WHY A CERVELLI FIST PUMP MEANS PASSION

Michael Kay is a Yankee fan, there’s no denying it. I’m not sure why he claims to be neutral, I mean, I know why he does, but he shouldn’t . Yankee fans are Yankee fans and Kay is one. You can hear his excitement on a Yankee walk off home run, it’s much different than when the opposing side cranks one. So, his negative analysis of Francisco Cervelli clapping as he touched home plate against the Red Sox last week still drives me nuts, probably because passion on the field has been part of the mindset of ballplayers since kids have been playing in Little League. Why is Kay so misguided on this one? Kay on Lupica’s radio show from August 31st said this: “What really annoyed me the most, even the clapping of the hands at Saltalamacchia, after the game, he said 'this is what Cervelli does'... That's the height of arrogance to even say that!" (The full Lupica/Kay rant is HERE. Time is at 28:24)

I don’t buy it.

There is something to be said about bad sportsmanship. It stinks. Bad sportsmanship is for instance, in my opinion, when a batter hits a homer and the next time up, he’s plunked between the numbers. That’s just a pitcher being a dick. I also find it to be bad sportsmanship when you hit a home run and stand in the batter’s box and watch your homer sail over the fence. It’s arrogant. Bad sportsmanship is pointing at an opposing player’s head like you’re suggesting he’s going to get his. Pedro Martinez did that to Jorge Posada, and yes, Posada did it back. Wrong and stupid. Mother jokes. I mean, are they necessary on the field? bad sportsmanship. OK, now I’m just getting off track.

Now, there is a big difference between bad sportsmanship and pumping your fist and showing some passion on the field. For instance, striking out a batter to get out of an inning and screaming and fist pumping is not bad sportsmanship, you just got out of a big inning. It’s adrenaline and it’s passion. Cervelli some of that today after a big strikeout against the Orioles.

Another example... Cranking a homer and fist pumping because you just helped your team gain the lead. Well, that's excitement, so you fist pump. You’ve just accomplished something big and gave your team a shot at winning. Another example, the now famous, "Clapping at home plate" after a home run by Cervelli last week. It's not bad sportsmanship, it's adrenaline. Cervelli is a player that never gets playing time, he's fired up. Respect it. Look, I don’t think Cervelli did anything wrong against the Red Sox. I think it was within the “home run time frame” if you will, and the Yankees won that game because of what Cervelli offered.

Why Michael Kay and Mike Lupica can’t see this is clearly beyond bizarro world to me. These guys are sports guys. They’ve seen passion by the Yankees all day long, how can they not distinguish between the two? They suggested Cervelli get a talking to by Derek Jeter. “Act like you’ve been there before” they said. Man, I hated Lupica’s radio show that day.

Now, you can say to me “Casey, you wrote about AJ Burnett in WHY AJ NEEDS TO SEND A MESSAGE…HIGH & TIGHT and suggested he needed to go inside on Red Sox hitters." OK, again, there’s a difference. Red Sox pitching have hit the Yankees hitters literally all season. The Yankees have never retaliated once. While hitting batters is part of the game, there’s a difference between hitting a batter once in a while and hitting them constantly. Hitting them constantly is bad sportsmanship, the occasional plunking isn’t. My assignment to Burnett on a retaliation is not only heroic, it proves that the bad sportsmanship by the Sox needed to end. Hey, to Burnett’s credit, he took the high road, he didn’t hit any Sox batters the night he pitched.

Look, as far as I’m concerned, Francisco Cervelli’s happy to be on the field. If he needs to clap, or fist pump, I accept that if something big happens in the Yankees favor. I hate hearing the argument that Cervelli needed to “act like he’s been there before.” Cervelli may not be your typical Yankee following the “Yankee way”, but one thing he is not is annoying. If you’re going to give him that “annoying” label, you might as well include Nick Swisher too. You see my point? Fun and passion for the love of baseball is just baseball. As long as you perform on the field, let out your energy, as long as it’s not malicious. If you can do that, then passion rules.

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FOR THE LOVE OF MY NEW YORK YANKEES

If there’s one thing I know about Fenway, besides being one of the best historic ballparks in the world, it has some of the most obscene fans ever. Well, Phillies fans are pretty bad, but I don’t think they trained their kids to chant “ARod Sucks... Jeter Swallows.” That may be the most offensive thing you can chant at a ballpark, a park with children present to see a good game between 2 division rivals and history in the making.



I was at Fenway in 2004 and witnessed this exact little spectacle and I will tell you, while the kid had no idea what he was saying, the fans thought it was hilarious and the dad felt like a rock star for 3 minutes, high-fiving fellow Sox fans while his parrot kid was screaming obscenities to the players on the field. You wonder why I call them the evil Red Sox, it’s because that red just makes their fans see red. Next thing you know it’s an all-out assault and it’s sad.In 2007, I was at Yankee Stadium with a friend for yet another Yankees-Red Sox match up. We were in the nosebleeds in right field. Now, if you read WHAT IS A YANKEE GROUPIE? PART 2, I probably fall into “The Possum” category. I'm the guy who’d love to be obnoxious, but the reality is, I have kids, I’m 40 and I just want to see a good game. As I was trying to get through the aisle, I spilled a little beer on a Red Sox fan who tried to back up and let me in get by, but he just slid his legs over and I needed to shuffle past him. Needless to say, beer spilled. He thought purposly, although it wasn’t, but I was glad he thought so. “What the hell are you doing?” he said. “Trying to get by you, thanks for moving,” I snapped back. “You spilled beer on me.” And he stood up and we were face to face. I looked him dead in the eye and said softly “You don’t want to do this here. This is our house, not yours.” Quickly, he shut up and sat back down.



Throughout the game, the Yankees played good ball. At that point the people who sat next to this sad Red Sox fan left and I need to push more buttons…so I sat right next to him. The dude rolled his eyes. The balls on this guy, right? We Yankee fans come into Yankee stadium and we’re threatened? No Way. God forbid I tell him he’s in the wrong house. I slowly became “The Frat Boy” mentality and made sure the world knew there was a Red Sox fan in my section. Luckily, it worked. A few chants and middle fingers later that Sox fan got a taste of his own medicine, he left. The Yankees Red Sox Series to me is always great and always will be. Starting with Babe Ruth, it may be some of the most fun you can have at a ballpark. Through the years, the curse was so great for any Yankees fan and when it “ended” in 2004, I still want to believe. Why? Because for the years leading up to the Sox winning, the curse was a fun little element of the game. These days, the games are still competitive, but I don’t feel like it’s the same. The evil Red Sox are winning more for some reason and I don’t like it one bit.



So, what can we do as the New York Yankees? Win. The Yankees are the greatest team in franchise history; we have the wins, the rings and the greatest fans in the world. The Red Sox have some wins and some fans that were so old they croaked after they finally won in 2004 and then they have the latch-ons; These are Red Sox fans that weren’t Red Sox fans before they won, but they hate the Yankees so they bought a Sox hat. Passion wins every time though, that’s the difference. True fans have passion, Yankee fans have passion. Latch-on Red Sox fans can't name the lineup. What I mean is this; you can wear your stupid red cap all you want, the truth of the matter is, the Yankees are tradition, we have determination and we belong on top… that’s not just a stupid rant ladies and gentlemen, that’s the truth…

• Grady Little leaving Pedro Martinez in too long, was supposed to happen.



• Aaron Boone’s home run was supposed to happen
  
  



• Babe Ruth becoming a huge hitting sensation with the Yankees was supposed to happen
  
  



• Bill Buckner letting that ground ball go under his legs was supposed to happen.



• Roger Clemens and Wade Boggs never winning with the Sox and then winning with the Yankees… was supposed to happen.
  
  

It’s destiny, nothing less. Let’s Go Yankees!

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WHY BERNIE WILLIAMS SHOULD NOT BE FORGOTTEN

We constantly drop the phrase “Core Four” and even now, after Andy Pettitte hung it up. Yes, it rhythms, but what about Bernie Williams? Have we forgotten one of the true Yankee greats of our time? Why not the Core Five? I hate to ignore this guy, he was so damn good for us and yes, won 4 rings for us.

Bernie Williams was home grown, just like our iconic Four… Derek Jeter, Jorge Posada, Andy Pettitte and Mariano Rivera. True, the others have 5 but at this point, isn’t 4 an accomplishment too?

These 5 guys represented leadership for many years on the New York Yankees and without them, I would suggest the may not have had our Championships. Bernie Williams came up big for us many times in the playoffs, dating back to 1996. Remember the 1996 ALDS against the Texas Rangers where he his .467? Remember the ALCS that year where he cranked out the home run in the 11th to put us ahead of the Orioles and eventually go to the World Series? Derek Jeter made some incredible plays and some major hits including his first and only walk off homer run against the Arizona Diamondbacks? “Mr. November!” was Michal Kay’s home run call as his circled the bases on that chilly night in 2001. Bernie was there for that.

I remember Jorge Posada hitting Pedro Martinez in the 2003 ALCS and tying the game when Hideki Matsui scored? I remember him screaming at the top of his lungs as he stood on second with his fists clinched. Bernie was there. And what can you say about Andy Pettitte and Mariano Rivera in the post season for all those years?… lights out and guess what? Bernie was there for almost all of it. My point is Bernie Williams is just as iconic as our Core Four and has been apart of the same teams with the same great memories and the fact that on a daily basis we leave him out aggravates me. Put it this way, when your at the stadium, you still see #51 on the backs of many hardcore fans. The Yankees are not giving that number to a player on the Yankees right now either. Why? Because Bernie’s royalty. #51 should and will never be worn again by another New York Yankee just like #2, #20, #42 and #46. Who knows when it will happen, but let’s face facts, the New York Yankees Core Five will all be retired one day in Yankeeland because without these guys, the Yankees would be just another ball club in the late 90’s. Sure, the other guys would have contributed, but the championships would have been eliminated without Bernie and company, no doubt.

So, when you’re chatting with friends and you talk about the recent Yankee greats, try dropping the "Core Five". I guarantee they'll know what you're talking about. After all, Bernie Williams cannot be forgotten.

By the way, Bernie Williams still going hot and heavy, this time with his music. He also has a new website www.bernie51.com. Be sure to check it out.

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WHY WE NEED TO RECAP

Starters like Doug Davis, Kevin Millwood, Jeremy Bonderman, Freddy Garcia, Rodrigo Lopez, and Brian Moehler are all out there for the Yanks to snag off the free agent market if they want a quick fix at the back half of the rotation.

Bartolo Colon is pitching in a Dominican Winter League and there are mixed reviews about how he's doing. Colon clearly wants to make it back, the question is, will the Yankees take a chance on him or will it be a team like the Royals.

Then you look at pitchers like Pedro Martinez or Jarrod Washburn and these guys haven't pitched in the majors in a while. Over a year.

You then have guys like, John Maine, like Justin Duchscherer and 90 year old Jamie Moyer (who just keeps on ticking). The problem with these guys are they're all coming off injury. The only name the Yankees have been connected to is Justin Duchscherer, but who knows if he's still on the radar.

Andy Pettitte is by far the Yankees top choice. Reliable, durable and comfortable, but there's one issue of concern... It's January 25th. Ladies and Gentleman, Don't panic. I have a good feeling about this guy, I feel like he's coming back. I've said it before in IF YOU BUILD IT, HE WILL COME (BACK), Andy waited until January 26th before and this may seem like a long time, but it's actually not. Tomorrow's the 26th. After that, well, then you have to start to worry. My gut says Andy's coming back, that being said, it is very possible he's "getting pitcher ready" to see how his body responds to the daily workouts. It's possible that he's seeing how he feels day in and day out to see if he can handle a full season. It's reality. So, while I feel good about Andy, keep that in the back of your mind. Be patient... We'll know soon.

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WHY IT'S CRAZY, BUT IT JUST MIGHT WORK

Pedro Martinez in Pinstripes? I know, everyone just threw up in their mouths. It sounds absolutely insane considering he threw the Admiral, Don Zimmer to the ground that dreadful day in Fenway. But, when you think about it, he's exactly what I've been talking about, a veteran, experienced and still a gamer who can be a 4th or 5th starter. Who would you want on the mound if you had to choose... Sergio Mitre or Pedro Martinez? If you say Mitre, you need to leave.

Now, I know, the past is past and when you look at his career numbers HERE, a lot of those numbers were Pre Mets when Pedro was lights out. I mean, this is pretty sick, career record of 219-100. Are you serious? When he got to the Mets, he fell apart yes, but maybe, just maybe there some magic left if he were to come back to the American League. All I'm saying is he's an option, is he not? Are you pissed because I'm suggesting a former Red Sock? "How dare you" your saying?

• Wade Boggs was a Red Sock and he was near the end of his career, but we signed him and he won a championship with us in 96.
  
• Roger Clemens was a Yankee hater, but we traded for him and he pitched for us near the end of his career and he won a few championships with us as well.

It IS possible Pedro has alittle left in him. So why am I bringing Pedro up? Because no one is. What would it hurt if the Yanks made an offer to this "over the hill" pitcher who may want to give it one more shot. He may just accept, cheap too. Hell, maybe offer him a minor league deal. Maybe you just invite him to spring training and see if he's got anything left in the tank. Make sense?














I understand people not willing to commit to this guy. For years he was the ultimate Yankee hater. I absolutely hated him and remember him and Posada signaling angrily to each other that crazy day in Boston, but something happened to Pedro over the years. He softened. For some reason, while I can't see the guy in pinstripes, I can see him giving his all one more time. Just a thought. It's either him, Mitre, Nova, Jeff Francis, Freddy Garcia, Millwood or Bartolo Colon. When I put it like that, he's looking better isn't he? Vote on this today on Bleeding Yankee Blue, and we'll have results next Tuesday.

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