Life on the Road with Yankees Coach Mick Kelleher

By Mike Takeuchi
From the Santa Barbara News-Press

The dog days of summer may be a ways off for most, but in the life of a Major League baseball player or coach, they are never too far away. To New York Yankees coach Mick Kelleher, when this happens, it's just another day at the office.

The longtime Santa Ynez resident, who spoke to the News-Press in Anaheim shortly after the Yankees beat the Angels 3-2 on Saturday evening, said that in a life filled with a 162- game (plus playoffs) routine of airplane, bus, game, hotel and repeat, the highs can't be too high, and the lows can't be too low. Those kinds of pearls of wisdom are what a professional baseball lifer can impart on a team full of future Hall of Famer players and all-stars.

Since being drafted in 1969 by the St. Louis Cardinals, Kelleher played in the Major Leagues from 1972 to '82 for five teams, most notably the Chicago Cubs. A steady fielder with a light bat (career average .213, no home runs), he is perhaps best known for his 1977 brawl with the San Diego Padres cantankerous slugger Dave Kingman. Since then, he has worked as an instructor with the Yankees, coached first base with the Pittsburgh Pirates (1986) and the Detroit Tigers (2003-05), and has been with New York as first base coach and infield instructor since the start of the 2009 World Championship season.

"I don't know of any other life, and I don't think I would want to," the graduate of the University of Puget Sound said. "But it's not for everyone. I didn't get home from last season until early November, and then Thanksgiving and Christmas with my wife (Renee) and family came and went, then I was doing some things on the ranch and then bam, it's time to go off to spring training in February. But, I have no complaints whatsoever."

Since the regular season began, life has been on fast forward where the Yankees are 33-26 and a game behind division rival Boston Red Sox. It has been an odd year in the American League East, every team is within sniffing distance of the lead. And according to Kelleher, it won't get any easier for his team.

After playing 25 games in 28 days, the Yankees are two games into a 16-in-a-row span that began on Tuesday with two losses to the Red Sox. After that, a mere three days off in July are followed by only two in August Add a doubleheader in each month and one understands why Kelleher, who also coached the Pirates in 1986 and the Tigers (2003-'05), wondered if the ancient Romans had baseball in mind when they coined the term "dog days of summer".

"We sometimes joke about when the dog days of summer are," Kelleher chuckled. "Does it start June, July, or August 15? Then we just laugh and give up trying to figure it out because there is no date for us. When you get later in the season, you just find yourself playing 20 straight in the grind to stay in pennant contention. Those are the dog days. And they come before you know it."

"Our schedule in particular is tough because there are so many TV and late night games and travel. But, it just goes with the territory. We are in the business that we are in, so you go out and you suck it up. "

The youthful looking 63-year-old does more than that. Watching Kelleher coach during pre-game warm-ups and then man the first base box is seeing someone who is wearing a uniform for the first and last time. Whether pouncing on foul balls like a ring-tailed lemur or acting like a one-man welcoming company to batters who reach first base, the passion and love for a game is outwardly apparent.

Credited for helping Derek Jeter during the future Hall of Famer shortstop's younger days, and more recently, working with second baseman Robinson Cano, the coach enjoyed a reward of sorts after the 2010 season when Jeter, Cano, and first baseman Mark Teixeira all won Gold Glove awards — the first time in the teams' storied tradition three players from the same infield garnished that honor.

"We have a composition of players here that are professional and play the game the right way," Kelleher said. "There's a little arrogance, but the egos are checked at the door. To me that's huge because they can get wrapped up with all the stuff with the media, but don't. They can come into the clubhouse as gentlemen and then go put on the uniform and go out to the field and play hard between the lines every day. They don't take the tradition of putting on this uniform and the Yankee mystique lightly."

But, he added, even the best suffer from time-to-time.

'All these players are the best in the world, but even for them, it is easy to lose that focus when you are mentally and physically tired," he said. "And when that happens, you go into a little bit of a daze and you go into a slump and then you make mistakes on defense because you are just tired."

" You talk to the players to let them know if they are working too hard and to back off their early ground balls or pregame work in the cage on the field and just concentrate on playing the game. They don't need motivation to push themselves, but we're here to coach, teach, talk to, and watch over them to make sure they keep that balance."

That means keeping up with players 30 to 40 years younger than him.

"Things are different now," Kelleher said before the game. "You have to be in better shape to help the players. Not (local attorney and Ironman triathlete) Joe Howell shape, but fit. "

When will he stop putting on the uniform and taking the glove to work?

"When I'm 75," Kelleher said with a straight face. "I think I can keep doing the drills (until then)."

Three seconds later, he couldn't hold back and broke out laughing.

"I don't know, I'm still enjoying it and living the life," he said. "Actually I'll retire when Joe Howell quits doing triathlons."

When told this, his friend chuckled.

"Any physical contest with Kelby on the other side, and my money would be on him," Howell said. "In terms of conditioning, coaching, or whatever he decides Kelby can go as long as he wants to go."

Which proves he's more than willing to grind it out.

email: sports@newspress.com

Amgen Tour of California Preview

By Mike Takeuchi

*Reprinted article.

As I expected, the first stage of the Amgen Tour of California was cancelled due to snow and ice on the roads. They will try again tomorrow.

With the Tour of California starting today in Lake Tahoe, a predicted snow forecast and the death of a rider in the Giro d'Italia are on the minds of many of the riders. But for three-time defending champion Levi Leipheimer, the concerns are understood.

"I think we as riders have a unique perspective, because we can do it (race) and then watch it on television," Leipheimer said. "On television it looks fairly docile and at times boring — we want riders to attack. But then, when we race, it's nerve-wracking and stressful, and sometimes, a moment of relapse or loss of concentration can be serious. When riders talk about safety or danger, we're not doing that to gain sympathy or dramatize our sport. I've been scared on downhills — in the Giro d'Italia the roads are small and steep and the riders have a lot of skill, but there is not a lot of room for error. Safety is a big issue for us. It's not so much about complaining — safety is a real issue."

That said, Leipheimer also added in a press conference that the race organizers "had their backs." Race director Jim Birrell said that they are monitoring the situation on a minute by minute basis.

"We've been watching the forecast and will continue to monitor the situation," Birrell said. Our team will come together (Saturday night) and will determine our action plan. Our concern is going to be what's on the road. If it's just wet, it will be all systems go. We'll look at all the variables we can to make the decision that's safest for these riders."

Race organizers will make a decision at 9 a.m. today on whether to conditions will be condusive to racing.

Rider safety is of paramount concern because the death of Leopard Trek rider Wouter Welandt in the third stage of the Giro has hit very close to home to some members of the peleton, including his teammate and current Tour co-favorite Andy Schleck.

"The loss of Wouter last week was personally a big shock for me," Schleck said. "He was a good friend of mine. There are no words to describe the feelings that were going through me, my brother and the team. The day after the crash, everyone at the Giro (d'Italia) showed respect and it was really nice to see."

"It has been hard for me to stay focused on training, but I'm sure he would have wanted me to stay in the race and do my best. The team is here and we ride for Wouter."

Schleck and Leipheimer are expected to take over the reins of the race after defending champion, Australian rider Michael Rogers pulled out of the race due to a stomach virus.

Weather permitting on Sunday, the biggest challenges of the initial stage will begin halfway through the first day at Spooner Pass (elevation 7,000 feet), and then culminate with a 1,000-foot climb at Brockway Summit toward the end. But just when the riders think they were done climbing, a short, steep 300 foot climb awaits them.

In stage two from Squaw Valley to Sacramento, what goes up, must come down. Going from the famed ski village and 1960 Winter Olympics Venue to the state's capital, this is a sprinter's delight, with the major concern being what a cyclist eats as they fly through the infamous Donner Pass. With HTC High Road's sprinting god Mark Cavendish and his gang of leadout riders racing in the Giro d'Italia look for Garmin-Cervelo's Thor Hushovd, U.S. national road champion Ben King (BMC Racing Team) or perhaps King's wily veteran teammate George Hincapie) to look for a stage win. Remember, it was Hincapie who took the sprint finish on Cabrillo Boulevard in the inaugural race.

After a relatively flat stage from Auburn to Modesto with sprinters again vying for a win in stage three, the next stage heads to the Mt. Hamilton Observatory in a steep climb to 4,130, but could be the ideal place for a young rider such as American rider Tejay Van Garderen, who supported 2010 champion Rogers in his win, to possibly try and steal the stage and take command of the race.

"Winning this year's Amgen Tour of California is definitely a goal for me," Van Garderen said. "The goal would be to do well or win, so I'm going to try to win. If I fail, I fail. I know it's going to be hard, but it's what I'm going to try to do."

After a relatively flat, yet long (at nearly 140 miles the lengthiest of the race) stage from Seaside to Paso Robles on Thursday, the long awaited stage for the local community arrives with the Solvang time trial. Despite its relatively short distance, this could be where the race is won...or lost. While sprinters are not enamored with the stage, time trialists like U.S. champion Taylor Phinney (the son of Davis Phinney) are practically chomping at the bit for this stage.

"I haven't really had a good test in the time trial yet, so Solvang will be my first big test before Nationals," Phinney said. "As a course, it kind of suits me. The time trial is my biggest goal here. I will be giving it my all for sure."

Despite not having Rogers, who is also one of the best time trial riders in the world, the all-around contenders like Schleck, who is Luxemburg's time trial champ, and Leipheimer, will pose stiff challenges for Phinney in the stage.

Following Friday's stage, despite being a relatively short 75.8-miles, what is considered the most difficult stage in the history of the Tour awaits. After a rolling first tough climb in the early part of the stage, the race ends with a brutal climb starting at the 50-mile mark and then proceeds to go nowhere but up, finally reaching the summit with 1,000 feet of climbing in less than three miles.

"This is by far the hardest edition of the Amgen Tour of California in six years," Leipheimer said. "I rode Mt. Baldy last April before last year's Tour because I had gotten word that it might be added to the route. That is a real climb — worthy of the Tour de France. Now, all of a sudden we have two mountain-top finishes with Mt. Baldy and Sierra Road."

The Hollywood Ranters

By Mike Takeuchi

VROMANS BOOKSTORE CAFÉ- I haven’t seen too many “grown-ups” throw temper tantrums throughout my life. In fact, I have only seen two in the last ten years and both of them involved people in “the business” or Hollywood. As a sportswriter/production supervisor aka glorified celebrity hand holder, I have had the privilege to be near some interesting people.

On the same token, the closer look revealed the warts. Of the people with the most distinctive blemishes, I would put Kobe Bryant at the top of the list of jerks that I have come across. Surprisingly, Barry Bonds wouldn’t even make my top (or bottom) ten list. Perhaps the few interactions I had with the recently convicted (of only obstruction of justice) ex-ballplayer, he seemed to be in a talkative mood.

But the one thing I have never encountered in a locker room or on the field was someone resembling Baby Huey when things didn’t go the large cartoon fowl’s way. I can’t say the same for my other job. Perhaps the machismo factor is involved when dealing with athletes. Showing anything other than anger followed by grim determination often gets one labeled a…well, a bitch. Internalize until you succeed and then say something like “I was disrespected” and sportswriters and fans will nod their heads knowingly.

It is the complete opposite in my other field of work Even those who do not get behind the camera, are often emotive to the point that they should honestly try out for a soap opera-if any of them are left.

The first occurrence happened during an awards tribute given to the great actor Geoffrey Rush. Oh, it wasn’t the gracious Australian who committed the faux pas’. To the contrary, he was a friendly gentleman who even took the time to thank this writer for “taking care” of him as he was being whisked away back to the airport. The night, which also included Academy Award winning best actor Colin Firth and the wonderfully wacky Helena Bonham Carter was a night for future Best Picture winner “The King’s Speech” and despite having to change some things, worked out pretty well.

However, the publicist for the actors didn’t think so. (Okay, I’m going to digress because I know now that although I have no desire to work in Hollywood, I don’t want to be sued for my debt and six-year-old 150 thousand mile Subaru. Therefore, I won’t reveal the culprit’s name-but I am sure if he read this, he knew it was him). In fact in his mind, he thought it was clear that the show had to end at a certain time. However, in everyone else’s world, aka reality, the actual stop time was to be later.

No matter.

The curmudgeonly clean pated publicist (who resembled a desert tortoise) voiced his displeasure to a co-worker of mine, bringing them to tears. While swearing, waving his arms, he stomped his feet like a little petulant child. My first instinct was because I liked this person I worked with was to slap him on the forehead with a “bitch slap”. My second instinct was to kick him in the d&^k as hard as I could to give him a real reason to throw a temper tantrum.

But my days when I was known as “Mad Mike” have been over for two decades. And although they threaten to come out from time-to-time, mellow Mike always helps his alter ego to come to his senses. Yet I was still in a rage after, I mean how a grown person can treat others this way. Yeah, he’s got a good job, and I’m sure he is competent at what he did. But it’s not as if a surgical resident dropped the one-sized scalpel that could remove the cancer from someone’s body or anything. This was the movies for Christ sake, just effing chill. Yet, regrettably I held my tongue and just kind of laughed at him from afar. Some of his peeps looked at me funny, but I didn’t give a crap.

And now three months later, I saw the scene again on an L.A. street. Going to some unknown film I was invited to and finding out that it was moved to yesterday. Sure I was pissed, because I had just met some friends at the Dodgers game (they’re terrible by the way), when I could have rode down with them and saved $35 in gas. Yet I drove separately to see this mystery film.

I had waited with another ear ringed guy who didn’t seem to want to receive a friendly greeting from me for about 30 minutes. When it became apparent nobody else was coming, he called the person that was both of our contacts. Yet because this middle-aged man was probably more important in the “business” than a seasonal worker at a film festival, the contact, who avoided my calls, immediately picked up.

As ear ringed middle aged guy listened to the contact from his IPhone 4 or whatever the hell version it was, I could see the hairs beginning to stand on the back of his neck as his skin started turning a crimson shade. I swear to Christ, I could see smoke, but it probably wasn’t true. After contact-on-the-other-end guy finished backpedaling, there was this long tense pause just like the final moments before Old Faithful blew at its regular interlude, or perhaps it even resembled Vesuvius before it wreaked havoc unexpectedly upon the resident s of Pompeii in 79 AD.

The release seemed almost as intense.

What followed was a torrent of expletives of epic proportions. The middle-aged earring guy blew his top that made the curmudgeonly tortoise look like Roger Williams addressing the Puritans. I hadn’t heard that many swear words in such a small amount of words since I watched the late George Carlin in his concert movie when he said “the seven words you can’t say on television”. It was perhaps even more expletive-filled than Tommy Lasorda’s rant to pitcher Doug Rau on the mound during the 1977 World Series that television microphones picked up. This is must-listening by the way, (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-mqXodn5mQ).

He jumped up and down higher than the tortoise wished he could and gesture wildly with his one free arm saying to the effect that contact guy ruined his day and that his boss was going to hear about it. As for me, sure I was kind of annoyed, but that emotion quickly went by the wayside as I watched this impromptu performance on a Los Angeles street. My emotions went from irked, amused, to nearly rolling on the ground in hysterics or LMFAO to ROFLMAOIT in a span of about five seconds.

. I don’t know why, maybe I was thinking of the tortoise, but this guy looked so ridiculous that my reaction made me realize that I had better go around the corner. Once there, I immediately went into convulsions as tears squirted out of my ducts. I was so tempted to take a photo of the ranter, but I was afraid that even though his relatively small stature, rage would overcome my hysterics and then people would be watching a murder scene on KCAL 9. Besides, I doubted I could hold a camera straight because I was shaking so much.

Just when I started calming down, Mr. TT turned the corner and saw me. I was immediately embarrassed, but he just glanced at me and kept walking without a word. Perhaps he realized what an ass he made himself out to be. But probably not.

Security at Dodger Stadium gets a New (Old) Chief

From a press release from the Dodgers.

DODGERS HIRE FORMER LA POLICE CHIEF BRATTON

LOS ANGELES – Earlier today, the Los Angeles Dodgers hired Kroll Chairman and former Los Angeles Police Chief William J. Bratton to assess policies and procedures related to security and fan services at Dodger Stadium, and to work with the Dodger organization to develop a best practices security blueprint that extends to both the stadium and the parking lots.

"Bill Bratton is widely credited with spearheading modern community policing in America," said Los Angeles Dodgers Owner Frank McCourt. "There is no one better to lead a top-to-bottom review of our current practices and make recommendations to be implemented now and into the future.”

Bratton and his team at Kroll will begin consulting immediately.

"I am pleased to have the opportunity to return to Los Angeles to consult with the Dodger organization on the security posture at Dodger Stadium," said Bratton. "We will take a full and comprehensive look at security procedures and processes, and make recommendations based on our findings."

Mr. Bratton possesses extensive expertise in U.S. law enforcement that includes achieving major reductions in violent crimes when he led the New York City Police Department and the Los Angeles Police Department.

The Dodgers enjoy a longtime working partnership with the LAPD, and see Bratton and Kroll's role helping with internal procedures at the Dodgers.

"We are committed to ensuring that Dodger Stadium remains a family-friendly environment for all baseball fans," said McCourt.

Stop the Violence and Chillax! Edition 2-Sigh

By Mike Takeuchi

*The bottom part of this article is reprinted from a previous article.

Why is it that every time I go to a Dodgers/Giants game, somebody gets hurt or worse yet, killed? Thursday's Opening Day 2-1 victory over their hated (in their minds only) rivals the Giants made Dodgers fans rejoice-potential team shortcomings that were revealed notwithstanding. But the worse shortcomings have to do with the lack of proper security and the inability of the home crowd to act in accordance with basic civility.

Based on personal experience of Opening Day crowds and my own neurosis, my wife Munch and I arrived approximately two hours prior to the 5:00 start time. During this time, we had plenty of time to watch the Giants batting practice, do the NY Times crossword (which we almost finished because it was a baseball theme and I was given a few clues from a story about Brian Wilson-the Giants bearded reliever and the Beach Boys singer), and just to people watch. During this time, there were several shouts behind us in the Reserved Level concourse. Munch asked what was going on, and all I could say was that it was Giant fans going through "the gauntlet"- a human-made tunnel of 40-something energetic men all about 5'6" tall and equally wide, wearing Dodgers gear, and primed with alcohol.

The group indiscriminately taunted, insulted, and sometimes harassed anyone wearing orange or black or both. While it is commonplace to give the visiting fans a hard time, this group went far beyond the line by physically bodying up to male "miscreants" or with leering, remarks to female "enemies".

During the game, we were surrounded by some of the most rude fans around. One "gentleman" proceeded to sit in the seat in front of me and when I told him to move because they weren't his seats and his fat head was blocking my way, he became belligerent, prompting me to respond in kind. It got to the point where I thought more than once about what would happen if I pushed him over the railing onto the deck below? The drunkard eventually left, but his presence wasn't far from my mind for the rest of the game. And then something worse happened after the game..

From an Article in the Los Angeles Times on April 1 by Richard Winton

Los Angeles police were searching Friday for two Dodgers fans responsible for assaulting and critically injuring a man wearing San Francisco Giants apparel following Thursday’s game.

"The man suffered a serious head injury during the assault after the game,'' said Los Angeles Police Department Sgt. Sanford Rosenberg, watch commander at the Northeast Station.

Rosenberg said the victim was one of three Giants fans attacked in the parking lot around the end of the game by two unidentified men wearing Dodgers clothing.

The unprovoked attack occurred about 8:30 p.m. in Parking Lot 2 when two men in Dodgers clothing approached three victims in Giants apparel, police said.

The men then attacked the trio, kicking and punching them and shouting expletives about the Giants as they delivered the blows, Rosenberg said. The attack left one victim hospitalized in critical but stable condition, Rosenberg said.

Is this new? Hardly. It has been going on for years and it doesn't show any sign of abating. My proof? I wrote the article below in 2009. Now, two years later, it appears things have not changed

"My son was killed at Dodger stadium in 2003. Please stop the violence and enjoy the sport."

— Char Antenorcruz, mother of Marc Antenorcruz to the L.A. Times

People gotta chill. It is bad enough that Southland baseball lovers have had to weather the sadness of the death of Angels' pitcher Nick Adenhart, but violence at or near opening day Games for both Los Angeles area teams made the first week a lot less joyous.

The latest incident occurred during Monday's home opener at Dodger Stadium. As the fans cheered their team to victory courtesy of second baseman Orlando Hudson hitting for the cycle, something unfortunately more common was about to occur.

A man was stabbed several times after a confrontation in the parking lot with a group of men in a pick-up truck.

This happened one week after Buena Park resident Brian Powers, who while fighting with one man, was punched from behind by another after the Angels' home opener. After hitting his head on concrete during the fall, he was declared brain dead that evening and died April 8.

Far too many incidences of violence have occurrenced in the past few years.

Perhaps the worst occurred nearly five years ago at Dodger Stadium the night the San Francisco Giants clinched the National League West pennant. Shortly after the game, Marc Antenorcruz was shot.

Two years later, security personnel scuffled with unlicensed merchandise vendors in the stadium parking lot. Although there weren't any fatalities, four people had knife wounds.

At Oakland Coliseum in 2003, some yahoo thought it would be funny to throw a cherry bomb from the upper to the lower deck. It burned an 8-year-old boy and damaging his father's eardrums.

Over the years, despite beefing up security, going to the ballpark seems less safe — even without the aforementioned violence.

In 2006, before they were eliminated by the Mets in the playoffs, I lamented to my seat neighbor Jose that the Dodgers Cam never showed the fans in the pavilion or the upper deck.

"It's because they are always fighting," Jose laughed.

How true he was. Sure enough as the Dodgers were going down, no fewer than five fights occurred around us.

Even last season, when fans momentarily forgot their anger towards each other thanks to Manny Ramirez and a magical year, Game 4 of the NLCS was marred not only by the Phillies' comeback win, but several brawls — not to mention verbal abuse that reduced a petite college-aged woman to tears because she had the audacity to wear a Philadelphia cap.

Short of imposing martial law in the stadium, there seems to be no perfect solution. Because of the famous bottom line, teams would never consider cutting off beer sales earlier or distributing drink tickets to limit quantity. The only things I can think of are to beef up security, make them more proactive and not just reactive, and not allowing already drunk fans into the stadium.

Self policing would help, but it can't be relied upon. While it is noble for fans to come forward to complain, oftentimes fear of repercussions prevent this from happening.

There seems to be no clear cut solutions — only an acceptance that things are getting worse. And that's bad news for the true fans.