Ruth's Granddaughter Slighted by New Stadium

"The House that George Built". That's what the New Yankee Stadium is becoming known as to some.

In this well-written article, New Stadium Insider points out that among those that feel the most slighted by the new Stadium are those whose interests the Yankees should have tried hardest to protect.

The article is worth your time.

A Confession of True Love

A few weeks ago, Jane Heller of Confessions of a She-Fan sent me an advance copy of her new work, Confessions of a She-Fan.

I have just finished reading her "fan diary" as she calls it, and really liked it. It's an honest portrayal of a fan's relationship with a team, and, especially the 2007 season--one with which I am sure most of us are familiar. While fans tend to bond together and help each other any way they can, the team itself can be cold and unforgiving--but not because they want to, but because they have to, for their own security.


There's being a fan of a team, and then there's being a fan of the Yankees. It's a completely different animal...

The book is a short and fairly fast read, which, after just finishing reading heavy historical fare was a nice change of pace. Perhaps most interesting, however, is that Confessions puts into perspective how amazing the 2007 season really was, even if October left us all a bit deflated.

You can preview or purchase your own copy here

Memorials Are For the Living

Memorials are for the living.

This is what my friend V. tells me when I tell him about Todd, about Todd's death and how I was having a hard time with it.

Memorials are for the living.

So it was today.

The service was for the memory of Todd Drew, and the service was also for the living.

It was for Todd's wife, for his father-in-law, for his brother, for his sister, for his closest friend, for his colleagues at the ALCU and even, yes, for those of us that knew him only from the blogging.

Todd had a gift for storytelling, so it's only fitting that the stories told about him, about his love for the Yankees, about his love for justice and freedom in all forms, about his childhood, about his writing, were so colorful and so wonderful. As though, for that brief hour or two, Todd was with us yet again, telling us about Javier and Henry and Carlos and the Stadium and the coffee shop and the ALCU.

There were songs, too, and we ended by standing and singing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame", and I'm not sure there could have been any other way or any better way to finish.

See, Todd understood about baseball. He understood that it wasn't just about the score or the stats or the season ticket holder.

He knew it was about the workers building the new stadium, the kids playing in a parking lot because their parkland is gone, the bond between parent and child, cheering for their favorite players because they're from Puerto Rico or whatever reason, no matter how arbitrary. He knew it was about the conversation the next day, about the peace brought by the cracker-jack man and the ritual of the seventh inning stretch.

And for a little while today, we all got to know, too. Pete Abraham got to know it. Alex Belth got to know it. Anthony Romero got to know it, and so too did everyone there.

I'll keep singing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame", long after the season starts. I'll sing it, and I look to the tier, where Todd should be sitting, and I'll make Todd live again, just for me, just for that moment.


****

Got so caught up in writing I nearly forgot:


Donations can be made in Todd’s memory to any of these organizations:

ACLU
125 Broad Street, 18th Floor,
New York, NY 10004

Kips Bay Boys & Girls Club Inc,
1930 Randall Avenue,
Bronx, NY 10473

The Doe Fund,
232 East 84th Street,
New York, NY 10028
(Helps the homeless)

Memorial Service Planned for Todd Drew

(Apologies if you have seen this announcement already)

The memorial service for Todd Drew will take place this Sunday 18th at 3 PM

At Riverside Memorial Chapel, on 76th and Amsterdam.

If you're like me and going to take public transit, there is a subway map here and a bus map here, which opens in a .pdf.


The Riverside Memorial Chapel page, with phone numbers, can be found here.

I will make every effort to be there.

Have the Yankees Done Enough For Their Bullpen?

Yesterday morning I analyzed the Yankee line-up in comparison with the Red Sox and the Rays. It certainly provoked some disagreement, though that's kind of what's supposed to happen with baseball discussion. Anyway, one of you asked me about the Yankees' bullpen, and since I've not got enough time to think of my own topic, I'm going to steal this one from Geim.

****

Much has been made over the Yankees' made-over starting rotation and their improved line up, but not a lot of thought has been given to their bullpen.

There's a good reason for this: they don't need to.

Right now, the Yankees have the following relievers ready to go:

Mariano Rivera
Dàmaso Marte
Brian Bruney
John Albaladejo
Josè Veras
Edwar Ramirez
David Robertson

Let's not forget that they also have Phil Coke and Alfredo Aceves in their system (they'll becoming to Spring Training as starters), and they have guys like Mark Melancon and Humberto Sanchez waiting in the wings, so to speak.


I don't need to tell you about Mariano Rivera and the numbers he posted last year, like 317 ERA+ and his 0.66 WHIP. We already know he's headed to Cooperstown.

The other guys did a pretty good job, too.

The team, as a total had a bullpen ERA of 3.79 and WHIP of 1.27, and this includes rather disastrous numbers from Scott Patterson, Billy Traber and LaTroy Hawkins.

The bullpen basically averaged a strikeout an inning, and, again, this includes the likes of Traber and Hawkins, among others.

Could the Yankees use another reliever? Every team can. However, the Yankees are lucky enough to have guys like Mark Melancon in the minor leagues, and while Melancon may not make the team out of Spring Training, if he keeps pitching like he's been pitching, we may very well see him at the New Stadium come September, if not sooner.

The 2009 Yankees have a lot of concerns right now--but the bullpen is not particularly high on that list.

***

If you haven't seen it, Curt Schilling wrote a tribute to Todd Drew.

Todd certainly managed to touch a lot of people. Here's hoping he finds his peace.

Yankees' Blogging Community Loses a Master

I was received the following email this morning from a close friend and colleague of Todd Drew:


Subject: Todd Drew (May 13, 1967 - Jan. 15, 2009)

Todd, our beloved friend and colleague, died this morning at 12:37.

I will send more complete information in the next couple of days about a memorial for Todd.

Thank you.


***

Todd was one of the kindest people that I've ever had the honor of meeting, and his writing on his blog, Yankees for Justice, and Bronx Banter is extraordinary.

He was one of the first to link here, and I can never thank him enough for his extraordinary kindness.

Please keep his family in your prayers. The world has truly lost something.