Rocket Man!

Rocket Man

It's Been A Long, Long Time

With all of this controversy surrounding the resurgence of disgraced Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez, as well as the upcoming number retirement of Andy Pettitte, the time has come for the Yankees to ask a very important question.

You see, every year I sit and wait, like so many other fans, to see who the Yankees invited to their annual Old Timers' Day. It is a time to celebrate and commemorate the great moments of past Yankees, especially, as Yankees radio announcer John Sterling says, World Champions, All Stars, and even a few Hall of Famers. While I am well aware that he will never be the latter, it is time to bury the proverbial hatchet and invite Roger Clemens to the 2016 Old Timers' Day festivities.

Clemens, seen here with the Yankees, has been absent from team functions since his retirement in 2007. Photo courtesy of RealClearSports

Clemens spent six seasons with the Yankees, during which he amassed an 83-42 record and a 4.01 ERA, good for a .664 winning percentage. Not to mention a 7-4 postseason record, coming through when it counted most.

Full disclosure: I loved Roger Clemens. As a kid, I practically worshiped the man for all of the "super-human" success he had. Well, time has passed and I have lost that childlike innocence. I'm not stupid. I know full well that the reason for his success was more than likely caused by some form of performance-enhancing drugs, and as much as it pained me to learn, we all need to look ahead as well as what's past.

Last year, the San Francisco Giants hired Barry Bonds, Major League Baseball's home run king, as an advisor. The St. Louis Cardinals hired Mark McGwire as hitting coach in 2010, though he is now with the Dodgers. The Chicago Cubs hired Manny Ramirez as a hitting consultant.

The Yankees have embraced A-Rod, arguably the biggest cheater of all-time, as one of their own again. Never mind that Rodriguez, who has a career .263 postseason batting average, has been a perennial playoff choker, and the only player in baseball history to end his team's season two consecutive years with a strikeout. Yet Clemens remains locked out. Clemens, the two-time World Series Champion. 

On a hot summer day in 2016, John Sterling (or Michael Kay) will call out his stats. "He was the ace of the Yankees staff..."; "His 20-1 start to the 2001 season..."; or even "His intense demeanor on the field..." will be remembered. But most of all, he will be back in the one uniform where he belongs, Yankee pinstripes.

So I'm calling for Hank and Hal Steinbrenner, Randy Levine, and Debbie Tymon, (who organizes the annual event) to end the boycott! You let A-Rod back in after he wronged you several times.

It's time to give Clemens the same treatment.

(Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images) Courtesy of CBS Cleveland

Why The Mets Need to Ressurrect Old Timers' Day

The New York Yankees have held their well-publicized Old Timers' Day every year since 1947, and will hold it again on Sunday. The Mets once had the same tradition, and it needs to be revived.

The Mets have had some great players throughout the history of the franchise and what better way to celebrate than with an Old Timers' Day.

Darryl Strawberry, Doc Gooden, Tom Seaver, Mike Cameron, Rusty Staub, John and Matt Franco, Mike Piazza and Mookie Wilson could reunite on the field for a three or four inning exhibition game. Roger Craig to throw out the first pitch, and Ralph Kiner to join in the booth, with Ron Darling and Keith Hernandez on the field.

The ceremonies would be hosted jointly by Gary Cohen and Howie Rose.

So, what do you say?

Yankees Old Timer's Day-Who We'd Like to See

With the annual Old Timer's Day celebrations looming, there are some notable names absent from the roster.

This year, the roster again features staples like Yogi Berra, Bucky "Bleeping" Dent, Goose Gossage and Paul O'Neill. For the first time, it also features Sterling Hitchcock, Stump Merrill, Gene Monahan Matt Nokes, and even Tanyon Sturtze. Some of my favorite former players including, Darryl Strawberry, Bernie Williams, Tino Martinez, Cecil Fielder and Joe Girardi, David Cone, and Homer Bush, and Graeme Lloyd among others.

However, there are litterally hundreds of Yankee legends that fans would love to attend. Here I will list some of them.

Jorge Posada-The greatest offensive catcher of his era, Posada's best season came in 2007 when he hit .338 with 20 home runs and 90 RBIs. In my opinion Posada will be elected to the Hall of Fame at some point in the future and could make a great manager someday.

Roger Clemens-The trial is over. Clemens is innocent. The man who won seven Cy Youngs and was an eleven-time All Star for the Red Sox, Yankees and Astros and was 354-184 in his career deserves to be honored at the celebration.

Chad Curtis-Recently fired as coach at a high school for sexual assault charges, his life can easily go way downhill from here. Last summer we saw what happened to Hideki Irabu, the Yankees cannot allow that to happen again.

Dave Winfield-George Steinbrenner may have burned the bridge between him and the team, but Hal and Hank need to rebuild it. A man who once held the record for the largest contract in baseball history.

Aaron Boone-Yankee fans, myself included, remember where they were when Boone socked a walkoff home run off of Tim Wakefield to send the yankees to the 2003 World Series. Since OTD is a daytime event, it would not interfere with his ESPN duties.

Scott Brosius-Previously he apeared at 2007 OTD, before his duties as Head Coach at Linfield College prevented him I guess. Still my favorite third baseman, he should make a return.

Jose Vizcaino-Everyone who saw his walkoff RBI single in Game 1 of the 2000 World Series remembers where they were. Vizcaino spent just half of a season with the Yankees, ironically, spending more time as a Met. Fans would love to see him return.

Don Zimmer-Maybe this one is wishful thinking, as Zimmer currently serves as an advisor for the Rays. I remember Zimmer best for the bench-clearing brawl and subsequent fight with Pedro Martinez in the 2003 ALCS. Now in his 64th major league season, he is truly a baseball legend.

Jose Canseco-This one would be hilarious. Canseco spent just over a month in pinstripes, but nevertheless received a ring in the 2000 World Series. The outspoken player has taken to Twitter to express his opinions and currently serves as Designated hitter for the Worcester Tornadoes in the CanAm League with Danny Sausville, my brother's pitching coach. I'll have him ask Canseco to come. Wishful thinking, maybe, but then again, he did show up to Fenway for the Red Sox' Centennial celebration...

And last but not least, Tim Raines- Eventually he will be elected to the Hall of Fame, as his voting totals have increased each year since 2009, last year garnering nearly 48% of the vote, (75% is needed for election).

These names are just a few of the many Yankee legends that warrant Old Timers' Day invites. Hopefully over the years many more players will join in the fun.

Feel free to add comments on who you would like to see at future Old Timers' Day celebrations.