The Final Score

Davidoff just posted the 2009 Hall of Fame ballot on his more popular blog.

He's an actual voter, so he's going to think about it and let us know who he's voting for by the end of the month. I'm sure he's checking VORPs right now.

I haven't been a BBWAA member long enough to vote (five more years), so here are my virtual picks.

HELL YES:
Rickey Henderson

YES:
Jim Rice

NEED TO DO MORE RESEARCH BUT LEANING TOWARD YES:
Jack Morris
Tim Raines
(Morris was a GREAT postseason pitcher; I think people forget Raines was almost as good as Rickey, and Rickey is the greatest leadoff hitter ever.)

SORRY, BUT NO:
Bert Blyleven
Andre Dawson
Tommy John
Don Mattingly
Lee Smith
Alan Trammell
(These players will get votes and were good players, but I don't give them serious consideration.)

HELL NO:
Harold Baines
Jay Bell
David Cone
Ron Gant
Mark Grace
Dale Murphy
Mark McGwire
Jesse Orosco
Dave Parker
Dan Plesac
Greg Vaughn
Mo Vaughn
Matt Williams
(McGwire wasn't a HOFer to me before the word came out about his alleged use of PEDs, so it's not an anti-steroids thing but an anti-one tool guy thing.)

Your thoughts? Please share.

But did they find time to canoodle?

MEXICO CITY (AP) -- A-Rod and Madonna were together -- in the same city, anyway.

New York Yankees star Alex Rodriguez was in the Mexican capital on the same weekend the pop star was performing there. It wasn't immediately known if the All-Star third baseman and Madonna met while in Mexico City.

When asked what he thought about being in the city at the same time as Madonna, Rodriguez said it was "very good," without elaborating.

Rodriguez spent two hours Sunday teaching kids to bat at a new sports center built on a landfill in the poor suburb of Nezahualcoyotl while Madonna prepared to perform for a sold-out second night in the capital as part of her "Sticky & Sweet" tour.

Continue reading "A-Rod, Madonna in Mexico City at same time" »

Whatever happened to CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett and Derek Lowe and Mark Teixeira and Francisco Rodriguez and Manny Ramirez and Jake Peavy and all of the other baseball players who dominated the back pages in early November?

This is what happened:

-- The Jets got really good
-- The Giants continued to dominate
-- Stephon Marbury
-- Plaxico Burress

But expect the baseball stuff to heat up in the next two weeks.

A very smart baseball-themed person told me there is a "50-50" chance CC will take the Yankees' mega-bucks.

Once that very large domino falls, the others should follow.

In the same time period, three Japanese pitchers became available to MLB clubs.

The Red Sox signed Dice-K Matsuzaka.

The Dodgers signed Hiroki Kiroda.

The Yankees signed Kei Igawa.

But Brian Cashman's job performance is not an issue with the Yankees? I don't get it.

The Cubs and Astros will play two of their postponed games at 7:05 p.m. Sunday and 1:05 p.m. Monday at Miller Park in Milwaukee, Major League Baseball announced late Saturday night.

In effect, MLB is giving the the Cubs two extra home games and taking two away from the hottest team in baseball (9-1 in their last 10).

That's because Milwaukee's Miller Park is exactly 90.1 miles from Wrigley Field. I can already see the parade of Volvos roaring up I-94. Believe me, the place will be packed today, and their won't be any Houston ballcaps in the crowd for these Astros "home" games.

The kicker, of course is that the team that the Cubs are trying to shake in the NL Central race is the Brewers, whose home is the site of the two games.

"This could be the biggest series in the history of this season," said Astros owner Drayton McLane, who was against moving the series out of Houston. "And the fans would be a tremendously inspirational force for our players."

The Cubs lead the Brewers by six games and the Astros by 8.5. The Cubs' Magic Number is 10

Francisco Rodriguez recorded his record 58th save last night, striking out Seattle's Raul Ibanez to break Bobby Thigpen's record.

Congratulations to K-Rod.

Now, here's how AP described his record-setting effort, with the Angels leading, 5-2:

Cameras flashed as Rodriguez came on in the ninth. He quickly got in trouble, allowing a leadoff double to Miguel Cairo and walking Luis Valbuena on four pitches.

Ichiro Suzuki followed with a chopper up the middle that second baseman Sean Rodriguez tapped to shortstop Brandon Wood for the forceout. Rodriguez then struck out Wladimir Balentien and Ibanez.

I hate this record. I hated it when I watched Thigpen get save after save in 1990 by creating his own gasoline-soaked situations and escaping before someone lit a match.

I hate it when Bobby Jenks and or any other closer in baseball gets credit for a save after almost blowing a three-run lead, too.

I know what the rules are, but to me a save is when Mariano Duncan starts the ninth in a one-run game and mows down three batters. A save is when Tug, or Goose, or Hoyt comes into a bases-loaded situation and gets that final out.

I dunno; coming in with a three-run cushion and giving up a double and walk just doesn't seem like something to be proud of.

I'm sure you all agree, right?

I respectfully disagree with my colleague, Wally Matthews, on Jerry Manuel. He wrote a column in today's paper saying it's time the Mets did right by Manuel by removing the interim tag fand rewarding him with a new contract.

I don't disagree Manuel has done a fine job. He's done everything anyone could have possibly done to get the Mets in the right direction. Here's what I think is wrong in his argument: what if the Mets blow this 3-game lead over the Phillies?

If that happens, in all likelihood it won't be because of Manuel. So there's a bit of wrongdoing that Manuel would pay the price. That, I agree with. But look at it this way: if the Mets suffer another collapse, doesn't it seem like the best move would be to clean as much house as possible? You can't get rid of most of the players, obviously. So in an effort to change the culture in the wake of two consecutive late-September collapses, the only choice is to change what you can, and that's the manager.

Or, maybe the Mets will win the division and this is a moot point. If that happens, by all means, give Manuel a two-year contract with a club option for a third year...

Frankie Rodriguez recorded his 57th save last night in the Angels' 7-4 victory over the Mariners.

And the 38,205 at Angel Stadium went wild.

I was there when on Sept. 30, 1990, when Bobby Thigpen notched his record-breaking 57th save, also against the Mariners, and I can tell you that most of us watched in stunned silence as Harold Reynolds grounded out to Scott Fletcher.

It was the last game ever at old Comiskey Park.

Do you have a favorite memory of Yankee Stadium? Maybe it’s a game you attended with your parents, or your child’s first game. Did you see Ruth or DiMaggio? Did you catch a home run ball? Were you there for the NFL’s “Greatest Game,” or one of the many championship boxing matches, or maybe one of the Papal Masses? We’d like to hear from you.

As Yankee Stadium prepares for its final days, Newsday will present a collection of memories in a special section Sunday, Sept. 21. Submissions should be 100 words or less and may be edited by our staff. Include your name, address and a phone number.
Submit your memories here and please include the words “Stadium Memories” in the subject field.

And check out the Sunday, Sept. 21, paper (and newsday.com) for a trip down memory lane.

That's the topic I wrote about today in my web column. Please read it and tell me what you think.