Here's a little humor for your afternoon. This is from the American Mustache Institute -- I know, until a few months ago, who knew such a place existed?
BTW, I'm impressed with several of your ballpark lists. Two of the six current parks that I haven't been to I've seen from the outside. I went to a Notre Dame-Villanova basketball game across the parking lot from Citizens Bank Park in Philly this winter. And I spent a long weekend in SoCal a couple years ago, two nights of which were spent in a hotel that looked down on Petco Park. The others, though, I've never even glimpsed. I have been to a game at old RFK Stadium in Washington.
Finalists Announced for “Mustached American of The Year”
Voting opens, Winner to be named at ‘Stache Bash 2008
Sponsored by Just For Men® Haircolor
Oct. 6, 2008 (St. Louis) – The American Mustache Institute (AMI) today announced the finalists and opened voting for the “Robert Goulet Memorial Mustached American of the Year” award, recognizing the most impactful Mustached American of the past year. The winner will be announced Oct. 25 at ‘Stache Bash 2008, a benefit for Challenger Baseball, a baseball league for children and adults with disabilities.
Sixteen finalists were selected by AMI’s certified mustacheologists from a pool of more than 60 nominees. Finalists include U.S. Army Sgt. Jon Alvarez of Baldwinsville, NY; Jason Giambi of the New York Yankees; the staff of the Boston Phoenix; retired policeman Tim Galvin of Sufern, NY; Libertarian presidential candidate Bob Barr; retired civil servant Denny Rogers of Farmington, MO; and former Major League Baseball MVP Keith Hernandez (view full list here).
“Wow, winning the ‘Goulet’ award,” a stunned Hernandez mused when told of his candidacy. “Next to playing in the major leagues, winning two World Series titles, being named MVP, winning 11 consecutive Rawlings Gold Glove awards, appearing on Seinfeld, marrying my wife Kai, and using Just For Men® Haircolor … if I win, that might be the 29th or so best experience of my life.”
To vote, visit www.AmericanMustacheInstitute.org and click on the award link. Voters may then choose one of 16 finalists. The winner will be named at ‘Stache Bash 2008 at the Lumiere Casino in St. Louis on Saturday, Oct. 25.
Just for Men® Haircolor,the official enhancer of the Mustached American, will sponsor both the “Goulet” award and ‘Stache Bash 2008, making a $5,000 contribution to Challenger Baseball.
“We’ve had hundreds of submissions for the ‘Goulet’ award, and our certified mustacheologists narrowed it to a strong group of candidates ranging from celebrities to average citizens. We are excited to see which distinguished Mustached American the public will choose,” said Dr. Daniel T. Callahan, AMI research director.
For more information about the “Goulet Award” or ‘Stache Bash 2008, visit www.americanmustacheinstitute.org, call (877) STACHE-1, or e-mail info@AmericanMustacheInstitute.org.
Comments (39)
Mustache awards? Now that's borderline creepy. Scratch that...that IS creepy. Must be just a coincidence that the winners will be announced so close to Halloween. Hmmm...
Goulet's got nothing on Sparky Lyle, or Quisenberry, or Hrabosky, or Fingers, or . . .
You want a decent, all-American mustache? See Magnum, P.I.
Tom Selleck can wear the 'stache. Not creepy, not weird. Just a good, strong mustache in an unfortunate Detroit Tigers cap, with really flaky Hawaiian shirts and embarrassingly-'80's short shorts.
Never mind.
DC,
I'm glad you stopped your Magnum rant there.....you seemed to be heading down a disturbing road there for a second or two :)
You want a good mustache? Rosie O'Donnell is sporting a nice one.....ya gotta love HD TV!
Jim A. Hilarious. Thumbs up. ;)
I had no idea Lester was so good. I saw him mow down the Yanks in July on ESPN ... he just is a strike machine and obviously his ball moves in a way you can't really understand via TV but the hitters never really seem to attack him. He attacks the hitters.
I wonder who will win, Rays or Sox ... all the way to the Series vs the Dodgers?
And I wonder what moves Cashman will make.
I hope ...
Joba in Pen
Peavy
Jeremy Sowers
Colby Rasmus
Eckstein
Brandon Phillips
Gone ...
Abreu
Melky
Giambi
Phillips
In ...
Rossom
Coke
Aceves (many Mexican fans will identify him and boost the fan base for the Yanks in Mexico, which is good cause they are a truly global team, more than an American team)
I guess we will have to wait and see how it all turns out over the winter and next Spring.
Feels like we are in much the same situation as a year ago.
As I missed the previous thread, apologies for posting belatedly my own list of stadiums in which I've seen ML games, which unfortunately can not come close to the number of new stadiums that you folks have been to:
Yankee Stadium (pre & post renovation)
The Polo Grounds
Ebbets Field
Shea Stadium
Fenway Park
Memorial Stadium (Baltimore)
The Vet
Connie Mack Stadium
Roosevelt Stadium - That's right Roosevelt Stadium in Jersey City where the Dodgers played some eight games in 57. In fact I also played there in 63, but only as a pitcher for the St Peter's College Freshman team!
So Kat has said that she thinks Tex could be Yankee bound - now that his team has been eliminated from the playoffs and in that series he didn't record a single extra base hit - we have to ask, do we want him here?
This was put together by Joel Sherman - not saying I agree or disagree, but it's a good thing to keep in mind.
1. Boras' asking price will be in the 10-year, $200 million range. The industry expectation is Teixeira will come in at six-to-eight years in the $120 million-$160 million area at the same time GM Brian Cashman is trying to break the Yankees' pathology of giving such mega-deals to make a current problem vanish. Would the Yanks be greatly improved in 2009 with Teixeira? Of course.
Giambi's seven-year deal looked fine in 2002, but not so good last year when the Yanks were loaded with past-their-prime DHs. Now Giambi's pact has expired and Cashman is hesitant to tie up the money again on a corner player, when he must find a center fielder and starting pitching, too. Cashman can imagine a near future in which Teixeira, A-Rod, Derek Jeter and Posada may all need first base/DH at-bats while exhausting about 40 percent of even a $200 million payroll.
2. Teixeira has a mixed reputation. He has much in common with A-Rod. He is diligent about staying in shape year-round, is durable and works hard on all facets of his game. But his detractors - and there are more than a few - say that, like A-Rod, Teixeira is an accumulator who feasts on bad pitching, does his best work when his team is way ahead or behind, and is a corporation unto himself who does not mesh seamlessly with the clubhouse culture. Essentially the overall numbers are better than the total package.
"The statistics will be there, but this is not a player who will make anyone else on the team better," said a former teammate of Teixeira's. "The numbers indicate an elite player, but if you watch him every day you will realize he is a very good player, not elite."
I still think, in the end, Manny Ramirez will be a Yankee - and I'm not saying if that's a good thing or a bad thing, just a reality I'm coming to accept.
Ant,
How would you propose Cashman get:
Young ace Jake Peavy
St. Louis top prospect Colby Rasmus
Young stud player Brandon Phillips
and then which Phillips are you saying the Yankees should get rid of? And who is Rossom for the rotation?
Chip,
Teixeira hit .489 in the series against Boston and I saw him make at least a couple of really good defensive plays so I don't really hold the lack of EBH against him. As far as the being a less than stellar teammate is concerned, the only thing I can remember in a negative way was that when he was in Texas, he was not shy about letting people know he would not be coming back when he was a FA and that rubbed other players the wrong way.
If the Yanks are looking to add a 1B who can hit and play defense, one who is not 38 yrs old, then Mr. Teixeira is the clear answer. Adding another switch hitter to the lineup would be really nice and would mess up a lot of opposing managers bullpen plans.
Teixeira scared the sh*t out of me this Division Series and made a play that (for at least a moment saved the series)
I have a feeling he's heading back to the Angels and the Yankees should focus on pitching depth and Posada will probably be the 1B
But Teixeria is a hell of a player
Sully,
From your mouth to Cashman's ears....pitching, pitching, pitching!!!!!
Jim A.
Don't get me wrong, I would like Tex to be the first baseman for the Yankees for the next 7 years. Personally I think letting him go somewhere else would be as foolish as when Cashman let Beltran go to the Mets. That said, I think we can at least bring up that a middle of the order hitter was slapping singles in the ALDS rather than hitting doubles or going yard.
Having never watched him over the course of a season I can't tell you if the knock against him, that he's not great in big situations and tacks on meaningless runs, is true or just the ravings of someone with an axe to bury.
Sully: I tend to think he may well go back to the Angels too. I don't think though that Posada will be playing first. The Yankees seem pretty solid (early on) in saying that if Posada's healthy enoguh to play, he's going to catch and if he's not healthy enough to catch then he's not going to play because he's a liability at first.
That said, everywhere you turn there is someone saying Sabathia has no interest in coming here. Peavy has his issues outside of Petco, AJ is not a perfect solution - so I'm curious where the Yankees will go for pitching help:
The Royals say they want to be overwhelmed for Grienke - could the Yankees get him by taking back a bad contract (Gil Meche, Jose Guillen?) and giving them Cano?
D-Lowe looks like he's going to be a very hot ticket this winter and while I like him I wouldn't get in a bidding war for him.
Will a team like the Angles look to make some serious changes themselves, maybe we could look at a trade of Cano for Joe Saunders. I know they have Howie Kendrick, and he could be a special talent, but he also can't stay on the field.
Would the Mariners, eager to shake things up themselves, be interested in Cano and a prospect for King Felix?
Or - and this is one I've been touting for a while and hope it happens - Cano to the Cards for Adam Wainwright.
Chip,
I'd give Tex the benefit of the doubt considering he has not been in too many big situations in his career. Texas always stunk, he went to the Braves about 3 years too late and the Angels were on cruise control when he got there. He played well in the ALDS, even without the homers.
He's a good player but I'd still go for pitching first and if they can get that taken care of the Yanks won't have to worry so much about the offense scoring 9 runs every game.
A usually-wellinformed poster to a popular Yankees blog responded to Sherman's portrayal of Teixeira by saying the guy is an intelligent, articulate, college-guy type and that rubs some players and coaches and even writers the wrong way (think of all the years of abuse Mussina got when many writers took his wry, somewhat acidic humor for bad attitude and 'complaining').
Jim,
I don't think it's an either/or thing with the Yankees.
I don't think it's either they try to improve the lineup or the rotation. More likely they'll do both. I think if you got inside Cash's mind you would find that his ideal winter has him landing Tex and Sabathia and maybe making a trade for another high level pitcher.
Now, call me a nay sayer - but I just don't think CC is coming here. And while I do think, in the end, AJ Burnett wouldn't be a bad pickup he's not a guy you look to as an anchor of the rotation. Joba could be that guy, but he's too young. Wang maybe, but he's coming off a major injury so we don't know. Andy was supposed to be that anchor, but those days, it appears are long behind him and I'm growing more convinced that the Moose is retiring (not that he fills that description either). So I'm left pondering where that go to guy - that stopper if you will - is going to come from.
Now yes, I'm sure Rick is sitting in front of his computer, some gravy stained on his shirt while he smiles and thinks - see if the Yankees had Santana they wouldn't have this issue - and that's fine. But the thing is the Yankees don't have Santana so where do they go now? Jake Peavy obviously has the track record, but as I said earlier, outside of Petco he's a very different pitcher.
There is one guy who no one is talking about who I think could fill that role perfectly. A guy who could be available - probably for Cano and two prospects (McAllister and Marquez maybe). And that's Roy Oswalt.
Roy had a bounce back season this year: 208 IP, 165 k, 47 bb, 3.54 ERA 1.18 WHIP. He's a gamer and typically does his best work down the stretch while pitching in a division with a lot more hitter friendly parks than Peavy has to deal with. Now, I'm one of the people who has been violently opposed to bringing in NL pitchers, but here's a guy I would make an exception for. If the Yankees bring him in, maybe bring back Andy (the two have a relationship from their time in Houston) and you're looking at a rotation of:
Oswalt
Wang
Joba
Andy
Hughes
Maybe the Yankees get real creative and try to get Houston to include Pence as well?
Chip is quite the mind reader (sans the gravy)! And, Rick would also have Lilly penciled in at the 4th spot in lieu of the Ponson/Rasner/Etc. types (defined as less than 10 wins).
Oswalt doesn't do a whole lot for me to be truthful. For some reason I just feel that he is a little beyond his prime and not worth Cano and other prospects. Unlike a lot of people, I'm not in a hurry for the Yanks to unload Cano, who had a bad season and is still very young and very capable of coming back strong. Especially if it means Orlando Hudson playing 2B for the Yanks.
Hey Rick!
Hey there Jim!
No to ALL NL SP. Been there, done that. It is different in the AL, ESPECIALLY the East!
CC is not coming to NY, take it to the bank. I would target Burnett because of his AL East experience. Also, I would bring back Moose and Pettitte for another year while the kids develop in the wings.
Too much was expected from the "prospects" last year!!! Gee, and we could of had Santana. Go figure, who saw that one coming.
I want to take a minute away from the Yankees for a second - well sorta away from the Yankees.
I was really impressed by Jon Lester last night - and in retrospect in all of his post season starts. He and Josh Beckett represent the best combination of big game pitchers I have seen on the same team in a long time. And it's entirely possible that Jon Lester is the best left handed pitcher in the American League right now.
And with Clay Bucholtz likely to rebound after an awful year, that gives Boston a very deep front four of their rotation (with Dice). All of whom are under 30. Tampa has a nice rotation too - but Scott Kazmir can't stay healthy and even when he does, he's a 5 inning pitcher because of his wildness.
What I'm saying here folks is that CC or no CC this winter, we as Yankee fans had better hope that Wang returns to form, Joba can handle 200 innings and Hughes turns into the pitcher we all hope he can be.
Interesting note on Hughes and Kennedy - I forget who said it, but they referenced Gavin Floyd and John Danks of the White Sox - pointing out that those two were awful last year and this year they pitched the White Sox to the playoffs. Perhaps we can hope for a similar rebound from Kennedy and Hughes (though Kennedy seems less likely)
Jim -
I'm not in a hurry to trade Cano. I'm just looking at the fact that the Yankees need pitching. They have two position player chips (Cano and Austin Jackson) and of the two Cano is easier to replace because of the players on the free agent market this year and the depth of the Yankee system (they have more 2b prospects than CF prospects)
I want to see the Yankees acquire five things:
1) and 2) a couple of high-end pitchers out of the top four or five out there
3) an actual first baseman, doesn't have to be Teixera
4) trade for a really useful bench guy (trade because guys you get in trade don't get to make conditions about playing time, etc.
5) a highly experienced, MLB-successful coach to help our young manager develop (two would be even better, bench and third base)
With those and good health we're back.
Chip ....
I think Houston's looking to add a frontline starter to add to Oswalt. If he is available....I would think 80 percent of both leagues would place offers. He could be our David Cone for the new stadium......
Lets face it, Cano's our one chip that GM's will almost automatically ask for in any trade regarding frontline starters or first baseman...
1. Sign Teixeira (About 19 Mil, 8 Years)
2. Sign CC Sabathia (About 23 Mil, 6 Years)
3. Sign Pettitte (1 Year 13 Mil)
4. Sign Mussina (14mil, 2 Years with Option for 3rd)
Lineup:
Damon (LF)
Jeter (SS)
Teixeira (1B)
Arod (3B)
Matsui (DH)
Nady (RF)
Posada/Molina (C)
Cano (2B)
Gardner/Melky/Carson/Jackson (CF)
Rotation:
CC Sabathia
Wang
Mussina
Pettitte
Hughes/Joba/Alfredo
1. Sign Teixeira (About 19 Mil, 8 Years)
2. Sign CC Sabathia (About 23 Mil, 6 Years)
3. Sign Pettitte (1 Year 13 Mil)
4. Sign Mussina (14mil, 2 Years with Option for 3rd)
Lineup:
Damon (LF)
Jeter (SS)
Teixeira (1B)
Arod (3B)
Matsui (DH)
Nady (RF)
Posada/Molina (C)
Cano (2B)
Gardner/Melky/Carson/Jackson (CF)
Rotation:
CC Sabathia
Wang
Mussina
Pettitte
Hughes/Joba/Alfredo
Sorry for the double post, kept screwing up, didn't think it posted
Jim A.
Nice job the skins are doing so far (with that small problem they had with a certain team the first week).
RK,
A J Burnette, Curt Schilling, Josh Beckett....they dont seem to have a big problem with the AL East. Just because your GM can't evaluate any pitching....including his own....I wouldn't rule out NL pitchers. Since the track record of AL pitchers moving to the NL is about as good as Cashmans picking good pitching I'd stick to doing GOOD individual assessments no matter what team the guy comes from.
Chip,
Why is Clay Buccholz "likely to rebound" from a poor season? What information is out there that tells you that? You say it is likely that Buccholz rebounds, yet you express worries about Wang, who has a track record of very good pitching and is returning from an injury and you don't seem as confident on Hughes and Kennedy.
All,
I don't know if the Yanks should bring back both Pettitte and Mussina, one would be good but I don't know if both will really change much about the rotation. If Wang comes back healthy and they sign CC or AJ, and if Joba starts, you basically have no room for Hughes because it will be:
1. CC or AJ
2. Wang
3. Joba
4. Moose
5. Pettitte
Do you leave Hughes in the minors for the season? Of course someone will get hurt so it would probably work.
Nudge,
The Redskins are playing well, they should get a mulligan for week one when they hadn't figured it out yet! I figure though that the magic won't last (although it might for at least two of the next three weeks as they play St. Louis, Cleveland and Detroit) because they are just making crazy moves like going for it on 4th and 2 late in the game that are working right now but that bad Redskins mojo could be right around the corner so I'll enjoy it for now.
The Giants looked really good too....Plaxico? Whodat? They don't need that dude!
One thing that I enjoyed in these playoffs is the youth on the Red Sox's and Rays. It is evident even in thier pitching staffs. Now, I understand we sold our draft picks for all sorts of FA's and trades to make it to the playoffs for 13 staright years. We made to the WS 6 times and won 4 rings. Now, we pay the price of trying to fuse youth into an aging lineup.
We are ardent fans of the Yankees and baseball understand the need for pitching and the realization that FA may not come to NY but the Yankees must not sell our future in the positions to gain the pitching. Leave Cano off the trade lists , he's the most talented second baseman I have ever seen ware a Yankee uniform. Yes, Go after CC but acccept Brunett. Wang, Brunett, Joba, Hughes and Pettitte. If healthy this rotation could get us the 97 wins that are necessary to win the AL East. We need a first baseman. Tex even if he's a numbers collector similar to Arod will help just his presence in the lineup will help. Give him his 7 years for X million. His defense will save us 5 games a year. We are a couple of years away from positional players from the farm assisting us, stay young.
Star appeal in the lineups does not win . Guys playing together with the desire and effort to win is the way to go. The football Giants have little or star appeal, The Rays have little or no star appeal, the Red Sox's have little or no star appeal but these teams win. The reason Yankee WS teams had guys with star appeal but played on teams with guys who were hungry to win.
We need a couple of pieces to the puzzle not an All Star team. It canbe done.
Jim -
I think Bucholtz bounces back for the same reason that I think Hughes bounces back - because he's too talented to not. My worry with Wang is how he comes back from the injury.
To Nudge's point about NL Pitchers succeeding in the AL - the only ones I can think of (off the top of my head)
Schilling
Beckett
Burnett
Pedro
There are far more pitchers who were average or below average in the AL who have gone on to bigger and better things in the NL (we'll call them the Ted Lilly All Stars) and guys who have come to the AL who got their butts kicked and went scrambling back to the Senior Circut (we'll call them the Jeff Suppan Superstars). And that's not including three guys who came over from the NL and completely tanked because of injury (Pavano, Clement, Willis).
Want to know how out of touch Francessa is? He just went on a rant about prospects with the Yankees saying, "I don't want to hear about Gardner or Austin Jackson anymore. These guys come and go, you don't even hear anyone from the Yankees talking about Jorge Tabata anymore." Took Kim Jones to point out that JOSE Tabata was traded to the Pirates.
That's why Francessa, Madden, and George King cannot be taken seriously when discussing ways to improve the team going forward.
None of these guys know a darn thing about the kids on the farm.
Did any of you guys take a look at sweeny Murtri's blog on WFA? He talks about Cashman and he shows the draft since 1998. Take a look at the list of players the Yanks could have had. Yeesshh!!!
Also, I get the vibe by reading the article that Cashman is not going to go nuts this off season.
We MUST get Tex. I think we can solve all of our other problems with our current staff:
Pitching - any 2 of Kennedy, Sanchez, Wright, Mussina, Pettite or Aceves
plus Wang, Joba, Hughes
Center field - Gardner can handle it - if he can hit .250 and get some walks, lay down some bunts, and steal loads of bases!
These suggestions would blow up the payroll, but who cares? If it's only money, we can certainly afford it moving into the new stadium:
Sign Texeira, sign Manny to DH. Trade Matsui and pitching prospects to Colorado for Matt Holliday (pending an extension, of course). This isn't a pie-in-the-sky idea. The Rockies can contend next year with Matsui in left, and the package of Matsui plus our pitching prospects would likely be superior to the supplemental draft picks they'd receive when he leaves after 09 as a free agent. Assuming Austin Jackson will be ready in 2010, we can live with Damon in center for 2009.
Sign CC for whatever it takes in addition to Burnett. Bring back Mussina for a one year deal. As far as Pettitte goes, it's time to put that nostalgia to rest and move on. He's done.
You have a lineup of:
Damon CF
Jeter SS
Texeira 1B
A-Rod 3B
Manny DH
Holliday LF
Posada C
Nady RF
Cano 2B
A rotation of:
Sabbathia
Wang
Joba
Burnett
Mussina
Let's face it, folks. From a sheer business standpoint, moving into a new stadium, the Yankees simply CANNOT risk becoming the third best team in their division. Yes, the reality is that it is now a three team division, and as presently constructed we are a distant third. Simply adding a piece here and there is not enough. A rotation of Wang, Joba, Burnett, Pettitte and Hughes is not going to cut it.
What I often find amazing is some Yankee fans’ downright refusal to listen to Cashman the last couple of years on the direction of this franchise.
The Yanks are not going to go insane on the free agent market this winter because doing so in the past is a big part of the reason why the Yanks are in this position. Cashman said as such in his press conference last week and when you listen to it - he doesn’t sound like a guy ready to spend crazy money on a bunch of aging free agents.
One of a handful of beatwriters who “gets it” is Sweeny Murti. He has been saying the very same thing over the last year and idiots like Sherman, King, and Madden haven’t been paying a whole lot of attention to the words that have come out of Cashman’s mouth.
Now I’m not suggesting that the Yanks aren’t going to go hard after a big fish or two this winter. But they aren’t going to spend like drunken sailors and sign a bunch of high-ticket items like Teixeira, Manny, and Sabathia to try to fix this thing.
Those who believe that are going to be extremely disappointed come April when Teixeira and Manny are wearing other uniforms. We’ll see about Sabathia.
Cashman has been telegraphing this stuff for how long now and it amazes me how many Yankee fans think this offseason is going to be like the old days when The Boss ran the show.
The team isn’t being run that way anymore. And people shouldn’t be surprised.
I said it before Yankeeguy...
The Yankees got to this point through bad drafts, complacent veterans and fat unmovable contracts.
And you propose sending off pitching prospects (because heaven knows the Yankees have an EXCESS of young pitchers) and giving up more picks to have the oldest line ups you could imagine
4 guys 35 years or older. Average age around 33.
Look at a lot of the teams that have advanced have had younger players and a younger core.
Even my guys have been relying less on Big Papi and making the attack and the pitching staff younger.
It's kind of the "let's try the same thing again and hope something different happens" routine,
Vipe: well stated and understoof. Give us some possibilities.
Vipe: well stated and understood. So give us some possibilities.
YankeeGuy: I love your optimism, but that roster just might be enough to roll the overloaded midwest out of its collective baseball funk and cause an unprecedented avalanche of cheese, beer and bitterness on the baseball universe.
Just went through the discussion on Tex, above. Very insightful; very interesting.
Thanks all around.