David Letterman had Derek Jeter, Andy Pettitte and Jorge Posada, with a cameo from Hideki Matsui and the World Series trophy, and the Yankees' victory parade traveled down the Canyon of Heroes in New York earlier today.
Other than a mention that A-Rod seemed to be channeling Bruce Willis, there is nothing else left to be said about the 2009 season... or is there?
Drum roll please...
Without any further ado we are moderately pleased to present the first, hopefully annual, Double Play Awards.
- The "it wasn't me, it was my MLB 2K9 video game double" Award
Tim Lincecum... seriously, it could work in court. Or, what about "Dazed and Confused" star Wiley Wiggins - his Mitch Kramer character from the 1993 masterpiece is a look alike for "The Franchise." If not those, then the Chewbacca defence is always a good choice. (DC)
- Most Valuable Player over Past Three seasons
This could be renamed to the "Right Place At The Right Time" award, but it goes to part time-outfielder Eric Hinske, who has made it to the World Series in each of the last three seasons, winning it two times. It should also be noted that the Eric Hinske 2002 Rookie of the Year bobble-head, which we affectionately called Bobble-Hinske, was the unofficial good luck charm for the department before it fell on the floor and suffered a broken head a few years ago. (DDK)
- Worst Fashion Trend Award
Ski goggles during clubhouse celebrations. Front offices types - save the athletes you have invested so much in from looking like clowns during the high point of your season. If champagne is that dangerous, don't use it. Milk works at the Indianapolis 500... what about Snapple? (DC)
- The Most Over Done Post Game Ritual
Shaving cream to the face during post game interviews. This part of the game needs an update and there must be something it can be replaced with. How about digging up home plate, tossing a sno-cone at the player of the game, releasing doves or presenting him with a championship belt of some kind? (DC)
- Worst Move Of The Year
The Chicago Cubs signing of Milton Bradley. The past season was not kind to the 2008 NL Central champions with poor performances from big-money players and injuries to key contributors, but the Bradley saga was the low-lite of it all. The oft-injured and enigmatic outfielder can play, but needs to be happy. He is more of a DH now than anything else and a National League club hasn't got much use for one. (DC)
- Best Non-Baseball Injury Of The Year
While he's backing his bags to move to Milwaukee, just-traded outfielder Carlos Gomez should not forget to print this out as proof of his award. You may have forgotten, but in May when he was playing for the Twins, Gomez needed stitches to close a cut when his head was caught in a revolving door.
"I guess he was going through the revolving door and somebody tried to jump in behind him and stopped it, and he kept walking and cut his eyebrow. I couldn't do anything but laugh at him when I just looked at his head and saw his cut, right through the eyebrow," the Twins manager Ron Gardenhire told MLB.com at the time. (DDK)
- Most Annoying Nickname
Hearing Derek Jeter, Jorge Posada, Mariano Rivera and Andy Pettitte called the "Core Four" 75 million times over the past 48 hours actually made my ears start to bleed. De Kerpel came up with something new and from now on CC Sabathia, Mark Teixeira, A.J. Burnett and Nick Swisher will be called the "Store Four." (DC)
- The Woman Of The Year
Sure Sabathia was great, Jeter did his thing and Rivera was as devastating as ever, but there is one person who should get the real credit for the Yankees championship... Kate Hudson. She was the anti Jessica Simpson and who knows where A-Rod would have been without her... I have to assume she was filming a movie and didn't know he was going to dress like Hudson Hawk at the parade. (DC)
- The Men of the Year
It's hard not to love the Chicago White Sox combination of general manager Ken Williams and manager Ozzie Guillen. Williams never seems to be satisfied, and never wants to rebuild, rather re-tool. His move in assuming Alex Rios' contract, and dealing for Jake Peavy in late August for four prospects even though there was a chance that he would not return in the season, shows that while a lot of teams talk about wanting to win, Williams puts his, or rather Jerry Reinsdorf's, money where his mouth is. Speaking of mouth, there is no better quote in the game than Ozzie Guillen. Would it be hard to work for a guy who is that brutally honest? Maybe, but as a fan of the game hearing Guillen's no-nonsense, and often profanity-laced answers are a refreshing change from the standard pap that we get spoon-fed from other managers. (DDK)