however, one team i do ride and die for no matter what, the new york yankees, have started off the year pretty loud in the media. i'm sure you're all familiar why, unless that rock you live under doesn't have cable.
i was very pleased to read the following article this morning on mlb.com. got me feeling like maybe through all the bullshit, this might be THAT year.
TAMPA, Fla. -- Joe Girardi was about 10 years old when the game of billiards taught him an important lesson in controlling his temper -- namely that throwing a pool cue into a piece of drywall would not produce favorable results once Dad found out.
Three decades later and a long way from that Illinois basement, Girardi is using a few games of 8-ball for another purpose. The Yankees manager called off a team workout and organized a field trip to a local billiard hall Monday, part of an exercise to help the players on his club build relationships.
"I've never been on a team that's done something like this before, but I often wondered why," Girardi said. "There's a lot of other sports that do these types of things. We can get away from the park and enjoy each other off the field and get to know each other."
After veterans like Derek Jeter and Jorge Posada signed off on the idea last week, Girardi announced the news early Monday morning after players had completed their work in the batting cages, bullpen and weight room.
With smiles circling the room, players were told to change back into their street clothes and board the buses waiting beyond the left-field fence at George M. Steinbrenner Field, which remained shuttered for the afternoon.
"It's all about really getting together," Posada said. "If I was a young man coming on this trip, it's something that you don't see often. You can hang out with the veterans and be away from the field. Hopefully, we start some relationships here and get going. We've got a lot of young guys, and we need to be on the same page. I think this is going to help us."
Instead of fielding drills and live batting practice, Girardi sent his players into a doubles pool tournament, with players chalking their sticks for an NCAA-style bracket format.
Girardi carried a large poster board reading "Annual World Championship of Pool," to the bus, and some of those partnerships produced strange pairings; the tandem of 6-foot-10 rookie Andrew Brackman and Japanese-import Kei Igawa, for example.
Girardi and the club's coaches were to remain separate, competing in their own tournament. The winners of the players tournament would be rewarded with restaurant gift certificates.
"We thought it would be good to let them compete and enjoy themselves," Girardi said. "Let them interact and be loud, hear people talk some trash."
The idea hit Girardi in the early days of Spring Training, realizing that camp runs longer this year because of the World Baseball Classic and a day of respite might be welcome before exhibition games begin.
It would also be a good way for Girardi to better familiarize himself with the team.
"I think every year you're here as a manager, you want to have more knowledge about your players and their personalities," Girardi said. "You want to feel closer to your players. You want to bring a group together. It's important that a group is united when they leave Spring Training."
Looking for an event that could not be impacted by weather, Girardi originally considered renting out a bowling alley, but the idea of having his pitchers whipping 12-pound balls down the lanes dissuaded him.
"I'm sure the guys would have liked to have Jet Ski races or something like that, but this seems safe," Girardi said.
The Yankees found a billiard hall that could accommodate a large group, and Girardi told the Yankees to book it for a few hours. The tournament was expected to last about 2 1/2 hours -- until lunch -- but Girardi acknowledged it could take longer with no real pool sharks known to be on the roster.
One by one, the 64 players in camp walked through the concrete corridors, many of them grinning at the change in plans. Johnny Damon beamed, CC Sabathia chuckled and Mark Teixeira waved goodbye to reporters, saying, "Field trip!" Someone played Bobby McFerrin's "Don't Worry, Be Happy" over the loudspeakers.
"I think it's a matter of understanding where Joe is coming from," Posada said. "We want to have a fun camp. When it's time to play, it's serious. But when it's time to have fun like this, we're going to have fun together."
It has been a spring of some distraction for the Yankees. Alex Rodriguez held a 33-minute press conference on the first day position players reported to address his past use of performance-enhancing drugs, an event that was attended by more than 150 media members and many of Rodriguez's teammates.
The Yankees welcomed in nearly a half-billion dollars of new talent, and there have been off-the-field items to handle -- with Damon and Xavier Nady having their assets frozen as a result of the investigation into an alleged $8 billion fraud scheme involving billionaire financier Robert Allen Stanford.
With all of those items sometimes obscuring actual baseball concerns, Posada said that there would be no negative to stepping away from workouts for one afternoon and enjoying the day. The Yankees will go through a full workout at Steinbrenner Field on Tuesday before beginning exhibition games on Wednesday against the Blue Jays.
"It's a day to forget about baseball a little bit, and think about the family that we have here," Posada said. "It's a little rest. But I bet you tomorrow is going to be tough."
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