Looking Back: The Mariners Series

When I saw the pitching matchups for the just completed series against the Mariners in Seattle, I resigned myself to believing the Yankees would lose two out of three. After all, they were facing Michael Pineda, a pitcher they'd never seen before, in game1. As every die-hard Yankee fan knows, they never manage to do much against a pitcher they are facing for the first time. The game 2 starter, Felix Hernandez,  has dominated them for pretty much his whole career.

If you watched the first two games you were probably as excited as I was when the Yankees were able to knock Pineda and King Felix around, taking leads each time. When they ended up losing both games by one run, I was sick with disappointment, both at the fact that they could have won both games and the fact that I'd stayed up watching games that started at 10 p.m. New York time, only to see them lose. (Actually, I stayed up for the entirety of only the first game. When Boone Logan came in to pitch the 10th inning of the second game, I lost all hope, assuming Logan would blow it. But, as I found out in the morning it was Mariano Rivera who gave up the winning run. I'm kind of glad I missed that.)

At least CC Sabathia was able to save the weekend with his dominance in the series finale. Sabathia looks ready to rattle off a bunch of wins, and they couldn't come at a better time.

Moving on: The Yankees have two more stops on this west coast road trip, in Oakland and in Anaheim. It won't be easy, for either the Yankees who'll be facing two good teams, or for their fans who'll have to endure more inconvenient starting times. Personally, I'll be able to watch only today's game in its entirety. I'll either be working or sleeping during rest of the games on this road trip. I'm not looking forward to missing so many innings. I can't wait for this trip to end.

Looking Back: The Blue Jays Series (The YES Network Edition)

In case you've been living under a rock, let me just state that Curtis Granderson has been the Yankees' best player so far this season. That distinction has earned him some extra attention from the YES Network. Before the Blue Jays came to town this week, YES ran a series of promos for the series that featured Major League home run leader Jose Bautista and the second place home run hitter, Granderson. The spots fell just short of promising a home run derby between the two players, implying that there would be lots of balls leaving the yard off the bats of Bautista and Granderson.

Of course, that didn't happen. Bautista hit a solo home run in the series opener, then managed only a single the rest of the series. Granderson didn't hit any home runs. It would have been nice if he had answered Bautista in that first game with a homer of his own. He did have a better series than Bautista, going 6-9, with 2 RBI, 2 stolen bases, and scoring 6 runs, including the winning run of the walkoff victory in game 2. But, home run derby it wasn't.

During the final game of the series YES started airing promos for the next series, a three-game set with the Mariners in Seattle. The spots feature Curtis Granderson again, but this time the opposing player featured is Ichiro Suzuki. Now, I can live with Granderson being compared to Bautista, but Ichiro? That's going to far. Come on, YES. Ichiro is a hall-of-famer!  Last time I checked Granderson was not a hall-of-famer.

If Granderson continues to excel this season, will YES continue these crazy, yet amusing promos? If they play the Cardinals will he be compared with Albert Pujols? Then again, Pujols isn't having such a good year right now, so maybe it would be appropriate somehow.

Anyway, keep it going, Grandy Man!

Looking Back: The Subway Series (Round 1)

I've mentioned several times on this blog about how tired I am of the Subway Series, but a series win by the Yankees always makes it a little more tolerable.

Highlights
1. The starting pitching continued to shine. The Yankees got good starts from Freddy Garcia, AJ Burnett and Ivan Nova. All three starters kept the team in the game and, had it not been for a great start by the Mets' R.A. Dickey in game 1, the Yankees could have swept this series.

2.  The balls continued to leave the yard for the Yankees. Wait, is this a highlight or a lowlight? Hard to tell by the way fans and the media are debating about it. Anyway, five more homeruns were hit, pushing the team total over 70.

3. In game 3, the Yankees finally got off the snide as far as hitting with runners in scoring position goes. They were 5-10 with RISP, thanks to an 8-run 7th inning (during which no homeruns were hit, by the way).

4. The Yankee bullpen also deserves its props. Rafael who? The pen has been lights out since Soriano went on the DL. Joba Chamberlain and David Robertson have done just fine in his place and they continued to do so in this series.


Lowlight
A highlight was also a lowlight: runners left in scoring position. The Yankees had their chances in game 1 and couldn't get the big hit. In game 2 the relied on the long ball. Can they continue what they started in game 3? Let's hope so.

Looking Ahead
The pesky Toronto Blue Jays come back to town tomorrow night, with their running game and their ML home run leader, Jose Bautista. It'll be nice to see Bautista and the AL's second-place HR hitter Curtis Granderson go head-to-head, so to speak. To win this series, the Yankees have to do two things: 1) keep Bautista in the ballpark and 2) Keep Rajai Davis off base. Good luck, guys.

Looking Back: The Orioles Series (The Hit-By-Pitch Edition)

For the Yankees, there's nothing like playing a series in Yankee Yards Camden Yards to help turn a six-game losing streak into a distant memory. They have put up monster numbers in the place ever since it opened back in 1992. This latest two-game set was no different. Once again, they pounded Orioles pitching, winning both games. And, once again, Orioles pitching pounded them, resuming an on-again, off-again beanball war that has been going on for years against the two teams.

Robinson Cano and Chris Dickerson are only the latest casualties. Look back over the years and you'll be reminded of how former Orioles starter Daniel Cabrera would plunk Yankee hitters with regularity. Look back further and you'll remember the infamous Armando Benitez, throwing at and hitting Tino Martinez after giving up a home-run to Bernie Williams.

Yes, the beaning has been going on for years. But, until recently, the way the Yankees responded to it was different. Back then, they answered being hit by pitches by trying to win the game. Big deal. Don't get me wrong. Of course I want my team to win the game when this happens. But things always seemed so unsettled when they didn't retaliate, whether they won the game or not. They seemed so wimpy. Now, thanks to people like CC Sabathia and AJ Burnett, retaliation is part of the Yankees game plan, and I am loving it.

I would love it even more if happened against the Mets in this weekend's Subway Series. Something has got to happen to make this annual snore-fest start appealing to me again. The novelty wore off many years ago. I've said it before and I'll say it again: I'm sick of the Subway Series and I'm sick of interleague play.

Looking Back: The Rays Series (Houdini Edition)

Did you hear it? Did you hear that big sound last night, that collective sigh of relief? It came from Yankees Universe after the team's six game losing streak came to an end with a 6-2 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays and a split of the two-game set.

After losing the first game in such horrifying fashion and turning to young pitcher Ivan Nova to save them in the second game, I mentally prepared myself for another sweep. But Nova, coming off his worst start of the season, pitched well. Alex Rodriguez's two home-runs helped his cause, along with the pitching of a certain middle reliever by the name of David Robertson.

If you regularly watch Yankee games, you know why Robertson's nickname is Houdini. The guy comes in with runners in scoring position or with the bases loaded and gets the job done nearly every time. The game was truly on the line last night. With BJ Upton at the plate, it could have been a replay of the previous, horrifying night. Instead, Houdini found his way out of the jam and helped to make the Yankees losing streak disappear.

Can they start a winning streak tonight against Baltimore? If they do there is a good chance that David Robertson will be right there in the middle of it, once again.

LATB Poll: Can Jorge Posada Turn His Season Around?

The Jorge Posada mess seems to have finally blown over. Everyone is "on the same page." Now comes the hard part. Posada has to start hitting.

As I write this, he's batting .165 and is 0-24 against left-handed pitchers. Will his numbers improve? Or will he sink even further? The latest LATB Poll asks this question. I'd love to know what you think. The poll is at the top of the left sidebar on the blog.

The poll closes next week so hurry and let your voice be heard!

Looking Back: The Red Sox Series (5/13/11 - 5/15/11)

Swept. A five-game losing streak. Looking back was never so hard.

Highlights
Bartolo Colon had a good outing in game 1. Other than that, unless you want to count a few insignificant Yankee homeruns, all the highlights in this series came from the Red Sox. Moving right along...

Lowlights
1. Colon's outing notwithstanding, the pitching was horrible. The starters couldn't make pitches when they had to and the bullpen simply stunk.

2. What happened to the Yankee defense? Errors and passed balls ruled the weekend. The low point? A ground ball through Alex Rodriguez's legs. I was ready to turn off the TV at that point.

3. Once again, the offense failed to show up.  The Yankees left a ton of men on base and the bats remained cold with runners in scoring position.

Looking Ahead (Glady!)
The Yankees play two in Tampa Bay and two in Baltimore before coming back to the Stadium this weekend to host the Mets.  Everyone knows how easy it is for players to turn the page. We'll find out this week if they can turn it on.

A Few Words About The Jorge Posada Mess

Until last night, I never thought Yankees-Red Sox could take a back seat to anything.  That all changed after the Jorge Posada mess started to unfold before the game. Posada's demotion to 9th in the batting order, his subsequent scratch from the lineup and GM Brian Cashman's statement that Posada was not injured had me and more than a few other Yankee fans wishing the game would hurry up and end so that we could all get to the bottom of this.

The bottom wasn't pretty, it turns out. We found out that not only is Jorge Posada not a team player, but that he is also a liar. He selfishly refused to play when demoted to the 9th spot even after Cashman spent an hour with him and his agent trying to convince him to do otherwise. Then, in an attempt to save face, he made up a story about having back stiffness.

I realize that Jorge Posada is going through a tough time right now. He's trying to adjust to the DH spot and trying to come to terms with the fact that his career is coming to an end. But what he pulled last night is downright shameful. He was wrong and he needs to admit it. He also needs to apologize to everyone involved, accept the demotion and move on.

Update, 5/16/11: Posada apologized before yesterday's game and all is forgiven. The only way it will be forgotten, however, is if he starts hitting.

Looking Back: The Royals Series

Until this week, the Kansas City Royals hadn't won a series at Yankee Stadium since 1999. I remember going to work after that '99 series and being taunted by my Met fan co-workers. I had the last laugh later that year when the Yankees were winning another championship and the Mets were going on vacation.  If 2011 ends the same way 1999 did, I'll sign up for losing two of three to the Royals anytime.

Highlights
The highlights boil down to three pitching performances. Freddy Garcia pitched six innings of 1-run ball in game 1. In that same game, David Robertson pitched out of a bases loaded 1-out jam. AJ Burnett pitched seven innings of 1-run ball in game 2. That concludes the highlights, ladies and gentlemen.

Read more »

Today's NY Post Front Page: Derek Jeter

Every morning I like to go to the websites of the three major newspapers here in New York City to see what they have on their front pages. This is the front page of  today's New York Post:

Really? Come on. I love Derek Jeter just as much as the next Yankee fan, but let's face it: What he did yesterday is not front page news. There are way more important things happening in this city. I realize they're trying to sell newspapers here but how many more newspapers do they think they're going to sell? As popular as the Yankees are in this city they aren't the only "game" in town. They're only a small part of all the things going on in New York City.

Jeter may very well be back, however. Coming into this breakout game, he had been hitting the ball better, going back to the series in Detroit earlier in the week. The critics will soon be silenced, and it can't come soon enough. Congratulations to the Captain.

Looking Back: The Rangers Series (5/6/11 - 5/8/11)

The Yankees took two of three from the Texas Rangers this past weekend, but it could very well have been just one of three. Thanks to the long ball and a breakout game by a certain Yankee captain, they won the series. By doing so they also won the season series between the two teams 4 games to 2. They now lead the season series 4 games to 2.

Highlights
1. Ivan Nova pitched 7.1 innings in game 1, the longest outing of his career. Nova is a ground ball pitcher and he had the ground balls working in this game. He's really progressed nicely this season and I can't wait for his next start.

2. Yanks dig the long ball. Eight balls left the yard in this series. There were home runs by Teixeira, Swisher, Cervelli (grand slam), Granderson (3) and Jeter (2). Granderson now leads the AL with 11 homers.

3. Speaking of Derek Jeter, he sent the fans and the media a message yesterday with the day he had. The message: "I'm still alive and kicking."  In addition to his two home runs, he stole his first base of the season. He was 4-6 with 3 RBI and 2 runs scored.

Lowlights
1. Bartolo Colon had his first bad start of the season in game 2, giving up 5 runs in the first 2 innings of game. He lasted only 4.1 innings. Hopefully it's not the beginning of the end for him.

2. Boone Logan, the only Yankee lefty out of the bullpen, didn't do the job, taking the loss in game 2. His doom was sealed when the Rangers put the suicide squeeze on in the bottom of the 6th inning, resulting in the go-ahead run crossing the plate.

3. The finale of the series was a really sloppy game for the Yankees. Officially they made 4 errors but they played worse than that. They could have lost this game had it not been for all the home runs and Jeter's good day.

Looking Ahead
The Melkman returns! The Kansas City Royals come to town tomorrow for a three game series and with them, former Yankee Melky Cabrera. It'll be his first appearance at the Stadium since the 2009 World Series. Melky wasn't the best player the Yankees had by any means, but he was a fan favorite. I'm really looking forward to watching him play in this series.

Looking Back: The Tigers Series (5/2/11 - 5/5/11)

Thanks to the Detroit Tigers, the Yankees have lost three straight games for the first time this season. Losing three of four to a team that had previously lost seven straight really stings, especially when you lose the way the Yankees did this week.

Highlight
I can think of only one highlight: the starting pitching. Each of the four Yankee starters (Colon, Sabathia, Garcia and Burnett) pitched seven innings, keeping their team in the game and giving them a chance to win. But it all goes dim after that...

Lowlights
1. We saw several baserunning gaffes in this series: In game one Curtis Granderson stole second base but overslid the bag and was tagged out. In game two Andruw Jones, apparently going on his own, was thrown out at the plate trying to score on a flyball to medium centerfield. Also in game two (and these were even more egregious) both Robinson Cano and Jorge Posada were picked off first base in the 6th inning. What were they all thinking?

2. The offense sputtered in this series. Aside from a go-ahead RBI single by Nick Swisher in game one, the timely hits just didn't come. You can't win games like that.

3. Eduardo Nunez started at shortstop in game four and made two errors, the second one a costly one. It was a throwing error that allowed two runs to score, creating a deficit the Yankees could not overcome.

4. Eric Chavez broke a bone in his left foot while legging out a triple in game four. He was simply running the bases. He didn't trip, stumble or slide, yet he broke his foot. Talk about injury prone!

Looking Ahead
Up next, a weekend series with the Texas Rangers tomorrow night in Arlington, Texas. The Yankees took two of three from the Rangers last month at Yankee Stadium. Taking two of three this weekend will be a tall order but it is exactly what the Yankees need to to if they want to have a successful road trip.

Looking Back: The Blue Jays Series (4/29/11 - 5/1/11)

The Yankees start the month of May in first place by 2.5 games, thanks in part to having won almost every series they've played so far this season. (The only series they've lost was to the Boston Red Sox, near the start of the season.) They won another series this weekend, taking two of three from the Toronto Blue Jays.

Highlights
1. AJ Burnett pitched well once again, putting a bow on a successful first month of the season. Can he keep it up for the next five months or will he again be Mr April?

2. Ivan Nova pitched into the 7th inning, matching his previous start, the longest outing of his career. He wasn't Super Nova but he made pitches when he had to and that's all that matters.

3. Rafael Soriano bounced back in this series, pitching a scoreless 8th inning in game 2 and again in game 3. Now let's see when he'll pitch a 1-2-3 inning. He hasn't done that since Opening Day.

4. There were 4 more Yankee home runs, 2 by Robinson Cano, and one each by Mark Teixeira and Curtis Granderson. However, game 2 was won without a home run being hit. See, they can do it!

Lowlights
1. In game 1 the Yankees were 0-8 with  RISP. They had the bases loaded with nobody out in the 5th inning and couldn't score. They were loaded again in the 8th and again no runs crossed the plate. Disgraceful.

2. Also in game 1 reliever David Robertson made a throwing error that led to two Blue Jay runs scoring. Robertson is from tornado-torn Alabama. Perhaps his head wasn't in the game.

Looking Ahead
Next on the schedule: The Detroit Tigers. Losers of 6 straight, the Tigers will be looking to right their ship against the Yankees in a four game series at Comerica Park. The key to this series? Miguel Cabrera. If the Yankees can keep him in the ballpark they'll have a pretty good chance to win this series.