Say It Ain't So

I'm listening to a sound clip of one of the Yankees brass announcing that Joe Torre turned down an extension??? What the dilly? Unfortunately, one of my staff called me during the playback and I missed a lot of the details.
I don't know what to think but it looks like Joe's out. All I can say is keep negotiating!!
J

The Era Continues?

They're reporting on XM that ESPN is reporting that the Yankees and Joe Torre are close to reaching an agreement for a contract extension. If this happens, I for one, will be relieved, as I think that Joe Torre, despite his shortcomings, is still the best man for the job. The guy can only do so much. He has after all gotten these guys into the playoffs for the last dozen plus years. I think the fallout from letting him go would be immeasurable. The domino effect would ripple through the entire organization. It would be good. If they did can Joe, it would have been extremely difficult to resign A-Rod, Posada, and Rivera. In my estimation, those are 3 key components to continued trips to the postseason. Cashman now just needs to make sure they come back.
J

Pot Meet Kettle, Kettle Meet Pot

I had logged out of my Hotmail account and it redirected me to the MSN.com homepage. A link titled "America's (Most Hated) Team" caught my eye. I clicked on it expecting to read another anti-Yankee diatribe, which was an educated guess based on the fact that the entire world hates the Yankees. Much to my surprise, I was treated to an excellent article about the Boston Red Sox, and how the team, and their fans, are turning into what they claim to hate so much. That of course being, drum roll please, the New York Yankees. We talked about this a lot at the beginning of the year and their transformation into "the organization they hate so much but won't admit to being exactly like" is still continuing. I'd like to think that any Red Sox fan, who reads it with an open mind and sans their pair of "red" colored glasses, will undoubtedly agree that they are no different than everything and everyone they supposedly hate so much.
So give it a read. It's a great piece.
Wow, 3 posts in 3 days. What's gotten into this kid?
J-Boogie

They Gets No Respect

Holy wow! 2 posts in 2 days. The kid is on fire.
I'm not sure why this bothers me so much, but I'm a little miffed how everybody, well most people, are anti-Yankee instead of being pro-"team." Most of what I hear is about the Yankees failures in the ALDS and not the Indians successes. The Indians pitched and hit their tails off that series and deserved to win. All I hear is how A-Rod is Mr. April. How the Yankees again failed to make it out of round one for the 3rd straight year. Little to no talk about the Tribe. I don't get it. Show them some respect.
They've been playing this sound byte repeatedly on XM's MLB channel. The clip is of Indians announcer Tom Hamilton right after Posada struck out in game 4 to close it out and to send the Indians to the ALCS. Hamilton, in an understandably excited tone, remarks how the Indians played the role of "giant-killer" and how they took down the "juggernaut" Yankees. To me, his comments show a lack of respect for the team he supposedly has been following all year. Last time I checked, the Indians won 96 games, the most in baseball, and 2 more than the Yankees. They did so in arguably the toughest division in the American League. They also have 2 of the best pitchers in the AL in Carmona and Sabathia, both of which will finish in the top 5 of the Cy Young vote, 1 possibly winning that award, and both should finish ahead of Yankees ace Chein-Ming Wang. As the old adage goes, good pitching beats good hitting. It's no surprise that the Yankees struggled mightily against the Indians. Personally, I thought we were the underdogs in this series. I'm not sure how the Yankees were "giants" or "juggernauts," and Tom's comments again to me, show a little lack of respect for his club. The Tribe should have won, and they did. Tip of the cap to the Tribe.
But this is nothing new. The world has always been anti-Yankee. It's always about what the Yankees did, and the focus is rarely about the opponent. You rarely hear accolades being thrown upon the victor that takes down the Yankees. The focus is always on the boys in Pinstripes, and their fans for that matter. The fact of the matter is that the Indians deserve a lot more respect then what they've been shown. They've got a great ball club. One that's going to give Boston a lot of fits. That should be an interesting series as both teams can boast that they have great pitching. I've got to give the edge to the Tribe though. I think they'll keep the Sox in check.
As a Yankee fan, I'd love to see the Tribe scalp the d-bags in Beantown. I'll be curious to see if there will be anti-Sox chat if they in fact lose to Cleveland. If it is, I don't think it will be even close to the anti-Yankee bias I've seen. It's very trendy to be anti-Yankee, regardless of what fan base people come from.
The world is against us. What's new?
J

Another Early Exit

Again, I must start off by apologizing for my lack of posts, especially during the stretch run and through the short-lived playoffs. Anyone with a newborn at home I'm sure can relate. And for those wondering, Cooper is doing great. His dad, not so much. I'm still a little bummed about the 3rd consecutive early exit by my beloved Bombers. A co-worker asked me how I felt the day after they were bounced and I equated my current mind state to that of the typical Buffalo Bills fan. It's like watching the Bills lose in the final seconds of a game (which they did so gracefully against Dallas on Monday). It happens so much, you get a little used to it. But, it's a lot harder for me to get over.
The Yankees definitely didn't deserve to win that series. You've got to give credit to the Indians for coming through in all of those 2-out situations. Unreal. I find it incredibly odd that everyone in the media, both local and national are continuing to bash A-Rod for his poor postseason performance. I'm not seeing much credit thrown towards Carmona and Sabathia. In the postseason, it's all about the pitching. Great pitching can easily neutralize the greatest of hitters in the postseason. It's an entirely different monster than pitching in the regular season. And we saw that all series. The Tribe pitchers did their jobs and kept the Yankee bats in check all series. Yankee pitchers couldn't get the big out to stop the rally. The Indians hit almost .500 with RISP and 2 outs. Unreal. Gnats or not, they totally deserved it. They'll be tough to beat the rest of the way.
It's going to be quite the interesting offseason. There are so many question marks and they all begin with what's going to happen to Joe? I'm on the fence here. While I do think it might be time for a change, I don't think they need to whack Joe. He managed his tail off this year. Many, myself included, think it's the best job he's ever done. He makes some bad choices (I would've brought Mo in the 8th in game 2), but who doesn't. Moves backfire. It happens. If they panned out, we wouldn't be having this discussion. If they can Torre, I'm afraid of the ripple effect that this is going to cause. It's no secret that the players love Joe, and it's definitely no secret that he loves these guys, evidenced by all the tears he shed in his postseason interviews. If Joe goes, so might Posada, Rivera, and A-Rod. Don't give them any reason to bolt. Bring him back and let him leave on his terms. I don't agree with Steinbrenner's tactic of threatening his job publicly. Maybe he watched too many episodes of "The Bronx Is Burning" and he got a little nostalgic, thinking he could do it again. You just know if the Yanks pulled out that series, he was taking all the credit. I think Stein now realizes the error in his ways, which is why he hasn't been canned yet. It will only get worse for Steinbrenner as the outpouring of support for Joe continues to come from his players. But who knows? Maybe it was a ploy by Stein to take the heat off of his team when they were down 0-2 and put it on he and Torre. I guess we'll see.
And then there's A-Rod. God, I hope he comes back. I know Boras wants him to hit the market, but the Yankees need to sign this guy for the long term. You're not going to get a better offensive 3b. And in my opinion, he'd be worth every penny. I heard a sound byte from Cashman where he said that he wouldn't pursue A-Rod if he opts out b/c they'd lose the money from Texas. He's said that several times. There was one change though this time and that's when he added that "it was his recommendation" to do that. You know that there are other forces, namely Steinbrenner and crew, at play here. Big Stein is going to give A-Rod a blank check. He wants him in Pinstripes, and rightfully so. A-Rod in Pinstripes for 10 years equals big bucks. I hope they can get something done before the deadline rolls around. He may have stunk again in the postseason, but there would have been no postseason without his bat in the lineup. He's worth the dough. Pony it up.
I'm going to try and be around more this offseason. I hope to be around a lot more than I was over the last few weeks. I also hope to get back to commenting on my fellow Yankee bloggers sites. There should be plenty to talk about. It's just hard to find the time with work and family. Until then......
Peace, love and Pinstripes.

J

Back Where They Belong

Let's take a walk down memory lane, shall we? The date was May 30th. The New York Yankees were mired in a season long slump. Their record stood at 21-29. They had lost 5 straight and 6 of their last 7. They were 14.5 games behind their hated rivals, the Boston Red Sox. Great baseball minds across the land were writing the Yankees off. People were laughing at the Yankees and their fans. Things were looking grim.
The Yankees were in Toronto. It was the final game of a 3 game series. Johnny Damon stepped into the box and hit a leadoff home run into the right field seats. The Yankees would go on to win the game by a score of 10-5. From that point forward, the Yankees began to play like a new ball club. Over the next several months, the Yankees would amass the best record in all of baseball. With tonight's victory of the D-Rays, the Yankees improved their record since May 30th to 70-38. And with tonight's victory, the Yankees are back where they belong. Back in October. Back where they've been for the last 13 years. And it all started in Toronto. It all started with Damon going yard. Ladies and gentlemen, I give to you, "the ball that started it all:"

This was the HR ball that Damon hit in Toronto. It was his 1999th career hit and 157th career HR. The ball is signed and noted with those stats by Johnny himself.
When it was gut check time, these guys answered the call. Congrats to the Joe Torre and the 2007 Yankees for doing something that nobody thought they could do back in the end of May when they were playing like complete ***. They may not win the AL East, but they can't win #27 if they're not in the "tournament."
But hey, there are still 4 games to play and considering what these guys have pulled off, anything is possible. Until Boston clinches the East, I say we go for it.
Peace, love and Pinstripes.
J

What Not To Do If You Want To Make It In MLB

If there are any promising youngsters out there with aspirations of becoming a big league pitcher, don't look to the Yankee bullpen for any tips, unless of course you want to know how to pitch your way out of a playoff roster spot.
Edwar has given up earned runs in his last 5 outings, Bruney has given earned runs in 5 of his last 6 outings. And Karstens. Not counting the game he got knocked out of, he's given up earned runs in 5 of his last 6 outings. You guys sicken me. Congrats fellas. Your season ends in 5 days.
J-Boogie

And The Noose Gets Tighter

I went to a casino tonight (won a C-note) and was driving back (about an hour drive) when both the Yankees and Red Sox games were in the 6th innings. It was a great ride home. I was flipping the channels on the XM back-and-forth with literally every pitch as both games were running neck-and-neck. The drive couldn't have ended any sweeter. Mo nails down the save and Papelboner gives up a Grand Salami. Yankees win and are now 1 loss back of the Sox. The best record in baseball? Gone. Home-field advantage in the playoffs? Gone. The supposedly insurmountable 14.5 game lead? Gone. Granted, there is still a week plus left of baseball, but if you think there's any chance that the Sox can get their act together, you're kidding yourself. They're pretty lucky Detroit is doing so poorly.

Peace, love and Pinstripes.
J-Boog

Here Come The Yankees!!!!

Can you hear the footsteps? I say, can you hear the footsteps? CAN YOU HEAR THE ******* FOOTSTEPS??? If you can't, I highly suggest you get yourself a Miracle Ear because the sound is deafening. 2 games back in the loss column. I say, 2 games back in the loss column. Objects in the mirror are closer than they appear.
We're coming to get'cha Sox Nation. I can feel your collective booties shaking way over here. Here come the Yankees! Crank up the speakers and sing it with me!
J-Boogie

I'm Baaaaaack!

First off, I just wanted to say thanks to everyone for the comments they left regarding the birth of my son. I appreciate them all. He likes to cry, but other than that he's doing great. I'm running the vacumn cleaner right now to quiet him down. It calms him. But again, many thanks for all the comments. It means a lot. I also want to apologize for my prolonged absence, but I'm sure you can all understand why I've spent the last several weeks away. Babies are fun, but lots of work. Who knew?
I can sum up my feelings about tonight's come from behind win in 2 words: eff yeah! Many thanks to Terry Frankandbeans for totally mismanaging the Sox bullpen. Love ya T. The so-called "greatest relief" tandem in baseball wasn't so great tonight. Okajima and Papelboner got lit up. How great was it to see Papalebon get ripped for the loss. Awesome. Totally awesome. Or better yet, it was wicked awesome. I like dem apples.
It was good to see the offense spring to life in the 8th. Hopefully it kick starts them back into high gear for the final stretch of the season. I was in Toronto for the Yanks/Jays series and the Yankee bats were definitely cold those final 2 games. It was painful to watch them lose the last game. But I knew as soon as Chris Britton took the mound that they were going to lose. I told my buddy Dan's girlfriend that they were done. 5 pitches later, they were. I was more ticked at Melky for tanking the fly ball of the bat of the Big Hurt in the first. That ball was totally catchable. I could have seen my first no-hitter. Kennedy looked great. He's a keeper. God bless Cashman for having the sense not to trade him or Joba for the likes of Gagne.
It wasn't a bad few days on the autograph front. My haul was Joe Torre, Don Mattingly, Robinson Cano, AJ Burnett, Mariano Rivera, Chien-Ming Wang, Jason Giambi and Johnny Damon. I had Johnny sign the HR ball from his 2000th hit game back on 5/30. He was nice enough to add "Hit #1999, HR # 157" to the ball. I just missed out on getting autos from Jeter and Roger Clemens. I missed both by mere seconds. Maybe next time. I'm sure Roger has another go 'round in him.
4 back in the loss column with 2 more to play against the Sox. Not a bad place to be. Especially with Wang and Clemens throwing. Tomorrow's matchup of Wang v. Beckett may just decide the Cy Young race in the AL. My money is on Wang.
It's good to be back. Peace, love and Pinstripes.
J-Boogie