Results tagged ‘ Red Wings ’

Sox Outlast Yanks, Go 8-0 this Season

What could I possibly say about last night?….o that’s right PATHETIC
comes to mind…I want to start this off by saying I’m not one of those
fans who always has the “doomsday” scenario in their mind, “If they don’t win tonite
they’re doomed”, and I generally take one game at a time…it is a long
season, but the performance last night was disgusting and inexcusable!
Calling all Yankee batters…that was Brad Penny on the mound last night!
And he is not the Brad Penny of years past, although it seemed that
way, but he is the Brad Penny who has a 5.32 ERA and a WHIP of 1.56!!!
Are you kidding me? The worst part about it, in my mind, is that they
got 6 hits but couldn’t get ANY runs off of him!!! Oh and again TOO
MANY BATTERS LEFT IN SCORING POSITION!!! C’mon guys the bats have to wake up…in the late innings we saw that Yankee fight but this game should’ve been a NO CONTEST!!!! Sabathia
is out there pitching his heart out and we can’t get any runs for him?
Well they did but I am really talking about against Penny…Penny hasn’t
been good for 3 years and last night he looked like the Cy Young
caliber pitcher he once was…maybe he reached back and found something
from his past…I don’t know, either way the Yankees looked horrible
against him last night…NOT GOOD!!!

So….now the Yankees are 0-8 for the season against the Saux
and they don’t seem to have any type of answer for them, in any
situation…it’s getting depressing…but let’s be real for a moment it’s
not the end of the world…my biggest concern is not them losing but the
fact that they looked flat out there, with
no drive or emotion, no big smiles, all serious again….LOOSEN UP GUYS!!
RELAX!!! That’s why we were on a roll earlier this year…just because
its the Saux doesn’t mean you should tighten
up…that might be the problem…to much emphasis on this series…don’t
worry I’m not making excuses I actually have A LOT of problems with last night’s performance.

Really the only blame last night should fall on bats, and maybe Girardi…I’ll get to that in a little bit…They came through late with Cervelli and Arod…Side Note: Where are those Arod haters now? Now that he comes through you are quiet? How bout you cheer for him now too…but throughout the game they were horrible…I’m not gunna break it down like I did yesterday but they were terrible with RISP
AGAIN!!! that’s two games in a row…showing me that they are pressing
too much, and expecting things to come to them…where was that fire last
night boys? C’MON!!! By the way for the 8 games so far the Yankees are averaging .132 with RISP…and last night they went 0 for 6 before Cervelli got the double that scored Melky…just to even things out for the entire night the Yankees went 2 for 11. Nowwww
not all of those outs were unproductive BUT that is still not
acceptable…the only good thing is that somehow the Yankees took the
lead, for a short period of time, in the 7th. I must say 2 of the outs with RISP came from Cervelli, don’t yell at me yet I’m actually not blaming him, one was on a STUPID running mistake by Swisher, Cervelli
flied out and Swisher was caught off the bag napping..REALLY? I like
Swisher A LOT but this isn’t A ball man, that was bush league…and then Cervelli
put a charge into a ball hit at Lowell…I thought it was a hit at
first…good play by Lowell that almost turned good for the Yankees when
he didn’t know where to go with
the ball…he stepped on third for the force. If the Yankees want to be
the dominate team in the East they have to improve these numbers
dramatically…They are too good of a team, and it’s not time to
overreact yet…0-8 sucks but it is still early…and hopefully it fires
this Yankee team up!!!

Now…I like Girardi but he made a huge
blunder last night…there might be more than one but the biggest one is
what I am talking about now…Side Track: Now remember, Hindsight is
20-20 and of course we know the outcome now…keep that in mind…Why was Sabathia brought back out for the 8th? I mean I know he is a workhorse and he was pitching great buttttttttt…he
had to be between 95 and 105 pitches going into that inning so at what
point will you take him out or not trot him back out there? That’s A
LOT of pitches Joe….I know he can pitch forever but our bullpen has
been pitching well lately…have some confidence in them…test these young
guys…I know you don’t want to put a young inexperienced pitcher into
that type of atmosphere but when Sabathia is
at 100+ pitches…you might have to take that chance…ALSO…did Joe not see
the rain? It was pretty bad…it was pouring out…so when fatigue and rain
mix…NOT A GOOD RESULT…plus you are risking injury in an unnecessary situation. There was NO reason for Sabathia to be put back out there…people might argue, but if you saw Aceves or Coke come out of the bullpen you probably wouldn’t have even noticed…Sabathia had the lead going into the 8th…I’m
just not sure why they put him back out there…it doesn’t make much
sense to me…but of course, like I said before, hindsight is 20-20 so
when the result doesn’t go right you can question it all you like…I
still don’t like that decision though..not worth it…and Sabathia took a loss that he shouldn’t have…Girardi sometimes you have to use your own judgement and not just let Sabathia choose if he will pitch or not.

ALRIGHT! BIG SERIES STARTS TONITE (weather permitting) with a decent pitching matchup…that hopefully the Yankees can handle…Joba vs Hernandez…very intriguing and one that could potentially have us scratching our heads…Truth
be told the Yankees should be able to handle Hernandez but he is
putting up numbers that…if they last all year…might have him in
contention for the Comeback Player of the Year…he is the diamond in the
rough for the Mets and one of the few reasons they are staying afloat right now…This matchup could be a surprise and turn into a pitchers duel…both teams are looking to rebound from losing series’ where they both under-performed and were at times over matched. Both
teams are going into this series dejected and low and looking to come
back and show why they are power houses in their respective divisions.
I think the Yankees power should over come in this matchup but Livan is a crafty pitcher that has the ability to last late into games, so if he is on then the Yankees will be in for a long night…Joba has been pitching very good as of late and if he can come out strong he can confuse these Mets batters…the only concern is that the Mets have VERY good fast ball hitters but if Joba can get that over early and get to his slider he will be fine…the Mets are prone to strikeouts and press alittle too hard with runners in scoring position…hmmmmmmm Just like the Yankees…bottom line is that both teams want to rebound so they might be pressing too hard to get something going and get runs early…if both
pitchers take advantage of the hitter eagerness it can turn into a low
scoring game that will be close to the end and will turn in to a battle
of the bullpens…in which I think the Yankees win…Key to the game is the
Yankee batters being patient and waiting for Livan’s
fastball…his breaking stuff is nasty and he can keep it in the zone and
cause tons of ground outs…THE YANKEES CAN’T BE OVER AGGRESSIVE TONITE…Livan is a Vet who knows how to pitch, and he is doing it well this season…patience is a virtue…keep that in mind Yankee batters and the game is yours to win…LET’S GO YANKEES!

Other Notes:

Lakers: They showed why they are going to win this series…HORRIBLE
defense by the Magic have been their acheles heel and the Lakers are
taking advantage of it and will continue to…where did the Magic go in
the last 2 minutes of that game? Horrible…now they have no chance of
winning.

Red Wing: They win tonite…I know my predictions haven’t been good
lately but they are home and have been here before…they are winners and
are in hockey town…it’s a no doubter.

I think that’s it….late

Burnett Stuggles Against Boston

Well I have to admit all my predictions yesterday were horrible!!! I
went 0 for 3 (Wings lost, Lakers lost, Yankees lost). Now I do have to
defend myself to some degree, at least about my Yankee prediction. I
said the Yankees only have a shot if Burnett pitched to his
ability…ummmmm that obviously didn’t happen AT ALL!!! So I’ll take the
hit for that prediction…but I really wasn’t wrong, vagueness can work
for you sometimes (thumbs up!)…Anywho let’s dive right in to that
debacle yesterday…what a despicable performance by Burnett and the
Yankee batters. Side Track: Even though the Yanks only got 2 hits
yesterday no one likes giving credit to how good Beckett’s performance
was and it seems like people generally, me too I will admit (see
above), blame the bats and never give credit to the pitcher. Beckett
only gave up 1 hit in 6 innings and fanned 8 batters…he was on his “A”
game and just flat out dominated the Yankee batters…so I will chalk
this one up to a great pitching performance and fatigue on the Yankees
part after a tough series with the Rays but they MUST show up these
next two games…so what’s up with Burnett?Going
into this year A.J. was 5 and 0 with a 2.57 ERA against Boston…that’s
for his entire career…it is not based on home or away just against
Boston in General. A.J. hasn’t faced them in Yankee Stadium yet and if
he pitches them the way he has so far this year we can see his 0-1
record and 12.91 ERA against the Sox get a whole lot worse…he has to
focus and step up, especially in these games…they are obviously our
biggest rivals and down the stretch the team we will most likely be
battling for first place…now everyone will go crazy and say skip him
during the Boston series from now on but I think it really is just him
pressing too much and trying to make perfect pitches in hitters counts.
THAT’S NOT AN EXCUSE but at least it can be an explanation. Burnett is
wayyyy to talented to be pitching like this and he will work his way
out of the funk…he is simply (in my opinion) letting this rivalry get
to him and trying to throw the entire game on his back…Burnett, relax,
pitch your game and make the pitches you know you can make…don’t press
and try to strike everyone out…ground balls win games…long balls lose
them…I have faith in Burnett and know that he will pitch well against
them in the next series (if he is slated to start) and once he has a
game at home against Boston he will settle down and let his talent do
all the work…once again…NO REASON TO FREAK OUT!!! BURNETT WILL BE
FINE!!!

Side Track: It is typical that Ortiz hit only his 3rd home run of the season last night…classic.

I’m not gunna talk about the over matched bats today…like I said
earlier Beckett was on fire and made a great lineup look silly…they are
resilient though and will come back tonite against a pitcher who they
usually dominate, Tim Wakefield…more on that to come…the only bright
spot for the Yankees last night was their bullpen…hey wait…Burnett only
gave up 3 earned? Not too bad!!…hahaha just kidding…I know, not
funny…back to the bullpen…against a very tough offense the bullpen
showed up…only giving up 2 earned over 5.1 innings and Brett Tomko
showing how much of an asset he can be, he can eat up innings and be
used in any long relief situation…him and Swisher might be 2 unsung
signings this year…very interesting…Tomko only put 2 guys on as
well…very impressive and a good sign for future games where a situation
like this happens…more than that if there is a close but high scoring
game he becomes even more of an asset in that he can keep the game
close and keep the Yankees in the game…Jose Veras actually looked
impressive for once…now I know there was really no pressure on him…the
game was out of reach in the 3rd inning…but it’s still good to get his
confidence up so we can get him into tight situations and he will
perform…believe it or not this guy has good stuff and can be very
effective…but when he is off he is flat out terrible…Now granted
Robertson has only been here for a little bit, I am sold on this kid.
His composure and collectiveness on the mound is amazing for a kid who
is only 24 years old, he is perfoming and putting up great numbers so
far. He is 1-o out of the pen and posts a 1.86 ERA over 9.2 innings
pitched…and averages over a strikeout per inning with 13 so far…he is a
huge contributor to the success of this bullpen and I see him being a
big component as long as he is used efficiently and effectively…Side
Track: I hate to showoff for the Red Sox but there bullpen is truly
amazing right now…WOW!!! Yankees have to hit their starters hard!!

Tonite!! The most interesting matchup of the series in my mind…Wang
vs Wakefield. This is a HUGE start for Wang and his role with the
Yankees this year…and that is an understatement…with his last start
behind him he has to do the same thing, forget about that start and
focus on this one. I truly believe this is his biggest test…if he
succeeds he gets the rotation spot if not he gets put in the pen and
Hughes is back in…this is just my speculation I didn’t hear this from
anyone but it seems to be going that way. Wang happens to also find
himself in a good matchup due to the fact that he is facing someone the
Yankees generally have great success against. Wakefield’s career ERA
against the Yankees is a robust 5.03 with a well below .500 record at
10-17 over 32 starts…at home this year Wakefield has pitched great and
if the weather is on his side, which right now doesn’t seem to be a
factor, he can flat out dominate the Yankee hitters. Unfortunately you
really can’t go on trends with a knuckleball pitcher…things change day
in and day out and it really depends on how their arm feels that day
and how their fingers tips are on the ball…so there is really on
telling what can happen…The Yanks are hoping he is flat in the early
going and can bash him and not have to try and score off their very
impressive bullpen, especially if Wang is off tonite. Wang simply needs
his sinker…he had it through the first 2 innings of his start against
Texas but then fell apart…if the sinker is working it can be a long
night for the Red Sox…Wang is also in the precarious position of having
to eat up innings while working with a pitch count…The bullpen had to
eat 5.1 innings last night due to Burnett’s horrific performance…I
truly believe we see the resurgence of Wang with this start…the Yankees
NEED to win tonite…over dramatic I know!!…so I think he will step up…I
have a feeling Wakefield will be strong for the first few innings then
the Yankees will handle him and eventually win the game…I hope my
predictions are better than yesterday’s….LET’S GO YANKEES!!!

Other Notes:

Raul Ibanez: I was listening to Mike and Mike this morning and
apparently there was a report that a blogger was accusing Raul Ibanez
of using PEDs. Now I understand baseball is tainted right now, but just
because a player starts to perform he’s using drugs? How about the
other factors? For one the majority of his career he was on a losing
ball club with no protection in the lineup. Two he also hit in a not so
friendly ball club for the past 5 years, facts are facts Safeco is a
very friendly pitchers ball park. Three he is hitting in a bandbox
right now…Philly has been notoriously known for their very friendly
hitters ball park, which elevates average and power numbers. Fourth the
Phillies have a pretty damn good lineup…they can’t pitch around
everyone and Ibanez is getting pitches to hit because Howard, Utley and
Rollins are harder outs (well at least for their careers). And a point
I can’t prove…maybe he is more comfortable and enjoys his new role…out
in Seattle it was him and Ichiro, that was pretty much it, he can be
more relaxed and have more fun on this team and wait WIN MORE GAMES!!
Please can we stop accusing guys because they are playing better? Just
because someone is having a huge year it doesn’t mean they are doing
PEDs and also did anyone say that about Posada in 2007? People have
great years here and again please don’t turn this into something that
will hurt the game PLEASEEEEEEEEEEE!!!

Citi-Field: A ball park that is looking like it should be called
death valley, due to its huge dimensions and unforgiving space,
actually yielded 7 homeruns last night! I just had to comment on that
because of another segment yesterday on Mike and Mike in which they
asked if Citi Field would actually hurt the Mets and their power
numbers…but of course that is just one game.

Ryan Howard: This is just a funny point…he ran out of the box
yesterday like he didn’t know if his homerun ball would make it over
the fence…it cleared it by at least 50 ft. hahaha…Just showing how much
of a BEAST he really is, he didn’t think he got all of it and it hit it
further than anyone last night.

Red Wings: Sloppy hockey last night…the Wings missed a lot of
opportunities last night but then again so did the Penguins…game 7 is
gunna be an epic battle…but I really think the Penguins are still over
matched and Osgood is gunna be too good at home…I’m going Wings 3-1.

Lakers: Very weird game that made me think the Lakers would come
back and win or at least get it to overtime…Kobe fumbled the ball by
trying to drive the lane between 2 defenders…gotta give it up to the
Magic though they held strong the last minute of the game.

Andre Either: He was on my bench last night and hit 2 homers…FML

MLB Draft: Surprise Pick at #1: Strausberg. I really think this kid
is gunna be good as long as the Nationals sign him…hopefully Boras
thinks about the kid before his own pocket and gets him signed and onto
a pro team…Yanks opted for Slade Heathcott out of Texas HS…a speedy
center-fielder who needs some polishing and work…but he is still in
high school he can still be molded and all of his imperfections can be
ironed out…predictions have him developing average power but being an
asset more in the field because of his speed, however range and read on
flyballs is something he will have to work on…hopefully he develops
into something huge and we get to see him in 5 – 6 years.

Wang Struggles, Melky Hits Game Winner

Well let the
debates begin….NOW! I haven’t heard them yet but I am sure there are
sports talk radio shows that will blow up with callers yelling about
Wang starting yesterday when Phil Hughes got sent to the bullpen for
pitching much better than that so far this year. But one thing people
have to remember is that WE WON THE GAME! I know that isn’t condolence
for much people but…it doesn’t matter…Do people forget about how much
of an asset Wang is? Is that what Yankee fans have become? I don’t
remember Yankee fans turning their back on a player…Granted they have
let them know when they fail but it seems like no one wants Wang to
pitch anymore. The only argument I have is that they shouldn’t have
made the move official but I do believe you needed to let Wang start
after his performance in Cleveland. We can’t give up on this guy, in
2006 and 2007 he WON 19 GAMES EACH YEAR!!! Last year he was 8 and 2
before getting hurt!!! He’s too good to not let me try, and it’s early
enough that if they did lose the game it wouldn’t have really mattered!
Like I said I think they should’ve went with
an abbreviated 6 man rotation or gave Wang a spot start…his next start
is against the Sox and if he doesn’t perform he might get sent to the
minors again to regain his confidence. Don’t worry folks you will see
Hughes start again, but he is also filling a huge gap in our bullpen
right now…so before we put Girardi out to pasture on this one, let’s
see how affective this move can be, and remember WE WON THE GAME!!!
On to yesterdays game…SIDE TRACK: There was a caller on Boomer and
Carton this morning that was making it seem like a bad thing that the
Yankees win games late…UMMMMM I disagree! Although I do agree with him
in terms of you don’t want this to be a trend…but it’s not…and also he
stated that our starters can’t give up 5 or 6 runs…I AGREE TOO! BUTTTTT
let’s not get too hasty besides yesterday debacle with Wang (who gave
up 5 earned) the most runs given up by a starter in the past 12 games
is 5 earned by Burnett against the Phillies…So I know it seems like the
Yankees have been getting creamed in the early goings of the game and
winning late…but it’s not as bad as it seems…and Championship teams
always fight and are always in the game…so please stop acting like this
is a bad thing…PLEASE!! Sorry about that, I had to get that off my mind
too…but any way. Wang was so amazing in the first 2 innings yesterday
that I thought there would be no doubt the Yankees would run away with
that game. His pitches had incredible movement, he kept the ball down
and diving and most of all the hitters couldn’t get a good read on the
ball. You know what, even after the 2 run 3rd I was confident…but
that’s where the trouble began…I don’t know what happened but he just
couldn’t locate the ball right and every pitch off his hand was
flat…and it turned into batting practice…topped off by Nelson Cruz (see
earlier posts…this kid is the real deal) who hit a taser to the
visitors bullpen. Wang was pulled after 4.2 innings and will have to
perform in Boston if he wants to stay in the rotation.

I am glad to see that the Yankees are taking advantage of mediocre
pitchers…SIDE TRACK: This is why Texas will not win the West, the
Angels are fighters and the Rangers only have 2 decent pitchers at
best…Too much youth on the mound, but they do have a ton of offensive
firepower, but not enough to hold the lead for the whole year…sorry
Ranger Fans…anywho McCarthy is supposed to be a great pitcher for the
Rangers however he has struggled in the Majors…after the lead off
homerun to Damon I figured the Yankees would role to victory…however
McCarthy did calm down until the 5th inning, where he didn’t even get a
single out…The Yanks got the bases loaded and after a walk to Swisher
which made the game 5-2, Teixeira hit on the the weirdest bases
clearing doubles I have ever seen and if the Rangers weren’t shading
him to the right side of the field there is no doubt Young would have
gotten that and at least got Damon at home, but that’s what you get
putting a shortstop at 3rd ;-)
. Arod comes up in a tied game with Tex at 2nd (who was smiling and
having fun…HEY THAT’S A THEME!!!!! FUN!!! EXCITEMENT!!! ENERGY!!! I
LOVE IT!!!) and hits a single off the right field wall to bring in
Teixeira….BTW that makes up for Wednesday’s terrible performance. SIDE
TRACK: Sorry for all of these BUT!!! C’mon guys, I know he failed a lot
that day but he can’t come through EVERY TIME!!!…I’m gunna talk about
how good our bullpen was in a second..but in the top of the 5th Kinsler
hit a ball so far that if the Foul Pole didn’t get in the way it might
have made it’s way into the Audi Club….what a shot…but more importantly
what a bad pitch LOL…so after a few innings of good pitching? Really?
The unpredictable C.J. Wilson (The Rangers closer last year, I’m pretty
sure they are happy to have Fransico closing now) comes in, walks Cano
then gives up a 2 run BOM…o sorry… a 2 run pop fly, (Just Kidding) that
was almost caught, to left to give the Yanks an 8-6 lead! Melky has
been on fire this year and maybe he learned the hard way last year that
starting is a privilege not a right! Mo came in the 9th and shut the
door, he wasn’t as dominate as usual but he got the job done…that’s all
that matters!

On to the young guns in the bullpen…what a performance! Pitching 4.1
innings in relief and shutting the Rangers powerful offense down.
Besides the one blemish, Kinsler’s Bomb, they were amazing. Only
letting 6 people on base by way of 4 hits and 2 walks. But I think the
unsung hero of this game is Phil Coke, now I know I have expressed my
love for him in the past and I think that he is going to be a huge star
here but I am being honest, he shut down this offense and kept the
Yankees in the game and if it wasn’t for him getting relieve d by
Robertson he would’ve gotten the win…BUT 3 CHEERS TO THE BULLPEN…I
really don’t think they are as bad as they seem people…they have a gap
in the 8th but I don’t think we need a “set in concrete set-up man” I
believe all these role players can fill that role, They were
Magnificent yesterday and I think we can call them a Good Bullpen,
let’s not kill them for struggling once and a while…IT HAPPENS!!! Side
Track: I just read that Cruz’s homerun is the first homer by a righty
off Wang in 22 starts, that’s crazy!.

Tonite: Sabathia vs Price…this game might not even happen tonite due
to rain but I am hoping it does, cuz I have tickets and I want to see
both of these guys pitch. This is a very intriguing matchup indeed..the
Young Stud, and wonderkid especially in last years playoffs, against
the best lefty in the American League. On paper the advantage goes to
the Yankees, I mean you have to think that they can handle a young kid
who is making his first start in Yankee Stadium, the pressure will get
to him..BLAH BLAH BLAH…rewind to last years playoffs, granted no one
knew anything about him but let’s be real for a second this kid was not
phased by pressure at all!!! I expect him to perform tonite, and work
off his last start in which he looked AMAZING!! Giving up 1 earned in
5.2 innings and striking out 11..Hey Carton (wow, that’s two references
today) check your stats before you make an outlandish remark! This kid
is good and could give the Yankees some trouble, I have to say I am a
little nervous about tonite, not because of Sabathia but because of the
potential this kid has. I am truly thinking that this game will be a
pitchers duel and whoever gives up the first run loses the game. The
key to the game for the Yankees offense is to make Price throw a lot of
pitches and knock him out of the game early and get to their struggling
bullpen. Sabathia can pitch forever so if he is on we need to keep him
out there as long as possible, especially if the game is close because
I don’t know who is gunna close the game tonite due to the fact that Mo
has closed out 2 straight…ATTENTION GIRARDI!!! ATTENTION GIRARDI!!! DO
NOT bring Mo in tonite…we can not lose him due to injury or a tired
arm! My prediction is that the Yankees win if they keep Price throwing
pitches…you must take him late into counts and take advantage (AGAIN)
of rookie mistakes…and LOOK for the slider in 2 strike counts, that’s
his put away pitch and it usually comes no where near the plate! But
I’m not a professional hitter so I shouldn’t really say anything
because I have no idea how deceptive it really is. Again Yankees win if
they get to the Rays bullpen early, and if Sabathia can pitch late into
this game, we need the bullpen to rest after yesterday, although Phil
Hughes is out there, but he shouldn’t be a mop up guy…Could Phil close
tonite? LET’S GO YANKEES!!!

Other Notes:
Red Wings: C’MON!!!! I know the Pens are young and quick but YOU MUST!!
Win this next game…if you go down 3-2 you have no shot to win this
series.

Magic/Lakers: Not surprised…I have to be honest I don’t see the
Magic having any shot in this series, they are too overmatched by role
players. If they guard Howard like that all series, the Magic have no
shot. Yesterday was a fluke each game will be closer than that but I
don’t see how the Magic can win.

Complete Games: There might be more but there were at least 3 last
night…and TWO in the same game! But I really did this to give it up for
Carpenter who is back baby! I really like this guy and I’m glad he is
getting back to playing…Injuries tarnished what should’ve been a great
career but it looks like he is back in dominate fashion!

I think that’s it…late!

Teixeira Slides in Hard!

SORRY FOR THE
DELAY! I gotta say I’m feeling good about this team…I know that
shouldn’t be a surprise but over the past couple of years we have had
teams perform like this only to fail in the playoffs. I don’t know what
it is, and I honestly don’t really care…the Yanks are winning big and
playing like champions. I say this over and over again but these guys
are just playing to have fun…and the new guys (and even younger
players) are breathing life into this team and making the vets realize
what it was like to be young and play for the YANKEES!!! You can’t get
any better than that! Most importantly the fans see this and are
reacting, the buzz around this team is astounding and I think I can
speak for every Yankee fan when I say this really looks like it might
be the year. I hate saying things like that soooooo early in the
season, BUT this team has that feel…we have pitching, hitting,
running…you name it we got it! (sorry for the sales person cliche
there). Last night proved what this team is capable of and more
importantly what they will do to win!Granted I didn’t get to see the play (I was working and OF COURSE! the one TV in front of me had on the Met game :-(
), well that’s kind of a lie I saw it quick on an ESPN highlight, but
Teixeira’s slide into second was the play of the night, and seemed to
be the catalyst for this team to perform. In case, like me, you missed
it with 1 out in the bottom of the 4th Tex comes up to the plate and
gets hit by a Vincente Padilla pitch, he got hit in consecutive at
bats. (There are a lot of murmurs that it was intentional, however
given the position in the game, with Arod coming to bat, and hitting
Tex to load the bases, it isn’t likely). Padilla got the job done, or
so it seemed, with a double play ball hit by Arod, but Teixeira slid
hard in to second breaking up an inning ending double play and allowing
the Yanks to score 5 more runs in the inning, for a total of 7. Many
people are coining this as Teixeira’s first “Yankee Moment” and you
kind of have to agree with that, if it wasn’t for him breaking up that
play the Yanks are tied at 3 going into the top of the 5th, but instead
the inning went on and was capped off by a 3 run A BOMB…O sorry…that’s
what John Sterling thought…Hey John stop flirting with Susan and get
over your man crush for a moment and give Matsui credit…he did correct
himself right after but I love bashing him ;-)
. BTW Matsui’s homerun was CRUSHED! Hopefully he is getting his swagger
back. Anyway the Yankee bats stay hot and they go on to win the game
12-3…which I will get back to but I want to touch on Burnett first.

A.J.!!! Besides the one blemish, I can’t lie though…Nelson Cruz
hammered that ball in the 3rd…it was pretty impressive, SIDE TRACK:
Nelson Cruz is showing why he was so sought after in every fantasy
draft and a huge asset for the Rangers…Look out for this kid in
upcoming years I see good things for him. Back on track: Burnett
pitched the same way he did a week earlier against this team,
dominating them at every turn and keeping them guessing. Burnett isn’t
going to be C.C though so I really hope people aren’t expecting that,
don’t get me wrong he is a great pitcher with tonssss of potential but
he ISN’T going to give you back to back complete game shutouts. What he
will give you is 6 – 7 innings of good pitching, he will usually give
up a few runs, in some places he will get shelled though, but all
pitchers have the bad games…but he backs up his games with a ton of
strike outs and the ability to work out of tight situations. His stuff
is so great that almost any jam, in any situation, he can work out of
it with his unhittable stuff. Sometimes he doesn’t trust it enough
though and you find him working the fastball to much and that’s when he
gets into trouble. Sorry for being a downer…but AJ pitched amazing last
night, giving up only 3 earned while striking out 8 and eating up 7
innings…I LOVE WHEN PITCHERS LET THE BULLPEN REST!!!! The only concern
was the amount of batters he put on the bases but the runs didn’t come
around so it was fine! My man Tomko came in and held it down and Veras
showed some promise…but lets not think that means anything the game was
out of reach so he didn’t really feel any pressure. However the Yankees
keep on rolling and our rotation is getting even stronger now! YES!!!

The Yankees offense took care of business against a mediocre
pitcher, which is what they need to do, and we have to believe they
will keep on rolling. These games are essential right now, they aren’t
must wins, but they are facing beatable opponents (ummmmmm….Texas is in
first place in the West though, just proving how much better the AL
East is than the rest of the AL) so they must take advantage of this
home-stand, especially going into Boston next week. It’s also good to
see other players hitting the ball well and coming back strong. The 5
through 9 hitters accounted for 9 of the 13 total hits the Yankees got
last night and 9 of the 11 RBIs….of course 4 of them came from Posada
who hit a 3 run bomb and Matsui brought across 3 as well with a homerun
of his own. Also Jeter has obviously become accustomed to his new role
at lead off…he went 3 for 4 yesterday and has a 16 game hitting
streak…he is blistering hot right now and is hitting everything!

Well on to tonite’s game…Yankees have another matchup, which on
paper, is in their favor. Another one of Texas’ youngsters, Scott
Feldman, against the veteran Pettitte. Most of us can see that the
Yankees should have the advantage in this game but…Pettitte has been
struggling at home this year posting a 5.57 era and giving up a
******** 7 homeruns! The Rangers lineup is balanced however most of
their power comes from the left side…but this is an advantage
considering that their biggest threat Josh Hamilton is on the DL and
will obviously not be facing Pettitte tonite. Feldman is a young right
hander who is having a good season posting a 3.91 ERA, which is
actually better than it seems considering his home ball park is
Arlington. I haven’t seen much of him but from what I have seen he has
good stuff and he is a groundball pitcher. He will get you the
occasional strikeout but don’t expect them to exceed 5 in any of his
starts. Also for this year Feldman has only given up 5 homeruns in 7
starts and only 2 of them are on the road, that could change tonite at
the rate balls are flying out of Yankee Stadium. The keys to tonite’s
game are the Yankees sitting back on pitches and waiting for Feldman to
get the balls up in the zone and taking it from there…being impatient
will only lead to groundballs and killing rallies. The Yankee runners
must also take advantage of a young pitcher who might pay too much
attention to them…but beware the Rangers do have a good young catcher
behind the plate who can throw out runners…so they can’t go too crazy.
Pettitte must take advantage of aggressive hitters…get ahead in the
count and work your fastball early to set up your off speed stuff…get
them swinging early to hit the ball in the ground. This team is
aggressive and they will attack especially if Pettitte is struggling. I
don’t feel real confident in this matchup, not that I don’t trust
pettitte but Yankee Stadium has not been kind to him…It’s a toss up,
but if the Yankees are hitting they take the game…LET’S GO YANKEES!

Other Notes:

Red Wings: Take the next game and take the Pens back to Detroit with
the series on the line…they won’t win on your ice and you can take Lord
Stanley’s cup for consecutive years

Ichiro: 26 game hitting streak…pretty impressive

That’s it I think….Late

Them Yanks Keep a Rollin (Except for Yesterday :-( )

HEYYYYYYYYYY ALLL!!! MISS ME? I bet you did…come on…admit it! Well
welcome back, sorry for the abbreviated I’m at work post yesterday,
today’s will be a whole lot better, but a quick warning not too in
depth because I am at work right now and kinda busy…which is weird. But
anywho, as my title states this weekend was very good for the Yankees,
except yesterday of course, but like Meatloaf said 2 outta 3 ain’t bad,
YES I KNOW THERE IS A GAME IN CLEVELAND TONIGHT! And that game wasn’t
necessarily a bad one, they battled back against a newly confident
Pavano who seems to want to show his potential again, you know the
potential he had when he signed with the Yankees…you remember that?Well
if you do or don’t, you saw shades of his better years in Florida
yesterday. Locating the ball with pinpoint accuracy, and keeping the
hitter guessing with every swing. The Yankees were getting on base, but
when it mattered they weren’t getting the hits they needed. When the
6th rolled around and Cervelli and Jeter both grounded out, you almost
figured this was going to be another 1,2,3 inning…but the battling
Yankees showed their fight, Damon slaps one into left and Teixeira
blasts one into the right field stands, putting the Yanks down by two
and in striking distance. (BTW that pinpoint accuracy I was talking
about with Pavano, wasn’t there for that pitch). Pavano decided to come
back and put away AROD, then followed by a 1 hit inning in the 7th….

SIDE TRACK!!! Well, not really it has to do with the game but not
with the Yankee bats…anyway…Wang was put in for Hughes and looked like
his old self…can I please say that Wang might actually be put in the
rotation soon? I’m not sure who he would be replacing, but I will say
that Joba’s start tonight is a HUGE one. He must, must, must (sorry) go
AT LEAST 6 innings, if it weren’t for Wang yesterday our bullpen would
be running on empty! I predict if Joba has one of his 4+ outings we can
hear rumblings of him going back into the pen, and wouldn’t be
surprised if he was by the allstar break, especially with Bruney out.
(I’ll get back to that later) Back to Wang, Yankees fans wanted his
head on a plate after his horrific start to the year, but yesterday was
definitely a sign that his confidence is back, and that he is healthy.
Next time he is in Yankee stadium expect louder cheers than when he
first came back. His command was back to the 07 season, his sinker was
falling off the table at, what seemed to be, 59 feet and he was fooling
batters in every count, striking out 3 in his 3 innings of relief,
that’s a strikeout per inning! Just kidding, we all know Wang isn’t a
strikeout pitcher. I might have kept Wang out there myself, but Coke
has been good in late inning situations but unfortunately faltered
yesterday, even though he didn’t give up the game winning hit, he did
allow a walk and after a sac bunt and left the game with a man on
second. Robertson came in to try to be the stop gap but with Jhonny
Peralta’s hit hugging the 3rd baseline and making it’s way into the
outfield the game was over just like that! But the Yankee’s confidence
should not be compromised they played a tough game and battled back
from a 4 run deficit.

Back to the bats…sorry to jump all over the place…but they were
getting hits yesterday, count ‘em 10 total!!! But they obviously
weren’t getting the runners in…NOT GOOD!!! Hopefully this doesn’t
become a trend…but obviously it happens from time to time, no reason to
stress. Tex continued his hot hitting, driving in 4 while going 2 for 4
and bringing his average up to 281! Hey fans, this is why we got him!
Good thing AROD came back, he really helped Tex get pitches and now he
is an animal. Maybe I’m just being too much of a Yankee fan right now
but I’m gunna chalk the loss to being a fluke, these things happen and
I can’t see a trend coming from it. Hopefully they pounce on Sowers
tonite.

The marquee matchup of this weekend, Chamberlain vs Sowers, oh sorry
just kidding. This matchup could be an interesting one, as I hinted
before this is a huge start for Joba, as this could be his ticket to
the bullpen if he doesn’t perform and eat up innings, JOE LET HIM PITCH!

Side Track…sorry…you know we put a lot of emphasis on the fact that
Joba only pitches 5 or 6 innings per outing, but that’s not his fault,
he is a natural strike out pitcher who can’t throw that many pitches.
His sub par ERA is victim to the fact that he doesn’t pitch that many
innings during each start. THE MOST INNINGS HE HAS PITCHED ALL YEAR IS
7 INNINGS!!! Joe must’ve wanted to kill himself! This kid is too good
to be on such a short leash, he has to do all his damage in 6 innings?
Are you kidding me? 150 innings for the year? He’s destined for the
bullpen…LET HIM PITCH…hopefully Nolan Ryan will start a trend by taking
away inning restrictions….PLEASE for the sake of starting pitchers…LET
THEM PITCH!!!

Sorry…that came to mind and I had to say it…it’s been bothering me!
Continuing…Yankees should take advantage of a young guy who has been
bounced around the majors and minors, he has an extremely high ERA and
that doesn’t fare well for him, especially with the Yankee bats as hot
as they are. The Yanks have to attack him early in the counts, and I
can see the ball traveling far today…if my mind serves me correct he is
a finesse pitcher…who obviously doesn’t have much finesse…maybe I’m
wrong though…in 14 innings he has only given up 3 homeruns, tonite will
be fun to watch….oh wait, all 3 have been at home in 9 innings
pitched…MUCH BETTER! The Indian bats were on yesterday, but if V-Mart
is still out of the line up today that’s a huge hole to fill and
Shoppach is not the answer against Joba. I see the Yanks taking
advantage of this matchup, Joba pitches well and into the 6th and the
Yanks take the game. LET’S GO YANKEES!!!

Other Notes:

Chicago White Sox: Guys, STOP! NO ONE, and I mean NO ONE, wants to
pitch in that bandbox for 3 mil a year, plus obviously your prospects
aren’t worth anything…one of two things go after young pitchers,
MARLINS? or Throw money at AL pitchers…good luck finding them.

NHL Playoffs: Let’s go WINGS BABYYYYY!!!….Pens don’t know what to do
with themselves, and Malkin showed his true colors by attacking
Zetterberg (I think) with his stick…what a wuss! ATTACK WINGS ATTACK
while the Pens are still confused and Fluery is crying!

Dwight Howard: What a beast…don’t be offended by ESPN…Your name
doesn’t sell yet, you will get your spotlight when you dominate the
paint in the finals don’t worry…and forgive LeBron he does all the work
for the Cavs and when he needs the support staff to man up, they
don’t…so I’m sure he was ********** when he left.
I think that’s it…I’m gunna keep teasing my Pats post until I do it…lates

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