 Thursday, May 31, 2007
No Run Support for #296
Tom Glavine's 296th win is proving to be harder than ever. First he had to face John Smoltz and the Braves where the Mets gave him 1 run. Then last night Barry Zito shut down the Mets for the first time this season. So in his last two starts, Glavine gave up 5 earned runs in 14 innings but is 0-2.
That is how baseball works. No one said #300 would be easy. Maybe it is better this way since at this pace the 300th win can be at Shea. On September 11th the Mets play the Braves at Shea. What a great date for the Mets to clinch the division with Glavine throwing a perfect game for win #300. I'm ordering my tickets now.
Posted by Steve in New York.
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Coping With The Yankee Emergency
At almost a third of the way through the season, the Yankees are definitely in a emergency.
Fans, players, the manager, the general manager, and ownership are not happy with the situation. The "performance enhancement" coach was already fired after a rash of injuries. Who is next? Is it manager Joe Torre or the general manager Brian Cashman?
It's hard to tell because of conflicting signals. Joe Torre was booed after Sunday's loss and Mr. Steinbrenner is always attentive to the needs of the fans. Joe held a one hour closed meeting before Monday's game in Toronto which didn't yield positive results in a 7-2 loss.
Mr. Steinbrenner has Brian Cashman on a even shorter leash. I think Cashman has done a good job rebuilding the pitching staff with young and home grown talent like Philip Hughes, Ching-Ming Wang, Darrell Karstens. Granted, Hughes was injured on a weak hamstring possibly caused by stretches from the "Performance Enhancement" Coach who is now gone. Karstens is injured because of a freak liner up the middle from Endy Chavez that I witnessed firsthand at Shea Stadium on Saturday, May 19. However, the young pitchers are a season or too from coming into their own. With Mr. Steinbrenner's health, he doesn't want to wait another year or two to rebuild.
As for Steve's suggestion of getting Yankee payroll down to $70 to 80 million. It's unrealistic because of salaries like Jeter's, A-Rod's, etc. A more realistic number is about $140 to 150 million, still ahead of the Mets $116 and the Red Sox $125 million, respectively.
Since Jason Giambi can't keep his mouth shut, he maybe traded soon or his contract voided at the end of the season so there is $20 million in savings right there. A-Rod maybe reunited with Lou Pinella next season so there is $27 million more saved. Matsui isn't paid as much as the others but there is some savings there too.
Many have suggested "blowing up" the team and starting over. I disagree. I think it can be done surgically. Trade what you can (A-Rod), void contracts where you can (Pavano and Giambi), and let expiring contracts go unsigned (Matsui).
Preserving the young (Cano, Cabrera) and experienced (Jeter, Posada) core is enough talent to contend. Granted, this year is getting late quickly. Other young prospects like Sanchez acquired for an unhappy Gary Sheffield should bear fruit in a year or two.
ESPN 1050's Jim Leyritz made a good Tuesday about the Yankees playing in Chicago. After the first loss of the split game doubleheader, the Yankees were playing dominoes and joking. I remembered back a few years ago to Paul O'Neil. He would have broken the dominoes board and thrown dominoes like missiles. If Lou Pinella were the manager, he would have broken even more stuff and maybe even burned the opposing stadium down. OK, a slight exaggeration on the latter but the players would have gotten the message. I hate to say it but it is time for Joe to go. (I would prefer at the end of the season.). He is a lame duck manager as his contract is not renewed anyway. The question is do you bring Don Mattingly, Joe Girardi, or someone else in mid season. The Yankees better improve quickly or Mr. Steinbrenner will be back to his old firing ways soon.
Posted by a panicked Tank in NY.
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Yankees Problems Continue
Yankee owner George Steinbrenner went on a rampage last weekend about how the team is not winning, nor how the GM Brian Cashman seems to have a solution to the problem. The problem got worse with the Yankees dropping four in a row this weekend.
In the past Steinbrenner would micro-manage baseball decisions. A few years ago, Steinbrenner gave freedom to Cashman and has yet to see any results. Just because Cashman has not produced a World Series in the last few years, the Yankees have been in the post season for as long as I can remember.
The problem with Cashman is his buying talent. It started with Jason Giambi in 2002 and A-Rod in 2004. If you look at the Yankees success in the late 90s, most of it was with home grown talent. Bring back Roger Clemens for over $1 million a start is not the answer either. (Watch for a future post on how the Yankees should be mad at Clemens for holding them hostage.)
As I advocated with the Mets in 2002 (after mistakes like Mo Vaughn) it is time to accept that the Yankees are not as competitive as they can be and accept a few rebuilding years-two maximum. Shed some salary and build some home grown talent. When I talk to Yankees fans, their concern is not winning games, but having a 200 million salary and not winning games. Bring that down to 75 or 80 million, trade away some of the rock stars for minor leaguers and you will still be competitive in 2008 and 2009, but are really gearing for 2010 and beyond.
The Yankees are old. In 2009 when the new stadiums in New York open, Jose Reyes and David Wright will still be in their 20s when Jeter and A-Rod and company will be closer to 40 than 30. The Mets rebuilt from 2003-2004 and 2005 and 2006 were exciting years. Let’s hope the Yankees can do the same.
Monday, May 28, 2007
Memorial Day
Memorial Day marks the beginning of summer with barbecues, trips to the beach, and an extra day off to enjoy other leisure activities.
Memorial Day is much more than that. Freedom isn't free; it is made possible by the blood of others who came before us.
Please take a moment today to remember the fallen in your thoughts and prayers. Thank you very much and God bless us all.
Sincerely,
The Tank
Sunday, May 27, 2007
David Wright Is Ca$hing In
I blogged last Saturday that David Wright was dialed in with two home runs plus two intentional walks against the Yankees at Shea. I read in yesterday's (Saturday's) NY Post that David's 0.5 percent stake in Glaceau is now worth about 20 million dollars after Coca Cola bought out the Whitestone, Queens, based company for $4.1 Billion. David has believed in Glaceau's Vitamin Water since he was in the minors. There is a lesson for other young stars out there like Lastings Milledge. Take care of your business on and off the field and there will be plenty of money in salary and endorsements. Play hard, don't objectify women, and good things will come to you. As for Lastings' time on the Mets, it maybe too late as he is persona non grata with Willie Randolph and his teammates but he can learn before he starts with his new team. As David is Steve's favorite Met, I entered him in a Vitamin Water contest to meet David last year but he unfortunately did not win. Let's hope Steve's luck is better the next time the contest takes place. Congratulations again to David for his on and off the field success! Posted by the Tank in NY.
Saturday, May 26, 2007
Cycling needs to clean up its act!
The 1996 Tour de France winner, Danish cyclist Bjarne Riis, finally admitted Friday he used performance-enhancing drugs during the 1996 tour. (True fans always knew this to be true.) The second and third place finishers in 1996 were also dogged by drug allegations. The uber cyclist and Armstrong arch rival Jan Ullrich of Germany was second and Frenchman Richard Virenque was third. Ullrich retired in February after being implicated in Operation Puerto, the Spanish investigation into an alleged blood doping ring. Last month, German authorities matched Ullrich’s DNA sample to blood bags seized in Spain. So who should the 1996 title go to, the 4th place guy? He was probably doping too.
Lance Armstrong has always faced allegations and last year Floyd Landis failed a drug test after his victory, his innocence or guilt not yet determined.
You think Professional Baseball has issues, Professional Cycling has a major problem. If Cycling does not clean up its act, it will lose all its fans. I think that there has to be independent oversight since so many people seem to have been getting away with doping. The International Cycling Union seems to have been asleep at the wheel.
Posted by a raging mad Steve in New York.
Friday, May 25, 2007
Medford Bob's Dinner at Whitey's
I was up in Ocean Park, Florida, near Jacksonville visiting my friend Robert and his family and they suggested we have dinner at a place called “Whiteys Fish Camp, Restaurant and Campground”. Seeing as I had no clue where I was, I figured what the hell. We drove down 17 south and there it was on the right located next to a creek. Now Whitey is not a social commentary on who is welcome here but the nickname of the guy who founded this place back in 1961 (of course we all remember 1961 as the turning point in race relations in the South. ). Seems he was a retired Navy guy who started this place with “a bait shack and nine bar stools”. Even then, before GPS’s, this had to be a point of interest, a vacation destination, somewhere you just had to go. Anyway, we pull into the parking lot and on the left is the restaurant next to the creek, on the right is a row of motor homes (why do my friends think I’m enthralled with restaurants with RV’s next door?) and in the middle of the parking lot, in what could only be called a large shack, was a hair salon. Two chairs. It reminded me of my uncle Carl and his wife Mabel.
Carl and Mabel owned a house in South Boston next to the Andrew Station subway line. About, oh, twenty five years ago, the transit authority thought they would expand the station. Even though it was available, they didn’t use eminent domain to grab the land on the houses next to the station and instead offered what they thought was a fair market price for the homes on the street. Now calling this a street is extremely generous. It was more like an alley with a bunch of rundown buildings and a host of garbage cans. Anyway, everyone on the street was extremely pleased with the offer of real cash for this small shanty town, everyone, that is except Carl and Mabel. Maybe it was bad advice, maybe it was greed, maybe they thought this was their one shot at the brass ring I don’t know. But while all their neighbors jumped at this more than generous offer, Carl and Mabel held out. The transit authority offered more. They held out more. They were threatened with legal action. Their legal aid lawyer started a delaying tactic. Eminent domain was raised. My uncle knew someone in the state house. And so it dragged on, much to the chagrin of the MTA who had a construction deadline. Finally, they were given what they were told was the final offer, that there would be no more negotiating, that they had the opportunity to get twice what their neighbors got. So what did Carl and Mabel do? They turned it down. And what did the transit authority do? They expanded the train station, around Carl and Mabel’s house. Where before you could glimpse their house from the front of the alley, now all you saw was a walkway and a break in the cement wall which made no sense unless you went to investigate what was there. But, I digress.
The first thing you notice about the place when you walk in is the stuffed fish. Lots and Lots of stuffed fish, on the walls, from the ceiling, even in the rest room. Now I have always found stuffed game fish to be a little strange. If you’ve ever seen a fish in the water they don’t look like this. Maybe it’s the shellac job that makes all the colors pop out and helps preserve the thing but I don’t know, it just looks like they picked them up in the decorating fish department at Sears.
We walked to the host/greeter/seater station to be presented with a sign that told us to seat ourselves anywhere. Now, there were choices. Do we go to extremely large bar area where later that evening the poker games would begin, the screened in porch that had a hole cut in the roof to let the tree that was growing in the middle go through (I guess Florida bugs are so stupid that they can’t figure out that there’s a huge entrance for them if they would only fly up a little. One thing I do know. They have a death wish on a massive scale. Every windshield has hundreds, nay, THOUSANDS of dead bugs that just crash into it and then somehow embed themselves so that ordinary windshield washer has no effect. I’m still looking for the little suicide notes as to why they did it), or the air conditioned dining room with the really good pastel colors of all kinds with the fake palm trees and the Christmas decorations. It was a no brainer. I mean, who doesn’t love Christmas?
We choose a booth and are immediately approached by twin waitresses in black t-shirts (whom we immediately name Mumbles and Ha Ha. Do the math) who want to know what we want to drink and did we want to see a menu. Steady now. We order iced tea which comes in the bucket size germane to the South and is accompanied by the menu which gives the history of the place which I have already touched on, the only other thing worth mentioning is that Whitey slowly expanded the place over the years to it’s present size, (except for the beauty parlor) and that the restaurant, inadequate to handle the business that was starting to grow exponentially to the expansion, miraculously burned down in 2002 and was replaced by this behemoth less than five months later. (I assume the renovation plans were already in place and that this was God’s way of helping the Whitester).
We look at the menu and I choose gulf shrimp and crab cakes with a remoulade sauce with rice pilaf and a fresh vegetable medley, which turns out to be amazingly good. (Fish camp kitchen’s got chops!). In the middle of this we are approached by a very large person in an orange tank top (the state color) who informs us that she is really our waitress, that the twins, Mumbles and Ha Ha are really just trainees, and that we may see any of them at any time. And so it begins.
Our food arrives at the table (brought by a gentleman who asks “Which of you dudes has the fish cakes.”) and as we are admiring the presentation, Mumbles stops by to see how everything is. And then Ha Ha. And then tank top. And then Mumbles again, and then, well, you get the idea. I usually have a low tolerance for this because after you’ve said it’s ok, how many times does the dish suddenly go bad? (“The food was really good when you brought it but I just realized it’s awful now.”) But after awhile it started to be fun. We were doing an over and under on the time between visits and who would appear. I had Jimmy Buffet playing in my head while we waited (“Wasted away again in Margaretville.” “How’s your food? Cha Cha Cha, one two.). We finish dinner, Mumbles clears the plates and Ha Ha drops the check, at which point I ask if there’s anything else they’d like to say. They stand there for a minute and I say “anything for dessert”? Ha doesn’t miss a beat and recites, “Chocolate cake, cheese cake, key lime pie and Yummy cake.” I’m intrigued. “What’s Yummy cake?” “It’s like wedding cake” “That’s it?” She reaches in her apron and takes out a take out menu and starts to read, sotto voice, “white cake with a hint of amaretto, buttercream and strawberry filling..” at which point I ask for the menu so I can read this. What I really wanted to know is if this was some leftover from a banquet gone bad. I mean, who’s ever been to a wedding where there is cake leftover? Sure enough, this is a menu item. Tank top now comes flying over to find out why I’m reading a takeout menu. “They said you guys were finished and they were dropping the check” “We wanted to see what the dessert menu was” so she recites the same thing as the others but with a description borne from experience. I asked if they made them there and she said no, that they have a woman who makes them for them from her home. We order the key lime and coffee. But I can’t get the Yummy out of my mind. I mean, to get wedding cake you usually you have to dress up, buy a gift, and commit to at least a half of day of your time. What an opportunity. I call tank top over and ask for some Yummy to go. If nothing else I figure it will be the cheapest wedding cake I’ve ever had. And it was really good!
I gotta say the whole experience at Whiteys was really great, from the food, to the atmosphere, to our tag team of servers. I would definitely go there again and if you’re near Orange Park, Florida, stop on by and ask for Mumbles or Ha Ha. But try to go soon before they figure out how to run up a check.
Written by Medford Bob in Florida and posted by the Tank in NY.
Carl Pavano
In violation of yogic principles and thinking positive thoughts, I was unfortunately compelled by Yankee radio broadcasters John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman Wednesday night to think about Carl Pavano for the first time in a month. Pavano had four medical experts review his arm and all agreed that he needs Tommy John surgery. This will keep him out for the next a year and a half through the end of his four year contract.
Therefore, in Pavano's four year Yankee "career" which will end after his contract ends in 2008, he will have been paid $8 million for each of his five wins or $40 million total.
Say what you will about Roger Clemens but he at least isn't driving around Florida getting into accidents with his supermodel girlfriend and then trying to cover it up. If you want to be angry, be angry at Pavano.
For the sake of the Yankees, let's hope insurance covers his salary. Let's hope I can get his ex-girlfriend's phone number. 
Posted by a hopeful Tank in NY.
Thursday, May 24, 2007
Two Out of Three Ain't Bad
To quote the immortal rock singer Meatloaf, the above song reference in the subject line summed up the Yankees finally winning a series and beating the arch-rival Red Sox, thank God.
The Yankees are within 9.5 games of the Red Sox. It is a wide margin and this is home to come back. The Yankees are 21-24 and there are 117 games left in the regular season. If the Yankees win two out of three games in each series, that equals 78 victories. 78 victories plus the current 21 victories equals 99 and should win the AL East or at least garner the Wild Card.
In the meantime, I think the following will happen:
(1) The Angels will win the AL West. I need the As, Mariners, and Rangers to beat up on each other and keep each other out of playoff contention.
(2) The Indians or Tigers will win the AL Central. I need the other team (probably the Indians) to start losing immediately. I am rooting for the Royals to beat them tomorrow night.
Winning two out of three is a large task but if the bats continue to heat up and the pitching (Pettitte, Mussina, Wang, Clemens, and rookie starter du jour) is healthy, God Willing, two out of three is very doable. Keep the faith!
Posted by a cautiously optimistic Tank in NY.
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