KC, it's we who should be thanking you for bringing us all together.
It's so nice to share our common bond with people who appreciate David
for the person he is. 

I've stopped going to any of the Yankees boards because it was so
painful to read the mean-spirited posts from cruel people. I'm going
thru enough pain now and don't need to aggravate myself any further!
This list is a haven.

Since I live near Shea I'm selfishly hoping David will end up with the
Mets. I can't believe I'm actually writing these words. In any event
it would be better than his going to the Red Sox.

I hope David is happy in whatever he decides, and I'll *always*
support him - but he sure looked damn good in those Pinstripes!



--
susan peters ~ [email protected]

Hey guys... how ya hangin' in there?  It's been coming and going in waves 
for me; this morning, I thought I was alright, but then this evening while I 
was packing I was suddenly overcome with such sadness... I had to stop and 
cry it out for a while. :-(

I just wanted to remind you that even though it hurts to hear people 
criticize David and his choice, most of these people are doing it not out of 
viciousness but out of hurt.  Like Akino said, anger is the second step of 
the grieving process.  And a for a lot of people-- especially men-- the 
reaction to being hurt is to lash out.  For most of us, we love David too 
much to even consider being angry at him for this.  But for others who still 
care about him a lot, they're mad because they're feeling the same sense of 
loss we're feeling.  This is the way they cope, and while we don't have to 
like it, it helps to keep in mind that they're angry because they're sad at 
losing someone they care about, just like we are.

Yours,
Britt

P.S.  Please, please, not the Mets!  Not the Red Sox!  Anywhere else is 
fine, but I think my head would explode if I found myself wanting the Mets 
or Red Sox to beat the Yankees, even just in one game...

In a message dated 12/8/00 11:20:42 PM Eastern Standard Time, 
[email protected] writes:

> Hey guys... how ya hangin' in there?  It's been coming and going in waves 
>  for me; this morning, I thought I was alright, but then this evening while 
I 
> 
>  was packing I was suddenly overcome with such sadness... I had to stop and 
>  cry it out for a while. :-(

I think I'm still in shock.. I read about it yesterday and heard about it all 
day today. It's been on my mind a lot. I haven't been able to do much online 
for the last few days, since I've been out a lot, although I do miss talking 
to y'all.. and I think that Cone should retire. Not that he's not a great 
pitcher, he is. But after the season he's had, wouldn't he want to stop? I 
know it's discouraging of me to say, but seriously, after the past season, if 
you were Cone, wouldn't you sort of want to go out on top? 

Kris

Britt, you said:

I just wanted to remind you that even though it hurts to hear people 
criticize David and his choice, most of these people are doing it not
out of viciousness but out of hurt.  Like Akino said, anger is the
second step of the grieving process.  And a for a lot of people--
especially men-- the reaction to being hurt is to lash out. 

-------
I see where you're coming from, but I can't agree. After swearing off
the Yankees.com Forum, I thought I'd take a look to see if things have
improved there yet. It's only gotten worse! 

There's a horrible post called "Cone to Start Own Business" about
David opening an ice cream stand across the street from YS. There's a
post "Don't Let the Door Slam You in the Butt Davey," and so on. These
people aren't hurt - I can't say what I think they are on a public
forum like this, but I wouldn't mind personally strangling a few of
them! It really saddens me to show how unappreciative they are of what
David has meant to this team over the past years. 

Thank goodness for people like Brian Cashman, who said the Yankees
wouldn't have all the hardware (rings) they have if it weren't for
David, and had a lump in his throat when discussing him. I guess
that's what really matters - what people like Brian think of David,
because thankfully David won't have a chance to read what those idiots
on the internet are saying about him.

One bit of news I read today - there's talk the Mets are going to make
David an offer of only a little more than what the Yanks were
offering, about $1 - $1.5 million w/incentives.

I hope everyone is feeling better now that we've had a few days to
come to terms with this change. I hope David has a wonderful year
wherever he ends up so he can show the doubters who didn't believe in
him, and end his career on a positive note.

Enjoy the weekend!
--
susan peters ~ [email protected]

By OHM YOUNGMISUK
Daily News Sports Writer

(an excerpt)

As for Cone, Stanton wondered what would have happened had the bullpen
pitched a bit better in some of the veteran's 14 losses last season.

"What is strange about Coney's situation last year is that the first
half of the season, there were five or six wins out there that he
didn't get where he was leading and us in the bullpen blew or he lost
the game 1-0 or 2-1.

"If he gets those wins, nobody even says anything about how tough of a
season he had. It probably would have been a no-brainer for him coming
back. I think Coney still has quite a few big games left in him."

--
susan peters ~ [email protected]

Susan,

>I see where you're coming from, but I can't agree. After swearing off
>the Yankees.com Forum, I thought I'd take a look to see if things have
>improved there yet. It's only gotten worse!

Ah, that's your problem. ;-)  Bronx-Bombers.com isn't perfect, and I won't 
tell you that there's no one there who feels upset and betrayed, but it's a 
thousand times better than Yankees.com... trust me.  I haven't been to 
Yankees.com in months, and I suggest that to anyone who enjoys sanity.  
B-B.com, as well as the ezboards of several fine people, is all anyone 
needs.

Yours,
Britt

Another nice site is the New York Times Yankees forum. A real sense of
community there for the regular posters. I've been a regular member since
February 1998. Here's the site:
http://forums.nytimes.com/webin/[email protected]^[email protected]

You don't get the whackos there that you see on Yankees.com.

This article from NYTimes.com 
has been sent to you by [email protected] [email protected].

Coney's Court

I'm really getting sentimental now...:*(
~PEN~

[email protected]
[email protected]

/-------------------- advertisement -----------------------\


LOOKING FOR A TRULY HIGH-SPEED INTERNET EXPERIENCE?

Then visit Alcatel.com and
see what makes us the
world's leading supplier of DSL solutions.
Alcatel, world
leader in DSL solutions.

http://www.nytimes.com/ads/email/alcatel/index.html

\----------------------------------------------------------/

Cone Has No Reason for Regrets
http://www.nytimes.com/2000/12/08/sports/08ARAT.html

December 8, 2000
SPORTS OF THE TIMES
By HARVEY ARATON

David Cone had a good run in the Bronx. Actually, a great run for a
man who came to town with a well-earned reputation as a hired gun
and wound up serving a lengthy term as the smooth-talking
ambassador for the modern Yankee dynasty.

 He didn't have to strong-arm players, or serve up a Sprewellian
rant after some desultory defeat. He wasn't the captain, or the
most tenured player with the choice clubhouse real estate in the
near right corner, currently Bernie Williams's space. It was just
as well that Cone was out front, in the row just short of the hall
leading to the manager's office. On the way to see Buck Showalter
and then Joe Torre, it was almost impossible not to stop by Cone's
place for the prime player perspective.

 The latest on Darryl Strawberry. Torre's cancer. The death of a
teammate's dad. The trading of David Wells. Roger Clemens's hunt
for heads. George Steinbrenner's unquenchable thirst for winning.
Cone's latest tinkering with his pitching motion. Whatever you
wanted to discuss, Cone was ready, arms folded, blue eyes
twinkling, no Yankees objecting, far as I know, because he came off
honest and caring and, in the end, he went to the mound and got
people out.
 • 

 He remained in character right through the Subway Series, but he
was increasingly uncomfortable, almost sheepish, as the postseason
wore on. "In a way, you feel like an outsider," he admitted in the
Shea Stadium clubhouse the day before Game 3. "I'm not used to not
being a part of it on the field."

 His part came a couple of nights later, in the fifth inning of
Game 4, with two out and nobody on in a one-run game, when Torre
was not about to let Mike Piazza take another cut against Denny
Neagle, who is now, like Cone, an ex-Yankee. Torre waved to the
bullpen and Cone strode in, heading to the Shea mound for the first
time since the Mets traded him in 1992.

 Torre had to treat the swing game of the Series as if it were the
hatch to the cellar that keeps out the tornado. And as bad as Cone
was in 2000, and as little as may he have had left, Torre trusted
him to get one out more than he trusted Neagle, a
multimillion-dollar pitcher in his prime.

 What Torre knew is that there was no chance, not one, that Cone
was afraid, that he wasn't sitting out there praying for a chance.
Everyone who watched Cone pitch for the Yankees knew there could be
no occasion he wasn't dying to rise to. He practically pitched his
arm off for Showalter in the 1995 playoffs in Seattle. His answer
to the aneurysm in his upper right arm that put him down for four
months and cast his career in jeopardy the following year was seven
hitless innings in Oakland.

 He beat Tom Glavine in Game 3 of the 1996 Series, dragging the
Braves off a pedestal they never could climb back on. He struck out
16 Tigers one June day in 1997. All the way through his improbable
perfect game against Montreal on Yogi Berra Day in 1999, to the
precious last out he got when Piazza popped up in Game 4, Cone left
little in doubt and nothing on the field.
 I have wondered if Don Mattingly has privately wished that he
would have stayed with the Yankees after 1995, and accepted a
lesser role. His wife, Kim, once confided that her husband left the
room of their Evansville, Ind., home, unable to watch John
Wetteland nail down the 1996 Series. Mattingly got off the train
one stop too soon, but Cone has left the Yankees after adding four
rings to the one he had from Toronto and cramming a lifetime of
memories into his five and a half years.

 After disposing of Piazza, after hearing the cheers from behind
the Yankee dugout that night, you have to believe he understood he
could go, without regret.

 Clemens has more, much more, left in his 38- year-old arm than
Cone. The addition of Mike Mussina would have left Cone as the
fifth starter, at best, when he wants to believe he can still rank
higher, contribute more. Pride obviously plays a role here and
perhaps money, which blunts too many emotions and infects most
decisions. But Cone's eyes would occasionally get moist when he
spoke of these Yankees, of how lucky he was, as a hired gun, to
wander back into New York. He relished these years.

 The Yankees traded minor league pitchers named Marty Janzen, Jason
Jarvis and Mike Gordon to the Blue Jays for Cone. They got their
money's worth, even factoring in the $12 million they paid him for
four victories and one World Series out in 2000. Wherever Cone
lands, even if it's with the Red Sox or the Mets, it's hard to
imagine a Yankee who doesn't wish him a place where he can stand up
and be counted, where he can still be David Cone.

 
 
     


The New York Times on the Web
http://www.nytimes.com

Hi everyone. Have been so busy lately. Very sad that we 
wont see David in pinstripes again. However, I hope we 
will see him pitch again and be happy in whatever choice 
he makes. I have not been to the yankee message board 
for a while. Its too depressing. Try to be positive for 
David everyone and wish him well. I am sure we will see 
him soon.
Have a good weekend everyone. Conezone.

I never thought about it that way....If Coney signs back with the Mets I 
could start hating them less(lol)....I'd actually go to Met Games just to 
see him. I'm gonna miss him so much, I saw him pitch a lot this year:
Opening Day April 12th, August 5th, August 10th(his 1st win since April), 
August 20th....He was the "perfect Yankee," and he will not be forgotten. 
I'm hoping that when he retires, they'll have "David Cone Day" how great 
would that be? well, I'm glad everyone here sympathizes with me.
Eyde

p.s.
Thanks KC! It was a rough season for David and I'm glad you
brought us all together to support Coney and the Yanks, I
really enjoyed this:-)

Hi!  Well, I've been very depressed, but I guess it's a 
good thing that I haven't had time to read any of the 
boards and see people ripping David, that is so not 
right.  I mean, we've all had to leave jobs sooner or 
later (I'm leaving mine at the end of the month, which 
is another reason I'm depressed) and it isn't easy even 
when it's when you want.

I wish him luck and success in all he does and wherever 
he goes, and thank you all for being such great fans and 
friends!

Take care,

Ally :)

I haven't posted on here too much but I do enjoy reading your thoughts. It is
so sad to see David go. I can't imagine the Yankees without him. I wish him the
best but I really don't want him to go to the Mets. I hate that team. I think
Kansas City would be a much better ending. 
I haven't been on Yankees.com since June. It just isn't worth it. Those people
are really cold and heartless. I am sorry that I read those things about Coney.
They just made me feel worse. 
Thanks for everything, KC! It is nice to have such a wonderful place to turn. 
-- we'll miss you, David

Jennifer

Murray Chass - NY Times

For David Cone, life on the mound did not end with the pitch to  Mike
Piazza for the third out in the fifth inning of Game 4 of the  World
Series.

"I think you constantly have to prove yourself," Cone said, taking   a
break from workouts in Tampa, Fla. "I know the position I'm in  right
now. That's why I'm down here working so hard. If someone  wants to
come and watch me throw, come on. If I have to hold a  tryout camp, I
will."

 He laughed. "I say that half jokingly," he continued, "but that's
how serious I am. When I do show up for spring training, I'll be
ready to go."

Cone, let loose by the Yankees last week after five-plus seasons,
knows he is in no position to dictate where he plays or  how much a
team has to pay him to play. A 4-14 record at the  age of 37 tends to
obviate that.

"What I'm looking for is the challenge," he said, "a situation where I
can play a prominent role and help a team." He was agreeable to
leaving the Yankees because he believed his role as their No. 5
starter would not have met that desire. 

 "I understand the position that I'm in," he said. "I also feel it was
just a Murphy's Law year for me. I do believe I was turning things
around before I dislocated my left shoulder."

Steve Fehr, Cone's agent, is beginning to take calls from prospective
employers and was as confident as Cone that he would pitch, and pitch
productively, next season.

"He feels great," Fehr said. "He's healthy and he's determined to
prove last year was an aberration. Who's going to bet against him?"

Cone said he was working hard to straighten out his mechanics and get
in midseason shape. "I think much of my problem last year was
mechanical," he said, "experimenting too much. I'm working to fix
that. I don't believe you can fall that far that fast in one year. It
was just one year." 

--
susan peters ~ [email protected]

I know most of you have sworn off the Yankees.com forum, but this is a nice 
post about him.

>From: Eyde<[email protected]>
>To: [email protected]
>Subject: memories...
>Date: Sun, 10 Dec 2000 13:09:26 -0500 (EST)
>
>Coney
>
>http://www.yankees.com/mboard/Forum2/HTML/002433.html

Daily News
by Bill Madden

David Cone's presence in the Yankee clubhouse will surely be missed.
He will always be remembered as being one of the great competitors of
the game and, at the same time, one of the more enlightened and
obliging observers of it.

It is just too bad he has decided to try to resuscitate his career
once again, for more bucks elsewhere, rather than try to pay back the
Yankees for his mostly abysmal $12 million season last year. You can't
knock a guy for turning his back on a minimum $500,000 guaranteed,
even if it meant remaining a part of one of the most special teams in
baseball history.

But let's face it, with Cone it has always been about the money and he
couldn't accept that kind of a cut if more face-saving guaranteed
money was to be available from any number of other pitching-challenged
teams. He is the union poster boy for free agency the ultimate
baseball mercenary, which, I'm sure, he would not dispute.

This will be Cone's fifth foray into the free agent market. His first
was 1993 when he signed a three-year, $18 million deal with the Royals
with $9 million of it as an up-front bonus. When that contract
expired, he jumped to the Yankees for $19.5 million over three years,
$2 million of it up front. Then in 1999, he signed a one-year,
free-agent deal for $9.5 million with the Yankees and followed it up
with another one-year deal for the $12 million last season. All told,
Cone has earned $59 million, $11 million of it up front, from free
agency. Nice work if you can get it, and he has.


--
susan peters ~ [email protected]

Star-Ledger

12/10/00

BY DAVID WALDSTEIN STAFF WRITER

DALLAS -- Here's hoping David Cone signs with the Mets, because almost
any other destination, save his hometown Kansas City Royals, will look
a lot like Cone was just being greedy when he parted ways with the
Yankees.

And please don't blame the Yankees for low-balling Cone, because after
watching him go 6-19 with a 6.25 ERA since his perfect game, they
offered what they thought he was worth. When Cone had the negotiating
hammer, he used it. When the Yankees had it, they used it, too.

Cone didn't owe anything to the Yankees, and vice versa. Nevertheless,
their divorce leaves a distinct bad taste because there is no way Cone
should be pitching anywhere in 2001 but for the Yankees. But pride,
and perhaps a little greed, stood in the way.

If this is about the money, and not the pure desire to be a regular
contributing pitcher, then for a guy who made about $40 million over
the past four seasons, it doesn't look good.

But after shedding his tag as one of the game's great late-season
mercenaries by spending five glorious years in pinstripes, Cone might
just be preparing to sell his services to the highest bidder. He has
every right to do that, of course, especially since he's looking smack
in the face at retirement. But it comes across as a little tacky,
especially after he earned $12 million last year, one in which he
bombed out.

Nevertheless, back in early September, we insisted Cone be included on
the postseason roster, not out of sentimentality but because he is a
great postseason pitcher who was instrumental in the Yankees' four
World Series titles.

He proved it again by getting Mike Piazza to pop out for the final out
of the fifth inning of Game 4 of the World Series. Now, when it is
time for Cone to face reality that his career is near an end, he chose
to leave -- either for more money, more guaranteed opportunities to
pitch or simply out of pride.

Cone was obviously insulted that the Yankees dickered over contract
talks and never really made a formal offer beyond a $500,000 base
salary with incentives that were never spelled out. But Cone never
made a firm counterproposal to the Yankees' initial offer, and the
Yankee had the sense that he was looking for a graceful way out.

How could he want out from the Yankees? Then again, perhaps the
Yankees' offer was a polite shove out the door.

Cone said that Yankees GM Brian Cashman told him it was a simple
matter of dollars. Well, even if that's the case, then the same can be
said for Cone since he wouldn't accept the low offer. Despite earning
$12 million last year, when he went 4-14 with a 6.91 ERA, Cone
wouldn't take a 96 percent pay cut (with a chance to earn more).

But averaging out the $12 million over two years, his annual average
salary would be no less than $7 million per season. Even Cone
acknowledged he wasn't earning his money last year. Coming back would
have been a way of evening things out.

Clearly, Cone isn't confident enough about his pitching ability to
come in as a fifth starter, a guy who might get skipped over every few
starts. If he was convinced he could still be effective, Cone knows
he'd stay in the rotation. Then, when it came time for the playoffs,
if he had been lights out, he would earn a start in a seven-game
series.

Cone could very well return to the Mets, and that would have a nice
feel to it, going back to the only other team with which he
established roots. And if he goes to his hometown Royals, that, too,
would have a nice feel to it, finishing out his career in front of his
parents and friends. No one could blame him for that.

But if Cone goes to the Red Sox, Orioles, Devil Rays or any other team
that simply offers him more money and a chance to make 30 starts and
finish third in the division, then the bad taste we got from his
Yankees departure will turn even more sour.

-------------

I've read that the Mets are interested in David Wells also. Wouldn't
it be ironic if they both ended up pitching for the Mets!
--
susan peters ~ [email protected]