92 years young...Joe DiGangi

circled...lower right corner

Joe DiGangi was ready for his close-up. On the glass-top coffee table in his Coronado condo sat neat piles of clippings and annotated photographs. DiGangi had told his baseball stories so many times that his narration was as lean as a Hemingway novel.

Because DiGangi had spent nine seasons catching batting practice for the New York Yankees, his 92-year-old fingers were a little harder to follow.

“Lou Gehrig always had a hitch (in his swing), and he tipped one,” DiGangi said, holding up his gnarled hand as Exhibit A. “If you look at the damn glove I (had), it was rawhide in those days. You couldn't catch with one hand because the ball would pop out.

“You see the guys now catching with one hand. If I had that, I would have made the Hall of Fame.”

DiGangi told of acting as a bullpen lookout when Babe Ruth wanted a drink between innings, of throwing batting practice to Joe DiMaggio the year of his 56-game hitting streak, of warming up a pitcher while Gehrig was calling himself “the luckiest man on the face of the earth.”

He could not have been more gracious or more helpful.

Among the blessings of old age is the opportunity to recount history through your personal prism, to “remember with advantages,” as Shakespeare put it. Among the treats of the journalism trade is the opportunity to hear history as told by the participants.

– TIM SULLIVAN

arod sounds like he finally gets it.....maybe

It will be hard for A-Rod to match his 2007 season, when he hit .314 with 54 homers and 156 RBIs.
Just days after agreeing to a gargantuan contract after his gargantuan season that should result in his being named MVP Monday, Alex Rodriguez said Saturday he has "some unfinished business in New York."

Presumably, he's not talking about simply signing the 10-year, $275 million contract he and the Yankees negotiated late in the week.

Rodriguez, in his first public comments since he and the Yankees reunited, told MLB.com - the Web site for Major League Baseball - that he and his wife, Cynthia, finally feel like New Yorkers and New York "is a place we want to be a long time.

"I love New York," Rodriguez said. "My family has felt very comfortable in New York. The last four years have been sometimes rocky, sometimes amazing, but after knocking our heads into the wall for three years, we felt we figured it out.

"I have some unfinished business in New York."

The 32-year-old Rodriguez, who hit .314 with 54 home runs and 156 RBI this year, spoke at a youth baseball clinic he conducted at the Southwest Miami Boys and Girls Club, where he grew up playing baseball.

Rodriguez had been mum since a statement last week acknowledging that he had reached out to the Steinbrenner brothers to rekindle talks to keep him in pinstripes. The Yankees had been saying for months that they would not negotiate with Rodriguez if he opted out of his previous contract and Rodriguez's agent, Scott Boras, triggered the clause during Game4 of the World Series, seemingly ending the marriage between A-Rod and the Yanks.

Insiders say Rodriguez was stunned by the backlash in the baseball industry against both him and Boras. He ultimately followed advice from billionaire investor Warren Buffett to contact the Yankees himself. Rodriguez, through intermediaries from Goldman Sachs, which owns part of the YES Network, got word to the Yankees that he wanted to stay and went to Tampa last Wednesday with Cynthia to meet the Steinbrenner brothers and other Yankee officials.

The sides are still discussing contract language, specifically about how A-Rod and the Yankees will deal with money generated by Rodriguez's likely pursuit of Barry Bonds' all-time home run record. Rodriguez has 518 homers; Bonds has 762.

Rodriguez said he felt it was important to speak to Hank and Hal Steinbrenner face to face because "it's the best way you can do things.

"I felt sometimes the messages can be mixed up and you may be getting information that is not 100% accurate," Rodriguez said. "I took it upon myself."

Rodriguez didn't shed much further light on his tumultuous offseason, but, he promised, the full story will be told "when the time is right and I have a proper forum....It's important for my fans, for the New York Yankee fans, to realize exactly what happened from A to Z."

Asked how much image concerned him, Rodriguez replied, "You're talking to the wrong guy. I probably don't have the greatest image in the world and that's OK."

If he completes his "unfinished business," he'll never have to worry about image - at least in New York - again.

The 1996 New York Yankees

interesting to remember mariano duncan played 2nd base,only had 9 walks the whole season..joe girardi hit over .290...and wade boggs played third and hit over.300...

Team Batting

Pos Player Ag G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO BA OBP SLG SB CS GDP HBP SH SF IBB OPS+
---+-------------------+--+----+----+----+----+---+--+---+----+---+----+-----+-----+-----+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+----+
C Joe Girardi 31 124 422 55 124 22 3 2 45 30 55 .294 .346 .374 13 4 11 5 11 3 1 82
1B *Tino Martinez 28 155 595 82 174 28 0 25 117 68 85 .292 .364 .466 2 1 18 2 1 5 4 108
2B Mariano Duncan 33 109 400 62 136 34 3 8 56 9 77 .340 .352 .500 4 3 10 1 2 5 1 112
3B *Wade Boggs 38 132 501 80 156 29 2 2 41 67 32 .311 .389 .389 1 2 10 0 1 5 7 98
SS Derek Jeter 22 157 582 104 183 25 6 10 78 48 102 .314 .370 .430 14 7 13 9 6 9 1 101
LF Gerald Williams 29 99 233 37 63 15 4 5 30 15 39 .270 .319 .433 7 8 7 4 1 5 2 88
CF #Bernie Williams 27 143 551 108 168 26 7 29 102 82 72 .305 .391 .535 17 4 15 0 1 7 8 131
RF *Paul O'Neill 33 150 546 89 165 35 1 19 91 102 76 .302 .411 .474 0 1 21 4 0 8 8 123
DH #Ruben Sierra 30 96 360 39 93 17 1 11 52 40 58 .258 .327 .403 1 3 10 0 0 7 11 83
Jim Leyritz 32 88 265 23 70 10 0 7 40 30 68 .264 .355 .381 2 0 11 9 2 3 3 86
*Darryl Strawberry 34 63 202 35 53 13 0 11 36 31 55 .262 .359 .490 6 5 3 1 0 3 5 112
#Tim Raines 36 59 201 45 57 10 0 9 33 34 29 .284 .383 .468 10 1 5 1 0 4 1 114
Cecil Fielder 32 53 200 30 52 8 0 13 37 24 48 .260 .342 .495 0 0 7 2 0 2 4 108
*Andy Fox 25 113 189 26 37 4 0 3 13 20 28 .196 .276 .265 11 3 2 1 9 0 0 38
Ruben Rivera 22 46 88 17 25 6 1 2 16 13 26 .284 .381 .443 6 2 1 2 1 2 0 107
*Mike Aldrete 35 32 68 11 17 5 0 3 12 9 15 .250 .338 .456 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 98
Charlie Hayes 31 20 67 7 19 3 0 2 13 1 12 .284 .294 .418 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 77
Matt Howard 28 35 54 9 11 1 0 1 9 2 8 .204 .228 .278 1 0 2 0 2 1 0 27
Luis Sojo 31 18 40 3 11 2 0 0 5 1 4 .275 .286 .325 0 0 2 0 2 1 0 54
Pat Kelly 28 13 21 4 3 0 0 0 2 2 9 .143 .217 .143 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 -6
Robert Eenhoorn 28 12 14 2 1 0 0 0 2 2 3 .071 .167 .071 0 0 0 0 1 2 0 -37
#Jorge Posada 24 8 14 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 6 .071 .133 .071 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 -46
*Dion James 33 6 12 1 2 0 0 0 0 1 2 .167 .231 .167 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 3
Tim McIntosh 31 3 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 -100
*Matt Luke 25 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
---+-------------------+--+----+----+----+----+---+--+---+----+---+----+-----+-----+-----+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+----+
TOTAL team age - 30.0 162 5628 871 1621 293 28 162 830 632 909 .288 .360 .436 96 46 153 41 41 72 56 100
Rank among 14 AL teams 11 9 6 9 9 12 8 13 2 3 9 7 6
---+-------------------+--+----+----+----+----+---+--+---+----+---+----+-----+-----+-----+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+----+
Ag G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO BA OBP SLG SB CS GDP HBP SH SF IBB OPS+

* - bats left-handed, # - switch hits, ? - unknown, else - bats right-handed
OPS+ does not include pitcher's stats.

Team Pitching Glossary

Player Ag G ERA W L SV GS GF CG SHO IP H R ER HR BB SO BFP WP HBP BK IBB ERA+
---+-------------------+--+---+------+---+---+--+---+---+---+---+------+----+----+----+---+----+----+----+---+---+--+---+---+
SP *Andy Pettitte 24 35 3.87 21 8 0 34 1 2 0 221.0 229 105 95 23 72 162 929 6 3 1 2 129
SP *Jimmy Key 35 30 4.68 12 11 0 30 0 0 0 169.3 171 93 88 21 58 116 715 2 2 0 1 107
SP *Kenny Rogers 31 30 4.68 12 8 0 30 0 2 1 179.0 179 97 93 16 83 92 786 5 8 0 2 107
SP Dwight Gooden 31 29 5.01 11 7 0 29 0 1 1 170.7 169 101 95 19 88 126 756 9 9 1 4 100
SP David Cone 33 11 2.88 7 2 0 11 0 1 0 72.0 50 25 23 3 34 71 295 4 2 1 0 174
SP Ramiro Mendoza 24 12 6.79 4 5 0 11 0 0 0 53.0 80 43 40 5 10 34 249 2 4 1 1 74
SP Scott Kamieniecki 32 7 11.12 1 2 0 5 0 0 0 22.7 36 30 28 6 19 15 120 1 2 0 1 45

CL John Wetteland 29 62 2.83 2 3 43 0 58 0 0 63.7 54 23 20 9 21 69 265 1 0 0 4 177
RP Jeff Nelson 29 73 4.36 4 4 2 0 27 0 0 74.3 75 38 36 6 36 91 328 4 2 0 1 115
RP Mariano Rivera 26 61 2.09 8 3 5 0 14 0 0 107.7 73 25 25 1 34 130 425 1 2 0 3 239
RP Bob Wickman 27 58 4.67 4 1 0 0 14 0 0 79.0 94 41 41 7 34 61 358 3 5 0 1 107
RP *Dale Polley 30 32 7.89 1 3 0 0 9 0 0 21.7 23 20 19 5 11 14 103 0 3 0 1 63

Brian Boehringer 27 15 5.44 2 4 0 3 1 0 0 46.3 46 28 28 6 21 37 205 1 1 0 2 92
Jim Mecir 26 26 5.13 1 1 0 0 10 0 0 40.3 42 24 23 6 23 38 185 6 0 0 4 97
Mark Hutton 26 12 5.04 0 2 0 2 5 0 0 30.3 32 19 17 3 18 25 140 0 1 0 1 99
Dave Pavlas 33 16 2.35 0 0 1 0 8 0 0 23.0 23 7 6 0 7 18 97 3 1 0 2 213
Dave Weathers 26 11 9.35 0 2 0 4 1 0 0 17.3 23 19 18 1 14 13 90 1 2 0 1 53
*Steve Howe 38 25 6.35 0 1 1 0 4 0 0 17.0 19 12 12 1 6 5 76 2 1 1 3 79
Wally Whitehurst 32 2 6.75 1 1 0 2 0 0 0 8.0 11 6 6 1 2 1 36 0 0 0 0 74
Ricky Bones 27 4 14.14 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 7.0 14 11 11 2 6 4 41 0 1 0 0 35
*Billy Brewer 28 4 9.53 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 5.7 7 6 6 0 8 8 32 0 0 0 0 52
*Graeme Lloyd 29 13 17.47 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 5.7 12 11 11 1 5 6 35 4 0 0 1 29
*Paul Gibson 36 4 6.23 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 4.3 6 3 3 1 0 3 19 0 0 0 0 80
*Mike Aldrete 35 1 0.00 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1.0 1 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 0
---+-------------------+--+---+------+---+---+--+---+---+---+---+------+----+----+----+---+----+----+----+---+---+--+---+---+
TOTAL team age - 29.3 162 4.65 92 70 52 162 156 6 9 1440.0 1469 787 744 143 610 1139 6289 55 49 5 35 108
Rank among 14 AL teams 5 2 13 1 12 1 10 1 3 1 7 2
---+-------------------+--+---+------+---+---+--+---+---+---+---+------+----+----+----+---+----+----+----+---+---+--+---+---+
Ag G ERA W L SV GS GF CG SHO IP H R ER HR BB SO BFP WP HBP BK IBB ERA+

From New York magazine:

Joltin' Jew

Ex-Yankee and memoirist Ron Blomberg is in the record books for being the first DH. (That doesn't stand for Designated Hebrew.)

• By Mark Jacobson

(Photo: Courtesy of the Topps Company. Inc.)

Early-seventies New York Yankees rosters are littered with the names of the forgotten: Fred Beene, Steve Blateric, etc. But the name Ron Blomberg stands out. Picked No. 1 overall in the 1967 draft, Blomberg was touted as the next Mickey Mantle. Injuries wrecked his career, but he did, by the luck of the draw, gain distinction as the first designated hitter in major-league history. “I was the DH, all right,” Blomberg says, “Designated Hebrew”—which happens to be the title of his recently published autobiography. He spoke to Mark Jacobson.

What was it like growing up as a Jewish athlete in the Deep South during the fifties?
Sometimes it seemed like half my teammates were in the KKK. They had their robes, and after the games they did their cross-burnings.

You always wanted to be a Yankee?
We had the minor-league Atlanta Crackers, which was really their name, but the Yankees were always on the Game of the Week. I fell in love with the pinstripes back then.

How did the Jewish community react when you first got to New York?
To be able to play in front of 8 million Jews! Can’t beat it. I lit everyone’s candles for every bar mitzvah in the city. It was like I was related to everyone. They named a sandwich after me at the Stage Deli.

What were the guys like back then?
There were definitely some anti-Semites on those teams, believe me. But we had crazy times, like when Mike Kekich and Fritz Peterson switched families, wives, kids, the whole thing. Then Reggie came. Even now, at Old Timers’ Day, guys don’t talk to Reggie. But I liked him. [In spring training] he hit fourth, and sometimes I’d be fifth. He’d hit a homer and make a big deal out of it. So I knew I was going to get drilled. I lived in Riverdale, in the same building with Willie Mays. Since I was a Jewish guy, I knew people in the garment center. Willie and I went down there in his pink Caddy with the say hey written on the side, and we got some free clothes. I took three, four suits. But Willie took 300, 400. All polyester. Orange and purple. He looked like a Goodwill explosion.

How do you feel about the game now?
Everyone’s making so much money, but it’s so corporate, I don’t think they’re having fun like we did.

Congratulations to the Yanks...

Two positive moves...Hiring Joe Girardi and losing that no respect for the World Series, grandstanding,lying,
"i can't hit as good as Red Sox rookies in the playoffs"....
Alex Fraudriguez...

Your 1970 New York Yankees

one less win than the 2007 Yankees

1970 New York Yankees Roster

The 1970 New York Yankees team roster seen on this page includes every player who appeared in a game during the 1970 season. It is a comprehensive team roster and player names are sorted by the fielding position where the most number of games were played during the regular season. Every player's name links to their career statistics.

Below the main roster you will find in the Fast Facts section: a 1970 New York Yankees Opening Day starters list, a 1970 New York Yankees salary list, a 1970 New York Yankees uniform number breakdown and a 1970 New York Yankees primary starters list.

"I'll tell you this much, it's (pinch-hitting) one of the toughest jobs in baseball, because most of the time it means the ball game." - Ralph Houk

1970 New York Yankees
Complete Roster
# Pitchers Height Weight Throws Bats Date Of Birth
22 Jack Aker 6-02 190 Right Right 1940-07-13
45 Stan Bahnsen 6-02 203 Right Right 1944-12-15
50 Bill Burbach 6-04 215 Right Right 1947-08-22
49 Loyd Colson 6-01 190 Right Right 1947-11-04
56 John Cumberland 6-00 190 Left Right 1947-05-10
43 Rob Gardner 6-01 176 Left Right 1944-12-19
39 Steve Hamilton 6-07 195 Left Left 1935-11-30
39 Gary Jones 6-00 191 Left Left 1945-06-12
18 Mike Kekich 6-01 200 Left Right 1945-04-02
24 Ron Klimkowski 6-02 190 Right Right 1944-03-01
38, 42 Steve Kline 6-03 205 Right Right 1947-10-06
29 Mike McCormick 6-02 195 Left Left 1938-09-29
40 Lindy McDaniel 6-03 195 Right Right 1935-12-13
19 Fritz Peterson 6-00 200 Left Both 1942-02-08
30 Mel Stottlemyre 6-02 190 Right Right 1941-11-13
52 Joe Verbanic 6-00 155 Right Right 1943-04-24
54 Gary Waslewski 6-04 195 Right Right 1941-07-21
# Catchers Height Weight Throws Bats Date Of Birth
41 Jake Gibbs 6-00 185 Right Left 1938-11-07
15 Thurman Munson 5-11 191 Right Right 1947-06-07
# Infielders Height Weight Throws Bats Date Of Birth
26 Frank Baker 6-02 178 Right Left 1946-10-29
10 Danny Cater 5-11½ 180 Right Right 1940-02-25
20 Horace Clarke 5-09 178 Right Both 1940-06-02
23 John Ellis 6-02½ 225 Right Right 1948-08-21
28 Ron Hansen 6-03 200 Right Right 1938-04-05
2 Jerry Kenney 6-01 170 Right Left 1945-06-30
17 Gene Michael 6-02 183 Right Both 1938-06-02
21 Frank Tepedino 5-11 192 Left Left 1947-11-23
25 Pete Ward 6-01 200 Right Left 1937-07-26
# Outfielders Height Weight Throws Bats Date Of Birth
13 Curt Blefary 6-02 195 Right Left 1943-07-05
27 Jim Lyttle 6-00 186 Right Left 1946-05-20
46 Bobby Mitchell 6-04 190 Right Right 1943-10-22
1 Bobby Murcer 5-11 180 Right Left 1946-05-20
6 Roy White 5-10 172 Right Both 1943-12-27
9 Ron Woods 5-10 173 Right Right 1943-02-0

The 1970 New York Yankees played 162 games during the regular season, won 93 games, lost 69 games, and finished in second position. They played their home games at Yankee Stadium (Park Factors: 95/95) where 1,136,879 fans witnessed their 1970 Yankees finish the season with a .574 winning percentage.

1970 New York Yankees
Most Starts by Position
C Thurman Munson (125)
1B Danny Cater (131)
2B Horace Clarke (157)
3B Jerry Kenney (135)
SS Gene Michael (123)
LF Roy White (161)
CF Bobby Murcer (155)
RF Curt Blefary (79)
SP Stan Bahnsen
SP Steve Kline
SP Fritz Peterson
SP Mel Stottlemyre
RP Jack Aker
RP Steve Hamilton
RP Ron Klimkowski
RP Gary Waslewski
CL Lindy McDaniel

1970 New York Yankees
Salaries
Mike McCormick $45,000.00
Curt Blefary $35,000.00
Danny Cater $32,500.00
Ron Hansen $30,500.00
Pete Ward $28,500.00
Gary Waslewski $21,000.00
Jack Aker $20,000.00
Ron Woods $12,000.00

1970 New York Yankees
Uniform Numbers
#1 Bobby Murcer
#2 Jerry Kenney
#6 Roy White
#9 Ron Woods
#10 Danny Cater
#13 Curt Blefary
#15 Thurman Munson
#17 Gene Michael
#18 Mike Kekich
#19 Fritz Peterson
#20 Horace Clarke
#21 Frank Tepedino
#22 Jack Aker
#23 John Ellis
#24 Ron Klimkowski
#25 Pete Ward
#26 Frank Baker
#27 Jim Lyttle
#28 Ron Hansen
#29 Mike McCormick
#30 Mel Stottlemyre
#38 Steve Kline
#39 Steve Hamilton
#39 Gary Jones
#40 Lindy McDaniel
#41 Jake Gibbs
#42 Steve Kline
#43 Rob Gardner
#45 Stan Bahnsen
#46 Bobby Mitchell
#49 Loyd Colson
#50 Bill Burbach
#52 Joe Verbanic
#54 Gary Waslewski
#56 John Cumberland

From Bronx Banter:
Mattingly's year in Greensboro is still vivid in memory. He was a singularly great player, and even in Single A ball stood out among his peers.
Why Mattingly Matters

by Alex Belth

2007-10-25 09:58

Over the past several years, I've had more than a few skeptical out-of-towners ask me why Don Mattingly is such a big deal in New York. On a superficial level, it's like asking a Cubs fan why Ernie Banks, or Ryne Sandburg are popular in Chicago: they were all great players on losing teams. Okay, so Mattingly didn't have a great career, but from 1984-1989 he was a great player. It doesn't matter that he isn't a Hall of Famer. Hey, most fans just love guys who hit for a high average and drive in runs without striking out much.

As Joe Posnanski wrote in an e-mail:

He wore the pinstripes, and played Gehrig's position, and he was all throwback -- he wore that black under his eye, and he had that great swing, he came to the park to beat you ever day. I think he's one of those guys who, had he played in Boston, Cleveland, Texas, Philadelphia, Seattle, anywhere, would have still been everybody's favorite ballplayer. There really was nothing phony about him. He went up there to hit. He stood off the plate, he walked shockingly little, he drove in bleeping runs. Guy hit .314 with runners in scoring position.

I always got the feeling from friends that Mattingly was the coveted, "One Yankees player you really wish was on your team." Not because he was good, but because he was a player you liked despite yourself.

The second half of Mattingly's career was marked by injuries. He also played through some awful years in the Bronx, which helped increase his popularity, but the legend of Donnie Baseball started in his first full year (1984) when he won the batting crown on the last day of the season, and the following year when he walked away with the AL MVP. It is also rooted in the fact that Mattingly was an overachiever--he was a heady player with limited physical gifts, a grinder, just the kind of player fans love, especially white fans.

"By the time his career is over," said Ron Guidry in the spring of 1986, "he could be one of the best who ever played this game. He may not turn out to be quite what Lou Gehrig was, but he'll be closer than anybody else."

"His play, not his words, were the thing," says BP's Joe Sheehan. "He was a beacon of dignity in a time when the Yankees were largely undignified."

Mattingly arrived on the scene as the Yankees were spiraling into George's version of Groundhog's Day. The Yankees annually discarded young players for big-name, big-ticket free agents. You remember the names--Kemp, Collins, Clark. Through it all, Mattingly was driven, confident and without pretense--"100% ballplayer, 0% bullsh**," as Bill James later wrote.

Mattingly was the best young Yankee since Mickey Mantle, and like Mantle had the country-boy-in-the-big-city appeal. But he was no dope. He paid his dues on the infamous Columbus Shuttle. "It's good that it didn't all come so easy," Mattingly once told Sports Illustrated. "One thing I can say about the Yankees: They've never given me a thing."

After his MVP season, Steinbrenner haggled with Mattingly before avoiding arbitration and signing him to a one year, $1.375 million deal. Mattingly tweaked the owner one day by showing up wearing sunglasses and a headband that read, "Steinbrenner." (Mattingly was paying homage to Chicago Bears quarterback, Jim McMahon, who famously wore headbands with new slogans each week.)

Two years later, Mattingly said, "You come here and you play and you get no respect. They treat you like sh**. They belittle your performance and make you look bad in the media. After they give you the money, it doesn't matter. They can do whatever they want. They think money is respect."

It's not hard to tell who Mattingly was talking about and his willingness to stand-up to Steinbrenner only increased his reputation with the fans. (When The Boss gave Mattingly grief about the length of his hair, Mattingly grew it longer.)

Best of all, Mattingly loved to work.

"I love to watch him practice," Gene Mauch said when he was managing the Angels. "He's very serious during infield, never wastes a swing in the cage. From there on I don't want to look at him."

Just yesterday, Mike Gallego recalled a favorite Mattingly story to Joel Sherman. It was 8 a.m. The Yankees had played a game the night before and had another game that afternoon. Mattingly was alone in the batting cage with about 200 balls littered around the cage:

"Donnie had no idea I was there," said Gallego, now the Rockies' third base coach. "I watched for 20 minutes. He was sweating bullets and all he was doing was tracking the ball. No swings. None. He'd watch all 200, put the balls back in a bucket, feed the machine and start again. He had been having trouble seeing the ball and there he was, the most famous player in the game, hours before the game, alone, retrieving his own balls, looking for an edge. I tell that story to our players now when they think they are working hard enough and they aren't."

Gallego loves the story, in part, because he admires Mattingly so much and thinks it depicts the man. Not just the diligent work ethic. But the humility. The discipline. The grinder makeup. And something else that, Gallego asserts, you could only know if you were observant around Mattingly.

"He is one of the quietest, fiercest competitors that I have ever played with or against," Gallego said. "And he has great belief in himself. He thinks he will find a way to beat you. But he is not going to talk about it. He is not going to tell you how hard he is working or brag on his ability."

In the summer of 1990, Mattingly was struggling and the Yankees had just about hit rock bottom. Rickey Henderson and Dave Winfield were gone. Mattingly was the last Yankee, according to an article by Paul Solotaroff in The National Sports Daily (the piece can be found in Glenn Stout's excellent collection, Top of the Heap):

"My place in Yankee history?" sniggers Donald Arthur Mattingly. "I'll tell you what my place in Yankee history is. It's hitting .260 on a struggling ballclub, and letting everyone down in here. At the moment, I don't exactly feel too much a part of Ruth or Gehrig or DiMaggio.

...It's pretty ugly, to tell you the truth. What they need to do is get rid of anyone who doesn't care. I take it home every night, and some guys just leave it. That ticks me off, to see a guy laughing and joking around when we lose...You don't want any of those kind of guys on your team."

So, what kind of manager will Mattingly be? I asked a bunch of friends and colleagues yesterday and the response were decidedly mixed. I have no idea how he'll do. I was not especially into the idea until a few days ago. I don't know what turned me around exactly. Maybe I'm just being nostalgic for the Mattingly of my youth, the one who mattered so much to us. Who knows? Point is, I won't be upset if he gets the nod. In fact, I'll be eager to see how he does.

Hey, think he can get Zimmer to be his bench coach?

peter abraham is an idiot....

solely based on the third paragraph regarding saint torre....

October
24

Hammerin’ Hank Steinbrenner spoke to reporters down in Tampa again today. After years in the background, turns out he’s Regis.

On a new manager: “I think the most important thing is, whoever we hire, give him a chance. Because he’s not getting the ’96 Yankees. He’s getting a younger team, and for the most part, it’s a transition period, so give him a little while.”

OK, so the new guy should get a chance because it’s a transition period. But Joe Torre had to get to the World Series.

I can respect the idea that they wanted Torre out. I subscribe to the idea that change can be good. But why didn’t they just say, “Joe, we want to make a change. Thanks for everything.” Why did they go through the whole thing of pretending to want him?

The Hank n’ Hal Yankees should be quite a time.

Meanwhile, Little Stein admitted they were down to three candidates and that a decision should come soon.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 24th, 2007 at 12:27 pm by P

nomaas.org gets it right

10.22.2007 Before the sympathy tour continues...

Have a look at this:

Torre's so persuasive, in fact, that after his emotional hour-long press gathering the other day, he had half of New York believing that the Yankees insulted him with their $5 million guaranteed offer (with incentive clauses for another $3 million) and the other half believing that he was fired.

Torre can feel hurt if he wants by the take-it-or-leave-it stance of Yankees' decisionmakers. But for the record, it should be known now that their recent offer was actually better than the one discussed in spring, months before the team bowed out in the first round for a third straight postseason.

Back then, SI.com has learned, the Yankees and Torre were talking about a one-year $4.5 million extension with Steve Swindal, the son-in-law who signed Torre to his lucrative $6.4 million-a-year deal, and Torre was receptive to the offer. But that extension fell apart after Swindal was arrested for a DWI on Valentine's Day and Swindal's marriage to George Steinbrenner's daughter, Jennifer, subsequently disintegrated. The Yankees hierarchy decided it would be best to let all four of its major stars (including A-Rod, Mariano Rivera and Jorge Posada) play out the season under their current deals.

At the time, according to people familiar with those talks, Torre told his bosses that it was his great goal to be able to close out the old Yankee Stadium. Yet when his superiors gave him a chance to do just that last week -- at $500,000 more than what had been discussed in the spring -- Torre took it as an insult. An opportunity to close out the stadium was offered as a one-year extension, but he wanted a second year that would have guaranteed that he'd open new Yankee Stadium, as well. (Source)

And for those who are whining and spreading the idea that Cashman has lost power:

...the GM said he agreed that the one-year deal was the right offer. And I don't believe he's only saying that now to be a team player. Every Yankee exec -- Cashman, included -- started to wonder about Torre's strategies, especially the overuse of some relievers and the under-use of some young position players. (Source)

Yanks pitchers win Starter and Reliever of the year award in Minors

MiLB.com's 2007 Starting Pitchers of the Year are filling some big shoes, with past winners like Justin Verlander (2005) and Jason Hirsh (2006) already experiencing big-league success. This year's top six starters are hoping the same formula will hold true for them.

Starters

OVERALL: Ian Kennedy
Triple-A: Kevin Slowey
Double-A: Chris Mason
Class A Adv.: Brandon Hynick
Class A: Kevin Pucetas
Short-Season: Dylan Owen

Relievers

OVERALL: Edwar Ramirez
Triple-A: Cory Doyne
Double-A: Jonathan Meloan
Class A Adv.: Sergio Romo
Class A: Robert Delaney
Short-Season: Daniel Otero

Yankees starter/ middle reliever...

Ross Ohlendorf could not control his right hand/arm at the news of Torre leaving the team...
doctors finally figured out that the big right hander's hand kept signing the words..."thank you ,GOD!!"...over and over...

Cards

Nettles was a slick fielding,hard nosed power hitting third baseman for those Bronx burning Yankee teams in the late 70's...I remember nettles for wearing Maris' number 9 and for his amazing defensive plays ala Brooks Robinson...on more than one occasion I would be watching a playoff game, Nettles at bat, and i would think ,"man a homerun would be nice"....then Boom!...he would turn on one and there it would go.....
thanks for the memories,Graig...

Joe Torre Is Crazy...As Are His Apologists

this is saint joe's record before he fell into the 1996 yanks job...
a team poised on the verge of greatness...
he is also a (pre yankees) national league guy(not that there's anything wrong with that...)...by the way...


read the mumbers after team...his age,games,wins,losses,winning pct, and team finish
+----+-----------+--------+---+-----+----+----+------+----
1977 NL East NewYorkM 36 117 49 68 .419 6 Player/Manager
1978 NL East NewYorkM 37 162 66 96 .407 6
1979 NL East NewYorkM 38 163 63 99 .389 6
1980 NL East NewYorkM 39 162 67 95 .414 5
1981 NL East NewYorkM 40 52 17 34 .333 5 First half of season
1981 NL East NewYorkM 40 53 24 28 .462 4 Second half of season

1982 NL West Atlanta 41 162 89 73 .549 1
1983 NL West Atlanta 42 162 88 74 .543 2
1984 NL West Atlanta 43 162 80 82 .494 3

1990 NL East St.Louis 49 58 24 34 .414 6
1991 NL East St.Louis 50 162 84 78 .519 2
1992 NL East St.Louis 51 162 83 79 .512 3


not a very impressive record...
hall of fame, joe?...
i don't think so...