Girardi Criticized, Angels Cut Series 2-1

Joe Girardi faced the biggest game of his young managerial career, and everyone claims he failed miserably. Girardi had a lot of questionable moves, but this was just his 6th career game as a manager in the postseason, people are suppose to make some mistakes. And in the playoffs, every move is under a microscope.

After Anaheim's 5-4 Game 3 win, no one remembers that Girardi had been a perfect 5-0 in his first post season stint as manager of the NY Yankees. No one remembers how he was 2-0 in extra inning games in these playoffs.

Girardi's biggest blunder was when Brett Gardner was caught stealing with no one out in the top of the 8th. Gardner was put in the game as a pitch runner for Hideki Matsui. Everyone knew there was a high probability that Gardner would attempt to steal second. Girardi sent Gardner on a 0-1 pitch. Mike Sciosia called a pitch out. Gardner was easily thrown out. Score a huge one for the veteran manager.

Then Jorge Posada hit a shot over the centerfield wall. Game tied 4-4, when it could have very easily been Yankees up 5-4.

As for Girardi's micro managing in extra innings? Doesn't every manager do this in extra innings with the season on the line? Jeff Mathis batted .211 for the season. The Angels batted .285 as a team for the season! This should have been the easiest out in the lineup. That's playoff baseball in a nutshell for you. It doesn't matter what kind of regular season you had, anyone can be a hero or a goat come postseason.

Another thing, this game should never had went extra innings, just like Game 2. The Yankees were 0 for 8 with runners in scoring position in both Game 2 and 3! You just went 0-16 with RISP in two straight playoff games! But then you look and the Yankees went 1-1 in those two games. I think if anything, the Angels are under more pressure because it should be them up 2-1.

As for Joba Chamberlain...I don't know where to begin. But it's obvious the Yankees didn't handle the kid correctly. I always thought he was best off in the bullpen. The guy could pitch 1 to 3 innings in relief. And he would be the closer in waiting for when Rivera was done.

Now, you try to make him a starter, he gets injured and has to visit Dr. James Andrews. Then you set up these "Joba Rules" and that just hasn't worked out. I heard someone actually criticize Girardi for bringing Joba into the an inning with one out and saying Joba's more comfortable beginning an inning. How do you buy that? I'm sure a pitcher is more comfortable having to get only 2 outs instead of 3.


Another thing I heard was that people wanted Mike Scioscia to take Vladimir Guerrero out of the cleanup spot or out of the lineup completely. WTF?! Honestly?! All Vlad has done was give the Angels two of their biggest hits in the post season. In the improbable come from behind Game 3 win in Boston, it was Guerrero who came up with the 2 out game winning hit of Jonathan Papelbon to clinch the AlDS. And then down 3-1 in the bottom of the 6th last night, it was Vlad who saved the season for his team with the two run shot to tie the game off of Andy Pettitte. Yeah, he might actually be slower than Matsui, but the guy has always been a gamer.

One other thought...You know I had to mention Mariano Rivera's performance last night. With the game on the line, Rivera got out of a jam with runners on the corners and no one out! Wow! Building on his legacy, Rivera's postseason ERA is now 0.72!

It would have been nice to go up 3-0 and pretty much march to the World Series, but the Yankees basically need to split the next 2 in Anaheim. They have their ace available for two games. They have possibly two home games left. And both A.J. Burnett and Pettitte pitched solid against the Angels. The Yankees are still in control of this series, but now Game 4 is that much more bigger.

Joba vs. Hughes

In just a few hours, the NY Yankees will play their first postseason game since 2007. That seems like 15 years ago.

The last time the Yankees were in the postseason, Paul Byrd was shutting down the Bronx Bombers as Cleveland won the ALDS 3-1. That's right, Paul freakin Byrd!

The Yankees lost Game 4, 6-4. This was also Joe Torre's last game as NY's manager. They had 12 hits, 3 walks and only mustered 4 runs, a typical Torre managed Yankees team.

Chien Ming-Wang lasted 1 inning, giving up 4 runs. A sign of things to come?

This was also the series featuring Joba Chamberlain and the "bug game." This was Joba's sensational rookie season as he was dominate coming out of the bullpen as the perfect setup man for the great Mariano Rivera.

The Yankees had another hot prospect rookie pitcher in Phil Hughes. Hughes was considered to be the starting pitcher of the future for the Yankees.

Well, two years later the roles are reversed. Since the middle of last season, the Yankees have moved Joba to the starting role. They've monitored his pitch count, gave him a visit to Dr. James Andrews and even put into effect the "Joba Rules."

Joba has shown flashes of brilliance as a starter, but he's also been wild and inconsistent.

This season, Hughes was shaky again as a starter thus making Joe Girardi move Hughes to the bullpen. It may have been one Girardi's smartest moves of the season.

A look at Joba vs. Hughes as relievers:

2007-08 Joba: 50 games, 3-2, 60 innings, 1.50 ERA, 79 K's, 20 BB, 39 hits, 10 ER,
opponents batting average-.182
2009 Hughes: 44games, 5-1, 51.1 innings, 1.40 ERA, 65 K's, 13 BB, 31 hits, 8 ER,
oba-.172

Wow! Pretty similar. So what's this mean?

1. The Yankees are stacked in the bullpen.
2. It's a good thing Brian Cashman didn't pull the trigger on the Hughes/Cano/Melky trade for Johan Santana.
3. Joba probably has lost his job in the bullpen.
4. Joba really better have a couple of solid starts in the postseason or Cashman may have second thoughts of not trading Joba for Roy Halladay.

Let's go Yankees!

What A Relief

With the Yankees looking at Joba Chamberlain's future, New York got 6 solid innings from their bullpen. Joba threw only 35 pitches in 3 innings as the Yankees completed their sweep over the Chicago White Sox.

Alfredo Aceves pitched 3 innings allowing no runs and just 2 hits. Aceves qualified for the win and is now 9-1.

The bullpen came in threw 6 innings, giving up 5 hits and only 1 earned run.

With the Yankees clinging to a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the 7th, New York broke it open with 5 runs highlighted by Mark Teixeira's 3 run home run. It was Teixeira's 32nd of the year and his 4 RBI's gives him an American League best 101.

Joba has struggled in August. In 5 starts, he's 1-2 with an 8.22 ERA. In those 5 games, he has 18 K's to 15 BB's. His ERA for the season in 25 starts is 4.38.

Joba is probably the 4th best starter in the rotation. He's had his ups and downs. The big money is how he'll contribute in the postseason. Joba's only previous postseason experience is the "bug game" in Cleveland.

The White Sox have now dropped 7 of 8 and are quickly sinking out of post season contention. And off course Ozzie Guillen chimed in.

"Well, we came to New York and visited the new Yankee Stadium. It is a very nice ballpark, and the hotel we stayed at was also very nice," manager Ozzie Guillen said. "That's all I have to say about these last three days."

New York is now a MLB best 82-48, 31-11 since the All Star break, and 6 games up on Boston.

Statement Game

Well, that monkey is gone, thankfully.

On a night with Muhammad Ali on hand, the Yankees sent a knockout blow to the Red Sox. NY's 13-6 win was highlighted by a 8 run 4th inning that might have sent John Smoltz into retirement.

Jorge Posada and Melky Cabrera each hit 3 run homers in the fatal fourth as the Yankees finally beat the Red Sox and are now 3 1/2 games up on the Sox.

The Yankees finished with 18 hits with every starter getting at least 1 hit. The Yankees got 10 RBI's from the bottom of the lineup.

How bad was Smoltz? He only lasted 3.1 innings, giving up 9 hits and 8 earned runs. For the year, Smoltz is 2-5 with a 8.32 ERA.

On the other side, Joba Chamberlain wasn't his post all star break superior self. Joba was wild in 5 innings walking 7 batters! All the walks hiked Joba's pitch count to a total of 108. He did get the win and is now 8-2.

Yankee killer David Ortiz was 0-5 and now batting .222! As a team, Boston left 15 runners on base and were 3-21 with runners in scoring position.

With the Yankees up 13-4 in the 8th inning, relief pitcher Mark Melancon got a little wild against Dustin Pedroia. Melancon threw one over Pedroia and the next pitch hit Pedroia. Posada had to walk Pedroia down to first base as Pedroia's lips never stopped moving as he stared at the pitcher's mound.

Now wouldn't that have been a sight, Dustin Pedroia charging the pitcher's mound!

I highly doubt the Yankees were looking to hit Pedroia. I mean they were up 13-4. Melancon has only 10 total innings pitching in the big leagues. Last night was probably the biggest game he's ever pitched in and the emotions probably ran a little high and he got wild. But in light of what just happened the other night between the Dodgers/Brewers, anything will be questionable. Melancon was not ejected.

The was the second sell out at the new Yankee Stadium, the first was opening day. Jorge Posada was a triple shy of the cycle. Joba is the first Yankees pitcher to win a game with 7 BB's since David Cone 4/9/99 against Detroit.

Game 2 Friday night is probably Boston's best chance to win a game in this series as Josh Beckett goes for Boston. Beckett is notorious for nailing down the Yankees.

Yankees Still Rolling, Set MLB Record

On a night where Joba Chamberlain had the best game of his career, the first place New York Yankees set a MLB record. That record? 18 straight games without an error. During that span, the Yankees are 14-4.

A big part of that record can be credited to Mark Teixeira. Not only does Teixeira bring consistency at the plate, by he also brings a gold glove to first base. The Yankees really haven't had a solid first baseman since Tino Martinez.

While exorcising the demons from the 2007 playoff "bug game" in Cleveland, Joba returned to the scene of the crime and Progressive Field was littered with birds and the infamous midges.

Chamberlain got to work right away retiring the first 11 Cleveland batters he faced. Joba also had the longest outing of his career pitching 8 innings. For the night, Joba gave up 2 runs, 4 hits, 5 K's and 2 walks. He also hit 97 mph as he approached 100 pitches.

But the biggest play of the game was Joba's defense. With runners on first and second and nobody out, Kelly Shoppach bunted a ball that popped up toward the third base line. Joba quickly jumped off the mound and made a full body dive to catch and ball and land on his stomach. Joba got back up and fired the ball to second for the double play. After the play, Joba did his signature fist pump. It was an amazing play!

Mariano Rivera came on and worked a perfect ninth for his 11th save and the Yankees have now won 15 of the last 19. The scary thing? This team is only getting better.

Derek Jeter extended his hitting streak to 15 games and has upped his average to .311. Guess he's washed up. Teixeira also extended his hit streak to 14 games.

After Horrible Start, Yankees Still 7-6

How the NY Yankees are 7-6 is quite amazing considering their start. They've been blown out of games, most recently the 22-4 home loss to the Indians. They've given up 10 or more runs in 5 of 13 games. Of course all of this has been without A-Rod, Mark Teixeira had a wrist injury, Hideki Matsui had fluid drained from his knee, and Xavier Nady is banged up.

So where do we begin?

Chien-Ming Wang has been the biggest disappointment by far. This is a guy who nearly won the Cy Young a couple of years ago. Wang has been horrendous, which is even an understatement. I'm not sure if Wang has pitched more than three innings in a game. Through 3 starts, here is Wang's line:
34.5 ERA!, 6 innings pitched, 23 hits, 23 earned runs, 6 BB and only 2 K's.

Holy crap! The Yankees have lost 6 games, 3 of them coming in Wang's three starts. But you know what, no matter how bad you get beat in one game, it's just one game.

So Wang gets skipped in the rotation this week. That's a start. The Yankees are going to need more help in the starting rotation. How does Pedro Martinez in pinstripes sound? Right now, not bad.

The Yankees and many others have not given up on Phil Hughes, myself included. I just don't think they're ready to call him up just yet. But expect him in the starting rotation real soon.

Of course the Yankees are really hurting in the bullpen. But you also have to take in account the high number of innings the bullpen has pitched. Heck, when Wang starts, the bullpen has been expected to pitch basically the entire game.

Demaso Marte has been horrible with an ERA sitting at 21.00! Boy, how does that Xavier Nady/Marte trade sound now? The Yankees could have easily picked up Jason Bay instead of Nady. Bay is a much better overall player and has a greater track record than Nady. And of course the Red Sox quickly jumped on Bay after Brian Cashman failed to cash in on that deal. Once again, Theo Epstein got the better of Cashman on that deal.

And who was involved in that Yankees/Pirates trade last summer? The Yankees sent Ross Ohlendorf to the Pirates. All Ohlendorf did yesterday was blank the hottest team in baseball, the Florida Marlins, pitching 7 innings of 2 hit shutout baseball.

In Marte's defense, the left was basically brought in to put out big time left handers like David Ortiz.

The bullpen issues thus far leads me to this...Joba.

Joba Chamberlain is more of a threat in the bullpen. Coming out of the bullpen, he can hold down the 7th and 8th innings and is the perfect setup for the Yankees most lethal weapon, Mariano Rivera. Also, the Yankees can use Joba 4 to 5 times a week.

The lone bright spot in the Yanks' bullpen has been Brian Bruney with a 2.57 ERA.

But so far, the trusty Yankee veterans have kept the team together. Andy Pettitte has looked good. Captain Derek Jeter has already won two games with a homerun. Jorge Posada won the game on Sunday. And Rivera has been unhittable.

Robinson Cano is notorious for starting slow and finishing strong, has come out his year on fire, batting .388.

And Nick Swisher is already a fan favorite batting .333 and his 4 homeruns leads the team. And oh, he's also pitched one inning with one strikeout and a 0.00 ERA.

So we'll see if Wang can get back to what he's capable of and wait for A-Rod's return. If the Yankees can keep their heads above water, they're still one of the most dangerous teams in baseball.

And there's a little series this weekend at Fenway Park.

Joba Chamberlain Is Human

My first advice to Joba Chamberlain, stay out of Nebraska. I know it's your hometown and your family and friends live there, but you're so much bigger than the entire state.

Joba, you are the biggest thing to come out of Nebraska since Kool-Aid, Johnny Carson and Warren Buffet. So everytime you come home, your every move is under the microscope.

Since joining the New York Yankees, Joba's annual salary is "only" $390,000, just barley above the league minimum.

With that being said, Joba is an injury or boneheaded move away from his stock plummeting worse than Wall St.

Once Joba signs that $60 million contract, than I'm sure he'll have his own driver, move his entire family to better a place and hang out at more elaborate strip clubs. Um, maybe Scores in NYC.

For anyone who criticizes Joba for being arrested for DUI or being at a strip club is a hypocrite. We've all driven after drinking a few. We've all been to a strip club. I'm sure we've all done both on the same night.

Remember Joba, at 23 years old, is still just a kid. If Joba hadn't been pulled over, the New York tabloids would have never sent writers to Nebraska to dig up more dirt on Joba. Now all the sudden it's a crime Joba goes to local watering holes and ventures to strip clubs with friends.

Of course the tabloids want to find dirt on a young phenom from a small midwest town with a squeaky clean image who had to struggle growing up with a single handicapped parent.

Hey, it's not like Joba drug is girlfriend down a flight of stairs, was ripping zippers on the bar or pulled a Pac Man and shot up the joint. So lay off the guy.

And by the way, you don't need to show up at his sick father's front door to ask questions. Go to Joba himself.

I'm sure Joba has learned his lesson and will probably never show his face in his home state, where for the last two years the guy has been considered a hero.

Anyone from Nebraska knows the only thing to do there is consume large amounts of alcohol and pour your heart and soul out for Cornhusker Football. And also, Nebraska authority has nothing better to do than be "by the book" and arrest people people for petty misdemeanors and meth.

As for the bandwagon Red Sox fan who heckled Joba at the strip club? I'm sure the douchebag has already traded in his Tom Brady jersey for a Titan's Chris Johnson jersey and has his Kevin Garnett jersey hanging in the closet waiting for the NBA to tipoff. The same ass clown probably has saved every newspaper about the Joba incident and will tell his grandkids about it as he takes the biggest highlight of his miserable life to his grave.

Creepin On A Come Up

To date, this is by far the most important week of the year for the NY Yankees. Three games vs. the Twins, followed by 3 games at Fenway Park.



Coming into the week I hoped for the Yankees to go 4-2.

But dam! The Yankees are hot. A 3 game sweep against Minnesota puts the Twins in the rearview mirror and the Yankees sitting alone in second place for the Wild Card.

Since the All Star Break, the Yankees have yet to lose, going 6-0. Yesterday's 5-1 win vs Minnesota gave New York their 10th consecutive home win.

A lot of New York's second half success has to do with the return of Johnny Damon from the DL and Robinson Cano pulling his annual coming out of hibernation for the second half. Cano had is 6th consecutive multi hit game yesterday.

Also, May 28th was the last time Joba Chamberlain made a relief appearance. The Yankees were in last place.

Since Joba has been in the starting rotation, the Yankees are 30-18 and in striking distance of not only the Wild Card, but first place for the Eastern Division. The Yankees are 6-3 in games which Chamberlain starts.

New York's bullpen has been doing just fine without Joba, the relievers have a combined 1.65 ERA for the last month. In his last 10 appearances, Kyle Farnsworth hasn't allowed a hit since June 22.

And now, the Yankees are looking up at the hated Red Sox, 3 games separating the two teams.

The Yankees have had trouble so far this year against the BoSox, going 4-5, and Boston has one of the best home records in baseball (36-11)

New York's rotation sets up nicely for the weekend series with Chamberlain, Andy Pettitte and the pleasant surprising pitching of Sidney Ponson.

The Red Sox will counter with Josh Beckett, Tim Wakefield and Jon Lester.

I would love a Yankees' sweep, and the way they're playing I wouldn't be surprised. But realistically I have to hope for 2 out of 3.

Funny, a couple of weeks the always heated rivalry didn't mean anything. Now, both teams are in position to lead the division.

And with the return of Big Papi, the atmosphere, excitement and emotion will be crazy yet once again for this heated rivalry.

Yankees Sweep Astros In Houston

My biggest highlight since I've lived in Houston was this past weekend when the NY Yankees visited Minute Maid Park for a weekend interleague series. The weekend was filled with mostly positives, the lone negative being the Yankees possibly losing ace Chien-Ming Wang for the season.

Yankees fans shouldn't keep their heads down. Mussina got his 10th win of the season on Saturday, Joba pitched 6 strong innings on Friday, Andy Pettitte is Andy Pettitte and Darrell Rasner continues to pitch solid.



And a 3 game sweep in Houston put New York 4 games above .500 (37-33) and now 5 1/2 behind Boston. With all that being said, the Yanks as of now are minus a 5th slinger. Rumors already developing about the possibility of landing Cleveland pitcher C.C. Sabathia.

Back to the weekend. Friday night's game I had great seats, 5 rows behind the Yankees' on deck circle. Combine that with Nebraska native, flame thrower Joba Chamberlain making his third start and even Rudy Giuliani throwing out the first pitch, and you know it was set to be a memorable night. All this happening on Friday the 13th.

Still not quite sure why Giuliani made the trip all the way to Houston, maybe to strike some oil deal (no pun intended). Giuliani sat behind home plate with Astros' owner Drayton McLane. Rudy never hesitated to sign an autograph or pose for pictures.



The weather was also a sweltering 96 degrees all weekend, but never mind, Minute Maid Park had the roof closed in the AC blasting. Honestly, it must cost $5 million to cool that park down.

Friday's game was a total pitcher's duel. Not surprising with Joba on the mound, but the Stros' countering with former Yankee Shawn Chacon! This happened to be the one in every ten starts where Chacon actually looks good. Chacon limited the Yankees to just 3 hits in 6 1/3. But his pitch count reached the triple digits and he was pulled. In 2005 and 2006, Chacon actually looked decent in New York going 12-6 in his brief stay in pinstripes.

Watching Joba that close up was awesome! Yeah, he may not have his control down, reminiscent of "Wild Thing" Vaughn from Major League, but you can tell this guy will dominate the Majors for many years to come.

Chamberlain finished throwing 6 innings, allowing 6 hits, only 2 K's, and walking 4. Joba had 89 pitches and Girardi said he would have left him in another inning if he hadn't been forced to pinch hit 4 Joba in the 7th.

Being played in a National League Park, Joba was forced to hit, going 0-2 and striking out his first time up. This was the only time Joba looked out of character.
After striking out Brad Ausmus to end the 6th, Joba even did a fist pump.

Sitting so close to the Yanks' on deck circle, I was able to give all of them my vocal support. Especially Joba, Yelling "Go Huskers", "Nebraska represent", "Go Big Red", etc. And everytime, Joba turned around, smiled at me and tipped his helmet. What a fuckin stud. I later found out that Joba hears similar chants every park he goes to. Husker Nation baby!

Astros' manager Cecil Cooper tried to take advantage on Joba's windup by being aggressive on the base paths. The Astros stole 4 bases but were also thrown out a franchise record 4 times.



With the game tied 1-1 in the top of the 8th, Captain Derek Jeter led off with a tie breaking, game winning solo shot opposite field. Sweet! It was Jeter's 199th career homerun and after the game, Jeter had 259 career interleague hits, a MLB record.

The only other downer of the series was Mariano Rivera not appearing in any game. 2-1 in the bottom of the ninth, I looked out at the Yankee bullpen expecting to see one of my all time favorite Yankees stroll out with his patented, intimidating walk to close it out. Who did I see? Kyle Farnsworth! What a buzz kill. Apparently Rivera had pitched in 5 of the last 6 games for New York so Girardi gave him the night off.

Farnsworth closed it out and the Yankees took game 1, 2-1.



Saturday night's game, Mike Mussina gave up a three run homer to Carlos Lee in the first inning, but that was pretty much it. Moose got his 10th win of the year, and the Yankees won 8-4.

Sunday, my girlfriend and I spent Father's Day at Series Finale. The Yankees bat's were in full effected crushing the Astro's 13-0. Arod hit his 12th homer of the year, a moon shot to deep left. Of course, this was also the game Wang injured himself running the bases.

The only time Houston poised any threat was the bottom of third, two outs and runners at the corners. Miguel Tejada ripped one down the left field line and ARod (who probably muffs the play 9 times out of 10) made a dazzling play to rob Tejada and the Astros. Of course on such an exciting play like that, my emotions may have got the best of me and I immediatley jumped up and yelled. That was followed by a few fans telling me to Shh! and don't be so loud. WTF? I know I was in the opposing team's ballpark, but come on! Did I mention that at least 25% of the fans were wearing Yankees paraphernalia?

Astro's fans tell their own fans to "sit down, you're in the way," with the bases loaded and Lance "Big Puma" Berkman up at the plate. Weak!

Enjoy the pictures!

I'll start out with the Giambi Girls at Minute Maid Park.