Red Sox Counter Punch In Battle Of The Bronx, 11-1

From the desk of:   BLAME CARLOS MAY

 

Battle For The A.L. East

1) - Boston      34-23

2) - Yankees   31-24

 

Series Tied 1-1

I - NYY 4; BOS 1

II - BOS 11; NYY 1

 

 

GAME THREE

 

Boston Red Sox

vs.

New York Yankees

From

The House That George Built

161 Street & River Avenue

BRONX

NEW YORK YANKEES - Fans Want Their AAAA Players Back.


All seemed well in the universe.  You felt order had been restored since the Red Sox and Yankees began battling it out for first place again.  For the Sox, no Jacoby Ellsbury Saturday night.  For the home team - the Yanks were starting to feel better, weren't they?  CC Sabathia looked back in form  during Game One's victory.  Mark Teixeira and Kevin Youkilis returned, and other than Granderson, Jeter and ARod, the Bombers were starting to resemble their old selves.  So what happened?


With the Bombers one game out of first place, the enigmatic Phil Hughes climbed the hill in Bronx County yesterday opposed by Boston's Felix Doubront.  Both pitchers posted zeroes through the first three innings.


Then things went kablooey for Hughes.  The Red Sox broke the scoreless deadlock in the top of the fourth.  Playing in Ellsbury's place, Jackie Bradley Jr. led off by lining a pea over the head of Gardner in center for a double.  Right fielder Mike Carp drove him home with another double down the left field line.  After walking Big Papi to load the bases, Phil Hughes faced Mike Napoli with one out.  The Bosox first baseman then launched Hughes' sixth pitch into the right field seats, for an opposite field grand slam home run.  Napoli entered his at-bat ranked 6th in the A.L. in runs batted in.  To that point, it was Phil Hughes twelfth home run surrendered in fifty-eighth innings pitched this season.


Then what?  The roof of The House Where Sparky Once Spit caved in during the eighth and ninth innings.  Boston scored six more runs, and cranked out eighteen hits in all.  They Yankees were stymied by Boston starter Felix Doubront for six innings, who allowed six hits, one earned run, walked three, and struck out six.  The Yankees were then shut down by the Red Sox bullpen - three combined innings, no hits, no runs, and four strikeouts.


Boston hit four doubles and three home runs off Yankees pitching.  Joe Girardi left poor Adam Warren on the mound for the last three innings of the game to get pounded for six earned runs on eight hits.  Way to go Joe.


Break up the Red Sox.  With Jon Lester and Clay Buchholz serving-up quality games again, along with a refortified bullpen, and Big Papi wielding a peligroso Louisville - Mike Napoli, Dustin Pedroia, freakin' Daniel Nava, and the rest of the Sox and crushin'.  In the bullpen, Andrew Bailey and Koji Uehara are as responsible for the Sox turn around as anybody.




Mike.BTB

N.Y. Mets ~ Subway Series; A Bronx Fail

From the desks of:

HEAD-BUTTING MR. MET  and  BLAME CARLOS MAY

YANKEES WIN SUBWAY SERIES - I

Old School Mural ~ Williamsburg

YANKEES WIN SERIES 3-0 

I  -  NYY 9; NYM 1

II  -  NYY 4; NYM 3

III  -  NYY 5; NYM 4

Mets Suffer A Bronx Beat-Down

"The Yankees draw Johan Santana tonight in his first game since tossing a no-hitter at Citi Field. Johan has now tossed two consecutive complete game victories. After tossing 134 pitches during his no-no, tonight we'll see the effects of him either over extending himself last time out, or whether giving Johan extra time off between starts was beneficial, or leaves him flat."  -  That's what I said Friday prior to Game One.

If I didn't come right out and say it, I certainly sensed it.  Johan Santana's start was going to be a bomb.  We all know what happened FRIDAY.  I'm not saying I'm smart.  I'm just saying, that's Baseball.  That's the way pitchers go in the modern age.  There is a very fine line to walk between managing muscle recovery, and foiling muscle memory.  The Mets toyed with both, but are not to be blamed.  Throwing no-hittters are an exception to the rule of traditional in-game management.  Post game management, in this case, the decision to give Johan extra rest, was probably necessary, but it's also called biting the bullet for such occasions as Johan's 134 pitch gem.  In Game One, he only walked one, and struck out five Yankees.  So control wasn't the issue.  He was flat, and hittable, as evidenced by six hits, but four home runs allowed, in five innings.  Three of those came back, to back, to back.  As Mets fans, it is just a game we have to ignore.

What I'm not OK with, was the offensive rigamortis that set in against Hiroki Kuroda.  Thank you Omar Quintanilla for breaking up a potential no-hitter in the sixth.  Kuroda struck out seven Mets in the process.  Only Lucas Duda continued his steady hitting, finally connecting for a double in the ninth to score Quintanilla, and ruining the Yankees' shut-out.  But that's all the Mets would get; two hits and one run.

The other point of contention would be the performance of Elvin Ramirez.  All three of his appearances so far, have gone very wrong since his call-up from Buffalo.  He dazzled in eight appearances in Binghampton, and then ten more with the Bisons this season before Sandy Alderson summoned him up to the big club.  Since arriving, the twenty-four year old has fizzled miserably.



SATURDAY'S GAME was lost on two pitches.  Dillon Gee served-up a home run pitch to Mark Teixeira; a little payback for getting plunked by Gee in the first; and Bobby Parnell issued one to Curtis Grandrson.  As number four starters go, Gee and Phil Hughes actually engaged in a nice pitching duel through the first five innings.  But Hughes had a better sixth inning.  And well, there ya go.  Game Two went to the Yankees again.

The Mets actually out-hit the Yankees eight to six.  And David Wright and Omar Quintanilla both homered for the Amazins.  But when you cancel out the four combined home runs hit in this game, Alex Rodriguez' RBI single to drive in Derek Jeter was the difference.  It gave the Yankees a first inning lead that had strong enough legs to allow the Bomber's bullpen a chance at finishing off the Mets over the final 2.2 innings.

Saturday's was a decent start for Dillon Gee, and as with several of his other previous starts, he certainly could have used more help.



SUNDAY, the Mets set about trying to gain victory in the final game of this series by scoring early off Andy Pettitte.  Vinny Rottino had an RBI single, and Jordany Valdespin doubled home two more, for a three run second inning.  The Mets left the bases loaded however, as Andy struck out Jason Bay and David Wright consecutively, to end the Amazin's threat.

Jon Niese cruised through the first five innings.  In the sixth he got into trouble.  Derek Jeter led off by beating out an infield hit, and Granderson followed with a single.  Teixeira then grounded into a fielder's choice, on a nice play by Valdespin at short.  With runners now on first and third, and one out, up came Alex Rodriguez to face Jon Niese.  The Mets' starter escaped the inning when he got A-Rod to ground into an inning ending double play.

Andy Pettitte fielded a come-backer in the sixth with his bare pitching hand, but stayed in and completed the frame.  However, he did not return to the mound for the seventh.  Andy was clearly feeling discomfort in his hand, and gave way to Pinstripe neophyte, Clay Rapada.

Jon Niese came out for his half of the seventh, and immediately gave up a lead-off single to Robinson Cano.  The Mets then went around the horn on Nick Swisher's grounder to Wright, and turned their second double-play in two innings for a quick two outs.  An E-5 allowed Andrew Jones to reach first when Vinny Rottino, playing first base for Ike Davis, couldn't dig a ball out of the dirt.  So naturally, with two outs, Russell Martin lined a short Yankee-Porch home run to right to bring the Yankees within a run.

After getting the third out, Jon Niese's afternoon was through.  He pitched seven full innings, gave up seven hits and one walk.  He allowed two runs, but both were unearned.  Jon struck out six and threw exactly 100 pitches.

In came Bobby Parnell for the eighth.  His first batter was Derek Jeter, who topped a bouncer to short. Quintanilla misplayed the hop, and Derek Jeter advanced to second as the ball dribbled away.  Curtis Granderson singled to left and Jeter got held up at third.  Up came Teixeira, who singled in Jeter to tie the game at three.  And there went Jon Niese's start.

Alex Rodriguez took his turn against Parnell and popped a ball up that fell between Ike Davis (in as a defensive replacement), Jordany Valdespin from second base, and Scott Hairston coming from right.  Granderson scored.  There went the Mets' lead, and off went Bobby Parnell to the showers, without so much as retiring a batter.

Tim Byrdak was summoned, and set down the next two Yankees in order.  Then Coach Collins made another move for Jon Rauch, who struck out Raul Ibanez to end the inning.

In the Mets' ninth, they faced de-facto closer, Rafael Soriano.  Lucas Duda led off, and unleashed a laser to center and over Granderson's head for a double.  Then up came Ike Davis for the first time in the game, and promptly mashed a double to right center, delivering Duda for a tie game.  Quintanilla hit a grounder to short, that Ike Davis tried advancing to third on, and was thrown out.

Daniel Murphy batted with Quintanilla on first.  On a 3-2 pitch, Murphy pulled a pitch between first and second, putting Quintanilla on third, which spelled the end of Rafael Soriano's day.  Joe Girardi then called upon his fourth reliever of the afternoon, Boone Logan to put a stop to the Mets' rally.  He'd face Josh Thole, who was sent up as a pinch-hitter with one out, and the go ahead runner at third. In a little catcher-on-catcher crime, Josh fouled one off Russell Martin's mask, then got JOBBED on a called strike three a few pitches later!  Rookie Kirk Nieuwenhuis then stepped up and grounded out to Cano for the third out.

In the bottom of the ninth, lead-off batter, Russell Martin, launched a Jon Rauch slider deep, about eight rows back into the left field seats, for his second home run of the afternoon, a walk-off win, and a Yankees' sweep of the Mets in the Bronx.

Thuugh Mets lose.  Thuu-uugh, Mets Lose.  Why you ask?  An E-5 and an E-6 will go down as the Mets' ruin in Game Three.



The Mets lost this series in a near no-hitter/slash/blow-out, two ill-fated pitches in Game Two, and two killer errors.  Everything else is academic. All except the prodigious number of home runs the Yankees hit, compared to the Mets, that is.  For every home run the Mets hit this series, the Yankees hit four.  More about that..., later.

Drive safely.  Pay attention to the signs on your way home.

*Grand St. Graffiti - Old School Mural - W'burg, B'klyn
Mike.BTB

N.Y. Yankees ~ A Lansdowne Street Letdown

From the desk of:  BLAME CARLOS MAY



new york YANKEES:  Another Lesson Learned on the Bronx Bombers.


GAME TWO FINAL:
Yankees ~ 5
Red Sox ~ 9
Series tied 1-1


Wednesday night, Jason Varitek did what two Yankee catchers have not gotten the grasp of yet this season. 


He doubled home a run and hit a two run homer giving Boston necessary insurance runs against the Yankees late in the game.  But more importantly, he showed how a player is to comport themselves (unlike others, to include David Ortiz) upon completing a trip around the bases.  Secondly, some time ago, he accepted and embraced his role as a back-up catcher for the betterment of the team.  If he's done so grudgingly, we don't know about it.  And yet, he remains a highly respected team Captain; the Red Sox Captain.  And Wednesday night, he was another lesson learned on the Yankees; or at least two Pinstripers anyway.  You know who they are.  One gets called out for Tuesday night's game.  The other gets called out for pouting over his reduced role and importance to the team.


Josh Beckett wasn't especially good Wednesday night.  But Phil Hughes was a little worse because his skipper suffered over-managing stress disorder again.  But, not to completely take him off the hook, on nights where Beckett struggles, you'd hope for better from the pitcher following C.C. Sabathia in the rotation.  That pitcher was Phil Hughes this time.  He didn't pitch that badly.  But that isn't the kind of adverb; or adjective; you want to be hearing about your rotation; or sum of its parts; heading into September.  Is it?  And especially when Big Papi punctuates the Yankees' problems with a booming home run to dead center; followed by a minor flick of the bat; then a slow trip around the bases; and paying respects to his creator upon touching home; kissing the sky; and finally clapping his fists together to finish the whole demonstration off. 


Yes, he did all that.  But then again, he has a cool nick-name and makes ESPN commercials; something lost on Senor Cervelli.


All the Red Sox did was tie this series at one game apiece.  That's what you want to believe; right Yankee fans?  So why does it feel like you're doing so much more worse?

THURSDAY

GAME THREE
new york YANKEES

SP - A.J. Burnett

vs.

BOSTON RED SOX

SP - Jon Lester

From

Lansdowne Street Grounds

Mike.BTB

N.Y. YANKEES ~ Beantown Showdown

From the desk of:  BLAME CARLOS MAY

NEW YORK YANKEES  vs.  BOSTON RED SOX

From FENWAY PARK

The Battle for the American League East starts now! 

Both teams are tied for first place; go figure.

BOSTON RED SOX.............68-42   *

NEW YORK YANKEES......68-42   *

 

new york YANKEES:  A matter of trust.

I gotta be honest with you; I don't know how the hell Bartolo Colon and Freddie Garcia have gotten the Bombers this far.  I really don't.  I've watched.  But I don't get it.  I don't trust them as far as I can throw them.  But I'm not trying to understand either.  When the post-season kicks in, I'd be terrified going into a short series with this consortium of hurlers.  But then again, I'm not a Yankee fan; am I (?).  However, to my dismay, even the Yankees are capable of capturing lightning in a bottle too.

 

C.C. is a horse.  No worries for Bomber fans there.  Now that Ivan Nova is back in the fold, he's your number two guy whether you like it or not.  Winning his 10th game of the season against the ChiSox Thursday night kinda seals the deal; no?  Then you got Phil of the future Hughes; Bartolo Colon; and steady Freddie Garcia.  Maybe you guys aren't that bad off after all....?  Oh..., that's right....; I forgot A.J.

 

Bwahahaha!

 

OK; but seriously.  The Yankee staff has options and depth.  It's a matter of trust that I'd be struggling with if I was indeed a Yankee fan.  More so for the Yankees than the Red Sox, this series will provide  three very telling appearances for these starters.  It's a very timely test during the Dog Days of Summer.

 

Can the Yankee starting pitchers make this series more about them, and their ability to contain the BoSox line-up, rather than leaving it up to the Yankee line-up to out-hit Boston's line-up and/or outlasting their starters?  Can they dial up shut-down performances on command?  That's what I'd be looking for on August 5th because that's what it will take later in the year.  Can they be the lead in this series?  I'd like to know if they can pitch three shut-down performances over the weekend.  Even a hard-luck loser would suffice.  But, if nothing else than to gain mounds of confidence, go out and stymie Boston's bats this weekend regardless what the offense provides.

 

Losing two out of three this series isn't something that should concern either team.  But for the Yankees, just as a matter of test, wouldn't you like to see them dominate the Sawx just so you know you can?

Alex Rodriguez:  MIAMI VICE Gets His Cover Blown.

I don't care if A-Rod, or if any grown man or woman, plays poker for money.  I'm just not interested in something like that, much less jumping all over A-Rod for it.  And believe me, you know I don't need much of a reason to besmirch him.

 

But time and again, the player formerly known as Alex Rodriguez, is the perpetrator of his own device; chasing after his never ending quest for Vice; Miami style.  Nothing more; nothing less.  He gets himself involved in these situations where there's no victims in a manner of speaking; only satisfying his passions are involved.  You know the word for someone like that.

 

Poker?  C'mon.  I get why Commissioner Selig would want to police something like that and I'm all for it.  But I personally, just can't get on him for poker.  I'll wait till he does something stupid again (he's like clockwork), and let him have it then.

 

Let's Go Red Sox!

 

Mike.BTB

BKN CYCLONES ~ Staten Island; Phil Hughes Bow To Brooklyn

From the desk of:  THE SURF AVENUE SLUGGERS

BROOKLYN CYCLONES:  Bronx Bomber Phil Hughes Not Enough For Staten Island.  Coney Island Nine Take Rubber Game In First Meeting In The Battle Of The Boroughs.



The Staten Island Yankees needed Bomber's starter Phil Hughes, who's on rehab from the Bronx, to help get them out to an early two run lead against Brooklyn in the rubber game of their respective 2011 Opening Day Series.


The Lil' Spankees were feeling pretty good about themselves as Phil Hughes manhandled the Cyclones over his first four innings of work.  He walked one and gave up two hits to that point, but struck out seven Bums.  You might say his rehab was going pretty well today.


The Staten Islanders sent Phil Hughes out for the fifth inning.  That's when the catcher for the Surf Avenue Sluggers; Nelfi Zapata, who hails from the Bronx himself; stepped up and deposited the Major Leaguer's one out offering over the wall in left for a solo home run.  And with that blast, Phil Hughes' work was done for the day.


And so was the Staten Island Yankees' day for that matter.  With their Major League loan out of the game, the Cyclones went to work against the Yankees' bullpen; and more specifically Yankees' reliever; Wilton Rodriguez.  Over the next 2.2 innings, the Cyclones touched him for five hits and four runs.


The Cyclones grabbed their first lead of the afternoon in the sixth inning.  Ismael Tijerina doubled to to lead-off.  He advanced to third base and scored on a Richard Lucas sac-fly to center field.  Luke Stewart singled and moved to second when Juan Torres was hit by a pitch.  Travis Taijeron then singled home Stewart for a 2-1 Brooklyn lead.


The Yankees picked up a run in the top half of the seventh.  In the bottom half, Brooklyn added two more runs when Javier Rodriguez came through with a single off the second baseman scoring runners from second and third, giving the Cyclones a 5-3 lead they'd keep.


Brooklyn starter; Jeffrey Walters; handed in a representative effort.  In 4.1 innings, he allowed two hits and two runs (both earned).  He walked two and struck out four pitching to a no-decision.


Three Cyclone relievers kept the Yankees quiet the rest of the way.  Guillaume Leduc relieved Walters with 1.1 innings; two hits; and two strikeouts.  Today's winning pitcher; Hunter Carnevale; pitched two innings, allowing 2 hits and an unearned run while striking out four.  T.J. Chism closed things out for the Cyclones pitching the ninth inning.  In recording his first save of the season, he gave up a hit and struck out one.


7, 966 fans packed the park tonight.

MONDAY

June 20, 2011

Angel Pagan Bobble Head Night

Pagan is scheduled to throw out the First Pitch.

BROOKLYN CYCLONES

vs.

Aberdeen Iron Birds

From Surf Avenue, Coney Island

 

See You There!

Mike.BTB

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

N.Y. YANKEES ~ ChiSox, Jeter and Hughes...Oh No!

From the desk of:  BLAME CARLOS MAY


new york YANKEES:  Getting Dusted With White Sox.
Chalk one up for the Front Office.  On tap, more woe courtesy of the relief pitcher Brian Cashman didn't want.  Rafael Soriano coughed up another game for the Bombers.  But he's looking really bad doing it; if not despondent.  But they say that's just him.  Ok then,   ....Uh Oh!

I guess pitching out of roll for relievers fails to trigger something in their brains that doesn't spark the appropriate chemical releases.  It seems former closers acquired to be Eighth Inning Men for another teams can't, or don't usually make the conversion.... Or shall we call it, the demotion?  While on the one-hand a team looks at such an acquisition as enhancing their bullpen,  the acquired pitcher sees it as a personal demotion from his former Alpha-Bullpen role.  It is what it is.  Just remember, Cashman didn't want him.

Paul Kornerko's blast was the latest reason for Soriano's melancholy.  Blowing a save and getting the loss....again, can do that.  But a right fielder named Brent Lillibrand was the reason the White Sox won last night.  Outside of two Bomber home runs by Gardner and Cano, Brent ended the Yankees best chances of winning by making two game saving catches.  The first was a catch while crashing into the wall off a deep fly to right by ARod, then two, making a diving catch off Robbie Cano's low sinking liner to end the game.

But, why did the Yankees lose?  Because they haven't been able to hit ChiSox pitching over the first two games of this four game series.  They Yanks were outdone by former Mets' farmhand Philip Humber, who no-hit the Bombers over the first six innings in game one of the series.  The Yankees managed four hits before losing 3-2 Monday night.  Then Tuesday night, The Bombers were held to the same numbers.  Two runs scored off four hits (two solo home runs) is all they managed off Gavin Floyd over eight innings.

Game three is Wednesday night.  Mark Buehrle faces off against Bartolo Colon.  For the moment, Bartolo Colon seems like the more effective of the two (remarkable), as Mark Buehrle is off to another sluggish start.



DEREK JETER:
I'll keep this brief because I've said it many times before.

Right now, Derek Jeter's 2011 batting average is at .259 and climbing.  He started the season with a lifetime batting average of .314, and twenty games into the Bombers 2011 season, he caused it to slip to .313 due to a rough start.  That may not seem like such a disaster, but when you think about him being signed for three more years, he may stick around too long and ruin his lifetime .300 average just like the legendary Mickey Mantle did.

What I'm about to say isn't Anit-Yankee of me.  I'm trying to protect him.  He is fifty-three hits away from the magical three-thousand plateau.  I say when he achieves that milestone, he should retire post-haste!  I mean that.  Unless he demonstrates he's capable of sustaining a .300 average for another 2 1/2 years...over the next three months, which I don't think he can, he should take his 3,000 hits and his lifetime .300 batting average and retire; get married; ride off into the sunset; and start a family while his greatness is at it's most legendary.

It is my sincere hope that he surprises everyone, and mostly the Yankees, by taking this step towards protecting what would be an attractive combination of  career numbers.  And he's actually that self-aware and cunning enough to do it while not let anyone in on the secret.  Do not forget the bitterness Derek Jeter expressed towards some of the negotiating tactics Cashman and the Yankees employed.  Maybe he was just playing hardball with the Yankees based on principle and though maybe he deserved the respect of an overly-representative offer.

Why else should he pull off such a startling move?  Because over most of his career, through the days of Tejada, ARod and Garciapara, Ripken,  etc....; and all the years of knocking Jeter's defense,  -  Derek Jeter has always had his naysayers.  And they'll never go away.  If Jeter ruins his .300 lifetime average, those same naysayers (writers and fans alike) will be emboldened to diminish what Jeter has accomplished even more.  If Derek can retire with over 3,000 hits and still end his career with a batting average above .300, that would be BLING for LIFE and make him, a without-a-doubt untouchable in the barber shop debates across America!

Think about it.


However, This IS...Yankee Bashing:
Again, this is something I've said many times before.  But things continually happen that reinforce my notion. 

What happened this time?  PHIL HUGHES.  But it's more than just about him.  This is about Joba, and if you can remember...Ian Kennedy also.

The Yankees acted like spoiled brats when they opened up all their gift prospects too early.  When it came time to open presents, all the Yankees had left were broken toys.  They should have left the three much-hyped pitchers below in the minors from the start.  Joba was promoted after only 88 minor league innings pitched.

That's Folly! 

No..., Brian Cashman’s whole plan for pitcher development has been complete folly!  All three pitchers?  All three injured?  All three rendered ineffective?  If I were those three, I'd hire a lawyer and sue Brian Cashaman for Wreckage of Career!  (I'm KIDDING!..of course.)

The truth remains, the new York Yankees don’t know how to groom pitchers, and  they never have in the last 36 years.  They'd rather pay the premium for another team's pitcher.  That's just the way it's been.  After Ron Guidry, Dave Righetti, and Andy Pettitte (I’ll be kind and throw in Wang, Doug Drabek, and Jose Rijo), name the home grown starter who has done anything credible in Pinstripes worthy of our mentioning?   I'll wait.

: /

Stumped, aren't you?

Right.

Like I was saying, three young, hurt pitchers is not a coincidence.  It's a pattern....of destruction.




First Game Of the Year:
Tuesday night was my first baseball game of the season.  But it wasn't my first opportunity.  Regardless, there I was, back at the Old Ball Game.  There is something very right about that, even if it was a Yankee game.  But then again, any game in any park is fine with me.  Now with the Rangers and Knicks out of the Playoffs, this was my Opening Day.  Let the Games begin!

YANKEE STADIUM

Mike.BTB

N.Y.YANKEES ~ JOBA Who?

Pitchers; and Catchers; and Cashman...Oh My!


NEW YORK YANKEES:  JOBA'less Chamberlain?

If I'm Joba Chamberlain, I'm retiring from the Yankees today, hiring a lawyer tomorrow and suing the pants off the Yankees the next day for "Decimation of Career". 

Why in Hilltop Park would Brian Cashman want to come out and publicly say Joba may not even have a job with the club this season?  With everything concerning Brian Cashman lately, you have to take him with a grain of salt regarding the manner with which he strings his words together during his Post-George reign.

If Joba's status is on thin ice, it's because the Yankees broke him due to their lack of skill at procuring home-grown pitching.  Since George Steinbrenner purchased the team, there have literally only been a handful of starting pitchers raised through the Yankees' farm who've achieved anything worth speaking of in a Yankee uniform.  Those names are Ron Guidry; Dave Righetti; Andy Pettitte....  I will be kind and include Chien-Ming Wang.  BUT That's It!  I defy you to name two more!  Right up until the much-hyped Big Three came up together; Joba; Hughes; and Kennedy, that's all the Yankees Farm ever supplied for the team's use on their mound.  In thirty seven years, that's an abysmal history of pitching development.

The fact is, historically, they have never had much use for rookies and prospects during the Old Boss Era (outside of all the work Stick Michael and Buck Showalter put in).  Doug Drabek and Jose Rijo are just two youngsters the Yankees traded away along with many more young position players who went on to have very substantial careers elsewhere.  The Yankees never had to procure minor league arms because their plan was always to buy someone else's starting pitching star.  Don't be fooled by any self-declared youth movements, development, and Farm System Ratings.  The signing of CC Sabathia and AJ Burnett and their pursuit of Cliff Lee reaffirms the fact they'd rather just pay the money for a ready made pitcher.

So once the Yankees finally thought they had a trio of promising pitchers, they very unwisely in my opinion, started calling them up in 2007.  Joba Chamberlain in particular, was now pitching in the major leagues after only throwing 88 innings in the minor leagues!  In calling up their baby arms, they imposed all kinds of unconventional pitch counts and innings limits.  Isn't that what the minor leagues are for; to let these guys pitch and develop?  Phil Hughes benefited from more innings pitched at the minor level that Joba did and the differences in their effectiveness bear that out.  With somewhere near 300 innings pitched in the minors, Phil Hughes is obviously a more accomplished pitcher and more learned of his craft than Joba at this point.  What the Yankees did  to Chamberlain was plain irresponsible.  He's been toyed with like a Yo-Yo since day number one.  And it now seems he's gone from the Joba Rules...To a Joba Ruse...To just being plain ol' JOBA REFUSE.

If you're asking me, the Yankees lack of a standard philosophy on how to develop pitching was all too apparent.  Evidence of a feeble plan lay everywhere.  So then, like little spoiled-rotten kids,  the Yankees opened up all their new presents before Christmas, and when the day to actually open presents came around, what the Yankees had on their hands were three already broken toys.  All three pitchers wound up hurt and thrown on the DL under the Yankee Plan.

The Joba Rules as well as the Hughes Rules were absurd in theory and application.  Like I said earlier...Isn't that what the minor leagues are for?

Joba Chamberlain showed so much ability coming out of the bullpen when he was first called-up and filled the 8th inning role marvelously and in dominating fashion. He was immediately dubbed Mariano Rivera's eventual successor.  What followed was a complete mismanagement and mishandling of Joba Chamberlain.   His effectiveness, his role, his health, his velocity and now his very viability are teetering on insignificance.  A once very promising career appears for the moment to have been torpedoed by the Yankees, and it sounds like Cashen wants no part of the blame.

How did it get to this?  The Yankee mismanagement of Joba is culprit number one.  From the Bullpen to starting, to ridiculous pitch counts and three inning starts and a bug-battle with midges; it all culminated with an arm injury suffered in Texas from which he hasn't seemed recovered from yet and was maybe precipitated by a very erratic work schedule.

Now, adding insult to his short career, the Yankees signed former Tampa Bay closer, Rafael Soriano and follow that with a comment hinting Joba's time in Pinstripes is now uncertain at best.

It was a JOBA RUSE all along!

I was always on the side of him being in the bullpen.  When he showed how much of a force he was in that role, it made me recall how it was the Yankees themselves who unwittingly created the 8th inning set-up man so commonly utilized in Baseball today.

Ron Davis is widely regarded as the first (un)official Set-Up Man.  He was a force in his own right setting up for Goose Gossage.  By being so effective, Ron Davis pretty much created the role.  But even before Ron Davis, the Yankees created an uncomfortable bullpen situation when Cy Young Award winner Sparky Lyle was relegated to the eighth inning when the Bombers originally signed Goose.

It was the Yankees who always used the 7th; 8th; 9th inning roles to their fullest advantage.  After Ron Davis opened up eyes to a successful formula, the Yankees had a failed starter who was sent to the bullpen to become John Wetteland's eighth inning man.  Mariano Rivera dominated the eighth inning like Ron Davis once did.  Then Gene Nelson and Mike Stanton filled those roles behind Mo's 9th inning shut-downs.  Recalling all that, I always thought Joba Chamberlain was a natural for the role and could dominate it like Ron Davis and Mo did once before.

If you also remember, when Goose Gossage hurt his arm and went on the DL (one of those years; 1980 maybe..) Ron Guidry volunteered to go into the bullpen and close games because he said; paraphrasing all these years later... - "I can help this team more by coming out of the bullpen three or four times a week, than I can pitching once every five days."   If Ron Guidry recognized the importance pitching plays at the end of a game, that's good enough for me.

That's why I always thought Joba should stay in the bullpen.  But now it appears, according to Cashman, he's just trying to remain relevant enough to stay on the team.  While I think the chances of the Opening Day roster not having Joba's name on it are very slim to doubtful, you still can not hide the fact that Joba has become a mere after-thought in Yankee plans.

The blame for the complete mishandling, mis-application, and mismanagement of Joba Chamberlain and his current state of ineffectiveness and/or relevance today falls solely on the lap of Brian Cashman.  Cashman literally had no patience to let Joba stay in the minor leagues and let him learn his craft there; 88 innings...that's all he had.

That's not gross mis-handling.  I think it's negligent.  Any lawyers out there?  What are the chances of suing your GM for ruining your career?

Supposedly there are many high-end prospects within the Yankees system at AA and the AAA levels as we speak.  Warn Them!  Tell Them Beware.  Because, if the Yankees aren't cutting a check for some other team's star pitcher, they have proven they have no idea what they're doing with young kids.  Where is the proof otherwise?

After Guidry; Rags; Andy; Wang (to be fair), and now Hughes (still to be determined).....  Where is the proof they know what they are doing?  Joba; Hughes; Kennedy; All Hurt.  Two are now near feeble and one so far seems up to pushing a rock up the hill.

Four credible starting pitchers in 37 years is hardly a record of proficiency. 

What they did to Joba is pathetic.  Sorry, it's the truth.  Not wanting to hear it is another matter.




Mike.BTB

4x4 Yanks-Red Sox

The Starting Front Four of the Red Sox vs. the Yankees:
(eh..hem - allow me SoxNation)


Evil Empire

vs.

RedSoxNation

C.C. Sabathia
Josh Beckett

A.J. Burnett
John Lackey

Javier Vasquez
Jon Lester

Andy Pettitte
Dice-K Matsuzaka


The ACE - Both are aces. I give the edge to Beckett. Two rings to one. Both won rings with their present team. Beckett closed out the Yankees in 2003 with the Marlins. C.C. wasn't enough to get the Brewers to a W.S. Make your own call when he was in Cleveland. Fugeddabou'th stats. I think it's fair.

Two Spot - Burnett, when he's on, he's really on. When he's off, he's befuddling to watch. He's been a headcase with respect to his catchers, but NYC seems agreeable enough with him. Lackey is a bulldog and more consistent on a game to game basis. I watched A.J. throw his arms in the air after surrendering a HR and yelling aloud "Why did I throw that pitch?!", somewhat showing up his catcher Posada. We all watched Lackey yelling at his manager, "This is my game skip!" in the ALCS. What say you?
EDGE? It's close, almost a wash. It's Lackey by a nose.

Three Spot - Let's not waist too much time with this. Vasquez didn't do too well here, literally, since he went to the All-Star game for the Bombers in his first stint. Foolishly, they wanted Randy Johnson instead. He has improved somewhat since then. He has nice strikeout numbers since those days. But currently he's a really good aquisition for the Bombers, giving up Melkey and a bag of balls.
....(say this fast, for effect)> LesterIsBetterNuff'Ced!!!
Edge - Jon Lester.

Four Spot - Dice-K? Hmmmm. Tough call. Versus all Andy Pettitte has done, key word here being "has", it's Andy. C'mon SoxNation it's true, today. But what does Andy really have left. At least we think there is still a promising future for Dice-K. Don't we? Last year was a nice Swan Song for Andy. Is there anything left? Perhaps. Now-Now Yankee fans, if I pit Andy against Jon Lester instead of Vasquez, Andy looses to Lester. There's way too much ahead of Lester and Andy's career is in the rear view mirror. So, does it matter?

The Verdict - three rounds to one.....TheNATION has a better starting rotation than theEMPIRE. The Brooklyn Trolley Blogger has spoken.


P.S. What comes after the four spot is another matter. The Sox have Buchholz, while the Highlanders continue to mismanage Joba and Hughes, and seem about ready to delete Wang. Is Wakefield still able to flutter a knuckler or is he retired for good?

The Hot Stove is a-burnin' folks.

Brian Cashman says it's Joba vs. Hughes

NYC- Last week on 1050ESPNradio, Brian Cashman said Joba and Phil Hughes would compete in spring training, for one starting rotation spot.

My question, why bother?
I'll make my case for Joba being in the bullpen and why Hughes should start.
And I'll give you my opinion on why I think the Bronx Bombers botched the whole developmental process of Joba and to a lesser degree Hughes. here goes...

Why Bother? Cashman already intimated the Joba Rules will apply to Hughes as well next season; the "Hughes Rules" if you will. Tom Verducci did a study on pitching the Yankees loosely based their "rules" on. But the Yankee interpretation does Mr. Verducci's study an injustice. Last year it meant 2 and 3 inning starts on the bad side, 5 innings on the good. It meant pitching knowing the inevitability of the bullpen loomed ahead. It meant the Yankees self inflicted need for another starter down the stretch and for the playoffs (crisis averted, but none-the-less). It meant inconsistent work routines in the form of 5,6,7,8 and 9 days rest between starts. I've never seen such a developmental process. For that you leave them in the minors. Remember the minors? I know Cashman is trying to re-establish a developmental philosophy for the Bombers. But it's a process and the Yankees were NEVER good at it. They buy other team's players. Boss George never met a rookie prospect he didn't want to trade or think of trading. The Yankee system never needed kids. It was what it was.

Joba has already demonstrated dominance in the 8th inning role. As a starter he lost velocity, focus, concentration, confidence and most importantly, the strike zone. His pitch economy was terrible. Oh yea, and he got hurt too. The Yankees fast tracked him to the majors after only 88 innings pitched in the minors. 88! Juan Marichal had over 600! I digress. Phil Hughes has, off top of my head, over 300 innings pitched in the minors. He was also fast tracked and I believe about 70 of those innings came after he too, got hurt and rehabbed his way back. Hughes looks more polished as a pitcher in my opinion, because he has more minor experience than Joba. Joba is loaded with talent. Yes. But he's so raw and you learn in the minors, not on-the-job training for the Bombers. I believe Joba and Hughes already demonstrated their strengths and one, Joba, belongs in the pen, and Hughes should be the starter. If they still want to impose the HUGHES RULES, that's fine. Unlike Cashman however, I think their roles are already clear.

Ron Guidry, when Goose Gossage hurt his arm in a clubhouse fight, volunteered to come out of the bullpen until Goose got back. He said, and I'm paraphrasing here, he could help the team more coming out of the pen 3 or 4 times a week rather than pitch once every 5 days. That was a temporary solution, a different time and different reason. But Ron Guidry said that.

Imagine having a Cy Young award winner as your 8th inning guy? The Yanks created that very scenario when they signed Goose. Sparky Lyle just came off a Cy Young year as the Yankee closer and he became their 8th inning guy with Goose on board the next year. But this is when I think the Yankees truly invented the 8th inning set-up role. Ron Davis was given that role specifically, to set up Goose. He was damn good at it too. And there you have it, the SET-UP man. After Goose, the Yanks I believe misguidedly converted Dave Righetti into a closer. They never had a stable closer after Righetti until they signed Wetteland many moons later.

Now let's remember Mariano Rivera came up as a starter and didn't make it as such. He became the Yankees' 8th inning guy by default, and because Joe Torre typically abuses bullpens, Mo put up great numbers setting up Wetteland in 1996. We know what happens next in the MO story.

I give the Yankees credit for establishing the Set-up guy in baseball. It goes back to Ron Davis. It's a proven formula, (although my opinions about relievers, set-up and firemen are another matter for another day) and the Yankees have, in hand, the variable in that formula to preserve continuity in the closer role. We know Mo is great and he's a freak. But we know he's well beyond the shelf life of a closer and he's on borrowed time now at 40 years of age. Put Joba in the bullpen, he's your successor to Mo, and you're set for at minimum, a good block of years.

The Yankees have tortured and misused these kids enough, and that includes the since departed Ian Kennedy. I liken the Yankees to a spoiled kid who opened up his/her Christmas presents too early, wound up breaking them all lest we forget Joba, Hughes and Kennedy were all DL'd. Then when it came time for X-mas and opening of the presents, the Yanks had nothing to play with except broken toys. All three should have been held in the minors till this year.

Let's face it, under The Boss in the last 35 years, the Yankees groomed all of four pitchers from their system that have done anything worth speaking about. One of them, Wang, is about to be deleted. Ron Guidry, Dave Righetti and Big HGH himself Andy Pettitte are the others. I defy you to name another. The Yankees have always paid the premium for other team's pitching. The Yankees don't know how to develop pitchers, evidenced by these convoluted rules. I know, Cashman is trying to change all that, right? I know. Of course he is. He's been GM for a decade plus. He proclaims wanting to bring the Yankee payroll down and be more fiscally responsible, and reinvigorating their farm system. He even managed to break up the little Tamper Team in Tampa the BOSS used to keep in his back pocket. His resoluteness to these principles impelled him to sign C.C. for $60 million more than the next highest and really only other offer, made by the Brewers. His dedication to development and fiscal responsibility also secured A.J. for another wheel barrel of cash. No? And the Tex signing too? New rules, new direction, new philosophy = same Yankee$.

In the long run, I think Joba and Hughes will turn out fine and be very good pitchers, in spite of the Yankees, that is. I'm sure Cashman will refine his developmental strategy. After all, only the Yankees can afford to sign free agents the way they do, pay to retain the talent they groom, and still be able to afford the grocery list of mistakes Cashman (and George) signed for big money. We know the names; Randy Johnson, Kevin Brown, Vasquez, Wright, the infamous Carl Pavano, the $40 million dollar minor leaguer Igawa.....do I need to go on? Most teams can't even afford to make one of those mistakes, much less two. In the mean time though, I think "The Bankees" are ruining their kids. We'll see.

What say you Yankee fans?