What a season

It is amazing to think back at all the things and that this team was actually 13-15 without A-rod. The Yankees had assembled a great team, you just never know how it is going to fit together but guys like Swisher and A.J. and CC just came tco this team and changed the culture, made it more fun and fit right in. CC Sabathia was everything the Yankees hoped for and more, he pitched great but turned out to be a great teammate and person also. It all started in spring training when he purchased tickets to the Orlando Magic games and would take different teammates out to the games. He also in April got tickets to the Cavs playoff game when the Yankees were out in Cleveland and basically the whole team attended, it may not seem like much but it really helped this team grow together and enjoy being with each other so they really fought for each other and stuck with it through thick and thin. Joe Girardi in spring training knew he needed to change his ways a little from last year and organized a team pool tournament instead of practice the one day and that really is where it all started. The team just seemed to mesh together and really enjoy playing for Joe Girardi and each other. It wasn't always easy, they were 0-8 to the REd Sox in the beginning and they were 13-15 until A-rod came back on May 8th. His first swing he hit a homerun and that seemed to just set the tone. I think one of the biggest hits though was Francisco Cervelli hitting a homerun in Atlanta as the team was really struggling to score runs and stay afloat, that is when Brian Cashman made a suprise visit and they took off after that. There still was another bump in the road when they got swept in Anaheim 3 straight right before the all-star break. This team never game up though and knew they needed to beat the Angels and Red Sox in the second half and they did that as well as beat everyone else. They really made the New Stadium a real home as they only lost 8 games there the second half of the season and only lost one home game in the playoffs. This Yankee team now has to be compared with some of the best there ever has been, they remind me of the 98 team. They finished 114-63 which in their division and league is just incredible. I don't know what next year will bring but they sure have a nucleus to stay on top for a long time. CC, A.J. Joba, Hughes, Robertson, Tex, Swisher, Cervelli, Pena, Cano, Cabrera, Gardner. These are all young guys that are making their mark now and for the future. The Yankees are Champions of baseball and back on top of the world where they belong.

Yankees crushed again

The Yankees could not start a winning streak tonight as Phil Hughes just got bombed giving up 8 runs in 1 1/3 innings. Edwar Ramirez came in next and he just isn't any good, you just have to sit fastball or changeup with him and if you guess right you can crush it. I don't understand how you ship Mark Melancon and Dave Robertson back to AAA and have Jose Veras and Edwar Ramirez still on the team. How is Angel Berroa also on the team with Ramiro Pena, just doesn't make much sense. I was wondering and I am sure so was everyone else if you have Alfredo Aceves as the long man why didn't you bring him in tonight and not only after Phil Hughes got bombed but while it was like 4-0 and you still had a chance well guess what Joba Chamberlain popped a blood vessel in his pitching thumb and they don't know if they will need Alfredo Aceves to pitch tomorrow for him therefore they had no choice last night. It is unreal how this team has gone through injuries and had 10 games where they have allowed 10 or more runs. They should have the best starting pitching in the league or one of the best and they just aren't getting it done, I am sure they will get it together soon but will it be too late is the question?? Hopefully Joba will be fine tomorrow pitch a good game, they can score some runs early and hold on and win a series have a good off day and head off to Toronto. The Yankees now have to go on a run and win like 11 out of 16 and this is the time to do it. They are not facing a tough schedule right now and need to take advantage.

Yanks try and move on

The Yankees open up a two game series with the Tampa Bay Rays tonight at the Stadium. Here are the matchups for the two games. Tonight-A.J. Burnett vs Andy Sonastine Tomorrow-Andy Pettitte vs Jeff Niemann The Yankees should have the pitching advantage in these two games and need to find a way to win both of them. They have already beat the Rays 2 out of 3 in Tampa and usually beat them in NY. A.J. Burnett is looking to give the Yankees a dominating performance to set the tone and maybe the pitching will get on a roll. Lets hope Joba got them going with last nights performance.

Hip Hip Jorge

The New York Yankees defeated the Cleveland Indians today by a score of seven to three. A.J. Burnett made the start and didn't have great control walking seven batters which I think was helped along by the umpire. He only gave up three hits and three runs though in 6 1/3 innings. Jon Albaladejo was the star pitcher though getting out of a bases loaded one out jam in the seventh. Brian Bruney pitched another perfect inning and Mo slammed the door giving up a hit but had two strikeouts. The offense was stymied early by Carl Pavano who retired the first ten batters he faced before Derek Jeter got a double. Mark Teixera had a rbi single and a walk and also got robbed of a hit. Jorge Posada was the star of the offense though pinch hitting in the seventh inning and hitting a two run homerun. The homerun was controversial as it was replayed and took eight and a half minutes for them to decide although they ruled it a homerun on the field and came back with the same decision. The homerun that was hit today is a problem in the New Stadium as Michael Kay mentioned on the Yes network broadcast and was also brought up by Peter Abraham on his blog and I am sure many others. The problem is that in the old stadium after the Jeffrey Maier game in 1996 when he reached over and interfered with a ball that was ruled a homerun the Yankees put security there so no one could do that anymore. The new stadium has seats right up against the wall so they can't do that anymore and any balls that are close like that have a chance to be a potential interference and lots of replays which could be a problem. The game saw a record set for most homeruns in any park in the history of baseball for four games. The new stadium also had the most homeruns hit to open a new stadium ever in the first three games. I don't know if this is good or bad yet but I suspect it will benefit the Yankees as they should have better pitching then most teams and have some firepower especially when A-rod comes back, he must be salivating at getting back and hitting the ball to right field. The Yankees will open up a three game series with old friend Jason Giambi aka The Big G and the Oakland Athletics tomorrow weather permitting.

Yankees open with a Dud

The New York Yankees got hammered today in the home opener ten to two. CC Sabathia grinded through 5 2/3 innings and left the game with a one to one score. The trouble came in the seventh when Jose Veras and Damaso Marte just blew up giving up 9 runs. Jose Veras gave up three runs and Marte gave up six runs. The bullpen is too inconsistent right now, Brian Bruney and Mariano Rivera have been good but Jose Veras, Phil Coke and Damaso Marte are struggling really bad right now. I like that David Robertson is up and I wouuldn't be suprised to see Mark Melancon before too long. The offense struggled putting runners on base but not driving them in. Cody Ransom went 0-5 continuing his struggles, Jorge Posada was 1-4 with the first official homerun in the New Stadium. Derek Jeter, Johnny Damon and Nick Swisher all had one hit. Robinson Cano continued his hot start going three for four. This was a terrible beginning to the home portion of the schedule but the Yankees will play at 1:00pm tomorrow and don't have too much time to think about it. Alex Rodriguez participated in his first real batting practice and had three homeruns and had a lot of other hard hits. I think this was a big step for him and I expect to see him in rehab games next week and then you could see him back in a couple of weeks. The Yankees really need A-rod back in the lineup as he makes a big difference. The Yankees are now done with all of the opening days they took part in, four if you are keeping count and can just get on with the season and get into their routine.

Rough Day for Coke

The New York Yankees lost to the KC Royals today in a tough game 6-4. Joba Chamberlain pitched well going 6 innings allowing 1 earned run on 4 hits with 1 walk and 5 strikeouts. Brian Bruney pitched a perfect inning with a strikeout and Damaso Marte got both guys he faced out. The trouble began when Marte came out, Jose Veras walked the only guy he faced and then Coke gave up a double to tie the game before allowing 2 more hits and another run. The offense looked listless for most of the game and that can happen when your facing Gil Meche and you have Molina, Gardner, Cabrera and Ransom all in the lineup. The lineup didn't see anyone get more then one hit, Xavier Nady and Robinson Cano got the only rbis as poor defense led to the other runs. The Yankees move on to Tampa now to finish the first road trip of the year before they come home to officially open the New Stadium. Here are the pitching matchups vs the Rays Tomorrow- Chien-Ming Wang vs Scott Kazmir Tuesday- A.J. Burnett vs Matt Garza Wednesday- Andy Pettitte vs Andy Sonnanstine The first two games are at 7:08pm and the last game is at 4:08pm all on the YES network. Alex Rodriguez will be in Tampa tomorrow for the next phase of his rehab and is expected to be with the team during the game. It will be interesting to see if he talks to the media. I wonder how much longer before Ransom sits as he is 1-20, I wonder if they are thinking Arod hurry back.

Its 1 of 162 not the end of the world

I admit it was a terrible way to start the season and I get just as upset as everyone else but you have to calm down over one bad game. I think I know enough about baseball and am a big enough fan to say this: I have always thought you can't accurately look at a baseball team until they have played 25 games, not 1, 5, 10 of course we can be upset before then but lets just wait. I also look at the season in series and sometimes more like this 9 game roadtrip. I looked at it at the beginning and say the Yankees should be 6-3m 5-4 would be acceptable but no worse then that before returning home to officially open the new stadium. The object is to play around 500 on the road and win your home games, the Yankees have Wang and AJ Burnett going the next couple of days, if they pitch well they will win those games and be ok. The point is lets just calm down and wait a little before we go nuts or say whats wrong with the Yankees? The Yankees have a very good pitching staff and you are not going to see much of what happened yesterday. The Boston Red Sox play the Tampa Bay Rays today at 4:00pm after getting rained out yesterday. Josh Beckett will go against James Shields. There are a whole slew of other games also today and I will go through them later on today. The Yankees will play 12 straight games starting tomorrow so there won't be much time to get all upset about one game, just got to keep chugging along.

Will the real CC please stand up

The New York Yankees were spanked by the Baltimore Orioles today by a score of 10-5. This was a horrible way to open the season, the Yankees stranded runners and didn't pitch well at all. The Yankees left 11 runners on base, at least one in every inning. The bottom line though is the Yankees Ace was awful, he just didn't have command of his fastball and couldn't get anything going. He pitched 4 1/3 innings giving up 8 hits, 6 runs and 5 walks with 0 strikeouts. The starting pitcher sets the tone for the game, and the Yankees were in trouble right from the get go. The Yankees got close cutting it to 6-5 and having a couple of chances to at least tie but then the bullpen just let it get away and that was it. The Yankees have gotten off to bad starts the last few years and seem to struggle with Baltimore lately but this year they can't do that, they have to have a good road trip here heading back home to the New Stadium. If Wang comes out and pitches the way he can I am sure the Yankees will be fine and score some runs. The positives of the game were Derek Jeter had 3 hits, Brett Gardner had a hit, a sac bunt and threw out a guy at home plate. Johnny Damon was 2-3, it looks like the top of the order switch worked out today. Hideki Matsui and Jorge Posada hit homeruns, the offense looks a lot different with them in the lineup. Jorge Posada also caught all 9 innings with no problem. I hope the Yankees got a bad one out of the way and now go on a good run. Joe Girardi said I guess we won't be going 162-0 and didn't seem overly concerned with the game. He said CC is fine and that they just didn't execute the way they did in Florida. He said it is only one game and you just have to move on. The Yankees will be off tomorrow and then play Wednesday night and Thursday afternoon before heading to Kansas City.

My thoughts and observations of the New stadium

I parked on the street about a block from the stadium so I walked down along the side of the stadium. I noticed the new garage which is very nice first, too expensive though and I don't pay to park hardly ever. As you walk down along the side of the stadium there are huge pictures of Yankee players which is a very nice touch. The players entrance to the underground parking garage is very interesting, they have huge pillars that go down when the players need to get in and they stop everyone from walking. The main entrance to the New Stadium is very nice, they have vendors outside and you can still see the old stadium. The lines to get into the stadium are a lot quicker and better organized, you scan the barcode on the ticket and go right in. The first thing you see when you enter is the Great Hall which you are in, there are huge banners above of all old Yankee players, if you go straight there are elevators and escalators. You can go to the right and there is a huge HD video screen and you can walk up the ramp to get to other levels of the stadium including the NYY steak and the Hard Rock Cafe as well as the Yankee Museum. The stadium is very well marked with signs and it is pretty easy to navigate around, there is a Yankee team store to the right also as you first walk in. The Great Hall is just amazing and this will be a main meeting point for people I am sure. The field itself looks like the old field, I love the frieze back up on top of the stadium all the way around. The huge HD scoreboard in CF is amazing, it is so big and clear. I like the armitron clock in the outfield all the way up top in left center. The concourses are so much wider you don't feel so cramped and that you are constantly bumping into others like the old stadium. There is so much room to walk and wander around, you walk up from your seats right to the bathrooms and concessions and it is all open so you can just turn around and watch the game, also I like the fact you can walk around the main level or wherever you want and stand and watch even if you don't have a ticket there. The old stadium they would make you keep walking, no stopping without a ticket. The stadium is just amazing, it is breathtaking, there is any kind of foods you could want from PBJ for the kids to the restaurants to Jhonny Rockets and spanish and Japanese food. I don't think they missed a thing in this stadium. There are Tvs all over the place also so you don't miss anything. The between innings stuff and music is pretty much the same although they didn't do the YMCA today. I hope everyone gets a chance to see this Grand Stadium, it is just a treasure. The key of course though will be the team, if the team wins it will continue to be a great place and if they don't then it won't be as great. It is hard for me to describe in words but I tried to give as good of an explanation as I could, if you have any thoughts or questions please comment and I will gladly try and anwer. The staff was very friendly and I hope this continues, at the old stadium there seemed to be some grump employees. I did not see Freddie but I am sure he is still around.

My Day at the New Yankee Stadium

This is a picture of inside the Yankee Museum. Here is Thurmans Locker

I t I took an assortment of field and all over the stadium, to the right is the great hall and above it is just a concession stand. I have the Old Stadium below since it is still standing.

Here is the outside of the main entrance to the Stadium.

Yankees workout

The Yankees are in the midst of their workout at the New Stadium and their is no game today so no news. I will have something later when everyone posts their reports of the workout. It turned out to be a nice day and it will be interesting to hear what the players say about their new home. I can't wait until I get to the Stadium on Saturday morning, only 2 days away now and only 4 days until opening day.

I'm getting nervous now-Yanks win again

The New York Yankees have now won 8 in a row and 17 of 19. They keep winning and of course some people are saying its because Arod is away LOL. The bottom line is if the Yankees are healthy and they pitch they will win, they have great pitching. I would like them to lose friday, not Saturday when I am there. They won today by a score of 8-5, they were winning 8-2 and one of the minor leaguers I don't know anything about gave up 3 runs in the 9th. CC Sabathia started and gave up 2 runs in 3 2/3 innings giving up 6 hits, he had 1 walk and 5 strikeouts. This was just a tuneup and he said he is ready for Monday when the season starts. Jose Veras pitched 1 1/3 innings, 1 hit, with 1 walk and 1 strikeout. Damaso Marte pitched a perfect inning and s did Brian Bruney who had a strikeout. Bruney has put it together lately after a rough start. Steven Jackson closed out the game getting the one batter out he faced. Mark Teixera was the offensive star going 3-3 with 3rbi. He stated he has loved working with Kevin Long and wished he could start the season tomorrow. He was on Michael Kay today and said they are having so much fun, working hard and they have the attitude if they continue to work hard and stay healthy then no one can beat them, its all up to them. Hideki Matsui was 2-3 with 2 rbi and a walk. He hit a 2 run homerun, Jorge Posada was 1-3. Robinson Cano was 1-2 with a walk, Nick Swisher was 1-1 with a rbi and Cody Ransom was 1-3 with a rbi. The Yankees may be on their way home now, im not sure what time the plane left. They will have a workout tomorrow from 1:10-3:10, gates open at 11:00am. The workout is not open to the public, members of the community and certain season ticket holders got tix for this event, also tomorrow they have the special ceremony with Bernie Williams at the Hard Rock Cafe in the Stadium. Check out the lohud yankees blog with Peter Abraham for reports at http://yankees.lhblogs.com/ I will have my report from the Stadium at some point on Saturday evening.

YES Network says YES

The Yes Network had a good night last night picking up 13 emmy awards. I am not going to go through the whole list but you can check it out on Peter Abrahams blog http://yankees.lhblogs.com he has all the names and what they won listed. This is the most they ever won and the most by a NY regional sports network. I didn't mention this earlier but on Thursday when the Yankees have their first workout at the New Stadium the Hard Rock Cafe will be opening up with Bernie Williams along with Ace Frehley(Kiss), Scott Ian and Frank Bello(Anthrax), Darryl "DMC" McDaniels(Run DMC), Anton Figg(Late Show Band). They will be signing Take Me Out to the ballgame along with students from the Bronx. There will be a celebratory guitar smash also, Bernies new CD will be released April 14, he has his performance with Bruce Springsteen on it, they performed Glory Days.

Yanks recap

The New York Yankees defeated the Toronto Blue Jays today by a score of 3-1. The Yankees including the Team USA and Canada games are now 20-12-1, they have now won 6 straight and 15 of their last 17. This doesn't mean much as it is spring training and it doesn't count, the thing that does mean something though is that their pitching has been there pretty much day in and day out. The Yankees have the pitching all around this year and when you get good pitching you always have a chance to win and that is why they have been winning all these games even though its spring training. Andy Pettitte got the start today going 6 1/3 innings giving up 1 run on 5 hits with 0 walks and 7 strikeouts. The other thing I have been noticing about the Yankee pitching is they haven't walked too many and they do strike out a lot of guys. Damaso Marte pitched 1/3 of an inning giving up a hit and thats all. Jose Veras pitched an inning giving up a hit and thats all and Edwar Ramirez finished it off pitching an inning with 0 hits, 0 runs and 1 strikeout. Andy Pettitte was thrilled with what he did today and said his shoulder has been doing great, no trouble at all. If you count the two minor league games Pettitte has pitched 22 innings this spring and allowed 3 runs with 18 hits and 20 strikeouts. The offense was led by Mark Teixera who had 2 rbi going 2-3 with a walk, he also made a diving stop in the field, this is going to be a huge difference this year with him, the Big G was just a statue and he is going to make that whole infield so much better. Drek Jeter was 1-2 with a walk, Melky Cabrera was 1-2. Johnny Damon had 2 walks and Jose Molina was 1-4. Mariano Rivera will pitch in a minor league game tomorrow then one of the Cubs games, he does not need to pitch back to back days before the season Joe Girardi said today. The Yankees will finish up their grapefruit league schedule with a game tomorrow at Cincinatti and then home wednesday against the Phillies, they will head to NY Wednesday evening and have a workout at the new stadium on Thursday. They play the first 2 games at the New Stadium on Friday night at 7:00pm and Saturday at 1:00pm.

Spring Game 33: Yankees at Blue Jays

Andy Pettitte makes his penultimate start of the spring, he will pitch again at the New Stadium on Saturday against the Cubs. There isn't much else to settle as the Yankees have their roster down to 30, there is one bullpen spot left which will probably go to Jon Albaladejo and then the utility infielder between Angel Berroa and Ramiro Pena. This isn't a big deal either as when Arod gets back, Cody Ransom will be back to that job and either Pena or Berroa will be in the minors or released. I am sure the Yankees are at the point they just can't wait to leave Wed night as this has been a very long spring. I will be back later with some notes and recap of the game. Spring Game 33: Yankees at Blue Jays Posted using ShareThis

Yankees Recap and some notes

The New York Yankees were defeated in Clearwater today by the World Champion Philadelphia Phillies. It was a wet day and after traveling around Chieng-Ming Wang made the start for the Yankees and pitched 5 innings giving up 5 hits and 3 runs with 2 walks and strikeouts. Brian Bruney allowed 2 runners to score when he came in relief of Wang and he gave up 2 hits and 2 runs of his own in 1 inning. He is having a rough spring and joked about making the team, that is a lock though but Girardi said he has to do better soon. Dan Giese vying for the long relief role pitched 1 inning giving up 4 hits and 3 runs with 3k. Brett Tomko who appears to be the frontrunner for the long relief job pitched 1 inning giving up 1 hit, 0 runs with 1k. Kei Igawa was sent down to the minors so he is out of the mix and Dan Giese hasn't shown much so it appears Tomko may win the job, he has had a great spring posting a 1.46era. Alfredo Aceves is still in the mix but I have a hunch they would prefer him in AAA pitching every 5 days. Opening day is 2 weeks from today in Baltimore so this should be decided by early next week before they head north to take on the Cubs to open the new stadium in 2 exhibition games. The offense had both Johnny Damon and Brett Gardner going 1-2, Jorge Posada was 0-2 but had a walk. Mark Teixera was 1-3 and Xavier Nady was 1-2 with a rbi. Joe Girardi basically announced him as the starting RF earlier in the day and Swisher said he isn't going to get himself in trouble although he would like to play everyday. He did say they have a great team that is going to do special things and just wants to help in anyway he can. Melky Cabrera was 1-3 and Ramiro Pena who has opened some eyes was 2-3, i don't see him winning the utility role though, i think it will be Angel Berroa with Ransom the 3b until Alex Rodriguez gets back. Chieng-Ming Wang did have to bat but did not swing at all and according to Peter Abraham it was hilarious to watch as he stood at the edge of the batters box and just watched the balls being thrown, the funny thing is they couldn't throw a strike to him though although he eventually did strike out. The Yankees will take on the Red Sox tomorrow night in Tampa and it will be on YES at 7:00pm. Derek Jeter will be back tomorrow and in the lineup to face the hated Sox. Dan Giese and Brett Tomko will both pitch Saturday against the Braves while Wang works in a minor league game. A-rod will not make it back to Tampa while the team is still there, im sure everyone is just so dissappointed. I can't wait to next week when the new stadium opens, i said earlier today that I will be at the Saturday game and I plan on giving as much of a in depth look at the stadium as I can, I hope to post some pics and give you some good stuff about the new stadium.