Archive for Derek Jeter
Jorge Posada Saga: Much Ado About Nothing
Posted by: | CommentsThe ever popular “Seinfeld” television series was built around “minutiae” and specialized in the art of making something out of nothing. Jerry, George, Kramer and Elaine bantered through episodes debating such mundane matters as cigars, apartments and the mail. Despite the less-than-meaty content, the show’s writers were able to spin the story lines into some of the funniest dialog ever captured in television history. In fact, “Seinfeld” remains one of the most watched TV series of all time.
Enter the New York Yankees. And no, I’m not talking about the “Seinfeld” episodes built around George’s dream job of working as the team’s assistant traveling secretary. I’m talking about today’s New York Yankees, the team that has dropped six straight games and is apparently in utter turmoil because longtime catcher turned DH Jorge Posada took himself out of the lineup for Saturday evening’s game against the Boston Red Sox.
WHAT'S THE BIG FUSS? Posada is a Yankee legend who deserves some time off if he needs it.
In fact, I just watched a “News Now” clip on ESPN.com where the anchor, Jay Crawford, brought baseball insider Buster Olney in via the telephone lines to discuss the “breaking story” about Posada’s hissy fit and the subsequent brouhaha that’s been percolating ever since Yankee Captain Derek Jeter said his teammate basically did nothing wrong by asking to be taken out of the Bronx Bombers’ lineup for one game.
Maybe it’s not proper etiquette to ask your manager 90 minutes before game time to take you out of the lineup to clear your head. But it’s hardly earth-shattering, team-dividing news that’s going to send the Yankees spiraling into the AL East cellar, either. It’s one bad day out of a soon-to-be Hall-of-Famer’s illustrious, 16-year big league career that he would like to have back to right his apparent wrong. Here was a 39-year-old slugger who was hitting .165 for the season and felt he needed a day off. The fact that Yankee skipper Joe Girardi moved him to ninth in the batting order that day obviously didn’t sit too well with Posada, but the latter’s actions more closely resembled a bratty teenager’s than that of a guy who’s contemplating retirement and bailing on his team. I mean, come on people, give the guy a break. I’m a lifelong Red Sox fan and even I can say that.
But wait, there’ s more to this headline-grabbing saga. Because Jeter basically exonerated Posada’s “actions” the next day by saying that it was no big deal, the Captain suddenly finds himself in hot water with the team’s brass? Pulleeeeeze. Let it go, people. Jeter was merely trying to diffuse something that really didn’t deserve all the attention it was getting. And now he finds himself in trouble with the team?
Come on, folks. As my mom likes to say: “Geez Loueeze, let’s move on.”
TAKE A TIMEOUT, JORGE: Need you be reminded that you come home to Laura every evening? Life can't be all that bad, even in the Bronx.
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Yankees in Six – Again?
Posted by: | CommentsWell I, for one, certainly hope not. But we’ll just have to wait and see how the 2010 MLB season pans out. So many players, so many deals, so little time to put all the pieces together. But somehow, those 30-something-year-old big league GMs find a way. They always do; just ask Theo Epstein or Josh Byrnes. Or that seasoned 42-year-old brainiac by the name of Brian Cashman.
When I conjure up images from last year’s postseason, I can’t help but see Alex Rodriguez actually finding his groove and helping the Yankees claim their 40th AL Pennant and 27th World Series title, albeit the team’s first with A-Rod on board (six years in the making). I’m not a big A-Rod fan, never have been, but I had to actually give the guy his due based on his impressive postseason last year. I don’t like him for several reasons, but basically it boils down to these two: 1.) I’m a lifelong Red Sox fan; and 2.) he’s a pampered superstar who doesn’t like getting his hands dirty, literally. He is the anti-Mike Lowell in that respect, and any guy making $25 million a season to play baseball should be willing to get his uniform dirty once in a while.
Getting back to A-Rod’s resurrection from postseason failure, he earned a smidgen of my respect with last season’s turnaround. I mean, here was a guy who couldn’t find his bat, much less his swing, every time the postseason rolled around. He earned the nickname “The Cooler” since he always seemed to go cold at the most inopportune times for his team. But, lo and behold, he managed to put all the pieces together last fall by batting .378 in the playoffs and launching six bombs. Maybe it was gal-pal Kate Hudson’s influence? Perhaps she was the one guiding him on follow-through and consistency. Or perhaps it was Captain Derek Jeter’s stellar season (.334 with 18 dingers) coupled with Mark Texeira’s moon shots (39 of ‘em) and 38-year-old southpaw Andy Pettitte staying intact for the entire haul and notching 14 wins. And then again, maybe it was just Joe Girardi’s destiny, seeing as how he was already sporting No. 27 on his back. Whatever the reason, the Yankees won it all last year and are back on top of the baseball world.
But will they be there in 2010? In June, Pettitte turns 39, while Jeter turns 36. A month later, A-Rod turns 35. And a month after that, Jorge Posada celebrates his 39th birthday. These guys aren’t getting any younger. And the fact that World Series MVP Hideki Matsui signed in the offseason with the dreaded Halos of Anaheim could spell a different ending to this season’s merry-go-round. But then again, with the likes of CC Sabathia on the hill, Texeira at first, Robinson Cano covering second and the newly arrived Curtis Granderson patrolling center, chances are the Yankees will at least be in contention. And after all, isn’t that all anybody can ask for? Unless, of course, your last name is Steinbrenner.
Who might bump them off in the AL, you ask? Who else, but my beloved Sox, of course. By picking up John Lackey to shore up the starting rotation, as well as signing veteran center fielder Mike Cameron and Gold Glove third baseman Adrian Beltre, the Sox are stocking up for a season-long battle with the Bronx Bombers. The acquisition of Cameron moves the speedy Jacoby Ellsbury from center to left, which actually improves Boston’s defense with any ricochets off the Green Monster after Jason Bay’s disappointing bolt to that other New York team. And backstop Victor Martinez will continue to get more comfortable with Fenway’s faithful so 2010 definitely looks like it’s shaping up to be another barnburner in the AL East.
Oh yeah, I almost forgot; those pesky Rays aren’t going away quietly. Yep, should be a doozy this year. Can’t wait.
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A Yankees Championship Dream Fulfilled
Posted by: | CommentsI had waited thirteen years to see a World Series game, not to mention a championship clinching win. Just so you can understand where I’m coming from, I’ll explain a bit of personal history; despite my intense fandom, I never had the opportunity to see the Fall Classic in person until this year.
In 1996, somehow my father came up with two tickets to Game 6 of the World Series. At the time I was 15, my brother was 10, and we all but did a jig in the living room to be able to go to the game. There was just one problem: there were only two tickets and we didn’t drive, which meant only one of us could go.
Only one of us could go? Now we were enemies. We paced the room sweating feverishly, wondering who was going to get to go and who would sit at home. As it turns out my father came up with an idea- he would drop both of us off at Yankee Stadium so we could both be there, and he would pick us up after. Sounds like it would be a splendid idea right? Apparently not if you are my mother. She saw it as a terrible idea for two kids to be left alone in the Bronx and needless to say we weren’t allowed to go: not even one of us.
For my mother it has been the longest thirteen years of me constantly reminding her what a terrible choice she made and how we had been scarred for life from the trauma of sitting home alone (we were apparently old enough to be alone in the house, just not in the Bronx) watching Charlie Hayes catch that last out in foul territory, screaming with joy jumping up and down. For thirteen years we had wondered what it must have been like to see your team win the World Series in person.
Fast forward to present day, and the wait was well worth it for me. I got to see every postseason home game, including a walk-off ALDS win where Teixeira hit a bullet of a home run to win the game in extra innings. The season ended Wednesday with a Game 6 win for the Yankees (clinching the World Series), and possible forgiveness for mom because my brother and I were there. Finally. As a season ticket holder I was given the option to buy my seats for all postseason home games, and you know I was not going to miss out on the opportunity.
This was a great season for the Yankees on so many levels, starting with the signing of Sabathia, Burnett, and Teixeira in the offseason. Then we got to see Mariano get his 500th save (even if it was on the road), and Jeter passed Gehrig for all-time hits leader as a Yankee (not to mention all the walk off wins this team put together). I definitely picked a great year to have season tickets, and see so much history happen. Much of it happened in the rain by the way, whether it was World Series wins or the delay before Jeter’s record breaking hit.
The postseason was my first as a season ticket holder where the Yankees made it to the World Series, making it both the most fun for me and also confirming that I am not a jinx. Most of the games were played in pretty intense cold with rain, while others were just frigid.
What does one wear to a baseball game in 40 degree rain you might wonder? The answer is simple: everything. I am oddly superstitious and I will tell you I have been washing and wearing the same clothes the entire postseason. My typical ensemble to the games has consisted of the following: Under Armor cold gear turtleneck and pants, heavy socks, a long sleeve t-shirt, Jeter or Rizzuto t-shirt (only those two), on-field fleece, 2009 postseason sweatshirt, Yankees coat, Under Amour head sock, and finally a Yankees hat. Phew. Oh, and hand and toe warmers, can’t forget those, they were clutch.
Despite the cold weather, the feeling of being there for all of these games (especially the World Series clincher) is completely indescribable and amazing. As a fan, watching from home or a bar is great but being there was on a level I had never even imagined. For most of the last three innings of Game 6 I was jumping up and down and shaking my brother, telling him we finally got to be here for this moment . . . of course, he kept telling me to shut up until it actually happened.
I was excited the entire day leading up to the game and the whole night after it. The group of people I sit with, a.k.a. the Bleacher Creatures, are the greatest group to sit with and watch a game. We all know each other, and we have all been there through the season, cheering and anxiously waiting for the postseason to finally arrive. It really is something to be there to begin with, but to sit with the same group of people, the friends that you have made over the seasons, is just awesome.
When Cano threw the ground out from Shane Victorino to Mark Teixeira to end the game, clinch the Championship and end the season, my brother and I jumped up and hugged each other. Everyone around us was doing the same, like we all had won the game, too. It was everything I thought it would be when I was 15, but even better.
Now that the celebration is over, is anyone wondering how all those bundled clothes worked out for me? Not too well considering I am sick and have been for a while now. Am I upset about it? Absolutely not! I am lying in bed telling you my story while wearing my World Championship t-shirt and Yankees Championship parade hoodie.
My friend Suzy and I got up and going very early to be at the parade down the Canyon of Heroes in New York City: that was the final event to cap off the season and my dealing with cold weather. I had never experienced the ticker tape parade before so I had to get there and enjoy it even if it meant getting up at the ungodly hour of 6am.
Despite the fact that most of us have not seen much of our beds, or families in the last week it was all worth it. The offseason is here and it may be as much of a welcoming feeling for the fans as it is for the players (or I could just be okay with it now since the Yankees won the World Series). In either case, pitchers and catchers report in roughly 90 days and I will be rested and ready to cheer for my team on Opening Day.
Marie co-writes the blog A Cardboard Problem in addition to being a season ticket holder for the Yankees and an all around baseball fan. Marie is an avid card collector and welcomes comments, questions, and e-mails.
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The 2009 World Series: Good vs. Evil?
Posted by: | CommentsAfter a six year hiatus that felt far too long for fans of the Bronx Bombers, the Yankees are headed back to the World Series, and have an opportunity to win their first World Series since 2000 (again, nine years is far too long of a wait).
Love them or hate them, it’s hard to be indifferent towards the New York Yankees. Either you live in New York and/or appreciate their history enough to be a dedicated fan, or your opinions are outside that sphere and you hate them for their high payroll and the success that comes from it. So either way, you’re probably going to watch the World Series intently and have an emotional interest in rooting for one side.
There is another aspect of this series that is objectively true, and any baseball fan has to admit (even a diehard Mets fan such as myself): the Philadelphia Phillies are a model organization, and absolutely built their team in a smart and admirable way.
Yes, you’ve seen plenty of write-ups in the media about how they’re tough, gritty, and “play hard for 27 outs”. While that is important, I’m even more impressed with how this team has been put together. Ryan Howard, Jimmy Rollins and Chase Utley make up the infield nucleus, and all were drafted and developed by the Phillies (the only team any of these guys have played for). Same goes for Cole Hamels, Ryan Madson and J.A. Happ. Jason Werth and Shane Victorino were “buy low” cases, where the Phillies saw the talent in the player and jumped at the opportunity to obtain him for a very low cost. Even Brad Lidge came over from Houston following some horrible outings, only to be perfect in the 2008 championship season.
Not to say the Yankees don’t have some of these elements too. The beloved Bronx four of Jeter, Rivera, Posada and Pettitte came up through the Yankees organization, and have provided a deep sense of continuity with fans over the last decade plus. And the Yankees have done their fair share of development with Robinson Cano, Joba Chamberlain and Phil Hughes, not to mention “buying low” with Nick Swisher.
But you look at this powerhouse team compared to its 2008 counterpart, and what’s the major difference? C.C. Sabathia as the workhorse ace, Mark Teixeira as the switch-hitter with power who also plays fantastic defense, and A.J. Burnett as the #2 starter equipped with strikeout capability. Like it or not Yankees supporters, all sports fans look at these three players as the reason for your success this year, and look next at the $423.5 million price tag that came with them. They probably also look left to Alex Rodriguez at third base and his $275 million contract that could get up to $305 million when all is said and done.
While sports fans will pout and kick dirt about how the Yankees have “bought” themselves into the World Series, you can’t fault the organization for doing what makes sense. New York is the media and financial capital of the world, and the Yankees wisely use their vast resources to invest heavily in their talent, and put a premium product on the field every year as a result. Contrast this with say, David Glass, a Wal-Mart executive for well over 30 years and former CEO for the mega retailer who also owns the Kansas City Royals. I don’t see him placing strong investments in his team as the Yankees do, and I bet fans from Miami and Minnesota have similar feelings towards their respective ownership groups.
On an intellectual level though, it’s hard to look at how the Phillies were put together and not admire what was done there. Jimmy Rollins and Ryan Howard came up through the organization and have MVP trophies on their mantle, and it’s only a matter of time until Chase Utley gets one of his own as the best second baseman in the league. They built around that core by obtaining Victorino in a Rule 5 draft, and getting Jason Werth for $850,000 in 2006. Even new staff ace Cliff Lee came over at the deadline only because they had a strong farm system with talent to spare (one that produced last year’s ace, Cole Hamels).
In terms of “bought” players, only Raul Ibanez and Pedro Martinez come to mind, two veterans who compete hard, and can still produce. Combine their salaries for this year together, and it’s a third of what Alex Rodriguez will be paid. That’s not an insult towards the Yankee payroll, but rather an appreciation for the Phillies’ ability to get the most out of the 25 spots on their roster with what they have.
If you are a dedicated baseball fan, this is how you want your team to be run. Unless of course if you’re the Yankees, and have the luxury of spending more cash than anyone to get the best players available. For fans of the other 28 teams though, (many of whom will be watching on Wednesday wishing it was their team playing on the biggest stage), take a good look at the Phillies and note how you build a winner: draft good players, develop them into great players within your system, use your payroll to retain their services and surround them with productive, established players who are significantly undervalued by the rest of the league.
Either that or, you know, spend $423.5 million.
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Jeter’s Hit: Watching History Happen From the Yankee Stadium Bleachers
Posted by: | Comments“Now batting . . . number 2. Derek . . . Jeter. Number 2.”
Anyone who has ever been to a Yankee game can read that sentence and hear Bob Sheppard in their head. I know I would never hear that any other way. Jeter has stated that he will forever be announced by Bob Sheppard for as long as he is a Yankee (which should be his whole career).
As a baseball fan you either love Derek Jeter, or you love to hate him. There doesn’t seem to be a grey area in this debate. I’ve been having a bit of a back and forth with many people about this love/hate relationship to try and figure it out; it seems as though many people hate him simply due to the overexposure he gets from the media. Is that a good reason to hate him? I really don’t think Jeter is calling all these media outlets demanding all this attention; he’s not A-Rod.
But I will grant you this: the media does have an obsession with everything Jeter does. Clearly this is more far reaching than just New York, but I wouldn’t know that without talking to many of you out in the blogosphere. Derek Jeter has been quoted saying many times that he doesn’t watch baseball when he isn’t playing, and he doesn’t get the MLB Extra Innings package. Maybe that seems strange, but we can understand he doesn’t want his entire life consumed by baseball.
Personally, I will agree that the media jams him and the Yankees down your throat because they do it here. You all know I am a big Yankees fan, and I can say good things about Jeter until the cows come home . . . but really nothing needs to be said. You watch him on the field on a daily basis and you know what kind of player he is, you know the dedication and drive he has, and you know all about his place in Yankees history.
Some of you may have wondered what it would have been like to have been there to see Jeter break Gehrig’s record, and some of you may have changed the channel because you are sick of him. If you want to know what it was like, I can tell you firsthand. It was amazing, one of those moments that I would sit in the rain for six hours to see in person. There was an initial rain delay of 1:27 before the game even started, and I have never seen that many people wait through a rain delay in all my years of going to games. Most of the time if it’s raining people don’t even go, myself included. This was different; this was a matter of seeing 72 years of history being changed in a single moment. This was a night for one captain to steal the spotlight from another captain.
It was pouring for the first pitch and no one was in their seats. But between innings the seats filled in very quickly because Jeter was leading off in the bottom of the 1st. Jeter stuck out in his first at bat, and the fans ran for cover. I remained in my seat, as did most of the bleacher creatures. The crowd then returned for Jeter’s next at bat: he belted an opposite field single, in “Jeterian” fashion (as John Sterling would say). The whole stadium was standing even before he hit the ball. As soon as the ball reached the outfield I jumped up and screamed. The crowd erupted in typical Yankee Stadium fashion, and Jeter stood at first base with 2,722 hits.
The whole team came out from the dugout to congratulate Jeter, and the Orioles were very respectful of this and waited patiently (I even saw one clap on the replay). On behalf of Yankees fans, I’d like to thank the Orioles for showing Jeter respect and for understanding the moment was not meant to show you up.
The crowd stood for every Jeter at bat after that, cheering, and chanting his name. It was a great experience that I wouldn’t have missed for anything. There have been a few games where I have been lucky enough to get to see history, and this was definitely one of my favorites. It was probably what Jeter had in mind at the last night in the old stadium about ‘building new memories’ at the new Stadium.
And so far it has been a great first season in the new stadium: between walk off wins, come from behind victories, Jeter chasing the record for all time hits, and Mariano getting his 500th career save (even if it did happen on the road). To put a cap on it, Jeter finally became the Yankees all time hits leader.
I don’t know about any of you guys, but I have a great feeling about the Yankees’ chances in the postseason and making the World Series. We have a very good group of guys who seem to have that chemistry we haven’t seen since the 90’s championship teams. I just purchased my postseason ticket package, which entitles me to my seats for every home playoff game. Hopefully, we’ll create one more new memory at our stadium by taking home a championship.
Marie co-writes the blog A Cardboard Problem in addition to being a season ticket holder for the Yankees and an all around baseball fan. Marie is an avid card collector and welcomes comments, questions, and e-mails.
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