Sterling Adds to Granderson Home Run Call (via Willy Wonka)

Would he? Could he? Was it possible that John Sterling would repeat his much-maligned home run call for Curtis Granderson? Simply put, yes.

After Granderson went yard against Jonathan Papelbon in tonight's 10th inning, the head scratching began as, for some unknown reason, Sterling repeated his now infamous “Something sort of Grandish” call.

But wait. It gets worse. Since one egotistical call may not be enough, Stelring then proceeded to serenade his listners buy singing “The Grandyman can, the Grandyman can.” This is apparently his take on the song “The Candy Man,” featured in the film Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory.

“Something sort of Grandish” is based on the 1947 Broadway musical Finnian’s Rainbow. Willy Wonka came out in 1971. I guess this is Sterling’s idea of getting with the times.

We Called It

Who knew we had such a knack for predicting the future?

Way back on March 11, (after listing five Sterling idiosyncrasies that drive us mad) we listed the one positive thing we could mention about the Yankee broadcaster. While that post may have seemed a bit odd at the time, it came resonating back on the heels of Sterling’s disastrous Curtis Granderson home run call which, it turns out, was inspired by a 40-year-old Broadway musical.

Granderson Update

How bad did John Sterling blow his first home run call for Curtis Granderson? A quick Google search for “’John Sterling’ and ‘Curtis Granderson’” returns over 2,400 results (and most of them don’t look too positive).

Writing for the timesunion.com blogs, Jordan Carleo-Evangelist drafted an open letter to Mr. Sterling questioning his questionable home run call for Curtis Granderson. Read the story here.

John Sterling's Grandseron Call

Perhaps the biggest off-season Yankees question was “what would be John Sterling’s home run call for Curtis Granderson?” We now all know that it was a ridiculous, sorry attempt at best. But where did “Something sort of grandish” come from? Would you believe a Broadway musical from 1947. Another Sterling moment in Yankee history. Read more here.

As Good as it Gets?

I forgot just how over-the-top John Sterling gets when he gushes about Alex Rodriquez. I was reminded last night when he called A-Rod’s 2009 post-season “as good a play-offs as any player’s ever had.” Really?

No doubt, Rodriquez had his best post-season in pinstripes, and he certainly helped bring the championship home…but “as good a play-offs as any player’s ever had” seems a bit strong.

In the World Series, A-Rod hit .250 with six RBIs and one HR. Those numbers put him nowhere near the top of any major batting statistic in World Series’ history. Even in Yankee Land, we have Babe Ruth hitting four homers, Bobby Richardson with 12 RBI and, just last year, Hideiki Matsui hit .615 in the Fall Classic.

Rodriquez had a much better LCS, but even those numbers are far from “best ever” stats. In fact, virtually none of A-Rod’s Championship Series batting numbers land him in the Top 10 of any single-season LCS batting list. Oops…actually his three HRs have him tied for third (with 27 other players).

Once again, why let the facts get in the way of a good ass kissing?

A Grand Night for Dinging

Well, it took John Sterling less than two innings into the 2010 season to misidentify a player.

Curtis Granderson’s 455-foot, second inning home run delighted many Yankee fans on opening night, but none more than Sterling. In addition to showing off yet another inane home run call, Sterling continued to gush about Granderson like a love-struck schoolgirl.

The love fest distracted Sterling so much that he referred to left fielder Brett Gardner as Granderson later that same inning.

Opening night box score: Sterling 1, Accuracy 0.

Crystal Ball Time

Based on statistical analysis--and some hunches--here are my projected final standings for the 2010 MLB season:

AL East
NY Yankees
Tampa Bay Rays
Boston Red Sox
Toronto Blue Jays
Baltimore Orioles

AL Central
Chicago White Sox
Minnesota Twins
Detroit Tigers
Kansas City Royals
Cleveland Indians

AL West
Texas Rangers
Los Angeles Angels
Seattle Mariners
Oakland Athletics

NL East
Phiadelphis Phillies
Atlanta Braves
Florida Marlins
NY Mets
Washington Nationals

NL Central
St. Louis Cardinals
Chicago Cubs
Milwaukee Brewers
Houston Astros
Pittsburgh Pirates

NL West
Colorado Rockies
Los Angeles Dodgers
San Diego Padres
San Francisco Giants
Arizona Diamondbacks

Suzyn Waldman chatted with Boston radio heads Tanquay and Zolak about the Yankees upcoming season, her embarrassing "Roger-Clemens-is-a-New-York-Yankee" moment and, of course, John Sterling. After the interview, T&Z took some pot (and potty) shots at J.S. Listen to the interview here.

And You Thought Waterboarding was Bad

Last year Matt Taibbi wrote an article for Men's Journal claiming that the Yank's attempt at buying a World Championship would never work. We all know how that ended up.

Today, Taibbi invites Yankee fans to send him gloating e-mails. In fact, if he gets 1,000 letters, Taibbi promises to "post a video of myself on YouTube listening to an endless loop of John Sterling’s The-e-e-e-e-e Yankees win!" Talk about torture. Jeez Matt, we wouldn't wish that on our worst enemy!

By the way, today's article is a thoughtful look at eight ways to increase parity in baseball and is definitely worth a read.

Sterling Joins Red Sox

Well, Sterling detractors, we finally got our wish. In a surprise move, NY Yankee announcer John Sterling has jumped ship and is now the radio voice of the Boston Red Sox. He begins his new assignment this Sunday with the season opener.

In a prepared statement, Sterling said that while his "Yankee years were second only to his time in Atlanta, he looks forward to joining Red Sox Nation."

Many Yankee fans will, no doubt, celebrate the move. Until they check the calendar.