12 Days of Christmas - NYY Edition

Hello there! I know what you're thinking: Why have you girls been gone for so long? Well, here at Pinstripe Love, we're not all about stating the obvious. We like to take our time and be thoughtul with our posts. I mean, you already know that we won the AL East but nothing else, Tex popped up 600 times, Mo saved 600, and Jeter is still saving himself for, well, ....me.

So, for now, I would like to just round out the holiday season with a little "12 days of Christmas" - NYY Edition. And then, that's it! It's all about leaving 2011 behind and looking forward (because harping on the fact that Jeter wasn't under my Christmas tree for the sixteenth year in a row would just be wrong...gosh, I even left a dish of brown rice and a venti coffee from Starbucks...I'm sooooo unlucky).

Ok, enjoy!

Twelve beers for numbing, (to calm our nerves around hot Yankees)
Eleven games pinstriping, (mighta been more at the Stadium this year...)
Ten nights of weeping, (all due to DJ3K)
Nine hotties glancing, (ahh - Mark! ;) )
Eight innings chilling, (we wake up for the 9th...)
Seven weeks of gymming, (for spring training!)
Six hours of Michael Kay-ing, (including pre- and post-games)
Five World Series rings, (oh, Derek!)
Four slurrrrred words, (after 7 innings of booze)
Three blazin' men, (guess who...)
(at least) Two gold glove snubs,
And another season with my favorite Lees!

Here's to another slammin' season of Yankees baseball! Please note that Pinstripe Love will be visiting the Yankees Spring Training camp for the fourth time this March, so stay tuned for our recap and 2012 predictions...and maybe a sprinkling of ca-razzzy Tampa moments brought to you by yours truly (and my besties, Dana and Erica!!). I will leave you with some Jeter quotes that I've come across over the years to keep us all amped up for the good times ahead!!:

"God, I hope I wear this jersey forever."
"Yankee Stadium is my favorite stadium. I'm not going to lie to you. There's a certain feel you get in Yankee Stadium."
"My heroes, my dreams, and my future lie in Yankee Stadium, and they can't take that from me."
"I think everyone is ticklish. You just gotta find the right spots." <--- whaaaat? yes, please!!


See you next year, g

The Best Rain-Out Ever!

Gina and I ventured out to Yankee Stadium with the tickets we bought with our StubHub credit from the DJ3K rain out in July. Of course, we got rained out again! But not before we added to our repertoire of Yankee adventures. On the drive in, I was monitoring Twitter for the weather details and came across a tweet for Michael Kay's radio show on ESPN radio. It said he was broadcasting live from a bar across the street from the stadium. Gina and I were literally overcome...WHAT? Could this be for real? So, we parked and headed to the bar. Sure enough we walk through to the back of the bar, and there he is -- my man Michael Kay. I immediately clutched my heart (seriously) which is right when he turned and looked at the doorway seeing me acting a fool! Typical for me and G, especially when we're together.

I just have to say, I have always loved Michael Kay and his voice on the broadcast along with Bobby Murcer, Jim Kaat and Ken Singleton...it's what I grew up on. In my family, it's pretty typical to hear baseball quotes in regular conversation, such as: "that's the fallacy of the pre-determined outcome, you can't assume the double play in that situation" or "you study long you study wrong" or "he was not enamored with that call" or "keep it simple stupid" or the great standard "...the aforementioned New York Yankees." I could go on and on.

So, Gina and I waited until the first commercial break, and after reading a lengthy promo, Michael took off his head-set and greeted some fans, including us. We were able to have a quick chat with Michael Kay and take a picture. He was witty and gracious and just really nice to us. I also got to tell him the story I always said I would tell him if I got the opportunity to meet him, and that is that I used the word "aforementioned" from his copyright bit in every single paper I wrote in college as an english major at Quinnipiac. True story. I'm literally laughing as I typed that last part, because I consciously did put that word in every paper, because I told Michael Kay that story to his face and because he actually knew what I meant! We shook hands again and that was that.

We walked into the stadium on cloud nine and were ready with our ponchos to stick out any length of rain delays to see our Yanks play. We took our first trip to Monument Park in the new stadium where we bowed our heads at Roger Maris' plaque, bowed to Donnie Baseball's #23 and rubbed our sweat on Babe Ruth's forehead. Then we visited Derek's 'Jeter's Flakes' poster in the food court and made our way to the seats. Shortly after we got to section 232, the announcement was made postponing the game. We took the nearest stairs out of the ball park, which let us out onto River Ave behind the bleachers. As Gina and I joked about how we might see Jeter leaving the ballpark, there was his Ford Edge, no tints. I think at this point Gina might have partly collapsed. I jumped up and down, waving and yelling, "Derek, Derek!" Then Derek Jeter actually turned his head, looked right at us and waved!! Really? We went to four spring training games this past March and not even a nod from DJ. So now this time, Gina was really overcome and just flat-out cried. So the night came to a close with us embracing under the subway tracks on River Ave, tears and raindrops streaming down our faces. Just the best rain-out ever! See our slideshow below:

-- Dana

DJ is single and ready to mingle......with us?

Sounds of Derr-ek Jee-terr chants rang through my house this morning....but it was 7am...no game on, infomercials were still playing on the YES Network, so no tear-jerker Yankeeorgraphies....nothing. Just me being crazy and displaying random love for Jeter on this Friday morning, perhaps? That wouldn't be a stretch, but there's something different about today.

We all awoke to reports that Derek Jeter and Minka Kelly, his womans of three and a half years, have split! As you recall, I recently wrote about the DJ3K documentary (see: Straight From the Heart: A Review of DJ3K special) and how 1. Minka Kelly sucks at life and 2. Jeter and I are soulmates. Wow. Did he hear me or something? Or was it just that she said really dumb things (in a fairly annoying voice) about how she didn't know anything about baseball? I mean, I'm SURE he knew about her lack of baseball knowledge from day one, but for it to be highlighted on HBO for the world to see...that had to be embarassing. I was pretty much embarassed FOR him! He joked about how she had posters of him on her wall in high school, which wasn't true...she didn't even know who he was!! What-ever - I STILL have Jeter posters on my wall...they help me sleep, ok?

My guess, among other outlandish things that I will keep to myself, is that he turned 37, re-evaluated life a little bit, and realized that maybe this isn't the ONE...it's not the chick he's going to marry and/or have kids with. And maybe she was pressuring him..who knows? (I would probably pressure him after 3 1/2 weeks, not years, but.......) But I mean, she ain't special...She's gaining popularity, doing movies in LA, probably meeting all kinds of other dudes out there...and, not to mention, is just a straight up annoying person in general. He don't want none of that! No diamond ring for you, chica. The only diamond he's thinking about is over near River Ave. in the Bronx...and we'd like to keep it that way! And Dana called this whole thing...she knew it. She said it many times this year. But if I told you that I thought we would all be sitting here in mid/late 2011 as single people, I would be lying. But, uh, since we are....call us, Derek...I am damn near going to Yankee Stadium and putting my cell phone number on a poster like that broad did for Ryan Braun in Milwaukee..I mean, he called her back, didn't he?

The point is, is that I looooove Jeter, with all my heart, more than anything in the world...and so, naturally, I only want what's best for him. And personally, I think that's me.

Love,
G

Welcome Back Chuck Knoblauch

Recently, Gina and I made our triumphant return to Twitter. We signed up a few years ago, but never really got into it. So around April of this year, we came back. Gina starting following the Backstreet Boys and New Kids on the Block and I starting following the Glee cast and all the nerd outlets, but most importantly, we both started following all of our Yankees guys: Teixeira, Joba, Swisher, DRob, Hughes, Martin, Granderson, Robinson, Bernie, and Chuck Knoblauch.

Most of the time, none of the celeb/athlete’s answer you back.…except of course for Chuck Knoblauch. #11 is always good for a response, even if it’s just “good morning.” So, every once in awhile, we get on Twitter and tell Chuck how much we love him…and he says “thanks.”

Lately, Knobby has been having contests on Twitter. Each time he reaches his next 1,000 followers, he gives out 10 autographed photos. When he hit 10,000 I won one. Here’s a pic:

Sidebar: This Chucky Knobs resurgence prompted Gina and me to head to the archives, namely the storage boxes in my closet at home labeled, “Yankees clippings & school papers.” We found stacks of New Haven & New York papers from the 98-00 World Series runs, as well as clippings and home-made collages of Yankees that used to hang in our lockers in high school. At one point, we found an old student planner of mine that amongst the homework and due dates for assignments had the score of each playoff game. Bottom line: we were just awesome!

So, let’s talk about Chucky Knobs. First of all, as much as I L-O-V-E Knobby and all the guys from the dynasty teams, I can’t pretend that he was MY MAIN MAN back in the day, that honor goes to Tino Martinez and is for another blog post (I played 1st base all through little league and school). But he was definitely my sister’s #1 man. I told her I was writing this, so she submitted a little piece. Here it is:

“Upon hearing my sister had won Chuck Knoblauch's autograph...what can I say? I was happy for the broad. If I was Twitter obsessed I'm sure I would have gone after it too...so Dana, congratulations, I can't wait to see your Chucky Knobs autograph on display in your crib...besides, I'd much rather have Chuck, circa 1998, in his chunky white turtle neck sweater that he wore on Good Morning America after the Yanks won the World Series...talk about drool, that image is forever burned in my memory. And besides that too, I honor Chuck every time I step to the plate, curl my fingers around the handle of the bat and cock it ever so slightly towards the umpire. Yes Chuck, sincerely, Your Biggest Fan, Erica :))”

I swear everytime we have a conversation about Knoblauch or the Yanks, my sister and my mom mention that GMA interview! But I think it is really cool that Erica bats like Knobby. In fast-pitch softball, all the girls are sort of expected to have the same quiet stance -- bat rested flat on your shoulder until the pitch is on its way and you lift it ever so slightly -- but try as the coaches would, they couldn't get her to stop batting like Chuck :) Here's a pic of Erica still at it in her slow-pitch league:

Rookie of the Year, Silver Slugger, Gold Glove, All Star and World Champion. When you play professional baseball, those are the things that you’re striving to achieve, and Knoblauch has gotten all of them. Knobby was a great player for the Yanks, he fit into the hotness of the infield (I swear that’s part of the Yankee contract) and was a staple in the lineup during our most recent “winning” years. A hottie among hotties in New York when it was standard fare to see our guys jumping all over each other on a big pile of pinstripes in the middle of the field, champagne flowing and ticker tape streaming through the air.

During the recent Yankees dynasty years, Gina and I were 12-16 years old. So, when we think about all that was awesome in our lives...no work, no bills, summer vacations, being a kid...we think about baseball and hotdogs, perfectly manicured green grass and a bright blue sky, we think about the Yankees...and we think about Chuck Knoblauch. We do, we think about Chuck…and Tino, Derek, Jorgey, Paully, Bernie, Andy, and the rest, because those were “our” guys -- as I’m sure everyone thinks back to the times when they just used to watch and enjoy baseball without worrying about the trade deadline or the DL or whatever topic was hot news on talk radio, and just tuned in for the players that they watched and loved every day as a kid. So, we just want to say: “Thanks Chuck” for putting yourself back out there and coming back into our lives. We truly appreciate it.

Follow Chuck on twitter: @chuckknoblauch and visit his website

-- Dana

Happy Birthday Brett Gardner!

Happy Birthday Brett! Here's hoping they give you a nice b-day present and DON'T show that creepy 'Brett the Hitman' pic of you on the screen tonight when you get a hit.

We Heart You, Mark Teixeira

Let's just get straight to it - Mark Teixeira's been on my mind lately, and when I say lately, I mean the last 3 years. Time to give our sexpot of a first baseman some random lovin' on the blog. (because you know I'm quietly ignoring, and therefore not writing about, the recent struggles of a certain highly paid pitcher with a Flock of Seagulls-ish haircut).

Flashback to March 2009 - As I am calmly driving down the street in Tampa, FL on my way to GMS Field to see the Yanks at Spring Training, with my two BFFs in tow, Dana spots the newest Yankee superstar/ the best Christmas present ever (literally - I think he signed somewhere around Christmastime in '08)....Mark Teixeira. While I'm making World Series predictions, we see him signing for fans on the fence just outside the park. Long story short, I was only two right-hand turns from parking the car, but pretty much flipped out and almost abandoned the car in the middle of the divided highway to go run to the fence and get a piece of this fresh meat! Side note: Dana drives us everywhere now. I, of course didn't do that, and we missed him by the time we got over there...And I'm not really sure what he did to us down there, but damn, we were pretty big Tex fans by the time we touched down in CT later that weekend. There was definitely one key moment during one of the games where he looked over his shoulder, pretty much right at us, and I coulda sworn that a large diamond ring appeared on my left ring finger and that I had a small baby bump...Yikes! I guess ya just had to be there...

There have been so many noteworthy Mark moments since the first time we met back in '09, and I can't really put my finger on any one of them right now, but there's just something about him that makes me drool. Aside from my collection of Jeter shirts and jerseys, I never really had other player shirts...I guess I was just never into that. Like when everyone was buying their Giambi t-shirts, I was saving my twenty-five bucks...(all those people have some expensive dust rags on their hands now). Anyway, so my point is that I have like, four Teixeira shirts now because I can't help but show my love for him!

But, why? As Yankees fans, we've had tons of hall-of-famers, and just great players in general, to watch and admire throughout the years. To be honest, I never really thought I would love another Yankee the way I love the Core Four guys...those pure, home-grown studs that won us all those rings. And A-Rod doesn't count because I've always had mad love for that man...regardless of what uniform he wore...ahhh, that's for another blog for another day... But really - Mark is such an awesome Yankee. He never disappoints... He has a great attitude, loves his family, and does so much for his charity (to which I donated $25 this summer...NOT because there was a drawing for a chance to have lunch with him at NYY Steak or anything...I swear! *giggling*) Ooo, ooo - and I can't leave out his unforgettable Quick Fit Tips segments on the weekly program Yankees on Deck, in which he teaches young people how to stay in shape, and inadvertently, quenches our Tex-thirst by doing all kinds of suggestive movements while wearing a tight shirt and mesh shorts. I am proof that you shouldn't watch that show when you're twenty-something years old!! Though I did learn was a "glute" was...

And on the field, he always seems to be helping us win games, whether it is with a big hit or with his hot ass.........defense. Even though us gals are already mesmerized as he unconsciously wiggles his butt at first base, it's actually what he usually does after that that's even hotter...Picture him scooping out a short throw or fully laid out diving for a ball on the line and then calling off the pitcher with his glove hand and tagging the base himself and tell me that doesn't bring a freakin' grin to your face! :D It's just all about the D these days, at least for us here at Pinstripe Love. Though I definitely enjoy a "Tex Message" every now and again (he just hit #34 a few minutes ago...) I'm not sure - as far as home runs go - that someone else is going to come along and top the image in my brain of a perfect hip-swiveling Tino Martinez upper-decker...don't hold your breath. I know I'm not!

It's just that the Yankees have picked up so many established players over the years, and we come to appreciate most of them, but I feel like Mark should've been in pinstripes from day one....don't you?? And I also think he should remain in pinstripes forever...he pretty much has to..or I'll go nuts!!

So, thank you Mark, for ALL your services. Keep up the good looks...you keep feeding our insatiable hunger for winning and hot first basemen, and we will love you 'til the end of time!

And lastly, if third base is known as the "hot corner," then what the hell is first base?? I gotta stop - keepin' it PG!!

Love,
G

ps - As I'm finishing this entry, I hear AJ shaved his head....what-ever...

Where Have You Gone, Andy Pettitte?

There's been so much going on this season with the Yankees: Jeter getting hurt/rehabbing, Jeter hitting 3,000, Jeter looking deliciously hot as he turned 37 this past June, another late-summer pennant race, etc. etc. But please tell me you have not forgotten about our beloved Andrew Eugene... I know I haven't.

I've been quietly harping on this idea that Andy Pettitte was going to get terribly bored on that ranch of his in Texas, or wherever, with all those kids he has, realize he still has mad skills, and bust out with a mid-season, mid-game Clemens-esque speech at Yankee Stadium announcing that he is coming back to help the Yankees chase 28!! When he left the Yankees for those few years to go pitch in Houston, I freakin' called it...I knew he would be back...just had that feeling...anybody with me on this one?? ps - I also talked, for at least 3 years in the early 2000s, about how A-Rod would come to the Yankees and move to 3rd base for Jeter...where are my witnesses?

Anyway, as Derek would say - Pitching wins championships...and he's right! (he's always right...) As much as I secretly l-o-v-e AJ Burnett, his instability makes me nervous...we need someone solid, an old friendly face. We need the poster child for clutch pitching and postseason winning, and I pretty much can't think of anyone else but #46! Still with me?

Onto the crazy: I will literally do anything to see him pick off one more guy at first base...win one more game, one more World Series.... I will read my Power for Living book 50 times before I go to bed at night. I'll go to church every Sunday - even the 12:00 mass that's realllly long. I'll fly to wherever he is in the south and knock on his door beg him to come back. I'll even get some cowboy boots and a bible for the occasion. You get it though ....He def. retired too soon!

To Andy: We love you, doll! We miss you like whoa....just come back into our lives and make us all whole again. What is this Key Three stuff? And though we probably all thought the Core Four thing was corny at first, we were living it and loving it for a short time there...it's just not the same without you!! And besides, you're one of our fave Yankee hotties, even with your gray hairs *drool*...I mean, I haven't seen someone look that good in a pair of pinstriped baseball pants since, well.....alright, if we exclude A-Rod...nevermind... I need a cold shower.

Go Longhorns??

Love,
G