November 1, 2007 [LINK / comment]
Turbulent times in Yankeeland
The selection of Joe Girardi as the Yankees' new manager makes a lot of sense, given his past work with the team as a player and a coach, as well as his success while managing the Florida Marlins. He will wear the No. 27 jersey, hoping the Yankees will win the World Series for the 27th time. General Manager Brian Cashman said Girardi met the primary criterion of understanding the complexity of the Yankees'situation, whatever that means. See MLB.com.
Andy Petitte says he wants to stay with the Yankees, which is where he belongs, of course. No word yet from his buddy Roger. See MLB.com.
Alex Rodriguez caught some criticism for letting the world know he was available while the World Series was still on. I guess future Hall of Famers think they don't have to follow the same rules of etiquette as mere mortals.
Torre to manage Dodgers
Meanwhile, Joe Torre signed a three-year contract to manage the Dodgers, taking a pay cut for the sake of pride. And why the hell not? Every baseball fan on Earth ought to wish him all the luck in the world. See MLB.com. Maybe he will replace the aging Bobby Cox and rejoin the Braves, for whom he used to play catcher.
Green grass in D.C.
On WUSA TV-9 this evening, I saw a brief time-elapse clip of the grass sod being installed at the new baseball stadium in Washington. What a delight! I knew they were almost finished with the structure, but I was surprised they were ready to prepare the field itself.
The mail bag
Now that the World Series is over, it's time to get caught up with my e-mail. (Yeah, right...)
Athletics' owner Lew Wolff says there is no way his team will stay in Oakland, as he moves ahead with plans to build a new high-tech ballpark in Fremont. I still cringe at the mini-relocation planned for 2012, but at least his rationale of not wanting cities to bid against each other makes sense. At ESPN, Mark Kreidler expresses the view that, from the very beginning, the A's and the Coliseum were never a very good match; hat tip to Mike Zurawski.
Also from Mike: The Red Sox are putting a new restaurant under the center field bleachers at Fenway Park, to be called "The Bleacher Bar." Further renovations are urgently needed: "The club with the most expensive ticket prices, on average, in the majors has old, wooden grandstand seats that, if left at a Goodwill box, likely would not be accepted." The good news is that the Red Sox are committed to doing the necessary upkeep so that Fenway will remain their home for at least another generation. See Boston Globe.
Brian Hughes noticed that ESPN was covering a bowling tournament in -- of all places -- Miller Park! No, Brian, I have no intention of adding a bowling-alley version diagram of Miller Park. 