Good Grief

No, we have not entered the Twilight Zone. The Tampa Bay Rays are in first place after getting to Mariano in the bottom of the 11th inning. And, here the Yankees sit, 4.5 games out of first place.

Blame this one on the Yankee bats. Or, you can blame it on that annoying Jonny Gomes, who, with the help of a Gabe Gross single, continues to stick it to the Yankees after their spring rivalry (while we have offered little response).

A-Rod’s return couldn’t come any sooner.

Game 2: Yanks VS. Rays

Chien-Ming Wang VS. Edwin Jackson is the pitching matchup. Be on the lookout for Eric Hinske, who seems to play particularly well when facing the Yanks. He’s currently hitting .444 against CMW with 2 HR.

Here’s the lineup for the Yankees (via PA):

YANKEES
Damon DH
Jeter SS
Abreu RF
Matsui LF
Giambi 1B
Cabrera CF
Cano 2B
Gonzalez 3B
Molina C
Wang RHP

If I had to guess, I’d say that Hideki Matsui delivers for the Yankees tonight. He’s struggling with RBI opportunities and he’s hit .357 off of Jackson with 1 HR, so this would be a fine opportunity for him to bust out of that RBI rut and drive in some big runs for the ballclub.

Counting The Days

Here’s a bit of text about Jason Giambi from a Ken Rosenthal piece on FOX Sports:

The Yankees are certain to decline Jason Giambi’s $22 million option, but Giambi says he wants to play next season at age 38, explaining, “It’s the ultimate life. Why go home and be normal?” Giambi believes his increased playing time at first will boost his value, but he remains a below-average defender.

Jason has demonstrated his power this season, although that’s pretty much all he’s been able to do (other than hit into the shift). We’re all counting down the days until his option is declined, as we’ll likely dance in the streets and drink until the break of dawn. I’ll be the first to wish him the best for next year (right now) when he signs a league minimum contract with the Oakland A’s or the San Francisco Giants.

Yu Are Expensive

Jim Caple, at ESPN, has a solid read (very lengthy) on Yu Darvish. He also projects Yu’s posting fee (if posted) to be somewhere around $75 million (my early projections were off by about $15 million). Although the Kei Igawa debacle has soured Yankee fans on the entire posting process, Yu Darvish might just be worth the price. He’s reportedly better than Dice-K and a lot younger.

At the end of the day, hell, it’s not our money, right?

(P.S. how intense is this picture?)

Goose’s Generation Gap

I recently saw some comments made by Goose Gossage about Joba’s fist pumping celebration and I didn’t want to get into them. The Joba thing is overdone and overplayed but Goose’s comments have picked up steam in the mainstream press, so I figured I’d say something about them (albeit quickly):

Here’s what Goose had to say (about the Joba-Dellucci situation):

“I’m old school, I’m sorry,” Gossage told reporters, according to MLB.com. “I didn’t see [Dellucci] celebrating when he hit the home run.”

Gossage also told The Bergen Record that Chamberlain needs to remember what uniform he is wearing. According to Gossage, playing for the Yankees carries a different set of rules.

“That’s just not the Yankee way, what Joba did. Let everyone else do that stuff, but not a Yankee,” Gossage told The Record on Saturday. “What I don’t understand is, the kid’s got the greatest mentor in the world in Mariano [Rivera]. He’s one of the leaders of the team, so you’d think it wouldn’t happen on that team.

This whole thing reeks of old vs. young.

Just a second ago I saw an ESPN commentator ask Lebron James about the “party” atmosphere at NBA games and whether or not the fire, smoke, etc. is all necessary for the game. Lebron said that it was and pointed out that fans love that stuff and it adds to the excitement of the game experience. It kind of reminds me of this situation. Joba is a young kid and he shows his excitement in a certain way and young fans, like myself, gravitate to that. We enjoy it and we can relate to it. It’s how we would react in that situation (generally).

This is a new generation of baseball with younger fans who enjoy this stuff. And let’s be honest, the Yankees have looked like an aging, old team for a long time. Brian Cashman even called the team a bunch of “old farts” during the offseason, and said that the club needed some young players to compliment them and add some energy to the mix of multimillionaires. These players, players like Melky Cabrera and Robinson Cano, are actually adding something to the game by showing some youthful exuberance. A-Rod has even attributed his success from last year to the ribbing by his teammates and the actions by Melky and Cano in the dugout (twirly celebrations, etc.).

In the end, whatever helps the team is what really matters. Joba’s energy, which is acted out whenever he does his fist pump, helps the aging NY Yankees. And, as Goose Gossage seems to forget every now and then, baseball changes with the times, so get over it or turn off the television.

A-Rod Aiming For Tuesday Return

From the AP:

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Injured Alex Rodriguez is hoping to rejoin the New York Yankees early next week.

“We’re aiming for (next) Tuesday at home,” Rodriguez, who is on the 15-day disabled list with a strained right quadriceps, said Tuesday after working out at the team’s minor league complex. “Everyday it’s much better.”

He will miss the series this weekend against the crosstown rival New York Mets. He might be ready to play in extended spring training games this weekend.

“You’ve got to be smart, so it’s a good way to go,” Rodriguez said

Rodriguez hasn’t played since April 28 and is eligible to come off the 15-day disabled list Thursday. He took batting practice, fielded grounders and ran for about six minutes in the outfield Tuesday.

Next Tuesday the Yankees kick off a 3-game series with the Baltimore Orioles in Yankee Stadium. Oriole pitching bodes well for A-Rod, who hit .322 off them last year (with a 1.009 OPS). With A-Rod back in the lineup, our offense should get a tremendous boost, especially in terms of their power output. Matsui has been solid in the #4 spot (let’s not even discuss Shelley Duncan’s .191, no HR line), but he hasn’t driven in a run since May 4th and he hasn’t hit a homer since April 25th. A-Rod is sorely missed right now.

Puzzling Pettitte

Here’s a bit of text from RAB on Andy Pettitte:

Over his last four starts spanning 21.1 innings, Pettitte finds himself 0-3 with a 6.75 ERA. He’s given up 28 hits and six walks while striking out a respectable 17. Pettitte just hasn’t had it lately, and the Yanks need him to find it.

I watched Pettitte pitch today and as Ben posted, “Pettitte just hasn’t had it lately” and it’s really problematic for the Yankees. Chien-Ming Wang is the ace and Pettitte is his right hand man. If Pettitte doesn’t go, the Yankee rotation becomes a questionable assortment of inexperienced kids and one particularly old man (not that Pettitte is a vision of youth himself). Pettitte’s best aspect is his reliability and recently, he just hasn’t been anything close to that. He’s falling behind in counts and its forcing him to be too hittable.

Hopefully, he’ll rebound sooner rather than later. The Yankees are having enough trouble hitting (no A-Rod or Jorge) and if they have to worry about every rotation spot outside of Chien-Ming Wang (Mike Mussina, besides his string of successful starts, isn’t a guarantee), then that’s simply unacceptable and will make it that much harder for the club to claw themselves out of the AL East’s doghouse.