Yankee Rundown

The Yankees just completed a 7 game road trip in Kansas City and Minnesota, two places where they historically have had great success and this road trip was no different. After nearly sweeping KC (actually took 2/3) the Yankees took 3/4 from Minnesota in 4 very one sided games. It was not only great to keep pace with Boston and maintain the lead in the division, but nice to see the Yankees return to form individually with a lot of good praise to go around. Quick round of praise, haze, and flop.

Praise:

Curtis Granderson has been absolutely sensational this season as he continues to be the front runner for AL MVP. He continued his torrid success in the 7 game road trip going 10 for 26 (.384 avg) with 2 HRs (one of them being an inside the park HR in a crucial situation in the road trip finale) 7 runs scored, 6 BBs, and 2 SBs. Granderson still strikes out too many times for my liking but you cannot deny what this man has done at the dish and he was very much the reason for our 5-2 roadtrip.

Derek Jeter has been red hot since coming off the DL on July 4th and was even better the past week improving his avg to .292 for the season. Jeter went 14 for 31 (.451) on the road trip with 5 runs scored and 5 RBIs. Jeter has provided the extra punch this offense had been lacking earlier in the season and with him and Granderson at the top of the lineup, the Yankees will continue to put pitchers in jams early and often.

Phil Hughes looks like the old phil of the future that the Yankees foresaw in 2004 when they drafted him to be a dominant starter. Hughes had his fourth consecutive quality start and his best outing of the season going 7 2/3 innings while allowing only 2 hits. If Hughes can maintain this success, the Yankees are looking at a nice #2 starter for the playoffs and beyond (what was expected of him back in April).

Mariano Rivera never really needs praise but I'm going to give it to him. Rivera had been struggling mightily at the start of this month and it brought on a wave of questioning his age, his location, his effectiveness, and whether he was the same Mo. I didn't buy into the crap because every pitcher goes through a mini skid here and there and Mo just reminded us he is human. Rivera this week reminded us of why he is 2nd all time in career saves and considered the best of all time. Mariano pitched 3 shutout innings en route to 3 saves in 3/5 Yankees wins last week. Rivera did not allow a baserunner and had 5 strikeouts, was hitting 94 on the gun, his cutter moved as much as it ever has, and location was pin point. Typical Mo but nonetheless deserving of praise.

Robinson Cano has also entered the category of constantly deserving praise for he earns it on a regular basis. Cano had a hit in every game last week to continue his hit streak (now at 13) including a 3-run HR in a win over KC. Cano also has no reservations about flashing the leather and made a few sensational defensive plays as we've come to expect. The best part about Cano this week was his plate discipline. Cano was working 2-2 and full counts all week and came back from 0-2 to have a 13 pitch ab that led to his HR, the best ab from him this season. Cano continues to amaze and astound and scares me how good he really is as an all around player.

Russell Martin has struggled this year at times offensively and has lots of trouble hitting off speed pitches. This last week however Martin exploded for 3 HRs, two of which were bombs and had 7 hits in the week providing a nice boost for the Yankees. Not to mention he caught 6/7 games and threw out multiple runners, something he's done a lot this year. He plays every day and he plays with a defense first mentality. You gotta love the Russell signing and he's the only reason Montero isn't on this roster.

Haze:

Alex Rodriguez returned from a 6 week DL stint where he was recovering from a torn meniscus. A-rod was supposed to return Thursday but it got pushed back to Sunday. A-rod went 0-5 in his debut yesterday so we haven't seen the Arod we are accustomed to yet but just having him back in the lineup beefs up the offense and makes the lineup more cyclical.

Ivan Nova had arguably his worst start of the year on Tuesday against Kansas city and the offense bailed him out. Yesterday he had arguably his best start of the season and bailed the offense out. It was good to see him bounced back and after struggling so much on Tuesday, he looked very confident and strong on Sunday. He even overcame a rare fielding blunder from Swisher/Granderson and struck out 2 batters in a row with a man on third and no one out. Nova went 2-0 last week despite the bad start.

Dave Robertson pitched 4 shutout innings during the road trip so it's hard to find this hazy and not worthy of praise, but we've come to expect that from Robertson. What we haven't come to expect at least lately is him walking batters. Robertson has at times struggled with his control but he had gone his last 10 innings without a walk before issuing one this week en route to loading the bases before getting a fly ball to end the inning. It's great to throw up scoreless innings, I just hope he can do it without putting men on each time.

Flops:

AJ Burnett it seems is pitching for his job. There is enough material in the last few weeks about AJ to fill up a dictionary but I'll keep it simple. The man has serious control problems, mental issues, and he has become insubordinate with his manager. Neither of these problems can be tolerated and he only has a job while Garcia is hurt. Once we are again staring at the 6 man rotation dilemma he will find himself out quite quickly. The 16.5 million dollars he is being paid per year does not seem to be enough of a force to keep him in the rotation when he doesn't give the Yankees the best chance to win. This last week he went 1-1 but did so with two very poor performances and was not even able to finish 2 innings in his last start. I hope for his sake and the Yankees sake he has a good start or two to finish this month because he will not be on the playoff roster if he struggles this badly to end the season.

Eric Chavez earned the everyday DH role from Jorge Posada and upon doing so went 0-11 this week on the road. Not that a little skid offensively means you should lose your job, but when you get a newly appointed position and out of the gate struggle it's not good. Not to mention Andruw Jones is fighting for the spot as well and he was torrid this week hitting 2 very long HRs and batting over .300 in the last month. Chavez may find himself only hitting off righties as a DH.

Freddy Garcia is now on the DL with finger injury. Freddy cut his throwing hand while cutting in the kitchen and can't pitch until it heals up. He'll miss a few weeks and hopefully that's it. Let's hope this little cut and break will not affect our guy because he's been nothing short of sensational as a Yankee and has really aleviated all starting woes through his and Colon's rejuvinated performances this season.

The Yankees now return home and should be able to prey on a weak Oakland team for three games before heading back on the road to take on the Orioles over the weekend. Let's take 5/6 please? Yankees are red hot and shouldn't have a problem winning these next 2 series.

Yankees 8/9/11

It's 8/9/11 and the Yankees are 69-45, 24 games over .500 and staring at a 6 game lead in the wild card over the Angels. The very same Angels who just beat the Yankees 6-4 in another heartbreaking loss from the bombers. If you knew going into this season the Yankees would be missing A-rod, Jeter for a stretch, Hughes for 80% of the year, Colon for a month, Soriano for a long stretch, Joba for the season, Feliciano for the season, Chavez for a bit, throw in a few other bumps and bruises and I'd have expected turmoil.

The starting rotation was a mega concern but turned out to be the biggest strength of the squad. Colon has been lights out and looks like its 2005, Garcia has been masterful, CC his old dominant self, AJ is still AJ but is more like his 2009 self than the 2010 disaster, and Nova has been more than the Yankees could have dreamed as a 2nd yr pitcher. Now Phil Hughes has returned to the staff and even he's starting to come around. The bullpen has found lots to like about Robertson and of course Mariano, and other pieces have fallen into place that have created a very optimistic August-September-and soon October run...until this last weekend.

Saturday afternoon against the Red Sox Sabathia got completely destroyed. Not only do we count on CC for wins every time he pitches, but that dropped his season numbers to 0-4 with a 6+ era against Boston. Sunday we followed that up with a miserable 0-10 with RISP and a Mariano blown save, which seems to be happening more and more against Boston. Then tonight the Yankees managed a decent game from AJ, despite a bad 6th he finished 6 inn 4er, I'll sign up for that. The Yankees struggled vs Haren but did what good teams do and found ways to up his pitch count and get runs when they could and clawed back from 4-1 to tie it at 4 in the 7th. Jeter provided the big hit with a game tying 2 run single in typical Jeterian fashion.

The disaster struck when for the 2nd straight game Mariano was hitable. Mo allowed a 2 run HR with 2 outs to Bobby Abreu to break the 4-4 tie. In the bottom of the 9th with a mini rally in their bones (first and third 2 outs and Tex at the dish) Granderson gets picked off attempting to steal 2nd base to end the game.

Thoughts? Too many to relay in one evening, but I'll start simply. This team is too good to lose the way they have the last 3 games. We all know this team is going to the playoffs and it's only a few August regular season games, but these loses are embarrassing and I hope don't highlight things to come. Sabathia had better be prepared to put the team on his back because we will need him more than ever come October. As good as our rotation has been, it's all 3 and 4 starters, we need Sabathia to be a big fat 1 and 2 rolled into one (he's sure big enough for 2 spots). Mariano had better get past this recent funk and be the Mo we all know and love. He does this a few times a year and everyone goes crazy, but it's worrisome when it's angles and Sox, two likely playoff foes and two teams that have patience and discipline and make Mo work. I also don't like the lack of fundamental baseball we've played. Nunez and Granderson attempting to steal in the 9th inning? I don't even begin to understand that. Nunez not covering third in the 9th inning against the Red Sox with Mo on the hill. A little dribbler bunt should have been fielded by Mariano and Nunez should have been prepared to cover that base. These are routine mental mistakes and they are costing us games, things we have never and will never tolerate.

Does this really change where they Yankees are headed this year? Maybe. Plain and simple winning the division means more than dumb ESPN analysts will care to admit. Playing on the road vs Anaheim with Haren and Weaver in a short series is no cake walk. Playing Detroit with Verlander out dueling Sabathia could be trouble. If we do emerge, playing Boston in the second round would be significantly easier if we didn't have to play 4/7 games on the road. I believe each loss is important and when you lose games to playoff rivals the way they have, it's going to come back and bite you.

In the end the Yankees still get 6 games vs Boston and have another 47 games to play and very little gap separating them and Boston. They could easily win 100 games and be the division leader and we'll laugh at this post in 2 months, but as of now as good as our record indicates I am not pleased to be in 2nd place, 2-10 vs Boston, and losing games the way we have. What does give me hope is that the last 3 games have been loses as much of a result of Sabathia and Rivera, easily the 2 most consistent Yankees on the team. It's unlikely they will put 3 games together like this, so maybe these losses are ones to let go and relax. Im going to try, because this one sure hurts. On to tomorrow, let's bring our bats and make it a clean victory.

Yankee Update

The Yankees have got to do something about Eduardo Nunez. The man has been a fantastic hitter this year and the man is clearly a great athlete. We have been more than happy with what he's provided offensively but enough is enough, Eduardo can't field. He has now racked up an excellent total of 13 errors for the season. That number doesn't even include the amount of plays he's botched that can't be ruled as errors. It's no longer easy to turn away from his occasional blunders and shrug it off as the every now and then mistake. It has now become routine for Nunez to butcher a play and it's hurting the Yankees more than his bat is helping.

I'm sick of people texting me and telling me Joe Girardi is fucking up the bull pen. I'm also sick of hearing how bad Boone Logan is and how Sergio Mitre should never take the field. I love the Yankees winning games and of course games vs Boston and Tampa are important, but Dave Robertson and Mariano Rivera can't play every day. They can't even play every other day. I don't want Mo logging 80+ games this season. I want Mo fresh and ready for October innings. The Yankees got screwed with Feliciano, Soriano, and Joba all getting hurt and they have to roll with some guys other than Mo and Robertson sometimes. Ideally I'd like our starter to go 7 and then go to Dave and Mo, but that doesn't happen. We need some other relievers to get some 6th 7th and at times 8th innings outs. Enter Boone Logan.

Boone Logan has never been my favorite Yankee and he did struggle his ass off to start the year, but he has merit on this team. Logan has been a different man since his special A-rod chat. He is the only lefty in the pen and it's necessary for him to continue to see crunch time minutes so he can continue to get going and be a key member of the playoff rotation. Not to mention the fact that he's actually providing lots of value right now.

Sergio Mitre is the official white flag of the Yankees. You cam't win every game and when it's 7-2 in the 8th, it's ok by me if Girardi decides to save some good arms and throws out Mitre. Agreed it's frustrating but that's what the last guy in the bull pen is for. Granted Mitre is below average even for the last man on the roster, but he is not costing the Yankees any winnable games so end of discussion.

It's because of this that I actually have like Girardi's managing and think Yankee fans should find other things to be mad about.

Cano, don't ya know

Robinson Cano showed off his skills last night destroying the field en route to his first HR derby title. It's not as if the world doesn't already know the wonder that is Robby. He's now been a Yankee for 7 years, won a World Series title, and made 3 all star games so the man has been showcasing his skills plenty but this was a whole other level. Cano has always been a great hitter, but it's never been with the long ball. At the derby last night Cano demonstrated that his swing is so great and so pure he could easily drop hit more home runs but chooses to hit for doubles and singles.

Adrian Gonzalez sure put on one hell of a show in the finals, notching a finals record 11 HRs, that is until cano got up. Cano hitting balls from his Dad Jose, hit 12 HRs with only 6 outs in the finals. He was showing no signs of exhaustion from his previous 20 jacks in the Arizona heat. Cano spent the offseason 2 years ago working hard with his dad to get better and since then has been on fire. He went to a level only Yankee fans new was possible and showed some serious pop. Prince Fielder hit the farthest HR at 474 FT and the next 4 farthest were all Canos, including 2 at 472 feet.

It was the first time in a while the HR derby for me was really a pleasure to watch. After watching the all star game tonight I realized that the baseball all star festivities are the best of the major sports by far and I enjoyed seeing my Yankees compete as well as the rest of the AL stars. Too bad the best players weren't in attendance, but I think it gives the secondary players a chance to shine. Good to see Ricky Weeks, Starlin Castro, Joel Hanrahan, and players of the like who don't get much respect and deserve it. Would have like to have seen CC, Verlander, Price, Arod, Jeter, Reyes, and a few other stars but they were hurt and ineligible and such is life.

The NL won 5-1 and had clearly the more dominant starting pitching. I don't really care about the stats too much but Fielder hit the big blast, a 3 run dinger off CJ Wilson and that was all she wrote. It was unfortunate because the Yankees could use that home field advantage and we missed out because Wilson was pitching and shouldn't have been. Not if Haren, Verlander, Price, or CC were out there. But that's the way the cookie crumbles, let's hope the Yankees can get there before it matters. At least last night the world got to witness the joy that is Cano and why the Yankees future remains bright. It was an enjoyable 2 days without the Yankees and now only one more miserable day off before the 2nd half is underway.

New post tomorrow breaking down the 2nd half season...For now congrats NL and go Robby

Derek Jeter Goes for History

Derek Jeter will attempt to collect his 3,000 Major league hit (every one hit as a Yankee) tonight at home against the Rays. The Yankees begin a 4 game series with Tampa at home before the All Star break and then heading on a 7 game road trip shortly thereafter. Jeter has openly stated the 3,000 hit mark has not weighed heavily on his mind but he did admit he wants 3,000 to come at home (Duh! Although for Jeter that's quite a confession). What this means is we have a golden opportunity for the achievement to be reached during these four games, otherwise it ain't happening at home. He currently stands at 2,997 and so needs 3 hits in 4 games. Since I'm going to the game tonight, ideally I'd like to see a 3 hit game and have the record happen tonight. Unlikely as it is it should be a good game as my friend Cobe has procured some wonderful seats. thirty feet behind home plate with a great free buffet of food and spacious seating to boot.

The series itself against the Rays should also not be downplayed. With the Yankees losing 3 of their last 4 games and losing their first series since being swept by Boston almost a month ago, it's important to turn things around. The Rays are closing in on first place in the AL east and with only 2 teams from the east making the playoffs, it's crcuial to beat division rivals. The Yankees have looked phenominal in June and July and look to keep firing on all cylinders. At 51-34 the Yankees look poised for another second half run and playoff birth. Let's see them get back on the winning track tonight and if we get lucky....some history!

I want to Jump off a Lilli-bridge

The Yankees lost for the second straight game to the White Sox in another low scoring tight battle. For two straight nights the Yankees could hardly manage a hit against the Sox starter. Yesterday they were no hit until the 7th by Humber, finishing the game with 2 hits and 0 runs. Tonight they had 4 hits off Gavin Floyd and 2 runs, failing to up his pitch count and get him out before the final inning. Last night the team never scored, never led, never smelled a chance at a win, and just got outplayed. Tonight they let the game slip through their fingers.

Rafael Soriano is slowly starting to emerge as a huge bust of a signing. For a 10 million dollar set up man, you can't be blowing leads like this. He came into the 8th with a narrow 2-1 lead after the Yankees got just enough from two solo shots from Cano and Gardner and Nova pitched a great game. Soriano proceeded to hit Quentin and then served up a two run shot to konerko. He also walked Dunn and let AJ get a single in the inning. This disaster of an inning was hardly the first implosion for Soriano and upped his already disturbingly high era up to 7.8! Let's hope he can right the ship soon or it will pave the way for Dave Robertson in some 8th inning duty.

The Yankees had a chance for the comeback pie in the 9th but were thwarted by some spectacular defense by Brent Lillibridge. With first and second and 1 out A-rod scalded a ball to the right field wall and Lillibridge made a fantastic leap up against the wall to rob Arod of an extra base hit and saving the game. One batter later Cano drills a line drive to right and again that man Lillibridge made an all out diving grab to rob Cano of a game tying single. The Yankees did show some fight with the late game rally but this is two games in a row the offense has been non existent.

Overall there are a few concerns here. The offense will not struggle for very long but I am worried that the Yankees rely too much on the long ball and will fail to tack on runs to insure Ws against teams like the Chi Sox. Also the bull pen was supposed to be a huge strength has now become shaky. Soriano looks miserable, Job has been inconsistent, Mariano is Mariano but he did blow 2 straight saves, Logan is awful and he's the only lefty, and Robertson is the only reliable RP thus far.

I don't look at these two losses as the end of the world but I do look at them as a microcosm of the issues the Yankees are facing. An offense that needs to learn how to play small ball, a bullpen far under performing, and starters that MUST maintain their excellence. On a final note, it was good to see Posada FINALLY pulled out of the lineup in favor of Chavez. Arod can DH sometimes this way and if Posada is hitting .148, it's time to rest up dude. He's never been a full time DH and he's never been 40 before. I hope it's April struggles but you never know....

Knicks Down in a Sweep

Well the Knicks season has come to a violent and disturbing end. After showing improvement and making the playoffs for the first time in 7 years, the team looked lackluster and failed to win a playoff game just like the last playoff series in 2004. The Knicks playoff drought is now up to ten years without a playoff win and they became the only team in the playoffs to get swept (possibly Denver ironically).

After a 42-40 season and the first winning season in a while, it looked as if things were on the rise for this struggling franchise. The Knicks came out and looked great in game 1, but collapsed in the final minutes as the Knicks tend to do. However they played the whole game with hustle, defense, determination, wit, and aside from a few boneheaded plays by Carmelo Anthony, should have walked away up 1-0. They lost Chauncey at the end of the game to a knee injury and wouldn't see him again for the rest of the series, likely his last game in Knick colors.

In game 2 the Knicks came out with a vengeance, firing on all cylinders. They did it without Billups and Amare Stoudemire got hurt within the first ten minutes creating a 1 on 5, Carmelo vs the Celtics. They hung in there with grit and sheer dominance from Melo to the tune of a 1 point lead with 19 seconds left. For the second straight night at the TD Garden they blew the lead and lost the game in heartbreaking fashion.

After those first two games it felt like all of the wind was knocked out of their sails. Imagine a team that made a big blockbuster trade during the middle of the season adding one superstar to join another superstar to provide a huge 1-2 punch but only has 20 games to work with each other. The team makes the playoffs for the first time in a long time and has to go into Boston to play the defending Eastern Conference Champs. You do so with injuries and a very young and inexperienced supporting cast. You play two nail biter games that come down to the wire but the team fails to execute and loses both games. It's not difficult to see why and it was impressive to see the team play with such heart, but there are no moral victories. The two losses in Boston were symbolic of the team itself, very talented and very competitive but not quite there. It also set the tone for the two games in NY. The collapses by the Knicks in Boston were so difficult to overcome that it was clear the team was going to get mowed down at the real Garden.

The team did just that. They got stomped in both games at home and Boston just showed why they have been the best defensive team in the East and are two time Eastern Conference Champs in the last 3 years. They came out with energy and were dominant and unafraid to go for the kill shot when the lead ballooned. Rondo was penetrating in the paint and looked to quick to guard. He was hitting his open jump shots, getting his running layups, and dishing for any man in a green Jersey. He did this to the tune of 20 assists and his 3rd career postseason triple double. Pierce and Allen looked like they couldn't miss and any time the crowd started to creep back into it, they would have a big shot and silence the New York faithful.

The Knicks on the other hand looked tired and uninspired. The were lazy, didn't rotate, failed to box out on the glass, and were not dishing and swishing as Clyde would say. Only 3 assists in game 3 from their PG play, you could say they missed Billups. Amare looked like he was at 50% strength and was only in there to play Willis Reed for motivational support. Anthony tried his best Superman impression as he had done in game 2 (42, 17, and 6) but he was double and triple teamed and no one was willing to help him. All in all, they just got manhandled by a better team.

So game 3 and game 4 the Knicks went quietly and they now sit around for the next 6 months and wait for their next chance to play with Melo and Amare. The good news? They have 2 superstars who will learn how to play with each other and have training camp to learn the system. They got their young guys some playoff experience which will be vital going forward. They didn't expect to win a playoff series, however it would have been nice to win a game or two.

The team needs to address big man and point guard in the offseason. Billups injury showed a glaring hole in their team, they have point guard play and it is the KEY to a D'Antoni offense. Toney Douglas is hardly a point guard, he is a scorer and a good defender but he doesn't distribute the way a PG should. The Knicks were at their best this season with Raymond Felton dropping 9 assists a game and establishing a pick a roll offense every time down the court. Billups is old and over the hill and if the Knicks bring him back, they'll need better than Carter or Douglas as a PG to back him up. Chauncey will get hurt and will not play more than 30 minutes so we need something legitimate. We also desperately need a big man. Jeffries, Turiaf, Sheldon Williams; none of these guys qualify as a solid C and none of them can score. Amare shouldn't play the 5 and this is something we need to work on for next season.

We did bring some energy back to the Garden, but we have a little ways to go....