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Weekly Digest @ 10pm on 1240 AM WGBB

Sunday, April 29th, 2012

Tonight I will be live from the studio of 1240 AM WGBB. Former big leaguer Frank Catalanotto will kick off the show. Frank recently published a book called “Heart and Hustle: An Unlikely Journey from Little Leaguer to Big Leaguer.“ I will talk about the homegrown Mets and their surprising April start. MLB.com contributor Jed [...]

Baseball Sees Itself in Canseco

Saturday, April 21st, 2012

Great day I walked on to the field and then flexed for the crowd got a loud possitive cheer loved it — Jose Canseco (@JoseCanseco) April 21, 2012 The beauty and downfall of social media is that it allows complete transparency into the world of people. The invisible wall that once separated fans from who [...]

The Manischewitz All-Time 25-Man Roster

Sunday, April 8th, 2012

On the second night of Passover, a simple dinner discussion that evolved into an argument between the Matzo Ball Soup and the Brisket was the impetus for this list. Going through the Internet to find any definitive list, this wonderful piece by the ubiquitous Jonah Keri from 2007 was discovered  listing the Top 18 Jewish [...]

Canseco: Owning the Mets Is Bad For My Portfolio

Wednesday, March 28th, 2012

Looks like Jose Canseco is playing the lottery these days. He’s asked the Mets, Red Sox, A’s and Blue Jays for jobs over the last couple of years, but no one seems to want to take a chance on the 47-year old.  He even said he would play baseball for free, if he won the [...]

Jose Canseco Caught With PEDs, Again

Wednesday, March 7th, 2012

call me crazy but i fell like i did in 1988. heatlhy and my legs feel strong. 20/20 at 47? strongly believe. gladd to be playing period — Jose Canseco (@JoseCanseco) March 1, 2012 Jose Canseco‘s bizarre story continues to take on new turns. After spending last season as a player-manager in the independent North [...]

Expanded Playoffs Necessary in Lieu of Salary Cap

Thursday, March 1st, 2012

All reports indicate that MLB will expand its playoff system this year to include a second Wild Card team. MLB continues to be the only sport that doesn’t get it. What I mean by that is they don’t have the understanding or ability to create an economic system where the disparity in local revenues between [...]

Yanks Should Thank Burnett for Vetoing LA Deal

Tuesday, February 21st, 2012

According to a tweet the other night by Buster Olney, the Philadelphia Phillies attempted to trade pitcher Joe Blanton to the Los Angeles Angels for OF/DH Bobby Abreu, then planned to flip Abreu to the New York Yankees for A.J. Burnett.  My first thought was how much cash would the Phillies have wanted the Yankees [...]

Can Adam Loewen Become the Next Rick Ankiel?

Thursday, February 9th, 2012

You know the story about the Mets and their inability to add much, if any, payroll. What once was supposed to be about $120 million dollar budget has slide all the way down to around $90 million. That’s why it came as no surprise that one of their rumored targets- Rick Ankiel- signed as minor league [...]

Pete Rose Received Two Write-In Votes This Past HOF Election

Monday, January 30th, 2012

Update 10 AM: Repoz from Baseball Think Factory has informed me the other Rose supporting is perennial backer Jack McCaffery of the Daily Times in the Philly area. Original Post Last night, I was joined by Marco Maturo, a member of the BBWAA who spent 40 years covering sports for Gannett, which included 7 years on the Mets beat [...]

Vote: NYBD 2012 Hall of Fame Ballot

Sunday, January 1st, 2012

We are a little over a week away from the Baseball Hall of Fame announcing its 2012 selection. Each year, I give the readers of NYBD an opportunity to cast their own BBWAA-style ballot. Last year Bert Blyleven and Roberto Alomar garnered the most fan support, but not the requisite 75% needed for induction. In December, Gil Hodges received the most [...]

Have the Yankees Become Complacent as an Organization?

Thursday, December 29th, 2011

The quotes to Bob Klapisch at Fox Sports from a senior Yankees official  caused very little stir. Perhaps because it’s a holiday week and the usual pundits are on vacation. Perhaps because Klapisch wrote it on Fox Sports instead of the Post or Daily News. Perhaps the opening week of the NBA and the Giants and Jets fighting [...]

Pete Abe Speaks Out Against Baseball “McCarthyism”

Tuesday, December 27th, 2011

Back in the 40s and 50s the United States was facing a huge threat – communism. During this era, thousands of Americans were accused of being Communists or communist sympathizers and became the subject of aggressive investigations and questioning before government. Wisconsin Senator Joe McCarthy led the brigade with the “Hollywood Blacklist” and investigations by the House [...]

BBWAA Will Not Induct Anyone Until 2014

Monday, December 19th, 2011

It’s been nearly 15 years since the BBWAA elected to not enshrine someone in Cooperstown. During the 1996 election, Phil Niekro received 68.3% of the vote, followed by Tony Perez (65.7%), and Don Sutton (63.8%). Ironically, all three would be enshrined by 2000.  I believe there is a good chance no one will be inducted by the [...]

Dissecting the Jonathon Niese Rumors

Saturday, December 17th, 2011

There have been persistent rumors since the Winter Meetings that Sandy Alderson is looking to deal Jonathon Niese for prospects. With Oakland’s expensive asking price for Gio Gonzalez - reports indicate Billy Beane wants Jesus Montero and a Killer B from the Yankees – Alderson is looking to see if he could jump in on the market and obtain prospects from team’s interested [...]

Sticky: Vote in the NYBD Hall of Fame Ballot

Tuesday, December 13th, 2011

I will be keeping this up as a sticky until our January 8th Hall of Fame show where we will announce the fan selections. Remember, the actual Hall of Fame announcement will be on January 9th. Here is my Hall of Fame ballot – you can weigh in on the conversation by voting here.