Sigh

Well, we can pretty much kiss the division dreams goodbye but I am really fine with that. What we need to do is clinch our position in the playoffs!!! Giving up a grandslam home runs is not what we should be doing right now. I hate to overwork the poor guy but I am sending in Lucky yet again. Simply put we just need to do this thing.

Magic Numbers......2

(First of all, thanks Lucky, you have never let me down)

I was pretty worried yesterday as I was attempting to live blog, but Moose managed to reset and pulled off his 250th career win against Toronto. Of course he was overshadowed by Joba who lowered his ERA to .42 earning his first save as a Yankee. What else can I say about Chamberlin that I haven't already? The kid is simply amazing.

I must say that I do have respect for Toronto. They really are not as bad of a team as their record might lead one to believe. If they played in another division they would be contenders. They have certainly proven they can win big games against great ball clubs. When you consider that and the amount of bad blood that has passed between these teams it puts me on edge whenever they play each other.

So now the Yankees magic number to secure a playoff spot is at 2 games. People have been talking all season about if Torre be back next year, voluntarily or otherwise. To hell with that, the way things have gone this season I think that Joe Torre has to be in the running for manager of the year. To take a team from 14.5 games out of first and 8.5 out of the wild card to end up 1.5 out of first and 5.5 up on the Tigers is nothing short of an incredible feat. I'm sure that someone will argue that Torre couldn't have done this with a team that didn't have the talent that the Yankees have, but screw that too. 14. 5 games is 14.5 games. Not to mention the fact that Torre has been forced to go through an obscene amount of pitchers before settling on the rotation that we have now. He's made big choices like taking the Moose out of the line up, holding Chamberlin in a relief position, and using the younger position players much more often. If you can give me a reason why he shouldn't AT LEAST be in the running I want to hear it.

Does The Division Really Matter?

The Yankees lost last night and the Red Sox won. There is no reason to think that the dream of the division is dead, but there is another question to ponder after last nights 14 inning marathon. Should Torre rest up the pen and the rotation so they are fresh for the playoffs or should we go for the division full speed ahead? Now don't get me wrong, I want to win the division, but what advantage does that really give us? In other words the division doesn't really matter, I want to win the October classic.

If we do win the division chances are that we will play the Angles, the only team in baseball who has a winning record against the Yankees in the Joe Torre era. They haven't been playing up to their potential lately but the fact that they have knocked us out of the playoffs both times we have faced them in post season play doesn't sit well with me.

So I'm torn. What I really would like to see is this scenario.....Yankees win the division by the skin of their teeth and face Anaheim in the fist round. Yankees take the series in four and go on to have another classic series against the Sox in the ALCS taking them down in 6 games. Then it's on to number 27.

What I think will happen / should happen is that Torre will be cautious with the starters, both the position players and the pitchers. The Sox win the division by the skin of their teeth, Yankees sweep Cleveland. Another classic ALCS with the Sox, Yankees win in 7 thanks to a late inning home run by Derek Jeter. Then it's on to number 27.

And Then There Was One......and a half

I'm having a bit of writers block today so I will keep today's post short and simple. Congratulations to Andy Pettitte who won his 200th game last night in what could be his last season as a major league pitcher. The Yankees are now only a game and a half behind the Sox. Even if the Yankees don't catch them, the turnaround the Yankees have had this year is nothing short of amazing.

Two and a Fricken Half!

Holy crap, I admit that I have been pretty skeptical at various points throughout the season. After we went down 14.5 games even in my most optimistic days I really didn't think that we could catch the Sox. But 2.5 games back with just under two weeks to play is more than I could have hoped for short of Schilling contracting the plague. 2.5 games left with one more series against Toronto, Tampa Bay, and Baltimore left in the grab bag. I think the proper word to describe how I am feeling right now is giddy.

You know how you can tell when Sox fans are starting to get really worried? You start getting pictures of A-Rod and Jeter holding each other, or references to something that happened in 2004. Given the number of pictures I received this morning combined with the total number of references to the past I would say the level of anxiety in the Nation is 11 on a scale of 1-10.

To put it bluntly, Gagne sucks. Manny's return is questionable, and even when he does who knows if he will be 100%. Dice-k has been having trouble, Francona keeps screwing up by keeping pitchers in too long, and I have a feeling that Schilling will continue to decline (most likely due to erectile dysfunction). Now I am not saying that the Sox will fall apart so badly that Detroit will catch up to them and they will miss the playoffs, but at this point I put the chances of the Yankees winning the Division at higher that 50%.

Meanwhile Moose seems to have gotten his mojo back, Jeter is on fire, and Chamberlin continues to amaze. While the thought of facing the Angels in the first round is cause for some trepidation, we can beat them if we keep playing the way that we are.

Next week I have field seats for the Yankees last regular season series against the O's. How great would it be to attend the game where the Yankees secure the division! Here's hoping.

To help with the final push lucky is contributing to the blog again today.

Oh Man!

I don't want to get too excited here, but the Yankees are only 3 1/2 games behind the Sox right now (only 3 in the loss column). This is the closest that the Yankees have been to Boston since late April, and if I were Boston I certainly wouldn't be sleeping easy right now. Detroit lost too, oh man!

The Yankees looked strong last night, despite Hughes requiring 33 pitches to get out of the first. He did end up settling down and went on to win his first game at the Stadium after pitching a decent 5 2/3 innings. Actually he would have come out a bit sooner if it wasn't for the fact that the phone to the bullpen wasn't working. I'm waiting for the Yankee hating sports writers to start to questions Hughes. But let me just preempt them all by saying this....THE KID IS 21 YEARS OLD. It's natural that he is going to have some trouble settling in right now. But there is no question in my mind that he will figure it out and be the starter that we all expect him to be.

Moose faces off against his old team tonight. His performance tonight will most likely be the determining factor on if he makes a start in the first round of the post season. No doubt Torre faces a dilemma on who should be the fourth starter. Do you go with Mussina who has a ton of post season experience but still hasn't proved that he is 100% back, Hughes who still needs some fine tuning but has pitched well over his last three, or Kennedy who has been great so far but only has a few starts? Torre has said that he'll go with experience if it is close, so if Moose pitches well tonight I'll bet that he wins back Torres favor. Hughes and Kennedy will pitch in the post season, but probably from the bullpen.

Mr. Clutch (my 100th post)

This marks my 100th post and almost 2,000 visits. I am happy to say that number 100 is about the Yankees beating the Red Sox and leaving Boston with a series win.

Something big was about to happen, you could just see it in Jeter's eyes. Next thing you know the ball was sailing over the green monster and the Yankees took the lead. Despite what Yankee haters say about him, Jeter has come through in clutch situations more times that I can count. Maybe it is just consistency, maybe it is something else, but no matter which side of the clutch debate you fall on there is no question that Jeter is the man who you want at the plate in critical situations. In fact Roger Clemens said that Jeter is the reason he decided to "get off the couch" and play another season for New York. Although I'm sure that the 18 million had something to do with that decision.

I understand that Derek Jeter is the face of the organization that everyone loves to hate. But let's be honest here, the guy is a class act and a great baseball player. He may not be the best short stop to ever play the game, but his consistency and leadership are second to none. So it drives me up a wall the way that Yankee haters rip on the guy for no good reason. I don't scream out Ortiz sucks every time he comes to the plate.....because he doesn't suck. I have respect for his abilities even though he plays for the most obnoxious franchise in baseball. (I almost wrote in North American Sports, but I think the Redskins fans may be just as annoying).

But I digress. Last nights win puts us 4 1/2 games out of first and keeps us 2 1/2 up on the Tigers in the wild card race. The schedule is pretty light from here on out, but we still need to keep the momentum going. It helps that Detroit plays Cleveland, but Boston won't have much of a challenge through the end of the season. Next up we play the O's. They have given us trouble this season, but recently they have recently been letting opponents round the bases more times than a 17 year old on prom night. I'm predicting 2 for 3 against the O's.

YES!!!!!

Holy crap what a game!!!!

Before I get into the details of the win against the Sox last night I need to address something that really fricken pissed me off....the home plate umpire. He was TERRIBLE!!! I can't even count the number of calls that he missed. Pettitte alone must have had at least ten strikes called for balls.

Ok, now to the game. The early innings were so hard to watch that I don't think my poor girl friend has ever heard me drop so many f-bombs before. Bad plays, and a few more bad calls at the expense of the Yankees had us down early, and by a lot. I had pretty much given up hope when we were down by five runs and Pettitte came out. But as Torre said,
"no game can be considered over in Fenway Park -- not with its intimate dimensions, angular quirks and a propensity to lend itself to magical comebacks." In the 6th Jeter predicted that they would win the game. Well the ghosts came out in force.

The incredible thing about the Yankees comeback was that it was done while facing some of the best relief pitchers in the Majors, Papelbon and Okajima. Until last night Okajima had not given up a home run to a left hander. Enter Jason Giambi who was looking to make up for a terrible game defensively. Giambi slammed home run number 14 of the year, but the story doesn't end there! Up next, Cano, another lefty....BAM, another homer. I nearly pissed myself. From there it was shot after shot until by the time the smoke cleared the Yankees had taken the lead.

I had speculated the other day on the future of Jorge Posada. Well after his performance last night I don't think that there is any question that we need Posada to be a Yankee until he retires. It is simply amazing how well he hit last night.

To his credit, I will say that Dice-K had a good showing. I kind of felt bad for the guy. After he came out of the game they kept the camera on him as he watched Timlin try to protect him from more earned runs. It reminded me of the Japanese team from the little league world series. In other words I was afraid he was going to start crying. Speaking of Dice-K, I have a $20 bet with my buddy going back to the beginning of the season. My theory was that hitters would figure him out and he would struggle once that happened. The bet is that he will win 14 or fewer games. If he wins 15 the bet is a wash, 16 or more and my buddy wins. At this point its looking like I won't be needing to visit an ATM.

Tonight its Wang vs. Beckett. This is going to be a really tight game. The Sox have got to be furious about last night, but the Yankees have the momentum. You can bet there will be a lot of tension in the air. I'm also sorry to say that Rocket is facing off against Schilling on Sunday. I had hoped for Hughes. I'm not sure its a good idea to bring Roger back into the rotation like this. Basically I am worried about him over doing it in his first start back simply because it is Fenway. Regardless we are 4 1/2 back now. I'm not making any predictions, but you all know what I mean when I say that there is enough time left so that anything can happen.

Kennedy Kennedy Kennedy

It's a shame that the Yankees couldn't put the hits together last night because Ian Kennedy was nothing short of phenomenal. In 7 innings Kennedy gave up 1 earned run, walked 4, and stuck out seven. The kids era is 1.89 after his first three major league starts. I say it again....PHENOMENAL!

I read somewhere yesterday that Torre hasn't ruled out using a 6 man rotation should Clemens come back healthy and Mussina gets the nod. That could work, and it would be great to be able to give the starters an extra day of rest before the post season. Then again we are not in the post season yet, we still need to concentrate on keeping Detroit in our rear view mirror and possibly catching up to Boston. Moose had a good start yesterday but it is going to take one or two more before my confidence in him is restored.

The award for role model of the day goes to Johnny Damon who in the 6th inning gave a ball to a fan seated in the front row. The fan responded by giving Damon a $20 bill (granted it was Canadian so it was only worth about a nickle). Damon took the money then handed the bill to a young child. That's what I'm talking about when I talk about players who are good for the game. If it were Curt Schilling not only would he have pocketed the money, he would have taken the guys wallet and then punched the little kid in the head.

Pettitte Unsure About 2008

Andy Pettitte feels that he is neglecting his family and is unsure if he will return to the mound in 2008. He never thought his arm would be as strong as it has been this year, but he is going to talk to his son before making any final decisions. It would be a shame to lose Pettitte (again), but given the level of young talent that we have pitching for us right now we should be fine if he doesn't come back. Of course that would mean that Mussina would have to be back on track all year. In the absence of Pettitte I don't think there is any question that Joba would take his place as starter.

Moose Crossing

MOOOOSE!!!

It was do or die time for Mussina last night, if he failed he might as well have packed up his cleats and headed home. But he didn't fail, and I for one am happy for him. In his first start back since being dropped from the rotation, Mike gave up 5 singles in 5 and 2/3 innings, struck out one, and walked three. So maybe it wasn't a flawless game, but it sure is a hell of a lot better than his last three starts. Hopefully he can capitalize on that momentum and break out of his funk because I really believe that is all that was, a funk. Torre made the right decision by taking him out of the line up when he did. It gave Mussina a chance to clear his head, and it made him hungry again. It worked last night, lets hope it works again.

Rumor has it that Clemens might be coming back to pitch on Sunday. I think that is a bad idea. I applaud Clemens competitive spirit, but right now I would rather have a Hughes / Schilling match up rather than put a questionable Rocket on the mound.

So if the Moose is back and Clemens does return this week, what does that mean for Ian Kennedy? The kid has pitched some great games for us and I think that he deserves to stay up. But Torre is so fiercely loyal to his veterans I expect to see Kennedy sent back down in the next week or two. Although that it is still a big question mark and I wouldn't be a bit surprised if Cashman stepped in to hold off the decision of whether or not to switch Mussina back in permanently.

My man Joba Chamberlain's scoreless inning streak ended last night when he gave up a run in the 8th. But considering he pitched 15 1/3 scoreless innings (the second longest streak to start a career by a Yankee pitcher) I don't think anyone minds too much.

Just in case you didn't know this, the Yankees are 40-19 since the All-Star break.....the best in the Majors!

18 To Go And A Preview of This Weekend Against the Sox

Jason Giambi blasted a grand slam home run (his first since late August), Posada homered, and Phil Hughes pitched six solid innings as the Yankees won their sixth in a row beating Toronto 9-2. This is the first time all season that the Yankees have been 20 games over .500 which has Torre breathing a sigh of relief...at least for the time being.

I'm happy for Giambi who if he plays at all next year will be playing for a small market team like Kansas City or Tampa Bay. I've written about my thoughts on him before. He is a nice guy and he bought me a beer when I met him. But he's breaking down, and his quasi confession to steroid use doesn't strengthen his case either. He can still produce from time to time, so for at least the rest of this season I'm glad to have him. Honestly though, even if he does go down again we have so many strong hitters to take his place it really isn't that big of a loss. The only thing the Yankees are really missing is the money we pay his salary with.

A big question is what do we do with Posada next year? I believe that we should resign him, but there are certainly plenty of arguments going in the other direction. He is having the best season of his career this year batting .338, with 81 runs, and 85 RBI's. But on August 17th he turned 36 years old. Granted he hasn't been an everyday catcher for his entire career so his knees might have some life left in them, but it would be hard to justify a bloated salary for him at his age and position. I put that question out to the commenters. I say we re-sign, but I can easily be swayed. *

I'm glad to see that Hughes is coming around. His era over the past two games is only 2.25. Not bad, but I'll be interested to see how he does under post season pressure. I think of all the new kids he will probably be the one who is most susceptible to the post season spot light.

This Weekend

This weekend might be an important series after all. With The Yankees down only 5 games there is a chance that we could put some hurt on the Sox lead. I know that it is still a few days away, but for me preparing for a Yankees / Red Sox series is like preparing for war. I don't think that we will sweep again, but I do think that there is a better than 50 / 50 chance that we take the series.

Manny Ramierz started swinging a bat again yesterday, but I doubt he will be back for this weekend which helps. Despite the fact that they scored 16 runs last night without him, I refuse to use their score over Tampa Bay as any indication that he isn't missed. Tampa hasn't won a series in Boston since 1999.

Here is what we are looking at for starting pitchers:

Friday - Pettitte v. Dice K - this should be a tough one. Pettitte has been pitching well and Dice K lost his last decision but is still strong. I unfortunately have to admit that he adjusted to the majors much better than I thought he would at the beginning of the season. But he does seem to have some trouble against the Yankees. He's 2-1 with a 6.98 ERA against us so far, so I have to give the advantage in this game to New York.

Saturday - Wang v. Beckett - Talk about a battle royal! Two 18 game winners on the top of their game chasing the Cy Young award. Beckett's ERA and strike outs are a bit higher than Wang's, but he has also pitched in more innings. This one will be very close unless the Yankees are somehow able to get to Beckett early since this one will be all about offense. Slight advantage goes to the Sox.

Sunday - Hughes v. Schilling - I hate Curt Schilling. I would rather get kicked in the nuts by John Rocker than so much as shake Schilling's hand. But given his last few starts versus Hughes past couple I have to put the advantage to the Yankees on this one. Of course it is also to our advantage that Schilling is older than dirt.

* I had originally put "resign" thanks to That Girl Who Can't Play Pool for pointing that out.

19 To Go

With the Yankees sweep of the Royals this weekend everything seems to be on the right track for the last couple of weeks before the post season. Or at least it would seem that way. There are still a number of things that worry me. Not the least of which being Jeter's sore right knee. Jeter has felt irritation since August 21st after taking an awkward step out of the batters box against Anaheim. He took yesterday off and he will start tomorrow. Jeter claims that it is no big deal, but is still worries me a whole lot.


Clemens is a HUGE question mark right now. He was scheduled to throw a session in Huston last night but never got back to Torre about if he actually did or not. I'm afraid that the reason may be that Clemens feels he is falling apart worse than he expected but still wants to throw. It's the work horse mentality which is somewhat admirable, but can also be destructive when he is really hurt and just isn't effective. Especially when Mussina has a giant monkey on his back right now.

Detroit is the other thing that has me anxious. They are a good team, they are not going to just roll over and die like Seattle has. Their schedule over the next week should give them a chance to keep in step.

We face off against the Sox again this weekend. Unless things go great in Toronto and Tampa Bay preforms miracles this series wont mean a whole lot, but here's hoping. If we make it through this next week in the place that we are I think every little thing is going to be alright. But until then I'm on pins and needles.

On a side note the O's have shut Bedard down for the season. Too bad, that kid has some nasty junk. But then again he is still a kid and has plenty more baseball left to play. I'm looking forward to seeing what he does in the next few seasons.

You've Got to Be Kidding Me

I took a little break over the labor day weekend from writing. Mostly because of pure frustration. Just when I say that I think the Yankees can catch the Sox look what happens. I am banning myself from making predictions on the Red Sox until further notice.

It is well known that the Yankees have a history of hard times with some bad teams, the Orioles for example. The Tampa Bay Devil Rays are not one of these teams and there is no reason that they should be. So someone please tell me why the D-Rays were able to beat up the Yanks for a series win this past weekend. The only bright spot was that Ian Kennedy preformed as promised....unfortunately that was the only bright spot.

Then Seattle rolls into town. A good team that we have done well against historically. What happens? Another spanking. Not to mention that Clemens is going to miss his next start. I had heard blisters on his feet was the cause for his awful performance yesterday, but apparently his elbow needs an x-ray too. I suppose that means that Mussina will take Clemens place in the rotation, but who knows, maybe in the words of Yoda...there is another.*

With the Yankees most recent down turn it must be time for ESPN to call Torres future into question. Sometimes I swear that they pay extra for a column that rips them apart. So imagine my surprise when fellow Vermonter Buster Olney writes this about Joe Torre. He actually makes a good point about what will happen if/when Torre is gone. I don't think that will make too much of a difference with A-Rod, but Posada could be one to jump ship if Torre leaves. He is also right about the new philosophy about pitching. So for once I have to agree with ESPN.

So here we are in the final month of baseball and the roller coaster Yankees are on their way down again at the worst possible time. If the Yankees can at least take one I'll feel a bit more comfortable considering we play Kansas city this weekend while Seattle plays Detroit. But hell, the way this season is going we'll probably destroy the Mariners in the next two games only to be out scored by 20 runs this weekend.

*Please note that was a Star Wars quote and not a Star Trek quote....i.e. completely acceptable.

** The lucky squirrel makes a reappearance today to help out with tonight's game.

A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words

Yankees Win!!!

Yankees 4 Red Sox 3

Tied for the AL Wild Card!

Rocket looked decent last night, although I wouldn't say he was great. But really that is all we need him to be, decent. We need a Clemens who is in control and not hanging his fast ball. He isn't the man that he used to be and we shouldn't expect him to strike out 20 batters in a game. So long as he gets it done one way or the other I'm happy.





The Yankees did a good job of stringing together hits last night. In fact Beckett gave up 13, which is the most runs a Red Sox pitcher has given up since Kurt Schilling gave up 13 on April 22, 2004 in Toronto. I wish I could say that it looks like Beckett is falling apart, but he isn't. He just had an off night. The guy is 27 and just entering the peak of his career which means he will only get better. In fact I wouldn't be a bit surprised if he won 20 games next season. But this is a Yankees blog not a Beckett blog so I'll move on.





As I have been saying all season, Rivera is fine. Last night he recorded 4 outs starting in the 8th to earn his 22 save of the season. So please, sports bloggers, ESPN writers, and Yankees haters alike.....RIVERA IS NOT FALLING APART, but if you so choose its a free country...go on with your wishful thinking.





This afternoon Wang faces Schilling. I don't think Schilling is back to his full strength, in fact I think he is just about finished all together. He has a couple of starts left in him, but I wouldn't expect too much. Actually he may be somewhat distracted this afternoon. I've heard rumors that he was the man that Senator Larry Craig was trying to meet with in the bathroom of the Minneapolis airport. Regardless, I do think this afternoons game will be a tight one with a low score. I will of course keep you all updated as best I can.

*I don't know why, but for some reason I feel like that Squirrel that watched most of Tuesday's game is a good luck omen. So today he is watching my blog.

Yankees Win, Mussina Sits

Yankees 5 Red Sox 3

These close games versus the Sox are one of the reasons my hair is turning prematurely grey. I have to say that it still seems strange to me that Johnny Damon plays for the Yankees, but hell, at the end of the day who cares so long as he is hitting home runs for us and not them. If you read my post yesterday you already know how worried I was about this series. Granted, they have only played the first of three, but at the very least we wont go quietly into that good night. Especially with Joba Chamberlin throwing 100 mph at the knees!

Moose takes a seat

It was inevitable I suppose, but now it is official, Mike Mussina is out of the rotation. I was surprised however to hear that he will be replaced by 2006 1st round draft pick and right hander Ian Kennedy. That brings a welcome sigh of relief. We need Chamberlin right where he is for the time being. No need to rush him any more than we already have. Kennedy is slated to start in place of Mussina on Saturday versus Tampa Bay, but the plan is to have Moose continue to throw his usual sessions in case things don't work out.

"We'll skip one start and see what we see," said Torre, who met one-on-one with
Mussina. "It's basically what we're getting from that spot. We'll look at that
first, then see what we do."

It no doubt must be hard on Mussina, but with a little over a month left to go and the Yankees 1 game out of the wild card and 7 games out of first the time for drastic measures had come. Everyone goes through slumps, and that may be just what this is for Mussina. But for the time being I think Torre made the right choice.

So what's the story on this new kid? Kennedy throws an 89-92 mph four-seam fastball that he can touch 94 with, changeup, knuckle curve, slider and has started to throw a two-seam fastball. According to scouting reports the kid has such good control he can put the ball wherever he wants and it makes his 89mph fastball seem much harder.

So we will see what happens on Saturday. Regardless, no matter what happens this season we at the very least know that we are going to have a feared rotation in the years to come. That's something we haven't been able to say for a long time.

It Is Now Officially Moose Hunting Season

This has been such a disappointing year for the Yankees it seems fitting that we get spanked by the Tigers 16-0 right before a series with the Sox. The only ray of light I see is that Seattle also lost so at the very least we stay 2.5 games out of the wild card.

I've said this previously, but I think now there is an increased sense of urgency surrounding Mussina. I really like Moose, and when his stuff is on he can paint the black like no ones business, but I think that its time for him to take a seat. He has allowed 19 earned runs in 9 2/3 innings and has an ERA of 17.69 in his last three starts. That's just unacceptable. But that begs the question who do we replace him with? I'm guessing Torre will go with Chamberlin which I have mixed emotions about. Don't get me wrong, he certainly has the attitude and ability that it takes to be a starting rotation pitcher, but it would be nice to give him a bit more time in the relief position. Unfortunately we don't have that luxury right now.

So now we go into a three game set against a Boston team who is surging with a Yankees team who is again slumping and full of question marks. In any other year this series would have me on pins and needles and I would be analysing every pitcher based on if he could pitch well given the weather conditions or even depending on the strength of the Japanese Yen. This season is different though. I'm not going to say that I have chalked the series (or the season) to a loss yet but to be honest here, that is getting to be something all Yankees fans may have to deal with sooner or later.

Oh well here's what I'm thinking for tonight:

Dice-K vs. Pettitte - advantage Matsuzaka (man that hurt)

Game time forecast - mid 70's, 50% humidity - advantage NY, but only because they are playing at home.

Japanese Yen - Buying of Yen likely to accelerate - advantage Matsuzaka

Final Score prediction - Yankees 10,000 Red Sox negative 30 (they lose points because Ortiz eats an umpire)

Real Final Score Prediction - Yankees 6 Red Sox 8 (ok that REALLY hurt)

Series Prediction - Sox take two out of three (I'm headed toward the light)

Damn Angels

Ever since 2002 I have to admit that I have been worried every time the Yankees play the Angels. Well, here we go again. Last nights loss puts us 6 games out of first and 2.5 out of the wild card. Sure A-Rod blasted two home runs, but that isn't enough when the score turns out 18-9.


In my opinion Mike Mussina is starting to become a liability. He just hasn't preformed to the level he is capable of in a year when the Yankees need him to be on top of his game. Now I don't see him being designated for assignment or anything like that in the near future, but I can't think of a single argument for extending his contract. I do feel kind of bad for the guy though, he came to New York (well Angelos gave him to New York) to win a ring and ever since he arrived the Yankees have been in a World Series drought.



Speaking of droughts, a number of my non Yankee fan friends ride me for being upset that we haven't won it all since 2000. They say look at all the other teams that have either never won it, or haven't won it since Regan was in office.....or Taft for that matter. I agree to an extent with that. I do think some teams could be due in the coming years. Kansas City, Cincinnati, and Milwaukee to name a few (Chicago winning would take away the teams mystique of lovable losers and they would become annoying just like after the Red Sox won it). But lets be honest here, Yankees fans expect a little more out of their team. That isn't just because we are greedy, but rather the Yankees have a history of legendary players and championships that leave a lot to live up to. The past couple of years have been filled with horrific disappointments that any other fan wouldn't understand. Case in point 2004....you know what I am talking about and that is all I have to say about that. I think I have written on this before, but personally my angst is tied to the 2003 World Series. I was at Yankee Stadium for game 6, I watched a team win it all at my favorite ball park...the problem was it wasn't the Yankees.

There is still plenty of baseball left to play, but I guess the crux of this whole thing is that I am frustrated. I admit that the Yankees are not as due for a championship as some of the other teams, but every year the Yankees fall apart late in the season the fire for a ring echos louder and louder. I'm tired of saying "we'll get em next year."

Ugly

It isn't that often that I actually have the opportunity to watch the Yankees on anything other than MLB game cast. So when I do get that chance to watch them on tv I'm always hoping that I get to see a good game. I got to watch them yesterday, but it sure wasn't a good game.

I just don't understand why the Yankees have had so much trouble with the Orioles this season. Granted Bedard is an amazing pitcher and is going to be one of the best in the Majors for years to come, but the Bombers didn't bring their A game at all yesterday, or the day before. In fact yesterday was just so sloppy it was hard to watch. Hughes couldn't seem to find his control, but even for what was clearly an off day for him he preformed well. That is with the exception of his booted ball on a routine play at first...oh the agony. Jeter had one of the worst games he's had in a long time. He was slipping all over the place and making errors on routine plays. My heart stopped when he stepped on a broken bat and appeared to twist his ankle. He was fine, but I get scared if Jeter so much as gets a planters wart. The only real highlight for the Yankees came when Shelley Duncan smashed a three run shot with two outs in the bottom of the 9th, his 6th of the year. This kid is going to be great. But then, more agony. Mariano of all people blew the game for us. His cutter was hanging like a shirt on a hanger and he just didn't seem to have his normal intensity. I've said this before but I really think that Torre needs to play him more often, including situations where the Yankees are not in the lead. It's getting to be late in the season, and if Rivera is looking that rusty now its going to spell disaster come late September / October.

Somehow Tampa Bay managed to squeeze one out of Boston saving us from dropping down a game, but wow, the Yankees need to regroup and not slide down the slippery slope of mediocrity again.

*Karstens has been optioned off. That's good news, that kid just isn't ready for prime time.

Ouch

For some reason the Yankees have been having some trouble with the O's this year. But last night wasn't just trouble, it was a downright slaughter. We all know that no team can keep winning forever. I had already given up last nights game when I saw that Karstens would go against Cabrera....but damn. Hopefully this will just be a kink. we can't afford to be dropping games to the only team we play in the next couple of weeks that isn't in contention for the post season. Especially when the Red Sox are playing Tampa Bay.