Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Cash Is In The Bank

And we're off. Yankees GM Brian Cashman has re-enlisted for another tour of duty, this one taking him through 2011. I know a lot of Yankee fans out there have soured on Cashman lately. I'm not one of them. I'm thrilled he's re-upped for another 3 years. I like the direction he's taking the ballclub. That direction being rebuilding the farm system and "trying" to shed some payroll while putting out a contender.

This offseason will be a pretty important one for Cash Money. The Yankees are finally in position to start shedding a lot of their bad contracts, specifically those of Jason Giambi and Carl Pavano. It's hard to say how many of the prior busts, err signings, were all Cashman, and how many were at the direction of George Steinbrenner. I'm inclined to think that many of the signings were at the suggestion of The Boss. George has always been a pretty vocal guy when it comes to bringing in guys he wants. For example, BC had a deal in pace to bring in Vlad Guerrero and Steinbrenner wanted Sheffield. We all know who won that battle.

I'm not expecting Cashman to wait long to stoke the hot stove. He's got a lot of holes to fill and I'm confident he'll build a winner. Let the games begin.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

A Look Back At 2008: Joe Girardi

Tomorrow is October 1st and for the first time in 13 years the Yankees won't be playing baseball in October. It was a disappointing season to say the least. Over the next few weeks, I'm going to be taking a look back at the individuals that took part in the 2008 Yankees campaign, offering up some opinions and assigning each person a grade. I hope to do at least one person a day so make sure to check back. And please feel free to add your own thoughts and comments.

Today's installment is Joe Girardi. What better place to start than with the manager?

I was in favor of hiring Joe Girardi over Don Mattingly after the Yankees stupidly let Joe Torre go after the 2007 season. I thought Girardi was the wiser choice. I still think Girardi was the wiser choice. Joe has always struck me as a wise baseball guy. I thought this after listening to him as a YES analyst and having seen him manage the Marlins. He has a reputation as being extremely prepared and I thought he started the season off real well, whipping the team into shape with his boot camp style spring training workouts. I thought it was just what the team needed. Now that the games have been played and the season is over, I'm not as sold on Joe as I once was.

For a smart baseball guy, Joe made some pretty stupid decisions in my opinion. The biggest that still sticks out to me was when he pulled a double switch, and had Melky Cabrera pinch-hit and Ivan Rodriguez pinch run. One of Girardi's faults in my opinion is that he relies way too much on lefty/righty matchups then on actual performance. In that game, the Yankees were trailing by 4 with runners the bases loaded and 1 out in the 7th. Giambi was on 1st and Justin Christian was up. Girardi sent Pudge to 1st and brought in Melky to face the RHP. Melky predictably popped up to short and the rally was pretty much dead. Melky is obviously faster than Pudge and Pudge is obviously a better hitter than Melky. Pudge has a career average of 300 against RHPs. That move still makes no sense to me.

I think Girardi did a horrible job in getting the best from his players, something that he apparently did pretty well his one year in Florida. The manager's job is to get 100% from his players day in and day out. The Yankees offseason struggled all season and one of the biggest disappointments was Robbie Cano's performance. Cano is widely known as a lazy player. He's the type of player that needs a kick in the pants every now and then. Joe Torre and Larry Bowa figured this out and pretty much wrote the book on how to successfully manage Cano. That being the case, it should never have taken Girardi until September 15th, with 13 games left in the season, to pull Cano and have him sit. And the only reason he pulled him was because he didn't run after a grounder that trickled off Giambi's glove. I don't think it's a coincidence that Cano turned it on after getting benched. In the final 12 games of the season, Cano went 14 for 46 (.413) and hit in the last 11 games. The Yanks went 9-3 in those 12 games. If only Joe was wise enough to pull Cano sooner. Maybe then the Yanks would still be playing. The same goes for Robbie's buddy Melky. Girardi left Melky in the lineup a lot longer than he should have. I didn't think Girardi was going to have any trouble managing the youngsters. Sadly, I was wrong.

Another major fault of Girardi's was how he dealt with the media, often pretty much straight up lying to everyone only to have others in the organization contradict him. I understand not wanting to give your opponents a competitive advantage by not disclosing injuries, but at least own up to them once it's public knowledge. Damaso Marte missed several games with in August with a bum wing. When Girardi was asked about it, nothing was wrong. When Marte was asked about it, the team was giving him time to rest. Recently, Girardi said Mariano left Toronto early to get a standard end-of-the-year physical and that there was no injury. As it turns out, Mariano was complaining that he had a sore shoulder, something confirmed by Yankees GM Brian Cashman. When asked about Mariano again, Girardi stuck to his story, not agreeing to the information that was given by Cashman. Joe has to do a better job in his dealings with the media. It's one of the intangibles that is going to make him successful.

I can't think of many positives except for how Girardi managed the use of the bullpen. Sure, he may have brought in the wrong guy, or left in a pitcher for too long, but he did spread things around, something that Joe Torre wasn't really good at. Michael Kay remarked several times during the season that Girardi was doing a great job managing the pen, keeping them out of the league leaders in appearances. I think at one point there weren't any Yankees in the top 15 in appearances, a category they typically have several in. The Yankees finished the season with 543.1 bullpen innings, second most in the AL. 22 different pitchers took the hill for the Yankees in relief, with Mariano appearing the most, in 64 games, which was tied for 22nd. In 2007 the bullpen threw 529.2 innings with 22 guys throwing in relief. 3 Yankee RPs ranked in the top 20. In 2006, they had 510 bullpen innings, split between 23 guys with 3 ranking in the top 10. Girardi did a good job in spreading the ball around. I think that was one of the reasons why the bullpen was a bright spot for the 2008 Yanks. The 2008 bullpen ERA was 3.78. 2007 was 4.35 and 2006 was 4.18.

So overall, Girardi's first year as Yankees skipper was disappointing to say the least. I'll hearken back to something Hank Steinbrenner stupidly said back before he, or anyone for that matter, was hired to replace Torre:

"I think the most important thing is whoever we hire, give 'em a chance because he's not getting the '96 Yankees. He's getting an even younger team or for the most part a team in transition. Give him a little while. We want to win the World Series every year. We're not stupid enough to think we can do it. Of course, we'd love to win the World Series next year."

That quote still burns me. As I said last year after Hank made that comment, if it was thought that it would be a year of transition because it was a young team and not the '96 Yankees, then Joe Torre should have been brought back. Torre was run out of town for failing to win the World Series. Sorry for going off on a tangent. My point about the quote is that Girardi was given a young team, one that was definitely in transition. I understand that the Yankees' failures this year were not entirely his fault. There were a lot of factors that contributed to the team's poor finish. However, Girardi didn't really do much to help the cause. I think the negatives far outweighed the positives. He needs to do a better job in getting 100% from his team. That's really what the job boils down to. There were several guys who underperformed and Girardi needs to find ways to get them to perform to their potential. In that respect, he did a very poor job.

Taking all things into account, J-Boogie's 2008 final grade for Joe Girardi is a C-/D+. Feel free to post your own grades or comments.

The next look back at 2008 will focus on Jorge Posada.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

Monday, September 29, 2008

Contest # 5 Winner

Congrats to Dan who is the winner of the final contest. Dan wins a copy of the Essential Games Of Yankee Stadium DVD Box Set. The question for this giveaway was: What will the Yankees team batting average be for their 3 game series against Boston? The team's AVG for the 3 game set was .336 (39 for 116; game 1=20-44, game 2=10-35, game 3=9-37). Dan had guessed .281 and ended up being closest to the actual total. Congrats again.

Thanks again to everyone who participated and special thanks again to Suzanne for hooking me up with 5 copies to give away. If anyone is interested in purchasing the box set or finding out more info about it, you can click this link.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

Sunday, September 28, 2008

162 Are In The Books

That possibly was one of the most boring games I had ever seen. It felt like a spring training game but about 10 times worse. I didn't really even pay attention to most of it. With the loss, the Yanks finish the season with a record of 89-73. 90 wins would have been nice, but when you finish in 3rd place and miss the playoffs, does it really matter? The crazy thing is that the Yanks finished the season with the 4th best record in the American League, and they tied for the 7th best record in all of baseball. Considering how poorly they played for much of the latter part of the season and all of the injuries and shortcomings, finishing with that record isn't so bad. Respectable, but missing the playoffs means the season was a failure. Mission 27 will have to wait until next year.

Thanks to everyone who stopped by the blog during the season. I appreciate you guys checking it out. Thanks. I've got a few posts planned for the coming days and you know that the Yankees offseason is going to be chock full of developments so there should plenty of posting here between now and when spring training begins in February. It's going to be one interesting offseason.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

35=20!!!!!

Ladies and gentleman, I am pleased to announce that Michael Cole Mussina is a 20-game winner. Moooooooooooooooooooose!!!! Hell yeah! I am super pumped right now. Honestly, I can't believe that he pulled it off. He needed 3 wins in his last 3 starts to hit the 20-win plateau. And what's my man do? Pitches his ass off. Over the last 3 starts, Moose went 17 innings, giving up only 12 hits, 4 walks, 13 Ks, and 1, yes 1, earned run. Over those 3 starts, he lowered the ERA from 3.63 and finishes the season with a 3.37 ERA.

Moose's final line: 34 starts, 20-9, 200.1 IPs, 214 hits, 85 runs, 75 earned runs, 17 HR, 31 BB, 150 K, 1.22 WHIP and an ERA of 3.37. He was far and away the most valuable player on the Yankees this season. At the beginning of the year, who would have thought we'd be saying that? I would love to see Moose win the Cy Young Award but there's no chance of that happening considering the seasons that Cliff Lee, Roy Halladay, and Fransisco Rodriguez had. I'd have to think the AL Comeback Player Of The Year Award is in the bag.

I'm glad Girardi and the fellas gave Moose their all today considering the game didn't really mean anything in the grand scheme of things. And how about Mariano Rivera coming back from NYC to pitch for Moose if needed? If that's not a sign of respect I don't know what is. I'm not going to lie, I was a little worried there in the 8th when the Sox pulled within 1 run. OK, I was more than a little worried. But Mo being Mo, shut it down. It would have been terrible had Mo blown the save. That would have meant that both of Mo's blown saves this year would have been in potential Moose victories. Mo's only blown save of the season came when the Yanks had a 6-3 lead and he gave up a 3-run game tying HR to Delmon Young. It would have been crazy had Mo's only BS been the game that could have cost Moose #20.

Hopefully, this isn't the last we've seen of Moose in Pinstripes. I'll start the chant now: "One more year! One more year!" Or two more. That works too! He's definitely earned the contract and having become the oldest pitcher to ever win 20 games for the 1st time in his career, he's shown he can still hang at this level. Congratulations Moose! It's well-deserved. I'm looking forward to January when the MMFC gets together and celebrates this great accomplishment.

Peace, love and Mike Mussina,

J-Boogie

Saturday, September 27, 2008

A Whole Lot Of Catching Up To Do

Greeting everyone. It feels like it's been quite a long time since I blogged something about the Yankees. My free time has been extremely limited over the last week or so. 2 Fridays ago I was driving to NYC. Saturday I took in the 2nd to last game at Yankee Stadium. Monday, I was my son's sole care provider while the wife was at work. Tuesday through Thursday I was in Toronto for the Yankees series with the Jays. Yesterday, I was again the sole care provider for our son. And in a few short hours I'm heading back to Toronto for a concert. I've had a blast, but I'm exhausted.

Toronto was a pretty good time. I walked away with 33 autographs, the 2 biggest being Mariano on a 1998 World Series team ball, and A-Rod on a ball. Everyone else I asked to sign inside the book, Yankee Stadium: The Official Retrospective. It was fun. A lot of standing around doing a whole lot of nothing, but fun nonetheless. I spent most of the time talking about the Yankees with some of the other Yankee fans, commiserating about the failed season and talking about the future and what they need to do to turn things around. It made the hours and hours of standing around zoom right by.

The games themselves were pretty enjoyable. There was absolutely nobody there. I'm not sure that the announced attendance was even close to the actual. I've never been to a Yankee series in Toronto where the gates weren't absolutely mobbed with people hours before the gates even opened. I kind of thought that would be the case this series because both teams were out of the playoff hunt and school just started so not many fans from the states were going to make the trip. I thought the Yankee played some good ball. Too bad they waited so long to play so well. Here are some assorted thoughts:

  • Mooooooooooooooooooose! 19 wins baby. 1 more start to go so the possibility of winning 20 still exists. Moose is a gamer. He took that shot off the elbow in the 3rd but stuck it out threw 5 to keep himself in line for the W. You knew there was no way he was leaving that game. He looked just as sharp in that game as he has all season, striking out 6, 5 which were of the window shopping variety. As my travelling companion would say after every backwards K, "Hey can I help you? Nope, I'm just looking." I'm hoping Moose can carry that magic into one final start and pick up that elusive 20th win. I'm really excited for tomorrow's finale. It's really the only reason to watch. And I'm pretty sure I was the only person in the stadium wearing a Moose jersey. I got to have my man's back.
  • Phil Hughes looked sharp in his start. I wore a 65 Hughes shirt to the game. Like with my Moose jersey the day before, I'm pretty sure I was the only one there rocking a Hughes shirt. He had his best outing of the season. If he had only pitched that way earlier in the year. I really wanted to see him pick up the W and end his season on a positive. Scott Rolen messed that plan up. But it still was a great finish. In Phil's final 2 starts, he went 12 innings, allowing only 9 hits, 2 walks, 3 earned runs (2.25 ERA) and he whiffed 10. If only he got some run support. I'm still a firm believer that Phil is going to be one of the Yankee greats.
  • Brett Gardner has impressed me a lot lately. I was pretty excited when I saw his average top the 200 mark. That's sad to get excited about that. But he had a great series, going 6 for 12. He's still not what I'm envisioning the Yankee CF to be, but he'll do as a 4th OF. I'll take him over Melky any day. Brett had a nice game last night too in Boston picking up 4 RBI in the rout. It'll be interesting to see where Brett starts next season. I'm thinking he'll be the Yanks 4th OF which means Melky is going to be on the outs. Got Melk? No. No I don't.
  • I really wanted to see the Yankees spoil Roy Halladay's 20th win but I knew there was no chance when his counterpart was Carl Pavano. I think it's safe to say that the Carl Pavano chapter is finally closed. Yippee! God he's brutal. I originally had no plans whatsoever of asking him for his autograph while I was there. He signed on Tuesday and I didn't bother. I caved on Wednesday and I'm still debating on whether or not I should have had him sign the book. I figured why not but part of me wishes I hadn't. I'm glad he's gone. Can't wait until they make it official.
  • I read about Joe Girardi and how he "disclosed" Mo's shoulder issue. Bad form Joe. Bad form. I understand wanting to let Mo break the news but you it just destroys what credibility you have when you continue to deny, deny, deny. Joe really needs to figure things out. I'm starting to see why he only lasted 1 year in Florida. I know his departure had more to do with his relationship with the owner, but from what I've seen from Girardi in year 1 as Yankees skipper, I'm not impressed at all. I really thought he'd do great things but he's been a total bust so far.
  • It looks like Mo's season is over. Thankfully it doesn't sound like too serious of a problem. Apparently his shoulder has been bothersome all season, which makes Mo's dominance this year even that more impressive. Mo had in my opinion the best year of his career. Considering his age and now his shoulder problem, that's pretty darn impressive.
  • Despite being out of it, it was nice to see the Yanks lump the Sox last night. If anything, it was nice to be the team to prevent them from winning the division. I'm just crossing my fingers that they bust out the whooping sticks on Sunday and win that game for Moose.

Two more games to go and the season is officially over and done with. Wow. No October baseball in the Bronx. That's going to be weird.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

Friday, September 26, 2008

Contest #5 Entry Period Is Closed

I've been a little busy today and haven't had time to write something about my trip to see the Yanks play in Toronto, but it's coming. Just wanted to hop on real quick and say tonight's game against the Red Sox has started which means the ability to enter the 5th and final contest has passed. For those with short-term memory, I'm giving away a copy of the Essential Games Of Yankee Stadium DVD Box Set.

The question for the final giveaway was: What will the Yankees team batting average be for their 3 game series against Boston? (If a game happens to get rained out, I'm just going to use their average for the games they end up playing, so long as it's not just one).

There are 2 people entered in this contest and their guesses are:

  • Gene = .245
  • Dan = .281

Thanks guys,and good luck!

J-Boogie

Contest Reminder

There is still plenty of time to submit a guess for a chance to win a copy of the Essential Games Of Yankee Stadium DVD Box Set. Guesses for the question need to be submitted by 7:05pm tonight. The question for this series is: What will the Yankees team batting average be for their 3 game series against Boston? To enter all you have to do is the following:

  • E-mail your guess to me at the e-mail address listed in the upper left under "contact me"
  • 1 guess per person
  • Leave a comment to let me know that you submitted your guess along with your name (first name and initial)
  • Make sure to put your name in the comment if you're posting it as an anonymous user, so I know who is who and can match them up with your e-mail
  • There is no need to leave the guess in the comments--this will negate the "price is right" strategy
  • The deadline to submit a guess is Tonight (Friday) at 7:05 pm EST, which is when the 1st game of the Yankees/Red Sox series starts . So get your guesses in before then and you're good.

The answers to the question will be in the form of a number. The person that guesses the correct "answer" for the question, or comes closest to the correct answer without going over will win. Any ties will be broken by random drawing of all those who are correct or tied for closest to without going over. I am going to post each person's guess for each series shortly after the first pitch of the series is thrown, once the game is official.

Thanks and good luck.

J-Boogie

Contest #4 Winner/Final Contest Details

Just got back from Toronto. I'll be back sometime tomorrow with that post. The only internet access I could get was in the Rogers Centre itself, so I'll I got to do was check my e-mail. We had 3 guesses for the 4th of 5 Essential Games Of Yankee Stadium DVD Box Set Giveaways. The question for the Yankees/Jays series was: What will be the total combined attendance for their 3 game series in Toronto? (attendance figure will be taken from the yahoo.com box score)? The 3 guesses were:

  • Gene = 53000
  • Joe = 100,000
  • Dan = 102,231

The final total attendance for the 3 game series per the Yahoo.com box scores was 100,263 (Tuesday = 27216 , Wednesday = 28701, Thursday = 44346). Joe was off by 263! Joe, some advice: get to Burbank and get yourself on to The Price Is Right! Holy cow! I was there for the 3 game series and thought for sure Gene had it wrapped up. The Jays' season finale was Thursday and that made up for the low attendance in a big way. Congrats Joe!

There is still one of the DVDs to give away. The final contest starts tonight (Friday) at 7:05pm when the Yanks/Sox series starts. The question for this giveaway is:

What will the Yankees team batting average be for their 3 game series against Boston?

  • E-mail your guess to me at the e-mail address listed in the upper left under "contact me"
  • 1 guess per person
  • Leave a comment to let me know that you submitted your guess along with your name (first name and initial)
  • Make sure to put your name in the comment if you're posting it as an anonymous user, so I know who is who and can match them up with your e-mail
  • There is no need to leave the guess in the comments--this will negate the "price is right" strategy
  • The deadline to submit a guess for the 5th and final giveaway is Friday at 7:05 pm EST, which is when the 1st game of the Yankees/Red Sox series starts . So get your guesses in before then and you're good.

The answers to the question will be in the form of a number. The person that guesses the correct "answer" for the question, or comes closest to the correct answer without going over will win. Any ties will be broken by random drawing of all those who are correct or tied for closest to without going over.

Thanks and good luck.

J-Boogie

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Contest #4 Entry Period Closed

Tonight's game against the Jays has started which means the ability to enter the 4th contest has passed.

For those with short-term memory, I'm giving away 5 copies of the soon-to-be released Essential Games Of Yankee Stadium DVD Box Set, one during each of the remaining Yankees series this year. All one has to do to enter was send me an e-mail with an answer to a question. Pretty simple. You'll find more details about entering for the last giveaway further down this post. So good luck to those that entered. I will come back and post the guesses once the game is official, or possibly later as I'm in Toronto right now and likely have little or no access to the Internet. (I'm writing this post on Monday with a post time of 7:07 Tuesday).

The question for the 4th giveaway was: What will be the total combined attendance for their 3 game series in Toronto? (attendance figure will be taken from the yahoo.com box score)

If anyone is interested in entering for a chance to win the last DVD set, here is the question and details on how to enter:

What will the Yankees team batting average be for their 3 game series against Boston?

  • E-mail your guess to me at the e-mail address listed in the upper left under "contact me"
  • 1 guess per person
  • Leave a comment to let me know that you submitted your guess along with your name (first name and initial)
  • Make sure to put your name in the comment if you're posting it as an anonymous user, so I know who is who and can match them up with your e-mail
  • There is no need to leave the guess in the comments--this will negate the "price is right" strategy
  • The deadline to submit a guess for the last giveaway is Friday at 7:05 pm EST, which is when the 1st game of the Yankees/Red Sox series starts . So get your guesses in before then and you're good.

Answers will be in the form of a number. The person that guesses the correct "answer" for the corresponding questions, or comes closest to the correct answer without going over will win. Any ties will be broken by random drawing of all those who are correct or tied for closest to without going over. You can only win once, so if you win the DVD for the 4th series, you won't be eligible for the 5th.

Thanks and good luck.

J-Boogie

Off To Toronto & Contest Reminder

I just wanted to let everyone know the blogging here might be light over the next few days. I am headed to Toronto to catch the Yankees/Jays series. I'm not sure if the hotel I'm staying at has a community PC so you may hear very little from me, if anything at all. After the Stadium finale, I'm really looking forward to seeing these guys one last time this year and letting them know how much their efforts are appreciated. I'm what you call an "autograph hound" aka stalker, so I'll get to see most of them up close and am going to do my best to personally thank them. It's the least I could do considering all they've given me.

Don't forget to enter the contest I'm doing for this series. The deadline to enter is 7:07 pm tonight (Tuesday). All the details are in my previous post, so just scroll down.

Enjoy the games!

J-Boogie

Monday, September 22, 2008

Remembering Yankee Stadium

So I am the only one out there who has watched the post game celebration from last night a couple thousand times? OK, maybe it's more like four, but it's something I could watch over and over again and never grow tired of. It was truly incredible and I've never felt so proud to be a Yankee fan. To piggy back on the legendary Joe DiMaggio's famous quote, I want to thank the Good Lord for making me a Yankee fan. Call me Buzz Lightyear because I'll rep the interlocking NY to infinity and beyond. If anyone out there is looking for a great way to remember Yankee stadium, may I suggest entering one of my final 2 contests. If you've been reading the blog lately, then you've no doubt seen that I'm giving away copies of the soon-to-be released (tomorrow) Essential Games Of Yankee Stadium DVD Box Set. For those not familiar with the box set, it's 6 full-length games played at the Stadium on DVD. Click the link above for a full breakdown of the games and bonus features. I've given away 3 and have 2 left. The next contest officially kicks off at 7:07pm on Tuesday and all entries must be e-mailed to me before the start of the game. Here's the question for this series and the details on how to enter:

What will be the total combined attendance for their 3 game series in Toronto? (attendance figure will be taken from the yahoo.com box score)?

  • E-mail your guess to me at the e-mail address listed in the upper left under "contact me"
  • 1 guess per person
  • Leave a comment to let me know that you submitted your guess along with your name (first name and initial)
  • Make sure to put your name in the comment if you're posting it as an anonymous user, so I know who is who and can match them up with your e-mail
  • There is no need to leave the guess in the comments--this will negate the "price is right" strategy
  • The deadline to submit a guess for the 4th giveaway is Tuesday at 7:07 pm EST, which is when the 1st game of the Yankees/Blue Jays series starts . So get your guesses in before then and you're good.

You can also submit guesses for the last giveaway also. That questions is:

  • What will the Yankees team batting average be for their 3 game series against Boston?
The answers to the questions will be in the form of a number. The person that guesses the correct "answer" for the corresponding questions, or comes closest to the correct answer without going over will win. Any ties will be broken by random drawing of all those who are correct or tied for closest to without going over. You can only win once, so if you win the DVD for the 4th series contest, you won't be eligible for the 5th contest.

Thanks and good luck.

J-Boogie

Yanks Win A Perfect Game!!

Wow. I guess you don't have to get 27 up 27 down for there to be a perfect game. I don't think tonight's Yankee Stadium finale could have gone any better. Perfect. Just perfect. I'm not even sure I can coherently put together a blog about it. Wow. What a night! I'm literally sitting here moving my index finger up and down my lips making that bubbubbubbub sound because I can't put thoughts together. How do you type that? Everything about tonight was awesome. I tuned into the ESPN pre-game at 1pm and pretty much watched it straight up until, well, I'm still watching. The pre-game ceremonies were absolutely awesome to watch. I got chills when Bernie Williams came out. That's the good-bye he deserved two years ago. You could see Bernie was genuinely touched by the ovation. Goosebumps. Wow.

The game itself was awesome. I really wanted Johnny Damon to be the guy with the last HR. I figured I could easily get him to sign a ball for me and inscribe it that he hit the last HR at the Stadium. Oh well. I'll take Jose Mo. He's been great for us and I'm glad he cemented himself in Yankee Stadium history.

Pettitte gets the win. Mo closes it out. Yankees win! And then it got even better.

How freaking awesome was it watching the team gather at the pitcher's mound and then Jeter busting out his speech? I couldn't help but have a tear or two drop from my ducts. And then they walked around the Stadium! That was freakin' cool! I really wish I had dropped some coin on tickets to tonight's game. $300 for bleacher seats suddenly seems like a kick-ass deal. Either way, this is something that I will never forget.

After the game, I surfed over to Steiner Sports and I couldn't help myself. I had to buy some dirt. I kind of felt obligated to. That's something I think every Yankee fan needs to have. Now if I can only convince the missus to let me buy some seats when they go on sale. I'll have to work on that.

I'm on vacation this week as I'm heading to Toronto for the Yanks/Jays series. I have to take care of my son tomorrow and he'll likely wake up around 6:30am, about 6 hours from now. I'm kind to be tired tomorrow but I honestly don't care. I'm up until the YES post game show goes off the air and even then I doubt I'll be able to fall asleep.

Wow. No more baseball at Yankee Stadium. What a way to go out. That's what a call a proper sendoff. It's definitely a sad time but the memories will certainly live on. Like I try to do at any "funeral," don't mourn the passing but celebrate the life. And as we all know, there's a heck of a lot to celebrate.

They need to release this on DVD like tomorrow.

Peace, love and Yankee Stadium,

J-Boogie

Sunday, September 21, 2008

Contest #3 Winner / Contest #4 Info

I'm sitting here with my laptop, watching the final game, hanging out in Jason's HDLR watching the game. It's currently tied at 3 in the bottom of the 4th. Jason Giambi's 3rd inning walk put the total # of extra base hits, walks, and stolen bases at 18, which means both Joe and Tom tie for the prize. As stated in the countless # of posts I've made with respect to the giveaways, the winner will be chosen at random. In the event of a tie, a coin toss was held earlier today to decide the winner and it came up tails which means Tom wins the a copy of the Essential Games Of Yankee Stadium DVD Box Set. Congrats Tom and tough break Joe.

The 4th of the 5 Essential Games Of Yankee Stadium DVD Box Set giveaways will start Tuesday night when the Yankees and Blue Jays series starts. The question for this contest is: What will be the total combined attendance for their 3 game series in Toronto? (attendance figure will be taken from the yahoo.com box score)? Right now there are only 2 entries so if you'd like to submit a guess for a chance to win, here's what you need to do:

  • E-mail your guess to me at the e-mail address listed in the upper left under "contact me"
  • 1 guess per person
  • Leave a comment to let me know that you submitted your guess along with your name (first name and initial)
  • Make sure to put your name in the comment if you're posting it as an anonymous user, so I know who is who and can match them up with your e-mail
  • There is no need to leave the guess in the comments--this will negate the "price is right" strategy
  • The deadline to submit a guess for the 4th giveaway is Tuesday at 7:07 pm EST, which is when the 1st game of the Yankees/Blue Jays series starts . So get your guesses in before then and you're good.

You can also submit guesses for the last giveaway also. That questions is:

  • What will the Yankees team batting average be for their 3 game series against Boston?

The answers to all the questions will be in the form of a number. The person that guesses the correct "answer" for the corresponding questions, or comes closest to the correct answer without going over will win. Any ties will be broken by random drawing of all those who are correct or tied for closest to without going over. You can only win once, so if you win the DVD for the 4th series contest, you won't be eligible for the 5th contest.

Thanks and good luck.

J-Boogie

Goodbye My Friend

I went to yesterday's penultimate game at Yankee Stadium. Yeah, I just dropped the word penultimate on you guys. Me feel smart. Anyway, I could not have imagined the day going any more perfectly than it did, except for that fact that stupid me left the camera at home. So much for the being smart thing. My friend Dan and I boogied out of Buffalo at about 4pm Friday afternoon with an ETA at our hotel in Budd Lake, NJ at about 10pm.

Now my favorite thing about driving to the Stadium is that we pass a Sheetz gas station in Scranton, PA. If you've never had the pleasure of eating food at Sheetz, you're missing out. Make it a point to stop at one if you ever find yourself in the neighborhood of one. Best eats in the world. I had myself a 6 inch steak sub and an order of Shmokehouse Frys, which were fries in BBQ sauce with bacon, onions, green peppers and some other stuff. Sooo good. After leaving Sheetz, it was about another 1.25 hours to the hotel.

We spent the ride listening to the Yankees game of course. Not a bad way to pass the time. The best part had to be when the Yankees brought out Phil Coke to get an out or two. This prompted Dan and I to start dropping one-liners about the Yankees and Coke. We came up with such classics as: "Girardi really needs to stop abusing Coke," and "Coke has really given the Yankees a nice pick-me up," and "The Yankees use of Coke should be illegal." That exchange went on for a good 5-10 minutes. Good times. We arrived at the hotel when there were 2 outs in the top of the Orioles 9th inning, which was extremely odd because when my father-in law and I went to a Yankees/Jays game at the end of August. we stayed at the same hotel and when we arrived that night it was with 2 outs in the top of the Jays 9th. Weirder thing is that it was a game Pavano started and Mariano closed. Freaky.

We left the hotel at about 9am Saturday morning and headed to the Stadium. There was absolutely no traffic and we made it there in about 45 minutes. Needless to say we had some time to kill, but I wouldn't trade being there early for the world. We just walked around the area, checked out the new Stadium, and went into pretty much every souvenir shop. I had 2 goals in mind for souvenirs. One was to find something for my 13-month old son Cooper. The other was to find a Mike Mussina jersey t-shirt. I struck out on both fronts. I couldn't find anything that would fit my son. He's currently rocking 18 month gear, on his way to a 2T. I couldn't find anything I liked for him in either size. And none of the shops had any Moose shirts??? What's up with that? I found plenty of Igawa shirts, lots of Hughes 34 shirts, even plenty of that scrub Melky Cabrera. But no Moose shirts?!?!? I thought for sure if there was one place I could easily find a Moose shirt it'd be at the Stadium. I was mistaken. MLB.com here I come.

Since we had bleacher seats we weren't in any kind of rush to go into the Stadium when the gates opened. I had never sat in the bleachers before but I know you can't access any other part of the park, which really blows but I get why. So we next decided to chow down some grub. Billy's Sports Bar & Restaurant was our choice. Probably not the best restaurant to choose if one is cost conscious as everything on the menu is ridiculously overpriced. I think 1 egg cost 6 bucks. 6 bucks for 1 egg? That better be one kick-ass chicken. We each got a burger and fires, final cost was $34. $17 for a burger and fries. It was good, but nowhere near $17 good. But we didn't really care too much as we were just amped for the game.

We ended up entering the bleachers at about 12:15 or so, maybe closer to noon. As I mentioned earlier, I have never sat in the bleachers before. It was quite the change from the last seats I had which were behind home plate. Talk about no leg room. I don't know how the bleacher creatures do it. The view wasn't bad but as far as comfort goes, two thumbs down. We had aisle seats which kind of made it worse. Whenever someone wanted to get out of the row, the whole row had to either step out of the row and into the stairs, or step up on the bleacher itself. Not fun. But again, we could have cared less because we were just psyched to be there. We got the tickets from a guy I work with who sold the pair to us for $100. Money well spent in my opinion.

The game itself was great. Talk about a pitcher's duel. You don't get any better than heading into the bottom of the 9th with a zero-zero game. The place was rocking when "Enter Sandman" kicked in. That was awesome. I'll miss that. I tried to take pics/video of that but the quality on my cell phone is brutal. I may try to upload one later but I doubt it. And then the Yanks win on a walkoff! Well that was icing on the cake. Sinatra's voice never sounded so sweet. I tried to capture it all again on my crappy cell phone, but it doesn't do it justice. I'm kicking myself for not bringing the camera. After the first round of "New York, New York" ended, we decided we'd head out. We stopped at the front railing before leaving and just kind of stood there for a minute or two, taking it all in one last time, marvelling at all the history that has taken place there over the last 85 years, and saying our final goodbyes.

Yankee Stadium is a truly special place and I feel blessed that I got to go to back for one final hurrah during the last homestand. There's a very little part of me that wants them to lose tonight so I can say I was at the last Yankees' victory in the grand 'ol Stadium. But there is absolutely no way I'm rooting for them to go out as losers. Tonight's game and pre-game festivities are going to be forever stored in our collective memory banks and a Yankee W will make that much sweeter. And besides, technically there still alive, albeit by the slimmest of threads.

I hope everyone thoroughly enjoys tonight's game regardless of the outcome. If you're lucky enough to be in attendance, savor every moment. It's going to a special day. Goodbye old friend. You will be missed.

Peace, love and Forever Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

Friday, September 19, 2008

Contest #3 Entry Period Is Closed

Tonight's game against the Orioles started which means the ability to enter the 3rd contest has passed.

For those with short-term memory, I'm giving away 5 copies of the soon-to-be released Essential Games Of Yankee Stadium DVD Box Set, one during each of the remaining Yankees series this year. All one has to do to enter was send me an e-mail with an answer to a question. Pretty simple. You'll find more details about entering for the other 2 giveaways further down this post. So good luck to those that entered.

The question for the third giveaway was: How many total extra base hits, walks and stolen bases will the Yankees have in their 3 games against the Orioles? There are 3 people in this contest and their guesses are:

  • Dan =15
  • Joe = 18
  • Tom = 18

If anyone is interested in entering for a chance to win one of the 2 remaining DVD sets, here are the remaining questions and details on how to enter:

  1. What will be the total combined attendance for their 3 game series in Toronto? (attendance figure will be taken from the yahoo.com box score)
  2. What will the Yankees team batting average be for their 3 game series against Boston?
  • E-mail your guess to me at the e-mail address listed in the upper left under "contact me"
  • 1 guess per person
  • Leave a comment to let me know that you submitted your guess along with your name (first name and initial)
  • Make sure to put your name in the comment if you're posting it as an anonymous user, so I know who is who and can match them up with your e-mail
  • There is no need to leave the guess in the comments--this will negate the "price is right" strategy
  • The deadline to submit a guess for the 4th giveaway is Tuesday at 7:07 pm EST, which is when the 1st game of the Yankees/Blue Jays series starts . So get your guesses in before then and you're good.
  • You can submit a guess for all remaining questions at once

Answers will be in the form of a number. The person that guesses the correct "answer" for the corresponding questions, or comes closest to the correct answer without going over will win. Any ties will be broken by random drawing of all those who are correct or tied for closest to without going over. You can only win once, so if you win the DVD for the 3rd series, you won't be eligible for any of the remaining giveaways. Win the 4th giveaway and you can't win for the 5th, and so on.

Thanks and good luck.

J-Boogie

Contest #3 Reminder

There is still plenty of time to submit a guess for a chance to win a copy of the Essential Games Of Yankee Stadium DVD Box Set. Guesses for the 3rd question need to be submitted by 7:05pm tonight. The question for this series is: How many total extra base hits, walks and stolen bases will the Yankees have in their 3 games against the Orioles? To enter all you have to do is the following:

  • E-mail your guess to me at the e-mail address listed in the upper left under "contact me"
  • 1 guess per person
  • Leave a comment to let me know that you submitted your guess along with your name (first name and initial)
  • Make sure to put your name in the comment if you're posting it as an anonymous user, so I know who is who and can match them up with your e-mail
  • There is no need to leave the guess in the comments--this will negate the "price is right" strategy
  • The deadline to submit a guess is Tonight (Friday) at 7:05 pm EST, which is when the 1st game of the Yankees/Orioles series starts . So get your guesses in before then and you're good.

Answers will be in the form of a number. The person that guesses the correct "answer" for the corresponding questions, or comes closest to the correct answer without going over will win. Any ties will be broken by random drawing of all those who are correct or tied for closest to without going over. You can only win once, so if you win the DVD for the 2nd series, you won't be eligible for any of the remaining giveaways. Win the 3rd giveaway and you can't win for the 4th or 5th, and so on. I am going to post each person's guess for each series shortly after the first pitch of the series is thrown, once the game is official. You can also submit a guess for the remaining 2 questions at any time. The questions are:

  1. What will be the total combined attendance for their 3 game series in Toronto? (attendance figure will be taken from the yahoo.com box score)
  2. What will the Yankees team batting average be for their 3 game series against Boston?

Thanks and good luck!

J-Boogie

Thursday, September 18, 2008

Congratulations To Mike And Dave

I only caught the tail end of the game so I don't really have much to blog about. I see Moose won his 18th game and that means it's time for a Moose call: Moooooooooooooooooose! Yeah baby. 1 down, 2 to go. 20 wins is still within reach. Somebody will have to drop me a line and let me know how he did.

And congratulations to Dave, who is the winner of the 2nd DVD giveaway. Dave was closest to guessing the total number of strikeouts that the Yankee pitchers would tally in the 4 game series with the White Sox. Dave's guess was 26. The actual total was 29 (6+8+7+8=29). Gene was actually closer with his guess but went over by 2. So Dave is the winner of the Essential Games Of Yankee Stadium DVD Box Set. Congrats! I'll be e-mailing you to get your address so it can be mailed to you.

The 3rd of the 5 Essential Games Of Yankee Stadium DVD Box Set giveaways will start tomorrow night when the Yankees and Orioles match up for the Yankee Stadium finale. The question for this contest is: How many total extra base hits, walks and stolen bases will the Yankees have in their 3 games against the Orioles? Right now there are only 3 entries so if you'd like to submit a guess for a chance to win, here's what you need to do:

  • E-mail your guess to me at the e-mail address listed in the upper left under "contact me"
  • 1 guess per person
  • Leave a comment to let me know that you submitted your guess along with your name (first name and initial)
  • Make sure to put your name in the comment if you're posting it as an anonymous user, so I know who is who and can match them up with your e-mail
  • There is no need to leave the guess in the comments--this will negate the "price is right" strategy
  • The deadline to submit a guess for the 3rd giveaway is Friday at 7:05 pm EST, which is when the 1st game of the Yankees/Orioles series starts . So get your guesses in before then and you're good.

You can also submit guesses for the 2 remaining questions also. Those questions are:

  1. What will be the total combined attendance for their 3 game series in Toronto? (attendance figure will be taken from the yahoo.com box score)
  2. What will the Yankees team batting average be for their 3 game series against Boston?

The answers to all the questions will be in the form of a number. The person that guesses the correct "answer" for the corresponding questions, or comes closest to the correct answer without going over will win. Any ties will be broken by random drawing of all those who are correct or tied for closest to without going over. You can only win once, so if you win the DVD for the 3rd series, you won't be eligible for any of the remaining giveaways. Win the 4th giveaway and you can't win for the 5th, and so on.

Good luck and Moooooooooooooooooose!!

J-Boogie

Who's That Luck Guy Catching All The Home Run Balls?

In case anyone out there is wondering about the guy that caught both Giambi's and Damon's HRs on back-to-back nights, click here. His name is Zack Hample and he's an avid collector of baseballs, having "snagged" over 3700 in his lifetime. He's even written a book on the subject. He blogs over at MLBlogs which is where I used to blog. He blogs quite extensively about his escapades. It's a pretty good read. Give it a look.

And Zack, if you come across this post, take some dancing lessons!! Kidding. Way to freak it.

J-Boogie

Just A Heads Up & Contest Reminder

Just letting everyone know that my blogging my be light over the next few days. Tonight I am going to a "Wine and Cheese" reception for the Fergie Jenkins Foundation. There are supposed to be a lot of former MLBers there. Tomorrow afternoon I'll be heading out to NYC for Saturday's Yankees/Orioles game and won't be getting back until very late Saturday night, possibly early Sunday morning. I'll check in tonight and at least post the winner of the 2nd contest. There's still time to enter the third contest, which will be for the series against the Orioles. For those new to the blog, I'm giving away copies of the Essential Games Of Yankee Stadium DVD Box Set. The question and details on how to enter are below.

The question for that series is: How many total extra base hits, walks and stolen bases will the Yankees have in their 3 games against the Orioles?

  • E-mail your guess to me at the e-mail address listed in the upper left under "contact me"
    1 guess per person
  • Leave a comment to let me know that you submitted your guess along with your name (first name and initial)
  • Make sure to put your name in the comment if you're posting it as an anonymous user, so I know who is who and can match them up with your e-mail
  • There is no need to leave the guess in the comments--this will negate the "price is right" strategy
  • The deadline to submit a guess for the 3rd giveaway is Friday at 7:05 pm EST, which is when the 1st game of the Yankees/Orioles series starts . So get your guesses in before then and you're good.

You can also submit guesses for the 2 remaining questions also. Those questions are:

  1. What will be the total combined attendance for their 3 game series in Toronto? (attendance figure will be taken from the yahoo.com box score)
  2. What will the Yankees team batting average be for their 3 game series against Boston?

Answers will be in the form of a number. The person that guesses the correct "answer" for the corresponding questions, or comes closest to the correct answer without going over will win. Any ties will be broken by random drawing of all those who are correct or tied for closest to without going over. You can only win once, so if you win the DVD for the 3rd series, you won't be eligible for any of the remaining giveaways. Win the 4th giveaway and you can't win for the 5th, and so on.

Good luck and enjoy the final games at Yankee Stadium.

J-Boogie

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Yanks Win But Struggle With Yet Another Rookie Pitcher

In what's becoming typical Yankee fashion, the New York Yankees again struggled mightily against a pitcher they've never faced before. I've discussed that here several times in the past, seemingly after every game where the Yankees face someone for the 1st time. It happens way too often. A lineup this talented shouldn't struggle each and every time they face a pitcher for the 1st time. When it happens this often, it makes me wonder what's the root cause of the problem? There has to be a root cause, right? Once or twice I can understand. Every time? Me thinks there's something rotten in Denmark. And yes, I know it's not "every" time. But it happens a lot. And I'm not the only one noticing. Pete Abraham commented about it in his game post today. The funny thing is he made a comment in jest about it before the game started, predicting that Richard would throw 6 innings, give up 3 hits, 1 run, 2 walks and record 7 Ks. His line through 6 innings was 3 hits, 0 runs, 1 walk and 4 Ks. Pete also invented a new statistic: BBURP, which stands for "Beaten By Unknown Rookie Pitcher." And I agree with Pete. The Yankees would lead the league in BBURPs.

Usually, when you look at the newbies stats against other teams, they aren't that favorable. Then they pitch against the Yankees and they're the second coming of Cy Young. It doesn't make sense. The only thing I can come up with is that the Yankees are poorly scouting these pitchers. Poor scouting and/or lack of preparation by the hitters. I wonder what kind of preparation they do? Do they think they're so good that they don't need to know anything about the guy? Kind of like a flying by the seat of their pants approach. And what's Kevin Long's role in it, if he even has one? As hitting coach shouldn't Long know what to expect from the pitcher and pass that info along to the team? Is that happening? Joe Girardi is supposed to be all about preparation. If that's truly the case, why does it look like they're always unprepared? It makes no sense. And again, there has to be a reason as to why it happens because it happens so much. At least this time out the Yankees ended up winning.

It looks like that little benching did Robbie Cano some good. He was really the only one who had Richard's number, getting 3 of the 5 hits Richard allowed. Too bad the season is over. Joe Girardi missed the boat on this one. It's his job to get 100% from his players every day. He definitely dropped the ball on that with Robbie. Cano is widely known as a lazy player that needs a kick in the pants. I don't really get how Girardi could have blown it with Cano considering Joe Torre and Larry Bowa pretty much wrote a book on how to get 100% from Robbie. For a guy with the reputation as being a smart baseball guy Girardi has done a lot of dumb things. I was very high on Girardi when they brought him in over Mattingly, my childhood hero. I thought for sure he'd do wonders with the youngsters like he did in Florida. I'm still waiting to see it.

Phil Hughes made his return to the majors tonight and I thought he looked much better, and it wasn't just the new specs. It was definitely his best outing since his first start this year. He definitely showed better control, throwing 57 of his 89 pitches for strikes. He wasn't that overpowering though. The Sox hitters fouled off a lot of pitches which pretty much chased him after only 4 innings. It was Phil's first start since April 29th. I'd have to think he was a little nervous. If so, that very well could have contributed to the high pitch count. It may have felt like his first career start all over again. His next start should be a little more telling.

The Yankee bullpen was again awesome. Phil Coke is rapidly becoming one of my favorites to watch. Coke has thrown 10 scoreless innings and has only allowed 4 baserunners. I think Coke has pretty much earned a spot in the 2009 Yankee bullpen. From what I've seen from him, he'll be a very valuable piece. I didn't write anything in the last few days about Jorge Posada's comments about Joba, saying he should stay in the bullpen. I'm on the fence here. I look at Joba the same way I look at Jonathan Papelbon. He'll kick major ass in the pen but would eventually struggle as a starter. Posada may be onto something. It'll be interesting to see how this eventually plays out. Let's revisit this in a few years.

Oh yeah, Melky still sucks.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Jeter Hot, Pettitte Not

Der-ek Je-ter. Clap clap, clap clap clap. Der-ek Je-ter. Clap, clap, clap clap clap.

I'm tempted to end the post right there because I don't think anything more needs to be said, but since I'm here.....

You've got to give it up to Jeter. I don't care if you love him or hate him, you have to respect him. His 1st inning single was his 1270th hit in Yankee Stadium. Nobody else has more and with the Stadium closing this weekend, it's a record that will never be broken. I was skeptical at the beginning of this homestand if Jeter was going to pull this out. He made quick work of it leaving himself with 5 games to spare. He's been in the zone lately, going 11 for 18 on this homestand. You know that DJ knows the season is over. Yet he's still going out and giving it his all every night. I hope the youngsters on this team are taking note, **cough Cano cough * There's no mailing it in with Jeter. You get 100% from him day in and day out regardless of the situation. There's a reason he's the team captain and if anyone doubts what it is, just watch him go about his business. After his record-breaking single, my wife asked me why he doesn't look excited as he was standing on 1st. I told her that's just who Jeter is. He puts the team above his own personal accomplishments. He'd rather win the ball game then break a record. Since the game was on My9 tonight, there's no post game, but I can guarantee if asked about how it felt, Jeter would say it was nice but also comment on how winning and the team are more important that his own achievements. That's the kind of guy I want leading my team into battle. That's the kind of guy that the other 24 men on the field need to aspire to be. congrats Derek. Your name more than deserves to be mentioned in the same sentence as the likes of Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig. Andy Pettitte on the other hand....

If any of the Yankees FO are entertaining thoughts of bringing Pettitte for another go 'round, please get rid of them now. Andy has been absolutely brutal lately. I blogged about this after his last outing. The goose is unfortunately cooked. I love AP but unless he finds some way to totally reinvent him self a la Moose, it's time to part ways. He's now lost 5 straight and is 1-7 in his last 10 starts. The team is 1-9 in those starts. Shocking considering how strong of a second-half pitcher AP has been throughout his career. He wasn't as bad tonight. He had a few rough spots but for the most part settled down. But that's been the story with AP most of the year. The starts aren't all terrible, but you ca count on him to have a rough inning that totally blows the team's chances of winning. His record on the year now stands at 13-14. I have to thank Mike from The Sommer Frieze for this little nugget: Andy Pettitte is one of 2 pitchers in history to pitch in 10 or more years and have a winning record in each season they pitched in. The other being Babe Ruth. Wow. That's a crazy stat. Granted a lot of great pitchers get disqualified from that list for having a bad 1st season or a season with few starts, but still. Wow. Pettitte has never had a losing record and he has 2 starts left to preserve that streak. Regardless of what happens to AP in those 2 games, it's time to part ways. The Yanks can do a lot with $16 million. Even bringing him back at a reduced amount isn't worth it. The Yanks can go out and find a much younger guy for a lot less money that can win put up a 500 record. I hope they don't bring him back. And if they do, it better be as a last resort once the free agent market has dried up. I love AP, but his time has come.

Quick update on the Essential Games Of Yankee Stadium DVD giveaway contest. The question for this series was to guess how many strikeouts the Yankee pitchers would get against the White Sox. The series is 1/2 over and the 2 game total is 14. It's still anyone's game. For those not aware of the contest, just scroll down to some of my past entries, of which there are plenty, and you can read all about it.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

Monday, September 15, 2008

Yanks Pull Even With Jays For 3rd Place Supremacy In AL East

So this is what the Yankees' season comes down to. Playing the role of the spoiler. The only series remaining that really has no value is this weekend's series against the Orioles. They just finished taking 2 of the 3 from the division leading Rays. They won game 1 of the series against the Central leading White Sox. The series against the Jays will likely decide who finishes 3rd. And the finale against the Sox could determine who knows what? Not exactly the role I envisioned this team playing so late in the season, but it's kind of fun to watch. At least they're games still have some kind of meaning.

I know 2 starts does not a career make, but how nice would it have been to see Alfredo Aceves start a few more games this year? The kid looked real sharp again. Who knows what could have been? I think it's safe to say that 100% of Yankees fans would have preferred him pitching over Rasner. Too bad they didn't start him sooner. The Yankees were 5-12 in Rasner's final 17 games. Rasner won 2 games since May 21st. Ah, what could have been? Hopefully this is a sign of what's to come. Just don't end up like Kennedy or Rasner.

Phil Coke. Again awesome. If only the other Phil pitched this well. Hughes will get that shot this Wednesday. I've got my fingers crossed that he has a decent outing. I'm encouraged by his final outings in AAA. Hopefully, another sign of what's to come.

No hits for Jeter so he's stuck at 1269, still tied with the Iron Horse. As nice as it would be to see him break the record in person on Saturday, I don't want to see him go hitless in his next 4 games. Get it over and done with while there's plenty of time. Something tells me if he were to somehow go hitless until the Stadium finale that he'd bust out in a big way that night. That would add a whole other element to the finale. But again, I hope it doesn't go that long. I'll be shocked if it does.

Mariano is arguably having the best year of his career. He has the lowest WHIP of his career at 0.69, the lowest batting average against of his career at .170. His 1.52 ERA is the 2nd lowest ERA of his career, 2005 was 1.38. His 12.17 strikeout to walk ratio blows away his previous best, which was 6.92 in 2001. He's averaging 10.21 Ks per 9 innings. His previous best was 10.87 which was way back in 1996. And finally he's 36 for 37 in save opportunities, a 97.30% save percentage. His highest save percentage coming into this year was 93%, which he did back in 2004 when he saved 53 games in 57 opportunities. All this and he's 39 years old. Hopefully, another sign of what's to come in the new ballpark. And congrats to Mo for notching career save #479, which puts him 2nd on the all-time career saves list, 73 behind Trevor Hoffman. Mo is arguably the best closer ever. For my money he is. Hands down.

6 more games to go. The end is drawing near. If only they weren't in 3rd place.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

Contest #2 Entry Period Is Closed

Alfredo Aceves just threw his first pitch and with that the ability to enter the second DVD giveaway contest is gone. But fear not, there are 3 more contests yet to come, and you can enter at any time. The second contest has only 6 total entries (Sean, Gene, Dan, Dave, Tom and Joe) which is surprising since a couple hundred people have checked out the blog since I mentioned the contest last week. For those with short-term memory, I'm giving away 5 copies of the soon-to-be released Essential Games Of Yankee Stadium DVD Box Set, one during each of the remaining Yankees series this year. All one has to do to enter was send me an e-mail with an answer to a question. Pretty simple. You'll find more details about entering for the other 3 giveaways further down this post. So good luck to the 6 that entered. 1 in 6 chance of winning. Not bad.

The question for the second giveaway was: How many total strikeouts will the Yankee pitchers have in their 4 games against the White Sox? Here are the guesses:

  • Joe = 23
  • Tom = 23
  • Dan = 25
  • Sean = 25
  • Dave = 26
  • Gene = 31

In the event it ends up being 23 or 25, the tie will be broken by a random drawing. 22 or less and nobody wins.

If anyone is interested in entering for a chance to win one of the 3 remaining DVD sets, here are the remaining questions and details on how to enter:

  1. How many total extra base hits, walks and stolen bases will the Yankees have in their 3 games against the Orioles?
  2. What will be the total combined attendance for their 3 game series in Toronto? (attendance figure will be taken from the yahoo.com box score)
  3. What will the Yankees team batting average be for their 3 game series against Boston?
  • E-mail your guess to me at the e-mail address listed in the upper left under "contact me"
  • 1 guess per person
  • Leave a comment to let me know that you submitted your guess along with your name (first name and initial)
  • Make sure to put your name in the comment if you're posting it as an anonymous user, so I know who is who and can match them up with your e-mail
  • There is no need to leave the guess in the comments--this will negate the "price is right" strategy
  • The deadline to submit a guess for the 3rd giveaway is Friday at 7:05 pm EST, which is when the 1st game of the Yankees/Orioles series starts . So get your guesses in before then and you're good.
  • You can submit a guess for all remaining questions at once

Answers will be in the form of a number. The person that guesses the correct "answer" for the corresponding questions, or comes closest to the correct answer without going over will win. Any ties will be broken by random drawing of all those who are correct or tied for closest to without going over. You can only win once, so if you win the DVD for the 3rd series, you won't be eligible for any of the remaining giveaways. Win the 4th giveaway and you can't win for the 5th, and so on.

Good luck.

J-Boogie

Still Time To Enter And Win

There is still plenty of time (a little more than 6 hours) to submit a guess for a chance to win a copy of the Essential Games Of Yankee Stadium DVD Box Set. Guesses for the 2nd question need to be submitted by 7:05pm tonight. The question for this series is: How many total strikeouts will the Yankee pitchers have in their 4 games against the White Sox?

To enter all you have to do is the following:

  • E-mail your guess to me at the e-mail address listed in the upper left under "contact me"
  • 1 guess per person
  • Leave a comment to let me know that you submitted your guess along with your name (first name and initial)
  • Make sure to put your name in the comment if you're posting it as an anonymous user, so I know who is who and can match them up with your e-mail
  • There is no need to leave the guess in the comments--this will negate the "price is right" strategy
  • The deadline to submit a guess is Tonight (Monday) at 7:05 pm EST, which is when the 1st game of the Yankees/White Sox series starts . So get your guesses in before then and you're good.

Answers will be in the form of a number. The person that guesses the correct "answer" for the corresponding questions, or comes closest to the correct answer without going over will win. Any ties will be broken by random drawing of all those who are correct or tied for closest to without going over. You can only win once, so if you win the DVD for the 2nd series, you won't be eligible for any of the remaining giveaways. Win the 3rd giveaway and you can't win for the 4th or 5th, and so on. I am going to post each person's guess for each series shortly after the first pitch of the series is thrown, once the game is official. You can also submit a guess for the remaining 3 questions at any time. The questions are:

  • How many total extra base hits, walks and stolen bases will the Yankees have in their 3 games against the Orioles?
  • What will be the total combined attendance for their 3 game series in Toronto? (attendance figure will be taken from the yahoo.com box score)
  • What will the Yankees team batting average be for their 3 game series against Boston?
Thanks and good luck!

J-Boogie

Sunday, September 14, 2008

Yanks Are Only A Half Game Out......OF Third Place

It's hard to get excited to write these posts now that the season is pretty much over. That being said, there are still some interesting things to talk about.

Congrats to Derek Jeter for tying Lou Gehrig's all-time Yankee Stadium hit record. He entered the weekend needing 9 hits in 10 games to tie The Iron Horse. I never thought he'd pick up those 9 hits in the 1st 3 games. Talk about a guy being locked in and in the zone. The Captain went 9 for 11 in these 3 games against the Rays, raising his average 10 points to .306. Wow. I was kind of hoping he'd wait until this Saturday to tie/break the record because I'll be in attendance, but I'm not complaining. 9 hits in 10 games isn't a guarantee. When you're name is Derek Jeter, 1 hit in 7 games pretty much is a guarantee. Congrats. It's a record that no one will ever break.

I knew as soon as Cody Ransom was moved to second base that Girardi pulled Cano because he didn't run after the grounder that deflected off Giambi's glove and rolled past him into the OF. That was such a lazy play. As I'm sitting there watching the game, I'm yelling at the TV wondering why Cano is just standing there. Clearly he's checked out already. He's been a huge disappointment this year. I can't help but blame Girardi a little. He should have found a way to get through to Cano a long time ago about his lazy play. His failure to reach Robbie is one of the main reasons Robbie has had a down year. Girardi should have known before the year ever started that Cano needed a little hand holding. Isn't one of Joe's jobs to know his players and to now how to manage him. The book on Cano is that he's lazy. Everyone knows this. Why did it take so long to show Robbie some form of discipline? This should have been done a long time ago. Had it, maybe the Yankees would still be in the hunt for the playoffs? Hopefully, Girardi learns from this.

Is anyone surprised that Carl Pavano left the game with an injury? Thank God his contract his up. He's got at most 2 starts left and then we should be rid of CP. That will be a happy day for Yankees fans everywhere.

Wow, there are only 7 games left at The Stadium. I don't think it's hit me yet. It probably will this Saturday when I make my final visit. She's been a good friend. It will be sad to see her go. If you want to get your hands on some memories of her, you should really enter the contest I'm running to win a copy of the Essential Games Of Yankee Stadium DVD Box Set. How can you go wrong with having 6 Yankee Stadium classics on DVD? As of right now the odds to win are 1 in 4 as only 4 people have entered the 2nd of 5 contests. If you want more info, just scroll down.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

Contest # 1 Winner & Contest #2 Details

Congrats to Kim on winning the first contest. She wins a copy of the Essential Games Of Yankee Stadium DVD box sets. The question was how many total runs and hits will the Yankees have in their 3 games against the Rays? Kim guess of 39 was closest to the final total of 44. Congrats Kim. I'll be e-mailing you shortly to get your mailing address.

There are still 4 more sets to giveaway and the next contest starts tomorrow night. The question is how many total strikeouts will the Yankee pitchers have in their 4 games against the White Sox? If you're interested in trying to win, here's what you need to do:

  • E-mail your guess to me at the e-mail address listed in the upper left under "contact me"
  • 1 guess per person
  • Leave a comment to let me know that you submitted your guess along with your name (first name and initial)
  • Make sure to put your name in the comment if you're posting it as an anonymous user, so I know who is who and can match them up with your e-mail
  • There is no need to leave the guess in the comments--this will negate the "price is right" strategy
  • The deadline to submit a guess is Monday at 7:05 pm EST, which is when the 1st game of the Yankees/White Sox series starts . So get your guesses in before then and you're good.

Answers will be in the form of a number. The person that guesses the correct "answer" for the corresponding questions, or comes closest to the correct answer without going over will win. Any ties will be broken by random drawing of all those who are correct or tied for closest to without going over. You can only win once, so if you win the DVD for the 2nd series, you won't be eligible for any of the remaining giveaways. Win the 3rd giveaway and you can't win for the 4th or 5th, and so on. I am going to post each person's guess for each series shortly after the first pitch of the series is thrown, once the game is official. You can also submit a guess for the remaining 3 questions at any time. The questions are:

  1. How many total extra base hits, walks and stolen bases will the Yankees have in their 3 games against the Orioles?
  2. What will be the total combined attendance for their 3 game series in Toronto? (attendance figure will be taken from the yahoo.com box score)
  3. What will the Yankees team batting average be for their 3 game series against Boston?

Good luck. Be back later with post about today's game.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

Saturday, September 13, 2008

The Final Homestand Is Upon Us, Yanks Salvage Split in DH With Rays

Since tonight's game against the Rays wasn't on TV in our area, I don't have much to say about the game. I checked in with the Yahoo Gamecast periodically just to see what the score was and to see how Jeter was doing in his quest to become Yankee Stadium's all-time hit leader. All I really have to go on is the box score, which usually gives me a good idea of how things went and how people did. For example, Sidney Ponson sucked like I thought he would. 3.1 innings and 10 baserunners? Typical Ponson. Now that the season is pretty much over, the time has come to yank him out of the rotation and let one of the many youngsters get a shot. That's something that should have happened a while ago. It's not like any newbies would be pitching in meaningless games either. They still have series left to play that have a lot of meaning, if not to the Yanks then to the team they're playing. It would be a good way to gauge what these kids got. And since we're now into the single-digits of games left at Yankee Stadium, it would be nice to give some of the call-ups the chance to play in the 'ol ballpark. Speaking of youngsters, Phil Hughes is on his way back to NY and is lined up to pitch Wednesday. Welcome back Phil. Don't blow this shot.

Getting back to the box score, I've got to give props to the bullpen for shutting the rays down and allowing the offense to work the team back into the game. Things could have gotten real ugly. Phil Coke is looking like a pretty solid contributor. I won't complain if he ends up on the major league roster next April. It's about time Mo saw some action. His last appearance was a week ago. 2 hits and an earned run? Not your typical Mariano Rivera outing. The layoff could have made Mo a little rusty. The layoff though is indicative of how crappy the team has been playing lately. It's like they're phoning in the rest of the season. One guy who's not though? You guessed it.

Derek Jeter ripped it up today. Coming into today the Captain needed 9 hits to tie Lou Gehrig as the Stadium's all-time hit leader with 1269 and what's he do? He goes 6 for 7 in the double header. Jeter now needs 3 hits over the final 8 home games to tie Gehrig, and 4 to pass him. 4 hits in 8 games? I don't want to jinx him so I'll keep my mouth shut, but I'm sure you're all thinking the same thing. It would be nice to see him tie or break the record. I would have been pissed had it happened today with the game not being on TV. I'm still bugged about that. Why couldn't the first half of the day-night DH be the make-up game? I could have lived without that one.

Mike Mussina wasn't at his sharpest today. I really thought Moose was going to pick up 1in #18 today, especially after he struck out 3 in the first inning. But Rays manager Joe Maddon made a smart move by stacking the Rays lineup with righties. Righties are hitting .322 off Moose while lefties are only hitting .240. Memo to Joe Girardi: take note of this. Girardi applies to the school of thought that you have to go with lefty/righty matchups. Remember when he put Pudge into pinch run and Melky into pinch hit against a righty? Stupid move. Pudge in his 18 year career is a 298 hitter against RHPs. Melky in his short 4 year career hits 272 against righties. Play the stats Joe, not the matchups. Maddon made a smart move stacking his lineup with righties. They worked Moose over and Moose was lucky to make it through 5. To win 20 games now, Moose has to be perfect the rest of the way and win all of his final 3 starts. 3 wins in 3 games. Not going to be easy, especially if the offense tanks like they did for him today.

With the exception of Derek Jeter, the offense really did nothing today. It was the 47th game this year where they scored 2 runs or less. That's pitiful. This offense is so underperforming. It's one of, if not the biggest reason why the team was unsuccessful this year. I can't help but wonder how the team prepares for each pitcher they face. Sometimes it looks like they're not prepared at all. Wasn't Joe Girardi supposed to be all about preparation? I wonder what role Kevin Long has in all of this? As hitting coach, I'm assuming he goes over the scouting report of each pitcher, breaks him down, and passes the info along to the team. I'd like to think that happens. I wonder if it is? And if it is, are the scouting reports bad? When you look at the talent in the lineup, it doesn't make sense that they consistently underperform, especially when facing pitchers for the first time. The Yankees always seem to struggle with pitchers they've never seen before. I can see this happening once or twice, but not as often as it does. And what's up with A-Rod sitting because of a stiff neck? What a vadge. The team is still mathematically in it and he sits out. If that's not a sign that the team has given up, I don't know what is.

We're 2 games into the 1st contest to win one of the Essential Games Of Yankee Stadium DVD Box sets. 5 people entered the contest and the winner is the person who correctly predicts the answer to this question (or comes closest to it without going over): How many total runs and hits will the Yankees have in their 3 games against the Rays? They had 9 in the 1st game and 17 in the 2nd game for a total of 26. Dan needs a no-hitter to win. Sorry Dan, I'm doubting that will happen. Dave needs the Rays to pitch a 1-hit shutout. Unlikely. Joe is in good shape with his guess of 28 because the next highest guess was Kim with 39. Tom's guess of 54 might be a little out of reach. Good luck to you guys in the final game.

There is still plenty of time to enter any of the 4 remaining contests. You'll find the remaining 4 questions and plenty of information on how to enter/win in many of my recent blog posts. Scroll down and give them a look. As of now, if there are no more entries, the odds to win the 2nd giveaway would be 1 in 4. Those are pretty good odds if you ask me. If only the Yankees odds at winning were so good.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie