Shout It From The Rooftops: Opening Day Is Here! - Lineups

Regular season test 1 of Tanaka's elbow

April 6, 2015. A lovely Spring day that is perfect for the opening of the baseball season at the big Stadium in the Bronx.

The Yankees open with a tough week - three games each with the Toronto Blue Jays and Boston Red Sox.  The Yankees send Masahiro Tanaka to the hill for the opener. It's the first time since he became a Yankees in 2009 that CC Sabathia isn't the Game 1 starter.

The Yankees lineup, which looks very strange without Derek Jeter in the two hole, is

CF Jacoby Ellsbury
LF Brett Gardner
RF Carlos Beltran
1B Mark Teixeira
  C Brian McCann
3B Chase Headley
DH Alex Rodriguez
2B Stephen Drew
SS Didi Gregorius

The Blue Jays go with

SS Jose Reyes
  C Russell Martin
RF Jose Bautista
1B Edwin Encarnacion
3B Josh Donaldson
DH Dioner Navarro
CF Dalton Pompey
LF Kevin Pillar
2B Devon Travis

Let the game begin.

Yankees Closer to Cellar Than Penthouse

Indeed, the decision to watch a movie last night was the correct one. The Yankees who looked foolish at times Friday night, looked foolish for the entire 11-3 loss to the Baltimore Orioles on Saturday's nationally televised game. Starter David Phelps was hammered and didn't make it past the 33r
d inning. It's probably time to try out Ivan Nova again tin that spot.

Suddenly the Bronx Bombers-less are 5 1/2 games out of first and just 2 games out of the AL East basement. Things have take quite a turn in the division over the last two weeks. Like the Yankees, the Boston Rex Sox and Orioles have gone through up and down periods. So much so that despite losing 7 of 10, the Yankees have dropped just two games in the standings.

Meanwhile, everybody's pre-season bandwagon pick, the Toronto Blue Jays, finally came to life. They reeled off 11 straight wins and got back into contention. They did despite the fact that the lowest ERA by a starter (R.A. Dickey) is 4.72. The team is not short on power, though, with Edwin Encarnacion, Jose Bautista, J.P. Arencibia, and Colby Rasmus contributing to the damage.

The Blue Jays are also getting healthy. Jose Reyes is back after being out since April 12 with a badly injured ankle. Though the results have been mixed, Josh Johnson is throwing the ball better after a stint on the DL. The team has also gotten an unexpected boost from Adam Lind (.938 OPS), who has bounced back and forth between the Majors and the minors  when he struggled at the plate.

The Tampa Bay Rays have stayed the course. The team has produced good to great pitching for years, though they end up dealing away the talent when the big money is due. Matt Moore started out the season like a house afire, winning his first eight decisions. Alex Cobb was having a marvelous season until he took a line drive to the head in mid-June. Last year's AL CY Young winner, David Price, will be back from the DL shortly with the hope that he'll throw better than he has all year. (1-4, 5.24 in 9 starts)

The team has called up Wil Myers to help the offense, which still doesn't produce nearly enough. Yet they are still in contention, 6 games back of Boston for the division lead, and 3 1/2 out of the wild card.

The Yankees need to get better fast or Brian Cashman best get some better fill-ins, or this team's season will done by end of July trade deadline.

Con Man Loria Deals Away Another Contract

"Don't get too comfortable here."

When it comes to dirty dealings that are baseball related, it's hard to find anyone lower than Jeffrey "pond scum" Loria. The soon-to-be 72-year old was estimated to be worth a half-billion dollars two years ago, but like most owners of teams, it's never enough.

Loria ditched more salary today when he traded closer/free agent flop Heath Bell, who signed a three year, $27MM deal  prior to the '12 season, to Arizona for infielder Yordy Cabrera.  It further showed the Marlins (few) fans and voters that now that he has his stadium, Loria really doesn't care what product he puts out there.

Of course, Loria was counting on the team to succeed which (he thought) would draw fans. The end game would be to sell the team at an exorbitant price to continue the con. But let's see how it all started.

First, Loria was part of the triumvirate con run by Major League Baseball (check with Sawyer from Lost as to whether this qualifies as a short or long con) that had Florida Marlins owner John Henry take over the Boston Red Sox, while Loria, then owner of the Montreal Expos took over the fish. MLB, under the auspices of used car dealer/Milwaukee stadium con artist Bud Selig (I would trust Larry "Bud" Melman more), then took over the Expos.

The league did nothing with the Expos except eventually move them to Washington, D.C. There they still did nothing until finding a buyer in Ted Lerner (who showed some class the other day by putting a big ad in The Washington Post thanking the fans for a great season).

Henry, meanwhile has enjoyed the fruits of his money up in Boston, while Loria conned the citizens of Florida into building a new ball park in Miami. (Thinking of the way Floridians have handled things the last decade or so makes me think that maybe they deserved it...apologies to all relatives and friends). I'm not going to get into the details again, but you can at least get a recap from Wikipedia.

Most teams get a big bump when a ball park opens, but the Marlins were the exception to the rule. They drew 27,401 per game, which landed them 18th out of 30 teams. It was still an improvement from last season's 19494 per game, which was dead last in the National League/ Most of the time it looked like there were 100 people in attendance.

Prior to the season the Marlins fans must have been thinking, finally we're getting a team with some valuable veterans.  Jose Reyes came over from the Mets on a six year, $106MM  free agent deal. There was Bell of course and pitcher Mark Buehrle, who departed the Chicago White Sox for four years and $58MM.

The Marlins were said to be in negotiations with Albert Pujols and C.J. Wilson as well before both signed with the LA Angels.

This past season was barely halfway through when Loria started the latest fire sale of Marlins players (Former con man owner of the Marlins, Wayne Huizenga paved the way years before after the Marlins captured the '97 World Series.). Pitcher, and free agent after the season, Anibal Sanchez was the first to go, along with infielder Omar Infante, to the Detroit Tigers. Those two must be doing cartwheels right about now. Next was Hanley Ramirez, owed $31.5MM for 2013-2014, who was sent to the LA Dodgers.

Loria entertained offers for Josh Johnson, but held off. That will likely change before or during the season. Johnson will be in the final year of his deal in 2013 and is owed $13.75MM. Reyes and Buehrle could both be dealt as well, esp. Buehrle since he has the shorter, cheaper deal of the two.

All of this dumping, makes the rumored/gossip/joking deal for Alex Rodriguez seem highly improbable (what? A-Rod will bring in maybe another 500 people per game?). Pretty soon the Marlins will be back to over the hill veterans and young prospects that don't belong in the majors yet. And before you know it Giancarlo Stanton will get shipped out of town too.

That's how the con works.

Baseball Digest | Marlins, Reyes, and the SEC

The newly named Miami Marlins have a new stadium, a new uniform, are this close to a new shortstop, and are newly under investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

The former Florida Marlins have already been making a big splash this December with the signing of free agent closer Heath Bell to a three-year, $27 million contract as they prepare for life in their new ballpark. The Marlins made headlines this weekend for good and bad reasons as well. First the good, Miami and free agent shortstop Jose Reyes, one of the hottest commedities on the free agent market, agreed to a six-year, $106MM deal that is contingent on a physical. It's a huge deal for the Marlins, who already have an All-Star in Hanley Ramirez at the position ( Ramirez is likely to be asked to be moved to 3rd base according to Marlins beat writer Joe Capozzi, but what if he balks. Ramirez had difficulty with management and faced criticism last year for his work habits.).

But the Marlins may have some choppy waters ahead of them. Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports reports that a long overdue investigation by the SEC into the Marlins' ability to get a new stadium is underway.

"The Security and Exchange Commission on Thursday launched guided warheads at the Marlins, requesting the team’s financial records, communications with MLB officials including commissioner Bud Selig, minutes of meetings with local government leaders and political campaign-contribution information, according to a report in the Miami Herald.

While the subpoenas issued by the SEC do not explicitly detail the purpose of the investigation, the feds’ motives are evident: They want to understand how, exactly, a group of county commissioners agreed to fund 80 percent of the Marlins new stadium, which cost more than $600 million, without ever seeing the team’s financial records – and whether bribes had anything to do with it."

One does have to wonder what took so long. Passan and others reported on wrong doing back in August when Deadspin.com also revealed the Marlins' balance sheet.

"Miami-Dade County commissioners nevertheless voted 9-4 in favor of taking out loans that will cost the county $2.4 billion over 40 years to help build the stadium in Little Havana, about two miles west of the city. Critics across south Florida panned the deal, which gives the Marlins all stadium-related revenue and imbued the team with a new attitude entering this offseason."

A team that supposedly had financial problems is suddenly pouring out money, hand over fist. First came the 34-yr old Bell's $9MM per year deal and then the nearly $18MM per year for Reyes. And the Marlins aren't done either. Their are said to be ready to make a serious at Albert Pujols', to whom they reportedly made a nine-year offer to in November for somewhere between $200MM and $225MM. Whether they were serious or not, one Marlins' spokesman told reporters the team was hoping to leave the winter meetings with "...4 or 5 new players."

The question is will the SEC come down hard on the Marlins or simply give them a slap on the wrist. And maybe even more importantly, will the fans, who never came to Marlins' games in the old stadium, suddenly start attending them in the new digs. While owner Jeffrey Loria may suddenly field a contender, will fans/taxpayers get over being swindled and show up? It's a question that has no easy answer.

FullCountPitch | Help Wanted: Shortstop

I wouldn’t be surprised if you opened up the pages of the classified ads in today’s Arizona Republic or looked under jobs on their online site and found a listing for a shortstop. Pay based on experience, need to fill position ASAP.

The Diamondbacks, one of the biggest surprises in baseball this season, suffered a huge blow last night when shortstop Stephen Drew fractured his ankle sliding into home plate against the Milwaukee Brewers. Drew is one of the key players on a Diamondbacks team that is just 4.5 games behind San Francisco in the NL West. The Diamondbacks were probably set to be moderate buyers at the deadline and while that is still probably true, their level of interest has certainly gone up a notch.

Drew was fourth on the team with 46 RBI, just four behind Chris Young's team leading 50, and second among shortstops in the National League. Defensive minded shortstops can be found fairly easily, but coming up wiht a player who will pick up the offensive slack left by Drew’s absence won’t be so easy.

So, who replaces Drew?

Read the rest of this free article at FullCountPitch.com

1st Inning, Umps Do In Mets

The Yankees-Mets Subway Series is not what it once was. The media tries to create a buzz and the fans still want to see the opponent beaten to a pulp, but there's not the tension there was earlier in the decade.

That doesn't mean there can't be a tightly contested game that is not without it's controversy. Case in point, last night's meeting between the two teams that resulted in a 5-1 Yankees win. It was just a 3-1 Yankees lead in the 7th inning when Alex Rodriguez pulled off an Oscar worthy performance and umpire Jerry Layne possibly changed the course of events. Mets shortsop Jose Reyes singled off Corey Wade to start the inning and advanced to second on a deep fly out by Justin Turner. When the ball got away from relay man Eduardo Nunez, Reyes broke for third and appeared to beat Nunez's throw to Rodriguez.

But Layne, who had run up the line from home plate, was blocked out by Rodriguez on the play. The Yankees third baseman made a swipe tag and sold it to Layne, who called Reyes out. The only problem was Rodriguez's tag attempt never reached Reyes. The Mets shortstop and third base coach Chip Hale immediately went after Layne, and manager Terry Collins was ejected as he joined the fray.

Instead of a man on third and less than two outs, the Mets had two out and none on and were done. Josh Thole reached on a one out single off Hector Noesi in the 9th prompting Joe Girardi to immediately call on (translation-overreact) Mariano Rivera in a non-save situation to close things out for the Yankees 16th win in 20 games.

As has been customary of late, the Yankees put runs together in the 1st inning. Nick Swisher and Curtis Granderson started the game with back to back singles against starter Jon Niese, and both scored on Mark Teixeira's double to right. Niese finally retired Rodriguez for the first out, but Robinson Cano drilled a double to left for a 3-0 Yankes lead.

Ivan Nova wasn't particulary sharp, but made some big pitches when he needed to. Reyes and Turner began the bottom of the 1st with singles, but Nova got Carlos Beltran to pop out and Dan Murphy to bounce into an inning ending DP. The Mets did get their lone run an inning later on three straight singles by Jason Bay, Ronny Paulino, and Ruben Tejada, but stranded two runners when Niese struck out and Reyes bounced out.

In Nova's 5th and final inning, he retired the first two hitters, but gave up back to back singles to Beltran and Turner and walked Murphy to load the bases. But the right-hander, who won his 8th game, struck out Angel Pagan to escape the threat.

Notes

Alex Rodriguez made a spectacular throw, Jeterian like, when he backhanded a well hit ball and leapt to throw the runner out at first. But he thanked Mark Teixeira after the game for saving him from throwing errors on scoops made my the Gold Glove 1st baseman.

As expected, Derek Jeter will play tonight and tomorrow for the Trenton Thunder. GM Brian Cashman said Jeter will not play the full nine innings this evening.

Bartolo Colon will be activated to start this afternoon's game with Hector Noesi the likely candidate to be sent to the minors. UPDATE 3:40 pm: so much for rumors..Brian Gordon, not Noesi, was sent to Scranton to make room for Colon.

FullCountPitch - Fans Doing An All-Star Job

In 1957, seven Cincinnati Reds players had been voted to start in the All-Star game. Commissioner Ford Frick responded by taking the vote away from the fans. Things are a little better in 2011.

Halley’s Comet, Steak Tartare, total solar eclipses…all three are less rare than baseball fans voting for the proper starters in the annual Major League All-Star game. But this year the average baseball Joe/Josephine is doing a pretty good job of mixing popularity with the deserving player. There are still mistakes of course, though some would argue that they are not errors since it is who the fans want to see. That being said, it is time to take a look at the current positional leaders for this year’s game, which will be played in Phoenix on July 12. (The statistical numbers indicated are accurate entering Sunday’s play unless otherwise indicated. All-Star vote totals are as of June 20.)

Read the rest of this free article at FullCountPitch.com

Adrian Beltre • Adrian Gonzalez • Albert Pujols • Alex Avila • Alex Rodriguez • Brandon Phillips • Brian McCann • Bruce Bochy • Chipper Jones • Curtis Granderson • David Ortiz • David Wright • Derek Jeter • Dustin Pedroia • Joe Mauer • Joey Votto • Jose Bautista • Jose Reyes • Lance Berkman • Matt Holliday • Matt Kemp • Michael Young • Miguel Montero • Pablo Sandoval • Prince Fielder • Robinson Cano • Ron Washington • Russell Martin • Ryan Braun • Ryan Howard • Ryan Zimmerman • Troy Tulowitzki • Victor Martinez

Yankees Bloop and Single Mets To Victory

After a Saturday win over their crosstown rivals that was spurred on by four home runs, the Yankees dinked, blooped, and bounced their past the Mets Sunday afternoon with an eight run 7th inning.

Ivan Nova battled his way through six plus innings, but trailed 3-1 to Mike Pelfrey. That's when the Yankees sluggish offense awoke and not in it's usual manner. Brett Gardner started things off with a single through the box that an angry Pelfrey felt he should have fielded. Pelfrey proceeded to load the bases by walking Chris Dickerson and plunking Francisco Cervelli, who had squared to bunt, in the left shoulder. With Al Leiter in the YES booth, Derek Jeter bounced one back through the middle that, although it didn't take as many hops, reminded everyone of Luis Sojo's 2000 World Series Game 5 winner off the Mets' lefty. The single scored two to tie the game and sent Pelfrey to the showers.

Left-hander Tim Byrdak came on and to everyone's surprise and no one's surprise, team home run leader Curtis Granderson (he hit his 16th home run earlier in the game) laid down a perfect sacrifice bunt to move the runners into scoring position. The Mets opted to intentionally walk Mark Teixeira to load the bases for Alex Rodriguez. Needing one more bases loaded home run to tie Lou Gehrig for the most career grand slams, Rodriguez simply singled off Pedro Beato to plate the go ahead run.

Robinson Cano followed with an RBI single of his own for 5-3 Yankees advantage before Jorge Posada was called out looking on a controversial strike three pitch for the second out...but the Yankees were not through. Gardner got his second hit of the inning, a double off of new pitcher Pat Misch to put the Yankees up 7-3 and the left-handed hitting Dickerson went the other way for a single to drive home the final two runs of the inning.

Luis Ayala picked up his first win as a Yankee after retiring the final batter in the 7th inning. He also pitched a 1-2-3 8th inning before turning things over to Lance Pendleton, who was recalled earlier in the day (Amaury Sanit was sent down).

BD Hot Stove: If I Were A GM… | Baseball Digest

BD Hot Stove: If I Were A GM… | Baseball Digest

I’m just sitting around, keeping warm by the hot stove as we wait for more moves to occur. Things are a little slow right now with the holidays, so maybe it’s time to ponder what moves might occur and some moves I would like to see during the 2011 season.

The Red Sox deal Jon Papelbon for a bat or a starting pitcher. The Red Sox had some discussion with Mariano Rivera then signed closer Bobby Jenks to a two year deal to set up (for now) Papelbon. It’s obvious the front office isn’t happy with Papelbon’s performance and would like to move him even though they insist otherwise. The Red Sox are still trying to sign Brian Fuentes, which would give them another closer/set up guy and plenty of depth to deal Papelbon.

How about a non-move? The Brewers, bolstered by Zack Greinke, Shaun Marcum, and Yovani Gallardo, hold on to Prince Fielder for the entire season.

The Yankees, in need of starting pitching, decide to go all out to land Joakim Soria from the Royals. Soria sets up Rivera as a prelude to taking over as closer one day.

The Mets deal Carlos Beltran and cash to the Brewers as Milwaukee goes all out for a shot at the World Series.

The Mets tire of Jose Reyes‘ inconsistency and work out a mega deal with the Angels. Among the players the Mets receive are Erick Aybar, Brandon Wood, and prospect Garrett Richards.

The Astros continue to clean house and deal Carlos Lee, not getting too much in return, but not having to pay out the entire remainder of his contract either.

The Yankees are rebuffed in numerous attempts to acquire Felix Hernandez or Justin Verlander, and overpay to acquire Fausto Carmona from the Indians.

Derrek Lee has a tremendous comeback season with the Orioles, who then flip him at the deadline for several prospects.

Okay, time for things that are more likely to happen…

Rumors, News, and Transactions

A’s beat reporter Joe Stiglich reports the team is among six clubs interested in reliever Chad Qualls.

According to the Centre Daily Times, the Metrodome roof won’t be fixed until March. That means hundreds of college baseball games will be affected and the Twins annual fan festival will have to find another venue.

Cuba is considering letting some ball players sign with teams in the US in exchange for some money… a lot of money. First things first though, the U.S. would have to lift the embargo on such a maneuver.

AOL Fanhouse has named 19 year outfielder Mike Trout as the top MLB prospect of the year.

SI’s Jon Heyman said the Yankees “checked in” on Rafael Soriano, which just sounds like due diligence.

Time to Call It A Day

There are a number of teams still in the MLB playoff race, but there are a number of teams that should be calling it quits by September 1. That's the day rosters expand and must include players that are to be part of a playoff squad.

A number of teams were buyers at the trade deadline when they clearly shouldn't have been. Between now and 9/1, some of those teams should be looking to waive dead weight and/or trade players to true contenders.

Johnny Damon - The Tigers are dead in the AL Central (9) and Wildcard (14) races. Damon signed a 1 year, $8 million deal in the off-season and is an ideal candidate for the Tigers to move. After a great start in April, Damon absolutely stunk over the next two months before a semi-revival in July. He's started August just 4-22, but perhaps all that could change if he is into a pennant race. Then again he's hitting just .268 against right-handers.

Manny Ramirez - The Dodgers were aggressive at the deadline, getting Ted Lilly among others. But LA is going nowhere. They're 8 back in the NL West and 7 back of division rival San Fran in the Wildcard. Time to throw Manny out there and see if there are takers. The downside of course is that he's on the DL right now with a bad calf. He then aggravated it this past week, but delayed an MRI after feeling claustrophobic. (Not sure why he would have to go in head first for a calf?) Because of the uncertainty, Manny being Nuthead is likely to pass through waivers unclaimed, allowing the Dodgers to move him to his next port of call.

Adam Dunn - The Nats were never in it, but if a team has claimed (as rumored) Dunn, Washington is crazy not to move the big slugger. You can always bring him back, but getting nothing for him other than draft picks is absurd. Dunn blasted a pair of 3-run blasts last night, causing GMs everywhere to salivate.

The Mets - Sorry Mets fans, but you know better than anyone that this team is finished. Some minor moves today- released Alex Cora, sent down Jesus Feliciano, called up Fernando Martinez and Ruben Tejada. It's time for the Mets to start making major moves, most likely in the off-season. But if you can move Jose Reyes with good results, go for it. The Mets need a change and it should start with their oft-injured, oft-under performing shortstop. Someone would probably take Jeff Francoeur. Unfortunately, no wants Luis Castillo.

Hideki Matsui - Oh beloved Godzilla; World Series hero; poor 2010 performer. Sorry for that last one, but so true. With the Angels getting further and further behind in the AL West and Wildcard races (10, 12 respectively), Tony Reagins should be moving "The Hideki" to a contender. Juan Rivera too. Torii Hunter too. The once proud centerfielder said he can't handle the position any more. With two years left on Hunter's deal, Reagins should look for a taker.

Yankees Power Their Way To Subway Win

Perhaps it was the ineffective Phillies offense rubbing off on them or more likely an ill-time slump. Whatever the case the Yankees somewhat snapped out of their offensive doldrums today and powered their was past the crosstown Mets 5-3.

Jose Reyes hit a pair of home runs off of Phil Hughes to give the Mets a 3-1 lead, but Mark Teixeira went deep with a man aboard against Mike Pelfrey in the 3rd to tie it. One inning later Curtis Granderson replicated the feat to give the Yankees a 5-3 lead.

That was all that Hughes and the pen would need. The right hander joined Ubaldo Jimenez and David Price as the only major leaguers with double figure victories. Hughes allowed just three hits over his final four innings and retired the side in order in his final inning, the seventh.

After losing three straight, an audible grown could be heard when Reyes homered on the second pitch of the ball game to put the Mets on top 1-0. The Yankees tied it up in the bottom half of the inning when Brett Gardner, hitting lead off with Derek Jeter sitting with a bad heel, and Nick Swisher stroked back to back singles and Teixeira bounced in a double play.

Hughes walked the nine hitter, Henry Blanco, with one out in the 3rd and it came back to bite him when Reyes took him deep for the second time. Hughes followed the home run with a walk to Angel Pagan, but Jorge Posada shut down a bigger inning by throwing Pagan attempting to steal second base.

Gardner set the table again in the 3rd with an infield single and moved into scoring position on Swisher's ground out. Teixeira took out his 1st inning frustration on a hanging Pelfrey change up and sent it into the right-center field seats for his 11th home run of the season.

Posada worked a walk to start the 4th and Granderson followed with a long home run to right when Pelfrey left a curve ball in the center fielder's wheelhouse.

Joba Chamberlain bounced back from a rough outing against the Phillies and tossed a scoreless 8th inning. He did give up a 2-out double to Pagan, but struck out David Wright by throwing a steady diet of sliders.

Mariano Rivera tossed a 1-2-3 9th inning to pick up his 16th save, and first since June 11.

Notes

Derek Jeter is expected to be back in the lineup for Sunday's game after bruising his heel on first base Friday night. Alex Rodriguez DH'ed so Ramiro Pena started at shortstop with Kevin Russo taking a turn at third base.

photo courtesy of NY Daily News

2009 NL East Preview

The Philadelphia Phillies defeated the Tampa Bay Rays last fall to win their first word championship in 28 years. The Phillies have also overtaken the New York Mets the last two seasons to win the NL East division. This year should be no different.

NL EAST

Phillies
Mets
Braves
Marlins
Nationals

The Phillies are the team to beat in the NL East, but there are two arms that could change all that. Ace Cole Hamels struggled with a bad elbow all spring, though he did pronounce himself ready to go after an outing on Sunday. Closer Brad Lidge was perfect in 41 save attempts last season. If one or both struggle this season, so will the Phillies. But they're still the best team in the division.

Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, and Jimmy Rollins are as good as any three infielders in MLB. Pat Burrell is out, but the more consistent Raul Ibanez is in. The rotation has Joe Blanton for an entire season. Ryan Madson emerged as an outstanding set up man last season.

The Mets have a lot to prove to their fans after two straight collapses that landed them on the outside looking in at playoff time. Johan Santana is still the best pitcher in baseball and Mike Pelfrey came into his own last season. The Mets re-signed erratic free agent lefty Oliver Perez, who was booed off the mound in Saturday's exhibition game at Citi Field. John Maine was awful in the second half of last season and hasn't totally regained his form this spring. The fifth spot in the rotation, for now, goes to retread Livan Hernandez, but rookie Jon Niese could step in at some point.

On offense, it all still falls on Carlos Beltran, Carlos Delgado, David Wright, and Jose Reyes. Wright and Reyes can't pull a disappearing act down the stretch like they did the last two seasons. The bullpen is a huge upgrade over last year with the acquisitions of closers Francisco Rodriguez and (now set up man) J.J. Putz. The pen is what will win the wildcard for the Mets.

The Atlanta Braves were impressive in their first game last night, beating the Phillies 4-1. Jordan Schafer homered in his first major league at-bat, and Brian McCann and Jeff Francouer also went deep. Derek Lowe threw an outstanding eight innings and tops a solid rotation with Jair Jurjjens, Javier Vazquez, and Japanese rookie Kenshin Kawakami. We are concerned that the top two men out of the pen, Mike Gonzalez and Rafael Soriano, both have a history of arm problems. But alll that being said, the Braves will be very competitive.

The Marlins have a mix of good young players that led to a third place finish last season. They should be in the .500 range again this season, but will fall behind the Braves. Hanley Ramirez is one of the most exciting players to watch and this could be the year that Cameron Maybin develops into a star.

We'll just say this- the Nationals won't sniff fourth place.

Yanks' Drama Mama Strikes Again

Is Alex Rodriguez really that starved for attention that he needs to continually do and say things to draw attention to himself? They can be little innocuous things, like what occurred last night, but they cause him trouble nonetheless.

Watching Jose Reyes fly around the bases during the Dominican Republic's workout, A-Rod observed,

"I wish he was leading off on our team."

It was a simple statement, but a statement that took a shot at Johnny Damon and Derek Jeter, the Yankees pair of lead off men. A-Rod clearly has not learned to think before he speaks. Because while the statement is not a big deal, it does open a can of worms. Why?

Because, of course, today the media all asked Derek Jeter for a reaction. Jeter wisely responded,

"I've got nothing to say, man."

After the usual awkward silence hung in the air for a few seconds, Jeter said with a smile, "That about covers it."

Perhaps the dictionary should now look like this:

doofus

One entry found.
doo·fus
Pronunciation: \ˈdü-fəs, -fis\
Function:noun
Inflected Form(s):plural doo·fus·es \-fə-siz\

Etymology:perhaps alteration of 1goof Date:1960

slang : a stupid, incompetent, or foolish person

The Pennant Race - 9/26

The Mets may very well have saved their season last night. Heavy rains could have an affect on this weekend's series with the Marlins, but the Mets would have been in even deeper water, or something else, had they not won last night's game with the Cubs. Trailing 6-3, the Mets rallied back and then won the game in the bottom of the 9th when Carlos Beltran's line drive ticked off the end of the glove of a diving Micah Hoffpauir at 1st base. Jose Reyes raced home with the winning run in a 7-6 victory. It overshadowed a big game by Hoffpauir, who was playing in just his 31st big league game. The rookie homered twice, doubled, and drove in 5 runs.

The Mets bullpen, for once, was key, holding the Cubs over the final 2.2 innings after a shaky start from Pedro Martinez. It kept the Shea inhabitants in a tie with the Milwaukee Brewers, who also won in dramatic fashion, for the wildcard lead, and moved them to within one game of the idle Phillies in the NL East. Martinez left to a standing ovation, which he admittedly realized could be his last.

Knowing that the Mets had already won, the Brewers were locked in a 1-1 battle with the Pirates. The key to the 10th inning win came down to one at-bat. With two men aboard and two outs, Dale Sveum sent up Craig Counsell to pinch-hit for Bill Hall. Rookie Jesse Chavez walked him, meaning he had to face Ryan Braun. Moments later Bernie Brewer was going nuts, as was the rest of Miller Park, as Braun hit a walk off grand slam. Kudos to the Brewers pitchers, all eight of them, that held the Pirates to one run.

Bullpens were huge in the White Sox-Twins game last night as well. The White Sox built up a 6-1 and looked like they would remain in first place in the AL Central, but the Twins rallied against the Chicago pen, while their own relievers shut down the White Sox after the 4th inning.

An RBI triple by Carlos Gomez and a run scoring double by Denard Span cut the White Sox lead in half in the fourth. Down 6-4 in the eighth inning, the two struck again. Gomez's RBI single off of Bobby Jenks narrowed the deficit to a run, and moments later Span tripled to score Gomez and knot the game at 6-6. In the 10th, Nick Punto drew a one out walk, moved to second on Gomez's ground out, and advanced to third on Jenks' wild pitch. After Span was intentionally walked, Alexi Casilla singled home Punto with the game winner and vaulted the Twins into first place by a half-game.

The Dodgers clinched the NL West when the Cardinals pounded the Diamondbacks 12-3 Thursday afternoon, but held off celebrating until after they lost last night's game with the Padres, 7-5. Joe Torre and Manny Ramirez made the difference with this bunch, which took advantage of a collapsing Dbacks squad.

The Red Sox moved back to within 2 games of the Rays with a 6-1 win over the Indians. Jon Lester and three relievers combined on a 2-hitter and Kevin Youkilis hit his 28th home run. Meanwhile, the Rays fell to the Tigers, 7-5, as Scott Kazmir was tagged for four of the five home runs Detroit hit. Rookie Armando Galarraga won his 13th game for the Tigers.


News and Notes

The Padres clung to their slim playoff hopes with an 8-6 win over the Reds. Roy Oswalt won his 17th game. Oswalt went 8-2, 1.70 in his last 10 starts.

Vlad Guerrero's 3-run home run yesterday gave him at least 90 RBI for the 10th time in his career.

The Pennant Race - 9/26

The Mets may very well have saved their season last night. Heavy rains could have an affect on this weekend's series with the Marlins, but the Mets would have been in even deeper water, or something else, had they not won last night's game with the Cubs. Trailing 6-3, the Mets rallied back and then won the game in the bottom of the 9th when Carlos Beltran's line drive ticked off the end of the glove of a diving Micah Hoffpauir at 1st base. Jose Reyes raced home with the winning run in a 7-6 victory. It overshadowed a big game by Hoffpauir, who was playing in just his 31st big league game. The rookie homered twice, doubled, and drove in 5 runs.

The Mets bullpen, for once, was key, holding the Cubs over the final 2.2 innings after a shaky start from Pedro Martinez. It kept the Shea inhabitants in a tie with the Milwaukee Brewers, who also won in dramatic fashion, for the wildcard lead, and moved them to within one game of the idle Phillies in the NL East. Martinez left to a standing ovation, which he admittedly realized could be his last.

Knowing that the Mets had already won, the Brewers were locked in a 1-1 battle with the Pirates. The key to the 10th inning win came down to one at-bat. With two men aboard and two outs, Dale Sveum sent up Craig Counsell to pinch-hit for Bill Hall. Rookie Jesse Chavez walked him, meaning he had to face Ryan Braun. Moments later Bernie Brewer was going nuts, as was the rest of Miller Park, as Braun hit a walk off grand slam. Kudos to the Brewers pitchers, all eight of them, that held the Pirates to one run.

Bullpens were huge in the White Sox-Twins game last night as well. The White Sox built up a 6-1 and looked like they would remain in first place in the AL Central, but the Twins rallied against the Chicago pen, while their own relievers shut down the White Sox after the 4th inning.

An RBI triple by Carlos Gomez and a run scoring double by Denard Span cut the White Sox lead in half in the fourth. Down 6-4 in the eighth inning, the two struck again. Gomez's RBI single off of Bobby Jenks narrowed the deficit to a run, and moments later Span tripled to score Gomez and knot the game at 6-6. In the 10th, Nick Punto drew a one out walk, moved to second on Gomez's ground out, and advanced to third on Jenks' wild pitch. After Span was intentionally walked, Alexi Casilla singled home Punto with the game winner and vaulted the Twins into first place by a half-game.

The Dodgers clinched the NL West when the Cardinals pounded the Diamondbacks 12-3 Thursday afternoon, but held off celebrating until after they lost last night's game with the Padres, 7-5. Joe Torre and Manny Ramirez made the difference with this bunch, which took advantage of a collapsing Dbacks squad.

The Red Sox moved back to within 2 games of the Rays with a 6-1 win over the Indians. Jon Lester and three relievers combined on a 2-hitter and Kevin Youkilis hit his 28th home run. Meanwhile, the Rays fell to the Tigers, 7-5, as Scott Kazmir was tagged for four of the five home runs Detroit hit. Rookie Armando Galarraga won his 13th game for the Tigers.


News and Notes

The Padres clung to their slim playoff hopes with an 8-6 win over the Reds. Roy Oswalt won his 17th game. Oswalt went 8-2, 1.70 in his last 10 starts.

Vlad Guerrero's 3-run home run yesterday gave him at least 90 RBI for the 10th time in his career.

Yankees vs. Rangers - July 1

First game of July and the Yankees find themselves 6.5 games behind the Tampa Rays in the AL East and 5 games behind the Boston Red Sox in the AL Wild Card race. They also have a two game losing streak that has dropped them back to 5 games over .500 (44-39). Joba Chamberlain (2-2, 2.03) will attempt to turn things around tonight when he faces veteran Kevin Millwood (5-4, 5.08).

Chamberlain has never faced any member of the Rangers. Millwood is 1-4, 4.82 in 6 career starts against the Yankees.

Yankees vs. Millwood

Abreu 14-39 (.359) 1 HR 4 RBI
Cabrera 4-9 (.444)
Cano 4-10 (.400) 1 RBI
Damon 3-15 (.200) 1 RBI
Giambi 5-11 (.455) 2 HR 3 RBI
Jeter 5-19 (.263) 2 RBI
Moeller 0-4
Molina 1-9 (.111)
Posada 1-10 (.100)
Rodriguez 6-14 (.429) 1 HR 2 RBI


Tonight's lineups courtesy of Peter Abraham, including Derek Jeter taking a rare night off:

Damon DH
Gardner LF
Abreu RF
Rodriguez 3B
Giambi 1B
Posada C
Cano 2B
Betemit SS
Cabrera CF

As expected, A-Rod said he will not participate in this year's Home Run Derby. No word if Madonna will.

According to the NY Post, Hideki Matsui may start taking BP soon.

"He came in today and he looked great. Keeping him off it really helped," said manager Joe Girardi. "[Trainer] Gene Monahan came up to me and said he looks tremendous and we talked about him taking BP in a couple of days. So I think the actual rest where he wasn't traveling to the ballpark and taking BP and trying to test it I think really helped calm it down."

The Post's Kevn Kiernan also has a piece on how Jose Reyes should watch Derek Jeter to learn how to conduct himself on the field.

Mark Feinsand of the News has some more info on Brett Gardner. Joe Girardi said Gardner is "here to play". Of course after Saturday's game he said Kei Igawa was going to be part of the bullpen. He was sent down before the next game.

Yankees vs. Rangers - July 1

First game of July and the Yankees find themselves 6.5 games behind the Tampa Rays in the AL East and 5 games behind the Boston Red Sox in the AL Wild Card race. They also have a two game losing streak that has dropped them back to 5 games over .500 (44-39). Joba Chamberlain (2-2, 2.03) will attempt to turn things around tonight when he faces veteran Kevin Millwood (5-4, 5.08).

Chamberlain has never faced any member of the Rangers. Millwood is 1-4, 4.82 in 6 career starts against the Yankees.

Yankees vs. Millwood

Abreu 14-39 (.359) 1 HR 4 RBI
Cabrera 4-9 (.444)
Cano 4-10 (.400) 1 RBI
Damon 3-15 (.200) 1 RBI
Giambi 5-11 (.455) 2 HR 3 RBI
Jeter 5-19 (.263) 2 RBI
Moeller 0-4
Molina 1-9 (.111)
Posada 1-10 (.100)
Rodriguez 6-14 (.429) 1 HR 2 RBI


Tonight's lineups courtesy of Peter Abraham, including Derek Jeter taking a rare night off:

Damon DH
Gardner LF
Abreu RF
Rodriguez 3B
Giambi 1B
Posada C
Cano 2B
Betemit SS
Cabrera CF

As expected, A-Rod said he will not participate in this year's Home Run Derby. No word if Madonna will.

According to the NY Post, Hideki Matsui may start taking BP soon.

"He came in today and he looked great. Keeping him off it really helped," said manager Joe Girardi. "[Trainer] Gene Monahan came up to me and said he looks tremendous and we talked about him taking BP in a couple of days. So I think the actual rest where he wasn't traveling to the ballpark and taking BP and trying to test it I think really helped calm it down."

The Post's Kevn Kiernan also has a piece on how Jose Reyes should watch Derek Jeter to learn how to conduct himself on the field.

Mark Feinsand of the News has some more info on Brett Gardner. Joe Girardi said Gardner is "here to play". Of course after Saturday's game he said Kei Igawa was going to be part of the bullpen. He was sent down before the next game.

Perez Leaves Yankees Left Out

Oliver Perez has always had the ability to be a successful pitcher in the major leagues. But whether it be his head, his arm, his heart, who knows what else, he has always had trouble keeping it together. Sandy Koufax one minute, Steve Trout the next. But not when Perez pitches against the Yankees. He dominated them once again yesterday at Shea Stadium as the Mets salvaged the finale of the three games played at home.

In an attempt to offset the left-handed throwing Perez, Joe Girardi stacked the lineup with right-handers. What that meant was Jorge Posada at 1st base, .225 hitting Jose Molina behind the plate, rookie Justin Christian in right field, and Wilson Betemit (.259 against lefties) at 2nd base. Throw in a pitcher who can't hit and you can see it wasn't a strong lineup.

You would assume that the Yankees lefties struggled against Perez, but that was not true with the exception of Johnny Damon, who started in left field and was 1-8, and Bobby Abreu who sat on the bench with an o-10. However, Robinson Cano, who has been hot lately, was 4-10 against Perez, while Jason Giambi had a hit in just 2 at-bats. No matter how you slice it, things didn't work out.

Perez limited the Yankees to just 3 hits over 7 innings, while striking out 8. His lone mistake was a solo home run hit by Betemit in his final inning of work. Darrell Rasner, meanwhile, continued to struggle.

He worked out of a 2-on, 2-out jam in the 1st inning, but the Mets broke through in the 2nd. Endy Chavez and Brian Schneider put together back to back 1-out singles, and Perez sacrificed them up a base. Luis Castillo hit a slow chopper up the middle and just beat Derek Jeter's throw to 1st for a 1-0 lead. Rasner retired David Wright on a chopper to Alex Rodriguez to escape further trouble.

In the 3rd, Carlos Delgado hit a tremendous solo home run off of the scoreboard in center field for a 2-0 lead. It was Delgado's first hit since his 9 RBI outburst in the first game on Friday.

The Yankees had a chance in the 4th, when Derek Jeter single with one out and moved to 2nd base on a wild pitch. But Perez struck out A-Rod swinging and retired Posada on a ground out to Castillo at 2nd.

Rasner was gone after 5 and Dave Robertson came on for his major league debut. He became the 3rd Yankee, along with Joba Chamberlain and Ian Kennedy, to reach the majors after being drafted in 2006. He struck out his first batter, Perez, but gave up back to back singles to Reyes and Castillo and wild pitched them into scoring position. Wright delivered Reyes with a sac fly before Robertson retired Beltran on an inning ending fly out.

Pedro Feliciano retired the Yankees in order in the 8th and then it was up to Billy Wagner to close things out. Jeter lead off with a single and moved to 2nd base on a wild pitch, but he would be left there. A-Rod just missed one, hitting a deep fly that Chavez caught at the edge of the warning track in left-center, well short of the 358-ft sign. Posada then grounded out and Betemit struck out looking to seal the deal.


News and Notes

Oliver Perez is now 5-1, 2.61 in 6 career starts against the Yankees. He's struck out 31 batters in 41.1 innings pitched.

Jose Reyes had a tantrum when Carlos Delgado couldn't handle his throw on a Melky Cabrera ground out. The ball should have been caught, but Reyes was charged with the error. In a great act of immaturity, Reyes slammed his glove down. Anyone else think Reyes may be elsewhere next year?

It's sounding more and more like Hideki Matsui may need knee surgery.


June 29, 2008

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
NY Yankees	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0		1	4	0
NY Mets	0	1	1	0	0	1	0	0	X		3	12	1

NY Yankees	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	LOB	AVG
Damon, LF	4	0	1	0	0	3	0	.316
Jeter, SS	4	0	2	0	0	0	1	.284
Rodriguez, 3B	4	0	0	0	0	1	2	.322
Posada, 1B	4	0	0	0	0	1	2	.287
Betemit, 2B	4	1	1	1	0	2	1	.266
Cabrera, CF	3	0	0	0	0	1	0	.246
Molina, C	3	0	0	0	0	1	1	.225
Christian, RF	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	.200
Rasner, P	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	.000
a-Moeller, PH	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	.254
Robertson, P	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
b-Giambi, PH	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	.262
Ramirez, P	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
Totals	32	1	4	1	0	10	7
a-Flied out for Rasner in the 6th. b-Flied out for Robertson in the 8th.
BATTING HR: Betemit (4, 7th inning off Perez, 0 on, 2 out). TB: Damon; Jeter 2; Betemit 4. RBI: Betemit (12). 2-out RBI: Betemit. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Posada; Molina; Betemit. Team LOB: 4. FIELDING PB: Molina (6). DP: (Betemit-Jeter-Posada).

NY Yankees	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Rasner (L, 4-6)	5.0	8	2	2	3	3	1	4.42
Robertson	2.0	4	1	1	0	1	0	4.50
Ramirez	1.0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3.46

NY Mets	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	LOB	AVG
Reyes, SS	4	1	2	0	1	0	0	.296
Castillo, 2B	5	0	3	1	0	1	1	.260
Wright, 3B	3	0	0	1	0	0	5	.285
Beltran, CF	3	0	0	0	1	1	2	.270
Delgado, 1B	4	1	1	1	0	0	2	.231
Tatis, 1B	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.256
Church, RF	4	0	2	0	0	0	0	.304
Chavez, LF	4	1	3	0	0	0	1	.242
Schneider, C	3	0	1	0	1	0	3	.260
Perez, P	2	0	0	0	0	2	2	.182
Feliciano, P	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
a-Anderson, PH	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	.198
Wagner, P	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
Totals	33	3	12	3	3	4	16
a-Flied out for Feliciano in the 8th.
BATTING HR: Delgado (14, 3rd inning off Rasner, 0 on, 1 out). TB: Reyes 2; Castillo 3; Delgado 4; Church 2; Chavez 3; Schneider. RBI: Castillo (26), Delgado (45), Wright (64). 2-out RBI: Castillo. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Delgado; Wright 2; Perez; Beltran. S: Perez. SF: Wright. GIDP: Schneider. Team LOB: 11. FIELDING E: Reyes (11, throw).

NY Mets IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA Perez (W, 6-5) 7.0 3 1 1 0 8 1 4.98 Feliciano (H, 8) 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 0 2.78 Wagner (S, 18) 1.0 1 0 0 0 1 0 1.91

WP: Robertson, Perez, Wagner. IBB: Schneider (by Rasner). Pitches-strikes: Rasner 102-59, Robertson 33-22, Ramirez 13-9, Perez 106-72, Feliciano 17-13, Wagner 14-9. Ground outs-fly outs: Rasner 5-7, Robertson 2-3, Ramirez 0-3, Perez 4-9, Feliciano 0-2, Wagner 1-1. Batters faced: Rasner 26, Robertson 9, Ramirez 3, Perez 25, Feliciano 3, Wagner 4. Umpires: HP: Mike DiMuro. 1B: Mike Estabrook. 2B: Larry Vanover. 3B: Mike Everitt. Weather: 88 degrees, partly cloudy. Wind: 11 mph, R to L. T: 3:00. Att: 56,277.