Yankees Mid-Season Report…The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Okay, so now that the 80th All-Star Game is finally over, not only can we as Yankee fans be proud of Tex, Jeter and Mo for showing the Yankee Pride in the AL’s 4-3 win last night, we can hope that it will give the Yankees home field advantage througout the World Series…I’m highly doubting it however, and here is why…

The Good…

Tex’s bat finally woke up after a butt stinking April, though he is still only hitting in the mid-270s and is showing signs of Giambi-like pulling of the ball rather than spraying it all over the field. 21 bombs and 60 ribs is a nice upgrade over Gumbi, not to mention the almost Mattinglyish glove at First Base.

A-Rod had appeared to have woken up…after missing several games due to hip surgery, A-Rod has come on like gang busters over the last week to ten days, hitting almost one home run per game on average over that span…hopefully the first half was used as a spring training session, and the true run producer will be more consistent in the second half of the season.

Mo is Mo…several skeptics thought after a couple of hiccups in April, the Great Sandman had finally gone over the cliff…WRONG! Mo is Mo, and as we celebrate his All-Star record breaking 4th save, along with his 500th career save, when the game is on the line, there is NOBODY ELSE IN BASEBALL I’d rather have on the mound to slam that door than Mariano Rivera.

Jeter is the Captain…After much speculation that Jeter lost a step, and could no longer hit or run, all I have to say is…a .321 average and plenty of gold left in his mitt to do the job. People forget that Jeter played with a severe quad injury most of last year, thus limiting him in the field and on the basepaths, along with tainting his batting average the second half of last season…he never lost it, rather he bucked up like a man and played through it last year.

The Bad…

Don’t let the record fool you…even though the Yankees have the third best record in all of baseball at the break, those of us in the know have plenty to fear as the second half looms. The every series ***-beating at the hands of the Red Sox, resulting in an 0 for 2009 doesn’t make me think the Bombers are any closer to reaching the pinnacle of the sport, nor does their pathetic finish out in Anaheim to an injury-plagued Angels squad whom the Yankees should’ve squashed like bugs under their collective feet. To have leads in the first two games, only to piss them away, and then have the Angels on the ropes in the finale, just to leave town swept means Brian Cashman and the boys have some serious work to do prior to the July 31st trading deadline…And now for the bad portion…

The Ugly…

Joba Chamberlain. The guy stinks of freshly laid dog crap. He is getting worse by the outing, yet Cash and Girardi insist he will be a star. As I and the rest of the baseball world know, that is NOT GOING TO HAPPEN! Put his fat f***ing *** in the bullpen as the 8th inning setup guy, give Phil Hughes the chance to shine in the rotation, and get the back end of the bullpen right before it’s too late!

Brian Bruney. Another poop clog in the Yankees bullpen. Since hurting his elbow, the man has been simply putrid. His fastball is so flat one could roll it down a coffee table, and Major League hitters don’t let flat fastballs go by…they deposit them into the stands. Make Bruney a middle innings guy, which is where he has the most success, and move Chamberlain into his role in the 8th inning. After all, it won’t be long, and Rivera will finally retire…and then what? The Yankees have the tools in-house to build a dominant bridge to Mariano, yet they piss it away because Joba and his crippled old man want him to be a starter. When did this become The Dalles Little League, where Dads and kids dictate to coaches where they will play? Absolutely ******* pathetic.

The outfield…what a goddamn joke. The Yankees are stockpiled with a bunch of designated hitters, and none of them can play a lick of defense, led by Mr. Red Sox himself, Johnny “I’m a little bitch” Damon. It’s great that he’s hit 12 of his 16 homers this season at the new stadium, but how many runs has he handed back via his glove or lack thereof? DH Damon and shuffle the roster already…jesus. Yes, that means dealing the once beloved Hideki Matsui or flat out releasing him. Yes, he’s been hot the last couple of weeks, but you know what? So has minor league phenom Austin Jackson and at least he plays the field. Matsui is worthless, and thank goodness that Damon and Matsui are both in the final year’s of their respective contracts.

The Starting Rotation…the Dodgers have the best record in baseball with a bunch of journeymen and throwaways, yet we as Yankee fans are supposed to be proud of the 1st half performances of Burnett and Sabathia? Sabathia is coming ever so close to garnering Ed Whitson comparisons thus far, and Burnett is nothing like the Burnett of 2008. At least he’s staying healthy…so far. I said it before in earlier blog entries and I’m saying it again…Andy Pettitte is a bum and washed up. Yeah, I know he has 8 wins, but an ERA over the moon, and he can’t win at home. A guy like Pettitte in a short series will help get you ousted in the 1st round. He didn’t deserve the $14 mil he was seeking, and I’m not sure he even deserves Major League minimum at the break.

Hughes could give you exactly the same thing as could lefty Phil Coke, for far less money PLUS they would be getting big league experience! Don’t even get me started on Chamberlain again, we all know how I feel about that piss drunk waste of skin…the one I do feel bad for is Chien Ming Wang. I’ve always argued that Girardi doesn’t know how to handle young pitchers, given his track record in Florida and now in the Bronx, and Wang’s 2009 is a direct result of that. He forced the kid to pitch hurt, then made up excuses as to why he was and is getting banged around. Wang is a winner, and if he is given time to heal and rehab, he’ll be a winner again.

Joe Girardi…Why is this man still employed? I could go game by game, and give handfuls of examples that are clearcut evidence as to why he has no business being in the Yankees’ dugout. To make matters worse, does anyone actually believe that his former teammates (Jeter, Rivera, Posada and Pettitte) respect what he has to say? I mean come on, Posada TOOK Girardi’s job on the field, now they are supposed to listen to what he has to say in the dugout as the field boss? Nope. He burned and misused the young arms in Florida, and will do the same in New York if given enough time. What his love affair with Joba is, I will never understand. But enough is enough. I know we as Yankee fans demand greatness, and with that said, anything short of a title and Giradi, along with Cashman must hit the bricks.

Brian Cashman…Again, why is this man still employed? He took the hard work of Buck Showalter and Gene Michael, and pissed it all away in less than a decade. He was handed a dynasty and he tore it apart. Instead of continuing to build a strong minor league system and sign team guys…he traded away prospects, for has beens, and signed me guys. As much of an anti-Joe Torre guy as I was, the least Cash could’ve done in that final meeting was stand up on Joe’s behalf. What a spineless little **********. When will Cashman be held accountable for the failings on the field? He and he alone has final say over this roster, so when the Yankees fail to win it all again for the 9th consecutive year, he has to be the one along with Girardi who have to go at season’s end.

What the 2nd Half of the Season Will Bring…

If Brian Cashman doesn’t pull the trigger and add the necessary parts down the stretch, another disappointing season in Yankeeland! I do like the Hinske deal to stregthen up the bench and add much needed depth. However, the bullpen is still a problem, and as long as Bruney is the 8th inning guy, and the Yankees’ bozo brass think that Mark Melancon is major league ready, it won’t matter. Somebody like Tampa or Texas will overtake the Bombers for the Wild Card, and a second straight year without the post season will quickly become a reality. Do I think that the Yankees should talk to Toronto about Halladay? Yes, but not at the cost of Austin Jackson and/or Phil Hughes without a contract extension first. Toronto has already said no to an extension agreement negotiating period, so let’s move on. Bullpen depth and a quality defensive outfielder along with a back of the rotation starter fills out the Yankees shopping list…now we must sit back and see if they get what they need…

Unless the Yankees can figure out a way to put the 2004 ALCS collapse against the Red Sox behind them, play aggressive, high level baseball against their rivals, it doesn’t matter who the Yankees get down the stretch. At 8-0, along with a 3 game lead in the AL East, we can call it an 11 game lead. The Yankees should focus on the Wild Card, and hope that Boston gets knocked off prior to an ALCS rematch of 5 years ago.

Which means, the Yankees also need to figure out the long hated Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. It appeared the Bombers might have been over the hump during their first meeting in the Bronx in 2009, making the Angels look old and tattered, but this past weekend in SoCal once again put tremendous doubt into the minds of the Bombers as they swept the Yankees in embarrassing and disappointing fashion to end the 1st half of the season. The starting rotation, the bullpen, the lack of timely hitting…these are all things that must be cleaned up in the Yankees are to have a legitimate shot at bringing home World Series crown #27. Do I think it will happen? Absolutely not! If it can be ****** up, Girardi, Cashman and the boys will find a way to do so, and at the end of the season, heads will roll, as well they should!

As always, be good, take care of yourself, and take care of your buddy next to ya!