N.Y. YANKEES ~ Big Papi, Mother Nature, and Sox Sweep Bombers

From the desk of:  BLAME CARLOS MAY

new york YANKEES:  Rain Only Delayed the Inevitable.

As far as Game Two, ...Look What Big Papi Did To You.... AGAIN.

There was no brush back.  There was no dusting off and hitting the dirt.  Papi picked up right where he left off Tuesday wasting no time depositing an A.J. Burnett pitch into the seats in right to make an early 1-0 lead, a 3-0 lead before the Yankees even came up to bat.  So much for backing him off the plate and moving his feet.  They moved his feet so much, he rounded the bases, and with all his ribs in tact.

...And the Stadium went silent.

But instead of David Ortiz being the center of attention again, the real story maker was A.J. Burnett, who's rapidly morphing into the Yankee version of Oliver Perez.  Two first inning home runs; a run in the second; and after three more runs given up in the fourth inning, Burnett was toast.  And at this point it must be acknowledged; the Yankees' pitching staff as a whole is in big trouble.  More on that maybe tomorrow.


(That was all meant for yesterday.  I fell asleep, too tired from softball last night and never published.  And so I resume today with some tweaks.)

Too bad the Yankees chose to wait three hours to get last night's game in.  Because the fact is, the Sox flat out rolled the Yankees like a drunk on 161st Street.  Not only C.C., but they rolled the whole team, all series long.


Last night was the big match-up between CC Sabathia and Josh Beckett.  Things were going fairly copacetically for C.C. the Yanks over the first six innings.  The Yanks jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the home half of the first and made it last for the next five innings.


Along the way, Josh Beckett plunked another two Pinstriped milk bottles.  Then finally...Finally!... C.C. defended the Yankees' honor by drilling Big Papi with the pitch so many fans and Media talkies have been asking for.  After the game, when asked about getting hit, Big Papi told a group of reporters, "I hope you're f**king happy now."


But the damage inflicted by Papi and the S'awks had already been done.  The Red Sox sent a message received here in New York loud and clear by everyone. 


The Yankees relinquished their hold on first place and it has all the Yankee-leaning talkies in a full blown panic.  And why shouldn't they be?  Have you seen who's in the Yankees' bullpen lately?




The Joba Rules and Hughes Rules Got A New Spin:

In short work, which is how Cashman operates these days, he basically shook off any responsibility he might have had in the demise of Joba and Hughes.  Cashman said The Rules were always in place in their minor operations and that it was the Media who picked up the Who's Rules ball and ran with it because he implemented it on the Major League level.  And it's true; on both counts.  No one ever heard Cashman say these are "Joba Rules" per say.  But they were, no matter how much Cashman wants to deny it.  But my question was always why?  Why bring up the kid (Joba) after only 88 innings pitched in the minor leagues?  What equates to on-the-job training, is turning out to be a complete fail on many levels.

For all the babying they handled Joba and Phil Hughes with, the two still succumbed to injuries (as did Ian Kennedy when he came up as part of that much heralded trio).  Joba is done for the next year and a half if he has to get Tommy John surgery.  There is speculation now, Hughes will fill the bullpen role when he returns.  If that plays out, then the mismanagement continues in earnest.





Mike.BTB