Results tagged ‘ Tex ’

Yankees Welcome Mariners for 3 Games

Yankees Welcome Mariners for 3 Games

June 30, 2009 by bobdawg423 | Edit

Well
this can be a very interesting series for the Yankees…but another one
that they should win…but traditionally they struggle with the team from
Seattle…and they are actually playing surprisingly well and have some
pop on the team too…look out for Russel Branyan this guy is a
monster….slugging 19 homeruns with 10 of them coming at the UN HITTERS
FRIENDLY Safeco Field…the scary part is that he is a lefty coming into
this ballpark and we all know how fast the balls fly out to right in
the New Yankee Stadium…should be very interesting to see how they
handle him…Another scary point is that we are sending 2 pitchers that
have not been performing well, at all, at home…Joba tonite and Pettitte
tomorrow…these guys need to show up, this series is wayyyyy to
important and Boston is looking like they should at least take 2 of 3
from the O’s.

Tonite we got Joba on the mound facing off against a struggling
Brandon Morrow….PHEW!!!…the Yankees have smacked around Morrow in his
one past start against them butttttttttttt if Joba doesn’t give a good
performance it doesn’t mean anything…however, the good news is that 2
of the 3 starts Morrow has had this year were on the road and he has
gotten KILLED!!! Giving up 14 earned in 16.2 innings pitched which
equates to a 7.56 ERA….maybe they should’ve kept him in the
bullpen….butttt the scary part might be the fact that he strikes out a
lot of batters…so if the Yankees go up there swinging too much they can
dig themselves into a hole and beg Joba to pull them out…which is a
task in its own right….we have to give him runs to work with…he has to
relax and pitch his game…I say this all the time but with Hughes
lighting up the bullpen and Joba struggling as a starter we might see a
role reversal unless Joba can prove otherwise…and all signs point to
that not happening :-(
…Joba is 0 and 2 at home and has posted a 5.18 ERA and has averaged
less than 5 innings per start…not good!!! The day off yesterday gives
the bullpen a much deserved rest and gets them ready for this
series…especially if Joba and Pettitte get smacked around early….the
good news for our pitching is that Seattle is abysmal in their
offensive production so we really have to worry about their
pitching…but there is some more good news in that the starters they are
sending out aren’t studs and the Yanks have a good chance to score off
of them.

The Yanks offense has been on fire lately and has all Yankee fans
smiling once again…plus now that Arod is hitting/not swinging at balls
rolled to the plate…the team is winning and is dangerous to all
opponents. The bats need to be on tonite against a pitcher who, in all
honesty, really isn’t that good, especially on the road…however the
power numbers show that he doesn’t give up much homeruns and does
strike out a ton of batters….Ummm I said that earlier….I like being
repetitive sorry…Bottom line for tonite is that this lineup needs to
keep it up…score a few runs early and get Joba to feel comfortable so
he can calm down and not throw the entire game on his back so he
struggles…if they give him a 3 or 4 run lead he should get at least 6
innings in and be in line for the win….if he keeps the ball DOWN!!!
Back to the bats…the top of the order…Jeter in particular…is hot…they
are getting on base and the clean up guys are driving them in…it’s like
a machine almost…and the Yanks are doing what they are supposed to…more
impressively the whole team seemed to be battling the flu and they are
still on a 5 game winning streak. I am a little nervous of Tex’s slump
right now…but he did play with flu-like symptoms so let’s hope that is
why he wasn’t hitting…with Arod on fire and Tex hitting in front of him
this 3, 4 combo will be better than Man Ram and Ortiz in 04 and will
start to turn some heads soon…I can’t see the Yankees losing this
series…but that’s what I said about the series against the Nationals
and Marlins so you never know…but the team is having fun…Have you seen
Arod lately? He is smiling!! and ENJOYING THE GAME!! WOW!!! Just goes
to show you that when this team is having fun and are estatic they
win…let’s keep it up boys…keep playing the game you love and show how
much that is true…losing a game isn’t the end of the world so don’t get
dejected if you lose one or two in a row and end up in a skid you guys
are too good!!! LET’S GO YANKEES!!!

Yankees Sweep Mets, Wang Gets First Win

Yankees Sweep Mets, Wang Gets First Win

June 29, 2009 by bobdawg423 | Edit

What
a great weekend for Yankee fans!!! Not only have we won 5 games in a
row…butttttttt we swept the Mets!! HAHAHAHAH!!! What a great
feeling…after all the Mets are the Yankees biggest rivals (some guy was
actually arguing that point outside of a game once…and finished it off
by saying “who cares about the Red Sox”….and I have all reason to
believe he was being serious). What a great confidence boost this
series was for the Yankees…actually what this whole 5 game winning
streak has meant to them is a HUGE confidence boost and puts them back
in the “elite team” class. The Yanks are now only 3 games out from the
Saux but both teams have pretty easy opponents…Boston is facing the O’s
in Baltimore and the Yanks have Seattle in Yankee Stadium….That means
Griffey is coming to town…and that means we might see a homer or two
from him…very interesting….but back to last night…I’ll get to that
series breakdown tomorrow…The Yanks proved
to be too powerful for the depleted Mutts and truly showed their muscle
this past weekend…The Mets really had no chance to win…their team is
wayyyy to weak right now and the Yanks are just on too much of a
role…It means something that Wang finally got his first win…the Mets
looked really bad…and the one player that needed to come through, David
Wrong, didn’t at all this series and the rest of the team fell apart
around him. Side Track: It was brought to my attention, and I have
noticed in the past, that I use to word catalyst way to much…I am going
on a CATALYST ban for this entire week…and if I use it at all I will
give a dollar to everyone who calls me out on it (I doubt I will need
this but the limit is the first 50)…well back to it…I really wanna give
it up to Wang…and I really can’t say anything about the Yankee bats…but
they weren’t that good last night at all…and if it wasn’t for a few
defensive miscues by the Mets..the Yanks may have never scored…but back
to Wang…He pitched great last night…even in tight situations he still
pitched to his power and didn’t get flustered like we have seen earlier
this year…he kept the ball up a little too much but he is getting back
to full power and is becoming a permanent fixture in the rotation once
again…I, for one, am very excited by this and feel that he is the last
key component to making this rotation unbelievable…if Wang can get back
to full strength, hopefully by the all-star break, he can be dominate
once again and he is even starting to show signs that he is crawling
back into that 19-game winner mold of years past…I am very very very
impressed with his pitching lately and am happy to see him back
performing the way he should…WELCOME BACK CMW!!!!

The Yanks did win an impressive game last night…but if it was not
for a few defensive mistakes…Livan Hernandez might have had a shutout
last night. The impressive part, on his behalf, is that he put 8 people
on base last night and only 3 crossed the plate off him…he pitched well
and got the outs he needed…but the M.O. of the Mutts continue and they
can’t score when their pitchers show up…GOOD FOR US!!! hahahahahaha…I
hate to be a bummer…but Cano (my fav player btw) looked HORRIBLE last
night…3 double plays??? Cano you’re soooo much better than that….but I
guess everyone has their bad days….please shake that performance off…we
need to stay with the Saux during this series against the Mariners….but
the good news is that Arod is still hottttt and it doesn’t seem as if
he will cool down…you can’t get a ball past him without him battling it
off…and he is walking at a very high rate…he had 3 last night!!! This
is a good sign…and every day we see how important he is to this team
and them winning!!! I’M SOOOO PROUD!!! I am extremely elated in the
Yankees performance this weekend…everything worked…their pitching,
hitting, fielding…nothing failed…they played incredibly this
weekend….YES!!!!!!!!!!!

Let’s really give it up for the bullpen though…these guys are
getting better and better as each game goes by…and Phil Hughes is
showing how amazing he really is…I think non-Yankee fans have to admit
how impressive this kid really is…..over the past 5 games (7.1 innings)
he hasn’t let up a run and over the last 4.1 hasn’t even given up a
HIT!!!! He has let one guy on over those innings and it was last
night…on a walk! This kid is incredible!!!! But the real story has to
go to Mo…I mean that RBI was incredible…who cares about the
milestone…did you see that WALK???? Ohhhh…BTW Mo haters…believe it or
not he wouldn’t walk a closer or pitcher for that matter….sooooo in
turn Mo is better than K-Rod…what was he doing last night…THAT WAS
PATHETIC!!! I ran around my house laughing last night because of how
bad that was HAHAHAHAH!!! I figured it out…when Mo fouled that fastball
off K-Rod thought he couldn’t get it by him so he over threw the
pitch…ummmmm don’t you have a curve ball? Mo would’ve swung right
through it…what a bad choice of pitches…oh well BETTER FOR US!!!! But
really, I want to say congrats to Mo…500 saves is amazing and I am
proud to be a Yankee fan right now because I have witnessed history
through him…what a great feeling it was…Rivera was actually quoted as
saying he was more impressed with his RBI than with his 500th save…he’s
so awesome.

Hopefully the Yanks stay hot against the Mariners…LET’S GO YANKEES!!!

That’s it…I think…late.

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

Yankees, Joba Win!

WOOOOOOOOO WHOOOOOOOO!!!! WOW!!! What a great victory!!! And if it
wasn’t for Joba hitting a ball up the middle, and taking out Kawakami
who knows…the Yanks might have gotten “Perfect Gamed”…as my friend John
Sterling put it many times last night. And just when I start to have my
doubts about Joba being a starter…”He goes and does something like
this…and TOTALLY redeems himself.”…sorry Dumb and Dumber moment. Well
maybe not completely…the fact that he couldn’t get out of the bottom of
the 7th hurts him a little bit…but everyone has to admit he did look
great yesterday…even with him facing two pitchers combining for a
perfect game gone no hitter after a Brett Gardner walk in the 6th…I’ll
get back to that soon. But I was impressed with Joba’s poise and
confidence on the mound yesterday…most young
pitchers try too hard, which has been his problem in my opinion, when
they aren’t getting runs or their offense is struggling, but he stayed
calm and pitched his game. The more impressive point is that Joba
didn’t strike out a batter until the bottom of the 4th…and still didn’t
try too hard…he trusted his ability to get outs and he did…he pitched
great into the 7th inning, when they took him out, and I was very
impressed with his performance…he did what he had to do to keep the
Yankees in the game and didn’t try to put too much on his back…Joba
loves making people sway back and forth on whether he should be in the
pen or in the rotation.

I guess the Yankee bats were sick of getting torn apart because they
WENT OFF yesterday…but only after 5 innings of perfect pitching between
Kawakami and Medlen that kept the Yankee bats guessing and looking as
sluggish as they ever have…Let’s forget about the porous performance of
the Yankee bats in the first 5 innings…because there is nothing to be
said…sometimes a pitcher just has it…and it only makes the chances of
him “having it” that much better  when the Yankees have never seen him
before…point and case….THE WHOLE YEAR!!! But maybe Joba hitting
Kawakami with a line drive was a blessing in disguise…I’m not an
advocate of people getting hurt so don’t assume I am saying that…but
the Bronx Bombers eventually got to the Braves bullpen after he was out
of the game. I want to start this off by saying…”when it rains it
pours”…the Yankees couldn’t get a guy on base if they were paid to…oh
wait, that’s what they areeeeeee paid for…then when Gardner finally
gets on, by way of walk, he gets called out on a terrible call during a
pick off attempt at first! Just when things can’t get worse…THEY
DO!!!…Side Track: Gotta give it up for Girardi here…he came firing out
of the dugout and stood up for his player…this team needed some kind of
spark to get them going and Joe gave it to them…he was later quoted as
saying he wanted to get kicked out…which means he knew this would give
the Yanks a kick and a spark to get them fired up…AND IT WORKED!! Good
job Joe!…the batter after his tyraid it paid off, when Francisco
Cervelli hit his first Major League homerun and it couldn’t come at a
better time…just when the offense was at it’s worst he gets a hold of
one and sets off the offense and set up the Yanks for a HUGE inning…one
that us, as fans, have been waiting patiently for over these past few
games….who woulda thunk it would be the bat of “Cisco the Kid” (Sorry,
John Sterlingism again) getting a rally started. My heart-pounding
moment came with Arod at bat…Side Track: Wow, it’s been a while since
I’ve had two!!! Side Track: WOW, a side track inside a side track!!! I
feel like I have kinda pulled the fun out of the blog…I am working on
fixing that..I apologize if it has been too serious lately…back to the
original Side Track I have always pulled for Arod and it’s been more
now than ever before, he gets a bad wrap all of the time, even when he
comes through sometimes…listen its gunna be a while until he gets
better…I don’t like it either and am waiting for him to perform…I
expressed my concerns yesterday
so I am kinda being hypocritical now…but we have to be patient and his
hit yesterday just might be the catalyst to him turning it around…With
Arod at bat and in a 0-2 count I truly expected a strike out…but my
dream came true and I almost crashed my car when he got that hit…not
only that but it was a single to the opposite field!!! HE DIDN’T TRY TO
DO TOO MUCH!!!!!!! THAT’S NOT A SIGN OF THE APOCALYPSE…IT’S A SIGN OF
AROD TURNING THINGS AROUND!! YAY!!!!!!!!!!!

At the Middle of the 6th the Yanks finally had a lead in a game
again…they didn’t have a lead for 19 innings up to that point…and Joba
had the lead and just coasted through the bottom half…Swisher lead off
the 7th with a homer giving the Yanks a 4-1 lead that would come in
handy as the Braves put up a 2 spot on Joba in the bottom half…he came
out and the bullpen did what they do best and shut Atlanta down. The
Yankees offensive onslaught continued as they put up 2 runs in each the
8th and 9th innings…with Damon and Tex being right in the middle of
both those innings…that’s big people…showing that when Arod gets hits
the rest of the team comes through too…showing how important he is just
being in the lineup when he is performing…on that point…the two guys
batting in front of him Damon and Teixeira were the only two Yankees to
have a multi-hit game…anddd if Arod breaks out of his miserable
slump…Damon and Tex’s numbers will only get better!! Me and every other
Yankee fan out there is hoping this game is what breaks the Yanks out
of this mini-slump and has them gaining on the Saux…ohhh and Mo finally
got back in a game and looked great striking out all 3 batters…and he
looked semi-impressive at the plate too…wow, I wonder how many closers
have batted this year…hahahaha…I am very excited from this game and
hope they can carry the momentum into tonite.

A great veteran matchup tonite…Lowe vs. Pettitte…two guys who are
coming off good performances…I would call Pettitte’s great actually…and
guys who are facing off in very interesting circumstances…both guys
aren’t really having great years…but Pettitte is pitching well on the
road and Lowe is pitching great at home…so all signs point to this game
being a pitchers duel…but it will probably be a slugfest lol…It should
be a very interesting game either way tonite…with Pettitte having the
edge in the “career numbers” category…he has had great success against
the Braves, 3.13 ERA along with a 5-1 record…and Lowe has struggled
against the Yanks, 6.07 ERA with a 8-10 record…but this of course is a
different year, with much different players…and most of Lowe’s numbers
are when he was with the Saux…so the career numbers really don’t mean
anything…but they are fun to talk about. But the key to this matchup is
Lowe in my opinion…when he is on he is unhittalbe (well…you get the
point) and if the Yankees bats are too eager than he will definitely
have the advantage…but if they can build off of yesterday’s game and
get to Lowe early they can put a lot of damage on him and walk away
with this game…Pettitte has been great on the road, so there is no
reason to think he won’t perform tonite against a “decent”
lineup…especially in that ballpark…when the long-ball has been
Pettitte’s biggest problem…if the Yankees get guys on base…and actually
can play some small ball…they can get Lowe out early and attack their
bullpen…remember kids A LOT of this Yankee lineup has seen Lowe before
so they might have the Advantage in this one and take A TONNNNNNN of
momentum in to Bailout Ballpark this weekend…LET’S GO YANKEES!!

Other Notes:

Cavaliers: Hmmmmmmmmmm…very interesting….now that LeBron has a big
man will this team actually make waves in the playoffs? Are the Celtics
worried?

That’s it…I think…late

Yanks Lose 3rd Straight, 5 Games Back

Well there is
really only one word to describe the way the Yankees have played as of
late…and that is PATHETIC!!! This is the 3rd series in a row where they
are facing a team they have a distinct advantage over and now they drop
the first and most crucial game of this series. The worst part about
it? Wang looked good again!!! And this guy can’t buy a win…or even a no
decision! He pitched well his last two starts and the Yankee bats are
turning into the Mets when Santana is on the hill…except right now you
can’t hope to score 1 run…I KNOW THE YANKEES GOT SHUT OUT!…and win the
game with Wang on the hill…where is the offense? Hanson pitched okay
last night…but he didn’t have shut out stuff…calling all Yankee
hitters…when you get 10 guys on base off of a starter…especially a
rookie!!! YOU HAVE TO SCORE!!!! What are you guys doing???This
team just isn’t clicking right now…and the bad part is they have to
face ANOTHER pitcher they have never seen before again tonite!! And we
all know how that has been going! Side Track: I have made excuses for
him for a while now…but when will Arod turn it around? He is almost
turning into an automatic out and with him batting like this it is
almost causing the whole team to fail…there is no reason to not go
right at Arod right now…I don’t know if he isn’t trusting himself or he
is favoring his injury too much…but he has wayyyy to good to be batting
so close to the Mendoza line…he needs to turn it around so the offense
can start clicking again and firing on all cylinders…c’mon Arod…just
relax and do what you do best…stop trying so hard!…This team was on
fire…i feel like i say this all the time…when they were having fun and
relaxing…they won coming from behind…they blew teams out of the
water…but now they are flat…where is that energy?…where are those
smiles? I feel like these guys are just not having fun right now…which,
in my opinion, is the reason why they were playing so bad these past
few years. Swisher, Cano, Melky all need to fire this team up again and
get them loose…when these guys are on they are jumping around, joking
and having a good time…guys it’s still early in the season…stop
pressing so much and have fun!!! The hits will fall in and we will
start winning games again…PLEASE!!! for all Yankee fans sake start
enjoying the game again!!! Bottom line is two things can’t click right
now for the Yankees…they get good pitching…no hitting…they get good
hitting…no pitching…maybe this is just a little skid…maybe this isn’t
there year for interleague dominance…but either way they need to get
back on track…Tex is still hitting good, but if Arod can click this 3-4
combo will be unstoppable again…and the top of their order will be
incredible…Joe, please put Cano at #2 for at least 1 game…you will see
more offensive production this way…THANKS!

I do have to make a “silver lining” statement about Phil Hughes…this
kid has looked amazing coming out of the pen…and I think he has learned
what he needs to do to be a successful starter in the majors. In his
last 6 innings he hasn’t given up even a run (earned or unearned)…he
has pitched unbelievably well and taken his new role in stride and is
doing whatever it takes to help the team win. He is proving that you
can put him in any situation, any role and he will be dominate, and
adjust to it…in his last 2 appearances (3 innings) Hughes hasn’t even
given up a hit or a walk…and has struck out 4 batters…this kid is the
real deal and proving every time he comes into a game how much of an
asset he is to this team…I wouldn’t be surprised…if everything
continues the same way…to see Hughes back in the rotation if Joba can’t
get it together. There are a lot of sportscasters and sports talk radio
hosts pounding home the idea that Joba should be the 8th inning guy, I
was resilient to that point but now am thinking it might be the best
thing…I love Joba as a starter but he can’t get it together and you
can’t put the bullpen in the position of having to pitch 4 innings
every game he starts…I can’t believe I am actually saying this but I am
starting to agree Joba should be in the bullpen…If Phil continues to be
dominate and Joba continues to only pitch 5 innings there can be a
switch happening by the all-star break.

What about tonite’s game? Well this should be a head scratcher that
can really go either way…Joba vs Kawakami…another pitcher the Yankees
have never seen.. it’s the 8th game in a row this is
happening…GREAT!!!…This is another pitcher that gets knocked around a
little…but knows how to work out of trouble…he has an ERA just over 4
so that also means he gives up runs…in his last 2 starts however he has
only given up 4 earned runs over 11 innings pitched…with him shutting
down a very formidable Saux lineup…I haven’t seen much of this guy
pitch…but he has a similar delivery to Dice-K, for better or worse, so
he slows down the game and can deceive batters…NOT GOOD for the
Yankees!! These two things, deceptive delivery and seeing him for the
first time, combined spells a disaster waiting to happen…and this means
Joba needs to show up tonite!!! Joba, Joba, Joba…its sad somewhat
because he really doesn’t give up many runs…but he doesn’t trust his
stuff and gets into wayy to many jams…and it might actually be coming
around to hurt him finally…he has been sluggish and trying wayyyyyyyyyy
to hard to hit his spots…to the point where his 95 mph fastball is
turning into a 90 mph meatball in the middle of the plate…Joba has some
of the nastiest stuff in the game but doesn’t use it correctly…if he
can settle down and pitch his game he will be fine…but once runners get
on he tries to become too cute and too accurate…JOBA y0u can throw 95+
at any time…run the ball inside and scare some of these batters and
then have them diving over the plate for the slider…Joba needs to go 6+
tonite…and if he doesn’t the rumblings are gunna become screams for him
to be put in the bullpen…if he wants to keep being a starter he needs
to start pitching that way…very tough opponent tonite, and a very
interesting matchup that can go either way…hopefully it goes ours…LET’S
GO YANKEES!

Yanks Head to Atlanta for 3 Game Series

Let’s preview tonite’s game….shall we? Well to me the start of the
series is a very interesting one and one that can possible answer a lot
of questions on where Wang is in his “way back” to being a dominate, #1
form, starter again. He goes into Atlanta to face their famous, hard
throwing, #1 prospect Tommy Hanson, once again another pitcher the
Yankees have NEVER seen. This series is important for both teams to get
back on track, they both have lost their last 2 previous series, but
Atlanta is on a 4 series skid, so they are definitely looking to bounce
back and jump on the Yankees quickly tonite. The Yankees, as said
earlier, have lost their last 2 series to teams they should have beaten
and they go into Atlanta looking to prove they are within the ranks of
the elite ball clubs. Atlanta needs this series to try and stay
some-what afloat, but the Yankees need this series, not only for
confidence and momentum, because the Saux go into Washington and if
they continue to play the way they have been as of late, they should
take 2 from the Nationals easily. So to say the least the Yankees have to show up tonite and get a jump on this series.

Tommy Hanson has proved he has the stuff to be a dominate pitcher in
the big leagues. His first start in the majors was a rough one that had
him getting bashed around for 6 earned, but over his last two starts he
has given up only 2 runs in 11 innings pitched. This kid is a hard
throwing righty that has the ability to strike batters out, he must
have trouble with his command right now, because his k’s are
wayyyyyyyyyy down and he is getting smacked around a little bit…posting
a 1.58 WHIP….but obviously teams aren’t getting their runners in when
they are on base, so he has the ability to pitch in tight
situations…two starts ago against Baltimore Hanson put on 14
runners….YES 14!!!! but the Orioles could only manage 2 runs!!! That’s
insane…and that cannot happen tonite!!! AT ALL!!!

So once again what do we have to practice tonite??? PATIENCE!!!
YAY!!! The Yankee bats have to be calm and take pitches, not only to
get pitches to hit but to put pressure on this kid…plus it wouldn’t
hurt to get to the Atlanta bullpen…pssssst their bullpen isn’t very
good at all…The Yanks have batters who walk a lot, Teixeira, Arod,
Swisher but they also have people who strike out a lot…and if counts go
deep they could be too eager and sitting fastball and get a hunk of
off-speed glory that will have them swinging out of their shoes. The
middle of this order has to be patient and take pitches…get into
hitters counts and drive the ball to the gaps…we are in a power
shortage so just swing for hits boys…PLEASE!!! The long ball isn’t
always the answer to victory…small ball is too…GIRARDI!!! send runners
once and a while and try hit and runs…get this kid confused and
worried…don’t let him pitch his game…you have to rattle rookies and
young pitchers and the Yankees haven’t done that AT ALL this year…if
they can make this kid throw a lot of pitches the Yanks have the
advantage….if the Yankees swing early and give into the kid this will
be a long night, especially if Wang doesn’t perform.

What a segue!! Wang is the ONLY
key to tonite’s game for Yankee victory, at least in my opinion. He
showed confidence and poise in his last start and actually had some of
his old stuff back, and considering where he has started this year I’ll
take a 5 inning 3 run performance every time. Wang has to be on tonite
and give the Yanks a chance to stick it to this kid and relax…if they
start pressing they are playing to Hanson’s hand and he will be able to
pitch his game and clam down and rely on his great ability. I will be
happy with 5 or 6 innings from Wang giving up 3 or 4 runs, I truly
believe that is all the Yankees need to be able to hang in this game
and possibly win it. I have confidence in our bullpen to take over
after Wang leaves the game, and if they get a lead along with it, I am
even more confident for them to hold on to it. Wang has to keep the
ball low, and if he stays away from the long ball, he shouldn’t be
dejected and lose any confidence he has coming off his last start. He
is starting to show signs of getting his sinker back and if he can get
his fastball back to 93-95 he will be back to his original form and
dominate once again. It is wayyyyy to early to give up on Wang, he has
much to much talent to just throw him away, and he can be an asset in
the rotation. He is on his way back, and if he strings back to back
quality starts together…that makes it even better. If the bats are
patient and willing to sit back for their pitch and Wang can get his
sinker and fastball working together, it could be a great night for the
Yankees and an even better start to the series. This series is very
important and can become a catalyst for the Yankees getting back on
track and taking the momentum into Citi Field…LET’S GO YANKEES!

That’s it…Late!

Yanks Handle Marlins, Win 5-1

WOOOOOO
HOOOOOOO!!!! WOW….the Yankees handled a young pitcher!!! It’s almost
unbelievable that could happen, especially after that horrible
performance against the Nationals! They got to this kid West early and
didn’t look back scoring 5 runs off him in the first 3 innings and
holding on for the win. Now I have to keep this short and sweet because
I am on my way out…sorry!Have to give praise
to Pettitte, most importantly…he was clearly the Player of the game in
my book and he continued his dominance on the road. Andy went 7 strong
and struck out the same amount, while only giving up 1 run (off a Cody
Ross homerun) and only putting on 3 hitters…NO WALKS!!! He was flat out
dominant, and took advantage of a young upstart team, and he looked
like the Pettitte of old. Andy clearly still has it in him to be a
great starter for this Yankee team, and has backed it up with his
performances on the road, but what about him at home? There is
something wrong there…I don’t know if it’s just that he is pressing too
hard, or trying to over compensate for the fact that he has lost a
little off his ability due to age, but it is something that needs to be
addressed. He hasn’t been horrible at home, but he can’t keep giving up
4 – 5 runs every start he has in Yankee Stadium. Now maybe he is just
trying to be too cute with his pitches, and thus giving up runs, and
mostly homeruns, because of the rate at which balls are flying out of
the stadium, but he just has to trust his stuff and Pettitte can have a
very, very great year this year, probably one that no one would expect
out of him at his age. He may be getting old but he is still
performing, and if he figures it out at home, the Yankee rotation will
be feared.

Let’s give it up for the Yankee batters!!!! Every starter got at
least 1 hit, with Jeter, Damon, Teixeira and Posada each getting two
hits…who said Tex needed Arod in the line up to hit? What a great
performance by the Yankee hitter, very impressive and a great bounce
back victory against another team that they should take 2 out of 3
from. The Yankee bats were so hot, that EVEN PETTITTE got into the
action with an RBI double in the 2nd. The Yankees were clicking last
night, and it’s good to see that, from what I saw they were having fun,
and they looked more relaxed, probably thanks to an RBI single by
Posada in the first. If the Yankees get on the board early they relax
and have fun…GUYS PLEASE!!! WE NEED THAT FIRE BACK!!! I know I am being
ridiculous but it’s true, look at earlier this season they were just
having fun and enjoying the game and in return they were WINNING!!! We
need that back boys, let’s get it going!!! Side Track: Has anyone
noticed how hot Cano is right now? He has raised his average 19 points,
from 291 to 310, over the last 5 games, going 11 for 20 in that stretch
with 3 of those games being multi-hit….and he is a second half
hitter…pretty scary….needless to say the game last night was great, and
something the Yanks should take advantage of.

Short and sweet…Burnett vs Johnson…aka the Marquette matchup of this
series. Very interesting matchup as Johnson is the Marlins ace and one
of the better pitchers right now in the NL. Burnett is coming off a
great pitching performance against the Mets and hopefully can bring
that to his old team. Key to the game is how Burnett pitches, if he
pitches well the Yankee bats usually come around, hopefully he can hold
the Marlins to only 2 or less runs, considering that Johnson can, and
probably will hold the Yankees to only 3…very interesting game, that I
have figured to be a pitchers duel….if the Yankees are patient and can
play small ball behind Burnett, they can take this game…LET’S GO
YANKEES!!!

That’s it…Late

Yanks Can’t Help Wang, Lose 3-2

Well he finally did it…Wang finally
had a quality start…well sort of…and maybe, just maybe, might be on the
track to “recovery” and being a dominate pitcher once again. Even
though I can’t guarantee that this start means he is “back”, I can
guarantee that it at least earned him a spot in the rotation. Sorry
folks, this performance just solidified CMW’s spot in the rotation (or at least another handful of starts). I know what you all are thinking…”It was the Nationals“…”He wasn’t tested”…”There the worst team in baseball”…now wait a second…yes the Nationals
are a horrible team…but you have to understand that they are a very
formidable, powerful team that has the ability to put up HUGE
numbers…their biggest problems are their pitching and fielding, and
thus the reason for their horrible record…we did see the Elijah Dukes play on Tuesday right? Case and point. But admit it or not Wang pitched well last night, and this just might be the start he needed to get his confidence back, and his “mojo” working.He
gave us 5 strong innings only giving up 3 runs, 2 of which could’ve
been avoided if plays went a different way for him in the field…or so
it seemed that way…of course I was stuck listening to the game for 3
innings and we all know how that goes…an over-expressive John Sterling
making a call on a play by Pena (the Willy Harris stolen base in the 5th) saying that if he had the ball Harris was out…but you never know how close that play really was when you listen to Sterling and Waldman…then Melky’s diving play later on in the 5th on a Nick Johnson triple…Yeah I couldn’t believe it…a Nick Johnson triple!!!…if Melk doesn’t dive for that ball he cuts it off and only 1 run scores instead of 2…and Johnson is only on first with Guzman at 3rd…But Wang
showed me a lot last night…his sinker was falling off the table, his
location was good and he was pitching out of tight situations. Joe
Girardi and Dave Eiland must have a lot of faith in Wang not taking him out of the game after giving up 2 runs in the 5th…especially with his pitch count rising…But CMW got passed the Nick Johnson triple…he intentionally walked Dunn (not a surprise…did you see the Homer??? WOW!)…then got a ground out by Elijah Dukes to end the inning…GREAT JOB!!! Especially when Wang’s confidence has been at an all time low…ALL YEAR!!!…Last night Wang looked like the Wang
of old and if he can build off this start our rotation may have just
gotten a whole lot deeper…Don’t be fooled by the horrible record
though, the Nationals are a tough offense to face, with a lot of power and home run potential, and Wang threw 5 quality innings against them and kept the Yankees in the game…let’s hope (I am at least) that he can build on this start and solve the question to who the 5th starter will be.

Hey, Hey, Now, Now our bullpen is getting better and had another great performance last night…shutting down the Nationals, only giving up 1 hit and 1 walk, and NO RUNS!!!! The pitching last night kept the Yanks
in the game but their bats just couldn’t respond…they are showing that
they have trouble against young pitchers that they have never seen
before and John Lannan
was no exception. Now, I didn’t get to see much of the game so I don’t
know how he was throwing or how his location was…BLAH, BLAH, BLAH…but
he does pitch in a high scoring division in the NL East and his home
park is a bandbox so his performance last night was not a fluke…This
kid is good and he only gave up 4 hits last night, with one walk
attached to that as well…and he had two blemishes, both home runs to Cano and Damon…which
is alittle odd due to the fact that he is a lefty and so were the two
batters. That most likely means he was trying to pound them inside and
they just dropped the bat in the zone and took those pitches out. But Lannan
did go 8.1 innings last night, clearly trying to keep him in the game
and keep the bullpen at bay, so that means they trusted his stuff and
he clearly proved he has the ability to get guys out. He shut down a
dominate Yankees lineup and proved that he deserves to be in the conversation of great young pitchers in the game right now…Now if the Yanks
would see this kid again…who knows what would happen…I’m gunna chalk
this up as a disappointing loss, they didn’t take enough pitches (Lannan left the game in the 9th throwing only 108 pitches) and didn’t try to get the horrific Nats bullpen…Lannan did pitch well so I have to give him some credit but, the Yankees didn’t have a good game plan going into last night and they proved it. Now the Yanks put themselves into the precarious position of HAVING to win tonite…Boston
is up 3 on them so they need to stop it at that…I KNOW IT SOUNDS LIKE
PANIC MODE…but they MUST have a better game plan going into tonite’s
game. But last night was not a complete loss…Wang pitched well…despite getting the loss…and the bullpen looked great…and Phil Hughes may be more of an asset out of the bullpen than most will admit.

NOW THE BIGGGGG RANT!!! Johnny Damon hits a lead off homer, giving the Yankees
life and a chance to strike back…We’ve seen this before, especially
with this team…they have life…they are fiery…they can win this game
like championship teams do…after a disappointing Swisher fly out to left, Teixeira (who is making a name for himself in Yankee lore) hits a single, which subsequently led to Lannan coming out of the game…YES!!! That Nats bullpen!!!! Tex is pinch run for by Gardner…is he fast?…Brett steals 2nd, then 3rd…so we have Arod at the plate with a man on third…AND ONLY 1 OUT!!!…Arod walks, so now there are men on 1st and 2nd. Here is the bad part…why is Arod standing on first in a close game??? Especially with the tying run 90ft away and a speedy Gardner
on 3rd…HE SCORES ON A GROUND BALL…well maybe not, but def a short fly
ball anywhere in the outfield. My point being that you have Berroa on the bench…why isn’t he in? Right now he is faster than Arod and could potentially swipe 2nd…eliminating the double play…Girardi will never send Arod in that situation…especially with this hip…so why again is Berroa not in there???? Especially with Cano, a lefty who pulls the ball a lot, at the plate…YOU NEED ALL THE SPEED YOU CAN GET!!!! Horrible managing and because of it Cano
hit into a double play…YOU TRADE THAT OUT FOR A POTENTIAL GO AHEAD RUN
JOE!!!!!! WHY WASN’T A RUNNER IN THE GAME AT THAT POINT!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Please someone explain that to me…it’s not the 7th inning…it’s the 9th!
PATHETIC!!!! Oh btw…all Arod
haters…he is under-performing, I KNOW, but give him a break…he is
coming off major surgery…without spring training…I agree his numbers
should be better…but he is in pain and is tired…he was supposed to get
every other day off but hasn’t and has started all 37 games since he
has been back…JOE GIVE HIM A DAY OFF….HE NEEDS THE REST!!!

On to tonite’s game…Joba vs Stammen…well the only thing I really have to say about this game is to sit back on this pitcher for the Nationals
and make him make mistakes…he is a struggling rookie who doesn’t have
good numbers at all this year, but he is better on the road than at
home…but not much better. YANKEES
PLEASE!!! be patient with this guy…you saw what happened last night!!!
He isn’t good at all…no excuse if you don’t score…then get him out of
the game early and attack that abysmal bullpen…Key to the game is Joba going more than 4 innings…He needs to prove that he is a starter and wants to be there…TRUST YOURSELF JOBA!!! You have shut down stuff…you should be in the range of a Haren or Lincecum…just
pitch your game…don’t think about your pitch count…and ATTACK THE
ZONE!! Stop trying to be cute…you throw 93 – 95…NOT 90!!! C’mon Joba
prove that you deserve a spot in the rotation..and not that you
care…prove to the media and fans that you are more valuable in the
rotation than as a set-up guy…Yankees should win tonite…they clearly have the pitching advantage in this one…LET’S GO YANKEES!!!

Other Notes:

U.S. Open: Gunna be very interesting…especially with the weather…has
an Open ever finished on a Wednesday before? Tiger is obvs the heavy
favorite but he struggles off the tee sometimes…he will probably win
but I’m pulling for Phil…hopefully he can keep his focus…if not him
Ogilvy or Harrington.

That’s it…let’s see if there is a game tonite…late

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.

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)

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