Results tagged ‘ Brett Gardner ’
Dream Job / Fantasy Teams
Ok, so, MLBs got the perfect job opening for a guy like me…and it so happens Im in a position that I could use a job like that. Match made in heaven, right? Well, maybe not since the only voice Ive ever aired on this blog is that of “Angry Yankee fan arguing against angry Yankee Haters” hence my name…
Ive attempted to branch out my skill on this blog to that of my fantasy rosters. Ive got 2 teams drafted, 1 to draft this sunday and maybe one more depending on how I feel about it. Thus, it would cause me to not only watch other games besides those played by the Yankees and their rivals, but to really invest myself in them as well…example: Twins vs White Sox games wouldnt exactly thrill me, but my teams contain Young and Cuddyer vs Danks and Alexi Ramirez-all of a sudden Ive got reason to sit through that series.
So…in the hope of getting the dream job that just last month came into existence, but sure enough has been a job Ive secretly wanted for years…I feel I need to show that Im more than an opinionated Yankee fan. Again, here are my fantasy rosters, and the reasons I drafted that way…
The Pretenders:
C-Buster Posey
1B-Aubrey Huff
2B-Dan Uggla
3B-Alex Rodriguez
SS-Alexi Ramirez
OF-Alex Rios
Shane Victorino
Delmon Young
U-Brett Gardner
Vladimir Guerrero
Bench-Colby Rasmus
Neil Walker
Michael Cuddyer
SP-Tim Lincecum
David Price
Josh Johnson
Roy Oswalt
Ryan Dempster
Ricky Romero
RP-Brian Wilson
John Axford
Leo Nunez
I’ve actually been trade requested twice by another owner looking to get Price, Posey and ARod in exchange for Sabathia, Mauer and Zimmerman. Thats a pretty good trade, but the reason I keep turning my friends request down is because Rodriguez is always a lock for 30 home runs and 100 rbis. Price and Sabathia were interchangable last year, so as long as you have one, youre ok for a Cy Young hopeful. Getting Mauer was tempting since he puts up great numbers for a catcher, but for keeping ARod, Im willing to risk Posey in his 1st full season. Its not a very big risk. Maybe if Mauer had another big year last year, but he seems to not hit the same in Target Field like he did in the Metrodome. Be it Mauer isnt the same at home or ARods guarenteed numbers, Ive had 0 regrets in denying the trades.
I tend to be bad at drafting a middle infield, but in this draft I had the #2 pick and Hanley is by and far the best option at short and Dan Uggla kinda fell into my lap. Im not arguing, since hes still one of the best second basemen in the NL.
My outfields tend to be more speed oriented and this year proved to be no different. Any given day I have Brett Gardner, Shane Victorino and Alex Rios in the lineup. In addition to Hanley, Ill have nothing to worry about in the SB department. Im also rolling the dice on Vladimir Guerrero that he still has another quality season in the tank. Hitting in the heart of a Baltimore lineup poised to send shockwaves through the AL east? I like those odds…
My starting pitchers are strait up nasty! Lincecum, Price, Oswalt and Josh Johnson need no justification. Dempster is a 200 inning/200K machine, and Brian Wilson has quietly been one of the most automatic closers in baseball.
The Lozers:
C-Brian McCann
1B-Derrek Lee
2B-Robinson Cano
3B-Miguel Tejada
SS-Alexi Ramirez
OF-Ryan Braun
Nick Swisher
Matt Holliday
U-Michael Bourn
John Buck
Bench-Pablo Sanvoval
Mike Aviles
Magglio Ordonez
SP-Justin Verlander
Yovani Gallardo
Dan Haren
John Danks
Brett Myers
Madison Bumgarner
Bronson Arroyo
Anibal Sanchez
RP-Mariano Rivera
Ryan Franklain
McCann in the best catcher in the NL, Cano is the best 2B in the AL. I could argue that they might be better than Mauer/Utley but thats all speculative. Derrek Lee has the same this going for him the Guerrero does. Bourn is the sole base stealer on this team, but with a track record of stealing 52, 61 and 41 over the last three years, I doubt he needs much help. Braun and Holliday provide some solid hitting each with over a .300 average, 25 homers and 100 rbi campaigns last season.
In the past Ive always used Aviles as a replacment for an injured player and hes always produced nicely as a result. I figured Id just draft him and avoid the rush this year. Good bench middle infielders are impossible to come by these days. Im risking that Pablos dropped weight equals better play…and anyone else remember Ordonez? He dropped mad low in this draft. Hes at a certain age, really wants to win a wolrd series and plays in the AL central. Im banking that hes gonna have a solid year…
My pitchers my not be as high profile as my other team, but they can still put up numbers. Verlander and Gallardo always seem to be int he Cy Young talk. Rivera now has a number to strive for in his quest for the all time saves record, and it so happens to be 42…as in: The last player to ever wear 42 in baseball needs only 42 saves to catch the all time saves record.
Right…better wrap this up…like I said, I got another team to draft on sunday. My aim to to draft a team that has 0 players Ive already drafted. It limits my options, but it does force me to consider what those other players are capable of. Its an interesting experiment and Im hoping it leads to a couple league titles.
Fantasy 2011
Here we go again, baby! Time to draft me some fantasy champions!
Unlike last year, there will be no group run team. Too messy and we finished near the bottom. My solo teams ran much better (3 of 4 playoff berths, 2 league titles)
In-draft commenting will happen, once my draft goes live….
2nd in draft order!
I wont get contract-year-Pujols, which is unfortunate, but Im guarenteed to get Hanley Ramirez. In my drafts, good middle infielders are hard to come by, so I can work with this.
…1st, pick, Hanley
…2nd? ARod
3rd? Tim Lincecum
Not bad so far…
round 4: Buster Posey
rounds 5: Dan Uggla
How bout some pitching domination? rounds 6 and 7: David Price and Josh Johnson
8 and 9: Alex Rios and Brian Wilson
10/11: Oswalt and Victorino
…crap, Corey Harts still on the table? Crap…
…and right before I can snatch him up, someone autodraft gets him…figures…
12/13: Delmon Young and Colby Rasmus…
14 and 15 are…Huff and Gardner
16-21: Aardsma, Dempster, Guerrero, Romero, Neil Walker, Cuddyer and John Axford.
Not bad considering I didnt prep. Awesome infield, speed minded outfield and an awesome rotation.
Week 23 in review: Not as advertised
Yeah yeah yeah…Yankees and Rangers was billed as a playoff preview, but the Yankees didnt treat it as such. If this were the playoffs, the Yanks wouldntve sent out that trio of poor pitchers and nobodies. That series featured no Sabathia, no Pettitte and only a bullpen appearence (0 runs allowed) of Hughes.
So let the Rangers celebrate, the Yankees will be a wet towel on their parade come October.
Playoff Board:
AL bEAST
New York Yankees
Tampa Bay Rays (0.5 out / E:20)
Boston Red Sox (8 out / E:12)
Toronto Blue Jays (14 out / E:6)
AL CENTRAL
Minnesota Twins
Chicago White Sox (6 out / E:14)
Detroit Tigers (13.5 out / E:6)
AL WEST
Texas Rangers
Oakland Athletics (8.5 out / E:12)
California Los Angeles Anaheim Angels of Anaheim (10 out / E:10)
AL WILD CARD
Tampa Bay Rays
Chicago White Sox/Boston Red Sox (7.5 out / E:13)
Toronto Blue Jays (13.5 out / E:7)
Detroit Tigers (15 out / E:5)
Oakland Athletics (15 out E:6)
California Los Angeles Anaheim Angels of Anaheim (16.5 out / E:4)
NL EAST
Philadelphia Phillies
Atlanta Braves (1 out / E:18)
Florida Marlins (9 out / E:11)
New York Mets (12.5 out / E:7)
NL CENTRAL
Cincinnati Reds
St. Louis Cardinals (6 out / E:15)
Houston Astros (13 out / E:7)
Milwaukee Brewers (14.5 out / E:6)
Chicago Cubs (19 out / E:1)
NL WEST
San Diego Padres/San Francisco Giants
Colorado Rockies (1.5 out / E:18)
Los Angeles Dodgers (10 out / E:9)
NL WILD CARD
Atlanta Braves
San Diego Padres (1 out / E:19)
San Francisco Giants (1 out / E:18)
Colorado Rockies (2.5 out / E:17)
St. Louis Cardinals (6.5 out / E:14)
Florida Marlins (8 out / E:12)
Los Angeles Dodgers (11 out / E:8)
New York Mets (11.5 out / E:8)
Hoston Astros (13.5 out / E:6)
Milwaukee Brewers (15 out / E:5)
Biggest Yankee Game:
9/8/10: Yankees-3, Orioles-2
Not much to say as it was the lone Yankee win last week. Much thanks to Swisher for winning this for us in walk off fashion.
Favorite Picture:
Yeah. This was handed out in Milwaukee. Brewers suck. Cubs suck. Its all fun.
Fantasy:
The F*cking Lozers f*cking lost. I guess it was their destiny or something. Didnt help that the other guy had Joey Votto or that Juan Pierre and Brett Gardner decided to stop stealing bases.
Anyway…
F*cking Lozers: Final week. 3rd place battle.
Showdown: (8-15) 5th in division.
-Eliminated from playoffs.
Pretenders: (68 pts) 6th in division. 31pts back of 1st, 1.5pts back of 5th, 10.5pts up on 7th.
cpDOOM! 2.0: (15-8) 2nd in division. 2 games back of 1st, 2 games up on 3rd.
-Eliminated for division, Currently holding the 3 seed for playoffs in final week of regular season
Roid Sox: (13-10) 1st in division. 1 game up on 2nd.
This Week:
Rays and Orioles…and Andy Pettittes comming back.
-a win gets me in the playoffs. A loss wont kill me, but then Id need a lot of help.
Week 22 in review: Good-bye, Boston
How far back are they? 10 games? Can they really win 10 more games than the Yankees this month? No, no they cant. But once again they face the Rays in a series, meaning either they win and climb closer in the standings, or the Rays win and continue to breathe down out encks so Im not sure who to root for.
Playoff Board:
AL bEAST
New York Yankees
Tampa Bay Rays (2.5 out / E:24)
Boston Red Sox (10 out / E:16)
Toronto Blue Jays (15.5 out / E:11)
AL CENTRAL
Minnesota Twins
Chicago White Sox (3.5 out / E:23)
Detroit Tigers (12 out / E:14)
Kansas City Royals (22.5 out / E:4)
Cleveland Indians (25 out / E:1)
AL WEST
Texas Rangers
Oakland Athletics (8 out / E:19)
California Los Angeles Anaheim Angels of Anaheim (9.5 out / E:17)
Seattle Mariners (21.5 out / E:5)
AL WILD CARD
Tampa Bay Rays
Chicago White Sox (7 out / E:20)
Boston Red Sox (7.5 out / E:19)
Toronto Blue Jays (13 out / E:14)
Detroit Tigers (15.5 out / E:11)
Oakland Athletics (16 out E:11)
California Los Angeles Anaheim Angels of Anaheim (17.5 out / E:9)
Kansas City Royals (26 out / E:1)
NL EAST
Atlanta Braves
Philadelphia Phillies (1 out / E:25)
Florida Marlins (9 out / E:18)
New York Mets (12 out / E:14)
Washington Nationals (20 out / E:6)
NL CENTRAL
Cincinnati Reds
St. Louis Cardinals (7 out / E:21)
Houston Astros (15 out / E:12)
Milwaukee Brewers (16 out / E:11)
Chicago Cubs (20.5 out / E:6)
NL WEST
San Diego Padres
San Francisco Giants (1 out / E:26)
Colorado Rockies (4.5 out / E:23)
Los Angeles Dodgers (8 out / E:19)
Arizona Diamondbacks (21 out / E:6)
NL WILD CARD
Philadelphia Phillies
San Francisco Giants (2 out / E:24)
St. Louis Cardinals (5.5 out / E:22)
Colorado Rockies (5.5 out / E:21)
Florida Marlins (8 out / E:19)
Los Angeles Dodgers (9 out / E:17)
New York Mets (11 out / E:15)
Hoston Astros (13.5 out / E:13)
Milwaukee Brewers (14.5 out / E:12)
Chicago Cubs/DC Nationals (19 out / E:7)
Arizona Diamondbacks (22 out / E:4)
Biggest Yankee Game:
9/2/10: Yankees-5, Athletics-0
C. Cy Sabathia was just nasty, making the A’s his own and becomming the 1st pitcher in baseball to 19 wins. Cy Young anyone?
Favorite Picture:
Nyjer Morgan had ideas about starting a fist fight, Gabby Sanchez had other ideas. BAM! Clothsline! Morgan on his rear!
Fantasy:
Showdown: (8-14) 5th in division. 8 games back of 1st, 3 games back of 4th, 1 game up on last.
-Eliminated from playoffs.
…and the great multi-owner experiment fails miserably.
Pretenders: (69 pts) 6th in division. 28pts back of 1st, 3pts back of 5th, 8pts up on 7th.
cpDOOM! 2.0: (14-8) 2nd in division. 3 games back of 1st, 2 games up on 3rd.
-Eliminated for division, Currently holding the 3 seed for playoffs, very close to clinching.
Roid Sox: (12-10) t-1st in division. 1 game up on 3rd.
-Currently in playoff picture, but need to win this week to keep in there.
F*cking Lozers:
Semi-finals: (2) F*cking Lozers vs the 6 seed.
I’m hoping to ride the hot streaks of Marcus Thames and Wandy Rodriguez and hoping Tim Lincecums last start is the sign that hes finally returning to his former glory.
The other guy pulled off a 8-5 upset over the 3 seed and has an equally impressive lineup that includes Joey Votto and Sabathia.
The only lock of a statistic is stolen bases in my favor what with Juan Pierre, Michael Bourn and Brett Gardner patroling my outfield.
Will I finally advance to the finals this year, or will it be 3 strait years of semi-failure?
Next Week:
Baltimore and Texas. Theres no reason for us to not be in 1st after playing these two…
Tonight as told by numbers…
As I come down from the heart attack tonights game gave me (in no small part from Elvis Andrus’ leadoff triple), let me take a moment to break down some interesting numbers from the win.
17: the number of Yankees who struck out tonight. 17?!?! How the hell did we win when that many outs were made by the K? 11 of them came via Cliff Lee, then 1 by every last Ranger reliever afterwards. Seriously-when your team strikes out 17 of the other guys, winning should not even be in doubt…and yet…
4: the number of strikeouts the Yankee pitchers got against the Rangers tonight. Big. Fukk. Difference. 4 is also the amount of times the slumping Nick Swisher struck out tonight.
1: only 1 Yankee who hit managed to avoid striking out tonight-Lance Berkman.
6-1: the score after the fifth inning with the Rangers leading and Cliff Lee still pitching.
4: also happens to be the exact amount of wins the Yankees have this month…and we’re almost halfway through the month. Just a point of reference, last month on this day, the Yankees had racked up 9 wins already.
5: the amount of games that the Yankees still lead the Red Sox by
1.5: the current Yankee lead over the Tampa Bay Rays
3: the number of bases that Elvis Andrus ran for to lead off the bottom of the ninth with, putting the tying run 90 feet away with 0 outs.
0: the number of runs that scored after that triple in the bottom of the ninth because Mariano Rivera is cluuuuuuuutch.
4-1: the record the Yankees currently have vs Texas this season.
32: the number of stolen bases Brett Gardner currently has. Good for fifth in the AL.
1: the amount of wins Kerry Wood now has as a Yankee.
24: Rivera now has that many saves.
70: the number of wins the Yankees now have this season to lead the majors.
Week 13 in review: All Star tweaking
Lets take a moment to single out all the Yankees on this years All Star team.
-Derek Jeter. As always, one of the best shortstops in the AL. The no-brainer pick to win the vote.
-Robinson Cano. The best 2B in all of baseball. Again, a no-brainer selection.
-C.C. Sabathia. Good 1st half, though he wont play if he pitches on Sunday against the Mariners.
-Phil Hughes. One of the best 1st halfs of any AL pitcher. Should be a no-brainer to start if not for his recent streak of high ERA.
-Alex Rodriguez. Only injuries could stop him from being an All Star, and this year he was healthy (thus far *knock on wood*)
-Mariano Rivera. Best closer in history. Always gets the save for the AL. The man probably has a lifetime roster spot reserved for him.
-Andy Pettitte. Thats right b!tches. Pettittes an All Star. Replacing an injured person, but he was gonna be an All Star anyway for the beforementioned Sabathia thing. That was Girardis plan all along, or so he claimed. Though, I dont see why he couldve had a Red Sox pitcher replace Sabathia, forcing Jon Lester to wait until the last minute out of spite…
-Nick Swisher (as soon as he wins the final vote thing). Because I said so…
Biggest Yankee Game:
7/4/10: Yankees-7, Blue Jays-6, 10 innings
Holy crap. That game went back and forth and back and forth the whole damn time. Jays by a run, Yanks by 2, then its Jays by 2, then Gardner hits a 2 run inside the park homer to tie it up, Yanks take a 1 run lead into the 9th, Jays touch Rivera up to tie it up again, then Thames literally comes up off the DL to win it for us in the 10th. DeWayne Wise prolly has more than a few mixed moments from the whole game himself…
Momentum building win for the Yankees, making them the first 50 win team in baseball…while the Blue Jays slip below .500
I think its officially over for them this year. Though God dammit a few more key additions for them and they can contend long term…
Favorite Picture:
During the Yankees 6-1 loss to the Blue Jays over the weekend, Chan Ho Park came in and was anything but effective. During that outing, he hits Aaron Hill with a pitch and knocks him over, to which the Yankees announcer, Michael Kay says “…and Chan Ho Parks Aaron Hill.” Which I laughed at for a while. I couldnt find a picture or video of it, so heres a pic of Park from that very game, which is the best I can give you right now…
Fantasy:
The following are all 5 of my fantasy teams, and (purely for my ego and bad @s$ drafting/trading/waiver skills) All Stars for each of them…
The Roid Sox:
-Justin Morneau
-Brandon Phillips
-Jose Bautista
-Miguel Cabrera
-Ty Wigginton
-Nick Swisher*
Showdown:
-Brian McCann
-David Ortiz
-Alex Rodriguez
cpDOOM 2.0:
-Jose Bautista
-Carl Crawford
-Ryan Braun
-Chris Young
-Ty Wigginton
-Nick Swisher*
Pretenders:
-Derek Jeter
-Marlon Byrd
-Roy Halladay
-Phil Hughes
F*cking Lozers:
-Brandon Phillips
-Evan Longoria
-Corey Hart
-Michael Bourn
-John Buck
-Tim Lincecum
-Josh Johnson
-Phil Hughes
-Trevor Cahill
-Brian Wilson
This Week:
West coast trip time. Lots of 10oClock games for me. At the A’s and at the Mariners.
…BTW, Sundays game was the official half way point in the schedule. 50 wins already? I smell another 100 win season!
Week 4 in review: God hates the Indians
Yankees are back on track, taking 2 of 3 from both the Orioles and White Sox. The Red Sox meanwhile just got swept by the Os and while the Rays are still on top, its only a matter of time before the Yankees take whats theirs. Besides, the standing dont truely start to matter until June anyway…
Now that April is officially in the rearview, its time to address players slumps. No more spring rust. If you’re sucking now, theres no excuse.
Nick Johnson, Javy Vazquez? Spotlights on you two. Randy winn as well, but as a bench player its not as vital.
With Marcus Thames hitting well and Brett Gardner not needing anyone to face lefties instead of him, Johnsons opprotunities are starting to dry up. Gardner and Nick Swisher both could prove excellent replacments in the #2 spot in the lineup.
Johnsons struggles could easity be explained by an apparent injury he was suffering, plus he knocked in a couple hits and RBIs in yesterdays thrashing of the White Sox, so maybe hes on the upward climb.
Vazquez though?
There is no explanation in existence to show why he suck all of a sudden except one. Its the same explanation as to why Roy Halladay is making the NL his b*tch.
The National League blows. If you were a dominating pitcher in the NL, you’ll only be a mear human in the AL.
Vazquez was borderline great in the NL, which transitions into borderline crap here in the AL. He has yet to have a good start this year and theres nothing physically wrong with him, so whats his issue? Its Girardis call as to how soon Vazquez will get the hook, unless he rights himself by mid May, theres no reason to keep him in the rotation. Sergio Mitre should be the #4 starter. As it is we only use him in long relief for when Vazquez self detonates. Thanks to him we actually stood a chance the last time Vazquez pitched.
Biggest Yankee Game
4/29/10 Yankees-4, Orioles-0
AJ Burnett took no prisoners in 8 shutout innings and Cano continues his domination over Baltimore by launching 2 homers. Hill and Pedroia can eat their hearts out, Robinson Cano is by far the best 2nd baseman in the division, if not the entire league.
Favorite Picture
Actually, Indians fans, yes we can hate you that much. Especially if you hate yourselves most of the time.
Recently the top 10 most hated teams in the MLB came out. The Yankees (always a fan favorite to hate) placed only 5th. Turns out theres more overall hate for the Astros and Reds. The Red Sox placed 2nd, which Ive yet to stop laughing over…
But there is no more hated team than the Cleveland Indians….my brother in law is a fan of them, which makes me happy as well.
And I can only assume the picture is related to the 2007 ALDS. Big whoop, you lost in the ALCS…classy…
God himself would hate the Indians if you asked him…
Fantasy
After trailing 10-0 for most of last week, my F*cking Lozers team pulled a massive turnaround and won 7-4 and are now 1.5 games out of 1st. Injuries have been kicking my *** still but Ive been making some nice pick ups as a result, including the streaking Alex Gonzalez, and CJ Wilson.
The Pretenders are holding steady, under 10 points of 1st. Marlon Byrd has been an indredible pickup there. Now that its May I can start Teixeira without worry. It doesnt hurt to have Halladay or Santana either…
cpDOOM 2.0 (3-1) won a close one against a former perfect team and are now tied for 1st. This week they face the other team involved in the current 3 way tie. With the Rockies Catcher situation all figured out, I can now start Olivo without worry.
The Showdown (1-3) got beat again, as all of us owners are trying to figure out how to fix it. It seems the more owners there are, the more indecision there is. We voted and we’re actually gonna try starting David Ortiz, which I think is a bad idea, but we’ve got no better options right now. ARods little slump doesnt help things either, but he always does great after Girardi benches him for a game.
The Roid Sox (3-1) just competed some utter domination last week, and are all set to face another weak team this week. My “all power” lineup seems to have hit a snag seeing as how Clint Barmes sucks and theres no such thing as a power hitter on the waiver wire. Eric Young Jr is on a streak right now, so I picked him up for the time being, despite how wierd his 0 home runs looks in my lineup of 2-6 home run hitters…
This week
Yankees play the Orioles again this week, with Sabathia and Burnett looking to give encore performances, while Pettitte will face them for the first time since his near perfect game last year. Afterwards, we’ll face the dying Red Sox…with Vazquez pitching in the 1st game…
As the president weeps…
Not even a week removed from their visit to the White House, the Yankees had to deal with the White Sox…the alleged favorite team of the president himself. And what better way to follow the pro-White Sox speech the prez gave at the Yankee championship visit than by beating the Chisox…but not just beat them, spot them 3-0 and 4-2 leads before beating them 6-4.
And how did we beat them? An offensive charge led by our own president, Derek Jeter
…a gritty start by our own speaker of the house, Andy Pettitte
…and the door slammed closed by our own vice-president, Mariano Rivera.
Yeah, any doubts over if we would win that game?
Todays game will be a bit more of an adventure, with Sec of Agriculture, Javy Vazquez on the hill. Our forgien diplomat (Girardi) better start the A lineup, because we’re gonna need every run we can get.
Onto todays game…
Top 1 in New York
Fire up the bomb shelters, Vazquez is pitching!
…Jorge chases a foul ball, tosses his mask away and nails the umpire with it….if we dont get any close calls after this, you’ll know why…
……..and to the complete shock of everyone, Vazquez surrenders a homerun. 1-0 Chicago.
Bottom 1 in New York
Nick Swisher isnt in the lineup…nice.
Somebody told Tex that its now May, and he rips a single to left as a result…
Top 2 in New York
Who had 2nd inning in the Vazquez booing poll?
Vazquez must like an ERA of 9.00, cuz he gave up another run this inning…
Top 3 in New York
The only person bothering Vazquez more than Andrew Jones (2nd home run) is Ozzie Guillen, who made him change gloves.
Bottom 3 in New York
Gardners on 1st base…gentlemen, start your engines…
…thank God its May, another hit for Tex…Gardner scores, 3-1 CWS
…just found out Strasburg is commin to AAA. My butt has got to go see him while I can…
Top 4 in New York
Sergio Mitre in to pitch after yet another Vazquez meltdown. Mitre should be starting, not Vazquez.
Any chance we can put Vazquez on the DL for “depression” or somethin?
Middle of 6 in New York
Mitres showing Vazquez how to pitch as hes been shutting down Chicago…why isnt he the #4 starter?
Middle 2 in Philadelphia
Anyone else notice how much more relaxed Joe Buck sounds when he does a non-Yankee game? Its like there less pain since nop ones twisting his arm to announce his most hated team…
Bottom 7 in New York
Yankees took the lead….Yankees lost the lead. Why? Girardi went to the bullpens version of Vazquez: Robertson. Can someone tell me why Mitre couldnt go beyond 3 innings?
Bottom 4 in Philadelphia
Oh the Mets…gotta love ya. 2 dropped pop liners. Phillies lead 1-0.
Game Over in New York
Why did Mitre leave after 3 shutdown innings of work? The man did come up as a starter, so dont feed me any BS about being tired…instead he left and the mop up reliever comes in and blows our lead…Mitre better be hurt…
I need to end on a good note…
Bottom 7 in Philadelphia
8-0 Phillies over Mets?
Heh, allllllllright…
Week 3 in review: One of these things is not like the others
I’ve said this before, but its still true. The Yankees have so few actual issues this year that they stand out like a sore thumb. The Yankees are 12-6, much thanks in part to our unmatched rotation. The following are the stats of our 5 starters, Ill let you figure out who doesnt fit in well:
Sabathia: 2-1, 3.00
Burnett: 2-0, 3.20
Pettitte: 3-0, 1.29
Vazquez: 1-3, 9.00
P. Hughes: 2-0, 2.19
Thats right, our bad *** rotation has a record of 10-4. Factor out the obvious weak link and that transitions into a 9-1 record. Seriously.
We may not have Roy Halladay or Tim Lincecum, or even the Wainwright-Carpenter combo, but we do have the strongest overall rotation in baseball, even if Vazquez cant get the job done.
That being said, what are we to do about Vazquez? He is the only starter we have thats not getting the job done. Dont believe me? Lemme recap how our starters did last week:
Tue: Vazquez – W – Could not get through 6. Only won cuz our lead was just too big.
Wed: Hughes – W – Near no-no. Completely unhittable.
Thu: Sabathia – L – Only Kurt Suzuki really hurt him. Pitched a pretty decent game otherwise.
Fri: Burnett – ND – Was a bit wild, but what else is new? Left with a tie.
Sat: Pettitte – W – Angels couldve been using tennis rackets and they still wouldve lost.
Sun: Vazquez – L – Just plain bad. I missed most of it, and Im kinda glad I did.
Vazquez isnt getting the job done. But since the whole team is doing so well right now, we can still give him the benefit of the doubt and hope he figures himself out. Its worth noting that his strikeouts are comming as advertised, but thats about it.
If panic time DOES show up, I dont think Joba is the answer. Mitre would be. Jobas too valuble in the pen. But Vazquez still has time…provided the other 4 starters continue to dazzle.
Biggest Yankee Game
4/21/10 Yankees-3, As-1
Phil Hughes became the 2nd Yankee this year to carry a no-no through 7 innings. And both near-no-nos came against some pretty good teams. The win was less about Hughes and more about the entire Yankees pitching staff, which definatly is for real this year. Hughes struck out a career high 10 batters and was just plain nasty. Joba came in and get the Yankees through the 8th and Mo saved another one.
2 near-no-nos and its only April. Niiiiiiiice.
Favorite Picture
So, ARod is on 1st base in a game against Oakland when Cano fouls a ball off. When the ball finally fell foul, Rodriguez had gone all the way to around 3rd base and had to go back to 1st…so he cuts across the diamond which involves going through the pitchers mound….right in front of pitcher Dallas Braden. Braden cries like a woman about it, b!tches to ARod about it (while walking in the opposite direction) then kick some cups, which bounce around and nail him on the head as he walks by. Classic.
Outside of Oakland, I doubt that anyone even cares about a guy names Dallas Braden, let alone what hes complaining about. Does ARod care? Judgeing from the above picture, I doubt he does.
Fantasy
My Roid Sox team won a see-saw battle last week to improve to 2-1 on the year. Still one game back from 1st place, but they are tied for the most overall points scored in the league.
The Showdown lost a heartbreaker 210-209. Their still only 1 game back as well though, and their takin on one of those 1st place teams this week.
cpDOOM 2.0 crushed their opponent last week, but are also out of 1st by 1 game. This week they face that 1st place team, which will make things so very interesting.
I finally figured how the scoring system works in rotisserie baseball, and was pleased to see my Pretenders team jump to 1st place, thanks to my pick up of Brett Gardner who has been stealing me bases in bunches. The end of the weekend saw them fall to 3rd place, but theyre still close.
Gardner was such a great pickup, I picked him up for my F*cking Lozers team as well. Combined with Michael Bourn, Ill never lose in Stolen Bases again.
The injury bug meanwhile has been raping them, causing me to take unexpected actions. Ive stopped banking on Nick Johnson breaking out of his slump and decided to pick up Ty Wigginton for some added versitility. Otherwise, theyre doin fine, just 3.5 games back despite the crappy week 1.
This Week
The Yankees head up to Baltimore to hopefully enjoy an easy sweeping of the Orioles. Afterwards, theyll head home and host the White Sox. Yankees better rack up the easy wins while they can, because theyve got a gauntlet comming up after this comming homestand.
Week 2 in review: Volquez and Ramirez are starting a family
Reds pitcher Edinson Volquez has been slapped with a 50 game suspension for violating MLBs drug policy…most of which will be swallowed up by his time on the DL, which goes to show just how much trouble he really isnt in.
What did him in?
(You’re gonna love this)
Apparently he wants to start a family with his wife so a doctor from the Dominican Republic put him on drugs that are a big no-no here in the States.
I think hes lying…not about the drugs, but about the intent.
Keen minded baseball fans will recall the Manny Ramirez suspension from last year over female fertility drugs. This whole Volquez thing is waaaaaaaaaaaay too big a coincidence.
I think Volquez really does want to start a family…but not with his wife. He wants a baby with Manny Ramirez…..That will be one ugly baby, but one hell of a ball player.
MEANWHILE!
Someone apparently forgot to send the Yankees the memo that theyre suppose to suck in the months of April and May before juggernaut mode kicks in. They opened up the stadium this year with a 5-1 homestand including an opening day win and a sweep of Texas. The whole “Welcome back Matsui” thing was awesome, especially when he went yard, and it really all reminded me of Tino Martinez when he eventually returned to the Bronx with the Cardinals (and also went deep on his return game)
The Red Sox, meanwhile, have been a nice suprise. Theyve been having a rough April which included a sweep at home by the Death Rays…a 4 game sweep…
Though this might all be part of their “If you cant beat ‘em, copy what they do” plan…It looks something like this:
Boston Red Sox plan for a 2010 World Championship (aka what the 2009 Yankees did)
Offseason: Sign big name pitcher. CHECK.
April: Suck like youve never sucked before. CHECK
May: Remember how to win.
June-August: Continue doing well.
September: Overtake 1st place in division.
October: ???
November: Profit!
So yeah…only time will tell if that’ll work out for em…especially since their whole “Pitching and defense 1st” thing has backfired massively…especially the defense part.
Biggest Yankee Game
4/13/10 Yankees-7, Angels-5
Opening day, baby! Yankees get their rings, Matsui gets welcomes back, flag gets raised, and did I mention the Yankees won?
Yanks got off to a nice big lead…so big that even after former-Yankee Bobby Abreu hit a grand slam, the Yankees were still winning. Hell, all that did was give them an excuse to bring in Rivera (which made it the most counter productive grand slam in history)
Favorite Picture
Seriously? It was the only non Yankee/All Star game on FOX that I was actually compelled to keep watching…though Tim McCarver made it tempting to mute.
This was actually a game the Cardinals shouldve won. Most of those 9 Mets hits came when position players started pitching….and no, neither Met error was caused by Castillo dropping a pop fly…
Fantasy
Whatever happened in week 1, the opposite happened in week 2. Seriously.
The Roid Sox won big in week 1…they lost big in week 2.
The F*cking Lozers lost 3-9 in week 1….they won 9-3 in week 2.
The Pretenders had a slightly above average run in week 1…slightly below average in week 2.
The other 2 teams are also now sporting .500 records as a result of opposite week.
Trying to find the best players to plug in to each team. Im happy to see Brett Gardner getting off to a decent start this year, so Im plugging him into any lineup that needs a burst of speed cuz Gardner picked up where he left off last year in stealing whenever and wherever he wants.
This Week
The Yankees begin a road trip that now apparently includes a detour to the White House….why hes finally getting around to meeting them is beyond me, though Im willing to bet that if the White Sox won a championship in any of the next 3 years, Obama would be meeting them the next day…just sayin…
Yankees are in Oakland this week as well as Los Angeles. It’ll be the first of 2 trips to each city, though it’ll be the only time the Yankees play the Angels on the road.
Yankee Hater Hater
Recent Comments