It is time for force...

It is bad enough that the game last night was aired by ESPN. Their coverage is so incredibly awful that it is almost painful to sit through. To have to watch the Yankees perform the way they did last night, losing 11-to-2 to the Mets, was more than even I could take. I admit it: I turned off the tube and went to bed in the eighth inning. To even imagine that the massacre would have been so much greater if the officials had actually not second-guessed the home run by Delgado is unspeakable. The Yankees performance last night was absolutely pathetic... and something needs to be done.

It is time for Hank to be "forceful". I, of course, am referring back to his recent comments about the team:

"This is going to get turned around," Steinbrenner said. "If it's not turned around this year, then it will be turned around next year, by force if we have too."

But my advice to Hank would be not to wait until next year. Something needs to be done now. I am getting a little tired of hearing about how our line-up is hurting. A-Rod and Posada are not going to fix what is broken here. I am not going to sit behind my computer monitor and pretend that I have the answers because I don't. Nor should I. That is not my job as a fan. But the Yankees better use this off day well. They better figure out what they need and get it. It needs to start at the top and it needs to happen today.

Excitement

Wait a minute... isn't that a fist pump that Morgan Ensberg gave after tagging Cliff Floyd out at third to end the second inning? I thought that emotional reaction of excitement had been outlawed by the Yankees. I mean, after Goose Gossage denounced Joba Chamberlin a few days ago for fisting David Dellucci, I thought someone from the Yankees organization would have spoken to the team. Wasn't that the subject of the 45-minute, closed-door team meeting that occurred before last night's 2-to-1 Yankee win over the Rays? Seriously folks, if this cheerful display of confidence goes unchecked, we might soon see Melky Cabrera high-fiving fans over the wall just like Manny.

Well, I propose that it is this kind of excitement that will take the Yankees to where they need to be. All too often I think we tend to forget that this is a GAME. If we have to second guess what our opponent might be "feeling" before reacting to a good play, then we are thinking too much. I am not saying that we need to chant in the dugout like the Nationals, but a little excitement can go a long way.

Moose pitched an amazingly good game last night and since I am the kind of person who likes to say "I told you so," I hope all you radio talk show callers and bloggers who were calling for the Moose to be "put down" in early April are able to take notice that Mussina has won his last 5 starts and is now 6-and-3.

The Yankees bats aren't really where I would like them to be but it is nice to see some life in Cano who went 4-for-4 last night. More importantly though, it seems like Girardi has finally woken up to the fact that he needs to more aggressively manage this team. Perhaps it was the report from Hank demanding more fire from the team, but Joe is showing more signs of life too.

The Yanks will have a chance to even up the 4-game series against the Rays today at 4pm.

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!

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.