Results tagged ‘ Anaheim Angels ’
The Weekend That Was…And The Week That MUST Be
Before I go into a much overdue entry about what took place in Yankeeland this past weekend, I have to send out some much deserved thanks and appreciations. A big thank you to Joe Riccio and his girlfriend Ash for having my wife and I over this weekend to partake in his live fantasy football draft. We had a wonderful time, and you both were great hosts, so thank you again!
Now, back to what has taken place, and what could be by Friday night’s matchup in the Bronx against the Blue Jays. Friday night opened in Baltimore, with the Yankees coming off of a severe whipping at the hands of the Blue Jays, to finish the first leg of their roadtrip at 1-2. Moose Mussina pitched well enough to win his 17th game en route to his first career 20-win season, but couldn’t get the run support he needed. The bullpen pitched extremely well, scoring more towards the end of the game, and the Yankees took a much needed game 1 of the three game set against the Orioles.
Saturday witnessed the much maligned return of Carl Pavano to the Yankees’ rotation, pitch 5 deent innings, and get his first win in well over a year. This coming in just his 20th appearance as a Yankee since signing his 4-year, $40 mil contract before the 2005 season. As I have questioned in earlier entries, is Pavano back because he is a free agent and wants to prove he can still pitch at the major league level? Or is he pitching out of guilt, in an attempt to save his reputation not only with his teammates, but anybody around baseball along with fans who believe he committed armed (or should I say disarmed) robbery? Bobby Abreu along with Robinson Cano continue to hit when the Yankees needed them both, and Hideki “Godzilla” Matsui drove in his 500th career run in the major leagues. Rivera came on for the second straight game to notch his 30th save in 31 chances this season.
Then came Sunday…the Yankees smelled blood in the water, knowing that a dent had been made in the AL Wild Card standings with the Angels handling the Twins over the weekend, Darrell Rasner showed his worst outing of the season, not making it through the 4th inning. Fortunately for the Bombers, O’s starter Daniel Cabrera didn’t fare much better, helping get the Yankees out to an early 7-2 lead. Before the ink was dry in the scorebook, Baltimore began to pound Rasner, helping him to an early exit, and the next 4 Yankee relievers got belted just as easily. To the Yankees’ advantage, they have the legendary Rivera, who came on and recorded his third save of the series, slamming the door after Robinson Cano drove in the winning run after Baltimore tied the score at 7 late in the contest. For all of the poor pitching, shoddy defense, and patterned bad baseball, the Yankees escaped Baltimore with a must have sweep in the series.
Heading into a well deserved day off on Monday, the Yankees are now only 9 1/2 games back in the east behind Tampa, and are 5 1/2 back before the start of the massive three-game set with the Red Sox in the Bronx. Suffering from numbness in his arm and pitching hand, the Red Sox have decided to pass on Josh Beckett Tuesday night in the series opener, opting instead to activate knuckleballer Tim Wakefield off of the 15-day DL to face Andy Pettitte.
Wednesday will see newly acquired Paul Byrd take the hill against Sidney Ponson. Both pitchers coming off of less than impressive starts their last time out.Byrd flat out shut down the Yankees last October, and we can only hope that it was an aberration at best. Byrd is a nice upgrade over Clay Bucholtz who is now back in Double-A Portland less than a year since throwing his no-no and keeping the Red Sox from getting Johan Santana from the Twinkies. This last outing by Ponson was truly his first TERRIBLE performance during his second stint in pinstripes.
The series finale is a matchup of season aces in Jon Lester and Mike Mussina. Moose will attempt to get back on track after struggling against his former team in Baltimore. Worse than Moose’s last outing was that of Jon Lester, who failed to make it through the 3rd inning against Toronto. The Blue Jays beat on Lester like a rented mule, en route to a double digit loss by the Red Sox.
What does all of this mean for the Yankees? It means that anything short of taking 2 of 3 from Boston in the Bronx will basically make the remainder of the regular season meaningless. If the Yankees take 1 of 3, and then welcome in Toronto, they will be suffering the usual Red Sox letdown, and could find themselves swept by the Jays come Sunday afternoon. This is the week the Yankees either put their stamp on the standings, and inform the rest of the American League that they are indeed in this thing until the bitter end, or come September 1st, it will be time to give the kids the entire month to get their collective feet wet at the big league level and prepare for next season. These next five to seven days will decide whether or not the 2008 Yankees will see yet another postseason, get on a roll, which could take them to their 27th and final World Series title to close out the House that Ruth Built. I know, I know, I am thinking if luck, and the ball bounces the right way, how things could be, but as I have said many times before…stranger things have happened.
Winning the World Series isn’t always about who the best team in the regular season is, but rather which team treats the month of September as if every game was a win or go home situation. Not because teams have wanted to in the past, but because they HAVE to. Look at last year’s Rockies…the ’02 Angels that shocked the Yankees, and yes, one could even say the ’03 Marlins, led by current Red Sox Beckett and Mike Lowell. Momentum is everything, and if the Yankees can find a way to break off a string of say 30 wins in their last 34, for once they could be the hot team heading into October…a place that has had many magical memories for this Yankees’ franchise over the last dozen or so years. Check back in later today and I am positive I will have plenty more to discuss as the next incarnation of the greatest rivalry in sports is about to get underway yet again.
As always, take care of yourself, be good, and take care of your buddy next to ya!
Yankees’ Bullpen Collapses…Sweep Likely
Well, the family and I safely made it to Anaheim late Saturday afternoon, but not before listening to the Yankees’ bullpen completely collapse for the second time in nine days to the Angels of Anaheim. We listened on our XM radio as Jose Veras and Edwar Ramirez threw sessions of batting practice to the Angels hitters, as the Yankee offense sputtered and squandered opportunities to knock out John Lackey in both the 4th and 5th innings of Saturday’s game.
As this saga and discouraging road trip concludes later today in California, the Yankees are scheduled to send one time ace Andy Pettitte to the mound in the hopes of getting sent packing with nothing more than a larger deficit in the standings than when they entered town to show for their efforts.
What did we do in California? The family and I went shopping at the Westfield Shopping Center just next to the Santa Ana racetrack in Arcadia, had a nice dinner at the world famous Islands, picked up a bucket of fresh balls to get signed during warmups before the game, and finally checked into our hotel around 11 p.m. Both my wife and my mother are pooped, and are busy snoring the night away as this entry is being written. I also made arrangements today to secure tickets to the White Sox/Yankees game at the Stadium later in September, part of the mandatory pilgrimage to the Bronx before the old house closes for good.
Back to Saturday’s nightmare…I will say here that I was completely wrong about Dan Giese and his effort yesterday. He pitched as well as the Yankees’ ever could have hoped for, leaving the game with a 3-1 lead, hoping his pen mates could slam the door. Unfortunately, the one strong point this season for the Yankees is becoming just another glaring weakness as the season begins to appear lost. I just keep thinking about what it might have taken to get either Sabathia and/or Santana to pair along with Moose, Pettitte and Wang. For the time being, we can only hope that Sabathia isn’t falling in love with brats and beers as he continues to make his case for a National League Cy Young Award.
I’ve said it before, and I am now going to say it again. I just don’t see much fire in the bellies of this team, no sense of urgency. It is almost as if the Yankee pinstripes are supposed to be a Superman costume, and World Series titles are supposed to just land in their collective laps. Ask Don Mattingly how well that worked out from 1982-1995. The final pieces of that dynasty are Jeter, Rivera, Posada, and Pettitte. Out of those 4, it appears Rivera is the only one that still has a smidge of desire left in him. I also still believe Cashman and Girardi need the axe at the end of the season. Paging Buck Showalter and Gene Michael…a dynasty needs to be rebuilt…please report to the new Yankee Stadium ASAP…Thank you.
As we head into the series finale against the Angels, we can only hope that their isn’t a hangover from the 8 run outburst the Angels put on the pen. Get one win, one quality game out of Pettitte, and get the hell out of town. What’s done is done, move on to Minnesota and try to put some productive wins together before heading home against Kansas City. This is absolutely do or die time…get swept tomorrow, lay an egg up north, and play lackadaisical against a much improved Trey Hillman led Royals team, and the Blue Jays will indeed pass the Bombers in the standings, and two of the biggest markets in baseball will be bringing up the rear of what was once the power division in baseball.
Stay tuned as the family and I head out to the Big A to watch the season finale versus the Angels, and hope to get some sun, some autographs, and a win out of our Bombers before we head back to Sin City for another week of heat.
As always, take care of yourself, be good, and take care of your buddy next to ya!
RIP Bernie Mac…
Hey…Do You Smell That? Oh, It’s Just the Yankees
Before I go into my daily rage regarding the 2008 version of the Yankees, I want to start by wishing my Mom Doreen, a very Happy Birthday!!! We are celebrating by travelling to Southern California to watch the Yankees/Angels finale on Sunday. Question is, after Friday night’s game, is it truly celebrating or self induced torture?
I thought I had absolutely seen it all this season with the Yankees. Unfortunately, Ian Kennedy and Johnny Damon showed me that a team on the verge of collapse can show an all time level of new lows-long before the season is over. Kennedy had no business pitching Friday night, or at the major league level at all in 2008. Johnny Damon…what can I say? Why the hell is he still in New York? I would be willing to pay the remainder of his contract, just to get him off this roster. Perhaps this offseason a new general manager can make Christmas come early this year.
Damon is the absolute worst fielding Yankee I have seen in possibly 20 years. And yes, I lived through the Mel Hall experiment in the Bronx. He can barely run, has little to no communication skills, and has an arm like a 4 year old girl. It is probably not nice to say this, but I was openly hoping he reinjured his shoulder, just so he would have to go back on the disabled list. Hideki Matsui with his bum knee can at least hit with some power, and can be DHed while Nady man’s leftfield. What does Damon bring to the table? What has he brought to the table since jumping the Red Sox ship? Let me tell what…he is another overpaid has been bum who is content on collecting a paycheck and halfassing his way around the field. Johnny Damon ladies and gentleman, is a first class piece of trash.
As you can see by the game photo to the left, Damon had no business going after this ball. Having played the outfield myself for an extended period of time, the centerfielder is always told to go after every ball he can get to. Why did Melky not call off Damon? Instead Damon crashed into the wall, the wall swung open, along with the floodgates, and his lack of concern for his team put Ian Kennedy in the hole 2-0 quickly Friday night. I am just about ready to stick a fork into this sorry version of the Bronx Bombers. This team is more reminiscent of the early ’90s teams that stunk up the joint than they are a contender for a World Series title. The Angels made that loud and abundantly clear Friday night. Pathetic, embarrassing, and shameful. These are the words I use when describing how the Yankees should feel. Instead, they will win a few, get our hopes up that they have finally turned the corner, that perhaps a wild card berth is not out of the question, and just when we hop back on board the postseason train, they will get swept by somebody like Kansas City or Seattle and that will be it.
How embarrassing for former USC Trojan Ian Kennedy. Having pitched well during his minor league stint, he was brought back up with a chance to redeem himself and to prove to the Yankees’ brass that they made the right decision holding onto he, Melky Cabrera and Phil Hughes rather than getting Johan Santana from the Twinkies. Cabrera still hasn’t figured out major league pitching, Hughes, as much as I love his upside (the words Baby Rocket come to mind), can’t stay healthy, and Kennedy, who displaced Cy Young candidate Moose Mussina last season, just can’t figure it out. To make matters worse, Kennedy imploded in front of dozens of family and friends. Hope you are proud of yourself young man. Back to the minors you go…
I have another question…It was announced by Yahoo! Sports last night that Andy Pettitte wasn’t going to make his next scheduled start Sunday against the Angels, and could possibly end up on the DL with left arm stiffness. They also reported that Darrell Rasner was going to start in his place. If that is the case, why did Girardi bring Rasner out of the pen when Kennedy couldn’t make it through the first third of the game yet again? Has Pettitte magically healed? Was the report inaccurate? Pettitte isn’t suffering from a stiff left arm, he is suffering, just like the rest of his teammates, from a lack of heart and guts. It seems like a lifetime ago that this guy pitched a 1-0 shutout against John Smoltz when the Yankees HAD to win. Where did that Andy Pettitte go? Stay posted for Sunday’s scheduled starter, because as of 2:55 a.m. PST, I have no idea who will take the mound. Maybe David Wells.
I long for the days when the human vacuum cleaner Scott Brosius manned the third base position. My wish came during the 4th inning of last night’s game…a ground ball was hit between A-Rod and Jeter, no a burner by any means, Vlad Guerrerro was on second and chugging towards third, instead of laying out for the ball to keep Vlad at third, A-Rod looked at Jeter, looked at the ball, and ran towards home plate. Why? Was he going to take the relay throw at the plate and face a collision with Vlad the Impaler? A-Rod doesn’t have the stones of a wet paper bag, let along the stones of Pudge, who would and did (See Wednesday’s game vs. Texas). Jeter dove for the ball, only to come up a hair short as Vlad came around to score with no throw. Was A-Hole, I mean A-Rod really worth that $27.5 mil that Cashman handed him? When he chose to opt out, he wouldn’t have returned. What a panty waste that guy is, and always will be. His numbers are much like Raffy Palmeiro’s were…accumulated when it didn’t matter one way or the other. 3-time MVP my ***. The Mick is rolling over in his grave.
The only chance the Yankees have to stay in wild card contention, is to somehow avoid a sweep this weekend (highly unlikely, avoiding the sweep that is), and handling the Twins in Minnesota after this series is over. Entering play on Saturday afternoon, the Yankees only trail the Twins by 1 1/2 games for second place in the wild card standings. The Yanks will get their fair crack at Boston in due time. This series against Minnesota may be their best bet to make some noise in the standings. All will be a moot point if the Bombers get swept this weekend. I predicted it would happen, and they are well on their way of fulfilling my negative prophecy. I will be continuing my blog from Anaheim this weekend. So please stay tuned…
Before I leave you all however, I want to take this time and again wish my Mom a very Happy Birthday. Without Mom, not much is possible. She is a very special lady who has been responsible for much that has been accomplished in my life and she means the world to me. She has had a very difficult year, yet continues to smile and bring joy to the lives of everyone she comes into contact with. So Mom, if you happen to catch this, I love you, and thanks for always being there. Happy Birthday.
And as always, take care of yourself, be good, and take care of your buddy next to ya!
“Cy” Moose? Yanks Split, Head to SoCal for Big Road Series
First. I want to congratulate Mike Mussina as he beat Texas with 7 strong shutout innings Thursday night to improve his record to 15-7 on the season.
Now that I got that out of the way, should we consider Moose for a possible Cy Young Award in 2008? The writers have overlooked Yankee hurlers over the last handful of years. When Bartolo Colon took home the hardware, Mariano Rivera probably should have won. Each of the last two years, you could probably have made the argument for Chien Ming Wang one way or the other. Will the BBWAA get it right this time? Should the fact that Cliff Lee at 15-2 plays for a sorry Indians team? Does his great season really make the difference between 90 losses and 100? If the Yankees come all the way back and reach the postseason for the 14th consecutive year, more of the kudos have to be handed to Mike Mussina that any other Yankee arm on the staff outside of Mariano Rivera. Moose is on pace to win 20 games for the first time in his career. Yes, I said it. For the first time in his career. He has won 18 and 19 games numerous times during his hey day in Baltimore, but as he closes in on 300 career wins, this could be his crowing individual achievement. The writers tend to get emotionally attached to certain players, and from what I have seen and heard, Moose could be that favorite in 2008. Good luck to you Moose and keep up the good work.
As for the rest of this team, I was glad to see Derek Jeter finally decided to show up and hit before the series in Texas ended. Jeter is having his worst statistical season of his career. Is this the start of a downward spiral, or is this a one time aberration and he will be back to his usual self in ’09? We will have to wait and see. A-Rod, earning not one red cent of his $27.5 million annual salary went 0-14 in the series-not what the Yankees need heading into a crucial weekend series at Anaheim. He did however, play solid defense during the finale, making a great dive and throw to help out his pitching staff. I am also excited that Robbie Cano is continuing to awaken from his first half+ slumber, going 3-3 with a pair of doubles in the victory. Mo Rivera came on in the 9th and slammed the door to complete the shutout and get the Yankees their second straight split against an AL West foe.
As for the continuing drama that is the starting rotation, the Yankees will have to use Darrell Rasner on Sunday against the Angels as Andy Pettitte will miss his next scheduled start due to left arm stiffness. My advice, get it rubbed out and nut up Mr. Pettitte. Your team’s season is on the line, and Darrell Rasner isn’t the answer. With yet another starter on the shelf, it is time for the daily Freddie Garcia fix. The following came from Newsday:
Desperate Times for Yankees Call for Garcia
Even though Freddie Garcia didn’t knock over the teams that attended his open throwing session on Tuesday, the righthander could find a new employer within the next few days. The Yankees, said by one insider to be “lukewarm” on Garcia, aren’t in a position to be choosy given their desperation for starting pitching. They appear to be among the most interested suitors, whereas the Mets occupy a lower tier. Peter Greenberg, Garcia’s agent wrote in an e-mail yesterday, “We’ll have a better idea in the next couple of days” about Garcia’s future. Greenberg told cbssports.com that Garcia could remain umemployed and work toward 2009 if no offers come in.
I called for the Garcia signing weeks ago. Not because I knew injuries were going to come in droves, but simply because the backend of the rotation has made me puke in my mouth. They are awful, and let me remind the readers, former 20-game winners with a proven postseason track record don’t fall out of trees everyday. This move is a no-brainer for Cashman. Hell, he gave Ponson not one but two chances to pitch in NY. Then again, I would be giving Mr. Cashman entirely too much credit for believing he has a brain. Stay tuned…
As for the upcoming series in Anaheim, I will personally be attending the Sunday game with my lovely wife Karri, and my mother, as Saturday will be Mom’s birthday, and this game is part of her gift. Unfortunately for Mom, and every other Yankee fan in attendance this weekend, odds are extremely high that a sweep is inevitable. Why? Ian Kennedy, Dan Giese, and Darrell Rasner. Enough said. Now tell me Freddie Garcia isn’t worth taking a chance on. Besides Garcia, don’t forget Eric Milton is getting healthier everyday, and yes, he too has Bronx experience, however little that may be. A proven lefty in the Stadium could prove to be a better bet than any of the three pitching this weekend in California.
I will be making another entry later today, as the game out in California gets closer. As always, take care of yourself, be good, and take care of the buddy next to ya!
Another Day…Another Injury
Pudge came out the winner as he will be listed as day to day (aren’t we all), while David Murphy is out 2-4 weeks with a severely sprained knee ligament.
The good news is this…Pudge is a warrior, and will probably only miss a day or two to recover. The Yankees however, are in deeper water yet, as Joba Chamberlain’s visit to Dr. James Andrews produced the diagnosis of rotator cuff tendinitis. My question is, how can Joba be that worn out at only 22 years old, when he barely surpassed the 100 inning mark? ESPN announcer Rick Sutcliffe made a great point during last night’s Yankees/Rangers game when he stated that the reason Joba wasn’t drafted higher was because he has had a history of arm problems and injuries, and believes this could be a sign of things to come throughout the young hurler’s career.
As I stated in yesterday’s entry, the Yankees need to suck it up and move on. Yes, Joba will be back within a couple of weeks, but ESPN’s Steve Phillips believes that once he does, that his days as a starting pitcher (at least this season) are over, and that Joba will once again be placed back into the 8th inning role in front of Mariano Rivera (which is what I have argued should have been the case all season). The other good news, is that the Yankees finally won a game, beating Texas last night 5-3.
Sidney Ponson, who is pitching for his professional life, has been a godsend to the Yankees, moving his season record to 7-2. Will he ever be a #1 ace? Absolutely not, but if Pettitte can rebound and get back on track, along with the solid season Moose is having, the Yankees should be in pretty good shape if they can patch the other two spots together over the next few weeks. Ponson also had some extra motivation last night: stick it to the team who cut him loose earlier this year. I hate to tell Rangers’ fans, but Ponson, attitude problem or not, was probably your best starter-and yes that includes the 2008 bloated version of Kevin Millwood. I don’t want to hear about what a bad seed Ponson was, because this is the same organization that signed, promoted for the All Star team, and did next to nothing when Milton Bradley attempted to go after a Kansas City Royals play by play guy when he didn’t like some of the opinions portrayed about him during a Rangers/Royals telecast. Boo hoo. Talk about hypocritical.
Buster Olney reported yesterday, that Joba will rest for one week before starting a throwing program to regain strength in his shoulder. Here’s an idea: push yourself away from the clubhouse spread and spend a few more hours on the track running. Is it me, or does Joba literally look like he is blowing up like a Macy’s Thanksgiving Day balloon? Perhaps Pettitte can show him the advantages of taking care of your body and preparing all year around to pitch with success at the major league level. Olney also reported, as did Rex Hudler on FSN SoCal, that he heard in the Orioles clubhouse, that the Yankees were sending Ian Kennedy ahead of the team for a Friday night start in Anaheim against the Angels. Kennedy has pitched well for Triple A Scranton, and we can only hope that a strong performance Friday will go along way towards solidifying the rotation down the stretch.
Peter Gammons reported on ESPN’s Baseball Tonight, that the Yankees are still in pursuit of a waiver wire deal that could land them either Paul Byrd of Cleveland, or Jarrod Washburn of Seattle. Unfortunately as Steve Phillips pointed out during that same telecast, that because the pursuit for the AL Wild Card is so tight, that the Yankees would be hard pressed to be able to acquire either of the hurlers, as teams like the Twins and Rangers would probably block any move the Yankees attempted to make.
The Yankees head into the series finale needing to split before heading out to California to face the Angels. It was nice to see Ponson, the middle relief corp, and Mo Rivera slam the door on the best offense in baseball last night. A split would go along way towards re-motivating this Yankee team into going on one of it’s annual streaks (which at this point in the season, and given the standings situation is almost a must).
That’s all for now, I want to send my deepest thanks to all of you that have taken interest in my blog, and continue to spread the word about my sometimes over the top opinions of the Bombers. As I always say, I firmly believe I am the Yankees’ harshest critic, and it is only because after being a fan for so many years, I know what they are capable of. Please continue to check back in each day for the latest, and drop me a comment with a link for a blog, a website, or anything that might be of interest to the rest of Yankeeland.
As always, take care of yourself, be good, and take care of your buddy next to ya!
Pitching Woes…Pitching Answers…& Joba…What Now?
The Yankees and Andy Pettitte laid another egg last night, making the casual baseball observer feel as if the Texas Rangers were actually the Anaheim Angels-meaning the best team in baseball. This is not the way to start a crucial road trip, one in which the Yankees can either gain ground on both Boston and Tampa, or by the time they get back to the Bronx, Toronto could replace them as the team chasing the American League Wild Card. I will get back to their Texas performance thus far later in this entry.
As for the problems, it appears as Joba Chamberlain makes his way down the Carl Pavano Highway to Dr. James Andrews, the Yankees need to quit feeling sorry for themselves, accept the fact that Joba could and probably will be lost for an extended period of time, and look at some possibilities to revamp the starting rotation before their regular season becomes irrelevant in 2008.
According to a New York Post Blog the Mets have the inside track amongst the 12 teams who witnessed free agent starter Freddie Garcia workout yesterday at the University of Miami. Reports state that Garcia topped out around 87 mph on his fastball, and that both his curveball and slider looked sharp. This is the time when Brian Cashman must overpay for what could be a season saving stopgap measure. Garcia is a career 6-2 in 11 postseason starts, and has proven himself in big game, pressure situations. Garcia’s agent stated that Freddie would be ready for a return to the majors around the 1st of September.
We can’t forget about Eric Milton. He too is rehabbing, having thrown a simulated game on July 29th, and reported no pain in his surgically repaired elbow, and like Garcia, could be ready for a September return. Okay, so I bet you are asking, what do the Yankees do between now and September 1st? Ahh, good question grasshoppers. I am not one to throw out problems without having done my research. The following could and should be considered for the remainder of August…afterall, what do the Yankees have to lose other than the rest of this season?
First and foremost, Girardi and Cashman should wholeheartedly forget about using both Dan Giese and Darrell Rasner for the 4th and 5th spots in the rotation. They both have pitched poorly in their opportunities, Giese out of the bullpen and Rasner in spot duty. The following prospects in my opinion, have earned their shot with the big club. If management ignores these young arms, then what good is a farm system…I mean really!
1.Kei Igawa. Before you start laughing, consider this much: Igawa has pitched plenty of innings this season throughout the Yankees minor league system. As of this entry, Igawa is 12-5 with a 3.39 ERA. His advantage: he is left-handed, which is custom built for Yankee Stadium. His disadvantage: he has taken plenty of lumps, both from big league hitters and from the white hot spotlight of the New York City media.
2. Jason Jones. Who? The big right hander is 11-5 with a 3.03 ERA at Double A Trenton. Yes, it is a big jump from Trenton to the Bronx, but the Yankees seemed not to have any problem doing the same thing with Chamberlain, Hughes and Kennedy. Why not give the kid a shot?
3. Chase Wright. A familiar name to most Yankee fans, Wright has served in the spot start big league-back-to-the-minor league role before. Wright knows the pressure of pitching in the Big Apple, won’t be intimidated by a late season, pennant chase call up, and is currently 8-2 with a 2.96 ERA for Trenton.
4. Phil Coke. This guy could be a dream for Madison Avenue advertising firms, as Coke could be it-if given a chance. At Trenton, Coke is 9-4 with a 2.51 ERA.
So Yankee fans, before you jump off the bridge, and call this season a bust, know that the farm has capabale arms, arms and names that might not be as sexy and popular as the Big Three of Chamberlain, Hughes and Kennedy, but capable nevertheless. Perhaps that has been the problem with this Yankee team all along. Maybe reputation has replaced common sense for a franchise that once prided themselves on performance over public image. Don’t get me wrong, every Yankee fan can appreciate what Reggie brought to the table, and Jeter and A-Rod these days. Unfortunately, injuries and poor performances don’t win World Series titles, but they sure look good in their uniforms and on their respective commercials.
Back to last night’s performance (or lack thereof). When this Yankee team is dependent on a .210 hitter to hit a game-tying grand slam to get their sorry butts back in the game, something is seriously wrong. Andy Pettitte, who has historically been lights out after August 1st, looked old and disinterested at best. 5 earned in 5 innings isn’t going to help keep a bullpen fresh for what is turning into a very long road trip already. With another choked away opportunity last night, the Yankees fell 6 1/2 games back in the AL East, and only have the 6th best record in the American League. The last time I looked, only 1 non-division winner gets to play in October. Over the last couple of days, for the first time in a very long time, I am mentally preparing myself for a postseason without the Bombers. It’s that sick in the stomach, almost ”can’t wait for the season to be over” type nightmare. What it comes down to and what it will come down to over the next 8 road games for this Yankees’ team, is poop or get off the pot. Quit playing games with our collective hearts and minds. If you don’t care, quit making us in Yankeeland believe that we should-at least for the remainder of this season.
As always, take care of yourself, be good, and take care of your buddy next to ya. I will be checking back in later tonight after Game #3 of the series, as Sidney Ponson returns to the team who cut him loose over character issues. If that happened to be the case throughout the Yankee clubhouse, how do you cut 25 guys?
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