*A GARDNER IN YOUR FIELD*
- *WHY SEARCH?*
Why are Yankee fans so concerned with a vacant left field? Nobody wants to see Damon walk, but from a budget standpoint, it appears our former outfielder will be playing with a different club in the 2010 season. How do I feel about this? It would be disappointing to lose Damon after losing Melky to Atlanta, but we already have a solution! Why are we doubting the abilities of Brett Gardner? It’s rediculous. Gardner may be a “young gun,” but I can highlite quite a few reasons he deserves our confidence:
+ Last year was Gardner’s first full season. The Yankees went on to win the World Series. How can we downplay the impact Gardner had in numerous games?
+ Gardner wrapped up the ’09 season batting .270. This should be the focal point of those who fear his bat is a weakness. Gardner’s on the RISE, not decline. His batting average is increasing.
+ Speed, athleticism… To consider Gardner a ‘pinch runner’ and little more is obsurd.
*AQUISITIONS*
- *BUT IS ANYONE ELSE DISAPPOINTED?*
As we all know, the Yankees have officially parted ways with Hideki Matsui and Melky Cabrera. We’ve aquired Javier Vazquez and Nick Johnson to fill new rolls – but the question remains: Are we happy with these new recruits?
MY OPINION:
– Although I wanted Sheets, I’m genuinely happy to have Javier Vazquez back in New York for a second stint. Vazquez put up some excellent numbers last year, and I think he’ll be a superb addition to our pitching staff. Yankee fans can rest at ease knowing that the 5th slot in our rotation is the only question mark remaining…
– Nick Johnson: I’m not as thrilled. It’s not that I think Johnson is a bum, but let’s be honest – he’s no Matsui. One can argue that Matsui’s knees were more than enough reason to let him slide, but he was our DH! He was worth the occasional out for the power he brings to the table… He had 6 RBI’s in the World Series for heavens sake…
*I look forward to seeing Gardner start in left field this year…
*VOTE FOR SHEETS*
- *JOIN THE BEN SHEETS MOVEMENT*
– A one year contract would allow us to see how well Sheets has recovered, without the fear of being stuck with an injury-prone player for an extended period of time.
– Ben Sheets is a right handed pitcher. We’ve seen the inconsistant games from Burnett, and the number two slot in our rotation should be open for discussion. If we bring Sheets in to the mix, out rotation can morph into something like this:
1. Sabathia (L)
2. Sheets* (R)
3. Pettitte (L)
4. Burnett (R)
5. Chamberlain (R)
*In my opinion, this rotation is far more promising then the following:
1. Sabathia
2. Burnett
3. Pettitte
4. Chamberlain
5. Gaudin
– Gaudin in the 5 spot? Chamberlain in the 4? Am I the only Yankee fan who got tired of having question marks in the 4 and 5 slots last year? Our rotation would be dominant if we were so stacked, that a pitcher like AJ Burnett is number 4 on our list…
*GOODBYE MATSUI*
- *IT’S OFFICIAL*
The Los Angelas Angels of Anahiem have signed a 1 year deal with Hideki Matsui. In case you’ve been living under a rock, Matsui was the World Series MVP this year – and as a Yankee fan, he will certainly be missed. I personally can’t comprehend why we’d let Matsui go, but obviously our organization felt that making Hideki a priority this ‘hot stove season’ wasn’t the least bit important. Are we nuts!? In an American League where the DH is a neccessary component, Matsui is second to none! Letting him sign with a playoff rival just adds fuel to the fire… Thanks for the RBI’s this post-season Matsui – we needed you, and most likely still will.
*GET TO KNOW: DAVID ROBERTSON*
A. Robertson is young, promising right handed reliever for the New York Yankees.
*Q. WHY IS ROBERTSON WORTH NOTING?*
A. Aside from being an “unnoticed anomaly,” Robertson’s win percentage has been nearly flawless in his first 2 seasons with the New York Yankees. It was Robertson who bailed the Bombers out of a bases loaded situation in the playoffs this year, and his contribution on the mound lead New York to their 27th World Championship title, and his very first ring.
Q. *HOW HAS HE PROGRESSED?*
A. In his first major league season with the Yankees, Robertson finished the ’08 season undefeated, (4-0,) with a 5.34 ERA, (30.1 IP,) 36 strikeouts, and 18 earned runs. Here’s the kicker… Upon completion of the 2009 season, Robertson wrapped up the second year of his young career with a 2-1 record, a 3.30 ERA, 63 strikeouts, and 16 homeruns in 43.2 IP. That’s nearly TWICE as many strikeouts and 2 less homeruns in 13.1 ADDITIONAL innings…
As for the post-season, Robertson made 5 appearances this year – allowing NOTHING across the plate…
Q. *HOW ABOUT CAREER HIGHLITES?*
Q. *ANYTHING ELSE?*
Not to be confused with “The Admiral,” (the San Antonio spurs David Robinson,) Roberston is quickly becoming a bullpen asset – and a dominant reliever with a rising resume…
*TRADELINE: BIG DEALS TODAY*
- *PHILLIES SNATCH HALLADAY*
- *LEE TO THE MARINERS?*
- *LACKEY TO THE RED SOX*
- *MATSUI TO THE ANGELS?*
- *WITH LACKEY AND HALLADAY GONE*
In my opinion, letting Chien-Ming Wang slip into the free agent pool was an excellent choice. It’s time to move on – but where do the Yankees go from here? With Lackey and Halladay off the market, I’ve had my eyes on the following options for a while:
BEN SHEETS: Although Sheets is returning from an injury related off-season, a healthy Ben Sheets can be as dominant as a heatlhy CC Sabathia…
JASON MARQUIS: Marquis is a starter that’s been on numerous radars for a while now. I think the Yankees should take a stab at Marquis while they can – the price will be far lower then our Halladay hopes, and he would be an excellent fit behind AJ Burnett or Andy Pettitte in the 2010 season…
- *ROTATION ESTIMATION*
1. CC Sabathia
2. Ben Sheets*
3. Andy Pettitte
4. AJ Burnett
5. Joba Chamberlain
I’ve thrown AJ in the four slot, because in my opinion – Pettitte performed better then Burnett last year. Plain and simple. As lefties, Sabathia and Pettitte should obviously remain a start apart – and that’s why Ben Sheets or Jason Marquis would be excellent “number twos” for the Yankees in the 2010 season. My opinion.
*WORLD SERIES CHAMPIONS!*
- *2009 FINAL BLOG: WORLD SERIES CHAMPIONS!*
- *DESERVED*
Where do I begin? It’s hard to choose who I’m the happiest for on such an incredible day, but if I had to drop a couple names, it would look something like this:
Alex Rodriguez: I don’t know if I’ll ever encounter another player quite like Alex Rodriguez for as long as I watch this wonderful game. From his divorce, to his steroid confession, this man is under a microscope that exceeds all other athletes in New York sports, by far. With the world on his back, Alex came through in the clutch time and time again – and I couldn’t be happier to see him aquire his first World Series ring…
Brett Gardner: Brett Gardner? Absolutely. How can you NOT be happy that such an outstanding rookie obtained a World Series ring his first year in the business? As a New Yorker, I hope to see Gardner on our roster for years to come… His speed and fielding talent contributed to this title as much as anybody else in that dugout…
The Agents: Free agents that is… Tex, Sabathia, Burnett – You’ve proven to the world that you were worth every penny that this organization invested in you. The debate is over boys!
Joe Girardi: From a post-season miss to a World Series champion. Girardi was yet another man under constant fire for his bullpen decisions, and his post-season approach. Congratulations Joe, on your extended contract!
Everybody: Isn’t that the direction that I’m really heading here? How can I possibly leave out Melky, Cano, Cervelli, Jeter, Rivera, Jorge, and the entire squad that brought this title back where it belongs. This year, there never seemed to be an odd-man out: we were a team.
Matsui: The hero. What other word can we use to describe Matsui’s bat in the World Series this year? This is the epidemy of a humble, smart, and loving teamate – and the MVP trophy couldn’t of been handed to a more deserving baseball player. Congratulations Matsui…
- *THANK YOU*
I just want to thank every Yankee supporter out there for being the best fans on the face of the planet. It’s our passion that results in the success our team has had over all these years… Not the money. It’s the passion that has Yankee fans making their way to the stadium no matter what the tickets cost, which in turn has an effect on the entire organization. The free agent signings, the scouting – none of this would be possible on a larger scale without having such passionate fans. The New York Yankees are the greatest baseball team of all time – and we are extremely blessed to have the most devoted followers in all of sports…
- *FINAL THOUGHTS*
1. The 2009 World Series Champions!
2. Number 27!
3. The MLB better prepare for us again next year!
*See you next season! (Check out the tags of THIS blog baby!)
*CLEAR THE BENCHES!*
- *WHO’S ON THE HILL?*
Ok, here’s the scoop. Mitre had a miserable day on the mound, allowing 4 homeruns and 7 earned runs before getting the boot. By the 6th, it was already evident that New York was looking at a loss… (Toronto scored in 6 seperate innings, 3 of them multi-runs.) A terrible day indeed, but thank god I didn’t change the channel before it came to an end…
The story begins with a sloppy pitch from Mark Melancon. Aaron Hill catches a wild throw to the back, and as usual, takes his base without any indication of a serious injury. No big deal. Jorge steps up to the plate when the Yankees are up again, and Jesse Carlson, (called in to relieve Halladay,) intentionally tosses one behind Posada’s back to avenge his fellow Blue Jay. Now things are getting heated! Jorge then proceeds to mouth a couple unpleasant things in Carlson’s direction, and ends up getting walked to put the dispute on hold.
From here, Brett Gardner smacks a double to right field, which in turn brings Posada home to score a run. On his way to the plate, Carlson decides it would be a good idea to smack Jorge with his glove out of frusteration, and the next thing you know: IT’S ON!
Yankees lose 10-4… but what a game!
BRETT GARDNER: 2 for 4, 2 RBI’s
| NY Yankees | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | LOB | AVG |
| Jeter, SS | 4 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | .332 |
| Damon, LF | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | .283 |
| Teixeira, 1B | 5 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | .286 |
| Rodriguez, A, 3B | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | .285 |
| Matsui, H, DH | 4 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | .277 |
| Posada, C | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | .281 |
| Cervelli, C | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .259 |
| a-Cabrera, Me, PH | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .280 |
| Cano, 2B | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | .320 |
| Swisher, RF | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | .257 |
| Gardner, CF | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .276 |
| Totals | 40 | 4 | 15 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 26 |
| NY Yankees | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | ERA |
| Mitre (L, 3-3) | 5.0 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 7.63 |
| Ramirez, E | 1.1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5.73 |
| Melancon | 1.1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3.86 |
| Dunn, M | 1.1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 6.75 |
*WHEN ANGELS PLAY WITH FIRE*
- *WHO’S ON THE HILL?*
Sergio Mitre (3-2) vs. Roy Halladay (14-9)
Joba Chamberlain provided 4 quality innings in yesterday’s 5-3 victory over the Angels. Is it just me, or was 3 becoming a magic number with this guy? If Chamberlain made an appearance for 7 innings, he’d allow 3 runs. If Chamberlain made an appearance for 3 innings, he’d allow 3 runs. If Chamberlain was having an off-day on the mound, struggling to get out of the first inning alone… (you guessed it)- he’d be plucked by Girardi after allowing 3 runs! It was honestly a relief to see Joba make his exit on a good note, letting up a solo-shot in the second to keep things under control, and give the Yankees a reasonable chance to make a comeback.
Nick Swisher brought his ‘energy’ to the table, nailing a solo-shot in the 3rd inning off of Jered Weaver to tie things up, and calling it a day with 2 runs across the plate. Jeter put it best a while back… “Energy? Is that what you’re calling it?”
My final “shout-out” has to go to Mark Teixeira. “Tex” came out of this one 3 for 4 with 2 RBI’s, giving the Yanks some breathing room to back up our relievers. A giant triple in the 5th brought two runners home, and despite pointing out a ‘catcher interference,’ the outstanding hit shifted the lead back to our side…
A wise man once told me, “Mariano Rivera once walked a batter, just to see what it feels like.” Mo’s walked a mere 11 batters this season… ELEVEN! In the past 4 years, his grand total tallies up to an astonishing 30 BB’s to date! He never ceases to amaze me…
*MVP HONORS*
MARK TEIXEIRA
3 for 4, 2 RBI’s
| NY Yankees | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | LOB | AVG |
| Jeter, SS | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .330 |
| Damon, LF | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | .284 |
| Teixeira, 1B | 4 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .285 |
| 1-Gardner, PR-CF | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .272 |
| Rodriguez, A, 3B | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | .286 |
| Matsui, H, DH | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | .275 |
| Posada, C | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | .280 |
| 2-Guzman, F, PR | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| Molina, J, C | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .243 |
| Cano, 2B | 4 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .319 |
| Swisher, RF-1B | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | .254 |
| Cabrera, Me, CF-RF | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .280 |
| Totals | 29 | 5 | 9 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 15 |
| NY Yankees | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | ERA |
| Chamberlain | 4.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4.39 |
| Aceves, A | 2.1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3.72 |
| Coke (H, 19) | 0.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4.91 |
| Hughes, P (BS, 2)(W, 7-3) | 1.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3.18 |
| Rivera, Ma (S, 40) | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1.69 |
*THE NECCESSARY WIN*
– *WHO’S ON THE HILL?*
Joba Chamberlain (8-5) vs. Jared Weaver (15-5)
New York returned to form yesterday, swinging their way to a late lead and avoiding the sweep by division rival Baltimore. Coming off of two consecutive losses, Yankee nation was prepared to see the first bombed series in quite some time, but an 8th inning rally set the ‘W’ in stone…
Sabathia provided yet another “quality start,” holding the O’s to 3 earned runs over the coarse of 7 innings. *CC is currently the AL leader in wins… (Which shouldn’t come as a surprise when you consider how dominant he’s been in our rotation thus far.) As Jeter likes to put it, “when you do well – these records and accomplishments seem to surface on their own.” That’s a fact.
Jeremy Guthrie made the start for Baltimore, and managed to keep things in check the majority of the game. Things were tied heading into the 6th, but an additional 2 runs on our end persuaded his departure. He made his exit with 5 earned on 12 hits, ruining any chance he had to manuever an indecision…
- *GOING BIG IN THE EIGHTH*
It seems as though New York finally decided to wake up in the 8th inning of this one, putting 8 more runs on the board to seal the deal. (And you thought the fire was extinguished…) Matsui smacked a 3 run blast to insure the win, and ‘big 92′ was in the books after a hard fought game. An excellent large-margin victory to get us back on track.
Yankees 13 – Orioles 3 (FINAL)
HIDEKI MATSUI
3 for 5, 1 R, 5 RBI’s
Robinson Cano scored career run number 398 today!
- *ON PAPER*
| NY Yankees | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | LOB | AVG |
| Jeter, SS | 5 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | .332 |
| Hairston, J, 3B | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .255 |
| Damon, LF | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | .286 |
| 1-Gardner, PR-CF | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .272 |
| Teixeira, 1B | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 6 | .282 |
| 2-Duncan, S, PR-RF | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .200 |
| Rodriguez, A, 3B | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | .287 |
| Hinske, 3B | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .242 |
| Pena, R, 3B-SS | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .284 |
| Matsui, H, DH | 5 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | .275 |
| Posada, C | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | .283 |
| Cervelli, C | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .259 |
| Cano, 2B | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | .318 |
| Swisher, RF-1B | 5 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .252 |
| Cabrera, Me, CF-LF | 5 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .279 |
| Totals | 43 | 13 | 20 | 13 | 7 | 5 | 31 |
| NY Yankees | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | ERA |
| Sabathia (W, 17-7) | 7.0 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3.42 |
| Hughes, P (H, 16) | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3.10 |
| Bruney | 0.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4.09 |
| Ramirez, E | 0.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5.66 |
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