The past, present and future of the greatest franchise in the history of professional sports.

Legendary Yankees PA Announcer Bob Sheppard (left) and legendary reporter Phil Pepe

WEEKEND ROUNDUP: It could be the quiet before the storm, but there has been absolutely no buzz on the Ivan Nova and Brett Gardner trade-rumor front. Nova, while on the mend from Tommy John surgery is only 28 and could be tantalizingly attractive to a club hoping his promise is yet to be realized. He’ll be a free-agent after the 2016 season, and now would be the time for the Yankees to get their best possible return. If Nova gets off to a poor start, his trade value would diminish considerably, so as much as we’d like to see the Yanks stick it out with him, there is probably a great chance he’ll be moved.

And with New York’s well-documented starting rotation question marks, Gardy is a trade chip that the club could build around to land possibly a number three starter. Again, hate to see homegrown talent go, and hopefully another solution will come about. GM Brian Cashman was quoted that the likely outcome would be that the club would retain the outfielder.

ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick reports that Washington Nationals reliever Jonathan Papelbon has removed the Yankees from his ‘no trade list’. This is one trade we can’t see happening on any level, even aside from the $11M salary the team would absorb. When with the Red Sox, Papelbon didn’t exactly endear himself to Yankee fans when he put himself in the same stratosphere as Mariano Rivera, as recalled here: “Jonathan Papelbon says he should close All-Star Game instead of Mo” …

When the Yankees acquired Chase Headley, they didn’t expect the defensive lapses the third baseman went through in 2015. George King III of the New York Post writes: “Seventeen games into last season, Headley had made three errors and started a stretch in which he committed five errors in nine games. Of Headley’s 23 errors, 13 were throwing and led scouts to believe he had a case of the yips. Always accountable, Headley never ducked the issue and repeatedly said he would work his way through it.” See the full article here.

RIP Phil Pepe

Legendary Yankees PA Announcer Bob Sheppard (left) and legendary reporter Phil Pepe
Legendary Yankees PA Announcer Bob Sheppard (left) and legendary reporter Phil Pepe. (Photo Credit: New York Daily News)

Philip Francis Pepe was born in Brooklyn on March 21, 1935 and passed earlier this month, December 12, 2015 in Englewood, New Jersey at the age of 80. In between, Pepe became a prolific beat writer and reporter, covering the Yankees, first for the New York World-Telegram & Sun, then for the New York Daily News from 1968 to 1981.
Growing up in New York during that time, Pepe, along with cartoonist Bill Gallo, made the Daily News a must read. That was a time when the back page of paper had all the line scores of the games of the day, and included partial scores from the West Coast games, which were still going on when the paper went to press. Those were the days, and Pepe was a huge part of them. Daily News columnist Mike Lupica said it best:

“There was a time, in another time in New York, when whatever had happened the day before or the night before with the Yankees didn’t become official until you picked up the Daily News and read Phil Pepe. Phil was more than just the Yankees across his long career at The News, and at the World Telegram & Sun before that, and with all the books he wrote about baseball. But in memory, he’s at the old Yankee Stadium still, sitting with Yogi, telling stories about Mantle and Maris, getting ready to write a game story about the Yankees of George and Billy and Reggie.”

Pepe, a graduate of St. John’s University in Queens, left the Daily News in 1989, and joined WCBS radio, broadcasting his signature ‘Pep Talk’ morning roundup. He also covered championship boxing during the Muhammad Ali era, as well as the New York Knicks title runs. He also authored a ton of books, including ‘1961*’ which chronicled the Roger MarisMickey Mantle home run chase.

Don’t miss a great piece by mlb.com columnist Marty Noble — “Former Writer Pepe Remembered Fondly“. And also one by current Yankees beat writer Mark Feinsand — “Longtime Daily News sports writer Phil Pepe dead at 80“.
And a nice quote from LoHud’s Chad Jennings: “He was a giant in my industry, and he was kind to me every time I was around him. He will certainly be missed.”
 


 
New York Yankees pitcher Carl PavanoMEMORY LANE : On today’s date in 2004, a dark chapter in Yankees’ free agent signing lore began when the club inked pitcher Carl Pavano to a 4 year/$39.95M deal. While a capable hurler both before and after his stint with the Bronx Bombers, Pavano’s years in the the Big Apple were an absolute disaster. Injury after injury after injury had him spending more time on the disabled list than playing, raising the ire of teammates, fans and the New York press — who dubbed him ‘The American Idle’. There’s a must-read piece by Jay Jaffe of Sports Illustrated, written after Pavano retired before the start of the 2014 season: “Oft-injured Carl Pavano, favorite target of backpages, retiring after 14 seasons” …

On today’s date in 2008, the Yankees signed CC Sabathia to a 7-year/$161M contract … while in 1989, free-agent catcher Rick Cerone agreed to a 2-year/$1.4M deal. In 1988, the club released future Hall of Famer Ron Guidry

On December 20th, 1921 the Yankees and Red Sox agreed to a rare trade that sent Rip Collins, Roger Peckinpaugh, Bill Piercy, Jack Quinn and $100,000 to Boston for Bullet Joe Bush, Sad Sam Jones and Everett Scott.

(h/t: Baseball-Reference.com, Today in Baseball History)
 


 

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