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New York Yankees: Hearts are broken for Mo

Posted by on 4 May 2012, 1:03 am

The greatest closer in baseball history is New York Yankees Mariano Rivera, and now the team will have to go on without him for the 2012 season.

Mariano Rivera celebrates a victory against th...

Mo tore his ACL catching batting practice prior to the game against the Royals in Kansas City. Mo was supposedly on his way back to New York to see the Yankees doctors but he wants to stay with his teammates right now.

As a Yankees fan, Mo is like family and it is beyond crushing.

Since I am at a complete loss for words here, I will turn to twitter and leave you with the sentiments of others:

 

 

Very interesting tweet from @YankeesWFAN about how clubhouse is morgue-like. Not surprised. Rivera is as revered/respected as any Yankee On 4:10 AM May 4th 2012 from web
Derek Jeter: "He's going to be missed. There's no other way to put it. You can't replace him." On 4:10 AM May 4th 2012 from Twitter for iPhone
If Mariano Rivera is done, I might need to take a personal day. This is like finding out Santa Claus died. On 4:22 AM May 4th 2012 from Mobile Web
This phrase is often floated around much too liberally, but there will never be another Mariano Rivera. On 4:20 AM May 4th 2012 from TweetDeck
Mariano Rivera, head bowed and teary-eyed, says he does not know if he will pitch again. On 4:17 AM May 4th 2012 from Twitter for iPhone
This cannot be the end of Mariano Rivera's career. It just can't. On 4:20 AM May 4th 2012 from Twitter for iPhone

OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD Mariano Rivera is down on the warning track after hurting his knee shagging fly balls. This is BAD. #Yankees On 11:14 PM May 3rd 2012 from web
Continue reading ‘New York Yankees: Hearts are broken for Mo’ »

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New York Yankees: You Are Not Alone

Posted by on 1 May 2012, 3:44 pm
Ryan Howard (left) and Albert Pujols

Ryan Howard (left) and Albert Pujols (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The New York Yankees are not the only team happy that April is finally over, as a few other MLB teams are hoping to turn things around in May.

So, here is a quick list of the Yankees and three other troubled teams who should be much better than they were in April:

1 -  Back in Spring Training, the New York Yankees were inundated with good pitching. Well, I don’t think skipper Joe Girardi anticipated that over the first month he would lose his newest star, Michael Pineda for the season; Phil Hughes and Freddy Garcia to be completely ineffective; and now banking-on Andy Pettitte’s return to his All-Star self after a year off. Fans can pray that either DJ Mitchell or David Phelps will be the Yankees version of the Knicks Jeremy Lin. Hey you never know until you try.

2 -  The Los Angeles Angels are yearning for Albert Pujols to hit his first homer as a Halo; and you can expect the rest of the anemic offense to follow when the best player in baseball finally does. This is not the start anyone was expecting. Take a look at Pujols’ career April/March numbers below: Continue reading ‘New York Yankees: You Are Not Alone’ »

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New York Yankees: Finally good news but more bad too

Posted by on 30 April 2012, 2:35 am
Yankees at Orioles August 28, 2011

Yankees at Orioles August 28, 2011 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

In retrospect the New York Yankees survived an injury-riddled week, ending on a high with a 2-1 series win against the Tigers.

What happened?

Well, which do you want to hear first?

Kidding her is the bad news first, followed by the better or most improved news….

A WEEK FROM HELL:

The New York Yankees have had a rough week.

-        The latest came yesterday, in the Yankees 6-2 win vs. the Tigers. Nick Swisher got taken out in the second inning, and the MRI confirmed he has a low-grade hamstring strain. The Yankees said he will miss a few games, and that a DL stint has not been ruled out yet, so keep fingers crossed.

-        So with Brett Gardner on 15-day DL still that means Andruw Jones and Raul Ibanez will be on either side of Curtis Granderson in the outfield until further notice.

-        The worst news came mid-last week when the Yankees got news that their big off-season pitching acquisition, Michael Pineda would be out for the entire 2012 season. Pineda has an anterior labral tear in his right shoulder and surgery is scheduled for tomorrow in New York.

No one could have anticipated Pineda was this injured. Hearing from Kurt Schilling and Al Leiter, who both came back from this same injury, brought a little comfort. Leiter made a point of stating how much work it takes to come back from and since no one knows how committed a player Pineda is leaves the possibility Yankee fans might never see him in the Bronx. Continue reading ‘New York Yankees: Finally good news but more bad too’ »

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New York Yankees: Garcia and Hughes nightmare continues

Posted by on 29 April 2012, 2:29 am

Following his last disastrous start, New York Yankees pitcher Freddy Garciahad another horrendous outing; as he gave up six earned runs

GARCIA - HUGHES

in less than two innings to the Detroit Tigers, who eventually won the second game of this three game set, 7-5.

Once again skipper Joe Girardi had to go to the bullpen in the second inning, just like he had to do three days earlier down in Texas when Phil Hughes couldn’t get the job done vs. the Rangers.

Following the Tigers win, the media asked Girardi, for the second time this week, what he was going to do about tonight’s starter, and he said, “I like to sleep on things before I really do a lot of stuff.”   

This is where I got confused because what exactly does Girardi need to sleep on?

All I keep wondering is what was Girardi thinking prior to this series?

When you think about it, no one is supposed to beat Justin Verlander as losing is to him is almost expected. So how do you feel good about starting Garcia in the second game with Verlander starting the first in a three game set?

Logically you would think the Yankees skipper is deciding how to replace both starters and dreaming of…whom to bring up from the minors? Giving David Phelps a go? And when exactly will Andy Pettitte be ready?

Enough time has been spent on Garcia and Hughes because reality is both need to go now, and there is no need to sleep on it unless you want nightmares.

Facts are Garcia is totally useless; and Hughes is as close to useless you can be. Continue reading ‘New York Yankees: Garcia and Hughes nightmare continues’ »

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New York Yankees: Can you not lose to Verlander please

Posted by on 27 April 2012, 4:19 pm

Coming home after losing the last two games of a road trip is never a good feeling.

Justin Verlander

Returning to face the 2011 MVP and CY Young award winner Justin Verlander makes that losing feeling never go away.

That is the New York Yankees reality today, as they finished their road trip 3-3 and now have to host the Detroit Tigers for a three game set.

You would think that facing Verlander was enough, but Yankee fans will now get to relive the 2011 ALDS Game 5 because Ivan Nova will take the hill for New York.

Any Yankees fan that watched the Tigers eliminate the Yankees last October remembers the game like it was yesterday.

I was there that night at Yankee Stadium, just like I will be there tonight; in the same seats, with the same hope but this time I expect a different ending.

The odds are certainly in Verlander’s favor; as he has held the active Yankee hitters to a .193 average, with 64 strikeouts in 223 at-bats.

The Captain is the only Yankee who has had some success against Verlander, as he has a .364 batting average against him, with 12 hits and four walks but no RBIs. That is because there was no Yankee on base to drive in; nor was any Yankee able to drive him in. So, the Captain became another LOB stat instead.

Personally, I cannot stomach, watching the Tigers closer Valverde do his celebration dance on the mound again, and I am sure the Yankees feel the same.

The Yankees did beat Verlander and his Tigers, 6-3 on Opening Day last season but having CC Sabathia on the hill that afternoon was certainly a huge help.

So, the Yankees will have to be as close to perfect as possible and I believe that they can.

PREDICTION: YANKEES BEAT TIGERS 5-3. Continue reading ‘New York Yankees: Can you not lose to Verlander please’ »

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New York Yankees: Things are about to get harder.

Posted by on 17 April 2012, 3:26 am

Pavano on the hill at Yankee Stadium - 04.16.2012

After a lovely weekend of taking two of three from the Angels, the Yankees looked good minus Phil Hughes.

Last night the Yankees opened a four game set in the Bronx against the Minnesota Twins with a 3-7 loss.

It didn’t help that Carl Pavano (aka. American Idle) was on the mound for the Twins, as considering his history in New York losing to him didn’t sit well with Yankees fans; of course not much does these days.

Minnesota is in town for three more games, and the Yankees have manhandled the Twins over the last decade, winning 33 of their last 44 meetings in the Bronx; so winning the next three games should be mandatory.

Reality is the Yankees cannot really afford to lose any of them, as things are about to get a lot harder starting this Friday when they head to Fenway Park.

Their schedule is about to get kicked into high gear and the Yankees could very well wind up in a hole come mid-May if they don’t take advantage when possible. Figuring out which way this team will go is the million, I meant billion-dollar question.

Attempting to come up with a logical formula of where any team will be a month from is fundamentally impossible and might even send Bill James brain into a tailspin.

Still, like every team, the Yankees have issues that need to be ironed-out sooner than later but time is not on their side…look for yourself. Continue reading ‘New York Yankees: Things are about to get harder.’ »

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2012 MLB Team Preview: Detroit Tigers

Posted by on 7 March 2012, 2:00 pm

Detroit Tigers Logo

The Detroit Tigers went from being a .500 ball-club in 2010, to winning 95 games and the AL Central in 2011.

In an off-season where they lost Victor Martinez for the all of 2012, Tigers ownership stepped it up big to make sure that the team is still in a place to contend by signing Prince Fielder to a nine-year, $214 million deal. WOW…that is a lot of money.

Still, there are issues here but can the Tigers grind it out again and continue further than the ALCS in 2012?

Let’s take a look…

THE POSITIVES:

Offensively the Tigers will be featuring two of the best hitters in baseball, Miguel Cabrera and the newly signed Prince Fielder, along with Alex Avila and Jhonny Peralta. In my opinion any team with Cabrera on it is a threat, as he can carry a team on his back. He is the best pure hitter in the game today that I have ever seen. Rumor has it that Cabrera came into camp early, a little lighter and more importantly problem free, which is a positive.

The Tigers rotation is led by the AL MVP and CY Young award winner Justin Verlander, and overall the rotation had a decent season in 2011; and I say decent because looking at the rotations overall stats they land in the middle in almost every catagory. The Tigers have the ultimate ace in Verlander, as he won 24 games in 2011 and he is the definition of an innings eater pitcher. Also they are banking on a great full season of Doug Fister, which would help deepen their rotation, but don’t expect a repeat of the 1.79 ERA he posted when he was acquired by the Tigers mid-season in 2011. After Fister comes Max Scherzer and Rick Porcello, who won a combined 29 games in the 2011 season. All five Tiger starters are below the age of 30, which means there is still room to grow here.

THE NEGATIVES: Continue reading ‘2012 MLB Team Preview: Detroit Tigers’ »

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