Lou or Joe?

Two all-time favorite Yankees, Lou Piniella and Joe Torre, will square off in the NLDS. Who are you rooting for, Lou or Joe?

Moose gets 20, Yanks finish with 89 wins

Mike Mussina won his 20th game on Sunday. It was the first time in his career he got 20 wins. Most of us had him penciled in for about 10-12 wins this year, so you've got to give the man tons of credit for making adjustments and continuing to battle. Congrats to Moose. Also note this: The Yanks finished the season with 89 wins, about the same number of wins, if not more, than playoff contenders such as the Dodgers, Brewers, White Sox and Twins. In fact, the last Yankee team to win a World Championship, the 2000 team, won only 87 games. Hey, there's no doubt that over the course of the season, the injuries to Wang, Posada, Hughes, A-Rod, Matsui, Damon, ect. could have been the difference in the lousy six games they missed the playoffs by, and the clutch-hitting sucked for most of the year. But the fact is that although 89 wins isn't that bad, this year, the competition in the AL was simply much better, and that's not going to change. There's a lot of work to be done.

Yogi

Here's a great newspaper photo of Yogi Berra from the last game at Yankee Stadium on Sunday. As I said in the previous post, it was one of the most moving moments of the night.

Thank you, Yankees ...

Caught the last game at Yankee Stadium on Sunday. As I'm sure everyone has heard, they let fans come on the field before the game. This was pretty surreal. Here's a photo of me in right field, the same area once patrolled by Babe Ruth, Roger Maris, Reggie Jackson, Dave Winfield and Paul O'Neill.

Note this: That wall was a lot higher than it looks on TV or even when you're at the game. I'm 6'2, and even with my arm fully extended, wearing a glove, and leaping as high as I could, it would be very hard to rob somebody of a home run. For now on, whenever I see an old clip of Winfield or anybody scaling that fence and pulling one down, I'll have an even great appreciation for it.

More thoughts on the final game in the comments area:

Yankee Stadium: Memories ....

The final game at Yankee Stadium is set for Sunday night. ESPN will do a retropspective Yankee Stadium special at 1 p.m. on Sunday. The YES Network will also do a two hour pre-game show, beginning at 6 p.m. ESPN will then broadcast the game nationally. Many former players are expected to attend and the pre-game ceremonies should be amazing. WFAN radio has a very cool audio clip which compiles the 25 greatest moments of all-time. The clip includes the audio of the TV or radio broadcast of almost every moment. You can hear it on their website, which is linked on this page. It's really worth a listen.

What are your favorite memories of Yankee Stadium?

Derek Jeter passes Lou Gehrig as the all-time hits leader at Yankee Stadium

Derek Jeter singled in the first inning last night to break Lou Gehrig's record for most hits ever at Yankee Stadium. Shown here is a photo of hit number 1,270, which set the all-time record. I've read books and have watched movies about Gehrig, and I really think"The Iron Horse" and "The Pride of The Yankees" would love Derek Jeter. I am very happy for him, and even he admitted yesterday that this one means a lot. Jeter is now less than 200 hits shy of Gehrig's all-time Yankee hits record and could break it next year. In modern times he has been, without question, "The Pride of The Yankees." What are your thoughts on the great captian?

Cano benched

Joe Girardi, tired of Robbie Cano's lack of hustle, pulled the second basemen out of the game on Sunday and then benched him on Monday. Some in the New York press are saying it's too late, and that Girardi should have dropped the hammer at least a month ago. Doesn't Cano see much bigger stars like Jeter and A-Rod bust ass on every single play? Didn't the Yanks just give him a nice four-year deal for big money? Maybe Larry Bowa - who always pushed him the most - will give the kid a call and tell him he better start acting like he wants to earn his money. We can only hope.

Yankee Stadium: 10 games and counting ...

The Yankees are now set to begin their final homestand at Yankee Stadium. I can't believe there are only 10 games left there. Thankfully, I do have tickets for the last game on Sept. 21, and with no playoffs, it will indeed be the last game. It should be fun, but it also kind of feels like I'll be going to a wake.

Interesting little piece from today's NY Post: "When the Yankees open the final homestand tomorrow night against the Rays, the clock on the historic ballpark begins to tick loudly ... Yankees players have been given the opportunity to purchase things from the ballpark. Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez would like their lockers; Andy Pettitte wants to use some of the outfield padding in his gym at home. Joba Chamberlain requested two seats, one with No. 6 and another with No. 2 on them. Mariano Rivera wants a seat, a pitching rubber and dirt from the mound. Mike Mussina wants the center field flagpole."

The games pretty much mean nothing, but there is one cool thing to watch for: Derek Jeter needs just 10 hits to be the all-time hits leader at Yankee Stadium. He's at 1,260. Gehrig is at 1,269. I'd love to see him get it. Jeter always downplays such stuff, but even he'd have to admit that having the most hits, ever, at Yankee Stadium would be pretty damn cool.

Coddling of Joba is getting ridiculous

Personally, I think Joba should be shut down for the year. Why risk such a great talent on such a busted season? Well, in a completely baffling move, the Yanks have him pitching again, but are now saying that he can't start games, and that he will not be able to start games NEXT season. They're talking some nonsense about having a limit on the number of innings he can pitch NEXT YEAR. Ridiculous. Totally ridiculous.

What's Joba, about 22 years old? Big, young, strong dude. Tell him now that he's a starter again next year. Have him start all through spring training, get him ready, and them give him the ball on Opening Day. Tell him that you believe in him and that you think he can get 17-20 wins and throw 180-200 innings. What's with all of the coddling? Old-school guys like Whitey and Gator must just roll their eyes at this stuff. Just give the kid the damn ball and tell him to go win some games.