metirish

And Contreras is back to try and finish the job, would that be a first that four pitchers pitched complete games in the modern era? of course that would be complete games in the ALCS/.NLCS.

It looks like curtains for the Angels, Sox up 5 - 3 with no outs and men on 2nd and 3rd in the ninth..Piniella is a major bore, his agent needs to tell him that the TV booth is not for him.

So Edgy you hated it, you only wanted to give it a half star or maybe four and a half stars?, not sure what you meant.

OK from what I can find they played again Sunday and the Hawks won 3 - 2 so the sereis is tied at 2, they play again tonight which is Monday in Japan... ]Jim Allen Daily Yomiuri Sportswriter The Fukuoka Softbank Hawks are alive, kicking and just a tie game away from clinching their fourth Pacific League title in seven seasons. Julio Zuleta homered twice and drove in all his team's runs on Sunday as the Hawks beat the Chiba Lotte Marines 3-2 to tie the second stage of the PL playoffs at two games apiece. "One-run games will kill you, but they are crowd-pleasers," Softbank skipper Sadaharu Oh said. As the top seeds, the Hawks can wrap up the pennant here tonight with a win or a 12-inning tie, while a Marines victory will send Lotte to its first pennant in 31 years. "Now there is nothing to do but win, we do that, we move on, lose and we go home," Oh said. Trailing by a run in the bottom of the fourth, Zuleta hit his second homer of the game, a two-run shot off Marines right-hander Hiroyuki Kobayashi, who worked eight innings to take the loss. "He was throwing a lot of junk, but if you pay attention to the game, all his junk was out of the zone," Zuleta said. "He surprised guys with his fastball, but I knew sooner or later he's going to come with his fastball--and I hit it out of the park." Like most of the Hawks, Zuleta struggled to get his timing at the plate after a 13-day layoff between the end of the regular season on Sept. 28 and the start of the second stage on Oct. 12. But instead of hitting the ball, two straight losses had the Hawks on the verge of hitting the road--until a dramatic come-from-behind victory in Game 3. In Game 2, Zuleta just missed a pair of high fastballs that would have had a high-probability of reaching the stands. "If my timing is good, like yesterday and today, those balls should be home runs," he said. Hawks southpaw Tsuyoshi Wada made the earliest exit of any Hawks starter in the series--after just 78 pitches in four innings, making him the only Softbank starter to avoid suffering a late-inning meltdown. Oh said he made the unusually quick hook not because he had left his first three starters in the game too long but because Wada had felt some discomfort in his left elbow earlier in the week. "Because of that, his control was poor," Oh said. "If he was healthy I would have left him in." Oh brought in rookie Hideaki Takahashi in the fifth, but the side-arm right-hander surrendered a leadoff single and hit the next man. With no outs and the tying run on second, Oh showed rare speed in turning to middle reliever Shintaro Yoshitake, and the right-hander held off the Marines single-handed. The pitcher pounced on a bunt in front of the mound, wheeled like a gyro and got the force at third base. "Anyone but Yoshitake, and that runner is on third with a sacrifice," Oh said of his savior, who then got two quick outs to stall the Marines short of their objective. The right-hander, who gave up the game-winning hit in the Hawks' 4-2 defeat in Game 1, allowed one hit in 2-2/3 scoreless innings for the win. "They hit me before, but tonight was just like any other night." The Marines got on the board in the first in a series of excellent at-bats in which Wada had an 0-2 count on each of the first five hitters. Benny Agbayani broke the ice by singling in Tsuyoshi Nishioka with two outs. Nishioka, the league stolen base champ, did a workmanlike job to draw a leadoff walk and then stole the first of his two bases. With one out and runners on the corners, the Hawks got some help in the inning from first base umpire Masao Yanada. Oh gave the ump an earful for a close call at first that gave Kazuya Fukuura an infield single, and Yanada wasted no time getting back in Oh's good graces--ringing the next batter out on something almost resembling a swing. The ump chipped in again in the ninth, by punching out Toshiaki Imae after Oh personally went to the plate to ask the home plate ump to appeal to Yanada. "My catcher [Naoki] Matoba forgot to ask, so I went and did it," Oh said. After Zuleta opened the Softbank account in the second, the Marines recaptured the high ground in the fourth on Tomoya Satozaki's second solo homer of the series. The visitors' second lead, however, had an even shorter shelf-life than their first. Kobayashi walked struggling cleanup hitter Nobuhiko Matsunaka to leadoff the bottom of the fourth and Zuleta homered to right to give the Hawks a 3-2 lead. Matsunaka, hands down the best hitter in the league, has been zero at the plate for the second straight postseason, but Kobayashi gave him little in the zone and his run made the difference. It was the seventh home run allowed by the Marines in 48-1/3 postseason innings but the first to go out with a runner on base. Kobayashi finally got Zuleta out in the sixth, when left fielder Agbayani made an excellent sliding catch on a rocket headed for the corner. A strong play by third baseman Imae opened the frame to help make it a 1-2-3 inning. But with the Hawks' bullpen in complete control of the game, the Marines' classy fielding was little more than a valiant but futile rearguard action. Southpaw Koji Mise came on to get the final out of the seventh, and closer Takahiro Mahara pitched the final 1-2/3 innings for the save. "It is hard to explain how excited I am," Zuleta said. "We were down two games, and now we have our second win in a row. We have momentum now and we will try to win the Pacific League tomorrow. "It will be a great game." (Oct. 17, 2005) Sportsgo

The Chiba Lotte Marines lost Saturday to the Softbank Hawks, Bobby V's Mariners were up 4 - 0 to Sadaharu Oh's Hawks only to have the closer Masahide Kobayashi blow it, he gave up four runs in the bottem of the ninth, Tony Batista scored the wining run in the 10th inning, the Hawks were facing elimination. Here's a decent article in today's Tokyo Times about Chiba Lotte, Bobby V is the best.... ]Revitalized Chiba Lotte franchise alive and well in Makuhari By WAYNE GRACZYK Most Japanese fans of Major League Baseball are pulling for a Chicago-St. Louis World Series, hoping to see a match-up of the "Guchi Brothers," former Japan Pacific League rivals Tadahito Iguchi of the White Sox and So Taguchi of the Cardinals. I have to say I am in line with that, especially on the American League side where I still have a problem with the name Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. You may recall I mentioned in a column last fall how much I disliked that designation after the then-Anaheim Angels decided to include names of the two cities in their designation. I even got a supportive followup e-mail from an Anaheim city official expressing his understandable displeasure with the change. Most of the time now, Anaheim is not even mentioned when someone talks about the team. It's simply the Los Angeles Angels, and that's a lot better than the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. I still don't like that. Go, Sox! Meanwhile, the focus in Japan has been on the exciting Pacific League Stage 2 Playoffs between Bobby Valentine's Chiba Lotte Marines of Makuhari and Sadaharu Oh's Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks of Momochi (see how silly that sounds?), and let us take a moment here for a few words about the Marines and how far the team has come since 1994, when that franchise was deader than the proverbial doornail. No one went to watch them play in Chiba or anywhere else, no one wanted to manage them (until Bobby Valentine came along), and the team had deservedly acquired the label of a perennial loser after 13 consecutive finishes in the Pa League second division. They wore those sissy-looking white uniforms with pink lettering, and I still remember Mel Hall, one of the foreign players on the 1994 Lotte club, telling me, "We just don't look fearsome out there in pink and white." Hall was right; they were anything but fearsome. Look at the Marines now. You just can't say enough about what Valentine and his staff have accomplished, mostly in the past two seasons, but the program is one Bobby really started 10 years ago when he breathed some life into the organization and set it on the right course. Today's CLM roster is packed deep with quality players, featuring a batting lineup of power, speed and clutch hitting. The defense has been superb, especially in the Oct. 8-9 PL Playoff Stage 1 series against the Seibu Lions, and having four starters win in double figures, excellent set-up men and the league-leading closer, makes the Lotte mound staff one of the best in the world. It is a pleasure now going to games at Marine Stadium, despite the long, long transfer from the JR Chuo Line to the Keiyo Line I need to make at Tokyo Station and the long, long walk from Kaihin Makuhari Station to the ballpark. That second trek can be eliminated, though, by taking one of the convenient shuttle buses decorated with the Marines logo and pinstripes and the catch phrase, "MARINES IS MY LIFE." But I can use the exercise. On the way into the stadium, you can pick up a program and scorecard, just like at a major league game in North America, for only 100, yen and let me tell you about the "White Stadium" posters promoting the Seibu series. There were three, depicting a brilliant idea of mixing the past and present, yesterday and today, throw-back and right-now. One features Valentine matching "guts poses" with Masaichi Kaneda, manager of the last Lotte Japan Series champion team in 1974. Kaneda is wearing the uniform of the old Lotte Orions. A second poster has four current Marines hitters in batting poses, along with Michiyo ("Mr. Lotte") Arito, the third baseman and star of the 1974 Orions. The third one shows four 2005 Lotte pitchers throwing in front of Choji Murata, ace hurler on that Orions club that defeated the Chunichi Dragons four games to two in the Japan Series 31 -- yep, 31 -- years ago, when Lotte was a homeless "gypsy" team playing "home" games all over Japan. Hey, are those posters for sale? Collector's items they are, for sure. Perhaps most impressive, though, is No. 26, the Marines cheering section that backs the 25 players on the bench, unfurls a huge banner at the start of each game and makes lots and lots of noise to keep the heroes motivated. Former Brooklyn Dodgers (1944-1953) pitcher Ralph Branca watched at Chiba as Lotte eliminated Seibu and said the Marines fans are even more excited than the Flatbush faithful he remembers 52 --yep, 52 -- years ago. "I thought the Brooklyn fans were the greatest," said Branca. "But I've never seen anything like this." Branca, 79, was here to support the Marines whose manager is his son-in-law, Bobby Valentine. Branca said he has to leave prior to the start of the Japan Series, and that's too bad. Can you imagine a bleacher battle between the Chiba rooters and Hanshin Tigers supporters? Remind me to look for my ear plugs. And to think a little more than a year ago, when Japanese baseball club owners were looking for two teams to form a second merger after Kintetsu-Orix, and one of the combinations being suggested was an amalgamation of the Marines and the Hawks. Aren't we all happy that did not occur? The future looks bright for Lotte, too. The Marines' Eastern League farmhands defeated the Hanshin Tigers' Western League boys in Japan's minor league championship game on Oct. 8, and Valentine praised the job done by the Marines second-team skipper, former California League manager Hide Koga. Make no mistake about it. The Lotte franchise, once dead, is alive and well. Contact Wayne Graczyk at: wsgraczyk@yahoo.com The Japan Times: Oct. 16, 2005 (C) All rights reserved

We open the season against the Nationals and close the season against them,June 23rd through July 2nd the Mets are @ Toronto,Boston and da Bronx..

It's amazing to read about the abuse Robinson got not just from fans but form players around the league, interesting article and cool story about Reese and what he did that day, fitting that a statue should go up in Brooklyn.

]On October 14, 1969, New York Mets center fielder Tommie Agee makes two spectacular catches against the Baltimore Orioles in Game Three of the World Series. Agee adds a home run to help the Mets to a 5-0 win� greatest plays in Mets history?, most important plays?where do they rank if such things can be ranked.

A great thing is happening in Japan for a trio of former Mets,Chiba Lotte Marines are a win away form becoming Pacific League pennent winners and going to the Japan Series, first time in 31 years. ]Marines edge closer to Japan Series trip FUKUOKA (AP) Bobby Valentine has his Chiba Lotte Marines one win away from a trip to the Japan Series. Softbank outfielder Jolbert Cabrera smacks a solo homer into the left-field bleachers off Chiba Lotte starter Naoyuki Shimizu to give the Hawks a 1-0 lead in the fifth inning in Game 2 of the Pacific League playoff second stage at Fukuoka Yahoo Dome on Thursday night. The Marines won 3-2. Matt Franco delivered the key hit Thursday and starter Naoyuki Shimizu went seven strong innings as the Marines defeated the Softbank Hawks 3-2 at Yahoo Dome to take a commanding 2-0 lead in the Pacific League's best-of-five second-stage playoffs. Jolbert Cabrera gave the Hawks a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the fifth inning when he connected for a solo homer off a Shimizu breaking ball into the left-field stands. But the lead didn't last long. Franco connected off Softbank starter Kazumi Saito with a bases-loaded double to left in the sixth that scored a pair of runs and gave the Marines a 2-1 lead. Benny Agbayani, the hero of Wednesday's 4-2 win, made it 3-1 with a ground out that scored the runner from third. Valentine, who is in the second year of a three-year contract as manager of the Marines, has made all the right moves in the first two games. The former New York Mets manager moved Franco up in the order for Thursday's game and the move paid off. Softbank's Munenori Kawasaki pulled the Hawks to within one run on a leadoff solo homer in the bottom of the sixth, but the Hawks couldn't close the gap and now have to win three games in a row to advance to the Japan Series, which starts on Oct. 22 against the Central League champion Hanshin Tigers. Shimizu, who went 10-11 in the regular season, struck out six and gave up two runs on four hits for the win. The Marines, who defeated the Seibu Lions 2-0 in the first stage playoffs, have now won four in a row and can book a spot in the championship with a win over Softbank on Saturday at Yahoo Dome. Closer Masahide Kobayashi retired the side in the ninth for the save. "My fastball was working tonight and I just tried to be as aggressive as possible," said Shimizu. "We knew if we won this game it would really put a lot of the pressure on them." Saito, 16-1 in the regular season, took the loss after giving up three runs on five hits over six innings. The Hawks, who finished the regular season 4 1/2 games ahead of the Marines in the standings and had a two-week layoff before Wednesday's game, continued to look sluggish. Nobuhiko Matsunaka, who had a Pacific League-leading 46 homers in the regular season, has yet to produce a hit in two games and hit a deep fly to center to end Thursday's game. Cleanup hitters Julio Zuleta and Tony Batista were also hitless in Game 2. Lotte is making its first postseason appearance since 1974 when they were known as the Lotte Orions. The Hawks won the Japan Series in 1999 and 2003. The Japan Times: Oct. 14, 2005 (C) All rights reserved

holychicken wrote.. ]Was it just me or did Piniella sound like a dope? He sounded completely out of place, he has the most annoying voice, where is he from?

Nah sharpie I think it would go straight to DVD..

Bolo Yeung could play Benny Agbayani.

ouch.... ]Yankees' top guaranteed salaries for 2006: Alex Rodriguez: $25 million Derek Jeter: $21 million Jason Giambi: $19 million Mike Mussina: $19 million Randy Johnson: $16 million* Jorge Posada: $13.5 million Gary Sheffield: $13 million** Mariano Rivera: $10.5 million Carl Pavano: $9.5 million *$1.5 million of which is deferred payment. **4.7 million of which is deferred payment. http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjczN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXkxMTMmZmdiZWw3Zjd2cWVlRUV5eTY3OTEzMjUmeXJpcnk3ZjcxN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk2

"Whatever it takes"....money and a bidding war with the Yankees,I'll admit to never having heard of BJ Ryan till this year.

Mike Lupica loves to hammer the MFY's, in the Daily News today he had two columns killing them, in this one he sees a bright future for the Mets where they take back the city and a bad future for the MFY's, and once again he evokes the 80's when the Mets owned NYC...]George sees red,next is blue & orange George Steinbrenner said yesterday through his flack Howard Rubenstein that the Yankees let their fans down. Not as much as they let Steinbrenner himself down. It is why he has a perfect right to take a good look at both his general manager and his manager now, before he decides whether or not to keep them.Because as the Yankees move forward, it is no longer just the teams that keep taking October from them, all these teams with smaller payrolls, that are a problem for Steinbrenner. They're not the only ones coming hard after him now. So are the Mets.I keep hearing that Steinbrenner wants Brian Cashman back. But it won't entirely be the owner's call on that one, since Cashman's contract expires on the last day of October, by which time somebody other than Steinbrenner's $210.9 million Yankees will have won the World Series. Cashman is the best Steinbrenner has in his front office, a better baseball guy, by a lot, than any of the Tampa weasels. Has he made mistakes? You bet. So did Theo Epstein this season in Boston. Epstein wanted Edgar Renteria instead of Orlando Cabrera and then nearly traded away Manny Ramirez of Washington Heights. They all make mistakes. It doesn't change that Cashman is smart, honest, tireless, loyal, a Yankee.He also works for an owner who has spent $1 billion over the past five years on ballplayers who couldn't win the World Series, and has a right to be crankier than Randy Johnson about this kind of lousy finish.Steinbrenner gets to look at his whole operation now. It includes Joe Torre, who in so many ways is what Steinbrenner still aspires to be, which means the biggest guy in town. It doesn't mean he has a job for life.I am on the record about Torre, believing he is the top top-manager in sports, just because of everything he brings to the job of working for this owner, in this city. And once you say that, how can you say that George Steinbrenner isn't even allowed to think about bringing Lou Piniella back to the Stadium?How can you tell an owner - even an owner as increasingly weird as this one - that he can't think about a new voice in the Yankee clubhouse and a new attitude about things?You can't.Torre still finishes first every year, and twice he has made the World Series in the last five. He just hasn't won any. And gets bounced in the first round again, second time in four seasons to the Angels, the same way Bobby Cox just got bounced.Everybody says Steinbrenner would never fire Torre and have to pay him $13 million. Really? So apparently Steinbrenner can spend an average of $200 million over five years on baseball players but he's going to let the equivalent of the last year of Gary Sheffield's contract stop him from making a move with his manager?Steinbrenner will never have to worry about money. He makes money without even trying. Now he gets ready to build a new stadium and make more. The Mets gets ready to do the same thing. In addition, they are ready to start up their own network, which Steinbrenner knows is the equivalent of printing your own money. The Mets got to third place this year without a first baseman, a second baseman, and with set-up men erratic enough to have pitched for Torre. They didn't get much out of the outgoing Mike Piazza. They could have quit in the end and didn't.They have an aggressive general manager in Omar Minaya, they have a manager, Willie Randolph, who is going to be around a long time. The Mets are coming on now. The idea that this is always going to be a Yankee town ignores the way things were 20 years ago, when it was the Mets who were on top and were the hottest ticket going.One of these days, and it might be as soon as next season, the Mets are going to be the best baseball team in town. You think Minaya is going to stop with just Pedro Martinez and Carlos Beltran? Minaya, a kid from the neighborhood, a great New York story, has a stomach for this kind of fight the way the people running the Red Sox do.Steinbrenner had the run of the town for a long time. He just broke records in attendance. That's not how he keeps score. It wasn't so long ago that his Yankees won the World Series every year. Now they lose in the first round. The business plan is working fine. Just not the baseball plan. Forget about the first round. When does that plan lose New York?

OK on the radio Joe Morgan is saying that the ump first called safe meaning the ball hit the dirt then he called for a SO....this play will live for a long time, credit to Perziensky and sorry for spelling your name wrong.

i have never seen anything like it, no idea how to even explain the play..Frayed Knot where are you to explain that..jeez talk about being skinned by the ump, Perziensky says he thought the ball hit the ground but the catcher didn't tag him so he ran to first, meanwhile the catcher thought he was called out by the ump(he was twice) so he ran for the dugout, Perziensky seeing this ran to first and was called safe..crazy shit.

The New York area has the AL game on FOX and the NL game on FX.Lou Piniella thus far is not impressive as a colour guy, Bob Brenly who I like is doing the NL game.

]On October 12, 1988, Orel Hershiser of the Los Angeles Dodgers blanks the New York Mets on five hits to win the National League Championship Series. Hershiser, who is named playoff MVP, vaults the Dodgers into the World Series.http://www.baseballhalloffame.com/history/index.htm

the only thing I could find online.. http://www.billy-ball.com/news/5_6_2004.asp ]Too much of our perception of Willie is also influenced by his disastrous return to New York in 1972 as a member of the Mets. Roger Angell complained that Mays, "has so far resisted the clear evidence that he should retire ... His batting reflexes are gone, and so is his arm ... His failings are now so cruel to watch that I am relieved when he is not in the lineup. It is hard for the rest of us to fall apart quite on our own; heroes should depart."

1999 could be a Drama, that season had it all, Ed Harris as Bobby V, Dennis Quaid as Al Leiter pitching the one game playoff, Vic Sage could direct.

]The argument has been made that one should root for one of the original 16 teams over the 14 expansion teams Val I know of no such argument, if the Mets were not here I would probably be a Dodgers or Giants fan I would hope..

Perlozzo probably deserves a proper shot with the O's, he was thrown into a shitty situation with all that went on with the team.

]He also seems to me to be, oh I dunno ... too similar? to Ramon Castro That's a fair point, in a small sampling this past week Molina has looked great, certainly he carried a big bat against the yankees, but at 32 and no doubt looking for 3 years I don't think he'd be worth it, .

Klapisch has been talking to friends of Manny's friends, or something like that.]By BOB KLAPISCHSPORTS COLUMNIST Can you envision Manny Ramirez, the American League's most dangerous, late-inning threat from the right side, wearing pinstripes in 2006? None other than Ramirez himself has. The Red Sox' left fielder told friends in the final weeks of the regular season he would accept, if not welcome, a trade to either New York team - an intriguing opening in the wake of Alex Rodriguez's collapse in the AL Division Series.The Yankees have a long winter ahead, full of critical decisions about their general manager, center fielder and a new setup man for Mariano Rivera. Ramirez's name has never been seriously considered until now, but that may change after another early exit from the playoffs and Rodriguez's .133 average against the Angels.According to one American League source, the Red Sox are leaning toward one scenario where they'll sign all their free agents, most notably Johnny Damon, but would trade Ramirez for the right return package. The Yankees obviously would need to include a third team to pull off such a monster swap - and don't underestimate the Mets' willingness to do anything to pair Ramirez with GM Omar Minaya, after nearly acquiring the slugger at the July 31 trade deadline. But George Steinbrenner will be just as motivated to find more potent weapons than Bernie Williams (.211 in the ALDS) even Hideki Matsui (who hit .200 and made the final out in Game 5 with the tying run on base). Ramirez is "definitely ready to come to New York," said the friend, who dined with the left fielder during the Sox' road series against the Yankees. "He likes the Yankees, the Mets, either one, he just wants to be here."Of course, the Yankees can't begin restructuring until they have a GM in place, and that won't happen until Cashman decides whether to accept a 20 percent pay raise and ownership equity, an offer that's been on the table since July. George Steinbrenner made it clear he wants Cashman back in 2006, but that was three months ago. Yankee sources say The Boss is now just as inclined to name Tampa-based VP Damon Oppenheimer as Cashman's replacement if talks stall beyond the expiration-date on the GM's contract, Oct. 31.No matter who choreographs the Yankees' off-season, though, there are certain constants that'll remain untouched: Alex Rodriguez will be back (at $20 million a year, where could he go?), Derek Jeter stays put as the team's most marketable commodity and Gary Sheffield will finish out the last year of a three-year pact he personally negotiated with Steinbrenner. And the ageless Mariano Rivera will rescue the bullpen once again.There's a long list of potential free agents, including Williams, Matsui and Tom Gordon. The Yankees want Matsui, unless the long-shot scenario of Ramirez coming to the Bronx becomes a reality, in which case he's gone. It's hard to envision Bernie coming back, however, unless he's ready to take a massive pay cut and be content with 250 at-bats a year. And with free agent B.J. Ryan looming as Rivera's next setup man, Gordon likely has thrown his final pitch as a Yankee.Some other free agency issues likely will resolve themselves, including the near-certain retirement of Al Leiter and Tino Martinez. The Yankees must determine whether Jason Giambi is their everyday first baseman, or whether he's better suited as a designated hitter. And if Bernie is gone, or at least in deep background mode, it's not impossible to think of the Marlins' Juan Pierre succeeding him.Damon, of course, will be available, and while some executives consider it an air-tight guarantee the Sox will re-sign him, the Yankees may actually have a better chance than anyone thinks. One person close to the center fielder said, "The Sox blew their chance to sign Johnny earlier this year" when he was ready to accept a four-year, $30 million offer - practically the same deal he signed in 2001.Sox ownership ultimately balked, setting the stage for agent Scott Boras to demand a six or seven year deal that'll increase Damon's yearly salary to more than $12 million per. Said one member of Damon's entourage: "It's an even playing field now. Johnny's going to see what's out there."As for pitching, the Yankees are more limited than they want to admit, considering they owe Carl Pavano three more years at $9 million per and are into Jaret Wright for another two seasons. And besides, they have no real incentive to trade Aaron Small, Shawn Chacon or Chien-Ming Wang.Question is, though: Who'll tutor them? Pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre all but announced his retirement from the Yankees this past week, hinting he'll take a similar role with the Mariners. That'll make it possible for the Yankees to again mull approaching the Braves' Leo Mazzone, who, through third parties, heard of the Bombers' interest in him over the summer.Mazzone and the Braves hotly denied the Yankees ever made contact. Technically, that was true; there was never any one-on-one conversation between the legendary coach and any member of the Yankees' front office. But according to one person familiar with the Bombers' interest in Mazzone, they'd be willing to do "whatever it takes" if he decides he's ready to leave Atlanta.E-mail: klapisch@northjersey.com