Mail Call LETTERS Exclusive Interview Mike Shepard H. FRIEND The 1981 "ALDS" M. AUBRECHT Voyage to the Bottom D. McCOURT The Gospel According To "L" J. CATAYI Rivalry Quiz #4 BOSUX.COM Miller Huggins H. FROMMER Back Issues THE ARCHIVES BuySellTix.com GOT SEATS? Get World Series tickets Bombers Board CLASSIFIEDS Yankees Cartoons Marvin Terry Prints Portrait Matt's Restored Baseball Photos SnapShots Staff photographer (and season ticket holder - Section 11, Box 35, Row B) Brian DiSalvo has now posted his Yankees Game Photos online. Pinstripe Press HOT OFF THE PRESS New: Lou Gehrig tribute selected for BBF HOF website. In Progress: MLB Comish bios for Baseball-Almanac Yankees Trivia LAST MONTH Who was the last surviving full rank Civil War General (who lived to witness the days of Ruth and Gehrig)? Answer: Albert Ames 1835-1933, C.O. First Division, 11th Army Corp, Army of the Potomac Web Links FAN NETWORK BaseballAlmanac BaseballFever UltimateYankees Yankeesmania YankeesBoard BehindTheBombers NewYorkYankees TakeHimDowntown Bosux.com HarveyFrommer CeciliaTan SteveSteinberg VirtualLibrarySport PortraitMatt's nBoBaseball MarvinTerryGallery L.O.T.M. Yanks Volume 17 August/September 2004 - Scoreboard Theme - Email: TheHighlander The Gospel According To "L" Email: Jorge "Mr. 161 Street-River Av" Catayi Website: Land Of The Mighty Yanks Good morning, good afternoon or good evening to you friends - whichever of those three applies to you. Welcome to our 9/11 remembrance issue of The Gospel According to 'L". Today we're going to, as always, recap the series against Tampa Bay and in Baltimore, and I also want to flashback to September 11, 2001 and what I personally went through on that awful day. So let's get started. Let's begin with the long series with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Thanks to the sheer stupidity of the D-Rays' organization, the Yankees had to accommodate them by pushing back the start of the scheduled doubleheader to 3:05PM. To add insult to injury - the Rays couldn't get out of Florida until the afternoon. I remember turning on YES at 2:45PM, trying to catch some of the pregame. And I see the June 14, 2002 game against the Mets at Shea! For a split second I thought the Yankees had re-acquired Alfonso Soriano. I'm wondering to myself what the hell is going on here? Then I find out the doubleheader was turned into a single game - eventually the start time was set to 7:05PM. George Steinbrenner, Brian Cashman and Randy Levine all did was they were supposed to do - they asked the league for a forfeit! The D-Rays knew this storm was coming this weekend and their two final games at home with Detroit were postponed. Why do you think the Marlins decided to pull out of the Sunshine State on Friday? In addition - the Devil Rats (that's not a typo) knew they had a doubleheader scheduled in New York on Monday at 1:05PM! If they had any brains in that organization they would have left for the metro area on Friday or Saturday - but they didn't, yet it is we who have to pay the price! The rules state that if you are not in the vicinity of the playing field within five minutes of the first pitch - you forfeit the game to the opposing team. Yet Comrade Selig basically told the Yankee organization to go to hell and that the rules don't apply to them in this case. This is beyond obscene! In every other case the rules must be followed - but when it's in favor of the Yankees - no way in hell. Can you just imagine if the roles were reversed? There'd be a public outcry by these vile, disgusting Yankee haters and Selig would more than likely order the Yankees to either show up or forfeit! Instead, the Yankees have to change their plans to accommodate a laughingstock team run by brain-dead individuals. If they can't foresee the upcoming weather, just imagine what kind of plans they have for the team's future! Thankfully it didn't break the Bombers' concentration on Monday. El Duque had two little blemishes - one the homerun to Jorge Cantu in the second and an RBI single by Cheito (Jose Cruz, Jr.) in the sixth. It's 2-1 Yankees in the fourth with the bags juiced. A-Rod's up, and he's usually choked in this situation this season. Until Monday when he brought'em all in with the base clearing double down left field. I hate seeing a game on Monday night - I truly despise it. In case I never told you that (only 500 times), I thought I should now. We soon find out there's a doubleheader scheduled for Wednesday beginning at 4:05PM. Tuesday was even better! You gotta love this - Yankees lead 5-2 coming into the bottom of the seventh. Once Kate Smith finishes her great rendition of God Bless America, the Bombers come to bat. Run after run, after run, after run, after run. From 5-2 to 11-2 in about 10 or so minutes! And Jon Lieber pitched another beauty - six-plus, zero walks and nine K's. He's starting to look a bit more reliable than he did about a month or two ago. So now that's two-for-two with a doubleheader coming up the next day - maybe. Well the scheduled doubleheader was supposed to begin at 4:05PM ET, as I already mentioned. But guess what - it was raining almost all day! Bud Selig must have been in his office laughing hysterically and saying to himself "ha, I got you now Yankees!" He couldn't demoralize them on Monday or Tuesday, no matter how hard he tried - so getting this doubleheader postponed while the Red Sox are on the left coast beating the hell out of the A's sounded like a great idea. That closet Communist pig! That's what he is - a closet Communist. If he were a true American he'd see that being rich is based mainly on success. But he tries everything to stop the Yankees from being a winning team (luxury tax and so-called revenue sharing.) Now he throws out the rule book and forces the Bombers to try to get all of these games in, knowing full-well that neither team has coinciding off days. Well then comes Thursday and now a double-dip set for 3:05PM. Rain was in the forecast all day - but it didn't come - thank God! True to form - the Bombers went out and annihilated the Devil Rats in both games. God I enjoyed those two games - run after run, after run, after run - just like Tuesday night in the seventh inning. When you see Mike Mussina finally pitch a beauty and get the win, is there anything sweeter? I mean other than seeing the Mets lose eleven in a row. The only negative was Brad Halsey - this kid is not ready for primetime. Not only is he not ready for the show, but who knows if he ever will be. But the bottom line is this - four-for-four! They only got four games in yet the Yankees totally destroyed the D-Rats in four games! Bud Selig - you Yankee-hating slimeball - you did all you could to try and stop them - but you failed miserably! We're not stupid; we know you hate the Yankees. You were the owner of a rinky-dink small-market franchise that will never be as great a franchises, and that has made you jealous of the New York Yankees! You did all you could to have them lose their focus in this series - but you forgot that great teams always overcome adversity - unlike in 1996, a certain team the Yankees played this weekend. To only have six hits in the previous eighteen innings, and then to come up with five big runs? It doesn't get any better than that. All right now let's talk about the three-game series in Baltimore. Does Javier Vazquez have any talent anymore? When he was acquired for Nick Johnson and Juan Rivera he was supposed to be basically the near-future ace of the Yankees. Now he starts to remind you basically of David Cone in his last few seasons with the Yankees. Do you remember when Coney couldn't even pitch past the fourth inning after the perfect game back in '99? Everything he throws is right in the strike zone and it gets hit hard! Rodrigo Lopez was also terrible, but the Yankees pitching was worse! You had C.J. Nitkowski, Esteban Loaiza, and even Steve Karsay come in and just add some gasoline to the fire. When you score eight runs and cannot win, you are in big trouble! Then came Saturday - September 11. We're going to talk more about the date in the next segment. On Saturday El Duque was - in the words of Fernando - marvelous! After the nice pregame ceremony honoring the victims of 9/11, he outpitched Sidney Ponson in a huge game! If the Yankees had lost this game the lead would have dropped to 1½. But Orlando comes up big - hell the only mistake he made was hanging a pitch to his elderly countryman - Rafael Palmiero. If it wasn't for his strength, he'd have no power whatsoever. You gotta love the way the Yankees came up big - with the little ball. To only have six hits in the previous eighteen innings, and then to come up with five big runs? It doesn't get any better than that. Then we have Sunday. I was tuning in back and forth towards the end to catch some of the Giants-Eagles game (disappointing is an understatement.) If it wasn't for the fact that the W-column is important right now - I would have been very upset with the way this one played out. Jon Lieber started off horribly, and the Yankees get chance after chance to have big innings before the sixth - yet they get nothing! I'll admit - when they were down 6-2 I thought that was it - I thought it was over. But thankfully they proved me wrong. You gotta love how A-Rod is beginning to have his critics put their feet in their mouths. He's finally getting the big hits with runners in scoring position. The O's used all their pitchers in the bullpen - all of them! You can tell Lee Mazzilli is a rookie manager. To take B.J. Ryan out for the ninth and bring in the unreliable Jorge Julio? First two batters - BOOM BOOM! That Sheffield shot was a beauty! God that was an awesome way to finish off the birds. Some contender you have there O's fans! Yet now we need'em to beat the Red Sox. I keep hearing Sterling and Steiner go on and on about how the O's have won seven of eleven against the BoSox this season. So what? This Red Sox team can easily sweep all eight games! I'm not saying that so that Red Sox nation can glorify itself - I'm saying it because it's a sad truth. Speaking of which - the Yankees are going to Kansas City; Kansas City here they come. And then three dates with fate as the Sox come to the boogie-down Bronx. The Royals are a bad team - but they cannot be taken lightly, otherwise it will hurt in the standings. As for the final three games this week - this could make or break the Yankee season for now. If they sweep the Sox, or at least take two of three, they can widen the gap and lower the magic number dramatically. If they get swept God forbid or lose two of three - then they're going to have to pray that the rest of the league helps them out. If you're a nervous Yankee fan - this week is not one to ever take lightly. All right, let's move on. Being that yesterday was the tragic anniversary - I want to now flashback to that horrible day - September 11, 2001. Some of you have fond memories of this day as well, and if you'd like you can e-mail me and share them. If the memories you have of that day are too painful, and you do not want to remember that day - I understand - however you'll want to just stop reading right now. Right now I want to begin with the evening of September 10, 2001. I had just started my final semester of study at St. John's University a few days earlier on September 5. On September 10 I was doing some homework and waiting for the final game of a four-game series against the Red Sox to begin, as well as the NY Giants season opener in Denver on Monday Night Football. The Bombers had won the first three and were looking for a sweep to basically put the Red Sox out of their misery. This was the final season of Yankee baseball on WABC radio (770 AM.) The rain had stopped falling, but the game did not start, and John Sterling and Michael Kay were just yapping away. I cannot remember at what time it was announced, but Bob Sheppard came on the PA system to say tonight's game had been postponed due to poor field conditions - or something to that degree. Sterling and Kay were mystified - how can this be? Nevertheless, there was no game that night, and I will never forget how John Sterling signed off the air. His final words were "this would have been New York Yankees Baseball." I cannot explain to you why - but for some unknown reason - that sent chills up my spine. I'm willing to bet anything that if Sterling knew he was not going to call another baseball game for another two weeks due to a tragedy that would unfold the very next day, he would have thought of something better to say. In the words of Dennis Miller - that's just my opinion, I could be wrong. Then comes Tuesday - September 11. I had to get up at 5:45AM for a class that started at 7:30AM. I get to class about two minutes late, but that was the only incident there. Class ended at about 8:55 or 9AM. I went outside to smoke a cigarette while waiting for my second and final class to start. I overhear a guy in my next class talking to his father on his cell. I still remember the words he said - "what! A fifty-foot crater!" I figured he was talking about something that happened on the Island (Long Island for those of you who live outside this great region) since he lives out there. A few seconds later he gets off the phone, looks me in the eye and says to me "a plane just crashed into the World Trade Center." I was kind of stunned. Later he told me it was a 747, not a prop plane and I don't know why I just ignored these words, but he said "what they couldn't do back in 1993 (trying to knock down the towers) with bombs now they're going to do by accident." Naturally, like most of you, we thought it was an accident. I was kind of hoping that class would be cancelled, but it wasn't. So I sat through the entire Constitutional Law class wondering what else was going on. I simply had one plane crashing into the one of the towers in my mind. When I finally get out of class, I turn on WABC-radio and I think it was George Weber who said "both towers of the World Trade Center have collapsed." I myself nearly collapsed when I heard that. I thought how could this be? These buildings were built with endurance - how could they have fallen? But they did. At that time I knew there was going to be no baseball tonight - then again that should have been the last thing on my mind since a New York City landmark was gone and thousands of people were dead. I then finally got to call home - and my mother was in panic mode. She told me it was two planes that crashed into each building at different times. To make matters worse, a plane crashed into the Pentagon, and another crashed somewhere in Pennsylvania. The St. John's campus was immediately closed for security reasons - there were reports of bomb threats outside the capital, snipers, etc. I can still remember legendary New York and WABC voice-over man Johnny Donovan reading the headline as "America Under Attack." My stomach was in knots knowing that 1) this had occurred and 2) wondering if I was going to get home alive even though I was in Queens. I'm thinking to myself are we going to be nuked next? Seeing the Yankees win it all in 1996, '98, '99 and 2000 was beautiful - but to see them win it in 2001 would have been even better. To get to St. John's I'd take a bus (Q46) and the subway (E or F-train). There was no subway service at all, so after I got off the bus at Union Turnpike (Kew Gardens), I began my long walk up Queens Boulevard in the late summer heat. I called home about every 20 blocks just to let everybody know I was ok. I kept hearing the same thing on the radio - no planes taking off or flying anywhere, buildings in Manhattan including the Empire State Building and the United Nations were closed, and that it was two airplanes crashing into the Twin Towers within about fifteen minutes of each other. I'm no fan of President Bush, but I was actually glad to hear him speak and say "make no mistake - America will hunt down those responsible for this and bring them to justice" - or something to that degree. Once I got to the Queens Center Mall at Woodhaven Boulevard, I decided to take a Q29 bus that would leave me a few blocks away from home. There was one minor incident on that bus - the driver nearly had a minor collision with the driver of another car. We waited nearly five minutes while they argued - but it gave me a chance to just listen to the news coverage. Then I get off and I see the Air Force jets high up in the air. If I ever join the military - it'll be the Air Force - just a chance to drop the bomb over America's enemies! But I get home and I see the horrific images of the World Trade Center burning and the second jet flying into the South Tower. I had it on ABC and I can remember Peter Jennings looking a bit stoned after a while - I mean the man's been on the air since 9AM. But it was just a horrific sight and I don't think I'll ever forget the images and I'm sure you won't either. There is so much more I want to tell you but I do not want to make this too long. I do want to talk a little bit about the days and months following 9/11. I will admit - I did cry a few times thinking about how thousands of Americans lost their lives and thinking about how I'd never get another chance to visit the observation deck in the South Tower. Then again you can replace a building, but you cannot replace humans. I will say this - it did anger me to see people from other cities waving these phony signs saying "we love you NY," or this disgusting one - "Chicago loves NY." You phony bastards! You hypocrites! Before September 11, 2001 New York was just a crack-infested cesspool to you! Now that nearly 3,000 New Yorkers were killed, you suddenly love us? Take your love and shove it up your rear ends! Rudy Giuliani may have been impressed by that, but I wasn't! I can still remember one animal in Phoenix, during the World Series saying "look at New York, in a great big mess while Phoenix still has all its buildings standing." This may not sit too well with some of you but I'm going to say it anyway. There were many people outside this city, who live in the United States and maybe Canada, who were silently cheering when that happened. They will never admit it, nor would they show it - but deep down inside they were smiling and saying "HA! TAKE THAT NEW YORK!" I can remember in 2000 - I had one vile, disgusting woman tell me that the majority of Americans hate New York City, that it should be bombed off the face of the earth and that nobody would miss it. Well this town did get attacked and look what happened - the nation was in chaos! Now for those of you who wish to see New York City gone forever - you'll be cutting off your noses to spite your face. Without New York City, America will not exist - it just will not be able to. This is the economic backbone of the United States and possibly the Western hemisphere! I would have felt better if some people had said New York City got what it deserved instead of these phonies all of a sudden "loving" us. As for the 2001 World Series - it is one I'd personally rather forget as long as I am on this ball of dirt called Earth. Everybody, even Yankee fans called it a series that cheered New Yorkers up. It sure did - we call them Met fans! They're the only ones who were happy after that World Series. What was so great about that series? Oh games four and five when Tino Martinez and Scott Brosius hit the dramatic game-tying homers off Byung-Hyun Kim! Big deal - the Yankees still lost! To see Mariano blow that lead on November 4 was like seeing the Towers get hit all over again. It was as if the Arizona Diamondbacks finished Osama Bin Laden's job for him. I know that's not too popular among some of you - but that is how I feel - if you don't like it then don't read this anymore. Seeing the Yankees win it all in 1996, '98, '99 and 2000 was beautiful - but to see them win it in 2001 would have been even better (I still wouldn't trade 2000.) So they won three games at home - BIG DEAL! The 1987 Cardinals and 1991 Atlanta Braves won three games at home, but they lost the World Series those years! What good is a World Series if you cannot win that fourth time? Let me tell you people outside the metro area something - I hope to God you never go through what we went through. You know the saying I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy? Well 9/11 applies to this little'ol cliché. It's been three years - yet America is still here and New York is still here - the latter unfortunately for some of you. I know you'll never forget what happened, and neither will I. To those of you who lost somebody or some people in those attacks - you have my deepest condolences. Like I said earlier - unlike buildings, human beings can never be replaced. But I hope you can take comfort in the fact that most, if not all of them are in a better place now, where they will never see horror again. And hopefully we can be good people so that someday we can see them again. Take care of yourselves my friends, I will see you next week. This site is not endorsed by the New York Yankees. Copyright © 2002-2003-2004 Pinstripe Press Pinstripe Press - The Highlander - The Collector - GoodNews The opinions expressed solely represent the contributor's and not the Pinstripe Press. Questions or comments in regards to a specific article should be sent directly to that writer's email. All questions, comments, advertising inquiries etc. should be sent to the Pinstripe Press at StlrsFan1@aol.com. Best when viewed with latest Internet Explorer or Netscape browsers in 1024x768.