BYB PLAYOFF UPDATES & GOODFELLAS

So much baseball today and I had no time to watch anything really except for the end of the Cubs vs. Giants game.  I mean in the end, when everything is said and done, I want the Cubs to be in the World Series this year. BUT... I like the Giants, so this is gonna be tough for me emotionally.

Anyway.  Here are a few things to point out about today...

My kid wants to see the Rangers advance, but today against the Blue Jays, they lost.  That means they are 0-2 in the ALDS. I mean Yu Darvish gave up 4 home runs today.  That is NOT a good situation.  In the end, the Jays won and now the Rangers have to dig out of a hole.

Final: Blue Jays 5 - Ranger 3

The Indians killed the Red Sox, and now they are up 2-0 in this series. As you know, I'm a Yankee fan and not a Sox fan.  Now, I feel for friends like Section 36, but the reality is, the rivalry will forever be in my heart and I cannot watch the Red Sox win. And so, I root for Terry Francona.

 Final: Indians 6 - Red Sox 0

In the NLDS, the Dodgers won Game 1 against the Nationals. Kershaw beat Scherzer, and to be honest, I can get on board with that.  I no longer really root for the Dodgers with Mattingly no longer there, and so, I just wanna see how this series plays out. No biggie.

Final: Dodgers 4 - Nationals 3

The Cubs against the Giants.  I like the Giants this season and I want to see them get through the entire thing winning it all. But to be honest, to see the Cubs in the World Series would be cool for the history of the game.  Here's my problem with the Cubs... I do not like Joe Maddon and his arrogance.  Yes, he's good... but is he that good?  I don't think so.

Bruce Bochy is the man, and I love Posey, Pence and Samardzija, and the franchise itself kicks ass. and so, I want them in and even though they lost tonight... I have faith in the Giants.

The Cubs one 1-0 tonight on a home run from Javier Baez.  Great game.  In the end, it was funny to see Ken Rosenthal ask Baez about getting a curtain call, and it was obvious the language barrier hurt Baez with his answer... "You know... just dealing with it. You can't do anything else."

Yikes...

Final: Cubs 1 - Giants 0

 
And finally... watching the post game with Alex Rodriguez, Pete Rose and Frank Thomas, as much as I love seeing those guys there... it was clear to me that Thomas felt like he was sitting with a bunch of randoms.

I had to tweet this... because it was the first thing I thought of:

Frank Thomas is like "ARod is this way, Pete Rose is this way... and this guy's like 'What do you want from me?'" #Goodfellas #FoxSports pic.twitter.com/Ah1VL9fuKc

— Robert Casey (@BleednYankeeBlu) October 8, 2016

The painting in Goodfellas:


Now don't get me wrong, I love Pete Rose and I appreciate ARod very much... it just felt awkward to me, even though it probably wasn't.

Anyway... more baseball this weekend. #BYB will do our best to bring you as much coverage and interesting stuff as we can.

Stay with us every day!

O CAPTAIN, MY CAPTAIN!

#ThankYouCaptain via #BYB

Sunday we say goodbye to El Capitan. And I, for one, am devastated; but probably for different reasons than most of you. Look, Derek is an amazing ballplayer and based on the current state of professional athletes, a role model for kids everywhere. I’m not denying what he’s meant to the game, the Yankees, and fans in general but for me it’s about something deeper.

As stated in many of my other stories, I grew up idolizing Don Mattingly. And throughout most of his career (and my childhood) the Yankees were terrible. He was the only bright spot in a rather bleak era of Yankees lore. So, I get it.

I get the Derek Jeter-mania. For an entire generation of fans Derek Jeter is to them what Don Mattingly was to me. How many kids went to Little League and asked for #2? How many girls do you see wearing a Jeter shirt? Derek Jeter is all they know. Since 1996, Derek Jeter has been the (pretty) face of baseball and the Yankees.

For me, once Mattingly retired I gravitated towards Paul O’Neill, Jorge Posada, Mariano Rivera. Why? Maybe because those guys played hard. Maybe because those guys, at the time, weren’t the popular choice. Maybe because Jeter has always been a “pretty boy”; an easy choice for fans everywhere. But maybe for me, it was just to be different. Jeter was the obvious successor to the Yankees chain of gloriousness and being an awkward teenager at the time drove me to do the opposite of what everyone else was doing.

I guess that was my anti-establishment phase. Remember, I always took Frank Thomas in the Thomas/Griffey argument.

Flash Forward to 2014, I am a 35-year-old father of 2. All of my heroes from childhood are long-since retired and right now, Derek Jeter is the lone connection to my younger days and now that he’s retiring; once he’s gone so will that connection to those times. Growing old is a part of life, a part I’m having a hard time accepting at the moment. Jeter was never a personal hero but his retirement will leave me with a sense of loss. A sense that time is passing me, all of us, by. Nothing lasts forever.

Wow, it just got dark there for a bit. Sorry about that.

To Derek, thank you. Enjoy your retirement, it’s well deserved. You’ve always done what’s right and played the game hard. You’ve  been a constant for 20 years. We don’t see that much with professional athletes these days. While you’re leaving a select few with gift baskets, I will be left with a sense of loss and despair. Baseball is a child’s game and every child grows up. Now it’s time for me to grow up.

--Lem Allen, BYB Contributor

Email me at: bybcurmudgeon@gmail.com

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WE CAN'T IGNORE THAT OTHER CAPTAIN RETIRING...

While most attention this week has been focused on the Derek Jeter farewell tour, another class act is saying goodbye to baseball and deserves recognition. After 17 years in the Bigs, White Sox first baseman Paul Konerko is retiring.

Konerko was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1994 and made his Major League debut in 1997. But as the Dodgers tend to do with young and promising talent, they traded the slugger away to the Cincinnati Reds for closer Jeff Shaw. Konerko only played 26 games with the Reds before he found a home on the roster of the Chicago White Sox in 1999.
 

The 6’2” right-hander quickly became a fixture in Chicago’s South Side and racked up team highs for total bases and his 432 home runs as a Sox player puts him second only to Hall of Famer Frank Thomas (448) for the team record.

Konerko also made an impressive six All-Star appearances in the span of his career and was named MVP of the American League Championship series in 2005—the same year he belted a grand slam in Game 2 of the World Series against the Houston Astros. The ChiSox went on to sweep the ‘Stros to end an 88-year championship drought.



Aside from being one of the top first baseman in the league, Konerko—called “Pau-lie” by fans—is beloved by Chicago natives for his humility and loyalty to the community. He took a reported $11 million pay cut to come back and play for the White Sox in his final year.

On Saturday, the White Sox will hold Paul Konerko Day in honor of their first baseman. It’s a fitting tribute to a solid and humble ball player who dedicated his time and resources to the community he loved.  

I just wish he would have been a Dodger.

--Alexis Garcia, BYB's "Eye on MLB" Columnist
Twitter:  @heylexyg



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"I'M HERE BECAUSE OF THE NEW YORK YANKEES."

The MLB Hall of Fame. The home of the most talented individuals to have represented the MLB. It just got a whole lot cooler! This year, joining the likes of the great Babe Ruth, and Lou Gehrig, were Tom Glavine, Greg Maddux, Frank Thomas, Bobby Cox, Tony La Russa, and our own Joe Torre.

Yes, OUR Joe Torre. Torre of Torre's Terrors. The leader of the Elite Five. The manager who led the dynasty. The Torre who opened his speech with "I'm here because of the New York Yankees." Indeed, our Torre.

Torre being inducted into the HOF as manager was perfection to me. He is a hero to me. The captain at the helm when the team won the first world series of my lifetime. He is as big a part of that Dynasty era as Derek Jeter and Jorge Posada. And yeah, the Yankees have a long list of impressive managers, but Torre was it for me. You can watch his speech HERE if you missed it.

Despite being asked to keep his speech to 10 minutes, the old Yankees skipper went on for 28 minutes. Not at all complaining though. He entertained with stories of his time with the Yankees. He forgot to mention George Steinbrenner, and was very upset by the fact (HERE). "I missed mentioning the most obvious guy in the world... It was so obvious that I was going to do it that I went right passed it  -- the whole Steinbrenner family.  It's the proudest time in my whole career and I feel terrible that I omitted that." 

Still, it was an incredible speech to me. He recounted stories of his time with the Yankees. Mentioned players whom he managed, and even confirmed that they do practice the flip play, despite a certain non-believers thoughts on it. He thanked Don Zimmer, crediting him for making him the manager he was. And he thanked us, the Yankee fans. Saying "You have turned New York City into a small town for me." 

All the 2014 Hall of Fame inductees have earned a spot in there. But Torre holds a special spot for me. He is to me what Billy Martin is for the older generation, and what Joe Girardi will be for my children. One day I will visit Cooperstown with my grand kids, and I will be able to say "This manager we have... he will never be like Joe Torre.  Now THAT was a manager. I miss him."

Congratulations to all the 2014 inductees, and a special BYB congratulations to Torre! You the manager!

--Erica Morales BYB Senior Writer 
Twitter: @e_morales1804

 
  

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A VOTE OF NO CONFIDENCE

(In Photo: Armando Benitez)

Let me start by stating I intend to say less than favorable things about the current Commissioner of Major League Baseball, many in the BBWAA and Hall of Fame voting in general in this piece.  I also want to congratulate Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine and Frank Thomas on becoming the latest group of players to be headed for Cooperstown. 

These three men are all deserving of a place in the Hall. The way they played the game, the numbers they put up and the manner in which they conducted themselves on and off the diamond make their inductions a no-brainer in my opinion.

I am writing about baseball, but I am not a baseball writer. It is not my profession. I receive no paycheck from a major publication or report to an editor. I understand how difficult it must be to cover the game. I get how challenging it is to break in and become a Buster Olney or Peter Gammons. I am in no way saying that anyone could do what these men and women do. What I am saying is that I absolutely feel that many of these “writers” have officially lost their minds and sense of who they really are with respect to the game and the men who play it. 

I remember the great Robert Duvall playing Sports writer Max Mercy in “The Natural”. And each year when the Hall of Fame vote is announced I think of the line he utters to Redford’s Roy Hobbs, “I am here to protect this game.” With all due respect to Max and the Baseball writers of today, GET THE HELL OUTTA HERE! Don’t spew that holier than thou nonsense at us. You write about the game. That is the beginning and end of your job description. The players play. The fans watch and cheer. And the writers write. That is the dynamic. Don’t make yourself out to be more than you are. You build up and tear down the heroes. You get the temperature of the clubhouse and add fuel to the fires of rivalries. When there is scandal or wrong doing you report it. You are not Judge, Jury and Executioner, ladies and gents. That is NOT your job. 

Giving the writers a Hall of Fame vote has never sat well with me. Why should they hold the keys to immortality? Why should they decide what makes a player one for the ages? I’ll be honest; I’m a bit of a bias jock at heart. I firmly feel that many of those who write about the men who play the game don’t like them. They have a deep seeded resentment towards the guys on the field. I may be wrong, but that’s how I feel. I think they take the one thing they have over the players and use it to get back at them. 

Seriously can ANYONE explain to me how Greg Maddux doesn’t receive 100% of the vote for the Hall? It is truly insane to say; “I don’t see Maddux as an All-time great.” Yet 16 of these so-called baseball writers didn’t vote for him. Yeah, you’re protecting the game all right. Maybe you should look into a new career as an E! News reporter. You can spew gossip and innuendo and think you’re a celebrity because you talk about them.

There are writers that voted for Armando Benitez this year…that’s a joke. Armando was a good player, but unless you’re related to him you don’t give him a Hall of Fame vote. Especially considering Biggio and Mattingly are still out there. Now, I don’t think Donnie is a Hall of Famer. He is a borderline candidate…but WAY more deserving of a vote then the great Benitez!! That is inexcusable and that “writer” should have his or her vote taken away. Why not just vote for Anthony Weiner or Kelly Clarkson?

Another thing that has me livid with this arrogant process is the steroid dilemma and reign of “Bud The Disgraceful”. Look, I think that if you took PEDs than you should be penalized no question. If you take them again you should be out of the game immediately…but if they don’t have definitive proof linking you to HGH, Andro and so on, then play ball. Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens and Sammy Sosa are now like Voldemort to MLB and Selig. They act as if they never existed and dare not speak their names.

I’m sorry, Bud, they do exist. They did a lot to make the game money and YOU let anything they might have done happen. YOU needed to bring the game back to popularity after the 1994 season and “Chicks dig the long ball” right? Bud wants to leave office as the man who cleaned up baseball…but Bud dirtied it up! And the real crime is that he and the baseball writers will hold the players Selig used to bring the game back from the brink out of the Hall. That is a FACT! Crazy how a guy nicknamed “Bud” is no friend to the game.

Look at the Alex Rodriguez case. Do actually think if ARod was “Big PAP-ULAR”, selling apparel and well liked that Bud would be going after him with such venom? NO HOW, NO WAY, folks. This whole thing is such a sham. And the truth is it all cheapens the honor that it is to named to the Hall of Fame. Writers going on rumor or suspicion will not vote for a player they believe used PEDs. That is a very slippery slope gang. 

Between self-important baseball writers playing God with their undeserved vote, to a Commissioner who smugly stood watch and profited over the rampant juicing in the sport, the shine on the Hall of Fame plaques has dulled. I simply don’t care what they think. I will not put any weight into the decisions of these writers and those in the Selig Regime. There are crooks and criminals in every clubhouse in baseball…but there are more on the outside looking in. The game is worse off because of who is minding the store.

 I don’t want to paint all writers with the same brush. I think a guy like Jack Curry is a great example a writer who reports on the game and knows his place within the bigger picture. I just wish there were more of him. 

I love baseball. I always have and always will. I liken it to listening to a great record. I see the poetry in it. It’s just one of the greatest things around. It’s our game. It belongs to the players and the fans…all the other stuff? Well, the suits and writers can have that. I don’t need to have them deem a player worthy to make one a Hall of Famer in my book.

--Mike O'Hara, MLB Fan Cave Host, Season 1
   Twitter: @mikeyoh21
"Paulie was always my favorite player."



Thank you to all the Bleeding Yankee Blue readers for continued success.  You've made BYB the fastest growing Yankees fan site in the history of Yankees fandom.  Thanks for reading, sharing and enjoying. Follow me on Twitter @BleednYankeeBlu and join the group Bleeding Yankee Blue (Official) on Facebook, just type it in.

TODAY SHOULD BE A GREAT DAY FOR BASEBALL!

But it won’t be. Today is the day the 2014 inductees to the Hall of Fame will be announced. The Veterans committee already voted and they elected Bobby Cox, Tony LaRussa, and Joe Torre. I can’t think of 3 more deserving candidates!

Well today isn’t about them. And it’s not about the players on the ballot. Today is about the self-righteous baseball writers. The Hall is voted upon by members of the Baseball Writers Association of America. This is when these “experts” decide who is deserving enough to be enshrined. What makes them experts? Is it because they write about the game? I write about the game and I’m not a member of the BBWA and I’m not allowed to vote. Is it because they get paid and are “professionals”. That’s idiotic!!

We all know some of these writers have agendas. They want to make a name for themselves. They’ll all do something so for the next week we’ll talk about them instead what really matters; the players themselves!

We’ve all heard about the writers who won’t vote for people in their first year of eligibility because no one deserves that distinction. Are you kidding me? Who made you God? If someone is the best player of their era, (hello Mariano Rivera) you put them in as soon as possible!

MLB.com posted their writers’ ballots Tuesday night. Sixteen of them voted for Greg Maddux. One of them, Ken Gurnick, did not. Instead, Gurnick has voted to make this about him.

Greg Maddux is probably the best pitcher I’ve seen in my lifetime. Gurnick only voted for Jack Morris. Morris was good, but I’m not sure he was ever dominant like Maddux was. Gurnick’s explanation, “As for those who played during the period of PED use, I won’t vote for any of them.”

Really? You’re going to throw out 20 years of players? Most people agree the PED Era began in the late 80s. Jack Morris pitched until 1994. So, I’m pretty sure Jack Morris pitched during the PED era. Not to mention all the things guys were taking during the 70s that only a few people talk about (Remember greenies? How about “leaded and unleaded” coffee?) Also, just because someone played during that time makes them guilty? Nobody has ever even whispered Greg Maddux and PEDs. Can we, as baseball fans, vote to take away your voting rights?

By the way, if I had a vote mine would consist of:

• Greg Maddux, most dominant and feared pitcher I’ve ever seen.

• Frank Thomas, amazing power and one of the best hitters of the 90’s. Amazing Eye. Read ALEX RODRIGUEZ PROVES MY CASE.

• Mike Mussina, like Maddux, not overpowering but an amazing pitcher who knew how to get it done.

• Tom Glavine, probably won’t get in this year, but should go in with Maddux because they are the best 1-2 combination I can remember seeing. In a three game series, having to face them back-to-back…brutal!

All first year ballots! Suck on that BBWA.

--Lem Allen, BYB Contributor

Email me at: bybcurmudgeon@gmail.com

Thank you to all the Bleeding Yankee Blue readers for continued success.  You've made BYB the fasted growing Yankees fan site in the history of Yankees fandom.  Thanks for reading, sharing and enjoying. Follow me on Twitter @BleednYankeeBlu and join the group Bleeding Yankee Blue (Official) on Facebook, just type it in.

ALEX RODRIGUEZ PROVES MY CASE

I’m not even going to delve into the current PED mess floating around baseball right now. I will say this though, whether it's true or not, whomever linked Alex Rodriguez to this story has just done me a HUGE favor. What I’m about to say may blow your minds: Frank Thomas is the greatest power hitter of the last 25 years! WHAT? Yes! That's right, I said it.

Let’s all jump in our “way-back” machines to that magical year of 1990. The Yankees were dreadful. I was 11, really had nothing to cheer about (except for my hero Donnie Baseball). But it was another first baseman that competed for my heart way back then.

All of my friends and cousins instantly fell in love with Ken Griffey Jr. They did nothing but talk about his greatness and they all competed to see who could accumulate the most Griffey baseball cards. Not me, I was at the baseball card shop (do they even exist anymore?) seeking out Frank Thomas. 

Sure Griffey was fast and made playing centerfield look effortless, but there was something about this linebacker-sized guy playing first base and hitting monstrous home runs that caught my eye.

Thomas had a stellar career with the White Sox. He came back from a torn triceps muscle and continued putting up power numbers. Aside from all that thought, he had a terrific eye. He amassed over 1600 walks in his career. (A number that I’m sure is padded because of the fear opposing pitchers had facing him.) Ultimately it was the broken foot in 2004 that was the beginning of the end for Thomas.

When he finally called it quits in 2010, after sitting out all of 2009, Thomas had amassed a .301 lifetime batting average, 521 home runs, 1704 RBI, and a .974 OPS. His .301 puts him ahead of both Griffey and ARod. He’s currently tied for 18th all-time for home runs with 6 known or suspected PED users in front of him (Bonds, Rodriguez, Sosa, McGwire, Palmeiro, and Manny Ramirez) and 22nd in RBI. He did all of this playing his home games in pitcher friendly Comisky Park.

Over the weekend Thomas was quoted as saying that all of this talk about PEDs makes his accomplishments much more special, read HERE. And he’s correct. He’s never been linked to anything. Thomas came up as rookie as a large man and retired as the same large man. For the most part he was never flashy, never controversial, seemed to be a terrific teammate. Unless something earth shattering comes out over the next year he should be a first ballot Hall of Famer – something Alex Rodriguez will never accomplish.

--Lem Allen, BYB Contributor

Email me at: bybcurmudgeon@gmail.com

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WHY I'M ASHAMED TO BE A BASEBALL FAN TODAY

Well, the BBWAA has done it. They have made their point. These dudes have created such a mess of the Hall of Fame voting that I’m on board with revamping the entire process. What am I talking about? Read on...

For just the eighth time, the baseball writers have failed to give enough votes to anyone on the ballot thus the only three inductees this year come from the Veterans Committee. They are Deacon White, umpire Hank O’Day, and former Yankee owner Jacob Ruppert, read HERE.

That’s all well and good, but here’s my problem. First year ballottees (is that even a word?) and cheaters guilty in the court of public opinion, Barry Bonds & Roger Clemens, received 36% & 37% of the vote respectively. The leading candidate this year was Craig Biggio with 68%, but if I recall. weren’t he and Jeff Bagwell (60%) accused together? (Read HERE.)  Despite all of the posturing, I really thought Biggio & Bagwell were going to make it, as well as Jack Morris, who was in his last year of eligibility.

I was only a kid when Morris was in his prime, but I'll always remember him beating the Yanks. He was never overpowering but dominant when he needed to be.

Now, if I had a vote, without question Clemens & Bonds WOULD have been on my ballot. You read that right. Did they cheat? Technically no. Did they use PEDs? Probably. None of this stuff was illegal at the time. Up until the 1970’s, Amphetamines were a rampant problem and all those guys got in.

The Hall of Fame is supposed to honor the best of their time and leaded or unleaded Clemens and Bonds were the best of their time. Sammy Sosa (12%) & Rafael Palmeiro (9%) were not and the voting reflects that.

Now, here’s the thing, each year the writers are limited to just 10 inductees. If they lift their self-imposed ban on the "Steroid" guys, Clemens and Bonds are in. Let's say they come around and vote Bagwell & Biggio in... unlikely, but that’s 4.  Here are next year’s first ballot nominees who SHOULD get in: Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, Frank Thomas, and Mike Mussina. Now we’re up to 8.  I’ve been watching Tom Verducci, Bob Costas, Peter Gammons and all the other writers on MLB Network recently and they’ve all said they "only really vote for 6 guys every year."  So, if that’s true, how are 6 guys going to get 75% of the vote, let alone all 8? You following me?  These guys have really made a circus of this.  And let me state one more nutty point to this... This tweet from CBS Sports.com's Jon Heyman really seems truly ridiculous to me. This came after the results were revealed:

Jon, no offense, you're not a superhero and you're not that important.  We don't need you protecting us fans. We have brains in our heads and we have our own opinions.  All you guys have done is created a boys club and a true mess of this stuff. That's my opinion of course... clearly you have yours... you Tweeted it.

But back to my analysis... Other losers of this precarious position the writers have put us in are:

• Bernie Williams, who failed to get the minimum 5% to remain on the ballot
• Dale Murphy who has always been borderline HOF material, but has reached the end of his 15 years of eligibility 
• Curt Schilling, who as much as it pains me to say, probably deserves to be in for being so good in so many clutch situations. He’ll probably get lost in the middle of future ballots.

The whole thing is nuts and us fans are just as confused as we were before.  Good luck next year boys because this year you really screwed the pooch!

 

--Lem Allen, BYB Contributor

Email me at: bybcurmudgeon@gmail.com

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