HONORING MEL STOTTLEMYRE DEFINES YANKEE CLASS

It was nice to see Willie Randolph honored today.  I liked him as a player, I admired him as a manager.  To be perfectly honest, I met Willie one time and I wasn't over pleased with that meeting.  He seemed alittle irritated, but I chalked it up as a bad day.  I don't hold that against him... I'm sure shaking hands with fans can be annoying sometimes, I get it, and so, I ignored it.  That being said, I had to get that off my chest.

It didn't change the fact that I loved that the Yankees honored him today. It was the right thing to do, he was a good Yankee, bottom line.

I was equally pleased to see that the Yankees snuck one by all of us today as well, honoring Mel Stottlemyre, a guy that was a staple for the Yankees as a player, and equally so as a coach during the Torre era.  In short, he's contributed huge to the Yankees for a long, long time... and today, to see him standing there being honored, brought a flutter to my heart.  He stood there, battling cancer, being honored in front of all of us and I became sad.  He's a great man.  He's a solid human being and it was the right thing to do.  I tip my cap to the Yankees... they did it right.

Old Timer's day was also terrific, as it always is.  Players of yesteryear come out and wave and then try to play, some way older than we all thought... some young as hell still, and we can't get passed the fact that they are even there. 

I mean, does Rickey Henderson age? Honestly. 

Suzie Pinstripe even texted me at one point, knowing that I love Ron Guidry.  "It's great seeing Guidry on the mound." No doubt... Gator was my childhood. And seeing all these guys our there was, and is, the coolest thing ever. But I have to admit, just when I get disgusted by something the Steinbrenners do, I smile again when they do something truly great like they did today, with Mel Stottlemyre, surprising him with a plaque in Monument Park for all he's given the Yankees over the years.  It was a class act, a brilliant move and well deserved. It made Old Timer's Day and Willie Day alittle greater.

Gotta love it.

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