Jeter steps down as Marlins’ CEO; Yankees name new assistant hitting coach

Yankees’ legend Derek Jeter stepped down as CEO of the Marlins yesterday, effective immediately.

While talks to try and get a resolution to the labor deal went on throughout the night, the Yankees named a new assistant hitting coach. Hensley Meulens replaces Eric Chavez, who was named asst. hitting coach but then left to become the hitting coach for the Mets. Meulens was a Yankee OF (with some time at 3B and 1B) from 1989-1993, and was with Montreal in 1997 and Arizona in 1998. He won 3 WS rings as a coach with the SF Giants. He was one of those considered for the managerial job that went to Aaron Boone in 2017. Another person who interviewed for that job was Carlos Beltran, who is now with the YES broadcasting team.

Six Hall of Famers named; and some Yankees news

Six new Hall of Famers were named yesterday, and I’ll get into them in a moment, but first some Yankees news.

First off, forget about Freddy Galvis as a possible short-term solution at SS. He’s headed to Japan to play.

Congrats to Yankees’ legend Derek Jeter who became a dad for the third time. Another girl, making 3 girls for him.

The Yanks may have interest in Japanese star Seiya Suzuki. Boston and Toronto also are said to have interest. Suzuki, primarily a RF, has played 3B and SS as well. He is 27 and a righty hitter. But he is pegged as a RF (4 Japanese Gold Gloves) and the Yanks are looking at CF, being that they have Judge for RF (unless they move Judge to CF, which isn’t likely). Suzuki can play CF, but is mostly a RF. But if they get Suzuki for LF, then Joey Gallo may be moved, and maybe moved for a CF. Other teams are said to be interested in Gallo, who only hit .160 for the Yanks after the Yanks got him from Texas. Suzuki hit .317-38-88 for his Japanese team in 2021, with 9 SB, and is a career .300+ hitter over there. In the last 4 years, he’s hit .319 and has averaged 30 HR a season. He doesn’t strike out much, either. (Info from MLBTR.com).

Roger Maris and Allie Reynolds fell far short of induction to the Hall of Fame by the Veteran’s Committee. Maris only got 3 votes or less, and Reynolds got 6, and 12 were needed.

Dick Allen missed by one vote.

Getting in were (and I’ll try to keep bios brief):

Gil Hodges. Hodges started as a catcher, but with Roy Campanella there for Brooklyn, moved to 1B. He also got a little time in at LF, RF and 3B, as well as one game each at 2B and CF. He played for the Dodgers (Brooklyn/LA) in 1943, then 1947-1961, and with the Mets 1962-1963. An 8x All-Star, he was on 2 WS Champs, 1955 and 1959. He hit 370 HR, including 4 in one game. He got MVP consideration 9x, and finished in the top 10 3x. He won 3 Gold Gloves. Hodges drove in 100 or more runs in each season 1949-1955. A Marine, he served in WWII. Twice he topped 40 HR in a season. His 162 g. average was .273-29-100, OPS+ 120. In WS play he hit .267-5-21 in 39 games. Later he became manager of the Senators (1963-1967) and Mets (1968-1971). He managed the Mets to the 1969 WS Championship. He was 321-444 as manager of Washington, and 339-309 as Mets manager. His #14 is retired by the Mets. He died of a heart attack two days before his 48th birthday in April of 1972. Played in WS of 1947, 1949, 1952, 1953, 1955, 1956 and 1959.

Jim Kaat. 16 Gold Glove Awards. 283 career wins (meanwhile, Tommy John, with 288 wins, is still not in the HOF). Washington Senators 1959-1960, Minnesota Twins 1961-1973, Chicago White Sox 1973-1975, Phillies 1976-1979, Yankees 1979-1980, Cardinals 1980-1983. 3x All-Star, WS Champ 1982. 5th in MVP voting in 1966 when Kaat led the AL with 25 wins. 1965 AL Pennant with Twins. Also a 20 game winner in 1974 and 1975. MVP consideration 1967 and 1975 as well, CYA consideration 1975. Average 162 game season 13-11, 3.45, ERA+ 108. Long time broadcaster. Hit .185 with 16 HR. Went 1-3, 4.01 in 9 postseason games, 5 starts. Went up against Koufax 3x in 1965 WS, going 1-2. 1965 AL Pennant, 1969, 1970, 1976, 1977, 1978 division champs, 1982 WS Champs.

Minnie Minoso. OF. Indians 1949, 1951. White Sox 1951-1957. Indians again, 1958-1959. White Sox again, 1960-1961. Cardinals 1962. Senators 1963. White Sox again, 1964, 1976!, 1980! Played at age 50 in 1976, going 1 for 8, and got in two games at age 54 in 1980. 9x All Star. Also Negro Leagues star 1946-1948. 2nd in ROY to Gil McDougald in 1951, when he was 4th in MVP voting. Led Majors in triples and AL in SB that year. Twice more led AL in triples, twice more in SB. 5x top 10 in MVP voting. 8x MVP consideration. 3x Gold Glove. 162 game average .291-16-91 with 18 SB, OPS+130. #9 retired by White Sox.

Tony Oliva. Twins 1962-1976. #6 retired by Twins. 3x Batting Champ. ROY 1964 and 4th in MVP voting. 2nd in MVP voting 1965, 1970. 5x top 10 mvp voting. MVP consideration 8x. Serious knee injury cost him most of 1972 season. Wasn’t the same after 1971. From 1964-1971 averaged .313-24-99 for 162 games, OPS+ 140. Led league in hits 5x, doubles 4x. Hit .314 in 13 postseason games with 3 HR, 5 RBI. 1965 AL Pennant, 1969 and 1970 division champs.

Buck O’Neil. 1st black coach in MLB history. Featured prominently in Ken Burns’ documentary on baseball giving his first hand account of life in the Negro Leagues. 1B in the Negro Leagues 1937-1943, 1946-1948. Career interrupted by WWII. 337 Negro League games, hit .258-9-175. OPS+ 97. In as Pioneer/Executive. Helped create the Negro Leagues Hall of Fame. Led Negro Leagues in doubles and RBI in 1940. 3x Negro Leagues All-Star. Won 1942 Negro Leagues WS. Managed 1948 Negro Leagues KC Monarchs, went 62-32. 1st place, lost that Negro Leagues WS in 7 games.

Bud Fowler. P, 3B, 2B. Black player in 1878, 1884-1890, and 1895. Often teams wouldn’t play if he played, because of his skin color, and that included his teammates. As a result, he played for many teams. Because of the time frame (he lived 1858-1913), records on him are sketchy.

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Game 139. Yanks lose 5th straight, 6-3. Slide out of top wild-card spot with 2nd WC slot in jeopardy.

Yes, we Yankees fans should worry. The Yanks lost their fifth straight game Wednesday night, and ninth in their last eleven games, 6-3 to Toronto. Toronto has won seven in a row. They are surging. With the loss, the Yanks dropped out of the top wild card slot and are in danger of missing the playoffs altogether.

The division is over. Tampa Bay has a 9 game lead over Boston (9 1/2 over the 78-61 Yanks) with only 23 games to go.

But here is where it gets scary.

Bos 80-62 === 1st wc slot (would host WC game)
NYY 78-61 1/2 game behind Boston. Has 2nd and last WC spot for now.
Tor 76-62 2 games behind Boston and just 1 1/2 behind the Yankees.
Sea 76-64 3 behind Boston, just 2 1/2 behind the Yankees.
Oak 75-64 3 1/2 behind Boston and just 3 behind the Yankees.

The Yanks seem out of gas and running on fumes. Hopefully they have something left in the tank but they haven’t looked good recently and yes, we should worry.

Starter Luis Gil’s scoreless streak to start his career ended in the fourth inning at 19 innings. Gil only gave up 1 hit, but walked 7. With one out in the top of the fourth, three straight walks loaded the bases. Lucas Luetge came in to relieve Gil and a run scored on a WP. An out later, a single made it 3-0 (batter made last out at second trying to stretch the hit into a double).

The Yanks did tie the game in the bottom of the fifth. Joey Gallo led off with a single, and one out later, Rougned Odor walked. With two out, Brett Gardner homered (7) to tie the game at 3.

These appear to be the last games of Gardner’s career. Nothing has been said, but at age 38, it appears this may be it.

A mistake by SS Andrew Velazquez led to Toronto getting a run in the seventh. A slow dribbler for a single that Velazquez tried to make a play on. He barehanded the ball and should have eaten it when the ball started to crawl up his wrist. Instead he threw to first—-not with a good grip—and the throwing error enabled the hitter to reach second. Two outs later, a single drove in the runner. 4-3 Toronto, and that turned out to be the winning run.

A triple and SF made it 5-3 Toronto in the eighth inning, and Vlad Guerrero, Jr. hit a HR (41) in the ninth to make it 6-3, which was the final score.

Could Guerrero, Jr., just 22 now, turn out even better than his Hall-of-Fame father?

Gardner 3-run HR (7)
Stanton 2 hits.


Gil 3 1/3 IP, 3 R, 1 H, 7 W, 6 K. 1 WP 1.42. Just 1 H, 6 K. But wild with the 7 walks.
Luetge 1 2/3 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 2 W, 1 K. 1 WP 2.74
Rodriguez 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 2 K. 4.65 (Tex/NYY)
Holmes (L, 6-3) 1 IP, 1 R, 2 H, 0 W, 1 K. 4.21 (Pit/NYY)
Green 1 IP, 1 R, 2 H, 0 W 2 K. 3.13
Chapman 2/3 IP, 1 R, 1 H, 2 W, 1 K. 1 WP. Gave up 1 HR. 3.86. More concerns here.
Peralta 1/3 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 0 K. 3.98 (SF/NYY)

Yesterday was the induction day at the Hall of Fame for Derek Jeter.

Game 58. Frustrating. Yanks lose 4-3 in 10.

This was one frustrating loss.

The Miami Marlins, a team managed by one Yankees legend (Don Mattingly) and run by another (CEO Derek Jeter) beat the Yanks 4-3 in 10 innings last night. The win ensured the Marlins (the Marlins! One of MLBs worst in recent years) a playoff spot. Their first in 17 years, when they beat the Yanks in the 2003 WS.

For the Yanks, however, it was their fifth loss in their last six games. I don’t know what to think of this team. So inconsistent. From 16-6 to 5-15 to 10-0 to 1-5. That has been their season so far. Which team shows up in the postseason? Dr. Jekyll or Mr. Hyde?

Once again, they were sloppy, committing four errors. Once again, an error by Gary Sanchez, another by Gleyber Torres.

With the loss, it is certain that the Yankees will not host a postseason game at Yankee Stadium. They will be the #5 or the #8 seed. At present, they are the #5 seed and would go to #4 Cleveland (who are tied with the White Sox but who own the tiebreaker) for the first round. They still could wind up in Chicago or Minnesota. Even worse, if they continue losing today and tomorrow (and they have two rookies starting in Deivi Garcia and Clarke Schmidt) they could fall to the #8 spot, 3rd in the AL East, behind Toronto. Right now they are only one game ahead of Toronto. At #8 they as of now would head to Tampa Bay, against whom they were 2-8 this season.

We probably won’t know until the last minute.

One thing we do know. The Yankees better snap out of their funk or their postseason will be a short one.

The Marlins got off to a quick 3-0 lead when, after two outs and then two walks, one-time (briefly) Yankee Garrett Cooper hit a 3-run HR off of J.A. Happ in the first inning.

Manager Aaron Boone was tossed in the bottom of the first for arguing a called strike three on Aaron Judge. It was a pathetic call by the home plate umpire. As I wrote many times last year, the umpire has to adjust his strike zone. As Suzyn Waldman said last night, “he can’t help it he’s tall.” Judge’s knees aren’t where a normal person’s knees are. He is 6’7″ . Knee high to a normal person isn’t knee high to Judge. Even worse, on a side view of the pitch crossing the plate, the pitch was just above his ANKLE, far from knee high. Terrible call, and Boone was tossed after the first pitch to Aaron Hicks, called a strike that appeared low as well.

MLB needs to do something about umpires like that. They need to adjust to the hitter’s strike zone, especially if that hitter is tall.

The Yanks got two runs in the third. With two out, D.J. LeMahieu walked and Aaron Judge doubled. A double by Hicks brought home D.J. and Judge.

In the eighth, the Yanks tied the game. Sanchez singled and was PR for by Mike Tauchman. He moved up on an error on a pickoff attempt and with two out, Judge singled him home to tie the game.

To extras, and that “man on second to start the inning” rule (which I hate). A bunt moved the runner to third. Then, a huge error by Kyle Higashioka. With the infield in, a grounder to Gleyber Torres, who ran at the runner on third before throwing home to Higashioka. Rundown. Higashioka ran the runner back towards third but his throw hit the runner, Monte Harrison, with the batter, Starling Marte, advancing all the way to second. No outs on the play. 2nd and 3rd. A SF gave Miami a 4-3 lead.

The anguish didn’t stop there.

The Yanks started the bottom of the tenth with their man on second, Tyler Wade, pinch-running for Gio Urshela. Torres walked. Once again, Higashioka didn’t come through, popping up a bunt. The Yanks have NO sac bunts this year. NONE. Then a double steal, and a walk to Clint Frazier that loaded the bases. So Higashioka’s failure to bunt didn’t seem to hurt, especially with D.J. LeMahieu up.

SF ties the game. A hit most likely wins it.

Instead a GIDP. Game over. Yanks lose, 4-3. Agonizing.

Judge 2 hits, RBI
Hicks 2 RBI
Voit 2 hits
Sanchez 2 hits

Happ 5 IP, 3 R, 3 H, 2 W, 3 K. Gave up 1 HR. 3.47
Loaisiga 2 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 1 K. 3.52
Britton 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 1 K. 1.89
Chapman 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 2 K. 3.09
Green (L, 3-3; 3.51) 1 IP, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 W, 0 K.

A 10-inning 3-hitter, but gave up 4 runs, and a loss.

Jeter dissenter remains anonymous.

Today was the day that the public ballots for the Hall of Fame vote became public.

315 of the 397 votes cast were public. The other 82 were private.

To no surprise, all of the 315 public votes had Derek Jeter’s name checked off.

So the one voter who didn’t vote for Jeter decided to remain anonymous.

Now that voter may or may not have had a good reason.

Someone may (and they have) been mad that I called that voter a coward.

But hey, when you decide something take a stand, but then hide behind the cloak of anonymity, what else do you call it but cowardice?

You believe in something, stand up for yourself and your beliefs. This person had to know that they may be the only dissenter.

They had to know that people would want to know why that person was the only one of 397 who didn’t vote Jeter for the Hall of Fame.

Maybe that person had a good reason. Fine. Maybe not. Maybe that person is just moronic.

By not standing up for themselves and by hiding behind the cloak of anonymity, we do know what that person is.

A coward.

There. I said it. And I am not taking it back.

And the same goes for the three who remain anonymous who didn’t vote for Ken Griffey, Jr. a few years back.

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Greg Bird finally found a home (or is it nest?) He signed a minor league deal with Texas.

Yanks make a minor signing. Thoughts on comparing players.

The Yanks made a minor signing on Wednesday, signing lefty reliever Luis Avilan to a minor league deal.

Avilan, 30, pitched for the Mets in 2019, going 4-0 but with a 5.06 ERA (ERA+ 81). Not so good.

Avilan has pitched for the Braves (2012-2015), Dodgers (2015-2017), White Sox (2018), Phillies (2018) and Mets (2019).

His MLB record is 23-10, 3.28, ERA+ 121 so 2019 was a really off, bad year for him.

His 162 game average is 4-2, 3.28, ERA+ 121. He is a lefty specialist (averaging 68 appearances a year but only 52 IP per year) so how these new rules would affect him would be interesting.

He has pitched in 11 postseason games, going 0-0, 0.00 in 7 2/3 IP. Nice.

Not a bad signing on a minor league deal. Good track record, hoping for a bounce back season.

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Some people comparing Derek Jeter to other greats miss the point. You cannot compare across positions. If you are going to compare Jeter to anyone, it has to be against a Honus Wagner, Cal Ripken, A-Rod (when A-Rod was a SS), Nomar, Ernie Banks (as a SS), Nomar, etc.

You can’t compare Jeter to  Griffey, Mays, Aaron, Musial, Mantle, DiMaggio, etc.

Really. You have to compare him to other SS. You can’t compare a SS to a CF.

Do you really want to compare HOF credentials Rizzuto vs. DiMaggio?

Ozzie Smith vs. Pujols?

Luis Aparicio vs. Mickey Mantle?

Ridiculous.

I wish people would stop saying  “Jeter isn’t Mays or Aaron.”

Of course not. Jeter was a SS.

Stop comparing SS against OF.

Make similar comparisons. Like Jeter vs. Cal Ripken, Miguel Tejada, etc.

 

Finally official. Jeter in HOF with Larry Walker. Jeter misses being unanimous by ONE vote.

It’s finally official. SS Derek Jeter is headed to Cooperstown.

ONE voter kept Jeter from being unanimous. ONE. Sorry, Joel Sherman and Ken Rosenthal, but I welcome a witch-hunt to find out who the jerk was.

Really. I want to know who and what stupid rationale he or she has. See below for more comments and my opinion.

Jeter is sixth all-time with 3465 hits. Two of the five players above him (Ty Cobb and Tris Speaker) were born in the 1880s and last played in 1928. A 5x World Series Champ, Jeter hit .310 in his career. His 162 game average was .310-15-77 with 21 SB. OPS+ 115.

He also played in 158 postseason games, hitting .308 with 20 HR.

He was SI’s Sportsman of the Year for 2009.

The 1996 ROY was also a 14x All-Star, won 5 Gold Gloves, 5 Silver Sluggers, and was both the 2000 All-Star Game and 2000 WS MVP.

He finished in the Top 10 of MVP voting eight times.

He spent his whole career with the Yankees, 1995-2014.

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Larry Walker joins Jeter (as well as Ted Simmons and Marvin Miller, both voted in by committee last month). Walker played for Montreal (1989-1994), Colorado (1995-2004) and St. Louis (2004-2005). He was a 5x All-Star, 7X Gold Glove, 3x Silver Slugger, won 3 batting titles and was the 1997 MVP.

Besides winning the 1997 MVP, Walker had three other top 10 finishes.

He hit .313 in his career with 383 HR. His 162 game average was .313-31-107 with 19 SB and a fabulous 141 OPS+.

The right fielder played in 28 postseason games, hitting .230 with 7 HR and 15 RBI.

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From MLB.com: (298 needed for induction)

COMPLETE VOTING TOTALS

Derek Jeter: 396 votes (99.7 percent)   1 vote short of unanimous.

Larry Walker: 304 (76.6)  Made it barely.

Curt Schilling: 278 (70.0)  Missed by 20.

Roger Clemens: 242 (61.0)

Barry Bonds: 241 (60.7)

Omar Vizquel: 209 (52.6)

Scott Rolen: 140 (35.3). Big drop off from the publicized ballots, here down.

Billy Wagner: 126 (31.7)

Gary Sheffield: 121 (30.5)

Todd Helton: 116 (29.2)

Manny Ramírez: 112 (28.2)

Jeff Kent 109: (27.5)

Andruw Jones: 77 (19.4)

Sammy Sosa: 55 (13.9)

Andy Pettitte: 45 (11.3)

Bobby Abreu: 22 (5.5)

20 votes were needed to stay on the ballot. Abreu barely made the cut.

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The following drop off of the ballot:

Paul Konerko: 10 (2.5)

Jason Giambi: 6 (1.5)

Alfonso Soriano: 6 (1.5)

Eric Chávez: 2 (0.5)

Cliff Lee: 2 (0.5)

Adam Dunn: 1 (0.3) Guy below?

Brad Penny: 1 (0.3)

Raúl Ibañez: 1 (0.3)

J.J. Putz: 1 (0.3)

If the same guy who voted for Putz didn’t vote for Jeter, then who IS the Putz?

Josh Beckett: 0 apparently he did get ONE vote, see below. IS BELOW REAL OR FAKE?

Heath Bell: 0

Chone Figgins: 0

Rafael Furcal: 0

Carlos Peña: 0

Brian Roberts: 0

José Valverde: 0  As with Beckett, apparently he did get one vote, see below.

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Ok, here are some thoughts. It’s a shame that Jeter did not join Mariano Rivera as unanimous selections because to me, it was important, after all that went on this week with the cheating allegations from Houston and Boston, three managers and a GM fired as a result of it, and after all that has gone on with steroid allegations over the last two decades or more, to send a message.

That message is to not only play the game well, but to play the game RIGHT.

To carry yourself a certain way. To gain and EARN the respect of your teammates and opponents.

Mariano Rivera did so and was awarded with a unanimous selection.

Derek Jeter did so as well, and should have been rewarded the same way.

It’s too bad one voter disagreed. I have a lot of thoughts and words for that voter which I (for the sake of children who may be reading) won’t repeat here.

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UPDATE:

Apparently Dave Williams was the jerk (and I won’t take it back) who did NOT vote for Jeter.

UPDATE 2: TRYING TO FIND OUT IF REAL BALLOT LISTED OR FAKE

UPDATE 3: FAKE. Apparently Dave Williams isn’t a BBWAA voter, but put up a fake ballot on Barstool blog which people thought was a real ballot (sure looked like one). Now that Jeter fell one short of being unanimous, Williams is (rightfully?) being hammered.

Hey, even if it wasn’t him, serves him right for being a jerk.   So…. yeah, rightfully.

 

 

What is worse is who this guy did vote for:

Josh Beckett? Really?

Barry Bonds

Adam Dunn? Really? And leave Jeter off?

Jason Giambi

Paul Konerko

Jose Valverde? Please.

Billy Wagner

Anyway,

Whoever it was, he/she WILL be found out. — unless the person, in cowardice, requested anonymity.

 

 

 

HOF announcement tonight.

Baseball makes its HOF announcement tonight, as we see who the writers put in the Hall to join Ted Simmons and Marvin Miller, who both were selected by committee earlier.

You need 75% to get in.

As of this writing, 211 votes, 51.2%, are known.

Derek Jeter is still running unanimously at 100%, we will see tonight if that still holds up and if Jeter will join Mariano Rivera as the only unanimous selections.

Larry Walker, in his last year on the ballot, is at 83.7%. Curt Schilling is at 78.7%.

But only a little over half of the votes are known. Usually when the other, non-publicized part comes in, players drop, and someone like Schilling then is really on the bubble.

Barry Bonds and one-time Yankee Roger Clemens are at 71.6 and 70.6% respectively, thus a little short and expected to drop once more votes become known.

So it appears as if Jeter and Walker get in and the question is whether Jeter is unanimous and if Schilling joins them

Other notables: staying on the ballot would be Omar Vizquel, Gary Sheffield (the one -time Yankee at 36%), Scott Rolen, Billy Wagner, Jeff Kent, Todd Helton, Manny Ramirez, one-time Yankee Andruw Jones (23.7%), Sammy Sosa, Andy Pettitte (the Yankees’ great is at 10.4%) and another former Yankee, Bobby Abreu (6.2%).

You need 5% to stay on the ballot. Abreu is on the bubble. Pettitte stays on, but isn’t getting much support.

It appears like these notables will drop off the ballot, among others:

Ex-Yankees Jason Giambi (1 vote), Alfonso Soriano (0). Eric Chavez (one vote). Brian Roberts (0) and Raul Ibanez (0). 

Also dropping off would be Cliff Lee (1), Adam Dunn (0), and Paul Konerko (1).

The bold is players with Yankees’ connections, even if ever so briefly.

Less than a week to go before the HOF announcement…

With less than a week to go before the HOF announcement, Derek Jeter is still running at 100% with 37.4% of the votes known.

Larry Walker is at 85.1%
Curt Schilling 79.9%
Barry Bonds 75.3%
Roger Clemens 74.0%

You need 75%.

But the unknown votes that haven’t come in yet, and the votes that remain anonymous usually drop people by as much as 10%, thus Jeter and Walker could be the only two getting in, and even Walker could be on the bubble.

Will Jeter join Mariano Rivera at 100%?

Others: Despite hitting over 400 HR each, Adam Dunn and Alfonso Soriano have no votes. Jason Giambi has one, as does Paul Konerko.

LHP Cliff Lee has only one. It looks like these players, among others, will drop off the ballot.

You need 5% to stay on the ballot.

Some Notables: Bobby Abreu 7.1%, Andy Pettitte 12.3%, Sammy Sosa 18.2%, Andruw Jones 27.9%, Manny Ramirez 35.7%, Gary Sheffield 39.6%, Scott Rolen 50.6% …..

For the whole list:     http://www.bbhoftracker.com/

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CC Sabathia has been hired by the Yankees as a special advisor. Don’t know about him in the booth, however, as rumors are he doesn’t get along with Michael Kay.

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So Alex Cora and the Red Sox have parted ways. Nice way of saying he resigned before he got fired or suspended. I’m waiting to see what the suspension will be like. After all, he was involved in BOTH places—at Houston, who just got hammered, and Boston, whose investigation is still ongoing. I think his punishment will be quite severe.

WS Perfect Game Pitcher Don Larsen passes away at age 90.

Don Larsen, who authored the only perfect game in WS history on October 8, 1956, has passed away from esophageal cancer at the age of 90. The only other pitcher to throw a postseason no-hitter was Roy Halladay in the NLDS in 2010.

Larsen pitched for the Browns (1953), Orioles (1954), Yankees (1955-1959) KC A’s (1960-1961) White Sox (1961), Giants (1962-1964) Colt .45s/Astros (Houston was called the Colt .45s before going into the Astrodome–1964/1965), Orioles again (1965), and Cubs (1967).

He pitched in five WS, and was part of two WS Champions in 1956 and 1958. He won the 1956 WS MVP.

Pitching on the last St. Louis Browns team in 1953, and the first Baltimore Oriole team of 1954, he went 10-33 in those years, losing a MLB leading 21 in 1954.

But things changed when he was traded to the Yankees, for whom he went 45-24 in the next five years, and for whom he pitched that perfect game in Game 5 of the 1956 World Series—-a game my father attended. Things got rough again after leaving the Yanks, as he went 1-10 in 1960. Pitching on poor teams before and after pitching for the Yankees hurt Larsen’s career numbers.

For his career, Larsen had an 81-91 record, ERA 3.78, ERA+ 99. His 162 game average would be 48 games, 20 starts. 9-11, 3.78.

He pitched in 10 WS games, starting 6. He was 4-2, 2.75 in WS play, and started Game 7 of both the 1957 (loss) and 1958 (ND) World Series for the Yankees.

He pitched seven shutout innings in winning Game 3 of the 1958 WS.

Larsen was also a good hitting pitcher, hitting .242 with 14 HR in his career. In 1958, he hit .306 with 4 HR.

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Would be remiss in not pointing out the passing away of David Stern, age 77, former NBA commissioner who suffered a brain hemorrhage 3 weeks ago.

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There hasn’t been much action on the Yankees’ front, so an update on the HOF voting, via a tracker set up by Ryan Thibodaux:

With 115 votes, 27.9% counted, as of now, these ex-players would reach the 75% necessary to get in:

Derek Jeter, 100%
Larry Walker 86.1%
Curt Schilling 79.1%
Barry Bonds 76.5%
Roger Clemens 76.5%

As late ballots come in, and some voters remain anonymous, those numbers generally DROP, thus really putting Schilling, Bonds and Clemens all on the bubble.

Bonds and Clemens will have some voters, especially the anonymous ones, NOT voting on them because of steroid suspicions.

We’ll see if Jeter continues at 100% and joins Mariano Rivera as a unanimous selection.

Not getting one vote so far are sluggers Jason Giambi, Adam Dunn, Paul Konerko and Alfonso Soriano—all of whom hit over 400 HR in their careers.