Philadelphia Phillies starter Cole Hamels, left, arrives at Penn Station after taking the train with his team from Philadelphia, Monday, Oct. 26, 2009 in New York. The Phillies face the New York Yankees in Game 1 of the Word Series beginning Wednesday at Yankee Stadium. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)
New York, NY (WFAN) -- Back in 1986, a friend of mine, a 20 year season ticket holder at Yankee Stadium, said to me: "Who do I root for in this thing...it's THEM against THEM!" I guess Mets fans think the same thing right now?
In the clubhouse, and for most of us American Leaguers, it's really hard to muster up some good old fashioned "hatred" for the team the Yankees play a billion times in spring training, the team whose shortstop said after the 3 interleague games this summer, "See you in October!", the team whose manager is such a great guy that you really look forward to seeing him, and the team whose new ballpark is so spectacular that you look forward to being there.
What I expect is an absolutely American League type World Series, with the games coming down to the bullpens....yet again. I'm not a "let's compare position by position" type person. It takes up space in a column, but is silly in baseball. When it's basketball and you're matching up power forwards, ok. But to say..."who's better...Ryan Howard or Mark Teixeira" is a waste of time. They don't exactly go one on one to the basket.
Questions to ponder:
Can CC Sabathia pitch 3 games if necessary? Yes, he can. The Yankees set this up from the beginning of the year.
Can Mariano pitch more than 1 inning? Yes, he can. The Yankees didn't use him for more than 4 outs all season. This is the reason why.
Who will be this series' Jeff Mathis?
Will Phil Hughes and Joba Chamberlain be effective? Who knows. Will Ryan Madson and Brad Lidge be effective? Who knows.
Will Chase Utley's reported foot injury be an issue?
Go back to 1997, the year after the Yankees won their first World Series under Joe Torre, and two of the most talked about players were a couple of kids who were less than two years removed from their big league debuts in Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera.
Welcome to February. It may not feel like it outside, but spring is right around the corner. Pitchers and catchers are just two weeks away, and if that’s enough to warm you up right about now then try another pair of socks and some hot tea.
I can’t imagine I’ll ever have the privilege of covering a player like Hideki Matsui again. The word “unique” is thrown around too much, but this was indeed a unique experience, right from Day One.
The Perks of This Job!!!!! The day started at 5AM. I had 3 alarm clocks and a coffee pot set, so I wouldn't oversleep. The call was for 7:30 at the Stadium to start getting on the 20 buses...
On December 26th, 1919, Harry Frazee sold Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees to finance the musical No, No, Nanette. Since that day, every time the Yankees win the World Series, it's because they have more money than anyone else...
The Yankees traveling party left the Stadium this morning on 3 buses to go to Penn. Station, for the Amtrak Trek to Philadelphia. As the buses turned down 31st Street, we saw the crowds...
Back in 1986, a friend of mine, a 20 year season ticket holder at Yankee Stadium, said to me: "Who do I root for in this thing...it's THEM against THEM!" I guess Mets fans think the same thing right now?
I’ve heard a bunch of different reactions to Mark McGwire’s “revelation” (seriously, if you were surprised by what he admitted, you need to stop taking your stupid pills). Some people were angry, others were disappointed, some were sick of steroids becoming a story again and other people actually felt sorry for the man since he kept crying.
Someone is going to have to explain this one to me. Why wouldn’t the same reasons the Yankees had for not signing Hideki Matsui also apply to Nick Johnson?
The Yankees should just close up shop, and pack it in until 2010. The only thing left to do is leave a contract offer on the table to Johnny Damon to think about over Christmas. Santa Steinbrenner should be fairly generous with a two year contract in the neighborhood of 20 million dollars. If another team finds him worthy of a three year deal, the Yankees should be content to watch him walk and
I hate to be the Grinch that stole Christmas for all you Yankees fans out there, but this is going to be a quiet offseason. There isn't going to be a CC Sabathia. There isn't going to be a Mark Teixeira. There isn't even going to be an A.J. Burnett.
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