Good rooting
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- December
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Tonight, I got a great email from a reader named Chris. Turns out, when Chris was younger — “about 30 years ago” — he was given a grade school assignment to write letters. He chose former Yankees, and one of the ones who wrote back was none other than Tommy Henrich.
“It always made an impression on me,” Chris wrote in the email. “Just another example of the fine gentleman he was.”
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on Tuesday, December 1st, 2009 at 10:01 pm by Chad Jennings.
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Sam Borden
Josh Thomson
So amazing. Few would do that now.
Somehow I must have gotten redirected to eBay.
Amazing. It really seems like a simpler time.
I am thinking to get this. Unfortunately it’s not on BluRay
http://shop.aetv.com/detail.php?p=105689&v=All
Ol’ Reliable
LOVE IT. Thanks for that Chad
Very cool, Chris. Who else did you write to and here back from?
It’s like the 1980’s version of Flat Stanley.
Back in the day, this was a common practice.
Most of the players were listed in the phone book and answered requests for autographs.
One who answered my father-in-law was the Babe himself.
That autograph was passed on to my son.
One day we met Bob Feller in a Florida mall and he signed the back of it.
here = hear
JZ
December 1st, 2009 at 10:08 pm
I am thinking to get this. Unfortunately it’s not on BluRay
http://shop.aetv.com/detail.php?p=105689&v=All
10 bucks cheaper on Amazon
Tommy was MR Clutch! Thanks Chad for sharing
Tommy Henrich wrote a letter to Judge Landis that got him freed from the Cleveland minor league system and allowed him to sign with his childhood favorites, the Yanks.
Back to the last subject of all0time nicknanes:
Vinegar Bend Mizell
Marse Joe McCarthy
Vic Raschi – The Springfield Rifle
The best of all:
Old Biscuit Pants – Lou Gehrig
Larupin’ Lou Gehrig
Uncle Ellsworth – I read that it was coming out in Blu Ray in mid-December. This might be wrong, but I remember reading this somewhere.
Don’t know if anyone else heard.
Red Sox interested in Rich Harden.
There’s a surprise. Who are the Red Sox not interested in?
Despite all the blogging I do and the fact that I am dating a baseball writer you guys all have heard of, I have never actually met a major league ball player.
Well, there was that one time I went to a Yogi book signing that I was so starstruck I couldn’t process it.
But nothing besides that.
CR9: The Sox being interested in Harden rings all of Smoltz and Baldelli and Byrd.
Did this team learn nothing?
I hope the Yankees sign Harden to a one year deal.
i hope the red sox do sign harden. come may, they’ll be looking for a 3rd starter.
the red sox have a defensively challenged team right now, theo must be seriously worried
Rebecca
LOL @ both of your comments.
My boss has for clients, the personal trainer of Jeter, and a producer of segments for ESPN and other networks.
And of course, when I brought up the Yankees, the producer tells me how he hates the Yankees. “I would rather work for John Henry than George Steinbrenner anyday,” he says. He said he is not a Red Sox fan though.
He has done segments on Straw and George Steinbrenner for ESPN, so I asked him how he could do an unbiased segment if he hates the Yankees and George, specifically. He responded with nothing but “I do my job professionally.”
But he did say Straw was a good guy.
Just wanted to get out the hating the Yankees thing, but my point was I have also never met a major league ballplayer or somebody connected with a major league team.
“i hope the red sox do sign harden.”
Harden is 28 and has a career 131 ERA+ and a 3.58 FIP.
You really need to re-think.
rich,
i agree that harden is a great pitcher. but, and this is a big but, he has not shown he can stay healthy. he’s a bigger risk than brad penny
kd
That’s why Hardin is a smart risk for the Yankees for one year. He pitched 141.0 innings last season and had a 110 ERA+.
Penny, otoh, had only pitched 94.2 innings in 2008 and had a 66 ERA+.
So there’s a big difference between them.
Harden would provide insurance for Joba and Hughes.
My quick essay on how “Old Reliable” is the best nickname ever, if you care to read on…
http://blog.neco.com/2009/12/01/old-reliable/
Harden would be an excellent signing for the Sox. So would Sheets.
Has Dan Shulman acknowledged the Yankees WS championship yet?
To be honest, I would rather work for John Henry than George as well. More job security and less pressure.
Harden would be a very good signing for the yanks. Giving him a 1 year deal is not really a big risk. He is a very good pitcher. Harden will get hurt and probably only pitch half the season but they will be quality innings pitched. He is good for pitching depth. A starter usual always gets hurt the yanks used 9 different starters this year.
Chad, that’s a wonderful story. I’d love to know more about Old Reliable…….too bad there’s no book on him. I just got a lesson in baseball history reading through the other thread……..
Ax
“To be honest, I would rather work for John Henry than George as well. More job security and less pressure.”
Damon, Pedro, and Manny would agree.
At this time of year, rumors fly – every team is connected at some point to every player, lol.
Darn, I missed the Costas interview with the closers -but, I’m sure it will be repeated in the next few days.
Is that Ruben “they care too much about winning” Sierra? LOL ………well, at least his first incarnation. The 2nd time around, he was terrific.
If you read Summer of `49 by Halberstam and Baseball in `41 by Creamer you will learn a lot about Old Reliable.
Great article on Jete…….and the video is well worth watching.
http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com.....p;c_id=nyy
I love this quote:
“I thought the cover came out nice. The only thing that I thought was missing from that were my parents on both sides,” Jeter said. “Even if you don’t see them, just know that they’re there beside me at all times.”
Phil, I’ll have to read those books……thanks! I just love baseball history.
Dynasty by Golenbock also has a bunch about him at the beginning.
Here’s a story from 1940. He had to have knee surgery, which was a big deal so he was in the hospital immobilized for about a month. And sure enough, he ended up marrying his nurse.
Not that it matters really what any of the sportswriters think, but on YES.com, Anthony Reiber from Newsday doesn’t think the Yankees will be seriously in on Doc unless the price drops from Montero and Hughes/Joba, plus others. His reasoning? They didn’t do it for Santana, they don’t want to trade prospects and pay big $$$, etc…..He thinks that if any East team gets Doc, it will be the Sox.
Ah, the Florence Nightengale effect – I’ll put Dynasty on my list of books to read as well…..thanks!
Do we even know that the price is actually Montero and Hughes/Joba. Anthopoulos can’t be that tone deaf.
I think that price is just a mediot creation.
Betsy,
That reasoning has been constantly explained around here and the other places. Toronto is on crack if they think they are getting more than they were offered at the deadline. They’re not. The NTC and what may be a contract demand will shrink the market and Cash is too patient, and the Sox are probably gonna have to use their ammo on a bat.
Rich, no we don’t – we know they love Montero and then after that, it makes sense they would ask for Hughes/Joba. It’s all speculation………..
I’m just picturing everyone on the Jays sitting around doing crack……I love and hate this speculation, but it’s part of what makes baseball so great.
As people in the media have noted, their offense this year was better than their 2007 WS year IIRC.
Second, regardless of if the Jays are on drugs if they think they’ll get the same package as they could have gotten at the deadline last year, in NO WORLD is Clay Buchholz and Casey Kelly worth Roy Halladay. At least I hope the Jays will not allow that.
I mean, just because Casey Kelly can play both shortstop and pitcher at the same time because of his magician’s skills does not mean he is worthy of Roy.
Kelly cannot even make up his mind on what position he wants to play FGS!!
I’m not giving up Joba for a player with a NTC who wants to be a Yankee.
Why bid $200 for an auction that
If the Jays could get something like McAllister, Melancon, Romine, and IPK, they should do back flips.
They could take a lot less from the Mets like Bill Smith did, but that doesn’t really serve their interests.
Do we even know if Hal will allow Cashman to spend Santana money (or more– Doc could conceivably ask for CC money) to give Doc his extension?
EA
If you had Jeter and A-Rod in their mid-30s, and Posada and Mo at about 40, wouldn’t you want to find a way to win as many championships as possible over the next four or five years?
The thing is, what elite bat is out there now that Adrian Gonzalez is seemingly off the block? Hanley isin’t going anywhere. Don’t think DET put Cabrera on the block.
Sox might just decide it is better to use their chips on Halladay and give them a killer rotation. They have to do something… Henry has to be itching. Don’t think they bring back the same team from last year.
It is in the Yankees best interest to publicize the idea that they want to slash the budget.
So does Bill Sheridan come back next year?
The RS will reserve money until Mauer’s situation is clarified.
Cashman has been talking about slashing the payroll for the last 5 years… ever since he took over.
still waiting….
Why do people continue to believe his off-season fodder? Every season it is the same story.
Cash did reduce payroll from 2008 to 2009 from $209m to $201m (according to Cot’s). I think they probably want the 2010 payroll to come in at just under $200 million if only to push back against attempts to have an even more onerous Yankee tax in the next CBA.
I think it was even higher in 2007.
Bill Sheridan should not have come back on the flight home from Denver.
I’ve never heard of the baseball writer Rebecca’s dating.
Man the Tiger Woods saga is getting real messy…..Yanks will take a good long look at both Hardin & Sheets….
I’ve heard of Peter Gammons… say it ain’t so.
Billy Wagner to the Braves, 10M pending physical, and here we go!
I think I have the dollars wrong above. I don’t think they’ve been released.
harden is worth the risk. 1 or 2 yr deal heacily incentive laden.
he is 10 yrs younger then smoltz was….
Phil were did you hear this? Bosox lost ss, now a set up/closer,great.
Rosenthal on Twitter.
Phil-
7M for one year with a vesting option for a 2nd year with the Braves.
http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/s.....ee-to-deal
I went to http://www.ajc.com
Atlanta Constitution newspaper, it’s not posted yet,but did read they want Torre after next year,wow.Torre with the Braves?
Damn, Wagner to the Braves?
So sox get the Braves draft pick, number 20??
A coup for the Sox
baseballfab December 2nd, 2009 at 1:39 am
Damn, Wagner to the Braves?
So sox get the Braves draft pick, number 20??
A coup for the Sox
They’ll end up giving up their own draft pick this year if the want to compete with the Yankees. Or even some young talent, so it all evens out.
Sox now have two picks before we pick.
And when Bay is signed by another team they get two more draft picks
baseballfab December 2nd, 2009 at 1:45 am
And when Bay is signed by another team they get two more draft picks
Then they can enjoy a transition year.
Is Theo outfoxing Cash for 2015????
Rich, I think I proposed that exact same trade on an earlier post. But I think that even that’s too much. I’d just offer McAllister and Romine.
http://www.msn.foxsports.com has the Wagner to braves article posted,now.
Yanks sign an infielder, 18 year old Fu-Lin-Kuo for $150,000 bonus.
http://taiwanbaseball.blogspot.....n-kuo.html
Sometimes pro and con we forget these guys are human before they are players. It eas to do. Its my guess the vast majority of them are very decent people.
Fred Mcgriff while a Ray took a baseball from my 6 yearold daughter before the game in stpete. took it into the dugout and was gone about 10 12 minutes, came back there was 13 signatures on the ball. above and beyond i think. my daughter has owned men ever since.
The quote from Jetes about his parents and the SI cover says it all. Thanks for sharing that. He is from a different time and he deserves a better nickname!
fu kuo ROFLMAO! would kill to hear god announce him
“Sox now have two picks before we pick.”
Wouldn’t bet on Boston having their own 1st round pick when all is said and done.
December 2nd, 2009 at 7:47 am
“Sox now have two picks before we pick.”
……………………….
No guarantees they can sign the picks.
“No guarantees they can sign the picks.”
Hasn’t been a problem for them in the past. Teams like the Yankees and Boston rarely have issues signing guys. Yanks had the issue with Cole last year, but that seemed more about he and his family being disingenuous about their intentions than anything the Yankees did wrong.
Now we have to worry every time the Sox get a draft pick? A coup for the Sox? Let’s not be melodramatic………..
Murphydog, you’re welcome!
“Now we have to worry every time the Sox get a draft pick? A coup for the Sox? Let’s not be melodramatic………..”
Worry? Nope. But one must admit that two top 40 picks for 73 year old Bill Wagner is a pretty decent score.
Squid, it’s not like this comes as a surprise – Wagner was giong to sign with someone. The poster that said it was a coup sounded very upset. It was a nice job by Theo, but honestly if no one had commented on it, I wouldn’t have even thought about it. The Sox will lose more FAs in the future and get picks then as well, so we should get used to it. As long as the Yankees make wise decisions with their picks, they’ll be fine.
Get back to me in 6 years re: draft picks because that’s how long it will take to see if any of those picks pan out.
More worry about nothing.
This is the second year in a row that the Yankees didn’t offer arbitration for any of their Free Agents. Seems to be policy now, so next year’s discussion should be short.
Did the Yanks sign anyone last year who was offered arbitration by their previous team?
Answered my own question: CC and AJ were both offered arb, so clearly the Yankees don’t worry about giving up picks. It’s more about not getting stuck with a contract they don’t want.
I was asking to determine if it would affect their choices in the FA market, but it doesn’t appear to. If that’s the case, I think that Mike Gonzalez could still be a legitimate target regardless of his type A status. Surely a reliable left handed bullpen arm, with experience setting up and closing would offer not only flexibility but alleviate some strain on Rivera.
“I think that Mike Gonzalez could still be a legitimate target regardless of his type A status.”
Didn’t Cashman indicate yesterday, he wasn’t down with the idea of losing a draft pick to acquire a middle reliever? Obviously could have been blowing smoke, but Marte aside, he’s been pretty adept at building the pen from within.
Anybody hear any rumors about Nate McClouth (sp)being on the market?
……P.S. I’m not trying to start a rumor,I was just wondering.