Expansion of Instant Replay in MLB?

Less than 24 hours after the historic blown call by Jim Joyce, the Tigers and Indians were set to play the final game in their series with Joyce behind the plate. The fans, Armando Galarraga, and Jim Joyce showed a lot of class. Galarraga brought out the lineup card to Joyce and they shook hands. Joyce clearly was distraught over the terrible call he made and showed a lot by admitting his mistake. I cannot get over how much class Galarraga has shown throughout this whole ordeal and I really respect him now. I think everyone is going to remember him as the pitcher who threw a 28-out perfect game.

I agree with Bud Seilig's decision to not overturn the call. It would've altered baseball. I mean, it would suddenly make it seem OK to start overturning calls in crucial situations such as in the World Series, etc. That would not be OK, in my opinion. It happened, it was unfortunate, but nothing should be done to change the situation and Galarraga was obviously OK with how things played out (I mean as much as anyone could be).

The blown call has led to increased discussion for the expansion of instant replay in baseball. A huge step was made when it was allowed for umpires to go to instant replay for disputed homerun calls. So far, it has worked and does not take much time out of the game. Plus, how often do they have to go and look at replay? It doesn't seem like it happens that often. Some traditionalist baseball fans are opposed to instant replay, but I think it should be implemented into the game, but it should not overtake the integrity of the umpires and the calls they make. I think there should be a human element in the game, and umpires' mistakes are part of the game, no matter how heartbreaking they can be for a team. However, I think that the instant replay should occur only on the basepaths -- nothing with strikes/balls. I think that managers should be given 1 or 2 challenges per game and the decision to challenge should be acted on quickly. Obviously it's stupid if the managers use up their challenges on calls that don't alter the game, so I think they should be used sparingly. The manager would challenge a call, the umpires would go check it out on the TVs, and allow the call on the field to stand if they were correct, or change it if it wasn't. Simple as that. Hah. I would compare the implementation of technology in baseball to that of tennis. Tennis has a huge human element, with the chair umpire and linesmen making calls on whether or not balls are out. They obviously can make mistakes, with the balls being hit as hard as they are. I mean, players are serving at 130 mph and they have to make sure that the ball was in. In the grand slam events (except the French Open where they can see where the ball was hit because of the clay) they have allowed the players to have 3 challenges, so if they do not agree with a call, they can challenge and see if they were correct, then either win the point or replay it. So we will have to keep an eye out on what happens in the future for baseball. If we have the technology, we should use it, while not completely altering the game.

Anyway, enough of that. What's the state of the Yankees been like? Recently they were going through a tough stretch of games. They played a 2-game series against the Red Sox then another 2-game series against the Rays. They split the series against the Red Sox then got swept by the Rays. Actually, they had been on a tough stretch from May 7-May 28, facing the Red Sox, Tigers, Twins, Red Sox, Rays, Mets, & Twins. They won the first series against the Red Sox, lost the series to the Tigers, and won both series against the Twins, and lost the series to the Mets. Now they are going through an easier part of their schedule. They won 3 out of 4 against Cleveland and are just coming off of a sweep of the O's. Now they face the Jays, which will actually be pretty tough considering the Jays are still hanging around in the AL East (the AL East is the only division, except the NL West, that can boast of having 4 out of 5 teams being over .500) Even still, the Rockies are 3 games over .500. The Jays and Red Sox are each 7 games over .500, the Yankees 14 games, and the Rays 18 games. The Jays have good pitching and they can hit homeruns, that's for sure. Then the Yankees face the O's again, who just fired their manager Dave Trembley. They then face the lowly Astros.

ARod has been heating up with the weather. He's been hitting more homeruns and is up to 8 on the year. Robbie Cano has been unbelievable this season and is riding a 2010 major league best 17 game hitting streak. He has 12 homeruns on the season and is battling with Morneau for the best batting avg in the league. The Yankees' lineup is finally back to what it was at the beginning of the year, minus Nick Johnson. Curtis is back and has a hit in every single game since he's been back. Posada is back too, but has not caught yet. Nick Swisher has been hitting well since he's been back. LET'S GO YANKS!

History Will Not Be Made

I was going to write a blog post about the Yankees, but in light of recent events I am going to put that off for a bit. I want to talk about the umpires in the MLB right now. I don't know if they're just blowing more calls, going on more power trips, or whatever this season but lately they have been awful. First, Joe West goes out and calls the Red Sox & Yankees pathetic and embarrassing and a "disgrace to baseball." Yeah, a couple of the best teams are truly embarrassing for the sport because they play 4 hour games. THAT'S THE BEAUTY OF BASEBALL. There isn't a time limit. You go out and play the game without clocks. I would understand him saying that the pace of the game needs to be picked up a bit and players should not take as long. But the fact that he calls out two teams was uncalled for. Even if he said "For example, the Yankees and Red Sox play long games that could be played quicker than they are" or something like that, I would not have been as mad.

Anyway, I won't get into that. Then, he goes and ejects Guillen & Buehrle after they got mad after two balks were called on Buehrle. On the first balk, Guillen goes out to talk to Joe West about what exactly he saw and to make sure Buehrle didn't go apeshit on West. He keeps talking, then gets tossed. Then West calls another balk on Buehrle. Buehrle throws his glove down in disgusts and gets tossed immediately! Guillen said West wants to control the game. He sure is completing that goal.
And now, tonight, Galarraga of the Detroit Tigers was pitching a perfect game. It was the 9th inning. He was 1 out away from making history, as well as throwing the THIRD perfect game of the young 2010 season. The 1st out of the 9th was made on a spectacular catch by Austin Jackson, and you could just feel it. This was going to be a perfect game. But then, Jason Donald grounds out to Miguel Cabrera and Galarraga rushes to the bag, catches the ball, and touches the base. He's out. But no, Jim Joyce throws his arms out to his side to indicate he's safe. I was in shock. Everyone in the stadium was in shock. Jason Donald was in shock. The perfect game was gone. Just like that. If it was a Yankees pitcher throwing a perfect game, I would've gone ballistic. Now, I'm not lumping Joyce in with the likes of Joe West. He didn't go crazy ejecting people out of the game for silly reasons. But, it's just another indication of the umpires making more and more blown calls (or so it seems). In this instance, the blown call is HUGE. It altered history. I know that seems dramatic and an overexaggeration, but it's not. Tigers fans are going to remember this. Baseball fans are going to remember this. Galarraga was incredibly classy after the game talking to the media. I would not have had the same reaction as him, so I give him props for remaining so calm and taking everything in stride. Jim Leyland also held his cool as well. I've always been a fan of Leyland, and this goes to show that he knows just what he's doing out there. I get that umpires want to get calls right, and if Donald had been safe, and Joyce had gotten the call right, I don't think people would be AS mad. I would still be mad because I think in that instance, on such a close play even if Donald had gotten there before Galarraga, you should still call it out. The guy was 1 out away from a perfect game. It was a close play, a half step close kind of play, and that call should not have been made. Joyce blew it. I am sure he feels awful, but you should not be making that kind of call on that kind of play in that sort of situation. Even seeing it from different angles, it's still hard to believe he thought the Donald was safe. He clearly was not. I know those kinds of plays are made quickly, but man! It's over with now, and nothing can be done to change what happened. The Tigers still won the game. Galarraga didn't make history tonight. Instead, history was ripped away from him in a split second.

The Growing DL

It's only about a month or so away from summer -- when the season really starts to heat up. So far, the Yankees have been doing well with a 22-12 record, 2 games behind the first place Rays and the best team in baseball. However, this record indicates how well the Yankees are doing with a sudden bunch of injuries hitting the team. Chan Ho Park has been out for weeks, and may return Sunday. Curtis Granderson went down with a groin injury and will be out for at least a month -- he has not done any activity yet, so we will see if he will be returning the first week or so of June. Jorge Posada was out for a few games with a calf injury. Thankfully, Cervelli has been a GREAT back-up catcher - he's definitely one of my favorite Yankees now that Matsui is an Angel. He has great energy and emotion. He's great defensively and has gotten a lot of key hits! Mariano Rivera hadn't pitched since April 30 until he came into last night's game that originally was going to be a save until the Yankees scored 6 runs in the top of the 9th inning. (I have no problem with Mo getting some extra rest and we haven't needed him that much). Nick Swisher was out of today's game with sore biceps. ARod had -- I think a leg injury? Andy Pettite's last start was skipped because of inflammation around the elbow, but should return on Saturday to pitch. Alfredo Aceves is on the DL with a back issue. Nick Johnson is on the DL with an arm issue. Cano missed a game after being hit by Josh Beckett. We've had Winn/Thames platooning in left field since Curtis Granderson has been out. Winn is at least a veteran with some speed, but he isn't the greatest offensively. Thames is very good at left-handed pitching, but not the greatest defensively. Golson, Nova, Sanchez, Miranda, & Russo have all been called up to fill missing spots in the bullpen and lineup. So yep, the injury bug has hit the Yankees hard and they should be fortunate to have such a good record.

Hughes has been great for the Yankees and looks like an ace ... in the 5th spot in the rotation! Vazquez appeared to get over his pitching woes last time out -- going 7 innings while only giving up 2 runs. Pettite has been doing great until his injury. The offense, however, has struggled the last few games. They need to snap out of this rut as they go on to face a tough schedule. They play the Twins (22-12) at home tomorrow, the Red Sox (18-17) a 2-game series, then the Rays (24-10) a 2-game series. Then they go on the road to face the Mets (18-16) and the Twins again. They end the month at home with a 4-game series against Cleveland (13-19).

The upcoming homestand and roadtrip will show how much character this Yankees team has, especially without Park, Johnson, Granderson, and Aceves and the addition of a mixture of Triple-A callups and bench players. Let's hope for the best! Go Yanks!

Baseball's Back!

Baseball's back and we're already 11 games into the season!! Only 6 more months until playoffs start :) Which hopefully the Yankees will be in! So far, they look very good at the season's start. Usually the Yankees have slow starts, but so far so good. They have also had one of the hardest schedules to start the season in the MLB. So far they have played only top teams -- Red Sox on the road (won the series 2-1), Rays on the road (won the series 2-1 & Rays are tied with them for AL East lead), Angels at home (won series 2-1), and they just swept the Rangers at home. They have scored 69 runs and given up 44 (most notable runs given up: 7-9 loss to Sox, 3-9 loss to Rays, and 5-7 loss to Angels). The starting pitching has been great (especially CC & Pettite [hello, 1.35 era] ) minus Javier Vazquez, but hey he's only their 4th starter. Hughes had a good start against the Angels. He gave up 5 walks, which obviously you want to see less of, but they came on 3-2 counts, so he just needs to learn how to put hitters away when he has the opportunity. He also had 6 strikeouts and was worked up to over 100 pitches. The bullpen was a little shaky at first, but Joba has been doing well, Mo is Mo, Park has shown glimpses of good pitching but is on the DL with a hamstring injury and the Yankees are being cautious. Robertson has been good as well. Boone Logan was called up to replace Park, but we have yet to see him.

This start by the Yankees has been great. Let's hope they can keep it up with the rest of their tough schedule this month. They travel to Oakland (who lost to the O's today...the now 2-1in O's...but they also have a 9-5 record), then onto Los Angeles to face the Angels. It will be interesting to see how they face up against the Angels again. They never play well on the road against them and the Angels are coming off a sweep as well. The Yankees finally get to play an easy team in the Orioles.

Random Observations/Notes:

-Way cool that Jeter/Cano became the first teammates in Yankees history to both have a 10-game hitting streak.
-Jeter's looked great defensively this year and already has 3 homeruns!
-Cano has been great as well. At one point he was hitting .400. He's been getting hits with runners in scoring position in the 5-hole, just what the Yankees fans want.
-Tex finally hit his 1st homer of the year. Although his batting avg is hideous, his defense has been great, saving a potential no-hitter for CC and saved Pettite from having a disastrous inning that could've potentially determined the game. His offense will come around, we all know that after last year.
-Gardner has been great so far this year. Hitting in the lead-off spot today after Jeter was out with a headcold, he went 2 for 3 with a BB. He's also 7 for 8 in steals.

Basically everything is clicking right now and sending the Yankees to a hot start and the AL East Lead. Keep it up, Yanks!

Opening Night/Day 2010

So the Yankees, as the 2009 world champions, have the honor of being one of the teams featured for Opening Night. Of course they're facing the Red Sox. How could they not? Luckily I have had other sports teams to turn my attention to (football, college basketball, & hockey) during the offseason, but now baseball is back in 4 days!!! I am so excited for the season to start and for the Yankees to defend their title. Expect more updates in May (I get out of school May 7, go to Pittsburgh the 13th or somewhere around there and will be back the 17th or so).

Let's go yankees!!

YOUR 2009 WORLD CHAMPIONS...THE NEW YORK YANKEES!

Yes, the Yankees won the World Series for the 27th time on November 5th! I couldn't be more happy. However, work has been piling up so I don't have time to do an in-depth update about the series. Expect one over Thanksgiving break though.

Way to suck offense

Dear Yankees,

Cliff Lee is not THAT good. Not shutout-complete game-in-the-world-series good. (Well, I assume complete game, it's not over yet). He is not as magnificent as the loser duo of McCarver & Buck are salivating over. Wow, he made two nonchalant plays, that's great. I'm sure no pitcher has done that before. Your weak hacks at him were more than disappointing. Your standing there and seeing 3 pitches didn't help either. Suffice it to say, the 50,000+ fans at the stadium tonight probably want their money back. CC did a phenomenal job despite a shaky start. He gave up 2 runs. TWO! And you couldn't even get a runner to 3rd. If you don't break out tomorrow, you're going to have a bunch of angry fans. So please note that you should WORK THE COUNT, ADVANCE RUNNERS WHEN THEY'RE ON BASE, and in general DON'T SUCK. You can't count on the pitcher ALL the time, like the ALCS. CC isn't going to be downright unhittable every game he pitches. Oh and Phil Hughes, please stop sucking, thanks!

Sincerely,
a very upset fan

WORLD SERIES 2009

The Yankees are baaaaack! Back in the World Series, that is. First time since 2003. I am beyond excited for this team. Surprisingly I was very calm in last night's game -- pissed at first that the Yankees forgot how to hit with RISP, but happy once they took the lead. My stomach wasn't in knots like it was in other games. Maybe it's because I've been lacking sleep all weekend. Anyway, what a great series! For once the Yankees beat the Angels. CC got the MVP award. I thought ARod deserved it, but whatever they were both amazing in the series.

Up next is the defending World Champ Phillies. Their fans are really annoying, it's going to be tough listening to the crowd in game 3, 4 & maybe 5. The teams are also both similar -- power hitting, good pitching, hitter-friendly parks. It will be another good series though. I'm so ready for it to start tomorrow (only because I have a psych exam tonight and the Wild game is on national tv). Let's do this Yanks!

Playoffs? Check. AL East? Check

I guess the Yankees decided to take my letter seriously :) Everything I asked of them, they did! Including Joba having a great start against the Red Sox. We just won't remember the fact that he sucked last night against the Royals of all teams. In one game the Yankees a) got 100 wins b) clinched the AL East c) tied up the season series against the Red Sox. BTW, the Red Sox are the only team to win the first eight games of a season series and lose the series. HAHHH. I was happy they swept the Red Sox because then I got to see them celebrate on tv :) On ESPN, nevertheless. And the Red Sox are now reeling going into the postseason - they have lost six straight matching their season high. And sucks for them that they clinched a playoff spot because the Rangers lost. (Ok the Yanks clinched because the Rangers lost but they at least won their game that night).

So the final series of the season is against the Rays. The only thing the Yanks are concerned with is a) having CC win 20 games (ok it's not necessary but it would be really nice) b) making sure Robertson is ok to pitch in the postseason and at least for me c) making their record even more gaudy :) OH and d) figuring out who the heck they're gonna play in the ALDS. The Twins, sadly, only split the series against Detroit :( So now they have to sweep the Royals and hope the Tigers get swept by the Chisox. The Twins ARE playing the Royals, but they're also facing Greinke who they lost to just a week ago. GOOO TWINS!

The Postseason begins on Oct 7th for the Yanks (assuming they choose the first series, which they prob will so they can skip Joba's start). CC is taking the mound for the important first game of the series which will be in the Bronx. LET'S GO YANKEES!!!!

A Letter to the Team

Dear New York Yankees,

Please clinch your playoff spot. It's no fun losing two of three to the Orioles and two of three to the Mariners. Oh, and it really sucks to keep losing in Anaheim. Please find a way to win because there's a pretty good possibility that you will have to play the Angels in the playoffs. Or maybe us Yankee fans will have to root for the team we never want to root for. Ever. Getting homefield advantage throughout the playoffs would really just be the whipped cream on top of the sundae. Not the cherry, no. The whipped cream is more important. Don't you guys want to celebrate?! There will be no champagne if you keep sucking. Losing the series to the Angels will suck. Losing to Boston will suck as well. So please remember that it's pretty crucial to get hits with runners in scoring position. Oh and Joba? Yeah sorry you freaking SUCK. What the hell happened to the pitcher after the all-star break? Or shall I say the few games after the break? Sergio Mitre, you suck, too. Gaudin, you're ok. Burnett, please please please pitch well in the playoffs. Bruney, you suck, too. And so do you Albaladejo. So now that that's all out, let's get to the end of the season. Let's clinch a playoff spot, win the division, get homefield advantage and celebrate. Pitch well, hit well, and it'll all be ok.

Love,
a disgruntled Yankee fan

P.S. I really really really dislike the Angels. So please beat them.

2,722

Thought I'd send out a quick update congratulating Derek Jeter on passing Lou Gehrig on the Yankees all-time hits list with his 2,722 hit. It gave me goosebumps seeing the ball roll past the 1st baseman and Jeter reaching safely on 1st. It's a great time to be a Yankees fan, and an honor to see such a great player and person breaking these records cleanly. Jeter is one of those all-time Yankee greats and it's been amazing seeing him play all these years. While everyone else got to see Gehrig play, we get to see Jeter play.

Today the Yankees hope to spare themselves embarrassment by avoiding a sweep by the lowly Orioles. CC takes the mound and will surely pitch better than Burnett and hopefully our offense decides to show up. The Yanks have a 7.5 lead in the division, but lead the Angels by only 5 games in the race for the best record and homefield advantage throughout the playoffs. Tomorrow the Yankees play one game against the Angels that was rained out and then play 2 games against Toronto.

Keep the wins coming!!

August drags on

I've been failing at everything online lately, including this blog. To be honest, I haven't really been paying close attention to the Yankees since the Boston series. Good thing I decided to update my blog right now instead of getting the mail since it just started downpouring. Anyway...it's not like the Yankees have been playing poorly which would clearly indicate my lack of interest, I guess I've just been preoccupied with college coming up so soon...like next week. The Yankees swept the Red Sox (Boston Massacre '09 - 4-game sweep in NY, Boston Massacre '06 - 5-game sweep in NY) which was faaaabulous! The epic 15-inning game and the come-from-behind win that Sunday were my favorite games of the series. Yanks went on to win 2 of 3 from the Jays, 3 of 4 from the Mariners, and 2 of 3 from the A's. In between there was a 2-game losing streak, the first this month. Oh yeah, and forgot to mention the Yankees are ahead by 7 games (6.5 if the Sox win tonight).

Yanks start a 3-game series at Fenway on Fri night. Pettite vs. Penny, Burnett vs. Tazawa, and Sabathia vs. Beckett. The last game should be a really good one, which I hope the Yankees win! I guess this series will have me really interested in baseball again, especially since 2 games are on TV. Expect a better update next time?

On another note, Torrii Hunter commented on his blog about how he thinks the West is better than the East now. I don't think that's necessarily true for the AL West. I mean, maybe the East is better just slightly. The Yankees have the best record in baseball (76-45) and they have good pitching, good offense, and depth. I'll admit I don't really follow the Angels (mostly cuz i really dislike them) but from what I've heard, they really don't have great pitching, it is their offense that wins them games. The Yankees offense wins them games, too, but they've also won a lot of close games. Plus the AL West only has 4 teams, not 5. The A's are the only team who has a below .500 record and even then the Mariners are only 4 games above .500. The Red Sox and Tampa are both above .500. So I think it's pretty even between the AL West and East teams, but I thinkt he Rays are better than the Mariners. That's just my 2 cents. I won't go into the NL West and East because I don't really follow them, but I do know the NL West has some good pitching.

Red Sox - Yankees: Round 3

0-8

8 games where the Red Sox have stripped the Yankees of their pride. It's not acceptable for any team to be 0-8 against a division rival. The Yanks weren't great when they played them in April. They still weren't great in May. But they were better in June and still lost. But now they are one of the hottest teams in baseball (probably besides the Angels & Dodgers) with the 2nd-best record in baseball. There is no excuse now to lose to the Red Sox in the Bronx.

Clearly I jinxed the Yankees in my last post (yes, I'm one of those superstitious sports fans) by gushing over how good they were. Ok, so they took 2 of 3 from the Rays. That's very good. But then they lost 3 in a row to the CHISOX! C'mon! I know they're a good team (and have been beating up on the Angels who the Yanks can't beat to save their lives), but man they played HORRIBLY! Sloppy defense, no offense, bad pitching. Luckily I was out of town without TV or internet (except on my phone to check the final scores) so I didn't have to suffer through that series. Funny thing is, when I was driving back to Minnesota from Pennsylvania, our GPS system took us a different way through Chicago. We went through the city (and AWFUL traffic on a Sunday) and I got to see U.S. Cellular Field where the Yanks were playing. Since then, however, they have won 3 in a row (saving themselves from embarassment by winning 1 game in the 4-game series against the chisox). They've got the momentum and they know how to pitch and hit at Yankee Stadium.

Peter Abraham, the Yankees beatwriter, has a good breakdown of the two teams and who is stronger at what positions (including the managers): Read it Here

I'm predicting (& I usually never predict) that the Yankees will split the series.

Joba vs. Smoltz - Joba. He's been great lately and Smoltz has not, sporting a 7 ERA. And they're in the Bronx.

Sabathia vs. Buchholz - Sabathia. He hasn't been brilliant lately, but he's gotten the job done.

Burnett vs. Beckett -Beckett. Burnett has been good, but he's sucked against the Red Sox. In fact, it was after he turned in a total sucky outing against the Sux that he turned it around. But Beckett's too damn good. Damn him, I really dislike him.

Pettite vs. Lester - Lester. Pettite's pitched well as of late, but once again Lester is too damn good. And he is usually great against the Yankees. This is the one matchup I'm not sure of - the Yanks could potentially win this game if they can get some hits off of Lester and if Pettite pitches like he did last game (outdueling the Doc). It would be wonderful if the Yanks could take 3 of 4.

Let's do this Yanks!

Let the Good Times Roll...

All I have to say is....

I'm lovin' the Yanks right now!!!!!!

Record Since the All-Star break: 10-1
Record Overall: 61-38 (2nd best in majors)

Total team effort ... great starting pitching, timely offense, and a SOLID bullpen.

Only worries? Coke, Hughes, and Mo can't pitch everyday for us. Mitre isn't gonna cut it for us as the #5 starter the rest of the season (true, he has done his job, but he has been giving up wayyy too many hits & allowing teams an opportunity to get back into the game). And worst news of all? Gardner is going to be out AT LEAST a month (he says) because of a broken finger. No speed on the basepaths now or range in the outfield.

That being said....BRING IT ON!

Upcoming matchups:

7/27-7/29: Yankees @ Rays
7/30-8/2: Yankees @ Chisox
8/4-8/5: Yankees @ Jays
8/6-8/9: Red Sox @ Yankees

Yanks gotta play the Red Sox TWO times next month! 4-game series in the Bronx (AFTER a 9-game road trip and they don't even get a day off to travel) and a 3-game series at Fenway.

And the 2nd half begins

Derek Jeter's Throw
To all the people who think Jeter's declining, doesn't have a great range, or whatever, WATCH THAT! Damn, that was a magnificient throw.

The Yanks have started the All-Star Break off right by taking its first 2 games against the Central-leading Tigers. Yes, they have finally beat a 1st place team! and Nick Swisher made a smart play on the basepaths! Maybe they read my blog ;) If they continue to follow the goals I set for them, Joba should probably pitch well tomorrow :) Of course he's facing Edwin Jackson. But the Yankees have faced 2 good pitchers (French & Verlander) so far this series. They came from behind last night. Trailing 3-2 in the 7th inning, the Yankees rallied to take a 5-3 lead on a Teixeira homer. It was launched into the upper deck in right field - a no-doubter on a 98-mph fastball on a 3-1 count. Hughes came in the 7th inning, relieving Burnett who battled through 6 innings (5 bb?! EEK!), and went 2 innings, striking out 6. Mo closed it out.

Today, CC Sabathia was far from sharp (what's with him failing in day games?!) but once again our starting pitcher battled through 2 shaky first innings and lasted 7 innings, giving up 5 hits and 0 runs. While CC wasn't his sharpest, he gave everyone what they wanted - a pitcher's duel. Facing Verlander, the Yanks only managed 3 hits through 6 innings against him (2 were hits by Jeter) until ARod came through in the 7th and launched one - barely - over the right field wall. Verlander looked at ARod sarcastically, not able to believe that what looked to be a flyball, turned out to be a homerun. But hey, maybe he shouldn't have given up a single & double to Cano & Swisher which led to an infield single by Melky. That put his team out of the game, and Melky's single proved to be very important, when Thames barely got one out of the park in the 8th inning. Mo came in for his 2nd save in as many days.

I missed the homerun derby, though I heard it wasn't as great as the one at Yankee stadium - well what could top Hamilton's performance?! I watched the All-star game though and was happy to see the Yanks contribute! Jeter got hit by a pitch (grrr!), reached on a fielder's choice, and then grounded out in his last at-bat (robbed by pujols). He did get 2 runs for the AL. Tex went 0-for-3...he reached on an error by Pujols and in his last-at bat was robbed of a hit by Pujols. Man, he really didn't like the Yanks lol. Papelbon got the win, even though he so didn't deserve it (damn you baseball stats!) because Crawford saved his butt by making a spectacular leaping catch to snag a ball that was going out of the park (and would've given the NL the lead). The next batter almost hit one out, too. Mo closed it out for the AL (who was up 4-3) and got his 4th save in an All-star game - a new record. It was pretty cool seeing President Obama throw out the first pitch (even though Pujols saved him from embarrassment by just catching the ball before it dropped in the dirt). And he stayed faithful to his team - the Chisox - by wearing a Sox jacket. And it was really cool hearing him discuss baseball in the booth. It was a lot more fun than listening tot he Fox announcers.

Anyway I wrote a lot more than I expected. Gonna watch the game on TV tomorrow and hope the Yanks win!

All Star Game 2009

So the All-star break has just begun and the players get a few days off before the 2nd half begins on Thursday (for some teams). The Yankees ended the 1st half of the season by getting swept by the Angels. Yup. The Angels who were without Torii Hunter and Vladimir Guerrero. They had leads in all 3 games and saw all of those leads get swept away. Let's not recount the embarrassment that was this weekend.

New York Yankees' Goals for the 2nd Half of the Season:

1. Actually beat Boston for once. The Yankees CAN compete with the Red Sox and are just as good as them. There's a reason the two teams have flip flopped between 1st and 2nd place and are generally only a few games apart. The Yanks will not go 0-18 against them. Or I really hope not....
2. Beat good teams! Or at least 1st place teams. Of course they've shown they can't even beat terrible teams like the Nationals. They're going to be facing the Rays a lot the rest of the season and will be seeing the Red Sox 8 more times. They also see the White Sox, Tigers, Mariners, Rangers, and the Angels.
3. Nick Swisher needs to stop making dumb plays on the basepaths. You're not Brett Gardner. The same could be said for other players on the team as well.
4. Johnny Damon needs to get back into the swing of things. Jeter's been known to get lead-off singles and it'd be great if Johnny could move him over (whether it's a sacrifice or a base hit).
5. ARod should get his days off. We know what he starts to look like when he doesn't. He should be refreshed after the break, or maybe not if he's gonna party hard with Kate Hudson.
6. Brian Bruney needs to start pitching well. Phil Hughes has taken over his spot as the 8th inning guy, or at least the go-to guy when the Yanks need someone they can trust in a tough spot (if it's not the 9th inning, or the 8th with less than 2 outs).
7. Joba needs to start pitching well, too. His crap starts are just unacceptable. The least he could do is get to the 6th inning. FYI, you have the stuff to be a great starting pitcher, but you choose to nibble around the strike zone and lose guys on 0-2 counts. YOU ARE NOT PITCHING AS WELL AS YOU THINK YOU ARE.
8. While AJ & CC have been great as of late (maybe not CC against the Angels, but I wasn't watching the game, so I wouldn't really know), but the rest of our rotation? Eeek! Step it up guys. Hey, maybe we'll see Sergio Mitre!

Well, that's all I could think of so far. & with that being said, a recap of the 1st half of the season written by Mark Feisand of the Daily News:

* They are 0-8 against the Red Sox.

* Chien-Ming Wang is 1-6 and on the DL for a second time.

* Brian Bruney missed 40 games over two DL stints and hasn’t found his groove since he returned.

* Joba Chamberlain has been erratic every five days.

* Mark Teixeira hit .190 in April and went 95 at-bats without a home run in June/July.

* Alex Rodriguez missed a month after hip surgery.

* His replacement, Cody Ransom, then went on the DL himself, leaving third-base to scrappy minor-leaguer Ramiro Pena and aging 31-year-old Angel Berroa until A-Rod came back.

* Jorge Posada (22 games) and Jose Molina (54 games) have both been on the DL, leaving catching duties to Double-A call-up Francisco Cervelli and journeyman Kevin Cash.

* Robinson Cano went about two weeks without an RBI and hasn’t hit with guys on base all year.

* Xavier Nady played for a week before blowing out his elbow.

* Andy Pettitte’s ERA at Yankee Stadium is almost 6.00.

* Damaso Marte pitched terribly and has been out with a bum shoulder since April.

* Edwar Ramirez and Jose Veras stunk and were sent down/released.

* The Yankees are 51-34 and tied for first place in the American League East.

*****NOTE: This was before the series against the Angels.

With that being said, I'm excited to watch the homerun derby and the all-star game. If only it didn't count. They should really follow the NHL on this one. The team with the better record should get home-field advantage. Whatever. I'm also happy Pedroia isn't going to be the 2nd baseman. It's a bummer he had to leave because of a family emergency though :-\. Oh well, there are still a ton of red sox players on the roster, ughhh. Go AL!

5 more games before the all-star break

The Yankees took 3 of 4 from the Jays and last night took the opening game in the Twins series. It was the first time the Yanks came to town this season, so I was very excited to see the 2009 Yankees in person! They won the game 10-2 on 16 hits and 7 solid innings from CC Sabathia. He only gave up 1 run, a solo hr, and only 3 hits. It was nice to see him rebound from a poor start his last time out. And I was very happy to see him pitching well, as I was in attendance. As for the offense, they worked the count against Baker and got some hits and drove in runs. While some of the hits in the early going were little bloopers, flares, and broken-bat hits, they got it done, loading the bases a few times. The key to their offense was their 2-out hits with RISP.

Recap of the Scoring:

1st inning: Jeter lead-off single, K Damon, Tex single, ARod popup, RBI Single Matsui, K Swisher.
2nd inning: Cano lead-off single, infield single Gardner, deep sac fly Cervelli, popup Jeter, infield hit Damon, RBI single Tex, K ARod
4th inning: Cervelli lead-off single, walk Jeter, walk Damon, pop-up Tex, deeeeeeeep sac fly ARod, walk Matsui, walk Swisher, groundout Cano.
6th inning: Tex single, walk Arod, walk Swisher, single Cano, triple Gardner, double Cervelli.

All around, it was a team effort. The bottom of the lineup was excellent. I'm bummed Cervelli is being sent down because he had a great game. But now we have Posada and Molina catching, and Molina is one of the best back-up catchers. We'll see Cervelli soon, I'm sure of it :). And we're a very fortunate team to have him in the minors.

I think the highlight of the game was when Arod was robbed of a grand slam. Man, that thing was going out and everyone knew it, too. However, Gomez made a great catch and if he hadn't caught it, it was out because his glove was over the fence. Funny thing is, I said after ARod's first at-bat that he would hit one out that night. If it weren't for Gomez, that would've been true and it would've crushed every Twins fan in the dome because the game would've been 7-1 at that point. And it would've shut up their damn booing, too. At least that didn't matter too much as the offense kept pouring it on and were relentless. It sucked because Matsui almost hit one out, too, but it was caught. Next time, they shouldn't aim for dead center (408 ft).

It sucks that I had to go to the game with all Twins fans. Luckily I was next to a father and son who were Yankee fans. The son was so cute and had a Jeter jersey on, awww!! We both were so bummed about the Arod and Matsui should've-been-homeruns. Plus, there were a lot of Yanks fans in the building. There were definitely some loud cheers when they scored :). Man, those Yankees sure are sell-outs. They have fans everywhere. and man, Jeter is such a sell-out too. I mean appearing in his 10th all-star game? Clearly him getting the most votes in the AL means he's a sell-out and is a terrible shortstop. Scratch that, the whole organization is a sell-out because they know how to spend their money and get the best players and even have great young players in their farm system who are playing in the majors this year and are greatly helping the team out. And those 26 world championships? What a farce! Boo the Yankees for being rich because they know how to build a team and have the best fans in baseball. Hahahah, some people need to learn how to NOT be jealous.

Anyway, it was a great game and my record for games now moves to 4-0!!! Woohooo!!!

4/9/07: 8-2 W (WP: Pavano - Yeah, I know, I can't believe he actually had a quality start and was actually pitching for the Yanks lol)

5/30/08: 6-5 W (WP: Moose)

8/12/08: 9-6 W, 12 innings (WP: Veras - Mo blew his save :( )

7/7/09: 10-2 W (WP: CC Sabathia)

Tonight AJ Burnett faces Glen Perkins. Hopefully AJ will stay hot as well as the offense. Thursday, since CMW is on the DL....AGAIN!, Alfredo Aceves takes his spot. He will face rookie Anthony Swarzak. This is a game I'm not sure the Yanks will win. Aceves has made only 4 career starts, but was great in almost all of them and it was down the stretch, too. However, while I'm only a little worried about how he will pitch, I'm more worried about the offense facing Swarzak, a pitcher t hey've never seen before. We all know how those games go *rolls eyes*. Then they have to face the Angels. Ughhhh. The Angels are a much better team this time around (just like the Twins) but the Yanks always suck against them. I'm hoping that will change and they can take this series and then the series against the Angels before the all-star break. Btw, Congrats to Mo, Jeter, and Tex for making the team!

500, 501, 502, 503...

Happy 4th of July!

*Today is the 70th anniversary of the great Lou Gehrig's speech. "Today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of this earth" - one of the most famous lines. The Yankees honored him by wearing "4ALS" patches, a #4 on 1st base, and reciting lines from his speech. They also donated $25,000 to the ALS Association of Greater NY.
*The Yankees had lost 3 in a row and 5 of their last 7 before their win against Atlanta in the second game of the series. It was sparked by Joe Girardi arguing with the 1st base umpire after he said Gardner was picked off 1st base (when clearly he was SAFE!). That sparked the Yankees as Cervelli hit his first major league homerun and the rest of the offense woke up. It also sparked them to a 7-game winning streak (a series win against Atlanta, a sweep of the Mets, and a series win against the mariners).


*Sunday night the game was on ESPN, so I was able to see Mo get his 500th save!!!! :) Congrats to him. It was just as awesome seeing him come up to the plate and work a bases loaded, 2 out walk to drive in a run and get his first major league rbi. Thanks, K-Rod.
*CC had a terrible last start (6 runs on 10 hits) against the Mariners. I'm hoping that he rebounds from that and has a great start next game because that's the game I am going to! I'm so freaking excited. Considering I saw Moose pitch the two games I went to last year and Carl Pavano the year before that, it's going to be great seeing one of the Yankees best pitchers this year and one of the newest. The Yankees have to face Scott Baker who struggled with his pitch count last time out, but only gave up a run. Of course, they were facing the Royals. He's 2-0, 1.50 against the Yankees, so I'm hoping they'll work his pitch count and get some runs off of him. I would love to see a series opening win from the Yanks.
*The Yankees pitching has been great and the offense has scored just enough runs to get some wins. It would be nice to see that continue over this 4-game series with the Jays as well as the series against the Twins.

GO YANKS!!!!

Wake Up, Yankees

While the weather in Minnesota is heating up, the Yankees are going the opposite direction. Over the past 12 games, this team has been very disappointing. Losing two series in a row to the NATIONALS and the MARLINS? Dear god, how embarrassing. Despite the Nationals actually being a very good offensive team, which is probably overshadowed by their terrible record, their pitching and defense is terrible. That's why they've only won 20 games. Sure, one of their starting pitchers pitched a good game and it's good to give credit when it's due, but seriously Yankees? And the 2nd game against the Marlins, they faced a very good pitcher. But they had runners on in the 9th against their bullpen and could've won the game, but they failed. Same with the game last night. Maybe if Brett Tomko hadn't come in and given up those homers, they could've had a better chance. Maybe if they didn't make those errors, they could've been closer.


If the Yankees want to stay in the hunt for 1st place in the division, they need to play better baseball than this. Their starting pitchers have been very good as of late (Burnett the other day? Outdueled, but still did very well). And the Yankees lineup pays them back with a poor effort at the plate and not coming through when they should. The bullpen hasn't been bad either. It's not cool for a lineup to slump all at the same time. Hopefully the Yankees can turn it around against the Braves (who are a team that has hot/cold offense - they lead the majors in runs scored w/ 2 outs and have the best batting avg with the bases loaded). They better turn it around because they've had the opportunity to play crappy NL teams and haven't capitalized like the Red Sox, Jays, or Rays have.

Yankees Take Subway Series Round 1 in Bronx

Lots to talk about....first off, the Yankees game today:

* NYY- 15 NYM - 0. I was going to go on a big rant about how angry the Yankees were making me this past week and weekend, but today they kind of did everything they were supposed to. They worked the count, got hits, got hits with risp, and for once knocked the opposing pitcher out of the game early. It wasn't our pitcher at 50 pitches in the 3rd inning for once, but the opponents! What a concept. AJ Burnett bounced back from an awful last outing and looked great the first 2 innings. He ran into some trouble in the 3rd, but worked hard and got two batters looking and Jeter caught a hard-hit ball right at him and AJ escaped a bases loaded, no out jam. Jeter was 4-for-4 today and Cervelli got 3 hits of his own. Cano and Matsui homered. The big thing was that Santana, who was previously 3-0 against the Yanks, gave up a career-high nine runs.

*Friday night's game was a memorable one. Down 8-7 in the bottom of the 9th inning, Jeter got a 1-out hit, stole 2nd, Tex walked, and of course ARod came up with 2 outs and risp. On a 3-1 count, he popped out and threw his bat down in frustration. Castillo got under the ball, it fell into his glove.....then out. Castillo fell to the ground and threw to 2nd but it was too late as Tex slid home safe. The Yankees won 9-8 and celebrated yet another walk-off in in an unusual way.

*If we could forget the Boston series ever occurred, that would be GREAT! :)

*CMW is on the hook as he turned in another poor outing this past week. I feel for him, I really do. I'm a huge fan of his, but Yankee fans are impatient and can't stand to see him go out there for 2 innings or less and give up hit after hit. The difference in his last start was that we saw great stuff from him at times and his velocity was up and his sinker was sinking. He hasn't suddenly lost his pitching ability, he just has no confidence out on the mound. I really hope he can turn it around during his next start against the Nationals, or we're going to be seeing more of Phil Hughes.

*The big juicy gossip is the brewing feud between Mets pitcher K-Rod and Yanks pitcher Brian Bruney who is set to rejoin the team on Tuesday. After K-Rod blew the game on Fri, Bruney was happy to see it happen to him. To sum up his quotes, he basically dislikes K-Rod's antics on the mound - how he celebrates like he threw a perfect game every save he makes - basically. While I'm a fan of pitchers celebrating, K-Rod's act IS tiring. You're a closer for crying out loud, you don't need to jump around pumping your fist after facing the bottom 3 of a lineup against a crap team (as one example, lol). I don't expect them to just not show any emotion like Rivera, who just happens to be a class act on the mound, but dont' act like a complete ass celebrating like you just won the lottery - that means you too Papelbon! Anyway, K-Rod responded saying don't go through the media to say things like that and I don't know who you are so I'm not going to even be affected by your comments. Would you like to eat your words, K-Rod? Today before the Yankees game, K-Rod went over to Bruney yelling at him and trying to start a fight. He had to be held back by his teammates while Bruney just stood there as CC and AJ rushed to his defense. If a nobody pitcher's words really didn't affect you, then why did you try to start a fight with him? K-Rod is such an idiot. Here's to hoping he blows more games for the Mets this year and to Bruney setting up even more saves for Mo :) Oh, and I know K-Rod said Bruney should say these kinds of things to his face, but what is he going to do? Walk up to him, tap him on the shoulder, and say "Excuse me? Francisco Rodriguez? I'm Brian Bruney, 8th inning set-up man for the Yankees and I just wanted to let you know that I think you're an embarrassment to MLB and your celebrations on the mound are completely unecessary. Ok, bye!" Get over yourself, K-Rod.

* The MLB 09 draft was this past week. The Yanks top 5 picks were:
-CF Zachary/Slade Heathcott from Texas High School
-Catcher John Murphy from the Pendleton School
-RHP Adam Warren from UNC Chapel Hill
-RHP Caleb Cotham from Vanderbilt
-3B Robert Lyerly from UNC Charlotte
They took a lot of pitchers and stocked up on some left-handed pitchers. They mostly stuck with college players.

The All-Star game selections is on July 5th, so keep voting! I also found a site that is trying to get Swisher into the all-star game this season as a write-in, so check it out. VOTE SWISHER