Archive for November, 2011

As you might have heard by now, Bobby Valentine is the new Red Sox manager. And in the time since it was announced that Valentine would be Boston’s new skipper (heck, even before it was announced) there has been a flood of posts along the lines of “the Yankees/Red Sox rivalry is back thanks to Bobby V!” Note some examples here, here, and here. But it’s not that simple. Sure, Valentine is known for being an opinionated loud-mouth, and it is inevitable that he will spout off a number of comments that ruffle Yankees fans’ feathers. But at the end of the [...]

While Curtis Granderson was helping dedicate a rejuvenated playground in the Bronx, David Robertson was doing his part to give back 1,000 miles away in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. For the first time since May, Robertson was able to make the trip down to his hometown of Tuscaloosa to survey the relief efforts progressing in the wake of the devastating tornado that swept through the area in the end of April. Robertson and his wife, Erin, started “High Socks for Hope” in May, with the goal of raising money for to help rebuild Tuscaloosa. Since then, High Socks for Hope has raised over $200,000, [...]

Yankees players and executives are staying busy this offseason performing all sorts of charity work across the country. Yesterday Curtis Granderson headed to P.S. 19 in the Bronx to help open its redesigned schoolyard, complete with a new basketball court and baseball field. The Yankees were one of several organizations that contributed to make the schoolyard rejuvenation possible, and now 525 Kindergarten thru 8th Graders will have a better, safer place to play. And possibly the best part of this story? The fact that Curtis participated in a Wiffle Ball Home Run Derby, with each home run earning the school a $100 [...]

According to Buster Olney (via Twitter) the bidding for Matt Garza has begun, and reportedly the Cubs are willing to listen to all offers. Given the fact that the Yankees recently put together a trade package for Giants starter Matt Cain, I would expect them to be in on Garza as well. According to Frank Russo of NY Baseball Digest, the package the Yankees offered the Giants was a combination of at least one position player and several minor league pitchers. Some of the names that were bandied about were Jesus Montero, Nick Swisher, and different minor league talent that included names such [...]

It’s been quiet in Yankee Universe of late, so I thought this would be a good time to catch up on what is going on in the rest of the AL East. Our friends over at Birds Watcher recently took a look at Adam Jones and the trade talk surrounding him. Undoubtedly one of the Orioles best players, how much longer can we expect Jones to remain in Baltimore? Chances are he is going to look very attractive to contending teams come the trade deadline next July. With Theo, Francona, and Papelbon already shipped out of Boston, Derek at BoSox [...]

Since my Iowa Hawkeyes are not playing this afternoon I was flipping through the channels and was happily surprised to find that Paul O’Neill was the guest on the Tim McCarver Show today. If you missed it, here are a few highlights: Paul assured McCarver that Andy Pettitte does still exist, and that he is still in contact with his former teammates. Paul’s sister Molly is a food writer for the NY Times and has quite a few cookbooks out. She often takes her family with her to restaurants she is reviewing. Pretty awesome perk for the rest of the O’Neill [...]

The Yankees have brought back Fabulous Freddy on a one-year deal worth just over $4 million. However, the deal is still pending a physical and I wouldn’t put it past Sweaty Freddy to fail that. (just kidding) Even though this is probably the right move, I kind of wish they had signed Colon. For some reason I always preferred Bart to Fred; even though he’s a bit older and he sort of broke down late in the season, his numbers were better last year. Oh well. As of right now it looks like their rotation will consist of (in no [...]

I intended to do this post yesterday, but then I went into a green-bean-casserole-and-cranberry-sauce coma and could do nothing but watch Elf and go to sleep. So without further ado, here are a few Yankees baseball related things I am thankful for this year: Jorge Posada - Whether he retires this offseason or not (and I hope he does), his Yankees career is over. I am thankful for being able to watch Jorge, Derek, Mo, and Andy play for so many years and through so many World Series championships. Yogi Berra - I am thankful that Yogi is still in going strong [...]

The Smilow family are the kind of die-hard Yankees fans that make us all proud. In August they took an amazing road trip to follow the Yankees all over the Midwest, and took in 26 MLB games in just 31 days. Along the way, 10-year old Haley was able to sit down with Curtis Granderson for an interview. Haley hopes to pursue a career in journalism, and her discussion with Curtis Granderson was her first interview. Haley and her family were kind enough to share the conversation with us, and the full text is below.

In the category of heart-attack-inducing news, the New York Post is reporting today that Mariano Rivera will meet with a doctor next week to determine whether he will need surgery. Fortunately, the surgery won’t be on that magical right arm of his. But regardless, surgery is surgery, and is a pretty serious business. According to Mo, he’s been having some trouble with his vocal cords for about a month now. The Post’s George King describes Mo as “raspy” and Mo says that every time he talks “it gets worse and worse.” But being the great guy that he is, Mariano [...]