Hey Yankees, I got some free advice for you guys

July 24, 2008

The Yankees have won six straight games since the All-Star break, and at 56-45, they're at their high-water mark for the season.

Recent columns

• Hey Yankees, I got some free advice

  July 23, 2008

  The Yankees have won six straight games since the All-Star break, and at 56-45, they're at their high-water mark for the season.

• Twins don't regret trading Santana

  July 23, 2008

  Imagine if these Minnesota Twins, already a surprise entry in the pennant race, were putting Johan Santana on the mound every fifth day.

• Girardi can't help but use eraser on lineup cards

  July 23, 2008

  The Yankees approached last winter with the idea that they wanted to rest their veterans regularly in 2008. They pursued utility players such as Nick Green and Chris Woodward, promising them that, if they won a spot on the team, they would see regular action, plugging myriad holes.

• Girardi can't help but use eraser on lineup cards

  July 22, 2008

  The Yankees approached last winter with the idea that they wanted to rest their veterans regularly in 2008. They pursued utility players such as Nick Green and Chris Woodward, promising them that, if they won a spot on the team, they would see regular action, plugging myriad holes.

• Hank's presence a little overstated so far

  July 20, 2008

  The All-Star Game has passed, and the non-waivers trade deadline is rushing toward us. Let's do a lightning-round style Insider this week:

• Yankees' Posada carries trouble on his shoulder

  July 20, 2008

  Yes, Rajai Davis said, confirming the obvious. The Athletics' scouts aren't blind, deaf and dumb.

• Seventh-inning stretch

  July 20, 2008

  Pop Quiz

• Hank's presence a little overstated so far

  July 20, 2008

  The All-Star Game has passed, and the non-waivers trade deadline is rushing toward us. Let's do a lightning-round style Insider this week:

• Yankees' Posada carries trouble on his shoulder

  July 19, 2008

  Yes, Rajai Davis said, confirming the obvious. The Athletics' scouts aren't blind, deaf and dumb.

• All-Star Game took forever but had staying power

  July 17, 2008

  If they were unhappy, they hid it well.

• All-Star Game took forever but had staying power

  July 16, 2008

  If they were unhappy, they hid it well.

• All-Star Game lives up to billing -- eventually

  July 16, 2008

  If they were unhappy, they hid it well. The world's best baseball players - and, we all assume, the biggest prima donnas - had just finished a marathon All-Star Game, with the American League prevailing in a 4-3, 15-inning contest that took four hours and 50 minutes to complete at Yankee Stadium.

• Marathon All-Star game ended a success

  July 16, 2008

  If they were unhappy, they hid it well. The world's best baseball players - and, we all assume, the biggest prima donnas - had just finished a marathon All-Star Game, with the American League prevailing in a 4-3, 15-inning contest that took four hours and 50 minutes to complete at Yankee Stadium.

• Close with NY flair

  July 16, 2008

  Alex Rodriguez left in the top of the fifth inning, Joe Crede replacing him with one out, and for a fleeting moment, you hoped ("you" meaning "I") that A-Rod would get down on one knee, whip a jewelry box out of his back pocket and propose to Madonna on national television.

• Francona should have promised Rivera would close

  July 15, 2008

  'He's going to be a Hall of Famer, and he's earned that spot, and he's the best. He's the best in the business, and you will see Mariano Rivera closing the game."

• Francona should have promised Rivera would close

  July 15, 2008

  'He's going to be a Hall of Famer, and he's earned that spot, and he's the best. He's the best in the business, and you will see Mariano Rivera closing the game."

• On second thought, Mets look like winners

  July 14, 2008

  The red-hot Mets. Breathing down the necks of the Phillies.

• Hosts with the most

  July 13, 2008

  The idea for this column emanated from years of traveling to previous All-Star Games. From seeing how people in Houston and Detroit, Pittsburgh and San Francisco fretted about what I and every other visitor thought of them, and their city, and their ballpark.

• Don't expect to see Sabathia as a Yankee in '09

  July 13, 2008

  The Yankees' involvement in the CC Sabathia trade negotiations appears to have been little more than cursory. A case of "Let's stay in the loop, just to know how seriously the Rays and Red Sox are going after these guys."

• Ken Davidoff: How Bobby Murcer was big deal to me

  July 13, 2008

  My specific age, and my timeline of baseball consciousness, gave me a unique introduction to Bobby Murcer. When the Yankees reacquired him in a June 26, 1979 trade with the Cubs, I didn't even know he had played for the Yankees previously.

• Seventh-inning stretch

  July 13, 2008

  Pop Quiz

• Don't expect to see Sabathia as a Yankee in '09

  July 13, 2008

  The Yankees' involvement in the CC Sabathia trade negotiations appears to have been little more than cursory. A case of "Let's stay in the loop, just to know how seriously the Rays and Red Sox are going after these guys."

• How Bobby Murcer was big deal to me

  July 12, 2008

  My specific age, and my timeline of baseball consciousness, gave me a unique introduction to Bobby Murcer. When the Yankees reacquired him in a June 26, 1979 trade with the Cubs, I didn't even know he had played for the Yankees previously.

• NYC: Hosts with the most

  July 11, 2008

  The idea for this column emanated from years of traveling to prior All-Star Games. From seeing how people in Houston and Detroit, Pittsburgh and San Francisco fretted about what I and every other visitor thought of them, and their city, and their ballpark.

• Don't expect Yankees to go out without a fight

  July 10, 2008

  You could find no shame in the Rays' clubhouse yesterday. They played a good game against the Yankees, falling short in 10 innings, 2-1. With a superb pitching effort, they showed a Yankee Stadium crowd why they're going to hang around for a while.

• Don't expect Yankees to go out without a fight

  July 9, 2008

  You could find no shame in the Rays' clubhouse Wednesday. They played a good game against the Yankees, falling short in 10 innings, 2-1. With a superb pitching effort, they showed a Yankee Stadium crowd why they're going to hang around for a while.

• Zito pitches in for a great cause

  July 9, 2008

  Barry Zito was in Philadelphia in early May, having been temporarily removed from the Giants' starting rotation, when he received an e-mail from a new friend.

• Mets need to realize they will be without Church

  July 9, 2008

  At 5:55 yesterday, Ryan Church exited the Mets' clubhouse, wearing a golf shirt and shorts and a white cap. In his right hand, he carried a sanitary sock filled with baseballs.

• Mets need to realize they will be without Church

  July 8, 2008

  At 5:55 Tuesday, Ryan Church exited the Mets' clubhouse, wearing a golf shirt and shorts and a white cap. In his right hand, he carried a sanitary sock filled with baseballs.

• Might as well stay course on arms

  July 8, 2008

  The tenor of this Yankees season was established on a cold January night at William Paterson University in New Jersey. Brian Cashman, with Boston counterpart Theo Epstein seated across from him, made the following declaration:

• Cashman might as well stay course on arms

  July 7, 2008

  The tenor of this Yankees season was established on a cold January night at William Paterson University in New Jersey. Brian Cashman, with Boston counterpart Theo Epstein seated across from him, made the following declaration:

• A-Rod hangs on to his star power

  July 7, 2008

  "Let's stick to baseball," Yankees director of media relations Jason Zillo said Sunday afternoon as Alex Rodriguez sat down to discuss his election to a 12th All-Star team.

• Farm-rich Brewers can afford Sabathia

  July 6, 2008

  A C.C. Sabathia trade appears imminent now, so much so that Sabathia himself seems prepared to leave the Indians, with whom he has spent his entire eight-year career. The Brewers, offering a package featuring three minor-leaguers - outfielder Lorenzo Cain, third baseman Taylor Green and centerfielder Matt LaPorta - are the clear favorites.

• Mussina exceeding expectations for Yankees

  July 6, 2008

  The Lycoming County Fair kicks off Thursday in Hughesville, Pa., and runs through July 19. It's a $3 entry fee for adults over 15, a buck for kids 12 to 15 and free for anyone younger than 12.

• Seventh-inning stretch

  July 6, 2008

  Pop Quiz

• Mussina exceeding expectations for Yankees

  July 5, 2008

  The Lycoming County Fair kicks off Thursday in Hughesville, Pa., and runs through July 19. It's a $3 entry fee for adults over 15, a buck for kids 12 to 15 and free for anyone younger than 12. Oh, and parking on the fairgrounds is another $2.

• Farm-rich Brewers can afford Sabathia

  July 5, 2008

  A C.C. Sabathia trade appears imminent now, so much so that Sabathia himself seems prepared to leave the Indians, with whom he has spent his entire eight-year career. The Brewers, offering a package featuring three minor-leaguers -- outfielder Lorenzo Cain, third baseman Taylor Green and centerfielder Matt LaPorta -- are the clear favorites.

• Scorn on the 4th of July? Girardi safe for '08

  July 5, 2008

  The Fourth of July serves as a traditional baseball landmark, one of those natural points of assessment. It probably won't surprise you to learn that here with the Yankees, it has been something so much more.

• Scorn on the 4th of July for Yanks? Not anymore

  July 4, 2008

  The Fourth of July serves as a traditional baseball landmark, one of those natural points of assessment. It probably won't surprise you to learn that here with the Yankees, it has been something so much more.

• Transition's slipping: Girardi still trying to get team in gear after another lackluster night in Bronx

  July 4, 2008

  Thirty-one minutes. Wow. In the world of baseball, that is a seriously long time before opening your clubhouse to the media.

• Recent offensive woes inexcusable for these Yanks

  July 3, 2008

  Thirty-one minutes. Wow. In the world of baseball, that is a seriously long time before opening your clubhouse to the media.

• Upstart Rays take juice away from Red Sox-Yankees

  July 3, 2008

  Let it be known that Newsday offered Rays executive vice president Andrew Friedman a chance to apologize yesterday. It's his fault, after all, that this holiday weekend's big series in the Bronx, starting tonight, has been relegated to a battle for the silver.

• Upstart Rays take juice away from Red Sox-Yankees

  July 2, 2008

  Let it be known that Newsday offered Rays executive vice president Andrew Friedman a chance to apologize Wednesday. It's his fault, after all, that this holiday weekend's big series in the Bronx, starting Thursday night, has been relegated to a battle for the silver.

• MLB's half-season award winners

  July 2, 2008

  It's standard to wait until the All-Star break to anoint your half-season award winners, but by the time we get to July 13, we're going to be roughly 60 percent done with the season. Not really "half-season."

• Seventh-Inning Stretch

  June 30, 2008

  THREE LIKELY EMERGING BUYERS

• Girardi's patience will help Yankees in long term

  June 30, 2008

  It's not entirely fair to compare Joe Girardi's managing to that of his predecessor, because the Yankees' universe really has changed that dramatically. No matter how many of us in the fan and media world can't comprehend why C.C. Sabathia isn't already wearing pinstripes.

• Girardi's patience will help

  June 29, 2008

  It's not entirely fair to compare Joe Girardi's managing to that of his predecessor, .because the Yankees' universe really has changed that dramatically. No matter how many of us in the fan and media world can't comprehend why C.C. Sabathia isn't already wearing pinstripes.

• Santana keeps getting aced out

  June 29, 2008

  The boxscore line looks presentable. It usually does. Shoot, the way Johan Santana began yesterday's game, we thought we might get a run at Tom Seaver's and David Cone's team record of 19 strikeouts in a game.

• A's GM Beane still does things his way

  June 29, 2008

  If you look at the raw numbers, the Athletics, not the Angels, should be leading the American League West. The A's have a far superior run differential to that of their neighbor to the south, and as you know, that typically translates into a better won-loss record.

• Santana keeps getting aced out

  June 28, 2008

  The boxscore line looks presentable. It usually does. Shoot, the way Johan Santana began Saturday's game, we thought we might get a run at Tom Seaver's and David Cone's team record of 19 strikeouts in a game.

• A's GM Beane still does things his way

  June 28, 2008

  If you look at the raw numbers, the Athletics, not the Angels, should be leading the American League West. The A's have a far superior run differential to that of their neighbor to the south, and as you know, that typically translates into a better won-loss record.

• Delgado's big day a mere aberration

  June 28, 2008

  Say this for Mets fans: They keep you humble.

• Delgado's big day a mere aberration

  June 28, 2008

  Say this for Mets fans: They keep you humble.

• Yankees' prospects are better equipped for future

  June 27, 2008

  We arrive at Subway Series Part II with both clubs having shown hope that 2008 is not such a lost cause after all. People, we've got to modernize ourselves: As much as you enjoy whining, today's game is all about parity, in which only the most putrid clubs drop out of contention by the All-Star break.

• Yankees' prospects are better equipped for future

  June 26, 2008

  We arrive at Subway Series Part II with both clubs having shown hope that 2008 is not such a lost cause after all. People, we've got to modernize ourselves: As much as you enjoy whining, today's game is all about parity, in which only the most putrid clubs drop out of contention by the All-Star break.

• Wilpon misinformed about prospects

  June 25, 2008

  In defending Omar Minaya earlier this week, Mets CEO Fred Wilpon issued this questionable proclamation/criticism/evaluation:

• Sorry, Mets fans, Pirates also treasure Nady

  June 22, 2008

  Based on e-mails and blog comments from our great readers, not to mention random chatter among Mets-leaning friends, there's one dominant object of fans' desires in Flushing.

• Will ex-Mets manager Randolph get a second chance?

  June 19, 2008

  It took Willie Randolph 12 tries, a dozen interviews, to finally land a big-league managing job.

• Perception on Mets' Bernazard: He's a bad, bad guy

  June 19, 2008

  Among their many travails during this trying time, the Mets have this going for them:

• Amid angst, Mets end up with better manager

  June 18, 2008

  ANAHEIM, Calif.

• Sabathia not likely to land with Yankees

  June 17, 2008

  It appears that baseball's trade-deadline enthusiasts might get their wish. But don't expect the Yankees to emerge as the winners of the C.C. Sabathia sweepstakes.

• Sabathia not likely to land with Yankees

  June 17, 2008

  It appears that baseball's trade-deadline enthusiasts might get their wish. But don't expect the Yankees to emerge as the winners of the C.C. Sabathia sweepstakes.

• Ex-Met Backman has had one wild ride of late

  June 15, 2008

  Wally Backman has experienced one of the most bizarre post-playing careers in recent baseball history. The second baseman for the 1986 Mets served as the Diamondbacks' manager for just four days in November 2004, getting fired because he didn't disclose past arrests and financial troubles during his interview.

• Schedule has been brutal to Mets

  June 15, 2008

  Too bad it doesn't rain like this out West. The Mets have been to the left side of the country so often recently, they're probably surprised when they wake up, look out their windows and don't see mountains.

• It might be best for all to fire Randolph

  June 14, 2008

  Twice Friday afternoon, in what could have been his final pregame news conference as the Mets' manager, Willie Randolph spoke of "the cycle" being "out of whack."

• White Sox show patience with young pitchers

  June 11, 2008

  Brian Cashman has become close with his White Sox counterpart Ken Williams over the past few years. You can often see the two men, accompanied by their respective staffs, dining together at the general managers' meetings in November, or at the winter meetings in December.

• Could the Mets have used Tatis last year?

  June 4, 2008

  Fernando Tatis has already won two games for the Mets this season, during a time that Willie Randolph's club desperately needed some victories. You can't help but wonder if Tatis could have been helpful at a similar time - last September.

• Yankees to fans: Show us the money

  May 28, 2008

  The Yankees have turned one of their Yankee Stadium suites into a viewing room of sorts. You enter, and you see the model of the new Yankee Stadium.

• If Mets don't win now, they could have long wait

  May 28, 2008

  Maybe we can figure out why Willie Randolph was so jovial yesterday, cracking wise during his pregame news conference, acting as if he didn't possess a worry in the world.

• On closer inspection, Mo still dominates

  May 26, 2008

  Profoundly desperate for a victory yesterday, the Mariners turned to their closer, J.J. Putz, and asked him to get the game's final six outs without allowing the Yankees to tie the score.

• Surprise starts: Which teams will stay hot, cold

  May 25, 2008

  Newsday has learned that tomorrow is Memorial Day, one of the baseball season's benchmarks. Yet the standings still look like something out of spring training, when the young teams play to win and the experienced teams play to get in shape.

• A bold move & the right move

  May 23, 2008

  Even if the Yankees were, say, 31-19 - the Red Sox's record today - and even if that success had been built significantly on the backs of Joba Chamberlain and Mariano Rivera, this still would be happening.

• Randolph doesn't need to be old-school fiery

  May 21, 2008

  There are valid reasons for Mets fans to dislike Willie Randolph, unquestionably, but the one heard most often might be - at the risk of offending some of you - the dumbest.

• Even A-Rod can't rescue this Yankees team

  May 21, 2008

  As much as he played it down, you knew that Alex Rodriguez had to be loving this, the whole "A-Rod will revive the Yankees!" story line. How far I've come in this town, he must have told himself, from scapegoat to savior.

• Mets, Yankees records are right on numbers

  May 20, 2008

  When you turn on your microscope at this juncture of the baseball season - just past the one-quarter turn, one week short of the traditional Memorial Day benchmark - you try to anticipate what your teams have coming.

• Reyes watches and learns for Mets

  May 19, 2008

  At about 5 o'clock yesterday afternoon, a Mets video assistant tapped Jose Reyes on the shoulder, an alert that the shortstop's order was ready. In the visitors' clubhouse at Yankee Stadium, Reyes walked to the corner, just to your right when you walk in, where players study their past at-bats.

• Look for a deadline deal similar to Texas' in '07

  May 18, 2008

  The conventional wisdom nowadays dictates that baseball clubs simply can't receive high-ceiling prospects in trades. That we can salivate all we want about big deals on July 31, but we'll probably be left disappointed.

• Mets win with fire and passion for Randolph

  May 18, 2008

  So what do we make of the Mets now? They followed a horrible loss with perhaps their best all-around game of the season. They executed on defense, they persisted on offense and they most certainly looked as if they cared out there.

• Randolph's fate is on the clock ... calendar

  May 17, 2008

  Just as any team would in a similar scenario, the Mets already are evaluating their manager, holding internal discussions about Willie Randolph and his players' lackluster start to this crucial 2008 season. Determining whether he needs to be replaced and, if so, who would replace him, although bench coach Jerry Manuel seems an obvious choice.

• Expect Dunn's big bat to leave Cincinnati

  May 14, 2008

  Since the start of the 2004 season - the first year there was any sort of testing with discipline for illegal performance-enhancing drugs, for the sake of conversation - David Ortiz leads all major leaguers with 184 home runs.

• Beltran's bat shows some life

  May 11, 2008

  Here in the Mets' universe, we get so worked up over what, if anything, Carlos Delgado has left, and whether Jose Reyes is feeling his rhythm, and what David Wright has done in his last 10 plate appearances.

• Garcia top hired gun for '08 stretch run

  May 11, 2008

  The best remaining pitcher on the free-agent market is not David Wells, it's Freddy Garcia. The righthander, who had surgery to repair his throwing shoulder on Aug. 30, will step on the mound Thursday and begin the final laps to a return that should occur sometime around the All-Star break.

• Yankees, Mets among long-game offenders

  May 7, 2008

  We've stopped talking about time-of-game issues here in the yakosphere, because the Yankees and Red Sox haven't played each other in a few weeks now. But Major League Baseball officials haven't forgotten. Not with important people in the advertising and marketing world voicing their concerns to the MLB powers.

• Hopefully, Joba learned rules

  May 7, 2008

  It makes sense, if you think about it. If Joba Chamberlain celebrates strikeouts with a fist pump, serving up a day's work for Mike and the Mad Dog in the process, then there's symmetry to his reaction last night.

• Yankees' patience pays off in Melky's case

  May 5, 2008

  Do you remember Melky Cabrera's 2005 cup of coffee with the Yankees? Is the vision of his misplaying Trot Nixon's fly ball into an inside-the-park home run burned into your temporal lobes?

• Cost-cutting Marlins know what they are doing

  May 4, 2008

  Joe Girardi's one-year term as the Marlins' manager grows increasingly fascinating as time passes. With more information comes new insight as to who deserved the most blame for Girardi's dismissal after the 2006 season.

• Depleted Yankees are hardly in crisis mode

  May 2, 2008

  It's become our default position in Yankee Land, after all of these years: As the season progresses, and the American League East penthouse remains occupied by a club other than one owned by the Steinbrenner family, we make our declaration:

• Giants fans won't be forgotten at Citi Field

  April 30, 2008

  Gary Mintz of South Huntington, a Giants fan dating back to their days in the Polo Grounds, e-mailed me last week with this concern:

• Mientkiewicz: You haven't seen the real Johan yet

  April 30, 2008

  Yes, Johan Santana surrendered a homer on his second pitch last night, and yes, he needed help from Pedro Feliciano just to get out of the sixth inning, and yes, this occurred against the sickly Pirates.

• Mientkiewicz: You haven't seen the real Johan yet

  April 30, 2008

  Yes, Johan Santana surrendered a homer on his second pitch last night, and yes, he needed help from Pedro Feliciano just to get out of the sixth inning, and yes, this occurred against the sickly Pirates.

• Remember folks, it's a long season

  March 28, 2008

  With the 2008 baseball season already upon us -- see, the Red Sox are in first place already -- we turn, belatedly, to a well-known New Yorker (in spirit, if not in taxation) for deep thought. Take it away, Derek Jeter:

• Clemens is having fun in sun, while he can

  February 28, 2008

  When the news broke yesterday, Roger Clemens, fittingly, was pitching. Simulating game situations while throwing to his son, Astros catching prospect Koby, in the batting cages here at Houston's minor-league complex.

• Texas-sized meltdown for arrogant Clemens

  February 13, 2008

  George Mitchell opened up a fissure between baseball ownership and the Players Association. Roger Clemens got the Republicans and Democrats to go at it like Athens and Sparta.

• Mets got more than just an ace in Santana

  February 7, 2008

  Just as he was about to sign his name to this huge, next step in his baseball life last Friday, Johan Santana turned to his longtime agent, Peter Greenberg, with a question.

• Yankees deserve assist in Mets' Santana deal

  January 30, 2008

  In this crazy world of New York baseball, it just might turn out that, when the Mets complete their miraculous acquisition of Johan Santana, they should thank the Steinbrenner boys most of all.

• Andy, Rocket rift widening

  January 20, 2008

  Andy Pettitte is said by friends to be upset with Roger Clemens because of Clemens' aggressive defense to the charges leveled against him in the Mitchell Report. Most of all, Pettitte didn't care for Clemens' public airing of his taped phone call with accuser Brian McNamee, which accomplished little.

• If Clemens is innocent, he should tell Congress

  December 18, 2007

  There's only one way for Roger Clemens to clear his name, one exit strategy that will get him the "benefit of the doubt" for which he yearns.

• Pettitte's confirmation could bring down Clemens

  December 16, 2007

  Imagine growing up wanting to be someone, his poster on your wall and everything. Imagine that you don't quite get to be that person - you're not that good - but you do become a protégé. A good friend, for nine years.

• And now, the Mitchell Report card

  December 16, 2007

  At least the Mitchell Report is behind us now, even if illegal performance-enhancing drugs aren't. So let's see what this highly publicized investigation begat.

• Look for plenty

  November 12, 2006

  We've gotten to the point that there isn't even a lull between the end of the World Series and the start of baseball's free agency. No, we've been plenty busy, thanks to Gary Sheffield, Daisuke Matsuzaka and clubs that take longer to pick a manager than it takes to grow a watermelon.

• Yanks do right thing and fans win

  June 16, 2005

  Forget about the fact that we knew this new Yankees stadium was coming for a year. That the long-overdue news conference began 15 minutes late yesterday, despite being on live television. That they gave every politician in the state five minutes on the podium.