Swisher Deal Details

Here are the details on the Swisher deal:

Yanks get Swisher and minor league pitcher Kanekoa Texeira
White Sox get Wilson Betemit and minor league pitchers Jeff Marquez and Jhony Nunez

I still like the deal. Betemit is a chump and though Swisher isn't exactly the bomb at the plate (he hit .219 last year) he gives the Yankees a lot more flexibility since he can play the OF and 1B. It's a smart move and benefits both teams. Swisher gives the Yankees a little more room to play with in terms of roster options. He could play CF in place of Melky or Gardner. Could play 1B if the free agent market doesn't cooperate. Could play RF if that position stays open as well.

J-Boogie

Nick Swisher Is A Yankee

As I was finishing my last post, I heard on XM Radio that the Yankees acquired Nick Swisher from the White Sox. I was kind of half listening and I'm pretty sure they said the Yankees. There were no specifics but my buddy Dan just got a text alert from ESPN that says they acquired him for Jeff Marquez. Interesting deal to say the least. First impression: I dig the deal if in fact it's straight up. There really isn't any room at the inn for Marquez and it makes sense to me to deal him. The Yankees let Abreu go and this could fill that hole. Or possibly he plays 1B and no Mark Teixeira? Lots of roster felxibility with this trade! I love it. I can't wait to see how the roster starts to shape up in the coming days. I love this time of year.

Here's a link to ESPN's story.

XM is reporting that the Yanks also dealt a kid with the last name of Teixeira. Not sure who that is but no relation to Mark. Now it sounds like they acquired him. MLBtraderumors says they acquired Kanekoa Texeira. That makes the deal even better.

XM is now mentioning that Wilson Betemit was in the deal. I still think it's a good deal. Never a big fan of Wilson's.

J-Boogie

Yanks Pick Up An Undeserved Victory

The Yanks might have won today but they can't be happy with how they played. It was another typical Yankee ball game. They only won this one because the Royals had a late game meltdown. The Yanks were well on their way to getting shut out when KC's defense imploded on itself committing 3 errors in the 7th, which for all intents and purposes cost the Royals the game. But it's a victory nonetheless. Regardless of how it happens, 1 gets added in the win column. But it's not a victory to write home about.

The offense was again horrible. How can a lineup with such talent struggle so much? It's mind boggling. There's one thing they're good at and that's hitting into DPs. Another 4 today. All coming in key spots. The Yankees' half of the 4th inning is a perfect indicator of how this season has gone. Bases loaded, no outs, A-Rod whiffs looking and Giambi hits into a 4-6-3 DP. If I had hair on my head, I'd pull it out. This offense is horrible. And there's no excuse for it. It's hard to believe the pitching is this team's strong suit. They definitely won the game today.

The pitching was terrific today. Ponson surprised me. I've been predicting his downfall since day 1. I don't know how he does it. But as long as he keeps doing it, I'm cool. The bullpen today was outstanding, giving up only 1 hit in 6.2 innings. Bruney got the clutch out there in the 7th with his bases loaded, line out inning ending double play. That was big. Damaso Marte is suffering from Yankee lefty-speacialist syndrome. Every Yankee "lefty specialist" I can remember as of late, can't get out lefties. Lefties are hitting .273 against Damaso, with an OBP of .385 and a SLG of .545. I wasn't surprised at all when he came in to face the lefty Teahen and walked him. Typical. Everybody else though, greta job. Way to keep the team in the game and give the offense numerous chances to finally scratch won across. As has been the case so many times this year, the bullpen gets the game ball.

The other game ball has to go to Brett Gardner. 3 hits and the game winning single. Good for him. I'll get excited when he does this consistently. Melky has a good game every once in a while too. Joe, the blogosphere's resident Statistician Magician, left a comment in one of my previous entries that Gardner looks like he is better at drawing walks than Melky and maybe that's what the Yanks are hoping for. I'd agree with that. Gardner has a lot more plate discipline and it could translate into a much better OBP than what Melky is capable of. I'd agree with that but I still think, as does Joe, that the Yankees OF needs to be Abreu, Damon and Nady. I'm desperate to buy but I'm far from sold on Brett. Hopefully his second stint goes much, much better than his first. I won't complain if it does. And if you're not checking out Joe's blog on the regular, you should. I recommend it. It's one of the very few Red Sox blogs i read and enjoy.

Joe Girardi continues to irritate me with his decisions. You'd think he'd have learned by now that putting in a pinch runner for Jason Giambi rarely works. It's a lesson that Joe Torre had trouble learning also. It seems that more often than not the pinch runner doesn't score and Giambi's spot in the lineup comes around again in a key situation. I wish I could put together a laundry list of examples when this has happened, but it's not something I've ever tracked, but I've noticed it happens a lot and always seems to backfire, like it did today when he pinch ran Ransom for Giambi in the 7th and the very next hitter, Nady, hits into a DP. The game goes extras and Giambi's spot in the order comes up 3 times. And who do we have to rely on? Wilson Betemit. Ugh. He may have walked twice but still, who would you rather have up? Giambi or Betemit? No-brainer. Wilson had a chance to win it in the 12th and what did he do? Whiffed. Good job fellas.

So the Yanks picked up an undeserved win. It wasn't pretty but I'll take it. Too bad both the Twins and White Sox won. The Red Sox are currently getting shut out by Roy Halladay. Hopefully that score holds up and we can pick up a game and move to only 6 back in the wild card race. 6 back with 39 to play. Yeah, I'm not liking our chances, especially if they continue to play like they did today. My man Moose goes tomorrow. Hopefully he brings his A-game because it's unlikley the offense will give him much support. Score him some runs guys. Score him some runs!

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

Smoke And Mirrors

For the life of me, I do not know how Sidney Ponson does it. Our Wednesday night softball game ended around 8:30. Once I hopped into the car, I immediately turned on my XM radio and flipped it to the Yanks/Rangers game. It was zero-zero, bottom of the 2nd, bases loaded with Rangers, no outs. I immediately started cursing Posnon's name and thought to myself here we go again. Ponson likes to let guys on base. That's no secret. But somehow, don't ask me how because I have no idea, few of the guys score. I'm a firm believer that it's a matter of time before this catches up to him. The innings per game will drop and the ERA will go up. We saw it two starts ago when he only lasted 4 innings and allowed 7 runs. But then he busts out with 7 innings of 2-hit ball in his next start. When he allowed 2 2nd inning runs i thought that was just the tip of the iceberg. I thought for sure he'd get shelled. I'm really surprised he didn't. He had another great outing. 2 in-a-row. I'm shocked. I really am. It's hard to believe that a guy with a WHIP of 1.56 and an opponent's batting average over .300 has an ERA of 4.23 and is 7-2. The Yankees are 5-2 in his 7 starts. You can't deny the team wins when Sidney pitches. As long as he and they keep it up, let him pitch. But somebody tell me how he does it?

Mariano needs to treat every game like a save situation. 27 for 27 in save opportunities. He looked good tonight. Vintage Mo. Doesn't look like the back spasms are anything to be concerned about. I should have waited to say that. Let's see how he feels tomorrow. I'm knocking on wood. Last thing we need is to lose another key player.

The bullpen finally got back to the dominant form we saw in July. 2.2 IPs, 3 H, 0 ER, 3 K. Good stuff. The Yankees really need the bullpen to take care of business. Thing in the rotation are up in the air right now. It sounds as if Ian Kennedy will be back to start Friday's game against the Angels, with Dan Giese going Saturday. They can't rely on those two yet. If needed, the bullpen needs to do its thing and keep the game close so the offense can take over. They're more than capable. They just need to execute.

Jason Giambi amazes me. He slumps, grows a 'stache and goes on a tear. He slumps, shaves the 'stache, and goes on a tear. 4 for 8 with 2 HRs since shaving that sucker off. Remarkable. It's funny how things like that work out. I was so glad to see Damon in CF. Melky's bat is a huge negative in the lineup right now. Damon can cover just as much ground and even though Damon's arm is extremely weak, I'll sacrifice Melky's arm for another bat. Too bad that bat has to be Wilson Betemit. He picked up an RBI today, but he's another weak one. Not sure what they see in him. As much as I'd hate to see this happen, I really think the Yankees should consider bringing in Barry Bonds. I hate even saying that. But there's no denying adding his bat to the lineup would make it one of the sickest lineups ever assembled. The tandem of Bonds and A-Rod would be 10 times better than Manny and Ortiz ever were. Okay, maybe not 10 times better. That's a little much. But it would definitely improve the lineup tenfold. With the way the offense has struggled, it's worth a shot. Bonds has reportedly said he'd play for the league minimum and he'd even donate his salary to charity. I say give him a shot. Move Damon to CF. Leave Nady in LF. Let Bonds DH. How could it possibly hurt?

Joba's injury has been described as rotator cuff tendinitis. He could probably pitch again this season, but I don't see the Yankees rushing him back. Like I said the other day, Joba is the future of the Yankees rotation. Cashman and crew are going to do everything they can to protect that arm for the future. And if that means sitting him the rest of the way, they'll do it. No sense bringing him back early and having the condition end up worse, a la Jorge Posada. Ask him how that worked out.

Was I the only one a little worried when Pudge stayed down after that home plate collision. I was fully expecting the injury to be worse than it is, which is just a bruised knee. He'll be day-to-day. With how the Yankees season has gone lately with the injuries I thought for sure it was worse. Finally, we catch a little break. Great play by the way. Nice throw by Bobby. Nice block by Pudge. Play of the game. It saved Ponson, that's for sure.

My man Moose goes tomorrow night, looking for win #15. I really want to see Moose win 20. By my calculations, he has about 10 starts left this season, 11 tops. I'll feel good about 20 if he can win tomorrow. I want to see these guys score early and score often. Don't even make it close. Give my man some run support.

And for God's sake, I'm sick of seeing the Rays and Sox continue to win. But I'm not worried. The Indians and Royals are 2 of the worst teams in the AL. The only team that's worse is the Mariners. When it's all said and done, the Yanks will be there. They just need to stay healthy.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

ps - and for those that are wondering, which is probably none of you, we won our softball game 12-8. It was the 1st game of the playoffs (double elimination). I ended up with the win and the save. Yeah, our "coach" lets too many people play so I split time on the mound with another guy. It looked like we were going to roll them b/c it was 8-0 after 3. Our coach, anticipating a victory via the mercy rule, pulled me after 3, even though I was throwing a no-no. I had only allowed a walk. Anyway, we took a 12-0 lead into the 5th inning when the other team scored seven 2-out runs. I went back in to pitch the 6th and 7th and secured the victory. Thus, the win and the save. A first for me. Probably a last also.

Moose Near Perfect As Yanks Roll The Halos

That's my boy right there. Mike Mussina. Moooooooooooooose!!! 1 O for every win. Count 'em up. You'll find 14. Wow, Moose has 14 wins and it's only August 2nd. Never would have predicted that when the year started. But Moose was again masterful today. He gave up back-to-back hits to lead off the 2nd and that was it. He ended up retiring the last 17 hitters he faced. I really wish Girardi had let him finish what he started, or at least pitch the 8th as he was only at 89 pitches. The Angels couldn't touch him today. I'm not sure how many of you watched the game, but I don't even think he should have given up any runs, and I'm not referring to the bad throw Betemit made that would have gotten Moose out of the 2nd. I'm talking about Bobby Abreu. That ball that Kendrick hit near the RF corner in the 2nd was extremely catchable. Bobby should have made that play. No question. but he didn't, and in the end it all worked out for the best. Moose picks up his 14th win, tied again for the AL league. More importantly, he picked up career win #264, which moves him one step closer to 300, one step closer to the Hall Of Fame, where when it's all said and done, he'll be enshrined. He's one of the best. If the Yanks are smart, and I like to think that they are, they'll bring him back next year. What better veteran to have teach the youngsters that are going to make up the foundation of the rotation for years to come? Those youngsters of course being Joba, Phil Hughes, Ian Kennedy, Chien-Ming Wang, and the plethora of talented pitching prospects the Yankees have in the minors. Do the smart thing Cash and bring Moose back.

It was nice to see the offense break through in a big way, especially with Moose on the mound. I was completely shocked when Wilson Betemit went yard to tie the game. When he stepped into the box I was thinking to myself how worthless he was and I started thinking about how I'd bash him in this post. And what's he do? Ties up the game of course. I think he's done that to me a few times this year now. I still don't like him. I hope he gets DFA'd sooner than later. I really do. I mentioned yesterday that Jared Weaver was the most hittable of the Angels' starters and I was right. The Yankees knocked him all over the park, taking him deep 4 times. Count it with me folks. 1, 2, 3, 4 longballs. The Bronx Bombers were in full effect. And it was sooo good to see. I thought from the start that the Yankees' fortunes at the plate would be plentiful. Now you may be wondering why I thought that considering Weaver struck out the 1st 4 hitters. But it's not that they struck out, it's how they struck out. Both Jeter and Damon saw a lot of pitches their 1st at-bat and that's typically indicative that the team is going to show some patience at the plate. And when they play their game (working counts, taking pitches, etc.), they typically do well at the plate. Tonight was no different. With the exception of Melky Cabrera. Ugh, he's frustrating to watch. With today's o-fer, Melky has now failed to get a hit in 4 of his last 5 games. Granted, the 1 game he got a hit, he had 3 of them, but that's besides the point. The point is he's hitting .246 and we're over two-thirds done with the season. His average has been consistently under .250 since the end of June. Melky's average has eclipsed .250 exactly 1 time since June 28th. It reached .251 after he went 3 for 4 the other day. He's brutal. I wouldn't complain if they moved Damon to center in place of Melky, and let anybody else serve as DH. He's got to get it going, especially if he wants to stick around.

It was nice to see Brian Bruney back. If only Chein-Ming wasn't far behind.

Splitting this series is not going to be an easy task as the Yanks have to face the perennial powerhouse that is John Lackey. Darrell Rasner throws for the Yanks and he needs to pitch his butt off. He's already teetering on the brink of losing his spot in the rotation and if he wants to stick around he needs to pull a Ponson and pitch a shutout. I've got faith in you D-Raz. Don't let us down.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

Woe Is Moe

I'm pretty speechless after watching tonight's 1-0 loss to the Angels. Thankfully, I'm typing and not talking. Wow. If you told me before the game that Sidney Ponson would throw 2-hit ball over 7 innings, I would have said you were crazy. Big Sid surprised me tonight. I thought for sure he'd have a typical Sidney Ponson outing. One where he gives up lots of baserunners. He did get hit hard tonight. Lucky for him all the balls were hit at people. He only managed 1 strikeout and 15 of his 21 outs came on fly balls. The outcome could have very easily been more lopsided, but I like I said, the defense did its job and Sid escaped with a pretty solid outing. Too bad the run support he's received lately was nowhere to be found.

Right from the get go, the offense tonight reminded me a lot of our early season offense. The 1st 2 guys reach base, the next 2 guys whiff, inning over, no runs scored. They had their chances. But in what's becoming typical Yankee fashion, they don't deliver in those situations. Credit to Ervin Santana for his outing. The bottom of the order was again beyond dismal, going a combined 1 for 13. They really need to do something with Wilson Betemit. I don't know, and probably never will know, what the Yankees see in him. He hasn't really done much of anything since he was acquired at last year's trade deadline. You mean to tell me there isn't another guy out there that could hit .250 and strike out 30% of the time? He's brutal. Same goes for Melky. He needs to step it up also. And as I mentioned yesterday, when Robbie Cano doesn't hit, the Yankees don't win. Since the break, the Yanks are 7-0 when he has a multi-hit game, and they're 2-5 when he manages 1 hit or less, one of those wins being a 1-0 victory against the BoSox. Come on Robbie, you're better than this.

And then there is Mo. The greatest closer ever. Bar none. Why is it then that he struggles so much when it's a non-save situation? It's inexplicable. Check out Mo's stats, courtesy of my crack research team, aka Pete Abraham's blog:

16 non-save situations: 21 innings, 18 hits, 7 runs, 3.00 ERA.
26 save situations: 27.1 innings, 12 hits, 1 run, 0.33 ERA, 26 for 26 in save opportunities

Mo has been lights out when pitching with the lead. In other games, not so much. He's still the man. He just needs to get himself in the right mindset I guess. Maybe the scoreboard operator should change the score when Mo's coming in. Mo has to step it up in the non-save situations. Especially when said situation is to preserve a 0-0 tie that Sidney Ponson started. Tonight's loss hurts. Especially because....

Those stinkin' Red Sox won in extra innings. Which means the Yanks are now 2.5 games behind them for the wild card. The Rays won also, and that puts the Yankees 5 back of Tampa for the division lead. It gets a little tougher with each passing day. It won't be any easier tomorrow when Mike Mussina goes up against Jared Weaver. This is a game the Yankees have to win if they want to salvage this series. And besides, its the last Old Timer's Day Yankee Stadium will ever see. If anyone is up to the task, it's Moose. He's been the ace all year and the Yanks need him to stop this little slide tomorrow. Of all the Angels' starters, Jared Weaver is by far the most hittable. The bats need to show up tomorrow.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

Ooodles And Ooodles Of O's Ya Know, Yanks Drop 3rd Straight

I think it's painfully clear that the back end of the Yankees' rotation is in need of an improvement. Darrell Rasner was again, for the most part, ineffective. The loss tonight puts him at 5-8 on the year, and he's 2-8 in his last 10 decisions. He wasn't as horrible tonight as he's been in recent games, but his performance left a lot to be desired, especially when your in the thick of a pennant race and 3 days away from the non-waiver trade deadline. If there was one game that Rasner needed to be great, it was tonight. A solid outing might have solidified his spot in the rotation and kept Cashman away from exploring a deadline deal. D-Raz is just not getting it done. He allowed 12 baserunners in his 6 innings of work. He didn't really do anything to help himself out either, only striking out 1 batter. But again, it wasn't a bad outing. But it was far from good. It'll be interesting to see if this sparks Cashman into making a move before Thursday's deadline.

Damaso Marte. You're already making me hate owning your jersey, albeit temporally. Thanks again Phil. Appreciate it. Marte's job was to come in and pick up Rasner. Marte allowed successive hits to the 1st 3 batters he faced. LaTroy Hawkins could have done that. I'll let it slide this time.

Justin Christian. Love the speed baby. He's our version of Dave Roberts. If only we could follow it up with a base knock.

The offense put up a fight, but it was a little too little, a little too late. No runs in innings 1-5, 6 runs in innings 6-9, with 5 coming in the last 2 innings. It was nice to see some fight in the dog, but I'd like to see the fight a little earlier on. Again, I'm left wondering what value there is in having Wilson Betemit on the roster. He is absolutely abysmal, going 0-5 tonight and whiffing with the tying run on 2nd. The top of the lineup ended up having a pretty big night. hitters 1 thru 5 went 11-21 with 3 walks. The bottom 4, excluding Nady's ever so productive at-bat, went 2 for 17. But what do you expect when those 4 hitters are made up of Melky, Betemit, Chad Moeller, and Robbie Cano. Cano is the only hitter I have faith in. He didn't put up much of a fight in the 9th, but he'll be OK. I can let Moeller slide too b/c he's basically a 3rd string catcher. But Melky and the aforementioned Betemit? We could do definitely do better. To be completely honest, I wouldn't mind seeing the Yanks take a flyer on Barry Bonds at this point. It hurts to say that because I'm not any kind of Bonds fan, but he'd be a huge upgrade to an offense that struggle more often than it should. Nady in left. Damon in center. Bonds at DH. Could work. It's really a can't miss, assuming Bonds truly would play for the league minimum. It'll never happen though. If it doesn't, no complaints here.

Despite 3 hits, Giambi's struggles at the plate continued. He came up in 2 big spots with RISP and didn't deliver. The highlight of the night though was watching him flip off Brian Roberts. Smooth G. Real smooth. I immediately started laughing. I called my wife in to see it and she thought it was funny, but a little classless considering the kids in the audience. That's a 4th grade teacher for ya. Anyway, still funny.

Mariano. Why can't every game be a save situation? A meaningless HR turned into the game winner. He's still having the best season he's ever had. No worries.

Tomorrow is a hated day game. Hopefully, some of my Wednesday meetings get canceled, otherwise I'll miss most of it. I know. I know. Woe is me, right? Hopefully Joba ends this slide.

I take full responsibility for John Lackey giving up a hit to Dustin Pedroia. I turned it on picture-in-picture and he got the 1st out. With 1 strike on Pedroia, I flipped it to the main screen, and said to my wife, "Now that I'm watching he'll give up a hit." Here come the pitch....base hit. Sorry Angels fans. My bad. But at least you won and continued your domination of the Red Sox. Having Mark Teixiera around won't hurt either. Can't wait until he's in Pinstripes next year.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

A Few Quickies

Again, many thanks to Jason from Heartland Pinstripes for filling in yesterday. we go back a ways to our MLBlogs days. Thank God they're over. Our blogs are much better now that they're in new homes. And again, if you're not checking out his blog, you should be. Quality stuff. He often opens up a "digital living room" where fans can go and comment on the game as it's happening good stuff. I need to stop in more often.

I was able to catch more of the game yesterday than I normally do due to the rain delay. I still missed a lot here and there because of other things I had to take care of. I caught the beginning of the game on the radio. I had the good fortune to hear Wilson Betemit butcher what sounded like an easy grounder. As I've discussed before, Wilson is a huge defensive liability, more so than Giambi. As you all probably know, I'm not a big Betemit guy. He had a decent night at the plate last night but my perception of WB is that those good nights are few and far between. I think the Yanks could field a better backup. I would not be sad to see Wilson go.

Rasner looked like he battled his way to that win yesterday. D-Raz hasn't exactly been the beacon of hope we thought he'd be after his 3-0 start. Don't get me wrong, he's filling in admirably. I just think his better outings are behind them. I'll take him as a 5th starter, but I'm not expecting big things from him.

The Yanks are winning and I think it has a lot to do with the fact that they've gotten back to their style of baseball. That style being, working counts, taking pitches, getting on base, etc, etc, etc. They chased the reigning NL Cy Young award winner last night after only 4 innings. In 4 IPs, Peavy threw 93 pitches. The Yanks weren't showing kind of plate discipline when they were struggling earlier in the year, swinging early and often, usually failing to deliver. They've gotten back to their game and we're now seeing them get on base, get timely hits, and most importantly score runs. I think it's safe to say that the offensive woes are over.

The National League again is demonstrating how inferior they are when matching up against the American League. They're just pathetic. The Yanks have benefited by being scheduled against the inferior of the inferior. So far, so good. 5 straight wins. 10 to go. This team isn't going anywhere anytime soon.

I think Yankee fans everywhere are wondering the same thing right now. Why Sidney Ponson? Good question. I think Cashman might be thinking Ponson is low risk and has potential for a high reward. If he blows, which he probably will, it doesn't cost much. If it works out, all the better. I think he's also stockpiling arms to take over that 5th spot in the rotation. I'm sure he has a list of candidates to fill in while Wang is out. If these guys fail to perform, I imagine there will be a quick hook and on to the next guy. Makes sense. But Ponson??

With today being an afternoon game, I'll likely miss a lot of the action. I have back-to-back meetings scheduled from 2-3 so I'm going to miss a bulk of the game. Joba gets the ball and his pitch limit is now over 100. He's basically good to go to throw a full outing. With the injury to Wang, his move to the rotation couldn't have come at a better time.

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

9th Inning Rally Falls Short, Yanks Lose 6-5

Shelley. Shelley. Shelley. I thought he tied the game up there for a split second but the ball hung up there longer than I thought it would. Crap. Props to Jim Leyland for issuing the intentional walk to Matsui. That call won the game. Brilliant. It's too bad they had no one else to go to. Shelley isn't exactly what I would call an offensive threat.

Did anybody really think that Kei Igawa was going to pitch well? He's turning out to be a huge bust. I know the plan is to have Igawa throw again on Wednesday but come on, they can't trot him out there again can they? God I hope not. With Kennedy at least I feel like there's a fighting chance. The Tigers hit Igawa hard and often. 11 hits to 20 batters. Not a good ratio. Not even an average ratio. Not even a poor ratio. What's worse than poor? Whatever it is, that pretty much sums up Igawa. Send him back to Scranton on a 1 way ticket.

The Yankee bullpen looked good tonight. Jonathan Albaladejo, LaTroy Hawkins and Edwar Ramirez combined for 5 shutout innings. They kept the Yanks in the ball game and gave the offense the opportunity to get the team back in the game. It's too bad that they waited until the 9th to try and claw they're way back in.

It wasn't a bad night at the plate. They had their chances but in typical Yankee fashion they couldn't get it done. They had 2 on with 1 out in the 3rd....nothing. They had 2 on and 1 out in the 5th....nothing. Two on in the 6th....nothing. Tying run at 2nd, go ahead run at 1st in the 9th and Duncan flies out to CF. The bottom of the order had a pretty good night. Multi-hit games from Betemit, Giambi and Cano. Giambi and Cano's averages are on the rise. The Yankees need that. If this team is going to get out of the lose 2, win 2, lose 3, win 3 funk that they're in, they're going to need consistent production from Robbie and Jason, especially with Jorge and A-Rod on the shelf.

I really don't like Wilson Betemit. Get well soon Alex.

My buddy and I are making the trip to Detroit (from Buffalo) for tomorrow's game. It'll be my first live game this season. I've been looking forward to it for a month now. I'm about .500 at Yankee games attended in person. One of the losses was game 7 of the 2004 ALCS. That still stings. I'm hoping to bring back a Yankee win. The post for tomorrow's game will likely be combined with Sunday's post. I've got to get up and leave at about 5am and I'll probably get back around 1-2am, and with Sunday being Mother's Day, I probably won't get to blog until after the game on Sunday. Enjoy the game and I might as well say this now for Sunday....Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there. Enjoy your day.

Peace, Love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

Roster Changes And Tonight's Lineup

According to Pete Abraham's blog, the Yankees have made a few minor roster changes:

• The captain is back in the lineup. Question is how healthy is he? I'll take Jeter at 80%. Jeter at 80% is much better than a lot of other options.
• Wilson Betemit has been placed on the DL with pink eye. I wonder if someone farted on his pillow? Sounds like a bogus injury to make space for Alberto Gonzalez who is running circles around WB. Alberto is getting the start at 2B, something which I suggested yesterday. We really don't need Betemit. I wouldn't be surprised if he gets bounced before too long.
• Joba has been placed on the bereavement list while he's in Nebraska with his dad. Jonathan Albaladejo is being recalled from the minors to take Joba's place.

Here's the lineup for tonight's game. No Cano and no Gaimbi. I think a day off will do them good.

• Damon LF
• Jeter SS
• Abreu RF
• Rodriguez 3B
• Matsui DH
• Ensberg 1B
• Cabrera CF
• Moeller C
• Gonzalez 2B
• Kennedy RHP

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

Thoughts & A Live Blog

Since it's 11:00 and we're only in the bottom of the 6th inning, I'm going to post my thoughts on the game thus far and live blog the rest of it. It wouldn't be Yankees/Red Sox on ESPN if the game didn't last 4 plus hours. I'm going to mix in the commentary along with the live blog so this post will be all over the place. If you're checking it out during the game, refresh regularly.

Cano just made a great diving tag on Pedroia. I t doesn't quite make up for the failures at the plate though. My friend Dave left a comment that Cano couldn't hit him right now. I don't think Cano could hit my 7 and a half month old son. Cano is struggling. We need that bat, especially if he's batting at the top of the lineup.

Hawkins just K'd Manny looking. I was scared when he came in and promptly gave up a shot off the Monster. He better thank Cano for saving him there. 2 scoreless innings and his ERA drops to 9.00.

Phil Hughes was down right awful tonight. That makes two really bad outings in a row. It's way too early for anyone to think that this is the Hughes we're going to see all year long. I can hear same fans now: they should have traded the kid for Johan! Phil is the youngest pitcher in the majors. As great as it would be for him to dominate each and every start, it's not going to happen. He's only 21 years old. He's still growing and he's still learning. He's going to do just fine. Have patience.

A-Rod almost snuck one around Pesky's Pole and then he popped out. That's the story of the season. I've got a huge beef with A-Rod this game. What was he doing swinging at the 1st pitch in the 1st inning? Dice-K was wild and A-Rod swings at the first pitch? A nd of course, he grounds into an inning ending DP. Come on now. Patience. I've been saying quite frequently that they need to be more patient at the plate. It's probably one of the reasons why they're not hitting.

A-Rod just gunned down Youklis and Casey just grounded out to Giambi. Go Hawkins go. A popout to Abreu. Hawkins actually did his job. I'm somewhat impressed. But he still shouldn't pitch in close games.

There have been 14 walks in this game through 7 innings. Talk about control issues. I was really hoping that Francona would be forced to yank Dice-K before he made it through 5 innings. Terry Frank'n'beans really must have wanted Matsuzaka to get the win. 116 pitches. When did Dusty Baker start managing the Sox? I'd love for the Yankees to at least tie this up so Dice-K doesn't pick up the W. All those extra pitches would be all for not.

No Papelbon or Okajima tonight. Mike Timlin is on and Giambi just took him deep! It's too bad Giambi can't face Timlin every at-bat. 2-2 with 2 HRs. Not a bad stat line. I t's too bad the Big G stinks against everybody else. The Sox bullpen, with the exception of Okajima and Papelbon, isn't really that good.

Jose Molina just roped his 2nd hit of the game. It's time for my obligatory "I love Jose Molina" post. I've been saying that a lot lately. And with good reason. It's about time we have a backup catcher that can hit. He's now hitting .364. I love Jose Molina.

Molina just got pulled for Betemit. Interesting move. I'm curious who's going to step behind the plate for the final 2 innings. Melky just hit a pinch hit single. 2 on and no out. It's a good thing A-Rod isn't up. If there is ever a time for a timely hit it's now.

With Alberto Gonzalez out, I imagine Betemit is going to short. Yikes. Alberto has done a phenomenal job as Jeter's stand in. I really hope he stays and Betemit goes. The Yankees need to bring back Shelley Duncan, keep Gonzalez, and DFA Betemit. Ensberg backs up Alex. Duncan backs up (or starts for ) Giambi. Gonzalez backs up Jeter and is your emergency 2B. Betemit has to go.

Nice job Johnny. Typical. That's how things have been. He grounded into a DP. If there was ever a time for a timely hit it was then. Robbie's up. He needs to bring in Betemit. And he grounds out weakly to Pedroia. I didn't see that coming. Cano is 0-5 and the only Yankee hitter who hasn't reached base. I'm thinking Girardi needs to give him a day off.

The Yankees missed their big shot there in the 8th. 2 on and no out and Damon grounds into a DP and Cano grounds weakly to second. I don't know the exact Yankees average with RISP but I wouldn't be surprised if it were the worst in the league. And the moves by Giradi now weaken the Yankees. Betemit is a defensive liability. Jorge can't throw and the Sox have their speed coming up. Since the Yankees didn't score, the moves backfired.

Hey look at that. Crisp steals 2nd uncontested and moves to 3rd on a sac fly and then scores on a sac fly. With Molina we at least had a chance to cut down Crisp at 2nd. I'm not a fan of lifting guys for pinch runners. It never seems to work out. Torre used to try this a lot with Giambi and the pinch-runner would never come around to score. And then of course Giambi's spot in the lineup comes around in the 9th inning and the Yankees have a weak bat at the plate.

Pedroia steals second. Imagine that. Molina should have never been lifted.

Headed to the bottom of the 9th down by 3. Abreu-Rodriguez-Matsui. Those are the guys you want up there in this situation. There's an obvious statement if there ever was one.

Abreu grounds out to short. He got down the line quickly but the throw just beat him. Time for a pitching change. Yay. Drag the game out a little longer.

I'm predicting a K from Alex. He'll step up and try to hit an 8-run HR and whiff in the process.

LOL. A-Rod strikes out on the high heat. I hate watching guys swing for the fences when they should be trying to get on base. When you're down by 3 runs you need baserunners, not solo homers.

A Yankees Suck chant. How original.

Matsui is battling.

And Delcarmen wins the battle. Yankees lose 8-5.

The Yankees had 16 baserunners and only managed 5 runs. That's pathetic. This team needs to start hitting with runners in scoring position. This team needs to start hitting period. And they will eventually. It's the same story year after year. It's just written a little differently. Last year it was lots of offense and no pitching. This year it's decent pitching and no offense. Either way, it's a slow start, and that's what we as Yankees fans should be used to. Last year through 13 games they were 7-6. In 2006, they were 6-7 and 3.5 back. In 2005, they were 5-8 and 3 back. In 2004, they were 6-7 and 2 back. With tonight's loss, they're 6-7 and 1.5 back. Their record is actually a lot better than it should be. They're struggling but it's early and they'll come around.

It's 12:15 and 6:30 is going to come real early. It would have been so much nicer to have stayed up this late for a win but what can you do? There will be more nights like this where the bounces will go our way. All in all it wasn't a bad series. The pitching was pretty decent with the exception of Hughes. The offense is showing signs of life. They'll be fine. It's just frustrating to watch them start so slow year after year after year.

But they always seem to find a way.

J-Boogie

Shake It Up

Tonight's Yankee lineup is a little abnormal to say the least. Melky in the 2-hole. Matsui in RF. Molina hitting 6th. No Abreu. No Giambi. Definitely not your typical Yankees lineup. But when things are going this bad, sometimes you need to make some adjustments. I can understand sitting Giambi and Abreu because Bale is a lefty. I know what you're going to say. Matsui is a lefty and Abreu is swinging a hot bat. Granted but Bobby hasn't had a day off and there isn't a break in the schedule for a couple of weeks. It makes sense to give him a day to rest.

The curious part of the "new" lineup to me is having Melky batting 2nd. I prefer Cano in the 2-hole but Cano hasn't exactly hit the ball this year. I think the Melk-Man is better suited for that spot at this point in time.

Alex gets moved up a spot to the 3-hole. I prefer him hitting clean-up but without Abreu in the lineup there aren't any better options to put in front of him.

I like having Jose Molina bat higher in the lineup. Since he's donned the Pinstripes he's shown he can bring it at the plate. He's also swinging one of the better bats so why not.

I'm not expecting much production tonight from our 8 and 9 hitters. Gonzalez is a very light hitting shortstop and Ensberg has never returned to the form he was in when he belted 30-plus homers. But hey, he can't do any worse than Wilson Betemit.

Finally the best part of the lineup is the return of Jorge Posada. His MRI showed no structural damage and apparently he feels no discomfort when he swings the bat. His bat is a welcomed additon to the already weakened lineup. He just needs to start hitting like the rest of them.

Enjoy the game.

What To Do? What To Do?

With the recent injury to Yankees captain Derek Jeter comes a lot of speculation about who to put at SS as his replacement. People are throwing around the notion of moving A-Rod back to SS. Personally, I wouldn't be a fan of that unless Jeter will be on the shelf for an extended period of time. Unfortunately, the other options aren't very appealing. So what to do?

According to Pete Abraham's blog, it looks like Yankees farm hand Alberto Gonzalez is on his way to New York. I think this is the smartest move as a short term fix. The Yankees won't gain much from him offensively but his defense is probably a little better that DJs when you consider his range is likely better. His offense can't be much worse than that of Wilson Betemit, who in my opinion won't be around much longer. His defense is questionable and offensively he's been a nightmare, unless you prefer a guy that will hit around .200 with more strikeouts that balls in play. sure he'll run into an HR every now and then but he's more of a liability. Short term they should go with Alberto.

In the event Jeter is out for an extended period of time, I think Girardi and crew need to explore other possibilities, one of which is moving Alex back to where he started. He might be a little rusty at first but a player with Alex's athletic ability wouldn't take long to readjust. I'd worry more about how he'd do moving back to the hot corner. When Alex was asked about his thoughts, he was quoted as saying:

"I haven’t thought about it. But whatever Joe wants I will do. I haven’t taken a groundball over there in five years, not even playing around. It would definitely be a challenge. But if Joe thought that were the best combination, I will let it fly.”

It's been 5 years since Alex has taken grounders at short. There would definitely be a period of adjustment but it's probably best to move Alex's bat and glove to short and move a guy to 3rd than it is to leave Alex at 3rd and put a weak bat at short. The Yankees have a natural 3B in the bench in Morgan Ensberg. If given the option of playing Betemit at short or Ensberg at third, what would you do? I'd go with Ensberg every time. Can you tell I'm not a big Betemit fan? I prefer him to Scott Proctor but he's really a waste on this ball club.

Hopefully, this discussion is all for nothing and our captain returns to the lineup for this weekend's Boston series. It doesn't bode well for the Yankees offense to have 2 of our best hitters (DJ and Jorge) on the shelf, especially when you consider how poorly the offense is performing. Jeter is a gamer and he won't sit any longer than he has to. That's one of the reasons why we love him so much. I just hope that the injuries to Jorge and Derek aren't anything serious and their time missed is minimal. Keep your fingers crossed.

J-Boogie

That. Was. Pathetic.

I know it's early. I know the season isn't even 10 games old. But I'm getting a little tired of watching the same game over and over and over. The Yankees offense is just downright pathetic right now. 2 runs? That's it. 2 measly runs. And the possibility exists that it's not going to get any better any time soon. Jeter's been ruled out for the series with a quad strain. And now according to Pete Abraham, Posada is likely headed to the DL with a bum shoulder. I can hear the pessimists now. "The Yankees were stupid for giving a 36 year old catcher a 3 year deal." That may turn tout to be true but come on, every Yankees fan was a fan of that deal. He'll be fine. Molina may not be as sweet with the stick but he's no slouch. I can tell you who this doesn't bode well for...and that's Jason Varitek. There's already talk in Sox camp that they don't want to bring him back. If Posada misses significant time it'll certainly raise questions in the Sox front office about retaining Varitek. In the end, I'm sure they'll bring him back. They should. He's the heart and soul of that team and without him their pitching staff won't be nearly as good as they are, or better yet, are perceived to be. I wouldn't mind in the least the two parting ways.

The Phranchise didn't have it tonight. His command was awful, almost non-existent. He issued 6 hits, walked 4 and hit a batter. I don't think his bad outing is any cause for alarm. I don't want to blame his outing on the elements but I'm sure they were a factor. Bannister wasn't exactly on his game either. I'm sure the weather played a little part. It didn't help either that the defense behind him was sloppy. Abreu bobbles a ball. Betemit can't catch the throws down from Posada. they didn't do him any favors. Surprisingly, the Yankees were still in the game when he left in the 4th.

The offense just plain sucks right now. They had Bannister on the ropes in the second but Cano goes down swinging. Royals pitchers struck out 11 Yankees, led by A-Rod with the golden sombrero. What's up with that guy? 5 straight Ks with 4 straight looking. And they're not even balls. MVPs don't do that. And you know it's sad when they flash an in-game box score and the Yankee player of note is Wilson Betemit. He was the highlighted player at the time as he was 1-3 with an RBI. Betemit is awful. The Yankees are in trouble if Jeter ends up being out long term. More on that in a separate post.

I really hope other teams aren't paying attention to these ball games because we're seeing the blueprint on how to beat the Yankees. Speed kills. The Royals swiped 5 bases. The Yankees have now allowed 13 stolen bases in 8 games. Surprisingly, they've caught 6 base-runners and one of the catcher's has a bum wing. Teams can put runners into scoring position very easily against the Yankees if they're aggressive enough. Like I said, speed kills.

Mother Nature hasn't exactly been kind to the Yankees so far. They've played in some pretty cold weather and I'm sure that's had some effect on the bats. Problem is: 2 teams play in the same conditions. We can't use it as an excuse. The schedule also hasn't really been kind to the boys either. The Opening Day rainout forces them to play 20 straight games. I'm not sure why the schedule makers had them play a day game after a night game when they had to travel. That doesn't make much sense. I know it was KC's opener but you mean to tell me there wasn't a more suitable team to schedule? A head scratcher to say the least. Almost as much as why they play 18 of the first 27 games on the road. But that's how it goes. Everyone at some point in the season has the schedule working against them. It's not a good excuse.

Ian Kennedy gets the ball tomorrow and looks to bounce back from a really bad first outing. It won't be easy for him if the offense doesn't show up. No Jeter. No Posada. Battered and bruised. Hope Ike brings his A-game.

J-Boogie