Worst series ever...

Well, maybe not the worst series ever but still pretty bad: The Yankees got swept by Detroit in their own home by losing the last three games... something that hasn't happened since 1966. Joe Girardi... do you think perhaps it is time to do something? Maybe have Cano sit on the bench for a game or two? Perhaps encourage Mr. Cashman to start thinking about pitching (and please don't simply think that you can solve this predicament by making Joba a starter... we need better, more thought out solutions here)? And how about a team meeting? Don't get me wrong... I liked Torre as a manager but I thought we were going to be getting more life when Girardi was brought in. I think we need some anger; I think we need a little Billy Martin or Lou Pinella to come out. Over-turn a table in the clubhouse; ask Jeter to pick the starting lineup from names in a hat. I don't know... do something, because what we are doing now is definitely not working.

Enough about that... tonight the Yankees start a three game set against Seattle. The Mariners, a team that has also been struggling quite a bit lately is 13-and-16 and will be looking for a little adrenaline boost. Being married to a Seattle-native, I generally attend most of the match-ups with Seattle and I will be at the game tonight and tomorrow. We generally go with a few friends and I am often the only one in our group actually cheering for New York. It could be worse... my wife could have been from Boston. But actually, that couldn't have happened because, like tattoos or being a smoker, being from Massachusetts would have been a dating deal-breaker. I love my wife and support her in everything she does but, tonight I will have my $9 beer in hand, cheering for the Yanks, hoping not to be disappointed by lazy at-bats and sloppy ball playing. Wang is undefeated so far this season with a 5-and-0 record and I would love nothing more that to see a nice, quality start. Please, New York, do not embarrass me in front of my own wife.

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.

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.