Results tagged ‘ Sabathia ’

Yankees Crush Mets, 9-1

Well now the
Yankees are officially on a roll….with their 3rd win in a row most fans
finally let out that breath they were holding for so long! I, on the
other hand, let out a breath for a completely different reason…I know
most people believed that everything was fine with Sabathia, but I can
be a pessimist from time to time…so  until he put up a performance like
the one he did last night I wasn’t convinced….and not only is his arm
fine for pitching…but he brought his bat with him too!!! What can’t
this guy do?Sabathia did everything that we
expected him to last night…he destroyed the Mets batters and put up a
performance that Yankees fans expect every time he takes the mound. He
went 7 innings, struck out 8 and only gave up 1 run, which came on a
Sheffield homerun…so at least it came off someone that has a reputation
of doing that. Bottom line is that Sabathia is the real deal and now is
the time where he starts to be dominate…and that trend is starting to
show…Middle of the season, when it starts to get warm Sabathia become
almost unhittable….and that is what the Yankees need because right
after the all-star break the Saux usually struggle a little (of course
assuming that trend continues too)….and with the way the Saux are
playing right now the Yanks have to win just to keep their head above
water…OF COURSE THE SEASON ISN’T EVEN HALF WAY THROUGH!!! I have to
calm down lol.

But the real story has to go to the Yankee bats and how they are
absolutely on fire right now!!! And every Yankee fan should be just as
fired up as their bats because this is what we have been missing for
the past couple of weeks…now the weird thing is that Teixeira didn’t
get a hit AGAIN last night! Now….even superstars go through slumps…see
Arod…but that means he is swinging at bad pitches…which means teams are
still attacking Arod..ummm note to opposing pitchers…when Arod hits the
ball out to the opposite field… HE HAS BROKEN THE SLUMP!!! So I am not
worried yet…if Tex goes oh-for tonite then I might start questioning
what he is doing…because that means he isn’t being patient enough.
Butttttt I am very excited to see what Arod is gunna do…we all know
what he is like when he streaks so we should all just sit back and
relax….Three cheers to Gardner though!!! 5 for 6!!! This guys is
proving why he is almost worth of becoming a favorite Yankee for many
fans…he is a scrappy hitter and fielder that has range and speed (some
even say he might be the fastest runner in the AL if not the MLB) and
he just keeps getting better!!! Needless to say he was on fire last
night and also hit a bomb to right field…which is a triumph of its own
in that canyon in Queens. Put everything together and it was just a
great performance all around by a Yankee team that seems primed to go
on a streak…and hopefully everything carries over to tonite.

Well this showdown is clearly in the Yankees favor…Redding vs
Burnett…There is really nothing much to say here…Burnett has the clear
advantage in this matchup and is also building off 5 quality starts in
a row and has been magnificent in the last 2…A.J. might also be a
little bitter because he was out dueled in his last start against the
Marlins….and might feel he has something to prove…We also can’t ignore
the fact that Burnett shut down the Mets in his last start (which was
the 15-0 trumping) so we know he has the ability to shut down this
lineup…and they have also gotten weaker in that time…and became even
more riddled with injuries…Redding, simply put, is just not that great
of a pitcher and the Yanks have to sit back and let him make
mistakes…along with that 1st time seeing a pitcher thing, they seem to
struggle when they face HORRIBLE pitching…but I have faith in them
tonite and they are catching Redding at a perfect time…The Yankee bats
are on fire…Burnett has been great of late…so I can’t see the Yanks
dropping this one…LET’S GO YANKEES!!!

Other Notes:

Andre Either: 3 homeruns last night…3!!!….and he was on my bench.

That’s it…late

Yanks Can’t Handle Marlins, Lose 2 Series in a Row

VERY DISAPPOINTING SERIES for the Yankees this past weekend…too bad it
started off so well on Friday…and really, Saturday’s game could’ve went
either way, but none the less it still remains that they have lost 2
series’ in a row to two teams they really should have handled…Every day
it’s looking like Boston is getting better and better, yet the Yankees
are treading water…the Saux took 2 from the Marlins during the week…and
then took another 2 from the Braves to go up 4 games on the struggling
bombers. BTW the Saux and Yankees are facing the same exact teams…and
Boston is showing up…WHERE ARE THE YANKEES!!!! The Nationals host
Boston and if trends continue we can see the Saux taking a 5 game lead
over the Yankees…The Yanks MUST win this series in Atlanta…I can handle
them struggling with weak teams as long as they take this series and
don’t let this trend continue…The Saux and the Yanks were handed a cake
walk through 3 of the NL East’s bottom teams (well really 2…Atlanta is
always a contender) and only the Red Sox took it and ran…The Yankees
are looking flat still…where is the emotion and fire boys? We got a
sneak peak at it yesterday with Gardner’s triple, but Jeter came up
short. Side Track:

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Yankees Handle Nationals, Win 5-3

Well I must say that I did predict the Yankees to win last night,
buttttt I thought it would be a much more impressive win than what we
were witness to last night…To my utter surprise Martis showed up last
night and actually pitched a semi-impressive game,
and the only reason for that is that the Yankee bats couldn’t figure
him out when men were on base, even though they did score 2 runs (1
earned) off of him. You can almost, kind of, give the Yankees some sort
of break if the kid was pitching a great game…BUTTTTTTT putting 9 men
on, by way of walk (5!!!!) and hits (4), and not coming through and
bringing them in is pathetic. This kids control was clearly all over
the place, which can actually be a hindrance to batters, I UNDERSTAND,
but he wasn’t that crazy, he was giving up hits. The Yankees MUST be
able to hit young struggling pitchers, especially those not getting any
run support!!!When a young pitcher is
pitching good and his team isn’t scoring for him, they start to press
and try to take the workload on their own back…therefore make mistakes
more frequently…that’s when a team like the Yankees must pounce and
take advantage of it, which they didn’t do last night…I don’t want to
sound like a crazy “end of the world” fan but, this is a sign of
concern to me and a trend that CANNOT continue…I know the Yankees won,
WHO CARES IF THEY DIDN’T HIT!!! but to be honest this has happened in
the past, I KNOW, AGAIN, DIFFERENT TEAM, DIFFERENT YEAR…but they
should’ve been all over Martis and they weren’t…just a point I am
trying to make. Now I know I am being hard on the Yankees, and that is
the point, but Martis
has been pitching well as of late and this is actually his 3rd
consecutive start where he has pitched well. Also he has only given up
4 earned in his last 18 innings, so maybe, just maybe this kid is
showing promise and has the ability to pitch good in the Majors…Side
Track: I am weary of calling this kid good, or saying that he pitched
great last night, the truth of the matter is that he did put 9 men on
base last night, the other thing is that the Yankees didn’t take
advantage of this…This game was probably 1 or 2 base hits away from
being a 6 run, 4 inning outing…but I will pat myself on the back
because I did say the Yankees must take advantage of the Nationals
terrible bullpen…AND THEY DID!!!

The weird thing about this is that they did it off of the former Yankee, Ron Villone…Noooooooo…That’s
not why it is weird though, it’s weird because he is clearly their best
pitcher in the bullpen and the Yankees got to him, despite his great
numbers to date. Going into last night Villone owned a .96 ERA, only
giving up 2 earned in 18.2 innings pitched…the weirder thing is that he
posses a 3-4 record despite his great pitching…however his losing
efforts have come in games where he has given up an earned run
(well….all but 1)…andddddd Villone has been charged with a loss in each
of his last 4 appearances….so the Yankees got him at a perfect time…and
after giving up 2 earned last night he still has a very respectable
1.83 ERA. But enough praising the former Yankee, and lets hear it for
the Yankee batters!!! Despite getting shut down, some what, by Martis,
the Yanks came out strong against Villone…right away Damon jumped on him singling to right, followed by a deep shot by Teixeira
that missed a homerun by about 4 feet…but it bounced off the wall,
allowing Damon to score the tying run. And after an Arod strikeout…Side
Track: I am a huge proponent of leaving Arod alone, not because he is
sensitive but because he is under a microscope in every at bat, but I
am getting scared now. I don’t know how long the recovery time is for
this injury but he just isn’t performing and he needs to start coming
through…IN A BAD WAY!!!…Cano, who had an outstanding night going 4 for 4, bashed a double to deep center, mostly in part to a horrible play by Elijah Dukes
who misplayed the ball, scoring Tex and giving the Yanks a 4-3 lead,
which they held on to…actually scoring one more run…and winning the
game 5-3, with Mo getting the save….BTW Bruney is back…and that makes me very happy…as long as he stays healthy!!!

Sabathia
pitched GREAT last night…despite giving up a 3 run FLUKE!! of a homerun
to a kid who hasn’t hit one in 3 years!!!! HOW LUCKY IS THAT!!! Despite
putting 7 men on base last night CC was on his game…creating ground
ball outs, double plays, and fooling batters into making horrible
contact on his pitches. He didn’t have many Ks, but that happens from
time to time…however against this team it is kind of interesting…I
expected at least 5, but I’ll take 2 anytime if that means there will
be a win attached. CC was unlucky with the runs he gave up…but he did
shut down all the power in the lineup, the 2 through 5 hitters were 2
for 15 off of him, and gave up a homerun on a hanging slider that the
#9 hitter, Anderson Hernandez,
was lucky enough to pull into the left field seats, do balls fly out of
the stadium or no? Side Track: How did that ball carry out? And Tex’s
didn’t? Baseball is a craaaaaaaazy game! But overall you have to
applaud CC and his effort, he pitched great and showed how much of an
asset he truly is to this team, eating up 7.2 innings and coming back
after a less than steller outing against the Saux and getting a BIG win
against a weak team, hopefully he is the catalyst to a winning
series…maybe a sweep? Well that depends on our good friend CMW.

The most intriguing matchup of this series bar none! I am not going
to even go into depth about this game and who’s gunna win and all
that….because bottom line the ONLY key to the game is how Wang pitches
and what it means to his future with the Yankees. I lied a little…Wang
is facing a very respectable opponent tonite in John
Lannan, the Nationals ace who, if he was on another team, could be one
of the games better pitchers. He is a product of pitching in a bandbox
on a sub-par team, which will wear on anyone eventually. He has been
pitching well as of late and definitely has the ability to pitch well
against this Yankee team, which is why Wang’s start is so important.
Wang cannot have another bad start otherwise, I truly believe, this is
the last stop for him in the rotation, at least for this year. He has
been horrible in every start this year and doesn’t seem to have the
confidence of years past, and, according to Dave Eiland, isn’t taking
his bullpen sessions out on the mound with him. I don’t need to go into
specifics but the bottom line is that if Wang wants to stay in the
rotation,  which I can’t imagine him not wanting, he has to show up
tonite, against a really bad opposing team. The Yankee bats need to
help him, however this might be more of a pitchers duel than expected…Duel
is a BIG OPPERATIVE WORD in this sense…because that means Wang has to
show up too. I believe Wang will have success against this team, but he
has to be careful with the powerful lefties in this lineup, especially
with the way the balls have been flying out in right field. If he keeps
the ball down, gets his leg kick back to where it belongs, and has more
confidence in his stuff, he can pitch a great game. If he doesn’t fix
his mechanics on the mound…he might be bullpen bound (didn’t mean for
it to rhyme it just happened) or possibly put on the DL…I don’t see him
getting traded or optioned to the minors…he can still be an asset out
of the bullpen and has proved it. Very interesting game with Wang being
the key to success for the Yankees, and going toe to toe with
Lannan…LET’S GO YANKEES!!!

Other Notes:

Stallworth: I hate to bring negativity to this blog but…It is
absolutely pathetic that he is only getting 24 days in prison…it is an
embarrassment to our countries justice department and a travesty to the
family of the man who was killed…they settled a $5 million civil suit
outside of court to avoid the pain of the dragging process…but that
works in his favor in criminal court…HE WAS DRUNK AND WAS DRIVING!!!
Does that not mean anything???…way to set an example for younger
players and kids across the country…PATHETIC…this guy should be in jail
for years…he killed a person…WHILE DRUNK DRIVING!!! C’MON USE YOUR
HEADS!!! I am embarrassed for the justice department and what it has
become, celebrity buys you freedom apparently…OH and it’s fair that he
gets to play football, right? He gets 24 days while Vick gets 2 1/2
years…tell me how that is justified.

Bryce Harper: Leaving High School 2 years early to further his
professional career. The kid is a beast and if he stays on the same
track this won’t mean anything. He can only grow from this experience
and I think he is gunna be a MONSTER when he makes it to the MLB.

Mal Hall: Former Yankee great gets arrested and thrown in jail for
Child Molestation…what a moron…the arraignment only took 90-minutes…not
looking good for ol’ Mel…what a piece of garbage…he deserves to get
life.

Yankees vs Nationals Preview

Needless to say this series is a BIG one…if the Yankees play the way
they should, and exploit the horrible Nationals pitching this SHOULD
be a sweep, and there is no excuse if they don’t come out of this 2 to
1. The only concern I really have in this series is that the Nationals
have BIG bats and have shown their muscle in the past…plus they also
play in a bandbox in Washington so they know how to play on a ballpark
that is similar to theirs. The Yankees should be on a high after their
2 to 1 series win over the Mets and especially the win yesterday over
Santana, where their bats were absolutely on fire! If
that carries over, I wouldn’t want to be a Nationals fan, or pitcher
for that matter. I don’t see the Yankees coming out of this series as a
loser…the Nationals are too weak of a team and they must take advantage
of that to stay close to Boston who are facing the Florida Marlins, a
scrappy underrated team who needs this series to stay afloat…and in my
opinion have the pitching advantage in the first two games of this
series. If Florida can play Boston hard we can see the Yankees down by
1 in the standings….I can’t see the Sox getting swept at all…However
the Yankees can’t bank on Boston losing so they must take advantage of
the upcoming series.

Pitching Matchups

Game 1: Sabathia vs Martis

I don’t think I really have to say this buttttt….the advantage is
clearly Sabathia in this matchup. Martis has shown this season that he
definitely has potential, and even for a short period of time he was
looking dominate and was the best pitcher in the Nationals
rotation…however the batters caught up to him and exposed what he
really is and now he posses a bloated ERA but still has an impressive 5
and 1 record despite his ERA is 5.04…although over his last 2 starts
…or 12 innings…he has shown that promise again…only giving up 3 earned.
Still the pitching advantage is clearly in the Yankees corner with the
Veteran workhorse Sabathia. CC has had 2 bad starts in a row (for his
standards) and is looking to bounce back and against a weak opponent it
is a great time to do it. Sabathia definitely has not forgotten about
his performance in Boston and that loss has left a bad taste in his
mouth, no doubt. I really can’t see the Yankees losing this game, the
bats (even in losing efforts) have been hot lately, and they, for the
most part (except against Nieve), have been hitting bad pitching REALLY
hard! The Yankees must take advantage of teams they can beat and this
matchup should almost guarantee a victory…oh by the way Sabathia is 1
and 1 with a 1.65 ERA against the Nationals in his career…if they can’t
win this game…this might be a longggg series.

Game 2: Wang vs Lannan

The real ace of this Nationals staff is facing the once ace of this
Yankees staff, and has fans wondering if this will be the game where
Wang finally turns it around and salvages his rotation spot for this
year. I can’t believe I am saying this but Washington has the pitching
advantage in this one. The ONLY key to this game is if Wang pitches or
not…I think the Yankees can score off Lannan, but if they can’t they
definitely have to knock him out early and then attack the Nationals
less than stellar bullpen. However if Wang doesn’t show up and gets
hammered that allows Lannan, who is TERRIBLE on the road this season,
to calm down and pitch his game with a lead. Wang must pitch well and
eat up some innings…the bullpen will be rested, because of Burnett’s
performance and the day off today, but if he doesn’t eat up innings
that isn’t good for his progress and, truth be told, means that he
didn’t have a good pitching day. Wang, in my opinion, is the ONLY key
to the game…if he doesn’t pitch well I think the Yankees will have a
tough day…I think they can hit Lannan but if he has a lead he can pitch
the way he wants, anddddd if Wang is off against the Nationals line-up,
they will put up BIGGGG numbers on him…if he keeps the ball high in the
zone Zimmerman and Dunn will hurt him badly…and I am positive Dunn is
licking his lips and hoping he gets balls to hit…and if he does we will
see some of the longest homeruns we have ever seen fly out of Yankee
Stadium.

Game 3: Joba vs Stammen

Again the Yankees have the pitching advantage…I can’t see how they
can lose against a struggling rookie, especially at home. The key to
the game is Joba, he NEEDS to eat up innings, he can’t have another 4
inning performance…he must calm down and take his time and again, trust
his stuff…if he does it’s a no doubter to me…he’s too dominate when he
is on and I can’t see the Yankees NOT knocking around this kid.

Key to the Series:

Starting Pitching…bottom line! If they pitch well against this
potent, but underrated, lineup they should have no problem winning
these games, especially if it turns into a bullpen shootout…the
Nationals bullpen is abysmal so the Yankees should take pitches and get
the National starters out of the game…quickly.

The series has to go to the Yankees…I really see them sweeping the
Nationals but to me there is no way they don’t win at least 2 of 3,
especially at home. This is too big of a series for them to be flat and
not perform they must come out and play like the championship caliber
team that they are…LET’S GO YANKEES!!!

That’s It…Late!

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

Another Bad Start for Wang

Even though I
hate to admit it, it seems like maybe the Yankees experiment with Wang
is coming to an end, and he has one more start to prove he should be in
the rotation. The start will come against the Nationals and it will
have huge implications upon where he will spend the rest of the year.
In my opinion, he should be sent to the minors to work out the kinks
and make all the necessary starts, unlike being rushed back this time
in fear that Joba was hurt for an extended period of time. This means
Hughes is back into the rotation again, figuring in that Wang wouldn’t
perform, he has pitched well coming out of the pen and showed again he
is a HUGE asset…he also performed and proved to be very effective last
night when he relieved Wang in the 3rd. Hughes had one blemish, an
opposite field homerun to Youkilis on a pitch that might have been a
little high but wasn’t that bad and was more impressive hitting than it
was bad pitching.Back to Wang…it is really
sad to see what this guy is going through, our ace for the past 3 years
is now the laughing stock of all Major League Baseball…over the first 5
starts of the season he has the highest ERA in HISTORY!!! This guy won
54 games in his first 4 seasons, he was the most consistent Yankee
pitcher for years and was usually the stop gap if the Yanks were on a
slide for an extended period of time…I’m really hoping this guy can
come back because it is truly sad to see someone so talented perform so
poorly. My true feeling is that Wang should go to the minors…and
everything else I said earlier…and then get put as long relief in the
bullpen for the rest of the year, unless an injury or struggles occur,
and start over from spring training next season…Maybe some winter ball
to get his confidence back…he is far too good and talented to just give
up on him…I have faith that he will return to be a great asset to this
team but we almost have to give up on him being a starter this
year…Side Track: Now wait a minute…it is only what? 60 games into the
season? I know I am being rash and possibly overreacting…but isn’t that
what being a Yankee fan is all about?…Just Kidding…but for real
everyone growing up in New York expects perfection 100% of the time…it
doesn’t happen like that…we are killing Wang and the Yankee front
office for putting him out there…but don’t forget he was the ACE of
this staff for 3 years, they don’t owe it to him but they should show
confidence in him…so before we kill them…it’s still early in the
season…if this happens down the stretch we take the protest to the
streets…but the season is only 1/3 over let’s not get too hasty…I KNOW
A LITTLE HYPOCRITICAL…but it’s the truth.

Hmmmmmmmmm….tough to find a bright spot in last nights game…..but
you almost have to say the bats and bullpen were what kept us in
it…before I praise the bats I have to bash them a little bit though.
Not that it’s a BIG number but still not good…the Yankee batters
stranded 6 runners in scoring position last night…that’s 6 potential
runs with 5 of those runs not getting in with 1 out or less in the
inning…my small ball rant from the other day fits perfectly here…that’s
just not acceptable especially against a guy like Wakefield…I
understand the game and I know how hard it is to hit a Knuckleballer,
especially when he is on his game, BUT 6 runners left in scoring
position with 5 of them with 1 out or less? that’s INSANE!!!
UNEXPLAINABLE!!! UNACCEPTABLE!!! C’mon guys this is Wakefield not
Beckett! I am so dejected and upset by this that I decided to outline
each inning they left runners on:

1st: Tex single, Arod Walk, Cano pop out to 3rd = 1 risp

2nd: Posada Homerun…Matsui Double, Swisher bunt to pitcher – Mastsui
to Third, Melky lines into double play (tough to swallow but you can’t
really get mad about that one), Jeter pop out to catcher = 1 risp

3rd: Tex Double, Arod and Cano fly out to center = 1 risp

see a trend yet? By the way Wakefield is still in and at this point it is 3 to 1 turns 4 to 1 after bottom of inning

4th: Matsui singles, Swisher walks, MELKY DRIVES IN MATSUI!!!!
YAY!!! (so after stranding 3 we finally come through) Swisher to
second, Jeter and Damon both fly out to….THE CATCHER!!! At least get
the ball on the field boys! = 1 Risp

5th: NONE!!  WOW!!!! Cano grounds out to 3rd to drive in Tex

Wakefield still in…6-3 Red Sox

6th: NONE!!! – Matsui did single in inning…rest of hitters down in order

7th: NONE!!! – Wakefield out..YAY!!! Back to back homers by Damon and Tex

6-5 Red Sox

8th: Swisher single, pinch runner Gardner comes in, Melky Sacrifies
him to 2nd then back to back Strikeouts by Jeter and Damon…PUT THE BALL
IN PLAY!!!! = 1 risp

9th: Rodriguez draws walk, pinch runner Pena comes in, Pena steals second, Cano strikes out, Posada fly out = 1 risp

That’s all 6 runners in scoring position…pretty bad Yankees,
pretty bad. SOOO Bad that I’m writing right now in bold to make a
stronger point…I know I’m pathetic thank you…two pop outs to the
catcher and back to back strike outs???? That’s horrible and
unacceptable guys, come on!!! The bullpen gave you a chance…you did
fight back…but we had sooo many opportunities to tie/win the game it’s
nauseating.

Well sorry for that, but I was frustrated by the shear lack of
effort last night and the flat, lackluster performance. There were two
bright spots in last night’s game Teixeira went 4 for 5, with his one
out coming off Papelbon, and Matsui going 2 for 3 and breaking out of a
horrible slump and hopefully this will be the catalyst to him turning
his season around. Three other decent bright spots were the Homeruns by
Posada, Tex and Damon, all put a charge back into the game and made it
interesting but unfortunately the team couldn’t pull it out in the end.
On to the bullpen…what a great performance by these guys last
night…Wang left the game giving up 4 runs and Hughes gave up 2 but that
was in the first 4 innings and the rest of the night the potent Saux
offense was shut down and dominated. Red Sox batters only got 6 guys on
by way of walk and hit and were struck out 5 times…all by Hughes…this
Yankee bullpen is showing up big and responding to the call…My main
concern is that they are being used too much right now…With Sabathia on
the hill tonite they should get a rest…but if they get worn out by the
end of the year it is very, very worrisome…our starters neeeeed to go
longer!

Tonite!!!! Sabathia vs Penny…the Marquee Matchup…the creme de la
creme of pitching excellence…oh wait…Penny not Peavy…sorry…ummmm not
much to say here if Sabathia keeps pitching the way he has…and gets
over his performance against the Rays the advantage is definitely on
the Yankees side. Sabathia has handled the Sox well over his tenure as
an MLB pitcher, despite his losing record at 2-4, but his ERA is a
respectable 3.91 over 7 starts. The Yankees NEED this game to prevent
falling 2 games behind in the East and still staying ahead of a hot
Blue Jays team, remember they fell apart a few weeks ago…well their
back! and playing very well (but how long will that last?). Yankees
will be fired up…Sabathia knows how big this game is for the Yankees
psyche going into this weekend against the Mets. This is a must win for
the Yanks and I think they should win easily with Penny on the
mound…perfect matchup for the struggling Yankees and it couldn’t come
at a better time…LET’S GO YANKEES!

Other Notes:
Mets: You thought the Yankees stranding 6 RISP is bad? How bout them
Mets leaving 16!!! that’s right 16 runners left on base last
night…direct reason for their loss..DON’T BLAME PARNELL!

Verlander: He’s back…simple as pie…performing at his best…he can’t
be touched and has his confidence back…dare I say Cy Young contender?

Lakers/Magic/Kobe: This is a MUST WIN for the Magic…if they don’t
put up an effort tonite they are done and there is no way they can win
in LA they must even the series…Kobe was offended that he was asked if
he was tired and responded in a weird way to me…the right way, but
weird in my opinion, WE KNOW YOUR TOUGH KOBE, DON’T WORRY!

That’s it…Late!

p.s.: Look for a joint blog entry previewing this weekend’s BIG
MATCHUP in the eyes of a Yankee fan (River Ave Rant) and a Met Fan (4th
Quarter Punts)

Yanks lose in 9th

A very, very
disappointing game today…one with many peaks and valleys but at the end
of the day the Yanks put themselves in a 4 run hole that they can only
half way dig out of. I, and probably every other Yankee fan, thought
that with the way they battled back there was noooooo shot they would
lose, especially with Mo coming in. Side Track: Hey Joe!!! Maybe it’s
time you realize that Mo can’t come in, in non save situations!!!! He
doesn’t have the same intensity and doesn’t have the same focus.
Please!!! we have other guys in the bullpen, definitely not as good or
with even close to the same track record but maybe Mo should only be in
during save situations…it has been said by many closers and many
pitching experts that when a closer comes in in a tie game they don’t
have that same fire or adrenaline rush…Joe, we have some talent in the
bullpen, including Phil Hughes lets give them a try too…Sorry Mo lovers
I am one too but you have to admit there is something wrong there.
Anyway the Yanks in the top of the 9th looked horrible, really can’t
blame them I guess…they got beat by the bats of the Rays and by Mo
getting just a bit too much of the plate. Although disappointing it is
just one loss, and the Sox still have to play a powerful offense today,
but as of right now we are tied for 1st.In
the long run the ONLY bad thing about this game was the
pitching…Sabathia’s performance was lackluster, although he did eat up
a ton of innings, 8 to be exact…but he kept the team in the game
despite giving up 5 earned on 2 homeruns. Price pitched extremely well,
he gave up 3 runs but only 1 of them was earned and the other 2 runs
were either caused or set up by Navarro who had 3 errors in the
game…OUCH! Without these errors the Yanks really had no shot, but
because of them it kept them in the game and the crowd was pumping, and
kept their adrenaline running…Side Track: Now you have to understand I
am a huge fan of Michael Kay’s radio show, I think it’s great but today
he really really made me mad. Jeter smacked a ball to right field in
the bottom of the 7th, and if it was a homerun it would have tied the
game but it wasn’t really that close, and Michael called it the whole
way like it was 20 rows deep and it was a no doubter…I understand the
job of the commentator is the keep the game entertaining but…Stop being
a superfan Michael….and you’ve been around this game long enough to
know when it is a no doubter…C’mon man I know people make mistakes but
that was a Sterling mistake.

Sorry…so like i said the pitching was the Achilles heel of the
Yankees today and it wasn’t from their inexperienced bullpen or their
journeymen pitchers but from two pitchers who you wouldn’t expect it
from. It really is just one loss, and everyone has their bad  days but
you just wish, with the way this team fought back, that both wouldn’t
come across bad performances today. O well, chalk it up to bad luck.
The Rays bats were on fire today and they took advantage of every bad
pitch they got, especially their position players and three guys you
really wouldn’t expect it from. One is Ben Zobrist, taking over for the
injured Bartlett, he went 2 for 3 today, with a solo homerun and the
most important hit of the game a triple in the 9th, followed by scoring
a run on a single by Joe Dillon…another unsung hero…Joe went 3 for 3
today and got key hits off of two really great pitchers and more
importantly the go ahead RBI off of Mo. The thrid player is Willie
Aybar, who hit a bomb in the top of the 6th to give the Rays a 5-3 lead
which they would eventually blow. But let’s not dwell and praise the
Rays, this is a Yankee blog hahaha.
YANKEE HITTERS!!! My prediction was right from the other day, in that
the Yanks MUST get Price out of the game early and get to this depleted
bullpen, who struggled ALL OVER today including the bottom of the 9th.
Until the bottom of the 8th the Rays bullpen actually showed up and I
thought the Yanks couldn’t come back with the way they were
pitching…but then Balfour decided to throw Tex a fastball down the
middle of the plate, btw he had him in either a 0-2 or 1-2 count,
Navarro wanted to the ball higher but Balfour made a HUGE mistake and
Tex hit the longest ball in Yankee Stadium so far…NOTE: I JUST MADE
THAT UP BUT IT WAS A BOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMBBBBB!!!!!…After a couple of
close calls going the Yankees way the bases were loaded for Melky…seems
to be a theme Melky in clutch situations…anywho, he grounds a weak ball
to short and there is a very close play at first that could’ve went
either way…My opinion he was out…but it doesn’t matter the Ump said
safe…YES!!! the Yanks are tied…Matsui struck out swinging on a call
that went to Rays way…my opinion he checked his swing. After the worst
top of the 9th inning I have ever seen, Tex does it again, after a
single by Jeter and a misplayed double by Damon, Teixeira hits a double
in the gap to bring the Yankees within 2 runs…but to no avail Randy
Choate comes in and gets Cano to hit a long fly ball to Center…which
almost went over the head of Upton…but didn’t.

So if there is something positive to take away from this game it is
that the Yankees will show fight in every game, and even though they
were battling back into the game, it seems like they always have
enthusiasm and the desire to win…I’m liking this team this year, the
kids are showing the Vets how to have fun and enjoy the game again…our
pitchers are showing up…most of the time…and the bats are on fire and
seem like they will never stop…let’s forget this loss….even though it
is a tough one to swallow…and take the next 2.

Tomorrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrow! Chamberlain against Garza….Great matchup of
two perennial all stars and two pitchers who in 2 or 3 years will be
among the ELITE in the game. This matchup does intrigue me ALOT…it can
really go either way…can I be more vague? I thought today’s game would
be a pitchers duel…I was half right (Price did pitch great)….but
tomorrow I don’t see much offense coming through…both pitchers do have
the ability to get knocked around but this game determines the series.
Chamberlain proved over his last start why he is an asset to the
starting rotation and why he really wants to be here…if he can keep his
pitch count out of his mind, and let his ability and skill take over he
will dominate this matchup…Garza is a head case who usually throws
first ball fastballs to get ahead in the count…I don’t like over
aggressiveness but tomorrow the hitters might have to be. I’m gunna
call this game being a coin toss with either teams having to take
advantage of first pitch strikes and having the runners, those who do
get on, making the pitcher pay too much attention to them…if the
pitchers aren’t challenged and taken into late counts this game could
be a 1 – 0 victory by either team. The Yankees have to be aggressive
tomorrow in both pitching and hitting…the Rays strike out a lot but
don’t throw too many fastball because they have a lot of power. If the
bats get to Garza he gets flustered…swing early in counts if the pitch
is there…but if he is a little wild take him deep into counts and
rattle him a little…Gunna be a good game tomorrow…LET’S GO YANKEES!!!

No notes…can’t really think of any….late

Tex Message! (sorry, John Sterling moment)

I wasn’t listening to the game last night but I can only imagine how
John Sterling responded to the epic Teixeira blast in the top of the
first…The pitch is delivered (a 92 MPH offering on the inside part of
the plate) Teixeira swings and smashes the ball to left field, John
Sterling sits for a moment c0llecting this thoughts, waving Susan
Waldman off (because this is his moment), all while saying “It is high,
it is far, it is gone!”, then he comes out and says it, like so many
times before, “A TEX MESSAGE…TEX MARKS THE SPOT”…now please understand
I absolutely LOATHE his puns and obnoxious remarks and he should
realize that every other Yankee fan does as well…STOP IT JOHN, JUST
STOP!

Alright, sorry, mini rant, something I needed to get off my
chest..but…YAY!!! the Yankees won!!! But I am truly hoping we aren’t
seeing a patern here, over the past 7 games every other game has been a
win, wins are good but only when they come in clusters…but I am done
being a downer because the Yankees are tied for first place!!! YAY!!!
too early to celebrate and start clanging pans and blowing air horns
but…hey who cares that’s big, considering the start they got this year.
Bigger news is that Burnett got his first win in 7 starts, THAT RUN HAS
BEEN OVER A MONTH!!! I must give him credit though, 4 of the 7 were
quality starts and the bats just weren’t there for him. But that is a
big boost for him, I think he will settle down now, I mean he has been
around for 11 seasons, he is a seasoned vet, but he still needed a
confidence boost. Last night was a good start going 6 innings, no runs
allowed, 7ks, the only scary part was that he was putting on more than
a runner per inning, but it didn’t come back to hurt him so who cares.
I am glad he heard me yelling (that was supposed to be funny) that they
have to attack the prone to strike out Rangers and he took advantage of
that. Annnnnnnnnnnd the Yankees took advantage of a young
pitcher..WOW..unlike so many years past, remember early this year Matt
Palmer? He took the Yankees for a ride that day, oh well why dwell on
that. Let’s cheer on the bullpen (except for Veras, what’s up with him?
HELP HIM OUT RIVERA!!!) only giving up 2 runs in 3 innings of
relief…YES!! David Robertson is looking like he is going to be a force
to be reckoned with and he is ready to take on the Major Leagues…did
you see that strike out against Hamilton? NAAAAASTY! Wang came in after
for 2 innings and is looking like he might have that confidence back,
now we have to understand the Rangers offense is potent however only so
when they are all clicking, but he shut them down striking out 2
batters and not letting anyone on. Hopefully this is a sign of good
things to come (btw his ERA is now a respectable 20.45).
The Yankees line up is firing on all cylinders right now, everyone
except for Damon got at least a base hit in the game and there were 4,
count em 4 big flies as well. The ball does travel well in Arlington
but we will take it. Matsui hit 2 himself, he has been struggling all
year, pulling off pitches and striking out a lot more than usual, but
he is a professional hitter who will turn it around, hopefully last
night is the catalyst he needed. But let’s make a point about Jeter.
Everyone, including me wanted him back in the 2 hole, but now he is
showing why he is one of the best in the game once he is settled in. He
has adjusted to his new role and is now batting 297…THAT’S RIGHT 297!!
He has quietly been working on an 11 game hitting streak, with 6 of
those games being multi-hit games! Jeter is back baby and he is getting
on base and wreaking havoc on opposing hitters. Now I have to flip flop
and say keep Jeter at lead off and as long as he keeps hitting like
this (like he should) this lineup is extremely dangerous, and one that
will put up numbers against any pitcher. We have power all over the
line up…and with the way the balls have been flying out of Yankee
stadium THIS IS GUNNA BE A FUN YEAR TO WATCH!!! I have a good feeling
about this!

The Yankees have off tonight but they are traveling to Cleveland and
start their series on Friday. This is a very interesting series indeed
and the Yankees want redemption by the way they got destroyed in the
opening series against them, remember the official Wang meltdown? Yes,
you might want to block it out but you remember that 22-4 loss, don’t
kid yourself. That was then, this is now, the Yankees are hot and
hitting the ball a ton, BTW balls also fly out of Progressive Field, so
this should be a great series. We have favorable match-ups all weekend
long, the Indians aren’t looking good this year (but note they are on a
3 game winning streak) so I think the Yankees should take 2 of 3, the
wild card is Hughes against the stellar Pavano, who is trying to fix
his tarnished reputation, and who besides his bloated ERA is putting up
pretty good numbers this year. I will be back tomorrow to go more in
depth with this match…LET’S GO YANKEES!!!

Other Notes:

Carlos Zambrano: That might be the best tantrum ever thrown, I mean
he did throw an ump out of the game. He’s gunna get a big fine, I
wonder if Selig will fine the ump, he didn’t leave the game.

Santana: Not much to say really, but just want to say the Yankees
should’ve jumped on him when they could’ve, but it is all relative,
Sabathia isn’t that far behind him.

I had other things to say but I forgot them :-/…so I might be back later…PEACE!

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