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

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

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

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

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

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

Brian Cashman, You Done Messed Up

As I sit here twiddling my thumbs because I'm missing tonight's game (thanks Verizon FiOS) a thought came to me: whatever happened to Nick Johnson? Surprise surprise surprise. He's injured. Didn't see that coming. A quick scan of his player card on Yahoo tells me that he's been out of action since May 7th. He's appeared in all of 24 games and is getting paid $5.75 million dollars for his troubles. It was a horrible signing when it happened. It's a horrible signing now. Just take a look at these 3 off-season signings and their 2010 stats (salary info from Cot's Baseball Contracts):

• Nick Johnson, signed on 12/18/09, 1 yr @ $5.75 million, 24 G, .167/.388/.306, 8 RBI
• Vlad Guerrero, signed on 1/11/10, 1 yr @ $6.5 million, 93 G, .309/.358/.521, 76 RBI
• Hideki Matsui, signed on 12/16/09, 1 yr @ $6 million, 94 G, .255/.333/.429, 55 RBI

At the time of the signing I wondered why Cashman didn't resign Hideki Matsui considering the money was pretty much the same. Nick Johnson may get on base a lot but what good does that do when you're always on the DL. If memory serves me correctly he had to leave the very first spring training game because he was hurt. I typically like Brian Cashman's moves but he totally missed the boat on this one. He done messed up and he messed up pretty good if you ask me.

The non-waiver trade deadline is less than 4 days away. The Yankees are reportedly in the market for improving their bench. I hope Cashman exercises better judgement here than he did with the Johnson signing. That signing after all is one of the main reasons the team finds themselves looking for bench help. That horrible signing could cost the team a prospect or two depending on what happens. We'll find out soon enough what, if anything, it'll end up costing them. Deadline is this Saturday. Fun fun fun.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

Yankees Open Things Up In Style With A Ring Ceremony And A 7-5 Win

What a day for the entire Yankees Universe! It was awesome to see the boys get their World Series rings today. It was awesome to see them cap it off with a win. It was a perfect day all around.

I am glad I took the day off so I could watch it live and not on tape. The pre-game show kicked off on YES at 11:30 and the opening highlight package gave me goosebumps. That didn't compare to the feelings I got from watching the Ring Ceremony. I had tears in my eyes by the end of it. It was awesome to see Hideki Matsui get his ring last and I thought it was very classy of the Yankees to run up to him and show him some love. I love too how they gave Matsui and Swisher bogus rings. Classic and very funny.

I said earlier in the week that it would have been better had the Red Sox been in town for this. Nothing beats showing the Sox up. I definitely don't feel that way now. I don't think the ceremony could have been any more perfect. Having Matsui there had a lot to do with it. I wouldn't have wanted it any other way.

Andy Pettitte was awesome today. Vintage Pettitte. Andy looks to be in mid-season form already. He allowed his fair share of baserunners but kept them all from scoring. I wish I remembered this stat I heard the other day, but it went something like this: Pettitte had the highest WHIP (or maybe 3rd highest) of all SPs that won at least 14 games last year. You would think a guy that allows as many baserunners as Andy would have a higher ERA. But he doesn't and it's a testament to how good Andy really is. He got some pretty big outs today when he needed to. The bigget were his 5th inning popout of Abreu and the 6th inning DP of Kendrick. The game could have been a lot closer with another pitcher on the hill. Andy has been solid now thru his 1st 2 starts. 12 IP, 11 H, 6 BB, 10 K, 1 ER, 0.75 ERA. Not too shabby.

The game was great until the 9th inning. David Robertson imploded and made the game a lot closer than it was. That was ugly. But as we Yankees fans all know, it's hard to worry when you enter the 9th with a lead and Mariano is in the bullpen. Have no fear, Mighty Mo(use) is here. Mo came in and did what Mo does best. He K'd Torri Hunter and got Matsui to end the game on a pop out to Cano. Thank God for Marinao Rivera. He's the man.

The Yankees offense had a pretty good day. Any time you collectively pick up 13 hits and 9 walks it's a good day. Everyone who had a hit had more than one. Of the 3 guys that didn't have a hit, Swisher walked 3 times and Teixeira walked twice. If a walk is as good as a hit, big-up to those guys. Tex is really struggling. His oh-fer today dropped his average to .111 and he's now hitless in 6 of the Yankees 7 games. He'll be fine though. He struggles early every season and his stats always fill in line with what's on the back of his bubble gum card.

Posada, Granderson, and Cano are continuing to rake. Posada has been the biggest surprise to me. He's 3 hits today bumped his average up to .429. Jorge has 9 hits so far, 6 of which have been for extra bases (4 doubles and 2 HRs). He's also walked 6 times. He has to be seeing the ball really well.

Nick Johnson hit the Stadium's first HR this year. Nicky had a great day at the dish. NJ went 2-3 with 2 walks. Hopefully it's a sign of what to expect from Nick when he hits at home.

The only negative I can think of about the offense today is that they should have scored a few more runs. The offense is good enough that if they have 20+ guys reach base they should score more than 7 runs. They hit 5-16 with RISP today which isn't bad, but the outs definitely hurt. They ended up leaving 12 men on base and everybody came up empty at least once. It's not a big issue. It's more of a small critique.

You still have to be very pleased right now if you're a Yankee fan. The win moves the Yanks to 5-2 and that's impressive considering who they've played (Red Sox, Rays, and Angels). Javy Vazquez makes his 2nd start tomorrow and I really hope it's better than his first start. It's a 1:05pm start which means I'm going to miss the game. Stupid work. It's always getting in the way of the Yankees. Work also means no Twitter. Bummer. I'm not sure if I'm going to DVR the game or just follow along on Gamecast, or both. We'll see. I'm glad Thursday's game is a night game. Day games and I don't get along. Enjoy it.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

Surprise Surprise. Nick Johnson Is Hurt Already

Just got back to my desk from an afternoon of meetings (also had to wait for a "break") and I hear on the XM update that Nick Johnson was scratched from today's game against the Phillies with what's being called a "stiff lower back." Congrats to whoever had 2 plate appearances in the "When will Nick Johnson get hurt" pool.

According to the game report over at the Lohud Yankees blog, Johnson felt something in his back during BP after catching one of his spikes in the turf during one of his swings. The root cause of the "injury" is apparently because Johnson was wearing his spikes when he normally wears his turf shoes. The injury doesn't sound too serious but this isn't a good sign. The Yankees hadn't even started their second spring training game and the injury prone Nick Johnson gets scratched with an injury. I know it's only ST and they don't want to push things, but come on, really? He couldn't even make it 2 days without an incident. Unreal.

I miss Johnny Damon and Hideki Matsui.

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

Welcome Back Nick Johnson? So Long Johnny Damon? Trade Nick Swisher?

There are various reports out floating around out there that the Yankees are on the verge of signing former Yankee Nick Johnson to a 1-year deal for a reported $5.5MM. I didn't see that coming but I can get behind it, sort of.

Johnson is a first baseman. The Yankees already have one of those in Mark Teixeira and he isn't going anywhere anytime soon. Johnson's role would have to be as a DH with the occasional spot start at 1B to give Tex a little breather. Hmm, interesting. The Yankees let Hideki Matsui walk and they bring in Nick Johnson. Matsui signed a 1-year deal with the Angels for $6.5 million and the Yanks sign Johnson for $5.5 million. I'm sorry but for the extra million, I'm taking Matsui. I know Matsui has bad knees and can't really play the field anymore, but it's not like Nick Johnson is the poster boy for being healthy. Nick missed all of 2007, played in 38 games in 2008, and in 133 in 2009. Both bring a lot to the table offensively. I think Matsui is capable of bringing a little more. He hits for a higher average and has a little more pop in his bat. I like Godzilla swinging for the fences in Yankee Stadium than I do Nick Johnson. Johnson gets on base a lot (career OBP of .402) and that's awesome, but I still prefer Matsui, especially if we're only talking about a million bucks. i think the Yanks made a mistake here.

If the Johnson signing goes through, which it probably will, Johnny Damon's time with the Yankees may be coming to an end. The Yankees have their OF right now (Granderson, Melky, Swisher, Gardner) and Johnson would be the DH. Sorry Johnny, but right now, the inn is closed. I suppose there's still a possibility that Johnny returns. I would love to see Cashman trade Nick Swisher and resign Damon. Damon could play LF and Melky could play RF. I have to think Cash is at least kicking the tires on this. There was a rumor floating around that Damon was seeking at least $13 million per year and that claim is now being denied by Scott Boras. If the money works out, I hope they find a way to bring Johnny back. Sign Johnny and trade "The Rally Killer" aka Nick Swisher. Swisher is due $6.75MM this year and $9MM in 2011. If you can get Damon for 1-2 years at $10 per, I jump all over it. Assuming of course that Cashman can find a home for Swisher. God, I hope this happens. I'm not a Swisher guy. Deal him.

Is it time for pitchers and catchers to report yet?

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

A Busy Day In Baseball And The Yankees Aren't Involved

Wow. Talk about a flurry of Hot Stove activity. Yesterday was a pretty busy day in MLB. The Yankees weren't involved but the major moves all impacted the Yankees in some way shape or form.

Hideki Matsui signed a 1-year deal with the Angels. After the Yankees traded for Curtis Granderson at the Winter Meetings, it was pretty clear that the Yankees weren't going to bring back both Johnny Damon and Hideki Matsui. The majority of people out there , myself included, thought of the two, Damon was preferred over Matsui. There really wasn't much talk out there about the Yankees having real interest in Matsui. I'm not at all surprised by that. Matsui's role would have been as a pure-DH. I'm not a fan of that. I like the flexibility of having a guy who can play the field. I'm definitely sad to see Matsui go, but it's definitely time for the Yankees/Matsui union to end. All the best Godzilla. Thanks for many years of valuable contributions.

We can all cross Roy Halladay off our Christmas wish-lists as the Blue Jays have dealt him to the Phillies. It would have been nice if Cashman Claus could have stuffed Doc in our stockings but I guess it wasn't meant to be. It would have been nice to land Halladay but the acquisition price was going to be steep, probably too steep. It's tough to pony up some MLB-ready players, top prospects and a boatload of cash for a guy. I'm definitely OK with the Yankees holding on to what they have. I'm really looking forward to Jesus Montero in Pinstripes. If Halladay came to town, odda are said that wouldn't have happened. I'm glad that Halladay was sent to the NL. The East just got a little easier. And at least he didn't go to Boston. Works for me.

the rival Red Sox had a bust day, signing Mike Cameron and John Lackey. I could care less about the Cameron signing. He's been linked to the Yankees for years now and I'm sure he was a target of Cashman's, but I've never been a fan of his. I'm glad he's not a Yankee. The signing works into the Yankees favor as it takes another team of the list of possible destinations for Johnny Damon. It should give the Yankees better leverage in those negotiations. The Lackey signing came out of nowhere, didn't it? It's huge for Boston. Their rotation is now arguably one of the best in the game. Beckett, Lackey, Lester, Dice-K, Wakefield, and Buchholz. Not too shabby. I wouldn't be surprised if Buchholz gets dealt soon. The Sox could definitely afford to deal him. The East just got a little tougher. I'm curious to see if this causes the Yankees to do anything impulsive. I really don't see Cashman doing anything rash, but who knows? The division is pretty much a toss-up right now.

After a busy week last week, the Yankees hot stove has cooled off a little bit. I think we'll know whether or not Damon is coming back by Christmas. I hope the Yankees wrap that up soon. I'd hate to see Jason Bay and Matt Holliday sign before Damon as it'll give Johnny a little more leverage in contract negotiations. I think the Yankees next signing is going to come in the form of a RP. I'm not even sure who I want to see them go after. My head is still spinning from yesterday. It was definitely a fun day.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

Yankees Deal For Curtis Granderson

Well, that didn't take long. The reported 3-team blockbuster deal that's been swirling around the rumor mill all day is apparently a done deal. The deal as it's being reported is as follows:

From Yankees to Detroit: Phil Coke and Austin Jackson
From Yankees to Arizona: Ian Kennedy
From Detroit to Arizona: Edwin Jackson
From Arizona to Detroit: Max Scherzer, Daniel Schlereth
From Detroit to Yankees: Curtis Granderson

I think I have the moving part right. From a Yankees standpoint, the deal breaks down to be Ian Kennedy, Austin Jackson and Phil Coke for Curtis Granderson. The Boogie Down gives the deal a thumbs-up.

I wrote in mid-November that if the Yankees had the chance to make a deal for Granderson they should go after it. I wrote that I wouldn't give up Hughes/Joba and Austin Jackson. Kennedy and Jackson is definitely a downgrade over that tandem. Phil Coke is garbage so throwing him in to get it done works for me. But, I also wrote in November that I didn't want them to give up Jackson at all. Apparently, I re-thought that stance this morning when I saw the proposed deal.

As I wrote this morning, I'm ok with dealing unproven prospects for proven players. You never know what is going to become of a highly touted prospect. A lot of them flame out and never amount to anything. That possibility exists with A-Jax. He could be a HOFer. He could be nothing more than a AAAA OF. Who know? Time will tell on that. With Granderson, we know what to expect. He has speed, has a good bat with some pop, struggles against LHPs, and plays a great CF. He has a few shortcomings, but I like what he brings to the table and I think the pluses out weight the minuses.

So it looks like the OF right now is Swisher in RF, Granderson in CF, and Melky in LF. The question now becomes what to do with Johnny Damon and Hideki Matsui. I'd have to think that the Granderson deal means Matsui is as good as gone. I think if the Yankees wanted to still bring back one of them, Damon makes more sense. I think there's still a good chance that the Yankees will bring back Damon. Personally, I would prefer to see Damon in LF, Melky in RF, and Swisher can DH. Damon brings flexibility to the team because he can play the field and can DH. I also think the Yankees need him at the top of the lineup. Granderson whiffs too much and has too low an OBP to hit 2nd. I think the Yankees are still in on Johnny Damon.

I think this deal also probably closes the door on dealing for Roy Halladay and rules out signing Jason Bay or Matt Holliday. There's a chance they could still be in play for Halladay but I think without A-Jax and IPK to deal, it means that Hughes or Joba AND Jesus Montero would have to go. They'll have to get creative though. I'd like to see them hold onto Montero and Hughes. i'm more than OK with them dealing Joba. We'll see. Ideally, Doc stays in Toronto and the Yanks nab him as a FA next year. Fingers crossed.

So what do you guys think? Thumbs up or thumbs down on the Granderson deal? Any other thoughts about how things are shaping up? Still 2-plus days left until Winter Meetings wrap up. I'm sure there's still a lot to come.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

Yankees Involved In A Potential Big Trade

I went to bed last night around 10:15 and woke up today around 6:30. Within 5 minutes from waking up, I was on MLBTradeRumors, checking to see if any late-night action went down at the Winter Meetings. Apparently, the Yankees were involved in a potential 3-team "blockbuster" that would have landed the Yankees Curtis Granderson. It's being reported today that the deal is unlikely and it mentions that the Yankees felt the price was too high. I'm all for bringing in Curtis Granderson, but the reported "blockbuster" was a little too costly in my opinion.

If you break down the "rumored" deal, the Yankees were getting Granderson from Detroit and some unnamed prospects from Arizona in exchange for Ian Kennedy, Austin Jackson, Phil Coke and Mike Dunn. It's a little costly for the Yankees. Not much, but a little. I'm a little on the fence but my initial reaction was that the price is too high. I'm all for dealing prospects for proven talent. With Granderson you know what you're going to get. Despite his shortcomings against lefties, CG is a really good, and proven, player. Coke and Dunn are expendable middle relievers. Kennedy has the stuff but hasn't been able to put it together on the big league level. Austin Jackson is probably the best prospect the Yankees have but again, he's just a prospect. He could easily prove to be a big bust.

So it'd be Curtis Granderson ( a good and proven player) for 4 guys that may or may not ever really contribute at the big league level. If the deal happened, I'd be fine with it. But if you ask me, the Yankees should be able to get a lot more for that package than Curtis Granderson and some prospects. I'm sure if you pulled out Kennedy and added in Joba, you might have something decent in terms of a Halladay offer. I doubt Coke and Dunn are of interest to the Jays but the foundation of a deal (Joba and Jackson) is there. Who knows? I think the Yanks could get a little more for those guys if they're truly willing to part with them.

If the Yanks happen to bring in Granderson, it's a safe bet that Damon and/or Matsui won't be back. Maybe one will to DH (I prefer Damon), but there would be no chance that both would return. With Granderson, the OF would be Swisher in RF, Granderson in CF, and Melky in LF, with Gardner likely being the 4th OF. Trading for Granderson also likely means no Matt Holiday or Jason Bay. But who knows? Last year we all thought there was no chance they'd sign Mark Teixeira after signing A.J. and CC, but they did.

Buster Olney is on XM radio right now. He didn't call the trade talks dead, but refereed to them as "dormant." I wouldn't be surprised if this deal picks up some steam. It's not a horrible deal. Perhaps they'll rework it. Stay tuned.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

The Hot Stove Starts To Simmer

The November installment of the GM meetings started yesterday and as expected not much went down. The real fun is at the December GM meetings. So if you're expecting some juicy stuff this week, you're going to be let down.

The "big news" yesterday was that both Johnny Damon and Hideki Matsui filed for free agency. Nobody should be surprised by this. The Yankees have a small window to negotiate with them exclusively before other teams can enter the mix. I believe that window closes on the 19th and I'd be surprised if the Yankees do anything with them before the deadline. There's a lot of question/debate going on as to whether the Yankees should bring back these guys back. A lot of people seem to think that they will sign one of them, but not both. Most people seem to think Damon will be the one returning. I see positives to bringing both back, but I don't see it happening. I think it's possible that neither return.

If you put me on the spot and asked me to pick which one I wanted back, I'd pick Damon over Matsui. I think Johnny can bring more to the table because he can still play the field. I also like him at the top of the order batting behind Jeter. He still has some decent speed and again he can play the field. Right now the Yankees OF is pretty weak with Swisher, Melky and Gardner. Even if you put Austin Jackson in that mix (I don't think they will) it's still weak. Johnny is a viable option. I also think if Matsui isn't on the squad that Damon can get some DH time and that should help him with his leg issues.

I think Matsui has a lot to offer as the guy hitting behind A-Rod but I think his bat can be easily replaced. The Yankees should be able to find a LH power bat for the same kind of money. I'm also not a fan of the full-time DH. But that's just me.

I wouldn't mind seeing both guys return but neither should get more than a 1-2 year deal if they do return. I also wouldn't pay them as much as they were paid in their last contract. I also wouldn't sign either until I explore bringing in other free agents, namely Matt Holiday and Jason Bay, to take their place. Cashman would need to move quickly though because you don't want to wait too long and end up with nothing. I'm sure Cash-Money is looking ahead at who will be available in a few years. It may make more sense to bring Damon back for a year and go after a 2011 free agent than to go after Holliday or Bay. Cash is a smart guy. I'm sure he'll make the right moves. I think we'll see Damon back in Pinstripes before it's all said and done.

You guys have any thoughts? Who do you prefer they sign if given the choice between Matsui and Damon? Do you even want those guys back? The Hot Stove is starting to simmer. Can't wait for it to be roaring. There's no better offseason in sports than baseball's hot stove.

The other Yankees who have filed for free agency include Andy Pettitte, Eric Hinske, Jerry Hairston, Jr., Jose Molina and Xavier Nady. In the next day or two I'll be posting my thoughts on the open roster spots and who I think should fill them. Assuming I can find the time of course.

Peace, love and Pintripes,

J-Boogie

Three Of The "Core Four" On Letterman

Not sure if anyone out there saw The Late Show with David Letterman last night but if uou missed it, I highly suggest you look around online to see if you can find clips from the show. Dave was joined by Andy Pettitte, Jorge Posada and Derek Jeter, with Hideki Matsui also making about a 15 second cameo. The interview was pretty funny and I had a smile on my face the whole time. Best line of the night came from the Captain. Letterman asked him if he was engaged. Derek replied, "No. Are you?" Classic. Check it out if you can find it. If I find a clip of it anywhere, I'll be sure to share.

While you're at it, make sure to watch the segment, Biff At the World Series. It's comedic gold.

If you're going to the parade today, enjoy it you lucky jerks. I'm DVRing it and will be watching it sometime tonight. I can't get enough Yankees right now. I know in a few days it'll be gone for a while. I'm trying to make it last as long as I can.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

I'm In An Empire State Of Mind

The chorus from Jay-Z's song, Empire State of Mind, is very fitting right now. "In New York, concrete jungle where dreams are made of. There's nothing you can't do, now you're in New York. These streets will make you feel brand new, big lights will inspire you, let's hear it for New York, New York, New York." I've been bumping that song all day. If you're a Yankee fan, how can you not be in an "Empire State of Mind." Today is all about the Yankees. Excuse me. I mean today is all about the 27-time World Champion Yankees. Yeah, that's more like it. Last night's game is still playing fresh in my mind. What an awesome night. What an awesome day. Let's hear it for New York, New York, New York.

Hats off to Andy Pettitte who shut up all the doubters who said he couldn't pitch well on short rest. I'm not sure if I fall into that group or not. Here's what I wrote about Andy before yesterday's game:

I'm really nervous about tonight's game. Andy is 37 and hasn't pitched on short rest in over 100 starts. But if anyone can figure out a way to battle through the game, it's Andy Pettitte. We shouldn't expect perfection but I'm confident he'll be able to keep the team in the game. That's all I'm looking for. The offense though needs to show up and get the necessary run support.

That's pretty much what happened. Andy definitely battled his way thru the start yesterday. But he did what I thought he'd do and that was keep the team in the game. The offense came through and took care of the rest. Andy is definitely one of the unsung heroes of the postseason. He went 4-0 in his 5 starts, pitching to an ERA of 3.52 and he held the opponents to a .226 batting average. 3 of his wins came in clinchers. You the man Andy. I really hope this isn't the last we've seen of AP, but if it is, thanks for everything.

Hats off to the World Series MVP, Hideki Matsui. If this was his last go-around in Pinstripes, what a way to go out. Hideki had a monster World Series, hitting .615. His overall postseason numbers were pretty impressive too. He appeared in 15 games, smacked 4 HRs, knocked in 13 and hit .349 with an OPS of 1.136. Godzilla was definitely deserving of the MVP. He single-handedly won game 6 with his 6 RBI. He absolutely owned Pedro too. I'm on the fence as to whether or not the Yankees should bring back Matsui for another term. But we've got months to discuss that, so why start now.

Hats off to Mariano Rivera. Mo very well could have been the WS MVP. I think it was a two horse race between Mo and Johnny Damon until Matsui came along. Mo pitched 5.1 innings in the WS, allowing 0 runs on 3 hits and 2 walks. After game 1, Jimmy Rollins remarked that the Phillies "saw some things" against Mo. Guess not. Like he's done so many times before, Mo locked it down. And like they always are, his postseason numbers were out of this world. 16 IP, 10 hits, 5 walks, 14 K, 1 ER, 0.56 ERA, .169 opponents batting average. Add that up and you get 5 saves. If any non-Yankee fans out there doubt that Mo is the greatest ever, take notice. He was the only closer of the 8 postseason teams who didn't have a meltdown. He's the GOAT. Mo made a sort-of joking comment during the postgame festivities that he'd be able to pitch another 5 years. Memo to Brian Cashman: sign that deal! Right now.

Hats off to Alex Rodriguez. Nobody can dog A-Rod anymore about not coming through in the postseason. Alex's postseason, as I predicted, was huge. He hit .365, had an OBP of .500 and a SLG percentage of .808. In 16 games, he hit 6 HR and drove in 18 RBI. The Yankees definitely don't win #27 without Alex. His World Series definitely wasn't as good as his other 2 rounds of the postseason, but he definitely had some huge hits that can't be discounted. And though I think this happened long ago, we can now make it official. A-Rod is a 100% true Yankee. Don't even try to tell me he's not. You won't win that argument.

Hats off to Damaso Marte. Damaso came out of nowhere and had an outstanding postseason. His postseason numbers are shocking compared to his regular season numbers. Marte appeared in 8 games, allowing only 2 hits, both of which came in his 1st postseason outing. 4 IP, 2 hits, no walks, 5 K, and a .133 opponents batting average. Marte came up big. Color me shocked. I didn't see that coming.

Hats off to, and I'm not a big fan of this moniker, the "Core Four." The drought is over. You guys have your 5th ring. Congrats. It all starts at the top with the Captain. Derek was another one of the guys who had a stellar postseason, hitting .344 for the entire postseason and .407 in the postseason. It was definitely a magical season for DJ. I'll bet this victory tastes pretty sweet.

Hats off to Joe Girardi. I may not agree 100% with his moves and I do think he can be an idiot at times, but I've to give Joe some credit. Girardi was integral in bringing the team together and making it about the team and not individuals. Girardi did an outstanding job helping to turn this team into a true team. Now if only he could get rid of his little book.

Hats off to the entire Yankees organization. From the top to the bottom you guys have given us fans a season to remember. I love that the Yankees have an owner who's committed to winning and doesn't care what it costs, even if it means losing money. There's been a lot of talk on the radio today about the Yankees and their high payroll. Yawn. It all boils down to jealousy. I'll talk about that more in the coming days/weeks. Anyway, congrats Mr. Steinbrenner! And thank you.

I feel like I'm making an acceptance speech. I know I'm leaving people out but that doesn't mean their accomplishments and contributions are being overlooked. Everyone at some point or another had a huge hand in bringing the World Series back to the Bronx. Hats off to all.

There's only 1 question left unanswered. What am I going to watch on TV now?

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

Joe Girardi Is Still A Big Fat Idiot

I've slept on it. I've thought about it all night. I still draw the same conclusion. Joe Girardi is a big fat idiot. I've been listening to baseball talk on MLB on XM all morning. I've check out a few sites on breaks and such. I haven't come across anyone who is on Girardi's side here. Everyone is in agreement. The moves he made yesterday were ridiculous. I've received a lot of visitors today from various web searches. Here's a sample of the search queries directing people here: "girardi is an idiot," "why did girardi pull robertson," "joe girardi stupid," "girardi horrible," and I could go on and on. They were stupid moves yesterday. They are stupid moves today.

The loss though can't be totally pinned on Girardi. The Yanks came up empty with RISP. If they could have mustered one timely hit they probably win that game in 9. With the exception of Jeter, A-Rod, and Posada, the team really isn't hitting the ball. That's where Girardi needs to shine. The team didn't hit the ball when they needed to. Girardi needs to pull the right strings to ensure the team gets another chance to knock in that run. He failed miserably at that yesterday. A major problem was also exploited when Matsui was lifted for a pinch-runner. With Matsui out of the lineup, A-Rod had no protection. The Angels wisely issued him 4 free ones when he came up. The Yankees might want to consider swapping Posada and Matsui in the lineup to avoid that from happening. If not, maybe bench Swisher and use him in that role. I know Swisher sucks with RISP but he's a better source of protection for A-Rod. The bench is very weak with no power. The only guys that can fill in as DH are all weak-hitting players. I bet they wish they had Hinske on the roster over Freddy Guzman. I know I do.

Girardi also needs to throw away his books. I'm not a fan of playing lefty/righty matchups. I get the theory behind it and I know why teams do it, but it doesn't mean they always should. Case in point: Brett Gardner is a lefty who hits lefties pretty well (.291 with .781 OPS). Jerry Hairston is a righty who doesn't hit lefties terribly well (.242 with .714 OPS). There was a game last year where Girardi lifted Pudge Rodriguez against a RHP and put Melky into the lineup. Since 1987, Pudge is a .295 hitter against RHPs. Melky is a career hitter .277 hitter vs. RHPs. My point is that the books don't always have the answers. If a guy can demonstrate that he can perform in the situation, put him in and let him do his thing. Jerry Hairston did not need to hit for Brett Gardner. Throw the books away Joe. Throw 'em away.

CC tonight on short rest. Works for me. Hope the offense shows up.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

CC, Jeter & A-Rod Lead Yanks To 7-2 Win In Game 1

Awww yeah. The postseason is here and the Yanks got off to a great start. I blogged earlier that I thought it was very important that the Yankees win game 1. Whatever momentum the Twins had coming into this game is gone. I think if the Twins had won, they'd have taken the series. They had enough momentum to begin with. Winning game 1 after winning last night would have put their momentum off the charts. The Yankee win today was huge.

CC was great tonight. It was nice to see him bounce back from his awful final regular start. If anyone was worried about the big guy, put those worries behind you. He had a few rough spots but nothing too major. When he needed the out, he got the out. That's what great pitchers do. I think the best part about his outing is that he didn't walk anybody. It could have been a lot worse had he issued any free passes. 8 Ks, no walks. I can dig it. Overall, a very good outing for CC. Way to go big man.

Memo to Jorge Posada: if you're so intent on catching every game, why don't you play like it. What's up with the passed balls and the lollygagging after them? Mauer doesn't score that second run if Posada hussles after that ball. It's the freaking playoffs for crying out loud. Get off you ass and get after that ball. Better yet, don't the ball get by you. You're making it very easy for people to jump all over you.

How nice was it to see A-Rod deliver twice with RISP? If you're answer wasn't pretty nice then get out of here. Just leave right now. OK. You can stay. Hopefully those two hits are an indication of what's to come. I think Alex is going to have a monster postseason, mainly because I don't think he's feeling any pressure. Alex has flown under the radar for most of the year. I think his head is in the right place. I think big things are coming. It all started with that 2 HR/7 RBI inning in the final game. I think he's locked in.

Derek Jeter. Do I need to say anything more than that? Saying just his name pretty much gets the point across. He's the man. No doubt about it.

Big bomb from Matsui. His 2-run slam-a-lama-ding-dong put the lead at 4 and pretty much ended the Twins chances for a comeback. It was the deathblow.

Great night by the bullpen. You can feel pretty confident that the game is over when Phil Hughes enters the game. Going back to July, which is when I think Phil took over as the setup guy, the Yankees went 30-3 in his 33 appearances. I didn't count his last 3 because he pitched more to pitch then to hold a lead. 1 of those 3 losses was a blown save by Mariano (Ichiro walkoff). There was one stretch where the Yankees won 18 in a row. Had Mo not blown that save in Seattle it would have been 22 straight, which were the last 22 appearances he made, again not counting the final 3. My buddy Scott sent me a tweet during the game that said "Hughes:Mo = Mo:Wetteland." Personally, I think Hughes:Mo > Mo:Wetteland. For my money Hughes and Rivera are the best back-of-the-bullpen tandem in the game right now. If you disagree, I'd like to know.

Off day tomorrow and then they're back at it on Friday. There's a very slim chance that I'll be there. Very slim. I hope to know for sure tomorrow. I'm really hoping to get down there for one of these playoff games. I have a ticket to game 5 and I really hope that I don't have to use it. No elimination games. If that falls through I'm going to try (knock on wood) to get to game 2 of the ALCS. Odds of that are a little better but still a longshot.

A.J. Burnett gets the ball in game 2. I originally wanted Pettitte to get the ball but I've since changed my mind. A.J. has pitched better at home. Pettitte has pitched better on the road. If you check the stats you'll see what I mean. But since I know you guys are lazy and don't want to look it up, I'll hook you up:

• Burnett @ home: 16 starts, 3.51 ERA, 1.33 WHIP, .229 BAA
• Burnett on road: 17 starts, 4.59 ERA, 1.47 WHIP, .264 BAA
• Pettitte @ home: 16 starts, 4.59 ERA, 1.49 WHIP, .285 BAA
• Pettitte on road: 16 starts, 3.71 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, .230 BAA

See what I mean? I think it's definitely the right call. Pitching Burnett in game 2 also means that the Yankees will split up the lefties. Sure, CC and Andy could pitch back-to-back in games 3 and 4, but the Yankees would have pitched them back-to-back in games 1 and 2 and games 4 and 5. Sliding A.J. in the middle ensures variety. It'll keep the Twins hitters a little off guard. The Twins also fare better against lefties (.285/.344/.441) than against righties (.269/.345/.423). A.J. in game 2 was the right call.

1 down, 10 to go.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

Posada's Suspension Propels Yanks To 5-4 Walkoff Win

Thank you Jorge Posothead. Your stupidity has paid off. If Posada wasn't serving a 3 game suspension, Francisco Cervelli wouldn't have been in the ballgame. If Cervelli wasn't in the ballgame, maybe the Yanks don't win this game. Who knows? What's done is done. It is what it is. And what it is, is a 5-4 Yankee walkoff victory. That was a classic ending. I absolutely loved Cervelli's reaction. I loved how excited he looked sprinting to first base. I loved how he turned first and kept running. I love the arms raised in triumph reaction he had to the pie in the face. The kid has great energy. I'm looking forward to seeing him grow within the organization. I love the kid.

Before I move on to the game itself, I wanted to talk a little bit more about Posada. He was originally fined 4 games, which in my opinion, was far less than I expected. Most pitchers get 6 games (reduced to 5 after appeal) for allegedly throwing at a guy. Posada incited a brawl and got 4 games. He got off easy, especially since they dropped the suspension to 3 games since he didn't appeal. Jorge would have missed today's game anyway because he had a stiff neck, which was from his role in the melee. He's lucky that's all that happened. I mentioned earlier that I thought someone was in a bench-clearing brawl and ended up getting hurt and missing the season. I couldn't remember who it was when I wrote the post but I remembered it later on. It was Red Sox pitcher Bill Lee. He was in a BCB with the Yanks and ended up missing the season because he got hurt. Point is, things can happen. I like seeing the fire and the team standing up for each other, but there's a time for it. When you're the best team in MLB, that time isn't with 3 weeks left in the season. Jorge should know better. now back to your regularly scheduled programming.....

Chad Gaudin pitched better than I thought he would. I thought he was going to get rocked. I'm very pleased with his outing. If I'm running things, I put Gaudin in the 5th spot over Sergio Mitre. I don't prefer either one really, but if my choice is Gaudin or Mitre, I'm taking Gaudin. He's been the better pitcher.

Props to the bullpen for shutting things down. Except for Brian Bruney. Bruney has actually been decent lately. He had a 0.87 ERA in August and until tonight, he had a 2.45 ERA in September. I can see why Girardi went to him but Bruney makes me nervous every time he pitches. I don't like that. Phil Hughes on the other hand? Hakuna matata my friends. Hakuna matata. It was an impressive 1-2-2 8th for Phil. Hughes has been great as a reliever. I'd argue that he and Mariano Rivera might just be the best back-of-the-bullpen tandem in the game right now. If you disagree, let me know.

Big night again for Hideki Matsui. Godzilla had the big knock in the 8th. He picked up 3 RBI tonight and that brings his September ribbie total to 13. 13 RBI in 13 games. Not bad. I had a good feeling about the game as soon as Brett Gardner reached base in the 9th. You just knew he was stealing 2nd. It wasn't a question of if. It was a question of when. I really wanted to see Jeter drive him home. I really want to see the Captain take a pie to the face. Part of me wonders if A.J. would be scared to do it. It is Derek Jeter after all. But you know he'd do it. He'd have to. I hope we see it before the year is out. It was their 14th walkoff win of the year and that leads MLB. You can never count this team out. They've won 94 games for a reason.

Not sure if anyone out there caught the end of the Sox/Angels game. What a travesty! That was some horrible umpiring right there. First of all Nick Green went around. He knew it. the Angels knew it. Everyone knew it. Except the umpires. A few pitches later, Green channeled his inner Carlos Beltran and watched strike 3. The ump though, for reasons unbeknownst to everyone, called the pitch ball four which forced in the tying run. It was a horrendous call. I was watching the MLB Network's coverage of it and the entire in-studio crew thought it was strike 3. The umps handed that game to the Red Sox on a silver platter. Whatever.

The Yankee win drops the magic # to 11. The Rangers lost so the magic # for a playoff spot is down to 4. I think it's safe to say they've got a playoff spot wrapped up. The team has an off day tomorrow and the action resumes Friday night out in Seattle. The win tonight should definitely make the off day and the flight much more enjoyable. I know it will for me. Enjoy the off day.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

Yanks Bomb Back-Back-Back-Back-Beckett For 5 HRs 8-4 Win Over Red Sox

I'm going to make tonight's post short and sweet, and will be probably back sometime tomorrow to expand on it. Tonight's game wasn't the epic battle that I was expecting. CC definitely was the better pitcher tonight and the win gives him 15 on the year, which is the most in MLB. CC is worth every penny of that huge contract. He's going to get better too down the stretch.

The offense pounded Josh Beckett for 5 longballs. Matsui is on a power trip, belting another 2 HRs. It's the 3rd time in 7 games that Hideki has gone deep twice. Beckett is good, but he's no longer a Yankee killer. That's got to sting a little hey RSN. Beckett has been getting pounded lately, giving up 10 HRs in his last 3 games. Ouch. The Yanks are definitely representing that Bronx Bombers moniker this year. 5 Yankees have 20+ HRs. Cano is sitting on the doorstep with 19. Jeter has 16 and Posada has 15. It's highly possible that 8 Yankees will finish the year with 20+ HRs. I'd lay money on it.

The win puts the Yanks lead in the AL East at 7.5 games, which is 2 more than it was 10 games ago, when this road trip started. It's awesome that they knocked 10 games off the schedule and put some distance between them and the Sox. There are 38-39 games to go and picking up 7.5 games on the best team in baseball is not going to be easy. It's been done before so anything is possible, but the Yanks are playing so well right now that I don't see it happening. They now get to enjoy a well-deserved off day and then it's time for a 6 game homestand. And who has the best home record in all of MLB? If you said the Yankees, then you'd be right. Things are good right now in the Yankees Universe. Things are very good.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

A.J. Burnett Should Never Be Allowed To Pitch In Fenway Park, Red Sox Trounce Yanks 14-1

It's hard to believe that the Yankees put up 20 runs in the 1st game of this series with the Red Sox, and after two games, have been outscored, 25-21. The pitching, much like yesterday, was awful, except worse. If the Yankees ;earn one thing from today's game I hope it's this: Don't let A.J. Burnett pitch in Fenway Park. If the two teams happen to meet in the ALCS, work out the rotation so that A.J. avoids pitching there. He has been beyond dreadful in his 3 starts in Fenway this year. See for yourself:

1. April 25th- no decision, 5 IP, 8 hits, 8 ER, 2 HR, 3 BB, 5 K
2. June 9th- loss, 2.2 IP, 5 hits, 5 runs, 3 ER, 1 HR, 5 BB, 1 K
3. August 22- loss, 5 IP, 9 hits, 9 ER, 3 HR, 2 BB, 6 K

For those of you without a calculator nearby, that adds up to 3 games, 2 losses, 12.2 IP, 22 hits, 22 runs, 20 ER, 6 HR, 10 BB, 12 K. That works out to a WHIP of 2.53 and an ERA of 14.21. You don't need a calculator to know what they equals up to. Memo to the Yanks: don't let A.J. pitch there.....EVER!

Alfredo Aceves continued his rapid decline with a sub-par performance. It's hard to believe that on July 21, about 1 month ago, Ace's ERA was 2.53 and he was one of the key components at the back end of the pen. 8 outings later and Ace's ERA is now north of 4 at 4.12. He's allowed runs in 6 of his last 8 outings. 17 runs in 17 innings to be exact. He's not getting the job done, plain and simple. I was an advocate of the Yankees trying to work Aceves into the rotation, in place of Sergio Mitre, but forget that. After his last outing, I wrote that I wasn't ready to write him off. I'm still not, but I'm teetering on the brink. He needs to improve, like now. I'm inclined to think he's got something wrong with him, though like most guys (I'm talking 'bout you Brian Bruney), he'll say he's fine when he's not.

The Yankees definitely had their chances today to score their share of runs. You should score more than 1 run when you rack up 12 hits and 3 walks. The Red Sox definitely made the most of their hits today. The Yankees obviously didn't. It was pretty much the polar opposite of yesterday. Well, sort of. They hit the ball well both days. They just weren't efficient at all today. They were o-9 with RISP. They left 13 guys on base. Jeter, Posada, and Swisher were the only ones who didn't leave anyone on. Melky came up empty with 6 runners on. Matsui didn't produce with 7. I don't think there's anything to be overly concerned about when it comes to the offense.

The loss puts the two teams right back where they started two days ago. The Sox are 6.5 back and tomorrow it's Sabathia vs. Beckett on ESPN Sunday Night Baseball. Even if the Yanks lose, they're still in pretty good shape. They started the road trip with a 5.5 game which is exactly where they'll be if they lose tomorrow. The big thing is that they'll have knocked 10 games off the schedule without their lead shrinking. It's pretty big when you can do that, especially on a road trip. So even if they lose tomorrow, no big deal.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

CC Rocks, Godzilla Rolls, Yanks Win Again

I made it through 4 innings last night before I turned the game off. The Yanks were up 6-0 and the game seemed well in hand. I woke up this morning at 6:40 to the sweet sounds of John Sterling saying, "It is high. It is far. It is gone. Yankees win. Thuhh Yankees win." Yeah, it's what I use as the alarm clock on my cell phone. At about 6:40 and maybe 17 seconds tops, I was online pulling up Yahoo to check the final. 11-1 Yankees. Suh-weet.

The Red Sox had lost earlier so the lead is a comfortable 6.5 games. Right now, there are 2 teams I have concerns about, and don't be mistaken, those concerns are very small. Very very small. The only teams I'm concerned about are the Red Sox and the Rangers. I think the Rays are too far behind (10.5 games) the Yanks to have a shot at catching them. So that leaves the Sox and Rangers as the only two teams in my eyes that could even come close to spoiling a return to October baseball for the Yanks. Both teams would have to catch the Yanks to trip them up. I don't really see that happening. Even if the Yanks play a game under 500 the rest of the way, they'll still have 95 wins. The Sox would need to go 30-18 (.625) and Rangers would need to go 31-18 (.633) to catch them. The Yanks would have to collapse and 2 teams would have to play out of their shoes to catch them. Sorry, but I don't see either happening.

CC had a great outing last night. He was extremely sharp in the 4 innings I saw. His final line is also pretty impressive. 8 innings of 3 hit ball. 10 Ks and only 2 walks. A little more than 70% of his pitches were strikes. CC is having a pretty good August. 3 starts, 3 wins, an ERA of 2.38. It's not quite as good as his August last year (5-0 in 6 starts with a 1.12 ERA) but it's close when you take into account he was pitching in the NL against some inferior offenses. Those 6 starts were against the Pirates (twice), the Nationals, the Astros, the Padres, and the Braves. This is when CC is really going to shine. He's 13-7 now and probably has 9-10 starts left. 20 wins is definitely in the mix. CC is proving to be worth every penny the Yankees gave him. As i said in the title of this post, CC rocks.

I was pleasantly surprised to see that Matsui had such a great night. 4-5 with 2 HRs and 5 RBI and 4 runs scored. Godzilla is having a monster month. He's hitting .343 with an OPS of 1.092. Talk about crushing. The whole Yankee offense, with maybe one exception is having a good August. Check out these numbers (AVG/OBP/SLG):

• Jeter 304/316/482
• Damon 367/392/796
• Matsui 343/378/714
• Teixeira 348/444/630
• Swisher 237/465/367
• A-Rod 273/385/477
• Cano 404/426/635
• Posada 314/351/571
• Melky 184/226/367

Pretty damn impressive, eh? As a team, for the month, the Yanks are 302/366/532. They have the best numbers in each category of all the AL teams. We just need to figure out a way to get more out of Melky. Melk has been very streaky this year. He needs to turn this around. Since going 4-5 on August 2nd, he's 5-40 (.125). Not good Melky. Not good.

Another late one tonight. Pettitte on the hill. Thankfully it's the weekend. I should be able to watch most, if not all of it. Now if I could only find a (legal) way to get my kid to sleep past 6:30.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

Yanks Use The Longball To Drop Rays 5-3, Bring On The BoSox

OK. I'm having a total writer's block moment as I try to figure out how to open this post. I've been staring at my laptop for a good 10 minutes now and nothing is coming to me. Probably a sign of being tired. I have the sneaking suspicion that this post won't be my best work. Let's see how it goes.

The Yanks took full advantage of the new Yankee Stadium tonight, belting 4 dingers en route to a 5-3 win over the Rays. They took 2 of 3 from the Rays which means another series win. They've won 8 of their last 9 series and are now 11 games over .500 at 34-23, a full game ahead of the Red Sox. They didn't exactly dominate tonight, but it was enough to get the job done.


Andy Pettitte didn't have the sharpest outing but he did pretty well. As I watched the game I kept expecting the wheels to fall off. I'm still wondering how Pettitte fared as well as he did. I also can't believe Pettitte leads the team with 6 wins. Amazing. I'm now sure why I'm so underwhelmed by Andy. He is after all 4-1 in his last 6 starts. But his line over those 6 games is pretty bad: 35.2 IP, 40 hits, 21 walks, and 16 ER. That's an ERA of 4.04 and a WHIP of 1.71. How the hell is he doing it? He's battling through these games and he's coming out on top. So whatever he's doing, I hope he keeps it up. Andy is one helluva 5th starter I'll give him that. Anybody else feel underwhelmed when it comes to Andy?

Despite going deep 4 times, the Yankees offense was again a little lacking today. Rays pitcher Andy Sonnanstine is having a pretty bad year. His ERA is over 7 and opponents were hitting .329 against him coming into tonight's game. The Yankees offense managed only 6 hits in 26 at-bats (.231). Thank God they were playing at home as all 5 runs came courtesy of the longball. June is being very kind to Nick Swisher. He's hitting .500 (9-18) this month. Swish needs to keep it up as the team is really going to need that bat, especially with the slumping bat of Hideki Matsui in the lineup. It's becoming painfully obvious that Matsui's best days are long over. Matsui is hitless in his last 5 games (0-14) and is 0 for his last 17. He put together a nice string of games before this slump so the potential is there but he has this mechanical flaw at the plate that he just can't seem to shake this year. It's as if he's falling out of the batter's box on each swing. Maybe "falling out of the box" isn't the best way to describe it, but if you pay attention to him you'll see what I mean. Get on that Kevin Long.

The bullpen tonight was rock solid. Phil Hughes looked really good. Really really good. His fastball seemed to have a little extra zip to it. But as I blogged earlier today, he needs to pitch more than 1 inning. I'm all for him pitching in the majors but not if he's going to top out at 3 innings a week. With Wang starting Wednesday, perhaps there are some more innings in the cards for Philly Boy. If not, then I hope they consider sending Phil back to Scranton so he can pitch regularly. The Yankees need him to pitch if they want to keep that arm strength up. Phil Coke scares me every time he pitches. I was getting all fired up after he walked Zobrist. I fully expected him to blow it and that's not good. The Yankees have too many relievers that I feel that way about. Thankfully, they're not pitching that often. Yeah, I'm talking about Jose Veras, who hasn't pitched since June 2nd. I think it's safe to say he's at the bottom of the pecking order. That's exactly where he belongs.

Oh yeah, and Mariano Rivera is still awesome.

Bring on the BoSox. The Yankees are winless against the Sox this year but they're a much different team then they were when they last faced them. A-Rod is back. Teixeira's average is 88 points higher. The Yanks are 21-10 since the teams last played each other. The Yanks have the best record in the AL and are playing some great baseball. A sweep of the Sox would be nice, but I'll settle for 2 of 3. I'm ticked that tomorrow's game is on My9. If you've been reading the blog regularly, you know that I don't get the My9 games here in Buffalo. I'm hoping for a miracle tomorrow night when I turn the TV on at 7pm. Gimme my My9!!

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

12-3 Win Gives Yankees Best Record In AL

The AL's best team came into Yankee Stadium tonight and got their butts handed to them. The catalyst? A hard slide to break up a double play by Mark Teixeira. Teixeira may have had his hitting streak broken but his slide was definitely the big play of the game. Girardi told Teixeira on his way to first that they'd "take care of it." I'd say putting up a 7 spot and trouncing them 12-3 was taking care of it. Well done.

The offense piled it on today, scoring 12 runs on 13 hits, 6 walks, and 2 HBP. If these guys can put 21 guys on base a game, they're going to win a lot of ball games. It all starts at the top. Derek Jeter kept that hitting streak going, picking up 3 more hits. Jeter has now hit safely in 16 straight and he's seen his average jump from .266 to .319. He's had 2 or more hits in 7 straight games. The run he scored in the 4th inning was the 1500th of his career. He's the 4th Yankee in history to reach that plateau. If there's anyone out there that would prefer to see Jeter back in the 2-spot, let me know, because I want to tell you that you're crazy. Batting Jeter-Damon 1-2 is proving to be a very wise move.

The 18 game errorless streak ended tonight on an errant throw by Posada on a stolen base attempt. Bummer. I wanted to see that streak keep going but as they say, all good things must come to an end. You know, if an error had to happen, I'd rather see it happen on a stolen base attempt. It means that the rest of the defense played flawlessly. I'd rather see that than bobbled balls, dropped flies, or bad throws. Posada made up for it thought with his 3-run bomb in the 6th. Posada and Matsui each hit 3-run jacks. Matsui is looking a lot better at the plate. He's not pulling out of the box as much and hopefully that's a sign that he's figured things out. Hideki is 10 for his last 24 (.417) with 3 doubles and 3 dingers. I'd say Matsui is moving in the right direction.

A.J. Burnett had a pretty solid outing. He had that one little hiccup but pretty much was on his game. He had great control, throwing 65% of his pitches for strikes. He only issued one free pass and whiffed 8. That's 2 straight decent outings from A.J. and 2 straight wins. He didn't have his best stuff tonight, but consistently found ways to get it done. After A.J.'s last outing, I compared his 1st 10 starts this season to his 1st 10 starts last season. The stats were similar. Last year, 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). I also wrote that I hoped that win would be a jumping off point. So far, so good.

The Yankees are on fire. They're 16-4 over their last 20. They played 18 straight games without an error. The starters are 11-1 with a 3.39 ERA over that span. The offense has scored 127 runs (6.35/game) and if I had the time I'd look up their batting average and average with RISP over those 20 games. The Yankees next off day is June 16th. The next 12 games are going to be pretty tough. They have 2 more with Texas, 4 with the Rays, followed by 3 in Boston, and then back home for 3 against the Mets. It's going to be a tough stretch, but if they can continue to play well, it could put them firmly in the driver's seat, especially if they can batter the Red Sox around like a rag doll. That would be nothing less than awesome.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie