The Grand Godzilla

Holy oversight Batman. How could I miss this? Didn't realize until watching the MLB Network a short time ago that Hideki Matsui picked up his 1,000th career MLB hit last night.

Congrats to the Great Godzilla.

Mackey Zaun?

photo courtesy of Yahoo Sports

You all remember Mackey Sasser, the poster child for psychological issues trying to throw a baseball. Steve Sax heard the name mentioned. Chuck Knoblauch. And so on.

The Milwaukee Brewers' Gregg Zaun may be the latest. Not one, not two, but three times last night did Zaun make a mis-throw trying to toss a baseball back to his pitcher Yovani Gallordo. Remarkably, no base runners advanced.

Zaun has always been known for good bat, bad glove, and that was true last night as he tried to erase the memories by driving in five runs. That tied a career high as did his four hits...as did his three bad throws. (As does the three g's in his first name)

Yankees Make Capitol Gains

The Yankees made the much ballyhooed trip to the White House yesterday for a meet and greet with the President. It doesn't get much cooler for a ball player than to be invited to the White House.

President Barack Obama lauded the Yankees for their actions both on and off the field, which yesterday included a visit to the Walter Reed Army Hospital.

The President singled out Mark Teixeira for the scholarship he started with his first signing bonus at age 21. It was in remembrance of a close friend who had died in a car accident.

Obama made references to the home of his fellow Illinois favorite son, Joe Girardi, and took a shot from Yankees Assistant GM Jean Afterman about his hometown White Sox.

“Let him hold it,” she said. “He may not get a chance again.”

The President is quick on his feet though...

“And you wonder why the other teams don’t root for you,” he said as the room erupted again.

A good time had by all.

Below is video from yesterday's event.

The Definition of Awesomeness

Saw a tweet from Sports Illustrated about this morning. On the "to buy" list for sure. And yes, I still hate the phrase "Core Four".

Prime Pettitte

27 or 37? It's hard to tell how old Andy Pettitte is right now. The 16-yr veteran is pitching as well as he ever has. After dominating the Los Angeles Angeles over eight innings yesterday, the lefty now stands at 3-0, 1.29 this season.

Pettitte's 232nd career win (had he not left for three years, Pettitte would have been getting ready to pass Whitey Ford as the all-time winningest Yankees pitcher.) saw him strike out eight, scatter six hits and didn't walk a batter. For the season, Andrew Eugene Pettitte, as Michael Kay likes to refer to him, has 22 strikeouts and nine walks in 28 innings pitched. He's allowed just 21 hits and the American League is hitting just .216 off of him. Torii Hunter, for one, says he has never seen Pettitte look better.

Pettitte struggled with a bad elbow in his first year back in the Bronx in 2008, but his arm has been healthy since and it has paid dividends. Last season, Pettitte won 14 games and was on the mound for the clinching game in each round of the playoffs. He's been even better this year despite a spring training that was limited by poor weather.

“When I left spring training, I felt like all my pitches were right where I wanted them to be,” said Pettitte, who didn’t pitch in a preseason game until March 17. “The first couple of starts, my stamina wasn’t there. So I feel fortunate that I’ve been able to get off to the start I’ve gotten off to.

“Now the stamina is there. So hopefully, me missing all of spring training, as far as competition, will be a blessing in disguise and I’ll feel strong throughout the season,” Pettitte added. “My location’s been really good. I’m mixing my pitches up good, I’m moving the ball in and out, and my command’s been pretty good. Anytime you can do that, you’re going to be successful.”

Pettitte and the Yankees rotation has also benefited from the Yankees defense this season. Yesterday, Derek Jeter made his "Jeterian" leap in the hole between third and short. Ramiro Pena, playing third base so Alex Rodriguez could get some rest at DH, made a diving snare of a line drive. And Brett Gardner took advantage of some sloppy base running by throwing out Mike Napoli trying to go from first to third on a base hit to left field.

The Yankees went 12 games without an error before a miscue by Robinson Cano on Thursday ended the streak. Pettitte hopes to benefit from that defense when he makes his next start against the White Sox next weekend.

Notes

Robinson Cano had four hits on Saturday to boost his average back up to .369. He also continued his impressive start with runners in scoring position by delivering an RBI single in the fifth inning.
Brett Gardner's had three hits and is on an 11-24 (.458) streak. Francisco Cervelli is now 6-12 after delivering a 2-run single. Nick Johnson got the day off with a stiff back and may be out again today.

Click here for recap and box score of Saturday's game

Things That Make You Go Ouch

In the midst of their first two game losing streak of the season, the Yankees Mark Teixeira left his mark on the Los Angeles catcher Bobby Wilson.

Teixeira was attempting to score from second base on a Robinson Cano base hit to right field. Bobby Abreu's throw home was to the first base side of home plate. Wilson attempted to catch the ball on a hop and, in one move, bring the tag over to Teixeira. But Wilson lost twice.

The ball ricocheted off Wilson's mask and Teixeira blasted through the catcher as he moved towards home plate. While the play was considered clean (that includes the opinion of Halos' skipper Mike Scioscia), my opinon remains that it should not be part of the game.

Nowhere else on the field can you steamroll a player like you do at home plate. Shin guards and a chest protector don't make you ready to play running back in the NFL. Catchers are often in a prone position as a collision occurs, setting them up for an assortment of injuries.

Wilson suffered an ankle injury and a concussion, and it could have been a lot worse. Fortunately for the Yankees, Teixeira came away unscathed, but the runner is at risk as well.

It may be a play that goes back to the beginning of time, but that doesn't mean it's a play that should remain in play.

Yankees Turn Rare Feat But Lose

photo courtesy of Yahoo Sports

Tough day for CC Sabathia and the Yankees. The big man walked a career high six batters in tossing an eight inning complete game. Lost in the loss was the first triple play the Yankees have turned in 42 years. In case you missed here is the video and more about it.

The previous play came on my Mommy's birthday, June 3, 1968. That star of stars, Dooley Womack (heavy sarcasm), Bobby Cox (yes, one and the same) and Mickey Mantle, who was playing 1st base by then, combined on the triple killing.

Yankees only offense today against A's starter Dallas Braden were solo home runs by Mark Teixeira and Marcus Thames. It was the latter's first of the year. Braden made a bigger impression though when he decided to take on Alex Rodriguez.

Rodriguez ran across the pitcher's mound after fouling out to first base. Braden was not amused and starting yelling at the Yankees third baseman. That led to a further exchange of nonsense. Check out the details as reported by Marc Carig on NJ.com.

Despite the loss, the Yankees have won all five series they've played this year and stand at 11-4. The team now heads to Anaheim for a three game series with the Anaheim Angels, including a national broadcast game Saturday on Fox. The team winds up the road trip with three games in Baltimore beginning on Tuesday.

Yankees Could Get Hughes to This

Though we're just about 40 minutes away from today's Yankees-A's game, I'm still thinking about last night's contest.

Just 11 days after CC Sabathia took a no-hitter into the 8th inning, Phil Hughes did the same last night in his start against Oakland. Like the big man, it was Hughes' second start the season. The California native retired the first batter in the 8th, but couldn't handle Eric Chavez's hot smash back thru the box. Two batters later Gabe Gross walked and Hughes' night was done.

Hughes was even more efficient than Sabathia, entering the 8th will a relatively low pitch count. He relied heavily on his fastball, which helped him to a career high 10 strikeouts.

After walking Daric Barton with one in the first, Hughes set down the next 20 A's in a row before Chavez's comebacker played pinball on Hughes' glove and body. The ball bounded back towards home plate as Hughes, with his back to catcher Jorge Posada, looked skyward for the ball.

Notes

The Yankees had taken a 2-0 lead in the 4th, helped by a rarity. Alex Rodriguez and Robinson Cano stroked back to back triples to break up a scoreless game between Hughes and Ben Sheets.

Nich Swisher got a day off, with Randy Winn getting a rare start. Swish will be back in the lineup today, while Curtis Granderson gets a day off.

Hughes' brush with fame evoked many emotions on Twitter. There were plenty of people who defied superstition and talked about the no-no. (Michael Kay was probably screaming it at home.) Others worried about an injury like the one that occurred when Hughes had a no-no going against Texas in June, 2006. There was speculation if Hughes would be pulled by Joe Girardi if his pitch count got too high.

Edwar, Gaudin Get Rung Up

photo courtesy of Newsday

The Yankees trip to Oakland allowed the team to present World Series rings to Edwar Ramirez and Chad Gaudin.

The team held a little ceremony for the pair before new internet sensation Chan Ho Park broke up the celebration and his teammates by telling the duo (according to NY Daily News beat writer Mark Feinsand), "Okay, beat it. We got stretch".

Who knew the Yankees got both a relief pitcher and Henny Youngman when they signed Park this past off-season.

Ramirez thanked the Yankees by walking four batters in last night's game between the Yankees and A's.

Vazquez Looking for his A's Game

Written for Baseball Digest

When Alex Rodriguez was acquired by the Yankees in February, 2004, Yankees fans and the team’s front office were ecstatic. The next five years would be an up and down, love/hate relationship between New York and Rodriguez. The giant gorilla was lifted off Rodriguez’s shoulders when the Yankees captured their 27th world championship last summer and Rodriguez was a big part of it. The title also removed the stain that the 2004 ALCS had left on the Yankees third baseman. It’s the same stain that is still haunting Javier Vazquez.

Though the deal wasn’t met with the same oohs and ahs that the Rodriguez deal brought, Vazquez’s acquisition from Montreal for three players (Juan Rivera, Nick Johnson, and Randy Choate) in December, 2003 was well received by Yankees fans.The then-27 year old right-hander was building his resume as a top-notch NL starter.

Vazquez had topped 215 innings pitched the prior four seasons and was one of the few bright spots left on an Expos team that was on its way to oblivion. His first half with the Yankees was everything the Yankees wanted and more. A first half 10-5, 3.56 mark led to an All-Star appearance and the Yankees were well on their way to another playoff appearance.

But a sore shoulder, which Vazquez hid from the Yankees, led to a miserable second half (4-5, 6.92) for the native of Puerto Rico. But no performance would be remembered more by the Yankees than game 7 of the ALCS. The Yankees had blown a 3-0 lead and were clinging to the last of their hopes for a return trip to the World Series.

Vazquez had won a game 3 blowout (19-8) despite giving up four runs in four-plus innings of relief. Just as he had in that game, Vazquez had to come in early for starter Kevin Brown when the series reached it’s finale. When Johnny Damon blasted 3-run and grand slam home runs, the fates of Vazquez and the Yankees were sealed.

Vazquez was shipped out during the off-season and spent the next five years in Arizona, Chicago (AL), and Atlanta. Then Brian Cashman jumped at the chance to bring Vazquez back this past winter after posting a 15-10, 2.87 record in Hotlanta.

But all is not forgiven by the Yankees faithful. After a decent spring training, Vazquez was roughed up in Tampa Bay and was hit even harder in his return to the Bronx a week later. Vazquez heard the derisive cheer the Bronx is famous for, chants of “hang ‘em Javy”, and some other things that would not be nice to put into print.

There’s still plenty of time to turn around his 9.82 ERA, but if he doesn’t and the team doesn’t succeed, Vazquez will still wear the stain of 2004.

4 Series, 4 Series Wins

When was the last time the Yankees had a good April? You can't tell me, can you? That's because it seems like it has been forever.

But these 2010 Yankees are off to a much better start than the the squad that won the World Series last season. Of course, much of the cast is the same, but there are significant differences in left field, at DH, and the back end of the rotation.

So far the Yankees have played four series and have won all four. The first time any Yankees team has done so since 1926. First, there was 2 of 3 in hated Beantown. Then another 2 of 3 against fellow AL East beast Tampa Bay for a 4-2 road trip. The first series at home saw the Yankees take another 2 of 3 from their long time nemesis, the LA Angels. And finally, with a game still to be played today the Yankees have already clinched the series with the Texas Rangers by winning the first two games.

In compiling an 8-3 start the Yankees have gotten great starting pitching, timely hitting, and superb defense. All of which Texas has not gotten in the first two games in the Bronx. They haven't even gotten good defense. The Rangers could have set a major league record for errors the last two days if not for a generous official scorer or two.

Right now I'm wondering what I was thinking for picking them to win the AL West (Minny in the AL Central, Philly in the NL East, St. Loo in the NL Central and LA in the NL West are the others).

But let's talk more about the Yankees. This is a team that has won 8 of 11 despite the fact that Alex Rodriguez didn't hit a home run until yesterday. Which, by the way, moved him past Mark McGwire on the all-time list (let's not even go near the obvious subject). Mark Teixeira isn't hitting a 5-yr old's weight, and Javier Vazquez's ERA is higher than the IQ of anyone on "Jersey Shore".

So what is going on? Derek Jeter is being Derek Jeter. He's had a hit in all 11 games, is batting .380 and is secondon the team with 3 home runs.

Robinson Cano is on a tear. His 10-game hitting streak ended Saturday, but he's still batting ("a gaudy", thank you Michael Kay) .356 with team highs in HR (4) and RBI (9).

Jorge Posada has an 1.128 OPS. Nick Johnson has only 6 hits, but 13 walks. Brett Gardner had 3 infield hits on Saturday and his speed caused havoc on the basepaths.

And Curtis Granderson has had no trouble adjusting to NY, posting a .924 OPS in his first 11 games.

Then, of course, there is the pitching. A.J. Burnett was outstanding on Saturday, following up another stand out performance by CC Sabathia on Friday. Andy Pettitte is coming off back to back solid starts as he goes for the sweep today.

And the defense has made just four errors thus far. Granted there have been plays in left field that should have been made, but that's what happens when Marcus Thames is out there.

It takes a village to raise a child, but it takes a team to build up an 8-3 record and the Yankees have gotten contributions from everywhere. Just wait until the calendar turns to May and Mark Teixeira starts hitting.

59 is divine?

Yesterday marked the 59th anniversary of two debuts. Both Mickey Mantle and Bob Sheppard made their debuts on April 17, 1951.

Just Another Day of Baseball

There's an old saying, and variations of it, that goes "anything can happen at the ballpark". So true. And yesterday was a perfect example.

But first flash back to May 1, 1991. Rickey Henderson breaks Lou Brock's all-time steals record (unfortunately, against the Yankees). That led to the (in)famous little speech that included "Lou Brock was the symbol of great base stealing. But today, I'm the greatest of all time". The only thing shocking was that he didn't say, "Rickey Henderson is the greatest of all time".

That night Henderson's big day was nearly forgotten thanks to a powerful Texas right-hander named Nolan Ryan. The Rangers' current head honcho was pitching for them back then and at age 44 threw his 7th and final no-hitter against the Toronto Blue Jays.

Flash forward to yesterday, April 17, 2010. Ubaldo Jimenez had one of the games of his life for the Colorado Rockies. Jiminez threw the first no-hitter in the franchise's history as he blanked the Atlanta Braves. Albeit, it was a Joe Cowley type of no-hitter, but it was a no-no nonetheless.

But how many people outside of Colorado, and maybe Atlanta, are talking about the no-no today? Probably not too many because of the Mets-Cardinals game that went 20 innings last night.

I was shocked to see the game was still going on while checking out fantasy baseball stats at about 10 p.m. EDT. I was even more surprised to see that Fox still had the game on. Can I say I was even further stunned to see the game was scoreless? The Mets, who only had 9 hits in 20 innings, finally broke through in the 19th only to have K-Rod blow the lead. But thankfully for the weary Jerry Manuel, his counterpart Tony LaRussa opted to use an outfielder (Joe Mather - as far as I know, no relation to "The Beaver") to pitch.

LaRussa got away with using infielder Felipe Lopez in the 18th, but Mather gave up runs in the 19th and 20th and was saddled with the loss (as well as a 9.00 ERA). Mather is clearly no Nick Swisher. Mets starter Mike Pelfrey came on to earn the save. LaRussa was also fortunate that there were no injuries to any of his pitchers, such as Kyle Lohse, that he used in the outfield.

Cardinals and Mets fans also have to be thankful that Kenny Albert was doing the play-by-play and didn't have to listen to Joe Buck for 20 innings.


Some other notable Saturday performances - Nats' pitcher Livan Hernandez threw his first complete game shutout in six years. After blanking the Brewers, El Duque's kid brother has not allowed a run in 16 innings (2 starts).

The Astros finally won their 2nd game, beating the Cubs 4-3, but the O's dropped to 1-11 after blowing their game in the bottom of the 9th against Oakland.

Pat Burrell has stunk in his year plus with the Rays, but drove in his first five runs of the season yesterday as the Rays won the suspended and regularly scheduled games against the Red Sox. His 2-run HR in the 12th concluded the game stopped Friday due to rain.

Ring-A-Ling-A-Ling

It was a very festive opening day in the Bronx yesterday. That's what you get when you hoist another championship banner and hand out World Series rings to the winning participants. Just another day in Yankee Stadium, albeit the first time in the House that George (and the city) built.


No part of the day may have been more poignant or worth celebrating more than the return of Yankees long time trainer Gene Monahan. We were told during Spring Training, which Monahan missed for the first time since 1972, that the man known as Geno was battling a serious illness. Mariano Rivera apparently let it slip during interviews yesterday that it is indeed some form of cancer. Monahan was very emotional, but in good spirits as he came out to accept his ring from manager Joe Girardi and special guests Yogi Berra and Whitey Ford. The YS crowd gave a well deserved standing ovation.

The biggest ovation of the day though went to a member of the Los Angeles Angels. "He's the Hideki you know"...Hideki Matsui, of course, got a huge standing, thank you ovation from the fans and got a group hug from his former teammates. He also got pranked. Derek Jeter orchestrated it all - fake rings given (a Spring Training promotion) to Godzilla and Nick Swisher. Neither even realized what was going on until Jeter and Rivera gave them the real rings.


Bernie Williams threw out the first pitch, though the YES Network nearly missed it coming back from commercial breaks. There was a military fly over and broadway star Kristen Chenoweth (who looked like she was trying to be Carrie Underwood's doppelganger) sang the National Anthem. Then it was time for baseball.


Starter Andy Pettitte was the perfect pick to pitch opening day. After all, he had been on the mound for the clinching win in each round of the 2009 post-season. He also quickly gave Matsui a reminder that he's no longer a Yankee. A first inning strikeout was part of an oh-fer for Godzilla on the day.

Nick Johnson smacked his first Stadium home run in the bottom of the 1st off Ervin Santana and Derek Jeter went deep in the third. The Captain added an RBI single in the 4th (hit #2757) and Alex Rodriguez's brought home two more in the sixth.

The Yankees would need every run they could get, because leading 7-1 in the 9th, David Robertson surrendered a grand slam to former Yankee Bobby Abreu. At least that way Rivera got to be part of the opener by picking up his 3rd save.

photos courtesy of Yahoo Sports

Notes

Jorge Posada is off to a hot start. He was 3-4 yesterday to raise his average to .429 and had a pair of doubles to move past Mickey Mantle for 7th place on the team's all-time doubles list. In typical Jorgie fashion, he also got thrown out at the plate.

Pettitte tossed six scoreless innings for his 1st win of the year and the 230th of his career and 193rd as a Yankee. It was also the 4th home opening win for Pettitte.

The loss had to be a minor thing for some of the Angels who had a tough day. Several of them witnessed a suicide from their hotel that morning. A former hotel employee jumped from the roof as the Angels were on their way out.

Not sure how long these will be up on Youtube, but a TOH to Zell's Pinstripe Blog for finding video of the ring ceremony.

We're On Our Way Home

Just a little over a half a day until the raising of the glorious 27th World Championship banner and the handing out of championship rings to the players, coaches, and front office personnel.

The Yankees arrived home after Sunday's 7-3 win over the Tampa Bay Rays. The victory game the Bombers a 4-2 road trip that was comprised of series wins over both the Rays and the Boston Red Sox. Not a bad way to start the season.

Sunday's win was also big for A.J. Burnett, who had a rocky first outing in Boston and started out yesterday's game in shaky fashion. Burnett, the tattoed, pie smashing, right-hander allowed two first inning runs and admitted to not having confidence in his stuff. But Jorge Posada and pitching coach Dave Eiland helped settle him down and Burnett rewarded his teammates with six scoreless frames.

Alex Rodriguez hasn't homered yet, but he's getting darn close. A near miss in Boston, a near miss in Tampa. I expect him to break out any day now.

Posada and Nick Swisher both went deep on Sunday, with Posada's go-ahead shot coming against former teammate Randy Choate. Not the first time Yankees fans have witnessed a Choate failure.

In addition to the banner and ring presentations, one of tomorrow's highlight's will be Bernie Williams throwing out the ceremonial first pitch. Now, Bernie hasn't offically ever announced a retirement date, but isn't time the Yankees front office set up a Bernie Williams Day? Retire #51, etc?
Whitey Ford and Yogi Berra (who I thought for sure would be throwing out the first pitch) will be on hand to present the rings. Ceremonies to kick off at 12:15. (thanks to the Star Ledger's Marc Carig for providing ceremony info. Click here to see the complete schedule of events).

An added bonus of tomorrow's opener is the opponent. Because the Yankees start their home schedule against the Los Angeles Angels, Hideki Matsui will be on hand to receive his ring. Godzilla is off to a great start in his new home. He's already had 2 game winning hits and is hitting .370 with a couple of home runs and 5 RBI.