When the change was made uptown and the big man joined the band
Posted by: Peter Abraham - Posted in Misc on Feb 13, 2009 
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Happy Baseball everyone!
Awesome picture!
What a nice picture!
Despite the pre-season, we are all still looking forward to seeing this team while they are healthy (hopefully staying that way).
From this angle, CC looks like he lost weight. No?
Best Springsteen lyric reference yet.
Ah, where’s Rizzuto when we need him to finish the verse?
“I’m gonna sit back right easy and laugh
When Scooter and the Big Man bust this city in half”
CC’s size problems were WEIGH-overhyped!
The guy looks like he is in great shape.
Him and Bruney lost a total of one Justin Pedroia.
Justin Pedroia? HAHAHAH
CC looked in good shape in all the pics I saw of him this winter. There’s more muscle on him than peole give him creidit for.
But I’m not confiming CC is in shape until some intrepid reporter breaks into his doctor’s offices and confirms his physical.
Now if one of the “C”s was for Clarence, you’d be all set!
Pete-
Any and every thread titled using Springsteen lyrics gains the blog major points.
I vote for a Springsteen lyric at least once a day.
Consider it a challenge Pete.!
*Dustin
That was a brain lapse.
Maybe that pose freeze shot can go on the world series rings this year.
patrick,
The only problem is that selena does not criticize when she writers – she goes for the jugular every time. I am convinced she gets a thrill out of destroying peoples lives and making people suffer from her own stories. I dont think she is a man hater but i think she likes the power of slowly dismantling a person’s reputation with every key she hits. If she wants to destroy someones life – at least she could target someone who deserves it. There are a lot of renowned people in this world that have done horrible things. Im pretty sure arod is NOT one of them not will anything good come from his demise. Her book only seems like further proof that she is out for the kill—arod is already down on the ground, gushing blood and she is going to pour salt on the wounds. It is a dangerous game selena is playing because if the book is severe enough, people will really start to question her motives.
“I vote for a Springsteen lyric at least once a day.”
Just don’t make any of ‘em from the new album. Ugh.
I can’t wait to see this rotation this season.
i still think i am more looking forward to seeing AJ pitch than CC. Just something about him.
Pete,
Not everyone could blog about how fit these guys look/how much weight they lost over the winter all day, Eventually, it comes back to the steroids thing because it is such a hot button topic and there are so many different angles in which the story could be talked about – from the POV of arod, selena, epstein, selig, the players, cash, girardi, the owners. Then, there is how this will effect one thing or another or we can talk about some reporters reaction to the story. And there is articles coming out every second about arod and the radio in NY is 24.7 arod. If we lived in a bubble, perhaps, we could get away from this story but it appears we cant. But i have seen a good two hours worth of straight baseball in here which was nice. But how many times could we talk about the new signings and the injury risk and the potential of the young guys. I guess its nice to mix it up and switch back and forth. Personally, iM down for either.
CC looks like a goliath in that picture. I know the guy is big but the camera shot makes him look even bigger. Scary
Some more great pics from today:
http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/te....._flgp126:1
Did any of you catch the interview on MLB TV yesterday with Torii Hunter? That guy is a class act and a seemingly fun-loving, hilarious dude.
He had some very nice things to say on A-Rod’s behalf but was realistic and conveyed shock and disappointment.
I am a big Hunter fan after watching that interview. Class act.
Thanks for the link JMR.
Bruney looks so thin
bruney looks fantastic.
Great to see the smiling faces of Joba and CC together
I think the pitchers could have a best tattoo contest by the looks of it
Great picture gallery. CC makes Joba look tiny.
Pete –
Thanks for the audio and pics of CC – and the baseball related stories.
Most of the posters here are baseball nuts and the outside stories (arod, selena, yankee books) are like drugs to a recovering addict. We don’t want to go there, but we are helpless.
CC makes Joba look tiny.
======================
He does! CC is a big boy.
dave,
come on man no more steorids. I propose adding a post on the margins somewhere over on the right side where people who wanna talk steroids can do it there.
hopefully joba follows cc around and tries to learn as much as he can from him.
anyone know if cc is a ‘mentor the young guys’ type of pitcher?
CC looks great. At first glance I thought it was a Heisman pose ( Le Bronze
)
dave,
Read your reply. Sorry, I missed your sarcasm.
Just wanted to let you know though, that just because we don’t write the past history of guys like AJ over and over again does NOT mean that we don’t expect him to fulfill his potential. Your reply made it sound like you’re the only one who cares and expects him to do that. I think where we part is that some of us are giving these guys the benefit of the doubt.
I read the SI print story last night, which triggered a couple of thoughts (and yes, I have no life and have already spent too much time thinking about this).
First, the print story is all about Roberts’ gotcha moment – it doesn’t really add much to the online version. However, twice in the story she talks about 3 players who told her that Orza tipped off ARod in 04 to a test. This suggests to me that the same 3 players were her original sources on the 03 test. Radomski has also been claiming that players were the source.
Now, as SJ44 has talked about, that’s not enough to get it published. Which leads me to the theory that David Epstein got one of his sources (who had access to the list) to confirm it. He’s written a lot on steroids, and has no other obvious contribution to the story, yet he shares the byline.
It also defies credibility to suggest that 4 people with knowledge of the list independently decided to violate a court order and leak it to Roberts. If, however, SI had been told about the list, it’s perfectly possible that they convinced one person to verify what they already knew.
Now, how did 3 players know, either about the list or about the alleged tip-off, and why would they leak it? As KLaw said, it was leaked purely out of spite.
But why include the part about Orza? I know ballplayers aren’t the brightest bulbs on the tree, but it’s not hard to see that this does more damage to the union than ARod.
Plus, how did 3 players know this? ARod talked about a “meeting” with Orza in August or September of 04 where he learned he was on a list, and might or might not have tested positive. I assume that was a private meeting, because if it wasn’t, that’s malpractice on Orza’s part. If this is what those 3 players are referring too, then someone must have told them about it.
ARod was on the Yankees at that point, so I really hope none of the 3 players who sold him out were teammates. Considering how completely and maliciously he was sold out by other players (who in the process also damaged their own union) he’s been remarkably stand-up about this.
(And, obligatory PeteAbe disclaimer – yes, ARod was wrong in the first place for taking steroids).
So what do you guys think? Any holes in my theory? (and apologies for the dave-length post).
The Yankees have changed team doctors. I wonder if they will change anything about the way Spring Training is conducted given all the injuries last year.
DT
did you see Pete’s quote
” The comments and page views are like crack.”
http://thebiglead.com/?p=11502#more-11502
After trying on CC Sabathia’s extra, extra large pinstriped jersey, Joba Chamberlain took a glove and ball and headed for the clubhouse door today. At the entrance, he asked a question of A.J. Burnett.
Joba: “You seen Big Slim?”
A.J.: “Big Slim?”
Joba: “CC.”
Yeah, it’s Day One of pitchers and catchers reporting, and already CC Sabathia has a new Yankee nickname, courtesy of Mr. Chamberlain. Actually, the two men have been friends for nearly two years, when Chamberlain just started chatting up Sabathia one day in Cleveland.
http://njmg.typepad.com/yankeesblog/
=======================================================
Big Slim it is
I didn’t know that CC had his arm tattoed. He and AJ – the tattoo brothers.
Can we vote Dave off the blog?
Every freakin time I come on here he’s still rambling on about the steroid garbage.
ENOUGH ALREADY!!!!!
DT
did you see Pete’s quote
” The comments and page views are like crack.”
LMAO…
oh great. Now I am an enabler…. haha
Can we vote Dave off the blog?
Be careful, he might have the blog immunity idol.
Clare,
very interesting. I think you may be right about the 4 sources.
p.s. as long as you keep giving us top quality stuff, your posts can be as long as you want them to be
“Can we vote Dave off the blog? Every freakin time I come on here he’s still rambling on about the steroid garbage. ENOUGH ALREADY!!!!!”
There’s an easier fix, Bob. Just ignore him. There are certain posters that I don’t care for so I just ignore them. It’s pretty easy to do. The minute you scroll down and see that a post is by him, skip right over it.
Can we vote Dave off the blog?
dave can be a real pain, but he’s our pain. kind of like Arod. So no we can not vote him off.
Enough of Arod, Selena Roberts and the steroid story. Give it a rest,please.
Laura is right. Don’t like the posts, don’t read them.
Pete,
If you could put a steroid thread on the right side of the blog, I think that would be a great way to keep that discussion out of here so we can talk baseball.
Clare,
Obviously the leak is the big crime, and why ARod was targetted and by whom, other than Roberts is the big question. It it was 3 players, I’d take a look at who is on the union board and who the player reps are. Obviously if the union did have the names, then, perhaps, some of the players who are most invovled in the union would maybe have been able to get access to the names. So, you might want to look at who the players most most involved in the union were in 2004.
Or, for now, if anyone wants to talk about this, how about we go back to the last thread?
“If you could put a steroid thread on the right side of the blog, I think that would be a great way to keep that discussion out of here so we can talk baseball.”
Sorry, but that won’t work. Someone will invariably bring the topic up in other posts. It’s bound to happen.
Hey, it is what it is. Like Alex, we can’t escape this. Your only recourse is to skip the posts that you don’t want to read and keep your own posts on point with baseball. The steroid posts don’t bother me because I have come to realize that it will be a part of our baseball existence this season regardless. Again, we can’t run from it. We can only try and deal with it.
You know CC was born July 21, 1980? And that is a nice round number to do the math – he is only 28 years old. Players have been known to continue to improve at that age. Lets look at a trend shall we?
I will start with 2004 since that was the first year in the majors in which he started to show significant improvement- The three years before that he either fluctuated each year up and down.
2004 188 IP 4.12 era 1.32 whip
2005 196 IP 4.03 era 1.256 whip This represents slight improvement from 2004
2006 193 IP 3.22 era 1.17 whup This represents a huge improvement from 2005
2007 241 IP 3.21 era 1.14 whip This means that his 2006 performance = no fluke
I dont want to give the wrong impression by posting last years numbers on here – these stats are all out of the AL Central facing the same competition that he will face in NY. 2008 reflects far more from what he did with the brewers and his improvements to 2.7 era and 1.115 whip dont carry the same weight especially since he did not do nearly as well in his first half with the indians. This is an excellent sign though and actually should be quite more thrilling than seeing a stable 3.3 era for five years straight. This not only shows consistent improvement even with a heavy workload and not only sustainability but at 28, this means he may not be done just yet improving his game. Certainly, pitchers have improved after turning 28 years old. I know he cant get much better but you never know and that is why I am excited to see CC – VERY excited. We are NOT watching some proven vet win another cy young even though it may feel that way because CC has been around so long but we are in fact, looking at a young guy still improving his guy each season. Thats some pretty good upside for an ace no?
Let me just mention a few trends since 2004 when he really turned on the jets. His strikeout totals have gradual risen every season since 2004: 139, 161, 172, 209. That is an increase in Ks per 9 as well. Despite his inning total going up most years, his walks went down every year from 2004 – 72, 62, 44, 37. That is a huge improvement in BB.9 each year. His hits have basically been maintained at a little less than 1 per inning but the other 2 stats along with the whip and era improving every single season is enough reason to think he may even get better than he already is. Im not saying he will but it makes him even more exciting to watch.
Looks like they need to update some graphics:
http://d.yimg.com/a/p/ap/20090.....lgp112.jpg
“Looks like they need to update some graphics:”
I think they’re on it. It looks like the guy is taking the sign down.
Phil,
Good point. And I can see some players being annoyed with ARod being portrayed as the one who would save the HR record from steroids if they knew he used. But wouldn’t union reps in particular be interested in protecting the union, even if they wanted to hang ARod out to dry?
The union is the one that’s in trouble, since I believe they already testified before Congress that there were no tip-offs.
Teixeira will have to be Scooter.
Speaking of Springsteen, I had Reno in my Springsteen Super Bowl box. Too bad that song wasn’t played, I would have won some money.
Speaking of Sabathia, his body resembles the Cookie Monster.
so besides Manny are their any big FAgents left>?
I don’t know how a picture of CC throwing a ball in the outfield turns into a conversation about Selena Roberts and ARod.
Get some fresh air guys.
bob,
You act like i am the only one talking about it? Look at the last post. We were right in the middle of a discussion about it when pete posted a new thread. What should i do? Wait to see what the first few people post before i find out if this is a roids thread or a non-roids one. If pete really wanted us to stop, he would say it in the post or in the first comment. He doesnt so no one else should care if people discuss it. plUS, everyone else in the country is talking about it now. And this is a yankee blog – i think that is fair game.
And trust me, every time I come on this convo is already going on or starts immedately after. I dont bring it up usually but when i get involved in a convo I am not going to immediately stop with a new thread, As somewhere here said – dont like it, dont read it. No need to be obnoxious about it. Thanks for whoever commented back no to bob’s genius plan. And bob, even if i leave, the arod convo will come up again that same day – dont blame me about that.
Clare,
Obviously there’s spite involved in this whole crime. The question is who conceivably could have seen the list and given up ARod. Would 3 or 4 separate prosecutors all be that stupid? I think we probably are looking at players for the leaks rather than officers of the courts. So which players would it be?
Clare, the only players that might have an axe to grind s on would be the Scab plyers from the ’94-’95 lockouts….players like Shane Spencer and about 30 others. They had no Union benefits because they weren’t allowed to be Union members. With that said, I can’t imagine that it would be any player.
See Bob. I just posted a comment about CC, havent said anything about it and imagine that> There is still a convo going on about arod. What a concept? i thought only i brought that up – and i guess i write a little for every media outlet in ny and nj as well because thats all they write or talk about either. Its like riding a bicycle without any hands – I didnt even know I could do it.
Does the soul good to see some Yankee pitchers at Spring Training.
Spring time right around the corner.
CC/Wang/AJ/Pettitte/Joba
Now THAT’S championship caliber.
Nice to have two lefties in the rotation – was a staple during the last championship run. I like AJ’s style – bit o’ redneck to join up with the urban coolness of CC.
dave-
When all the points were about Andy, people would complain that all the posts were about Andy. But all the posts were about Andy except for the people complaining that all the posts were about Andy.
Same for those days all the posts were about Torre.
Same for now. See a pattern?
So go ahead and post about steroids. My guess is all the posts will be about steroids other than those posts complaining about steroids.
Mel said you criticized Andy earlier today. Stick with steroids and lay off Andy.
Phil,
Exactly my point. We may never know who, but I wonder whether they were players who were tainted by steroids (Mitchell report) or actually clean players.
GB7,
Roberts says in her article that it was 3 players who were the sources for the alleged tip-off. She does not characterize the 4 sources for the positive test in any way, so that’s why I’m theorizing that 3 of the 4 are the same players who gave her the tip-off info.
Wave,
Yea, I am starting to realize people realize that we are talking about a topic incessantly by how many times I post about it which reflects how many times everyone else is talking about it but i guess my posts are more visible.
I didnt really criticize him so much as say that I hope he learned from his mistake last year and will never try to pitch through injury again. Is that really THAT critical of him? I just hope he learned his lesson and all – i keep hearing him say that the reason he sucked the second half of last year is that his shoulder was killing him. And every time, I want to be like well you were hurting, you were losing, why didnt you stop? But im sure he learned his lesson and i wont talk about it again.
I dont even think i have anything more to say about arod or selena or selig for that matter. I am spent talking about all three of them. There is really only so much that could be said, I for one, would rather talk about selena’s book than the whole arod thing – which was what i posted about when bob came to criticize me. The book could mean so many things for us and him. And even selena. I feel like that story will go deep into the season moreso than the roids stuff which will be old by then.
This is my favorite pic of the day….
http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/te....._flgp109:1
I can hear Joba- “c’mon big slim, give me my glove, man”
And CC saying- “hold on,I just got a whiff of White Castle”
Here are some truly cool pics – sorry if they’ve been posted!
http://d.yimg.com/a/p/ap/20090.....lgp112.jpg
http://d.yimg.com/a/p/ap/20090.....lgp111.jpg
I love how bob comes in here to criticize that I am posting too much about roids – and then, immediately bounces.
lol @ that Joba look-a-like
http://d.yimg.com/a/p/ap/20090.....lgp120.jpg
Wow at AJ’s arm……he and CC could have quite the nice competition. Between those two and Joba’s nipple rings……..this is not your grandfather’s Yankees
Some comments about the pics I posted in my previous comment:
I’m seriously drunk with happiness now. That first one looks like CC is trying to do magic tricks with the ball. The last one is hilarious – it looks like CC and AJ want to hold hands and jump around….actually, so do I right now!
Oh my god, Dave. I have to jump in. You talk about Pettitte as if he’s just a little child. “Learn his lesson”? He’s a professional ball player who took a hit for the team because that’s who he is. In his contract year, he sacrificed himself and his stats so that the Yankees wouldn’t have to risk traumatizing Hughes and Kennedy. So that we wouldn’t have to call up Igawa.
There’s no lesson to be learned this year, because our pitching is much deeper with the addition of CC & AJ. And with the improving health of Hughes and maturation of Kennedy. Oh, and there’s that hombre, Aceves, too.
Is it just me or do the new guys all seem to be just thrilled to be there? Of course, what else would you expect, but they are mixing well and looking like they all get along…..There were some very lovely pics of AJ and Swish, but my faves were of CC and AJ. They look like they’ll play off each other very well.
I just read the David Robertson/Disney story now – what a terrific guy and what an understanding wife. The drive to Tampa is not a short one – I hope he makes the squad.
What do you guys think of Zach Mcallister? For one of the guys with the best stuff in the minors, I hear his name less than any of the other big name prospects. Yet, he was pretty incredible last year. I think this guy has less potential but way less risk than a guy like betances. Why does Zach get no love>>
m,
Sacrifices himself for what? There was no need. You act like this team was right on track the whole season. We were so far from being competitive with a lot of time left in the season. And andy was not help us whatsoever – not at all. Igawa may have pitched better than andy at a certain point. Atleast Igawa wouldnt have run the risk of tearing his rotator cuff or doing some other structural damage to his shoulder. It is not a good idea to pitch if you are seriously hurt. And it is an even worse idea if you are hurt and you are hurting the team when you pitch anyway. Igawa may have been terrible but at that point, it was irrelevant as anyone could have put up the numbers andy was given us. i KNOW he is not a child but he obviously realize what he did last year was a mistake which should have been more obvious to him during the time when he was actually doing it. I am not in any way trying to criticize andy except to say he should not have pitched hurt last year, he helped no one by doing so and I hope he has realized that if the same situation arises next year, he would be wise enough to make a different choice. How is that treating him like a chld?
Betsy,
Thanks so much for the pics. They look great.
Is that Bruney with AJ’s tattoos?
CC seems like such a happy and chill dude.
I’m so excited..and I just can’t hide it..
dave,
You just walked into your own trap. If you think the team was so far out of it, then what’s the harm of Andy pitching? He pitched until it they mathematically eliminated. Mo pitched until then, too. Did his MRI and still came back to pitch at old Yankee Stadium. Then it lined up so that Andy could pitch the last home game at old Yankee Stadium. He did well, and it was a beautiful, poignant night.
The problem, I believe, is that for many people there’s a disconnect between the stats and what players, managers, and GMs have to face on a daily basis. Baseball decisions, not math problems. It’s baseball, not a numbers game.
dave, the lesson for Andy seems to be that even if he gives his all to try to help the team, someone will find some bogus reason to criticize him. Anyone could have put up the numbers? I beg to differ.
Andy for the last three months of 2008:
July: 6 starts, 38 innings, 4.74 ERA
August: 6 starts, 37 innings, 5.84 ERA
Sep/Oct: 4 starts, 22.2 innings, 4.76 ERA
dave, do you think Igawa or Kennedy would have been that good? I myself am dubious.
Andy did what a tough, team player would do, he went out there and pitched because he thought the Yanks needed him. And IMO the Yanks did need him. And I am sure Andy thought every time he took the mound he would do OK, whatever the actual results turned out to be.
To me, that’s a guy I want on my team.
C.C.’s got a little captain in him – do you?
that is a sick picture!
LOOKS FAT !
Pete, I 2nd Wolf: Of all the Springsteen refs this one’s best.
I agree with m, Nick, & WYH’s points on #46. I thought Dave’s comment about tearing up rotators was odd if only because the team had no investment in the player for ’09; looking at it coldly, the reaction could have been ‘so what if he did?’ Given how much noise there was 8 weeks ago for letting him go, if he’d seriously damaged his arm it would have been strictly his loss, right? For what it’s worth, I’ll always be a Pettitte fan, & am very glad he’s back.
The band happens every day. We really aren’t trying to ” win ” any transmissions.