Take Me Out To The [Atlantic League] Ballgame

There's no reason to watch the Yankees or Mets anymore this season so I may have to go see the Atlantic League. I was sent a blog post from Jorge Says No! about the Atlantic League All Stars (H/T Jordan), and I feel like I need to witness this in person. Some of my least favorite players ever are in this league: Carl Everett, Keith Foulke, Felix Rodriguez (just because he was a pretty good pitcher before he came to the Yankees and then was a bust), and Armando Benitez. But if that wasn't enough, they've gone and added Jose Lima and Hideki Irabu! They have the Lima Time AND the Fat Toad! How can I stay away now?

Also, someone posted in the comments that Preston Wilson is not only the nephew of Mookie Wilson, but the stepson also. Wow. Not sure if this is true, but this soap opera league just got a whole lot more interesting.

I'm just waiting for the day someone adds Trot Nixon, Raul Mondesi, Curt Schilling, Roberto Alomar and Kevin Millar (5 more of my least favorite players) to these independent league teams. I think the Blueport Bluefish may be my team. I mean how can I not root for a team whose two mascots are B.B. The Bluefish and Cap'n L.I. Sounder, whose best pitcher is Esteban Yan, and whose 2008 player of the month was former Twin/avid eater Matt LeCroy (is it bad when your baseball-reference.com sponsor just writes "Sack Lunch"? I'm realizing this probably has nothing to do with him, but wow)? So now that the Yankees season is definitely over in April, panic has ensued in the Bronx, and life as we know it as over, I think it's time for me to support the Bluefish.

 

Btw, great post from Peter Abraham at LoHud:

 

Brian from San Francisco, a loyal reader, checked in via e-mail with a comment that made me laugh.

"The Yankees are like swine flu,” he wrote. “There’s cause for concern but there’s no reason to panic.”

I would say that sums it up nicely.

Meanwhile, if you’re concerned about the swine flu, the Yankees have a perfect solution. Purchase one of the $2,626 Legends Seats behind the plate. You are guaranteed to be at least 10 feet away from anybody else, so the odds of catching the flu are slim.

Tony Danza Hates Local News

From Break Media -

SMTs (Satellite Media Tours) are pretty much what I do for a living. (Some might say I make webisodes, but that's up for debate.
First thing you ALWAYS tell a talent is that you never know who is watching the Satellite, and always assume your mic is on and someone is listening. As John McCain learned the hard way when he blew off Dave Letterman

Apparently, no one told Tony Danza this

Free Customized Hallmark Mother's Day Card

If you're too lazy to go to the store but still love Mom (or maybe have multiple mommies a la Big Love and don't have the funds to pay for all those Mother's Day Cards) 

 

Hallmark offers a Free Customized 5x7 Mother's Day Card (H/T slickdeals).

1. Create an account, if you don't already have one
2. Click Here
2. Choose and customize a card
4. Proceed to checkout, enter promo code CARD4MOM

Time For Accountability From Rangers Tonight

I said that I hated giving stats like that: 229 teams before this year had gone up 3-1 in a best-of-seven NHL series and only 20 had come back to win. Well the numbers have actually decreased with Anaheim and Pittsburgh advancing (231 teams have gone up 3-1, and less than 8.7% have come back to win). Well the New York Rangers are the 232nd team to go up 3-1 and they are on the verge of losing the series. And in pretty embarrassing fashion too as no one is even giving them a chance of winning this Game 7. And the biggest problem for the Rangers is that no one seems to be accepting responsibility for this.

The worst culprit of all is head coach John Tortorella. As the Rangers LoHud blog points out, Tortorella has failed to take accountability for hitting a woman in the stands for a water bottle or getting suspended for a pivotal Game 6. He didn't even want to talk about this issue. If Tortorella was on the bench, maybe the extra set of eyes would have be able to see goon Donald Brashear's pregame bump and get him out of Game 6 before it began (and before he broke Blair Betts orbital bone) or maybe the extra set of eyes would have seen Shane Morrisonn bite Brandon Dubinsky(!). But instead, the coach who has been preaching discipline and accountability, and who sat Sean Avery out of a game because of it (and has benched others as well), lost his cool at the biggest point of the season and not only refused to apologize for it, but he refused to even allow the issue to be discussed! Regardless of what happens tonight, I'm not sure his job should be secure past the end of the season after his recent actions.

But the issue goes far beyond the coach. Mark Herrmann has some candidates who need to step up and I agree with him on these three: Scott Gomez, Nik Zherdev, and Markus Naslund. There are others as well. Henrik Lundqvist has put this team on his back for years, but this year especially so. They don't play great defense in front of him and don't give him enough offense to win a lot of the time. A lot of the fault in that goes to Glen Sather who constructed this team in this way without any thought as to who exactly would put the puck in the net. And Chris Drury is a clutch player and I give him all the credit in the world for playing this series with what is probably a broken wrist, but The Captain, Mark Messier, wouldn't have stood for this bullshit.

Someone needs to step up and win this game for the Rangers. Maybe that guy is Lundqvist whose only hope might me to be "a god" although Alexander Ovechkin claimed he is not. But maybe it is some accountability from guys on the team other than Brandon Dubinsky and Ryan Callahan. Someone is going to need to step up to take the place of Blair Betts, one of their best penalty killers and an integral part of their checking line. Someone is going to need to find a way to put the puck in the net. This is the type of game that the Rangers threw all that money at Scott Gomez and Wade Redden to take over. This is the type of game where the lore of Sean Avery could grow in New York if he is able to lead them to victory. But it is time for the Rangers to step in and be accountable or else, despite that 3-1 lead and all the stats that came along with it, tonight will be the end to their season.

ESPN Hacked?

It'll probably be gone soon, but right now, go to ESPN.com and enter the Konami Code [hit up up down down left right left right b a b a]. So weird. Enjoy the rainbows and unicorns.

Yankees Need To Show Heart vs. Red Sox

Before the 1998 season started, the Yankees made a bunch of changes to their team which finished as the Wild Card the year before and lost in the Wild Card Round to the Cleveland Indians. They added Scott Brosius along with Chili Davis, Darryl Strawberry and Chuck Knoblauch (among others) to try to revamp the squad. That season they started out 1-4 and everyone questioned their team chemistry. Although they went on to go 17-6 through the rest of April, one game stands out to me: May 19, 1998 against the Baltimore Orioles.

The Yankees and Orioles used to play games like the Yankees and Red Sox play now: long games, lots of fireworks, big bats, scattered pitching performances and no lead safe. In 1996, these two teams played a 15 inning game that last 5:34, a 4:21, 9 inning game and a 3:56, 9 inning game (Yankees won 2, won the division, and beat the Orioles in the ALCS). In 1997 they played 9 inning games lasting 3:46, 3:47, 3:49, 3:50, 3:51 and 4:22 (O's won 4 and won the division). So whoever would win these epic battles in the regular season dictated the AL East. 

On May 19, 1998, the O's were up 5-1 going into the 7th inning after scoring 5 runs off of David Cone. The Yankees scored 2 with doubles by Knoblauch and Paul O'Neill and an RBI single from Tim Raines off of reliever Sidney Ponson. So down 5-3 in the bottom of the 8th, the Yankees had 1st and 2nd with two outs for O'Neill. This is where these Yankee teams were dangerous. Down to their last 4 outs, they rallied. O'Neill singled to drive in one off of Norm Charlton. Ray Miller called on his 4th reliever, Armando Benitez. And Bernie Williams promptly homered off of him turning a 5-4 deficit into a 7-5 lead. Benitez, a hothead upset by what happened, drilled the next batter, Tino Martinez, on the very next pitch, right in the back (I don't know if Martinez's back was ever the same after). The Yankees had just taken the lead and could have just allowed the Orioles to react, but they took exception. The benches spilled and multiple players (including Graeme Lloyd, Jeff Nelson and Darryl Strawberry) tried to get a piece of Benitez. And when the melee finally quieted down, Tim Raines stepped up to the plate and hit a home run to end the game. The Yankees won the next 2 games to sweep the series and they never looked back on their way to 114 wins.

The 2009 Yankees had a chance to be that team and band together on Friday night. They went into Fenway and had a tremendously frustrating game, but they had a chance to win. The Red Sox have long since replaced the Orioles as their divisional rivals and the Yankees desperately needed to get the upper hand after missing the playoffs last year. Moreover, in the top of the 9th inning, they had a chance, like Tim Raines did in 1998, to put the game away. Red Sox reliever Javier Lopez had walked the bases loaded (via a HBP and 2 BBs) with Robinson Cano and Melky Cabrera, two of New York's hottest hitters, coming up. Cano took one pitch and then hit into a double play (which got the force at home so no run scored) and Cabrera hit a foul pop to end the inning.

After Rivera blew the save (the Red Sox radio announcers said right before that the Yankees were 1,110-30 when leading after 8 innings under Mo's watch), the Yankees had runners in scoring position again in the 10th and 11th and had a chance to pick up their teammate. Except Mark Teixeira struckout to end the 10th and Melky Cabrera hit into a double play to end the 11th. And not surprisingly, the Yankees, who were 4 for 19 with runners in scoring position failed to win the game.

And this is not a one-game instance. On Saturday night, I watched from atop the Green Monster as AJ Burnett, arguably their best pitcher to date and their greatest threat against the Red Sox, blew a 6-0 lead. And on Sunday, they lost to a #5 starter, a bunch of rookie relievers and a closer (Takashi Saito) who is almost 40 and had been beaten around before last night. I've been watching it for years in fact. Ever since 2004.

I truly believe the 2004 ALCS turned around when Pedro Martinez threw one up and in to Hideki Matsui. Matsui had been killing the Red Sox up until that point and that pitch seemed to kill his bat. The year before, the Yankees responded multiple times when Pedro tried to throw at the Yankees players. Don Zimmer even famously went after Pedro who the Yankees accused of headhunting. Inexplicably, Joba Chamberlain is the only player that I believe has thrown at a Red Sox player since and no Yankees players since their famous brawls has taken exception to the domination the Red Sox have had over the Yankees (except maybe A-Rod in that embarrassing episode with Jason Varitek). And the problem isn't just that. It's that no player has shown leadership on this team when the team needs it most.

And that's where my biggest problem lies. I don't think you can fault Joe Girardi for how the team has played so far this season in some ways because of the fact they've had zero ABs from A-Rod and Chien-Ming Wang has an ERA over 34. But at some point the general has to rally the troops. Actually, as the weekend went on, the Yankees looked more and more lifeless. And I don't think Joe Girardi's constant moves are helping this team. He has a ton of arms in that bullpen but seems to switch up their use every game. Phil Coke has been a long man, a situational lefty, and a set up man. Same thing for Marte. JA was one of the Yankees best relievers but Girardi inexplicably removed him in the middle of an at bat in the 8th inning on Friday for Rivera (who them promptly blew the save after being made to work more than one inning). Some blame has to fall on him for all this overmanaging.

But you need to fault other guys on this roster too: Jeter for not really leading this team as its captain, Burnett for not holding down the Red Sox in a series changing game, Rivera for not being able to get the last out and end the Red Sox on Friday night, the hitters for being inept at time despite a huge breakout on Saturday, Teixeira for not doing more to carry the offense with A-Rod, Petttitte for not stopping Ellsbury from stealing home (the play that officially ended the series), Girardi and Cashman for not going with a long man in the bullpen and not having Mark Melancon available until last night, the bullpen for imploding multiple times this season etc, etc.

The truth is that this team needs to band together. They can't just be a bunch of paychecks. Do changes need to be made? Maybe. I don't think Joba-to-the-'pen makes any more sense now (actually less with Wang not being able to pitch). One co-worker suggested not only do the Yankees move Joba to the bullpen, but make him the closer against the Red Sox because of Rivera's problems as-of-late. That's WAY over the top in my opinion. I don't think Girardi should be fired yet, despite the fact that I have disagreed with a lot of his managerial moves. I feel like sometimes he needs to turn into Joe Torre and sit comatose on the bench. He makes me nervous on that bench and misuses his lineup (ie- why isn't Peña starting? because Ransom and Berroa are that much better? Can't we at least give Peña the chance?) and his bullpen, but I think we at least need to give him until the end of May. I don't think a trade is necessary because the Yankees have gotten killed by making panic trades (see: Mondesi, Raul).

But I think this team needs to figure out who/what it is. It has been difficult this year with a new Stadium, lots of changes on the team and some players hurt/ineffective. But this team needs to show up and it needs to show heart and it needs to pull together as a team and win games like that one in 1998. Especially against the Red Sox. Or else this could be a long, long summer.

Rivera Just Needs A Little Ray Durham (FIXED)

Some people have argued that the Red Sox success against Mariano Rivera was due to the unbalanced schedule and playoffs matchups yielding more plate appearances which they argue yields to greater success. I decided to play around with Baseball-Reference's play-by-play information (via RetroSheet) to see if guys really had more success against Rivera (min. 20 PAs) with more plate appearances (sorted by OPS). The results show that 2003-2009 Red Sox players Millar, Ortiz and Varitek have shown success against Rivera while Ramirez (12 Ks in 38 ABs!), Damon, and Nixon struggled. The worst is Ray Durham who hasn't reached first base safely in 26 plate appearances. (sorry about the initial problems. Hopefully the format is fixed)

                    PA  AB  H  2B 3B HR RBI  BB  SO   BA   OBP   SLG   **OPS**   SH  SF IBB HBP GDP G_miss YR_miss
+-----------------+---+---+---+--+--+--+---+---+---+-----+-----+-----+---------+---+---+---+---+---+------+-------+
Edgar Martinez     20  16  10  3  0  2   6   3   4  .625  .700 1.188   1.888     0   0   2   1   0               
 Rafael Palmeiro    30  24   8  0  0  2   3   6   0  .333  .467  .583   1.050     0   0   1   0   3               
 Jim Thome          20  14   3  1  0  1   1   6   4  .214  .450  .500    .950     0   0   1   0   1               
 Ivan Rodriguez     22  20   6  2  0  1   3   2   4  .300  .364  .550    .914     0   0   1   0   0               
 Kevin Millar       22  20   6  1  0  1   2   0   1  .300  .364  .500    .864     0   0   0   2   1               
 Carlos Delgado     23  21   8  1  0  0   1   2   4  .381  .435  .429    .864     0   0   2   0   0               
 David Ortiz        24  23   7  1  0  1   4   1   3  .304  .333  .478    .811     0   0   0   0   0               
 Mike Bordick       24  21   6  1  1  0   1   3   3  .286  .375  .429    .804     0   0   0   0   1               
 Jason Varitek      36  33  10  1  0  1   8   3   6  .303  .361  .424    .785     0   0   1   0   1               
 Brady Anderson     21  20   6  2  0  0   0   1   1  .300  .333  .400    .733     0   0   0   0   0               
 Ramon Hernandez    21  20   6  1  0  0   1   1   3  .300  .333  .350    .683     0   0   0   0   1               
 Miguel Tejada      24  23   6  2  0  0   7   0   2  .261  .250  .348    .598     0   1   0   0   0               
 Manny Ramirez      43  38   8  0  0  1   9   3  12  .211  .279  .289    .568     0   1   1   1   0               
 Mark McLemore      20  19   5  0  0  0   0   1   1  .263  .300  .263    .563     0   0   0   0   1               
 Trot Nixon         23  18   3  0  0  0   0   5   4  .167  .348  .167    .515     0   0   0   0   0               
 Johnny Damon       31  28   5  0  0  0   2   3   2  .179  .258  .179    .437     0   0   0   0   0               
 B.J. Surhoff       23  22   3  0  0  0   0   1   4  .136  .174  .136    .310     0   0   1   0   0               
 Frank Thomas       24  22   3  0  0  0   1   1   7  .136  .167  .136    .303     0   1   0   0   0               
 Jay Gibbons        24  23   3  0  0  0   0   0   7  .130  .130  .130    .260     1   0   0   0   1               
 Melvin Mora        22  21   2  0  0  0   1   0   7  .095  .136  .095    .231     0   0   0   1   0                
Ray Durham         26  26   0  0  0  0   0   0   3  .000  .000  .000    .000     0   0   0   0   1               

And just the current Red Sox

                       PA  AB  H  2B 3B HR RBI  BB  SO   BA   OBP   SLG   **OPS**   SH  SF IBB HBP GDP G_miss YR_miss
+-----------------+---+---+---+--+--+--+---+---+---+-----+-----+-----+---------+---+---+---+---+---+------+-------+
Jason Bay           5   5   1  0  0  1   2   0   1  .200  .200  .800   1.000     0   0   0   0   0               
 Mike Lowell        11  10   4  0  0  0   2   1   2  .400  .455  .400    .855     0   0   1   0   0               
 David Ortiz        24  23   7  1  0  1   4   1   3  .304  .333  .478    .811     0   0   0   0   0               
 Kevin Youkilis     11   9   3  0  0  0   1   0   1  .333  .455  .333    .788     0   0   0   2   0               
 Jason Varitek      36  33  10  1  0  1   8   3   6  .303  .361  .424    .785     0   0   1   0   1               
 J.D. Drew           6   6   2  0  0  0   0   0   2  .333  .333  .333    .666     0   0   0   0   0               
 Jacoby Ellsbury     5   4   1  0  0  0   0   0   2  .250  .400  .250    .650     0   0   0   1   0               
 Nick Green          3   2   0  0  0  0   0   1   2  .000  .333  .000    .333     0   0   0   0   0               
 Dustin Pedroia      8   6   0  0  0  0   0   2   4  .000  .250  .000    .250     0   0   0   0   0               
 Jonathan Van Ever   1   1   0  0  0  0   0   0   0  .000  .000  .000    .000     0   0   0   0   0               
+-----------------+---+---+---+--+--+--+---+---+---+-----+-----+-----+---------+---+---+---+---+---+------+-------+
Total             110  99  28  2  0  3  17   8  23  .283  .355  .394    .749     0   0   2   3   1               

Hartford Whalers spirit is alive and well in CT

When I was in elementary and middle school - you know, back when NHL hockey was actually popular - I was really into hockey. It was arguably the sport I was best at, and every single one of my friends followed the game. Growing up in Wayne, New Jersey, most of my friends were Devils fans but there were a few (stubborn) Rangers holdouts. And I will admit it: I was definitely a Devils fan. I played goalie so I loved Martin Brodeur...I owned his jersey and autographed hockey cards and bobbleheads and all the other collectibles kids tend to accumulate. And I went to more than my share of Devils games, both regular season and playoff.

That said, I could not (and still cannot) ignore my passion for the Whale. Hockey is the only sport where I root for two teams, but before you criticize this apparent crime, allow me to explain. The Hartford Whalers have a very important place in my heart. See, I grew up in New Jersey all alone with my family of four. Every single relative lived in Connecticut, and my grandparents owned 2 season tickets to the Whalers. Section 119 -- the Whalers' end of the ice.

My grandparents loved the Whalers, and knowing that I loved hockey, every trip up to central Connecticut meant going to a Whalers game. Those are some of my absolute favorite memories as a kid. I remember driving from Bloomfield or Simsbury and going into "the city" -- while I now know that Hartford isn't exactly a big city, when I was 9 it seemed enormous and overwhelming. I remember eating dinner in the food court of the since-closed Civic Center Mall before games. I remember countless brawls (between both fans and players) whenever we played a division rival, especially if that rival was the Bruins or Rangers. I remember the Brass Bonanza -- the hokey but addicting theme song of the Whalers that is still played today at countless New England-area sporting events. I remember a crowd that wore more Whalers apparel than any other sports team. Seriously, everyone wore something Whalers or something green. The only other team that even comes close is the Yankees, but their new corporate ticket prices will produce more suits and fewer jerseys (Hartford fans, your title is safe).

Anyway, part of what drew me to the Whalers was the small town, lovable loser sentiment surrounding the team. Unlike rooting for the Yankees, Giants, Devils, and Nets -- each of which has multiple championships or championship appearances -- the Whalers actually lost more games than they won in their entire existence. They won their division only once, in 1986-87. They lost in the Adams Division semifinal six years in a row. They traded the only two superstars they ever developed -- Ron Francis and Ulf Samuelsson -- in the same trade to Pittsburgh, and both went on to win 2 Stanley Cups with the Penguins. That kind of stuff only happened to the Whalers.

Unlike my teams in North Jersey or New York, Hartford was an admittedly small town to have a pro team. Connecticut residents had only two teams: the Whalers and anything UConn. So they fell in love with the only pro team in town. They stuck with them through ups and downs, and for a while, they continued buying tickets to the undersized-yet-conveniently-located Hartford Civic Center.

Speaking of which...the Civic Center. It still stands today but has been renamed the XL Center, which speaks to just how pervasive the insurance industry is in this town. I still get chills whenever I go there for a UConn basketball game or a rare Hartford Wolf Pack hockey game. The Whalers banners are still hanging from the rafters, and they can always be seen whenever the camera shows a UConn basketball player attempting a free throw (or when watching a slam dunk highlight). Every time I see a game at the Civic Center (er, XL Center) I see someone wearing something Whalers. Every single time.

Anyway, the Whalers were just a lovable group of guys. Gordie Howe, one of the original "New England Whalers", was constantly hanging around. My grandfather once met him in the aforementioned Civic Center food court. Their captain, Kevin Dineen, not only has Crohn's Disease but also volunteered five times to be the MC for the CCFA charity golf tournament in Simsbury that my grandparents help run (and I play in) every June. That's how the Whalers interacted with the people of Hartford - frequently and genuinely.

The Whalers left Hartford after the 1996-97 season because of their putrid owner, Peter Karmanos. (Karmanos is like Hamen -- nobody's name draws more boos or hisses than his in Hartford.) At the time, Karmanos pointed to dwindling attendance figures and a less-than-tremendously-profitable arena as reasons for leaving town. But we later learned that he never intended to keep the team in Hartford. North Carolina, or whatever market was then suited for a pro hockey team, was his ultimate destination. The loss of the Whale left a gaping hole in the heart of Hartford.

Today, I still root for the Devils, and I will never root for the Carolina Freakin Hurricanes. When I moved to Hartford for law school, I decked out my apartment with my fair share of Whalers memorabilia. I still have my Dineen jersey (and still wear it when the time is right), but I also have banners and bumper stickers and logo pucks and hockey cards. My girlfriend asked me why I still root for a team that no longer exists. I say it's because the team never really left Hartford. Drive around the city and you'll see license plate frames and vanity plates and flags on peoples' houses. Mention the Whale to any long-time CT resident and you'll get a knowing (if not forlorn) smile. The passion is still there, and many people believe that with a new arena and a displaced team, NHL hockey can still successfully return to Hartford.

Last year, I joined the Hartford Whalers Booster Club. For the price of only $10, I support the grassroots efforts of many to bring pro hockey back to this city. A couple of weeks ago, I attended my first HWBC meeting at Mayor Mike's bar and restaurant downtown. I was absolutely blown away by the people who showed up. Everyone was wearing Whalers green and some of the clothes were vintage 1980's items. There was a merchandise table full of original pieces (imagine my delight). And they also had a projector showing a DVD copy of the Whalers' last home game, a 2-1 win over Tampa Bay. Fittingly, Kevin Dineen scored the last goal in Whalers history.

Watching that game with those die-hards made me remember why I loved the Whalers so much, even if they weren't truly "my" team. So many fans had brought posters to the game, thanking the players for many wonderful years of exciting hockey. When the camera zoomed in on fans crying -- both children and adults -- I felt their pain. Their team was being swept out from underneath them and moved far away to Raleigh. The Whalers were the life blood of Hartford, and the tributes made by the fans to the players (and at the end of the game, from the players to the fans) were touching. And to show how well Hartford fans knew the game, one of the guys I was watching the broadcast with said, "Twelve years later and the Whalers' power play still pisses me off."

I am realistic about the chances that Hartford will get another NHL team. The likelihood is probably ten percent or less. But I really admire the HWBC for trying to rally everyone behind this cause. Hartford was a great hockey town; it only suffered from a losing team and an underperforming arena. If the Whale, or their reincarnation, ever returns to Hartford, I will be first in line for season tickets. Even if that's just to relive some wonderful childhood memories, I don't care. I just want to be part of a small market that is in love with its one sports team. It's a pretty unique situation here in the Northeast, and I applaud the HWBC for trying to recreate it.

Long live the Whale!

Update: I took these photos with my iPhone today (4/27/09) at a store in Westfarms Mall, West Hartford, CT.

Varitek Kills Us Again

Jason Varitek may barely be hitting above the Mendoza line but he always kills the Yankees. 6-5 Yankees now as a dead Fenway crowd is now back in it. This is what Yankees/Sox seems to be all about.

-Andrew

First pitch

A picture of first pitch from on top of the Green Monster. It's an absolutely gorgeous day for baseball will update as the game goes on. (Other picture is of the Green Monster stamp)

-Andrew