Hank: Fans, Don’t Get Discouraged

From the AP (via Yahoo):

“With what we’ve got in place right now, we still should be able to make a run,” team co-chairman Steinbrenner said Monday night. “We’re without Wang, our 19-game winner. That’s the biggest blow. We’re without Damon for a little while, but he’ll be back. Matsui wlll probably be back. It’s been a bad year for injuries. The fans got to remember that. Don’t get discouraged. Injuries do happen.”

The Yankees are 8 1/2 games behind AL East-leading Tampa Bay, which opens a two-game series at Yankee Stadium on Tuesday night. New York started Monday four games back in the AL wild-card race.

“We have been decimated by injuries,” Steinbrenner said. “I don’t remember a year this bad as far as injuries. It’s had a huge affect, it really has. Nobody wants to make excuses, but it’s reality.

Hank seems pretty calm and collective right now. While the Yankees have been hurt by injuries (that’s a big part of it), they’ve also been playing well under their expectations, and that goes for everyone except for maybe Johnny Damon, Hideki Matsui (when he was healthy), Jason Giambi (he’s tapered off somewhat) and Alex Rodriguez. Jeter, Abreu, Jorge, Melky, Cano, and our assortment of bench players haven’t really done much to help the Yankees (Cano has recently turned it on). So, while injuries have played their part, let’s not forget the actual performance issues that have been prevalent throughout the year (hits with RISP).

First to 500: Vlad VS. Howard

Here’s a fun video (a promo for Powerade), featuring two of the best hitters in the game, Ryan Howard and Vladimir Guerrero, as they both attempt to hit a 500 foot shot (at a golf course, yes, a golf course).

Support The Stache

Let’s all “Support the Stache” and get Jason Giambi into this year’s AS Game. Click on the player (on the widget below) that you’d like to see in the AS Game. A voting box should pop up on your screen.

Evan Longoria is reportedly in the lead, but he’ll have plenty of opportunities to get into the Midsummer Classic, later on. Let’s get Giambi in there as this will probably be his last shot. He’s personally autographed 5 baseballs that will be provided to 5 fans who vote for him, and he’s also stated that he’ll participate in the Home Run Derby (along with Dan Uggla, Lance Berkman, Josh Hamilton, Chase Utley, Grady Sizemore, and others) if voted into the AS Game.

Seeing a Yankee, especially one we call the Giambino, in the HR Derby at Yankee stadium will be pretty cool, so let’s keep at it. There are no limits to voting, as far as I can tell, so once you’re finished voting, feel free to close the box and do it all over again (and again).

Right Field’s Future

What would happen if the Yankees let go of Bobby Abreu after the 2008 season? Who would the team get to play RF? Of course, that answer is dependent upon the direction the Yankees go with CF, as Brett Gardner and Melky Cabrera will continue to battle it out and state their respective cases over the next few months. If Melky can actually produce and I mean, he’d have to go on a legitimate tear in order to put up the necessary numbers, then, he could possibly be our future RF with Gardner in CF. However, judging Melky’s play, thus far, I think he’ll be hard pressed to hit over .275 with a substantial OPS. In fact, I think Melky will end up being traded either before the AS break or at season’s end.

With that said, that would open the CF door for Gardner. Our 2009 OF would consist of Johnny Damon in LF, Brett Gardner in CF and ___________ in RF. I honestly don’t think the Yankees will bring Abreu’s bat back to the Bronx unless he too can seriously put together an amazing second half (he’s done it before). His OBP is declining and Abreu as a player is declining, in general (power, eye, defense), and I don’t think he’d be willing to take a one-year deal since he could probably get a multiyear contract elsewhere.

So, what to do? Here are some viable FA options:

1. Pat Burrell (PHIL) – power hitter; has never played RF; will be 32 at the end of the year
2. Juan Rivera (LAA) – an old friend; had a great 2006 before a broken leg derailed his 2007 campaign
3. Moises Alou (NYM) – too old, period
4. Milton Bradley (TXS) – too brittle (and crazy)
5. Raul Ibanez (SEA) – consistent hitter; likely too old and is a LF (with poor defense)
6. Adam Dunn (CIN) – he won’t play RF; inconsistent hitter, OBP machine with power; K’s galore
7. Casey Blake (CLE) – aging player with position flexibility at 3B and 1B

This list of unimpressive FA’s makes you wonder about RF for the Yankees in 2009. Could Bobby Abreu be the best option? His tenure will also depend on the market for his services, as I’m sure the Yankees don’t want to get locked into a long-term deal with a declining player. The Yankees can always move Johnny Damon to RF and go with a left fielder, or they can always ask a left fielder to play RF, but it’ll be a tough situation for the team and the incoming player (and most of these guys wouldn’t be good RF’s).

If I had to choose someone from that list, I’d be interested in letting Burrell get a shot and then figuring out a solid defensive configuration, or I’d be open to signing Juan Rivera and seeing what he can do given a full season (he can play both corners). It’ll be interesting to see how the Yankees play this one and maybe they’ll go the trade route if a FA signing (or Bobby Abreu) won’t fill their needs.

I’ll Take That Trash Bin…

Here’s an interesting read on how the Yankees will “sell off” parts of the old stadium.

(Props to LoHud).

Meaningful Wins

For whatever reason, I find myself playing back the final seconds of the past two Yanks-Sox games (OK, it’s probably because we won the games, but still). These two wins were particularly meaningful for the Yankees and their fans. In recent years, it feels as if the “big hit” and “clutch pitching” has been a thing of the past for us, especially when facing the Red Sox, as they have bested us on many meaningful occasions (one series, specifically, comes to mind…). That “Yankee mystique” that we’re so used to from the team’s yesteryears made an appearance this weekend against our division rivals and you couldn’t have scripted a better ending. Let’s hope that these two clutch performances will invigorate the Yankees and lift them up in the standings. While the AL East crown may rest in Tampa (for now), the WC is certainly within reach.

Adulterous A-Rod

I saw this article on Yahoo and had to comment on it. The title is “Divorce papers allege A-Rod is adulterer” and when you click on the title, the actual article headline says, “A-Rod’s wife alleges infidelity in divorce papers”. Now, while I’m not going to really defend A-Rod or comment much on this situation (A-Rod tied Mickey Mantle yesterday, so he’s still producing), Cynthia Rodriguez’s lawyer notes the following:

Still, the baseball star’s relationship with the singer “was the last straw” before the Yankee slugger’s wife filed for divorce Monday, her Houston attorney, Earle Lilly, tells PEOPLE.

Lilly says that A-Rod was smitten with Madonna, but makes no claim of any sexual liaison. “The correct analysis is a relationship,” he says. “Some people categorize an affair as something as sexual infidelity. We’re not claming that. It’s an affair of the heart.”

Now that A-Rod’s wife has formally filed divorce papers, you’ll likely see a lot of papers painting Alex Rodriguez as some sort of adulterous monster that had a myriad of sexual escapades with Madonna and others, but as you can see from Lilly’s comments, this is not the case. Since he’s the face of the NYY franchise, I thought it was best to point that out. A-Rod seems more like a confused child than a mean spirited husband, if that makes sense. He’s always doing the strangest things and seems to seek out attention in ways that are simply eccentric (Madonna, smitten, really?).

I guess, at the end of the day, what do we care, as long as he hits home runs, right? We celebrated Mantle (A-Rod appropriately tied his HR total yesterday), Ruth, other guys with similar problems, so what does it really matter?

Yanks Skeptical About 2008?

Here’s an interesting bit from Ken Rosenthal about the Sabathia trade:

The Yankees also were “very heavily involved” in the Sabathia discussions, one source said, but declined to commit the necessary prospects at a time when their 2008 chances are uncertain.

So, if the Yankees had a better record and were closer to the promised land, then they would have given up the prospects and acquired C.C. The telling part of this segment of text is that the Yankees “declined to commit the necessary prospects at a time when their 2008 chances are uncertain”. Looks like team official may think that it’ll take more than C.C. Sabathia to produce a playoff push this year.

Yanks Looking At… Victor Zambrano?

Mark Feinsand is reporting that the Yankees are currently looking at Victor Zambrano as an option for their tattered rotation (they’re sending a scout to see him pitch this week). Zambrano pitched for the Rockies’ AAA club and had a 9.45 ERA in 40 IP (why would anyone put this guy in Colorado?). He hasn’t pitched in the majors, at all, this year.

Why would the Yankees even bother with this guy? I know Cashman is into the “whatever sticks” method of building a rotation, but this is sort of ridiculous. Can he honestly be better than Jeff Karstens? Hell, can he seriously be better than Sidney Ponson or Darrell Rasner (or even rumored trade candidate, Bronson Arroyo)?

Meanwhile, the Brewers deal for C.C. Sabathia is official.