When I agreed to join the Pinstripe Alley team, it was suggested I write a post introducing myself to the readership. This struck me as unnecessary at first — my assumption being most readers would rather know Larry Rothschild's brunch plans than learn anything about me.
But then I thought about the site and how I enjoy the community feeling that has developed. With that Jersey Shore Sunday-night-dinner-vibe in mind, here's a quick list that includes bio information, opinions, and a few outright falsehoods.
1. My name is Dan Hanzus.
2. I'm a 30-year-old New York native working in Los Angeles.
3. For the past four seasons, I've been running my own Yankee blog, River & Sunset.
4. I'm a Donnie Baseball disciple, which helps explain why I've portrayed him three times on Halloween.
5. Connect the dots if you must, but I don't think Tino Martinez deserved a Yankeeography.
6. I want Mariano Rivera to officiate my wedding.
7. Kim Jones is underrated.
Random aside #1: I think Jim Abbott's greatest accomplishment in life was his 1994 guest spot on Boy Meets World. I met BMW star Ben Savage at a bar in L.A. a few years back, and he had no recollection of Abbott's appearance on the show. I found this odd considering Abbott was (probably) the only no-hitter-tossing one-handed pitcher to ever share a soundstage with Rider Strong.
8. I think Hank Steinbrenner is a threat ... to everything.
9. I saw a bloated Dwight Gooden signing autographs outside Stan The Man's last opening day and my first thought was, "Cocaine's a helluva drug."
10. I own progressive jazz albums by both Steven Seagal and Bernie Williams.
11. I would love to go out drinking with Nick Swisher one night, even if it meant going to a Creed reunion concert or some other Swishalicious-type event.
11. I'd literally kill myself before paying $35 to park at the new Stadium.
13. I think the bowling alley bar is secretly the best pregame spot on River Avenue.
14. The 1997 made-for-TV biopic, Joe Torre: Curveballs Along The Way is so funny it makes Anchorman look like Schindler's List.
15. Ken Singleton is overrated.
Random aside #2: I'm as bummed as you are about the troubling start to Derek Jeter's season. It's kind of like watching the latest season of The Office -- you're upset it's not good anymore, but what really hurts is the memory of how good it used to be.
16. Mark Teixeira is a T-800 Terminator model made from metal and other composite parts. I cannot be convinced otherwise.
17. I think Andy Pettitte is staring at a never-ending "honey-do" list right now and wondering what the hell he was thinking.
18. I have a recurring dream where Derek Jeter and I get a condo together on the Hoboken waterfront and do extremely well with women. In this same dream, A-Rod pops over every so often and rooster blocks the bejeezus out of us.
19. I think Brian Cashman's public hand-washing of the Rafael Soriano signing while at the Rafael Soriano signing press conference will go down as his most gangster move ever.
20. Michael Kay is properly rated.
Thanks for having me aboard PA, and I look forward to a successful partnership together. Follow me on Twitter @danhanzus !
-DH