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New York Yankees: Gardner going to doctor today

Posted by on 20 May 2012, 6:03 am

ESPN New York reported that New York Yankees speedster Brett Gardnerwould have his right elbow examined by doctors following the 1pm rubber match vs. the Cincinnati Reds today.

Gardy and Grandy - 06/15/2011

Gardner has rehabbd his elbow and said:

“If I could start swinging here in the next couple of days, I’ll be ready by next weekend for sure.”

The Yankees have been without Gardner for 29 games, and his return will be welcomed with open arms.

Whether Gardner will be the difference maker for the Yankees is a whole different issue, as the team has been painfully bad so far this season.

Without a doubt the Yankees are better with Gardner, as just his speed alone, 49 steals in 2011, adds another dimension that opposing pitchers have to deal with.

Gardner was posting a .321 batting average before he went down in April 18th but Yankee fans need to realize that he only played nine games so to think that will continue would be foolish.

Look I want Gardner back as much as anyone else but it is hard to think that the Yankees issue will suddenly disappear.

Yankee fans need to face the facts here, and that is the hitters are only getting worse and have shown zero signs of improving. Continue reading ‘New York Yankees: Gardner going to doctor today’ »

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New York Yankees: To start Girardi needs to ban homers and move Tex

Posted by on 18 May 2012, 1:01 pm

Mark Teixeira manning 1st base.

The New York Yankees lost in Toronto for the second night in a row 4-1; and once again it was at the hand of the dead bats who left a total of 16 runners on base in both defeats.

The line-up couldn’t muster up anything to give Phil Hughes‘ a win after solid outing where he only allowed two runs to score in almost six innings of work.

Hughes was the only positive thing out of this mini-sweep at the hand of the Blue Jays, other than the unfailing bullpen.

The Yankees did kindly wake up Blue Jays slugger Joes Bautista who homered in each game and drove in three of the 12 total Toronto runs.

No doubt Yankee fans are pissed, which in New York actually means frustrated with a lot of passion, but can you blame them?

It would be one thing if the Yankee bats were swinging at air, or just getting out-pitched because at least than fans could feel sorry for them.

Problem is the Yankees can hit and get on-base, but scoring runs they cannot.

The Yankees love the home-run, as in their nine May losses they went homer-less in all nine of them.

Since power comes in waves and a team relies on going deep as their only way to score runs, they will be streaky and right now that is the Yankees in a nutshell.

Teams that are feared can beat you in many ways, consistently; but when the Yankees can’t go deep they can’t win. That explains why they are in the midst of their third three game losing streak  this season.

The team has scored 178 runs but they have now allowed 171, which is about right in line for a team who now sits in fourth place in the AL East. And with the Red Sox having won five of their last six, things better change the fast or the Yankees will find themselves living in the cellar of the division by the Sunday. Continue reading ‘New York Yankees: To start Girardi needs to ban homers and move Tex’ »

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2012 MLB Team Preview: Cincinnati Reds

Posted by on 21 March 2012, 9:08 pm

Coming into 2011, the Cincinnati Reds were coming off a 91-game winning season and were the NL CentralChampions.

Cincinnati Reds logo.

Yes, the 2010 Reds finish came as a surprise but no one thought their luck would run out like it did in 2011.

Last year the Reds finished in third place in the NL Central with a 79-83 record, 17 games behind the first place St. Louis Cardinals. One difference between 2010 is that the Reds were 8-7 compared to 6-12 in 2011 interleague play; and teams they had feasted, like the Pirates and Mets that helped them win the division in 2010 crushed them in 2011.

Overall the 2011 Reds looked nothing like the team who led the NL in homers, batting average, RBIs, hits and runs just a season before.

The team’s numbers dropped in almost every stat but they did hit 183 homers in 2011, which is just five less than 2010. The rotation’s ERA barely moved going from 4.01 to 4.16 and their strikeout total scarcely fell from 1130 to 1114. So, at least the team still has power in their bats and it would seem that the pitching is fixable.

Now the question is are the Reds good enough to bring baseball glory back to Cincinnati in October 2012?

Let’s take a peak….

THE POSITIVES:

Improved weaknesses…At first I was stunned when the news broke that the Reds had traded for Padres pitcher Mat Latos because of the amount of talent the Reds surrendered, three of their top 10 prospects and Edinson Volquez. Latos joins a pitching rotation that features emerging-ace Johnny Cueto who went 9-5, 2.31 in 24 starts last season, Bronson Arroyo, Mike Leake, and Homer Bailey. Latos is a 24-year old righty, who threw 194 innings with 185 strikeouts in 2011. Latos has kept opposing hitters to a .226 batting average and posted a 3.37 ERA in his three-year career. In hindsight the trade now looks like a rather smart deal considering the free agent market and the potential for Latos to become consistently dominate.

The bullpen also got a needed boost by signing closer Ryan Madson to a one-year, $8.5 million deal, and trading for a rock-solid left-handed reliever Sean Marshall. Madson save 32 games for the Phillies in 2011 and will be looking to make an impression in 2012 so he can secure a bigger contract; and Marshal pitched 75 innings, posted a 2.26 ERA with 79 strikeouts for the Cubs last season.

THE NEGATIVES: Continue reading ‘2012 MLB Team Preview: Cincinnati Reds’ »

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New York Yankees: Super Nova Not Letting Phil Hughes Steal His Spot

Posted by on 21 June 2011, 12:49 am
CINCINNATI, OH - JUNE 20: A Cincinnati Reds fa...

Image by Getty Images via @daylife

The New York Yankees have not been void of injuries this season, with almost the entire bullpen, the Captain and two starting pitchers all currently sitting on the Disabled List.

Well, you certainly wouldn’t know it, as the active Yankees are cruising right along on the road and packing in the crowds during the first week of Interleague Play.

Over the weekend, the Bombers won two of three in Wrigley Field, the famous home of the Chicago Cubs. Also, according to ESPN Chicago the Cubs set a new attendance record during this three-game series with 126,283 fans in total to see them play the Yankees.

After the Sunday finale, they flew to Cincinnati and beat the Reds in the first of three with a score of 5-3.

This Monday night belonged to rookie pitcher Ivan Nova, who irrefutably flaunted how vital he can be in the starting rotation.

Nova pitched eight innings of one-run ball, fanning seven Reds, throwing 70 of his 105 pitches for strikes and didn’t issue one walk. He was locating his sinker to both sides of the plate, and he established a strikeout curveball early.

Closer Mariano Rivera had to come in and save the game, after lefty non-specialist Boone Logan hit 2010 MVP Joey Votto in the back with his first pitch. Logan got pulled after that one, and Mo posted his 18th save on the season.

Still, there was just one paramount performance and goes without saying that the Great American Ballpark is known to be a batting heaven, but not with Nova on the mound.

Nova clocked his third win in a row, certainly making the possibility of plunking Phil Hughes into the bullpen more realistic.

The Yankees have won nine of 11 and maybe the Boston Red Sox are to thank for this surge.

The Yankee players are sans their Captain for the first time since 2003, as Derek Jeter is in Tampa rehabbing his left calf. Even without Jeter, the players’ determination is undeniable and for the first time all season they look unstoppable.

As YES announcer Michael Kay says:

“Put that one on the left side!”

The Yankees are certainly showing that they can do that, at least away from Yankee Stadium.

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Lady Knows Best: Predicting 2011 MLB Season Winners And Losers

Posted by on 30 March 2011, 4:02 am

With baseball fans counting down the hours till Opening Day, it is time to predict how the 2011 MLB Season will look when it’s all said and done.

Predictions divided per the six divisions, listed in order of finish and the eight postseason teams (including the wildcards) will be highlighted.

If only I were a psychic….here is this lady’s prognosis:

AMERICAN LEAGUE:

East:

*New York Yankees 97-65
*Boston Red Sox 97-65
Tampa Bay Rays 89-73
Baltimore Orioles 84-78
Toronto Blue Jays 83-79

Central:

Chicago White Sox 90-72
Detroit Tigers 89-73
Minnesota Twins 87-75
Kansas City Royals 74-88
Cleveland Indians 64-98

West:

Los Angeles Angels Of Anaheim 87-75
Oakland A’s 82-80
Texas Rangers 80-82
Seattle Mariners 64-98

*NYY wins tiebreaker in Boston 5-3

NATIONAL LEAGUE:

East:

Philadelphia Phillies 95-67
Atlanta Braves 90-72
Washington Nationals 80-82
Florida Marlins 79-83
New York Mets 78-84 Continue reading ‘Lady Knows Best: Predicting 2011 MLB Season Winners And Losers’ »

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