Why, Yankees, Why?

I have always been against the Yankees signing Sabathia.  From day 1.  From before the offseason began.  From before we didn’t make the playoffs.  From before… anything.

First of all, I think it is absolute INSANITY to give a pitcher a contract of more than 3 or 4 years.  For position players, I’m fine with giving them longer deals.  First of all, starting pitchers only play once every 5 days… that is about 20% of your team’s games… or about 35 games a year.  Position players play every day, and even if given days of rest usually play 150-155 games a year.  Secondly, pitchers are far more fragile than position players.  I’m not saying they are worse athletes or wimpier, but the art of pitching is much more fragile.  Pitching also puts a lot more stress on the body than playing the field.  If a pitcher hurts his elbow or shoulder (or even a hamstring or a finger or a fingernail… and I’m not kidding), he might never be able to pitch again, or if he can come back he won’t be nearly as good.  Just like that, you’ve lost your entire investment.  A lot can happen over 7 years of life.  Hitting and fielding, by their nature, are easier to do after injury.  It is easier to come back.  It is also harder to get hurt.  I say all of this in general, without even getting to the specific case of CC Sabathia and the Yankees in 2008.

Sabathia will be a disaster.  I hope I’m proved wrong.  He will come in with such high expectations that it will be impossible for him to live up to them.  He will get booed when he takes the field and when he get taken out of the game.  He will read every single day in the newspapers how he was a mistake for the Yankees.  He will be the new A-Rod in the press, as Colin Cowherd predicts.  That is not a good thing.  Also, as Colin Cowherd pointed out… this is a guy that didn’t even want to go in the first place.  This has disaster written all over it.  An expensive disaster.  On my current national service AmeriCorps living allowance I would have to work for (drum roll please…) 1967.67 years to make Sabathia’s yearly salary.  He will earn as much as I do in a year for every .13 strikeouts, .01 wins, .02 games, and .13 innings pitched.  Ugh.

Then comes news that the Yankees have traded for Mike Cameron.  Getting rid of Melky is fine, but Cameron SUCKS.  He SUCKS.  He SUCKSSSSSSS.  ABSOLUTELY TERRIBLE.  TERRIBLE.  TERRIBLE.  TERRIBLE.  I can’t even fathom why they would want him.  I hope my fellow Yankee fans and the press jump all over him.  An old sucky player is just what we DON’T need.

If you ask me, Brett Gardner is farrr more capable than Cameron.  NO ONE IN THEIR RIGHT MIND WOULD ARGUE WITH ME.  Plus, he’s young, energetic, quick, gritty, and the fans love him.  So screw off Cameron we’ve got our guy.

I have always stood by Cashman during the tough times when people were calling for his head, because I thought he understood baseball.  Maybe I was wrong.  I always tell people that I don’t like to criticize front office personnel because they get paid a lot of money to make the right decisions and it’s their butt that’s on the line, but these moves deserve criticism and have caused me to re-think my backing of Cashman.  Yes, they might work out… in the same way that anything might work out.  It’s sports and anything can happen.  But I have a feeling they won’t.

Saying Goodbye…

Tonight the Yankees will play the last ever game at Yankee Stadium.  Yankee Stadium is THE stadium… the biggest and best in all of sports.  No other stadium can even come close to matching the history of Yankee Stadium.  I’ve been watching tributes all day on ESPN, and nothing that I can say here could begin to do justice to the greatness of the Stadium, but I’ll add my part to all of the other memories that people have been sharing today.

We always tried to get to Yankee stadium once every summer.  As a Yankee fan growing up in Massachusetts, the Yankees were never on TV unless they were on ESPN or playing the Red Sox or in the World Series, so I rarely got to see Yankee games growing up.  Yankee Stadium was like the Holy Land to me and my mom, and there aren’t words that describe what it’s like to be there.  The first thing that hits you as you approach the stadium is how big it is.  It’s New York.  It’s the Yankees.  It’s Yankee Stadium.  It’s big.  Then, as you walk through the gates, you walk through the tunnel and as your eyes catch a glimpse of the green grass against the blue wall you get goosebumps.  You can feel the greatness of those that had come before.  Yankee stadium was the place that we could go to be with other Yankee fans.  To finally be surrounded by people rooting for our team.  And there was nothing like it.

My grandfather used to take my uncle to the Stadium in the ’60s every summer for a Yankee game, much the same way we do now.  The Yankees are more than a favorite sports team for me and my mom.  It’s part of our family from my grandfather on down.  The history of the Yankees is intertwined with the history of our family.

We made our last trip the stadium on Friday night.  It was a beautiful day and evening.  Even though the Yankees aren’t going to make the playoffs, this was the perfect way for me to say goodbye to the stadium.  Like I said, there are no words.  You just had to be there.  When 55,000 Yankees fans all join together to cheer for the greatest team in the history of professional sports, it’s uniquely powerful.  To have my mom and dad there with me only made it sweeter.  I’ll never forget that night.

Here are the things that I got to see in my last ever game at Yankee Stadium:

1. A start by Carl Pavano – one of the rarest occurrences in sports

2. Brett Gardner (who I’ve championed this season from the start) threw a runner out at home

3. Robinson Cano hit a homer

4. Derek Jeter made one of his signature jump throws from the hole between short and third and got the runner at first

5. Joba Chamberlain pitched a scoreless inning

6. Mariano Rivera picked up the save.  When Mo enters the game to “Enter Sandman” and the stadium goes nuts it’s overwhelming.  It was perfect to experience it on Friday night.

7. Derek Jeter got a hit.

8. The Yankees won!

Friday night was perfect.  It was the perfect way to say goodbye.

They’ve been showing moments from the stadium on TV all day, and everyone has been picking their one favorite Yankee Stadium memory.  For me it’s easy.  Game 7, 2003 American League Championship series.  Yankees vs. Red Sox.  The Yankees came back to tie the game off Pedro Martinez and the game went into extra innings.  I was a freshman at Macalester.  We were watching the game in the lounge on Doty 2 (we lived on Doty 1 but the lounge was the entrance way by the fishbowl).  There was one other Yankee fan there with me as Aaron Boone came up to the plate.  Tim Wakefield threw one of his trademark knuckleballs, and Boone swings.  He hits a long drive down the left field line and into the stands for a game winning series winning league championship winning walk off home run, and I went nuts.  The other Yankee fan and I couldn’t contain ourselves.  We started running down the hallways and up and down the steps.  It was crazy…and that’s my favorite Yankee Stadium memory.

2 Minutes and 15 Seconds of My Life I Will Never Have Back

I just witnessed the first ever instant replay in Major League Baseball live on mlb.tv during the Yankees – Rays game.  I hate using instant replay in baseball, and it seemed awkward and stupid.  But hey, at least I can say I saw the first one.

If You Need Me I Can Be Found Puking in the Bathroom

When Joba got hurt a couple of nights ago I just stared at my computer screen, where I was watching the game, in disbelief.  I could not believe my eyes… I closed the mlb.com tv window and sat back, trying to analyze everything that I had just seen.  He reached for his shoulder… bad news.  Elbows are easily repaired… shoulders are not.  Shoulder injuries turn Aces into #4 starters.  Yesterday I was still in shock about the whole thing… and it looked like the Yankees were too.  I turned the game off before they almost made their comeback, but in the first 5 innings they looked uninterested.  They looked like they were shocked just like I was.  Then, last night, came the news that Joba was going to see the renowned Dr. James Andrews… which is usually reason for panic… and my feelings of shock turned into feelings of sickness.  I am literally sick to my stomach waiting to hear what is really wrong with Joba.  Literally I feel like throwing up.  I really hope it’s nothing serious, but until I hear otherwise I can only go on what we do know… and it doesn’t look good.  As people have mentioned, teams usually announce good news quickly.  The lack of news is bad news.  Shoulder injury.  MRI.  Dr. James Andrews. A “pop” being heard.  These are all bad signs.  I really hope it’s nothing too serious.

This all probably sounds stupid to a lot of people… being on the verge of throwing up because of an injury to a baseball player on your favorite team… but they just don’t understand how much I love the Yankees and how much I love the players on the Yankees.  I really can’t explain it… you have to experience it yourself to truly understand it.  The players become a part of you during the course of a season and their careers.  It really hurts when something like this happens to one of them.

We should know the extent of Joba’s injury soon.

Until then, I can be found puking in the bathroom.

Keep The Hope Alive People!

I’ve been absolutely disgusted with the comments that I’ve been reading on many Yankees blogs following the injury to Joba Chamberlain.  People spouting off about “I’m already watching football,” “That’s the end of our season,” “There is 101% chance our season is over,” etc. etc. etc.

 

Goodness people!  We’re just 3.5 games out of the Wild Card!  Now, I’ve expressed pessimism before in regards to making the playoffs.  Last summer I distinctly remember listening to a Yankees game while driving in my Aunt’s convertable in New Jersey.  It was a gorgeous day on the Jersey shore… sun shining… wind blowing in our faces… but the Yankees were losing and very far behind in the Wild Card.  I remember telling my aunt that day “We’re not making the playoffs this year.”   Well, we did, and I learned my lesson.  I will never again doubt our chances until we are mathematically eliminated… and we’re not even CLOSE to that yet.  We might not make the playoffs, but our chances aren’t dead.  Goodness people, have a little faith.

Big Day in the Evil Empire

Yesterday the Yankees traded for Marte and Nady.  We were told yesterday that they had given up Ohlendorf, Tabata, Kontos, and Coke.  I thought that was a FABULOUS deal.  Today we’ve learned that Kontos and Coke are out, and McCutchen and Karstens are in.  Makes the deal a little less great.  McCutchen is pretty good and could have helped the team.  I’ve never been a big fan of Karstens, so let him go.  I still think it’s a great deal for the Yanks.  Ohlendorf and Karstens have been passed by at least 5-7 other pitchers in my mind on the organization’s depth chart.  Tabata has been an enigma.  Reports were he came to camp this spring out of shape and lacked the proper work ethic.  Add to that the fact that he is hitting below .250 (with NO power), has been suspendedtwice by his manager for attitude problems, has been injured, and even considered walking away from the game and what you have is an extraordinary talent who just doesn’t get it.  Now, he might start to get it… just look at Josh Hamilton, but I’m willing to guess there are at least 50 or so guys like Hamilton or Tabata that don’t turn it around for every one that does turn it around like Hamilton.  I wish the kid the best of luck.  Maybe this will kick him into shape.

Oh yeah, there was also a game last night.  Joba was everything he was supposed to be.  Dominant.  9 Ks.  7 innings.  3 H.  1 BB.  A Giambi Shift single was the difference.  Good.  I hate shifts like that, and can’t see why teams play them.  Boston learned why last night.  1-0 Yankees.  Awesome.

Game 2 of the series today.

My Role in the Yankees Win

The Yankees continued their hot streak last night, defeating the Twins 8-2, and I’m proud to say that I played a crucial role in the victory.  The Yanks were losing 2-1 when I turned the game on in the sixth inning.  The Twins had just taken the lead in the top half of the inning… but I was not watching the game when they did.  As soon as I started watching, the tide turned.  Abreu hit a two run homer and the Yanks added another run on a Cano single, giving them a 4-2 lead at the end of the inning and decisively turning the tide.  Yes, Abreu and Cano deserve some credit too, but my contribution should not be overlooked.

Say NO to C.C.

The Yankees should say NO to C.C. Sabathia, even if Wang misses a couple of months, or even the whole season.  Call me crazy but I would just as soon keep the prospects in our system and give the in house options a chance.

The only way that I would entertain a C.C. deal is if the Yankees have no interest in re-signing him at the end of the season.  If they can get two first round picks out of the deal as well, it might be worth it.  That is a big MIGHT.  Depends on what the Indians are asking for.

My biggest hope is that Wang’s injury isn’t as bad as it seems to be.

Shock and Awe

I’m still reeling from the events of the last week.  Germany loses to Croatia.  Shocking.  Poland draws with Austria because of an absolutely horrendously criminally terrible penalty decision by the referee.  Tim Russert collapses and dies.  The Celtics come back from 20 something down and beat the Lakers.  Turkey scores 3 goals in the final 20 minutes to defeat the Czech Republic and advance to the quarterfinals (this was probably one of the most exciting football matches I have ever seen in my life.  It not only featured 4 second half goals, but a red card for a goalkeeper in the final minute and a shot that hit the post… incredible).  Tiger Woods sinks his final putt to send the US Open into an 18 hold playoff.  And to cap it off Wang seriously injured his foot in the Yankees game on Sunday.  Wow.  What a week.  Each one of these events is worthy of two or three posts, but this is all I can muster for now.

My Thoughts On Day 1 of the Yankees Draft

When the draft started I really hoped the Yankees would grab a big bat with their first or second pick.  They didn’t.  Can’t really blame them for snapping up Cole with #28.  He was projected to be a top 10 pick by nearly everyone, and to have him fall to us could be a coup… if he pans out.  At first I was shocked by our second pick but, according to the boys at River Ave Blues, John Manuel of Baseball America was raving about the pick.  I hope the kid proves to be a good lefty reliever… something the big league team really needs.

I won’t pretend to be any sort of expert in the field of baseball prospects.  Once you get out of the first couple of rounds I have very little to no idea who anyone is.  But the pick the Yanks made in the fifth round stood out for a couple of reasons.  Not just his .700 batting average this year, but the fact he seems like an absolutely great kid.  A mentor to the younger kids from his neighborhood according to reports.  There is nothing better than being able to root for a good kid who has a chance to be good.  I just watched his scouting video from mlb . com and he seems to have a pretty good stroke.  I guess you’d have to have one to hit .700.  I just heard of Chris Smith for the first time yesterday, but he’s already jumping up my list of young Yankees kids to root for (assuming he signs).  With all the brew-ha-ha with Tabata this year, a kid like this is a welcome addition.

I also love the Bittle pick in the second round.  He’s a reliever that relies almost solely on a cutter to get outs.  Hm.  Sound like any anyone else in the Yankees system?  (Hint… he wears #42 and will be a first ballot hall of famer…)

Day 2 at the draft just kicked off.  Can’t wait to see what signability guys fall to the Yanks in the later rounds.