The Yankees' Wild 2013 Ride Keeps Rolling Along

(Pictured- the new Murderer's Row.  Wait, what?  Courtesy of Getty Images)

(Originally published at IIATMS/TYA)

Today should be fun, huh?  After starting off their "8 in 7" road trip with a 2-1 series win in Colorado and a 3-game sweep in KC, the surging Yankees will stop off in Cleveland today on their way back home for a doubleheader to make up for last month's rainouts.  They were 2-4 when they first came to Cleveland 5 weeks ago and used the first 2 games of that series to kickstart their season, winning both by a combined score of 25-7.  Since then the Yanks have gone 19-9, ascended to the top of the division, and silenced nearly all the critics who said they'd be done after suffering their rash of ST injuries, this extended stretch of success being driven by some of the players most expected to flop as full-time injury replacements.  Now they'll come back to where the season really started, even more injured and worn down than they were last time, and they'll do it with a 5-game winning streak in their pocket.

Weird Injury Situations Already Popping Up This Year

(Never a good look.  Courtesy of Corey Sipkin/NY Daily News)

Spring Training still isn't two weeks old and already it's been an eventful one for the Yankees, especially in the health department.  The Bombers had their fair share of injury concerns coming into camp with A-Rod's hip surgery and their collection of veterans fighting to come back on schedule from major 2012 injuries.  And after a season as injury-plagued as 2012, it would have been nice to have a spring that was light on the injury news.  I guess the infamous baseball gods didn't get that memo because these first two weeks have been chock full of injury stories, and not just from the expected recovery sources.  As luck would have it, none of those guys have been problem areas at all so far, quite the opposite in fact.

Why Does This Sh*t Always Happen When I Go To Weddings?

Seriously, that's not even meant to be a humorous question.  There have been four instances this year where I've had to take days off from the blog for wedding-related activities, and every single time something out of the ordinary happened.

My one buddy's bachelor party on April 21st was the amazing 15-9 comeback win against the Fraud Sawx, and his wedding on June 2nd was the 4-3 loss to the Tigers when Joe and Kevin Long got run by Bob Davidson.   My other buddy's bachelor party on September 22nd was the crazy 14-inning win against Oakland that started the almost month-long Raul Ibanez Clutch Hit Party, and his wedding last night was Game 1 of the ALCS, where the Yanks showed nothing on offense again only to make a dramatic 4-run comeback in the 9th to tie the game only to lose in extras.  Oh, and Derek Jeter, the most consistent player in the lineup right now, broke his ankle and is out for the rest of the year.

Maybe I should just start being a huge dick to everybody so I don't get invited to any more weddings.  I always end up missing out on great games and great blogging material.  Game 2 preview coming up shortly...

Yankees Rule, Mets Drool

(Courtesy of MLB.com)

Well that was fun today, huh?

On Friday, I came right out and said that the Mets weren't actually a good baseball team, and I don't think any game in this series better exemplified that statement than today's.  The Mets didn't fully capitalize on the small advantage they gained in the 2nd inning, barely did anything on offense from then on, had their best player make a crucial error that opened the door for the Yankees, and got bad pitching from their bullpen to complete the loss.

The Yankees, on the other hand, played a very sloppy game on both sides of the ball, didn't hit with runners on or in scoring position AGAIN, and somehow managed to scrap together enough late lucky hits to capitalize on the opportunity that David Wright gave them in the 7th.  Overall, it wasn't a good game for the Yankees and they still got the W because that's what good teams do; they find a way to win even when they aren't at their best.

The Yankees are a good baseball team; the Mets are not.  And this series proved it.

Head, Shoulders, Knees, And Toes. Or The Endless Array Of Organizational Pitching Injuries

(Pick a part of the body and chances are somebody has injured it this season)

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote a semi tongue-in-cheek post about the incredibly unlucky streak of injuries that had befell the Yankees this season.  The karma doesn't seem to have changed much since then, as both Brett Gardner and David Robertson are still a while away from being able to come off the DL and re-join the 25-man roster, and all the while names continue to get added to the disabled lists across the entire organizational network, most of them pitchers.  If you're not up to speed on who is or has been shelved at some point this season, here's a handy guide that breaks down the injury by body part.

** Disclaimer- AB4AR cannot be held responsible if the following list causes you to start drinking upon completion. **

Early Trade Returns

The season is still very, very young, but just for S's and G's here's where the pieces of the Montero-Pineda trade are at through the first week:

- Jesus Montero: 7-25 w/ 0 XBH, 2 RBI, 0 BB

- Hector Noesi: 1 GS, 3 IP, 7 H, 6 ER, 3 BB, 3 K

- Michael Pineda: On the DL, throwing light workout sessions

- Jose Campos: 2 GS, 11 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 10 K

And there's your Friday the 13th weirdness for the day.  The least-heralded part of the trade, at least initially, blowing people's doors off in his first experience in a full-season league while the other 3 guys spin their tires a bit at the wave of the green flag.  If this trade wase a tennis match, the Yankees would be up 15-love in the first game of the first set.

P.S.- Did I get enough completely unrelated sports comparisons in there?

It's Spring Training For John Sterling Too

I know this is a day or so old and it was already on Barstool NY, but friend of the blog, and close personal friend Greg Corbell, posted it on my Facebook wall this morning and I can't stop watching it.  Actually it's that I can't stop watching it, it's that I HAVE TO keep watching/listening to it to even try to understand what was going on, both on the field and in John Sterling's head.  Here's a little proof that broadcasters need a little spring practice before they're in full-on game shape too.



Jesus, Mary, and pinch hitting Joseph, John!  What the fuck are you talking about???  The ball was lined into the left center field gap and off the wall for what sounds like a 2-run double, then apparently reversed course, somehow managed to untouch the ground that it had already struck, and then hung in mid-air for a short period of time before being caught with a sliding catch by what had to be the slowest-moving outfielder of all time?  Did I get that right?  That's almost crazier than the "Magic Bullet" theory!

Fucking A, man!  Just follow the ball!! And if you can't see the ball, follow the defenders.  Where they're going and what they're doing is going to tell you everything you need to know about what's going on.  YOU'VE BEEN DOING THIS FOR 23 GODDAMN YEARS!!!  IT'S NOT THAT HARD!!!!!!!

P.S.- Anybody out there who wasn't excited that John and Suzyn are back this season damn well better be after watching this.  It's the highest of high comedy, people.  Absolute shittastic baseball announcing and commentary, but the pinnacle of high comedy.

P.P.S.- I guarantee there weren't even any runners on base when Jeter hit the ball.

P.P.P.S.- I wouldn't be shocked if it wasn't even Jeter batting.

P.P.P.P.S.- I wouldn't be shocked if it wasn't even a right-handed batter batting.

P.P.P.P.P.S.- Boomer's facial expression at the 41-second mark is gold.