The Yankees At The Break: Part I

The 5 Biggest Stories From The First Half

1) Andy Pettitte's Resurgence- Seriously, who the hell saw this coming?  I know he was good last year, but with the additions of Hughes and Vazquez to the rotation, it certainly wasn't outside the realm of possibilities to consider Pettitte being the "real" 5th starter on the team.  Instead he has gone out and been the Yankees' best and most consistent pitcher from Opening Night to the All-Star break.  11 wins (good for 3rd in the AL), a 2.70 ERA (good for 4th), a 1.15 WHIP (good for 10th), and a .234 BAA.  Sure, if you dig deeper into the sabermetrics as some blogs have done, they will show that some luck has been involved in Pettitte's big start, but overall it has been his combination of still dangerous stuff and veteran savvy that has made him one of the best pitchers in the AL at age 38. 

2) Phil Hughes' Emergence- I think we all had high hopes for Phil after he won the 5th spot in the rotation, but I don't think anybody expected this kind of performance.  Hughes hit the ground running in April and May, going 6-1 with a 2.70 ERA.  And despite some rough outings in June and recently in July, his overall numbers are still solid across the board (everything comparable to Pettitte's except ERA).  His ability to work with his best pitches and manage a game have been the most surprising signs, especially after he worked almost exclusively with 2 last year out of the 'pen.  Hughes still needs to master his changeup and incorporate it into his arsenal, but for what has amounted to his first "real" season as a full-time starter, you can't be anything but happy with what you've seen from him.

P.S.- He's still just 24. 

3) Robbie Cano's Ascension Into Stardom- After Matsui and Damon left for greener pastures, the pressure was put directly on Cano's shoulders to pick up the slack as the new number 5 hitter.  And he hasn't disappointed.  Robbie was hands down the best player in baseball through April and May, putting up scary good, Triple Crown-caliber numbers.  He cooled down a bit in June and so far even more in July, but is still sitting at .336/.389/.556 with 16 HRs, 58 RBIs, 61 Runs scored, 115 hits, and 23 2Bs.  Throw in the Gold Glove-caliber defense and newfound maturity and consistency to his game and you are talking about the new best second baseman in baseball. 

4) The Bullpen Being A Revolving Door Of Ineffectiveness- Between the strong finishes from guys last year (Aceves, Robertson, Marte), the addition of Chan Ho Park, and the 8th-9th inning combo of Joba and Mo, the bullpen was supposed to be a strength for the Yankees for the first time in years.  Well things haven't exactly worked out that way, have they?  Ace and Sergio Mitre have been hurt, D-Rob and Joba have been shaky at best, and CHoP has been so fucking bad that it's inconceivable that he's still on the 25-man roster.  Mo has been Mo, but he is showing some wear and tear so there will be extra pressure on the rest of these clowns to perform.  It's only a matter of time before we start seeing some new faces coming out of those outfield doors in the later innings, because the fantastic starting pitching can't continue to be wasted by the horseshit bullpen. 

5) Offensive Woes- Cano has done his job to pick up the slack left by Matsui and Damon's departure, but if you look around the Yankee lineup he really hasn't had much help.  Free agent signees Curtis Granderson and Nick Johnson have combined to do next to nothing in pinstripes, and Johnson is not surprisingly out for the year.  But more important than that has been the down years across the board to date for Jeter, A-Rod, and Teix.  You can attribute it to age and being banged up for Jeet and The Horse, but Teix has no excuse.  He has been MIA all season up until about 2-3 weeks ago.  Pleasant surprises from Nick Swisher and Brett Gardner have helped ease the sting of these others' underperformance so far.  But it does make you think how many more games the Yanks could have won with the offense firing on all cylinders. 

**Coming Up Tomorrow- The 5 Biggest Potential Stories For The Second Half**

Honoring The Boss

Here is the patch the team will wear to honor George Steinbrenner for the rest of the season.

Official statement from the Yankees, via LoHud:

"The Steinbrenner commemorative patch will be worn above the interlocking NY on the left breast of the Yankees’ home jerseys and above the letters “YORK” on the left breast of the Yankees’ road uniforms. Both locations are over the heart."

There will also be a commemorative patch to honor Bob Sheppard.  As soon as I see a picture of that one, it'll be on here.  Check out more reactions to The Boss' passing from past and present members of the Yankee family and those outside of it here at LoHud.

**UPDATE: 12:13PM** - Here is the Sheppard patch:

How The Yankees Fared At The All-Star Game

It was an up and down night for the 8 Bombers who were on the roster.  Here's how everybody's night went:

- Derek Jeter: started at SS, batted 2nd, and went 1-2 with a walk and a clean game in the field in 6 innings of play.  He walked off of Ubaldo Jimenez in the 1st inning, struck out looking against Josh Johnson in the 3rd, and singled off Roy Halladay in the 6th.  One of the few AL players who didn't look completely overmatched at the plate.

- Robinson Cano: started at 2B, batted 8th, and went 0-1 with a sac fly that could have been a double or a homer if he got a little better wood on it, and an RBI in 5 innings of play.  Cano also bobbled 2 balls hit to his left in the field, turning one into an out and failing to make a play on a diving attempt that was ruled a hit.

- Andy Pettitte: Pitched a scoreless 3rd inning after David Price worked the first 2, and worked quickly and efficiently, striking out Andre Ethier and Corey Hart swinging and getting Hanley Ramirez to ground into a fielder's choice after allowing a base hit to Yadier Molina.  Andy threw just 9 pitches, 8 for strikes, and his inning of work was shorter than most of FOX's commercial breaks last night.

- Phil Hughes: Hughes started the bottom of the 7th for the AL, and after getting Joey Votto to ground out to 2nd, allowed 2 consecutive singles to Scott Rolen and Matt Holliday to put runners on the corners with 1 out.  When Matt Thornton allowed Brian McCann's bases-clearing 2B later in the inning, Hughes was tagged with the first 2 runs and took the loss.  He wasn't awful with his stuff, but did catch a little too much of the plate with his pitches to Rolen and Holliday.

- Nick Swisher: Pinch hit for Ty Wigginton in the bottom of the 7th and struck out swinging against Adam Wainwright.  Swish never got to play in the outfield as his spot in the order was replaced by Adrian Beltre in the top of the 8th.

- CC Sabathia: Not available after pitching in the Yanks' last game before the break, CC probably spent most of the night chatting and cheering with guys in the dugout and eating his fair share of assorted seeds and gum.  Don't forget about the few cups of Gatorade too.  Dude's gotta stay hydrated.

- Mariano Rivera: Also not available because of lingering bumps and bruises, Mo most likely spent his night the same way CC did, with the added bonus of teaching the other AL guys in the bullpen how to walk on water, cure cancer, and balance the federal budget.

- Alex Rodriguez: In what had to be one of the strangest managerial decisions of the night, The Horse was the lone AL position player to not make it into the game.  Joe did plenty of mixing and matching with pinch hitters and replacement fielders to try to get everybody in and yet, bottom 9th, here's A-Rod still riding the pine.  There was an opportunity for him to pinch run for Big Sloppi or pinch hit for John Buck or Ian Kinsler, but Joe had already painted himself into a corner with his roster and couldn't afford to lose either of those 2 if the game ended up being tied after 9.

Joe's curious decision does open the door for speculation about A-Rod's health, but I wouldn't read too much into it.  I think it was just a case of Joe getting too cute with the lineup card, trying to get everybody their participation trophy, and leaving himself up that old creek without a paddle.  Unfortunately The Horse was the one that had to suffer because of it.

FOX did a nice job of honoring George Steinbrenner as well, so all in all it wasn't a bad night for the Yankees, losing home field advantage for the World Series they will inevitably make aside.  It will be curious to see the reaction today around the blogosphere about A-Rod's benching.

George M. Steinbrenner III: More Than Just An Owner

(George M. Steinbrenner III: 1930-2010)

Ask any baseball fan from anywhere in the country what he or she thinks of George Steinbrenner and you are bound to get a multitude of responses ranging from people acknowledging his greatness and desire to win to people just flat out calling him an asshole.  And regardless of what each person said, there would be bits of truth in each of their responses.  George M. Steinbrenner III was many things to many different people.  But two things that he always was and should always be remembered as are a winner and a Yankee.

When Steinbrenner took over as owner of the Yankees in 1973, they had fallen from being the gold standard of baseball to a borderline laughingstock.  After vowing to stay out of the way of baseball operations and "stick to building ships," Steinbrenner dove headfirst into rebuilding the organization as he saw fit in order for it to re-assume its rightful place atop the baseball world.  Perhaps partially due to his intense desire to appeal to his father (something that any man can relate to), or perhaps partially due to his own natural intensity and desire to be the best, or perhaps due to a combination of both, Steinbrenner was relentless in his pursuit of excellence and desire to restore the Yankee tradition.  And it was that drive and that determination that helped bring the Yankees to where they are today.

Of course there were some bumps in the road along the way; the early tyrannical approach which with Mr. Steinbrenner ran the team, the almost constant hiring and firing of managers, the public spats with Billy Martin and Dave Winnfield, the 2 suspensions.  But along the way, Steinbrenner never lost focus on his ultimate goal for the team and never stopped working towards that goal.  Certainly one can argue that the means used by Steinbrenner to achieve the end were questionable at times, but it cannot be argued that Steinbrenner did what he did out of love for his team and his never-ending desire to see it succeed.

As an owner, he was more committed to the success of his organization than anybody in sports history, and when you look around the professional sports landscape today there are many owners that you simply cannot say that about.  Some are in it for the money, some are in it for the recognition, and some are just in it for the hell of it because they're already so filthy rich that they have nothing better to spend their money on.  Steinbrenner was in it for the winning.  He understood that with winning came money.  With winning came recognition.  Even in his later years, before giving up control of the Yankees to Hank and Hal, Steinbrenner was still one of the last few owners who truly "got it."

But George Steinbrenner was more than just a great owner.  He was a revolutionary.  His dogged pursuit of the biggest and best free agents and his willingness to pay them exorbitant amounts of money to come play in New York not only changed baseball, but changed the way contracts and free agency were handled across the spectrum of major professional American sports.  Teams took notice of what Steinbrenner was doing and had no choice but to adapt and offer players more money if they hoped to keep them and hoped to compete with the Yankees.  And while not all of his moves worked out to the Yankees' benefit (see: the mid-2000s), they still resounded throughout the sport by constantly setting the bar that other teams had to achieve to remain competitive and relevant.  You could argue that George Steinbrenner is single-handedly responsible for every major, big-money contract that a professional athlete has received since the 1970s or 1980s.  Without Steinbrenner upping the ante in the world of free agency, there likely would have been no ESPN special for LeBron James' "Decision" last week.

Steinbrenner became such a major figure in the baseball and sports world that he was able to expand his own star outside of that realm.  He became a national celebrity for being nothing more than who and what he was.  He appeared in commercials with Billy Martin and Derek Jeter.  He has hosted "Saturday Night Live."  He was spoofed on "Seinfeld."  And eventually his reputation, fair or not, became so widely known that he was called simply "The Boss" and people knew who was being referred to.

At his core, though, George Steinbrenner was just a hard-working business man with an unquenchable desire to win and succeed.  It's fitting that a man so driven to achieve his goals was born on the 4th of July.  Amongst Yankee legends like Ruth, Gehrig, DiMaggio, Mantle, Munson, and Jeter, George Steinbrenner stands on par with all of them, perhaps the truest representation of the Yankee tradition and what it means to be a Yankee.  He took a modest $8.7 million investment in a scrambling franchise and turned it into a multi-billion dollar empire that has achieved not only national, but international prominence and recognition and he did it his way.

Those who truly know Steinbrenner, either personally or professionally, would probably tell you that many of the horror stories you hear about him were not a true representation of who he was as a person.  And there are many stories of his loyalty and generosity to those around him and to charitable organizations.  Steinbrenner was no cartoon villain, he was a human being, with flesh and blood and a heart as big as anyone's.  And he put every ounce of energy into building the Yankee organization back up into what it is today.  The Yankees organization and every Yankee fan and player since 1973 owes a great deal of gratitude to George Steinbrenner for what he did and what he brought to them.  He was and is one of the greatest Yankees of all time and he will be greatly missed.

More On The Boss' Passing

Here's the best of some of what's already out about the passing of the greatest owner in the history of professional sports:

- Jason at It's About The Money... has a collection of The Boss' greatest quotes.  Some are humorous, some are heartfelt.  All of them capture what George was all about.

- Chad at LoHud has some details on Mayor Bloomberg's comments on George's passing.

- William Nack wrote a wonderful piece on George's life for ESPN.com, covering everything from his upbringing to his colorful history as the Yankee owner.  Truly the best retrospective I've read so far today.

I'll be back later today to pay my literary respects...

Statement From The Steinbrenner Family

“It is with profound sadness that the family of George M. Steinbrenner III announces his passing.  He passed away this morning in Tampa, Fla., at age 80. He was an incredible and charitable man. First and foremost he was devoted to his entire family – his beloved wife, Joan; his sisters, Susan Norpell and Judy Kamm, his children, Hank, Jennifer Jessica and Hal; and all of his grandchildren. He was a visionary and a giant in the world of sports. He took a great but struggling franchise and turned it into a champion again.”

So there you have it, Yankee fans.  He's really gone.  Even though it was common knowledge that The Boss wasn't doing well over the last couple years, it still doesn't seem real to think about him actually being gone...

Steinbrenner Passes Away At 80

According to a Daily News report, George Steinbrenner died at 6:30AM this morning in Tampa.  Apparently he was rushed to the hospital last night after suffering a massive heart attack and doctors could not revive him.

More to come on this sad story...

** UPDATE- 9:05AM**- According to the NYT's Ben Shpigel, the Steinbrenner family has confirmed the death.

Give 'Em Hell, Swish

(Photo courtesy of The AP)

Good luck to Swish in the HR Derby tonight. Will he have first-time jitters and be out after the first round?  Or can he get in a groove and make it interesting?

Personally, I don't think Swish has a chance tonight.  If he can keep the kind of quieter, compact swing he's had so far this year like in the picture above from his bomb on Saturday, he could be OK.  But I see him being a little too excited tonight, trying to swing a little harder than usual and tiring himself out.  But hey, maybe this reverse jinx will work and he can pull one out.  In any case, you know he's going to be entertaining.  ESPN would be crazy to not have him mic'd up all night.

Good luck, Swish.  Do Yankeeland proud tonight!

A Jam-Packed Joba-riffic Linkapalooza

(Photo courtesy of The AP)

Joba sucked again this weekend, what else is new?  At this point he's become nothing more than a glorified Kyle Farnsworth: a guy with all the stuff and talent in the world on paper who just can't go out and consistently get the job done.  Fastballs up in the zone, sliders dropping over the heart of the plate, and never a sign of any ability to adjust, adapt, or re-focus and buckle down.  Is this what Joba has become?  Is this what he's going to be for the rest of the season/ his career?  Was he just a flash in the pan?  All valid questions at this point, and all questions that nobody seems to have the definitive answer to.  But damn if we aren't going to try.  Here's what some of the buzz around the blogosphere was after his latest meltdown.

- Mark Feinsand had a little write-up in his blog with some comments from Joe on Joba's situation.  Just typical coachspeak from Joe on that one.  But really, what else do you expect him to say?

- Kevin Rozell from Zell's had plenty of questions related to Joba, ranging from how the Yankees should go about replacing him as the 8th-inning guy to the very simple (and very smart) question of "has the league just figured Joba out?"

- JMK at RAB looked at Joba's inconsistency and even re-visited every game in which Joba has allowed a run this season.  While it's true that he has had some bad luck, like JMK said, it's what Joba has done AFTER the bad luck that has hurt him and the team this year.  2 other points from this post that stand out:

1) Joba's tripleslash against splits with a runner on 1st (.132/.195/.263) vs. a runner on 2nd (.357/.438/.429).  The .333/.383/.429 overall with RISP is nothing to write home about either.

2) The bit about Joba almost always throwing fastballs 1-0, 2-0, or 3-0, and then almost always throwing sliders 2-2 or 3-2.  Along with not locating, being predictable on the mound will get you killed every time and it sounds like that's what he's doing.

- Steve S. at TYU had an interesting post yesterday stemming from a recent Girardi interview with Francesa regarding Joba's performance relative to the amount of rest he has had.  Girardi talked about Joba not being as sharp when he's had 4-5 days off and the numbers shown in Steve's post support that theory.  There are also some good breakdowns in here of Joba with varying levels of run support and leverage.  All of it points to how crappy he has been this year.

- Steve followed up that piece with another this morning discussing whether or not Joba should be sent down.  Included are words about his mechanics, flaws in his delivery, conditioning, and focus.

While some of his peripherals have been good this year (9.64 K/9, 2.79 FIP), there is no denying that Joba hasn't been very good.  The fact that there are so many different theories about what the real problem is is not a good sign because it shows that nobody in the organization, least of all Joba, knows what the problem is nor how to fix it.

In a perfect world, Joba would be sent down right now to work out his problems and maybe build a little confidence back up for those higher leverage situations.  He has all his options left, and he's still just 24.  The problem is that the Yankees don't have any better options in the 'pen right now to allow them to replace him.  D-Rob hasn't been much better than Joba, Marte is better as a lefty-lefty guy, And Chan Ho Park and Chad Gaudin just suck.  Right now Joba is the best of a shitty situation and that's why Joe keeps sending him out there.

What should happen is Joba should be moved down a bit in the bullpen rotation to work on correcting his issues in some lower-leverage situations.  But before that can happen, the Yanks need to bring in some new options to try to solidify the setup role for Mo.  Dustin Moseley is here now and that's all well and good, but CHoP and Chad need to go and J-Alba and Mark Melancon need to come in immediately and get their shot.  Stabilizing that role will give the team the option of reducing Joba's role without risking losing more games.  It would be a win-win for everybody involved.

So far the Yanks have gotten by just fine with a crappy Joba and crappier bullpen, but both need to be addressed before the playoffs because the Yankees proved time and time again against their opponents last year that not having a competent bullpen will come back to kill you.  Just ask Minnesota and Philly about that.

To Hit Homers Or Not To Hit Homers

(Photo used courtesy of The NY Daily News)

Another story that I passed over from earlier this week was the Robinson Cano Home Run Derby fiasco.  Cano was announced as a participant early in the week and almost immediately there were stories and quotes floating around from within the organization voicing concern about his participation.  And sure enough, by Thursday it was announced that he would not be participating due to injury.  I don't know about you guys, but I could smell the bullshit coming from that announcement a mile away when Kevin Long started spouting offon Thursday about Cano's swing being affected or not affected or him becoming fatigued or not fatigued as a result.  Example:

“I would prefer that he’s not involved in it, but that’s not my decision.… It’s just an exhausting process. It takes a lot out of you. It’s taxing. You see guys come back after the home run contest and it affects their swing.”

“It’s not so much altering a swing. You know he’s going to try to pull the ball quite a bit. I don’t think it’s going to affect his swing more than it’s just going to take a toll on his body."

Well which one is it, Kev?  The swing or the toll on the body?  You can't say you've seen guys have their swing messed up and then say you don't think that would happen to Cano.  At least Joe was consistent in his statements to the media, citing concern over fatigue as his reasoning for not wanting Cano to participate, which is all well and good.  It's his team and he can make the calls.  Only problem was, nobody told Robbie he wasn't going to participate any more.  Here was Cano on Thursday:
 
“As far as I know, I’m doing it.  I saw it on the computer that I’m not doing the derby, but nobody has talked to me… They should have let me know something and tell me about what was going on.”

When he was told by the media of the reasoning behind the Yankees not wanting him to hit, his reaction couldn't have been any more correct.

“Why not?  First time in your career. Go out there and have fun. Why not? That’s the kind of thing that might happen once in your life. We take BP every day, and it’s not going to be a big deal.”

Now here's my 2 cents.  I agree completely with Robbie on this one.  He's enjoying the finest season of his career this year and has finally started getting the recognition from everybody in the media and the baseball fanbase as one of the best all-around players in the game.  It's his first chance on a big stage to be seen by a wider audience than just the Yankee fans who watch YES religiously, so why shouldn't he go out there and have fun and have a chance to put on a show for the fans who are finally starting to take notice of him?

As far as using the fatigue and wear and tear on the body argument, that's just nonsense.  Like he said, every player takes batting practice every day and that's essentially what the Home Run Derby is.  It's not like he has to go out and run the bases on every ball he hits and slide into second and third if he hits a liner into the gap.  He has to stand there and take easy swings at meatball pitches in the 70s amd 80s and let as many balls go by as he wants.

And therein lies the other argument against Long's statements.  Robbie Cano's swing is one of the smoothest and prettiest swings in baseball.  There is very little effort and very little wasted motion in his swing so the chances of him getting tired from taking many swings in a Home Run Derby are slim to none.  And even when he does hit home runs, there isn't much more force put into that swing than there is when he doubles the other way into the gap or grounds out to first.  So not only should there be no worry about fatigue, there also shouldn't be any worry about Cano's swing being messed up because it's so damn consistent.

Now we know that Nick Swisher is going to participate tomorrow night and there hasn't been any negative feedback on that.  So why for Cano?  If it were me, I would be more concerned about Swish fucking his swing up or tweaking something because he has a much more forceful, violent swing than Cano, but nobody has said boo about Swish participating.  Was it because the team put so much into getting him into the game that now they feel like they owe it to him to let him hit?  If that's the case, then why couldn't Cano participate?  Up until a few days ago he was the team leader in home runs and it would have been interesting to see what he could do in the Derby.

Bottom line is, the Yankees had no legitimate reason to not want Cano to participate.  They were worrying for nothing and went about it all the wrong way to get him out of being in the Derby, right down to holding him out of a game on the day they announced he wasn't going to participate with a bogus injury without even telling him.  I'm glad Swish is in the game and I'm glad he's going to participate in the Derby to give it a Yankee presence, but the fact is Cano deserved to be in the Derby, he should be in the Derby, and he should have had the right to choose whether or not he wanted to participate.

R.I.P. Bob Sheppard

The Yankee family lost one of it own today, one of its longest-standing members.

Bob Sheppard and his "voice of God" were just as synonomous with the New York Yankees as the pinstripes, the interlocking "NY" logo, The Stadium, Monument Park, and anything else you could possibly think of.  I still remember hearing his voice announcing the Yankee batters the first time I ever went to a Yankee game.  No public address announcer anywhere in any sport will ever have a voice and a delivery quite like Bob Sheppard.

Rest in peace, Bob.  You will be missed.

(Bob Sheppard: 1910-2010)

A Quick Word On The All Stars

Caught up in all the recent winning, Teix's resurgence, and the Cliff Lee saga, I've neglected to discuss the Yankee All Stars.  Of course many people will complain about 8 Yankees being on the team this year, but if you really step back and take a look at it, all 8 Bombers on the team are well-deserving.

- Robinson Cano has established himself as the premiere 2B in the AL, if not all of baseball.  He has led the Yankees in hits, average, and OPS since the start of the season and is currently on pace to hit over 30 HRs and drive in over 100 runs.  Add in the fact that he's playing Gold Glove-caliber defense and he's the easiest pick of the bunch.

- His numbers are down across the board, and his improved defensive range from last year has taken a step back, but Derek Jeter is still arguably the best offensive shortstop in the game.  He has 41 RBIs from the leadoff spot and will most likely finish the year with over 200 hits and 100 runs scored again.  And then there's the little thing about him being one of the faces of Major League Baseball.  Yeah, no way he's not a deserving All Star.

- I've already touched on The Horse in the past couple weeks, so I'm not going to re-hash what we already know.  Yes, his power numbers are down and yes, he's more than likely been playing hurt.  But he's got 70 RBIs and is also playing fantastic defense at 3rd.  When Ty fucking Wigginton somehow manages to make the team, you can't really say that A-Rod shouldn't be there.

- I didn't get caught up in the "Send Swish" nonsense, because quite frankly it was a little bit lame and a lot bit overdone, but with the career year he was already having and the tear he went on once he became a choice for the final spot vote, there's no denying that Swish should be in the game.  He has a +.900 OPS, a +.300 batting average, and has a chance to go 30-100.  He's been one of the top 4-6 OFs in the AL any way you slice it.  In.

- Mariano Rivera is Mariano Rivera.  So there's really nothing more I need to say about that.

- Despite his stumbles and bumbles earlier in the year, CC Sabathia has been possibly the best starter in the AL for the last 4-6 weeks.  He's one of 3 Yankee starters with 11 wins, tops in the AL, and leads the team in Ks.  He isn't going to pitch and shouldn't because of where he falls in the rotation, but he's definitely worthy.

- Phil Hughes has been the most pleasant surprise on the staff this year, finally showing why the Yanks have held onto him for this long.  He also has 11 wins, leads the Yankee starters with an 8.11 K/9,  and has been at or near the top of all the major AL pitching categories since the beginning of the year.  The fact that he is doing it as still one of the youngest players in the AL just makes what he's already done that much more impressive.

- Last but not least, Andy Pettitte.  Old Reliable.  I don't know how he's done it, he doesn't know how he's done it, but so far Andy has put together his best season ever.  The last member of the Yankee 11-win club, Pettitte has been the best pitcher on the staff since the start of the year.  He's consistent, he's smart, and he can use his pitches any way he wants.  He has a team-low 2.70 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP and should be starting the game at age 38.

So there you have it, haters.  Not a bad pick in the bunch.  And we've already established that Brett Gardner could very well be an All Star himself.  So bitch and moan all you want, but the fact is the Yankees have a bunch of top performers, and that's why they have the best record in baseball.  The best thing you can do is accept these guys' awesomeness, get some beer, and enjoy the show when the All Star Game comes on.

Best Headline I've Seen In A While

Praise Jesus!!

No!  Not that one (even though it is great, wonderful, holiday-worthy news that he will be around for at least a little while longer), THAT one.

Good move by the Yankees here.  It was obvious they wanted Lee, especially if they were willing to center the deal around The Almighty.  But when you get wind of your trade partner still poking around for offers from other teams, that's a sure sign that they are looking for you to sweeten the pot a little and that, even more than offering Montero for a starter they don't need right now, is the perfect reason to cut talks and keep your cards in your hand for the time being.

Maybe the Mariners can get a better deal for Lee, and maybe they can't.  I'm personally still a little nervous that the talks could re-start.  But for now, I'm just happy that I still have the option of putting up The Jesus picture while he still belongs to New York.

Another Reason To Not Want Cliff Lee

As if I hadn't already made it abundantly clear that I have no desire to trade for Cliff Lee today, tomorrow, or any other day, here's one more thing to consider.  If he does join the Yankees, he ain't exactly bringing his A-Game to the table, if you know what I'm saying.  Observe:

That might be the single strangest-looking family since "The Hills Have Eyes."  Cliff just looks like the creepy older dude at the college party with that shirt and haircut, his kids are frighteningly white and weird looking (I'm pretty sure his son wants to kill me based on the look in his eyes), and his wife looks like she's still a few weeks away from her high school graduation.  Maybe that shit flies in amateur-hour places like Cleveland (assuming it still exists after last night) and Seattle, but this is fucking New York City, honey.  You're going to be up against the likes of Minka,

Joanna,

Karen,

and Laura Posada, who has a pretty hot "Desperate Housewives" thing kinda going.

So this cutesy little bullshit ain't gonna fly.  This is the big leagues, Cliff.  So get your kids out of their WalMart sales aisle clothes and get your wife a spot on "Project Makeover" NOW or don't even bother coming.  We can't have the likes of these mutants mucking up the good seats at The Stadium, especially when the revolving door of hot Yankee WAGs and people like Rudy, Jack, and The Jigga Man are going to be in the house.

This Is A Joke, Right?

So I wake up this morning and I've got my uncle texting me saying the Yankees are going to make a deal for Cliff Lee today.  I tell him that there's no way; it's a dumb move.  Then I fire up the computer at work and every website is talking about it, Joel Sherman is writing stories about it, everything is centered around Jesus Montero, and the deal could possibly go down as soon as today.

Is this even the real world right now??  What the fuck is going on?  Are the Yankees really that concerned about having to face him one more time in the regular season that they're going to pull the trigger and give up their best prospect just to avoid him?  He's ONE FUCKING GUY!!!  And he's a fucking free agent AFTER THIS SEASON!!! The Yankees have 2 lights out starters, another one who made the All-Star team, and 2 who have been pitching much better of late.  They don't need any more starters this year.  They need fucking bullpen help.  Unless the plan is to include Joba in the package and Make Lee Mo's new setup man, this is a terrible idea.

Is the entire city of New York just off their collective rockers because the Knicks didn't get LeBron James last night?  Yeah, that must be it.  That's the only logical explanation for this situation.

If this trade happens today, I am going to be fucking bullshit.

Dave Eiland Is A Miracle Worker

(Photo courtesy of The AP)

2 A.J. starts since he returned to the team and 2 very good performances.  A.J. is back on the center of the rubber, he's not flying open, and he's back to locating his fastball and curve where he should be, and it's all thanks to Dave Eiland.

Or maybe it's thanks to Felix Hernandez.  According to this post in LoHud, A.J. got the brilliant idea to use his changeup more after watching Felix devastate the Yankees with it the last time he faced them.  So much for A.J. getting back to doing what he wants to do, but whatever.  Just like Phil Hughes, I thought it was strange that he spent so much time working on it in Spring Training and getting rave reviews from everybody on the pitch, and then never using it once the regular season started.

Personally I could care less what A.J. throws as long as the pitches aren't coming right over the heart of the plate, but if he can continue to work his changeup in effectively like he did last night, it will make his fastball and curve that much more dangerous.  I'll let everybody else worry about his low strikeout totals.  Pitching to contact and locating the pitches to get the kind of contact you want is just as effective in getting outs and with the defense behind him, A.J. can and should be confident that his team behind him will eat that contact up like they did last night.

Well Will You Look At That!

Alex Rodriguez, he of the bad hip and bad groin, the guy who didn't have any power any more, was starting to show his age, and was now a broken down, washed up, can't-get-it-done-anymore old bag of bones, at least according to most of the general media and everyone on the Baseball Tonight crew, is currently 3rd in the AL in RBIs.

How do ya like them apples, you bunch of Boston nut-hugging bitches?!  Sure he's still only hitting .276 on the year, but he's been making those hits count.  Now his swing is starting to come to him; he looks much more fluid in his motion and timing with his hip rotation and getting his hands through the zone, which says to me that the hip is feeling much better and the drive he's been getting on some of these recents homers agrees with me.  Fucking guy has been getting big RBIs and making dynamite plays in the field all season on one good leg.  Now he's back to being on four good legs and he's getting ready to gallop all over everyone's ass in the 2nd half of the year.

Hi-ho, A-Horse!  AWAY!!!!!

Nawt Tha Yookah!

(Photo courtesy of US Presswire)

 "Oh my fahckin' gawd!  Anothah fahckin' injury and this time it's to ow-ah next most impawtant playah!  How the fahck did he hurt his ankle sweeping dirt awff the fahckin' battah's bawx?!

First we lose Ellsbury, then Jawsh Beckett, then ow-ah beloved Pedroia, then Mahtinez, then 'Tek, then Buchholz, and now fahckin' Yookah too?!?!  We ahh fahckin' cursed.  I swear to fahckin' Gawd, bro!  Fahckin' cursed.

Jahst pray that Yookah has the healing powahs of Wes Welkah!"

Has Mark Teixeira Turned The Corner?

After a horrible April, a pedestrian May, and what was mostly a ho-hum June, it looks like Teix is finally starting to swing the bat like the Teix we all know and love instead of the flailing, first-pitch-swinging, constant pop-up-hitting schmuck we've been watching for the first half of the season.

In his last 16 games, starting on June 19 against the Mets, Teix has gone 19 for his last 61, a .311 average, with 6 2Bs, 4 HRs, 16 RBIs, and 12 runs scored.  In that time span he has raised his tripleslash from .224/.342/.399 to .241/.351/.431.  While those numbers still don't scream "ALL STAR!!!" at you, they are light years ahead of where Teix was for all of April and May.  Now that he's no longer getting outslugged by Brett Gardner, the question can once again be raised; is Teix back?

Without pushing all of my chips into the center I'll say that yes, it does appear that Teix is back to where he should be and has been for the better part of his career.  He's been showing more patience at the plate lately, a sign that he is seeing the ball better than he was earlier this year and not just going up there guessing.  The dreaded first-pitch-swinging pop ups have almost entirely disappeared and he's driving the ball much more than earlier in the season, a sign that his balance is back at the plate and he's got his hips and arms more in tune rather than being off-balanced, off-timed, and pulling off of everything.

On the negative side, Teix is still striking out more than he's walking, so the patience, vision, and plate discipline is still not entirely where you'd like it to be if you're a Yankee fan.  My guess is that pitchers are still attacking Teix as if he were completely lost like he was earlier in the year, getting ahead in counts, and then getting him to chase.  If he can keep up this current hot streak, however, that approach will change and you'll see pitchers being careful around the plate like they usually are with Teix.

With The Horse rounding into form and Robbie Cano still putting up big numbers (recent mini-slump aside), the potential is there for the Yankees to have a devestating 3-4-5 combo in the middle of their lineup.  They're already ahead of last year's pace without having any of these 3 guys on the same page at any point this season, so imagine how dangerous they can be in the second half if Teix can get back to being what he was last year?  All his struggles aside, he's still on pace to drive in over 100 runs this year, so a final number of 110-120 isn't out of the question if he goes on a tear here soon.

I won't go so far as to say he's completely turned the corner and is officially "back" just yet, but a couple more weeks of this kind of production and you can take it to the bank that he's officially back on the mark... Teixeira.

I'm Back

So I shut it down for the holiday weekend and the Yanks go out and win 3 in a row.  Go figure.

All in all it was a good weekend for the Bombers.  Good to see the bullpen holding a few leads here and there and good to see Mark Teixeira finally starting to put it together (more on that later).

Maybe I should just shut the hell up and not write anything anymore until after the Yankees win the World Series...

Holiday Vacation

It's a big weekend, kiddies.  Got Dave Matthews today and a big 4th of July party on Sunday so you probably won't see much going on until I sober up sometime on Monday night.

Best of luck to the Bombers over the weekend.  Hopefully they can start hitting the ball a little bit and have somebody in the bullpen not named Mariano Rivera grow a little hair on their sack and get 3 outs without turning the basepaths into a carousel.  But either way, I won't be around to comment on it.

Enjoy your 4th of July weekends, folks.  Eat a few too many hot dogs and drink a few too many beers.  It's what the forefathers (and Babe Ruth) would have wanted.

Blowed Up

 Joba, D-Rob, CHoP, just go the fuck home.  What a goddamn disgrace.  Seriously, if Chan Ho Park is on the Yankee roster tomorrow morning, I might kill somebody.

Get me fucking Mark Melancon, Royce Ring, and Jon Albaladejo in the Bronx and in the 'pen, STAT!!

The New And Improved A.J.?

Well Dave Eiland is back and it sounds like he wasted no time in changing A.J.'s diapers, re-heating his bottle for him, and putting his binky back in his mouth.  They've talked, they've worked in the bullpen, and Eiland pointed out the 47 things A.J. was doing wrong.  He was opening up too early, he was dropping his shoulder, he was working off different spots on the mound, he was holding onto the ball too long. 

Now he's back to the right spot on the mound and these mechanical glitches should be fixed, so what will we see from A.J. today?  According to him, Tuesday's bullpen session went great and now he's back to doing what "A.J. wanted to do," so we'll see.  Sometimes A.J. doing what he wants to do is a scary thought.

The Ace Is Back!

(Photo courtesy of The AP)

After the disaster that was the last 2 days, there couldn't have been a better situation for the Yanks today than to have CC on the hill with a chance to end the skid and salvage a win out of the series.  And the big guy did not disappoint.  8 innings of absolute lockdown ball, making the Mariners look like the feeble, weak-swinging team they actually are.  And he actually even got a little run support today.  How about that? 

That's 10 wins now for the big fella and we can all start taking some of the All-Star talk that was being heaped on Phil Hughes and throw it Carsten's way, because the guy has been dynamite over his last 6 starts and 7 of his last 8.  He's got an ERA in the low 3.00's, a WHIP of 1.13 and a BAA of .225.  For all the talk about his rough spots in May (of which I was admittedly a part of), CC has been damn damn good for the overwhelming majority of the season.

And oh yeah, Robbie Cano is still stinging the fuck out of the ball, The Horse continues to kick up his heels, and Mo is officially not human.  Cut another game off the magic number, baby!

Holy Crap!

Forget Cliff Lee, what's it going to take to get Felix Hernandez in a Yankee uniform?  Montero, Nova, and Betances?  What do you want, Seattle?

Dude is downright disgusting!  Jeter probably had nightmares last night after the game.