Topic: Yankees Baseball

So how come when a team singles and sac bunts another team to death (even though the losing team has scored almost the same number of runs via the extra-base hit) the sports magazines herald the winner as a great team and not as a failure or a team full of freaks? Am I missing something here?

That’s how the most recent NCAA Division I Champions beat the competition in both softball and baseball; I’m referring to Arizona State in softball and Fresno State in Baseball and if that play works at that level it also works at Major League Level (that’s how Colorado got to the World Series last season).

It’s that thinking that has damaged many careers in baseball at the minors level because a moronic coach had the same beliefs and would never give a chance to a 5’10’’ or 5’11’’ pitcher or to a great selfless hitter who sac bunt when he should be striking out trying to hit an extra bases while trying in vain to advance a runner.

Baseball players will tell you myriads of stories that happened to players they knew were great players who never got a chance to prove themselves in the Majors because they were never given the chance because of a frustrated writer moonlighting as a minors coach who never gave them a fighting chance.

As for Jeter I’m truly certain that when Jeter tries to sac bunt there is a damn good reason for it and I’m perfectly at ease with it all the way to the HOF.

Oh and that sort of double-header was a sobering experience to say the least.

I’m going to expand a bit on what I posted yesterday regarding that writer who picked on Jeter for doing the right thing: putting up a sac bunt for the team (just like I predicted he published an article on the art of hitting  . . . . sort of  . . . .  Using Giambi as a model power hitter.  I have said before:  this writer must have a life size poster of Giambi in his room and Lo and behold the other shoe drops. Do I know these guys well or what? ).

My point this time is about Bobby Abreu who is always criticized for the way he plays right field (I plead guilty to that) but whose attitude on the field and at the plate is always that of a team player and quietly Bobby keeps doing what he has been doing for years play and hit for the team look no further for such a great competitor and a player that trust his teammates (incidentally we have more than our share of team players) and his bat continues to do the talking for him. Keep it up Bobby you’re not alone.

This time the Pitching was great from Pettitte to Mariano and Veras and Farnsworth in between despite the fact that our stupid sportswriters can’t give credit where credit is due by trying to emphasize that fact that Farnsworth has given up more than his share of HR’s where Santana gets overlooked as the HR king in reverse. What are you going to do?  These guys never learn or have nothing better to report OR they are biased!!!  What a shock  . . . . . .    They are Yankee haters . . . .    Screw them just the same is my philosophy.

Now they are underestimating both Farnsworth and Joba by trying to instigate a rift between them first by asking Kyle about the fact that without Joba the pen is doing fine as it should and Joba will be the first one to agree to that. Then they print Kyle logical answer which is anybody here can pick the slack anybody can do the job and the proof is in the pudding the idea is to win games not to no-hit the competition and the job for the most part is getting done despite the fact that day in and day out the tabloids and their cohorts keep saying that the Yanks and Cashman are desperate when in truth the only ones that keep complaining about the Yankees not being a sure thing to win this year are the same tabloids for GS.

Santana keeps saying “I’m doing all I can to keep my team in the game but that’s all I can do” (translation: this team can’t frigging hit) yet the tabloids are not trying to drive any wedge between Santana and his teammates (which is Ok) my question is why can they do the same thing when reporting about the Yankees? Old habits never die I guess.

And about that move to first  . . . .  Sorry Santana but that was a balk and Giambi deserves a lot of credit for yelling at the umpire reinforcing that very fact. As it turned out that was the winning run.

Cashman is telling us about what to expect from future Yankee stars and we understand that it’s taking time but the future looks bright but the same damn tabloids immediately begin to play out these scenarios where the Yanks will have to give all those prospects away for some last minute “bargains” that might come and try to help the Yanks (the emphasis is on “trying” not “helping” ) get to the playoffs just like Damon and Giambi would love to have it happen for their career considerations not for the team.

Alex needs to be commended for a glaring fact.  Since he’s back the offense has picked up tremendously and the media has said that much and correctly so.

Watching this series it was evident that Christian is not ready yet or he’s not ML material so for all practical purposes he shouldn’t be given preferential treatment just like Kennedy.

Where have you gone La Troy?

Thank you now go and cash that oversized frigging check of yours.

We can’t wait for you to burn some more pitchers’ careers by imploding when facing runners on second base. You and your panicky signs. And your usual nightmare: runner on second base no outs and it’s just you and your sticky dirty bat   . . . . .   we know the outcome well before it happens: strike out, ground out   . . . . .    and the also routine pop out.

You got paid for last year’s stats now go on and duplicate them.

The Moose is too kind to his teammates after they left him out there unprotected.  There is no doubt in my mind than the Tampa Rays would have found a way to score one more run than the Rangers.

But not this offense. Not when Alex is trying to perfect his HR swing while failing in the clutch, instead of just trying to put the ball in play (granted he’s not the only hitter in this multi-mega million lineup) and I mean there have been two games where Alex could have changed both outcomes and he didn’t, maybe something could be done different.  The Moose is doing a more than a fine job and he is a race with time the least he deserves is the necessary runs to stay on the right track. That overpriced catcher and that over priced West Covina HR swinger looked pathetic trying to turn the score around. The last three hitters went out there to swing for the fences and failed to start a rally which historically is the right thing to do in such a situation. They tried to do it the Giambi way and failed foolishly.

Some of the YES men have said more than once that the Yankees fail in such games because they are not familiar with the pitcher at hand.  So if the team they’d face in the post season finds 3 young pitchers unknown to the lineup they don’t stand a fighting chance to go pass the initial stage and it sounds familiar so that might be the key to handcuffing the Yankees lineup.  Why do we need a hitting coach for    . . . . . .   in such scenario he’s useless.

And who does Melki play for?

This guy doesn’t know crap about discipline at the plate, we all know he wants to play somewhere else so the team is not something he cares about and it shows in his at bats. So with the money we’ll be saving soon isn’t about time we start looking for a CF as well as a first baseman now instead of later? His strong arm (as well as his tantrums   . . . .   Remember that helmet thrown on the field to show the first base umpire?) is something we’ll miss but the trade off seems more beneficial to the Yankees (I won’t miss the hot-dogging even when the team is down. There is no question that another Dominican: Reyes is his role model . . .  not enough mustard for these two guys).

When you go Melki man stay gone.