XM MLB Chat

The Fab Four-Newsday back cover

2009-11-08T03:07:00.003-05:00

Newsday back cover, Jeter, Posada, Mariano, Pettitte, 11/08/09

Yankees on Letterman Thursday night

2009-11-06T03:35:00.004-05:00

Letterman hosts Jorge Posada, Andy Pettitte, Derek Jeter, and Hideki Matsui, 11/05/09. photo from nyyfans.com

Hideki and Pedro 2nd inning

2009-11-05T01:08:00.005-05:00

World Series game 6, reuters photo

Congratulations and thank you to New Jersey voters

2009-11-04T00:50:00.005-05:00

Listening to baseball games on the Jersey Shore will be better for some time to come. Thanks tonight to New Jersey voters.
Above photo Exit 98 on the Garden State Parkway to some of New Jersey's best beaches.

Good news from the Tribune Company--no AP next week

2009-11-03T03:41:00.003-05:00

11/3/09: "Tribune Co., owner of The Chicago Tribune, the Los Angeles Times and several other news outlets, will not use most Associated Press content next week to test whether the financially struggling company can do without it, according to a story on the Chicago Tribune's Web site.

Tribune said it will use some AP material such as sports statistics and stories it considers vital. The Chicago-based company said it is trying to determine whether severing ties with the news cooperative next fall is a viable option."...

"Tribune Co. Newspapers won't use AP next week," from AP report via Breitbart via Drudge

People like Bud Selig will have to find new stenographers for a week. (framus)

Seafood paella one of Yankee favorites-Yankee chef

2009-11-03T00:06:00.006-05:00

Zagat Buzz: "But something else happened within the past year that might have fueled the victorious (AL East) season: a new chef at the stadium. Chef Ricardo Cardona stepped in to cook for the Bronx Bombers at home games. Born in Puerto Rico and raised in Manhattan, Cardona has emerged as one of the city’s eminent Latino chefs with his restaurants Sazon, Sofrito, Hudson River Café and Mamajuana Cafe. What is he feeding these champs? We caught Cardona between games to talk about the team’s favorite eats.

Zagat Buzz: Were you always a Yankee fan?

Ricardo Cardona: I became a Yankee fan while cooking for them, because I really didn’t care much about baseball before that. Once I started cooking for them, I became friends with them. I became a Yankee fan, and now I feel I am part of the family.

ZB: How did you become the chef for the New York Yankees?

RC: I used to work in a restaurant called Jimmy’s Bronx Café back in 1999–2000. The restaurant was five minutes away from Yankee Stadium. I met a family there called the Cucuzza family, who takes care of the clubhouse. They were regular customers, and we became friends. They would ask me to cater for the Yankees all the time. When Jimmy’s Bronx Café closed, we kept in contact, and they asked me to cater for them still because they liked my food....

ZB: Do the players often have special menu requests?

RC: Sometimes if they are doing special training, or are on a special diet, they will ask for something in advance. For example, Mariano Rivera once requested watercress juice. But, really, they are very simple guys. When they’re hungry, they’ll eat anything.

ZB: What’s on the menu for the World Series?

RC: Seafood paella, that’s one of their favorites. Grilled shrimp, pork chops. Skirt steak. Rice and beans....

ZB: What restaurant recommendations do you have for fans near the stadium?

RC: Well, I run a restaurant called Hudson River Café on 135th Street and Twelfth Avenue in Manhattan, and there’s the steakhouse at the Fairway too. I recommend eating in that area because of the parking. It’s easy to park your car there, then hop in a taxi to the stadium and you are there in five minutes.

ZB: Where do the players like to eat?

RC: The Latino players like to go to Dyckman Street to some of the Dominican restaurants and other Latino spots. I used to see Melky Cabrera all the time at Lua in Hoboken. A lot of them go to my spot Sofrito on 57th Street, one of the few Puerto Rican restaurants in New York. They like it because we do very homey-style Puerto Rican food there. Jorge Posada and Mariano Rivera love Sofrito.

ZB: What’s A-Rod’s favorite dish?

RC: He likes lean foods – low-fat, low-butter – and sweet potato and apple purée. He actually taught my cook how to make it.

ZB: Does Derek Jeter have a favorite dish?

RC: Well, he was upset because the reporter who wrote an article in the Daily News recently said he eats pork, and that’s not true. He does not eat pork. I don’t know why that reporter wrote that. But Jeter likes grilled chicken breast. Grilled chicken on whole wheat bread is one dish he eats a lot. He is very self-disciplined. He is the captain and you’ve got to lead by example, so he eats very healthy.

ZB: Do you feel your menu affects whether the Yankees win?

RC: I wish I could say that! But I think it’s their playing."

Zagat Buzz, 11/02/09, "Ricardo Cardona, Chef to the Champions" by Kathleen Squires

29 newspapers not covering the World Series

2009-11-02T20:33:00.005-05:00

"Twenty-nine of the 60 newspapers that cover major league teams during the season on the road as well as at home are not at this year’s World Series:...

Akron (Ohio) Beacon Journal

Arizona Republic

Atlanta Journal & Constitution

Baltimore Sun

Cincinnati Enquirer

Cleveland Plain Dealer

Contra Costa (Calif.) Times

Dallas Morning News

Dayton Daily News

Detroit Free Press

Detroit News

Fort Worth Star Telegram

Houston Chronicle

Minneapolis Star Tribune

Oakland Tribune

Orange County (Calif.) Register

Palm Beach (Fla.) Post

Pittsburgh Post Gazette

Pittsburgh Tribune Review

Providence (R.I.) Journal

Sacramento (Calif.) Bee

St. Paul Pioneer Press

San Francisco Chronicle

San Jose (Calif.) Mercury News

Seattle Times

South Florida Sun Sentinel

Tacoma (Wash.) News Tribune

Tampa Tribune

Worcester (Mass.) Telegram

The Los Angeles Daily News is not covering the World Series, but its baseball writers stopped traveling during the season this year. Taking baseball writers off the road is another economic measure that newspapers have taken. Baseball teams are on the road for half the season - three months - after spending six weeks in Florida or Arizona in spring training."...

from "Latest Signs of a Dying Industry," by Murray Chass, MurrayChass.com, 11/1/09, via BTF

Macys ad already advertising Phillies World Champion gear

2009-11-02T13:33:00.008-05:00

Macys ad selling Phillies World Champion gear runs in Philadelphia Inquirer, Inquirer posts apology for slip-up:

11/2/09: "A Message To Our Readers,

A Macy's advertisement in today's Inquirer incorrectly offered Phillies 2009 World Championship merchandise. The Inquirer deeply regrets this error. Macy's is a great corporate citizen, supporter of this region and our sports teams. We apologize for this error and any inconvenience this caused.

Sincerely,

Howard Griffin Vice President, National Advertising Philadelphia Media LLC The Philadelphia Inquirer, Daily News, Broad Street Publishing and philly.com"

via Poynter.org/Romenesko

(They might be able to run the ad eventually, just not today). photo of ad via poynter.org/romenesko via Hugging Harold Reynolds

Shane Victorino greets reporters with string of expletives- Newsday

2009-11-01T01:19:00.005-04:00

David Lennon of Newsday reports his experience trying to chat with some Phillies after Friday's workout (well before the evening game). Media types waited in hopes some Phillies might say a few words. Players choose to meet and greet or not, reporters take the job knowing this. However:

(Newsday): "Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley and Jayson Werth were conspicuous by their absence (in the clubhouse).
Ryan Howard loudly proclaimed that he was not talking.
Shane Victorino, after some persistent prodding, gave an interview in which

he greeted reporters with a string of expletives and then dismissed most of the questions.

Jamie Moyer sat at his locker and chatted for about an hour - but he's not even on the active roster.

It wasn't the type of behavior you would expect from a Phillies team that had been in this same spot only a year earlier and won the whole thing.

Was it a business-first mentality taking over? Was it exasperation with the national spotlight only four days into the World Series experience? Legitimate questions - but no one was around to answer them."...

11/1/09, "World Series Insider: Yanks Much Easier to Deal with than Phils"

Andy Pettitte, Clutch Player of the Game-MLB Net

2009-11-01T01:13:00.003-04:00

Andy Pettitte heads for home plate followed by Derek Jeter, 5th inning, World Series game 3 in Philadelphia. On the MLB Network after the game, they announced Andy's RBI single and good pitching earned him Clutch Player of the Game. ap photo

WFAN now simulcast on Florida HD radio stations

2009-10-31T20:43:00.007-04:00

As of October 30, 2009, WFAN Sportsradio 66 The Fan is "available to listeners in three Florida cities.

WOCL-FM HD3 (105.9) in Orlando,

WLLD-FM HD3 (94.1) in Tampa and

WEAT-FM HD3 (104.3) in West Palm Beach..." via Radio Daily News

From AllAccess.com: ""From its inception, CBS RADIO has embraced HD Radio and aggressively moved to upgrade our stations with this forward-thinking technology," said VP/Programming CHRIS OLIVIERO.

"Digital radio has afforded the industry a way to expand its audience and increase brand awareness, while giving listeners unmatched sound quality. "...********

About 2 years ago WFAN began to simulcast their PM drive show (then Mike and the Mad Dog) on 1010AM in Tampa. I thought it was a great idea, but 1010 appeared unenthused. They began preempting large portions of the show without comment or explanation. (Posted on this blog 12/6/07). Local hosts on 1010 seemed very unhappy about losing part of what they viewed as their airtime. Eventually, the association ended.

This is a good example of how local radio stations operate, ie no one in authority is paying much attention to things that really matter. As far as HD radio, I know nothing about it. I guess I have to go buy one. (framus)

Final out World Series game 2

2009-10-30T04:17:00.003-04:00

reuters photo

Still Your Daddy fan sign

2009-10-29T21:42:00.008-04:00

Yankee fans remember Pedro, World Series game 2, reuters

Dibs: Hughes affected by team dance with Chamberlain

2009-10-28T23:57:00.005-04:00

After the game on XM 175, Dibs said he thinks Phil Hughes has been a casualty of the Yankees' special treatment of Joba Chamberlain. First, Hughes gets knocked out of his starter job by Chamberlain; now in the post season, they stick Chamberlain in where Hughes was just getting comfortable. He says it has to throw Phil Hughes off at this point. Noting the last 3 innings are the toughest to manage, Girardi is facing a challenge. Buck Martinez reiterates that Chamberlain should never have been made a starter.

(As posted on this blog, I agree with those who observe Chamberlain isn't near deserving the hype he has received. The media did its part but the team was the worst offender. Experienced players have been manipulated and treated like rattles in a playpen for this guy. His violent fist pumps and facial gyrations on any and all occasions perhaps caused the team to think he'd sell tickets). framus. getty photos

Before the game

2009-10-28T22:48:00.005-04:00

Top photo fan in Wang jacket entering stadium; bottom, Yankee lineup before World Series game 1. photos by getty.

George Steinbrenner at World Series game 1

2009-10-28T22:44:00.004-04:00

Mr. Steinbrenner and daughter Jessica, vice chairman of the Yankees. ap photo

Princeton, NJ is Mason-Dixon line for Phillies v Yankee fans--resident

2009-10-28T01:52:00.007-04:00

Princeton is also a dividing line for radio listeners. If you're a NY radio listener you find many stations turning to static there. Whenever I've been in the Princeton area, I've ended up listening to Philadelphia stations. (framus)

More on geography: Longtime residents of the outlying Princeton area tell me Yardville, New Jersey is the most precise demarcation for Philadelphia v New York identity. Yardville seen on above map, red dot to the right of blue 195 sign, southeast of Trenton and directly south of Princeton. I've been in the area many times and have noted the change in accents, that is they speak with a South Jersey accent which is similar to a Philadelphia accent.

Jeff Nelson with Joe Castellano on XM 175

2009-10-28T01:27:00.003-04:00

These two did a great show Tuesday night, would be nice if the pairing were permanent. On topic of Posada and people stealing bases, Nelson said players steal off pitchers not catchers. Of Teixeira, Nelson said he is the type of guy who could be captain of the team someday, is always there for the media. Nelson believes team chemistry helps teams win which I've heard him say before, and he notes the 2003 Yankee team was more individuals than team. Says current Yankee team plays for the group.

Joe Castellano is excellent at give and take with callers as well as with his booth mate. Not many guys on sports talk radio are good at give and take, being able to bounce back and forth with a co-host. Dibble of course is good at it and Kennedy is as well, but not too many others. Castellano remembered a Chuck Knoblauch throwing blunder in 2000 that involved Enrique Wilson, asked Nelson about it, and it turned out Nelson was on the mound at the time.

On the topic of umps calling balls and strikes, Nelson said the sound of the ball hitting the catcher's mitt is one of the things umpires use to judge them (balls and strikes). And that the loudness in upcoming games would make it harder for umpires to hear such sounds.

Pete Rose taking your calls on 97.5FM in Phillie Tues. 10AM

2009-10-26T21:26:00.006-04:00

"Legendary baseball player and Philadelphia Phillies champion Pete Rose will guest-host from

10 am - noon on Tuesday, October 27th on

97.5 The Fanatic with co-host with Dan Schwartzman."

The website lists both 97.5FM and 950AM an ESPN affiliate.

via RadioDailyNews

And he did

2009-10-26T02:18:00.006-04:00

Andy Pettitte, Newsday back cover, Saturday 10/24/09.

Joel Sherman: "Andy Pettitte was the lone figure on the field at Yankee Stadium early Saturday night. The lights were off and a strong rain was falling. Game 6 of the ALCS had been postponed about an hour earlier.

Pettitte now had a huge workday ahead of him in 24 hours,

but he ran, and ran on a doused warning track....

For now this can be said about Pettitte: When it comes to the postseason, no pitcher has ever started more games, won more often and won more clinching games. Sure Pettitte has benefited from pitching for superb teams and in an era with three rounds of playoffs.

But it is one thing to have opportunity.
Another to capitalize."...

from Sherman's NY Post column, "Andy Dandy in postseason again" 10/26/09

Rain out views

2009-10-25T00:46:00.004-04:00

ALCS game 6 postponed due to rain, 10/24/09. reuters.
Mariano Rivera in rain out dugout, ap

Gawker Media, Deadspin named in suit by former ESPN analyst Salisbury

2009-10-24T21:01:00.007-04:00

"A former ESPN analyst and Dallas sports radio personality has filed a civil lawsuit in Denton County against the owner of a popular sports blog for causing him to lose both of his jobs and damaging his reputation. Sean Salisbury, a Frisco resident and former National Football League quarterback, filed a petition for a civil defamation lawsuit in a Denton County court

against Gawker Media for publishing several false stories

on their sports blog Deadspin.com that cost him several jobs, ruined his reputation and made it difficult to find gainful employment....

"What we hope to prove is that blog sites like Deadspin are accountable," he (Harlow, a member of Salisbury's counsel)) said. "They can't simply attack someone and make a concerted effort to destroy the lives and careers of people without any ramifications.""...

"Former ESPN, radio sports analyst Files Lawsuit Against Gawker Media in Denton County," by Danny Gallagher, McKinney Courier-Gazette, (Texas) 10/23/09, via Radio Daily News

Louisville Slugger aluminum bat trial commences

2009-10-24T00:54:00.003-04:00

Following the death of an 18 year old pitcher after being hit on the head by a ball batted from an aluminum bat:

Helena, Montana: "At issue in the trial that is expected to last at least until early next week is whether anyone could have known the danger that could come from using an aluminum baseball bat, and whether the manufacturer should be held liable for Patch's death."...

"Aluminum baseball bat safety on trial in Montana," AP story by Brock Vergakis

Part-time bloggers average $14,777 per year--Technorati

2009-10-24T00:14:00.007-04:00

"Most bloggers are hobbyists. But there’s a minority of professional bloggers who are making more money than ever, according to a new installment of Technorati’s State of the Blogosphere report.

Bloggers can collect ad revenues related to their blogs. But they are also making money by parlaying the popularity of their blogs into

speaking engagements, traditional media assignments, and running conferences.

Technorati said some bloggers are even reporting profits that place them squarely in the middle class.

Among those who make money from blogging, 54 percent are part-timers, 32 percent are self-employed, and 14 percent work for corporations.

Part-timers and full-time bloggers say the main ways they generate revenue are through display and search ads, as well as through affiliate marketing links where they get a cut from a sale after a referral.
About 15 percent say they are paid to gives speeches. Among the segment of full-time and part-time professional bloggers,
about 17 percent get their main income from blogging.

For full-time bloggers, the average revenue in a year is $122,222. For part-timers, annual income is $14,777. The average for the full and part-timers combined is $42,548.

About 89 percent believe that the ads on their sites must align with their own values.

Most use self-serve ad platforms. But an increasing number are using ad networks or blog ad networks too."...

"Technorati: Full-time bloggers are making more money than ever," VentureBeat, via RadioDailyNews

Reference: Technorati, "State of the Blogosphere 2009"

St. Louis sports radio host starts fund to save Rams

2009-10-21T20:30:00.002-04:00

ST. LOUIS – "WXOS-FM’s (pm drive host) Randy Karraker announced that he is stepping up to the plate in a bid to purchase the St. Louis Rams NFL franchise. Karraker made this announcement on the air this afternoon at 5:05pm on 101 ESPN....

And although there are a reported six potential groups interested in purchasing the team, none have stood out from the rest of the competition. Rather than just sit and watch it happen again, Karraker decided to do something about it, and has created the
Randy Karraker: Save the Rams Fund- and Fan-Raising Campaign.

Karraker says..."Whenever 101 ESPN’s “The Fast Lane” broadcasts on location, we will have the Randy Karraker: Save the Rams barrel on hand to collect donations, with all funds donated going to this grassroots cause to keep the Rams where they belong, in St. Louis.”...via Radio Daily News