The End Of The Road

Well, Yankees fans. Here we are again. The curtain has dropped on another season and unfortunately things didn't end up going our way. Mission 28 will have to wait another year.

As I was getting condolences today from friends and family members on the loss, I tried to explain that it actually wasn't that bad. Sure the loss hurts but it's a manageable pain. I think it's easy for me to get past the pain of the season ending because we've been here so many times before and we've been fortunate enough to walk away on top. I think winning has made the sting of losing easier to deal with, if that makes sense. Either way, it still sucks. I definitely wasn't ready for the season to end last night.

I spent much of last night and today digesting the loss. I read through a ton of Twitter comments and listened to a good amount of sports talk radio. I've come to a conclusion: There are a great deal of smart Yankees fans out there but Good Lord there are a lot of dumb ones. I have to wonder if I'm watching the same games as everyone else.

For starters, I saw and heard a lot of blame being thrown on Joe Girardi for over-managing last night, specifically with the use of the pitching staff. That couldn't be further from the truth. Let's take a look at his moves. Ivan Nova gets hurt and gets replaced by Phil Hughes. Logical move in my opinion. The team needed to eat some innings and who better to use than a starter turned reliever to do that. Hughes following Nova was the right call. Girardi lifted Hughes after throwing 21 pitches. That made sense to me as Hughes had only pitched a total of 3.2 innings since September 12th. Phil wasn't stretched out to throw much more. Boone Logan came in to face the lefty and lasted for 2 hitters, which is about what he normally does. I think here is where it got interesting. In came CC.

Using CC in that spot made perfect sense. Continuing with Logan made no sense and in an elimination game you want your best pitchers pitching, right? Other than Mariano Rivera, who's better than CC? Nobody. I understand the confusion because he was pitching on 2 days rest. I think a lot of people didn't get or didn't know that starting pitchers normally throw a bullpen session at this point during their rest. The bullpen sessions, as I understand them, usually lasts for about 40 pitches. It makes perfect sense to have CC get the preparation for his next start in during the game rather than before it, like the Tigers did with Verlander. CC's outing lasted 37 pitches by the way. He wasn't overused. I think many people also thought that since he pitched in game 5 of the ALDS he couldn't pitch in game 1 of the ALCS. I'm pretty sure had the Yankees won last night that we'd have seen CC start game 1. Like I said, it's not uncommon for a SP to throw 40 or so pitches at that point during his rest. It's actually the opposite. It's part of the prep work. What surprised me the most is that there were a lot of people that are supposed to be "in the know" (beat writers, Ken Rosenthal) who were pointing out that the move to CC would prevent him from starting. CC pitching in relief last night was the right call. Who else did you want to pitch there? I'll take CC all day.

There was no reason whatsoever to blame Girardi's management of the pitching staff for last night's loss. That's just dumb. The pitching staff had absolutely nothing to do with losing last night. That blame lies strictly with the offense. I can kind of blame Girardi for that.

Girardi should have recognized that certain people in the lineup were struggling and he should have done something about it. The 4-5-6 hitters in the Yankees lineup (A-Rod, Teixeira, and Swisher) were absolutely brutal. Beyond brutal even. That trio combined to go 9-for-55 (.164). You can't expect to win when you get that from your 4-5-6 hitters. Girardi should have recognized the struggles and made an adjustment. Personally, I would have moved Teixeira to the 3rd spot, Cano to the 4th, A-Rod to the 5th, Posada to the 6th, and Swisher to the 7th. The lineup would have looked something like this: Jeter, Granderson, Teixeira, Cano, A-Rod, Posada, Swisher, Martin, Gardner. That in my opinion, is a much better lineup.

I like Cano in the 4-hole for several reasons. One he's the best hitter on the team. Just like it did last night the game often comes down to A-Rod. A-Rod usually hits 4th. If the game often comes down to that spot in the order who do you want hitting there? Your best hitter, right? If you weren't aware, that is without a doubt Robbie Cano. He's the guy I want up with the game on the line. And let's face it, Robinson Cano doesn't need protection in the lineup. He's better at giving protection that getting it. Mark Teixeira could have used better protection. If you hit in front of Cano you're going to see better pitches compared to what you'll see hitting in front of Swisher.

Girardi should have also moved Jorge Posada up a spot in the order. Girardi should have recognized he was swinging a hot bat and moved him up ahead of Swisher. I'm not sure why Joe stuck with that lineup. Not changing it is the biggest criticism of how he managed that series. But it's not his fault that those guys didn't hit.

So why didn't they hit? I have a theory on why Teixeira and Swisher didn't. I'm not going to try and dig through numbers to validate it either. I don't have that kind of time. But here's my theory: good pitching shuts them down. There's no doubt that Swisher and Teix put up good numbers throughout the season. Over the course of 162 games you're going to come across quite a few subpar pitchers. Those guys feast on that. But I think they struggle against the cream of the crop. How else can you explain their postseason struggles at the plate? Wouldn't you agree that the teams that make the playoffs have better pitching than those that don't? I think those guys don't do well against good pitching. I don't know how else to explain it. If anyone has theories my ears are open.

After Girardi, A-Rod was receiving his fair share of criticism. While I think he deserves it to an extent, it's evident that Alex isn't 100%. I think I heard today that he was hitting .190 after coming of the DL in August. Alex was hitting .299 right before going on the DL. He finished the season with a .276 average. He definitely wasn't himself and I'm inclined to think that was a big reason why did so poorly at the plate. To his credit, he played outstanding defense the whole series. He made several great plays and I don't think you can begin to measure exactly how valuable his glove was in the ALDS. I'm not going to crush the guy over his ALDS performance.

Wow, I've been at this blog post for about an hour. I've got a little bit more to say and I'm just going to bullet point it out. Enjoy!

• I'm pretty sure Jorge Posada's time with the Yankees is over. I don't think it makes much baseball sense to bring him back. It's obvious he's not going to catch. The only role he fills is as DH or maybe even at 1B. The plan should be to have Jesus Montero DH full-time. I don't see a spot for Jorge. I'll miss Jorge. He was a gamer and he always, as he put it, just grinded it. Thanks for everything.
• I love Nick Swisher. I do. I think he's a great clubhouse guy but let's face it, he's not a clutch performer. I don't call him "The Rally Killer" for nothing. The Yankees will have a decision to make when it comes to whether or not they should pick up his option. My gut says I hope they don't but he does ring value to the team. My main concern is how he fades in October. I'm indifferent on Swish. Would be fine if he stays. Would be fine if he goes.
• I fully expect CC to exercise his opt-out clause. He'd be dumb not to. Having said that, I fully expect him to resign with the Yankees. He's made it known several times that he loves pitching in New York. He's done very well here and he has to know that the club is committed to putting a winner on the field. He should op-out and renegotiate the next 4 years of his deal. The Big Man deserved more dough. The only way he gets it is to opt-out.

I'm sure I've got more to say but I'm running in fumes so I'll save it for later. I'll close with saying that despite the Yankees failing in their mission to win, it was a really great year. Derek Jeter joined the 3000 hit club. Mariano Rivera officially became the man. We saw the emergence of Ivan Nova. We saw David Robertson step up and become an 8th inning guru. Brian Cashman's "scrap heap rejects" performed above everybody's expectations. It was a great year with a lot of great memories. It's sad that we reached the end of the road.

Speaking of reaching the end of the road I'm not 100% sure what the future holds for this blog. I really enjoy doing it but it's becoming harder and harder to keep up with. When you have 3 kids aged 4 and under it's tough to free up the time for blogging. I want to keep it going but I'm not sure what commitment level I can make to it. If this ends up being my last post (I doubt it will be) the blog will kind-of live on through my Twitter account. If you're not on Twitter you're missing out. It's a great place to connect with people that share your passion. I'll always be on there talking Yankees. That you can count on.

Until next time......

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

Jorge Posada Stirs Up Some Yankee Drama

The Yankees lost again tonight. In what's becoming typical Yankee fashion their offense was non-existent. But that's not the story. The big story tonight is what the eff is up with Jorge Posada? If you missed it let me quickly sum it up:

Joe Girardi put Posada in the lineup batting 9th. Posada took himself out of the lineup saying he had to clear his head. Posada's wife posted that Jorge had a bad back. Cashman, during the FOX broadcast said it had nothing to do with injury. And then people had press conferences about it. I watched the post game show. I listened to both Girardi's and Posada's press conferences. I've taken it all in and digested it. Here's my take: Something is rotten in Denmark. Allow me to explain, bullet-point style:Jack Curry opened the postgame show with the story, as told to him by "Yankee officials" that Posada said he was insulted by batting 9th, threw a fit, and took himself out of the lineup. I don't see why the Yankees would make that up and why Curry would report it if he didn't believe it to be true.According to both Girardi and Posada, Jorge didn't mention anything about his back stiffness in their brief meeting. Isn't that something you should tell your employer about if it's a factor in your decision not to play?Why is Laura Posada posting that about his back if it's a non-issue?Girardi said the conversation with Posada was brief and Joe didn't ask any questions. I can't see a situation where an MLB manager, when approached by a player asking for a day off, wouldn't ask why.Posada and Cashman had a conversation after Posada talked to Girardi. I don't see Cashman talking to Jorge for something as simple as requesting not to play.I didn't go back and re-watch Jorge's presser but I think at one point he said he did mention his back to Girardi.I don't know why Cashman would go on-air to talk about this if it was as simple as Jorge asking for a day off.I'm sure I'm missing something but it's late, I'm tired, and the brain is starting not to function. But from what I outlined something doesn't add up and someone, or someones, aren't telling the whole story. Quite frankly, I'm not buying what Jorge is selling. The biggest thing for me is what Jack Curry reported at the beginning of the postgame. I don't see Jack running with that if he didn't think it were true.I've lost a lot of respect for Posada tonight. His actions to me appear to be selfish and I have a problem with that. Nobody is bigger than the team. Look, I get all the hardships Jorge is battling through this year, namely, not catching and sucking at the plate. Bottom line, he's not performing and he's lucky to be in the lineup at all. I can respect needing a mental health day. He's human just like the rest of us and we've all been there. Now granted, we're not all filthy rich and making millions of dollars, but we've been there. But doing what Jorge did, or allegedly did I guess, was just wrong. He talks about feeling disrespected when in fact he's the one disrespecting his teammates and the organization with his actions. The name on the back of the jersey isn't as important as the one on the front. And yes, I know the Yankees don't have names on their jerseys.I did see some people bashing Cashman for going on the FOX broadcast and addressing this. That doesn't surprise me. But I challenge everyone who has access to it to go watch it again and tell me what specifically Cashman said that was bad. Was it for contradicting the bit about Posada being injured because according to Jorge nobody knew about his back. Well, except for his wife. I don't see anything wrong with what Cashman said. I don't think anybody should.Tonight was a lot to take in. Based on what I've seen and heard I'm concluding that Jorge threw a tizzy and refused to play. Regardless of what happened there's one thing I'm 100% certain of and that's that this won't end well for the Yankees. Something wicked this way comes. I'm really interested to see how this plays out. That though, I can't wrap my head around just yet.As I wrote earlier I lost a lot of respect for Posada tonight. I don't care how proud he is, or how messed up his head is. What he (allegedly) did tonight is not becoming of a New York Yankee. The team is currently struggling and this was one of the last things they needed. Like I said, this won't end well.Peace, love and Pinstripes,J-Boogie

Ivan Nova Shines, Rafael Soriano Doesn't, And The Yankees Bats Don't Help Anybody Out

Like last night, I don't feel like blogging much after that loss. I could cut and paste yesterday's blog into this one, change a few things, and it would work, but that would be lazy. It was a tough loss and there a plenty of things you can point to as contributing factors but the bottom line is when you don't hit you shouldn't win. Four hits isn't getting the job done. The Yankees could have won a game tonight they shouldn't have but alas, it wasn't meant to be.

I didn't get to see much of Ivan Nova's outing but I saw a little bit here and there in between doing some things around the house. I didn't need to see it to know it was the best start of his career. He looked good and for once the wheels didn't fall off in the middle innings. It was actually the longest start of his career. I'm very encouraged by it. It's too bad he didn't pick up the W.

I did find it curious that Joe Girardi left him in to pitch the 7th. Now don't take that the wrong way. I'm glad he did. It was the right call. But I'm curious why he left him in and not Freddy Garcia a few days earlier. The two had very similar outings through the first 6 innings. Here's what we know: Garcia had thrown 90 pitches thru 6, Nova 85. Nova had pitched 1 inning in the last 11 days. Garcia was virtually unhittable and was pulled with a 3-0 lead. Nova had good stuff and was left in with a 2-1 lead. Garcia is an experienced pitcher who's been there before. It was Nova's deepest start of his career. I thought that Joe should have left Garcia in to start the 7th like he did with Nova tonight. I'm curious why the change in philosophy because if anything, Garcia's situation was a little better. The only thing I can think of is age. Anybody have any thoughts?

Girardi made another curious move in the 9th when he had Curtis Granderson give himself up with no outs and Jeter, they tying run, on 1st. Based on my Twitter timeline there were very few people that were OK with the move. I was one of those OK with it. Now that's not to say I wasn't a staunch supporter of the bunt. I hate giving away outs and am not a huge fan of sac bunts to begin with. All I'm saying is I get the logic behind it. Here's my take on it: It was a lefty-lefty matchup. Granderson is his career was 2-15 vs. Thornton. Granted, Granderson has done much better vs. LHPs since last year and Thornton is struggling, but that matchup still favors Thornton in my opinion. I get why you'd want to put the tying run at 2nd with your 3, 4, and 5 hitters waiting to drive them home. There's no way to know what would have happened had Curtis had the green light to swing away. It could have been a double play. Nobody knows. If not for two unbelievable catches by Brent Lillibridge the move would have worked. Hindsight is 20-20. Bunting may not have been the right move but it wasn't a wrong move, if that makes sense. Damn you Brent Lillibridge.

Who would have guessed that the Yankees starting rotation would be a positive and the bullpen would be a negative? The Yankees rotation has been awesome over the last 5 games. Over the last 5 games the 5 SPs have combined to throw 35 innings, allowing 21 hits and 9 walks, while striking out 26 and allowing 7 ER. That works out to an ERA of 1.80 and a WHIP of 0.86. That's outstanding.

The bullpen, specifically the major players, have been scuffling over the last 3 games. We've seen 2 blown saves by Mariano Rivera. We've seen Joba gave up a 2-run HR. We've seen Rafael Soriano pitch in the last 2 games and absolutely stink up the joint. In those 2 innings he's allowed 4 hits, 2 walks, a HBP, a HR and 3 runs. Simply put that's terrible. And that's putting it nicely. Soriano has been a sore spot in the pen but I'm not ready to give up on him yet. I have some faith but it's wavering.

I was planning on writing a little more but I've been having laptop issues and I'm on a backup computer. I wasted about 20 minutes tinkering with that and in addition to being tired I've grown agitated, and I still have to iron clothes for tomorrow. So I'll leave you with this: As I mentioned above you shouldn't win if you don't hit the ball. The Yankees offense has been non-existent these last few games. Talk about no run support. You can blame the bullpen. You can blame Girardi. But none of that matters in you don't hit the ball.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

Freddy Garcia Shines Again As Yankees Clip The Orioles 6-3

I'm going to start this blog by saying this will not be my best work. Today is my last day of vacation and I have to return to work tomorrow. I've had a pretty busy week off and I've somewhat tortured myself by sleeping about 5-6 hours per day. I'm in desperate need of some serious sleep and I've imposed a 9pm deadline on myself to go to bed. I've got 15 minutes and I still need to iron some clothes. So this one may be a little rushed but hopefully I'll still get my points across. Here goes nothing.

Freddy Garcia was again outstanding. 6 more shutout innings which runs his scoreless innings streak as a starter to 12. What's most impressive in the 12 innings he's thrown as a starter is that he's only allowed 4 hits and 3 walks. That works out to a WHIP of 0.58. Yes, you read that correctly. Wow. The impressive thing is that he's not doing it with overpowering stuff. He's hitting his spots. He's mixing his speeds and his pitches. He's pitching. It just goes to show that you can be successful without a blazing fastball. Phil Hughes take note. Well done Freddy.

If I were Joe Girardi I would not have pulled Freddy after 6. He was at 91 pitches and if I were running the ship he would have stayed in until he ran into trouble. The leash would have been short and I wouldn't have let him pitch the 8th. Had Girardi followed that strategy we might not have seen Joba implode in the 7th. I can understand and respect why Joe made the switch. I can't fault him for Joba stinking up the joint. As for Joba, it's the same two-step as last season. Step forward, step backwards. I want to see more consistency from Joba. I think we might see David Robertson take over the "7th inning guy" role. Rafael Soriano was unavailable today and I think it was a little telling that Joe went to D-Rob in the 8th and Joba in the 7th. Maybe I'm reading too much into that. We'll see.

Back-to-back blown saves for Mariano. I'm a little shocked but not at the same time. I think the home plate ump was inconsistent with his strike zone and he should have punched out Adam Jones. Regardless, I'm still not use to seeing Mo perform like he did in back-to-back games. As I wrote after his 1st blown save, April appears to be the month where he struggles the most. He's Mariano Rivera. There will never be any worries about him on my end. He's the man.

Props to the top of the lineup. Jeter and Granderson combined to go 7-11 with 4 RBI and 3 runs scored. Jeter picked up 4 hits and raised his average to .257 but he didn't exactly knock the cover off the ball. But hey, they all look like line drive singles in the box score. I'm hoping it's a turning point. Granderson has some serious power stroke going on. He hit HR #7 which banks another $20 for his charity. Dude is going to break me.

2 minutes 'til 9......

Bottom of the lineup was blech. Swisher 0-5. Posada 0-4. Martin 1-4. Gardner 0-5. Combine that and you've got 1-18 with 2 walks and 9 Ks, 4 of which were Gardner. Horrible. I love how Swisher tried to change up his luck by rocking the high socks and then giving up on it. With the exception if Martin, the bottom of the order has been pretty weak. But I'm a minute over my cutoff point so I'll end it there. But you guys know they're weak so we're good.

It's back to the Bronx for a 7-game homestand with the White Sox and Blue Jays. Rain rain go away. I want to see the Yankees play. Later.

9:02pm. Not bad.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

Ladies And Gents, We Have Pie!

That was a great Yankee win tonight. Down 5-0. The bullpen shuts things down. A run saving kick save by Joba. Clutch hitting in the 9th. A walkoff in the 10th. Pie in Nick Swisher's face. Add that all up and it's a great Yankee win.

Another horrible start by Phil Hughes. I didn't see the first 2 innings he pitched but was following along on the MLB app. It didn't look like he had any sustained gains in velocity. He started out OK but didn't have any pop. Now, I'm concerned and it's time to make a change. They can't keep running Phil out there to pitch 3-4 innings.

Luckily, the Yankees have had Bartolo Colon to pair up with Phil. Bartolo has been awesome for the Yankees so far. He was definitely one of the unsung heroes of tonight's win. Personally, I think he was the player of the game. He came in and locked it down for 3 scoreless innings. That gave the Yankee bats time to chip away at the lead. I wouldn't be surprised if the Yankees flip-flop Hughes and Colon. Personally, I think they should.

The bullpen definitely was a huge plus tonight. Joba looked extremely sharp and his block of home plate ended up being a thing of brilliance. At regular speed I thought the ump blew the call but Joba somehow managed to block the plate and prevent Pie from scoring. That was a game saver. I'm slowly starting to become a Joba fan.

Mariano Rivera. That is all.

A-Rod is on fire right now. He came up huge tonight and continues to be locked in. M-V-P! M-V-P!

Nick Swisher is reminding me a lot of 2009 Nick Swisher. If you read the blog in 2009 than you might remember I called Nick "the Rally Killer." He was not exactly clutch with runners in scoring position or in big spots. He's currently 2-14 w/RISP this year which is bad but he got the job done tonight with his game-winning sac fly. For his efforts he got the 1st pie in the face of 2011.

My wife wanted to kill me when Posada tied up the game with his HR. I screamed out of pure joy. She yelled at me for being too loud. Sorry dear, it's going to happen. I gots to be me.

Something needs to be done with the top of the order. Brett Gardner looks overmatched in every AB. He either doesn't swing or is very late on the ball. I don't know if he's trying to walk or what but he needs to swing the bat. I think I wrote last year that you could tell he was trying to work walks. That can't be your approach. When he does swing it seems like everything is a foul ball to the 3rd base side, or something hit weakly in that same direction. I don't think he has the bat speed to get around on a fastball. Sliders? Yes. Fastballs? No. The time has come for him to drop to the bottom of the order.

It doesn't help that Derek Jeter is hitting only .233 in the 2-hole. He does have the 4th highest average on the team but he isn't instilling any confidence in me when he steps up to the plate. When he does hit he's not hitting well. Coming into the today, 26% of his 2935 hits went for extra bases. He's got one extra base hit this year and 9 singles. That's not the DJ we no and love. Hopefully it's just a slump and not a drastic regression in his offensive skills.

What the heck were the Yankees doing having Russell Martin bunt in the 9th inning. Granderson, who has speed, is on 2nd as the winning run with no outs. Martin is up and is off to a great start, hitting close to .300. Martin is followed in the order by Gardner and Jeter, whose troubles at the plate I've already mentioned. I have no idea why Girardi called for a bunt. If successful, then you have Granderson on 3rd with weak-hitting Brett Gardner up. If he fails, then it's the struggling Jeter. A base-hit was needed to score Granderson and he probably scores from 2nd on a hit. Martin should have been allowed to take his hacks. Prior to his AB, everyone on Twitter, me included, was tweeting not to bunt. As soon as Russell squared up I was ticked. You knew once he did the Yankees weren't scoring. Terrible call there.

I'm sure I'm leaving something out but it's late and I'm tired. It's going to be nice going to sleep tonight after this big win. If only Phil Hughes got his act together. Phil, Phil, Phil. What are we going to do with you?

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

Phil Hughes Is Terrible In Loss To The Overrated Red Sox

Even the sun shines on a dog's ass every now and then. I love that saying. It basically means, even the losers get lucky every now and then. That's how I feel about the Red Sox win over the Yankees today. Sure, the Sox win is a moral victory for a struggling team. But if you're excited about it as a Sox fan and think it's all blue skies ahead, please share your drugs. John Lackey was terrible and the Sox have only had 1 solid start in 7 games. And let's face it, if any other SP went today for the Yankees, the Sox would probably be 0-7. They do not look good and didn't look good today.

Phil Hughes was terrible again and it's pretty clear that there is something going on. He's lost several MPH on his fastball and it's crystal clear to anyone watching, or in my case listening, that it's a problem and a cause for concern. I'm not too concerned yet as it is very early in the season and it doesn't sound like there's an injury at play, which is really good because that means that he should be able to get back that extra zip missing from his pitches. Larry Rothschild needs to make Hughes priority numero uno. Figure out if it's his mechanics and if it is figure out how to fix it. I really hope it's not a dead arm because you never know when that will snap back. If it is a dead arm I'm hoping it gets better with each start. The last thing I want it to be is an injury. That would be worst case root cause for the problem. There's been no inkling of an injury, which is good. Whatever it is I hope they figure it out and soon. If there's no improvement all is not lost. To find out why not, read on.........

If Phil Hughes is hurt or can't snap out of it the Yankees have a viable replacement in BartoIo Colon. Bartolo had a pretty decent spring and had a great appearance today in relief. I don't want to say that he was unhittable today but he was outstanding. He kept the Yankees in the game and gave them a chance to comeback and win. It's a shame he got saddled with the loss. If for some reason Hughes can't pitch effectively as a starter I have no problem whatsoever with the Yankees sliding him into that role. Anybody have a reason why they shouldn't?

Boone Logan on the other hand? I wouldn't have a problem if the Yankees got rid of him right now. The Yankees have always had somewhat of a problem with their so-called "lefty specialist." When Logan came into the game I blasted off the following tweet: "Odds the "lefty specialist" gets out the lefties? 50%? Less? I'm not that confident in Boone." Sure enough, as expected, Boone doesn't get out the lefties. Double by Ortiz. Single by Drew. 2 runs score. Terrible. Boone has now faced 6 lefties this season and has allowed 5 to reach base. Boone's job is to get lefties out and he's not doing it. As my buddy Mike tweeted during the game, "Ppl say give Logan a chance it's still early. Letting all 5 LHB on base so far means he's not doing his job. If I don't do mine, I get fired." Boom! Boone isn't doing his job. If he doesn't turn things around, and fast, he's got to go. I have no confidence in him at this point. I saw a lot of people on Twitter blasting Joe Girardi for going to Logan when he did. I have no problem with the move. You bring in the LHP to face the LHB. Statistically, the odds are supposed to be heavily in the pitcher's favor. Hence the "lefty specialist." It's not Girardi's fault Logan sucks at his job. Get your act together Boone!

No real comments on the offense. In closing, nobody should fear the Red Sox. They're arguably the most overrated team to ever step on a baseball diamond. There pitching is suspect and to assume that they would roll over everyone en route to a World Series title was silly. I did predict that they'd win the AL East. I think they're a good team but they were being called one of the best team's ever. I think one Boston writer said they were better than the 1927 Yankees. It was laughable than and it's laughable now. There was also talk of Boston setting the record for most regular season wins ever. Again, laughable. They've got a good club, no doubt. But they are nowhere near the team that "experts" and Red Sox fans think they are.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

Joe Girardi Done Messed Up, Costs Yankees Game #5

Yeah, I'm all kind of pissed right now. Freaking Joe Girardi. What the heck are you doing my man? His bullpen management cost the Yankees the game tonight! And I don't want to hear from anyone that it's only April, or that it's the 5th game of the season, or that it's only one game or only one loss. Divisions are lost and playoffs are missed because of one loss. Every game matters and every loss counts, regardless of when the game is played. Tonight's loss didn't need to happen. If the Yankees miss the playoffs by one game this will be one of the losses that could have changed their fate.

I'm putting this loss on Girardi's bullpen management because he made a move that shouldn't have been made and it came back to bite him in the ass. Joe never should have opened the 8th inning with Rafael Soriano on the mound. The right play was open with David Robertson and go to Soriano if Robertson gets into trouble. That's how I would have managed it. Here's why: The Yankees were up 4-0. Soriano had just pitched the day before. Freddy Garcia is starting tomorrow and who knows what you'll need from your bullpen. I would have tried to save his arm as much as I could. David Robertson is a quality RP and has the stuff to get hitters out. Girardi should have let him take a shot.

The thing that makes me the most annoyed is how Girardi responded to questions in his post game press conference? When asked why he went to Soriano he responded because Soriano is "our 8th inning guy." Umm, what? Last time I checked every game has an 8th inning. What are you going to do Joe? Use him every game? You've got to be smart and pick your spots. Tonight wasn't the right spot. Many factors need to be taken into account. The biggest factors: What's the lead? (4 runs) When did he pitch last? (yesterday) When will he be needed again? (possibly tomorrow). Add all that up and your answer should be: open the 8th with another pitcher. Girardi also comment that he didn't want to bring Soriano in during the middle of an inning? Why not Joe? Soriano is a closer by nature, not a set-up guy. Everybody knows that closers do better when something is on the line? We've all seen Mariano Rivera falter in non-save situations. Maybe bringing Soriano in with a 4-run lead isn't a good idea. I'm sure he'd do better with a little pressure. Who knows? One last question for Joe: who's your 8th inning guy tomorrow?

Aargh. It's late and my brain is fried. I want to blog a little more but I still have some stuff to do before bed and in addition to being pissed I'm dead tired. Here are the rest of my game thoughts in quick-hit fashion:

• Great outing by CC. He was in mid-season form. He'll only get better. Too bad the pen couldn't hold it. CC deserved the win.


• Mark Teixeira hit another 3-run HR. Doesn't look like he'll struggle this spring. He's locked in.


• Andruw Jones. Welcome to NY. Nice first AB. He hits LHPs rather well. Keep it up.


• I hate lefty specialists. I've said it for years. Boone Logan didn't get it done tonight. He's there to get out Denard Span and Joe Mauer, not issue leadoff walks and singles. Shape up or you're getting shipped out.

After ranting about Girardi, let me add this: I know it's not all his fault. Players still need to execute. It was Rafael Soriano's job to get those guys out, He failed in that. But again, he shouldn't have been in the game to implode like that. Aargh.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

Brian Cashman's To-Do List Just Got A Little Shorter

As expected and predicted, the Yankees have re-signed Joe Girardi to be manager of the team. The deal is being reported as a 3-year deal worth $9 million. Welcome back, Joe. He may not be my most favorite Yankee manager, but he's done a fairly decent job. I wish he'd put a little less faith in his binder, but I get why he uses it.

Signing a manager had to be the top item on Brian Cashman's offseason to-do list. Cross that one off the list. Next up I would imagine is hiring a pitching coach. I don't expect that to be a long and drawn out process. I wouldn't be surprised if that's signed, sealed and delivered by this time next week. Once that's done things will start to get interesting. Both Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera are free agents. There's no doubt in my mind that both Derek and Mo will be back in Pinstripes for another go-around. The real questions (and the interesting parts) are for how much and for how long. I'm most curious to see what happens with Jeter. He's in the latter half of his career and is coming off a down year, arguably the worst in his career. But he's Derek Jeter. He's the Yankee captain. They have to show him some kind of respect, right? Can't wait to see how that develops.

In other news, the Yankees officially declined options on Kerry Wood, Lance Berkman, and Nick Johnson. Don't be shocked by that. It all comes down to money. The amount the Yanks would have had to pay to pick up their options was a lot higher than their value. They could always try to re-sign them at lower salaries. Personally, I don't think they will. Wood will sign with someone that needs a closer and earn more than he would as a setup guy for the Yankees. Berkman is a possibility but only at a much lower salary, like in the $5-10 million range. And Nick Johnson? Yeah, we won't go there. No chance Cashman makes that mistake again, right?

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

Cashman & Girardi Drop Bombs On Ya Moms When They Met The Media

Still reeling from the Rangers beating the Yankees in the ALCS? Yeah, me too. I was planning in blogging about the series but I decided not to. Instead, I'll wrap that up in one short sentence: The Rangers were/are the better team and deserved to go to the World Series. OK, maybe not a short sentence. I think the Yankees were better than they played in those 6 games but looking back on the final month or so of the season, I'm not so sure. September was a struggle and in hindsight I think they team ran out of gas. I'll probably blog about the season at some point this offseason, but not today. As for the World Series, go Giants! I have no real vested interest in who wins and don't really care either way. I'd just like to see the "claws and antlers" go away. I think those are highly absurd. And at least it's not Philly. I think we can all agree we're happy about that.

Brian Cashman and Joe Girardi met the media today and answered a bunch of questions and dropped a bomb or two on everyone. I was following along with some of the beat writer's accounts on Twitter while it was happening. Fun stuff. The LoHud Yankees Blog has a bunch of tidbits on the meeting. Here are my thoughts on the major stuff:

• The biggest bombshell dropped today was that the Yankees have fired Dave Eiland. It was Cashman's decision and he described the reasoning as "private." He also said it had nothing to do with performance. Interesting. Something seems a little off on this, don't you think? Bottom line for me is that Eiland just didn't get the job done. Too many struggles from too many pitchers. But wouldn't that be performance based? Yeah, I don't get it either. After I read about Eiland's dismissal, a thought popped into my head: What if Dave Eiland gave A.J. Burnett his black eye? Yeah, I'm reaching, I know. But then again who really knows? I'm sure it has to do something with the personal leave Eiland took in June. You'd think Cashman's decision would be related to that, right? Almost has to be? I know there were rumors that Eiland was in rehab on his LOA and I don't want to get into that. Bottom line, regardless of the "private" reason is that he's out as pitching coach. No big loss. Again as I mentioned, too many pitchers had too many struggles, namely A.J. Burnett and Joba Chamberlain. I have no problem with the Yankees bringing in somebody else to take on that role.
• Cashman plans to talk with Joe Girardi's agent ASAP to try and lock Girardi into another contract. Both sides want the deal to happen which means that it will. It'll probably happen soon. I'd expect it to be signed, sealed and delivered by the end of the week. Hiring a manager should be and is Cashman's top priority. You can't really move on without one. I have no issue with the Yankees bringing Girardi back. He does make some boneheaded moves but by and large he's doing a decent job. Then again, it's the Yankees. I could guide that team to 90+ wins.
• The team views Joba Chamberlain as a back-of-the-bullpen pitcher and not as a starter. That should forever put to rest that debate as it sounds like Joba will always be a reliever as long as he's a Yankee. Works for me. Yeah, I'm not a Joba guy. Never really have been. He's had flashes of brilliance but for the most part I think he's a middle-of-the-pack pitcher. I wouldn't be surprised if he's traded before Spring Training.
• Andy Pettitte pitched hurt during the playoffs. During the ALDS Andy felt tightness in both his back and his hamstrings. Pettitte's injuries were the driving factor in the Yankees' decision to pitch him in games 3 and 7 of the ALCS. I can respect that and have no problem with their decision to do so. The part of have minor issue with is people, mainly certain media members, hammered Girardi for not disclosing that info. C'mon now. If Girardi dropped that on everyone that could change everything. You don't want your opponent knowing your weaknesses. Why would any logical mind think that he should have to disclose that? Oh yeah, we're talking about the media, and again, it's only certain ones.
• The Yankees don't plan on picking up any player options, of which there are only 3. Kerry Wood @ $11 million, Lance Berkman @ $15 million. Nick Johnson @ $5.75 million. Yeah, I'm with the team on that. There's no need to drop that much coin on any of those guys. I like Wood, but who needs an $11mm set-up guy. $15 million for a part-time DH? No thanks. Nick Johnson? We won't go there.
• Cashman admitted he had a bad offseason. Nick Johnson was apparently plan C, behind Johnny Damon @ plan A and Hideki Matsui @ plan B. Yeah, Cashman blew that one. Trading for Javy Vazquez was almost as bad. The big plus in that deal was that they got rid of Melky Cabrera, which I think made Robinson Cano a better player.

That's the main stuff. There were some other nuggets dropped but nothing major. This should be a very interesting offseason. Cashman has a lot of work to do and he's already attacking it. I don't think it will take long to re-hire Girardi and then re-sign Mariano Rivera & Derek Jeter. I would expect the Yankees to move pretty quick on bringing back those guys. The Hot Stove is heating up. Won't be long before it's raging.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

Yankees Go Down Without A Fight, Congrats To Texas Rangers The 2010 AL Champs

This is not going to be a long post. I'm a little bummed right now. The season is over and the Yankees went down without very much of a fight. They were outplayed the whole series and the Rangers totally deserve to advance to the World Series. There are no excuses to be made. The Yankees were dominated pretty much from start to finish.

People on Twitter are blaming Joe Girardi and Brian Cashman. Girardi did make some bad moves along the way but I can't put much of this on him. Same with Cashman. He put a winner on the field. His biggest fault in my opinion was signing Nick Johnson and not getting Johnny Damon, Hideki Matsui, or Vlad Guerero. Maybe he should have given Texas everything they wanted for Cliff Lee but I understand why he didn't. This loss is totally on the players. They didn't pitch. They didn't hit. You can't win games when you don't score. One lousy run tonight and it was a BS one at that.

Hat tip to the Rangers. They deserved it. Not sure I'll root for you in the World Series but congrats.

Peace, love and Forever Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

Yanks Fall Back To 2nd Place After Losing To Rays

Well that just sucked. I thought for sure as soon as Granderson went yard to put the Yankees up 3-2 that the game was in the bag. It was as if the Baseball Gods were smiling down upon them after allowing Jeter to reach base on a phantom HBP. Note to Red Sox fans: don't even try to talk trash about that. Victor Martinez did the same thing a few weeks back. It's part of the game. You do what you do to win. So shut up and don't even go there.

Anyway, I was so disappointed when Phil Hughes gave the lead right back on Johnson's 2-run HR. Sure Girardi have pulled him at the start if the inning? Maybe. I have no problem leaving PH in. I can see it both ways. Damned if you do and damned if you don't. Outside of the 2 mistakes Phil pitched a pretty good ballgame. Unfortunately it only takes one mistake to do a pitcher in and that's exactly what happened. Sorry Phil. No Hughes call tonight. We're still stuck on 16.

The Yankees offense came up short tonight. Only 2-9 with RISP. Not good. I think Girardi made a big mistake by pinch-hitting Marcus Thames for Lance Berkman. The smarter move in my opinion would have been to save Thames for Kearns or Curtis. Girardi messed that one up. Not a good couple of games for Girardi these last few days. He can't make the right decision to save his life. I think the same thing happened for a stretch last year. I don't think though it came at such a crucial point of the season. Hopefully his string of bad moves will change.

Still not in panic mode. Despite the slump the Yankees are playing pretty decent baseball. Six of their last seven games have been decided by 1 run and a lot could have gone either way. The lead in the wild card race is still a comfortable 6 games. A playoff berth is by no means a guarantee but there's no way this team continues to falter like they're currently doing. Their not exactly throwing out their A-team right now. Swisher, Pettitte, Gardner, and Teixeira are all hurt. A-Rod and Jeter are both less than 100%. You won't see guys like Mitre, Gaudin, and to a lesser extent Vazquez and Moseley put into close games in the postseason. The current make-up of this ball club is not what we'll see come October. The trick is weathering the storm and getting to October. Swisher and Gardner should be back Friday. Pettitte should be back soon. This team won't continue to lose. Knock on wood.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

Yankees Beat Rays Thanks To Carl Crawford Being A Dummy

After tonight's Yankees' victory I had a brief back-and-forth via text with my buddy, and sometimes commenter, Danny Mac. His text summed things up perfectly: "2nd base at the Trop to fast guys must be like kryptonite to Superman." Yesterday it was Brett Gardner. Tonight it was Carl Crawford. What a bonehead. Thanks for being a dummy, dummy. It amazes me how these professionals, especially the ultra-fast ones, fail to realize that the risks on that play far outweigh any reward. In all probability they would need a base hit to score from 3rd and in all probability they would score from 2nd on the same base hit. Two dumb moves in two days. Crawford's though, in my opinion, was much more dumb.

Please cancel the Amber-alert. The Yankees offense has been found. 8 runs on 13 hits and 6 walks. Welcome back guys. Missed you. I was listening to the game on the radio when the Yanks picked up their first 4 runs. John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman commented that right after Teixeira's sac fly you could sense that the Yankees dugout felt a little more relaxed and that might have been reason for the offense waking up. I can see that. I'm not sure how Waldman and Sterling could from their vantage point but whatever. I'll roll with it.

It's a good thing they showed up today because they needed all 8 runs. I took my son to "Bounce Magic" tonight so I caught the 1st half of the game on the radio and the 2nd half on TV. I missed a small portion of the game which in reality was a pretty big portion. I left the game with the Yankees up 6-0. I came back and it was 7-6 Rays. Excuse me? How the heck did that happen in 1/2 an inning? I checked in with the most reliable sources I know....people on Twitter. As I expected, it was Joe Girardi's fault. I looked at the play-by-play from that inning and it's pretty ugly. I don't see what exactly Girardi did so if anyone that saw the game wants to let me know, I'd appreciate it. Since the game was on My9 I'll have to wait until tomorrow to check for postgame comments. I'd assume there will be some.

The win snaps an awful losing streak. It was a little touch-and-go there in the 10th but Mo did what he's done so many times in the past, pick up the Mariano (I advocate changing the word "save" to "Mariano" - get on board!). It was a great win for the Yankees and I think it's going to pull them from their little funk. They're back in first place, albeit by a half-game and they're one step closer to clinching a playoff spot. The magic # is now 11. With any luck I'll wake up tomorrow and find that it dropped to 10 due to a Red Sox loss (they're currently up 4-2). It would make for a great start to my Hump-day.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

A Couple Of Questions After A Yankees Loss

Great game between the Yankees and Rays tonight. Unfortunately for us it didn't go the Yankees way. Lots of people on the hook for this one. Girardi, Mitre, the Yankees offense. Pick one. The one person not on the hook is CC Sabathia. What a performance. He deserved better.

1) Where oh where has the Yankees offense gone? Oh where oh where can it be? It's been a terrible last 2 games for the offense. Granted, they faced David Price and Cliff Lee but still: 1 run on 6 hits in 2 games. They're better than that.

2)Not sure who made this call but why in the world did Brett Gardner attempt to steal 3rd when he was already in scoring position and needs a base hit to score either way? If Joe Girardi and crew made that call then somebody needs to get canned because that was one of the dumbest things I've ever seen. If Gardner did it on his own than he needs a serious time-out (sorry, got 3 kids). Gardner is one of the fastest runners in the league. He likely scores from 2nd on a base hit. Stupid move.

3)What is up with using Chad Gaudin in these close situations? I couldn't believe that Giradri went to him again in a tie game when he had several other (and better) RPs available. Props to Gaudin for getting out of it by the skin of his teeth.

4)Sergio Mitre. See question 3. What's up with not using other RPs? Albaladejo? Robertson? Joba? Hughes? Four fairly decent choices and Girardi opts for his 2 worst choices in Gaudin and Mitre. WTF?

Is it time to panic? Not yet, but it's getting close. They didn't exactly roll out their top flight SPs in the Texas series. No Pettitte. No Hughes. No CC. You think Dustin Moseley or Javy Vazquez will be making postseason starts? Nope. Same goes for the bullpen. They've been pretty damn good of late. No way Gaudin or Mitre pitches in this game if it were the playoffs. CC was off the freaking hook tonight. The offense failed him. But again, David Price, like CC and Cliff Lee, is no joke.

The Yankees have now lost 4 in a row and are 1-7 over their last 8. They're lucky they have such a big lead for the wild card. What I thought would be an impossible collapse is starting to happen. Lucky for them both the Red Sox and White Sox aren't hot right now. If the Red Sox hold on and win tonight they'll be 7 back in the loss column with 18 to play. It's still a pretty comfortable lead. But as we all know, you can't predict baseball. The magic # to clinch a playoff spot sits at 12. Until it gets to zero you never know what will happen. Right, Mets fans?

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

Yankees Run Season High Win Streak To 8 With 7-5 Win Over Jays

Let the good times roll, right? The Yankees have won 8 straight and are rapidly moving toward officially clinching a playoff spot. With the win today and the Red Sox loss (nice!) the magic number to clinch is 18. Running that down to zero is just a formality. The Red Sox are 9 back in the loss column with 26 to play (could possibly be 10 back by end of night). If the Yankees slump and play .500 the rest of the way (13-13) the Red Sox would have to go 23-4. Excuse me a moment. I have to call 911 because I think I just busted my gut. No chance the Red Sox go 23-4 the rest of the way. I think at best the Red Sox could go 18-9 and that's being very generous. Assuming they do, the wheels would totally have to fall off and the Yankees would have to finish 9-17. Sorry, need another moment. This time I think I split my side. Ouch.

The last 2 Yankee wins have been pretty similar. Mainly because neither starter could make it through 5 (both lasted 4.2) and the bullpen had to step up to lock the win down. And boy did they step it up. Friday the pen combined to pitch 4.1 hitless/scoreless innings. Logan to Robertson to Wood to Rivera. Game over. Today the pen pitched 4.1 IP, allowing 2 inherited runners to score on 3 total hits. Moseley to Logan to Chamberlain to Wood to Rivera. Game over. The runs allowed today could have been avoided if Joe Girardi didn't mishandle the last out of the 5th. With the lefty Lyle Overbay up the correct move would have been to go to Boone Logan as opposed to Dustin Moseley. What made the move even more puzzling is that Girardi used Logan immediately after Moseley. Logan should have been in to face Overbay. Joe's lucky the team picked him up.

The Kerry Wood trade looks like a winner, eh? He's now appeared in 14 games as a Yankee. He's thrown 16 innings, allowing only 1 run on 10 hits. The run he allowed came in his 2nd appearance. Since then he's been lights out. Except for the walks. Girardi has used him as the 8th inning guy two games in a row in games that featured both Joba Chamberlain and David Robertson. Pretty obvious that Wood is the chosen one for the 8th inning. I've got no problem with that choice.

I didn't get to see any of Friday's game. I tried to listen to it on the radio while at work but it didn't go so well. I didn't catch much of Nova's start. I saw all of Vazquez's outing and it wasn't hard to tell that he didn't have anything. It's amazing he lasted as long as he did. I'll give him credit for battling through it and only giving up 3 runs. The big question with Javy is what's up with his velocity, or better yet, lack thereof? He was topping out just below 90 and was averaging around 87. That'll work if you can locate your pitches and have good control and offspeed stuff, a la Mike Mussina. But when you don't, like Javy, you're treading water. I read that he's staying in the rotation so hopefully they can figure out what's wrong before his next turn comes up.

Marcus Thames had the big hit today with what turned out to be a 2-run game winning HR. MT's average has dipped a little but he's got a nice power stroke. He's gone deep in 6 of his last 10 games. He's been quite the surprise this year. Didn't expect him to step up the way he has. Another thing I didn't expect was Brett Gardner to play so well. Honestly, I never saw Gardner as more than a 4th OF. Same as Melky Cabrera. I think I need to re-think that position. I'm most impressed by BG's ability to get on base. He was rocking a .390 OBP coming into today's game and reached another 3 times. He tied a Yankees record by picking up a walk in his 9th straight game (tying Jason Giambi). OBP + speed = a dangerous combination.

Both the Rays and Sox are currently losing their games. Tonight could be a good good night.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

Yankees Finish Off The Indians With 11-4 Win, Bring On The Rays

I'd like to thank the Yankees for waiting until I turned the game on tonight to score all of their runs. Last night I missed it all. Tonight I saw it all. Scratch that. I did miss seeing them score their first run. But I did hear that on the radio while I was driving between houses. The 7th inning was a lot of fun to watch. I dig the longball but I like a hit parade a lot better.

Game ball goes to Dustin Moseley. He looked pretty good tonight. I'm nowhere near ready to anoint him the new 5th starter but it was definitely an outing that will earn him some consideration. I will say after seeing this one start I will take Moseley over Sergio Mitre any day of the week. I liked what I saw from him. More please.

Lots of offense tonight. The Yankees sent 12 different hitters to the plate and 10 of them picked up hits. The 2 that didn't were Mark Teixeira and Marcus Thames. I'll give Teixeira a pass because he walked 3 times. The team could have been a little more efficient though. You should score more than 12 runs when you have 12 hits and 12 walks. On the surface the #s with RISP tonight look pretty good. They were 7 for 21. But they started 0-9, maybe 0-10. Not a bad finish.

Nick Swisher should be embarrassed. Striking out against Andy Marte is inexcusable. It was also pretty funny. Marte looked pretty good. Gotta give him credit. Maybe the Yankees should swing a deadline deal for him. Kidding of course.

The A-Rod 600 watch will go on for at least another game. I couldn't help but crack up after every A-Rod AB. I loved when YES would cut to all of the fans pouring out of the left field landing after his AB. Not sure why I found that so funny but I did. I'd like to see Alex hit the HR just to get it over with. If not hitting the HR means 3 RBI, I'd much prefer that.

How ugly/funny was the end of the game? I was all set to write a blurb how the Yankees allowed 7 runs in the 4 game series. Then Joe Girardi and his managing got in the way. I don't really have a problem with the moves Girardi made. They did after all have a 10-run lead entering the 9th. If Joe learns anything from tonight's game I hope it's this: don't let Chan Ho Park pitch unless the Yankees have at least a 10-run lead. Dude is awful. You're up by 10 runs. Throw strikes! Second lesson to learn: don't ever let Marcus Thames play 3rd base again. Something tells me he never will. MT made a pretty sweet stop but totally butchered the throw. Funny stuff.

These last 2 games are a nice way to head to Tampa for a set with the Rays. The team is playing some good baseball. This series with Tampa Bay has the potential to be huge. Here's a chance to put a little distance between them in the standings. A sweep would be nice but is improbable. but hey, you never know. They've got all of the tools to do it. Hughes, Sabathia and Burnett will each get a turn and I like that trio. Hughes gets the ball in the opener and I'm looking for him to be the pace-setter. Again, not expecting a sweep, but 2 of 3 would be nice.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

Hey, Ho, Javy Got To Go (And Some Other Random Stuff)

If you're sick and tired of Javy Vazquez raise your hand! This act is getting very tired. He's now made 5 starts this season and he's thrown a grand total of 23 innings. He's bad, very very bad. I didn't get to see much of the game today. It's been a very busy time here. On top of working 11-12 hours per day, we're in the middle of moving out of our house. I spent all day packing and moving stuff. I didn't experience any of the good today for the Yankees, only the bad. I saw Vazquez give up his 5 runs and I heard Robertson and Marte give up the other 2 as I was in the car. All I saw/heard of the Yankees was the first run they scored. Considering all of the bad and none of the good happened on my watch, maybe it was my fault?

I'd have to think that Vazquez will get better. He does know how to pitch. He's proved that in the past. Maybe pitching in NY is a different animal and he just won't cut it. Whatever it is, he and Eiland need to figure it out and they need to do it fast. He could have really used a good start in front of the home crowd today. Instead he sucked major balls. I didn't get to see his exit. I'm assuming the fans gave him the proper sendoff. But again, Javy has shown he knows how to pitch. He has it in him. I just hope he finds that pitcher sooner rather than later.

The Yankees bullpen is turning out to be one of their biggest weaknesses. It would have been nice if Robertson and Marte would have done their jobs. Nothing irritates me more than seeing the "lefty specialist" come in with one specific job to do and then not do it. Friggin' Marte.

I saw a replay of Curtis Granderson hurting his groin while running the bases. That looked painful. As expected he's been placed on the DL. Something tells me Curtis is going to miss some time. I think he'll definitely be out more than 15 days but I'm hoping I'm wrong. I'll play armchair manager for a second here. If I'm Girardi, Gardner becomes my everyday CF and I platoon Winn and Thames. I really like having BG at the bottom of the order. I've said that before. I think having him turn the lineup over is perfect.

Congrats to Nick Swisher for hitting his 3rd HR of the season. The HR added $37 to our fundraiser. For those not in the know, a bunch of us Yankee fans have gotten together to donate money to Nick's charity, Swish's Wishes. We're basically donating $37 for every HR he hits. The total is now up to $151. I know, $37*3 is not $151. Someone ponied up a flat donation of $40. If you're interested in donating along with us, let me know and I'll add you to the tally (see upper left). Keep it going Swish. We want you to take our money.

Sorry for not blogging after Friday's victory. Truth of the matter is I was asleep before 9pm. Yeah, it's sad. I know. But getting up at 5 all week really took it's toll on me. I did have the fortune of seeing Jeter tie the game with a HR. I must have fallen asleep with the game on because Michael Kay's call of his triple woke me up. It was a nice way to cap off the month of April. Jeter finished the month with 4 HRs, the same number that A-Rod and Teixeira combined to hit. He finished the month with 18 RBI, 5 less than Teixeira and A-Rod combined for. He had 31 hits and a .330 average. He had 1 less hit than A-Rod and Tex combined. That's amazing to me. The RBI stat is staggering considering Jeter hits leadoff. Unreal.

Not sure how much of the game I'll get to catch tomorrow. More packing is on the docket. There's always something else to move. If I didn't have to work such ridiculous hours during the week it'd be a little easier, but what can you do? Gotta pay the bills.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

Javy Vazquez + Joe Girardi = Loss To Anaheim

Had another rough day at work today. Out the door at 7am and in the door at 6:45pm. Tomorrow I'm out at 5am and who knows when I'll get back home. Yay me. I don't have much time because the missus wants me to help her pack, so I'm going to try and make this quick. Here goes nothing.

Javy Vazquez needs to get better and fast. He can't keep going out there and pitching the way he is. He looks like he has no confidence. It's getting to the point where I get knots in my stomach whenever his turn in the rotation comes up. I'd be really irked if the Yankees had traded someone worth of value for him. Melky Cabrera isn't exactly a superstar. I'm especially curious to see what kind of reception he gets when he pitches during this homestand. Warm up the Bronx cheers.

I was eating dinner last night when Damaso Marte served up the longball to Kendy Morales. I was halfy paying attention. I saw the HR but not what led up to it. I had no idea that Girardi originally called for an intentional walk and then changed his mind. When I saw that in the postgame highlights I was a little irked by that. Not so much by him changing his mind, but because he didn't change it back after the count went to 3-0. Now I'm not a major league manager. Sure sometimes I pretend to be. Who doesn't? But even I know you call for ball four there. Or at least call for a pitch out of the zone that you hope he chases. It's on Marte too for throwing a meatball, but he never should have thrown a strike. Horrible call by the skip.

Gotta bolt. Wife is getting agitated that she's packing up the house and I'm blogging. We sold the house and closing is coming up. Busy times here. I really need it to cool down a little. My stress level is probably at an all-time high.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

Nothing Is Worse Than Staying Up Until 1:30 Just To Watch The Yankees Lose

Today's the day first my son's 1st birthday party. The wife is out preparing and the little one is sleeping. I have about 10 minutes or so to crank out a blog entry before I have to move onto my next task. If I'm not getting it at work, I'm getting it at home. Anyway.....

The Yanks took it on the chin last night. It was one of those games that were both boring and exciting at the same time, if that makes sense. I couldn't wait for it to end but that had more to do with being exhausted and knowing I'd be lucky to get 5 hours of sleep (ended up with 4.5). A.J. Burnett wasn't exactly good last night. But he did what a SP is supposed to do and that's keep his team in the game and put them in a position to win. In my estimation he did that so I can't call it a bad outing. He definitely battled his was through 6-plus innings. I was surprised he lasted as long as he did. He threw want too may balls. About 57% of his pitches were strikes which isn't all that great. He got hit pretty hard too. But again, he had the team in a position to win so I don't view the outing as bad as it could have been. I think what drove me most nuts about his start was that as soon as he had the lead he gave it up. I hate seeing that.

Mark Teixeira's collision with the Angels' catcher was a nasty hit. I think it was a clean play but I think it shouldn't have happened. I'm sure a lot of it had to do with getting hit but again, clean play. Plays at the plate always run that risk and I don't think it was a blatant attempt to injure the catcher.

Joba Joba Joba. That was painful to watch. I can't decide if it would be more painful to watch as a SP or RP. I'm glad he's in the pen and I think he'll turn out to be an above-average RP, but last night I could do without. He got hammered and ended up taking the loss. I think it's safe to say that Kendry Morales owns JC. Morales is now 5-7 against him in his career. Put that in the the little playbook Joe. Remember that. I'm not saying to let the #s dictate the decision, but just remember it.

Nick Swisher hit his 2nd HR of he season. If you're new to the blog or just plum forgot, a few of us Yankee fans have gotten together to donate $$ to Nick Swisher's charity, Swish's Wishes. Basically, every HR Nick hits earns money for the charity. We're up to $37 per HR and also have a flat donation of $40 added to the mix, so the current amount that's going to the charity is $114. There's a "tracker" in the upper left sidebar that's updated with the total. Check if out if you feel inclined to look. Also, we'd love it if we could get more support. Drop me a line or leave a comment if you're interested and I'll add you to it. As you can see, no amount is too small. We've got as little as $2 per HR being donated. Anything and everything helps.

The game today is at 4:10pm on Fox. First pitch is about 30 minutes after the start of my son's party so I'll probably miss all of it. Andy Pettitte has been rock solid all season. I think he'll have a good start. Enjoy the game.

I went over my allotted time by about 15 minutes. Don't tell my wife.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

CC Flat Out Dominates In Yankees 10-0 Victory Over The Rays

Today's Yankee game was extremely fun to watch, wasn't it? CC's no-hit bid definitely gets top billing. I fully blame my sister for the no-hit bid falling apart. She brought her little one over for a visit today and sometime around the 6th inning she was talking about how they had to go. I zipped into the room and told her she was forbidden to leave. I did my best to keep her from leaving but she escaped in the 7th. Next thing you know, Kelly Shoppach is singling to left and the no-hit bid is over. I'm definitely going to lay the smackdown on her when I see her in a few weeks. In hindsight I should have hidden her car keys or got Tonya Harding on her. My bad. Next time I'll be prepared.

CC was insanely good today, looking like he was in mid-late season form. The Rays never stood a chance. His fastball was popping ad he maintained that velocity throughout the entire game. He threw 62% of his pitches for strikes. He was just flat out awesome. CC is the type of pitcher that gets better as the season moves on. If his outing today is a sign of what to expect this year, they might as well hand him the Cy Young Award right now. But it is too early to get ahead of ourselves. He had a similar, albeit not as dominant, outing in his 2nd start last year. In his 2nd start last year, which was in Kansas City, CC threw 7.2 shutout innings, allowing 6 hits, no walks, and he struck out 6. His numbers through his first two starts this year are better than those from his first two starts last year. Considering this year his 2 starts have been against the Red Sox and Rays, and not the Orioles and Royals, it's a little more impressive. I definitely think he'll have a better year this year than he did last.

I thought for sure that he was going to get the no-no today. There was definitely something magical in the air. Typically, every no-hitter has a couple of outstanding defensive plays (see DeWayne Wise). The Yankees defense today had several outstanding plays. Mark Teixeria laid out to his right to rob Jason Bartlett of a hit to end the 6th. A-Rod made a sweet diving grab and made a phenomenal throw to first to rob B.J. Upton of a hit to end the 7th. CC had a ball deflect of his pitching hand that Robbie Cano fielded to get Willy Aybar in the 8th. At least I think it was Aybar in the 8th. I thought for sure that ball was ticketed to CF. Had CC not deflected it to Cano the no-no was probably over. The defense today was just outstanding. A-Rod had an especially great game in the field. Dude has an absolute cannon.

Word on the street is that Kelly Shoppach was CC's last batter regardless of what happened. Had Girardi pulled CC Sabathia with a no-hit bid I think Yankee fans would have run Joe out of town. Personally, I have mixed feelings on it. I understand that the big picture is what matters. I get that it's the 2nd game of the season and you don't want to push CC beyond his limits. But you can't pull a CC Sabathia type of pitcher from a no hitter after 8 innings. You just can't. You've got to let him finish what he started. I would have probably respected the decision had they lifted CC after 8 no-hit innings, but I would have been incredibly ticked. I think every Yankee fan would have been livid. In the end though the discussion is moot because Shoppach singled to LF. Damn you Kelly Shoppach.

It was nice to see Mark Teixeira finally join the party. It took Tex 18 ABs to pick up his first hit of the season. His 0-17 start was the worst of his career. I tweeted after the hit that I wanted to see him pick up at least 5 more in a row. So far so good. Tex finished the day with 3 hits. Had it not been for the "Ortiz/Giambi shift" he probably would have gone 4-4 because if I remember it correctly, in his first AB he lined out to the 2B who was positioned in short RF. Hopefully his 3 hits today end his dry spell.

Who's not loving Robinson Cano in the 5-hole? I'm still on board with my Cano = 2010 AL MVP prediction. I really think RC is going to have a monster year. He's definitely off to a really hot start. He went 2-5 today with a HR and 3 RBI. Most importantly he picked up a base knock with RISP. We didn't see a lot of that from Robbie last year. I don't think it'll be a sore spot with him this year.

The entire offense, for the most part, had a great day. I know, silly statement considering they scored 10 runs. But if you break it down, there weren't a lot of holes. 5 guys had multiple hit games. 6 guys knocked in runs. They were 6-13 with RISP. 7 guys walked. The team only struck out 3 times. Every starter had a hit except for Nick Johnson. But as my friend Don will argue, he saw a lot of pitches and that hooked up everyone else. So we'll go with that. Curtis Granderson got a hit off a lefty. Despite it not scoring a run, "The Rally Killer" Nick Swisher got a hit with RISP. A-Rod picked up his 1000th hit as a Yankee. There wasn't much to balk at today. It was all good, a baby-baby.

The series with the Rays wraps up tomorrow and then it's home to the Bronx. Can't wait until Tuesday's home opener. It's going to be cool to see the team get their rings. I've got the day off (yes just to watch it) so I won't miss any of it. But first, it's A.J. Burnett vs. James Shields. I'm hoping A.J. does his best to 1-up CC. If he's got his curve working, it's definitely possible. Let's go Yankees.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

Phil Hughes Vs. Joba Chamberlain: Round 4

Sorry I'm a few days late on this but better late than never. The battle for the 5th spot in the rotation continued on Monday when both Phil Hughes and Joba Chamberlain pitched. Hughes faced the Phillies while Joba pitched in an intra-squad game. I didn't get to see any of the action, so I'm going off the box scores and the observations of those in the know.

On the surface, Joba picked this round up. Hughes got sacked with the loss against the Phillies, allowing 4 earned runs in 4.1 IP. He gave up 3 HRs, one being a walkoff. Joba had a much better line, throwing 5 innings, allowing 2 earned runs on 6 hits. The best part of Joba's line was that 64% of his pitches went for strikes. That's a pretty good strike-to-ball ratio. He allowed only 1 walk so his control seemed to be there.

Now if you dig a little deeper into Hughes' outing, you'll find that it wasn't as bad as it reads in the box score. According to Chad Jennings at the Lohud Yankees blog, the wind was blowing out at the ballpark. Chad's thoughts were that 2 of the HRs, one of which was the game winner, were probably aided by the wind. Scratch those 2 hits from the box score and Phil's final line improves dramatically: 4.1 IP, 2 H, 0 BB, 6 K. Not too shabby. The K total on its own is pretty impressive. Phil's always had a pretty good K/9 #. Last year he whiffed 96 in 86 IP, which is more than 1 per inning. The swing-and-a-miss for strike 3 is going to get him out of some jams I'd imagine.

Chad's blog entry also features quotes from both Hughes and Girardi. Both were extremely pleased with Phil's outing. Girardi thought it was Hughes' best outing of the spring. Phil "felt really good with all of his pitches" and he also felt that his changeups were "the best changeups" he's ever thrown. Their thoughts on his outing certainly make it out to be a positive one. There's definitely more to the story that what was in the box score.

Joba's outing was another step in the right direction. After 2 awful outings, JC has kicked up his game and strung together 2 straight solid outings. From reading Chad's blow-by-blow of the game, I would definitely call it Joba's best outing of the spring. As I mentioned above, 64% of his pitches went for strikes. For me, anything above 60% is a solid strike-to-ball ratio. One of the things I look at in the spring from pitchers is their control. Joba's getting better with it. He's progressing which is what I want to see start over start.

Despite the thoughts by Phil and Girardi, I have to give round 4 to Joba. He's getting better with each outing and this one was his best so far. That's got to count for something. I now have Hughes with a slight edge on my scorecard. I though Phil clearly won rounds 1 and 2. I thought round 3 could have gone either way. I called it a draw. I could have given it to Joba based on his improvement. I could have given it to Hughes because at the time he had the better spring. If I add round 4 to the mix, I still give Hughes the slight overall edge. I do think Hughes is the better choice for the 5th spot. I think they should both start but if it has to come down to one over the other, I'm going with Phil. I've always maintained that in my estimation he's the better pitcher. I see no reason to change that opinion. I also think that if one has to be at the back end of the bullpen, Joba is better suited for that. He has more of the "closer mindset" and I think while both would do well in that role, Joba will do better.

The battle for the 5th spot in the rotation did pick up a casualty this week. The Yankees possibly released Chad Gaudin, who was "in the mix" for the 5th starter spot. If true, then there were 4. In addition to the previously discussed Phil Hughes and Joba Chamberlain, there's Alfredo Aceves and Sergio Mitre. Aceves and Mitre have had decent springs but there's no way that either is seriously in the mix for the 5 spot. I'd be shocked if either were named the 5th starter. There are only 11 days left until the season starts so a decision on who the 5th man will be should be coming soon, possibly as early as tomorrow, or so some people think. I think the Yankees know who they're going with. I personally hope it's Phil Hughes.

Who do you think they'll go with?

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie