WHITE PLAINS CITIZENETREPORTER SETS RECORD VISITS FOR YEAR 7,017,658 VISITS! 2,098,003 VISITORS MADE 6 VISITS A DAY EVERY DAY. 63,330 UNIQUE VISITORS MADE 133,730 VISITS IN DECEMBER. WPCNR AVERAGED 17,284 VISITORS A WEEK, VISITING 31,270 TIMES.

Hits: 0

WPCNR GASOLINE ALLEY. From Westchester Department of Communications. October 10, 2006: Gas prices are near their lowest point this year, according to the latest gasoline price survey conducted by the Westchester County Office of Consumer Protection. The survey of 351 stations in the county, done this week, found the average price for regular gasoline was $2.602.

“Finally good news for drivers,” said County Executive Andy Spano. “Prices have been going down for the past two months, but there is still a great difference station to station. Drivers looking for the best deal should check our price survey.”

The survey is posted on the county’s website at www.westchestergov.com . The survey results are also available from the voice- activated info line at (914)995-8710.                 

Gary Brown, the new director of Consumer Protection for the county, said prices are down almost 50 cents from last month and 20 cents from a year ago. He noted that the lowest price found was $2.319 at three stations along Central Park Avenue in Greenburgh (Edgemont area), with other low prices elsewhere along the same road.  

Brown added, ‘With the heating season upon us, users of home heating oil can find valuable information about oil companies and the services they offer on the home-heating oil survey webpage also found on our website. We will resume our surveys of  these prices as well later this month.”

The monthly gas price survey includes all Westchester gas stations. Information is survey about the prices of regular, plus and premium prices as well as any “specials”  the station may have on certain days.     

Hits: 0

WPCNR PHOTOGRAPH OF THE DAY. By the WPCNR Flying Photographer. October 10, 2006: Today’s POTD zeros in on the White Plains Downtown:

Downtown White Plains Looking North. Photo by the WPCNR Flying Photographer

Hits: 0

WPCNR THE POWER NEWS. From Westchester County Department of Communications. October 9, 2006: The public will have a chance this week – at four meetings in New Rochelle, Yonkers, Greenburgh and Port Chester to tell the state Public Service Commission what it thinks of Con Edison’s response during this summer’s storms that left tens of thousands of Westchester residents in the dark for days.

            Responding to County Executive Andy Spano’s call for a state investigation of the utility’s preparedness and response and for public hearings in Westchester, the PSC has scheduled the following public hearings:

• Wednesday, Oct 11, 2-4 p.m., New Rochelle City  Hall, 515 North Ave.


• Wednesday, Oct 11, 7-9 p.m., Yonkers City Hall, 40 S. Broadway


• Thursday, Oct. 12, 2-4 p.m., Greenburgh Town Hall, 177 Hillside Ave.


• Thursday, Oct. 12, 7-9 p.m. Port Chester Village Justice Court, 350 N. Main St.

There are three other ways for the public to give input:

• In writing to: Jaclyn A. Brilling, secretary, Public Service Commission, Three Empire State Plaza, Albany, NY 12223-1350 (Reference comments: Case 06-M-1078.)


• By telephone to the commission’s toll free opinion line at 1-800-335-2120. (Callers may select English or Spanish options.)


• Via the Internet at www.askPSC.com . (Go to comment form in the Contact Us section.)

“We in Westchester want answers,” said Spano. “We want to know if Con Ed has the adequate infrastructure to deal with storms. We want to know if they have adequate personnel to respond. I urge

Westchester residents to contact the PSC with first-hand accounts of what happened to them during the storms of this summer.”

Specifically, the PSC is soliciting input on the following:

·        How were you affected by the outages?

·        Do you think you received timely, accurate and adequate information from Con Ed or otherwise about what was happening before, during and after the service outages?

·        Did you attempt to contact the company for information or assistance immediately before, during or after the outages and did you get what you were requesting?

·        What are your overall impressions about how Con Ed responded under all of the circumstances related to the outages and your reasons for those impressions?

·        What are your recommendations about actions you believe Con Ed should or should not have taken before, during and after the outages?

·        What actions do you recommend the commission take in light of all that you know about these events?

Hits: 0

WPCNR VIEW FROM THE UPPER DECK. By John Baseball Bailey. October 9, 2006: As The Bronx wallows in the gloom of the Yankee failure this last week, and reports of Joe Torre being fired after managing the Yankees to the most successful decade in their history,  it is time to put things in perspective.

A different Game. Photo, WPCNR Sports.

Yankee Stadium, 2003 World Series. Photo, WPCNR Sports

Good pitching always beats great hitting. Great hitting kills lousy pitching. Let’s face it, the Yankee rotation was not reliable this year. When your number 1 starter just happens to turn up and take over the number 1 spot because he’s the only consistent starter, (C.M. Wang), when two over-the-hill pitchers (Randy Johnson and Mike Mussina) are relied on, and your only consistent pitcher pitches one inning a game (Manuel Rivera), you do not have a pitching staff.

You certainly do not have five strong starters which is what the Yankees ran into this last week against Detroit.  Every Tiger starter pitched a strong six innings or more. Three of the four Yankee starters did not. And that’s what kills you in the 5-game division series. Since the games are played 5 in 6 days…you’re only as good as your 4^th and 5^th starters. The Yankees have not had that all year. They never had a stopper except for Wang. Who inexplicably does not pitch on three days rest Saturday! You needed that game before you played the 5^th game.

And, let’s be fair – the Yankee infield is not a strong fielding infield. They have A-Rod at third who has no range – and has strange mental lapses – like failing to play close to the line in the lates.  They have a shaky first base position which forces Robbie Cano to play two positions. Over a regular season, the bats fatten up and can win you 2 of every 3, but in a short 5-game series, your pitching has to be solid, and you have to scout the opposition well.

Moreover, you cannot let games get out of hand. Perhaps Joe Torre’s greatest flaw is his management of pitching in big games. How can you pitch Jared Wright in the biggest game of the season? How can you leave him in to choke up four runs?????

Then compound the felony by bringing in mop-up guys in a game you have to have?????

 But, hey – Wang should have started – what was Joe saving him for? Then of course there was the leaving Mussina in to cough up the lead in Thursday afternoon’s turnkey game.  Johnson getting hammered Friday night was no surprise. The Yankee middle relief the last two years has no ability to get out of jams. Johnson has not won a big game for us since he got here. The soft under belly of the Yankee pitching staff – inconsistent all season – was not equal to the task.

You have got to bring back Wang to start Saturday’s game. He had three days rest! You got to win Saturday before he gets to pitch Sunday – then roll Mussina and Johnson in for Game 5 on Sunday. Torre is incredibly uncreative when the wheels come off. He has confidence in all his players to a fault. But occasionally his pitching moves mystify.

He lost the Marlin World Series in 2003 when he conceded the fourth game in the 12^th inning by inexplicably bringing  in Jeff Weaver in the 12^th instead of Rivera. I remember that game, too.

When the Yankee rotation gets discombobulated, Torre is slow to adjust. In the infamous Boston 4-game sweep, Torre could not stabilize his pitching after Boston beat the Yankees in 14 innings in the 5^th game. But, how do you start Kevin Brown twice in that series?

Sadly, the Torre managing job this last week recalls the managing of Casey Stengel in the 1960 World Series which cost Casey his job. Casey’s Yankees killed Pittsburgh three games, and Pittsburgh edged the Yankees in three going into Game 7.

The Yankees rallied in the 8^th to go ahead of the Bucs 7-4 with Little Bobby Shantz of the Yankees having pitched  5 innings of terrific relief  into the 8^th. Gino Cimoli singled off Bobby to start the bottom of the 8^th. Next Virdon hit a smash to short that hit a stone and bad-hopped Tony Kubek in the throat putting runners at first and second.  Next Dick Groat singled, scoring Cimoli. 7-5 NY.  And Casey’s out of the dugout. Now, mind you Shantz has not been hit hard. But Casey brings in Jim Coates – a starting pitcher without relief experience most of the season.     He could have brought in Ryne Duren, Duke Maas or Luis Arroyo – all experienced firemen. But, nooooooo, he brings in Coates.

He throws gasoline on the fire. Coates induces Bob Skinner to sacrifice and the runners move up. 2^nd and 3^rd one out. Rocky Nelson flies to right. 2 out. Instead of walking Roberto Clemente, Casey and Coates pitch to him. The Great Roberto, as Bob Prince used to call him, chops a ball to first and beats it out for a hit and it is 7-6. Still Casey leaves Coates in. He has the flamethrower Duren in the pen. The nasty sinker artist Arroyo in the pen, and still he leaves Coates in. Coates hangs one to Hal Smith and Smitty hits it over the left field wall for a three-run homer. 9-7, Pittsburgh. Then Stengel brings in Ralph Terry who closes the inning.

But the Yankees rally. Tie it in the 9^th.  Who comes out to pitch the bottom of the 9^th. Ralph Terry – a pitcher prone to the homerun ball.  Mind you Casey could have brought the experience reliever Maas or the experienced reliever Duren, or the left hander Arroyo. He elects to leave Terry in who gives up a series winning homer to Bill Mazeroski on his third pitch.

Stengel also outsmarted himself in this series by starting off the series with Art Ditmar instead of Whitey Ford. Ditmar lost two games in the series. Ford won two. Just a quibble.

Stengel was fired at age 70. Something I never thought should have happened. Now today we hear rumors that Lou Piniella is  going to take over for Joe Torre. I hope not. The Yankees have to go back to the winning formula of 4 starting pitchers who are consistently good. Remember  Pettite, Rogers, Key, Gooden and Cone of 1996 – and Pettitte, Clemens, Hernandez in 2000 – and reaching back in time – how about Figueroa, Hunter, Ellis, Alexander and Hotlzman in 1976 – and Guidry, Figueroa, Gullet, Torrez and Tidrow in 1977. You have to have five solid starters.

The Yankees overestimated their pitching this year. But against the Tigers, the starters fell apart – early.

If Torre is fired Monday, GM Brian Cashman needs to go with him. Cashman had to know his pitching was weak and he did not deal for a big pitcher to shore up the Yankee staff down the stretch! He made the Abreu deal – but that was not what the Yanks needed.  But perhaps he was prevented from doing that.

That is a trademark of previous Yankee pennant winning drives of the past. You do not need hitting in the shorts – you need pitching.

And speaking of managers who should go—How can Grady Little bring in an unknown quantity pitcher in Penny in the 7^th of game one with the 5-4 lead? You don’t experiment when you have the lead, Grady. So what happens, Penny with the questionable back walks two Mets. Grady still leaves him in. You can’t hope for outs! You gotta make a move! And he had no bullpen heating to back up Penny. Game Over. Mets feast. Dodgers dead for good.  Bad pitching management.

And Bruce Bochy of San Diego – how can you yank your starter today in a 3-2 game for a hideous reliever, Cla Meredith? A hits batsman, a single and a single and the game is gone. Could we have Trevor Hoffman please? It’s the 6^th. You have to hold em.  The pennant’s on the line, Bruce! You cannot turn the game over to a middle reliefer!!!!  The look on Woody Williams’ face said it all as he watched the Cardinals tee-off. Bochy also made the Torre mistake he withheld Jake Peavy, his ace, from the game he had to win, hoping to pitch him Monday.

As the Mets go into the series against St. Louis Tuesday – we shall see if the Mets’ superior hitting can overcome the loss of Hernandez and Martinez. And we shall see if the Tiger bats can overcome the best pitching staff in the Major Leagues of the Oakland A’s.

Hits: 0

WPCNR Press Box. THE UPPER DECK GUY By John Baseball Bailey. October 15, 2002. UPDATED October 8, 2006:  WPCNR’s Upper Deck Guy wrote this article in October, 2002, and based on the Detroit Tiger tanking the last week of the season allowing the Minnesota Twins to win the AL Central, it is fitting to revive this column. I hate the Wild Card because it compromises the integrity of the game. By all rights the Tigers should be sitting home drinking Stroh’s instead of Dom Perignon tonight, because they dogged it for a month because they could thanks to the Wild Card booby prize.

VIEW FROM THE UPPER DECK GUY.
Photo of Wrigley Field by WPCNR Sports

Howie Rose, the New York Mets broadcaster was horrified too, remarking on the air how he always thought you wanted to finish first, and grousing about Detroit’s celebrating denigrating first place. Howie is right, and we hope he’s back after uttering that blasphemy. Tom McCarthy his sidekick tried to save Howie from himself with some comments about Minnesota’s great run. But, the damage had been done. Howie Rose spoke the truth. Now I don’t always agree with Howie, but he’s really right.

As far as the 2006 Yankees go, they prove why you cannot have playoffs in baseball involving mediocre teams. All you need is some hot bats and two hot pitchers and you can beat anybody. Let alone that the Yankee pitching was spotty all year, as was their fielding. Now let’s revive my old column written 5 years ago when two Wild Cards got hot and left better-constructed teams in the dust:

The laughing stock of baseball is about to begin. The losers will be playing for the World Championship as the San Francisco Giants and the Anaheim Angels, the two teams who finished second in their respective divisions in baseball ambushed the Atlanta Braves and St. Louis Cardinals, and the New York Yankees and Minnesota Twins, respectively to make it to the World Series.


The Fall Classic is about to become the Fall Basic, and establishment, politically correct sports authorities are touting this as good for the game.

I don’t think so.

The New York Times and the executives of baseball are already trotting out the virtues of the Wild Card, giving us those bromides today’s society uses to excuse poor performance, bad behavior, less than satisfactory standards. We are already hearing that the Wild Card is good for baseball because “It gives more teams a chance,” “It shows that low payroll teams can win,” “It’s good to see some new teams in there for a change.”

I say, “Bush!”

The results of the last two weeks show conclusively why baseball must contract to an even number of divisions, so only first place teams play to get in the series. For integrity’s sake.

Anything can happen in a short series.

And, what happened? You saw the Angels cannonade a Yankee pitching staff that either was given an overconfident scouting report on the Angels hitters, or could not execute when they had too. Why? Perhaps the Yankee management was overconfident. Though the Angels blasted Yankee pitching in the regular season, too. Not a good matchup.

However, this was also the same Angel team that kept pace with the Oakland A’s dramatically, but still fell short of the Oakland A’s pace in their own division, while winning just enough to hold off Seattle for the Wild Card.

Did the Bombers underestimate the Angels, or underscout them? But, the Angels should not have had a shot at the Bombers in the first place.

First Place Means Nothing in a Wild Card Setup.

The Bombers on the other hand made the major effort to oust the Boston Red Sox and win their own division. The Angels though keeping pace with the A’s, could not beat them head-to-head, to take the West Division of the American League. They should be out of there . But they are not, thanks to the notorious wild card.

Lest we take the Angel run as a great testimony to their worthiness, I suggest they were simply assuring themselves of the Wild Card over the Red Sox, and Seattle, not trying to overtake the A’s. They were trying to stay ahead of the Mariners.

And it did.

The same, “win just enough to get in” philosophy, applies to the San Francisco Giants. The Giants won just enough to overtake the Dodgers, who faltered miserably in the stretch, with the Giants not being able to handle the bigger challenge of overtaking the Diamondbacks, who though without Luis Gonzalez, and Greg Counsell (read, if they were the Yankees, Derek Jeter and Alfonso Soriano, comparable losses), held on to win first, because they thought it was meaningful.

The Wild Card gives teams an excuse not to leave it on the field.

Nature of Baseball and Softball: Form is Very Hard to Establish.

Now we have the prospect of watching a series between teams that finished second, whose management and players were not good enough to out-general-manage clubs that could be the best over a long haul, but are good enough and dangerous enough to give better teams trouble in one series.

The Giants and Angels could be accused of “backing in” to the Wild Card, because they knew all they had to do to reach postseason was to beat out the Dodgers and Mariners-Red Sox, respectively.

Getting the Wild Card is no big deal or great achievement. You just have to do well enough to finish second. The regular season performance becomes a joke.

Just as the Florida Marlins stole a trip to the series in 1997 by ousting the Atlanta Braves, as did the Mets in 1999, thanks to dumb managing of the Arizona Diamondbacks by Buck Showalter in Game 3, the maddening inconsistency of playing baseball illustrates why you simply cannot have a wild card system.

Last Hurrahs for Bravos and Bombers.

What the last two weeks also showed, was the fatal flaws in the Atlanta Braves, who put out the best pitching staff and best starting lineup in baseball year-in, year-out, but fail to get a good bench together to put up that strong pinch hitter up in the lates.

The end of the New York Yankees run: The Yankee pitching staff showed its flaws. It is old, and not as fast and effective as it used to be. The club forgot to play “D.”

All season, we saw a Yankee defense compromised by a slow moving outfield and a first baseman who cannot move to his left or right. We should also not forget that the Red Sox did not have Pedro Martinez the entire season.

This year’s Yankees looked vaguely like the 1964 Yankees on their last run before fading to oblivion for some time to come.

Congratulations to the Wild Cards.

The Giants and Angels sucked it up and played over their heads for 10 games and outperformed their opponents head-to-head, something they could not do during the regular season. Any team can do that, to borrow the NFL’s bromide, “on any given day.”

The results the last two weeks are very reminiscent of the Chicago White Sox (“The Hitless Wonders”of 1906), who beat the winningest major league team ever (116 wins), the Chicago Cubs in six games. It is tough to beat a team playing over their heads once you have already beaten them.

Bonds no Aaron or Ruth or Musial.

I resent the deification of Barry Bonds as another Babe Ruth. Bonds, a .292 lifetime hitter, Sammy Sosa, a .277 hitter and a host of .250 hitters are jacking homeruns off juiced-up baseballs and raw pitching.

Ruth hit .342 lifetime. Aaron hit .306 lifetime. Stan the Man hit .331 lifetime.

We should also not forget that Barry is a free agent attracted to San Francisco for the money, so much for the poor teams getting a chance.

The Angels and Giants are two of the richer franchises, though the Angels do have a lower payroll.

Can More Wild Cards Be Coming?

Bet on it.

America’s penchant for giving second chances just makes sense. This year, I’m sure New England Fans would have liked the Red Sox to have a Shot, and how about those sadsack Montreal Expos. Soon, the “competition” committee will have the first two clubs in each division make the postseason, I will bet, after the interest in this “Season of the Wild Card.”

Then how about the third place team with the best record in each league?

It will be an excellent solution to leveling payrolls. If all you have to do is finish at .500 to make the playoffs, why spend to improve? Why spend money on scouting to set up a good farm system?

Remember, the main interest now in the baseball season, is not who is going to finish first, but what teams are going to be the wild cards. A very similar situation exists in the National Football League.

Pretty soon, we may even see the handicapping schedule, an insidious device invented by the National Football League that allows lousy managed football teams like the New York Football Giants and the New York Jets to continue to have one good year, one bad year, and still give fans hope each year that they can win the super bowl.

When the Giants and Jets get the loser’s schedule, they finish over .500 and make the playoffs. When the next year the Giants play the winner’s schedule, they LOSE A LOT. But, that’s another column. Look for baseball to consider this.

The Roman Empire Syndrome

As baseball’s moguls and businessmen make baseball more like the other sports, pro basketball, pro football, and pro hockey, with everyone having a chance to win, they discourage the pursuit of excellence. The fact that the owner of the Minnesota Twins wanted to fold his team, which actually won its division this year, shows you just how much baseball owners care about the fans, great baseball, or doing what it takes to win.

The overwhelming majority of owners do the least amount possible, especially their commissioner, who since he took over the Milwaukee Brewers as provided that city with the flat beer of mediocrity, which is what we can expect to see in the next two weeks. Mediocrity on display: The greatest of the mediocre, to be sure.

I for one, will not watch one pitch of it.

Remember, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays beat the Yankees 4 out of 6 in the last two weeks of the season. Perhaps the Devil Rays were just making their stretch run, and maybe deserve a crack at the Giants or the Angels.

Believe me, some owner in the major leagues is going to read this last paragraph and take me seriously.

SO LONG FROM THE UPPER DECK GUY.
Photo of Comiskey Park 1975 by WPCNR Sports