Off to the Big Apple

by Jaime R on Dec 23, 2005 11:09 AM EST in New York Yankees News

I'll be in the NYC for the holidays. I'll keep my ear to the ground for Yankee news while I'm there and blogging as much as I can. Merry Christmas, Happy Channukah, Happy Kwanzaa, and Festivus for the Rest of Us.

Do you think there'll be any Airing of Grievances in Boston this Festivus?

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The pole will be rubbed raw

Jaime, have a great "CHRIST" mas. As for me and mine, we will have a sort of hybrid XMAS mixing and matching traditional Christmas with traditional Festivus.

I have a number of friends in Boston who have already erected the pole, and are angrily airing their grievances as I write. The way I figure, losing Theo, Johnny B-Good, Renteria, Mueller they may be airing grievances long into the New Year.

Have a safe one. I will be traveling to Northern Jersey and NYC as well.

by 22Ronster on Dec 23, 2005 12:06 PM EST reply actions

Damon's haircut

Judging by today's photo in the NY Times, the salon where he went in Manhattan gave him a very stylish trim. Nothing to it. Maybe the reason he wore his hair long in Boston was because they don't have any decent hair places there!

Merry Christmas, etc. to all from out here in LA.

by Yankee Fanne on Dec 23, 2005 12:14 PM EST reply actions

Bitterness

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/051223

Normally I can't stand Bill Simmons, but he is actually coherant about this one.
I have a question about Roger leaving Boston. I was 11 in '96, so my memory is a bit foggy.
I've always had the impression he was let go as an ineffective pitcher ("twilight of his career" etc). But whenever I talk to a Red Sox fan, "Roger abandoned the Red Sox for big Canadian dollars and a shot at the Fall Classic."
Which is more acurate?

Have faith in the Yankees my son. Think of the great DiMaggio.

by jscape2000 on Dec 23, 2005 1:19 PM EST reply actions

Clemens

You're totally right about this. He left Boston because they didn't want him, thought he was in the twilight of his career, all of that. Ditto Boggs. And let's not forget A Rod. They tried to acquire him. He agreed to take a cut. They still couldn't come up with the money and now the fans boo him for being a traitor. As for Damon, Simmons said it in his column: the Red Sox didn't make it a priority to sign him so we did. End of story. They're just a bunch of whiners up in Beantown.

by Yankee Fanne on Dec 23, 2005 3:03 PM EST up reply actions

ARod

to be fair, it wasn't a matter of the Red Sox not coming up with the money for ARod. it was the players association that nixed that deal. but they still don't have any reason to be booing ARod -- like you say, they're just a bunch of whiners. :)

by lee on Dec 23, 2005 6:25 PM EST up reply actions

ARod

I'm not sure you're right about this, Lee. If memory serves, the Players Union did nix the deal but the Red Sox could have stepped up and bettered the deal and they didn't. We did.

by Yankee Fanne on Dec 24, 2005 12:17 AM EST up reply actions

You got it

If the Red Sox had found a way to pay A-rod 5 million more over the course of the contract, they'd have had him. That's the amount of deferal that the Union said was too much. Now I'm no math wizard, but the difference between 19 and 20 million dollars a year doesn't seem like much. But Boston hates him, like they hate Boggs, Clemens, even Nomar. It must be something about the city. New Yorker's have no patience; Bostonians have no grasp of reality.

Have faith in the Yankees my son. Think of the great DiMaggio.

by jscape2000 on Dec 24, 2005 12:27 AM EST up reply actions

Arod

i'm not so sure Boston ever had a chance to make a new offer. after the players union nixed the deal, the Rangers decided they were no longer interested in trading ARod and broke off negotiations. they made him "Captain" and for a short while everything was lovey-dovey, with ARod and Tom Hicks talking about how he was going to be a Ranger for the rest of his career. then out of the clear blue, the Yankees up and offer the Rangers a zillion dollars plus Soriano and boom -- the deal is done. from everything i read and heard, Boston got blind-sided. they had a deal that everyone agreed on, the players union nixed it, the Rangers then said they weren't interested anymore -- then the next thing they know, ARod is in a Yankees uniform. so i'm not sure Boston ever had a chance to up the ante, regardless of whether they were interested or not. they just got snookered by the Yankees. in fact, not a whole lot different from the way the Yankees snuck up on them with the Damon thing.

it's all actually pretty funny. :)

by lee on Dec 24, 2005 11:41 AM EST up reply actions

Actually

I do remember that part. And since the Yanks sent the cheap Soriano to Texas rather than a big contract like Manny, the Rangers actually gave the Yanks nearly 20 large. The upgrade from Soriano to A-rod that first year cost less than Robbie Cano made last year (and it is an upgrade).

Have faith in the Yankees my son. Think of the great DiMaggio.

by jscape2000 on Dec 24, 2005 5:52 PM EST up reply actions

Clemens and twilight time

Roger certainly didn't "abandon the Red Sox" -- they let him go after '96, allowing Toronto to sign him as a free agent. but to be fair, at that time Clemens wasn't exactly putting up lights out numbers. over his last four years he was 40-39, with an ERA of 3.77. the three years prior to that he had ERA's of 1.93, 2.62 and 2.41. so the assessment that he might be at the "twilight of his career" looked pretty accurate at that point in time. i don't think anyone back then foresaw him returning to his early 90's form ever, much less the very next year.

in fact, it's kinda ironic that you can say pretty much the same thing happened when he left the Yankees. his last couple of years here certainly weren't all that impressive, and once again it looked like "twilight" time for him. and i don't recall the Yankees making much of an effort to talk him out of retiring. but once again, a change of scenery did him wonders.

by lee on Dec 23, 2005 6:19 PM EST up reply actions

Clemens for hire ... I'd still take him.

I agree with you for the most part, but when you say Clemen's last couple of years with the Yankees weren't that impressive, I have to take exception. He posted 30 wins and 15 losses with an era somewhere in the 3.70 range.

To me that's not a guy in the twilight. In fact, if that's the criteria, 80% of all MLB pitchers are on the way out.

Let me just say for the record, that I am not a Clemens fan. I don't consider him a Yankee. But I cannot argue with his greatness. But what makes him great is more than wins, and k's.

Sure he has 341 wins, and an era a tick above 3.00, and a bazillion k's... That's wonderful. But the fact that for more than 20 years he's managed to stay in the top 10 percent of power pitchers in the game to me is simply amazing!

What other pitcher has maintained for that long?
I see no one... with the possible exception of Ryan, and frankly, Clemens is much better.

What about hitters that have accomplished a similar feat over the last 50 years ... Maybe Henry Aaron, maybe Pete Rose? Look at Don Mattingly--probably the greatest Yankees first-baseman since Lou Gehrig, he was great for what 5 seasons or so?

Clemens'greatest achievement in my opinion is the fact that he's been able to stay atop the elite level for two decades.

by 22Ronster on Dec 27, 2005 2:23 PM EST up reply actions

I'd take him too!

i'd still take him as well! and i pretty much agree with you about his achievements. in my book he's certainly one of the best pitchers the game has ever seen, arguably the best in his era.

but that wasn't my point. all i was saying was that he appeared to be going downhill over the last couple of years he was here. his ERA over the last two years was actually 4.11 -- compared to 3.60 the previous two years. but even then you're still right, compared to other pitchers that's damned good. but again, that wasn't my point. relative to the Rocket of old, he appeared to be past his prime. and even though his numbers were still good, watching him he seemed to struggle more and more. but he's the ultimate gamer, and even without his stuff of years past he still put up good numbers.

i don't remember anybody all that upset that he was retiring -- there weren't many people urging him to come back. and that was my point -- there wasn't all that much difference in the way Boston let him get away to Toronto compared to the way the Yankees let him get away to Houston.

by lee on Dec 27, 2005 5:57 PM EST up reply actions

Rocket Redux?

If I'm hearing you right, we completely agree ...
If there was a way, he'd be penciled in by Torre every fifth day. In fact, I'd let him stay in Houston on days we wasn't scheduled to pitch, too.
His 341 wins and 7 or 8 Cy Young Awards give him special favor.

Not a Yankee, but in your words, "arguably the best in his era."

by 22Ronster on Dec 27, 2005 7:58 PM EST up reply actions

special favors

<< I'd let him stay in Houston on days we wasn't scheduled to pitch >>

i suspect the Yankees would have to do that to sign him, as that's the "deal" he had with the Astros. i'd do that deal as well, but i wonder what effect that has on the rest of the team. i agree with you -- his record earns him that special treatment. but i just don't know how the other players would react. last year he was pretty close to the bottom of the league in run support, and i have to wonder if that was more than just coincidence. it's an interesting question, for sure.

by lee on Dec 27, 2005 10:24 PM EST up reply actions

No special treatment

Unless I'm hallucinating, I remember reading in the NY Times that if the Yankees were to make a bid for Clemens, they wouldn't allow him to stay in Houston when he wasn't pitching. Maybe it was Cashman's quote, but somebody in the organization said there would be no special treatment precisely because it would piss off other players. (Can you imagine Sheffield's reaction? He'd go ballistic.)

by Yankee Fanne on Dec 28, 2005 12:32 AM EST up reply actions

No Perks

Yankee policy is to never include special travel arrangements, hotel perks, or salary bonuses based on individual performance.
Bernie will make more for extra appearances over a certain threshold, as will Dotel, but ARod's $1 mil MVP bonus was paid by the Rangers (or the money the Rangers sent with A-rod, I'm not sure).

Have faith in the Yankees my son. Think of the great DiMaggio.

by jscape2000 on Dec 28, 2005 9:43 AM EST up reply actions

Special treatment for pinstripers

The Yankees do grant special favors ...
Don Mattingly was given his own hotel room back as a player--when that simply wasn't done. They have also granted special travel arrangements with wives ... But it doesn't matter.

I think Cashman did say he wouldn't allow Roger to stay in Houston. My point was more of a "what if". Believe me, I am not a Roger-guy, but if he can help the team I'd certainly consider it.

Because the Yankees are supremely business, I don't suspect there would be negative repercussions in the clubhouse if it were Roger.

by 22Ronster on Dec 28, 2005 10:14 AM EST up reply actions