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New York Yankees: Terrible Tuesday

Posted by on 25 August 2011, 11:01 am

It is crunch time in MLB, as teams will battle for a coveted spot in October till the bitter end.

The New York Yankees are right in the mix, but until any team clinches my advice is not to presume anything; as presumption is the mother of all… get it?

So one would think as a Yankee fan all things are good, but unfortunately that is not the case. Specifically, it is three things that have agitated me over the last four days, so thought I would share them:

1) Why I actually wanted the Red Sox to win their last two games?

After watching another discouraging finish in the Bronx last night, I realized that the New York Yankees did not only loss a game to the Oakland Athletics for the second night in a row 6-4. They also lost the series and the lead in the AL East.

While the Yankees were embarrassing themselves again on Tuesday night, the Red Sox taught the Texas Rangers a lesson in Arlington for the second night in a row. In turn, Boston flip-flopped spots with New York but just a game separates the two rivals.

Taking a back seat in the AL East, even by as little as a game normally would bother me but not when beating the Texas Rangers is the alternative. For some reason the Rangers make me cringe, even more than the Red Sox. This has nothing to do with the 2010 ALCS because I have had these uncontrollable feelings of disgust about Texas for about five years now.

It is not as if I was cheering for the Red Sox agreeably, but the Rangers need a good kick in the you know what, mainly because the media is constantly throwing Texas a bone and it drives me crazy.

2) Not A-rod Again?

On Tuesday night, A-rod was not in the Yankees line-up, leaving the Yankees once again without their cleanup hitter. A-rod just made his return a day earlier after spending seven weeks on the DL and supposedly was healed, healthy and ready to help out his team.

Surely all Yankee fans must have been dumbfounded when the TV cameras flashed to A-rod, only to see his left hand thoroughly taped up.

Supposedly this bandage was to protect A-rod’s “thumb jam” that he suffered during his first outing. I have jammed my thumb and all in needed was a good, hard pull and presto…. thumb jam was over.

Whatever actually happened or how hurt A-rod really is will remain a mystery until the Yankees realize that everyone knows they are lying, and covering up the severity of the injury at hand. This is nothing new, as this is the typical approach of the Yankees front office, but that doesn’t mean I ever have to get used to it.

Maybe A-rod is trying to play the sympathy card heading into Friday’s meeting with the Commissioner Bud Selig to reflect more off-the-field antics; this time A-rod better know when to fold’em. Oh wait he can’t because of his newly injured thumb.

Who knows if this is something to worry about, but until A-rod is on the field don’t think all is well. Continue reading ‘New York Yankees: Terrible Tuesday’ »

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Bronx Bombers Not Scared Of Anyone Especially Not Rangers

Posted by on 23 August 2011, 2:08 am

The New York Yankees are now a game ahead in front of the Boston Red Sox thanks to the Texas Rangers, who shut them down 4-0 yesterday, as the Bombers were enjoying their last off day.

The next seven days for the Yankees start off in the Bronx with three against the Oakland A’s, before heading to Camden Yard to play the perpetually awful Orioles five times.

This is the last part of the schedule that the Yankees could really put some space between them and the Red Sox in the AL East.

The Yankees need to take advantage of this open door as winning the division historically works in their favor.

Since 1996, the Yankees have a handful of World Series rings, but not one of the five championships was earned when entering the postseason as the Wild Card team.

Just to even the score some, the Yankee have also lost six times in the playoffs coming in as the AL East Division winner.

So the underlining fact is losing can come in all forms, but winning seems to follow a trend and that makes winning the AL East in 2011 almost a necessity on their road to #28.

Also, the Wild Card more than likely will head to Arlington, Texas to face the Rangers and MLB Network claims that is not the place either team wants to be.

In my opinion, over the last two seasons the Rangers have been way over-hyped. If the Los Angeles Angels had 1B Kendry Morales back this season, the Rangers would not be leading the AL West.

The Angels have not been as dominate the last two seasons, but they always remained within striking distance of the Rangers. Sans the Angels, the Rangers should win their respective division considering the other two teams consist of the A’s and Mariners.

So, please shake the idea that Yankee fans want to win the AL East to avoid Ron Washington and his Rangers, because nothing could be further from the truth. Continue reading ‘Bronx Bombers Not Scared Of Anyone Especially Not Rangers’ »

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Lady Loves Pinstripes: 2011 MLB July Monthly Power Rankings

Posted by on 1 August 2011, 4:11 am

The trade deadline marked the close to the month of July, as now the real fun begins; that is if your team still has a shot at playing in October.

Where does your team stand at the end of July?

My advice to baseball fans is to catch some Bieber Fever, and Never, Say Never.

With a ton of baseball still left in the 2011 season October is up for grabs, so see where your team stands on my July Monthly Power Rankings; and comments are encouraged.

JULY

MLB TEAM

JUNE

COMMENTS. WHY?

1

 Philadelphia Phillies

2

 Trading for Hunter Pence was a legit and necessary move….and it is already paying off.

2

 Boston Red Sox

3

 Injury prone Erik Bedard better be just a stopgap for injured Clay Buckholz…. still a desperate move by GM Theo Epstein.

3

 New York Yankees

1

 If any team can win with hitting it is the Bronx Bombers…. silence at trade deadline was golden back in 1998.

4

 San Francisco Giants

4

 Carlos Beltran was a great move till the Phillies and Braves made better ones.

5

 Atlanta Braves

5

 Michael Bourne is perfect leadoff hitter with .303 BA, 26 doubles and 39 SB; keep an eye on this team when McCann returns.

6

 St. Louis Cardinals

8

 Made the most of the trade market adding SS Furcal ,OF Paterson, SP Jackson, RP Dotel and P Rzepczynski. Cards fans should be excited.

7

 Texas Rangers

10

 Still don’t trust a team with 2nd most errors in baseball; adding Uehara and Adams at trade

8

 Detroit Tigers

6

 Can the pitching hold-up to win the AL Central? Tigers have a 50-50 chance it could go either way.

9

 Arizona Diamondbacks

11

 Don’t count the D-Backs out just yet; a young, talented and hungry organization could do damage down the stretch.

10

 Milwaukee Brewers

9

 Rickie Weeks injury couldn’t have come at a worse time but Jerry Harriston is experienced and versatile enough to hold down the fort…at least at home.

11

 Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

12

 Keeping a position to pounce and take what is rightfully theirs… the AL West.

12

 Cleveland Indians

14

 Be Aggressive… until the Tribe doesn’t make the playoffs; doubtful Jimenez trade will make enough of an impact.

13

 Tampa Bay Rays

7

 Should have been sellers as not catching Yankees and Red Sox this season; James Shields could have brought a truckload of prospects.

14

 Pittsburgh Pirates

15

 Use the 19th inning loss as a motivator to prove that Pittsburgh is resilient.

15

 Chicago White Sox

18

 Ozzie’s boys will win this division…. mark my word. Jackson trade brings a moan of relief.

16

 Cincinnati Reds

13

 Proving that making postseason in 2010 was not a forecast of good things to come. Needed to do something at trade deadline, not copy the Yankees.

17

 Toronto Blue Jays

19

 Can this team please move to the NL? Or just anywhere that is NOT the AL East?

18

 New York Mets

16

 GM is cleaning up shop and Reyes will be a Met after this season. Next project is fixing CitiField…

19

 Washington Nationals

17

 Phenom pitcher Stephen Strasburg could be back in rotation in September….but why not just wait till 2012?

20

 Colorado Rockies

21

 Even a bigger disappointment than the Reds…second half surge was obviously luck.

21

 Oakland Athletics

22

 Billy Beane for Brad Pitt? Moneyball the movie will win more awards than A’s ever will….

22

 Minnesota Twins

29

 Finally, my “Joe Mauer Is Overrated” theory it panning out.

23

 Florida Marlins

25

 Should give new ballpark to Rays…because Marlins deserve to play in the Trop Dome.

24

 Los Angeles Dodgers

25

 Matt Kemp is on his way to winning NL MVP; now he should go get Rihanna back and enjoy it.

25

 Kansas City Royals

26

 1B Eric Hosmer is tremendous and Royals fans know that means he won’t be around much longer.

26

 Chicago Cubs

28

 Hey at least things got bad earlier than normal this season….FYI the something still ain’t working.

27

 Seattle Mariners

20

 17-game losing streak; wasting King Felix again; and Michael Pineda better get out of there unless Mariners get new ownership.

28

 San Diego Padres

27

 Health Bell still has his bags packed and hopefully Padres can get him the ball so he can prove it before waiver-wire trade deadline Aug 31.

29

 Baltimore Orioles

24

 Are the Orioles ever going to be good? Traded Lee and Uehara but who cares….

30

 Houston Astros

30

 FIRE SALE….memo to Astros stop answering the phone because you getting punked.
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MLB Trade Rumors: Yankees Newest Bargain Athletics Rich Harden

Posted by on 25 July 2011, 2:06 am

On Saturday afternoon in the heat of the Bronx, the Yankees lost to the Oakland A’s 4-3, after slaughtering them the night before 17-7 and closing out the series winning the rubber game on Sunday 7-5.

At the start of the series, YES’s Michal Kay called the Athletics “offensively anemic,” which was the most accurate description for Oakland’s season thus far.

Up until Saturday, the A’s were on an 11-game losing streak to the Yankees but the performance by starting pitcher Rich Harden gave them enough to hold the Bombers in the Bronx to end it.

Still even with the win the A’s are an October long shot, sitting 13 games behind the AL West leading Texas Rangers.

So, Harden’s start was also an impressive semi-secret-audition for Yankees GM Brain Cashman. Especially after Hall-of-Fame writer and Red Sox’s loyalist Peter Gammons tweeted that Boston had already been on the phone about the 29-year-old righty.

Knowing that A’s GM Billy Beane is fielding phone calls comes as no surprise with Harden’s pending free agency post 2011. Beane will attempt to get the most out of Harden prior to the July 31st trade deadline.

Harden’s abilities are easy to sell, but his injury history is not. When healthy, Harden has ace potential but injuries have consumed him. Beane knows that Harden has just come off the 60-day DL and that teams are well aware that he has only pitched 23.1 innings in 2011.

Watching Harden vs. the Yankees definitely opened some eyes. He flaunted a mid-90’s fastball, while integrating a change-up. This allowed just two Yankee runs to score, as Harden fanned six, walked four over 5.1 innings pitched.

Bottom line is the Yankees don’t want to “overpay” with prospects, or at least Cashman doesn’t, so acquiring Harden fits the bill.

The A’s only spent $1.5 million on Harden, which is even a bargain for them. Beane has to be realistic in what player(s) he will get in return, along with dumping the remaining $500k left on Harden’s contract. This is pocket change that the A’s want back and this certainly goes along with Cashman’s bargain-basement strategy.

Harden’s health concerns are slashed in half with two months of the season to go. His latest win in New York was only Harden’s fourth starting of 2011 anyway, so he has not thrown that much.

The two years earlier he made 18 (2010) and 26 (2009) starts . Over his nine-year career, Harden has a 3.66 ERA, pitching 192 innings a season, with 195 strikeouts and 88 walks.

So, if Cashman stays on par with his cheap tricks my guess is Harden possibilities of donning Yankee pinstripes is not unrealistic. Looking at the Yankees rotation, having insurance is a must and obtaining Harden would not command the farm system, like getting Rockies Ubaldo Jimenez.

Trust me, I would love for Cashman to bring up one of the prize prospects but the Yankees haven’t finished screwing them up yet for that.

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New York Yankees Bartolo Colon Raises Questions Not Applause

Posted by on 2 June 2011, 11:44 am

Long gone are the days that a comeback story is one filled with admiration and leaving you with hope that anything is possible.

This is not just in baseball or sports, but also in anything these days as suspicion is taking over as our immediate reactions.

In baseball, there are plenty of reasons as to why everyone from the media to fans to players question any type of resurgence or sudden talent.

What else could be expected when the line between what was legal and what wasn’t regarding performance-enhancing substances was overlooked for so long? It was selfish and greedy, which coincides with everything else that involves making more money.

It is unfortunate as the affects from ignoring the ‘cheating’ have now hurt baseball’s reputation as America’s Pastime because now there is an asterisk.

So, after watching New York Yankees Bartolo Colon throw a complete game, shutout this past week against the Oakland Athletics, the questions pertaining how the hell he did it are getting attention again.

Just read Bob Klapisch’s latest article Bartolo Colon’s treatments inject controversy into his comeback. Klapisch might as well just accuse Colon of using HGH because it is hard to read where he didn’t insinuate it.

Maybe that is because in Colon’s case not shred of evidence has proven he is lying, actually all that has come out has backed up Colon’s words.

Just a note…. in my opinion concerning Jose Bautista’s “story” there are a lot more questions. Bautista has never shown a shred of a talent, not even the slightest bit to allow for anyone to comprehend his newly found skills. I am not saying Bautista is cheating or ever did, but the difference here is it came out-of-the-blue.

MY STORY:

In Colon’s defense, I am familiar with this procedure as I had surgery to repair my right elbow a little over a year ago.

Months prior and after over a year of all kinds of physical therapy, it was determined that surgery would be done and my father suggested Colon’s procedure.

My doctor, who is one of the most renowned in the country, said it was relatively new and had only been done to a few pro-athletes. He went on to say the procedure needed more fine-tuning. He agreed that my father was completely correct regarding its success, but it was a hit or miss meaning it either worked or didn’t.

In my case, actual surgery had better odds to repair my damage and torn elbow tendon. He certainly warned me that this type of injury that any surgery is avoided at all costs and is only done on 1% suffering from elbow issues.

Whether HGH was used or not was not mentioned, but the doctor did say the stem-cell injections could be the technique of the future.

The point is that this procedure is not coming out of left field at all since it was brought to my father’s attention two years ago. How he learned about it, I don’t know but I know he thinks anytime you can avoid going under the knife is worth asking about.

COLON’S SITUATION:

Colon is 37-years-old and the 2005 CY Young winner hasn’t looked this good in a years. As far as everyone knew Colon was finished because his overused pitching-arm was just that, worn out. Continue reading ‘New York Yankees Bartolo Colon Raises Questions Not Applause’ »

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2011 MLB Team Preview: Oakland Athletics

Posted by on 28 March 2011, 5:43 am

The Oakland Athletics (A’s) biggest headline last season was when New York Yankees Alex Rodriguez took a jog over the pitching mound at The Coliseum on his way back to the visitor’s dugout, and SP Dallas Braden through a temper tantrum.

The A’s finished up the 2010 season at 81-81, a vast improvement from seasons prior but finishing second in the AL West was not as much earned, as it was lost when the Angels got injured.

So, where does that leave the A’s heading into 2011, let’s take a look.

The Positives:

Pitching, pitching and more pitching as the A’s have possibly the most talented group of youngsters across baseball. Finishing with a 3.56 ERA, an AL best and making 103 Quality Starts, which was the most in baseball in 2010.

This season the A’s are banking on the continued maturity of the righty Trevor Cahill, who is now 23-years old and in 2010 was one of the best pitchers in the AL. Cahill won 18 games, posting a 2.97 ERA over 30 starts. The rotation will be led by Cahill, who went 18-8 with a 2.97 ERA and was named to the All-Star Team in 2010.

Then there is 25-year-old, lefty Gio Gonzalez also made strides in 2010, posting a 15-9 record, with a 3.23 ERA but the 92 walks needs to improve. Gonzalez needs to learn when to throw what pitch, as well as get better control to lower the amount of walks.

The A’s most promising rookie is 22-year-old, lefty Brett Anderson, who has a 95+ fastball and has command well beyond his years. Anderson pounds the plate and throws for strikes, featuring a slider, change-up and curveball. In 2010 Anderson was sidelined twice with elbow soreness, which limited him to 19 starts. This kid has the biggest future, if he keeps maturing like this.

The third lefty, Braden, the newly acquired Brandon McCarthy and Rich Harden will fill the back-end spots. Harden is not unfamiliar with the A’s, as his last stint with Oakland dates back to 2008, where he made 13 starts, posting a 2.34 ERA, with a record of 5-1,

This is a very talented and young rotation, which is clearly the strength of this A’s ball-club.

There are not many teams featuring three lefty arms on the brink of becoming top of the rotation pitchers. I still think the A’s staff is working out their kinks and figuring out how to be the most effective on the mound.

This is not a “will it happen” situation, but a “when it happens.”

The Negatives:

The great pitching happens to be paired with one of the worst line-ups in baseball.

The A’s management seems so occupied with getting a new stadium built that they made no significant moves in the off-season that will bring a consistent pop to the batting order.

They traded away the speed of Rajai Davis to the Blue Jays for two prospect relievers. Davis stole 41+ bases in each of the last two seasons.

They picked up injured Nationals Josh Willington for two young prospects. In 2010 Willington played in 114 games, posting a .268 batting average, hitting 16 home runs, 56 RBI’s, and had eight stolen bases. He missed the last six weeks with a knee injury, but has played without any problems this spring and is hoping to put up some numbers in Oakland. Just have to wait and see.

Another pick-up the injured outfielder David DeJesus who only contributed in 91 games last year with the Royals. They also snagged the aging great Hideki Matsui as the team’s DH, which is worrisome considering Matsui’s age, injury history and the expectations the A’s are hoping Matsui can bring. Continue reading ‘2011 MLB Team Preview: Oakland Athletics’ »

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New York Yankees Invite Eric Chavez To Spring Training Is One To Watch

Posted by on 8 February 2011, 7:01 am
Eric Chavez about to swing, May, 2005. Photo b...

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Third-baseman Eric Chavez is the latest player invited to the New York Yankees 2011 Spring Training.

Chavez has a potential contract ready to be signed if he lands on the Yankees 40-man roster at the end of camp; but for now he is another non-roster invite so it costs the Yankees nothing.

This is Chavez shot at making a comeback, as he has been plagued with injuries over the last three seasons. Chavez has undergone two back operations and three shoulder surgeries in his career; and the most current being bulging discs in his neck.

Once a great player before all the injuries, Chavez had won six Gold Gloves from 2001-06 and a 2002 Silver Slugger. Chavez has played all his 13-seasons with the Oakland A’s, but was let go resulting from inactivity. From 2007-10 he only appeared in 64 games.

Wow, is anyone else thinking this sounds like a broken record?

Look, no one is denying that Chavez is just another name on GM Brian Cashman’s growing list of free agent ex-stars.

Chavez also falls into the category of being plagued by injury, which has kept him from baseball in recent seasons; but this signing is one with potential and here is why:

3 reasons Chavez might work out the Yankees:

1) He is a great teammate, as Chavez gets all thumbs-up from baseball’s biggest critics. Susan Slusser who covers the Oakland A’s for the SF Chronicle wrote this about Chavez back in May 2010:

“Chavez is among my favorite players I’ve ever covered – and one of my favorite people, period. It’s impossible not to like him: He’s honest, he’s accessible, he’s quotable, he treats everyone around him with respect. He’s just a genuinely nice person, and I have seen how hard he’s tried to get onto the field and stay on the field over the years, much of it without ever even mentioning how much pain he was in.”

2) The job of backing Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira comes with minimal pressure and tear on the body; Chavez would make an overly solid substitute for A-rod or Tex on their occasional days off. He could also be penciled in at DH for Jorge Posada if he is behind the plate or needs a rest.

3) When healthy, Chavez can hit and he draws a lot of walks. Over his career, Chavez has a .267 batting average, with 282 doubles, 230 homeruns, 565 walks and an on-base percentage of .343. Chavez is a great defender when everything is feeling good.

3 reasons why Chavez might not work for the Yankees: Continue reading ‘New York Yankees Invite Eric Chavez To Spring Training Is One To Watch’ »

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