Standings

It is a little ironic that the week that I decide not to blog about the Yankees on a daily basis is the week that the team reaches its season high record of 3 games over .500. Have the Yanks finally turned a corner? Are they ready to move into the next gear of the season?

10-4, good buddy

Mussina secured his TENTH win of the season last night and seems to be on track to win 20 games this year. It is unbelievable to me that some reporters and talk show hosts are still skeptical about his performance. Many I have listened to recently say that Mussina's run will not last. Here is what the MLB had to say:

Mussina's 260th career victory makes him the sixth pitcher in Major League history to record 10 or more wins in 17 consecutive seasons. He will undoubtedly receive heavy consideration to represent the American League All-Star team next month at Yankee Stadium. If he does, the veteran right-hander's accomplishment would only help his interesting case for enshrinement in Cooperstown.

Here are the standing for the week:

Volunteer Opportunities

A few months ago, while trying to find out just how hard it might be to get tickets to the All Star game, I found a link on the Yankee website that allowed me to file an application to volunteer for the events taking place that week. Admittedly, my first thought was that I could sign up for a job at the stadium and watch the game for free. Maybe they needed help selling dogs? But when I read the material with a closer eye, I discovered that the actual All-Star game was not one of the events that would be covered by volunteers. Shoot! But, what the hell? I signed up anyway.

Yesterday afternoon was the first informational session. It took place at Yankee Stadium and, as exciting as it is just to be in the stadium (especially when it is empty), it wasn't any big thrill to wait in line for an hour, sit in the sun waiting for 45 minutes, and then listen to stupid people ask stupid questions for another 30 minutes before getting "interviewed".

Granted, most of the waiting time was my fault. I totally misjudged the traffic getting to the stadium and was so worried that I wouldn't find a parking spot that I left my house super early. I wound up getting there at 4:15pm (an hour and 15 minutes early) BUT I was able to park directly in front of Gate 6, which is where I needed to be. I am really glad that I arrived when I did because the others arrived quickly after me... and there were lots of them. We lined up in groups sorted by last name (I was first in my line...yay!) and waited for all the workers to figure out their game plan. As we were watching the one girl who seemed like the one in charge go around and explain the process to the other workers there, the guy behind me commented on how it looked like organized chaos. I have to say, I thought they did a pretty good job of handling all the people who showed up, about two thousand or so by my estimate.

When it was time, I was asked to sign a waiver, was given a copy of my application to make corrections, was searched (just like before a Yankee game) and told to have a seat in the stadium. No, not anywhere in the stadium. We were behind right field and we filled up three complete sections. After everyone was processed from the line, the volunteer coordinators introduced themselves and started by asking a few Yankee trivia questions for people to win free tickets to upcoming games:

Who was the last Yankee to be inducted into the Hall of Fame?

Who was the Yankee manager before Joe Torre?

How many World Series titles have the Yankees won under George Steinbrenner?

In what year did the Yankees win their first World Series?

There were so many people there that, even though I was sitting in the second row, I didn't have a chance getting picked to answer. Well, I guess I had a chance, but not a very big one. Needless, to say, no free tickets for me. It was a nice way to start out the session though.

A spokeswoman for MLB then explained some of the areas where they needed volunteers and let us know that, out of the over 6,500 people who applied to volunteer (the most ever), only approximately 2,200 would be selected. Schedule availability, background checks, the "interview", and luck would determine who that would be. You could choose to work at Fan-Fest, which is the DHL-sponsored, week-long event at the Javitz Center or choose to be a NY Ambassador, someone who would help with parties and other events, travel, etc. I choose to apply to be an ambassador. They only need 700 of those by the way.

Then it was stupid question time:
(Answered provided by me, not the MLB)

Will we get any chance to see the All-Star game?
(Yeah, if you buy tickets, Jackass.)

Why don't we get paid to do this?
(Because it is a volunteer opportunity, Jackass.)

What color will the uniforms that we get be?
(Nope, I am not kidding. Someone asked this one too. What a Jackass.)

Eventually, we were done and it was time to line up for the "interview". Luckily, they decided to escort people out of the stadium in the same order they arrived, so I got out quickly and was the first one in my group to be "interviewed".

Now, you may be wondering why I keep putting quotes around "interview". It is because it really wasn't an interview. It was a questionnaire that just happened to be filled out by someone else. Some of the questions I was asked:

How long have you lived in the NY Area?
(All my life.)

Will you be able to stand for long periods of time?
(Didn't I just do that waiting on line?)

Are you a Yankee season holder?
(Yes!! But I am not sure why this makes be better able to volunteer.)

Can you work for three consecutive days or three days total?
(Gee, can't you get this info from the availability sheet that you just made me verify?)

Where else have you volunteered?
(I stretched the truth here just a bit but hey, whose going to know, right?)

And that was basically it. I should get a letter in the mail within two weeks telling me if I made it or not. The process wasn't too painful, I suppose. Considering that they don't do this very often, they organized it relatively well. I did wish the "interview" was more selective though because I didn't really feel like I had any better chance of getting selected than some of the jackasses from the question-and-answer session. Such is life.

Keep your fingers crossed. I will let you know if I get in!

The end of this blog as we know it...

Perhaps you could blame it on a lack of personal time, as it takes a big commitment to write a daily blog. Maybe it is just the fact that there isn't too much to write about when the Yankees continue to follow the same pattern: one game over 500... back at 500... one game over 500... back at 500... one game below 500... back at 500... one game above 500... back at 500... one game over 500... See what I mean, not to exciting to read either.

So, I have decided to stop trying to blog after every game. There are plenty of other bloggers out there who write daily game summaries... the world doesn't need another.

I may write every couple of days, it could be weekly... I am not really sure at this point. If you are a regular reader (and your name is not Jed or Amy), shoot me a quick message to let me know that someone actually reads what is written here.

Go Yankees!

Yanks out of money?

The Yankes lost again... bla bla bla

I found this interesting:

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The New York Yankees baseball team wants a city agency to sell $350 million of bonds for its new stadium or else it will not be able to complete the project, state Assemblyman Richard Brodsky said on Tuesday.
The Internal Revenue Service, however, would have to approve the new bond sale. The federal tax agency cracked down on financing these types of projects with tax-exempt debt after the Yankees got a waiver for the first sale of debt for their new stadium in the Bronx, the Westchester Democrat said.
"Right now, they (the Yankees) are saying they don't think they can complete the stadium unless the Internal Revenue Service ruling is reversed and they apparently have been joined in this effort to reverse the ruling by the Nets and the Mets," Brodsky told Reuters by phone.
However, Yankees President Randy Levine said: "This will not affect the completion of the stadium."
Levine and the city's debt-selling agency confirmed they wanted a waiver from the IRS. "We are working under the strong leadership of the city and state to try to seek relief from the regulations," Levine said.
The Yankees, one of the most profitable U.S. sports enterprises, once threatened to move out of the Bronx.
Though the team that has won 26 World Series titles decided to stay put, civic advocates say they and their cross-town rivals, the Mets, got overly rich taxpayer subsidies.
The new Yankee stadium is expected to open in 2009, replacing the 1923 stadium made famous by Babe Ruth.
In addition to other benefits, the city's Industrial Development Authority in 2006 sold $941 million of tax-exempt bonds for the Yankees and $548 million of debt for the Mets, whose Shea Stadium in Queens dates back to 1964.
The Mets, a team that has won two World Series titles, plan to open a new home in Queens next year.
The National Basketball Association's Nets now play in New Jersey but plan to build a new arena in Brooklyn that will anchor a billion-dollar office and housing development, which now faces a cooling real estate market.
Tax-exempt debt is crucial for the new basketball arena's financing. The Nets, which won two championships when they were in the American Basketball Association, plan to open the Brooklyn arena in time for the 2010-2011 season.
Janel Patterson, an Industrial Development Authority spokeswoman, confirmed the city would consider selling more debt for the Yankees and said the IRS ruling blocks other projects.
"The City is working with the State in Washington to seek relief from the applicable IRS regulation, as this regulation has taken away a tool that would be useful for a number of important, New York economic development projects, not just Yankee Stadium," she said in a statement.
A spokesman for the Nets had no immediate comment. A spokesman for the Mets was not immediately available.
Brodsky demanded reforms and more accountability, saying: "The explosion of public debt issued by obscure semi-public and private institutions is reaching unmanageable proportions."
Brodsky also questioned if a city corporation, the Capital Resource Corporation that now plans to sell debt formerly sold by another agency, had met disclosure requirements. He added: "These deals are usually negotiated secretly, with little accountability or public oversight, and directly or indirectly leave taxpayers on the hook.

Yanks 3 - Oakland 1

Call me a wimp but I just can't seem to make it through the day after having watched a west coast game with a first pitch that occurs at 10:05pm. So, I don't even try. Therefore, there will be no detailed write-ups of the series in Oakland... sorry dedicated readers.

Instead, here is the box score from last night's victory. Go Yankees!

Don't blame Mo...

You can't expect Mariano to be flawless. He is human, after all. There will be times when he will give up a run, in yesterday's case, a home run. It was Jose Guillen's lead-off homer in the ninth that gave the Royals the unrecoverable lead of 3-2 but I blame Cano and/or Melky for this game. With two men on base and one out, Cano could do nothing. With the bases loaded and two outs, what did Melky do? A crap ground out directly to first on the second pitch.

The Moose didn't deserve the no decision for this game. He gave the club 8 innings and only let 2 runs cross the plate. 65 strikes in 89 pitches with no walks. It is a shame the Yanks couldn't do more to get runners home.

It is back to .500 for the Yanks (and yes, I am getting tired of saying that). Win one, lose one. Win two, lose two. The Yankees have to break this cycle soon.

Yanks Over Royals 6-to-3

I watched Sunday's game from the comfort of my air conditioned home. A friend of mine asked if I wanted to join him yesterday but, after sitting in the sweltering heat for Saturday's game at the Stadium, there was no way that I was going to do it again. I had tickets to today's afternoon game as well but sold them on StubHub since I had to work. I feel bad for anyone that has to be outdoors today in the predicted 100 degree temperatures.

Back to yesterday's game... Joba made it into the fifth inning and pitched much better than his first start. 53 strikes in 78 pitches, 5 strikeouts and one walk. He left the game with three runs on the board. Giese came in to relieve him and did very well. Three strikeouts, no hits, no walks. Veras successfully ate up the 8th and on to Mo for the save. Giese got the win for the day.

Giambi came through once again in the 6th with a home run (his 14th of the season). Bobby Abreu had also hit one out in the first inning to give the club its early lead.

The stuff the Bronx is made of...

It was all about Johnny Damon yesterday. Not only did he tie the game in the 8th inning... not only did he win the game for the Yankees in the bottom of the ninth... but he had six hits during the course of the day... something not done by a Yankee since 1934!

"All these great players that played here didn't do it," Damon said. "I was fortunate to have that opportunity to do it. I'm definitely blessed."

For those of you who are really observant, you would have noticed that Johnny shaved his moustache off before yesterday's game. Hmmm....

Yes, it certainly was a crazy sort of game. Andy Pettitte started the game and gave up 10 runs, the last four of them via a grand slam by Guillen. But, like Thursday's game against Toronto, the Yanks pressed forward and worked their way back into the game. That is the most important part in my minds. It is that perseverance... that winning attitude that makes me proud to be a fan.

It was a game that was played in a sweltering heat (trust me, I was there). Mark, the beer guy, traded in his beer bucket for some Poland Spring water and wound up selling over 23 cases. The home plate umpire had to leave the game after getting hit by a ball off Posada's glove which cause a brief 7-min "ump-delay". Mo, who came in for the ninth the preserve a tie instead of make a save, wound up giving up a home run but still got the win.

"When you've got a day like that, you know it's going to happen," closer Mariano Rivera said. "Somehow it's going to happen. And it did."

So the Yankees take the second game in the series from the Royals by a score of 12-to-11 and are back at .500 for the 20th time this season!

Here are the Sunday Standings:

No Support for Rasner

He pitched an amazing game for the Yankees. He released 118 pitches from the mound and 75 of them passed across the plate for strikes. He walked none and only let two runs score. He lasted 8 innings which, by recent Yankee pitching standards is incredible in itself. But yet again, his teammates were unable to perform for him offensively and Rasner wound up taking a loss for last night's 2-to-1 game against Kansas City.

In fact, in his last 3 starts, the Yankees have only scored 2 runs for Rasner. This is not the way to catch up to Boston.

Abreu, Rodriguez, Cano and Cabrera all went 2-for-4 last night and one would think that would have been enough to put more than one run in the books. But that doesn't always happen when you strand 9 men on base. A ground out double play (A-Rod) is not the way to move runners.

To the teams defense however, I think that it was the obnoxiously incorrect call by the home plate official (Ed Montague) in the bottom of the eighth inning that cost the Yankees this game. It happened with Giambi at the plate with runners at first and second and Jason didn't even come close to swinging at a 3-2 pitch but was called out for not checking his swing. It is surprising to get such a poor call from a veteran official... a call that never would have come to pass if Montague would have first checked with his colleagues at first and third base, as he is supposed to do.

"It doesn't matter now. I can't really do much about it," Giambi said. He is right... but where was the skipper to support his slugger? I would have liked to at least see Girardi leave the dugout to argue this one.

So the Yanks return to last place and one game under .500, unable to beat a team that was toting an 11-game losing streak on the road. They will have three more chances this weekend. The next one today at 1:05pm. I will be at the stadium. Perhaps I can provide the Bombers with a little bit of luck.

So maybe it IS the moustache...

Well, one thing is for certain... that moustache isn't goin' away anytime soon for Giambi. Not after that pinch-hit, walk-off home run that landed in the upper deck to give the Yankees the 9-to-8 win over Toronto on Thursday afternoon. For as long as mlb.com keeps it up, you can catch a glance at the game saving play here.

It was by far the most exciting game this season (as least the ending, anyway) and a much needed boost for the Yankees. It was looking pretty dismal for the Bombers after Wang's pitiful performance on the mound. Wang left his team with a five run deficit in the 5th inning after 90 pitches; but not before giving up 5 hits, 7 earned runs, and walking 4. The Yanks did rally in the next two innings to reduce the deficit to 1 run but then Girardi, as if he hasn't learned his lesson yet, brought Fartsworth in during the 9th to give up 3 hits, one run, and load the bases before getting out of the inning. I think the Yanks got lucky.

So New York takes this series 2 games to 1 and is back to the .500 mark, ready to host Kansas City this weekend. Now if we could just inspire the likes of Robinson Cano and others to grow a little facial hair we might be in better shape.

Consistency and Confidence

So much of success in baseball (or anything at all really) can be attributed to consistency and confidence. The two are so tightly related that sometimes it is impossible to possess one without the other. When pondering what makes a team successful, it is clear that consistency plays an important role. Mike Mussina is a perfect example here. Often an overlooked starter in the Yankee rotation, the Moose can no longer be dismissed as a player that can't get the job done. Actually, if you have been following my blog you would know that I have been sticking up for Mussina all season. It sort of pisses me off to hear everyone promoting his success now that he has been successful when all they could do was bad mouth him weeks earlier. If you are a regular listener of Michael Kay you know what I am talking about. Even Kim Jones when she was interviewing Jeter after the game last night asked if Jeter was surprised at Mussina's performance... if he was going beyond expectation.

I am getting away from my point. What we have been seeing from Mussina this year is confidence. He is modifying his pitches, he is getting balls inside, and batters are finding him difficult to hit. This confidence has made him a consistently good performer for the Yankees. The more consistent he is about winning, the more confidence he will build. See the circle here? Currently, the Moose has 9 wins and that stat ties him as the pitcher with the most wins so far this season in the American League.

Enough about Moose... let's move on to Jeter. The Yankee captain is now number three (below only Gehrig and Ruth) for the most amount of hits as a Yankee. Last night his total became 2,416. When you think about Jeter is is hard not to think about consistency. No, that doesn't mean that every time he steps up to the plate he performs... every player is subject to a slump. But if you look at the overall picture... if you reflect on what Jeter has done for the Yankees over the course of his career, you will have to agree that he is a consistently good player. This is what makes him a superstar. There is no way that any player can keep company with Gehrig and Ruth without it. I will go further to say that that makes for some pretty confident stuff.

So what I would like to see from the entire Yankee roster is more consistency and confidence and less superstition. I have news for you Giambi and Damon: growing a moustache or wearing pink panties or doing whatever you have been doing because you think it is making you hit better is not the answer... so please, let's not see anymore facial hair. I can't stand listening to my wife complain about how bad you guys look. Instead, let's remember who we are: The New York Yankees. Keep that in mind every time you step up to that plate. Remember what got you in those pinstripes and let your confidence erase everything else. A consistent winning record may be just around the corner.

Final score of last nights game: Yankees 5 - Toronto 1.

Yanks Should Dump Joba...

Yes, of course I am kidding. I just thought perhaps I might stir up a little blog traffic from the search engines.

As any Yankee fan knows by now, Joba's first outing on the mound as a major league starter was a bust. To a standing crowd, Joba threw his first pitch, a ball, and it went downhill from there. 62 pitches total (38 in the first inning) Joba lasted just 2-1/3 innings. He walked 4 (3 in the first inning) and balked. He allowed two runs on one hit. Clearly not a night the Joba will want to remember.

What does all this mean? Absolutely nothing. Joba IS the Yankee's ace. No doubt about it. But with all the hype surrounding last night's start and all the anxiety that Joba (who is still a kid in major league terms) must have felt, his pitching was affected. Give it time... hell, give it till Sunday... I think we will start seeing some awesome-ness from number 62 soon.

I have heard all the debates about Joba and many feel that although this transition is the best move for him personally that it may not be the best move for the team as a whole. I completely dismissed all these critics until I saw yet another crappy performance by the bull pen, who ultimately lost last night's game for the team. Although newcomer Dan Giese took the blow for the 9-to-3 game, he wasn't to blame. Actually, he didn't do so badly. Veras and Ramirez on the other hand... absolutely pitiful.

Now is the time that the Yankees have to do anything that they can to fix their bull pen woes. Let's be honest here... it was broken before Joba made the transition and it is not like one great set-up man is going to carry the entire pen anyway. So, if I were Girardi, I would stop wasting time and figure out what needs to be done. Earn the money the Steinbrenner's are paying you.

Hitting last night... nothing special either. Jeter hit a milestone: tying Mickey Mantle for all-time Yankees hits with 2,415. Damon continues to be hot, going 3-for 4 with a double and a triple.

The Yankees will play Toronto again tonight at 7:05pm.

A waste of time...

Last night's game just seemed like a waste of my time. With so many other projects that I have going on around the house, I often feel guilty sitting in front of a TV for an entire game on a weeknight evening. If I could have gotten myself motivated, I would have painted the guest room while I listened to John Sterling call the game on the radio... but I didn't. I sat through all nine innings and watched Andy Pettitte give up one Yankee lead after another. He really wasn't pitching well last night. "It's an extremely disappointing loss," Pettitte said. "I'm extremely disappointed in the way I performed. The team gave me the lead three different times, and it's unacceptable."

The pitcher that I really want to talk about though is Kyle Fartsworth. For the life of me I can't understand why he is brought in during close games. Yes, I understand that he is the consideration for replacing Joba as the set-up man and that just makes me more irate. He should be dumped on his ass off the team no matter what it winds up costing the Yankees. He is worthless. Every time, without fail, he loses the game for us. And what REALLY gets me is the fact that Fartsworth doesn't think he is doing anything wrong: "I'm throwing my pitches, and I get beat on my best pitch," Farnsworth said. "It's going to happen. You've got to take the good with the bad. You just keep on going at it." What a friggin' idiot!

Probably the only excitement that came from last night's 6-to-5 loss was watching the plethora of close officiating calls. A-Rod's "safe" call at home being my favorite.

The Yanks will be back home tonight to battle the Jays with Joba Chamberlin on the mound.

Back on the See-Saw

The Yankees once again seem to be teetering on a win-loss record that has them balanced at the .500 mark. Yesterday's 5-to-1 loss in Minnesota wasn't disastrous but it was disappointing. The Yankees still lead the Twins in this 4-game series, two games to one.

The team finally decided that Morgan Ensberg was not working out as planned. I too had bigger hopes for Ensberg pre-opening day but after watching him play for the last two months, the appropriate move was to dump him and that's what the Yanks did. In his place, right-handed pitcher Scott Patterson got his major league debut yesterday afternoon coming in to relieve Rasner, who was definitely off his mark though he did keep the club in the game. Patterson was ok, I suppose. Nothing that I didn't expect. He threw 21 strikes over 40 pitches and let one run in. Patterson was followed by Chris Britton who did far better: 9 strikes over 14 pitches and nothing but zeros across the board.

Hitting for the Yanks was sluggish and 8 men were left on base including a bases-loaded situation. The only run scored was a result of a solo home run in the 5th inning by Derek Jeter, who has been in a bit of a slump lately.

Tonight's game at the Metrodome will begin at 7:05 p.m.

Third Win in a Row

Bobby Abreu was the hero in last night's game 2 against the Minnesota Twins. The Yankees won it 7-to-6 in the 12th inning off of Bobby's clutch single RBI that allowed Damon to cross the plate. Both Damon and Abreu led the team with 2 hits over 5 at-bats.

Ohlendorf wound up getting the win and he deserved it. He pitched 2 scoreless innings and kept the Yankees in the game as it played out in extra innings. Mo secured his 15th save of the year.

Wang was once again a little flimsy on the mound and, although he put 5 innings on the board, he made me nervious all the way through. He certainly wasn't pitching like an ace last night. Fortunately, the Yanks were good enough at the plate and ultimately took the game.

"I knew in my heart we were a much better club than what we were playing," Girardi said after the game. "We weren't playing well, and when you have the talent level we have, you should play better. That's exactly what we're doing."

The bombers are now one game over .500 in the standings and 5.5 games behind the fabulous Tampa Bay DEVIL Rays.