Cory Lidle 1972-2006

Let's not have any Cory Lidle jokes, OK? We're trying to run a tasteful establishment here.

What little I know of him, Lidle seemed to be a little too tightly wound -- I can identify with that -- and that he called New York uber-sportstalk radio station WFAN to stand up for Joe Torre and his team after being ousted from the postseason speaks volumes, both positively and negatively.

On the plus side, he's being the good soldier, standing up for his team in the face of what I imagine was another scathing attack by the blowhard Mike Francesa and his no-talent toadie Christopher "Mad Dog" Russo.

Seriously, if you've never listened to these two, you may want to log on for about two minutes. That's all it will take for your ears to bleed. These two ass-clowns are why I cannot listen to sportstalk radio when I visit New York.

Francesa is like the guy holding court at the end of a bar, thinks he knows it all but, in fact, is not nearly as bright. Russo -- and this is possibly the nicest thing I can say about him -- is a gibbering idiot. He will offer an opinion, but if Mikey disagrees with it, caves in faster than an IKEA wall unit.

This sums up what it's like listening to M&TMD. If a caller makes a valid point that contradicts their thinking, the caller is ridiculed and almost shouted down. Don't dare ask them about hockey, soccer -- essentially anything that is not baseball or football -- that's the surest way to get hung up on.

But back to Lidle, and this is on the negative side. I want to know, and likely never will have the answer to, is what was going through his mind in those final moments before the plane hit the building. He reportedly circled the Statue of Liberty before the crash. Was there an unspoken message in that?

Lidle was an outcast to some in baseball because he crossed the picket line during the 1994 strike to become a replacement player. Was that ultimately his start as a tortured soul, unable to live up to the Yankees' mystique. You know, the 26 World Championships, living up to the fans' expectations and those of George Steinbrenner.

What do you think? I'd like to know.