Results tagged ‘ Carl Pavano ’
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!
Bombers Hit, Pitch, Play Defense…And Win!
It’s funny that when a team as talented as the Yankees perform the basic, essential functions of baseball, how easy it looks for them to win games when it matters. Last night in Toronto, looked like one of those nights. In the visitor’s half of the 1st inning, they jumped on Toronto’s young lefthanded starter, and they never looked back.
Sacrifice flies, moving runners over with productive groundouts, and sterling sharp pitching from Andy Pettitte left Yankee fans once again wondering if the postseason is indeed an annual inevitability for the boy from the Bronx or just another mirage that will soon fade if Roy Halladay shuts the Yankees out in a complete game. Jason Giambi played 1st base as if he had a couple Gold Gloves on his trophy case, and the rest of the team appeared to have baseball on their collective minds. Again, it’s funny how easy baseball can appear to be for the Yankees when they simply do what they are supposed to. Kudos for today…keep up the winning ways and finish off Toronto later today.
As for more pressing matters…there has been talk for about a week now that Carl Pavano or Phil Hughes would get the call on Saturday in a spot starting role. Two different reports (Fox Sports, Yahoo! Sports) have reported that it could be neither of them, but rather journeyman started Victor Zambrano. Yes, that Victor Zambrano. The one who was acquired by the Mets several years ago to be the final piece of a World Series winning run, and instead proved to be as servicable as…Carl Pavano during his Yankees’ career. For those of you who remember who the other side of the trade for Zambrano was, it was Tampa Bay ace Scott Kazmir, who was not established quite yet, but damn don’t the Mets wish they had that one back?
Zambrano has pitched well for both Double-A Trenton and Triple-A Scranton, and with reports as recent as two hours ago, Pavano probably cannot be ready (stiff neck), and Hughes, (ineffectiveness) needs more work, they might as well give Zambrano the shot. Nobody thought signing Sidney Ponson would prove fruitful either, but then again this could develop into another Shawn Chacon/Aaron Small season saving opportunity. Stranger things have happened.
Hideki Matsui has looked good since returning from the disabled list two days ago, hitting the ball extremely hard in what I have seen in a handful of at bats. The real question is, why is Johnny Damon still in centerfield? Where is Brett Gardner, that did nothing but come up clutch over the weekend against Kansas City? It may be time to put Damon back in left, move either Matsui with the bad knee back into center, or keep him at DH and move Nady over to centerfield. Damon will not work in the middle of the outfield long term. It didn’t in Boston, and it won’t now.
Tonight’s matchup and series finale is interesting to say the least. It matches Ponson, who has been the most consistent starter not named Mussina, against the complete game machine in Roy “Doc” Halladay. Can the Yankee bats get enough off of Roy Toy to back Sir Sidney for a must needed win? Can the Yankees start this latest roadtrip feeling good about themselves and close out the Jays tonight to win this first leg towards what they hope will be a date with destiny in October? Stay tuned…I will be back later today if anything out of the ordinary breaks in Yankeeland or the world of major league baseball.
As always, take care of yourself, be good, and take care of your buddy next to ya!
Yanks Handle Royals…Blue Jays, and the Return of Godzilla
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I want to apologize to everyone that was expecting an entry yesterday, or even earlier today, but I wanted to wait until the announcement regarding the possible return of Godzilla to the Bronx Bombers. With that, he has indeed returned, which I will discuss later in this entry, as well as discussing the Blue Jays, and what the Yankees get to look forward to in the coming days.
As I stated in the previous entry, I believed that the Yanks’ 13-inning victory this past Saturday could be a springboard, or the proverbial “wake up call” that we in Yankeeland have been waiting to see all season long. The Bombers indeed answered the call on Sunday, unleashing a beating on KC starter Brian Bannister that showed what this offense is capable of doing when they are focused and have their backs against the wall. Giambi, Jeter, and A-Rod earned their checks, and it seemed at least for one afternoon in August as if this team was playing towards another historical run at October. This author has already stated it is far too little, far too late. I am going to stick by what I have said, but I honestly hope for a ton of comments the day after the regular season ends saying “Billy, you were wrong!” We shall see…
As for the games today, can the Tampa Rays ever do anything wrong? They lose the wouldbe American League Rookie of the Year, they lose their top basestealing threat and catalyst, and they lose their closer. Doesn’t matter. Joe Maddon should be the AL Manager of the Year for what he has done. They simply use their 25-man roster as one, and play together like a championship-caliber should. And don’t think for one minute that the Boston Red Sox are going away either. Trade Manny, lose some firepower. Between Dustin Pedroia, Kevin Youkilis, and newly acquired Jason Bay, this team is poised for another World Series title. As much as I despise Theo Epstein for his lack of loyalty, and complete disregard for the chemistry of his club, he has once again proven why he is one of the best at what he does. His decisions aren’t always popular, but given his track record, they generally seem to prove to be the right decision. By the way, both Tampa and Boston handled business Monday night, thus each gaining a 1/2 game on the idle Yankees.
So the Yankees head north of the border to take on a revitalized Blue Jays squad, one who is playing with passion and a mission. It’s amazing what delving into the past and brining back a successful field boss can do for a young team. J.P. Riccardi’s decision to give Cito Gaston another chance has proven fruitful. Before I go any further, I have never seen a 2-time World Series winning manager be more disrespected throughout the major leagues as I have Gaston. It’s refreshing to see him get another chance, because he has stayed LOYAL to the Toronto organization, even after giving him the axe some time ago. Good luck Cito!
Darrell Rasner takes the hill for New York, not having pitched badly this year, but just not consistent enough to be considered in that Shawn Chacon mold just yet. It’s too bad that Cashman, when shaking up the big club by demoting Melky Cabrera, shitcanning Richie Sexson, and promoting speedster Brett Gardner, didn’t see any reason to give some of the unheard of young guns a shot to earn their spot to stick either. Tuesday’s matchup will be a difficult one. A.J. “I’m pitching now the way I should’ve the day I signed my big contract” Burnett is on the mound for the Jays. I shouldn’t ever be surprised anymore at how I see players perform when a contract is on the line, but yet I always am. Manny dogged his way out of Boston and could finish in the top five in NL MVP voting, C.C. Sabathia is making a case for NL Cy Young consideration after a putrid start this season in Cleveland, and that brings us to Burnett.
Burnett signed for a king’s ransom three seasons ago, after having just over a .500 record during his career in Florida. Nobody has ever questioned his stuff, which is Beckett-like when he is healthy. But a slew of injuries since signing that contract made the Jays out to look like fools, similar to the Yankees in the Pavano signing. The difference is, A.J. can opt out of his contract at season’s end and become a free agent yet again. Pavano is making every attempt to come back this season because he too can hit the open market next winter. Burnett should get some Cy Young love at the end of the season, and get yet another pay day, and I will predict right here, right now, that his next contract will be bigger that his current deal. You watch…blisters, elbow pain, shoulder tiredness, or painful gas will shelve Burnett, much like it has during his career in Toronto. Buyer beware.
Unfortunately for the Yankees, they will see the Cy Young candidate with dollar signs in his eyes later tonight. I haven’t seen a starter yet that THESE Yankees couldn’t knockout inside of three innings when they decide to do so. But focus, consistency, and being professional are battles THIS Yankees squad has struggled with for much of the last three season. The Yankees gain back a leader and a big bat tonight with the return of Hideki Matsui.
Matsui, who has been on the DL with knee problems for most of the season, looked very good during his simulated rehap and minor league rehab assignments. I wouldn’t expect anything less from “Godzilla”, as he has always taken pride in his professionalism, and pride in his performance. He just as easily could’ve ended his season by having surgery, and getting ready for 2009. Matsui however, is a consimate pro, and if he felt he could be productive and contribute to this year’s team, a pack of horses wasn’t going to keep him off the field. Perhaps young players such as Robinson Cano could take a lesson on personal pride, and dedication to one’s craft from a guy like Matsui. He will probably bat 5th, and DH for the Bombers tonight. Look for an immediate offensive impact from the man they call “Godzilla”.
The Yankees have 38 games left to the 2008 regular season. They currently stand 5 1/2 games back in the AL Wild Card chase. 28 of their next 38 games are on the road, meaning they are going to have to do things the hard way. They’ve backed themselves into an almost no-win corner. Can they make the impossible happen? It worked for the Rockies, who were far less talented. Again we shall see…stay tuned. I will be back tomorrow night with a review of the opening game between the Yankees and the Jays.
As always, take care of yourself, be good, and take care of your buddy next to ya!
Like Sands Through the Hourglass, So are the Days of the Yankees’ Life
Growing up as a multi-sport athlete, my father instilled in me, that regardless of the outcome on the scoreboard, I should always play balls to the wall until the contest came to an end. Often times while he and I would be going over game film, or watching games on television-regardless of the sport, sometimes we would watch as the star of the sport, or the game’s highlighted player would pull up lame or get injured. My father had a term for this, and it is one in which I still often label players I watch today…He coined the term “loser’s limp”. Simply stated, once winning was no longer an option, or the pressure got to be too much, players simply fold or create an injury to avoid competition. Monday night in Arlington, I firmly believe that is what occurred with Yankees’ starting pitcher Joba Chamberlain. He was struggling with his control most of the game, and the Ranger hitters weren’t fooled often by what he was throwing. After losing yet another hitter to a full count walk, Joba grabbed his shoulder (remember, Girardi was coming to give him the hook anyway). What easier way to save face and some embarrassment than to come out injured rather than for no other reason than he simply sucked?
Let’s assume for a split second that Chamberlain is legitimately injured with a shoulder strain, how important does Freddie Garcia’s open scout workout later today now become to the Yankees? If Chamberlain is out for any extended period of time, rest assured the Yankees will get something for the wasted contract they handed Carl Pavano-even if it means he reinjures himself. At this point, if Girardi blows Pavano’s arm up to the point of no longer being able to ever pitch again, call it even for robbing the Bombers of $40 mil for nothing. Absolutely nothing. The Yankees announced Dan Giese will be taking over Darrell Rasner’s spot in the rotation. Why? He has pitched like cow flop too. How about perhaps giving someone down on the farm who has busted his butt all season the shot to prove himself? Why not? Because that would make way too much sense in a season that so far, has had very little if any.
I was one of the loudest critics of Girardi, Cashman, and the Steinbrenners when they cried like little babies that Chamberlain needed to be inserted into the starting rotation. Why? Again, Chamberlain was worth more several days a week that perhaps one start a week. Not since the Rivera-Wetteland setup have the Yankees had a more dominating duo at the back end of the bullpen. Why would they have kept that intact? Because it simply made too much sense. And if Chamberlain is indeed injured for an extended period of time, Girardi has repeated his performance of burning out young arms, just like he did in Florida with the Marlins. Hughes, Kennedy, and now Chamberlain-all injured!
With Tampa Bay continuing to give the rest of the division opportunities to catch them, and the Red Sox now seeing that Jason Bay is not Manny Ramirez, the Yankees continue to shoot themselves in the foot. Why can’t the Yankees hammer a reliever such as Jamey Wright right out of Arlington? Why did it come down to Damaso Marte (another guy struggling with his control Monday night) giving up a walkoff jimmy jack salami to Marlon Byrd of all people? These are the games that wouldbe playoff teams know they have to win and find ways to win. Instead, the standings stay the same, as one more day comes off the calender as the end of the regular season looms only eight weeks away. At this rate, the Bombers will indeed miss the playoffs, and the Yankees have absolutely nobody to blame, except themselves.
Perhaps Girardi before the game tomorrow instead of having the team take batting practice should have them all sit down in the clubhouse and watch the Wizard of Oz? Why? Because at least the tinman knows he doesn’t have a heart, and searches for a way to get one. Perhaps the Yankees can take a lesson, look into the mirror and see that the ablility is there, and that all of us in Yankeeland, when they continue to fail only see a 25-man version of “loser’s limp.”
I will check back in later today, and as always, be good, take care of yourselves, and take care of your buddy next to ya!
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