2009 Yankees Visit The President Today

The members of the 2009 Yankee team will visit with President Obama today in what has become a tradition with sitting Presidents, welcoming championship teams to the White House.  Actually, the team has a whole slate of events scheduled around the Washington, DC area between today and tomorrow. Check out Bryan Hoch's MLB.com article for all the details.

An audience with the President is obviously a great honor. But how many of the Yankees are actually that psyched up about seeing Barack Obama? Baseball players as a group a a pretty conservative bunch. If I were a betting woman I'd say most of them aren't that excited about seeing this particular President and, if they had a choice, wouldn't go. But they don't have a choice. Although the Yankee organization is probably the most conservative one in baseball, even they wouldn't allow a player to exercise his principles and skip the visit. Every member of the 2009 team will be there to shake the President's hand today.

I wish I could be there, too. Try to have fun, guys.

Scioscia: It Was A Clean Play

Mark Teixeira's collision with rookie Angels catcher Bobby Wilson definitely had people talking the next day.  Some thought it was a dirty play. Others thought it was a clean play. Some thought it was an unintentional dirty play. Others thought it was an intentional dirty play. And so on, and so on.

To be honest, I thought it was a dirty play. But one man's opinion knocks mine and all the others right out of the park. Mike Scioscia, manager of the Angels, and a former catcher himself, called it a clean play. If he says it was clean, it was clean.  End of story, end of post.

A-Rod Starts A Triple Play & An Argument In The Same Inning

The sixth inning of yesterday's Yankee loss to Oakland had Alex Rodriguez's name written all over it. In the top of the inning, depending on who you talk to, he made an ass of himself. Then, in the home half, he looked like the conquering hero.

As everyone knows by now, A-Rod took a short cut back to first base after going from first to third on a foul ball. He ran accross the diamond, onto the mound and stepped on the rubber before runing down the first base side of it. A's pitcher Dallas Braden, whose name sounds like that of an umpire's, had choice words for Alex, saying, among other things, "If I've got that ball in my hand and I'm out on that mound, that's not your mound. You want to run across that mound? Go run laps in the bullpen." [Yankees.com]

For his part Alex produced a subtle insult: "That was a little surprising. I'd never quite heard that, especially from a guy that has a handful of wins in his career," [Yankees.com]

According to Braden, A-Rod broke and unwritten rule by running onto the mound. Alex claims he's never heard of the rule. True or not, Alex was called out by Braden for only one reason: He is Alex Rodriguez. If anyone else had run accross that mound Braden would have kept his mouth shut. I'm absolutely sure of that.

Perhaps Alex knew that, too. Perhaps he went into the bottom of that inning wanting to do something to shut Braden up once and for all. He got his chance when that ground ball came his way and he started the first Yankee triple play in 42 years. Nicely turned, Alex.

A Personal Update: It appears that I will soon have a home again. The details have not all been worked out yet, but as soon as they are I will fill everyone in. Thanks to you all for your continuing patience as I struggle to find the time and place to post here.

A Numbers Game Saturday At The Stadium

Saturday at Yankee Stadium was truly a numbers game, in more ways than one.  Meaningful numbers were the story of the day as far as I was concerned. What numbers am I referring to? These:

4: The Yankees won their 4th straight series to start the season. After beating the Rays, the Red Sox and the Angels, they won yesterday's game against the Texas Rangers.

11: Derek Jeter hit in his 11th straight game. Through yesterday he had hit in every game since the start of the season.

200: Joe Girardi earned his 200th win as Yankee manager. Congratulations, Joe.

584: Alex Rodriguez hit his 584th career home run, passing Mark McGwire for 8th place on the all-time list. Good for you, A-Rod.

1500: Jorge Posada got his 1,500th base hit. Nice going, Jorgie.

There's one more number. This one is personal. It's the number 1. It took me a whole year to get there, but yesterday was game number 1 for me at the new Yankee Stadium. I thoroughly enjoyed myself and can't wait to get back there again. If you haven't been yet, go as soon as you can and don't forget to visit the museum while you're there. It's great!

Melky Gone=Big Year For Cano?

A day after his buddy Melky Cabrera showed his World Series ring off to his new Braves teammates, Robinson Cano paid tribute to the pioneer he was named for by belting two homers, helping the Yankees to a 6-2 win over the Angels. This was one night Cano will never forget.

Would he have had such a big night if Melky Cabrera were still on the team? I was listening to Richard Neer on WFAN Radio last night. Neer suggested that the reason Cano is off to such a hot start might be because his best friend Cabrera is no longer with the team. He admitted that it is probably too early to come to such a conclusion but felt that it was worth mentioning anyway.

I'm not so sure Cabrera's absence is the reason for Cano's success. He has done a lot of work with hitting coach Kevin Long and has learned to be more selective at the plate, leading to better at-bats. There might be some correlation between Melky leaving and Cano tearing it up, but I think it's mainly a combination of Kevin Long and a lot of hard work.

If Cano continues to do well this season, however, look for the Melky Gone theory to grow legs. Melky Cabrera will look like a bad guy, which may or may not be fair to him.

My best wishes to both of them for continued success this season

[Photo: Silverman/NYT]

Nine Yankee Walks In Home Opener

After the Yankees got their rings they walked away from the 2009 season and never looked back. Literally and figuratively.

Angels pitching issued 9 walks in today's 7-5 Yankee win.  As I listened to the game I thought, Seems like old times. Those championship teams of the late '90s were famous for working the count and taking pitches. Managers of opposing teams wished aloud that their players could be more like the Yankees. Many a bullpen on an opposing team was ravaged by the Yankee offense, once its starter had thrown too many pitches too soon.

If the Yankees repeat this season, you can be sure that working the count and taking pitches will be a big reason why. Stick that in your chest protector, Joe West.

Joe Girardi Is One Lucky Dude

After today's near no-hit performance by CC Sabathia, we learned that Kelly Shoppach, who broke up the no-hit bid, would have been the last batter CC faced, no matter what.

According to the LoHud Yankees Blog, Joe Girardi told pitching coach Dave Eiland that CC would throw no more than 110 to 115 pitches. The pitch that Shoppach hit was CC's 111th.

What if Shoppach hadn't gotten a hit? A silly question, really, because CC would have come out of the game anyway. There would be no hard feelings between him and his manager. The fans (and, perhaps, the media) on the other hand would be another story.

I was listening to the game on the radio and I heard how much the fans were rooting for CC to get it done. Chants of "Let's go CC' reverberated throughout Tropicana Field.  Imagine the boos that would sweep through the stadium if Shoppach had made out.  Girardi would be vilified. Imagine the back pages of the papers tomorrow. Girardi would be second-guessed. Instead, all's well that end's well.

Joe Girardi is one lucky dude.

[Photo: AP]

Yankees By The Numbers: A New Book

Most baseball fans know that the Yankees were the first team in any sport to wear numbers on their unforms. The team also has the most retired numbers: 15.  If you like these two facts, you might also like a new book about the team.

Written by Bill Gutman, Yankees By The Numbers: A Complete Team History of the Bronx Bombers By Uniform Number, tells the story of the Yankees by uniform number, from Earle Combs (the original #1) to Charlie Keller (the only Yankee to wear #99).

The chapters of the book go in uniform number order, and each chapter is devoted to a number. The reader is given every tidbit he or she would ever want to know about it, including all the players, managers and coaches who wore it and the stats they compiled while doing so.

I like this book because it can be read through in its entirety or kept on your bookshelf as a neat reference, to be picked up again and again.  Order it at Amazon.

The Art Of Yankee Baseball

[From Lohud.com] A gallery in New York's Soho neighborhood will soon showcase an art history of the New York Yankees.

Pop International Galleries on 473 West Broadway will display the works of Stephen Holland and Opie Otterstad on Saturday, April 17th.  Around 30 to 40 pieces will be shown, including 3 player portraits (Jeter, Rivera and Rodriguez) painted by Stephen Holland.  Below is Opie Otterstad's tribute to the 2009 team.

Sound interesting? To me it does. I'm going to try my best to make it down there on the 17th.

Sterling's Granderson HR Call: The Worst

"Oooooh, Curtis, you're something sort of grandish!"

That, my friends, is the home run call for Curtis Granderson, made by the radio voice of the Yankees, John Sterling.

That's actually only half of it. After that he sings a few bars of  The Candy Man, substituting "Grandy" for "Candy."  I kid you not.

After his "performance" last night he explained to his partner Suzyn Waldman, that the call part  is based on a line from an old Broadway show. He never said which show. Did he forget the name of it?

Sterling's over-the-top home run calls have made him famous (or, infamous, depending on whom you ask). You either love him or hate him. I love him and I love most of his home run calls, among them:

"An A-bomb! For A-Rod!"

"A Teix message!"

"Jorgie juiced one!"

But I don't love this latest home run call. It's way past over-the-top and it needs to go! He is truly embarrassing himself with it.

What do you think of John Sterling and his home run calls?

Baseball Bloggers Alliance Predicts a Repeat For The Yankees

On the heels of the first Yankee win of the season comes the news that the Baseball Bloggers Alliance has predicted a World Series rematch for 2010. 

The Baseball Bloggers Alliance, of which I am a new member, was formed in 2009 and numbers 147 blogs across baseball, representing every major league team and including numerous general baseball blogs. For the first time, the membership of the BBA was polled for their preseason predictions, with the New York Yankees and the Philadelphia Phillies being the most common selections for World Series participants. The Yankees received 36 votes to easily outpace Boston's 18, while the Phillies' 31 votes edged out St. Louis's 24. The rematch ends the same as last year, with New York being the choice of 20 of the 75 that cast ballots.

The BBA has a lot more than predictions to offer. The official website of the BBA is located at www.baseballbloggersalliance.com. The BBA can be found on Twitter by the handle @baseballblogs and the hashmark #bbba. Members of the BBA may also be heard at Blog Talk Radio each Tuesday night with their call-in show, BBA Baseball Talk. Check them out!

Granderson & Me: Taking It All In Stride

One of the positives in last night's Yankee loss to the Boston Red Sox was the performance of one Curtis Granderson. Grandy, as I enjoy calling him, went 1-4 with a home run and made a spectacular catch out in centerfield.

Of course, it was Granderson's Yankee debut. If making his Yankee debut against the Red Sox at Fenway Park was stressful, he didn't show it. He took it all in stride.

Taking it all in stride is what I was trying to do last night, as well. I was making my own debut of sorts. Like most Yankee fans, I am used to watching my favorite team in the comfort of my own home. I've done it for years, just as Grandy played centerfield in Detroit for years. Now, like Grandy, I'm in new surroundings. I live with 83 other women, most of whom are not interested in whether the Yankees win or lose. Now, instead of watching the games from the comfort of my queen-sized bed, I lie on a slightly comfortable twin bed, the headphones of a transistor radio in my ear, my Blackberry close by for tweeting. Not the best of circumstances, but I think that, in the same way Curtis Granderson was a good Yankee last night, I was a good Yankee fan last night.

I will let nothing, not even being homeless stop me from rooting for my team. Go Yankees!


[Photo: NY Daily News]

Lady's Choice 2010: AL East and Wild Card

As a Yankee fan, I feel more comfortable predicting the American League East than all the other divisions in MLB combined. After all, I see each Yankee opponent in it eighteen times throughout the regular season.

After the Yankees won the World Series last year, they set off a series of trades, trying to make their team even better. Have they succeeded? We will see as the season unfolds. I do believe they are better than the Red Sox, but not by much. It will be a dog fight between the two teams once again.  The Rays are good. They will get on the nerves of the Yankees and Red Sox (and their fans) all season and make their presence known. Not to be left out are the Baltimore Orioles. They've made improvements that will probably boost them out of the cellar this season. As for the Blue Jays, heaven help them.

The American League East:

1 Yankees
2 Rays
3 Red Sox
4 Orioles
5 Blue Jays

Wild Card: The X Factor for the Tampa Bay Rays will be BJ Upton. If he can come back after his down year in 2009 to play like everyone knows he can, he will make the Rays even better. I say he will and that will win the Rays the Wild Card.

Update: As commenter Gregg pointed out, having the Rays win the Wild Card but finishing third doesn't make sense. Silly me. I have updated the standings and text above to reflect what I predict will actually happen. Thanks, Gregg!