When you think defense, think Manny
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- May
- 12
If you need a good laugh today, thank Rob Bradford of the Boston Herald. He reports that Manny Ramirez wants to win a Gold Glove in left field. How Rob didn’t laugh when interviewing Manny, I have no idea.
You can’t make this stuff up.
Keep an eye out for my story tomorrow, Kei Igawa wants to win a Cy Young.
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By now you’ve heard the story that the Yankees have banned candy other sorts of unhealthy food from their clubhouse.
So it was a surprise on Sunday morning when we arrived in the clubhouse and there was a glazed donut sitting on a table. Nobody claimed ownership, although several players eyed it.
“Be careful,” said one Yankee, who will be identified as only a sardonic right-handed pitcher from Stanford. “It’s booby-trapped.”
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Peter Abraham
Gotta love Moose.
Pete I also heard that Kei wants to lead the league in strike outs, he doesn’t care if he gives up 10 runs a game as long as he leads the league in strike outs.
I say: leave him in!
It looks like Moose has a waaaay better attitude this year
was mussina always this funny? Or as he knows his time is winding down, he is just more at ease with everything?
Cy Igawa
Good morning, guys! Love Moose’s wisecracks. I can see him doing standup in the old folks’ home in a few years.
Saw some discussion about the upstart Tampa Rays.
They are definitely not in Kansas anymore and their sweep of the Red Sox and Angels (!) should be a warning to the Yankees not to take them lightly.
No more weak underbelly of a bullpen as they led the AL in ERA a couple of weeks ago. They’re #2 right now. Guess who’s #3 (3.34) and who’s #12 (4.56)? If you said your favorite team and your most hated team respectively, you win the prize. Cerveza or thin mints, depending on what’s in your fridge.
Their overall pitching is good as well. The Rays team ERA is 5th (3.90), Boston is 6th (4.08), and the Yankees are 9th (4.30).
I nearly drove off the road yesterday when I heard that the Rays are at a franchise best 5 games over .500. I didn’t realize they were that bad historically. Now they’ve got a taste of success and won’t give it up that easily.
Still can’t believe that we’re only 3 back in the loss column without Alex & Jorge. We just need to rack up some wins. Starting tonight!
Let’s continue the winning tonight!
mel - couldn’t agree more. One more reason why we shouldn’t be throwing away games by starting pitchers that nobody - on this blog or on the team itself - has any confidence in.
The fact that we’re only three behind in the loss column, despite everything, is no reason why we can be blase about individual games. Baseball is a game of redemption, but there are only so many chances you can give somebody.
The only way Manny is getting a gold glove is if he buys it off of eBay.
mel, joe
Yah it’s definitly a whole new ball game in every sense of the term this year in the east.
People expected this Rays to be better, but I don’t think anyone expected them to be in the top 5 in some pitching catagories.
The Yankees still remind me of a jet trying to take off. Everytime it builds momentum, something breaks down and they slow down a little.
The last few days have been encouraging, at least stat wise, so hopefully they keep it up.
Now that Albaladejo is on the DL, the glazed donut probably belongs to Chris Britton!
“The Rays team ERA is 5th (3.90), Boston is 6th (4.08), and the Yankees are 9th (4.30).”
Unfortunately, though, Boston is 1st in BA (.293) OBP (.365), SLG. PCT. (.454) and Runs (206).
Moose never fails to make me laugh so hard I cry. He’s the best.
Melky–I think Moose was always this funny. People just didn’t appreciate him.
Manny also says that he’s the best left fielder that Boston has ever had. But his Gold Glove play was when he dove for the ball that Damon threw and became another cut-off man. Classic.
I’m really loving the Moose’s one-liners this year. When’s he coming out with a book of them?
Steph:
When he cut off that throw I honestly couldnt stop laughing. In fact, I am laughing now just thinking about it.
Does anyone know if there is a clip of that on the internet?
Moose is fast becoming my favorite Yankee! That crack made me literally laugh out loud.
(Now to backtrack, read the articles and prior posts!)
Another prolong losing streak starts tonight. Damn it, please, NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Manny has a WAY better chance of winning a Gold Glove than Igawa does of winning a Cy Young Award. Then again, Matt Nokes, Don Zimmer, me, Pete Abraham, Billy Crystal, and the late Heath Ledger have a better chance of winning a Gold Glove than he does of winning a Cy.
Wow, I just threw up in my mouth after typing “Kei Igawa” and “winning a Cy Young Award” in the same sentence.
“Keep an eye out for my story tomorrow, Kei Igawa wants to win a Cy Young.”
in Japan ?
Latham Joe,
But didn’t you know? Pitching wins championships. haha.
Seeing Papelbon, Izzy, and Gagne struggle really makes you appreciate Mo. Nice to see that the next generation of closers is in good hands with Papelbon. lol.
I’m so tired of this pattern of win 3, lose 3. But once the pitching stabilizes we might be okay.
And I hope Andy delivers today. I know he had the flu 2 or 3 starts ago and the bullpen blew the last one for him. He’s due.
It was definitely one of the funniest moments in baseball. I’ve long been searching for a clip of it on Youtube and Google with no luck. If anyone could find it, please post it! The game was July 21, 2004 Baltimore at the Red Sox…
Why are we obsessed with the Red Sox ?
“Nice to see that the next generation of closers is in good hands with Papelbon”
He’s still the best of that “next generation” and one of the three best out there today. One bad game??? Everyone will have one sooner or later, even Mo.
Mentioning Papelbon with those two stiffs is the equivalent of the dumbasses at Fenway chanting “Yankees Suck”
Couldnt you imagine a string attached to the donut….and when someone tries to grab the donut…Girardi pulls the string… and player is demoted to Tampa
Couldnt you imagine a string attached to the donut….and when someone tries to grab the donut…Girardi pulls the string… and player is demoted to Tampa
Hang it in front of Igawa then.
Pete, you are the funniest beat writer of all time. Another classis post, friend ! Great job. Long live the mighty YANKEES !!!
( this is a NO DONUT ZONE ! )
Nondy,
Good question. Lots of red Sox talk (By Yankees fans)
Fredo,
He blew 2 games in 3 opportunities. His velocity is down and he’s giving up hits on a more frequent basis.
My jab at him being the future has a backstory. He said he wants to be the torchbearer for the closers. Other vets like Nathan put him in his place.
He’s a good pitcher for sure, but not as fearsome as he once was.
My point was that with Mo, you know it’s a done deal. Whereas with those 3 that’s not necessarily the case. Of course Papelbon’s not unhinged like the other two, but he’s not as open & shut as he used to be.
According to Pete Caldera’s Blog:
Donut-Gate is more wide spread than Pete is reporting.
http://njmg.typepad.com/yankeesblog/2008/05/greetings-from.html
Well, at least Manny has a goal.
Steph -
Someone recently told me that MLB pulled a lot of stuff from YouTube that, I guess, actually belongs to MLB. I don’t know if this is correct, but that’s what I heard. Might be why no one can find some of these game clips anymore.
From all the things I’ve heard and read in the past, it seems liek Mussina is being much more playful and positive with the media this year. Wonder if its because he views this as his last season? I don’t know, pure speculation.
I know some people (myself included) give Pete a hard time in here over stupid things. I guess I feel more mature though after reading this column by Dan Graziano about David Sloane, the agent for Carlos Delgado.
Pretty funny stuff… If I were a player and this guy was my agent, I’d fire him in a New York minute:
http://www.nj.com/mets/index.ssf/2008/05/breaking_news_delgados_agent_i.html
Manny as a Left fielder >>>> Igawa as a pitcher
non-yankees suff:
So Carlos Delgado’s agent is a bit nutty:
http://tinyurl.com/6z8qlp
I have to agree, Pete, you write the funniest stuff! It’s a pleasure reading your blog!
pat -
Thanks for that link. This is priceless stuff. Now, who was the “veteran infielder?” Jeter? Ensberg? Would we consider Cano a veteran infielder, and if he was, would he crave a chocolate donut????? Inquiring minds want to know! Gotta love it! (Reminds me of Sundays in days gone by when my dad would bring home all sorts of wonderful goodies from the bakery! Alas, we’re in a health-conscious household.)
Steph -
Rather than having a strawberry jam or raspberry center that donut actually had an indelible ink center - Girardi was going to check everyone’s teeth before letting them play again.
Haha, the full story is even better. I wonder if that veteran infielder happens to be Jeter? Sounds like him.
I guess it could have been pulled, but there are other hosting companies that Google searches and I’ve still had no luck finding it. Maybe a foreign site would have the clip…
I think David Wells is involved somehow.
Rather than having a strawberry jam or raspberry center that donut actually had an indelible ink center - Girardi was going to check everyone’s teeth before letting them play again.
That would be so funny to watch. Or maybe have one of those gum centres that turns your mouth different colours. But if Girardi were going to check, the Yankees should definitely dangle one of those doughnuts in front of Igawa! They wouldn’t have to worry as much about meatballs being served up. Geez, why am I using all of these food metaphors?
Igawa’s big hope was to see a pitcher eat the doughnut to assure that he doesn’t get sent to AAA.
Everybody’s hope is that Igawa IS sent to AAA.
Doreen
Giambi would also be a veteran infielder. The disguising it as fruit would make me guess Jeter though.
pat -
Funny, I don’t think of Giambi as an infielder!
http://video.aol.com/video-detail/mannys-infamous-cutoff/3208027151
I found this clip of the Manny cut-off
My money’s on Ensberg as the veteran infielder. Jeter would never show a reporter his stash.
video manny cuts off throw from damon
I typed the above into google. The 3rd or 4th link is to AOL video, one which has Manny’s cutoff.
“He blew 2 games in 3 opportunities. His velocity is down and he’s giving up hits on a more frequent basis.”
I watch them pretty frequently on MLB. Not sure where the velocity story comes from. Chronically 95 from what I saw. Saw both blown saves. Friday night was definitely all him. Twins hit a couple hard, he walked an unwalkable guy in Gomez, and slept while guys stole bases. That one in Detroit really wasn’t. Check swing grounder, E-6, sac bunt ground out = 2 unearned runs on a game that ended with a Luis Gonzalez-like bloop. Hasn’t kept the clean sheet that Mo has, but he’s still money.
buffaloCharlie-
Thank you! I typed that in and found one on MLB’s archives as well. It didn’t turn up in any of the other searches I had done.
Link: http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/awards/y2004/tyib/tyib_awards_blooper.jsp
http://video.aol.com/video-detail/mannys-infamous-cutoff/3208027151
,
Manny !!! LOL !!!
We all know that Damon doesn’t have a strong arm, but Manny sure knew what to do to remedy that.
We all know that Damon doesn’t have a strong arm, but Manny sure knew what to do to remedy that.
Double post? Gah.
Fredo,
I’ll take your word for it. I’ll admit I don’t like Papelbon because he’s a Red Sox.
But he’s a little too punk for my tastes.
He was acting like he was trying to raise the bar for future closers when he was only trying to negotiate for himself. Disingenuous and presumptuous.
Therefore I can respect him, but I don’t have to like him.
It’s a trap!
Off-topic question for anyone really familiar with New York…
My girlfriend and I are going to be catching the Yankees @ Red Sox on July 5th and i’m really wanting to take her for dinner someplace nice that weekend. Any suggestions? Since i’m italian that’s what we usually go for but open to anything. I was looking at Mario Batali’s place, Babbo, anyone know if it’s great?
Thanks.
“He blew 2 games in 3 opportunities.”
Does this hurt Paplebons chances of being the first player making the h.o.f. while still playing? I mean he’s a slam dunk and all pitching that good for a couple years. Him and Gagne are a shoe in.
Dan:
overpriced because of a celebrity chef.
Go to anywhere on mulberry for a good meal that’s reasonably priced
I mean, Manny has a half-decent throwing arm, but the man has the attention span of a goldfish. Maybe he thought he was being interviewed for a more apt award?
Dan….is the game AT SOX ?…or at New York ?…confused by your post….
“My money’s on Ensberg as the veteran infielder. Jeter would never show a reporter his stash.”
It’s just fun to think of these multi-millionaires as regular people. Like, Jeter walking down a hallway past a door, notices donuts…pauses, backtracks, takes a look around, walks in slowly, checking the corners for Girardi or a trainer…sidles up to the table, keeping an eye on the hallway…shrugs, grabs a donut, furtively scoots out the door tucking it between some plates to hide it.
I mean…that’s what I’d do.
Pasquale Rigoletto Restaurant
2311 Arthur Ave
Bronx, NY 10458-8103
Phone: (718) 365-6644
.
100% Guarantee you will love this place, friend.
.
Dan…
If its in Boston, then just about any restaurant in the North End is good for Italian food. Plus, there won’t be as many idiot, beer-swilling, frat boys in the vicinity cheering ‘Yankees Suck’…
The closer to Fenway, the closer to the fools.
If the game is in NYC, no clue. Somewhere on Mott Street perhaps?
Glad to know that the leader of baseball’s Algonquin Round Table was present when the doughnut trap was revealed.
http://nymag.com/nymetro/bony/features/2619/
.
Dan….I kid you not, friend….Pasquale Rigoletto Restaurant….you can NOT go wrong there !
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enjoy !
.
Was there any word on the pink bats that were going to be used yesterday? Are they using them today? Or just giving them away to charity?
With all the rash of leg injuries this team has suffered.Maybe they need to get back to donuts and candy. Oh and fire the S & C coach.
If only Mussina can crack a joke when his team commits an error behind him. Have to give it to him though. It was funny.
Dan -
It is a celebrity chef, and it is very pricey. But Babbo’s was excellent. If it’s a special occasion type meal, go for it; if you just want good Italian food, there are other places. Advanced reservations are necessary though.
Babbo is one of the very best restaurants in New York, and not really that overpriced, considering. Batali may be a celebreity chef, but his food (and all of his restaurants, from Del Posto to Lupa), is terrific.
It’s also one of the hardest reservations in the city. Call one month ahead to the day, be prepared to hit redial and take whatever time they offer. You won’t be disappointed.
Mulberry Street is okay for traditional, red sauce Italian American food, but it’s just that…okay.
Sorry, meant to include that it’s in NY…
I lived in NY up until 13 years old and am now in TX so I never really got to go to any “nice” restaurants in NY that i’d remember… I just remember Nathan’s, White Castle, the diners, Katz Deli (will make a pit stop there for sure!), and my neighborhood pizza parlor Ancona Pizza
Don: thanks for the suggestion! I might have to take your word for it
“But he’s a little too punk for my tastes.
He was acting like he was trying to raise the bar for future closers when he was only trying to negotiate for himself. Disingenuous and presumptuous.”
He’s a little odd, that’s for sure. I’d bet the house he was doing the union’s bidding when negotiating his most recent contract……he’s just not smart enough to say it the way it needed to be said.
Mel -
I read in this morning’s Star Ledger that the bats were NOT going to be used in tonight’s game. But other than that, I don’t know what they’re doing with them. I would think game-used bats would raise more money, so I don’t understand why they don’t want to use them.
I watched some of the Mets game yesterday. Lots of pink going on, and it was great - wrist bands, bats (almost all the players) and ribbons. I hope they raise a lot of money.
Dan, if you can’t tell by my name that this is something I am going to be SPOT ON about…then, well, ….I’ll just leave it at that. Have a great time. ALSO…MAKE SURE YOU MAKE A RESERVATION as the 5th being a Saturday Night…you’ll need one.
Another good Italian place in Manhattan is Becco. Family-friendly, great menu - incredible home-made pasta. And you can get a good meal at a reasonable price, especially for Manhattan. We’ve been there 3 times, ordered differently each time. We went as a couple, with a group of 5, and a group of 11 and enjoyed it each time. I believe you can check on-line for a menu.
Lidia Batianich (who does a cooking show for PBS) is the owner.
Dan,
I highly recommend Babbo. While it is expensive the food is amazing. The menu is seasonal. The fresh pasta is always incredible. It’s not your typical Italian restaurant. One of the best in the city.
Dan -
If you go to Babbo, take Stephen’s excellent advice regarding the reservations.
Heard alot of mixed reviews for Babbo, what drew me to it was of course Mario Batali, he’s a great chef.
Looking for something that’s reasonable but also something that will impress, ya know? I’m hearing alot of people say that Daniel is the best restaurant in NY, not quite italian, anyone try Daniel before?
Ok, the Manny thing is funny, but not so outlandish as to be beyond reason for two reasons: (1) Manny is a better than average left fielder in Fenway and in every game he plays against the Yanks (he’s actually gone over the wall to steal a homer and into the wall to steal doubles from Yankee hitters at the Stadium — contrast that to Abreu), everywhere else he’s probably a 4-5 on a scale of 10; (2) the complete stupidity of Gold Glove voting — remember that Raffy Palmeiro won a Gold Glove as a first baseman in 1999, a year in which he played ONLY 28 GAMES at 1B (backing up the unspectacular journeyman Lee Stevens), and DH’d 135 times even though Raffy had come into spring training as the two-time defending Gold Glove winner at 1B.
Micheal Kay just STFU, you can’t sell me D’Antoni being the hands down choice and how can he say Zach Randolph fits the system.
Zach Randolph would fit best in a wheel chair league or in a fat camp, but no system in the NBA.
Lidia’s son Joe is Mario’s partner. He handles the wine at all his restaurant. And Lidia is also a partner in Del Posto which is another of Mario’s places. The three have some what of a restaurant empire going in NYC.
Dan….make your reservation for a Saturday Night dinner at Pasquale Rigoletto….you’ll need a reservation for a Saturday Night and you will have a fantastic dinner.
“Micheal Kay just STFU, you can’t sell me D’Antoni being the hands down choice and how can he say Zach Randolph fits the system.”
Only system Randolph fits is the penal.
Unfortunately, he’s vrtually untradeable. Still stunned D’Antoni took this gig when he could have had Chicago.
Fredo,
I didn’t think about the union aspect. Can you imagine if a Yankee said what Papelbon said? The Yankees get shrifted (is that even a word?) in their early years, but they know if they keep plugging away they might hit the jackpot a’la Jeter, Mo, and Posada.
Brandon,
Relax. Breathe in. Breathe out. D’antoni is going to be great. It’ll be an exciting brand of basketball. Your players will respond. I mean they gotta right? Would you run your butt off for Thomas the Clown? I hope they don’t forget what they’ve learned on defense because the some Suns player admitted lately that he didn’t recall them ever working on defense in practice. Ohhh. That’s not helping you is it. Breathe in. Breathe out. This is a good thing.
I looove Lidia’s last name. It sounds nasty.
Dan:
Agreed, you can’t go wrong on Arthur Avenue for food or for a memorable setting. But consider that if it’s your first visit, the parking can be quite a riddle to solve. Also, on a Saturday night dinner visit to Arthur Avenue, which I think July 5 would turn out to be with an afternoon game, you are going to be met with a pretty big crowd.
If it’s Arthur Avenue for you, great choice. Just have a back up plan
I like any of the small places on Mulberry Street in Little Italy, not haute cuisine, but good satisfying old fashioned stuff. (More likelihood of a romantic, post dinner walk up and down Mulberry Street than Arthur Avenue IMO).
Good luck.
Dan,
Daniel is certainly up there as the best. It’s far from reasonable though. Boulud is one of the most regarded French chef’s out there so if you want to drop some serious cash on a meal, Daniel should certainly be a consideration. Either there or Per Se which is Thomas Keller’s restaurant. If you are not familiar with him he is the man behind The French Laundry in Napa Valley. It’s considered by most to be the best restaurant in the US. Per Se is his NYC location.
“The Yankees get shrifted (is that even a word?) in their early years, but they know if they keep plugging away they might hit the jackpot a’la Jeter, Mo, and Posada”
Not Cano. He scored this offseason. Oddly, they passed on signing Wang longterm. I’d guess they do it this offseason or sooner.
Lot of teams are moving towards buying arbitration and a couple FA seasons (like Ramirez in Florida, Cabrera in Detroit, Longoria, etc.) rather than giving ‘em minimums.
Dan
I agree with Doreen, if you are looking for a celeb chef experience at prices a lot more reasonable than Babbo, try Becco in the theater district. The Symphony of Pasta (3 kinds of pasta that change every night but never had one we didn’t like) and the veal chop with potatoes and escarole are 2 things we always get.
For a more standard Italian food experience, Pelligrino’s in Little Italy is good. There are also many good restaurants up in the Arthur Avenue section of the Bronx.
mel, since when has offense been the problem for the Knicks ?
What exactly made D’Antoni the all be it choice, D’Antoni landed w/ 3 special players in PHX. Nash, Amare and Marion before that D’Antoni in Denver as rookie coach 14-36 , w/o Nash he had PHX at 21-40, it’s been debated the only reason he landed in NY was because Jerry Reinsdorfh in Chicago was cheap. Paxson wanted D’Antoni in Chicago, D’Antoni wanted Chicago, Reinsdorfh sat on his hands, D’Antoni saw 24 million reasons w/ a possible 16 million buyout coming if he fails.
mel how do you feel knowing Donnie Walsh mislead Avery Johnson and Mark Jackson to think they were the next Knicks coach. Mark Jackson got a good word from Walsh and Jackson got such a good word he started hiring his assitant staff and planning on moving them to Trenton NJ, Avery Johnson was given such a good word they were already in contract negotiations, this was a flinch move, they changed the philosophy of what thier longterm plan was going to be.
I’m not a fan at all of this move, and you can’t seriously think trading this roster won’t bring back extending contracts and D’Antoni is not going to settle for a rebuilding effort, for that he would have gone to Chicago.
LOL! Gold Glove winners tend not to kick a ball after it bounces off the monster. Most would pick it up. Look, I’d kill to have him on our team right now. As for Igawa…why did we pay so much for this guy? Oh yeah…we had to compete with the Dice-K/Dice-Walk deal.
Dan–
A lot of people have forgotten about Batali’s first restaurant, Po, which is still open and still supposed to be quite good. Plus it’s on a pretty West Village Street.
This is a very useful website I use sometimes when I have guest in town and have to try to sort out the appropriate restaurant:
http://www.menupages.com/
You can search by neighborhood and cuisine. It has readers’s reviews. It also has menus to look at–they don’t include specials, of course, and I don’t know how often they update them, but even so they can still give you a decent idea of the type of food and prices.
What happens first: Manny winning a GG or Kei winning a CY?? Any guesses…