Turn left!
Posted by: Chad Jennings - Posted in Misc on Mar 02, 2010 
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Curtis Granderson has weighed in on today’s trip to the arcade, and he offered this gem of a story.
“The highlight had to be watching Igawa race on the Indy Car,” Granderson said. “He kept racing up against the wall and damaging his tires. He wouldn’t move off of it. He had his left hand on the wheel and he was just cruising like nothing was wrong. He was doing that for a good three minutes. Everyone was shouting, ‘Turn left! Turn left!’”
I understand why Yankee fans are disappointed in Igawa — and believe me, he understood that the wins record for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre was a dubious honor — but the guy is hilarious. Once he got comfortable in the Triple-A clubhouse, he was a riot.
Granderson said he’d never done anything like this with Detroit. He would lift with minor leaguers, but never something this big, and never something that wasn’t work related. Before going against Andy Pettitte in Pop-A-Shot, Granderson said he and Pettitte had a long conversation that had nothing to do with baseball, just getting to know one another. Joe Girardi encouraged the players to hang out with teammates they didn’t know very well.
“I thought it was a great idea to get a bunch of guys coming from different sides, whether it’s their first big-league camp, guys that were acquired through trade or free agency and guys that had been there,” Granderson said. “For everybody to get a chance to meet up and see everyone outside of the intense training baseball mode, we can see that everybody does laugh and have fun. We’re all big kids.”
How did Granderson do?
“I struggled in my first round of Pop-a-Shot when it counted on the bracket,” he said. “When we came back for a side competition, that’s when I dominated… Skee ball was difficult. I used to be good at Skee ball, but I was really disappointed at myself for my performance. I’ll need to go back and figure out this Skee ball machine compared to the ones I used to play.”
That’s hilarious about Igawa.
Maybe he learned to straighten out his pitches too today.
Chad =
Thanks, oh, this is the best!!!
(And Igawa’s experience sounds a lot like mine – not a fan of the Indy stuff!
)
Hopefully, with a little practice, Granderson can get the hang of hitting in the clutch.
I get the feeling that the older players/vets get as big or bigger kick out of this stuff as the rookies do.
I remember when Igawa first came over there were a lot of stories written about him and some of his eccentricities were apparent then. Apparently he spends all of his money on model airplanes or something like that.
Funny dude, wish he had panned out.
I wonder if Igawa isn’t actually British and was switched at birth.
Oh cool lets have another argument about clutch hitting
Calm down, Chauncey. I was talking about hitting his shots in pop-a-shot.
Great story.
Calm down old man Rivers, I was just kidding. It’s been a slow news day.
Mike Dunn pitched 1 inning for Atlanta, and was unscored on, but, not because he didn’t try. 1 hit, 1 walk, 0 strikeouts.
Now he’s getting senile and repeating himself. yikes
I see that The Bearded Blunder from the North is making his usual insipid Rodriguez remarks. How strange that he neglected to mention that Wang received the same treatments/exercise programs from Lindsay.
“Also, it turns out A-Rod is mixed up with a Canadian doctor who has an unapproved drug made from calf’s blood. No, not A-Rod. What a surprise.”
What’s the story on Yu Darvish ?
If he were available would the Yankees go after him ?
How do you think he would fare in the States ?
GB7 -
I try not to comment on that topic, but you really have to wonder just exactly what ARod did to PA to incur such wrath. There are others who have “dabbled” in PEDs who don’t get the same treatment. So, while I tried for a long time to think it wasn’t, I have to assume that this is personal.
Patrick March 2nd, 2010 at 6:08 pm
I remember when Igawa first came over there were a lot of stories written about him and some of his eccentricities were apparent then. Apparently he spends all of his money on model airplanes or something like that.
Funny dude, wish he had panned out.
————————————————————-
Not as funny as Matsui’s love of his porn collection but eccentric none the less
LOL that’s hilarious, Chad. Even though Igawa is not very good, to put it kindly, it’s nice that the Yankees are very inclusive – to him and all the others in camp. There is no snobbism, no elitism, no treating the kids like dirt. Granderson sounds like he had a great time. Andy is amazing – he’s like a magnet. Last year, CC and AJ spent a ton of time with him, just to soak up his wisdom and now Granderson – although it sounds like they were just getting to know each other. I love, love, love this idea and, again, I wish they could do it again. I would still love to hear from AJ, but at least he won a gift certificate….. to ?
I don’t read what Pete has to say nor do I care to. His treatment of Alex here was shameful; fortunately Sam, Chad and Josh are respectful of ALL the players no matter their personal feelings.
Here’s my pic of AJ:
http://www.nydailynews.com/spo.....m_oly.html
Can AJ get any more tattooed than that? His left arm is completely covered – I’m not sure he’s got any bare skin, lol
Of course Kei Igawa kept bucking up against the wall.
Gb – PeteAbe’s just trying to ingratiate himself with the beantown bums. He got hammered a couple of days ago for goofing on those who believe that they’ll be getting Adrian Gonzalez for crumbs. One blogger even suggested that others who are like minded should complain to the editors of the Globe about PeteAbe’s condescending slant.
It’s funny to me how members of the media don’t even attempt to do ANY homework on Dr. Galea.
It’s just, “Arod is mixed up with him”.
How about this…….
He has treated Tiger Woods more tha ANY baseball player. How about addressing that?
Also, NOBODY has yet proven ANY treatments Dr. Galea gave any athlete was in violation of any league rules.
The Feds also want to talk to Carlos Beltran and Carlos Delagdo. How about ripping them?
Perhaps someday some of these intrepid reporters should actually try researching stories to get the facts on this case before jumping to conclusions about any athletes the Feds are talking to on this matter.
Betsy – Romine wasn’t built in a day
March 2nd, 2010 at 6:38 pm
Here’s my pic of AJ:
http://www.nydailynews.com/spo…..m_oly.html
************************
That’s a great picture of AJ! Usually I don’t like that many tattoos, but on him it works. lol
Betsy-
“I’m not sure he’s got any bare skin”
Other than the tatoos his skin looks perfectly human to me.
He can be a Grizzly though. On the mound.
Doreen – Bunnies for a Cause
March 2nd, 2010 at 6:31 pm
GB7 -
I try not to comment on that topic, but you really have to wonder just exactly what ARod did to PA to incur such wrath. There are others who have “dabbled” in PEDs who don’t get the same treatment. So, while I tried for a long time to think it wasn’t, I have to assume that this is personal.
————————————————————
It almost certainly has nothing to do with PEDs, Doreen. He’s all but ignored the use by the Boston players, Pettitte and most glaringly, Giambi. My guess is that he must have felt slighted because of an interview with Rodriguez. He’s childish enough to carry a grudge. I was bored earlier a today, and one of the links that I pulled up with this one. Two of the names that I pulled up as having been treated were Chien Ming Wang, Jose Reyes (Mets shortstop) and George W. Bush. Interesting combination, huh?
Betsy, I don’t look at that clown’s board, either. It just happened to be one that was linked to another article on Lindsay, Rodriguez and Galea.
Pete is in blog purgatory.
A writer stuck between two worlds, loved by neither.
Erin, I have to put that on my corkboard at work – AJ looks GREAT there. I normally do not go for guys who are “bad guys” so to speak, but AJ’s an exception.
SJ, are the Yanks upset with Alex for not telling him about this guy? For me, until something is proven, then he’s “innocent” and should be left alone. Unfortunately because of his past steroid use, people are always going to question him.
Equally unfortunate as journalists’ selling “guilt by association” without offering much more, are readers’ taking the bait, hook, line and … They deserve one another.
He wrote to me and said he doesn’t like Alex because “he doesn’t treat people right.”
These guys can sometimes be ornery. One day a guy will give you great stuff and the next he’s moody and doesn’t want to talk.
Pete doesn’t have the gift of detachment, I guess. Giambi was always friendly and expansive. Therefore, Giambi was his boy. That’s the way it is with a lot of these guys.
They have no reason to be upset with him.
Dr’s. Phillibon and Lindsey were the Dr’s. Treating Arod.
Both men, widely respected in their profession, raved about Dr. Galea.
Arod isn’t being investigated by the Feds.
The Feds just want to ask him about Galea since it’s Galea is being investigated by the Feds.
This is a Dr. Galea story, not an Arod story.
Unless that changes, it’s not a big deal.
Bohdi-
IMO. If that’s true That’s just pathetic.
SJ44
March 2nd, 2010 at 6:42 pm
It’s funny to me how members of the media don’t even attempt to do ANY homework on Dr. Galea.
It’s just, “Arod is mixed up with him”.
How about this…….
He has treated Tiger Woods more tha ANY baseball player. How about addressing that?
Also, NOBODY has yet proven ANY treatments Dr. Galea gave any athlete was in violation of any league rules.
The Feds also want to talk to Carlos Beltran and Carlos Delagdo. How about ripping them?
Perhaps someday some of these intrepid reporters should actually try researching stories to get the facts on this case before jumping to conclusions about any athletes the Feds are talking to on this matter.
————————————————————
They’ve already started with Reyes. There was also a link to Lindsay and GW Bush. I wonder if that one gets checked out to verify it. I can’t find much else on the Bush connection, though.
My ortho/PT are very involved with professional athletes and they say the stories you DON’T hear would shock you — but the stories about Alex are not nearly as bad as others in the clubhouse that you would never imagine.
Objectivity, apparently, is not always inherent. I will treat people who treat me well/who I like better than others. But if you are supposed to be “objective” – well…that is a different story.
PA treated many bloggers here the same way when he does not agree with thier point of view.
Thank God we have more civilized people running the blog here.
For some reason he always hated Alex and Girardi and criticised them unduly.
I really don’t get the Pete hostility. I just don’t.
He may not have liked A-Rod as a person. Fine. Who cares??? I del with a ton of different clients. Some of them are just plain nasty people. Some treat me like I am a member of their company. I am always going to my work for both types of people, but obviously I am going to like the ones that treat me better more.
I am a professional. I do my job. So did Pete.
Apparently Delgado, Beltran and Reyes were treated by Galea. The Feds interest in speaking with them is more understandable in terms of investigating Galea
In turn Alex was reportedly not treated by Galea but by Lindsey, Galea’s partner. I’ve read nothing about Lindsay being investigated for any wrongdoing.
Furthermore, to the people who go on to Pete’s new blog just top heckle him. (And there are some people who do that)
How would you feel if you changed jobs and you were trying to do the best you can at your new place- and people from your old job come and trash talk you???
Put yourselves in his shoes.
Oh, it is, it is.
The problem for some of these guys is, they’re so in bed with a such and such a team, they become like domestic cats, fed when the teams want them to be fed.
It persuades them it’s easier on them to toe the party line.
In the Yankees’ case, the media takes the opposite position, because they get mad about access and frankly because this town is an NL town and the resentment of the Yankees is ancient.
The problem is, the anti-Yankee stance is as predictable, telegraphed and as formulaic as the guys in the smaller towns who reside in the GM’s back pocket.
And after all, there are some good, hard working journalists out there nonetheless. But not too many.
I just can’t see a connection between Lindsay and Bush. Perhaps they were confusing a former advisor of Clinton’s named mark Lindsay with this one.
ARod is a lightning rod. His name will sell papers/stories across the nation. Lots of people who either love him or hate him.
As for me, I am out of the conjecture business. The story will unfold in time, as they always do. I don’t think I can be “surprised” anymore. And I have, honestly, no point of view on the Galea story.
———–
I am looking forward to the first televised ST game, however, tomorrow.
Erin-
Rubber Duckie on the iPod!!!!
MTU,
Also, in Yanks’ case, there was that divide and writers lined up on either side. That holds true still with a lot of these guys.
There’s a paper in NY that does not care about “beating” the other papers on small potatoes, which they consider just about anything that isn’t really seismic on a national level. Other writers make fun of them, but those guys, I think, are in a better position to remain their objectivity.
to maintain their objectivity.
Erica- Fair point. Talk radio and print media in Boston is very heavily home-crowd oriented.
If the media “pros” don’t take gratuitous shots at any Yankee, but esp. Alex, they risk getting heavily criticized.
It’s simply a matter of professional survival.
moving right along
PeteAbe’s moved on…let’s do the same
Too bad Cashman threw all that money away on Igawa. It was a stupid deal from Day oNe. Could have used tha $ this year to re-sign Wang
New post with some notes from today.
I never cared about what he said to me on here and in e-mails. Mostly, they were good for a laugh by someone that promoted himself as a professional could be so petty. I never made any bones about how I felt about him or the media and I told him why…upfront. It was hardly a secret.
When a “professional” newspaper type tells you that he doesn’t like somebody because he took his shirt off in Central Park (like a thousand people a day do, and some are even guys) with his family there, then says he’s phony because he uses a tanning booth, that bum has no credibility coming with me. Mainly, it’s his pettiness. He couldn’t even be honest to the people that he’s being paid to be honest with.
Bohdi-
Too much power is corrupting.
And if PA is that thin-skinned I feel sorry for him.
Maybe he needs Jorge to piss on him to toughen him up.
The point is, reporting on sports isn’t about you, it’s about the coverage of the team you deliver to fans like this.
Some guys have a problem with that – they begin to resent it, they become unhappy in the job, etc. How many columnists make sardonic comments on these guys’ lifestyles? Why do I want to read about some guy’s anger that X-player makes millions while the writer’s perks are free pretzels he gets to eat while filing his early about X-player??
No one who comes to a Yankee blog really wants to hear about the reporter’s interactions with players that p-off the reporter. Asking for sympathy from the fan, who roots for that team, is beyond ridiculous.
Yes, would have made perfect sense to sign a guy unable to pitch until June at the earliest.
We also have no idea how his shoulder will hold up.
You are getting desperate with your Cashman bashing. Try harder.
MTU,
For all that, I think PA is a decent sort, deep down.
Maybe the guy just needs a change of jobs. He really did seem rather unhappy covering sports. It may be he started out with a love of the game.
The fact is, loving a game and covering a game are really, really different. It’s great fun to cover a playoff series and stuff like that. The daily boilerplate stuff is just like any other job – nothing special and guys who do it for decades just get worn down.
Erica – always OPPC
March 2nd, 2010 at 6:58 pm
I really don’t get the Pete hostility. I just don’t.
He may not have liked A-Rod as a person. Fine. Who cares???
====
But I think the point is that nobody cared, and nobody was going to side with Pete against the team’s cleanup hitter.
We never should have been so acutely aware of how personal PA’s feelings were towards ARod. That was just unprofessional and that is in large measure is where your hostility comes in. I don’t really care what Pete does and I wish him well, but i’m sorry, he earned the bad feelings.
Bohdi-
Thanks for the perspective.
Personally, I never cared to know anything about another person’s private life, actor, politician or athlete. It’s none of my business. I only care what the do on the field or the screen or in office. It’s like everyone has to become Walter Winchell, Cyndi Adams, Louella Parsons or Hedda Hopper. Gossip colunms have nothing that I want to read. That’s what most of the media has become.
Erica -
I tended to ignore when PA had his diatribes. Because I thought (think) he is a good writer, he kept us very entertained and he was good at running this blog. As the blog got bigger, things changed a bit. I do not go to his new digs in Boston, mainly because I am not a Red Sox fan.
bodhi -
Interesting comment about NY being an NL town. I never thought about it before, but you are right.
MTU,
My pleasure. Hope I haven’t offended the blog guys, who do a great job, here.
There are always exceptions and these are just my observations and experience.
I love how serious the players took it and how they spoke about it.
Apparently Igawa drives as poorly as he pitches. LOL
The fact that the criticizing of Cashman for his signing of Igawa is a sign of desperation is a glimpse into the Cashman problem. Obviously Cashman is not to be criticized for anything he does or ever has done or its considered “bashing”. Its funny that when the Yankees went year after year without winning in this decade, A-Rod “bashing” was all the rage. So was Torre “bashing”. However, Cashman was always beyond reproach. Cashman “non-bashers” may want to take a second to think (a heavy word around here) as to why that is. Is it because A-Rod is considered a great manager and thus was a disappointment when he didn’t lead the Yankees to a title? Was it because Torre was considered a great manager and it was a disappointment that he didn’t lead the Yankees to another title? If that’s the case, then its understandable why Cashman was never “bashed”. Everyone knows he’s a schlock and thus never expected anything from him. You can’t “bash” a schlock for not winning a title