Joe Girardi got his money’s worth last night in the bottom of the 9th inning and minutes later the Yankees pulled out a 2-1 win.
Jason Giambi was called out on a pitch by home plate umpire Chris Guccione on a “foul tip.” A couple problems with that. The ball didn’t appear to hit Giambi’s bat and Guccione didn’t make the call until Orioles catcher Ramon Hernandez pointed it out. That brought Girardi out of the dugout and in the face of the home plate ump. He was then ejected.
“I didn’t think it touched him,” Girardi said. “Hence I was a little upset….. I wanted to kick something, and I figured that was the best thing. Walls don’t work too well. … I wasn’t happy with the explanation.”
Before he hit the showers he put on his best Lou Pinella impression by slamming his hat to the ground on two occasions and kicked it for good measures.
“I enjoyed it,” Derek Jeter said. “I was hoping he would …
Last night Joe Girardi announced to the world that the “process has started” with Joba Chamberlain. To many fans and many critics it was an announcement that has been long overdue. To some, it’s a decision in question.
To any Yankee fan, you know whether Joba pitches from the bullpen or in the starting rotation he’s an important piece to the team now and in the future. There’s no debate that he will be a starter next season, a season where the Yankees will need valuable arms in the rotation. Mike Mussina and Andy Pettitte could be on their last legs in pinstripes this season so the move to the rotation for Joba is logical. The question is whether the Yanks can win with Joba making this transition in the middle of the season.
Personally, I love Joba in the 8th inning. He comes in and blows away hitters, he ignites the crowd and brings an abundance of energy with him to the mound. He’s the perfect set-up guy …
Things aren’t right in the Bronx. That comes as no surprise. What does, is the lack of offense coming from the Yankees.
The Yankees lost another game and another series. This loss might be cause for some action. The powers that be, Hank Steinbrenner and Brian Cashman might need to find something to boost this ballclub. In recent years the Yanks have made additions to the ballclub when they felt it was necessary. We’ve seen them get guys off the free agent market (Aaron Small, Roger Clemens), make in-season deals (Shawn Chacon,Wilson Betemit ) and we’ve seen them promote within the organization (Chien Ming Wang, Robinson Cano, Melky Cabrera, and Joba Chamberlain).
Each of those moves have proved to be vital in terms of injecting life to a team that lacks the energy a $200 million ballclub should have. Granted, these moves have not led the Yanks to the World Series, but it has led them to the postseason. October baseball is a long way from now but it seems like years away with the way …
In the preparation for the Subway Series, there are some concerns going in.
I would have to say that New York is still a baseball city. Anyone you ask has an opinion on the Mets and Yankees. You don’t really get that with the other sports. Everyone in New York knows who Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, Mariano Rivera, Jose Reyes, David Wright are. You ask many people who made that Super Bowl saving catch,possibly the best catch ever for the Giants this year and it might take awhile to get an answer. Sure, everyone knows who Eli Manning is…now, but this is still a baseball town. Look around the ‘net and you see Met and Yankee blogs and sites all over the place. With that being said, there are a lot of frustrated people out there. Especially those fans who followed the Knicks and Nets during the winter. Now they see the same thing happening with the boys from the Bronx and for the guys from Queens.
Both teams have underachieved this season thus far. This meeting this weekend will …
The Yankees were hoping to get Alex Rodriguez back this week. Just in time for the Subway Series this weekend but that isn’t going to happen.
The MRI A-Rod took showed some progress but it wasn’t enought to get him in rehab games like the Yankees had hoped.
“We can’t afford to have him come back for two days then lose him for six weeks,” Girardi said. “We want to have him fully healed.”
Good move by the Yanks here. It’s best to play it safe, especially when it comes to A-Rod. You have to be 150% sure that he’s healthy enough to play. He’s a very big part of this offense so no need to rush him again.
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In other news of importance in Yankeeland now, Ian Kennedy is scheduled to pitch one or two innings tonight in his minor league start. With that being said, in all likely-hood he will make the start on Thursday against the Rays.The move …
Tonight – 7:10 p.m., YES
Andy Pettitte – LHP (3-3, 3.77 ERA) vs. Matt Garza – RHP (1-1, 4.91 ERA)
Tomorrow – 7:10 p.m., YES
Chien-Ming Wang – RHP (6-1, 3.12 ERA) vs. Edwin Jackson – RHP (2-3, 4.04 ERA)
Wednesday – 7:10 p.m., YES
Mike Mussina – RHP (5-3, 4.36 ERA) vs. James Shields – RHP (4-2, 3.14 ERA)
Thursday – 4:10 p.m., YES
TBA vs. Scott Kazmir – LHP (1-1, 2.70 ERA)
Kei Igawa was slated to pitch Wednesday but due to the rain out the Yankees have a couple of options for Thursday. They can pitch Darrell Rasner but one would think that Rasner is going to open up the Subway Series on Friday against the Mets. The Yanks could also go to the minor leagues for options for Thursday’s starter.
I can not stomach another Igawa start. I hope Ian Kennedy is back up sooner than later, so we’ll have to wait until Joe Girardi talks to his people internally. Let’s see if they tell us the plans BEFORE the game starts on Thursday.
The Rays are …
Good morning to all, here’s some of my thoughts on a few topics going on in the New York sports scene.
Yankees streaky play
The Yanks are 19-19 after 38 games. It’s amazing to see how this team goes into spurts of winning three, losing three, winning two, losing two. This has been a result of the inconsistent production by the back end of the rotation and the offense. No Alex Rodriguez and Jorge Posada to go along with sub .200 hitting from Jason Giambi and Robinson Cano can be best to blame for the .500 play. Cano seems to be coming out of his funk as he quietly has a six-game hitting streak, he plays a big part of the lineup if he’s able to get it going.
Darrell Rasner had another good outing yesterday and provided the Yanks with a win. He has accomplished more in his two starts than Phil Hughes, Ian Kennedy, and Kei Igawa have combined. He has two wins, the other three…zero. Keep the guy in …
Kei Igawa is NO GOOD! It’s that plain and simple. He gave up six runs on eleven hits in three-plus innings. I’m not sure if Ian Kennedy would’ve done any better but I’m going to say at least he would’ve lasted until the fifth inning.
I’m sure many Yankee fans share my frustration. Manager Joe Girardi shared his frustration with the media after the game last night.
“He couldn’t get a breaking ball over, whether it was his changeup or slider,” Girardi said. “They were basically able to focus in on one pitch. It’s not pitching like he’s capable of pitching. We need him to pitch with all his weapons.”
I’m not sure Igawa has any weapons at all. If anything, the way he pitches you would think he was sent by the other team as a spy. Ok, that’s a little far fetched, even for me, but you get the point.
I don’t like this guy and I don’t like his style. He’s afraid to challenge hitters and everything he throws over the plate …
Is it possible to see David Wells come back to Yankee Stadium one more time? According to the NY Post,Wells wants to come back and Hank Steinbrenner is a fan of his.
Wells went unsigned over the winter but continues to throw to his son’s high school baseball team to keep in shape.
“I’m in shape, I’d just have to fine-tune a couple of things,” Wells said. “I’d need a little bit of time, but not much. Physically I feel fine, real good.”
David pitched for the Bombers from 1997-98 and 2002-2003. In ‘98 Wells pitched a perfect game at the Stadium against the Minnesota Twins. He is beloved by most Yankee fans, although David did raise some eyebrows in Yankeeland. He took himself out of Game 4 of the 2003 World Series with a back injury, which forced Joe Torre to put in Jose Contreares in the game for a second consecutive night. That game was lost in extra innings when Torre summoned Jeff Weaver in and he promptly served up the …
After getting swept by the Detriot Tigers in the middle of the week, the Yankees responded with their own three game sweep of the Seattle Mariners this weekend.
“It’s been kind of streaky,” Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. “I’d like to shorten one streak and lengthen another.”
The Yankee offense which was quiet for much of the Detriot series came alive in the recent days. Led by Derek Jeter and his four hit performance on Sunday, the Yanks were able to complete the series sweep with an 8-2 victory at the Stadium. Bobby Abreu also contributed with three hits of his own, Johnny Damon drove in two runs, and the Bombers got back-to-back homeruns from best buds Melky Cabrera and Robinson Cano.
The other story in this game was the pitching of Darrell Rasner (1-0). Making his 2008 debut, Rasner pitched well. After giving up a first inning two-run homer to Adrian Beltre, Rasner settled down to pitch six innings, giving up five hits on only the two runs, and struck out …
These are NOT your New York Yankees playing out there. It can’t be. They look like the Yankees, but sure aren’t playing like them. If you saw last night’s 8-4 loss to the Detriot Tigers then you know what I’m talking about.
Ian Kennedy pitched well through the first 2.2 innings, then gave up four runs before he got the final out of the inning. Bobby Abreu misplayed two flyballs that arguably could’ve been caught. Instead he stumbled and crashed into walls. As a result, the Tigers were all over Kennedy and the Yanks. Kennedy never made it out of the fifth inning. His final line for the night: five hits,four runs and three walks over 4 2/3.
The Yankees offense did little again. Abreu got the Yanks rollin out of the gate with a three run homerun in the first but that was it. They left 11 men on base, 28 for the series. A series that saw the Tigers get their first three game sweep in the Bronx since 1966.
Earlier in the …
It appears that Alex Rodriguez aggravated the quadriceps strain in his right leg three days after returning to the lineup. He was pitch hit for in the eighth inning in Monday night’s win over the Tribe.
When asked about his status for tomorrow’s game against the Detroit Tigers, Rodriguez responded, “No way…If I had to guess, I’d say it would be a few days.”
The Yankees are already without catcher Jorge Posada who is on the DL and his return is uncertain for the moment. An extended absence by Rodriguez might raise some serious concern within the Yankees. For the time being A-Rod appears to be out until he further examines his leg and lets it rest for a few days.
The injury bug has hit the Yanks hard early this season. Despite that, they still have a 14-13 record and are one game out of first.
Tuesday will be a busy day around the Yankees as the injuires to Posada and Rodriguez will have many people questioning the extent and …
