Yanks talkin’ Hawkins :Twins’ free-agent could be next great closer in The Bronx
YOU can expect the Hawk to land at Yankee Stadium. Twins hard-throwing right-hander LaTroy Hawkins has been targeted by the Yankees as one of their top offseason signings, according to our Pinstriped Inspyder.
The free agent would immediately upgrade the Yankee bullpen, which has struggled all season to find the right setup men for Mariano Rivera.
Here’s the really interesting part. For now, Hawkins would be a setup man, but down the road he could become Rivera’s replacement for George Steinbrenner’s club.
That’s how high Yankee scouts are on Hawkins, who gave up two hits and two runs in the Yankees 4-1 victory in Game 2, but was magnificent in Game 1, striking out four over two innings as he picked up the win.
After that Game 2 loss, Joe Torre was clearly impressed with Hawkins. “He has knockout stuff and his only problem in the past – he’s a whole lot better now – has been with his command,” Torre noted.
Hawkins’ arm is electric and live arms are a priority for the Yankees. His ERA was under 1.00 the second half of the season. “The key for me is throwing strikes, working the ball in and out and start throwing changeups a lot more,” Hawkins said.
He smiled when it was mentioned that Steinbrenner would be knocking on his door this winter.
Of course he would smile. That is just like winning the lottery.
Can you help?
Artie DaSilva (St. John’s ’90), the former assistant director of recreational sports from 1991-96 and husband of JoAnn Riepe (St. John’s ’94) and father of two daughters, Isabella and Ana Lia, was diagnosed in May with a very rare and highly aggressive form of blood cancer known as NK Cell (“Natural Killer”) Leukemia. There are only 39 cases worldwide, and about 100 known reported cases.
Artie is of Chinese ancestry and has a rare blood type, making the odds of finding a match even more difficult. The odds of finding a blood type match are one in 20,000 among an Asian-based pool of potential matches and one in 100,000 among the general pool of potential matches. The timing is urgent to find a bone-marrow match for Artie and there will be a number of blood drives, the first on Oct. 14 at 9 a.m. at Alumni Hall.
Terrific Tao
Peyton Manning (above), fresh off his six-TD performance, was spotted at Tao Monday drinking some red wine with friends. On Tuesday, Tao became a sports hall of fame. At one table there was Reggie Jackson, Andy Pettitte and Roger Clemens. Derek Jeter was at another while Robin Yount and Paul Molitor sat at another. Twins Shannon Stewart and Torii Hunter were celebrating their Game 1 victory and Stewart’s incredible ninth-inning catch. Oh yes, to top it all, Jim Brown and Marcus Allen also dined together. Speaking of restaurant tales, after Clemens’ final regular-season start and win over the Orioles, Baltimore manager Mike Hargrove, who has since been fired, had dinner at Stella del Mare and offered this reflection on the Rocket: “He ends up as an all-time Yankee great and emerges as an American hero.”
Gathering Moss
He is second on the all-time NFL receiving list and he holds enough pass-catching records to ensure his induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, so when HBO’s Inside The NFL analyst Cris Carter assesses the state of the winless Jets, it’s worth taking note: “People want to place a lot of the blame on them not having an effective way to replace Laveranues Coles, but I don’t believe that is necessarily the blame. Curtis Conway is trying to do the best he can, they lost their starting quarterback, but I think it is more of a discredit to the organization for them to not being able to develop Santana Moss (above), with this being his third year as a featured receiver. Being a first-round pick, by now, he should be the go-to-guy on this team and he is not.”
Postscripts
Versatile and virtual announcer Ian Eagle is carrying his work to the world of Sony Playstation; Ian’s the play-by-play man for Sony Playstation’s “NBA Shootout 2004,” with Bill Walton doing the color. He’s also the third man in the booth for Sony Playstation’s “NFL Gameday 2004” with Dick Enberg and Dan Fouts … Former Jet great Joe Klecko was asked to provide a scouting report on his son Dan, a rookie defensive lineman with the Patriots. He refused. “I don’t need anybody else to know what I think,” Klecko explained. Why is that? “He’s my kid, that’s why!”
The Boys’ Club of New York will hold its 28th Annual All Sports Hall of Fame Dinner on Nov. 5 at the Waldorf-Astoria. This year’s inductees include MLB Hall of Famer Gary Carter, former Lakers great James Worthy and NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue. In the dinner’s 28-year history, over $27 million dollars has been raised for club and its innovative education, athletic, guidance and health programs. To purchase tickets, call (212) 997-0100.
The splitting image of Clijsters
Legendary Garden photographer George Kalinsky, who has taken many shots of the Radio City Rockettes, was at DaTommaso Restaurant showing a picture of Kim Clijsters, the Wimbledon champ and U.S. Open finalist, doing a split in a rare photograph. George quipped: “She certainly wasn’t auditioning to become a Rockette, but her form was excellent.”