The Yankees just wrapped up a series with The Royals and managed to salvage the final game.
This series was not, picture perfect. Especially when the team ops going into the series was under a hundred and only marginally improved . If it weren't for the final game of the series who knows where it would be.
The series opener was down right ugly. Philly Phranchise had no control over most of his pitches and was arguably topping out (depends on who's gun you go by) at 91 mph.
I know the conditions were wet and once it heats up His velocity will be around 94, but still , It definitely raises my eyebrows.
The bullpen was handed the ball early and Ohly didnt look that great either. Traber and the Hawk wasnt that bad though.
The main concern in that game wasnt the ineffectiveness of the Young pitching it was Jorge Posada complaining of a dead arm. At the end of the day it was nothing to prove my point Posada hit a Home run Two days later.
Another Issue the Yankees encountered was the same bugaboo the Yanks Have been having since the start of the year. They Cant Hit a lick. Arod didnt help matters by taking the sombrero by striking out 4 times.
Game two was filled with speculation of rain and a delay that never came. Bruney started and continued his 2008 dominance. Farnsworth(less) did what he does best , he blew it.
IPK ended up coming in to the game but never got comfortable and he gave up some runs.
But again all of this negativity would have been avoided if the Yankees would Hit the damn ball. Instead , the teams season slump carried on and the Yankees briefly dropped under .500
Its hard to say that only ten games in there could be a must win game, but the Yankees desperately needed a win.
Behind the very strong pitching of Andy Pettitte along with the continued dominance of Joba and Mo backed up by a sudden power surge of the Jeterless Yankees . Suddenly everything in Yankee land is back to normal.
Its no secret that Im not a fan of Melky but when he leads the charge offensively , I must keep my mouth shut.
It was good to see Arod and Posada go back to back (and belly to belly) to officially cap off a much needed win. Especially going into Fenway to start a bloody battle that wont end till October.
Round one Fight.........
Friday, April 11, 2008
Thursday, April 10, 2008
GIRARDI'S SILENCE ALMOST SPOKE VOLUMES
Listening to the start of last night's game on the radio with Susan and John on my way back home from work was more or less like every other Yankee pregame show. Until the bullpen door in Kansas city opened.
Instead of the scheduled starter which so happened to be one of the Yankee young guns Ian Patrick Kennedy, out came ....Brian Bruney????
The confusion that took place in that broadcasting booth last night was priceless. Neither the incompetent Susan or the clueless voice of John Sterling had any idea what was going on.
I couldn't help but think to myself that if Torre was still the sheriff in town not only would the media know about it the night before somehow my in laws who don't even know who plays third for the bombers would find out . What I'm trying to say is that Torre wasn't to great at keeping secrets and it gave the opponents a competitive edge and gave them ample time to adjust their game plan.
But with Girardi running the show, not even the beloved Yankee announcers were given the heads up. This is the way things should be done.
Let me explain to you Girardi's reasoning.
A couple of seasons ago Josh Johnson was on the mound for fish. After a rain delay which was over an hour long Girardi opted to throw him back out there. this decision inevitably was the end of Joe in Florida because the outcome was elbow surgery for Johnson. Although Josh denied it had anything to do with it , it was quite obvious he was just saving his skippers hide.
With this story forever looming and haunting Girardi's past, he did NOT want it to happen again . Especially with one of the Yankees prized young prospects.
The simple decision that could have been made was let Ian start. Then once the delay (which never happened) came then start the pen.
The forecast showed that the rain was a sure bet .It did come, except there wasn't a delay.
Through the first four innings, the master plan was looking like roses. Until Krazy Kyle went out for another inning. Maybe Torre was right by not letting him throw more than one frame at a time. Another glitch in the plan was Kennedy never got comfortable coming out of the pen. He even let everybody know about it by telling the media afterwords.
Another way of avoiding this whole mess was for the Yankees to HIT.
I'm very confident that The Yankees will straiten up whatever problems they are experiencing. Girardi will go through some growing pains and learn the hard way. But at the end of the day, I think we are going to be fine...
Instead of the scheduled starter which so happened to be one of the Yankee young guns Ian Patrick Kennedy, out came ....Brian Bruney????
The confusion that took place in that broadcasting booth last night was priceless. Neither the incompetent Susan or the clueless voice of John Sterling had any idea what was going on.
I couldn't help but think to myself that if Torre was still the sheriff in town not only would the media know about it the night before somehow my in laws who don't even know who plays third for the bombers would find out . What I'm trying to say is that Torre wasn't to great at keeping secrets and it gave the opponents a competitive edge and gave them ample time to adjust their game plan.
But with Girardi running the show, not even the beloved Yankee announcers were given the heads up. This is the way things should be done.
Let me explain to you Girardi's reasoning.
A couple of seasons ago Josh Johnson was on the mound for fish. After a rain delay which was over an hour long Girardi opted to throw him back out there. this decision inevitably was the end of Joe in Florida because the outcome was elbow surgery for Johnson. Although Josh denied it had anything to do with it , it was quite obvious he was just saving his skippers hide.
With this story forever looming and haunting Girardi's past, he did NOT want it to happen again . Especially with one of the Yankees prized young prospects.
The simple decision that could have been made was let Ian start. Then once the delay (which never happened) came then start the pen.
The forecast showed that the rain was a sure bet .It did come, except there wasn't a delay.
Through the first four innings, the master plan was looking like roses. Until Krazy Kyle went out for another inning. Maybe Torre was right by not letting him throw more than one frame at a time. Another glitch in the plan was Kennedy never got comfortable coming out of the pen. He even let everybody know about it by telling the media afterwords.
Another way of avoiding this whole mess was for the Yankees to HIT.
I'm very confident that The Yankees will straiten up whatever problems they are experiencing. Girardi will go through some growing pains and learn the hard way. But at the end of the day, I think we are going to be fine...
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
A STRAINING SPLIT WITH A SILVER LINING
The Yankees have just split a 4 game series with the new and improved Rays. Considering they dropped the first two, I'll take it.
In this series there were a few bright spots along with a couple of un encouraging tidbits. Lets dissect what took place starting with game one.
IPK was roughed up due to control issues. If Ian isn't hitting his spots hes as good as Igawa. I'm sure he will bounce back though. That really was the theme of the game. A bright spot in the loss was for a couple of innings the Yankee bats decided to wake up but as soon as they turned on they were shut down.
In the second game, I was holding my breath before the first pitch was thrown. I simply didnt know how Pettitte would respond to the whole Mitchell report thing. If it weren't for on big mistake pitch to Gomes, Pettitte overall pitched decently. The 2 runs he aloud in the third were unearned. I am extremely confident that Andy will deliver a solid effort on almost every start he makes.
I didn't expect Giambi to come up gimpy until mid June but I guess I was wrong. Although its nothing to be majorly concerned about, its never good to see a guy like Giambi with previous leg injuries coming up a little lame in the groin area.
On the bright side, Brian Bruney is looking as sexy as ever. He's throwing strikes .....(Its a miracle)
Game three got me more reved up than ever. Aside for the Yankees early struggles at the plate , this game was flawless. Wang implemented his new out pitch the " Change up " and oh boy did it pay off. If Wang can continue to successfully throw his braking stuff for strikes along with his nasty sinking fastball , there is no telling what hes capable of. Already his strike out totals were reflected by his new approach. by striking out 6 in 6 plus innings.
But to me the most important thing that took place that day was when Joba toed the rubber with runners on the corners instead of throwing his dynamite fastball he threw a knee buckling curve ball . Reminding us all that Joba Will be a dominant starter. Just as the crowd was astonished with the good old uncle charlie, he got them up in a frenzy with an eye popping 101 mph Fastball. It didn't seem possible, but when Joba struck out Aybar with his unfathomable slider the crowd was as loud as ever and there wasnt a care in the world for anybody who followed the men in pinstripes.
The Offense in that game was provided by a towering blast off the bat of a rejuvenated Matsui. When this game was closed out by the hall of famer all was right in Yankee land.
The series Finale to me was the most important of all for more reasons than one. Starting with something I thought I would never see. Mike Mussina actually adjusted. By throwing allot less so called fastballs and going with a bevy of breaking junk. This slow slower and slowest mindset is one that could actually work. I said it before and I'll say it again, Mike Mussina is the best 4-5 starter in the league.
When the Captain left the game early with a quad strain it sent concern through everybody's head. Since when does Derek pull himself out of a game? We must wait a couple of days to see the extent of this injury. Based on reports , I don't think DJ will land himself on the DL, But if its a decent amount of time would the Yankees consider moving Arod to short and Ensberg to third? If I was manager i would. It definitely is better than just slotting betimit at short . The line up would be deeper . But I know Girardi doesn't have the balls to do that. It would turn the clubhouse into a zoo, but it would make for some good media...
Series outlook
---------------
The good- Bobby Abreau and Hideki Matsui are both looking great. Brian Bruney is on his game. Between Wang , Moose , Joba and Mo the pitching is looking in midseason form.
The Bad- Farnsworthless still sucks and Hawkins is off to horrific start even though they both looked OK last night. The offense has yet to click but I'm sure they will get it together one of these days.
The Ugly- Jeter and Giambi both left with leg injuries . Lets hope that Girardi's extreme running programs don't backfire. Kennedy is making that Johan trade stand out. He better get his act together.
Next up Kc......
In this series there were a few bright spots along with a couple of un encouraging tidbits. Lets dissect what took place starting with game one.
IPK was roughed up due to control issues. If Ian isn't hitting his spots hes as good as Igawa. I'm sure he will bounce back though. That really was the theme of the game. A bright spot in the loss was for a couple of innings the Yankee bats decided to wake up but as soon as they turned on they were shut down.
In the second game, I was holding my breath before the first pitch was thrown. I simply didnt know how Pettitte would respond to the whole Mitchell report thing. If it weren't for on big mistake pitch to Gomes, Pettitte overall pitched decently. The 2 runs he aloud in the third were unearned. I am extremely confident that Andy will deliver a solid effort on almost every start he makes.
I didn't expect Giambi to come up gimpy until mid June but I guess I was wrong. Although its nothing to be majorly concerned about, its never good to see a guy like Giambi with previous leg injuries coming up a little lame in the groin area.
On the bright side, Brian Bruney is looking as sexy as ever. He's throwing strikes .....(Its a miracle)
Game three got me more reved up than ever. Aside for the Yankees early struggles at the plate , this game was flawless. Wang implemented his new out pitch the " Change up " and oh boy did it pay off. If Wang can continue to successfully throw his braking stuff for strikes along with his nasty sinking fastball , there is no telling what hes capable of. Already his strike out totals were reflected by his new approach. by striking out 6 in 6 plus innings.
But to me the most important thing that took place that day was when Joba toed the rubber with runners on the corners instead of throwing his dynamite fastball he threw a knee buckling curve ball . Reminding us all that Joba Will be a dominant starter. Just as the crowd was astonished with the good old uncle charlie, he got them up in a frenzy with an eye popping 101 mph Fastball. It didn't seem possible, but when Joba struck out Aybar with his unfathomable slider the crowd was as loud as ever and there wasnt a care in the world for anybody who followed the men in pinstripes.
The Offense in that game was provided by a towering blast off the bat of a rejuvenated Matsui. When this game was closed out by the hall of famer all was right in Yankee land.
The series Finale to me was the most important of all for more reasons than one. Starting with something I thought I would never see. Mike Mussina actually adjusted. By throwing allot less so called fastballs and going with a bevy of breaking junk. This slow slower and slowest mindset is one that could actually work. I said it before and I'll say it again, Mike Mussina is the best 4-5 starter in the league.
When the Captain left the game early with a quad strain it sent concern through everybody's head. Since when does Derek pull himself out of a game? We must wait a couple of days to see the extent of this injury. Based on reports , I don't think DJ will land himself on the DL, But if its a decent amount of time would the Yankees consider moving Arod to short and Ensberg to third? If I was manager i would. It definitely is better than just slotting betimit at short . The line up would be deeper . But I know Girardi doesn't have the balls to do that. It would turn the clubhouse into a zoo, but it would make for some good media...
Series outlook
---------------
The good- Bobby Abreau and Hideki Matsui are both looking great. Brian Bruney is on his game. Between Wang , Moose , Joba and Mo the pitching is looking in midseason form.
The Bad- Farnsworthless still sucks and Hawkins is off to horrific start even though they both looked OK last night. The offense has yet to click but I'm sure they will get it together one of these days.
The Ugly- Jeter and Giambi both left with leg injuries . Lets hope that Girardi's extreme running programs don't backfire. Kennedy is making that Johan trade stand out. He better get his act together.
Next up Kc......
Monday, April 7, 2008
EVEN THE BIRDS????
The story I'm about to tell you is 100 percent true. It happened sometime last week and for whatever reason being, it didn't get the press it deserved.
A young 8Th grade girl was taking a tour of Fenway park.
Suddenly she was attacked by a RED tailed hawk. Already this is a strange occur of events. But wait, it gets even weirder. This girls name was ALEXa RODRIGUEZ. Its got to be a coincidence right? But hold on theirs more. She was 13 years old........which is Alex Rodriguez's jersey number................If you just got the chills your not alone , because this story really freaked me out.
Is this a bad omen for A-Rod this year? What will transpire this season at Fenway park between A-Rod and the Sox? Or are even the birds in Fenway Drunk college frat boys trying to pick a fight with whoever they see ;)
http://www.boston.com/news/local/breaking_news/2008/04/hawk_nest_remov.html
A young 8Th grade girl was taking a tour of Fenway park.
Suddenly she was attacked by a RED tailed hawk. Already this is a strange occur of events. But wait, it gets even weirder. This girls name was ALEXa RODRIGUEZ. Its got to be a coincidence right? But hold on theirs more. She was 13 years old........which is Alex Rodriguez's jersey number................If you just got the chills your not alone , because this story really freaked me out.
Is this a bad omen for A-Rod this year? What will transpire this season at Fenway park between A-Rod and the Sox? Or are even the birds in Fenway Drunk college frat boys trying to pick a fight with whoever they see ;)
http://www.boston.com/news/local/breaking_news/2008/04/hawk_nest_remov.html
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
