RIP Zim, We'll Miss Ya

Don Zimmer had so many jobs in baseball, he became famous, sometimes infamous, for so many things. His family and his baseball families suffered a loss today when the colorful 83-year old died two months after having heart surgery.

Zimmer's first personna was that of a player in the Brooklyn Dodgers organization. He was a member of the '55 "Bums" that finally beat the New York Yankees in the World Series. He nearly died though before he put together a 12-year career, primarily as a reserve. Playing for St. Paul in 1953, Zimmer lost sight of a pitch and leaned right into the ball.

In the days before helmets, Zimmer suffered a devastating head injury. He was unconscious for nearly two week and had to have holes drilled in his head to relieve the pressure. The 170 pound infielder dropped down to 124 pounds and was told he would never play a game. The doctors didn't know just how tough Zim was.

He went with the Dodgers when they moved to Los Angeles and picked up another World Series ring with the 1959 team. He bounced around after that. Taken by the Mets in the expansion draft in 1961, Zimmer had the misfortune of playing on the sad sack Mets squad that lost 120 games in 1962. Zimmer retired from MLB after the 1965 season with stops in Cincinnati, briefly back with the Dodgers, and three years in Washington. There was one more season in professional baseball for Zimmer though, as a member of the 1966 Toei Flyers in the Nippon Professional Baseball League.

Baseball was still in Popeye's blood even though he was no longer a player. He got his first Major League managerial job with the San Diego Padres in 1972 after Preston Gomez was fired 11 games into the season. The Padres were 114 and 190 under Zimmer, who was fired after the 1973 season. The next stop was in Boston to replace Darrell Johnson after 86 games into the 1976 season. In 1978, the Red Sox built up a 14.5 game lead over the New York Yankees. But the Yankees began a Summer surge while the Red Sox swooned. A 163rd game was needed to decide the AL East winner and Bucky Dent ruined Zimmer's and Boston's dreams. Zimmer, unfairly, became the scapegoat for the blown division lead.

Zimmer was let go by Boston near the end of the 1980 season, but got a job the following year as the Texas Rangers manager. He was fired 96 games into the 1982 season. Zimmer's final managerial stint came as the skipper of the Chicago Cubs from 1988 into 1991. The 1989 team won 93 games, but lost in the NLCS to San Francisco in five games.

Zimmer got a new lease on his baseball life when Joe Torre, barely an acquaintance at the time, asked him to be his bench coach for his new gig as the New York Yankees manager. Zim became a lovable character during his time in New York, whether it was from Derek Jeter rubbing his head for luck, donning an army helmet after a Chuck Knoblauch foul ball hit him, taking on George Steinbrenner, or charging Pedro Martinez during a bench clearing brawl.

Zimmer stayed closer to his home in Florida the last 11 years as a senior advisor for the Tampa Bay Rays. Baseball wasn't his dearest family though. That distinction belonged to his wife Jean, better known as "Soot", who he met in the 10th grade. The couple was married for 63 years and had two children, a son, Tom, and a daughter, Donna, who gave them four grandchildren.

Zim's health began to deteriorate and he suffered a stroke in 2008. This past April he endured surgery to repair a leaky heart valve, but never fully recovered. My thoughts, prayers, and condolences go out to his family and friends. Don Zimmer, one of a kind.

Updated 6/5

Derek Jeter reflects back on Zim

35 Years Later, Bucky "Bleepin" Dent's Swing Still Resonates

Monday, October 2, 1978 was a sun splashed day in Boston, Mass. Fenway Park was filled to the brim for Game #163 between the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox. Many schools were closed due to the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur, so there was a large crowd seated at home in front of their television sets in the living rooms and dens of America.

Back in July no one thought a one game, winner-take-all contest would take place. The Red Sox had a comfortable 14 game lead over the Yankees on the 19th of the month. Yankees manager Billy Martin was fired after he blasted outfielder Reggie Jackson and owner George Steinbrenner- "One's a born liar, the other's convicted." Bob Lemon replaced Martin and steadied the ship, and the Yankees started to play better.  The Red Sox were led by manager Don Zimmer, who found his own place in Pinstripes nearly 20 years later.

The Yankees won 11 of 15 and Boson started to stumble a bit. The 14 game lead was reduced to 6.5 when the calendar turned to August. Hope was quickly dashed, however, when  the Red Sox swept a three game series at Yankee Stadium that put the Bronx Bombers back in the soup.

A team made up of battle worn veterans, the Yankees went on another tear against the A's, Angels, Orioles, Mariners, and Tigers (13-3) to move with four games of the slumping Red Sox. The calendar read September 7th as the Yankees entered Fenway Park for a four game series.

Four days later, after the Yankees had outscored the Red Sox 42-9, the two teams were tied for first place with identical 84-56 records. A three games series in the Bronx a week later saw the Yankees take the first two, 4-0 and 3-2 to build up a 3.5 game lead. The Red Sox won the finale and left town 2.5 games behind the Yankees.

The Yankees stayed hot, but despite nine wins in 13 games, they couldn’t shake the suddenly resurgent Red Sox. Boston won seven straight and 10 of 12 as the two teams entered the final Sunday of the regular season schedule. A Yankees win or a Red Sox loss would clinch the division for the Pinstripes.

The Yankees faced left-hander Rick Waits and the Cleveland Indians while Boston sent Luis Tiant out against the Toronto Blue Jays, who were in the midst of a seven game losing streak. The Indians jumped all over Catfish Hunter in the first two innings to build a 6-0 lead and coasted to a 9-2 win. Meanwhile, "El Tiante" dominated the neighbors to the North with a 2-hit complete game shutout. There would be a Game 163 in Boston on Monday.

Monday's game matched the about-to-be-crowned AL Cy Young winner Ron Guidry against his former teammate Mike Torrez. The 1977 World Series ended when Torrez snared Lee Lacy’s pop up to give the Yankees their 21st World Championship.

Guidry's '78 performance was one for the ages. He entered Monday's game 24-3, with all three losses coming against pitchers, ironically, named Mike. The Brewers Mike Caldwell, the Orioles Mike Flanagan and the Blue Jays Mike Willis provided the only blemishes on Guidry’s record.

The lefty’s ERA stood at 1.72 and he had thrown five complete games in his previous six starts, three of them shutouts. (Guidry led the league with nine shutouts.) He also had 243 strikeouts and a WHIP under 1.000. The only disadvantage he had was pitching Game 163 on three days rest.

Torrez was 16-12, 3.92 and had thrown a complete game shutout against the Detroit Tigers in his last start. He too was going on three days rest and was 1-3 against the Yankees during the regular season.

Torrez looked nervous when he walked the game’s lead off hitter Mickey Rivers on four pitches and “Mick the Quick” promptly stole second base. But after falling behind 2-1 to Thurman Munson, Torrez struck out the Yankees catcher and retired Lou Piniella and Reggie Jackson to escape the jam

Guidry, on the other hand, retired the side in order and struck out a pair of Sox, including the league's top hitter, Jim Rice. One inning later though, Carl Yastrzemski ripped a flyball to right that stayed just inside the Pesky Pole for a 1-0 Boston lead.

Torrez settled down and was barely tested by the Yankees lineup. He gave up a double to Rivers in the 3rd inning, a single to Piniella in the 4th and a leadoff walk to Roy White in the 5th. When Torrez retired the side in order in the 6th and Rice delivered an RBI single in the bottom of the inning, it appeared that two runs might be enough to decide the contest.

Then came the 7th inning and the team’s fortunes changed. Chris Chambliss reached on a one out single, the Yankees’ first hit since the 4th inning. White followed that with a single of his own to centerfield to put the tying runs on base. Torrez retired pinch-hitter Jim Spencer  for the second out, which left things in the hands of Bucky Dent.

The Yankees shortstop had a miserable season at the plate- he entered the game with a .243 average and .596 OPS and was already 0-2 on the day- but rather than go to another pinch-hitter, Lemon stuck with him.

Dent barely laid off a low breaking pitch on the first delivery from Torrez for a ball.  Torrez followed with a fastball on the inside of the plate that hobbled Dent when he fouled it off his left in-step.  Trainer Gene Monahan tended to Dent for several minutes before number 20 stepped back in the batter's box. Just as he did, a bat boy brought him some new lumber courtesy of Rivers.

Finally ready, Dent stepped in and sent one out on Torrez’s next pitch. The fastball took flight and landed into the net atop the "Green Monster" in left field. Yastrzemski watched, hoping for a richochet off the wall, but momentarily collapsed to one knee as he saw the ball clear the wall. In a matter of seconds Dent had turned a 2-0 deficit into a 3-2 lead.

The Yankees weren't done in the inning either. Torrez walked Rivers for the second time in the game and was pulled in favor of Bob Stanley. Rivers stole second and scored on Munson's double to centerfield. Stanley finally retired Piniella to end the inning.

Guidry had gutted his way through six innings without his best or sharpest stuff, so when Gator gave up a one out single in the 7th to George Scott, Lemon sent for the Yankees closer, Goose Gossage.

A passed ball by Munson put a runner in scoring position, but Gossage struckout Bob Bailey and retired Rick Burleson on a grounder to Dent to keep the score 4-2. It quickly beame 5-2 in the 8th when Jackson led off the inning with a solo home run to dead centerfield, but the Red Sox weren't dead yet.

Boston had blown the big divisional lead, but had rallied to force the one game playoff.  They would rally in Game 163 as well. Jerry Remy led off the 8th with a double and scored on Yaz's RBI single. Carlton Fisk and Fed Lynn followed with a singles of their own to plate Yaz and it was suddenly a one run game again.

Gossage got Butch Hobson to fly out and struck out Scott to keep it 5-4. The Yankees got a hit from Paul Blair in the 9th, but went down pretty quickly. To win the game, Gossage would have to face the heart of the Red Sox lineup.

Goose retired Dwight Evans to start the frame, but then walked Burleson. Remy was down to his final strike when he turned on a Gossage fastball in his wheelhouse and dunked one into right field. With the sun directly in his face, Piniella didn't see the ball to the last minute and stood with his arms outstretched to the side. Intentional or not, it was enough to fool Burleson into thinking he might have a shot at the catch.

Not only did Piniella have no shot of recording the putout, he barely snared the ball after it droppped in.  (He was also playing further over towards the line than he normally would be for a non-power hitter against Gossage.) Burleson hit the brakes as he turned towards third and retreated back to second base. It would prove to be a crucial mistake when Rice hit a deep fly to right that would have easily scored the tying run had Burleson continued on to third. (To this day, Rice still talks about the play costing the Red Sox the game.) So it all came down to two future MLB Hall of Fame members.

The game came down to a one on one battle between  two future MLB Hall of Fame members. Gossage came out on top when Yaz lofted a high infield pop that Graig Nettles squeezed into his glove as he straddled the left field line. The rest as they say, was history.

The Yankees beat Kansas City in four games to reach the World Series and then came back from a 2-0 deficit in games to the LA Dodgers to capture their 22 and last title until the dynasty of the last 1990's.

In 2003, the Red Sox invited Dent back to Fenway Park for the 25th anniversary of the ’78 classic. The man whose name is never uttered in Boston without an unflattering nickname, sat in the new seats atop the Green Monster, not far from where a baseball landed and made him a Yankees legend.

Sometimes You Win On High Holy Days, Sometimes You Lose

35 years ago I sat on the floor of our sun parlor, in my lucky seat in front of the couch. Two years earlier that's where I was when I was whispered, "How about a home run?" as Chris Chambliss approached the plate against Mark Littell in Game 5 of the ALCS.  In 1978 it was the Yankees and Boston Red Sox who needed a 163rd game to determine the AL East division winner. No wild card teams back then.

It was Rosh Hoshanah, the Jewish New Year and the only reason that schools were closed on a sunny Monday afternoon. Rather than attend temple, our congregation met in front of a 17" color TV. The Yankees stud ace Ron Guidry was having a career year and gutted his way to his 25th win with plenty of help from the bullpen. Everyone, of course, knows that the biggest moment of the game was when the Yankees shortstop Bucky Dent earned an off-color nickname when he gave the Yankees the lead for good with a 3-run home run off former teammate Mike Torrez.  The team went on to win the World Series, their last until Joe Torre and company restored order in 1996.

Yesterday, Saturday, was Yom Kippur. The "Day of Atonement"...and boy did the Yankees have plenty of atoning to do afterwards. I sat on our leather sofa, which has witnessed one World Series title, as Jon Lester dominated the Yankees in a 5-1 Red Sox win. It left the interlocking NY's three games behind both Texas and Tampa Bay in the AL wild card standings. The Yankees stud ace CC Sabathia continued his 2013 struggles; he lasted six innings, and allowed the five runs on nine hits and four walks. He lost his career worst 13th game.

While neither of these teams are as good as their 1978 ancestors, the Red Sox have set themselves apart in the AL East, one year after they won 69 games and finished last in the division. The Los Angeles Dodgers helped them out by taking Carl Crawford, Josh Beckett, and Adrian Gonzalez off their hands last season. GM Ben Cherington and company then picked up Mike Napoli, Shane Victorino, Jonny Gomes, Koji Uehara, and Mike Carp prior to the season. All of them have contributed to the Sox success as has Jake Peavy who was acquired at the trade deadline. Most importantly they got rid of self-absorbed manager Bobby Valentine and hired their former pitch coach John Farrell, who had been the manager in Toronto, and was very popular with the team.

The Yankees, of course, added to their injury list in the series as they do most every game. Brett Gardner was lost the other night after he strained his oblique. Alfonso Soriano was scratched from Saturday's game due to a sprained thumb. And so it goes...just as they did a week ago the Yankees hope they can salvage one game in a series with Boston. Better say your prayers.

Baseball Digest Birthdays: Don Zimmer | Baseball Digest

If you look up the word “character” in the dictionary, there’s a good chance you’ll see a picture of Don Zimmer next to the definition. With over 60 years in baseball as a player, coach, and manager, and one of the most recognizable faces on the planet, the man called “Popeye” has become one of the most beloved figures in the sport.

The Cincinnati, OH native started his career in the minor leagues as a player in Cambridge, MD as part of the Eastern Shore League. He made a number of stops, including Elmira, NY, where he married his wife Jean, better known as Scoot, in 1951. But it was a stop in St. Paul, MN that nearly ended Zimmer’s career and his life. Long before the days of batting helmets, Zimmer lost a pitch in the sun and was hit in the temple. He wasn’t fully conscious for 13 days.

Holes were drilled into his head to relieve the pressure on his brain. He couldn’t talk, walk, and had blurred vision. The stocky 5’9″ infielder lost 35 pounds. He was lucky to be alive, but doctors told him his career as a player was finished. But Don Zimmer would prove them wrong.

He reached the big leagues with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1954 and became a utility infielder for the next three seasons. In 1958 he became the regular shortstop as Pee Wee Reese played his final season with the then-Los Angeles Dodgers. It was arguably the best season of Zim’s career – 17 HR, 60 RBI, .720 OPS. Zimmer was traded after the ’59 World Series championship to the Cubs and then played for the Mets (an original member), the Reds, one more brief stint with the Dodgers, and the Washington Senators before retiring after the 1965 season (He would play one final year in Japan in 1966). It was an ordinary career by numbers – a .235 career average – but Zimmer was a student of the game and made many connections along the way.

The transition to managing was a natural one and Zimmer spent a handful of years at the helm in the minor leagues before taking a 3rd base coaching job for the Montreal Expos in 1971. He was on the Padres staff a year later when manager Preston Gomez was fired and Zimmer was named his replacement. He managed through the end of the ’73 season before he too was let go.

Zimmer’s next managerial stop was his most famous, or possibly, infamous. He was the skipper for the Boston Red Sox from 1976 (replacing Darrell Johnson after 86 games) to 1980. That means, of course, that he was running the team that blew a 14 1/2 game lead in July, 1978 before losing a one game divisional playoff to the rival New York Yankees. He also led the Texas Rangers (1981-1982) and the Chicago Cubs (1988-1991) and was a member of a number of coaching staffs until one fateful day when Joe Torre, whom he didn’t know at the time, asked him to be the bench coach for his new gig as manager of the New York Yankees in 1996.

The late Arthur Daley, of the New York Times and the first sportswriter to win a Pulitzer Prize, wrote an article for Baseball Digest in September of 1958 centered around Don Zimmer's breakout season. Click here to read the article!

Just like Rick and Captain Renault in Casablanca, it was the start of a beautiful friendship. Zimmer’s time in New York would make him a folk hero and led to a pair of books on his life and career. His time in the Big Apple was marked by supreme loyalty to Torre, the infamous brawl in Boston during the 2003 ALCS when he was thrown to the ground by Pedro Martinez, and an abrasive relationship with George Steinbrenner that helped lead to his voluntary departure after the 2003 season. Zimmer became a senior advisor for the Tampa Bay (Devil) Rays in 2004 and still holds that position today.

Happy 80th birthday Zim. You are a true gem!

Also Celebrating A Birthday Today:

Chili Davis (b. Kingston, Jamaica 1960): One of the best hitters in baseball, Charles “Chili” Davis spent 19 season in the major leagues. His stops included San Francisco, Anaheim, Minnesota (WS ring ’91), Kansas City, and New York (AL, WS rings ’98-’99). He finished his career with 350 home runs, 1,372 RBI, and 2,380 hits. He was a three time All-Star and finished fourth in the NL Rookie of the Year voting in 1982.

Also Born Today:

Darrell Porter: The Joplin, MO (1952) native would become a hometown hero when he was named the MVP of the 1982 World Series while a member of the St. Louis Cardinals. A catcher, Porter played 17 seasons with the Brewers, Royals, Cardinals, and Rangers. He’s 29th all-time in games caught with 1,506, and was a four time All-Star. His best season came for he Royals in 1979 when he hit .291-20-112 with an AL-leading 121 walks. Troubled by drug and alcohol addiction, Porter tragically died as a result of a drug-related incident in 2002.

Zim Recovering from Stroke

There's not many things that can slow Don Zimmer down, but a recent stroke has done that. Thankfully, Popeye is doing much better. Family and friends had noticed something was wrong at a gathering on December 23. An MRI and an extensive exam showed you a "minor stroke" (to paraphrase John Mellencamp, who once suffered a minor heart attack, "you have one, and then tell me how minor it is).

"I never felt bad," said Zimmer, who turned 78 on Saturday. "I never had anything bother me except that I'm a little wobbly and I'm slow taking a step. A week and a half ago, there's no way I could talk to you. ... But I'm getting better."

Get well soon Zim!

The Daily Yankeeland - 10/28

Needless to say the conclusion of the World Series was put off until Wednesday night due to more crappy weather in Philly. And even that is in doubt, with a 20-30% chance of rain all day and a game time temperature expected to be 33 degrees.

Yahoo's Jeff Passan takes Bud Selig and MLB to task.


Meanwhile back on the Yankees, and ex-Yankees beat...

Brian Cashman spoke to MLB's Anthony DiComo about Joba Chamberlain's DUI arrest.

Ken Davidoff sat down with former Yankees coach Don Zimmer to discuss the surprising success of the Rays.

Mike Mussina's agent Arn Tellem says his client still has not decided whether or not to continue his career.


And around the rest of MLB:

The Cubs hot corner man Aramis Ramirez has won the Hank Aaron Award.

Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols garnered the Roberto Clemente Award.

The Angels picked up their 2009 options on Vlad Guerrero and John Lackey.

The Daily Yankeeland - 10/28

Needless to say the conclusion of the World Series was put off until Wednesday night due to more crappy weather in Philly. And even that is in doubt, with a 20-30% chance of rain all day and a game time temperature expected to be 33 degrees.

Yahoo's Jeff Passan takes Bud Selig and MLB to task.


Meanwhile back on the Yankees, and ex-Yankees beat...

Brian Cashman spoke to MLB's Anthony DiComo about Joba Chamberlain's DUI arrest.

Ken Davidoff sat down with former Yankees coach Don Zimmer to discuss the surprising success of the Rays.

Mike Mussina's agent Arn Tellem says his client still has not decided whether or not to continue his career.


And around the rest of MLB:

The Cubs hot corner man Aramis Ramirez has won the Hank Aaron Award.

Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols garnered the Roberto Clemente Award.

The Angels picked up their 2009 options on Vlad Guerrero and John Lackey.

Yankees-Red Sox to Relive 1978

The Yankees will always have 1978, that can't change. But some former players from both teams will be reuniting in August to "play ball". Former members of the '78 Yankees and Red Sox will due battle on August 16 at PNC Field, home of the Scranton Yankees.

The "Legends Reunion" will feature Bucky Dent, Goose Gossage, Graig Nettles, and Mickey Rivers for the Yankees, and Mike Torrez, Jim Rice, Fred Lynn, and Luis Tiant for the Red Sox.

About 2,500 tickets have already been sold for the event, which will be the first time the two teams have met for any kind of game in many years.

Yankees-Red Sox to Relive 1978

The Yankees will always have 1978, that can't change. But some former players from both teams will be reuniting in August to "play ball". Former members of the '78 Yankees and Red Sox will due battle on August 16 at PNC Field, home of the Scranton Yankees.

The "Legends Reunion" will feature Bucky Dent, Goose Gossage, Graig Nettles, and Mickey Rivers for the Yankees, and Mike Torrez, Jim Rice, Fred Lynn, and Luis Tiant for the Red Sox.

About 2,500 tickets have already been sold for the event, which will be the first time the two teams have met for any kind of game in many years.

Girardi Still not Bowled Over by Play

Though he said that he doesn't feel the play will carry over to any of their future meetings, Yankees manager Joe Girardi was still clearly ticked yesterday about the collision at home plate Saturday that will cost catcher Francisco Cervelli up to 2 months of playing time.

"It's just disheartening in a spring training game," Girardi said. "I just don't understand it."

But the incident won't change Girardi's own philosophy.

"I've told my players that I don't want them running into catchers in spring training because I don't want them or someone else to get hurt," Girardi said. "We'll continue to play the game hard, and in my mind, play the game the way I want them to play it."

Rays manager Joe Maddon still stood by his words yesterday and continued to not understand Girardi's viewpoint.

Source: NY Daily News

"This does not deserve any legs," Maddon said. "It was an issue that occurred yesterday in a game, it was a hard baseball play; the issue is based on whether you should do that in spring training or not, so it's a philosophical difference."

Maddon even made light of the situation when he was asked if he planned to talk to Girardi about the incident before Wednesday's game. "I've always liked Joe," Maddon said. "If he would like to have a conversation, I'd like to talk about politics, I'm good with global warming, I'm good with a lot of different topics on a daily basis. I like iTunes, I download some stuff off iTunes, I like different restaurants, I like red wine. I have a lot of different areas I can go conversationally."

Don Zimmer agreed with Maddon's take on things.

Source: NY Post

"The plate was blocked and our guy bowled him over," Zimmer, a Rays senior advisor, told reporters in St. Petersburg.

"What's that got to do with spring training? That's the way to play the game."

"I'm talking about a guy who's like a son to me. I can't believe that he went after it the way he did," Zimmer said. "And being a catcher on top of it. You block the plate.

"If I slide into him and break a leg, nothing is said. Instead of breaking my leg I bowl him over and it's not the right play? Well, to me it's the right play, spring training or no spring training. Play the game the right way.

"To me, our kid played it the way he thought it was right, and I think it was right. I'm surprised they made such a big thing out if it. I was dumbfounded. Of all people, I mean Girardi's a tough guy, a tough catcher. I don't know what spring training has got anything to do with it."

Reporters looked to a neutral party, Twins manager Ron Gardenhire, when the Yankees visited Ft. Myers yesterday. Gardenhire took the diplomatic route, saying that he agreed that a play like that should not take place in spring training, but he also understood playing the game aggressively and hard.

Reporters of course also approached Shelley Duncan, who is known for his hard nosed style of play. Duncan said he never would have thought to run over a catcher in spring training...until now.

Source: NY Daily News

What it does is it opens another chapter of intensity in the spring training ballgames," Duncan said Sunday about the incident in Saturday's game between the Yankees and Rays. "They showed what is acceptable to them and how they're going to play the game, so we're going to go out there to match their intensity - or even exceed it." Will the young Yankee, known for his all-out style, take a different approach if he has a chance to collide with one of the Rays' catchers on Wednesday? "I don't know," Duncan said. "That will be determined in between third and home."

While there may not be a collision at the plate, that doesn't mean that someone won't take over Scott Proctor's role and plunk a Rays hitter. We shall see.

Girardi Still not Bowled Over by Play

Though he said that he doesn't feel the play will carry over to any of their future meetings, Yankees manager Joe Girardi was still clearly ticked yesterday about the collision at home plate Saturday that will cost catcher Francisco Cervelli up to 2 months of playing time.

"It's just disheartening in a spring training game," Girardi said. "I just don't understand it."

But the incident won't change Girardi's own philosophy.

"I've told my players that I don't want them running into catchers in spring training because I don't want them or someone else to get hurt," Girardi said. "We'll continue to play the game hard, and in my mind, play the game the way I want them to play it."

Rays manager Joe Maddon still stood by his words yesterday and continued to not understand Girardi's viewpoint.

Source: NY Daily News

"This does not deserve any legs," Maddon said. "It was an issue that occurred yesterday in a game, it was a hard baseball play; the issue is based on whether you should do that in spring training or not, so it's a philosophical difference."

Maddon even made light of the situation when he was asked if he planned to talk to Girardi about the incident before Wednesday's game. "I've always liked Joe," Maddon said. "If he would like to have a conversation, I'd like to talk about politics, I'm good with global warming, I'm good with a lot of different topics on a daily basis. I like iTunes, I download some stuff off iTunes, I like different restaurants, I like red wine. I have a lot of different areas I can go conversationally."

Don Zimmer agreed with Maddon's take on things.

Source: NY Post

"The plate was blocked and our guy bowled him over," Zimmer, a Rays senior advisor, told reporters in St. Petersburg.

"What's that got to do with spring training? That's the way to play the game."

"I'm talking about a guy who's like a son to me. I can't believe that he went after it the way he did," Zimmer said. "And being a catcher on top of it. You block the plate.

"If I slide into him and break a leg, nothing is said. Instead of breaking my leg I bowl him over and it's not the right play? Well, to me it's the right play, spring training or no spring training. Play the game the right way.

"To me, our kid played it the way he thought it was right, and I think it was right. I'm surprised they made such a big thing out if it. I was dumbfounded. Of all people, I mean Girardi's a tough guy, a tough catcher. I don't know what spring training has got anything to do with it."

Reporters looked to a neutral party, Twins manager Ron Gardenhire, when the Yankees visited Ft. Myers yesterday. Gardenhire took the diplomatic route, saying that he agreed that a play like that should not take place in spring training, but he also understood playing the game aggressively and hard.

Reporters of course also approached Shelley Duncan, who is known for his hard nosed style of play. Duncan said he never would have thought to run over a catcher in spring training...until now.

Source: NY Daily News

What it does is it opens another chapter of intensity in the spring training ballgames," Duncan said Sunday about the incident in Saturday's game between the Yankees and Rays. "They showed what is acceptable to them and how they're going to play the game, so we're going to go out there to match their intensity - or even exceed it." Will the young Yankee, known for his all-out style, take a different approach if he has a chance to collide with one of the Rays' catchers on Wednesday? "I don't know," Duncan said. "That will be determined in between third and home."

While there may not be a collision at the plate, that doesn't mean that someone won't take over Scott Proctor's role and plunk a Rays hitter. We shall see.

His 300th Spring Training

Okay, not really; but you know it's Spring Training when Don Zimmer makes his 1st apperance of the year. And look at the shape he's in.

His 300th Spring Training

Okay, not really; but you know it's Spring Training when Don Zimmer makes his 1st apperance of the year. And look at the shape he's in.

Just Don't Charge Levine

Who didn't see this coming? Don Zimmer has reacted to Joe Torre's treatment with a roundhouse right.

"It was sad the way it was handled," Zimmer said. "What has the man done? It speaks for itself. To let him sit there for 10-12 days is bullc---, and then all you hear about is 'keep Torre, don't keep Torre.' ... Do things in a better way than that. You've got so many people over there now involved, I don't know.

"Where do they stand now? They're going to interview six managers? Let them have a good time."

Source

Just Don't Charge Levine

Who didn't see this coming? Don Zimmer has reacted to Joe Torre's treatment with a roundhouse right.

"It was sad the way it was handled," Zimmer said. "What has the man done? It speaks for itself. To let him sit there for 10-12 days is bullc---, and then all you hear about is 'keep Torre, don't keep Torre.' ... Do things in a better way than that. You've got so many people over there now involved, I don't know.

"Where do they stand now? They're going to interview six managers? Let them have a good time."

Source

Popeye the Sailor Man

So still think you can manage without me?

Popeye the Sailor Man

So still think you can manage without me?