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Yankees aren’t worried or winning

New York Yankees

New York Yankees (Photo credit: Keith Allison)

There is no way to sugarcoat this anymore because the New York Yankees absolutely stink.

Going over all the issues isn’t going to help anything because they can’t hit, they give up homers and any team can beat them; and I mean any.

All teams get a pass in the month of April, but it is Memorial Day Weekend and there is no sign of improvement as the Yankees are writing a book on new ways to lose.

Actually, the Yankees are getting worse and the fans are taking it really hard.

See, in the Big Apple we have the Giants, Jets, Mets, Rangers, Knicks, Islanders, and soon to be the Nets, and then there are the Yankees.

Since 1996 this is the team that embodies what New York City is all about, full of grinders, fighters and winners.

So, what exactly is going in here?

Is this the end of the Yankees as we know it, or are fans making mountains out of anthills?

HERE ARE MY IMMEDIATE THOUGHTS ABOUT THE 2012 SEASON?

Without using any stats to find connections to anything positive, my first thought is that the YANKEES NEED TO START BEING VERY CONCERNED NOW.

The AL East standings don’t bother me because with the crappy baseball the Yankees have played they are certainly not playoff contenders. And doesn’t the saying go ain’t no use putting up your umbrella till it rains right?

Still the Yankees I used to know didn’t tip their caps to anyone especially an opposing pitcher.

They never made excuses that there was still a lot of baseball to be played to feel good about stinking.

And the one thing the Yankees I knew always made very clear was that losing in any way; type or kind was not a major concern but the only one.

Overall, to be completely honest something just doesn’t feel right to me. Continue reading ‘Yankees aren’t worried or winning’ »

New York Yankees: Are you going to sink or swim?


Nick Swisher - 'roll call'

SUNDAY SUMMARY:

The New York Yankees wrapped up the four game series in Kansas City with a 10-4 win, splitting the series 2-2 with the Royals.

Phil Hughes got the win, and he did pitch better but reality is the Yankee bats were really responsible for the win yesterday.

As Ibanez and Granderson each had a RBI; followed by Cano’s much-needed grand slam and Swisher’s solo shot both in the third; and finally A-Rod joined the party with a three-run bomb in the eighth.

It was great to see Cano break out of his slump, as that was only his second shot on the season but hopefully a sign of good things to come.

The Captain’s hot bat showed zero signs of slowing down, hitting a double off the first pitch thrown in the game and had a successful bunt in the third. Teixeira also helped out by drawing two walks in the game.

REALITY BITES:

The excuse of ‘it still early in the season’ has about worn its welcome but even more so for teams who live in the AL East.

Reality bites and it will sooner than you think if the Yankees don’t get the ball rolling here. They sit at 15-13 on the season, fourth in the division and four games back of the 19-9 Orioles. Continue reading ‘New York Yankees: Are you going to sink or swim?’ »

New York Yankees: Finally good news but more bad too

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’ »

New York Yankees fate hangs on Phil Hughes tonight

Photograph of Phil Hughes taken on April 29, 2...

Photograph of Phil Hughes taken on April 29, 2008 at Yankee Stadium. 04:50, 1 May 2008 . . Mandalatv . . 1,272×954 (691 KB) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Hiroki Kuroda had a solid night on the mound, as he limited the Rangers to just two earned runs but unfortunately the Yankees bats got shut out by his opponent Yu Darvish.

I called this outcome yesterday, as the Yankees line-up has a history of struggling when facing a pitcher for the first time but to his credit, Darvish played a part in this too.

Still, watching the Yankees strand 16 runners for nine innings was beyond irritating. It was around the third inning that I knew the Yankees odds of scoring a run were slim-to-none; and that nightmare came true as they lost 2-0.

So now the series is split, and the Yankees will hand the ball to Phil Hughes in the rubber match tonight, which is far from comforting.

For Hughes tonight might as well be Christmas Day, as this start gives him another opportunity to get a huge win against a top team, and come through when the Yankees need him.

Hughes has an impeccable track record in Rangers Ballpark, so everything is working in his favor. (Stats are courtesy of baseball-reference.com)

Phil Hughes career stats vs. Rangers at Rangers Ballpark.

As of now, I am 99% convinced that the 18-game winning, All-Star from 2010 was really just a mediocre pitcher who got lucky and a lot of run support.

Not very often do people get so many chances to prove their critics wrong, and Hughes has this one being served on a silver platter for him to do just that.

And don’t you think it is about time Hughes shows the Yankees that he was worth hanging on to? Continue reading ‘New York Yankees fate hangs on Phil Hughes tonight’ »

Yankees Universe trumps Red Sox Nation

DON’T MESS WITH TEX…

Don't mess with TEX....just ask any Red Sox fan.

What started out as a Yankees blowout in Fenway Park, ended in New York win.

Starting pitcher Freddy Garcia was worse than horrible, as he even made Phil Hughes look good.

The Red Sox feasted on Garcia’s inability to pitch. Boston had a 9-0 lead come the 5th inning and things were not looking good for the Yankees.

Than Mark Teixeira hit a homer in the 6th inning, score was 9-1.

Next came Nick Swisher who hit a grand slam in the 7th inning, score was 9-5.

Same inning still and Tex wasn’t down yet as he hit another bomb, with two men on base, score was now 9-8.

By the bottom of the 8th inning, the Yankees had a comfortable 15-9 lead.

Rafael Soriano took over the mound for Boone Logan in the middle of the inning, finished out the game, and got the W.

Overall, it was a great day in Yankee Universe.

SO…. WHO IS TO BLAME IN RED SOX NATION? Continue reading ‘Yankees Universe trumps Red Sox Nation’ »

Yankee fans welcomed home Bronx Bombers with open arms

OPENING DAY WAS A GEM….

Welcome home Yankees!!

It was another Opening Day for the books at Yankee Stadium, as fans got to welcome the players, say goodbye to a legend and watch the Bombers beat the Angels 5-0.

After a terrible first start against the Rays, pitcher Hiroki Kuroda took to the hill and he was brilliant.

Kuroda didn’t allow a run to score, pitching shutout ball into the ninth inning. He gave up five hits, walked two, struck out six and got a well-deserved, roaring ovation from Yankee fans.

Kuroda got insurance from the Yankee bats early, as Nick Swisher hit a three-run scoring double off Ervin Santana in the first inning. Than A-rod tacked on another run with a bomb to center field in the third inning, the 660th of his career; and Granderson went deep in the fifth, his second on the season. Continue reading ‘Yankee fans welcomed home Bronx Bombers with open arms’ »

New York Yankees: Being too un-risky proving costly

Joe Girardi

Joe Girardi (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Tampa Bay Rays manager Joe Maddon notoriously gets called out for making ‘risky moves’ all the time but after this weekend’s sweep of the New York Yankees that label seems unfair and inaccurate.

A risk is supposed to be hazardous, as you are acting in spite of what could go wrong.

And the only jeopardizing things I saw during the first series of the 2012 season came from the Yankees bench. Here are the three ‘safe’ moves that potentially lost the Yankees games:

1)    Intentionally walking Rays Sean Rodriguez in the first inning, of the first game of the season against CC Sabathia was senseless. Sabathia always takes a few starts in the beginning of the season to get rolling and he was clearly struggling with his control. To purposefully bring up power hitter Carlos Pena instead of letting CC strike out Rodriguez with breaking balls, which he did later in the game was over managing the Yankees ace. It ended with Pena hitting a grand slam.

2)    Again in the first game, but in the ninth inning, Girardi walked two Rays to get to Pena again who hit a rocket to deep centerfield, which won the game for the Rays. Continue reading ‘New York Yankees: Being too un-risky proving costly’ »