FOX Archives - Jane Heller

Post-World Series This and That

November 6, 2015

Since I haven’t posted since the Yankees were eliminated from the postseason, I figured I’d muse about a few matters pertaining to our boys in pinstripes.

A-Rod Goes on Fox

When I heard he was joining the crew in the studio for the pre- and post-game shows during the World Series, I was wary. Yes, he’s long been viewed as knowledgeable about the sport. And yes, he was a model citizen during the Yankees’ season, even a candidate for the Comeback Player of the Year (he ended up losing to Prince Fielder). But a commentator during baseball’s golden moment? The same guy that sued baseball? Well, surprise: A-Rod was the star of the show. He was not only knowledgeable but articulate, even amusing, particularly when he was self-mocking. And his conversations with Pete Rose, another reprobate, were kind of great. I guess he has a TV career after he retires from the game, if he wants it.

The Royals Win the World Series

I was thrilled that they won. Nothing against the Mets, who played well enough to get to the WS, a mighty accomplishment in itself. But the Royals came up short last year, so I was rooting for them to go all the way this time. And they did with their usual combination of athleticism (hitting, running, fielding), team work (you never get the sense that they’re a bunch of divas), starting pitching as well as a terrific bullpen and a never-give-up spirit that was in evidence whenever they were behind in games and came back and won anyway. Kudos to them. They once again made me realize that unless the Yankees get younger and more athletic, they won’t win a championship. The game is no longer about standing at the plate and swinging for the fences. It’s about manufacturing runs. The Royals did that and more.

CC Explains His Alcoholism

He went on “Good Morning America” and talked about his addiction for the first time since leaving the Silver Hill rehab facility. Sad story. I felt his pain as he described his binge weekend alone in his hotel room in Baltimore, his attempts to control his drinking, his hopes for a sober future. He said he’s had a drinking problem for three years, which begs the question about the affect on his pitching. Who knows. I wish him and his family well. It won’t be easy for any of them going forward.

Free Agents Declare That They’re Ready to Relocate

Will the Yankees pony up for Price, Greinke, etc etc? I know the money will be exorbitant, but we seriously need another starter. Luis Severino was a revelation in his rookie season, but a proven arm is essential too. Will Hal turn Cashman loose and give this team a real shot to win or are we looking at a bargain-basement type of acquisition? My inquiring mind wants to know.

P.S. If anyone reading this has subscribed to the blog, you’ll need to change your feed URL to this one now that both of my blogs have been incorporated into my newly redesigned web site.

Where Were The Bats?

July 30, 2012

I found last night’s loss to the Red Sox in the finale to be the most depressing in a long time. Yes, there were the frustrations during the West Coast road trip, and yes, Saturday night’s game was no fun at all, but this one? Please. The Yankees couldn’t score off Doubront – not even with all the walks he gave up. Nothing. Martin and Swisher were the only ones with actual pulses, although Jeter, Jones and Ichiro had hits apiece. It was a pathetic offensive display. The comeback was exciting, but what good is a comeback if you don’t finish the job?

The media is focusing on Ciriaco’s go-ahead bloop, but the game was lost on Robertson’s walk to Saltawhateverhisnameis (their catcher who usually strikes out). You can’t issue leadoff walks to people and expect to win ballgames. When will Robertson get that through his head? He was doing it before he got hurt and he’s doing it again now. Why can’t you throw strikes and get them to swing and miss?

Okay, I’m done talking to Robertson. As I said at the top, this one was on the offense. They had chances and blew them.

The only good news? Besides another good performance by Kuroda? We don’t have to keep looking at various camera angles of Bobby Valentine for awhile. Whether it was FOX on Saturday or ESPN last night, there seemed to be a need to continually cut away to reaction shots of him. He’s just a manager. Not that big a deal. The only thing that struck me about him was how alone he always is. Have you noticed? Every other manager, including our own, sits or stands in the dugout surrounded by his guys – his coaches, his players, his peeps. Valentine has no peeps. Nobody’s there with him – ever. He’s got to be the loneliest manager on the planet.

Off-Day Fodder

April 26, 2012

I was on Twitter this morning when a Tweet from People.com with a link caught my eye: “Alex Rodriquez opens up about Cameron Diaz.”

Okay, I was hooked. I clicked on the link and here’s what I got.

Alex Rodriguez on Ex Cameron Diaz: She’s ‘One of the Greatest Human Beings I’ve Ever Met’

Thursday April 26, 2012 05:00 PM EDT

Splash News Online; Jeff Vespa/Getty

They have have broken up – but clearly Alex Rodriguez harbors no hard feelings toward Cameron Diaz.

“I don’t like talking about my relationships,” the New York Yankee tells The Insider in a new interview, “but I will tell you about C.D. – she’s probably one of the greatest human beings I’ve ever met, and just an amazing light.”

The two had an on-again, off-again relationship, though a source confirmed to PEOPLE the two had split for good in September 2011.

At the time, Rodriguez had equally kind words for Diaz, telling PEOPLE, “I have a lot of love for Cameron. We’ll always be friends.”

And the two have subsequently moved on: Diaz has been linked with Diddy, while Rodriguez has been spotted smooching former wrestling diva Torrie Wilson.

As for people gossiping about his personal life – or his athletic abilities, for that matter – Rodriguez tells The Insider, he’s not fazed.

“Ah, you know, it’s New York,” he says, “people are always going to have an opinion [with] pretty much anything you do, both on and off the field.”

First of all, I wouldn’t exactly call A-Rod’s quotes “opening up.” It was more like he gave the interviewer a couple of soundbites. But whatever. I think it’s hilarious that he refers to her by her initials. I wonder if she calls him A.R.

Mostly, I just want her to star in “An Ex to Grind,” the novel of mine that’s in development for a feature at Fox with her attached to play my heroine, Melanie Banks. I found out recently that the producers have moved on from the script by Jeremy Garelick (“The Break-Up,” “The Hangover”) and are looking to hire a new screenwriter. That’s Hollywood.

In other show biz news, CC is on Jimmy Fallon’s show tonight. If anybody watches it, tell me how he was.

Congrats to YankeeCase and Diane and any other NY Rangers fans reading this. I was out for dinner and kept checking the score of the game and was so happy that the good guys won and will now move on to the next round. Nothing more exciting than playoff sports.

The Phillies Will Have Home Field Advantage

July 12, 2011

I know, I know. It’s not a given that Philadelphia will make it into the World Series. They’re just the heavy favorites. But they must be happy the NL won tonight. As for the AL, it wasn’t a particularly successful evening. And yes, I watched parts of the game. Michael had it on and I saw a few innings before wrestling the remote out of his hand and switching to CNN.

Sorry to sound so negative after complaining about Chris Berman in last night’s post, but Joe Buck. Seriously. I understand he has some sort of throat ailment, but must he use that deadpan delivery? It’s numbing.

And, of course, he had to get in a dig about Jeter and called his absence “a hot button issue,” even after Bud Selig said he understood why the Captain had opted out and wasn’t the least bit perturbed about it.

Random thoughts…

Tyler Clippard got the win. Our little Tyler. Maybe we should have held onto him.
Heath Bell ran in from the pen and slid into the mound. Is he nuts?
Prince Fielder’s price tag went up.
Brian Wilson’s beard is now as long as my arm and, most likely, filled with a year’s worth of food.
Dave Robertson looked very happy to be there, if a little nervous.
It’s confirmed: I don’t get a charge out of watching anybody but Yankees.

Thankfully (for me anyway), the carnival is over and real baseball will resume shortly.

The Drama Is Back In The Bronx!

May 14, 2011

Just not on the field.

Yes, there was a game tonight against the Red Sox and the Yankees once again played like dead people, but hardly anybody (any Yankees fans, anyway) noticed. We were too busy dissecting what has quickly become known as The Jorge Saga.

Or maybe we should call it The Runaway DH.

As everyone knows by now, Jorge was supposed to bat ninth in the lineup. Things get murkier after that.

After Posada talked to the media prior to the game about being dropped in the order, saying he understood it, was the one who caused it by hitting so poorly, blah blah, he then informed Girardi he wanted out of the lineup.

WHY he wanted out of the lineup is where our story takes a few twists.

Was it, as he later claimed (and as his wife posted on Facebook), because he felt his back stiffen up?

Was it, as he also revealed at his locker after the game, because he needed to clear his head?

Was it, as Girardi said during his post-game presser, because his DH deserved a mental health day, given how tough it is to get old?

Or was it, as Cashman indicated, because Posada felt “insulted” by the demotion to #9 batter and threw a “hissy fit?”

And are the Yankees really “evaluating their options” with regard to their decorated veteran, possibly docking his pay, voiding his contract, releasing him?

Oy.

If Posada’s back really and truly hurt, why didn’t he get treatment from Gene Monahan or Stevie Donahue? And if he saw a chiropractor earlier in the day, as he said he did, wouldn’t he have had to get permission from the Yankees? Furthermore, why didn’t he mention the back problem to either Girardi or Cashman?

If Cashman really wanted to keep the situation from escalating, why did he go on FOX during a nationally televised game and say anything about anything?

Does anybody come out looking good here?

Actually, Girardi does. In his press conference, he refused to throw Posada under the bus, refused to say much of anything except that he understood what it’s like to be a human being with feelings.

Here’s what needs to happen now.

Cashman, Girardi and Posada need to sit in a room with the door closed and get this worked out, even if there’s yelling and screaming and hair pulling. (Well, none of them has much hair so forget that one.)
Posada needs to apologize to his teammates for bailing on them and suit up for Sunday night’s game if called upon to DH against Lester.
Laura Posada needs to confine her Facebook remarks to subjects pertaining to shoes, makeup and her charitable foundation.
ESPN, which is broadcasting the game tomorrow night, should refrain from asking every Red Sox player what they think about all this and, barring that, every Red Sox player asked should say, “No comment. Not my team.”
The Yankees need to focus on playing better baseball or they’ll land in the cellar of the AL East faster than I can type this blog post.

I really hope this story has a happy ending. Without Posada (and I did wonder if tonight’s announcement might be about his retirement), we’ll be down to the Core Two. I don’t like the sound of that, I really don’t.

A Tiny Update on "An Ex to Grind"

April 11, 2011

No, the movie isn’t coming out tomorrow or even soon (if ever). But there was a little progress. One of the producers told me that Jeremy Garelick, the screenwriter, turned in a revised draft of the script and that it was “very good.” She also said it’s quite different from the book. I always expected that to happen, but now I’m eager to find out exactly how Garelick deviated from the story. The producer said she’d let me know what the next step will be and when I can read the script. I’m dying to get a look at it. Dying to.

I Got My 10 Runs

April 2, 2011

I always want the Yankees to score 10 runs. It’s a thing with me. When the Yankees put 10 runs on the board, I relax, assuming the runs will guarantee a win. The Bombers granted my wish today, and I’m grateful.

AJ ran out of gas in that fifth inning, but he was impressive in his first start of the season. Not only did he throw strikes and not look like a wild man, but instead of having a meltdown when he got into trouble he pitched his way out of it.

It helped to have a nice cushion. I love that the boys are swinging the bats – just about everybody. Special attention has to go to our new Mr. March/April.

Tex presser — (Courtesy: balljunkie.com)

And A-Rod. Seriously. The guy is on fire. Russell Martin smacked his first YS homer, which enabled John Sterling to give us the call: “Russell Has Muscle.” Eh? He could have come up with something better, but I’m glad it wasn’t a show tune.

Speaking of listening to the radio, WCBS was my default broadcast today since I was blacked out by MLB and FOX. I know it’s annoying to whine, but I’ve got to say this one more time: WHY?

Why are we fans abused this way?
What’s the point of preventing us from watching the teams we want to watch when we want to watch them?
Why do two powerful entities get to control my viewing habits?
What would be the harm in allowing me to see the Yankees on a Saturday?
Why do I pay for MLB.TV when I can’t even watch the Saturday Fox games on my computer?

I’m so angry about this issue and my anger only grows every year. But now that I’ve vented I’ll shut up about it for the rest of the 2011 season. I promise.

young-woman-crossing-her-fingers-behind-her-back-thumb13521092 — Photo: © Rivertrack/Dreamstime.com

P.S. I’m also angry (but only in a relatively minor way) that Mo had to come in and save a game in which the Yankees had those 10 runs I mentioned at the top. It’s a little early to be looking at a game against the Tigers as if it were the playoffs.