Do they Relize It's Just A Kids Game??

Yankee Joe: Hello my fellow Yankee fans. It’s been a few Weeks since I posted a New Blog. Sorry about that life gets the better of me at times- I suppose. I have been keeping up with the Yankees Spring Training and I have to say I’m very happy with a lot of what I have been seeing.


Disco: Hey there Yankee Fans. Can you believe it? I’m still here. Yankee Joe has allowed me to continue to assistant coach this mind blowing Yankee Blog. I’m so excited!!! HEEEE HEEE!! We have been very busy and no I did not keep track of the Spring Training games. I’m just waiting for the season to start so I can kick everyone’s butt in Yankee Joe’s Fantasy Baseball League.

Yankee Joe: First and for most Robinson Cano, is having a PHENOMINAL Spring. He is currently hitting .447 with 1 HR and 11RBI’s. If Robbie can carry that into the regular season he should have one hell of a year. Bobby Abrue is showing signs that he might not have his typical slow start. He is hitting .467 with 2 HR and 3 Doubles and 8 RBI’s. Abrue notoriously is a slow starter, but with a good spring under his belt we could get a great start out of him. A-rod is hitting the ball well too at a .500 clip with 3 HR’s and 8 RBI’s. Jeter has struggled at the plate hitting .242 with 0 HR and 0 RBI’s. I would not be too concerned about the Captain thou. He will bring his A game to the regular season, I have no doubt about this. Shelly Duncan has also had a good spring, hitting .333 with 3 HR and 11 RBI’s. Giambi is hitting .407 with 1 HR and 6 RBI’s. If I had to choose between the two I want Duncan playing first on opening day, for no other reason then Giambi in the field is a guarantee of two things. Plenty of Errors at first base and an eventual injury that will plague him all season and bring his offensive numbers down. The way I see it keep Giambi at DH and as a Pinch hitter TO HELL with the paycheck, I’d rather see us win games.

Disco: Did Jeter struggle last year? I thought spring training games were just practice. I’m lost. No worries here. It is just practice right?

Yankee Joe: Pitching wise everybody in the Projected Starting Rotation has had good and bad games. Wang was beat up in his first spring start then threw two very strong games in a row. In his last outing he was once again throwing batting practice to the other team. To be fair in the last game Wang was experimenting with a slider and changeup, and really only struggled in one inning. I’d prefer he working on new pitches now in the spring. Work the kinks out and maybe start the season with some more options in his pitching arsenal. Phill Hughes up until his most recent start has been nothing short of un-hittable. In his last outing thou he seemed to be making up for lost time and gave up plenty of base hits including a few HR’s. Again I would not be concerned, it’s spring training and I’d prefer he got hit hard now then latter once the season starts. If what we have seen most of this spring is any indication, Hughes could very well have a hell of a season ahead of him. Andy Pettit has spent most of the spring season dealing with Performance Enhancer scandals and nursing injuries. When he has pitched he has looked very sharp thou. Hopefully Andy can leave all the troubling news and injuries behind him in Florida. Ian Kennedy has had a good spring. In 9 innings of work he has a 3.00 ERA and has looked sharp most of the time he has pitched. As our likely number 5 starter I believe he is going to seriously turn some heads this year, although I would not count on more then 12 wins from him for the season he has a lot of work to do still. My bigger concern pitching wise is Moose. He has looked TERRIBLE all spring and I just don’t know WHY the Yankees having him in the rotation. If Moose can’t cut it as a starter then he has to except the BP roll as a long reliever and spot starter. Moose has however taken on the roll of working with and teaching the young pitchers in camp. If anything Moose’s value to the team this year may be measured more in how well these young arms pitch rather then how well he pitches.

Disco: When we went to spring training practice, Moose appeared to give the younger pitcher pointers but he seemed to be struggling when he threw. Maybe he is a future pitching coach in the making. A good Teacher/Coach can be inspiring for a young Student/ Player.

Yankee Joe: Now before I call it a week I’d like to talk a bit about Little League Baseball. See both my two sons this year are playing in the local Cal Ripken League. My Youngest son who will be turning 7 in a few moths is in T-ball. My oldest son who just turned 10 is in Minor Leagues where the kids play all the positions including pitcher. For my youngest son this is his first experience at little league baseball, and his coach this year although a very nice person is just not very good at the job. It’s hard to watch him with these kids. He has no interaction with them and most of the kids look bored most of the time- generally not having any fun. I look at other coaches and they interact with their kids teaching them and generally have fun. Personally I think my son’s coach is new to all this and really does not know what he needs to be doing. He seems to be simply going threw the motions. Again it’s nothing personal about him he is a very good person and means well. It’s just very obvious by how my son approaches playing and the other kids on the team that they really aren’t having the fun that they should be having. Hopefully before the season ends that will change, but to be honest from what I have been seeing it’s not likely to happen any time soon. Keep in mind we are talking about T-ball here so nobody is keeping track of the scoring the kids all get to hit each inning and chaos generally ensues every time a ball is hit. (Imagine a ground ball to the first basemen and the ENTIRE infield and half the out field go running to field it) My son for example loves to slide into the bases. ALL THE BASES!! See he will get a hit run to first and slide (Or basically flop on top of it) into first base. He then, proceeds to slide into second then third then home. I think I might have caught him sliding into the dugout as wellJ My point hear is these kids are to young to be taking any of this serious and this is supposed to be fun for them.

Disco: Little League is so much fun to watch because it is just a Game to the kids and they want to have fun. When the whole team follows the ball it takes all my strength not laughing hysterically. There have even been some occurrences where everyone tackled the ball like in football, just to get the ball first. Sometimes I think if the Major Leaguers and some over zealous fans remembered that it is just a game they would enjoy the game more.

Yankee Joe: Then there is my 10 year old son and his coach. Let me tell ya my son’s coach is STERN, and does not like to see goofing off. Now don’t’ get me wrong at this age I don’t’ mind seeing this at all. Here’s the thing thou as stern as this coach is he also knows when and where he needs to do this. He reminds these kids all the time that “Hey this is all supposed to be fun!!” and more importantly he has passion for the game and is actually teaching them about the game while having fun. He has a VERY GOOD balance. In their first 5 games thou the team has yet to win a single game. Unfortunately these kids have not quite come together as a team, and tend to make a few mistakes that cost them some runs during the games. What I really love about this coach is that he never really keeps track of the score. We parents all know it’s getting ugly but the coach who probably has figure it out as well is more concerned with how the kids are playing the game and making sure they don’t’ get to down on them selves and are having fun. Don’t’ get me wrong he wants them to win, it’s just not the most important thing he worries about and if you ask me that makes him an EXCELENT coach. Now if only the same could be said about a few of the parents. I swear some of these people don’t’ realize the pressure they put on their kids. One dad in particular spends half the game screaming at his kid. Between this dad and his wife their kid is berated with a steady stream of advice and criticism. I just don’t’ understand how this kid puts up with it. At one point during a bad play the dad stood up swore out load and started pacing around like a wild beast. I calmly looked over to him and said “Hey relax it’s just little league baseball”. He gave me the look like I had lost my mind smiled and said “O Right that makes it better”. He then proceed the rest of the game to tell his kid (And a few others on the team) that they better start playing like the guys in the big leagues who make millions if they want to win. I Just don’t’ understand this mentality at all. I mean it’s baseball, and yes this is competition and we want to see our children win and play well. At what cost thou?? The chance that we might make playing the game they love so much a miserable experience. My oldest son who absolutely LOVES the game of baseball is needless to say not the best player on the field. Actually, truth be told at the start of the season he was struggling A LOT. He has in a short time come a long way but still has a lot of work to do. The thing is I don’t envision him as some great ball player playing in the majors in a few years. If that happens that would be great I know it would make him happy. For me I don’t want to expect that kind of thing from him, all I want is for him to enjoy the chance he has to play the game he loves. If he can’t enjoy himself then he will grow to hate the game and I just could not bear to be the one responsible for that. It’s not about how well he plays the game that makes me proud of him. It’s the fact that he goes out there to play it every time, and no matter how much he struggles he still gives it everything he has because he LOVES to play. Parents who don’t see this in their kids and constantly push their kids take all the fun out of playing the game. When you do that you’re going to push them away from wanting to play the game, because you made them. For all those that may read this if you have kids and they play Little League baseball or ANY Sport for that matter. No matter how badly you want them to win, no matter how much they struggle. PLEASE for the love of the game JUST LET THEM BE KIDS and have fun. The truth is no matter how much the pros get paid or how big and exciting the Majors become. Baseball is still just a kids’ game and it should REMAIN that away. So please don’t’ take the fun away from your kids and ruin the experience of the game. If you let them just have fun and leave the coaching to the coaches, I promise you they will love this sport for the rest of their lives.

Disco: These kids just want to play the game. Our oldest son’s Coach Is the greatest. He has shown our son the encouragement he has needed to try hard and practice more. It is very frustrating to watch a parent yelling at his kid, “Do it like the Major leaguers!”, when most of the kids are still figuring out how to read the coach’s signs and how to do a double play. I don’t see Derek Jeter’s parents telling him how to play while he is fielding a ball. Remember it is just a game. Let’s them have fun.

Disco: I’m not sure what Yankee Joe will talk about next week but if he lets me I will still be here putting in my two cent as Assistant Coach to the most mind blowing Yankee Baseball Blog you ever read. See ya!

Yankee Joe: Next week?!?!? Hmmm Lets see the season is fast approaching so Id say next week Ill lay out my Predictions for next year. Ill give ya Details on who will win the East Central and West in both leagues and of course where the Yankees fall into that. So till next week I plan to feed the two Geriatric Hamsters that power my Crystal ball some extra special kibble. Maybe this year ill actually get a few right.

Till Next Week.

The Yankee Fan (And Disco)

Spring Training Part 2

Welcome back my fellow Yankee fans. Well if you read last week you know me and my wife (AKA Disco) collaborated with some insight on spring training. Well this week as promised we plan to give you our very own and quite unique perspective of our Spring training Experience.

Yankee Joe: So because my two oldest kids are playing Little league baseball we could not make our trip up to Legends Field until Sunday the 24th. Not that this matters much and in the end it worked out nice as Saturday turned out to be on the Rainy side. So Early Sunday morning we loaded the kids our selves and provisions (Sandwiches, Drinks, Digital Camera, balls and Pens) into the Family truckster and motored our way up to Legends Field. We arrived around 11am and were able to find some seats on the third base side of the field. At the time these were great seats, because the sun was still behind the clouds and when the players came out we would be less then 3 feet from the players. About 11:45 after the grounds crew finished touching up the field the Yankees came out to the field. They all gathered in right field and begin stretching and calisthenics. As I mentioned in my previous Blog Legends Field is comprised of three fields. The Yankees were practicing on two of the fields. On the Main field A-Rod, Melky, Posada, and Giambi worked out on. On field two Jeter, Abreu, Cano, and Matsui worked out on. The rest of the team and spring training invites moved between both fields threw out the work outs. We spent most of our time on the Main field but did manage to catch some action on the Secondary field as well.

Disco: YES, we loaded up our children, two boys (9 & 6) and one girl (almost 7mos.) and fought the 45 minute traffic to the beautiful Legend Fields. Now if you have kids, you would know that traveling with kids can be frustrating but we are very lucky to have 3 wonderful kids that played with their toys during the trip. Once we get to Legend fields the best place to park is in the Buccaneer parking lot acrosse the street from Legends Field but we have to walk up a very long steep ramp/ bridge crossing the street below. It is difficult to get a close seat with a stroller so we decided to carry our 7mos daughter now weighing 16lb., 7 oz. Can you say ouch? Our backs hurt from trading off carrying our child. Yankee Joe likes to sit by third base but I prefer to sit near the first base line because it’s near the Yankee dugout and normally where they sign autographs.
Yankee Joe: After calisthenics they brought out the batting cages and the team started batting practice. On the main field Moose, Edwar Ramerez, and Russ Olendorf were throwing batting practice. Edwar looked extremely impressive, and seemed to have a pretty good handle on his fastball. Last year if you all remember Edwar struggled because he could not complement his killer Change-up with his fastball. If what I saw Sunday is any indication he may very well have a fantastic season because his fastball looked amazing with some seriously scary movement on it. I swear Mo may very well may have been teaching him the cut fastball if I did not know better. We also got our first look at Jonathan Albaladejoe who we got when we traded Tyler Clipperd to the Nationals. I’ll be honest I was not impressed with this kid at all. For starters he seemed to be a bit out of shape to me, and if batting practice was any indication he is going to give up A LOT of hits. Then again this is just spring training but considering Clippered possible up side I’m expecting A LOT from this kid, so I hope my first impression of him is wrong.

Disco: Remember Yankee Fans, I don’t know anything about baseball but Man did Edwar look good out there. He had great form and control but seemed to just lack the experience. To quote Yankee Joe “He is all done cooking, he just lacks the seasoning.” Ross Ohlendorf was not even close to being as impressive as Edwar but seemed to get the job done. So I’m told by Yankee Joe, Jonathan Albaladejo is a pitcher the Yankees recently received in a trade. Well the Yankees need to send him back because he is out of shape and could barely throw a pitch. It is just Spring training, he could shape up. Darrell Ranser appears to have the experience, control and great form. I personally think this guy could be a great relief pitcher but according to Yankee Joe he normally starts. Yeah you never know they could always change it.

Yankee Joe: Ok so about 1pm the sun finally came out. On the upside we did not have to worry about rain washing out the workout. On the down side this IS FLORIDA so being in the sun is not always a good thing. Needless to say we moved from the third base side of the field to the first base side. There was more shade over there and we could still get close enough to the field. Not long after we got there my wife points out to me that A-Rod’s wife and daughter are sitting behind home plate. About a minute later Alex comes walking out of the dugout, and heads straight over to his wife and daughter. They exchange Pleasantries for a few minutes, and then A-Rod goes back to work. Not long after this Alex’s wife and daughter left their seats and never returned. A few fans that saw this commented that it must be a publicity stunt because he has done it before. My thoughts were that this is Alex’s wife’s way of telling him she made it to the field. You have to figure Alex leaves for work A LOT earlier then his wife and kid would like to be out of their rented Condo. So it’s more likely Cytha (Alex’s wife) takes her time getting to the field. When she gets there they head to the seats behind home plate to let Alex know they are there. Once he sees them he comes over says hi to his daughter and wife spends a min or two with them then goes back to work. His wife and child at that point head to the air conditioned Suites (Yes even Legends Field has those) so they can be comfortable, and wait for Alex to finish workouts.

Disco: Alex looked great out there. It was so sweet to see Alex lean over and kiss his daughter. We got some very good pictures of Alex with his daughter and wife. During practice Alex was fielding first base, I wonder if they are considering changing his position. Hmm, think of the possibilities. Ladies, DEREK Jeter, WOW! Dam he looks good!!! He has toned up and fielding like the MVP that we know he is. All I can say is WOW!! DEREK JETER has left me speechless.

Yankee Joe: So we spent the rest of our time on the first base side of the field. The sun was just too damn hot and normally at the end of practice, fans can lineup next to the dugouts and normally get an autograph from a player. At some point I decided to go grab some drinks for the kids and my wife, thankfully the concession stand was open unfortunately at this time A-Rod decided to go visit the fans on the first base side and sign some autographs. When I returned with drinks in hand fans were racing to the first base side of the field to get an autograph. So I quickly put the drinks down where we were standing and grabbed both kids and the balls we had brought (and a pen) and headed into the frey. Now you have to understand I have only dealt with autographs in two situations 1) at the end of practices, and 2) on the second and third practices fields. In both situations security had things well in hand having the fans lineup to get autographs. This was not he case with A-Rod on the main field. People were leaping over seats climbing over other fans and generally shoving their way to the front to get an autograph. Security I believe was caught off guard because they could do nothing to retain order during any of this. Remember I was with my kids and because we were already on the first base side we were able to get close to field level right away this however turned out to be a bad thing. As fans started piling onto this small area that A-Rod was walking down signing autographs I found my self trying less to get up to the gate where Alex was walking by and mostly trying to keep both my kids safe as other fans shoved their way past, threw and yes OVER us. At one point a barely grabbed my son out of the way before some idiot bulldozed over him. When I made a comment to the guy he gave me a eat shit and like it look and proceed to shove the next person out of his way. I had not noticed it but we had worked our way to the edge of the dugout and in doing so also moved practically in front of the field. WE were inches from Alex and an Autograph but at the same time the crowd was getting dangerous. I grabbed my youngest son and picked him up because I was scared he would get trampled, my oldest son I stood behind and managed to keep a few fans at bay as he waited for another fan to step out of the way. This VERY kind gentlemen and his wife explained they already had an autograph from Alex and were just trying to get a picture. Once he got that picture he planned to move and allow my son to take his place. His wife helped me by positioning her self next too me allowing us to make a small pocket for my oldest son to stand in and not get trampled. If it was not for these to very kind people this situation could have become VERY dangerous for my kids I can’t express how grateful I was for their help. Once Alex walked by us Fans started yelling for him to sign what they had. Another women who ended up standing next to me, also saw my predicament. She was at the time trying to get Alex to sign her jersey. He had already done so and when she realized she would not be able to leave where she was she offered to take my son’s balls and ask Alex to sign them. Unfortunately for my oldest son he was bumped by the crowd and he dropped his ball momentarily. I had already handed my youngest son’s ball to the women, and Alex was busy signing it while I yanked my oldest son up off the floor (Ball in hand) before he ended up getting trampled. At this time Another fans directly behind me came flying forward, he managed to catch his balance as I stepped in front of him to keep him from landing on my son. I at the time gave him a piece of my mind. Truth is the poor guy had been shoved, and had no control of what had happened. I Honestly wish I could apologize to him because he truly felt bad, so if you happen to be that guy and are reading this I was that guy that gave you hell for nearly landing on his kid. I know you did not do it intentually and thank you for putting up with me at that time. Also I want to thank the women that got the ball signed for my youngest son. He is THRILLED to have an autographed ball from Alex you really helped make his day. Lastly THANKYOU to the couple that helped me keep my kids safe. With out you I’m scared to think what could have happened. Ladies and gents the moral to this story is if you have kids save the autograph hunting for the end of practice or the secondary field. During practice if a player is signing have your kids stay behind and take your chances by your self. Most of the fans trying to get autographs are complete idiots, but there are a few as I have pointed out that are good people. My point is be careful and leave the kids in their seats they will be safer at least during workouts on the main field. On the secondary field things aren’t as bad but they can get rough at times as well.

Disco: People are just crazy about A-ROD, unfortunately they almost squashed my children. Crazy is not always good. Thanks to those that helped protect my children!!

Yankee Joe: So my oldest son was very disappointed about missing his chance to get A-Rod’s autograph. Unfortunately nobody on the main field was going to stay after and sign so as we were getting ready to leave my oldest son was feeling pretty upset. As we were getting ready to head to the parking lot another fan came by and said Giambi was signing autographs on the secondary field. So with a look to my wife who basically said “Go!!” I handed my daughter off to her and grabbed my oldest son and we headed to the secondary field. Giambi was there sure enough along with Jason Lane and they were both signing autographs. We managed to get both of them to sign his ball and basically made my sons day. Now I’ll admit I’m pretty hard on Jason through out the year considering his injuries batting average and the whole Roids thing. Something I will give him credit for thou is that he has always been all about the fans. This man signed Autographs for a good 45 minutes and would not leave until he had signed one for every last person. He also took a minute to ask my son if he played baseball and basically have a quick conversation with him. Not a phoney one a REALL conversation. I may not be a big Giambi fan but I will say this he is a good person when it is all said and done regardless of what mistakes he has made. This does not mean I plan on going easy on him mind you but I will say that I have a bit more respect for the guy after seeing him deal with the fans.

Disco: I personally did not care for Giambi due to the Roids thing but after seeing him with my son, I believe him to be a good person. Giambi gave out autographs before and after practice. When I saw him practicing on the small field I caught a small bit of his conversation with the hitting coach and my impression is that he is a good guy. I hope he does well this season.

Yankee Jo: Ok well that pretty much wraps up Spring Training for us. After getting Giambi’s and Lane’s autographs we hit the gift shop bought some pennants for the kids, and headed home. While in the gift shop I was hoping to grab a Joba Rules T-shirt. Unfortunately it was priced out at nearly 30 dollars. Hey I love my Yankees but 30 bucks for a T-shirt is a bit to pricy for me.

Disco: We are going, going, gone! We are out of the park! Let’s Go HOME!

Till next Week

The Yankee Fan (And Disco)

SPRING HAS SPRUNG!!

Spring is in the air and I’m happier than a fat man at an all you can eat buffet. (AKA Red Sucks Fan) SPRING TRAINING HAS ARRIVED which means yes my fellow Yankee Maniacs BASEBALL IS BACK!!! Now mind you Pitchers and Catchers (Unless your name is Andy Pettit) have reported to there respected Spring Training locations and for the New York Yankees that means Legends Fiend Field (Soon to be Renamed Steinbrenner Field) in Tampa Florida. Now as it so happens, I your ever loving Yankee fan and Blogger extraordinar live down here in sunny Florida just 45 minutes from Tampa. Now for the last few years I have made the trek up to Tampa and enjoyed watching the Yankees warm up and prepare for the Spring Training Season and I have enjoyed a fair share of spring games as well. Now you know that no self respecting Yankee fan can do these sort of things with out dragging their significant other (Kicking and Screaming) along for the ride. I’m no different in this aspect. So this week and next you will be treated to a very special blog. A sort of He Said, She Said run down on Spring Training. Me and the Wife (AKA Hot Lips to me, Disco to the rest of you guys) will give you a run down of what to expect if you decided to catch a Spring game, where and when to go for the Spring Workouts, about how much in US Greenbacks you can expect to spend, and some of the best places to go and try to catch some of our Favorite Yankees out and about and off the playing field in Tampa Florida. To distinguish who is saying what, my comments will be tabbed with a Yankee Joe, and my Wife will be tabbed with Disco. Easy enough to figure out I suppose.

Yankee Joe: Ok first and for most you have to understand that Pitchers and catchers reported on February 13th. Now nobody was on the field until the 14th because on the first day of reporting every body has to take a physical, and sign paperwork and what not; this usually take the whole day. Now after the 14th the Workouts begin which are free to the public and happen around 11am till around 2pm Monday threw Sunday. These workouts thou are strictly pitchers and catchers so if you like watching BP sessions or watching catchers stretch out this can be a lot of fun but to be honest I prefer to wait until the full team works out starting on February 20th. These workouts are a lot more fun and tend to run a bit longer. There is always a full batting practice, as well as fielding drills to watch. Also because the full team is there the opportunity to grab an autograph is much better because some players will take a break and spend some time with the fans. Speaking of the Fans if you go to these practices you basically have the run of the place. There is no assigned seating so you can get as close to the field as you like although I must warn some of you overly ambushes fans that they still do not look fondly on fans jumping out on the field and giving the players a hug, basically stay in the stands.

Disco: Okay, Ladies and gentlemen. I’m the wife and I’m the one Yankee Joe (YJ) drags kicking and screaming to Spring Training. Last year I went to Spring Training without the notorious Yankee Joe because he was sick and he wanted the inside scoop. That is what you really get when you go to Spring Training. I love going to see the Pitcher and Catchers train. There are not as many fans there and you get to watch those stretches (yes cute butts). You even get to see more of the big named pitchers and young rookie pitchers actually showing their stuff. Remember I’m not a baseball fan but I love going to Spring Training. If I could I would go to every Spring Training practice because you get to see the players as people not famous baseball heroes. Last year I saw A-Rod being the family man with his wife and very cute daughter.

Yankee Joe: Now legends Field is broken up into 3 fields. Mostly the practices are done on the main field but on the two secondary fields you will find many of the Yankee minor league players that were not invited to the big teams Spring Training. This can actually be a lot of fun for two reasons. One you get a first look at some of the up and coming Yankees that are in the minors. For example last year I got to see Joba throwing from a mound before most Yankee fans had a clue who he was. A few years before that I could say the same thing about Chen Ming Wang. Both at the time gave me the same impression, which was they were going to make a big splash on the Yankees when they made their way to the big team. In Joba’s case I had no clue how soon that would be. Now the other reason these workouts can be fun is because many former Yankees come to spring training to help coach and instruct. Reggie Jackson for example can be seen regularly at any one of the three fields and is probably one of the most autograph friendly former players out there. Ron Guidry before he was the Pitching coach was also a regular and rumor has it he will be in Tampa again this year as a special instructor. Last but not least the best thing to do if you happen to have any question about when the workouts start or where you can park call Legends field directly at (813) 879-2244 or you can always visit there website at http://www.legendsfieldtampa.com/

Disco: Enjoy the atmosphere. Grab a hot dog and a Coke. Yes they have stadium food (Not Free) for you to enjoy while watching your favorite Yankee. Also Legend Fields has a souvenir shop that has some Yankee peripheral you don’t see in the everyday sports shop. Be sure to bring a working pen, paper or ball, and your baseball gloves (to catch any pop flies). Normally after practice a few of the players will sign autographs. Make sure to ask your local security guard where they will be signing them that day and sit as close to that spot as possible because you will be standing in line for a long time. You can some times catch a Yankee near the bull pen practice fence. Enjoy the atmosphere!!

Yankee Joe: Ok so you went to the Spring Workouts and had a blast but no matter how loud you screamed his name Derek Jeter, A-rod or any other Yankee just would not come over and give you an autograph. Ok first and foremost let’s not get to upset over this. Remember gang they are down in Florida to get ready for the season so these workouts are important. With that said our Yankees after workouts are not a bunch of stay at home wimps. O No not at all. Yes the Yankee do like to get out and have them selves some fun. One of the best places to go and try to catch a Yankee out in public (or many other MLB players for that matter) is at International Plaza & Bay Street, which happens to be right next to the Tampa Airport. For one thing this happens to be a kick ass mall. It has three levels for your shoping pleasure with the third level including an out side area where most of the Resturants and bars are located and THAT my friends is where you can find many a Major League ball player including some of our favorite Yankees. Now aside From the mall other great places to run into a Yankee would be at any Golds Gym in the Tampa area the one close to Legends field seems to be the most popular. If you want to run into the boss or one of his sons the I-Hoop just around the corner form Legends field is a great place to go. You basically would have to stake the place out because they don’t’ have a regular schedule as I’m told. You can bet thou that they do tend to go after yankee pratice is over so maby after enjoying some time at Legends Field pop on over to I-HOP and you might catch a glips of the Boss and his sons. The Local beachs is a rare place to find a ball player but there have been a few sightings at times. Jason Giambi has been known to run along the beach in the mornings just befor pratices in the past. If ya want to know what beaches are in the Tampa area here’s a link to find them. http://www.tbo.com/static/sections/tbo-life-travel-beaches/ You have to keep in mind that most of these Yankees know they will be spending the next 2-3 months down in Tampa depending on when they report in. So a lot of them either have bought property down here (like Derek Jeter) or Rent Condos most do not stay in a Hotel so staking out the hotels is probably not a good plan.

Disco: Going to the mall to see a Yankee. What are you crazy? The Tampa International Mall is just a cool place to be. The night life there with live bands and no cover charge is just worth the trip. If you see a Yankee in the process, that is just a bonus. Florida has so much to offer, don’t limit it to the Field. Your bound to run into a Yankee just touring our Beautiful Tampa.

Yankee Joe: Ok so you either have followed my advice or listened to my wife and decided to just wander the City of Tampa your self. In either case you have had the luck to run into a Yankee ball player like say Derek Jeter. Now there are a few ground rules I think I should pass on to you guys. Ok for starters NEVER and I mean NEVER scream at the top of you lungs and run charging at said player. This, I can promise you is more likely to get you arrested and then committed to a locally nuthouse then get an Autograph. Secondly if you happen to run into said player at a Gym I can’t strongly suggest enough that you DO NOT try to approach them while they are working out. For the most part these guys are just trying to get a bit more work in, and really are just looking for a quite place to do it. If you bug them their less likely to be receptive to it and on top of that the chance that they won’t come back are pretty big. What I suggest is to wait till they finished on one particular machine and as their walking threw politely approach them and ask for an autograph. If you’re not interrupting them their less likely to be annoyed and will likely give you an autograph. In a lot of cases I have known players to actually stop and talk with the person that asked them for the autograph in these cases. Mostly because they had finished their workouts, and were either getting ready to leave or hadn’t decided what they were going to do next so the brief interruption doesn’t bother them and sometimes they welcome it. Now I just can’t stress this ENOUGH especially for the Ladies if you happen to run into a player at the gym THE SHOWERS IS NOT A GOOD PLACE TO ASK FOR AN AUTOGRAPH!!! So before you get that water proof pen and your flip-flops out please for the love of all that is baseball keep that in mind. Honestly thou guys and girls the most important thing to remember if you meet a player simply treat them with a bit of respect and for the most part like a normal person. In most cases I have found that all they really want is to keep a low profile and just enjoy their time away from the field. Most are happy to chat for a few minutes, and give an autograph. They tend not to respond to excessive complements, screaming there names and Marriage Proposals (Although depending on their mood ya never know). Truth is just be nice to them respect their boundaries a bit. If they feel like you’re trapping them in so they can’t leave the first thing their going to do is bolt. If you stay relaxed keep it casual and remain friendly they will do the same and you will later have a story to tell your buddies about.

Disco: Yankee Joe is right about the showers but they can’t stop you from dreaming about it. Yummy!! Wet and Naked!! Yummy!! Sorry in Dreamland. What Yankee Joe is trying to say in not so many words is treat a Yankee like an everyday JOE not a Yankee. I don’t think I would even recognize a Yankee out of uniform so to me every Yankee is a Yankee Joe.

Yankee Joe: Ok to some this all up. If you’re coming down to Tampa to catch the Yankees make shore you come for the Workouts. It’s free, and a great chance to see some of our favorite Yankees past and present. After the Morning practices hit the town, check out the malls, beaches, and other attractions, your bound to run into a Yankee out there. If that happens just remember they don’t want to be harassed while there off the clock (Or need help with that soap on a rope) so give them there space and just use some common curtsey when approaching them. As for money hey it’s a vacation right?? The Workouts are free but most everything else will cost ya money so make shore you bring a reasonable amount. Off the top of my head if I was spending say 4 days in Tampa for spring training I would set aside 400-500 dollars just for running around money (not including normal expenses) and that’s per person. Now keep in mind you can probably do it a lot cheaper but I’m figuring if it’s me and I’m on vacation I am going to be a bit thrifty with my spending.

Disco: Come see your Yankees drop the ball and show off their cute butts. With some luck you might get an autograph by just spending sometime in beautiful sunny Florida. Next week we will be going to Spring Training and I can give you my unknowing insight to the Yankee’s progress. Yankee Joe can give the real scoop from the Yankee fan perspective.

Yankee Joe: She says she doesn’t know what she is talking about but last year she predicted Posada’s career year, Abrues season long slump and Melky’s great second season. So don’t let my wife fool ya she is as much a baseball fan as me, just from a slightly warped perspective. (Hey that’s the number 1 reason I married her)

Disco: Yes, I’m slightly wrapped but I did marry Yankee Joe. So join us next week for our wrapped views on Baseball and very cute butts.

Till next Week

The Yankee Fan (And Disco)

Pavano is the Opening Day Starter?!?!

Well looks like Wang will be starting the season on the DL because of a Hamstring Pull. According to the Yankees it’s not a sever pull but it’s enough that they are not going to take any chances with the staff ace. This leaves the opening day start in question because Andy Pettitte’s back was barking a few weeks ago and he has slowly been recovering. The Yankees for see him being able to start the season and this was likely a mild set back for Andy but the smart move is not to rush him back to the mound. Moose has been roughed up this spring but is looking better each outing he pitches. The Yankees could send him out on short rest to pitch his last spring game to get him ready for the opener but with Moose’s age and his rough spring it is smart of them not to want to push things. Who does this leave then?? Iggy could start the season for us but I doubt the Yankees would really go that route. For the most part they have tried to leave the expectation for him low thus keeping the pressure on him to a minimum. Throwing him out there for the season opener could be disastrous if he struggles. That leaves Carol “Holy Crap I’m not Injured Yet!!” Pavano folks and YES believe it or not he is the most likely candidate although in my opinion the least deserving one. If you ask me the Yankees should give the nod to either Jeff Karastan or give the ball to Super Prospect Phil Hughes for the day. Why not?? Karastan has earned the spot in the rotation to replace Wang while he is on the DL. Mind you the opener is normally reserved for the Ace of the staff or one of the vets but that option is not available to the Yankees so why not give it to somebody that has earned a shot at the bigs. With Hughes you simply tell him that it is just for the one start, and there’s a chance to show the fans why the Yankees are so high on him. Basically you’re telling him look just go out there and soak it all in and just have fun. The First game of the season is probably the least important game of the year. Hell the first week is really not all that important. I mean most likely by the end of the week the Nationals will be on top of the NL East because they won 4 of their 6 games that week. They’re not going to stay there we all know that. So why not give the ball to one of the young guns just for some fun??


All this aside Wang’s injury is actually in a strange way a good thing. Considering there is likely to be other injuries to the Rotation this year. Andy is known for injuries during the season, Moose’s age dictates he will spend some time on the DL and Pavano is a miracle every time he takes the mound with out an injury. With this said it gives the Yankees time to see what their young arms can do for them while it is early in the season. Karastan has had a good spring, Rasner was not far behind him, Sanchez is likely to follow, Olendorf, and Hughes would be available as well. With Wang on the DL the Yankees can flip flop threw them in the early part of the season see who has success, who needs some work and who is just not ready yet. I’d rather we do this now then lets say in August when the season is much more on the line and the games mean a lot more. Add this to the increase in the trade value of many of these young arms if they have some success. This also could help increase Pavano’s trade value as well. If he gets off to a fast start and Karastan or one of the other young arms pitches exceptionally well the Yankees will have no real reason to keep Pavano around once Wang comes back. With the good start his trade value will be much better then what it is right now and the Yankees will get a much better return for him.


I’d be lying if I said, I was not concerned about Wang starting the season on the DL, but consider this. Last year the Yankees went threw a lot of injuries to the roster early in the season. When August came around we had found ourselves a break out rookie in Melky, and Wang had stepped up in the rotation as our ace. Buy August guys like Matsui, Shef and Moose where well on their way back to the team and off the DL. Meanwhile teams like the Red Sucks, Angels, White Sox and others were suddenly experiencing injuries to key members of their team. All of them eventually started to fade badly and by September they were virtually out of the race (the Angels hung in there a bit longer thou). The point here is that it is much better to suffer these minor injuries now than to get hammered by DL filled rosters halfway through the season. Just be thankful it’s not Pavano that is injured right now. With Wang we know he will be back on the team by the end of April, with Pavano it would have been the season and we would have lost a chance to trade him away.


Till next week...


The Yankees Fan

Wher should Iggy start the Season

Spring is in the air and baseball is only a little over 2 weeks away from starting the regular season. I am really looking forward to this season, because I honestly believe the Yankees have put together a great team. One of the newer members of the team this year Kei Igawa or Iggy whom has been the topic of some interesting conversation; in one of the Yankee groups that I am in. The question as to whether Iggy should start the season in the minors or in the majors has come up quite a few times. The argument is simple. Japanese pitchers have a tendency to come into the Majors with tones of hype and potential, and thus far all have eventually fallen short. Yankee fans see Iggy and wonder if he is ready for the Major Leagues and I for one think he would benefit from a few months playing Triple A ball to be honest. The flip side to this is that the Yankees have spent 26 million dollars just to talk to him then another 20 million over 5 years to retain his service. The thought is that’s not money you spend on a guy to start the season in the minors. The thought process here is flawed thou, because the Yankees signed him for 5 years so their not thinking short term here. Looking at the big picture they are hoping Iggy can be a part of the Yankees pitching staff for the next 5 years. So with that said there has to be a plan in place to achieve that goal. Basically, Iggy needs to develop like any rookie coming into the Majors.

Consider this. Chen Ming Wang was a star pitcher from Taiwan, that helped his country win the silver medal in the Olympics. All things considered when the Yankees signed him, his performance SHOULD have had him pitching for the Yankees that first year. Instead the Yankees sent him to Triple A, had him work and develop into a Major League Pitcher and then when he was called up he became one of the biggest impact players to come up from the minors in the Yankees organization in a long time. Why is this?? Simple Wang was given time to develop, time to learn about pitching in this country, and allowed to develop the skills he needed to pitch successfully in the Majors. Iggy some will argue has been playing pro ball in Japan and should already poses those skills. The argument is a fair one until you compare the Japanese Pro ball to the major Leagues. Considering that many ball players from Japan can’t cut it in the majors should be all that needs to be said. This is not a slight on Japanese baseball. There is TREMENDUS talent in that league, but the culture is very different, and they just don’t’ play the same kind of baseball that’s played in the Majors because of that. For a hitter the adjustment is not to big look at Itchro, or Matsui. Pitching on the other hand is a different story. The mentality of a Major leaguer pitcher is very complex especially for a starter. Most starters will go over scouting reports, study tapes, and have a game plan going into every start. That game plan is shared with their catcher, and is constantly changing as the game progress. This means good communication is needed, as well as a strong working relationship. When a Japanese pitcher comes to the states to pitch here all this prep work I believe is a hard adjustment for them. Then add the Language barrier to the mix makes it difficult if not impossible. Think about it if a pitcher and a catcher mix up their signals and have a miscommunication the results can be dangerous. A Catcher expecting a curve but receives a high and tight fastball will be out of position causing a pass ball. Or have to lunge for the ball causing the ump to call a close pitch or a ball. More importantly if a catch interprets a scouting report one way and his pitcher sees it differently their approach to pitching any batter will not be on the same page and that’s how mistakes that end up in the stands happen.

For any Rookie to move to the majors there is always an adjustment period, but for a player unfamiliar with American baseball the adjustment can be a lot bigger. I have always believed that Japanese pitchers like Iggy need to start the season in the Minors and to give them time and a good feel for what baseball is like here in thestates. Let them get comfortable, and learn how to make the adjustments that they need to make away form the spotlight of the majors. If you apply this rule to any number of the Japanese pitchers that came to the Majors, I believe a number of them would not have performed so badly and the results would have been vary different.

In Iggy’s case there’s a money factor but for me the money spent to bring him to the Yankees (26 million dollars) was nothing more then a tool to achieve a goal. The 20 million over 5 years is allot for a Minor leaguer to be paid but the plan is not to have him stay in the minors. We brought him in to pitch for the Yankees but to have him start in Triple A makes adjustments and get more comfortable gives him the time to understand how we play the game here. We put our money in stock so that in the future it will give a big return, well giving him time to adjust will allow the 20 million the Yankees invested in him to give them back a big return in his performance. Rushing him to perform in a strange League in a different country surrounded by teammates that can’t speak to him and to work with a catcher that is desperately trying to get on the same page as him but can’t will only hurt their confidence and eventually effect them on the mound.

In the end I’m am Proud that the Yankees have not thrown Iggy completely into the fire thou. Truth is he will be the Yankees 5th starter which means that he is expected to take the ball every 5 days and simply pitch well enough to keep the Yankees in the ball game. Basically he doesn’t even have to win all his games. He just has to keep things close enough to give the Yankees a chance to win the game. There honestly is not a lot of pressure on him, and he will be taking the roll that is usually reserved for Rookie pitchers breaking into the Majors for the first time. Now the same can not be said for Dice K (Daisuke Matsuzaka) who is practically being given the Rookie of the year award and has the “Experts” claiming he will carry the Sucks to the World Series this year. All that for a guy that has never thrown a pitch in a major league baseball game in his life. It blows me away that they expect so much form this guy who can’t speak to his teammates, much less his Catcher who hasn’t even TRIED to learn Japanese. He is in a strange country where the fans are expecting the moon from him and when he makes his first start if he doesn’t do well the fans will be calling for his head. Very different from the Japanese leagues where fans are expected to act properly and booing is looked down upon as harshly has committing a crime. Then there are the outside factors. What happens when the Sucks have their first on field brawl?? In Japan nothing like this ever happens. What about the first time Schilling opens his yap and rips Dice K for a poor performance to the Media?? Again in Japan players that talk trash against opposing teams are looked down upon. Imagine what the reaction will be when it’s Dice K‘s teammate doing it?? Look don’t get me wrong Dice K has a lot of Potential in him and he could very well be the real deal, but the truth is the deck is stacked against him due to the Standard the Media and the Suck have set for him. After he does not meet expectations which will not take long ( just Ask Josh Becket about this) it will be nothing but down hill from there. This season is going to be interesting to say the least. For the Yankees we have Iggy as our fifth starter, perhaps starting the season in Triple A. The Sucks have Dice K who will be considered an Ace of their staff even thou he has never faced any Major League hitting. He will be expected to win close to 20 games. He will be on a team where players turn on each other at the drop of a hat, and all of the media will be criticizing you as a pitcher good or bad. (Iggy faces a similar problem but with his expectations less intense) These guys are going to be cursed with Media pressure to perform but in the end I believe Iggy will be the better pitcher because he was supported by his team. For example three years ago who was Chen Ming Wang?? I know who he was last year. He was the guy that finished second in the Cy Young voting. Tell some of these experts that three years ago when Wang hit the Majors and you would have been laughed out of the ball park.

The Yankees Fan

Well thats my two cents......

Who wants there change?????

Spring Training is in Full Swing!!

Before I get started my wife actually posted a Blog about her Spring Training experience last week and her thoughts on some of the Players CLICK HEAR to check it out!!

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Welcome back my Fellow Yankee Fans!!! More importantly WELCOME BACK BASEBALLL!!!, Well at least live games, even if they’re just exobihition Spring training games- IT”S LIVE BASBEALL FOLKS! I’m getting a chubby just thinking about it. Of course with my new work schedule, I have been unable to catch any of the games on TV thus far, but I have been keeping tabs on the Yankees – AS USUAL.

Things started out glum on Monday, when Bobby Abreu got an oblique strain or basically pulled a rib cage muscle (there is more to it than that but I’m dumbing it down a bit for those cavemen out there) Although it is not a good injury to have it’s not to uncommon, nor should it keep Bobby out of the lineup on opening day. A few fans have asked me why he ignored the signs as it was reported that morning and how it was dumb of him not to rest him self right then and there. Thing is you really can’t see something like this coming on this early in the season. You have to remember most of these guys are just getting back from their down time and getting back into the regular routine. Sure they work out and stay in shape over the winter but their work out regiment is very watered down in most cases. With that being said its likely Bobby figured it was just normal aches and pains of getting his body back into Baseball shape. The important thing is that it happened now and not in April or later in the season when it could effect the regular season and the Yankees ability to score runs.



Humberto Sanchez, the prized pitching prospect we got from the Tigers had an MRI on Monday as well. It seems his fore arm was feeling stiff. The MRI came back clean and the Yankees expect him to be fine after some rest.

Brian Bruny was also suffering with from some back problems and had an MRI that also came back clean. On Wednesday, he reported he was feeling much better and I believe the Yankees have said he could be throwing again in a few days.



Lastly but by far not the last, we expect to see possibly injured Carl Pavano hurt him self while pitching batting practice and went in for an MRI on his foot. While Doctors seem to think he will be fine and it was expected that he would start Sunday’s game against the Tigers. My guess is he will trip off the bus and be a scratched for the game. Realistically though I’m hoping he pitches well over the next two weeks and Cahsmen can dump him off in a trade. Perhaps make room for Bernie Williams- now wouldn’t that be a nice thought??




On Wednesday the Yankees played their only inter-squad game of the spring season and Iggy started by throwing 2 impressive innings. Ron “Gator” Guidry told Iggy to just go out there and have fun- he did just that. I have a pretty decent feeling about this kid for some reason. I don’t think he is going to be lights out per say but I think he will be effective enough to pitch every 5 days and keep the Yankees in the ball games. If he does that the rest will come easy and he should be successful. He seems to have a great work ethic, and more importantly he seems to be honored to be a Yankee. He should be interesting to watch this season.




So with the injuries out of the way and the Spring Practices well into there second week the Yankees took the field for their first Spring Game against the Twins. Wang started and pitched 2 very strong innings. Of course he was not happy with the outing (Are they ever??) Posada said he had his pitches where up more then they should have been but never the less for his first outing he did very well. Giambi and Damon both hit Home Runs and the Yankees won 6-1.




On Friday Andy Pettit was on the mound for the first time in 3 long years starting a baseball game as a New York Yankee once again. He threw two perfect innings as the Yankees beat the D-Rays 3-1. Rasner, Proctor, Britten, and Vilone all saw work in this game as well Vilone giving up the lone run in the 7th. Offensively it was Chris Basak with a three run HR. I have no clue who this kid is but he is likely going to be packing groceries in a few weeks from now up in Scranton. Regardless it was nice to see one of the young upcoming prospects give us the winning hit for a change



On Saturday Moose was toeing the Rubber for the Yankees for the first two innings and although he did not fair as good as Wang, Pettit and Iggy he still had a good first outing. Throwing 2 innings and giving up 1 run on two hits. Moose stated that he felt strong out on the mound and that although it was not the outing he wanted he was pleased with the start. Farnsworth and Versa each saw an Inning of work as well neither giving up a run. Posada hit his first HR of the spring to get the Yankees scoring going and Marcos Vechionacci drove in the go ahead run to send the Yankees on to a 4-3 win and remain unbeaten so far this spring.



What Do You Mean thers No Crying in baseball!! I play for the Red Sox!!

Yea, Yea, I know the games don’t mean anything right now but it’s always a beautiful thing to see the Yankees record at 3-0 and the Sucks record at 0-3. Speaking of the Sucks their BP got a nice little beating on Saturday at the hands of the Philly’s. Papulbum started this game and I have to give him credit 2 innings 4 strikeouts is impressive, but I’ll be more impressed when he pitches a full game. Last year it seemed to me that the second time he threw the lineup for Papulbum was a disaster for him and I have a feeling it’s going to be a reoccurring problem for him as a starter. What’s funny so far this spring is the only wins the Sucks have are against a bunch of college students Northwestern, and Boston College. When they have faced actual Major League talent they have yet to win. This likely won’t last but as a Yankee fan you have to love that little fact. The sucks can keep on Sucking as far as I’m concerned.

The Yankees Fan

Well thats my two cents......

Who wants there change?????