MORE MONUMENTAL DECISIONS

Last May, in my “MONUMENTAL DECISIONS” blog, I wrote about the Yankees’ organization choosing to celebrate the retirement of Joe Torre’s #6 and Goose Gossage’s #54, along with plaques for both Tino Martinez & and Paul O’Neill - all now in Yankee Stadium’s Monument Park.  I also referred to the Yankees announcing their plan to retire Bernie Williams’ #51 in 2015, while speculating my own “hunch” that that they postponed retiring Bernie’s number an extra year because they wanted to include Jorge Posada and Andy Pettitte in - all originating from their unbelievable past farm system.  Lo and behold, the Yankees just announced exactly what I had predicted.  (I have to be correct once in a while!)  Furthermore, they announced that they would add a plaque to honor Willie Randolph on Old Timers’ Day.

In my opinion, for a former Yankees’ player to prestigiously qualify into having his number retired in Yankee Stadium, that player would have to be either a no-brainer, qualified Hall of Famer or a strongly-argued borderline Hall of Famer.  Additionally, they would need to have played for the Yankees at least 10 years and/or have won more than 3 championships in Yankees’ pinstripes.

Again, as I mentioned last year, I strongly recommend that the Yankees’ organization commemorate retired numbers for Lefty Gomez, Tony Lazzeri, Earle Combs, Hank Bauer, Bob Meusel, and manager Joe McCarthy in the stadium’s Monument Park one day in the near future!  They each meet my aforementioned criteria and are overdue for their deserving recognition.

Below is my breakdown of the 2015 selection for Yankee Stadium’s Monument Park:

Bernie Williams - My self-imposed criteria would not qualify Bernie Williams because his numbers (while great in the playoffs) do not offer enough argument towards his qualification as a Hall of Famer or as a strongly-argued borderline Hall of Famer, especially pitted against so many other centerfielders that had better regular season numbers where Bernie’s very good offense included a .297 batting average with 449 doubles, and 287 homers.  Bernie’s greatest contributions that stand out above other centerfielders and almost every hitter of any position are clearly from his offseason stats where he not only hit 22 homers and drove in 80 runs, but he stands in second place behind one of the greatest playoff hitters ever, Derek Jeter in several offensive categories.  Bernie scored 83 runs, lined 29 doubles, and collected over 128 hits!  Of course, he was in a lot of playoff games (121), but the fact still stands that he exceeded so many others collectively, and rarely failed as he proved to be clutch.  His offseason numbers were greatly appreciated by all Yankees’ fans, but (again) his regular season numbers just don’t exceed others during the regular season, including the Yankees’ own great centerfielders Joe DiMaggio or Mickey Mantle.  Additionally, Bernie’s glove never came anywhere close to either Joe or Mickey, to the say the least!

Jorge Posada - He is on the cusp of such Hall of Fame arguments mostly because he was one of the most successful offensive catchers.  Hence, the position of “catcher” enhances his “strongly-argued borderline Hall of Fame” qualifications, in my criteria.  I believe his offensive numbers as a 5-time All-Star with 275 homers and a .273 batting average (mostly as a catcher) are enough to offer a great debate.  Additionally, he had proven catching skills (although not great at throwing runners out) as he caught & called David Wells’ perfect game and led various pitching staffs to 4 of his 5 World Series rings - Girardi was the main catcher during the 1996 championship.

Andy Pettitte - He clearly qualifies within my criteria.  He had the third most wins in Yankees’ history - not too shabby!  He also won 256 games & carried a respectable 3.85 ERA with most of his starts against the toughest division in baseball (the American League East) during his years.   Furthermore, he owns the record for the most wins in MLB playoff history - 19 wins!  For those folks that argue about Pettitte’s HGH usage, please get your facts straight!!!  Andy admitted to his whopping 2 days in a row of taking “doctor-administered” HGH during his injury recovery - when he was not an “able” player on the field at the time!!  Medically (within MLB rules), HGH was not forbidden when his doctor administered it and was thus not “illegal” for any player to use.  If you don’t believe me, or Andy Pettitte, or even Andy’s accuser (Brian McNamee) whose condemning story matched Andy’s to a tee, please feel free to read Bleacher Report’s factually published article: 

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1108809-andy-pettitte-never-used-a-substance-banned-by-major-league-baseball

Here are 2 of the most significant portions quoted by Andy:

"In 2002 I was injured. I had heard that human growth hormone could promote faster healing for my elbow,"

"I felt an obligation to get back to my team as soon as possible. For this reason, and only this reason, for two days I tried human growth hormone. Though it was not against baseball rules, I was not comfortable with what I was doing, so I stopped."

Willie Randolph - He won 2 championships as a player for the Yankees in 1977 & 1978 and was also their third base coach on four of their championship teams (1996, 1998, 1999, & 2000).  As one of the best defensive 2^nd basemen of all time, he often led the league in putouts, double plays, and assists while managing no errors during his 46 playoff games.  Willie was also an offensive force batting .276, hitting 316 doubles, and stealing 271 bases during his fleet-footed career. He was named the Yankees’ co-captain during 1986, along with Ron Guidry.  Willie played second base for the Yankees during 1,688 games - more than any other Yankee 2^nd basemen in history.  He certainly qualifies for a plaque as a player and as a coach collectively.

Since yesterday’s announcement, there have been a lot of disgruntled fans calling the radio stations with their anger towards the Yankees retiring way too many undeserving numbers.  For them, and some of the misleading sportswriters let me emphasize that the Yankees did NOT retire Paul O’Neill’s nor Tino Martinez’ number (21 and 24 respectively) last year, nor are they retiring Willie Randolph’s number (30)! 

In reference to this year’s retired numbers (Bernie’s 51, Posada’s 20, and Pettitte’s 46), as I summarized above, I fully support two of the choices - Posada & Pettitte.  Additionally, both Posada and Pettitte are part of the Core Four - something no team in baseball or any other sport has ever had the distinction of having.  If anyone disputes Bernie, then fine, I’m not going to argue the point.  For those that are so dead against commemorating Posada and/or Pettitte, it’s time to either look at the factual stats or stop the ignorance/jealousy! 

Remember, the Yankees’ organization is recognizing the players’ contributions as a “Yankee” and they can choose whoever they want.  Even so, they are choosing very legitimate selections in Posada and Pettitte who also happen to be half of the infamous Core Four.  Even Yankees’ haters recognize Posada & Pettitte (along with Jeter & Mariano) as the Core Four.  They are the greatest foursome in any sport during the last 40 years, after producing 5 championships together!  Any truly objective person should recognize the unique accomplishments all four players have achieved individually and as a unit.

Now, we’re just waiting for the official announcement of the final Core Four member’s retiring number (2).  For that announcement, there will be no one that disputes the retirement of…Captain, Derek Jeter!

The NYY Writer's Broadcast of "Broadcasting Reviews"

BROADCASTING REVIEWS

Now that the football season is behind us, it’s time to get excited for the “upcoming” baseball season! I can’t wait for its official start in approximately 2 months! A lot of teams have revamped themselves, but many are not done yet. We’ll all soon have a better picture of our teams over the next couple of months. It’s too early at this stage to predict how well/poorly our teams will perform.

As we wait for further team formations, I thought it would be a good time to evaluate last year’s Mets’ & Yankees’ broadcast teams; especially after last week’s debacle when the Mets announced their decision not to renew the contract of their best analyst, Bob Ojeda! Yes, the Mets’ ownership made another asinine mistake – one that has many of their fans rightfully upset. After all, Ojeda had the audacity after 6 years to ask for a raise! To the Mets’ ownership, that’s like their fans continually demanding for free oxygen in Citi Field!!

Below, I have put together my own grading reviews of both teams’ 2014 broadcasters, including Bob Ojeda:

The Mets' Broadcast Analysts:

Gary Cohen is the lead play-by-play broadcaster for the SNY & WB Networks. As my readers already know, he is not a favorite of mine mainly for 3 reasons: he’s extremely biased, he emphatically delivers a lot of "facts" that are inaccurate (as I’ve mentioned in past blogs), and he screams each and every play that potentially offers the Mets a positive outcome, even during slightly above-average plays!
            Gary's rating = F

Ron Darling, another one of the Mets’ play-by-play SNY & WB Networks’ announcers, is not as problematic, but his objectivity is also lacking. The fact that he played his whole career as a Met might be the root cause, but I think he’s been progressively worsening his objectivity. Additionally, his voice carries a whining tone too often. He could offer a smile once in a while, but I can understand why that’s challenging while broadcasting of a team that loses more games than they win.
            Ron's rating = C-

Keith Hernandez is an analyst for SNY & WB Networks, but not a play-by-play announcer. Hence, he has a lot less airtime. Maybe that's why I find him the least irritable of the 3 main SNY/WB Network guys. I also think his background of having been a Cardinal helps him offer some needed objectivity.
            Keith's rating = C+

Kevin Burkhardt was SNY's field reporter, but I often wondered why he was even on the "field" after its original inception. In the beginning of his duties, it made sense because he used to actually utilize that “field” angle by sitting with the fans and asking them questions. Later on, the whole “field” advantage became bogus because his physical “field” position rarely factored into the subject matter making it fully irrelevant and senseless. Just like Bob Ojeda, Kevin will not be with SNY this coming season – he wisely left on his own accord and I’m sure he’ll benefit more in his new MLB role.
            Kevin’s rating = C+

Bob Ojeda was, by far, my absolute favorite pre- and post-game analyst from SNY, or any other network! He has never shown to be biased in any way. That objectivity (aside from his desire for a raise) may have bothered the Mets so much that I’m sure it was part of their “reasoning” when they refused to renew his contract – remember Tim McCarver? Bob is detail-oriented and displays a great deal of knowledge and passion for the game. I hope he doesn’t stay unemployed for too long. In addition to his broadcasting skills, I feel he could also become a great pitching coach, if he ever chooses to pursue it.
            Bob's rating = A+

Chris Carlin is one of SNY’s pre- and post-game analysts. He appears to lack detailed knowledge or display anything above average. So, for my rating I appropriately obliged.
            Chris' rating = C

Howie Rose is WOR Radio’s play-by-play radio announcer. He is another one of those biased announcers. His canned and shouted deliveries of, "And it's outta here!" along with his, "Put that in the books!" are redundantly annoying – as most canned messages tend to be.
            Howie's rating = D

Josh Lewin acts as the color commentator for WOR Radio. He doesn't really stand out positively or negatively to me. He is simply average, just like my rating of him.
            Josh's rating = C


The Yankees' Broadcasters:

Michael Kay is the YES & My9 Network's lead play-by-play announcer. He, just like Gary Cohen, has never been a favorite of mine – even when he was broadcasting radio. His other former background as a newspaper writer/columnist is still embedded in him, whereas he tends to persistently dig for sensationalism of many stories and non-stories. I feel that he's gotten slightly better and a little more knowledgeable by finally listening to MLB players throughout the years, but his lack of true baseball experience and sometimes cocky mannerisms are still irritating to me over the airwaves. On a positive note, his knowledge of baseball history/facts helps expedite some needed references during telecasts. I also think he does a good job on the YES Network’s CenterStage, but my ratings are solely based on the broadcasting of the games.
            Michael's rating = C

Ken Singleton is my favorite YES & My9 Network’s play-by-play analyst. While you can definitely tell he roots for the Yankees, it is clear that he offers enough objectivity. Similar to Bob Ojeda, Ken shares a lot of his experienced knowledge with the network's listeners. Additionally, he displays himself as a true gentleman on the air with respect to all of the players, no matter what controversy surrounds them. As an Oriole player during most of his playing career, Ken tends to commentate in overdrive mode whenever the Orioles and Yankees compete against each other, but he still accentuates his knowledge without any form of partiality.
            Ken's rating = A-

John Flaherty is a YES and My9 Network analyst who demonstrates himself to be the most boring member of the network's group. As years have progressed, he seems to (thankfully) speak more often! Still, I'd like to hear more of his opinions because the man knows baseball as well as most former catchers do, especially those who were good defensive catchers, like John.
            John's rating = B-

David Cone is a YES and My9 network analyst who is so into sabermetrics! He used to talk somewhat normal on the broadcasts, but over the last few years he’s offered way too many intricate and overkill stats that can alternately be delivered by a voice-activated computer during the telecasts. Sometimes he actually speaks pitching without a sabermetric stat – but it's increasingly becoming such a rare occasion. I've also noticed that he conceitedly seems to love watching himself on the TV monitors during visual commentaries.
            David's rating = C-

Jack Curry is a YES Network and My9 analyst/reporter. Like Michael Kay, he was a former newspaper writer/columnist. Unlike Michael, though, he doesn't sensationalize. I like Jack's analyzing commentary. I’m glad he also provides insight during the YES Network’s Hot Stove, but I'd still like for him to have more airtime on the YES Network.
            Jack's rating = B+

Al Leiter is a YES Network and My9 analyst/color commentator who recently joined the MLB Network, in addition to his YES Network job. Al comes off as a know-it-all to me. While he was a successful pitcher during his career, he was certainly not Whitey Ford! I would like for him to back off once in a while and listen to his colleagues' opinions openly to help lessen his seeming cockiness.
            Al's rating = C-

Paul O'Neill is a YES Network and My9 analyst/color commentator who offers some funny moments on the air. Paul offers a lot of internal knowledge from a player's perspective. He (like Flaherty, Cone, and Leiter) has an advantage of having personally played with Jeter and Girardi, but with Jeter no longer on the team this coming season, Paul’s advantage will diminish. Michael Kay drags out some of the fun side of Paul, which is entertaining for a short span, but can sometimes distract Paul enough to lose his live-game focus.
            Paul's rating = C

Meredith Marakovits is the YES and My9 Networks’ clubhouse reporter. She has demonstrated to be more knowledgeable than her role calls for her to be. She's a go-getter, as far as obtaining the details needed for her stories – especially her numerous medical updates over the past 2 years with our ailing Yankees! Meredith is very good at reporting repeated updates, as required during different segments throughout the telecasts. Even with those conditions, she is able to professionally act as if each repeating report is her first time reporting such “updates”, without expressing frustration.
            Meredith's rating = B-

Bob Lorenz is the primary studio anchor for the YES Network. He's very good at divvying up commentaries during post-game shows that sometimes don’t offer enough time for significant preparation. Irrelevant to each of his Yankees’ game responsibilities, Bob does a good job during his roundtable discussions on the YES Network’s Hot Stove shows.
            Bob's rating = B-

John Sterling is WFAN Radio's play-by-play announcer for the Yankees during the radio broadcasts. He's another one that I've expressed my displeasure in the past. Some Yankees' fans like him and look forward to his canned homerun calls; but, as I stated about Howie Rose, I despise canned calls, especially when they take priority over the actual action that's taking place on the field! For example, if a ball is barely hit over the wall or hit with extreme force or flight, that should become the focal point, not John's script. He also makes a lot of mistakes. One common one occurs often during his canned homerun calls when he builds from, "It is high, it is far, it is…" only to realize or being told afterwards that the ball did not make it over the wall!! Other mistakes include his strike-zone, his fair/foul calls, etc. I've sporadically watched the TV telecasts, while listening to the radio and caught John on many occasions miscalling situations that are as clear as can be for anyone watching! Lastly, he often fails to mention the score. If I'm driving and I turn on the radio during the game I kind of want to know what the score is before 15 minutes pass! Alright, let me offer John 3 compliments: he has a great radio voice he's knowledgeable about the Yankees' history, and he does a decent job on the YES Network’s Yankeeography shows.
            John's rating = F

Suzyn Waldman is WFAN Radio's color commentator for the Yankees. She owes a lot of her career’s success to George Steinbrenner. He helped her get through tough chauvinistic times, as many athletes and some of her peers resisted a woman acting as a direct reporter for a MLB team, especially with press-pass access to locker room areas. I give her a lot of credit for fighting through all of it. During those earlier days, I found her research and reporting to be top-notch. Unfortunately, since she became a radio broadcaster, I feel that her potential has diminished immensely. She has become way too pro-Yankees and seems to overly respect her radio partner, John Sterling to the point that she has lost her formerly-driven independence. I would love to see her aggression return, but I doubt it will unless she gets another role – one that is similar to her "reporter" skills.
            Suzyn's rating = D

For each of you who accomplished reading this whole blogged article, I give you...
            True Reader's rating = A+