Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Bily Crystal signs with the Yankees
You heard it right, comedian Billy Crystal has signed a one-day contract with the Yankees to play Thursday against the Pirates in a spring training game.
Crystal will turn 60 this Friday and the Yankees, will wear #60. This once in a lifetime opportunity is a birthday gift from the franchise to the life long Yankees fan.
Commissioner Bud Selig has already approved the contract.
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Labels: 2008, Billy Crystal, spring training, Yankees
Posted by Steve Kenul at 10:02 PM
Thursday, March 01, 2007
Spring Training Opening Day
Spring Traning began two days ago, but the Yankees played their first game today against the Minnesota Twins at Legends Field.
Picking up where they left off last year, Johnny Damon and Jason Giambi both went deep and provided the primary offense that the Yankees would need in a 6-1 victory.
Chein-Ming Wang took the start and the win shutting down the Twins in two perfect innings and inducing five of the six hitters he faced into ground outs.
Pitching prospect Phillip Hughes nervously pitched his way through one and a third allowing two walks and a wild pitch and giving up the only run of the game.
His performance, although unimpressive, is not a basis of his career. There have been many pitchers with poor debuts and have become successful in their careers most notably Mariano Rivera. As a starter in 1995 and 1996, Rivera had a weak win-loss record and was moved to the set-up position for John Wetteland before finally landing his closer spot.
FINAL
Yankees 6 / Twins 1
WP: Chein-Ming Wang
LP: Carlos Silva
Due to the frequent day games and the lack of full game accounts, we are unable to present scorecards though out spring training.
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Labels: All-Star Game, Chein-Ming Wang, Minnesote Twins, Phillip Hughes, spring training, win, Yankees
Posted by Steve Kenul at 11:18 PM
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Pitchers, Catchers Report
At the time of this posting, New York City is expected to get hit with the first snow storm of the winter an temperatures drop in the 20s.
At the time of this posting, Tampa Bay has patches of drizzly rain and the temperature is in the high 60s.
Now don't you wish you tried a bit harder in high school to catch the scouts eyes?
Yankees (and Diamondbacks) pitchers and catcher reported to their respective training facilities. For the Yankees, it is Legends Field in Tampa Bay, Florida (ty fucktard anon comment).
Kei Igawa took center stage for this is his first major league spring training assignment, the Japan import was signed by the Yankees a few weeks after the Red Sox signed Dice-K (I can't spell his name, so deal with the shortcut).
Although Dice-K is statistically better than Igawa, they will have to pitch it out during the season and throw the rivalry in the Rookie of the Year just as A-Rod and Papi went head to head for the 2004 MVP.
Another name that has recently made headline is the future of Mariano Rivera. The 37-year old Panama native has not mentioned anything about a return for 2008, but has said that he would like to finish his career in pinstripes but will leave if he is not respected through his contract.
Other notables making their spring debut are Andy Pettitte and Carl Pavano who will have to do an American Idol-like audition for a spot in the rotation.
Derek Jeter, Jorge Posada, Miguel Cairo have also reported to camp early.
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Labels: Dice-K, Kei Igawa, Mariano Rivera, spring training, Yankees
Posted by Steve Kenul at 7:20 PM
Sunday, January 28, 2007
Heckler Spring Training: Part 1
What is baseball without heckling. I've heckled players at a game, othes have heckled players, and maybe you have heckled. Since spring training is getting close and the birth of the 2007 season, it's time we take a look back on trhe basics of heckling in this two-part series.
This week I present the 10 commandments of heckling, please keep in mind to obey these commandments, heckling is part of the game and shoud be fun. Umpires have been known to eject fans.
Commandment I - Thou shalt not use profanity
Remember this one thing, baseball is still a family sport. Fathers and sons, mom and dad, the whole family. Nobody wants to hear you spouting off a bunch of profanities.
Commandment II - Thou shalt not insult the mother
This should be obvious. What good would come from saying something about someone else's mother? Is that what we want? I don't think so. Leave mom out of it. We don't need any of this garbage at our games. We want people to appreciate what we do, not resent us for it.
Commandment III - Thou shalt be intelligent
Do I really need to explain this? Know what you are talking about. Remember, credibility lends respect to your task.
Commandment IV - Thou shalt love baseball
Is there any doubt about this? Who in this great country would disparage America's pasttime? If you don't love baseball, what are you doing here?
Commandment V - Thou shalt be aware of the people around you
This is a really touchy one. Even though some of the funniest stuff you may have may be about overweight guys or bald guys, the person next to you may not think it's terribly funny.
Commandment VI - Thou shalt be witty
Only one rule to remember here: if you are the only one laughing, it wasn't funny.
Commandment VII - Thou shalt not overkill 
Listen, if somebody does something funny in the first inning, you should not keep ragging on it in the fifth. The more you say something, the less effective it becomes. You must be aware that the same stuff gets really old after a couple of games - especially in a series against the same team. Unless something is really working on one or two guys, put it away for a couple or three games.
Commandment VIII - Thou shalt be friendly
The best way to make these guys listen to you and divert their attention from the task at hand is to be just as nice as you can be. When you look into the dugout, wave and say, "Hi guys!"
Commandment IX - Thou shalt not cross the line
That line is the line of brutality. Look, the players know that heckling is part of the game. Don't make it personal between you and the players. Remember, they have bats, you don't.
Commandment X - Thou shalt remember the childrenNo matter what you want to believe about role models, the children are watching and listening. They hear what you say and see what you do. Be aware of that when you sit in the stands. If you don't know whether you fit the bill, just ask yourself, would you want your best friend's kid sister or brother to sit next to you at the next ball game? Well, would you?
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Labels: baseball, heckle, spring training
Posted by Steve Kenul at 10:28 PM
Kokoyaku
