Tagged: Mike Cameron
Would You Let a Red Sox Fan Operate on You?
No, we’re not talking about brain surgery. But it’s a question I would never have thought to ask until this morning. I went for a root canal – what a way to start the new year – and discovered that the dentist who was about to shoot me in the gums with a giant needle and drill through my tooth for two straight hours cheers for the Red Sox! As if I hadn’t been nervous enough about the procedure!
I had no clue what I was walking into. I arrived for my appointment in complete ignorance and was greeted by Corinna, who got me settled in my chair, brought me a warm and fuzzy blanket and immediately put me at ease.
She said I would take a nap? Perfect, I thought. I’ll dream about the 2010 Yankees and how they’re going to take the division, take the pennant, take the championship, la la la la la. So relaxing. (And yes, I brought the She-Fan Cam to my root canal appointment. You’d be surprised how many places it goes.)
I was picturing Curtis Granderson drifting under a fly ball in center when my dentist, Dr. Cami Ferris, entered the room.
“Good to see you again, Jane,” she said, having done a previous root canal on me in ’09. “Your Yankees book was coming out the last time you were here. How did that go?”
“Great,” I said. “Thanks for asking. Are you a baseball fan, Dr. Ferris?”
I should mention that I was recording our conversation on the She-Fan Cam.
“I played softball in college,” she said. “So I follow it sometimes.”
“Really? Which team do you root for?”
“Well, since I’m from Boston, the Red Sox are….”
And just like that, the She-Fan Cam went dead. I swear! The very instant she said “Red Sox” and was about to declare her partisanship, my trusty video camcorder stopped recording. It was as if it KNEW I was in the company of a Sox fan and might be in grave danger!
I was tempted to bolt out of the chair, but I remained calm, re-started the video cam and asked Dr. Ferris to explain her allegiance.
She was good sport, and I was more than satisfied that she would do an excellent job with the root canal.
While she worked on my tooth, I was dying to ask her what she thought of the acquisitions of Adrian Beltre, John Lackey, Marco Scutero, Mike Cameron and Boof Bonser (quite a cast of characters), but I wasn’t in a position to ask anybody anything.
Just as well. I followed Corinna’s advice and took a nap.
Now The Fun Begins
I was wondering when the Red Sox would start to stir.
The slumbering team from Boston wasn’t about to stay quiet forever (not counting Boof Bonser). So what if their Lowell deal seemed stalled and their overtures to Bay were rejected? We knew they wouldn’t spend this off-season sitting around talking about the good old days.
So they got Lackey for five years. He’s a good pitcher and he’ll make their rotation stronger and it sounds like the perfect signing. But I never did like Big John and now the “B” on his cap will make the rivalry that much more intense. Besides, he was destined to wear red for the rest of his career.
The Sox also made a deal with Mike Cameron, whom the Yankees talked about acquiring last year and the year before that but never did. The 37-year-old outfielder is said to be a terrific guy in the clubhouse, but is he really an upgrade over Bay in left?
I guess we’ll find out this spring when the two teams face off to open the 2010 season. If tradition continues, they’ll kick our butts the first couple of times around and we’ll kick theirs later in the year and it’ll be another fight to the finish. But if you ask me, the team to watch will be the Mariners. What have they been smoking?
Sure, the Phillies put the Halladay saga to rest and the Angels picked up Godzilla, but the Mariners, having already signed Figgins, ended up with Cliff Lee. I mean, seriously. The AL West just got a whole lot more interesting. Of course, while all this was happening today, US Weekly reported that A-Rod and Kate had broken up. Talk about a kick in the gut. I not only went to see her movie over the weekend but gave her the She-Fan Award for Best Girlfriend! How could she? How could they?
Speaking of movies, I escaped all the baseball news this afternoon and went to see “The Blind Side.” I’m not a football fan, but this true story, based on Michael Lewis’ book, was inspiring and Sandra Bullock was terrific. If you haven’t seen it already, it’s worth a look.
Adios, Leche
Goodbyes are never easy for me. As a matter of fact, I’m choking up as I write –
Sorry. This is hard. So. Very. Hard.
The Yankees have traded the dimple-cheeked Melky Cabrera to the Brewers for Sabathia BFF Mike Cameron, which means that “The Melkman,” as he is affectionately known throughout the Yankees Universe, will deliver no longer. I’m not going to pretend that I was one of those people who loved Melky. I cared about him deeply, but I was not in love with him, if you know what I mean. He had his moments and I will try to memorialize them here, but he also had his faults. He didn’t hit very well. He slid into first base repeatedly even though he was told not to. And he often wore boxes of sunflower seeds on his head.
Still, he was a Yankees farmhand who made it all the way to the big club, and I will miss him and the little dance he did to the delight of his teammates.
It was Jeter who nicknamed him “Leche,” which is Spanish for milk, which is English for cow juice.
Signed by the Yankees at age 17, the Dominican-born Melky made his major league debut on July 7th, 2005 in left field. He was incredibly excited, especially after A-Rod took him shopping and bought him his first designer suit.
A mere week later, however, fate turned against him. During a game against the Red Sox at Fenway, he misplayed a fly ball hit by this man.
A mortifying inside-the-park homer resulted, not to mention an even more mortifying 17-1 Yankees loss, and Melky was shuttled back to Triple A, then Double A. Very discouraging.
In 2006, he was promoted again, this time making an outstanding leaping catch in yet another contest against Boston, robbing Manny of a homer
and inspiring a fist-bump from Damon.
The same year he not only had his first 5-RBI game and hit his first career grand slam, but also smacked his first walk-off homer, which gave the Yankees an 11th inning victory against the Mariners.
Life was good for Leche. He celebrated the Yankees’ division title with his BFF Cano.
The two lived in the same New Jersey high-rise building and frequently partied together…and went out for rice and beans together…and signed autographs together.
In 2007, Melky took over the center field job from Damon and led the league in outfield assists. But in ’08, he was, well, bad. He was demoted to Triple A. The romance was over between the Yankees and Melky.
And now this trade. (Mike Cameron? Really, Cashman?) I won’t miss Melky’s tendency to hit nubbers in key situations. But I will miss the dimples. And the dancing. And the sense of whimsy and wonder.
Oh, Leche. I wish you the very best in Milwaukee. It’ll be an adjustment for you, sure. You’ll be lost without Cano and you’ll be faced with weather like this.
But you’ll be O.K. You’ll charm your way into the hearts of Brewers fans, you’ll see.
So. It’s time for that goodbye.
Let us all bid you farewell, from every corner of the Yankees Universe.
Goodbye.
Goodbye.
Goodbye.
Confessions of a She-Fan 