Jeter's Bat Says Take That

On a day when CC Sabathia wasn't sharp and the Yankees defense resembled the Bad News Bears, Derek Jeter made his doubters take notice. The Captain, who had driven a double off the wall the previous night, smashed a pair of long home runs to lead the Yankees to a come from behind12-5 victory over the Texas Rangers.

It was all part of a five-home run power display put on by the Yankees, who snapped out of their offensive doldrums in a big way. Francisco Cervelli capped things off with a grand slam in a six run 7th inning that put the game away. (Afterwards Cervelli candidly admitted he didn't realize the bases were loaded).

But Jeter was the story on Sunday, a day in which he had four hits in a game for the first time since August 4th of last season and hit his first home run since last August 24 (According to the Elias Sports Bureau - the 259 ABs was the second longest drought of his career). With the Yankees trailing 4-2 in the 5th, Jeter hit a David Bush fastball close to 400 ft. over the right center wall.

With the game tied at four apiece in the 7th, Jeter went even deeper, this time off of the Yankees favorite left-handed punching bag, Arthur Rhodes. Jeter had his first multi-HR game since last June when he hit a Rhodes fastball well beyond the 407-ft. in right-center, about 25 ft to the left of his previous blast, to put the Yankees ahead for good. It was Jeter's fourth hit of the game and pumped his average up to .281 (he would finish the day at .276 after going hitless in his final two at-bats).

Jeter wasn't the only one hitting the long ball on Mother's Day though. In the 7th inning alone, Curtis Granderson followed Jeter's second home run with his team leading 11th, Cervelli hit his grand slam, and Mark Teixeira smacked a 2-run shot, his ninth.

Sabathia picked up his third win despite a six inning, five run (three were earned), four walk performance. The Yankees were sloppy in the field, officially charged with four errors, but made many more physical and mental errors in the game.

Luckily for his teammates Derek Jeter was his old self, at least for one day anyway. And you can bet that when the Yankees return home to face the Kansas City Royals on Tuesday some of the "Doubting Dereks" will be giving him a big hand his first time at bat.

A-Rod Avoids The Mound, Steps on Home Plate

Alex Rodriguez left his mark in Oakland's Alameda Coliseum last night and it wasn't because he stepped on someone's mound. A-Rod crept closer to 600 career home runs with a pair of blasts in the Yankees 6-1 win over the A's. CC Sabathia tossed 7+ innings for his 11th win, but this game was all about his third baseman.

A-Rod received a joke gift basket from former nemesis Dallas Braden, but it was A-Rod who had the biggest gift for his teammates. With the bases loaded in the 3rd, Rodriguez crushed a Trevor Cahill pitch for his 21st career grand slam. He later added a solo home run to give him 597 blasts in his career.

Unfortunately, there hasn't been a lot of ballyhoo about the milestone, and that has to be linked directly to A-Rod's admission of steroid use last year. It remains to be seen how both the Yankees and MLB will handle the feat.

Sabathia handled the A's just fine. Though he didn't have his best command, he allowed just one run and struck out 10, and is now 30-11 as a Yankee.

Notes

Jorge Posada had the catcher's gear back on last night after missing one game with a sprained ring finger.

Robinson Cano entered the HR Derby at next week's All-Star game much to the chagrin of his manager and hitting coach. But Joe Girardi and Kevin Long have to be pleased today after Cano backed out of the contest with a minor back issue. I'm sure it's very minor.

A-Rod has driven in 16 runs in his last 10 games.

photo courtesy of NY Daily News

Home Run Royalty

He was born with home run bloodlines, but Prince Fielder has become his own man and very much his own home run hitter. Last night he captured the 2009 All-Star Home Run Derby in one of the longest, most boring nights in the event's history.

Fielder is quietly having a magnificent season. It hasn't caught the attention of the baseball world due to Fielder's All-Star teammate Albert Pujols, whose 32 HR and 87 RBI dwarf everyone. But the Prince of Milwaukee has hit 22 home runs and driven in 78 runs of his own.

But unless an injury or a fantastic second half by the Brewers occurs, Fielder will watch as someone else, likely Pujols, hoists the NL MVP trophy.

As for the competition, I have to admit right off the bat (no pun intended) that I did not watch much of it. What I did watch was boring. I even shut it off before it was over.

It went on for an interminable amount of time and I had to have the sound off most of the time so I didn't have to hear ESPN's version of the 3 Stooges - Chris Berman, Joe Morgan, and Steve Phillips.

Since the game was in St. Louis, the fans obviously wanted Pujols to win, but he fell well short. In fact, he wouldn't have even advanced past the initial round if not for a fan's assistance (the name Jeffrey Maier is once again being mentioned everywhere).

There were some titanic blasts- Fielder hit one 503 ft., but there was no overwhelming sense of awe like there was when Josh Hamilton did his best to completely leave the yard in Yankee Stadium last year. Maybe that was part of the problem- last year's derby was so tremendous with Justin Morneau and Hamilton going toe to toe in the final season at the old Yankee Stadium, that maybe the event peaked.

As we made our comments known on Twitter last night and shared opinions and views with those we follow and those who follow us, one thing became crystal clear. The event has to be changed or people are not going to tune in.

Not acting like a Big Daddy

Tip of the hat to Jane Heller (aka She-Fan) for letting me know about the rift between Fielder and his Dad, "Big Daddy" Cecil Fielder. I had no idea there was an issue. Did a little research this morning and found that Cecil is a compulsive gambler and blew Prince's $200,000 signing bonus.

It's a real shame. I remember when Cecil was in Detroit and had Prince, who was about 10 or 12 then, there with him. Sports Illustrated had done a piece on it. Hopefully they can resolve their issues and Cecil can get some help.

To the Moon Alice

The Minnesota Twins' Justin Morneau walked away with the Home Run Derby trophy last night, but the Texas Rangers' Josh Hamilton walked away with the crowd and the television viewing audience.

Though he had clearly tired in the final round, Hamilton put on an unbelievable display in the contest's first round. Not only did he hit 28 dingers (eclipsing then Phillies' Bobby Abreu's 24 in 2004), but most of them were tape measure shots. Hamilton said he'd like to try to be the first one to hit a ball out of a Yankee Stadium (Josh Gibson legends aside), and he came awfully close. One shot hit high atop the back of the right-center field bleachers, stunning everyone watching.

Hamilton also hit the back of the black-painted bleachers in center and hit several moon shots to unsuspecting fans well up in the upper deck in right field. He hit for what seemed like 3 hours as one ball after another easily left the park. At one point commentator Joe Morgan (who was probably muttering this guy's not as good as Johnny Bench) thought he had finally made an out and the ball landed in the upper deck.

Hamilton's story has been well documented by now and you will here more about it again tonight. But he also made the classiest move of this gala by bringing along 71-yr old Clay Counsil, who threw batting practice to Hamilton when he was growing up. Counsil was nervous, but it didn't show as he poured in one strike after another (54 pitches alone in the first round) and Hamilton hit one after another into the seats.

Chris Berman wasn't even overly obnoxious. All in all, it was a great show.

To the Moon Alice

The Minnesota Twins' Justin Morneau walked away with the Home Run Derby trophy last night, but the Texas Rangers' Josh Hamilton walked away with the crowd and the television viewing audience.

Though he had clearly tired in the final round, Hamilton put on an unbelievable display in the contest's first round. Not only did he hit 28 dingers (eclipsing then Phillies' Bobby Abreu's 24 in 2004), but most of them were tape measure shots. Hamilton said he'd like to try to be the first one to hit a ball out of a Yankee Stadium (Josh Gibson legends aside), and he came awfully close. One shot hit high atop the back of the right-center field bleachers, stunning everyone watching.

Hamilton also hit the back of the black-painted bleachers in center and hit several moon shots to unsuspecting fans well up in the upper deck in right field. He hit for what seemed like 3 hours as one ball after another easily left the park. At one point commentator Joe Morgan (who was probably muttering this guy's not as good as Johnny Bench) thought he had finally made an out and the ball landed in the upper deck.

Hamilton's story has been well documented by now and you will here more about it again tonight. But he also made the classiest move of this gala by bringing along 71-yr old Clay Counsil, who threw batting practice to Hamilton when he was growing up. Counsil was nervous, but it didn't show as he poured in one strike after another (54 pitches alone in the first round) and Hamilton hit one after another into the seats.

Chris Berman wasn't even overly obnoxious. All in all, it was a great show.

The Daily Yankeeland - 7/15

The Home Run Derby can get quite dull, but last night's display by Josh Hamilton was beyond phenomenal. Reggie Jackson threw out the ceremonial first pitch to Derek Jeter. More on that later though.

A celebrity softball game was played on Saturday as part of the festivities. In addition to actors, actresses, and comedians, the teams included hall of fame players Goose Gossage, Gary Carter, Paul Molitor, Wade Boggs, Rollie Fingers, George Brett, and Dave Winfield, and former Yankees Paul O'Neill and Tino Martinez.

Never in our wildest imagination would we ever have expected to hear a (Whoopi) Goldberg to (Billy) Crystal to Tino Martinez, 4-6-3 double play, but it did in fact happen.

Paul O'Neill brought back some memories with a tremendous 3-run home run home run that easily cleared the temporary fence and landed well out into the territory Paulie used to roam. Boggs also homered.

ESPN's Kenny Mayne, by far, was the worst player on either side (though Chris Rock struck out), playing a couple of fly balls like he was Pele. Maybe worse was the fact that he's just not funny any more.

And despite the fact that she wore a Red Sox hat and wasn't very good, Hollywood reporter Maria Menounos looked quite hot.

Phil Hughes threw a 35-pitch mound session on Monday, made up of 25 fastballs and 10 curves.

Johnny Damon was supposed to hit off a tee yesterday, but held off due to soreness in his shoulder.

Brian Bruney threw 15 pitches in a scoreless inning for the Trenton Thunder last night.
Hideki Matsui continues to hit, but has not been cleared to run yet.
Alex Rodriguez received trophies for getting the most votes in the American League and the most votes over all. No truth to the rumor that he "Vogued" when he accepted them.

Kudos to the YES Network for their magnificent coverage on the life and death of Bobby Murcer. It was point on. Tasteful, respectful, and extremely well produced. Great job guys!

The Daily Yankeeland - 7/15

The Home Run Derby can get quite dull, but last night's display by Josh Hamilton was beyond phenomenal. Reggie Jackson threw out the ceremonial first pitch to Derek Jeter. More on that later though.

A celebrity softball game was played on Saturday as part of the festivities. In addition to actors, actresses, and comedians, the teams included hall of fame players Goose Gossage, Gary Carter, Paul Molitor, Wade Boggs, Rollie Fingers, George Brett, and Dave Winfield, and former Yankees Paul O'Neill and Tino Martinez.

Never in our wildest imagination would we ever have expected to hear a (Whoopi) Goldberg to (Billy) Crystal to Tino Martinez, 4-6-3 double play, but it did in fact happen.

Paul O'Neill brought back some memories with a tremendous 3-run home run home run that easily cleared the temporary fence and landed well out into the territory Paulie used to roam. Boggs also homered.

ESPN's Kenny Mayne, by far, was the worst player on either side (though Chris Rock struck out), playing a couple of fly balls like he was Pele. Maybe worse was the fact that he's just not funny any more.

And despite the fact that she wore a Red Sox hat and wasn't very good, Hollywood reporter Maria Menounos looked quite hot.

Phil Hughes threw a 35-pitch mound session on Monday, made up of 25 fastballs and 10 curves.

Johnny Damon was supposed to hit off a tee yesterday, but held off due to soreness in his shoulder.

Brian Bruney threw 15 pitches in a scoreless inning for the Trenton Thunder last night.
Hideki Matsui continues to hit, but has not been cleared to run yet.
Alex Rodriguez received trophies for getting the most votes in the American League and the most votes over all. No truth to the rumor that he "Vogued" when he accepted them.

Kudos to the YES Network for their magnificent coverage on the life and death of Bobby Murcer. It was point on. Tasteful, respectful, and extremely well produced. Great job guys!

Giambi Says No Thanks

According to the Journal News' Peter Abraham, Jason Giambi became the first major leaguer to be invited to participate in the home run derby despite not being on the All-Star team. Giambi said, "no thanks", and who can blame him. He would be giving up spending 3 days at home in Las Vegas to hang around for 2 hours on Monday night.

Giambi Says No Thanks

According to the Journal News' Peter Abraham, Jason Giambi became the first major leaguer to be invited to participate in the home run derby despite not being on the All-Star team. Giambi said, "no thanks", and who can blame him. He would be giving up spending 3 days at home in Las Vegas to hang around for 2 hours on Monday night.

Fall into the GAB

The ball is flying out of the yard today in Cincinnati's Great American Ballpark (GAB). Well, for the Reds anyway. Through 7 innings they've slugged 7 of them, with 3 of them by Joey Votto.

The Reds smacked 4 in the 2nd inning alone. Votto and Adam Dunn went back-to-back to start the inning. Edwin Encarnacion made an out, but Paul Bako then went deep. With 2 outs and a man on, Jerry Hairston Jr. made it a quartet with a 2-run shot off of a shell shocked Jon Lieber.

Brandon Phillips and Votto hit back-to-back shots to start the 5th. One inning later it was Votto again with a 2-run homer. And Votto made a little like Reggie Jackson. 3 home runs off of 3 different pitchers.

Fall into the GAB

The ball is flying out of the yard today in Cincinnati's Great American Ballpark (GAB). Well, for the Reds anyway. Through 7 innings they've slugged 7 of them, with 3 of them by Joey Votto.

The Reds smacked 4 in the 2nd inning alone. Votto and Adam Dunn went back-to-back to start the inning. Edwin Encarnacion made an out, but Paul Bako then went deep. With 2 outs and a man on, Jerry Hairston Jr. made it a quartet with a 2-run shot off of a shell shocked Jon Lieber.

Brandon Phillips and Votto hit back-to-back shots to start the 5th. One inning later it was Votto again with a 2-run homer. And Votto made a little like Reggie Jackson. 3 home runs off of 3 different pitchers.

All-Star Baseball

We absolutely loved All-Star Baseball. It was much better than Strat-o-matic in our opinion. We couldn't get enough.

"What are you still doing up?"

"It's the 12th inning"

"Go to bed already"

"We'll be done soon"

Oh how many times that snippet of conversation was repeated over the years. It's amazing we never suffered an elbow or finger injury from all the times we hit that spinner.

The All-Star game will also be returning to the Bronx this summer for the first time since 1977. And you better be ready to spend a small fortune if you want to take part.

MLB has set up a registration for the chance to buy tickets to the game, home run derby, and futures game. The registration period started yesterday and runs through June 15.

Home Run Derby tickets range from $100 (bleachers) to $650 for premium box seats. The Futures game can run you anywhere from will run $50 - $225, and the big game itself will cost you from $150 (bleachers) to $725 for the boxes. First born child need not be included. This of course does not include food, transportation, and merchandise.

All-Star Baseball

We absolutely loved All-Star Baseball. It was much better than Strat-o-matic in our opinion. We couldn't get enough.

"What are you still doing up?"

"It's the 12th inning"

"Go to bed already"

"We'll be done soon"

Oh how many times that snippet of conversation was repeated over the years. It's amazing we never suffered an elbow or finger injury from all the times we hit that spinner.

The All-Star game will also be returning to the Bronx this summer for the first time since 1977. And you better be ready to spend a small fortune if you want to take part.

MLB has set up a registration for the chance to buy tickets to the game, home run derby, and futures game. The registration period started yesterday and runs through June 15.

Home Run Derby tickets range from $100 (bleachers) to $650 for premium box seats. The Futures game can run you anywhere from will run $50 - $225, and the big game itself will cost you from $150 (bleachers) to $725 for the boxes. First born child need not be included. This of course does not include food, transportation, and merchandise.

A-Rod Hits #499

Leading 3-1 in the 8th, the Yankees just got some insurance via an Alex Rodriguez long ball. Number 499 was a 2-run shot off of a tiring Gil Meche.

A-Rod Hits #499

Leading 3-1 in the 8th, the Yankees just got some insurance via an Alex Rodriguez long ball. Number 499 was a 2-run shot off of a tiring Gil Meche.

Vlad the Impaler

The Home Run Derby was unique at first, now it is kind of boring. Kind of like what happened to the dunk contest in the NBA All-Star festivities. Last night, however, was quite entertaining even with the blowhard of all blowhards, Chris Berman, doing everything he could to ruin it. It appeared that the wind, sun, and the dimensions of the ball park were going to make for a very low scoring contest. But that all changed in the semi

Vlad Guerrero topped Alex Rios in the finals as both players started to wear down from taking so many hacks. Of course Vlad appeared to be tiring in the semi-finals, then went on a rampage that included smoking a ball 503 ft. How can you not like Vlad? He's quiet, easy going, and rakes like crazy.

Rios is a star on the rise and hopefully some more fans will take notice. You don't get a lot of notice playing north of the border.

The same can be said for Matt Holliday who proved that he doesn't have to hit at Coors Field to do damage. He had a phenomenal round in the semis, only to be topped by Vlad and Rios. Holliday didn't even know he was going to participate until yesterday morning as Miguel Cabrera had to withdraw with a shoulder injury.

Albert Pujols was the other semi-finalist, having advanced after a sudden death "swing off" with Justin Morneau.

As for the side show, Joe Morgan and Dusty Baker had fun in the booth, though Baker was encouraging Berman too much with laughter. The oddest thing of the night was Baseball Tonight's Karl Ravetch thanking Berman for letting them be a part of it. WTF!

Peter Gammons interviewed Barroids about all things home run and such. Barroid took the high road concerning Hank Aaron, but took an indirect swipe at Bud Selig for waffling on his decision on whether or not to show up at the ball park.

Barroid had a very long conversation too with A-Rod. Like to have been a fly on the wall for that one.

Kenny Mayne also tried to bring some insight by sitting in a kayak in McCovey Cove. Not only did he not get anywhere near a baseball, he really provided nothing.

Vlad the Impaler

The Home Run Derby was unique at first, now it is kind of boring. Kind of like what happened to the dunk contest in the NBA All-Star festivities. Last night, however, was quite entertaining even with the blowhard of all blowhards, Chris Berman, doing everything he could to ruin it. It appeared that the wind, sun, and the dimensions of the ball park were going to make for a very low scoring contest. But that all changed in the semi

Vlad Guerrero topped Alex Rios in the finals as both players started to wear down from taking so many hacks. Of course Vlad appeared to be tiring in the semi-finals, then went on a rampage that included smoking a ball 503 ft. How can you not like Vlad? He's quiet, easy going, and rakes like crazy.

Rios is a star on the rise and hopefully some more fans will take notice. You don't get a lot of notice playing north of the border.

The same can be said for Matt Holliday who proved that he doesn't have to hit at Coors Field to do damage. He had a phenomenal round in the semis, only to be topped by Vlad and Rios. Holliday didn't even know he was going to participate until yesterday morning as Miguel Cabrera had to withdraw with a shoulder injury.

Albert Pujols was the other semi-finalist, having advanced after a sudden death "swing off" with Justin Morneau.

As for the side show, Joe Morgan and Dusty Baker had fun in the booth, though Baker was encouraging Berman too much with laughter. The oddest thing of the night was Baseball Tonight's Karl Ravetch thanking Berman for letting them be a part of it. WTF!

Peter Gammons interviewed Barroids about all things home run and such. Barroid took the high road concerning Hank Aaron, but took an indirect swipe at Bud Selig for waffling on his decision on whether or not to show up at the ball park.

Barroid had a very long conversation too with A-Rod. Like to have been a fly on the wall for that one.

Kenny Mayne also tried to bring some insight by sitting in a kayak in McCovey Cove. Not only did he not get anywhere near a baseball, he really provided nothing.