Top 10 of 2008

These are top 10 Yankees stories for the year MMVIII (it's not just used for Super Bowls ya know). We could have ordered 7-10 differently, but this is what we came up with.

1. Goodbye, old friend
There's no question that the number one story was the final season in the storied Yankee Stadium that we all grew up with. Yes, there have been different manifestations of the current park, but the games were all played on the same hallowed ground.

The Yankees did a pretty great job, (player replicas not withstanding), of commemorating the year with patches on their uniforms, a somewhat cheesy Stadium countdown meter, a spectacular Old Timer's Day, and a great final night ceremony.

As for the final game itself, the Yankees won 7-3. Andy Pettitte picked up what could be his final win in a Yankees uniform. Derek Jeter gave a heartfelt speech to the crowd after the game and the Yankees took a farewell lap around the Stadium.

The new place will be great, but we'll miss the old one too.

2. I'm in Charge Here
With his health not what it once was, George Steinbrenner turned over the day-to-day operations of the ball club to his sons, Hank and Hal. Hank emerged as the mouthpiece, often shooting from the hip without thinking, but as the year progressed, it became obvious that Hal was the son who was really running the show.

3. Show me the money!
This holiday season was, hopefully, highlighted by the gifts that keep on giving. The Yankees played Santa Claus for CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett, and Mark Teixeira, giving them contracts that will help them to form the nucleus of the ball club for years to come.

4. Seeing Stars
The Yankees hosted their first All-Star game in 31 years on July 15. Mariano Rivera recorded the final outs of the 9th inning, but it took extra innings before the AL won. The big story, though, was Josh Hamilton's incredible display in the prior night's home run derby.

5. A Different Joe
It was a new year all around, as Joe Girardi became the first manager other than Joe Torre to take the helm of the Yankees since 1995. Girardi had his ups and downs. He admittedly made a number of mistakes, particularly in his reporting of team injuries to the press and his lack of rapport with the veterans on the team.

6. A Big Loss
Bigger than any game, was the loss of long-time Yankees player and broadcaster Bobby Murcer to brain cancer. Bobby was our man growing up, and proved to be an even better person off the field than on. His courage during his illness was inspiring.

7. Bernie Comes Home
After being disappointed by not being offered a guaranteed contract for 2007, Bernie Williams disappeared from sight. He still showed up at various fund raisers from time to time, but he was nowhere to be found when it came to anything basebal-l related.

But that all changed on September 22, when as part of the pre-game hoopla for the final Stadium contest, Bernie Williams emerged, in uniform, from the dugout to a raucous reception from the crowd.

8. Big Trouble for American League Hitters
It took Mike Mussina 18 seasons and it came down to the final game of 2008, but Moose finally got his first 20-win season. Defeating the Red Sox in Fenway Park, Moose finished off a renaissance year that turned out to be his last. It took him a while to make the official announcement, but Moose had already decided this season would be his last before the season had even started.

9. CashMoney
Brian Cashman said he wanted to be back. The Steinbrenner boys said they wanted him back. But the Yankees played the entire season with a lame duck GM. Then on the final day of the season, Cashman signed a new 3-year deal that will keep him on as GM through 2011.

10. Voiceless
The final season in Yankee Stadium was not the same, because its longtime voice was not there. Bob Sheppard had taken ill at the end of the 2007 season and was too weak to work any of the Yankees games in 2008. He did make a pre-recorded announcement for the final home game and Derek Jeter used a tape of the "Voice of God" to announce all of his at-bats. Here's hoping Mr. Sheppard returns in 2009.

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7 At-Bats

Seven Costanza might have had better luck.

7 at-bats is all it took for Bernie Williams' winter ball comeback to come to an end. Bern Baby Bernie injured a quad muscle while playing for Carolina in the Puerto Rican winter league and may not be able to represent his country in next year's World Baseball Classic (aka a waste of time).

Peter Abraham of the Journal News reports though that Bernie is enrolled in school to further his music education and has a record coming out in 2009.

In the meantime, enjoy Bernie playing with the Allman Bros. back in '07.

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The Weekend Yankeeland - 12/14

Shat or Get off the Pot
What's on Andy Pettitte's mind this Sunday morning? He met with Brian Cashman on Thursday, presumably so Cashman could appeal to his sense of "Yankees pride". Translation, "we're not paying you $16 million. Take a pay cut or take a walk. Ben Sheets will be glad to take your place." The ball is now in Pettitte's court.

A Frickin' Winner
Belated congrats to Tony Kubek as this year's Ford Frick Award winner by the Baseball Hall of Fame. Kubek made a name for himself on the NBC weekly telecasts with Joe Garagiola, and his broadcasting work included Yankees game in the 1990s. In 1994, tired of life on the road and dissatisfied with the state of the game, the former Yankees shortstop walked away with 2 years left on his contract.

Kubek's playing career ended pretty much the same way. He retired at age 30 after 9 years in the majors. He also, unfortunately, helped turn around the 1960 World Series for the Pirates, when Bill Virdon's bad hop grounder hit him in the throat, forcing him from the game and keeping a Pittsburgh rally alive.

We were never big fans of Kubek's broadcast work, though he grew on us during his stint with the Yankees. He was never afraid to criticize the home team like some other broadcasters and we respected that.

Kubek will be honored in Cooperstown on July 26 along with former Yankees Joe Gordon, elected to the hall by the veterans committee, and Rickey Henderson, who will enter the hall as a member of the Oakland A's.

Queme a Bebé Bernie
Bernie Williams never officially retired and though he may not want to play in the majors next season, he does want to play for his native Puerto Rico. So the guitar man is headed to Puerto Rico to play winter ball for the Carolina Giants. How long before Mike Francesa says the Yankees should bring him back (about 2 seconds after campaigns AGAIN for Joba to go back to the pen)?

Rich or Poor, It's Good to Have Money
In case you are interested, Richard Sandomir of the NY Times explains how the Yankees can afford players like CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett.

We laugh at those headlines that say the rich got richer. The rich haven't won anything in 8 years.

Caller, are you there?
Mark Feinsand of the News reports that Johnny Damon and A-Rod made recruiting calls to Burnett. A-Rod promise tickets to a Madonna concert and 2 free Kaballah sessions?

Don't Let the Door Hit Ya...
Midnight Friday or is that Midnight Saturday..no 12:00 AM as it became Saturday..oh never mind. That was the deadline for non-tendering players. Not many players were let go that will have a major effect on any teams, but the Rockies let speedster Willy Taveras go and the Astros parted with infielder Ty Wiggington. The Yankees have displayed an interest in Wiggington in the past and would probably be interested him as a utility player. However, Wiggington could probably get a starting job, or at least a back up job where he would play more, rather than signing with the Bombers.

Play by the Rules
The Yankees got their pockets picked in Friday's Rule V Draft. Reegie Corona (Sea), Zach Kroenke (Fla), Jason Jones (Min), and Ivan Nova (SD) were all taken in the major league phase of the draft.

Andres Santos (Pit) and Josue Selenes (Oak) then went in the Triple-A phase to make it 6 Yankees prospects selected. Amazing that some baseball "experts" claim the Yankees don't have good prospects.

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The Daily Yankeeland - 9/19

"This was the place, the No. 1 place in baseball. The Stadium was like the Empire State Building or the Grand Canyon of baseball, and every time I stepped inside of it, I had to pinch myself!"

- Yankees broadcaster Mel Allen

Prior to last night's game, the Yankees honored 102-yr old (listed as 103 in some places) Emilio Navarro. Navarro was the first Puerto Rican born ball player to play in the Negro Leagues and is the oldest living major league player. It was the first time Navarro ever stepped inside Yankee Stadium.

Dan Graziano has more on this wonderful story.

The Yankees won the season series with the White Sox, 5 games to 2.

An Iraqi veteran's journey to the greatest Stadium on Earth.

Sunday is going to be emotional and the Yankees are lining up an amazing send off for the Stadium.

Joe Girardi has Andy Pettitte starting Sunday's finale and plans to take him out in mid-inning. He also plans on giving the ball to Mariano in the ninth.

Moose reflects on his final start at home. He's taking some dirt and baseballs with him.
Mariano Rivera can't wait to see the fans' reaction to Bernie Williams.

In case you missed it, and care, the A-Rods are now officially divorced.

A giant "Yankee Stadium" sign is to be hoisted into place today at the main entrance of the new Stadium.

SI's Tom Verducci says goodbye to baseball's cathedral.

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The Daily Yankeeland - 9/12

What's left of the season? Finger pointing of course, by those who hadn't done it as of yet. Bob Raissman says it only took Michael Kay and company 144 games to rip the Yankees a new one. Neil Best has his take on this new twist on the YES Network.

Mike Lupica says it's the "House that Ruth Built", but the Yankees are bringing it down.

Joe Girardi says he'll take the blame. Tyler Kepner says you can blame the offense.

On the bright side, Bernie Williams has confirmed he will be attending the Yankee Stadium closing ceremonies. Bernie Baseball was performing at Robinson Cano's Foundation Fundraiser at Frankie & Johnny's Pine Restaurant in the Bronx.

Scott Patterson, who we thought would be a major contributor to the Yankees this season, started out well in the minors and then was mediocre. The Yankees released him to make room on the 40-man roster for Humberto Sanchez, and he's already pitching for the San Diego Padres.

Hank is trying to play George again. He's going to put a "committee" (baseball people?) together and Cashman could lose power. Here's a look at it from the Post, the News, and Peter Abraham have to say. PeteAbe also has a look at the final homestand.

Whether he'll be a Yankee next season remains to be seen, but either way, Robinson Cano will be working with Kevin Long this season after a very disappointing 2008. Long is planning on making major changes to Cano's swing.

"You're going to see a huge difference visually," Long said. "You'll see less movement, an explosive, compact swing, and you'll probably see more home runs. I think his average will go way up and I think his walks will go way up."

Kat O'Brien takes a look at next season's starting rotation.

Bill Madden spoke with Yogi Berra about his favorite Stadium moments.

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Old Timer's Day Festivities

The Yankees sent out a press release this morning, which PeteAbe courtiously printed out, updating the list of players attending tomorrow's Old-Timer's Day. Sadly, Bernie Williams is still not on the list, and Willie Randolph is not among the retirees either. And Lou Piniella and Don Mattingly will be busy managing and coaching. And its unfortunate that NYC firefighter and former Yankee, Frank Tepedino is nto among those listed.

The Hall of Fame Class: Yogi Berra, Whitey Ford, Reggie Jackson, Wade Boggs, Dave Winfield, and Goose Gossage.

The Widows: Arlene (Elston) Howard, Helen (Catfish) Hunter, Diane (Thurman) Munson, Jill (Billy) Martin, and Cora (Phil) Rizzuto. The sad/ironic part here is that it will be the 29th anniversary of Thurman Munson's death. Our thoughts, of course, will also be with Kay Murcer.

There will be at least one Yankee to represent every championship team since 1947. That includes 1996 team members that are at their first OT game. Tino Martinez, Jeff Nelson, Pat Kelly, Graeme Lloyd, Ramiro Mendoza, Tim Raines, and Jimmy Key.

Other newbies include Rickey Henderson (who will join the Hall class one day), Al Leiter, David Wells, Mike Stanley, Dave Eiland, Buck Showalter, Jeff Torborg, Don Baylor, Wayne Tolleson (we can hear Ken Harrelson saying, "Tolly"), Tony Fernandez, and Aaron Small.

Here is the up to date list.

Jim Abbott
Luis Arroyo
Steve Balboni
Jesse Barfield
Don Baylor
Yogi Berra
Paul Blair
Johnny Blanchard
Ron Blomberg
Wade Boggs
Scott Bradley
Dr. Bobby Brown
Homer Bush
Andy Carey
Chris Chambliss
Horace Clarke
Jerry Coleman
David Cone
Ron Davis
Bucky Dent
Al Downing
Brian Doyle
Dave Eiland
Tony Fernandez
Ed Figueroa
Whitey Ford
Oscar Gamble
Joe Girardi
Rich “Goose” Gossage
Eli Grba
Ken Griffey, Sr.
Ron Guidry
Rickey Henderson
Arlene Howard (widow of Elston)
Helen Hunter (widow of Jim)
Reggie Jackson
Tommy John
Pat Kelly
Jimmy Key
Gene “Mickey” Klutts
Johnny Kucks
Don Larsen
Al Leiter
Graeme Lloyd
Hector Lopez
Kevin Maas
Jill Martin (widow of Billy)
Tino Martinez
Bobby Meacham
Ramiro Mendoza
Gene Michael
Rich Monteleone
Diana Munson (widow of Thurman)
Jeff Nelson
Graig Nettles
Paul O’Neill
Gil Patterson
Joe Pepitone
Tim Raines
Bobby Richardson
Mickey Rivers
Cora Rizzuto (widow of Phil)
Buck Showalter
Charlie Silvera
Bill “Moose” Skowron
Aaron Small
Luis Sojo
Mike Stanley
Darryl Strawberry
Wayne Tolleson
Jeff Torborg
Mike Torrez
Tom Tresh
Bob Turley
David Wells
Dave Winfield

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Walk off Wins

These are the walk offs we've been at (that we can remember)

Sept 26, 1981 - Bobby Murcer pinch-hit 3-run home run against Orioles Tim Stoddard. 6-4 Yankees win.

July 3, 1999 - Scott Brosius hits a 3-run home run off of Orioles pal Arthur Rhodes for a 6-5 win.

July 16, 2000 - Yankees come back from 6-1 against the Phillies with 5 runs in the 9th, and then 8-6 in the 10th. RBI singles by O'Neill, Bernie, and Justice win it 9-8.

July 21, 2002 - Red Sox closer Uggie "Machete" Urbina walks Jorge Posada with the bases loaded to cap a two run rally and gives the Yankees a 9-8 win.

July 31, 2005 - Yankees score 4 in the 8th to erase a 6-2 deficit to the Angels, then a run in the 10th to tie things back up at 7-7. Matsui leads off the 11th with a triple and scores on Tony Womack's single for a 8-7 win.

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The Daily Yankeeland

Jon Papelbon has already established himself as an arrogant punk and a perfect fit for the zoo in Boston. Now he has decided to chime in on the Hank Steinbrenner-Red Sox nation scenario. Pap told Hank to "stick to his pencil pushing". Well Pap, stick to pitching and making your ugly mug even uglier on the mound.

Morgan Ensberg is adjusting quickly to life as a Yankee and as a first baseman. He credits coach Kevin Long with making a good adjustment to his swing.

"I'm embarrassed to say it, but in two weeks of working with Kevin, I have felt so much better as a hitter than I have my entire life," Ensberg said. "This is just working on stuff in the cage. This is silly. I would have thought that there was a time that I knew what was going on, but he just makes things simple."

Having another solid right-handed bat would certainly be a boon to the Yankees lineup. Ensberg, a career 3rd Baseman, can also give the Yankees more depth at 1st Base.

"I've felt really comfortable over there," Ensberg said. "I feel pretty competent as an infielder. It doesn't feel so foreign. I'm not as concerned about learning first base as I am about having quality at-bats. It's familiar territory."

Hank Steinbrenner mentioned that the Yankees will be honoring Bernie Williams, though there is no current plan in place. Um, then why say anything?

Hideki Matsui took no BP on Sunday after waking up with a stiff neck. It's not expected to set him back for making his debut later this week.

Mariano Rivera had a very effective bullpen session yesterday, with Jorge Posada looking on. Occasionally Posada stepped into the batter's box to get a better look. Jorge gave his closer 2 thumbs up.

The Yankees reassigned Marcos Vechionacci to the minor league camp earlier today.

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Cashman Throws One Up and In

As reported by Peter Abraham of the Journal News, Brian Cashman and Theo Epstein sat down for a Q and A Friday night at William Paterson College. Cashman took the opportunity to take a shot at Bernie Williams.

Cashman said Williams spent too much time with his music career “and that took away from his play” on the field.

Cashman said Williams had a “terrible season” in 2005 and that former manager Joe Torre was wrong to play Williams as often as he did in 2006 because better players were available.

PeteAbe had the opportunity to get Bernie's reaction Saturday night as the ex-Yankee and his former teammate Paul O'Neill hosted a charity fundraiser for Hillside Food Outreach in New Rochelle, NY.

“I don’t think he has any basis to say anything like that,” he said. “Let me put it this way: Questioning a person’s commitment to the team is a very serious accusation, at least in my book.”

Bernie was then asked if his music had indeed interfered with his final seasons in the Bronx.

“Everybody’s entitled to their opinion,” he said. “I haven’t really talked to (Cashman) about what he said. But I want to.”

While Cashman is entitled to his opinion, he should have kept it to himself. There's no denying that Bernie wasn't the same player over the last couple of years of his career, but he's done more for the Yankees than Brian Cashman ever has.

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Who's Playing Left Field?

Bernie Williams and his special guest, Paul O'Neill, are hosting the 6th Annual Hillside Food Outreach Neighbors Helping Neighbors Benefit Dinner and Auction on Saturday night, Jan. 26, at Greentree Country Club in New Rochelle. The fundraiser helps to provide food for those in need in Westchester County.



For a limited time you can purchase autographed items by Bernie and Paulie, with proceeds going to the organization.

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The Weekend Yankeeland

Not a lot of baseball news/rumors going on this weekend. The Giants played a putrid 2nd half this afternoon in losing to the Cowboys..at home. There's a clear talent and coaching difference between the 2 teams. Top that off with temps in the 20s, some snow flurries Saturday morning, and Spring Training just can't come fast enough.

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The Yankees face a big deadline tomorrow. The end of the exclusive signing period for free agents. The Journal News' Mike Dougherty ran into Jorge Posada at the Knicks game earlier and asked what's going in the "process" (had to say it).

Posada felt confident a deal could be done with the Yankees and felt the chances were better than 50/50. He clearly wants to stay with the Yankees, but money/length of contract may overrule that (our words not his). Posada expects to hear from the Mets tomorrow. He also re-emphasized that his relationship with Joe Girardi is a good one. Source

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As we're sure you heard by now, Joe Torre had some comments about A-Rod and Andy Pettitte at the Safe at Home Foundation fundraiser the other night. Torre feels that Pettitte will indeed hang it up. Hopefully he's wrong. What is funny though, is how many Yankees fans have expressed outrage at Torre's statement. So now he can't express his opinion? Torre also felt there was a possibility that A-Rod could join him in the Dodgers uni. Lee Mazzilli won't be joining Torre's coaching staff, however, choosing to stay closer to his ailing Mom, who is suffering from Alzheimer's.

A video of Bruce Springsteen, the real Boss, performing at the fundraiser, as well as pics of Bernie Williams jamming with him, can be seen here courtesy of Backstreets.com.

Also attending the gala was Donnie Baseball, with his twin son. No he doesn't have twins, but his son Preston, a member of the Dodgers organization, is a spitting image of the young Donnie B.

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A member of the Twins organization told Newsday that Robinson Cano would be the target in any discussions involving Johann Santana. Even if the Yankees were given a window to negotiate a long term deal, we're totally against giving up a young star talent like Cano. Source

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The NY Post is reporting that Carl Pavano may be released to make room on the 40 man roster. Source

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The Daily Yankeeland

A new feature to take a quick look at what's going on in Yankeeland.

The biggest news of course was Joe Girardi's official intro to the media. It was kind of silly for the Yankees to hold a conference call earlier in the week and then introduce Girardi at the Stadium as well yesterday. It clearly would have made yesterday even more special and interesting if it had been the only get together. Conspicuous by their absence was Yankees ownership and most of the font office. Only Brian Cashman and Lon Trost accompanied Girardi to the press conference. No Hank? No Hal? No sense.

Girardi decided to wear #27 this season to show the Yankees goal of winning their 27th championship. Hopefully GI Joe gets to wear #28 when the new Stadium opens in 2009.

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The Yankees have until Midnight tonight to exercise the 2008 option on Bobby Abreu. What exactly are they waiting for? Perhaps they are thinking about offering a multi year deal. We wouldn't do that, unless it were maybe a 2-year, 25 mill deal, so Abreu would get less this season. We would still only pick up his option if we were in charge.

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After consulting with team physicians and doctors back in Japan, Hideki Matsui has decided to have his right knee scoped and cleaned out in prep for the 2008 season. Godzilla was hampered by the balky knee for much of the latter half of the past season.

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With Dave Eiland's promotion to pitching coach, the Yankees have brough in Rafael Chaves to take over as the pitching coach at Triple-A Scranton. Chaves was the pitching coach for the M's the past 2 years and had worked for the Mariners organization for a decade.

Source

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As part of their 20th anniversary celebration, WFAN held a contest that allowed fans to vote for the greatest 20 NY sports celebrities of the last 20 years. Mike and the Mad Dog revealed the list yesterday, and spoke with many of the players in-studio or on the phone.

Among those stopping by were Bernie Williams and Daryl Strawberry, while Derek Jeter was contacted via phone. Jeter took the top spot, while Joe Torre was 4th, Straw came in at #15, and Bernie took the 20th spot. You can go to WFAN's site to hear the interviews.

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Be Careful What You Wish For

Last year we all wanted to face the Tigers in the 1st round of the playoffs. We all know how that turned out. This year it was lets face the Indians since we want no part of our nemesis, the Angels. So now the Yankees are fighting for their post-season lives and the slumping, battered Angels slinked home, swept by the Red Sox.

Chien-Ming Wang gets a chance to redeem himself tonight for his awful outing in game 1. As for the Indians, again be careful what you wish for. When Eric Wedge announced that Paul Byrd would go tonight, there was a collective yell of "YESSSS" throughout Yankee land. Anyone would rather face Byrd rather than C.C. Sabathia on 3 day's rest...or would they? The big guy threw 114 pitches and maybe he's not up to throwing on 3 day's rest. We'll never know.

Tino Martinez threw out the 1st pitch in last night's ball game. Peter Abraham had a great idea- get Bernie Williams to throw out tonight's 1st pitch.

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Yankees Outlast O's

Phil Hughes started out slow as usual, but ground out 5+ innings and Hideki Matsui homered for the 1st time in over month as the Yankees topped the Orioles 8-5. The Yankees had busted the game open, but a shaky performance by Kyle Farnsworth, who hadn't pitched in 9 days, caused Joe Torre to call on Mariano Rivera to get the final 2 outs. The win moved the Yankees to within 3.5 (3 in the loss column) of Boston in the AL East and pushed them 3.5 ahead of Detroit in the Wild Card.

Hughes (4-3) spotted the Orioles a 2-0 lead in the of the 1st, but Doug Mientkiewicz, taking advantage of his playing time, tied things up with a 2-run single in the 2nd off of Daniel Cabrera (9-17). Then Matsui put the Yankees ahead for good in the 3rd with his 24th home run of the season in the 3rd.

The Yankees added 2 runs in the 4th on Robinson Cano's ribbie double and an RBI single by Johnny Damon. Bobby Abreu's double and Alex Rodriguez's sac fly plated a pair more in the 6th as as the Yankees stretched the lead to 7-2. Abreu's RBI single in the 8th would prove to be important as Farnsworth made the game interesting in the 9th.

The inconsistent right-hander hadn't been able to appear in a game since September 9th due to a stiff neck. It should have stayed that way. He walked Brian Roberts to start the inning and a ground out and wild pitch moved him to 3rd. Nick Markakis delivered and RBI single to cut the lead to 8-4 and Rivera started to loosen up.

Farnsworth retired pinch-hitter Luis Rodriguez, but when Kevin Millar singled, Torre was taking no chances. Rivera, who struggled through Sunday night's save - and as it turned out, had a bruised right pinky as the result of a stray ball from the Red Sox bullpen - allowed an RBI double to Aubrey Huff before striking out Melvin Mora to end the game.

...

Derek Jeter had a pair of hits and passed Bernie Williams for 4th all-time on the team with 2,337.

After an unbelievably bad start, Bobby Abreu now has 98 RBI. In 62 games since the break, he's batting .316 with 11 HR and 57 runs batted in. He's also scored 109 runs on the season.

In his back-to-back starts, Doug Mientkiewicz is 3-4 with 2 walks and 2 RBI. He's also made several outstanding plays in the field.

photos courtesy of AP

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Mel Hall - More Than Just a Bad Influence on Bernie

Mel Hall was a semi-successful outfielder for the Yankees in the early 1990s. But they didn't like how he teased and tortured a young prospect named Bernie Williams. The Yankees, rightfully so, saw great things in Bernie, but not so much in Hall. So they let the Hall walk in 1992 and didn't really care if the door hit him on the way out.

Well Hall apparently has been a bad influence on others. This story from Deadspin -

Former major league outfielder Mel Hall has been charged with sexually assaulting two girls in 1998 and 1999 when he was coaching them on a select basketball team.

The 46-year-old Hall was released from jail Friday on $35,000 bail. He was arrested the previous day on charges of sexual assault of a child under 17 and aggravated sexual assault of a child under 14, police said Saturday. The second charge carries a possible life sentence because of the age of the alleged victim.

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Is There a Doctor in the House?

He's won batting titles, World Series rings, and plays a mean guitar. Now Bernie Williams can add PHD to his trophy case. Bernie got an honorary doctorate yesterday at Iona College's 2007 commencement at Madison Square Garden.

Afterwards, Bernie spoke briefly with reporters. He's kept in shape and isn't ruling out playing again, though he didn't seem like it was a burning desire.

Bernie also feels for his former teammates.

“Obviously, I feel for those guys,” Williams said of his ex-teammates, who face an unprecedented deficit in the Joe Torre era. “I know they’re not going through a very good moment right now, but I have enough confidence in their abilities that they’re going to pull out of it and I send them my best.”

Bernie wasn't the only former Yankee pick up a degree yesterday. Willie Randolph's pre-game for last night's Yankees-Mets game included an honorary degree from Fordham University. Included in the graduating class was Willie's daughter Ciara.

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