A Little Catching Up

I'm so not a fan of blogging once a week. My schedule is pretty hectic right now though I anticipate it dying down soon. I typically blog during my lunch break at work but that hour has been overrun by meetings and having to spend it catching up on other stuff because of meetings. So not fun. Today's a free day, so here I am. Let her rip.

Chan Ho Park is now officially a Yankee. His arrival should strengthen what I think is already a pretty solid bullpen. The only downside to the move is that to make room for Park on the 40-man roster, the Yankees had to designate Edwar Ramirez for assignment. Depending on your view of Edwar, it may or may not be a bad thing. I've never been a big Edwar fan so for me, it's not a bad thing. Edwar had some promise but by and large he never materialized into much of anything. His 2008 campaign was decent. He pitched to a 3.90 ERA and opponents hit .215 off of him. His 2007 and 2009 season were dismal. In those seasons, he combined to throw 43 innings, allowing 49 hits and 32 walks (1.88 WHIP) and had an ERA just south of 7 at 6.91. Edwar is also turning 29 in a few weeks and I believe that makes him the oldest RP on the staff next to Damaso Marte (35), Sergio Mitre (6 weeks older than Ramirez), Park(36), and the legend Mariano Rivera (40). Marte is a lefty so Edwar loses there. Mitre can start so Edwar loses there. Comparing Edwar to Mariano is like comparing me to Mariano. So that pretty much leaves Park. So it comes down to who would you rather have: Edwar or Park? I'll take Park. He's been around. He's more reliable. He can start in a pinch. I don't think he's by any means a saving grace, but he doesn't have to be. I like the move. Who knows? Maybe Edwar will make it through the process and return to the organization.

We're 2 days away from the spring opener. I'm so excited. I have to remember to set the DVR. The only drawback of ST games, besides that the scrubs play most of the games, is that they're usually in the afternoon. Can't wait to start watching the highlight shows. I'm just hoping I can fit it in around my kids schedules. Can't miss Handy Manny. Chad Gaudin will start the opener but the real fun starts on Thursday when CC Sabathia squares off against Roy Halladay in a Worl Series rematch. This could very well end up being the same matchup we see for game 1 of the 2010 World Series. I'm looking forward to each tossing their handful of innings.

The last thing I wanted to discuss was the contract status of Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera. Is it me or does it seem like the media is making a big deal out of the Yankees not negotiating with these guys prior to the end of their contracts? It's gotten way too much play if you ask me. It was even mentioned during the news portion of The Howard Stern Show. This is such a non-story. Both of these guys will be back in Pinstripes next year and neither are bothered by the fact that the Yankees are waiting to negotiate the deals with them. There is absolutely zero chance that these guys end up somewhere else. I wouldn't be surprised if their deals are signed within a week of the end of the season. The Yankees basically just need to give these guys whatever they want.

I had plans to write a little more but my lunch is about to end and I'm off to a meeting. Lunch breaks are never truly lunch breaks because people still come up to me and need something. I spent about 45 minutes writing this and I'd say that 25 of those minutes were spent doing work things. Part of the reason I'm waiting for these games to start is because I'll blog after the games and tweet during the games. The activity here will definitely be picking up. My apologies again for the delay in posting.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

Yanks Keep Rolling Rolling Rolling

I wrote in my post yesterday that I wanted to see the Yanks start rolling teams and stop winning the close ones because eventually those games will start to go the other way. I was real excited when they put 6 on the board in the first, thinking they were well on their way to a blowout. Last night was the season finale of 24. Normally, I would have DVR'd it and watched it later but I knew if I didn't watch it, I'd have it spoiled for me. So I didn't see much of the game. I saw the first inning and I saw the last inning. Lucky for me, that was where most of the game took place.

Mark Teixeira is finally looking like Mark Teixeira. He's been on a tear since A-Rod returned to the lineup. In those 10 games, Tex is hitting .342 (13-38) with 5 HR and 13 RBI. His average has jumped 41 points (.198-.239) and his OPS has jumped 138 points (.735-.873). I think it's safe to say that the slump is behind him. Thank God Alex is back.

Speaking of Alex, to quote my friend Tom via a text message, "Wow. A-Rod heating up." A-Rod has now homered in 3 straight games. A by-product of hitting in the new Yankee Stadium? Possibly. But I'll take it. The only thing that's not there right now with Alex is the average. His .395 OBP is ahead of his career average (.389). His .563 SLG percentage is just below his career average (.578). He's only hitting .188. He's definitely heating up, or at least warming up. It won't be long before that batting average is on par with what's on the back of his baseball card. Once that starts happening, it's over. The Teixeira/A-Rod tandem is going to be unstoppable.

Finally, congrats to Phil Coke on picking up his 1st career save. It was scary for sure. Saying I was worried was an understatement. I was fully prepared to see him blow that lead. I thought for sure we'd see another Yankee walkoff. I'm glad though he got it done. Hopefully, that's his one and only save. That job needs to be Mo's and Mo's only. I don't trust anyone else. I'd be OK with Brian Bruney doing it once in a while. Bruney is expected to be activated off the DL today. The million dollar question is who gets shuffled off to Scranton. I'm hoping it's Edwar Ramirez or Jose Veras. As much as I dislike him, I think I'd rather see Veras stick around. To me, he's the lesser of two evils. I think Veras's stuff is better than Edwar's. If Jose could just get the ball over the plate, he'd fare much better. But I could live with either one going down. I'm curious to see who gets the boot.

The Yanks look to continue the winning ways tonight against the lowly Orioles. I'm a little worried that the offense will go missing because they're facing someone they've never faced before, and they often struggle when that happens. Good news is CC Sabathia is on the mound for the Yanks. If there is anyone that can keep a struggling offense in a game it's CC. CC was awesome in his last 2 starts, winning both games, and allowing only 2 ERs in 17 innings. He pitched a CG SHO 2 starts ago against this same Orioles team. I'm expecting him to continue his hot streak.

Sadly, I won't get to watch tonight's (or Thursday's) game because it's on My9 and for some insane reason Verizon FIOS doesn't carry the local affiliate that shows those games. I'll be following along on the gamecast or I'll be listening to Sterling and Waldmyn (ugh) on XM. i hope those of you that get to watch it, enjoy it.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

Another Win, Another Walk-off

Wow. Another Yankee walkoff win. That makes 3 in-a-row and that runs the winning streak up to 5. These games are certainly exciting and fun to watch. The only thing that worries me is that they're playing a lot of 1-run games. They won't always come out on the winning side. The law of averages suggests in the long run that it will balance out. So let's start blowing teams out. I have a feeling that's the direction were headed.

I thought A.J. Burnett pitched a decent game yesterday. I'm surprised by the number of walks he had (6) considering he threw about 60% of his pitches for strikes which is not good, not bad. The worst part of it is that he walked the Twins #9 hitter, Nick Punto and his .194 average, twice. You can't walk the #9 hitter, especially when he's a light hitting SS hitting below .200. That was the most frustrating part if A.J.'s performance. A.J.'s walks are up and his Ks are down which is puzzling, and slightly concerning. His career strikeout-to-walk ratio is about 2.23 to 1. This year he's well below that average at 1.72 to 1. He hasn't been that bad since he first started out. Since '04 his K/BB ratio is 2.7 to 1. It's definitely an off year for A.J. so far.

Props to Brett Tomko for saving the Yankees' bacon yesterday. That was huge right there. Albaladejo had a big whiif to end the 7th but promptly began suck again in the 8th. Tomko bailed him out. BT gets my game ball. Albaladejo on the other hand, ship him out already. He's way too inconsistent for my liking. Problem is that's he's better than some of the other scrubs they got back there. I'm talking about you Edwar, and Jose Veras while I'm at it. Hurry back Brian Bruney.

Memo to Brett Gardner: if you're going to try something like that (scoring from 2nd on a ball hit between home and the mound) you better score. That was a pretty stupid play considering there was only one out. I hope Brett doesn't start to suffer from the same problem that Melky does when it comes to his arm. Melky throws out a bunch of guys, gets a rep for having such a great arm, and now he a lot of throws he shouldn't. Brett is getting a rep for being a speed demon and I'd hate to start seeing him try to make things happen when the situation clearly calls for something else. He's lucky.

Finally, how 'bout that Johnny Damon? J-Dilla is having a monster year. Coincidentally, he's playing for a contract and that for some reason always brings out the best in guys. Whatever works, right? In his last 12 games, JD is 21 for 50 (.420) with 7 doubles, 1 triple, 5 jacks, 12 runs scored, and 15 RBI. Could JD make a run at the MVP? Me hopes so.

Andrew Euguene Pettitte looks to finish off the sweep tonight. I hope they win this one handily and not with another walkoff. Like I said, things like this always find a way to balance out in the end. So let's start crushing teams!

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

Yanks Win Is A Little Undeserved, But I'll Take It

I have mixed emotions right now. I am totally stoked that the Yankees pulled off a great come from behind victory tonight, battering the Angels bullpen for 6 runs on 7 hits over the final 2 innings. It was great to see them win that game, but had they played any other team, they probably would have lost. The Angels have the worst bullpen in all of baseball, entering tonight's game with a league worst bullpen ERA of 7.07. After tonight's debacle, it's up to 7.70. The Yanks definitely should have lost this game tonight. But they didn't, and that's all that matters. The winning streak is now at 4 games, which coincidentally is the exact # of days my newborn son Griffin has been home.

The offense came through again tonight. As a team they went 6-10 with RISP. That's 4 straight games where they've come through when they needed to. I love the fact that they're not doing it with the longball. The 8th inning saw a double, a walk, and 3 singles. The 9th inning saw a walk and 3 singles. I hope they're seeing what's happening out there. Keep the line moving with singles and doubles and the runs will pile up. I like what I'm seeing. I hope they keep it up.

The game tonight was definitely won by the bottom of the order. Hitters 1-4 went 2-for-16. Hitters 5-9 went 10-19 w/ 8 RBI. Robbie Cano is on absolute fire, going 3-5 tonight and raising that average to .378. Cano has really surprised me this year. He's locked in. I wish I could say the same for Mark Teixeira. Sorry Tex, but it's now May, the .189 average doesn't cut it. The game tonight was definitely won by the bottom of the order. Ramiro Pena has been a pleasant surprise. Since becoming the everyday third baseman, he's gone 8-for-17 with 4 RBI, 4 clutch RBI if you will. Suck on that Cody Ransom. Your days in pinstripes may be done.

I thought the Yankees' pitching staff was supposed to be leaps and bounds better than it has been in previous years. I thought the Yankees' pitching staff was supposed to be the team's biggest strength. They've shown brilliance at times but for the most part, they've been awful, especially the bullpen. It's absolutely atrocious. Unless your name is Brian Bruney, Mariano Rivera, and maybe Phil Coke, I don't trust you and I expect that you're going to tank more often than you won't. The pitching staff needs to be better. A lot better.

Andy Pettitte did not have it today. He pretty much struggled from the get go. I'm kind of surprised he only allowed runs in one inning. He allowed 2 baserunners to reach in the 1st, getting out of the inning on a classic Andy Pettitte pickoff. He allowed a baserunner in the 2nd and got out of the inning on a DP. He allowed 2 baserunners in the 3rd, another in the 4th, and another in the 5th. He pretty much grinded his way through the first 5 innings. He wasn't good but he got the job done. Then the wheels fell off and he imploded in the 6th. Overall, it wasn't a good day for AP. He struggled with his control, walking 4 and throwing only 61 of his 108 pitches for strikes. It was his first poor outing of the season and I'll let it slide. A pitcher isn't going to be lights out every time he starts. As long as it doesn't become a habit, I'm cool with it.

Today's relievers that crapped the bed were Jose Veras and Mark Melancon. Melancon came on in a big spot in the 6th. It was his 1st real test at the big league level and he failed miserably, allowing a 3-run triple. I like what I've seen from Melancon, but then again, every other reliever has looked good at one point. Jose Veras sucked tonight, but has looked good about half the time. This was his 10th appearance and for my money he's done alright in 5 of them. Thankfully for the Yanks, Edwar Ramirez and Jonathan Albaladejo didn't suck tonight. Albie pitched well, but is coming off 2 really bad outings. Same goes for Edwar. My point is you never know what you're going to get with these guys. The bullpen ERA is now 6.66, which is the 29th worst bullpen ERA in all of MLB. Like I said above, unless your last name is Rivera or Bruney, and maybe Coke, I don't trust you. I'm scared every time I see everyone else warming up, and that's not good.

The Yanks look to keep things rolling tomorrow afternoon when CC Sabathia makes start #6. CC, like the rest of the pitching staff, has been inconsistent this year as well. I really don't have any idea what to expect. Good things I hope. I'll make sure Griffin is around to try and keep the streak going.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

Yanks Win In Extras, Bring On The BoSox

I'm glad the game ran long today. I haven't seen the Yankees play since Sunday and even that wasn't a full game. It was nice to catch a few innings on the tube. I think I joined the game for the bottom of the 13th. I caught the rest of it on XM Radio and on the Yahoo gamecast. I had a light schedule at work so I was able to follow along with most of it. I heard some things I like. I heard some things I didn't.

The bad: CC Sabathia. Not a fan of the strike-to-ball ratio. CC threw 112 pitches, 66 for strikes, 56 for balls. He walked way too many people. 3 of the guys he walked came around to score. Last year, in 35 regular season starts, CC walked 5 guys twice and 4 guys once. He's equaled that in his 4 starts this year. The silver lining is that he started out pretty slow last year. His ERA didn't dip below 5 until his 11th start. He finished the season with a 2.70 ERA. As the weather heats up, so will CC.

The bad: failing to score in the 7th inning. The Yanks had the bases juiced with nobody out and couldn't push a run across. Melky struck out. Gardner popped out. Jeter popped out. I was expecting Jeter to come through like he usually does. But even a guy who hits .400 fails to deliver 6 out of 10 times. He's still clutch. But in that spot, none of them were. The team left 13 runners on base. They had ample opportunity to score but didn't. It's a problem we know all too well.

The good: The bullpen kicked some major ass. 6 RPs combined for 7.1 scoreless innings. They gave up three hits, 3 walks, and whiffed 6. Jose Veras definitely gets the game ball. He was awesome. 3.1 hitless innings, allowing only 1 walk. Veras was on today. I wasn't feeling good about the Yankees chances to win this game once it went to extras. I'm not overly confident in Damaso Marte, Edwar Ramirez, and Jose Veras. Let's face it, they've pretty much sh*t the bed all year. Today they were lights out. Build on that.

The good: Melky Cabrera. I'm still not crazy about the Melk Man but if he continues to hit dingers like he is, he'll win me over. But, he started out this hot last season and he ended up getting sent down to Triple-A. Through 13 games this year, Melky is hitting .304 with 4 HR. Through 13 games last year, Melky was hitting .300 and had 2 HRs. If my memory serves me correctly, Melky was leading the team in HRs at one point last April. He has a long way to go before I get back on the Melk-wagon.

The good: 24 baserunners. The bad: only 9 runs. They should score way more than 9 runs of they have that many baserunners.

The Yankees have a well-deserved off-day tomorrow. Then it's off to Boston. It'll be their first meeting with the rival Red Sox. Is it me or is the rivalry kind of stale? It's been pretty tame over the last few years. Joba gets the start in the series opener, matching up against Jon Lester. It has the makings of a pretty good game. My only question is will I get to see any of the series. The wife's due date is tomorrow and she's experiencing a few contractions. Things are happening. Wish us luck.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

Prediction For Opening Day Roster

In the comments of my last post, regular reader Dino offered up a sort-of prediction of who he expected/wanted in the Yankee bullpen. That got me to thinking about who'd comprise the Opening Day roster and I figured why not give a crack at predicting who will make the squad. So here's what I think/prefer, assuming of course that they all remain healthy.

The offensive givens: Jorge Posada, Jose Molina, Mark Teixeira, Robinson Cano, A-Rod, Derek Jeter, Johnny Damon, Xavier Nady, Hideki Matsui, Nick Swisher

The pitching givens: CC Sabathia, Chien-Ming Wang, A.J. Burnett, Andy Pettitte, Joba Chamberlain, Mariano Rivera, Brian Bruney, Damaso Marte

For those too lazy to count the names, it's 18 and that leaves 7 spots. One of those is the CF position, which is a battle between Melky Cabrera and Brett Gardner. I honestly don't have a preference to one over the other. I think both are 4th OFs at best. Since it looks like one is definitely making the team, barring a trade, I'm going with Gardner as the winner. I don't think the Yankees are high on Melky anymore. His time has come and gone. Even though his OBP was horrible last season, I think the Yankees like what Gardner brings to the table, namely he's quick. His upside is also probably a little higher than Melky's. I think he has more potential to help the team. So I'm pegging Gardner to be our Opening Day center fielder.

One of the spots is going to a back-up infielder. There aren't many guys to choose from. I think it's a 3-horse race between Cody Ransom, Juan Miranda, and Angel Berroa. Berroa is a chump and lets face it, he ain't making the team. I think Miranda is one-dimensional, being best suited as a first-baseman. Ransom is versatile and can play pretty much anywhere in the infield. He logged time at each position last year. It helps to have a guy that can fill in anywhere. Cody Ransom will make the Opening Day Roster.

So that leaves 5 open spots, all of which are going to relief pitchers. One of those guys is going to be a swing-man, someone who can start or relieve. The options for that role as I see it are Phil Hughes, Alfredo Aceves, Brett Tomko, Ian Kennedy, Humberto Sanchez, Kei Igawa and Dan Giese. in my opinion, Phil Hughes, Ian Kennedy, and Alfredo Aceves, need to start and that won't be happening in the majors. They're ticketed for Scranton. Sanchez is still a year or so away and is coming off an injury. I don't even know why Igawa is on the list as he blows. He's an option and not a good one. See you in Scranton. That leaves Tomko and Giese. Tomko was horrible last season and I don't see him performing well enough to earn that spot. Dan Giese had a pretty solid campaign in 2008 (3.53 ERA in 43.1 IPs, 1.22 WHIP, .232 average against) and I think he's the best man for the job. He can start (3 starts in 2008) and can relieve (17 relief appearances). And of all the names above, he's the last one I would think needs to get in a healthy amount of innings. Giese is my pick for the swing man. It's his job to lose.

And then their were 4. 4 spots for by my estimation 6 guys: Phil Coke, Edwar Ramirez, David Robertson, Jose Veras, Mark Melancon, and Jonathan Albaladejo. This is probably the most difficult of all the choices because all of them are more than capable of pitching at the major league level. There's only room at the inn for 4 so 2 have to go. A lot of this could come down to who shines this spring and who falters. I think Coke and Edwar are locks as they pitched well enough last year to earn the spots. Coke so far has been the man. He's in for sure. Edwar at times can be inconsistent, but for the most part, he gets the job done. Like Giese, it's their jobs to lose. Veras probably pitched well enough to earn a spot, which leaves one opening for Robertson, Melancon, and Albaladejo. I think Albaladejo goes to AAA. Like Humberto Sanchez, he's coming off an injury and he's probably best suited to start the season in Scranton. I think Robertson probably had the job heading into the spring but I don't think he's going to have a better spring than Melancon. It's a toss up and I can go either way. I think Melancon is going to have a better spring so he's my call for the last spot.

So after all of that, I realized that that would be 12 hitters and 13 pitchers which probably isn't the right balance. I don't see the Yanks carrying 13 pitchers. It's possible since they'll have a lot of versatility on the bench. Swisher can play 1B/OF/DH. Matsui can play OF/DH. Ransom can play anywhere in the infield. I can see the team wanting to maybe carry another middle infielder. I don't see anybody really filling that role except for Angel Berroa or a dark horse candidate that comes out of nowhere. For lack of a better option, I'm going with Berroa. Unfortunately, that means I'm sending Mark Melancon back to the minors. He has to absolutely blow everyone else away to pick up one of the spots, and that's certainly possible.

The offense: Jorge Posada, Jose Molina, Mark Teixeira, Robinson Cano, A-Rod, Derek Jeter, Johnny Damon, Xavier Nady, Hideki Matsui, Nick Swisher, Brett Gardner, Cody Ransom, Angel Berroa

The pitching: CC Sabathia, Chien-Ming Wang, A.J. Burnett, Andy Pettitte, Joba Chamberlain, Mariano Rivera, Brian Bruney, Damaso Marte, Dan Giese, Jose Veras, Phil Coke, Edwar Ramirez.

So there you have it. That's who I think will comprise the Yankees Opening Day roster, based on everyone making it through the spring without ending up on the DL. So what do you guys think? What do you disagree with and why? There are definitely some question marks and I'm curious what everyone else thinks.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

Yankee Deathwatch 2008

One more loss and we're officially done. Maybe not mathematically, but in my mind. I've been saying this for a week or so now, maybe more, and I'm sorry to beat a dead horse, but I think the winner of the AL wild card will end up with 94 wins. Right now, the Red Sox and Rays are in a virtual tie for 1st place in the AL East. The runner-up will most likely win the wild card. The Rays are currently on pace to win 97 games. The Red Sox are on target for 96. To end with 94 wins, the Sox have to go 9-10 the rest of the way. The Rays have to go 9-11. To end with 94 wins, the Yanks now have to win all of their 18 remaining games. While it's highly unlikely, it's still technically possible. Hey I can still dream, can't I? When they lose their next game, it won't be, and that's when I officially pronounce them dead on arrival. The Sox and/or Rays would need to collapse, more so than playing a shade under 500. Doubtful.

I fell asleep in the 3rd inning yesterday, right before the Angels jumped ahead 2-1. I woke up, checked the scores and lo and behold the Yankees lost 12-1. A scan of the box score pretty much confirmed what I expected to see: utter and complete all-around crapiness by the Yanks. 6 hits? They had 4 when I fell asleep. Typical Yankee offense. I was a little surprised to see that Edwar got rocked, but then again, not really. The Angels own him. In 3 games against the Angles this year, our boy Edwar has pitched 1.2 innings, allowing 9 hits, 3 walks, and 12 runs, 11 of which are earned. That works out to an ERA of 59.28. Way to go Edwar! In his brief 2 year major league career, the Angels have scored 15 runs off Edwar in 5 innings pitched. They're hitting .536 against him as a team. That's sticking it to the team that cut you before you even made it to the bigs. Way to show 'em! You proved them wrong for sure.

I also found out this morning that I missed a bench clearing "fight." Figures the one time I go to sleep, I miss all the excitement. I made sure to DVR the replay so I can see it for myself, but it sounds like a big to do about nothing. A misunderstanding is what I'm hearing/reading. Either way, at least the team got charged up about something. I guess that's good, right?

So the deathwatch is officially on. It's a matter of hours, maybe days, before I officially close the door on their playoff chances. Again, I know there's no way it's going to happen. I'm just mathematically writing them off when they lose their 69th game. Tonight marks the major league debut of Alredo Aceves as a starter. As of right now, that's probably the only reason to stay up and watch a 10:05 game.

That and to see if they can cheat death for maybe one more day.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

Yanks Win Crazy Game Thanks To Shoddy Angels D

The Yankees got a gift today from the Angels. In fact, they got 4 of them. 4 huge costly errors led to 9 or 10 unearned runs and ultimately a Yankee victory and a series split. But that's baseball. It a win and the standings and I'll take it. They never gave up. They battled back from a 5-run deficit and this has to be a huge confidence boost to a team that's heading out on a road trip and has been mired in a mini-slump. Big win today boys and girls. Big win.

It certainly didn't start out well. Darrell Rasner was absolutely brutal. Prediction: it won't be long before Rasner makes his final start of the season. He was awful today, and he's been awful more than he's been good. It's to the point where starting him is becoming a huge liability. Including today's game, D-Raz has won 2 of his last 12 starts. Houston, we have a problem. Luckily, it's a problem that's not hard to fix. The Yankees have many options they can go with to start in place of Rasner, and they're names we're all familiar with. Ian Kennedy can easily be called up to take the spot. He's allowed 14 hits and 4 runs in his last 4 outings for Scranton. Since being demoted to the minors, IPK has an ERA of 1.99 in 54.1 IPs. Opposing hitters are hitting .179 off Ian. Phil Hughes is on the med and is currently rehabbing in Charleston. He's had only 2 outings but has been outstanding: 6.2 IPs, 3 H, 0 ER. And then there's our favorite sorry excuse for a Yankee, Carl Pavano. He's pretty much on the same rehab schedule as Hughes, and has done alright in his 2 outings: 5 IP, 6 H, 1 ER. He could throw 5 consecutive no-nos and I wouldn't care. I hope he never dons the Pinstripes this year. He's been a colossal waste of time and money. Bringing him back to the Bronx would definitely disrupt the clubhouse. It's no secret nobody wants him there. I hope Cashman has the smarts to keep him down. I'd like to think eh does. Getting back to Hughes and Kennedy, I'd much prefer to see them get another chance to pitch than to look outside of the organization. Jarrod Washburn is a bum and they shouldn't even bother. At least give the youngsters another shot. They can't do any worse than Rasner that's for sure.

The offense got a nice kick-start today from one of their newest acquisitions. The X-Man, Xavier Nady, coming through in a big way with 4 hits and 6 RBI. Nady is now batting .385 as a Yankee, with 3 HR and 10 RBI in 8 games. Ken Singleton was right when he remarked that Nady was probably the best offensive acquisition any team acquired at the trade deadline. I like Mark Teixeira and all but he hasn't quite performed to Nady's level this year. That Brian Cashman is one smart cookie.

Bobby Abreu on the other hand? What was he thinking trying to run to 3rd on a routine fly ball to left? That has to be one of the biggest boneheaded moves I've seen in a long, long time. Why would you even attempt that when there are 2 outs? The rule of thumb is never make the 1st or 3rd out at 3rd base. No idea what was going through his mind as it wasn't even a close play. It makes no sense to even try to tag from 2nd to 3rd in that situation. What's worse is he ended up costing the Yankees what could have been an all important run. Stupid. Just stupid. He at least atoned for his mistake by going 3 for 4 with 3 runs scored. Bobby's been on a tear lately, hitting .387 (24 for 62) and raising his average 15 points since the All-Star break. He's scored 20 runs and knocked in 17 in those 16 games. Bobby's been awesome lately, so I'll let that horrendous baserunning mistake slide.

It was also nice to see our other deadline acquisition Ivan Rodriguez break out today with 2 hits and a HR. That bat is going to come in handy down the stretch. Unlike Melky Cabrera, who managed to find a way to go oh-for-5, he writes while shaking his head in disgust. Paul O'Neill made a comment during the broadcast that Melky needs to stop trying to murder the ball and concentrate on raising his average. Great observation Mr. O'Neill. Great observation. Melky is playing his way right out of the lineup. Enter Justin Christian. He deserves a chance to start I'd say. He's provided quite the spark to the offense with his blazing speed. Said speed pretty much winning the game today. I loved seeing him take 3rd and scoring on the poor throw. That was heads up right there. I'm inclined to think he has the green light to run whenever he wants to. If it's not the case, it better be. Memo to Joe Girardi: sit Melky, play Justin, win-win. Make it happen. Better yet, let me have a few swings. I can go of-for-5 too.

Dan Giese was today's unsung hero. His 3 scoreless innings were huge. It gave the Yankees offense the opportunity to claw their was back into the game. That was pretty invaluable right there. He was awesome today. It's too bad he didn't get the win. He deserved it. Thanks Edwar. He picked up the win but definitely didn't deserve it. I'll let it slide though because Edwar has been lights out. It's the 1st game since July 2nd he's allowed a hit. 11.1 hitless/scoreless innings in a 10 game span. I'll forgive this bad outing. But only because the Yanks won. While I'm talking about the bullpen, not sure why Mariano wasn't warming up to pitch the 9th inning? I didn't get to see the post game show so I'm not sure if anything was mentioned about an injury. Hope not. Fingers crossed.

And none of this would have been possible if not for the extremely shoddy Angels' defense. Wow. Talk about a bad game. A dropped fly ball in center....4 runs score in the inning. 2 fielding errors and 1 throwing error....6 runs score in the inning. That's bad baseball right there. They always talk about how the Angels play great fundamental baseball. That certainly wasn't the case today. So we here at the Boogie Down, which is just me (why do I refer to myself as we?), say thanks Angels' defense.

The worst part about today is that both the Sox and Rays won their games so this great win gained us nothing in the standings. I thought for sure we'd pick up a game on the Rays but Kyle Farnsworth apparently had other plans. Even when he's not a Yankee he finds ways to hurt us. He pitched an inning today for the Tigers, blowing the save, giving up 3 earned with 2 longballs. Kyle for Pudge? If you had any doubt before about who won that deal, that doubt should be gone. If his outing wasn't bad enough, the Tigers ended up taking the lead in extras only to blow it again. Thanks for the help. Appreciate it.

So now the boys are off on a 10 game roadie. 4 in Texas, 3 in Anaheim, and 3 in Minnesota. These are going to be some big games that could very well define the rest of the season. The Yanks will no doubt be up to the task. They are after all one of 2 AL teams with winning records away from home. The other of course being the Angels. The win today has to be a huge confidence boost. They came from behind and snatched victory from the jaws of defeat against the best baseball had to offer. And hitting John Lackey is no easy task. Just ask the Red Sox. I can't think of a better way to start this roadie. Take it to 'em fellas.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

Hit Parade Carries Yanks To 4th Straight W

We're now about 100 games into the season and I still have no idea what to expect when I watch a Yankee games. The biggest question is always will they hit the ball? After some less then stellar offensive outings, the offense exploded tonight, scoring 12 runs on 16 hits and 4 walks. They had a little bit of everything tonight. I'm a big fan of keeping the line moving, like they did in the 2nd inning. They'll do much better hitting single after single than they will trying to hit a 6-run homer. The "I've got to hit a homer" mentality has always been something that has hampered the Yankees in my opinion. I've blogged several times in the past that they need to concentrate more on getting successive base hits than they do hitting 3-run HRs. Tonight was a good example of what happens when you rack up hit after hit after hit. It was nice though to see a few longballs sprinkled in for fun.

I can't figure out how Sidney Ponson does it. He again allowed a plethora of baserunners but didn't really allow any to score. It's insane. One of these days it has to catch up with him. The law of averages says so, right? Hopefully that day comes next year when he pitches for someone else. But for now, I hope he keeps doing what he's doing. And I'm not sure what it is about the guy that inspires the offense. He's now the beneficiary of 41 Yankee runs in his 4 Yankee starts. Why can't the offense do this every time Moose starts? That's what I want to see. what's really odd is Ponson got the same kind of run support in Texas. The Yankees and Rangers have combined for 103 runs in Sidney's 11 starts. Unreal. for those of you without a calculator or forgot how to do long division, that's 9.36 runs per game, which is the highest in the league for any starter with more than 10 games started. Again, unreal.

Getting back to the offense, it was good to see them set the tone so early with A-Rod's 2-run A-bomb in the 1st inning. And it was nice to see that when Minnesota countered with 2 runs in the second, the Yanks answered right back, effectively winning the game right there in the 2nd inning. 6 guys had multi-hit games tonight. Jeter (2-5), Abreu (2-4), A-Rod (2-3), Cano (2-5), Melky (2-5), and our new full-time catcher Jose Molina (3-4). The mustachioed one was the only Yankee starter without a hit. The Giambino had a rough night at the dish with 3 Ks. I think Jason needs to apply a little bit of Just For Men to that 'stache to reactivate its awesomeness. Robbie Cano on the other hand remained real hot. Robbie in his last 11 games is hitting .364 with 11 extra-base hits. He's tearing it up. Post All-Star break, Robbie is hitting .526 (10-19) with 4 multi-hit games. He's locked in. As I've said the last few days, Robbie has better #s after the ASB. If I remember the stat they flashed on the broadcast, he's a .338 hitter after the AS break. Considering his a career .304 hitter, you can see that the 2nd half #s are better than the 1st. This year looks to be no different. The best thing tonight though was Jose Molina racking up 3 hits. With Posada back on the DL, and possibly done for the year, Jose needs to step it up at the plate. I think with some regular ABs, Jose will do well at the plate. He's shown us already this year he can hit the ball, having batted .364 through the 1st 10 games of the season, roping double after double. But we don't need Jose to hit to that level. Even .250 would be acceptable. Molina's value is best earned behind the plate. He's gunning down almost 50% of base-stealers. That's going to help big time against the teams that like to run, namely the Rays and the Red Sox.

The bullpen? In a word: fantastic. Hawkins may have allowed a run, big deal. As a unit, they threw 3.1 innings of 1 hit ball. Edwar and David Robertson are making a serious push at working their way up the pecking order. Girardi has a lot of weapons down there in the bullpen. The bridge to Mariano now has a lot of solid options. K-Farns, Edwar, Robertson, Giese, Veras. Pick one. They'll all get you out. Besides being able to hold a lead, the bullpen is going to keep the Yankees in the game when the starting pitching has the occasional bad outing. It'll give the offense the chance to work its way back into the game and thus provide the team with a better chance of winning. What's particularly impressive is that the Yankees' bullpen has thrown the 2nd most # of innings in the AL, yet no reliever is in the top 15 in appearances. Now granted that might be different if the bullpen was the same from day 1. I think only Hawkins, Farnsworth, and Mo were on the Opening Day roster. They've mentioned that "stat" several times on YES and they always neglect the fact that 2/3 of the pen has only been around for 2/3 of the season. Regardless, Girardi has a good thing going. The arms in the pen aren't burned out there like they have been in the last few years, getting run out there game after game.

D-Raz needs to keep it going tomorrow. He hasn't exactly been throwing well lately. He's 2-7 in his last 9 starts. The last thing he wants to do is be the 1 starter not to win his game. The 4 before him all pitched well enough to win; Joba of course getting boned by the pen. Rasner needs to take the ball, throw a decent game, and give the ball to Moose to do it all over again. I'm telling you, leaving Fenway in 2nd place isn't that much of a stretch. Make it happen boys. Make it happen.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

The One That Didn't Get Away

OK, I think I need to start keeping my thoughts to myself because I said some things yesterday and today the opposite happened. I said how great the bullpen was: blown save and Mo almost gets tagged with a loss. I said A-Rod was going to make a run at the batting title: 0 for 5 w/ 3 Ks. I cracked on Brett Gardner calling him overmatched: He picks up 2 hits and a ribbie. I said the offense was great: today they managed 4 runs. Shows what I know.

Joba had a strong outing. It's too bad Jose Veras blew the win for him because he deserved it. It's hard to believe that Joba only has 2 decisions in 9 starts. His ERA since becoming a starter is 2.64. That's pretty darn good. Joba has suffered the same fate as Moose: no run support. But he was on today. 6 IPs, 6 H, 1 BB, 8 K. Nice. The Yankees pitching staff is a lot better than people give it credit for. They've improved since day 1. The team ERA in April was 4.56, 11th best in the AL. In May, it was 4.13, 10th best. June saw another improvement, 3.83, 6th best. July is better still, 3.49, 2nd best team ERA in the AL. On the season, the team ERA is 4.08, 7th best in the AL. Hard to believe when you take into account the God-awful starts from Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy. Chien-Ming Wang has been on the shelf for over a month now. They've demonstrated that they have a pitching staff that is going to hold its own. and now that I say, that, it's all downhill from here.

The offense didn't really get it done today. 13 hits and 11 walks = 4 runs??? That's pathetic. 21 guys left on base. I remember thinking to myself in the 2nd inning that this is going to be 1 of those games where all the offense comes from the bottom of the order. For those that forgot what went down in inning #2, Cano singled, Betemit doubled, Melky singled, Gardner doubled, and then Jeter, Abreu and A-Rod all went down swinging. Batters 1 thru 5 went 3-24. To their credit they accounted for 10 of the 11 Yankee walks. The 6 thru 9 hitters went 10-22, each having a multi-hit day att he plate. Robbie Cano was again the Yankees' hottest hitter going 4 for 6, and he's hitting the ball hard. 6-10 isn't a bad way to start one's 2nd half. I mentioned yesterday that Robbie typically does better in the 2nd half. At least something I said yesterday didn't get negated today.

Now even though I cracked on the bullpen earlier, they did a pretty good job today as a unit. 2 runs in 6 innings isn't all that bad. But they need to be better. They almost let this one slip away. Edwar Ramirez appears to be back on track after a string of rough outings back in late June. In his last 8 games, he's thrown 11 innings, allowing 1 hit, 1 walk, no runs and has struck out 15. David Robertson has been awesome since he was called up. He's allowed 3 hits and no runs in his last 7 games. And then there's Kyle Farnsworth. Dude has been lights out. I'm amazed. I didn't think he had this kind of run in him. Check these #s out: In his last 9 games, K-Farns has thrown 8 hitless innings! I know. I'm shocked too! The Yanks are getting solid pitching from pretty much everybody. Fingers are crossed that the opposite doesn't happen tomorrow.

It may not have been pretty today but a win is a win. It doesn't have to be pretty. The best part is the Red Sox lost again. The Yanks are now 3 back in the loss column for the wild card. If anybody thinks they don't have shot, I'd like to hear why. The Red Sox in my opinion are highly overrated. Their bullpen is terrible, currently 10th best in the AL. They're terrible away from Fenway (21-31). I just don't think they're as good as people think they are. I wouldn't be terribly surprised if come the end of July, the Yanks are ahead of the BoSox in the standings. Nothing would be better than coming out of next weekend's series in Fenway ahead of them in the standings. That would be killer.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

Andy Pettitte Is The Streak Stopper

As I mentioned in my closing yesterday, no better guy you want tossing for the Yanks after a loss than Andy Pettitte. With today's W, Andy is now 75-37 when pitching after a Yankee loss. For those of you that are mathematically challenged, Andy basically wins 2 out of every 3 starts when pitching after a loss. I'll take those odds any day of the weak. Andy Pettitte is a streak stopper. No doubt about it. Andy was masterful today throwing 6 innings of shutout ball. Since getting bombed for 10 runs against the Royals, Andy has been lights out. Check out these numbers: 3 starts, 3-0, 21 IP, 14 H, 4 BB, 19 K, 1 ER = 0.43 ERA. Andy has always been a much better pitcher in the 2nd half of the season. Looks like the 2nd half has started a little early.

Edwar Ramirez pitched an impressive 7th inning. Edwar has surprised me this year. I didn't think in a million years he would have lasted this long on the big league roster. He's earned his spot in my book. I'm also of the opinion that he should be trusted by Girardi to pitch in close games, which I think is the case. He looks good.

As anyone surprised that of all the Yankee pitchers, it was Kyle Farnsworth that gave up the run. How does a pitcher with an ERA of 4.24, a WHIP of 1.47, and an opponents' batting average over .300 qualify as the set-up man? K-Farns is the last guy I want pitching in the 8th inning? In 33 games, he's now given up 10 HR and allowed runs in 12 games. Allowing runs in 36% of your games is not a characteristic I want from the 8th inning guy. I'm continually shocked when he gets trucked out their to pitch in the close games. Kyle has been brutal since he's donned the Pinstripes. Absolutely brutal. He's done nothing to earn that spot and it's going to end up costing us, I can feel it. I'm not sure what the extent of the injury he sustained today is but you won't hear me grumble if he misses some time.

The mustachioed marvel that is Jason Giambi busted out of his slump in a big way today. It's a good sign when Giambi hits to the opposite field. We haven't seen that from the Big G at all in recent years, but he's been picking it up this year. The Giambi of old is in the house. I love it.

The Yanks are off tomorrow and then it's off to Pittsburgh. The Yanks are 7-2 in this 15 game interleague stretch. Considering that the teams they're facing are below average, anything less than 10-5 is a letdown. They very easily could have swept the Reds. They ran into the NL's best pitcher and a guy they've never faced before. Point is, they're playing a lot better baseball than they were. No way you can count them out. Enjoy the off day.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

Yanks Bullpen Implodes, Joba Unimpressive In Start

Another really frustrating Yankee game. It's becoming more of the norm. The bullpen for the most part was absolutely atrocious. I could barely stand watching them implode in the 7th inning. The magical season of Edwar Ramirez has come to an end. He was awful tonight. I don't think it's cause for alarm. His lack of control did him in tonight and he's had pretty good stuff all year. If he can throw strikes, he'll be fine. Jose Veras on the other hand. I don't know what the Yanks see in him. I just don't get it. I've never really seen the attraction. On the plus side, Latroy Hawkins didn't give up any runs. Figures. The one time it really doesn't matter how he does he pitches alright. And good for Chris Britton. Keep doing your thing.

I wasn't expecting much from Joba tonight. Not many of these guys do well in their first start. It didn't help either that the Jays' game plan was to sit and watch all his pitches. Lucky for the Jays he didn't have good control. Had he, joba might have lasted more than 2.1 IPs. But he pitched alright I guess. If the Jays didn't know the Yankees game plan perhaps it would be a different story. You could totally tell they wanted his pitch count to climb and to get him out of the game ASAP. His next start will be a better indicator of how things will go. I would still prefer to see the Yankees have him do this in the minors. Call up a guy with the arm strength to maybe throw 5 IP and save the bullpen. Dan Geise filled in admirably in what will probably be his 1 and done outing. It definitely doesn't make any sense to start Joba ahead of Moose. We're back to the problem we had with Phil and Ian. Back-to-back short outings will kill the bullpen. I hope Moose brings it tomorrow.

The offense didn't really do much tonight. But it's Roy Halladay. What can you really do? The Jays have the best pitching staff in baseball. Scoring runs against them hasn't been easy for anyone. Johnny Damon continued to swing a hot bat. His 3 hits have him hitting above .300. And Jeter's slump appears to be over. Jeet is now 6-12 in his last 3 games. The Yanks had their chances but again came up empty when they needed it most. After watching yesterday's game, I was resigned to the fact that the Yankees were again going to fail at scoring with a runner on 3rd with less than 1 out. In this case there were no outs which would have made it worse. But Matsui was having none of it. Godzilla has been the go to guy all year. He better get voted into the All Star Game.

So here we are again. 2 games under .500. The struggle to get over the hump continues. Now it will take at least 2 more games. It's not going to be easy to do against the Jays. The Yanks almost need to play perfect baseball. Something tells me that's not going to happen. It's all on Moose's shoulders. A win tomorrow and he'll still be the league leader in wins. I couldn't be happier that Moose is pitching effectively. I'm a big Moose guy. But he's got an uphill battle tomorrow. He needs to pitch deep into the game. The Yankees need at least 6 from him and then they'll turn it over to.....uh oh. We might be in trouble. Moose needs to pitch at least 7.2. That's all there is to it. Moose for 8. Mo for 1. Sounds like a plan. No go execute.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

Yanks Win In Extras To Get Above .500 But Quickly Drop Back To Even With 5-1 Loss

I apologize for not blogging about last night's game earlier. I was going to do it last night but it went to extra innings and I didn't feel like it after it ended. I had the full intention of doing it this morning. I rolled out of bed at 1130am and the missus advised she had to run out and I was in charge of the little man. She got back around 130 which is the same time that Cooper's same-aged cousin Vaughn came over for a play-date and I couldn't ignore the fam. So here I am, trying to catch up with a two-fer. I apologize for what I'm assuming will be a long one. I'll probably lump the games into 2 when I talk about the offense.


It was nice to finally see this team get over the hump. The feeling I had about the Yanks winning that game turned out to be right, though not for the reasons I thought. Chien-Ming Wang didn't have his ace or #1 stuff. The Wanger has been struggling as of late. He's winless in his last 5 decisions, posting an ERA over that span of about 5.67. He's pitched well enough to win a few of those games and last night's game was no exception. Typically the offense does him in but this time it was the bullpen. I'm not sure what's going on with Wang. I read on Pete Abraham's blog that he's fine physically, but feels the problems are caused by inconsistency with his arm slot. I'd like to think that's an easy problem to fix but I have no idea. If there's one thing I know, Wang will figure it out and be throwing like we know he can real soon. I don't see Chien-Ming struggling long term.


Edwar Ramirez's magical run of not allowing an earned run came to an end last night when Michael Cuddyer hit a game-tying HR off him in the 7th. The HR blew the win for Wang but what can you do? Nobody can be perfect all of the time. I still like Edwar for the setup role over Kyle Farnsworth, who I'll admit, looked alright last night. But he's looked alright before,a nd at the drop of a dime, blows chunks.


I was surprised that Ross Ohlendorf pitched as well as he did. He came up big a few times in his 2 innings. I thought the Yanks were done for in the 11th. 2 on no out and Morneau and Cuddyer coming up. Getting through that had to be a huge confidence boost for Ross. Build on that Ross. I've got faith in his ability to get the job done. I just think he's a year or two away from putting it all together.


And then there's Mariano. Again perfect. He has been absolutely lights out. 15 for 15 in save chances. 1 earned run in 25 innings. Man what a difference a year makes. Shame on you baseball fans out there that thought he was done. Resigning him to all the cheddar was definitely worth it.


I read a lot of comments out in the blogosphere likening Darrell Rasner to Aaron Small. Small if you remember was a minor league call-up who went a perfect 10-0 for the Yankees a few years back. After Rasner was 3-0 I read a lot of things comparing the 2. And now that he's lost 2 straight, I guess that turned out to be a little premature now wouldn't you say? Don't get me wrong, I really like D-Raz. He pitched a great game when he got tagged with a loss against Baltimore. He wasn't as sharp today as he's been in his last few outings but still pitched alright. I don't expect perfection from the starters. I expect them to keep the team in the game and give the offense the opportunity to do its thing. Rasner has done that every time. He may have lost 2 straight, but he's A-OK in my book.


I wasn't overly impressed with Scott Patterson. But he's not any worse than anything else I've seen this year. First game jitters maybe. I'll reserve judgement until he gets another outing or two under his belt. And I'm not sure why they don't use Chris Britton more. He seems to be the preferred guy they call up, but he seldom pitches. I've liked what I've seen from CB over the last several years. I wish they'd use him more often. Definitely in place of Luis Vizcaino, err I mean Latroy Hakwins. Guy is garbage.


As for the offense.....


I think it's safe to say that the offense has turned a corner. They've been swinging the bats real well lately and I expect it to continue. The hits are coming more regularly. The runs scored are starting to pile up. Going back to the win against Baltimore on 5/21, they've scored 5 or more runs 7 times, a span of 11 games. They had only done that 12 times in their first 45 games. Definite improvement. The only ones I'm worried about right now are Robbie Cano and Derek Jeter. Cano has been cold most of the year and Jeter is in a nasty slump. He had a decent game today but 1 game convince me the slump is over. Both Jeter and Cano are good with the stick so I'm sure they'll break out of it. Abreu has put together a nice string of games. Damon has also. They may have only scored 1 run today on the Jeter homer but they all hit the ball except for Matsui and Betemit. Matsui has arguable been the league's best hitter to date. He'll be fine. Betemit on the other hand. Why is he on the roster? We can't find anyone better? The Yankees have a very weak bench right now. Ensberg was just sent packing. Good. Shelley Duncan. Don't get me started. And Betemit? Terrible. Wilson hasn't hit since he was traded from the Braves to the Dodgers. He hit .241 with the Dodgers in '06. .231 with them in '07 before he was traded to the Yankees for Scott Proctor. He hit .226 for us last year and with today;s o-fer he's hitting .237. His combined average now with LA and NYY, in 452 at bats, is .235. I thought he had some power too. As a Yankee, he's gone deep 5 times in 122 at bats. I was expecting more. He needs to perform or they need to find someone that can. The bench is cutting it.


And all of that rolls up into a 2 game split and an overall record of 28-28. .500. Ugh. I'm getting so sick of that percentage. To quote the legendary George Clinton from the song Bop Gun (Endangered Species): We got to get over the hump. Andy Pettitte looks to do that tomorrow int eh final game of this 4 game wrap around series with the look-alikes. The Twins are sending out Livan Hernandez. The Yankees have owned Livan throughout his career. I'd like to say that gives me confidence but the Yankees don't often do what they're supposed to. I feel good about things, but we'll see. Don't want to jinx it like I almost did to the Wanger.


Peace, love and Pinstripes,


J-Boogie

Yanks Escape With 6-5 Win In Minnesota

The Yankees beat the Twins last night 6-5 and I found myself very frustrated watching the game. How do those guys manage only 6 runs when they rack up 16 hits? That came should have been a blow out. Had they lost, I'd have gone through the roof.

The Shelley Duncan experiment has to end soon. Horrible at the plate. Horrible in the field. The Yanks can easily find better. I've said on many occasion I'm not a big fan of Duncan. He might run into the occasional homer but the negatives far outweigh the positives. He made an absolutely horrible throw to 2nd in the 1st inning, which eventually led to 4 runs. Duncan is going to be a 4-A player. Too good for the minors, not good enough for the majors. I like his enthusiasm, but that doesn't win a lot of ball games.

I thought we were in for another Mike Mussina meltdown after Duncan's 1st inning error. Kind of like what we saw when he only lasted two-thirds of an inning against Baltimore. Moose has to do a better job of picking the team up after the defensive miscues. After Duncan's error, Moose gave up 3 straight singles, all with the bases loaded. Granted, the defensive has to play better behind Moose, but Moose can't be doing that when they tank a play, something they've done 7 times this season. What Moose can do though is battle his way through the inning and then shut the door. Moose was brilliant last night in innings 2 through 5, allowing only 2 hits in those 5 innings. He kept the team in the game and the offense did the rest. Moose picks up win #8 and is again tied for the league lead in wins. Who'd have thunk it? You go Moose!

The offense had an all-around good night at the plate. The lone exception being Derek Jeter. Talk about a slump. The Captain is 3 for his last 37. That's crazy. I still have to think it has something to do with an injured hand maybe, but Jeter is a gamer and he's going to play everyday. If is he by chance hurt and not saying anything, I hope he takes a good look at his recent performance and questions if he's helping the team by playing. Don't be a hero Jeet. I respect your desire to play and win, but if you're hurting the team by playing, consider a day off or two. The Yankees racked up 16 hits last night and 12 came off the bats of Abreu, A-Rod, Matsui, and Melky, each with 3 hits a piece. Abreu had a monster night at the dish, 3 for 4 with 2 triples and 4 runs scored. He's hitting just south of .300. You'd think though that the Yankees would score more than 6 times if they racked up 16 hits? The Twins turned 3 DPs, made some great plays defensively (between the legs no look catch) and the Yankees definitely ran themselves out of some runs. They very easily could have lost that game. The pitching gets a lot of credit for picking them up.

The bullpen held its own in support of Moose. Kyle Farnsworth's season of inconsistency continued. Is he inconsistent or consistently bad? K-Farns has been pretty much the same type of pitcher since he's been in Pinstripes. He's has a few good games and a lot of bad ones. Granted, he bounced back after giving up a leadoff HR to Morneau, but he's till downright awful. Girardi needs to consider other options for the set=up role now that Joba is out of the picture. Right now, Edwar Ramirez is probably the best option. He's pitching lights out. they need to give him a shot. He's definitely earned it. And thank God for Mariano Rivera. How many times have we Yankee fans said that? A ground out to the pitcher and 2 Ks to close it out and save the win. Vintage Mo. He totally got hosed on the walk. That was strike 3 in my book. No biggie though with Mo on the mound. He'll just strike out the next 2 batter. Ball game over.

Chien-Ming Wang goes tonight against Boof Bonser. The Yanks are again sitting at .500 and this is probably their best shot to get above that plateau. The Yankees have hit Boof very well the 2 times they faced him. 15 hits and 11 runs in 2 starts. They're hitting .341 of him. I don't care what the naysayers say. Wang is an ace, a true #1. He can take a step forward in that argument by pitching like he can and putting this team above the .500 mark. That's what aces do. I don't want to jinx anything but I'm liking our chances tonight.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

Yanks Lose 10-9 in 11, I Lose 2 Hours Of Sleep Due To Rain And Shoddy Baseball

I'm starting this post during the rain delay. No need in staying up any later than I have to.

For starters, this delay should have started before Hideki Matsui even stepped into the box. I'd have to think the crew chief knew that he was going to halt the game in between innings. It makes no sense to me to allow the Yankees to bat in a potentially huge situation at such a huge disadvantage. Go ahead run on 3rd with 2 outs? Do the right thing and call the game there. Joe Girardi was absolutely in the right coming out and asking them to stop play. He knew the game was going to be stopped after the inning. Heck, my 9-month old son who is upstairs sleeping knew the game would be stopped. Like i said the right and fair thing to do was to stop the game and give the Yankees their fair shot.

Tonight was all about the longball. The 2 teams have combined for 9 dingers so far. Ross Ohlendorf tried real hard to imitate Chase Wright. Not the guy you want to mimic Ross.

Ian Kennedy and Ross Ohlendorf did an absolute horrible job tonight. The offense spotted each a 4 run lead and each gave it right back. You can't be doing that. Kennedy is apparently injured. It kind of reminds me of the kid in high school that claimed he was injured whenever he made an error. You know the guy. Nowadays he goes by the name "Softball Guy" or "Gym Class Hero." I prefer to call him Danny Mac. Just kidding bro. Making sure you're reading and paying attention. Ohlendorf hasn't exactly excelled in his role this year as the "longman." Ohlie has given up 9 ER in his last 3 outings -- 6 IP, 11 H, 9 ER, 4 HR. That's scary.

On the contrary, Edwar Ramirez and Kyle Farnsworth came in and closed the flood gates. Edwar has definitely stepped it up this year. He's still yet to give up an earned run in his 14 innings this year. If you factor in his numbers with Scranton, his line is 23 IP, 12 hits, 7 BB, and 28 K. That's pretty darn good. Looks like the advice he got from Mariano and Pedro Martinez is paying off. For those of you unfamiliar with the advice it was to establish the fastball before you bust out the change. Pete Abraham had a good little write-up about Edwar on his blog today. Had Edwar given up a run today, I guarantee Pete would have been flooded with e-mails about putting the whammy on him, Good thing that didn't happen. We can thank Bobby Abreu for that. Farnsworth has been pretty inconsistent this year. He's either pitched well or he's been absolutely terrible. He flirted with being terrible tonight. If not for a great throw by Bobby Abreu to nail the ever-so speedy Kevin Millar at the plate, K-Farns would have given up the go-ahead run and knocked Edwar with his 1st earned run of the season. The game in all likelihood would be over right now and I'd probably be sleeping, grumbling about another Yankees' loss.

The offense, for the most part, had a pretty good game tonight. The aforementioned longballs from Giambi, Damon, Abreu and A-Rod were the big highlights. Giambi has been an absolute madman at the plate since growing his luscious 'stache. Gold thongs. Mustaches. Hey whatever works, right? Johnny Damon was quite the spark plug tonight. As of now JD is 4 for 5 with 2 2B, 1 HR and 3 RBI. I've always said the team succeeds when Johnny is hot. If only our Captain could lay down a bunt. Jeter has been struggling lately. Counting his 4 ABs tonight, he's 2 for his last 25 with 1 failed bunt attempt and a key pickoff at 2nd base. Getting picked off with runners on 1st and 2nd and A-Rod at the plate? Not the thing you want to do. You know better than that Derek. Hideki Matsui is the goat of the night going 0-5. He hit the ball pretty hard to end the Yankees 9th. Who knows? If it weren't pouring cats and dogs maybe the outcome of that play is different. Maybe he'll get another shot at it if this game goes extras.

As I type this, it's now 10 minutes to 11 and it's still a rain delay. It's been about 40 minutes. The rest of this blog will be a "live blog."

It's 11:10, the tarp is off the field and the legendary Mariano Rivera is on the field taking his warmups. I get the feeling Joe Girardi does not want to lose this game. Blowing two 4 run leads and dropping back to 2 games below .500 would be a big blow to the confidence of the team. It won't by any means be a nail in the coffin but this is a game the Yankees shouldn't lose.

It's 11:13 and we're off. I get the sinking feeling that this game ends real soon. Mo is great but it's been that kind of night. To quote the legendary Fabrice Morvan and Rob Pilatus, "blame it on the rain." Yeah, I just went there.

11:16-Mo just whiffed Markakis. Have a seat bub.

11:18-Mo just whiffed Aubrey Huff looking. Have a seat next to your buddy Nick.

11:20-Mo got a pop out for the 3rd out. It turns out that sinking feeling was just gas. Microwave popcorn doused in black pepper and garlic powder will do that to you. Try it. It's yummy yummy. Mo is awesome.

11:22- The mustachioed Giambino just grounded out to short. Curse you evil shift.

11:24- Perennial Gold Glove winner Wilson Betemit just hit a 1-out single. Let's go Robbie Cano.

11:27- Oh Robbie. There you go again, swinging at ball four. Show some plate discipline my friend. You're lucky it wasn't an inning-ending DP. At least now if we go to the 11th, Johnny D will leadoff.

11:30- Molina flew out to CF. I didn't see that coming. Where's Wil Nieves when you need him? Oh yeah, he's in Washington hitting .320. I'd still take Jose any day.

11:32- Mo is out for inning #2 and I still have gas.

11:32a- Millar rounds to Jeter on 1 pitch.

11:34- Winning run is on 2nd. The Giambino would have had that ball easy. Horrible defensive positioning by Wilson Betemit. Wilson Betemit = defensive liability.

11:37- Mo picked up his 3rd K of the night. If only Roger Dorn was on the team. He could walk to the mound and give Mo some sound advice. Strike this mofo out!

11:40- Mo just unintentionally intentionally walked Jay Payton on 4 straight pitches. Mo would never unintentionally throw 4 straight out of the zone.

11:41- Sorry that it smells in here. Oooh wee.

11:42- B-Rob just flew out to CF. Yay, more baseball, he says sarcastically.

11:46- Leadoff walk to Johnny D! Leadoff walks usually don't bode well for the defense. Just ask Mo Rivera, Kevin Millar and Dave Roberts.

11:47- Ouch. Bad form Orioles. 1)Mora should have let the ball roll. 2)More should have eaten the throw. I'm glad I'm not an O's fan.

11:48- 4 straight wide ones to Abreu. Bases juiced. No outs. A-Rod. Can you smell what the Rod is cooking?

11:49- Are you kidding me? Did I just saw what I think I saw? I did. I did. I did see a puttytat, I mean a 4-2-5 DP. That's a new way to kill a rally.

11:51- Did I call it or did I call it? I said above that maybe Matsui would get another shot if this game goes extras. Check the transcript. It's there. He came through in the clutch. Yanks lead 9-8. Suck on that rain.

11:53- The Big G whiffed to end the Yankees' half of the 11th. That inning had so much potential. At least they came away with 1 run.

11:54- I get it. Derek Jeter has an Edge. Enough already. I miss Giuseppe Franco.

11:55- LaTroy is on for the save. Yikes. If only Joba were still in the pen. I don't like this plan.

11:59- Leadoff single to Mora. This will be interesting. That sinking feeling is back again. I don't think it's gas this time.

12am- Warning track power there by Markakis. I thought that was the ball game.

12:01- Son of a monkey. Tie game. Winning run is on 3rd. Is anyone really surprised at what's transpired? Again I ask

12:02 & 12:03 - 2 free passes and the bags are full with 1 down.

12:05- Well, it wasn't gas this time. Ball game over. Way to go LaTroy. Nicely done.

Nothing is worse than staying up really late and then losing. I said a few days ago that working Joba into the rotation was not the move to make at this time. Consider this: Joba in all likelihood would have pitched tonight. Assuming he did, we're probably looking at a different ending. Joba probably would have also pitched in yesterday's loss as well. Joba in. Hawkins and Veras out. The Yankees probably don't lose 6-1. I'm not saying the Yankees would have won either game, but it's just something to think about. LaTroy Hawkins = really bad. I'm disgusted. I'm tired. I have to be up in 6.5 hours. It would have been a much nicer sleep if Hawkins did his job. At least he won't pitch tomorrow.

J-Boogie