Rafael Soriano untucks shirt after save [Video & Photos]

Time to show off my new camera for you readers. I like the photos better, but the main attraction, of course, is Rafael Soriano's post-save superstition: The Untuck. Watch it here, and then check out my photos (mostly) from the upper-deck.

Fan offers Torii Hunter cash for dropped glasses [Photo]

A fan wearing a “Low Wage Puppet” T-shirt dropped his glasses in right field at Yankee Stadium Tuesday night and then held out cash for Torii Hunter, who returned the glasses without taking the money.

There, that’s your story in one sentence and a picture to prove it.

Now can’t we get other right fielders — past and current — to be as courteous as Hunter? Sorry, Gary Sheffield and Ichiro Suzuki. (Kidding about Ichirio, but still hilarious.)

Christian Lopez is a Steiner Sports receptionist … for a day [Photo]

Recognize this guy? That’s Christian Lopez, the lucky fan who snagged Derek Jeter’s home run for hit No. 3,000. Eleven days after making a name for himself, he’s still reaping the benefits. It appears he’s spending the day with Steiner, doing memorabilia type things.

He also autographed a DJ3K ball with a note, “I caught DJ3K.” You can purchase that ball here for $34.99 (just type in your email address to view it).

Nike’s Derek Jeter 3,000 hit T-shirts are awesome

And I thought Jeter’s 2,722 T-shirt was cool (see below).

Sadly, I won’t be at the stadium to see Derek Jeter get his 3,000th hit (unless it takes him until July 30) like I was to see him pass Lou Gehrig. But I’m not going to miss out on snagging this T-shirt. It’s a thing of beauty, and it also comes in navy.

Joba Chamberlain shows us his arm post-Tommy John surgery

Joba Chamberlain had Tommy John surgery on his throwing arm last Thursday, according to Mike Mazzeo. Joba posted on Twitter today, “Feels really good. Not as stiff as I would have thought. Thanks again for everyone's thoughts and prayers.” Here’s the accompanying picture.

No wonder TJS rehab takes a year.

I can’t stand the red Yankees logo [Photo]

Why are you wearing the color of the enemy?

Yankees MVP: Most Valuable Pooch [Photo]

Awww.

His name is Whitey, named after Whitey Ford, and if you are already in love you can apply now to adopt him.

Here’s the description posted on www.pawsct.org:

Our Whitey is an oldie, but a goodie, that’s for sure. This handsome, distinguished-looking, 48 pound senior looks as if there were some Samoyeds in his family tree. Adopted from PAWS of Norwalk back in 2000, his owner recently threw Whitey a curve ball when he returned him to PAWS when a new member of the family developed allergies. Whitey is feeling a little blue about being given up after 10 years, but we know there has to be some loving person out there who will give this terrific pooch a second chance at happiness. Whitey needs a home with no other dogs and no cats please. He keeps his room clean, always eliminates outside, and does not seem to be at all destructive. He would be content to spend quiet times in your home while you work all day. This low maintenance pooch is a real winner! For more information about Whitey, please complete a PAWS Dog Adoption Application available at www.pawsct.org or call PAWS at 203-750-9572 ext. 104.

Submitted by friend and follower Andrew Vazzano of The ‘Ropolitans.

Robinson Cano’s facial hair is … interesting

No more babyfaced Robby Cano! There is no way Cano shows up to spring training like this. He knows better.

Even worse, as Big League Stew points out, this beard is strikingly similar to David Ortiz’s. Remove. Now.

Photo courtesy of cj_pinstripes.

Mariano Rivera’s son is looking to pitch at Quinnipiac [Photo]

Mariano Rivera and his son Mariano Rivera III toured Quinnipiac University today. Mo told me his son is looking to pitch.

UPDATE: Full interview with Quinnipiac head coach Dan Gooley on Mariano Jr.

If the Yankees are looking for a young bat…

Pick me!!

This picture was taken at the Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory last weekend. It was the first time I had picked up a bat since last summer.

Time.
Of.
My.
Life.

Thank you, Jamie Hill, for capturing the moment!

Inside the Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory [Photos]

(Yes, I am in Louisville, Ky., right now. And yes, the coolest part about the city is the Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory.)

For starters…
  
Those are Babe Ruth’s and Lou Gehrig’s plaques side by side.

Here’s me outside of the museum with what I’m assuming is the biggest Louisville Slugger bat in existence.
I wasn’t expecting to see this, but this was a nice tribute to one of Nick Swisher’s charities.
   
The Slugger on the left is one Derek Jeter got for his mother Dorothy (raised money for breast cancer research) and on the right is an authentic Alex Rodriguez bat. 
Lastly, here’s a picture of me posing with a Ruth prototype.

Unfortunately the tour guide — who was hilarious — didn’t let us take photos of the factory’s machinery because there are at least 30 other bat making companies.

Some fun facts about the factory:

• Making a bat with a wooden lathe takes a professional craftsman 30 minutes to make a professional bat.
• A CNC lathe can turn a bat in 30 seconds and is laser accurate.
• Louisville Slugger charges around $50 for ash bats and $83 for maple bats.
• There are nine approved finishes for bats, one of which is named after Tony Gwynn. Another well-known finish is called “Hornsby” for Rogers Hornsby.

---
Sorry for the slow posting lately, but I hope you find my excuse valid. I’ve been in Louisville since Wednesday attending a national media convention with other members of student media at Quinnipiac University.

Sadly, the hosting hotel for the convention wasn’t prepared for a thousand young journalists to be using the Web at the same time and it’s been incredibly hard to access the Internet. I’m returning to school (and full Internet access) Sunday so you can expect my regular posting schedule to continue. Thanks for bearing with me!

I apologize for that unnecessary reminder

This was a nice little widget I kept on my blog’s right sidebar for the second half of the season, but I’m sorry for keeping it stationed on the site all throughout the playoffs. Kind of unnecessary during the playoffs, don’t you think?

R.I.P. Freddy ‘Sez’

Another Yankee great has passed away in 2010. First it was the voice of the Yankees. Soon after it was the team’s owner. Sunday it was the team’s biggest fan.

Everyone who visited Yankee Stadium in the last 22 years knew who Freddy ‘Sez’ Schuman was. He carried a pan and a spoon for young fans to bang together, as well as encouraging homemade signs.

The Daily News first reported Sunday Freddy had passed at age 85. According to longtime friend Chuck Frantz, Freddy suffered a heart attack Friday night, the night the Yankees came back from a five-run deficit in Game 1.

It’s a terrible, terrible loss for the Yankees franchise. There hasn’t been any official announcement, but at the very least I expect the Yankees to hold a moment of silence in Freddy’s honor before tonight’s game. Many of my Twitter followers have advocated for the Yankees to add a third patch to their uniforms.

On a personal note, this has been a really tough year for me because of the death of my grandma. When incredible people pass on it really makes you stop and think about the ones you love. I know the Yankees have shared that feeling with me this year too. My deepest sympathies go out to Frantz and Freddy’s family.

I was tagged in this photo on Facebook!

AHHHH! It burns!

Another adventure to Yankee Stadium

Yesterday my roommate and I went to the Yankee game. Marcus Thames’ two-run homer propelled the Yankees to a 7-5 win over the Blue Jays, which extended their winning streak to eight. It was a great game, don’t get me wrong, but I think the story of getting to the game from Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Conn., was a little more entertaining.

Getting the Tickets:
As you probably know, I interned for a digital marketing agency called EIC in New York City over the summer. Toward the end of the internship, my boss, mentioned the possibility of getting Yankee tickets via a connection at Time Warner Cable. I emailed the person we knew there and told him what games in August I could go to (assuming I’d go with one of my co-workers). He didn’t get back to me until Thursday, but he responded with good news.

He dropped off the tickets with my boss and he told me I had to pick them up before 8 p.m. Friday. Since I was at school, my only option was for one of my sisters living in the city to pick them up. Of course, my older sister helped me out; yes, this one. Little did I know the trouble that lay ahead. But first, there was another conflict.

My Blog’s Meltdown:
At 11:41 a.m., while my roommate and I were just entering Manhattan to pick up the tickets and park the car, my dad called me with some frightening news. “I tried going to your site and it says your blog has been removed.” I thought it was a browser problem or my dad typing in my old blogspot URL. But when I checked on my roommate’s iPhone, I thought I was in for the worst day of my life.

I had checked my site before I left for the game and everything was fine. The last thing I did, however, was add the Twitter gadget so fans could follow me tweets live from the stadium. I’m pretty sure that’s what set off the alarm to Blogger, my site’s host. Still in the car, I tried logging into Blogger and was greeted with a message saying they had picked up suspicious activity on my site.

Thankfully, all I had to do was verify a few personal details and my blog was back.

Deja Vu with my Sister:
My roommate dropped me off next to my sister’s apartment to pick up the tickets while he parked the car. It’s 12:30 at this point; we knew were going to be a little late. I buzzed the room. No response. I buzzed again, and again, and again. Still nothing.

I weaseled my way into the lobby through the tenant, but I needed a key to activate the elevator to access the apartment. So I hit the basement button in hopes it would be accessible to get to the stairs. Luckily, it was. I ran up six flights of stairs and started banging on the apartment door. Five minutes later, my sister’s boyfriend asked, in a tired voice, if I brought up the paper. I screamed, “No! I need my tickets!”

Last year for the World Series parade I had planned to stay over at my sister’s house to get a few hours of sleep. She didn’t answer and I spent the entire night out in New York City. When my sister wasn’t responding to my calls, I thought I was in for an awful day.

The Subway Surprise:
We boarded the 4 train only to find out it was NOT running express to Yankee Stadium. This made us even more late. What more could go wrong? 

For some strange reason, my roommate still hadn’t asked where our seats were. Little did he know, we were sitting in section 110, 13 rows from the field.

I asked him about the tickets and he said, “Are they bleacher seats?” I gave him his ticket and he stared at it for a few seconds. Then his smile lit up the subway car.

Photos and Videos:

We spent the bottom of the eighth inning anticipating Mariano Rivera’s entrance. When he came out, the stadium went berserk.


The famous Freddy makes his way up the aisle giving fans a chance to ring his bell.


Mo got the last out, and my roommate and I saluted him.

For more photos from the game, check out my blog’s Facebook page.

Thanks again, Sanford and Rick, for hooking me up with the great seats!

Sometimes, the picture says it all

I’ve learned a picture is worth a thousand words. The one above is no exception, as it sums up my night at Yankee Stadium beautifully. It only left out one thing.

The Kafafian Group knows how to party!

I was invited to attend last night’s Tigers-Yankees game by Jeff Marsico, a bank consultant in The Kafafian Group who follows my blog, and it was a no-brainer for me to accept. After all, I had never enjoyed the luxury of a party suite at Yankee Stadium.

Jeff and I met around 6 p.m. at Gate 4, and we hit it off from the moment we shook hands. He introduced me to his boss and his co-workers, who were all extremely pleasant to meet and be around, and then we made it to the suite.

Complete with a table of hot dogs, pizza, chicken, popcorn an open bar and, of course, name tags, the suite was a success!

The only thing I’ve left out was the game, which I guess was OK too.

The first inning featured back-to-back homers from Mark Teixeira and Robinson Cano, both of which were hit directly at our seats, and warnings issued to both teams.

In the second inning … just kidding. Not that it wasn’t exciting, but I’m not going to bore you through what you’ve probably already heard by now.

My memory of last night won’t be the game — even though six homers were hit and my team won — it will be the conversations I had with the new friends I made.

Despite most leaving a little early, they were the ones who made the night, not the stars on the field.

And how about a little icing on the cake?

Mmm. Good.

Thanks again, Jeff! For more pictures from last night, check out my blog’s Facebook page!

My 2nd Citi Field experience (with pics): Deja vu all over again

When I saw the Mets play at Citi Field last year for the first time, I didn’t expect Bronson Arroyo to toss a shutout — but he did. When I was at the game last night, I expected Phillies ace Roy Halladay to do the same thing — and he nearly did.

Doc threw eight beautiful innings, holding the Mets to four hits without walking a batter and ousted Mets spot starter Pat Misch in a 4-0 win.

The Mets would’ve had a legitimate shot to win this game if it weren’t for their three ugly errors which cost Misch three unearned runs. Ruben Tejada’s attempted double play turn sailed into left field, Misch fielded a bunt and threw it into right field, and David Wright let a grounder go through his wickets.

Despite the errors, the most comical part of the night was listening to the boos from fans as Francisco Rodriguez trotted out from the bullpen. It was his first game of eligibility after assaulting his father-in-law.

Now for some pics:

Look at all of that red! In left field, there were more Phillies fans than Mets fans.

The only time we saw the new home run apple was during the seventh inning stretch.
Here’s a picture of the original home run apple, now located in front of the stadium.
Here was the view from our seats ($20 face value).
And here were the bozos sitting in front of us. The guy on the right’s shirt says, “Don’t mess wit da Mets, Aaight!”

You can check out more photos from the game on my Facebook page!

I finally figured out the Joba conundrum!

Joba Chamberlain is a mystery man. Some say he’s Mo’s successor, others see him as the next best chubby starter. But I’ve finally discovered a way for Joba to find success in his career! (Joba: Listen up, your ERA is hovering about where my aunt’s would be if she were given a shot in the majors. I love you, Aunt Holly.)

Before I get to the solution, let’s ask Joba what he wants. OK, I admit, that was a silly idea. Every pitcher in the majors wants to be a starter. Why, you ask? Why else? It’s about the money, stupid. Starters make about 10 times the money relievers make. (If you really want to know why that is, just ask yourself who you’d rather have if you were starting a team from scratch: The best starter in the league or the best closer? It’s no contest. Sorry, Mo.)

Now that we’ve determined Joba wants to be a starter, we have to ask him why he thinks he’s qualified. (Just like an employer asking a recruit why he’s fit for the job.) Joba would probably respond:

“Now, if you just took a second or two to look at my track record, you’d see I’m more than qualified to be a starter. In fact, I also think I’m good enough to be a closer — at the same time.

No, I’m not having a great year as the setup guy, and I didn’t give you a great year as a starter last year. But that’s just it, I was only a starter! And this year, I’m only a reliever! 

What manager in his right mind would keep a pitcher in the same role all season long? I begged little Joey to let me close games in between starts last year, but I think he’s got hearing problems in his ears… Never mind, I think the problems are in his teeth. Anyway, back in Nebraska…

I think Chubby’s kinda got a point! Maybe not closing while starting, like he suggests, but splitting time between the rotation and the bullpen during the year. Hey, it worked in 2008: 2.76 ERA as a starter and 2.31 ERA as a reliever. And it also worked in 2007!: 2.45 ERA as a starter (in the minors) and 0.38 ERA as a reliever.

Now look at the past two years. In 2009 he was only a starter (excluding the last game of the year). Most would call that season a failure (4.75 ERA). In 2010, he’s only been a reliever. We all know how that’s been going (5.95 ERA).

Plus, look at all the positive effects his constant role-switch has given the Yankees. Joba battled the bugs in Cleveland back in the ‘07 ALDS and had absolutely nothing to do with the series loss. And last year when the Yanks won it all, it was all because of Joba’s sub-par performance!

So there you have it; Joba should be a starter-reliever for the rest of his career. Quite simply, the manager will determine whether the team’s rotation or bullpen is superior, and then stick Joba in whichever area is better to start the year. That way he’ll end the season doing what’s best for the team heading into the postseason.

Boom. Case closed. Cash, give me a call if you need an assistant for this year’s trade deadline.

Photos originally by Keith Allison and jimmyack205.

First Tex, then Grandy, what about A-Rod? [Video]

I attended both Yankees games this weekend with intentions of seeing Alex Rodriguez make history in the Bronx. Saturday, the red hot Mark Teixeira launched two homers to right. Sunday, the underachieving Curtis Granderson blasted two solo shots to right. But A-Rod couldn’t follow suit, and now will likely crack the 600 mark on the road.

At least the Yankees won Sunday, 12-6. Splitting a series with the Royals at Yankee Stadium would not have been an ideal way to end the homestand.

A-Rod had five chances to reach the milestone yesterday, but only three of which came before the two-and-a-half hour rain delay (which my friend and I waited through). He didn’t homer, but he did have another fine day at the plate. Here are my recorded video highlights for A-Rod. 

The video starts with his third-inning RBI double, then goes to his RBI single in the seventh and then his final AB. For more multimedia from yesterday’s game, check out the photo album I uploaded to Facebook. And yes, A-Rod is OK after getting hit in the hand in his last AB.

I was at the stadium from 12:30 to 6:30 because of the rain delay in the sixth. I knew A-Rod would get at least one more AB, and I wouldn’t have been able to sleep at night if he had hit his 600th while I was watching from my couch.

But I did witness one milestone — a little smaller in size — nonetheless, still cool to see. Robinson Cano reached the 1,000-hit plateau with a ground-rule double in the eighth inning. It’s pretty cool Cano has 1,000 hits and he’s only 27.

A failed attempt to witness another big milestone luxuriously

After receiving a surprise pair of tickets to the Delta Sky 360 Suite last night, flashbacks to last year’s memorable 9/11 game hit me. Was I about to witness another milestone from luxury seats?

Not this time! It just wasn’t in the cards. Alex Rodriguez was stranded in the on-deck circle as the would-be winning run in the ninth inning when Yuniesky Betancourt’s throw nipped Mark Teixeira at first base.

On top of that, the Yankees lost 7-4 to the Royals, as Sergio Mitre was completely ineffective in his first appearance since June 4. Dustin Moseley was utterly brilliant in relief, but the Yankees couldn’t dig themselves out of the hole Mitre dug.

I didn’t leave the stadium with a smile, but I’m sure I could have lit up a room with my smile when I took my seat a few moments before the first pitch.

The only thing missing from this picture is the sun. It beat down on us directly from above and forced my friend and I to go inside to the air conditioned suite for beverages at one point. Still, it wasn’t too hot for Carl’s Steaks. In the suite, there was a nice array of photos on the wall in a lounge area. Here’s a brief video tour:

Snapshots from the video and more photos from the stadium can be seen on Facebook.

Back at the seats, as each A-Rod at-bat passed without a homer, my hopes for 600 grew. When it came to the ninth inning, I realized A-Rod might have an opportunity to hit a walk-off grand slam for No. 600.

With two out, none on and the captain at the plate, I expected nothing more than a grounder to short. Instead, Derek Jeter came through with a ground-rule double. Curtis Granderson walked, giving Teixeira, who had hit two homers in the game already, an opportunity to tie it.

Tex worked a 2-2 count against Royals closer Joakim Soria before grounding one up the middle. Betancourt fielded it slowly, but made a hard enough throw to first to beat Teixeira by half a step. My heart sank.

Oh well. My friend had warned me of his hard luck; I just had trouble believing him. After all, Nick Swisher and Brett Gardner were out of the starting lineup. I should’ve listened to him from the get-go.

However, I was still delighted with the seats and the game wouldn’t have been the same without them. For that, I’m extremely grateful. So a big thanks goes out to my older sister’s boyfriend, Adam Klausner, for a belated birthday gift.