Generation Third » Baseball Stuff

MSG’s “The Lineup” premiering March 23

Chris — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 02:32:55 +0000

For those of you in the New York market, the MSG Network is featuring a special 30-minute show starting Tuesday, March 23 covering the best baseball players of all time from the New York area — featuring players from the New York Giants, New York Yankees, Brooklyn Dodgers, and New York Mets.

The first episode will feature catchers — who wins the vote? Mike Piazza? Jorge Posada? Gary Carter? Or YogiBerra? Tune in on the 23rd at 10:30 p.m. to find out, and to participate in the interactive online game on the MSG Network.

Here’s a brief summary of the T.V. show:

“The Lineup: New York’s All-Time Best Baseball Players” will premiere on Tuesday, March 23 at 10:30 p.m. ET on MSG Network with “Catchers,” the first of ten weekly episodes. Each 30-minute episode of “The Lineup” will present a number of nominees for consideration at each position, from the Yankees, Mets, New York Giants and Brooklyn Dodgers, with one episode dedicated to the best New York manager of all-time. MSG’s Fran Healy will host a panel, consisting of Hall of Fame Mets catcher Gary Carter, former Yankee bullpen ace Sparky Lyle, New York Magazine contributing editor and baseball aficionado Will Leitch, and executive vice president of the Elias Sports Bureau Steve Hirdt. The panel will whittle down a larger list of players from each position and determine the top five from each spot on the diamond. By the end of each episode, they will crown the top player at each position and name him to the official “Lineup” card.

With an interactive fantasy game launched in conjunction with the on-air program and hosted onMSG.com/lineup, viewers can see how they stack up against The Lineup’s experts. Fans will try to predict the five players who will be nominated each week and ultimately who will be selected as the starter in the final “Lineup.” Participants will receive points for each correct pick and will be eligible for weekly prizes such as signed memorabilia from baseball greats like Don Mattingly, Joe Torre, Reggie Jackson and Derek Jeter. At the end of the series, the participant with the most points will win a Grand Prize. The site will also feature chats for fans to interact and debate each position, quizzes about the nominated players, photo and video galleries, and player statistics for fans to comb through before making their picks.

Not only is this a terrific concept, but it will introduce (or re-introduce) baseball fans in the New York area to the forgotten names from the teams they don’t hear about much anymore.

I’ll have to ask my brother to keep me updated and check the results online, because we don’t get MSG Network here in Maryland.

My money’s on Yogi Berra for the first Lineup Card.

Yankees Roll-Out New Batting Practice Hats

Trevor — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 22:58:13 +0000

The Yankees have unveiled new batting practice caps for 2010. For quite some time now, the Yankees have worn different caps for BP and the game. Some people think that its a way for MLB and the Yankees to make more money by having another hat available. I say it’s important to keep the sweat from batting practice away from a player’s game hat. HA!

How close the rivalry is

Chris — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 13:56:32 +0000

This is all courtesy of Peter Abraham, who is in his next to last day at his blog. I have amended his original post to include statistics from yesterday’s game, in which the Yankees clinched the AL East title.

The Yankees and Red Sox have played 178 regular-season games this decade. The Yankees lead the series 95-83 and have outscored their rivals by a grand total of five runs, 904-899.

The teams have split 14 postseason games with the Yankees holding a 75-70 edge in runs.

It’s pretty amazing to think that these two teams have played 192 times since the start of the 2000 season and the difference is ten runs.

To put it another way, the average score is Yankees 5.10, Red Sox 5.06.

Yanks #1 in ESPN MLB Power Rankings

Chris — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 10:21:39 +0000

The Yankees claimed the top spot after a 12-week reign by the LA Dodgers. Compounded with a 7-game winning streak, including four straight over the Red Sox and the Dodgers losing 10 of their last 15 games, the Yankees are now ranked number one in ESPN’s MLB rankings.

30 Years Ago…

Chris — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 13:30:16 +0000

The Yankees lost their captain in a plane crash in Canton, Ohio.

His name was Thurman Munson.

He was synonymous with the Yankee championship years of the 1970s — hard worker, embraced the Yankee tradition, and led by example. His death reverberated through the professional sport — especially his arch-nemesis on the field, the Red Sox’s Carlton Fisk. Both brought out the best in each other, and when Munson died, Fisk had some good words for his opponent.

Wherever you are in Yankee Universe, take a moment of silence in memory of #15.