Revenge, Shelley Duncan style

After Heath Phillips was thrown out of the game for brushing a Rays batter in a situation where you would not think he would intentionally hit anybody, Shelley Duncan decided he’d leave little room for interpretation with his brand of revenge. With spikes high, he slid hard into Akinori Iwamura whilst being tagged out at second. Jonny Gomes decided it’d be a good idea to tackle Shelley and a mini brawl ensued. No punches thrown but both Duncan and Gomes were chucked from the game, along with coaches Bobby Meacham and Kevin Long. If i were Shelley, i’d be expecting a ban.

Billy Crystal

I don’t mean to go on and on about the whole Billy Crystal thing, but does he not get enough out of the Yankees? Also, imagine you are Chris Woodward, Jason Lane, Morgan Ensberg or any other of the players looking to stake a claim for a roster space. Would you not be annoyed seeing a celebrity getting an AB while you sit because of it? Not to mention the fact that it seems a little disrespectful to the Pirates. Lastly, Billy Crystal is not funny anymore, he should never host another oscars.

Andrew Brackman

Andrew Harper has written a very good piece about the team’s decision to go for Andrew Brackman in the draft, and an insight into his rehab so far in today’s Daily News.

The prospect of an all-home grown rotation within the next couple of years shows just how far the team has developed its youth strategy over the last few years, and is a very exciting prospect!

You must be joking…

I’ve got to agree with my co-blogger on the Billy Crystal “birthday present.” As much of a fan as he’s been over the years, it’s hardly representative of the image-conscious professional image the Yankees like to portray.

Kevin Kernan has hit the nail on the head about the situation in the Post. Fair enough there’s the argument that it’s only Spring Training, but surely Fantasy Camp is the place for this sort of thing to happen!?

Ending on a sour note?

It seems like momentum is gathering for the last sporting event in the history of Yankee Stadium to be a Rangers hockey game.

 

I can appreciate the desire for the NHL to be added to the vast list of sporting events that the Stadium has played host to, and that this represents an ideal opportunity, since the previous worries about the piping for the ice damaging the field are largely irrelevant after the coming season.

 

Call me selfish if you like, but I can’t get my head around the idea of the last ever event on the site of so much Yankee greatness (irrespective of any debates about whether it can still be considered the same stadium as from 1923-1974) being a hockey game. This backdrop to this whole season is that it is the curtain call for the Stadium before it’s closed for good, and that’s the way it should be.

 

Whether it’s in late September against Baltimore, or ideally closing out a World Series win in October, for me the last thing that should be publicly witnessed on that field is the Yankees team leaving the field for the last time.

 

The commercial benefits of such a move may be vast, but it’s not as if the Steinbrenners are short of money and need this to help pay the bills, is it!? If it turns out that the curtain is brought down on Yankee Stadium with a hockey game, rather than whatever commemorative events are planned for after the last game of the regular season, or even better, some end of year celebrations, it will leave a very bitter taste in the mouths of many Yankees fans, myself included.