To the Bronx...

I just realized I haven't posted since July 26th. I've been pretty much drowning in french fries and burgers since then so it's nice to enjoy a day off at the Stadium.

John and I will doing the reverse Benny trip tonight to see AJ Burnett take on Josh Beckett in what is sure to be a four and a half hour game. With Bad AJ showing up most of the time, and Beckett with his 5 plus ERA, this has all the makings of a 10-9 decision.

This is Yankees-Red Sox, so it still has a certain buzz about it. But the team I'm worried about is the Rays. Remember waaaaaaay back at the beginning of the season when I picked the Orioles to finish ahead of the Rays? Yeah, I should have put money on that; it would have been like buying BP stock on April 19. The Yanks are 27 games over .500, have a .624 winning percentage, and the best record in baseball, but are still only 1.5 games up in the standings. That means one bad series and the Yanks are looking up at the Rays. So the sooner the Yanks can get there bullpen going and Andy Pettitte back on the mound, the better.

I know I'll be doing some tweeting during the game, and John might be as well. So follow @jgeant and @jphealy. We'll see how many Boston "fans" get thrown out of the bleachers tonight.


SEE YA!

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This is the Curtis Granderson we traded for

Since Curtis Granderson's name is in the headline, that should make it fairly obvious that A-Rod didn't hit #600. So A-Rod Watch will go in to Day 6.

But Curtis is finally starting to pick it up. He's had a pretty crappy season so far, while missing most of May. But he's in the middle of a 6 game hitting streak and has 3 homers in the past 2 days. If Granderson and Teixeira can hit to their ability in the second half of the season, the Yankees can put a little breathing room between them and the Rays.

Speaking of the Rays, Matt Garza threw the first no-hitter in franchise history against the Tigers. That's the 5th no-no of the season (6th if you count the 28-batter perfect game by Armando Gallaraga). It also means the Mets and the Padres are the only teams with 0 no-hitters in team history. There was one point when I was about 14 that my dad grew his beard out and said he wasn't going to shave it off until the Mets threw a no-hitter. I think that was the year Tom Glavine had one going with 2 outs in the 8th before giving up a hit. Luckily the old man decided not to follow through on that, or I'd be living with Zach Galifianakis.



The Trading Deadline is also coming up at the end of the week, so we'll obviously have news on that if CashMoney pulls the trigger on any deals.

SEE YA!

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Blind Squirrels Find a Nut

Yankees 3 4 0
Orioles 4 8 0

WP: Arrieta (1-0)
LP: Burnett (6-4)
S: Hernandez (1)

Player of the Game: Jake Arrieta. The kid's making his Major League debut, and holds the Yankees to 4 hits and 3 runs and struck out 6. Not exactly Stephen Strasburg, but Arrieta wasn't facing a AA team like Strasburg was with the Pirates.

Play of the Game: Scott Moore's 404 homer in the 5th inning to tie the game.

Turning Point of the Game: Luke Scott's triple in the 6th inning. It looked like a pop-up off the bat, but it just kept carrying to the wall. Next thing you know, Miguel Tejada doubles him home to give the Orioles a lead.

Notes:

• Alex Rodriguez was pulled from the game with stiffness in his groin. He's going to see a doctor tomorrow, and hopefully he won't miss more than a couple of days.
• Jorge Posada is close to going behind the plate to catch, as he started doing drills a few days ago. There is no official word on when his first start in the field will be.
  

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Maybe Gregg Zaun Should Try Reading Playboy

Speaking of the Major League movies, Brewers broadcaster Bob Uecker, who played the team's radio voice in the movie, will be undergoing heart surgery later this week, so best wishes to him.

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How do you think the Yankees will do in 2010?

Buster Olney has the Yankees facing off with the Colorado Rockies in the World Series this year - and losing.

I'm sure I don't have to tell you that I respectfully disagree with his opinion. (Translation: That's a load of crap, Buster!)

What do you think? Take a look at our poll on the right and tell us how you think the Bronx Bombers will fair this season.

The poll will close at 8 pm on April 4, so get your votes in before the first game!

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Someone PLEASE throw some gasoline on the Hot Stove

Well, there's been a whole lot of nothing going on in the baseball world the past week, and with football only playing once a week, it gets a bit boring in the sports world.

There was an interesting story on the Yankees MLB.com Website about Javier Vazquez. In the article, he says he has no desire to pitch until he's 40 and he goes "year by year."

Now, with Brian Cashman becoming increasingly concerned about payroll flexibility, this may be a good thing for the Yankees. Vazquez has said that he had no desire to leave New York after the forgettable 2004 season, so he may be willing to accept a series of short-term contracts with the Yankees over the next several years. This would leave the Yankees the flexibility they want, while still having a dependable number 3 starter for a few years.

The Jets-Colts game is about to start. Sam Borden at the LoHud Yankees Blog talked about the crossover between Jets and Yankees fans. I have always seen it being more of a Yankees/Giants (like John and I) and a Mets/Jets correlation, but there are obviously some exceptions. And while some Giants and Jets fans feel the need to hate each other despite the fact that they only play once every every 4 or 5 years, I will in fact be rooting for the Jets this afternoon, but I don't know how well a rookie quarterback can handle Indy on the road. We'll find out soon enough, enjoy the game.

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Yanks trade Melky to ATL for Vazquez

According to Buster Onley of ESPN, the Yankees have sent Melky Cabrera, Mike Dunn, and $500,000 in cold hard cash to the Atlanta Braves for Javier Vazquez and Boone Logan.

My first reaction: "No, not the Javier Vazquez from the ALCS-that-shall-not-be-mentioned."

My second reaction: This is actually a very good trade for the Yankees. After the Top 3 of CC, AJ, and Andy, there were question marks. Hughes and Joba were in line to fill the last spots in the rotation, and this sures up one of those spots. Now one of those two will head to the bullpen, and my money is on Joba (but more on that later, and likely all off-season). Vazquez comes in after posting a 15-10 record and a 2.87 ERA (keep in mind that was the NL, and the NL West, one of the weaker divisions in MLB). He also was second in the NL with 238 strikeouts.

The Yankees rotation now looks like this:

1. CC Sabathia
2. AJ Burnett
3. Andy Pettitte
4. Javier Vazquez
5. Hughes (or Chamberlain)

I believe that's the best rotation in the Majors, but I'm obviously biased.

The fact that they pick him for Melky (who despite being a fan favorite, was a career .269/.331 hitter with 36 career homeruns) and a minor league reliever, is a plus. Cashman is being very shrewd this off-season, making some bargain deals and short-term contracts. Vazquez is due $11.5 million this season, so after you take out the $3 million Melky will likely get in arbitration, that adds about $8.5 million to the Yankees payroll.

With Melky gone, and Gardner not exactly everyday left fielder material, the Yanks will likely go after someone to play left. Mark DeRosa is looking for about $6 million and can also play several positions, so he may be a target for the Yankees.

As John and I discussed, the worst part about this trade will be having to watch highlights of Game 7 of You-Know-Which-ALCS for the next 2 days, the first time Vazquez starts for the Yankees, the first time Vazquez starts against the Red Sox, and anytime Vazquez faces Johnny Damon.

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ESPN Baseball Analysts appearing at Syracuse University

Tomorrow night, Jayson Stark and Tim Kirkjian will be holding a baseball discussion with members of the Sport Management Club, of which I am a member, at Syracuse. I will obviously be armed with several questions regarding the Yankees and Major League Baseball in general. Feel free to post any questions you want me to ask in the comments, tweet @jgeant, or send an email to michaelkayssuccessors@yahoo.com. I'll have a post up about the experience sometime later this week.

Also, as you may have noticed, the blog layout has changed. That was merely a technical difficulty, and it will most likely go back to the way it was, or a better template, depending on what we find. Much like the Yankees, we will have organizational meetings (or more like IM sessions) to decide on what we can do better and how to position ourselves this offseason.

UPDATE:
The layout is back to the way it was, for now. Stay tuned over the next couple of days for info from the GM Meetings in Chicago and the story about Baseball Tonight's visit to Syracuse.

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Why the Yankees will, and won't, win the World Series

Now that the business of clinching the AL East is taken care of, we can officially look ahead to the playoffs. I figured I'd get a quick run down on the reasons the Yanks will win, and some of the problems they're going to need to overcome.

Reasons they get trophy #27:

1. The offense: The Yankees rank first in the the league in runs, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, and home runs, and is 2nd in batting average, and 7th in stolen bases. Also, they own the third-best stolen base conversion percentage with 81%.
2. The bullpen: The development of this bullpen from the mess it was in April and May is Girardi's most important effect on this team this season. The addition of Hughes to the mix solidified the bridge to Mo. On the year, including the part where the 'pen was largely ineffective, it has recorded a 39-16 record with a 4.01 ERA while logging 491.2 innings. The relievers also have a combined .232 batting average against, good for second in the majors.
   
3. Ability to come back: The bullpen has been a huge factor in holding opponents scoreless in later innings, allowing the offense to work it's magic to bring 49 comeback wins, including 14 pie-in-the-face-inducing walk off wins. It may be cliché, but this team is never out of a game. If you win 100 games, and 49 of them are comeback wins, even I can do that math, that's 49% or almost half of their wins.
   
4. Their first round opponent: While anything can happen in a short series, the Yankees have owned both the Tigers and the Twins this season. They swept the Twins in 7 games while going 5-1 against Detroit. Those two teams start a four-game set tonight that will decide who wins the AL Central and faces the Yankees in the ALDS.
   

Reasons they won't win:

1. The starting pitching: Behind CC, there are some question marks in the starting rotation. Burnett has been inconsistent of late, going 2-5 since August 1st, with an ERA of 5.42 over that span. The Yankees are 5-6 in his last 11 starts. While Pettitte had an amazing month of August, he is still 37 and has thrown almost 200 innings. While he put most of the concerns about his shoulder to rest during his outing against the Angels, it could still be a concern. Then, of course, there is Joba, who stepped up Friday night against the Red Sox. The main problem with him has been consistency, and the amount of rest he gets between starts. If the Yankees skip him in the first round, will he be ready to go for Game 4 should they reach the ALCS?
   
2. Girardi: While the skipper did a fantastic job this season, this will be his first postseason as manager. He obviously was part of the playoffs as a player and coach, it's going to be a completely different experience going in as the manager. Will he now which buttons to push at the right time?
   
3. The pressure: Since the Yankees haven't won a World Series since 2000, the pressure is all on this team to bring the title back to the Bronx. Will they be able to handle it?
4. Post-season performance of key players: We all know about A-Rod's struggles in the post-season, including how he has only 7 hits in his last 13 playoff games. CC Sabathia has not fared much better, with a 2-3 record and a 7.92 ERA. This will also be AJ Burnett's first playoff experience, so three of the most important pieces to the puzzle will be eyed very closely throughout the postseason.
   

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Lucky Town

I'm going to put off doing my home work for a little while so I can get a blog post in for what is a huge win for the Yankees.

First of all, the win gives the Yanks the series win in Anaheim, the first time they've done that since in forever.

Second, it gives the Yankees a 6.5 game lead over the Angels for home field advantage throughout the playoffs.

Third, the Yankees lowered their Magic Number to 5 to clinch the division. Now, if the Royals can finish off the sweep (yes, you read correctly the SWEEP) of the Red Sox, it will be 4.

Fifth, AJ Burnett finally remembered how to not give up a boatload of runs. He went 5.2 innings, which could be better, but he struck out 11 and walked 3 so that drove his pitch count up. The most important thing is he only allowed 2 runs after the Bombers had already spotted him 3. Now if Joba can get back on track we might be a little more confident about the starting rotation headed into the playoffs.

Sixth, Robinson Cano finally got a hit with runners in scoring position! (It's the end of the world as we know it, but I feel fine). His two-out, 2-run single in the fourth inning was the difference in the game.

Seventh, Ian Kennedey returned to the mound after having surgery to remove an aneurysm earlier this season. He pitched a scoreless inning where he walked two (which can be expected in an appearance like that, especially in your home town) and struck out one.

Other notes (Not big enough or related enough to the game to get a number):

• Jorge Posada's x-ray on his right foot came back negative. He fouled a ball of his foot last night and did not play in today's game. Girardi said Posada may not play Friday against the Red Sox.
  
• Boston is up 6-2 over the Royals in the sixth inning, so the magic number may stay at 5 heading into a 3-game Battle in the Bronx. I don't want to put the cart before the horse, but how sweet would it be if the Yanks swept the series to clinch the division and reach 100 wins against the Sox? I can't say I expect that to happen, but it would be amazing.
• Happy Birthday to the "other" Boss, Bruce Springsteen, who's song Lucky Town came off the 1992 album of the same name.
  

We'll try to get something out to you tomorrow, so until then...

SEE YA!

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I take that SEE YA! back, I just noticed we are at 98 fans on our Facebook page. Come on people, just two of you need to become a fan for us to reach 100. (Well technically 4 of you do, because John and I are already fans, but that's just semantics)

What would do if I said the 99th and 100th fans get fabulous prizes?

If you answered "Call Jim a big, fat liar," you're correct. While we don't have prizes, imagine the pride you'll feel knowing you became our 100th fan.
Or you could just do it to make John and I feel good, that works for us.

We're also on Twitter (because at this point who isn't?). @KaysSuccessors is where you can find us.

Ok, I'm sure this time...

SEE YA!

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Can we please win a game in LA. PLEASE!

YANKEES (95-56)
Jeter SS
Damon LF
Teixeira 1B
Rodriguez 3B
Matsui DH
Posada C
Cano 2B
Swisher RF
Gardner CF

Pitching: RHP Chad Gaudin (1-0 3.68).

ANGELS (90-60)
Figgins 3B
Izturis 2B
Abreu RF
Guerrero DH
Hunter CF
Morales 1B
Rivera LF
Aybar SS
Mathis C

Pitching: vs. RHP Ervin Santana (7-8, 5.43).

TIME/TV: 10:05, MY9/MLB Network.

Do you believe in magic, in Greinke's heart?: Zach Greinke is currently shutting down the Red Sox as the Royals are ahead 5-0 in the 5th inning. If the Red Sox lose, the Yankees magic number will drop to 7.

Maybe it's the time difference: The Yankees are 0-4 in Angel Stadium of this season. This is the main reason why the Yankees need to secure home-field advantage.

UPDATE 10:12: So Syracuse doesn't have MY9, it has MY43. While I have an MLB.TV subscription, it says I can't watch because I'm in the Yankees home television market, despite the fact that the game isn't on TV here. So right now I'm listening to a stream of John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman from the Lowe's Broadcast booth. ( I just increased the value of Lowe's sponsorship by 0.000001% by mentioning it on the blog.)

The Yankees can clinch a playoff spot with a win or a Texas loss. Texas is tied 0-0 with Oakland in the 1st inning.

UPDATE 10:30: I am now updated on the personal lives of a couple of members of the Yankees family, thanks to Jon and Suzyn. Hunter Gardner, the son of Brett, enjoys the swimming pool and Ken Singelton is now a grandfather.

And I give Michael Kay crap for going off topic this early in the game? My apologies, Michael.

UPDATE 10:34: A picture says a thousand words.

UPDATE 10:50: IT IS HIGH, IT IS FAR...... IT IS GONE. It's an Arodian home run.

Ok, that makes Jetarian sound good.

UPDATE 11:14: So apparently there is some gimmick where the Yankees and Red Sox radio announcers switch for an inning in one of the upcoming games.

I can only imagine the possibilities for this with TV.

And leave it to Jeter to steal second after picking up his 200th hit of the season.

UPDATE 11:50: Here we go again. Can Mo go 4 tonight?

UPDATE 11:57: So Sterling takes the place of Kay with the broadcaster jinx. They were just talking about how Gaudin deserved to be the 4th starter in the playoffs before this inning unfolded.

And he's also picking up in the "beating the dead horse" department, as he keeps mentioning how Swisher went to the wrong side of the foul pole on Figgins's home run.

I might just see the Yankees through this inning and then head off to bed, cause sleep is at a premium these days.

UPDATE 12:19: Having not been able to watch this inning, I haven't had a complete nervous breakdown yet. But I'm getting close.

UPDATE 12:25: THANK YOU A-ROD!

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When it's over: Jays snap Yanks streak

Well, I don't know about the Yankees, but I felt a little burnt out today after that game last night. They kept the game close, and had chances to win, but couldn't pull through. They just need to make sure this hangover doesn't last too long, because you can't count the Red Sox or Rays out until they are mathematically eliminated. The Yankees know better than anyone that you can make up a lot of ground on a team without actually playing them.

We'll be back and recharged for tomorrow's game. Until then, I'm Jim Geant saying,

SEE YA!

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Rays 6- Yanks 2

Well, the Yankees did not have it today. We've sent them a Tom Emanski video of drills that helped win back-to-back-to-back AAU National Championships, because their defense was pretty bad all-around tonight. Don't worry, MLB Superstar Fred McGriff gave this product his full endorsement.
The Yankees play Tampa tomorrow in the rubber game with Joba on the mound versus Matt Garza.

SEE YA!

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We now call to the stand... David Cone?

Well, another baseball player will be appearing before the Senate, but this time, it is not about steroids.


As you may or may not know (and if you don't know, you shouldn't have slept through US History), Supreme Court Justices must be confirmed by the Senate and are interviewed by the Senate Judiciary Committee prior to confirmation. President Barack Obama's nominee, Sonia Sotmayor, will have her hearing next week.

Apparently, Sotmayor will have former Major League pitcher David Cone on the stand to testify. Cone was heavily involved in the Players Union during the 1994 Strike (aka The Lost Year). This from the New York Times:

David Cone, the former pitcher, presumably will echo President Obama’s claim that Judge Sotomayor saved baseball when she ended the 1995 strike.

I really hope he doesn't speak in those short choppy sentences like he does on air, that will be kind of embarrassing. And you know Michael Kay will mention it on air a thousand times when it happens so you'll hear about it again.



This is unrelated, but I am watching SportsCenter. The Yankees highlight comes on. Some guy at the Metrodome had a #4 Brett Favre Minnesota Vikings jersey, so the anchor goes on some rant about the Viking trainer going down to Mississippi to check on Favre's arm. In the middle of the highlight! I know they love to beat the Favre thing to death, and then beat it to death some more, but do they really need to do it in the middle of a baseball highlight?

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