Yankees Take 2 Of 3 From Rays Behind A.J. Burnett

How can you not be excited if you're a Yankee fan? I know it's early. I know that the season is only 6 games old. But to take 2 of 3 in both Boston and Tampa? That's something to be excited about. The Yankees, Red Sox, and Rays are widely thought of as the 3 best teams in baseball. The Yankees went into Fenway and took 2 of 3 from the Sox. The Yankees went into Tampa and took 2 of 3 from the Rays. How can you not feel good about the team's start if you're a Yankee fan? It's pretty clear right now who's on top of the hill. But again, it's early. Things could change. But again, how can you not be excited about how the season has started?

Today's game didn't start out too hot. A.J. Burnett had an awful 1st inning and it looked like the bad version of A.J. Burnett was pitching. All things considered, I was very happy that the Rays only scored twice in the 1st. Personally, I think it was a bad bit of managing by Joe Maddon. The 1st 2 guys each singled and stole 2nd. Why would you have your 3-hitter sacrifice himself? You have a 1-run lead, a runner on 2nd, and one of your best hitters at the plate. That was the time to go for the jugular, not give up an out. Maybe if it were later in the game but not in the 1st inning. But I'm glad they did. Thanks for that Mr. Maddon.

After the 1st inning, A.J. had a somewhat easy-go of things. He retired 10 straight after the 1st inning. When Upton reached in the 4th, A.J. picked him off. When Burrell reached in the 5th, he got doubled off on the fly out to Granderson. While I'm on the subject of that play, I don't see why Burrell took a hard slide back into 1st. Supposedly he wanted to get hit by the ball. Whatever. If you ask me it was bush league. Moving on. It wasn't by any means Burnett's most dominant outing, but it worked. His control was off. Only 53% of his pitches were strikes. He walked 3 and only whiffed 1. Last year he almost struck out 1 an inning (195K in 207 IP). His control was definitely lacking today. But a win is a win. He didn't have his best stuff but he kept the Rays from scoring. And that's what good pitchers do. They find a way to get things done when their stuff isn't there.

I missed part of Joba pitching in the 8th inning. It was my brother in-law's birthday and we were in transit to his house. I missed the leadoff single and the RBI triple. It doesn't come off as the best of outings, but I guess the silver lining is that he stranded Crawford on 3rd. I'll let this one slide. Luck for JC the Yanks had a 7-2 lead.

I said this before the season started and I'll say it again. I'm really digging this lineup. There's just so much talent in it it's scary. If you knew that through the 1st 6 games that Nick Johnson would be hitting .136, Mark Teixeira would be hitting .125, and A-Rod would be hitting .259 with no hoime runs, you'd be foolish to think that the Yankees would be 4-2. It'll be really scary when those guys get hot and everything is running on all cylinders. Thankfully, the rest of the lineup is pretty much raking. Cano = .360. Posada = .353. Granderson = .348. Swisher = .333. Gardner = .294. Jeter = .286. As you can see the team is rocking 5 thru 9. They definitely deserve a lot of kudos for what they've done so far. I'd go as far as saying they're carrying the lineup.

Congrats to Nick Swisher for hitting his 1st HR and earning some bank for his charity, Swish's Wishes. If you're a regular reader you know a bunch of us are donating money to Nick's charity every time he goes yard. If you want to see an up-to-date tally, it's located in the upper left. If you'd like to join in on the fun and want some more info, check out this post. Now on the flip side, Nick needs to start hitting the ball when it counts. If you're a regular reader, then you've probably seen me call him "The Rally Killer." The RK made another appearance today. He came up in the 2nd with 2 out and Granderson on 2nd and he struck out swinging on 3 pitches. He came up in the 2nd with 2 out and runners on 1st and 2nd and he fouled out. In the 6th he grounded out with 1 down and Granderson on 2nd. That time however Granderson moved to 3rd and then scored on a wild pitch. It doesn't go down as a hit with RISP but I'll take the productive out. I really don't like calling Swish "The Rally Killer." But he kills rallies. The numbers don't lie.

The first road trip is in the books and so far so good. Now it's time for the real fun. Tuesday is the home opener and it's time for the boys to get their rings. Tuesday should be a pretty good time. I'm glad I took the day off. It all won't be fun and games as there is still a game to play. Those pesky Angels are coming to town. Wow. Who makes this schedule? Open on the road against the Red Sox and Rays. Open up at home against the Angels and Rangers. Talk about tough. It doesn't let up either. After the Rangers they have a 9 game roadie which includes make a trip to the west coast. The Yankees' schedule in April is definitely not a walk in the park. It's off to a great start and after beating the Sox and Rays, I'm confident they'll make it through it just fine. If you think I'm wrong, let me know.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Booogie

CC Flat Out Dominates In Yankees 10-0 Victory Over The Rays

Today's Yankee game was extremely fun to watch, wasn't it? CC's no-hit bid definitely gets top billing. I fully blame my sister for the no-hit bid falling apart. She brought her little one over for a visit today and sometime around the 6th inning she was talking about how they had to go. I zipped into the room and told her she was forbidden to leave. I did my best to keep her from leaving but she escaped in the 7th. Next thing you know, Kelly Shoppach is singling to left and the no-hit bid is over. I'm definitely going to lay the smackdown on her when I see her in a few weeks. In hindsight I should have hidden her car keys or got Tonya Harding on her. My bad. Next time I'll be prepared.

CC was insanely good today, looking like he was in mid-late season form. The Rays never stood a chance. His fastball was popping ad he maintained that velocity throughout the entire game. He threw 62% of his pitches for strikes. He was just flat out awesome. CC is the type of pitcher that gets better as the season moves on. If his outing today is a sign of what to expect this year, they might as well hand him the Cy Young Award right now. But it is too early to get ahead of ourselves. He had a similar, albeit not as dominant, outing in his 2nd start last year. In his 2nd start last year, which was in Kansas City, CC threw 7.2 shutout innings, allowing 6 hits, no walks, and he struck out 6. His numbers through his first two starts this year are better than those from his first two starts last year. Considering this year his 2 starts have been against the Red Sox and Rays, and not the Orioles and Royals, it's a little more impressive. I definitely think he'll have a better year this year than he did last.

I thought for sure that he was going to get the no-no today. There was definitely something magical in the air. Typically, every no-hitter has a couple of outstanding defensive plays (see DeWayne Wise). The Yankees defense today had several outstanding plays. Mark Teixeria laid out to his right to rob Jason Bartlett of a hit to end the 6th. A-Rod made a sweet diving grab and made a phenomenal throw to first to rob B.J. Upton of a hit to end the 7th. CC had a ball deflect of his pitching hand that Robbie Cano fielded to get Willy Aybar in the 8th. At least I think it was Aybar in the 8th. I thought for sure that ball was ticketed to CF. Had CC not deflected it to Cano the no-no was probably over. The defense today was just outstanding. A-Rod had an especially great game in the field. Dude has an absolute cannon.

Word on the street is that Kelly Shoppach was CC's last batter regardless of what happened. Had Girardi pulled CC Sabathia with a no-hit bid I think Yankee fans would have run Joe out of town. Personally, I have mixed feelings on it. I understand that the big picture is what matters. I get that it's the 2nd game of the season and you don't want to push CC beyond his limits. But you can't pull a CC Sabathia type of pitcher from a no hitter after 8 innings. You just can't. You've got to let him finish what he started. I would have probably respected the decision had they lifted CC after 8 no-hit innings, but I would have been incredibly ticked. I think every Yankee fan would have been livid. In the end though the discussion is moot because Shoppach singled to LF. Damn you Kelly Shoppach.

It was nice to see Mark Teixeira finally join the party. It took Tex 18 ABs to pick up his first hit of the season. His 0-17 start was the worst of his career. I tweeted after the hit that I wanted to see him pick up at least 5 more in a row. So far so good. Tex finished the day with 3 hits. Had it not been for the "Ortiz/Giambi shift" he probably would have gone 4-4 because if I remember it correctly, in his first AB he lined out to the 2B who was positioned in short RF. Hopefully his 3 hits today end his dry spell.

Who's not loving Robinson Cano in the 5-hole? I'm still on board with my Cano = 2010 AL MVP prediction. I really think RC is going to have a monster year. He's definitely off to a really hot start. He went 2-5 today with a HR and 3 RBI. Most importantly he picked up a base knock with RISP. We didn't see a lot of that from Robbie last year. I don't think it'll be a sore spot with him this year.

The entire offense, for the most part, had a great day. I know, silly statement considering they scored 10 runs. But if you break it down, there weren't a lot of holes. 5 guys had multiple hit games. 6 guys knocked in runs. They were 6-13 with RISP. 7 guys walked. The team only struck out 3 times. Every starter had a hit except for Nick Johnson. But as my friend Don will argue, he saw a lot of pitches and that hooked up everyone else. So we'll go with that. Curtis Granderson got a hit off a lefty. Despite it not scoring a run, "The Rally Killer" Nick Swisher got a hit with RISP. A-Rod picked up his 1000th hit as a Yankee. There wasn't much to balk at today. It was all good, a baby-baby.

The series with the Rays wraps up tomorrow and then it's home to the Bronx. Can't wait until Tuesday's home opener. It's going to be cool to see the team get their rings. I've got the day off (yes just to watch it) so I won't miss any of it. But first, it's A.J. Burnett vs. James Shields. I'm hoping A.J. does his best to 1-up CC. If he's got his curve working, it's definitely possible. Let's go Yankees.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

My Condolences To Dustin Pedroia

In what must be a hard blow to Dustin Pedroia, Meinhardt Raabe has passed away at the age of 94. Who is Meinhardt Raabe and how does it affect Dustin Pedroia you might ask? Raabe played the Munchkin coroner in The Wizard of Oz. Dustin is a munchkin, ergo, my condolences. I've heard that DP ahs already been added to MLB's bereavement list and will miss the next 3 games.

In all seriousness, RIP Mr. Raabe.

J-Boogie

Yankees Get Stymied By David Price, Lose 9-3

Well that wasn't pretty. The Yankees just didn't have it tonight. Hat tip to David Price for that. Price looked really good until he ran out of gas in the 8th. Not sure what Joe Maddon was thinking leaving him out there once the trouble started. I thought Dusty Baker was managing the Rays there for a second. The Rays have to be really happy with Price's outing. Wait, why I am writing about Price? This is a Yankees blog last time I checked. But seriously, Price pitched really well.

On the flipside, Javier Vazquez didn't pitch well at all. Scratch that. Javy started out pretty well. He looked solid for the first 3 innings. I was really excited when the Yankees went up 2-0 in the 4th. I thought it would be enough based on how he was throwing. But then the wheels fell off and things got bad real quick. I'm sure there are a lot of Yankee fans out there already dumping on Vazquez. Message to them: stop! There is absolutely no reason to think that Vazquez is going to suck this year. It's one start and it's the first start. He'll be fine.

Things might have been a little different for Javy and the Yanks had Girardi started Brett Gardner. There was a liner into LF that Marcus Thames dived for and missed. I'm not saying Gardner would have caught it but he's a lot faster than Thames so it was possible. Had the ball been caught, the inning would have ended and the Yanks would have been down 3-2. It could have been an entirely different story.

Not real much to discuss about the offense. They didn't do much against Price. Mark Teixeria is still oh-fer-April. For the life of me I don't understand how a hitter like Tex, who has a career .289 average, struggles so badly at the start of every season. It's mind-boggling. It really is. He's now 0-16 thru the 1st 4 games. He's due. Now if anybody out there is worried about Tex, don't be. It happens every year. He'll finish the year with a .290+ average. He'll have at least 30 hrs and 100 RBI. He won the MVP last year after his terrible start. History can easily repeat itself with Tex.

Nick Swisher is not doing anything to get me to stop calling him "The Rally Killer." Nick is picking up right where he left off last year. For those new to the blog, I started calling Nick "The Rally Killer" last season. He was absolutely horrible with runners in scoring position. Last year he hit .227 with RISP, .163 with RISP and 2 outs, and .158 with the bases loaded. He lived up to the moniker again tonight when he whiffed with the bases juiced in the 8th. I was definitely hoping for a different outcome. I'm still dying to drop my first 10 spot to his charity. There are a few of us who are down to donate (see upper left). An HR in the 8th would have been huge tonight. Heck, a hit would have been nice. I don't have much faith in Nick in a big spot. I love him at the start of a rally but not at the end of one.

The loss drops the Yankees to 2-2. I know some people out there are already hitting the panic button. It's the 4th game of the season guys. There is no cause for alarm. The big man gets the ball tomorrow. Game is at 3:10pm and is on FOX. That means Joe Buck and Tim McCarver. Ugh.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

The Grandyman Can

They keep replaying John Sterling's Granderson HR call from last night's game on MLB Network Radio on XM. It's pretty comical. For those that haven't heard it, it starts out with "Oh Curtis. You're something sort of grandish" and it ends with Sterling singing, "The Grandyman can. The Grandyman can." Funny stuff. At least he changed it from just "you're something sort of grandish." That's apparently from some old school musical call "Finian's Rainbow." Yeah, it was over my head too. The call is still kind of silly, but it's much better with "the Grandyman" lines added in.

Personally, I think sterling's HR calls are more of a joke than anything else. Who can forget such classics as "For the Betemit of the Yankees," or "Fill it up, Phillips"? God those are terrible. I'm not a big Sterling fan. Sometime he's tolerable but most of the time I find him to be God-awful. But that's just me.

Want more Sterling? Check out IT IS HIGH, IT IS FAR, IT IS....caught. You want funny? Go there now.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

Curtis Granderson & Chan Ho Park Lead Yankees To 3-1 Win Over Red Sox

Awesome win by the Yanks tonight. Taking two out of three in Boston is a pretty damn good way to open up the season. The best part of it was that they sacked Jonathan Papelbon with the L. I never get tired of seeing him get rocked. Someone tell me why I drafted him on my fantasy team. Not on one team, but on two. Yeah, I'm a dummy.

I'm pretty happy that the Yankees took two of three in Boston. If I told you before the series started that the 2-3-4 hitters would combine to go 2-36 and no Yankee starter would earn a decision, you'd think they were swept. Sure they could have played better but winning 2 of 3 is a very good thing.

Granderson's HR was huge but the player of the game is without a doubt Chan Ho Park. Talk about a total 180. Chan Ho Park was a different pitcher tonight. I'm not sure if the Yankees are still passing around a WWE Championship belt but if they are it better go to Park. He was flat out awesome tonight. I totally didn't see it coming. He not only gave the team 1 shutout inning. He not only gave the team 2 shutout innings. He gave them 3 shutout innings. Nicely done CHP. It's too early though to know which Chan Ho Park is the real one. Hopefully it's the one we saw tonight. It's going to be nice having two long men in the bullpen. If the Yankee starter ever gets into trouble, Aceves and Park could easily enter the game and keep the other team down giving the Yankee offense ample time to score some runs. We saw it a lot last year. We'll see it again this year.

Great outing tonight from Andy Pettitte. He struggled a little early on but he settled down and pitched a great game. You think I'd know by now that I shouldn't worry so much that Andy allows so many guys to reach base. He allowed 10 guys to reach base and allowed only 1 run. Vintage Andy. Andy has a career WHIP of 1.36. He lets 'em on but he doesn't let 'em in. You gotta love Andy. So glad he came back this year.

Not a lot of offense tonight. The top of the order, except for Jeter, has been struggling. Johnson, Teixeira, and A-Rod went a combined 0-12 tonight. The trio had a pretty bad series at the plate, combining to go 2-for-36. Johnson and Teixeira are still hitless. I'm not concerned and if you are, you shouldn't be. We all know Mark Teixeira is a slow starter. Nick Johnson is going to have a really high OBP. And A-Rod, is well, A-Rod. If the rest of the lineup stays hot and those guys get going, watch out.

The bottom of the order on the other hand is off to a pretty good start. Curtis Granderson had a damn good series. His HR off Papelbon was a thing of beauty. There's a lot of talk during the game and after it that it was his "Yankee moment." I think it was a great moment, but I'm on the fence about it being his "Yankee moment." I know it came against the Red Sox. I know it was off Papelbon. But it's the 3rd game of the season. It's a little too early for me to call it a "Yankee moment." It's close, real close, but I can't call it a "Yankee moment."

Dick Clark: "Snails. Molasses. Turtles. Paint drying." Me: "Things that are faster than Jorge Posada." Ding ding ding. Holy cow Jorge is slow. The Yankees are lucky that JD Drew made a crappy throw on Swisher's single. He would have had Posada by a mile if that throw was online. And what is up with Posada not sliding? If my memory serves me correctly he pulled the same crap last year. You'd think as a catcher he'd know the drill.

It's always good to win a series. It's always good to win a series in Boston. Not a bad way to open the season. Off day tomorrow. Enjoy it.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

Yankees Get First Win Of Year Out Of Way With 6-4 Win Over Boston

Great win by the Yankees last night. It wasn't the prettiest of wins but a win is a win and it was nice to see them get their first win under their belts.

The bullpen was awesome yesterday. Alfredo Aceves is quickly becoming one of my favorite Yanks. He's consistent, reliable, and gets the job done. I'm curious to see what Ace's role this year will be and how Girardi will use him. Ace can wear so many hats back there. He can pitch a few innings if needed. He could come in and get the team a key out. I feel confident that anytime we see Ace the Yanks will be in the ballgame and have a pretty good chance of winning, kind of like they did last night.

Joba last night looked a lot like the Joba of old. He had good pop on his fastball and his slider was untouchable. It was good to see the first pumping, especially since it was in Boston. I like seeing that much enthusiasm from him so early in the season. You can tell with Joba that every outing matters. I hope this is a sign of what to expect from Joba this year. If it is, consider the game over as soon as he gets the ball. Joba and Mo will be the new Mo and John Wetteland. We all know how good that tandem was.

It's always good to see Mariano on the hill. He's the G.O.A.T. and it's a joy to watch him pitch. I love watching the Sandman put the other teams to sleep, especially the Red Sox.

A.J. Burnett wasn't particularly good yesterday but he wasn't particularly bad either. He was effective but he needs to be better. His strike-to-ball ratio was decent (61.7% strikes) but he was a little wild (3 walks and a HBP) . Posada hooked him up too with by blocking some bad pitches. A.J. will get better. Not concerned about his performance or that he only lasted 5 innings. The starting pitching in this series hasn't been very effective. It's not like CC, A.J., Josh Beckett and Jon Lester are bums. Those guys will be fine. Well, maybe not Beckett. At least I hope not.

I predicted before the season started that Robinson Cano would be the AL MVP this year. He's off to a hot start. Robbie is going to excel in the 5 hole, especially if he can get by his hitting with RISP troubles. He's had a few chances with RISP this year and granted he hasn't picked up a hit, but he's had 2 productive ABs with 2 productive outs that have led to 2 RBI for Robbie. He'll hit this year with RISP. I'm confident of that. I loved seeing the late-inning bomb that was the final nail in the coffin too. Robbie has a sweet swing. I wouldn't be surprised to see him end the season with at least 30 pops.

I like that Nick Johnson walks a lot and sees a lot of pitches. Dude is truly an OBP machine. I would like to see him hit the ball though. It has only been 2 games so there's plenty of time to pick up some base knocks.

Looks like Mark Teixeira is off to another slow start. He's 0-9 thru the first 2 games. We've seen this with Tex year after year. No worries.

I don't understand why Girardi started Marcus Thames yesterday. I know he does well versus lefties. I know Jon Lester is as tough a lefty as they come. But it's the 2nd game of the year! Brett Gardner should have gotten the start.

Well gang, my lunch is about to end and I've got to get off to a meeting. Andy Pettitte v. John Lackey tonight. Sox fans have to be pretty geeked up about Lackey. I'd love to see the Yanks hammer him. It would be awesome to leave Fenway with 2 wins, wouldn't it?

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

Four Hour Baseball Games = Next Day Posts

The worst thing about Yankees/Red Sox games is that they last at least 4 hours. It makes it real tough to blog right after the game. On most nights, I'd probably suck it up and post something, but it's Tuesday and I really don't want to wait to watch Lost. So a post about tonight's great Yankee win will be coming tomorrow. I'll be writing about:

1. The bullpen - Aceves, Joba and Mo = awesome
2. Robbie Cano will be the 2010 MVP
3. You down with OBP? Nick Johnson is an OBP machine!

All that and much more. Yankees win. Thuhhhh Yankees win.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

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Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

Yankees Pitching Falters In Opening Night Loss To Red Sox

I woke up this morning in more pain than I was in yesterday. Again, spent the weekend scraping paint and painting my garage. Forearms and shoulders are killing me. I'm so out of shape. After watching last night's loss to the Red Sox, I'd say the Yankees pitching is pretty out of shape too. They were far from being in top form. Thing started out real well and then the wheels fell off.

CC Sabathia started out well. He looked real good to me in the first few innings. He had a few rough spots but pretty much came through them unscathed. I'm not sure what happened to him in the 5th, which is when things started to turn. I don't think it had anything to do with his physical condition, meaning I don't think he was running out of gas. His strike-to-ball ratio was just under 56% which to me isn't anything to write home about. He only walked 2. Conclusion: He wasn't attacking the strike zone. CC would have probably made it through 7 innings if he had thrown a few more strikes. At one point, he had a 4-run lead and had only allowed 1 hit. Hope he learns his lesson and attacks the zone next time.

The Yankees bullpen didn't have a banner night either. David Robertson gives up the tying run on his first pitch. The team gets the lead back and Chan Ho Park quickly gives it back up. Damaso Marte was crazy wild. Joba wasn't any better. Hopefully, this isn't a sign of things to come. They were pitiful last night. I'm definitely not sold on Chan Ho. Hopefully, it was opening night jitters and nothing more. He has to earn my love. Last night's performance isn't the best way to do that.

I love the Yankees lineup. As I've written before, I think it's perfect. Collectively, the lineup had a great night. Anytime you score 7 runs you should win the game. I'm really liking my Cano-for-MVP prediction. Robbie hit the ball hard all spring and it continued yesterday. He came up with RISP and while he didn't pick up a hit, he at least had a productive out. His groundout scored Teixeira and moved A-Rod to 3rd, which put him in position to score on Posada's AB. Good night for Robbie.

Great night for Jorge Posada at the plate. 3 hits. 2 RBI. 1 HR. Maybe his Dad should call him in the dugout more often. Except next time maybe he should give him some catching tips. He's got to catch that pitch from Marte. If it hits the glove the catcher has to stop it. Period.

Loved the double steal that Jeter and Gardner pulled off. Great call by the coaching staff. It worked perfectly. Gardner had a good night at the plate also but his arm needs a little work. What was up with that throw to 3rd or home? I have no idea where he was going with that. It was ugly.

Derek Jeter had 2 hits. Yeah, that sounds about right.

Nick Johnson went 0-3 with 2 walks. Yeah, that sounds about right.

Nick Swisher killed a rally. Yeah, that sounds about right. I really was hoping Swish would homer in the opener so it would get the fundraiser of to a good start, but alas, it wasn't meant to be. The pledge drive is picking up some love from the Yankee fans on Twitter. I hope to get their "pledges" and track them on the "tracker" which is in the upper left part of the blog. If you want to donate, please let me know. No amount is too small. Someone on Twitter said they'd do $1/HR. You gotta love it.

So the title defense didn't get off to the best start. Keep in mind before you declare the season over that the Yanks lost their first 8 games to the Red Sox last year. Keep in mind that they love to start slow. We've seen this before. No cause for alarm. No reason to be concerned.

For those of you lucky enough to be in front of a TV today, enjoy Opening Day! I'm jealous. Lucky jerks.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie