Old Timers' Day never gets old

Some people might find the pomp and circumstance of Old Timers’ Day at Yankee Stadium annoying. I am not one of those people.

Despite the already sweltering heat at 11am, I arrived bright and early for Sunday’s Old Timers’ Day festivities because it’s one of my favorite days of the baseball season, one I look forward to every year. I take pictures of every single former New York Yankees player introduced and cheer wildly for all my old favorites, including Tino Martinez and Bernie Williams, who got the loudest ovations. I was kind of hoping Tino would hit one out again this year, but it didn’t happen. Maybe because he wasn’t facing David Cone, who grooved him a pitch in last year’s game and has no problem taking partial credit for that homer. 

The Clippers beat up on the Bombers to a 6-2 score, but it was all in good fun. The game was close heading into the last inning, but Sterling Hitchcock got slapped around a little bit and this being an Old Timers’ Day, there was no relief in sight. Some of my favorite moments: Mick the Quick still hustling, with Rivers nearly beating out a grounder to short to start the game, Tino’s infield popup that nobody bothered to try to catch, Homer Bush, ever the good sport, donning the catcher’s gear and bumping into the home-plate umpire in futile pursuit of a foul ball. I was also glad to see Bernie have a good day, driving a ball out to Rickey Henderson in centerfield for a sacrifice fly and hitting a line drive for his second ribbie in his next at-bat. I also got a kick out of seeing Tanyon Sturtze come off the mound to catch a popup, something current pitchers are reluctant to do, as part of a 1-2-3 inning and then head out to right field to replace Paul O’Neill.

The bonus of the day was that one of my favorite current Yankees, Phil Hughes, pitched a fantastic game. I was beginning to feel like I was Phil’s jinx after the 1^st inning when he gave up those two runs. He has gotten hammered in a couple of previous starts I attended. After that rough first frame, I vowed that I would never attend another one of his starts if he lost, just in case I was in fact his jinx (yes, I can be ridiculously superstitious when it comes to baseball). But luckily for me, I mean for Hughes, he took the bull by the horns and pitched an outstanding game, surviving what must have been brutal on-the-field conditions to throw shutout ball the rest of the way.

So my favorite youngster pitched a hell of a game after my favorite old timers had the time of their lives. It was a good day all around, despite the heat. But after sweating through two baseball games this weekend, I may avoid the stadium for a while, at least until this heat wave breaks. 

Favorite Yankees moment of 2011

What was my favorite New York Yankees moment of the year? That’s a very easy call. Seeing the great Mariano Rivera officially lay claim to the title of the greatest closer in baseball history.

As you can probably tell from reading this blog, Mo is my favorite Yankee player. I traveled up to Toronto that weekend in September just to see him pitch for the all-time saves record because I did not want to miss out on being a part of that magical moment. I was very fortunate to be at the Saturday afternoon game when he tied the record, a moment made even more special as I was watching the game with two friends, one who is as big a baseball fan as I am and the other who likes baseball games because you can drink as much beer as you want (or as much as the stadium workers will sell you before they get suspicious about how drunk you are). But Mo was the big attraction that day and not even the subdued reaction of the Blue Jays faithful could dull my spirits, even though I felt like they should have given Mo a long standing ovation out of respect for all that he has accomplished in the game of baseball.

I generally like my job, but for one day I completed resented it because I could not get out of covering an event in Manhattan to head out to Yankee Stadium and personally witness Mo shine in surpassing the record. Typical Mo, he was quite embarrassed by all the attention from the cheering and adoring maniacs who actually made it out to the stadium to support him that day, but no one deserved that show of love and respect more than Mariano.

That’s not to take away from the other great moments in Yankee land this year. Of course, Derek Jeter’s 3,000^th hit ranks right up there behind Mo’s accomplishment. Again, it was another moment I missed seeing in person because of a previously scheduled family engagement (the skipping of which would be grounds for permanent banishment).

I also can’t disagree with this column selecting Joe Torre’s return to Yankee Stadium for Old Timers’ Day. I was actually there that day and it was a wonderful day for a number of reasons: Torre’s return; Bernie Williams playing in the game for the first time, hitting a double and being driven in on a home run by another favorite of mine, Tino Martinez; the lovely tribute to the now retired Gene Monahan (I was completely jealous of all his swag). It was a day made even more special because it was celebrated as part of a group outing with more than 1,000 of my fellow Syracuse University alumni. We were baking under the hot sun, but it was a glorious day full of laughter, baseball and margaritas (yes, they sell them at the stadium and they are really good).

But for me, nothing tops Mo’s moment in the sun. As much as I’d love for Mo to pitch forever, when he does finally decide to call it quits, I will have this memory and all the other great Mo moments to look back on with a big smile.

What was your favorite Yankees moment of 2011? 

Daily News spotlight on Captain Jeter

Starting today, the Daily News is publishing a special series on modern Yankee heroes. First up to the plate: Captain Derek Jeter, of course.

Given that Jeter has been in the headlines for the last 15 years, the issue doesn't have a lot of fresh information. But there are a few interesting tidbits. Tino Martinez tells a story from Game 4 of the 2001 World Series against the Diamondbacks: forever known as the Mr. November game. Jeter came in the dugout in the 10th inning and told his teammates that the game was over. Just after midnight, he made good on that prediction, slamming a home run into right field to end the game.

There are also a couple of stories that really give a sense of what Jeter is like as a person and how much he cares about his fans, especially those struggling through the toughest times.

I'm looking forward to the Mariano Rivera issue next Sunday. The Yankees closer doesn't get as much ink as his teammate so there should be some good insights into what makes him great.

Yes, you can read the story online, but it's not the same, especially with all the photos of Jeter on and off the field. Go ahead and buy a copy before they run out. Newspapers need all the help they can get these days.

NY will love Granderson, will he love NY?

Michael Rosenberg of the Detroit Free Press outlines the reasons why New York will love Curtis Granderson. Even during his introductory press conference, you could tell Granderson is a charming and engaging guy, which will go a long way in winning over the New York fans and the media.

Granderson is also well known for being a good guy in the clubhouse and in the community. Team chemistry was critical to the New York Yankees' successful title run last year and Granderson will be a great addition if he can contribute to that fun, positive vibe. And with his community service, he fits right in with a Yankees team led by Captain Derek Jeter, who has made it a personal mission to keep kids away from drugs and alcohol.

But will Granderson love New York? Yankee fans are notoriously brutal on new players. Even Tino Martinez, who is now beloved by Yankee fans, was booed viciously after replacing icon Don Mattingly. And Granderson will not be the center of attention on a baseball team with Jeter and Alex Rodriguez, among other stars. Many players would welcome that: we'll see if Granderson falls into that category.

As long as Granderson doesn't put too much pressure on himself and is not terrible sensitive to criticism, which will come quickly if he struggles early in the season, then he should be welcomed with open arms.

Thanks to TheKuLeR via en.Wikipedia for the photo.

Oh What a Night

Heading to the stadium last night to see the game with my friend Deborah, my
expectations were pretty low, given that the Yanks already clinched and were playing the Royals. Imagine to my surprise this was one of the best games I attended all year. It started with the wonderful, surprise pre-game ceremony celebrating Mariano Rivera's 500 saves and Derek Jeter setting the all-time hits record. My favorite part was when Mo's three sons were given those gorgeous, enormous rings commemorating their dad's accomplishment. Can you imagine anything cooler? And Mo was given his gifts by his manager Joe Girardi (who caught his first save), Jorge Posada (who caught his 500th) and Yogi Berra (one of the great Yankees of all time).

Jorge Posada's tribute to his BFF and his favorite pitcher was short and sweet, nothing but love and thanks to them for "always being the same." Andy Pettitte also thanked his pals for the wonderful journey and all the growing up they did together. You could tell he was both nervous and Texan--he said Y'all at least 20 times.

Melky Cabrera was also honored for hitting the cycle earlier this year, the first time a Yankee did that since 1995, and he looked absolutely thrilled.

And I'll never turn down an opportunity to see Bernie Williams and Tino Martinez back at the stadium where they should be.

The game itself could have been a letdown after such an emotional ceremony, but it turned into a fantastic pitchers' duel (nothing I love more!) between the Royals' Anthony Lerew and AJ Burnett, who threw more than 100 pitches in 6 1/3 innings. His last inning wouldn't have been so bad except Phil Coke threw to first base instead of cutting the second Burnett run down at the plate. Boy did he have a rough inning!

It was great to see Dave Robertson back on the mound, which puts him into the mix for the postseason if he can prove he is healthy in the next four games. Brian Bruney was out there too and feeling pretty strong, as shown when he threw the ball over his catcher's head. He was helped out when Hairston let the ball drop to secure the double play after seeing the hitter not run the ball out, a brilliant decision.

Who would have thought Juan Miranda would end of being one of the heroes of the latest Yankee comeback? That ninth inning could have turned out very badly due to Girardi's late-inning substitutions. I'm all for resting players ahead of the postseason, but why take Jeter and Tex out with only one inning left and down by only one run? He had Cano hitting in Jeter's spot, which worked out when he hit the sac fly to tie the game. But Damon was intentionally walked ahead of Miranda, in Tex's spot. Luckily the kid made contact and put the ball in the perfect spot.

Miranda, undoubtedly, was not surprised by AJ's pie in the face!

Even though it's time to go to bed, I'm still buzzing from an awesome night. It was, as Barney Stinson would say, "legendary."