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

I'm Baaaaack (Sort Of)

Well hello there. Long time no blog. As promised, via Twitter, I'm back. I hope you guys have been well. I'm well. Can't complain. Just wish there were more hours in the day. Oh my Mariano it's been awhile, hasn't it? Just checked and it looks like my last blog entry was in mid-May. May 16th to be exact. The Yankees had just lost their 6th straight game, were sitting on a 20-18 record, 2 games behind Tampa in the AL East. Here's what I blogged:

Not much is going the Yankees way right now. Not much at all. Nobody is hitting. The pitching is suspect. It's not a good time to be a fan of the Yankees. I'm not worried though. well, I'm a little worried but not much. Every team has these funks. If you remember, the Yankees lost 5 straight back in 2009 and went on to win the World Series. There is a lot of baseball left to play. There's plenty of time for these guys to right the ship.

Fast forward now almost 5 months. The Yankees just ended a 6 game win streak. They are 87-54 and 2 games up on the 1927 Yankees, err I mean, the Red Sox in the AL East and they have a 9.5 game lead in the wild card race if they were to fall behind Boston. They lead the league in runs scored and have the 3rd best team ERA in the AL (9th in MLB). Looks like the ship has been righted. It's a good time to be a Yankees fan.

Sorry I've been away so long. It became increasingly tough to find time to blog with 3 kids at home, all under the age of 4. I could barely find time to watch the Yankees play. My wife is a teacher and when school ended our kids stayed up later, usually until around 8:30, sometimes even later. By the time we got them to bed and I did what I needed to do (shower, etc), the games were usually in the late innings. I felt extremely disconnected from the Yankees Universe. When I had the time, I usually took to Twitter for talking about the Yankees. I stayed up on things as much as I could but they didn't get as much attention from me as i wanted to give.

Now that school has started up again the kids are getting back to their 7:30 bedtimes which should allow me to catch most of the game. I'm hoping that everything else in my life cooperates and I'll be able to fire off posts with somewhat regularity. It may not be daily. There may be a day or two that goes without a post. But you definitely won't see another 5 month hiatus. At least that's the plan.

Before I get back into talking about the Yankees I just wanted to say thanks to everyone who's ever frequented the blog and/or interacted with me on Twitter. You guys make being a Yankees fan more fun than it already is. Thanks for that. Special shout out to a few people: Susan, Sara, Lorenzo and Timmy. I appreciate the support and the conversation. There are definitely more people to say thanks to and more people to appreciate. I don't mean to offend by leaving names off. Those 4 just immediately popped into mind. If you feel slighted by being not being named personally, please don't. I didn't intend to offend.

I'll close this return with some Yankee thoughts:

• I owe Curtis Granderson a lot of money. I pledged to give his charity $15 for every of his HRs. He currently has 38. Yeah, I didn't see that coming either. I'm currently in for a $570 donation with 22 games to play. When I was deciding how much to pledge I was thinking he'd hit maybe 25 HRs. Definitely wasn't expecting 40+. CG has to be the current favorite to win the AL MVP. He currently leads the league in RBI, he's 2nd in HR, and what I find most impressive is he's leading the league in runs with 126, which is 26 more runs than the 2nd most (Ellsbury w/100). I'll be shocked if he doesn't win that award. Props to CG and K-Long for turning things around.


• Do people still think Brian Cashman is an idiot? Almost every move he's made this year has panned out: Russell Martin, Freddy Garcia, Bartolo Colon, Cory Wade, Eric Chavez and Andruw Jones have all made significant contributions to the team. Low risk, really high reward. Step off his frankfurter if you're still hating.


• Derek Jeter has had quite the season. It looked like 2011 was going to be a repeat of 2010. The he got hurt and he came back a new man. I don't think anyone saw DJ getting his average up to the 300 neighborhood.


• Welcome to NY Jesus Montero. You haven't disappointed. I'm looking forward to great things during your tenure in Pinstripes.


• Poor Jorge Posada. The only thing he has to blame for his fall is his abysmal performance. It's evident to me that this is his last year in Pinstripes.


• Move over Trevor. 4 more saves and Mariano is officially the king of the hill. He's the G.O.A.T. With any luck I'll get to see him break that record in person when the Yankees are in Toronto. I won't complain if he breaks it sooner. Saves mean wins. I'll take those.


• A.J. Burnett is (mostly) terrible.


• Ivan Nova is not terrible. Can you say Rookie of the Year?


• CC is still the man.


• I did not think David Robertson would pitch as well as he has. Dude truly is Houdini. He does need to cut down on the walks.


• LOL @ the Boston Red Sox. Better than the 1927 Yankees? How dumb does that guy look now?

I'm sure there's more to say but that's enough for now. We're in the home stretch and as I wrote above it's a good time to be a Yankees fan. Enjoy the last 3 or so weeks. October baseball will be here before we know it.

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

The Bats Wake Up, The Pitching Stays Hot, The Yankees Roll The Pale Hose

Now that's what I'm talking about. The Yankees had it all working tonight. A great outing from the starter. An offensive explosion. It's good when everyone is on the same page and they fire on all cylinders.

CC Sabathia pitched a great game. Typical CC. I got a late start on giving my kids their baths tonight. I walked by the TV in the top of the 1st and saw runners on 2nd and 3rd with no outs. I was a little surprised when I turned on the MLB At-Bat app and saw that CC go out of the inning without allowing a run. I love it when these guys pull a Houdini act. CC's start makes the 7th straight outstanding start from the Yankees. Over the last 7 games, Yankee starters have thrown 50 innings, giving up 8 earned runs on 35 hits and 11 walks while striking out 38. That works out to a WHIP of 0.92 and an ERA of 1.44. Out-freaking-standing. I take great pleasure in putting those numbers together each night. I hope it continues.

By the time I got all the kids to bed it was the top of the 5th. The Yankees were up 2-0 and to my surprise they scored those runs without having a hit. What what what? That soon changed with a 5th inning hit parade. That was fun to watch. Nick Swisher went 3-4 with his 1st HR. What what what? Brett Gardner went deep. What what what? Jorge Posada went 0-4. Figures. Half-kidding on that last one.

Man Jorge is struggling. He's not even hitting the ball hard. That's kind of sad. I thought the DH role would suit him well but so far not good. It just doesn't look like there's anything there. How long can they go with him in the lineup when he's doing that poorly. I don't even see any good contact. I'm very concerned about Jorge. I think he'll snap out of his funk. When is the question?

Overall, great night for the offense. Any night you score 12 runs on 13 hits and 8 walks is a great night. It was nice to see after several games of futility. I'm hoping the bats stay hot and the starting pitching gets hotter than it is already. It was nice to see greatness on both sides of the field tonight. It will be nice if they can keep that going as the Blue Jays are coming to town and they always seem to give the Yankees fits. It should be a great series. It would be nice to see a sweep and end April on a really high note but I'll settle for a series win. Take it to 'em guys.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

A.J. Burnett Pitches A Gem But The Yankee Bats Don't Back Him Up

What a horrible way to kick off a homestand, right? That was such a frustrating game to watch. So frustrating that I don't really want to blog about it. But being the trooper that I am, I will. But there's not really much to say.

Excellent job by A.J. Burnett. He was outstanding. It's a shame that the offense couldn't come through for him tonight. He pitched a gem and walking away with a win would have been nice. Instead he walks away a hard luck loser. A.J. threw 8 really strong innings, giving up 1 run on 3 hits and 2 walks. One could argue that the run he gave up really wasn't his fault. Carlos Quentin's double would have been a single had Curtis Granderson not dove for that ball. Missing it allowed Quentin to take 2nd. He later scored on 2 groundball outs. I can't fault Granderson too much for going for that ball. It might not have worked out but I don't see him going after it unless he thought he had a shot at making the grab. But whatever. It is what it is. It sucks that the team spoiled such a great outing by Burnett. It really is.

There isn't really much to say about the offense since there wasn't any. It sucks that are so many "easy outs" in the Yankees lineup right now. Posada @ .145. Gardner @ .136. Swisher @ .227. And to a lesser extent, Jeter @ .244. That foursome needs to start pulling their weight. It's amazing that the Yankees are 12-7 with half the lineup performing that poorly.

I still would love to know why the Yankees seem to struggle mightily against pitchers they've never faced. Is it lack of preparation? Poor scouting reports? It happens too often for it to be a coincidence. I don't get it. Anybody have any theories? Is it really not the case and it just seems that way? I'm too lazy to look it up.

Phil Hughes had a setback today. Apparently, his bullpen session didn't go too well. It sounds like it went the same as his starts, meaning that there's nothing there. The team is sending him for an MRI. I'm curious to hear about those results.

There's no reason to dwell too much on tonight's loss. I'm treating it like Mariano Rivera does with a blown save. Forget about it, move on and get them tomorrow.

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

Somebody Call The Baltimore Police Because The Yankees Just Murdered The Orioles

Somebody needs to call the Baltimore cops because a crime was just committed in Camden Yards. Wow. Talk about a massacre.

CC Sabathia was on cruise control tonight. Despite scoring 3 runs the Orioles couldn't really touch him. It was a very free and easy outing for CC. Had the Yankees not tore the roof of the mother in the late innings he probably would have gone the distance. It pretty much was a lights out performance. Exactly what you'd expect from the ace. Apparently, when you go winless thru your 1st 4 starts the only way to guarantee yourself the win is to take care of it yourself. CC was a man on a mission tonight. He pitched most of the game with a pitch count well below 10 pitchers per inning. His control was excellent. He threw 73.8% of his pitches for strikes, walking one and whiffing 7. Great job by the big man.

You could slice this 2 ways but you could make a case that CC is off to his best start as a Yankee. It's a close call between this year and last. Thru his 1st 5 starts this year, CC has pitched 33 IPs to a tune of a 2.73 ERA. He's allowed 31 hits and 10 walks (1.24 @WHIP), while striking out 30 and allowing 2 longballs. Last year in his 1st 5 starts, he threw 34.2 IPs with a 3.12 ERA. His WHIP was better at 1.07 (25 hits and 12 walks). He struck out 28 and allowed the same number of HRs. I know it's not a true comparison due to the many different factors between the seasons, but either way you go, he's off to a good start. It's probably a little behind last year but not by much.

The entire offense, with one exception (Nick Swisher) had at least one hit tonight. The biggest blasts came off the bats of Russell Martin (what's new?), Alex Rodriguez (what's new?), and Brett Gardner (say what?). Yeah, that last name is a surprise. BG chipped in with a double and a 2-run HR. His HR was surprising but it came at the perfect time. The O's had just intentionally plunked Martin. And I say intentionally because you don't just happen to hit 2 HRs and get hit right near the head on accident. Gardner avenged that HBP by going yard. Nothing beats that kind of retaliation. Suck on that Showalter.

What is going on with the power surge, right? The 2011 Yankees are definitely Bronx Bombers. They belted another 5, count 'em 5, HRs tonight. They've now hit 35 on the season which is a team record thru their 1st 17 games. They have 4 guys with 6 HRs a-piece (Posada, Martin, Teixeira, Granderson). The biggest surprise though is that Nick Swisher hasn't hit any. It's probably because I'm not dropping $$ to his charity this year. Granderson is getting that love and he's earning it. I was anticipating donating like $300 or so. He's on pace to take about $850 from me. Yikes. Don't quote me on this stat because I'm sure I don't have it right but Granderson has hit the 3rd most HRs in all of MLB going back to some point in August 2010. Wow. Props to Kevin Long. And not just for working his mojo on Curtis but on all of the guys. Now if only he could fix Derek Jeter. That should be his priority numero uno.

Great win tonight. The Yankees handles things on both sides of the field. They came. They saw. They murdered the Orioles. The Yankees don't have an off day until May 9th. They play 15 straight days, get an off day, and then play another 16. Baseball is in full swing. I love that.

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

Yankees Back In First Place With 7-4 Win Over The Orioles

To the tune of New York, New York: Start spreading the news. They're back in 1st place. I know it's only been 10 games. But it's still 1st place. Feel free to sing along. You know you want to. Sorry for that. It's been a corny kind of day.

How about that A.J. Burnett? He's now 3-0 in 3 starts. It's the 1st time in his career he's won his first 3 starts. Amazing. What's even more amazing is that he has 3 of the 6 Yankee wins. That's a little mind blowing, isn't it. D'oh. Bob Lorenz just mentioned the same thing on the postgame show. I swear I thought of writing that before he said it. I tweeted it right after the game so there is proof if you doubt me. Woah, sorry about going off on a tangent. Again, been a corny kind of day.

I was a little worried about Burnett when the game started. I caught the 1st half inning while my wife was giving my 2 sons their baths. I listened to the 2nd inning while I was feeding my daughter her bedtime bottle. (Kids. Always getting in the way of Yankee baseball.) He was throwing a lot of pitches and I was worried he wasn't going to make it through 5. I was pleasantly surprised when I came back to the game in the 4th to find he had settled down. He was cruising right along up until he hit the wall in the 7th. His first 6 innings ended up being pretty darn good. Thru 6 A.J. had allowed only 4 hits, 1 walk and had 5 Ks. I think he was at 98 or so pitches. Very effective start. I'm very encouraged by what I've seen from A.J. so far. But, I remain cautiously optimistic because he's typically done well in April and then kind of faded. History can repeat itself. I'm hoping it doesn't.

I'd like to say the offense had a great night at the plate but considering they pretty much only hit for the 1st 2 innings, I can't. But it was an impressive two innings, wasn't it. I missed A-Rod's HR but caught the replay. I love it when he goes deep to RF because it means he's locked in. When Alex hits with power to the opposite field, he's got things working. He continues to impress and my prediction that he'll be the AL MVP this year is looking good.

There are still a lot of concerns though offensively. I'm hoping today's game is a turnaround for some guys. Both Jorge Posada and Mark Teixeira broke long oh-fers. And by long I mean 18-19 ABs. They're both good enough hitters that they should never go hitless for that long. It was also good to see Derek Jeter pick up 2 hits. Granted, his 2nd hit was a bouncer of home plate, but a hit is a hit. It's all looks the same in the box score. It could be something that turns things around for DJ. He's been struggling but as I mentioned the other day, most of the lineup has. The Captain now has the 4th highest average on the team at .237. A couple of more multi-hit games and he's golden. People are writing him off and they shouldn't be. Trust me. He'll be fine (he says nervously).

Big game tomorrow night. Phil Hughes gets the ball and I think we all share the same concern about Phil and his velocity. I'm hoping we see a few extra MPH on his heater. If we don't, and we see the same Phil we've seen so far this season, sound the alarm. He needs to be better and it all starts with regaining his velocity. I'm hoping it returns but am skeptical that it will. Hope it does.

What would a blog of mine be without a parting shot at Red Sox fans? Dear Red Sox fans: A.J. Burnett has 3 wins. The Red Sox have 2. How you like dem apples? Burn.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

An Open Letter To The Yankees Offense

Dear Yankees Offense,

Please start hitting the ball.

Sincerely,

Yankee fans everywhere

Seriously, outside of Cano, A-Rod, and Russell Martin, nobody is really hitting. Take a look:

Swisher = .219
Jeter = .206
Teixeira = .182
Granderson = .172
Gardner = .167
Posada = .138

Two-thirds of the Yankees lineup is hitting under .219. You're not going to win a lot of games when you hit like that. Just ask the Rays and Red Sox. Burn.

I've seen a lot of talk about Derek Jeter and his offensive struggles. I think a lot of that criticism is a little underserved. I could understand it if he was the only one scuffling but if you look at their numbers; he's doing better than 1/2 the lineup. But DJ has kind of brought this on himself. He didn't exactly light the world on fire last season. The concerns are very valid. But it's early. They'll all snap out of it.

Wake up bats.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

Nova And The Bullpen Carry Yankees To 4-3 Win Over The Twins

I'm coming to find that having 3 kids makes it very hard to watch night games. The whole putting to bed process takes roughly 1.5 hours from start to finish, beginning around 7pm and ending around 8:30. It starts with baths, then some TV, followed by books, then bed. It's a tough schedule for a die-hard Yankees fan. I try to sneak in as much of the game as I can. I throw a little PIP action up on the TV during some kids show when the wife isn't looking. When that's not working I've got the audio feed playing on my Droid using the MLB At-Bat App. It's not the most ideal way to follow the games but it works. Kind of. If push came to shove and I could only do one or the other I've got to hang with the kids. I love those guys. But as long as I can pull off some double duty, I'm going to.

Great job by Ivan Nova tonight. 6 strong quality innings for his 2nd career win. Unlike last year he didn't seem to run out of gas at any point during the game. Remember last season? It always seemed like he hit the wall around the 5th inning. Tonight was his 8th career start and only the 2nd time he made it through 6 innings. Overall, great job. Nova has shown signs of being a great pitcher. If he can build on his outing tonight I have no doubt that he will be.

Hats off to the bullpen. It's apparent that Joba Chamberlain is Joe Girardi's lead-in to the Soriano and Mo show. I'm not 100% sold on that. Joba makes me nervous. Whenever he pitches it's as if I have to watch the game through my fingers. I rarely feel comfortable watching JC pitch late in games when the Yankees have a 1-2 run lead. Apparently, Girardi has confidence in him. I don't not yet anyway. I do feel confident about Rafael Soriano and Mo finishing off games. That level of confidence is off the charts. Odds are if the Yankees take a lead into the 8th the game is over. Soriano came up huge today, Retiring both Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau is no easy task. Soriano did it no problem. I really like that signing. Not a fan of the contract but love the player. Mariano Rivera = game over. 'Nuff said.

The Yankees have been living off the long ball this season. Two more slam-a-lama-ding-dongs today. Posada hit his 3rd and A-Rod his 2nd. As I wrote yesterday, being a full-time DH is going to be huge for Posada. He's always had a good bat. Without the added wear-and-tear on the legs it could be great. So far it's looking like it will be. Alex is locked in and is poised to have a MONSTER year. He's healthy and it's showing. He was my pre-season MVP pick and I'm feeling really good about it.

It seems like every post I write has a "Russell Martin is awesome" section in it. It seems that way because it's true. He had another one of those nights tonight. Who knew he had that much speed? In 4 games he has 2 stolen bases. I didn't think at any point in the season Russell Russ would be among the league leader in SBs. I don't expect him to keep it up but that doesn't mean it can't be fun while it lasts. A catcher with speed. I dig it.

The Yankees are currently 3-1 and their 1-2 hitters aren't hitting. Gardner and Jeter are a combined 4 for 29 (.138). If you told me after 4 games that those two would be hitting so poorly I wouldn't have guessed the team would be 3-1. That .750 winning percentage won't last for long if those 2 don't start setting the table. I'm not overly concerned. It has been a very small sample size. It's just painful to see them both doing so poorly at the same time. I don't think Brett the Jet will do as well as he did last year. I'm still not 100% sold on him being an everyday OF. Don't get me wrong, I really like BG and think he deserves the starts. I'm just not feeling him all the time. Most of the time? Yes. All of the time? Nope. It'll be nice if those two can get it going by the weekend.

CC back on the bump tomorrow. I always feel good when he's on the hill. Hopefully, if I'm lucky, I can pull off seeing most of his start. I need to find a way to get my kids to bed by 7:05 every night. Suggestions anyone?

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

Yankees Pitching To Blame In 10-7 Loss To Tigers

Well, you can't win them all. Today's loss was all about the pitching. When you score 7 runs, rack up 12 hits and 3 walks, and hit 4 HRs, you should win. The trio of Yankee pitchers today did not do anyone any favors. Whenever the Yankees would score a few runs the pitchers would give them right back. It was so frustrating to watch them go from down 2-0, to tied 2-2, to down 5-2, to down 5-4, to down 7-4, to down 7-6, to down 9-6, to down 9-7, to finishing down 10-7. Every time the Yankees scored they gave the runs right back. That won't win you games.

Phil Hughes was not terribly impressive today. He wasn't even close to impressive. His velocity was down and he had no out pitch. I don't have the exact count on how many batters he got 2 strikes on but he just couldn't put anybody away. He finished the game with only one strikeout. There wasn't a lot of swinging and missing with Phil's pitches. His decreased velocity didn't help any. I think he topped out at 91 MPH and was regularly hitting 89-90. A few extra miles on the fastball and his pitching line might have been drastically different. I didn't pay a lot of attention to Spring Training. Apparently, Phil's velocity has been down all spring. Last year he was steady rocking at 93-94 MPH. I would have thought he'd be at that level at this point. Not sure why he's not there and it doesn't sound like anyone knows. At this point all one can do is play the waiting game. I expect that he'll get those MPHs back in the next few starts. If he doesn't, time to worry.

Bartolo Colon made his regular season debut today and like Hughes he wasn't terribly impressive. Unlike Phil's outing, Bartolo was impressive at times. It was like I was watching A.J. Burnett pitch an entire season in a matter of 4 innings. Bartolo was either lights out or God awful. No idea what to make of his outing. It's early and you can't put a lot of stock into one bad outing, especially when it's the first outing of the year. I don't see Bartolo pitching when the Yankees have a lead so I'm not as concerned with how he did (yet). Then again, if he pitched a little better today the Yankees might have won. I hope he figure out how to consistently pitch well. I'm not sure he will.

Ugh. Joba Chamberlain. Here we go again. Are we going to do this again this year? Good outing, bad outing, good outing, bad outing. Get your act together please.

The Yankees offense had another big day and did everything they could to win this game. Stupid pitching. They took Tigers' pitchers deep 4 times. The Bronx Bombers are living up to that moniker. Through 3 games they've hit 9 HRs, which is a franchise record. Mark Teixeira stayed hot with his 3rd HR of the season. All signs point to no April slump for Teix. That would be a welcomed sight. Teix hitting will make the lineup a heck of a lot better.

How about Jorge Posada going deep twice? I don't know about you but I really think Jorge is going to have a great season at the plate. I think being a full-time DH is going to be the best thing to happen to Jorge. He swings a good stick and I think the wear and tear of catching had an impact on Jorge reaching peak performance. Now that he's not catching I think we'll see a significant uptick in Jorge's typical production. I think you can take that to the bank.

I continue to be impressed with the play of Russell Martin. Right now he's doing it all. I know it's early but me likey. Me likey a lot.

So the first series of the season is in the books. The Tigers are thought to be a pretty good team and you can't be unhappy about the Yankees taking two of three from them. If you are, well, I don't know what to tell you. You should always be happy with a series win. You win enough of those and you're golden. Next up they've got a 4 game set with the Twins. The Twins are another AL Central favorite. It shouldn't be an easy series but winning three of four is doable. I'm very interested to see the next two games. Ivan Nova and Freddy Garcia will be making their 1st starts. I hope they bring it.

I'm so glad baseball is back.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

Time For The Second Season

I love this time of the year. October is by far my favorite month. Nothing beats baseball's second season, the postseason. It's truly the most exciting time of the year.

I don't know about you but I for one am very happy that the Yankees finished the season as the wild card winner. I think they're better off facing the Twins than the Rangers in the ALDS. I kind of wrote about this in my last entry and with the regular season now over it makes a little sense to revisit it.

The main reason I prefer the Yankees facing the Twins is simple and it can be explained in 2 words: Cliff Lee. Had the Yankees won the East they'd be hosting the Rangers and would undoubtedly face Cliff Lee in game 1. Cliff Lee is a stud and a much better pitcher outside of Texas. Pitching in Yankee Stadium would greatly benefit Lee as Yankee Stadium plays to LHPs. The Yankees know this and that's one of the major reasons they tried to trade for him before the deadline and it's one of the biggest reasons the Yankees will go hard after Lee once the free agent market opens. It would have been tough to beat him in game 1. Real tough.

I would assume, if the Rangers were smart, that they would have started C.J. Wilson, another LHP, in game 2. The Yankees have struggled mightily in recent weeks, losing something like 9 straight games against LH starters. I say something like because I don't know the actual number. I recall hearing the stat on the radio before the last series with Boston and I'm too lazy to look it up. Anyway, point is, facing 2 decent LHPs in Yankee Stadium in a short series could be a death sentence.

I personally think the Yankees match-up much better with the Twins. They're pitching staff isn't as strong and they'll avoid facing the tough lefty, Francisco Liriano, in Yankee Stadium. I also think the Yankees are in a good position to break up their two LHPs. If the Yankees were at home to start the ALDS it would make perfect sense to start Sabathia in game 1 and Pettitte in game 2. Again, Yankee Stadium plays to LHPs. I think they would have shot themselves in the foot if they started Pettitte in game 3 had they hosted Texas. The right move now in my opinion is to start CC in game 1 and Phil Hughes in game 2. Hughes has pitched much better on the road this year and I think he'll fare rather well pitching in Target Field. Pettitte should start game 3.

The game four starter is the big question mark. Here's how I would play it. If the Yankees are up 2-1, I'd start A.J. Burnett. I don't think you can let A.J. pitch in a big game. If the Yankees were down 2-1 or tied 2-2 I'd struggle to give the ball to Burnett. If they're down 2-1 I think they need to bring CC back on short rest. The only hiccup in that plan is that they then probably need to bring Hughes back on short rest to start game 5. That's the only roadbump in my plan. Not sure I want to see them go down that road but I think it makes the most sense. I wouldn't want A.J. to pitch and I'm not sure how I feel about Pettitte pitching on short rest based on how he finished out the season. I could live with Hughes in game 5. Hopefully, it doesn't go that far.

Another plus to facing the Twins is that they don't run that much. The Twins had 68 stolen bases on the year compared to 123 for the Rangers. The Yankees ranked dead last in the AL in caught stealing percentage, stopping only 15% of would-be base-stealers. If the Twins were smart they'd run all over Posada and Cervelli. But it doesn't look like it's part if their game. Advantage Yankees.

Another thing working in the Yankees' favor is that Justin Morneau is out for the playoffs. That's pretty big. The Twins' lineup is definitely not the same without him. On the flip side, Josh Hamilton just came off the DL and returned to the Rangers' lineup. Hamilton, had he played all season, would probably win the AL MVP award. Anytime you don't have to face him, you win.

I definitely like the Yankees chances in the ALDS. They've owned the Twins in the postseason and I expect them to get past them again. If only we didn't have to wait 46 hours to get it started.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

Yankees Win A Tense One, Time To Exhale & Breathe A Little Easier

G effing D. Tonight's Yankees/Red Sox game is absolutely killing me. 2 outs away from picking up the W and Mo blows the save. WTF? Then the Yankees get to Papelbon and have 2 shots at knocking in the game winner but nope. Freaking Jorge. Talk about a horrible inning. 4 SBs and a whiff. Horrible. Aargh.

The game is currently in the 10th inning and I can't bear myself to watch it. I've been a nervous nelly these last few days. I'm starting to get that sinking feeling that the Yankees are royally screwed. I know they're still in really good shape but they're not playing well at all. They still have a pretty good-sized lead but with the way they're playing and 3 more games with Boston, 'll admit it, I don't feel good about it. Hopefully this post ends on a happy note.

Phil Hughes looked great tonight. Yankees made the right move by starting him tonight.

A-Rod is becoming extremely hot. I can't believe he's on the cusp of hitting 30 HRs. I didn't think he had a shot but he's been on a tear. I was jumping around the house when he went deep. Thought I woke up my kids but thankfully, I didn't.

My pre-season prediction for the AL MVP was Robinson Cano. I still stand by that prediction. Robbie is the man.

I'm not liking how Mariano has pitched recently. I hope he gets it out of his system if they make it to the postseason. My fantasy team is in the championship of a $ league. I have both Papelbon and Rivera. Tonight was not a good night.

I'm not enjoying what I'm seeing from Jorge Posada. That 9th inning was brutal.

The Yankees currently have the bases loaded with no outs in the 10th. C'mon fellas. Take care of this. I've been typing this blog in the kitchen and am within earshot of the TV. I've been running in whenever I hear Miller start to call a play. The Yankees have been doing better this game when I've been in the other room. Being the superstitious cat that I am, I'm staying put and sticking with what's working.

Force out at home. Freaking A. Here we go again. C'mon Juan Miranda. You like pie, right?

YES HE DOES! Okajima with the bases loaded walk! Yankees win. Thuhh Yankees win.

Man, that was an extremely tense game. I can finally breathe easier. The win means the Yankees at worst clinch a tie for the wild card. The only way that happens is if they finish 0-6 and Boston finishes 7-0. I'm not going to comment on that. This hasn't been the best month for the Yankees and I'm not going to make another potential foot-in-mouth comment until it's done.

One week to go. The Yanks are a 1/2 game back of Tampa for the division and have clinched a tie for the wild-card. This should be a great week. Lucky for me the next 3 are in Toronto. It's about an hour-and-a-half away and I'm going. I'm really hoping to see them clinch the WC and I'm hoping it's tomorrow. That would be awesome. Leaving early to do some autograph hunting. Off to bed. My mind is racing though. That game was crazy.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

Yankees Back In 1st Place As A-Rod Saves The Day

Talk about snatching a win from the jaws of defeat. Down to their final strike. A questionable non-3rd strike call. Boom! 3-Run HR by Alex Rodriguez. Mariano for the save. Game over. Yankees win. Rays lose. Yankees are back in first place.

Son of a B. Bob Lorenz just opened the postgame show with my opening "snatching from the jaws of defeat line." Now everyone is going to think I bit that. Thanks Bob. Make me look more unoriginal.

The biggest moment of the night for me was Jorge's AB to lead off the 9th inning. Talk about money. That was clutch. Next biggest moment came moments later when A-Rod took what could have been the game-ending strike 3. I loved when YES dropped a slo-mo on the grin he had on his face after the pitch. I saw that and had a feeling that something good was coming. It didn't take long for that good thing to come. Next pitch, ball going, ball gone. It's A-Rod's world tonight. Thanks for letting me live in it.

I had this tweet typed on my phone during A-Rod's AB: Tonight's postgame show should just be Bob Lorenz saying, "The Yankees suck and goodnight." Roll credits. That came from Michael Kay telling me to tune into the postgame show to hear Bob run the game down. I thought for sure the Yankees were losing tonight. They've been scuffling lately and I didn't see Alex coming through. Lesson learned. Never count these guys out. This is a huge win for the Yankees. It better turn things around.

I thought Burnett pitched pretty well tonight. He looked good. Not physically though. What's up with the shiner? I missed it if they talked about but it looked like he got popped pretty good. Anybody know how it happened? Anyway, it was a pretty good outing for Burnett. By my count that's 4 somewhat decent ones in a row. I'm really hoping he's turned the corner. They're going to need him to pitch well down the stretch and in October. Maybe the possible ass-kicking he got did him some good.

Perfect night for the Yankees. A clutch come from behind win and both the Rays and Red Sox lost. The Yankees are back in first place and are 2 steps closer to clinching a playoff spot. The magic # to clinch a spot is now 9. The Yankees are also set up to keep the good times rolling over these next 2 days. The big man, aka CC Sabathia, goes tomorrow. You can't argue that CC has been awesome for quite sometime. Hopefully he picks up win #20. Sunday marks the return of Andy Pettitte. It'll be good to see him back on the mound in a Yankee uniform. He's been very reliable and very good this year and his return is just what this team needs right now. Looking forward to seeing his return.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

Yankees Win A Wild One, Beat White Sox 12-9

That was certainly an interesting ballgame. If you told me before the game that the Yankees were going to put up a 12-spot in a game that CC Sabathia started I'd have thought the game would be a blowout. Tonight's win was anything but. It ended with Mariano Rivera doing what he does best, saving games. It was too close for my comfort but a win is a win. Doesn't matter how you win as long as you do. Well, maybe it matters a little.

CC was far from dominant, which is something we Yankee fans have to come to expect from CC in August based on his previous outings. CC owns the month of August. Coming into tonight's game, CC was 9-1 in 11 starts as a Yankee. 11 starts, 80.2 IP, 68 hits, 15 walks, 76 strikeouts, 23 ER, 2.57 ERA. One word, dominant. He was far from his typical self tonight but he still pitched pretty well. 69% of his pitches were strikes. He whiffed 9 and only walked 1. The home runs are what did him in. Lucky for him, and for us, the offense brought their game tonight. He picked up win #18 and with 5-6 starts left you'd think 20 wins is in the bag. Cy Young favorite? He just might be.

Big night for the offense. 12 runs on 14 hits and 9 walks. 4-12 with RISP. Swisher went deep for HR #24 (add another $38 to the Swish's Wishes fundraiser). Marcus Thames went deep twice. How awesome is he playing, right? Posada had 2 hits and 2 RBI. But the player of the night has to be Eduardo Nunez. Wardo went 3-4 with 4 RBI and he hit his 1st big league HR. Career night for the newbie. Good for him. I hope he can keep it up.

The game really should have been a blowout. CC went 7 innings and when he left the score was 11-5. A 6-run lead should be safe even with the Yankee bullpen. But they did everything in their power to blow the game. Joba sucked. D-Rob sucked. Even Boone Logan was a little off. Mo wasn't vintage Mo but still got the job done. I'll give them a pass tonight based on how well they've done recently. Yes Joba, even you. Coming into tonight Joba had allowed only 1 run in his last 13 appearances. Logan hadn't allowed a run in his last 15 games and still hasn't. D-Rob just had a string of 19 scoreless appearances snapped. They've all pitched pretty well. Hopefully it's not a sign of things to come.

The Rays beat the Red Sox tonight. That works for me. As I wrote yesterday all I care about is that the Yankees make it to the postseason. I don't care if they finish as the AL East champs or the wild-card. Again, would prefer the division but wild-card works for me. The Yankees magic number to clinch a playoff spot is 28. Losses by the Red Sox reduce that number. So go Rays.

Ivan Nova tomorrow. I missed his last outing. Hope to catch this one.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

Yankees Fall To Red Sox In Finale But All Is Good In The Yankees Universe

I got to listen to pretty much all of today's game on the radio today. My work schedule was kind to me. Busy day but it was desk work for the most part. The outcome of today's game didn't go in the Yankees' favor but nobody should be disappointed with the outcome. There were definitely a lot of positives to go around.

For starters, the Yankees knocked 4 games off their schedule and the Red Sox have nothing to show for it. They came in 7 losses behind the Yankees and they're leaving 7 losses behind the Yankees. The Red Sox needed to win at least 3 of 4 this series if they had any hopes of contending for the division. They failed. Time is running out and making up 7 games when you have 51 to play is a tall mountain to climb. Can it be done? Sure. But it would take both a monumental run by the Sox and a monumental collapse by the Yankees to happen. The Sox have 49 games left. Let's assume they play out of their shoes the rest of the way and play .650 ball, which is 84 percentage points higher than their winning percentage to date (.566). They'd finish the season 32-17. If they pull that off, which is unlikely, the Yankees would have to finish 27-24 (.549), which is 73 percentage points below their winning percentage to date (.622). Assume the Sox could somehow pull off a .600 finish. They'd finish 30-19. The Yanks would have to tank and finish 25-26 just for the Sox to tie. Both scenarios are highly improbable. But it's baseball and anything can happen. Though again, it's really unlikely.

Phil Hughes could have pulled a Josh Beckett today and taken his team right out of the ballgame. He had a brutal start, throwing 50 some odd pitches in 2 innings, allowing 5 hits and 2 runs. He was in shutdown mode the rest of the way. Nice composure from the youngster. Philly boy finished with 6 strong innings, keeping his team in the game and giving them a chance to win. You'd think the team with the most runs scored in MLB could have mustered a few more runs, right? Well, against someone other than Jon Lester and I'd say maybe. Lester is as tough as they come and he shut the Yanks down today. I don't want to call Hughes a hard-luck loser but it was a solid outing. It was nice to see, I mean hear, him pitch his way through 6 innings. I hope Joba and A.J. were paying attention today. Hughes gave a lesson on how not to implode on the mound. Well done.

Speaking of Joba, he put up another solid outing. That's 7 straight scoreless appearances for the Jobster. 7.1 IP, 2 H, 3 BB, 6 K. He had an impressive 2-pitch 2-out inning to close out the 8th. Hopefully he's got his head on straight. I think I might have to work him back into my fantasy lineup.

Offensively not the best day for the boys in Pinstripes. Again though, they faced Jon Lester. He's a tough cookie to crack. I thought they had him in the 7th but then Daniel Bard showed up and K'd both Jeter and Swisher with the bases loaded. I haven't seen the replay but it sounds like Marcus Thames was a hair away from tying the game. I'm more curious to see though why Posada didn't score on the hit. The way John Sterling made it sound was that the ball was nowhere need going to be catchable. Did Jorge hold up, get a bad read on the ball, or is he just slower than molasses? If I had to guess I'd say C, he's slower than molasses. Dude is slow.

It's road trip time. The Yankees head to Texas to play 2 and then to KC for a 4-game set. We're now a day past my wife's due date and still no baby. Going past a due date is kind of like a soccer game. Regulation time expired and were now into extra time and we have no idea when the game is going to end. It would work out well if she were born sometime before Wednesday afternoon. Tomorrow's game is on My9 and Verizon FiOS here in Buffalo doesn't carry that feed. So since I can't see the game it would work out well for me if the baby came tomorrow or Wednesday morning. I'm such a selfish person, aren't I? As long as she shows up healthy that's all that matters.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

Yankees Offense Backs Up CC In 8-3 Win Over Orioles

Watched most of the game on fast forward tonight. The fam took me out for dinner figuring it would be a nice stress reliever. We didn't get back until the 2nd inning so I totally missed the Yanks score their first 2 runs. I DVR'd the game from the 2nd inning on and finally got caught up for the top of the 7th. It's been a struggle for me to start watching at first pitch. My kids start getting for bed around 7 and are down for the count by 8pm. We're in the process of getting our house packed up for our move and that took me away from watching until about 9:15 or so. It's interesting watching a game on FF. I usually stop it if something big happens. I stopped it quite a bit tonight as the Yankees poured on the runs. Love seeing that.

The bottom half of the Yankees order continues to impress. Not counting Posada, everyone 5-9 had a multi-hit game. Cano through Gardner combined to go 11-23. I talked yesterday about the mini-tears that Robbie Cano and Nick Swisher are on, each being 6 games long. You can now make that 7 games. Cano went 2-5 with a home run and Swisher went 3-5 with 2 runs and 2 ribbies. Cano is having a monster April. My prediction that he'll be the 2010 AL MVP is looking pretty good, eh? I can't believe he's hitting .390. I always knew Robbie was a good hitter. I didn't realize he was that good.

I see Posada is listed as day-to-day after being hit-by-a-pitch in the 2nd. I hope it's nothing serious and it doesn't sound like it is. If it happens to be, I'm glad we have Francisco Cervelli to fill in. He's having a phenomenal April. Maybe his oversized helmet has special powers? I can't help myself. Whenever I see him I say, "Gazooooo."

The top of the order had a better night tonight (4-17) than they did yesterday (1-18), but they're still under-performing. It's been the same story all year. Nick Johnson and Mark Teixeira are dragging ass right now. Johnson at least gets on base but his average (.143) and his SLG % (.232) leave a lot to be desired. And what's up with all the Ks? I thought Nick had this great eye. He's now walked 20 times and whiffed 20 times. Last year in 104 AB with the Marlins, Johnson struck out 18 times. He's got 20 in 56 AB this year. In his career, Nick strikes out once every 4.79 ABs. This year, it's once every 2.8 AB. Improvement needed. Just think for an extra million they could have resigned Hideki Matsui (.284/.359/.506).

CC Sabathia wasn't sharp tonight but still pitched pretty well. He gave up 11 hits and 2 walks but only gave up 3 runs. When you allow that many baserunners you're asking for trouble, unless of course you're a top-tier pitcher like CC. The best pitchers have an uncanny ability to get out of big spots. He got a big 2-out K to get out of a jam in the 1st. He got a big DP to end the 5th and another DP in the 7th. CC battled tonight and came out relatively unscathed.

One more tomorrow in Baltimore and then it's back home to the Bronx. A win tomorrow and the Yanks will return home with a 14-7 record. A loss will leave them at 13-8. Either way it was a pretty great month for the Yanks. They played a pretty tough schedule, complete with a west coast roadie and only 6 home games. A 13-8 start wouldn't be too shabby. But why settle for that? 14-7 would be so much better.

I'm so tired.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

Yankees Sweep Rangers & Andy Pettitte Is A Golden God

The Yankees may be tied with the Rays for the best record in baseball at 9-3. But there is no question as to which is the better team and sits atop the MLB power rankings. The Yankees are definitely a-number one, top of the list, kings of the hill and top of the heap. The sweep of the Rangers gives Yankees their fourth straight series win to start the season. The Bombers haven't done that since 1926. That's hard to believe I know, but it's true. This team is doing it all. They're pitching. They're hitting. They're playing solid defense. And they're doing it against the best of the bunch. They took 2 of 3 from Boston in Boston. 2 of 3 from Tampa in Tampa. 2 of 3 from their arch-nemesis the Angels in the Bronx. Then a sweep of Texas at home in the Boogie Down. Most baseball pundits think that the Yankees, Rays, and Red Sox are 3 of the best teams in baseball, with the Angels and Rangers being the top contenders in the AL West. Starting the season 9-3 against those teams has to have every Yankee fan excited. Any Yankee fan out there not excited?

The Yankees starting pitching absolutely dominated the Rangers. CC, A.J. and Andy combined to go 3-0, pitch 21 IP, while allowing 3 runs on 13 hits and 5 walks while whiffing 20. That's an ERA of 1.29. Hot damn! CC started it off and A.J. and Andy definitely kept the good times rolling. Pettitte was again awesome today. He was again vintage Pettitte. He struggled early but quickly figured out how to correct himself. We saw Andy do this quite a bit last year. He'd give up a few early runs, would settle down and pitch his tail off. Today was no different except he flat out dominated instead of just getting by. Pettitte has been lights out all season. Sure, he's allowed a fair amount of baserunners (WHIP coming into today was 1.42) but he's found ways to keep those guys from scoring. AP has now thrown 20 IP, has allowed 15 hits and 9 walks. His ERA is 1.35. That's awesome considering those stats came against the Red Sox, Angels and Rangers. Yeah, I'm jocking Andy's nuts right now. As I wrote in my last post, he's awesome.

I was a little surprised today's game was as close as it was. It didn't feel like a 5-2 win. The Yankees had a lot of baserunners today but only managed 5 runs. They weren't terribly efficient with RISP. They went 1-7 and left 10 guys on base. The game shouldn't have been as close as it was. I'm still puzzled how the Rangers only gave up 5 runs because Rich Harden was awful. It was nice to see Mark Teixeira hit his first longball of the season. That was long overdue. Tex is hitting the ball better but he's still struggling. If he can string together a few good games in a row I think that will turn things around. He's standing on the verge of getting it on.

Brett Gardner filled in very well at the top of the order (get well soon Derek). BG reached base 4 times today (2 singles, 1 walk, 1 HBP) and swiped 2 bases. It's hard to believe BG's OBP is up to .444 (assuming I did the math right). I love having Brett hit in the 9-spot. His ability to get on base and speed compliment the top of the order quite nicely. I know he's not an OBP machine but he does well for a guy in the 9-hole.

Jorge Posada is a beast. 'Nuff said.

If anyone was wondering why I didn't post after Saturday's win it's because I was holed up in a car dealership buying a minivan with the wife. I think we devoted about 9 hours to it. It was brutal. I didn't see any of the game, so I took the day off. The Yankees now embark on a west coast roadie and west coast trips and I don't get along. It's hard to stay up that late when you've got a 2.66 year old and a 1 year old that both wake up before 6:30am every day. Add a job to it and it's tough to stay up past 10. I usually make it to 11 or so for the west coast games. So I'm not sure what my level of blogging will be over the next few days. There will be something. I'm just not sure what. Thankfully it's just 2 late weekday games. Maybe I'll nut up and tough it up. Knowing me I probably will because I love me some Yankee baseball!

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

Too Little Too Late For Yankees Offense In 5-3 Loss To Angels

I didn't get to see the game today. Correction. I got to see the 9th inning. I was hoping to see some pie, but instead I saw the Yankees go down 1-2-3. Next to games on My9, afternoon games are my least favorite type of Yankee games. I listen along at work but it's really tough to focus on and follow. Not to mention I can't really tweet about it. I had to leave a little early today to meet up with our realtor, so I did hear the 8th inning rally, which was as the title of this log suggests, too little too late.

The Yanks had their shot there in the 8th. Tying runs on base and the two hottest hitters coming up in Cano and Posada. Based on their hot starts I thought for sure one would come through. I was really hoping it'd be Cano because I thought it would signal the end of his troubles of hitting with RISP. Grounding into a fielder's choice? Not the way to get things done. Robbie still appears to be having trouble hitting in key situations this year. After today's game I think his average with RISP dropped to .222 and his average with runners on dropped to .231. It's hard to believe a guy hitting .382 would be that bad with runners on. I may have to start calling him Robbie The Rally Killer if he keeps it up. It's such a small sample size. I hope he turns it around.

It sounded like Joel Pineiro really dominated the Yankee hitters today. He allowed 5 hits and no walks while striking out 7. I'd call that a pretty good day. I don't really have any critique of his counterparts performance. Without seeing much of the game it's hard to really tell how Javy Vazquez did. It's really easy to go by a guy's pitching line when he dominates. Not so easy when it's a sub-par start. If anyone who saw the game wants to breakdown his performance for me I'd appreciate it. I'll hit up some of my favorite blogs to see what the general consensus but the more opinions the better, so feel free to lay it on me. All I can say is it's not good to have two of your team's three losses and have a 9.82 ERA to boot. I hope he turns it around.

Do I come off as disliking Nick Swisher? I know I call him the "Rally Killer" and all, but I really am rooting for him. I think my buddy Don disagrees. We had a little back and forth today via text messaging about Nick and I think he thinks I can't stand the guy, and that couldn't be further from the truth. The last thing I am going to do is root for a Yankee to fail. I've broken down Swish's numbers a few times on this site, justifying the moniker I've bestowed upon him. I haven't run into anyone yet that disagrees with the name, except for my buddy. I'm curious if there's anybody else out there. Now before anybody jumps all over me (I'm talking to you Don), let me say that I do like what Nick brings to the table. He's a great clubhouse guy. He's a great teammate. He helps the lineup by seeing a lot of pitches. I see great value in all of those things. But I also see value though in being able to bring runners home and Swish, as I've detailed many a time, doesn't do well in that aspect. Believe you me, I wish that wasn't the case. I really am pulling for him. I really do hope he does better in that area. I'm probably a little hypocritical for not jumping all over Cano like I do with Swish. I wonder why that is. I need to see a shrink I guess. Any theories from the armchair shrinks out there?

Tomorrow is a big day for me as I'm a really big Phil Hughes guy and he makes his first start of the season tomorrow night. I'm glad the Yankees named him the 5th starter. I see great things in his future. A good outing tomorrow would be a step in that direction. It would be nice to win another series and be 6-3 after facing arguably the 3 best teams in the American League. That's a start I can get behind.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie