Friday, February 16, 2007

Armed and Ready

The Yankees are going to wear a black armband during the season to honor the memory of Cory Lidle. Lidle was killed when his small two seater plane crashed into a building in NYC last fall. It has never been determined whether Lidle himself was piloting the plane at the time of the crash. The Yankees have worn armbands in the past to honor past Yankee greats who have died. Mickey Mantle and Joe DiMaggio come to mind. The only other person who was active at the time of their death was Thurman Munson, and the Yankees did wear the armbands to honor him as well. In fact that was the first time I remember any team doing something like that.

Now this is probably going to sound a bit callous, but Cory Lidle??? He was basically thrown in with Bobby Abreu when the Yankees made a trade with the Phillies. Cashman made some pronouncement about the fact that he wouldn't have made the trade if Lidle wasn't included, but I'm sure they would have found another pitcher to fit the bill if Lidle had been unavailable. Cory Lidle was about to become a free agent and while I'm not privy to the inner workings of the New York Yankees, I'm pretty sure that he would have been allowed to explore his options. He was unimpressive in his time with the Yankees and I would have been shocked if he was brought back again this season. And now he is being honored in the same way that Mantle, DiMaggio and Munson were. Does that seem right? Why don't they just give him a plaque in monument park as well?

Once again, I'm sure this isn't the most popular of opinions. Lidle did die while he was still officially a member of the Yankees, so I guess that requires them to make some gesture to acknowledge his passing. I just think that a moment of silence on opening day would have been more than enough. Hank Bauer died recently. He was a WWII hero and member of seven World Series winning teams. Are the Yankees going to honor his memory by wearing armbands? No. Are they even going to have a moment of silence on opening day for him? I don't know. But if we use Cory Lidle as the benchmark, then perhaps Yankee stadium should be renamed in his honor.

Sorry about the rant today. I guess the cold is getting to me.

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1 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

You're absolutely right. Hank Bauer's recent passing just puts this ridiculous overcompensation into the proper perspective. Cory Lidle died, and that sucks. It realy does. This isn't about whether Lidle deserves a tribute, so much as it's about how this outsized gesture diminishes other commerative acts for other Yankees who have passed on.

2:38 PM  

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