The Sandman rules in pool
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- February
- 23
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The Yankees had two Eight-Ball tournaments. Mariano Rivera won both of them, once paired with Phil Coke and the second time with Andy Pettitte.
There will be some quotes and some photos shortly.
UPDATE, 3:00 p.m.: Via a pool reporter, some comments were obtained. Here is what Johnny Damon had to say:
“It was a great day. We’ve been at spring training for a week and Joe came up with a great idea to get us together as a team. It was great to break up spring training a bit, get the team together, get some camaraderie there.
“I think everybody had a great time. We got to see who’s been spending too much time at the pool hall and we know the ones that don’t spend enough time in there.
“For Joe to let us take a day off from practice like that, it makes you want to work even harder for him.”
“Camp has been going great so far. We all have been rallying around each other, having a good time in the clubhouse. Today is one of those days that, as a ballplayer, you’ll never forget. I don’t think any team has ever really done this. It’s a day I’ll never forget. It says a lot about Joe. He knows we’ve been working hard and he rewarded us with a day off.”
Mark Teixeira:
“It was great. That was probably the most fun I’ve ever had in spring training in my whole career.”
“I thought it was a great idea. We’ve been working really hard – the pitchers a little bit longer than the position players. We had a good week of practice and we’re going to start games here soon, so I think Joe just wanted to give us some time off.”
“I’ve never have (heard of a team doing something like this), but I think more teams should. This was a great time, great for all of us to get together.”
“There were probably 16-18 pool tables, there were some card tables, we had darts, we had guys playing dominos and we had lunch also. Everyone was just having a good time.”
“It makes you relax and realize that we can have fun off the field. Once we get on the field, it’s business, but we can build some relationships as well.”
“Usually during the season, you get to hang out with guys because we’re always on the same bus or the same plane. Our schedules are identical. In spring training, you don’t go on trips together, the pitchers have different schedules than the hitters and the hitters are in different groups, so there might be a couple guys you don’t get to know at all.”
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on Monday, February 23rd, 2009 at 2:34 pm by Peter Abraham.
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Chad Jennings
Sam Borden
Josh Thomson
I love it, Mo is the greatest at everything!
Hopefully we can get the entire tournament bracket to get a feel for who played together today. Did the players have fun!?
had checked the MLB channel’s NYY segment today.
the all-time lineup, they composed:
Mel Stottlemeyer over Whitey Ford ??
I did like the fact Rickey Henderson was ticketed for LF (leadoff). And one, suggested Nettles should be at 3rd base (not Arod)
I am not surprised at all that Mo is a great pool player. He is so precise when he pitches, it makes sense he’d be skilled at pool.
Panama Slim!
Why am I not surprised that Andy and Mo (the best starter/closer combo ever) won one of the brackets.
All-time lineup? Why didn’t they just do Mantle or Dimaggio in LF?
I had read somewhere that kei Igawa and brackman were paired together now that is scary
How strict were they with OF requirements? Did you have to stick to LF/CF/RF, or did they go with Mantle/DiMaggio/Ruth?
Nettles at third is crazy. A-Rod, whatever your opinion of him as a person, is the best third baseman the Yankees have ever had.
So were really serious about the first thing even if we are mocking the people that do it for real to show them how stupid and childish it is. That is why I made mine into a actual conversation starter…or atlest what i had hoped would be.
and yes arod is much much better than greg nettles ever dreamed of but hopefully arod will acquire the rings to back that up.
it was:
Rickey Henderson (LF)
Jeter (SS)
Ruth (RF)
Gerhig (1b)
Dimaggio (DH)
Mantle (CF)
Arod (3b)
Berra (C)
Joe Gordon (2b)
Yeah, the line-up is pretty much a crock if the outfield wasn’t Mantle/DiMaggio/Ruth. I mean, I’m as big of fan of Rickey as you’ll find, but he’s not on the same level as those guys. Mickey could easily bat leadoff if you’d need him to. Shoot, why not just put Jeter there.
Jeter – SS
ARod – 3B
Ruth – RF
Mantle – LF
Gehrig – 1B
Jackson – DH
DiMaggio – CF
Yogi – C
Willie/Lazzeri/Gordon – 2B
Nobody’s touching that line-up. DiMaggio is hitting 7th and Yogi 8th for crying out loud.
bench/pitching:
Bill Dickey
Don Mattingly
Ron Guidry
Mel Stottlemeyer
Andy Pettitte
Rivera
Rumor is that ARod put his head down when Jeter sunk 3 in a row. NY Post back page: Jeter Sinks ARod
The all-time lineup on MLB was:
Rickey LF
Jeter SS
Ruth RF
Gehrig 1b
DiMaggio DH
Arod 3b
Mantle CF
Yogi C
Richardson 2b
One of them said he would have put Nettles at third, but the consensus was Arod. They went 2,3,4,5 and 7 because those are their uniform numbers, as well as most of them being a perfect fit for that spot in the order.
Yeah, if you’re going to use the DH as a cheat, I wouldn’t use it to get Rickey in the lineup. Not based on his career as a Yankee. Maybe put Munson behind the plate and move Yogi to LF/DH? He did play the seven-spot a lot.
i’ll take Rickey Henderson over Reggie Jackson. Don’t understand why Henderson receives no love/credit from NYY fans.
and 8
“Rumor is that ARod put his head down when Jeter sunk 3 in a row. NY Post back page: Jeter Sinks ARod”
post of the day. lmao.
The more I think about this, maybe Rickey should replace Reggie. He was probably a better all-around player. Just take Reggie out and put Rickey at the top. I guess that’s the same line-up they did on the show. I like my order better:
Rickey – LF
Jeter – SS
ARod – 3B
Ruth – RF
Mantle – CF
Gehrig – 1B
DiMaggio – DH
Yogi – C
Willie/Lazzeri/Gordon – 2B
That’s just sick.
They totally should have gone bowling.
Mo just dominates at everything he does. I bet he sunk the last ball and closed it out too.
Any of those lineups would absolutely dominate with about 1300-1500 runs a season..
Figures, is there anything Mo isnt good at?
vinny-b,
I think you are right, it was Gordon. I always get him and Richardson mixed up.
Its always the calm, quiet guys who win at Pool. Mariano once again dominating a sport no surprise here.
who was better Joe Gordon or Billy Martin?
will admit, never really heard of Joe Gordon.
Good to see teambuilding exercises so new teammates like Rivera and Pettitte can get to know each other!
Did Mo break all of the left-handers cue sticks?
“Figures, is there anything Mo isnt good at?”
Holding Dave Roberts on first.
I kid only because I love.
Presumably Shelley Duncan didn’t get to play because the pool cues kept snapping like toothpicks in his hands.
I can understand why someone would pick Nettles over Rodriguez. He was a fantastic fielder, much better than A-rod, a solid hitter and has some rings. The team already has enough sluggers, I can see why someone would go for defense over even more offense.
Gordon was a Yankee for only 7 years, but had 4 100 RBI years and 4 years of 24 or more HRs. From 38-46, I guess he would have won 3 WS.
Mo rules.
which of these guys is not like the others?
Rickey LF
Jeter SS
Ruth RF
Gehrig 1b
DiMaggio DH
Arod 3b
Mantle CF
Yogi C
Richardson 2b
Imagine working at this pool hall, and all of a sudden the New York Yankees walk in?
As far as Billy Martin is concerned, he wasn’t much of a player stats-wise. His best year he batted .264. His best year power-wise was 15Hr, 75RBIs. He was Mr. Intangible, Mickey and Whitey’s friend, and WS MVP; which makes him a great Yankee. But talent and numbers, not even close. Cano is already far ahead of him in the stats department.
“Gordon was a Yankee for only 7 years, but had 4 100 RBI years and 4 years of 24 or more HRs. From 38-46, I guess he would have won 3 WS”
thank you, mark.
“which of these guys is not like the others?
Rickey LF
Jeter SS
Ruth RF
Gehrig 1b
DiMaggio DH
Arod 3b
Mantle CF
Yogi C
Richardson 2b”
maybe Richardson. Cuz Rickey Henderson is the greatest player of my lifetime.
I’d like Cano to have some of Billy Martin’s fire!!
Between this and the team coming together to show support for Arod this seems like a great group of guys that seem very comfortable with each other.
“As far as Billy Martin is concerned, he wasn’t much of a player stats-wise. His best year he batted .264. His best year power-wise was 15Hr, 75RBIs. He was Mr. Intangible, Mickey and Whitey’s friend, and WS MVP; which makes him a great Yankee. But talent and numbers, not even close. Cano is already far ahead of him in the stats department”
Mark: based on this, they should not have retired his #
“I’d like Cano to have some of Billy Martin’s fire!!”
word up.
Rickey LF
DiMaggio CF
Ruth RF
Berra C
Gehrig 1B
Gordon 2B
Jeter SS
ARod 3B
Mantle DH
Bench: Reggie, Keller, Dickey, Lazzeri, Williams, McDougald UT.
#1 is retired because of 2 WS as manager, as well as being George’s favorite. Being the favorite of the owner gives you the inside track to the retired number. Doesn’t look good for Torre, however.
Richardson was a terrible hitter. Gordon, Lazzeri, Randolph, McDougald, Sax, Knobby, Soriano and Cano are all much better hitters than Richardson.
vinny b raining down the props on one of the elite in the HOF, the new guy, rickey.
im with you, henderson is waaaay underappreciated. for my money the best player of the past 25 yrs.
I too am always taken aback by lack of Ricky appreciation around here. one of the all-time greats, and I’d take him over Reggie in a heartbeat.
A-Rod: one of the greatest ever. Not yet meriting a spot on an all-Yankee team, IMHO.
“Rickey LF
DiMaggio CF
Ruth RF
Berra C
Gehrig 1B
Gordon 2B
Jeter SS
ARod 3B
Mantle DH
Bench: Reggie, Keller, Dickey, Lazzeri, Williams, McDougald UT”
nice team.
how can Joe D be DH and not Mickey which I think is what MLB did – Joe D was the better defensive player -
“im with you, henderson is waaaay underappreciated. for my money the best player of the past 25 yrs”
Ham Fighter:
Stick Michael agrees. He have stated the best 2 players he’s ever seen are: Willie Mays and Rickey Henderson.
Henderson was great but he was only with the Yankees for 4 and a half seasons. You can’t pick him over Mickey in LF.
“im with you, henderson is waaaay underappreciated. for my money the best player of the past 25 yrs.”
Seriously? No way he’s better than Griffey Jr, Bonds and ARod. And, I’m a huge Rickey fan!!
If you can cheat and put Mickey at DH then why can’t you put him in LF? He actually played there for some of his career, DH didn’t even exist when he played. Put Reggie at DH.
Patrick -
I did just that, but then you’re choosing Reggie over Rickey. And, after consideration, that was the wrong move. Rickey was a better player than Reggie.
Ok put Rickey at DH, Reggie on the bench.
no way, you gotta sit either mickey or joe d.
Patrick -
Rikey was one of the best defensive Leftfielders of all time. If he’s on the team, he’s playing LF. The best defensive arrangement probably puts the Babe at DH and shifts either Mickey or Joe D to right. I don’t know which one had the better arm. Whichever one it was, put him in RF and roll with this:
Rickey – LF
Jeter – SS
ARod – 3B
Ruth – DH
Mantle – CF/RF
Gehrig – 1B
DiMaggio – CF/RF
Yogi – C
Gordon – 2B
with all the yankee greats no way reggie jackson makes it into my lineup
how sick must it have been to bat in front of babe ruth?
yeah, start arod and keep reggie on the bench. in the big moment, when the money’s on the line, you PH reggie for arod.
Ruth had the best arm. That is why he was so successful…as a pitcher. And Bill James ranks Mantle over Dimaggio.
Barry Lane
why did GS have to make winfield pissed at him?
“yeah, start arod and keep reggie on the bench. in the big moment, when the money’s on the line, you PH reggie for arod.”
and then put nettles in if Reggie’s homerun doesn’t win the game then and there. deal. Yea, gordon was nasty for sure
the one on the list that is not like the others is ARod because he has no rings.
I would definitely have Rickey on the all-time team AND on the field. he might not have had as many HRs as Bonds or ARod (and we know why) but that’s only because hitting HRs wasn’t his game – his game was getting into his opponents heads and beating them with a walk, a bunt, a HR or a web gem. The only guy i ever saw who could turn a walk into a run WHENEVER HE WANTED TO. i saw so many games when he singlehandedly won games all by himself. The problem with him is he was the original Manny Ramirez – he didnt play when he wasnt happy – and it led to a premature end to his Yankee career.
As far as the lineup, ARod has to move to the back end. he strikes out way too much to be 3-4-5 in this lineup. I think it would take Joe D 3-4 years to strike out as much as ARod does in one season.
Is it me, or when you hear the players say
‘we have been working really hard, and the break was nice’…
sound kinda strange since theyve been there like a week?!
all time yankee third baseman
in order
nettles
brosius
boyer
pags
arod
Considering that Dave Winfield played over 8 full seasons of All-Star baseball in NY compared to Ricky Henderson’s 4+ seasons, it is hard to argue that Ricky deserves the spot over Joe D or Mickey, especially when he doesn’t deserve it over Big Dave. Winfield played 351 games in LF for the Yankees compared to Ricky’s 251. Winfield won 5 gold gloves while with the Yanks (2 in LF) and 5 Silver Sluggers (3 in LF), Ricky had zero gold gloves and one Silver Slugger (playing CF). Because Winfield is mostly remembered as a RF, people forget that he began his Yankee career playing LF and CF.
Pete – nice double meaning on “pool reporter”.
lou gehrig’s numbers are insane. he gets lost in the shuffle, I think of all the yankee greats I would enjoy watching him hit the most.
Mo is just a winner. Incredible. Proud to say that he pitches for my team.
By the way Gmen21-I am basically a Babe Ruth scholar. The man is just staggering, a player that totally dominated his era more than any player before and any player since. There were no records until Babe Ruth set them. He was a bigger celebrity than Elvis, an absolutely incredible player.
This is great to read, and it’s an example of the fact that the only thing that matters when it comes to Girardi is how he handles the team. Sorry Pete, but no one cares if the manager is dishonest with you and the other guys on the beat about injuries or whatever. It might make your job more of a headache, but we fans just worry about how Girardi deals with the team and whether they win.