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.

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!

Manny Traded; Yankees get Pudge, Nady, Marte

I'm back from Pittsburgh and so much has been happening since I've gone and now come back.

-Yankees took 2 of 3 from the Red Sox this weekend, an exciting 1-0 win on Fri with Joba outdueling Beckett, striking out 9 in a 7-inning shutout effort.
-Yankees struggled after their loss on Sunday tot he Red Sox, losing the first 2 games of the series to the lowly Orioles. They bounced back yesterday afternoon, however, with Abreu slamming 2 hrs, Nady finally coming through with a few RBIs and runs scored.
-The Yankees received Xavier Nady (Pirates OF) and Damaso Marte (LHP Reliever) for Jeff Karstens, Ross Ohlendorf, Dan McCutchen, and Jose Tabata. A very good deal for the Yankees, minus Jose Tabata who had great potential to be a very good player. Nady has a .330 avg, .383 OBP, and 13 hr. He's a power hitter who can take over left field when Damon is DH'ing. Eventually he can take over Abreu's job in right field since this is his final year in his contract. Marte is a left-handed reliever...yay finally! He's done well and will hopefully fit well into the bullpen.
-Kyle Farnsworth was finally traded for Catcher Ivan (Pudge) Rodriguez. I was surprised, angry, then satisfied with this trade. First off, thank god Farnsworth is gone. OK, he had done surprisingly well this season, but he can't be trusted in big spots, especially down the stretch and potentially the playoffs. I didn't think Pudge was doing well this season, but then again all you hear is how the Tigers suck and gradually started getting better. But he'll be a big offensive upgrade from Molina. He's an everyday catcher, while Molina is back-up. And he's great defensively. I wish him all the luck in his first start as a Yankee tonight @ Yankee stadium.
-Ken Griffey Jr. was traded to the White Sox today. Mmm, interesting.
-Biggest news of all, of course, is that Manny Ramirez was traded to the Dodgers in return for OF Jason Bay of the Pirates. RHP Craig Hansen (Bos), OF Brandon Moss(Bos), INF Andy LaRoche(LA), and RHP Bryan Morris(LA) were sent to the Pirates. Also, the Red Sox will be paying the rest of Manny's contract ($7 million). Manny is in the NL where there is no DH, so he's going to have to play LF. You can tell the Red Sox just wanted to get rid of him, he wasn't trying and was a huge distraction for the Red Sox who got swept (again) by the Angels and almost no-hit, too. Jason Bay has good numbers, not a great avg, but a decent OBP. He's no manny, however, who is historically a Yankee killer. Do you know how different the line up is when a pitcher doesn't have to go from David Ortiz to Manny Ramirez? Bay is being thrust into the spotlight where a team is in the race for the postseason when he's spent his baseball career with the Pirates.

HUUUUUGE series starting tonight for the Yankees. They're playing the Angels who are 10-2 since the break (Yankees 9-3). They just came off a sweep of the Red Sox and have excellent pitching. I hope the Yankees can at least split the series with them. They need to prove themselves agaisnt a great team. 2 out of 3 from the Red Sox is good, 3 out of 4 from the Angels is even better.

Tonight: LHP Andy Pettite (12-7, 3.76) vs. RHP Jon Garland (9-6, 4.30) 7:05 ET
Tomorrow: RHP Sidney Ponson (6-2, 4.59) vs. RHP Ervin Santana (11-5, 3.57) 7:05 ET
Saturday: RHP Mike Mussina (13-7, 3.56) vs. LHP Jered Weaver (9-8, 4.11) 3:55 ET (I hope Moose is back on his game for this match-up, it's the only game I get to watch in this series!)
Sunday: RHP Darrell Rasner (5-8, 4.92) vs. RHP John Lackey (9-2, 2.93) 1:05 ET (Great, the guy who threw an almost no-hitter against the Red Sox)