Help Ike Davis strike out childhood cancer.
He may be on the DL but he is putting his best foot forward to help two NYC charities by hosting an intimate up-close-and-personal charity dinner benefit on Sunday, July 17 at 7 PM after the Phillies game.
Hosted by Linda Cohn of ESPN Sportscenter, this family-friendly charity event will feature a live interview with Q&A from the guests, a full dinner, drinks, a signed baseball item from Ike, special event T-Shirt, auctions of sports experiences/unique items, photographs, gift bag and special guest appearances.
To purchase tickets and more info, visit "Striking out Childhood Cancer": A Night with Ike Davis.
DATE: Sunday, July 17 – 7:00 PM
LOCATION: Michael’s of Brooklyn – 2929 Avenue R – Brooklyn, NY
All proceeds will benefit Solving Kids’ Cancer and The Liddy Shriver Sarcoma Initiative.
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Monday, June 27, 2011
Too Soon: Why the Yankees Should Have Waited to Have Joe Torre Back at Old Timers' Day
I was looking forward to seeing a former Yankee manager, who also was a very good player, return to Yankee Stadium for the first time for Old Timers' Day. Unfortunately, Lou Piniella's first appearance at the even was completely overshadowed by the return of Joe Torre.
I'm sorry, but I just think it was way too soon to bring back Torre for the event. Especially since he has never apologized for anything he did towards the end, like the way he trashed the organization after he deemed a one-year contract that guaranteed him $5 million (with another $3 million in incentives) an "insult."
And I am not going to forget about "The Yankee Years," and the way Torre, who based his whole Yankee career on being classy, settled scores with anybody who didn't genuflect to him in his time with the Yankees. I haven't forgotten the way he talked about George Steinbrenner's health issue. The way he revealed personal information about Johnny Damon. The way he told the world that A-Rod's nickname on the team was "A-Fraud." The way he got facts wrong, and accused David Wells of being a bad influence on Sidney Ponson when they were never teammates. Torre was so nasty and vindictive in the book, he made me feel sorry for Kevin Brown (!) afterwards.
And the thing of it is, he had a lot to answer for with "The Yankee Years," but thanks to the very same media members who gave him a standing ovation at his Yankee farewell press conference, Torre was able to deflect the bile of his book, as if it was all co-author Tom Verducci's fault. (Which begs the question, how did Verducci find out that information, if not for the guy whose picture was on the cover?)
I'm not saying that Torre should have been kept away from Old Timers' Day forever, but geez, is it too much to expect him to apologize for being a twit, before being welcomed back as Saint Joe of the Bronx again? Or for Joe to acknowledge that he bit the hand that fed him for 12 years, by first walking out in a snit fit slamming the organization, and then writing such a vile book like "The Yankee Years"? And for Joe to apologize for what he said and wrote, before honoring him in Yankeeland?
But instead of having to admit he was ever wrong, Torre got treated like a conquering hero yesterday, not just with the fans, but with the press, where it doesn't look like he got a single tough question at his press conference. I'm not going to be a phony like Torre and pretend that everything he did was okay. It wasn't, and he still needs to answer for it (but unfortunately, he likely will never have to.)
Torre said yesterday:
He also said:
But, of course, that didn't happen. Instead Torre said about wearing pinstripes again:
Here's the kicker:
If you cheered for Joe's return, knock yourself out. Just don't expect me to have joined you.
What do you think? Tell us about it!
I'm sorry, but I just think it was way too soon to bring back Torre for the event. Especially since he has never apologized for anything he did towards the end, like the way he trashed the organization after he deemed a one-year contract that guaranteed him $5 million (with another $3 million in incentives) an "insult."
And I am not going to forget about "The Yankee Years," and the way Torre, who based his whole Yankee career on being classy, settled scores with anybody who didn't genuflect to him in his time with the Yankees. I haven't forgotten the way he talked about George Steinbrenner's health issue. The way he revealed personal information about Johnny Damon. The way he told the world that A-Rod's nickname on the team was "A-Fraud." The way he got facts wrong, and accused David Wells of being a bad influence on Sidney Ponson when they were never teammates. Torre was so nasty and vindictive in the book, he made me feel sorry for Kevin Brown (!) afterwards.
And the thing of it is, he had a lot to answer for with "The Yankee Years," but thanks to the very same media members who gave him a standing ovation at his Yankee farewell press conference, Torre was able to deflect the bile of his book, as if it was all co-author Tom Verducci's fault. (Which begs the question, how did Verducci find out that information, if not for the guy whose picture was on the cover?)
I'm not saying that Torre should have been kept away from Old Timers' Day forever, but geez, is it too much to expect him to apologize for being a twit, before being welcomed back as Saint Joe of the Bronx again? Or for Joe to acknowledge that he bit the hand that fed him for 12 years, by first walking out in a snit fit slamming the organization, and then writing such a vile book like "The Yankee Years"? And for Joe to apologize for what he said and wrote, before honoring him in Yankeeland?
But instead of having to admit he was ever wrong, Torre got treated like a conquering hero yesterday, not just with the fans, but with the press, where it doesn't look like he got a single tough question at his press conference. I'm not going to be a phony like Torre and pretend that everything he did was okay. It wasn't, and he still needs to answer for it (but unfortunately, he likely will never have to.)
Torre said yesterday:
"I knew this day would come," said Torre, who received a rousing ovation from the Yankee Stadium crowd after his introduction.Really, Joe? I seem to remember in your farewell press conference that you said you would never return to Yankee Stadium again.
He also said:
“I think they probably wanted to do something else,” Torre said. “I think it became uncomfortable on both sides on how to separate. Unfortunately it wasn’t pretty.”Heaven forbid St. Joe take responsibility for his immature actions and say something like, "You know, I should have acted more grateful for the opportunity George Steinbrenner gave me. Thanks to him taking a chance on me, I went from being a .500 manager to a Hall of Famer. I should have handled my departure better, and not taken the cheap shots I did on the way out."
But, of course, that didn't happen. Instead Torre said about wearing pinstripes again:
"Putting it back on felt good," said Torre, who managed the Yankees to four World Series championships (1996, '98, '99, 2000) during his 12 years as their skipper. "Taking it off was quite emotional back in '07 because when I was doing it, I knew I wasn't going to be here anymore.Really, Joe? I seem to remember the Yankees giving you another contract deal, and you turned it down because it was a pay cut. Now you say that you knew it was the last time you would wear the pinstripes as a manager? Which story is it?
Here's the kicker:
I just don't like to dwell on stuff, but I certainly did feel different when I put it on (Sunday morning), because it was something I hadn't done it in a long time, and it's obviously the uniform that has meant the most to my career."Oh, good grief. Doesn't like to dwell on stuff? That's exactly what he did with "The Yankee Years" -- dwell on every real or perceived slight, settle every score, get back at anybody who didn't treat St. Joe with the deference he deserved.
If you cheered for Joe's return, knock yourself out. Just don't expect me to have joined you.
What do you think? Tell us about it!
Saturday, June 25, 2011
I Will Be on South Florida Radio Today With The Amigo
Miami's own Larry Milian -- aka the Amigo -- has interviewed me on his radio show many, many times since the first time I squawked with him, way back in 2006. He co-hosts the very popular morning drive time radio show called Armando and The Amigo on WFTL Sports -- 640 AM.
Now Larry has a brand-new radio show in South Florida as well on Saturday mornings, called the New York Sports Report, which he is co-hosting with Phil Dizz Domanic.. And I am honored to be the very first guest on the new program. How cool is that?
Check me out at 10:30 a.m. today -- you can listen live online here, and follow the guys on Twitter here. In the words of New York Jets star Bart Scott, can't wait!
Now Larry has a brand-new radio show in South Florida as well on Saturday mornings, called the New York Sports Report, which he is co-hosting with Phil Dizz Domanic.. And I am honored to be the very first guest on the new program. How cool is that?
Check me out at 10:30 a.m. today -- you can listen live online here, and follow the guys on Twitter here. In the words of New York Jets star Bart Scott, can't wait!
Who Would You Rather Have --Jose Reyes or Derek Jeter?
I have been watching Jose Reyes' MVP-caliber year with the New York Mets with great interest, especially since it's the last year of his contract. Like some Yankee fans, I was salivating at the idea of Reyes putting on pinstripes when he is no longer a Met.
But Brian Cashman has put the kibosh on that idea, saying, "That's just not going to happen." Of course, given that Cashman's own contract is up at the end of the year, never say never. Not to mention that Cashman has said one thing, and ended up doing another, before, like when Bubba Crosby was going to be the Yankees' starting center fielder for 2006! All that said, the Yankees probably will not get Reyes, even thought they should.
Back in 2007, Squawker Jon and I were interviewed on the Mets Weekly SNY broadcast for a Subway Series preview. When I was asked who was the best shortstop in New York, I gave my smartypants answer -- Alex Rodriguez!
Now I would say it's Jose Reyes, which is not exactly going out on a limb here. But it's going to be interesting to watch if Reyes is doing great things for the Mets, or heaven forbid, the Boston Red Sox, over the next few years, while the Yankees have Jeter at shortstop for the next three and a half seasons. (The media always seems to forget Jeter's player option for a fourth year in that contract. And given that he said last year that he thought he was still in the middle of his career (!), there is no reason to think at this point that he will hang it up before that season.)
Anyhow, will Yankee fans be gritting their teeth if Reyes has a year or two like this with the Red Sox, when it's pretty clear that Derek Jeter's 2010 was just a sneak preview of what we're going to see in this contract? And for all the "he's back" talk after his two-homer game against the Texas Rangers, the fact is that the captain has the same number of home runs this year that Eduardo Nunez achieved in 62 at-bats -- two. And while Jeter is better than Nunez with the glove at this point, Nunez is hitting much better in the lineup in Jeter's absence than Derek has all year:
Jeter's 2011 splits: .260/324/.324
Nunez's numbers since replacing Jeter in the lineup:.294/.351/.441 (his overall 2011 numbers are .241/.290/.379.)
I'm not saying Nunez is the answer, but the dirty little secret in Yankeeland is that the team has done just fine without Jeter in the lineup, especially with Brett Gardner and Nick Swisher alternating at the top of the lineup (they were hitting a combined .314 in that spot going into Friday's game.)
Of course, Joe Girardi has already said he won't move Jeter out of the leadoff role when he returns from injury, whenever that is. Because it makes perfect sense to have the player with the second-worst on-base percentage on the team batting more than anybody else on the Yankees!
I know, I know, these numbers don't take into account intangibles, grit, mystique, aura, or five rings. But geez, at some point, maybe after the 3000 hit milestone is achieved, we have to remember that it's the Derek Jeter of 2011 playing, not the ghost of Jeter at shortstop. Sacrilege, I know.
But Brian Cashman has put the kibosh on that idea, saying, "That's just not going to happen." Of course, given that Cashman's own contract is up at the end of the year, never say never. Not to mention that Cashman has said one thing, and ended up doing another, before, like when Bubba Crosby was going to be the Yankees' starting center fielder for 2006! All that said, the Yankees probably will not get Reyes, even thought they should.
Back in 2007, Squawker Jon and I were interviewed on the Mets Weekly SNY broadcast for a Subway Series preview. When I was asked who was the best shortstop in New York, I gave my smartypants answer -- Alex Rodriguez!
Now I would say it's Jose Reyes, which is not exactly going out on a limb here. But it's going to be interesting to watch if Reyes is doing great things for the Mets, or heaven forbid, the Boston Red Sox, over the next few years, while the Yankees have Jeter at shortstop for the next three and a half seasons. (The media always seems to forget Jeter's player option for a fourth year in that contract. And given that he said last year that he thought he was still in the middle of his career (!), there is no reason to think at this point that he will hang it up before that season.)
Anyhow, will Yankee fans be gritting their teeth if Reyes has a year or two like this with the Red Sox, when it's pretty clear that Derek Jeter's 2010 was just a sneak preview of what we're going to see in this contract? And for all the "he's back" talk after his two-homer game against the Texas Rangers, the fact is that the captain has the same number of home runs this year that Eduardo Nunez achieved in 62 at-bats -- two. And while Jeter is better than Nunez with the glove at this point, Nunez is hitting much better in the lineup in Jeter's absence than Derek has all year:
Jeter's 2011 splits: .260/324/.324
Nunez's numbers since replacing Jeter in the lineup:.294/.351/.441 (his overall 2011 numbers are .241/.290/.379.)
I'm not saying Nunez is the answer, but the dirty little secret in Yankeeland is that the team has done just fine without Jeter in the lineup, especially with Brett Gardner and Nick Swisher alternating at the top of the lineup (they were hitting a combined .314 in that spot going into Friday's game.)
Of course, Joe Girardi has already said he won't move Jeter out of the leadoff role when he returns from injury, whenever that is. Because it makes perfect sense to have the player with the second-worst on-base percentage on the team batting more than anybody else on the Yankees!
I know, I know, these numbers don't take into account intangibles, grit, mystique, aura, or five rings. But geez, at some point, maybe after the 3000 hit milestone is achieved, we have to remember that it's the Derek Jeter of 2011 playing, not the ghost of Jeter at shortstop. Sacrilege, I know.
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Glory Days, They'll Pass You By
Last night, I attended a lively discussion on "The Cambridge Companion to Baseball" with the book's editor, Lenny Cassuto, and Caryn Rose (aka Metsgrrl). As it turned out, they had a connection even stronger than baseball - Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band.
When I heard the terrible news about Clarence Clemons late Saturday night, I emailed Lenny. We have both been to at least 40 Bruce shows over the years, most of them with the E Street Band. I included in the email a link to a touching obituary on the main Springsteen fan site backstreets.com.
It was after I sent the email that I discovered that the obituary was written by the same person who was going to interview Lenny two day later.
(Read Clarence Clemons obituary written by Caryn Rose and Glenn Radecki and other Clarence tributes here.)
Though I suspect Lenny might have been just as happy to talk about Clarence, Caryn was coming off a string of radio and TV appearances as well as further updates to Backstreets, so once the evening officially got underway, all talk turned to baseball.
Since we were in Brooklyn (at the Greenlight Bookstore in Fort Greene), it was only appropriate for Caryn to begin by asking Lenny about an essay in the book on Walter O'Malley.
Caryn also asked if many of the writers identified themselves in the book as fans of specific teams. Lenny said that there was one Met fan, so I immediately jumped up, only to have Lenny remind me that it was actually a different writer.
Since my piece on the origins of free agency included a part on George Steinbrenner, it's probably just as well that I didn't identify myself as a Met fan in the book's bio section. But Squawker Lisa can verify that I was strictly objective when writing about the other Boss.
When the topic of fantasy baseball came up, Caryn said she was not a fan, so I decided not to mention that I have three teams and write on it for The Faster Times. But I should have mentioned that my fantasy football team is called the Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out.
Overall, it was a fun event. I got to meet Metsgrrl, and had the chance to talk about Clarence with a writer from Backstreets, all at the same time.
When I heard the terrible news about Clarence Clemons late Saturday night, I emailed Lenny. We have both been to at least 40 Bruce shows over the years, most of them with the E Street Band. I included in the email a link to a touching obituary on the main Springsteen fan site backstreets.com.
It was after I sent the email that I discovered that the obituary was written by the same person who was going to interview Lenny two day later.
(Read Clarence Clemons obituary written by Caryn Rose and Glenn Radecki and other Clarence tributes here.)
Though I suspect Lenny might have been just as happy to talk about Clarence, Caryn was coming off a string of radio and TV appearances as well as further updates to Backstreets, so once the evening officially got underway, all talk turned to baseball.
Since we were in Brooklyn (at the Greenlight Bookstore in Fort Greene), it was only appropriate for Caryn to begin by asking Lenny about an essay in the book on Walter O'Malley.
Caryn also asked if many of the writers identified themselves in the book as fans of specific teams. Lenny said that there was one Met fan, so I immediately jumped up, only to have Lenny remind me that it was actually a different writer.
Since my piece on the origins of free agency included a part on George Steinbrenner, it's probably just as well that I didn't identify myself as a Met fan in the book's bio section. But Squawker Lisa can verify that I was strictly objective when writing about the other Boss.
When the topic of fantasy baseball came up, Caryn said she was not a fan, so I decided not to mention that I have three teams and write on it for The Faster Times. But I should have mentioned that my fantasy football team is called the Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out.
Overall, it was a fun event. I got to meet Metsgrrl, and had the chance to talk about Clarence with a writer from Backstreets, all at the same time.
Friday, June 17, 2011
Three Years Ago, Same Record Got Mets Manager Fired
On June 16, 2008, the Mets were 34-35. In the early hours of June 17, Willie Randolph was fired. On June 16, 2011, the Mets were again 34-35, and Terry Collins is being showered with praise. Expectations have certainly changed.
Collins deserves the praise, and I agree with his comments after last night's game that we should look at it less as a brutal loss and more as the conclusion of a winning road trip (6-4) and the end of a series in which the Mets took two of three from the Braves.
But I miss the days when the Mets were expected to win. When simply getting to .500 wasn't viewed as an achievement.
When there was no question that the Mets would keep their stars. When the only question was which new stars would they seek to acquire.
At least I'm still able to yell at the TV when the Mets lose on a balk. I still have hope for this team.
Things haven't yet gotten to the point they were in late August of 2009 when the Mets lost to the Phillies when Jeff Francoeur hit into an unassisted triple play. By then, it was just the latest in a season-long string of indignities.
This year, at least the management still believes in the team. We'll soon find out if ownership shares that belief.
Collins deserves the praise, and I agree with his comments after last night's game that we should look at it less as a brutal loss and more as the conclusion of a winning road trip (6-4) and the end of a series in which the Mets took two of three from the Braves.
But I miss the days when the Mets were expected to win. When simply getting to .500 wasn't viewed as an achievement.
When there was no question that the Mets would keep their stars. When the only question was which new stars would they seek to acquire.
At least I'm still able to yell at the TV when the Mets lose on a balk. I still have hope for this team.
Things haven't yet gotten to the point they were in late August of 2009 when the Mets lost to the Phillies when Jeff Francoeur hit into an unassisted triple play. By then, it was just the latest in a season-long string of indignities.
This year, at least the management still believes in the team. We'll soon find out if ownership shares that belief.
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Blimpie Contest Winners!
Congratulations to Patricia and Thoughts, the two winners of our Blimpie Ticket Giveaway. Each winner gets two tickets to this Sunday's Father's Day game - Mets-Angels at Citi Field.
If you are one of the winners, please send us your mailing address info ASAP to subwaysquawkers@gmail.com, so Blimpie can get you your tickets! We need to hear from you ASAP!
If you are one of the winners, please send us your mailing address info ASAP to subwaysquawkers@gmail.com, so Blimpie can get you your tickets! We need to hear from you ASAP!
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