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New York Yankees: Positive start

Posted by on 5 March 2012, 10:15 pm
Michael Pineda

MICHAEL PINEDA AS A MARINER....Image via Wikipedia

Today, New York Yankee fans got their first taste of pitcher Michael Pineda and so far, so good.

In his Yankees début, Pineda pitched a solid two innings vs. the Phillies and after giving up a hit to Jimmy Rollins he sat down the next six hitters he faced, posting two strikeouts.

Pineda threw a total of 31 pitches and 19 were strikes, so that has to put a smile on Yankee fans faces.

And please note I am well aware that spring training is no guarantee for anything to come, as the outcomes of the games are meaningless. Some fans were acting like A-rod’s first game yesterday was Game 6 of the World Series, so please try to keep everything in perspective. Continue reading ‘New York Yankees: Positive start’ »

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2012 MLB Team Preview: St. Louis Cardinals

Posted by on 4 March 2012, 10:35 pm
St. Louis Cardinals

St. Louis Cardinals

To keep with tradition, I will start my 2012 MLB team by team previews with the defending 2011 World Series Champions, the St. Louis Cardinals.

The 2012 Cardinals will look a lot different from last year’s team, as the two biggest faces of the franchise are no longer there.

POSITIVES:

The Cardinals won the World Series without ace Adam Wainwright who got hurt last Spring Training and was out for the season after needing Tommy John surgery.

Getting a pitcher back, who in 2010 posted a 20-11 record, with a 2.42 ERA, striking out 213, with five complete games and two shutouts in just over 230 innings pitched is surely a HUGE boost.

Wainwright is one of the best pitchers in baseball, and at 30 years old is just entering what is considered to be his prime years.

Wainwright and Chris Carpenter were one of the best one-two pitching combos in all of baseball before the injury and I expect them to be that again.

NEGATIVES:

It seriously still boggles my mind that the Cardinals let baseball’s best player, Albert Pujols, walk after winning the World Series.

Pujols was the face of the Cardinals, a leader and wanted to finish his career in St. Louis but the Cardinals didn’t want to pay the market price for a player of Pujols caliber.

I have spoken to some Cardinal fans and the sheer disappointment in losing Pujols. One even when as far as to say: “I would give back the 2011 WS to have Pujols for life.”

That seems a tad extreme, but Pujols was that kind of player.

So, does losing Pujols cripple the Cardinals heading in to 2012?

Well, the Cards will certainly look different, as Pujols’s star power is irreparable and so is his bat.

Luckily for St. Louis fans, the NL Central has lost a lot of its competitive edge across the board but is that enough to make up for losing Albert’s bat?

The Cardinals did sign Carlos Beltran but don’t hold your breath that he will ever be what he was back in 2004 or 2006, blame the Mets for overpaying him for his real worth. Beltran has been going downhill for a few too many seasons to expect a resurge at age 35.

Also, the Cardinals are without the other most familiar face skipper Tony LaRussa who retired after last season.

LaRussa was a mastermind in the postseason by mixing up of a so-so bullpen into a championship caliber group.

Hopefully the players can adjust without the man who has led them the last 16-seasons, but also remember that pitching coach Dave Duncan is taking a leave of absence for 2012 season to be with his ailing wife so that is another familiar face that will not be around.

PLAYER(s)/GAME-CHANGERS TO WATCH: Continue reading ‘2012 MLB Team Preview: St. Louis Cardinals’ »

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Official MLB Press Release On 2012 Postseason Format

Posted by on 4 March 2012, 9:03 pm

03/02/2012 2:11 PM EST

The Major League Baseball logo.

Image via Wikipedia

MLB Adopts Expanded Format for 2012 Postseason

Two Additional Wild Cards Will Form 10-Team Postseason in 2012, Marking First Change to Postseason Format Since 1994

The 2012 Postseason will feature a 10-team format that includes two additional Wild Card Clubs and an elimination game in each League prior to the Division Series, Baseball Commissioner Allan H. (Bud) Selig announced today.

Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association agreed to the changes to the new Postseason format as a part of last year’s collective bargaining. The new Basic Agreement, announced on November 22nd, provided that MLB and the MLBPA would expand the Postseason no later than 2013; that a second Wild Card would be awarded in both the American League and the National League; and that a single Postseason game would be played between each League’s two Wild Card Clubs, with each winner advancing to compete among the three division champions from each League in the Division Series. Following further discussions to address player concerns, the parties agreed that the new format would be used in 2012.

The change, which was endorsed by the Commissioner’s 14-member Special Committee for On-Field Matters, marks the first amendment to the Postseason since MLB adopted the six-division, eight-team Postseason structure in January of 1994. The first Postseason to be played under that format occurred in 1995.

Commissioner Selig said: “I greatly appreciate the MLBPA’s cooperation in putting the new Postseason format in place this year. The enthusiasm for the 10-team structure among our Clubs, fans and partners has been overwhelming. This change increases the rewards of a division championship and allows two additional markets to experience playoff baseball each year, all while maintaining the most exclusive Postseason in professional sports.”

Michael Weiner, the Executive Director of the MLBPA, said: “The players are eager to begin playing under this new format in 2012 and they look forward to moving to full realignment in 2013. Our negotiating committee and the owners’ representatives worked hard to develop a schedule that should make for fairer competition and provide our fans with a very exciting season.” Continue reading ‘Official MLB Press Release On 2012 Postseason Format’ »

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New York Yankees: Deja vu for Bobby Valentine

Posted by on 1 March 2012, 1:48 pm

Turning boozehounds and bad attitudes into competitive and team oriented baseball players will be no easy task, even for Bobby Valentine.

Happy Valentine's Day...

Happy Valentine's Day...Yankee Universe!!(Photo credit: Јerry)

It is no secret that the newly minted Red Sox manager will have his hands full in Boston. And the sports world will be watching as Valentine once again aims to clean up another mess of a team like he did with that other New York team, the Mets back from 1998-2000.

Back in his Mets days it was for New York bragging rights, at a time when the Yankees were the sports worlds favorite sons.

Now with Boston the odds are not as stacked against Valentine because the Red Sox have the talent to win but do they have the heart is the question.

Valentine does have one familiarity that relates to both his past and future tenure, and that is the New York Yankees.

The last time he was in an MLB uniform as the Mets skipper, he saw the Yankees win the World Series for the 26th time.

And now, in his MLB return, Valentine has signed on to wear a uniform that is about as anti-Yankee, a Red Sox one that still has beer on it from 2011.

So, all the recent comments out of Valentine’s mouth are expected, and understandably have pissed off a lot of Yankee fans for good reason, myself included. Continue reading ‘New York Yankees: Deja vu for Bobby Valentine’ »

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New York Yankees: 2012 Resolution That’s Easy

Posted by on 2 January 2012, 11:23 pm
Making a New Year’s resolution is a time-honored tradition, and after going to the gym today I can tell you that it is still done, as it was

jammed packed.

Certain resolutions are irresolvable; such as I will never win a World Series for the obvious reason that I am female. Regardless, the majority of living men in the world today are not even remotely talented enough to play in the minor leagues.

Now the above does not apply if your name is Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez or Mariano Rivera as not only have all three already been WS Champs, they have the opportunity to do it again but the window is closing.

The 2012 New York Yankees won’t look much different from 2011, as most know that this off-season has been lifeless thus far and I do not foresee any surprises prior to the start of Spring Training.

Luckily, the Yankees have the talent to be relevant without much change but with the looming retirement of Rivera, along with the ages of Jeter and A-rod make 2012 the last season that winning a World Series might still be manageable.

I don’t think fans realize what life in the Bronx will be like when Enter Sandman no longer plays at the Stadium in the ninth inning; or in two or three years when the team no longer has their Captain.

The time is now, and after being on-hand for the Game 5 of the 2011 ALDS one would hope that would be enough for the entire Yankee team to work harder this off-season. So at least the players would know that they did everything humanly possible not repeat another early exit again in 2012.

For now, all I hope is that the majority of active Yankee players have this same sentiment. Continue reading ‘New York Yankees: 2012 Resolution That’s Easy’ »

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New York Yankees: Meeting CC Sabathia

Posted by on 13 December 2011, 10:58 am

Yesterday evening, thanks to the gracious PR queen Kathy Jacobson, I had the pleasure of attending a PitCCh In Foundationevent at the

Me & CC Sabathia at the MLB Fan Cave.

MLB Fan Cave, hosted by New York Yankees ace CC Sabathia and his wife Amber.

The Sabathia’s’ hosted 52 kids (hence CC dons #52) from the Columbus House clubhouse of the Madison Square Boys & Girls Club where they had dinner, mingled, took pictures and handed out iPods as presents.

Sabathia couldn’t have been more gracious a host, and let me just say that all Yankees should be very proud to have this man represent the pinstripes. Both Sabathia’s’ were so happy to be able to share not only gifts, but also themselves with these kids and it was wonderful to see.

Now, the press did ask the Yankee ace some baseball questions, and when asked if it was hard to end the 2011 season in Game 5 of the ALDS Sabathia had this response:

“It was for me. Winning the World Series the first year, losing the ALCS the second year and then being put out in the first round, really made me step back this offseason. You want to win. You want that parade. You want that at the end. It just made me really step back and look at some things that I could do better to help our team win.” Continue reading ‘New York Yankees: Meeting CC Sabathia’ »

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New York Yankees: Angels Turn To The Dark Side

Posted by on 8 December 2011, 12:40 pm

Can you blame them?

I am talking about the new evil empire called the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, who dropped the bomb today with the announcements of signing Albert Pujols and CJ Wilson.

Pujols will be making $250 million bucks over the next 10-years; while Wilson will be paid $77.5 million over the next 5-years.

Champ Ring

Image via Wikipedia

If the Angels new pricey transports work out like the 2009 New York Yankees, the Halos are banking on being World Series bound in 2012, literally.

It must be a wretched day in St. Louis, Missouri. My heart goes out the Cardinals fans that lost the face of their franchise today, as Pujols took money over loyalty and that hurts, no doubt about it.

Pujols is the West Coast’s version of A-rod, which would make him A-Jols?

Need a better nickname than that, but you can’t fake the Yankees without an A-something and the Halos got themselves an expensive one.

Since, Rangers’ fans have only been around for like three years who cares, but supposedly their offer to Wilson was pathetic, according to Wilson. Bo-ho.

Now not to worry Yankee fans, as it will take the Halos at least a decade more of overspending, while winning four more World Series for them to ever catch the boys in the Bronx.

Hey the Bombers are still the rightful owners of the highest paid player ever in Alex Rodriguez, so take that Angels.

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