Skip to content

New York Yankees vs. New York Stankees

Posted by on 22 May 2012, 2:49 am

With all the hostility surrounding the 2012 New York Yankeeslately, I figured why not re-focus on some positives and embrace New York’s new role of being the Stankees.

the new STANKEES STADIUM.

After losing 6-0 to the Royals last night, the Stankees officially moved to the cellar of the AL East but that is not exactly where they need to be.

The Stankees are playing way too well still, as .500 baseball, is just unacceptable and you can thank bullpen for that. The bullpen is too good and they need to start being consistent about giving up homers.

Now you might be wondering what good can come from being the Stankees that would never have happened back when they were the Yankees?

1)    Tickets to a game at the famous Yankee Stadium will be so cheap that the Legends Seats will finally get filled even though it is with the opposing teams fans.

2)    Fans will finally stop all the whining about how money buys Championships.

3)    The AL All-Star team won’t feature half the Yankees active roster. Continue reading ‘New York Yankees vs. New York Stankees’ »

Tagged , , , , , , ,
1 Comment

Yankees vs. Rays: Series deux preview

Posted by on 8 May 2012, 12:44 am

The Yankees are back in New York after a 5-5-road trip to host the Tampa Bay Rays for a three-game set at the stadium starting tonight.

James Shields at Yankee Stadium.

Last time these two teams met was the start of the 2012 season, and the Rays swept the Yankees right out of Tropicana Field.

The Rays stand atop the AL East, tied with the Orioles with a 19-10 record but are coming to the Bronx on a two game losing streak.

Still, the 15-13 Yankees are the ones looking up at the Rays and have a perfect opportunity to make a move in the division and get some of their pride back.

The Rays are without third baseman Evan Longoria, and possibly Desmond Jennings too; but the Yankees will be without Mariano Rivera for the first time at home since 2003 along with a slew of others, including Brett Gardner, on their lengthy DL list.

The pitching match-ups are as follows, along with my predictions:

Tuesday: James Shields (5-0) vs. Ivan Nova (3-1)

Shields is clearly the better pitcher, but the recent awaken of Robbie Cano’s bat could give him some problems as Cano has hit four homers, five doubles, two triples and posts a .400 batting average against Shields. Cano was not a factor for Shields in their earlier meeting this season.

Nova is coming off his first loss after a 15-game winning streak but I do like the way he has pitched lately. He is reminding me of a 2010 Hughes, as he is getting a ton of run support. He has held the Rays to a .170 batting average, allowing two homers, three RBIs, three walks, while striking out 10 of the 47 total at-bats he has logged against them. Continue reading ‘Yankees vs. Rays: Series deux preview’ »

Tagged , , , , , , , , , ,
4 Comments

New York Yankees: TGIF

Posted by on 5 May 2012, 8:04 am

Waking up yesterday morning, I had that pit in my stomach and you can bet I wasn’t the only New Yorker with that feeling.

On Opening Day 2010 at Yankee Stadium, Derek J...

I had realized that last Friday night might have been the last time I ever would hear ENTER SANDMAN blasting over the speakers at Yankee Stadium.

Like most baseball fans, I was distraught and now would have the weekend to think about things.

That is until Mo confirmed in the visiting clubhouse at Kauffman Stadium, “I’m coming back. Write it down in big letters. I’m not going out like this,” and all of a sudden I smiled again.

Yes, losing Mo for a season stinks, but it doesn’t compare to the feeling it left when it was possibly for forever.

Friday continued to get better as the Yankees snapped a three-game losing streak beating the Royals 6-2.

Ace CC Sabathia took charge throwing for eight solid innings, and Captain Derek Jeter went 2-for-5 with a two-run homer and drove in two runs.

All that came to my mind was TGIF…thank God it’s Friday.

And that is when I started digging around the web for some other Yankees-positives, a tad silly yes but figured I might as well would share a few: Continue reading ‘New York Yankees: TGIF’ »

Tagged , , , , , , , , , ,
Comment

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’ »

Tagged , , , , , , ,
Comment

New York Yankees: You Hughes you lose

Posted by on 26 April 2012, 4:19 am

Who has had enough of Phil Hughes?

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)

Hughes proved once again, vs. Rangers, to be a liability on the mound. But this doesn’t seem to faze skipper Joe Girardi as he told Mark Feinstein of the NY Daily News this after the game:Well, the New York Yankees certainly have not, which is a real concern.

 “We believe he can do it and I know he believes he can do it. But right now, sometimes the ball’s running back a little, he’s leaving the curveball up, the cutter’s sometimes not getting to where he wants to so it is frustrating. But you’ve got to keep working at it.”

And if you were wondering whether Hughes’ rotation spot was in jeopardy, Girardi clearly stated:

“Our plans are to send (Hughes) out there again. He’s got to keep working at it. We’ve got to try to find a way to get it right.”

Hughes is one lucky guy, as most teams with other options would definitely use them because it is not like things could get any worse.

Even in his earlier start against the Twins, Hughes was mediocre at best. He did manage to pitch five whole innings, and get a W courtesy of the Yankee bats scoring seven runs.

In case you forgot, here is what Hughes has done in his four starts this season (stats are courtesy of mlb.com):

All stats courtesy of mlb.com.

Does anybody know how many more games Hughes has to screw up for the Yankees to take him out of the starting rotation? Continue reading ‘New York Yankees: You Hughes you lose’ »

Tagged , , , , , , ,
2 Comments

New York Yankees: Why Rangers Yu has advantage over Bombers

Posted by on 24 April 2012, 2:13 am

MLB fans worldwide can thank April showers in the Northeast for giving them the most anticipated pitching match-up so far this season because this one that

Yu Darvish begins his pitch.

Yu Darvish begins his pitch. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

was not supposed to happen.

As the Yankees Japanese pitcher Hiroki Kuroda will now face his fellow countryman Rangers Yu Darvish in the second game of this three game set down in Arlington; and all due to the Yankees postponed game in Fenway Park this past Sunday.

Just in case you missed last night’s game, CC Sabathia pitched a gem and the Yankees bats backed up their ace, as they beat the Rangers 7-4. It was an all around great team effort from New York, as the Yankees look better with every passing game.

Now back to tonight….

This match-up could be the most watched of the season because the entire country of Japan is sure to tune in, as both Kuroda and Darvish are two of their most famed countryman.

Neither pitcher has been stellar this season, but expect them to put on big show tonight.

KURODA

Kuroda has shown what he capable in both directions, as he was phenomenal in his Yankee Stadium début but got shelled in his other two starts.

So far Kuroda is posting a 5.00 ERA, giving up three homers, 10 earned runs, six walks and 12 strikeouts over 18 innings pitched. Kuroda went into the ninth inning in one start and couldn’t get through the fourth in his other two.

This has left Yankee fans wondering which Kuroda will show up tonight, the great one or the bomb?

You can bet the Yankees bullpen is on high alert and ready to go because if Kuroda is not dominant the Rangers bats will hit him hard and score runs from the get-go.

In his career, Kuroda has only faced the Rangers for 31 at-bats where he struck out six, walked two, gave up two doubles and allowed zero homers. It is a very small sample size to even attempt to predict what could happen.

DARVISH: Continue reading ‘New York Yankees: Why Rangers Yu has advantage over Bombers’ »

Tagged , , , , , , , , ,
1 Comment

Yankees vs Rangers: Whose hitters are hotter?

Posted by on 23 April 2012, 4:36 pm
Alex Rodriguez sharing his thoughts on a calle...

Alex Rodriguez sharing his thoughts on a called strike. Photograph by Googie Man (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Even though the 2012 MLB season is still so young, the media has labeled the Rangers as the best team in baseball.

This is not surprising, as the sports media has a certain love for the Rangers and always gives them the benefit of the doubt.

Currently, the Yankees, also dubbed the evil empire, are in Arlington to face the hottest team in baseball and I have yet to see anyone picking them to win the series.

See most baseball experts and even fans have deemed the Yankees as too old; attest their high home-run numbers to the small confines of Yankee Stadium; and blame what is in skipper Joe Girardi’s binder for every lose.

It boggles my mind why the Rangers seem to get a pass on everything, as Rangers Ballpark is a batter’s dream; their skipper Ron Washington’s decisions have lost them two World Series in a row; and give Josh Hamilton praise but rip Alex Rodriguez for everything.

So, when I went to look at the two teams batting stats for the season I was shocked because I thought the Rangers would be so far ahead of New York but that is not the case.

And as the saying goes…. stats don’t (and can’t) lie.

So, here are the 2012 batting stats for the Rangers and Yankees with the AL league average on the bottom.

Please keep in mind that the Yankees have 38 less at-bats than the Rangers due to a rain out yesterday.

And also, opponents and other factors in a team’s performance are not taken into account. Continue reading ‘Yankees vs Rangers: Whose hitters are hotter?’ »

Tagged , , , , , , , , ,
Comments Off
  1. Pages:
  2. 1
  3. 2
  4. 3
  5. 4
  6. 5
  7. 6
  8. 7
  9. 8