April 2011

A Mirage in the Bronx…

Good Morning,

Most people know the old adage “If it looks too good to be true, it probably is.” That goes for many things in life. The gorgeous woman with a dishrag for a personality, the on paper finances of a corrupt and credit-lined out city, or the starting pitching rotation of the New York Yankees.

Yes, entering play this weekend, the Bombers find themselves in first place in the AL East by 2.5 games, while the much ballyhooed BoSox find themselves on their backs, looking up at the rest of the division. Don’t be fooled. Anyone that thinks a rotation with a 300lb.+ has been, and a former flame thrower holding on for dear life to a major league career manning the back end of championship or else rotation is going to hold up over a 162 game season and 3 possible rounds of playoffs needs to participate in National Drug Test at the Workplace. This rotation is a mirage. Nova is beginning to look shaky, Hughes has a dead arm, Burnett is showing signs of 2010, not what he’s being paid to look like, leaving Mr. Opt Out himself, Sabathia.

This lineup is flawed. Other than Tex and A-Rod, who is really living up to expectations thus far? This team talent-wise, should be sitting at around 13-3, not the 10-6 record they currently sport. The bullpen has been anything but lockdown, with we the fans never knowing which version of which pitcher we will witness taking the mound that night.

All is not right in Yankeeland boys and girls, and if you think it is, you’re simply fooling yourselves. I read the other day on a well followed Yankee blog that Brian Cashman’s Plan B has worked wonderfully. Really? Instead of pulling the trigger and getting what the team needed, preaching patience and loading up on scrap heap guys is your plan? Is it me or does something seriously stink around here? Get the waders out, because the Bronx is filling up with b.s. faster than the East river. There is absolutely no chance this rotation stays intact, and leads this team to the postseason. Age, injuries, and simple ineffectiveness will catch up to this group and then what? Give the farm away for another scrap head guy, or somebody else’s ace who will melt under the white hot lights of the Big Apple? As Bobby D said in the movie “Copland”…”You had your chance and your blew it.” Don’t say I didn’t warn you…just as living in Sin City does, it fools people into believing riches and fame can be had for nothing….this Yankee team is nothing more than a mirage, and when the sun sets at the end of the season, if everything stays the way it is now, there will be no October in the Bronx.

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

Tough Road Ahead for 1st Place Bombers

Good Morning,

Since I last made an entry, several things have changed in Yankeeland. The first, is that with the 5 run comeback victory over Baltimore in Cathedral 2.0, the Yanks now stand alone atop the AL East. Secondly, the Yankees pitching staff-both starting and relieving has gone from bad to worse. Pedro Feliciano is done after having an MRI come back with the diagnosis of a completely torn shoulder capsule. Meaning for right now, Boone Logan will remain the lone lefty (and a putrid one at that) in the Yankee bullpen. Denys Reyes, you may indeed be getting a call from Cash, please stay on the line and the Yankee GM will be with you momentarily…Who would’ve thought that a rehabbing Damaso Marte might be a sight for sore eyes come July?

Phil Hughes continues to stink up the joint-lost velocity and all. I suggested on a sports-talk radio show the other day that Girardi flip flop Hughes and Colon until little Phil has things figured out. I got laughed at and hung up on. Does my idea sound so bad now? I didn’t think so.

To make matters worse, the Yankees have the Rangers coming to town, having just lost the AL MVP on what I think was a balsey play-not stupid. The Bombers could get their collective butts handed to them by the time the weekend comes to a conclusion.

All is not right for the Yankees, other than Boston is continuing to play like the worst team in baseball. They may need every Boston loss early on to keep hold of a potential playoff spot come September. Enjoy your weekend and I’ll check back in soon!

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

What I Know So Far…

Good Morning,

i know that it’s been a few days since my last entry, but I wanted to full digest this past weekend’s series in Boston before I shot off my mouth. Now that the Red Sox are in death mode, let’s review what I now know to be fact:

-CC Sabathia is not worth what he is being paid. If the man opts out of $20 mil plus per to make the Yankees bid against themselves to keep his services, I say bid him adieu. Why? Did he truly pitch like an ace Sunday evening in a game which later down the road could mean a playoff spot? Instead, it was Beckett who pitched (for once) like a true Cy Young-caliber talent-not some bloated, overpaid version of his former self.

-Phil Hughes is in serious trouble. Who would’ve thought it would’ve been Ivan Nova who is truly the 3rd best starter on this staff? No velocity, no movement, too many pitches catching far too much of the zone-and the result is what we’ve seen: 2 outings that look more like batting practice sessions than major league games.

-The bullpen is a bigger issue than anyone wants to let on. Soriano’s velocity is down, Logan shouldn’t be at the major league level, and the Yankees have no other lockdown lefties coming out of the ‘pen. Even Mariano has given up some very long fly ball outs thus far. Joba is still trying to figure it out, even 4 years later, Robertson is appearing to be a flash in the pan, and who would’ve guessed that Colon has been the most consistent arm thus far?

-Will someone, anyone please teach Joe Girardi how to manage both a game and a bullpen please?

As for the fate of the Red Sox: yes, they got paddled by Tampa last night at Fenway. Their starting pitching looks worse than New York’s. As much as I love and respect Tito Francona, I can’t see him finishing the season in the dugout. Rather than punish Epstein for poor roster construction and holding him accountable for wasting millions on Lackey and Daisuke, Tito will pay the ultimate price for his players failing to perform. It’s too bad, since he is the only manager during the non-Ruthian era to lead Boston to not 1, but 2 titles during his reign. The man should be able to manage as long as he chooses, but…

i knew the Yankees would lose 2 of 3 in Beantown. I called it a week ago, and it was obvious Boston would be up for the series. Unfortunately for the Yankees, both Baltimore and Toronto are not going away. You have to beat the teams you are supposed to beat. This Yankee team is severally flawed in many areas, from the front office to on-field personnel. If they don’t find the answers soon, they could be chasing 2 teams throughout the summer who have nothing to lose, with no expectations upon them. There is nothing more dangerous than a team with no expectations, smashing the big boys square in the mouth, simply because they out hustle and out basic fundamental you to death. Congrats to my guy Buck Showalter (whom I’ve argued for 3 years now should be in the Yankee dugout) for pulling the Birds together and getting them to play winning baseball.

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

For What It’s Worth-Part I

Good Morning,

We are just a handful of days into the 2011 baseball season, and few things are more than obvious thus far in Yankeeland:

1. Tex is raking. A changed offseason program has his bat looking like the June version rather than what we’ve seen throughout his career.

2. Russell Martin is a bargain at $4 mil, especially given the fact that he’s already gone yard once, and stolen one base. We shall see if he holds up.

3. The team can flat out hit. Problem with that, as the old adage goes “Good pitching beats good hitting, even great hitting.”

4. A.J. Burnett looked better, not much better, but serviceable after one start into his ’11 campaign.

5. Phil Hughes on the otherhand, looked lost. He left far too many pitches up in the zone, most of which landed either in the seats or deep into the power alleys.

6. Ivan Nova deserves to be in the rotation. He held the Twinkies to 3 runs over 6 innings, and showed some moxy when a couple of tough situations presented themselves.

As for the team overall, the bullpen has been top notch-excluding of course Bartolo Colon who gave up a gopherball in his only outing, showing why you can’t take much stock in spring training. The defense also looks to be in the elite class of the major leagues so far, making the routine ones, along with some impressive leather work by Granderson and Co.

The question is, will Burnett continue to improve, or revert back to his inconsistent self every other start? Will Hughes take that next step to be a top of the rotation starter? Will the team find other ways to win-even if the bats are silent?

Chalk up the first week to pure offensive dominance, and enough starting pitching to outlast the Tigers and Twins (so far). The real test will come this weekend, when the Bombers invade Fenway, and take on a Red Sox team that doesn’t intimidate at the mere presence of the Yankees. Add in the fact that Boston is lefty heavy in their lineup, and as of right now, Boone Logan is the only lefty in the bullpen.

I’m still going to pick Boston to take 2 of 3, simpy because I don’t believe this Yankee lineup will manhandle Boston pitching the way they have thus far. Answers still need to come by way of DOMINANT pitching performances from the rotation, along with continued performance from the bullpen.

It’s a long season, and the Yanks are off to a good start. That can all go away quickly if the favored Red Sox put one on the Yanks’ chin and sweep them this weekend. Stay tuned…

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

Yanks Open ’11 with Victory vs. Detroit

Good Morning and Happy Opening Week!

I don’t know about you, but opening day for me, is like Christmas morning for youngsters. I’ve been excited for weeks, and yesterday, the day finally came to celebrate the start of a brand new season in Major League Baseball. The Yanks opened their 3rd season in the new house with a nice win against the Tigers yesterday. Here are a few points that I took from yesterday’s game that we should examine:

1. Was it me, or did Mariano Rivera look somewhat hittable yesterday? His location was spotty, and some good wood was laid to a couple of his pitches. Please don’t tell me this is the start of him going over the cliff (i.e 2010 Trevor Hoffman).

2. Tex finally looked locked in PRIOR to June 1st. Perhaps his offseason adjustments to his training program is paying off.

3. Russell Martin looked like the Martin of 3 years ago rather than the guy the Dodgers non-tendered. Funny how becoming an afterthought will remotivate a player. He could be the steal of the offseason at $4 mil.

4. I listened to the ESPN announcers discuss why Sabathia should opt out of his contract at the end of this season. I believe that unlike the A-Rod bidding against themselves policy, that if the big boy does pull the pin, the Yankees should stand their ground and not give him what he wants. Who else can afford a raise from the $23 mil per he is already pulling in?

5. The lineup looked solid, the defense was stellar, the bullpen did their job.

1 win down, about 99 more to go to win the AL East.

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

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