by: Mr. November
I agree with Miss October's post about Wang. Congrats, Chinny! Though we do need to remember that the last Yankee pitcher to go 5-0 in April was none other than the legendary Kevin Brown - so let's not get too excited.
Right now, the Red Sox look worse than the Yanks, so I'm not ready to write off the Bombers just yet. But please, please, can we put together a winning streak of more than 3 games? Pretty please?
Also, and I love Jorge, but can someone step up and admit that losing him for a long stretch won't hurt as much as it would have in past years? His numbers last season were a result of what I like to call "The Contract Year Flu", and he is a 36 year old catcher. We actually gain defensively behind the plate with Molina, so I'm fine with that. And any lineup that includes Jeter, Arod, Abreu, Matsui, Cano, etc. can afford to lose one big hitter for a while.
The Yanks should be fine once Girardi settles into a lineup he actually likes. 23 different lineups in 25 games? It's like Torre never left - but all the championship rings disappeared.
Showing posts with label Yankees. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Yankees. Show all posts
Monday, April 28, 2008
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Trouble
by: Mr. November
I didn't get the chance to watch much of the game today, but if the Yankees are watching games on TV in October instead of seeing playoff action, we can point to days like today as the reason.
How does any manager in his right mind sit Cano, Abreu, and Posada in the same game? No one needs a rest yet - it's only April - and Posada has barely played anyway. I know they all ended up pinch hitting, but what kind of rhythm can a team get into if three of its best hitters get benched for no apparent reason?
The team finally gets some decent pitching from one of the young guns, and Girardi tells the offense to take a day off. Confusing...and scary.
I didn't get the chance to watch much of the game today, but if the Yankees are watching games on TV in October instead of seeing playoff action, we can point to days like today as the reason.
How does any manager in his right mind sit Cano, Abreu, and Posada in the same game? No one needs a rest yet - it's only April - and Posada has barely played anyway. I know they all ended up pinch hitting, but what kind of rhythm can a team get into if three of its best hitters get benched for no apparent reason?
The team finally gets some decent pitching from one of the young guns, and Girardi tells the offense to take a day off. Confusing...and scary.
Monday, April 21, 2008
My New Raison d'Etre
by: Mr. November
The rest of my posts on this site, at least for the foreseeable future, will be dedicated to getting Jason Giambi removed, Frank Thomas-style, from the New York Yankees.
The man is a disaster. Hank Steinbrenner needs to leave Joba alone and speak out about Jason. His throw during yesterday's game, when the Yankees had Brian Roberts picked off, made me ill. How can a professional baseball player not make a throw to second base? Ridiculous.
All the man is paid to do, basically, is hit. And he can't even come close to doing that any longer. He's currently hitting .109 on the season, a paltry 5-for-46. Two of those hits were HR's, meaning that after 15 games, Giambi only has 3 non-HR hits. The man is making $23.5 million this season, and frankly, I'd rather pay a blind midget the same amount. He couldn't do any worse.
Cut Giambi. Please.
Monday, August 20, 2007
Next Stop ... Hollywood!
Posted by: Miss October
Rookie phenom Joba Chamberlain has quickly won the hearts of Yankee fans in the five games in which he has appeared – and with good reason. In the seven innings he has pitched in relief, he’s only allowed two hits, two walks, has 11 strike outs – and has yet to give up a run. His pitching repertoire consists of 100-mile fastballs and a series of sliders and curveballs that have kept batters guessing.
As the Yankees take their first trip out West to play a big, three-game series against their nemesis of recent years – the Angels – it’s fitting that Los Angeles – the home of the stars – serves as the next stop in Chamberlain’s young career. After having impressive outings against the likes of Toronto, Cleveland and Baltimore, Chamberlain’s manhandling of some of the Detroit Tigers’ heaviest hitters over the weekend turned even more heads.
The inspirational story of Joba’s upbringing sounds like a tale you would find in a Hollywood screenplay. Joba’s parents divorced when he was young and he and his sister were raised by his father, who was stricken by polio as a baby, leaving the left side of his body almost immobile. The 21-year old still remains close to his father to this day, who says he is Joba's number one fan.
With less than two weeks of major league service under his belt, Joba’s future sure looks bright. Yankee fans are hoping his star continues to rise, high enough to earn the baseball equivalent of a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame one day…
As the Yankees take their first trip out West to play a big, three-game series against their nemesis of recent years – the Angels – it’s fitting that Los Angeles – the home of the stars – serves as the next stop in Chamberlain’s young career. After having impressive outings against the likes of Toronto, Cleveland and Baltimore, Chamberlain’s manhandling of some of the Detroit Tigers’ heaviest hitters over the weekend turned even more heads.
The inspirational story of Joba’s upbringing sounds like a tale you would find in a Hollywood screenplay. Joba’s parents divorced when he was young and he and his sister were raised by his father, who was stricken by polio as a baby, leaving the left side of his body almost immobile. The 21-year old still remains close to his father to this day, who says he is Joba's number one fan.
With less than two weeks of major league service under his belt, Joba’s future sure looks bright. Yankee fans are hoping his star continues to rise, high enough to earn the baseball equivalent of a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame one day…
Sunday, July 22, 2007
Who IS this guy??
Posted by: Miss October
Shelley Duncan?! Who is this guy? After watching him hit his first home run yesterday, he follows it up with two more (so far at least) today.
Yankee fans rarely have the chance to root for rookies who have come up through the Yankee farm system and wonder if they will turn into a legitimate, everyday AL home run threat. As we all know too well, usually the front office prefers to go after high priced, veteran home run hitters to put some punch in the Yankee lineup.. from Reggie Jackson to Gary Sheffield... and tons in between.
I'm actually hard pressed to think of one Yankee 'home grown' who turned into a HR hitter with huge numbers every year. ....
It's refreshing to see Duncan get off to such a quick start.. although we must keep everything in perspective. We've been fooled before by hot rookie starts. Remember Kevin Maas, Shane Spencer.. among others?? In any case, it's at least nice to see some youth and excitement in the Yankee dugout... but it will take some more convincing to see if it's enough to put this Yankee team on the huge tear it needs...
Friday, July 20, 2007
How Can This Be?
by: Mr. November
Some people may ask how the Yanks could lose to the Devil Rays by a score of 14-4. This is an especially good question when you take into account a few things:
1) The Yanks had been playing some damn good baseball, up until yesterday at least.
2) If they have any hope of making the playoffs, the Yankees need to win games. In a row. With very few loses.
3) Tonight's opponent was the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, for the love of God.
I don't have the answer. If I did, I'd be the manger (and then I could sit on my ass, holding a bat, passively admitting that the 2007 version of the game of baseball is rapidly passing me by). But I will say this: the current Yankees team doesn't have that...thing. They don't seem to have what it takes to win when they simply have to win. They don't seem to care.
Finally, this team's attitude is matching the outward demeanor of its manager.
Some people may ask how the Yanks could lose to the Devil Rays by a score of 14-4. This is an especially good question when you take into account a few things:
1) The Yanks had been playing some damn good baseball, up until yesterday at least.
2) If they have any hope of making the playoffs, the Yankees need to win games. In a row. With very few loses.
3) Tonight's opponent was the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, for the love of God.
I don't have the answer. If I did, I'd be the manger (and then I could sit on my ass, holding a bat, passively admitting that the 2007 version of the game of baseball is rapidly passing me by). But I will say this: the current Yankees team doesn't have that...thing. They don't seem to have what it takes to win when they simply have to win. They don't seem to care.
Finally, this team's attitude is matching the outward demeanor of its manager.
Sunday, July 15, 2007
Black and White
by: Mr. November
After hearing and reading Gary Sheffield's recent comments about Joe Torre, I decided to do a little bit of research. Something just didn't seem quite right. Sheffield claimed that Torre treated black players differently than he did white players; he tended to call them out in meetings while talking to white players behind closed doors.
In a statement more about the lack of diversity in baseball than the policies of Torre, I started to wonder exactly how many black players played with the Yankees during the Sheffield years. In my mind, it simply didn't seem like too many. Sheffield played for the Yankees in 2004, 2005, and part of 2006. Go ahead, think about it - name some other black players during those years.
There were more than I thought. Here they are, with the number of games they played during the Sheffield era in parentheses: Gary Sheffield (347), Derek Jeter (467), Tom Gordon (159), Tony Womack (108), Tony Clark (106), Kenny Lofton (83), Shawn Chacon (31), Matt Lawton (21), Kevin Thompson (15), and Terrence Long (12), and Homer Bush (9) Whew. 11 black Yankees from 2004-2006, if you're a reasonable person and disagree with Sheffield and include Derek Jeter in that list.
I don't agree with anything Gary Sheffield said. I don't even believe he and Jeter were best friends when they were teammates. I am, however, taken aback by the numbers in the previous paragraphs. 120 players, if you consider 40 man rosters (but disregard repeats) and only 11 black players. That's not a Torre problem, that's a baseball problem.
After hearing and reading Gary Sheffield's recent comments about Joe Torre, I decided to do a little bit of research. Something just didn't seem quite right. Sheffield claimed that Torre treated black players differently than he did white players; he tended to call them out in meetings while talking to white players behind closed doors.
In a statement more about the lack of diversity in baseball than the policies of Torre, I started to wonder exactly how many black players played with the Yankees during the Sheffield years. In my mind, it simply didn't seem like too many. Sheffield played for the Yankees in 2004, 2005, and part of 2006. Go ahead, think about it - name some other black players during those years.
There were more than I thought. Here they are, with the number of games they played during the Sheffield era in parentheses: Gary Sheffield (347), Derek Jeter (467), Tom Gordon (159), Tony Womack (108), Tony Clark (106), Kenny Lofton (83), Shawn Chacon (31), Matt Lawton (21), Kevin Thompson (15), and Terrence Long (12), and Homer Bush (9) Whew. 11 black Yankees from 2004-2006, if you're a reasonable person and disagree with Sheffield and include Derek Jeter in that list.
I don't agree with anything Gary Sheffield said. I don't even believe he and Jeter were best friends when they were teammates. I am, however, taken aback by the numbers in the previous paragraphs. 120 players, if you consider 40 man rosters (but disregard repeats) and only 11 black players. That's not a Torre problem, that's a baseball problem.
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