Topic: Yankees Baseball

TURN that page that’s all you can do and bring your game face next time; I’m sure if you ask Manny he’ll say: What game?   EXACTLY.

But hitting into two DP’s after talking all that crap?  What is this the west coast version of our resident clutch-less  A-rod (minus the crap)?  Then you have a serious problem.

Cashman better be careful is he’s thinking about bringing Sojo back to the Majors team as one of its coaches.

It just so happens that there is a great divide in Venezuelan baseball regarding their participation in the next Baseball World Classic and it revolves around Sojo.

Sojo is the current Venezuelan coach for said Classic and there are players like Zambrano, Cabrera and Santana who don’t like the idea of Sojo remaining in that position; whether they are right about Sojo or not is not the point.

The point is that if Sojo were our third base coach this season the Yankees couldn’t have landed Santana regardless of how much they were willing to pay for his services. I know Sojo was a very good utility player almost clutch and a player that seemed to bring good luck to the team but that was then this is now.

This city seems to be actively interested in the current playoffs more so by the fact that Torre and Manny are involved (despite our local teams being out of it and we have more common sense that Hank does but doesn’t everybody?).

I have to say that I think the Dodgers reaching the playoffs would be good for baseball and if they advance to the World Series it would be even better for baseball (I’ve read how the tabloids first gave the crown to the Cubs or the Sux, then the Phillies and the Sux and now it’s the Phillies and the Rays) I’ve been saying for years that the tabloids do not know much about the game they cover and SI has gone as far as acknowledging that fact, that THEY don’t know the game either, same here I don’t have the slightest clue but I’m a notch above Wallace Matthews (the quintessential Monday morning QB) that’s for sure.

Anyways,  I’ve have always been a fan of Manny and I became a fan of A-rod when he was signed by the Boss until he opted-out and Hank came to his rescue but this is not about Hank but about baseball. I know Manny is not perfect but neither are those who cover the game of baseball and they give most of the credit to Torre. I think Torre has done a very good job with the Dodgers but where would they be without Manny the gift from the Sux? The Dodgers are where they are because of Torre and Manny and the rest of the ensemble.

Like I’ve said before, I think the Dodgers making it to the next level (look Jerry Manuel got me talking like that) is good for the game and my love for the Yankees is only surpassed for my love of THE GAME now you try that line and see how it comes off.

To those in L.A-L.A. land criticizing Torre for giving the team a day off after that loss to the Phillies that holds no water Torre has done it with the Yankees in similar circumstances and it gave the team positive results   . . . . .  let’s not act as if Torre found the team leading the NL when he went to L.A.     . . . . .   fair is fair DUDES.  Make sure you put pressure on the politicians and law enforcement officers to track down and punish those idiots starting those deadly fires instead.

Sports journalists are saying the Rays are conceding the fifth game to Matzusaka by bringing Kazmir to face him.

Matzusaka after all is a known quantity he gives a lot of walks and then he finds his way out of trouble.  However I think his lucky days are over (he getting out of trouble with the bases loaded or semi-loaded all the time, at least for this series) because the RAYS (in case you haven’t noticed) are RED WHITE HOT and Matzusaka won’t get another pass once he starts missing the strike zone (and just like Manny toying with some pitchers I get the feeling that Matzusaka really loves himself to the point that he creates these situations where he comes out like a hero by wiggling out of these same situations he creates). I think he’s going down this time and the reason is percentages; he can’t continue walking that line without getting hurt and therefore he’ll lose the next game    . . . . . . .    I don’t care if he’s playing at Fenway or in Osaka  . . . . . .    He’s going down.

The chances of him going down are far greater than the Sux coming back from behind again. These are not the 2004 Sux, hey they are not even the 2007 Sux.  Elementary math really.

As long as Kazmir concentrates on every offering instead of every out or every inning and takes his time between throws and he throws strikes and doesn’t think or worries too much up there and he enjoys the game, not that much but enjoys the game just the same,     . . . . . . .    once he does that he’ll be awesome (I don’t say okay I’m saying awesome)  oh and he keeps an eye on anybody who gets on base he’ll be awesome   . . . . . . . . .   I like him that much.  Matzusaka is a very good pitcher but he’s facing a great hitting team in the Rays who can hurt him at FENWAY and they know that  . . . . . . .  that’s all there is to it.

The Sux are hurting BIG TIME and this young team takes no prisoners    . . . . . . . . . .     NO   . . . . . . .    not this time.

That’s all she wrote.

And so it comes to an end. No more dreaming for L.A.

It was a nice trip while it lasted but this would confirm that no single great slugger can singlehandedly carry a team into a World Series and win it, besides his great performance you also need the proper alignment of the stars and the rest of the team to do their part flawlessly.

For the L.A. fans that’s all she was willing to write.

On the subject of Manny.

No the Sux cannot win it all without him just like someone pointed out he cannot win it all without a team like the Sux. You can hope but that’ as far as it will go.

Why did Manny leave or force the Sux to trade him?

He gave you the answer when he got to L.A. when he said: “I’m happy to be in L.A. I’m ready to work hard and do my part and I want to thank my agent for getting me out of Foston.”

It was all a Boras plan to make some money by using Manny’s misbehavior just like he was ready to sell A-rod to the Angels or the Sux at the opt-out(A-rod’s preference was the Sux so much so that he couldn’t help himself thinking about wearing that 2008 WS ring with the Sux) and A-rod (are those stupid highlights ready?) being incredibly narcissist he wanted the whole world to know and he and Boras decided to steal the Sux show by making the announcement about the opt-out during the Series. The rest is history. Then when A-rod was heading for a low payday he found a way to pick Hank’s brain and we ended up with this sort of ok but not with men in scoring position power hitter AGAIN only at the new rates.  What worked for A-rod then sort of might work for Manny. The problem is the local media and McCarver will tell you Manny is despicable whereas Posada who also held Hank hostage for MONEY A LOT MORE MONEY than he deserved gets a free pass.  Same difference.

No we’re not blind nor stupid     . . . . . . . . . .    we just try to keep the tabloids in check.

Thou shall not think the ALCS is a walk in the park.

The last think you can do is to think it’s a done deal, not when the Sux have Pedroia, Youk (the twofaced teammate of Coco Crisp) and DREW (is $$-rod watching these games?) talk about clutch. I have to admit that watching Papelbone sweat those outs was PRICELESS.  The best part for those in the relief corps watching last night’s game was seeing Papelbone taking his sweet time between pitches because he knew his team was in deep shiit. Most relievers like BALFOUR do just the opposite and that’s why he ended up giving the game back to the Sux after Kazmir had an awesome game (that doesn’t mean the Sux didn’t play well enough to deserve that come from behind gutsy win). Balfour didn’t think much of Ortiz nor Navarro by trying to blow that FATball by Ortiz and why not? the guy was cruising along the Interstate and just like that      . . . . . . .   the Rays have to go back and RETHINK their strategy.

What they need to do is EXECUTE Maddon’s philosophy on playing the game right. You have unfinished business     . . . . . . . .  This still is the ALEast Div. and you have won nothing yet.

Come again.

"We outplayed them for six innings, they outplayed us for the last three," Longoria said. "That's the bottom line."

Wow if Longoria believes that’s the bottom line he has problems because the bottom line is THEY LOST THE GAME or the Sux won it.

That talk sounds like Cano’s spin to me and that’s never a good sign. Get on with the program dude you need to FOCUS and EXECUTE for the entire length of the game not just for those innings you give a hoot about.

Rays of Hope or hopeless Rays?

It is unfair to steal some thunder from the current ALCS teams but the Yankees suddenly have some serious issues before them and the most important one is this: what are they going to do with Joba?

Ever since he came on board Joba has bragged about his drinking prowess even dissing some senior players in the process then he started talking the good talk just to appease the team’s brass and the sports writers but it seems that’s all it was    . . . . . . . .    just idle talk.

A friend of mine (a Mets fan) told me some time ago Oh Oh you got your own Gooden situation now and I thought he was just being funny and full of envy but now I’m not so sure.

I think any plan that includes Joba as the central part of it is doomed. The kid has issues   . . . . .    serious ones and it doesn’t look like if we can be assured that in the end this would be a Josh Hamilton story because it could very well be a Dwight Gooden story with all the heartache it entails.

It’s very sad but true.  Joba has done nothing for us yet. Can he be the stud we all yearn for? It doesn’t look so anymore the ugly signs are there if front of us and some tabloids are going to try to spin these facts one way while the rest will go jus the opposite way.