Wait Till After The All Star Break

My good friend Danny utters these words each year, nothing matters till after the All Star Break. And he is correct; history, especially recent history has shown us that the second half of the season has made silk purses out of sows ears.

The Mets, Marlins, Indians and and the Yankees have all gotten off to bad springs and risen to new heights in the second half. Boston who looked to be on the way out in 2004 arose like Lazarus from a lifeless corpse to win the World Series.

That said many are uttering wait till A-Rod is back or wait till Posada is back. Personally I think Posada is the greater loss. While he does not have Alex Rodriquez numbers, he is a strong arm tosser and a student of the game. Posada is aware of batters and provides detailed instruction to the pitchers to get to the job done. Add to that his lefty-righty batting. Not only can he impact on defense but offense as well. Have a switch hitter who can hit; even one who is slow runner still makes the job harder for the opposition.

A-Rod is still a loss. His numbers cannot be denied. He provides that element of respect in the lineup because he is a dangerous hitter. In Saturday's game, an ace like Johan Santana still feels his A-Rod scars. He would get better pitches. In yesterday's Bronx slaughter, it would not have mattered. Perez was tossing garbage, not even hittable garbage. Most of Perez's balls were at the ankles. A bat would not have worked. A 9 iron would have been better.

In defense of the NY Mets, I saw something last night that indicated growth. The Mets did not flame out and stomping on the Yankees in the Yankees house can give you a lot of confidence. The Mets have always been the step child of New York. The Yankees the favored son.

Willie and his Mets have been roasted, tarred, feathered and buried by various columnists each year; including the current. This weekend many were forced to look at the Mets differently. Now if they can only carry through on the momentum.

As for the Yankees, there is still a lot of baseball left to played and they really have no place to go but up.

No Bill Evans, The Pope Is Not a Yankee Fan

Most Yankee fans feel that the almighty, God, Jehovah or Mother Earth ( whatever you feel is the all powerful entity) smiles favorable on the New York Yankees. I teasingly say that to all my friends who follow the NY Mets; given how well the Yankees have done and the mediocrity the NY Mets have had to endure. Sometimes it doesn't seem fair and unbalanced. Yesterday morning on Eyewitness News, weatherman Bills Evans stated both the Pope and NY's Edward Cardinal Egan were NY Yankee fans. Well he is probably about 40% correct.

If the current Pope is anything it is probably a soccer fan. He's German, very European in his manner, and probably his papal mass at Yankee Stadium this week will be the closest he ever comes to a baseball game; especially with the boys on the road. His Eminence, the Cardinal however is a lifetime Chicago Cubs fan. The Cardinal has asserted to the NY Press that he appreciates the Yankees, and unless the NY Mets play his Cubs at Shea, he would rather take in the Yankee game. I sneakily suspect His Eminence has the MLB baseball package.

But even with that high connection to the higher power, Edward Cardinal Egan, the Chicago Cubs have still failed to lift the Curse of the Billy Goat; hence my belief that God is Yankee Fan could actually have some credence.

And in speaking of curses or attempts at them; I was shocked but not surprised yesterday to see the daughter of Gino the Jerk interviewed on the news and state "Screw New York" in reference to questions about her Father's, and apparently her allegiance to Red Sox nation. That's more then being a tough girl from the Bronx, it's almost a challenge to every nutcase to go after her. It seems the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. Miss Manners can you please help her.

In continuing this case, the Steinbrenner family is now trying to press criminal charges against Gino. I draw my line in the sand there. The Steinbrenners are wrong, and if the Bronx DA does indict Gino, while I would have to contribute to his defense fun. As a baseball fan, I can appreciate what he did for his team. Is it criminal? No. Stupid? Yes. And frankly I don't believe in curses, and I am pretty sure that laws about hexing and cursing are probably off the books in the NY State and NYC criminal codes. And the last I looked stupidity wasn't a crime (although at times I think it should be.)

As to the Yankees, I can't wait for April to be over and warmer breezes to fill the ballparks. The cold weather is playing havoc with the Yankee bats, injuries have not helped, and a very young pitching staff has struggled. All of this amounts to April growing pains.

As to baseball, the American League East looks to be the strongest division. I saw this in the Spring with the many club changes, and if you look at the standings, despite being in 4th place right now, the Yankees are close. The other AL divisions have separation of the leaders from the slugs, and in the National league, there is at least one dog in each division cellar.

NY Yankee Opening Day Part 2

I began my pilgrimage again in 65F dreary skies. The rain was diminishing and blue skies were appearing in the western horizon. ESPN's Michael Kay was on air stating it was still raining in the Bronx and there might be a delay, He must have gotten his information from the idiot Yankee weatherman. As every other real meteorologist in NYC had said the rain would be gone by 6 PM, they were correct the game began on time.

Polling many of the pilgrims on my journey, it appeared only 1 in 3 had been there the day before. Many had acquired their ticket from the original ticket holder, who now could not go.

I myself was warmly attired as cold temperature were predicted to return. It was in fact still in the 60's when the game ended, however by the time I returned home it was in the low 50's.

The team looks solid this year, Wang had some shakiness, nothing new to him in April. He was more careful with the Toronto power hitters, Rios, Wells and Thomas. Possibly it was too much birthday party from the night before.

I missed the opening ceremonies, stuck in a cattle stampede of fans dealing with Yankee security and no parking. Didn't they get the many memos, take mass transit. I missed the Voice of God too, longtime Yankee announcer, Bob Sheppard has some throat ailment and won't return until warmer temps set in. Jim Hall did an admirable job, but he still isn't as good as Mr. Sheppard, I doubt anyone will.

There were the celebrities, America's Mayor, Mr. Giuliani and the current Mrs. G; the Steinbrenners in various seats, King George was even in the house, up in the owner's suite with Billy Crystal.

Halladay was the ace of his fame, only a sloppy Blue Jay defense cost him the game. Their were fewer mistakes by the Bombers and clearly the true star was young Melky Cabrera. Cabrera had two spectacular run saving catches and a home run that account for the Yankees success last night. Respect was shown to the bats of Jorge Posada and Alex Rodriquez as Toronto put them on base rather then chance them taking on some more runs.

Job Chamberlain came in the 8th, a little too pumped but quickly settled and took us to the Sandman who did his job and notched Save # 1.

The dirtiest Yankee Award as usual goes to Derek Jeter. While Derek didn't have the most productive night on offense, his defense gets the Yankees in the game. Runners up were A-Rod and Giambi.

The Final Consecration of the Cathedral

The faithful had gathered, hope and anticipation of another season; Opening Day in the Bronx. The weather, lousy with a light drizzle did not dash the hearty. Many began tailgating in the lots in the early morning. I arrived on the D train from Penn Station and met Glamourbee and off to services we went.

It was about noon as we entered hallowed ground, I tithed obtaining my 2008 Yearbook, Opening Day Pin, Program and Opening Day shirt. Up to our lofty perch in the loge we went to view the final consecration of this grand stadium; we thought. I easily found my seats, in the same space I have been since 2002. Next year I will have to be attentive when the great move is made. Time to watch and wait.

There were scattered announcements about a rain delay, and not much till 1:30. John Sterling and the YES casters presented messages of hope, Joe G and Brian C took in the field around 2:00PM and then 3 Blue jays came out to play catch. My optimism rose, only to be dashed around 2:30 when the faithful were sent home. No game today, bad weather approaching.

To this I must say the Yankee weatherman must go. The current meteorologist lacks skill, The rain remained away, and had they started at 2:00PM they could have gotten the game in. The Yankee weatherman is a wimp. Please hire Bill Evans, Lee Goldberg and/or Sam Champion. They were correct, the Yankee weather guy was wrong.

I took a PTO day to go today, no big deal I have 30, and have hardly dented them yet. Others who were there had skipped school or also played work hooky. But we will all adjourn in the same location again tomorrow night.

Opening Night isn't as much fun as Opening Day. There is still the announcement of players and staff to look forward to; but the game will be under lights in the dark; and like it or not, some of the anticipation of first pitch will have left; but Glamourbee and I will be there again, hopefully to see baseball played and not rain delayed.

Crown Prince Hank

Just when we Yankee fans had gotten use to a little subdued activity from the owner, he, George turns the team over to his sons. After a six month honeymoon, Hank Steinbrenner has emerged as the new "Voice of the Yankees".

While promoting the team, he has also taken up where dear old George left off shooting off his mouth. Unlike his father the most controversial things so far as been to support the team and say that suspension for the Spring Trainings brawl are uncalled for and he will appeal.

Hank it appears is a chip off the old block, and while George rides off into the sunset, son Hank is going full blast into the spotlight.

For fans like me and many of my friends it is a sign of good things to come. George is the ultimate owner, a fan with money to spend to give his team the best. I have been a bit apprehensive of the future of my beloved Yankees with the hands of leadership changing this past year. However out of all the things that have come out of Spring Training, one thing is certain, the new commitment and support of the team by the owner is still there; as echoed in the statements made this spring by Hank Steinbrenner.

With 13 days till Opening Day, something else to look forward to, a committed energetic owner.

(Hank Steinbrenner photo from the NY Daily News)