Again the season ends all to early

Well Yankee fans this won't be the year of the 27th title. Unfortunately the Yanks just didn't get the job done. To me it starts with Wang. The guy won 19 games the last 2 season but you sure wouldn't think he was any good if you saw him pitch games 1 & 4. He just didn't have it. That simple. Pitching wins championships and I thought we would have enough of it to get the job done this season. After Wang you have to put the blame on 2 of the greatest Yankees we have ever seen. Jeter & Posada. They just didn't get it done. It was the worst Posada and Jeter had looked all season. Now I will turn my attention to Joe Torre. I want him back. The man did a great job this season and has done a great job for a long long time. To me it's very rare that a manager is the reason why a team loses. Every now and then the manager might make a bad choice that can cost a team a game but that wasn't the case at all in this series. I'm a Torre backer. I didn't want him fired after the 2006 first round exit and I don't want him gone now. He handles the media and players very well. Besides who is going to manage the team? Mattingly? I don't think he is ready yet. He has no experience of managing and only has 1 year as a bench coach. If the Yankees want to "groom" Mattingly for the position then who would be better for that then Joe Torre. Give Torre 2 more years, maybe 3. Let Mattingly be the bench coach for a couple of more years. Then Torre can retire and we can all embrace Donnie Baseball. I hear Tony LaRussa's name being mentioned. I don't want any part of him leading my ballclub. I know he has won 2 rings but the guy has issues. The New York media will eat him up. Thanks but no thanks Tony....Stay in St. Louis....The other name being tossed around is Joe Giradi. I like him a lot and he has shown he can manage. The only issue I see with Giradi is if the Yankees want Mattingly to be the manager in the near future. Why would Giradi want to come in and groom Donnie? Giradi is younger then Donnie and I would think he would want to be a part of the Yankees for a long time. Only time will tell what the answers will be. I for one think Torre is coming back and I will believe that until I'm proven wrong.

I can't tell a lie

I'm fucking nervous for game 1 tonight. Its been years since the Yankees have faced C.C and the guy is a much better pitcher now then he was then. He is a lefty. That alone scares me. Throw all those numbers we have against C.C out the window. All the wonderful numbers that were produced during the regular season mean zero now. The players know this. Basically we start a new season tonight. It becomes what have you done for me lately. I've sailed with this ship through the rough seas and I won't bail now or even (god forbid) we do happen to catch an L tonight. I watched the Yankees win game 1 last year and 3 games later the season was over. It's like I said yesterday every pitch every inning, every game matters. 1 good game will not get you into the ALCS. It takes 3. Win 3 before you lose 3 and move on. Wang needs to bring his A game. If he does I won't be nervous at all and I feel we can't be beat tonight. If we can score 4 runs this evening I think that might be enough. 5 runs and I'm sure that will be enough. Normally you can tell with Wang early if he has it. Hopefully tonight he will be on. He has big game experience, he has been here before. Get the ball to JOBA for the 8th and Mo for the 9th. Win the first 7 innings maybe even 6 if you want to go to JOBA for 2 and I'll sign right up for that. The mission, the dream, the journey starts TONIGHT!

WE RIDE AGAIN!

I'm fired up my friends! As today the Yankees had there pre-sale of playoff tickets. I again failed miserably in obtaining tickets. I just don't have any luck with this shit. One might ask why is this kid fired up if he didn't get any playoff tickets? Well the answer is easy if you know me. I have a partner in crime, a tag team partner, a great friend who I've spent countless hours, innings, and games with at and around the holy grounds of Yankee Stadium. He was able to obtain tickets to the ALCS and the World Series. Granted this will all mean nothing with another disastrous first round exit but this year is different. I've got a feeling those tickets are getting used this year. The Yankees still have yet to "officially" clinch a post season berth but that is just a matter of time. Then the real fun starts. The REAL SEASON! The season that all Yankee fans have been a part of now since 1995. Some years we have been lucky enough to play the last baseball game of the season and come out as the World Series Champs. Other times we have seen our season end all to early. Deep down I believe that this season the Yanks are playing in the last game of the year. They have come up from the grave and been the best team in baseball over the last 100 games or so. I don't care who the Yankees have to play. Teams should worry about having to play us. We are rolling. We are ready. Put the women and little kids to bed and prepare yourself for long October nights. As the Yankees are set to ride again.

A-Rod AL MVP but........

That is the regular season MVP. I'm not going to sit here and act like what he has done thus far isn't amazing. It is unreal. A season unmatched by any Yankee but the immortal ones. Without A-Rod's performance this "regular season" who knows where the Yankees would be in the standings. I doubt they would be sitting with a Magic # of 15. He has played well from the start of the season. His numbers are insane and with 19 games left they will get even more disturbing....but what does that matter come October? To put into words I come up with one, NOTHING.....When the calendar turns to October it all doesn't matter anymore. It becomes a new season. A season the Yankees have had plenty of experience in but as of the last few years leave with no cause for celebration. A-rod has helped contribute to the failures the last few seasons but he wasn't alone. He has been labeled a man who can't handle the pressure. A man who crumbles under the spotlight. Well folks, I got a feeling that is all about to change. This isn't the A-rod from 2004, nor is it the A-rod from 2005 and it isn't the A-rod of 2006. This is a new man who has been embraced by the Yankee fans. A man who has once again shown his joy for playing the game of baseball. You can actually see the amount of fun being had in the dugout between A-Rod and ALL his teammates. Even the guys in the bullpen have been involved in joking with him. This is the first time he has been this way since he arrived. Finally comfortable in the Bronx! Will this translate over to him coming up big with the game on the line? Only time will tell but this Yankee fan believes A-Rod is going to do some special things this October. He can't win the world series all by himself. This is still a team game but with the help of the other 24 guys they sure as hell can win it all. Get ready for the ride. It won't be like the last 2 years when our season was cut short....No no no, not this year. It's a different A-Rod and a different Yankee ball club. Prepare yourself for many long October nights as the Yankees are playing late into October....This year my beloved Yankees will be WORLD CHAMPS yet again!

Have you seen Joba pitch? If not, I feel sorry for you

It's just that simple. If you haven't seen Joba pitch you are missing out. He has only pitched 8 innings but what has happened in those 8 are really very impressive. He has gone up against some of baseball's best hitters and mowed them down. This kid looks to be something VERY special. He throws gas, not 94, 95 gas. We are talking 98, 99, 100. Then he drops this slider between 85 and 89. I have watched major league hitters swing and miss at this pitch by a foot. Right now he is coming in from the bullpen and dominating. I would love to see him start but in the bullpen is where the Yankees need the most help and god damn it-HE IS HELPING. I wish the Yanks would take the training wheels off him though. The other day he throw 9 pitches (in the process he K's 2 guys) but the Yankees say he can't pitch the next day. So what happens, the Yankees go to extra innings against the Angels. Joba can't come in and we take an L with Sean Henn on the mound. That might be ok if we had a playoff spot locked up or if it was May but it isn't. We are into late August. I can't and won't believe that since Joba threw 9 pitches the day before he can't pitch the next day. In closing I will quote a fan favorite from 1996 "we play today, we win today"

Ahead of Schedule.....as the ship sails on!

As I type this blog on August 13th, my beloved Yankees sit in a tie for the Wildcard. Back on June 27th, or near that date some of my faithful readers will recall a blog I wrote that said by the end of August I wanted to be less then 5 games back in the Wildcard! Well, so far so good. Not only are we tied for the wildcard we are only 4 games in back of Boston for the AL east crown that I so badly want. The Yankees didn't just beat the bad teams they exploded on them. The team on the field now doesn't much resemble the team we put out there in April. Cano is the all star player he was last year, Melky is better then last year. Abreu has turned his funk around and looks like the player we traded for. I must admit I was quick to write the guy off around the all star break. I don't mind be wrong when in turn it makes my ballclub better. I love JOBA! This guy throws heat with a sick slider. He could be what the bullpen was missing all season. My guy Hughes turned in a dominate performance on Friday and Moose has been lights out his last 4 starts. Throw in the old reliable duo of Andy and Roger plus Mr. Groundball and our staff isn't the same that struggled in the early months. The camaraderie in the Yankee dugout is also something that has been fun to watch. We aren't the business as usual bunch of years gone by. The young guys are bringing some emotion to the dugout and it is catching on with the veteran players. I would also like to thank Roger Clemens for standing up for A-rod in Toronto. Anyone who has a clue knows Roger drilled Rios in the back on purpose and I loved every single second of it. They took a shot at A-rod the day before, then again the next night. Once is enough. Twice and then we have a problem. Thanks Roger for doing the dirty work. Someone had too! This week Baltimore comes to town and then the Tigers. I will be back blogging after the week. Let's see if we can pick up anymore ground on a reeling Red Sox Nation!!

Tomorrow is the future and that bitch is bright

Tomorrow I return to Yankee Stadium and I can't wait. As I type, A-rod has still not hit 500 and I get to watch Phil Hughes. The future of the Yankees. I got a feeling I'm going to be a happy man leaving that game tomorrow. A-Rod will go deep for 5 hundo and I'm getting a preview of the future. Phil Hughes will not only be good he will be great. You don't hear this many people sweat a player and the guy suck. Not only that but he already has done some sick shit. How many guys pitch 7 innings of no hit ball in there 2nd start? Not many... Going to be fun....Enjoy it tomorrow fans, where ever you may be get a radio or a tv because A-rod is joining the five hundred club and the future is showing up in the present form. On another note love the spot the Yankees are in right now. They have smashed up the bad teams for the most part and I look forward to the tougher part of the schedule. Bring it!