What do I love?
Posted by: Chad Jennings - Posted in Misc on Mar 06, 2010 
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I occasionally get very random links emailed to me. Some are stories. Some are entries on other blogs. Some, it turns out, are hilarious videos of Joe Girardi and Jorge Posada trying to film a commercial for DirecTV. Here’s the story that explains the commercial itself.
Speaking of television, John Flaherty is being honored with the Halligan-McGuire Irish American Sports Good Guy Award. Here’s the press release…
Two beloved New York sports figures of Irish American heritage who recently passed away will be remembered at a St. Patrick’s week benefit luncheon. On Monday afternoon, March 15, at 12:00 noon at Gallagher’s Steak House in New York City, Dick McGuire, the legendary St. John’s and New York Knicks star and NBA Hall of Famer, and John Halligan, the Rangers and NHL public relations executive, historian and author, will be honored with the creation of the “Halligan-McGuire Irish American Sports Good Guy Awards.” John Flaherty, YES Network analyst and former Yankee; Janet Halligan, John’s loving wife of 41 years; Teri McGuire, Dick’s loving wife of 54 years; and Dave Maloney, the former Ranger and 1050 ESPN Radio Rangers analyst, will be the inaugural honorees at the luncheon to benefit Fordham University.
Tickets are priced at $75, and include a three course luncheon menu and a donation. For information and tickets call Cirillo World at 212-972-5337 or email johnnycigarpr@aol.com. Gallagher’s Steak House is located at 228 West 52nd Street (between Broadway and Eighth Avenue) in New York City (212.245.5336).
New York City native Flaherty enters his sixth season on the YES Network broadcast lineup as studio analyst and game analyst for Yankees telecasts. Though Flaherty was drafted by Boston in 1988, he is perhaps best known to Yankees fans for his 2004 pinch-hit walk-off single that ended a 13-inning regular season game against his former team, the Red Sox. In the 2005 season, he became Yankees ace Randy Johnson’s catcher, in addition to backing up Jorge Posada. Flaherty played in over 1,000 games during 14 Major League seasons.
Joe G has a funny laugh
Yeah, he does….
http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com.....8;c_id=nyy
“He’s an overpowering fastball guy, and we can’t get away from that,” Posada said. “But having a third pitch is going to make him keep the hitters off balance. That’s the biggest thing. We’re not going to stay away from his fastball and his curveball. That’s his bread and butter.
“It could be effective. We’ve just got to make sure that it’s down. It looks like it’s going to be a swing-and-miss pitch. … It’s like a BP two-seamer. It’s going to be 90, 91 miles an hour, five to six miles per hour less than his fastball. That’s all that we really want.”
He sounds like he is going to hyperventilate when he laughs.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03.....conds.html
I think Goose is basically a good guy, but he is very stubborn about accepting the greatness of Mo.
Betsy,
I can’t help but think the changeup is easier to catch than the hook.
m-
“I can’t help but think the changeup is easier to catch than the hook.”
In much the same way that cold is easier to catch than a flu ?
A rabbit than a cheetah.
Or a pea than a shotput.
That kind of thing.
M, the way AJ’s pitches move, who knows? He makes his catcher earn his pay, that’s for sure! I would never want his change to supercede his curve, which it won’t. Even AJ wonders what will happen when he does go back to his curve – will he continue to throw the change? Stay tuned, lol. I think he will…
Gossage is strictly “old school”. Most will never concede that today’s players might be better than their era. Ford, Berra….are different. Imagine those today going through the draft process today. If the got picked, it would be late….real late, because they have no size.
Betsy, I think part of that issue with Goose & some of the older relievers is partly due to the lack of respect they recieved compared to the current crop of closers…..He’s right about in his era they came in when things were getting out of control….Today most of the closers come in to start the inning……Until Rivera came along, I always thought Goose, Sutter, Fingers & Eck were the top tier relievers…..Sparky, Marshall, were like the second tier group…..Now that Goose is finally in the Hall I was hoping he’d lighten up somewhat…..He was a monster though…Brett’s dinger still haunts me
MTU
March 6th, 2010 at 8:51 pm
GB-
I have heard he is very talented and polished for his age.
I’m hoping he gains some weight.
Not Valezuela-type weight but just some more meat on the bones.
Can’t wait to see him pitch.
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He’s still just a kid, though. Turns 19 in a week. He should have a growth spurt left. But, then Guidry and Rivera pitched fairly well at around that weight.
He’ll be in ST camp next year. You watch, Guidry will be his mentor.
Pat M.
March 6th, 2010 at 9:11 pm
Betsy, I think part of that issue with Goose & some of the older relievers is partly due to the lack of respect they recieved compared to the current crop of closers…..He’s right about in his era they came in when things were getting out of control….Today most of the closers come in to start the inning……Until Rivera came along, I always thought Goose, Sutter, Fingers & Eck were the top tier relievers…..Sparky, Marshall, were like the second tier group…..Now that Goose is finally in the Hall I was hoping he’d lighten up somewhat…..He was a monster though…Brett’s dinger still haunts me
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The only two hitters that Gossage hated to see was Brett and Richie Zisk. Zisk hut homers off of Gossage twice in early games against Texas in 1978 and cost Guidry 2 wins. Guidry still rags him about that.
GB, the thing is, I don’t expect old time players to admit todays players are better – I’m not even sure I agree. It’s just that Mo is clearly better than anyone that ever played his position AND he’s an incredibly dignified, classy guy. Wouldn’t you think Goose could make an exception? I do think you’re right about Berra. I wasn’t aware Ford was particularly small – how “tall” is he?
Pat M, that’s probably true and I understand Goose’s feelings about closers today in general. As you know, however, he’s dead wrong about Mo. That said, I agreed with some of his other points. I guess every great pitcher has a moment they would rather not remember; Goose would be happy to know that Mo has had a couple of those, lol. The thing I remember about Bret is the clip of him flying off the handle during the pine tar game. From what I can tell based on what you and others have said, he was some kind of hitter. I think Wade Boggs named his son after him.
How tall is Gator? I saw him on a clip during the Yankees 30/30 show and, next to the interviewer, he looked really short, lol.
GB, When time permits, would you take a peek at the baseball futers ( overs / unders ) on Vegas Watch….I’m seeking imput on 5-7 teams that look good to beating the projected line…..I saw Goose back in 73 during a Spring game…..He was huge and frightening..At that time Chuck Tanner had both he & Terry Forster in the rotation…..Richie Allen hit a home run that still hasn’t come down….Mantle like power and skill set , shame he never overcame his authority issues….Hell of a talent, as he could have been one of the greats….I still think he belongs in Cooperstown
Betsy – Romine wasn’t built in a day
March 6th, 2010 at 9:23 pm
How tall is Gator? I saw him on a clip during the Yankees 30/30 show and, next to the interviewer, he looked really short, lol.
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5 feet 9 inches and 165-170 pounds
Betsy, I palyed on the same teams ( Fort Lauderdale , West Haven / Syracuse ) for short peroids …I was just ahead of him in the organization….He was the only guy who could outrun me, and I ran 10 flat 100′s back then….He also could dunk a basketball….Could never understand a word he said as he had this heavy Cajan accent back then….
Pat, not much of a gambling type but, I think the Giants are a solid choice to win the NL West.
i also think that Cinncy gives the Cards a good run for thei NL Central.
GB-
Banuelos may turn out to be another anamoly in the mold of a Guidry, Lincecum, or an Oswalt.
All small guys who generate tremendous power for their size.
I love guys like Banuelos because they point out how “out of the box” thinking can sometimes pay off bigtime(pun intended).
After all, most scouts see a kid Manny’s size and they just reject him out of hand due to his stature.
I love it when that kind of small-minded thinking (pun intended) is proven wrong.
guidry was the best center fielder the Yankees had in the 70s and 80s.
GB, I have the Giants ( 83 ) circled, and I’ve been looking at The Reds….Can they win 79 games though ??? White Sox ( 83 ) Seattle ( 83 ) Twins ( 82 ), Yanks ( 94.5 )….Baltimore ( 72.5 ) is drawing my interest …
“Joe G has a funny laugh”
It’s not a laugh as much as it as a snivel.
Pat, I’d hold off on the Twins until there’s more info on Nathan’s sore elbow. I also think that a real wild card is washington winning more than 70 games. I think they will. Baltimore’s offense is going to make them a real pain in the neck.I’d take the Tigers to win more than 81 games. Cubs and Colorado are big unknowns. Seattle should win more than 83 games too, with that defense and pitching staff.
The Senators / Nationals are a team that is on the move….As I mentioned earlier, both the AL / NL West are wide open, as all the clubs are at 83-2-83 wins…..However the NL West is set to play the AL East during interleague this season….This is proving to be far more difficult arrangement than I originally thought….I have always been able to pick out 5-6 teams, but this season I have to pick all 30 clubs….So it’s going to come down to my best 5-7 teams and just play the remaining teams at 20.00…..That’s why I’ve seeked out consultaions for this…..No lip service stat crap, I want good baseball imput from those you how the game beyond a stat sheet….
One last post for the night
Like I said, Pat…I’m not much on betting picks, but, those are the teams that I think will be better than the wins they’ve set. I also think that if NYY is healthy all season and nobody falls off the cliff, they could challenge the 1998 Yankees.
SP is deeper but I’m not sold on Joba yet, he’s never been the same since he burst on the seen 2 yrs ago and I really really think Matsui and Damon will be sorely missed. Johnson makes me nervous since he’s so so brittle. Challenging 98 is a joke, won’t come within 12 games of that year.
Here’s a random story, Chad, to add to the list: My friend and I were in Tampa, down from NYC, this week to see some games. Thursday night, after watching Phil Hughes pitch 2 innings earlier in the day, we were driving near the convention center, and who do I spot standing on the street corner but Phil! We pull over and say “Phil? Phil Hughes?” He says “Yeah.” We asked what he was doing, and he said he was looking for a cab. So we told him we’re season subscribers and to get in. So who gets into the back of our Nissan Maxima but Phil Hughes, Jeff Karstens, and another guy with shaggy hair we didn’t recognize. We drove them to Hyde Park, and they got out and told us it was totally unnecessary to do what we did, but thanked us profusely. Great guys, we had a nice conversation about places to hang in Tampa. It was surreal watching Phil pitch, and 10 hours later driving him around Tampa in the back of our car. But a great memory. I wish him the best this season.