Cano's Smooth Take

Yankees Second Baseman Robinson Cano's early season hitting woes have been well-documented lately. As I write this he is batting only .172 and, until yesterday, looked lost at the plate.

Cano got 2 hits during yesterday's game against the Indians. The first one was in the fifth inning, a double down the right line. He scored what proved to be the winning run later in that frame. When he came up to the plate in the seventh, YES analyst and former Yankee catcher John Flaherty (pictured above) commented on how Cano was handling the at-bat:

"Robinson Cano took the first pitch from [Paul] Byrd in this at-bat, and it was probably the smoothest take that I have seen him have in a long time. That tells me he's kind of getting comfortable now. Look for good things to happen if he can take pitches like that." [Newsday.com]

Cano sent the very next pitch from Byrd into the right-field seats.

John Flaherty has been criticized a lot for sounding too dull. I agree, but if he sprinkles in gems like this one every once in a while, I can more than live with it.

As for Cano, let's hope he continues to be a smooth operator in his future at-bats this season.

The Lady

Lee Sends The Yankees Over A Cliff

Chien-Ming Wang gave the Yankees another quality start last night. A quality start is defined as pitching 6 or more innings and giving up 3 or fewer runs. Wang did that but the Yankees lost the game because they ran into the buzz saw pictured to the left, Cliff Lee.

I'd barely heard of Lee until a few weeks ago, and when I did hear about him I said I'd believe it when I saw it. So, I saw it and I believe it. Can he keep fooling American League hitters? Time will tell. Good luck, Mr Lee.

In other news: The start another pitcher made last night was of interest to me as well. Barry Zito returned to the Giants rotation last night to face the Pirates. No quality start for him; the Giants lost the game. I still can't believe I thought he'd be the Giants' savior last year. Also, the Twins' Carlos Gomez hit for the cycle last night. Gomez was the key prospect the Twins got back when they traded Johan Santana to the Mets. I found an interesting comparison of Gomez to Jose Reyes over at the blog Mets Brotha.

The Indians play their final regular season game at The Stadium this afternoon. Will they be back in October? Once again, time will tell.

The Lady

Joba Hits The Fans Where It Hurts

Last night after Joba Chamberlain gave up a three-run homer to David Dellucci, putting the Indians ahead for good, The YES Network panned the crowd for their reaction to Joba's first big failure in Yankee Stadium. What I saw was shocking.

I saw Yankee fans looking as if they'd lost their job, home, and family all at the same time. Almost everyone the camera focused on looked like the saddest person in the world. It reminded me of something else I used to see before 2004. It reminded me of how Red Sox fans used to look.

The Yankees would come into Fenway back in the late '90s and early '00s and they'd always fall behind, only to come back, get the lead and win the game. The TV cameras would focus on the Fenway Faithful at that point, and they'd always be looking like the most dejected people in the world. I loved it!

Now that the tide has turned I don't love it, not just because it's the Yankee fans that are dejected, but because they looked so dejected on May 6th! I could understand it if it was later in the season and the bullpen had been problematic all year. But this Yankee bullpen has been outstanding! It's might be the best in baseball. I know, it's mostly the shock of finding out that Joba is human, but still. It's May 6th!

I have every confidence that Joba will bounce back and continue his domination. He just didn't have it last night. It happens, people. Get over it.

The Lady

The Blow-Up Doll Blow Up

There's a lot being said about what the White Sox did the other day with those female blow-up dolls. Here's my take on it:

Things like this go on in clubhouses and locker rooms all over sports, but they're usually kept behind closed doors, away from the public's view. The White Sox had no female reporters covering them that day (and they were in a visiting clubhouse as opposed to their own, where family members would likely be). So, they thought they were away from the public's view. Unfortunately for them, they were not. Now they're being labeled as sexist. Please. They used poor judgement, that's all. What they did does not necessarily mean they're a sexist bunch. It just means they're professional male athletes.

I'm not saying that, if I'd walked into that clubhouse I wouldn't have been offended. Of course I would've been. But I doubt the dolls would have been there if they'd known I was coming. To me this is like doing something in the privacy of your own home and being interrupted by unexpected guests.

A big blow up over nothing.

The Lady

Peter Abraham On "A Show Of Their Own"

I'm very happy to announce that on tonight's installment of "A Show Of Their Own," our special guest will be Yankee beat writer Peter Abraham. I think most Yankee fans know about Pete's popular blog, The LoHud Yankees Blog, in which he writes about the day-to-day happenings in Yankees Universe. Well, tonight you'll get a chance to hear the guy you've been reading!

My co-host Brittany and I will have lots of questions for Pete, so tune in tonight at 9:00 PM Eastern for this very special show!




The Lady

Video Recap: Tigers 8, Yankees 4

Hughes's Oblique has Mystique

In the seventh inning of last night's game against the Tigers, Michael Kay announced that Phil Hughes has been placed on the 15-Day DL, due to a right oblique strain.

Talk about strange timing, and I'm not talking about the fact that the Yankees already have Jorge Posada and Alex Rodriguez on the DL. It's that nothing seemed to be wrong with Phil until last night.

He'd pitched poorly the night before, so poorly that he was booed. Questions began popping up about whether or not he should stay in the rotation. Joe Girardi lost his temper with reporters who tried to pin him down to answer their Phil Rotation questions. No one said anything about the bad outing being due (or due partially) to any injury. In pregame interviews Girardi said Phil was fine. Phil said Phil was fine. Then we hear about this mysterious oblique strain in the seventh inning.

I don't think this is a phantom injury, but it might not be bad enough for a stint on the DL. But, then again, I'm not a medical professional; maybe all oblique strains are that serious. Anyway, the whole thing sounds a little too convenient for me: Phil pitches poorly; Phil gets booed; Phil's spot in the rotation appears to be in jeopardy; Girardi resents reporters' Phil Rotation questions; Phil's on the DL.

What's next? A hang nail for Ian Kennedy?

The Lady

[Photo: Kathy Willens/AP]

Video Recap: Tigers 6, Yankees 4

The Eyes Don't Have It: Phil Hughes Still Winless

With Jorge Posada on the DL and Jose Molina getting the night off, Phil Hughes threw to a new catcher last night: Chris Stewart. It didn't make for a good battery. Stewart was constantly crossed up by Hughes and it led to the Tigers scoring 6 runs early, and the Yankees could not recover from it.

The first inclination would be to blame Stewart. After all, he has little Major League experience and he was thrown into the frying pan of calling his first Yankee game at The Stadium, rather than on the road. However, after the game, we got this from Hughes: he has night vision problems.

He's always had these problems but he was always able to pitch around them in the minors. Up here, they're bothering him. If I remember correctly, during his Sunday night start at Fenway a few weeks ago, Jose Molina was crossed up several times. Hughes has gone to an eye doctor several times but hasn't seriously considered wearing corrective lenses for the problem.

The night vision problems aren't the only reason for Hughes's 0-4 record and he readily admits this. He has to mix up his pitches more and locate them better. But, goggles or a pair of contact lenses certainly couldn't hurt. This makes me think of an old TV commercial that ran years ago here in the New York area, in which a man is trying to convince his female friend to get glasses. I'm going to remember that commercial every time Phil is on the mound now and I know I'll feel like yelling, as the man in the commercial did, "Get glasses, [Phil], get glasses! You will look good in glasses!"

The Lady

[Photo: AP/Kathy Willens]

I Know, Posada. But, Cabrera and Wang!

If I wanted to I could dwell on the fact that Jorge Posada appears headed to the DL for the first time in his career. Tough loss for the Yankees. Somebody else will have to step it up while he's gone. But I don't want this post to be about Posada. I want to concentrate on The Melkman and the Wanger.

Melky Cabrera now has 5 home runs this season. Number 5 came yesterday in the Yankees 1-0 classic over the Indians in Cleveland. He had a total of 8 homers last season. Why the power surge? He's been working out with Alex Rodriguez. Also, the Yankees always knew Melky had the potential to be a power-hitter. They just weren't sure when that potential would become a reality.

Yankees ace Chien-Ming Wang (and, if you still don't think he's an ace, you're crazy) mixed up his pitches and had good location in yesterday's game, incorporating a nasty slider with his turbo sinker. The result: 9 strikeouts in 7 shutout innings. He has definitely put those postseason starts against the Tribe behind him.

Both Melky Cabrera and Chien-Ming Wang are products of the Yankee farm system, which non-Yankee fans don't seem to know exists. For more information on the kids that have come out of that system in recent years, read Peter Abraham's recent blog post. What he says might surprise you.

The Lady

[Photo: Gregory Shamas/Getty]