karate-chop it away.

You could see a sheepish smile on Williams’ face as he looked toward the dugout. He stepped back in the batter’s box and swiftly struck out. When he returned to the bench, Williams sat next to Jeter, who was holding his stomach he was laughing so hard. The YES cameras showed Jeter immitating the chop swing several times, cracking up. It was a hearty, full-bodied laugh. Javier Vasquez was chuckling next to Bernie. Panning the rest of the bench, you could see the entire team joining in on the fun. Mattingly was dying, as was Torre. Finally, Bernie threw up his arms in mock fury and stood up in protest, going along with it. Godziller Matsui passed by and the joke was not lost in translation; he was smiling too.

It was great to see the Yankees loose and smiling again. Funny what winning does to a team. As removed as modern athletes often feel from us in interviews, we are still invited to observe the intimacy and spirit of the dugout, when men light up like boys. Last night, the Yanks had a good reason to feel good about themselves. Really, how often do you go up against Hudson-Mulder-Zito and come away with a sweep? Not often, that’s for sure. The A’s have now lost six straight, but they will have another shot at the Yankees next week in Oakland.

Elsewhere, the Red Sox continued to roll, as they swept a double-header at home against the Devil Rays. Andy Pettitte collected his 150th career victory in his second start of the year, and the Mets beat the Dodgers, 6-1. Jeff Weaver started for the L.A., and pitched relatively well. I have to say his shaggy blond hair looks much better suited in Dodger blue than it ever did in the Bronx.

Jose Contreras pitched his best game of the year, and the Yankees beat the A’s on a beautiful spring night in New York. It was a relatively tension-free game and it was a relief to see Contreras pitch with more confidence. The A’s have some good hitters, but they swing at far more pitches than the Red Sox do. Jason Giambi made a nice, diving grab to rob Eric Chavez of a hit with two men on in the third, and that’s as good a scoring opportunity as Oakland would get. Tyler Kepner and John Harper have good reports on how Jorge Posada guided Contreras to a strong outing. Posada added a solo home run, and so did Jason Giambi (who hit a seed off of Arhur Rhodes in the ninth). Giambi had three hits on the night, and Gary Sheffield had two.

I was at the game with a group of guys. We didn’t reach our seats until the bottom of the first, as the Yankees were putting three runs up against Mark Mulder. To be honest, I was too caught up in conversation to remember much of the game. The most memorable part of the night was the standing ovations that Derek Jeter received in his final two or three at-bats. Unfortunatley for the Yankee captain, the cheers didn’t help him get a hit. Jeter is now 0-for his last 32. While Jeter continues to be humbled, at least his team has won a couple of games.

It was a good, if not terribly exciting night for the Yankees. In fact, there wasn’t any bad news until I read the morning papers. Bernie Williams was not in the line-up after he strained his left knee on Tuesday night. Though Williams will not go on the DL yet, the news is troubling:

“I am concerned,” Torre said of the 35-year-old outfielder who will wear a brace or sleeve when he returns. “It’s frustrating for him and I decided to give him a blow. We will give it a day and take it day to day.”

“You know what’s interesting about Bernie, during this whole time I’ve been here, it’s been one problem or another,” Torre said. “He’s been disabled a couple of times. I don’t think he’s ever been 100 percent when he’s played. He really hasn’t.”

Not so long ago I wondered if Williams would be able to make it to the Hall of Fame. Now, who knows if he’ll play out his contract (2005) with New York. As much as it pains him to admit, Steve Bonner thinks it’s time for the Yankees to trade Bernie. Maybe Rob Neyer isn’t just crying wolf when he insists that Carlos Beltran will be playing center field in the Bronx by August. Travis Lee is also hurting, and it appears as if he’s going to have surgery on his left shoulder, which means Tony Clark is here to stay for now.

Meanwhile, Curt Schilling and the Red Sox shut out the Devil Rays, 6-0.

Oh, and for the latest on Barry Bonds and the steroids story, head on over to John Perricone’s Only Baseball Matters, forthwith.

Congrats to Mr. Met Mike Piazza who went yard last night and tied Carlton Fisk for the most homers ever hit by a catcher (351). It is only fitting that the home run came at Dodger Stadium, where Yazzie began his career. Mr. Piazza is the best-hitting catcher of all-time, but is he the best catcher of all-time? Labelmate Rich Lederer takes a look. Check it out.

Oh, what a relief it is

Down 8-4, the Yankees staged a dramatic comeback in the eighth inning, scoring six runs, giving New York its most compelling victory of the season. Mike Mussina, who allowed five runs in six innings of work said after the game that he hasn’t seen the Yankees this excited since the playoffs last year. It sure was good to see them smiling again.

Mussina said that he felt good about his performance, though it wasn’t especially sharp. Eric Chavez proved why he is the goods in the top of 3rd when he pounded a solo home run to left. Ooof, that man has a sweet swing, and boy is he ever strong. After the Yankees jumped on an equally shaky Tim Hudson for four runs in the bottom of the frame, Mussina gave it all back in the fourth. The Yankee defense didn’t help, as Miguel Cairo couldn’t field a ball, and Mussina had another grounder deflect off of his glove. Mussina was smiling by the end of the inning, as if to say, “It can’t get any worse than this.”

Tim Hudson, who is a dead-rinder for Ray Liotta for the nostrils down, left several pitches up in the zone during his seven innnings of work (he got away with a hanging splitter to Clark in the fourth, which the big man swung over), but the Yankees couldn’t take advantage. But in the third, Matsui lead off with a single and advanced to third on a double by Tony Clark. Migeul Cairo then double them home. Derek Jeter, who grounded out in his first at-bat, laid down a sacrifice bunt which moved Cairo to third. Bernie walked and Rodriguez grounded out to Chavez, scoring Cairo. Next Jason Giambi singled through the Boudreaux-shift for an RBI single. A sign of life! A two-out hit. Hey, I remember what those look like.

However, the Yankees would not get another base hit until the seventh inning. Meanwhile, the A’s continued to add to their lead. Mussina left a pitch up to Frankie Menechino in the fifth, who smacked an RBI single to center. Gabe White relieved Moose in the seventh and recorded two quick outs. Then Scott Hatteberg dumped a double into center field just beyond the reach of Bernie Williams. The play must have left Yankee fans shaking their heads, “Jeez, that was a play Bernie used to make, right?” (I doubt that Larry Mahnken was that kind.) After Durazo doubled to make the Oakland lead 6-4, Paul Quantrill came in and Marco Scutaro skied a high fly ball to left center.

You can run but you can’t hide. The winds were swirling last night, and Bernie Williams took a poor route to the ball. He dove but the ball knocked out of his glove, and the A’s had another run. Williams looked old. My girlfriend Emily tried to console me, but I shook my head and cursed my favorite player anyway.

Paul Quantrill tweaked his sore right knee on the final play of the seventh, so Mark Kotsay bunted for a base hit in the eighth. Next, Bobby Kielty hit a liner to right which popped out of Gary Sheffield’s glove. The ball floated in the air like a football that tipped off a reciever’s fingertips. Sheffield tried to recover and snag it, to no avail. It was scored an error and helped lead to another Oakland run, 8-4.

It looked like another night of bad breaks for the Yankees. Jeter’s third-inning sacrifice was admirable or desperate, depending on how you look at it. Regardless, it was a contribution. He stung the first pitch he saw from Hudson in the fifth, but it was right at the shortstop. And so it goes when you are slumping. Credit the stadium crowd for giving Jeter a standing ovation when he came to bat in the seventh. It was a rousing moment. Jeter missed a 1-2 fastball that was up, fouling it straight back. On the next pitch, Jeter grounded out, and his hitless streak would reach 0-28 by the end of the game.

Hudson was replaced by Jim Mercir in the eighth, and Bernie Williams hit a solid single through the right side to start the inning. Alex Rodriguez followed with a seeing-eye single through the left side. Then, Jason Giambi walked on a close full-count pitch. At this point, I was hoping for a home run, but expecting a double-play. Gary Sheffield cued a ball off of the end of his bat that squibbed towards the right side. It went for an infield single, and an RBI.

Jorge Posada spoiled a good pitch (outside fastball or splitter) and lined a single through the left side, and now the Yanks were down 8-6. The southpaw Ricardo Rincon came in for Mercir, and quickly got ahead of Matsui 0-2. But the next four pitches were out of the strike zone, Matsui walked, and the Yankees were within a run. Clutch at-bats from the Bombers here. Ruben Sierra pinch-hit for Cairo. I was cursing the move at home, loudly predicting that Sierra was going to hit into a double play. Instead, the bulky bench player smacked the 3-1 pitch into left for a double. Two runs scored and the Yankees had the lead for good. Sierra’s ball landed smack dab on the foul line. It was the luck the Yankees needed. Bernie Williams added an RBI on a fielder’s cherce, Mariano Rivera pitched the ninth, and the Yankees won, 10-8.

Another frustrating game turned into an improbable win, and like I said, it was great to see the Yankees smiling. What a sight for sore eyes. That they rallied in the nickel-and-dime tradition of the 1998 Yankees made is especially rewarding. With Jose Contreras pitching tonight, it was close to a must-win for New York. Now, if they can swipe one of the next two games, they should feel good about themselves. For Oakland, it was a vexing loss, considering that they blew a four-run lead on a night when Tim Hudson was not on his A-game.

By Bruce Markusen

April 22, 2004

Card Corner: Hair Here, There, And Everywhere

Call him the “Unfrozen Caveman.” Call him “The Hippy.” Call him the “Mountain Man.” Call him whatever you like, but no nickname can entirely capture the untamed image that Johnny Damon has created by not cutting his hair for nearly a year and not shaving his face since the latter stages of 2003. Damonís “biblical” appearance has become such a sidebar of attention that it motivated ESPN.com to come up with an all-time, all-hair team featuring some of the longest and most unusual hairdos in the gameís history. ESPN included some worthy candidates on its list, including Oscar Gamble and Ross Grimsley (owner of the white-man afro, as ESPN puts it), but somehow left off the man who sported baseballís longest hair during the frenetic decade of the 1970s.

Until Damon and Pittsburghís Craig Wilson, whose flowing blond locks arenít far behind Damon in length but havenít received nearly the attention, no one had longer hair than former major league catcher Dave Duncan, now the pitching coach for the St. Louis Cardinals. Based on how he looks today, with short hair and a clean shave every day, you might not have recognized the wild-looking Duncan during the latter stages of a journeyman career that saw him play for the Oakland Aís, Cleveland Indians, and Baltimore Orioles from 1964 to 1976. In his formative years with Oakland, Duncan still featured a close-cropped hairdo, as did most players of the 1960s. (There were two primary reasons for the short-hair preference of that era. Most teams had unwritten policies that outlawed the wearing of long hair, along with mustaches and beards. Also, a number of players served in the military reserves during the Vietnam War, necessitating that they maintain their hair in the brush-cut look.) That all started to change in 1972, when Reggie Jackson showed up to spring training with a fully-grown mustache, eventually prompting owner Charlie Finley to offer $300 bonuses to each Aís player who followed suit. Duncan complied with the ownerís “request” and then pushed the trend two steps further by growing a beard and letting his blond hair grow out. By the end of the í72 season, Duncan sported both a full beard and lengthening hair that stretched beyond the collar of his neck, making him look like an extra during the filming of Deliverance.

The following spring, the Aís traded Duncan, not because of his new mountain man appearance, but because of a salary dispute that saw the catcher engage in a spring training holdout while asking the penurious Finley for more money. The spring training trade landed Duncan in Cleveland, allowing him to bring the long-hair look to the Midwest. Duncan shaved off his blonde mustache and beard but continued to let his hair lengthen, well beyond the lower reaches of his helmet and cap, to the point that his tresses draped onto his shoulders. Whenever Duncan ran, his long mane of hair flapped as if stirred by a stiff breeze, creating a memorable impression for those who had become used to major league players who looked more like soldiers than flower children.

Sometimes derided with catcalls of “Goldilocks” and “Prince Valiant,” Duncan drew raised eyebrows from many in the baseball establishment. Some critics used Duncanís unusual hair style as an excuse for questioning his smarts and hustle, portraying him like a caricature of Cheech and Chong proportions. Yet, those close to Duncan realized that such characterizations were all stereotype and little truth. “With that long hair, he looked kind of goofy as a player,” said former slick-fielding shortstop Eddie Brinkman, who coached with Duncan during a stint with the Chicago White Sox. “But once you get to know him, you realize heís one of the kindest, smartest men youíll ever meet.” Few would question Duncanís baseball intelligence, given his success as a pitching guru with the Cleveland Indians, Seattle Mariners, White Sox, Aís, and Cardinals. Heís sometimes criticized for being too blunt with young pitchers, but his triumphs with veteran hurlers and the overall success of his pitching staffs remain his hallmark.

Most of Duncanís baseball cards donít do his “Mod Squad” head of hair full justice, but his 1975 Topps card (No. 238 in the set) probably offers the most emblematic view of his blond bombshell appearance. Duncan is also featured in an intriguing 1977 Topps card (No. 338) wearing the air-brushed colors of those awful White Sox throwback uniforms, yet he never actually played for Chicago, instead drawing his release just before the start of the 1977 season and prompting him to call it quits. By the time of Duncanís retirement, a number of other players had also “let down their hair,” as baseballís conservative approach toward grooming quickly crumbled and gave way to a more liberal hygiene. And perhaps weíre headed toward that same trend again, at a time when almost every fashion statement is allowed on the field, from goatees to earrings to tattoos. Yes, let the hair flow freely.

All-Hair All The Time

ESPN presented its own All-Hair Team, so why canít I? Letís give it a try, position-by-position:

Catcher: Dave Duncan (backed up by Ted “Simba” Simmons and curly-haired Rick Sweet)

First Base: Don Mattingly (long hair prompted a fine and a benching)

Second Base: Pete Rose (enough said there)

Shortstop: Teddy Martinez (a full but well-manicured beard)

Third Base: Buddy Bell (flowing blond locks)

Left Field: Craig Wilson (a Duncan-Bell look-alike)

Center Field: Johnny Damon (backed up by Jose Cardenal and his mini-Gamble afro)

Right Field: Reggie Jackson (first mustache since Wally Schang in 1914)

Backup Outfielder: Tarzan Joe Wallis (Mountain Man III, pre-Damon, post-Duncan)

Designated Hitter: Oscar Gamble (the largest afro this side of Darnell Hillman)

Starting Pitcher: Randy Johnson (mullet madness)

Starting Pitcher: Don Sutton (as Skip Caray once said, hair like cotton candy)

Starting Pitcher: Ross Grimsley (afro aside, he allegedly didnít wash his hair or bathe regularly)

Starting Pitcher: Mudcat Grant (somehow made mutton chops look good)

LH Reliever: Stan Wall (hair almost as long as Duncanís)

LH Reliever: Al Hrabosky (king of the Fu Manchus)

RH Reliever: Rod Beck (his long, ragged hair epitomized the wild and wooly look)

RH Reliever: Rollie Fingers (from handlebar mustache to Hair Club For Men)

Major League Morsels

The Kenny Lofton Era has started poorly in the Bronx, so much so that the Yankees are already shopping their free agent acquisition, who has already made a visit to the disabled list with a strained quad (the most fashionable injury of the last 15 years). A combination of factors have pushed Lofton to the trade block, in particular the play of backup outfielder Bubba Crosby (who deserves a spot on the 25-man roster), Loftonís chronic complaints about his roles with the team, and Joe Torreís unwillingness to remove Bernie Williams from center field on a fulltime basis. Two contending teams may be interested in Lofton: the Phillies, who are unhappy with the development of center fielder Marlon Byrd as a leadoff man, and the White Sox, who also need help in center field and at the tablesetting spots in the batting order

The Angels swept the A’s over the weekend, so Oakland has something in common with the Bronx Bummers. There are several articles in the New York papers this morning delineating the Yankees’ recent struggles. Things of course could get worse, what with Tim Hudson, Mark Mulder and Barry Zito scheduled to pitch for the A’s this week.

I’m not going to be able to post tomorrow morning so make sure to read Cliff Corcoran, or any of the other fine Yankee-based sites listed on the right. For the Oakland perspective, make sure to check out Baysball, Athletics Nation, and our old friends over at Elephants in Oakland.

Baseball culture is rich with sayings and phrases. Paul Dickson even wrote a baseball dictionary to document it all. Do you have a favorite baseball word or expression? I do. For me, there is no single word that is more flexible or evocative (or fun to say) than “horseshit.” I don’t know when baseball men started using it, but when you say the word, you can fantasize that you are connected with baseball history, from John McGraw, Sal Maglie, Gorman Thomas, and Nuke LaLoosh, to a craggy old bird-dog spitting tabacco into a cup in Florida.

In his excellent book about the world of baseball scouting, “Dollar Sign on the Muscle,” Kevin Kerrane gives us the following description:

Any baseball talent, body, body-part, effort, action, player, team, city, or scouting assignment can be horseshit. The term vovers everything but the world of words

A few final thoughts on the Yanks-Sox series…

–I neglected to mention it this morning, but for the first time in a long while, I didn’t wear any gear to the game on Saturday. I usually have a Yankee cap, and sometimes I wear a Yankee t-shirt as well. But I lost my Yankee hat over the winter and haven’t yet replaced it. I have to admit it was interesting to be at the game sans team colors. When I looked at a Red Sox fan, they didn’t know how to look at me. Was I a friend? Same goes for the Yankee fans, although I think they assumed I was a foe if I wasn’t wearing any Yankee clothing.

–I wanted to call this morning’s post, “The Out of Towners,” because for the most part, that is who attends Yankee games.

–Watching Manny Ramirez and Javier Vasquez face off yesterday made for great baseball. Vasquez got ahead of Ramirez in the first with fastballs, and struck him out on a curve ball. The next time up, Ramirez was down 0-2. This time however, Vasquez’s curve hung in the zone; Manny paused, then pounced, knocking the bejesus out of the ball. In his third at bat, Vasquez showed no signs of backing down, and got ahead of Ramirez, throwing fastballs by him again. Vasquez had two strikes on Ramirez, but Manny knocked a flat (though not terrible) change up into center for a single. Watching Ramirez is like watching a hitting clinic. Vasquez was impressive too. He’s been a bright spot for the Yankees so far this year.

–For all of the pumped-up histrionics, there was some genuine moments of electricity at the stadium on Saturday as well. The crowd buzzed when Alex Rodriguez first appeared on the field during warm-ups. Also, you could hear a pin drop as the National Anthem played. When it ended, the crowd was united for the first and only time all day, letting out a huge ovation. The surge of unity felt surreal.

Late in the game, you could feel the tension in the stands as well. The game was tied, and the crowd was busy making lots of noise right until the instant that the pitcher went into his motion. Then, for a brief moment, everything was suspended, and still. Ah, if you could bottle that in time.

–My friend Johnny Red Sox spotted a middle-aged Yankee fan wearing a “Serpico, #8” pinstriped jersey. Sign that man up.

–I’m not deeply concerned about the Yankees offense. Frustrated is more like it. Although he’s more likley to have a productive year, Jeter’s slump is more troubling than Bernie Williams’ simply because Bernie never hits well in April. (Okay, he did last year, and look what happened there.) It’s been strange to see Jeter so out-of-synch.

–I’m going to the Yankee-Oakland game on Wednesday and I look forward to washing away the memory of Saturday’s ugliness. Things could be fugly on the field though, as Jose Contreras will pitch against Mark Mulder. Talk about a contrast in styles, not to mention results. Oy.

–The Yankees need somebody to go Paulie O Postal on a water-cooler. Hell, even if it doesn’t help them hit, it’d make me feel better.

The Red Sox capped off the first leg of their reunion tour versus the Yankees by beating New York 3-2 on Saturday and 2-0 on Sunday, for a clean-sweep of the three-game series in the Bronx. Where’s ya Moses now? indeed. According to the YES network, Boston has taken six of their first seven games against the Bronx Bombers since 1913. They did it in convincing fashion, with superior pitching (their bullpen allowed one hit in nine innings of work), brisk defense and timely hitting (see: Manny Ramirez).

I went to the game Saturday afternoon. Although I live in the Bronx, there isn’t a clear-cut, direct route to get to the stadium from my house, so I end up taking three subway trains to get there (in all, the trip is no longer than 40 minutes). When I got to the 145th street station to catch the D train, there were smatterings of Yankee fans grouped on the platform. All of them looked like they were from out-of-town, mostly from the suburbs. Plenty of them were drinking already. The ugliness starts early.

When the D train pulled up, it was packed with more baseball fans, Yankee and Red Sox rooters alike, who all looked like they were from out of town too. Stepping onto the train was a treat. The car was alive with conversation. You could practically feel the anticipation. Instead of engaging in the banter like I usually do, I just sat back and let it wash over me. I wished that every fanbase could experience something similiar.

Of course, exiting the train and subsequently trying to navigate exiting the train station, let alone the streets, is an endeavor for suburbanities. You can feel the rush of adreneline, of xenophobic tension, as they made their way to the Bronx street above.

It was a fine day in New York. The sun was out, yet the air was still crisp and cool. As I made my way to meet my companion, I saw a Spanish teenager walking along with what I guessed was his brother, a skinny kid on cruches. The little guy couldn’t have been more than eleven years old. He had a big cast on his right foot, and he was moving along as quickly as he could.

As I passed them, I said, “Now, here is a real baseball fan. Coming out the game on crutches and everything. You are the real deal, kid. That’s beautiful.” The older kid nodded at me. I continued, “That’s a beautiful thing, and worth the trip because the Yankees are going to win.” With that, I moved passed them, when I heard the young kid say, “Are you sure? Are you sure?”

I turned around and looked at him in the face for the first time. He had a great head of black hair, and big brown eyes. You should have seen this boy’s face; it was all lit up. “Are you sure? Are you sure?” Of course, I wasn’t sure, but looked at him and said, “Of course, I’m sure. 7-2, final. You wait and see. The Yanks’ll win.”

My friend Johnny Red Sox and I sat in the lower part of the upper deck in the right field. We got to our seats by a quarter past noon, so we had plenty of time to watch the Yankee players warm up. I’m not sure what happened to Eddie Layton, the long-time organist at Yankee Stadium, but he has been replaced by a guy named Ed Alstrom. We watched Kevin Brown run sprints, and then start his soft toss catch in the outfield as Alstrom played “Pretty Baby,” then vamped into “You Shook Me All Night Long,” before finishing with “Hot, Hot, Hot.”

Like always, there were plenty of Sox fans at the game, especially in the upper deck. We saw a sweet young girl on crutches who must have been 13 or 14 wearing a Red Sox jersey, and bravely hopping down the steps to her seat with her friend and her father. Hadn’t I promised that the Yankees would win to the first kid on crutches I saw? Well, what about this girl?

As luck would have it, we were in the sun all afternoon. The game was far more entertaining than Friday night’s drubbing, but ultimately, it was a long, frustrating day for the Yankees and their fans. The Red Sox scored two early runs off of Kevin Brown, who despite not having his best stuff, pitched reasonably well. B. Arroyo was even better for the Sox, allowing just one hit

Call it what you want: throttled, bashed, mashed, scorched, whipped, spanked, humiliated, smacked down, whatever. I prefer to look at it like Popeye the sailor: “It was embarraskin.” (Errors by Bubba Crosby and Gary Sheffield were the icing on the gravy.) The bottom line is that the Red Sox beat the Yankees about the mouth and face at the Stadium last night. After a much-improved “looking” first inning, Jose Contreras quickly returned to his tentative ways against Boston. They stole bases at will

Drat

The Yankees lost a game they should have, could have won last night. However, they still return home to the Bronx having won their first series of the year. Mike Mussina was touched for three first-inning runs (again), but he pitched well after than. I was thinking, “Here we go again,” during the first, but Mussina improved as the game moved along. He did hang a breaking ball to Joe Crede, who popped a solo homer in the sixth, but overall, Mussina looked good enough by the end of the night for Yankee fans to let out a sigh of relief. As YES analyst Jim Kaat noted, by the eighth inning Mussina was “throwing his pitches with more conviction.” His breaking balls were sharp, though his fastball was still only clocked in the high-eighties.

The Yankee offense sputtered again. After scoring a couple in the third, Alex Rodriguez was robbed of a game-tying RBI single by Timo Perez in center field. Gary Sheffield ended the eighth by grounding into a double play, and Travis Lee ended the game by doing the same. The most frustrating part of Lee’s double play was that he hit the ball slowly enough to allow the tying run to score from third. He simply couldn’t truckulate his wide-load down to first in time and was thrown out by a step.

The top half of the Yankee line up didn’t do anything; the bottom-half kept them in the game. Tony Clark started at first base and drew three walks, as Jason Giambi was given the night off. Jorge Posada collected a couple of hits, and Miguel Cairo looked decent as well. (When Cairo used to play for the Devil Rays, I called him the Bizzaro Jeter, because he looked like an fugly, compressed version of the Yanke shortstop. Now, I think he looks like a combination of Jeter and Oliver Stone.) Bernie Williams and Derek Jeter continue to struggle. Williams looks especially lost at the plate.

The Yanks face the Red Sox in the Boogie Down tonight. Jose Contreras goes against Derek Lowe. Yankee pitching coach Mel Stotlemyre feels good about the work Contreras has put in since he was bombed in Beantown last weekend. According to the New York Times:

“He’s changed a couple of things,” Stottlemyre said. “I’m not going to tell you what they are, but you’ll probably see them. We’re trying to eliminate some things. We’re trying to eliminate their getting pitches, which we think they’ve done before. He feels really good right now about himself.”

…”I finally got something back from him,” Stottlemyre said. “Rather than just hearing me talk, I got some conversation back. He and I both are on the same page now, and that’s very important.

“I told him it’s very important I get some feedback on and off, during the start and between the starts. So I’ve got high hopes.”

I expect that Contreras will be better tonight (how could he be worse?), but I also think that Lowe will be much improved as well. The Blue Jays finally won a game at home, beating the Sox last night. I’m going to tomorrow afternoon’s game at the stadium (my first game of the season). Hopefully, the Yanks can win two of three. I’m as curious as the next guy to see how Rodriguez and Sheffield will perform.

Luckiest Man in the Bronx

Two nights ago my girlfriend Emily started clapping when she got home and I told her the Yankee game was about to begin. I think she even surprised herself with how much she was looking forward to watching the game. Em never followed baseball until we started going out a little over two years ago. Now that we live together, it’s become a welcome part of her life. We watch a lot of games together. Em dubbed herself “the Big O,” the big optimist, last week. She helps balance my most base, defeatist tendencies.

I never intended to subject Emily to watching baseball on a regular basis. I’ve always kept sports and relationships with women apart like the seperation of Church and State. But believe me, it has been a real treat that she not only tolerates my fanaticism, but actually appreciates the game on her own. I remember telling Will Carroll about this last year and he sent me an e-mail that read: “Marry her.”

Last night, after Emily’s favorite player Jorge Posada whiffed to end the fourth inning, Em says to me in a soft voice, “I love baseball.” I turned down the volume on the commercials and asked her why. She said, “I like it because I enjoy seeing how much you get into it. I like that it brings you so much joy. I also like it because it’s food for conversation and learning for me.”

Emily often asks questions, and naturally, I love to give her answers if I can.
She calls me Rainman because I know that Joe Dimaggio struck out 13 times in 1941 as well as I remember my mother’s birthday. However, Emily takes special pleasure in stumping me with trivia (which, truth be told, I’m not so great with). Regardless, baseball initiates conversation, which often leads to things that have nothing to do with the game at all.

She continued, “I also like it because I can get up and dick around and when I come back the game is still on. It’s not like a movie where I have to pee and get everything together before the commercial is over. If something good happens I hear you yell and then I come running and watch the replay. I think they made the replay for people like me. It’s like they knew I wasn’t there the first time, so they can show it again.”

Em and I watched the Yankees beat the White Sox 3-1 last night. It was a lean, efficient affair, a welcome change from Tuesday’s rain-soaked barner-burner. Jon Garland and Javier Vasquez both pitched very well. Vasquez, whose uniform is tight and form-fitting–unlike the rumpled, baggy look that Derek Lowe or Mike Mussina sport–didn’t have his best stuff early, but he worked out of trouble. He’s quickly becoming my favorite Yankee pitcher. He is all business on the mound, and pitches with confidence and purpose. The only mistake he made all night was a curveball he hung to Carlos Lee. Lee popped it over the left field wall for a homer and gave Chicago a 1-0 lead.

Garland was almost as good. But Alex Rodriguez lined a homer to right field in the sixth to tie the game, and Jorge Posada murdalized a pretty-good breaking ball for a two-run bomb in the seventh. Vasquez pitched eight innings and retired the last ten men he faced. Mariano Rivera got the save.

Rodriguez’s homer was memorable because he didn’t know where the ball went. On an 0-2 pitch, he put a good swing on an outside fastball. The ball scooted over the right-field wall, on a low-line, in a hurry. But Rodriguez didn’t pick the ball up. He looked up, then around, clearly having lost the ball. Surprise, big fella, you just tied the game. Rodriguez’s second homer of the season came on a similiar pitch that he hit his first homer on.

In his next at bat, against reliever Cliff Politte, Rodriguez had a beautiful swing on a 2-0 fastball that was out, over the plate. It was one of those swings that make you say, “oooohhh, man, he just missed it.” Looking for an inside pitch, Politte came back with the same exact pitch for a called strike. Then Rodriguez swung over an inside fastball to end the inning. Rodriguez was visibly upset, an encouraging sign. It didn’t look like he was frustrated, just pissed that he missed a couple of good pitches. He appears close to regaining his form.

Gary Sheffield had two singles, but along with a Javier Vasquez, Jorge Posada was the story of the night. Bubba Crosby started for Bernie Williams in center, lead off the game with a bunt-single, and was robbed of another hit by Magglio Ordonez in the ninth. Travis Lee played first, while Jason Giambi DH’d.

The Red Sox beat the slumping Blue Jays for the second-straight night.

A Rod Bunts! Garbo Smiles! News at Eleven

Ah, just what the doctor ordered. It wasn’t easy, or especially pretty, but it was a win. The Yankee offense broke out for seven runs in the top of the first, and they survived the big league debut’s of Alex Graman and Scott Proctor to beat the White Sox, 11-8 on a rainy night in Chicago. The big first inning featured just the kind of breaks the Yankees have been looking for: Derek Jeter hustled out an infield hit, Alex Rodriguez bunted for a base hit, Jorge Posada snuck a two-run single through the right side, Ruben Sierra scored when Sandy Alomar couldn’t handle a throw home. It was the shortest stint of Mark Buehrle’s career. In fairness, he didn’t pitch terribly, he simply didn’t have any luck.

Alex Graman, a broad-shouldered southpaw had plenty to work with. He even struck out the first batter he faced. But that was about as good as it got (though he escaped the first inning via the double play after allowing a run). Graman looks like a young Fred Gwynne (circa “On the Waterfront”). His eyes looked as if they were going to pop out of his head, and I don’t know if he closed his mouth once.

The score was 8-3 at the end of the second inning, when the game was delayed for almost an hour due to the rain. Graman returned when the game resumed but didn’t last long. I turned the game off with the score 8-5, on the count of I didn’t have the umph in me to watch the rest of this kind of high-scoring game on a school night.

Alex Rodriguez ended the night with three hits, as did Jorge Posada, who hit his team-leading 6th homer of the season. Jason Giambi had two hits. Hideki Matsui smacked his chin pretty good chasing a fly ball, but seems as if he’s OK.

In his latest column, Peter Gammons has this to say about Boston fans:

The inferiority obsession of a small group of Red Sox “fans” when it comes to the Yankees hit a new low this weekend when several saw Jeter and A-Rod eating at The Capital Grille on Newbury Street and hurled vocal and demonstrative obscenities at the pair…The current ownership’s attention to security kept problems in the park at a minimum, and the chants of “you used steroids” with every Jason Giambi at-bat were amusing.

Why were the chants amusing to Gammons if he was offended by what Jeter and Rodriguez experienced? Because they happened at the ballpark? Unless of course, Gammons is saying that Giambi did use performance-enhancing drugs and therefore deserved to be knocked. His very next bullet point reads:

However, while one can debate the rights and wrongs of using supplements that were legal — from andro to human growth hormones — there are too many rumors that at least one of the players on the BALCO list did not tell the truth to the grand jury to think this is just going to fade away.

It sounds to me like Gammons is insinuating that Giambi was indeed a steroid-user–if not a liar–without flat-out saying it. What gives?

Sox it to me?

Finally, there was a good game to be had in Boston between the Sox and Yanks. But New York could not hold a 4-1 lead, and defensive mistakes by Alex Rodriguez and Hideki Matsui helped give the Sox the victory.

Rodriguez continues to struggle, though he did line a solid single to left—his first hit of the series–in his final at bat. John Harper has a sympathetic look at the slugger’s early-season slump in the News today. In all, it was a weekend to forget for the Yankees and their fans. But the resident Yankee-crank at the New York Times, George Vecsey reminds us why yesterday was a great day if you root for the Red Sox. Gee, thanks professor.

The Yanks move to Chicago tonight for a three-game series versus the White Sox before returning home to face Boston this weekend. Lefty-handed rookie pitcher, Alex Graman makes his big league debut tonight for the Yanks. This would be a good time for the Yankee offense to lend a helping hand, huh?

The Yanks and Sox cap their first meeting of the year later this morning at the Fens. Kevin Brown goes against Bronson Arroyo. If anyone out there is lucky to enough to be home watching the game, feel free to leave observations and updates in the “comments” section below. Thanks.