REMEMBERING 9-11: CASEY'S TAKE

On September 10^th I was on my way home with no children and my wife was on a business trip. I just picked up my tickets for what was to be just another game on September 11^th. It was raining hard and I realized that Roger Clemens who was supposed pitch has his start moved to the 11th. I just got lucky. The next day at Yankee Stadium I was going to see history. Roger Clemens was going for his 20^th win. I called my dad with the news. After all, this was the guy that got me interested in the Yankees and he was going with me to the game. I was psyched knowing very well the stadium was going to be electric. I couldn’t wait.

Coming into the city on September 11th, I was listening to Howard Stern. Who didn’t back then. As the bus was coming up to the turn toward the Weehawken field, we slowed down considerably. It was now a crawl. There was smoke coming from one of the towers and I just figured it was an office fire. Many of us did in fact, it was really the first time I remember having a conversation with patrons on the bus. As we made the turn and headed down toward the next bend, the second plane hit the second tower. My bus became a mutiny as no one wanted the driver to enter the tunnel. To be honest, my mind is still blank 10 years later. I do not remember anything but screaming and 1 woman with her hands on her cheeks in shock and tears filling up in her eyes. It was like slow motion. I still remember her face, yet, I couldn’t pick anyone else out of a lineup to this day of all the people on that bus.

I don’t remember being in the tunnel, I don’t even remember walking through the city, I just remember entering my job. The day was long and I was in shock. A very close friend of mine who was an EMT, a true hero in my eyes and he didn’t go to work that day, he went to the towers, to save people. Brave and heroic doesn’t begin to describe this guy enough and to this day, he still amazes me.

Needless to say September 11^th was difficult for me and has been for years. I’ve never really every talked about it publicly, until now. As horrific as it was and when the world went in slow motion for the next 4 or 5 days, I didn’t want anything, except to be with my wife who had to travel by bus across the country to get home, and baseball.

Baseball was always an escape for me, and as a kid, I would throw a tennis ball against a wall and catch it in my Ron Guidry Wilson glove for hours. I watched baseball all the time and when I watched the Yankees, I’d line my baseball cards up in the order of the lineup. The point is, it was my happy place and as the world was crumbling around us all, I wanted baseball back. Everything else hurt way too much.

Seeing ceremony after ceremony was necessary but difficult and years later, I am still very anxious around September. Everyone lost someone that day and that image of the planes hitting the towers is something that I refuse to look at 10 years later on television or in pictures. Why should I, I replay it in my mind around this time every year. It follows me where ever I go.

When baseball resumed, I was happy again. I never went to see Roger Clemens win his 20^th game, in fact, I held onto that ticket, because I couldn’t bare to part with it. The Yankees made it to the World Series that year as we all know and it was so clear to me, that the Yankees were going to win the World Series. Yes, Luis Gonzalez crushed New York City’s dreams that night in November and it was like a second punch to my stomach, but it was life. Life has challenges and life isn’t always fair. America was attacked and we lost the World Series, but to me, it was about loving thy neighbor at that moment. It really wasn’t about loss in that World Series, it was about love. I realized right then the life goes on, we need to pick up and keep going for the people who died on 9-11 and for everyone who lost someone that day. The Yankees had great moments and we almost won it, but the Diamondbacks were New Yorkers in that series, they just wanted to play a good game, a good World Series, but in my mind, they weren’t winning it just for themselves, they were winning it for all of us. It was a sign, we were in this together, baseball brought us all back together. We needed to now move forward.

For me, it took a long time, but it’s true, while we have to move on, we can’t and won’t ever forget that day. It brought us all closer. My wife and I decided that kids needed to happen, moving forward needed to happen…life needed to happen again. It’s been 10 years since those attacks, I’ve grown and realized just how good I have it. It’s been a long trip, and every day gets better, but in the end, you look at your family and friends and realize there’s new hope.

Look, America is the greatest place in the world, we are the strongest and best nation ever, we overcame a tragedy together. My advice... keep 9-11 in your mind always and use it to become stronger in your life in your love and in your heart.

-- Casey

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WHY LOYALTY & DEDICATION IS THE YANKEE WAY

What's the deal with kids and entitlement? I see is all the time in life and it happens in baseball too. Back in the day, ballplayers like Ron Guidry or Goose Gossage, or even non-Yankee Nolan Ryan fought their way through the ranks of the minor leagues to make a living in the Bigs and then pitched their hearts out for long careers, never giving up and never thinking they were better than the others. They had heart and they had dedication. They did it because that's what people do, they get a job based on talent and they push themselves harder and harder every year to stay on top. You're only as good as your last appearance, so you constantly need to be out there pushing yourself and never giving up, because one day, it's over and the new kids come in.



But I've noticed that when the new kids come in, it's not the same. And sometimes, the quality isn't the same. The attitude definitely isn't the same. True, they worked their way up to get to the Bigs, but many of the "new" kids think that once they're on top, they've made it. But it's only the beginning...not so fast kiddies.



Getting to the top means hard work, loyalty, dedication and you need to constantly stay on top and never flash an ego. Work, work, work. It's life, and once you make it, you can't just sit back and relax and try and change the rules, because, let's face it, the rules are always the same. Kids today feel entitled for what they've done on some minor league stage somewhere, but the big picture is once you make it, you keep your nose to the grindstone and you keep going...hard, in hopes for a long career.

Jorge Posada, Andy Pettitte, Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera are perfect examples and perfect role models of this too. They share 5 championships and they never flashed their arrogance ever. Many see someone like Ivan Nova as the future Andy Pettitte. It's true, I see flashes of that. Never show ego, always show focus.



I write this because it's more common than you think. You can usually pick out these kids who feel like they are entitled all day long and you won't see them 3 or 4 years from now, because they thought they could stop working, they thought they could change the rules. They hold onto a moment that's long past, but they offer nothing more.



Baseball is a game of failure and so is life and at the end of the day the goal is to make each day count, better than the last. You never give up. That's probably why I love the Yankees, they want nothing less and they cut loose the dead weight and arrogance and guess what... they've won 27 championships doing it. Damn... they must be doing something right, huh?



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WHY DAVID ROBERTSON IS CY YOUNG WORTHY

Heading into this year's Spring Training, I think I was like most Yankee fans when it came to David Robertson. We saw glimpses last year of a consistent, powerful pitcher out of the Yankee bullpen but I certainly would not have called him dominant. This season I figured his role would be once again to get out some tough hitters and be part of the bridge that would get us to Rafael Soriano and, eventually, Mariano Rivera. I certainly expected the 2011 D-Rob to be better this year than last but I have to admit, I never expected him to possibly make history.

Do you realize, statistically, David Robertson is having one of the most dominant single season pitching performances in Yankee history? Let that soak in for a minute. One of the greatest statistical pitching performances in New York Yankee history! Now I understand that there is a lot of baseball yet to be played and anything can happen. But at this pace D-Rob will put up numbers that will have many Yankee fans screaming "CY YOUNG!"If D-Rob continues to dominant American League hitters like this, his name will be among the greatest Yankee pitchers of all time: Names like Whitey Ford, Ron Guidry, Andy Pettitte, Catfish Hunter, Mariano Rivera, to name a few.Okay, so let me give you some of DRob's amazing stats so far this season:

• Including last nights game, DRob has appeared in 53 games this season and pitched 49.2 innings. In those 49.2 innings DRob has given up only 31 hits and struck out 74 batters! That breaks down to an average of 13.5 strikeouts per 9 innings. How sick is that? But wait, there's more...

• DRob has given up a total of 7 earned runs and has a 1.27 ERA.

• Of the 31 hits he has given up, only 7 have been extra base hits and, he has yet to give up a HR.

• Opposing hitters are hitting only .175 against him.

• And, he has yet to hit a batter.

Impressive numbers and if you dig a little deeper his stats just keep on giving...

• D-Rob is actually getting more dominant as the 2011 season progresses. I'll break down for you the key stats by months:

• April: In 11 games he faced 37 batters and gave up 9 hits and struck out 12.

• May: In 12 games he faced 44 batters and gave up 7 hits while striking out 23. Opposing batters his just .159 against D-Rob in May.

• June: In 11 games he faced 39 batters and, again, only gave up 7 hits while striking out 17 batters.

• July: In 10 games D-Rob faced 36 batters and gave up just 6 hits while striking out 16.

• August: So far in 9 games this month, he has faced 23 batters and only given up 2 hits. Opposing hitters are only hitting .167 against Robertson in August.

So as you can see DRob is only getting stronger as the season moves forward. More stats that stood out for me were his numbers against right handed hitters & left handed hitters. DRob has shattered the notion that he is simply a righty specialist. In fact, he has faced more left-handed-hitters this year than right-handed. DRob is an equal-opportunity dominant reliever!

• Vs. Right-handed-batters: DRob has faced 83 batter and given up just 16 hits, which comes to a .193 Avg. Of those 83 right handed batters he struck out 28.

• Vs. Left handed hitters: DRob has faced 94 batters while surrendering only 15 hits and striking out 45. Yep, he has almost struck out half of the left handed batters he has faced! Just a reminder, DRob is a right-handed pitcher!

Look, right now David Robertson is a middle reliever so no matter what kind of numbers he finishes with this year chances are he won't win the AL Cy Young. But in my opinion he deserves, at the very least, some consideration. Even some votes from the writers. It is hard to ignore and not reward a guy who is putting up statistics like the ones DRob is compiling as we speak. So here's to you DRob! If I had a vote for the Cy Young award I wouldn't think twice about throwing it your way! Thanks for an incredible season so far and we look forward to you helping us get #28!

DRob is one of BYB's favorite Yankees, not just for his on the field dominance but for the class and compassion he has off the field. For more on Roberstoson including BYB's exclsuive interview with D-Rob, please check out our previous articles:

WHY HITTERS RESPECT DAVID ROBERTSON
HELP ROBERTSON MAKE A DIFFERENCE
WHY ROBERTSON MAKES US PROUD
WHY ROBERTSON DESERVES AN ALL STAR BID
WHY KINDNESS MAKES THE WORLD GO 'ROUND
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: HIGH SOCKS FOR HOPE
WHY ROBERTSON'S AN INSPIRATION
WHY ROBERTSON DESERVES MORE CREDIT
WHY ROBERTSON WILL DOMINATE



--Mikey Blue, BYB Senior Writer
Email: DonnieBaseball2323@gmail.com

Twitter: @MikeyBlu23



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UNLEASHING THE BEAST...SABATHIA

“We're still in the race, and I have to give us a chance to win every time I'm out there.” -- CC Sabathia

I'm not going to bore you with the stats. I'm merely going to state the facts. CC Sabathia is the ultimate pitching ace. He's proved it to the Yankee fan base, to the club and to the brass. He will come into a game, eat you up and spit you out. Not only is he about to keep the line moving so to speak, he's going for the Yankees 9th win in a row. He's also going for an individual 17th win this season and it's only August 6th. The last time I remember a pitcher looking as good as him, I was 7 years old and Ron Gulidry quickly became my idol winning 25 in 1978.CC Monster is about to take Yawkey Way by storm. Look for quality and heart today, maybe we'll even hear his ferocious roar after a 3-2, bases loaded strikeout to Papi.

Yesterday we made our mark by stealing sole possession for first place in AL East. Today, we make our point... we're here to stay and any Win/Loss record we had against the Sox before the All-Star break means nothing. It's the second half, it's a new season. It's our time.John Lackey is just that, John Lackey. He's beatable. Anything he had with the Los Angeles Angels is gone. He can't hack the rivalry of the Yankees and Red Sox. The pressure is different, it's more intense and to me, this guy isn't the star pitcher he once was, he's a guy the Yankees can hit and dominate. Patience and timely hitting, bundled with the Beast of CC on the mound and the good Lord knows who wins this game today... us! So, F the Sox, this it our game... it has to be.

GO YANKS!

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WHY RON WASHINGTON HAS SOME EXPLAINING TO DO

Look, I know Ron Washington isn’t the only one involved in this decision. I know that his staff and other managers pick the pitchers in the AL to play in the All-Star game, but how else would I attract you to this post?

CC Sabathia is 12-4 with a 2.90 ERA this year. He’ll get one more start, and the way he’s rolling right now, let’s just say he’ll get 13 wins. So, how in the world is q3 or 12 wins not an acceptable number to be chosen for the All-Star game, yet, "Pretty Boy" Wilson, Ron Washington's pitcher is? CJ Wilson has a 3.02 ERA and is 8-3. Hmm. Weird, but clearly he was picked over CC on purpose.

Yes, ultimately I blame Ron Washington, but it goes deeper than that. I blame the Rangers organization. The Rangers and the Yankees have had a rift since the Cliff Lee/Seattle Mariners debacle and the Rangers have a hard-on for the Yankees. I believe that. I think the front office hates us as much as we are not fond of them. I know this decision didn’t come from Ron Washington directly, but rather a trickle down from the front office. “Look at us, we can choose the pitchers this year. Let’s lock out a quality starter like CC Sabathia…because we can.” Now, this is my opinion for any writers and bloggers that want to tell me I’m not backing it up. It’s an opinion because I find it had to believe that anyone would NOT choose CC this season.

The Wall Street Journal had a great stat about CC, plus it refers to my childhood hero Ron Guidry, so it has to be good. “He (CC) will become the first pitcher since fellow Yankee Ron Guidry in 1985 to lead his league outright in wins at the break and not to make the All-Star Team.” To me, that’s outrageous.

You pitch to win, you don’t win for yourself, you win for your team and 12 of CC’s wins helped the Yankees win, Yet, he wasn’t chosen. What’s the reasoning? How is this overlooked?

Now yes, CC is going to pitch Sunday and would not be starting in the All-Star game anyway, but it’s his choice to no accept, meaning, you go through the motions. You make the effort and let CC decline respectively. The fans would understand. It’s like if you have a wedding on the West Coast and you send an invitation to your cousin on the East Coast with 4 childern. You know they’re not coming to the wedding, but etiquette tells you that you send the invitation out anyway and in the meantime, you have a plan B. That plan be should be CJ Wilson. Shame on them.

Don’t mind me, this is just me ranting, protecting my Yankees and wanting them to get the proper respect they deserve. Everyone knows CC is an All-Star this season, even you Ron Washington. Bad move sir… bad move.

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WHY THE BOMBERS STILL GOT IT

(In Photo: Ron Guidry)
After Opening Day, Old Timer's day is probably the best day at Yankee Stadium during the baseball year. It gives the fans a chance to see some of their favorite Yankee players comeback and play a friendly game with the rest of the old timers. They also saw the Bombers beat the Clippers 2-0 in two and a half innings of entertaining baseball.
(In Photo: Joe Pepitone, Mike Torrez)
Ron Guidry, aka "Louisiana Lightning", started the game for the Bombers. He allowed the first two to reach. But, Rick "Goose" Gossage came to the rescue and made Lee Mazzilli to hit a shallow fly ball into center field, caught by Bernie Williams, and Joe Pepitone grounded into a 4-6-3 double play to end the inning.
(Photo: David Wells, David Cone, Darryl Strawberry)
David "Boomer" Wells started the bottom half of the first on the mound for the Clippers as he faced "Mick the Quick", Mickey Rivers. After throwing one behind Mickey, he forced him to ground to third. You can read our interview with Mr. Rivers titled: EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: MICKEY RIVERS.

Then, Boomer faced Bernie Williams--who received another nice ovation from the crowd--drilled a double in the left center field gap for the first hit for the Bombers.

Wells' good friend David Cone relieved him and gave up a big two run homer which reached about the seventh row in the first deck of the right field seats. The crowd went crazy, and rightfully so. It brought back some great memories, and I even got a couple of chills down my spine when he hit that blast.

Final Score: Bombers-2 Clippers-0 in the 65th annual Old Timers Day Game.
(Photo: Ron Antonelli/NY Daily News)
It was certainly an entertaining game to watch. It was great to see Bernie Williams, Joe Torre, and Lou Piniella--who grounded out in his at bat against Jeff Nelson--back, along with all of the other Old Timers who played in this game, and were apart of the on field ceremonies.



--Jesse Schindler, BYB Staff Writer




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WHY OLD TIMER'S DAY IS COMFORTING

(Photo: NY Daily News)
Every year the Yankees have Old Timer’s Day at Yankee Stadium and to me, besides Spring training and the World Series, it may be one of my favorite times of year. For 1, I have officially been a Yankee fan since I was about 7 years old. That would put me at the 1978 season and guys like Ron Guidry, Reggie Jackson and Goose Gossage were the kings of New York. So, seeing them years later, while strange because they are so much older, is really a treat for me. First off, Ron Guidry is my idol. I too am a lefty and I have had my Ron Guidry Wilson mitt since about 1985. Seeing my idol years later just pleases me to the core.

(Photo: William Perlman/The Star-Ledger)

My fondest memory of Old Timer’s Day was watching Bobby Murcer with a pinned on lavaliere mic in the field talking to the booth while he was playing. I always liked Bobby Murcer, and even though he played for other teams in his career, like the Giants and the Cubs, to me, he was always a New York Yankee. He had so much heart and pride for the pinstripes and the fans loved it and I know the Yankee family did too. Back in the beginning of Murcer’s career, many thought because he was from Oklahoma, he was going to be the next Mickey Mantle. Well, Murcer never hit as many home runs like the Mick, but he hit his fair share and hit them at the right time. We obviously remember August 6, 1979, the funeral day of Thurman Munson and Murcer both gave Munson eulogy and hit a 3 run home run in the game that night. It will be forever known as the Munson game. What touched me the most was the report of he gave his home run bat to Thurman’s widow. Man, I still get chills thinking about that. Bobby was a good ballplayer and a great broadcaster and when he was out there on Old Timer’s Day, he was having fun. There were a lot of laughs and you couldn’t help but love Bobby Murcer.

This year, another couple Yankees are making their Old Timer’s Day debut. Joe Torre, Lou Piniella and Bernie Williams will be there. Joe Torre, whom I’ve had the opportunity of meeting many times, is one of my favorite managers ever. I loved his managing skill and I loved Zimmer by his side. It will be good to see him and I wrote about it in WHY IT'S ABOUT TIME.

Lou Piniella was in the Bronx Zoo back in the 70’s and there is no doubt there will be a standing Ovation for Lou as well. Lou was always a decent ballplayer and then, over time he became a successful manager with the Reds and Mariners. He always had a tight bond with the Yankees and I appreciated Lou, even though we played against him for so many years when he was with Seattle. Lou is a Yankee and I’m glad he’s coming home.

Bernie Williams is coming back to the Bronx this weekend and even though I didn’t like the way the Yankees handled Bernie at the end of the 2006 season, I guess I need to get over it. Bernie probably did. I have to realize that it was business, but the way it was handled just bothered me. Whatever the case, it’s clear whatever riff they had is over and I couldn’t be happier to see him back in pinstripes, at least for just 1 day. This is a guy that I watched his entire career. I remember when things really started clicking for Bernie and I thought “Man, we have many more years of this guy.” That was probably in 1996. Next thing I know, it’s 10 years later and he’s walking off the field for the last time. To me, today will be special with Bernie back in the big house.

(In Photo: Al Downing)

Seeing all the greats is a comforting experience for me. You know that Al Downing will be there, he’s always there. Yogi Berra, Brian Doyle and hopefully Wade Boggs too. I am looking forward to seeing Paul O’Neill back in pinstripes, Mickey Rivers (Read EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: MICKEY RIVERS), Moose Skowron and Darryl Strawberry. These are the Yankee greats that have made significant contributions to the team during their time in the Bronx. It’s an elite group and a group I admire and have worshipped all my life.

So, Ladies and Gentlemen, today will be no different. I will be transformed into a 7 year old kid in just a few hours, watching my favorite Yankees play alittle ball; granted it’s alittle slower and alittle funnier, but never the less, they're my favorites and all of yours too and most importantly, it’s baseball…Yankee baseball, the greatest sport in the world involving the greatest team in the world.

Yankee Tradition… that’s what it’s all about and I’ll watch every inning today…I can’t wait.

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WHY IT'S OFFICIAL

So let it be spoken, so let it be done…again. Andy Pettitte has no desire to pitch again. Pettitte told Michael Kay, “I’m not dying to be playing baseball right now. I’m absolutely loving being home.”

Look, if I didn't hear anything about it and it just lingered, I'd be skeptical, but these are Andy’s words and I think he is probably one of the most honest guys in baseball. I’m not going to lie, while I knew he retired and was ready to be home with the family, I was hoping his wife was pushing him to get him back on the mound. However, that does not appear be happening and I’m OK with it.
Let’s face it, Andy gave us some incredible years and we can’t be selfish and sit here expecting him to come back. Pettitte played some incredible games and helped the Yankees win five rings, so all we can do is say “thank you.”Lord knows I look forward to the day the Yankees retire number 46. For many of you young fans, this guy is to you what Ron Guidry was to me, a solid gamer with no complaining, no bitching….just pure grit and heart. You have to love the way Andy rode out into the sunset. Yes, selfishly, we didn’t want it to end but let’s respect this man. Andy Pettitte deserves his time, so we should give it to him.

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