R.I.P. Cory Lidle

By Jack Jablin

Today, baseball fans and Yankee haters alike step back and mourn the loss of Cory Lidle. Lidle, 34, died tragically when his personal aircraft crashed into a 50-story New York high rise. He was only a member of the Yankees for half a season, but our memories of him pitching in pinstripes during the 2006 postseason will tragically be our final ones.

Lidle came over from the Phillies in an 11th hour deal, along with Bobby Abreu, as the Yankees attempted to shore up an already-impressive offense. Lidle settled into New York rather quickly, becoming their desperately-needed 5th starter. Lidle fought off criticism and attacks from his former teammates, namely fellow pitcher, Arthur Rhodes.

"The only thing Cory Lidle wants to do is fly around in his airplane and gamble." Rhodes said in a an interview from early August. "He doesn't have a work ethic. After every start, he didn't run or lift weights. He would sit in the clubhouse and eat ice cream. ... He crossed the line when guys like me, Flash and Lieberthal were playing. He is a replacement player."

Lidle, who was a teammate of Jason Giambi's in high school, will be remembered for his epic 2004 season, where he tied for the ML lead in Shutouts, and tied for 2nd in the ML for complete games (of which he had 5).

Lidle had defended his right to fly ever since he got a pilot's licence. "If you're 7,000 feet in the air and your engine stops, you can glide for 20 minutes ... As long as you're careful, everything should be fine." said Lidle in a February interview. As recent as late July, Lidle faced critics from the New York Times, saying this about his SR20 aircraft: "The whole plane has a parachute on it ... Ninety-nine percent of pilots that go up never have engine failure, and the 1 percent that do usually land it ... If you're up in the air and something goes wrong, you pull that parachute, and the whole plane goes down slowly."

This tragic plane crash may be overshadowed by people drawing comparisons to the similar incidents of September 11th, 2001. However, this incident should not be remembered as the tragic downfall of a Major League Athlete, and for nothing more sinister.

Lidle is survived by his 6 year old son, Chrisopher Taylor, and his wife, Melanie.

Mournfully,
Jack Jablin

Liar Liar!

By lefty

Well, he's done it again!

Just when I thought old George was about to finally mend his dishonest ways and make an honest man of himself by buying the Yankees their elusive 27th title, he's proven that you just can't teach an old dog new tricks. All season long "The Boss," has "Guaranteed" frustrated Yankee fans that this is the year the Yankees would burry "The Curse of A-Rod," and win the World Series.

After the Yankees mid-season wheeling and dealing, I admit, I thought it was a done deal. I figured with the Mets pitching woes, the Yanks would push "The Amazin's" to seven games in a memorable subway series. I imagined Derek Jeter driving in the winning run by slamming a bases loaded double off the Mets eleventh pitcher of the game, David Wright, in the bottom of the ninth inning of a tied game at Yankee stadium.

But Noooooo...

The guarantee was worthless. A bunch of lies. An idle threat to the rest of the league made without a real team to back it up. So now what? Now that the guarantee has been voided, how do Yankee fans collect their refund? Maybe George can offer them free tickets to all home games in the 2007 season. Or maybe he can just sell the Yankees to someone who won't make a fool of themselves with such ridiculous predictions.

The Journeyman Cometh

By Jack Jablin

When the cards are on the table is when the souls of men are tested.

In 2005, Kenny Rogers made all the wrong moves; a year in which he would go from creating controversy when he assaulted a camera crew at his then-home field in Arlington, to verbally accosting a reporter at the police station where he was being booked for the Arlington incident. During the 2005 season, Kenny seemed to make headlines every other day.

Rogers, then the left-handed ace for the Texas Rangers, had never been a true standout pitcher, but his defensive prowess and a few bright seasons (like his 16-8, 3.17 ERA season with Oakland in '98) gave fans hope that perhaps "The Gambler" would one day take a Texas team to a World Series.

Despite Rogers' best work as a Ranger in 2005 (a 14-8 season, 3.46 ERA and 87 K's), he would never move beyond the controversy, and he would eventually become a free agent in the following off-season. It was at this time that the Detroit Tigers began making waves.

The Tigers would upgrade their pitching staff monumentally; adding Kenny Rogers, Todd Jones and the young duo of Justin Verlander and Joel Zumaya from their farm system. These men would become the central focus of Detroit's 2006 season, and controversy would take a backseat to the potential of a dynasty. Kenny Rogers may have continued to make headlines in 2006, but this time around it would be because of his talent, and not his anger.

At the age of 41, Kenny Rogers (and prospect Justin Verlander) would shock the world of baseball, pitching an April to be remembered. However, he would falter in May, and continue to be as steady as a knuckleball until August rolled around - it should be noted that even through his on-again off-again pitching, Kenny Rogers was the starting pitcher for the 2006 AL All-Star team.

In August, Kenny Rogers turned his season into overdrive; he threw 33 innings and posted an ERA of 1.64, one of the lowest in the league. Rogers would post an equally impressive September, racking up 12 K's in 382 innings, and posting a 3-1 record, with a 2.79 ERA. These months would be the defining stroke that placed Detroit into the 2006 playoffs.

However, let's disregard all of that nonsense. Now it is October, and as the Minnesota Twins have proven, the regular season means nothing once the playoffs begin. Kenny Rogers' comeback year (17-8, with a 3.84 ERA and 99 K's) has given Detroit fans quite a high standard for greatness, and Kenny Rogers, a 17-year veteran, stepped onto the mound on October 6th knowing that he would soon pitch the defining game of his career. Would Rogers fail, and lose his 8th straight decision to the Yankees (the team with which he won a World Series ring in 1996), and worsen his career postseason record to 0-4? Or would Kenny pitch the gem to once and for all prove that he belongs in his spot as the crown jewel of a Detroit team that hasn't had a reliable pitching staff since the days of Willie Hernandez? This night, this game, this one chance to turn the tides of the American League Division Series, was a night that truly gave validity to Kenny Rogers' moniker: The Gambler.

Kenny Rogers would enter Comerica Park on October 6th as "Kenny Rogers", and he would carry the weight of all the aforementioned controversy, the weight of a city's dreams and an array of poor ESPN jokes relating his name to the singing legend of the same name. Perhaps it ran through Kenny's mind, prior to the game, that he had stood on that very mound just one year ago - during the 2005 All-Star game - and was booed viciously by the Detroit fans who took exception to his controversial stunts in Texas. Perhaps it ran through Kenny's mind that a win tonight would solidify him as one of this era's greatest pitchers... Or perhaps all that ran through Kenny's mind was "clear the mechanism", because just like Detroit Ace Billy Chapel in "For The Love of the Game," Kenny Rogers pitched a game worthy of a high spot in baseball lore.

With six-runs of support behind him, Rogers would strike out 8 Yankee batters in his 7 2/3 innings of pitching, allowing only 7 baserunners and 3 extra-base hits. ""He was on a roll tonight. He moved the ball around and kept us off balance. You could see the fire at the end. He wanted to finish it himself." said Yankee skipper Joe Torre. "He's pitched a long time and there's a reason for it."

Despite facing the overwhelming odds of today's greatest modern offense, today's greatest coaching mind in Joe Torre, and today's potential MVP winner in Derek Jeter, Kenny Rogers made the Yankees look like children playing at the adult table, and he solidified himself as a playoff-caliber pitcher. Joel Zumaya would relief Kenny with 2 outs in the 8th, before zipping a 102 MPH fastball past Alex Rodriguez, and forcing him to pop out to right-center field. Todd Jones would come in, in the 9th and pitch a donut to end the game. As one of Rogers' biggest critics, I was proud to watch him mature as a pitcher this late in his career. Furthermore, while I have been very negative of Kenny's attitude, and I am very glad to see that he has turned his life around. He may not have completely redeemed himself just yet, but he is well on his way.

The Yankees are now down 2-games-to-1, with one more game in Detroit, and a potential Game 5 set in the Bronx. Will the Yankees survive the oncoming threat of Jeremy Bonderman? Or will the Detroit Tigers send Jaret Wright packing, and move on to their first ALCS since 1987? I assure you, I don't have the answer to that question. However, the momentum is unquestionably now with the Detroit Tigers.

Cheers,
Jack Jablin