A few baseball thoughts

The Yankees have missed the postseason for the first time since 1993.  The 1994 postseason was cancelled due to a labor conflict and in 1995, the Yankees qualified as the first wild card team. Since then, it's been an amazing run, and hopefully, they can start a new run next year.  The Yankees finished six games behind the Red Sox for this year's wild card.  Here are my thoughts on what went wrong this year:

- They didn't trade for Johan.  In the long run, I think this is the right move.  The cost was high both in players and money.  Even though the players that were rumored to be involved in the deal had down years, the long term remains to be seen.  However, for this year, if they had Johan, they make the playoffs.

- Health.  It's not an excuse, especially when you have a payroll in excess of $200m, but Darrell Rasner was third on the team in games started.  Sidney Ponson started the same number of games as Chien-Ming Wang.  Losing Matsui meant losing one of the few guys on the team that understands situational hitting.  Losing Posada meant losing a proven clubhouse leader.

- The manager.  Joe Girardi wasn't my choice.  However, by choosing Girardi over Don Mattingly, ownership was sending a message that they wanted to change things up.  Donnie would have been too similar to Joe Torre.  In my opinion, Girardi struggled heavily when it came to dealing with the players.  When things were going bad, it seemed that his intensity was causing them to press.  His intensity ruled the clubhouse rather than the calm confidence that exuded from Torre's clubhouse. He didn't communicate well with the players, and I don't think his in-game management was aggressive enough.

- No one stepped up.  They needed someone to step up and carry the team offensively.  They needed big hits.  They didn't get them.  Aside from Jason Giambi and Johnny Damon, I don't remember anyone having an explosive week where they carried the team.  ARod finished with great numbers, but they were pretty empty.  Again...they pressed in big spots.

- The kids.  This is the last year that I will consider Cano a kid.  He missed Larry Bowa kicking him in the ass and keeping him focused.  He completely regressed and might have punched his ticket out of town.  Melky, Hughes, Kennedy, and Shelley Duncan all disappointed, and that's an understatement.

If Cashman is back, and I think he should be, he has a lot of work to do in the off-season.  They get some help in that Wang should be back and healthy.  They will have a full year of Xavier Nady, and hopefully by June a healthy Posada.  There are lots of questions, and it will be interesting to see how he shapes next year's team.

Some other thoughts on the season:

- The Mets lose to Florida on the last day of the season and it costs them a playoff spot for the second year in a row.    They lost a 3.5 game lead with 17 games to go.  Johan was amazing on Saturday and Oliver Perez was good, but the bullpen did them in as it had so many times this year.

- CC Sabathia pitches Milwaukie in to the playoffs.  He is the jewel of the free agent crop this off-season, and he made himself a lot of money down the stretch.  He went 11-2 with a 1.65 ERA for the Brewers and should get some MVP votes.

- Manny Ramirez also deserves some MVP votes after hitting .396 with 17 HR's and 53 RBIs in 53 games. However, he is still a jerk for the way he left Boston.

- I am rooting for Joe Torre to win the World Series.  However, if Lou Pinella leads the Cubs to their first title in 100 years, that would be great too.

- I am really rooting for the White Sox to win their make up game with Detroit tomorrow.  That will cause the Twins and White Sox to play a one-game playoff on Tuesday to determine the Central Division winner.  Is there anything better than the one-game playoff?

- The Twins traded Johan and lost Torii Hunter to free agency and are still in the hunt.  Impressive.

One final note...it was 10 years ago that the baseball world was swept up in the chase to break Roger Maris' single season home run record by Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa.  Roger Clemens won the pitching triple crown leading the league in wins, ERA, and strikeouts and capturing yet another Cy Young Award.  While that season and those players certainly helped bring baseball back from the disaster of 1994, McGwire and Clemens are now baseball outcasts. It's a shame.  It's also hard to believe that it was 10 years ago.

"It ain't no sin to be glad you're alive"

JN

The Farewell

Settle in...this is a long one.

Sunday night, we said goodbye to Yankee Stadium. I had a lot of emotions during the week leading up to last night's game. I was pretty upset. I have long called Yankee Stadium "my most special place on the planet". Unfortunately, I was focused on the fact that I would never get to walk up the tunnel again and see the green grass, the blue seats, and peer around The Stadium and remember all of the great memories. After last night's celebration, I am now able to focus on all of the great memories I have, savor them, and look forward to The New Stadium.

My father first took me to Yankee Stadium in 1980. I remember going with my Uncle Steven, and the car broke down on the way there. I remember being worried about missing the National Anthem. Since then, there have been hundreds of games and countless memories. Some of the great memories are:

- Two games in the Division Series in 1981 against the Brewers (caused by the strike).

- One game in the ALCS against the A's in 1981. My Uncle Steven took me. He doesn't like baseball, but exemplifies what it means to be an uncle.

- Game 2 of the 1981 World Series. I kept score, Tommy John was perfect through 3 innings, I still have the scorecard.

- Old Timer's Day 1984 where I met Catfish Hunter in the stands.

- Countless doubles in to the right field corner by Donnie Baseball in the 80's.

- Too many losses in the early 90's. I got my driver's license just before the season started in 1991. They lost 91 games that year, but we went to a lot of games. Me, Katz, Gideon, Pilch, Jeremy Kaufman...lots of games. We could get there right before the first pitch and buy tickets right near the scouts behind home plate.

- In 1992, the guys wanted to go to the game, but I was pitching that afternoon against Essex Catholic, the best team in the conference. We made a deal that if we won, we would go. I hit a walk off single in the bottom of the 7th. We celebrated all the way back to the locker room and as we were changing, we looked at each other and said..."We're going to the game!".

- Reggie Jackson Day in 1993 with Jon Geller. We caught a ball each during BP. I gave mine to a young kid, probably 3 years old, as a souveneir of his first game.

- Game 2 of the Division Series in 1995. Donnie Baseball's last game at The Stadium. He hit one out. Jared and I sat in the front row of the loge...ran in to Keith before the game. Yelled "Run Jorge, Run" even though we didn't know who Jorge was when Ruben Sierra hit one off the top of the wall to tie the game. Went crazy when Jim Leyritz' ball cleared the wall in right in the 15th inning and just said "Jimmy F*$&ing Leyritz" 100 times on the way home. Incidentally, the winning pitcher in that game was Mariano Rivera.
- Opening Day 1996 in the snow. The debut of the YMCA and they gave us free tickets for...
- Doc Gooden's no-hitter. It was the week in between finals and graduation. I drove up from Trenton State. Our seats were in the corner of the upper deck, but we watched from behind home plate. So far, my only n0-hitter in person.

- All of the home playoff games in 1996. The Jeffrey Maier game...when Derek tied it up, and then Bernie won it. When Bernie hit that home run, Michael Levine and I felt the upper deck shake.

- Going to all six World Series games in 1996. It was bleak when I left for Atlanta, but when I got back, we were on the verge. Girardi's triple, Jared catching a foul ball, Mariano to Wetteland, Charlie Hayes' catch...the first championship that I was old enough to experience...nothing is sweeter.

- The brawl against the Orioles in May 1998 when Benitez drilled Tino after Bernie took him deep. Strawberry led the charge out of the dugout and GLloyd came from the bullpen throwing punches. When it spilled in to the O's dugout, it got really interesting.

- The Chuck Knoblauch game in 1998.

- Game 2 of the World Series in 1998. The second pitch was a foul ball right off of my hand. If I wasn't keeping score, I would have had it.

- The clinching game in 1999. Keith and I were in the second to last row at the top of The Stadium. The guy in front of us was passing a bottle that he snuck in. The guy two seats over from him took his seat apart with a ratchet set before the game even started. We snuck down in the late innings and sat with Scott and the boys. We didn't leave until they kicked us out.

- The Clemens/Piazza game in 2000. I was on my way upstairs and stopped to see Mike, Ross, and Sivin on my way. No one had any idea what was happening.

- All three games of the 2001 World Series at The Stadium. The President throwing out the first pitch of Game 3, Tino and Jeter Game 4....Brosius AGAIN! Game 5. For Game 5, I was with Gideon...it was all about the lucky jacket.

- Watching Barry Bonds hit the longest home run I had ever, and have ever, seen off of Ted Lilly in 2002. All I could do was clap. It was that impressive.

- Game 7 in 2003 with Keith yelling "Boo!" to all of the Sox fans on the way in. "Do you hear the ghosts?" They were there. Mussina bailing out Clemens, Giambi's two homers, Jorge's big hit, Pedro's meltdown, Mariano throwing 3 innings, and then...Aaron Boone (who didn't start the game). Mike, Keith, Ross and I yellling when the ball sailed past us. Seeing Mariano collapse on the mound.

- My father and I were there the night Jeter dove in to the stands against the Sox in 2004. John Flaherty won the game in extra innings.

- April 2005 we saw ARod hit a three run homer, a two run homer, and then a grand slam in his first three at-bats off of Bartolo Colon. I was with Jeff Garibaldi in his seats...sixth row in the center of the Yankee dugout. It's a shame that he won't have the same seats in The New Stadium.

- Countless Opening Days.

- Countless Playoff Games.

- Two World Series clinchers.

- Taking my daughter to her first game...June 21 against the Reds. Carrying her as we past The New Stadium. Watching her and Christine walk up the tunnel towards the field. I will miss the tunnels in The New Stadium.

- The Home Run Derby with balls flying all over the place. Josh Hamilton put on an amazing show.

- The All Star Game with Jared...the Hall of Famers in the pregame ceromony were worth the price of admission alone, but we got an amazing game also. We were rooting hard for DJ or Mo to be the MVP, but with the game going to extra innings, it wasn't to be.

- This past Tuesday night...seeing Jeter get his hit to pass Lou Gehrig. Jared and I took our fathers for one last trip. On the way out, we talked about a lot of the games I mentioned above. Such great memories.

- And the last one...Sunday night...with my dad...who took me to my first game.

Sunday night was a celebration of everything that came before it. All 85 years. They introduced many of the Yankee greats, including many members of the teams that meant so much to us the last few years. The last to be introduced was Bernie...for his first trip back since he stopped playing. The ceremony lasted for an hour...and then the game started.

The Yankees won 7-3. I kept score. Pettitte came through when he had to. The bullpen was great. Damon and Molina hit home runs. Giambi got a hit that was aided by the ghosts when the 3rd baseman and shortstop looked at each other while the ball dropped. Enter Sandman played for the last time in Yankee Stadium (see the video below...it's a new multimedia wrinkle) and Mariano emerged from the left centerfield wall. Next year, the bullpen moves back to rightfield, so it will be odd seeing Mo emerge from the other side of the outfield.

After two outs, Girardi pulled DJ so he could get one last standing ovation...one last curtain call.

After Mariano closed it out, the team poured on to the field, and Sinatra sang New York, New York. It was almost as if they won the World Series. They gathered around the mound, and then Derek Jeter, our captain, delivered an amazing speech, thanking us, the fans.

The players then did a lap around the warning track, similar to 1996. I was looking for someone on a horse! We soaked it in a while longer, watched the players take pictures with their families on the mound, and then almost simultaneously, my father and I decided it was time to go.

I am not upset that I will never get to see The Yankees again in The House That Ruth Built. I have my memories, and I look forward to new memories in The New Stadium. I will make those memories with my friends and my family, and I can only hope that Avery (and any future offspring) feel half as connected to The New Yankee Stadium as I am to The Yankee Stadium.

If you read this far...thanks. Please feel free to leave a comment with your favorite Yankee Stadium moments. You'll be surprised just how much fun it is.

Hope springs eternal...see you in the Bronx...April 16th. It's a date. Memory #1.

"It ain't no sin to be glad you're alive"

JN

What's better than a great tailgate?

There are a few things better than a great tailgate.  However, when you are in the moment of the tailgate, the sun is shining, your friends are all around, the beer is cold, the music is on, and the food is great, there isn't any place you would rather be.  Thursday night, the Giants opened their season after winning last year's Super Bowl with a prime time game against the Redskins.

The tailgate started a little later than we wanted it to.  Our intention was to get there around 11:30, but we found out around 11 that they would be enforcing the new rule that opened the parking lot five hours before game time.  Some of the guys camped out at Scott's, but Jared and I stayed local so we could make sure we were at the gate when it opened.  We drove back to the Meadowlands after getting some lunch around 1:30.  There were many people already lined up when we got there, but got a strategic spot on the shoulder and when they opened the gates, we were able to get our spot in lot 18C.

There is something special about the first game of the season, and it was more special in light of the Super Bowl win.  There are some people at the tailgate that I only see in the parking lot at Giants games, so many I haven't seen since December.  Guys like Al, Young Craig, Frank, Richard, and Andrew to name a few.  It's great to catch up and while every group has some guys that no one likes, it's a really great group. Then of course, there is the core of the group that I do see in the off season and great to see them as well.  Seeing Scott, Keith, Hank, Fresh, Strauss, Strauss (unrelated), and of course Jared...it's the best.  If I missed anyone, I apologize in advance.

The tailgate menu has had very few changes and that's because it works.  Clams with hot sauce, wings, steak, and sausage and peppers.  Lots of beer, and many of the boys are partial to Guiness these days.  If that sounds good to you, please stop by before any Giants game.

So after a great tailgate with most of the day being over 90 degrees, I changed my shirt and went in to the game.  Strahan popped out of a 20 foot Super Bowl trophy with the real thing and hyped up the crowd.  The Giants played great in the first half, but settled for field goals and gave up a late TD so they led 16-7, which ended up being the final.  A very workman like victory over a team that they should have beat.  A good start to the season, but more important...another great day with friends in the parking lot.

"It ain't no sin to be glad you're alive..."

JN