WHY I BELIEVE IN THE CURSE

On August 15^th, Sports Illustrated posted a front page cover story about Dustin Pedoria titled “Heart of the Red Sox.” Immediately I joked in my head that this has got to be the curse all over again. You know, that strange "curse" talk about whomever is on the Sports Illustrated cover is cursed afterward? Anyway, I quickly forgot about it and to be honest, I don’t need to read about Dustin Pedoria and the dreaded Red Sox, it’s aggravating to me.

Yesterday I had a doctor’s appointment and I saw the cover again in the magazine rack in the waiting room and I realized something. With the Yankees thriving and the Red Sox imploding, maybe the curse DOES still live, just in another form. Man, I hope so.

I loved “The Curse of the Bambino” and since childhood, I bought into it. It was amazing to me to see that Sox team play some really good baseball, but then, in a flash, it was all gone. Bucky Dent, Aaron Boone, Bill Buckner, Babe Ruth and so on, all great memories for any Yankees fan. It was incredible the way it played out for years. I remember travelling through Boston for games at Fenway and seeing the Reverse Curve sign and seeing it defaced by a desperate fan who took a risk to change the Sox fate... Reverse the Curse it then read. Wow..."It must have sucked to be a Sox fan", I used to think.

I know some Red Sox fans and before the Red Sox won in 2004, they were beaten down, angry and annoyed with the Yankees. They would tell me that the Yankees bought their championships, yet, in 2004, it seems as though the Red Sox did too, weird right? After they won, they'd tell me the Yankees were finished and they’d tell me every year that the Red Sox were here to stay. Yeah, the Yankees made the playoffs every year except for 2008, but we never won again until 2009.

But I realized something important about Yankees fans... one thing Yankees fans don’t do is give up on their team. Do you remember 1987? How about 1988? Those years as a Yankees fan were brutal. We sucked and we had a stretch of sucking, but one thing was certain, Yankees fans never gave up. Yes, the stands were empty, but the fan base was always there. I remember feeling terrible, but I knew we’d win next year, and a year became a decade and suddenly, with Buck Showalter, we had a shot, but fell short against the Mariners in 1995. I remember where I was and I remember the heartbreak.

When Don Mattingly retired, I couldn’t believe it. “What is he doing? We almost made it!” I remember thinking. Well, no one could have predicted 1996 and beyond, but for a die hard Yankees fan like me and so many like me, the Yankees were back and never giving up on our team paid off for 5 more championships. It was beautiful.

Right now the evil Red Sox are imploding and if I can latch onto a little luck and just stare at that Sports Illustrated cover for another 2 weeks, I feel the vibe of the curse all over again. The curse is alive and well Ladies and Gentlemen, it’s just in a different form and while the Yankees are a great ball club, there’s nothing wrong with getting a little help on the side. A little luck, a little curse against the Red Sox. I’ll take what I can get.

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WHY ANY KIND OF BASEBALL IS FUN

(Photo: Lem Allen)

Recently I took my family to a Short-Season, NY-Penn league between the Hudson Valley Renegades (Rays) and the Vermont Lake Monsters (Athletics). It really brought me back to why I love this game. First off, Dutchess Stadium may be no frills, but it's a wonderful place to see a ballgame. There are box seats, which seem to be roomier than anything I’ve sat in at either Yankee Stadium. Even the metal bleachers have backs and the last row is no more than 50 feet from the field. It brought me back to when I played as a kid, dreaming of getting just 1 at-bat in the big ballpark in the Bronx.



The game was a little sloppy, but these guys are what, 18, 19, 20 at the most? However they all played hard. No one dogged it. They all ran hard to first; every time. Watching these guys made me wonder where some of our professionals pick up their bad habits? I actually bumped into a couple players walking through the concourse. Most of them had baby faces and were all trying to live out their boyhood dreams.



When all was said and done, my hometown Renegades pulled out a 6-5 victory and remained in third place behind the Staten Island Yankees and the Brooklyn Cyclones (Mets). Oddest part for me was the left-handed, first basemen wearing number 23. Jeff Malm doesn’t appear to be much of a hitter, but he played decent defense. I grew up loving Don Mattingly and I wondered if Malm did too.I was engrossed in the game; loving every minute of it. My kids, however, couldn’t get enough of the alternate entertainment. Between innings they do an excellent job of putting on a show and really making it fun for the whole family. On the way home, both of my kids said they had “a really fun time, but the game was boring”. A win for Dad?



Will any of these kids make the “Show”? I’d like to think so, I mean Josh Hamilton and Evan Longoria have both passed through here. Only time will tell.

-- Lem Allen, BYB Freelance Writer

bybcurmudgeon@gmail.com









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JETER: MR. 3000

(Photo: New York Times)
Derek Jeter has done it. On a hot and humid day in the Bronx, Derek Sanderson Jeter has hit his 3000th hit and what do you know... it's a home run. This guy is destined to be the greatest Yankee of our time.

Jeter is the first ever to hit 3000 hits as a New York Yankee. Here's the Top 10 list:

1. Derek Jeter: 3000
2. Lou Gehrig: 2721
3. Babe Ruth: 2518
4. Mickey Mantle: 2415
5. Bernie Williams: 2336
6. Joe DiMaggio: 2214
7. Don Mattingly: 2153
8. Yogi Berra: 2148
9. Bill Dickey: 1969
10. Earle Combs: 1866

So, to all you haters that continue to tell me that Derek Jeter is overrated, this hits list shows me he's among legends. I'm still not getting that ridiculous argument you have. What else does he need to do? Maybe win a few more championships? Well... he's working on it.Congrats Jeet, I've been a Jeter fan since you began, like many of us fans today. This is extra special pal. Like I said in WHY 3000 COMES BEFORE 28, enjoy this day, all day long and thanks for making 3ooo special for all of us.

By the way Ladies and Gentlemen, you can see some other BYB posts we wrote about Jeter and 3000 below:

WHY JETER IS EPIC FOR 1 GOOD REASON
DEREK JETER: THE MOVIE
WHY WINNING WOULD MAKE 3000 BETTER
WHY IT'S 2994 AND COUNTING
WHY I KNOW WHEN JETER HITS 3000

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DEREK JETER: THE MOVIE

I don’t know about you, but I am very excited for the Documentary on Derek Jeter’s 3000^th hit on HBO. Read about it HERE. I don’t get too excited about a lot. Clearly, I’m obsessed with my family, baseball, Bleeding Yankee Blue (shameless plug), but if you want to truly win me over, put in any baseball doc and you’ll have me at “Babe Ruth”. That’s me.

I love the baseball movies as well. I wrote about it last week in WHY I LOVE BASEBALL MOVIES. Plus, I consider Billy Crystal’s *61 epic as well. It’s simple to me, if you love the game and you like the character or player, there’s an instant attachment or connection. I think Jeter is the biggest Yankee stud since Don Mattingly and he’s larger than life. Jeter deserves the best and that goes all the way back to his upbringing. That upbringing was the basis for what has become of him, a giant in Yankee history.

But back to my point. To me, it’s not only the Yankees that make watching baseball documentaries great. The Franchise, a show about the World Championship San Francisco Giants is about to start on Showtime and that even looks awesome.

How do you not like guys like Pablo Sandoval, Buster Posey, Brian Wilson. These guys keep it loose but play incredible baseball. Here’s a hilarious clip of Brian Wilson promoting the Franchise. See for yourself:

The point to all of this is, as a Yankee fan and someone that has watched Jeter since the very beginning, this is an event. It’s a story about determination and passion of the game. I will be sure to sit my 8 and 7 year old boys in front of the television that evening. We’ll have popcorn, we’ll wear Yankee caps and we will relive the 300oth hit Docu-style and talk about this player that believed himself and his team and became the most popular New York Yankee of our current time, but not bec ause he wanted the popularity, but instead because he wanted to be the best.

My sons and I will talk about it, we’ll talk about his ability, but we’ll talk about how he always had his eye on the prize and never gave 90%. It was always 100% out of the gate and it attracted millions to Yankee stadium since 1995. Plus, it inspired kids to want to be him, like I kid's my age wanted to be Guidry or Munson or Reggie.

To me, Jeter IS the Yankees. I wrote WHY JETER IS EPIC FOR 1 GOOD REASON and in it, again, I talk about the postiives of growing up in his home. His parents were the key to all of this. They should be commended. Their values translated to the field and to me, this guys leadership should never be overlooked. And for all you guys out there who like to put out polls that suggest that Derek Jeter is overrated… I still haven’t seen that proof, just a lot of lip service. So give it a rest… give in… because Jeet is likable.

Trust me, he’s Derek Jeter and he’s the king of baseball, not just the Yankees.

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WHY CONSTANTINO WAS CONSISTENT

One of the saddest days, (Thurman Munson’s death will always be the saddest), for me as a Yankee fan took place after the 1995 season. My childhood hero, Donald Arthur Mattingly decided that the back pain was never going to get better and his family was calling him to come home. When Mattingly retired I couldn’t imagine the Yankees without him.

I couldn’t imagine how they could ever replace his Gold Glove at 1^st base and his leadership both on and off the field. The man was a true hero to me and millions of Yankee fans around the world. In fact, I loved Donnie Baseball so much I remember actually being angry thinking that the Yankees were even going to try and replace him. I already had anger toward the guy taking over first and I didn’t even know who it was going to be!

And then it happened! In a trade with the Seattle Mariners after the 1995 season, the Yankees traded Russ Davis and Sterling Hitchcock for Jeff Nelson, Jim Mecir and, of course, Constantino “Tino” Martinez. Now, this was the same Mariners team who broke my heart just months before in the 1995 ALDS. The ALDS that ended Mattingly’s career. Man I was pissed! Why him? Anyone but him! No one could replace the great Yankee Captain!

But then something happened. Tino was cool! Tino was humble! And Tino could really hit and drive in runs! You could just tell he was a special player and was going to be a very special Yankee! Tino did not make me forget about Donnie Baseball by any means, but what he did do for Mattingly fans like myself is handle the transition with grace and humility. Tino knew he was filling big shoes but he didn’t try and duplicate Mattingly, he just played hard and let his numbers do the talking. He won my respect and I was rooting for him every step of the way.

So let’s take a look at Tino’s career in pinstripes. In the seven regular seasons that Tino played for the Yankees he had… .276 AVG. / 192 HR’s / 739 RBI’s. Those RBI numbers are amazing! Think about this…Tino played 16 season in MLB, 7 of those years with the Yankees. In his 7 years with the Yankees he had 739 RBI, in his 9 non-Yankee years he had a total of 532 RBI’s. And of his 339 care home runs, 192 were hit in those 7 seasons in pinstripes, meaning in 9 non-Yankee seasons he hit 147 HR’s. Talking about making the most of your time wearing the pinstripes!!!



Now postseason. Just another Yankee player who was part of that incredible run between 1996-2001. Tino’s postseason numbers don’t jump off the page when you look at them, but they certainly aren’t numbers he should be ashamed of. Here are his numbers in 99 postseason games: 9 HR’s and 38 RBI -- with only a .233 AVG. You know, I really don’t believe that low batting average fairly reflects the clutch hits he often got. Two of those, hits/hr’s/rbi’s are two of the most memorable in recent Yankee history, both of which were in the World Series:



#2 -- Game 1 of the 1998 World Series. Tino takes Mark Langston deep for an amazing grand slam! Remember, Mark Langston was one of the toughest lefties in all of MLB. Even though it was just the first game of the World Series against the Padres, I really think Tino’s grand slam took the heart out of the Padres and it was game, set match!



#1 -- Game 4 of the 2001 World Series -- Martinez HR in the 9th sets the stage for Jeter's "Mr. November" game-winner. With two outs in the 9th inning and the Yankees trailing by two runs, Martinez came to the plate with a runner on and hit one of the most dramatic World Series home runs. The stadium was ROCKING!!!

So Tino, thank you for all you did for the Yankees and their fans. It was so great seeing you again on Old Timer’s Day. It was even btter seeing that sweet home run stroke! You belong on that field. You are a true Yankee and deserve the ovation you got. Welcome home!



Some cool facts about Tino:

• Tino was a 2x All-Star selection (1995, 1997)

• Was part of all 4 of the Yankees WS Titles in 1996, 1998, 1999, and 2000

• He won the Silver Slugger Award in 1997

• Was the 1997 Home Run Derby champion

• Was a member of the 1988 U.S. Team that won the Gold in Seoul

--Mikey Blue, BYB Senior Writer

Twitter:@MikeyBlu23







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WHY I'M WAXING NOSTALGIC: PART I

Rickey Henderson and Don Mattingly, these are some of my heroes as a kid and this 1987 WPIX promo gave me chills. Look for more of these as I find them, they are classics.





Like what you see? Tell me, comment. If you find good promos from back in the day, send me the links.

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WHY PRECEDENCE HAS BEEN SET

Jorge Posada’s struggles are no secret. And I don’t want to kick a man when he’s down…. But I’m saying it now: Jorge won’t be back in a playing capacity with this organization next year. How do I know? This is the Yankees and we’ve seen this show before.

Exhibit A: Jorge is currently batting .169 (.209 vs. Righties & a whooping .000 vs. Lefties) It's gotten so bad he’s been benched against Lefties.(Photo: Getty)

Exhibit B: Russell Martin is hitting .236 which is on par with the rest of the AL catchers. It doesn’t hurt that Martin is also handling all of the Yankees starters without much issue. Remember Burnett’s issues with Posada last year?

Exhibit C: When the Yankees make a decision that someone is old and expendable, they don’t hide it. When the organization decides someone is “washed up”, they move them to DH and replace them with a younger model. It’s like buying a car or a new electronic gadget.I know you all are saying, “Lem, this is all your opinion” WRONG! Fact: In 2006, Johnny Damon was signed as the new center fielder displacing longtime fan-favorite Bernie Williams. Williams was in the last year of his contract, and the organization determined Bernie was done. 2006
was Bernie’s last year, where he hit .281, 12 HR, 61 RBI.
(In photo: Ken Griffey Sr.)
Isolated case? WRONG! They’ve been doing this for a long, long time.... In 1983, the Yanks had a decent first baseman. Ken Griffey hit .306 and played decent defense. In 1984, Griffey was moved to the outfield and later to DH, only to be replaced by a fresh-faced kid from the cornfields of Indiana waiting to take Griffey’s job. Don Mattingly went on to win the AL batting title in ‘84 and the AL MVP in ’85, while Griffey bounced around the league for another 6 seasons.

Look, I’m a huge fan of Jorge Posada’s. I’ve met him on 2 different occasions and he couldn’t have been nicer. But lets face it, time isn’t on his side and the precedence has been set. I believe he should be a no-doubt Hall of Famer, and at this point might want to consider bowing out gracefully. I thank Jorge for everything he’s done while he’s here, but this is a younger man’s game.

By the way... Jeter, Rivera, A-Rod take notice…..


-- Lem Allen, BYB Freelance Writer
bybcurmudgeon@gmail.com


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WHY MATTINGLY WAS BORN TO BE A YANKEE

FIRST BASE

"A Humble Man of Grace and Dignity. A Captain Who Led by Example. Proud of the Pinstripes Tradition and Dedicated to the Pursuit of Excellence. A Yankee Forever." -- Plaque in Monument Park

#2. That dedication is to the New York Yankees, Donald Arthur Mattingly. First Baseman. Number 23. The second greatest Yankee to play position number three on your scorecard.

When asked this year about his greatest moment as a Yankee, Mattingly replied, “Probably the biggest… going out to run the first game of the playoffs in ’95. The place was just jammed. It was crazy. And I really felt like I was fast that day. And when I ran, I really felt like I could run.”

Mattingly has the numbers to be second on this list. But it's not only the numbers, it's his passion to play hard and love the fans as much has they loved him that catapults him to #2. Dwight Gooden once said of Donnie: "I'm glad I don't have to face that guy every day. He has that look that few hitters have. I don't know if it's his stance, his eyes or what, but you can tell he means business."
Without getting too bogged down with statistics, he had more power than the guys who were winning batting titles, but less power than the players winning home run crowns. But Donnie hit for both power and average. Donnie's batting performance from 1984-89 can compare to any stretch of any player. Add a Gold Glove for each of those years, and you have an all-time 6-year performance.

But it was his 1985 MVP season that was truly legendary: 107 runs, 211 hits, 48 doubles, 35 HR, 145 RBI, .324 average.

In 1987, Mattingly put his name on two unique records. He tied Dale Long’s record of hitting a home run in 8 consecutive games. Also, Donnie Baseball set the record for slugging six grand slams in one season. Ironically, these were the only slams Mattingly ever hit.

Another unusual circumstance involved his fielding. Just how good was this guy with the glove? Remember in 1986 against Seattle? Yankee manager, Lou Piniella started Mattingly at THIRD BASE! He played in three games at the Hot Corner during the series.

Now awards are nice, but these honors never tell the whole story. There are Yankees much more decorated than Mattingly, but don’t come close to receiving the love the faithful have for him. It’s kind of like this: Would you rather win some "Man of the Year" Award or be the
man whose family absolutely loves him and he absolutely loves his family? I pick a loving family over some plaque on the wall every second of every day.

When it comes down to the absolute bare essentials, the fans are more important than the players. Fans are the lifeblood of the game. It's our money that keeps the game going. Very simply, if no fans came to games or watched them on TV, professional baseball would fold. Fans
matter and are important. No one got that more than Donnie Baseball. You ever go to a baseball card show? Some players just keep their heads down and keep pen to paper signing whatever is put in front of them. Not Donnie. He loves the fans and understands the fan’s perspective and said, "This guy is working all week and he brings his son to this show, has to pay $2 to get in, maybe $5 for a picture and then $6 for an autograph. These guys have to think you're a real ass with your head down all the time signing."
OK, so maybe he came up short of winning a World Series. And maybe he came up short for the Hall of Fame. But for an entire generation of Yankee fans who grew up rooting for Don Mattingly, he is and always will be their most loved Yankee. And when comes down to it, isn’t that what’s most important?


--Moonlight Graham BYB Staff Writer

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WHY DONNIE BASEBALL IS STILL MY HERO

On Tuesday, my childhood hero, Donald Arthur Mattingly, was a guest on the Dan Patrick Show. I won’t lie, I was more than excited for this. I have a hard time seeing him in a Dodger cap, but I’m really happy he has the opportunity to show his skills as a skipper.

Listening to the interview reminded me why I have a man-crush on this guy. He is always prepared, always professional and a true leader by example. In his playing days, Donnie always played hard, always ran to first (ahem Mets), and was never afraid to get dirty. He also seems to have amassed a ton of baseball knowledge. He would study pitchers and go up to the plate prepared. Granted his back gave out towards the end of his career as evidenced by the numerous batting stances throughout his playing days. But he always tried his hardest.

Most of the interview with Dan Patrick was about his new managerial role, but the one thing that stuck out for me was when Patrick asked him if he wanted his players to play as he did. Mattingly was intense, focused, driven, but most of all prepared night in and night out. Donnie’s answer was that he wanted his players to be prepared and to do their best every time out there. That’s a classy answer. He understands that all players are driven by different things and are wired differently, but as long as they do their best and put forth a team effort they will succeed.
I have numerous memories of Donnie Baseball from seeing his 6^th Grand Slam in a season sitting in the 3^rd base boxes as a kid to being at the stadium on “Don Mattingly Day” as a teenager to later, finally meeting him and shaking his hand as an adult. I wish him nothing but the greatest success and hope he returns to pinstripes someday.



--Lem Allen BYB Freelance Contributor



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WHY TIES NEED TO BE BROKEN

FIRST BASE

If there’s one thing that baseball fans hate, it’s a tie. A baseball game can never end until one team has safely touched home plate more than the other. In every play, you’re safe or you’re out. Every pitch is a strike or a ball. Quite simply, you win or you lose… you NEVER tie.

However, on the extremely rare—almost never—occasion when a tie occurs, baseball magic happens.

Most recently, the Minnesota Twins and Detroit Tigers finished tied with the same record in 2009. Remember that classic back and forth one game playoff? If you saw it, you’ll never forget it.

How about in 1951? The New York Giants and Brooklyn Dodgers season ending tie was finally “resolved” with Bobby Thomson’s Shot Heard ‘Round the World.

And of course, 1978. The Yankee and the Red Sox classic one game playoff when Bucky Dent hit the ball over the big green wall and effectively ended the Red Sox season and sent them spiraling downward for almost a decade.

#3. That’s how close it is between the #3 of my First basemen countdown. Yankee first basemen, Bill “Moose” Skowron and Tino Martinez are so close in so many categories, except 1. Follow me through:

These are the actual career Yankee numbers for both players:Both won 4 World Series with the Yankees. And their World Series numbers are just as close. (I only compared World Series numbers because when Moose played, there were no playoffs unless two teams tied at the end of the regular season.)

Both batted 5th in the batting order. Now Tino did bat clean up sometimes, but was probably more comfortable where he hit most, batting fifth. Moose batted fifth for his Yankee career.

Both played most of their games with the Yanks, but did play a substantial amount of games for other teams. However, both made their name with the Yankees.

So, based on everything I just showed you, and if I had to choose just 1, I would officially give it to Tino Martinez for this reason: He replaced Don Mattingly AND became a fan favorite himself.

When Mattingly played, Yankee fans loved him. They still do. So replacing him was not going to be easy. No one was going to just come in and take Donnie Baseball’s position without some hazing. Especially if they came from the same Seattle Mariners team that knocked Donnie out of the 1995 playoffs.
On top of that, Tino had a horrible start to his first season in the Bronx. Yet Tino persevered, took the hazing, never became bitter, and not only won over the fans in the Bronx, but became a fan favorite. I'm NOT claiming that in his day Moose wasn't as loved by the Yankee faithful. Just that Tino had to do a little more to earn his Yankee love.


--Moonlight Graham BYB Staff Writer

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