What a difference a year makes.

This time last year, the New York Yankees were at home on their couches watching as their 2009 World Series counterparts, the Philadelphia Phillies, defeated the Tampa Bay Rays to become world champions.

One of the big reasons the Bronx Bombers were at home during the Fall Classic and not participating in it was because their pitching wasn’t good enough. That’s why GM Brian Cashman opened George Steinbrenner’s fat checkbook to sign starting pitchers CC Sabathia (7-years, $161 million) and A.J. Burnett (five-year, $82.5 million). And just to make sure he had enough offense, Cashman also inked the top bat on the free agent market, Mark Teixeira, to an eight-year, $180 million deal.

The end result is that the Yankees got what they paid for.

With their 7-3 victory over the Phillies in Game 6 of the World Series, the Bombers won their 27th championship in club history. Hideki Matsui (who was later named Series MVP) went 3-for-4 with six RBI and a run scored, while Derek Jeter finished 3-for-5 with two runs scored. Long-time veteran Andy Pettitte earned the victory, yielding three runs on four hits over 5.2 innings of work.

The Yankees are clearly at an advantage because they’re willing to spend. But at least they spend their money the right way unlike clubs like the Mets, who spend widely only to miss the postseason every year. The Yankees want to win and they knew last year that they’re pitching wasn’t good enough to match their offensive firepower. So yes, they spent and spent big. But they spent to win and they accomplished their one and only goal: To win a World Series.

Read the rest of this entry »

The Phillies acquired Cliff Lee at the trade deadline this season to help bolster their starting pitching and help get the back to the World Series. But now that they’re back in the Fall Classic, the Phillies need one more thing from Lee: To save their season.

Lee will pitch Game 5 against the Yankees tonight in a do-or-die game for the Phillies, who trail 3-1 in the best of seven series. So far, Lee is 3-0 in the postseason and has only allowed two earned runs on 20 hits over 33.1 innings of work. He has also fanned 30 batters, has only walked three and has a sparklingly 0.54 ERA.

But even though he has been masterful so far, the problem is that this is the second time the Yankees will be facing Lee this week. Even though they lost, the Rockies fared a tad better against Lee in Game 4 of the NLDS than they did in Game 1. And Colorado doesn’t have near the offensive firepower as New York does.

If the Yankees are going to be crowned world champions tonight, the top of their order must come through, unlike in Game 1 of this series. Outside of Derek Jeter, who had three hits and scored a run, Johnny Damon, Mark Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez combined to go 1-for-12 against Lee in their first outing. While A-Rod has been on fire since then, he looked lost in all four of his at bats against Lee in New York while striking out three times.

Time will tell if Lee can continue his dominance in the postseason, or if A.J. Burnett and the Yankees will put the final touches on their championship run.

It’s been a surreal year for Alex Rodriguez. It began with disgrace, as he joined the club of major league players implicated in the never-ending steroids scandal. He was never a fan favorites in New York, and now he had sunk to a new low. His reputation would be forever tarnished.

Yet after watching A-Rod’s postseason performance so far, this may be the best thing that ever happened to him. Last night, A-Rod rose to the occasion again to provide a dramatic home run to save the day for the Yankees in Game 2.

• To be honest, for all his remarkable numbers, A-Rod has never inspired legend quite like a Williams or Ruth, a Bonds or a Mantle. Yet through five postseason games, he now has three home runs that have either tied or put the Yankees ahead. One off Joe Nathan and another off Brian Fuentes, two pretty darn good closers, too. Here’s the reaction from The LoHud Yankees Blog:

• His story of exorcising October demons has almost become old hat. Four times he has been asked the same questions and four times he has continued to repeat what he said in St. Pete. “I know you guys are probably looking for something profound. I’m just in a good place. I’m seeing the ball and I’m hitting it. That’s about it.” Rodriguez now has an RBI in each of the first five postseason games, setting a new Yankee record. Here’s audio from Rodriguez:

• Burnett said he, Phil Hughes, Phil Coke and Joba Chamberlain were in the clubhouse watching the 11th inning unfold. People would never believe the scene they made after Rodriguez hit the tying homer. “We were like little kids,” Burnett said, “jumping around and hugging.”

• In the dugout, Mark Teixeira couldn’t fathom that Rodriguez had done it. Again. “I just kept yelling, ‘He did it again! He did it again!” Teixeira said. “I just couldn’t believe it.”

It’s amazing what a great athlete can do when he just focuses on the job at hand. A-Rod has admitted to being so self-absorbed that he put tremendous pressure on himself. The scandal seems to have forced A-Rod to grow up and develop a more mature approach to the game. If he keeps this up and the Yankees win the World Series, this will be one of the fastest and most dramatic image turnarounds we’ve ever seen in sports.

Mark Teixeira has the city of New York in a frenzy after his dramatic walk-off home run last night in Game 2 for the Yankees vs the Twins. Yankee fans have been very frustrated in recent years as a result of collapses in the postseason, so they’re giddy with excitement at the prospect of a high-priced player who can live up to the hype in the playoffs. Even C.C. Sabathia got off to a great start in game one. Who knows, maybe even A-Rod will get into the act. We’ll see in the next round when they face a better team.

Alex Rodriguez homered and hit a go-ahead sacrifice fly in the Yankees’ 6-5 victory over the Angels Tuesday night as New York became the first team to clinch a postseason berth in baseball.

New York clinched the first phase of its postseason plans while still on the field, the berth finalized by the Athletics’ 9-1 victory over the Rangers while Jorge Posada was batting in the eighth inning. But that gave the Yankees little cause to rejoice — not after they gave back all five runs to the pesky Angels.

Facing Matt Palmer in the ninth inning, Gardner opened the frame with a line-drive single to center and waited out the right-hander, who threw to first base repeatedly to check the speedster. Gardner took second base on the 1-0 delivery, and Derek Jeter walked.

The playoff entry was acknowledged after the game with hugs and handshakes, but no wild celebrations — a tact that was encouraged by the Yankees’ team leaders. Those will be reserved for a potential division clinch in the near future, when next chapter of the club’s season truly begins.

Not to be a downer, but the Yankees have done this before. It’s the next step that has eluded them.

It’s time for CC Sabathia and A-Rod to step up in the postseason just once in their careers. This is a club that routinely looks past the first round and routinely finds themselves out of the playoffs too early. The Yankees need the players they spent millions on in the offseason to produce or else this playoff berth means nothing.

The Yankees are built to win championships so anything less should be a disappointment. (Especially considering their payroll.)

It’s always funny how the voting for the Major League Baseball All-Star game shakes out, and it’s generally more of a popularity contest than anything. That, or the more familiar names like Derek Jeter, David Wright and Manny Ramirez always generate lots of attention. Well, since we’re about 75 games in, and the mid-summer classic is two and a half weeks away, I decided to look at the current vote leaders and make my own picks of who I think should be in there. First the American League — and next week, the National. Here we go….

First base
Leader: Mark Teixeira, New York Yankees
Mike’s pick: Justin Morneau, Minnesota Twins. It’s kind of hard to argue with Teixeira’s numbers, short porch in right or not. He’s got 20 homers, 57 RBI, 20 doubles, and a .280 average (and in the field, zero errors). You can make a case for Carlos Pena (22 homers), but he’s batting .236. Morneau is batting .315, and has 16 homers (let’s say he’d have 20 if he played in Yankee Stadium), and more RBI than Teixeira (58). And he’s only made one error.

Second base
Leader: Ian Kinsler, Texas Rangers
Mike’s pick: Aaron Hill, Toronto Blue Jays. I love a good comeback story, and this is it. Hill doesn’t have as many homers as Kinsler (17 to Kinsler’s 18), but he is hitting for a higher average (.306 to .268) with more RBI (52 to 49). Sure, Kinsler has 16 steals to 2 for Hill, but I’m sticking with my comeback story.

Shortstop
Leader: Derek Jeter, New York Yankees
Mike’s pick: Jason Bartlett, Tampa Bay Rays. Jeter’s having a good season, but Bartlett is leading the American League in batting with a sick .363 average. Even after spending some time on the DL, Bartlett still has 7 homers, 35 RBI, 13 doubles, 3 triples and 15 steals…..pretty awesome numbers for a shortstop.

Third base
Leader: Evan Longoria, Tampa Bay Rays
Mike’s pick: Evan Longoria, Tampa Bay Rays. With a nod to Chone Figgins and his .325 average with 23 stolen bases, Longoria has delivered at a power position with 16 home runs, 62 RBI, 24 doubles and a .312 batting average.

Catcher:
Leader: Joe Mauer, Minnesota Twins
Mike’s pick: Joe Mauer, Minnesota Twins. Hey, these voters aren’t doing a bad job after all! This is an easy one, though. Mauer is batting almost .400 (.396) with 14 homers and 43 RBI, and a staggering .695 slugging percentage that leads the American League.

Outfield
Leaders: Jason Bay, Boston Red Sox
Ichiro Suzuki, Seattle Mariners
Josh Hamilton, Texas Rangers
Mike’s picks: Jason Bay, Boston Red Sox—It’s hard to argue with 19 homers, 69 driven in (leads the AL) and a respectable .278 average, especially when Big Papi has struggled. Manny who?
Torii Hunter, Los Angeles Angels—He’s currently fourth in the voting, but he should be higher. 17 dingers, 56 RBI, and he’s batting .309 with 12 stolen bases.
Carl Crawford, Tampa Bay Rays—The Rays are running on everyone, and this guy leads them and the world with 38 stolen bases. He’s also batting .314 with 6 homers and 35 RBI.

Starting pitcher
As you all know, pitchers are chosen by the managers and announced shortly before the all-star break.
Mike’s pick: Zach Greinke, Kansas City Royals. The guy got off to a blistering start, when the Royals stunned everyone by spending more than a few days in first place. He’s cooled off, but Greinke is still 9-3 on a team that’s 31-41, he has a stellar 1.90 ERA, and he’s second in the AL with 111 strikeouts to just 18 walks in 109 innings.

Relief pitcher
Mike’s pick: Jonathan Papelbon, Boston Red Sox. Okay, so he’s not leading the league in saves (he has 17 and the Angels’ Brian Fuentes has 20). But Papelbon sports a 1.97 ERA and 33 K’s in 32 innings. And he just has that sick “you can’t hit me” demeanor.

Source: Baseball Reference

According to a report by the New York Post, it appears that Yankees’ manager Joe Girardi’s job is safe for now.

At 13-14 after last night’s 4-3 loss to the Rays, voices in and out of baseball are wondering if Girardi, who is in the second season of a three-year contract, is safe.

According to several organizational sources Girardi’s job security isn’t an issue. Too many injuries too early in the season and slow starts by CC Sabathia and Mark Teixeira. And he hasn’t had cleanup hitter Alex Rodriguez play a game, lost Chien-Ming Wang early and Jorge Posada recently.

Though Girardi said he understands the attention that comes with managing the Yankees, he said he isn’t fixated on those who blame him for the pedestrian start and being dominated by the Red Sox.

“That’s not something I really focus on. I focus on the task at hand. Every day we do the best we can to prepare our club and every move we make is to win the game and that’s what I focus on,” said Girardi, who has been hamstrung by an awful bullpen.

As the article notes, Girardi can’t do anything about veterans like Sabathia and Teixeira getting off to slow starts, A-Fraud not being in the lineup and Wang forgetting that he’s not pitching in a home run derby contest every fifth day. Girardi will continue to catch heat because he replaced a manager in Joe Torre who should have never been fired in the first place, and the pressure to succeed will always be bestowed on Yankee managers because of how much the club spends to win. It just comes with the territory.

The manager is always on the front lines when a team is losing, but at some point the players are going to have to just step up and freaking produce. Girardi can’t manage situations that are unmanageable (i.e. the pitching staff turning the new Yankee Stadium into Coors Field).

Thanks to a record breaking 14-run second inning, the Indians absolutely smoked the Yankees 22-4 in New York on Saturday.

The Indians merely tied their franchise record for runs in an inning; they also scored 14 in the first inning against the Philadelphia A’s on June 18, 1950. It’s also the most runs in an inning by any team since Boston lit up Florida for 14 runs in the first on June 28, 2003. (A certain right-hander named Carl Pavano gave up six of those runs.)

Now, an inning like the Indians’ second does not happen without some horrific pitching, and you have to figure now that something is wrong with Chien-Ming Wang. His earned run average actually rose, from 28.93 to 34.50. He has allowed 23 earned runs in six innings over three starts. That is staggering.

One other point: it is an absolute jet stream to right center field at the new Yankee Stadium. The dimensions are the same as the old place, and the weather is unseasonably warm (75 degrees at game time). But in the last 11 innings, there have been nine homers to right. Wow.

‘You have to figure now that something is wrong with Chien-Ming Wang.’ You think? In just three starts, the guy has been hit more times than a freaking piñata and it would take a football team scoring five touchdowns to match his ERA. He’s throwing gopher balls and batters are knocking them out of the park – it’s as simple as that.

And if there is a jet stream in right center field, then Mark Teixeira should lead the majors in home runs by the end of the year. There’s no excuse to give up 14 runs in one inning – jet stream or not.

1. Nick Adenhart will be missed.
What’s most tragic about Nick Adenhart’s death early Thursday morning is that because of the stupidity of another driver, the Adenhart family, the Angels and the baseball world all lost someone very important. This wasn’t a case of another athlete staying out all night and making a bad decision. Nick was a passenger in a friend’s vehicle that was struck by a minivan of a driver that was under the influence of alcohol and driving on a suspended license. It was senseless and my thoughts and prayers go out to Nick’s family. At 22 years old, Nick should have been enjoying the bright lights of the big leagues and getting ready for his next start. Instead, his family is left to grieve for a young man’s life that was cut incredibly too short.

2. Here’s hoping Joe Martinez is okay.
Giants’ reliever Joe Martinez needed just one more out in the ninth inning to wrap up San Francisco’s (eventual) 7-1 victory over the Brewers Thursday night, but Mike Cameron laced a line drive back up the middle and struck Martinez right in the side of the head. Martinez stood up after the ball hit him, but then sat down immediately as trainers rushed to his aid. He eventually left the field under his own power (holding a towel to his bloody face and nose), but he was rushed to the hospital for a CAT scan and so far there is no update. I watched the game live and it was as scary of a moment as I’ve ever witnessed. Players on both sides were visibly shaken, including Cameron, who showed incredible sensitivity to the situation and looked deeply saddened by what had just happened. Hopefully Martinez didn’t suffer any permanent damage and he can return to the field in due time.

3. Joey Votto is a beast.
In the Reds’ 8-6 victory over the Mets on Thursday night, Joey Votto hit his second home run of the season and drove in four runs on three hits. Votto is hitting .538 to start the season and it already looks like he’s ready to carry a young Cincinnati team (which also features young, emerging stars in Brandon Phillips and Jay Bruce) at the age of 25. Young players like Votto are great for the game and it looks like baseball is quickly breeding another star.

Read the rest of this entry »

1. Sabathia, Teixeira choke on applesauce in debuts
The Yankees’ two big offseason free agent signings got off to rough starts yesterday as CC Sabathia allowed six runs on eight hits in just 4.1 innings of work and Mark Teixeira went 0-4 in NY’s 10-5 loss to the O’s. Sabathia didn’t strike out one batter as his control looked completely out of whack and Teixeira left five men on base. Who knew spending gobs of money doesn’t guarantee initial success?

2. Tony Clark and Felipe Lopez: The New Bash Brothers
Clark and Lopez each went deep yesterday…twice. What’s amazing about the feat (besides the fact that Tony Clark and Felipe Lopez each hit two home runs in the same game) is that they were the first pair of switch-hitting teammates to homer from both sides of the plate in a game since Jorge Posada and Bernie Williams did if ro the Yankees on April 23, 2000. The D’Backs edged NL West rival Colorado 8-7.

3. Looks like Hanley Ramirez will be okay in the three-hole
Generally a leadoff hitter in previous seasons, the Marlins moved shortstop Hanley Ramirez into the three-hole this year and he responded on Opening Day by hitting his first career grand slam in the Fish’s 12-6 victory over the Nats. Ramirez also had an RBI double and walked. I know it was only the first game of 162, but Ramirez looked awfully comfortable at the plate.

Read the rest of this entry »