500 Gets Mo One!
Rivera gets first ever RBI while recording 500th career save

It was a wacky 9th inning to be sure. The Yankees were holding on to a precarious one run lead going into the top half of the inning and the cat and mouse game between Yankees manager Joe Girardi and Mets manager Jerry Manuel began.

To set this up you have to go back to the bottom of the 8th inning when RHRP Brian Bruney took the ball from Phil Hughes. Hughes came into the game in the 6th and threw a scoreless and hitless 1-1/3 innings. Bruney was a mixed bag of tricks as he walked Mets third baseman David Wright to open the frame, and then induced OF Gary Sheffield to pop out to Derek Jeter. Bruney subsequently walked Fernando Tatis, moving Wright into scoring position before striking out Fernando Martinez.

Seeing a chance to sweep their cross town rivals Girardi pulled out Bruney and handed the ball to his closer Mariano Rivera.

Rivera, who has been the Yankees stopper since taking the reins from John Wetteland after the 1996 season, was on the verge of making history. Rivera was sitting on 499 saves with a chance to become only the second man in baseball history to record 500 saves. The leader in the saves category is Trevor Hoffman who currently owns 571 of them.

After Wright stole third Rivera buckled down and struck out Omir Santos to end the inning.

The weirdness began as the Yankees came to bat. Manuel realizing how bad his team needed this game against their home town foes brought in his closer, Francisco Rodriguez, to hopefully hold down the Bombers and keep the Mets within a run. Unfortunately, Rodriguez ran into bad luck…..again.

On June 12, Rodriguez entered a game against the Yankees at Yankee Stadium. Rodriguez and the Mets were nursing an 8-7 lead. Rodriguez retired Brett Gardner before giving up a single to Jeter. He was able to strike out Johnny Damon with Jeter stealing second, and then intentionally walked first baseman Mark Teixeira in order to face Alex Rodriguez.

Things went according to script for the Mets as A-Rod popped the ball up into short right field. He slammed his bat down in disgust and ran towards first base as second baseman Luis Castillo drifted under the ball. He put his glove up, in went the ball, and then it came back out and landed on the grass at Castillo’s feet. Both Jeter and Teixeira raced around the bases and scored the tying and winning runs on Castillo’s muff. It was Francisco Rodriguez’s first blown save in 17 attempts.

The first batter Rodriguez faced in Sunday’s contest was Jorge Posada. Posada blooped a pop up into short center field as shortstop Alex Cora and Castillo went back on the ball. Cora looked at Castillo thinking he was going to get the ball and slowed down. When he realized Castillo wasn’t going for the ball Cora attempted to get to it, but ball made its way to the grass giving Posada a gift single.

Rodriguez had to be cursing Yogi Berra, because it was déjà vu all over again. He got Melky Cabrera to ground into a force play, eliminating Posada at second, but then allowed Cabrera to steal the bag on him. Rodriguez then walked Brett Gardner, putting the Yankees into somewhat of a quandary.

The next hitter was Jeter, but behind him Rivera was scheduled to bat. Attempting his best Houdini slight-of-hand Girardi tried to fool Manuel into believing the Yankees were going to have reserve catcher Francisco Cervelli bat for Rivera. While Cervelli stood in the on deck circle stretching, and going through the motions of acting like he was going to hit Rivera sat in the dugout with a batting helmet and gloves on. Somebody must have said something to him, because Rivera took off the helmet, but left the gloves on. He was having a hard time keeping a straight face.

It was difficult to tell if Manuel was taking Girardi seriously or whether Rodriguez and Santos (catching) misread a sign, but as Jeter settled in to face him Rodriguez threw the ball over the outside corner of the plate for a strike. Jeter backed out of the batter’s box and smiled, glancing toward the Mets dugout with a look of “are you kidding me? You’re going to pitch to me?”

Apparently, sanity returned to the situation and Jeter was intentionally walked to load the bases.

Up walked Rivera who was making only the third at bat in his decorated career, and the second of this season. It was a rare instant where the closer of one team was batting against the closer of the other team. It was just another bizarre moment in an odd inning.

Rodriguez worked the count against Rivera to 2-2. Rodriguez poured in a fastball, which Rivera fouled straight back. Appearing more dangerous now, Rivera evidently rattled Rodriguez who then threw balls three and four, walking his opposite number and forcing in an insurance run. It was Rivera’s first recorded RBI.

As Rivera trotted toward first and Cabrera crossed the plate to make it a 4-2 Yankees lead the Bombers dugout erupted into whoops and hollers. It was though Rivera’s teammates had seen Santa Claus for the first time. They were genuinely acting like a bunch of little kids reacting to what had just transpired.

The fact that Teixeira struck out to end the inning didn’t matter to him or the rest of the squad. They put a fork into their longtime adversary and now it was Rivera’s turn to show why he is the greatest closer the game has ever seen.

Rivera induced Castillo to ground to second; he struck out Jeremy Reed looking and ended the game by also getting Cora to ground out to second. As the ball nestled into Teixeira’s glove at first to record the final out Rivera sealed his name once again into the record books.

Teixeira was one of the first to reach him and handed Rivera the ball.

Posada, Rivera’s battery mate had a message for him. “I told him he’s the best ever,” Posada told reporters later. “The best I’ve seen. Nobody can even compare,”

Every member of the Yankees came out onto the field and gave Rivera a big hug and words of encouragement. Some of them commented on Rivera’s historic at bat against Rodriguez.

“He looks good up there,” longtime teammate Andy Pettitte said to reporters after the game. “I think in Atlanta they gave him a take sign and he swung anyway.”

Even Rivera remarked on the at bat.

“I had one thing in mind—just try to do something,” Rivera said, before talking about his save. “Don’t get me wrong, it’s definitely special.”

Manuel, whose team has been ravaged by injuries, had to say this about Rivera’s night.

“He’s one of the premier closers in my time,” Manuel told reporters. “I wasn’t applauding him tonight, but you do have to applaud that.”

Another first happened in this game as well. Yankees starter Chien-Ming Wang recorded his first victory of the season after staggering to a 0-6 start. Wang allowed two earned runs on four hits in 5.1 innings of work. He struck out three and walked three batters. The loser, Livan Hernandez (5-3), actually pitched better than Wang. He went seven innings and allowed three earned runs on three hits. He walked five and struck out one.

The nightmare for the Mets didn’t end with this game. After getting swept at home by the Yankees and losing five of six overall in interleague play the Mets had to catch a flight for Milwaukee to play the Brewers tonight at 7:08 pm EDT as part of ESPN’s Monday Night Baseball. The Yankees fared much better, catching a bus for the Bronx where they will open a home stand on Tuesday night against the visiting Seattle Mariners.

Getting back to Rivera, anyone who has the chance to watch this remarkable talent play should take every opportunity to do so, because as much as Yankee fans will hate to admit it, Rivera’s career is winding down. No matter how much he’d like to Mariano Rivera can’t pitch forever. He has been at the top of his class for much longer than most closers are expected to last. To be in the upper echelon for nearly 13 years is mind blowing.

How much more gas is in the tank? Only God and Mo know the answer to that one.

© 2009 Yankees Talk Shop @ yuku.com

Redistribution, rewriting, rebroadcast, or republication of this story without the prior written consent of Yankees Talk Shop, Pride in the Pinstripes or its affiliates is strictly prohibited

Yankees Big 3 finally earn their (pin)stripes
Sabathia, Burnett & Teixeira start paying dividends

Imagine the chagrin at the administrative offices of the New York Yankees located at E 161st Street at River Avenue after April 30 when the Yankees record in the American League East was 12-10 and they were sitting in third place, two games behind the Toronto Blue Jays. The Yankees were swept in Baltimore to start the season and later swept in Boston by their chief antagonists.

On top of that C.C. Sabathia, who signed for the biggest contract ever given to a pitcher, was 1-2 with a 4.73 ERA. On Opening Day in Baltimore the Orioles stung the big lefty for 6 runs on 8 hits. A.J. Burnett, the other high profiled, big contract, free agent signee, although sporting a 2-0 record, had 3 no-decision games and owned an alarming 5.40 ERA. In fact on April 25 against the Red Sox Burnett was burned for 8 earned runs in 5 innings of work, which jumped his season ERA from a respectable 3.20 to a bloated 5.47 overnight.

That brings us to first baseman Mark Teixeira whom the Yankees outbid both the Red Sox and Los Angeles Angels for his services. Teixeira owns a .289 lifetime batting average, has hit an average of 33.83 home runs and has knocked in an average of 120 runs per season prior to 2009. Although Teixeira is known as a very slow starter, when the season began it was expected that with a new contract and a new team Teixeira would bound out of the gates blazing. If spring training was any indication the Yankees had every right to believe Teixeira would be an offensive monster. He was batting .433 with an OBP of .485 and a SLG% of .800 (OPS of 1.285) coming out of camp.

Alas, that was not the case. Teixeira like Cinderella’s coach turned back into a pumpkin during the month of April and the first part of May. If not for the heroics of free agent OF/1B Nick Swisher, who took over the everyday duties in right field for an injured Xavier Nady, there wouldn’t have been much for the Yankees to write home about. Swisher responded to a lackluster offense by hitting .312 in April with 7 home runs and 19 RBI. Teixeira’s numbers fell like a meteor to earth. He was hitting a very pedestrian .200 and had only 3 home runs and 10 RBI to show for it.

May wasn’t looking much better for the Yankees either. After play ended on May 7 the Yankees had dropped to 4th place and owned a 13-15 record. Teixeira continued his freefall; dropping to a .197 average and was only up to 5 home runs and 15 RBI in 24 games. Sabathia’s ERA jumped up to 4.85 and he saw his record fall to 1-3 with 2 no-decisions. Burnett was the biggest puzzle of all. After two brilliant outings Burnett couldn’t find his rhythm. He continued to go at least 6 innings in his starts, but had nothing to show for it. It took nearly to the end of May before Burnett would see his next victory.

After last year’s 89-73 third place finish manager Joe Girardi’s tenure with the team was definitely in jeopardy. He beat out Yankee legend Don Mattingly for the managerial job in ’08 after Joe Torre left the team for Los Angeles. Girardi knew he had some big shoes to fill. Torre made the playoffs every year he was at the helm taking the team to 2 wild card appearances, 9 division championships, 6 AL championships and 4 World Series championships. Not even making the playoffs was not the way Girardi wanted to start his managerial career in New York.

To be fair not everything has bounced the right way for Girardi. He had a lot of injuries to deal with, most notably Jorge Posada who took two trips to the DL; the second one on July 20, 2008. Posada didn’t return for the remainder of the season. Chien-Ming Wang was another. Wang injured his right foot on June 15 in an interleague game against the Houston Astros and immediately went to the DL for the remainder of the season.

Two solid performers, Melky Cabrera and Robinson Cano, had down years. Pitching, especially the bullpen, continued to be inconsistent in 2008. During spring training one of the biggest bombshells in the history of baseball took place when Alex Rodriguez was accused of taking performance enhancing drugs, which he later admitted to doing. Also, Torre, along with Sports Illustrated writer Tom Verducci, published a book called “The Yankee Years,” in which Torre chronicles a lot of behind-the-scenes dirt about what went on inside the four walls of Yankee Stadium.

Getting back to this season if you’ve been following the Yankees you know about other situations that have plagued the squad. In addition to Rodriguez’s admission of using banned substances he went on the disabled list when a cyst and a torn labrum was discovered in his right hip. He had corrective surgery to address the problem to hopefully get him into the lineup as soon as possible.

Wang had horrific 3 starts at the beginning of the season after coming back from his foot injury. He lasted just 6 total innings in those starts and his ERA was a stratospheric 34.50. He went back on the DL with a side injury, but recently returned and has seen action in the bullpen. Additionally, relievers Brian Bruney and Damaso Marte have landed on the DL. Posada returned to the DL on May 5 with a hamstring injury, and reserve catcher Jose Molina went down with a quad injury on May 8.

Those injuries necessitated the Yankees bringing in a whole bunch of minor leaguers to hold the fort down until the regulars could return. Third baseman/shortstop Ramiro Pena, RHP Phil Hughes, RHRP David Robinson, C Anthony Cervilli, C Kevin Cash among others have done a masterful job in keeping the season from getting away from the Yankees.

All those headaches were enough to send anyone, let alone a manager, screaming into the night. However, the entire negative vibe turned positive on Friday, May 8.

That was the day A-Rod returned to the lineup.

Whether or not A-Rod is the real reason the Yankees suddenly turned around is an argument to be discussed around the water coolers, but the fact remains the day their superstar third baseman returned was the day the Yankees turned their season around.

Since May 8 the Yankees have gone from 13-15 and in 4th place to 31-21 and 1st place in the AL East Division. That means they have gone 18-6 in that span. They currently own the best record in the American League and they lead the Red Sox by a game.

The biggest beneficiary of A-Rod’s homecoming has been Teixeira. Since May 8 Teixeira has raised his average from a season low .191 (May 12) to .279. He is hitting .374 with 11 home runs and 19 RBI during that stretch. He is tied for 2nd in home runs and 4th in RBI totals in the AL.

Sabathia and Burnett have improved as well.

Sabathia is now 5-3 and has lowered his ERA to 3.46. Sabathia is 4-0 over his past 5 outings and has averaged a 3.00 ERA. Burnett, too, has responded. He is 4-2 and his ERA has dropped to 4.69. He has won his past two games posting a 2.08 ERA.

The team as a whole is playing the game with more enthusiasm and more focus. In the AL the Yankees are 2nd in home runs (82), 1st in RBI (285) and 2rd in team hitting (.282). Pitching continues to be a concern, especially in the bullpen, but with the Yankees offense clicking on all cylinders the pitching has been good enough. No one is hurting them to the point where the Yankees have to go out and look for an arm.

A month ago the media and fans alike were bemoaning this club and now there is a glimmer of hope. The Yankees have brought back some of the swagger that everyone has seen from teams past. But, before anyone goes and shines up the World Series trophy, keep in mind the Yankees have a long road in front of them and they still haven’t beaten the Red Sox this season.

Until “B” happens and if they don’t continue to play at the level they’re playing at now today’s hope in this team won’t become tomorrow’s reality.

© 2009 Yankees Talk Shop @ yuku.com

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Yankees, Teixeira benefit from A-Rod’s return
Rodriguez’s bat giving Tex better choices at the plate

It’s no secret that Alex Rodriguez, like Barry Bonds, like Roger Clemens and like Manny Ramirez was a great and gifted player long before his name became associated with performance enhancing drugs. Out of those names mentioned only Rodriguez has avoided any penalties or courtroom entanglements so far. As we all know, the reasons for becoming involved with PEDs can be as infinite as the color spectrum. Conversely, this isn’t about the steroid issue.

The New York Yankees, for all of the drama A-Rod brings into the clubhouse for both his on and off field antics, are a better team with him in the lineup than on the sidelines. No one knew how the Yankees would respond following an examination of A-Rod’s right hip, which revealed a cyst and a partially torn labrum that would require some kind of surgery to repair it. After a further examination by Dr. Marc Philippon of Vale, CO it was determined Rodriguez could have a less invasive surgery to clean up the hip in order to play this year and after the season undergo a more thorough procedure to completely restore the hip.

A-Rod underwent surgery on March 9 and was expected to miss approximately 9 to 10 weeks. That would’ve projected his return to the club around mid-May if everything went according to plan. In the meantime the Yankees started the season with journeyman Cody Ransom playing the hot corner. Ransom, although talented with a glove, was not an offensive charge in the lineup. Ransom’s offense was pretty offensive. Before he went on the disabled list with a torn quadriceps muscle Ransom was hitting .180 with no home runs and 6 RBI in 50 trips to the plate.

Also feeling the effects of a missing Alex Rodriguez has been Mark Teixeira. Teixeira was brought in during the off season to replace an aging Jason Giambi at first base. Teixeira signed a huge 8-year deal with New York to provide offense and upgrade the defense Giambi couldn’t provide.

“Tex” had a good spring training, and although he is regarded as a notorious slow starter at the beginning of the year (career .249 BA including 2009) it was hoped that his hot spring would carry over into the regular season. However, with the absence of A-Rod Teixeira has struggled. In April, without Rodriguez to protect him, Teixeira saw a lot of breaking balls and pitches off the plate. Tex ended the month with a .200 average with 3 home runs and 10 RBI. He struck out 12 times or one strikeout per 5. 83 at bats.

His struggles continued going into May as Teixeira’s average continued to plummet. By May 12 Teixeira was hitting just .191. His strikeout total had jumped to 25 in 109 at bats (every 4.36 AB). Frustrated by his lack of production Teixeira began hearing the boos from fans as he looked completely lost at times in the batter’s box.

However, on May 8, a week before he was projected to return, A-Rod made his first appearance of the 2009 campaign. Facing the Baltimore Orioles and RHP Jeremy Guthrie Rodriguez made a dramatic statement as he hit the first pitch he saw out of the park to give the Yankees 3-0 lead. In one swing A-Rod lifted the spirits of the entire team, which had been scuffling from the opening bell.

Prior to May 8 the Yankees were 4.5 games out of first place, standing in 3rd place behind the Toronto Blue Jays and Boston Red Sox with a 14-15 record. They had been embarrassed by the Red Sox losing five straight times both in Boston and New York. They had a habit of getting behind in games or if leading the game, losing the lead and then losing the game.

Since A-Rod’s return the Yankee clubhouse seems to have refocused and reenergized. In the past 9 games, with Rodriguez in the lineup, the Bombers have posted a 7-2 record. They took 2-of-3 from the Baltimore Orioles at Camden Yards, 2-of-3 from the AL East Division leading Blue Jays and after coming from behind again today hold a 3-0 series lead over the visiting Minnesota Twins. The Yankees go for the Sweep on Monday. More on that series later.

Although, A-Rod has struggled so far with his timing at the plate, because of his inability to perform in live game situations, he has picked his spots to elevate his team. Besides his spectacular first at bat, first pitch, 3-run home run against the Orioles Rodriguez has chosen other moments to shine as well.

On Saturday night Rodriguez hit a two-run walk-off homer in the 11th inning to record his first hit at the new Yankee Stadium. The home run also broke a 4-4 tie and stunned the Twins for the second game in a row. In Sunday’s game against the Twins Rodriguez etched his will on the game again. Trailing 2-0 to a brilliant pitching performance by Kevin Slowey A-Rod hit a solo shot in the 7th inning to cut the lead to 2-1.

The big beneficiary in all of this has been Teixeira. With Rodriguez batting cleanup behind him, Teixeira has been seeing better pitches and has responded. In the 9 games since his return and proceeding A-Rod in the order Teixeira is hitting .324 with 3 home runs and 9 RBI. He is still striking out more than the Yankees would like, but overall they have to be very pleased Teixeira has begun to thaw out at the plate.

Getting back to today’s game at the Stadium against the Twins, New York won for their third straight come-from-behind victory is this 4-game series. All of the wins have come in surprising fashions. In addition to A-Rod’s heroics Saturday night, hot hitting CF Melky Cabrera added his own brand of excitement.

Trailing 4-3 in the bottom of the 9th with two on, two out and the bases loaded Cabrera strode to the plate to face premier closer Joe Nathan. Cabrera lifted the ball into the left-center field gap scoring Teixeira and PR Ramiro Peña to secure a 5-4 win.

In Sunday’s game the Yankees faced an outstanding start by Slowey who only surrendered two earned runs in 7.2 innings of work. The Yankees countered with A.J. Burnett, though struggling at times, kept his team in the game. Burnett gave up two earned runs in 6.2 innings before giving the ball to the bullpen.

After A-Rod’s solo homer in the 7th inning DH Hideki Matsui doubled off Slowey and then scored the tying run by advancing on RF Nick Swisher’s sacrifice and Cabrera’s fly out to left field. Slowey’s day was done and Twins manager Ron Gardenhire turned it over to his bullpen.

The Twins kept the game even until the bottom of the 10th inning when LF Johnny Damon turned on a fastball from RHRP Jesse Crain and sent into the right field second deck to give the Yankees their third come-from-behind victory. It was Damon’s third career walk off bomb, but his first with the Yankees. The three consecutive come-from-behind wins hadn’t been accomplished since August 27-29, 1972 the season before principal owner George Steinbrenner purchased the club.

The win also was the Yankees 5th straight victory, which is the longest string of wins this season.

After the game, YES Network’s Kimberly Jones caught up with Damon outside the Yankees dugout. Just before going on camera Damon was given a cream pie in the face by Burnett. Jones asked Damon what all of the recent drama meant to him and the team.

“This is great. Three straight walk offs, you know it’s pretty exciting for us,” Damon said. “Hopefully, this means we’re going to start playing better. Things feel real good right now.”

It’s also pretty exciting for Yankee fans as well and you can bet they’re feeling real good right now too.

Notes: This was the 11th anniversary of David Wells perfect game against the Minnesota Twins who lost to the Yankees 4-0.

© 2009 Yankees Talk Shop @ yuku.com

Redistribution, rewriting, rebroadcast, or republication of this story without the prior written consent of Yankees Talk Shop, Pride in the Pinstripes or its affiliates is strictly prohibited

Yankees having a roller coaster season
Mediocre Bombers under .500 after first 31 games

First of all, I want to wish all of you baseball loving moms out there a Happy Mother’s Day.

UGLY! There is no other way to describe the New York Yankees. This team is ugly. It wins ugly and it loses ugly. Today’s finale in Baltimore was no different. It was ugly. Yeah, they won 5-3 on Johnny Damon’s 3-run home run in the top of the 7th inning, but getting there is an E-ticket ride Yankee fans are getting tired of watching.

Coming out of spring training, the Yankees were pegged by most baseball experts as one of the three best teams in all of baseball this season. Unfortunately for the Yankees the other two teams mentioned play in their division. Along with the Bombers, the Boston Red Sox and the Tampa Bay Rays have also been talked about as being at the top of the class. It was predicted that between the three teams one would be AL East champion, one would be the wild card representative and the last could possibly win 90+ games and still go home.

So far New York looks like the odd team out. In fact, they don’t nearly resemble any team projected to win over 90 games this season. Besides the Red Sox and Rays you can add the Toronto Blue Jays who are playing tremendous baseball so far.

After 31 games (including today’s win in Baltimore) the Yankees record stands at 15-16. Projected out over an entire 162 game campaign the Yankees would finish 78-84. That is hardly the kind of record that would catapult a team into the playoffs.

The fall guy in all of this drama is Yankee manager Joe Girardi who, last year, took over the reins of the team from the departed Joe Torre. The baseball gods smiled cruelly on Girardi and the Yankees. After Torre headed for the sunny weather in Los Angeles as manager of the Dodgers the Yankees under Girardi’s guidance failed to make the playoffs for the first time since 1994. Torre’s teams made the post season 12 straight years, making 6 World Series appearances and winning four of them. That’s the kind of record which leads to a direct membership in the Baseball Hall of Fame.

To make matters worse Torre took the 2008 Angelinos to the playoffs, beating the heavily favored Chicago Cubs in the first round before losing to the Philadelphia Phillies in the NLCS 4-1. No Dodger team had gone that far since Tommy Lasorda’s crew surprised the baseball world by upsetting the Oakland Athletics in the 1988 Fall Classic in five games.

While the Yankees flounder around on the east coast the Dodgers and Torre are currently enjoying life and the best record (22-10) in baseball on the west coast. Those facts must have the Yankees brain trust standing on its ear.

You can just hear all the arguments right now. Yeah, the Dodgers were nothing until they got Manny Ramirez from the Red Sox. Or, the Dodgers play in the weakest division in baseball. While some of or all of that may be true it doesn’t change the actuality of the situation. Torre and the Dodgers are winning (now without Ramirez who was suspended 50 games for a positive drug test) while Girardi and the Yankees are barely treading water.

In five head-to-head meetings this year the Red Sox are perfect against New York. As their greatest rival, that record grates on the nerve endings of anyone even remotely associated with the Yankees. Against all East Division rivals the Yankees are 5-11. With a new $1.5 billion stadium to show off and after spending $425 million in the off season upgrading the roster this start is hardly what the Steinbrenners and general manager Brian Cashman had envisioned.

Girardi’s trip to the hot seat is hardly all his fault. The offense has been sketchy at best. Owning a team average of .273 the Yankees rank sixth in the American League, trailing Toronto, Boston and Tampa Bay. The Yankees trail the same three teams in RBI, but trail only the Texas Rangers (50) in home runs (45).

While the hitting has been mixed the pitching has been absolutely horrendous. New York presently ranks at the bottom of the American League with a team ERA of 5.88. That average is nearly two and a half runs under front runner Kansas City who owns a team ERA of 2.39. In the AL East the Yankees trail the Baltimore Orioles, the next lowest team by a little under half a run (5.39) per game.

The starting rotation, including three disastrous starts by Chien-Ming Wang, has a combined ERA of 5.73. Without Wang it’s 5.22. The relief corps has been very unreliable. In 96 innings pitched the bullpen has surrendered 68 runs for an ERA of 6.38.

Even Mariano Rivera, arguably the greatest closer in history, has had his problems. Rivera has already surrendered four home runs this season, nearly equaling his career high (5) set in 1997. On May 7 against the Rays Rivera gave up consecutive home runs, which, according to the Elias Sports Bureau, hadn’t been done in 862 appearances by Rivera. His 3.97 ERA is 1.67 points higher than his career average.

In fairness to Rivera he is coming off shoulder surgery and he has said his velocity isn’t where it should be. Admittedly, Rivera said he has enough tools to get guys out. But, keep in mind Rivera is approaching 40 and as a closer he has been at the top of the ladder much longer than most of his contemporaries. It could just be Rivera has begun the inevitable downward spiral that ultimately catches up with every player.

Another thing which is out of Girardi’s control is injuries. The Yankees have had an inordinate amount of them since Opening Day. So far this season Girardi has had to juggle his starting rotation, bullpen and lineup card a number of times. The Yankees have lost RHRP Brian Bruney (15-day, right flex muscle mass), LHRP Damaso Marte (15-day, left shoulder tendinitis), C Jose Molina (15-day, strained right quad), RF Xavier Nady (15-day, right strained elbow), C Jorge Posada (15-day, strained hamstring), 3B Cody Ransom (60-day, right quad tear) and RHP Chien-Ming Wang (15-day, weak hip abductor muscle) to the Disabled List.

Up until this past Friday you could have included 3B Alex Rodriguez who has been out since the beginning of the season due to having surgery performed on his right hip. A-Rod came back with a flurry as he hit a 3-run bomb off the first pitch he saw from Orioles starter Jeremy Guthrie. Still, as A-Rod returned both Posada and Molina went on the DL.

Girardi hasn’t had a full complement of players since he took over the team last year. Regrettably, he knows that the blame for failure has to fall somewhere, and it usually falls squarely on the shoulders of the manager. Cashman’s neck should be on the chopping block as well. As the general manager he is the guy, along with the manager, who recommends where the money spent on high priced players goes. Looking at the Yankees successes so far this year the team has overspent for its newly acquired talent.

This team still has time to right the ship. Going on the road and facing opponents in other divisions may be the tonic the Yankees need to turn their season around. However, their success or failure begins with each individual player. Unless each player is willing to come out every game and leave it on the field the 2009 drive will result in another year of failure. Some guys have stepped up, while others have stepped back. The Yankees still have to come back and face the other teams in their division and if they can’t get by them, then it doesn’t matter what they do against the other foes in the Central and West.

Where is the Gipper when you need him?

© 2009 Yankees Talk Shop @ yuku.com

Redistribution, rewriting, rebroadcast, or republication of this story without the prior written consent of Yankees Talk Shop, Pride in the Pinstripes or its affiliates is strictly prohibited

Yankees have a ‘Hughes’ problem
Revived righty could shake up rotation

It seems like only yesterday that Phil Hughes, along with fellow right-hander Ian Kennedy were projected as can’t miss prospects by both baseball experts and those within the Yankees organization. They were so revered that Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman refused to put them into any deal, including a swap that would have brought two-time Cy Young Award winner Johan Santana from the Minnesota Twins to the Bronx in 2008.

Hughes, specifically, was viewed as an immediate starter for the Yankees. Making the Opening Day roster in 2007 Hughes made his first start on April 26 against the Toronto Blue Jays. Hughes lasted just 4.1 innings, giving up 4 runs on 7 hits, absorbing the loss. Making his second start against the Texas Rangers on May 1 Hughes flashed the brilliance seen by others assessing his talent. He was throwing a no-hitter until, with one out in the sixth inning; Hughes injured his left hamstring while throwing a 0-2 curveball to Ranger first baseman Mark Teixeira. Hughes would miss the next three months rehabbing his injured leg.

Hughes returned to the Yankees on August 4, making his next start against the Kansas City Royals. He went 4.2 innings, earning a no-decision.

2007 also marked the first time Hughes pitched in the post season. Once again, Hughes took advantage of the spotlight. In Game 1 of the American League Divisional Series Hughes faced the Cleveland Indians, entering the game in relief of starter Roger Clemens. Hughes sparked as he shut down the Indians in 3.2 innings of work to earn the victory. It was the only win the Yankees would produce against the Tribe.

Another bit of trivia, Hughes was the youngest player (21) on the roster and he replaced the oldest player (45) in Clemens who left the game with a hamstring injury of his own.

During the winter Hughes was sought after by many teams, with the most notable being the Twins. The Twins as a small market club needed to unload their premier pitcher, Santana, because they knew he was going to fetch a huge contract that the Twins could ill afford to meet. The Yankees contacted the Twins about Santana, but they wanted Hughes and center fielder Melky Cabrera in return. The Yankees ultimately said NO!

Hughes and Cabrera stayed and Santana signed with the New York Mets.

All-in-all, things were looking up for the young righty. Hughes and Kennedy both made the starting rotation to start the 2008 season. Hughes, who wore the number 65 in 2007, switched his number to 34 for the 2008 campaign. It was the number he wore in high school and at the 2006 All-Star Futures Game.

Coming out of Spring Training everything appeared to be on track for Hughes. He did well in his first start of the season where he went 6.0 innings against the Toronto Blue Jays on April 3. Hughes earned a no-decision, as the Yankees nipped the Jays 3-2. In the game Hughes struck out four, walked one and gave up two earned runs.

After that Hughes season unraveled in a hurry. In his next 5 starts Hughes’ record dropped to 0-4. He averaged 3.06 innings of work, and his ERA ballooned to 9.00. To add to Hughes’ woes he landed on the disabled list on April 30 with a strained oblique and a cracked rib. On May 2 Hughes visited an optometrist and it was discovered he was nearsighted. He began wearing glasses on the mound.

After recovering from his injuries Hughes spent the summer in the minors at Scranton/Wilkes-Barrie helping the Yankees Triple-A team win the 2008 International League title.

The Yankees recalled Hughes on September 13 and he made his first start on September 17 against the Chicago White Sox. Hughes threw 4.0 innings, but showed signs of life again. He surrendered just one run while striking out 4 and walking two batters to help the Yankees to a 5-1 win. In his next start Hughes pitched 8.0 innings in Toronto. His line was very encouraging to the Yankees as he only gave up 2 earned runs on 5 hits, while striking out 6 and walking none. In that one game Hughes lowered his ERA from 7.96 to 6.62. It was a tremendous building block for Hughes to carry with him into the off-season, which came early as the Yankees failed to make the playoffs.

Hughes had a marvelous 2009 spring training where in 4 appearances (12.1 innings of work) he only gave up 3 earned runs on 5 hits, and had a terrific ERA of 2.19. However, when camp broke to start the regular season Hughes returned to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

As it has been said many times, “fate is the hunter.” Fate found Phil Hughes.

No one in their right mind expected the start RHP Chien-Ming Wang has had to start this season. A two-time 19-game winner, Wang was 8-2 in 2008 before going on the DL after injuring his right foot on June 15, while facing the Houston Astros in an interleague game. Wang was attempting to score a run when he pulled up lame and was taken out of the game. It proved to be a season ending injury.

Wang had a pedestrian spring training, but announced himself ready for the start of the season. Wang was penciled in by manager Joe Girardi as the No. 3 starter behind newly acquired pitchers C.C. Sabathia (Milwaukee Brewers) and A.J. Burnett (Toronto Blue Jays). In Wang’s first 3 starts he has allowed 23 earned runs on 23 hits in just 6.0 innings of work. That worked out to an ERA of 34.50. Wang was pulled from his next start as the team contemplated what it was going to do with him.

"We have some time. We have a day off I think Thursday and we're going to have to decide what's best for Chien-Ming Wang and the team," Girardi said at the time.

What they decided was to put Wang on the disabled list, which opened up the slot for Hughes.

Hughes made the most of the opportunity, and yesterday he was stellar in his start against the Detroit Tigers. Facing a very formidable lineup Hughes allowed no runs, only 2 hits, while striking out 6 Tigers and walking two. He also hit a batter. Hughes mixed his pitches well and kept the Tigers off balance for the most part. He kept it even, until the Yankees took advantage of an outfield fielding error, and broke the game wide open for an 11-0 win. The victory snapped a 4-game losing streak.

"It's a good feeling," Hughes said to reporters after the game. "I didn't have one all last year, so to get one in the first start is nice."

Hughes was just what the Yankees needed. His performance was the positive, feel good tonic that has been missing from the clubhouse since the Yankees hit the road nearly a week ago.

"That's the best that I've seen him throw," Joe Girardi said. "It was something we needed. That's a pretty good hitting lineup and he shut them down."

Another guy that may be on the hot seat, if Hughes continues to shine, is No. 5 starter Joba Chamberlain. Chamberlain, who made a splash in 2007 coming out of the bullpen, hasn’t looked as good this season in the starting rotation.

In three starts Chamberlain is 0-0 with a 3.94 ERA. He has not pitched deep into a game, averaging 5.37 innings per start. Flashing a near-100 mph fastball in 2007 while coming out of the bullpen Chamberlain has barely reached the mid-90s this year. He went on the DL in 2008 with a shoulder injury, which was diagnosed as shoulder tendinitis. He returned to close out the season, but so far this year his performances have been mixed. Chamberlain has struck out 11, but walked 10. He is averaging a little over 90 pitches per game. This is in accordance with the “Joba Rules” imposed upon Chamberlain by the team. According to Girardi he wants Chamberlain limited to 150 innings this year, but at the same time make approximately 30 starts. Girardi admitted that may necessitate pulling Joba from games after 5 innings.

However, there is no restriction on Hughes, and if he can continue to pitch as he did Tuesday that is going to create some interesting headaches for Girardi.

For one, the bullpen has been a mixed bag of tricks since the season started. The Yankees have the highest team ERA in baseball and the bullpen has been a large part of that. Chamberlain has proven he can dish coming out of the ‘pen so that is a great option for Girardi. RHP Brian Bruney who also went on the DL the same time as Wang had been the one bright spot in the relief corps and once he comes back the Yankees could be looking at a triumvirate much like the Nelson-Stanton-Rivera trio of the 90s. With both Bruney and Chamberlain in the bullpen with Rivera the Yankees could go a Bruney-Chamberlain-Rivera pairing to shorten the game to six innings.

Secondly, you have to reward effort. With Wang on the DL for a few more weeks Hughes is going to get the opportunity to show management he belongs in the majors full time. If he continues to perform like he did against Cleveland sending him back down to the minors would be counterproductive. It could hurt Hughes psyche as to whether he feels like he’s wanted or not.

The next couple of weeks are going to be very telling for the Yankees and their pitching corps. If Wang comes back strong and reverts to the pre-injured pitcher he was Girardi is going to have to make some heavy duty decisions (and he won’t be making them alone). Personally, if Hughes and Wang are pitching at their optimum levels, sending Chamberlain back to the bullpen is the correct move. He would instantly shore up a leaky group of relievers, and, along with Bruney give them legitimacy.

Decisions, decisions!! This is why they pay Girardi the big money, because he is the one who is eventually going to have to figure this roadblock out. It’s a nice problem to have for a while, but ultimately whether or not some personnel like the moves that are going to be made Girardi is going to have to make them for the betterment of the team.

In the meantime, all Phil Hughes can do is take the ball, pitch the best he can, and let the chips fall where they may.

© 2009 Yankees Talk Shop @ yuku.com

Redistribution, rewriting, rebroadcast, or republication of this story without the prior written consent of Yankees Talk Shop, Pride in the Pinstripes or its affiliates is strictly prohibited

BoSox KO Yankees with early season sweep
Bronx Bummers go 3 and out

If this weekend proved anything it proves the 2009 version of the New York Yankees isn’t very good. At least they’re not good right now and not good in the State of Massachusetts.

The Boston Red Sox shredded the Yankees starting rotation of Joba Chamberlain, AJ Burnett and Andy Pettitte, along with a shoddy bullpen, for 25 runs on 34 hits, five of which were home runs to sweep the Yankees. With the weekend losses the Yankees dropped to 9-9 on the year, and they landed into third place, four games behind the front running Toronto Blue Jays. The Sox improved to 12-6 and moved to within one game of the Jays.

This was the first major test for the Yankees who, along with the Tampa Bay Rays and Red Sox, were considered by most experts to be one of the three best teams in all of baseball. Unfortunately for New York fans the Bronx Bummers didn’t live up to the hype.

On Friday evening, with the Yankees leading the Sox 4-2 going into the bottom of the ninth, Yankee manager Joe Girardi handed the ball to his star closer, Mariano Rivera, with the confidence Rivera would close the door and secure victory for the pinstripers.

It’s no secret Rivera has had difficulties from time to time in Fenway Park and this night proved no different. The inning started off well, as Rivera struck out David Ortiz, but then gave up a single to Kevin Youkilis who just happens to be the hottest hitter in the American League at the moment. He moved to second on JD Drew’s ground out and came home after Rivera threw a ball down the middle of the plate, which was promptly deposited into the deepest part of center field by outfielder Jason Bay. Rivera surrendered a single to third baseman Mike Lowell, but ended the inning by striking out catcher Jason Varitek.

Predictably, the damage was done.

The Yankees failed to score in the 10th and 11th innings and with Dámaso Marte on the mound Youkilis ended the game with a walk off home run as the Sox edged the Yankees 5-4.

The following afternoon bore out the Yankees inability to maintain a lead or get off the canvas when knocked down.

New York starter AJ Burnett cruised through the first three innings as the Yankees built a 6-0 lead in the top of the 4th inning. However, in the bottom of the frame Burnett unraveled and the Yankees allowed Boston back into the game. The Red Sox scored 5 runs, capped by Varitek’s grand slam, which by the way, doubled his RBI total for the year. The Sox scored 3 more runs in the 5th to take an 8-6 lead.

The Yankees scored 2 runs in the 6th and 7th innings, but the Red Sox answered with a run in their half of the 6th and 3 more in the 7th. The Yankees got a run in the 8th, but Boston ended it with a knockout in the bottom of the frame scoring 4 runs to make it a 16-13 victory in a slugfest that saw the two teams combine for 28 hits.

It seemed no matter what the Yankees did the Red Sox countered with greater ferocity.

Hoping to avoid the brooms leaving town the Yankees put their hopes in the left arm of Andy Pettitte. Pettitte has always been the Yankees slide stopper, and he has had a lot of success pitching in Fenway Park. Pettitte came into the game with a 2-0 record and a decent 2.53 ERA. Things were looking good, because the Red Sox had to counter with a kid by the name of Justin Masterson who was making an emergency start. Masterson had thrown just 11 innings in 5 previous appearances, and he was facing off with one of Baseball’s best gamers.

There are reasons teams play 162 games on the field and not on paper. Masterson mastered the Yankees, keeping them off balance in his 5.1 innings of work. Masterson allowed 6 measly hits, while striking out 4 and walking one. He did not give up an extra-base hit. Boston’s bullpen picked Masterson up after he exited the game by not allowing a run to help the young gun improve his record to 2-0.

On the other side of the mound Pettitte didn’t pitch bad, but he made a huge mental error in the game, which shifted momentum to the Red Sox side of the ledger. In the bottom of the 5th with Pettitte locked in a 1-1 ballgame he walked Varitek to start the inning. He struck out Ortiz, and then walked Jacoby Ellsbury, who is a blur on the bases. Pettitte induced Dustin Pedroia to fly out and it looked like he might get out of the inning, as he faced the struggling Ortiz.

Ortiz spoiled Pettitte’s attempt to get out of the inning unscathed by hitting an opposite field double into left field scoring Varitek and putting Ellsbury at third. Pettitte intentionally walked Youkilis to load the bases. While facing Drew, Pettitte and Posada neglected to check Ellsbury at third. Pettitte wound up and delivered a slow breaking pitch. While Pettitte was in his windup Ellsbury broke for home and slid head first across the dish before Posada had a chance to receive the ball from Pettitte and apply the tag.

The Yankees were stunned.

To add insult to injury Drew doubled to score Ortiz to make the score 4-1. New York was unable to overcome its mistakes and only collected two insignificant singles (Robinson Cano – top 6th; Melky Cabrera – top 9th) the rest of the way.

The Yankees who broke spring training camp in Tampa with two new arms (Burnett and CC Sabathia) in the starting rotation and a new power hitting, defensive first baseman (Mark Teixeira) had hopes for a fast start. After losing 2-of-3 in Baltimore where they were expected to win the Yankees went to Kansas City and won 2-of-3 to even their record at 3-3. They went home to open up their new $1.5 billion palace against the Cleveland Indians.

With the new digs as a backdrop, an enthusiastic crowd and their ace on the mound the Yankees opened their home stand with a 10-2 loss. Sabathia, who had been signed in the off-season for $161 million over 7 years had a good start, but was betrayed by his bullpen who gave up 9 runs to blow the game for the big lefty.

The Yankees won the following game 6-5, but were embarrassed by Cleveland in Saturday’s matinee game by coughing up 22 runs on 25 hits. It was one of the most lopsided losses in Yankees’ history. In fact New York, who owned a 2-0 lead after the first, gave up 14 runs in the top of the 2nd inning to break the MLB record for most runs scored by a team in a single inning. The old record was 13 previously held by--you guessed it--the Yankees.

Finally, in Sunday’s get away game the Yankees finally played solid baseball all the way around and beat the Indians 7-3 to unrighteously earn a split in the 4-game series.

The Yankees took a rain shortened, 2-game series against the visiting Oakland Athletics by beating the A’s 5-3 and 9-7 respectively, then headed into Boston with a 9-6 record and tied with the Red Sox for second place.

The Yankees, with their tails between their legs, head for Detroit where they will play the Tigers in a 3-game series before traveling back home to open their stint against the always dangerous Los Angeles Angels.

This team, so far, has been a huge disappointment. They have been grossly overrated at this juncture and have underperformed given their expectations. Mark Teixeira, although putting on displays of defensive genius, has been a mess at the plate. As one of the big winter signings Teixeira is expected to provide a lot of offense in replacing the aging Jason Giambi.

A notorious slow starter, it was hoped Teixeira would mash out of the gate, but true to form he has achieved little in the month of April. He is batting just .218 with 3 home runs and 10 RBI. In 55 at bats he has struck out 11 times.

He isn’t the only underachiever on the team. Cody Ransom, who is standing in for Alex Rodriguez until A-Rod returns in May, was only hitting .180 with no home runs and 6 RBI in 50 at bats before he injured his right quadriceps sliding into 2B on April 24. Center fielder Brett Gardner beat out Melky Cabrera for the starting job in spring training by swinging a hot bat, but has fallen off the radar screen with a .220 BA, 0 HR, 4 RBI and only 9 runs scored. Not a power hitter Gardner was expected to get on base and use his unbelievable speed to create scoring opportunities. So far Gardner is sporting an OBP of .254, which is not getting the job done.

There have been some bright spots though. Newcomer Nick Swisher has carried the team for much of the month of April. He is currently batting .286 with 4 HR and 13 RBI. With Xavier Nady on the disabled list Swisher has been able to play daily and has made the most of his opportunities.

The biggest surprises have been Robinson Cano and Cabrera.

Cano, who started the 2008 season as an undisciplined hitter, had a terrible first half season, and even though he warmed up in the second half of ’08 only batted .271. He had 14 HR and 72 RBI. This season Cano came out of the spring with a renewed purpose. He is the Yankees hottest hitter. Cano is batting .373 with 5 HR and 15 RBI. If nothing changed Cano would project out to 45 HR and 225 RBI. Obviously, that won’t play out, but you get the picture. Cano has completely turned his game around since the end of last season.

The same can be said for Cabrera who is hitting .303 in April. Melky has 4 HR and 7 RBI in limited playing time. Beat out of the center field job, Cabrera is showcasing his talent at the plate in hopes of possibly moving Gardner to the bench.

Up to now the Yankees have played rag-tag baseball. They are not getting timely pitching, nor are they getting timely hitting. The Yankees can’t expect to get 10-15 runs per game in order to win. They seem to have lost the killer instinct that marked the great Yankees teams of the ‘90’s. They get leads, lose them, and then lose the game. They’re not answering the bell when they get hit on the chin. In order to compete with other teams in their division the Yankees are going to have to get tougher. Now with Nady, set up man Brian Bruney, starter Chien-Ming Wang, Ransom and Alex Rodriguez all on the DL, it is up to the rest of the team to suck it up and get after it. Somebody is going to have to step up and put the team on his back, otherwise, the Yankees will fall further behind the front runners.

The Yankee organization spent a ton of money on marquee free agents to help this team get back into the winner’s circle. It also spent megabucks on opening a new citadel. But, unless the new stadium has a winning team in it the fans are going to find other things to do with their time. Yeah it’s early, but to me, the games in April and May mean just as much as those in August and September. A win is a win no matter when you get it.

If the Yankees can’t get off the deck when floored, then when that hot streak comes sometime during the season it’s going to be used in getting closer to the top, but not over it. And, as we all know the measure of a successful season for the Yankees is capturing the World Series trophy and taking a trip down the Canyon of Heroes. Anything less is considered failure.

Failure is not an option.

© 2009 Yankees Talk Shop @ yuku.com

Redistribution, rewriting, rebroadcast, or republication of this story without the prior written consent of Yankees Talk Shop, Pride in the Pinstripes or its affiliates is strictly prohibited

Renewed Rivalry
Yanks, Sox have first meeting at Fenway Friday night

Once again, the greatest rivalry since the Union vs. the Confederacy gets showcased this weekend at Fenway Park in Boston as the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox face off in a 3-game series between the longtime AL East rivals.

You can just hear it now. The peacefulness of spring will be broken by the persistent chorus of “Yankees S**K,” ringing throughout the oldest venue in baseball. The players over the years, on both sides, would often tell you they don’t get caught up in THE RIVALRY, but don’t believe it for a second. Too many brawls between these two teams tell you otherwise. It’s Munson vs. Fisk, Jeter vs. Garciaparra, Nettles vs. Spaceman Lee, Joltin’ Joe vs. the Splendid Splinter, A-Rod vs. Varitek and Zimmer vs. Martinez. The list is almost endless. Let’s face it the guy wearing the interlocking midnight blue NY accompanied by pinstripes doesn’t much care for the guy adorned with a big red “B” on his cap or two dangling red socks on his uniform.

Since 1994, when Major League Baseball introduced the American League Divisional Series to allow the second place team with the best record (wild card) from any of the three divisions (Central, East, West) to compete in the playoffs, either the Yankees or Red Sox were the division winner in the AL East or the wild card representative. The only exception was in 1994 when the playoffs were canceled due to a strike organized by the player’s union. The only times that neither team won the division crown was in 1997 when the Baltimore Orioles (98-64) came in first (Yankees were the wild card team) and last year when the Tampa Bay Rays surprised the baseball world by not only winning the division, but beating the defending World Series champion Red Sox (wild card) to advance to their first World Series. Unfortunately for the Rays, they ran into a hot Philadelphia Philly team and pitcher Cole Hamels, losing the Series 4-1.

Now for the first time in what seems like forever the AL East isn’t just a two horse race anymore. The Rays have invited themselves to the party. They forced their way into the club once exclusively reserved for the Yankees and Sox alone. In doing so the Rays kicked New York to the side of the road, causing them to miss the playoffs for the first time in 13 seasons. Even with that embarrassment in the backs of their minds the Yankees haven’t forgotten about the Red Sox. And, believe me; the fans of both teams haven’t forgotten each other either.

This story, as most of us who follow these two teams know, began in 1918 after the Red Sox had won their 5th World Series title since the modern era of baseball began in 1901. It had been their third title in the past four years. The Sox were on a roll due largely in part to a young phenomenon by the name of George Herman “Babe” Ruth. Ruth was an atypical baseball player. He was an unbelievable pitcher as his career stats show:



W:    94
L:    46
ERA:  2.28
G:    163
GS:   148
CP:   107
SHO:  17
SV:   4
IP:   1221.1
H:    974
R:    400
ER:   309
HR:   10
HBP:  29
BB:   441
SO:   448
WPct: .671
WHIP: 1.16
AVE:  .220
BB/9: 3.25
K/9:  3.60



Ruth was 89-46 with the Red Sox, 5-0 with the Yankees overall.

On top of that Ruth was an outstanding offensive threat. After the 1917 season where Ruth hit .325 the Sox decided Ruth was more valuable to them as an everyday player and they moved him to the outfield where he split his time with pitching during the 1918 season. In just 317 at bats Ruth gave a glimpse of what was to come during his remarkable career. He led the league in home runs with eleven, while hitting .300.

In 1919 Ruth mainly played in the outfield where he set his first home run record with 29 round trippers. He also batted .322, knocked in 114 runs and amassed an OPS of 1.114%. Despite Ruth’s herculean season the Red Sox finished out of the money as the Chicago White (Black) Sox went to the World Series that year.

On December 16, 1919 the balance of power in the American League changed hands as Red Sox owner Harry Frazee sold Ruth to the floundering New York Yankees for $125,000, plus a $350,000 loan so Frazee could finance a Broadway play called “No, No Nanette.” Unbeknownst to Frazee on that day a rivalry was born.

For the next 86 years the Red Sox struggled against an invisible enemy that became known as the “Curse of the Bambino.”

Oh, the Red Sox played in some World Series, but weird and inexplicable things would happen to them. Boston star, and arguably the most prolific hitter of all time, Ted Williams, batted just .200 with no home runs and one RBI against the St. Louis Cardinals in the 1946 World Series.

In 1967 the Red Sox finally returned to the Series to face the Cardinals once again. Boston had an ace by the name of Jim Lonborg pitching Game 7. Regrettably, the Cardinals had a better one named Bob Gibson. The Red Birds won the game, walked away with the trophy and owned a two-love score against the Sox in World Series play.

Their next entry into the Fall Classic came in 1975 as Boston faced off against the Big Red Machine, otherwise known as the Cincinnati Reds. The Sox were loaded with talent. They had Rookie-of-the-year and AL MVP Fred Lynn, Carlton Fisk, Dwight Evans, Jim Rice and Carl Yastrzemski. The Reds countered with Johnny Bench, Joe Morgan, Pete Rose, Ken Griffey Sr., and George Foster.

The highlight of the ’75 Series was Carlton Fisk’s home run off the left field foul pole in Game 6 at Fenway to give the Sox a 7-6 victory and another chance to exorcize the “Curse.” It didn’t happen as the Reds came from behind in Game 7 to nip the Sox 4-3 to take home the first of their back-to-back World Series trophies.

1986 brought the biggest disappointment of all. The Red Sox climbed back into the World Series to face New York’s other team, the Mets. Once again disaster struck. The Sox went into Shea Stadium for Game 6 leading the Series 3-2; Roger Clemens vs. Bobby Ojeda. Clemens pitched 7 strong innings and gave the ball and a 3-2 lead to Calvin Schiraldi. Going into the 9th Schiraldi owned a 5-3 lead.

With two outs catcher Gary Carter singled and pinch hitter Kevin Mitchell moved him to second with a single. Ray Knight singled scoring Carter and moving Mitchell to third. Sox manager John McNamara had seen enough and replaced Schiraldi with Bob Stanley.

Still holding onto a 5-4 lead with Mitchell standing on third and Knight at first Stanley uncorked a wild pitch scoring Mitchell. Knight moved to second as Mookie Wilson stepped into the batter’s box. After dueling Stanley Wilson hit a roller down the first baseline toward first baseman Bill Buckner. It should have been the third out. Unbelievably, the ball went between Buckner’s legs and into right field. Knight scored as the Mets tied the Series, and then went on to win Game 7 to take it all.

The worst slap? How about when the Shea scoreboard operator pushed the wrong button and put up a message that read, “CONGRATULATIONS BOSTON RED SOX!?”

Sadly, Buckner, who played his heart and ankles out for the Sox, was unmercifully crucified for years over that one play. The real culprit was McNamara who should taken Billy Bucks out for a defensive replacement instead of letting his gimpy first baseman stand out on the field with two badly sprained ankles.

Adding to Boston’s frustration was looking down the I-95 and into the Bronx to watch their hated rivals winning World Series after World Series. In the same time frame the Yankees after acquiring Ruth won the Series in 1923, 1927-28, 1932, 1936-39, 1941, 1943, 1947, 1949-53, 1956, 1958, and 1961-62. The Yankees also went to another nine World Series where they lost to various teams like the NY Giants, Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers, Milwaukee Braves and the Cardinals.

After the 1964 World Series loss to the Cardinals the Yankees went into the basement and didn’t play in the Fall Classic until they met the Cincinnati Reds in the 1976 World Series, losing in four games. However, the Yankees were back and they won the following two World Series in 1977-78 against the Dodgers. They played again in 1981 Series losing to the Dodgers in six games.

Once again the Yankees went into the basement while other teams made their presence known.

Starting in 1995 the Yankees reemerged in the playoff picture. For the next 13 seasons the Yankees made it to the post season, winning four World Series championships (1996, 1998-2000), six AL championships, 10 AL East Division championships and 3 wild card appearances.

What about the head-to-head meetings with the Red Sox for playoff glory?

1978 – In a one-game playoff the Yankees and Sox go at it to determine who’s going to the American League Championship to face the Kansas City Royals. With 2 on and 2 out in the 7th inning Yankee shortstop Bucky Dent hit a 3-run shot off Mike Torrez to put New York in the lead 3-2. The Yankees eventually won the game 5-4.

1999 – Yankees beat the Red Sox 4-1 in the AL Championship round.

2003 – With the ALCS tied 3-3, and leading Game 7 in the 8th inning 5-2 Sox manager Grady Little goes to the mound to take his weary pitcher, ace Pedro Martinez, out of the game. Martinez convinces Little he can pitch so Martinez is left on the hill to face Derek Jeter. With one out Jeter doubled and came home on a single by Bernie Williams. Hideki Matsui followed up with a double to put runners at second and third. Catcher Jorge Posada hit a bloop double into center scoring both Williams and Matsui and tying the score 5-5. Martinez got yanked, but the Sox were able to get out of the inning with no further damage done.

The Yankees and Sox traded zeroes in the 9th and 10th innings. The Sox were unable to score in the top half of the 11th, setting up one of the most dramatic highlights in Yankee Stadium history.

Third baseman Aaron Boone went to plate to face Game 1 and Game 4 winner Tim Wakefield. Boone, who had a miserable ALCS, carried with him a .125 BA as he stood in against Wakefield. On Wakefield’s first pitch Boone swung and sent the ball into the left field seats to win the game for the Yankees, sending them to the World Series and the Red Sox home.

Talk about tearing your heart out. The Curse of the Babe struck once again and the Red Sox fans were forced to watch another October from the comforts of their living rooms while the Yankees went into another World Series.

However, that all changed over the winter between 2003 and 2004. Led by center fielder Johnny Damon the Red Sox took on a different persona. They called themselves “a bunch of idiots,” and had slogans like, “why not us?” The season didn’t end any different. The Yankees won the division and the Sox took the wild card. Following ALDS victories the two teams met again in the AL Championship Series.

The Yankees took it to the Sox and built up a 3-0 lead going into Game 4. There was no tomorrow for Boston. In fact, the Yankees put a pounding on the Sox in Game 3 winning 19-8 at Fenway. New York collected 22 hits in the rout. However, what went unnoticed was the fact that Boston scored 9 runs of their own and knocked out 15 hits. It wasn’t like their guys weren’t hitting. However, to the Sox fans it was déjà vu all over again.

Like the common lament among Red Sox fans says, “they give you hope and then tear your heart out.”
Ever the victim the Sox fans didn’t hold out any hope of overcoming a 3-0 deficit. Why should they have? No team in any sport had ever done that.

Well, like another saying goes, “this isn’t your grandfather’s Red Sox.”

Starting with Game 4 the Sox tied the game in the 9th inning. Mariano Rivera, who had shut down Boston in the 8th, walked Kevin Millar to open the inning. Millar was replaced by Dave Roberts who stole second and then scored the tying run on a single by Bill Mueller. The steal by Roberts turned around 86 years of frustration.

Boston went on to take Game 4 by a score of 6-4 in 12 innings. They also beat the Yankees in Games 5, 6 and 7 to become the first team in sporting history to dig themselves out of a 3-0 hole to win a 7-game championship.

The Red Sox went on to win their first World Series in 86 years by sweeping another past antagonist, the Cardinals, in four games.

Since the Yankees collapse in 2004 the Red Sox have gone on to win a second title in 2007 and make it to the playoffs as a wild card. Meanwhile, the Yankees and their fans in 2008 watched the playoffs from their living room sofas.

Over the past four seasons the rivalry has risen to a whole new level. After nearly of century of subordination the Red Sox and their fans are no longer hearing the chants of “1918! 1918! 1918!” It is now the Yankees and their fans that are looking up, not only at the Red Sox, but the Tampa Bay Rays as well.

Some players like Johnny Damon have changed sides. He’s not the only one who’s done it. Wade Boggs, David Cone, Mike Stanley and Ramiro Mendoza to name a few have switched uniforms too.

That is an added wrinkle to a world class rivalry that doesn’t need another wrinkle.

Most of the teams in Baseball reloaded over the winter with the hope that the baseball gods will smile down on their franchises to give them good fortune and a clear run at the World Series trophy.

So, get ready and settle in to watch the greatest rivalry on earth. The New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox; it doesn’t get any better than that.

© 2009 Yankees Talk Shop @ yuku.com

Redistribution, rewriting, rebroadcast, or republication of this story without the prior written consent of Yankees Talk Shop, Pride in the Pinstripes or its affiliates is strictly prohibited

This Is George’s Day
Yankee owner sees vision come true

Today the New York Yankees officially usher in a new era of baseball in the Bronx. Today, the $1.5 billion palace known as Yankee Stadium formally opens its doors to the throngs of Yankee fans who will descend upon the new edifice located at E 161st St. and River Avenue. Officially, today is known as Opening Day, but appropriately it should be called “George’s Day.”

This Opening Day is all about the man who made the day possible. It’s really all about George Steinbrenner.

The guy known as either affectionately or derisively as “the Boss,” has been the throttle behind the Yankees’ machine for more than three decades. In 1973, with 17 investors at his side, Steinbrenner purchased the Yankees lock, stock and barrel for $10 million from the Columbia Broadcasting System.

At the time of the purchase the Yankees were going into their ninth year without a championship.

After buying the team Steinbrenner, as principal owner, said at the time, “I won't be active in the day-to-day operations of the club at all."

Apparently, George was a better businessman than a prophet, because that’s all he would do in the coming years; be active.

Under Steinbrenner’s leadership the Yankees wasted no time in getting back into the World Series picture. After posting an 80-82 record in 1973 the Yankees improved to 89-73, coming in second behind the Baltimore Orioles in the AL East the following year; missing the playoffs by 2 games.

It was during this period the Yankees temporarily closed the doors to Yankee Stadium to renovate and restructure the aging site. For the next two seasons the Yankees played their games at Shea Stadium in Queens.

When the doors opened for the 1976 season there were obvious and notable differences in the structure. Gone was the marbled wall with the double eagle seals rising up over Gate 4. The outer walls, with its cathedral windows, surrounding the playing field had changed as well. Inside the looks had been altered too.

The frieze or façade that ringed the upper decks of the old stadium had been reduced to a string of façade running along the wall in the outfield. The steel pillars holding up the various seating levels around the stadium had been removed giving fans better sight lines to the field of play.

It was a beautiful park that served the Yankees, its fans, and the City of New York well up until it closed its doors for the final time on September 21, 2008

Also in ‘76, and just three years after Steinbrenner took over the reins, the Yankees won the AL East Division, posting a 97-62 record. They went on to defeat the Kansas City Royals in 5 games to propel themselves into the World Series for the first time in 12 seasons. Unfortunately for the Bronx Bombers they ran into the defending World Series champion Cincinnati Reds who weren’t called the “big red machine” for nothing. The Yankees were swept out of the Series 4-0.

That didn’t dampen Steinbrenner’s spirit; it only fueled his fire. From that point forward the only successful season the Yankees could have using his standard of excellence was bringing home the World Series trophy. Anything less was deemed “failure.”

The next two seasons, with a cast of characters with names like Billy, Thurman, Reggie, Sparky, Gator, Bucky and Goose, the Yankees became world champions for the 21st and 22nd times. They beat their longtime World Series archrivals, the Los Angeles (old Brooklyn) Dodgers in doing so. The same two teams went at it again in 1981 with the Dodgers finally conquering their antagonists in 6 games.

In the process of establishing their identity the turmoil surrounding the Yankees led the New York sportswriters to dub Steinbrenner and the Yankees “the Bronx Zoo.” Steinbrenner was viewed as a tyrant who had an obvious bromance with manager Billy Martin. During their love-hate relationship Martin was hired and fired by Steinbrenner five times between 1976 and 1988.

Along with the chaos came failure. In his unquenchable desire to get his team to the World Series each and every year Steinbrenner spent oodles of money for players hoping to find the right combination of personnel to get it done. Although the team went 692-531 (.566) between 1982 and 1989 they never placed better than second (1985-86).

In the 1990’s the Yankees changed tactics and began to develop their farm system. Instead of buying players the Yankees brought players up through the system. Under the watchful eye of General Manager Gene “Stick” Michael the Yankees developed players like Bernie Williams, Mariano Rivera, Derek Jeter, Andy Pettitte and Jorge Posada. They surrounded these young players with veterans like Paul O’Neill, Tino Martinez and Scott Brosius who blended in well and proved to be a championship combination.

Between outgoing manager Buck Showalter (1995) and the incoming new manager Joe Torre (1996-2007) the Yankees embarked on an odyssey of dynastic proportions. From 1995 through 2007 the Yankees had an incredible 13-year run to the playoffs. During that period the Yankees won four World Series titles, six AL championships, 10 AL East Division crowns and made 3 wild card appearances.

But, even when things have gone well there has been disorder along the way. The common denominator has always been Steinbrenner. For better or worse since his first day as principal owner Steinbrenner has always done things his way. It has gotten him in trouble with Major League Baseball, the law and the fans. However, as with any landscape for every valley there is a hill.

Since their last World Series appearance the Yankees have been in a prolonged valley. Steinbrenner, the organization, the fans and the city at large long for another championship banner.

After two years in the making the “new” Yankee Stadium opens its gates to a new generation of baseball fans. Along with it comes the hope that in this new chapter the Yankees will find the same success they had at the old stadium. It will be a tough act to follow though. Twenty-six World Series championships is a standard that no team in professional sports has equaled. Only time will tell if the new stadium will witness the same accomplishments.

However, the new stadium with all its new amenities of the present and future, plus its design to incorporate the past, is a great way to start. The bridge of tradition is formally completed today. It is time to make new memories, while remembering the old ones. The Babe, Lou, Yogi, Joe D., Whitey and the Mick all played in the old stadium. Today, Derek, Andy, Jorge, Robinson, Mariano and their teammates play in the new one.

Behind it all is George Steinbrenner. It was his drive and his vision that enabled all of what the fans see and experience today to happen. Steinbrenner has always been and always will be about winning.

"Winning is the most important thing in my life, after breathing. Breathing first, winning next,” he once said.

The old stadium may have been “the House that Ruth built,” but most assuredly the new Yankee Stadium is “the House that George built.” In his 36-year association with the New York Yankees Steinbrenner has turned the organization into the most recognizable franchise in sports. It has gone from a $10 million investment to a multi-billion dollar empire. The new stadium is the crown jewel of Steinbrenner’s tireless labors.

So for those of you lucky enough to have a ticket for today’s game enjoy it, savor it and remember it as something very, very special. You’ll be able to tell your grandchildren “you were there” for Opening Day.

In reality, however, the day belongs to no one, but George.

© 2009 Yankees Talk Shop @ yuku.com

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LESSONS TO BE LEARNED
Angels Adenhart’s death a tragic reminder about drinking and driving

He had just pitched the game of his life, and what Los Angeles Angels pitcher Nick Adenhart did afterward was do what any 22-year old kid would do. He wanted to celebrate his good fortune with friends.

Unfortunately, Adenhart died only hours after shutting down the Oakland Athletics; pitching six scoreless innings in the process. It was the best performance of his short career.

Adenhart was a passenger in a silver Mitsubishi Eclipse that was broadsided by a red van apparently blowing through a red light in Fullerton. The horrific crash not only killed the young pitcher, but also claimed the lives of the driver, another passenger, and sent a third passenger to the hospital in critical condition.

The driver of the van, Andrew Thomas Gallo, 23, split the scene, leaving the wake of destruction behind him. He was identified by a passenger in his van and Gallo was located and arrested one-half hour later.

According to authorities, Gallo failed a blood-alcohol test and reported his BA level was nearly 3 times the legal limit of .08 in California. It was also learned that Gallo was driving on suspended license for a previous driving under the influence conviction.

At a news conference Friday Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas said Gallo was being charged with three counts of second degree murder, felony drunk driving, and felony hit and run. If convicted, Gallo faces 55 years to life in prison.

This tragedy goes far beyond the accident scene. Now the Adenhart family is without a son, but it doesn’t end there. Along with Adenhart, the driver of the Mitsubishi, 20-year old Courtney Frances Stewart, a sophomore at Cal State Fullerton and 25-year old Henry Nigel Pearson are lost to their families too. The fourth victim, 24-year-old John Wilhite, was critically injured and remains in the hospital.

Gallo’s alleged acts didn’t just affect his victims’ families they also affected his own family as well. It has to be a gut wrenching feeling knowing that within the Gallo family one of their own is probably responsible for killing three innocent people and that he may spend the rest of his life behind bars.

The worst part of this situation is that it all could have been avoided.

Gallo was convicted in 2006 for drunk driving and his license was suspended. He knew it was suspended. He was advised of that in court and it was part of his sentence. A suspended license means NO DRIVING, unless an exception is made by the court to allow someone to drive to and from work or for some other stipulated hardship. Other than that, you walk, get a ride or take the bus. No exclusions. The second Gallo got into the van and put the key into the ignition he broke his probation and the law. The now fatal catastrophe was put into motion.

This accident also affects those outside the families that were also close to the victims. It’s like when you throw a stone in the middle of a still pond and you watch the ripple affect spread out from the point of the splash and get bigger and bigger as it moves away from the center point. Something like this has a profound impact on more than just the six people who were involved in the collision.

However, out of all the anguish and agony, something positive can come out of this situation. It can be a profound object lesson to others.

Take Joba Chamberlain for example. While in his home state of Nebraska in October of 2008 Chamberlain was pulled over by state troopers while driving his 2006 BMV. After smelling an alcoholic beverage and seeing an open container of Crown Royal on Chamberlain’s seat Chamberlain was busted for DUI. On April 1, after numerous postponements, Chamberlain pled guilty to driving while drunk in Lincoln, Nebraska.

A few days ago a police video of Chamberlain’s encounter with state troopers surfaced on thesmokinggun.com and it showed Chamberlain poking fun at New York drivers and Yogi Berra’s height, or lack thereof. Funny how alcohol will make you do and say some pretty stupid things. Now Chamberlain is answering questions and making apologies about those comments, and he put it this way.

"If I don't put myself in the situation to begin with, I don't have to answer any of these questions," Chamberlain told reporters. "You take it, you understand that's what it's about and there are going to be a lot of questions. I'm never going to run from them."

He also said something very reflective of his situation.

"Life is full of second chances; I got a second chance, and a lot of people don't in this situation," Chamberlain said. "I'm very, very thankful for that....I put myself in a bad situation, but came out unharmed. A lot of people don't get to say that. I'm fortunate enough that nothing happened to me. I can take this and help a lot of people, or maybe even just one person. That's gratifying for me."

I can imagine Andrew Gallo was saying or thinking pretty much the same thing when he was convicted in 2006. He was given a second chance and he blew it. Now it appears he’ll have the rest of his life behind prison walls to reflect on the decisions that changed the lives and fortunes of so many people.

Nevertheless, his situation can be a sobering reminder to those of us left behind. Drinking and driving don’t mix. If you drink, DON”T DRIVE. That’s a pretty simple rule. Sadly, there are a lot of people out there who don’t follow it.

It is naïve to think that this will be the last alcohol related incident involving metal and human flesh, but what if just one person who follows this heartbreaking story makes the decision not to get behind the wheel after reading about it? If that can happen, think of how many sons, daughters, husbands, wives, friends and teammates will make it home and walk through their front doors.

Nick Adenhart and his friends died senselessly, but not without purpose. We can hold these young people up and point them to others to show them they can end up like Mr. Gallo if they contemplate getting behind the wheel of a vehicle after drinking.

If these awful deaths can do that, then there will be a lot less funerals to attend.

© 2009 Yankees Talk Shop @ yuku.com

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Yankees, Sabathia Stumble in Baltimore
Orioles hammer Yankee ace in 10-5 win

The highly anticipated debut of the New York Yankees $161 million pitcher ended up to be a major fizzle as the Baltimore Orioles took the Bombers and C.C. Sabathia to the woodshed with a 10-5 pounding before 48,607 screaming fans at Camden Yard Monday afternoon. It was the largest Opening Day crowd in the 18-year history of the park.

Sabathia, who signed with the Yankees in the off-season for the richest contract by a pitcher in baseball history, didn’t make it out of the 5th inning; a familiar sight to Yankees fans during the 2008 season. The Yankees are counting on Sabathia to eat up major innings during the year. However, Sabathia struggled with his command from the get-go and left the game after surrendering 6 earned runs on 8 hits. The six were the most runs he had given up in a game going back to July 25, 2008 against the Cleveland Indians (32 starts).

Opening Day saw Vice-President Joe Biden throw out the first pitch to kick of the Orioles and Yankees 2009 campaigns; a high fastball catcher Chad Moeller had to climb the ladder to get. He is the first sitting vice-president in history to do so at Camden Yard. Afterward, the O’s took the field and Derek Jeter strode to the plate to face Baltimore starter Jeremy Guthrie. Jeter got the Yankees first hit, singling up the middle, but was left stranded to end the inning.

Sabathia took the mound and immediately had trouble locating his pitches, especially his fastball. He gave up a leadoff single to Brian Roberts and later uncorked two wild pitches, although the second one should have been handled by catcher Jorge Posada. The two wild pitches equaled the amount he threw in 253 innings last year. However, Sabathia was able to keep Baltimore off the boards for the first two frames.

In the third the Yankees took a 1-0 lead on a manufactured run, when Brett Gardner singled to left, and later scored on a sacrifice fly to center by Johnny Damon.

That’s when the Orioles went to work on Sabathia.

Baltimore scored three runs in the bottom of the inning when César Izturis singled, Roberts walked, Adam Jones tripled and Nick Markakis hit a sacrifice fly to score Jones.

The Orioles scored 3 more runs off Sabathia in the 5th when Roberts doubled, and scored after Jones and Markakis hit infield singles. Third baseman Melvin Mora hit another infield single getting Jones to third and moving Markakis up 90 feet. Sabathia intentionally walked Ty Wigginton to load the bases. Jones scored on a ground out by Aubrey Huff with Markakis advancing to third. Sabathia’s afternoon ended after he walked Luke Scott force in a run and reload the bases.

The Yankees bullpen took a beating as well. After Jonathan Albaladejo threw a scoreless 1-1/3 innings in relief of Sabathia the Orioles tagged relievers Phil Coke and Brian Bruney for two runs each, capped by Izturis’ home run off Coke in the 8th.

The Yankees other big time signee Mark Teixeira had a rough afternoon also. Teixeira, who went 0-for-4 with walk, stranded four, including two runners on in the 8th after the Yankees had cut the Orioles lead to 6-5 in the seventh.

After the game, Teixeira remarked to reporters about his poor showing.

“I didn’t get it done there,” he said, referring to his ground out with runners at the corners and two outs.

Teixeira, who was born and raised in Maryland approximately 30 minutes south of Baltimore, was lustily booed by the hometown crowd every time his name was announced at the plate or when he made a play on the field.

After the game, Sabathia summed up his afternoon this way.

“I was terrible. I battled from the first inning on,” he told reporters. “At some point I’m usually able to find it. Today was just one of those days where I didn’t. When I have one of those days, this is the result you get.”

Yankee manager Joe Girardi took the game in stride.

“I guess we can’t go undefeated,” Girardi said. “Yeah, it’s one game. We didn’t execute today.”

Even with the loss the Yankees can point to some positives. Jorge Posada and Hideki Matsui homered and Jeter and Damon went 3-for-5 and 2-for-3 respectively at the top of the order. So far Girardi’s flip-flopping of the Yankees shortstop and left fielder in the lead off and No. 2 spot in the order is paying off.

The Yankees and Orioles have Tuesday off before battling again on Wednesday and Thursday to complete their 3-game series.

Notes: Sabathia didn’t record a strikeout for only the 5th time in 253 career starts and Nick Swisher recorded his first official hit a Yankee by getting a pinch-hit double in the 8th inning.

© 2009 Yankees Talk Shop @ yuku.com

Redistribution, rewriting, rebroadcast, or republication of this story without the prior written consent of Yankees Talk Shop, Pride in the Pinstripes or its affiliates is strictly prohibited