A variety of news in recent days regarding some potential and former Yanks, so I decided to put it all in one handy-dandy post for all you fine folks. Here goes:
Randy Johnson to retire-Start the countdown to 1st ballot Hall of Fame induction. He wasn’t the most charming fellow that’s passed through here, and his time as a Yankee was disappointing all around. But he played his ass off for us. Never begged out of a start despite nagging chronic back pain. Anyone who takes an epidural to make a playoff start is someone I’ll never say a bad word about. Check out Tyler Kepner’s ‘appreciation’ piece on the Big Unit.
Eric Hinske signs with Braves-The King of Queens body double has found yet another home for himself, this time with Atlanta. This will be his 6th team in the past 4 years. This of course means that the 10′ Braves will be in the World Series (07 Red Sox/08 Rays/09 Yanks).
Jason Giambi likely to return to Rockies-The infamous golden thong wearer has garnered little interest as a free agent this off season, so it appears likely he will return to Colorado, who has expressed a desire to bring him back for 2010.
Shelly Duncan signs with Indians-Girardi will have to find a new henchman to do his dirty work for him. How cool would it be if Jonny Gomes ends up with the Tribe as well?
In other news, Aroldis Chapman appears ready to make a decision within the next few days. The Angels, Blue Jays, Red Sox and Marlins all appear to be in hot pursuit, but don’t count out the Yanks. This is a classic case where they’ll stay quiet, allow the market to set itself and swoop in with a last minute offer. That is, if they liked what they saw enough to give him 20-25 mil, which appears to be what it will take to land him.
Finally, for those of you still lighting candles for Johnny Damon, Brian Cashman was quoted by Pete Caldera of the Bergen Record saying “Our team is set” and “We have a left fielder. We do like Brett Gardner”. He’s just looking for bench players at this point.
The news comes from (TYU fave) Mark Feinsand’s blog in the New York Daily News. He writes:
Shelley Duncan’s days in pinstripes came to an official end today, as the fun-loving, 30-year-old slugger elected to become a free agent rather than accept an outright to Triple-A Scranton.
It was only two years ago that Duncan became a cult hero in the Bronx, swatting three homers in his first three days in the majors. He went on to hit seven homers in 34 games that year – six of them in front of the home crowd – and his all-out style of play made him one of the most popular guys on the team in 2007.
Duncan never really got a chance to show he could play every day in the majors, but after watching him punish minor-league pitching this year – he won the International League’s MVP award after hitting .277 with 30 homers and 99 RBI in 123 games for Scranton – I would hope that some team would give him a shot next spring.
He appreciated every moment he had in the big leagues. When asked ‘how he was doing’ by a beat reporter, he was often quoted saying “Great. Every day in the big leagues is a great day” even if he was in the midst of one of his many slumps. But it looks like any more days in the bigs will have to come elsewhere.
While his time with the team was short and relatively unremarkable from a Baseball standpoint, he did leave us with some lasting memories as Yankee fans. Home Runs in his first trip around the league followed by strikeouts on a steady diet of breaking balls thereafter. Hand slaps so hard that Torre told him to do fist bumps instead. Always in the middle of every fight, a spikes up slide to the groin of an opposing player and a moment that a kid in Fenway will never forget. Consider the following images my tribute to Shelly’s time in pinstripes-
So long Shelley, it’s been fun.
In other ex-Yankee news, in a link to Peter Abraham’s Twitter former Yankee backup Catcher and president of the ‘Sal’s Pals’ fan club Sal Fasano has been named manager of the Blue Jays Low-A Lansing Lugnuts affiliate. Good luck to Sal, he has a son with a heart condition and has always been a fan fave wherever he’s been.
With the season winding down and no meaningful games left, I wanted to compile a list of things for fans to keep an eye on in the remaining games on the schedule. There are quite a few personal marks for players to aim for, and a few team goals as well.
1-First and foremost, no injuries
2-Mark Teixeira to take the league lead in Home Runs and RBI (2/3 of the Triple Crown). He is currently #1 in RBI at 120 (Jason Bay has 115) and #2 in HRs at 38 (Carlos Pena has 39)
3-CC Sabathia to get 20 wins and 200 SO (currently at 19 W and 194 Ks)
4-Setting a new Team Record for Home Runs (242). They are currently at 237.
5-Twins to overtake the Tigers, or even better tie the Tigers and force a play-in game on the off day. The Yanks have owned the Twins for years, and even if the Tigers win we might not see Verlander until game 3 of the ALDS.
6-New AL Strikeout record. Currently at 1219 Strikeouts for the season. 1266 is the AL record (held by the Yankees) from 2001.
7-Alex Rodriguez to reach 30 Home Runs and 100 RBIs after missing 1/4 of the season. Currently sits at 28 HRs and 93 RBI.
8-105 Wins, which would be the 2nd most for the franchise (114 in 1998) since the great 1961 team that won 109 games, beating the 1963 group that won 104.
9-Derek Jeter to get 219 Hits, which would equal his career high from 1999. He currently has 207.
10-Shelly Duncan to get suspended for 50 games for sliding with his spikes up, elbowing an Umpire and attacking a fan, all on the same play.
