Damon, Wang v. Park, Hughes v. Joba

It was a pretty uneventful couple of days. I wasn't expecting much since pitchers and catchers just reported 5 days ago. I'm a little bummed because things aren't in full swing yet. I'm jonesing for some games. I'm jonesing for some video. Sure, I could probably dig some up online but hey, I'm lazy. I prefer TV. I wish there was some daily 1/2 hour show about the Yankees. I watch the coverage on MLB Network (when I can) and I hope that I might get a little nugget here and there but i haven't been fortunate enough to run into anything, save for a brief clip of CC on day 1. Games will be here soon enough. I really can't wait for the Yanks ST opener. Hurry up already. Here are a few little tidbits about some things I saw recently.

• Johnny Damon signed with the Tigers. I really wish the Yanks had found a way to bring JD back. I really like JD. I think he's one of the better guys in the game and I wish him all the best.
• The Yankees have apparently signed Chan Ho Park to a 1-year deal, to presumably pitch out of the bullpen. I'm not exactly sure why the Yanks felt the need to bring in Park except that he's another pitching option. You can never have enough pitching. His salary is being reported at $1.2m. So the Yankees sign Chan Ho Park for $1.2 million but let Chien-Ming Wang walk and he signs a deal with the Nats for $2 million? I don't get that. Admittedly, I'm not as up on CMW as i should be, so I'm sure there's something there I'm missing, but my impression is that the Yanks had no interest in the Wanger whatsoever. I get that b/c there's really no room for him in the rotation, but was an effort even made to bring him in as a swingman a la Park? I'll probably write more on that later.
• The biggest story of the spring for my money is the battle for the 5th spot in the rotation between Phil Hughes and Joba Chamberlain. My prediction: Phil Hughes. I've been touting him as a superior pitcher to Joba and I think this season is the season everyone else sees that. Not sure if anyone else saw the picture over at Lohud of the 2 leaving the bullpen. If not, you can find it here. Is it me or does Joba look a little softer than usual? I know those microfleeces aren't the most flattering shirts, but he looks a little bigger than usual. At least to me anyway. Team Hughes all the way. More on this as the spring develops.

Be back later, as time allows.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

1 Week And Counting

I can't believe that the start of Spring Training is a mere 7 days away. It seems like just yesterday I was watching the Yankees finish off the Phillies for the organization's 27th World Championship. Good times.

As a whole I thought the offseason was pretty boring. Maybe I was spoiled by the big signings (CC, A.J., and Tex) from last year. Outside of the Granderson deal, not much went down. Oh wait, forgot about bringing back Javier Vazquez. I'm more disappointed with what didn't happen (Damon, Matsui, and Wang) then what did happen. The offseason move that bothered me the most was the Nick Johnson signing. I still don't get why they went with Johnson when they could have kept Matsui around for pretty much the same amount of money. I have a feeling that is going to come back to haunt the Yankees.

The biggest question for me going into Spring Training is who will be the Yankees' 5th starter? I prefer the team to go with Phil Hughes. I think he is, and I think he'll always be, a more complete pitcher than Joba Chamberlain. Hughes is a pitcher. Chamberlain is more of a thrower. I don't like "throwers" as starters. Call it personal preference but I prefer them in the pen. I also think Joba's mentality is better suited at the back of the bullpen but that's just me. I'll be incredibly miffed if that 5th spot goes to Gaudin, or God forbid, Sergio Mitre. Ugh.

I'm hoping to do a lot more blogging as Spring Training gets rolling. I definitely didn't get to do as much blogging as I wanted to this offseason. It pretty much got away from me. I've been pretty slammed lately. The job is stressing me out. We're trying to buy/sell our house. I've got 2 kids 2 and under and another one on the way. Yes, ladies and gents, we're having another "Boogie Down Baby." ETA = mid-August. 3 kids 3 and under. What was I thinking?

T-minus 7 days until the march to 28 starts. Excitement is building.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

Johnny Damon, Chien-Ming Wang, And Yet Another Apology

What's up gang? In what's becoming a common theme this offseason, I again must apologize for the break between posts. It's been a pretty slow couple of weeks in terms of Yankee news and talk. I don't really have an opinion on much of what's gone down. There are 2 things I'm waiting on but there's not much movement around it. I'm really dying for Spring Training to kick off so there's more to talk about. You can bet if something went down I'd blog about it, but nothing has sparked my interest. As for those 2 things I'm keeping my eyes and ears open for:

1) Left field. It looks like it's going to be Brett Gardner. I can live with that but would prefer someone else in that spot. Johnny Damon is still on the market but his salary demands are probably out of the Yankees' range. I'm sure there's a salary point where they'd snatch him up but I doubt it will get that low. Damon can't be happy with how this offseason has played out. He reportedly had a 2-yr/$20mm offer from the Yankees that he (or Boras) turned down. I think he'll be lucky to get a 1 year deal for $8mm now. Damon could end up as the offseason's biggest loser. It would be nice if the two sides could come together, but I don't see it happening. But the longer Johnny remains unsigned, I would think the chances the Yankees resign him increase.

2) Chien-Ming Wang. I'm wondering where the Wanger is going to end up. I'd love it to be with the Yankees but based on the current roster, I don't think signing him would make a whole lot of sense. The rotation is pretty much set with Sabathia, Burnett, Pettitte, Vazquez and Hughes/Chamberlain. They've agreed to deals with Chad Gaudin and Sergio Mitre. What sense would it make to sign Wang when there's nowhere for him to pitch? There's no chance he signs a minor league deal with the Yanks. Some team will offer him a major league contract. The only way I can see this happening is if the Yankees put both Hughes and Chamberlain in the bullpen or possibly if they trade Mitre and/or Gaudin, or maybe a combination of the two. I wouldn't be surprised if the Yankees deal Mitre or Gaudin, but I don't think it would be done at the expense of dealing someone to open up a spot. I would love nothing more than to see CMW wearing Pinstripes. I think his struggles have more to do with how the Yankees handled him post-injury than anything else. The Wanger won 19 games in back-to-back seasons and was 8-2 when he hurt himself running the bases. He was reportedly told not to work out his legs so had to compensate with his arm, which didn't work and is probably the main reason why he needed surgery. If he's healthy, I have no reason to believe that he wouldn't pick up where he left off before the injuries. That's the real question. Is CMW healthy? The Yankees must not be willing to risk it. Again, I'd love for it to work out, but don't see it happening.

Pitchers and catchers in about 30 days. February 17th can't get here fast enough.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

Yanks Sign Sergio Mitre

The Yanks signed Sergio Mitre today. To quote Adam Sandler from the movie Billy Madison (I think it was Billy Madison--maybe it was from Remote Control), whoopity-do!

I'm not a Mitre fan. He shouldn't be pitching at the major league level. I'm really going to be disappointed if Mitre is on the roster and Chien-Ming Wang signs elsewhere. Especially if the difference between what the Yankees want to pay Wang and what Wang signs for is equal to or less than the amount of Mitre's salary. The time is going to come, like it does every season, where the Yankees truck out some piss-poor SP to start some games (see Sidney Ponson). It happens every year. I'd rather see those starts go to Wang than to Mitre.

Sadly though, Wang's days with the Yanks are likely over. Sabathia, Burnett, Pettitte, Vazquez, Hughes/Chamberlain equals no room at the inn. I don't see CMW signing a minor-league deal. So unless a spot opens up (trade Joba), I think we've seen the last of CMW in pinstripes.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

Wrapping Up The Week That Was In The Yankees Universe

I think when I last left off the Yankees had just resigned Andy Pettitte. I can't believe that I haven't blogged since Wednesday. I think the horrible weather we had up here in Buffalo (24 inches of snow in about 36 hours--I spent 4 hours shoveling) and the weekend took me out of it. So please, allow me to catch up:

The rest of the Winter Meetings were pretty uneventful. The Yankees got to pick 1st in the Rule 5 draft (pick acquired from Washington in Bruney trade) and they selected Jamie Hoffman, an OF I've never heard of from the Dodgers. From what I've gathered, Hoffman is projected to someday be an everyday player but right now he's targeted for the bench. I wish I had more to say on him but something tells me he's not going to hang around the Yanks and I wouldn't be surprised if he's not with the team when they head north.

Chien-Ming Wang was officially non-tendered by the Yankees, while Melky Cabrera, Chad Gaudin and Sergio Mitre were issued contracts. I understand why the Yankees didn't offer CMW a deal. The uncertainty over the health of his arm coupled with the salary CMW would get didn't make it a smart business move. I'm a little disappointed that CMW, for the time being, is no longer a Yankee. I'm not a fan of just letting him go. CMW has pitched exceptionally well in the past and there's no reason to think he can't replicate that success if he's truly healthy. His poor performance can directly be tied to his injuries. I hope there is a way that the two sides can come together. You can never have enough pitching and I'd prefer CMW to Gaudin, Mitre or any Yankee farmhand. The Yanks always seem to find these horrifically bad reclamation projects (Sidney Ponson comes to mind) that just don't work out. So why not Wang? It's all about the benjamins. I totally get not paying him close to what he earned last year. I hope they get creative (incentive-laden contract) and figure out a way to bring him back as I think he'd do really well, if he's healthy. I'd really hate to see him go.

Am I missing something? Not much comes to mind to discuss other than the run-of-the-mill rumors that surround every free agent. That's for a different entry. Overall though last week was pretty good for the Yankees. I think they definitely came out of the Winter Meetings as the biggest winner. I don't think that can be disputed. If you'd like to try, let me know.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

To Wang Or Not To Wang

Joel Sherman, has an interesting blurb about Chien-Ming Wang in his Hardball blog today:

But I am getting a strong vibe from Yankee officials that the intention is to non-tender Wang and, perhaps, not even offer him a small base with incentives to return.

I am not sure how many of you guys out there like Joel Sherman. Personally, I'm not a fan. I take everything he says with a grain of salt. I think a lot of the time he "says" stuff just to say stuff. I'm not necessarily buying this but I don't doubt for a second that the Yankees have soured on Wang. But I can't see them not trying to bring him back. I think it's a huge leap to think the Yankees don't think he can get it done anymore. In 2.5 seasons, from 2006-2008, Wang was 46-15 with a 3.74 ERA. He had a horrible 2009 but how much of that can be attributed to the injuries to his foot and to his shoulder? I don't think 42 injury-riddled IP over 12 appearances is enough to go on.

The big question has to do with the health of Chien-Ming's wing. How healthy is it and will he be able to bounce back from the surgery? According to Sherman, Wang got a "very encouraging report" from Dr. James Andrews. The Yankees docs still need to give it a look. If they end up sharing the same opinion as Dr. Andrews, I'm not sure how they pass up on CMW.

You can never have enough starting pitching. I find it difficult to believe that they'd bail on CMW with the current makeup of the starting rotation. Let's face it, Phil Hughes and Joba Chamberlain can't be relied on to pitch well as a starter. Keeping Wang around can definitely make sure there are enough bullets in the chamber. Of course, it only makes sense at the right price.

The Yankees love the low-risk, high reward contracts. I can't see them offering deals to Chad Gaudin and Sergio Mitre and not to the Wanger. I'd be surprised if the Yankees don't try to offer him a deal, even if it's for a low guarantee with incentives. I don't know how they could pass on him at the right price.

I like CMW. I've been a big Wang supporter over the years. Personally, I hope the Yankees work something out with him. But I trust Brian Cashman. If he decides not to offer Wang a deal, I'm sure it would be for a pretty good reason. I don't know what that would be though. Every year the Yankees seem to pull these below average pitchers out of the woodwork to fill in for several starts. Sidney Ponson, Mitre, and Gaudin quickly come to mind. I'll take Wang over those guys any day.

I'm filing this blurb from Sherman in the trash. I'm predicting Wang will be back. Thoughts? Anyone?

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

What Today's 10-5 Yankee Loss To The White Sox Taught Me

If tonight's loss to the White Sox taught me one thing, it's this: Sergio Mitre is not the answer. He shouldn't even be in the mix. The problem is that, as of right now, there aren't any other options. I exchanged a few texts tonight with my buddy and he was basically trying to tell me that Cashman messed up big time for not getting a starter. I'm fully convinced that the only way the Yankees were getting a SP was if they dealt Phil Hughes, Joba Chamberlain, Austin Jackson, or Jesus Montero. The Mariners reportedly wanted A-Jax for Washburn. Sorry but no thank you.

There wasn't any SP on the market, except for Halladay, that I'd deal any of those guys for. None of the names that were tossed around (Washburn, Arroyo) struck me as a must get. It's easy for those of us on the outside to say that Cashman messed this up. But really, how do any of us know what went down? From the sounds of it, everyone tried to rake Cash over the coals. I'm glad he didn't make any silly moves. I like to think that Cashman is a pretty smart dude. He's going to find an answer to the small problem that is the Yankees 5th starter. It might not be today. It might not be tomorrow. But it'll be soon.

If you think about it, has the Yankees 5th starter really provided the team with anything this year? 9 starts from Wang = 11.38 ERA. 7 starts from Hughes = 5.45 ERA, 4 starts from Mitre = 7.90 ERA. 1 start from Aceves = 8.11 ERA. Collectively, those 4 have made 21 starts. Their combined line is 5-8, 85.2 IP, 122 H, 79 ER, 36 BB, 61 K, 8.30 ERA. Granted, Wang makes those numbers a lot worse. If you remove CMW, it's 4-2, 51.2 IP, 65 H, 36 ER, 19 BB, 39 K, 6.27 ERA. What place are they in again? Oh yeah. They're in first with the best record in the American League.

The Yankees 5th starter is a problem. But it's certainly not a big one.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

Yanks Fall To Rays 6-2

I didn't get to see the game last night because it was on My9 so this won't be a long post. A 6-2 loss, eh? Oh well, you can't win them all. The box score doesn't tell me anything really. Nothing in it jumps out at me. I see A-Rod and Jeter each committed a throwing error but that's about it. If anyone watched the game and wants to drop me a quick recap, feel free to lay it on me. The good news is that the Red Sox lost as well, so no harm no foul.

The big loss yesterday came off the field as we found out that Chien-Ming Wang is having season ending shoulder surgery. It's been a very disappointing year for the Wanger. His season got off on the wrong foot (no pun intended) and it just never got going. It won't be a huge loss for the Yankees though. CMW has only made 9 starts this year, going 1-6 with a 9.64 ERA. To be honest, the Yanks probably would have been better off if Wang missed all of this season. The pitcher we saw this year wasn't Chien-Ming Wang. It might as well have been someone else.

I am interested to see who fills that spot in the rotation. I don't see it being Sergio Mitre or any Yankee farm-hand. The trade deadline is rapidly approaching and rumors are floating around about several names. I'd have to think the guys in the mix, even if it's to a small extent, are Roy Halladay, cliff Lee, Jarrod Washburn, and Bronson Arroyo. Everything I've read right now is pure speculation. I don't think I've even seen a rumored offer for anyone. Cashman must be playing this one close to the vest. Maybe he's got something up his sleeve? The deadline is this Friday so we should find something out in the next few days. Wang's injury will probably force Cashman's hand a little bit. My gut tells me a trade is coming.

Joba tonight. He's been on fire since the ASB. 2 starts, 13.2 IP, 5 hits, 6 BB, 2 ER, and 14 K. Go Yanks.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

And We're Back

Hello friends. I'm back from brief hiatus to Cooperstown for Induction Weekend. I got back Sunday night and needed a day to recuperate. It was a fun, yet tiring weekend. On average, I get about 5 hours of sleep per night and I sleep in the back of my ride as it's just easier that way.

I've been going down there for IW now for the last 4 years. I primarily go for the autograph opportunities, of which there are a lot. You can usually put quite a few freebies if you put your time in. My problem is I have most of the guys who sign for free already and I didn't bring anything to have them sign, so I passed up on a few that I could have gotten.

It's getting to the point where everyone I need I have to pay for since they usually aren't around to sign for free. They have paid signings in town so I dropped some coin on some guys I needed (Gibson, Brock, Williams, Carew, and Bench). I'm trying to get signed balls from all of the living HOFers. I think I need 9 now (MacPhail, Lasorda, Aaron, Koufax, Yastrzemski, Winfield, Murray, Sutter, and Henderson). I'm getting there. It's tough as I try to get them all in person.

I did manage one freebie while I was there and that was from Roger Clemens. He happened to be in town because one of his sons was playing in a Little League tournament. I picked his up one afternoon after one of their games. That was unexpected and not a bad way to cap off the trip.

I tried to follow the Yankees as best I could when I was down there. I caught the tail end of Friday's win. I heard about 3 minutes of Saturday's game and was getting most of my updates via a friend's Blackberry. I listened to the last half of Sunday's game on the drive home. And I was in front of the TV for last night's game. I was still a little exhausted and had plans to go to sleep before it was over, but tonight's game is on My9, which I still don't get, so rather than missing 5 straight games, I sucked it up and watched the whole thing. Anyway, I can't complain at all about how the team is playing as they went 3-1 over those 4 games. The pitching is still going strong. Burnett was awesome last night and is proving to be well worth the money. A.J. has been lights out in his last 11 starts, going 8-2 with a 2.08 ERA. He'll finish July with a 4-0 record and a 2.43 ERA. A.J. has been one of the league's best pitchers over the last 2 months. There's no debating that.

The offense hasn't been any kind of a slouch either. I just noticed that Melky has his average up to .290. He's been on a little tear over these last 5 games, going 8-13 with 5 walks. That came put of the blue. That's pretty clutch seeing that Brett Gardner is headed for the DL. The Melkman is going to be playing full-time while Gardner is out. If he can continue to play like he has been, that will be huge, and a little unexpected. I'm still a little taken aback about Melky's July numbers. In July, he's hitting .302 with an 817 OPS. I didn't see that coming. Wow. Get out the crayolas and color me impressed.

The trading deadline is a little over 3 days away and as nice as it would be to land a big fish, I'm not sure it'll happen. The Yanks have incentive to land a starter as it looks like Chien-Ming Wang's season might be done. Sergio Mitre isn't going to cut it. I wouldn't be surprised if they bring someone in. I don't think it'll be Roy Halladay or Cliff Lee. And I hope it's not Bronson Arroyo. I saw that rumor and saw that's been shot down but we've seen that before. Where's there smoke, there's fire. It looks like it's not a lot of smoke. At least i hope it's not. I'm not an Arroyo guy. I think he's average at best and a little overrated, which is bad for someone who I don't think is all that good to begin with. They'll get someone I'm sure. The Yanks have the best record in the AL and are 1 game behind the Dodgers for the best record in all of MLB. They're 2.5 up on the Red Sox for the division and 5 up on the the Rangers, who trail the Sox for the wild card. I don't think the Yankees need a lot to maintain their lead so I don't see them making a huge splash. It's possible though. A lot can change if the competition betters themselves. It'll be a fun few days.

Enjoy tonight's game. I really need My9.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

Yanks Win Another 2-1 Squeaker On Matsui's Walkoff

3 straight games. 3 straight 2-1 victories. These games are getting too close for comfort. I like the fact that the team is pitching well. But donde esta la offense? For those of you without a handy-dandy Spanish to English translator, that means where is the offense? I think it means that. The only Spanish I've ever heard translated was on an episode of "Who's The Boss" when they went to Mexico and taught Tony how to say "Where is the bathroom?" I'm kidding of course.

But seriously, where is the offense? The Yankees have scored a whopping 11 runs in their 4 games since the ASB. They've managed 16 hits in their last 3 games. Their last 4 runs all came on solo HRs. 5 of their last 6 runs came on solo HRs. 8 of their last 9 runs came via the longball. I don't like this trend. It's very hard to win consistently when you live off the home run, especially when it's of the solo variety. I'm a little surprised that they've won their last 4. It's a good thing that the pitching is taking care of business. They deserve all the credit for these wins in my opinion. I'm excited about how well they're doing, but would be a lot more thrilled if these games were against better opponents. Baltimore and Detroit don't exactly have stellar offenses. If the Yanks were facing better teams, they very easily could have lost all 4 of these games. I hope the offense gets going soon. Enough of these solo HRs.

I don't think any team had a chance against Andy Pettitte last night. In a word, awesome. Andy has struggled at home this year. He got the 2nd half off on the right foot by going 7.1 innings, allowing just the 1 run on 6 hits and a walk. The stat of the night though was the 8 Ks. His control was there too as he threw 69% of his pitches for strikes. Very impressive. He made the mistake to Markakis in the first inning and was pretty much on cruise control the rest of the night. Like CC and Joba in their outings, if Andy needed the big out, he got the big out. Baltimore had a runner on 2nd with no outs in the 3rd and Andy whiffed two in a row. the O's had two on and 1 out in the 5th and Andy struck out another to keep them put. He also met 2 of his best friends in the 6th and 7th when he induced two double plays. All in all, a stellar outing.

The game was saved though by the defense. Those two plays at the plate in the 8th were tremendous. The first was great on so many levels. First Teixeira made an incredible pick. He then made a tremendous off-balance throw to the plate. Molina made a sweet grab on the throw and made a nice tag at the plate. I'm not sure how the ball stayed in his glove. That was remarkable. And then lightning struck again. Coke makes a wild pitch, Molina pounced on it and hit Coke at the plate for the tag. I originally thought Roberts got in there but there was no question that the ump made the right call. Those plays were game savers. If Mark Teixeira doesn't win the Gold Glove at first I am going to be shocked. The Yankees haven't had a slick fielding first baseman in I don't know how long. Teix has saved the Yankees' bacon several times this year. I am so glad that the stars aligned and Cashman was able to bring Teixeira into the fold. He's the bomb yo.

Boston's 3 game lead is gone. Yanks are back in first. Sergio Mitre is getting the call-up to make tonight's start in place of Chien-Ming Wang. It's the right call. The Yanks are better off if the leave Hughes and Aceves in the bullpen. Wang had another setback in his rehab yesterday. The Yanks are likely going to need to fill that spot for quite a while. The trade deadline is about 10 days from now. I can't see them going with Mitre if Wang is out long term. It'll be interesting to see what develops over the next week and a half. Mitre should be nothing more than a stop-gap. He's not the answer. I'm interested to see how he does. Good luck Serge. Hopefully you get some run support.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

Despite Robbie Cano's Efforts, Yanks Beat Jays 6-5 In Extras

Thank God the Yankees won that game. Had they not, I probably would have driven down to the Bronx and paid Robbie Cano a visit. That was probably the most boneheaded play ever. EVER! Why in the world would you but with a 3-0 count? I hope that Cano did that on his own because if he was given the bunt sign on a 3-0 count then Girardi needs to be fired. I'm all but positive that Cano did it on his own seeing that Teixeira was gunned down by a mile. I didn't stick around to watch the post game show so I have no idea if it was brought up. I can't wait to see that explanation. Man what a dumb thing to do. Quite honestly, he shouldn't have been bunting in the first place. If Robbie pulled off the sac bunt, the Jays would have walked Posada. We would have had to rely on Nick Swisher and Melky Cabrera, or maybe Eric Hinske, to deliver. I'd rather take my chances with Posada.

Robbie hasn't exactly been tearing it up with RISP this year. He's hitless in his last 20 ABs with RISP and he's hitting only .200 with RISP on the year. Girardi must have had no confidence in Cano if he gave him the bunt sign. That begs the question, why is Cano batting 5th? The 5th spot in the lineup is supposed to drive in runs. If Cano is in the 5th spot tomorrow, then I have to seriously question Joe Girardi's baseball intelligence. Posada should be hitting 5th. Period. End of discussion.

I thought Chien-Ming Wang pitched well. He was pulled because of a strained right shoulder. That can't be good. Jorge made it sound in his post game interview with Kim Jones that Wang had nothing on the pitch he threw to Lind. He's had shoulder problems in the past. Hopefully this injury is not as bad as his previous ones. He missed all of 2001 and almost 2 months in 2005 (hat tip to Pete Abe). I'm inclined to think that Wang is going to miss some time. If he does, I hope its not for long. He's been pitching much better lately, kind of reminiscent of the CMW of old.

If Wang does go down for an extended period of time, the Yankees will have a tough decision to make. Do they work Phil Hughes back into the rotation? Do they call up someone from the minors to make some starts? Does Cashman venture out into the trade market to look for a replacement? The answer will definitely depend on how severe Wang's injury is. If it's a short stint on the DL, I call up someone from the minors to make a spot-start or two. I don't think it would make sense to have Hughes take the spot if he's going to go back to the bullpen. If Wang is going to be out for awhile, I think they have to give the spot to Phil Hughes. Hughes will need a little bit of time to build his arm strength back up. I don't think he could throw 5+ innings at this point. I think it would be easier for the Yankees to replace Hughes in the pen than it would be to find a SP on the trade market. That of course would depend a lot on Brian Bruney's ability to get guys out. If Bruney continues to pitch like he has since he came back from the DL then it would make it much tougher to move Hughes out of the pen. If I'm Brian Cashman, I call up someone from the minors to make 1-2 starts while Hughes works up his arm strength. When Hughes has at least 80 pitches in him, I slide him into the rotation and call up someone to pitch in the pen. If Bruney can't turn it around, I maybe explore the trade market for a back of the bullpen RP.

The Yankee bullpen has been pretty lights out lately. They definitely got the job done today. With the exception of David Robertson, they shut down the Jays and that allowed the Yankees to get back into the game. Bruney, Hughes, Coke, Rivera, and Tomko combined for 6 scoreless innings. The Yankees bullpen was their Achilles heel earlier this season. That's not the case now. They had the worst bullpen ERA in all of baseball earlier this season. They now rank 21st and after today they're only moving up that list.

It was a great win today. Anytime you win a game that Roy Halladay starts is a great game. Halladay wasn't vintage Halladay today. The Yanks knocked him around a little bit. I'm most surprised that they took him deep 3 times. Damon's game-tying HR was definitely a new stadium HR. That doesn't go out in the old park. It was good to see Mark Teixeira crank out 3 hits. Tex is off to a good start this month. He's 6-for-17 (.353) with 2 multi-hit games. He had 5 in all of June. He still needs a HR though. His last longball came on June 10th. The Yankees offense though is still struggling when it counts. They were 2-for-10 with RISP today and left 11 on base. Thank God the pitching is holding up.

The Yanks have now won 9 of their last 10 and are only 1 game out of first. The Red Sox are struggling right now and the Yanks are taking advantage. You wouldn't think the Yanks would only be 1 game back seeing that they're 0-8 against the Red Sox. Things could be a lot worse.

Enjoy the rest of the 4th.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

Yanks Back On Track With Sweep Of Mets

I must say that the Yankees are playing some decent baseball right now. They've won 5 straight and the sweep of the Mets gave them a respectable 9-6 record against their National League opponents. Going 6-3 on the recent road trip is nothing to scoff at either. The team heads in to the off day finding themselves 3 games behind the Red Sox and 2 games up on the Rays for the wild card. All in all, not a bad place to be.

Before getting in to last night's game, I again wanted to congratulate Mariano Rivera on picking up career save #500. It's quite the accomplishment. Mo is such a classy guy. How can you not respect him? He goes about his business in such a professional manner. There's no dancing. There's no fist-pumping. There's no pointing to God. He gets the last out and shakes his teammates hands. He is, without question, the greatest closer of all-time.

Chien-Ming Wang picked up his 1st win of 2009 yesterday. It's been such a brutal season for the Wanger. Picking up the W should provide a boost of confidence to him. I don't think he pitched a bad game. It was much better than he's been but still far from a vintage Wang performance. The only thing I saw yesterday that I didn't like was the lack of control. We walked three and only threw 57.6% of his pitches for strikes. Typically, I like to see at least a 60% of the pitches go for strikes. But he got the W and that's something to build on. He dropped the ERA to 10.06. He should be able to get that into single digits after his next start. Knock on wood. He's still a long ways from respectability. By my tally, he needs to throw 46 straight scoreless innings to drop his ERA to 4.50. I don't see him getting there. I'd be happy if he can finish the year with an ERA in the fives. It can be done.

Big up to the bullpen for shutting down the Mets and preserving Wang's 1st win. The bullpen has actually been pretty decent lately. It wasn't long ago that the Yankees' bullpen had the worst ERA in all of baseball. It now sits at 4.27, which ranks 21st in all of MLB. For those wondering, the AL average is 4.14 and the major league average is 4.11. They're still below average, but if they keep pitching like they have been, they'll be below 4.00 before we know it. Over the last 6 games, the pen has collectively thrown 18.2 innings to a tune of an ERA of 1.48. They allowed only 9 hits and 6 walks in that timespan. The pen's biggest issue this year has been giving up extra-base hits. Opponents are hitting .232 against the Yanks pen, which is the 4th lowest in all of baseball. The Yanks OBP against is the 3rd best in the league at .312. Slugging percentage (.430) however is almost near the bottom (25th). They've given up the 11th fewest hits but the 7th most total bases. The pen has given up 43 HRs, most in all of baseball. The 2nd closest team is Cleveland, and they've only given up 35. I'm sure some of that has to do with pitching in the homer haven that is the new Yankee Stadium. As a comparison, Yankee SPs have allowed 52 HRs, but in about 194 more innings of work. The pen needs to do a better job of keeping the ball in the ballpark. A much better job.

I have mixed feelings about the offense. They're scoring runs but they're not being overly efficient. Case in point was last night's game. The Yankees walked 11 times but managed only 4 hits, and 4 runs. They went 1-8 with RISP. Over the 5 game winning streak, they hit .242 (6-for-30 against NYM, 8-for-28 in 2 wins against Braves). They're very streaky when it comes to hitting w/RISP. They need more consistency. They are hitting the ball alright. Over the last 5, they're hitting .283 (52-for-184). Could be better, would be worse. They won all 5 and that's all that matters.

The next 13 games could prove to be a tough stretch for the Bombers. They have 3 at home with the Mariners (39-36), followed by 4 at home with the Blue Jays (41-36). They then head to Minnesota (39-38) for 3 and they close out the first half of the season with 3 games in Anaheim (41-32). 12 games against 4 tough opponents. The one plus is that they have a nice little break after playing out west. The Red Sox have a much easier stretch. 3 games in Baltimore (34-41), followed by 10 games at home. 3 with Seattle (39-36), 3 with Oakland (31-43) and 4 with the Royals (32-42). The schedule at this point definitely favors the Sox. Good thing it'll balance out in the 2nd half.

I'll be happy if the Yanks are within 5 games at the ASB.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

Yanks Run Win Streak To 4 As Burnett DOMINATES The Mets

Let the good times roll. The Yankees continued their winning ways, running the win steak to 4 with a 5-0 shutout of their crosstown rivals. Tonight's win was all about one man: A.J. Burnett. A.J. in a word: awesome. A.J. in another word: dominant. The Mets couldn't touch him. The Mets haven't really been able to touch any Yankee pitcher this series. The Mets have managed 4 hits in these 2 games. I caught about 30 seconds of the post game show. Someone, I think Joel Sherman, asked Joe Girardi if the Yankees pitching has been good or if the Mets hitting has been bad. What a stupid question! Then again, it is Joel Sherman. Yeah, not a fan. Anyone that's watched these last 2 games know it's all been about the Yankee pitching. They are rolling, and A.J. is right there leading the charge.

A.J. kicked some major ass tonight. As I said above, the Mets couldn't touch him. A.J. allowed only 1 hit and 3 walks over 7 innings. He whiffed 10, count 'em 10 Mets. Like I said, untouchable. A.J. has been pretty untouchable as of late. He's allowed only 1 earned run in his last 3 starts. His line over those 3 games is phenomenal: 20.1 IP, 1 ER, 0.44 ERA, 10 hits, 10 BB, and 26 K. Rock and roll.

When A.J. was less than stellar earlier in the season, there was some chatter about him being a bust. I never thought he was. I wrote several times this year that his season was very similar to last year, when he won 18 games. The backlash was kind of understandable. After winning his first 2 games, he failed to win any of his next 7 starts. After 9 starts, he was looking at a 5.28 ERA. I wrote this after his 6 scoreless innings in Texas:

A.J. now has 10 starts under his belt and his record sits at 3-2. I don't think it's the start that we Yankee fans envisioned or hoped for, but there is a silver lining. I don't think any of us would have any beef if A.J. could pitch like he did last year, when he went 18-10 with a 4.07 ERA. Last year thru his first 10 starts, Burnett was 4-4 with a 4.71 ERA. His WHIP was 1.48 (58 hits, 27 walks, 57.1 IP). This year after 10 starts, he's 3-2 with an ERA of 4.78. His WHIP is lower at 1.41 (59 hits, 31 walks, 64 IP). The biggest difference is that he's given up 10 HRs this year and had only given up 4 at this point last year. I'm sure part of that has to do with pitching in the new Yankee Stadium. My point is that A.J. will get better as the season moves on. Hopefully last night's outing is the jumping off point.

I love it when thinks work out like I think they will. That win was a jumping off point. Over his last 6 starts, A.J. is 4-2 with a 1.75 ERA. He started out really slow and is now turning it on, living up to his contract. A.J. now has 15 starts this season. His record stands at 6-4 with a 3.93 ERA and a WHIP of 1.37. Last year after 15 starts, A.J. was 6-6 with a 4.90 ERA and a WHIP of 1.51. He turned it on around start 17 and finished the year with 18 wins, a 4.07 ERA and a WHIP of 1.44. He's ahead of the game. Like I said in my previous post, I don't think any Yankee fan would have beef if A.J. could pitch like he did last year. He's on his way to exceeding expectations. Now he just needs to pitch well against Boston.

I've also got to give it up to Jorge Posada. In addition to hitting a 3-run HR, he worked well with Burnett. I'm still not overly high on Posada when it comes to catching. I prefer him as a DH but that's me. I don't necessarily have a problem with Jorge catching. I just think there are some gains to having a better defensive catcher behind the plate as long as Jorge's bat stays in the lineup.

Interleague play ends tomorrow with the Subway Series finale. Chien-Ming Wang vs. Livan Hernandez. It should be an interesting one. The Yankees usually pound Hernandez. In 6 career starts against the Yanks he has an ERA of 6.94. They battered him for 6 runs back on June 12. Hopefully, Chien-Ming Wang picks up his 1st win of the year. Wang's last 2 starts were pretty decent. He's on the cusp of being the Chien-Ming Wang of old. I was right about Burnett. Hopefully I'm right about Wang.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

Jon Lannan Stymies The Yankee Offense, Yanks Lose 3-2

Tonight's 3-2 loss to the Nationals pretty much sucks the big one. You never want to lose to a team that would be 21 games or so behind you if they were in your division, and definitely if they're that far back in June. There's not much to say about the game itself. Chien-Ming Wang's start was average. It wasn't bad. It wasn't good. I agree with the C+ grade that Kay and Flaherty gave him. This was a big game for the Wanger. His spot in the rotation was riding on it. I think he did enough to get another start. I'd expect him to.

The Yankees offense just couldn't get it going. I know that this is the Nationals but John Lannan is the real deal. He's not a slouch and many think of him as a perennial Cy Young contender. He's a great pitcher and is just in a bad position playing for the Nats. This loss would sting a lot more if it were anybody else.

There's been quite a bit of discussion lately about the Yankees and their perceived inability to hit guys they've never seen before. I've written about it several times over the years. After work today, as I was waiting to go to softball, I started looking at how the Yankees have fared against starters they've never faced. I put some data together to see if perception was reality. It was a manual process. I went through every box score, looking at the starter and checking game logs to see if they faced off against the Yanks. All the stats were pulled from the box scores, so it is possible I made an error or overlooked something.

By my count, the Yankees have faced 12 starters this year that they haven't faced before. I didn't count today's start against Lannan or when they faced Anthony Reyes. Both guys have close to 300 innings under their belt and that's enough for a good scouting report. Here are some stats for the 12 guys. If I missed someone, or if you catch an error, let me know and I'll correct it. Check these stats out and decide for yourself:

1. Koji Uehara: 5-21 (.238) - was 1st ML start, Yanks lost 7-5
2. Alfredo Simon: 4-19 (.211) - had previously pitched 13 ML innings, Yanks won 11-2
3. Brett Anderson: 9-25 (.360) - 3rd career ML start, Yanks won 9-7, left with 7-5 lead
4. Rick Porcello: 6-17 (.353) -4th career ML start, Yanks won 8-6
5. Anthony Ortega: 8-26 (.308) - 2nd career ML start, Yanks won 7-4, left 4-4 tie
6. Matt Palmer: 3-22 (.136) - 5th career ML start, Yanks lost 8-4
7. Jeff Niemann: 3-12 (.250) - 8th career ML start, Yanks lost 8-6, left with 4-2 lead
8. Scott Richmond: 7-12 (.583) - 12th career ML start, Yanks won 8-2
9. Brad Bergesen: 3-21 (.143) - 5th career ML start, Yanks won 9-1
10. J.A. Happ: 4-21 (.190) - 6th career ML start, Yanks won 5-4, left with 4-2 lead
11. Fernando Nieve: 4-24 (.167) - had previously pitched 109 ML innings, Yanks lost 6-2
12. Shairon Martis: 4-21 (.190) - 17th career ML start, Yanks won 5-3, left with 3-2 lead

• The Yanks record in those 12 games is 8-4, with 5 wins coming off bullpen.
• As a team, the Yanks hit 60-241 (.249)
• They hit under .200 in 5 of the 12 games, and over .250 in 4 of the 12 games with lowest if those 4 being .308.
• Opposing pitchers threw 61.2 innings w/ERA of 5.25 and WHIP of 1.36
• If you remove the worst start by Richmond, they hit .231, WHIP 1.25, ERA 4.65
• If you also remove the Porcello start, they hit .222, WHIP 1.17, ERA 4.00. They hit .222 in 10 of the 12 starts.
• If you remove the best start (Palmer) and the worst start (Richmond), they hit .242, WHIP 1.30, 5.03 ERA
• 8 of the 38 runs they were charged with were given up be RPs.
• Surprisingly, they only struck out 25 times

If you add in the start by Anthony Reyes, the numbers don't change much. The Yanks hit .250 off him and won the game but it came off the bullpen. Obviously if you add in today's start by Lannan, they get even worse.

I think the numbers show they struggle. Beating only 4 of the 12 SPs with a combined .249 average is struggling in my book. It's .222 in 10 of the 12 games. And again, I quickly put this together so it may not be 100% accurate. I'm 98% positive I caught everyone and got the numbers right. I didn't include RPs because quite frankly, I don't have the time for that.

So what do you think? Fact or fiction: the Yankees struggle against starters they've never faced? If you think it's fact, why do you think they struggle? Lack of preparation? Poor scouting? Whose fault is it? Kevin Long? The players? The scouts? I think it's probably a combo of all three. That's my theory anyway.

The Yanks face a guy named Craig Stammen tomorrow. It'll be his 6th career start. One can only imagine how this will go.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

Yanks Avoid Embarrasment With Another Late Inning Comeback Against The Nats

As is always the case when the game is on My9, I didn't get to see tonight's Yankee/Nationals game. Frequent readers of the blog have seen me write before about how the Buffalo market has no carrier for those games. The previous network that showed them went all religious and Yankee baseball doesn't quite fit their programming. I think the Time Warner subscribers might now get it, but if you've got Direct TV, Dish Network, or FIOS, you're out of luck. I did listen to the radio call on XM. I like listening to games on the radio but definitely prefer seeing it on TV. Since I didn't see the game, I'll keep this post brief as I find when I listen to I don't take it in the same as I do when I watch it on TV.

CC Sabathia had a pretty solid outing. The only mistake he made was giving up a HR to a guy with only 1 career HR (in 324 ABs). I'm not sure if it was a "Yankee Stadium" HR or not. Sterling's call made it sound like Damon just missed it but if you've ever listened to Sterling you know he's often off a little bit. When Teixeira drove in Damon to tie the game, Sterling's call started out sounding like it was gone. Then he thought it was caught. Then it was off the wall. 3rd time's a charm.

After going 4-for-4 Robbie Cano now leads the team in hitting @ .309. Cano has been doing well of late. He's 7 for his last 8, and 9 for his last 12. 3 of those hits were doubles and 2 were HRs. He's Robbie Cano, don't cha know?

I'm still waiting for A-Rod to get it going. After reading a comment that was left the other day, I'm starting to worry he won't. The comment mentioned that after Friday's "walkoff" he was seen clutching his hip. It sounds like it's not 100% and I remember reading, though I'm not sure where it was, that Alex is having trouble opening up his swing. The commenter said it's all upper body. I'm a little worried about that. I'll take a less than 100% A-Rod over a guy like Ramiro Pena, Cody Ransom, or Angel Berroa. I've seen a lot of people question why Berroa is still around. Perhaps it has to do with Alex's health. He's probably around as an insurance policy, albeit not a good one.

It sounded like the Yankee defense made a few nice plays. I saw the highlight of Melky's shoestring catch. That was pretty. I haven't seen any other highlights but I'd imagine that might be the play of the day. If Melky can continue to flash the leather, I'll overlook his declining offensive numbers. The average is down 20 points over the last 10 games.

Jeter got pulled from the game with some kind of foot/ankle injury. Hopefully it's not too serious.

I'm not surprised that the Yankees struggled against a pitcher they've never seen before. I've written about that several times. I was surprised to read today that the Yankees were 9-4 this year against guys they've never faced. I read that in the comments section on one of Pete Abraham's posts. I forget which one but hat tip to whoever posted that stat. I'm a little shocked that they've done that well. My perception is that struggle more often than not. Waldman and Sterling talked about that quite a bit on their broadcast tonight. Take that for what it's worth though as it is Waldman and Sterling. Waldman brought up the idea that teams should bring up AAA pitchers whenever they play the Yanks. Sterling agreed with her that it was a good idea. But they struggled tonight and only really got things going once the Nats lifted the starter and went with the very familiar Ron Villone. It didn't take him long to blow that lead. 2 hitters and the game was tied. 4 hitters and the lead was gone. Thanks Ronnie.

Welcome back Brian Bruney. The 8th inning missed you. Jose Veras was DFA'd. I can't say I'll miss him, but I wish him the best.

The new daddy Chien-Ming Wang makes a very important start tomorrow. It's do or die for the Wanger. If he tanks, it's probably his last start. I read on Pete Abraham's blog, that in Taiwan, a new baby is supposed to bring good luck to the parents. For Wang's sake I hope that's true. He's already got one thing going for him: he's pitching against the Nationals, owners of the worst record in all of baseball. Their 16 wins is 11 less than the next closest team. Take advantage Wang. Take advantage.

So much for keeping it brief.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

It's A Boy! Chien-Ming Wang & Wife Welcome First Child

Just wanted to send a quick congrats to CMW and his wife on the birth of their son, Justin Jesse Wang. How's that for a name? I love it. Justin clocked in at 7 lbs. 12 ounces.

Congrats to the Wangs.

J-Boogie

Yanks Fall To Red Sox (Again)

I just shook my Yankees Magic 8-ball and asked it if the Yankees would ever beat the Red Sox? The reply was "outlook not so good." I don't really have a Magic 8-ball but if I did, I'm sure that's what it would say. The Sox have the Yankees number. No doubt about it. The loss tonight makes it 7 straight losses to the Sox. The loss puts the Yanks 1 game back of 1st. Can you imagine what would happen if George Steinbrenner was still George Steinbrenner? Heads would roll.

Chien-Ming Wang was terrible again. I stepped away from the game to give my son a bath. The Yanks had just tied things up. When I returned the Yanks were down 4-1 and Wang was out of the game. I saw on the replay that Swisher misplayed what looked like an easy fly ball. Who knows what would have been had he pulled that in? It's hard to say what exactly is wrong with Wang. He appears to be fully healthy. Like A.J. Burnett yesterday, he just couldn't find the plate and when he did, he got hit. I'm not ready to give up on Wang just yet. I see little gilmpses of that 19-game winner we all know and love. They're very little glimpses but they're there. I'm not sure how much longer the team can commit to him as a starter. He's been horrible. He's only lasted 13 and 1/3 innings in his 5 starts. Most guys knock that out in 2 starts. Wang needs to make a huge turnaround and pronto. I guess the silver lining is that he lowered his ERA .12 points. It dropped from 14.46 to 14.34. Yikes.

Phil Hughes did a good job in relief. He made 1 real mistake. Outside of that, he was pretty damn good. You can totally see that Hughes is a different guy out there. He appears to be a hell of a lot more confident. They mentioned that on the YES broadcast. I forget who said it. It was probably Michael Kay. Kay and I agree on something. What's the world coming to? While I'm talking about Michael Kay, I really hate it when he drops the phrase "rally in their bones." I cringe whenever I hear it.

Tonight's game was very winnable. The Yankees knocked the Sox pitchers for 11 hits and 5 walks. There were plenty of opportunities to score some runs. They had runners on in every inning and had runners in scoring position in 7, They needed that big hit and it never came. As a team they went 2 for 15 with RISP and left 10 on base. It was definitely a game the Yanks could have won.

Mark Teixeira had a huge night at the plate, going 4-for-5 with 2 doubles and a jack, raising his average to .296, which is remarkable considering how poorly his season started. What's most amazing is that Teixeira has the 2nd highest batting average on the team, .001 point behind Jorge Posada, who is hitting .297. Tex is now ahead of Jeter (.295), Damon (.291), Cano (.293), and Melky Cabrera (.293). It's hard to believe that Tex was hitting .191 on May 12th. In less than a month, he's raised his average over 100 points. Insane.

Melky Cabrera's star is rapidly falling to Earth. After going 3-for-5 against the Phillies back on 5/24, Melky was hitting .328. He were are 9 games later and his avergae is now 35 points lower at .293. He's gone 6 for 36 over that stretch. I'm not sure how much of that slump, if any, can be attributed to his shoulder injury. How long will it be before his average is down in the 250 range? Hopefully it won't get that low but it is Melky Cabrera we're talking about. I just pulled up Melky's situational stats and they're less than stellar. Coming into tonight's game, Melky was hitting .315 with the bases empty. The average drops considerably with runners on base. With runners on, he's hitting .264. With RISP, he's hitting .250. With RISP and 2-outs he's hitting .136. As a team the Yanks are hitting .272 with runners on, .265 with RISP, and ,243 with RISP and 2 outs. Melky is on the down side of all those stats. I have a bad feeling that it's only a matter of time before Gardner gets some more starts in CF.

The Yanks really need to win tomorrow. The standard for a 3-game series in Fenway is to win one game. It's tough to go into Fenway and win 2 out of 3. It happens, but it seems like most of the time, the Yanks take only 1 game. Hopefully, for the team's sake, that game is tomorrow. CC Sabathia gets the start and if anyone can beat the Sox, it's CC. He's the ace. He gets paid to win these kind of games. The Yankees should be able to beat Brad Penny. On paper, this is the game that most favors the Yankees. If only it were played on paper.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

Melky (Again) Powers Yanks To Win

Why is it whenever there is a day game that I can't watch, it's an exciting game? Following along on the radio at work is OK, but i can't give it my undivided attention. I had a conference call today from 1-2 so I missed the beginning. Luckily, I didn't miss the end. Melky goes deep. Mo gets the save. Yankees win. Thuhhh Yankees win.

I blogged during the game about Chien-Ming Wang's outing. If you want to read my thoughts on that, scroll down or click here. To summarize, I thought it was a step in the right direction.

The Yankee offense returned to form today. They knocked the Rangers for 8 runs on 10 hits and 5 walks. The hero today, as has been the case several times this year, was Melky Cabrera. He came through again late, belting a 2-run dinger that ended up being the game-winner. Melky has been an extremely pleasant surprise this year. I don't know anyone who didn't write Melky off after the season he had last year. He's making us all eat crow and I don't think any of us are complaining. I know I'm not. He's kicking ass and taking names. He's Melktastic! No? How about Melkalicious? Yeah, still pretty bad.

Nick Swisher's June is off to a great start. In May, Nicky Swish his a buck-fifty. He had 12 hits in 27 games. He's got 4 games under his belt in June and he's already halfway to his May hit total, going 6-for-10. He's looking a lot better at the dish and that month long slump seems to be behind him. Mark Teixeira also had a good day. He had the big hit that got the Yanks back in the ballgame. This was Teixeira's 9th multi-hit game in his last 13. His average is up to .284, which is where I thought he'd end the year based on his start. He got that average up there in a hurry and it's still climbing. A .300 average for Teixeira doesn't look like it's too far off.

The Yankee bullpen had a pretty good day. Mo and Aceves were a tad bit shaky, but collectively, the 4 RPs gave up only 1 run in 4 and a-third. I was a little nervous about getting the 5 outs that were needed to get the ball from Phil Coke to Mo, but Coke and Robertson did a great job keeping the Rangers from scoring. I'll admit. I didn't think they would.

Great win today. The Yankees have won 7 of their last 8 series. If the Yankees can keep that up, getting back to the postseason won't be a problem. Winning a series pretty much means you're playing at a .667 winning percentage, which is pretty damn good. The LA Dodgers are the only team right now that have a winning percentage higher than that. Sabathia kicks things off against David Price. CC has been awesome as of late and if he's going down the same road as he did last season, we should expect big things from the big guy. It won't be a walk in the park but CC has the stuff to get it done.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

Wang Roughed Up In Return To Rotation

Chien-Ming Wang made his return to the Yankee rotation today. It was Wang's first start since April 18th. After spending about a month on the DL, Wang was activated and went to the bullpen, making 3 appearances in 13 days. He threw a total of 8 innings in those 3 relief appearances, pitching well, allowing only 2 earned runs in 8 innings. Then pretty much out of nowhere, Wang was announced as today's starter, with hopes that he could throw about 80 pitches, lasting 5-6 innings. While he didn't do as well as everyone hoped, it wasn't all bad.

I didn't expect Wang to be perfect right out of the gate. I wanted to see a kick-ass outing, but deep down knew it was a long shot. He hasn't really pitched all that much lately. One of the things plaguing Wang earlier this season was his arm strength, which was tied to his leg issues. It would be foolish to think that pitching a total of 8 innings in 13 days would be enough to keep Wang's arm strong. He was good in short bursts, which is why I think he did well in short relief appearances. As we saw today, Wang did really well in the first 2 innings. You can't get much better than perfect. The wheels kind of fell off in the 3rd but it's not as if he was getting hammered like he was before he went on the DL. It's going to take a few starts for Wang to get back into starting form. All things considered, I think today's start was a step in the right direction. He did after all lower his ERA from 16.07 to 14.46. Wang has a long way to go to get back to respectability. It'll take 41 and a-third scoreless innings to get his ERA to 4.50.

Mark Teixiera just knocked in 3 to tie it! A-Rod just singled him home to put the Yanks up 6-5. It's now a whole new ballgame.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

Pettitte And Bats Struggle In 4-2 Loss To Rangers

Ah, the ups and downs of the season. One day you're in 1st with the best record in the AL. The next you're tied for first and don't have the best record. The season can definitely be a roller coaster ride. You just hope when the ride is over that your team is where you want them to be. When this ride is over, I think we Yankee fans will be pretty happy.

Andy Pettitte didn't have it tonight. He was definitely not on his game. It's possible that he has a lingering back issue but it's something I don't think we'll ever find out about. Andy is a gamer and he's not one to admit when he's not 100%. I hope that there was something wrong with him because it would at least provide some explanation for his poor outing. OK, I don't really hope something is wrong with him. I'd never want someone to be hurt. Pettitte's control was definitely lacking. He only threw 57.6% of his pitches for strikes, which is not a good percentage. He walked 6, which he hasn't done since 1999 (if I remember the stat I heard correctly). All in all, not a good night for AP. Surprisingly though, he only gave up 4 runs. He definitely didn't pitch well enough to win, but I guess you could say he kept the Yanks in the game. The offense definitely had its chances, but they didn't deliver.

The Yankees offense was pretty much non-existent tonight. Jeter's 16 game hit streak came to an end. Bummer. I guess he'll have to start a new one. The team was 1-for-6 with RISP and the goat of the game has to be A-Rod. He killed what could have been a big inning with his inning ending 5-5-3 DP in the 3rd. Alex whiffed with 1 out in the 6th, failing to bring Damon home from third. Not a good night for Alex. The team definitely missed having Mark Teixeira in the lineup. He was scratched late with a bum ankle. Girardi said in his post game interview that he'd probably be back tomorrow. If you ask me, I don't think he will be. Tomorrow is a day game so I wouldn't be surprised if he's not in the lineup. Hopefully Posada is. Typically catchers get a day game after a night game off. Jorge has been the man since he came off the DL. In his 6 games, he's hitting .348 (8 for 23) with 3 HR and 6 RBI. If he's not behind the dish, I hope he's slotted at DH. I don't think he will be, but one can hope, right?

Tomorrow marks the return of Chien-Ming Wang to the rotation. I'm down with moving him in and shifting Phil Hughes to the bullpen. I wrote the other day that if I were running things, I give the ball to Wang as opposed to Hughes. It looks like Wang is healthy so there shouldn't be any reason to think he'll get railed tomorrow. Except for maybe having below average arm strength because of only pitching 8 innings in 2 weeks. For his sake, and for ours and the Yankees, I hope he has a kick-ass outing. I have a good feeling. Oh wait, it's just gas.

Day game tomorrow which means I'll be following along on the radio. I'm not sure what my afternoon at work looks like. I'm hoping there are no meetings because nothing is worse than work interfering with listening to the Yankees. Stupid work. Always fouling up my day.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie