Tagged: YES Network

December 6, 2010

Day 2 of “Operation Cliff Lee Countdown”

Not a huge news day unless you count the conflicting reports about whether Andy Pettitte will retire. One minute, a source says he’s not coming back. The next, another source says he will. My take? I’ll believe nothing until I hear Andy state his intentions in his own words, and only then will I cheer or cry.

Now, onto tonight’s Cliff Lee Countdown Video. In this one, he’s in the Bronx, about to start the ’08 All-Star game at Yankee Stadium. There are two parts that struck me. Early in the video the YES Network’s Joe Auriemma asks Lee about pitching at Yankee Stadium on such a big occasion. What does Lee say in response?

“Everybody knows the heritage that comes along with the New York Yankees. I’m completely honored and privileged to be here.”

OK, he didn’t say anything remotely like that in last night’s video with the Mariners, right? Clearly, he gets that the Yankees are the team where icons hang out. I mean, did he ever say he was honored and privileged to be in Arlington, Texas?

The other part that interested me comes at the end of the video. Joe asks if his family is there to watch him pitch.

“Yeah, my wife and kids, my parents, my financial advisor…”

Hmm. His wife was at Yankee Stadium? And she didn’t get harassed by boorish, spitting, beer-swilling Yankee fans? I think Cliffy needs to remind her of that. Or Cashman does.

July 11, 2010

At the Break: My State of the Universe Address

On the eve of the All Star break, I thought it was the perfect time to assess the state of the Yankees Universe and discuss what needs to be done to insure a successful second half. Here goes…

“With the best record in baseball, the Yankees are already on a pace to win it all – again.”

“Our starting rotation is strong, Cliff Lee or no Cliff Lee.”

“The Captain is perking up at the plate. He just has to stop swinging at first pitches.”

“Swisher is a better #2 than Nick Johnson ever would have been.”

“Tex is finally heating up – for real – and his defense has been outstanding.”

“A-Rod keeps knocking in runs. And HR #600 will quickly lead to #601, #602, #603, etc.”

“Is there really anything Robinson Cano can’t do this season?”

“Having Posada healthy means that Cervelli can go back to being a good backup.”

“Granderson has been somewhat disappointing so far at the plate. More productivity would go a long way toward making people stop wishing AJax would suddenly re-appear.”

“Marcus Thames isn’t useless after all. It turns out he’s a decent DH/pinch hitter.”

“Brett Gardner is the most exciting Yankee in years. He has to keep getting on base though.”

“Mo is Mo – a precious asset never to be taken for granted.”

“Dave Robertson has pitched better lately, but more consistency would be helpful.”

“Chan Ho Park is OK for one inning maybe – but that is all.”

“Damaso Marte doesn’t scare me as much as he did early in the season.”

“Joba….Well, if Joe keeps running him out there in the 8th I’ll need a defibrillator. He must be fixed or I won’t make it through the rest of the season.”

“Chad Gaudin is not Alfredo Aceves. Alfredo Aceves is no longer Alfredo Aceves. Therefore, we need a better long man.”

“We need another reliable arm out of the pen, period – someone not named Jonathan Albaladejo.”

“We need a bat off the bench. I love Ramiro Pena and Colin Curtis, but are they the players I want to see pinch hitting in a big game? Nah.”

“We need better communication between the Yankees and the media when it comes to player injuries. No more ‘Yes, he’s hurt. No, he’s not hurt.’ Just tell us.”

“It’s not necessary to have the grounds crew dance to ‘YMCA’ anymore. It really isn’t.”

“Where’s Hank Steinbrenner? And why isn’t he firing off Steinbrennerisms this year?”

“Why can’t YES re-hire David Cone and phase out John ‘the Snooze’ Flaherty?”

“We need to keep Dave Eiland from ever leaving the team again.”

“And finally, there should be more Yankees merchandise for she-fans – from Yankees lipstick to Yankees nail polish (the same color Jorge wears) and especially Yankees hair products. I mean, who wouldn’t want pinstriped hair?”

That concludes my address. God Bless America and God Bless the New York Yankees.

February 23, 2010

If This Isn’t a Beautiful Sight, I Don’t Know What Is

(Courtesy of Bronx Bombers Beat blog)

Yankees 2010 Spring Training Broadcast Schedule

Posted by Josh Stumpek in NY Yankees on February 23rd, 2010 | no responses

The Yankees have a total of 18 spring training games slated to be broadcast on TV. MLB Network has not officially released their spring training broadcast schedule yet, but I did some digging around on the site on their day-to-day TV schedule and found the games that they are broadcasting.

The games in bold are games that are being played earlier that day and being broadcast later that night by MLB Network. The teams that are underlined are teams that are playing with a split squad for that game.

Wed, Mar 3^rd 1:00 p.m. Pittsburgh @ NY Yankees MLB Network/ YES

Thu, Mar 4^th 7:00 p.m. NY Yankees @ Philadelphia MLB Network

Fri, Mar 5^th 1:00 p.m. Tampa Bay @ NY Yankees MLB Network/ YES

Sat, Mar 6^th 1:00 p.m. Toronto @ NY Yankees MLB Network

Mon, Mar 8^th 1:00 p.m. Philadelphia @NY Yankees YES

Tues, Mar 9^th 1:00 p.m. Pittsburgh @ NY Yankees YES

Thu, Mar 11^th 7:00 p.m. Atlanta @ NY Yankees MLB Network/ YES

Fri, Mar 12^th 1:00 p.m. NY Yankees @ Washington MLB Network

Sun, Mar 14^th 9:00 p.m. NY Yankees @ Pittsburgh MLB Network

Thu, Mar 18^th 7:00 p.m. Tampa Bay @ NY Yankees MLB Network/ YES

Fri, Mar 19^th 1:00 p.m. Detroit @ NY Yankees YES

Fri, Mar 19^th 7:00 p.m. NY Yankees @ Tampa Bay MLB Network

Sun, Mar 21^st 1:00 p.m. Detroit @ NY Yankees YES

Mon, Mar 22^nd 1:00 p.m. NY Yankees @ Philadelphia ESPN/ YES

Sun, Mar 28^th 1:00 p.m. NY Yankees @ Detroit &
nbsp; YES

Tue, Mar 30^th 7:00 p.m. Toronto @ NY Yankees YES

Wed, Mar 31^st 1:00 p.m. Minnesota @ NY Yankees ESPN/ YES

Fri, Apr 2^nd 1:00 p.m. Baltimore @ NY Yankees ESPN/ YES

Think about it! March 3rd, the first televised game on this schedule, is in ONE WEEK! I feel like someone who’s been stuck in the desert without water and suddenly stumbles on this.

It’s a good thing I’ll be in Florida for Yanks-Astros on the 16th and Yanks-Phillies on the 17th. Neither game is being televised, apparently, but it’ll be even better to see them in person. And speaking of television, I’m sure everyone’s read that Aaron Boone has retired and joined the ESPN crew. Yankee fans hold Boone in high esteem, so I wish him luck in his new endeavor. In honor of Boone….

I would have posted actual footage of the home run, but FOX continues to disable it on YouTube. Isn’t it time for them to let fans be able to share the memory? I mean, come on.

January 25, 2010

Damon, Just Read This. Would You Please?

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Damon springs eternal

Monday, January 25, 2010, 07:55 PM EST [General]

Over the weekend, reports emerged that the Yankees had kept the Johnny Damon door open, though there was some question as to whether there was a deadline attached to their offer. Today, Buster Olney tweets that the A’s have interest in the ex-caveman. If Damon signs with the A’s due to more generous financial terms than the Yankees are willing to offer, then he is being pennywise and pound foolish, because if he does, his career will almost certainly end this year.

The simple reason for this is park effects. The Oakland-Alameda Coliseum, or whatever they’re calling it these days — I have stopped paying the slightest attention to these constantly changing corporate-sponsored appellations — is a far more difficult place to hit than New-Age Yankee Stadium. It eats home runs and laughs at batting average. It has huge swaths of foul territory, so none of those check-swing pop-ups ever go out of play. This should be of great concern to a fellow who just hit 17 of his 24 home runs in his home park, as should the fact that in his previous stop at Oakland, a much-younger Damon hit just .247/333/.323 in the park.

Damon’s 2009 road production was actually pretty good. He hit .284/.349/.446. However, he hit just seven home runs in 278 at-bats, and his batting average would seem to have been fueled by a .330 batting average on balls in play, a figure that is unlikely to repeat. Take away ten home runs and 20 or so points of batting average from Damon and you have a 36-year-old, .265 hitter with 14 or 15 home runs. In short, you have the version of Damon that played for the Yankees in 2007 and hit .270/.351/.396.

If Damon returns to New York and can maintain the swing that he has seemingly adjusted to fit the generous right field line, he should at the very least maintain his power production. That player gets to come back for another season, gets to spend another year chasing 3,000 hits and a spot in the Hall of Fame. That guy probably also finishes his career somewhere in the top 25 in career runs scored — he’s 208 trips around the bases away. The Green ‘n’ Gold-style Damon ends his career at 36, somewhere short of 2,600 career safeties. Maybe it’s just me, but when you’ve already got millions, a piece of history should be worth more than leaving a few dollars on the table. Damon is entitled to place a different value on things, of course, but the rest of your life is a long time to think about what might have been.

January 4, 2010

Coney Versus Tino

According to various reports, including today’s blog post on “It Is High,” David Cone is having issues with the YES Network and may not be back to provide commentary in the booth this year. I am not happy. I loved Coney as a player and I grew to love him as a broadcaster. He was smart, funny, unpredictable, occasionally goofy, extremely prepared and way more interesting to listen to than Ken Singleton and John Flaherty, both of whom are sweet and knowledgeable but have the effect of Ambien.

Supposedly, Coney’s replacement would be Tino Martinez. Now don’t anyone get all huffy about what I’m going to say. Tino is a Yankee god and always will be, but have you heard him in the booth? I remember when he had a brief stint on ESPN or FOX (can’t remember which). He had the personality of this.

Just to compare and contrast the styles of the two former players, here they are being interviewed at Joe Torre’s Safe at Home Foundation dinner in ’08. Granted, Coney’s clip is longer, but maybe that’s because he didn’t spout cliches.

Here’s Coney (notice John Sterling in the background)….

Versus Tino….

If I were a YES executive, I’d be looking for an ex-Yankee who can share his own experiences but knows when to shut up and whose personality meshes well with Michael Kay (good luck with that). In short, I’d hire….

Any ideas? Shelley Duncan’s out, since he just signed with the Indians. Congratulations, Shelley! Try not to break anybody’s arm!

December 18, 2009

How To Improve Baseball

In a previous post, I offered a few ideas for Bud Selig’s advisory committee, which is meeting in January to discuss ways to improve the sport. Tonight one of our regular commenters, John (aka carrollj27), served up a few ideas of his own. I thought they were so sensible they deserved the spotlight.

Here they are:

* No weird off days during the playoffs – my own suggestion is that we

go back to 2-3-2 for 7 game series and 2-2-1 for 5 game series, with

the off days being where the dashes appear.

* No charge for MLB.TV since it never works right anyway – AMEN!!!! I

actually am on the road a lot – to the West Coast in fact – for

business and if I don’t pay for FOX at home, why the heck should I need

to pay to watch the Yanks on FOX on my computer??? If they’re on YES,

lemme log in and verify that I am a subscriber…

* No red caps on Yankees – not on Memorial Day, July 4th or any other

day. OMG YES!!!!! Do we put blue caps on the Concinnati Reds? I

THINK NOT! Case closed…

* Fox/TBS required to broadcast pre-game ceremonies during playoffs.

Absolutely. Since I was 7 yrs old this is still one of the best parts!

Come on people, get with it!!!!

*Have at least one and optimally two World Series games during the day

again. These should be weekend games as I understand that it wouldn’t

make financial sense during the week. However, it bugs the heck outta

me that today’s 10 year olds can never see the end of an epic (or most

any other) WS game…we are turning the next gen of fans into “casual

fans”…

*Re: instant replay – starting with ALL postseason games, have an extra

ump in the booth who can look at replays that we all see and buzz down

to the crew chief when he needs to converse with the crew/overturn a

call. Doesnt have to take long. For the atrocious calls we saw this

past postseason, most of us laypeople could figure out within 2-3

minutes what went wrong. A pro ump wouldnt need even that long.

Ultimately expand to reg season games as well. Would be a great job

for recently retired umps…

*Have a 15-20-25 (whatever the right time is) second clock between

pitches. Exceeding it would be a balk. the amt of time between

pitches is ridiculous.

*Go back to just home and away uniforms. If you wanna have a different

BP jersey that’s fine. However, it bothers me when I turn on the TV

and cant figure out who I’m watching fairly immediately. I understand

that SOME people buy those obscure fifth jerseys that look like an

undeveloped negative of the real uniform…but again I think that for

short-term gain we are losing some basic identification with our teams.

If I were a Met fan, I’d expect to be able to describe what their

uniforms look like…I defy any Met fan to do so today for all

combinations.

*Somehow, some way, reduce ticket prices!!!!! Esp in today’s economy,

we are pricing tomorrow’s fans out of the game. Sure, the “suits” go

to games on the company dime, but half of em arent paying attention

anyway. And the notion that I’m gonna pay a grand to see a Yankee reg

season game, even if I am sitting in a recliner 20 ft from the field,

being waited on, being fed grapes and having my feet massaged between

innings and God knows what other “amenities”, it’s just not worth it.

I’d love to hear reactions to John’s ideas – especially the suggestion about day games. Even though they’d start at 10 o’clock in the morning here on the East Coast, I’d still be in favor of them. It’s ridiculous that kids have to stay up past midnight to watch America’s pastime.

Apropos of nothing, has anyone seen “The Hangover?” My husband and I rented the DVD last night and thought it was really dumb…and boring….and long. The tiger part was sort of funny, but that was about it. What a waste of time. We should have watched the DVD of the 2009 World Series.

P.S. To all those in the path of the snowstorm, stay warm and be safe!

December 15, 2009

Why Was I Excluded From Bud Selig’s Advisory Committee?

Bud, Bud, Bud. How could you?

Sure, you look appropriately ashamed right now, but I’m still reeling from your slight. Ever since I read the announcement that you had convened a group of 14 baseball people to meet in mid-January to discuss ways to improve the game, I’ve been hurt and angry. Why? Because my name does not appear on the list of attendees! I want an explanation!

I mean, take a look at the group you put together. For starters, they’re all men.

La Russa, Leyland, Torre, Scoscia, Frank Robinson, plus a handful of former and current general managers as well as columnist George Will. Nothing but men. Do you not think women are capable of offering opinions in an appropriate forum and in an appropriate manner?

Do you have the highly unfair misconception that female fans are nothing but inarticulate, beer-swilling party animals?

Do you buy into the notion that women are too easily distracted to sit in their seats for an entire nine-inning game?

If so, Bud, let me straighten you out immediately. We are knowledgeable. We are passionate. And, most of all, we have the ability to cross party lines and team affiliations.

The other thing is you neglected to put a single blogger on the committee. Yes, George Will writes well, but so do we. We’re not all eight-year-old boys sitting in our basements with our little toys. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.

In your statement about the commission, you said you were open to talking about everything at the meeting – from the pace of the game to umpiring and instant replay. “There will be no sacred cows,” you vowed.

So here are a few subjects I’d like to talk about:

* No weird off days during the playoffs.

* No blind umps either.

* No Fox blackouts on Saturdays.

* No charge for MLB.TV since it never works right anyway.

* No Yankees games on ESPN on Sunday nights/getaway days.

* Free YES Network on cable stations in California.

* No red caps on Yankees – not on Memorial Day, July 4th or any other day.

* Fox/TBS required to broadcast pre-game ceremonies during playoffs.

* Baseball season lasts 365 days a year.

Now that I’ve stated my case, I’ll be looking for my invitation to the January meeting in Phoenix. I assume it’ll be emailed to me? I really hope so, or I might have to take matters into my own hands.

September 20, 2009

Five Ways To Rehabilitate Joba

Joba lasted his usual three innings in Sunday’s 7-1 loss to the Mariners, and they weren’t pretty: seven earned runs on six hits, including a three-run dinger to Griffey. The Yankees couldn’t muster any offense, either; only Tex had a pulse. The bright spot was Mitre, who threw five scoreless innings in relief.

So what’s the real reason Joba has baffled everybody with his ineffectiveness this year? Could it be that he never pitched a full season in Triple A? That he shouldn’t have been moved from the pen to the rotation? That the Joba Rules messed with his mind? That he’s injured and not telling anyone?

All of the above are plausible answers, but I’ve come up with some other possibilities that, if implemented, could salvage his season. Here we go.

#1) Joba Should Take Back His Birth Name.

As everyone knows by now, his little niece couldn’t pronounce his real name, Justin, and the nickname “Joba” stuck. But pitchers named Justin do extremely well in baseball, as in this guy. Change it back.

#2) The Yankees should put Harlan Chamberlain, Joba’s father, on the payroll.

Joba went home to Nebraska during the All-Star break and pitched great when he first returned to the team. Whatever Harlan said or did worked miracles. Make Harlan an “advisor” and let him coach his son. He’d be better than Dave Eiland.

#3) Joba Should Hang Out With Roger Clemens.

No, really. When Clemens was with the Yankees in ’07, he mentored Joba and preached throwing strikes, being aggressive, attacking the zone. Whether the Rocket also taught him about Icy Hot liniment treatments I couldn’t tell you, but what harm could they do?

#4) The YES Network should produce a “Yankeeography” about Joba.

I realize that Yankeeographies are reserved for players who’ve been been with the team awhile, not to mention excelled as Yankees, but it would give Joba confidence to know that the organization still believes in him, despite his suckitude.

#5) Joba should come over to my house while he’s in SoCal.

He won’t be pitching in the Angels series. He’ll have plenty of time on his hands. He should get in his rental car, drive up to Santa Barbara and let me explain the facts of life to him over a nice home-cooked meal. And then I’ll pop in the DVD of “Bull Durham” and make him watch the scene between Crash Davis (Kevin Costner) and Nuke LaLoosh (Tim Robbins) that goes like this.

Crash: “You’ve got a gift. When you were a baby, the gods reached down and turned your right arm into a thunderbolt. You’ve got a Hall of Fame arm, but you’re pissing it away.”

Nuke: “I ain’t pissing nothing away. I got a Porsche already. I got a 911 with a quadraphonic Blaupunkt.”

Crash: “You don’t need a quadraphonic Blaupunkt. What you need is a curveball. In the show, everybody can hit a fastball.”

Nuke: “Well, how would you know? You’ve been in the majors?”

Crash: “Yeah, I’ve been in the majors. I was in the show for 21 days once – the 21 greatest days of my life. You never handle your luggage in the show. Somebody else carries your bags. You get white balls for batting practice. The ballparks are like cathedrals. The hotels all have room service. The women all have long legs and brains.”

Nuke: “They’re really hot, huh?”

Crash: “Yeah, and so are the pitchers. They throw ungodly breaking stuff in the show – exploding sliders. You could be one of those guys.”

I hope Joba takes me up on my offer. There are lessons to be learned from baseball movies, whether you’re a pitcher named Nuke LaLoosh or Joba Chamberlain.

June 29, 2009

She-Fan Exclusive: Scouting Report On Mariners

Fresh off the sweep of the Mets, the Yankees face another injury-riddled team.

I’m such an ancient mariner that I still remember when they were called the Pilots, talk about a lame logo.

Without Beltre at third, Chavez in left and Betancourt at short, their whole left side is hurting.

Even so, they could be dangerous. We should take nothing for granted and absolutely not come out looking like flu victims.

OK. Here we go. They’ll be changing their lineup around, but these are the main characters.

1) Ichiro Suzuki.

Obviously, he’s a great outfielder as well as a hitting machine. I think he’s got an 11-game streak right now. And his current average is a sick .372. But that routine he does at the plate – the sleeve tugging, the bat pointing, the whole drama – is really annoying. Tip to Yankees: The pitchers should step off the rubber and stall in order to screw up his timing.

2) Russell Branyan.

He’s played for the Indians, the Reds, the Brewers, the Padres, the (Devil) Rays, the Phillies, and the Cardinals – almost as many teams as LaTroy Hawkins. Now, he’s the Mariners’ first baseman and he’s batting .303 with 19 homers. He’s also struck out 73 times. Tip to Yankees: Throw him nothing but high cheddar.

3) Jose Lopez.

A happy-looking Venezuelan who covers second or third base, he tied a Major League record last year with three sac flies in one game. Tip to Yankees: Try to get him to hit the ball on the ground.

4) Ronny Cedeno.

Another Venezuela native and former Cub, he’s taken over the shortstop role in Betancourt’s absence. Although he had his first career grand slam in ’08, he’s batting .133. Tip to Yankees: Don’t walk him.

5) Kenji Johjima.

The Mariners’ catcher, Kenji (I love saying his name out loud for some reason) has a museum in his honor in his hometown of Sasebo, Japan, despite only having a .269 career batting average. Tip to Yankees: Show him respect by spinning him off the plate now and then.

6) Franklin Gutierrez.

Yet another Venezuelan, he played for the Indians before becoming the Mariners’ center fielder. In 2008, he swung at the first pitch only 11.8% of the time, the fifth lowest in the AL. Tip to Yankees: Throw him first pitch strikes.

7) Wladimir Balentien.

No, I didn’t misspell this outfielder’s first name. It starts with a “W” but is pronounced “Vladimir.” He’s from the island of Curacao and played for the Netherlands in the WBC, and now he’s filling in for the ailing Endy Chavez and hitting .230. Tip to Yankees: He’s no Vladie, as in Guerrero.

8) Chris Woodward.

He was originally signed by the Blue Jays and did time with the Mets, and is one of those guys who’s played every position except catcher. A few years ago, he was the first Toronto shortstop to hit three homers in a game. Tip to Yankees: Keep the ball down and away.

9) Ken Griffey Jr.

First of all, am I the only one who didn’t know his real first name is George? And I still don’t get why he has a thing against the Yanks; that story about his father isn’t the stuff of post traumatic stress syndrome. He’s hitting a paltry .218 as the DH, and yet he’s “Junior” and he’s HOF bound. Tip to Yankees: Let him crank one out in a game if we’re leading by a lot.

I’d make a prediction for this series, but I’m too superstitious.

P.S. Programming note: The segment I taped for the YES Network’s “Yankees Magazine” about my book will start airing this Wednesday, July 1. I think the show is broadcast twice a day for a week – at 11:30 a.m. and 11 p.m. ET – so my friends in New York need to tell me if they see it. I don’t get YES out here in California except for the actual Yankees games, so I asked the producer to send me a copy of the show. Maybe I can upload it and post it at some point.

June 5, 2009

My Upcoming Trip To Yankeeville

Since tonight’s Yankees-Rays game was rained out, I decided to muse about my trip to New York (I leave Thursday). I’m getting jazzed about all the cool things I’ll be doing in the Apple.

Well, there’s one thing I’m not looking forward to.

As anyone who’s read my book may remember, I’m not wild about flying. If there’s turbulence I tend to guzzle too much plane wine and end up like this.

With any luck, my cross-country flight will be smooth and uneventful, and I’ll arrive at JFK on Thursday night with all my faculties.

On Friday, I’ll be doing my weekly segment on “The Natural,” the New Jersey-based radio show where I joust with host Greg Marotta about the Yankees. (He thinks Joba should be in the pen. I don’t. Not anymore.)

But the rest of the weekend will be family time. I haven’t seen my mother in a while, so it’ll be great to visit with her in Westchester.

(No, that isn’t my mother. I just felt the need to put a nice lady up there. Hopefully, my actual mother will be wearing the Jeter jersey I bought her. She has lots of opinions about the Yanks and should be good She-Fan Cam material.)

After resting up at Mom’s, it’ll be on to the city for some serious media scrutiny about my book.

Are you ready for this? Barbara Kopple, who won two Oscars for her documentaries, is interviewing me for the doc she’s shooting about the Yankees. It’s scheduled to air in the fall on ESPN. For all I know, I’ll end up on the proverbial cutting room floor, but it was exciting to be contacted and I’m looking forward to meeting Barbara.

No clue what she’ll want to talk about for two hours, but I guess I’ll find out. I did love her two Oscar winners:

“Harlan County, U.S.A.” about the coal miner’s strike in Kentucky…

and “Shut Up & Sing” about the Dixie Chicks’ crusade for freedom of speech.

A little later that afternoon, I’ll head to the YES Network’s production studio to tape a segment for “Yankees Magazine,” the weekly show hosted by Bob Lorenz.

I’ll be sure not to mention that I regularly rip Michael Kay on this blog (gently).

Wednesday will be the best day of all: my first trip to the new stadium for the Yankees-Nationals game. I can’t wait to see the Yanks in action. I’m also dying to sample all the food everyone’s been talking about. Watching this MLB video about the Food Network concession made me really hungry, although I could do without the fried pickle.

I’ll be sitting with my husband and my friend Patty from the New York Times. We’ll be up in the nosebleeds (section 323) but behind home plate. If anybody’s going to the game on the 17th, please stop by and say hi.

Also….this is still to be confirmed, fingers crossed….I’ll be having a signing for my book before the game, from 4:30-6, right outside the one-and-only Stan’s Sports Bar across the street from the Stadium!

Stan’s is an institution in Yankeeville. Its owner, Louis Dene, who happens to live part time in Santa Barbara, has managed to keep the place hopping for years. If you’ve been there, you know that it’s wall-to-wall Yankee fans.

I’m hoping we’ll be able to sell books right in the middle of all the craziness, with the help of Denise, the community relations manager at the Bay Plaza Barnes & Noble in the Bronx.

The main thing for that night is…IT CANNOT RAIN!

I think I’ll start my anti-rain dance right now.

Whew. I’m a little dizzy and those feathers made me sneeze, but it was worth it if it keeps the rain away.