Sunday, December 19, 2010

Greinke on the Move

Well that will put an end to any speculation before it begins. Just two days after we hear that Zack Greinke demanded a trade to get out of Kansas City he is on the move to the Milwaukee Brewers.

Good for Greinke to finally be out of that baseball hell-hole that is KC. I wish he had gone to a larger market, preferably New York, so he could silence his critics who say he can't hack it in a larger market. Nobody knows how Greinke would respond to that type of media environment, but if you take a quick read at Joe Posnanski's blog he gives a good idea that Greinke might respond more to big games and big pressure than many would think.

Either way its a shame the Yankees never really got in on it. Good luck to Greinke and here's hoping him and Yovani Gallardo lead the Brewers to some playoff runs.

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Lee Shuns Yankees for Ex

I suppose its an old story. Guy falls in love with team, team dumps him for flashier player, guy can't get over team and comes crawling back.

At least that's how the story reads to me. The Phillies and their "genius" GM Ruben Amaro decided to trade Cliff Lee during the offseason after he pitched them to the NL pennant and won the only two games Philadelphia would win in the 2009 World Series.

The move was stupid and Amaro admitted as much when he made the deal to acquire Roy Oswalt from the Astros in July. Luckily for him Lee and his family held no ill will toward the Phillies for bouncing them to the Pacific Northwest. Lee inked a very lucrative deal with Philadelphia (Don't let anyone tell you he took less money, if you maxed out the value of both the Yanks and Phillies offers, the Yanks only come out ahead by about half a million) and will become part of the most touted rotation this side of the Braves circa 1996-2000.

One last thing about Philadelphia, don't let anyone tell you the Phillies are a World Series lock. Sure their rotation has now reached a historic level, their once vaunted hitting has regressed quite a bit. Raul Ibanez has begun showing his age dramatically, the loss of Jason Werth leaves them depending on rookie Dominic Brown and platoon player Ben Francisco to replace elite level production and defense and their middle infield is rapidly aging. Oh and Ryan Howard still strikes out a ton.

But Ii digress to the Yankees who will feel the hurt from this rejection in the short term. The Yankees will need help for the rotation next year and they will be in a world of trouble if they can't convince Andy Pettitte to come back for one final season. Even if you are being generous, there are only two solid pitchers for New York in CC Sabathia and Phil Hughes. A.J. Burnett is a huge question mark and beyond that is the great unknown.

Brian Cashman probably has some kind of back-up plan that he was hoping to avoid should Lee go elsewhere, but clearly it wont replace what Lee would have brought to New York next season.

The Yankees wont deal for Zack Greinke or Felix Hernandez or Josh Johnson. In the case of Greinke it would deplete the farm system too much right now for Cashman to justify the move. Hernandez and Johnson are just pipe dreams Yankee fans will spout over the next few months.

As a Yankee fan though I can take away some kind of a silver lining. The Yankees struck out on Cliff Lee twice. The first time they were able to hold on to Jesus Montero which will be a huge plus when it comes to rejuvenating the Yankee lineup with a youthful bat. This second strike out will save them millions of dollars. If the Yankees had signed Lee their payroll would have sky rocketed and if you believe the Yankees have some semblance of a budget, it would have severely impaired their ability to field a competent team. In 2014 the Yankees would have had close to $100 committed to just four players and that doesn't count arbitration eligible players either.

The long and short of it is the Yankees will suffer next season. They may still make the playoffs and compete, but Cashman will have to pay in prospects at some point this offseason or before July 31st to get that other front-line pitcher the Yankees desperately need. Three or four years from now though, the Yankees may be happy that this one got away... I doubt it though.

Lee Surprises Everyone

Everyone expected Cliff Lee to go to the Yankees. It probably wouldn't have been much of a shock if he went back to Texas, but Philly? Now the Phillies have what we all thought they should have had two years ago, Halladay and Cliff Lee at the front of the rotation.

Lee signed for five years $120 million spurning the Yanks and an additional two years and $34 million. But before we celebrate Lee as a martyr there is a clause in the contract that triggers an option year for $27.5 million if he pitches at least 400 innings aggregate over the final two years of the deal. That's hardly guaranteed money, but it's not impossible.

In the end he had to choose where he felt comfortable pitching. I have often wondered how much money does a person need to make where it just doesn't matter anymore? What is the real difference in someone's lifestyle between $120 million and $154 million? Either way you look at it, Cliff Lee is set for life and so are his kids. He just liked Philadelphia better.

Friday, December 10, 2010

Spending the Money


Theo Epstein has sent a clear message to the yankees and all of baseball this week. That message is we are not afraid to invest in the right players. The Red Sox added All-stars Adrian Gonzalez and Carl Crawford this week, at the tune of almost $300 million combined. These two additions have made their line-up, though primarily left-handed, the best in baseball. I liked both moves.

Casey Kelly was a very good prospect, but to get a player like Gonzalez the Sox had to give up some of their own talent. People have been speculating about this deal for the past 3 years and some high-profile names have been linked with a trade with San Diego. I was happy the Sox were able to keep all of the young talent already in the Major Leagues. (Buchholz, Bard, Ellsbury, Kalish, etc.)

Coming into the off-season there were two big name corner outfielders available: Carl Crawford and Jason Werth. I always thought Crawford was a better fit for Boston. Crawford is athletic, can hit and steal bases. (Think of the Sox outfield in the final innings of games, they would have 3 centerfielders-Ellsbury, Crawford, Kalish.) Also, remember the Sox passed on re-signing Jason Bay last winter which saved them cash that was now available for Crawford.

I don't think the Sox are finished making additions. They still need help in the bullpen and I think Theo will be able to add someone like Scott Downs to add some depth behind Papelbon and Bard. Also, there are rumors the Sox might bring in Russell Martin as insurance for Salty. We will see how it plays out in the coming days. I will leave you with the pleasant sight of the 2011 Opening Day line-up of the Boston Redsox; it is a thing of beauty.

Ellsbury CF
Pedroia 2B
Crawford LF
Gonzalez 1B
Youkilis 3B
Ortiz DH
Drew RF
Scutaro SS
Saltalamacchia C

Sunday, December 5, 2010

Gonzalez Deal on Hold

Finally, I thought. The Red Sox had themselves a legitimate power bat and a quintessential first baseman in the likes of Adrian Gonzalez. But a contract extension was a sticking point and the two sides ran out of time. The deal could still get done however.

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Can Texas Run With the Big Boys

I saw an interesting little tidbit in Jayson Starks Rumblings and Grumblings column today. Much has been made of Texas's new TV deal that will pay them roughly $1.6 billion over a 20 year period. Many believe that the deal will give the Rangers the financial clout to stick with the Yankees in a bidding war for the services of Mr. Lee.

Now no one really expects the Rangers to match a deal that New York throws at Lee dollar-for-dollar, but the logic for the Rangers is that they just need to keep it close and Texas's locale and tax laws will make up the difference.

But as Stark explains in the article, is that the Rangers really wont be able to use that money in negotiations with Lee. The TV deal money won't be available to the Rangers until the deal kicks in around 2015, which would be year five of any deal Lee signs this off season. Stark also explains that the deal likely sent a good portion of money to the auction block to pay for the purchase of the team. It will also result in the Rangers losing their revenue sharing money.

Stack that on top of the fact that the Lee would only get tax breaks on games played in Texas and suddenly it seems that if the Rangers pony up the money to sign Lee they would find themselves in a similar position as what Tom Hicks ended up in after giving A-Rod his record setting $252 million deal.

The Yankees signing Lee isn't a lock, but it does seem that the Rangers are in as strong a positions as they seemed to be a month ago.

Monday, November 8, 2010

There is a God

Our long national nightmare is over. Jon Miller and Joe Morgan are out of ESPN Sunday Night Baseball. Finally. Now we only need to force out Joe Buck and Tim McCarver. Somehow I feel that will be the true challenge.

Friday, October 29, 2010

I'm Not Saying... Just saying.

I don't want to rain on Josh Hamilton's parade, believe me. His story is inspirational. Overcoming addiction and staying clean is one of the most difficult things a person can do. I applaud him for his efforts and his MVP caliber season this year. His teammates' ginger ale showers after the divisional round and LCS got me a little farklempt to be honest. But methinks he is being treated differently than some other famous athletes who have overcome similar personal demons.

Take Ricky Williams for example. After his suspension for pot and subsequent temporary retirement due to social anxiety, the jokes on talk radio etc. came by the dump truck full. Every Joe Lunchpail in America called him a disgrace and said he should be banned for life. He was a be-dredded, ganja smoking, Rasta punch line. Pause for a moment. Take a breath. Try to imagine a world where Josh Hamiliton is likened to Barney Gumble from the Simpsons in some ham-fisted radio parody. "Throw his drunk ass out the league!" Hard to imagine, right? Why is that? Before you answer, let's look at another comparison.

Ben Roethlisberger rapes two women... ok so they can't prove it and those bitches were probably just looking for money (insert symbol for sarcasm here in case the reader in a nitwit). Perhaps there wasn't enough evidence, but the court of public opinion has convicted celebs for much less. At the very least it reeks of impropriety. As I write he's back after a month long suspension and basically no one gives a crap. Michael Vick comes back from his suspension (if I have to tell you why I don't know why you're reading a sports blog) and every move is scrutinized, every word dissected as if the media were looking for a code word that tells you where the dog fight is going to be.

Now I'm going to just get right to it and if I were Peter King or someone who actually had readers other than my friends I might get crucified. Roethlisberger and Hamiliton are white. Williams and Vick are black. Let's just admit that this type of veiled racism still exists. Perhaps people are doing it subconsciously. Maybe they don't realize why they think the way they think. Personally I hope all four of the athletes I mentioned have learned from their mistakes. As for the media, I don't think they will learn from theirs.

Sunday, October 24, 2010

Moving On...

I might linger more on 2010 if I thought this Yankee squad was truly good enough to win the World Series, but honestly they haven't played like a World Series contender for the better parts of three months. They had the talent, but they just never seemed to have the same pitching as last year.

A.J. Burnett was a shell of his 2009 self and despite the arrival of Phil Hughes, the rotation was never as stable as it was last year.

Changes will be coming to the Yankees this off season as they do for every team. With the regime they have though, New York will avoid any kind of over reaction to six games in October. Really there is no need for drastic changes anyway, also, you really couldn't even if you wanted to.

With that in mind and a lack of desire from myself to rehash everything Cliff Lee, let's look at the Yankees position players for next season.

The starting eight are pretty much locked in. Alex Rodriguez, Robinson Cano and Mark Teixeira are locked up for the foreseeable future in the infield. And you know that Derek Jeter will be back as well.

The outfield is also locked up and, unlike the infield, all three are locked into affordable contracts for the next few seasons. Brett Gardner, Curtis Granderson and Nick Swisher all provide valuable offensive production and above-average defense at two of three positions.

The biggest questions for the Yankees and their position players is catcher and DH. Nick Johnson will be given his pay check and told to move along and Lance Berkman was never intended to be a solution beyond this season. Marcus Thames will return and rightly so considering he wont get much of a pay bump and he will remain in a limited roll as a right-handed power bat off the bench.

Catcher is really where the debate begins. Jorge Posada has one year left on his deal and the Yanks will also have the option of bringing back Fransisco Cervelli as the back up. Posada's defense continued to regress and Cervelli received way more at bats than he had a right to. There is a solution to the Posada/Cervelli problem waiting in the minors in the form of man-child Jesus Montero. The 20-year-old destroyed Triple-A pitching in the second half of the season and will rank as a top five prospect in all of baseball.

While Montero's bat will pair well within the frame of a Posada-Montero DH/Catcher platoon, his defense will not remind anyone of a young Johnny Bench, but the Yankees have survived a long time without a good defensive catcher and it stands to reason they wont mind Montero back there if they can put up with Posada.

We could see a Yankee squad with three catchers for a period of time if the Yankees desire to keep someone on hand for the occasional bumps and bruises that might force a catcher from the game and result in the loss of the DH.

Of course everyone knows the Yankees will hit and with the arrival of Montero they may even hit more. The lineup will again be a tremendous strength for the Yankees in 2011.

Saturday, October 23, 2010

End of the Road

Substandard starting pitching. A lack of pop in the bats and no timely hitting. That will do you in just about every time. The Yankees 2010 season ended with a whimper on Friday night as the defending champs were dethroned by Texas.

The Yankees were never really in the series. The lack their normal hitting prowess and fell prey to hunger young pitchers from the Lone Star state. They were outplayed in just about every aspect of the game in five out of six games.

There isn't much to complain about. Anything can happen in a seven game series and while the Yankees had the superior team on paper, the Rangers showed why the games are played and how they should be played.

Yankee fans will make a swift transition to the hot stove now and will ogle Cliff Lee in his Game 1 start of the World Series.

Aside from a poor ALCS the Yankees were thoroughly entertaining this season and they'll be back at it again come February and March.

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Is the End Near?

Since it is my constitutional right as a Red Sox fan to rub salt into Yankee wounds, I think it is fair to say that the Evil Empire is worried. The tension in Manhattan is palatable today and things could become tragic tonight.

Though many pundits have been praising Cliff Lee (who was terrific in Game 3) as the savior who has single-handedly beaten the Yankees; the reality is that the Chuck Norris All-Stars (Walker Texas Rangers) have outplayed the Yanks for four games. I know I may be tempting fate, but I don't see the Yankees pulling a Red Soxeque comeback circa 2007. Cliff Lee will make at least one more appearance, Mark Teixiera is out for the rest of the series if not the remainder of the playoffs, and two of the final three games are back in Arlington. The Yankee bats have become dormant and the bullpen has imploded.

Though it would be nice for the bombers to win the World Series in Memoriam of "The Boss" it doesn't seem likely. I, personally, am pulling for the Giants.

Saturday, October 16, 2010

Yanks Snatch Game 1 in Texas

I heard commentators talking earlier in the season about how the Yankees didn't have as many walk-off wins as last year. While that is true, the general attitude of that statement was to imply that the Yankees didn't come back on teams like they had the year before.

If anything this one thoroughly proves that the Yankees are never out of a game. The Rangers blew a 5-0 lead and New York survived a CC Sabathia implosion to take Game 1 of the ALCS 6-5.

The Rangers really have to be hurting in the locker room after this one. They had beat on the Yankee ace and had forced the Yankees into using Dustin Moseley. Yet they failed to tack on runs against the mop up man and when Brett Gardner sparked a rally with a huge hustle play to start the eighth, you could see things start to slide downhill for the Rangers and their bullpen.

Ron Washington brought in Darren Oliver and the veteran walked two straight Yankees to load the bases. That forced the Texas manager to go to his second Darren, Darren O'Day. O'Day fluttered one of his side arm offerings down the inner third of the plate and Alex Rodriguez destroyed the ball past Michael Young at third to score tow more and pull the Yanks to within 5-4.

So, after one pitch Washington decided to bring in another lefty, this one being Clay Rapada. Rapada only threw nine innings in the majors this year and really Washington should have taken his chances with a hard thrower like Alexi Ogando, because Cano doesn't care who is throwing the ball, he will destroy it.

Cano led the AL with 13 homer against lefty pitching this season and had just homered off of C.J. Wilson who hadn't allowed a dinger to a same-sided batter all year. Rapada stood no chance and Cano tied the game with a hard single up the middle on the first pitch he saw.

After another pitching change Marcus Thames continued to be an unsung hero for New York this year and gave the Yanks the lead with a broken bat single.

The win is big for New York. Strike that, it's HUGE. They could have found themselves in a bad spot if they didn't rally to save Sabathia's bacon. Texas would have been rolling and licking their chops at the prospect of being up 1-0 in the series with Phil Hughes on the mound versus Colby Lewis and Cliff Lee still lurking in the shadows of Game 3. Now the Yankees have to be feeling like they are never out of the game, even on e where their ace is inept and teh opposing pitch is dealing deep into the game.

Tomorrow brings the previously mentioned match up of Phil Hughes vs. Colby Lewis. Hughes has been great in Texas for his career, throwing 15.1 scoreless innings over four seasons, including his aborted no-hitter in 2007. Plus Hughes has been better on the road in general this season.

Lewis has been solid since returning to the Majors from Japan. Lewis strikes out a lot of guys, but can also have bouts of wildness. The Yankees haven't seen Lewis this year, which usually is a bad omen for them. In this case though, they can probably at least elevate Lewis's pitch count and get into that Rangers bullpen early, much like the Rays did in Game 3 of the ALDS.

Back at it tomorrow at 4 p.m.

Thursday, October 14, 2010

The 32 Greatest Sports Calls of All Time

This is pretty cool to just poke through when you have some time. If you only watch one, watch Maradona in Argentina vs. England 1986.

Friday, October 8, 2010

Rays Get Hosed

I'm back baby. The playoffs started and now I'm completely enthralled again. I have to admit (and I know it sounds like sour grapes) but I really enjoy the fact that the Rays are down 2-0. The fact that they got jobbed on Michael Young's check swing is making even more fun for me.

I hope the Rays fans (all 10 of them) have enjoyed this little run. Crawford is gone after this year and perhaps after this next game as well as punk ass B.J. Upton for whatever that's worth. All that will be left in three years will be a 70-win team with Evan Longoria demanding a trade because he was dumb enough to sign a long term deal with this putrid organization.

I feel bad for the players. Upton and Matt Garza aside I kind of like the Rays. Crawford is one of the most exciting players in the game and Joe Maddon's persona and hipster glasses amuse me. As I've said before, it's their fans that I find so lame. It's just bad for the game when a team like the Rays, a novelty to the Tampa area, can't even sell out ALCS games while traditional baseball cities like Kansas City, Pittsburgh, Cleveland and up until now, Cincinnati, who have suffered so long, would give anything to be in the playoffs. Those people would pack the stands, make a ton of noise and make you feel like it was 1979 again.

Thursday, October 7, 2010

Yanks Beat Pavano; Take 2-0 Lead

For Yankee fans Thursday night couldn't have been much better. Sure they might have been able to score a few more runs and Pettitte was shaky early, but they won and they did it by slapping around Carl Pavano a little bit and that's all New York needed.

There were several questions about Pettitte coming into this game and his seven inning two-run performance was impressive, especially after the second inning when he really settled in and mowed down Twins. After Danny Valencia's second inning sac fly, the veteran lefty set down the next 11 batters before surrendering a solo homer to Orlando Hudson.

By that point the Yankees had started to figure out Pavano and although they only had two runs, they were scorching balls of the Twins starter.

But the story of the game will be the non-strike call on Lance Berkman in the seventh. The pitch was strike on the inside corner, but really home plate umpire Hunter Wendelstedt wasn't giving that pitch most of the night and was giving a generous amount on the outside part of the plate. It shouldn't be a big issue, but like the non-call against Michael Young in Tampa Bay earlier in the day, it will stand out as the next pitch in each at bat cost the home team.

The Yankees will focus on what they did though and not the calls the umpires made. Tonight two players stand out besides Pettitte and those two are Lance Berkman and Curtis Granderson.

Berkman finally showed some of that power that the Yankees were hoping to get when they traded for him at the Deadline in July. Since his days in Houston Berkman has always shown huge power to the opposite field from the left side of the plate, and that finally came out tonight. Both his home run and his double were absolutely scorched to left-center.

Joining Berkman in the on hot-hitters club, is Curtis Granderson who is in full-on beast mode right now. Granderson banged out three more hits tonight including one that drove in an insurance run in the night. Granderson is really playing to his potential since Kevin Long adjusted his stance and swing in Texas back in August and now the Yankees are reaping the benefits of the patience they've had with him.

Granderson has four hits in the first two games of the series and he has the biggest one of the series so far with his two-run triple off of Fransisco Liriano in Game 1. If there was an MVP for the LDS, Granderson would be the front runner so far.

Now it's a day off and then back to New York with two chances to close out the series for the Yanks.

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Some End of Season News


The Sox aren't in the playoffs, so I will leave the playoff preview to a yankee fan. I watched the ESPN 30 for 30 Series documentary on the 2004 ALCS and needless to say it will be saved on the DVR and watched repeatedly throughout the winter.

With that being said, the news of the day out of Red Sox Nation is that New England Sports Ventures (NESV), the group (John Henry, Larry Luccino, Tom Werner) that owns the Sox, Fenway, and NESN, is making a bid to buy English Premiere League club Liverpool. Liverpool has been struggling financially and in the standings for the past 2 years and are ripe for a takeover. The bid is rumored to be in the neighborhood of $477 million. The current owners, Tom Hicks and George Gillett, are hated in Liverpool and the fans are eager for a change as Liverpool is currently in danger being relegated out of the Premiere League. If this means Liverpool on NESN every weekend and choruses of "You'll Never Walk Alone" count me in.

Sunday, October 3, 2010

End of the Road

It is somewhat fitting that the marathon baseball season will end on the same day that one of our bloggers will be hitting the road for his first marathon. Yea that's right our own bro Joey is running his first marathon in New York today and while we wish him well, today will be the last day his Sox take the field in 2010.

The Yankees will be looking for where their next destination is based on today's results. But I'm not too concerned with that. There are pluses and minuses for both opponents the Yankees might face and the reality is they could beat either of them if they decide they want to hit with runners in scoring position and pitch halfway decent they will beat anybody.

Aside from that today is a day to enjoy the game. There isn'y anything of consequence riding on the game so treat it like the last game of spring training when all the starters are finally playing together. Well except for Dustin Moseley.

Friday, October 1, 2010

Sox and... Eh Who Cares?

I can't remember a Sox and Yanks series that has begun with so little anticipation as this one has. For me at least. The Sox are out of it and have been for quite some time. The Yanks will probably rest up their stars and try to get their rotation set up for the playoffs. The Sox can't even play spoiler. At this point there's virtually no difference to the Yankees whether they sweep or get swept or something in the middle. I suppose I'll tune in to watch the Sox one last time before they pack it in for the year. Maybe Daniel Nava will jack one out for me.

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Yanks Finally Clinch

Well at least they didn't totally back into the playoffs. CC Sabathia has been what the Yankees have needed all season long and tonight was no different. Sure it was a panic move to start Sabathia against the Jays rather than letting him get his long rest and taking the ball on Friday to put him on schedule, but at least Joe Girardi can finally have a good night's sleep for the first time in about a month.

Sabathia was dominant for 8.1 innings to pick up his 21st win of the season. Once the Yankees pushed across their second run of the night with a Mark Teixeira sacrifice fly in the third, you had the feeling that the game was over. That Sabathia just wouldn't let the Jays get anything going.

But this has been the case for a while now. The Yankees have been playing atrocious baseball for about a month and a half. The only time they look good is when Sabathia is on the mound. Hopefully they get back into a groove before the postseason starts. I hope they don't think they can just turn it on when they roll into Texas or, more likely, Minnesota.

Now the wonder is how the Yankees get set for the playoffs since. I'm imagining that Phil Hughes is done for the regular season and so is Sabathia. Andy needs his start tomorrow to make sure that he gets as close to ready as he can for the Division Series. A.J. Burnett will have to pitch and pitch exceptionally well to garner any consideration for a start in the first round.

The division is probably out of reach with the Rays having a virtual game and a half lead with the tiebreaker they own over the Yankees, so it looks like the Twins are up next.

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Slacking

I must apologize. I've been MIA for most of September. Like I said before, it's hard to maintain interest when the Sox are totally mailing it in and Pedroia and Youk are at home playing Madden 11. It's hard to get excited about Daniel Nava, Bill Hall, and Josh Reddick. (Although truthfully like Reddick and as I type this he destroyed Kevin Milwood's first offering. I think if gets more playing time he can develop some consistency and be a decent player.)

Now we play a game of who the hell is this guy? Yamaico Navarro? Someone help me. I'm too lazy to do the research. and he's to lazy to take the bat off his shoulder. Backward K. Oh good Ryan Kalish is next up.

Perhaps I'm just going to have to start NFL Hyperbolic Statements early this season. Washington is looking interesting. Perhaps not good or playoff bound, but interesting.

Monday, September 6, 2010

Brackman Shuts Down Rock Cats in Regular Season Finale

So rather than spend the day frustrated by a Yankee defeat at the hands of the rejuvenated Baltimore Orioles, I traveled again to New Britain Stadium to see Andrew Brackman take on the Rock Cats in the season finale for both teams.

Brackman didn't disappoint. He had good stuff all day, firing fastball's that sat at 93-94 and touching 95 on several occasions. He snapped off some good curves that made a few New Britain batters look silly and even threw several quality change ups. He was fairly consistant through out his start. The only time he seemed to lose his command was in the fourth. He didn't walk anybody, but it was the first time he fell behind hitters all day.

Brackman battled back and struck out the first to hitters in the inning before allowing a hard hit single through the left side of the infield.

Brackman's line for the game says it all. Though he didn't strike out a ton of guys, none of the Rock Cats had comfortable at bats against him. He induced a bunch of ground balls and only a couple of balls were hit hard.

As for the bats, Austin Romine showed what he could do with the bat today, launching a homer that easily cleared the left-centerfield wall. He also ripped an opposite-field RBI-double down the right field line to score Dan Brewer in the fourth.

Saturday, September 4, 2010

Yankees Hold Off Jays

Javy Vazquez was shaky in his return to the rotation, but the Yankee bats picked him up and New York pushed its winning streak to a season high eight games.

Vazquez seemed to have carried over his excellent work out of the bullpen in the first three innings of tonight's game, but it all fell apart in the third when he gave up a pair of home runs. The first to Lyle Overbay was a legit shot into the right field seats. Javy had some bad luck on the second one when John McDonald dented the left field pole two batters after Vazquez walked John Buck.

The Yankees got the runs back in the third and Vazquez pitched out of a little trouble in the fourth. Giving the Yankees a chance to take a two-run lead without the benefit of a hit in the bottom half.

That's when we come to the point in the game when Joe Girardi nearly booted it away. With two outs and no one on base Vazquez walked Jose Bautista on a full count and then surrendered a single to Vernon Wells that pushed Bautista to third. Girardi decided that was enough and went to the pen. Much to the dismay of Javy.

Girardi believed that Dustin Moseley would somehow be a shut down reliever in this instance, and predictably the righthander gave up a double to Lyle Overbay to tie the game. There is a time and a place to use a pitcher like Moseley, and this afternoon was not one of them.

He is an innings eater, and anything you get out of him beyond that is icing on the cake. Really the Yanks should cut ties with him while they are still in the black. Moseley has had good luck in his few outings so far, but now the cracks are showing. New York already have two of him in the bullpen with Sergio Mitre and Chad Guadin out there, there is no need for a third of the same.

The Yanks managed to pull back in front when Marcus Thames found his stroke versus Jason Frasor and deposited his 11 homer of the year into the Blue Jay bullpen. The Yankee bullpen continued its dominant run with four scoreless innings.

It was a good win for the Yanks and they have a decent shot at the sweep with Phil Hughes taking on Brett Cecil in the fourth of five straight daytime affairs in the Bronx.

Night in New Britain with the Baby Bombers Part II






Here are a few more photos from last night's game. The first two are of Corban Joseph and the last two are of Austin Romine. Sandwiched in between the two of them is a shot of the night sky at the start of the game courtesy of the remnants of Hurricane Earl.

Joseph has a sweet swing and seemed to hit the ball hard every time up. He may not be the all-around player that David Adams was before the ankle injury, but he has some skill with the bat. I think that if he was given more time in Tampa his bat wouldn't have seemed so diminished at the Double-A level.

Romine looked tired at the plate. Even his first double was more a result of poor defense on his ball in the gap.

It is to be expected that he would tire toward the end of his first full season as a catcher. After having his OPS north of .850 in April and May Romine has been in a steady decline over the last three-plus months of the season. His swing was still solid. He just lacked some life in behind it and it was slow through the zone.

Check back over the weekend. Hopefully I'll have some photos for tomorrow night's game and then Monday afternoon when Andrew Brackman takes the mound for the regular season finale.

Friday, September 3, 2010

Night in New Britain With the Baby Bombers

There usually isn't a ton of stuff to do in New Britain, but the Rock Cats are one of the few things that consistently draw people to NB. Every once and a while we are blessed enough to have the Baby Bombers roll through town. Tonight was one of those nights and along with the Trenton Thunder came Dellin Betances. I've always been a fan of his and I'm glad he finally made it to the Thunder and his turn came up while Trenton was in town.

Now the big righty had a big lead to work with early and he was effective in the first two innings, but in the third the rain started to creep in and it took some of his command with it.

Betances seemed to lose his fastball command and fell behind in a few counts. His velocity was ok, he hit 95 in the first inning, but he never seemed to ramp it up. He was sitting at 93 early and 91 late. I'm guessing that the cool night had something to do with that.

His curveball had some bite. He got the Cats short stop Estarlin De Los Santos to swing and miss on three filthy ones to end the fourth. The Thunder played it safe and pulled him after the fourth.

Anyway below are some photos for the night. Not the best of quality, but they get the job done for a lowly blogger. I'll have a few more later on of Corban Joseph and Austin Romine.


Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Sox Swan Song

The term "swan song" comes from an ancient belief that a swan, which otherwise doesn't sing a song the way many birds do, sings one beautiful song before it dies. Basically it's come to mean a prelude to an ending. Anyway, I think the Sox had their swan song when they lost two out of three to the Rays over the weekend. And it was one god-awful song, like John Cage meets Celine Dion or something.

So how does a Sox fan keep interest? I feel like I represent the Sox fan who would watch every game if he didn't have a family, full time job, other interests and a life. It wouldn't matter to me that the Sox were out of the race and didn't have much to play for if my time weren't so precious to me. Then I could just watch and observe and try to make predictions for next year. I could dissect the minutiae of what went wrong during the season and think of all sorts of ways that Theo and the front office could fix it. But honestly, I have very little time for that. Call me when the playoffs start.

Sunday, August 29, 2010

Pettitte Feeling Strong

Good news coming out of Yankee camp for the first time in a while. The word coming from Chad Jennings is that Pettitte felt strong after his bullpen and even dialed it up for the last 20 pitches with no adverse effects.

A healthy Pettitte would be huge for the Yankees. Like Sabathia, Pettitte knows how to battle through starts and give his team a chance to win. Having him in the fold would stabilize the front end of the rotation and eliminate some of the uncertainty that follows around either Dustin Moseley or Ivan Nova.

Plus Teixeira is back in the lineup after being pulled with a a bruised right thumb. That makes sense against the right-hander. It problem only bothers him when he hits from the right side.

Saturday, August 28, 2010

Rotation Struggling As Burnett Gets Rocked

Start the doomsday whistles in the Bronx, A.J. Burnett go roughed up yet again as the Yanks fell to the White Sox 9-4. I'm sure many will start to freak out a little bit, especially considering how the Red Sox beat the Rays in Tampa and are now within five games in the loss column to both New York and Tampa.

Really though, this is A.J. Burnett and I'm pretty sure the Yankees knew that when they signed him. Hell, I'm sure every Yankee fan knew it when they signed him. He is incredible streaky and is inherently unreliable at the top of a rotation. But I think that Brian Cashman understood that and knew CC Sabathia and Andy Pettitte as that reliable horses who would make sure the Yankees got through the regular season and he knew that A.J. could be a dominant playoff force if the timing was right.

Last year that happened and the Yankees won a World Series title. That same scenerio could be playing out again. The only difference is that this season the Rays are markedly improved and are hanging with the Yanks, and Pettitte is still serving time on the disabled list.

August is the second month this season when Burnett has failed to win a game. I think that is what has weighed on the Yankees. Also Burnett has not had a signature game or hot streak to bouy the doubts of fans and management like he did last year.

The problem is that the Yankees have already used their one insurance policy in Triple-A when they called up Ivan Nova to replace Javier Vazquez. They had a back-up for the back-up plan with Zach McAllister, but he pitched his way out of that role and then into a trade as a player-to-be-named-later deal for Austin Kearns. Nova will likely stay in teh rotation for a couple of turns, but the Yankees need to get Pettitte back and get Hughes back on track for the stretch run.

Even Nova is unreliable. Not that he couldn't provide the Yanks with a spark, but he is approaching an innings limit similar to Hughes and just like Hughes he is young and you just don't know whether or not he will be solid on a start by start basis.

Right now only Sabathia and sometimes Dustin Moseley (with a lot of luck) have provided the Yankees with anything resembling stability in the rotation. That's a scary thought when you say it aloud. And it means certain doom if the Yanks can't get Pettitte healthy and Burnett back on track before the playoffs.

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Damon to Stay in the Motor City

Earlier this week there was speculation that Johnny Damon was headed back to Boston after the Red Sox claimed him off of waivers from the Detroit Tigers. Though he was claimed many things had to happen before Damon would switch the D to B on his cap. Damon would have to waive his no-trade clause to Boston and the Sox and Tigers would have had to work out a deal with players or dollars or both. Many thought the move was to merely prevent Damon from going to the Rays. In the end, Johnny decided it wasn’t worth the trouble to go back to Boston and I don’t blame him.

When Damon left Boston it was for one reason: $$$. Anyone would take a higher salary (about $5 million more) to do the same job at a different company and anyone who says they wouldn’t is lying. Red Sox fans crucified Damon on his return to Fenway in pinstripes. (Mick and Sully do not take well to traitors.) Damon proved he was a gamer during his 4 years in Boston and was obviously a center piece in their ’04 run. Every Sox fan should be thankful for his contributions in 2004 and buy any Red Sox of the 2004 squad a beer if they ever meet in a bar. (even Mark Bellhorn my least favorite red sox EVER.) When he left, it was a business decision and I respect that.

Damon would have been a nice addition to a 2010 Sox team hurt by injuries, but they have players (Bill Hall, Darnell McDonald, Ryan Kalish) who can fill in and be productive. The last hope of the Sox making the playoffs isn't Johnny Damon, but another Red Sox, Josh Beckett.

Thursday, August 19, 2010

From The Story of One Ailing Yankee to Another

Yesterday I posted an interesting story about Lou Gehrig and the possibility that the disease that killed him wasn't really ALS but the result of numerous concussions that he suffered throughout his life. While that story has some relevance to the modern world and today's athlete, this story is purely nostalgic, yet still heartbreaking.

Time Magazine recently released color photos taken on the day of Babe Ruth's final appearance at the house that he built. Ruth made his final appearance at the Old Yankee Stadium on June 13, 1948 and passed away soon after on August 16. The photos do an amazing job at conveying how cancer had destroyed one of the finest athletes of the day and the snippets from the photographer Ralph Morse, who at 93 can still recall the details of that day, make it feel like you understand the emotion of the locker room and the stadium.

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Lou Gehrig May Not Have had Lou Gehrig's Disease

Caught this article today and obviously it piqued my interests for many reasons. The first and most relevant to this forum is that Lou Gehrig is a huge part of the Yankee heritage and the idea that his streak might have actually led to his demise would change a lot in the way that the legend that is Gehrig is understood.

Another reason that this drew my attention and should draw the attention of just about every sports fan, is that concussions have a huge impact on the human brain and maybe this study and the facts it brings forth will change the standard male axiom of sucking it up. Perhaps athletes - football players in particular, I'm looking at you Hines Ward - will start to realize the impact that these injuries can have on themselves and their teammates and how they can ruin your life in a number of ways if not properly addressed.

Though it can never be proven that Gehrig didn't have ALS, hopefully any doubt that arises from this study doesn't negatively impact the awareness that Gehrig's name lends to those who fight the disease. And maybe now the NFL and other sports organizations at every level of athletics will begin to take head injuries more seriously.

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Buchholz Is Lights Out Again

As I write, Clay Buchholz is helping the Sox school the Angels yet again with six shutout innings. In what will likely end up as a disappointing season for the Sox, Buchholz has been a major bright spot. Not including the present game he is 2-0 with a 1.61 ERA in his first three starts of August. On the season he is 13-5 and has an AL best 2.49 ERA. (By the way, this drives me crazy every time I look at pitching stats. This: 7.1, does not mean seven and one third. It means seven and one tenth. It should look like this: 7 1/3. I know it's not easy to represent 7 1/3 with a decimal since 1/3 is a repeating non-terminating decimal, but 7.1 is not correct.)

I'm pleased to see Buchholz develop and flourish in his first full season in the majors. He seemed to hit a snag after his no hitter in 2007. But now in my mind he has leap frogged Josh Beckett and joined Jon Lester as one of the Sox top two starters. Hopefully this a clear sign that the Sox will have excellent starting pitching for years to come.

A short football digression: I am selling the Jets right now. I just want go on record as saying that New York football's second class citizens will win not more than 10 games. If the sports media is high on your team, especially in the NFL, run for the hills. Also if Brett Favre comes back I'm setting the over/under on ints this year at 18.5. Which one are you taking?

Sunday, August 15, 2010

A-Rod Jacks Up KC; Ellsbury Back to DL

Last night we got a glimpse at the A-Rod circa 2005 as the Yankee third baseman demolished the Royals pitching with three home runs and propelled the Yankees to a 8-3 victory.

Everyone has been discussing Rodriguez's down year and he suffered through more criticism for his diminished slugging ability when he took longer than any other player to transition from 599 home runs to 600. And it is all true. Rodriguez is posting some of the worst numbers of his career in almost every offensive category. Still last night showed that A-Rod can still crush the ball every once in a while.

And while the Red Sox won last night, they lost Jacoby Ellsbury yet again. I gotta say, while I love the idea of the Red Sox trying to make up ground without their leadoff hitter - or their two best hitters in Dustin Pedroia and Kevin Youkilis - I feel bad for Ellsbury. The guy can't catch a break, well bad choice of words considering it's his broken ribs that have constantly plagued him this season.

Ellsbury has played only 18 games this season and never more than nine games before hitting the DL. Hopfully he gets healthy soon. Just not soon enough to try and save the Red Sox season.

Saturday, August 14, 2010

Pitching Fails Sox Again

The last two outings have seen the Sox lose games because of their three pitching disappointments on the year. Josh Beckett, Jonathan Papelbon, and Tim Wakefield all contributed to the Sox late inning collapses. I think the Red Sox need to think long and hard about the future of each of those pitchers (except for Beckett who just signed that big extension. How nice for him).

Wakefield has clearly had it. He's been serviceable the past two or three years and has made some positive contributions. But his performance this year has shown that he is absolutely and irrevocably over the hill. Witness his 2003 ALCS reenactment last night.

I'm beginning to think that the Sox need to trade Paps while he still has some value. The fact is that a guy like Mariano Rivera or even Trevor Hoffman are very rare. Most closers are only dominant for a handful of years. Papelbon has two years left on his contract and Daniel Bard is showing legitimate closer ability this season. The Sox could keep both pitchers next year then trade Paps in the final year of the contract. I said trade him this off season before his value plummets. I'm sure they can get some idiot to trade them the farm for Paps. Closers like him are always over valued on the trade market and in free agency.

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

NESN Daily

After about 15 seconds I was able to come to this conclusion about NESN's new nightly sports news program featuring comely blonde Jade (can't possibly be the real first name of a 40-year-old woman) McCarthy and Uri Berenguer. It's horrifying. I think the goal is for Uri to identify with the commonwealth's broham demographic. "No one's pawsibly gonna compete wit da Pats, brah!" And Jade's purpose is ... I'm not sure. Do we need more sports news of any kind? I think we've reached critical mass. (Oops. Guess I just gave you some sports news right there.)

ANYHOO... does anyone think that Carlos Degado's arrival means anything. If he hits over .230 I'll eat my hat. I guess the Sox just need bodies at this point. I'm actually feeling like they're going to make a run pretty soon, but I'm certain it will fall short.

Saturday, August 7, 2010

Why Joe Buck Should Stay Away From Baseball...

There are many, many....many reasons why Joe Buck should never be allowed to call a baseball game. Today marks reason #243 or so. During batting practice Alex Rodriguez was fielding his position. Lance Berkman was up at the plate. Meanwhile Joe Buck was dicking around on the field and distracted A-Rod by saying "Hi" Simultaneously Berkman hit a hot shot ground ball toward third base. A-Rod who had just got his head around was struck in the shin by the ball and therefore missed today's game. He is day to day. Be careful starting your car tonight, Joe.

Friday, August 6, 2010

Yanks and Sox at it Again

Ok so here we are again. Yankees vs the Red Sox. It's been a while and both teams are a lot different than the last time they met. The Red Sox have lost the whole right side of their infield and the Yankees have a new DH and the outfield is healthy again and we will not be seeing Winn-Gardner-Thames out there.

These games will be close and at least in a few instances pretty ugly. The pitching tends to regress in these series. I will say this though, Mike Lowell will be the MVP for the Sox this series. That's just how it will be. They lose Youkilis and people wont be expecting Lowell to step up and be quite as good as him, but he'll surpass him this series because the Yankees always get hurt by the guy they think is the smallest threat.

Anyway the Red Sox will face the Yanks A- lineup tonight with the only downgrade coming at the expense of Jorge Posada. Here it is along with the Sox:

Derek Jeter SS ---------- Jacoby Ellsbury cf
Nick Swisher RF ---------- Marco Scutaro ss
Mark Teixeira 1B ---------- David Ortiz dh
Alex Rodriguez 3B ---------- Victor Martinez c
Robinson Cano 2B ---------- Adrian Beltre 3b
Lance Berkman DH ---------- J.D. Drew rf
Curtis Granderson CF ---------- Mike Lowell 1b
Francisco Cervelli C ---------- Ryan Kalish lf
Brett Gardner LF ---------- Jed Lowrie 2b

The New York lineup will have to level the playing field this series since the Sox hold an advantage in most of the pitching match ups, especially Monday's afternoon affair between Dustin Moseley and Jon Lester.

This series is big for both teams. The Yanks could make it a two-team race and the Sox could make up some big ground in the division/Wild Card race.

So let's do this thing.

A-Rod Hits 600; Yanks Back in First

So yea I'm a bit late on the whole A-Rod hitting his 600th home run and the Main Stream Media have spent the entire day beating it to death, especially since the week plus leading up to the home run we were bombarded by MSM pundits saying that people weren't making a big deal about A-Rod's 600th homer.

Anyway like many other people I am incredible bored with the whole steroid issue. Right now we really can't understand how the era will be viewed by history. It will take a while for us to have enough hindsight to make accurate judgements about the milestones players have and will achieve.

I will say that I have softened my stance about some players, particularly Barry Bonds. Clearly PEDs allowed him to extend his prime well beyond what it should have been, but his talent was evident before the steriod use probably began. A similar statement can be made about A-Rod and his ridiculous seasons in Texas. BOth probably belong in the Hall of Fame. However, I still say that Mark McGwire has no business being in the Hall of Fame. I get the 583 home runs, but that's really all that he has on his resume and I don't think he's an all-time great.

Anyway back to the baseball at hand, the Rays dropped their series finale to the Twins thanks to the catwalk over the infield. The loss puts the Yanks a half-game ahead of the Rays and puts them one game ahead in the loss column. All this with the Sox roll into the Big Apple for a four game set. If the Yanks take advantage of the games at hand, they could put the Red Sox out of their misery and make the AL East a two-team race.

Thursday, August 5, 2010

NOOOOOO!


Well that's the end of that. Kevin Youkilis is out for the year with a torn muscle in his thumb. Apparently this injury is extremely rare in baseball, but there is nothing that can be done. He needs surgery. This is very disheartening as Youk was on his way to another great year statistically (.307/.411/.564). Fortunately, another Mike Lowell trade didn't happen, and he will be able to play some first base. As long as he gets scheduled rest Lowell can be an effective player offensively and defensively.

It's amazing that the Sox have been able to win as many games as they have with all of the injuries. They're going to win 90+ games this season even with a roster of no names and prospects. Unfortunately sometimes that's not good enough in baseball's toughest division.

Sunday, August 1, 2010

Sox Do Squat at Deadline

Well, they got rid of some dead weight in Jeremy Hermida and Ramon Ramirez and got Jarrod Saltalamacchia from Texas. But these moves are hardly Earth shattering. Jarrod (not typing the surname again) is a decent addition. Clearly either Jason Varitek or Victor Martinez will not be back after this season. I would like to see Jarrod move to catcher. Let Martinez play first every day, and have Youkilis move to third. I feel a little bad for Hermida. He played well in spot duty very early in the year before he got hurt.

Nice walk off wins the past two days. Papi's base clearing double to win the game yesterday was pretty awesome. I don't think I've ever seen a game end that way before. When it's a home run, you know your team won. When it's a double like that there's more drama. Are all three runs going to score?! Today's win was a little less sweet. Crapelbon promptly allowed two inherited runners score before giving up the tying run. Then they needed an error to get the win. The good news, Clay Buchholz pitched very well for eight innings, a great sign after coming back from the injury.

Saturday, July 31, 2010

Berkman Deal Official; Yanks In On Kerry Wood Too

So Lance Berkman is officially in the fold. The Bombers made the announcement early this afternoon once Berkman's 24-hour window to veto the trade expired. The Yankees will get four million to offset the seven million remaining on Berkman's deal this season.

That cash means the Yankees had to give Houston something of value and that piece is Mark Melancon. Melancon was a candidate to follow the path of Dave Robertson in the big leagues this season, but the control that had made him so dominant during the 2008 and 2009 seasons eluded him at the big league level and in the minors this year. The 25-year-old righty may benefit from a change in scenery plus the change in league and division.

The Yankees also sent Jimmy Paredes a 21-year-old infielder in Low-A ball. He has a good arm and can hit a little, but he wasn't anything the Yankees had to think twice about giving up.

It also appears that Yanks are bringing in Kerry Wood. Obviously Wood would be a bridge to Mo in the late innings. He has been a disappointment as Cleveland's closer, posting a 4.80 ERA in 80 innings for the Tribe. He has hit the DL twice this year, most recently with a blister problem.

It probably wont cost the Yankees much in terms of prospects so really its a no lose situation for the Yankees as Wood can still light up a radar gun and drop that hammer curve.

Friday, July 30, 2010

The Deadline Approaches

So as I watch Phil Hughes die-by-the-fastball yet again, I also have some thoughts as to the Yankees acquisition of Lance Berkman.

If the deal goes down as some have speculated, then this is a steal for the Yankees. The way it sounds, the Yankees will take on the whole of Berkman's contract, releasing the Astro's from about six million that is still owed to Berkman for the remainder of the year. New York will not have to give up any prospects of significance in the deal. The Yankees will be using the commodity the have the most of (cash) while protecting what they have few of (prospects). Sure Berkman is having a down year, but he is a better option as a DH than Juan Miranda and I would prefer him to Nick Johnson even if Johnson was healthy.

Berkman is only hitting .245 for the season, but his slugging percentage has been on the rise since his terrible May. In July he has slugged .521 and reached base at an exceptional rate of .404. Berkman would lengthen the lineup of the Yankees to 2006 standards when the Yankees were Murderers' Row and Cano.

As for Hughes I will just say this: I'm glad he lost tonight. Perhaps if he continues to lose games when he insists on throwing only fastballs, he will learn to read swings better and use his entire repertoire of off-speed pitches.

UPDATE: Well it looks like the Yankees will also be addressing the bench prior to the deadline. They have acquired Austin Kearns from the Indians for a player to be named later. Kearns will be a the fourth outfield option for Girardi. I suppose Kearns will be this season's Eric Hinske, providing decent power of the bench and can play an adequate corner outfield. There was some speculation that the Yankees might address the bench and the bullpen post deadline when the waiver wire heats up, but it appears that Brian Cashman has already addressed one of two Yankee needs plus he upgraded at DH.

Thursday, July 29, 2010

The Sox are Teasing Me

The Sox finished up their west coast swing by sweeping the Angels. Over the ten game trip they were 6-4. Naturally the baseball gods only did this to prove my "kiss of death" prediction wrong, to show that this road trip was not a harbinger of doom. They did it to coax me into writing an optimistic post in which I write something like, "Hey this is great. 5 1/2 games out of the wild card isn't terrible. Now we have the middling Tigers and pathetic Indians next at home. This will be a chance to pad the record before heading to the hostile confines of Yankee stadium. Then... who knows?!" Then of course the Sox will lay down like a cheap whore and irrevocably take themselves out of all contention. That's what the baseball gods want me to do. I shake my fist at you and spit in your eyes oh you gods! I shall not be your patsy!

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Link Dump to Keep You Busy

So I might be a little late on some of these stories. Most of them I read over the weekend, but I find them so interesting I feel like they should be read. So just in case you didn't see them here they are again.

The Steinbrenner's must want to spend their money before the government can retroactively hit them with a massive 55 percent inheritance tax because there are suggestions that the brothers might purchase the Tottenham Hotspurs of the English Premier League. There are some reports that the Yanks wont do it, but I would love to join the Tottenham bandwagon if they became a sister team to the Yankees.

Now I hate Tim McCarver already so when he tries to compare the Yankees to the Nazis and Stalin-era Soviets, it's just more fuel for the fire. But if you happened to like McCarver then I hope this changes your feelings about him. The guy is a hack and it's pathetic that he is allowed to call Saturday afternoon games, nevermind World Series contests.

Ah and another reason why the Mets are a joke. Seriously don't they have anyone there who know how to do simply math? I mean how do you let Bobby Bonilla come back and screw you for $23 million over the next 25 years? I just don't understand the logic of New York's second-class team, but I guess that's why the will always be a second-class team.

Sunday, July 18, 2010

Steinbrenner

Sorry. I just couldn't resist. But somehow I think George would have found this funny.

Saturday, July 17, 2010

Ominous Signs for Red Sox

The Red Sox, refreshed and rejuvenated after the All-Star break, just showed how good they're feeling by getting blown out two games in a row at home by the Rangers. This is a series the Sox really needed because after this comes the kiss of death, the ten game west coast road trip (cue the foreboding organ music). I don't see how the Red Sox can survive this trip and still remain a viable contender with the Rays and Yanks. They're just too banged up.

In other cheerful news, is Jacoby Ellsbury going to be a factor this year? Apparently he's going to be back soon, but I've heard that one before. In any case, I'm really sick of these rotating scrubs in the outfield. Josh Beckett is finishing up his rehab too. I don't have high hopes for him and his 7.00 ERA either. Someone needs to give these guys some V a la True Blood.

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Abolish the All-Star Game

Every All-Star game is useless: The Pro Bowl, MLB and NBA All-Star games, all of them. Some people pine for the days when Pete Rose might end your career in a completely meaningless contest just because he's a jerk like that. Not me.

There is just far too much money and too much at stake in the standings for any of these players to play very hard or very long. I for one can't blame any of them. I think those who do are just asking way too much. I know they get paid millions. I would literally have to work over 500 years at my present salary to make what Amar'e Stoudamire makes in one. But if you were a pro player in any sport, and you were making that kind of scratch would you really risk your present and future earnings or a shot a championships to play in an exhibition game? Or if you were an owner or coach would you want your best player putting his $20 million neck on the line in one of these farces? Thought not.

So why does everyone belly ache so much when the MLB All-Star game is "poorly managed" or Kyle Boller is starting the Pro Bowl because Peyton Manning and Tom Brady are smart enough to stay out of it? In spite of last night's MLB "midsummer classic" counting for home field in the World Series, it was clear that even they don't give a damn. It's really not that important to them and also doesn't seem to make much of a difference when you get to the World Series anyway. In the past seven World Series, since the absurd "this time it counts" started, the NL is 3-4; I would hardly call that a clear home field advantage for the AL. No wonder they don't give a crap. Neither do I.

That is why there should be a break, but no game. Just name the all-star teams at the end of the season along with all the other post season awards.

The All-Star Game and the Boss

The All-Star game was played last night, but it was overshadowed, at least in Yankeeland, by the passing of Yankee owner George Steinbrenner. I'm sure that by now everyone has heard about how the Boss died and I am sure that most have peruse the thousands of tribute articles that chronicled the highs and lows of Steinbrenner's time at the helm of baseball's most prominent team.

I wont really bother with most of that. We all know what he did for the Yankees, baseball and American sports in general. Fans of opposing teams usually despised him, but the reality is anyy fan of any team would love to have him as an owner. Steinbrenner ran a team like a fan would. He didn't care about the bottom line, to him all that mattered was winning and any financial endeavor he undertook as the owner of the Yankees had the ultimate objective of helping the Yankees to their next pennant.

Really it is fitting that he pass on the day of the All-Star game because his impact on the game is most personified by the competition between the American League and the National League. The reason the AL has so dominated the Midsummer Classic is because every team in the AL has to compete with the Yankees and therefore must play at a higher level than the Senior Circuit.

Steinbrenner drove the Yankees to greatness, but he also drove baseball to new heights at the same time. There was no one quite like him before and there will probably never be anyone like him again. The Yanks will miss you George.

Monday, July 12, 2010

My Two Cents on the World Cup

U.S. sports media, you're kind of pissing me off. I will explain, but first let's get a couple things straight. Soccer is not the Americans thing. Can we just admit that it will never be anywhere near as popular here as it is in the rest of the world? Can we agree that we have inferior talent on the field (or pitch if you prefer. Why the hell to they call it a pitch anyway? My guess is the origins of the great divide start there somewhere.) and that the Libertarians have a better chance of fielding a legit presidential nominee than the Americans have at winning the World Cup? Agreed. Good. It's cultural and that's okay.

My issue with the sports media is that it has been using every available chance it gets to bitch about soccer and the World Cup. All the talk centers around how boring it is and that nobody cares and no one ever will. You think it's boring? Baseball is freakin' boring. That is unless you understand the nuances of the game. And there in lies my beef.

Instead of the ESPN etc. talking heads defecating at the mouth like frat boy ignoramuses, they could have shown us some programing that could teach the casual observers the finer points of the game. Not everyone needs to be converted into a rabid football hooligan, but I think some education, history and X's and O's would have been nice. But then again, that might not have worked for the nacho scarfing masses.

Soccer is a game not easily encapsulated in a box score. You actually have to *gasp* watch the entire game to fully understand what went on. There's no passer rating, VORP or ERA+ to just tell you who the best players are. The action on the field tells you. Spain won each match on the way to the championship 1-0. Yet their play was so dominant the outcome of each contest was hardly in doubt. Soccer requires a devotion and attention to detail from the fan that the American ADD culture has no patience for. I am no Soccer fanatic or expert but I've watched enough to know that I love the World Cup. It's a great event and a great game.

Thursday, July 8, 2010

Sox Hurtin' at the Break

I was optimistic a week or so ago when the Sox pulled within two games of the Yanks and were a game ahead of the Rays. It was the perfect time for the Sox to assert themselves especially with three games against said Rays right before the All-Star break. Well, all that mojo is gone. They lost three in a row to the Rays and four in a row overall. In addition the roster looks like a MASH unit. I don't even recognize half of these fill-in guys. Now the Sox lie mired 4.5 games out of first behind both the Yanks and Rays.

4.5 games out is certainly not insurmountable, not in the least at this point. The Sox will get their cracks at both division rivals down the stretch with 17 games against them combined. It's important not to panic. Fortunately, other than Pedroia's broken foot the injuries are not that serious. My questions for the second half include: Josh Beckett, are you going to be a factor at all this year? What moves are the Sox going to make to make their playoff push? Can Lester and Buchholz keep up their Cy Young level pitching? Will the Sox win 95+ games and miss the playoffs?

But first... can we please just sweep the Jays on the way to the break?!


Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Cano Joining the Home Run Derby

It looks like Robinson Cano is going to be the first Yankee to participate in the All-Star Game Home Run Derby. Cano is the first Yankee in the Derby since Jason Giambi failed to defend his crown in 2003.

The Home run Derby is pretty pointless and most of the time it disappoints, but Cano in the derby will be pretty entertaining. The guy has a great swing and the clips the YES Network shows of his batting practice bombs are pretty impressive.

I actually hope that this starts a trend and perhaps MLB will stop asking just sluggers to participate. They should try thinking outside the box for once. I think a player like Ichiro would be great to watch in the Derby as well since he is also known for hitting bombs in batting practice whenever he feels like it.

Sure he might so no in order to protect his swing, but what's the harm in asking?

Update: Oh and by the way, who else saw that sick goal by Giovanni Van Bronckhorst for the Dutch against Uruguay in the World Cup semis? Are you kidding me?!?! That was just plain ridiculous. I can't even do that in FIFA '10.

Here's hoping Germany vs. Spain is just as exciting.

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

The Lack of Evolution from Phil Hughes

As I watch the Yankees and Phil Hughes take on the Mariners in Yankee Stadium I can't ignore the one thought that continually screams through my head with Hughes on the mound: THROW A DAMN CURVEBALL!!!

I have intently watched Hughes since his arrival in the big leagues and when he came up I often complained that the Yankees called far too many fastballs for him to be effective. Now I long for those days.

It seems that Hughes fell in love with his fastball last year when he came out of the bullpen firing darts past hitters and he began racking up Ks at an impressive rate. Now however, as a starter he seems to think that he only has two pitches in his repertoire. The first is his fastball, which has been a good pitch and the second has been his cutter, which has been great for him. The only problem is you can't go through an order three-plus times with only two pitches.

Hughes fails to use his curveball or his changeup. While I understand that Hughes would be wary of using his changeup in high leverage situations, I can only wonder why he refuses to throw the curveball.

Over the course of his first six starts Hughes overwhelmed the opposition, winning five games to the tune of a 1.38 ERA with 39 strike outs in 39 innings. Over his next eight, including tonight versus the Mariners, Hughes has a 5.33 ERA and has struck out 42 in 49 innings.

Now the problem with Hughes isn't stuff or location, it's that the opposition has now seen Hughes, and those that haven't have plenty of tape to work off of. Hitters have been fouling off Hughes' best pitches and hammering his cutter when they are looking for it. Take for instance this start against the Mariners, the second worst offensive team in baseball. Hughes threw 85 pitches during his start with 62 of those being cutters and fastballs for 73 percent of his pitches. That is simply too frequent to keep hitters from getting their timing and squaring him up.

Maybe now that Dave Eiland is back somebody can smack Hughes upside the head and tell him to throw a damn curveball or, God forbid, a changeup. But I wont be holding my breath. Maybe when he gets jacked up a few more times he will finally learn his lesson that the name of the game is locating you pitches and changing speeds (See Jamie Moyer).

Pedroia Out for Six Weeks

Just as the Sox start playing well and put themselves in a position to increase their lead on the Rays with the mini series that starts tonight, Dustin Pedroia breaks his foot. Make no mistake about it, this is not good. I can see the Sox rallying around this injury and doing well in the next couple of weeks, but six weeks without their catalyst is going to be tough to weather.

At least Clay Buchholz and Victor Martinez won't be out long. Martinez is on the 15-day DL, while Buchholz was scheduled to miss his next start anyway.

Monday, June 28, 2010

Lester Outlasts Lincecum

Much to the chagrin of our friend Dennis, Jon Lester pitched a gem yesterday and the normally nasty Tim Lincecum managed just three innings against the Red Sox. Still I was surprised the Giants yanked him when they did. Even though Lincecum needed 78 pitches to get through his three innings of work he only gave up four runs. That's not great, especially if you're a two time Cy Young winner, but the Giants weren't out of the game by any means.

Meanwhile, on the other side, Lester was dominant again. He pitched his second complete game of the season while striking out nine. He even helped his own cause giving a Lincecum fast ball a long ride to the 420 sign and driving in a run with a sac fly.

Lester is emerging as a legit Cy Young candidate. Since his first couple of starts when he was pretty poor he is 9-1. His ERA on the season is 2.86 and he has turned into an overpowering strikeout machine. It's enough to make you forget about the oft injured and lately ineffectual Josh Beckett.

This road trip hasn't been all sunshine and blueberry lollipops for the Sox, however. It has produced some key injuries that they must weather if they are going to keep pace in the division. Dustin Pedroia has a broken foot after fouling a ball off himself Friday. He is now on the 15 day DL. Most maddening of all is Clay Buchholz hyperextending his knee while running the bases on Saturday. Every year in stupid interleague play some AL pitcher sustains a significant injury while running the bases. A professional athlete should be able to run 90 feet without hurting himself, but there's always this thought, this never would have happened if... Now the big fat cherry on top of this this crap sundae happened yesterday when Victor Martinez broke his thumb. Fortunately the All-Star Break is around the corner.

Friday, June 25, 2010

Yankees Take 2 From D-Backs; Head to LA

So yea it has been quite some time since I have been able to post something about the Yankees. That tends to happen when you start a new job and the World Cup starts at the same time.

My attention has been drawn away from the Bombers a bit, but during my absence they have done me proud and taken a tenuous hold of first place. Well I shouldn't say they have done me proud. That entire series against the Diamondbacks was a joke, especially last night when the Yankees decided to hand three outs to Dontrelle Willis with boneheaded plays on the basepaths and a moronic bunt attempt from Fransisco Cervelli.

Sure Willis is slow to the plate, and perhaps Nick Swisher was antsy to get his first stolen base since 2008. Mark Teixeira however, has no business ever running unless it's a full-count with two outs.

Willis clearly was not going to throw strikes and they Yankees needed to exploit that by drawing ever walk they could and getting into the D-Back's bullpen as soon as possible, but by running and bunting, they essentially gave Willis one inning where he did not have to record an out.

Luckily enough the Yankee bats came alive enough to save Javier Vasquez who pitched fine, except when he faced Adam LaRoche, who went 2 for 4 while driving in all five of the Arizona runs.

Now the Yankees will travel to LA for a three game set that will be overblown because of the Joe Torre factor. Really though, New York should take this series too. Vincente Padilla and Hiroki Kuroda are very beatable pitchers for the Yankees, while Clayton Kershaw presents the biggest challenge for the Yankee bats.

The Yanks will be throwing two of their best as well, but they will also be throwing their worst when Burnett takes the ball for the second game of the series.

Really my biggest problem with this series is that afterwards the Yankees will fly home to face the Mariners and the Blue Jays, before the fly back across the country to play the Mariners again. Seriously who is making this schedule? It's just plan ridiculous.

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

AL East Tightens Up

All of a sudden, with the All-Star Break on the horizon, the division is in a virtual tie. The Red Sox have used the inferior NL to gain ground and pile on the runs. They are 8-1 against the Phillies, Diamondbacks and Dodgers and averaged 6.9 runs per game while doing it. However, runs may be at a premium in the next couple of series. They have the Rockies and Giants up next. I wonder if they will manage to avoid Ubaldo Jimenez, Matt Cain, and Tim Lincecum... not bloody likely. Hopefully they will take it to the Rays like last time in their last two contests before the All-Fart game. After the break, it will be back to bludgeoning the O's.

The Rays on the other hand are getting handled by the likes of the Marlins while going 3-7 in their last ten. The Yankees have pretty much held their own, but the Sox blistering pace has closed the gap; although, the Yanks will have a cushy schedule coming up once they finish their interleague play. They face the Mariners, Blue Jays, A's, and Mariners again before finally having to face the Rays at home.

With any luck we'll have an entertaining three team race in the division that goes down to the last week in the season. It's what was anticipated. Let's see if it delivers.

Thursday, June 17, 2010

Why?

Why am I watching the Sox play the Diamondbacks right now? My lack of posts is related directly to my disinterest in interleague play. I am realizing this just now. There are just far more compelling sports events happening during this travesty.

The NBA Finals are one. I know I've expressed my disinterest in basketball before, but this is Celtics v. Lakers. It takes me back to my childhood when Larry Bird was the hero, Magic Johnson the villain. Perhaps the game is a little sloppier, but with so much at stake, I can't look away. (These behemoths playing on the confines of a basketball court is like if my brothers and me tried to play in my kitchen.) In about 10 minutes, I'm switching stations.

Hell, I'm even more interested in the World Cup. Now, I'm always interested in the World Cup, even if I don't follow Soccer any other time. But this time I can't even watch the games, and I care more. Favorite, Spain, goes down to Switzerland! Where's my vuvuzela?!

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Yanks Play in the Shadow of Strasburg and Get the Win

It was the first time that both the Orioles and Nationals were at home at the same time and the Nationals, with the aid of the second most hyped prospect ever, most definitely stole the show from the hapless O's.

Stephen Strasburg some how surpassed the expectations for his first start in the big leagues, which is ridiculous in itself. 14Ks? Could you tell he was pitching against the Pirates?

Not to say that he wouldn't have shut down a better lineup with that stuff, but sending him up against the Pirates is like bumping him up to AAAA, not the big leagues. Pittsburgh has maybe two or three hitters who should be getting at bats at the major league level and the rest of them are filler.

Still I'm interested to watch Strasburg and I hope he does well. I only hope that Washington changes their team name like Tampa Bay did before they got better. The Nats. Its just so stupid.

Anyway back to the Yanks. Phil Hughes pitched well enough to get the win last night, but that's it. Hughes has never really pitched well in Baltimore. He had his worst start of his career there last year when he gave up eight runs in just 1.2 IP and overall for his career he has an ERA of 7.65.

Even this season when Hughes has posted a 1-0 record and a 3.09 ERA in the tiny confines of Camden Yards, his performances there have not been good. In his first start there he couldn't find the strike zone and while he only gave up one run, he walked four and only struck out two.

Last night Hughes didn't walk anyone for the first time this season, but he gave up a season high nine hits and if you saw his body language, you could tell he wasn't putting the ball anywhere he wanted to.

It doesn't matter until Hughes goes back to Baltimore, but it is nice to see Hughes battle through starts where he doesn't have his best stuff.

And while Baltimore might be Hughes' krptonite, it certainly rejuvanates any hitters who walk in and get to face Oriole pitching.

Nick Swisher loves Camden yards and blasted a first pitch fastball over 400ft to dead center field for a two-run jack. Curtis Granderson added a grand slam and Mark Teixeira went 3 for 4 with a home run and two walks.

Granderson has been great since coming off the DL and its good to see him keep going. Teixeira is the one who hopefully uses this game to go on a hot streak. He hasn't been horrible since April, but he can definitely improve on his .267 average since May 1.

Next up is game two in Baltimore with CC Sabathia taking on Chris Tillman it what, on paper, should be another Yankee blow out.