Today in The Journal News
Posted by: Peter Abraham - Posted in Misc on Jun 07, 2007 
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Bud Selig wants Jason Giambi to be an informantin the steroids probe. The MLBPA plans to get in the way of that.
Behind Chien-Ming Wang, the Yankees beat the White Sox.
In the words of the great Southside Johnny, this time it’s for real. Roger Clemens is ready to pitch on Saturday.
Giambi screwed his entire career by opening his mouth. Now I guess the Yanks will get their way to cancel his contract. Once he squeels to MLB he’s done.
I just don’t get it! Go after the Mets clubhouse guy, or (better yet) bring in Gary Sheffield to talk with Mitchell cause Shef always has soooo much to say! Yea, Shef would be a better candidate for talking with Mitchell. And since Mitchell is on the board of the Red Sox and is so “tight” with the Sox, why not bring in Big Papi for some discussion or maybe Manny Being Manny. But it looks like Giambi is the one and only that they are going after. And I never mentioned that home run hitter from out west!
Selig, Steroids, Fehr and Loathing
Selig has set up a no-win scenario for himself, Baseball and Giambi. If Giambi talks about steroids any further and either changes or expands on matters he was asked about in the Grand Jury and for which he was apparently granted immunity, he risks prosecution for perjury, contempt of the Grand Jury and obstructing a federal investigation. The US Attorney will be all over any statements Giambi would make to the Mitchell probers to compare and contrast with the Grand Jury testimony. Mitchell could not refuse a federal subpoena for transcripts of any statements Giambi might make to Mitchell’s group.
Thus, before Giambi could talk to Mitchell’s group he would need grants of immunity from the US Attorney’s Office/US District Court based on proffers of what answers he would make to Mitchell’s questions. But the US Attorney will no doubt some day subpoena everything Mitchell will collect and that’s a big reason nobody will talk to Mitchell’s group. To make it worse, if Giambi answers new questions, he would be inviting local DAs to target him, like Albany’s David Soares, so he would also state and local grants of immunity from prosecution.
Giambi was already outed for an alleged positive amphetamine test. Somebody is leaking and unless that leak was investigated by MLB and Mitchell and it is proven that the leak was plugged, Giambi cannot believe anything he says would be kept confidential. But a federal subpoena for Giambi’s statements to Mitchell is a much bigger threat to Giambi than leaks. The immunity problem is too great to solve, thus Giambi ain’t talking.
Selig has dirty hands and his recent climb onto the back of his high horse is a farce. It was proven that while the owner of the Brewers, Selig actively engaged in collusion against free agents in the middle to late 80s. The collusion grievances set up the labor-management environment that led to the ’94 strike. The ’94 strike canceled the World Series and rocked MLB’s financial world. The steroids generation brought the fans back, especially with the 1998 McGwire – Sosa HR record chase. Once back in the fold, the fans were exploited for higher ticket prices, merchandising and higher TV revenue for MLB. Selig’s obscene salary is realistically the thanks of MLB’s ownership for getting their ledgers back in the black, even though it could be argued that the revitalization of MLB’s fan base and finances was due to in some measure to steroids.
As a dirty “player” himself, Selig is dead wrong trying to scapegoat Giambi for his comments, while ignoring the wealth of evidence against Bonds (Game of Shadows, his mistress’ testimony, etc) and Selig’s own complicity in the steroids problem. Selig should be testifying in front of Mitchell’s committee about what he knew and when he knew it.
Selig has ignited a completely unnecessary round of brinksmanship that can only lead to bad things. Donald Fehr and the Union will not tolerate the bind Selig is attempting to put Giambi in and this will ring in a new era of contentious labor relations and possible strikes. Poor stewardship, Bud. But what can you expect from a former car salesman?
“Bud Selig wants Jason Giambi to be an -informant- snitch in the steroids probe. The MLBPA plans to get in the way of that.”
Giambino is on the cover of the News and backpage of the Post. What city do the Mets play in????
Digya see Big Papi lose it last nite?
just by looking at them, you couldn’t tell they had a 10 game lead.
I tell ya, they can hear the #4 train comin’
Regarding Giambi, I think between his own attorneys and the Players Union, it will be a while before any meeting takes place, if at all.
It is ironic to me that the one player involved in all this who really does seem to want to do the right thing is going to be the one raked through the coals. But, that being said, and as bad as I feel for Giambi (who just seems to be a decent person, steroids notwithstanding — we’ve all made mistakes), he did bring all of this on himself. First of all, he made the decision to add steroids to his workout repertoire. And the latest controversy was begun when Jason naively believed that statements to a reporter could EVER be off-the-record, particularly with regard to the steroid issue. I just don’t see how MLB can punish him if he hasn’t tested positive since the policy was initiated.
Pete, going back to last night’s thread and your comment that more people comment during a loss than a win, I just know that for myself, when the Yankees are losing, I’m looking for an escape from the game. But I don’t post much during any games anyway.
After reading the in-game posts, I just wanted to add my opinion to the Flaherty-Girardi-O’Neill discussion. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Paul O’Neill. His commentary is priceless, and I agree with the poster (sorry, forgot who) who compared him to Rizzuto. Last night, I was totally relating to his comments about football players and cheerleaders in H.S. I was a cheerleader, and I was cracking up, because, well, it IS true. But the hangman comment was beyond priceless. Regarding Flaherty vs. Girardi — Girardi is incredibly insightful and intellligent, and Flaherty is almost as good. I agree that Girardi will hold back a bit, because he will manage again (as someone else posted) and he does have to be concerned about saying the wrong thing. But Flaherty’s delivery is a little bland still, though he’s improved a lot since last season — he needs to punch it up just a tad. But, all in all, just put O’Neill there every night and it’d be bliss. All that he’s missing is the nightly birthday/anniversary shout-outs!
Why only call in the players to try and get a “snitch.” It is such a farce. You’ve got managers, owners, and trainers that all know half of the players were doing this.
Baseball management along with the players and owners should just admit it was a problem, that they knew about it, and did nothing because ratings were booming with Big Mac, Sammy, Bonds, and Brady Anderson hitting the long ball.
As Maddox used to say, “chicks dig the long ball.”
So get over it, clean it up if any still remains, and move on.
- KMT
Doreen,
can you post some of ya cheerleading photos ??
pretty please
And who doesn’t love Paulie. no, really.
Girardi, Flaherty, and O”Neill are awesome color guys on YES ! They are a great listen. Murcer is also good, and while I (at first) didn’t like the constant changing of commentators, it is a good idea cause they never get “stale”.
RJPinestripes –
I like the rotation, too. Changes things up. And give us more to comment on!
Dr. Acula –
Now, now.
Doreen,
What did O’Neil say? Out in the hinterlands I was stuck with the WS announcers. If Bud wants to investigate something, he should investigate why DJ & Hawk are announcing ballgames.
I seem to remember at least once during the Yankees/Red Sox series this past weekend, that it was said that the Red Sox could not experience an extended losing streak this season. Well, now, they’ve lost 4 in a row and are only 5-5 in their last 10 games. Now, while 4 games in a row may not be considered “an extended losing streak,”, it’s sure a change of pace from their great start.
Said David Ortiz: “Once we got to the West Coast, it was a different feeling,” Ortiz said after the Boston Red Sox lost, 3-2, to the Oakland Athletics on Wednesday night at McAfee Coliseum. “We’re playing well, but, I don’t know, it’s just not there. We don’t have the same intensity we’ve had before.”
I’m sure you all noticed A-Rod getting fired up about that call last night. That’s what this team needs.
rbj –
I’m not really good at paraphrasing — it won’t be nearly as funny as hearing it first-hand. But re: football players/cheerleaders – Kay asked if O’Neill played football. O’Neill said he did, but only because that was the way to date cheerleaders; he said he was a kicker/punter – so then they talked about the play where O’Neill kicked the baseball; and then they asked him if his wife was a cheerleader – he said yes, and then they said, so, if you weren’t on the football team, you wouldn’t have married your wife, but they were FUNNY when they said all this!
And the hangman comment — well, pretty much he said he was playing hangman by himself without a pencil and doing it in his head, and Girardi and Kay were teasing him about this — but again, it’s not funny telling about it.
O’Neill just has a way about him — he’s candid, honest, sincerely amusing in a very off-hand way. He’s not trying to be funny, which is one of the reasons why he IS so funny. He’s the friend you have with all the good stories, AND the ability to put that certain “spin” on things that makes the story even better than the original experience.
Thanks Doreen. Don’t worry about it not being verbatim or funny, it still helps wash out the noise of the WS guys. Would be nice to hear Paul more often.
This is gonna blow up in Buds face,I cant wait.
“Selig should be testifying in front of Mitchell’s committee about what he knew and when he knew it.”
i agree the spotlight should be turned around on selig. question authority.
once the spotlight is on him , he’ll be anxious to move on which is exactly what mlb should be doing.
Am I mistaken, or is Selig doing this more or less to keep the federal government out of the situation? What I mean is, he needs to show that MLB is policing itself, and so doesn’t require the intervention of the feds?
Doreen Im not sure Bud can walk that tightrope.Once he suspends Jason and the PA comes in and gets it overturned the Feds might come in anyway.Whatever Buds motivation is I dont think hes thought it through properly cause he has as much to hide as anyone.
Bart! I miss you!
plays of the game …
1. cano stabbing the hot-shot in the 5th to turn the dbl play
2. melky’s hard charge on the liner up the middle to throw out the runner at home ( awesome !! )
3. and believe it or not – abreu’s hr . it added a cushion to the lead and mounds of confidence for everybody on the team . maybe ozzie guillen is correct – abreu is a 2nd half player .
I think the play of the game is when Joe decided that Wang can go more than 5 innings.
I saw the highlight of Big Papi pitching a fit – does this mean the shoe is finally on the other foot??? Doesn’t like the call? Gee, too bad. Maybe what he meant about not having the same feeling on the West Coast is that now they are playing the game in a real big league stadium, not that pitiful little band box at Fenway. And A-Rod was right, he was safe at 2nd last night, so if he got pissed off it was justified, as has been the case in the many blown calls the umps have made against the Yanks. Does anyone else hate Johnny Damon’s new hair style – ugh, all that gel makes me want to barf!
Hey Pete– Who did manager Beane try to fight in the media game? Feinsand said that Beane tried to fight two members of the NY media? Were you one of them? Please at least tell me Mike Lupica got punched in the gobbler.
general bud seilg says if giambi talks to mitchell he’ll imune to any disciplinary actions by mlb .
O’Neil is great. He’s loyal to the players but not in a fanboy way, plus he’s a good mix of serious and funny and I love how he guesses what the players must be thinking when they’re having to deal with crap umpire calls and the like. Who’d've thunk, our Paul-y, our water-cooler-kicking warrior, would have such a playful spirit behind a mike.
I think its great that the Sox have dropped four in a row. I, sadly, live in the Redneck backyard of Red Sox Nation. It is known to most as the state of Maine.
Let me tell ya, getting my coffee and papers this AM, the minions of Sux Nation are tired and angry this morning. These people never miss a game, they were all up well past 1 am last night. I think the fact they lost two games on two pitches this week hurts. I think knowing they could lose four games in a row in OAK for the first time in 75 years is scary.
And they see us lurking deep in the shadows. Like Pedro pointed out yesterday, the Yanks were 1.5 games back of teh Sox in July and won it by 10 games last year.
This team is just getting going. Defense is upgraded w/ Melky full time, and even having Cairo at 1B is better than Giambi.
The Wanger was hot last night. And seeing A-Rod fired up like that could be the spark this team needs, along with the return of Clemens this weekend, so that the next time they look up in the standings, they could have put up a 9-2 run over the next two weeks, especially against the Crappy NL.
Go Bombers, win No. 27 this year for the Skip.
Joe Torre for President 2008
And, today was the first time I didn’t catch crap at my newstand about the Yanks
When the choke -mes play in a major league ballpark, and not that absurd little league park where 315 lazy fly balls hurtle into the right field bleachers, choke- me fans can cry about a little bandbox.
Its truly shocking what happens when you get good pitching on a daily basis.
The team actually plays good baseball! Shocking!
Murph,
Well said. You can forget about this era of “peace” between the players and owners if Selig is going to channel his inner Joe McCarthy on this one.
How ironic. The car salesman from Wisconsin sounding more and more like the former Senator of Wisconsin than a baseball commissioner. Its called desperation and its very sad.
Pete, your industry just took more steps toward the sewer today.
Evidently, the Daily News (and others it seems) spent three hours stalking Arod and his family, while they were out and about in Chicago yesterday.
Is this really where “sports journalism” is going? Stakeouts of players on their own, private time?
If that’s where its going, I feel very bad for you and your colleques who view this business differently.
Someone should tell your editors that “strategy” is not going to make newspapers relevent with the younger generation. Short term fixes rarely create long term solutions.
I just don’t want to get carried away. I’ll take it one game at a time. I find that whenever I get too far ahead of myself, looking at the schedule and “figuring out” where they should win and where they should lose, it’s pretty futile.
For instance, tonight. If Mussina pitches the way the Yankees have come to expect him to, then we have a shot at winning. If not, we could lose. But there’s also that pesky other team/pitcher, who could have the odd good/bad day. But, the last couple of games have had a better feel to them, and neither one has been perfect — last night baserunning mistakes, the night before, hitting into DP’s. They’re still not taking advantage of all the scoring opportunities they get. And yet, they won, so that’s a really good turn of events.
10 1/2 out.Start of a move.
Oh, my goodness — I just noticed I typed “we.” Thanks, guys, I’ve succumbed to my own pet peeve. UGH. I mean the Yankees — I don’t win or lose anything (well, baseball-wise, anyway).
Anyone notice, on last night’s sixth-inning play where Jerry Owens got thrown out at the plate by Melky, how A-Rod positioned himself perfectly around third base so Owens had to make a slightly wide turn around the bag? It was far too subtle for runner interference, but it made the difference as Melky got him by a step. And Owens is no turtle out there. That’s why I want A-Rod back on this team next year…he has an incredible baseball mind.
Also, Jerry Owens belongs on the Reggie Cleveland All-Stars.
O’Neill is great, but honestly I love all the changing and rotating of announcers because anything that results in me hearing less Michael Kay is a very good thing.
SJ44,
Murphydog’s post at 6:26 a.m. is excellent and informative. I especially like the reference to Selig’s active participation in collusion against free agents in the 1980s. That was the biggest “fix” in the history of American sports. A bunch of rich guys sat in a room and decided who was going to win, who was going to lose, and how much money they were going to make on all of it. Men like Pete Rose, Joe Jackson and Buck Weaver are banned from baseball and this goon is the commissioner. As the great Jimmy Breslin would say: Beautiful.
Matt, I didn’t see A Rod do that, I’ll have to check the video. If he did, it just goes to show how high his baseball IQ is. Don’t tell ESPN or anyone north of Conn. or else they will call him the B League word again.
Giambi has nothing to gain by disclosing anything to Mitchell, so I seriously doubt he’ll say anything. His only loss might be a suspension by Bud and this of course will raise hell with the MLPA.
Worse case for Giambi is he gets suspended a month, comes back in August or whenever, well rested and well healed and contributes late in the year and is fit for a run in 08 to up his value in his walk year, 09.
Pete-
I have been reading rumors about Shea Hillenbrand about to be cut by the Angels, & that the Yanks will sign him like they thought about in the off season. I think Phelps & Nieves won’t be around much longer,especially now that the Yanks are playing some consistently good baseball, your thoughts?
It’s much more enjoyable to watch a game on YES when O’Neill is one of the commentators. He always adds some interesting bits of info like he did a couple nights ago when he talked about batters getting their boxes of bats but only using a few that just “felt right”. The rest they used in BP.
“I think its great that the Sox have dropped four in a row. I, sadly, live in the Redneck backyard of Red Sox Nation. It is known to most as the state of Maine.”
you’re in big trouble now ,shamus. i was born in skowhegan,maine and had 67 first cousins by the time i was 10. my father and his brothers and sisters used to leave the dairy farm farmington in the late evening in the back of the family pickup to drive to yankee stadium for the next day to watch ruth,gehrig,dimaggio, lazzeri.etc. there were no interstates, and no maine turnpike. when i was born it was when dimaggio came back to make one last try with the heel spurs against the red sox on june 30th,1949. they were neck and neck with the red sox the yankees swept all four games and dimaggio hit about 4 home riuns and had about 12 rbis. my father was listening to the ball games on the car radio as he drove my mother to the hospital. i came into the world on a four game yankee winning streak against the red sox. my father turned me around and into a lefthanded hitter for yankee stadium. he took me to see kaline break his collarbone to rob the yankees of a win on the last play of a game, and he told me to watch ted williams real close because even though he was the enemy he was someone to remember. he’s 87 now and he can tell you who is a real yankee at first glance. he never misses a game on tv and when he goes to the gym on his daily ritual to exchange banter with red sox fans, win or lose they are the ones in trouble. he goes a little earlier and stays a little later on the days the yankees beat the red sox
Anyone following the draft today? Rumor mill says that LaPorta will drop to us (Big bat from the Gators of Gainesville, looks like a good choice and one that could help in the next two years) but they are saying that a righthander who could normally go 1st pick could drop because of $$ issues. Personally I know you cant have enough pitching but we NEED a power, Left Hitting 1B for Cheap and here he is
nice southside reference
From what I have read is that LaPorta will be gone by the 19th pick to St’ Louis & that the Yanks may take Harvey (HS pitcher from CT)The Yanks obviously can afford anyone but have never signed a draft pick to a major league contract, which surprised me.
Hopefully every guy with a money issue drops in this draft today and use our clout to pick them all up and keep restocking this system.
How much you want to make a million dollar bet that if the Yankees sign most of the “money issues” guys that drop that there will be some kind of rule or “draft tax” established?????
randy l,
Great story! So does your dad think that Alex & Damon are real Yankees?
Anyone else miss Kitty in the booth.
I can’t stand Kay
Love singleton and murcer
o’neill is ok
rest are dreck.
I liked Kay/Sterling on radio, but Suzyn OH MY GOSH W. has got to go.
Sterling is priceless but needs a meat and potatoes guyand a spotter (too many high, far, caught! calls this year) to balance him out.
I don’t know how any Yankee fan could have a problem with Kay. I find him entertaining on both the broadcasts and on his radio show.
As for Suzyn, I don’t hate her, but Sterling was definitely better back when he was paired with Kay.
SJ44 – i would hardly put the daily news and pete in the same industry. the daily news and the post are glorified tabloids. pete is a sports journalist.
SJ:
Thanks on the earlier post. I feel pretty strongly about all that as you can tell – and you were the guy to call for Selig to be deposed. Selig and all the owners and execs would be deposed if the Mitchell investigation was truly independent and had teeth – but alas, it’s not independent and it is toothless.
On the A-Rod stalker-azzi situation, I agree that generally such behavior is reprehensible, except in this circumstance. After the blond wig incident in Toronto, A-Rod and Cynthia were seeking spin control and purposely walked about begging to be photographed smiling and happy, thus putting out the flames of the earlier Stray -Rod stories.
The media and the stars have a symbiotic relationship. The media uses the stars to sell papers and the stars use the media to amp up their image, get messages across, pump up their favorite causes etc. I think after A-Rod purposely sought out the media to take happy face pictures of himself and Cynthia for spin control, he was tacitly agreeing to be stalked for awhile.
Kay is awful, both on the TV broadcast and on the radio. I often find him incredibly uninformed… and me and my friends noticed he loves to misuse the word “ironic” all the time. pay attention, you’ll notice it, too… and for someone in the position he’s in, it really irks us that he doesnt really know the definition of irony.
i used to love Jim Kaat, and i do enjoy Girardi and O’Neill. I prefer hearing Singleton do the play by play. Flaherty is a little dry for a regular broadcast, but gives some pretty good insight.
overall, IMO, i think Keith Hernandez and Ron Darling are much more entertaining on a nightly basis than what the YES broadcast has, but obviously YES is where my team plays, so i’ll have to deal.
I definitely have to agree with you, TurnTwo, about Hernandez and Darling. One of my friends is a big Mets fan so I tend to watch a bunch of Mets games too (a lot of times switching back and forth between YES and SNY). While the YES guys are decent, it is, unfortunately, way more enjoyable to hear the SNY guys than our guys. They’re just really funny and keep you entertained even if the game is a blowout.
Selig was wrong and is now bitter.
He’s bitter that a lot of people are/were pointing the finger in MLB’s (particularly his) direction for ignoring the issue in the first place.
Now he’s bitter at Giambi for calling him out stating that EVERYONE needs to apologize and he wants some type of revenge. As someone mentioned, Giambi is his scapegoat.
Other than revenge, what agenda could he possibly have with this? Finding out names of past users? Ooooooohhhh!!! He’s simply trying to make up for lost time that could’ve been spent making and enforcing policies.
As a lot have been saying, face the issue at hand now and don’t let anyone break the rules going forward. That’s the best and pretty much the only logical thing to do at this point. An apology for ignoring the issue (like Jason suggested) would be nice, but I’m not holding my breath.
Wow, this Giambi junk is getting to be ridiculous. As I’d hope most Yankee fans would also do, I plan to completely ignore everything and anything about Jason Giambi right now.
The Yankees have ignited and hope is legit. Wang is nasty and looked like the ace that he is last night. 4-1 in his last five starts. Looks like someone is confident.
We get Pettitte and the Rocket on Friday and Saturday and will boast four legit starting pitchers (pending the health of some) along with a budding rookie in Clippard.
Giambi is a good guy and all, but I am quite a bit more concerned about the State of the Yankees than his inability to keep his scarred mouth shut and just play ball.
mel-
my father once told me about a third baseman that the yankees had to get because he had the perfeect yankee stadium swing. it turned out to be nettles. he doesn’t know what to make of arod, thinks he’s a great player, but is reserving judgement i think. he likes damon ,but says he can throw better lefthanded (and he’s 87 and righthanded). he loves wang. he calls him “the big chinaman” in the nicest of all possible ways.jeter is his man on the yankees. he likes all the yankee core players from the championship run . he surprisingly likes cairo and gets a huge kick out of melky. he really likes melky because he says he’s always in the middle of things. basically he likes good players who play well in yankee stadium that have some fight in them but don’t say a whole lot.
Mr. Drew:
Thanks. (After so many of your excellent contributions it was time for me to step up to the plate).
I’m passionate about the steroids situation, how it came about, what it did to the game (still somewhat unclear in fact, but certain in terms of the doubts it has raised about the game) and how the whole matter is being handled, or more accurately, mis-handled.
Trying to put Giambi in a box for his statements while ignoring the evidence against Bonds is a joke. It only makes further farce and mockery out of MLB’s handling of the situation.
At the same time, however, Selig’s decision to throw this elbow at the Union is a sly attempt to cast responsibility for the PEDs problem entirely on the players. But in fact use of PEDs throughout MLB is a two-sided story, and not just the players’ problem. Mitchell has to stop whining about the players stonewalling him and start demanding that Selig and all owners and execs sit for depositions to determine who knew what and when they knew it from the owner’s and MLB’s side.
If Mitchell’s people don’t put Selig and Steinbrenner and Cashman under oath about Giambi, and the relevant people under oath about Canseco and Bonds and Caminiti, etc., the Mitchell investigation is at best a whitewash of ownership’s role and a witch-hunt of the players.
Hey Doreen! Hey Randy I!
Boston could care less about what the last place Yankees are doing! What you all should be worrying about today is that Moose is pitching today and will probably lose another game for you! Then you’ll be 6 games under 500.
That’s what you need to worry about today. Not what Boston fans are thinking and what the Red Sox are doing. Boston ate the NL for lunch last year at 16-2, so Interleague the rest of the month should separate the BEST (Boston) from the Worst (The Stanks) in the month of June.
Struggling to play 500 ball is what you need to worry about!
In general when you think about it, Kay has to walk a pretty thin line basically at all times and I think that is the key difference between the YES and SNY broadcasts. A guy like Hernandez – and Darling for that matter – can say whatever without repercussions from top brass. Being that we have George and other hokeys down in Tampa ALWAYS watching the games on TV, he can’t say certain things that he might say on his radio show and vice versa. I find him a lot better on his radio show when he’s just hanging out with Joey and the boys and I’d wish he’d bring that to the booth, but he won’t because of the Steinbrenner/Yankee dynamic. The Mets are still the…well.. Mets. Yeah their owners are down with forking over the cash now to compete with the Yanks in the city but I’d really be surprised if they watched every game and critiqued EVERYTHING like George and his minions do.
Wanderer,
Why don’t you do something useful and oh.. maybe be more productive at work? Or is your job and/or life so lousy that you feel the need to come on here and get a little laugh out of yourself. I can see you now, just sitting there with your stomach flapped on the desk and a big cup of joe next to you with a half eaten Snickers bar to your left. Go to the bathroom and clean yourself up you loser.
Michael Kay is probably the worst announcer in the history of sports. Maybe second behind Tim McCarver. He comes off extremely pompous, no insight, a robot, and corny that drives me nuts. He has no talent and he should be sent to cover minor league baseball games.
I’m always cursing at the TV when I have to listen to Kay do the Yankees telecasts.
Larry:
The team will concentrate on the games, but at some point the labor-management situation is going to heat up across MLB. All the players will have one eye on how the Giambi situation is resolved because it is a test, a gut check, of the Union’s ability and willingness to stand up to the Commissioner (the handmaiden of management) in order to “represent” its members’ interests. Even those players who may harbor a dislike of Giambi for his steroid-induced contract are still Jason’s union brothers. When it’s “us against them” the players will rally around Jason and the Union.
I have the sense that MLBPA is moving some of its artillery toward the front. If one side doesn’t blink soon this situation is going to get worse before it gets better.
Wanderer:
Six losses in your last seven games. Must be getting to you, huh, seeing your manager arguing balls and strikes and Papi complaining about a check swing? And Youkilis blaming it all on getting beat up by the Yankees and then getting his sleep thrown off. ["We play the Yankees series, and then we're thrown off our time schedule," Youkilis said.]
I think Papi said it best: “Once we got to the West Coast, it was a different feeling,” Ortiz said after the Boston Red Sox lost, 3-2, to the Oakland Athletics on Wednesday night at McAfee Coliseum. “We’re playing well, but, I don’t know, it’s just not there. We don’t have the same intensity we’ve had before.”
Hope all you guys get your regular sleep and find your intensity.
randy,
I agree with a lot of what you said. I think a lot of people don’t know what to make of Alex. He’s like a chameleon, great player but on a few occasions hasn’t use his better judgement. I really like how he’s showing some passion now. As dumb as that play was in Toronto, some of the things like his clutch playing and getting really mad about blown calls seems to have fired up this team.
As for Cairo, I’m glad he’s getting some extended playing time. His contributions are really no surprise though, I can’t recall a time when Cairo’s come in and really screwed up badly. Really, a solid player.
As for Damon, he’s one of the good guys. He’s being Wally Pipped and loving it. I thought it was great how he raved about Melky last night. Damon sees the writing on the wall and is settling nicely into the DH role that fell into his lap.
What does your dad think about Cano?
wanderer:
By the way, you may want to check the standings. We’re not in last place and we’ve gained about 4 games on you over the last week or so.
The Yankees are back! It couldn’t feel any better, knowing that we’re finally winning back and on track to number one in the division, which is exactly where we deserve to be. I was reading this blog on http://www.dishpronto.com/sidedish and I couldn’t agree when it said how much we needed one game to boost back our confidence. Without a doubt, the last game of the series with the Red Sox, gave the Yanks an extra lift. Check out the blog, it’s kind of interesting.
I agree, they are looking better of late, but let’s see if the Yankees can have a strong month of baseball. We are still under .500 so hopefully we can be over .500 by next weekend and only a few games out of the wild card spot by fourth of July.
There’s no way Torre can justify a reason to put Damon back in CF after the way Cabrera can cover ground and throw guys out at the plate (like last night). I’ve been waiting since 1994 to have a CF w/ an arm on a regular basis.
Finally!
Don’t worry Wanderer…the Yankees have won a few games the last few days and that hadn’t happened yet all season so these Yankee fans all have hard ons!
Joe,
The Giambi situation will be almost as important as the Alex opt-out situation. If Jason’s back and healthy, he’s the DH. But Johnny’s really responding in that spot. Melky stays in the middle and Bobby may be back if he has a good year. That leaves Melky/Damon in center. But everyone is drooling over Andruw Jones (wrongly) and Ichiro (correctly). If Bobby and Giambi are back, the Yankees can not justify bringing in a marquee center fielder in ’08. Oh boy, my head is spinning.
Buddy….The Yanks should steer clear of Hillenbrand.I like the energy Cairo brings but at the end of the day he makes Minky look like Giambi with the bat.Phelps is the best option at the moment my hope is with regular reps at 1b he improves.If not maybe the other infielders can keep the ball out of the dirt.
TurnTwo, Sorry it bothers you that Michael Kay doesn’t know the definition of irony in your mind. Sorta reminds me of Alannis Morrisette’s song called isn’t it ironic, where she goes on to describe many situations that described bad luck, none of which actually qualified as ironic.
Anyway we’ll have to just disagree, Michael Kay is the closest thing to a Yankees fan broadcasting on the radio. Almost every other announcer is decidely anti-Yankee. Many of whom take great joy in bashing the Yankees and enjoying their current plight. Problem is he can’t overtly be a fan as a radio host he tries to remain neutral.
As for the broadcast, my only pet peave is sometimes he says the same thing, for example whenever the Yankees have a guy on base and the count goes to 3-2, he says, “the runner will be off with the pitch, that’s an advantage for the Yankees”. Otherwise I think he is fine. Kaat and Murcer are missed though.
Wow, Wanderer, what an inventive name. Was Dumbass taken?
I’m going to go out on a limb and say Giambi will no longer be a regular even when he gets back. The Yankees are reactive and do not usually make the same mistake twice. Last year they forced Sheffield back into the lineup and it backfired as he was terrible. This year they will make Giambi the highest paid pinch hitter/backup DH in the league.
Joeysdadjoe,
what are you, crazy? phelps can not play first. would you rather have a little more offense and risk another play like the one the other day (phelps almost killing jeter)?
Kay has been broadcasting for years and still can’t distinguish between a “long fly ball” and a popup.
Its amazing how he is unable to correctly identify the distance of fly balls.
One of funniest moments in the booth came in a game last year against the Orioles when Kay called a flyball hit “DEEP to left field” (his “signature” call), and Jeter caught the popup.
There was about a second delay and O’Neill asks him, “Mike how long have you been comin’ to the Stadium”? Kay said, “about 25 years”. O’Neill then says, “You can’t tell the difference between a long flyball and a popup”.
You could hear the production people laughing in the background!!! Kay just said something to the effect of, “my mistake” and moved on.
One of the best moments in the booth since the Rizzuto days.
Best franchise in sports, worst announcers. Kay, Sterling, Waldman, just awful. Not Hawk Harrelson, DJ Jackson awful but, not the kind of quality you want for a great franchise.
No Vin Scully’s in our bunch. The color guys have better potential. However, they don’t enough together to gain any traction.
I miss Jim Kaat. You learn about the game, and he could follow the action, at the same time. Something Kay can never do.
This is why I want Joe Torre fired immediately after the Yanks are eliminated from the postseason if they are (I’d fire him if they lose another postseason series including the World Series):
The Yanks have won 5 of their last 7 games including 3 of their last 4 and have a chance to take 3 of 4 from the Chi-Sox and what does Torre do?
He starts Cairo who did an excellent job at 1B the last two games at SS not recent callup Chris Basak who could use the at-bats (a defensive downgrade from the younger Basak), the useless Phelps at 1B (a defensive downgrade from Cairo), and the even more useless Nieves at C because Mussinadonna (Mussina The Primadonna) thinks he’s Greg Maddux i.e. has to have his personal catcher (Mussina might as well bat). Don’t be suprised if the Yanks lose tonight for an o.k. but not quite good enough 5-3 in their last 8 games. Torre has put out a weaker starting 8 behind Mussina tonight and that’s not how to go on a run. A split vs. Chicago isn’t good enough!!!
How ’bout Mussina deals with Posada, the best all-around catcher in M.L.B. after Joe Mauer, catching him? Posada catches Wang and Pettitte and will catch Clemens, so who the hell does Mussina think he is to want his own catcher? I don’t wanna hear how it’s not his decision, he must ask Torre for Nieves. How ’bout starting Basak at SS and giving him some at-bats in the #9 slot? How ’bout leaving Cairo alone at 1B?
This is it, no matter what Mussina does this year I want the Yanks to put him on waivers in the offseason so some team will be dumb enough to claim him and his $11.5M for’08 and the Yanks can clear that money then use it towards signing Mark Buerhle for a Wang/ Buerhle/ Hughes/ Pettitte probably back/ Clippard or whoever ’08 Yanks rotation. Mussina has to go!!!
I wish Joe would not sit both Jorge and the Captain tonight….not when the Yankees are just starting to build some momentum….not with the way Moose has been pitching…..not with the success that Contreras has had vs. the Yankees…..not when the Yankees have a chance to have a nice long winning streak against the struggling ChiSox, Pirates, D-backs, and Rockies…..not since the Yankees are still 5 games under .500……and, not when the Yankees have to win nearly 2/3 of the remaining 104 games and every game is important. the Captain can rest Monday and more often later in the season when the Yankees are in better shape – injury-wise, record-wise, and standings-wise.
shut up
“One of funniest moments in the booth came in a game last year against the Orioles when Kay called a flyball hit “DEEP to left fieldâ€? (his “signatureâ€? call), and Jeter caught the popup.”
agreed. that was priceless…
im saying shut up to torre the biggest enemy get a life and stop bitching geez
I know the Yanks can’t trade Mussina cuz he’s a 10-And-5 Guy and has a no-trade clause, but they can put him on waivers and see who takes him after ’07. If Boston can do that to Manny Ramirez after ’03, the Yanks can do that to Mussina after ’07, I mean let’s compare the two players. There’s no comparison as to who the better player/ value is, it’s ’04 Manny by a mile. Mussina will be so bad next year Boston can have him. If they take him, the Yanks could always sign Curt Schilling, who’d probably be irked that Boston claimed Mussina and his $11.5M but didn’t give him (Schilling) another year and $13M. Schilling could sign with the Yanks for a year and $13M out of spite and as much as a blowhard as he is, I’ll take him over Mussina any day. I don’t like Mussina’s me-attitude: I want an extra day’s rest, I don’t, I want Nieves who bats .095 and once batted .037 catching me not .300+ hitting Posada, etc. I also don’t like the potshots he takes at the team behind him sometimes.
Baltimore can have him back, they’ll still suck. Toronto?
Bring him on! Like the Yanks won’t counter with someone better than him.
Actually Jamie CT you shut up.
That all you can come up with?
Tell me how tonight’s lineup is anywhere close to being as good as last night’s?
We got defensive downgrades at 1B and SS and a guy who hits like a pitcher catching. That a recipe for a win and 3 out of 4 vs. Chicago? No, so again you shut up and get a life cuz you must have none to respond to me.
SJ-61*
Oh, so no Jeter or Posada at DH tonight, great, just great. This is Torre for you, he doesn’t even have the brains anymore to start one of them at DH so the Yanks don’t have their DH-less lineup out there tonight which is what it is with Nieves. Games at the N.L. park are after next weekend Torre, you asshead. If the Yanks lose tonight, it’s all on Torre’s lamebrained lineup decisions.
Oh yeah, Farnsworth for Lieber and give Mussina 2 more starts to get his act together or Lieber takes his slot. Even better: Mussina cries about it and wants a trade and the Yanks trade him for an immediate impact swingman who helps the Yanks make it to the postseason and two prospects.
I’m more than happy with Wang/ Pettitte/ Clemens/ Lieber/
Clippard for the rest of the year w/ the swingman as insurance and Hughes hopefully towards the end of the year.
At least Wanderer admits to what he is, a troll – kinda shows some wit there.
Mussina didn’t do as well with Nieves behind the plate last start, and if Torre is serious about resting Jeter tonight, and Jeter allows it, I would expect to find Posada behind the plate. Torre’s already said Cairo will be at first, and I don’t think he’d want to significantly reduce the offense now that it seems to be picking up some steam. I don’t think you want to field a team of Cairo, Basak and Nieves just yet.
Gotta love Johnny Damon. It’s all in the attitude. He’s a Mr. Positive who will find the silver lining wherever he looks. He’s doing great so far as a DH, and maybe as his legs get even stronger, he’ll get some of his power stroke back. I really don’t envy the Yankees’ position if and when Giambi returns. But my personal opinion is that they made a huge mistake taking Melky out of the mix in the playoffs last year and reinserting a not-yet-fully-recovered Sheffield into the lineup (at 1B, no less.) Matsui I didn’t have a problem with because he returned from his injury a little sooner and had gotten a rhythm, and actually came back pretty strong (didn’t he go 5 for 5 or something his first game back). So, I hope the Yankees don’t get greedy for the longball that may or may not come off Giambi’s bat when he gets off the DL. It took him a little while to settle into the DH role, and I would wonder if it will take that extra time again.
Dude shut up, all I can say is that cuz I have nothing to say.
I also like Nieves over Posada, Phelps over Cairo, and Cairo over Jeter and Basak. I want Basak to just sit on the bench for the whole time he’s up here like Kevin Thompson did, that way the Yanks have no bench and Jeter and A-Rod can keep playing every day without a break from the field. And Damon needs all the at-bats at DH he can get,too. I also think it’s cool that when Posada goes 3 for 4/ 4 for 4 one game, he’ll be sat down the next game Mussina starts because Mussina wants an AAAA catcher (Nieves) to catch him.
It gives the Chi-Sox a feeling they could split the series tonight.
Torre basher. Just because the Times assumed Cairo would start at short does not make it so. In fact Torre said in the postgame yesterday that Cairo would be at first agin today which indicates to me that Basak may get his first start, not Phelps again. I hadn’t heard anywhere that Jorge is out. I don’t think he will rest both. One will DH.
Jeff NJ – hope you are right……Joe can go with Jorge, Damon, or the Captain for DH…That leaves 2 big bats on the bench. I would be selfish and find a way to get 2 of these bats in the line-up to keep the momentum and winning streak going.
mel- sorry for the delay.gotta work sometime. my father likes cano because he’s good, but he likes melky better because of his energy. he’s aware they’re close buddies and thinks that’s good for both of them . he was really upset when the yankees were talking of trading melky for mike gonzales over the winter. he likes to see one young player come up and do well every year. that’s why he liked wang so much last year and melky too. he didn’t get why people liked hughes so much in sprng training ,but he said he was wrong after watching hughes’ last game when he got hurt. he gave hughes the conrad seal (his name) of approval.
the only player we get into it on is mussina. i can’t stand that mussina doesn’t pitch aggresively inside to set up his breaking balls. he likes mussina. he told me last year that it was a good thing the yankees didn’t listen to me. he was right on that one.
Randy |-
>>….he loves wang. he calls him “the big chinamanâ€? in the nicest of all possible ways….>>
Wang is NO chinaman, he is taiwanese, don’t call him Chinese, He doesn’t like Chinese at all….
young-
it was a politically incorrect joke on my part poking fun at the mix up. i know chein-ming wang is from taiwan, but my father is exactly yogi’s age so making these distinctions isn’t always so easy. from wikepedia, “The cultures of Taiwan are a hybrid blend of Confucianist Han Chinese cultures, Japanese, European, American, global, local and indigenous influences which are both interlocked and divided between perceptions of tradition and modernity (Harrell/Huang 1994:1-5).”
huh? no wonder i have trouble explaining it.but i will see if i can get him to call him” the big taiwanese”
Randy! That will do it!