Topic: Yankees Baseball

For obvious reasons it’s better to turn the page and get set for the next game. We need the new Moose to provide the instant amnesia needed to accomplish that. We didn’t lose the game because Volquez is leading the Majors in various important categories (believing that is what makes him more potent) don’t give me that. We lost the game for other reasons but just the same turn the page and get set for next game. Junior is playing but so is Alex and Co. and my money is on Alex and Co. and our great pitching staff. One team one goal. Oh and eyes on the ball at all times.

Another not so great game at the stadium.

Dan Giese didn’t help his cause by throwing wild to second when it would have been more prudent to keep the ball in his glove instead of compounding the situation with a wide throw (will we see our young pitchers practicing that throw before the next game is played? Do pigs fly?).

Maybe that’s why he’s been sort of a journeyman away from the Majors despite not really being a rookie. He’s not the complete package. He was so excited about starting for the Yankees that he forgot that we usually play to win instead of having a rookie surveying the scene and enjoying a Kodak moment at our expense. We need to focus on the game at hand and not worry about how great Junior looks from up close. Alex didn’t help either by sort of trying to tag Junior and then throwing to first instead of actually tackling Junior and get the man out at third. My guess is he didn’t want the Reds to call that play bush.

The team left plenty of men on the bases and I saw our great hitters (Alex and Posada and the usual suspect among others) chasing balls out of the strike zone for no apparent purpose.

Men on second, men on first and second, men on third it didn’t matter they were not going anywhere because our hitters were admiring and analyzing Thompson for the next time around . . . .   Now that’s deep!

That was a very good win. Pettitte was resilient and courageous   . . .  the Yankee warrior that he is, Jason did great at the plate and the rest of the team did a fine job.

Let’s stay focused and play safe. Eyes on the ball at all times. Hang in there Cano keep flashing that leather while the swing becomes more effective; don’t try to do too much  . . . .  The hits will come.

Junior hit his 601th and the boo birds at the stadium gave him an ovation both he and those freaks probably felt like they were back at frigging Cleveland or Cincinnati. Before hitting his 601th he said the best part of playing in NY was leaving Yankee stadium after he hit the HR he said something different. I could care less about the what if’s  . . . . At this stage his count is 601 HR and not 800 . . . . . .  Sorry phony fans but IT IS WHAT IT IS.   But Oh said the boo birds he’s done it cleanly  . . . .  Can you really guarantee that?  He’s a close friend of Barry and he takes Barry any day over Alex  . . . .  Yes you’ve heard that right.  And don’t worry you’ll see him and his beautiful swing (indeed) again when he joins the Rays.

Bye Junior stay healthy and keep on hitting those jacks.

It occurred to me that there is certain dichotomy when it comes to J. Manuel selling his wares on the tabloids.  On the one hand he’s an avid reader of Ghandi, he follows the teachings of Rev. Martin Luther King (so far so good) but the tabloids don’t tell you that he also flavors Bill Parcel not so subtle name calling philosophy.

How do you reconcile those positions and come out smelling great. On the one hand he’s a pacifist (he loves Willie) and on the other hand he’s a ganstah ready to cut any of his players on the spot when they get out of line.

SO what is it going to be: the erudite deep thinker (he’s read at least two books that much we know) or the ganstah (a term he seems endeared to. What’s next? The colors he prefers wearing when guarding his territory with the other homies?).

I guess he doesn’t mind how he gets labeled as long as he continues to manage the Mets which seems it was something burning his insides during Willie’s tenure.

Now about Manure was that the product of his readings or the fact that he read those books without a dictionary to really understand what the authors were trying to convey.

Oh no  . . . . .  it seems that the end for that great show Mike Francesa and the mad dog Russo is in sight.

That will rank right up there with the French revolution or the sputnik orbiting around the hearth.

What are we going to do? Where else will we find two dissimilar great minds (and very similar mouth pieces at the same time) to tell us what they think about all those topics we couldn’t care less about?

Fresh in my mind will forever be the way they treated our former Yankee Pitcher Cory Lidle the day before he crashed and left his imprint in New York City. Can they try doing something similar for an encore? How soon can they start taking flying lessons?

What are we going to do?  This is truly the biggest non-event of the new millennium.  Should we commit symbolic suicide by jumping to the curb from the sidewalks? Better still why don’t we all go and have a nice double scoop ice cream every day for the rest of our lives.

I’m speechless   . . . . .  The only thought I’m left with is: GOOD RIDDANCE.

I was going to add: “and don’t let the door hit you on the way out” but I’ll be a lot nicer than they were to Cory.

Arroyo coming to the Bronx?   Nahh.

I used to call him Brando Arroyo instead of Bronson and made fun of his hairstyle but he’s a competitor, he hated the Yanks then but he hates being underpaid more (that was due to giving the Sux a discount and the payback was he was traded).

So Bronson Arroyo uh?  Let’s hear more.

Of all the ML scouts that parade as posters on SI this is the one with the most damaging assessment of Bronson Arroyo’s abilities: “His biggest weakness is his noodle arm cant hold onto the ball when covering first. one little slap and he drops the ball like a one fingered bowler.”

Are these guys hilarious or what? The question is can he run the bases?

How about that other one pleading with Cash: “please Brian don’t sign Arroyo (I guess trade for would be more appropriate) you’ll regret it.”  This cannot be a Yankee fan otherwise he’d know that when it comes to pitchers Cashman thinks he’s playing in the World Poker Tour with no limits. Come to think of it Cashman would make a great Senator the starting bets there are in the Billions not Millions and when it comes to re-elections they actually shed tears when mourning our young ones who had perished overseas and they can put rings around Kevin Spacey or Tom Hanks because they sound and look believable. Two tears in a bucket  . . . . . . bunch of Mfckers (on both parties)  . . . .  no exceptions.

That was as ugly a game as they come.

What did not click this time? The battery for starters, hum  . . . .  And the entire lineup (one to nine they su@ked as a team big time with one exception) closely followed by the relievers du jour.

Did I miss something? Oh yeah the coaches and Girardi ergo Cashman by relevance. When you stink you make Cashman and Hank and every loyal fan look lousy. I know it’s not easy but there are legions of great athletes who are ready to kill to have your jobs (and the bucks that go with it) but with those guaranteed contracts you got Cashman by the marbles.

I hope you all took a hot shower to cleanse your baseball sins and go through that midnight renewal so you’ll be men with a purpose when at the plate next time. Just in case you forgot when you’re trying to adjust your swing at the plate by definition it’s already too late. It seems that our team seldom sees the ball they cheat most of the time.  How come the hitting coach acts like if he doesn’t have a care in the world. Who’s accountable for the hitting when it goes sour here? I know everybody takes credit when they find a patsy they can club for a bunch of runs but no takers on days like this. Maybe we need a new hitting coach the team is beginning to continue to stink every other day and that won’t do the job unless of course he was the architect of that new great idea: Jason growing a stache  . . . . WOWW. Second only to that other great idea Torres holding Jeter’s bat in the dugout during games last season  . . . .  Another one for the ages.

Let’s hope this new guy Christian is for real. That would be something (for a change and if he is the real deal let’s keep him) no more fugazies   . . . . .    pleeeese.

Sorry man but saying things like: “Having the opportunities is good, but capitalizing on the opportunities is even more important,” is not going to do it this time Alex. That sounds like a croak to me.

Start playing like a team who really wants to do well and play to win every time you go out there and cut the spin. We can turn on you just like the mutts do on their players just don’t play us for fools.

We all know what needs to be done, just give us an honest effort out there and cut the crap.

If you guys can’t see the ball just give yourself some extra room by letting the frigging ball travel farther before you commit yourself and let your bat stay in the strike zone a lot longer by executing a full follow through. If you are a major leaguer it shouldn’t be rocket science. Foston practices the art of hitting without much fanfare.

If you can’t keep up with the power pitchers in the League just shorten your swing and extend your follow through fully and give yourselves a chance to put the ball in play and the ball will jump off your bat using the pitcher’s energy. Short on the distance to the ball long on the follow through. Simple physics really. But that should be provided by your instructor and when he does just follow up EVERY single FRIGGIN TIME. Don’t start chasing balls out of the strike zone. This guy was all over the place and you guys were swinging like if you had a Mexican piñata in front of you.

And Moeller might have been better suited to call that game for Rassner sorry greedy man but I call them as I see them.

THE DAWNING OF THE JOBA ERA.

Great game for Joba who earns his first WIN as a starter. Well done Joba.

May this be the beginning of a very long, healthy, productive and successful Yankee career. Take this team and lead us into that dream-like stage where great things happen before and during the post season at your convenience. Never change never waiver. We’re with you every step of the way. You may lean on us   . . . . .  we got your back  . . .  future Yankee great.

About sending Giese ahead of the team to NY   . . . . .   did it ever occur to any of the many geniuses Cashman surrounds himself with to send the guy by LIMO (he could have written home about it with time to spare) instead of a “faster commercial Jet?”

I don’t know   . . . . .   just asking.

Christian or Moeller?   What’s a Manager to do?

Moeller is a steady presence in the Yankees dugout now that our ultra-expensive first catcher has become sort of brittle.   Christian on the other hand adds a new dimension to a discipline-hitting, free-base stealing lineup not to mention some speed in the outfield. A ton of stolen bases in the minors and international league sort of working to make himself a must have player on an everyday lineup.

First we need to make sure Posada is truly golden   . . . . .  I mean   . . . .  healthy; if truly healthy I don’t care about his arm not being the same as before although that might be debatable, his problems have always been getting antsy with men in second that’s when he grows paranoid and screws signals and loses the necessary focus on the batter and pays way too much attention to the runner.   But some things never change and we might have to live with that quirk.

On the other hand is Christian for real or is he just teasing the Yankees with those intangibles he brings to the field and the plate? His attempted stolen bases vs. caught stealing is great and his OBP (the only stat I care about) jumps at you enough to give Damon a funny feeling and keep his fire burning oh so bright and he seems to be able to get on base at will via the bunt something Melki could learn a lot about.

What’s a manager to do? Go with his true gut feeling (not M. Kay’s) and do what’s ultimately best for the team.

I pity that one tabloid writer who said just a few games ago: “those Yankee fans might as well forget Cano was a .300 hitter.”

See I told you no need to worry about your hitting   . . . . . .  It’s coming back slowly but surely and that great glove?  It’s doing fine  . . .   thanks for asking.

A Times sports writer criticized Jeter for advancing a runner during game one on a successful bunt attempt and he says: “Yankees pay Jeter $19 million a season to hit, not to bunt.”  And he knows this how? The Boss told this guy:”Oh Yeah I gave him 19 Mil. To hit not to bunt.” The funny thing is Jeter has never hit over .400 during his illustrious career as it would be the case is this guy had a case. A hitter even a great one is supposed to fail 67-70 % of the times.

On the other hand when your team has lost his rhythm or has been stopped by an opposing pitcher and has not allowed many hits from the lineup including Jeter   . . .  does that mean Jeter shouldn’t get paid for that game because he tried to bunt?

This must be a buddy of that writer who criticized Jeter during the playoffs against Detroit for doing the same thing (and might have a life size poster of Giambi in his room I might add).

The same writer sort of looks for a way out by saying: “  . . . .  It would be illogical to blame a nine-run loss on one misguided bunt, . . .  . ”     Gee I could have told you that.

On a team where every batter has an idea of what needs to be done and puts his team ahead of his own goals a sac bunt can indeed spark either a comeback or chip away at a run differential when you’re trying to come from behind.

These two guys must be fans of Posada whose vocabulary doesn’t include the words “sac bunt” with Posada is always “hit or miss” with a man on first or second and no outs and the result is always the same the runner remains on the same base but one more out shows on the board and Posada is a fairly decent hitter wouldn’t you say?  So it doesn’t look like a high percentage move does it? A guy who could consistently do that doesn’t exist or can’t keep that rhythm for long, which means (again) the move is not a high percentage one not when you’re trying to do whatever it might work to score some runs.

Even the great Wade Boggs would bunt from time to time at a decent rate . I think it will have to be more than a coincidence that great hitters are great bunters.

Talk about a guy who knows about hitting and who knows this game of baseball fairly well: Carlos Beltran.  Carlos did the same thing a few days ago and he got the same criticism as Jeter. Believe me if any two guys know the game of baseball better than any sports writer (and the best write for SI) those two guys are Beltran and Jeter.

They make things happen and when they are clicking they make their teammates better. If Jeter would have bunted and hurt his leg trying to beat that bunt I would be very upset because a bunt to advance a runner is just that: a sac bunt and there’s no need to make the fielder think “Oh I’m not going to get this guy at first” and he goes to second, that play then defeats the purpose of the sac bunt. Other than that is a high percentage play and great selfless players know it.