How many sighs of relief are emanating from Yankee-fan readers upon hearing this news?  I for one count myself among them.  While I believe that Santana would have palpably shifted the balance of power in the division in the Yankees' favor, can anyone really cry that keeping Hughes, Melky and others will harm the Yankees' chances of winning the division this year?  I won't, and believe that the Yankees, if healthy, will do better than contend for the East.  The Yankees can and may well win the East and much more, and that's no disrespect toward the Red Sox, a terrific, talented, and championship team that gelled last year, were well-rounded, and got very good pitching especially late.  But lest we forget, another horrible start in 2007 cost the Yankees the division, momentum, rest, and home-field, where they dominated and were tied for the second-best home record in the AL.  The championship run the Red Sox had should not elide the fact that the Yankees gained a ton of ground on Boston in the last few months, nearly caught them, outplayed them head-to-head yet again, and were a few botched games away from taking the division despite all the miserable, embarrassing woes the Yankees self-inflicted in the first three months of 2007.  Again, that's not to diminish what the Red Sox accomplished in 2007 in any way, but rather to accurately remind people of the historical context in which 2007 unfolded. An at-times miserable, ineffectual, too young, and often injured pitching staff, an inconsistent and sometimes laughable bullpen, major slumps from important contributors, woeful team start--but two games from taking the division and perhaps much more.  So much, and yet not in real terms and distance.

To repeat, the Yankees can and may well win this division.  That, of course, will require several things going in their favor, as pitching generally and with this group specifically does.  The continued maturity of Hughes, Joba, and Ian Kennedy (the least proven but perhaps most intriguing of the young dynamic trio) is naturally essential, the sine qua non of the Yankees' push back to the top.  To reincorporate the deal that wasn't into this post and hopefully conversation, Hughes showed a lot last year--poise, the ability to dominate, focus, a good work ethic, recovery, and maturity.  For a young pitcher, those cannot be overestimated.  With health, Hughes could very well win 15-17 games on a team positively loaded with offensive talent.  That's no stretch, nor do I prognosticate lightly on that or other topics. Think about it--Hughes making 31 (or more) starts or so, and having a chance to win over 50% of them.  Would any of us think that outside the realm of possibility? 

Not I.  The Yankees kept him, and another kudos from The Heartland to Brian Cashman for what was quite likely fierce internal lobbying on behalf of the kid, and t(T)he f(F)ranchise.  Imagine if and when Hughes reaches that win total in 2008.  Let's not forget who pushed for keeping Hughes, and what that may well mean. 

Melky also deserves special attention. While I'm still not sure we can ever expect more than 10 HRs, 75 RBIs, and a .285 AVG. from the kid, and equally unsure about his judgment in center, his energy is unmistakable, he's solid if unspectacular offensively, and easily one the best 10 defensive outfielders simply because of the ridiculous number of outfield assists from center last year--14, and 16 overall.  That's amazing, and he flat-out saved runs and games with his defense.  Once he learns to not just play center, but judge center, a tough, and oft-ignored center in Yankee Stadium, Melky might just be the second coming of Paul Blair.  He has it in him, and the Yankees kept him, not for nothing.

This has me not only thinking about baseball all the more--which is a scant sixteen days away from starting with pitchers and catchers reporting--but what can be.  As Frank the Sage and I discussed in an epic chinwag late Sunday, enjoyed with and fueled by several high-test Belgian beers on my end, for which I won't apologize, I feel very good about 2008, and that's not just glass-half-full smoke.  It's Matsui, Damon, Jeter and others returning to good health.  It's the closeness of the 2007 race despite the 21-29 start.  It's the return intact of nearly the same offensive team, especially A-Rod and also Abreu, and now the re-signing of Cano for the long haul.  It is also the deal not made, the trust in talent, youth, and promise.  Hughes and Melky may well hold crucial keys in the Yankees' fortunes for 2008 and, as the immortal Gandalf said to Frodo in "The Fellowship of the Ring," "That's an encouraging thought."

I wouldn't have cried about acquiring Santana, for sure. Heck, I decided in a close internal poll that the pros outweighed the cons.  In the short-term, that might still be so.  But more and more, I'm looking forward to the continued maturity of Hughes and Melky and, more specifically and excitedly, awaiting and envisioning the particular contributions to what may be a very special 2008 season.  It's also worth pondering just what we can get from them now.  Given some brilliant flashes from Hughes in 2007, and some real progress from Melky in the last two years to make him pretty central to the Yankees' chances, the Yankees might be the real winners in the Santana sweepstakes for holding firm.  I'll take that chance.

According to ESPN.com, Yankees second baseman Robinson Cano and the New York Yankees have reached an agreement on a multi-year deal that guarantees the talented Cano at least $30 million over four years, and perhaps up to $56 million should the Yankees pick up options in 2012 and 2013.  This, friends, is a great deal for both sides.  I challenge anyone to deny that the kid deserves a generous multi-year deal, given his offensive productivity, his speed around the bag and fast hands, and his amazing remaining upside.  This kid, in this lineup, should rocket into the stratosphere with health and the right work ethic. He could be a superstar, and as I've consistently preached, could hit .325 in his sleep.  He's that good. He's nothing but talent personified, and major kudos to Brian Cashman for his steadfast refusal to trade Cano, and his and the Yankees' locking up the kid for the foreseeable future.  Plus, watching this kid and his infectious smile and energy can only mean good things for the team, franchise, and their fans, and should portend very good things to come.  He has more to accomplish, as does this team, but there is no other second baseman I'd rather have right now, bar none.

A great signing, and this really helps to make a bizarre but productive off-season all the better.

Checking things here at MLBlogs last night, I saw on Bryan Hoch's "Bombers Beat" blog that Johnny Damon was doing some stumping in Orlando, Florida for ex-NYC mayor and Republican presidential hopeful Rudy Giuliani.  Here is the link to the New York Daily News story that Hoch cited:

http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dc/2008/01/damon-heart-rudyand-mitts-not.html

I certainly don't mind that Damon, or any athlete for that matter, veers into politics to either back a candidate or become one himself or herself.  That's fine with me.  People too often have the attitude that athletes should simply be athletes and not be more well-rounded, engaged in national and international politics and issues, and even at times partisan.  I disagree with this.  Insisting that athletes should only enter the public spotlight at the first pitch, the tip-off, the opening kick, or the drop of the puck, and thereafter exit, is akin to demanding that athletes have no meaningful lives other than what a Pavlovian public says they should have. Consider for a moment what reaction we would have if media not only questioned us about our opinions, but also raised "concerns" with our having opinions at all.  I hardly think that such a mindset would fly with any of us; nor should it.  So if Damon wishes to stump for Giuliani, let him, even better if he's in better shape than the oleo-and-lager fed monstrosity that reported to cap overweight last February.

But Johnny, riddle me this: did you have to back Giuliani?!? Did you have to backslide into the realm of the facile with the hackneyed obeisance over 9/11 refrain?  Honestly! Aside from his mayoral politics, much of which I was not privy to living far from NYC, aren't there plenty of issues that  ought to make sober-thinking people wary of Giuliani? Here was a man who tried to stay in office past his second term, using 9/11--not for the last time by any stretch--as a prop for his gravitas and, in this case, a pretense to postpone the end of his mayoral reign.  Giuliani was publicly screwing around on his wife with his mistress, shacking up with her, even getting taxpayer-paid security details for her on everything from dog walks around the city to shuttling her to The Hamptons and his downtown office for trysts with the mayor.  Giuliani continually crows about his leadership during the 9/11 aftermath, claiming to have spent as much time at Ground Zero as rescue and clean-up workers--who by the way worked for the most part without the same basic health and safety equipment that their federal counterparts had at the Pentagon and now suffer disproportionately high rates of sickness from the criminal malfeasance--when records and therefore reality showed that most of Giuliani's time at Ground Zero was spent in press and photo opportunities and giving tours, not in actual labor as opposed to those whose time, labor, and very health he minimized and ignored.  As a candidate, Giuliani hasn't just refused to criticize President Bush's criminal policies on torture, domestic spying, unlawful detainment, the War on Iraq, and presidential unaccountability, he's embraced them.  And on, and on, and on...

This is America--back whom you want to back in politics.  That's our right, and always should be.  I don't begrudge Damon that.  I just think people, including Damon, ought to question the records, statements, and integrity of the people not only they oppose, but especially those whom they support.  People need to be informed about everything they engage.  I respect Damon's willingness to step into the political realm for even a brief time, but question how well informed Damon is about basic issues and the nag of a horse he's backing, who by the way is on the verge of blowing up completely after being the GOP front-runner just a scant few months ago, just as he did in the 2000 NY Senate race against Hillary Clinton.  Giuliani is on the verge of being turned into political glue, and not soon enough in my estimation.

I had initially thought that the highlight of the sports weekend would be the AFC-NFC championship games today, which will likely still be the case.  Yet for a hoops junkie like myself, yesterday was a banner day, with no fewer than seven Top-25 teams losing in upsets.  The biggest of them all, most of which I watched, was Maryland's shocking upset of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, 82-80--a great game that was tight for most of the way.  Maryland won despite NC getting two huge breaks on possession calls in the last four minutes that directly resulted in Tar Heels points.  USC also knocked off in-town rival UCLA at UCLA, 72-63, with freshman phenom OJ Mayo's team besting Kevin Love, another outstanding freshman, and the Bruins.  Yet another great freshman, Michael Beasley of Kansas State, let the Wildcats past Texas A & M, 75-54, blowing them out in the second half.  For hoops fans, yesterday was an absolute blast.  It's also worth saying that the infusion of young talent in the last several years has been as good as it's ever been in basketball, without question.

On the football front, I really can't wait to see either game, to see if the undefeated Patriots continue their string to get to the Super Bowl, and to see the cold-weather game in Green Bay.  Here in the Midwest, it's been bitterly cold, reaching -3 here overnight.  In Green Bay this morning, it was -13, nearly the same temperature it was for the famous Ice Bowl game in 1967 between the Packers and Dallas.  It should be below zero by the start of the game tonight.  Good.  I love it.  That's the way football in January should be--ice cold, even better if in snow.  Of course, I'm from Buffalo, so I'm rather partisan on this issue.

My predictions for the game call for a Patriots-Packers Super Bowl.  I believe the Patriots are really better than the Chargers, and it won't help San Diego that they've probably fired up the Patriots with the cocky statements of lineman Igor Olshansky last Sunday.  Regardless, the Patriots would win this game in my mind, and without Philip Rivers at 100%, it's even bleaker.  Not a pushover, but the Pats, 34-17.  I think the Packers-Giants game will be much closer, but the Packers' superior offense wins out in the end on a very cold, frozen fast track.  Packers 23-20, setting up a rematch of Super Bowl XXXI.

For all those watching, enjoy the games today.

There are twenty-six more days until pitchers and catchers (or, as Mike wryly says, "pitchers and Molinas") report.  I know I probably speak for most of us when I say that this is very exciting, most welcome news.  I always love the anticipation of rooting for the Yanks, of imagining big moments in games when various players come through as they so often do, and awaiting the push for the playoffs.  This year adds the dimension of watching the infusion of youth into the starting rotation, the new tenure of Joe Girardi as manager, and the continued maturation and infectious enthusiasm of Cano and Melky.  Some key Yankees, such as Matsui, are returning to good health after falling down the stretch last year.  There is much to be excited about when we finally get to again watch the talent-laden Yankees.

While I am far from a television junkie, preferring instead to watch sports and news programs when I do watch something, this off-season has left me positively appalled when I have turned on the TV.  I've long thought it true, but this Fall and Winter have confirmed--there is an appalling amount of complete and utter garbage on the tube.  I've never been one for the so-called "reality" genre but, having glimpsed some of the tripe while folding laundry or taking a break from reading and writing, what poses for entertainment is incredibly bad.  This is less a matter of actual revelation and more a matter of realizing the depths of the "reality-TV" horror.

In my own limited experiences, and leaving room for contributions from other sources of entertainment cesspools such as MTV, there were several standout shows reflecting the nadir of tele-nonsense about which I can no longer hold my tongue.  Two in particular deserve ridicule and scorn.  "Keeping Up With the Kardashians" starts things off, with the various women, young and old, of the Kardashian clan cavorting around and recklessly partying; pretending to perform actual labor in the family store; selling themselves to such social luminaries as Hugh Hefner for payment in exchange for various levels of pornographic entertainment; hiding pertinent details of the children's lives such as DUI arrests, making sex tapes, having nude pictures done, and acquiring a pet, hidden for dramatic effect from patsy husband Bruce Jenner; and continually passing off their lascivious, loser behavior on the passing of their biological father rather than addressing the dysfunctionality that any child can see.  Particularly low points are watching the mother sell off the primary asset--in all likelihood silicon, surgically-enhanced looks--of two of her daughters for cash and fame, and video of one of the daughters urinating in the posh bathroom of a Las Vegas suite, because America should care about the partying exploits and bladder control of this dumb, dysfunctional clan.  Horrible.

But atop, or on the bottom of as it were, my list for complete and utter wastes of time and gray matter has to be "The Real Housewives of Orange County" or, as I typically refer to it, "The Shallow, Silicon Slobs of Orange County."  What a pathetic group of thoroughly fake, puddle-deep, pointlessly wealthy puke stains these losers are.  Ah, America should follow the manufactured daily lives of several surgically altered people and their pathetically spoiled families instead of, oh, I don't know, better understanding our Constitution and how it's been shredded during the Bush presidency, or evaluating the outright larceny of the home mortgage crisis, or examining the roots and ramifications for wage stagnation in the US, or perhaps learning about other nations outside of a corporate media that thinks its collective discussion of news in 15-30 second snippets is sufficient for people to understand their world.  What I most relish about "The Shallow, Silicon Slobs of Orange County" is how they bely the specious, long-standing notion that social problems and moral degradation are simply products of people's class and social positions.  What a canard.  Jenna Keough, wife currently separated from former major-league pitcher Matt Keough, and her husband allow their kids to use vulgar words around the house without reprimand, and have a son who's been in trouble with the law in the exclusive gated community where they reside.  Oh yes, husband and wife have nothing in common and don't like each other. Some woman named Lauri looks like someone stuffed a football helmet into her head's skin with all the plastic surgery and Botox implants she's had, continually crows about how her upcoming marriage will make her so rich, has a son who has been in juvenile detention and a young adult daughter who cannot care for herself but has a home that mommy owned for her to live in. Another woman named Vicki, to me the scariest of the bunch, is domineering, sets double-standards for her daughter vis-a-vis her younger son, makes decisions regardless of her husband's wishes, admonishes her children not to drink alcohol then throws obnoxious, drunken parties that her children attend on vacation, at college and at home, and is clearly obsessive-compulsive.  Another woman named Tammy has a daughter who profusely swore at her in a drunken stupor during her twenty-first birthday party that her mother threw for her on a posh yacht.  Last, but not least, Tamra has a dysfunctional adult son who makes a sloth look motivated, cares more about her looks and personal advancement than being a good person, and thinks that making sexual references to her surgically-enhanced body in front of prospective clients is a proper way to sell real estate.  They're great, these very wealthy clowns, showing the rest of America and the world that low, coarse behavior is far from the domain of poor, working-class families, but instead exists and is practiced and perfected squarely within the slimy walls of needlessly expensive homes in exclusive, gated, and practically all-white communities where divorces are by everyone's admission routine, children are spoiled brats, and the silicon women shamelessly strive for money and claim to be the paragon of beauty and femininity through surgery.  It's amazing what a couple hours of doing laundry and watching TV during the late morning can reveal--the digital abyss of avarice and selfishness.

If you're ever tempted to watch either of these shows, or scores more of their ilk, do yourself a favor--turn off the TV, grab a book or newspaper, play with the family, get some exercise, or visit some good political blogs.  You'll thank yourself in the end. Anyone who thinks that sports are a meaningless social and entertainment exercise hasn't given the buckets full of toxic waste and silicon infecting the airwaves a good, honest assessment. Sadly, the worst thing in my mind about such shows typifying the genre of so-called "reality TV" is how some of these scenarios are scripted and manufactured.  Some of this dysfunctional behavior occurs naturally; at others times, it's staged. Yet at every turn, it's encouraged by show producers, directors, and writers for profit through pseudo drama, to stimulate the Pavlovian palate of too much of the bread-and-circuses public, to entertain through the sub-mundane.  At least sports, for all their foibles, can at their best illustrate human achievement and excellence through hard work.  They can still inspire through positive examples, rather than only looking askance at lechery posing as either entertainment or reality--increasingly neither.

So much more TV garbage to cover, so little interest in doing so.  Pitchers and catchers in less than a month.  Serenity now.

Just a few thoughts as I ponder the whereabouts of Mel Hall...

Am I the only one scratching my head over the Tigers' generous contract awarded to Nate Robertson? $21.25 million for three years for a guy who was 9-13 with a 4.76 ERA last year, and who is 42-55 for his so-called career? Oh, I see, he's an innings eater. Hey, Tigers executives, I could be an inning eater as well for that kind of dough. For that, I'll eat your fedoras and a few H. Upmann cigars. The guy has had exactly one winning season in six partial and full seasons thus far and, in his best season in 2006 when he had a 3.84 ERA, his record was only 13-13.  Over $7 million a year for this guy?!? Good gravy, the Tigers must be banking a lot on Dontrelle Willis and, given his recent struggles, they're pushing their luck more than a bit with their recent decisions on starters.  Robertson is a gamer, sure, but this is a good deal of dough for someone who will never threaten to win the Cy Young--ever.

I realize that the Lakers have been hit with injury woes lately, with Bynum, Mihm, Radmanovic, Odom, and Vujacic missing considerable time lately. But they look bad tonight, especially without Bynum--a kid, really.  It's a testament to Bynum that the Lakers are a doughnut team without him, with the enigmatic Kwame Brown serving as resident laughingstock in Bynum's absence.  Bynum plays very hard, hits the glass, and establishes a presence in the post on both ends of the floor that needs tutelage, but is still unmistakable.  The biggest difference between Bynum and Brown? Hustle.  Bynum gets his nose dirty under the hoop on both ends, following loose balls and errant shots, getting high-percentage shots but making his own opportunities through hustle and good position.  Brown often seems indifferent to his responsibilities and the very outcome of the game.  I saw a play in the first quarter, when the Suns sent a skip pass right past him, immediately behind Brown who, with a simple turn or extended arm, could have obstructed the passing lane.  Instead, his slovenly approach to perimeter defense led directly to a Suns basket.  Right now, they're salting the Lakers' backside, but the Lakers have made a run to close to within eight.  Actually, it's back to eleven and climbing. Bryant can only do so much, and he'll have to do a ton in the next two months as Bynum recovers from a knee injury.

On that note, anyone who thinks that Steve Nash isn't one of the three most valuable players in the NBA just isn't watching closely enough.  He's the glue of the Suns, and one of the five best point guards of all time. If that team had some more toughness, it would be devastating.  Nash does it all, is fearless, pushes the tempo of the team, distributes unselfishly, shoots very well, elevates the game to heights it hasn't reached in twenty years, and he's a likable person.  Their addition of Mike Skinner to block shots and play defense adds a toughness and defensive dimension to the team they've sorely lacked.

Does anyone want to have a friendly wager that a healthy Johnny Damon goes for 20 HRs, 85 RBIs, a .305 AVG, and 35 stolen bases?  My gut--and hopefully not Damon's--tells me that Damon comes into camp in good shape and helps to carry the Yankees.

The more time passes, the happier I am that the Yankees did not deal Phil Hughes for Johan Santana.  It's going to be a young Yankees rotation, and they still have holes in middle relief, especially with Joba now in the rotation.  But the Yankees have a ton of talent, have their explosive offense back, and will very likely get better, steadier starts from the staff compared to last year.  I know the Red Sox are the defending champs, and are very good, but my money's on the Yankees bouncing back atop the East, primarily because they'll figure out the bullpen, and they're due for some good health.  It's been a long time coming.

Less than a month until pitchers and catchers report.  I'm getting really excited.

It's been quite some time since I've posted, and even longer since I've felt the need to be conversational about baseball.  It isn't as though I've been indifferent to the game or its proceedings.  On the contrary, I had planned to write something long about the Mitchell Report, particularly its anti-union thrust.  Yet the report seemed to do more than polarize people, indeed taking a good deal of the starch out of hot-stove chatter while simultaneously motivating people to look beyond the report to the advent of the season itself.  It has even resulted in televised hearings before Congress, which bore a striking resemblance to a two-ring circus with roughly 75 people who gave a frog's fat @$$.  I still might write about the anti-union thrust to the report, which is not only significant but also, and at least as importantly, something that has received little to no real media attention.  In the meantime, I'll just say this: unlike many who simply but understandably yearn for the season to begin, I think it's a good thing that baseball, pundits, and fans have devoted so much time and attention to the steroids issue.  It illustrates what many of us think and some of us have discussed--baseball is different in numerous ways from the other major American sports, with good reason and thankfully so.  Issues of integrity, ethics, and fair competition resonate more deeply in baseball than in other sports such as football.  That is not to say that football, basketball and other sports are unconcerned about fair competition and athletic integrity; far from it, as history has shown in numerous instances.  Yet compare baseball with, say, football regarding how each sport dealt with the steroids issue.  Football has rolled with the prevalence of steroids in the game and instituted a series of tests and punishments which, by the way, are considerably weaker than in baseball.  The NFL wants to do more than move on, but in fact forget steroids have been the scourge that they have.  The result has been that their moderate steroids policy in effect rendered steroid abuse normative, with people easily forgetting that Shawne Merriman, for example, abused steroids yet plays without any concern from fans or pundits about his young but crucial legacy.  Major League Baseball and a good deal of those who follow it are to a degree caught in limbo between wanting to move on and wanting to address the past.  I believe that as problematic and messy as this is and might be in the near future, this is in the end a good thing.  As flawed as the Mitchell Report was in its findings, the methodologies to produce them, and the slovenly manner in which they produced loose ends, it forced the issue front and center into people's collective consciousness, compelling people to do more than take sides.  People have been forced, and often not forced but willingly chosen, to determine the fates of people in this "steroid era" regarding their historical legacies, the meaning of their statistical and championship accomplishments, and their public images.  While I have deep-seated concerns about the depth to which these will receive substantive attention from more than fans and pundits but indeed the media--the one variegated , hydra-headed institution that has done so much and yet so little to shed light on the issue--that people have been forced to deal with this is in the end a good thing, and well past due.

I don't know about all of you, but I've been busy on a number of things in the past couple months.  I received word that I will be teaching the second-half of the US history course at my university this summer, so that will mean lots of time devoted to writing lectures and other related duties, with the dissertation still in the works.  I am both excited and scared about this, but it's what I've wanted, what I need to do, and a great opportunity.  Unfortunately, it might mean a reduced presence from me at The Heartland.  I am already considering a few options, and I would like to get people's feedback on this.  The option toward which I'm leaning the strongest early on is this--I will open the HDLR daily, and will likely post series summaries as often, if not more often, than individual game summaries.  This way, the HDLR will remain what it started to become in the last few months of 2007--a gathering place for people, literally across two nations, to talk about the game as if we were actually in each other's company.  As The Heartland began to gather little puffs of momentum steam, I was deeply encouraged that people not only came here frequently, but also got to know each other better, usually well outside my purview. I don't want to curtail that, so I'm more than willing to open the HDLR for every game, whether or not I'm in--although I'll likely be in as often as I'm not, but not will be more frequent than I'd like.  Please let me know what you think.

I've also been busy brewing, making a batch of Pilsner that has another four days to age.  Instead of the 2 1/2 weeks that is suggested as a minimum for post-bottle aging, I decided to exercise some rare patience and go with the preferred time frame, which is five weeks.  I'm hopeful that it will turn out well.  I have a bock on tap next to make, and I'm excited to have this ready for the advent of Spring, and the 2008 season.  I've stocked up on winter warmer beers, which are high in ABV, spice and flavor, keeping a good deal of beer in reserve for the next few months.  For me, I drink less but more--less quantity, better quality.  I've always been a bit more high-end as far as my beer tastes, but now I'm moving into having less than before, but delving more into specialty, usually micro-brews.  Additionally, I've done lots of beer sampling, well over 100 different brews in the last three months, while at the same time dropping nearly 30 pounds--I know, it doesn't add up to me, either.  But I'm nearing my weight from 15 years ago, when I ran nearly daily, and I'm excited to have a bounce in my step, better cardio, and a far better diet, beer taste buds notwithstanding.

The family has been great.  As much weight as I've lost in my quest for fitness, my wife has lost a good 50 pounds and looks positively dynamite.  The kids are great.  My little guy is growing up right before my eyes, and is reading extremely well for a kid his age.  He's both impressive and really funny.  Getting out of the bath tonight, he cracked me up with a comment.  He said he wanted to buy a hamster for a retirement home for the residents to have and enjoy, "because they need something to keep them happy and busy, instead of just sitting around watching TV and ordering people around from their wheelchairs."  That's a direct quite from my son, Captain Handsome.  The kid is something else.

I'll end on this rather long anecdotal note about GLG.  I wrote part of a blog in December, the night before she took an entrance exam into a prestigious local prep school, but deleted it in order not to jinx her, but also because it sounded vain.  Yet GLG came through and then some.  In addition to scoring in the 90-something percentiles in Verbal and Essay, GLG scored a perfect 710 on the Math--not bad for a kid who started school a year early.  GLG studied well, though not over-doing it, on the way leading up to the exam.  I insisted that she only do a light vocabulary review the day before the test, and just get a good night's sleep, a good breakfast, and some levity before the test.  She sure did, cracking me up as she waited in the gigantic exam room showing how loose hs was, but not before I told her a story the night before, that I'll tell you now, as she lay in bed.  I told her this just to let her know how much I love her and how proud of her I am, but also to tell her that whatever she did the next day in that test, I'd always think the world of her.  Here goes:

In 1999, when GLG was just over 2, I took her and our malfunctioning computer to the shop where we bought it to get it checked out.  It was an hour before closing time, so I didn't expect much to occur, but the store owner assured me he'd have people check it out and give me an answer before they closed at 7.  Waiting, GLG and I wandered around the store, talking and reading.  At this point, GLG was already a few steps ahead of the game, and could read most Dr. Seuss books--it was something to see, this very little girl reading, honest-to-goodness reading, as she got out of diapers. "C-o-m-p-u-t-e-r, computer. Daddy, is there really a computer in this box?" GLG asked me as she perused the truncated aisles.  As we talked and GLG continued to read the boxes, the store owner came up to me and asked, "How old is your daughter?" "Two years and not quite three months," I said. "Jeez, she's doing so much so young. My son's almost three, and he's not close to reading," he told me somewhat worried. "Honestly," I had to say, "GLG has always just blown whatever curve I thought would be in front of her.  I'm sure your son is both very smart and in good hands. My daughter has just grasped whatever we've done, and fast, and rolled with it.  We started running out of things to stimulate her with, so I got a big wall map of the US, and we worked on that for a couple months.  I read in a magazine that the University of Minnesota had done a study where they tracked kids from the age of 5-6 until about 16, and gauged their math aptitude, starting with the finding that boys usually score better than girls in math, in correspondence to learning map skills.  They found that it was still true that boys on average scored higher in math than girls, but each gender scored higher when exposed regularly to map study. So we studied shapes of the states. Within about six weeks, GLG knew all the states except 'the little ones' in the east, and that was with us working at her pace.  If she wanted to read the map, we did, often for a while, but if she didn't, we just went and played."

"So what you're saying is," Steve the store owner said, "if I drew a picture of a state, she'd be able to tell me what state it was?" "Probably, but she hasn't had a nap today, and I'm not sure she'd want to do that.  She gets shy."  I didn't want to put GLG on the spot, even though from a very early age, she illustrated an intense acumen that would embarrass most adults.  "I'll tell you what, if it's OK with you, I'll get her a pack of gum just for playing along with me," Steve kindly offered.  Never one to turn down sweets, GLG readily accepted the offer, and away we went.

Steve went behind the desk to his marker board, and began to draw, with me holding GLG in my arms so she could see. The first state he drew was New York, which GLG quickly got.  The next one was Pennsylvania, but GLG said South Dakota, seeing the rectangular shape.  I told her it was OK, I was proud of her, and she didn't have to do any more if she didn't want.  As I finished saying that, I heard GLG utter, "Nevada," the third state shape that Steve drew as I spoke.  As I turned, Steve was drawing another, and GLG, fingers ensconced firmly in the back of her mouth for the teeth she had coming in, fired away. "California," "Florida," "Idaho--that's pointing up, Daddy (which is what basic element I inserted as she learned, and remembered state after state)," "Texas--that's a big one, Daddy," "Oklahoma--it points West, Daddy." By this point, the two tech guys who were working on my computer on the side had stopped working, and were watching and talking about this girl, just over two, giving everyone a geography lesson.  "South Carolina, it's like a triangle, Daddy." "Massachusetts, it's got a curl." "All right, one more for all the marbles," Steve announced as he paused from the flurry of drawing and erasing.  He drew a line upward, then the sloped northern border of Ohio--one of the first states GLG learned.  I used to over-enunciate it "O-HIGH-O" as I would drag my finger across the top of the state, to associate the unique shape of it with an odd remark, for memory's sake.  As Steve drew the straight eastern border, then drew about half the sloped northern border of Ohio, GLG cut him off, "O-HIGH-O," saying it exactly how I would over-enunciate it.  Steve immediately stopped, bowed his head, and capped his marker. The two tech guys on the side stood up, laughed uproariously, and high-fived each other.  GLG, startled by the clamor, got a bit scared and started crying, burying her head in my neck and shoulder.  I reassured her everything was OK, that she was fine, and nothing was wrong.  She quickly rebounded, got her gum, enjoyed a couple pieces, and we left after some chatter about computers and the greatness of kids. 

I took her to the car and told her that she was one of a kind, drove across the street to grab some french fries, some of which she ate but the rest sat untouched as the napless GLG conked out on the way home.  As I carried her into the house and straight to bed at about 7:30, my wife asked me about the computer.  "Let me tell you a little something else that happened," I began, relaying to her exactly what I relayed to you. My GLG, she's one of a kind, and has long been far, far smarter than her old man.

True story, every word.

For Yankees fans (such as myself) whose partisan devotion goes back at least to the late 1970s, today is a great day, one long overdue.  Rich "Goose" Gossage was at long last elected to Cooperstown with 85.8% of the vote, becoming only the fifth relief pitcher to become a member of Baseball's Hall of Fame. He was the only player elected to Cooperstown this year, with Jim Rice coming closest to election with 72.2% of the vote.  Andre "Hawk" Dawson and Bert "Be Home" Blyleven (footnote Chris Berman for the latter) received 65.9% and 61.9% of the vote, respectively, and I strongly suspect that Rice an Dawson will be closer to, if not in, the Hall in 2009, first-time candidates notwithstanding.

In his day, Goose was The Man, blazing fastballs past people (in the days before the radar gun became standard assessment for closers) probably in the high-90s, easily the hardest throwing relief pitcher in the game when he was with the Yankees. When Goose Gossage came into the game, there was nothing like the sound of his fastballs pounding the dust off the catcher's mitt, Frank the Sage explained to me once in a late-night chinwag.  Simply put, Goose brought the gas night in and night out, often for multiple-inning stints that could and did extend throughout an opponent's lineup.  Gossage was a 7th and 8th inning guy, as well as the 9th-inning man.  He routinely blew the doors off the best, most dangerous hitters in the game.  He was the most feared reliever in his day, a big man with an amazing fastball and bushy moustache, rearing from waaaay back in a wide-open wind-up and hurling himself toward home after the ball.  Goose looked like he put everything he could into his fastball.  Goose was something to see.

310 saves, 681 games finished, 1,502 strikeouts, more than a strikeout-per-inning average in his five outstanding with the Yankees, four times in the top five in the Cy Young, winning a ring in 1978, having phenomenal years in 1980 (6-2, 2.27 ERA, 103 Ks in 99 IP) and 1983 (13-5, 2.27 ERA, 90 Ks in 87 1/3 IP), remaking his career with a change-up when arm troubles took away the extreme heat of his fastball.  It's about time Goose Gossage was elected to the Hall. This also bodes well for relief pitchers in the future, with current voters increasingly recognizing their centrality to a changing game.  Outstanding, Goose! You deserve it.

Thanks to everyone for coming around lately, while I've been away for the New Year and tied up with other things.  Jimmy, Dianna, Beth, Mike, Vanessa, and Mike W., and everyone else who may have read, I hope that your holidays were joyous, safe and full of everything you've needed and wanted.  I have the feeling that the posts will pick up, as it's 37 days until pitchers and catchers report.  I can't wait.