Cliff Lee Went To Philly, B.F.D.

Greetings everyone. Long time, no talk. I have no good reason to explain my absence. I've just been super-busy with work, life, and all that jazz. I've been meaning to blog an entry here and there but it's been hard to find the time. I told myself I would when the whole Cliff Lee drama resolved itself. So here I am.

I can sum up my feelings about Cliff Lee signing with the Phillies in 2 simple words: don't care. Would it have been nice if Cliff Lee signed with the Yankees? Abso-freaking-loutely. But is it the end of the world that he didn't? Not even close. Adding Lee to the Yankees rotation would have been a huge improvement to the team. No doubt about that. But they're still fine without him, as long as one thing happens, and that is Andy Pettitte returning to the Yankees.

Had Lee signed with the Yankees it would have made losing Pettitte not such a big deal. Lee would have been like a super-awesome insurance policy. The fact of the matter is that last year's Yankee rotation, which included a horrible A.J. Burnett and a revolving door of 5th SPs, won 95 games and made the playoffs. If Pettitte resigns, the rotation, is for all intents and purposes, the same as it was last year. Sure the 5th spot is open but let's face it, anybody could step into that spot and do as well as Vazquez, Moseley, Mitre & Nova. A rotation of Sabathia, Hughes, Pettitte, Burnett and Lee would have been awesome. A rotation of Sabathia, Hughes, Pettitte, Burnett, and ?? would still be pretty damn good. Again, that tandem won 95 games last year. They'd be formidable enough to win that many again. Right now, Pettitte is the key to that happening. If he retires, then we have a problem.

It seems pretty clear to me that Lee never wanted to be a Yankee. If anybody out there is blaming Brian Cashman for messing things up, and there are people saying he did, they need to stop. Silly irrational fans. There isn't anything he could have done, except for mortgaging the entire future of the franchise, to sign Lee. He was never coming here. I can understand why he went to Philly. I think it gives him the best chance to win. The NL East pales in comparison to the AL East. The Phillies should pretty much roll over that division with ease. Their rotation is pretty sick and is arguably the best in MLB. I'd give that nod to the Giants. They did after all beat Halladay, Oswalt, Hamels and Lee in last year's playoffs. If Lee comes out and says he chose Philly because it gives him the best chance to win, I can kind of respect that. But, it's kind of a wuss move. The AL East is without question the toughest division in baseball. Maybe Cliff was afraid of a little tough competition? Everybody knows NL pitchers have better numbers. I can't blame him for not wanting to face the teams in the AL East 19 times each per season. That's my slightly-irrational view on that. I can admit it.

I also get that Lee loves the city of Philly. I know he has a child with cancer and the Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia, aka the CHOP, is one of, if not the, best cancer center for children in the country. Makes sense that he'd want to be close to that. Signing with Philly was a good move for Lee. Even at what could be $40-50 million less in guaranteed money.

And those are my thoughts on Lee. Again, not a big deal to me. Assuming of course that Andy Pettitte comes back. I'm inclined to think he will but who knows. The Yankees have been down this road with him before. He'll be back. I hope.

Tomorrow, I'll have up a post about the Red Sox and their fans' misguided confidence about next season. I'm going to write it now and have it come up about this time tomorrow. I also hope to blog more regularly but I make no promises.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

Cliff Lee Lives Up To The Hype, Yanks Down 2-1 In ALCS

Well, that just sucked. I was really hoping that the Yankees were going to pound Cliff Lee tonight. I had talked myself into believing it was going to happen. Then I saw the first inning and knew we were in for a long night.

Lee flat out dominated the Yankees. There wasn't one moment in the game where I thought they were going to get something going. I thought for a brief second that maybe they were going to when Brett Gardner swiped 2nd with no outs. Wrong. Lee slammed the door. He's good. Real good.

Here's how I look at it. The Yankees weren't supposed to win this game. Everyone knew, whether they want to admit it or not, that the odds of winning this game were slim. Sure a win would have been nice but losing isn't the end of the world. I don't think losing today makes tomorrow's game a must-win either. Losing game 4 would definitely make winning the ALCS a tall task but even down 3-1, the Yankees would have CC Sabathia, Phil Hughes and Andy Pettitte getting a chance to win ballgames. The Yankees could very easily run off 3 straight.

The scary thing right now though is that the Rangers have flat out dominated this series. The Yankees were lucky to pull out game 1. They very easily could be down 3-0. But they're not, and being down 2-1 isn't the end of the world. This team has the make-up to get it done.

Tomorrow's game 4 should be an adventure. A.J. Burnett vs. Tommy Hunter. I have no idea what to expect. A.J. has the stuff but which A.J. will show up? I sure as hell hope it's the good A.J. and not the bad one. Like I said, tomorrow is not a must-win, but evening up the series would be pretty nice.

Andy Pettitte looked pretty damn good tonight. It would really suck if it turned out to be his last start as a Yankee. I don't think it will be though. I'm optimistic that it won't be. He looked sharp and if not for the one bad pitch to Hamilton in the first this could have been a different game.

It was very frustrating to watch the Yankee hitters tonight. Swing the freaking bats guys. You know CL doesn't walk anyone and he throws a lot of strikes. What are you guys looking at? Jesus.

I thought the game itself was great up until the 9th inning. Headed to the 9th I was optimistic about the Yanks scoring in the 9th. I was contemplating getting the "rally baby" out of bed for it. That would have ticked off the wife but I was willing to go down that road. Thanks to Boone Logan and David Robertson I didn't have to worry about that. As soon as I saw Logan on the hill I said to my buddy Dan something along the lines of, "Oh crap. The lefty specialist to get out the lefty. This never works." Now, I know that usually it does but sometimes you can just tell when it's not going to. That's how I felt there in the 9th. Logan and Robertson were terrible. Way to keep the game close fellas.

So now we need A.J. to be our savior. Yikes. All I can say is I hope his head is in the right place.

Still not ready to panic.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

Yankees Announce ALCS Pitching Rotation, Matchups Favor Yankees

Both the Rangers and the Yankees announced their starting rotations for the ALCS today. In my opinion, I think the matchups favor the Yankees in potentially 5, if not 6, of the games. Let's take a look:

Game 1: CC Sabathia vs. C.J. Wilson - A perennial Cy Young Award winner vs a pretty decent 1st year SP. Wilson had a pretty good year but let's face it, he's not CC Sabathia nor is he close to being CC Sabathia. The Yankees faced Wilson 3 times this year and he didn't fare very well. In those 3 starts Wilson 15.1 IP, allowing 11 R (9 ER) on 18 hits and 9 walks. Yeah, that's not spectacular. CC only faced the Rangers once this season and it was his 3rd start of the year. 6 IP, 3 hits, 1 ER, 0 BB and 9 K. Not too shabby. And again, it's CC Sabathia. Advantage = Yankees

Game 2: Phil Hughes vs. Colby Lewis - I think starting Hughes in game 2 is an extremely wise move by the Yankees and it may prove to be why they win the series. Hughes, albeit in a small sample size, pitches lights out in Arlington and he absolutely owns the Rangers. In 3 games against Texas, Hughes is 2-0 with 15.1 IP and get this, he's only allowed 3 hits and 4 walks. That's a WHIP of 0.46! Amazing. But again, small sample size so take it for what it's worth. PH is also better on the road than at home. On the road this year he's 7-4 with a 3.47 ERA and a 1.17 WHIP. He keeps the ball in the park also, having allowed only 5 of his 20 HRs on the road. Colby Lewis, like C.J. Wilson, had a decent year. He didn't match up against the Yanks this year but against them historically, he's been God-awful, allowing 12 ER in 15.2 IP. I'm not putting a lot of stock in that as again, small sample size. It should be a decent match up but again I have to give the advantage to the Yankees.

Game 3: Andy Pettitte vs. Cliff Lee - This is the match up I want to see. The advantage in this game goes to the Rangers but I don't think it's by a really large margin. Despite having only pitched in the postseason, Cliff Lee could already be the best postseason pitcher ever. In 7 starts, he's 6-0 with a 1.44 ERA and 3 CG. He's been the man. Andy Pettitte though warrants being near the top of that list. Andy holds the record for most postseason wins and he's 7-1 all-time in the ALCS. Both are lefties and both should pitch well in Yankee Stadium. The advantage in this game clearly goes to Lee. But I wouldn't be surprised if Andy figures out a way to make this a close one.



Game 4: A.J. Burnett vs. Tommy Hunter - Yeah, I have no clue in this game. It's a total toss up. It really depends on which A.J. Burnett shows up to pitch. A.J. can be flat out unhittable. He can also be a head case that shouldn't be anywhere near a pitcher's mound. Hunter is a decent pitcher but is also hittable. The Yankees went 6-20 against him back in September and they've hit him well in the past. This one could go either way.

Game 5: Sabathia vs. Wilson - see game 1

Game 6: Hughes vs. Lewis - see game 2

Game 7: Pettitte vs, Lee - see game 4 but for me it's almost a toss-up. Lee doesn't like pitching in Texas. He's pitched decently there this year but his career ERA pitching in Arlington is 5.07. If there is a start he could falter in it could be this one.

I think the only game the Rangers have a clear advantage in is game 4. The Yankees in my opinion have the advantage in 4 of the games, with the other 2 being toss-ups. I think this is going to be a great series but I think when the dust settles the Yankees will be advancing to another World Series. If they do, I've got tickets to game 3. I hope I'm right.

Yankees in 5.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

I Love This Time Of Year

So now it sounds like the earlier reports/rumors of the Yankees landing Cliff Lee were a little premature. Par for the course at this time of year. Deals are always "imminent" and "on the verge" of being done. The word on the street now is that the deal is pretty much dead and other teams are back in on Lee. You have to love the trade deadline and the hot stove. How can you not?

The lesson to learn here is to wait for the official announcement. Until that comes anything is possible. Even the Yankees pulling off this deal. You just never know.

Fingers are crossed it somehow happens.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

Yanks On Verge Of Landing Lee

I was planning on making my triumphant return to the world of blogging after the All-Star Break (more on that later) but I have to jump the gun on this. According to MLBTradeRumors, the Yankees are on the verge of acquiring Cliff Lee. Can you say "twenty-eight"? Wow.

The rumored deal has the Yankees sending prized catching prospect Jesus Montero to the Mariners along with minor league 2B, David Adams. Make that deal now.

Montero may turn out to be a beast but right now he's just a prospect. Plenty of sure things have become busts. And with Robbie Cano in the fold, there's no need for Adams. Make this happen.

Landing Lee would likely mean Javier Vazquez would be dealt. That deal would bring back cash and/or prospects. That would make dealing prospects for Lee a little easier to swallow.

Landing Lee would also set the Yankees up nicely to resign him and have an absolutely insane rotation next year. Hughes, CC, Burnett, Lee, and possibly Pettitte. We could be on the verge of another dynasty. And if Lee happens to sign elsewhere, no biggie. The Yanks would probably pick up 2 first round draft picks if he does. That should bring back some decent talent.

How is this not a no-lose situation? Shake hands and sign the deal already.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie