Anonymous, June 25, 2008 11:10 AM
Bubba Links
Baseball Links
The Yankees played in Pittsburgh tonight, and it wasn't pretty. If anyone thought the Reds and the Bucs would be cream puffs, they've gotten a rude awakening.
Justin Christian was called up, because both Matsui and Damon are too hurt to play in the outfield. They probably picked him because he's right-handed, versatile, and at 28, is old enough that he's not really a prospect any more. They can park him on the bench without worrying that they'll stunt his development. He had a nice night, going 2 for 4 with a double and 2 RBIs.
Former Yankee Doug Mientkiewicz also had a pretty good night. He was 2 for 3 with a sac fly. And he played right field. He's still not very comfortable in the outfield, but he did well enough tonight. (He also plays 3B for the Bucs.)
Pete Abe reports that Aaron Small was in the clubhouse tonight.
Hall of Fame nice guy and 2005 hero Aaron Small was in the clubhouse before the game. He was in Pittsburgh running a baseball clinic for inner-city kids. Small lives in Tennessee and said with a wide smile that he is enjoying retirement and being with his family. Good for him.
Nice to hear what Small is up to, and that he's happy and enjoying his retirement. I hope Bubba is, too. (Sigh.)
I've been reading Hal McCoy's baseball blog. I didn't realize he had one. Here is a nice tribute to Yankee Stadium. And here is a little more detail about Andy Phillips' being designated for assignment.
A roster move had to be made Sunday morning to make room for the activation of shortstop Jeff Keppinger.
There was a delay, backing up our pre-game meeting with manager Dusty Baker and backing up Marty Brennaman’s pre-game taped interview.
Finally, the announcement was made. Andy Phillips was designated for assignment.
“He was in Sunday chapel,” said general manager Walt Jocketty. “I didn’t want to go into the middle of chapel and pull him out to tell him he was designated.”
It was suggested that maybe Phillips was in chapel praying that Jocketty wouldn’t tap him on the shoulder, but when Keppinger walked into the clubhouse Sunday morning one could see the stricken and forlorn look on Phillips’ face.
Said Baker, “That would have been sacrilegious to pull him out of chapel. We don’t want that.”
Poor Andy.
We should know tomorrow if he cleared waivers.
This quote from Dusty seemed a little illuminating. “My first year in pro ball, 1967, I was playing in Austin, Texas, and Cito was on my team,” said Baker. “We played our first game in Little Rock, Ark., and I dropped the first fly ball hit to me. I started crying and called my mom and said I was coming home. But Cito grabbed the phone and told my mom, ‘Don’t worry, I’ll take care of him.’ And he did.”
Yup. That's our manager.