Yankees

Everyone are Saying that the Yankees have failed is idiotic. Failed to what their owner holds for standards... maybe... but he is irrational. .. Yankees have been an extremely successful franchise over the last 10 years including World Series titles. The last four years they have been overshadowed by the fact that the Red Sox have won a couple of titles... but that doesn't mean they've been failures. Yankees made the playoffs ever year. The failure and luaghing stock NY Knicks. They had highest payroll in Nba, no playoffs what so ever..Everyone in the media and The Yankees haters are jealouse of Yankees sucess in last 10 years.

Any little bit of Yankee news and you have all the Red Sox idiots coming out from under the slime they live to comment. 2 rings in 90 years, and suddenly they are the patriarchs of baseball! Laughable!.. I rmember that the Marlins won 2 rings in a span of 6 years, and early in the 90's the Blue Jays won 2 IN A ROW, and you didn't hear their fans suddenly proclaiming their wisdom to everyone. Must be Boston still suffers from 'little brother syndrome', or 'short mans disease' or 'eenyweenypeeny'. Whatever...you are making fools of yourself (but then you had 86 years of practice).

Yanks reportedly don't want Cano to risk injury in D.R.
By Enrique Rojas
ESPNdeportes.com

Thursday, December 27, 2007

ORLANDO -- The New York Yankees told second baseman Robinson Cano to stop playing winter ball, his Dominican Republic team told ESPNdeportes.com on Thursday. "The Yankees sent a letter to Cano to stop playing, but they didn't offer many details or reasons," said Alfredo Griffin, the Estrellas Orientales general manager. Cano told Estrellas teammates, however, that the Yankees didn't want him to aggravate a calf injury that is still healing. The Dominican winter league baseball tournament ...

Read full story


wood4man... wanted to correct a few things in your post here. First of all the Red Sox offense is almost as solid as the Yankees from top to bottom. Pedroia, Youkilis and Lowell all had a pretty good year... especially Lowell who picked up the slack for the sub par year that both Ortiz and Ramirez had last year. The pitching staff... despite the spin you put on it... was one of the best in the league... Beckett was 2nd in Cy Young voting... so I would say he obviously has more than just 3 games a season like you suggested. Daisuke Matsuzaka was playing in his first big league season and had some very commanding appearances. We'll see if gets better next year I think its a bit to early to rush to judgement but I realize you Yankee fans are looking for something to validate the poor showing from Igawa. Wakefield and his geriatrics won 17 games last... more than any Yankee pitcher with the exception of Wang. Lester and Bucholz are at least as good as the three young pitchers projected to start for the Yankees next year. The bullpen had the lowest ERA in the majors last year... and Okajima as with Daisuke was pitching in his first major league season. Again... a bit to early to tell though he looks great right now.

All the Yankees have done is get older. Boy thats alot to hang your hat on right there.
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wood4man
wood4man (29 minutes ago)
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By the way, I find it funny that a guy who alludes to pleasuring himself in a jar of pickles called my name calling 'middle school' -- but hey what do I know.
o



Just having fun with the Rivarly, but thanks for the policing. And their offense DOES revolve around those two players, how can you not say that? (I mean doesn't MOST lineups revolve around the 3-4-5 hitters?). And the players they have signed are ones we had last year, so that's not really a change. What I meant by yet was incase they do pull the trigger on a Santana trade. It wasn't an out, it was so people didn't go WELL WHAT HAVE THE YANKEES DONE!?

So go give your wife a little pickle tickle (Bonus points if you can name what baseball movie that's from) and let me have my Bawstin' Bashin' fun.

And not for nothing, but I did commend Papelbons pitching abilities, but doubt he'll be making Dancing with the Stars anytime soon. I can't help it if their names turn into funny puns...

I'll be sure to jump on the next person to say 'A-FRAUD' or... well that's all I can come up with now.

I edited the post just so the points are made and not the 'middle school' lingo... it's no 10 inch Dill, but Merry X-mas.
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KapteinStoertebeker
KapteinStoertebeker (44 minutes ago)
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Yes, thank you, pete... Santa was good to all of us and it was a pleasure to watch my son be surprised by the big jolly fellow's ability to pay attention to his little list.

I'm enjoying a quiet day, watching the snow fall onto the garden here, listening to nostalgia-inspiring music...

The Yanks also forbad me to play winter ball. (wink)
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KapteinStoertebeker
KapteinStoertebeker (48 minutes ago)
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Ah, eggnog and pickles, is there a more satisfying combination?... Perhaps...
Anyway, 'tis truly good to have the house to one's self every now and again...

Vast amounts of imbecilic stuff being posted today from all sides... though few things have struck me as being quite so tasteless and pathetic as some of the drivel being written in the Leyritz thread...
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petethepicklelover
petethepicklelover (50 minutes ago)
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Kap, did you have a nice Christmas?
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petethepicklelover
petethepicklelover (53 minutes ago)
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Hey Kap! Why yes he did! I was treated very well and Alice gave me the best gift of all, she went to visit her niece with her other sister and left me here for a few days by myself. I filled the tub with pickles, poured myself a large glass of eggnog and...well, I will leave the rest as unsaid.
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petethepicklelover
petethepicklelover (55 minutes ago)
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Woodman, your post doesnt really make too much sense. Boston's run last year was nothing near being comprised of 2 players as you stated with their offense. It was actually quite different as those two players werent the most productive and others were more so. You must be trying to make yourself just feel better as I notice many shots at players names and their ages, and a shot at someones dancing capabilities, quite middleschool if you ask me. Then you leave yourself an out by saying the Yankees havent done anything "yet". Well, they actually have signed a few players and I dont know what big move your waiting to see but most of the quality players have either signed or are not going anywhere. Sure, teams are supposed to get better and many do that as the years go by, but the Yankees dont look like they are going to be what they once were for some time as they are in a building stage.
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KapteinStoertebeker
KapteinStoertebeker (57 minutes ago)
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Seasonal greetings, pete...

Did Santa bring you some nice pickles?
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petethepicklelover
petethepicklelover (1 hour ago)
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He's a pickle, she's a pickle, wouldnt you like to be a pickle too?
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combatwoundedx2
combatwoundedx2 (1 hour ago)
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We don't want Santana in Boston, we don't want to run with the pennant without some competition
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wood4man
wood4man (2 hours ago)
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Love all the sureness from the New England area...

Enjoy the rings now Bawstin, you'll be back in a lul in no time considering the entire lineup revolves around two aging, offense sliding, oft injured players in Manny and Ortiz. And their rotation isn't exactly a slam dunk either. Dice-K is not nearly as billed (not that Igawa was either), Schilling and Wakefield need breaks in between pitches to take a leak (aka they're old) and Beckett is only unstoppable 3 starts out of the year. Given you have the jig-dancer as your closer and Okajima to get to him (until he gets tired at the end of August/September), but that's not a 'lock' for a Championship. I know, you're going to say it's the same team as last year -- but other teams have gotten better, the Yankees haven't done anything -- yet -- but we basically have the team that ALMOST caught up to the Sawks AGAIN. Had Wang even showed anything he did during the regular season, a Yanks Sawks series would've been very interesting and could have changed Papelbon's jig to the sad clown dance -- but you can't live on What Ifs... so instead we'll play in 08 and see.

** Edited at the Pickle lover's Request **
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dbouchard79
dbouchard79 (2 hours ago)
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I'm a Red Sox fan and if intelligent arguments are being made you will never hear me criticize the Yankees without reason. I love to hate the Yankees. Without them it wouldn't be much of a rivalry and vice versa.
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KapteinStoertebeker
KapteinStoertebeker (2 hours ago)
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robert_ingalls -- Thanks. I guess I don't understand the 'woofer' mentality. I love the Yankees and root for the Yankees but I fail to see what sense it makes for a Yankees fan to say silly and untrue things about them or the Sox and that no less than I fail to see why, for example, many Red Sox fans are inclined to say silly and untrue positive things about their team and equally useless negative drivel about the Yanks.
That's the real tension on these boards -- between baseball fans of whatever teams who want to talk about the game in a rational way and the 'woofers' of whatever team allegiance who come here to vent and spew and troll.
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robert_ingalls
robert_ingalls (2 hours ago)
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Good luck getting a sox fan to admit that when we win though.
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robert_ingalls
robert_ingalls (3 hours ago)
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Kap- Yank fan here, but I totally agree. They won because the had the best team.
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KapteinStoertebeker
KapteinStoertebeker (3 hours ago)
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2Jeter -- I have to disagree. No one would deny the central place of Ortiz and Ramirez in the RS offense but what got them through the regular season and then the playoffs was pitching depth, with only one extended period when they faltered a bit. A Cy Young quality starter in Becket, a first rate closer in Papelbon, and quality depth in the rotation and the pen.
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dbouchard79
dbouchard79 (3 hours ago)
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2JeterNYY... isn't the only reason why any team gets that far is because they were carried by their players? Just a thought.
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2JeterNYY
2JeterNYY (3 hours ago)
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dg0370a,
we got rings 26 to be exact, and more coming.
4 rings in 5 years, want to try to beat that?

the only reason you guys even made it that far was because that whole team was carried by big papi and manny.

Yet Yankees still beat Redsox 10-8 in regular season eventhough Redsox are better team last year.

I guess everyone gets their piece of the pie at some point in time. When the hard times come back around for them, they can go back to blaming the Yankees and their rich, pompous, pretentious, arrogant fan base for making life so miserable for them.. Which is amusing, because that's how they are acting like right now. Funny how they are becoming the things they hated the most, but they are just to blind to see it

Most hated Teams

5. Yankees
4. Redsox
3. Buckeyes
2. Trojans (So. Cal)
1. Patriots

Most Hated People

5. Brady
4. Moss
3. Belichek (SP?)
2. Scott Boris
1. Bonds


Sveum Old Song and Dance

6.6.04: Despite salvaging the last two games, this road trip raised several concerns for the Red Sox. Is Pedro Martinez even a reliable No. 3 starter at this point in his career? Can the bridge to Keith Foulke hold up without Scott Williamson? Is Cesar Crespo really in the Major Leagues?

But the biggest bummer about the trip for me was the revelation that once again the team has gone out and found a guy who cannot coach third base.

By pretty much any measure Dale Sveum was an awful big leaguer. He finished his journeyman career with a .236 batting average, a .301 OBP and a .679 OPS. In 11 of his 12 seasons he earned a negative total player rating (Pete Palmer and John Thorn's statistical rendering of a player's overall contributions to his team). He was also a terrible defensive player who didn't get to that many balls but booted more than his share (a .960 fielding percentage and a -59 career fielding range). But none of that concerns me because, well, he never played for the Red Sox. He does, sadly, coach third base for the Red Sox, a perpetual problem spot for the team. Between Wendell Kim's chronic rally killing and Mike Cubbage's all-time boner on which he not only got Manny thrown out at home with nobody out but also injured, you would think the brain trust, which does such an outstanding job acquiring impact players, might be able to find a guy who understands the fundamental tenets of coaching third.

Here's a little primer for coaching third. At all times you must be aware of five things as you anticipate either sending a runner or holding a runner: 1) who's running 2) how many outs there are 3) what's the score 4) how's the outfielder's arm and 5) and who's on deck.

With that in mind, let's take a look at Sveum's week.

In the third inning of the opening game of the trip we had an event so revelatory that the two mistakes that followed only confirmed what had to be true. With Manny Ramirez on second and one out Kevin Millar lined a single to left. Okay, so the play is right in front of Sveum. As soon as the ball is hit, I know Ramirez can't score. The ball was hit too hard, Manny isn't fast and Jose Guillen has the best arm of any leftfielder in baseball. But to my horror Sveum had the windmill going. And going and going. Then a funny thing happened. Manny stopped at third. As if to say, "Dale, are you out of your mind?" Sure enough, Guillen threw a strike to the plate and Manny would have been out by, oh, 40 feet. When Manny Ramirez has better instincts on the bases than your third base coach you have a serious problem. (Especially given that Manny would contribute mightily to that one-run loss by getting picked off second by the catcher.)

Three nights later with the Sox trailing 5-1 in Kansas City, Sveum was presented a big challenge but not an unprecedented one for third base coaches. With one out and runners on first (Bellhorn) and second (Damon), David Ortiz hit a deep drive to right. Damon went to tag up while Bellhorn ran hard to second, so when the ball went over Matt Stairs' head both Damon and Bellhorn were bearing down on Sveum. Sveum was unable to send Damon and hold Bellhorn, though at that point Bellhorn must be anticipating a hastily expressed second signal from the coach since he knows he's running up Damon's back. In his mea culpa to the Globe's Bob Hohler - parantheticalized as "I brain-(cramped)" - Sveum as much as admitted he wasn't up to the task. The factor that made Sveum's cerebral flatulence so odious was the on-deck batter: Manny Ramirez. Oy.

In today's win Sveum gaffed in the other direction. With the bases loaded and one out, David Ortiz hit a ground ball single to right field. In Sveum's defense, the admittedly slow Kevin Millar was on second and the Sox were trailing 3-0. But here are the three reasons Sveum should have sent Millar: 1) the ball was on the ground forever, practically coming to a stop before it reached the rightfielder 2) who happened to be Matt Stairs, not exactly known for his gun and 3) the on-deck batter was Cesar Crespo with Pokey Reese in the hole. At that point you have to push that second run across on the Ortiz hit and assume that Crespo (one RBI in 74 at-bats to that point) won't get the job done. Sure enough Crespo hits a chopper to first base and only a freak play on which Ken Harvey's throw hit pitcher Jason Grimsley in the face prevented a force out at home. Either Dale Sveum doesn't understand the criteria for making a decision in the third base coaching box or he panics. Either way, once again, our third base coach is killing us. Where have you gone, Gene Lamont?

---

How complete is the brain-washing once you drink the Yankee Kool-Aid? When Alex Rodriguez returned to Texas and was roundly booed, announcer Ken Singleton was incredulous. He simply couldn't understand why the fans were booing a guy who had played so well for the Rangers. Really, Ken? You have no idea? A guy comes to town, usurps so much payroll that the team cannot field a contender, then demands to be traded because the team cannot afford to field a contender and Ken Singleton and Bobby Murcer just can't understand why the fans are booing. God, I hate everything about the Evil Empire, especially the YES men that bring us the games.

---

Given that he is physically incapable of pitching a complete game and usually gets roughed up a little as his fastball inches upward in the early going, what does Bill James think Pedro Martinez is worth at this stage in his career? And what did Terry Francona see in Anaheim that made him think Pedro should go back out for the sixth on Wednesday night? Even the pitch he struck out Kotchman with to end the fifth was in a bad spot.

---

Mike Timlin redeemed himself today with three perfect innings after that awful appearance in Anaheim (you've got to just bounce splits against Vlad when he's that hot), but we need Scott Williamson back. Keeping him was the silver lining to the A-Rod deal falling through. Interesting that three of the five guys in that deal (Nomar, Mags, Williamson) have been hurt.

---

With his RBI today on the freak play, Crespo moved ahead of Enzo Hernandez's RBI pace of 1971. Enzo had 12 RBIs in 549 ABs, an average of one RBI every 46 at-bats. Crespo jumped from one ribbie every 74 ABs to one every 37.5. Woo-hoo!

---

Just noticed that before B.K. Kim was demoted four of the Sox five starters were named to the 2002 All-Star game. Pete and D-Lowe in the A.L., Schill and Kim in the N.L. And yet only one of those guys seems likely to return this year.

Uh Oh, I Think I Love This Team

5.27.04: It is, as always, with great trepidation that I declare my love for this latest edition of the Boston Red Sox. I know in doing so I have almost certainly guaranteed a four-game losing streak. But damn it, what’s not to love?

The Sox are a beguiling and bizarre Frankensquad. They’ve got slow first basemen regularly patrolling the outfield. They’ve got a second baseman who can only do two things: get on base and drive in runs. They’ve got a closer with an 88-mph fastball who is somehow untouchable. They’ve sent more guys to the D.L. than any other team in baseball. Not just any guys either. Trot Nixon finished fifth in the A.L. in slugging percentage last year. Nomar Garciaparra and Bill Mueller have won three batting titles between them. Ramiro Mendoza… okay, not all the injuries have hurt the team.

Let’s start with the second baseman. Mark Bellhorn has been such an incredible find that it can now be reasonably suggested that the team will not necessarily be better with the return of the notoriously impatient Garciaparra. Assuming Pokey Reese moves to second and Bellhorn to the bench when Nomie finishes his second absurdly long convalescence in the last four seasons, won’t the team be weaker defensively at shortstop and quite likely have a lower on-base percentage? I haven’t seen Bellhorn pop up too many first pitches. I have, however, seen him hit for power to all fields, drilling a gap seemingly every time there are runners in scoring position. Sure, he fans a lot and has a certain je ne sais Todd Walker about him defensively, but it just seems like this guy helps you win. Yet another tip of the cap to Theo.

Kevin Hench - A Boston Sports Fan and Redsox Fan who wrote this. This is the reason Why He didn't select Pats and Redsox on his hated teams/people for 2007

http://www.bostondirtdogs.com/Hench's%20Hardball%20Columns/Hardball%20Archives.htm

Have Boston and New York changed places?

http://blogs.usatoday.com/sportsscope/2007/12/have-boston-and.html

Patriots, Red Sox, Celtics. Boston College, Bruins, Revolution.

If you're tired of hearing about New England sports success, imagine how it feels in New York, where decades of swagger have given way to an inferiority complex as the Giants take their shot at stopping the Patriots' run to an unbeaten season.

The Boston Globe heralds the local teams as "Unstoppable (Red Sox), Undefeated (Patriots) and Unbelievable (Celtics)." New York Times columnist Harvey Araton's take on the Big Apple's teams: "Undignified (the Yankees making an October off-field spectacle of themselves after losing again in the first round), Unwatchable (the Mets committing the worst September choke in baseball history) and Unbearable (any snapshot from the Knicks’ continuing and incomparable dysfunction)."

The New York Daily News calls upon longtime Boston columnist Mike Barnicle to share his amazement upon seeing "the weight of municipal inferiority ... lifted from the shoulders of every fan in New England who has been witness to decades of humiliation delivered by New York teams."

Barnicle limits himself to the Red Sox, Patriots and Celtics. Globe columnist Bob Ryan adds the resurgent Bruins and the perennially contending Revolution to the mix. And the paper's year in review notes a few successes in the college ranks.

Aside from the Patriots-Giants showdown this weekend, the regions are also going head-to-head in the biggest Hot Stove League action -- the race to trade for Johan Santana. The New York Post's Joel Sherman says the Red Sox lead the Yankees in that one. The Mets? Forgetaboutit. (Hat tip: Fan Nation)

With all the success comes a backlash. ESPN's Patrick Hruby asks if the Patriots are one of the most hated teams of all time. In ESPN's current polling, the Yankees of the past 10 years hold a substantial lead, but the Patriots have just passed Duke basketball for second place. (Those of us with degrees from that school would like to say thanks and give the hat tip to the FanHouse.)

But Boston isn't likely to take success for granted. Barnicle's conclusion: "How come I'm still up late at night, worrying the Yankees might sign Johan Santana or the Giants might luck out and beat the Patriots by a field goal with less than a minute left in a game where Tom Brady breaks his leg? Maybe it's because I'm from Boston and haven't quite gotten used to living with something called success. But I'm getting there."

From Sosh

Rudy Pemberton

Thank God this clown never played for the Red Sox.

Maybe this is why Duquette had that PI following him?

Leyritz never played for Redsox? Lol..... ahhaha..


Snowmanny

Leyritz was an a**hole when he played for the New York Yankees. See, only 1/2 of why I hate him has to do with the uniform.

Dennis Cook was an a**hole when he played for the New York Mets. Nope, doesn't work...I don't hate him.

Willie Randolph played for the New York Yankees, but wasn't an asshole. Nope, don't hate him. (Though I'm open to the suggestion that I'm missing something).

If Jason Varitek ever gets drunk and runs over someone I'll consider hating him. Assuming he's on the Yankees at the time.

From Sosh

Rudy Pemberton

Thank God this clown never played for the Red Sox.

Maybe this is why Duquette had that PI following him?

Leyritz never played for Redsox? Lol..... ahhaha..


Snowmanny

Leyritz was an a**hole when he played for the New York Yankees. See, only 1/2 of why I hate him has to do with the uniform.

Dennis Cook was an a**hole when he played for the New York Mets. Nope, doesn't work...I don't hate him.

Willie Randolph played for the New York Yankees, but wasn't an asshole. Nope, don't hate him. (Though I'm open to the suggestion that I'm missing something).

If Jason Varitek ever gets drunk and runs over someone I'll consider hating him. Assuming he's on the Yankees at the time.



Everyone here. Don't think for a SECOND that this cannot happen to you! Either as the drinker or the victim.

Yeah, I know. You're smarter and more coordinated than the normal person, so you can drink and drive.

So can Leyritz. Just like you.

It only needs to happen ONCE, and lives are destroyed forever. Is it REALLY worth slugging down a six pack... to possibly kill someone?

If you need a drink, wait until you're home. Or go out with someone who will designated drive for ya.

It's Friday night. I'm drinking a few glasses of wine. I will NOT be driving anywhere.

The heartache is simply not worth it, folks. However small the chances seem to be that YOU will ever be involved in something like this. Grow up.

If you drink & drive, you literally may not have the chance to grow up.


Why are people trying to defend Leyritz? No one is being sanctimonious or a Saint like you assert yous30. He killed someone and whether he had 3 beers or 30 he committed a crime and someone died. So yeah you can have your soft stance until it is your brother, son, sister, wife, mother etc. then we can see how acceptable driving drunk is. I have a friend who thought it was cool to do it all the time because 'everyone drives drunk in NY' ................. yeah that ended up well. No more friend. I completed concur with everyone who says we should have stiffer penalties for this sort of thing. He is/was a celebrity so lets make him an example like everyone else and throw the book at him.

I've seen Leyritz out at parties, and this guy really puts it down.

He's a known pothead as well. I wonder if they checked him on that!

This just proves that ALL YANKEES are LOSERS

I say the punishment should fit the crime.....so let's strap him into the front seat of a vehicle and crash a 3 ton battering ram into the place where he is sitting. That might get the point across.......if he lives. An 11k bond for vehicular manslaughter is chump change. He needs to do time.

To beckd1969: This isn't the time for Yankee-hating. Baseball has NOTHING to do with this incident.
It's foolish to try and associate this with the Yankees.

Jim Leyritz charged with DUI Homicide

By Guest Columnist | December 28th, 2007



http://mvn.com/mlb-yankees/


Just wanted to make a quick reference here, I am sure the Bronx Block crew will have more details and analysis when available! From FoxSports:

Former major leaguer Jim Leyritz, who played the hero in the Yankees’ 1996 World Series run, is in Broward County’s Main Jail, charged with DUI homicide after a Friday morning crash in Fort Lauderdale, the Miami Herald reported on its Web site.

Leyritz was involved in a car accident early Friday morning in Fort Lauderdale. According to WPLG-Channel 10, Leyritz struck a car in the heart of Fort Lauderdale’s Himmmarshee Street bar district, and a passenger in the car Leyritz allegedly hit was ejected from the car and died at the scene.

Leyritz refused a sobriety test, WPLG-Channel 10 reported, citing police.

Leyritz was charged with two counts of drunken driving, including DUI that causes death to a human, the Herald reported, citing the jail’s Web site.

***********************************************

Brent’s Take: Thank you, guest columnist (?) for the news link.

“Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” - Philosopher George Santayana

Looking into DUI laws in Florida, Leyritz will be in some deep trouble, facing some serious jail time.

Leyritz is charged with two counts: DUI manslaughter and DUI property damage.

For property damage, the guilty party will be charged with a First Degree Misdemeanor, which is not more than a $1,000 fine or one year in jail. For the more severe change of DUI manslaughter, Leyritz will be changed with a Second Degree Felony, which is not more than a $10,000 fine and/or up to 15 years in jail.

It’s hard for me not to take a look at the incident without getting personal. One of the events that has rocked my graduating class in high school was a death of a classmate who graduated a year early. The cause of his death: driving under the influence of alcohol and causing a car crash, which killed him and the driver he hit into.

When it comes to drinking, it all starts with a choice. St. Louis Cardinals reliever Josh Hancock had a choice to either drive while intoxicated or find another way to get home (taxi, ask a friend, etc). He chose to drive, and the result? His death. Leyritz had that same choice? The result: the death of an innocent woman. We hear these stories all the time in the news, and I am sure many of us can recall a situation where someone you know was affected by a drunk driver.

When will people learn? None of us are invisible, especially the celebrity or the athlete.

Though the charges and the jail time (if any) won’t bring Fredia Ann Veitch back, I hope that Jim Leyritz gets prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law: 16 years and the added fines. Maybe, just maybe, some athletes may learn to take more responsibility for the choices they make and realize the potential consequences that may come from them

Terry Francona




Jim Leyritz



Are they lost brothers? They're look alike. Both of these GentleMen are Criminals.

BOBO

By

John B Holway

/// The Hall of Fame veterans committee will vote soon. They will not elect Bobo Newsom, who is not even on the ballot. The following is from my forthcoming book, The Last 400 Hitter.///

Louis "Buck" Newsom was usually called "Bobo," because that's what he called everybody else. He was one of the great characters who seem to rise especially among pitchers - Rube Waddell, Satchel Paige, Dizzy Dean, Lefty Gomez, and others.

A good ol' country boy from South Ca'lina, Newsom won 33 games in the Pacific Coast league in 1932. The record books show 30, but as Bobo asked, "Who ya gonna believe, the record book or the guy what did it?"

As a rookie with the sixth-place St Louis Browns, Newsom won 20 games, including a no-hitter, which he lost with two out in the tenth. How many no-hitters did he pitch in all?

"Just the one, son, they don't grow in bunches like bananas, you know."

Bobo was given the honor of opening the 1936 season in Washington in front of President Franklin Roosevelt. The Browns owner promised him a suit of clothes if he won. In the third inning his third baseman whipped a ball across the diamond, but Buck forgot to duck, and the ball caught him on the side of the face. Clutching his head, he staggered in agony while his manager offered to take him out.

"Naw," Newsom said, "Ol' FDR came to see Bobo, and he's gonna see him all the way." He won the game 1-0.

The owner pressed some bills into his hand. "Keep the sugar, Bobo," Newsom said, "Bobo bought the suit before the game. The bill is on your desk."

Later they found his jaw broken in two places; it had to be wired shut.

In another game, after the plate umpire repeatedly called his best pitches balls, Newsom finally got a strike call. Walking to home plate, he swept his cap off and bowed at the waist. "Thank you, my dear fellow," he said. Of course he was thumbed out of the game.

Like Waddell, Paige, and Dean, Newsom was not just a buffoon. He could pitch. He was one of the first men to throw a slider, then called a "nickel curve," now a common pitch in most hurlers' repertoires. Ted Williams said it gave hitters one more pitch to worry about and indicted it as one reason batters don't hit .400 any more.

In 1939, the year he joined the Tigers, Buck got in a fight with writer Robert Ruark. At least Ruark was fighting. Bobo was drinking a soda with one hand and holding Ruark at arm's length with the other.

Williams can't help grinning. "Tell a funny story about Buck Newsom: He told everyone he had found Joe DiMaggio's weakness - curve balls low. That day DiMaggio hit two doubles, hit 'em off low curve balls. They all said, "Well, have you found DiMaggio's weakness?" He said, "Yeah, a weakness for doubles."

I saw my first big-league game in 1940, when our school team got free passes to see the Yankees play Bobo Newsom and the Detroit Tigers. We sat way out in the leftfield mezzanine, from whence the players looked like pin-striped ants. Bob won the game, one of 21 he would win to lead the Tigers to the pennant.

Traded from the lowly Browns to the mighty Tigers in 1940, Bobo proved he was more than a country buffoon. He won 20 games and led the Tigers to their first pennant since 1909.

He won the opening game of the World Series against Cincinnati 7-2. Three days later his father suddenly died, but Newsom insisted on pitching the next day and hurled a three-hit shutout to win it "for my dad." With only one day's rest, he started game seven and lost it 2-1.

The Tigers rewarded him with a $35,000 contract, topping Bob Feller, who, at $30,000 had been the highest paid hurler in the game. Bobo bustled into the Tiger's front office to sign the contract with owner Walter O Briggs, brushing past Briggs' son, vice-president Walter "Spike" Briggs Jr. "Out of the way, Little Bo," he said, "Big Bobo wants to talk to me."

With his new wealth Bobo dined nightly on snails and champagne at his specially reserved table in Detroit's leading hotel and tooled around town in a sports car with neon lights and a horn that played "Tiger Rag."

Bobo fell on bad times in '41, losing 20 games as the Tigers stumbled to fourth place. However, he was the most effective pitcher in the league against Ted Williams, who batted .406. Newsom held him hitless in nine at bats until Ted singled in his last try. Ted would have hit .413 without Bob in the league.

But the Tigers' bald-headed general manager, Jack Zeller, cut Bobo's pay to $12,500. Zeller had just had 90 minor leaguers cut from its farm system in a ruling by Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis. "Hell, Curly," Bobo said, "you lost 90 players, and I don't see you takin' no pay cut."

That winter Zeller peddled him to the Dodgers, and Bobo wired manager Leo Durocher: "Wish to congratulate you on buying pennant insurance."

Back in the American League, Newsom announced that he would beat his old club, the Senators. The park was packed with Washington fans, who had come to boo him. Bobo pitched a two-hitter and walked off the field, thumbing his nose.

Pitching for a succession of second-division teams, Newsom nevertheless ended his career with 211 wins and 222 defeats. His ERA was high as managers left him in in meaningless losing games, because their bull pens weren't any better.

His Tiger teammate, Hank Greenberg, believed Buck should be in the Hall of Fame. I do too.

Bobo ended his career back in Washington. It was Bobo's fifth term in the capital, and he boasted that he had beaten Franklin Roosevelt's record by one.

Im sorry but say he should not spend life in prison when a policeman knocks on your door at 3am and says sir we have some very bad news your wife or ya son or ya mom or ya dad or ya daughter has been killed by a Drunk Driver then tell the cop oh no big deal im sure it was a accident he really didnt mean to when he started drinking. and at the sentencing tell the judge go light sir it was just an accident. Drunk Driving and killing someone is murder plain and simple and untill we treat it that way it will never end. i just pray that you never have to answere the door at 3am to be told your dearest loved one is dead by a Drunk Driver. Oh it wont happen to you? Im sure that lady and her family never thought so either