Upsetting

I am starting to get a little tired of the crap that Phil Hughes is putting over the plate this year. The now 0-and-4 starter allowed 6 runs over 3 -2/3 innings. I don't want to hear about how young he is. I don't want to hear any excuses. This guy is in the number 3 spot. He NEEDS to do better and that's all there is to say. There is no room for a 7.85 ERA in the Yankees starting lineup. I would almost rather see Kei Igawa on the mound.

Seeing Chris Stewart behind the dish made me realize just how important Posada and Molina are to the team. Stewart had very little control over him domain last night and didn't help Hughes out in the least.

As nice as it was to see Cano hit one to the stands in the 2nd inning and Giambi had a nice hit in the 9th, but we didn't really get to see much else. Another bases-loaded opportunity gone bad (make that TWO bases-loaded opportunities gone bad); too many players left on base.

This game was against Detroit for Christsake! Final Score: Tigers 6 and Yankees 4.

No, I don't know why I am so aggressively depressing in this entry. Perhaps it had to do with the Yankees releasing All-Star Game info today. Tier Box tickets selling for $50 for a regular season game are selling for $770 per seat for the All-Star Game and other required events. Prices range from $300 for the bleachers to $1,600 for field level... and these are just the face value amounts. StubHub is already marketing tickets up to $25,000. This is so completely outrageous that it actually angers me. I didn't really ever think I would have a chance at securing any tickets to the game but now I have put it out of my mind entirely.

Three things...

Three things became clear to me after last night's game 4 against Cleveland that the Yankees won by a score of 5-to-3, splitting the series 2-2 with the Indians. First is that everything that I have said about Mike Mussina still stands. While every other blogger was all but begging for his dismissal after the two Boston games, I kept saying... "He has value.." If you take Boston out of the picture, he is 3-and-1; and consider that the Boston loses were mainly a result of mistakes in dealing with Manny. Keep watching Yankee fans, the Moose might surprise you this season. He has been working on his delivery, throwing first-pitch strikes, and starting to dabble with "inside". In the 32.1 innings he has pitched so far this season, he has only walked 5 batters. No too bad, I say.

The second thing has to do with hitting... this team is capable of maneuvering some crafty hits and anyone who watched last night's game should agree. The sixth inning brought us infield singles by Cabrera, Jeter, and (my favorite of the night) Ensberg. Throw in an A-Rod hit-by-pitch and a few sacrifice plays and you have 5 runs on the board. Yankees baseball is not all about driving balls out of the park. Home runs are nice but I would much rather watch some crafty ball. These were not manufactured runs last night, they were the result of legitimate hits.

Finally, the bull pen can be effective. Not to keep repeating myself but keep an eye on Albaladejo. I think you may find him going places this year. With Bruney out and plans to move Joba, there are some seats open in the pen. I say Albaladejo gets one of them on a more permanent basis.

The Yankees are going to be just fine. Last night was a big win for them, even if only in a psychological way. It put the team 5-5 for this last road trip and one game over .500 for the season. They now have a 9-game home stand to look forward to and should be in a good position to face Detroit, Seattle, and Cleveland once again in a week on their own turf.

Wang and Posada

There wasn't a whole lot of hitting in yesterday afternoon's 3rd match up with the Cleveland Indians. Much of this had to do with who was on the mound. Sabathia, who limited the Yankees to only one run is surprisingly 1-4 this season. But let's talk about Wang... 9 strikeouts over 7 innings is what the Yankees needed to give their bullpen a rest. This win brings Wang to a 5-0 record... not too shabby. JoMo came in to seal the deal and New York was able to return to .500 baseball with a current 13-13 record. Mariano picked up his seventh save and has been looking incredibly on the mark this year.

Sadly, Posada needed to be placed on the DL for the first time in his Yankee career yesterday, suffering from more right shoulder pain. It is a hard break but something that we can't be too surprised by. Posada is getting up there in age and catching is a hard position to play. Jorge puts everything he has into every play, every game. Injury happens and there's not much that can be done about it. The Yankees will be absolutely fine with Molina behind the plate but need to make sure that another backup is in place. Moeller was already designated on Friday and it will be a few days before anything can be done with him. There is speculation about acquiring Chris Stewart from Scranton but we will have to wait until tonight to see what Girardi decides to do.

Standings

I am not quite sure that I understand Girardi's thinking these days. Going into yesterday's game 2 of 4 against Cleveland, after having lost the day before (and the last two games), why would you decide to rest half of your starters? If you look at the box score, you will see what I mean. Oh, and Joe, this was also a wonderful game to sit out Joba.

The Yankees were 2 and 13 last night with runners in scoring position. Not good.

Fortunately, the team's 3 game losing streak is topped by Boston's 4 game losing streak. Tampa Bay seems to be the only team in the division doing anything lately as they gain ground on Baltimore and Boston.

Here are the end-of-the-week standings:

Some go down and some come up...

I believe there are good things in store for Jonathan Albaladejo. I have been meaning to write this several times but it seemed like every time the Yankees brought him up from Triple-A, I would blink one too many times and he would be back down there. Albaladejo was brought up again yesterday as Brian Bruney was placed on the disabled list with an injury to the Lisfranc joint of his right foot that is likely to require surgery. The Bruney incident was a big blow to the bombers as Bruney was proving himself as an effective inning-eater and a tremendous asset to a starting rotation that has been having trouble getting to the 4th and 5th innings. My prediction is that we won't see Brian until late in the summer, many weeks after the all-star break. But back to Albaladejo... originally from the Washington Nationals, he came into last night's game and pitched two very respectable innings. This was his third game coming to the mound for New York and each time I have seen him pitch I have been impressed. Keep an eye on this guy!

Girardi made some additional space for pitching by getting rid of third string catcher Chad Moeller. Moeller, who came in when both Posada and Molina were injured, did a commendable job behind the plate for the Yankees. Thank you Chad but right now the team really needs pitching so they brought up Chris Britton, who had made 11 appearances in 2007 for New York.

I think we will be seeing a few other pitching transactions during this 4 game set in Cleveland. I would be surprised if we don't see Duncan coming back soon too. This is a rough time for the team right now and adjustments need to me made. The bats are coming alive and I am getting excited for some May baseball.

Comments and Concerns

Yes, I am a little cranky from staying up late last night, hanging on through the rain delays, and ultimately losing the third game to Chicago by only one run. It would have been nice to sweep the series before heading over to Cleveland, but overall, I have been pleased by the way that the Yankees have performed this week. The team is starting to show momentum at the plate and seem to be re-focusing their abilities. To me, that is what is important... not the fact that Joba let us down. Because, you know what, he didn't let us down. I really enjoyed reading Wolf Williams' blog this morning. I won't recap it all here. Just go and read it for yourself.

There are some concerns that I have looking out to this weekend... our bullpen. Ohlendorf threw 49 pitches last night. I wish those pitches would have led to more outs than runs but I also recognize the factors faced (replacing Hughes, rain delay, etc). Fartsworth suffered an elbow injury last night. Bruney is wearing a protective boot for his sprained foot and will likely go on the DL. The Yankees are running low on options and if their starters get into trouble early in the game, we could be in for some disappointment. Girardi has said that their will likely be some shifts and transactions today. Hopefully we can get a decent plan put together.

It is like I said before...

Less than one week ago, the internet was scattered with blog entries about how Mussina is a washed-up pitcher. Hank Steinbrenner was being quoted and misquoted. Last Friday, here is what I had to say:

Although I haven't yet read all the blog feeds this morning, I can almost predict what they are going to say... "The Moose has got to go". Now I don't agree with this statement and I do think that Mike Mussina brings value to the team but not matched up against Josh Beckett.

Now, for those of you who watched the Moose pitch last night, don't you agree that he can bring value to the Yankees this season? Mussina gave his team a quality start by going 7 innings and only giving up 2 runs (both solo HRs). He worked incrediably well with Posada and placed his pitches with precision. I am not trying to "sell" Mussina on anyone. He definately comes with his baggage. But when used correctly, he can be effective to the point of at least giving the team a chance, assuming that the offense is hitting. I still believe that the rotation needs to be tweaked and I was happy to see that Pettitte has been moved up one notch to the 4 spot to seperate the two kids.

As long as I am quoting myself, let's talk about LaTroy Hawkins. I remember it like it was last Thursday when I said, "I think he going to put the Yankees in some tough (negative) situations this year." Fortunately, Girardi stepped in before he gave up all of the lead. Perhaps Joe should have listened to Posada a little more carefully. I am no expert in lip reading but I could have sworn that Jorge said something like "Please Joe, don't even think of bringing that jackass into the game".

Speaking about that little confusion at the mound when Girardi raised his arm to signal for the bullpen and take out Moose but quickly did a double-take after something Posada said... I like it that Girardi listens to his players. They may not always be right (i.e. Mussina's "I can get this guy" comment that convinced Girardi to let him pitch to Manny instead of walking him to the open base) but it shows me that he has an open mind. Sometimes, of course, you need a manager to "step up to the plate", so to speak, and hand down a definitive, inarguable decision. My hope is that when that time comes, Joe won't disappoint us.

P.S. Three doubles from Posada last night... man, it is great to have him back!

An interesting game..

I was a little concerned going into last night's game, especially since Chicago has been dominating the standings (in both leagues) as of late. I suppose my concern was more appropriately an anxiety of not knowing what to expect. A-Rod took my advice and had his second child during an appropriate off-day while he was still recovering from a muscle strain, but of course that made him unavailable for the Chicago series. I would be watching Posada during his first return behind the plate since April 8th, hoping that there were no lingering issues. The Yankees had 19 different lineups in their last 20 games, and this lack of stability can have an underlying effect. Contreras would be facing Wang at the mound.

Let's start with Wang... he ultimately got the win (now 4-0). Part of me doesn't think he deserved it because his throw was just plain off. I am not sure what happened to his ground ball pitches, as I am seeing more and more pops. Wang struggled last night, his pitch count rose early in the game, leaving after 6 innings with 105 pitches which is high for him. But still, he pitched himself out of trouble several times and entered the dugout with a trail of only one run.

Then came Bobby Abreu to save the night (say thank you, Chin) with a 2-out grand slam off of Dotel. Hehe, Octavio Dotel didn't do anything for us as a Yankee and I am so glad he is up to his same stuff. Oh, and by the way, did you see the shot of that fan trying to catch Abreu's grand slam? Not only did he drop it from both hands but it knocked him on his ass. Very funny.

Traber and Bruney were a little frustrating to me with their untimely walks. Joba too for that matter but he ultimately got the job done. Fartsworth of course needed to come in to give out another of his infamous home run pitches.

But let's talk hitting... the Yankees looked good at the plate last night (let's home it lasts for more than one game). Giambi surely took some confidence from his early smack to the stands. Damon had a three run shot with two out in the 8th (and also had some nice stuff defensively last night, by the way). Cano made out with a double and anything from him lately is a flash of bright hope. In fact, Jeter was the only Yankee last night without a hit (except for late comer Gonzalez).

So this game was interesting in that it showed some promise. We saw some potential short-comings and we saw some great ball being played too. It showed the team working better together... batting to help pitching. Let's hope for the same tonight when the Moose takes the mound in game 2 of the series.

More reflections...

I was having an interesting discussion with my chiropractor yesterday about the Yankees pitching. I suppose it started over Hank Steinbrenner's comment that "you have to be an idiot" to keep Joba Chamberlain as a setup man. In the last two days since this story appeared in the NY Times, many people have weighed in on this comment including Brian Cashman who stated on the Michael Kay show yesterday afternoon that the Hank quote was taken out of context. It is the New York Times... of course it was taken out of context! No where in that article does it imply that Hank wanted the change to happen immediately. There is a plan in place to make Joba a starter and that will happen... eventually. For now, Joba is still on an inning restriction and a really stupid thing to do would be to rush Joba to injury by increasing his workload overnight. Cashman knows that, all the Steinbrenner's know that, Girardi knows that. Apparently, the NY Times can't figure this one out on there own. In today's paper they imply that Hank's "forceful opinion" caused much controversy in the Yankees organization but the end result appears in the headline: "Chamberlain Will Start, Later Than Sooner". No kidding... you don't say?

Anyway... as I was waiting for my chiropractor to begin the traction to correct my Forward Head Posture we compared the last few major pitching trades made by the Yankees and the Red Sox. A few years back, NY and Boston looked to the Arizona Diamondbacks for some help with their starting rotation. Boston acquired Curt Schilling in 2004; the Yankees waited until 2005 and got Randy Johnson. But also in 2005, the Yankees decided to turn to the Florida Marlins to acquire Carl Pavano. The Red Sox waited a year before going to Florida and wound up with Josh Beckett in 2006. Last year, Japan seemed like the place to be. Boston scored Daisuke Matsuzaka, while here in New York we got Kei Igawa. Rather interesting when you think about it, isn't it? Do you think the Yankees have been getting screwed? I sure do.

Reflections

Thinking about the Pope visiting Yankee Stadium yesterday kind of inspired me to reflect on the Yankee season so far. Sitting at .500 or 10 wins and 10 losses at this point in the season is not the worst thing ever to happen to the team. Looking back to April 21st of the last three years I noticed that last year the Yankees were at .500 (8-8), in 2006 they were .467 (7-8) and in 2005 they stood at .438 (7-9). So what does this mean? Not too much. Obviously the Yankees made the post season in the last three years. They came back from 11 1/2 games back last year in late June. Hey, we all remember 1978 when they came back from 14 games in mid-July, right? Today, in early April it is only 3 games... still a lot of season left!

That was the positive spin. What concerns me today is that the Yankees at present don't look anything different than the Yankees of the last three years. Yes, in the past we caught up. Yes, in the past we made the post season. But... what else? I think Joe Girardi needs to do something, anything to break up this cycle of catching up. All I hear on the radio is commentary about how the Yankee bats are bound to come alive (can't you just hear John Sterling's voice?) and I know this is true. But I want consistency. I don't want to play catch-up. In many ways yesterday's 7-to-1 win over Baltimore is kind of frustrating to me. Why, you ask? Because if the team can bat seven runs across the plate with Pettitte on the mound, why the hell can't they do it with Kennedy or Hughes or Mussina? All three of these pitchers struggled over their last three starts but offense could have saved those games. What was so different about yesterday?

A fellow blogger at It is high, It is far, it is... caught compared today the standings of the "Joe's":
Joe Torre in 1996: 11-9
Joe Girardi in 2008: 10-10
Joe Torre in 2008 (Dodgers): 7-11

Hmmm, interesting? Well, not really. You can do almost anything with statistics. All I am trying to say is that I am tired of looking up to Boston in the standings.

On another note... A-Rod left yesterday's game with a strained quad, a condition that recently kept Jeter out for 6 games. A-Rod is currently down in Miami using his off day to be with his pregnant wife. It would be great if she would deliver soon so that the Yankees could catch a break with his obligatory time away from the team. All the best wishes to the Rodriguez family.

Kyle Farnsworth

Sunday's post is traditionally reserved for the standings but in light of what happened yesterday, I just had to comment. No, I am not talking about the Yankees pathetic loss last night to Baltimore, a final of 6-to-0, where they showed that they have reverted back to their crappy hitting of the beginning of the season (and gee, it is only week 3). I am getting tired of counting the number of people left-on-base.

What I wanted to comment on was the three-day suspension of Kyle Fartsworth for NOT hitting Manny Ramirez. I absolutely can not believe what baseball has become. How can someone get suspended (for three days, no less) for throwing a pitch that misses a player at bat? I am not even sure that Manny realized what happened during that throw. There was no reaction from him, there was no ejection of Fartsworth... what the hell? All of you should know by now that I could care less about Fartsworth, and his suspension (if held up and I sure hope it isn't) will mean absolutely nothing to the Yankees... the team has shown lately that they can lose games by pitching others, no need to have Kyle pitch to make that happen. But this suspension hits the Yankees as a team and shows how pathetic the MLB and Commissioner's office has become. I mean, what's next? Are we going to start suspending players for making bad catches?

This case is not even comparable to last year's incidents involving Youkilis. In June of last year he was hit on the helmet by Scott Proctor's 94 MPH fastball and Proctor was ejected from the game, but I don't remember a suspension. In August, Joba was ejected (and later suspended for two games) for a pair of pitches to Youkilis' head. Probably not fair but, whatever. But in last Thursday's nights game where was the ejection? There was none... merely a warning. How can you go from a warning to a three day suspension? If I recall correctly, A-Rod was hit (actually hit) by a pitch to his back. I don't know about you but I would like to see some justice.

Here are the Sunday standings. Not too much to get excited about...

What the hell happened?

My wife and I had a date night last night so I didn't see but the very end of last night's game. We were eating dinner at the first pitch and then went to see Forgetting Sarah Marshall, the first movie I have seen in a theatre in quite some time. It was a pretty funny flick and I would recommend it. A few sexually racy scenes in it though so careful about taking the kids.

OK, so I get into the car and turn on the game, first to the local station. Just hearing John Sterling's voice gives me some comfort. Then the kicker: "At the bottom of the seventh, Yankees trail by a score of 8-to-2."

"What the hell happened?" is the first thing I asked my wife. Did Phil Hughes blow yet another game? When I got home and watched the remainder of the game and the wrap-up, I got the answer to my question. Yes, but he also had some help from LaTroy "Why the hell are you even in pinstripes?" Hawkins. Now I don't want to start a panic here Yankee fans but we need to address our pitching issues at this point and not after the all-star break. The main criticism here is this: The reason that the Yankees didn't make a deal for Santana was because they refused to give up Hughes. Ok, but now we find out the Hughes sucks (at least so far this season)... now what? Even if the young starter's game improves, we still have the Moose issues, we still need to keep and eye on Kennedy, we still need to be mindful of taxing our bullpen. Even if we bring Joba to the starting rotation, we need to make some adjustments with the entire pitching staff. I don't know what the answers are... but Girardi and Cashman and the rest of the coaching staff better well have a plan here. I like to watch meaningful games. I don't even mind a loss every so often... it comes with the territory. But come on Yankees, we are so much better than this.

The game that was doomed from the start...

Although I haven't yet read all the blog feeds this morning, I can almost predict what they are going to say... "The Moose has got to go". Now I don't agree with this statement and I do think the Mike Mussina brings value to the team but not matched up against Josh Beckett. I just don't think it is a fair deal. Moose should be at the end of the rotation and would be right now if it weren't for the scheduling difficulties related to Pettitte's delayed presence at the start of this season. I think Girardi needs to figure out a way to get his starters back in right order.



Ok. So let's jump to last night's game... Mussina is in the number two spot and on the mound. There is not much we can really do about that. But did he have to pitch two home runs to Manny Ramirez? I defended both Mussina and Girardi last weekend when everyone was questioning the controversial pitch to Manny (with first base open) that ultimately broke open a win for Boston last Saturday. I think there was nothing wrong with last Saturday's decision to pitch to Manny. It was a decision that was made, a risk, that turned out to be a bad one. Fine. But as George Bush said so eloquently once, "You fool me-- you can't get fooled again" Bottom line: Girardi should have known better. Mussina should have pitched around Manny and moved on to the next batter. It is that simple. Those two home runs last night not only put numbers on the scoreboard but they deflated a lot of energy from the Yankee hitters. Inexcusable.

I had other commentary to make about this game but none of it matters. I was going to write about Fartsworth's pitch inside to Manny but quite honestly, I am tired of talking about Manny. I can't understand why Matsui would be brought in off the bench to pinch hit when we have other more capable people to come the plate in that kind of a situation. Instead, I am going to take a deep breath, be positive, and look forward to this weekend's match up against Baltimore.

Final Score: Boston 7 - Yankees 5

Out of this world

I personally do not like all the gimmicks that seem to surround baseball these days. I don't really think the ball clubs (especially the Yankees) gain any ticket sales from them and when I go to the games I would rather just go for the games. I don't even like it when stadiums do those light shows and fireworks every time there is a home run. Let the fans generate the hoop-la. After all, whats the big deal- it's only a home run... the Yankees had two last night- no need for fireworks. That being said, last night's first pitch from outer space started us out with a match up against the Red Sox that was out of this world.

The Bombers got off to a good start last night with back-to-back home runs by Bobby and Alex in the first inning. Wang was looking decent and it seemed like the Yankee bats had come to play. By the bottom of the 4th inning they added 4 more runs to the board and now led the Sox 7-3. I thought this would be a good time to take out the trash (literally) and go walk the dog. To my surprise when I came back to the tv, Wang had been yanked, Ohlendorf was on the mound, and Boston had added 3 runs to their score. I must have missed a Wang meltdown of some sort. By the middle of the 5th, the Yankees were down by 2.

They came back in the bottom of the fifth to re-capture their lead with 4 more runs and Hawkins was brought in. Now, I have alluded to this before but in the interest of full disclosure I will say that I do not like LaTroy Hawkins. I think he going to put the Yankees in some tough (negative) situations this year. I hope I am wrong about that prediction... I certainly was wrong last night. Hawkins pitched extremely well for two straight innings and wound up getting the win for the night. Traber came in for one pitch and the Bruney took us home but not before the Yankees added 4 more runs to the lead in the bottom of the 8th. Final Score: Yankees 15 - Boston 9. A helluva game!

I read this morning that Wilson Betemit is now suffering from corneal ulcers (whatever the hell those are) and Harlin Chamberlain is continuing to improve.

Numbers

I had completely forgotten that it was Jackie Robinson day yesterday. It was great to see the entire Rays team wearing 42 but it made me wonder why only Jeter, Cano, Girardi (and of course, Rivera) were the only Yankees sporting the legend's number. Regardless, I think it is nice that Major League Basesball recognizes this event.

On the Michael Kay show yesterday afternoon, they were discussing some of the racial issues surrounding baseball as compared to the other major sports. The point being made was that children growing up in the inner cities do not have as much access to baseball fields nor do they have the money to spend on the additional equipment required to play the sport (like a glove, bat, cleats, etc). In contrast, a sport like basketball is much easier to practice and master. All it takes is a ball, can be played with much fewer players (even alone) and basketball hoops are much more common than baseball diamonds. I am not sure if I have an opinion to all that yet but some interesting points were raised and I wanted to touch on it briefly. If any of you would like to expand the discussion just let me know.

Back to numbers... the Yankees have announced that LaTroy Hawkins is officially giving up his number 21 uniform because he is tired of all the flack he is getting for wearing Paul O'Neill's number. I think this is rather funny. LaTroy, maybe if you pitched a little better, you would get so much crap. So, what number is hi going to be wearing starting with tonight's matchup against Boston... number 22. I guess no one will give him a hard time for wearing an old, juiced-up pitcher's number. At the start of the season I was wondering why Cano didn't switch back to number 22 since the rocket was reported as taking on too much fuel and is probably in Houston for good.

Sorry to short change last night's game in this post. Check the box score but watch the highlights too. Pettitte gave up an awful lot of hits but did very well limiting the score. I think it is important sometimes to get yourself into trouble if for no other reason than to prove that you can get yourself out of trouble. I trust Andy.

Mixed Emotions

Wow. Last night's game against Tampa Bay was certainly an unusual one. Firstly, something must have been pumped into that dome air to cause all those home runs! Damon, Rodriguez, Ensberg and Cano (finally) all knocked one out of the park for the Yankees. Unfortunately, Yankee pitchers also let three go for the Rays.

We got to see some variety of talent on the field last night and I was pleasantly surprised by what they brought to the table. Moeller did fine catching for Bombers, and that is a good considering he is third-string. The Gonzalez at 2nd and Ensberg at 1st duo worked well and I think it made sense to sit Cano out for most of the game (more on that in a minute). Kennedy certainly pitched a whole lot better than his last outing and more importantly, it seemed that he made corrections and targeted improvements from his last start against Tampa.

I would have liked to have seen Albaladejo come in to the game for some relief. I think at one point he was in the pen but Joe opted for Traber and Bruney. Both were a disappointment but I think (hope) it was just a case of them having a bad night. I do like Bruney alot and think he will help in those middle innings but Joe needs to be sure not to over use him like Torre did with Proctor. Traber also has a targeted purpose and the Yankees need to be mindful of that. Clearly Joba was missed last night.

Back to Cano... I think Girardi took a risk by bringing him in the pinch hit and I think that risk paid off. Joe got lucky. Nothing more... nothing less. I was at my chiropractor last night and he asked me what I thought of Joe's decision to have Mussina pitch to Manny in last Saturday's game against Boston as opposed to walking him to an open first base. I told him that I think Girardi made a decision (took a risk) and it turned out to be a bad one. No, not really a bad one... just one that didn't work in his favor. Had Cano struck out last night, every paper in the city would be chanting "Clueless Joe".

So why mixed emotions? I am elated that the Yankees hit well last night, putting a season-high 15 hits on the board. I am especially pleased with ARod's 4-fo-5 performance at the plate. But I am concerned about bringing a 7-2 lead in the seventh to such a close game. If the hitting we saw last night continues throughout the entire season (and it should) then there really is no concern I guess. I just want to know that we didn't just get lucky last night (and I am not just referring to Cano).

Stats

So here are the numbers for the Yankees so far this season as listed on the Yankees website. It would be easy to blame last night's loss to the Red Sox on Phil Hughes. Afterall, the young lad didn't look so great. The Yankees Chick blamed the loss on Fartsworth. My newly found blogger buddy Wolf Williams holds A-Rod accountable. I haven't seen the NY papers yet today but I am sure one of the writers will find some way to blame it on Girardi.

I got to tell you... I don't think any one person can be blamed for last night or even where the Yankees sit right now in the standings which, incidentally, is at the bottom of the AL East with a 6-7 record. Look at some of the numbers: our DH turned first baseman Jason Giambi is maintaining a .107 batting average; Mr. Cano, the guy who now makes me cringe every time he walks up the the plate is at .170. Leading our team with the greatest number of strikeouts, the third baseman, Alex Rodriguez. Shall I go on? Does anyone else think that Damon should be doing better than .190? Hits, dammit! We need some hits!

The injuries are not helping us either. I had a brighter outlook on things last week. Jeter being out for the last bunch of games sucked but (bright side...) it gave us a chance to see Alberto Gonzalez, who I think should stay with the team long term. Jorge Posada's dead arm didn't really cause me concern because (bright side...) Jose Molina is worthy of filling in on a consistent basis... BUT, then he gets injured and now the Yankees are going to need to scramble to find a fill-in for the fill-in. And this just in... Harlan Chamberlin, Joba's dad, collapsed last night at his Lincoln, Neb home and is currently in the hospital listed in critical condition. Joba left the team after last night's game to be with him and will most likely not be available for the Tampa games and perhaps not even the second set of Boston games later this week. These changes are becoming less and less manageable.

I was starting to see some signs of life (see Friday's post) but now I am just starting to get sad (not quite depressed yet, but it is only the beginning of the week. I am not sure what the answer here is or why there seems to be a dark cloud hovering over us. I know that there are some other strange things happening to other teams too... David Ortiz is sporting a .070 average (hehe) but that just makes me want to smile. The Detroit Tigers have a record of 2-10 (oh, my). The Mets last night couldn't even beat the Brewers (who are surprisingly 8-4). I thought Seattle would be doing better than 6-7.

I suppose that it is what is in front of us that matters though. I am really not concerned at this point... just frustrated. So, like any other true fan, I will put the stat sheet aside, look towards the future, and support my Yankees. I hope all of you will do the same.

Standings

I only got to watch until the sixth inning of last night's game since I had to drive to a fundraiser that I as attending. The NY Daily News, a paper not worthy of even assisting me to clean-up the remains of my dog, choose to apply the "Clueless Joe" tag to Girardi by allowing Mussina to pitch to Manny in the sixth instead of walking him to the open base. I find it remarkable that sports writers in NY can be such jackasses. Hence, the reason I get most of my information now from press releases and blog entries.

The NY Post (my usual source of information if I have to get it from a newspaper) spent a lot of ink telling us how good Manny was, printing pictures of of Red Sox, and yes, Joel Sherman had to add his two cent comment (and believe me, that's all his columns are usually worth) about Girardi's pitch to Manny.

I want to ask this question: why are we so quick to see the negative? Yes, I am guilty of it too I suppose but somehow it is different. I am just a guy with a blog. These sports writers are supposed to be a little more objective, aren't they? I am tired of picking up a NY paper and reading about how great the Red Sox are, especially when they aren't (see Standings below).

The bottom line here is that the Yankees are fine. They are even with Boston in the standings and Baltimore (currently leading the AL East) is not going to stay where they are for long- trust me. You will always hear me say that every game matters (and it does) but we have lots of time ahead of us too. I think it is way too early in the season to be knocking on Girardi and kissing up to the Sox.

Everybody Wang Chung Tonight...

It don't get much better than that! Chien-Ming Wang was firing on all cylinders in last night's 4-1 win over Boston in the first of three series (and first of eighteen regular season) games that Yankees will play against their rival team. Yes, one could argue that certain things could have made the outing a little sweeter for the Yankee's ace. Had Abreu caught that ball at the wall there would have been no home run and if Wang could have also made that out in the ninth on the bunt, then he would have pitched a perfect game. Now although that would have been awesome, it didn't happen; so let's not diminish Wang's stellar performance last night by adding all those footnotes. Wang threw a total of 93 pitches in nine complete innings (61 of those pitches were strikes). In that time, he faced 29 batters (only 2 more than the minimum) to average 3.2 pitches per batter! He finished his night with a 1.23 ERA.

The Yankee offense continues to improve as we saw Giambi hit his first Home Run of the year. It was nice to see him smiling in the post game interview on the field. In fact, many Yankees had much to be proud of last night. Molina seems to be showing a liking for doubles, making two of them last night for a total of six so far this season... not too shabby for a back-up catcher. In fact, signing him this winter for two years of service was an incredibly smart move by Cashman. Alberto Gonzalez is really looking sharp batting .375 in the short three days he has been here.

This was an important win for the Yankees mostly, I believe, because they needed something to put some more spring in their step. If you ask a Yankee on air about how they react when playing against Boston they will more than likely tell you that 'it is just another game- one out of 162'. But the truth is, it matters. It definitely matters. Not even so much because of the past rivalry (I really don't think stories of shirts buried in concrete matter too much to them) but because they are facing a team that plays ball at their level (though slightly below their level, I might correct). Every game matters, but the games played against the Red Sox always matter more. So, off we go this afternoon with the Moose going against Beckett... a good match up. I am feeling positive.

At last... some signs of life

Last night's game against Kansas City almost started to inspire me. We still have a little work to do at the plate but energy seems to be picking up. Homeruns by Cabrera, Rodriguez and Posada put 3 runs on the board (peculiarly, all 3 were 2 out shots with no men on base). The other three runs were the result of plate work from, well, yeah... Cabrera, Rodriguez and Posada, the only RBI-makers for the team. Matsui and Ensberg both left 3 on base. I guess this could be consider a game of threes; including Cano's three at bats that resulted in nothing.



I liked the way Pettitte pitched, especially after the very efficient 28 minute rain delay. A 3.09 ERA for the game, many say he tends to pitch better after the Yankees lose. Joba and Mo, or "Jo-Mo" as I like to call them did exactly what they were supposed to do.



Because of injury and and rest schedules, Jeter, Giambi, and Abreu sat out, Posada was moved to DH. Joe Girardi changed around the line-up a bit and it seemed to work ok. I like change. I want to see Melky more towards the top of the order, A-Rod batting third... why not? In fact, why not make some more changes... why not put A-Rod at short while Jeter is recovering? There are others that can play third base. Don't get me wrong... I am not saying that any of these changes need to be permanent, just a temporary practice to keep our Yankees awake and on their toes. It is all about inspiration and motivation. I think we may be turning things around... slowly.

Why Google Sucks...

I started this blog last week as a place to write thoughts and opinions about the Yankees. No sooner did I make my second post then I received an e-mail from Google telling me that my blog was identified as a spam blog and as a result, had been locked. This is the letter I received:

Dear Blogger user,

Your blog, at http://nyy15.blogspot.com/, has been identified as a potential spam blog. For an explanation of what spam blogs are, please see Blogger Help: http://help.blogger.com/bin/answer.py?answer=42577 You will not be able to publish posts to your blog until we review your site and confirm that it is not a spam blog. To request a review, please fill out the form found here: http://www.blogger.com/unlock-blog.g?lockedBlogID=8497336674291753235 We will take a look at your blog and unlock it within four business days. Please note that if we do not hear from you within 20 days, we will remove your blog. If this blog does not belong to you, then you do not have to do anything. Any other blogs you may have will not be affected. Since you are an actual person reading this, your blog is probably not spam. We find spam by using an automated classifier. Automatic spam detection is inherently fuzzy, and occasionally a blog is flagged incorrectly. We sincerely apologize for this erroneous result. By using this kind of system, however, we can dedicate more storage, bandwidth, and engineering resources to users like you instead of to spammers. Thank you for your understanding and for your help in our spam-fighting efforts.

Sincerely, The Blogger Team

I responded to the e-mail and it took one full week for them to "Review" my blog and unlock it. In the mean time, anyone who entered my web address got a page that indicated in big letters that THIS BLOG IS IN VIOLATION OF THE TERMS OF SERVICE. One full week to resolve something (or should I say nothing) that some Google robot misidentified in the first 24 hours of my blogs creation. Once they did finally decide that my mere thoughts were harmless, they didn't even send out a follow-up e-mail to let me know! I did some searching and it turns out that "blog locking" is a regular practice for Google:

• "You get what you pay for..."
• "Google Robots Ate My Blog"
• "New Blog Gets Locked-Up By Blogger"

I am so tired of all the crap on the internet. Proving that I am not a spammer is just my latest rant. I hate having to weed through all the junk mail that bombards my inbox, I can't stand having to watch a 30-second commercial just to see a 10-second sports highlight clip, and if I am asked one more time if I want to install the Google Toolbar I think I am going to lose it. And what about all those far-too-complicated, cryptic words and phrases that you have to enter just to try to by a baseball ticket on Ticketmaster?

I am just a guy trying to write a blog... leave me alone already! It is bad enough that the Yankees have been batting like little leaguers lately and haven't stolen one base yet this season. It pains me to watch everytime number 48 comes up to the mound. I know that I am probably only preaching to crickets out there anyway so please, Google, just let me keep my blog.

Some back-dated comments...

Saturday Afternoon - April 5 (Tampa Bay)
It was nice to be back at our Saturday season ticket seats today. The weather cleared up and it turned out to be a nice day (though perhaps a little chilly). We arrived at the stadium early to purchase some additional tickets at the advanced sales window. Season ticket holders get a handful of discount coupons and we generally have no problems getting decent seats for some mid-week night games. Well, not this year. Practically nothing was available!I had all the best of expectations for a Yankee win today but like Friday night, it just wasn’t meant to be. I don’t really blame Pettitte (who received a warm welcome from the fans). True, he gave up 5 runs on 8 hits but I continue to see offense as the major downfall in these games. We left 21 players on base today including a bases-loaded situation. Unacceptable! What is it going to take to start hitting like a championship team? Today’s loss of 6-3 puts the Yankees on the bottom of the AL-East. Something needs to be done to turn around these slumps.

Friday Night - April 4 (Tampa Bay)
There are some games that you just don’t deserve to win. Friday night’s 4-game series opener against Tampa Bay was one of those games for the Yankees. Pitching can set the tone for a game. Good, quality pitching can be a true motivator just as poor performance on the mound can drain some of the strongest inspiration. Ian Kennedy was horrible and he knew it. He may have gotten squeezed on a few pitches but, for the most part the strike zone seemed invisible to him. Last year when Kennedy and Hughes made their debut, I heard many compare the talent of these two noticeably young starters. I didn’t agree those comparisons then and as most would have to agree now, there was nothing even remotely comparable between Hughes’ quality start last night and Kennedy’s weak pitching tonight.This being said, if Kennedy could be described as weak, than Hawkins was just plain pathetic. Six runs off of six hits in two-thirds of an inning. An ERA of 31.50 for the game. Why is LaTroy Hawkins even here? Is it to keep Fartsworth company? In complete contrast, Albaladejo, Ohlendorf and Traber pitched incredibly well. In fact, I am not sure why Ohlendorf and Traber didn’t get more than an inning each.Now let’s discuss hitting. Aside from the third, which seemed to be something of a passing dream of what should be instead of reality, the Yankees had nothing. I know it is only game four but aren’t we supposed be in our best form after Spring Training, rested from the off season and eager to perform. I am just not seeing that. Why did we not see Shelley Duncan until the ninth inning? Or how about Ensberg? Yes, Giambi has definitely impressed me at first base but if he is cold at the plate, bring someone else in. I suppose that I believe in stirring the pot.I will be at Saturday’s game in my usual seat in Section 627 hoping that a Friday night loss will lead to a Saturday afternoon win. Tonight’s score of 13 to 4 needs to be vindicated.

Thursday Night - April 3 (Toronto)
I had a late meeting at work last night and was only able to hear the first 6 innings of the rubber match between the Yanks and Jays on XM radio as I drove home. That was really no big deal since not much happened before the sixth inning anyway.
Let me take that back… Phil Hughes did what I thought was an excellent job allowing only 2 runs on 4 hits over 6 frames. In fact, the entire pitching staff performed exactly the way they should have. Limiting a club like Toronto to only a few runs opens the door for a qualified Yankee offense to do their work and bring in the win. Hughes performed like, as Damon said in the post game, an ace in the making. Traber completed his task with lefty Overbay. Bruney, whom amongst a handful of other Yanks that dropped some pounds this past winter, was sharp. The Joba (who registered a 99 mph pitch) got the win after pitching the 8th and the Sandman led us to Frank. A very respectable night on the mound.
As far as hitting is concerned, I thought I was going to have to continue my rant from yesterday. But, thanks to Abreu, my rant can now just be a warning: Cano, Giambi, and Matsui… you really need to be doing better at the plate. I know it will happen and I am not really worried but I think in recent years we have lacked some consistency and predictability at the plate. I want my Yankees to make me proud. I am not going to mention A-Rod here because A-Rod is A-Rod. When he is on, we love him but, like every single other person in this world, he has the ability to disappoint us too.
So the Yankees win the game 3-2 and take the first series of the season 2 games to 1. I am looking forward to Tampa coming to town for the next 4 games, secretly hoping that we see some residual drama left over from Spring Training (the Elliot Johnson slide into Francisco Cervelli at the plate, the Shelly Duncan slide into Akinori Iwamura at 2nd, the Melk-man’s involvement). It is probable that Duncan will get his first start of the season tonight.

"We just need to score more runs"

Those were the words of Alex Rodriguez during the postgame interview last night: "We just need to score more runs". Two things strike me about this statement. First is it's validity. Even with A.J. Burnett on the mound, the Yankees should not have to wait until the 7th inning for a player to touch second base. The box score from last night's game against Toronto looks a little light. But this is only the second game of the season so I am not going to go into a rant about how our players should be hitting better... EXCEPT for the second thing about ARod's statement that rings through to me: I have heard these words before. From Alex, from Jeter, from many players on this team. I just don't want to be disappointed this year. I am not even referring to early exits from the playoffs in recent years. I am a demanding fan. I want to be inspired by each at-bat, in most innings, of a majority of every game I watch. Otherwise I could just be a basketball fan... cheer for the Knicks!

Enough of the negative. I thought that the Moose did fine last night. He made one or two mistakes that hurt him but he pitched a good game. Johnny's catch at the wall was phenominal. Molina continues to be worthy of covering for Posada anytime a rest is needed. Alex did his part with his first homerun for the year (#519 career) to put 2 on the board. It was a bit strange seeing the number 21 on the field and hearing Paul O'Neill from the booth but Hawkins showed some promise.

Toronto is a good team and the BlueJays hustled strong for this win. My hope for tonight is to see those Yankee bats connect just a little better, watch Hughes pitch a tight game, and have the Bombers to take their first series of the year.

Last night's final score: Toronto over New York 5-2.

Opening... night!

It was supposed to be the only home game ever that would be played at Yankee Stadium in the month of March. Obviously the first game of the final season in the current stadium, but also the first ever opening day game that I have ever been to. I was there early on Monday, eating my sausage and drinking my beer, waiting for the ceremonies to begin while I chatted with my good friend from high school who was nice enough to invite me along with him. But, the game never happened. Postponed by rain until the next night at 7:05 pm. Oh well.



Last night was like deja vu. Back in Seat 2 of Row G in Box 315 at section 29, right behind the right field pole (the same pole that made our friend "Squirrel" famous last year). The sky was clearing and the ceremonies began. Pettitte recieved a warm applause but I wasn't surprised by that. Oddly, the guy sitting in front of us still had more of a problem with Giambi. Of course I am referring to the whole steriod thing. The only one who got an audible boo (and rightfully so, in my opinion) was Farnsworth (or Fartsworth as I like to call him).



The game itself was good. Not the biggest thriller I have ever seen but a solid performance. The hightlight of my night was Melky's homerun ball that landed about 10 feet from where I was standing. To be able to touch the first homerun of the season in the opening game of the final year at the current stadium (phew) gave me slight high. Perhaps that was the third big Bud of the night though.



The Yanks added a MetLife home game countdown board that changed from 81 to 80 in the fifth inning as soon as the game was "official". Steinbrenner himself flipped the switch (previously recorded, I am guessing).



Wang looked ok though I wasn't seeing many of his infamous grounders. He hung in the for a solid seven innings though. Joba handled himself fine, getting into a bit of a squeeze but then squeezing himself out of it. Mo, well, Mo was Mo.



The final score: Yanks over Blue Jays 3-2. Good start to the year.