THE 90's, THE CUBS, & WHAT I DID WITH MARK GRACE

Youth is wasted on the young. And for a period in the late 90s, I wasted part of my youth as a rabid Cubs fan. Instead of spending the summers watching MTV’s Beach House like any normal teenager, I had a compulsive need to watch every Cubs game broadcast on WGN. Harry Caray and Steve Stone became my deliciously weird guides on my journey of Cub-fandom.

How does a California girl become a fan of one of the worst teams in baseball? It was partly my inherent masochism, but a trip to Wrigley Field in the summer of 1996 sealed the deal.

Wrigley is a magical place, surrounded by history and smell of beer and bratwurst. I would highly encourage any baseball fan to make the trek before it’s gone forever.

Aside from the historic ballpark, the Cubs have Bill Murray, the seventh inning stretch, the fans throw it back—hell—they even have a curse involving a goat. What’s not to love?

I happened to visit during a softball tournament when the Cubs were facing off against the Dodgers.

I sat in the stands with my parents before the game when someone from the front office approached us asking if we were Cubs fans. “Why, yes,” I lied. My first little league team had been the Cubs and I knew of Mark Grace, so I felt that was enough to qualify me as a fan.

This affirmative answer qualified me for the “Fan Take the Field” experience and I naturally chose to take the field with my new Cubs favorite Mark Grace. After all, he was a first baseman just like me.

What I did not know was that Grace lets you throw the ball around the horn, and it was truly an experience I would never forget. I was rifling the ball to Shawon Dunston, Ryne Sandberg, and Kevin Orie and they were catching it.

I met Mark Grace again when the Cubs played at Dodger Stadium and he was nice enough to sign a picture of me on the field with him. It was then that I turned—I was now a Cubs fan for life. Or so I thought. My infatuation with the team ended as soon as Grace was traded away at the end of his career.

This week the Yanks are engaged in inter league play with a three game series against the Cubs. And though the players have changed, the results have stayed remarkably the same—at 15-27 the Cubs are dead last in their division.

But this match up made me curious to check in on my adolescent heroes. Here’s what I found:

Ryne Sandberg

Ryne has had one of the more successful post-career runs. He’s now the manager of the Philadelphia Phillies.

Doug Glanville

Glanville is an MLB analyst for ESPN and contributes written articles to the NY Times, ESPN.com and ESPN The Magazine.

Shawon Dunston

After finishing his career in San Francisco, Dunston is now special assistant to the Giants and is still rocking a bad ass ‘stache.

Sammy Sosa

I had forgotten that Sosa even existed until last week when the Phillies celebrated the Phanatic’s birthday by having a Clammy Sosa mascot eat an umpire. (It appears the Cubs organization has forgotten about him too.)

“Whatever happened to that guy?”, I asked. The only thing I could remember about Sosa post-retirement was his 2009 appearance where—after trying to pull off his best Michael Jackson impersonation—he appeared to have a MUCH lighter complexion. (He says it was due to skin creams.)

He now heads a company that is developing technology for needle-less drug injections. I kid you not.

Mark Grace 

My once favorite player retired in 2003 as an Arizona Diamondback. He became an announcer for Fox Saturday Baseball and was signed as a commentator for Fox Sports, but took a leave of absence after the 2012 season. Shortly thereafter, Grace was arrested twice for driving under the influence and found himself juggling time between being an inmate in an Arizona desert tent prison and as a hitting instructor with the Diamondbacks organization.

I remember as a youngster writing Grace a fan letter thanking him for signing my picture and begging him not to star in any Pert Plus commercials a la Mike Piazza.

Looking back, I probably should have just told him to lay off the sauce.

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



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PRODUCTIVE #YANKEE LINEUP 101

I teach courses and develop students who want to someday teach in the public and/or private schools.

Every course has a purpose and it's own unique call number. Every lesson and project has an objective, every objective has an outcome associated with it. So, if we look at the science or behind the scenes of the structure of a team's workforce, its offensive and defensive layers, there is a calculated method behind who you pitch when you do, who plays where and who is in your lineup. This method stems from a strategy implanted in every game a team plays, but the objective is always the same: to win.

Now, there are always questions posed to managers by reporters looking for interesting nuggets and creative ways to write and tell stories. It's called news and in sports, the news is not always what you see but what you find out through asking good, well-articulated, outcome-based questions. So when it comes to lineups, one can see the amount of time and effort put into creating a lineup that's effective, that pairs a team with another team strategically and gives a team the best chance to win. But like making a seating chart in your classroom or for a big event like a wedding, pleasing everyone is out of the question. That's why managers are not about pleasing, they are about putting the best team for that day on the field in an order that statistically supports the most number of hits, on base percentages and runs against a pitcher.

I'd imagine the guys like Joe Girardi, John Farrell, Terry Francona, Joe Maddon and new manager Ryne Sandberg needing to take some time to think things through in a number of ways to get the best fit for that game. It must be an awful task, but when the formula works, we win, again and again. To help our skipper out, I've put some of my own thoughts together based on percentages and chemistry of our new team. Here's my opening day lineup, as long as everyone on the roster is cleared to play.

1. CF- Jacoby Ellsbury

2. SS- Derek Jeter

3. RF- Carlos Beltran

4. DH- Alfonso Soriano

5. 1B- Mark Teixeira

6. C- Brian McCann

7. 2B- Brian Roberts

8. 3B- Eduardo Nunez

9. LF- Brett Gardner

Now here is my thought process, which is probably not all that original, but purposeful, taking into consideration our strengths.  Firstly, there's speed and we have it with Ellsbury and Gardner bookending our lineup and with Nunez, capable of keeping it interesting as long as he is paying attention on the base paths.  Secondly, there's power, and we have it nicely distributed throughout the meat of the lineup in Beltran, Soriano, Teixeira and McCann.

Thirdly, there's Roberts, whose former manager Buck Showalter says has "a little more thump than people think," batting 7th, if of course he stays healthy.  Fourthly, there's our captain in the two-hole with presence, charisma, passion, polish and  veteran vision to see a way to get on base and win ball games.

I read an article in the Daily News the other day regarding Ellsbury's sore calf and got that old "here we go again" foreshadowing injury feeling.  But, I want to stay optimistic and say if everyone is healthy and cleared to play on Opening day, this is what I envision for our lineup.  It's not bracketology, it's science, and it can work for us this season.

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



 
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THUMBS UP FOR ICHIRO & CERVELLI. THUMBS DOWN FOR ROLLINS.

You gotta love Yankee fans.  I was going through the comments for some of the stories we put up this week.  I'll tell you, the social networks are all the buzz and I love it. Thanks for being so engaged.

We posted a story about Ichiro this week. It was titled, "ICHIRO TO THE TIGERS" ... WE NEED TO STOP ALREADY.

Now look; It's no secret that I love Ichiro Suzuki. I love the way he approaches the game, his "team player" attitude and how he comes to play, regardless of the "full time" or "part time" position he would be asked to play.  He can lead off, he can bat 9th and he'll come off the bench if you need him.  He's still a dynamic outfielder, and I could care less what the "numbers" say... I'd pick him for my outfield any day of the week...even at 40.  He's athletic, energetic and still a damn good ballplayer.  Remember when I predicted Ichiro would be coming to New York? Read ICHIRO IN PINSTRIPES? ANYTHING'S POSSIBLE. That was in June 2012. He came to the Yankees in July... You're Welcome.

This was the overwhelming answer on Facebook and Twitter when asked if Ichiro should stay as the 5th outfielder, or go:

@BleednYankeeBlu @teena_797 @mochachick8 keep Ichiro !
— Joker (@BlackcardJoker) March 15, 2014

THUMBS UP!

Francisco Cervelli is full of energy and pushed himself last year, before he got hurt and was exposed for being involved in the Biogenesis scandal.

He really blew it with that, and I hammered him really badly in  FRANCISCO CERVELLI'S GOT SOME SPLAINING TO DO writing "... Cervelli walked out with nothing, yet, he "purchased supplements" that he was certain were NOT prohibited by Major League Baseball.  Yet, not one person in the press challenged him on this? Clearly he's not telling the truth here..."  He later admitted to it, apologized, took his lumps and realized he blew it.

Now he'll be the back up for Brian McCann and probably for a while now, unless he gets traded, which seems to be the rumor of the week.  When we wrote CERVELLI WANTED & CERVELLI MAY BE TRADED, there was an outpouring of support for the guy. I wanted to share some:

@BleednYankeeBlu We have too many catchers but I feel that Cisco has the most experience over Romine & Murphy. We need to keep him.
— Renzo Torchiani (@K9Torch) March 14, 2014

@K9Torch @BleednYankeeBlu agree. Keep Cisco!
— Laurie Girardot (@KenneyLaurie) March 14, 2014

THUMBS UP!

Then came a great piece by Suzie Pinstripe about Jimmy Rollins, the turmoil with Phillies Manager Ryne Sandberg and whether or not Jimmy Rollins is a fit in New York.

Don't yell at us... we were just asking! Read COULD JIMMY ROLLINS BE A YANKEE?

Well, people in New York don't like Jimmy Rollins, even though we have reported extensively about our second base "hole", even though we already have Brian Roberts.  It was clear reading the comments that the Yankees choice of Roberts works better for them, than the "lazy" Rollins as they say:

THUMBS DOWN!

Wow. Look, the Yankees look like they actually have a competitive club this season. It's exciting.  I love the idea of Ichiro as our 5th outfielder, especially if he has no beef being there.  I love the idea of keeping Cervelli around, but if the right deal comes up, like a set-up man for David Robertson, or a better 3rd base option than what we have, I'm OK with trading him away... it's business. I also agree with the majority of the comments referring to Rollins, not because he's "lazy" but because I just don't think we need him.

Social Networks are great aren't they? Instant comments, alot of love and support for our team and hey... you gotta love that.

You guys are not only Yankee freaks... you're BYB freaks... thanks for joining the conversation every day!

Go Yanks!

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COULD JIMMY ROLLINS BE A YANKEE?

Living in Central New Jersey, only moments from the Pennsylvania border and about 40 minutes from Citizens Bank Park, I am surrounded by Phillies Fans.  I have stated a number of times that I am a baseball fan first, a Yankee fan second and a Red Sox fan last.  But second to last are the Phillies and it has always been that way, for as long as I can remember, but most definitely in more recent years since relocating to New Jersey from Staten Island.  Now the mere thought of Raul Ibanez coming to New York sickened me not because of who he is but rather who he played for.  I grew to really like Ibanez once they took the City of Brotherly Love out of the man and gave him a bite of the precious fruit of Big Apple.  But, Jimmy Rollins, now that is a completely different story.

I work next to an older gentleman, Russ Walsh (@ruswalsh) at a university who is not only a literacy specialist, but a baseball fan. Tonight, he is leaving for Clearwater, FL to catch some Philadelphia Phillies’ spring training games with a couple of his buddies.  I asked him about Rollins coming to the Yankees, as a fan of baseball and the Phillies.  “I think Rollins would be a good fit for the Yankees, but I would miss him in Philadelphia.  I have been following him as a fan for years,” said Walsh.  So, here’s a Phillies fan who would miss Rollins stating honestly about how he could fit the makeup of the new Yankee team.  What’s the chatter on social media about the idea of Rollins trading in his red pinstripes for blue ones?

According to MLB Forums, here are what the fans have to say:

“I like it. Mid-level prospect and Philly eats a boatload of cash.”

“Did you know you can literally take any player in baseball, put them into any position on the field, let them play for the Yankees, and they will have the best years of their career regardless of their age?”

“If you think Cano had problems hustling to first at times, I'd put Rollins ahead of Cano in that regard. Probably National League leader in that category, maybe MLB leader. Rollins has actually been benched for his lack of hustle but still did it anyways. I do not want Jimmy Rollins in pinstripes. This is a dumb idea.”

Rollins has been benched for the last three spring training games and he has been asking himself and his manager, Ryne Sandberg, why.  According to Comcast Sportsnet, “The Phillies are 3-10-2 after 15 games. Winning is not everything in spring training, but Sandberg has indicated he’d like to see some urgency, cleaner defense and offensive production from his team."

Rollins, meanwhile, has a prescription for chill pills. On Tuesday, he was quoted in the Daily News as saying, “Who cares?” when asked about spring training results. Could this lackadaisical attitude be why Rollins isn’t getting any playing time recently?  The Phillies skipper isn’t talking about it.  He has given no lip service to this and instead is focusing on playing his prospects and getting ready for what he hopes will be a productive season. 

So, would a healthy 35-year-old Rollins be a good fit for the newly, meticulously designed Yankee clubhouse?  I say no way!  We don’t need lackluster attitudes, drama or mediocre hustle on our team this year or frankly, any year.  We had enough of it last year.  And we don’t need the spotlight on Rollins when it needs to be on our guys and our captain.  So to answer the question could Jimmy Rollins be a Yankee?

My answer is sure he could be, but he shouldn’t be, ever.

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



 
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