Yanks/Twins Again

I am just going to update this post throughout the game. Here is an update already via Peter Abraham. Jorge Posada has been scratched with shoulder discomfort. I don't want to read too much into this yet, as it isn't pain or anything like that. Hopefully it was just him playing a couple of days in a row and also sitting through a long bus ride there and back yesterday. I am sure they will be asking Girardi about this after the game and lets see if he has really changed by how he answers the questions. The game is about to start be back soon with updates. UPDATE: Here we go again with the Joba debate, Michael Kay had to bring it up in the beginning of the telecast. Derek Jeter is being featured and he is talking about the upcoming season. He said other then the 2001 season this was the first time when he knew when the last day of the season would be and he didn't like it. He is happy with the aquisitions they made and he talked about the importance of supporting Arod. He said there is a lot of excitement about the new stadium and they can't wait to get up there and see it and get going. He is feeling melancholy about the old stadium and talked about his speech on the last day. He is confident in the team this year. He said the goal continues to be a world championship and hopefully they stay healthy and they will have a great shot at accomplishing their goal. UPDATE: Peter Abraham of the Journal news spoke to Girardi and posada. They are calling this the first setback, Posada felt something the other day but still played yesterday. He has no pain when he throws or hits. He said he wanted to play today but they wont let him do anything until Tuesday. He isn't too concerned just said its sore. Hopefully he will feel better in a couple of days. You can listen to the audio at http://yankees.lhblogs.com/ Joba got a groundout and then a single by Nick Punto and rbi double by Delmon Young. Jason Kubel then had a rbi double. Everything Joba is throwing is up and they are just killing it. He got out of further trouble with 2 groundouts. UPDATE: Jeter singled, Tex doubled and Arod just missed one but got a sac fly. Swisher just grounded one to third and he reached on an error for another run. Cano walked but Molina grounded out. UPDATE: Dan Giese pitched the second inning and gave up a solo homerun to Carlos Gomez. Duncan singled,Melky had a bunt hit and then Damon a sac bunt. Jeter had a sac fly. Top of the third now: Dan Giese is getting hit around, a single,wild pitch, walk and 2 run double off the wall. 5-3 Twins now, rbi single to make it 6-3 Twins. Not that Dan Giese had much of a chance anyway but he is definitely not helping his case today. He finally got out of the inning with a strike em out throw em out double play. I probably won't do as many updates now, but I will check back in a couple of innings. I think Kei Igawa is coming in to pitch, time to turn off the TV. UPDATE: Jose Veras had an impressive inning with 2ks and a popup. Shelly had another hit in the 4th trying to get back on the 40 man roster. Melky didn't help his cause with a K. Mike Dunn gave up a couple of hits but no runs in the fifth for the Yankees. Kei Igawa had 2 shutout innings schocking i know. Kanakoa Texiera had a 1,2,3 8th The Yankees meanwhile on offense have done nothing since the 2nd inning

Johan Santana sidelined

The word out of Mets camp doesn't sound too good. Ace pitcher Johan Santana who Hank Steinbrenner coveted is out indefinitely. It appears he may have tendinitis in his elbow, when I get more information I will post it. He hasn't gone for an MRI as of yet but it wouldn't be shocking if the Mets got him out of there secretly to do that, they are still downplaying this but if your a Mets fan, you have to be worried, if he is gone for a length of time during the season the Mets are in big trouble. The Mets take on the Tigers today at 1:05. I was going to post the Mets lineup for today but I can't seem to find it, oh well be back later with updates.

Yanks/Twins Again

The New York Yankees take on the Minnesota Twins again today this time from George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa. Joba Chamberlain gets the start followed by Kei Igawa,Dunn,Veras,Giese and others. The lineup for this game is: Damon Jeter Tex Arod Posada Cano Swisher Molina Cabrera Melky better get something going because Gardner is looking real strong and has passed him by in the CF battle so far. Posada is still the DH and won't catch until March 15. Today and tomorrow the big guys will play and then Cano,Jeter,Arod will leave for the WBC. The game is on YES today at 1 so I will have posts as I am watching the game. Arod also will meet with MLB investigators tomorrow about the steroids issue. The WBC will start up next week and be shown live on the MLB Network. Get used to seeing a lot of Berroa,Leone,Ransom etc for the next couple of weeks at least while the regulars are gone. Next week Team USA plays the Yankees and that will be interesting, the game will be on YES as Derek Jeter takes on the Yankees. Enjoy the game everyone and check back for updates during the game.

My Interview With Chad Jennings

Here is my interview that I did with the Scranton Yankees beat writer. He does a great job in AAA, you got to check out his blog at http://community.thetimes-tribune.com/blogs/yankees/ He did a great job with this interview and I hope you guys really enjoy it. Thanks to Chad again for doing this. Guys please support him and his blog, im sure you will enjoy seeing what he has to write. First I would like to ask you for a little bio of yourself? I grew up on a farm in Southeast Missouri and started driving a tractor when I was roughly 12 years old. Out of high school, I majored in journalism at the University of Missouri -- I also minored in political science and economics, though it's not entirely clear why -- and moved to Scranton in January 2003. I shared the baseball beat for a couple of years and have been doing it full time for the past four seasons. I know Scranton only became a Yankees farm team a couple of years ago, but how long have you covered the Scranton franchise for??Just the two years they've been here. Do you ever dream of doing the same job for a major league team?? Sure, I'd like the challenge of a big league beat, but I do enjoy covering minor league ball. Did you always want to be doing what you are doing now? If not what did you want to do when you were younger?? When I was young I wanted to be a farmer like my dad, but when I was about 15 I realized I really enjoyed writing and I've wanted to do this ever since. Early on, I wanted to cover basketball, but I've found that I really like the grind of a baseball season. Is the traveling tough? Does your employer cover meals, lodging etc? Most everything is covered by the newspaper. The travel is tough at times -- I don't enjoy leaving Buffalo at 11 p.m. to drive four and a half hours and cover a game in Scranton the next day -- but I'm not married and I don't have kids, so being on the road is not as hard on me as it is some other baseball writers. What is the most fun time of the year for you, spring training? The Regular Season? The offseason?? My time in spring training is probably when I'm most busy, but I like the work. My most fun time of the year is probably the middle of the regular season when I'm in the routine and feel like I'm on top of things. I'm much less busy in the offseason, but I don't enjoy it nearly as much as when I'm working my way through the season. Have you ever got to cover a major league team?? What was that experience like if you did so? I've never covering a big league team as a full time beat, but I've covered plenty of major league games in St. Louis, Philadelphia and New York. My first experience in New York was a lot more comfortable than I expected. I'd never been to the stadium, but I knew so many guys in the clubhouse that I felt at ease. What player that you have covered has been your favorite to cover and why?? I covered Dan Giese for a long time, so it was fun to watch him make that run to the big leagues last season. Several years ago, I enjoyed covering A.J. Hinch because he was very willing to share his experience and knowledge. On the field, I've always enjoyed watching the speed guys. Shane Victorino. Brett Gardner. Justin Christian. Pablo Ozuna was a lot of fun to watch too. I also saw Ryan Howard hit some absolute bombs and watched Chase Utley play as well as anyone I've ever seen day in and day out. Those guys were fun to cover. What player has been the most challenging to cover and why?? He wasn't a bad guy, but Cole Hamels was tough only because he was such a big name prospect that I had to be careful not to over do it. It would have bothered a lot of the guys in the clubhouse if I fallen all over myself trying to write too much about Hamels. To some extent, it's that way with Phil Hughes and some of the other starting pitching prospects in the Yankees system. I have to find the right balance between reporting on the individual big names and reporting on the team as a whole. It's important to do both. What player are you most looking forward to seeing this year in Scranton?? Obviously it will be interesting to watch Austin Jackson try to take that last step to the big leagues. I'm also curious to see whether Kevin Russo can put himself on the big league map. But I'm most interested in seeing how Hughes, Kennedy and every other young starting pitcher responds to New York filling it's rotation through free agency this winter. Do you think it is neat to cover these guys and then some of them become stars or good players in the majors?? Do you ever keep in touch with any former scranton guys that have made it big?? Sometimes it's neat. Sometimes it's inevitable. I enjoy watching Giese and Chris Coste as much as I enjoy watching Utley and Howard. As far as keeping in touch, those relationships are different from any other. I might send a text message or something to check in or ask a question, but for the most part staying in touch is limited to talking the clubhouse or on the field during the season. It is, however, always a lot of fun to see those guys after they've moved on. Victorino positively attacked me the last time I saw him. Is there another job that you would ever want to do?? I'm pretty happy doing this, but most any form of writing would be a lot of fun. You think Aaron Sorkin needs an intern? If you weren't covering baseball, what other sport would you like to cover? I covered men's college basketball for a year and enjoyed it. That was a good University of Missouri team and I covered them through the Elite Eight. Lack of access in college sports, though, is annoying. I've often wondering what it would be like to cover tennis or golf. The travel would probably be insane, but it might be a lot of fun. Is it easier to write up a story for the newspaper or to work on the blog you have?? They're completely different. Day to day, I'm not sure one's easier or harder, but there is certainly less pressure with the blog. I pretty much get to do whatever I want on there, and the only deadlines are the ones I put on myself. What gave you the inspiration to start your blog?? My boss told me to start it. Does that count as inspiration? What are your favorite sports teams?? University of Missouri. Of course. Do you reside somewhere near the stadium during the year?? I live about six miles from the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre stadium. I used to live about 20 miles from the stadium. It's a lot better this way. How do you think the New York Yankees will do this year?? Hard to pick against them, isn't it? It's the depth that makes me think they'll do well. The one place they don't have much depth is the infield, and most of those guys have little or no history of being injured. You know a pitcher or two is going to break down for a little while during the season, but the Yankees have plenty of depth in the rotation and the bullpen. That's why I think they're the team to beat in the East. What player on the Yankees would you like to interview if given a chance?? I'm trying to learn Spanish and would love to get to the point that I could interview Robinson Cano or Melky Cabrera in Spanish. A one-on-one with Alex Rodriguez would obviously be nice because he doesn't seem to give those very often. There's no one in that clubhouse who I would want to interview simply because he's a "star." Outside of the Yankees, I think the best stories in baseball might be Josh Hamilton and Rick Ankiel. I'd love to be in a position to write those stories. Especially Ankiel because his comeback seems to have been overlooked a little bit. If it's not going to be me, somebody get Gary Smith on that one! .AOLWebSuite .AOLPicturesFullSizeLink { height: 1px; width: 1px; overflow: hidden; } .AOLWebSuite a {color:blue; text-decoration: underline; cursor: pointer} .AOLWebSuite a.hsSig {cursor: default}

Interview with AAA Scranton Yankees Beat Writer

Keep your eye out for my interview with AAA Scranton Wilkes Barre Yankees beat writer Chad Jennings. He does a great job with his blog at http://community.thetimes-tribune.com/blogs/yankees/. I should be posting it later tonight and if not for some reason it will be up tomorrow.