YFSF

Diehards at the Fens

This is a picture my mom recently found, of Fred Lynn (as if any Sox fan of the past 40 years needs that pointed out!), my childhood friend Amy S., and me, at the Fens.  It hung on my wall, above my bed, for the bulk of my junior high school, high school, and college years and was mothballed when my parents re-did my room after I moved out, with my Sox and Bruins pennants and most other sports paraphernalia banished to the attic. Luckily this one survived.

For a few years running we were able to get down on the field via the Sox' press secretary, a friend of my grandfather's, and get a picture snapped.   In 1974 at the age of 5 I got a moment with Yaz (Mom needs to start digging to find that one, though I know it still exists!), in 1980 it was Freddie during his last year with the Sox.   Lynn was, with Pudge Fisk, in my top two, though a pretty distant second.

Sartorially the Sox uniform still does the trick, quite obviously.  Amy wisely chose an outfit that easily stands the test of time, conservative and mature.  But what the hell was up with my choice of a wide-banded white-collared navy blue cardigan?  Fenway security should have turned me away -- for the Yankee colors alone.

Happy Holidays from YFSF

Almost exactly four hundred years ago. Peter Paul Rubens painted the Adoration of the Magi you see above to celebrate a treaty of peace between two warring nations. It seems a fair sentiment on this holiday eve. Best wishes from all of us to everyone in the YFSF community.

The YFSF John Sterling Call Contest: Mark Teixeira

The signing of Mark Teixeira means that the Giambino! is gone, and that means we lose one John Sterling home run call, but gain another. This is your chance to predict what Sterling's call will be for the newest Yankee slugger. The commenter with the best entry (as judged by the moderators) will win a YFSF mug. If anyone actually nails the name (we'll find out in April), that person also gets a mug. Here's my attempt:

"Well, Suzyn, isn't that just like baseball. Yesterday the Yanks couldn't hit worth a lick against Sidney Ponson, and today they're knocking Josh Beckett around."

"Sidney will be Sidney."

"Isn't that the truth!" (Sound of screaming fans in background. Someone has clearly hit a home run. 5 seconds elapse) "There it goes! It is high! It is far! It...is...gone!!! A shot by the Excellent Texellent!"

Obviously I have set the bar low. Have at it!

The Road We Travel

Our family is on the way from Brooklyn to suburban Washington DC. The picture below is our GPS, and not, we hope, TPS.

Joba and Jon Discuss The Hot Stove

Rising stars Joba Chamberlain and Jon Lester will headline an event at Sacred Heart University in Fairfeld, CT. The two will take part in a "Hot Stove Conversation". 

I'm going just so I can ask them the following set of questions:

What is your favorite word?
What is your least favorite word?
What turns you on [creatively, spiritually or emotionally]?
What turns you off?
What is your favorite curse word?
What sound or noise do you love?
What sound or noise do you hate?
What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?
What profession would you not like to do?
If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates?

Seriously, if you're interested, this sounds like a good time to hear from two of the more exciting  players on our favorite teams. Check out the link for details.

Monetary Policy

Baseball attendance from 2000-2008, according to the site "Ballparks of Baseball":

• 2000: 72.7M
• 2001: 72.6M
• 2002: 67.8M
• 2003: 67.6M
• 2004: 72.9M
• 2005: 74.4M
• 2006: 76.0M
• 2007: 79.4M
• 2008: 78.6M

Does anyone else wonder how the economic meltdown is going to impact 2009 attendance numbers?  I certainly do.  As a business owner I know about cutbacks in staff and reductions in general operational costs, how it is trickling down from the overall world to me and then to my employees, how it impacts disposable income and spending habits.  A big question, which all baseball owners must be considering, is how much and for how long this might impact their game, financially speaking.  Based on the magnitude of the financial problems facing our country, growing unemployment, and other factors, I don't see how this won't have a substantial impact on next season and perhaps 2010.  Though baseball (and major sport) is certainly an escape and a form of entertainment that has an ability to distract us from reality, it isn't immune from a contraction in spending.  Going to a baseball game, at this point, is certainly a luxury, even when sitting in the cheapies.

I further wonder how this might be impacting free-agent signings -- not just the big name free agents but moreso the upper-middle, middle, and lower tier players. 

Thoughts welcome in the comments of course.

So You Wanna Be a GM?

I’m excited to be a part of a game that gives people a real world experience at what it’s like to be in my shoes and take on the responsibility of building a Major League Baseball team.

- Billy Beane

Even though we just tipped 40 years, we're rooted in the Atari generation.  We grew up with bizarre semi-anthropomorphic representations of pugilists and with a pitcher's mound about 85 feet from home.  And as we gear up in full-on arrested development for this holiday season with a wishlist that includes a modernized video game machine (come on, Mom and Dad, come through with that PS3!), we saw an ad for a new game in which there is little action other than transaction.  A game called "MLB Front Office Manager".  Some screenshots and thoughts are after the jump.

Biology is Destiny

From today's Times:

In health-conscious, sports-oriented Boulder, Atlas Sports Genetics is playing into the obsessions of parents by offering a $149 test that aims to predict a child’s natural athletic strengths. The process is simple. Swab inside the child’s cheek and along the gums to collect DNA and return it to a lab for analysis of ACTN3, one gene among more than 20,000 in the human genome.

The test’s goal is to determine whether a person would be best at speed and power sports like sprinting or football, or endurance sports like distance running, or a combination of the two. A 2003 study discovered the link between ACTN3 and those athletic abilities.

In this era of genetic testing, DNA is being analyzed to determine predispositions to disease, but experts raise serious questions about marketing it as a first step in finding a child’s sports niche, which some parents consider the road to a college scholarship or a career as a professional athlete.

A Cold, Dreary Sunday

Scatterings...

• The Yankees and the Mayor's Office are back in the spotlight for some shady goings-on, questions about the public interest, and the place of the new Stadium in the public realm.  This hasn't shaped up to be a very dignified Fall for the Mayor's Office.
• Speaking of civic building, an man whose greatest legacy is a renowned piece of urban architecture has passed away.
• In Northern England, a couple of great and storied rivalries pick up again. Who needs Yankees/Sox in the harsh, wet cold of December when you have Rags/Bitters and Gunners/Blues?!

Theater of the Juiced

We'd be more inclined to go see "Mindy!", a madcap romp based on the off-the-field shenanigans of a certain Texas fireballer, rather than this show.  And we don't even like musicals.