The Daily Yankeeland - 8/22

We woke up this morning and it was still true: Carl Pavano is pitching tomorrow. The Yankees should just run Phil Hughes out there and stop treating him with kid gloves.

"I'm not asking him to make amends," Manager Joe Girardi said. "I'm just asking him to come and compete. I tell every player when they come here, it's a clean slate. I'm just expecting him to do his thing."

That was what Joe Girardi told Tyler Kepner about Pavano's comeback.

Joba Chamberlain is expected to throw 35 pitches in his Saturday bullpen session.

Phil Mushnick takes a dig at some of Michael Kay's hypocrisy.

The Steinbrenner boys are reportedly in negotiations with Bruce Springsteen and Paul McCartney for a farewell concert at Yankee Stadium. Can't be outdone by the Wilpons, ya know?

Hal Steinbrenner used Derek Jeter as a conduit last week. As several beat writers have pointed out, Hal- and not Hank- is the Steinbrenner son who is really running the show. Hank may be making the headlines, but he never goes to games, wasn't at Bobby Murcer's Memorial service, etc..

Mike Ashmore reports on the Trenton Thunder's playoff-clinching win last night.

The Staten Island Yankees have won 8 straight.

What a difference a year makes. One year ago today, 8/22/07, the Orioles got lambasted by the Rangers, 30-3. The Yankees can't score 30 runs in a month.

Forgot to mention this the other day: Craig Biggio joined Mickey Mantle as the only MLB player to have number 7 retired.

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A Night of Memories, Laughter, and Tears

The 27th annual Thurman Munson Award dinner was held last night at NYC's Marriot Marquis. The Yankees' Melky Cabrera and Alex Rodriguez were among the award winners. Proceeds from the dinner went to the AHRC New York City Foundation, which helps serve children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Thurman's widow Diane has helped to raise nearly $9 million for the foundation.

Some, such as the granddaughter Thurman never knew, were awestruck by his legacy. 12-yr old Madison was attending her first awards dinner.

"Is Grandpa really this loved in New York?" she asked her grandmother, Diana Munson.

Oh yes he was; still to this day. Amazingly, Diane Munson has never been to her late husband's locker in Yankee Stadium. With the Yankees moving across the street next season, that is about to change.

"To me, it's very touching," she said. "I want this to be a private moment in my life and in the lives of my children."

Another award recipient last night was Craig Biggio, the recently retired Houston Astro. A catcher, Biggio idolized Munson while growing up on Long Island, and attending Seton Hall University in NJ. When the Astros came to Yankee Stadium for an interleague game in 2004, Biggio made sure he stopped by The Captain's locker.

"The way that he played the game, his uniform was always dirty," Biggio said. "He truly was my hero growing up."

Melky and the Mets' David Wright weren't even born when Munson died, but both appreciated the magnitude of the evening.

"To be associated with Thurman and everything he did -- not only for New York, but everything off the field -- is just an incredible honor," Wright said. "I take a lot of pride in doing everything that I can in giving back to the New York fans.

Melky was also happy to still be in New York.

"I was a little worried about getting traded because I wanted to stay with my teammates. I'm really happy the trade didn't go through."

The Giants had a representative in Defensive End and Super Bowl champ Justin Tuck, who stopped by to express his good wishes.



Melky poses with the Knicks' Jamal Crawford, Diane Munson , and friends.








Sources - Anthony DiComo of MLB.com and Peter Abraham of the Journal News.

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Biggio Wins Munson Award

Craig Biggio grew up idolizing Thurman Munson, so it was appropriate that he win the Thurmon Munson Award for excellence in competition and philanthropic work within the community. Biggio retired after 20 years in the bigs, that included picking up his 3,000th hit this past season.

Joining Biggio in receiving awards are the Yankees Melky Cabrera, the Mets David Wright, Knicks guard Jamal Crawford and figure skater Kristi Yamaguchi. The awards will be presented at the 28th annual Thurman Munson Awards Dinner at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York.

The AHRC New York City Foundation benefits from the event, with money going to assist children and adults with developmental disabilities.

photo courtesy of mlb.com

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500/3000

It was a big milestone day in major league baseball yesterday, as two long time veterans helped their efforts to gain entry into the Hall of Fame.

First it was the Blue Jays' Frank Thomas slugging a 1st inning, 3-run shot for career home run #500. In an odd twist, Thomas was thrown out of the game in the 9th by home plate umpire Mark Wegner after arguing balls and strikes.

Later in the evening, Craig Biggio had a remarkable 5 hits again the Colorado Rockies, the 3rd of which was career hit # 3000. Biggio was thrown out trying to advance to 2nd on the play, but was still able to enjoy the applause and love shown him by the home fans. The next highest hit total among active players is Barroid Bond with 2,896.

Frank Thomas' milestone HRs

1 – Aug. 28, 1990 @ MIN vs. Gary Wayne
100 – Aug. 31, 1993 @ NYY vs. Sterling Hitchcock
200 – June 9, 1996 @ BAL vs. Jimmy Haynes
300 – Aug. 7, 1999 @ OAK vs. Kevin Appier
400 – July 25, 2003 @ TB vs. Jorge Sosa
500 – June 28, 2007 @ MIN vs. Carlos Silva

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