New York Yankees

Yesterday was supposed to be a day of celebration; the Yankees officially clinched the AL East division title, Joe Girardi's has his first ever playoff birth, and the Yankees achieved their 100th victory. While champagne and beer was sprayed about the Yankess clubhouse after their 4-2 victory over division rival, the Boston Red Sox, the Yankees reality did not set in until today. Nothing has been accomplished when your the Yankees and you have made the playoffs.

Continue reading "The Yankees Clinch the AL EAST...and ..."

The New York Yankees have cruised through the 2009 baseball regular season, destroying teams with their 9 slugger deep line-up that includes not one player having a bad year. While every hitter is having varying degrees of success, not one man in that line-up is performing below their norms (save for mighty A-Rod, who's injury has slowed him down a bit to the tune of only 26 homers and 80+ RBI's). The bullpen has also been stellar, with Mariano Rivera looking as spry as he did in 1996, and with Phil Hughes redefining his 2009 season in the ilk of that very same roie Rivera held in '96- the gutsy set-up man that becomes a dominating extension of the closer. The defense has improved mightily too, especially around the infield, where Derek Jeter has revived his defensive career by extending his lateral range and improving his arm strength. Robinson Cano has looked interested for the first time in the field since his rookie season and Mark Texeira has done wonders for everyone, displaying why he is considered a defensive elite (you can tell Don Mattingly was his favorite player growing up, his range and glove work are superb). 

Continue reading "Joe Girardi- Let the Force Be With You or Else."

For the past couple days, that's a question that baseball fans have been asking throughout the country. And what's the answer? Is there an answer? Is it OK for a baseball team to premeditate a celebration as over-the-top as Milwaukee's earlier this week?

Continue reading "Was Prince Fielder's Celebration OK?"

I love the killer attitude by the New York Yankees in their recent 9-8 victory over cross-town rival New York Mets, but they shouldn't have won the game.

I'm much more of a Yankees fan than a Mets fan, but generally when it comes down to it, I am a baseball fan. What happened at second base to end the game was sloppy and could have very well been avoided.

Continue reading "Lack of fundamentals causes Mets loss, Yankees win"

These days, going to a baseball game isn't what it used to be. Seldom will a pitcher throw into the 7th inning; the score is usually 7-6 or 10-9; and your favorite slugger is likely to hit one, if not two balls, out of the park. The game is shamelessly jacked up on HGH, and its obvious. The best hitter (Bonds) and pitcher (Clemens) of our generation used it, and more players are getting busted by the day (A-Rod, Manny). However, most fans don't care. They still go to the ballpark. That's because baseball, and pro sports in general, is merely another form of entertainment.

Continue reading "Rampant Steroid Use Brings Up Issue ..."

Alex "A-Roid" Rodriguez has to be one of the dumbest athletes in modern sports. He's getting paid $33 million per year, as part of a 52-year contract, so he's set for life. Yet he resorts to using steroids. Why? He clearly has it all. He's already on pace to break Bonds' home-run "record." Besides that, he's known as the best offensive hitter in the game, when healthy. The staff and myself racked our brains over why the slugger feels he needed the extra edge. Having been stumped, we came up with 10 reasons why he doesn't need steroids, in hopes of convincing the vain ballplayer to lay off the juice.

Continue reading "Top 10 Reasons why Alex "A-Roid" ..."

As I watched Jacoby Ellsbury steal home against the Yankees Sunday night, I thought to myself: "This pretty much sums it up." An aging Andy Pettitte forgets to deliver from the stretch, letting a youthful Ellsbury elude another future Bingo regular, Jorge Posada's, tag at the plate. Would Justin Masterson have made the same error? The two ballclubs could not be headed in more opposite directions. Every year, the Red Sox seem to call up another hyped prospect, while the Yanks continue to overpay for limited talent, and shun their farm system.

Continue reading "Red Sox continue to steal away Yanks' future"

(Note: originally posted on February 25.)

Each year, prior to the start of the MLB season, I use a unique mathematical system (one that I will not get into, because it's boring) to project the performance of every player and team. This season, in lieu of their significant offseason additions, I expected the Yankees to come out on top. Surprisingly, my expectations were wrong...

Continue reading "MLB Preseason Predictions: Regular ..."

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Love the 1-2-3 on this team, and the rotation of 4/5's should be just fine. 

 1-New York Yankees: C.C. Sabathia, Chien-Ming Wang, A.J. Burnett, Joba Chamberlain, and Andy Pettitte. Wild card: Phil Hughes.

Continue reading "MLB's Top Five Starting Rotations"

He is a valuable defensive backstop, however.

1-New York Yankees: 1B-Mark Teixeira, 2B-Robinson Cano, 3B-Alex Rodriguez, SS-Derek Jeter, and C-Jorge Posada.

Last, but certainly not least. It's tough to argue with A-Rod and Tex at the corners -- that's an intimidating tandem. Jeter remains Steady Eddy at short, and Posada is one of the greatest hitting catchers in the history of the game.

Continue reading "MLB's Top Five Infields"

Unless you are living under a rock, the talk this week outside of the Super Bowl, has been "The Yankee Years" co-authored by Tom Verducci and Joe Torre.

Today's New York Daily News has a couple of good articles that give a glimpse on what to expect from the book. Both John Harper and Mike Lupica gave their take.

Continue reading "Will You Read Joe Torre's "The Yankee Years"?"

Dear readers:

I'd like to begin my blogging on this account by thanking each and every one of you who have taken the time to read my content in the past, and those of you who will do the same in the near future. A special, personal thanks goes out to the readers who have provided me with direct feedback.

Continue reading "Welcome to JFro Sports Journalism"

Two bits of news from former Seattle players, one surprising, but the other one, not so much.

Easy one first: the Yankees designated Richie Sexson for assignment yesterday, in a roster shakeup that included demoting starting center fielder Melky Cabrera. Sexson had hit .250 in 28 at-bats, with a grand slam and six RBis. Ever the all-or-nothing guy, Sexson had one or two big hits, and a whole lot of hits and weak groundouts. Yankees GM Brian Cashman was gracious about Sexson, saying he was an everyday player, not a bunch guy, and that was the problem.

Continue reading "Ex-Mariner News"

The Mariners announced today that Jarrod Washburn has cleared waivers, meaning he can now be freely traded to whatever team wants to take on his massive salary. There's no real surprise here, as it's doubtful any other team would want to take on his bloated $9.85M salary. So the failure of Seattle to deal him before the deadline isn't so awful, except that his value seemed to have peaked at that point for a couple of reasons: (1) he'd pitched really well to that point (4 ER in 19.2 IP in the three starts before the deadline, (2) his value diminishes with each day that passes, since that means less time he can spend with a contending team (e.g., the Yanks) starved for starters, which leads to (3) the team in question being more likely to go in another direction.

Continue reading "Washburn is ready to move"

So are the Yankees the team that floundered through the first half playing 500 ball and who didnt hit with RISP? Or are they the team that won 8 straight and 10 in a row at home, even winning 2 of 3 in Boston and came through with big hit after big hit? Or are they the team that returned the last two nights struggling against the hapless Orioles at home and failing to make big pitches?

Continue reading "Will the real Yankees Please Stand up"

Before everyone writes off this recent trade by the Yankees as a steal and says the Yankees gave up nothing for Xavier Nady and Damaso Marte, they should all look at Carlos Quentin. Quentin was cast off the Diamondbacks following last season. He was supposed to be a big time star coming out of Stanford. He began the year as the starting right-fielder and had a dreadful season. He was sent back to minors and fell out of such favor with the orginization that he was sent to the White Sox for almost nothing. Well look now, the change of scenery has made Quentin into the star everyone expected. He is top 5 in homeruns and is one of the main reasons the Chi-Sox are in contention this season. Think the Diamondbacks could use a bat like Quentin this year?

Continue reading "Remember Carlos Quentin"

Sorry this has been a busy weekend and I havent given my thoughts about a great Yankee weekend.

* Don't let lastnight get you down. The Yankees aren't going to win every game the rest of the season. They won 8 in a row and the series in Boston so everything is fine. It was Sidney Ponson he probably wont be around too much longer anyway.

Continue reading "What a Weekend in Boston"

In what is largely perceived as his final start in a Mariners' uniform, Jarrod Washburn threw his longest and best start of the year, logging 8 innings of one-run ball, giving up just four hits and walking two against two strikeouts. His only blemish was a solo homer to John McDonald, the Toronto shortstop's first of the year.

Continue reading "Washburn's Farewell"

As the July 31 deadline approaches, one of the most likely trade candidates mentioned in Seattle-New York trade rumors has been Jarrod Washburn. The Ms would love to shed his massively overpaid salary, while the Yanks need a starter who can eat innings, even if he does it in mediocre, Jarrod-esque fashion. That Wishy-Washburn has been good of late (since a May 21 2IP, 9ER meltdown, he's only given up more than 2 ER in two of his ten starts) makes him seem all the more attractive to the pinstripes.

Continue reading "Washburn to the Yanks?"

As the Yankees rest up on one of their few off days remaining, they are in a great position to make a move this weekend and move past the Red Sox. The one thing that cannot happen is a sweep. If they are swept and return to their light hitting ways the Yankees can kiss the division good bye and possibly the Wild Card as the Rays could add some distance to their lead. The Yankees just need one game this weekend to stay in it.

Continue reading "One Positive and One Negative on ..."

Offensively and defensively, the Yankees have been missing the services of Hideki Matsui since June 27, and Jorge Posada on and off for even longer. Matsui is an integral RBI guy to give ARod and Giambi protection in the five or six hole, and is needed more than ever in left with Johnny Damon's shoulder issues. Posada can hit pretty well, but can't throw, so even when he was in the game, other teams ran rampant--Jose Molina and Chad Moeller are decent defensive replacements, but can't match Jorge's bat.

Continue reading "Two Yankees, Toughing it Out"

Just as the Yankees season was starting to pick up, a major wrench was thrown in its side. They have learned that not only will Hideki Matsui be out for the year but Jorge Posada will likely be joining him on the bench. This team has battled injury after injury all year and they have finally put themselves in a position to make a run at the playoffs in the seasons final two months. But this news could be the straw that breaks the camels back as this might be too much for them to overcome.

Continue reading "Will this major pot hole slow the ..."

The Yankees could not have had a better return from the All-Star break. After falling on their face in Pittsburg and Toronto in the 4 games prior to the break. The Yankees came back looking focused and ready to make a serious run at the playoffs. They showed they could win games in different fashions this weekend. They can pound a team like Friday night, win in extras and tie a game in the 9th inning like Saturday, and win with great pitching and defense like Sunday. Those last two games are the games they need to win to get to the playoffs.

Continue reading "Dandy Andy Finishes Sweep"

The un-official Second Half of the Yankees Season begins tonight. Derek Jeter summed up the first 90 games by saying "The team has been good enough to be 6 games out." The only consistant part of the team has been their inconsistency. The best example of this is the final week of the first half. They win 4 straight over Boston and Tampa and then flounder away the final 4 by losing three of them to the Pirates and Jays. They could have gone into the break really hot but instead have caused Yankee fans a lot of anxiety this past week. This will tell if replacing Joe Torre with Joe Girardi was a good move. Torre never missed the playoffs now Girardi has a lot of pressure.

Continue reading ""Second Half" Surge Needed along with Health"

As I expected, Richie Sexson was signed by the one team in major league baseball who signs every single castoff, just in case he might turn it around in pinstripes: the Yankees. The temptation of that short porch in Yankee Stadium right field, combined with Sexson’s power potential, was too tempting to the team that claimed Jose Canseco off waivers in 2000, just to be sure he didn’t go to a division rival.

Continue reading "Sexson a Yankee; LaHair a Mariner"

 

So I think I have finally recovered from the longest All-Star game in history. Many people have compained about the length and the end time and I understand it but you know what? I loved every minute of it. I was there when the gates opened and was there when they closed. It was truly a great way to spend a day. I am still gathering my thoughts and how to fully express what I witnessed. It is tough to put into words about how I feel about yesterday. It was truly one of the best baseball experiences I have ever had, it is very close if not ahead of Game 7 2003. From touring Monument Park in a Stadium full of Legends the day started great.

Continue reading "An Amazing All-Star Night (Early Morning)"

One of the All-Star Break traditions: Reassessing our predictions from the first half of the season. Some of mine have changed, some have stayed the same—and some were just damn wrong. Living in the West, I will take the contrarian position and roll from west to east in my choices.

Continue reading "Second Half Predictions"

Its late and I have a big day ahead of me with Fanfest and the All-Star Game but The Homerun Derby did a great job of getting this even off to a great start. The atmosphere and spectacle all lived up to and actually surpassed the hype. There was a lot of downtime but hey its in Yankee Stadium with the best fans in the world and your watching the best players in the world, things could be worse.

Continue reading "What a First Night- The Natural Steals the Show"

The New York Yankees couldnt wait to get the allstar break. Of 32 ab's this afternoon only 7 went past 3 pitches. That means that 25 at bats were three pitches or less. That is an unbelievab

Continue reading "Limping to the Break"

I never got to see Bobby Murcer play. However I have listened to him announce and I will greatly miss him. Yesterday was a sad day for me. Finding out Bobby Murcer had passed away came as

Continue reading "RIP Bobby Murcer: Always A Yankee"

Amongst a busy week in the life of The Moneyball- I did have to comment on this topic.

Favre leaving the Packers to me is like Derek Jeter leaving the Yankees, Magic Johnson leaving the Lakers, or Cal Ripken Jr. leaving the Orioles.

Continue reading "Brett Favre Leaving Green Bay"

"It's not a game, it's an arms race" - Kanye West and Fallout Boy belt this hook over and over again on a recent hit with that same title. In that context, Kanye and the Fallout Boy guys are referring to the battle of musical artists not only surviving in a competitive worldwide market, but one with hindrances around every music sharing online ripping program. While that's an issue for another day and another blogsite, it's relevance is crucial when talking about the current state of Major League baseball and the National Basketball Association.

Continue reading "From the NBA to MLB, the Arms Race Has Begun"

 The country's favorite rivalry of all sports is entering Game 4 tonight, with the Red Sox having taken 2 of the 3 first games in Yankee Stadium. What used to be national news is a mere afterthought at the moment, and the question is why?

Continue reading "Yanks-Sox Rivalry...Just missing something."

After yesterday’s game, the Yankees held a closed-door meeting among coaches and players—reportedly, manager Joe Girardi spoke, followed by Johnny Damon and captain Derek Jeter. In a postgame news conference, Girardi repeatedly (and sometimes heatedly) refused to reveal what was said in the meeting, although the gist of the discussion was obvious: the can’t-lose Yankees have been losing.

Continue reading "More Bad Yankee Luck"

As I sat in the stands watching Melky Cabrera never attempt a bunt with a man on 1st and no outs in the 9th inning down by one three thoughts popped into my head 1) he is going to hit into a dp 2) girardi is an idiot 3) where is Joe Torre? This is baseball 101, there is no excuse for not bunting with your 9 hitter down 1 in the 9th. Especially a 9 hitter hitting 240 and who is 0-21. I am pretty sure that there is something about this in the Baseball Coaching Handbook for Dummies. Maybe Girardi should read that vs reading Baseball Prospectus. Sure knowing stats are good but so is making good baseball plays. If you are going to let Melky hit and not bunt, then put up jeter, at least he has a real chance of getting a hit. And if he doesnt get a hit, we fans can live with it: ITS DEREK JETER NOT MELKY CABRERA. Girardi was willing to bunt in the top of 1st with a man on 2b and no one out, with a lefty up, needing to just hit a groundball to 2b. I am fine with this choice but be consistent.

Continue reading "Clueless Joe??"

Thweek will go along to show what the Yankees currently have in Joba Chamberlain. This will show if he is ready to make the next step to being THE ACE. These will be the best two lineups that he will ever face. First Tuesday night will be the Texas Rangers. They feature 3 of the top 10 hitters in baseball and the Rangers are arguably one of the three best offenses in baseball. Joba will need to show he dominate quality hitters like Milton Bradley, Ian Kinsler, and Josh Hamilton. They also have perrenial All-Star Michael Young which gives them an extremely tough 1-4 in their lineup. Joba will need to work ahead and mix speeds to be succesful.

Continue reading "Test Week for Joba"

Thurs, Fri, Sat, Sun- Boston Red Sox

What can be better than the New York Yankees - Boston Red Sox meeting on a 4th of July Weekend? Well a Yankees sweep of course. This is another series

Continue reading "Preview of the Upcoming Yankee Week"

I have been hearina lot lately that interleague play has run its course. I couldnt disagree more. Major League Baseball is first and foremost a business. Its # 1 goal is to make money and it seems that interleague play is a huge money maker. What National League team doesnt want the Yankees or Red Sox coming to town? I know Pittsburgh sold out three mid-week games versus the Yankees this week. This adds juice to the stadium and it also gets the team pumped up. They can finally play in a sold out stadium that is their own. Watching these games you can see teams like the Pirates or the Rockies last year play in a different gear to try and impress the fans and see how they do versus the best teams.  From a business stand point I belive that Interleague play will be here for a long time.

Continue reading "Interleague Play"

As I sit here and watch Johan shutout the Yankees for first three innings I wonder what it would be like for him to be in the road grey's. Sure it would be nice to have some one of his caliber as a member of the Yankees but I think his performance is season thus far has proven Brian Cashman correct. If the Yankees had traded Melky Cabrera, Phil Hughes, and Ian Kennedy for Johan Santanna, Yankee fans would be asking for more. I know Hughes and Kennedy have no wins this year but Hughes is only 20 years old and has great potential. He needs time to devlop. I am not sure what Kennedy turns into and I would have definetly been fine with trading him in a deal just not packaged with Hughes. It just wasnt fair for the Yankees to give up prospects and a huge contract.

Continue reading "3 Months into the Santanna Decision"

It has only taken 5 starts for Joba Chamberlain to strikeout the doubters who wanted to keep him in the bullpen. With each start the kid is showing exactly why he needs to be a starter. The team is 4-1 in his starts, 2 of those starts he was greatly handicapped with his pitch count. Many questioned his stamina but he has answered those questions by throwing 97 MPH Fastballs in the 7th inning. People questioned if he has enough pitches, he has shown a plus fastball and slider, an above average curve, and a decent change-up that he can use a few times a game to keep hitters off balance. And as each start goes by he is gaining more confidence in pitches that were shelved as he was in the bullpen. He has shown un believable presence on the mound and he really knows how to pitch. How many 23 year old pitchers get out of a bases loaded nobody out situation with 2 k's and a tag out at the plate. (Ok i realize it was bad base-running but amazing poise for an energetic kid.)

Continue reading "Where are the Calls for Joba to be in Bullpen?"

The Yankees and Red Sox are rivals in many ways—traditional and league rivals for years, they now regularly battle for free agents, as they might do with Indians trade bait C.C. Sabathia. And now both teams have some pretty crazy pitchers in their minor league systems, both of whom have a good shot at making the bigs in the next few years.

Continue reading "Two Kooky Pitchers"

The dominoes continue to fall in Seattle, as John McLaren was handed his walking papers yesterday, three days after GM Bavasi tried on his own pink slip. In some ways, this was handled better than the Mets’ embarrassing and insulting firing of Willie Randolph. At least McLaren wasn’t dangled for weeks before a midnight assassination, and there were suitably kind words for McLaren upon his dismissal, with new GM Lee Pelekoudas obviously distressed about having to fire his longtime friend and colleague.

Continue reading "Down Goes McLaren"

As I remarked in my blog when he was released, Sidney Ponson has brought his teams little but grief to go with his occasionally adequate pitching. When the Rangers released him, I’d hoped that would be the last of Sir Sidney.

Continue reading "Sidney "Poison" Ponson"

OK, that title was irresistible, but in fact I'm going to say that Chien-Ming Wang's foot injury should force the Yanks hand in a trade, especially when combined with other injuries this season. Funny how little things can combine to lead to something even larger, accumulating momentum gradually until it becomes irresistible, as it has with the murmurs about a trade for C.C. Sabathia, which is really more the point of this blog.

Continue reading "Off On the Wang Foot"

When a guy gets named "Moose," you generally figure it's because he's a knucklehead or looks like he should be one. Bill Skowron had the lumpy face of a prizefighter, but he was generally known as a gentle giant with a smooth, opposite-field stroke. His nickname came from his Polish grandfather, who thought his haircut at one point reminded him of dictator Benito Mussolini. But Skowron wasn't any sort of dictator, just a good guy who could drive ball into the gaps.

Continue reading "Around The Horn With The '61 Yankees: 1B"

The Yankees have had many World Series champs, and many more All-Star players and all-time lineups. The 1927 Yankees pretty much set the bar for everyone else to follow, but there were some other memorable ones, too. The '36 Yanks, the first year of Joltin' Joe, and the last great one from Lou Gehrig, along with typically solid contributions by Bill Dickey, Tony Lazzeri and the usual cast of star Yankees.

Continue reading "The Unsung Heroes of the 1961 Yankees"

I've been a Yankees fan since the early nineties, pre-Showalter, pre-Torre, pre-post-seventies-World-Series-victories days, and it seems to me they're as vulnerable as they've ever been. I like Girardi, I like the New Steinbrenner regime that doesn't look to scour out every single prospect for the possibility of Winning Right Now--but I think they are (dare I say?) approaching those dreaded Rebuilding Years.

Continue reading "Rebuilding the Yankees--A Good Thing?"

Mussina is on the hill today for the Yanks and, while I admire him and think he's a very good pitcher and a modest, intelligent, generally good fellow, I wonder about his Hall of Fame credentials. Dave Niehaus, the mellow-toned broadcaster, has repeatedly called him a shoo-in or a lock for the Hall during the game today, and it's made me wonder. To me, a player in the HOF represents someone who was genuinely and consistently feared (on the field, not off) during his career, the kind of pitcher that batters hated to face (and vice versa). And not for one year, but for several; you can be Sandy Koufax and be unhittable for four or five seasons (and merely outstanding for a handful more) or Nolan Ryan and be unhittable for twenty years.

Continue reading "Mike Mussina for the HOF?"

In the days following the excavation of the "cursed" Ortiz jersey from the fresh concrete at "Yankee Stadium--The Sequel" we've seen Jorge Posada go on the DL for the first time in his long career, and ARod join him for the first time since donning pinstripes.

Continue reading "Yankee Injuries = Ortiz Curse?"