On the Yankees beat

Interesting that nobody struck out for the Yanks even though it's the first game of the spring.

How do you think the kid who plunked Jeter felt? I bet his cup felt a little big after that.

kei gave up a grand slam??

ouch.

You can't get very excited about the Yankees victory over the USF Bulls but Igawa through a pitch that some college kid hit it far enough for a grand slam. I would think Igawa is embarrassed and feels like $hi$.

Guys I was at that game and the only down part of it was seeing Kei coming in from the pen. The future looks GREAT for the yanks!!! Every single pitcher xept Igawa completely dominated the Bulls, excuse me, the CALVS lol. Poor kids...didn't stand a chance up until kei came in. Jobe=perfection. Kennedy's control was a little shaky but was still great for 2 innings. Phil struck out 2 in his 1 inning and the sound of the pop from each pitcher sounded incredible, xept kennedy and Igawa. Especially Joba and Phil. It was great to see all the old timers and Girardi received a standing O from the crowd. Hank was 12 feet away from me!!! He was speaking to some guy I've never seen before but that was cool to see. I see great things coming up within 2-3yrs my friends. Absolutely excited! Btw, Juan Miranda is HUGE!!! Austin Jackson is tall and his arm is incredible.

New York Yankees and Kathleen O'Brien...perfect together.

I hope the sports department at Newsday hasn't been affected...big story in today's New York Post saying jobs are being cut at Newsday...

(www.nypost.com/php/pfriendly/print.php?url=http://www.nypost.com/seven/02292008/business/for_whom_zell_tolls_99852.htm)

Now back to sports...

Danny,
All newspapers seem to be making big cuts right now. My neighbor was just let go from USA Today after 16 years there as his whole dept. was eliminated.
I am not sure what is going on in the newspaper industry, maybe the internet is reducing the need for printed papers?

Dave: Thanks for the info. Good stuff indeed!

What in the world are we gonna do with Igawa? Trade him or send him to the minord again?

Jeff,
Yes, both of those are options. In my opinion, the Yankees are hoping Igawa has at least two good spring outings in a row so they can say he "fixed his delivery mechanics" and then trade him off as quick as they can. I would think that teams short on pitching like the Cardinals and Astros would have some interest in this dirtbag.
If you leave the posting fee out of the equation, the contract will not scare teams away from acquiring him, but the fact that he can't get the ball over the plate is a wee bit of a problem.

He does have minors options left but at his age, I just don't think he's getting any better.

I'm not sure iif it was because the Bulls were being shut down for the most part, but when that grand slam was hit against Igawa, all of legends field was on it's feet cheering. Maybe its because those were "kids" against the yanks, but I believe at least half of the crowd cheered because Igawa deserved it. At least that's why I was cheering. Imagine the feeling that guy must have to have his own "fans" cheer for the other team...man...oh well the guy simply stinks. Thanks to Yogi for waving!!!

Oops, I meant Steinbrenner field up there. Another note guys, I know Kat has been telling us all about the kind of shape these guys are in, but to see it in person is different. Bruney does not look like the Bruney of last year. Maybe it's his hair? But he does look skinnier, as does almost everyone. Was very surprised. I'm telling you guys, Girardi is gonna be great. The way he was studying the pitchers in the 'pen before the game nealing down, all by himself...focused. I really loved seeing that because he really looks prepared. Ok ok I'l stop now, to all a great night, and here's to the future!!!

Is the Newsday website down? Anybody else having trouble getting on it?

The site is being upgraded, just saw the note on the home page.
Any chance they're going to fix the blog code problem?

If Roger Clemens is proven to have lied under oath during February's congressional hearings, should he go to jail?

Yes. You do the crime, you do the time (135 responses)

73.0%

I guess so, but I think this whole thing is a hokey witch hunt (12 responses)

6.5%

It depends on what he may have lied about (9 responses)

4.9%

No. This whole thing is a publicity stunt. They should focus on more important things (29 responses)

15.7%

185 total responses

Hey guys, here’s a bit of encouragement for you! Sandy Koufax was so bad early in his career that the Dodgers kept him isolated on a field in the Dodger complex.

Just like Kei, he couldn’t get the ball over the plate.

For a further analogy, Koufax was a southpaw, too!

Can’t any of us see the connection?!

Just keep Kei away from other baseball players for a year or two of isolated workouts (maybe hire Sandy to coach him) and Viola! We have a newly minted ACE!

O.K., it was fun to dream, but back to reality. Kei was a terrible signing. Was it an idiotic signing? Not if you’re going to trust your scouts and what is the point of having scouts if you’re not going to trust them? And not just Yankees scouts, many other team’s scouts felt the same way. The Yankees weren’t the only team to bid on him. It was a risk and risks sometimes prove to be failures, but it was a low level risk that cost relatively few dollars compared to other solutions.

From a personal point of view, I liked Lilly. He came up through the Yankee system, didn’t he? But he was a five inning pitcher (last thing the Yankee bullpen needs) with a .500 winning percentage and a relatively high ERA in an easier division. And, as I recall, there was just nothing else out there.

Let’s go with what I call the DRU/Viper solution and back the kids. Believe me, I don’t think anyone should look at the coming season with rose colored glasses, but we can certainly look at this year as very possibly laying the foundation for another long term run at division championships in the very near future. We need patience, for sure. We’ve been spoiled for far too long. OK, maybe that’s just me, because I go back to the early fifties and like a few others here, I’ve been through a couple of long periods when the Yanks were not competitive. But we’re really lucky. We’ve got owners dedicated to winning, a great bunch of veteran stars (ARod, Jeter, Posada, Mo etc.), a bunch of emerging stars (Cano, Melky, Ajax, Tabata , the three Kiddie Korps pitchers – Joba, IPK and Phil) and a BUNCH of others on the way, a great new manager and the greatest fans in the world, with the likes of the folks on this Blog.

Well,

It seems that Hank shares the kool-aid that is currently being swilled in some Yankee quarters. Real classy remarks. I love to hear how the Yankee organization is "world class", and sets the standard for other organizations, and then have Hank "back that up" with such arrogance. Perhaps Hank needs to recognize that while he may be surrounded by pinstripes, there is a whole world out there,....one that includes alot of Sox fans. In fact Red Sox Nation lead ALL MLB teams last season in "road attendance", and my guess is they will again this season. Let me be specific here....I am not saying that the Yankees have fallen into the mire...not in the least, but they will have to concede the Sox are, at this point in time, "America's Team".

Of course none of this has nothing to do with anything really...but it is "fuel for the fire" that will keep the marketing guru's ecstatic and the media humming.

As always, it will all be settled on the field of play. To the winners go the sweet fruit of adulation, while the loser gets a large supply of sour grapes.

Hey Cas,

That's why your road attendance figures has a serious flaw.

The lone reason the Red Sox led in road attendance is because they played their road games against the Yanks at the Stadium (56,000+) while the Yanks played their road games against RSN at Fenway (38,000+).

Since both yards would be packed regardless of it's capacity in a NYY/BOS series, the Red Sox greatly benefited from having a smaller ballpark by roughly (18,000+) fans per game.

That was the only reason the Red Sox led in road attendance.

Oh please viper....is that best you can do?

Suffice to say, the reason "the rivalry" is the biggest in sports is because the two teams are the most well known and followed. RSN is as large as the Yankee Empire. Period. Right now the Sox are on an upswing and enjoy more popularity than any other team....suffice to say again, we fans are fickle...well not us...but most fans are fickle and that is subject to change if the Sox fall out of contention.

Am I the only one who thinks Hank Steinbrenner is a buffoon who only talks to see himself in the papers?

Yeah, Hank, the Yankees are the only team in the majors that count and matter, you happy now? Must be some inferiority complex or something.

Is that the best I can do?

RSN benefited from having the smaller yard. It's that simple.

You don't think the attendance figures add up when Red Sox road games at the Stadium average 56,000+ per game and the Yanks road games at Fenway are in the neighborhood of 36,000+ per game?

Multiply 20K by 8 or 9 games and you've got a disparity of roughly 160K - 180K over the course of a season.

Um, that's a lot.

It's the same reason the Red Sox were only 11th in MLB last season in home attendance even though they are selling standing room only tickets every night. Their yard is by far the smallest in the sport.

ESPN has all the attendance figures here:

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/attendance?sort=away_pct&year=2007&seasonType=2

That really has nothing to do with the number of Sox fans nationwide, or world wide as compared to the Yankees. Further it has little to do with the raw number of Sox fans who attend games the Sox play in other stadiums. I dont think that Fenway "skewers" the numbers to any degree in terms of total number of fans. Sox games on tv are watched by millions naotionwide...and now worldwide...broadband has increased those numbers even more. NESN has become somewhat of a "superstation". Again, Fenway has little to do with it.

for example viper....

My dad lives about 30 miles east of Tampa....TAMPA...home of those lovable rascals the mouthpieces...errrr Stienbrenners...and NESN is offered,, by the local cable company, but YES is not.

It has everything to do with it because your original argument was that the Red Sox led the league in road attendance.

How does Fenway not get figured into that claim when the Yanks have to play 8 or 9 road games there in front of 36K fans as opposed to 56K fans when the Red Sox play at the Stadium?

That would be like me making the argument that Yankee fans are much more rabid about their team than the Red Sox fans because they draw an average of nearly 20K more fans per game at home.

The size of each yard has to be considered.

was at the Yankee Srping Training game yesterday I was in my glory to be up close to the Yankees. The one thing that did bother me was after the game I walked over to the long line of kids standing and waiting for autographs and to be disheartened once again. Security guard told me its all about the money and he proceeded to ask the kids and I to move. I of course was upset and told him, no this is what matters here look at these kids baseball to them is the players and idolizing them. I asked Tony Pena for an autograph he waved his hand to me and a no too tired. I did receive an autograph from a minor leaguer and he not only signed my jersey he signed the kids ball next to me in which I handed it to him. I would love to see more of the spring training games but i wonder why should i spend my money if the baseball franchise does not care about these little one getting a signature for them its gold. i know the two i got yesterday i am still smiling and i am 44 years old. Come on players sign for these little guys. Can we just once stop and forget the money. Can you remember when you where a kid and wanted that autograph. Thanks,Deb

My original "argument" was how ludicrous and arrogant Hank Steinbrenners statements were regarding RSN. Further, RSN (as well as the Yankee Empire) extends far beyond Fenway or the Bronx.

I think there is little doubt about either team's popularity with "fans" all over this nation and the world. It is common-place to see as many, if not more Sox fans in Oakland, for example, as there are A's fans...etc.

We both know that Camden Yards pulls in as many Sox and Yanks fans as it does O's fans...etc.

The "argument" is not about Fenway and its capacity...it is about which team is the most popular right now...and I stand behind my words...it clearly is the Sox.

If you discount the fans who have become "Red Sox Nation" members in the past 3 or 4 years, you'd be fighting with the Mariners and DBacks for attendance numbers.

Sully acknowledged this as well and believe me I have seen a marked increase in Red Sox hats over the past 3 years or so and once in a while I'll actually strike up a conversation w/ one of these "fans" and they don't know the first thing about baseball. All they can know is the Sox finally won the series, as if they had been waiting their whole lives for it like people such as Casual and Sully have.

I hate the bandwagon jumpers.

Jim A.,

Your argument is like vipers...skewered to fit your "side".

Please guys...I am not attacking the Yankees...you both must agree that Hank's comments were idiotic.

I agree as far as "bandwagoners" Jim...and the Yankee fanship has as many of them as ANY team EVER!....and you know it. It is the price of winning....ie..the Pats....

If you read my entire post...it goes on to say...this really has nothing to do with anything...really, it is meaningless to us "true" fans...we dont change our colors in spite of the teams current situation. Jeeze...only a true Sox fan could say that....I mean, c'mon....do I need to go over the number of years that the Sox came up "just short"?

is a life-long Cubs fan "more" of a fan than any other fan?

I was born in 1956, and have been a Sox fan ever since I can remember.....I didnt become a Sox fan because of their "winning ways" now did I. For most of us, it is not about the winning, although we are damn grateful when our team does...no, it is because it is "tradition" within our family...generational, and geographical typically, but not always. Sometimes it is because when we become interested in the game, some of us decide to become fans of the team that last won the WS or the team that we see in the media the most...which typically is either the Yankees or the Sox.

I wasn't jumping on anyone's side, I was just pointing out the marked increase in Sox fans since they started winning, that's it.

The Yankees have gained a lot more fans since they started winning again in '95, I've seen that too. All these Rappers that run around with their NY hats on crooked don't strike me as guys who have followed the Yanks their whole lives.

Hank didn't do anything Larry Luchinno hasn't done, but I wish he'd stop it.

Heh....

NOW..that would make quite a team eh..

Lucchino and Hank.