New York Yankees

Baseball is a game of numbers.

When it comes to the Los Angeles Dodgers this season, their impressive numbers seem to indicate why they have the best record in baseball thus far. But when looked upon closer inspection, my instincts tell me that the Dodgers impressive numbers fail to tell the whole truth.  

Continue reading "The Los Angeles Dodgers numbers are Misleading!!!"

The MLB trade deadline came and went without the biggest name on the market being moved. Often times Mid-July festers numerous rumors within the Majors. The largest topic of discussion this year was Toronto ace Roy Halladay. Other notable players moved (most of them left Cleveland), but Halladay stayed.

Continue reading "Championship: Make It Happen"

Dave Dameshek, an ESPN.com podcaster gave kudos to Andre Agassi today ( http://sports.espn.go.com/stations/player?context=podcast&id=4352192) on his podcast for his infamous mantra “ Image is everything” which Agassi stated in a Canon commercial over fifteen- years ago.   Still, Dameshek argued, Agassi’s words seem fitting today as some top athletes currently find them-selves in a position of trying to restore their image due to off-field episodes that seemingly rattled their once squeaky clean perception.   On Tuesday, TMZ released the feared truth; Lebron James was in fact dunked on by a Syracuse Guard named Jordan Crawford several weeks ago at the Lebron James Camp in Ohio. James reportedly may have confiscated the tapes, with the help of some Nike representatives until TMZ finally got a hold of them, somehow.   In a book entitled The Beckham Experiment, author Grant Wahl explained, with the help of Los Angeles Galaxy star Landon Donovan, that it was indeed Beckham’s unwillingness to embrace the savior of American soccer that disallowed the sport from gaining any ground in becoming a main stream sport in America.        Ben Roethlisberger will not only be fighting off defensive lineman next year but also some woman in a civil law suit who is accusing him of rape.   Michael Vick wants to find a team to play for and be forgiven for killing dogs ( or having them killed) while Manny Ramirez is trying to battle back from a 50-game suspension for doing drugs.   Because of their unfortunate off the field episodes, all of these for-mentioned athletes have one thing in common; they all have an image to be restored. However, the only way for these athletes to ever be perceived by the fans and the media as the cream of the crop again is to do what Adrian said Rocky should do; win.   After being accused of rape in 2003, Kobe Bryant lost endorsement deals, respect from some of the fans and the media, and most of all his integrity. A few years later Bryant ranted on sports talk radio shows complaining that he needed better teammates that could help him win. The next season, Bryant was booed by his home fans at his first home game and ridiculed by opposing fans on nearly every road trip.     But slowly but surely Bryant worked himself back into public approval. In 2008 he was the NBA’s MVP, in the 2009 Olympics he helped lead team USA back to the gold,  and in the same year his Lakers were the world champions. While there are still people who dislike Bryant, let’s concur, most fans and journalists today associate Bryant with words like champion, winner and phenomenal athlete, as opposed to all the other negative things that use to pop into their minds.   Less than a year after Ray Lewis was acquitted of murder chargers due to a plea bargain he chose, he returned to the NFL, and led his team to the Super Bowl while garnering MVP honors. Although Lewis was not chosen after the Super Bowl to repeat those infamous words “ I am going to Disneyland” by Disney World, Lewis has steadily inched his way back into public acceptance. Since the 2001 Super Bowl Lewis has been featured in commercials, done numerous television spots, put on the cover of Madden 2005, been involved in community services, and been selected to numerous pro bowls and is still highly regarded as one of the best linebackers in the league. While we can’t solely attribute Lewis’ resignation to his 2001 Super Bowl MVP, we can certainly conclude it was the match that ignited the fire.   While Muhammad Ali was supported by many fans for deciding not to enter an unpopular war, some of the media was not as approving . After three years of not being allowed to fight, Ali returned to the ring to defeat nearly every foe in his way and eventually regained the title by defeating George Foreman. Today, almost nobody calls Ali unpatriotic or points to his unwillingness to go to Vietnam. I think it is safe to say that Ali’s success after being allowed to fight again left no room for ridicule; His success simply overshadowed his questionable decisions.   Beckham, Vick, James and Big Ben all should try to take similar routes to take back up to the top. Sure, giving charity is nice, having your family by your side is touching, and appearing in commercials is a good gesture, but nothing says more than winning. Just look at Alex Rodriguez whose image is shakier than a Los Angeles earthquake. No matter how may MVP’s he wins, Yankee fans will only forgive A-Rod if he helps them win a ring.   If Beckham wants to quite the Los Angeles Riot Squad at games, he must lead the Galaxy to a winning season, embrace the LA scene, pay for his team’s dinner, and perhaps even win a championship. If not, than enjoy your flight back to London and thanks for nothing.   Vick cannot just come back and play-football, he has to enable fans to fall in love with his joy stick speed again. Maybe even take his team to the playoffs all while being a good teammate.   Ironically, James decided not to shake hands with the Orlando Magic after losing in the Eastern Conference finals. James confiscation of the tapes at his camp shows the same characteristic; poor sportsmanship. No matter what happens, if James continues to fail, media and fans will helplessly point to the two incidents as an indication of James’ failures. Mantras such as “ James cannot win because he does not know how to lose like a man” will certainly be uttered by some.   Roethlisberger is sord of an enigma because he has already won two Super Bowls. If he gets out of the mess he is currently in does he have to come back and win another Super Bowl to re-envent his image? Not necessarily, since he is already a proven winnner, but I guranatee that if he does come back and continue to be succesful that the incident in Lake Tahoe will be all the more easy to be forgotten, guilty or not guilty. If he returns and never wins again, than talk of “ Ben only won the big one because he was in a proven sysytem” will be all the eaiser to say.    If we dare, let us take a tip from Manny Ramirez. After coming back from suspension Ramirez has batted 347, with four home runs and 17 runs batted in. While the rest of the world may have issue, Ramirez is adored in Dodger land, ala take a look at Wednesday night’s grand slam. A lot of that has to do with the fact that the Dodgers are in first but put it this way, if Manny was batting 215, with one home run and three RBI’s since his return, and the Dodgers were in last place, would he still obtain standing ovations?   I understand that winning does not cure all. A murderer is not fully forgiven if he lifts up the championship trophy, nor should he be. My gist, however, is that above all winning can replenish an image more than Gatorade can quench your thirst.   Don’t agree? Then why aren’t guys like Mike Tyson and Allen Iverson note-ably thought of for their outstanding talents first and foremost? Because their off- the field and even on -the-field misshapes have never been followed up with great success.   This argument as a whole might also seem simplistic. It is human nature that when somebody does something bad, you tend to forgive them after a while, especially if they do a good dead. But some things cannot go over-looked. Can a wife ever forgive her husband for cheating, no matter how many good deeds he does? But that is the beauty of sports. In almost all cases, winning can make fans and media forgive. Doing steroids is bad until you hit a grand slam in the World Series, right?   Charles Barkley once suggested and was even ridiculed for stating that athletes should not be looked at as role models. “A million guys can dunk a basketball in jail; should they be role models?" Barkley argued. While Barkley was urging fans to simply evaluate a player based on his on the field performance we as fans can never make that leap. Image, like Agassi said, is everything and the only way to ever restore a damaged one is to come back on the field and win.  

Continue reading "James, Vick, Manny, Beckham and Big ..."

Dave Dameshek, an ESPN.com podcaster gave kudos to Andre Agassi today, ( http://sports.espn.go.com/stations/player?context=podcast&id=4352192) on his podcast for his infamous mantra “ Image

Continue reading "James, Vick, Manny, and Beckham take ..."

Dave Dameshek, an ESPN.com podcaster gave kudos to Andre Agassi today, ( http://sports.espn.go.com/stations/player?context=podcast&id=4352192) on his podcast for his infamous mantra “ Image

Continue reading "James, Beckham, Vick and Manny take ..."

and possibly in all of sports radio and media.

-He doesn't care if you like him or not.

-He doesn't take too many phone calls.  Yes, even your calls "Mr. Intellectual, Soccer guy" usually are uncessary.  Too many calls from mouth breathing booger eaters can only bring the show down.

Continue reading "Why Colin Cowherd is the best thing ..."

http://www.wdscore.com/index.html?scv=tv&tv_uid_in=1042 Mets

GIANTS LINK:  http://www.freedocast.com/badbeatPASSWORD: meganfox    

CARDINALS LINK:  http://www

Continue reading "Links"

These days, going to a baseball game isn't what it used to be. Seldom will a pitcher throw into the 7th inning; the score is usually 7-6 or 10-9; and your favorite slugger is likely to hit one, if not two balls, out of the park. The game is shamelessly jacked up on HGH, and its obvious. The best hitter (Bonds) and pitcher (Clemens) of our generation used it, and more players are getting busted by the day (A-Rod, Manny). However, most fans don't care. They still go to the ballpark. That's because baseball, and pro sports in general, is merely another form of entertainment.

Continue reading "Rampant Steroid Use Brings Up Issue ..."

Alex "A-Roid" Rodriguez has to be one of the dumbest athletes in modern sports. He's getting paid $33 million per year, as part of a 52-year contract, so he's set for life. Yet he resorts to using steroids. Why? He clearly has it all. He's already on pace to break Bonds' home-run "record." Besides that, he's known as the best offensive hitter in the game, when healthy. The staff and myself racked our brains over why the slugger feels he needed the extra edge. Having been stumped, we came up with 10 reasons why he doesn't need steroids, in hopes of convincing the vain ballplayer to lay off the juice.

Continue reading "Top 10 Reasons why Alex "A-Roid" ..."

As I watched Jacoby Ellsbury steal home against the Yankees Sunday night, I thought to myself: "This pretty much sums it up." An aging Andy Pettitte forgets to deliver from the stretch, letting a youthful Ellsbury elude another future Bingo regular, Jorge Posada's, tag at the plate. Would Justin Masterson have made the same error? The two ballclubs could not be headed in more opposite directions. Every year, the Red Sox seem to call up another hyped prospect, while the Yanks continue to overpay for limited talent, and shun their farm system.

Continue reading "Red Sox continue to steal away Yanks' future"

Alex Rodriguez could have taken the approach of baseball legends Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens and Mark McGwire, but he didn't. He took an approach similar to less notable star Jason Giambi. A-Rod honed up to the report and took the blame that he deserved. He did not claim to not know what it was, he did not play the victim. He took the high road and took responsibility for his actions.

Continue reading "Alex Rodriguez admits it: Does this ..."

Each year the Calaveras Redskins and the Bret Harte Bullfrogs meet on a Friday evening in November in a cross county rivalry that dates back a few generations.  To victor goes the bell.  The bell has resided in San Andreas almost permanently for as far back as most of us can remember.  Every year, all teams enter their seasons with great hopes and dreams, and this season was no different.  Every year, the residents of Calaveras County wonder if this will be the year that Bret Harte beats arch enemy Calaveras.  And remember this is a rivalry that goes to the soul of both schools. There is nothing like a loss to the other school that eats at your gut more. 

Continue reading "The Bell Stays in San Andreas"

The Denver Nuggets did the right thing in getting rid of Allen Iverson.  They never should have traded for Iverson to begin with.  Iverson is one of the most overrated basketball players in the history of the NBA.  The Pistons are sure to suffer and lose all hope of any run to a title.

Continue reading "Allen Iverson Trade is Stupid Move on Pistons Part"

In the past week, we have ended the 2008 Major League Baseball Season, begun the 2008/2009 NBA Season, ended a 33 year streak of Bowl Appearances by Michigan, ended the Calaveras Redskins string of MLL Championships and started the second half of the NFL Season.   

Continue reading "Hot Stove Season"

I read yesterday that Manny might be going to the Yankees.  I guess they're the only team that can afford him.  But it sure doesn't seem right.

Boston Red Sox fans have got to be letting out a collective groan. 

Continue reading "Manny going to the New York Yankees?"

That would be the American League East with the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox.  The best two teams money can buy, well at least most of the time.  The year before, the Rays lost 97 games with a team of young, inexperienced players.  Giant fans please pay attention.  Behind the leadership of Joe Madden, the Rays seemed to have reached the Promised Land.  Then Matt Garza and Jason Bartlett were acquired midseason from the Twins.  The Rays held on and won the American League East Title. Next they beat the Chicago White Sox in Round One of the American League Playoffs.  Up next was the mighty Red Sox, who after falling behind 3 games to 1 and on the brink of extinction pulled off an improbably and precedent setting comeback.  Momentum seemed to have switched in favor of Beantown.  On Saturday night, Josh Beckett led the Red Sox to a win to even the series.  It set up a match of young flamethrowers, Garza vs Jon Lester.  Both pitchers threw well, but in the year of the Wonderdogs, is it any surprise that for seven innings, Garza, the former Fresno State Bulldog, would be almost perfect as the Rays took a 3-1 decision and earned a trip to the World Series.

Continue reading "Year of the Underdog"

As a baseball fanatic, how refreshing is it that on an NFL sunday, baseball is center stage as the Boston Red Sox attempt to complete an amazing return from the dead, again.  The team with a history of choking is now on the edge of becoming one of the greatest comeback teams in history.

Continue reading "Sunday Morning"

For the last few day the Red Sox looked like a mirror image of the Dodgers.  Dying and quickly being pushed out of post season play.  A finally, a kid from Woodland, Ca battles his way to a two out RBI single and the Red Sox wake up.  Ortiz temporarly breaks out of his slump at the right moment and breathes life back into Red Sox nation.  JD Drew has found a home in Boston and calmly belted one over the right field fence to get the Sox back to within one run.  Drew looked very comfortable at the plate while working Howell to a 3-1 count.  You knew he was going to hit the ball hard somewhere. And he did and Boston will go back to Tampa.

Continue reading "Wow"

With the MLB playoffs set to begin, there is a subtle difference in the air compared to start of any other postseason. In the NHL, fans can potentially look forward to a great Canadians/Bruins series that is not only exciting, but has a historical kick to it. Likewise basketball fans always have the chance to see if the Suns can finally get past the Spurs and football fans love seeing the rivalry of the Eagles Vs the City of Philadelphia when the Eagles so much as get tackled for a loss.

Continue reading "The Ups and Downs of the MLB Playoffs"

Entrance into the Hall of Fame is the highest individual honour that baseball has to offer. Getting into Cooperstown means that without a doubt you are one of the greatest players of your generation and have earned the right for children to stare at your plaque as parents tell tall-tales of your abilities for years to come.

Continue reading "What makes someone a hall of famer?"

Dear God I love the Blue Jays. After all, what’s not to love? Sure, they may blow crucial games in crucial series, 90% of the time they can’t get a hit in extra innings to save their lives, they don’t steal bases and have never been able to beat the Rays (Devil or not), but after that, what else? Oh yeah, they can never seem to beat rookie pitchers, take advantage of bases loaded situations and every pitcher not named Halladay seems to start every at-bat with a ball. But still, every day I try to catch the opening pitch and every night check the standings… What’s wrong with me?

Continue reading "Why I watch the Jays"

To compete, a baseball team needs pitching and defense. An old adage maybe, but it exists for a reason. A team that continuously gives up runs ends up yanking their starters early in games and taxes their bullpen, lessening their effectiveness over time and thereby compounding the problem over the season. Ironically, trying to keep games close hurts the team in the long run. But with one of the best fielding percentages and team ERA’s in the league, the Toronto Blue Jays are competing.

Continue reading "Why the Jays won't compete: the importance ..."

’s the top of the ninth inning and the Toronto Blue Jays are holding a slim 2-1 lead over the New York Yankees. Up to bat is Derek Jeter with Bobby Abreu and Alex Rodriguez on deck. Cito Gaston, in order to shut the door on the game and the series gets on the phone and brings in the big gun, Pedro Luis Lazo, winner of two Olympic Gold medals with Cuba and current closer of the Blue Jays. And even if he gives up a run its okay, because leading off the bottom of the ninth for the Jays is Alexei Bell, who hit 30 HR with 100 RBI with Santiago del Cuba last year.

Continue reading "Part Time Jays: How to add a little ..."

Two bits of news from former Seattle players, one surprising, but the other one, not so much.

Easy one first: the Yankees designated Richie Sexson for assignment yesterday, in a roster shakeup that included demoting starting center fielder Melky Cabrera. Sexson had hit .250 in 28 at-bats, with a grand slam and six RBis. Ever the all-or-nothing guy, Sexson had one or two big hits, and a whole lot of hits and weak groundouts. Yankees GM Brian Cashman was gracious about Sexson, saying he was an everyday player, not a bunch guy, and that was the problem.

Continue reading "Ex-Mariner News"

The Mariners announced today that Jarrod Washburn has cleared waivers, meaning he can now be freely traded to whatever team wants to take on his massive salary. There's no real surprise here, as it's doubtful any other team would want to take on his bloated $9.85M salary. So the failure of Seattle to deal him before the deadline isn't so awful, except that his value seemed to have peaked at that point for a couple of reasons: (1) he'd pitched really well to that point (4 ER in 19.2 IP in the three starts before the deadline, (2) his value diminishes with each day that passes, since that means less time he can spend with a contending team (e.g., the Yanks) starved for starters, which leads to (3) the team in question being more likely to go in another direction.

Continue reading "Washburn is ready to move"

In what is largely perceived as his final start in a Mariners' uniform, Jarrod Washburn threw his longest and best start of the year, logging 8 innings of one-run ball, giving up just four hits and walking two against two strikeouts. His only blemish was a solo homer to John McDonald, the Toronto shortstop's first of the year.

Continue reading "Washburn's Farewell"

As the July 31 deadline approaches, one of the most likely trade candidates mentioned in Seattle-New York trade rumors has been Jarrod Washburn. The Ms would love to shed his massively overpaid salary, while the Yanks need a starter who can eat innings, even if he does it in mediocre, Jarrod-esque fashion. That Wishy-Washburn has been good of late (since a May 21 2IP, 9ER meltdown, he's only given up more than 2 ER in two of his ten starts) makes him seem all the more attractive to the pinstripes.

Continue reading "Washburn to the Yanks?"

Offensively and defensively, the Yankees have been missing the services of Hideki Matsui since June 27, and Jorge Posada on and off for even longer. Matsui is an integral RBI guy to give ARod and Giambi protection in the five or six hole, and is needed more than ever in left with Johnny Damon's shoulder issues. Posada can hit pretty well, but can't throw, so even when he was in the game, other teams ran rampant--Jose Molina and Chad Moeller are decent defensive replacements, but can't match Jorge's bat.

Continue reading "Two Yankees, Toughing it Out"

As I expected, Richie Sexson was signed by the one team in major league baseball who signs every single castoff, just in case he might turn it around in pinstripes: the Yankees. The temptation of that short porch in Yankee Stadium right field, combined with Sexson’s power potential, was too tempting to the team that claimed Jose Canseco off waivers in 2000, just to be sure he didn’t go to a division rival.

Continue reading "Sexson a Yankee; LaHair a Mariner"

It’s the annual midpoint of the baseball season, and for the brief span that is the All-Star break, all eyes are upon the Bronx. As everyone is well aware of, this campaign is the last go around for the world’s most famous, largest, and most prominent ballpark, Yankee Stadium. It seems hard to believe, and even more sacrilegious that this living legend’s days are numbered. Built in 1923 and christened by the greatest ballplayer to ever live, Babe Ruth, the cathedral of baseball will never truly be replaced. Although the Bombers will move a block to Yankee Stadium’s heir, the Mecca of America’s Pastime will still live on in our hearts. Whether you’re a diehard Yankee fan, or Yankee-hater, you still can respect the history and awe that the stadium brings. So when the All-Stars take the field Tuesday night, sit back on your couch, crack open a cold one and soak up the history of Yankee Stadium, as its final chapter is unveiled to all of us.

Continue reading "National League Looks to End Rut"

One of the All-Star Break traditions: Reassessing our predictions from the first half of the season. Some of mine have changed, some have stayed the same—and some were just damn wrong. Living in the West, I will take the contrarian position and roll from west to east in my choices.

Continue reading "Second Half Predictions"

It's that time of year again when every other commercial on television promotes the All-Star Game, and ballparks around the majors are stocked with ballots. So keeping with the theme, I’ve decided to name players to my inaugural All–Star team and I’ll start with the National League. So far there have been the usual suspects putting up solid first halves, and also some surprises that have shocked everyone with success.  So far in 2008, the season seems almost as a Bizarro season to steal Sports Illustrated’s mantra. The Rays and the Cubs have been pace setters, and the defending National League Pennant winners are at the rear of field, lost somewhere in the ice cold Rockies.  So keeping with the spirit, here are my National League All-Stars with a few surprises and few old schoolers.

Continue reading "Mic's National League All-Star Team"

After yesterday’s game, the Yankees held a closed-door meeting among coaches and players—reportedly, manager Joe Girardi spoke, followed by Johnny Damon and captain Derek Jeter. In a postgame news conference, Girardi repeatedly (and sometimes heatedly) refused to reveal what was said in the meeting, although the gist of the discussion was obvious: the can’t-lose Yankees have been losing.

Continue reading "More Bad Yankee Luck"

Hot of the presses comes word of Nomar Garciaparra (my FAVORITE Dodger) being diagnosed with a gene problem that causes him to heal slower than a normal man. Who is this guy the ANTI-Wolverine ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Healing_factor)? That has seriously got to be the worst mutant power of all time, but the funniest part of all of this is that he has been diagnosed by his PHYSICAL THERAPIST. These guys aren’t doctors! Nothing against physical therapists, but really, Nomar is more disabled than Lt. Dan ( http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0109830/) and has spent more time on the disabled list than the Raiders have been an embarrassment, and it took them this long to find out that he has the skeletal structure composed of Faberge egg? I like Nomar as a person, as he seems like a cool guy and it must be incredibly frustrating losing so many years to injury, but man, if I was the Dodgers, I would be greatly annoyed that nobody realized until now that they had signed Samuel L. Jackson from “Unbreakable” to play baseball for them for 3 years.      

Continue reading "IF THE SEASON ENDED TODAY 06.23.08 ..."

A bullpen is all about trust, both for the team and for the fans.  A manager needs to be able to trust a reliever to put the game away, and the fan needs to trust that the reliever won’t cause more headaches with a late-inning meltdown.  An Indians fan spending the ninth inning with Joe Borowski is going skydiving without knowing whether you grabbed a parachute or a parakeet until it’s too late; a Yankees fan spending the ninth inning with Mariano Rivera is awaiting the everyday beauty of watching a simple yet majestic sunset.

Continue reading "Fantastic Four Help Dodgers Avert Cleveland Sweep"

The Yankees and Red Sox are rivals in many ways—traditional and league rivals for years, they now regularly battle for free agents, as they might do with Indians trade bait C.C. Sabathia. And now both teams have some pretty crazy pitchers in their minor league systems, both of whom have a good shot at making the bigs in the next few years.

Continue reading "Two Kooky Pitchers"

The dominoes continue to fall in Seattle, as John McLaren was handed his walking papers yesterday, three days after GM Bavasi tried on his own pink slip. In some ways, this was handled better than the Mets’ embarrassing and insulting firing of Willie Randolph. At least McLaren wasn’t dangled for weeks before a midnight assassination, and there were suitably kind words for McLaren upon his dismissal, with new GM Lee Pelekoudas obviously distressed about having to fire his longtime friend and colleague.

Continue reading "Down Goes McLaren"

As I remarked in my blog when he was released, Sidney Ponson has brought his teams little but grief to go with his occasionally adequate pitching. When the Rangers released him, I’d hoped that would be the last of Sir Sidney.

Continue reading "Sidney "Poison" Ponson"

OK, that title was irresistible, but in fact I'm going to say that Chien-Ming Wang's foot injury should force the Yanks hand in a trade, especially when combined with other injuries this season. Funny how little things can combine to lead to something even larger, accumulating momentum gradually until it becomes irresistible, as it has with the murmurs about a trade for C.C. Sabathia, which is really more the point of this blog.

Continue reading "Off On the Wang Foot"

When a guy gets named "Moose," you generally figure it's because he's a knucklehead or looks like he should be one. Bill Skowron had the lumpy face of a prizefighter, but he was generally known as a gentle giant with a smooth, opposite-field stroke. His nickname came from his Polish grandfather, who thought his haircut at one point reminded him of dictator Benito Mussolini. But Skowron wasn't any sort of dictator, just a good guy who could drive ball into the gaps.

Continue reading "Around The Horn With The '61 Yankees: 1B"

The Yankees have had many World Series champs, and many more All-Star players and all-time lineups. The 1927 Yankees pretty much set the bar for everyone else to follow, but there were some other memorable ones, too. The '36 Yanks, the first year of Joltin' Joe, and the last great one from Lou Gehrig, along with typically solid contributions by Bill Dickey, Tony Lazzeri and the usual cast of star Yankees.

Continue reading "The Unsung Heroes of the 1961 Yankees"

I've been a Yankees fan since the early nineties, pre-Showalter, pre-Torre, pre-post-seventies-World-Series-victories days, and it seems to me they're as vulnerable as they've ever been. I like Girardi, I like the New Steinbrenner regime that doesn't look to scour out every single prospect for the possibility of Winning Right Now--but I think they are (dare I say?) approaching those dreaded Rebuilding Years.

Continue reading "Rebuilding the Yankees--A Good Thing?"

Mussina is on the hill today for the Yanks and, while I admire him and think he's a very good pitcher and a modest, intelligent, generally good fellow, I wonder about his Hall of Fame credentials. Dave Niehaus, the mellow-toned broadcaster, has repeatedly called him a shoo-in or a lock for the Hall during the game today, and it's made me wonder. To me, a player in the HOF represents someone who was genuinely and consistently feared (on the field, not off) during his career, the kind of pitcher that batters hated to face (and vice versa). And not for one year, but for several; you can be Sandy Koufax and be unhittable for four or five seasons (and merely outstanding for a handful more) or Nolan Ryan and be unhittable for twenty years.

Continue reading "Mike Mussina for the HOF?"

In the days following the excavation of the "cursed" Ortiz jersey from the fresh concrete at "Yankee Stadium--The Sequel" we've seen Jorge Posada go on the DL for the first time in his long career, and ARod join him for the first time since donning pinstripes.

Continue reading "Yankee Injuries = Ortiz Curse?"

Two weeks into the 2008 season and the Boston Red Sox must be pleased with how the season has gone thus far. Granted they are only two games over .500 at 8 and 6 and have split their last 10 games, but things could be much, much worse. When the Yankees went to Japan to open the season, they proceeded to go 11-19 in the first month of the season before finally snapping out of it and going on to win the division. Boston is only half a game out of first place in the tightly packed American League East which is currently lead by the surprising Baltimore Orioles who do not figure to hang around much longer.

Continue reading "Red Sox Should Feel Good About The Season So Far"

te-type the Boston views him as, they will be sorry they didn’t do more to acquire Santana.

New York Yankees

Will the Yankees be able to find enough quality innings from their pitchers?

Continue reading "MLB 2008 Season Preview: American Leauge East"

The New York Yankees try to carry themselves with the belief that they are the classiest team in baseball. Earlier this week manager Joe Girardi took a stance that was not supported by many others in baseball when he harshly criticized a home plate collision in a game earlier this week, calling it dirty and something that you don’t do in Spring Training. If a young player trying to get noticed by his manager his coming into home and the plate is completely blocked, he has every right to barrel over the catcher. If Girardi doesn’t want such a thing to happen, he should tell his catcher not to block the plate in Spring Training. Nonetheless, I can understand Yankees pitcher Heath Phillips throwing at Evan Longoria in retaliation the next time the two teams met, that at least sends a statement to your teammates that you’ve got their backs. However, when Shelley Duncan slid into second base with his spikes high, that is just plain dirty and something that is unacceptable at anytime in the season. The home plate collision was a young kid trying to make a play, done with no malicious intent. Sliding into a base with your spikes in the air can only be seen as trying to injure another player.

Continue reading "Yankees Playing Dirty . . . And Other ..."

I am thoroughly looking forward to the Hank Steinbrenner Era. It seems he is hell-bent on replacing his father as the most obnoxious loudmouth, know-nothing owner in baseball. After watching the display he put on this winter in the Johan Santana Sweepstakes and his recent comments about the existence of Red Sox Nation, I don’t believe there is a bigger blowhard in sports today. All we need is for him to revive the Billy Martin routine with Joe Girardi, a possibility that may not be that farfetched as it appears Girardi not necessarily that easy to get along with. Little Stein seems to be unpredictable and impatient and not only expects the team to win now, but to do so in spectacular fashion. Earlier this year, Hank implied that general manager Brian Cashman would be on the hot seat if the plan to hold on to their young pitching instead of going all in for Santana didn’t pan out. If Steinbrenner allows his arrogance and impetuousness to take over the organization, I envision a return of the Yankees to the "glory" years of the 1980's when George was the show.

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For the past decade the order of finish in the American League East has practically been predetermined from day one. The Red Sox and Yankees would battle for first place, Toronto Blue Jays would finish in the middle of the pack, the Orioles would be afterthoughts and the only question with Tampa Bay was whether they would lose more than 100 games or not. This seasons looks like it could be entirely different and the division is experiencing more depth than it has since the mid 1990's when Boston, New York and Baltimore were all contenders.

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