Red Sawx shirt a part of New Yankee Stadium?

According to this report on ESPN.com a constuction worker and Boston fan working on the concrete crew at the $1.3 billion new Yankee Stadium buried a Red Sox shirt in with the concrete foundation under what will become the visitors' clubhouse, in the hopes of jinxing the Yankees new home, the New York Post reported.

Two construction workers told the newspaper about the stunt on conditon of anonymity.

"In August, a Red Sox T-shirt was poured in a slab in the visitor's clubhouse. It's the curse of the Yankees," one worker told the Post.

"Nobody knows about it. It's in the floors, it's buried." The workers say they're now afraid that they've jinxed the Yankees.

"I don't want to be responsible for sinking the franchise," said a second worker, who witnessed the burial. "I respect the stadium."

Pretty ridiculous stuff, if it's true.

Now, I don't particularly believe in curses- but I also don't want to mess around with the Baseball Gods either. It just goes to show that Boston fans still don't quite know how to deal with winning. Last time I checked, the Sox have won two of the last four World Series and they still walk around with that put-upon chip on their shoulders. I know this is just one jackass's manuever, but it pretty much sums it up for me. A Red Sox shirt right now represents a winning franchise; and with this you are somehow putting a curse on the Yankees?

For me the most puzzling/ amusing part of it all is that it was put into the floor of the visitors clubhouse. Not the Yankees clubhouse. Not under home plate, or where Monument Park is going to be. Perhaps this construction worker has put his curse on the visitors to the new Stadium?

Only time will tell if it's hex or hoax.

Happy New Year from Happy A-Rod

Alex Rodriguez made a surprise appearance with Carson Daly at just few a minutes to midnight last night on NBC's New Year's coverage in Time Square. The seemingly impromptu visit by the AL MVP appeared to be an "I love New York" public-relations move from A-Rod's camp as he attempts to repair his up and down, and at best rocky relationship with the fans of New York. He showed up just short of the stroke of midnight, to the supposed surprise of Daly, in his casual best- complete with a Yankees cap on his head. He nervously chit-chatted with the host for a a few minutes, who had to interrupt A-Rod as the ball began its descent.

2007 was A-Rod's most comfortable at the plate in Pinstripes, but that comfort has never translated for A-Rod in his off-field persona. God love the guy, but he is just not comfortable in his own skin, so putting him in conversational situations like this one on live TV is not going to be a huge strong point. Some advice for A-Rod's PR machine: keep him well hidden, and have him focus on baseball. If A-Rod keeps hitting, and stays out of the newspapers for non-baseball related issues, he may just go down as one of the all-time great Yankees. His skills at the plate are definitely stuff of legend, so really all he needs to is stay out of his own way off the field.

Turn the (calendar) Page

2007. A year that shall forever live in infamy in the pantheon of my fandom. I have been a sports fan for as long as I can remember. Never has a year tested my patience, and caused me more grief and/or acid-reflux than this season of discontent. The good thing about being a fan of many sports is the fall-back mentality it affords you. If one of your teams has a bad season, another sport invariably rolls around and helps ease the sting. But never have the stars aligned, or un-aligned as the case may be, against me in such a fashion as to leave me in a state of utter despair- when "wait 'til next year" actually speaks to the pages of the calendar not falling fast enough.

The Los Angeles Kings, my first love of all sports franchises, have toiled for years in NHL mediocrity. 2007 brought the disappointing end to another season. Adding insult to injury, their neighbors to the immediate south, the Ducks (ne' Mighty Ducks) of Anaheim, hoisted Lord Stanley's Cup- in only their 13th year of existance as a franchise (it was their second trip to the finals). The Kings have only been to the Stanley Cup finals once in their 40 year history, never to win it all. Another year, another year of rebuilding.

The long, cold winter ending means spring. Which means Spring Training. Which means baseball. The Yankees carried with them into spring the usual hopes of another World Series title. However, they forgot to show up for the first two months of season. They did rally in time, and in amazing and inspiring fashion, to make make the playoffs- only to disappoint in the first round once again. And the off-season has been less than kind as of yet. Joe Torre is wearing Dodger Blue after turning down a one-year offer to return to the helm of the Yanks. After a regular season for the ages and most likely another MVP, A-Rod exercised the opt-out clause in his contract- not even waiting for the 10-day window after the World Series to begin before doing so. And the Yankees are still unsure of the future of Yankee staples Jorge Posada and Mariano Rivera- not to mention Andy Pettitte. After a roller coaster season with a frustrating end, never has there been more questions in recent history as to what the immediate future holds for the Yankees.

So, time to turn my attention to the NFL... The Dolphins made a splash long before the season even began, drafting Tedd Ginn Jr. with the #9 pick over a handful of other possible- maybe even more deserving- players, most notably Notre Dame quaterback Brady Quinn (see below as to the doubly painful effect on me). When the dust had settled, and training camp started, all in Fin-fandom seemed to have calmed down. Daunte Culpepper's turbulent time in Miami had ended, the Dolphins brought in another former Pro-Bowler at QB in Trent Green, and there was a general feeling that there would be improvement over the 6-10 season past. Then the season began. And the losing began. Trent Green was lost for the season due to a severe concussion, former #2 overall pick RB Ronnie Brown's breakout season ended with a torn ACL, and top wide-out Chris Chambers was shipped out west to San Diego for a second round draft pick. As I write this, the Fins- whom are the only NFL franchise in the modern era to have ever completed an undefeated season- are sitting at 0-8 (inlcuding an ugly loss at the hands of the Raiders and the banished Culpepper). Little left to cheer about this year, save for "moral" victories (let alone perhaps an actual victory) and the development of prospects. And it's barely November. Sigh.

So thank God for college football, right? This is one the one I was born into. This is also the one that hurts the most. My grandfather's graduating in 1935 from Notre Dame and subsequent passion for ND football left me no option but to bleed green from September to early January. This year, the loss of four-year starting QB Brady Quinn, along with other key departures on offense at the skill postions would definitely be felt. But the signing of the top high-school recruit in QB Jimmy Claussen would surely ease the blow and point the Irish in the direction of building toward another successful run. But Claussen didn't come in and take a stranglehold on the starting job as he was expected to in spring practice. A three-way battle was born at the QB position over the summer, as well as reports that Jimmy Claussen had surgery on his throwing elbow. The season began amidst cautious optimism, with Claussen at number three on the depth chart. Once the team took the field, it was obvious that this team wouldn't be competing for the national championship this year. And as Jimmy Claussen became the starter, and then following his demotion to backup- it became painfully obvious that there would be no bowl game this year for the Irish. At 1-7, there didn't seem to be anywhere to go but up... until this past weekend. Notre Dame lost in overtime to perrenial dormat Navy. A Navy team that the Irish had defeated 43 consecutive times (context: Roger Staubach was the QB for the Naval Academy's previous victory over Notre Dame). Coach Charlie Weis' utter lack of faith in his special teams unit led him to decide not to go for a field goal on fourth down towards the end of regulation time. And now, despite the soft remaining schedule for the Irish, there has to be an utter lack of faith that Notre Dame will wake up the echos in victory again this season. Somewhere, my grandfather is looking down on all this in disbelief. And I see that disbelief reflected on the faces of all Irish fans- as well as in the mirror- every Saturday.

My lesser passions, pro and college basketball are not without their downsides as well. The LA Lakers' on going soap-opera with Kobe Bryant makes for great headlines but not great basketball. And the recent reports of University of Arizona's fixture Lute Olson need for a leave of absence doesn't bode well for the Wildcats this year- after the 'cats underachieved last season. Geez.

I haven't even metnioned the the debacle that was my fantasy baseball season... It may just be my fantasy football team that saves the year from being a complete sports loss. It's still too early to call that one. But what's not too early too call is 2007 as the darkest sports-year in my three-plus decades of fandom. The promise of next year always looms though, and lord knows I'll be there: praying for the light to shine.

Hasta la vistA-Rod

And it ends. Not with with a bang, but a whimper- as the poet said. Actually it's: Not with a press conference, but a voicemail. According to agent Scott Boras, Alex Rodriguez has opted out of the last three years of his landmark contract, leaving some $80 million- plus (minus the $9 million he will still be paid by the Texas Rangers) on the table; and leaving the Bronx and the Yankees behind. The bomb was dropped by Boras not in a face-to-face meeting, but on Yankees' GM Brian Cashman's voicemail. "He was traveling, I was traveling," was all Boras had to say of his failed attempt to contact Cashman. Guess he thought a voicemail would be better than an IM, or a text- or do they make "Opting out of Contract" E-cards?

Where to even begin with this one? According to Boras, "Alex's decision was one based on not knowing what his closer, his catcher and one of his statured pitchers was going to do," Boras said. "He really didn't want to make any decisions until he knew what they were doing." Now, A-Rod's concern for the future of the Yankees' franchise is very touching and all, but it really has nothing to do with why he opted out. And interesting turn of phrase: "his closer, his catcher..." Last I remember, A-Rod isn't even the captain of the Yankees, let alone in any kind of position to be calling teammates "his." Granted, it's Scott Boras speaking for A-Rod - but he ain't doing the guy any favors. A-Rod was going to catch flack for all of this anyway, walking away from millions of dollars- but Boras is making him look like more of a jerk rather than helping the situation.

All I would love is the truth. For Alex Rodriguez to come out and say he didn't want to play for the Yankees anymore. He didn't want to deal with all that goes with it. Save me the quotes: "Alex enjoyed playing in New York. He played well there. He was comfortable there." Anybody believe that? And if it were true, wouldn't he have instructed his agent to negotiate in good faith with the Yankees and make it happen? But did A-Rod's feelings or opinion bear any weight? The way it is all playing out, it looks to me that A-Rod wanted out. On Boras' "advice," they never even sat down with the club to even entertain what offers may have been on the table. And A-Rod followed that advice, apparently in juxtaposition with what he truly wanted. Which begs the question: Who's working for who?

Scott Boras seems to have an almost hypnotic control over his clients. I have never heard of someone going against his wishes. Why? Because he gets people paid. And that's his bottom line.
Oh he'll go on and on about market-value, statistical analysis, and such- but he wants to put the most money in his own pocket at any cost. And his players go along with with it, because they are getting more money too. And they go along, to the point where it doesn't seem like it's the player that is making the final decision. Boras makes offers his opinion, and that's what wind up happening. But Boras never says it's about the money. What is it about if it isn't about the money? It certainly isn't about loyalty, or love of the game, or concerns about who his closer, his catcher will be. It's dollars and cents, plain and simple. I would love somebody to just stand up and say that. For Boras to say, I just want to get my client the most money possible, so I get more too, no matter what it takes. That's it... then I will stop my griping.

But this isn't about the money for A-Rod. Hank Steinbrenner, in his relatively new position as "Boss" in the Bronx, has proved to be less than sensitive when making remarks to the press. But his comments in regards to A-Rod seemed to strike the nail on the head: "It's clear he didn't want to be a Yankee." And we'll probably never know. Boras can spin it however he wants, but all signs point to the fact that A-Rod no longer wanted to be Yankee. Not only that, but Boras is also making A-Rod a symbol of all that is wrong with the world of sports right now, whether that is actually the case or not. And unless Alex Rodriguez comes out and says Scott Boras his holding his life hostage, then that's all I can take away from this.

A class act, to the end

The Joe Torre era in the Bronx has come to end. Throughout the 2007 season, I thought- many times- maybe it was time to move on. When the season ended abruptly with yet another first-round disappointment- I thought, maybe it's time for the Yanks and Torre to part ways. But when the news came down that Joe had rejected the Yankees one-year contract offer- I didn't know what to think, or how I felt. A day after his farewell press conference, I am sure of one thing: he deserved better. Maybe not from the Yankees so much- although that argument can be made- but certainly from the media.

Joe Torre went out of his way to hold his press conference yesterday- which he did not have to do. But as he has been throughout his tenure as Yankees skipper, he has handled the press corps with grace and tact- with fairness and openness. So yesterday the press flocked to the Hilton in Rye, New York, and were greeted by Torre with, among other things: "I'm here for as long as you need me." A pretty selfless act for someone who was in an awkward situation. The same guy who in 12 years, never had a notable run in with a member of the press: no arguments, no turning over his desk in is office. Yesterday, as he always did, he invited them in and leveled with them.

To show their appreciation to him, there were headlines this morning containing "Bitter Joe," and "Why I quit" (words never uttered in the press conference)- unfair treatment to a guy who had given his time freely to these very writers who turned around and decided to put a negative spin on the event. It is a reaction befitting of crazed fans maybe, but not of the supposed unbiased media. To be quite honest, Torre really could have said a lot of harsh things, about Steinbrenner, about the Yankees organization, about all the second guessers. But instead he remained a class act, spoke his mind- but never to the point of bad mouthing or pointing fingers or deflecting blame.

The next Yankees manager has some huge shoes to fill- and never mind Joe Torre's numbers. The way he handled the media, and protected his players; created an atmosphere in the clubhouse that was prone to winning: positive and always team- oriented. Hopefully the next guy is someone who has been watching closely the past 12 years, someone who can even come close to emulating those ideals.

Nothing lasts forever. And perhaps this is right time for this to happen. But I was hoping the press could give the guy a fond send off. Say what you will about his in-game management, second guess his pitching changes or substitutions- but characterizing JoeTorre as bitter, or a quitter; painting a picture of Joe Torre the man as anything less the gracious is something that I won't be a part of. Good luck, Joe. We were lucky to have you around all these years.