Now That’s More Like It

Yanks 5-1 win over Athletics most complete game in ages




By: Russ Rose
Special to Yankees Talk Shop
April 29, 2004


Finally! Finally! Finally! The Yankees put together the most all around, complete game of the season. Sterling plays, timely hitting and good pitching all played a part in the Yankees 5-1 victory over the visiting Oakland Athletics. Let’s review some good news for a change.

After the Yankees dramatic come-from-behind 10-8 victory on Tuesday against these same Athletics one had to wonder if the Bombers fired all their offensive bullets in that game. After getting swept by their most notorious rivals, the Boston Red Sox, the outlook wasn’t much better with the Athletics coming to town. Let’s face it. The A’s have the triumvirate of pitching in Barry Zito, Mark Mulder and Tim Hudson. However, the Yankees, who have rolled over lately like your pet dog, sucked it up and willed away Tuesday’s win from the A’s, chasing Tim Hudson in the process.

The Yankees gave Mike Mussina a 4-1 lead only to see the Moose give it right back by surrendering 4 runs and falling behind 5-4 after 6 innings. Things didn’t get any better as the Yanks gave up 4 more runs by the middle of the 8th inning to fall behind 8-4. For most of us who’ve watched the Yankees lately that should have been more than enough runs for Oakland to have the Bombers waving the white flag. For once it wasn’t to be.

Suddenly, in the bottom of the frame the offense came alive. Starting with Bernie Williams and ending with Alex Rodriguez the Yankees pounded out 5 hits, 2 walks and an RBI ground out to go ahead of the Athletics 10-8. This was something the Yankee faithful hadn’t seen in a while. The Yankees flexed their muscles and beat a team with their bats.

Wednesday night the Yankees went back to work, this time against Mark Mulder. His opponent was Jose Contreras. This is the same Contreras, who in each of his previous starts, has been unable to get out of the 4th inning. Contreras entered the game sporting a whopping 10.64 ERA.

However, thanks to a pre-game pumping up by Jorge Posada Contreras held together and pitched 6 badly needed innings. He only gave up one run on 4 hits, while striking out four and walking one. He lowered his ERA to 7.41 with the effort. The bullpen made Contreras’ effort stand up by shutting down the Oakland offense the rest of the way.

The Yankees didn’t stop there. Two terrific plays stopped the Athletics dead in their tracks. The first was an awesome play made by first baseman Jason Giambi. With a man on and two out Eric Chavez sent a laser shot to the right side of the infield. Giambi, who is not known for his glove work, flashed some leather on this play and snagged Chavez’s offering to end the inning. It was an instinct play and Jason was up to the task. If the ball gets by him, and a run scores and the Athletics are still in business.

The second play may have been even more athletic. With a man on first Tom Gordon, who was pitching, got a bouncer hit back to him. He wheeled and fired toward second base where Derek Jeter was setting up to turn a double play. However, Gordon’s throw went wide of the bag and Jeter had to go down and get it. He grabbed the ball on the right side of the bag and as his momentum carried him past second base he dragged his right toe across the back of the bag and threw to first. The outstanding effort completed a double play to end the inning.

The Yankees’ bats came alive too. Jason Giambi went 3 for 4 with a home run and 2 RBI, Gary Sheffield went 2 for 3 with an RBI and Jorge Posada went 2 for 3 with his league leading 8th home run and an RBI. Jorge now has 20 Ribbies, which is good for second in the AL.

Not all the news was good, however. Derek Jeter in the midst of his career worst slump, continued to struggle as he went 0 for 4, with a walk. He has now gone 0 for 32 during this stretch. The fans tried to ignite the captain with chants of, “Let’s go Jeter.” It didn’t do the trick.

Tonight the Yankees go for the sweep. Whether or not they get it won’t be known until tonight. If they don’t get it the series is still very positive as the Yankees seem to be slowly breaking out of the month long funk that has them in 3rd place in the AL East. Tonight it’s Zito vs Brown. This should be a doozy of pitcher’s duel. So get your favorite beverage, fire up the T.V or get to your seat at the Stadium and cheer your New Yankees on to victory.

PLAY BALL!



(c) 2004 Yankees Talk Shop @ ezboard.com

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April (Sent to the) Showers

Yankees-Red Sox Round One: A Postmortem

By: Akino Yamashita
Special to Yankees Talk Shop
Tuesday, April 27, 2004

Hmm. Where shall I begin? I suppose I can start with the good news. That won't take me too much time...

The Yankees pitching staff actually did acquit themselves well against the Red Sox, at least in the second series -- with the exception of Jose "Control-less" Contreras, of course. I can't give myself credit for coining that -- my mother did. But Jose Vasquez and Kevin Brown both pitched very well this weekend, and decently in the series at Boston, although the Yankees still lost those games. The bullpen had a solid performance (specifically, Quantrill-White-Gordon-Rivera) on Sunday April 18th, the only Yankees win against the Red Sox so far, bailing out an apparently clueless Contreras.

The bad news is, the bullpen could not save the bacon for Contreras last Friday, a debacle which Russ has described in his essay on the "Cuban Assassin". Even more bad news: As Russ (as well as Sterling and Steiner during the game) has noted, at this point there appears to be no alternative to keeping Contreras in the rotation, with Lieber still on the DL, DePaula out for the season, and, so far, few AAA pitchers worth the plane ticket out of Columbus. Throw in a mediocre performance by Mike Mussina, who seems to be having control problems of his own, in the first series (at Boston), and the Yankee rotation appears to still be a question mark.

Getting to more bad news: The Yankee lineup, so far, is worse than a question mark (with the exception of Jorge Posada); it is a zero. Or, a .217. That is the collective Yankee BA so far. Here's another number for you: 29. The Yankees, right now, are 29th in the league in BA. Only the Expos are worse. Over the seven games with Boston, the Yankees were held to two runs for four of them...and zero runs in the last game, on Sunday, April 25th. While I still think that pitching is going to determine the ultimate fate of the Yankees, such an anemic offensive production is obviously not going to make for much success in the big leagues.

Now, while I'd like to think that this series is just going to give Boston false hope (again) and is totally meaningless to the Yankees (except the usual "well, they are games against the division" cliche), Boss George's "missive" on Monday suggests that he thinks otherwise. So do "panic moves" (can't take credit for this one either, heard it on Mike and the Mad Dog) like Torre bringing in Mariano Rivera to pitch the ninth with the Yankees not leading, or even tied, but down by two runs. It's also significant that Boston won six out of seven without even having Nomar Garciaparra or Trot Nixon in the lineup.

And while the Yankees of the past could sit quiet and expect to feast on mediocre or downright bad teams, the Yankees do not expect to face too many pushovers in the next two months. Tonight, Oakland comes to town, and will be starting Hudson, Mulder, and Zito...not exactly the best scenario for an offensive breakout. Then the Royals come to town, who are certainly not the putrid team they used to be. After the Royals, the month of May features match-ups with all of the AL West teams...Oakland, Seattle, Anaheim, and Texas. Only Texas seems to hold out hope of easy pickings. Then there will be a trip to Baltimore, currently first in the division, and Tampa Bay, which might be a bit more spunky this year than before.

The good news is, of course, that the Yankees can certainly afford to trade for a pitcher "down the stretch". Or a second baseman, or a first baseman who can field better than Giambi but hit better than Lee, or whatever other need crops up. What could be either good or bad news is that it is is "only April". The bad news, of course, is that it is not out of the realm of possibility that it might just be too late by then. The Yankees could get Randy Johnson, and it won't help that much if they are 10 games below .500 by then. While it is a quite different sport and league, the New York Rangers have certainly shown that trading for big-name players mid-season in a frantic attempt to preserve a postseason run doesn't always work. In fact, in their case, it hasn't worked at all for the past decade or so. The good news is, if the Yankees can turn it around in May, by June they will be in a situation not of desperation, but of relative strength, in a position to tinker with the team, not send it to the shop for a total overhaul.

While it is, indeed, "only April", only time will tell if May is filled with flowers, or more players sent to the showers, or perhaps, even revealed to be washed up. There is still a lot of room for hope, but as I stated before the season began, nothing is guaranteed. I suppose in a way that makes it more fun. What would be the point if the outcome was predetermined, as many Yankee-haters assumed when they groaned and stamped their feet over the Yankees' off-season moves? On the other hand, drinking shots of antacids every time I watch a game isn't my idea of fun either.

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The Cuban Assassin

Jose Contreras is losing confidence of Yankees




By: Russ Rose
Special to Yankees Talk Shop
April 23, 2004

Jose Contreras is the kiss of death. For the third time this season Contreras, whom I will affectionately call the Cuban Assassin, failed miserably in his start. After starting Friday night’s game so well against the Boston Red Sox, Contreras and his pitching went south. After getting the Sox out 1-2-3 Jose decided to take the rest of the night off. He lasted just 3-1/2 innings, giving up five earned runs in the process.

In three starts this season Contreras has pitched a total of 11 innings and has given up 13 earned runs to raise his ERA to a lofty 10.64. That is just horrendous. I don’t know what Contreras’ problem is. Whether he just lacks confidence, is having arm trouble or worrying about his family stuck in Cuba I know one thing. The Yankees can’t afford to start this guy anymore.

Last year it was shoulder problems. He went on the DL after his first two starts in 2003. Fortunately for Jose Jeff Weaver, the guy who beat him out of the 5th starters slot in Spring Training was more woeful than he was. Contreras came back off the DL to pitch very effectively. He ended up going 9-7 with a 3.30 ERA. Those numbers were respectable enough to give the Yankees confidence to let him earn a slot in the rotation for this season.

Contreras gave up 5 earned runs to the BoSox in the 4th inning of Friday night’s game, including back-to-back home runs to Jason Varitek and Mark Bellhorn. The booing from the Yankees’ faithful was long and lusty. The boos suddenly turned to derisive cheers when Joe Torre popped out of the dugout and headed for the mound.

As soon as Jon Lieber is well enough to start expect to see Jose Contreras either moved to the bullpen or sent to Tampa for a confidence builder and a tune up. When Lieber is due back is anyone’s guess. Until then what are the Yankees going to do? They brought up Alex Graman to face the White Sox and that was a failed attempt. Until then, I fear the Yankees are faced with starting Contreras. It is a situation I’m sure Joe Torre and Mel Stottlemyre would like to avoid.

The Yankees’ brain trust had better get the phones working. I don’t know what they have to offer for a serviceable pitcher, but nobody could be any worse than Jose Contreras. Unless Contreras turns it around and turn it around quickly I fear his days in a Yankees’ uniform are short.

The Yankees have got to get it going before George Steinbrenner explodes. Like the mercury rising on a summer day George Steinbrenner’s frustration with his $183 million team is rising too. We all know Steinbrenner’s temper. Right now I think this team may deserve a big dose of it. There are only three players who came out of the gate swinging. Kevin Brown, Javier Vasquez and Jorge Posada are showing up and doing their jobs. The rest of them ought to be arrested for grand theft every time they endorse their checks. Jose Contreras at $8 million a year ought to be one of the first in line at the booking cage.

If somebody has an answer for the Yankees woeful play so far this year, please call Joe Torre or Brian Cashman and tell them what it is. Shooting the players isn’t an option. If we don’t break out of this funk soon the 2004 season just may get away from us. Yesterday’s promise will become tomorrow’s cruel reality.

PLAY BALL!


(c) 2004 Yankees Talk Shop @ ezboard.com

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Follow The Leader?

Foundering Yankees need someone to step up and take charge




By: Russ Rose
Special to Yankees Talk Shop
April 19, 2004

After spending an off-season that saw the Yankees obtain the services of Alex Rodriguez, Kevin Brown, Javier Vasquez and Paul Quantrill, among others, the organization finds itself in a position that no one thought they’d be in. After today’s 5-4 come-from-ahead loss to the Boston Red Sox the Yankees find themselves in third place. They’re looking up at Baltimore (+2 games) and Boston (+1.5 games). In fact, they’re leaving Boston after losing three of four games in a fashion that prompts the question. Where’s the heart of this team? Where’s the leadership?

Granted there have only been 13 games played up to this point, but these 13 games have been very telling. There is no one steering the ship. No one is stepping up and leading by example. The combined batting average of Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter, Jason Giambi and Gary Sheffield is a paltry .221. Between the four highest paid players they have 5 home runs and 23 RBI. That’s .385 home runs and 1.77 runs per game. Hardly MVP numbers are they?

Last year, for better or worse, George Steinbrenner named Derek Jeter captain of the Yankees. It is a title that was last held by Don Mattingly. So Captain Jeter where is the lead by example? Jeter is batting .241 with 4 RBI and 0 home runs. His combined OBP and SLG% is a whopping .659. Jason Giambi almost equals that with his OBP alone at .510. I’m not just singling out Jeter either. A-Rod has been even more dismal. He has an average of .160 with 1 home run and 3 RBI. His combined OPS is .558. Rodriguez has the worst average amongst the regular players. Jason Giambi may be on the verge of getting untracked. He has a total OPS of .941 thanks in large part to the 15 walks he has already accumulated this season. That total is nearly twice that of the next leading players with 8 apiece. His home run in the finale of the Yankees-Red Sox series broke an 0-11 streak. However, he went hitless in his final two at bats. Gary Sheffield, who came to the Yankees after having a monster year with the Atlanta Braves, has fizzled along with his fellow highly paid teammates. Although he has the most RBI and highest average among the four stars Sheffield, for the most part, has failed along with his celebrated teammates.

The most productive player on the Yankees right now is Jorge Posada. Po has a .256 average with 5 home runs, 12 RBI and an OPS of 1.093. Posada isn’t paid nearly what the others are being paid and he has the toughest position on the team. So what’s the excuse?

Today’s game is a prime example of a foundering team. After beating the BoSox the day before 7-3 the Yankees had an excellent opportunity to come away with the split. They had their best pitcher in Kevin Brown going up against a guy whose ERA was 8.53 before today’s start. The Yankees started out very promising building to a 4-1 lead after three innings. Brown, who has been nothing short of brilliant in his first three starts, was vulnerable as the Red Sox line up was able to get hits (9) and runs (4) off him today. Be that as it may the game of baseball is a two-way street. Sometimes the pitching has to pick up for a struggling offensive performance and sometimes the reverse has to happen. Today, neither took place. Brown got roughed up and his offense couldn’t get him out of trouble. Nine times out of ten when you stake a guy like Brown to a 4-1 lead you’re going to walk out of the park with a win. However, today wasn’t one of those nine chances. So once KB got into trouble how did the rest of the team react? They folded like a cheap suit. Poor play in the field and hitless bats at the plate sealed the Yankees fate. It was a game that a Yankees team from years past wouldn’t have allowed to be given away.

This team has no spark, no heart and no life right now. It is just going through the motions. This team needs a leader. How much better would this team be with a fiery player like Paul O’Neill on the bench? That guy was the heart and soul of the Yankees’ recent championship teams. He could put the team on his back and carry it. Now it appears we have no one to light that fuse. When is Captain Derek Jeter going to get it going? When is he going to hold people accountable for poor play? If not Jeter, then who will step up? The Yankees are a runaway ship without anyone tilling the rudder. It is a team that is steaming in circles. Somebody had better grab the wheel before it crashes into the docks. All it takes is one guy to get it going. No one expects the Yankees to go 162-0, but you sure expected them to be better than 6-7 didn’t you?

We have all heard the expression that a baseball season is a marathon, not a sprint. True enough, but in both cases you have to be running forward. Right now this team is running in place. So get out of the blocks Yanks before you get lapped.


PLAY BALL!



(c) 2004 Yankees Talk Shop @ ezboard.com

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Take A Deep Breath; It’s Only One Game

First meeting between Yanks-Sox is one of many this season




By: Russ Rose
Special to Yankees Talk Shop
April 16, 2004

For the past two weeks FOX Sports has blared their commercial over the airways about this supposed showdown Friday, April 16, 2004 between the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox. The commercial is geared to build up the annual hate-love fest between the Red Sox’ and Yankees’ Nations. It shows Aaron Boone’s dramatic 11th inning home run in Game 7 of the 2003 ALCS that sent the Yankees to the World Series and the Red Sox home. It also shows Manny charging the mound against Roger Clemens, Pedro pointing to the Yankees bench and the pointing to his head and Jorge Posada responding by pointing to his head while yelling at Martinez from in front of the Yankees dugout. All of this drama is, I guess, supposed to be some sort of bugle call as if this game is some sort of battle and not a game played by kids. Let’s get real folks. Take a deep breath and relax. It’s only one game.

As has been the custom since Major League Baseball went to the balanced schedule the Red Sox and Yankees will meet nineteen times this season. In fact by April 25th they will have played 7 of those 19 games. Where both teams stand after those 7 games will a more telling sign as to how both of these teams are performing so far. To be honest other than the few isolated performances of players on both teams both the Yankees and Red Sox have been sub-par. Maybe this opening series will get their competitive juices going.

The Yankees will be sending newcomer Javier Vasquez to the mound for Game 1 of this weekend’s 4-game set. Vasquez, recently of the Montreal Expos, has no idea of what’s in store for him. Especially playing in the less-than-friendly confines of Fenway Park. Maybe that will be a plus for him. You know, ignorance is bliss? He will be facing Tim Wakefield, a veteran of these encounters. Wakefield will justifiably be looking for some payback as it was he who gave up Boone’s historic home run. If Wakefield is on the Yankees could be in for a long evening. If he’s wild as knuckleballers are prone to be then it could be the Red Sox who may be sweating.

For this series, the Yankees appear to have a slight edge. As of now they are all healthy, while the Red Sox will be without Trot Nixon (noted Yankee-killer) and Nomar Garciaparra. Additionally, with Pedro Martinez pitching against the Baltimore Orioles yesterday the Bombers will avoid facing him until later in the schedule.

So fans of both nations, sit back, relax and just enjoy the series as it unfolds. But keep in mind this is only the beginning. Games in September are worth more than games in April. I think George Steinbrenner put it best. “It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish.”


PLAY BALL!



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All About the Arms

As the Pitching Goes, So Does the Yankees

By: Akino Yamashita
Special to Yankees Talk Shop
April 8, 2004

Those who were lucky enough to be at Yankee Stadium today for Opening Day witnessed the first home game for Alex Rodriguez in pinstripes. But while A-Rod seemed to be getting most of the pre-game attention, I was more impressed by starter Javier Vasquez, who pitched masterfully into the eighth inning, giving up only three hits and one run. One of the question marks surrounding the Yankee rotation was whether Vasquez, acquired from the Montreal Expos, would be able to handle the "white-hot glare" of New York. Opening Day is certainly be a great example of such a pressure-packed game, but Vasquez proved himself to be equal to the task. It is to be hoped that Jose Contreras will also rise to the occasion for tomorrow's game...as well as against the Red Sox, a team that gave Contreras some trouble last season.

Looking at the five games the Yankees have played so far, the pitching seems to be as important as it always has been. The Yankees are now 3-2. The two games they lost were both noticeable for puzzlingly flat performances by Mike Mussina, whose current ERA is an eye-popping 11.00 after giving up 11 runs and 19 hits over his first two starts (9 total innings). Mussina gave up 5 runs over 5 innings in the season opener in Tokyo against the Devil Rays. This Tuesday, in Tampa Bay, despite being given a 4-run cushion before he even took the mound, he gave up 6 runs over 4 innings -- and threw 82 pitches. While he threw more strikes than balls (54: 28), Mussina seemed to have trouble throwing the third strike. Did the overseas trip and the extra days off between his starts throw "the Moose" off his routine? Is he feeling the pressure of being one win away from 200...or being the ace starter? Hopefully Mussina should be crisper when he starts against the White Sox on Sunday.

Kevin Brown, the #2 starter (although he was #1 in L.A.), has been impressive in his two starts, giving up one run over seven innings in both of his starts against the Devil Rays. His win on Wednesday leaves him one win away from 200 as well. Jose Contreras will be called to the mound tomorrow, in the second Yankee home game. Hopefully, he will be more consistent this season now that his spot in the rotation is secure. Donovan Osborne is somewhat of a wild card, who unexpectedly made the club as a starter due to the injury to John Lieber. Since Osborne is the only lefty in the Yankees' rotation, he may have a chance to stay in the rotation even after Lieber recovers.

While the strength of the rotation (and bullpen) for the 2004 Yankees has yet to be fully tested, the games played so far seem to indicate that pitching, as always, is what wins championships. In the three games they have won, the Yankees' offense has been pedestrian except for the 12-1 drubbing of the Devil Rays in their second game in Tokyo. The Yankees beat the Devil Rays 3-2 on Wednesday, and won 3-1 in today's game against the White Sox. What's important is the number of runs scored against the Yankees in their wins; 1, 2, and 1. The total runs scored against the Yankees in their three wins is 4; less than half the runs they allowed in their 2 losses. It remains to be seen whether the "four aces" era of Yankee baseball will revive in 2004, but the pitching is something I'll be paying a lot of attention to this season.

(c) 2004 Yankees Talk Shop @ ezboard.com

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Maybe We Should Just Mail It In

Most experts pick Sox to end Yanks Hold on AL East




By: Russ Rose
Special to Yankees Talk Shop
April 2, 2004

Could this be the year? Could 2004 be the glorious moment Boston Red Sox fans everywhere have been waiting, hoping and praying for? Is this the year Babe Ruth finally loosens his grip on the Curse and Red Sox aficionados can stop chanting, “We’re number 2. We’re number 2?” Well, according to most experts that’s exactly what they expect to have happen.

From the baseball gurus to the kibbutzers at Joe’s barbershop most folks are picking the Boston Red Sox to finally end the Yankees six year run as AL East champions. Boston who came within one swing of the bat of advancing to the World Series last year over the Yankees took to the winter and reloaded for another run at the Pinstripers and the Curse.

During the off-season the Sox acquired Curt Schilling (Diamondbacks), Keith Foulke (Athletics) and Pokey Reese (Pirates) to round out their usual cast of characters. Returning to the wars are Pedro Martinez, Nomar Garciaparra, David Ortiz, Johnny Damon, Trot Nixon, Kevin Millar and Jason Varitek among others. The experts say that Martinez and Schilling along with Derek Lowe, Tim Wakefield and Byung-Hyun Kim will be more than enough to handle the teams in the American League.

The Yankees, meanwhile, didn’t just sit still. After losing Andy Pettitte and Roger Clemens during the winter and with Schilling signing with Boston the Bombers went out and obtained Javier Velasquez (Expos), Kevin Brown (Dodgers) and Alex Rodriguez (Rangers). Even with all these moves the majority of the baseball experts think Boston has the horses to finally shed the Curse and the Yankees.

Maybe yes and maybe no. Let’s face it last year many of the Sox regulars had career years. A key to Boston’s success is going to be in how the Red Sox line up repeats its performance. They had a league leading team batting average of .289, hit 238 home runs and scored 962 runs in 2003. In contrast Boston’s team ERA was a woeful 4.48. This compared to the Yankees’ numbers of .271, 230, 877 and 4.02 respectively. Can the Sox roster improve on the pitching and duplicate their offensive numbers this year? Although the acquisition of Schilling says on paper the pitching will improve the offense is a question mark. If the Sox line up can get anywhere near last year’s lofty numbers the Yankees’ days as “defending champs” may be at an end. This could be Boston’s last shot as Martinez, Garciaparra, Lowe, Damon, Nixon and Scott Williamson are in the final years of their contracts.

One of the main factors no one has really talked about is the battle of attrition. Which team will be the healthiest in October? Right now, things haven’t started well for Boston. Trot Nixon is fighting bulging disks in his neck and may not be available to May and Nomar Garciaparra will be out at least three weeks with an injured Achilles tendon. That could be a potentially huge blow to the Sox as they play the Yankees seven times by April 25th. Another concern for the Red Sox right now is Pedro Martinez. Starting with the playoffs last year, Martinez’ once lethal fastball has steadily lost velocity. During his past few spring starts his fastball has barely broken 90 mph. For a guy who throws a wicked changeup and other nasty breaking stuff a fastball that’s not fast would be devastating. His fastball is what makes his other pitches so effective. An average fastball would negate the other pitches in his repertoire. It will be interesting to see how his first couple of outings goes when the regular season starts. If he throws a gem, then the Red Sox can breathe a little easier.

The Yankees, on the other hand, have troubles of their own. During the off-season Jason Giambi, their high priced first baseman, had surgery to repair a damaged left knee. Once Spring Training started Giambi announced his knee was sound. Was it really? Coming off their two game set in Japan against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays the Yankees announced Giambi’s knee was hurting, because of the artificial surface. He was moved to DH for the second game to avoid further irritation of the knee. Say what you will, but this is not a good sign for the Yanks. Giambi was acquired for his offensive numbers and history shows his numbers are better when he plays first base. So what are the Yankees going to do when they have to play on artificial surfaces? Putting Giambi at DH during those types of games puts a log jam at the 1B/DH/OF positions, as there just aren’t enough positions to go around.

Bernie Williams, who has had a plethora of recent injury woes, has sat out most of Spring Training after undergoing appendectomy surgery to remove his bum appendix. However, according to Williams he is fit and should be ready to go by Opening Day in the U.S. against the Devil Rays.

Las Vegas has made the Yankees a prohibitive favorite to take it all this year with odds at 2 to 1. The Red Sox and Chicago Cubs are touted second at 5 to 2. However, let’s not forget about the Baltimore Orioles and Toronto Blue Jays. Both teams bulked up over the winter and if the ball bounces just right for them either of those two teams could find themselves on top of the heap at season’s end.

There are roughly 160 or so games to go before the end of the regular season. A lot can happen between now and October 3rd. It will be a great season to watch Major League Baseball. The Yankees and Red Sox fans will be thumping their chests as their respective teams fight for superiority. I’m going to enjoy every minute of it. May the best team win.


PLAY BALL!



(c) 2004 Yankees Talk Shop @ ezboard.com

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