SB Nation User Blog: blawk359

O’s make the right call by waiting for Wieters

blawk359 — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 16:53:35 -0000

O’s make the right call by waiting for Wieters

This is news? Haven't we, and everyone else in baseball, been saying this for the better part of a year (or more)?

Saw this over at Big League Stew on Yahoo!. Fijjered it's worth sharing....

blawk359 — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 22:17:17 -0000

Saw this over at Big League Stew on Yahoo!. Fijjered it's worth sharing....

Tex Says, "the Yankees were always the top [choice]."

blawk359 — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 14:00:27 -0000

via f3.yahoofs.com

Blame the wife! Turncoat! Turncoat!

I know I'm beating a dead horse into the ground here, but this is the last of it from me on the Tex issue, just some good insight into the bargaining process before the holidays.

According to the Boston Globe, Tex's wife, Leigh, convinced him the Yanks were the way to go:

"Two weeks before Christmas, I talked to [my wife] Leigh about it again, and we kind of decided that, hey, the Yankees are where we want to be. Cash [Brian Cashman] might want to give Leigh a hug, because when I asked her during the process, 'Where should I go, where should I go?,' she'd always say, 'I just want you to be happy.' Finally she said, 'I want you to be a Yankee,' and it was a done deal."

But we can't let him scapegoat her that much, because the 'life-long Orioles fan' also laid down this gem for the NYY glitterati:

"My dad would take me to O's games and I'd wear a Yankees hat, which wasn't too safe in Baltimore back in the '80s. But it was worth it. There's something about being a Yankee, no where you are there are Yankees fans, and I'm glad to be a Yankee today."

Oh, it continues: "In my mind, the Yankees were always the top."

The best quote from Boras: "Obviously, in my business, you're either called a shopper or a puffer; one of the two, you're going to be labeled with. "

I think it's safe to call him both.

UPDATE: Revised so you can witness Leigh Teixeira's input on the matter.

Teixeira signs with Yankees: 8 years, $180M

blawk359 — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 20:33:57 -0000

Breaking News: The Yankees have reached an agreement in principle to sign Mark Teixeira, SI.com has learned, beating out the rival Red Sox for the free-agent slugger's services.

Teixeira, who hit .308 with 33 home runs and 121 RBIs in 2008, will receive an eight-year, $180 million deal from the Yankees with a full no-trade provision.

The final four teams in the race to sign Teixeira were the Red Sox, Angels, Nationals and Yankees.

Sports Illustrated link.

UPDATE (zk): Confirmed by the NY Times:

The Yankees agreed to terms with the free agent first baseman Mark Teixeira on a long-term contract, according to a person in baseball familiar with the matter.

UPDATE #2: According to The Associated Press, the deal is for 8 years, $180M.

UPDATE #3: MacPhail weighs in (Sun):

"We would have loved to have had the player, who appealed to us because of the special circumstances of where he's from and where we are. We diverted from our plan to try to get him," Orioles president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail said. "But at the end of the day, it was just too much to pay for one player. It would handicap our ability to go forward."

Mr. Angelos' Night Before Christmas

blawk359 — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 15:06:57 -0000

If I'm sharing something terribly corny here, sue me. I just got this in an email and thought some of you would enjoy it, though it's been done in various renditions over the years.

Twas the week before Christmas and all through the state

Not an O’s fan was sleeping, they all stayed up late
Their houses had lights and a tree and a crèche
But all they kept doing was hitting “refresh”.

The Yanks got Sabathia, now what could be fairer
Than signing their own home town boy Mark Teixeira
And I, in the warehouse, in my O’s jacket and cap
Was looking for Severna Park on a map

When out in the Yard , there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from my desk to see what was the matter
Away to the window I flew like a flash
But I couldn’t see well over the big piles of cash

The moon on the breast of the manicured grass
Gave off ghostly images of stars from the past
There’s Gus Triandos, and Brooksie, and Earl
Frank Robinson, Dempsey, Jim Palmer and Cal

When what to my wondering eyes did appear,
But a stocky ballplayer in St.Michael’s Boy’s gear.
From his pigeon-toed walk, and his face full of youth
I knew in a moment that it was Babe Ruth!

His eyes how they twinkled, (though they were a bit bleary)
His belly was big and his outlook quite cheery.
He had dirt on his jersey, his face held a grin
He looked like he knew just how great he had been

He was looking right at me as he reached into his sack
And pulled out a signed and sealed baseball contract
His said nothing at all, but his eyes, they conveyed
It was time to unmake the mistakes I have made

To rebuild the proud franchise that had so blessed the town
To restore the fine legacy that he’d handed down
That had been such a joy on the shores of the Bay
That had lifted all hearts every opening day

I looked at the contract and saw Teixeira’s name
And others behind it, all signed just the same
Extensions for Roberts and also for Nick
All neatly completed , now that’s quite a trick!

Then, pointing towards center, the Babe started to rise
And flew over the scoreboard and up to the skies
But he turned ‘ere he vanished, and exclaimed as he rose:
Merry Christmas to all… And How Bout Dem O’s!

Yankees fan hates 'redneck' Baltimoreans

blawk359 — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 18:11:55 -0000

Yankees fan hates 'redneck' Baltimoreans

I'm trying again to share a Yahoo! link here. Some guy named schadenfreude hates us.

Mussina Talks About His Time In Baltimore

blawk359 — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 12:58:59 -0000

Yahoo! Sports' Big League Stew blog is one of my daily required reads. Here's an excerpt of an interview with Moose.

Q: Does Baltimore seem like a million years ago?

MM: Yes and no. When you play a long time, the seasons kind of mesh together, but the eight years in New York — now that I sit here — have flown by. For that reason,Baltimore seems like it was just yesterday. But then you think about all the things we've done in the past eight years here — trips to the playoffs — yeah, it seems like a long time ago. There's hardly anyone over there on the other side (Baltimore) — a couple of trainers and a coach or two — that I remember. Other than that, everybody's different. It was a long time ago and it was yesterday.

Q: Why don't people go to Orioles games anymore?

MM: I don't think fourth place every year really brings in the fans.

Q: But that was a place to be.

MM: It was a place to be, but when they built the new stadium, for the next five or six years, there was excitement because it was a new place to watch games and also the team was competitive. It was at or near the top. But that changed in the late '90s and it hasn't gone back since.

Q: How many points did Camden Yards put on your career ERA?

MM: Oh, I don't know. I didn't have anything to Compare it to back then, and now I'm older. It probably added a couple, but there's a lot smaller ballparks out there these days than Camden Yards.

Q: Do you dislike that some Orioles fans look upon you as traitorous?

MM: Traitorous, yeah [nodding head]. No. The people who grew up loving the Orioles in Baltimore, it seems like, once you go and play for that team, "Why would you ever want to leave?" When you're a player, you have to take other things into account. I had to take other things into account. It was time to try something new, so I did.

Giambi delivering the bird to B-Rob

blawk359 — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 19:54:50 -0000

Giambi delivering the bird to B-Rob

Guess it beats a throat slash move.

Philip Seymour Hoffman loves the Orioles ... and the Yankees ... Found this one on Yahoo!'s MLB...

blawk359 — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 13:02:33 -0000

Philip Seymour Hoffman loves the Orioles ... and the Yankees ... Found this one on Yahoo!'s MLB blog, in a snarky post about "baseball cross-dressing." Two teams in the same division? It's OK to rock an O's hat and an Indians tee, but sporting AL East apparel together?

George Sherrill fields the tough stuff from Yahoo! Sports. I don't have sound on my work PC, so I...

blawk359 — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 18:37:13 -0000

George Sherrill fields the tough stuff from Yahoo! Sports. I don't have sound on my work PC, so I have no idea what's going on here, but Flatbrim gets some good face time and I felt compelled to share with my fellow CC'ers and anyone else who happens upon this post. You'll also see some interview footage with fellow pitchers Brian Wilson, Dan Haren, and Tim Lincecum.