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New York Yankees: Fans Say On Road To A Championship

Posted by on 28 September 2011, 2:54 am

Baseball fans everywhere have spoken and New York Yankees was their answer.

At least according to the Marist Poll’s latest nationwide survey conducted on September 13th and September 14th, where baseball fans were asked who they favored to win the 2011 World Series.

The Marist Poll results were reported as follows:

Well there is a lot of baseball to be played before the World Series Champs hoist a trophy up.

As a Yankee fan, I can’t deny that the added faith from this poll isn’t agreeable, but it is undoubtedly unexpected. Not many baseball analysts, fans and even the Yankees own GM Brain Cashman thought the 2011 Yankees were the complete package. Continue reading ‘New York Yankees: Fans Say On Road To A Championship’ »

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New York Yankees: Postseason Deja Vu

Posted by on 24 September 2011, 11:29 pm

Assuming that most people reading this are baseball fans, but just in case the New York Yankees clinched a postseason and winning the AL East Division this past Wednesday.

As fantastic as the news was, it also let New York fans relax because the Yankees are expected to be playing in October and at the start of this season things were not as secure as usual.

Contending for the World Series is no easy task, but considering the Yankees were not playoff heavy favorites, safeguarding a spot with seven regular season games left is dumbfounded. There are many responsible for the team’s success from GM Brian Cashman to skipper Joe Girardi, to obviously the heart and determination of the players themselves.

Still, there are concerns but I am not referring to who the starting rotation will be for the cutthroat five-game ALDS series; or whether catcher Russell Martin will start all postseason games. What worries me is the timing.

Looking back at last season, the Yankees secured the Wild Card on September 27th, with five games left to play; and it took all of those games to decide the AL East division winner.

In the end the Tampa Bay Rays finished a game up on the Yankees. The fight for the AL East went to the last out of the regular season, which didn’t allow either team time to breathe before being thrown into the playoffs on October 6th.

The Yankees swept the Minnesota Twins in the ALDS without even a hitch and the idea of repeating as champs, or at least another meeting with the Philadelphia Phillies in the World Series started to seem inevitable.

The ALDS wrapped up on October 9th with a sweep of the Minnesota Twins and the Yankees were rolling right along. That perfect momentum that any athlete will tell you plays a huge reason was brought to a screeching halt. Continue reading ‘New York Yankees: Postseason Deja Vu’ »

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New York Yankees Fans…We Salute You

Posted by on 20 September 2011, 2:21 am

An ageless winner; the definition of a team player, who even after 17 seasons is just as humbled after recording his 602nd save playing the game he loves and respects so much.

I want to extend my sincerest congratulations and gratitude to New York Yankees closer Mariano Rivera for his tremendous accomplishments on the field, as well as the person he is off the field.

When I think of Rivera, the two words that have forever come to my mind is rarefied air. Growing up watching Rivera has completely memorized me, as he exudes such a distinguishing, yet graceful confidence that is surreal.

We live in an age today where the authenticity of everything, including professional sports is hanging on by a thread. Athletes have fallen out of love with the game; and they take for granted the superior abilities that allow them to compete at a level that most of us can only dream about. The words over-paid, entitled and cheaters have become the norm in sports and it is a shame.

But then there are days like yesterday, when one man named Mariano Rivera makes us all pause and be grateful again.

Not just Yankees or baseball fans, but all sports fans are eternally indebted to Mariano Rivera for letting us take this ride with him.

Thank you Mo!!!

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New York Yankees: I Want My, I Want My, I Want My MVP

Posted by on 22 August 2011, 12:09 am

Like any avid baseball fan, the MLB Network has quickly become my favorite channel.

The channel provides the latest updates, shifts around the daily games and provides a variety of opinions from former players to GMs.

Still, as a New York Yankee fan I watch on high alert, aware of the lack of love the Bombers get all over. Some might call it paranoia, but fair is fair and the Yankees get a lot more attention for the bad than the good.

What I really can’t understand is why the MLB Network’s round table, made up of mainly ex-players and GMs, have been talking about the MVP race and not once has Yankee outfielder Curtis Granderson been mentioned as front-runner for the annual award.

Look, I already saw the Yankee captain robbed of the MVP back in 2009, and I would hate to see it happen again. As Granderson is getting the same brainwashing via the media, as he does not get the same hype, as some other players and it is all because of the uniform he wears.

Not that these nominees are unworthy, but guys like Rangers Michael Young, Red Sox’s Jacoby Ellsbury or Adrian Gonzalez, while dominating are not having Granderson type seasons.

The proof is in the stats (all courtesy of mlb.com; post all Sunday August 21, 2011 games):

  AT-BATS RUNS HITS RBIs HRs SB AVG SLG OBP
YOUNG 505 63 170 85 10 5 .337 .491 .374
GRANDERSON 463 114 130 98 35 24 .281 .594 .375
GONZALEZ 505 82 173 94 18 1 .343 .537 .404
ELLSBURY 505 89 158 79 22 33 .313 .517 .370

Granderson has a .281 batting average, which is noticeably the lowest, but BA is not an accurate statistic because all it determines is how often a player gets a hit. Continue reading ‘New York Yankees: I Want My, I Want My, I Want My MVP’ »

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2011 New York Yankees: What Do May, June And # 28 Have In Common?

Posted by on 29 April 2011, 4:34 am

New York Yankees ace CC Sabathia earned his second win, as the team whacked the Chicago White Sox right out of the Bronx after Thursday night’s 12-3 win and spilting the four game set with Ozzie’s boys.

The Bombers have been cruising right along in April, and certainly earning their nickname leading the Majors with 41 homeruns. Just so you get how good a number that is, following behind the Yankees with 33 homers is the Texas Rangers, who have played three more games due to all the rain delays in New York.

The Yankees also lead in slugging percentage with .485; rank third in RBIs with 125; fifth in OBP posting a .335; fifth in runs with 126 and they are tied, with the Minnesota Twins for second to last in strikeouts with 145.

Look I am well aware that these are just April’s numbers, but something has to be said after all the negative pre-season talk surrounding the 2011 Yankees.

Having a bench of veteran All-Stars might be brilliant and I expect it to continue through the season because between Andruw Jones and Eric Chavez they have 16 Gold Gloves, two Silver Sluggers and appearing on the MVP ballot in nine seasons.

Sorry, I have even had enough of my new Brian Cashman fixation when in essence the man was just doing his job.

My point is that as fun as April has been and about to be was, in the next 24 hours the calendar will read May and looking at the Yankees schedule to say they will be tested is an understatement.

May gradually gets pretty tough, as the Yankees play a series against all four AL East teams, who all want to kill each other.

Then the Yanks hit the road three times to visit the Tigers, Rangers, squeeze in a Subway Series at home and end the month out West with three game sets against the A’s and Mariners.

The above is accurate, except the AL East series are scattered but all are happening in May.

Why am I bothering to recite the Yankees schedule, like some babbling idiot?

Well, have you looked over the Yankees schedule for May and June?

If your answer is YES, than you must understand exactly where I am coming from.

The months of May and June could very well decide the Yankees fate because the summer is going to be brutally hard.

Don’t think I am jumping the gun here.

In June the Yankees, like every other team, play four inter-league series and they will face the Cubs, Reds, Rockies and Brewers. All four are hot NL teams with pitching that the Yankees are entirely unacquainted with, which does NOT work in their favor.

Then throw in series against the Red Sox, Angels, Indians and Rangers before even wishing America a Happy Birthday.

So, now do you get what Do May, June And # 28 Have In Common?

Simply, that the next two months will prove a lot and it could end any hope of #28 in 2011.

Hey maybe this first month’s courteous start is officially over, but it surely doesn’t mean the honeymoon phase has to end.

Let’s go Yankees!!

 

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New York Yankees: Phil Hughes To Face The New Baltimore Orioles?

Posted by on 13 April 2011, 6:14 am

The New York Yankees had their second game of 2011 postponed due to rain, last week it was the Minnesota Twins and now the first game against the Baltimore Orioles has to reschedule.

It has been confirmed that the pitching match-ups will be the same just a day later.

So, AJ Burnett will take the hill against Chris Tillman tonight, which moves Phil Hughes to Thursday who will face the O’s Jake Arrieta.

My preview of Burnett vs. Tillman stays the same; the only difference being the date, but I still think Burnett will get his third win…. read it HERE.

Moving along to the second match-up featuring Hughes and Arrieta is one that Yankee Universe will be watching closely and I think we all know why.

HUGHES:

It is no secret that Hughes has been a mess in his first two starts. Only pitching six innings in total, Hughes has allowed 12 hits, 11 earned runs, three homers, with just one strikeout and an ERA of 16.50.

Hughes’ drop in velocity and loss of command is still a mystery, meaning that the Yankees cannot figure out how to fix him.

There are many possibilities as to why, but it seems like Hughes is suffering from a dead arm and he needs to re-build up his arm strength.

Unfortunately, this is happening more frequently to young pitchers who get overworked. Problem is a lot of the time it is occupied by injury. Hughes has not complained of any ailments yet, as he would not be starting if that were the case.

The only positive heading into Hughes’ start is the rain.

Why? Let me explain.

Moving Hughes from Wednesday to Thursday presumably means that Ivan Nova’s start will get bumped to Saturday. Only because CC Sabathia is slated for Friday night and Yankees skipper Joe Girardi knows that the team’s ace needs to go every five days no matter what.

Sabathia will throw 110 pitches on a bad day, so it gives Girardi more options the night before out of the bullpen in case Hughes implodes again. My guess is Girardi will not keep Hughes in the game if more then two runs score in any of the first three innings.

The Orioles are surely aware of the Hughes situation and without question will come out swinging on Thursday night.

ARRIETA:

Hopefully, the Yankees bats will do the same against the O’s Arrieta to relieve some pressure off their struggling teammate.

Arrieta is another youngster at 25-years-old, who has had limited, but a successful two starts against the Yankees in 2010.  The last time he beat out Sabathia on September 12th and held the Yankees to just two runs, over just shy of seven innings pitched.

Arrieta’s first two starts this season were like night and day, with the latest being a total disaster in the O’s loss to the Tigers. Arrieta got clipped giving up eight earned runs in just three innings.

Arrieta knows that can’t happen against New York’s line-up. Whether Arrieta can take the pressures of throwing in the Bronx, along with knowing how much skipper Buck Showalter wants to win these games is something we all will have to wait to find out until it happens. Continue reading ‘New York Yankees: Phil Hughes To Face The New Baltimore Orioles?’ »

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New York Yankees: Still Too Cold Even For A Hot CC Sabathia

Posted by on 6 April 2011, 3:32 am

Hosting the Minnesota Twins for game two of a four game set, the New York Yankees had everything alined to win for the second night in a row.

Ace CC Sabathia would be on the mound, the Yankee bats have been hot and the bullpen had been lights out.

As the night got colder, Mark Teixeira hit another 3-run bomb and that was followed by a début homer by Andruw Jones putting the Yankees up 4-0.

Sabathia kept up his end of the deal, by the end of the seventh he had held the Twins scoreless, retiring the last 17 batters he faced and posted six strikeouts.

Every frozen fan at the game, like myself was hoping that Sabathia would be back to start the eighth inning but we knew better and gave CC a well deserved standing ovation as he walked to the dugout.

Hey stranger things have happened, but not when your manager is Joe Girardi and the fact that Sabathia’s pitch count was at 104.

Without even having to glance into the bullpen to confirm what I already knew, Rafael Soriano jogged out and got on the bump after throwing 19 pitched the night before in the Yankee win.

Soriano walked three batters, but managed to get two outs but in the process handed the Twins their first run scored of the night. Girardi’s new pitching coach Larry Rothschild had already made the call to the bullpen to get Soriano off the mound.

This is where I questioned Girardi’s tactics. Soriano was clearly off, but the umpire calls were also questionable. With two out already, I would have left Soriano in, just for the mere reason that I trust him more than Dave Robertson or Boone Logan.

I get that his pitch count was at 32 but one more batter wouldn’t have killed Soriano. Even knowing that most pitches Soriano threw in a game last year was 33, with Delman Young coming to the plate with the bases loaded an exception could have been made.

I however do not disagree with Girardi pulling Sabathia after the seventh inning.

Sabathia is the Yankees most precious cargo and there are still 157 games left to play. The risk is even worth losing a game like the team did tonight because I can promise you that Yankees Universe is sleeping a lot better knowing that their ace is still perfect.

In the post game MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch quoted Sabathia agreeing with his skipper:

“I know [manager] Joe [Girardi] and how he is,” Sabathia said. “It’s early in the season, and he’s trying to protect us. I kind of had a feeling that was my last inning.”

Well, now it is official that the only thing New York hot Tuesday night were the Mets, and of course the Amazins’ were not even home. Typical.

As for Wednesday night, the votes are in and the  motto for the Yankees is avenge and revenge, as their good-old buddy the American Idol, Carl Pavano will be pitching.

Pavano has been on the mound at Yankee Stadium more as a Twin making less money, than he did in the pinstripes that made him rich. What a perfect time to make Pavano payback and get another win.

“Most ball games are lost, not won.” -  Casey Stengel

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