Tagged: New York Yankees
Sights, Sounds and Nuggets from the field, pre-game: WS Game 5
Biff Henderson from the David Letterman show interviewing our own Kenny Singleton and former Yankees General Manager Bob Watson … he also interviewed Joe Buck.
Johnny Damon continues to be my new BFF because whenever we ask this guy for an interview he is, dare I say, Johnny on the spot. Joe Auriemma is busily editing it and it will be up on the site later, as well as my interview with Kenny Singleton.
I asked a lot of beat reporters, radio hosts or just people here working for various media outlets what their gut feeling was for tonight — about 80-85 percent of the people I asked thought this Series was going back to New York for Game Six. This is not exactly a Quinnipiac or New York Times poll, but still a good one.
Brett Gardner starting in center field tonight. Melky is done. Ramiro Pena is now on the roster.
Kenny Singleton’s 1983 Baltimore Orioles were the last team in World Series history to lose Game One and then win the next four. They did it about 300 yards away from where we are sitting right now, at Veterans Stadium.
Four times a team lost Game One and went onto take the next four games.
1983 Orioles (vs. Phillies)
1969 Mets (vs. Orioles)
1942 Cardinals (vs. Yankees)
1915 Red Sox (vs. Phillies)
Will this be the third time the Phillies surrender that fate?
Also interesting to note: the Yankees have been up 3-1 in the World Series eight times. They are 8-0. They have won Game Five six times and Game Six twice.
Year Opponent Game 5 Result
2000 Mets Won 4-2
1977 Dodgers Lost 10-4 (Won Game 6)
1961 Reds Won 13-5
1949 Dodgers Won 10-6
1943 Cardinals Won 2-0
1941 Dodgers Won 3-1
1937 Giants Won 4-2
1936 Giants Lost 5-4 (Won Game 6)
Livin’ the Dream
Every time I make my way to the field at Yankee Stadium, whether it was the old place or the new Pinstriped Palace, I instantaneously turn into a kid again. I can’t help it. Doc Brown and the Delorean not necessary. It’s just how it is. I can’t help it. Didn’t I just say that? I know I’m a reporter, and a journalist, but when I interview Yankee legends it’s like a natural high. Look, when Reginald Martinez Jackson walks over and says he’ll answer a couple of questions, well then I just turn into a babbling mess. Like I said, I can’t help it, I’m a fan. I have been since I was a fetus. (My mother still has the ultrasound where they saw the interlocking NY on my forehead)
Of course, I’m kidding, but you get it, I’m a huge fan.
Okay, back to Reggie. The man hit three home runs in a single game in the World Series. He will always and forever be a part of Yankee lore, and here is a kid that grew up a Yankee fan in a small town called South River, New Jersey, on the field before a postseason game interviewing a Yankee legend. It’s going to affect me a little bit. Sorry if everything I learned in Broadcast Journalism goes out the window.
Sometimes I have to jump back and pinch myself. I have a pretty cool job, I have to admit. Should I be a rabid fan when I do an interview? No. Should I be detatching myself from my fandom? Yes. I know that. But I can’t help myself. Everyone on my block dreamed that one day we would be a New York Yankee. Well, I am as close as anyone will ever be, they all live vicariously through me, and I’m loving every minute of it.
Timeline to live by
May 12, 2009 – Yankees lose 5-1 to the first place Blue Jays – drop to 15 – 17 and 6.5 games out of first place.
May 21 – Yankees win their ninth straight game, 1.5 games out of first
May 29 – Yankees beat Indians 3-1 in Cleveland, take over first place by .5 game
June 11 – Yankees lose their eighth straight to the Red Sox, 2.5 games back
June 17-23 – Yankees go 1-5 and get shut out in the first game in Atlanta – five games back
June 24 – July 9 – Brian Cashman visits Atlanta and Yankees win 13 of next 15
July 10-12 – Yankees swept by Angels, three games back
July 17-27 – Yankees win 10 of 11, in first place by 2.5 games
July 28 – August 1 – Yankees lose four of five and their lead drops to five games over Boston
August 2-15 – Yankees win 12 of 13 including a four-game sweep of the Red Sox, 6.5 up
August 28 – September 9 – Yankees win 12 of 14 increase their lead to nine games
September 11-21 – Yankees lose 6 of 10 – lead down to five games
September 22-27 – Yankees win five straight – including another sweep of Boston, AL East Champs
Do me a favor, take this timeline and live by it. It perfectly illustrates the highs and lows of a very long baseball season. A little over six months to be exact. Time and time again this season, people on Twitter, people in the blogosphere, and people calling into radio shows, acted as if the sky was falling. These people hang on every pitch, of every inning, of every game, like it was the last pitch of the season. I give them all the credit in the world for being the kind of fan they are, but please whenever you doubt a Yankees team go back to this timeline and remember the end result. Print it out. Put it on your bulletin board, your fridge, your computer monitor, or your favorite Yankees poster. Let it be a nice little friendly reminder from yours truly, “The Lighthouse of Hope.”
Is winning the division nice? Of course it is. Is winning the division after dropping eight in a row, then winning 9 of 10 against the Red Sox, including the clincher at home nice? Absolutely! However, there is still some work to be done boys and girls. The Yankees haven’t been to an ALCS since 2004 and we all know what happened in that series. Joe Girardi established three goals in Spring Training: Make the playoffs. Win the AL East. Win the World Series. Two down, one to go.
The talk of the previous couple of weeks was of the Yankees magic number. In case you’re wondering, one still remains and it resides squarely on Girardi’s back – 27.
By the way, be the lookout Friday for an Off the Wall chat session here on YESNetwork.com with yours truly. See you then!
Yankees mid-term grade
I was on recently with Lori Rubinson of WFAN and she asked me to give my mid-season grade for the Yankees season. I hate grading professional athletes and here is why. Usually the teacher is superior to the student and the teacher is the one who hands out the grades. I know this is how reporters and talk show hosts gauge a team at certain points of the season, but I feel uncomfortable “grading” professional athletes.
Well I did it, because I was asked to do so, and I gave the Yankees an overall B+. This is an entire grade higher than Ralphie received in A Christmas Story for his theme on wanting a Red Ryder BB gun. Lori disagreed with my assessment after I was off the air, which is fine, but I don’t like not being able to defend my grade.
So here we go, your honors, ladies and gentleman of the jury, honored guests, here is my defense of the B+.
Think about this, the Yankees are 14 games over .500, they are just three games behind the Red Sox in the American League East. They lead the Wild Card by two-and-a-half games over the Rangers. I know they have gone into spells where the pitching and hitting both go into the tank, but guess what, that’s baseball. It’s a long season. I think its 162 games the last time I checked. Baseball is cyclical. If you have ever played the game you would understand that sometimes the ball looks like a pebble and your trying to hit it with a toothpick, and sometimes it looks like a beach ball and you have that big fat red whiffleball bat. Pitchers make mistakes too and professional hitters take advantage of mistakes
Bottom line — the Yankees are 14 games over .500, leading the Wild Card, and just three games back in the division. Last year at this time — they were six games over .500 and trailing the Wild Card by five games. Which team would you rather have?
Neither, I know, because every year Yankees fans want a first-place team, 25 games over .500 and bludgeoning the Red Sox every time they play them. Who wouldn’t want that? It’s unrealistic though. The Red Sox have caught up and have a great team and a great system. Deal with it. It’s a reality.
I was watching the Sunday Conversation with Lou Piniella and he said something about Chicago that rings true with New York. He said if the Cubs win three in a row they’re going to the World Series, if they lose three in a row they’re a last-place team. Well, the same thing could be said about the Yankees. About a week-and-a-half ago, people were calling for Joe Girardi’s head. Then the Yankees won nine of their next 11 and the chirping stopped. I’m down in South Carolina on vacation and I can’t hear the callers today, but I could only imagine what they are saying after getting swept by the Angels. JJD and BJD much? (JJD — Janet Jackson Disease or “What have you done for me lately disease.” BJD — Billy Joel Disease or “I go to extremes disease.”)
Look at a schedule…please. There are 73 games left, 73. That’s almost an entire NBA or NHL season. What? I’m gonna worry? GLASS HALF FULL PEOPLE. I said this last year and I’ll say it again. If you don’t like rooting for a team that consistently runs out players that are fit to win championships ever season, there’s always Pittsburgh, Kansas City, or Washington. Pledge your allegiance to teams and owners who put money into a new yacht instead of putting money into their team.
Now, I couldn’t possibly give the Bombers an “A,” after getting swept away by the Red Sox in the first half, but to be in the position they are in right now at the break is “B” material to me. Could they have been better? Absolutely! Big picture, people. There are 73 games left — 14 games over .500 — leading the Wild Card — in striking distance of the Red Sox.
If I can’t calm you down with my glass half-full optimism, seek professional help.
By the way if you think this team doesn’t drive me crazy sometimes you are 100 percent wrong. They do. I’ve been around them though. They expect to win every time they take the field, but even THEY know that isn’t possible.
The Lighthouse of Hope
Pedro a Yankee?
Surely, you can’t be serious. I am serious and don’t call me Shirley. The Yankees had someone in the Dominican Republic watching, “Mr. Who’s Your Daddy” himself. Should we read anything into this? Well, according to the New York Daily News, no we shouldn’t. They reported that someone close to the Yankees believed the team was just doing a solid for agent Fern Cuza. He also represents Mariano Rivera. I highly doubt Pedro Martinez will EVER come to the Yankees. After what he pulled with Don Zimmer, and sending Derek Jeter and Alfonso Soriano to the hospital in the same day. Oh by the way, he and Jorge Posada aren’t the best of friends either. That would be an interesting battery to watch. It would kind of be like Jerry pitching to Tom, before the cartoon went absolutely stupid when they became friends, ugh.
Yankees drop two to the Nationals – World to end – read all about it!
I thought about this a lot today. Does it absolutely stink on ice that the Yankees dropped two of three to the worst team in the major leagues? Does it reek of month old milk left out on the table for a week, when three starters from said worst team, and the worst bullpen in the league come into your house and own you? The answer to both of these questions is yes, but this is baseball. If you have played it at any level in your life, you know as well as anyone, that you are going to go through spells where you don’t hit worth a lick and you cant pitch to save your life. Right now that’s exactly what’s going on with the Yankees.
We are all guilty of being Veruka Salt, the spoiled little girl from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. The old one with Gene Wilder, I refuse to even acknowledge they made a new one. We are all running around and screaming, “But, Daddy, I want a Yankees’ win nowwwwwwwwww!”
There are 96 games left. 96. Again, let me reiterate, I am not excusing this team from taking a beat down by the Nationals. All I am saying is take a chill. It took the perfect storm for the Nats to come in here and do what they did. Sometimes baseball teams all have some hitting issues at once. The Yankees just picked the wrong team to go cold against. This is a team if you remember that won eight in a row. I know they are 3-6 in their last nine. I know the 3-6 could be 2-7 or 1-8. It happens. It’s baseball. The 1998 Yankees – one of the best teams of all time – at one point of the season lost 11 of 19 games. Did the world end? We are here right?
They lost to the White Sox who finished 80-82. They lost to the A’s who finished 74-88. They lost to the Mariners who were 76-85. They also lost to the Twins who finished 70-92.
We all have to learn like Joshua from Wargames. The world almost ended in that 80’s classic because of snot nosed computer geek Matthew Broderick, the world is not going to end because the Yankees lost a series to the Nationals. Besides, it’s not 2012 yet. The waters may seem troubled, but look to the “Lighthouse of Hope.” That would be my bald head. All of you fans are out on a boat and all you see are choppy waters in the “Sea of Negativity” that is this area. You see huge waves about to crash on top of you and the Yankees season. 96 games. The ship your on has plenty of time to right itself and it starts tonight in Florida.
Ninety-six games. Look to the lighthouse and let me bring you back in to seeing the glass as half full.
Joba Chamberlain – Again Chris? Really?
Sorry, just a couple of things. I just have a couple of questions. Why is it that Phil Hughes, who is supposed to be a starter, is working out of the bullpen now and no one has a problem with that? Meanwhile Joba continues to not be lights out in his starts and he gets a free pass? “Chien-Ming Wang is killing the bullpen!” This can be heard echoing all over the radio in this area. Joba isn’t? I love how people want to bury a guy who won 46 games in two and a half years. Yeah lets just throw him on the scrap heap. Watch how fast other teams come in like a flock of seagulls (not the haircut) to pick him up. If you are going to be patient with Chamberlain, give Wang the same respect. Notice how I didn’t say Joba should be back in the bullpen.
One more thing – just curious – do you know how many games are left in the season? Here’s a hint, sing 99 bottles of beer on the wall, but make believe you’ve already took down and passed around three.
Squish the Fish.
End of Transmission
A Day in the Life of … well … me
7:26 – Rise and Shine
7:27 – Into el bano to do the shaving ritual – first the face – then the head
7:35 – Brush the choppers and swish around some mouthwash
7:37 – Get dressed – Flash Gordon t-shirt (the cheesy 80’s movie) Yankees pullover – jeans
7:47 – Glass of OJ in the kitchen
7:57 – In the car leaving house – pouring rain – top stays up for obvious reasons
8:12 – Stop at Dunkin Donuts to purchase Box O’ Joe and a dozen donuts for Mike Francesa and his crew – they have a remote at the Hard Rock Yankee Stadium. The line was out the door, but “Wrapped Around Your Finger” was playing by the Police (favorite group of all time). I was fine.
8:20 – Arrive at work and immediately begin preparing the YES Network Sports Sprint, which airs right before Francesa at 1p.m.
8:36 – Take a break from the Sprint so I can re-trace my steps for the morning and I write down everything I did to this point so it is fresh for the blog.
8:37 – Received the ratings e-mail – checked to see how BP did last night – I’m pleased.
8:38 – Back to Sprint preparations which consist of printing out the stories that I will cover in my update today: the Yankees, the Blue Jays and the Padres
8:40 – Wrote my Sprint lead – based on the home run happy Yankee Stadium
8:46 – As I continue the Sprint preps, thunderstorms are rolling in off the Long Island Sound and the thunder is shaking the building – nothing like a good strong thunderstorm!
9:01 – Finished with the office portion of writing the Sprint – I write my highlights to the scripts I get from our feed service – Sports News Satellite
9:02 – Cup of coffee number one – and breakfast – two Special K cereal bars
9:03 – Head upstairs to edit the highlights for the Sprint
9:29 – Done editing the highlights
9:33 – Apparently it’s a four-minute walk from the third floor – down the stairs and back to my office on the first floor
9:40 – I didn’t get a Yankees script in my e-mail – so I had to cut those highlights and then write them down in my office after editing. Now the Sprint is completed – just have to wait for the Francesa crew to get here to tape – probably around 11:00.
9:42 – Starting to get Flash Forward rundown ready – I am taping it with John Flaherty as we do every week for YESNetwork.com – Flash will call in around 11:15.
9:42 – Second cup of coffee – 9:42 was a busy minute.
9:45 – Researching graphics for Flash Forward – Wang at Fenway in his career – 3-3, 5.11 ERA..
9:55 – Researching Mets vs. Yankees since interleague started – Yankees are 39-27 vs. Mets.
10:15 – Research and graphics are done – printing out Flash Forward rundowns.
10:18 – Take a break to input the first part of my day into the blog for your enjoyment.
10:38 – Done with the blog writing – now it’s time to suit up and head upstairs to tape – be back later.
10:46 – Got dressed for the Sprint and Flash Forward in what I like to call my mullet outfit – business up top – party on the bottom
10:50 – Went upstairs to tape the Sprint and Flash
11:11 – Started taping the Sprint and finished at 11:15
11:17 – Still waiting for Flash to call – he accidentally deleted my text with the number – I left my cell in my office – Neal Baker – Producer of the Francesa show went to my office to get my phone – I texted the number to Flash again
11:18 – Flash called in and we started – to find out what we talked about you’ll have to wait and see when it shows up on YESnetwork.com later
11:26 – Flash Forward ends – I wrote an intro for the Francesa Show – they are live at the Hard Rock Cafe at Yankee Stadium
11:30 – Handed off my microphone and IFB to Joe Parrino in the audio room
11:31 – Grabbed the tape with me and Flash on it and headed downstairs
11:35 – Back in my office typing up the blog – going to hand off the tape to get fed – then change into the gym clothes – then its off to NYSC for a little shoulder work out
11:58 – Dropped tape off to get fed – and gave Kevin Sullivan our internet guru the rundown for Flash Forward
11:59 – Glasses off – contacts in
12:02 – Left for the gym
12:10 – Arrived at gym – got situated and hopped on the elliptical
12:40 – 30 minutes on the elliptical – 2.66 miles and made some room for lunch with the calories burned
12:41 – Shoulder work out begins – 12 sets – four exercises – light weight – lots of reps
1:09 – Left the gym
1:20 – Back at work – picked up my free lunch – THANKS YES! When the Francesa show is on a remote we get catered lunch – work perk – holla – anyway I chose Chicken Remo from Remo’s in downtown Stamford – it’s a melange of arugula (its a ve-ge-ta-ble – My Blue Heaven reference) tomatoes and their house dressing over some breaded chicken – make me chicken any way and I am eating it
1:30 – Eating lunch and listening to Mike Francesa in the background in my office – lunch is good
1:51 – Reminder – game is on MY9 tonight – but we are doing BP/Pre/Post on YES
2:05 – Mike Francesa is interviewing John Flaherty – Flash very busy today – don’t forget Flash Forward will be up later on YESnetwork.com – so I am chilling in my office watching this interview – getting ready for BP going over the scripts and graphics – When Goldy (Steve Goldberg) produces he likes to write the show – so he does – when anyone else produces BP (there are three other producers – I write the show – I prefer to write – but Steve likes it too and we have the same style).
2:30 – Flash interview with Francesa ended – they go to break – and this is how I know I am getting older – Lee Majors is on a commercial promoting a “bionic” hearing aid – oh Six Million Dollar Man – where is Oscar Goldman and the technology when you need them
2:43 – In a bit of a holding pattern in my office – going over my scripts again – David Cone is in the house!
3:05 – Finished going over scripts – called home to check in on my girls – they are good
3:15 – Goldy tells me we are taping a weather segment with Jim Kosek from accuweather.com at 5:00
3:30 – Goldy stopped in again – and told me that we will probably – most likely have BP in the show now – we were not optomistic for the cages to come out in Boston with the weather – but as it stands – the cage is out in Boston as you can kind of clearly see from me taking a picture of Fenway from our live truck up in Boston
3:46 – Sitting in the office – its quiet – all I can hear is Pre-game producer and Old Bridge, NJ native Bill Boland calling for Steve Goldberg – I’m from South River, NJ which is right next to Old Bridge – Boles as we call him and I are from similar backgrounds – he went to Trenton State College – I went to Rowan – good guy
3:53 – Updated my Twitter page – Like the little back and forth I have going with Chris Carlin of SNY – doing Ron Burgundy lines back and forth – you can’t beat that
4:00 – Lineups are in:
Yankees
Jeter SS
Damon DH
Teixeira 1B
Rodriguez 3B
Cano 2B
Posada C
Swisher LF
Cabrera RF
Gardner CF
Burnett P
Red Sox
Pedroia 2B
Drew RF
Youkilis 1B
Bay LF
Lowell 3B
Ortiz DH
Varitek C
Kotsay CF
Green SS
Beckett P
4:08 – Time to man up and put my makeup on – first the foundation – and then some powder to make me look like I have a little bit of color – damn my Irish blood
4:09 – Before Makeup
4:27 – After Makeup
4:38 – Okay fun seekers – its off to the studio where I will take some more pictures for you and report back after BP is over and I wrap up my day – until then!
5:15 – Taped weather segment with Jim Kosek of Accuweather.com he was great!
5:30 – Taped Coney’s segment and he was awesome as always!
5:45-6:00 – Talked to the crew about sports talk radio and how I need a show
6:37 – Show is over! About to take my makeup off and call it a night! Try to get a good night sleep and do it all over again tomorrow! Wouldn’t trade this for anything!
Thanks for stopping by today and checking out my day as it unfolded – Here are a couple pictures of the BP set – have a great night everyone! Go Yanks!
Phil Hughes Huge, Wade Redden Small
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. It was the time of new beginnings, it was the beginning of a season of tee times.
Tuesday April 28, 2009 was the best of times and the worst of times for Chris Shearn.
Tonight I saw the best of Phil Hughes, back from the Minors and dealing like he was trained at the best blackjack table in Vegas. He was like the Tigers roach motel. Detroit hitters came up, and immediately sat down. The ones that did reach base were left stranded like the Skipper and Gilligan. I would have given a Lost reference, but I don’t watch it, so I had to go way back.
Just sit right back and you’ll hear a tale a tale of a faithful trip. That started from Scranton/Wilkes Barre, aboard the Yanks Triple-A ship.
Yes a stretch, but its almost 11 o’clock and I’m getting a little loopy. What a performance by Hughes. Six innings, two hits, no runs, two walks and six strikeouts. A scoreless game until the seventh inning, when the Bombers put up a 10-spot highlighted by a grand slam off the bat of Jose Molina. Another solid inning out of Mark Melancon…can you say Melancon/Chamberlain/Rivera to close games? Sorry Joba, if Phil continues to pitch like this, and Wang comes off the DL and returns to form, you should be headed back to your strength – the pen – which in this case is mightier than the start.
Now I know none of you probably care about hockey, but I do so I am going to rant a little bit. Should the Rangers even have been in a Game 7 with the likes of the Washington Capitals…NO! Should the Rangers been in a tight game seven with the Washington Capitals…NO! Were they though? YES!
Rangers fans, how many games has Wade Redden come up small in this year? Plenty! So should it come as a huge shock that Redden skated on the back of his heels when Sergei Federov was winding up to take the game-winning slap shot past Henrik Lundqvist?
Not only did Redden not take the body. Not only did Redden not attempt a poke check. Redden acted as a screen on his own goaltender who stood on his head the entire game and deserved better than to have an awful worthless defenseman get in the way of the Rangers headed to the second round. There I said it. Now maybe I can sleep a little better tonight. The Yankees win helps, but Redden is on my list. If I were the Rangers organization, as he was shaking hands, his uniform would have been taken off and he would have been cut right there on the spot. He is garbage. Not just ordinary garbage, he’s garbage that’s been sitting in a landfill for months, that smells worse than anything you have ever smelled in your life.
Okay, I’m done. I am going to take a couple of Gaviscon and call it a night. No Sports Sprint tomorrow, but I will see you for BP tomorrow night at 6 p.m. ET on YES!
Remember Newman on Seinfeld and how he loathed Keith Hernandez…I looooooooathe you Wade Redden.
Off The Wall with Chris Shearn 