Results tagged ‘ postseason ’
One Game…Does It Really Matter Now?
Okay, so Jason Giambi comes off the bench, and delivers not once, but twice. Good for him. I have always liked Gumbi, but his time in the Bronx is short. He is just as much of the problem with this year’s Yankees as anybody. His numbers look nice, but like A-Rod, he is a compiler. Before today, when was the last time Gumbi had a meaningful, game changing at bat for the Yankees. The whole team simply stinks…so don’t be getting all excited that this could be a turning point. Not enough games remaining, not enough heart or balls.
Yes, the Yankees won the final meeting between themselves and the Red Sox, 3-2 Thursday afternoon in the Bronx. Whoopee, I think I’ll pee my pants now. 29 games remain, they are 5 back of the Sox (Red that is) in the wild card, and in comes Toronto led by A.J. Burnett. The Yankees still have not solved their starting rotation problems, there are no signs of Wang or Chamberlain coming back anytime soon, if at at. Friday night’s matchup will pair former teammates against each other, when Burnett faces convicted armed Yankee robber Carl Pavano. At least in Burnett’s case, he has pitched great this season. Not the others, but this season. Pavano hasn’t had a full season since coming to the Bronx. Perhaps he has motivation (free agency), but it is far too little, far too late. Even if Wang and Chamberlain come back and pitch at 80%, that would necessitate the Yankee lineup scoring runs consistently, which they have not done throughout the 2008 season.
Moose Mussina pitched a great game, but yet fell short of yet another step towards his 20th win of the season. Instead, the bullpen, which I feel is a strong point for the Yankees heading into the 2009 season, held the Sox at bay until the Sandman could close the door for another win. Good for my fantasy stats, but not good for Moose in his search for a career milestone. Defense was solid, Jeter is inching closer to his career .300 average, and the pressure is visibly getting to A-Rod, who after popping out in the 6th inning, returned to the dugout only to crush his bat against he bat rack close to a dozen times. I’m surprised he made solid contact.
It will indeed take a miracle for the Yankees to salvage the 2008 season. I just don’t think this group has it in them. Girardi doesn’t have a magic potion to wake this flatline group from the dead and the abyss, and the best we can all hope for is 82-85 wins to finish the season. I heard a great idea on Jason Smith’s Allnight Show on ESPN Radio last night. He suggested that had Steinbrenner used his head, he would’ve put a winterball clause into each and every one of the Yankees’ player’s contracts. You don’t make the playoffs, you play winterball and figure it out there…at the remedial level.
Unfortunately, A-Rod will be dealing with a divorce and custody battle, Jeter will retreat to Tampa for fun in the Florida winter sun, and who cares what the rest of them do. The work will come during the month of December in my hometown of Las Vegas, Nevada. Why? That is where the coming Winter Meetings are going to be held. Whomever the GM is, he best be carrying an open checkbook. With the added revenue that a new stadium will provide, along with the cash flow that the YES Network consistently provides, it is not beyond normal reason to see the Yankees sign 2-4 top flight free agents. Who? Manny to DH, Sabathia and Sheets to pitch, Tex to play 1st. Perhaps this wishlist is unrealistic as a nice e-mailer pointed out earlier today, but this is not a normal offseason for the Bombers. Holes need to be filled, an arm in the bullpen (Joe Beimel perhaps), a trade here and there (Damon, Cano, Melky), could reface this organization with guys that want to win, rather than players that simply want to show up and collect a check.
Regardless of what the Yankees do, they must do something. Standing pat and throwing the young guys to wolves failed this season, and if the Yankee brass believes it will get better next season, remember a couple of things…Joba and Hughes got hurt, thus eliminating crucial experience that could’ve been gained. Ian Kennedy is not ready. He would be pitching in the AZ Fall League and winter ball-whether he wanted to or not. He must learn to throw a first pitch strike AND work on his breaking stuff. He simply stunk this year. If the Yankees make the same mistakes this offseason that they did last offseason, they can look forward to a dead last place finish in 2009. Why? Look up and down the rosters of the other teams within the division. They are all getting better, younger, and more competitive as each day passes.
As always, take care of yourself, be good, and take care of your buddy next to ya!
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!
Familiar Feelings…
You ever get that feeling, when something isn’t going so great, whether it be in life or in sports, that you have felt that feeling before? Perhaps you think getting past that feeling, and doing what you have to do to make things right will eliminate ever having that bad feeling again? With the whipping that the Yankees took last night, perhaps this is that sinking feeling that we have collectively been waiting for since the end of the 2001 World Series, which is the end date that ESPN’s Buster Olney labelled as “The Night the Dynasty Died.”
Perhaps he was right. Maybe Olney knew something that we in Yankeeland did not-that the Yankees were simply treading water since the Diamondbacks conceivably ended our proud dynasty. From that day forward, familiar and comfortable names such as O’Neill, Tino, Brosius and the like left our lips, only to be tucked away into the good memories of our mind. Since then, we have become familiar with Mondesi, Sheffield, Abreu, Weaver, Ventura, Giambi, Damon and a whole other cast of characters that still don’t get it. Perhaps they never will. As we said good bye to team guys, and said hello to stat compilers, the Yankees have been stuck on 26 World Series titles, with no more seemingly to be in the immediate future. All this, while Boston has won 2, the Angels 1, and probably a second this fall, the Marlins 1, the Cardinals 1, and even the White Sox 1. And what do these teams have, that all of Mr. Steinbrenner’s money on the face of the earth can’t buy? Character…not characters, character, and a deeper desire to win rings rather than MVP trophies and stat leaderboard categories.
The Blue Jays are hungry, the Yankees are gluttons. The Blue Jays are tired of mediocrity, the Yankees are satisfied with the current result. Blue Jays management made dugout changes with the hopes of saving this season, and building for next year. The Yankees’ management doesn’t have a clue. And with that, another double digit beating, making it the Bombers’ worst of the season. Ponson looked like he did the first time around in pinstripes. The offense was dead yet again, despite Hideki Matsui’s 3-run blast, which was too little, too late. The defense was once again questionable, showing little range or arm ability in the outfield. Is it going to mean a fourth place finish for the Yankees as an organization to wake up and smell the fact that it is not the late 1990s anymore?
Tonight the Yankees start the second leg of their current road trip against yet another AL East foe that has something to prove. The Orioles feel they are on the verge within the next season or so of becoming the next Tampa Bay Rays, while the Yankees continue to get older and more complacent with each passing day. If wholesale changes are not made in the Bronx during the winter of 2008 and early 2009, come October of 2009, they could find themselves in a place that only a year ago would have seemed unthinkable. The place? Dead last in the AL East. Everyone in the division is getting younger and better. All while the Yankees just sit. Father time forgives nobody, including the boys in the pinstripes. Don’t be shocked if last night’s humiliating defeat up North is only the first sign of the wheels coming completely off this big, bloated bigrig with a $200 mil+ payroll. Why you might ask? Carl Pavano for one. Mr. Injury himself is getting the nod from Girardi after I blogged that Victor Zambrano actually earned the shot.
I’ve had these feelings before…with the Yankees, with personal relationships, with employers, etc. The feeling that the end is near, that regardless of how badly you want things to work out, regardless of whatever personal sacrifices you are willing to make to correct the issues at hand, that no matter what you can think, feel or do, it is going to end badly. For the foreseeable future in the Bronx, that is exactly how I feel.
I will be back on later tonight to discuss the opener against Baltimore, and preview the nightmare that will become Carl Pavano on Saturday.
As always, take care of yourself, be good, and take care of your buddy next to ya!
New Blood Shines Through, Yanks Finally Win…One
It’s only one game. As Fox’s Kevin Kennedy said after viewing the highlights of the Yankees’ thrilling 13th inning win yesterday against Kansas City: “It’s a start, but for the Yankees to make it to October, they will have to play around .750 ball with roughly 40 games to go.” And with that, finally someone on the national stage not named Peter Gammons is calling it “Mission: Impossible.” Don’t get excited Yankee fans, this was one win against a team they should own, but for some reason don’t.
Congrats to speedster Brett Gardner went 3-5 with the game winning single, driving in Robbie Cano to lead the Yankees to a hard fought 3-2 victory. Yesterday’s win can be viewed in one of two ways. The first is, is that it is just another win, and it shouldn’t have taken 13 innings to handle a team from Kansas City. Or, this win is just what the doctor ordered, hopefully getting this group of Bombers in the mindset that every game from here until the end of September should be viewed as an elimination game. Fortunately for the Yankees, Tampa and Boston also went down to defeat, thus gaining little, but precious ground on what will be a long road back to the promised land.
I also want to send kudos out to the Yankees young, and ever improving bullpen, who shutout the Royals for 6 2/3 innings Saturday afternoon. This performance coming off of the heels of arguably the worst road trip mentally and emotionally for this franchise in a decade. It will take these types of gritty, hard nosed performances for the Yankees to find light at the end of the tunnel. Myself, I believe yesterday was a mere aberration and they could just as easily lay down to Brian Bannister later today. The Moose is taking the mound for New York, looking for season win #16, and to get one step closer to that magical 20-win season he has longed for his entire career. I have been fooled too many times by this Yankees’ team before…they string together a nice winning streak of 7 or 8 games, get you thinking that they have turned the corner, and then they lay an egg on the road, all but eliminating themselves without trying very hard.
The road to greatness doesn’t get any easier for the Bombers in the coming week either. After a much needed day off on Monday, the Yanks head north of the border for three against what is always a tough Blue Jays squad, and then next weekend, after possibly having their collective ***** handed to them in Canada, they get to go to the birthplace of the Bambino, to face the Orioles, whom like the Angels, seem to have their number this season.
This weekend marked the 60th anniversary of the death of the Bambino, and I want to take this time and say to all of you out there, take a half an hour, go to baseballreference.com, and simply look at Ruth’s numbers, season by season. It never ceases to amaze me what an awesome player the Babe truly was, and how we as Yankees’ fans should never forget that he was the Yankees’ long before anybody else was. He is the one that gave us today in 2008, the ability to strut around, proud that we wear the interlocking NY and know that when people see Yankees, hear Yankees, or think Yankees, they think of winning, tradition, and excellence. It may not be so in 2008, but as the memory of the Babe lives on, so to will the greatness he provided regardless of whether or not it is in his original house, or the new one next door.
I will return tomorrow with a summary of the Kansas City series, as well as the key matchups the Yankees will face before heading into Toronto on Tuesday against the Blue Jays.
As always, take care of yourself, be good, and take care of your buddy next to ya!
It’s Official: Yanks Should Start Looking Towards 2009
I could’ve sworn that I have seen this before. I could’ve sworn I saw this identical ending to a game, less than a week ago. Wait a minute, I did. In fact, this game looked eerily similar to the game my family and I travelled to Anaheim for this past Sunday. Shoddy defense, inattention to detail on the basepaths (A-Rod last weekend, Justin Christian last night), and the Yankees fail to drive in runners when the game is on the line. Last weekend: Angels 4, Yankees 3. Last night: Royals 4, Yankees 3.
I hate to be the one to break the bad news (I know all of you out there in Yankeeland are some of the smartest fans alive), we can officially stick the proverbial fork in the New York Yankees for the 2008 season. A miniature pre-game roster shakeup did nothing to motivate the players that needed to find something within themselves. Cashman can’t simply blame Melky Cabrera and Richie Sexson for this mess. Given, Melky has regressed since making his debut three seasons ago, but so has Robinson Cano. Perhaps sending both of them back to Triple-A would’ve turned some heads, stating that nobody is safe. Hell, at least Wilson Betemit hustles out his hit balls and plays hard on defense. Can anybody, and that includes Robbie’s dad, the former major leaguer, say that Robbie Cano has done that in 2008? And poor Richie Sexson…steals a king’s ransom from the Mariners, underperforms, gets cut, signs for the league minimum, and cries that he can’t change to being a platoon player. Here’s some advice for you Mr. Sexson: don’t strike out 190 times every season, and hit better than .215, and perhaps somebody else will take you seriously. If not, perhaps you should spend your offseason in Henderson, Nevada at the Jason Giambi Hitting Academy. Sure couldn’t hurt.
As for the present…the Bombers now fall 10 1/2 behind the Rays in the AL East, basically ending any chance of winning the division with 39 games left to play, and I believe the count is now at 7 or 8 games behind Boston in the wild card chase. The historic consecutive postseason run of this proud franchise will indeed end in 2008. What should the Yankees do now? Here are some ideas…1. Bring back up Hughes and Kennedy. Why? Let them take their lumps at the major league level against big league hitters. Make this an extended spring training so that by the time next year starts, these two promising arms have some experience to fall back on. 2. Do not, and I cannot overstate this enough, give Carl Pavano a snowball’s chance in hell of taking the mound in 2008. Why? He has already fleeced this team for $40 mil, and is only trying to rush back before he hits the free agent market in 2009. Don’t help him do this to another team for God’s sake. 3. Bring up some of the younger players along with Hughes and Kennedy and get them some big league at bats and innings pitched. The future has to start somewhere, and it might as well be now. Christian and Gardner are already here, give a young catcher like Chris Stewart the opportunity, afterall, Molina and Posada won’t be around forever. Give guys like Alan Horne and Mark Melancon the chance to show their stuff at the Stadium.
The national media always says that the Yankees don’t rebuild, they reload. Okay, given, the Yankees perhaps go a little overboard on their free agent spending. And what has it gotten us as fans since 2000? Two World Series losses, an LCS collapse, and a handful of 1st round ousters. These should be the finals weeks of Yankee careers for the likes of Andy Pettitte, Mike Mussina, Jason Giambi, Bobby Abreu, and Carl Pavano. The free agent market shows some promise with Brewer aces C.C. Sabathia, and Ben Sheets, along with a guy out in Anaheim that plays first base…Mark Teixiera. I would also propose attempting to deal Cano for some arms, and a power hitting outfielder (one that is in his prime for once…Matt Holliday anyone?), and insert Betemit as the future second baseman. He plays better defense, hustles, and has much better power numbers over the long haul than does Cano…and he is a switch hitter. I like the makeup of the young bullpen…they are taking their lumps, but they will be a strong point for New York in ’09 led by the aforementioned Mark Melancon assuming the 8th inning role left vacant by Joba Chamberlain. Melancon will be and is the heir apparent to Mariano Rivera in the closer’s role. Throw in a healthy Humberto Sanchez, Jason Jones, and Daniel McCutchen, along with Chamberlain, Hughes, Kennedy and whoever the Yankees sign between Sabathia and Sheets, no to mention a fully recovered Chien Ming Wang, and the Yankees not only have a stable of young horses, but young horses with firepower.
Now, who should the Steinbrenner’s use to harness and nurture all of this youth and inexperience? The same two men that did it the last time the Yankees were in the toilet and needed mouth to mouth an electric shock to the heart to get them back where they belong…Buck Showalter in the dugout, and Gene “Stick” Michael in the GM’s chair. While Big Boss was gone suspended, Michael drafted and kept the likes of Bernie Williams, Derek Jeter, Andy Pettitte, Jorge Posada and Mariano Rivera. I don’t think those guys turned out too bad did they? Hard to argue with 4 World Series titles, 6 American League pennants, and 10 division titles with those cornerstone players. Buck was rushed out the door, and Stick had simply had enough. Perhaps the younger Steinbrenner will look to the past to brighten the Yankees’ future.
Sidney Ponson will be taking the hill for the Bombers in Game 2 of the home set, and I have absolutely no idea who is pitching for the Royals. At this rate, it really doesn’t matter, because the Yankees will play shoddy defense, pitch well enough to win, and find a way to let an inferior team beat them yet again. It truly amazes me how long this Yankees’ squad was able to stay in contention before the wheels came off. I do have one question, and perhaps one of my fellow Yankee fans can answer it for me. This is the third year in a row that injuries have decimated this team. Why isn’t the training team being questioned or held accountable for this annual M*A*S*H unit that is held together from one DL stint to the next? I know the team loves assistant trainer Steve Donahue, but they also loved Mickey Mantle. Mantle knew when it was time to go…perhaps Donahue needs a push from upstairs to find his way out as well.
I will be back on later today or early tomorrow morning to summarize what I am sure will be another agonizing loss for Yankee fans to stomach, and perhaps shed some light on what went wrong yet again.
As always, take care of yourself, be good, and take care of your buddy next to ya!
Royals/Yankees Preview…Roadtrip: What Went Wrong
The Yankees open up a crucial three game series with their long time rival Kansas City Royals Friday night at the Stadium. This will be the last time that the Royals visit Yankee Stadium before it closes at the end of the 2008 season. Over the years, there have been quite a few memories made between these two teams. Historic events such as the Pine Tar Game in 1983, Chris Chambliss’ pennant-winning blast are a couple just to mention.
The 2008 version of this matchup is not quite as sexy as in years past, but is just as important for the Yankees as any series against Kansas City has been in years. Why? Simply stated, the Yankees are 9 1/2 games back of Tampa, and 6 games back in the wild card entering play Friday night. For the Yankees to reach the postseason, their playoffs start now…they start tonight as Andy Pettitte, who historically is lights out from August 1st on, has been anything but. Fortunately for the Yankees, the Royals are in as much of a slump as they are. Difference is, the Royals were expected to play this way, while the Yankees, given their large payroll and big headlines, were supposed to compete for a World Series title. Gil Meche will take the hill for the Royals. Kansas City scored a mere two runs in their recent three game sweep at the hands of the AL Central Division leading Chicago White Sox. The Yankees, come limping home on the heels of a 3-7 roadtrip that saw them split a four game set in Texas, getting swept by the Angels out in California, and losing two of three to the Twins in the Metrodome.
So what went wrong? The bullpen showed its inexperience. The offense failed to hit not only with RISP throughout the roadtrip, but also failed to do the small things that get rallies started and starting pitchers knocked out. They failed to capitalize on opportunities that opposing starters gave them. Players on this Yankees’ team showed signs of lackadaisical play, shoddy defense, and an indifference for their play that is reminiscent of the early 1990′s Yankees’ squads that lost anywhere between 85-95 games over that timespan.
What needs to happen? Patience at the plate. Make the Royals’ starters work for their success. They may all collectively pitch well, but make them earn it. Work the count, know your strikezone, and if you make an out, make it a productive out, move some runners over either by fly ball or groundout behind the lead runner. Take the extra base, make the defense make a perfect play, and show some hustle. It’s amazing how well Mike Sciosia’s Angels play when they force the hand of the opposing team. Drop down a bunt when one isn’t expected, steal a base. Do the little things that win games. Put a winning streak together. Handle things at home. Use this brief homestand to build some momentum to take on the road and show that this team isn’t dead in the water. For if the Yankees fail to pull themselves up by the bootstraps this weekend, and lose two of three, or god forbid, get swept at home, the season will essentially be over. After this weekend, there will be 37 games remaining and the clock is ticking. The Red Sox and Rays aren’t going away. Make them look over their shoulders…make them think “Oh no, here we go again.” Just like each of the past three seasons, when everyone left the Yankees for dead, this year might actually be the season the dragon has finally been slayed.
I’ll be back on later tonight to review Game 1 of the Royals/Yankees matchup, and see where this team is headed.
As always, take care of yourself, be good, and take care of your buddy next to ya!
Lack of Momentum…Failing to Hit, Sinks Yanks in Twin Cities
Loyalty is a strange creature…One can learn quite a bit about a person’s loyalty not by their words, but by simply sitting back and watching.
The Yankees, are in what is probably a season crippling tailspin. They failed to carry anything over to today’s game from last night’s extra inning affair with the Twins. Kevin Slowey handled the Yankees with ease, while the Bombers continued to make the same mistakes that has prevented them from putting together any type of extended winning streak. They return to the Bronx after an off day tomorrow to start a 3-game set with the Kansas City Royals on Friday night.
A-Rod yet again, proved why he is only hitting .204 with RISP this season. Robinson Cano continues to show his complete and utter indifference towards the game of baseball, or for winning, making not only one, but two miscues in the field, thus allowing the Twins to continue the innings. At some point, the Yankees are going to have to show their true colors, unless we have already seen those true colors…inconsistency, failing to move runners along with less than two outs, pitching out of trouble, giving your team quality starts on occassion, and showing a little bit of fire in your belly when you appear to be down and out.
As I sit here in Las Vegas, pondering not only the Yankees’ season, but my own future, I wonder if any of the Yankees’ sense any type of embarassment, humilation, or a sense of dread as they collectively allow yet another series to a far inferior team slip through their fingers. There are only 40 game remaining, the pitching isn’t getting any healthier, if anything, it is getting worse. Derek Jeter is now day to day with an injured instep, the bullpen is coming apart at the seams, and Joe Girardi looks lost.
The funny thing about loyalty…sometimes one has to get kicked in the teeth, misled, and betrayed before you finally wake up and realize what is going on. Yes, regardless of how the Yankees finish the 2008 season, I will stay true to my team, just as I did throughout the painful 1980s and early part of the 1990s, hoping that perhaps again someday my loyalty and undying dedication to the Boys from the Bronx will be repaid with another dynasty in the making.
I will return later tonight with another entry once all of today’s games are completed to talk about what the Yankees are facing during the final 6+ weeks of the 2008 regular season, and what must be done if they intend on getting back on track.
As always, take care of yourself (because nobody else will), be good, and take care of your buddy next to ya.
After Coughing It Up…They Finally Showed Some Heart
Just when it appeared that the Yankees were going to find yet another way to give away a game…a game that once again they had to have, the least likely of all heroes stepped up and finally earned his paycheck. If you are questioning why I would say A-Rod is the least likely of all, why should I think any different? It is not brain surgery to figure out that A-Rod has failed to deliver when the Yankees needed him in a pressure-packed situation more than once since he arrived from Texas in 2004.
After having watched Mariano Rivera finally prove that he too was human after coughing up his first save situation all season, the Yankees seemed almost disillusioned with even having to be in the ballpark once Delmon Young took Mo deep. They looked scared, they looked disinterested, and they looked heartless-again. A-Rod made the final out of the 9th inning, and as I sat here in Las Vegas, I safely assumed any member of the bullpen who came in would eventually give up the winning run on the other end. Why? Because that has been the Yankees’ M.O. since the roadtrip has started. With the win, the Bombers move to 3-6 with one game left to play before heading back to the Bronx for some home cookin’.
I will for once give Johnny Damon props for hustling out a routine grounder that ended up being an infield hit, and then promptly stealing 2nd base. He proved there was life left in his overpaid and apparently dead legs. He looked like a man on a mission, one that was hellbent on scoring the go-ahead run all by himself. Unfortunately for Damon, it wasn’t Jeter hitting behind him, it was worthless as a steamin’ **** Richie Sexson, who promptly made the final out to end the threat short of success. After getting through the 11th with no problem, A-Rod sent a rocket over the centerfield fence, and was followed thereafter by Nady’s 2-run shot a couple of batters later. For once, this team showed the heart and guts that they need to climb this insurmountable mountain top, and create the possibility of a postseason berth. Tomorrow’s game is a quick turnaround, with a Minneapolis starting time of 12:05 p.m.
The Yankees will be sending Darrell Rasner to the mound, who is coming off of a nice appearance out of the bullpen against Anaheim on Friday night. Good news for the moron monkey, Joe Girardi, is that he didn’t have to use every arm available to him in the ‘pen, and has some juice left if Rasner runs into trouble early.
Regardless of how the season finishes up for the Yankees, ownership has to examine the decision to give Joe Girardi employment. As I have mentioned in a previous entry, the man finds new and creative ways to give the opponents an advantage almost nightly. It happened again tonight against the Twins, making changes where they shouldn’t have been made, using subs in an awkward manner and at inopportune times. There were times I openly questioned how Joe Torre handled the pitching staff in past years, but Girardi can’t even handle his everyday lineup and bench, let alone a pitching staff. Ineffectiveness and injury have been the trademark of Joe Girardi as Yankees’ skipper, and we can only hope this will be his first and final season in the
Bronx. Same goes for GM Brian Cashman. Just remember it was Gene Michael and Bob Watson who built the title teams (’96, ’98, ’99, ’00). It was Cashman who allowed the starting rotation, once a beakon of strength and depth, to wilt into old age, inexperience, and simply bad signings. I shouldn’t have to remind any of you who started Game 7 of the ’04 ALCS in the Bronx. Enough said.
On another note, the Boston Red Sox, who played an amazing game tonight against the Rangers, blowing a 10-run lead only to comeback in the 8th inning and hold on for a slim victory, bolstered their starting rotation by adding crafty veteran Paul Byrd. Byrd will make his Red Sox debut Friday night against Toronto. What’s the latest on our pickup? Freddie Garcia sighting? Anybody? Anybody?
***UPDATE AT 11:30 p.m.***FREDDIE GARCIA SIGNS MINOR LEAGUE DEAL WITH DETROIT***The Garcia Sweepstakes is over for the Yankees.
Enough of my rambling for one night, I will be on, blogging during and after the Yankees/Twins finale tomorrow afternoon, giving my take on what is going on, what should have happened, and what the Yankees have to look forward to.
If my wife is reading, I love you sweetheart, and I hope you always remember that.
As always, take care of yourself, be good, and take care of your buddy next to ya!
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