Lets party- The annual Spring Training bash thrown by
marketing agent, Andrew Levy, was held at the Chase
Suites Hotel on Saturday night, March 15th.
Appearances by Roy White, Goose Gossage, Ron Guidry,
Graig Nettles and Yogi Berra made it appear like an
Old Timer’s day event. The food spread was a grand
slam, as shrimps thru steaks were served.

Double Take- Appearing at the bash were ex-Yankees,
Jim Leyritz and Doc Gooden. Leyritz is staying strong
during his hard times by working out and praying.
Gooden looked great, and by his physique, can probably
win a starting spot on someone’s roster. It’s one day
at a time for these one-time Yankee heroes.

Green Shirts and Red Sox- The Red Sox started a buzz
in the stands as they took batting practice. The
electricity was in the air as St. Paddy’s day took a
back seat to this famed rivalry. The color of the day
was green, with a bunch of Red Sox on the playing
field. The bats continue to sizzle as Cano, Abreu and
Giambi look like Ted Williams, who happens to have his
Hall of Fame at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg.

Yankees travel to Sarasota today to face the Cincinatti Reds, two players didn’t accompany the team, Robinson Cano, and Bobby Abreu look like a Hispanic version of Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig during today’s batting practice session on field 2; the two put on a powerful display and they consistently deposited BP pitcher Butch Wynegars over the fence and in the gaps. As of Friday March 14, 2008, Cano was batting .429 and Abreu .455.

A group of 20 minor leaguers lead by intervention coordinator, Ron Dock took a tour of the children’s ward at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Tampa, FL. Yankee GP Hank Steinbrenner approved of the visit and had “Doc and the Baby Bombers” deliver Yankee caps to every patient they came across. The Yankees way of giving back starts on the farm as Doc sets up the annual visits thru the big league club.

Billy’s at bat- Words of encouragement from guest instructor Reggie Jackson was all lead off DH Billy Crystal needed to prepare him for his debut vs. lefty Pirates pitcher Paul Maholm. The sequence went like this ball 1- high; foul ball; strike 1; ball 2-inside; ball 3- high; swinging strike 2; and 3-2 pitch sing and a miss strike 3, all that from “Mr. Saturday Night”, after being blessed by “Mr. October” who by the way happens to be the all time strike out leader with 2,597.

In with the old out with the new-

The Yanks optioned out a few players today as they cut the number of bodies in camp down to 52. Two players who made an impression with there plays, OF Colin Curtis, and Austin Jackson will report to minor league camp. Actor Billy Crystal, who batted .348 in his senior year at “Long Beach New York High School”, 42 years ago, was signed to a one day contract and will show off his skills at Thursday’s home game against the Pittsburgh Pirates,. The Yankees will continue their tradition by adding big names to their roster. Crystal will wear number 60, which by the way happens to be the age he turns Friday April 14.

Wrong again!-
Yankee fans need to brush on their history. A daily event here in legends field is a Yankee trivia quiz, when a fan is selected at random to answer a question correctly for a prize. A multiple choice question such as “Who was the MVP in 1976?”, has produced no giveaway the answer, Yankees captain forever Thurman Munson.

You fooled me-
The new base coach rule of wearing protective helmet can really fool one, as physically fit coaches Tony Pena, and Bobby Meacham looked like actually base runners because of their head gear.

Silence is Golden-

During pregame batting practice you could practically hear the birds chirping as the Reds were taking there swings, there was sounds of silence in the stands. Even Ken Griffey Jr couldn’t excite the fans, but things changed during his first inning at bat. Flash bulbs flooded the fields as Joba Chamberlain’s pitches were being delivered to “The Kid”.

The Enemies-
Ex Long Island Duck OF Armando Rios was spotted before the game. Rios, a non-roster invitee called his old San Francisco Giants manager Dusty Baker and asked him if he needed help. Baker called Rios the next day and told him to report to spring training.

Ex-Yankee first basemen Andy Phillips got a nice hand from the crowd as he was announced. Phillips is trying to win a spot on the Reds.

Old Timer’s Days-

What makes Yankee spring training extra special is the guest in guest instructor on manager Joe Girardi’s staff ; newly inducted Hall of Famer Rich “Goose” Gossage. He applied his signature hundreds of balls and caps for the fans in the stand. Fun loving Mickey Rivers was telling me how he’s slowed down over the years. He claims he runs a 4.5 from home base to 1st base. Mick the Quick is 60 years old.

IN WITH THE NEW-

The cool winds after an all night down pour made it feel like autumn in New York, most of the pregame activities were cancelled as the players took a break today. Prior to the game OF Austin Jackson and RHP Ian Kennedy were awarded the Kevin Lawn Award as the Yankees Minor League player of the year and the Yankees Pitcher of the Year. The award is named after the son of longtime Yankee VP and COO Jeff Lawn, who passed away in 1999

I remember you from Flushing…….

Even though we are in Yankee land, an ex-Met storey took place today. OF Victor Diaz who’s trying to make the Astro’s ball club blasted an opposite field 2 run HR off Andy Pettitte. If Diaz makes the club, he’ll have the distinction of playing for three African American managers in his three plus years as a Major leaguer (NY Mets Willie Randolph) and (Texas Rangers Ron Washington). Cecil Cooper is currently the Astros skipper.

Missing You

Ex-Yankee rigthy Shawn Chacon was the Astros starter and the Yankees showed how much they missed him by banging him around for 4 hits and 2 ER in 3 IP. Chacon is probably the only pitcher in history to wear uniform #1 which looked out of place on his back.

I DARE YOU TO RUN ON ME

Yankees LF Brett Gardner showed off his arm when he gunned down Humberto Quintero at the plate in the third inning. The out field defense has been impeccable as “BABYBOMBERS” Gardner, Colin Curtis and “veteran” Melky Cabrera has displayed their skills.

FINAL (4-6) ASTROS 9
(3-3) YANKEES 5

YANKEES HIGHLIGHTS
LF Production 4-4
Brett Gardner 2-2 (double, triple)
Gregory Porter 2-2 (single, double)
Mariano Rivera 1IP 2K 0H 0R

EXTRA TREAT—-Fans that get to Legends Field early don’t need a ticket to enjoy watching pitchers fielding practice on the backfields of the stadium. They can also catch a scrimmage game featuring farm hands like Colin Curtis, Austin Jackson and Kyle Anson who don uniform numbers 93,95 and 81 respectfully. Also mixed in are familiar names like Shelly Duncan, Chris Woodward and Morgan Ensberg, who get the fans attention by wearing lower numbers 17,11 and 21. So much for preserving numbers, the clubhouse attendants found someone to fit into Paul Oneill’s 21 which was rumored to be headed towards retirement. New bearer Morgan Endsberg will try to make the number proud.

EXTRA HOMEWORK—-As the Yankees were facing the Twins there was activity in the backfields that can be seen from the “nosebleed” seats. Hideki Matsui was running the bases under the supervision of Yankee trainer Dana Cavalier. Ale Rodriguez, Johnny Damon and Bobby Abreu also showed off their track skills after making their cameo appearances in the game.

THE BOSS—-Owner George Steinbrenner was checking out his favorite team from his porch seats looking casual and alert.

OOPS IT SLIPPED—-Jaba Chamberlain showed a little bit of Clemensness in him proceeding to hit Twins shortstop, Matt Tolbert in the leg after Garrett Jones homered off him.
Jaba’s line 2 innings 2 earned runs one walk one strikeout.

TWINS 7 Yankees 5

TAMPA, FL - The bleachers are here. Senior V.P. Felix Lopez is the proud creator of the new “Tampa Tribute Deck”. Located in right field, the structure features picnic style seating for up to 500 people, private concessions and a full bar. You get a 2 for 1 with a Tampa tan and a Yankee game. Fan friendly projects are Lopez’s specialty.

Cynthia Rodriguez made her way to her front row seat and got plenty of love from the fans in her vicinity. As two young fans showered her with a gift bag, her husband Alex was getting ready to face the Phillies, looking in tip- top shape to start the season.

Jason Giambi looked relaxed at the plate as he connected for a Ruthian homerun to right field, which landed in V.P. Lopez’s new structure. Bobby Abreu had two hard
hit singles and a solid rope that was snagged. Jason Lane homered and tripled as he made an impression to win a spot on the roster. The game ended in a 7-7 tie.