Yanks Lose Home Run Derby

This was a game that never should have been lost. Said a different way: these are the games that the Yankees need to win. I went to bed during the rain delay and I am so glad I did. No reason to lose sleep over this one.

First let's talk about the odd... 9 home runs in one game (according to the baseball almanac, the record is 10). Giambi, Damon, Abreu, and Rodriguez sent balls to the stands for the Yankees. Millar (2x), Herandez, Mora and Scott for the Orioles. A home run is exciting to watch, don't get me wrong... but last night's game almost pushed that limit for me. No doubt about it though, the Yanks hit well last night, especially Damon who went 4 for 5.

Now on to the bad... when are the Yankees going to realize that Ian Kennedy sucks? I have said it here many times, but let me say it again... the Yankees should get rid of him while other teams still might be fooled into thinking he is worth something. 4 runs in 3 short innings... a 7.41 ERA... we can do better. Kennedy hurt himself last night and will be added to the DL with a strained right lat muscle. Maybe Joba will be ready to take his place next week since he is scheduled to throw 50-55 pitches tonight to relieve Pettitte.

And to the awful... Latroy Hawkins. From the moment he joined this team he was trouble. He reminds me a lot of Fartsworth with his ability to screw up when he is needed most. I hope we are not going to have to pamper him now. Veras would have been the better choice last night.

Ohlendorf... yeah, you sucked last night too buddy; but I think you are a better pitcher than your performance in that game. Besides, if Kennedy would do his job, we wouldn't have to tax you so much. You get off easy, in this blog post anyway.

One last rant before I end this... Girardi was completely in the right for arguing to the officials about the rain coming down when Matsui was at bat in the top of the ninth. How convenient for them to wait until after the Yankees are retired before calling for the tarp.

Baltimore over New York by a score of 10-to-9 after 11 innings of play. It is back to 2 games below .500 and 6 games out, in that comfortable little spot in last place for the Yanks.

I don't like Ian Kennedy

Actually, I never did. I listened to everyone say what a promising pitcher he was... how he had such great starts last year. I hear about all the wonderful things he does in triple-a. You know what? This kid is no better the Igawa. I have said it before and I will repeat it again: I don't give a rat's ass what this kid can do in the minor leagues. If he can't do it where it counts, get him off the mound. He had three lousy starts last year and took away one single win. Certainly nothing to base a career on. "I think I belong here and I want to work out my problems here," is what Kennedy had to say about yesterday's 5-to-2 loss to the Rays. You know what Ian... Yankee Stadium is not the place to work out your problems. And another thing: stop all your whining and excuses... you haven't earn the right to complain about anything yet. It is not going to be long before this kid starts getting booed whenever he takes the field. Yankee fans are not terribly supportive of players that can't perform.

Now that I have had my rant about pitching, this is normally where I would comment about hitting. Except, once again, there is not much to say... Damon and Giambi, nothing. Our two pinch-hitters, Matsui and Abreu... nothing. Appearently, Girardi likes to try to spark things up by bringing in substituting hitters. The only problem is that they haven't been generating any sparks. Even the hitters of the afternoon only came through with singles. 8 left on base... not a great way to try to win a ball game.

So, it is back to New York where the Bombers will face the Mets. One would believe that the way the Mets have been playing, perhaps this would be a good opportunity for the Yankees but I am not so sure anymore. I hope I am wrong.

So what...

I guess the more tv you watch and radio that you listen to, the more you will hear people repeat themselves. It happens with news headlines all the time. I am so tired of hearing about Obama and Clinton... just have the damn election already and be done with it! Fortunately, this blog is not about politics, but about baseball, so let me translate some of my "enough already" moments to the Yankees.

"Joba falters as Yanks fall to Tribe" was the headline on the Yankees website this morning. Ok, fine. This is true. Joba gave up a three-run homer with two outs in the eighth to pitch-hitting David Dellucci . But, so what? Joba may at times appear to be God-like but he is definitely not God. Mistakes are going to happen and fans need to know that. Joba's problem last night wasn't even a one-pitch mistake that resulted in a hit to the stands but rather difficulty finding the strike zone. This will happen to a pitcher, any pitcher, at times. Tonight is another game.

"Kennedy returns to form in minors" So what? If he can't find a way of pitching effectively in the majors then what difference does it make. Speaking of God-like, if you were listening to John Sterling last night during the game broadcast you would have thought that he and Suzyn Waldman were talking about the Messiah. One hit over 7-1/3 innings and no walks IS good pitching but my $60 face value tickets are not for games played in Scranton.

"Oh no... Igawa is scheduled to pitch on Friday!" Ok, so this wasn't a headline anywhere (that I could find anyway) but it might as well be. I am no happier than the next guy when it comes to resorting to Kei Igawa on the mound but let's face it folks, a loss is a loss, right? Does it matter if it is earned by Igawa or Hughes? What I mean to say is... what else do we really stand to lose by giving Igawa another chance? We certainly paid a helluva lot of money for him. Igawa is in the rotation... so what?

I have more of these and I could probably keep going (i.e. A-Rod is a wimp because he passed out when his baby was born... so what?) but, unlike the local media, I am going to move on.

Tonight will be a game to watch as two undefeated pitchers take the mound. Wang (6-0) for the Yankees will go against Lee (5-0) for the Indians. Which one will emerge as victorious? I say it has a lot to do with whether or not the Yankee bats decide to rally.

Much needed wins...

So my Yankee prayers on Friday afternoon were answered this weekend as the Yankees took all three games from the Seattle Mariners. Sweeping this series was a very important step in the rebuilding of confidence and momentum for the Yanks. This past week or two brought some misfortune in the way of injury and lack of performance but the team has made some adjustments and only additional time (and games played) will determine the effectiveness of these changes.

It would appear, at least for the time being, that the Yankees have switched to a four-man pitching rotation. With Phil Hughes on the DL and Ian Kennedy sent down on Sunday, the probable pitchers lineup indicates Pettitte, Wang, Mussina, and Rasner for the next four games. The team does have the night off on Monday so this modification will have little to no effect this time around.

Fox news last night had a poll question that asked: "Are the Yankees going to be better off without Hughes and Kennedy?" Admittedly, I dozed off before hearing the results but it is an interesting question to ponder. The one thing that jumps out at me, at least when looking to yesterday's performance by Rasner, was that we have been watching a completely different offense this past weekend. Now this is not to diminish Rasner's pitching in any way and I think he was magnificent in his major league debut of this season, but the Yankees outscored the Mariners 19 runs to 4. Had they performed this well at the plate when the two kids were on the mound, we may have seen some different game outcomes. One might argue that Seattle is not Boston, and this is certainly a valid argument. Nevertheless, it is an interesting question to ponder.

Speaking of Boston, they also picked up the broom this past weekend and swept the Tampa Bay Ray's at Fenway 26 runs to 10. The Yankees therefore were not able to gain positioning in the standings and remain 3 games back in the AL-East. This weekend was all about opportunity though and as more of those opportunities reach the Yankees with Cleveland, Detroit and Tampa Bay in the immediate future, I am confident that brighter times will prevail.

The same old story

It is almost pointless to write about the same thing day-after-day. The Yankees lost last night's middle game to Detroit by of score of 6-2 because they were asleep at the plate. One really needs to wonder what needs to happen before some action is taken.

Almost every player who was spoken to by the media after last night's game was asked "Do you think having A-Rod, Posada and now Hughes out on the DL has had some effect on the Yankees emotionally and therefore affecting their performance at the plate?" Now, first of all, this is a ridiculous question to ask because no one but the batter in the box is responsible for their own statistics (or lack thereof). Still, every player who was asked this question stated that the Yankees roster is strong enough to bring in run regardless of injury. Ok... then why aren't they doing that?

I think it is very ironic that the deal this past summer for Santana didn't go through because the Yankee's brass refused to part with Hughes and/or Kennedy. But if you remember, Melky Cabrera was also part of those talks. The Yankees had no issues with giving away Cabrera who is arguably one of the very few players on the team that is doing anything for the club.

Lastly, let's address Hughes who is now on the disabled list for a strained right oblique. Am I the only one here that thinks this injury is bullshit? Isn't it just so convenient that Phil came in today with a little pain in his tummy? Hughes himself couldn't seem to give any straight answers to the press last night. He looked like a kid who was sent to the Principal's office for shooting spitballs. "Huh? Time? Oh, I don't remember at what time I first felt any pain." Just bring Rasner into the the rotation and let's see what happens.

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.

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).

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.