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The Return
2008-09-12 05:38
by Alex Belth

According to Mike Puma, writing in the New York Post, Bernie Williams will return to Yankee Stadium for the closing ceremonies on September 21st:

"It will bring me back to my first time in 1991, when I played my first game," Williams said. "It will be amazing. The fans are going to be great. I'm obviously very sad to the Stadium go - you have a lot of great memories - but you move on."

..."[October] will be kind of strange," Williams said. "But that goes to show how hard it is to make it. It's never a given, and this year it didn't happen for them."

It's never a given. How true. The weather has turned in New York over the past few days, the fall chill is in the air. For a long time now, I've come to associate the change in the weather with playoff baseball in the Bronx. Now that the Yankees won't be playing in October, I'm not upset, but grateful that the Yanks had such a great run of consecutive playoff appearences. Hopefully, they'll make it back next season. Or the year after that. The comforting part of being a Yankee fan is the belief that they will win again, and sometime soon. Who knows, it could be fifteen years or even forty years before they win another championship. But it could also be three years or next season.

Anyhow, it'll be nice to see Bernie again. Along with Mariano Rivera, he's one of my very favorite Yankees of them all.

Comments
2008-09-12 06:07:16
1.   Sliced Bread
Since he's there, let him play CF. Heck, let a bunch of old timers play the last few innings in the old place. Tino at 1b, O'Neill in right, Girardi behind the plate as a player-manager for the day. That'd be a fun way to close the joint.
2008-09-12 06:16:02
2.   williamnyy23
1 That would be a great idea if not for that annoying 40-man roster rule. Still, I would like to see every living Yankee in attendance announced at the game. Maybe they could take their positions as they did during the All Star Game? Whatever they do, I hope the Yankees put a lot of effort into closing the place down.
2008-09-12 06:18:54
3.   Shaun P
Hooray! The best news we've had in a while.

2 Here, here. I hope the last day is jam packed with celebrations.

2008-09-12 06:24:52
4.   3rd gen yankee fan
Awesome. F'in awesome.
2008-09-12 06:26:33
5.   Sliced Bread
2 re: roster rules: ask MLB and the Players Assoc. to make an exception for the day, treat the game more as an exhibition. Certainly ESPN, and its national Sunday night audience would not object to more old time Yanks, and fewer Cody Ransoms.
2008-09-12 06:28:37
6.   Sliced Bread
plus, the game doesn't have playoff implications.
2008-09-12 06:30:42
7.   3rd gen yankee fan
Hey, if there's anyone in KC besides me, the library is opening an exhibit of old baseball programs this weekend:

http://tinyurl.com/42m2hz

2008-09-12 06:36:33
8.   williamnyy23
5 I'd love to see the Goose on the mound and Reggie take an AB too, but something tells me MLB would never go for it. Besides, it might not be cool to see the Orioles go to town on a bunch of Yankee old timers.
2008-09-12 06:47:44
9.   ms october
yea! - bernie will be there.

it would have been kinda cool to see them play somewhow, but they'll probably do the whole run out to your position thing.

2008-09-12 07:13:18
10.   Knuckles
1 Yes, that'd be great. I'd put Brosius at 3B and bat him 3rd, and have the massively unclutch Arod DH and bat 8th, where he and his stupid 158 OPS+ and .986 OPS belong!
2008-09-12 07:28:01
11.   Dimelo
BERN BABY BERN!!!!

Man, I miss him....

2008-09-12 07:34:39
12.   dianagramr
0

great news!

Could Bernie bring his guitar and play "God Bless America" during the 7th inning stretch?

2008-09-12 07:44:55
13.   Dimelo
10 ARod did all THAT this year? Geez...I must have been sleeping.
2008-09-12 07:49:06
14.   standuptriple
Ah Bernie. I was just discussing old times with a fellow Yanks fan, specifically '98. Bernie's year was one of the most well-rounded efforts in a long time. And he didn't get a sniff of the MVP.
2008-09-12 07:52:51
15.   Yankee Fan In Boston
beautiful. if this didn't happen, i would have been extremely disappointed. the man deserves a huge standing O moment, too.

this is the best news i'll hear all day.

2008-09-12 07:53:41
16.   dianagramr
14

that's cause he wasn't doing 'roids ...

(end sarcasm)

2008-09-12 08:04:28
17.   bp1
Man - wish I could be there to clap and cheer for Bernie. Is that game on YES? I hope they do something to show us the pre-game stuff.

Getting a little misty just thinking about it.

2008-09-12 08:25:27
18.   Mattpat11
Someone needs to give me a clear and reasonable answer as to why Fatass is pitching tonight and not Mussina.
2008-09-12 08:26:43
19.   SF Yanks
For the out-of-towners is there any way to catch the pregame ceremonies? I have the MLB package AND MLB TV so hopefully some of it will be broadcasted on either. I would hate to miss some of the ceremonies/activities/memories just because I don't live in New York. I've never been to the Stadium and I tried my damndest to get out there this year, but it just wasn't happening. Been a fan for 14 years (not as long as most of you), but I still am sad to see it go and would like to watch what I can.
2008-09-12 08:28:11
20.   SF Yanks
18 Or simply: Why is Fatass pitching period
2008-09-12 08:32:30
21.   Mattpat11
20 The front office clearly loves the man. I've sort of learned to accept that. But with it being Mussina's day AND Pudge's suspension, there's no reason AND a milestone in sight, it makes no sense that they didn't flip these two.
2008-09-12 08:35:10
22.   JL25and3
21 I wonder if they considered pitching Moose every fourth day. I would certainly have talked to him about it.
2008-09-12 08:48:13
23.   Yankee Fan In Boston
18 20 i have been saying for a while that i am unsure about which i am looking forward to more: pitchers and catchers reporting or sir sidney becoming a free agent.
2008-09-12 08:52:28
24.   Mattpat11
22 BUT WHAT WOULD SIDNEY THINK?
2008-09-12 08:59:20
25.   ny2ca2dc
Regarding Ponson, to add injury to insult, Patterson was waived off the 40-main, and was picked up by SD. So pitching Ponson instead of Hughes or Kennedy is not only revolting, it cost a possibly useful (and cheap) reliever. Isn't the point of scrap heap pickups, like our friend Snacks Pontoon, that you jettison them when needed?
2008-09-12 09:41:32
26.   williamnyy23
The reason Ponson is pitching is because moving up Moose would mean Aceves would pitch on Sunday. As a result, the Yankees would have a good chance at winning two games this weekend, which would be a big help to the Red Sox. So, you see, there is a method to Girardi's madness!
2008-09-12 10:14:08
27.   Chyll Will
25 I suppose that's one of those issues the Hankinator is gonna comb through while analyzing the organization's flaws during the off-season (right after they sign Cash to a long-term extension >;)
2008-09-12 10:16:08
28.   Chyll Will
Did anyone read Abreu saying he wants to return, with a 3-year contract to boot? Have fun in LA, buddy...
2008-09-12 10:19:51
29.   Shaun P
25 I'll miss Patterson too, but the Yanks do have 342 righty relief prospects on the farm, who are younger (and just as cheap), and so losing Patterson to me isn't that big a deal. Besides, Hughes and IPK weren't/aren't going anywhere with SWB still in the AAA playoffs.

If they really wanted to keep Patterson, they could have shifted Wang to the 60-day DL.

In any case, why Moose isn't being given every chance to win 20 games is beyond me. That bugs me.

2008-09-12 10:21:12
30.   Shaun P
28 That was my first thought too - except that LA still has Pierre and Andruw on the books for next year, and Ned Colletti doesn't seem to understand what a "sunk cost" is.

That's my way of rambling to:

I think Abreu will sign with Tampa Bay.

2008-09-12 10:39:45
31.   ms october
29 i tried to do the counting and am not sure if i am right - if snacks were to be dropped tonight would that get moose the last game of the season and thus one more game?
2008-09-12 10:58:31
32.   Shaun P
31 I think that's right.

Maybe it hasn't happened because the goal is to give Pettitte the start on the 21st. I'd think both were doable, though.

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