On the Yankees beat

Igawa didn't walk anyone thru 6 innings of work.

Perhaps Igawa can be an effective AL pitcher? He has clearly improved as ST went along. Time will tell! I think Phelps should be the regular 1B and let Mient come in late when we have a lead. With Phelps in the lineup, we have an extra RH power bat to help offset all the LH's. I would give him the chance at least until he shows he can't do it on a regular basis. It's worth exploring!

Rick: I agree w/your assessment.

Happy Birthday Chien-Ming Wang!

Wang turns 27 today.

Happy Birthday, Chien-Ming Wang

Igawa has had a lot to adjust to and has made enough progress in these few weeks to have earned the benefit of the doubt for the time being. I will be rooting for him as he's about to face the 'real thing'.

Igawa seems to be improving each start. Good to see and hopefully he just keeps getting better.

I think this lineup plus consistent pitching could put us over the top come October.

I believe Joe will go with Doug M. for awhile if no results will move to Phelps. Either way better then Giambi playing first. He looks like a hockey goalie trying to make stick saves.

Talk about betrayal.

Newsday is picking the Red Sox over the Yankees to win the AL East this year.

Newsday turncoat Ken Davidoff should recieve the maximum penalty for blantant act of misconduct.

Who cares about the writers choices for WS or division winners. They voice and opinion which is worth about as much anyones opinion. The game is played between the lines never is it decided by an opinion vote.

Everyone knows that Larry.

I just find it surprising and also disappointing that your own newspaper would pick your team's most hated rival to win.

Can you imagine the outrage in Beantown, if the Globe or the Herald ever picked the Yankees to win?

They'd get run out of town.

pathetic cashman

BC gave an interview to the daily news SUMMARIZING the pavano affair as if we are alreaady 2 years down the road and CP has just won his 2nd consecutive cy young. both were talking about a heated meeting they had last year, being almost nostalgic, addressing it like a distant episode.
are we supposed to fall for that spin and believe that the 1st 2 years were a fluke??? something we can now look back at and smile, because the present is so good???
the dude is yet to throw a meaningful pitch for the yanks, much less win a bloody game! despite the relentless yankee spin, his spring was mediocre at best,which for him is a 400% improvement.

as a yankee fan i find this tendency to exalt mediocre achievements very troubling. it represents to me the atmosphere created and sustained by torre of acceptance of losing. it's clear to me that torre has lost his competitive edge a long time ago, and i've had enough hearing about how much fun he's having (again the theme this ST).
a yankee manager is supposed to be driven to win, not enjoy a pre-retirement leisure tour.

and i go again to torre's quote from earlier this year about last season - you can't let 2.5 bad games (losing to detroit) ruin a whole season.
thus speaks a man who doesn't hold the bar high enough. jeter remains the only vocal yank intent on winning, as you can hear in every interview he gives, maintaining the mentality that it's win or fail. torre's happy with the AL east crown, that's enough of an achievement for him.
we all heard that suddenly the post season is a crap-shoot. strange that it wasn't 1996-2000...

Rick,
I agree w/ your assessments as Ruse does. Phelps should play every day if possible, it would be interesting to see what he does.
Igawa will make every game interesting, that's for sure. He will have Guidry on heart medication before June rolls around.

Gil, New York newspapers aren't necessarily "our" newspapers when it comes to Yankees' allegiance. After all, we have our own built-in rivals who call themselves the NEW YORK Mets. A tremendous number of Mets fans root for the Red Sox, and such attitude is reflected in the New York newspapers as well. Notice, too, they said 'AL East" not the World Series. Chances are they'd pick the Mets to win the World Series.

It really boils down to one thing, though. That such a so-called "prediction" is merely only ONE MAN'S OPINION, that's all it's worth, which is really worthless -- except that it will provide incentive for the Yankees to prove such vocal antagonists wrong.

Oh, that comment was directed at Eric. Sorry, Gil. I will say, Gil, that I agree with your assesment that Torre should take example from Jeter in setting the bar higher. But as far as Brian Cashman's positive attitude towards Pavano, I think faith, optimism, and dedication are traits inherent in the Yankees winning formula. I believe that's how we've become as astoundingly successful as we have been for more than a century. There's nothing wrong with truly believing in a player who was "chosen" to be a very crucial part of a very winning team.

Cut Davidoff a little slack; Just because he writes for Newsday doesn't require him to be a Yankees Fan (I have no clue whether he is or isn't). As Larry M and Lucy pointed out - its one person's opinion and ultimately has no impact of the baseball field. I am a diehard Yankee Fan but picked Oakland to win it all in 1973 - Am I a "turncoat"?

The Cash Man is only doing what any GM would, talking up his players to hype his value. At this point, anything that Pavano can do as a positive on the playing field is an improvement over the last 1 1/2 seasons. Cleary, the Front Office's expectations for Pavano, have gone from a No. 2 or 3 to a No. 5 starter. Hopefully he can fulfill that role by All Star break.

Joe Torre won 894 games and lost 1003 with the Cards,Mets and Braves.
The closest he could get to a ballpark was broadcasting games for the Angels until he got lucky and landed the Yankee job.A team loaded with talent and a owner with a open check book.
As with his previous stops Joe proved he couldn't manage or motivate a team but he did what he does best and that is to suck up to the media. While the Media blamed the players,GM and even poor GS, clueless Joe got a pass. The spin now is that Joe is not a good in-game manager but he can inspire players. Which is a bunch of BS as evindence by the heartless display against the Tigers.
In any event,with the shake up in the front office and Joe losing his rabbi Swindal it appears he will be on a short leash.

Gil L

I agree JT has been going "soft" for awhile now. Part of it I think comes from just getting older, part of it from all of the health and family "issues" (himself, brother Frank, Mel S, Brosius, O'Neill, Murcer, etc) that have been surrounding the Yankees the past few years, and part of it just because of all the success he had early on.

I agree he no longer has that drive and is setting the bar a notch to low. And, I go nuts when I see him "dozing off" in the dugout during games. And, when's the last time he got ejected from a gaming for arguing a call and sticking up for a player?

He is great at PR spin and calming the clubhouse egos, but I personaly long for the days of showing a little fire and intensity while we play these games. I for one miss the good'ol days of Alfred Manuel "Billy" Martin! Number 1 in your program and number 1 in my heart!

Tomorrow is Yankees' Opening Day for the 2007 season and Yankees fans are filled with excitement. Yet, Davidoff is writing about the END of this season and what MIGHT happen to Joe Torre NEXT YEAR. Is anyone really interested in that right now? It's one thing for him not to be a Yankees fan, and that's fine, but would anyone consider this type of journalism sensible and newsworthy?

Rick : Since you can't bring back the dead translation : Tony Pena or Joe Girardi...Casey Stengel managed some absolutely crappy teams in Brooklyn and Boston for 10 yrs,was thought of as a buffoon,everyone was opposed to signing him to manage the Yanks except George Weiss...goes on to be the most successful manager in the history of the game....you will never win without the horses...It is utter nonsense to hang the failure or success of these current Yankees on Torre...maybe if he had Bonderman or Rogers in the playoffs last yr you would have seen a very different outcome.

Lucy : Only if you thought Newsday was a serious minded newspaper.It is not.It is a Tabloid.

I think this bias is evident among sports writers in general (except for our Kat here). Today, Newsday is heralding Opening Day for the Mets; yet, they have the utter audacity to report on possibilities for next year for the Yankees. This is just plain mean-spirited and selfish, period.

Ruse

I agree. Last year had little to do with Torre and a lot to do with Bonderman, Rogers, and Zumaya.

thank you all for the debate and responses.

i think this season will unravel much faster than any other in recent memory.
you can feel that GS is seething due to the unlimited credit BC is getting vis-a-vis reshaping the squad. every bad move is attributed to GS, every swift move to BC. the press is playing its role in sustaining this perception.
in addition, i'm sure GS has had enough of reading how irrelevant and old he's become.
if the yanks start slow (possible) and the sox fly out the gate (probable), i expect a lot of noise and movement.
i hazard a guess that by may 15th something dramatic will change on the yankee bench (big trade, manager, etc.)

having said all that, i would gladly swallow my words watching the yanks destroy the AL.

another wacky prediction - a-rod homers tomorrow off kazmir...

This cart in front of the donkey stuff gets old.

Yes, George's long silence is certainly bringing out the worst in those who love to wallow in his oft-harsh criticisms. The negative reaction to George's newfound aloofness might be described as revenge.

Lucy:
It's not so much "aloofness" but declining health. No one wants to talk about it publicly but it's well known.

For what it's worth, Baseball Prospectus, in a consensus of 13 writers, has the Yanks rated almost dead even with Red Sox.

Interesting to look at their consensus ranking of MVP candidates:
1. Grady Sizemore (!)
2. A-Rod
3. Hafner
4. Big Papi
5. Jeter
6. Manny

No Yankee pitcher is among the 12 guys they list for Cy Young.

I would be the first to admit that Joe Torre does not have the baseball genius of Billy Martin..or Connie Mack..or even Earl Weaver, but he definitely was the right man for today's NY Yankees.
Casy Stengel had a 681-742 with Boston & Brooklyn before coming to the Yankees. He won 1851 games, 10 AL pennants and 7 world series along with a Hall of Fame Induction. Miller Huggins had a career career 346-415 record in the NL before being rescued as Yankee skipper - on his way to the Hall!
ruse is dead on - pitching performances like Rogers and Bonderman through at the Yanks can have a much more influence on post season attitudes than Torre's words!
And while I'm on a roll, the criticism about batting ARod 8th is BS, too! C'mon, the guy is a professional baseball player, not a little leaguer!
Remember the 2003 ALCS?
a career No. 3/4 hitter wound up batting SEVENTH for NY and responded with 2 key solo homeruns off Pedro.

Latham Joe:

You probably remember Jerry Coleman, who played 2B for the Yanks around 1948-56. He has been a long time broadcaster for the SD Padres, where I live. I had an opportunity to speak to Jerry a few years ago and told me all the players HATED Stengel, who never wanted to get close to his players. Players were barred from the hotel bar on the road, because Stengel would be imbibing there and wanted no interaction with players when everyone might be drinking.

Zander, I'm not convinced that George is too ill to talk to the press and that's the reason for his silence. He still appears at games, but not as often, and he's not as vocal. In fact, he was at ST Opening Day. Right before this long stretch of silence, he started becoming quieter than usual. It was then suggested that senility and sickness were the reasons for his sudden withdrawal. At that point, George appeared on camera and vehemently told the press pointblank that he was extremely healthy, that he was working out daily and in better shape than ever, and that the rumors were utter nonsense. Since then, he's remained quiet, stating that he prefers that others run the team (esp. Swindal, Cashman, etc.) There's absolutely no proof, just speculation, that ill health is the reason for George's recent withdrawal from the limelight. Evidence does suggest, however, that he has chosen to take a back seat at this stage of his life.

Senility

Zander:
Yes, I certainly do remember Jerry Coleman. He had a brief career (6 years?) with the Yanks but was a clutch player, like most NY Yankees of that era. He was also a Marine Corps pilot and WW II hero.

Stengel was the right man for the job managing the Yakees of the 1950s. During that era most managers were task masters - not "buddies" to their players. Today, managers have to be pyschologists, in addition to vast baseball knowledge.

By the way, Coleman is right there with Yogi when it comes to strange baseball quotes:

"George Hendrick simply lost that sun-blown popup."

"They throw Winfield out at second, but he's safe."

"Jesus Alou is in the on-deck circus."

"There is someone warming up in the Giants' bullpen, but he's obscured by his number."

Joe:
Yeah, out here the're known as Colemanisms. He's about 85 now and only works a few home games. His career was interrupted by the Korean War. The only 2 players I know served in both WW II and Korea were Jerry and Ted Williams. We were desperate for experienced pilots when Korea started. Can you imagine a SINGLE MLB player these days going BACK into the service a second time ?

One more on Coleman: Gussie Moran, a pretty tennis player, wrote an article for Sport Magazine on the 10 handsomest men in baseball (or all sports, I forget). Jerry was on the list and I kidded him about it. He was extremely bright and engaging. Told me about batting ninth when Don Larsen and Tommy Byrne pitched.

Lucy:

There have been loads of indications that George is gradually failing. Started when he collapsed at his friend Otto Graham's funeral about 2 years ago. In Tampa this spring it's been reported that he has an aide "steady" him on the way to his car (not my word). Also, when Pettitte saw him for the first time in 3 years last month, he asked people "Is he sick?" Again, not my words. Out of respect, everyone has tacitly agreed not to dwell on it, sort of like FDR and his polio and wheelchair.

I don't think I blamed the losing directly on JT? But, in general, a team's personality is determined by the temperment of it's manager. And JT is a slumbering bump on the log just like Stump Merrill used to be. All I'm saying is we could use a manager that showed a little life once in awhile and maybe lit a fire under a couple of these guys behinds now and then.

It is also true that you can't pull the wagon if you don't have the horses. But, if you DO have the horses and they're not pulling the wagon hard enough, then it's time for a task master to see to it that they do.

Zander, now that you mention the collapse two years ago, it reminds me that that's when he publicly made the statement I referred to about his health. I thought he suffered a mild stroke then, but I can't be sure. People who suffer mild strokes are shaky and unsteady, they may even have trouble speaking, and they seem sickly. It doesn't mean he's senile, as some have suggested. You may be right, Zander, but I haven't seen anything substantial or concrete. At this point, it's pure speculation as to the degree of any "potential" illness George "might" be suffering from. Maybe he just had a liquid lunch that one day and looked sick to Pettitte that day because he was, in fact, sick that day. Who knows?

Fantasy-Utter nonsense to blame JT for the failure of the Yankees.
Fact-Who do you blame the trainer? The manager always takes the fall when the team doesn't produce.What's the old saying...you can't fire the players.

Fantasy-Last year had little to do with JT and a lot to do with Bonderman,Rogers and Zumaya.
Fact-Tigers blew 1st place and limped into the playoffs on a six game losing streak. They also lost to an inferior team in the WS. In between, they manage to sweep the Yankees. Oh yea,what about 2004 and 2005 did JT have little to do with those series? I thought Zim was getting too much credit when people said he was the one calling the shots,maybe not.

Finally Keyes makes valid points when he said he missed the good old days of Billy Martin when the team played wiith fire and intensity....When he sees JT dozing in the dugout or not sticking up for his players. I also missed those days and was hoping they brought Sweet Lou back. I don't dislike JT as a person, I just dislike his managing style or lack of and think it's about time the media starts to hold him accountable.

I have said before and I repeat now...I believe GS is in the early stages of Alzheimers or something. That would explain why he is sometimes seen but not heard anymore except through a spokesman. I believe the people around the Yankees know it but keep it quiet. Just a hunch, but I'll bet it's a pretty good one. And what a shame it is too! I miss the old Boss.

10 division winners and 1 wildcard finish in 11 yrs,6 pennants,4 WS .Light a fire? Pitching pitching pitching pitching...need I say it again...Maybe Torre can pitch and win in the postseason...

Like you said ruse, it was the horses that did all those division titles, etc. But, what about the last six years when we have had MORE HORSES (see A-Rod, Giambi, Mussina, Sheffield, Brown, Johnson, etc) than the early years of JT but haven't done squat in the post season.

One question...How do you do WORSE when you have MORE and BETTER horses? Explain that to me please.

As much as I liked Billy Martin he didn't deliver a WS in the 1980's did he? Why ? No pitching ! The Yanks won 3 pennants and 2 WSs from 1976-78 on the strength of great pitching and a balanced offense...luckily Tidrow and Lyle taught Gator a slider...

I understand that pitching is 90% of the game, especially for post season. But, we added Kevin Brown, Mussina, Johnson, Farnsworth, etc. while sending Pettite and Wells packing and finished worse than the 96-2000 run. Why is that?

I'm jumping into this idiotic blog, like Josh Lyman on The West Wing, to set you people right.

First of all, on the Boss. I talk to George twice a month and he's great. He sometimes doesn't know who I am but we talk. He pumps iron every day.

Compare me to Stump Merrill? Now that is truly insulting. Stump really DID sleep in the dugout. I'm not "dozing", I'm collecting my thoughts. Zim used to wake me up when we had a couple guys on base, but George fired him. I really miss Zim, we went to the track a lot.

And this crap about not charging out to throw a base like Piniella, that's BS. I takes too much energy to run out there.

Next year I'll be sitting under a palm tree in Hawaii sipping something stronger than green tea and counting my dough.

As far as Opening Day, the guys have worked hard and hopefully we're ready to go, baseball-wise. Pavano has looked OK, his buttocks are good, plus we've got a better bullpen this year. But I really miss Mel. Now I have to worry about the pitching thing. Gator's a great guy and everything, but Mel took care of stuff, you know what I'm sayin'?

So don't call me Cluless Joe. I've got clues!

Rick: You just don't want to see it when it is staring you in the face .RJohnson failed bigtime in the playoffs in 05-06 and Mussina couldn't hold a lead in game 2 in 06...Tigers,Whitesox had better starting pitching...Andy: In 2000 the Yanks backed into the playoffs losing 13 of 20 ?something like that...sometimes teams blow hot and cold over short stretches of time...nothing is static.

Rick: I for one would never had allowed Wells or Pettitte to walk after 03,granted their health was called into question...the Yanks were misguided in their acquisitions of Brown and RJ everyone thought they were getting pitchers still in their prime.

Everywhere Billy went, he OVERACHIEVED! He took last place rag tag teams and turned them into winners overnight. He didn't win the WS necessarily, but what he did with what he had was miraculous. And, he did it more than once and in more than one place.

He was a master at getting the most out of what he had to work with. That is a FACT. Now, just imagine if we could be getting the most out of the talent assembled on the Yankees these last few years. This team has basically been the AL All-star team the last few years. And they seem to just roll over in the playoffs. Is it all JT's fault? I doubt it. But, just imagine what Billy could have done if he had had these players.

I never thought they were in their prime. They were like 49 years old. Oh, and then someone ??? gives them extensions!!!! Brilliant move.

Martin is dead and didn't manage the current Yanks....Martin should be in the Hall of Fame...I think sometimes we fans get to greedy.

Johnson had just come off another great yr and everyone thought Brown was still an effective pitcher?

Thank you for saying he should be in the HOF! He definitely should be because of what he did with the teams he had. That is all I'm trying to say. Well, and that managers CAN make a difference to a team. They are not the horses, but they can make the horses run harder when needed.

In my opinion, RJ and Brown were at the end of the line when we got them. And then we give them EXTENSIONS. Two of the BIGGEST mistakes that I ever saw and I would never of made if I were the GM and/or owner. I would definitely kept Andy P too.

Hindsight is always 20/20, Rick.

Rick; I think the only incentive for them playing in NY was granting them contract extensions...Two HUGE MISTAKES...in hindsight would you have kept Navarro and Vasquez ?

Eric - For me it wasn't hindsight. I saw it at the time and said it to everyone I know.

ruse - I liked Vasquez but he was one of those guys that just wasn't cut out for NY. Navarro wasn't a favorite of mine.

First off....

We blame Arod for playoff failures because he is supposed to be the greatest player supposed to be mr clutch yeah ok. Mr torre is supposed to be Mr Manager. he is the LEADER. we credited him for the victories in 96-2000 so why he cannot be blamed or part responsible for the results ever since 2001 , i say this the 01 and the 04 year was not his fault and even the 03 year that florida team was hungry. yes detroit was hungry but beatable (see the cardinals ) they was young kids and if the yankees played with heart and if their BEST lineup was installed with their BEST players it may have created runs and installed that yankee magic . detroit realized after game 2 that the yankees was weak and ready to be had.

I heard someone say the yankees could be managed by the ballboy skippy and still win at least 80 games

Torre is included in blame!

Did anyone see the YouTube video of George Steinbrenner signing autographs and conversing good naturedly with Yankees fans 2 weeks ago? He does look a bit aged, but he certainly appears very lucid. If you turn the volume up, you can hear a coherent George communicating clearly.

It appears George isn't speaking to the press these days, but he still interacts with fans. I'm glad he's got those priorities straight. Personally, I just hate branding people with all sorts of diseases and disorders without a bona fide medical report or a direct admission. I like to assume the best about people until someone proves otherwise. With that I'll say, Long Live a Healthy & Happy King George.

Your right Lucy,

THe press and people is just baiting this in order to get some drama outta him. People need to know that perhaps a DOCTOR told him to CUT down on the DRAMA and the STRESS a take a more laid back approach and only act upon when needed.

Lucy

The one thing about Alzheimers is that you can have good days where you seem normal & appear healthy, and then there are the bad days. I'm not branding anybody and certainly hope that it isn't the case with the Boss. But, having some experience with people that have it, it is just a hunch I have about George. Hopefully, I am wrong, but there is the possibility.

Sorry, Rick, the horse isn't dead yet, so I think I'll beat him some more. I understand that's certainly one possibility, but George seems to have fainting spells. I don't know if Alzheimers causes fainting spells??? Not sure, could be, but I never heard of that being a symptom.

Back in late September, after he fainted, the press reported he had a stroke, and this was his response to their assumption (quoted from AP News, 9/21/06):

George Steinbrenner says he’s fit and feeling fine. And for those who don’t believe him, the New York Yankees owner invites them to join him at the gym. "No, I did not have a stroke. I am not ill. I work out daily,” he said in a telephone interview last week from his office in Tampa, Fla. “I’d like to see people who are saying that to come down here and do the workout that I do,” he said.

I actually saw him make this statement on the news, and he looked fabulous. I tend to agree with Bronx Bomber's assessment that his doctor probably told him to de-stress and slow down. After all, he is 76 years old.

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