ugh.

He'll throw out the first pitch of the season at the Stadium, and will be honored with a plaque in Monument Park sometime this summer.

Thanks for the memories, #51.

i'm nightguy, so this AM business doesn't sit well with me - sorry if i have my facts all mixed up. : ~

Perhaps he and Bernie could share the Opening Day honor.

3 you are correct. it was a pinch hit double.

5 i 2nd that feeling...

(yes, this is based on absolutely zero statistical or logical data.)

"comeback carl" in '07. stranger things have happened. i will be putting out all sorts of positive energy for him, hoping that something sticks. crossing fingers, burning a pair of crutches before his first start, etc.

i might even get a pavano t-shirt.

anyone else want to climb onto the pavano bandwagon? there's plenty of room. c'mon...

NO, don't do it! then again, do they even make those?! ; )

Quest cut his locks a bit, preparing for his Yankees introduction...

I kid, I kid. Here's hoping your Comeback Carl optimism pays off.

yeah, igawa (my new favorite left-handed japanese yankee pitcher, due in large part to the SI interview) is looking sharp.

and sliced, you know that as soon as comeback carl toes the rubber (and yes, his toe will be just fine), you'll be climbing aboard anyway. don't fight it. don't hate.

all aboard.

http://tinyurl.com/yfwtep

I won't jump on the bandwagon just yet, but I'll walk along side, for now.

"In addition to his salary, he would earn $50,000 bonuses for 350 and 400 plate appearances."

get the jokes out of your system. this is c.c.'s year.

just remember who was ahead of the curve on this one: brian ca$hman, joe in RI, and me.

(yeah, i've pulled joe up onto the bandwagon without his expressed consent. sorry, sir, but you'll thank me later.)

2 That sounds about right. Bernie's got enough else going for him that he doesn't need to spend a year or two playing for the Devil Rays.

Jeez, just how much money is Randy going to be raking in over the next few years.

yet.

20 i read somewhere over the weekend that bernie could potentially end up playing with the mets if he doesn't get a spot with the yankees. they cited his friendship with willie as a basis for their reasoning. not likely. i haven't seen that anywhere else, and i doubt that bernie would do that to us.

Definitely smelled it in Times Square this morning.

I know it's a stretch but could the source be the Randy Johnson salary dump?

(and ca$hman was doing so well...)

Play til you cant walk anymore.

Sliced, are you helping the mayor with his material? ;-)

I am in the market for a new Yankees t-shirt though. I've had Brosius #18, Soriano (#33, not #12), and Jeter #2 (doesn't fit anymore) but the one I've worn so much the navy blue has faded to more of a steel blue... is my trusty #42. Any suggestions?

28 Similarly, I respect Tiki's decision to walk away from pro football while he still can walk.

25 Not even Ca$hmoney is perfect.

i suggest ordering a pavano shirt.

also, i have been taking some heat in these parts for my other custom yankee t-shirt idea. i was going to order a yankees shirt, but have them put "ortiz 34" on the back... to confuse my neighbors.

i was so thrilled at the potential of the idea that i told some of my friends here. they warned me not to do so. the look of violence in their eyes was shocking. i was told i wouldn't make it around my block in one piece.

i might still do it. but i'm gong to need to exercize and get in shape a bit first. (at least to add some speed.)

those are my shirt recommendations. i hope they were helpful.

(If I recall correctly)

psst .... Alex???? .... isn't it supposed to be "Physical"? .... or is that some pun/spoonerism I'm not getting?

(Admittedly I'm glossing over the "Mattingly to St Louis" rumors that floated because #23 didn't officially announce his retirement until sometime in 1996 (or was it early '97?) but my hope is Bernie will not do anything like that.)

(IOW, Bernie should retire when he wants to retire, not when one team decides he isn't worth a contract)

If you watch his biography, he was saying his goodbyes on the plane trip home from Seattle.

If Miggie earns a bonus for being up 300-400 times, we be in trouble.

And I'd still rather have Bernie than Mxyzptlk.

That I agree with. But I think Bernie would be an awful 4th/5th OF for any team, especially an NL team. He is finished as an outfielder, however sad it is, its true - and has been for awhile.

In truth, this is a horrible lesser of two evils. But getting Melky playing time is worth Mxyzptlk over Bernie.

======================

Agreed .... for the most part

Betcha he could still patrol LF in Fenway once a week .... (I kid I kid)

Please, someone, light me on fire.

"The stench was reported as far away as Newark, NJ."

Funny, usually that sort of thing goes the other way around...

well, this and the triumphant return of carl pavano.

...and us charter members of "Pavano's Posse". or "Carl's Crew," i'll leave that up to the rest of the club's members.

well, this and the triumphant return of carl pavano.

...and us charter members of "Pavano's Posse". or "Carl's Crew," i'll leave that up to the rest of the club's members.

Silly me to be dreaming of Chris Gomez earlier in the off-season.

Now where did I put those matches?

The Yanks' roster is thisclose to being the most Torre-proof its ever been. No Sturtze, no Bernie, and no shortage of righty power relievers if EDSP's right arm falls off. And an effective reserve OF in Melky. I don't wish him harm, but if only Cairo could be strapped to Pavano for a week - with him out of the picture, the roster would be Torre-proof.

If the price of this is Mxyzptlk - who might 'hit' himself out of a job - I'll gladly pay it.

Mxyzptlk is just the sort of perennially overrated player who grates on my nerves. And, unfortunately, it will be almost impossible for him to GIDP his way out of a job on Joe's team. After all, He's Been There, which is almost as good as a bellyful of guts.

Would his fan club be
"PavanomasTequilaMonsters" perhaps?

comeback carl will laugh last.

Believe me, I want Pavanomas to succeed, but I don't think he will, cause even in his stellar Marlins season, his rate stats were helped immensely by the defense behind him and the ballpark, and the Yankees don't provide anything like that in 2007.

So ... take one injury-plagued pitcher, add in some decent but not great defense, and you have 150 IP, 9-7, 5.00 ERA .... maybe ... at best ...

-- 500AB may be a little extensive.

He goes, then Mo, Posada. Where's my '96 Yankees?

Way to go Bronx Banter.

i choose to believe this, and will continue to sing his praises until. you don't have to.

positive thoughts... positive thoughts...

by the way, today is carl's 31st birthday. happy birthday, ace.

speaking of fan favorites, this is a little nugget from today's denver post:

"Maligned for never reaching his potential, (Karim) Garcia has dropped 20 pounds, regained his power and will decide today whether to sign a minor-league deal with the Rockies or the Philadelphia Phillies, according to his agent... Veteran pitcher Mike DeJean began throwing off a mound last week and remains open to returning to the Rockies. However, other clubs have shown interest, including the Yankees."

sorry, jim dean.

I'm really skeptical of your article, YFIB, especially with the (Karim) in parenthesis... how do I know they weren't really referring to Jerry?

here's that article:
http://www.denverpost.com/rockies/ci_4968927

you should check that out just to see the smug look of self-satisfaction on his face in the accompanying picture.

Miggy also sucks, but last year he saw only 222 ABS, and that was with Cano out for 6 weeks. We also have the kid we got in the RJ trade. For whats it worth, it was still sucky, but Miggy had an OPS 110 better with men on base. Again, he ain't gonna sink the ship. He's cheap, one year, versatile, + glove.

On a 25 man roster, do we need better then league average in all 25 slots? Dont we need to give Sox fans something to grasp onto?

Hey, if YFIB is starting a Pavanomas bandwagon, then I gotta be charging up the batteries on the Karim Garcia bullpen golf cart right?

BTW, anyone else think that Karim owes some of us a little something for keeping his name out there while he was away in Japan? ;-)

But seriously, "Who is Karim Garcia?"

Earlier in his career, the Arizona Diamondbacks traded him for eventual superstar Luis Gonzalez.

Bama?

the Italian Stallion's Battalion vs. the "karim garcia fan club to be named later"

we should have a rumble.

...or a party at chuck e. cheese's. i'd be okay with either.

84 We're going with the "Latino Bambino's El Camino" and you name the bullpen and we'll be there. ;-)

Actually, I am kinda hungry so let's go with the Chuck E. Cheese party (plus my son would love it). Just keep Glass Carl away from the Whack-a-Mole...

classic.

carl won't attend. we don't want to risk a dance dance revolution incident of season ending proportions.

Take a day trip to Hershey during a 70 degree January weekend, but don't do Chuck E's. Didn't you know a whole movie franchise was inspired by someone who knowingly chose to eat there?

(For good pizza, try Mariella's on Lexington between 69th and 70th. Anybody got some best in the boros suggestions?)

welcome to the bigs, tiger.

climb aboard the comeback carl bandwagon, chyll will.

I just hope Josh Phelps shows some fire in the belly in spring training. It's our best hope.

But the Kid in me says, "But I don't LIKE Chuck E. Cheese's-z-z-z-z!!!"

...batting eighth!

then the Italian Stallion's Battalion will be sending you some of our literature.

oh, that reminds me... we could use some literature. uh... hmmm...

well... in the meantime, here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HFWez_80i7k

add about $4M, and it is essentially what we're hoping for.

I can see the intro now. Fade in to Pavano driving his Porsche in Florida. He hits a garbage truck. Fade out. Fade back in to him in the hospital rubbing his ribs, cue theme music...

you could be our new recruiter... just tossing that out there, much like crazy legs himself will toss a few 8 inning outings come spring...

also, we are just 83 days away from opening day, people.

(i was originally going to base the number of tokens on comeback carl's innings pitched, but i can't afford that many tokens.)

also, your base salary will be three requests at the robotic band concert thing. you can't put a price on that. other than the $10 i'll have to slip the kid who flips the switch, but that isn't the point.

this is about ownership. the Italian Stallion's Battalion will be a part of carl's rise from the ashes.

Count me as a member of the Pavano band wagon. I predict 11 to 13 wins if he stays healthy and pitches on regular rotation for the whole season, and an ERA between 4.50 and 5.00.

When Kei Igawa pitchers, it will just say "Quest" in Hiragana (if my ex-girlfriend will translate).

When Pavanomas pitches, it will say "Italian Stallion Batallion".

Who knows, maybe one of the cameramen gets the references and puts me on TV....

On a funnier note, if Pavano wins 15 games, who wants to put money on Michael Kay asking how we can replace those 15 wins next year?

If I was to loudly proclaim that the term of a patent that issues tomorrow is 17 years from tomorrow - a completely wrong statement - I would be fired from my job for ignorance. The worst part would be that it would take me about 2 minutes to actually read the patent statute, much less any FAQ at uspto.gov, to learn just how wrong I was.

But Michael Kay can blather on about wins, and what a good measure of a pitcher they are, and also show a complete lack of understanding of run support, and how it affects wins. He can do this daily - despite it being an ignorant position, one easily correctable by spending five-ten minutes reading one of a hundred books or websites. And he keeps his job.

I don't expect folks like Kay to start talking about VORP, EqA, or other advanced metrics. But how about a little common sense and logic? Is that so much to ask for?

/end rant

Yes. Yes it is. Go take your common-sense demands elsewhere!

http://tinyurl.com/uxs4m