Pinch hitter: Tony Bakshi
Posted by: Chad Jennings - Posted in Pinch hitters on Feb 04, 2011 
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Late last night, I could not figure out what to do about this morning’s Pinch Hitter. This day is going to be all about Andy Pettitte, and it seemed silly to start the day with something disconnected from the main event. Then I remembered Tony Bakshi.
Originally, this post was scheduled for next week, but it fits this morning’s news cycle. Tony is a sophomore at Brown University. He’s the first in his family to be born in the United States — his parents are from Russia — he’s studying economics, and he’s the sports editor of the Brown Daily Herald. He’s of the generation who learned about Yankee baseball by watching Andy Pettitte and the rest of the Core Four.
His guest post pitch was pretty straightforward: “I’d love to write about the strange mix of sadness and fear of the future that I feel about the Yankees with the window of the Core Four closing so quickly… I can’t imagine the team winning another title without them.”
My guess is that, this morning, Tony’s not the only one feeling that way. I left the wording of his post the exactly same, complete with the sentence wondering if Pettitte really would decide to retire.
—
I am one of those Yankees fans — the front-running, the ungrateful, the ones who have only known winning. When fans call in to Mike Francesa and say something like, “I’ve been a fan since 1967, Mike, I remember the tough ol’ days!” they are proving that they aren’t like me.
That’s fine, though. Just blame my age. When George Steinbrenner was banned from the MLB? Not born yet. When Ken Griffey Jr., slid into home on that ugly AstroTurf field? Not in kindergarten yet. But I don’t think I’m truly ungrateful. I’ve felt my share of pain in my time as a fan — the garbage Luis Gonzalez bloop, 2004. For numeric proof, consider that my age doubled between the 26th and 27th titles!
So when the Yankees won the 2009 World Series, I made sure to take it all in. Right after Game 6, I ordered a t-shirt with the team roster on the back and bought a commemorative mug, too. A few days later, I watched the entire parade on my laptop in class — not to see Phil Coke or Eric Hinske or the other no-names, but to see the legends celebrate for one last time.
It did feel like the last time, didn’t it? It was all too perfect. Jeter’s remarkable season at age 35, Pettitte coming up as clutch as we could have imagined in the playoffs and, of course, Mariano closing it out with Posada behind the plate.
A year later, the fairy tale is coming to an abrupt end, as it probably should have a few years ago — if our players were mere mortals. The Core Four is now a Key Three, if Pettitte doesn’t return, but really more of a Decrepit Set. Jeter’s a groundball machine, Rivera is almost fully entrenched in his sturdy “Use Only in Case of Emergency” seal, and Posada has been relegated to DH, also known as the last position for near cast-offs before they are finally cast off.
Which brings me, mercifully, to my point. As Yankee fans, we parrot the players and say that we want championships every year or else the team has completely failed. But the reactions to personnel moves do not match this view.
Why was there an outcry over the Montero-for-Lee deal that unfortunately fell through last July? With Lee, the Yankees would have been overwhelming favorites to win the crown, ever closer to meeting the stated team goal. Now, Montero is still in pinstripes. And though he’s not quite ready to take over as the full-time catcher, Father Time won’t be waiting up for him. He’ll still be chipping away at Jeter and A-Rod and the rest.
Sometimes, we overthink player moves. How else can the Rafael Soriano signing be debated? Yes, it’s a lot of money, but that’s nothing new. And staying away from Soriano in hopes of striking gold in the draft? The Rays have stockpiled picks and carefully developed talent from within, and we know how many championships they’ve won. Are such ideas foolproof? Of course not. They can lead to disastrous signings of Carl Pavanos and Jaret Wrights and Kyle Farnsworths. But those are the sunk costs that come about when a team pursues a World Series every single year.
Winning a championship takes a lot of luck and good fortune. It takes magic. And, sadly, our good fortune is long in the tooth and thinking about retirement.
Let’s say it’s 2014, best-case scenario style: a 24-year-old Montero is already in the conversation for the top-hitting catcher in baseball, Robby Cano is in his prime hitting .360, and C.C. Sabathia is still a Cy Young Award candidate at 33.
But it doesn’t matter. The magic is gone. Who’s going to get the last eight outs to clinch a playoff series? Who’s going to get that timely hit to bring the team back from the brink? It won’t be anyone on the Yankees, at least not on a consistent basis. And that’s why you can take your future prospects and your smart financial decisions and shove it.
I’ll be wearing my ’09 championship T-shirt, thinking about the glory days.
Associated Press photo
In before the pom-pomers and steady stream of haters try to rip this guy a new one: nice pragmatic post.
I don’t doubt that the Yankees will struggle this year with the unsettled rotation they have going forward. But, with the money making juggernaut that the organization is nowadays, I can’t imagine a return to the days of years and years of non-contention. It would take some really bad managment and I just don’t see that happening.
Repost:
SJ-
Can you tell us which Yankees he worked with? Always interesting to hear Yankees mentoring younger guys.
One disagreement I have with your statement….
“Have 9 arms compete for two spots in the rotation, be patient, and wait until the market opens again……..which it always does.”
While I see what you’re saying, you have to agree teams are recognizing the premium value of SP and choosing to lock these guys up long term at younger ages. Hence guys like Felix, Johnson, Weaver, Liriano, etc.
So while I do believe the market for guys like Carmona will open up, gone are the days when teams let premium starting pitching walk, or trade it away, especially if they are anywhere near contention.
Which is why the killer B’s development is all the more important to the success of the Yankees in 2012 and beyond.
You kind of had me until the second to last paragraph.
It’s more bitter than sweet to realize that time has marched on. It tugs at you to see that reality has hit home with Pettitte being the first of the Core Four to walk out the door to retirement. It surely hits home now that one by one those 4 players will leave us.
But you said yourself – there are players who are coming up. Cano, Hughes, Montero, and who knows who else, can bring some new magic with them.
It certainly will be different. Just as the guys that your generation has grown up with are different from the guys that we older fans grew up with and will be different for the generation just cutting their teeth on Yankee fandom.
It’s not only an ending; it’s a beginning.
I liked it. I feel the writers sentiment because I’m young too and grew up with the core four as the only true and consistent Yankees. Its unfair and unfortunate that we have been fortunate to see such a successful group for so long because anyone who comes after them will be compared to them. A closer we get after Rivera is gone will Never be as good. Posada is a rare breed of catcher who was decent behind the plate but put up great numbers, Andy was never the best on the team but great when he had to be and Jeter, well there will never be another Jeter both on and off the field. I’m hoping they will at least continue giving chances to the Canos and the Gardners because it feels good to see a real through the system yankee come up and be impactful. I think took in the 2009 WS much like the poster because I was old enough to really appreciate the core 4.
Funny. I remember when Mantle was leaving and people thinking the magic is gone. The thing is, as fans, we only tend to think in terms of our favorite players and nothing being the same once they are gone. While that is true, no one is going to be Mantle again or Babe Ruth again nor any other player. New players come in or get called up and create a whole new experience for the fans.
We don’t know the future.
When Jeter first came up it wasn’t thought at that time that here is a guy who you could build a team around, who would break all kinds of Yankee records and be adored by many.
Fans far too often think in hindsight to a point where it can blind them to what is to come.
While the Yankees could very well struggle, so can every single team playing the game. Nothing is written in stone. For all we know the young blood coming up could be amazing. Till the games are played WE DON’T KNOW.
Yes, its fine to lament the past players who have gone, but it seems silly to bemoan the players to come when we might just have a new core being formed that will be the future fans favorites.
Be grateful for the legends of the past, but don’t throw out the baby with the bathwater. All things come to pass, and new things take their place.
The magic is gone? Talk about a product of the me generation. Look past your nose. We all enjoyed the glory days of our core four. But four people a team do not make. There are very vital players on the field who are not the core four.
Think Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris, Joe D, Yogi Berra, Whitey Ford. That’s magic baby. Magic doesn’t disappear forever. It ends up being replaced by newer magic.
Nice job otherwise. I especially liked your take on the Soriano signing.
It is the circle of baseball life…old favorites leave and you have new favs.
Who will be the next core 4? the Yankees already have possibilities…Phil, Robbie…mabe Montero? One of the new pitchers coming up?
With all do respect to the guest writer and Chad,
This was one of the worst guest posts I’ve ever read. This pinch-hitting was one or two comments away from sounding like the ridiculous garbage we deal with in the comments on this blog.
“not to see Phil Coke or Eric Hinske or the other no-names” – did you watch the 2009 WS?
“And, sadly, our good fortune is long in the tooth and thinking about retirement” – so our success was solely based on Andy Pettites return?
This post acts as if we don’t have the likes of Cano, Tex, CC, Granderson, Gardner, Swisher to look forward to, along with Alex & Jeter.
upstate kate February 4th, 2011 at 9:23 am
It is the circle of baseball life?old favorites leave and you have new favs.
Who will be the next core 4?
***************************
It starts with Robbie. (for me anyway)
I’m really hoping that either MLB Network or ESPN covers Andy’s PC. I set my DVR for both.
Erin
Good morning. I think, but not 100% it’ll be on MLB Network.
I thought that YES was going to cover it.
JoeyA,
I answered your post in the other thread.
If the “magic is gone”, then the Yankees wouldn’t have survived for generations.
I became a Yankee fan by my mother telling me stories about how she used to take the train to see Joe DiMaggio play.
The first Yankee game I ever attended was a DH to see Mickey Mantle play at the end of his career. At that time, the talk was about a “young phenom” named Bobby Murcer.
I endured years when the team was horrible until it turned around in 1976.
I watched George get thrown out of baseball twice.
I watched utter mismanagement ruin Donnie Baseball’s prime years and a chance for a ring.
I’ve watched this latest 15 year, 5 World Championship run.
My point is, the brand lasts generations.
The championship(s) they win in the Post-Core Four Era will be just as sweet as these have been.
Such is the power and strength of the Yankees.
Just checked, it will be live on MLB.com if you can get it at work.
It’s that idea of taking prospects and shoving it that left us in the position we were in the last decade before 2009. The idea to just trade away any prospect and not pay attention to the draft because they can just buy anyone.
That isnt the case anymore and other teams are spending, and locking up talent long term early on.
On the other hand, unless there are a number of promises and all have to be fulfilled I don’t see why we need to have a pinch hitter column every day. Especially on a day like this when we could have and probably would have devoted it to talk about Andy and the future of the Yanks, it may have been a disservice to the author to have his column be displayed today.
JMO
Laura
It’ll be on YES also.
It is going to come as a surprise to thousands of people there was no such thing as baseball prior to 1994 or at least baseball that mattered.
Good morning KPB- thanks! I figured I’d have a better shot with MLB Network, but just in case I set a recording up for ESPN too.
JoeyA
I think the writer is talking about homegrown Yankees. The cour 4 were special because in the time of Steinbrenner it was unheard of to have 4 guys on the team that came up through the system. Guys like Swisher and Granderson and Arod are great but they started their careers somewhere else. The good thing is that they’re embraced, look at Johnny Damon. He beat us in 2004 and he eventually became a fan favorite.
Laura-they are, but it doesn’t do me any good since I’m out of market.
This is kind of an idiotic post. By your logic, no team in baseball history can win a championship if they don’t have Posada, Rivera, Pettitte and Jeter. Not to mention, those 4 were all on the Yankees in the first place because they weren’t traded for quick fixes when they were still just prospects like you want the Yankees to do with Montero.
Same here, Tony. I’m 22 and I’ve done the same with the 2009 championships, just cherished it. Whatever happens from here on out, we’ll never lose that last great run with the core 4.
The press conference is on YES at 10:30.
Trisha, is your computer fixed?
Awwww..
Ledger_Yankees “He was a great teammate and friend; and is one of the best pitchers of our generation,” CC Sabathia on Andy Pettitte
Erin, ESPN has a note that they are covering the Super Bowl press conferences next hour. Think you’ll be ok with MLB Network,
Erin
Did you see the mlb top 2nd basemen right now show? Of course Robbie was #1. The really funny part for me was watching Mitch Williams raving about Robbie; he called Robbie the best player in baseball!
MLB Network is airing the press conference live at 10:30. There is a note on the screen.
Thanks Fran!
Who cares about the Superbowl press confrences?! This is Andy Pettitte!
Trisha -
I just went back to the prior posts to see what was posted after the “arrow.”
Anyway, you’re right – worst worst case scenario would be not having anyone at all, and that’s certainly not the case. They have options. We won’t know anything until the season is played.
It may even turn out that the way this off-season has gone has been a best case scenario.
kate-I didn’t see that! Very cool. Mitch Williams is my kind of guy.
pat says:
February 4, 2011 at 9:35 am
It is going to come as a surprise to thousands of people there was no such thing as baseball prior to 1994 or at least baseball that mattered. ?
—
I take offense to that. Like the poster said, some people hold it against someone who has only known one thing. I was born in 1987, its impossible for me to go back and say how great it was to see Mickey Mantle or Whitey Ford or Ron Guidry. When I’m older and talking to my grandchildren or on blogs like this ill be able to talk about the core four and the 5 world series I got to see. For me and millions of others, baseball did start in the 90s. This is where we have to make our memories.
Fran, not yet. I’m still on a borrowed laptop. We needed to order some parts and who thought that Dallas-Ft. Worth would be snowed in and unable to ship???
It will be three to four days from when I can get the parts to the store that’s fixing it. I always go to Dennis when it’s software or other kinds of issues but this was about the “power jack assembly” needing to be replaced. And of course I have a laptop where it’s attached to the mother board as opposed to being attached to some piece of plastic on the bottom of the computer. (That’s what the guy told me anyway.) All I know is that it translates to more $$$! It’s one of those things where it’s a real expensive fix but not quite as expensive as buying a new laptop, and so you do it.
Oh crap. I forgot to set my DVR……
Off to cablevision.com
Doreen, absolutely! Can you imagine if we catch some of that Aaron Small/Shawn Chacon lightning in a bottle??? I’m psyched to watch it all play out. We as Yankee fans have so much to be grateful for and happy about. One thing is that trades during the season are never out of our financial reach! It’s sad to see a few posters continually stuck down in the mud and weeds and unable to breathe the fresh air that is right above them!
tyanksfan,
The point is, the “core 4″ (which is a stupid saying to begin with because Bernie isn’t included in it) isn’t the only time the Yankees have built a dynasty. Acting like this is the end of the Yankees winning championships is ridiculously stupid. Just because you weren’t alive when it happened doesn’t mean it didn’t happen! The problem is, the guest blogger is ignoring over a century of Yankee history and coming to the conclusion that without the “core 4″ the Yankees as a team are done.
A nice retrospective, not only of Pettitte and the other three leading characters but, the rest of the team history. Except for the war years, since 1920, the Yankees have had an unbroken string of Yankee icons and team legends, with some going and new ones breaking in. Starting with Ruth, Gehrig to Dimaggio to Berra, Ford and Mantle and Ellie Howard, to Maris and Stottlemyer, and as Mantle was winding down, Murcer, Munson, Guidry and Mattingly. The Jeter, Rivera, Pettitte, Posada all hit at the same time. Now, it looks like they are being followed by the likes of Cano, and hopefully Hughes, Montero and on and on. No team in history can make that same claim. Yankee fans may be spoiled and obnoxious about the team success, but, mostly they’ve been entertained by an unbroken string of greatness. Most of all, Yankee fans have been lucky to be born with the Yankee fan gene in them.
Erin, I don’t care about Super Bowl press conferences. Football season ended for me when the Jets lost.
Trisha, hope the parts arrive soon. I was wondering why you did not go to Dennis. I have to get a new computer. In the process of soliciting birthday donations from my family members so I know how much I can afford and what type of computer I can buy. Want a Mac, but don’t think that will happen.
tyanksfan, I think that Pat’s perspective is that there are also a lot of us that never got to watch greats like the Babe, Lou Gherig, Mickey Mantle, and Joe D play, and yet we know enough about the Yankee heritage that we know that their greatness was apparently replaced by other greatness. And so it will be with the core four. I can’t remember where this line comes from but I am going to quote it anyway. We should look forward with great anticipation rather than looking back with sadness. If that isn’t the legacy of a Yankee fan, I don’t know what is.
trisha
Is this the same computer you had trouble with a while back? Or am I confusing you with someone else? By the way, thanks again for the info yesterday.
tyanksfan36 February 4th, 2011 at 9:42 am
pat says:
February 4, 2011 at 9:35 am
It is going to come as a surprise to thousands of people there was no such thing as baseball prior to 1994 or at least baseball that mattered. ?
—
I take offense to that. Like the poster said, some people hold it against someone who has only known one thing. I was born in 1987, its impossible for me to go back and say how great it was to see Mickey Mantle or Whitey Ford or Ron Guidry. When I’m older and talking to my grandchildren or on blogs like this ill be able to talk about the core four and the 5 world series I got to see. For me and millions of others, baseball did start in the 90s. This is where we have to make our memories.
————
I agree and I also don’t think it devalues past Yankee dynasties. These things are also often a matter of luck, to have a special group of players around firing on all cylinders and winning championships. We shouldn’t take it for granted, nor should we just expect these dynasties to keep on happening. They are all very extraordinary.
That said, new teams will have to face the expectation of history.
It’s sad to see a few posters continually stuck down in the mud and weeds and unable to breathe the fresh air that is right above them!
————————————————————————————————
Sorry Trish, but life is about choices and if that’s what they choose, I don’t feel sorry for them. I just shake my head wondering what it must be like to be miserable all the time.
Maybe im reading the post differently, but I dont think the author meant the yankees are done once these guys retire. Obviously the yankees have won many rings before the core 4 and hopefully they will win many after. However, for those of us younger fans who only really know basebell with Jeter, Andy, Mo and Jorge, it will be a little weird and certainly different when they all retire. The “magic” of my childhood will be gone. That’s my take on this post….
GB, good post. There have been core groups throughout Yankees history. Time for a new group to form.
Patrick
Well I can’t speak for the writer but I know that the Yankees didn’t win 27 championships in the past 15 years. I was simply saying that when I’m old and I reflect on the Yankees I saw while I grew up ill be able to talk about the likes of Bernie, Jeter, Andy, Mo, Posada and even Alex and Swisher. I know too that in the next 50 years there will be more guys and groups that ill be able to talk about. I just can’t recall the Yankees of the 20s thru 60s because I wasn’t there.
“I was wondering why you did not go to Dennis.”
I think when the computer went down and I noticed the pin was broken off I just panicked and wanted it fixed immediately. I figured with a hardware problem I’d have a better chance of having it done right away and having the parts in store if I went to a computer repair store.
“I have to get a new computer. In the process of soliciting birthday donations from my family members so I know how much I can afford and what type of computer I can buy.”
“Want a Mac, but don?t think that will happen.”
Why do you prefer a Mac?
tyanksfan
Believing Yankee and baseball history begins and ends with The Core 4, is more insulting than anything I wrote.
Trisha,I hear great things about Macs. MTU and JCPD were telling me about them yesterday. My nieces and nephew have Macs too and love them. I have to go to the Apple Store and look.
Fran, other than Ruth and Maris, I only included the born and bred Yankees, because no matter how the team was playing and there were a couple of bad stretches, Yankee fans always had that one player that was theirs. I don’t see any break in that any time soon.
tyanksfan,
Yeah that’s fine, I’m the same age group as you guys, 96 is the first Yankee championship I was alive for. The problem is, his post takes a different slant then just remembering the “core 4″. He gets into why the Yanks should trade pieces of a possible future core then ends it with basically saying that the Yanks will never build another dynasty ever again.
I still think that the Yankees will make a run on Scott Kazmir. The Angels will try to get Trevor Bell into the rotation this year and Kazmir seems to be the logical one to go. He’s still got great stuff and he’s still young. Keeping him healthy and fixing whatever pitching issues he has is key. Very much an left handed version of AJ Burnett at that age.
MLB Trade Rumors has the names of a couple lefties we haven’t talked about much they say the Yankees have discussed, Saunders and LeBlanc. Neither appear too exciting. They mention Kazmir, but his stuff has really declined.
I think what they have is what they go to spring training with.
I agree with the sentiment of GB’s post
On the other hand we have to fully realize how special the Core Four really are. I mean these aren’t just four guys who played together for a long time (not counting Andy’s vacation in Houston) but these are four top level players – at least two of which are destined for Cooperstown.
Some group of Cano, Hughes, Montero, Nunez, Banuelos, Betances, etc…may end up playing together for a very very long time – but – just as I don’t expect the future closer of the Yankees to be as good as Mariano Rivera – I don’t expect that we’ll ever see a group the quality of the Core Four again.
Trish, I’ve had my Mac for three years and love it. Wish I got it sooner. If you’re near an Apple store, I highly suggest going in and test drive one. They can show you all the highlights about them. They are simple and fast.
GB,
I have always liked Kazmir, but looking at his velocity on fangraphs show it has really declined. Like Burnett, it is questionable whether he can become a pitcher. I think your comparison is fair.
GreenBeret7 February 4th, 2011 at 10:02 am
I still think that the Yankees will make a run on Scott Kazmir. The Angels will try to get Trevor Bell into the rotation this year and Kazmir seems to be the logical one to go. He’s still got great stuff and he’s still young. Keeping him healthy and fixing whatever pitching issues he has is key. Very much an left handed version of AJ Burnett at that age.
—————————-
I can understand the appeal but I just think he’s Oliver Perez
KPB, it is the same one. This is my own fault though. My niece Isabella (just turned 4) enjoys playing around with my laptop. One of her favorite things to do was to plug in the power cord as soon as I got to her house and then unplug it when I was ready to leave. Sometimes she would unplug it and plug it back in “just because”. (I really think she’s going to be an engineer or something like that because from the time she was a baby, she enjoyed breaking things so she could put them back together! Truth.
) Anyway, I’ve learned that the pin that the power cord plugs into is very delicate and you really should manipulate it as little as possible. 
******************
JCPD, you’re a better man than I am. Rather than just shake my head, I want to throttle them! I think I feel worse for us than I do for them. If they want to go through life uninformed, cool. But after reading the same old uninformed prattle for the 100th time, I just want them to get their stranglehold off the forum and let it go!
I see nothing wrong with anyone thinking that the Yankees will never have another dynasty or “Core Four”. When Mantle, Berra, Ford and Maris were fading, I thought the same thing, then up popped another dynasty and “Core Four”. If that’s your first, you never believe that you’ll see another one like it. People don’t get that lucky twice in a lifetime.
There have been a lot of guest posts on here, but, this wasn’t one of them.
JCPD -
How easy is it to transfer pictures, music and some files from a PC to a Mac? that’s my only concern.
Although I did learn yesterday that you can dedicate a portion of the Mac’s hard drive to Windows.
There have been a lot of ***bad*** guest posts
I’m revealing my age here…..
I saw the transition from Dimag to Mick, watched Don Larsen pitch his WS perfecto, cried when Mazzerowski hit that home run, lived through the glorious M&M days, the decade of dispair, the return to glory, and now the years of the Core 4.
When we feel that the future is bleak, it should help Yankee fans to remember that over the long haul, there just is no other sports franchise that comes close to the success of the Pinstripes: not the Steelers or Packers, Lakers or Celtics.
We do ourselves a disservice when we consider a year without a WS crown disappointing. And until they actually play the games, I’m not counting out the Yanks for this year’s crown!
Additional comment: I liked today’s post because it reaffirms that baseball is unique: there’s nothing else that ties the generations together.
One more thing: I love watching my kids in the back yard years ago, pretenting to be “their” Yankees – especially my son holding his glove over his face as he took Andy’s role. That just might be my best “Andy moment” and I thank him for that.
BryanHoch Electronic banner outside Yankee Stadium reads: “Thank You Andy 46″
Pat
I don’t know if you’re twisting my words or not. My baseball memories start with the 90s Yankees. Not to say that (unless I die tomorrow) there won’t be another Yankees dynasty in my future. I do appreciate the Yankees that laid the foundation for Yankee teams to come. I’m reading a book right now on Mickey Mantle, I read about Joe Dimaggio and Lou Gherig. I wasn’t ignoring the Yankee teams in the past but saying when I’m old ill only be able to talk about the teams I was able to see.
I just want to say again that it bothers me that Bernie isn’t included in the “Core 4″ moniker…
Go look at his numbers, he was a lot better than people give him credit for
GreenBeret7 February 4th, 2011 at 10:07 am
I see nothing wrong with anyone thinking that the Yankees will never have another dynasty or “Core Four”. When Mantle, Berra, Ford and Maris were fading, I thought the same thing, then up popped another dynasty and “Core Four”. If that’s your first, you never believe that you’ll see another one like it. People don’t get that lucky twice in a lifetime.
———————
Very true I suppose that is a way of looking at it. Though I think it gets harder and harder to source, develop and retain those types of players in this age of expansion and with so many great athletes going to the instant gratification sports – basketball and football.
On the other hand that is somewhat balanced by the influx of international players.
austinmac February 4th, 2011 at 10:04 am
GB,
I have always liked Kazmir, but looking at his velocity on fangraphs show it has really declined. Like Burnett, it is questionable whether he can become a pitcher. I think your comparison is fair.
———————————————————————————————————————-
If his arm is healthy, like Burnett, I think the velocity and movement returns and for one year, I’d take the chance. Then again, it’s not my money.
Our guest blogger simply sees things from his youthful perspective. To me, the glory days will always be the Mantle era. That’s because they were from my childhood. Childhood memories cannot not be repeated, but exciting winning baseball can be.
Our young fans have grown up w/ the Core 4, and it is understandable to think the magic will be gone when they leave. It is like your first love. There will be other core players, but it may not feel the same, when you remember the original players you followed.
I first watched the Yankees during the Bronx Zoo era, and they will always be special players to me.
Doreen, there are some things that I had on my PC that I couldn’t transfer. Microsoft Money was one of them at the time. If you get a Mac, you simply bring in the tower from your PC and they transfer everything for you, files, folders, bookmarks…… everything. And what I really like, there is no tower, the monitor is your entire computer, besides the keyboard and mouse obviously.
GB,
I think Kazmir is iffy, but I agree he’s worth a shot. I doubt the Yankees will when they compare his cost vs. Last years productivity.
Patrick February 4th, 2011 at 10:09 am
I just want to say again that it bothers me that Bernie isn’t included in the “Core 4? moniker…
Go look at his numbers, he was a lot better than people give him credit for
————–
That’s fair – however you can’t really get that hung up on it since the moniker was coined 3 years after Bernie last played for the Yankees.
GB, I agree with you. The pitching staff may need some help, but I don’t envision a return to the “Horace Clark” years.
**************
JCPD, I am going to take your advice and visit the Apple store next week and see what I can afford there.
Trish, I’m not saying I wouldn’t want to throttle them, but it would be throttle them just because it’s annoying seeing their ramblings. That’s why I’d love an ignore feature on here.
Patrick -
Just my take, but I think it wasn’t until after Bernie “left,” that people starting realizing what was left. “And then there were four,” so to speak. Core four is just short-hand for that. But Bernie definitely gets short shrift.
Fran, like I said, yes, it is more expensive than a PC, but to me, it has been absolutely worth it, especially working with my pictures.
Patrick -
Quite frankly my favorite player from those teams was O’Neill – I think he was just as important as anyone other than Mo in those championship runs.
“Some group of Cano, Hughes, Montero, Nunez, Banuelos, Betances, etc?may end up playing together for a very very long time ? but ? just as I don?t expect the future closer of the Yankees to be as good as Mariano Rivera ? I don?t expect that we?ll ever see a group the quality of the Core Four again.”
I can’t go there because I have to believe the Yankees will be gathering greatness together again and again and again. We never got to see the 1927 Yankees but I bet there were some core players there also who played together for quite a while.
trisha
Sounds cute. I too once enjoyed plugging and unplugging until around 3 or 4. It was at Christmas and the lights on the tree wouldn’t blink on and off. Being what I thought was a good idea, I started plugging and unplugging to get the desired effect. Everything worked fine until the outlet “bit” me. I look back and laugh at it now, but back then I’m surprised I didn’t soil myself. To this day, over 30 years later I’m still hesitant about plugging things in. If it’s over 110 you can forget it, I’m not touching it.
I have to respectfully disagree with this poster.
I have seen a great deal of “magic” from CC Sabathia, from Alex Rodriguez (have we forgotten his magical clutchness lately?), from Robbie Cano, from Brett Gardner, from good ol’ Derek Jeter and from D-Rob at times.
I’ve seen magic from Nick Swisher, at times. I don’t understand how losing Pettitte, Rivera, Posada, and Jeter puts us in this unwinnable situation. We will still have a great team, including Cano, Tex, hopefully Garnder/Granderson/Swisher in their prime (that’s five great players in their prime!) as well as Montero who will probably be a beast. There’s no telling who we’ll sign via free agency and our rotation will still feature Sabathia and Hughes and perhaps Banuelos, Brackman, and Betances. There’s no telling how good they will be.
I’d go so far as to say that the retirement of Mo, Pettitte, Posada, and Jeter will only usher in a golden age for the Yankees, so long as our farm system has yields that are about average when compared to expectations. They’re not exactly producing at high levels anymore. Why else would the Yankees sign Soriano? There have to be concerns about Mo’s velocity and the effectiveness of that cutter. It was noticeably hittable last season.
Anyway, this wasn’t exactly the msot coherent post. But the point is this: the future of the Yankees is bright and includes a lot of home grown talent, just like Jeter and the bunch. There’s no telling where it will lead, but another Yankees dynasty isn’t out of the question. Let’s just wait and see.
JCPD -
The no tower-ness of the Mac is part of what is so attractive to me, as well.
My tower is dead. But I do have an external hard drive with the info I need. I assume that can be used?
Anyway, that’s a new errand on my list – buy a new computer, preferably a Mac, and a wireless printer/copier/scanner/fax.
Doreen and Chip,
I know when the core 4 thing was first used, it just bugs me that it’s now the term we use to describe the Yankee dynasty of the 90′s and 2000′s because it neglects to mention a guy that was at least as important as the 4 we do talk about.
si_vault: SI Vault Photo (1993): Andy Pettitte, 21, pitches for the Prince William Cannons: http://su.pr/2avy27
After a lot of reflection, I’ve come to realize there is simply nothing to worry about as long as Brian Cashman is our GM.
Sure it sucks that we didn’t get Cliff Lee and that Andy Pettitte decided to retire…
HOWEVER, I’m confident Cashman can and will fix what ails the Yankees. I’m sure he has another Kyle Farnsworth, Javier Vazquez (twice), Carl Pavano (tried for twice), Lance Berkman, Chan Ho Park, Austin Kearns, Nick Johnson, Kei Igawa, Enrique Wilson, Jeff Weaver and/or Ed Yarnell up his sleeve!
Trish, et al – I started using Macs in 92, have been on them ever since. Managed a marketing dept. with 15 Macs, a server, purchased many macs in my time and maintained them.
If you can swing the initial up-charge (remember, Macs tend to be pretty loaded so compare to Windows higher end) you will find them the standard for elegance in computing. No need to worry about viruses and spyware taking over your computer. (Yes, they allegedly exit, but better chance of getting struck by lighting).
I maintain my kid’s windows laptops (price was a consideration) and have them running windows 7. Yawn.
On a more relevant note, why do I feel that Montero is now history is Yanks try to land a starter?
According to Ken Rosenthal, the Yankees have “kicked around” the thought of making trade offers for Scott Kazmir and other left-handed starters.
The Angels’ Joe Saunders, Oakland’s Gio Gonzalez and the Padres’ Wade LeBlanc and Clayton Richard have also been considered. But these are “just ideas” for now, according to Rosenthal. The Yanks are scrambling to find a reliable starter in the wake of Andy Pettitte’s retirement. They do have a healthy farm system, but trades can be difficult this late in the offseason. Feb. 4 – 10:07 am et
For younger fans, these guys, Jeter, Pettitte, Posada, Rivera, Williams and eventhe guys like Martinez, O’Neill were the great 50s and early 60s dyanasties. They were the Bronx Zoo Yankees wiyjout the cages and Sparky Lyles, but, they were the same kind if players…grind ‘em up, spit ‘em out and get ‘em again next year players. There will never be another “Core Four” or “Jive Five” again…until the next one. And this discussion will start all over again with the spoiled, never known anything but winning Yankee fans. My twins will be part of that group.
Doreen, I have an external hard drive also. The “time machine” on the Mac automatically backs up everything on my computer every hour. Yes, I’m sure they could transfer everything over from the external hard drive.
Larry Rothschild has his work cut out for him. A large hole with Andy retired, a big fix with Burnett, and a No. 5 starter presently coming out of a crop of young arms.
If I’m Cashman, I’d at least ask about the availability of Scott Kazmir. Until Manny Banuelos emerges hopefully in 2012, Kazmir may be the only proven LH to balance the starting staff [this] year.
Chip,
O’neill was a great Yankee but I understand why he’s left off the “list” so to speak — he was on the Reds for half his career.
He put up some GREAT offensive numbers during his time with the Yankees, that’s for sure.
“Trish, I?m not saying I wouldn?t want to throttle them, but it would be throttle them just because it?s annoying seeing their ramblings. That?s why I?d love an ignore feature on here.”
Exactly! It’s the annoying ramblings that are the continual aggravation.
No need to worry about viruses and spyware taking over your computer
yanksfan, that’s good to hear. It was a virus that killed my computer.
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Doreen, since we both have the same item on our list, I’ll let you know what I learn on my visit to the Apple store.
Bernie!!
BryanHoch There is a seat reserved at the Pettitte press conference for Bernie Williams.
Guess Rosenthal hasn’t yet gotten the memo about Saunders being traded to the D’backs…..six months ago.
tyanks36
My baseball memories start in the 70′s but I can watch video of players from before that and see “magic” and didn’t stop seeing magic when Murcer or Munson stopped playing.
Your first memories are special ones to you same as other peoples memories are special to them but players change and the magic continues unless you are only a fan of the particular players and not the team.
I’d also be a good adopted parent because some of my favorite Yankees were brought into the system not born into it so homegrown doesn’t strike the same chord to me as others I guess.
YankeesNmore, I defended you several days back but now I have come to agree with the rest of the forum. To put it as kindly as I can, your lack of knowledge, perspective, and introspection is deplorable.
YankeesNmore, I defended you several days back but now I have come to agree with the rest of the forum. To put it as kindly as I can, your lack of knowledge, perspective, and introspection is deplorable.
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Brutal. But true
trisha – true pinstriped blue February 4th, 2011 at 10:24 am
YankeesNmore, I defended you several days back but now I have come to agree with the rest of the forum. To put it as kindly as I can, your lack of knowledge, perspective, and introspection is deplorable.
__
At least you have finally come around
BryanHoch There is a seat reserved at the Pettitte press conference for Bernie Williams.
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Bernie is the man
Is this press conference going to be available online, live?
yanksfan67, as my laptop isn’t even two years old, it will be a while before I look for another one. But I will take the mac advice under advisement!
Later y’all. Time to get ready for the upcoming sadness.
Guess Rosenthal hasn’t yet gotten the memo about Saunders being traded to the D’backs…..six months ago.
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Kevin Towers would probably love to get out from under that terrible trade
pcaldera Andy Pettitte photos throughout press conference room at Stadium. Laura Pettitte, Bernie Williams, Cashman, Girardi have places at podium.
charlestownchew, I think I heard something about YES putting it online later. But it may be streamed live from MLB.com. You should check. Maybe even YES will stream it live.
Perhaps Bernie is going to officially announce his retirement today too.
Thanks Fran & JCPD.
***
And now, the Press Conference.
I’m crying already.
Fran I wish I had email so we could be emailing right now.
The YES opening made me cry.
The field is covered in piles of snow.
pat -
Maybe they will announce a “day” to retire both their numbers?
Pat
Well the guest writer says that he is the first person in his family who was born in the United States. I don’t know how they feel about baseball in Russia but its probably not like someone like me who has a grandfather who grew up a Yankees fan. I think the poster is younger than me so maybe he needs someone older to share memories from the past. I’ve been reading about yankees of back then and I watched the 1960s world series game. I watched the Baseball documentary when it was on mlb network so I could see the greats from the past. I appreciate them but I don’t have firsthand knowledge like I do with the teams I’ve been able to watch.
Gee guys, I’m sorry. Help me out here… Which one of those players I listed was either not a Cashman move or not a bad move?
Thanks in advance for the help.
New Post: Andy Pettitte retirement announcement
TY, you have nothing to apologize for. This is your first players, like Mantle, Ford and Berra were mine. Just keep up your work and love the pix you provide.
I’m a little older than the poster but I can relate to what he’s saying. Most of my adult life has been Yankees winning. I’m a second generation Yankee fan and read a lot about the history of the franchise but there is a certain sadness for me in knowing that there will soon be no remaining members of the teams that I rooted for growing up. I’m sure the generation before me felt the same things as Mantle and Ford were nearing the end and I’m sure the generation after me will as well. New magic will be created but it still doesn’t make me feel any better about the old magic going away……there is always something special about the players you watched when you were young, I’m sure the many many Mickey Mantle fans can relate to how the younger guys feel about Jeter, Rivera, Pettite, etc….
All that said….thanks for everything Andy, here is to someone taking your place and doing it as well and as classy as you always have.
Terrible guest post, in my opinion.
On one hand, he lauds (justifiably) the Core Four.
On the other hand, he writes, “And that’s why you can take your future prospects and your smart financial decisions and shove it.”
Apparently he is too young to remember that the Core Four were all, you guessed it, prospects.