A couple of videos

I received two videos in my e-mail yesterday.  Since I had a very busy day, I was unable to post them until now.

First up, we have a 4-year-old named Zachary who can recite all of the Yankees’ retired numbers.

Secondly, the Alex Rodriguez haters in the audience will enjoy this one:

Joba appears in a Powerade commercial

Hello, folks. It's been a while. I'm not the biggest fan of the All-Star hubbub, so I chose not to make any posts about it. Anyway, baseball returns tonight (even though the Yankees don't start up again until tomorrow), and the kind folks at Powerade sent over a YouTube link of Joba Chamberlain appearing in a new ad promoting their fine drink.



The ad, which also features Carmelo Anthony, Ryan Howard and others, will appear in cinemas nationwide.

Meet the Mets

This weekend presents and interesting rooting scenario for the fans of New York’s baseball teams.  The Yankees are taking on the Phillies in the Bronx tonight while the Mets are shipping up to Boston to face the hated Red Sox.

The always hilarious New York Sports Jerk has already written his post cheering for the Mets, so I felt it’s my turn.  Like the Jerk, I don’t hate the Mets.  They aren’t our rivals and they never will be.  Under normal circumstances, I really wouldn’t care what the Mets do.

However, that all changes this weekend.

The Yankees are rolling but they are still behind the Red Sox in the division (yes, I know it’s only May).  The Mets have a unique opportunity to help the Yankees and do what the falling Blue Jays failed to do this week.  Of course, the Yankees have to take care of business themselves.

The Mets come into this series on a four-game losing streak, but they are only 1.5 games behind the Phillies.

We’ll scratch your back if you scratch ours.

So Yankees fans, it’s time to bleed some orange and blue and sing “Meet the Mets” this weekend.  Just don’t take it as far as George Costanza did when he tried to get fired from the Yankees to take a job with the Mets.

Everything will return back to normal on Memorial Day.

Cody Ransom is the best athlete on the team

That is if you believe Johnny Damon. Pete Caldera and Bryan Hoch both relayed that report this afternoon (they arrived in my Google Reader at the same time, so I will credit both). The quoted portion is from Hoch.

"If Alex couldn't go, we have a kid named Cody Ransom who is probably the best athlete on this team," Damon was saying. "He can throw, he's got power. No one can really do what Alex does, but we'd just have to switch around the lineup and move forward."

A few more questions followed, and Tyler Kepner of the Times brought the conversation back.

"Have you gone to YouTube yet?" Damon said. "And tell him to put you in a headlock."

Here is the YouTube video of Cody Ransom doing something remarkable:

Teixeira spring training quick cut

Mark Teixeira spoke to the YES Network (hat-tip to Greg) about his excitement playing for the Yankees and the weight of his contract.



Greg also posted the videos of others in YES' "Quick Cuts" series.

'You've got 7 days, Seinfeld. That is one week'

Yup, seven days (one week) until pitchers and catchers report.

I could have used a picture of Mickey Mantle to celebrate this occasion, but I figured this rather obscure "Seinfeld" reference would be better.

Yankee Stadium tribute

A man named Chris Pavia is a terrific impersonator of both Yankee Stadium public address announcer Bob Sheppard and former organist Eddie Layton. Via friend of Scott Proctor's Arm Bryan Hoch comes this great video of some of Pavia's work.



While you're at it, check out the rest of his tributes on his YouTube profile page.

Inauguration Day

We inaugurate our new president today. Here is video of (soon-to-be former) President George W. Bush taking part in one of the most poignant moments in Yankee Stadium history (via The Final Score).

A Yankee Festivus (2nd annual!)

Today is Dec. 23, better known as Festivus, the holiday for the rest of us. For those who don't know, Festivus was a holiday created by Seinfeld character Frank Costanza and appeared in the episode called "The Strike." Frank created this holiday in opposition of the commercialization of Christmas because he got into a fight with someone while looking for a female doll for George, his son.

"As I rained blows upon him, I realized there had to be another way."

For a more detailed look at the holiday, please click here.

I did A Yankee Festivus last year, and it was very successful. After the Yankees missed the playoffs this year, it's impossible not to do it again this year.

The first thing one thinks of when they think of Festivus is the pole, shown above. This, of course, replaces the Christmas tree. It's made out of aluminum, requires no decoration (Frank finds tinsel distracting) and has a very high strength-to-weight ratio.

Another aspect of the celebration is the Airing of Grievances. This is certainly the most fun part. I'll let Frank tell you how it works:

"At the Festivus dinner, you gather your family around and tell them all the ways they have disappointed you over the past year! ... I got a lot of problems with you people! And now you're gonna hear about it!"

Robinson Cano: I don't think it'd make sense if I didn't air out my grievances against you first. After signing a four-year, $30 million contract last off-season, you got off to a slow start and never recovered. You finished with a .271 batting average, well below your .306 average from 2007. You also hit five less home runs and drove in 25 less runs. You were even benched for not hustling. Don't make us regret our investment in you, Robinson. Go to your room.

Melky Cabrera: Jeez, where to begin with you. After hitting five home runs in April, you only hit three more the rest of the season. Your OBP barely cracked .300 and you were even demoted to Triple-A. You either will be traded or will begin the season in the minors again.

Derek Jeter: All of your offensive numbers were down from a year ago. Is age catching up to you? Prove us wrong next year.

Jorge Posada: You signed a huge deal last year and barely played. I know you got hurt and all, but your catching days could be over relatively soon. If you keep pronouncing that you are going to catch for the remainder of your contract, I think you are sorely mistaken.

Hideki Matsui: You have the knees of a 70-year-old. You've been great for us over the years, but you're clogging the roster at this point. It'll be nice if you can produce like old times next year, but I'm glad it's the last year of your contract.

Wilson Betemit: I'm glad you're finally gone.

Andy Pettitte: You have a 14-14 record with a 5.45 ERA and you still want to make $16 million? Are you out of your mind? You still give us innings and that's nice and all, but it's time for a reality check.

The so-called Big Three: You guys (Joba Chamberlain, Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy) only combined for four wins last year - all four going to Joba - and each and every one of you spent time on the disabled list. You're all young and it's likely only one of you will begin the year in the rotation, but you all have to prove you can stay healthy and effective for the course of an entire year.

Darrell Rasner: Hope you like sushi.

Sidney Ponson: I can't believe you actually pitched 80 innings for us last year.

Kei Igawa: Four major-league innings this year for $4 million. Not a bad deal.

Kyle Farnsworth: Enjoy Kansas City.

Joe Girardi: You struggled in your first season as Yankees skipper. You got testy with the media and, at times, looked lost. The Yankees have invested a lot of money so far this off-season. If you miss the playoffs again, I'm afraid you'll be out of a job. You were my pick for manager last year...don't make me regret that.

Boy, that felt good to get off my chest!

During the Festivus dinner, there were two "Festivus miracles." Because they're miracles, you don't expect them, and thus are not an official part of Festivus. However, I can think of a few Festivus miracles.

• Signing CC Sabathia. We all heard the reports he wanted to pitch in California. It took a lot of convincing ($$$), but we got him and I think he'll be big (no pun intended) for us.
  
  
• The opening of the new Stadium. It was sad watching the last few games at the old Yankee Stadium, but Yankees fans are getting a beautiful new ballpark this year and I can't wait.

The Feats of Strength are the final part of the Festivus celebration. The head of household picks one person at the dinner to wrestle. The Festivus celebration is not over until the head of household is pinned.

"Let's rumble!"

For the purposes of this celebration, the Yankees being in the AL East is enough. The top two teams, the Boston Red Sox and Tampa Bay Rays, met in the ALCS last year. With the Yankees signing both Sabathia and A.J. Burnett (they're probably not done yet), the AL East looks even tougher this year. The Yankees have the pitching to compete, though their hitting can use a boost. It'll be a fun year of division play.

This concludes my Yankees Festivus celebration. Below is a YouTube clip of the Seinfeld celebration.

Last year, I celebrated Festivus with my roommates at college.

This is a picture of us preparing our pole. It's an old flagpole and I'm not sure if it's made out of aluminum, but it served its purpose. The man on the right is none other than Andrew Vazzano from The 'Ropolitans.

Getting the pole to stand up with help from the soda bottle was one of our Festivus miracles. The other Festivus miracle was that the pole didn't fall down during the Feats of Strength (pictured below). I was so happy that we actually had two unplanned Festivus miracles.

The beginning of the Feats of Strength. I'm fighting my roommate Dan (light hat) and Mike (Red Sox fan) is reffing.

During the Feats of Strength.

Fighting

More fighting

Even more fighting

Losing badly to Dan the former hockey player (this explains how we had hockey gloves)

And the gloves come off

Unfortunately, we forgot to celebrate it in our room this year. Silly us.

This really concludes my Festivus celebration. Have a Happy Festivus, Merry Christmas, Happy Chanukah, Joyous (?) Kwanzaa and Happy New Year!

This has been another great year of blogging for me. Thanks for continuing to read. I appreciate it very much.

And while we're at it, please check out the Mets "Metstivus" celebration at The 'Ropolitans (but it was my idea first). :)

Jeter's speech wins Moment of the Year

Remember Derek Jeter's speech following the final game at Yankee Stadium in September? Well, that was voted Moment of the Year in the This Year in Baseball Awards.

Moment of the Year -- Derek Jeter, Yankees: The Yankees faced an end to their streak of 13 consecutive postseason appearances in the Stadium finale on Sept. 21, but that did little to dampen the celebration after a 7-3 win over the Orioles. Leading the rousing sendoff was Jeter, who took the microphone to address the Stadium faithful. "For all of us up here, it's a huge honor to put this uniform on every day and come out here and play," said the veteran shortstop, who earned 34.7 percent of the TYIB votes. Finishing second at 22.3 percent was Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton, who blasted a record 28 long balls in the first round of the Home Run Derby -- at Yankee Stadium, no less.

Mike Mussina finished second in the Starter of the Year award, Mariano Rivera finished second in the Closer of the Year award and Johnny Damon's non-catch when the ball rolled on top of the wall against the Red Sox won Oddity of the Year.

Here is video of Jeter's speech:

This is why Philly shouldn't be allowed to win

Philadelphia fans are certainly celebrating like they haven't won anything in 25 years. Via Deadspin comes this video:



I'll admit it: I laughed.

Video of the new Yankee Stadium

Greg from Sliding Into Home has kept us updated throughout most of the Yankee Stadium construction process with great photos. Today he found a video of the inside.



As you can see, the grass has been installed and they're already running a Budweiser ad. That sounds about right.

Suzyn Waldman sings tribute to Tom Seaver

I've heard that Yankees radio broadcaster Suzyn Waldman is an accomplished singer, but I've never had the pleasure of listening to her myself. Andrew Vazzano (via me, via The Final Score) has video of her singing a tribute to former Met Tom Seaver.



Enjoy.

One yellow light and one blue light

Found this hilarious video at The Launching Pad this morning. The Yankees should add him to the booth next year. He can't be any worse than Michael Kay, can he?

The next YES classic moment

Enjoy this video of Derek Jeter's speech to Yankees fans after the final game at Yankee Stadium.

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.

Fan fight

We don't condone fighting here at Scott Proctor's Arm, but fan fights are always fun to watch. Via Deadspin, here is the latest Yankee/Red Sox fan fight to hit the Internet.

A-Rod can't catch a break

Alex Rodriguez still isn't liked, apparently.

From YouTube:



I have a feeling people will come around when he's about to break Barry Bonds' career home run record.

Via Bronx Liaison

Clemens denies drug use in video

From YouTube:



He says towards the end that he'll appear on 60 Minutes with Mike Wallace to answer more questions on the subject.

Clemens believes he's truly innocent, and now he's finally starting to speak for himself. I hope the allegations against him are untrue. He was such a great pitcher and it would be a shame to see all of his accomplishments tarnished.

A-Rod's been caught stealing

From YouTube (via Deadspin):