- With Bob Sheppard officially retiring, Buster Olney wrote this blog post about the Voice of Yankee Stadium. When Olney was a beat writer for The Times he, Sheppard, and Eddie Layton would always rush to the first elevator out of the press box just after the game had ended. Olney to get to the clubhouse, Layton and Sheppard to beat the traffic.
- Olney also discusses how Florida will deal with the Josh Johnson situation. There were reports earlier in the week that Florida might deal him this off-season, but those were quickly dismissed by the team.
- Bill Madden discussed the potential AL East bidding war for Roy Halladay. Also in the article was this about Boston's plans:
According to a source, the Red Sox hierarchy is split on acquiring Halladay. GM Theo Epstein, the source said, does not want to surrender the Sox's prime homegrown products - pitcher Clay Buchholz, shortstop/pitcher Casey Kelly and pitcher Daniel Bard - the Blue Jays are seeking. But Sox owner John Henry is believed to be the driving force behind completing a deal, the source said.Interesting.... I really hope they don't get Hanley.
Epstein would rather use the Red Sox's abundance of lower-level prospects to pursue a deal with the Padres for slugging first baseman Adrian Gonzalez, or with the Marlins for former Red Sox farmhand Hanley Ramirez, the star shortstop. The Padres and Marlins are said to be seeking players on the cusp of the major leagues who would be under their control for several years.
- Black Friday saw another Yankees victory over the Mets, this time in merchandise sales.
The Yankees Clubhouse on 42nd Street, still basking in the glow of the team’s 27th World Series championship, was flooded with customers elbowing through racks of commemorative T-shirts, hats and jackets. Pedestrians stopped to snap photographs of the storefront.- How about some more crapping on NL East teams? OK, good. NBC's Circling The Bases shoots down Philly's claim that 2 million people attended last year's championship parade.
Two blocks east, the Mets Clubhouse hosted a handful of passers-by who gazed at the rows of jerseys and sweatshirts, many 50 percent off. The store seemed to be as quiet as Shea Stadium was after Carlos Beltran looked at Adam Wainwright’s called third strike to end the 2006 season.
- Steve Lombardi over at Was Watching suggests the Yankees move Posada to a full-time DH role in 2010, pointing out Posada's sub-par defensive as the main reason. Also, with Hideki Matsui being a free agent there is an opening.
I'm not defender of Posada as a defensive catcher, but this team just won the World Series, so while he isn't great defensively I don't think it's hurting the team. Plus, I really don't see any good options out there to replace him. Still, it's definitely worth the read.
