Making History: Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez

Last season both Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez would have to admit that they were pressing to reach personal milestones. More or less guaranteeing Hall of Fame induction reaching 3000 hits for the Captain and 600 homeruns for A-Rod, were marks that put player over team and in both instances, we wanted them to get it and then move on. There was a palpable sense of relief when the numbers were notched.

But in 2012, this tandem of teammates, Jeter and A-Rod, are making history nearly nightly. As Yankee fans we are being treated to a season where one, or both of them, are surpassing some of the greatest names and greatest players in the long and storied history of both Major League baseball and the New York Yankees franchise and we should expect more of the same in 2013.

Since surpassing the vaunted 3K last season in an impressive way – we won’t forget the homer off David Price that was part of Jeter’s five-for-five day – the number of Hall of Famers he has put in his rearview mirror is quite impressive; it reads like a roll call of some of the game’s great hitters. Passing legendary Yankee Dave Winfield got the ball rolling for Derek this season. Since then Jeter has left Tony Gwynn, Robin Yount, Paul Waner and, finally, George Brett behind him.

Before this season is done, the Yankee Captain can be expected to move past Cal Ripken, Nap LaJoie, Eddie Murray and Willie Mays which would place him eleventh all-time. Staying healthy and productive through the 2013 season should potentially vault Jeter to sixth all-time, passing by the likes of Eddie Collins, Paul Molitor, Carl Yastrzemski, Honus Wagner and Cap Anson. The aforementioned Cal Ripken is of the belief that Derek Jeter will reach the rare air of 4000 hits – and potentially challenge the all-time mark set by Pete Rose.

This past week, Alex Rodriguez hit his twenty-third grand slam. What’s significant about that number? Oh, it just tied the Iron Horse, Lou Gehrig, for the all-time record for long balls with the sacks juiced. One has to suspect that that particular record, long held by a Yankee, will continue that way when A-Rod finally hangs ‘em up.

That homerun, A-Rod’s 639^th of his career total, inches him closer to catching Willie Mays at 660 which is good for fourth all-time. Having passed Ken Griffey, Jr. earlier this season for fifth place, Rodriguez may not catch the Say Hey Kid this season, but he really should in 2013. Just for good measure, Alex will get his 3000^th hit next season as well. I was totally remiss in doing the research on how A-Rod is moving up the all-time RBI leaders, but you should check that out as well.

Both Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez are students and fans of the game. It’s probably hard to ignore the milestones when they go up on the big scoreboard; you know both players would tell you none of the personal marks mean that much unless the team is winning. But right now, the team is doing that very thing so it gives us a little extra opportunity to enjoy watching history being made in the Bronx. As a fan, I sort of wish that Jeter and A-Rod were as close of friends as they were earlier in their careers and could keep pushing and encouraging each other, but it’s still an amazing part of the 2012 season watching the teammates make and break baseball history.

BEN NICHOLS at 7^th Street Entry June 10

“You can’t choose your family,” drawled Ben Nichols part way through his sold-out, jam-packed Sunday night gig, “…can’t choose your fans.” Normally, seeing the lead singer of a favorite band playing solo/acoustic is one of those shows you’ll take, but you’re really wishing it was the real thing. But if you read my (mostly) positive review on this site from April when Ben had the entire Lucero outfit backing him up at First Ave., you know I am more a fan of the older, sadder songs.

But what Ben does solo is to take even the bigger material from the two more recent albums, 1372 Overton Park and Women & Work and strips them down, pours whiskey down their throats and finds the sad in each and every one. Much in the same way the full band doesn’t work from a set-list, neither did Ben, which lead to a lot of give and take with the exuberant audience. “Not gonna happen,” was his reply to many a request, but if anyone left this show unsatisfied, well, you can’t pick you audience.

Complaining of kidneys trying to push their way out of his back, Nichols drowned his own personal misery in the whiskey the fans up front kept handing his way. At one point, Nichols took a hand off his guitar to raise a toast with a fresh drink and had to ask if it was a quadruple. Yeah, it was that kind of night; later he had to pause in his great cover of “If Only You Were Lonely” to tell us that he had just thrown up in his mouth a little. I’m not saying Ben Nichols is at his best when he’s going to be doing pull-ups on the toilet bowl later, but…

Nichols was in Minneapolis to play a benefit for the St. Jude’s Children’s hospital (the night before at Grumpy’s) but he added this one-off for fun. He succeeded. Toward the end of the night, Ben hefted up the liter bottle of Jameson (which you just have to assume is the lead bullet point on his contract rider) and auctioned it off for St. Jude’s. Knowing he was probably breaking MN blue laws at the time, it suddenly didn’t matter much anymore when a fan in the crowd paid $300 for the bottle; Ben Nichols was truly touched by the generosity, although I was wondering who the hell has three bills left in their wallet at the end of a Ben Nichols or Lucero show. One of the best rock ‘n roll nights I’ve had in some time.

And then yesterday, my worlds combined: I haven't been watching/reporting on as much baseball as I usually do because I've been in a VA Hospital room with my dear friend, David. And then, lo and behold, baseball came to us. Okay, I wasn't there because I had come down with something of a cold and couldn't be in close proximity to the man recovering in the bed. And even if I can't recognize anyone other than David & his wonderful wife, Margit except for Twins manager, Ron Gardenhire (back/right) and team mascot, TC (front/left) I did vow that I will no longer refer to the Minneapolis professional baseball club as "the twinkies."

Let's see how long that lasts...

Meanwhile, the New York Yankees are leaving their brooms in the closet and are steam-rolling the NL East this week. The Yanks swept the cross-town "rival" Mets out of the Bronx over the weekend with some comeback muscle. They took the second of three last night down in Atlanta, coming back from four down in the eighth on the bat of A-Rod who hit his 23rd career grand-slam. The bases-clearing long ball tied Lou Gehrig for top of the list - all-time - and tied the score at four. Two batters later, Swish also went yard. CC got the win, the pen nailed it down with Soriano getting his tenth save of the season filling in for Mo - it was also the 100th career save for Sori.

And despite how poorly this season has seemed to be going for the Yanks, they now have the best record in the AL and are in first alone atop the division for the first time since April. Let's hope they're there to stay.

Okay, that's it for today. Although I am going to once again, leave you with a moment of baseball Zen. This video that was posted on the YES site yesterday is freaking brilliant even if it's still too soon for bosox fans. Kenyan kids re-enact the Bill Buckner play from the 1986 World Series. WOW!

http://web.yesnetwork.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20120612&content_id=33164494&oid=0

Thanks,
Brian

Sorry for the absence of new material last week; spending quite of a bit of my time with a friend in the hospital. Hoping to change both of those scenarios this week. Below is my piece for Bronx Baseball Daily; if you read it there already, apologies for the repeat...

Thanks,

B.

Thurman Munson would have been sixty-five years old this week. He should be showing up to Old Timer’s Day with the requisite paunch and the for-the-fans mutton chops still in place – frozen from the 1970s – laughing behind the batting cage with Sparky and Bucky, burying the hatchet with Reggie “Not the Straw that Stirs the Drink” Jackson. The number fifteen would still be retired, the monument erected out behind the centerfield wall, but not posthumously.

Baseball, really more than any other professional sport, teaches its fans a great life lesson: you can’t win them all. A team can lose sixty games in a season and it would be regarded as a great season; a hitter can fail seventy percent of the time and still make the Hall of Fame. His career cut short, Thurman Munson is not enshrined in baseball’s great museum, but his plaque is etched in the minds of those Yankee fans who got to see him play the game: always the right way and always hard.

His gruff manner belied the heart of a gentleman; when he was dying in the plane crash that took his life his final words to his companions were to ask if they were okay. His defiant stance was embodied in the beard that he wore beneath the tools of ignorance despite being against George Steinbrenner’s team policies toward player appearance.

Speaking of “The Boss,” one has to imagine that the Captain would have worn out his welcome at some point. The banishments of the stars of those great, Bronx Zoo-era teams such as Graig Nettles and Goose Gossage probably would have reached Munson, too. But just as clear is the eventual return of the prodigal son to the pinstripes. Munson as the Yankee manager doesn’t seem so farfetched as we see a string of catchers becoming prized skippers.

Thurman Munson, like many icons, went out in his prime. Bringing up the likes of James Dean and Marilyn Monroe does not feel like a stretch. The generation before mine know where they were and what they were doing when JFK was shot; Yankee fans who grew up in the 1970s, like me, remember vividly the events of August 2, 1979.

Last year on that day as I blogged about my experiences and remembrances of that fateful day, the kid with whom I had been playing Wiffleball (and with whom I hadn’t spoken it in about thirty years) somehow came across my blog and commented that he had been telling his friends about that day and our interrupted Whiffleball game.

I can still see Thurman, his stocky body clad in Yankee pinstripes, the only uniform he would wear, the baseball clutched in his right hand showing the umpire that he held on after a violent collision at home plate: the very picture of what we are talking about when we mention Yankee pride. Yeah, Thurman Munson would have been an old man – officially – this week; AARP and all, but to those of fortunate to see him play, he still embodies everything that is great about baseball and the New York Yankees.

Back in the old days of inventing and self-publishing there was probably no fear greater than those boxes filling the garage, attic and spare rooms of your house. Boxes upon boxes of unnecessary doohickeys or overwrought memoirs. Now, in the days of print-on-demand, the chances of being killed by the avalanche of your own, bound words is less likely.

That said, I have now have in my possession fifty freaking copies of "A Rose by Any Other Name: An Alphabet of Tales About a Man and a Woman." I suppose I will start carrying around a few copies; the book release party that I have been threatening, now can occur, I supposes...

And if you would like a copy, I can make like Pete Rose and sign just about anything you would like inside it. "I'm sorry I bet on baseball?" Sure thing. $14 plus shipping if I can't hand it off to you. Drop me a line if you would like one; they are cheaper by the dozen...

May was a pretty bad month for selling via Amazon, Kindle and CreateSpace https://www.createspace.com/3527985 but I was also rather busy (as I still am, helping out some dear friends which has kept me from being the scourge of the internet self-publishing message boards and like).

But it's June and Rose makes a great graduation or Father's Day present; the June Bride in your life would adore it too. I'm available for readings as well as performing weddings so maybe we can kill two birds with one book...

Cheers
Brian

In Praise of Raul Ibanez

The list of New York Yankee players who have surpassed expectations during the 2012 season to date clearly starts with the Captain – Derek Jeter – and then there’s Raul Ibanez (why did I want to write: “And then there’s Maude?”) and that’s about it. Having already written a piece in praise of the aforementioned shortstop, it’s about time we take a moment to single out the new DH.

Raul Ibanez was signed by Brian Cashman late in the winter for $1.1M – ten million less than he had made the previous season – to be the lefty DH and occasionally play some outfield. We knew why the player would want to come to the Bronx and why he would take that significant pay cut to do so, but fans were suspicious: we wanted a return of Johnny Damon or Hideki Matsui; we wanted to finally see Vlad Guerrero sporting pinstripes. We got Ibanez and during spring training some Yankee fans were calling for his release and/or his head and not necessarily in that order.

And it was just last month where one of the writers on this very site was getting on Raul hard for his outfield play (okay- that was me) which was embarrassing; nearly as cringe-worthy as that of the aforementioned Damon. Cashman had said he signed Ibanez because he could pay some outfield; the joke being he never said he could play it well. But over the last few weeks, his defense has gotten steady; Ibanez catches all the balls he can reach and he throws to the right base. Having rotated a number of bodies in that slot trying to fill in for the injured Brett Gardner, Ibanez is now doing an adequate job in the field.

Derek Jeter, who is all of a year younger than Ibanez, was making Methuselah jokes at his new teammates’ expense already by spring. This speaks of a guy who’s good in the clubhouse, a guy who’s going to fit in to the ballclub. Raul turned forty yesterday, but he’s been swinging the bat like a guy many years his junior.

Serving as better-than-they-deserve protection for the heart of the lineup, Raul Ibanez came into play this weekend hitting a respectable .268 which is actually good enough for third best on the active roster. His nine homeruns ties him for second on the club with Tex. He has knocked in more runs than either Cano or A-Rod.  He trails only Granderson in longballs, doubles , OPS and in slugging. Raul’s so-called competition for that spot on the Yankee roster sees Damon hitting a whopping .186, Matsui .222 and Vlad Guerrero just got promoted to AAA. So at this point you have to say Cashman called the right agent.

There have yet to be too many bright spots on the Yankees this year, but Ibanez is a man clearly doing the job and exceeding expectations. His steady presence in the line-up (okay, I won’t miss seeing him in the outfield, but won’t hold my breath when he does) has definitely helped stretch the Bombers starting nine.  So, yeah, Raul Ibanez, those are not “boo’s” --  we’re “Rauuuu-ling” you.

The Yankees flew off the west coast last night and have an off-day in Detroit, which is probably not as nice as having one off in SoCal, but such  if life. After sweeping the A's, the Yanks finally salvaged the third game and went 4-2 on that part of the trip. Nova didn't pitch well last night, but Girardi and the line-up backed him up for the win.

After the game Russell Martin reported he was "being punished" by the home plate umpire. His offense? Arguing balls and strikes. His penalty? The ump wouldn't let Martin throw the ball back to the pitcher all game. The catcher says he needs the throws to keep his arm loose; the umpire says throwing the balls is an earned privilege. As for me? That's a new one and I've been watching this game for a long time.

The Rangers signed free agent pitcher Roy Oswalt which is the first big mid-season transaction. He could be good back-up as Feliz is on the DL. The Rockies designated ancient Jamie Moyer (he's even older than me) for assignment; the Twins would be smart to take a flier on him you ask me...

Saw the Twins beat the hapless A's yesterday at a noon game. Liriano threw his best -- and fastest -- game of the season as the home team sent Oakland to their eighth loss in a row, but demonstrating some "Minnesota nice" the game only took two hours and sixteen minutes meaning I could get to happy hour -- and the first Manhattan of the day -- by the 3pm start.

I think the bartenders recognized my ink more than my face; had only been in the joint once (that I can recall) but was recognized and treated to big shot o' Rye...

Got the first royalty payment for "Rose" yesterday, which was great, but it's not anything I can retire on my yacht on. Maybe next month. Actually, next month I will finally have copies of my book on hand. If you're looking to buy a copy straight from the source -- and signed by "the author" -- drop me a line.

Thanks,
Brian