THE YANKEES NEED SOME TRUMPETS IN THEIR CLUBHOUSE

I remember when the new Yankee Stadium was being built next to the original House. The construction workers took tremendous pride in building the stadium of the future for the Bombers. As Derek Jeter said at the time, we are going to take our legacy across the street, in not so many words. And then I remember that there was this chatter about now Hall of Famer, David Ortiz, trying to bury his jersey into the foundation to place a hex on the Yankees. I know he didn't— but do I really? So fast forward to today. I am witnessing our cross town rival New York Mets success at Citi Field. It is making me sick and excited at the same time.

There is so much energy, padgetry and just excitement blaring from that stadium—literally blaring. Like trumpets blaring as their triumphant closer, Edwin Diaz trots in from the outfield much like a Mariano Rivera did for us when we were, well good. Maybe that's it. Maybe the Yankees need some trumpets in their clubhouse, wrapped around their stadium, and blaring the sweet and powerful music they need to snap out of this crazy spiral of losses and go back to playing the way we know they can.

                                                                                Source: The Washington Post

"Díaz entering games to a bouncy trumpet beat is nothing new. After walking out to “No Hay Limite” by Miky Woodz in 2019, the right-hander’s dreadful first season in New York following a trade from the Seattle Mariners, Díaz reverted to “Narco” before the pandemic-shortened 2020 season and has been using it ever since. With the first-place Mets enjoying their best season since they won the World Series in 1986 and Díaz striking out more than half of the batters he faces, the entrance has taken on a life of its own this year," wrote The Washington Post. 

Source: MLB.com

Much like a movie, SNY's John DeMarsico has made the broadcasts light and fun, adding more salt to my wounds as a diehard Yankee fan.  “I never understood why a baseball broadcast can’t be more like a movie, and that’s how I approach every day,” DeMarsico, 35, said in a phone interview. “I’m covering a game, but I’m going to pick a spot here or there where I’m going to show people something that they’ve never seen before,” wrote The Washington Post.

The Yankee broadcasts are lackluster, boring and filled with the TV announcers scolding the team on the field. The Mets broadcasts are completely the opposite with Keith Hernandez often trending on Twitter for his clever quips and light disposition. So between the bad performances as of late for the Yankees, the broadcasts have not been kind to them either. Perhaps some music will lighten them up too.

Source: Tampa Bay Times

Music has been known to soothe babies, calm busy kids, provide hours of enjoyment for teens and definitely a mainstay for exercise junkies, beach goers, celebrations and just backyard deck life. For years, players have played DJ in the dugout to boost the energy and excitement for their team. So how can music and a bit of cinema be put to good use to jumpstart this team? Heck, if we had to hire an entire band to welcome in Aaron Judge or Anthony Rizzo to the plate and get the stadium rocking, then do it!

Source: The New York Post

The downspirel of Clay Holmes is probably the most upsetting as the Yankees continue to struggle with pitching overall, both bullpen and starting rotation. Maybe we need to get him some music therapy. The Yankees simply will not win if they don't snap out of this funk. And it can't be the long ball or no ball. It has to be the entire unit working together to generate runs and protect leads. 

The Yankees need some trumpets in their clubhouse. In other words, they need to shake it up. Otherwise, they will be once again fall short of their goal—and I can barely remember 2009. 

--Suzie Pinstripe
BYB Senior Managing Editor
Twitter: @suzieprof

BOONE'S CUTE LINEUP IS FOR THE BIRDS, LITERALLY

I am going to be honest—like I have held back in the past. Anytime we play Baltimore it is a hot mess. The Yankee offense shuts off. Pitching becomes subpar. And the Yankees become submissive to a team they should easily beat. Now to add salt to the wounds, we have Aaron Boone creating these "cute" inconsistent lineups. He thinks he is just getting creative, playing the numbers and seeing what sticks. But I am much more old school. And I say, try something for a while and see if it is working—like gather evidence and make that kind of decision-making—you know authentic assessment. Instead, Boone likes to get cute with his lineup and its benefits are nonexistent.

Source: Yahoo Sports 

According to the New York Post, "Most of the Yankees’ issues came from their lineup, which produced just a run in the third inning and then were blanked by Baltimore’s bullpen, their execution with runners in scoring position still a problem that seems to have hung around from last year." So if the issues are with the lineup just not in the right position to produce runs, why keep shifting it around? Why not try something that seemingly looks good on paper and stick with it for a couple of weeks? I mean why does Aaron Judge need to sit out a game when the Yankees have been home for the last seven games, and by the way, it was only seven days into the season. Why is lifeless Aaron Hicks batting in the leadoff position? Try something and analyze the data. Very simple but Boone likes to make everything complex.

Source: Clutch Points

"The Yankees went into Saturday night’s game ranked 26th out of 30 in runs scored per game. Their 3.12 runs per game is only better than the Brewers, Diamondbacks, and Orioles. They’ve had the sixth most runners left on base with 59 this season and ranked the fifth-worst with runners in scoring position, hitting .180. They have the third-worst run-scoring percentage in the big leagues, meaning only 20% of their runners who reach base eventually score a run — they are better only than the Orioles and Diamondbacks," reported the New York Daily News. 

Source: USA Today Sports

The other stat that is a thorn in my side is that the Yankees ground into double plays instead of getting clutch hits to take advantage of runners in scoring position. They are second in the MLB with nine for grounding into double plays. Last season they held that second-place position in the American League with 154 GDPs overall. Guess what, Boone did the same thing. Never consistent with his lineup, always making it more complex than it needed to be.

Earlier today I commended the 1986 Mets and the consistent lineup that manager Davey Johnson stayed with because it worked. "In 1986 the Mets infield consisted of players who could start on any given day with almost no falloff both offensively or defensively," reported FanSided. These scrappy players included Lenny Dykstra and Wally Backman who were referred to as "Spark and Plug." Sure they also had iconic players in Keith Hernandez and Gary Carter. They stayed healthy, played in their specific positions, and held the same place in the lineup pretty much every night. It bowed well for them. Maybe Boone can rip a page out of Johnson's playbook. Might serve him and the Yankees well.

What you are hearing is that I am tired of the mix it up attitude—try something new every night delight. There is something to be said for consistency, collect some data, and see how the analytics play out. I realize the Yankees have depth, but you need to use that as a backup to the regular formula. Stop, Boone. Just stop. Make a lineup and stick with it. There is no cute to this lineup. Pick a flow and let it roll. 

--Suzie Pinstripe
BYB Senior Managing Editor
Twitter: @suzieprof

FEELING PROUD OF YOUR TEAM

On Friday morning, I was boarding the train.  I happened to see my buddy getting out of his car and he was dressed, head to toe in Mets gear.  Worn out hat… ratty shirt, you know, his comfy clothes. Clearly he was off from work and going to the bagel shop.  He had a skip in his step. That’s because he’s a die hard Mets fan and has been for years.  He’s proud of what his team has accomplished so far.  The Mets are in the World Series.  I got all fuzzy inside as I watch him walk into the shop and as the train pulled away… I started to write this. I remember when Yankee fans had that feeling. Thinking about how excited his is about the Mets gives me chills.  That’s true fandom.  It’s stuff like that that makes you, if you’re a baseball fan, step back and see the big picture.  Fans come in all shapes and sizes… and yes, there are Mets fans that for decades have been embarrassed by their team and management and lousy decision making.  Now, these same Mets fans… the die-hards, are proud.  They are proud that a club that no one really thought about actually has done something incredible.  For them… it’s about damn time. I stated in THE METS ARE IN & JOE MADDON ISN'T A ROCKSTAR the following:

"I'm happy for the die hard Mets fans . I am not happy for the bandwagon fans who have no allegiance to anything but winners and will sell their mother down the river if it means being with a champion.  If you were a Yankee fan and you flipped because you got impatient... go away, you are no longer welcome on my side of the street.  But again... to the die hard Mets fans, this is great for you guys!"

That’s a fact.  Bandwagon fans kill me, and I see them a mile away.  Their Mets hat right out of the bag… they’re wearing uniform tops like Flores and deGrom.  Let me tell you something, my friends… My real friends that happen to be die-hard Mets fans wear Hernandez… Kranepool… Seaver… Orosco.  They are true Mets fans.  I’m not taking anything away from Wilmer Flores, David Wright or Jacob deGrom, they are great players having a good run. But in the grand scope of Mets fans and baseball… I appreciate the die-hards.  That’s because the die-hards have been waiting for a while.  Again, they're proud… they deserve alittle happiness.

I made a statement the other day suggesting I wanted to Cubs to win it all.  It’s not unusual or absurd.  As a baseball and Yankee fan, I felt the Cubs fans needed a smile… it had nothing to do with the Mets, but Mets fans took exception when I wrote WHY I DON'T FEEL THE NEW YORK METS tweeting me…

Like we care. #lgm RT @BleednYankeeBlu: Bleeding Yankee Blue: WHY I DON'T FEEL THE NEW YORK #METS http://t.co/OhPLzx8V72

— Shea Hey (@sheahey56) October 18, 2015

@BleednYankeeBlu No one cares here. #LGM #Mets

— TheKevinLarkin (@TheKevinLarkin) October 18, 2015

If they didn't care, they should have ignored it
.

Sure, they have a point, no one cares about my opinion.  But they took it personally and they shouldn’t have.  It’s an opinion, nothing more and they need to relax!   No one cares about great baseball and fan allegiance more than I, but it’s those damn bandwagon fans that couldn’t name the 1986 lineup or even know what uniform number David Wright is that kill me.  They water down what the true Mets fans are feeling.  That’s basically what I’ve been suggesting all along.

So, here’s to the Mets fans, the die-hards, the guys and gals that have been struggling through the Bobby Bonilla years. The ones who had to dig out their Darryl Strawberry shirt from the closet and re-break in their old Mets cap.  Be proud of your club. They did good for you and I got your back.  In the end, the Mets in the World Series is good for baseball.  It’s a wonderful story. It is good for New York too. But don’t give away the key to New York yet… the Yanks have always been the kings of New York.  OK… if the Mets win… we can lend them New York… but just for 2015.

Good luck to all those true Mets fans.

Take $20 Off Steiner Sports' Business + Baseball Event General Admission Tickets with code BYBSTEINER.

You've made BYB the fastest growing Yankees fan site in history. Now shop at the Bleeding Yankee Blue store!  Follow me on Twitter @BleednYankeeBlu and LIKE Bleeding Yankee Blue on Facebook!  Also, don't forget to check out the BYB Hub!

IF IT WAS "KEIDEL MONUMENT PARK", TINO WOULDN'T BE THERE

See, this is what I don't get.  Why does any opinion writer believe that they have a say in what the New York Yankees do with Monument Park?  I don't get it.  It's not like the Yankee management has to do what the fans say when it comes to who enters their sacred Monument Park. It's ultimately about what they want the legacy to be.  Some... people like Jason Keidel of CBS Sports thinks his opinion's relevant.  It's really not... neither is mine by the way, but here we go anyway...

Now first, I say that with affection, because I admire Keidel and what he does, but he's plain wrong.  It's not his decision, it's not mine, not yours and not Derek Jeter's either.  It's up to what the Yankees want to do to honor past "great" Yankees.  I put "great" in quotes because it will debated for forever who stays and who goes, but keep that to the water cooler.  Like I wrote in PEOPLE HAVE TO STOP OVERTHINKING MONUMENT PARK, well, they do...they have to stop overthinking it.

I wrote then, "The Yankees have had great players over the years.  The best part of these great players is, when the time comes each year, the Yankees will sit down and decide who gets honored. When they do that, and a name pops up you love, you will once again, pay money to go see them get honored.  The Yankees are a machine. This idea was strategic... don't over think it.  The best part is, these players come back to the stadium, they get a proper honoring and then if they are worthy, they also get a plaque. It's the new Yankees.  Sure, the retired numbers are running out, but that's not what this is about.  This is about giving the nod to other great Yankees... just not great enough to have their number retired.  It's an acknowledgment. It's a "Thank you"..."

It makes perfect sense to me, as you can see, but Keidel writes of Tino:

"...it’s hard to assert that Tino Martinez is a bedrock member of Yankees royalty. When you’re not even the best or second-best first baseman in franchise history, it’s hard to declare that you belong in Monument Park – the most sacred soil south of Cooperstown.

Martinez is a true Yankee, but not an all-time Yankee.

He never hit .300, in any uniform. He never scored 100 runs. Never hit 40 doubles. Never amassed 200 hits in a season. In fact, his best season came in 1997, the one year the Yanks didn’t reach the Fall Classic during the dynasty. Martinez was even benched by Joe Torre during a World Series for Cecil Fielder, who was hardly Keith Hernandez in the field."

Well, that's all fine and good and Keidel, as usual is right about several points, but I have an opinion on that too... not that you care, but maybe you do...

It's about the "moments" he made during that Yankee run that made Tino worthy. Don't you think? I mean, I had written in BE PROUD OF OUR YANKEES. DON'T MOCK THEM, 

" Tino Martinez had 192 home runs in New York and 4 championships to boot. Paul O'Neill was right there with him in the championship department and compiled not only the nickname "the Warrior", but had 185 home runs and a .303 average in 9 years."

And at the end of the day, that's what it's all about. It's about "moments of greatness" and if that means a bunch of championships and no .300 average, so be it. While he was in pinstripes, Tino did great things, gave up great memories and that's what the Yankees went with.  There is no retired number, Tino doesn't deserve that, but a plaque and a "Thank you" seems like a nice thing.

Keidel's trying to be provocative, I get that, and he and I agree on 1 thing; Tino isn't our favorite first basemen in pinstripes. No way. But Tino had a nice run, a nicer run than others and he deserves the honor if you think the way the Yankees are thinking.

On a side note, I'd love to see the "Keidel Monument Park"... I'm sure it's full of perfect players like Don Mattingly, Babe Ruth and NOT Tino Martinez... and that's OK, it really is, but I just don't know why people care so much about the Yankees' Monument Park.

As long as the Yankees keep honoring greats by their scale, Yankee fans will keep spending money and coming on in... and that's what it's truly all about for them.

You've made BYB the fastest growing Yankees fan site in history. Now shop at the Bleeding Yankee Blue store!  Follow me on Twitter @BleednYankeeBlu and LIKE Bleeding Yankee Blue on Facebook!

CALL THE GAME FAIR OR GET OFF THE AIR!

Of course, as a Yankee fan, we all love it when the Bombers make the post season.  I mean it’s exciting for God’s sake.  But, what I can’t stand is when the national announcers take cheap shots at the Yankees for all the world to hear on network television. At least, as Yankee fans, that's how we hear it.  I was awakened by this notion while watching ABC’s coverage of the USC vs. Notre Dame game.  Brent Musburger made a ridiculous comment two plays into the very first Irish possession.  He said, “The Irish are experiencing their first wrinkle of the game.”  Really?  A wrinkle?  They just picked up a first down in three plays, how is that wrinkle for a team that has gone undefeated?!  Then, like a shot deep to left, my brain immediately rushed to my file on Fox Sports Announcer Joe Buck and his blatant lack of respect for the Yankees.  He and his sidekick, Tim McCarver seem to blast into their Yankee digs way before first pitch.

Now, in their defense, no one can call a game like our home team announcers Kay, Ken Singleton, Paul O’Neill, Sterling and Waldman, who know our guys and know our city, but Buck and McCarver could tone it down a bit and stick with the game on the field. 

“One suggestion would be flanking a play-by-play guy with a color commentator who works for each team during the regular season. It would increase the knowledge of the teams and the personalities while balancing out any claims of bias between the two sides,” said reporter Josh Alper in his 2009 article Do Joe Buck and Tim McCarver hate the Yankees? The article takes it a bit further by delving into  Buck’s psyche a bit.  “More often than not, he seems to dislike just about everything about his job which he tends to approach with a smug (or professional, depending on your point of view) detachment that is antithetical to the way die hard fans feel about their favorite teams and sports. A good example is his flat call of David Tyree's unbelievable catch in the Giants-Patriots Super Bowl."

As a graduate of the Boston University’s College of Communication, it was drummed into me in course after course that you must balance passion with objectivity.  Joe Buck must have missed that course, or he buried deep within his archives.  Now, John Sterling may not always get it right, but he certainly has passion for the game.  He makes the game exciting, even if you yell back at him every chance you get.  And Kay keeps it real as well.  They are with the team, and when they get critical, it is not a bashing like certain announcers... are you listening Joe and Tim? “They are with the team all season and want it to win. They all swear their job is easier when things are going well as opposed to watching the Bombers squander a 10-game AL East lead,” as reported by the New York Daily News in early October our our guys (HERE). 

The Wall Street Journal (HERE) recently conducted a 30-team study on television baseball announcer bias. “The conventional wisdom in sports is that TV announcers should strive to call the game straight down the middle. It's a philosophy that's been embraced over the years by most of the famous baseball voices.”  The article went on to state that “by the rules of our study, anyone with a microphone who used a pronoun like "we," "us" or "our" to describe the home team was given a citation. Obscure pet names for players were also flagged: The Detroit Tigers announcers, for instance, referred to backup catcher Gerald Laird as "G-Money." Additional penalties were given for things like excessive moping after miscues or unrestrained glee after big moments. (A Miami Marlins broadcaster marked the end of a lengthy scoreless drought by screaming "Hallelujah!").”

I guess by these rules, long time great Phil “Scooter” Rizzuto’s “Holy Cow!” would be flagged as well and since this was just television announcers and not radio, Sterling and Waldman get a buy.  As for our local television announcers, they placed 26th with the Mets’ announcers Keith Hernandez , Gary Cohen, and Ron Darling placing least biased at 30th .  Number one on the list was White Sox announcer Hawk Harrelson (Read HERE).  He applauded his number one status.  He is a lover of the sport and lover of his team! 

(In Photo: Mel Allen)
Like it or not, baseball announcers are here to stay.  Many of the greats have space in the hallowed halls of Cooperstown. Our very own Mel Allen is there along with Harry Caray and Jack Buck, not to be confused with Joe.  They gave baseball a voice and life and someone to yell back at when things weren’t  going so well.  Today, baseball announcers continue this legacy while bringing humor and excitement into their signature calls.  But, what they should never do is beat up on the local team in such a way that fans feel the insult deep in their own core from their living room.  Those announcers need to take a hard look at their calls and keep it real, fair, or get off the air!

--Suzie Pinstripe, BYB Opinion Columnist
Twitter: @suzieprof




Please comment, we have DISQUS, it's easier than ever. Let me know what you think and follow me on Twitter @BleednYankeeBlu and join the group Bleeding Yankee Blue on Facebook, just type it in.

"THE KID" DID IT HIS WAY: A MET FAN'S TAKE

As you probably know by now, Gary Carter passed away after a courageous battle with brain cancer. Gary often spoke about the role faith played in his life and he was sometimes mocked by fellow teammates for living a clean lifestyle and as we all know now, playing that way in the Mets clubhouse in the 80's was close to impossible. Just ask Doc, Straw or Keith Hernandez that.

In light of Whitney Houston's passing and the lack of celebrity awareness when it comes to the drug epidemic, I say we should celebrate Gary Carter's life. He is a patriot for the way he lived his life and influenced others. On top of that, it turns out Gary did an anti-drug PSA back in the 80's while playing for the Mets... warning kids about the dangers of drugs. Here's that video:



It takes a big man to do something like that while his peers are doing what they're doing. My point is you have to love Carter for being himself and he did that all his life which is why I loved him. Oh and let's not forget... Without "the Kid's" two-out single against the Boston Red Sox in Game 6... We never would have had "...It gets through Buckner! Here comes Knight and the Mets win it!"



-- Jack Rodney, BYB Guest Writer




Please comment, we have DISQUS, it's easier than ever. Let me know what you think and follow me on Twitter @BleednYankeeBlu and look for the hashtag #BYB. Also, join the group Bleeding Yankee Blue on Facebook, just type it in.