ByAccording to a report in the Daily News, Bobby Murcer’s brain cancer may be more serious than doctors originally thought. According to e-mail Murcer’s wife Kay sent to friends, doctors have noticed something on a recent MRI, and Bobby has to go in for more tests. Our thoughts are of course with the Murcers, and hopefully, doctors will simply find scar tissue and not another cancerous tumor. · (12) ·
With Clemens under fire, so is Pettitte
By · CommentsAs The PEDs Turn continued yesterday when Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) and his House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform asked the Justice Department to investigate inconsistencies in Roger Clemens’ testimony. While, by now, I’ve long since given up any expectation of finding out the Truth (with a capital T) in the Clemens/McNamee shouting contest, this latest development will impact the Yankees because Andy Pettitte figures to be a key component of any investigation and potential perjury trial.
While the FBI has since opend a probe into Clemens, Andy Pettitte has reluctantly noted that he will be a part of the investigation. These developments could very well impact Pettittes’ mental preparation this season. He’s a fighter on the mound, and there’s no reason to think he carries his personal baggage onto the field with him. But this is heavy.
So far, the media has given Pettitte a pass, but in a rather scathing piece in the Village Voice, Allan Barra wonders if that should change. Barra also thinks Pettitte should be suspended.
ByEmma Span writes on Slate today about a topic near and dear to our hearts: why fans of the Yanks and Red Sox weren’t so keen on trading for Johan Santana. She sends a shout-out to our Save the Big Three campaign, and more t-shirt styles are now available with IPK’s and Phil’s new numbers. · (12) ·
ByPeteAbe mentions in this notebook that Scott Strickland was scratched from his appearance in yesterday’s intrasquad game because of a “stiff and swollen” elbow. Strickland had Tommy John surgery back in 2003, and has only managed 9, 34, 53 and 15 IP each year since 2004. He signed a MiL deal with the Yanks last year, but didn’t pitch because his wife gave birth to premature twins. Considering he wasn’t going to be much of a factor in the bullpen to start with, this latest setback might have been the first nail in the baseball career coffin. · (2) ·
Old Yanks: Where are they now?
By · CommentsRemember the Glory Days of the 1990s? Remember when Scott Brosius manned third, Chad Curtis manned left and Glenallen Hill manned the disabled list? Those were the days.
Over the last decade or so, a lot of players — some much, much better than others — have passed through the Bronx. Except for those who stick with the team in one capacity or another and those that are big names, most fans never hear from or think of the Mike Gallegos and Charlies Hayeses of the world once they leave the Bronx. Baseball is fleeting; it’s easy, as Mike recently noted, to make a lot of money, but it’s not so easy to stick around.
So let’s check in with some of our old fan favorites and Yankees who are lost to the sands of time. I’ve put together a rather random selection of Yanks from the 1990s who have faded from view. If anyone’s missing, leave a request in the comments.
Scott Brosius: Brosius retired at 34. He was ready to stop playing but not ready to give up the game. He is now the head coach at Linfield College, a DIII school in Oregon. (Brosius’ coaching bio is here.)
Glenallen Hill: Where have you gone, Glenallen Hill? In his 40 games with the Yanks, Hill turned in an OPS of 1.113 while hitting 16 home runs. It was impressive. He’s now the Rockies’ first base coach.
Mike Gallego: Gallego held down the back-up infield spot for a few years in the mid-1990s, hitting .262/.347/.383 during that stretch. I guess you could say he was Miguel Cairo ten years earlier. He is now the Rockies’ bench coach.
Alvaro Espinoza: Before Mike Gallego came Alvaro Espinoza. He was pretty bad at hitting and is now the infield coach down at Scranton.
Chad Curtis: Ah, Mr. Way-Too-Serious. Chad Curtis made a name for himself by picking a fight in the media with Derek Jeter following a bench-clearing incident in Seattle. While the Yanks tried to mix it up with the Mariners, Jeter and A-Rod, then on Seattle, were joking around. Chad didn’t like it, and the Yankees liked Jeter more than they liked Curtis. So at the end of 1999, Curtis left for greener pastures. He is now the athletic director and weight training expert of the NorthPoint Christian Schools. I would not want this man as my gym teacher in high school.
Roberto Kelly: The man who launched the Yankee dynasty. On November 3, 1992, Roberto Kelly unknowingly launched the Yankees on a march toward history when he found himself sent to Cincinnati in exchange for Paul O’Neill. Kelly would return to the Yanks for an unmemorable stint in 2000. After a few years of managing at the Minor League level, Kelly is returning to the Majors this year as the Giants’ first base coach.
Charlie Hayes: We all know this one: “Hayes, in foul territory. Hayes has room. And he makes the catch.” Charlie ended the 1996 World Series with a catch in foul territory and stuck around the Bronx for a disappointing 1997 campaign. He is now the owner of the Big League Baseball Academy in Texas and could really use some help with Web design.
Cecil Fielder: His estranged son is in the news in Milwaukee these days, but Fielder garnered headlines a few years back for domestic disputes and a gambling addiction. He was just named manager of the Atlantic City Surf and is sporting a rockin’ goatee as seen in this picture.
ByBaseball returned to Yankee fans today in the form of a loose, intrasquad game. The Goose beat the Gators 6-2 with the Gators committing six errors. Bryan Hoch’s got the pitching lines, and as I’ve said recently, just say no to Sean Henn. Because one intrasquad Spring Training game in February is the best indicator of how a pitcher will do all season. · (9) ·
When it comes to pitching effectively, Brian Bruney and his control problems don’t warrant much sympathy from Yankee fans. But that’s not stopping Bruney from trying to play his cards anyway.
In a Mark Feinsand-penned profile, Bruney talks about pitching in Spring Training to earn a spot on the team. In the piece, he is judiciously critical of the former Yankee regime:
Bruney credits his offseason conditioning program – daily workouts, no alcohol, a strict diet and plenty of sleep – with improving his outlook, but he also believes the changes on the Yankees’ coaching staff – particularly Dave Eiland taking over as pitching coach for Ron Guidry – have helped him focus on the task at hand rather than worrying constantly about the consequences of a bad outing.
“I formed a relationship with Dave where he’s easy to talk to,” Bruney said. “In the past, I might not have had that relationship; I didn’t talk to Gator.”
Bruney also admitted to a level of fear in playing for Joe Torre, who was constantly criticized in recent years for overusing certain relievers.
“With Torre – and I’m not trying to bad-mouth anybody – sometimes you would go out there and try to be so good because you were scared of doing bad,” Bruney said. “You can’t pitch like that. (Joe) Girardi understands that you make mistakes – and I’m going to make them.”
Bruney’s comments aren’t out of line. We’re leaving that job up to Theo Epstein. But they do provide an interesting glimpse behind the closed doors of the Joe Torre regime.
We knew that Torre relied on certain relievers more than others. But did anything that Torre say or do cause other relievers to try too hard? That’s what Bruney claims. But then again, he might just be making excuses for his 37:39 BB:K ratio.
If Bruney can pitch well and pitch effectively, he’ll earn a spot on this team. He’s shown flashes of what he can do with his stuff. Maybe a changing of the guard will do him well or maybe he’s just laying the blame for his shortcomings on someone else. Time will tell.
By3B Pedro Alvarez, one of if not the best prospect for the 2008 draft, broke a bone in his hand during his first at-bat of the year. He’ll be out at least 6 weeks, which is basically half the college season. The injury unquestionably hurts Alvarez’s draft stock, but will it be enough to get him to the Yanks at #28 overall? I think so. If he comes back and plays like a mere mortal, there will be tons of questions about how bad the injury was, if he’s fully healthy, will it be a long-term thing, etc. Elite players have fallen for far less. The real question is whether or not Alvarez will decide to return to school for his senior year to try and build his stock back up. Even with the potential questions, he’d be a no-brainer at #28. · (21) ·
ByIn a subscriber-only piece in Baseball America, the BA prospect experts engage in a little Joba-Buchholz debate. The piece ends with John Manual’s take: “Chamberlain’s superior fastball makes him the better bet to be a long-term ace. In fact, it makes him the best pitching prospect to come around since I’ve been at BA, surpassing Josh Beckett and Mark Prior.” That is some high praise. · (27) ·
ByTwo good stories today in the New York papers about some of the lesser-known names vying for spots in the Yankees pen. Peter Abraham takes a look at Dan McCutchen, the pitcher who handed Joba Chamberlain his first college loss. Abraham’s story details McCutchen’s 50-game suspension that came about as a result of a paperwork snafu over an Adderall prescription. Mark Feinsand sat down with Ross Ohlendorf. · (2) ·
