Three of the greatest pitchers in New York Yankee history have a lot in common.
Whitey Ford, Ron Guidry, and Mariano Rivera each were great.
Ford is in the Hall of Fame, Rivera is a lock for it, and Guidry would have made the Hall if injuries had not shortened his career.
Number 16 is permanently attached to the wall in Monument Park in Yankee Stadium.
So is Number 49.
Number 42 will be there as soon as he retires.
All three of these guys were big game pitchers.
All three of them played their entire careers ...
Say what you want about the Yankees.
You can say they buy all their players.
You can say that any team could be successful if they broke the bank every season like the Yankees.
However, you would be wrong.
Because just like the "underdog" Rays, Marlins, and Twins, the Yankees also develop talent.
In fact, it was not big free agent signings that won the Yankees four World Series in five years from 1996-2000, but it was development of players like Derek Jeter, Jorge Posada, Bernie Williams, Andy Pettite, Mariano Rivera, and others that helped them capture World ...
Here is an update on a story we heard yesterday, but an ex-Yankee might be mad at the team, and an update on Nick Johnson’s bad back.
Apparently there is no bad blood between the Yankees and Alex Rodriguez over the fact that he’s been questioned about a doctor connected to HGH. Team president Randy Levine said, “Nobody in this organization is mad at Alex.”
Facing Toronto righty Zech Zinicola today, Yankees catcher Francisco Cervelli suffered a concussion when he was struck in the helmet in the third inning. According to Yankees.com, Cervelli was able to leave the field under his own power with the help of Joe Girardi and trainer Steve Donohue.
Cervelli was immediately taken to St. Joseph’s hospital in Tampa for a CT scan.
Going into 2010, Cervelli is expected to be the Yankees back-up catcher, as the Yankees allowed last year’s main back-up, Jose Molina to leave via free agency.
There’s no official word ...
According to Jorge Arangure of ESPN, Cuban shortstop Adeiny Hechevarria has been “unblocked” by the Office of Foreign Assets Control, and is now free to sign with any major league team.
The consensus right now is that the 19-year-old could earn as much as $10 million, which would be more than the $8.2 million the Red Sox recently paid Jose Iglesias this winter.
A number of teams have expressed interest in signing Hechevarria, but Arangure identifies the Yankees and the Cubs as teams with heavy interest in him.
Here is a scouting report ...
"The biggest game I ever played in was probably Don Larsen's perfect game." Those were the words of Mickey Mantle, who played in many big games. On Oct. 8, 1956, Mickey Mantle had one of the best games of his great career.
Don Larsen and Sal Maglie The Brooklyn Dodgers and the New York Yankees each had beaten the other twice in the World Series. Don Larsen, whom Brooklyn had roughed up ...
If the competition for the Yankees' No. 5 starter's spot is truly a five-man race, frontrunners Joba Chamberlain and Phil Hughes would currently rank fourth and fifth on the depth chart.
After Chad Gaudin, Sergio Mitre and Alfredo Aceves each turned in two scoreless innings of work in Wednesday's spring opener against the Pirates, Hughes and Chamberlain both struggled in their first outings on Friday.
Hughes started the game against the Rays and nearly gave up a home run on the second pitch he threw to leadoff man Jason Bartlett, but the ...
In yesterday's Spring Training game against the Philadelphia Phillies, New York Yankees fans got what was, for many, their first look at two young catchers in the Yankee organization.
Austin Romine took over behind the plate for Jorge Posada. Romine looked very steady behind the plate in his set up and how quiet he was receiving pitches.
He also showed good agility, blocking several balls in the dirt even though there were no Phillies runners on the bases.
The only criticism this observer would have of Romine in this very brief look at ...
After losing the 1964 World Series to the St. Louis Cardinals, the Yankees fired manager Yogi Berra and hired the manager who had beaten them in that World Series, Johnny Keane.
World Champions Again? Keane, like so many others, failed to realize that the key Yankees' players were mere shells of themselves. He never got to know them, and they never knew the real Johnny Keane.
It had been difficult for Yogi Berra to take ...
This is supposed to be the new Alex Rodriguez—the clean one who no longer has any connection with steroids, the one with the giant gorilla off his back, and the one who no longer cares about numbers, just winning.
Then why are the Yankees pissed off at him? Bob Raissman of the NY Daily News tells you why :
"Certain members of the Yankees high command are very, very angry with Alex Rodriguez.
"No one likes being deceived, especially these suits. They are furious over A-Rod hanging them out to dry, not immediately ...
