R-Lev Gets Subpoenaed

Yankees' president Randy Levine was subpoenaed on Tuesday by Assemblyman Richard Brodsky (D-Westchester) to testify before a state assembly committee on Wednesday concerning monies spent on the new Yankee Stadium.

Brodsky is upset at the Yankees, and the New York City Industrial Development Authority, for what he sees as a lack of cooperation in providing documentation to back further funding requests by the Yankees.

Levine appeared on Mike Francesa's radio show to clear the air. Here are some excerpts.

Francesa: "Why has this become such a hot issue?"

Levine: "2 reasons- secondary financing, which is common and was contemplated all along... Every cent is being paid for by the Yankees"

Levine then took Brodsky to task for grand standing and distorting the facts. The facts are that the Yankees are spending 1.3 billion of their own money. New York City owns the ballpark and the Yankees are tenants. The Yankees responsible for all maintenance costs of the new Stadium.

Francesa: "The NYC Comptroller said an audit shows direct cost to the city is $325 million due to oversights and mistakes."

Levine: It's not the actual Stadium that he's referring to. As part of the arrangement, the city is building the infrastructure - brand new parks, parking garages, etc...Rising construction costs are effecting it. The Yankees get no revenue from the garages. In fact, despite spending $1.3 billion, the Yankees only get 600 parking spaces."

Francesa: "If you are paying with private financing, why going to the city?"

Levine: "The Stadium is being built with a tax exempt financing mechanism. We have a 43 year lease with the city. Since the Yankees are tenants, there are no property taxes. The Yankees will pay make payments on the bonds issued in lieu of a property tax."

Francesa: "Could this have done without the city's help?"

Levine: "No, because borrowing would have been so much higher it would have been impossible. You don't have to pay federal tax on the bonds as you would with a bank. The Yankees are also putting $225 million of their own money on top of the bond money."

So there you have it. You can listen to the entire interview on WFAN's website. The Stadium will actually cost $1.5 billion and these issues will probably be resolved pretty quickly. As Newsday reported, Mayor Bloomberg took a shot, through a spokesman, at Brodsky as well.

"I guess it makes for good political theater because it's the Yankees, but when it comes to valuable taxpayer dollars, decisions should be made on return, not rhetoric," Bloomberg spokesman Andrew Brent said.

Play Ball!

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Pols Blackmailed Yankees

The Daily News is reporting tonight that several aides of New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg pulled strings to get preferential treatment at the new Yankee Stadium. The pols made threats to get a luxury suite and even went as far as to demand free food. The Yankees agreed to the demands once they were granted 250 free parking spaces.

The great luxury box battle surfaced in e-mails obtained by Assemblyman Richard Brodsky (D-Westchester) under the Freedom of Information Act in his ongoing investigation of the Yankees' new taxpayer-subsidized stadium.

"The city's pursuit of a luxury suite at Yankee Stadium was achieved at a significant cost to taxpayers," Brodsky said in releasing dozens of e-mails dating back to January 2006.

The Yankees got the city to write a letter to the IRS so they could obtain $942 million in tax-free bonds. The team plans to request $366 million more, saving them a total of $247 million in lower borrowing costs. In return, Bloomberg's team wanted a free luxury suite and the right to buy at cost 180 of the best seats to all home games, including post-season, the e-mails show.

Click here to see copies of emails

Click here for more emails

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The Daily Yankeeland - 10/8

It's been a few days, but we were under the weather and then had to catch up on our day job. The league championship series are set, Mariano Rivera had his surgery, and the winter leagues are underway.

First and foremost, Mariano Rivera is doing well after Tuesday's surgery to remove bone spurs from his right shoulder. He should be able to start throwing in January.

Jon Heyman was on with Mike Francesca the other day. Among the topics of discussion was Joe Girardi's difficulties with the media. Peter Abraham also points out that Tony Pena was marginalized, because Girardi liked to lean on "his coaches" (Meacham, Harkey, etc.).

Another strange twist in the Yankees closing ceremony plans- there won't be any. The Yankees have decided that the finale on September 21 was a fitting end. Which means that the Giants, boxing, etc., will not be acknowledged.

Ross Newhan of the LA Times wrote a nice piece on Don Mattingly's contribution to the Dodgers' success.

Harvey Araton of the NY Times says Joe Torre bleeds Dodgers blue, but has a Pinstripe undershirt.

Derek Jeter's spikes and bat are among new items featured in the baseball Hall of Fame.

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Welcome to Yankee Stadium

It is impressive. Is that guy always going to stand on the 'Y'?

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Be There

You can be on the field for the final game at Yankee Stadium. No, we haven't picked up the crack pipe. The NY Times has a very cool panamoric virtual view of the Stadium last night. It's just like you are standing behind home plate. Check it out.

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Pettitte Wins Stadium Finale

Last night's game, in some ways, was anti-climactic in comparison to everything else going on. Perhaps having non-Yankees announcers in John Miller and Joe Morgan was part of the problem. Especially since there times when they weren't saying what was going in the game. Class move by ESPN though bringing in Michael Kay to do a half inning and reminisce. Kay at least did actual play by play.

Andy Pettitte started out shaky and we were thinking, "no, this can't be the way to go out.". Thankfully Pettitte settled down enough and the Yankees bats woke up against Orioles starter Chris Waters.

Trailing 2-0 in the third, Hideki Matsui, who is undergoing knee surgery today, and Jose Molina started the inning off with back to back singles. Johnny Damon then belted his 16th home run of the season for a 3-2 Yankees lead.

Pettitte gave the lead right back on a game tying single by Brian Roberts in the fourth, but the Yankees countered in their half of the inning. Robinson Cano led off with a rare walk and one batter later Molina cracked his third home run of the season on to the netting in left field, for a 5-3 Yankees advantage.

Pettitte gave up a lead off single to Adam Jones to start the sixth and exited to a standing ovation and calls of "An-dy Pett-itte". The fans got their wish, a curtain call, and Jose Veras and Phil Coke combined to strand Jones and Oscar Salazar, who had walked.

The Yankees added to their lead in the seventh with the help of some shoddy Orioles defense. Bobby Abreu stroked a lead off single and easily stole second base. He moved to third on Alex Rodriguez's fly out and scored when Jason Giambi's pop up fell between Brendan Fahey and Melvin Mora for a gift RBI single.

Pinch-runner Brett Gardner moved all the way to third base when Fahey booted Xavier Nady's grounder and scored on Cano's fly to left for a 7-3 advantage. The Yankees went down in order in the eighth, including Derek Jeter. Jeter had a tough night at the plate, bothered by the baseball he took off his wrist and hand on Saturday (he would never admit it of course), going 0-5. He struck out twice looking and both times, argued more than usual with home plate ump/tough guy Angel Hernandez. In the eighth it would get no better, as he grounded to third to end the inning, but appropriately, he was the last Yankees batter in the game.

Joba Chamberlain pitched 1.2 innings and handed the ball over to Mariano Rivera in a non-save situation. But Mo had his wish, he would be the last pitcher to toe the rubber. retired RiveraJay Payton on a grounder to Jeter and Luke Scott on a bouncer to Cano. Girardi then pulled Derek Jeter from the game for another standing ovation and a curtain call to the chants of "Der-ek Jet-er". Rivera then retired Roberts on a grounder to Cody Ransom, who had replaced Giambi for defense at first base.

And just like that, the final game at Yankee Stadium was over. Andy Pettitte got the final win, Brett Gardner scored the last run, Jose Molina had the last home run, and Jason Giambi picked up the final RBI. It was a must win, and for once this season, the Yankees came through when they had to.

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A Grand Finale

The final game and it's pre- and post-game ceremonies were a perfect send off to the Stadium. Kudos to ESPN and YES for a fantastic job all around. The day started out with ESPN Classic. We caught parts of Boomer and Coney's perfect games, Brosius' heroics in game 5 of '01, and Boone's big blast in '03.

We watched, with great envy, the fans pouring in from 1:00 on, stopping at the monuments, walking on the warning track, and the best of all, leaving their hand prints on the outfield wall.

ESPN's team of Karl Ravich, John Kruk, Steve Berthiaume, and Steve Phillips reminisced and talked to a number of former Yankees and some celebrities too. Getting John Sterling to do his body shaking, "thaaaaaaaaaaaa Yankees win" was classic.

At about 6:00 the ceremonies began with a great surprise. A pre-recorded message from Bob Sheppard, who then introduced the two emcees for the night, Sterling and Michael Kay.

The ceremony began oddly, using actors to re-create the 1923 opening day lineup. We think it was no coincidence that they were in the deepest part of center field so no one could see their faces.

Next was a salute to the players and managers who had plaques in Monument Park. More actors to represent Joe DiMaggio, Red Ruffing, Lefty Gomez, and Casey Stengel (the actor looked eerily like the Ol' Professor from the distance).

Each position on the field was saluted with a video montage and then an introduction of the past players from that position.

LF - Dave Winfield, Roy White

SS - Cora Rizzuto representing the Scooter,

3B - Graig Nettles, Scott Brosius

RF - Reggie Jackson, Paul O'Neill, Randy Maris representing his Dad

2B - Willie Randolph, who provided one of the highlights by sliding into second base, Bobby Richardson

1B - Moose Skowron, Tino Martinez

C - Yogi Berra, Joe Girardi, Michael Munson representing his Dad, Cheryl Howard representing her Dad

P - Whitey Ford, Goose Gossage, Ron Guidry, Helen Hunter representing her husband, David Wells, David Cone

CF - David Mantle representing his Dad, Kay, Todd, and Tori Murcer representing their husband and Dad, and then the biggest moment of the night. Bernie Williams, donning the Pinstripes for the first time in 2 years, returning to Yankee Stadium. Bern Baby Bernie received a raucous standing ovation for 2 minutes.

Notably absent was the inclusion of Roger Clemens in the pitching montage. And there was no real salute to the managers, which left out Joe Torre, Ralph Houk, and Buck Showalter.

The starting lineups were then introduced with each player joining the greats at their position. It also provided comic relief since Johnny Damon didn't realize what was going on and didn't have his cleats on. He quickly ran back to the clubhouse, put them on, and raced out to the field, the wrong field at that. They told him to go to left field even though he was playing center field, which only confused him further.

After the lineups were introduced, Derek Jeter, joined by his parents and sister, was presented with a Waterford crystal bat and ball, by Hal and Jennifer Steinbrenner (Swindal), to commemorate him becoming the all-time hits leader at Yankee Stadium.

The Babe's 92-yr old daughter, Julia Ruth Stevens, through out the first pitch to Jorge Posada, and then it was game time.

The Yankees won 7-3, more on that later, and then there were more festivities. Derek Jeter and his team gathered on the mound, and the Captain spoke to the fans. Thanks to Peter Abraham for the transcription of the speech,

“Every member of this organization, past and present, has been calling this place home for 85 years, There’s a lot of tradition, a lot of history and a lot of memories. Now the great thing about memories is you’re able to pass it along from generation to generation.

“Although things are going to change next year. We’re going to move across the street. There are a few things that New York Yankees that never change. That’s pride, tradition and most of all we have the greatest fans in the world.

We want you to take the memories from this stadium, add them to the new memories that come at the new Yankee Stadium and continue to pass them along from generation to generation. So on behalf of the entire organization, we want to take this moment to salute you, the greatest fans in the world.”

The players then took a lap around the Stadium, waving to the fans, who like them, didn't want to go home. Players did interviews with the media and scooped up dirt from the batter's box, the mound, and the bullpen, and took photos (would love to have the Bernie, Tino, Derek, Jorge, Mo, Andy photo).

Finally everyone went home and went to sleep. They had already lived a dream.

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Thanks for the Memories

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Yankees Salute the Fans

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A Wonderful Night

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Our Top 10 Stadium Moments

We'll say from 1968 - forward since that's when we started to become cognizant of what was going on. This was not easy and some of these are interchangeable.

10. June 17, 1978 - Ron Guidry strikes out 18 California Angels. The beginning of fans clapping when an opponent had 2 strikes.

9. ALCS Game 3 - Yankees ruin another Red Sox post-season. Aaron Boone becomes aligned with Bucky Dent.

8. September 24, 2001 - Yankee Stadium is the site of an inter-faith memorial for the tragic occurrences of 9/11.

7. July 4, 1983 - Dave Righetti throws a 4th of July no-hitter against the Red Sox. It's also George Steinbrenner's birthday. Game ends when Rags strikes out Wade Boggs for the third time.

6. August 6, 1979 - Bobby Murcer drives in 5 runs for his fallen brother Thurman Munson on the day of the Captain's funeral.

5. May 25, 1998 and July 18, 1999 - Perfect games by David Wells and David Cone.

4. 2001 Games 4 and 5 of the World Series - Unbelievable 9th inning comebacks on home runs by Tino Martinez and Scott Brosius.

3. 1996 World Series Game 6 - We finally had attained a World Series championship after 18 years.

2. 1977 World Series Game 6 - Reggie Jackson takes 3 swings and hits 3 home runs. The Yankees win their first World Series in 15 years.

1. 1976 ALCS Game 5 - Chris Chambliss finally gets us to the promised land with a dramatic home run.

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End of Days

Robinson Cano singled to snap a scoreless tie in the bottom of the ninth and the Yankees won for the seventh time in nine games, 1-0. Mariano Rivera picked up the win after entering, dare we say it, a tie game. Disturbing isn't the word for it, but the Yankees celebrated like they had just won the pennant. More disturbing was the ninth inning pitch Derek Jeter took off his left hand/wrist, the same area that Daniel Cabrera plunked back in May. X-Rays were negative and you can bet your ass he'll be in the lineup tonight though.

But enough about that.

This is it, the final day of the Stadium. In case you haven't realized it by now, it's perfectly acceptable to refer to Yankee Stadium as merely "the Stadium". Every Yankee fan knows what you mean. It's like saying "the Garden" for Madison Square Garden.

It's an emotional day for many. It's a place where so many of us spent our youth. Where so many great moments took place. Among those we witnessed in person - Game 2 of the 1981 World Series, David Cone's 20th win in 1998, Bobby Murcer's opening day grand slam in 1981, the first Sunday game in the renovated Stadium in 1976, Derek Jeter tying Lou Gehrig's home hit record last Sunday, El Duque's return to Pinstripes, Phil Rizzuto Day, combined with Tom Seaver's 300th win in 1985, Bobby Murcer Day in 1983. Countless home runs by Reggie Jackson and Bobby Murcer, the return to glory in '76-'78', and again from '96-'01.

Our first game on August 30, 1970, a 5-2 win over the Twins. Seeing Mickey Mantle, Joe D., Tommy Henrich, Whitey Ford, Yogi Berra, Bill Dickey, Casey Stengel, and more on Old Timers Day in the early '70s. Being at the Old Timer's Day when number 8 was retired for the two Hall of Fame catchers, Berra and Dickey. Bat Day, 1971, and getting our Bobby Murcer bat. And so many more. We have countless programs and yearbooks from those days, some of them with autographs. On and on it goes, so many memories, remembered with joy much more than with tears.

As watch today's coverage on ESPN and ESPN Classic (we've seen Boomer's perfecto, Coney's perfecto, and now Game 5 of the 2001 Series), and YES, and listen to the local ESPN radio, here's some more great stuff to read about the Stadium.

Reggie reflects on the 2001 World Series.

"Writer" George Steinbrenner talks about the finale.

Steve Serby does a Q & A with Bob Sheppard. The Daily News with a profile as well.

Rudy Guiliani reflects on the '96 WS.

Mike Vaccaro's 100 classic Stadium moments.

About the, gulp, dismantling of the HTRB.

Pettitte reflects on his final start. Another take here.

Kevin Kernan talks to some of the real veterans, the vendors.

A look from Boston's Bob Ryan.

Steve Politi looks at the House the Fans Built.

Retired beat writer Moss Klein (this is the guy we grew up reading) looks back.

Stadium magic bridges generations.

Peter Abraham's fondest memories. And he takes a look back.
"Writer" Billy Crystal looks back.

Henry Kissinger, yes, Henry Kissinger looks back.

Tyler Kepner looks back.

A very cool virtual tour of the Stadium from Newsday.

You can even take a vintage subway to today's game.

You can go home again when home is the Stadium.

Buster Olney gets opponents views.

Bob Klapisch looks back.



Goodbye old friend.

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Welcome to the New Yankee Stadium

The giant "Yankee Stadium" sign went up over the main entrance of the new joint earlier today.

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Finale Details

The Yankees have released the following schedule of events for Sunday's Stadium finale.

The New York Yankees announced today details involving the pregame ceremonies for the final game at the current Yankee Stadium on Sunday, Sept. 21, when the Yankees play the Baltimore Orioles at approximately 8:15 p.m.

Yankee Stadium gates will open at 1 p.m. on Sunday as the Yankees invite fans to take one last memorable stroll through Monument Park. Fans will also be allowed to exit Monument Park onto the field where they will be permitted to walk along the warning track around the outfield and behind home plate. Access to Monument Park is via the staircase at the end of the aisle between the Field and Main Level seats in Section 36. Wheelchair access is via the elevator in Section 24. Field exit from Monument Park will close at approximately 4 p.m., prior to pregame batting practice for each team. Monument Park will remain open until 6:45 p.m.

Pregame ceremonies, scheduled to begin at 7:05 p.m., will encompass the chronology of Yankees greats who have played at the famous Stadium. Among the distinguished alumni scheduled to take part in the festivities will be Yogi Berra, Whitey Ford, Goose Gossage, Ron Guidry, Graig Nettles and Bobby Richardson. A historic artifact from the Yankees' past will also be unveiled during the ceremony. The Yankees are urging fans to be in their seats by 6:50 p.m.

The Yankees remind fans that numerous law enforcement agencies will be on hand for the final game to ensure a safe and enjoyable fan experience. Damaging the Stadium and/or attempted theft of Stadium property is a crime, and violators will be prosecuted by the Bronx District Attorney's Office to the fullest extent of the law. The New York Police Department, Major League Baseball and several federal and state agencies have joined in the effort to safeguard against any and all unlawful activity.

Only fans with valid ticket(s) for Sunday's game will be admitted and there will be NO RE-ENTRY. Bleacher ticket holders who would like to visit Monument Park should enter the Stadium through Gate 2, 4 or 6.

Fans and media are also reminded that Sunday's game will NOT be the final event at Yankee Stadium. A ceremony will be held at a later date this fall to celebrate the Stadium, details will follow.

Schedule of events:
Noon - Press Gate opens
1 p.m. - Gates open to the public, Monument Park opens
1-4 p.m. - Field access for fans
4:15 p.m. - Yankees stretch begins
4:40-5:40 p.m. - Yankees batting practice
5:40-6:20 p.m. - Orioles batting practice
6:45 p.m. - Monument Park closes
6:50 p.m. - Fans are asked to take their seats
7:05 p.m. - Pregame ceremony begins
8:15 p.m. (Approx.) - First pitch

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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 - 9/18

Chien-Ming Wang and, and...George King says The Wanger is the only guarantee for the '09 rotation.

Joe Girardi knows he has to make adjustments for next year.

"He's definitely adjusting," Damon said. "In Florida he had a whole bunch of little kids. He's finding his way around with us veteran guys. I like the way he manages; the game's not too fast for him. He has a game plan, and that's a start; unfortunately, the horses didn't come through for him this year. He mixed and matched as well as he could. I like him at the post.

"I hope we can go out and get some big players in the free-agent market to see what we can do."

Bobby Murcer will be immortalized on the Graffiti Wall of Fame (at the corner of 158th St. and River Ave) tomorrow by local residents.

The Yankees called up first baseman Juan Miranda prior to yesterday's game.

Bobby Richardson to speak for the United Fund in South Carolina tonight.

A look back at Lou Gehrig's remarkable speech.

The new Stadium makes its debut on April 16 with the Cleveland Indians in town.

Dan Graziano longs for the press box to shake again.

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The Daily Yankeeland - 9/16

New York state assemblyman Richard Brodsky claims that New York City manipulated the assessed value of Yankee Stadium in order to get a tax break. Brodsky is expected to issue a report later today.

The Yankees have already moved some artifact's and mementos out of the Stadium.

A great story in today's Star Ledger on some of the long time vendors at the Stadium. We walked right past Mike McNamara as we entered the Stadium on Sunday.

Dan Graziano has a nice story on a long time Yankees fan.

Thanks for stirring the pot again Jorge. Joba Chamberlain is tired of the starter vs. reliever talk.

The South Bronx's Humberto Sanchez has finally made it to Yankee Stadium.

Pedro Martinez exploded over Posada's comments about him. Perhaps they shouldn't have told him after the Nationals kicked his ass.

Hideki Matsui will most likely have his knee surgery as soon as the Yankees are mathematically eliminated, if not sooner.

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The Daily Yankeeland - 9/14

The Yankees split a day-night doubleheader with the Rays yesterday. Unfortunately Mike Mussina was not the winning pitcher for the Yankees. Moose was off his game, allowing 5 runs in five innings, and dropped his ninth game of the season. He'll likely have three starts remaining with no room for error. The Yankees dropped the opener 7-1, with a ninth inning Bobby Abreu home run the only thing that kept them from being shut out. Moose did pass Cy Young for 19th place on the all-time strikeout list.

Xavier Nady's RBI single in the seventh inning snapped a 4-4 tie in the nightcap. Damaso Marte picked up the win, with Mariano Rivera, pitching for only the second time in two weeks, earning his 34th save in 35 tries.

Derek Jeter went 6-7 in the twinbill, putting him within three hits of Lou Gehrig's career hit record at Yankee Stadium. Being that we're going to the game tie, we would love a 3- or 4-hit performance. The last September game we went to was 10 years ago when David Cone beat the then Devil Rays for his 20th win of the season. That was team win number 113.

Lack of amenities doom the old ballparks.

Kevin Kernan says the Yankees need smart moves in the off-season. Of course he's the guy who said last year the Yankees should sign Scot Schoenweis.

Joel Sherman has his 5 critical fixes for '09.

For some reason the LA Times is talking about A-Rod's need for a ring.

Trenton has taken a 2-1 lead on Akron in the Eastern League championship series. George Kontos, Anthony Claggett, Mike Dunn, and Jhonny Nunez combined on a 4-hitter in the Thunder's 4-1 triumph. Claggett picked up the victory after Kontos was removed with two outs in the fifth inning.

Austin Jackson had a big night with a home run and two tremendous catches in centerfield. Mike Ashmore has more on the game.

The Thunder can close things out tonight in a 6:05 start.

The Daily News has another goodbye to Yankee Stadium.


Joe Girardi says Kevin Long shouldn't be a scape goat.

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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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Spoiler Alert

This is a huge weekend in the AL East race. The Rays open a three game series tonight with the Yankees at the Stadium, while the Red Sox host the Blue Jays for a four game series at Fenway Park. The Yankees certainly didn't expect to be in a spoiler position in their final homestand of the "House that Ruth Built", but they could have a major impact on the outcome of both the AL East and wildcard races. They certainly have been spoilers for the Rays so far this season, winning 9 of 15 games, including 2 of 3 last week in Tampa.

The Blue Jays are the hottest team in baseball, having won 11 of their last 12 games, and have beaten the Red Sox in 7 of 11 meetings this season. The two teams have seven games remaining between.

The pitching match ups for the Yankees-Rays series are as follows:

Friday - Matt Garza vs. Sidney Ponson
Saturday - James Shields vs. Mike Mussina
Sunday - Edwin Jackson vs. Carl Pavano (Our final trip to the Stadium)

The Rays will get a lift offensively with the return of Evan Longoria from the 15-day DL.

The pitching probables for Blue Jays-Red Sox:

Friday - David Purcey vs. Tim Wakefield
Saturday(1) - A.J. Burnett vs. Paul Byrd
Saturday(2) - Jessie Litsch vs. Bartolo Colon
Sunday - Roy Halladay vs. Jon Lester

Burnett, Litsch, and Halladay will each be pitching on three day's rest.


In the AL Central/wildcard race, the Twins travel to Baltimore for a three game series with the Orioles. The White Sox host the Tigers in a three game series at home.

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