See you next week
Posted by: Peter Abraham - Posted in Misc on May 17, 2009 
Print This Post
| 
Email This Post
As you probably know, the newspaper business is changing and not always for the better. Papers in Denver and Seattle closed this year and the recession has cut down the space in most every newspaper in the country.
My paper, The Journal News, is part of the Gannett Company. As part of their cutbacks, all employees are getting furloughed for one week this financial quarter. This coming week is my turn.
Under the rules, I can’t work at all. No blogging, no e-mails, no phone calls, no nothing.
As I love what I do, this week is going to be painful. As the Yankees gets on a roll, I want to be there to chronicle it. The good news is that several co-workers, including Sam Borden, Kevin Devaney and Joe Erwin, will update the blog. The lineups and breaking news will be here, just like always.
As for me, I may go catch a game or two as a fan and see the Stadium from somewhere other than the press box. Hit me up for a beer if you see me. Or buy me a beer, I could use one.
Catch you next Monday from Texas. If anybody needs a temporarily unemployed sportswriter, I’m available.
Enjoy as much as you can…I won’t comment on the politics, I obviously don’t understand the situation seeing as I have no frame of reference.
Go Yank! You’ll be missed.
That’s rough..just as they’re starting to heat up too.
oh no! We’ll miss you
thank you so much for the updates & info…enjoy your week off…
Dang pete..
Well good luck and god speed!
In my sister’s company, most employees are being termed for the summer…they all took a pay cut and usually work 4-day weeks in the Summer…it’s a tough time
Hey Pete – when will Jose Veras get his week off? When is it his turn?
Have fun Pete.
Be under the O’Neill banner half hour before gametime I bet you’ll find some loyal readers (oh it’s not just for gangfights anymore).
Would the rules allow you to post here “as a fan”?
“Liser from White Stone
Mike from Montclair
Steve the cookey Met fan
Some awful callers”
You forgot Jerome from Manhattan, Joe D from S.I. and Stuart from Brooklyn.
Wow.
Well, I guess try and relax this week Pete. Get some sleep
Damn sorry to hear that Pete. Enjoy yourself though.
you’ll be missed pete. the info provided on this blog is second to none. hope you enjoy your week off regardless.
what’s a pity, although we don’t always agree with you on certain comments,but you will be missed a lot in the coming week. Have fun with your vacation!
Thats unfortunate. Best of luck through tough times.
We’ll miss you Pete. But here’s an idea. Forget about baseball for week. All of it. Try something completely different, large or small. Hell. Surprise yourself and see what happens.
Pete –
being a positive poster, I’ll say this.
At least Bruce is playing twice in Jersey this week.
Jerome from Manhattan is the best
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v.....38;index=0
Things aren’t much better here in the West. We laid off two news reporters and the sports editor voluntarily resigned. I feel your pain, Pete.
Pete, I have finals this week. Are you available?
Tough times. I’m sorry to gear about your furlough. I know it’s not a real vacation, but try to think of it as some well deserved time off. Let’s all hope it gets better soon. Thanks pete for all the hard work you put into your work and this blog. You’ll be missed.
This Blog is probably the biggest factor in getting LoHud advertisers and the paper itself exposed outside of Westchester. Couldn’t they have at least had you take a week while the Yanks were on the road? So many things are just a**-backwards in this world.
*hear* not gear. Stupid iPod.
This exemplifies part of what’s wrong with the newspaper industry. The Journal News seems to get trashier with each passing year because it seems to think it’ll attract more readers if it’s the NY Post northern edition. Meanwhile this blog, which must be one of its crown jewels (how many other readers on here are actually from the northern suburbs; how many even know what LoHud in the title means) loses its heart and soul for a full week in the midst of the Yankees turning the season around. Simply asinine.
Enjoy your time off, PA.
I say we all email/call and complain and maybe they change Pete’s week off to .. well…a week where it doesn’t matter, like .. the All-Star break…or something.
Pete–
I work at a trade media company and we are doing the same thing. These are tough time. You will be missed a lot. You are, IMHO, the best Yankees beat writer out there.
Pete,
I hope you are able to enjoy your time off and relax, even though I know it’s tough.
I have several friends who work for Gannett and I’ve heard all about their furloughs.
It’s tough, but a friend of mine who is a brilliant photographer was laid off last week from the newspaper she works at in Wisconsin. They sliced a third of their staff.
Everyday I go into work now I’m just thankful to still be employed.
Thanks for the hard work, Pete.
Hang in there Pete. It’s tough out there for everyone. Hopefully, your paper is one of the one’s that survive since it appears they are taking proactive steps to stay afloat.
Everyone in my family has been touched by the recession and most of my friends are struggling. Especially my friends in magazines and publishing.
Being fired from high paying jobs and only being offered temp to perm with no benefits (which seems to be the latest tactic in NYC) is pretty normal right now.
So many of my friends are being hit with 30% or higher paycuts in their jobs.
All I can say is enjoy your week off and keep building the blog bigger and better since that is going to be your moneymaker in the future.
wow, that really sucks, Pete…….enjoy your time off, though I know you’d much rather be working.
Pete,
give me your login and I’ll take over for the week
unpaid intern?
G. Love said it well.
Hang in there.
It’s painful to see what’s happening to the newspaper injury, and I have a number of friends who graduated school last year with newspaper degrees unable to find work.
But hey, thinking optimistically:
you get a week to sleep in, enjoy the spring weather, take in some games as a fan…
from former thread:
“Doesn’t hurt in asking what a team like KC would want for CL who’s already had shoulder issues, No ?”
———
I suppose. I’d put it on par with calling the Dodgers about Broxton or the Sox about Papelbon though. It almost seems like an insult to me to make that call unless you handle it carefully.
Unless of course you ask in such a way that you could laugh and say you were, of course, joking if/when they tell you to piss off… kinda like when I ask a girl if she wants to invite a girlfriend
This will be a long week
Pete, sorry to hear about this. Have a good week.
Could you ask Sam Borden to wash up before he blogs this time?
Pete–
My company is doing the same thing this year. Hang in there and try to enjoy the time off.
We will miss you. You are, IMHO, the best Yankees beat writer out there!
Consider it a vacation of sorts. You won’t have to chronicle the endless “Joba to the bullpen” debate or worry about Aubrey Huff’s fist pumps.
Take this time to relax and realize that as long as your blog stays active you’ll have a job, and that Yankee games are going to be lonely without your updates.
Have fun, Pete.
“Pete,
I don’t think it’s a good idea if you stop working during a 5 game winning streak!
It’s kinda like leaving the blackjcak table in the middle of a shoe when everyone is winning…
bad sportsmanship
”
I feel ya Pete. Just my luck that I graduate from college with a degree in Technical Communication/Journalism and the newspaper industry finally starts to collapse.
Ah well. Enjoy your week off. At least you have something in this blog that will keep readers coming back.
I’m still looking for a gig that doesn’t come with a nametag.
That stinks, Pete. I understand the economy is a mess, but it a bummer that they make you take this furlough at a time when baseball is just starting to heat up.
While some people may not always agree with what you say, we all can see the hard work that you put into the blog for the fans. Try to enjoy your week off as much as you can.
pete,
hopefully by the time you come back i’ll be smoke-free for a whole week.
Its going to be tough but Its time I finally buckled down and quit. I got 311 and the NY Smokers Line helping me out.
Does anyone have any advice whose been through this? Im extremely worried Im not going to be able to do it.
I know the “strictly baseball” code for this blog, but I figured I would ask to see if anyone had any ideas.
Pete, Enjoy the week off, most people would kill to have it and your being forced to take one.
Should I happen to see you in the LF bleachers for the Tuesday game, Pete, your first beer is on me. Your in a class of your own!
Pete, enjoy the time off but I would hate it if this blog closed. I check in several times a day, all day long. I can’t imagine if this blog went away! It is my source for all things Yankees as it has the best, most complete, and most timely information. Tell your editors you writing this blog can never end.
I feel your pain Pete. I was furloughed for 2 weeks last year and then this year they cut our pay by 20%. Of course the execs included themselves in the pay cut what they didn’t publicize was that they were giving each other extra stock options to make up for it…
Pete, I’m really bumming at this news. I haven’t posted before but have read your blog everyday this year faithfully. I enjoy your writing and take on everything Yankee and beyond so much that I’ve basically stopped reading everyone else. This will be a long week, in daily ritual terms, for me too.
If I see you, I promise to buy you a tasty brew. You deserve it.
It’s a damn shame what’s happening to print journalism. But I guess you can only delay the inevitable for so long. We’ll miss ya Pete and now I have to find another blog that chronicles the yankees as well as you do. It will be tough
I just found out that Brett Tomko has the hottest wife on the Yankees. She is incredible.
gonna be tough without you Pete
Dr. Cox, I never smoked so I don’t know what it’s like but good luck to you!!
You just ruined my week. Thanks for doing it the band-aid way, it would have been hard knowing what was about to happen..
Wow, Pete. That’s too bad. I hope the furloughs end soon.
How about giving ESPN a call?
no.27
I just found out that Brett Tomko has the hottest wife on the Yankees. She is incredible.
___
As the old Dire Straits song goes: “Money for nothing and your chicks for free.”
No. 27 – Pics or it didn’t happen…. you know the rules
I dunno.. couldn’t they have waited until the baseball off-season to do it? Don’t they have some hockey, basketball and football writers that could use the time off instead? And give you your break during the baseball season?!
Google Julia Schultz Tomko. She was a Playboy Playmate.
In Chrome if you type something in the address bar, it tries to auto fill a google search for you. When you type Brett Tomko, the first thing it displays after the “Search Google for Brett Tomko” is:
“Search Google for Brett Tomko Wife”
So I guess a lot of people look up his wife when they type Brett Tomko in the search bar
and here it is: http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_XKbx.....ltz02b.jpg
Ryan: from what it appears, this is a furlough for the second quarter, which I assume means must be taken during the second quarter pay period.
no.27 she isn’t a pimple on the butt of Nick Swisher’s GF
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_yTbp.....mba__1.jpg
Attempt #2
http://i44.tinypic.com/2zej7rn.jpg
Man, that sucks! Enjoy your time off Pete as you will have a busy summer ahead of you
Wow. Well, these are the times we currently live in.
Enjoy your time off, Pete, and see you next week!
Good luck.
We haven’t seen the worst yet
I mean, if we’re talking girlfriends, Jeter’s winning that one. Anyway, when I googled Nick Swisher’s girlfriend someone else came up – Catherine Panagiotopoulos.
Thanks for all your hard work, Pete! This is a shame.
btw, in your ‘The ethics of cheering’, you mention that probably A-Rod should not be the guy who hit walkoff.
My question is, since both Andy and Roger took steroids, should Yankees return 1 or 2 of their last 4 champ triumphes?
Just move on.
oneil banner the hangout?
tomorrows my 1st trip to the new stadium ill be there!!!
This is ridiculous… Pete, you don’t deserve this.
Un-#@#*(&$-real
Hey Pete, I just wanted to take a moment to thank you for all you do for us yankee fans. Even though i’m for the most part a “lurker” I’ve read the column every day since i discovered it in 2006. I can guarantee you that there is no website that I have visited more or that I value more highly. I was having a chat with a guy I know in California just this morning and we were bemoaning what is happening to the newspaper industry at length. I told him about this blog and how vital it is to Yankee fans; more-so than any of the big three new york papers. One can only pray that somehow revenue streams will be enough to continue print sports coverage in this country.
I hope the Journal News stays afloat, not just for us fans, but also for Weschester residents.
I hope you enjoy your week, but we will all be looking forward to your return… as Joni says…you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone…
Dr. Cox—
i managed to quit smoking in 2007… i used the patch and it worked like a charm. i have heard that it isn’t effective for everyone, but i highly recommend it .
Where will I go for snarky A-Rod comments next week? Guess I’ll have to read Selena’s book.
sorry pete
why is angel berroa still on the roster? lol.. taking up space
“Would the rules allow you to post here “as a fan”?”
That’s a good question. Pete, would you be allowed to post here as a fan? I’m sure you need a break anyway because you put in a lot of work.
Wow. Sucks, Pete.
I’m sure you’ll enjoy watching the game from a different perspective!
So, when do you get to quit your newspaper job and just blog full time?
Well, as a public service announcement and PLEASE feel free to reprint this, just for poops and ha has, the journal news numbers are:
(914) 694-9300
(914) 666-6222
(845) 358-2200
Let them know what you think of this! And Pete can’t even stop us, ha!
I don’t know what sort of revenue this thing generates, but maybe we should boycott the week, or at least a day(if you as hooked as me) in protest. Although it won’t be the same without him.
I don’t doubt times are tough and the paper is struggling, but why are we laying off baseball reporters DURING BASEBALL SEASON?? This guy is in the damn BBWIA
Pete, your bit about being “temporarily unemployed” is insensitive to those actually unemployed. I’m sure your wallet’s fine.
Pete – That sucks …. I’ve been in & out of work for 2 years now. Keep good notes – you’re my favorite link to the Yankees while I’m siting on the other coast. Try to enjoy your time off.
Delv,
He technically IS unemployed. It’s not insensitive, as he’s, more or less, been laid off for a week, with the promise that he can return in a week. That’s what furloughed means. This isn’t a paid vacation. And while Pete probably isn’t scrapping together pennies to buy his next meal, it’s not fun or fair to anyone. I don’t think it was his intention to trivialize the plight of those who have been laid off for much longer than a week.
Wouldn’t have made more sense to give you a week off when the Yanks are on the road? And save money on hotels, restaurants, airfare etc……….
delv
May 18th, 2009 at 2:57 am
Pete, your bit about being “temporarily unemployed” is insensitive to those actually unemployed. I’m sure your wallet’s fine.
————-
what’s wrong with you?
That sucks for you, man. All those negative blog posts about A-Rod driving up the hits to your blog and you still have to take a furlough? Dang.
As far as for your fill-ins, PLEASE more Sam than Kevin. Kevin Devaney is like a less funny, less informed version of you. Sam, on the other hand, seems reasonable and rational.
I don’t think I can make it a week without you Pete!
Enjoy your week of peace!
Pete,
have a good week. It’ll be a hard week for all of us.
Hit the drop lines at the Izod Center Thursday and Saturday Pete–Between that and the parking lot, I am sure that you can score 1 ticket to each Bruce show for a reasonable price!
Sorry to hear that Pete. Hope you enjoy the time off though.
pete enjoy you are the best.
Pete – I have been there as well – what a bummer – relax – you deserve it!!
“Pete, your bit about being “temporarily unemployed” is insensitive to those actually unemployed. I’m sure your wallet’s fine.”
oh, shut the hell up.
Sorry about that Peter . try to relax buddy !!> . Great Job on the Blog
Please enjoy your time off Peter, but we’ll count the days until your return, thanks.
Peter,
I’d buy you a beer, but I thought drinks are included in those $2500 seats you’ll be sitting in?
Enjoy the time off.. if our winning streak ends, I know who I’ll be blaming.
-Joe
i hope this country turns around.
it is a mess right now.
i work in a supermarket in ct so thank god people have to eat & our company is doing ok but every time contract time comes i get nervous.
nobody is buying anything in this economy & it is very hard to borrow money.
i pray for the people who are out of work.
go yankees
christina.nice pics.
you look cute in the dress.
Pete -
You’ll be missed this week, for sure. I guess there’s nothing to do but try to make the best of a bad situation. I do remember you went through this last season as well. Here’s hoping that the newspaper industry figures a way to stabilize itself, and perhaps reinvent itself a little in this digital age. I can’t help but think, Pete, that you’ve been on top of the game in that regard.
Wow Pete…that sucks. Unemployed or “temporarily unemployed” is still unemployed. Hope its a one shot deal.
My daughter went to college 3 years ago with hopes of one day becoming a beat writer for the Yankees, something she has wanted to do since 5th grade. She just finished Jr year and has switched from print journalism to visual media for the exact reason you mentioned about newspapers.
If I run into you at the stadium that beer is definitely on me!
Make the best of it…..You do a hell of a job
Pete, you can still post here. Just impersonate SJ44. Everybody else does.
Enjoy your week off!
lol, thanks Bru for the compliment.
Wow–that sucks.
I wonder if someone would buy the blog from the paper?
Pete that really stinks but try and enjoy time away from work. You will be missed on here but I am sure your colleagues will do a great job and if your at the Yankees game Wednesday and I run into you a beer is on me, Section 411.
Hope you get to enjoy being a fan for a week. Will miss the writing…I’m sure the other guys will hold down the fort!
Ugh, the daily print contraction is a never-ending nightmare …Start thinking book angle, Pete. The financial pretenses of the new Stadium and what they say about the franchise isn’t a bad place to start.
Sorry to see Pete leave us so suddenly. You never know until you missed the chance to say goodbye.
With Sam we could have some good food related threads and as we all know, it was our discussion of gravy that allowed the Yanks to turn this month around.
Got an idea right after I hit submit…Pete, maybe the Yankees will hire you to help solve some problems around the new stadium. You can be like a conduit between the fans and the absent minded brass (who are making baby steps in the right direction with the fans allowed close to the field for BP, lowering ticket prices, etc)… remember, the solution to the camera behind the net is at Camden Yards…
Yes, Tantron, the newspaper industry began crumbling on January 20, 2009.
If Rush/Tantron believes it, then it must be true.
Next, he will blame the lawyers for it.
Laura, LOL, that would be best way to go for Pete this week.
Here is the way I see it…..
We can do one of two things here. We can let the place turn into a sewer with moronic posts and unregulated drivel (see the usual Tantron political nonsense)…..
Or, we can band together this week and make sure the blog functions smoothly. Think of it as a wired version of housesitting.
I prefer to do the latter when available during the week.
Enjoy your time off and wish your newspaper and the employees all the best.
Pete, if you wrote more positive stuff about A-Rod then you wouldn’t have got that week off, but you were too negative about A-Rod so now you won’t get paid for a week and you won’t be a part of the All-Positive Posters Club at LoHud.
Come to think of it, you did the right thing, always have, so enjoy your week off and sit-back and laugh as Betsy and Trisha are sipping their kool-aid drinks – positive, positive, positive, A-Rod is a victim.
Pete, I don’t always agree with everything you write (and I appreciate how you respect readers’ rights to disagree), but I want to say that I regard you as a talented, entertaining journalist. No matter what happens with the newspaper world, talented people find a way. I am sure you will.
Wow Pete that sucks. You probably gross a lot of money for the paper with the blog hits and advertising and they do this. Well enjoy your time off.
We’ll miss you, Pete! Try to have a good week without us!
To Dr Cox re quiting smoking:
What worked for me: Toss the ashtrays and smokes and lighters. Throw out the ashtrays in the car. Give it a good cleaning/freshening.
Ask the Lord to help. When things get tough, don’t quit. Consider when He died for you and things got tough, He didn’t give up… you can do it. About day 5, you can really begin to smell again. It is amazing how bad smokers smell… I was embarrassed for myself.
It takes a while to break the hand to mouth habit…but it’s just a habit… you can do it…
Gum helps…nicorette for a season… and one failure is not the end….restart…..
As you succeed, give thanks to the Lord. By involving Him in the first place is very good.
It worked for me… I smoked for a8 years, quit at 2-3 packs a day and have not smoked in 15 years. Giving glory to God…
To Pete:
The local weekly paper (Oswego Couny Weeklies is looking for a writer…sure isn’t a vertical move though…
County….oops
Hey pete I’m an avid reader and I won’t even try to understand what you’re going through. I’m going to be at the stadium on thursday and would really like to buy you a drink and talk some yankees with you. Thanks for everything with the blog.
“Oswego Couny Weeklies is looking for a writer…”
Pete’s column next to a coupon from the Oswego Sub Shop and the ad from Byrne Dairy- Good Times!
SJ,
go with the house sitting…. PLEASE
ON A SIDE NOTE, HOW DID YOUR NEPHEW DO THIS PAST WEEK/WEEKEND?
“Ask the Lord to help. When things get tough, don’t quit. Consider when He died for you and things got tough, He didn’t give up… you can do it”
I appreciate the help. Wow, Jesus really helped you out it seems. This may be somewhat tough considering Im Jewish, lol.
But hey, If JC wants to help this Jew beat this affliction, so be it haha.
But, nevertheless I appreciate the concern and advice.
Pete, Tell your bosses to stop giving this blog away for free and that, I think, will solve some problems. This is valuable information and I am willing to pay for it. Fine work and enjoy the week the best you can.
Steven
Shalom
Furloughs without a clue. What’s the difference if your furlough was in, let’s say DECEMBER. That presumes a lot — like will Gannett still be here in December? But if the goal is to sell papers dontcha think that the timing is a tad off by putting you out now??????
Corpoarations never seem to quite get it.
Pete you’re the best and your blog/Yankees beat work informs millions every day.
Pete! If you want a free grandstand ticket (422, good row) for Thursday’s game, I can email it to you. You know how to find me.
If the paper allows it, post in the comments section. You’ve become like crack–I need your posts every day!
Hope the week goes okay for ya.
PS Jesus was a Jew
Why can’t the likes of Lupica, Joel Sherman, and a host of others be given an entire summer furlough ?
They’d be missed as much as a raging 2 foot Nor’Easter snow storm.
Enjoy your week, Peter.
MLB and Fox have agreed on weeknight World Series games that begin before 8 p.m.
Count me in as one who will miss you this week. Your blog has turned into a frequent read to catch up on the news and opinions. We will try to keep it going in your absence, but it won’t be the same. Now you can work on a the great
American novel or some tell all book–but please not about AROD.
Dr. Cox…for someone who smoked for almost 15-16 years it was hard to quit and almost took me 3 years of on/off again to finally quit.
The one thing I tell anyone that wants to quit is that you really have to want to quit.
The thing that helped me the most was jolly rancher candies…every time you want a smoke have a jolly rancher.
The other that helped was being on a boat with a smoker and getting sea sick…now most of the times I smell smoke I think of that feeling.
It has been almost seven years and I wonder how I could have ever smoked, it just might be one of the most vial odor out there…never mind the cost.
If you add it up, just might be able to buy tickets to sit behind home plate.
Good luck
Jack Kerouac, author, poet, King of the Beats…Fantasy Baseball Geek?
“Almost all his life Jack Kerouac had a hobby that even close friends and fellow Beats like Allen Ginsberg and William S. Burroughs never knew about. He obsessively played a fantasy baseball game of his own invention, charting the exploits of made-up players like Wino Love, Warby Pepper, Heinie Twiett, Phegus Cody and Zagg Parker, who toiled on imaginary teams named either for cars (the Pittsburgh Plymouths and New York Chevvies, for example) or for colors (the Boston Grays and Cincinnati Blacks).”
World series on Fox to start maybe a little earlier:
http://www.usatoday.com/sports.....htm?csp=34
Dr Cox…… for me it was the Commit lozenge. In theory it was supposed to be a twelve week program, but I stopped taking them after 5 days as the urge to smoke had left me. That was over four years ago and have not gone back. I don’t expect everyone to have such great drastic results as I did, but you never know.
Dr. Cox, I used the patch. Be forewarned that the patch makes the user have outlandishly vivid dreams. So much so, that I looked foreward to going to bed at night. Those dreams kept me from smoking.
Sorry to hear about the furlough, Peter. But enjoy the week off.
Pete—- I’m coming to the city this weekend. You have my email. Send me a note and beers at the stadium Thursday night are on me. I got an extra $ 500, so that should be enough for two beers each, right?
Pete Enjoy your time off – or at least try to make the best of it! We’ll still be here when you get back
@Dr. Cox, This might sound weird, but for the 1st few days of quitting (when withdrawal is worst) I went on vacation from my job & basically sequestered myself at home (alone) – if there aren’t cigs at home, & you don’t leave the house, you can’t get your hands on any cigs to smoke! I simultaneously used the patches for about 6 weeks & they also helped.
After that I felt like I’d gotten used to not smoking. But of c. I was still occasionally tempted. I think the gum would have been useful (a la Obama) then – like what Vader says about Jolly Ranchers. Instead of using the gum I just caved in to temptation every couple of weeks, & would buy a pack, then smoke one cig & throw out the rest (to prevent myself from smoking them too). Kind of dumb.
I’ve also read (in the NY Times) doctors admitting that using the gum long-term, even if you *never* give it up (i.e., not just using it temporarily like the directions say to), is ok, as nicotine itself doesn’t hurt you. So becoming “addicted” to the gum is still better than being a smoker.
Anyway, best of luck!
Pete:
Sounds like a road trip to see Bruce. You should be in DC tonight, Pittsburgh tomorrow and Jersey on Thursday and Saturday at Izod Center.
Pete could use all the time off he can get as he’ll be working very hard deep into October.
Goodness that is stupid. We’re not going to pay you for a week, but if you wanted to do a little work on your own time…
TOUGH! NO WORK FOR YOU.
Is that not the dumbest thing ever ?
My buddy just got done w/ his furlough as he also works for Gannett. I really cannot stand Gannett. It should be illegal to lay someone off for a week just so that they can collect unemployment from the government from that week, and you can save a few dollars on payroll. It sucks because its an abuse of the system which is already stressed from hundreds of thousands who are legitimately on it this year.
Pete! I miss you already and it’s only been a couple of hours…ugh. Time this week is going to drag by. I check your blog at least 20X a day for your witty remarks.
Hope you enjoy the down time, anyway. It’s a sucky way to get it, but I hope it’s relaxing.
“Sumo Todd May 18th, 2009 at 9:37 am
Goodness that is stupid. We’re not going to pay you for a week, but if you wanted to do a little work on your own time…
TOUGH! NO WORK FOR YOU.
Is that not the dumbest thing ever ?”
He’s able to do work on his own. The whole point of him not working is so hes eligible for unemployment pay.
That’s rough, Pete. Take care this week. I wish you nothing but the best. I won’t be able to make it into the stadium to by you a brew, but if you’re ever down the Jersey Shore and need a cocktail, stop by The Wine Loft in Long Branch. I got you.
Thanks for all the advice. Im on day 1 and so far no cigs!
I am taking the gum and chantix. Im going to do this.
Now, if the Yankees start losing, and I mean really losing, in the next couple of weeks. Then I will start again for good luck.
I will certainly sacrifice my health for the good of the team !
Editorial in the Post today:
Yankees fans deserve better than Sterling
http://www.nypost.com/seven/05.....169830.htm
I am inclined to agree.
Dr. Cox
May 18th, 2009 at 12:30 am
pete,
hopefully by the time you come back i’ll be smoke-free for a whole week.
Its going to be tough but Its time I finally buckled down and quit. I got 311 and the NY Smokers Line helping me out.
Does anyone have any advice whose been through this? Im extremely worried Im not going to be able to do it.
——————————————————-
Hang in there Dr. Cox.
I quit one month ago, this past Saturday.
Using the patch, so far so good. (once I got past the daily nausea, dizziness and loss of focus)
Chew gum, that seems to help a bit too.
Pete, hope you have a good week.
Since Pete won’t be posting this week, maybe we can try to keep things rolling in his absence. Post links to Yankee news you find online. Here’s a link to a column by Phil Mushnick of the NY Post on John Sterling, “Baseball Fans Deserve Better Than Sterling.”
http://tinyurl.com/q3x74x
Hang in there Pete. I know it’s rough out there. I have been unemployed for a while and unable to find a job.
Good luck Pete. I suppose that you can be glad that it is only for one week.
I dont listen to games on the Radio enough to care about Sterling.
I watch every game on TV and when I am at my mom’s house in NJ and I need to go to the store during the game, Ill put on John and Snoozyn.
But in all reality, does ANYONE really listen to radio enough to care about Sterling and Snoozyn? But I nominate Tony Reali for the new position. Local, big Yank fan, NY accent, very, VERY knowledgeable.
Hey Pete, I love the blog. Sorry about the furlough. If you’re anywhere near section 421 tonight please let me know and I’ll seek you out and buy you a beer — it’s the least I can do given all the great reading since I started following the blog (over a year ago I believe).
Also, if you need tickets for one night this week – and you’re willing to sit up in 421 – let me know and I’ll send you a pair
Bummer, Pete. This is the first time I’ve left a comment, but I enjoy the blog immensely. You’ll be missed this week.
Sort of makes me think of when there was a teachers’ contract dispute at my high school. The union wouldn’t let the teachers put in any extra time until the dispute was resolved – no before- or after-school help; no nothing. But I had this great physics teacher who said, “Well, technically I’m not supposed to offer you any extra help right now, but if I happen to be hanging around the classroom after school and you happen to stop by and we happen to start to talking about physics, what can they do?”
Well, if you and some of us happen to be hanging around the same blog and we happen to start talking about baseball, what can they do? …So maybe we’ll see you in the comments?
Hang in there and enjoy the games.
Will miss you this week, hopefully we can hold the fort and have Wang, Bruney, Jorge, Nady and PETE ABE ready and fresh for a strong June run!
Eh like I said, its not really about you Pete, its the information provided here that I come back for! As long as the info is still here I’ll keep coming back. Doesn’t really matter to me who provides it.
Pete,
Friday Suite #3 if your going to the game. Lots of beer there!
Dr. Cox – yeah I forget to mention the crazy dreams.
The one with Suzy W. and John S. lying on the beach doing play by play almost made me start smoking again….
wfan- is complaining about the broadcasters talking for 5 1/2 innings about the Mets chemistry or lack there of.
Has Mushnik ever written a positive column?
This spring I cleaned out my folks attic. One box had old stuff wrapped in old news paper. I found myself reading old stories about the Yankees written by Kay (when he wrote for the Post) and some screed written by Phil Mushnick.
For 20 years Mushnick has been writing the same article over and over again. All of it filled with mock out rage and anger.
the newspaper business is in big trouble for a number of reasons, but one of the biggest is making their product free on line. You undermine your subscription base when you do that and that leads to lower advertising revenues.
There’s a reason the WSJ has done well in a bad economy… the paper produces quality and makes people pay for it.
don’t get me wrong, I love being able to read all these papers for free. However from a business standpoint it is an incredibly foolish way to run an industry.
All the best Pete… hope our paths cross on Thursday.
I pay for the MLB gameday audio subscription, which is a bargain at 15 bucks for the season, but I will generally listen to the “away” feed for games because I just can’t deal with 9 innings of John and Suzyn.
Sterling has been especially bad this year. This weekend may have been his worst weekend of the year. Lots and lots of missed calls.
He needs a spotter because he can’t see anymore.
The booth in the new stadium is actually closer, and with better sightlines than the old place, and he still misses plays.
I don’t think Mushnick’s column was out of line. He’s a media critic and that’s his job.
In this case, he is right. They have to do something because the broadcasts are really suffering with his mistakes.
A fresh voice in the booth to do 3 innings isn’t the worst thing in the world.
some of my co-workers have started to steer “undecided” college under-grads away from becoming journalism majors.
Pete, that’s tough for us. Let’s hope things don’t get out of control here. I respect your colleagues and enjoy their guest posts, but as anybody who’s been to school knows, when teach is away, kids have no mercy for the subs.
Watch out, Borden! There might be a tack on your seat and chalk in your coffee!!
“wfan- is complaining about the broadcasters talking for 5 1/2 innings about the Mets chemistry or lack there of.”
Can’t get WFAN here, but I listened to that discussion in the ESPN booth last night and was mesmerized…and not in a good way.
I learned that Wright will soon be a leader, Beltran is too weak and introverted to be a leader, Delgado was a team leader elsewhere but he’s injured too often now, and Reyes is a lost cause because he has a poor reputation and doesn’t care to fix it.
Throughout, Joe Morgan was the voice of reason. Frightening, isn’t it?
It was incredible television. LOL.
Hey Pete,
What a shame… to be “banned” from doing something you love for a week! It’s like Gannett found out you were taking PEDs or something.
Listen, if you come to the Orioles game on Wednesday evening, you can come by Grandstand Section 410, Row 13 — just shout out for someone named Marshall (or Matt, or Joe, or Stephanie, or Meghan) and there will be multiple beers in your hands immediately. There will also likely be plenty of open seats near us (since it’s Row 13).
You always write about how the fans get screwed by the Yankees… well we are a prime example of partial plan ticket holders moved from behind home plate (4th row, tier reserved) for the past 2 seasons way out to right field (grandstand, 2nd to last row).
BUT, it’s still a good time out there, and it’s cool to watch the game with the frieze framing our view. Come on by!
-mdh
I read Musnick’s column, he’s 100% right. I listened to Sterling for years because I didn’t want to pay for cable. But it became too much, I got annoyed almost every game for his lack of detail and missed calls. Once when the Mets and Yanks were playing interleague, I switched to the Fan and couldn’t believe my ears. I hung on every word and was shocked at what I had been missing. As a younger fan, I never listened to any other broadcaster. Then I got MLB radio online and when the Yanks were away, I could listen to away broadcasters. Finally, I broke down and got cable.
Sterling is horrible at his job. He really is. Sadly, he’ll be around for another 10 years or so. The fans deserve a pro in the booth. He needs more than a breather for 3 innings, he needs to be limited to Yankeeography bios.
NEW POST FROM SAM THE MAN
Sorry to hear about this Pete … try to enjoy the week if you can.
Rough economy – hate this happens to happen.
Stupid reasoning from LH Journal, losing its readers in trying to save some bucks.
How much time they think it´ll take to recover the lose readers this week? Or do they think they have us for guaranteed?
Expensive lessons to learn for the idiot who left us without Pete, the soul of this blog.
Have a nice vacation Pete. But by the way, think of some independent blogging so we don´t interrupt our habit of dialoging with the best on-line baseball writer in NY.
I live in Denver now and it wasn’t a good thing to see the Rocky Mountain News go away, leaving Denver with only one major daily. But, the nature of media is changing and I am fortunate to live in Denver yet be able to read this blog a few times a day and be up on the latest Yankees news as if I still lived in NY. Thanks Pete for making this happen and enjoy your “reprieve”.
Go and explore the stadium Peter, there is a lot to really see. And make sure you arrive early to the game to take full advantage of seeing batting practice down by the field.
Go and explore the stadium Peter, there is a lot to really see. And make sure you arrive early to the game to take full advantage of seeing batting practice down by the field.
Not Happy about this Peter but I am coming up from Tampa for a Game on Wednesday so if I see you that beer is on its way!!!
Noooooo! We’ll miss you Pete. Hey, can’t you still comment just like the rest of us????
Is Big Papi a Gannett employee?
Probaly save a few bucks by not printing the paper at all anymore. I’ve never been a fan personally, hated the fact ink always rubbed off on your fingers. This is a digital age whether people like it or not.
Sorry Pete. Atleast it’s only a week though right.
you will most certainly be missed pete. Thanks for your efforts so far, the posts have been just AWESOME.
Come up to boston, I’ll buy ya a whole round for what you’ve done for this blog!
I don’t get it : are they giving you an “unpaid” vacation? A week off is usually something nice, but if they cut your pay, then that is not so nice.
With all of the free beer offers he is getting, Pete will need a new liver when he returns!
Hey Pete-
Are you going to the game tomorrow? I’d love to buy you a beer!
If you go, let us know where you’ll be sitting…..
Pete, not happy for us, and I can imagine that this has to be hard on you for a number of reasons.
As another card-carrying member of the positive gang, I would also like to encourage you to make this work for you in as positive a way as possible. Enjoy the freedom you will have from having your wards (us) bust your chops, disagree with you, and accuse you of all kind of nefarious things! Also enjoy the freedom you will have from having nonstop assignments such as having to write something each and every day. Enjoy being an ordinary baseball fan for the week. And also enjoy the “you time” you will have. How often do you really get to take time out for you?
The good thing is that it’s only a week so soon enough you’ll be back here probably wishing that you had another week away from us.
Most of all, please remember that challenging you doesn’t mean that we don’t respect you and love you! Those things are not mutually exclusive. I’ll definitely miss the funny things you post as well as the information flow.
Sorry to hear that, Pete. I hope the people upstairs at Gannett have some ideas as how good this blog is, and what a strong community of posters and readers it has. In large part due to your efforts.
Pete-
Ditch Gannett – they’re losers like all the other old media. Start up PetesYankeesBlog.com. You and we will live happily ever after.
I am glad Hal Levy is not around to see what’s happened to the newspaper world!
Pete — until very recently I was working for a newspaper too, writing a column for a major metro out on the west coast. We’re going through the same stuff — layoffs, paycuts, furloughs. I finally took a buyout. I wish you all the best. I know there a some topics re. the Yanks we don’t see eye to eye on, but I enjoy your writing quite a bit. You’re funny and have a great perspective that’s always fun to read, whether I agree all the time or not.
What people like DaveCT don’t understand is that the “losers” in the old media are the ones who are actually doing the reporting that the underpants media (bloggers) are running with.
Hang in there, man. All the best.
For all the people here complaining about the paper furloughing Pete, how many of you actually read him in the LH Journal, and not just here, for free? I read one commenter who said something like, “Do they just take us for granted and think we’ll be back?” From the newspaper’s perspective, they’ll say, “Who cares?” We aren’t paying them to read this blog. They’re making ZERO (or close to it) revenue from this or anything else they provide on the web. That’s the major problem here, newspapers have yet to figure out how to make money from the Internet. So they’re losing readers to the web cause it’s free and advertisers to CraigsList cause it’s free — by the bucketload. Revenues are way down, and they have not adapted to the change. They provide blogs and internet content, but they’re making very little money from that. It’s not just the economy, sad to say. It’s the new world order with media. So if you really care about Pete’s job, here’s what you can do: subscribe to his paper! And for those who think Pete should just quit the paper and start doing the blog as a living — if you can come up with an idea of how he would make money from that, you’ve done something that the entire print journalism world hasn’t been able to figure out yet.
Good ole Gannett…
Brother Pete,
My furlough (of a week w/out pay worked out over a year). I also got a 2% pay cut. But it’s better than being laid off, I guess. The number of posts to this blog should tell you that you will be ok, no matter what the format. We will miss you and your expert commentary.
Hang in there my friend,
Byron
Blame Gary Sherlock for being a complete son of a.. anyway.
Hang in there man. LoHud has a proud history and you’ll make it through it. The Herald Statesmen will live on.