Reggie Jackson

On my way back to spring training

admin — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 21:26:04 +0000

California trip is done, I’m getting ready to head back down to Florida and watch the rest of the preseason.

It was great to Nick Johnson get in there and do his thing in his last game, hitting a pair of home runs. It’s a real bummer for the fans that Damon isn’t playing in today’s game. He has turf toe. I spoke to Jim Leyland and Austin Jackson and I’m excited that Austin is going to get a chance in Detroit. I told Leyland he’s got a chance to be a great leadoff hitter and a great player. I have my fingers crossed for him.

Joba and Hughes are on the mound today. Joba is a good man – last year was tough for him. He did very well to stay with it, a lot of other people wouldn’t have been able to handle it. His last outing he had the flu, but he still did the right thing and came out and pitched. You’ll see around the 20th he’ll be better and we’ll have a better idea of his placement this season.

Gotta go catch my flight, but I’ll check back in soon.

Too much pitching is a good problem

admin — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 17:48:26 +0000

I’m back in home in California for a few days, but am still keeping a close eye on the boys back in Tampa.
Mitre is pitching really well which is great to see. He’s a hard worker, a strong pitcher with a really good sinker. You can look at him when he pitches and practices and see he has a purpose. He also has great attitude which everyone can see and appreciates. Igawa has been struggling for a long time, but we’re still very early in March. We need to get deeper into the Spring before we start seeing anything really important. Most guys who are in camp know if they have a spot already or not. There will end up being about three spots available in the bullpen, but one will be taken by either Joba or Phil. We have 5 guys fighting for the fifth spot in the rotation right now; Mitre, Gaudin, Joba, Phil and Aceves. Having too much pitching is a good problem to have.

I hope Cervelli’s injury isn’t too bad, it sounds like he’ll be out for about a week to ten days. They’re going to need him because Jorge is going to DH a little bit this season and we need someone else who can catch. I hope Nick Johnson gets healthy soon as well.

I’m doing a commercial out here, but I’ll still be watching and I’ll check back in after the game.

Another cold day for baseball…

admin — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 04:03:06 +0000

Another cold day of baseball. I had 5 layers on to fight the cold, but I still got to see a great game. Doc Halladay vs. CC in a World Series matchup. They both looked real good, almost everyone looked good. It was the first day out for Cano, Swisher and Posada while guys like Jeter and Granderson sat out. If you didn’t know, it’s a major league rule that a team must play 4 starters when they have a road game.

I saw a bunch of real good kids out there. We threw a kid named Ivan Nova, a big 6′5″ hurler and he looked wonderful out there. Jesus Montero started the ninth with a nice hit and then Greg Golson pinch ran and stole second. Romine then hit him over to third. When you see the young kids doing what they’re supposed to do, getting runners over, mastering the basics of the game it means your minor league system is doing well. I could see the looks on the faces of Joe Girardi & hitting coach Kevin Long and they were smiling…big smiles. Brandon Laird looked good as well, his brother is the catcher over in Detroit. Colin Curtis & Reegie Corona both have shown good things so far. You can really see these minor league guys professing and it makes me feel really good. We’re doing the right thing in our minor league system.

Great 1st Game

admin — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 23:00:52 +0000

Nice little game out there today. It’s always nice to win the first game of the season whether it be in the regular season or spring training. It’s also always nice to see the World Series Trophy, the way the players did today. The Boss was at the stadium watching the game with us. I thought Gaudin & Mitre threw well, as did Aceves. Nick Johnson looked real good at the bat. He’s always been a hitter & if he stays healthy this season he’ll be really big for us.

CC will be throwing tomorrow against the Phillies and I think Halladay is throwing his first game against us. Should make for a great matchup.

Almost Game Time!

admin — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 18:04:37 +0000

Yet another cold, rainy, tough day for baseball here in Tampa. But nevertheless, it’s time for the first spring training game against Pittsburgh. Today we have the 5th starter group going. Gaudin, Mitre, Aceves, the guys fighting for that spot. I’m going to be announcing the guys from the Yankees past who are in attendance before the game. Tino is here, so is Bernie, so that will be a real nice kick for the fans here.

I’m having a blast down here with Teixiera, Jeter and Alex. We all had lunch together today and laughed until we all ached in our sides. We had a great talk about how when struggling at the plate, you have to keep on acting like nothing is wrong to get back in the groove.

We’ve got about 60 guys here at camp and there is so much confidence riding through them. Cashman had been here for about 20 years and he knows what it takes to repeat. Girardi repeated as a player, he’s not a newbie when it comes to the situation. Same with Derek. Jorge, Mariano & Andy. I got a chance to speak with Javi Vazquez this morning. I remember how uncomfortable he was his 1st time here and I told him he looked a lot more comfortable and confident this time around. Vazquez told me it was true, he did feel much better and looser.

Almost game-time, I’ll write back-in afterwards.

March 2nd Spring Training Update

admin — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 17:36:52 +0000

More rain today, but lucky for us it was a scheduled off-day with the first game of the spring coming tomorrow. Today was a day meant for the players to spend some casual time together. Everyone went over to an arcade here in Tampa, and the players were playing video games, playing skeetball, going on rides, and just having a good time together. The place was only open for them, so it was the perfect place to bond. I was with them for about an hour, but I just snuck out. On my way to have lunch with the Boss. I’m bringing him a tuna melt sandwich with French fries.

First game of the season tomorrow. I’ll be writing in beforehand to give a little preview.

Spring Training Update

admin — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 18:27:51 +0000

It’s definitely not baseball weather down here at spring training. Low 40’s, cold, rain, all-in-all it’s miserable weather for playing baseball. We did have some great meetings on Saturday with the players all talking out loud about winning again and how they need to go about that. Being supportive, being prepared, playing sound fundamental baseball. Those are three of the necessary keys if a team wants to repeat.

The players did have a great workout in the gym on Saturday since the bad weather kept them inside. A day like Saturday (with the weather being bad) is perfect for a great gym workout with good calisthenics. The players also got in some good action in the cages under the stadium. No running on the field with the weather conditions they were.

That’s your typical spring training day in the rain. A short day that’s not a lot of fun, but the guys still get to work out and get a sweat in. I’m looking forward to some better weather as the week progresses.

Football ends and Baseball is about to begin!

admin — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 22:58:49 +0000

Football season is finally over and I’m just thirteen days away from making the trip down to Spring Training. I was rooting for Peyton Manning and the Colts in the Super Bowl. I thought the Colts were the better team, as did most people. Like most people, I have to admit I was wrong. New Orleans winning is a great story that the whole country can appreciate. Peyton played great, but Brees was better and the Saints were the better team. Even though he lost, this one game doesn’t tarnish Peyton’s legacy. Peyton is still an amazing quarterback.

I’m going to be down in spring training the whole time. I’ll be there to offer my support & help the guys out any way I can. Spring training will help the team get re-focused. It’s good that they have guys like Jeter, Girardi and Cashman to lead the team because they know what it takes to win back-to-back. It will make for an easy adjustment for some of the new faces.

I hope to posting close to once a day during spring training so keep reading if you want my view on how the team is shaping up this spring.

The Hawk

admin — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 20:43:23 +0000

Congratulations to the Hawk, Andre Dawson, for making it to the Baseball Hall of Fame today. This was long overdue. I wasn’t sure if he was going to make it in, but there was no question in my mind that Andre deserved it. Andre had a number of big seasons and a great all around game. He hit stole bases, scored runs, hit home runs, all at a very high level. Andre never made an issue about making the Hall of Fame. He’s a very humble individual and never stressed himself out over getting in to the Hall or not. So once again congratulations to Andre, it’s about time!

Let’s go Yanks

admin — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 03:39:15 +0000

Rain rain go away come back another day. Not important that its raining we will stay ready to play and so will the Phillies, when the umpires say “play ball”. When it rains during the World Series the start of the game is in the control of the Commissioner.
If it starts and doesn’t get completed, it gets started the next day before the scheduled game, wherever it left off until the 9 innings are completed.
We will be ready whenever this baby starts up again.
We,re not playing well but this is part of the game. You have to as a team dig down, grind and scratch out victories. When you play 200+ to decide who the champion is, some of the victories aren’t pretty nor are they the way you’d design them. Its what happens when you play 200+

We need to establish to the Phillies that we are a better team everyday, because they are the reigning World Champion and won’t lay down, they are tough and no offense to any other team in the National League but they are built like an American League team. Their lineup has depth a greater focus on offense. Let’s remember that before the current General Manager Rueben Amaro they had a longtime American successful American league GM Pat Gillick
Enjoy the Series

Check out my Sirius XM Radio show Tues nights “Mr October Nights ” on channel 144 7-9p. See u on the radio. This week I’ll be with Chris Russo.

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