CC, A-Rod power Yankees to victory

When Alex Rodriguez hit a three-run home run on the first pitch he saw since coming back from the disabled list, I thought he would be the story of the night.  However, that’s why they play nine innings.

And that’s exactly what CC Sabathia did tonight.

Yup, he pitched a complete game shutout, striking out the side in the ninth inning and throwing 112 pitches, in the Yankees’ 4-0 victory that snapped their five-game losing streak.  He struck out eight and allowed four hits (with two of those coming in the ninth inning).  He also retired 16 batters in a row at one point.  Oh yeah, Sabathia was throwing to Francisco Cervelli, who was making his first start. 

Sabathia gave the Yankees exactly what they needed, and then some.  The bullpen’s performance has been nonexistent for the better part of this season, so he did his best to make them even more nonexistent tonight.  This is why he’s the highest-paid pitcher in the game.

John Sterling called Rodriguez’s first-inning home run a “phenomenal sports moment.”  Relax, pal.

The Yankees, now 14-15, send Phil Hughes to the mound tomorrow night at 7:05 p.m.

AP Photo

Jane in The Times; Sterling's call

Friend of Scott Proctor's Arm Jane Heller wrote a piece in The New York Times about fandom. Check it out and also check out her blog.

Meanwhile, Mark Teixeira hit two home runs in yesterday's 10-1 victory of Chicago.

Back in December, I was thinking about what John Sterling, the Voice of the Yankees, would say in the inevitable event of a Teixeira blast.

Apparently Sterling said, "...sends a Tex message to right field..." I've heard this from two different people. Did anyone else hear this?

'Controversial' Jane Heller denied advertisement

Friend of Scott Proctor's Arm Jane Heller recently wrote a book entitled "Confessions of a She-Fan." (I urge you all to buy it.)

Via Lisa Swan over at Subway Squawkers comes the news that Jane wanted to advertise her book in the Yankees' Opening Day program. It was set to have quotes from John Sterling, Peter Golenback and Swan herself. No big deal, right? Wrong.

Turns out the Yankees think she's "too controversial" so they "don't want it in the publication."

Page Six caught wind of it and quoted Heller as saying: "It's sad to have the Yankees so mad at a fan who writes about how much she loves her team."

This infuriates me. Sorry that you have to go through this, Jane!

Stadium pictures

The Yankees were testing the big screen in center field yesterday. WCBS 880 has some great shots of the Stadium, including the view from John and Suzyn's booth.

The opening of the new place, as well as the additions of CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett and Mark Teixeira, are making me really excited. April can't get here soon enough.

Thinking out loud: Teixeira's home run call

We all know John Sterling has silly home run calls for Yankees.

A thrilla from Godzilla, An A-Bomb for A-Rod, Georgie juiced one, etc.

However, John is going to have to come up with some new ones due to the recent signing of Mark Teixeira. Good thing I'm here to help him think of some.

On the Mark
Tex Marks the spot
Mark it down

Yes, it's an extremely slow news week.

Do you have a good one? Let's see it in the comments.

White Sox rookie hazing

An exercise in citizen journalism:

Last night, I decided to hang around Yankee Stadium as long as possible to cherish every moment of it. After staying in the building for 20 minutes after the game ended, I ventured to the player's exit. I saw some recognizable faces: John Sterling, Jason Giambi, Robinson Cano, Al Leiter, Joba and Harlan Chamberlain, Javier Vazquez, Mark Buerhle, etc.

After a while, more White Sox players started coming out, dressed in suits for their plane ride. All of a sudden players dressed in various costumes came out. I immediately realized it was rookie hazing, similar to last year's Wizard of Oz costume party.

Anyway, this is Lance Broadway, a right-handed pitcher who pitched 1 2/3 innings last night:

The only other rookie whom I was able to recognize was Alexei Ramirez. He was dressed like a U.S. Track & Field athlete. As he was putting his luggage under the coach bus, he clocked his head on the door. If he's out of the lineup tonight, you now know why.

Other rookies were dressed as Tinky Winky from the Teletubbies and Raggedy Anne.

Photo by Andrew Fletcher

The Sterling Shake redux

Last year I posted a video of John Sterling doing his Yankees victory call, hilariously dubbed "The Sterling Shake."

Wasting time on YouTube last night, I stumbled upon an even greater video of Sterling doing the call. Remember the game when Johnny Damon went 6-for-6 including the game-winning hit? This is Sterling calling the game-winner:



It seems as if Sterling was so confused by the moment that he almost forgot to extend his left arm in celebration. He then looked behind him to see if anyone spotted his gaffe. I also love the guy in the Yankees shirt jumping up and down - in the press box, no less - and Beto Villa in the Spanish Language booth is always a riot.

The best article you'll read

Apparently John Sterling, the voice of the New York Yankees himself, has rather disgusting eating habits.

From the New York Post (via Deadspin):

YANKEES radio announcer John Sterling is being called out for foul behavior in the stadium's press dining room. "Sterling has made a habit of walking over to the dessert table and dipping his finger into the ice cream barrel," one stadium worker told us, adding that the play-by-play vet has also used the same tablespoon to repeatedly take samples.

During the Boston series, "He wandered over to the cake and pie section, broke off a piece of a cake slice, ate it and wiped his grimy hands on the linen tablecloth, leaving the remainder of the slice for someone else to eat - which indeed happened," our spy continued. A rep for WCBS Radio declined to comment, and a team spokesman said the Yankees "know nothing about it."

Hilarious.

Busy day

I'm not going to be around all day, so I'd just like to remind you all that there is a 1:05 p.m. start for today's game.

Mike Mussina will be on the mound in hopes of winning his 10th game of the year.

If you're in an office that has radio reception, enjoy listening to Ma and Pa. If you're lucky enough to be watching at home, enjoy the sweet sounds of Michael Kay.

Mad Dog going nuts

Remember this game? Turn the clock back to April 19, 2007, when Alex Rodriguez hit his second walk-off home run of the month to propel the Yankees to an 8-6 victory over the Cleveland Indians.

Browsing around Wikipedia just now, I found this gem of a clip from the "Mike and the Mad Dog" radio program.

Apparently Chris "Mad Dog" Russo felt that update man Bob Heussler jinxed the Indians, allowing the Yankees to come back.

This clip has everything, from Russo screaming to a bonus John Sterling home run call. This is probably the best thing I've ever heard.

OK, it's time to panic

You know things aren't good when Mr. Sunshine himself, John Sterling, feels that his Yankees are not a good time.

From Neil Best's Watchdog blog:

"The Yanks make a lot of mistakes; bad teams do,'' he said during the top of the first Tuesday, referring specifically to the 0-2 pitch from Mike Mussina that the Orioles turned into a three-run double.

"Bad teams really lose all kinds of games. They lose 'em close, they lose 'em big, they lose high-scoring games, low-scoring games. They lose for different reasons."

Not good, Yankees fans.

Why John Sterling is my favorite sportscaster

For my sports reporting class, we had to write about who our favorite sportscaster is, and why. I wrote about John Sterling, the radio voice of the New York Yankees. I'm aware that I wrote a post way back when chastising Sterling. Since then, I have seen the light:

When asked to write about who my favorite announcer is, I had to do some thinking. I’m an avid Yankee fan, but I hate Michael Kay with a passion. I love the Giants, but they don’t have local television announcers. From here, I had to turn my attention to the radio, and that is where I found my favorite announcer. My favorite announcer is John Sterling, the radio voice of the New York Yankees.

Now, before you judge, I think Sterling is a terrible broadcaster. But that is not the question at hand. The question is, “Who is my favorite sportscaster?”

Sterling is my favorite announcer because he is the only announcer that I get excited to listen to. I watch most of the games on television, so it is a treat when I have to listen to the game on the radio. When I am driving and the Yankees are on, I rush to tune to WCBS-AM 880 to listen to him call the game. I don’t listen to him for his broadcasting prowess. I don’t listen to him to increase my baseball knowledge. I listen to him to be entertained, and he is the only person that can hold that honor. When I put him on, there is always a chance that his partner, Suzyn Waldman, and he will say something that will make me scratch my head and wonder what they are talking about.

Sterling paints a horrible picture of the game. He will say that a ball is high and far, only to be caught at the warning track. I wonder how many car accidents have been caused by Sterling blunders. While he is frustrating to listen to on the radio, it doesn’t change the fact that he is a showman. Sterling is a comedian on the air, but I doubt he is trying to be funny most of the time. He is also probably the biggest goofball to ever broadcast. He is extremely fun to imitate while playing pickup Wiffleball games or even watching the game on television.

For all of his faults, Sterling loves his job. He never misses a game and obviously has a great time doing what he does for a living. The YouTube video of him doing his famous “Yankees win, the-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e Yankees win!” call is absolutely hilarious and even more fun to mimic.

As I am writing this, Game 4 of the 2001 World Series is airing on the YES Network with Sterling calling the game. Sterling reminds me of baseball and my beloved Yankees. That is why he is my favorite sportscaster.

Ma Yankee gets emotional

This is a must, MUST listen (via Awful Announcing). Please be patient - it takes a while to load but it's highly worth it.

Our very own Suzyn Waldman cried on-air during last night's postgame show on WCBS-AM 880.

John Sterling, once again, came out looking great (see Roger Clemens' announcement aftermath).

This is extremely unprofessional of Waldman.

The Sterling Shake

Check out this hilarious video of John Sterling from YouTube:

Irritating state of the Yankees Radio Network

Phil Mushnick of the New York Post wrote a great column talking about how awful John Sterling (pictured) is.

It's really remarkable how Sterling still has a job calling a sporting event. He paints the worst possible picture of what is happening on the field.

Over at The Bronx Block, I wrote my response to his column.