Thanks, Andy

The best night of Andy Pettitte's baseball career: Norwich Navigator Ace for a Day! Found at http://riveraveblues.com/. Great photo gallery of Pettitte's career there.

Questioning the Yankees’ Starting Rotation

It’s hard to believe, with all the snow we’ve gotten here in the Northeast, that spring training is just a few weeks away. As a fan of the New York Yankees, this hasn’t been the best of off-seasons, so I would like nothing more than to fast-forward to mid-February to see how the team is going to answer all of the questions that haunt them right now.

Before we get to February though, here is the first of a series of posts regarding the direction of the Yankees, both on the field and off of it. I will pose questions that need to be answered before the season begins, beginning with what I believe to be the most important question that still needs to be addressed.

Rededicating Myself

I haven’t posted here since last March, which is somewhat emblematic of my truly being the Master Procrastinator, and also somewhat due to my poor personal management skills.

One of the things I want to do in 2011 is write more often, and I think the remedy to that is not to limit myself in terms of topics. So in the year ahead, expect more content, expect a wider variety of pieces, and expect to be entertained…to some degree.

Thoughts on LOST–”Sundown”

He's a bad, bad man?

This week’s episode of LOST, titled “Sundown,” gave viewers much to think about. We learn why Dogen came to the Island, but we don’t know how long he has been there. We learn about Sayid’s off-Island “reality,” but are left wondering what kind of person he is in the end. There are lots of ideas to delve into, so dive in with me, won’t you?

Interpreting Derek Jeter’s Spring Training Press Conference

Whenever New York Yankees captain Derek Jeter speaks, it’s rare that he allows much to be known. Jeter likes to keep his true thoughts to himself, always has.

Earlier this week, Jeter held a press conference prior to the first day that position players were obligated to be in Tampa for spring training. While most of what he said to the media was the usual vanilla, uncontroversial stuff he’s stuck to for 15 years, there appeared to be some interesting material tucked in-between the boring run-of-the-mill quotes many are used to reading.

What follows is my attempt to deconstruct some of Jeter’s quotes to provide a better understanding of the deeper meaning behind his carefully-crafted answers to questions from the media. Quotes by Derek Jeter were found in various published reports.

Thoughts on LOST–”Lighthouse”

"Lighthouse" focused on Jack Shephard, and his fractured father-son relationships.

I’m not going to write an in-depth analysis or an episode recap of “Lighthouse,” because there are many, many others out there on the web who do a great job and will do into much more detail.

What follows, instead, is a collection of random thoughts based on what I saw in what was another instant classic episode for one of TV’s best-ever series.

Rambling Thoughts on LOST

Four hours into the new season of LOST, and the mysteries just keep on coming. Of course, mysteries lead to new theories, which I enjoy concocting when I have time on my hands (something that I’ve had precious little of in the last month, sadly).  If you’re not a fan of LOST, or not a fan of my writing when it’s unrelated to sports, take heart: I’ll post something Yankees-related soon, now that pitchers and catchers have reported to spring training. And, if you’re not a fan of my writing at all…what are you doing here?

Raines Among Holdovers Who Belong In Baseball Hall Of Fame

The other day, I published a piece about the first-year eligible players on this year’s Hall of Fame ballot (seen here: http://masterprocrastinator.wordpress.com/2010/01/04/among-first-timers-alomar-mcgriff-martinez-stand-out/). In that article, I stated that Roberto Alomar, Fred McGriff, and Edgar Martinez should be inducted to the Hall of Fame this year.

In addition to those three, I believe four more players who have hung around on the ballot for several years also belong in Cooperstown. Here now is a look at each player who has been on the ballot for a while, and my take on whether or not they belong in the Hall.

Among First-Timers Alomar, McGriff, Martinez Stand Out

Roberto Alomar: Hall of Famer in my book

Of all the various sports Halls of Fame, none invites more debate than the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Every January, the inductees are announced, followed by countless arguments, in print and over the airwaves, about the players who should have gotten in but didn’t. For each snubbed player, there is a statistic that backs up their claim.

Spread ‘Em: Week 17 NFL Picks

My New Year’s resolution is to provide better picks. I don’t expect them to pan out, just like some of my resolutions of years past, such as:

–lose weight

–exercise more

–write more

–complain less

–be a better husband/father/son/friend/professional

In the end, I’ve wound up being the same person year after year despite the empty promises I’ve made to myself. I expect the promise about better picks against the spread to also be an empty one. Without further ado…