Today in The Journal News
Posted by: Peter Abraham - Posted in Misc on Aug 21, 2008 
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Derek Jeter and Andy Pettitte still believe after leading the Yankees over the Blue Jays.
Sidney Ponson has been a good fit with the Yankees. This notebook also has updates on Carl Pavano, Joba Chamberlain and Edwar Ramirez.
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The story behind the story: As Yogi Berra once said, you can see a lot by watching. I wanted to talk to Sir Sidney yesterday but had to wait until he was finished asking everybody in the travel party (players, coaches, trainers, security guys, etc.) if they wanted to go out to dinner in Baltimore.
Ponson played in Baltimore for much of his career and knows a great place for crabs. By the time he was finished, he had a long list of names. Young guys, old guys, a good mix of everybody.
Team chemistry is a funny thing. Sometimes a guy you pick up off the scrap heap in June to be the No. 5 starter helps foster it. Ponson is a character. Some teams – OK, a lot of teams – would say in a bad way. But the Yankees like him.
If Sir Sid beats Roy Halladay tonight, somebody should pick up his share of the check.
Did he invite you??
That’s a funny story because last year, I went to Baltimore to see the final game of the season. We went to a seafood restaurant, and we had this really friendly waiter. We got to talking, he found out I was a Yankee fan, and then he went on to tell me that whenever the Yankees come to town, a number of them eat at that restaurant. He said Mariano Rivera really liked it and the waiter knew him.
I wonder now if that’s the same restaurant they are going to. I would think it’s possible.
His share of the check is probably more than his salary this year.
great story behind the story, Pete …..thanks !
and tonight is the latest in a series of “gut checks” that the Yankees have way more often than not, failed. I surely hope that they come up big and beat Halladay AND take the series…..There should be NO surprise if they fail….and fail miserably, though…
I love seafood especially crabs! Pete do you know which restaurant Ponson was walking about? And DFox can I have the name of the restaurant you like? thx!
I still have my doubts about this team making the playoffs even with Jeter’s and Pettittes “assurances”. It took them 120+ games to get it together? Suuuure…
I have gotten my hopes up and crushed too many times this season to want to try it again… They’ve been consistently inconsistent and beating lowly KC and splitting Toronto (so far) isn’t convincing me that they’ll win over 70% of the remaining games.
finallly, the beach volleyball marathon is over! dont really care who won, just happy nbc might find 5 minutes to show something else.
Yeah, can somebody please just say the name of the restaurant. I may be in the area next weekend.
Ponson sounds alright to me. The Yanks could use a lot more team building outings. Someteimes I doubt their commitment to each other.
If Ponson out duels Halladay tonight, i think it will restore a lot of faith in not only the fans but in the team.
if pete were to tell you the name of the restaurant, it would really help the restaurant out, b/c all of you heading down there would stake the place out for the next 3 days, but then ponson & co. would have to go to the second-best crab place in baltimore.
in all seriousness, we will probably lose tonight but we shouldn’t have put ourselves into a corner where we have nights when Ponson vs. Halladay is a must win.
I think asking Ponson to outduel Halliday is asking alot. If they lose it will have more to do with the yankee bats than Ponson.
Can the guy batting cleanup, the best offensive weapon we have, drive in some significant runs? I know he had his first few big hits last week (Minnersota) but can he come up when the game is tied or close with runners on base and have a productive at bat? two nights ago he leaves a ton of guys on a K`s 3 times. Last night comes up with bases loaded and pops up. I dont expect a hit everytime but how bout a productive out.
Please dont say “what about everyone else” or “what about Giambi” “everyone else” is not close to being as skilled as Arod is. Everyone else doesnt get the cleanup spot and all those chances with mean on base. Arods purpose and job on this team is to drive in runs when it matters. You cannot expect to win anything if your cleanup guy and best player cannot produce when you need it.
Thats cool that he asked from players to trainers.
Faint glimmer of hope….last year 89 wins would have won the wild card….this year, the number 92 has been spoken much, though…..But assuming that 89-92 wins is going to be the wild card team…then the Yankees can go 22-14, 23-13, 24-12 or 25-11 ( or better ? laugh, choke, hack, laugh ) and sneak into the playoffs. Now after Halladay strikes out 15 tonight, this could be all out the window…but I’m just sayin’….
If you can`t stand the heat get out of the kitchen. Arod should bat 2nd or 5th
and YES, I think that the Sux CAN go 15-20 the rest of the year with the team they are trotting out nowadays….
I found this line funny in The Bergen Record
From Pavano’s agent.
” I think he feels great”, O’Connell said of Pavano.
Um wouldn’t he tell you I feel great, than you can say he feels great. Adding the word I think means you don’t know and you are only guessing!!
Not that it is likely to be the story of the season, but how much time does MLB have to hear an appeal of a suspension. It shouldn’t be something that is subject to much discretion. Edwar should get an answer and serve any necessary suspension quickly before Pettitte and Jeter whip this team into the thick of a September race.
rico -
Just wait – the Yanks will push themselves back into the thick of things and THAT’S when Edwar will have to serve his suspension!
It’s really inexcusable that this much time has passed on that. Oh, well.
Nice story about Ponson, Pete, both here and in your paper. Like Jennifer, I think it’s cool he invited everyone.
still wish torre was managing the yanks? so does this dodger fan:
http://mikesciosciastragicilln.....at-itself/
Funny Creature-
“I tried to reason who was going to give me a greater show – Led Zeppelin or Hannah Montana,†Torre said.”
ha!! good find.
I’m betting the restaurant is Obryckis….anyone want to stake it out with me?
I’m glad Andy pitched well last night, and we won.
If the Yanks could get to Roy and win tonight it would be a big boost in confidence, I’m sure the line-up won’t change.
I really hope they can pull this of, it’s just 1 game at a time.
Good luck Sid, I hope you pitch well and get some run support.
I do have a question for anybody, when Hideki got a hit in the 8th, why wasn’t he pinch run for? I mean he does have a knee issue.
People always talk about team chemistry. It’s nice to see Ponson doing something about it. He really has been pitching well for the Yanks and his teammates like him. Can’t ask for more than that from a #5 starter who has now become a #3.
Damn I wish I was going to Baltimore this weekend. I would stake it out with about 50 other Yankee fans.
Maryland native here.
Reggie used to frequent “Bo Brooks” restaurant for steamed crabs in Baltimore on Belair Rd. in his hay day. Don’t know if it is still there or not. It’s been a long time since I was there.
I am fortunate to have a crab house here in Spring Hill, FL about 50 miles north of Tampa that serves them “Maryland” style.
Spring Hill? Where abouts? My grandparents live there.
Are you referring to the Red Lobster on 19?
I am going to Baltimore tomorrow, I am more interested in going to Scores, Larry Flynts, Havana Club than seeing Ponson and his mates throwing back beers in a private corner.
yankees at the crab shack:
damon: “ill have the steamed crabs please.”
jeter: “crab cakes for me.”
abreu: “me gusto las crab ceviche, por favor”
arod (overly excited by all the great choices) “um, i’ll take the cheeseburger and fries.”
My cousin lived in Spring Hill too!! It is like NY south there.
I’m from Baltimore, and if you are talking crabs, it’s probably Obrycki’s on Pratt Street.
Thanks for the story on Ponson Pete. In a season full of negatives, its nice to see a bright spot here and there for this team. Ponson has been a godsend in many ways; baseball is funny like that. Win or lose this season; (the latter being more possible at this point) it’s been a very disheartening season. I can’t say that the yankees should sign this guy for next year, but what happens if he rattles off another 3-4 more wins before the season is over with quaity starts? It’s an interesting scenario to consider. Someone will take a chance on him again next year, he is proving to be a viable back of the rotation option which every team must have to be successful. This has proven once again that you can never have enough pitching.
Everyone keeps saying that Ponson has a rep as a bad influence. Can Pete or someone gives us some “for instances” as to why people say these things? Is he a bad influence like David Wells was whereby he just likes to get drunk and hit on women or is he a bad influence in other ways as a negative attitude or racist etc. I’d really like to know why the people on Texas didn’t like the guy because in this two times as a Yankees I haven’t heard a bad thing.
“yankees at the crab shack:
damon: “ill have the steamed crabs please.â€
jeter: “crab cakes for me.â€
abreu: “me gusto las crab ceviche, por favorâ€
arod (overly excited by all the great choices) “um, i’ll take the cheeseburger and fries.â€
So A-Rod will even choke on the shrimp?
i know it’s hard for the last few generations to understand that baseball players aren’t like the latest iphone or newest cutting edge software to come along. veterans at the prime of their career are almost always better than rookies. the player himself is almost always better at the prime of his career than when he’s in his early twenties.
so it’s not surprising that ponson gets better results than hughes,kennedy, and co. even joba is not as durable. all these young players if they make it to their late twenties will likely be better than they are now.
this is why it was such a colossal blunder for cashman to plan on so many young pitchers in the rotation. he went from one extreme of building a team on aging stars to building it on neophyte young players who really aren’t ready for prime time.
there is a middle ground and that is 25-30 year old players. that’s where the most talent is. that it took for cashman’s plan to go down in flames like the hindenberg for him to go get this kind of veteran pitcher in ponson should be enough for any one to see cashman is just winging it with his ideas.
…but good for ponson. jeter always says nice things about him. he may end up being a david wells like character as he gets older and be a valuable member of the team.
All this talk about crabs has got me hungry for them. Anyone know of any good crab restaurants in Connecticut?
They need to get to Halladay early, in the 1st 2 innings. After that, he finds his groove and he becomes almost unihittable. Hate to say it, but Yanks Sidney to pitch a game like he did against the Angels 2 weeks ago, when he went toe to toe with Ervin Santana, hurling 7 shutout innings that night.
At this point I like the positive feed back on Ponson, maybe he just like’s NY.
I would still like some replies as to why Hideki after getting a hit in the 8th wasn’t pinch run for?
I got slammed yesterday for my opinion on benching Gardner, Ok I respect everyone’s opinion, but everyone was saying we need Hideki’s bat in the line-up. My question is if that is the case why would you leave him on the bases in the 8th with a lead of 5-1, I would think they would want to protect him, and put in a pinch runner.
Wow only Randy would find a way to take a shot at Cashman in a comment section that is 99% questions about Maryland Seafood.
DFox
August 21st, 2008 at 4:50 am
Did he invite you??
That’s a funny story because last year, I went to Baltimore to see the final game of the season. We went to a seafood restaurant, and we had this really friendly waiter. We got to talking, he found out I was a Yankee fan, and then he went on to tell me that whenever the Yankees come to town, a number of them eat at that restaurant. He said Mariano Rivera really liked it and the waiter knew him.
I wonder now if that’s the same restaurant they are going to. I would think it’s possible.
YANKSFANMC
It’s the Chespeake Bay Seafood House on Spring Hill Drive just before the Suncoast Pkwy.
tim, as soon as i finish reading george bush’s brain, (wont take long), i’ll start on joe g’s and get your answer for you.
ponson may be friendly and pitching well but let’s not forget he’s a drunk driver and a bully.
I really do not understand why they left Hideki in at that point, he got a hit great so he got the AB, but why leave him on the base’s to run. I really don’t understand, I’m not trying to be sarcastic? I really don’t get it…
sorry to rain on the parade
August 21st, 2008 at 9:42 am
tim, as soon as i finish reading george bush’s brain, (wont take long), i’ll start on joe g’s and get your answer for you.
ponson may be friendly and pitching well but let’s not forget he’s a drunk driver and a bully.
___________________________________________________
Worse than Manny Ramirez? Doubtful.
GreenBeret7:
There was no amusement for me, I’m glad he got the hit, but why risk leaving him in after the hit, it was the 8th inning with a 5-1 lead.
Timothy Clougher
August 21st, 2008 at 9:48 am
GreenBeret7:
There was no amusement for me, I’m glad he got the hit, but why risk leaving him in after the hit, it was the 8th inning with a 5-1 lead.
___________________________________________________
How else do they find out if he can hold up under game situations? Would it have made a difference if the double had come in the 1st or 2nd at bat? Should they have taken him out, then?
Very nice of Sidney to organize a Welcome Back Pavano Party.
Yeah, I’m driving down to Baltimore for the game Saturday night and would love to know where to get some food…. even if its not the place Ponsanity is taking everyone.
Pat – that’s if Pavano doesn’t get hurt on the way there!
GreenBeret7:
In the 1st or 2nd inning I could understand leaving him in the game, in the 8th it makes no sense, not to pinch run for him.
It’s the little things that make you scratch your head with some of the decisions.
ohgodno,
Quite a few restaurants in the Inner Harbor area, but I would advise taking the water taxi over to Fells Point, a more interesting mix of restaurants / bars IMO. There is also a small “Little Italy” section near the top of Fells Point that has some excellent restaurants. Have a good trip.
GreenBeret7:
What game situation, we are trying to win, we have a 5-1 lead it’s the 8th, are you saying Joe G. had no faith in the BP holding the lead.
FYI
According to Baseball Daily Dose, the RS “ace” may be facing more of a challenge than reported earlier.
“Josh Beckett’s scheduled start Saturday has been pushed back until Tuesday because of what the Red Sox are calling “tingling” in his right hand. Beckett coughed up eight runs in 2.2 innings against the Blue Jays in his start Sunday, marking the second time in four outings that he’s given up eight runs. Manager Terry Francona blamed the tingling hand on Beckett sleeping awkwardly on his shoulder, but Beckett indicated that he’s been pitching through it for much of the season.
“It’s just something I’ve been dealing with,” Beckett said. “At some point you’ve got to figure out what it is. As far as pain goes there’s pretty much no pain at all. It’s just that we’ve got to figure out what the hell it was.” For now we’ll assume that Beckett will make his newly rescheduled start Tuesday against the Yankees, but it certainly wouldn’t be shocking if the Red Sox decide to play it safe and shut him down for a while. Beckett is 4-4 with a 5.77 ERA in eight starts since July 1.”
Maybe the RS should get him a new matress. Or did they just want to make sure he faces the Yanks?
Fran
I’m sure Cashman had Carl safely packed in bubble wrap after his bullpen yesterday.
Beckett hasn’t been pitching nearly as well as last year. I heard there was some talk of him having elbow problems, which could be the cause of his tingling fingers. One rumor mill had him needing surgery.
If the Yankees end up facing him, they do. They have to get their bats working regardless of who they are facing or there is no chance for them to finish even in third place.
back bench
What a LIAR TERRY IS!! How dare he lie to the media and not tell them he has pitched with this through most of the season!! I can’t believe him!!
I have no medical training whatsoever and I’m clearly pulling this out of you know where, but the symptons Beckett is feeling seem awfully similar to what Cone was going through when he had the aneurysm in his shoulder in 1996. Of course Glavine I believe experienced something similar last year with the Mets and it turned out to be nothing. So who knows.
Just heard on the Fan that Pavano is being escorted by state police on his journey from Trenton to Baltimore. There will be convoy of 5-10 blacked out suburbans, kinda like you saw on that movie with Jaimie Fox in the Middle East.
Randy,
Very true. The Red Sox are experiencing the same thing with Buchholz. He is now 2-9 and they sent him to AA after the game last night.
That’s why I laugh when I write how important it is for the Yankees to sign CC Sabathia and folks write back, “He’s too fat. His arm is going to fall off”?
Really? How is the “fat guy whose arm is going to fall off” doing? Not only this year but, in making all of his starts the last 4 years?
The debate of going “young vs. old” is an interesting topic.
One thing we have seen across the game this year is, if you are going to go young, do it with position players.
Ideally, mix in one young arm a year into your rotation and get younger with your position players.
Going too young with the pitching staff? A recipe for disaster.
The game is evolving in the post-PED/post-greenie era. It will be interesting to see which GM’s are on top of the change in the off-season.
All of them, including guys like Theo and Dombrowski, not just Cashman, didn’t account for the change currently taking place in the game.
I think it blindsided everybody this year.
“Wow only Randy would find a way to take a shot at Cashman in a comment section that is 99% questions about Maryland Seafood.”
some of have the ability to stay on focus better than others.
plus i’m in the best oyster town in america so seafood doesn’t distract me.
.. but now you got me going. how’s this one?
if cashman went out crabbing he’d bring back all the undeveloped small ones to eat .
he’d say they were cheaper and had more potential.
SJ44
Do you have any concerns about the Brewer’s overusing CC, such as the other night where I believe he had around 130 pitches even though the Brewer’s were leading by six or seven runs?
As I’m sure you have heard some say the Brewer’s already figure they won’t get him back next year so they will “get their money worth” now.
Of course, back bench, all the “tingling” will have subsided just in time for Beckett to try and carve up the Yankees again on Tuesday. It amazes me that Toronto could rock him for 8 runs even when he didn’t feel right, considering their lineup looks as though they are hitting in the dark most of the time.
StandingO’Neill
I agree it is not something to be taken lightly. Why not get it checked out, for your own piece of mind.
Thanks Frank, I’ll hit that up!
SJ44:
I agree they need CC.
Do you find it wierd they left Hideki in the 8th after his hit to run the base’s?
Timothy Clougher
August 21st, 2008 at 10:08 am
GreenBeret7:
What game situation, we are trying to win, we have a 5-1 lead it’s the 8th, are you saying Joe G. had no faith in the BP holding the lead.
_______________________________________________________
Finding out if Matsui can hold up and score from 2nd base in a real game hasn’t got a damned thing to do with the bullpen. It’s about seeing if Matsui can score from 2nd base on a single. I’m sure that if Matsui had gotten a hit earlier, the Yanks would know how he runs. In that case, Girardi may have removed Matsui for a pinch runner in the 8th inning. Since it didn’t happen, there still isn’t an answer. If he can’t hold up, then NYY has time to bring back an outfield replacement, something they can’t do if NYY makes the post season, or, at least, not in the middle of a playoff series.
When Ponson says that he knows of a great place to get crabs, he is referring to a restaurant, right?
CC should be able to throw 110-125 pitches a game. He’s conditioned well enough after all these years of pitching to be able to handle that kind of workload.
I think the number “100″ is so ingrained in people’s (especially broadcasters) minds, its as if the pitchers arm is going to fall off if he throws pitch #101.
I thought Yost overdid it the other night having him throw a complete game in a blowout win. I suspect they will either give him an extra day between starts soon or take him out earlier in his next start or two.
I know its a popular theory on the ‘net that the Brewers can just blow him out. However, its not how it works in real world of baseball.
His agent and the Union will monitor this bigtime and they won’t let the team do that to him.
That’s why I think you will see Yost ease off him in his next couple of outings.
GreenBeret7:
I would just think that after the AB with a hit, they would take that chance in the next game.
I don’t think its that big of a deal Tim. He’s the DH. There is no reason to run for him in that situation.
If he wasn’t cleared to run the bases, he wouldn’t have come off the DL.
“The game is evolving in the post-PED/post-greenie era. It will be interesting to see which GM’s are on top of the change in the off-season.”
sj-
i even had a die hard red sox fan who’s a close friend of mine wonder if the greenies ban is what has slowed varitek down.
it is a new game , and i think a better one.
the trick with these sea changes is anticipating them and not just reacting to them. a team like tampa bay can sometimes react quicker to these kind of changes because they don’t have the dead weight that older and previously successful teams have.
the game changes.but the yankees are still tied by contracts to the old game. the next two years will be an opportunity for the yankee gm, no matter who it is , to reinvent the team .
It should be noted that even though CC threw 130 pitches his last time out, he’s barely cracked 100 in all of his previous outings. I believe his last complete game before the 130 pitch outing he threw 109. They aren’t really wearing him out. It’s not about the innings, it’s about how stressful the innings are. That last outing was the only one where he really had to labor at times. He’s doing exactly what Johan was supposed to do in the NL, but isn’t. The way he’s mowing that league down I wouldn’t be so sure that he’d want to return to the AL.
GreenBeret7/ SJ44:
Thanks for the replies appreciate your response’s.
I have no problem with the amount of pitches Sabathia is throwing. So far he has thrown 97, 122, 110, 106, 124, 109, 103, 114, 130 in all of his starts with the brewers. Thats an average of ~113 pitches per start. Prior to being traded he was averaging ~107 pitches per start. I think averaging around 115 a start isn’t bad for a guy of his size.
Randy,
Exactly. That’s why they, and we as fans, can’t get nostalgic in September if a couple of these guys on the last legs of their contracts with the Yankees have a hot month.
As you know, most baseball people say you don’t evaluate players in Spring Training or September because you get false reads on them.
As far as I’m concerned, Pettitte and Moose have earned one year contracts to come back. The other guys whose deals are up? You have to say goodbye and re-tool the team.
They have to get younger and more athletic with their position players. Its why this has to be the last year of Giambi and Abreu no matter what.
The pitchers? That’s where you can afford to keep veteran guys around with younger guys in AAA to back them up.
Among the position players? They have to force the action here and make themselves change their style of play, while getting younger and more athletic.
Nice to hear some more positives on Ponson.
I still remember when he was taken off the mound when the Yankees lit him up in Baltimore. He had this big smirk on his face. He was a great pitcher then.
I was happy that he was able to help the Yankees out (a little bit) his first go around and am very happy that he has helped hold the rotation together this go around. He seems genuinely happy to be playing for the Yankees. It would be nice if it continued to work out.
Go Yankees!
SJ44,
I’m hoping for a rotation of Pettitte, Mussina, Wang, Joba, Sabathia. Hughes and Kennedy will no doubt get their shot because as we’ve seen so many times, pitchers are fragile and are often injured. Look at all the starters the Yanks haved used this year: Hughes, Kennedy, Chamberlain, Pettitte, Mussina, Wang, Ponson, Giese, Rasner, Igawa, Bruney (technically
), and they’ll probably be using more before the season is out (Pavano, Aceves, Wright, ?). The team used even more last year. Keeping Hughes/Kennedy in AAA will also help them in the future, that way they can limit their innings and concentrate on their 3rd/4th pitches without worrying about the results.
Its almost impossible for me to speculate what changes will happen with the position players because there isn’t much on the FA market. I’m guessing if Cashman gets a new CF or 1B it will be from a trade.
‘They have to get younger and more athletic with their position players. Its why this has to be the last year of Giambi and Abreu no matter what.”
i agree on giambi and abreau 100%. abreau is the chioce that’s a tough one because he looks so good at times. but looking at the whole picture, now is the time to cut him loose.
I’d keep Abreu only if Matsui is traded so Abreu could be the full time DH. I love his clutch hitting and OBP but his fielding is awful and he’s no longer a threat to steal bases.
If I had my choice though, I’d rather have Matsui and 2 draft picks.
I sent an email to Peter to see if he knew the Baltimore restaurant Ponson was talking about, because I’m heading down there on Sunday and going out to dinner after the game.
Peter said he “has no Idea”, which is of course, ridiculous. I guess he doesn’t want to give out the name for some idiotic reason, or false sense of loyalty, or whatever.
But the players leave town Sunday after the game and wouldn’t be there anyway. Whatever.
crabs, lobster, shrimps = insects of the sea!
Cool story, Pete. This is why I keep coming back to check out the latest.