Pittsburgh Pirates

Yanks Cancel Going Away Party

admin — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 23:27:00 +0000

In what was being rumored as the biggest Yankee Stadium send-off has been scrapped. The Yankees have canceled plans for a send-off ceremony to be held November 9th at The Stadium, citing the fact that the last party at the cathedral should be a baseball game.

Rumors that the likes of Paul McCartney, Bruce Springsteen, Billy Joel and Paul Simon were to be entertaining at the venue that afternoon just never materialized. The event would have included remembrances of many of the non-baseball events at Yankee Stadium. I put this same catagory as when the Yankees stopped their own Fanfest because the crowds were just too large for the venues. (Simple solution was to only sell enough tickets for the venue) The last Yankees Fan Fest was at the Javits Center, guess where the All Star Fan Fest was this year?

Well at least the final game at Yankee Stadium on Sept. 21, was a Yankee victory over the Baltimore Orioles, 7-3. "The event at Yankee Stadium was suppose to be for the charity BAT (Baseball Assistance Team)," the club said in a statement. "However, the Yankees realized that the final event at Yankee Stadium should be a baseball game which already took place with the fantastic closing ceremony. Accordingly to the Daily News, rather than having a fundraiser, the Yankees will be donating $500,000 to BAT."

New York Yankees: An Interactive Guide to the World of Sports

admin — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 00:23:00 +0000

By Danniel J. Brush – David Horne – Marc CB Maxwell

Foreward by Mike Vaccaro, New York Post

A new book is on the shelves and this book actually is enhanced by your computer. Appropriately in the Sports By The Number Series, this book brings you tons of info on America’s best loved and most hated team The New York Yankees.The book is layed out so you don’t have to read it cover to cover, but you probably will wind up doing so anyway. It is a paperback laid out in ten chapters. In each chapter you have 100 facts, lore, records and mini stories.

They are all numbered 1-100 in chapter one, 101 – 200 in chapter two etc.Each number corresponds to an event or story in Yankee history. For instance #30 tells us: The number of times Dave Winfield grounded into a double play in 1983 plus a few more facts to boot. Each chapter also features a Yankee in their own right.

For instance Chapter one is George Steinbrenner and Chapter ten is simply The Legends.Scattered throughout the book are SBTN-All Star and SBTN-Hall of Fame Logos. These logos direct you to the website and give you even more information. Unfortunately the site is not released yet and I couldn’t access it.A great book for any age or fan of America’s Game and Team. A must read.

SUNDAY CEREMONIES

admin — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 19:33:00 +0000

FROM YANKEES.COM

Yankee Stadium gates will open at 1:00 p.m. on Sunday as the Yankees invite fans to take one last memorable stroll through Monument Park. Fans will also be allowed to exit Monument Park onto the field where they will be permitted to walk along the warning track around the outfield and behind home plate. Access to Monument Park is via the staircase at the end of the aisle between the Field and Main Level seats in Section 36. Wheelchair access is via the elevator in Section 24. Field exit from Monument Park will close at approximately 4:00 p.m., prior to pregame batting practice for each team. Monument Park will remain open until 6:45 p.m.
Pregame ceremonies, scheduled to begin at 7:05 p.m., will encompass the chronology of Yankees greats who have played at the famous Stadium. Among the distinguished alumni scheduled to take part in the festivities will be Yogi Berra, Whitey Ford, Goose Gossage, Ron Guidry, Graig Nettles and Bobby Richardson. A historic artifact from the Yankees’ past will also be unveiled during the ceremony. The Yankees are urging fans to be in their seats by 6:50 p.m.
Only fans with valid ticket(s) for Sunday’s game will be admitted and there will be NO RE-ENTRY. Bleacher ticket holders who would like to visit Monument Park should enter the Stadium through Gate 2, 4 or 6.

Fans and media are also reminded that Sunday’s game will NOT be the final event at Yankee Stadium. A ceremony will be held at a later date this fall to celebrate the Stadium, details will follow.

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
1:00 p.m: Gates open to the public, Monument Park opens
1:00-4:00 p.m.: Field access for fans
4:15 p.m.: Yankees stretch begins
4:40-5:40 p.m.: Yankees batting practice
5:40-6:20 p.m.: Orioles batting practice
6:45 p.m.: Monument Park closes
6:50 p.m.: Fans are asked to take their seats
7:05 p.m.: Pre-game ceremony begins8:15 p.m. (Approx.): First pitch

Remembering Yankee Stadium: An Oral and Narrative History of "The House That Ruth Built"

admin — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 01:00:00 +0000

A Review By Phil Speranza

Well it was the book that took 86 years in the making but Harvey Frommer’s Remembering Yankee Stadium: An Oral and Narrative History of "The House That Ruth Built" has finally hit the shelves. While most of the Yankee Stadium tributes hit shelves in the spring, it was only fitting that RYS waited until now to become a Fall Classic. Yes Bomber Buddies it was well worth the wait. My initial reaction was that the official release had better photos than this fantastic release but after closer review RYS beats any Yankee Book out there hands down. You go deeper than the aerial view of a packed stadium or the cars lined up in the once vacant Bronx on Opening Day 1923. Every picture in this book triggers off a string of memories. You get up close and dirty with everything from Derek Jeter diving head first into the stands to the ground breaking at the new stadium himself. The 9-11 photos can make you tear up all over again. Mickey Mantle, his swing never looked so sweet.

Who better to write and compile a tribute to an icon such as Yankee Stadium than renowned baseball/Yankee author Harvey Frommer? Frommer makes great use of every Yankee and baseball player he either wrote about or met over his illustrious career. Who else can have a forward written by the Voice of Yankee Stadium, Bob Sheppard? If I have to explain who he is you are reading the wrong book, but Harvey explains who he is as well as his son Paul (Sheppard).
The body of the book like any good Yankee History book is the life of Yankee Stadium from 1923 through today. What makes RYS different is that the glue holding or bridging these stories together is made up of what Harvey Frommer refers to as the voices. The voices are players, celebrities, broadcasters, writers or fans just like you and me. He has documented the people’s memories and used them to personalize the history. By doing this it brought out memories in my mind that I haven’t thought about in years. As a matter a fact BehindtheBombers.com is proud to have four of us fans who had their voices heard (and sent forth). Sharing their Yankee memories from BTB were Dan “Knuckles” McCourt, Gary “Lefteroo” Lefkowitz, Sue Tucker and myself. It was an honor being interview for such a strong tribute to “the cathedral in Da Bronx”.

There is also a section what he calls Stadiumology, where he gives stats like all time Yankee attendance, Plaques in Monument Park and when they were dedicated, the all time Yankee Broadcasters, Stadium Firsts and much, much more.

This is all topped off by one of my favorite, yet minor sections of the book is where the author takes a number and associates it with a player or record or some sort of stat. For example he mentions the 1½ is for the number on the late opera singer Robert Merrill. Who version of the Star Spangled Banner was played at the stadium for as long as I can remember and often sung live by the singer/fan himself. Even for the number 28 which he associates to Thurman Munson’s rookie number.

This book was truly a labor of love, both on the parts of every fan or player he interviewed and especially of Mr. Frommer himself. Will there ever be another stadium that will demand the documentation that Yankee Stadium has gained respect for? Probably not, with Remembering Yankee Stadium on your bookshelf, Yankee Stadium will live on for decades to come. This book is so good I could have filled it with clichés. My Yankee Cap is tipped to Harvey Frommer who has outdone himself once again.

You can pick up Remembering Yankee Stadium: An Oral and Narrative History of "The House That Ruth Built" on Amazon.com

JUST WHEN YOU THOUGHT IT.....

admin — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 01:20:00 +0000

Can this team get an worse? Are you millionaires done teasing me? Are Robbie and Melky ever going to stop by for good? Gee Wiz as much as I wouldlove being at the last game at Yankee Stadium I really wouldn't mind it if you would make the playoffs.

You guys better start winning before Hank thinks it is a good idea to let Manny be Manny in Da Bronx next season. Imagine that...."The House That Manny Built!"

Can we find any other ways to lose. We sure have been creative. Aren't you just dying to know who the TBA on the mound ond Wednesday is? Ian Kennedy may have talked his way out of pinstripes the other night. You know what they say about excuses IPK, but you are just looking at yourself through rose color glasses.

Scotland’s Turnberry — the ultimate links experience

admin — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 01:20:00 +0000

Jul. 15, 2008
By David Brice, Golf International, Inc.

Arriving at the Turnberry Hotel and Golf Resort is an imposing experience that can only impress guests by the stately entrance required. Turning into the property from the main road, you must climb a long sweeping driveway, overlooked in rather pompous style by the handsome, Edwardian hotel sitting high atop the hill to your left.

(Read the full post about ‘Scotland’s Turnberry — the ultimate links experience’…)

Notes: Two-event week promises to be thrilling

admin — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 01:11:00 +0000

Jul. 15, 2008

• With his victory last week at the John Deere Classic, Kenny Perry became the oldest player (47 years, 11 months and 3 days) in TOUR history to win three events in the same season. Julius Boros won three times in 1967, twice after turning 47. His final win that year came at age 47-3-8.

Perry

• More on Perry: He has 12 career victories on the PGA TOUR — nine of them since turning 40.

• Long hitters have not enjoyed a lot of success in the 14 years the U.S. Bank Championship in Milwaukee has been played at Brown Deer Park. Only three of the 14 winners ranked among the Top 50 in Driving Distance in the season that they won while five of the winners ranked 161st or worse.

(Read the full post about ‘Notes: Two-event week promises to be thrilling’…)

British Open ‘09 heads for Scotland’s Turnberry; you should be there

admin — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 01:04:00 +0000

Jul. 15, 2008
By David Brice, Golf International, Inc.

If there is a single sporting event every golfer should attend at least once in their lifetime, it can only be The British Open, or to give the world’s oldest golf tournament its correct name, The Open Championship. This is the only one of the four Majors to be played outside of the USA and perhaps because of this, it has a special blend of pageantry, history and excitement that is totally unique. It’s a magic that can only be experienced in person - the other Majors don’t have it and even when The Open is held at one of the four English venues, although the magic is there, it’s muted and restrained.

The Ailsa Course is ranked No. (Read the full post about ‘British Open ‘09 heads for Scotland’s Turnberry; you should be there’…)

The Pelz Files: How to Win From the Sand

admin — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 00:54:00 +0000

You’re one up in your match on the 18th hole. Your approach shot found a greenside bunker, but your opponent has opened the door by dropping his approach in the water. All you need to do to win your match is to get out of the sand and into the hole in three shots. Your lie in the sand is good, the flag is tightly guarded (the green slopes down to the flag with water four steps behind the hole), and there’s plenty of green out to the right. Thirty people including your three best friends are watching the final hole of your championship match. Don’t blow it now!

(Read the full post about ‘The Pelz Files: How to Win From the Sand’…)

Wrist injury a concern for defending champion Padraig Harrington

admin — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 00:50:00 +0000

Tools Sponsored by

Southport, ENGLAND — Defending British Open champion Padraig Harrington is protecting an injured right wrist, which could force him to withdraw from the championship if it deteriorates during his practice rounds at Royal Birkdale.

He could only manage nine holes on Tuesday but was advised by his physical therapist, Dale Richards, not to hit any balls out of Birkdale’s springy rough. Harrington walked the back nine but only hit chips and putts.

“If it was any other week, I would have withdrawn on Sunday night,” Harrington said.

(Read the full post about ‘Wrist injury a concern for defending champion Padraig Harrington’…)

Look out, England, Boo Weekley is back for the 2008 British Open at Royal Birkdale

admin — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 00:40:00 +0000

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SOUTHPORT, England (AP) — Look out, Britain.

Boo’s back.

One year after charming the country with his folksy ways, Weekley returned for his second British Open and should have quite a following at Royal Birkdale this week.

Just be sure to keep an eye on his ball.

During a practice round Monday, Weekley yanked his tee shot at No. 8 onto a mound where several fans were standing left of the fairway. The ball whizzed over one man’s head - luckily, he ducked - and hit another guy in the back of the left leg on one bounce.

The man was OK, but Weekley looked very concerned when he walked up.

“Who’d I hit?” he asked.

This guy, everyone motioned.

(Read the full post about ‘Look out, England, Boo Weekley is back for the 2008 British Open at Royal Birkdale’…)

Olympic Blog: En Route to Beijing

admin — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 03:15:00 +0000

I was in Beijing three years ago and even with the city being a few years away from hosting the Olympic Games, there was a certain buzz about the place already.

Pulling out of the airport, there were trees laced with silver lighting, illuminating the airport expressway. Terracotta Warriors aside, my sister and I were coming off a horrid couple of days in Xian (I almost got bitten by a rogue horse in the Xian countryside), thus this simple decoration was a welcomed delight.

Fast-forward to 2008 and now being only one month away from the opening ceremony of the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, the Chinese capital is raring to go. I touched down a week ago and was immediately hit by the heat. The trees were not there anymore, adding to the many changes that have evolved.

We were ushered straight to the National Stadium, otherwise known as the Birds Nest. Its uniqueness is something most of us have not seen before and when coupled with the translucent Aquatics Centre, make for a brilliant photo.

Most cars are plastered with official stickers and once the alternate license scheme kicks in, we are told the pollution should let up slightly. Some of the volunteers have commenced work and their enthusiasm is unbridled.

The Chinese team was out at the Velodrome last week and we almost lost an arm from hanging over the railing when the cyclists flew by. I can imagine what the atmosphere will be like come August. The German team showed off the slalom circuit out at ShunYi. Based on the practice session, this event is sure to thrill.

For the tennis fans out there, the courts are purely awesome. From the two main stadiums to the practice courts, the players will have a great time pre-Flushing Meadows.

For the spectators, remember to bring a hat and sun block – you’ll be baking out there.

Tania Tchea is a tennis enthusiast and aspiring sports writer / presenter from Melbourne, Australia. She has experience working at the Commonwealth Games, FINA World Swimming Championships and other National Football Clubs, however her passion is tennis.

She has often been described as a Human Almanac of Tennis due to her strong knowledge of the game at a national and international level. Tania has previously worked for the Australian Open and Tennis Australia.

A word from Scooter:

admin — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 01:01:00 +0000

I think Scooter and I must be drinking from the same bowl of Kool-Aid. I agree 100% with his post game comment supplemented by my two cents in ( ):

The Scooter said...: Thoughts on the game:

First, the bad...

Melky is an absolutely horrible hitter. His defense does impress me, but his stock is dropping faster than the housing market in Vegas. (he sucks)

After watching Gardner for a few games, he looks totally over-matched at the plate. Let's hope all he needs is an adjustment period because I really like his speed and his arm. (I like the effort and attitude he shows as well)

Now the good.....

Ponson. What can you say...six strong innings today. That makes 2 out of 3 quality starts. I'll take that from my #5. Cashman gets props for taking the risk. (I think we are getting the performance that many GMs have always believed this guy could produce )

The Bullpen. Shaping up to be one of the best in the league. Yea I said it...a bullpen with Kyle Farnsworth in it among the best in the league...Pigs are flying. (no doubt, how else can you be 7 games over .500 averaging 2 runs a game?)

Abreu. Professional hitter. (the guy reminds me of Bernie, not the best, but above average in almost all facets of his game)

The CAPTAIN. Won last night's game by himself (ok, he got a little help from his buddy Andy), and scored BOTH runs in today's game. So to review, he is the biggest reason for the Yankees two most important wins of the year. The guy is MONEY! (well, I mean, OK)

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“overheard” at the wimbledon final

admin — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 00:50:00 +0000

I cracked up reading what the ladies at DISGRASIAN™ thought happened in Roger Federer’s player’s box during his 4-6, 4-6, 6-4, 7-9 loss to Rafael Nadal at this year’s Wimbledon final.

MIRKA: O-kay. Time to regroup.

GAVIN: Bummer. I can’t believe my boy lost.

GWEN: Dude. I thought Roger was supposed to be, like, hella good.

MIRKA: There’s always the U.S. Open. No need to panic. (beat) Fuck. I need a donut.

GAVIN: Hey, look! Messages on my BlackBerry! I wonder who called. This could be exciting.

GWEN: Oh shit, I feel a fart coming on.

(Read the rest here.)

Hiccups and Bad Announcing

admin — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 16:12:00 +0000

Apologies to anyone who tried to access the site earlier this morning. Our host was having some hiccups that caused us to go down for a little bit. I use Dreamhost to host BCB and overall, I’ve had pretty good results with them. They tend to have small patches of downtime which can be frustrating but I’ve been with them for over 2-years and the results seem to be agreeable.

Anyone out there reading, is the site accessible to you most of the time? Run into any problems? If so, I’d like to hear about it. Leave a comment or shoot me an email. Customer satisfaction, oh yeah.

The big story today in Giants Land is that Lincecum looked human last night, receiving his 2nd loss on the year. He’s now 10-2, or, a crap load better than Barry Zito. Lincecum struggled to get through 6 innings, giving up 4 runs and in the process he gave up two HR’s — a 3-run HR to Beltran and a solo HR to Delgado. His HR/FB% is still really low at 6.8% but he was due to give up a HR or two and that’s what happened last night.

The most concerning thing about Lincecum was that his velocity was lower than usual. BIS, courtesy of Fan Graphs, has Lincecum’s average fastball velocity at 94.2mph this year, but in last nights game, he threw a few fastballs between 91-92mph. The lowest velocity on a fastball of the night was a 90mph fastball that he threw in the bottom of the 5th inning to Mike Pelfrey.

Henry Schulman touched on the speed dip in the Chronicle wrap-up:

His velocity was down, too, from his normal 95 mph to 92. That matched the Mets’ Mike Pelfrey, who stifled the Giants on three singles through seven innings.

All of which raises the question of whether the accumulation of innings (1212/3) in Lincecum’s first full major-league season is having an effect. The Giants do not think so. They shuffled the rotation to get him two starts this week instead of one.

I’m not overly concerned with the velocity during last nights game. He was still touching 94-95 and did so more than once, but he was definitely up in the zone to start the game. Still, the influx of innings that Lincecum will be throwing this year will be something to keep an eye on. He’s on the cusp of the injury nexus for young pitchers and the Giants need him to get through this season healthy. Without a healthy Tim in the rotation, things start to look real ugly real fast.

The offense of course was putrid. The Giants were in their patented HACK MODE™ and helped a pitcher in Mike Pelfrey, who’s a decent starter but has struggled in his brief career, look like Tom Seaver. No dig against Pelfrey who’s been pitching decently of late, but the Giants looked exactly like the 14th team in the NL in runs scored.

Speaking of the offense, Bengie Molina has looked incredibly bad over the last month. His blazing May was the byproduct of a .360 BABIP that was nearly 80 points over his career BABIP numbers. In June Molina hit (.275/.287/.297) which is bad for a 7th placed hitter, downright terrible for a cleanup hitter. And in 24 brief AB’s this month, he’s had two knocks. Yet Bochy seems intent to keep Molina in the cleanup spot no matter how much he struggles. The alternatives for him are weak, but Rowand should be hitting higher than 5th.

I don’t even want to talk about Omar Vizquel and his 10 OPS+. His glacial bat-speed is so GAMER.

The real test of my will was having to listen to Ron Darling and Keith Hernandez. I know that baseball announcers are a touchy subject with some. I’ve had people tell me how much they hate the greats of Vin Scully or Harry Kalas and then spin around and tell me that they actually enjoy Joe Morgan or Tim McCarver. I get it, announcer preference is one of the personal things that you might not be able to convey to others. But Ron Darling and Keith Hernandez are terrible. Not since the early days of TBS Braves’ announcers had my mind been so thoroughly scrambled by dumb statements.

Statements such as:

~ Ron Darling and Keith Hernandez delving into everyone’s favorite topic, Barry Bonds! Darling droned on for a few minutes about how nobody would want Barry Bonds — and his stupid enormous OPS — because he’s immobile in the field! Barry is no longer a good fielder, but he’s played around replacement level over the last couple of years. It’s not pretty, but when you hit the way he does, it’s not going to kill you. This is coming a guy that’s had to watch Moises Alou patrol LF — when he not injured — for the last 1.5 years. Why need Barry when you have the mighty Endy Chavez?

~ Ron Darling telling me how awesome Mike Pelfrey was now that he’s (paraphrasing here) “Started relaxing, not over analyzing everything, and just pitching!” When announcers talk about stuff like this, it drives me up a wall. You know why? Because they-don’t-know. Maybe Pelfrey was pitching good because the Giants suck at hitting? Or maybe he was wearing a golden thong. Or started growing a mustache. Or ate a giant sandwich before the game. It’s pseudo-analytical babble that announcers like to spew out because it makes them sound like they know something. Bottom line, no matter how many times Keith Hernandez gushes over the new “Calm Pelfrey” it’s unquantifiable, undetectable, and unintelligible. File this under “Team Chemistry Matters!” for things you should ignore from announcers.

~ When the umps blew a call in the first inning — Fred Lewis ran out of the baseline to avoid a tag…wasn’t called out — I thought Hernandez might have a heart attack. “That’s EGREGIOUS!” he said. It was almost like hearing Ron Santo — who’s sorta lovable in a crazy Grandpa-type of way — but without any of the charm. Yes, the call sucked but it happens in baseball.

~ Yes, Mets announcers, Bengie Molina is our 4-hitter. And, yes, we suck at hitting. You could have gotten that out of the way in the first inning, but it was brought up like 18 different times in the game.

I used to catch Darling do Nats games on MASN when he worked with them but I don’t remember him being this annoying before. Keith Hernandez also isn’t a very good announcer, watching him try to explain the biomechanics of Lincecum from the SI article was terrible. Did you know he strides over 120%? Settle down, Keith. Also, his views on women are fascinating.

Comment Starter: Which announcers make you want to plug your ears? And if a Mets fan stumbles across this post, do you actually like Darling and Hernandez?