Memory Lane

Today I experienced the perfect way to celebrate Memorial Day: heading to Yankee Stadium with great weather and witnessing a dominant victory. We were reminded of the brave men and women who gave their lives for our great nation, and we were reminded of how great the Yankees have the potential to be this season. Andy Pettitte continued his Renaissance-like season, Alex Rodriguez made another team pay after a poor decision, and the Yankees did what they had to do: take 3 out of 4 from the hapless Cleveland Indians.

Andy Pettitte has had some great moments and some great seasons as a New York Yankee. Everyone remembers Game 5 in 1996, and the three clinching victories during last year's title run, but this year is shaping up to be the finest of his career. The guy is a Yankee, and hopefully, a future Hall of Famer. If not for his three year stint with the Houston Astros, he'd be the franchise leader in victories. Andy mowed down the Tribe with ease for seven innings today, retiring the side at one point on five pitches. It really is a pleasant experience at Yankee Stadium when Andy takes the hill. Not only does it bring back memories of a great left-hander, but you're also watching one of the great starts to a season in Yankee history: 37 years old, 7-1, 2.48 ERA.

The bats were a little bit quiet in the early going today, similar to yesterday's game. And just like yesterday, the place erupted in the bottom of the seventh inning. Mark Teixeira was intentionally walked to load the bases with one out, and a statistic popped up on the video board: "Alex is 4-4 with 14 RBI's and two grand slams when Mark Teixeira is intentionally walked in front of him to load the bases." I guess Manny Acta wasn't paying attention, as A-Rod cracked home run number 590 into Monument Park, where he will one day be enshrined. It was also his 20th grand slam, just 3 behind Larrupin' Lou Gehrig for the all-time record.

Robbie Cano continued his MVP-like season with a solo homer after A-Rod's salami, and Curtis Granderson is fitting right in the number two hole as he added yet another extra base hit. One cause for concern emerged as Derek Jeter left the game with a hamstring injury. As much as I like Ramiro Pena and Kevin Russo, the Yankees cannot afford to have Jeter on the shelf at all.

The Yankees took 3 out of 4 from the Cleveland Indians in this holiday weekend's wrap-around series. Anything less would have been inexcusable. They now play host to the last place Baltimore Orioles for 3, and based on the fact that the bats appear to be waking up, I'm calling it a "must-sweep" series. Javier Vazquez needs to have a good start tomorrow, and the Orioles' pitching should be no match for the Yankee offense, with or without Derek Jeter. With Tampa floundering atop the AL East, the Yankees have plenty of opportunities to gain ground as they take on Baltimore, Toronto, Baltimore, and Houston over their next four series.

Dumb and Dumber

Despite a bad loss to Boston and two disasters against the Rays this month, today's contest was by far the worst at Yankee Stadium this season. Several factors gave today's game this dubious honor. First, it was absolutely disgusting watching David Huff get hit in the head by a line drive off the bat of A-Rod. Of course, it involved A-Rod. Everything does. But it was really, really painful to see. You have to feel for the guy, especially with his family in New York to watch him pitch. Fortunately, he is OK and even called the Yankees to let them know about it.

That being said, on to the nightmare that was today's blown six run lead and a loss to one of baseball's worst teams. There are several culprits that we can blame. First, we'll start with CC Sabathia. I know he gave the team a good shot to win, leaving after 6 innings with a 10-5 lead, but he kept the Indians in the game. He blew a 3-0 lead and allowed the Indians to tie it, then gave up runs in consecutive innings after the Yankees had a couple of six run leads. CC looked like he had no control of his fastball, and I'm starting to wonder if he and Cervelli aren't having trouble getting on the same page. Aside from Javier Vazquez, Sabathia has been the least reliable starting pitcher this season for the Bombers.

The final two culprits earn the title "Dumb and Dumber today." DUMB: Yankees manager Joe Girardi. I completely agree that Sabathia did not need to come out for the seventh inning. It was a five run game, and Sabathia didn't have his best stuff. Fine. He brings in David Robertson. Also fine. And of course, Robertson gets ahead of a batter 0-2 and promptly plunks him. After giving up a run and getting an out, he comes out due to back soreness, so Joe calls on Sergio Mitre. Also fine. Mitre comes in and walks the first batter he faces, with the score still 10-6. Don't even consider the fact that Mitre has been a starter who can pitch several innings, but Girardi yanks him after one batter and brings in Damaso Marte, who retires Russell Branyan and comes out of the game.

Instead of sticking with Mitre, or even Marte, Girardi tries to set the record for the number of pitchers used in an inning and brings in Joba Chamberlain, who was absolutely awful. Four hits and a walk later, the Yankees had completely blown the lead and lost to the Indians. I can't tell what the problem is with Joba (DUMBER): he's either out of shape, a total head case, or the organization has completely ruined him with the starter-reliever switch every single season. The worst part of Joba's outing was the base hits he gave up to a bunch of no names.

I refuse to pick on any of the hitters today, even if they didn't hit for the last half of the game. You score 11 runs, you win the game. Especially when you give your "ace" a couple of different 6 run leads. This game was completely on two people: Joe Girardi and Joba Chamberlain. No one else. After starting the season 21-8, the Yankees are 8-12 over their last 20 games. Today was a bad, painful loss to one of the weakest teams in baseball. The next two games are absolute must wins against Cleveland. It will be completely unacceptable to do anything other than take 3 of 4 from the Tribe.

GRAND Return

Believe it or not, there's not much to complain about in Yankeeland after tonight's 8-2 victory over the Cleveland Indians. These are the games they have to win, and Phil Hughes made sure that they got it done. Hughes was outstanding, Curtis Granderson made his return with a double and a walk, Mark Teixeira showed more signs of coming out of his slump, and Robbie Cano capped off the night with a grand slam to right field. Not to mention Nick Swisher continued his hot hitting, drilling one off the foul pole.

Before the game, I questioned Joe Girardi's selection of the lineup. He decided to give Alex Rodriguez a day off, which is fine, but he did it on a day when Chad Moeller started behind the plate. The bottom three hitters in the order were Brett Gardner, Ramiro Pena, and Moeller. Gardner contributed a sac fly, and Moeller cracked a late double.

Tonight's game was overshadowed by tragedy. As Curtis Granderson was recalled off of the disabled list, the Yankees said goodbye to the legendary Randy Winn, designating him for assignment. I'll miss his slow swings, his poor play in the outfield, and that sickening feeling I got when he struck out against Jonathan Papelbon to end a game last week. Fortunately, the Yankees found Kevin Russo at Scranton, so Winn can hit the road.

In other good news, Jorge Posada was seen today walking around the dugout without the boot on his foot, so his fractured bone is obviously healing very well. According to sources, he took some swings off of a tee and did some running. I think Granderson's return provided a lift, and you can imagine what Posada's return in a few weeks will do to this team. All in all, a great night for the Yankees, and a night on which the Red Sox and Rays both lost at home. The success must continue the remainder of this homestand, with six games left against the Tribe and the Orioles.

Bats No Good

Believe me, there was no bigger goat in tonight's Yankees-Twins game than starting pitcher Javier Vazquez, who was back to his normal, American League self. The Twins teed off on Javy, who looked nothing like the pitcher who dominated the Mets for six innings last weekend. Vazquez was bad, Chan Ho Park continued his disastrous Yankees career, and Chad Gaudin was welcomed back with a three run bomb off the bat of Jason Kubel. It's obviously pretty easy to blame the pitching staff for this one.

However, I'm going to take a different perspective on this one and blame the offense, specifically Alex Rodriguez. Mark Teixeira finally started hitting the ball, but the Yankees' number four hitter is mired in a terrible slump. In the first inning, I thought the game turned in the Twins' favor for good when A-Rod bounced into an inning-ending double play. How many times have the Yankees failed to knock in a runner from third with less than two outs? That's the kind of thing that good teams do. It really does not take too much to loft a fly ball to the outfield.

The pitching was bad tonight, but once in a while, the bats are allowed to have a slugfest. Jeter seems to be picking it up, and Teixeira has had some encouraging at bats over the last two nights. But now it's Rodriguez who is not pulling his own weight. Overall, the Yankees had a 3-3 road trip against tough opponents. Minnesota is leading the AL Central, and, say what you want, the Mets play pretty well at home. At the time of this posting, the Mets are two innings away from sweeping and shutting out the NL Champions for three straight games.

Now, it's time for the Yanks to put up or shut up. It's time for the bats to wake up, and the team to win seven straight games. I understand that's very unfair to ask of any team, but they host the Cleveland Indians and Baltimore Orioles over the next week. There is no reason that these teams should not be swept. Good teams have to beat the bad ones, and the Yankees will have plenty of opportunities over the next few weeks to prove what kind of team they actually are.

Twin Killing

There's not too much you can complain about when your favorite team wins two games in the same day, especially when it happens in the (denard) span of about three hours. Mariano Rivera picked up two saves, Andy Pettitte turned back the clock again, and the Yankees came through with a couple of clutch home runs in both ends of their game and a half doubleheader.

The second half of game one was over pretty quickly. Derek Jeter did his job as captain. According to several sources, he was keeping the clubhouse loose today, even sneaking into Joe Girardi's media session and asking if Joe was ready to push the panic button. Then, he cranked a solo homer in the sixth for the game's only run. A.J. Burnett got a win, despite pitching about 20 hours earlier, and the shaky bullpen held on for the 1-0 victory. You still get nervous with Robertson and Joba on the hill, but they got it done, and Mariano used every inch of Target Field to get through the ninth.

Finally, the nightcap was really just a fantastic baseball game. Once again, the Yanks relied on the gutty, gritty Kevin Russo to knock in a run, score another, and make a phenomenal catch against the left field wall, sending John and Suzyn into a frenzy. The Yankees missed some opportunities early, but Andy Pettitte kept the team in the game with eight solid innings. Watching him pump his fist and jump around after Joe Mauer's double play made me wonder if he was actually 37 years old, or if he's a 23 year old winning a 1-0 game at Fulton County Stadium in Atlanta.

The sequence from Mauer's double play to Nick Swisher's homer in the ninth could be viewed as a turning point in the season. Heck, Mark Teixeira even got two base hits, although he did get thrown out at second base by about 10 feet. But who cares? It's kind of funny how your opinion changes based on the result of the game. Had the bullpen faltered and the Yanks lost a couple of games today, all you'd be reading about was how bad the offense was. Instead, we're talking about great pitching and timely hitting.

Javier Vazquez goes for the sweep tomorrow, but I'm interested in another topic. I'd love to hear from my readers on this one: Is Andy Pettitte a Hall of Famer? My vote is yes. Obviously, as a Yankee fan, I am a bit biased, but you really have to take a look at his numbers and the fact that he has the most playoff victories of all time. I know, I know. He admitted to using performance enhancing drugs, but it was just one time, and he's the one guy who was completely honest to his teammates and Congress about the whole incident. In my opinion, Andy Pettitte belongs in Cooperstown one day.

Fat Chance

It's going to be a short post tonight...I can't take these ESPN games that start at 8:00 on a Sunday. They lead to frustrated, bleary-eyed Monday mornings in the office. The Yankees are on a complete downward spiral, dropping a series to the last place New York Mets after C.C. Sabathia was tattooed by Jason Bay, who increased his whopping home run total to 3 on the season. Once again, the Yankees' bats did not wake up until the late innings, and it was too little too late, as Alex Rodriguez failed to come through against the rain-dancing K-Rod in the ninth inning.

So congratulations, the Mets have won their World Series for 2010. This is not time for me to rip them apart. They did just take a series against my team, but they just act differently and take these games much more seriously than the Yankees do. Either way, the Yankees have no excuses for not taking at least two out of three in this series. Their bats have been silent for days, and other than Javier Vazquez, they have not had a solid start since C.C. Sabathia's outing last Tuesday against the Red Sox.

Thankfully, the team has an off day before a very difficult series at Target Field begins on Tuesday. Did anyone think that the defending World Champions would be 6 games out of first place before Memorial Day? This doesn't mean they're having a terrible season (they are still leading the Wild Card). The Rays are ridiculously good, meaning the Yankees have to battle the rest of the American League for a playoff berth.

Way Off the Mark

Tonight's blog entry will not get into specific details of the entire game this evening. As I am spending the weekend in Pennsylvania, thanks to our good friends at FOX, the Phillies-Red Sox game was the only one I had a chance to watch today. Believe me, it was fantastic to see Daisuke Matsuzaka come within four outs of a no-hitter. I can't really complain about Phil Hughes, because from reading up on the game, it seems like he had an OK start, and the Yankees didn't really hit the ball for about six innings, just like Friday's game. It was also completely shocking to see that Chan Ho Park allowed yet another run to jack his ERA over the 7.00 mark.

Tonight's blog is simply going to discuss something that needs to happen: benching Mark Teixeira. Maybe he needs an eye exam, or maybe he has something going on at home that is affecting his game. If that's the case, I'm sorry to hear that, but he needs some time to work through whatever is going wrong with him. It's either that, or the post-season was the worst thing that could have happened to him. You wonder if pitchers in the 2010 season are using scouting reports based on how horrible he was in October of 2009. Either way, Joe Girardi needs to man up and sit down Teixeira, who aside from a few single games has been absolutely terrible this season. For now, Juan Miranda must be the first baseman for the New York Yankees.

Sadly, the 2009 Yankees are not the 2010 Yankees. You can't do anything about injuries, especially to a young guy like Curtis Granderson. Not signing Johnny Damon was a mistake, and the Yankees are really depending on rookies and a back-up catcher with no power at all. They do lead the Wild Card by two games, but their hot start was really fueled by a super-human Robinson Cano, and lights out pitching. The pitching has hit a rough patch, Cano has really cooled off, and the other guys are not stepping up.

They don't have Phil Hughes in the eighth inning, because he's too good of a starter. His job was replaced by the inconsistent Joba Chamberlain. Hideki Matsui's great season at DH was replaced by a plethora of hitters who have not lived up to Matsui's success in pinstripes. Mark Teixeira was replaced by someone who can't hit. Johnny Damon has been replaced, for now, by Randy Winn, Marcus Thames, and Kevin Russo. Fans should not expect the late inning comebacks that we were used to last season. Instead, it seems that when rallies ensue, Randy Winn, Francisco Cervelli, or even Mark Teixeira are counted on, and they rarely come through.

I completely understand some humorous feedback I have received, calling my blog "bi-polar." You're probably right, but that really reflects the way that the Yankee season has gone thus far. At times, they've looked like the best team in baseball, with lights out pitching and enough hitting to go on a few winning streaks. But things have evened out, and the Yankees unfortunately look more like the '08 Bombers than last year's championship winning squad. It's a long season, things are still in good shape, but at this point, it's difficult to see much of a light at the end of this tunnel.