Bleacher Report - Articles by michael pilla

A New York Yankees Fan's Guide to the Media

michael pilla — Tue, 05 May 2009 14:24:46 -0400

Never mind what’s happening on the field, one area the Red Sox have clearly beat the Bombers is in the PR arena. EVERYBODY LOVES the Sawx, but the Yanks can’t seem to please anybody, while the Beantown boys can do no wrong.

Jeter can’t win an MVP because he bats second, is a middle infielder and doesn’t hit with enough power...but Dustin Pedroia (bats second, plays second base and hit all of 17 home runs) is hailed as the best player in the AL.

The Yankees build a state of the art stadium and are crucified because there are a few seats in center field with an obstructed view, the Sox play in Fenway where the girders are strategically placed so that you can either see the batter or the pitcher, but not both.

When it comes to media personalities Yankee Fans have two choices, those who hate the Yankees and those who REALLY hate the Yankees. What follows is my informal list of the indignities we are faced with everyday

The WFAN — 660 AM

The New York based sports call-in show, the first and largest all sports radio station in the country, is, unfortunately the flagship station of the rival Mets, so you know they are contractually obligated to “dis” the cross their crosstown rivals

WFAN’s on the Fans

Mets fans are unduly obsessed with Yankees fans. I remember one guy calling in during a Mets hot-streak to say that “Isn’t it great being a Met fan, every win is a slap in the face to Yankee fans.” Like we care.

When not indulging in delusional bouts of momentary superiority, they are depressed over the latest set back to the point where they’re lining up to jump off the Whitestone Bridge.

The Announcers

For the most part they at least pretend to be unbiased, and off course Mike Francesa, who bleeds Yankee blue with the best of us. Chris Mad Dog Russo made a career of being Yankee hater.

(What other team has “anti-fans”? People who actually identify themselves by what team the root against. What kind of twisted toilet training could have resulted in such negativity?)

Since Mr. Russo has traveled to the alternate universe of digital radio, the “Yankee hater” mantle has been passed on to Steve Summers, aka “the Schmoozer.”

The nickname is some what ironic. Between the whinny voice and the attempted borscht-belt comedy bits, its hard to imagine anyone schmoozing with the schmoozer

TV Media

Fox Sports and ESPN Maybe I’m overly sensitive, maybe I’m slightly paranoid or maybe there’s a demographic report out there that says Yankee-haters drink more beer than Yankee fans, but neither of these TV networks has anything good to say.

If the Yanks are ahead, every walk is a rally in the making. If they’re behind, the other team is the reincarnation of the ’27 Yankees.

As for the announcers, ESPN’s Joe Morgan doesn’t want us to forget Big Red Machine and spent the whole 1998 season telling us that us that that Yankee team wasn’t as good as it looked (that particular team won 114 regular season games, four consecutive pennants, three World Series, and came within a Mariano Rivera bad throw to second to winning a fourth).

Joe Buck and Time McCarver on Fox just can’t stop talking about “Red Sox Nation.”

Print

New York Times — Perhaps the most puzzling phenomena is the love affair the NEW YOR times seems to have with the team in Boston. So far this year we’ve been treated to stories about Jason Bay, Kevin Youklis, the ubiquitous Dustin Pedroia, What’s Wrong Big Pappi, Why Manny is a Jerk, and the quaintness of Fenway Park.

When the Red Sox beat Tampa bay in the first game of the season, the headline read “Red Sox Restore Order to American League East”. REALLY!!! AFTER ONE GAME!!!

My theory is that since so many of the time reports undoubtedly went to Harvard, they have something of an urban identity crisis. They identify so much with Boston, they just assume the rest of the world does, too.

Holy Cow! A Tribute to Phil Rizzuto

michael pilla — Tue, 05 May 2009 14:17:25 -0400

Today’s baseball announcers seem to take great pride in their ability to inundate the viewer with wave after wave of statistical minutia.

In addition to batting averages, RBI’s and strike outs, we have OSP’s, WHIP’, Total Bases against pitchers in your own division, Strike Out to Walk Ratios against hitters whose name end in a “z”, winning percentages in the afternoon after a national holiday, and so on.

As my eyes glaze over my mind starts to wonder back to the days of my youth and to the announcer who’s voice I first associated with watching or listening to Yankee game, the Scooter, Phil Rizzuto.

Phil was an MVP, a shortstop for those great Yankee teams of the 40’s and 50’s, a team mate of DiMaggio, Mantle, Berra, among others and an eventual Hall of Famer, but by the time I was aware of him, his nasal tones were the back drop to every Yankee broadcast.

Listening to Phil call a game was like going to the ballpark with a quirky but knowledgeable uncle. Sure he could tell you what was going on, but he did more from his considerable experience and seldom quoted anything more statistical than from which side of the plate a batter hit.

His broadcasts were more like stream of consciousness conversations than analytic breakdowns, punctuated by a Holy Cow anytime anything of note would happen, or the word “huckleberry” as in “ Messer, you Huckleberry, where’s my scorecard”.

Phil grew up in Brooklyn, where people used far more colorful terms to express mild annoyance, though now that I think of it “huckleberry” was probably all you could get away with on the air in those days.

He was famous for weaving personal information into his telecast, usually in the form of congratulating a friend on some personal mile stone or in commenting on his latest favorite Italian restaurant.

Typical calls would go something like this:

“Palmer comes to belt, he’s set, here’s the pitch...Murcer lines a bullet to deep center field over Blair’s head, scoring Clarke. Holy Cow!...now would be a good time to wish Gina and Tony Giordano all the best on their 20th anniversary.”

Or like this:

...”while we’re waiting for Lyle to finish his warm-up, I had the best spaghetti Bolognese last night at Villa Roma in Sysoset, man o’ man, and great cannoli’s too, with a little espresso...”

In those post dynasty, pre-Steinbrenner days, the Yanks were pretty bad, oft times Phil was the most interesting part of the game. He never forgot that IT WAS A GAME! People listened to be entertained, to relax, not to hear a statistical analysis of a ground out to first.

In a way all those good wishes and informal restaurant reviews reminded you that there was a world outside of baseball, that the game, no matter how exciting, important, or even dreadful, wasn’t the end of the world.

He later solidified his status as a pop culture icon by doing a mock broadcast that was featured on “Paradise by the Dashboard Light” one of the hi songs from Meat Loafs “Bat Out of Hell” album.

The song used the play-by-play call as a metaphor for what teenagers usually do in the back seat. Phil later said he got into hot water with the nuns (nuns?) and had no knowledge of what his voice over would be used for. but he was always dumb like a fox, that huckleberry.

I was lucky enough to meet Phil once. I was art directing a photographer’s shoot at an upscale restaurant in New Jersey. I look up as we were setting up for a shot and in walks the Scooter himself. This particular restaurant did not do take out, but Phil was a regular and a celebrity, so he ordered two dinners to go, sat at the bar and waited for them to prepare and wrap up his meal.

Not believing my luck, I walked over and introduced myself and we chatted for nearly 15 minutes about baseball (it was during the 1998 World Series), Dimaggio and the photo shoot (actually seemed interested). He autographed a business card for me, “Holy Cow (what else, he muttered) Phil Rizzuto, HOF (Hall of Fame)

A waiter came out of the kitchen with two shopping bags full of gourmet goodies, and carried them to the car. The former All Star, MVP, broadcaster, recording star and local legend said good bye, wished me luck and followed his dinner out the door.

Yankees: God’s in Heaven, Joba Chamberlain’s in the Pen

michael pilla — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 13:47:28 -0400

All winter I kept having the same reoccurring nightmare.

In my dream I’m at the Stadium, the sun is shining, the air is crisp, It’s a pivotal game in September against an elite American League team (the dream isn’t clear on this point). Joba takes the mound to start the game and pitches an electrifying 7 inning, 2 hit, 11 strikeout beauty. Mo is warming up in the pen and the crowd is buzzing, anticipating a Yankee victory.

Then the bullpen comes in and gives up 5 runs in the eight and the Yanks let another one slip away.

For the past several years, the Yanks have dominated innings one through six with offense and the ninth inning with Mo. They’ve generally lost in innings seven and eight. No matter what Joba’s potential is as a starter, he was simply other worldly as a reliever. I predict that, before long, those once treaturous innings will be known as “Joba Time”.

As good as Pabelbon was for Boston last season, it was the addition of Okajima that made him so effective. OK would come in and shut the other team down. Facing Pabelbon in the ninth, where all he had to do was give it all he has to get the final three outs, hitters knew it was now or never. That sense of urgency had to add several miles onto Pab’s fastball.

That’s what Joba in the pen does for the Yanks...it makes Mo that more effective.

It reminds me, and many others I’m sure, of the 1996 season when Mo was the set up man for John Wettland, The opposing batters would look visibly deflated when he entered the game, walking up to plate slightly less enthusiastically than condemned men went to the gallows. By the time Wetland made his ninth inning appearance Mo had beaten them into submission, they had all the resolve of a wet towel. The game was over after the sixth inning.

As good as he was, Wettland was never as effective before or after that season.

I have two favorite Joba moments from last season that illustrate why he has what it takes to be a dominant reliver, Talent and composure.

The first was against the Tampa (then) Devil Rays. Carl Crawford, a real “Yankee Killer” was at bat. Joba had a strike on him and threw him a pitch that looked like it was going to hang over the plate but dropped like a stone when Crawford swung for strike two. He threw the exact same pitch in the exact same place for a swinging strike three to end the inning. Crawford just threw his bat on the ground in total disgust and just glared at Chamberlain as he walked off the mound.

Crawford looked mad, mad at himself for swinging at that pitch twice in a row, but also mad a Joba for being able to throw that pitch twice in a row. He seemed to be saying, “How dare you be that good!”

My second “Joba” moment came during a late season game against the Red Sox at Fenway. Joba had just given up a home run to Mike Lowell, the first earned run and home run he had allowed in the majors. Ron Guidry, the Yankee pitching coach quickly came out of the dugout to see how Joba was taking this and to see if he needed to be settled down a bit before continuing, Chamberlain just shrugged and actually patted Guidry on the back, as if it were Guidry who needed to be settled down.

Not only that, but he seems to have a good time out there. Unlike Pabelbon who starts off by trying to intimidate opposing hitters with his glare (See if you can count how many times ESPN focuses on his game face this season?)) Joba just let’s it go. He seems to be saying “Here it is, try and hit it.”

And unlike Mo, who is the personification of cool on the mound, Chamberlain bounces around the mound, punches the air and generally has a good time. Once he let’s go of the ball he becomes a fan like the rest of us!

And, he’s only 21!

I’ve felt sorry for Mo during the last few play off seasons. He’s one of, if not the most potent weapon the Yanks have, but without a late inning lead he’s become irrelevant. Part of the reason for that has been the offense, but a big part of it has been the other pitches. When the starters give up three and the bullpen gives up four...Mo never even gets to warm up.

As with the Okajima/Pabelbon tandem, with Joba in the pen the other team is pressed to put the game out of reach by the sixth or seventh inning. They know runs will be almost impossible to come by after that point.

Baseball has changed in many ways during the last two decades. With a few notable exceptions, a teams pitching staff lived and died with the starting rotation, it’s where you put your best arms. With the demise of the nine inning pitching performance, a subject for whole other article, the bullpen is where it’s at.

With Joba in the pen, and Mo’s return to relevance, the rotation is stronger, the offense can more dangerous and the Yanks can look forward to happier Octobers.

It’s Joba Time!