Closing ceremonies off
So the closing ceremony for Yankee Stadium, which had been slated for Nov. 9th, is off. That was reported today by the Daily News and amNY.
Yankees spokesperson Jason Zillo said on the cancellation: "The Yankees were considering having a charitable event at Yankee Stadium for BAT, however we realized the final event at Yankee Stadium should be a baseball game, which in fact took place on Sept. 21, 2008."
The speculation was that all kinds of big-name groups/musical acts would be involved. I have mixed thoughts on the cancellation. I think there was a risk that it would not go over as well as planned. That some big names wouldn't show up. That it would be terrible weather. That it would diminish the memory of the final game, which made for a wonderful night.
On the other hand, it would have been nice if the Yankees had decided to cancel before the last game so people would have known. Plus they never really did much of anything to honor the non-baseball history there.
Speaking of the last game, if any of you have cause to call the Yankees for something (tickets, schedule questions, tours, etc.) and happen to be placed on hold, you'll get to hear Derek Jeter's speech that he gave after the final game. I think that's pretty cool. Even if you don't need to talk to the Yankees, maybe you can just call and ask to hear the recorded message.
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Comments (23)
Good. Jeter closed Yankee Stadium already.
Jon Heyman of SI.com:
The Yankees apparently want to sign two free agent starters out of C.C. Sabathia, A.J. Burnett, and Derek Lowe. If Sabathia is one of them they'd be looking at a total outlay of $200MM or more. Ken Davidoff of Newsday notes that Sabathia might feel pressure from the players union to take the highest offer.
Good they should. All in for Teixeira and CC. While grabbing signed two of the following as well: Mussina, Pettitte, Burnett and Lowe.
I hope they sign 4:
CC, Mussina, Pettitte and Burnett
to go along with
Wang and Hughes.
The lineup can survive if we swap Abreu with Teixeira.
Damon
Jeter
Tex
Arod
Matsui
Nady
Posada
Cano
Gardner/Melky
I'm telling you...
Lowe will be a DISASTER in Yankee Stadium
I love Lowe but he drove me bat sh*t crazy when he was with the Red Sox
Plus he is a sensitive "why did you write that about me?" kind of guy
Sox fans will remember him winning the clinching game of the ALDS, ALCS and World Series in 2004...
And forget he pitched so badly in 2004 he forced himself out of the rotation
You want to put a 5 year older Lowe in the New York spot light?
Be my guest!
Sully,
I'm with you on Lowe, I really do not want to see the Yanks counting on him next season. I'll take Burnett and CC though!
Totally agree, Sully.
Signing Lowe would be moronic. He does not fit this team at all and would be a disaster. Guaranteed.
As far as Teixeira is concerned, people can insert his name into next season’s lineup all they want - but don’t be surprised when it doesn’t happen.
The Yanks are going to spend. But they aren’t going to go madly insane on spending like many Yankee fans think.
And McCarty forgot Joba in his rotation. It’s already been established that he’s going to be a full-time starter next season.
Pettitte will be another one of those starters.
Expect Wang, Joba, Pettitte and we’ll see about the other two slots.
If I were the Yankee GM. I have a list in front of me or a playbook with my moves to improve the Yankees. In the pitching department the order would be CC, Brunett,Pettitte, Perez, trade options KC or Lowe to fill out the rotation with Wang, Joba/Hughes depending on new hires. This is the first task. Next up if we gather the pitching talent than first base will be my next approach with Tex./ trade for any established first baseman such as Doug M. who can hit .260/.270 with and outstanding glove and good arm. There should be no minuses like great bat but plays on a dime with third grade arm. We have been there done that scene.
CF could be filled with a trade with teams such as KC (DeJesus) or Pittsburg (McLouth). We have arms that the Pirates and Kc would want. All this trade talk Cano and Hughes are off limits. I believe with patience Cano will mature and Hughes will learn how to get some movement on his fastball.
Obviously, this is all specualation that we have all heard and brought up by our resident informants Chip/Viper/ Rick. I'm not telling you anything that you don't know but my point is don't throw in the towel with Cano and Hughes. We have a a very good club that lost out to the Rays and Red Sox by eight or less games. To secure starting pitching would put us over the top. CF and first base would be icing on the cake. Gardner could do a nice job as a defensive OF and pesky offensive player in the meantine. How about Baldelli in CF if healthy.
I truly believe the Yankees are not that far away and the Rays had an outstanding year hard to reproduce and the Red Sox's though quite consistent have to have all the stars and moons in perfect order.
Its McCarthy,
And if the Yanks have Wang, CC, Pettitte, Burnett or Lowe, maybe Mussina, and Hughes.....
Joba will flop to the bullpen for the 3rd time in his short mlb career.
That's not going to happen - McCarthee.
Here's a quote from an article by Kat on 10/02:
http://www.newsday.com/sports/baseball/yankees/ny-spyside025866478oct02,0,6576735.story?track=rss
-------------------------
Whether it's Sabathia or others, the Yankees will find a way to upgrade their starting pitching. A.J. Burnett, Ben Sheets, Derek Lowe and Oliver Perez are among the free agents expected to be bandied about. In an interview with WFAN yesterday, Cashman said the Yankees plan on having Joba Chamberlain as a starter all season, and confirmed that via e-mail. But that leaves only Chamberlain and Chien-Ming Wang as locks for the rotation.
-------------------------
If they've already slated Joba to be in the rotation for next season, they aren't going to sign four more starters. They'll get three and expect Pettitte to be one of them.
And Hughes is not being guaranteed a slot like he was last season.
Viper
How many times have the Yanks changed there mind on Joba? I don't care who from the Yankees is saying Joba is going to come into spring training as a Starter, things clearly change and nothing is set in stone until it actually happens.
If they have 5 starters without Joba, don't be surprised if they protect his arm another year by keeping him as the setup guy.
Joba just turned 23.....another year in the bullpen would not be a bad thing for his arm. Specially after what we saw happen during this season once he got around 80 innings in.
Leaving Joba in the pen all season would be a very bad thing for his arm and exactly what the team doesn't want.
Also, they have never “changed their minds” about Joba’s long term role. They’ve said from Day 1 that Joba was going to be a starter. He’s only been in the bullpen because of an innings cap and that shoulder issue he had in August.
They want him to build his arm up with 130-140 IP in the rotation - not 70 IP out of the pen.
How is he going to build his arm up if he's in the pen all season? He'd be in the very same predicament in 2010 if he only throws 70 IP in 2009.
And Joba himself has been emphatic about wanting to be in the rotation and Cashman and Girardi have said that his wishes matter a great deal in the decision-making.
But you’re missing the point. If they’re already planning on having Joba in the rotation all season - they won’t sign four more starters. They’ll sign three (with Pettitte being one of them) - and the #6, #7, #8 slots will be occupied by kids already in their system (ie: Hughes, Kennedy, Aceves, etc).
You gotta figure they sign at least one of Moose/Pettitte, and at least one of CC/Burnett/Lowe. I'm guessing they take a pass on Sheets, and a trade for Peavey or any other top notch starter would require both Cano and Hughes--their best chips, and guys I suspect they'd like to see play out their demons a bit longer.
If they did go for a Peavey-like trade, they could still sign Hudson to replace Cano, and maybe even Tex for 1B; but they'd still have holes in CF and on the bench, without much leverage to make badly needed improvements in those areas. But what would be the point, when they can get better value on the FA market without giving up anything more than picks they'll be getting back when Giambi and Abreu move on?
So I'm looking at a certain rotation that includes Wang, Joba, Mussina/Pettitte; then name your candidate CC/Burnett/Lowe; and finally, Hughes/Perez/IPK/Aceves, or some other poor sot who comes to ST and impresses for a while.
But, heck,
CC
Wang
Moose/Andy
Joba
Hughes/et. al.
...looks pretty good right about now. I only put Joba in the 4 slot because I figure they'll want to keep his innings count low and allow him to skip a start now and then. Then again, they may want to do the same with the vets--or any of these guys. Who knows? Maybe Joba starts opening day. Don't have to reach too far back to remember weirder things.
Otherwise:
Wang
Joba
Moose/Andy
Burnett
Hughes, et. al.
...doesn't look too bad, either.
Pettite wil lbe a LAST resort if all else fails, right now the team is taking a PR hit here in NY over the staduim mess and like Viper said Hughes is NOT guarranteed a spot.
Bomber! Where the heck have you been? Good to see you my man. Send some pics of the stadium if you get the chance please.
I agree, the team is taking a PR hit big time and the farther Joe T. goes in the playoffs, the worse they look for ignoring him during the final game ceremonies.
Let's get this Winter started and over with so we can get Spring training going....I'm already jonesing for some Yankees baseball big time.
Wow those new september pics of the stadium sure look amazing. its shaping out and u can really see the beauty of it. cnt wait til i can finally be there!!!
Bomber, you don't think they sign Andy asap if Moose retires? I'm betting they pressure them both to make decisions right away. If one is out, the other comes back. If both are gone, well then. . . the union's gonna be happy this year!
Really Viper?
70 Innings Vs. 200 Innings on a young arm? If hes having fatigue issues with his shoulder (Which hes been having way before he showed up in the majors) then coming out of the bullpen is the better decision for his arm. Why the hell do you think they had come in from the pen in the beginning of this season? Answer: To reduce the amount of innings he is pitching on his young arm.
Now with all that said.....I am all for having him come into spring training as a starter if we need him as a starter. But if the Yanks go out and sign CC and either Burnett or Lowe; And then Mussina and Pettitte both decide they want to sign 1 year deals. What are the Yanks going to say no? Absolutely not.
DC ...
Andy 2nd half was suspect and when they needed him to pitch those must have down the stretch he did not come through.
it all depends on the whole set up , if they cannot get two arms or get an arm and some bats then you sign Andy if the Offense is revamped. I myself feel Andy is coming back but I think the team is going to play this out
I'd like to know the extent of the trouble Andy had with his shoulder before the Yanks re-sign him. The good thing though is the guy gives all he has every time out and does not make excuses so it's hard not to pull for him to come back.
If the Yanks could get some pitching to fill out the top of the rotation, I would have no problem with Andy at the back end of it.
I'm surprised nobody is commenting on the Ken Davidoff article in today's Newsday about the chances of Sabathia coming to the Yanks due to the economy issues.
I bring this up because Davidoff echoes a point I've been making on this blog for a while and that is the amount of influence the player's union has when players decide which offer to accept. The players feel an obligation to take the highest offer so that the next guy in line can get a better offer. This type of thinking plays into the hands of the Yanks.
Let's hope it works this time.
Yeah, Jim A. Just saw that article. Interesting. It's the kind of piece that drives small market fans nuts. Davidoff should see if he can get the Milwaukee Sentinel to run it. They'd sell out that edition in about 5 minutes. Then again, his life would be in danger. Better keep it closer to home.
On a more serious note, you make a really interesting point, Jim A. But I wonder how much the union really affects a guy's decision--in fact, a whole family's decision, sometimes--about where they're going to live and work for the better part of a decade. It's not like the numbers can make that much of a difference, not when we're talking baseball salary stratosphere. Is a guy really going to opt for, say, Chicago over San Fran, because of $5M or $10M on a $60M contract? He's going to go with the better team, or the town where he feels more comfortable. I can't really see the union factoring in the decision. The wife, on the other hand...
DC,
In the past I've relayed the stories I read when Pettitte left the Yanks to sign with Houston, for less money than the Yanks were offering.
The union was not happy with Andy at all and they urged him to take the Yankees offer because there were about 5 other FA pitchers waiting to see what the first deal looked like before getting serious about accepting offers from other teams and when Andy took less money, they were not happy and the union was not either I read that at least two of those FA pitchers were royally p*ssed at Andy and have not spoken to him since and the union did it's best to tell anyone who would listen that Andy really, really wanted to go home and that he took a lot less money ($9M) to do so.
I think the union pressure is strong, but as you said it will not stop a guy who is dead set against a certain city from avoiding it. The peer pressure can be enormous though as they feel obligated to raise the bar for the next guy.
Jim A. I'd never heard that about FA's being ticked at AP and other FA's who took less money to play where they wanted. Makes sense, I guess, in that it's only natural. We spend so much time focusing on the A-list FA's (and the gazillion bucks they make) that we forget that they're the ones who set the market for the guys at the bottom. Really interesting. Thanks.