With the Mets having a quiet day, I am in the Bronx today waiting for whatever morsels spill out from George Steinbrenner’s mouth. Maybe the worst baseball assignment in NY.
But, he’s a crazy bird and it is anybody’s guess as to what he might say.
Coming back here for the day reminds me how much saner are the Mets. The Willie Randolph thing was mild compared to this.
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John, as you know the during the last part of September,the Mets demonstrated some rather listless play. Many mental errors etc… Serious question…..if Steinbrenner was the owner of the Mets and he started issuing ultimatiums and threats in mid -September, do you think the Mets would have played better and made the playoffs? Or do you think all this ultimatum stuff is over blown as far as it’s effect on a team?
This is the one thing I respect the Yankees for. Accountability. The Mets are dooming themselves to many more years of mediocrity with this everyone-is-free-from-blame mindset. That’s not sanity. It’s collective madness.
John, i’ve been reaping through the barely lit hot stove and a name I keep on uncovering is Kosuke Fukudome, he is a 31 year old Japanese outfielder and is an unrestricted free agent. Jayson Stark has mentioned him and believes he could be a big name later this winter. He is said to be an OBP machine and a real doubles hitter. Have you heard of him?
Hi John – Does anyone think that George will really fire Joe Torre before the end of the season? Joe seems not to be very concerned, but I imagine he is used to this nonsense. No matter what happens to him, there will never be another manager like Joe.
Torre can’t be “fired” (well, unless they do it while the Yankees are still in the playoffs) since his conract runs out at the end of the season. So more accurately he just wouldn’t be offered a new one.
Maybe a nuance, but certainly a much different connotation.
No need to feel sorry for him. I think he can survive on his nest egg! And you would have to think he might have had enough of the nonsense, so staking some time to relax with his family would be nice for a change.
I hope he gets another job with some perrenial doormat team, and promptly leads them to a couple of last place finishes, proving that he really is the most over rated manager ever.
Does Omar Minaya get a playoff share for trading away Grady Sizemore, Brandon Phillips and Cliff Lee for half a season of Bartolo Colon and six months later traded away Colon for Jeff Leifer, Rocky Biddle and an injured Orlando Hernandez}?
To Chucky: One of Torre’s greatest assets as manager was his ability to act as a buffer between him and the team. As a veteran team, the Yankees knew how to respond to Steinbrenner. Knowing the explosion is coming makes it easier. The Mets haven’t had that, so there’s no telling how they would have responded. With how Jose Reyes reacted to Willie Randolph pulling him before the break, I don’t think he would respond well.-JD
To Dan: Very good.-JD
To Azy: I have heard of him, but all I know is what I read. I’ve never seen video of him.-JD
John Delcos:
You keep alternating between acting like a fan and then claiming it’s your job to be a neutral journalist. So which is it?
I know nothing about being a sportswriter but is it necessary to hang around Yankee Stadium waiting for Steinbrenner to issue a statement? You could hang out in a Starbucks and monitor the internet. Be like ESPN..claim credit for other reporters scoops. Same with the NFL..why do so much scouting..buy Mel Kiper and other draftniks books.
I should have looked this up before I started writing but IF the Indians win the game the Red Sox will be in the playoffs with baseball’s second highest payroll. But the Indians are something like 22nd, Arizona 25th and Colorado 26th. As it is the Yankees are the only 2006 playoff team to make it this year. Hard to compare with other sports since they are even less pure than baseball but I find that amazing. Like the Chicago sportswriter Phil Rogers saying there are those in mlb circles who think baseball will surpass the NFL in revenue soon. Different sports..162 games vs 16 but who would have predicted that a few years ago?? Actually Forbes magazine said baseball franchises were the best investment for future growth..cable and diversity.
I don’t think it’s a sportswriters job to not be a fan of the sport. I think it’s their job to not be a homer for the team they’re covering. I don’t think JD is being disingenuous if it seems he’s being a fan.
12 more outs
I wonder if Joe would like to be Willie’s bench coach next season?
To E.L.: You’re nuts if you think I’m being a fan. I’m here on assignment. It has nothing to do with me being a fan or not. ... I said it’s bad assignment because it is. I could stand outside the Stadium for three hours just to get a ``no comment.’’ But, it’s the job. ... To Dan: Yeah, I could monitor the Internet and claim credit, but that’s not how I do things.-JD
john, I pooped in my pants, what should I do?
Yogi Berra, the man who said “it isn’t over until it’s over,” left the Stadium in the sixth inning tonight.-JD
Did he really?
Here we go, A-Rod is set up to make the last out. I doubt there will be booing though, but if there is, it would really be for the whole team, not him personally, I don’t think.
So much for A-Rod making the last out.
Damn Borowski! Just end the damn game!
I guess the Yankees didn’t respond that well to the threats and ultimatums either in the end. So much for that idea as a management tool.
To John Delcos:
This is exactly the point. You’re suppossed to be a professional journalist but then call me a nut if yada, yada, yada. That’s not the way a journalisit representing a newspaper should behave. You did the same last week lashing out at some posts and posters here using inappropriate street talk. The following day you said you’re a journalist who should be keeping neutral tone, but apparently you’re not. I’m no fan of the Yanks or Steinbrenner, but publicly complaining about your work assignment and then calling him a crazy bird, is just not professional on both accounts.
If you’re a fan, then start your own private blog and use any language you like. But given this blog represents your employer, going off on others as you do, is not professional.
E.L.—that is the most ridiculous arguement I ever heard. What has being a fan have to do with having an opinion? And what is a blog if not opinion? Being neutral means not pulling for or against a team—not having an opinion on Steinbrenner’s statements (they are crazy) and whether appropriate language is used in a blog. C’mon get a clue.
“Yogi Berra left the stadium in the 6th inning”
Maybe he’s carrying on Rizzuto’s tradition of leaving early. Also the guy is about 82 years ago.
E.L.—If you don´t like it, don´t log on. You can always read the AP wire reports.
Blogs are inherently different from normal reporting. They are meant to be an outlet for opinion and observation. Consider yourself lucky that someone who is involved with the team on a day to day basis is willing to interact with fans who don´t have that access on a realtime basis. I think it´s great to have a place to go to where I can ask a question about the team without having it filtered thru either a lawyer or a public relations consultant.