Did he get a hit today?

Last night, for some reason, I felt an urge to take a look through the two-volume set of the “DiMaggio Albums.” Maybe it was because today would have been Joltin’ Joe’s 100^th birthday, and perhaps I could have gleaned from those pages something worth mentioning on the blog today.

Yep, that would have been perfect. But, of course, I passed and watched the Jets instead. Watching the Jets is rarely a good choice.

Anyway, there is plenty of DiMaggio-related content on the web today, including this New York Daily News piece which puts a few dings in the DiMaggio legacy.

Today in Baseball History – November 25

As I try to revive and think about a new direction for this awful – yeah, I admit it’s awful – baseball blog, I’m going to try a new daily category: Today in Baseball History. It’s pretty straightforward. I pick an event or two that happened on each day’s date in baseball history and write a brief post about it.

Later, if I don’t get bored with this topic, I hope to conduct more research and write more in depth – but not too much – about the event.

Forty-four years ago on this day, Nov. 25, 1970, Yankees catcher Thurman Munson was named American League Rookie of the Year. The backstop finished the season with a .320/.386/.415 slash line, hit 25 doubles and belted six home runs.

Munson’s selection for the award was a near unanimous decision for the Baseball Writers Association. He collected 23 of the 24 first-place votes. Indians outfield Roy Foster got the other top vote.

Defensively, Munson threw out 52 percent of runners who tried to steal against him. The following year, he led the league in that category with 61 percent.

Opening Day is Scheduled; I Feel Sick

Flash forward a couple of months. It's 7:55 a.m., Monday, April 1.

I make a phone call.

Hello, boss. (Cough)

Oh, hello Chad. You don't sound so good.

Yeah, I can't go to work today. I've been sick all weekend. I think I need one more day to rest.

Ok, feel better soon and take care of you.

Thank (Cough. Cough.) you.

Click!

Hehehehehehehehehe.

I did it. I'm off work.

What?

No, I'm not celebrating April Fool's Day. (Who takes off work for that?)

I'm playing hooky April 1 because it's opening day of the 2013 baseball season. And the Yankees are hosting the Red Sox at the Stadium. First pitch, to be tossed, I'm guessing, by CC Sabathia, is scheduled for 1:05 p.m., and the contest will be broadcast on ESPN.

I love opening day. It's usually a bit cold at most ballparks, which doesn't bother me since I'm sitting in my cozy man cave watching on a 52-inch TV. But the site of long sleeves throws off the baseball aesthetic a bit for me. But not in a way I can't enjoy the game.

I still remember a few years ago seeing Kelly Clarkson singing the national anthem on opening day at the Stadium. She looked very cold and uncomfortable all bundled up in a blue Yankees jacket.

I still have no idea why Kelly Clarkson, who's from Texas, was singing the national anthem at Yankee Stadium.

Back to the cold for a second. I totally dig the look of fans bundled up and freezing in October. Being a Yankee fan 34 years – yes, I've been having an affair with the Nationals since they moved to D.C. – I guess I've gotten used to that site and, with the Yankees playoff accomplishments the last 15 or so years, have associated the frozen fan look with success.

But no matter the temperature in the Bronx, or at any of the other Major League cities on opening day, I embrace the excitement. This year will be particularly nice with the Yankees playing the hated Red Sox.

Yuck, the Red Sox.

They make me sick.

Hello, boss. I may need take off Tuesday also.

Yankees Chatter on the Radio… Can't Wait!

I'm an avid listener to New York sports radio.

And let me tell ya, bro: I'm plenty sick of hearing about the Jets mess.

Really, bro. Can we move on?

Well, of course not.

From misfirings (Mark Sanchez all season) to firings (General Manager Mike Tannenbaum at season's end), the dysfunctional Jets are radio ratings gold.

Still, I can't wait for the days when Jets news has flown off into the wild, blue yonder and those airwaves are again filled with Yankees talk, and even Mets fans missing R.A. Dickey.

Be patient, I tell myself. It won't be long now.

Pitchers and catchers report to spring training in mid-February. There will be meaningless (for most of us) spring training games throughout March. I always look forward to those, but after a few days, I hardly pay attention, barely glancing at a box score here and there to see how the prospects are progressing.

Did Sanchez get a hit? He got two. Great!

What? A split squad game tomorrow? I hate those! What's for dinner?

This year, we fans of the Yankees will have our eyes on Austin Romine, both at the plate and behind it.

Brian Cashman already has said he expects the young catcher to begin the season at Triple A, but you certainly can expect plenty of calls to sports radio urging the Yankees' general manager to keep Romine on the big club's opening day roster, particularly if he plays well in March, handling the pitching staff adequately, smashing the snot out of the ball.

Because who else you got?

Francisco Cervelli and Chris Stewart, that's who.

Last year, Cervilli's WAR stat was… Hah, I got ya. You thought I was going to go all baseball stats geek on you, didn't you? No way, bro!

Speaking of stats, how often will the Yankees' awful, I mean god-awful, postseason batting numbers be discussed over the airwaves in late February and throughout March?

It'll be a number rivaling Alex Rodriquez's total failures in the clutch, I'm guessing.

And speaking of A-Rod, how about his contract? "We're paying this guy to strike out twice a game for five more years, Mike," will no doubt ring from the vocal cords of more than one frustrated caller.

And the pitching staff. Is CC going to hold up this year? Is he starting to break down? Did he lay off the Cocoa Puffs this offseason?

And what about Andy Pettitte? Can he stay healthy? Can he find a time machine and reverse his age?

And let's not forget about the Phil Hughes trade proposals offering the righty and a couple of prospects – hot minor league prospects are as plentiful as pennies, ya know – to the Angels for Mike Trout.

You think no one's dumb ignorant enough to make that call? Just listen.

All that talk is still a few weeks away, though. Right now, if we tune in to sports radio talk, we have to put up with ramblings about Rex Ryan's and Woody Johnson's ineptitude.

But soon, soon my Yankee friends, when the days begin to get brighter and warmer, when the snow melts away and the green grass is exposed, there will be baseball talk over the airwaves and someone named Sal will call for Jeter to be traded to the Marlins for Giancarlo Stanton if our long-loved short stop gets off to a slow start in the spring.

"They would love Jeter in Florida, Mike. He's got a house down there."

Just wait.

I can't wait, bro!

Start Spreading the News… No, Wait!

Well, did they or didn't they?

If you're like me, you keep a keen eye tuned to the goings on in baseball no matter the time of the year.

As we near the end of November and approach December and the baseball winter meetings, it's particularly important – you know, if you're a baseball nut – to watch the news and Twitter and such for free agent signings.

This morning a report surfaced from Japan stating the Yankees had re-signed free agent outfielder Ichiro Suzuki to a one year, $5 million contract.

However, according Newsday beat reporter Eric Boland, no deal has been made.

So now, we wait… again.

I'm guessing, even if a contract has not been signed, the Yankees will re-ink Ichiro, who hit .322 in 67 games after being traded from Seattle to New York this past season.

Smells Like Yankee Spirit

This smells a bit funky.

New York Yankees super closer Mariano Rivera, battling his way back from a torn ligament in his right knee, tossed his first pitches from a mound recently while, get this, filming a commercial for his new fragrance.

Did that process? While filming a commercial for cologne!

Rivera reportedly threw 25 pitches from the mound, all knuckleballs (ok, I made that up) while filming the spot for a product that is part of the Yankees official fragrance collection.

Check out the black and white video below and see the all-time saves leader toss a slow motion pitch on a snow-covered field.

Why was their snow? Just curious.

One a side note: It seems something funky happens when the bat hits the ball, but I can't figure it out. It looks a little weird.

Oh yeah, I got. It's rare a bat hits a ball thrown by Mariano Rivera.

(That's just dumb.)

Sweating the Relatively Small Stuff In Derek Jeter's Contract

If you're still not convinced the New York Yankees are hell bent on getting on a budget, perhaps doing a Dave Ramsey-style total money makeover, then take into consideration the Yanks reportedly are relieved by the fact Derek Jeter did not finish in the top 6 of the American League MVP voting.

Had Jeter been voted as high as sixth, the short stop's contract would ignite incentives that would have paid him an extra $2 million on his 2014 player option year.

2014?

Yep, that's the year the Yankees have targeted for getting their payroll down to at least $189 million ($170 million?) to avoid those expensive-as-hell luxury taxes.

That's right, the Yankees brass, which in the past were willing to spend whatever it took to get a top free agent ballplayer, reportedly were sweating having to pay Jeter an extra 2 million bucks in 2014. That's a bunch of No. 2, right?

Hey, every million counts.

So how close did Jeter get toward collecting that 2 mill in 2014?

One place spot.

He finished seventh behind the Orioles' Adam Jones. But in reality, the voting wasn’t close. Jones secured 120 votes to Jeter's 77.

For those of you who tend to overvalue Triple Crown category numbers – was that a bit snarky? – Jeter hit .316 with 15 home runs and had 59 RBIs. He had .362 on base percentage and a .429 slugging percentage for a .791 OPS.

Offering Sandman a Paycut? Sleep with One Eye Open

Wow, the Yankees really are serious about the "budget" thing, aren't they?

Bob Klapisch at NorthJersey.com is reporting today the team is preparing to offer Mariano Rivera – you know, the best closer ever – a paycut.

Klapisch writes:

"Team officials are preparing their first offer to Rivera, fully aware he won’t be thrilled. It calls for a pay cut from the $15 million Rivera earned last season, although it remains to be seen just how far down the ladder the Yankees will ask him to go."

Rivera, the most consistently dominant closer we've ever seen, turns 43 this month and will be coming back in the spring following a long layoff resulting from a knee injury that cost the reliever the majority of the 2012 season.

Look Happy and Act Surprised



Photo: Houston Astros



I wonder if the folks attending the launch party for the Houston Astros new uniforms and logo were told: "Ok, everyone act surprised when you see the new stuff."

After a couple of leaks – one by Major League Baseball who subsequently blamed its error on Hurricane Sandy – the Houston ball club's rebranding look offered little surprise to party-goers Friday night at Minute Maid Park.

Astros owner Jim Crane seemed to think those pesky leaks may have created a higher level of excitement among fans.

“It was a little frustrating," Crane admitted. "But it might’ve helped. Who knows? It got a little data out there in front and some excitement going and the paper picked it up last week. All publicity is good publicity, I guess.”

I'm no Paul Lukas, so don't look to me to break down the uniform details. All I can say is the vintage style looks pretty darn good to me. I love orange, so I'm really digging the alternate jersey.  

In other Astros news, the Houston Chronicle reports team general manager Jeff Luhnow said at the launch party he plans to reach out to Lance Berkman, 36, about possibly returning to Houston, perhaps as the team's designated hitter.

What was that? You forgot Houston was moving to the American League in 2013? Yeah, me too.

Berkman's knee problems limited to him to 32 games with the Cardinals this season. He was traded from the Astros to the New York Yankees in July 2010 – that was a disaster – and then signed with St. Louis where he was a member of the Cardinals in 2011 and 2012.

What if? World Frankenstorm Series Edition

Remember Nationals fans? Remember Orioles' fans?

Remember how we rooted for a Nats, O's Beltway World Series and then had our dreams ripped to shreds like a hurricane tearing through ballpark made of straw? Remember that?

Take a look at outside right now, and turn on the local weather. Hurricane Sandy is making a mess out there, and Nationals Park and Camden Yards are directly in the path of this Frankenstorm.

Now, had the two teams advance to the World Series and the Nationals swept the Orioles, or, God forbid, the opposite happened, we would have no problem. Otherwise, Game 5 would have been scheduled for tonight in Camden Yards.

No way that game gets played. Just take a look at tonight's National Weather Service forecast for Baltimore:

"Rain. The rain could be heavy at times. Low around 45. Very windy, with a northwest wind 43 to 50 mph, with gusts as high as 75 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New precipitation amounts between 2 and 3 inches possible."    

The Baltimore area remains under a flood watch until Tuesday evening.

By the way, the Orioles' offices are closed today.

Tuesday, an off day in which the Series is supposed move to D.C., doesn't look any better for resuming the Series. So now, if these circumstances were real, we move Game 5 to Wednesday, still in Baltimore. The forecast that night isn't great at the moment, but maybe the game gets played on Halloween night. The O's, playing at home in their black and orange uniforms, have to be the favorites, right?

From Thursday on out, the weather looks nice for the series to progress. That is, if both ballparks are able to withstand those 75 mph wind gusts and not sustain quick-fix damage. Oh, and there's severe flooding. Don't forget the flooding.

Oh, and what if the Yankees bats had awoken and New York was part of the World Series?

Let's don't even go there.

Today's Lineup

…or nine stories from around the Majors you may have missed today.

San Francisco Chronicle columnist says Giants fans need a moment to breathe before the World Series begins.

St. Louis Post Dispatch: No finessing Cards' ugly demise

Steven Goldman at Pinstriped Bible – that's one of my favorite blogs, by the way – makes a good argument for the Yankees keeping Swisher over Ichiro.

Justin Verlander's grandfather confirms his grandson is dating Kate Upton, gets media training (or something like that).

The Twins aren't moving fences or planting trees.

The Padres, however, are bringing in the fences at Petco Park.

The World Series will have a Venezuelan accent.

The Rangers are in the mix to sign another pitcher from Japan. This one is 18 years old.

Is the honeymoon over for Kirk Gibson in Arizona?

Tigers Can Rest After Sweeping, But Is That A Good Thing?

If the St. Louis Cardinals fail to wrap up the National League Championship Series in Game 5 tonight, making Sunday the latest the NLCS can end, the inevitable rest vs. rust questions will emerge.

The Detroit Tigers, having swept past the New York Yankees and their slumbering bats in four games, now have five days to wait and prepare for its next contest, Game 1 of the World Series on Wednesday.

If the Cards can slay the Giants tonight, then there's no debate. Both teams will have, relatively, the same amount of rest.

However, if the Cardinals are stretched to Sunday, or even a Game 7 on Monday, I'm guessing it will be tough for the Tigers, with more rest than they may need, to re-ignite against the momentum-fueled defending World Series champions, on the road in Busch Stadium, no less.

In 2006, the last time the Tigers advanced to the World Series, they had to wait six games before playing the Cardinals in Fall Classic opener. And you remember what happened to the ferocious Tigers back then, right? That's right. They were ousted in five games.

UPDATE: I thought I heard Tigers' skipper Jim Leyland say in an interview last night that his team would not stay idle "this time" while waiting for the World Series to begin. I assumed he was talking about the long layover during the 2006 series. I tried to find the actual quote this morning, but this "real world" work thing I have going on Monday-Friday started kicking my pants.

Well, I just found out, through Hardballtalk.com, that Leyland was on ESPN Radio with Mike and Mike this morning discussing plans to keep his Tigers sharp.

Leyland said:

"We actually have our instructional league team coming to Detroit and we’re going to play a couple of actual games Sunday and Monday and have a workout Saturday as well. We’re going to have our pitchers throw to hitters and we’re going to have our hitters face live pitching. So hopefully we’ll be a little more prepared this time."

Has A-Rod Played His Last Game in Yankees Pinstripes?

I'm listening and watching and reading… for what team will Alex Rodriguez be striking out next year?

This, for sure, seems destined at this point to be THE story of the hot stove league.

Rumors began circulating Wednesday, apparently by the always reliable Keith Olbermann, about a possible off-season trade that would send A-Rod to Miami – he lives there, ya know? – with the Yankees eating much of his $114 million remaining salary.

Are the Yankees really so sick of the guy that they'd consider sucking it up and moving on, paying him to play for another team? If you believe the reports, it sure appears that way.

And if it happens – the trade to Miami, that is, who do Yankees fans want from the Marlins roster in return? Did I really hear someone on the radio this morning mention Heather Bell? Really?

I'm still in wait and see mode, but with A-Rod getting benched for what will be three consecutive starts in ALCS Game 4 tonight – in favor of a guy who's batting oh-for-12 in the postseason – it's becoming increasing difficult to see how the Yankees and A-Rod can come back together in spring training like nothing ever happened, like right handed pitchers ceased to exist over the winter.

--

By the way, Bob Nightengale has a story on usatoday.com saying A-Rod, who has a full no-trade clause, is telling friends (and cute bikini models in the stands?) he will not block a trade, but will only go to a large-market team. That seams fair. I never saw a pending reunion between A-Rod and A.J. Burnett happening in Pittsburgh.

But where will Rodriguez end up if the Yankees can and will pull the trigger on a trade? Could it be Miami? Dodgers? Angels? White Sox? Cubs? None of those seem logical, but who knows?

Dodgers Gone Wild

I do believe the new owners of the Los Angeles Dodgers have lost their collective minds.

The story out today is the Dodgers, after already completing a mega-deal with the Boston Red Sox last week, called the New York Yankees about possibly trading for pitcher CC Sabathia and first baseman Mark Teixiera. (Did they call the Yanks or send a Tex message?)

Do the Dodgers owners think they can just buy any player they want? Maybe they can when they strike a new local TV deal that could be worth as much as $8.5 billion over 20 years. So that $2 billion the new owners paid for the team was just a virtual drop in the ol' bucket, eh?

Hey, do you think the Dodgers would be willing to take Tim Tebow? And maybe the Jets could get back A.J. Ellis in the trade. I bet he'd be the second best receiver on the team.

Anyway, I'm guessing that when the Dodgers called Yankees' General Manager Brian Cashman, the conversation could have ended something like this:

Cashman: “Hey, we can’t give you CC or Tex, but we have this A-Rod fella we’re going to be paying for the next five years…”

Dodgers: Click

Cashman: “Hello? Anyone there?”

Joe's Back

If you’re a Yankees fan who loves the way Joe Girardi guides the team, you should be excited to learn that the Yanks and Girardi have agreed to a contract extension worth $9 million that will keep the manager in pinstripes -- still wearing No. 28 -- for the next three years, according to the New York Daily News.

The news comes as no surprise. The number of years and dollars involved in the deal have been floating around for the past few days.