New York YANKEES spring training thread......... 2 days until season starts: LETS GO YANKEES!

Originally Posted by JoE TwEnTy1

Originally Posted by JoE TwEnTy1

1) Sign CC. Offer him the world. Whatever he wants. He cant handle the pressure? Dude went on 3 days rest for 4 straight starts just to get into the postseason all while knowing he has his big pay day coming and any injury hes done for.

2) Go hard after Tex. I dont know how much the Yankees are willing to spend this winter but if Hank really wants to back up his talk he'll go after both. Tex is exactly what we need. A 28? year old prime of his career switch hitting gold glove 1b. This isn't the Randy Johnson trade or even the Johnny Damon signing where were giving money to someone for what they've already accomplished. Texeria's value is not only in his bat but his defense makes him one of the most valuable players in the league.

3) Re-sign Marte. It would be ridiculous not too. We let him go and then next year everyone is in the Yankee threads saying Cash needs to get us bullpen help and blah blah blah. Marte can get lefties out regularly.

4) Let Giambi, Abreu, Pudge walk. All past there prime. Abreu's walk rates have declined the last two seasons and his last two years were arguably the worst of his career. Horrible defense in right.

5) See if Moose wants to come back. If he does I can deal with a 2 year deal, something like 2 years 22 mil. If he wants to retire then see what it would take for Pettitte. He ate innings this year at about a league average rate and if it was true that his was injured at the begining of August which is when his decline began than its not unreasonable to expect him to bounce back.

6) Explore the trade market. Matsui might not have much value if any but see whats out there. Damon's value is extremely high and he is in his last year of his contract. The Dodgers are a team I would look at. Coletti loves veterans and I would kill to get Matt Kemp in center but that might not happen with just Damon. David Dejesus as mentioned would also be a great fit for us but again might not be to easy to acquire.

7) Derek Lowe or AJ Burnet. If one of them can be had for a high AAV then do it. We'll probably need another starter if every thing goes right but who knows what Cash is thinking.

Hopeful 2009 lineup:
1) Jeter ss
2) Kemp cf or rf
3) Tex 1b
4) A-rod 3b
5) Posada C
6) Cano 2b
7) Nady lf
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Matsui dh
9) Gardner lf

Starters:
1) CC
2 )Wang
3) Joba
4) Moose
5) Burnet or Lowe backup: Pettite with Hughes available in the minors

Bullpen:
Mo
Marte
Bruney
Coke
Edwar
Veras
Melancon

No K-rod because he'll demand to much and we dont need him.
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I am Brian Cashman.
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Hey, you don't have the Swisher trade. FRAUD!
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[h1]More Mark Teixeira Signing Reactions[/h1]
By Ben Jones [December 24 at 1:26pm CST]

1:26pm: FOXSports.com's Dayn Perry believes the Yankees are taking a risk with the Teixeira deal. Perry pointsout that the Yankees' spending will add even more pressure onto the franchise to win. He also thinks the Yankees needed to make this deal.
11:33am: Add Rays skipper Joe Maddon to the list of baseball people who aren't scared by theYankees' recent moves. This, via Mike DiGiovannaand the LA Times.
10:01am: Since this is the major topic today -- unless anything breaks -- I'll update this periodically.
8:49am:
 
yankees-lastgame.jpg

[h1]The last at-bat at Yankee Stadium[/h1]
It was just before one o'clock in the morning on Sept. 22, but the scoreboard clock was frozen at 12:21. The last game at Yankee Stadium was over,Sinatra had finally stopped singing New York, New York, and organist Ed Alstrom was playing Goodnight,Sweetheart. The home team had won 7-3 in a game that meant nothing in the standings but everything in a deeper, gut-felt way. The Yankees would not begoing to the postseason for the first time since 1993, yet they had drawn 4.3 million fans, including another capacity-plus 54,640 on this night. And now, asthe last of them drifted out of the ballpark, it felt like closing night for a hit Broadway show.

Now it was just the clean-up crew swinging into action and a select group of others clinging to the night -- players and their families, reporters, radioand TV personalities, cameramen, front office workers, the grounds crew and cops, lots of cops. People hugged and slapped hands and talked and laughed. Playersscooped up dirt and grass and put them in paper cups and Ziploc bags. Grown men had their pictures taken at home plate, on the mound and sliding into second.It was like Never-Never Land -- everyone was a child. Why would anyone want to go home, knowing they were the last precious few to soak in the Stadium? Theystayed, stuck between history and the wrecking ball, until the head of security announced that it was time to leave.

Ray Negron was out on the field, right where he belonged, with the players and sportswriters. Ray had seen them all -- fromDiMaggio and Mantle to Reggie and A-Rod. He was there when they came to play at the Stadium and he was stillthere when they left.

He had started as a batboy, played briefly in the minor leagues and ended up as a team special advisor whose name doesn't appear in the media guide. Hehas never made much money, just enough to get by. Like so many other boys, Ray grew up dreaming of playing in Yankee Stadium. When that dream died, heimprobably became a pet of George Steinbrenner's. He's one of George's guys.

"This Stadium saved my life," said Ray. "The Boss gave me a life."

Steinbrenner caught him spray-painting a stadium wall in 1973. Ray was with his two brothers and two cousins, all of whom managed to get away. Steinbrenner,however, grabbed Ray by the collar and led him off into a stadium cell normally resolved for drunks and brawlers. The ballpark cops laughed at him. But 10minutes later the Boss returned and made him a batboy. He was going to work off his punishment. Ray's brothers and cousins took another path. His brotherswere undone by heroin and later crack -- caught up in the street life. And in less than 15 years his cousins were dead, one murdered, the other a victim of adirty needle.

"When my cousin was sick with AIDS," said Ray, "he told me, 'You were lucky you got caught.' I live with that."

Ray is long and lean and looks like a former jock. He has short, black hair and skin the color of café con leche. His large, brown eyes and longeyelashes are almost feminine; his cheeks sag -- the sign of a thin man growing older -- and lend an air of seriousness to an otherwise boyish countenance. Heis not embarrassed to be known around the clubhouse as the batboy, does not find it ill-suited to a man of 52. He knows that his fairytale story isn't justhis own.

"The Stadium has been my cocoon," said Ray. "I can come here late at night, work out in the weight room, or just go and sit in the dugout andclear my head. It's been here for me almost my whole life."

And this past summer, he got to share it with Ricky, his 13-year-old son, who came to live with his father for a couple months. (Since hisparents divorced Ricky has lived with his mother in Michigan.) Ray rented the top room of a townhouse owned by a friend in the South Bronx, a 10-minute drivefrom the Stadium. Ricky stayed with him the entire summer. "You know how kids love the idea of being in the 'hood," said Ray. Ricky wanted to beclose to his father and they both wanted to be close to the Stadium, where they went late at night. Ray pitched BP in the indoor cage and hit Ricky fly ballsin the empty, semi-dark outfield. He had a broken left ring finger and a sore shoulder as a result. But it was worth it. It makes you wonder how he ever leftin the first place.

Ray has been an actor and a sports agent, as well as an advisor and a liaison. He has been a confidante, a sounding board and a whipping boy to some of thebiggest egos in the game -- Billy Martin, Reggie Jackson, Doc Gooden, Darryl Strawberry. Heis the Zelig of the Yankees, a witness to some of the great events of the Steinbrenner era. When Jackson hit the third home run in Game 6 of the '77Series, it was Negron who, with the presence of mind and crack timing of a Broadway stage manager, whispered in Jackson's ear and nudged him out of thedugout for a curtain call.

"'If I'm the King of New York,' Reggie would say to me, 'then you're the prince of the city,'" said Ray. "And Iwas." It is one of Ray's favorite moments.

Away from the Stadium, Ray had a walk-on in The Cotton Club and auditioned for a role in Miami Vice. He worked out of his basementrepresenting Juan Beniquez and Jose Rijo and didn't hold a grudge when they left him for bigger agents. He moved around,was a general manager in the short-lived Senior League, then worked as a liaison with the Yomiuri Giants, escorting American players to Japan several times ayear. It was good training for the years he spent watching over Gooden and Strawberry.

When the Cleveland Indians were interested in Gooden in the late 1990s, scout Tom Giordano told general manager John Hartnot to sign the pitcher without Negron. "I wanted Ray almost more than I wanted Doc," said Giordano. Team psychologist Charlie Maherused Negron as a bridge to Latin players such as Manny Ramirez, Danny Baez and Robbie Alomar.

"I consider him a baseball guy," said Hart, who employed Ray in a similar capacity with the Texas Rangers. "He has a feel for baseball, afeel for people, a feel for the troubled player. There are so many dynamics in pro sports, and only a portion of it is connected with a player'stalent."

Ray returned to the Yankees in 2005 and ever since he's carried the title of advisor. The role is not easily defined, like Negron himself. He haswritten two children's books for HarperCollins, which he brings with him on visits to hospitals and boys and girls clubs around the city. He is the star ofhis own reality show, giving personalized tours of Yankee Stadium to sick kids and rich kids, to executives and celebrities, a history of the place accordingto Ray. His favorite stop is the holding cell where the Boss sent him all those years ago.

"George was larger than life," said Ray. "Most people can't sustain that. They have moments of grandeur, maybe, but are not true forcesof nature. George was relentless about building a winner. Less than one hour after the Yankees lost in the first round to the Mariners in 1995, he was on thephone with me and said, 'Meet me tomorrow morning with Doc Gooden.' Most guys feel sorry for themselves that soon after a defeat. George was already inaction."

If Steinbrenner was an avuncular presence in Ray's life, the Stadium was a second home. Ray made sure to spend as much time as possible at the park thisseason. One night in the hitting cage, Ricky asked him, "What are we going to do next year?"

"That's when it hit me that the Stadium is really going," said Ray. "I told my son that I'm going to be the last person to hit a ballin Yankee Stadium. Then as I got in shape, I became more confident and I said, Nah, I'm going to be the last one to hit one out. I'm in denialright now about the end of Yankee Stadium. But tonight, at 2 a.m., when everyone is gone, I'm going out there on the field and hit the last home run atYankee Stadium."

*****

Ray had arrived five hours before game time in a white stretch Jeep limousine along with a group of young players, mostly rookies and marginal reliefpitchers. His last official duty of the season was to chaperone the group to a tribute for fallen police officers in Queens. When he walked inside the Stadium,a few thousand fans were in the stands and the Yankees were taking batting practice. Ray walked down the front aisle, a press credential hanging from his neck,and onto the field.

"Let's try to be a family today," Ray said.

"I told Randy Levine and Brian Cashman today they're not my bosses," he said referring to the president andgeneral manager of the Yankees. "I went to a wake yesterday for a friend who died of cancer. I knew her from the Doc Gooden days. Today is another wake. Idon't want to see anyone angry today."

Joe Morgan chatted with Derek Jeter behind the cage, then had his picture taken with Robinson Cano.Reggie Jackson, looking fit in a white shirt and slacks, stood next to Val Kilmer, a little round around the middle, decked in a Yankee cap,aviator shades, blue blazer and jeans. Ray would not be needed by Mr. October on this night.

"Reggie kicks everybody's ++!, but not mine," said Ray. "If after all these years I didn't know how to deal with Reggie, I feel sorryfor me. Hey, Reggie walks with Val Kilmer but I walk with Richard Gere. I'm giving him my last tour today."

Ray is not famous, but like most famous people he has an almost compulsive need to be accepted. "My greatest goal would be to win an Oscar," Raysaid once. "It doesn't matter what it's for -- acting, writing, directing, producing. I just think that would be the ultimate. An Oscar. How muchbigger does it get than that?"

Ray's phone chirped: Willie Randolph. He listened for a moment and said, "Just wear a suit jacket, that way you can just take itoff when you put the uniform on."

Ray likes his famous friends. They offer him validation. "I babysat for Ken Griffey Jr., Barry Bonds, the Alomarboys, Sandy and Robbie. The White Sox were in town last week and someone was goofin' on me and Griff says, 'Hey, get off my babysitter.'"

Scott Clark from a local news station was waiting for Ray outside the Yankee locker room with a cameraman. They made their way down thebusy corridor that runs up the first base line. Ray moved quickly and seemingly without effort, he glided. He's deceptively fast -- if you don't payattention you could fall behind easily. Every 10 paces someone stopped to say hello, an electrician, a reporter, one of the carpenters. He slapped hands withone of the bat boys, gave a playful shove to Cano and told the security guard sitting in front of the indoor hitting cage that he'd be back when the gamewas over.

Around the corner from the hitting cage was a large, unremarkable storage room filled with boxes of blue replacement seats. In the middle of the room was acolumn with three figures painted onto it: Lou Gehrig, Thurman Munson and Jeter. In 1973, his first year as batboy, Ray wasasked to look after Gehrig's widow during Old Timers' Day. She told Ray about the place in a back storage room where her husband would go to pray afterhe discovered that he was ill in 1939.

"This isn't on the official Yankee Stadium tour," said Ray, "because they say it isn't a documented fact, so it's not officiallyrecognized. But Lou Gehrig came in here to meditate by himself. How is that going to be documented?"

Ray finished with the TV guys and his phone chirped. Richard Gere had arrived. Aris Sakellaridis, press credential in hand, was waitingjust outside the Stadium when Gere's Escalade pulled to the curb. Aris, 47, a good-humored, square-jawed man who grew up in Washington Heights, callshimself a "Ghetto Greek." He was decked out in a white Everlast track suit with a black fanny pack. A retired prison guard with a steady pension,Aris does some writing, plays semi-pro baseball, and mostly, hangs out with Ray. He's Ray Negron's Ray Negron.

Gere and his friend and their two 8-year old boys hopped out of the black SUV and followed Ray and Aris into the Stadium. Gere looked younger than 59, hisface open and unguarded. The two boys were excited. Ray explained how he had met Gere on the set of The Cotton Club.

"He was the waiter," said Gere.

"I was the waiter," said Ray.

Ray took the group onto the field to watch batting practice and introduced them to Joe Girardi, Bobby Abreu, Jeter andRandolph. Then it was on to the blacked-out seats in center field and Monument Park. After that came the indoor hitting cage, where Aris tossed the boys BP.When they arrived in the Gehrig room, the boys were quiet and respectful as they listened to Ray's story, a more detailed version of what he'd toldearlier. But this time he wasn't talking to a local TV station, he was talking to a movie star. As Ray spoke, he looked into Gere's eyes and delivereda relaxed, unhurried, emphatic version of his tale. Without saying anything, Gere brought out the best in Ray just by listening.

After he delivered the Gere gang to their seats, Ray went downstairs and slipped into the Yankee locker room. Less than a minute later he came out withJeter's autograph on a small glove. "For a sick kid with cancer that I'm going to visit this week," said Ray. A man in a suit approached.Next to him were a cameraman and a sound man.

"Ray, Ray, we need you to show us the room. Can we get you now, real fast, Ray?"

"Where you been all season? Five minutes 'til game time and you need me. You must be hitting the bottom of the celebrity barrel if you needme."

Ray waved his hand and started walking down the hall. "This isn't an official tour," he said. "Gere was still the last one."

*****

Ray's phone chirped again. "It's Darryl Strawberry."

Ray grabbed a box lunch from the spread in the hallway and ducked into the auxiliary locker room where the Yankee old-timers were housed that night. Rayreported that Darryl was upset not to be at the Stadium. "The Mets are giving him s--- about coming here, so he stayed away."

The locker room was empty except for clubhouse man Lou Cucuzza, a heavyset guy with a sympathetic face who has been with the Yankees for 32years. He was sitting on a chair near the back of the room, looking up at a small TV set that hung in the right hand corner of the room.

Ray sat in front of the locker closest to the TV, the locker that would be David Wells' for the night. He ate a chicken sandwich, whileout on the field the retired Yankees were introduced to the crowd. The crowd noise was muted by the audio feed from the TV which came directly from the P.A. Itwas as if Ray were sitting in a coffin.

"Can you believe Sparky [Lyle] isn't here?" said Cucuzza. "No Mickey Rivers either. Ihad 70 guys in here for Old Timers' Day. Got less than half that tonight."

Ray, sandwich in one hand, cell in the other, shook his head.

When Thurman Munson's son trotted on the field, Ray said, "He's big like his dad but he looks like his mother."

"You remember Thurman, Ray," said Cucuzza. "He was rough with the press. He wanted them to think he was mean, but he was a sweetheart in theclubhouse."

"The best."

Ray stood up, dumped what he hadn't eaten in the garbage can and walked out of the locker room. He passed the press room and the Yankee clubhouse, thenturned left down the corridor that led to the dugout area just north of the Yankee bench. The sound of the crowd grew louder. Ray moved past the cameras, upthe steps and stood on the field where everything was loud and alive, 56,000 people on their feet. Spike Lee was a few feet away snappingpictures. Flash bulbs popped all around the park like a convention of fireflies. Ray stood on the sidelines, arms folded, nonchalant.

Babe Ruth's daughter was wheeled in front of the pitcher's mound, where she threw out the ceremonial first ball. The crowd cheeredas the players -- Yogi Berra and Jorge Posada, Tino Martinez and Moose Skowron -- madetheir way back to the dugout, laughing and slapping each other on the back. Bernie Williams walked with his arms around Abreu and Cano. Raybumped fists with David Wells, said hello to Dave Winfield and then hugged Bobby Murcer's son, Todd, whowas on the field with his sister and his mother. Ray escorted the Murcers upstairs to the loge level, through the crowd to the Elston HowardSuite. The room was boisterous and cheerful, like a family reunion.

Ray hugged Catfish Hunter's widow and then Diane Munson. The players' wives had always treated Ray like a kidbrother when he was a batboy.

"Thurman will be in my next book," Ray whispered in Diane's ear.

"That's sweet, Ray," she said. "Do you miss him?"

"Yeah, I miss him."

*****

The game unfolded in a blur for Ray. He brought Todd Murcer and Munson's daughters to the Gehrig room for one last tour and then hung out in the pressbox for a couple of innings. He commiserated about the end of the Stadium with Goose Gossage and helped Elston Howard'sdaughter look for her purse. When Mariano Rivera trotted to the mound in the top of the ninth, Ray walked through the crowd on the field levelto the front row, next to the TV camera stationed behind home plate. Rivera retired the Orioles in order and the game was over. It had been an uneventful game,but the Yankees won and the fans were happy. Jose Molina hit the final home run in Yankee Stadium, securing his name in trivia history. Raystood on his chair as the crowd cheered and Frank Sinatra's rendition of New York, New York amped up the volume.

The Yankee players gathered on the field. Hundreds of cops did as well. After a few minutes Ray moved across the first aisle toward the Yankee dugout, pastNYPD commissioner Raymond Kelly and finally to the end of the row, where Rudy Giuliani and his wife, Judith,smiled at him. Rudy patted Ray on the shoulder and opened a little gate so that Ray could get onto the field. Ray crossed in front of the dugout and stood withthe other clubhouse employees along the railing. New York, New York played again and again. The players congregated in the middle of the field andJeter gave a speech of appreciation. With the crowd roaring, the team took a lap around the field, saluting the fans and then leisurely drifted toward thedugout, waving to their families in the stands, Sinatra still singing. Ray hugged Abreu and said, "I'm proud of you."

Ray sat in the dugout, Jeter signing autographs just above him, dozens of photographers snapping away. Ray's phone chirped: RobbieAlomar. A compact man wearing a warm-up suit over his uniform sat down next to Ray and shook his hand. It was Caesar Prescott, ascout for the Yankees. He would be Ray's batting practice pitcher for the night.

Less than an hour later, when the reporters had finished getting their locker room quotes, Ray went into the weight room carrying a black bat, autographedby Pudge Rodriguez, sticky with pine tar.

"It will be at least 2:30 before we can get out there on the field," said Ray. "At least. I can't go out there if people are stillaround, especially the head of the grounds crew 'cause he'll rat me out."

Aris swung a fungo bat and Caesar tossed a small medicine ball against the wall. Ray put on warm-up pants, a pair of sneakers and two batting gloves."The last time I took BP was in 1980," he said. "It was the year that Graig Nettles had hepatitis. The team was on the road andhe was here taking batting practice one day. I was able to sneak in there and get a couple of hacks. I went up there hitting like Reggie, but from the rightside. I had Reggie's stance, his whole act, down cold. I got a hold of one and hit it out. I go into my whole Reggie, trotted around the bases andeverything."

Ray started peddling lightly on one of the stationary bikes.

"And as a bonus," he said, "the ball almost hit Pat Kelly, the Stadium manager, who was sleeping in the seats out there inleft field. He was a mean dude. Nobody liked this guy. The ball landed right by his leg. It didn't hit him, but it woke his ++! up. Right then I vowed,'I'll never take another swing at Yankee Stadium.' It was a perfect moment. And I haven't taken another swing. Not until tonight."

Ray looked at me and said, "Do you think I can hit one out?"

"Does it matter? You'll be the last guy to take batting practice."

"You're right," said Ray. "Hear that, Aris? I should enjoy myself."

The three men went down the hall to the indoor hitting cage. Ray and Caesar stepped inside. Ray's first couple of swings were rusty. He dropped hishands and lunged at the ball. "OK," said Caesar, "here comes another one, let's go." After about 10 swings Ray started to make solidcontact, yanking the ball high into the screen. Caesar said, "C'mon, attack the ball. Be aggressive. Let's go."

Ray got into one.

"Home run," he said. But it wasn't the one he wanted. He finished the round and helped Caesar pick up the balls. Then he took another roundand sat on the bench as Caesar pitched to Aris. Ray closed his eyes. The security guard stuck his head in the room and said, "Ray, they are still outthere. You should just go home." Ray nodded at him. Soon, he was slumped over, sound asleep, his bat in his hands.

*****

At 3 a.m. two dozen people were still hanging out on the field. The main Stadium lights had been turned off, but the back-up lights were on, making itvisible but dim on the field. A chubby kid who looked like Mickey Lolich pitched off the mound, surrounded by six packs of beer. He drained abeer and then filled the bottle with dirt. In the upper deck, Stadium workers used leaf blowers to clean the aisles and the seats, and a steady buzzing soundfilled the park. It was chilly now.

As Ray napped in the hitting cage and then in the weight room, Caesar hit fly balls to Aris in the outfield. At the break of dawn, only two people were lefton the field: the head of the grounds crew, a short, blond man, who stood like a weathervane on the mound, and a tall drink of water in black whose flowinghair made him look like a heavy-metal guitarist. It did not look like they were going anywhere.

Caesar was ready to surrender. "Let's go," he said to Aris. "It's over."

They returned to the weight room. Ray sat up on the massage table.

"It ain't happening," said Aris.

"They ain't leaving, Ray," said Caesar. "They're going to be here until seven in the morning."

Ray shrugged and gave a half-smile, his face puffy with sleep.

Caesar said goodbye and Ray packed his bag. A few minutes later, Ray and Aris left the weight room.

"Let's give it once last look," said Ray.

They walked down the corridor to the camera pit, up the steps and out onto the field. Other than the few dozen people left in the stands cleaning, everyonewas gone. The field was empty. Ray turned to Aris.

"Even if I only get three or four swings before someone comes to kick us out, at least I made the effort," said Ray.

"Let's do it."

Aris grabbed the bucket of balls, Ray grabbed the bat and they walked back out onto the field. It was almost six in the morning. Dawn was turning the skyfrom dark blue to gray. Aris took the bucket of balls -- 22 in all -- to the mound and began to stretch. Ray put on his batting gloves, took a few practiceswings and stepped into the batter's box. The buzz of the leaf blowers was the only sound in the park. Aris held up a ball and Ray nodded. Aris kicked hisleg and delivered the pitch. Ray took an easy swing and hit a ground ball to third base. Aris held up the next ball and threw. Ray hit a pop-up into the seatsby third base.

"OK, here it comes," said Aris, "Big stick."

Ray hit a line drive and grunted on his follow-through. He got under the next few and hit more pop flies. He let a pitch go by. Ray's swing was tired.Then he hit another line drive, this one with some distance.

"There you go. That's what I'm talking about," said Aris.

Ray tried to jerk everything in the air to left -- a line drive, a foul ball into the seats, a fly ball to short left.

"That's it," said Aris.

Aris had a rubber arm. He'd struck out 15 in a semi-pro game two days earlier, but he was giving Ray pitches to hit. With six balls left in the bucket,Ray hit a fly ball to deep left. "There you go, baby," said Aris.

The ball sailed toward the seats but curved foul. It cleared the fence but in foul territory.

"There it is," said Aris.

"No, no. It's got to be legit," said Ray, digging his right foot into the batter's box.

Two pitches later, Ray hit another fly to deep left. He didn't hit this one as well as the foul ball, but it traveled all the way to the wall andbounced off the Cannon sign.

"There you go, baby," said Aris. "Five extra push-ups and that's going over."

When the bucket was empty, Ray dropped his bat and walked to the outfield with Aris to gather the balls. A few minutes later, he was taking more cuts. ButRay could not hit another deep fly ball. He hit grounders and let out soft grunts after each swing. A line drive, a pop-up. With each passing swing, Ray'sbody began to sag. He was spent. When the bucket was empty, Ray exhaled.

"That's it, man, I'm done."

Aris said, "One more round, c'mon."

"My groin is going to give. I don't want you carrying me off this field."

"Ten more, just ten more."

"No, that's it. I'm done."

Ray kicked at the bottom of his bat and looked up at the sky.

"Ray, we can come back another day and do this," said Aris.

"Let's pick up the balls," said Ray.

"Leave them out there."

"Nah, we have to hide the evidence."

The two men walked slowly to the outfield and picked up the scattered balls. Ray moved gingerly, his head down, discouraged. He felt numb. After all hisplanning, after months of practice, Ray had come up short, five extra push-ups away from hitting one out. There were no witnesses. Even the cleaning crewdidn't seem to notice. But he didn't hit one out, and that mattered to Ray. The Stadium was closed. The final night was over.

"It's six in the morning, Ray," said Aris. "You hit the ball good. We're dealing with old ++! BP balls that have been used allseason, plus they're wet with moisture. If we had been out here at two, you would have been hitting bombs."

Ray was not listening. "Damn," he said over and over.

They finally walked back to the infield. A hulking security guard moved toward them.

"Here he comes to throw us out," said Ray.

When the guard reached them, Ray and Aris stopped walking. The guard looked them over and said, "Do you think it's OK if I have one of thoseballs?"

Aris gave him two.

"I thought you were going to kick us out," said Ray.

"I'm not going to throw you out," the guard said. "You're Steinbrenner's guy."
 
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Yankee Stadium meant something to ANYONE who's ever had the privilege of going to a game.
 
Originally Posted by Yoda

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Yankee Stadium meant something to ANYONE who's ever had the privilege of going to a game.
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i can agree. even as a sawx fan...watching games there was always fun. it was definitely a great place
 
As a Yankee fan, I need to get myself to Fenway.

ANY fan should know what Yankee, Fenway, and Wrigley mean to the game of Baseball.
 
Originally Posted by Yoda

As a Yankee fan, I need to get myself to Fenway.

ANY fan should know what Yankee, Fenway, and Wrigley mean to the game of Baseball.
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YES!

I need to experience Fenway and Wrigley.
 
Originally Posted by Yoda

As a Yankee fan, I need to get myself to Fenway.

ANY fan should know what Yankee, Fenway, and Wrigley mean to the game of Baseball.
Click to expand...

Never been to Wrigley but I've been to Fenway a few times. My ex is from Boston (goes to St. John's) I went up there for a game one time and she gotus seats on the Green Monster. I put my Yankees towel over the edge but when I turned around to get a beer she tossed it off
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I need to go to a Fenway game this year.

Wear my A.ROD jersey heavy... With A NEW YORK... WE RUN THIS SIGN...
 
^

Stop Hating.

You from Brooklyn & you a hater ?? I guess we should've let Boston & Anaheim sign everyone.
 
[h1]Return to Yankees "Doubtful" For Pettitte[/h1]
By Dan Slowey [December 25 at 6:16pm CST]

After spending more than $400MM on C.C. Sabathia, A.J. Burnett, and, of course, MarkTeixeira over the last few weeks, Andy Pettitte's return to the Yankees is now "doubtful," a team official tells Mike Puma of the New YorkPost.

Pettitte has not yet responded to the Yankees' original offer of a one-year, $10MM offer for 2009. The 36-year-old-lefty had a 4.54 ERAin 204 innings for the team in 2008.
 
Originally Posted by iM COOL C

I need to go to a Fenway game this year.

Wear my A.ROD jersey heavy... With A NEW YORK... WE RUN THIS SIGN...
Click to expand...
good luck with that...im not even trying to be like, our fans our tough blah blah. im saying we're just stupid, drunk, and belligerent enoughto ruin your night/afternoon at the ballpark
laugh.gif
 
Originally Posted by DeadsetAce

Originally Posted by iM COOL C

I need to go to a Fenway game this year.




Wear my A.ROD jersey heavy... With A NEW YORK... WE RUN THIS SIGN...
Click to expand...
good luck with that...im not even trying to be like, our fans our tough blah blah. im saying we're just stupid, drunk, and belligerent enough to ruin your night/afternoon at the ballpark
laugh.gif
Click to expand...
 
Originally Posted by DeadsetAce

Originally Posted by iM COOL C

I need to go to a Fenway game this year.

Wear my A.ROD jersey heavy... With A NEW YORK... WE RUN THIS SIGN...
Click to expand...
good luck with that...im not even trying to be like, our fans our tough blah blah. im saying we're just stupid, drunk, and belligerent enough to ruin your night/afternoon at the ballpark
laugh.gif
Click to expand...
I've worn a Bernie Williams jersey at Fenway without an issue. It's not that bad.
 
[h1]Pettitte Still Has Offer From Yanks[/h1]
By Ben Nicholson-Smith [December 27 at 9:30am CST]

There have been lots of rumblings about the Yankees' fadinginterest in Andy Pettitte, but he still has a $10MM offer from the club for 2009 according to Anthony McCarron of theNew York Daily News.

A baseball official confirmed to McCarron that the Yankees are ready to go in "another direction" since PhilHughes seems ready for a rotation spot. The official said the chances of Pettitte's return are "55-45 against."

We're not likely to hear of any decisions until next week, when Yankees offices reopen.
 
my cousin just told me that on jan 5 from 10 am - 3 pm they're having a blood drive @ the bronx courthouse. when you donate blood you'll get 2 ticketsto a game. i'm there dude
pimp.gif
 
OH MY GOODNESS GRACIOUS! (word to Suzyn Waldman)

Gotta tell my friend in the Bronx about this...
 
Oh snap..... the Red Sox signed BRAD PENNY
laugh.gif
laugh.gif
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I hope he's part of the rotation....

Beckett
Dice K
Lester
Wakefield
Penny

vs

CC
Wang
AJ
Pettitte/Joba
Joba/Hughes
 
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