IS THERE LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL?

After collapsing two years in a row the Mets thought they had the manager they wanted in Jerry Manuel. Omar Minaya in his conference call said that Jerry Manuel will be the manager for the Mets in 2009 and that they are "in talks" with his agent. However, as many people are reporting talks have hit a stall as the 2 yr near 2 mil (a mil per yr) with an option for a third yr is not enough for this "gangsta". With the Mets already owing Willie Randolph 2.5 mil in 2009 it doesnt seem like Jerry will get any more money.

So, what is the Mets next move. Do they have any other options? Well according to an email sent to ESPN's Andrew Marchand from Bobby Valentine, it says, "I am working for a team that needs me and wants me as their man," Valentine replied. "I love it here, but I am an American and love great challenges. I was in a Met uniform in the '70s, '80s, '90s, 2000, and would love to be there in the next decade."

As for Valentine, he could be too expensive for the Mets. He reportedly is making $4 million annually managing in Japan, a salary that makes him the second highest-paid manager in professional baseball, behind the Dodgers' Joe Torre.

A poll done today on Metsblog.com asked fans who they would rather have as their manager. Over 3,600 votes came in and the answer...Bobby V with 57% (2,067 votes) and Jerry Manuel with 41% (1,475 votes) with 3% saying neither...

So, the ball is in Fred Wilpon's and Omar's court. We all know what Bobby V did with the Mets team from 96'-02'. They vastly overachieved, making it to the World Series in 2000, in a yr when they only had one guy with over 100 rbis (Piazza), one guy with over 100 runs (Alfonzo), noone with double-digits in stolen bases and lets not forget Armando Benitez..Do you believe he can do the same with a team that has 3 guys over 110 rbis, 4 guys over 95 runs and few speedsters...I do!

It would do me a great pleasure to tell one radio host...Mike Francesca..to shut his mouth about how the Mets should trade their "core" and how Ryan Church hates NY acc. to his "source"..when 3 articles said that he loved it in NY..someone is looking for ratings after losing his co-star/STAR!..it's amazing to me how even the biggest Yankee fans are now sounding like Mets fans did in the 90's...

Maybe I'm getting ahead of myself and this is all just a news page article...but if Omar can get this done imagine the scene at Citifield next yr..wow...This just might be the change the Mets need. Now, let's see if Omar can deliver and earn that new contract he just signed while the ink is still wet..

10/03/08 4:42PM - ACCORDING TO KEN ROSENTHAL AT FOXSPORTS & JON HEYMAN AT SI - THE METS AND JERRY MANUEL HAVE AGREED TO A 2 YEAR CONTRACT WITH A CLUB OPTION FOR A THIRD YEAR...

THE METS COLLAPSE...AGAIN

After last years collapse of 7 up with 17 to go the Mets manage to almost top it with a collapse of 3 1/2 up with 17 to go..

After going through both of them the only thing I can say is that i would never wish this on anyone else(except maybe the Phillies)...

This was a waste of a year in my books and coupled with last year is wasting all of the talent that both 07 and 08 brought us..

You can rip them all you want but i don't think i need Elias to tell me that it's the first time a team that have 4 guys with at least 160 hits and 32 doubles and 3 guys with at least 25 hr 110 rbi to fail to make the postseason..its unbelievable to me..and just magnifies the bullpen woes that this team had..even back in the 90's i don't think that they could have predicted how vital a bullpen is to a team..maybe it was one fifth of a team now it is prob greater than a third of a team..

This team had the hitting even had the starting pitching and comparing this team to any of the past Mets teams arguably you could say this was one of the best right next to the 86' team(bullpens werent a big thing then)..


As much as my father kept telling me before hand that they would blow it..and even when they went down 4-2 he said "they'll get the tie run on base or to the plate and hit it to the wall just to tease you and get your hopes up"...him being a Mets fan from their creation..and then afterwards saying i told you so..I still know that i will be back at the new ballpark Citifield on Opening Day sitting and looking forward to a new year..as Tug Mcgraw said "Ya Gotta Believe"...call me a sucker or maybe just a Mets fan..

Ranking the past few years in disappointment i would have to go in succession of year..i.e. #1 2006 #2 2007 and #3 2008...

Looking to the future there is hope..hope that once Shea is demolished and the new Citifield is opened..October baseball will be restored in Flushing..

It's going to be a difficult offseason in Queens, and with some tough questions:
Do you rip apart this team..trade a Carlos Beltran or Jose Reyes?
Is David Wright the face of the franchise/leader of the club?
How can you sure up the Bullpen?
Who will play 2nd base and Left field next year?
Etc...

I don't know how Omar got a 4 year extension based on the past 4 years i guess it was put togther by the same guy who offered Castillo 4 years..and we'll see if Omar can earn his money this offseason...

There are many questions that need to be answered..my answer to all of this..is not to create more questions by solving one of them..Meaning don't trade a Carlos Beltran just to change the team if it means wondering who will play centerfield and who's gonna give us 25+ homers and 100+ rbi..

Anyways this is my immediate reaction to all of this...
Maybe in a few days when my emotions clear a bit..and Shea is put to rest..we can all get over this collapse..


I just hope that the final collapse the Mets and their fans have to witness is the collapse of Shea Stadium.

ITS THAT TIME OF YEAR AGAIN

Being a Yankee fan now really sucks. for the first time in more than a decade I don't get to see my team battle for a world title. While St Joe Torre will try and continue to rub it in to the Steinbrenners over in L.A.

But The New York Mets are doing a good job cushioning the blow by attempting to somehow squander away a playoff berth for the second consecutive year.
To tell you the truth, I couldn't be happier.
With the Marlins playing with a vengeance,this series spells a recipe for disaster for the Metropolitan's.

We only can wait and see at this point...

ONLY THE CAPTAIN CAN MAKE IT HAPPEN

In a season that there pretty much was nothing to cheer about. Where the high and mighty Yankees suddenly hit rock bottom.

A Packed house at the stadium, day in and day out was trying to find something to root for in a positive manner.
In a way it would only seem befitting to send off this history packed cathedral in the Bronx.

In the past, whenever the Yankees needed a big hit , Derek was always there to save the day.
On those nights all the Jeter basher's who don't understand the clutch factor and who just didn't think his stats were up to par .On those nights were flat out lost for words.
(In my opinion the rise of fantasy sports lessened the value of the intangible type players.)

A few weeks ago when Yankee Stadiums final home stand was looming closer and closer. All was lost. The players quit and in effect the fans quit. It took all the luster out of what was supposed to be a momentous and grandeur time.

New York was searching for even a tidbit of positivity. With the Mets in the midst of pulling off an almost identical performance of last years team really wasn't helping this city to say the least.

This is where the Captain comes up clutch . Not only to save his organization from being the laughing stock of the AL East . But to save the face of Yankee Stadium.
At a time when an entire fan base didn't know where to turn, Jeter provided guidance.

Call it timing, call it luck.
But Jeter Breaking The Iron Horses hit mark at the stadium at the time he did is just flat out clutch in more reasons you could imagine.

Hell, Isnt that what Jeter has been doing his whole career? Why should we expect differently.

2008 PLAYOFF SCHEDULE AND 2009 TENTATIVE SCHEDULE ANNOUNCED!

The following is the 2008 MLB PLAYOFF SCHEDULE:

NLDS

SERIES A & B

GAME 1: WED OCT 1ST

GAME 2: THURS OCT 2ND

GAME 3: SATURDAY OCT 4TH

GAME 4: SUNDAY OCT 5TH

GAME 5: TUESDAY OCT 7TH

ALDS

SERIES A & B

GAME 1: THURSDAY OCT 2ND/WEDNESDAY OCT 1ST

GAME 2: FRIDAY OCT 3RD

GAME 3: SUNDAY OCT 5TH

GAME 4: MONDAY OCT 6TH

GAME 5: WEDNESDAY OCT 8TH

Looking at the 2009 schedules you see a few interesting things:

1) The Mets will open Citifield on April 13th vs the Padres, the Yankees will open the new Yankee Stadium on April 16th vs the Indians

2) The Mets will not play the Yankees in May instead they will play the Red Sox.However they will play the Yankees 2 out of 3 weekends in June on June 12-14 and June 26-28.

3)The Yankees will play a total of 6 Inter-league series 2 vs Mets and 1 for each of PHI, ATL,FLA,WSH. Interleague is getting out of hand..Most or the rest of teams play at most 5 series.

4) THE SEASON ENDS ON OCTOBER 4TH!! A new record..

WHO EVER SAID IT AINT EASY BEING GREEN?

As the Yankee season is all but done in a what turned out to be a very embarrassing farewell tour of the house that Ruth built and now the Steinbrenners are tearing down. I cant help myself but turning my attention solely to the only sports franchise right now that is giving me something to be positive about. For all of you who don't know who I'm talking about , I'll be more than happy to tell you. J-E-T-S JETS JETS JETS !!!!!!!.

The new look NY Jets have suddenly catapulted their way as Superbowl contenders and NO I'm not getting ahead of myself here. Being a Jets fan my entire life, I have been used to failure, have been used to bad signings bad draft picks and have always been frustrated at the "Non Moves" that should be made.

But for whatever reason being. All that has changed this past off season and I couldn't have been more thrilled. But being the Passionate fan that I am, I was skeptical and I seriously, can you blame me?!?!?! Ive never seen this team win in my entire life time.

Even going into week one going up against the lowly 1-15 Dolphins. I was expecting the worst (praying for the best). As the game started and we lost the coin toss I said to a friend of mine "seasons over" but to my dismay the defense looked solid. granted we were facing Miami , but I liked what I saw.
Brett Favres 56 yard TD throw to Cotch was simply a thing of beauty. That's when suddenly it all hit me, Holy crap we got Brett Effen Favre on our team we really have a chance to be a contender.
The most important acquisitions of the off season The newly revamped O-line was better than advertised. Not only did Faneca look every penny worth his contract, He transformed The "Brick" physically and mentally into a legitimate looking 4th overall pick instead of the bust in which i thought he was.

As we all know, a good O-line = a good running game which in effect makes Thomas Jones into an elite back.

So lets simplify things, we have a great QB a solid running game, suddenly the Jets have a Damn good offense.

This leaves us to the million dollar question, Is the Jets Defense good enough to make them a factor in the AFC this year? well, aside for those 2 minutes of Chad looking like Montana, I would say yes. When was the last time you could remember a Jets defense holding the opposition to less than 60 yards rushing? In my recent memory, NEVER.
The corners were solid all game , highlighted by Revis's game saving INT and the D-line was applying heavy pressure which was sparked by the performances Bryan Thomas Calvin Pace and Shaun Ellis.

If this is all that happened in week one , I truly would have been satisfied.

But the Highlight of my weekend (call me sick) was the game break that CBS showed when Brady went down.
I
don't want to hear all you politically correct people yelling at me that I'm a monster for being happy somebody got hurt. To all those people I say " Screw You ". If your a true fan of sports and a certain somebody especially the face of the enemy themselves go's down, your thrilled .

When I heard Beckett or Schilling got hurt, I had the same feeling.
Why? Well because when people that make you upset can no longer do that , there is nothing else but jubilant feelings to be felt. Its only natural, If you don't, your lying to yourself.

Its nothing personal, For all I know Brady is a great guy. He's probably a sweet heart. But on the field, I hate the man with a passion.

For the past 7 years all I see is this guy beating us and making me frustrated. Its time for My team to shine.
I agree that its nicer to beat the Pats with the Reigning MVP, but when your a Jets fan, you simply take whats given to you and be happy. Even if its not the same, I'm at he point where I say to myself "who gives a damn".

For all I know Cassel is a pretty good QB, Even though he hasn't started a game since High school. But I know one thing, Cassel is no Tom Brady.
With the Pats losing Brady and every big AFC threat losing, This division is wide open and the possibilities are endless.

SIGNS OF LIFE? OR FALSE HOPE?

Just 5 days after I officially threw in the towel, the Yankees go on a mini hot streak and find themselves just 5 games out from the wild card with only Boston and Minnesota ahead of them.

I would like to reiterate the point that I still feel the same way about this team. There is no reason should believe in a team that cant muster up any sort of consistency. Although this team is doing a great job hanging around in the playoff hunt, they haven't shown the drive and motivation for an extended period of time to make me think otherwise .
Although I agree that my tune could change drastically after taking 2 out of three (or dare I say sweep) from the arch rival Red Sox which very well could be a possibility especially with Drew and Lowell sidelined and Manny no longer a headache Mussina and the rest of the Yankee pitching staff has to deal with. And trust me , I hope it does. I hope I will be singing the the tune of victory instead of the songs of sorrow.

This series is a classic in the making. It already has set itself up to be a historic series in baseball lure. This will be the last time the Yankees host the Sawx at Yankee stadium. It would only be befitting if the Yanx would Tear them another one.... Amen to that

THROWING IN THE TOWEL

We are approaching the end of August. Usually this time of year , you basically have an idea of what your ball club is all about.
After watching this disgraceful offense day in and day out, I no longer believe The Yanx have what it takes to even contend For the title.
Throughout the season up until last week. I kept on saying to myself, " don't worry, the Yankees will start to hit". How could you blame me or anybody that said that. There is an all star at just about every position. But that's not the case. The Yankees as the Ghost has previously said "flat out suck" .
The comical part about it is that what has been a weakness in recent years is actually one of their strengths. The pitching staff, which has been decimated with injuries has actually been quite good. If only we could score some runs Damn it.

I know its foolish to throw in the towel with over a month of baseball to play, but I just don't feel we have what it takes.

Now that I officially wrote them off, watch them go on a ten game winning streak. Ill be glad to eat my words and admit I was wrong. But I honestly don't see that happening.

All I have to say is J-E-T-S - JETS JETS JETS

Were just a few weeks away from the Football season. I already could envision Favre hoisting the Lambardy.......(I can dream cant I ?)

Yankees Suck

Flat out suck. I am disgraced to be a Yankee fan every single time Joe Girardi decides to use his stupid 1st base platoon. I am befuddled time and again when Girardi keeps his relievers in the game for too long, well after any rational manager (including Torre!) would have pulled them out. His inability to pull relievers from a game after they dig themselves into suicidal holes cost us at least 2-3 games over the past few weeks.

Question: How much does an 8 game winning streak help a team if right after that 8-0 clip they drop 12 of 18? NONE. The problem facing this team is (something hardly anyone predicted in the offseason:) THEIR INCONSISTENT OFFENSE. Yes, anyone could make excuses that injuries plaugued our team this season and blah blah blah... But the truth of the matter? The Yankees cut the AL East leading Rays' stranglehold on the division to a mere 3 games at one point; and while Rasner, Ponson, and Giese are not exactly Wang, Joba, and Hughes the aforementioned 3some of replacements have not been the root of the Yankees' woes nor the source of their loosing streak.

Molina= sucks, Cano= sucks, Melky= sucks, Jeter= sucks (compared to what he should be doing), Giambi & Abreue= inconsistantly suck, A-rod= sucks when it counts, Damon= sick but sucks at staying healthy....

I can vent forever on the sad state of the yankees, but my doctor says it isn't healthy. I will close with one last note.
Dear Mr. Hank a.k.a. "Mini Boss", You were quoted making the following quotes yesterday:
"I think it's very simple, we've been devastated by injuries. No team I've ever seen in baseball has been decimated like this. It would kill any team"
"Imagine the Red Sox without [Josh] Beckett and [Jon] Lester. Pitching is 70 percent of the game. Wang won 19 games two straight years. Chamberlain became the most dominating pitcher in baseball. You can't lose two guys like that."
"It's not making excuses. It's reality. That's part of the game. That's clearly our problem,"
"We're going to win it next year" "If we need to add a top veteran pitcher, we'll do that. We'll do whatever we need to do. Next year we'll be extremely dangerous."
"They're trying hard to win. There's only so much you can do. They're not supermen."

Yes, your team was beset by more injuries than you can count on my 11 fingers (just kidding I have 10). Yes, pitching is the most important aspect of the game. Yes, injuries are a part of the game that no one can control. Yes, we will win it next year; and no, they are not supermen.

HOWEVER despite all the very valid points you made, you have a few flaws in your thinking that are a byproduct of trying to rationalize the disappointment that is 2008.
1) The lineup has been COMPLETLY ANEMIC for most of the season.
2) The replacements for the pitchers who went down would have a shitload of wins if they could simply get some run support.
3) The injuries to position players (Posada and Matsui) that you might want use as excuses for the lack of offensive production from the lineup have been offset by the MAJOR AQUISITIONS that your GM made at the deadline, and one can even argue that he replaced the fallen soldiers with better hitters that were penciled into the lineup at the start of the season. So do me a favor and stop crying about injuries cause freakin Nady is a direct child of god with his play for the yankees.
4)Winning next year is not good enough, I want 27/08!!!
5)No team is made of freakin supermen BUT WHEN YOU'RE PAYING YOUR LINEUP ALONE $137 MILLION DOLLARS YOU BETTER EXPECT MORE OUT OF THEM THEN 11TH IN THE LEAGUE IN RUNS SCORED/GAME!!!!
How about picking up a veteran BAT in the off-season before worrying about a rotation that will have Wang, Joba, Hughes and possibly pettite and moose back next year.

Due to concerns for my health I must conclude here, but let me say that this 6-12 slump they are in SUCKS, their 14-12 record after the break SUCKS, the fact they lost a series to the Oriels SUCKS, the pitching SUCKS, but the hitting SUCKS EVEN MORE.

-The pissed off, stressed out, balding, fed up "Ghost" of SAMIAM

MAKE IT OR BRAKE IT FOR JOBA AND THE YANX

I hate to use one of the most overused cliche of the century as the title of the post but its true.
The New York Yankees 2008 campaign is hanging in the balance this week. while they are only two and a half games back from a playoff spot with 50 some odd games left remaining you could rationally say their in great shape. Every year the Yankees stage some sort of major push and why should this year be any different?
The answer to that is simple. This season an already shallow rotation is in Limbo of losing by far its greatest weapon. Joba Chamberlain currently is getting a "second opinion" by none other than Dr James Andrews. If the Doc gives any sort of negative opinion you could call it a season for young Mr Chamberlain.
The Yankees will never recover from losing two aces in one season (Wang and Joba) unless Carl Pavano and Phil Hughes come riding in on their White horses to save the day. We all know Carl will probably hurt himself getting on the horse.( so we could count that theory out.)
In addition to all this going on the Yankees just started a crucial 10 game road trip out on the wrong foot going o and 2 in heart breaking fashion. We can ill afford to lose any more ground and the starters better start going deeper than 5 cause our over taxed bullpen is starting to get exposed.
Lets right this ship and pray all goes well for Joba. If all doesn't go well and Joba is hurt you could kiss this season goodbye.

Bye Bye Birdie

In another stunning move, Brian "the dealer" Cashman raped another team in a late night trade yesterday. Somehow he convinced the Houston Astros to take Latroy "The Hawk whose really more like a pigeon" Hawkins off our back s and even got a minor leaguer in return!

Even if Matt Cusik never reaches High-A ball this trade will be considered a fleecing. The fact that the Cashmoney was able to to get a living, breathing, moving person should put him in the running for some sort of Nobel Prize. Hell I woulda traded him for 10 bats if someone offered them...

There are about 5 more hours until the trade deadline, I'm looking forward to seeing what else we could put together.

-The Ghost of SAMIAM

Another Great Trade

The reason there was no post from the ghost over the recent trade of tabata+throw-ins for damaso marté and xavier nady was 2 fold. 1: I was busy haunting the dreams of Met fans for not being able to get Manny. 2: the biggest idiot of all time (Steve Phillips) who singly handed crushed the mets franchise proclaimed "the yankees need bulpen help and can not be contenders without added arms". The fact that the Yankees then got Marté really upset me because any normal person with common sense knew the bullpen was fine, and because nothing good will ever come from listening to a belligerent fool such as Phillips.

I was hoping deep inside of my ghost body that Ca$hman added to a point of strength (the bullpen) in order to help spin off a relief arm while their stocks were high for another piece (catcher or SP) to fill out our club. TODAY IS THE DAY CA$HMAN MADE THAT KEY ADDITIONAL MOVE. Cashman has just taken advantage of 2 hot months of Kyle Freakin Farnsworth and traded him back to the Tigers for Ivan Pudge Rodriguez.

While obviously he is not the same pudge from 10 yrs ago, this acquisition takes Molina's bat (which is worse than McLovin's ;) ;) ) out of the lineup and gives us another legit righthanded hitter to balance out the lineup. While only 2 weeks ago the bottom half of the order read Cano, Melky, Molina, Gardner/Christian (all basically automatic outs at the time), it now looks like Cano, Nady, Pudge, Melky (only 1 automatic out).

Is this tade a direct result of being held to practically 4 runs over almost 3 full games (the past 3 losses with exception to last night loss to the O's where we finally scored a few runs late in the game)? I would assume so... Am I happy? Hell yes! This organization is looking to do everything in its power to make a serious and deep run into and through the playoffs. The only place of concern left on this team is the 4th & 5th starters positions, and if cash doesn't make a move to shore it up, that only means he has faith in IPK/Aceves/Hughes/Wang to come back and take over their roster spots. Lemme tell ya, after the past week of trades, I trust this guy.

Everyone, please feel free to post your opinions. One more thought: is cash making these moves to save his job???-The Ghost of samiam

TIME TO MAKE UP SOME GROUND

Today we approach game one of yet another epic Yankee Red Sox series in a match-up for the ages. Josh Beckett vs the "Phenom" Joba Chamberlain.
This three game set could do wonders for the hobbled Bronx Bombers. Coming of a six game win streak, is just the perfect way to enter this three game set of such high magnitude.
The Bosox got lucky by the timing of Poppy's return. Especially now that Manny was just bit by the injury bug himself. (or was he ?!?!?!)
This series to me is a litmus test for the Yankee bullpen. A bullpen which is firing on all cylinders (including Farnsworth). If they impress against this lineup on such a high stage, then bullpen help via the trade market is just not necessary. If they falter, then bring on Fuentes and co...
I'm very curious to see how this team responds on a whole. In my opinion, this series is really a good way to see if we are October bound. Cm-on boys, lets tear them another one!

Holy Cano! It's 5 in a row!

Last night I came to SAMIAM in a dream and we had a lengthy discussion. Of the many topics we spoke about (the ghost being overrated in softball, met fan's ignorance, if their same ignorance led to bliss etc.), the hilight of the conversation was how pleasurable it is to watch a Yankee game when they score and win (which has been happening a lot more often as of the ASB).

I dare to say this a game or two too early but Yankees bats have awoken and the bronx bombers are back (even w/o posada and matsui). The starting pitching has been great with exception to the 4th and 5th starters who have somehow managed to get out of trouble, eat enough innings, and help the team pick up some wins (what more can you ask for?). The relief has been nothing short of stellar! When the Yanks have a lead, the game is essentially over after the 6th inning as Veras, FarnsWORTH (I never thought i would take out the worthless from his name), edwar, and mo rivera just don't give up runs anymore.

Life is good as a Yankee fan... For all the Mets fans that read the blog, all I can say is I really thought with Billy Wagner down you guys would be able to win some close, tough, in-division games yet the Mets still manage to blow a lead in the 9th last night and put a smile on my face.

-El Fantasma (ghost) de SAMIAM

SAM I AM SPORTS BLOG UPDATE

Let me take this opportunity to welcome myself back to the blog.......
OK, now that I got that out of the way, I would like to express my gratitude and appreciation to this character who calls himself -The Ghost.
I think your doing a fine job and I hope the fan base feels the same way. I will try ( if time permits me to do so) to periodically drop in a post every now and then. Its good to be back.

-SAM I AM

And the second half begins...

Tonight the yankees start the 2nd half of the 2008 missing 2 starting OF's and 3 SP's, including the ace of the team, from the projected opening day lineup. Practically every single starter went down for a period of time in the first half with the exception of Cano (who maybe needed the time off the most to find his old self), Pettite, Moose and Abreu. Miraculously the Yankees find themselves just 6 games out of 1st place in the division. If they turn it up the season can easily be ours, and with the way the pitching and bullpen performed in the first half all we need is to score a few runs every now and then to win. Lets be clear, an avg run of 5 in a row and then fall back to mediocrity isn't gonna cut it...We need to start scorching like the weather thats hitting us in NY now, we need to scorch like dare I say, give me a minute im having a hard time typing this as my finger are reluctant to hit the keys, the mets...gulp! I was going to throw myself off the blog for that, but I will make up for it by saying the mets are paying Johan $137 million for an 8-7 record at the break...Here's hoping the yankees can put something together against the second toughest remaining schedule for the second half of the season (although most of those tough teams we are fighting with in the Wild Card and division race so they are high impact games)

-The ghost

I can't help dreaming about next season in the new stadium

Although I was only able to catch the first 3 innings of last nights allstar game because I was catching a flight from DFW to EWR, I had a few epiphanies while sitting in the airport sportsbar that I feel must be shared:
1. Great pitching really does shut down great hitting

2. The Yankees must sign Sheets and/or Sabathia, whichever one the Brewers can not afford to sign.

3. Top priority number 2 of the off-season should be signing Texeira (behind signing the fallen Brewers).

Evident by last night's all-star game, there is no greater asset to a team then great pitching; after all great pitching wins championships right? In 30 total innings pitched, the all-star pitchers held the hitters to 6 earned runs, and 1 of those six runs were given up by billy wagner who is awful in situations that are actually important! By following point #2 in the off-season, the yankees would have a rotation that would sport: Wang and his strike-out badass self, Ben Sheets who made AL hitters look stupid last night, Joba the ace in training, Pettite the reliable vet and TRUE YANKEE, and Philip J. Hughes the prospect who inexplicably has lost favour in the eyes of many yankee fans dispite being just 21 and being ranked THE TOP PITCHING PROSPECT IN ALL OF BASEBALL (I didn't count matsuzaka as a prospect that year) when he was just 20 years of age and the last year he was eligible to be considered a prospect. To all of you downers on Phil Hughes I say go hump a tree this guy is the real deal just give him a little time! That rotation has the ability to win 85 games just between the starters!!! Having Phillip J. Hughes as your 5th starter??? not normal.

Second objective of the utmost priority in the off-season is to sign Mark Texeira. That gives the Yanks another masher from the right side, an all-star studded infield, and a class act that is a switch hitter. This platoon garbage @ 1B has gone on long enough (almost every year Giambi has been with the team) and must come to an end. This will let Matsui be the everyday DH and we can have some stability in the lineup for a welcomed change. I must add again how important it is to having him able to bat righty so its not just A-rod, Posada, and Jeter playing when opponents throw out a LHP.

After signing one or both of Milwaukee's aces, we won't really need most of the plethora of SP prospect that we have just dwelling in the minors. Take a bunch of decent-above avg arms (Listed in order of who I would like to jettison: Kennedy, Marquez, Horne, McCutchen, McAllister, Brackman, Betances) and trade it in for an above avg outfield prospect THAT CAN ACTUALLY HIT A BASEBALL. We already have 5 amazing starters in our hypothetical rotation so we can afford to give up a few arms for the cause to add QUALITY youth to the lineup. Who to trade for? Honestly, I don't know other teams prospects but I know its much harder to come by quality pitchers then hitters so it shouldn't be so hard to make a deal. To give a little more of a picture, I am thinking like a Garza for Delmon Young type of deal that went down last summer, except we would probably have to give up more then one pitcher.

THE BULLPEN IS AMAZING AND ONLY STANDS TO GET BETTER. Within the next year the yanks should be adding Melancon, Cox, Sanchez, and Bruney to an already stacked bullpen. Life is good when you have a lead after 6 innings again...

Stop the Melky mistake and let Abreu go. With damon in LF, our newly aquired OF talent through a trade, and Gardner/Christian holding down fort until Ajax is ready for a ML call up (which Keith Law believes could be as soon as the middle of '09) we now have an above avg. outfield!

The beauty of this plan is not only does it make the yanks younger and better, but they are feasable goals and don't require to much work to get done. If you disagree with any of the ideas above you can comment in the comment box or just throw your opinions in the garbage, whichever is easiest for you.

P.S. --> Yes I did say we should trade some prospects because the sign of a good organization is its ability to use their farm system to improve the big league club. Sometimes this means using the prospect to fill the holes in the majors and sometimes it means pawning off those prospects that are deemed "expendable" to fill a larger hole on the big league team.

-The Ghost of SAMIAM

SHOW UP or BLOW UP

As you get excited about the Yankees 2 game sweep of the Rays at THE stadium, I warn you sit back down and prepare for a long journey ahead of us. With 71 games left, the streaky Bronx Bombers have plenty of time left to play with your emotions, while twisting and turning your heart in all sorts of directions.

Is it possible that the Yankees use this series as a springboard to launch them into the race for the division crown (as they did last year right before the all-star break)? YES. Is it likely? I'm not so sure.
The Yankees currently have: Matsui, Damon, Hughes, Bruney, and Wang on the DL; IPK somewhere in the minors; Posada who can't catch on consecutive days (he has been the DH for the past 3 games forcing Molina's horrible bat into the lineup); Brett Gardner and Melky in their lineup that flat-out CAN'T HIT A LICK; an aging Jeter and Abreu posting wayyy below career stats; a 1B that believes his mustache and a thong bring him good luck; and the only $30 Million Man with a divorce hanging over his head . Now with all that stacked up against them, I believe its pretty remarkable that they are still this close to the ML leading RAYS.

Unless the Yankees find ponce de leon's fountain of youth, it will be extremely hard for them to overcome these injuries and the ineffectiveness of certain players.

Ladies and gentleman, boys and girls, there is still plenty of time for the Yankees to SHOW UP (i.e. the 2007 rockies) or BLOW UP (i.e. 2007 METS)

Here's to finishing on top and not on the bottom!

-The Ghost of SAMIAM

And with the 90th game there came a ghost

Hello to you and a good day unto all!
To redeem the yankees from this .500 hell SAMIAM in the flesh has resurrected me, The Ghost. I'm gonna keep this one short, but beware because the blog is back and so are the Yankees! Hank, have no fear, your $200 million team is about to reappear.

-The Ghost of SAMIAM

FORGIVE ME

I don't know how to say this, but I'm sorry. I know its simply inexcusable for not posting in what seems like forever. So I just hope all of you could just accept my apology.
For what its worth, I haven't really had a chance to be in front of a computer for some time now. Due to the fact that I do not own a laptop (donations are accepted).
One thing I'll tell you, I do have what to say on Wang , Willy and the rest of the sports world etc...
Just hang tight and hopefully for the sake of normality I'll keep posting on a regular basis.

JASON'S JOLT SHOULD PROPEL THE YANKEES

The Yankees do have their share of problems. If its not the inconsistent bullpen its the lack of speed on the bench . Oh, I forgot to mention that our ace is winless since the turn of the century and Pettitte is just plain old mediocre.

You can look at yesterdays game and look at all of the flaws . You could say Farnsworth is just not the answer (which is the truth) You could say this team just lacks fundamentals which Cano pointed out when he couldn't drop down a simple bunt .

You could say allot of things.

But I'm saying this:

After yesterdays epic pinch hit two out mammoth walk off blast that came on an 0-2 count off the bat of Jason Giambi, I think the Yanks are taking a turn for the better. It was one of those season changing things that every mediocre team hopes and waits for.

As Yankee fans we must relish in the fact that Moose is just , for a lack of a better term "Great". If not for Mussinas Renaissance who knows how deep in the cellar we would be. I'm not sure we could expect this kind of performance throughout the rest of the season but anything close I think will be enough.

Wang will get back into form ( I hope) and I expect some sort of contribution from the Hughes and Kennedy tandem but for now that spot in the rotation is looking mighty fine thanks to Rasner.

That leaves the rest of the work load on the shoulders of Andy Pettitte and Unfairly on Joba. I say the Yanks are in pretty good shape. Even with this aside for Mo , unstable pen.

Although the offense started to percolate the minute A-rod was inserted back into the lineup we really owe allot of the credit to Johnny Damon and His resurgence. Now that Posada's back, Forget about it.

As the weather warms. Ironically so do the Yanks. Lets just hope they don't follow that pattern once October rolls along.

JOBA DOBA "DO"N'T

In what felt like a world series atmosphere, where flash bulbs were blinding as Joba dealt his first pitch of his career as a starter. I myself for a moment lost sight of all the problems the Yankees are having.
I couldn't help but envision what Joba (hopefully) turns out to be.
Although the runs that were scored against him were some of the softest runs imaginable between the walks the balk the past ball and the error. Joba was as wild as we have ever seen him.
Truth is, could you blame him? This was supposed to be a part of the "plan" .
But it wasn't just any plain old start. This turned out to be one of the biggest events that Yankee stadium has hosted in the past few years. Which really isn't all that fair for young Joba. This wildness that Joba displayed was solely based on nerves and will surely not be the case in his next start which is slated to be against the lowly Royals.
I think its safe to say that the current bullpen the Yankees have will not exactly be in tact in say...two months from now. And unless Mark Melancon is ready sooner than expected, its imminent that a move must be done( Brian Fuentes anybody?)

LOOKING BACK AT JOBA THE RELIEVER

Now that we are turning the page on Joba the "reliever", I would like to take a quick look back at his brief career as the set up man.
We all know he was just flat out dominant, but I think we fail to realize how dominant he was.
http://www.baseball-reference.com/c/chambjo03.shtml

After taking a look at the numbers, It really gets you thinking... Should Joba still be in the pen and continue to be groomed to be the next closer? The answer to that is NO!!!!

I am getting very frustrated by the fact that these so called "Baseball" experts" say he should be kept in the pen. If I keep on hearing these ignoramus rants every time Farnsworth blows a lead in the eighth all I have to say is there was a reason Joba replaced Kyle in the first place. The reason was he flat out SUCKED. This isn't the first time Farns blew it, this has been happening since the day they signed him. I place most of the blame on a combination of Girardi and Cashman. Girardi should know that Farns is unreliable just by following this team last year as a broadcaster and should be mixing and matching with Edwar and company.

If your going to ask me why I blame Cash??? That's simple, if the plan was to start Joba from the get go, then why didn't he bring in a suitable replacement to start the season. Don't go off telling me that he had confidence in Hawkins , Farns And Bruney when the season started cause that's just a lie. A deal should have been made (and still should be) for a quality bullpen arm with the bevy of prospects that the yanx have.
One more point I would like to make is if we get quality starts from quality starters and the starters don't blow numerous leads in the same game we wouldn't even be having this discussion. Which is why we need Joba to be a quality STARTER.
I'm looking forward to a START of a new career.

Juiced Sports Blogs 100 most Valuable Sports Blogs

Recently , I came across a post on the Juiced Sports Blog which lists the 100 most valuable sports blogs (http://juicedsportsblog.com/2008/05/top-100-valuable-sportsblogs.html).
Since The Sam I Am sports blog is powered by Blogger it doesn't qualify.

Hopefully one of these days I will get around to actually getting MY site ( www.samiamsports.com ) up and running. When that day comes, look out Blogging world cause I'm gonna be on top. ( I wish ).

SAM I AM

LETS GET IT STARTED!!!

Joba Chamberlain is on the fast track to being the newest member of the Yankees rotation. To be quite frank, I couldnt be more thrilled.

Going into last nights game, the plan was to have Joba throw around the 50 or so pitch mark . With that being said, I dont know what took so long to put him in the game. I know Pettitte was coasting and looked like the Andy of old , but still a plan is a plan.
Then after Joba was just flat out dominant in striking out two in the eighth, there is no reason to bring in Mariano. Especially if he was supposed to throw a certain amount of pitches. Just because it was a save situation , it doesn't mean you must use the closer.?.?.?
Its not like the Yankees put in Mo in place of Farnsworth. In that case I would agree with you.

In the situation the Yankees were in last night where Joba is supposedly building up stamina and arm strength you not supposed to take him out. (Was Joe not confident that Joba could have finished the game?.) Joba did finish his pitches in the pen , but as we all know in game pitching is allot more effective than a bullpen session. I think Girardi lost sight of the greater good and succumbed to good 'oll managerial pressure.

You guys are probably thinking that I'm nitpicking at a solid Yankee win and your probably right , but this was on my head and I had to vent. Oh By the way Giambi is a monster. No matter how many times he gets written off he always bounces back .

SOME THOUGHTS ON NOT TRADING IPK THIS PAST OFF SEASON

I know there is nothing we could do about it now. But its very frustrating to see Kennedy go out their start after start and not get the job done. Its not like I didn't say this in the past, the Yankees had a golden opportunity to trade IPK this past off season. His trade value was through the roof and higher than it ever will be again. Hind sight vision is always 20/20 but its not like I'm changing my views on this topic, (you could go look through my previous posts.)
I'm not even going to delve into the Johan Possibilities but we could have definitely gotten something better than what we are getting now.
I pray that this kid over the course of time turns out to be at least half of what he was advertised but as of right now, my hair is turning gray.

ITS ABOUT TIME

Last night was a special night in Yankee universe.
Not only did the offense wake up from its season long slumber ( thanks to the greatest "regular season " player of all time.)
Darell Rasner put together his third consecutive stellar outing.
You got to love this guys attacking the strike zone approach. Ian Kennedy has allot to learn from Rasner. For whatever the reason being, Rasner gets no love whatsoever. I think its safe to say that he earned himself at least a few more starts and the respect from all that are a fan of the Yankees.
The Yankee offense was fueled by A-rod and his HR and two Doubles (should have been two HR'S) . Note that this was the third Blown HR call since Saturday. For all of you who think some sort of instant replay should be installed into base ball I highly recommend you read this -http://samiamsports.blogspot.com/2007/11/instant-replay.html.
I may not like the guy (due to his post season woes) but there is no way around the fact that he definitely helps out this lineup enormously. His presence alone changes the way the opposing pitcher pitches to everybody else.

The main storyline in this 8 - 0 drubbing took place in the 8th and 9th inning.
Joba Chamberlain , took his first steps in being transformed into a starter. Over the past few months , throughout baseball this topic was a wee bit controversial. Whomever thinks that your supposed to keep a dominant pitcher in the bullpen and only let him pitch 80 innings instead of 200 innings , I dont know how to put this but I think your a fool.
You don't see the Red Sox plucking Beckett out of the rotation and making him the eighth inning guy. You dont see the Padres making Peavy the most dominant reliever in the game etc....
It just doesn't make sense. I am really glad the Yankees are sticking to "the plan". I just dont like that he didn't start the season in this role. It risks too many injuries. Just ask the Phillies about Brett Myers.
Anyways, I'm back.... (Its allot easier to write about a Yankee's win than yet another listless performance.) Hopefully This win is a sign of things to come.

ALMOST FAMOUS

In my head I was already planning the press conference, the questions from all the beat reporters. The scrutiny that I was probably going to be sick of after the initial 2 weeks of fame.

The Glamour the glitz and the publicity that this very blog would be finally getting.

I had stumbled on what I lead to believe a gold mine at the time , but it just turned out to be something "pretty cool".

A friend of mine that has no clue whats so ever about anything that has to do with baseball was in the airport. He was waiting by the luggage carousal for his bags. Then suddenly he saw his suitcase come tumbling down on the other end of the conveyor belt. With no time to waste , he sprinted towards that direction to go fetch his belongings. In the process , he left behind his "Carry on" on the floor.

On his way back , he accidentally retrieved the wrong Carry on. His bag and the one that he picked up were almost identical.

It wasn't until that evening where he learned that the bag wasn't his. After a long and tiring flight, he was in no mood to sort things out. He opted to wait till the next morning.

When the time came where he actually looked through the contents of the bag , he came to the conclusion that it belonged to some ball player.

The contents in the bag were as follows. 1) Cell phone 2) Two sets of keys 3)Some sort of pain killers 4) A baseball cap with a name and number embroidered into the back 5) (Here's the kicker) Some sort of injecting substance.

Even being the Baseball ignoramus that he is, my friend knew that there was something just not right about an injecting like substance. Naturally, he calls none other than myself.

After carefully listening to this story , impatiently I blurted out the million dollar question.....WHO??????

Searching his mind for the right name was like pulling teeth. So I said , at least narrow it down and give me a team name. Without hesitation he said it was "a guy on the Red Sox".

When I heard that my eyes lit up brighter than the the lights of a menorah or the lights on a Christmas tree.

I started naming the roster one by one. I listed all of the High profile players and even the scrubs but to no avail. I started to give up hope and thought it was some sort of mistake. I searched my mind to the deep end and back then out of nowhere I blurted out Julian Tavarez???

His response was priceless. " YEAH THAT'S THE GUY".

In a heartbeat, I was in his office to examine the goods with my own eyes. Like he said , it was all there. When I got my hands on the vile I read and re read all the ingredients. It was like Chinese to me. So I did what any sane man would do. I Googled it. Here is the link of what I came up with. http://www.americanregent.com/PDF_For_Products/Cyanocobalamin%20IN0031%20Rev.%201-03.pdf

I learned it was nothing but a lame B-12 shot. The stuff the Clemens claimed he took. It is perfectly legal.

Now I'm stuck with stuff that I have to somehow return. In case you were wondering, my friend kept the cell phone and master reset it.

My plans of submitting this story and having my fifteen minutes of fame were foiled.

I "almost" tarnished the Red Sox organization and the two recent titles which they have nabbed.

But as the saying goes " ALMOST DOESN'T COUNT"

BEWARE OF THE SUNSHINE STATE

As I look at my calendar I see that we are approaching mid May. At this point in Both the Yankees and Mets Season its fair to say that they both have their share of problems. The Yankees Problems have been mainly the injury bug . But you have to expect that out of an older team. The Mets Problem has just been the excessive use of their bullpen. While the Yanks have been hovering around the .500 mark and the Mets have been a few games over. You will have a hard time arguing with me if I said that Both NY teams will be right in the thick of things once September rolls around.
The Mets are currently in 2nd place in the NL East to the Florida Marlins who are currently surging with their core of young guys with an astounding 23 and 14 record.
The Yankees are currently tied in third place with the O's, 4 games behind the Bosox but the real shocker is that the Rays are right there with a 21 and 16 record.
I will ask you this. Are the teams from the Sunshine State for real???
In my opinion , the Rays are legit. With a solid young core of young pitching with Kazmir Shields and Garza with the veteran bullpen help that Dan Wheeler and Troy Percival bring to the table along with this dynamic group of young talented position players throughout the line up there is no reason to believe they aren't for real. The only way the Rays wont be there at the end of the day is if they get the "Dee
r in headlight syndrome".
If not this year then for sure sometime in the near future. Beware AL East . Its not only the Yankees and Red Sox anymore.
As for the Fish , I dont think they can keep it up. But A five hundred finish isn't out of the question.

FROM HERO TO ZERO

One year ago today Roger Clemens made his famous appearance in the Steinbrenner's box. Like a dream come true to all Yankee fans. Whether he liked it or not, On that day Clemens tagged himself as the savior of a team who's future at the time was looking bleak.

I myself was ecstatic and thrilled from this news.
Even though Roger didn't necessarily put up the numbers that we all expected him to , I think we could all agree that he gave the Yanks the spark that was lacking and played an integral part in the Yankee playoff push.

Exactly one year later, Clemens is amongst the laughing stock in America. All of his Hall Of Fame credentials mean absolutely nothing.
Now the face of steroids is suddenly the face of the Rocket and no longer Ba"roid" Bonds.
You cant even go two minutes without hearing about another women saying they enjoyed the Rockets company in more ways than you could imagine.
Roger Clemens has done the unimaginable. In just one year he has made a transformation from American Icon to American Idiot.

I will always remember that Clemens played a vital part in the 99-00 championship teams, but its still hard to look at the guy with half the respect that his presence once commanded.

One thing will never change though, I will always see him as the guy who tried to literally kill Piazza on more than one occasion. If you ask me, no matter what a guy does after that , he always will be a true Yankee icon.

All kidding aside. In just one year. Roger Clemens has gone from "HERO TO ZERO".

APRIL SHOWERS BRING MAY FLOWERS

In essence, the Yankees have been more or less a .500 ball club throughout the first month and change of the season. Im not just stating the obvious just because their 17-16 record indicates they are. I am looking at this team as a whole.

The Starting pitching asides for Wang and this rejuvenated Mussina, has been either inconsistent(Pettitte) or just down right lousy (IPK , and a "hurt" Hughes)

If not for the Dominance from the back end of what I think the best one two punch in the game (Joba and Mo) The bullpen has been suspect to say the least.
With the loss of the emerging Bruney, the Yankees are forced to rely upon the ticking time bomb in Kyle Farnsworth . Latroy Hawkins is having a hard time competing for the mop up role with the premature disappointment of the Yankees bullpen Ross Ohlendorf. I like what I'm seeing from Albaladejo and I'm also glad to see Edwar get another shot. But still, this bullpen over the last few years has just been mind boggling. For some reason the Yankees (and the rest of the league) cant find that formula they once had in there most recent dynasty with exception to guys like Gordon and most recently Vizcaino.

The most frustrating of all is the Yankee offense. Granted A-rod and Posada are shelved for a while. It just doesnt make sense to me that Guys like Giambi , Cano , Jeter and Damon couldnt hit a lick for the most of the early stages of the season.
I'm glad to see that Jeter and Damon have decided to wake up over the past few days but Cano and Giambi are no where to be found. (pop fly HR's aren't included)

If it weren't for the Matsui and Abreu doing what they are supposed to be doing and this Fluke season (I hope I'm wrong) out of the "Melk" Man, The Yankee offense would be in the cellar.

The Bench has been OK . Ensberg has been filling in adequately at best for A-rod and Duncan hasn't been getting the Ab's he was slotted for when the season started. The Catcher situation has been a mess with the loss of our first and second stringers.

If You look at everything at a whole , It doesnt good.
This is the exact reason why I think we are in good shape. Considering all the problems the Yankees have went through and they are only three games out of first. I think we are in pretty good shape.
I'm confident the Bullpen is going to start to take shape and this rotation is going to work itself out. The hitting WILL start to hit.
When the Yankees start clicking on all cylinders they will be a force to be recon with.
Just remember, April showers bring May Flowers.

NOT "PHIL"IN GOOD?

According to Kat Obrien of News day this "oblique strain" that has Hughes shelved for at least a month is lejit. http://weblogs.newsday.com/sports/baseball/yankees/blog/2008/04/hughes_to_the_dl.html

All I have to say is the Yankees are FULL OF IT.
You can't really blame the Yankees though. This whole situation is a little embarrassing .

If it is really an injury, than Phil Hughes was placed on the DL two years in a row with two separate injuries.
Injury prone ??? I sure hope not.

This morning Boomer Esiason said that in the NFL when Qbs complain about miscelaneos injuries such as hamstrings, obliques etc... Most of the time the real problem is the shoulder , but they dont want to publicize an injury such as that. I pray that this isnt the case for our ("so called") future.

(Special thanks to Max S for the Boomer info)

WHERE HAVE YOU GONE PHILLY PHRANCHISE???

I would like to start this post by saying that in no way shape or form am I writing off Phil Hughes. That would just be irrational and stupid.
At the same time its not fair to look at the other side of the coin. Phil Hughes has just been Awful. There is no way to defend the young hurler, he's just been putrid.
I don't think the answer is to send him down to the minors that would just not look good on the Yankees part and in my opinion stunt his growth. If this is done you can hardly blame them especially because he is burning the pen and we have Rasner who is just tearing apart AAA and just won the honors of International League Pitcher Of the Week.
The Yankees have to live there decision of not parting with Hughes for Johan. That point is moot and its not fun to beet a dead horse. We have to just live with Phil and his (what I hope to be) growing pains.
For what its worth, Greg Maddux at this point of his career sucked as well (www.baseball-reference.com/m/maddugr01.shtml) and for your information wasn't that great either (http://www.baseball-reference.com/s/santajo02.shtml)

ANEMIC OFFENSE MANAGES TO SPLIT

It just doesn't make sense to me that an offensive juggernaut such as the Yankees have struggled this badly to this point of the season. It mainly is due in part to the fact that All Star second baseman Robby Cano is batting a measly .153 with 5 RBIs and just one HR. Whats also not helping is that our one time capn clutch has turned into capn Double play. I know that Giambi has 5 hrs but other than that his numbers are close to pathetic. Abreu is doing just ok, and if it weren't for that mini hot streak that Damon had last week his numbers would be in the pits as well. The only Yankee that is having an acceptable year thus far is Hideky Matsui.
If there ever was a time for these players to step it up, now would be a good time, mainly because we are down our starting catcher and starting third baseman who just so happen to be arguably the best at there position.

In game one Pettitte was just not effective and Traber continued to disappoint. The only positive to take out of that game was Alabadejo started making strides toward filling in for Bruney who unfortunately is probably lost for the year.

In game two, IPK was ok. He definitely was better than what we saw but that's really not saying much. The Hawk and Farnsworth put up zeros. But Rockin Ross Ohelendorf was in effect punching his ticket to triple a. A good reason why they didnt win is because the offense was no where to be found.

In game three, Wang was just brilliant. What really got me pumped was those gaudy strike out total of 9 in just 7 innings. Suddenly Wang has become a strike out pitcher thanks to his new and improved breaking "stuff". If it weren't for Melkys blast to left that just cleared the fence, the Yanx would have been shutout.
While I'm talking Melky, I must say I am truly shocked and surprised with the production we are getting out of him. I didnt see melky hitting more than 12 HR this year. The theme of the year in my eyes isn't the ineffectiveness of the youngsters. I think its the ineffectiveness of the offense.

In game Four, Moose once again put together a solid start. That's two in a row since Hank called him out. Mussina gave up a pair of runs in
A Yankee rally which consisted of one ball that left the infield. I know the Yanks will take any offense they could get these days. I was very happy with what I saw out of Alabadejo and out of Krazy Kyle.

Overall, this series had more negatives than positives. The loss of Po and Bruney along with Alex reaggravating the quad injury hurts allot.
Lets hope the yanks could get their offense started at the expense of the Detroit pitching staff.

LEARNING FROM HIS MISTAKES

Last night The Skipper faced the same decision which ultimately got him fired in Florida.
When Joe let Josh Johnson come back after a rain delay which ended up landing Johnson on the DL and later getting Elbow surgery. You could have bet your bottom dollar that Joe wasn't going to let Philly Phranchise back into a game with a rain delay that lasted over 40 minutes.
Girardy has let that incident change the way he managed already twice in the early stages of the season. One that I have already pointed out is when IPK was the scheduled starter but because of the threat of rain Bruney started instead and last night as well.
Sometimes you must lose the battle in order to win the war. I give major props to Girardy for the decision he made.
The Yankees ended up taking 2 out of 3 and I am satisfied with that.
Joba proved to the world that he is human. Its like when Mo gives up a run , everybody says" is Mariano finished?". For all those that said that Joba is best suited for the pen because in his second inning of work he was hittable are just not smart. Joba is a starter and that's final.

FASTEST TO 50 SINCE THE DOC AND THE GATOR

I would like to take this moment to welcome myself back from my brief hiatus from the blogging community.
Instead of doing what I promised in the previous post by recapping the last few series's and adding my two cents in I will just skip to the present day.

Last night Chien-Ming Wang literally battled his way through a game where his slider was just not working and he had to get by with his other pitches. This start in my eyes was a confidence booster in the eyes of myself and probably every supporter of the men in pinstripes. We have seen in the past that when one of Wang's pitches aren't working, he gets disoriented and ends up in the showers before the fifth inning. Last night Chien-Ming struck out five and wiggled himself out of some major jams. By giving up just 3 runs and surrendering 10 hits over six I think its safe to say he came out as unscathed as possible.
Wang probably treated Abreu to a steak dinner after last nights game after Abreu kind of was responsible for the W. Bobby hit an opposite field grand salami which put the yanks ahead for good .
Later Joba saved Traber and Bruney's butt's by doing what he does best. Joba didn't really make a good case for Hank last night to be a starter because I dont think any Yankee over the last 7-8 years besides for Mo and maybe Gordon could have done that. To top things off Damon hit a three run shot to officially cap off a Home run happy game where the Yanks were afraid of the loss of A-rods bat.

Lets take a look at the Accomplishments that Wang has achieved in his young and very successful career. By earning the win in last nights match-up not only did Wang improve his record to a sterling 4 and 0. Chien has won his 50th career win in only 85 career starts . This is an astonishing feat. He is the fastest to that plateau since Doc Gooden who did it in 85 with the Mets in just 82 starts. This feat was also done by former Yankee great and Wang's former pitching coach Ron Guidry.

I dont know why Wang doesn't get the credit that he is due. Maybe its the language barrier or maybe its because every one sees Wang as a regular season pitcher only. But I dont think that's the case because it never stopped people from loving A-Rod.
The media and the public for some reason don't see that he has more wins than every pitcher in the game over the last three seasons. He also leads the majors in that time span in allowing fewest Home Runs per Nine innings. Wang is also amongst the league leaders in ground ball outs.
I love this guy, Even before he introduced this new change-up to his repertoire which should start giving him a decent strike out total and shut up some critics. Along with being an innings eater he also is a damn good defensive pitcher and should be earning himself a gold glove some time in the near future.
I would also like to point out to you that Wang actually pitched a very solid game in the playoffs. In 2005 vs the Angels , Wang through 6 2/3 innings yielded just one earned run. The Yankees ended up losing that game and the series.
All I'm saying is its about time Wang gets the respect he deserves.

SAM I AM SPORTS BLOG UPDATE

ATTENTION FELLOW BLOGGERS:

I will be taking a few days off and I will not be able to post until Monday.
Hopefully , I will recap the Mini Boston series along with the Orioles series.


SAM I AM

IT TAKES TWO TO TANGO

The Yankees have just completed the first sweep of the year . Granted It was just a two game set , but it was a sweep non the less.



In game one I was extremely pleased with the way Kennedy bounced back with such a solid effort after getting hit pretty hard by Tampa in the first go round.

The offense started to percolate and I think the warmer climate of the dome in st peters-burg had a lot to do with it. Johnny Damon had himself a monster night with 2 hits 3 RBIs and a HR. Jeter after his 6 game layoff got himself going by also adding 2 hits and 2 rbis. Morgan Ensberg Did his best impression of Jeff Bagwell with that exaggerated crouch and hit a dinger also Bagwell like by taking the ball deep, into the left Field seats. Arod joined the HR party and added 3 other hits .
This game once a laugher, suddenly turned into a disaster. IPK took a liner off the hip . The Yankees then, precautionary gave Ian the hook. At that point it didn't make that big of a difference. One of the solid parts of the Yanks early this year is the bullpen right? That didnt prove to be the case. Billy Traber gave up a long ball on what I thought was a pretty good pitch. Girardi elected to go with Bruney to hold the Rays in check. Aside for Joba and Mo, Bruney has been the most effective and productive arm out of the pen. Brian kind of had himself a bit of a rough outing by giving up two bombs to blow the lead. Then Girardi did something which I think spoke volumes by letting him finish the inning then later go with him to start the eighth. By doing this Girardi must have been sending a message to Farnsworth and at the same time showing tremendous confidence in Bruney even after his lapse.

Robinson Cano delivered a mammoth blast Lenny Harris style. What impressed me most was when Cano was on his way back to the dugout after he touched them all he was greeted by non other than the person he pinched hit for Alberto Gonzalez. The Yanks showed good character and grit to win a game that they blew a 6 run lead. Oh by the way just in case anybody forgot. Mariano is the best closer in the game (still).

After coming off a roller coaster ride in game one of the series. Andy Pettitte needed to give the Yanx a solid outing.
That is exactly what he did. In the early stages of the game Pettitte was getting hit harder than a piniata at 6 year old's birthday party. As the game progressed so did Andy's "stuff". The cutter started to bite more and his curve (which Andy hasn't been using ) had allot more tilt to it.
The offense of the night was provided by the suddenly sizzling hot Jeter (just in time for the Boston series)and the new Devil Ray killer Matsui. Abreu helped with a RBI single as well.
To me, When I saw Kyle Farnsworth have an effortless 8Th was either a really good thing or the complete opposite. If Kyle can consistently string good outing after good outing then suddenly gains trust in Girardi I see this as a really bad thing. why may you ask? Because I simply don't trust him. He will implode sooner or later. Obviously I Hope I'm wrong. If Kyle finally succeeds and be what he is supposed to be it could be the difference in a Yankee championship. But to tell you the truth ....it ain't happening.
In the Ninth , Mo was just Mo.
The Yankees strung two games together and hopefully this momentum will carry them through the Bosox series.

ANOTHER AVG JOE?

When Joe Girardi took the helm as the new Yankee skipper I was under the assumption that this Joe would be different.
In the first week of the season, we were already seeing some noticeable changes.
Myself , along with many other Yankee fans were getting excited that finally the small ball aspect of the game was being implemented into a system that hasn't seen it since the early days of the other Joe (Torre) era.
As the First round of the heavyweight match up between the sox and the Yanx has come to an end , I must say I am extremely disappointed with Mr. Girardi and in my mind he has taken a giant step backwards.

In Game one of the series Wang was making an early bid for the Cy young Award by improving his Numbers to 3 and 0 with a spectacular ERA of 1.23 and came within inches of pitching a no no. Bobby Abreu must be taken to a shrink for his fear of walls, its downright frustrating.
But overall , the Yanks have yet to get the hitting going. If it weren't for Cy Wang , game one would have been a disaster.

In Game two, is where I start to get pissed at The manager. The game was moving right along until a situation arouse. Manny Ramirez is up. A.K.A. The Yankee Killer and the Yankees had many choices but inevitably Joe made the poorest one possible. I know hindsight vision is always 20-20, but when he made the choice of leaving Moose in just because he said Moose said so in a mound visit made no sense what so ever. especially when you have Joba Freaking Chamberlain waiting in the pen. Plus , in his last At bat the ball Manny hit off moose landed somewhere in Kansas.
He also could have walked him, First base was open. It is so frustrating to watch the Ghost of Joe Torre lurk in the Yankee dugout. This decision lead to to the Yankee loss.

Game Three wasn't one to write home about.
I'm not going to take the easy approach and bash Philly Phranchise. His stuff was off the charts he just couldn't locate. These sorts of growing pains are expected and I am willing to experience for the greater good. But what I will not stand for is watching the manager mismanage. A classic "Joe Torre" blunder took place last night in a crucial part of the game. Johnny Damon had first and second with nobody out late in the game down by three. I was screaming at the T.V BUNT!!!!!! Then A thought crossed my mind..."what am I worried about. Of course hes going to bunt. Torre is gone, we got Girardi now. To my dismay , Damon was swinging. He swung himself right into a double play. My blood started to boil . What pushed me over the top was when I saw Krazy Kyle coming out to pitch. I felt like Girardi threw in the towel.
This series was very take able and I think Girardi just simply dropped the ball. Girardi better start reminding me why the Yankees hired him and why Torre was let go. Otherwise its all of the same once the post season hits...

TREADING WATER AT .500

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.........

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...

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......

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

JUST 3 IN, & I'M BEGGINING TO GRIN

The Yankees Just wrapped up one of the most encouraging season openers that I could have dreamed for. If your asking yourself why, well then let me explain.

Over the past few years , I think you could make the case that Torre was the kind of manager that just sat back and waited for the "3 run homer" . This mentality wasn't entirely his fault. The Yankees Brass decided that they would like to go with " The Allstar Team " rather than a really good baseball team. I think you could make Giambi the poster boy for this movement.
Torre got so used to the big boppers winning games for him , his managerial abilities and tactics took a back seat then eventually began to deteriorate. This kind of outlook could work in the regular season. But in the Post season , it just doesn't make the cut.

As we enter the "new" Joe era, changes have already begun to take place. It all started with spring training. Where players ( even the veterans ) took place in hardcore workout regimes and actually did break a sweat. Girardi implemented the small ball style of play which is very beneficial in one run games ( Playoff games ).

Usually when these kind of reports take place , its all a bunch of bull crap. Once the season starts players revert back to their old ways and the whole spring training shpeel is up.
But this year even though its only 3 games in , all arrows are pointing that they actually mean business.

In game one , In a solid pitching match up between (unbelievably underrated Wang vs the heralded Doc Haliday) proved to be as good as advertised. Wang kept the ball low, and the only mistakes he made were low in the zone, which is a great sign. The yanks struck early and wasted no time to get on the board.
With the combination of a solid start from Wang and great relief from a back end of a bullpen that can go up against just about anybody and on plus of that we get timeley hitting from the Fielding star of the game Melky, with a shot that barley cleared the fence . That was the recipe for a victory and will be a recipe for success throughout the season.
I was extremely giddy when the opener came to a close.

Game two, The moose was as loose as your gonna see him in his old age.
I'll take that kind of performance from the moose every start of the year. Bottom line is, Mussina is a pretty good 4Th or 5Th starter. If he gets the run support he eventually will get with the bombers he should win at least 10 games this season. And I'm fine with that. In the other dugout was a Blue Jays club finally watching the huge contract that they threw at Burnett pay off. I think Burnett will finally have the season that everybody is waiting for and he will actually stay on the field and make at least 30 starts. Burnett simply out pitched the Moose, simple as that.

Game three, was a text book Yankee win.
I don't know how Hughes was baffling hitters with an 89 mph fastball . Lets just hope that it will get faster because sooner or later in this league that will get hit. But other than that I have zero complaints. His breaking stuff was downright filthy and he got the strikeout when it was needed. Another encouraging sign was Billy Traber striking out a tough hitter in Overbay then Bruney shutting the door in the 7Th, this made Girardi's bullpen final cuts out spring look like all the right decisions . I know its extremely early, but its very important for this young team to have a good first month. Confidence is a big factor here. We can not under any circumstances have a start like we had last season and expect to over come it.

Girardi's mindset of small ball won us this series. This is a great sign for the Yankees and the right way to win one run games. I'm pretty sure the Yankees will improve upon last years bellow .500 record in one run games and Girardi is the sole reason.

SAM I AM SPORTS BLOG UPDATE

ATTENTION FELLOW BLOGGER'S

This will be my first time covering the baseball season on this blog. So I thought it would be the right thing to do by telling you all ( my mini but loyal fan base) the way it will be done.
I will not cover each game individually, but I will cover a series on a whole. Either a series preview or a series recap.
Occasionally if something extraordinary happens I will write a little piece on it.
I will also sprinkle in an article every so often on just about anything if something is on my mind. This can range from anywhere in the sports department.
If you have any suggestions or any changes on how things are run around here, I'm all ears. After-all I do this for YOU guys.

SAM I AM

WHO ARE YOU FOOLING?

A day after the the festivities of the final home opener at the stadium being postponed by rain, Is a day that America has come to cherish and savor. That day is non other than April Fools day.
Around the country Americans are pranking their friends and getting away with it with the magic words "April Fools".
In light of this day, My favorite website, River Ave Blues (better known as RAB) . Have posted an April Fools prank by saying that Pettitte will be sidelined for 6 to 8 weeks and Kei Igawa will be taking his place.
http://riveraveblues.com/2008/04/01/with-pettitte-out-6-8-weeks-igawa-to-join-rotation-2454/
Naturally myself and every other of the thousands of the daily readers cringed to say the least. Rumors have it that some people that didn't get around to finishing the post and were still under the impression that these false rumors were true have done things I fear to mention on this blog...
Although this was done in jest, it was not a laughing matter. I believe that when you say something untrue , it brings a jinx upon that person.
Hours after that writeup was written. News out of Yankees camp stated that "Andy Pettitte will miss his scheduled start and his time table of returning is unknown". Buster olnley on ESPN NEWS said he may miss up to 6 starts and that the Yankees Are in an early hole to start the season.
I know that the folks over at RAB meant well , but come on..... I place the blame on them alone.

Oh by the way........... APRIL FOOLS
(In case you need me to explain, RAB did write that up but everything after I made up and had fun doing so)