To Whom it May Concern 222

To Whom it May Concern,
If you live in this once great city you have seen the covers of all the papers..the news and heard every opinion there is to be heard about someone who is highly valued to us rotten apple dwellers
i say his name with the balls and reverence so drumroll please-Derek Jeter
love him or hate him there is no way around saying the man is good whether its baseball ,charity work or just standing there smiling he has brought hope and what little pride there was left to stiffen up a bending citys’ backbone lets’ face he could run for mayor in any city and most likely win except in Boston
he is the every man who as worked hard to get to the admiration of his peers as well as a city who pretty much hates every human being walking next to him
so lets talk about whats’ been on most peoples minds these days with Sir Derek..yes the contract..
everyone knows the accomplishments of this man in pinstripes for over the last decade i dont’ have to tell anyone its’ very well understand what he has brought to the franchise known as the Yankees
at the end of the day business is business
so this revered human being was he offered too little for his work,time,efforts or his age?
all the times he came through when you needed him to come up big ,when the shoulders needed to be big and strong to carry that last few ounces of weight that no one else could bear?
everyone around here is arguing for him..he deserved more ,even men in suits who had there hands in the sacking of 38 year company man, 150 employees and estimating on this friday about 300 more right before our lovely holiday season,maybe the captain got a bad deal either way i hope he doesnt’ lose his house or that lovely fiancee
let me know if you hear anything
as always,
cheers

Confessions of the October Addict

We all sat in the freezing cold leaving our beer right next to our legs just in case we had to run ..our ears glued to the piece of shit radio that kept cutting in and out that damien stole …
most of us worked all week and had work early the next morning it didnt’ seem to matter at that point we were young
i had one of johns gloves on my right hand so i could smoke with my left we shared gloves in those days it was easier to hold a beer when it was twenty degrees
six girls piled into the back of relos’ tiny car you could hear him yelling for them to shut the fuck even though you could hear the radio broadcast from inside his car four blocks away
drunk off the green bottles of beer that littered the benches and john sterlings’ voice the potheads complained in the background none of us would move
most of us were not alive to see the folklore grow during the golden age only misery of pinstripes
our catcher pitching
nobody is in centerfield
george bell hit 2 off the upper deck everytime he strolled into town
donnie baseball winning a batting title on a last place team
this is what we knew of new york baseball
the streets were humming right now
even the always quiet houses were awake with something
stumbling to the store the televisions were in unison on every block
we all knew who mariano rivera was long before the rest of the planet did
john wetteland then the foul ball
charlie hayes may be only a footnote in baseball history but to some of us he just might be a bullet in dallas

mickey,willie, jesus and the duke

ive had this on going conversation with a vendor for my company
long before i even moved away
growing up here you are born into Hoenigs’ Church Of Baseball
we know out catechism, our politics and our baseball
well most of of us at least
some play faves. some are front runners
i was baptized the first time i seen that NY logo and pinstripes
those old woman covering their hair at 6am mass that was me
baseball cards were my gospel
so i went deep into this bible being the nosey bastard i was
old videos, stats,anything i could get my hands on
my sisters birthday escapes me although i can tell you who the first DH ever was
i can sit with old men who have seen these players of legend and argue
scarily enough with this war of word factions, i can anger any old Brooklyn fan
Pinstripes are pinstripes
Baseball is baseball
So the vendor dialogue plays out this way….
Objectively pound for pound
put together the greatest team ever assembled from then til now
five years later he still has a debate even though he has been in check for some time
thirty years my senior, he just just likes the banter with a punk who knows his baseball
so in your life could you pick a team?
freinds? family? aquaintances?
anyone who has helped you along your travels, played that position as well as they could day in and day out?
the team of your life
utilty players ,relief pitchers, pinch hitters
thats’ your team that has shaped your life as you know it and will know it
baseball is the boxscore cemented and final
it goes on record
it goes in the papers
we all need a solid home team
all nine innings and for all time
Football is another story but you can watch the intro of Run Lola Run for that…
Now i start a fight in church and if anyone shall have words lets have them
and we play in an american league park whether you agree with the baseballpage.com or not

choose wisely

SS.derek jeter
2B.rogers hornsby
RF.roberto clemente
1B.lou gehrig
LF.ted williams
CF.willie mays
DH.mickey mantle
3B.brooks robinson
c.thurman munson

SP.bob gibson

Subs and bullpen:

2B.Joe Morgan
3B.Eddie Mathews
CF.Joe Dimaggio
SS.Alex Rodriguz
Dh.Babe Ruth
1B.Don Mattingly
RF.Tony Gwynn
C.Yogi Berra
LF.Stan Musial

SP.Whitey Ford
SP.Tom Seaver
SP.Don Drysdale
SP.Lefty Grove

RP.Mariano Rivera
RP.Roger Clemens
RP.Goose Gossage
Rp.Trevor Hoffman