New York Yankees fans—such as I—who go back only as far as the early 1960s with their memories of the Bronx Bombers, are too young to have witnessed the exploits of Cookie Lavagetto and what he means to Yankees and Brooklyn Dodgers fans.

Lavagetto passed away in 1990 at the age of 77; had he lived, Harry Arthur Lavagetto would have turned 99 years old on Dec. 1. Lavagetto, with one swing of his bat, brought the Yankees Universe of the time crashing to its knees in one of the oddest World Series games ever contested.

Some of Lavagetto’s prime years were lost to World War II. He began his career with the Pirates in 1934. With the Dodgers from 1937 through 1941, and then again, after his time in the service, from 1945 through 1947, Cookie was a decent run producer, considering his lack of power. Lavagetto had a season during which he hit just a single round-tripper, but still collected 78 runs batted in. He was a four-time All-Star, but by 1947, when the Dodgers met the Yankees in the World Series, he was 34 years old and used mostly as a pinch hitter and a backup third baseman.

In this particular series, the Yankees forged a two games to one advantage. In Game 4, New York sent talented, but erratic Bill Bevens to the mound. Bevens had been 7-13 in 1947, but he was a 16-game winner the previous season. Walks were often his undoing. In this game, he would issue a total of 10 free passes, but incredibly, as the ninth inning began, Bevens had not allowed a hit and New York led 2-1. After sandwiching a pair of pop outs around his ninth walk, Bevens and the Yankees intentionally walked Pete Reiser after pinch runner Al Gionfriddo stole second base. This questionable strategy would backfire when Cookie Lavagetto came in to pinch hit for Eddie Stanky.

Lavagetto proceeded to hit a double off the right field wall, scoring both runners and winning the game. Bevens would pitch in Game 7 for two innings as New York won the Series, but he would never pitch in the big leagues again. Lavagetto also pinch hit in Game 7, making a harmless out. Like Bevens, his career was finished. The double was the last base hit he ever got in the major leagues.

Sources:

http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/l/lavagco01.shtml

http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/bevenbi01.shtml

http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/BRO/BRO194710030.shtml

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Though the New York Yankees year ended with a disappointing playoff loss at the hands of the Detroit Tigers, there were some positives to take away from the season though not enough to eliminate the sting of an early playoff exit. The starting rotation, a question mark from the onset of the season, proved to be a yearlong problem, though Freddy Garcia(notes) and fellow veteran Bartolo Colon(notes) were pleasant surprises. As Phil Hughes(notes) and AJ Burnett(notes) stumbled, Garcia and Colon provided much needed support. On November 24, the Yankees and Garcia agreed to a one-year deal worth $4 million in base salary. The Yankees hope the former free agent pitcher has another productive season in him.

Last year the Yankees signed Garcia to a minor league deal before the start of spring training in a deal worth only $1.5 million in total. The right-hander was a long shot to make the team, but he not only made the club, he won a spot in the rotation in spring training. In one of the biggest surprise performances on the year for New York, Garcia was 12-8 with a 3.62 ERA on the season. Though he tired by the end of the year, posting a season high 7.36 ERA in September, almost double any other month, Garcia still finished the year with 96 strikeouts in 146.2 innings pitched recording only his second full season since 2007.

Garcia is 35-years-old and counting on a repeat performance next season may be asking too much, but considering the other staff issues, Garcia is worth the risk. With AJ Burnett going 11-11 on the season with a 5.15 ERA and Phil Hughes posting a hefty 5.79 ERA and 5-5 record, Garcia is the least of the Yankees’ worries. The question is can New York depend on Hughes or Burnett next year?

The Garcia signing leaves the Yankee rotation as it was to start the 2011 season with: CC Sabathia(notes), Ivan Nova(notes), AJ Burnett, Garcia and Phil Hughes. Considering last years troubles, New York will be wise to bring in another starter. While I was happy with his performance last year, re-signing Garcia needs to be the beginning not the end. The Yankees’ rotation still needs help, as more question marks remain, Hughes and Burnett, than sure things, Sabathia.

Unfortunately, Andy Pettite is gone and Cliff Lee(notes) isn’t coming, so the Yankees need to keep looking.

_________________

Vonda Menard has been a New York Yankees fan for over 25 years. Her stepfather first brought her to Yankee stadium as a young child, where she fell in love with Don Mattingly, and the Yankees. She makes the pilgrimage from Connecticut to New York yearly, to expose her boys to the same experience.

Sources:

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story

http://www.hardballchat.com/2011

http://mlb.mlb.com/team

http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com

http://www.baseball-reference.com

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New York Yankees shortstop Eduardo Nunez(notes) and, presumably, another prospect or two being shipped to Atlanta in exchange for right-handed starter Jair Jurrjens(notes) (13-6, 2.94 ERA) is a trade New York baseball fans and writers have been discussing this week.

The Yankees, should that trade ever take place, would feature CC Sabathia(notes) (19-8, 3.00 ERA), Ivan Nova(notes) (16-4, 3.70 ERA) and Jurrjens atop their rotation. They would instantly have, on paper, one of the best pitching troikas in baseball. But, sending Nunez to Atlanta also leaves New York thin at shortstop. If Derek Jeter(notes) gets hurt, as he did on June 13 this past season—when he strained his calf running up the first base line against the Cleveland Indians—someone likely not as good as Nunez would have to fill in at short.

In Jeter’s absence, Nunez, 24, went 20-for-59 (.339) with five doubles, two home runs and seven runs batted in over 17 games (from June 14 to July 2). The Yankees were 14-3 during that stretch. On the season (309 at-bats), Nunez hit .265, five homers, knocked in 30 runs and stole 22 bases. Nunez’s offensive contributions, though, were partially overshadowed by his 14 errors at short and six at third.

Looking beyond Nunez in New York’s in-house depth chart at short, the most promising player at the position is 19-year-old prospect Cito Culver. General manager Brian Cashman would most certainly have to sign a backup shortstop if he trades Nunez. Unless, of course, Cashman wouldn’t mind making do with Ramiro Pena(notes).

The caveat with Jurrjens, as most of you have heard, is his history with knee injuries. Midway through the 2011 season, he strained his right knee; in October 2010, he underwent surgery to repair a torn meniscus in the same knee. Jurrjens’ knee issues could get worse as he ages, and Atlanta knows his trade value has decreased as a result. But if you’re Cashman or any other GM, why would you pay any price—steep or not—for someone who, at 25, is already having knee problems?

I don’t see this trade happening—even if Atlanta wants Nunez straight up.

What are your thoughts on the idea of Nunez being traded for Jurrjens? Do Jurrjens’ knee problems concern you? Do you think Nunez is easily replaceable or someone who should be kept in case Jeter gets hurt?

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LONDON (Reuters) – China is keen to invest in the ailing infrastructure of Western countries, especially Britain, the chairman and chief executive of the Asian country’s sovereign wealth fund wrote in the Financial Times. “Now, infrastructure in Europe and the U.S. badly needs more investment,” China Investment Corporation’s …

By Pat Johnston

– Newsdesk contributor

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Nov 22, 2011 – At a recent charity event, one word New York Yankees fans don’t want to hear regarding veteran reliever Mariano Rivera came up: surgery. Rivera will be conferring with a doctor next Monday, Nov. 28 to determine whether or not he will need surgery, on his vocal cords, not his right arm.

Rivera said “It’s been a month. Every time I talk it gets worse and worse.” Whether Rivera’s recovery time after surgery to scrape his vocal cords would keep him out of spring training cannot be determined at this time. The 41-year-old did say that “When you are talking about surgery nothing is simple.

Rivera is MLB’s all-time saves leader (603), 12-time All-Star and five-time World Series champion. During his Yankees’ career which began back in 1995, Rivera has a regular season record of 75-57 with an ERA of 2.21. He has 1,111 strikeouts in 1,211.1 innings pitched. During the postseason, Rivera is 8-1 with 42 saves. His ERA is only 0.70 in the playoffs and he’s recorded 110 strikeouts in 141 innings pitched.

Read More: Mariano Rivera (P – NYY), New York Yankees

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