THE BABE & GEHRIG FILM UNEARTHED

Have you guys seen this? It's a rare film clip of the Babe and Lou Gehrig.  According to the New York Times:

 "The newsreel film from June 1, 1925, animates a historic day for the Yankee franchise: Babe Ruth’s first game of the season since the illness dubbed the “bellyache heard ’round the world” and a pinch-hitting appearance by Lou Gehrig that became the first of his 2,130 consecutive games... In a sequence filmed before the game, Ruth and Gehrig showed the personalities they would often display during their careers. Ruth was the extrovert, standing on the dugout steps talking to the Fox Movietone News cameraman. He was the news of the day. The introverted Gehrig sat on the bench in the background, perhaps listening to Ruth’s banter. At times, he fiddled with his right ear."

Check this out:





Now look... I'll tell you something.  These days, kids have only heard about Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig, but they rarely see footage of these guys.  The truth is, at the time, these players were larger than life and all these years later, it's never changed.

My oldest son is interested in the Old timers, the heroes, but it's more about the recent guys for him.  For instance, I'm a big baseball card collector and even as a kid, I would try and collect the old cards.  Just to get my hands on a Yogi Berra or the 1971 Topps collection, the year I was born, was very cool to me and I cherished it. To this day, I still have them preserved somewhere in my house. There was a rich history there. Now though, my son likes looking at a Mike Trout or Derek Jeter card over those any day of the week.

We need to keep our kids engaged on baseball's great history. It's an amazing journey. 

Great film clip!

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I JUST THREW UP IN MY MOUTH ALITTLE...

Not sure if any of you saw this, but it appears that the Detroit Tigers have offered Miguel Cabrera a 10 year extension worth $292 million to keep him in their uniform until he's 40 years old. It's being reported HERE that the deal is done.

I have a question... What the fuck is going on? Sorry about that.  Look, I think this is outrageous for any team, any player and sure, the guy is mad talented, but he also likes to drive under the influence and beat his wife. Clearly that doesn't factor into the equation.  No one thinks this is alittle silly here?

Sure, I guess some would suggest that you can't incorporate his bad behavior off the field with his talent on the field.  OK, I disagree to some degree on that.  Buster Olney of ESPN tweeted this:

Miguel Cabrera is highly respected/appreciated, but officials with other teams are appalled by Detroit decision to give him that many years.
— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) March 27, 2014

First off, he's appreciated as a player Buster, not respected.  Anyone who hits a woman has strikes against him.  I really don't give a crap that he's reformed and been forgiven.  But here's the other part of that Tweet... You're damn right teams are appalled!  Now every player in the game is going to ask for a 10 year deal with big money attached...or they walk!  It's like a freaking ransom.  It puts pressure on teams to pony up big money for athletes that are guaranteed to break down for the length of their contract.  It's ridiculous. What is Detroit thinking?

Look, in the end, this deal will look as bad as signing Alex Rodriguez and Albert Pujols for that long.  Players get old. Old players get hurt and all that money owed to a broken down athlete looks pathetic and sad for the club that made the deal about 5 years in.  I was under the impression that signing players long term like this was over, but I guess not.

Let me close by saying that as an athlete, I like Miggy. He hits the ball harder than anyone I've seen in a long, long time. He puts on a show. That being said, this deal satisfies no one... except for Miguel Cabrera.

 Don't worry though, people still won't hate him as much as ARod...

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IT'S BECAUSE OF ELLSBURY THAT WE NEED ICHIRO

Look, there were many fans that expressed concern when Jacoby Ellsbury was signed with the Yankees. The reason? Injury. When Ellsbury is healthy, he's awesome. But he gets hurt a lot and that's a concern. Brendan Kuty had a piece out in the Star Ledger he states that the Yankees are "weary" of Ellsbury calf injury.  That's the reason why he's been playing in the minor leagues.  I get it, but, then why the hell are we doing this? Many Yankee fans predicted this would happen.  I know, I know, you can say "Hey, he gets hurt a lot because he plays hard". I get it and I back him for playing hard. You want that in an athlete, but it's in the back of your mind as a fan, and that's why you worry... especially with a guy like Ellsbury.

On the other side of the coin, there have been unnamed sources and plenty of media that suggest that the Yanks are willing to trade away someone like Ichiro Suzuki.  Yesterday it was pretty much confirmed... for now anyway, that with Zoilo Almonte sent to AAA, Ichiro is the Yankees extra outfielder.  I've been skeptical of the Ichiro trade rumor for months here... and I'm glad the Yankees see his worth, even if some fans don't.

But here's where it all connects for me. If Jacoby Ellsbury goes down, who would have filled his role if Ichiro was shipped off to the Tigers or something?  Look, it's evident to me that if Jacoby strains something, he's out and Brett Gardner will move over to center. That's automatic.  Carlos Beltran is our permanent right fielder. He ain't moving. That leaves an open spot for left field. Sure, Alfonso Soriano can play there, but Soriano not as nimble as an Ichiro. Plus, he can't play the field every day in my opinion. We could easily put Soriano in the DH spot some days and put Ichiro in left. See what I mean?

Despite what people may think, and there ARE Ichiro Haters out there, he can still play. I got a kick out of the following comment below.  This guy commented on BYB the other day hating on my man. But remember, Ichiro is a singles hitter these days, so he'll get on base for you. He can also play the field easier than many in MLB...still at his age. Anyway, check out this comment:

First off, Ichiro is not terrible. That's silly to say that. Secondly, we advocate for the kids here at BYB. Having Zoilo Almonte is a great idea, but I wasn't sure the Yankees were willing to keep Zoilo on the roster 3 days ago and I was right when it was confirmed yesterday. I mean sure, Colonelnp's point is great and valid, but I don't think we disagree. I'm of the nature of thinking ahead with what we have right now and what we have right this second is Ichiro!

Look, we also got almost $6 million on the books for him. Why eat the salary and ship him out when you'll most likely need him?  Sure, Ichiro was a desperation grab when we traded away Hector Noesi, but he's not exactly a liability.  It was a smart move.  Ichiro on the bench is a good problem, especially if you need a pinch hitter, pinch runner or fielder.  He still has a glove... he still has a bat... and in a world of injury worry with Jacoby Ellsbury's history, and Ichiro willing to do whatever the Yankees need... again... this is a good problem. 

All I'm saying is keep Ichiro, especially if we have Ellsbury. Especially if we're worried about Ellsbury getting healthy. It makes sense.  

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THE HAMMER FALLS ON CERTAIN YANKEES

Just wanted to keep you in the loop on some interesting developments around Yankeeland as they finalize their rosters just one week before Opening Day.

First off, our friend Russ Canzler.  We like Russ at BYB and today we wrote a great piece about him titled COULD RUSS CANZLER BE THE KEY BACKUP AT FIRST BASE?

The problem is he was reassigned just a few short hours after we posted that piece.  That’s what happens right around this time of year.  Guys play their guts out with the hope and dream of making it, but he didn’t and was reassigned… that’s baseball.

That’s not all though:

Preston Claiborne has been optioned to AAA.  According to Chad Jennings of LoHud who chatted with Girardi, the Yankees thought he would do much better this Spring.  Girardi said: “He just really never got on a role in spring training. As we told him, we know he’s capable of pitching much better than he did. It’s his job just to go get ready.”

Other guys are Zoilo Almonte, an outfielder. He was also optioned to AAA.  That means Ichiro Suzuki is in fact sticking with the Yankees and all those rumors from Buster Olney and Jon Heyman about "Ichiro’s days numbered" are just crap, at least for now.

Scott Sizemore will join Canzler. He too was reassigned.

As Chad Jennings writes: “... It’s basically down to Eduardo Nunez, Yangervis Solarte, Dean Anna and Zelous Wheeler for two bench spots. Nunez and Anna are on the 40-man."

Just wanted to keep you in the loop. I love our BYB audience.

The new baseball season is 1 week away… I can’t wait!

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COULD RUSS CANZLER BE THE KEY BACKUP AT FIRST BASE?

While everyone is thrilled to see Mark Teixeira back on the field, there is always some level of nervousness when you see a recovery from an injury as serious as Teixeira’s was.

 (In Photo: Mark Teixeira)
Having witnessed what happens when an errant pitch hits a batter, or a freak accident happens, it is hard to underestimate the value of having good backup plans.  The Yankees signed minor league first baseman and left fielder Russ Canzler and invited him to try out at spring training. Canzler has not played since 2012, when he was a September call up for the Cleveland Indians, and the rust has shown.

In 21 plate appearances, he has struck out nine times, walked once, gotten three base hits, and drove in one run. Okay, granted that is nothing to write home about. However, his history says that he may have some potential.  Canzler has a grand total 29 games in the majors, having been a September call up in both 2011 and 2012. He did play consistently for the whole month of September in 2012, and the results are not bad. He reached base in each of his first seven games, by which point he put together a .347 average. He did come back to Earth after that, finishing with a .269 average for the season. His play in the field is also decent, having only one major league error.

I always admire these kids that keep pushing for a shot to play. Canzler is going to turn 28 on April 11, and he has already been through the ringer. The Yankees briefly signed him in early 2013, only to release him on waivers soon afterwards. He did not play for the entire year, largely because no one picked him up. A year on hiatus would make the average person quit, but here he is taking swings and playing the field, making a case for a spot on the roster.

Russ Canzler is exactly the kind of guy you would cheer for, you want to see succeed. Now the Yankees have given him a chance and the hope is that we have a backup plan for first base. We just hope he gets his shot because he has impressed with his skills, and not because you need him.

--Ike Dimitriadis, BYB Writer
Twitter: @KingAgamemnon
My blog is: Shots from Murderer's Row

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ELLBURY'S CALF SEEMS "OK"

How long am I going with this "calf" bit? As long as I can...

According to Bryan Hoch of MLB.com, Jacoby Ellsbury is back... at least for 5 innings and that's a good thing. He writes:

"... outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury played in his second Minor League game in as many days on Wednesday, playing five innings in center field and reporting no issues.  Ellsbury played in a Class A game against a Pirates' squad at the Himes Complex in Tampa, Fla., going 1-for-4 with a walk. Ellsbury has not played in a Grapefruit League game since March 14 due to a sore right calf.

 'I think it went very well,' Ellsbury said."

Good! Joe Girardi said it was "comforting" that Ellsbury will play another Minor League game Thursday, and then hopefully he'll be back with the club Friday. That's the plan anyway.  Damn right it's "comforting"... we dumped a ton of money on this guy. He better be ready, you know what I mean?

Good calf... atta boy.

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THE RANDOLPH PHOTO BOMB SEEN 'ROUND THE WORLD!

Just wanted to share this.  Someone emailed me this.  Then I looked online for a source and MLB Memes had it. I don't know who made the GIF, but I wanted to share it. I love it.

Willie Randolph like we've never seen him... or maybe you have.  I met Willie once and he seemed annoyed.  I'm going to forget that moment and go with this one instead... he's probably a real fun guy.

Enjoy your Thursday!

Go Yanks!

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MASAHIRO TANAKA: THE GOLDEN CHILD

Masahiro Tanaka has really drawn a lot of excitement this Spring Training, hasn’t he?  

In his 4 starts with the Yanks, Tanaka has a 3.00 ERA with 16 strikeouts, 3 walks in 15 innings. Each start has been impressive, and it’s giving Yankeeland something to feel good about.

Brendan Kuty of the Star Ledger reported Tanaka is the Yanks 4th starter… many expected it, us at BYB included.  His debut will be April 4^th against the Toronto Blue Jays.   So far Tanaka has been as good as advertised.  He’s handled himself well without getting caught up in the media spotlight and that’s good, considering there is always a heavy media presence in Tampa around this time of year.  

When asked about how he felt about getting ready for his first regular season start, Tanaka said through his translator Shingo Horie. “Oh, it’s nothing too special.  I’m just going to prepare for that day.  Maybe it’s that I’m not thinking too much about it.  But right now I’m not overly excited about it.  As we get closer to game day,  I’m sure that excitement will come along.”

You know what? I like that approach. He’s taking it day to day. That’s a sign of a professional.

Anthony McCarron of the New York Daily News reported of Tanaka’s new adjustment of pitching once every 5 days as opposed to 6 days when he played in Japan. Check out what Tanaka said:  “Once the season starts, it’s every 5th day. So I’m making adjustments to that.  I just look at it if there’s an extra day off.”  

In that same piece, it states that Tanaka will ask if he could be allowed to throw more between starts in case he wants to work on something specific. 

Now, I’m not sure how that will be handled by management, since they want to play things out carefully with Tanaka. I get that he is showing good work ethic and wants to do everything he can to help the team win.  But, we know how the Yankees play cautiously with their pitchers and that’s nothing new, so don’t be surprised if we see him on a short leash early on as they figure him out. They want the maximum return on their investment and they will treat him carefully, trust me.

With Tanaka finally booked for his major league debut on April 4th, many will tune in to witness what he will bring to the Yankees at this biggest stage.  For Yankees fans, we got a glimpse, and we hope that it becomes magnified when the games count.  Masahiro Tanaka looks ready to deliver. If you’re like me, I feel confident, but I have my fingers and toes crossed too.   

Ultimately though, I’m optimistic that we got ourselves a winner here.

Prove us right, Tanaka. 

 
Rudy Laurens
BYB Writer
Facebook: House of Champions


  
   

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JETER IS A BALLPLAYER MR. HEYMAN... NOT JESUS

I'm not going to write about this, because if you're a Yankee fan, baseball fan, sports fan, you know that the headline that is about to be read below is absolutely the silliest thing you'll ever see.  In fact, it's embarrassing.

Miracles Jon... MIRACLES? Derek Jeter did great things as an athlete... but he's not a prophet or savior... he's Derek Jeter. Even Jeet knows that.

You want a miracle?

It's almost Easter...  Try turning water into wine.  Give me a break, Heyman. 

Notice his title ladies and gentlemen... "Baseball Insider."   Right.

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GUESS WHAT HAPPENED TO OUR PAL, BOBBY ABREU?

Earlier this offseason there was important news about Bobby Abreu.  He had been given a shot to try and come back to baseball when the Philadelphia Phillies offered him a contract.  Read BOBBY ABREU'S BACK IN BASEBALL! for that whole recap, but in a nutshell, ESPN, wrote then, "Abreu will make $800,000 if he makes the Phillies roster out of spring training, a baseball source told ESPN.com."

Well, the news today is he didn't make the Phillies.  I know, you're sad for him. I know I am. According to Jim Salisbury of CSN, it didn't work out:

Phillies have told Bobby Abreu he will not make team.
— Jim Salisbury (@JSalisburyCSN) March 26, 2014

OK. So there you have it. You have to wonder now if Bobby will try to continue at this point, or will just end it.  Whatever the case, who doesn't love Abreu? Who doesn't love the effort. I applaud him. He was a good soldier in New York and a good ballplayer.  I don't know... I was pulling for the guy. 

What can I say, I root for the believer.

Good luck Bobby.

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SOME GUYS YOU DON'T BET AGAINST

If you listen close you can hear the whispers. Listen. Do you hear that? They’re faint and you might miss them under the heartfelt cheers and well wishes showering Derek Jeter each time he steps foot on the field. Spring Training crowds at “The Boss” and around the Grapefruit League are taking every chance they can to catch The Captain one last time…but as the old  saying goes, “Your fans are in the streets and your critics are in the weeds.”  And there are some already reading Jeter his last rights…softly.

It is true that this spring has been an ugly one offensively for the Yankees’ 40 yr old shortstop.  He really has to rebuild it all from the ground up. Once the ankle mended and he was able to get his legs under him again, Derek needed to play catch up after basically missing an entire season. This would be a tough task for a 26-year-old coming into his prime, and unfortunately for Jeter and the Yankee faithful…Jeet is the Big 4 0 in June. Did you hear that? The whispers were joined by snickers…probably folks from Boston. Figures.

Joe Girardi and others in the New York ranks have deflected any and all “Are you concerned about Jeter” questions. They may be doing it out of respect, but I think they know that there are just some guys you NEVER bet against. Derek Jeter is one of those players.

I grew up emulating San Francisco 49ers’ legend Joe Montana…which caused me some abuse living in the Tri-State area. My Dad has always been my coach, and at an early age he told me to model my game after Joe. He wasn’t the biggest. He wasn’t overwhelmingly fast and didn’t have an arm like Marino or Elway…but Joe knew how to win. He took the frame and physical attributes he was born with and made the most out of them.

He was also a Patton-like field general. He instilled confidence in his teammates and made the entire unit better just taking the field. In my opinion he was the best ever to play the position. It’s up for debate I know, but what is not is the FACT that you could NEVER count Montana out. Even when the Niners pushed him off to Kansas City Joe still showed them and Steve Young that he was still the man and that 8 was only half of 16.

There have been others cut from this same cloth. They never let up. Even in the face of Father Time these players always come through in the end. I don’t care if you are in the sad, delusional sect that calls Jeter overrated or chose not to like him outright. I don’t care if you are an absolute Hall of Fame naysayer and clown like Skip Bayless. You can’t take it away from Mr. Jeter. He is special. A once in a lifetime type winner and this season he WILL show up. Bank on it.

As the Yankees get ready to break camp, Derek Jeter’s last, you can almost hear a powerful John Williams movie soundtrack starting to build. It haunts you like the lone French horn in the intro to “Superman”.


The season will be memorable for sure, but I think it will be more than that. On the day he captured his 3,000th hit (a dinger by the way) he also went 5 for 5. He mentioned that he couldn’t have scripted that way. But think about it, could it have been any other way for “#2 From Kalamazoo”?

Jeter, like Montana, isn’t the strongest. His entire career he’s heard that there were better shortstops all around him (Miggy Tejada in Oakland, “No Mah” in Boston and that suspended guy that played next to him at 3rd). But ask yourself, would they have been there to flip the ball to Jorgie in time to tag Jeremy Giambi? Would they have thrown themselves into the stands for a pop fly against the Sox? Would they have sent a rocket over the right field wall as the clock struck November in 2001.  I can’t say for sure, they were all great players, but I’m leaning towards a big ol' NOPE.

What will Jeter’s numbers be at the end of the 2014 season? I couldn’t say. Will he go out hitting over .300 with a Gold Glove and World Series Title? Well, it’s Derek Jeter, it might seem impossible to those whispering in the weeds, but for those of us cheering him in the streets, we just won’t bet against it.

 

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



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HEY BAUTISTA... ACT LIKE YOU'VE BEEN THERE BEFORE!

What's special in baseball? To everyone, there 1 or 2 or 3 things that are very special in this great game. Is it hitting a home run? Maybe having your team win the World Series? How about watching another player perform well?  Do you tip your cap if you are a peer in the game and see greatness on the other side of the diamond? Or, do you say something to the press that will no doubt cause a stir? If you're Jose Bautista, you choose that one, just because you don't want to give another club, and in this case, the Yankees, too much credit.  That's what I think happened recently with Jose Bautista. Don't know what I mean? Keep reading...

Brendan Kuty of The Star Ledger has the story and writes: " The saga didn't ensnare at least several players with Toronto, where Tanaka's expected to make his first big-league start April 4. Count slugger Jose Bautista among them. 'I mean, it's just a different pitcher for me,' the right fielder said Sunday after the Blue Jays' 4-3 win over the Yankees at George M. Steinbrenner Field. 'Other than him coming from Japan and having some good seasons over there, I don't think there's that much special about it. It's just another opponent.... I can't tell you much about him until I see him,' he said. 'All I heard is he's had some pretty good years in Japan and that he throws a split and that's it.'"

Translation; "Had some pretty good years in Japan" insinuates Tanaka's been around for a while. "He throws a split and that's it" indicates that Bautista isn't reading the same papers that we're reading about Tanaka. He sounds arrogant.  He sounds pompous...to me at least.

Now look, this story isn't getting much traction in the Internet world because it's not that interesting, and neither is Jose Bautista.  But it's clear to me, a Yankee fan, that this is sour grapes. This is a guy stuck in Toronto and Lord knows it hasn't been easy up there if you're a fan of the Blue Jays. Every year the Jays claim to have a "contending team", only to not.  It must be frustrating if you're a Jays fan.

I do feel for them because I remember the Joe Carter years and they were great for them.  Jose Bautista in turn, probably feels for the fans and he's taken the "I don't really care" approach when it comes to Tanaka. You know... Masahiro is not "that much special."

Meanwhile, what is special to Jose Bautista? Social networks I guess. That ridiculous #FaceofMLB contest was a joke by Major League Baseball, and partially because Jose Bautista whored himself to the fans, begging for votes and would "follow back" fans who voted for him on Twitter. Really?

The best part was he lost to Eric Sogard of the A's. Guess who voted for Sogard... all of Oakland... and most of New York!  Boom!

So, Is Bautista still bitter? Does he really just doesn't care? Hey Jose, can you see? How about maybe giving props where props is warranted? The Yankees made a move because Tanaka was talented.  How about good sportsmanship?

Look, Bautista is a dynamic power hitter. Many love him. I'm sure Masahiro Tanaka respects him and assuming Tanaka pitches in Toronto next week, which seems to be the plan,  it's gonna be interesting, don't you think?

Now look, it's true that we here at BYB seem to care about this "non-controversy" more than Bautista, Tanaka and many of you do.  But I need to be honest with you; Being a pro ball player is hard work.  We all can agree. Personally, for me, I applaud all these guys that make it to the pros.  I wonder though... why couldn't Bautista just say something pleasant like, "I hear Tanaka's got a nasty split, I can't wait to face him". Wouldn't that sound more competitive, maybe more complimentary instead of sour grapes?

Who knows. I do know this... "Special" for Bautista means what's good for him. To be the #FaceofMLB rather than actually earning it legitimately.  Let's face it, Tanaka earned his role with the Yanks through talent.  Some can say he's been over paid and "not all that", but I say the jury is still out on that. In the meantime, can't we all get along?

I leave you with this, the answer I was looking for in a leader like Jose Bautista, but didn't get. This came from Edwin Encarnacion who clearly understands good sportsmanship and competition... minus the trash talk. Edwin said:  "There's going to be a lot of Japanese people in the stadium... and in Japan, they'll be watching, too. So, I would like to face a Japanese pitcher."

That's fun... competitive and exciting for baseball. Am I right? Bautista needs to wipe the scowl off his face. Act like you've been there before!

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