05/31: "A-Rod, you fool...
Posted by: James
... you sicken us all."
Don't get annoyed just yet, that's just the teaser on ESPN's main page for this article on A-Rod's clutchosity by DJ Gallo. It's actually a pretty humorous satire on some of the arguments made against Rodriguez and worth the minute a lot of the
My favorite part:
What can I say, I'm easy to please.
Don't get annoyed just yet, that's just the teaser on ESPN's main page for this article on A-Rod's clutchosity by DJ Gallo. It's actually a pretty humorous satire on some of the arguments made against Rodriguez and worth the minute a lot of the
My favorite part:
His blast would prove to be the game winner because the Red Sox stormed back to make the final score 7-5, but A-Rod hitting a home run when his team already has the lead? Classic A-Rod. Or should I say A-Fraud. (Get it? I changed the Rod part to Fraud. It rhymes and everything.)
Thursday, no game: A scheduled off day. Typical A-Fraud -- the Yankees manage to win back-to-back games against the Red Sox and he needs a day off. Pathetic.
Thursday, no game: A scheduled off day. Typical A-Fraud -- the Yankees manage to win back-to-back games against the Red Sox and he needs a day off. Pathetic.
What can I say, I'm easy to please.
05/31: Gooden In Jail
Posted by: James
For Mets fans, Yankees fans and just people who have rooted for Doc, this interview in Newsday with Gooden is just sad to read.
He spent 10 days in that one-man cell, never permitted to go outside. He had no contact with his family. He would tell time only by when he was fed.
"I still haven't recovered from that," Gooden said. "That was torture. It was like you're an animal. It was horrible." ...
Gooden was transferred to Gainesville on April 27, not a country club but more humane. The campus of one-story, red and white cement buildings does not look like the penitentiaries portrayed in movies other than the high barbed-wire fences surrounding it. In an unbelievable twist, it is the same prison that once housed Darryl Strawberry, Gooden's longtime teammate. ...
Gooden could be released as early as November. He is unsure what he will do when he gets out. His first priority is reconnecting with his children and repairing some of the damage he's done. Before his relapse, George Steinbrenner had spoken with Gooden about returning to his role as a special assistant with the Yankees once his probation officer said it was OK. After his latest embarrassment, Gooden said he would not even ask Steinbrenner for a job.
"I respect him too much to go back to him and ask for a job after all this stuff has gone on," he said.
"I still haven't recovered from that," Gooden said. "That was torture. It was like you're an animal. It was horrible." ...
Gooden was transferred to Gainesville on April 27, not a country club but more humane. The campus of one-story, red and white cement buildings does not look like the penitentiaries portrayed in movies other than the high barbed-wire fences surrounding it. In an unbelievable twist, it is the same prison that once housed Darryl Strawberry, Gooden's longtime teammate. ...
Gooden could be released as early as November. He is unsure what he will do when he gets out. His first priority is reconnecting with his children and repairing some of the damage he's done. Before his relapse, George Steinbrenner had spoken with Gooden about returning to his role as a special assistant with the Yankees once his probation officer said it was OK. After his latest embarrassment, Gooden said he would not even ask Steinbrenner for a job.
"I respect him too much to go back to him and ask for a job after all this stuff has gone on," he said.
05/31: SI.com Interview With Cano
Posted by: Patrick
SI.com has an interview with Robinson Cano:
Via Steve.
On Derek Jeter's impact
My first experience was when I did [a TV] interview with my shades on. Jeter told me, "Next time don't do that. People will think you're cocky." This year he told me to remember that no one is secure in this game. He said, "I have to keep working too. Nothing is certain."
On his nicknames
They call me Ray Charles because they say I've got a big smile like him. And Jeter doesn't call me Canó; he calls me Canoe.
My first experience was when I did [a TV] interview with my shades on. Jeter told me, "Next time don't do that. People will think you're cocky." This year he told me to remember that no one is secure in this game. He said, "I have to keep working too. Nothing is certain."
On his nicknames
They call me Ray Charles because they say I've got a big smile like him. And Jeter doesn't call me Canó; he calls me Canoe.
Via Steve.
05/31: Sheff's Feeling Strange
Posted by: Patrick
Yankees shut down Sheffield:
That doesn't sound too good.
"I don't know what's going on," Sheffield said. "I felt like it was getting better, but it's in a different spot now. It's right on the wrist, right on the bone. It's really painful. ...
"I thought it was nothing, but as soon as I came back today, I couldn't even swing a bat," Sheffield said. "I just played in the game. I don't know what's going on. I don't know what to tell you."
"I thought it was nothing, but as soon as I came back today, I couldn't even swing a bat," Sheffield said. "I just played in the game. I don't know what's going on. I don't know what to tell you."
That doesn't sound too good.
05/30: Yankees 4, Tigers 0
Posted by: Jason
"You didn't get me down, Ray."
-Robert De Niro, "Raging Bull"
In his last start, Randy Johnson showed his first signs of life in more than a month by striking out 8 and battling through 5 complete innings against Boston.
In today's matinee start, he took a substantial step toward restoring the confidence of the Yankee universe. RJ was a only few degrees short of perfection as the veteran southpaw dominated a good Detroit lineup. His fastball was improved (recall Ivan Rodriguez blown away swinging in the 4th) and the trademark slider cruelly sliced down-and-in on righties like, well, a Randy Johnson slider!!
Yankees offensive highlights included 2 runs in the 3rd on hits by Robinson, Melky and John Damon. In the 5th, Alex plated Sheffield with a characteristically non-clutch line drive with 2 outs. Did you catch his little bat flip as he left the box? MVP swagger in the face of unjustified criticism...I applaud it and I demand more, Alex. Posada followed with a broken bat RBI to finish the scoring at 4-0.
(Joe Torre lineup criticism du jour: The decision to DH Terrence Long was mind-boggling).
The bullpen was excellent: Torre inserted Villone in the 7th and he shut down the Tigers for 2 innings. In the 9th, Farnsworth did what he does best, that is, push hitters around with his fastball.
The overarching story of this game was the resurgence of RJ. His no-hit bid was unfortunately halted by Pudge Rodriguez (or perhaps Rodriguez's little brother?) in the 6th. One more hit in the 7th ended his stellar outing.
Clearly, major questions hang over Johnson. A warning: Remember that as a boxer gets older, his knockout power remains intact. Underestimate him and the doctor will be breaking the smelling salts under your nose.
-Robert De Niro, "Raging Bull"
In his last start, Randy Johnson showed his first signs of life in more than a month by striking out 8 and battling through 5 complete innings against Boston.
In today's matinee start, he took a substantial step toward restoring the confidence of the Yankee universe. RJ was a only few degrees short of perfection as the veteran southpaw dominated a good Detroit lineup. His fastball was improved (recall Ivan Rodriguez blown away swinging in the 4th) and the trademark slider cruelly sliced down-and-in on righties like, well, a Randy Johnson slider!!
Yankees offensive highlights included 2 runs in the 3rd on hits by Robinson, Melky and John Damon. In the 5th, Alex plated Sheffield with a characteristically non-clutch line drive with 2 outs. Did you catch his little bat flip as he left the box? MVP swagger in the face of unjustified criticism...I applaud it and I demand more, Alex. Posada followed with a broken bat RBI to finish the scoring at 4-0.
(Joe Torre lineup criticism du jour: The decision to DH Terrence Long was mind-boggling).
The bullpen was excellent: Torre inserted Villone in the 7th and he shut down the Tigers for 2 innings. In the 9th, Farnsworth did what he does best, that is, push hitters around with his fastball.
The overarching story of this game was the resurgence of RJ. His no-hit bid was unfortunately halted by Pudge Rodriguez (or perhaps Rodriguez's little brother?) in the 6th. One more hit in the 7th ended his stellar outing.
Clearly, major questions hang over Johnson. A warning: Remember that as a boxer gets older, his knockout power remains intact. Underestimate him and the doctor will be breaking the smelling salts under your nose.
05/29: Mo: Countdown to 400 Saves
Posted by: Patrick
Over at our sister site, MarianoRivera.com, we've added a box in the homepage that will be dedicated to counting down until Mo reaches the magical number of 400 saves. If he continues on the pace he's on now, he'll end up with 37 saves this year, which will give him 416 career saves.
Posted by: David
The Yankees got off to a great start by scoring five runs in the first inning. Johnny Damon led off with a home run off Runelvys Hernandez. The Yankees kept on their hitting shoes and scored four more in the inning highlighted by a two run single from A-Rod. The last run of the inning was the result of great baserunning by Melky Cabrera and a great send from third base coach Larry Bowa. Cabrera was on first when Terrence Long hit a drive to right which bounced off the fence. Cabrera picked up Bowa as he headed to third and since the throw came into second and not the cut off man at first Bowa sent Cabrera and he scored for the fifth run of the inning.
The Yankees added a single run in the second to take a commanding 6-0 lead. However, the KC bullpen pitched great and only faced the minimum amount of batters the rest of the way. They got back into the game as Wright tired and left with the Yankees leading 6-3. Scott Proctor entered and is still not right - he gave up two runs, one scoring when Farnsworth relieved him and gave up a run scoring single to Emil Brown on a hanging slider.
Farnsworth gathered himself in the eighth and pitched a perfect inning. It all led up to Rivera who had a chance for his 390th career save. He entered in the ninth and did not disappoint the sellout crowd. He retired KC in order and preserved the victory for Jaret Wright and the Yankees.
The Yankees now head to Detroit who currently has the best record in MLB. Tomorrow afternoon on Memorial Day, Randy Johnson goes against Jeremy Bonderman in a 1 pm start. Johnson was a little better last outing but still can't get past five innings and at least five runs.
The Yankees added a single run in the second to take a commanding 6-0 lead. However, the KC bullpen pitched great and only faced the minimum amount of batters the rest of the way. They got back into the game as Wright tired and left with the Yankees leading 6-3. Scott Proctor entered and is still not right - he gave up two runs, one scoring when Farnsworth relieved him and gave up a run scoring single to Emil Brown on a hanging slider.
Farnsworth gathered himself in the eighth and pitched a perfect inning. It all led up to Rivera who had a chance for his 390th career save. He entered in the ninth and did not disappoint the sellout crowd. He retired KC in order and preserved the victory for Jaret Wright and the Yankees.
The Yankees now head to Detroit who currently has the best record in MLB. Tomorrow afternoon on Memorial Day, Randy Johnson goes against Jeremy Bonderman in a 1 pm start. Johnson was a little better last outing but still can't get past five innings and at least five runs.
Posted by: Patrick
Amazon.com's toy section (Toys 'R Us.com) is having some clearance deals including some on current Yankee figurines, for those interested:
MLB Series 12 Figure: Mike Mussina #35 New York Yankees Pitcher Grey Jersey - $5.29 plus tax.
MLB Boxed 3 Pack Toys 'R Us Exclusive - Yankees - $9.98 plus tax.
Shipping is free.
The second pack - a 3 pack - includes Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera and Hideki Matsui. I actually have the Moose figure as I just bought it recently because they ran this promotion awhile back. It's pretty neat although his eyes are a little funky. :)
If you were a big Alfonso Soriano, then you might want MLB Series 8 Figure: Alfonso Soriano with Gray Yankees Jersey, which is $5.29 plus tax shipped.
Via SlickDeals.net.
MLB Series 12 Figure: Mike Mussina #35 New York Yankees Pitcher Grey Jersey - $5.29 plus tax.
MLB Boxed 3 Pack Toys 'R Us Exclusive - Yankees - $9.98 plus tax.
Shipping is free.
The second pack - a 3 pack - includes Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera and Hideki Matsui. I actually have the Moose figure as I just bought it recently because they ran this promotion awhile back. It's pretty neat although his eyes are a little funky. :)
If you were a big Alfonso Soriano, then you might want MLB Series 8 Figure: Alfonso Soriano with Gray Yankees Jersey, which is $5.29 plus tax shipped.
Via SlickDeals.net.
Posted by: Seamus
The Yankees bounced back from Friday's poor bullpen showing yesterday as the Yankees defeated the Royals by a score of 15-4 thanks to some solid hitting all around the lineup and a good performance from Chien-Ming Wang although he did eventually allow four runs in 7 innings. Ron Villone and Scott Erickson each pitched a scoreless inning. Kelly Stinnett's bat finally woke up, going 3-4 with a double, a home run and 4 RBI. The win keeps the Yankees within two games of the Red Sox for the A.L. East lead.
Alex Rodriguez was 2-3 with two walks and two homers. He's now got 13 home runs (7th in the A.L.), 39 RBI (6th in the A.L.), and he has raised his average to a respectable .291. However, yesterday's home runs don't count because they were hit against the Royals with the Yankees way ahead. Ugh, why can't he just hit 50 "clutch" home runs, all against first place teams like every other great player does!?
On another note, what usually gets lost in blowout games like these where the winning team scores a lot of runs is the performance of the pitching staff. Wang gave up four runs, but he pitched 5 shutout innings before he started to have to wait a half hour between innings and allowed two runs each in the 5th and 6th. Ron Villone was great again, striking out two in the 8th and lowering his E.R.A. to 1.83.
Today the Yankees will send Jaret Wright to the mound to face Runelvys Hernandez. Wright comes in with a record of 2-3 but has pitched well lately. Hopefully the Yankees can take two of three in this series before heading into Detroit for a tough four-game set.
Alex Rodriguez was 2-3 with two walks and two homers. He's now got 13 home runs (7th in the A.L.), 39 RBI (6th in the A.L.), and he has raised his average to a respectable .291. However, yesterday's home runs don't count because they were hit against the Royals with the Yankees way ahead. Ugh, why can't he just hit 50 "clutch" home runs, all against first place teams like every other great player does!?
On another note, what usually gets lost in blowout games like these where the winning team scores a lot of runs is the performance of the pitching staff. Wang gave up four runs, but he pitched 5 shutout innings before he started to have to wait a half hour between innings and allowed two runs each in the 5th and 6th. Ron Villone was great again, striking out two in the 8th and lowering his E.R.A. to 1.83.
Today the Yankees will send Jaret Wright to the mound to face Runelvys Hernandez. Wright comes in with a record of 2-3 but has pitched well lately. Hopefully the Yankees can take two of three in this series before heading into Detroit for a tough four-game set.
Posted by: Patrick
Sheffield plans to play two more years:
Personally, I love Sheff. Love watching him. Great player. He has a certain swagger. As Seamus once said, "he's like somebody who will pummel someone into the ground for you." Plus, if Alex says you're the Yankee he'd want up when you are backed into a corner, that has to mean something. :)
He's getting up there in years, but I don't really have any problems with him being a full time player for the next two years with the Yankees. We could do a lot worse. That should be just about the time he needs to get to 500 homers, as well. He's a decent defender and I'd look for him to get more DH time in 2008. Not too much time, though, because we'll still have Giambi (what is likely to be the final year of his contract). But, in the end, I'm all for him finishing up his career with the Yankees. Plus, there will be less controversy around him if we all know when he's going to hang them up. i.e., in 2008, there won't be contract issues because everyone knows that it is his last year. Unless, of course, he changes his mind. Which is a possibility. :)
Veteran Yankees slugger Gary Sheffield said on Saturday he plans to play two more seasons after this one and then retire from baseball. ...
"I'm playing for the love of the game now and I need two years to do that. I feel like I never really looked around and paid attention to things on my right or my left. And now it's time to pay attention to things I never paid attention to." ...
"Getting closer to the fans, letting people in a little bit more," said Sheffield, who gave a big wave and wide smile to a small group of fans who had gathered outside Yankee Stadium at about noon on Saturday. "I can't sit there as Mr. Laugh on the field because I don't feel I can smile too much on the baseball field and get the job done. That's just not my personality."
"I'm playing for the love of the game now and I need two years to do that. I feel like I never really looked around and paid attention to things on my right or my left. And now it's time to pay attention to things I never paid attention to." ...
"Getting closer to the fans, letting people in a little bit more," said Sheffield, who gave a big wave and wide smile to a small group of fans who had gathered outside Yankee Stadium at about noon on Saturday. "I can't sit there as Mr. Laugh on the field because I don't feel I can smile too much on the baseball field and get the job done. That's just not my personality."
Personally, I love Sheff. Love watching him. Great player. He has a certain swagger. As Seamus once said, "he's like somebody who will pummel someone into the ground for you." Plus, if Alex says you're the Yankee he'd want up when you are backed into a corner, that has to mean something. :)
He's getting up there in years, but I don't really have any problems with him being a full time player for the next two years with the Yankees. We could do a lot worse. That should be just about the time he needs to get to 500 homers, as well. He's a decent defender and I'd look for him to get more DH time in 2008. Not too much time, though, because we'll still have Giambi (what is likely to be the final year of his contract). But, in the end, I'm all for him finishing up his career with the Yankees. Plus, there will be less controversy around him if we all know when he's going to hang them up. i.e., in 2008, there won't be contract issues because everyone knows that it is his last year. Unless, of course, he changes his mind. Which is a possibility. :)
