With August a heartbeat away, if the Yankees are to make a serious push for the AL East or one of the two available Wild Card spots; the time to get mad as hell and start putting some winning streaks together has to be now!!
Despite a slight delay in scheduling of his return, Derek Jeter made his 2nd debut of 2013 and deposited the first pitch he saw over the right field wall for a homerun!! It's clique as heck, but there is something magical about the Yankee Captain.
It was a much needed spark for a club that was chewed up badly against a tough stretch up in Boston, through Texas, and came home for Tampa in which the Yanks went 4-6. The sad part was the Yankees could've easily went 9-1 during those games if they could've even gotten a little shred of offense. The hitting and lack of power has been so bad that Yankee pitching would lose a game if they gave up even 1 run. To help inject a little power into the lineup the Yankees invited back the former "Robinson Cano" of the farm system before being traded for A-Rod back in 2004, that is Alfonso Soriano. No relation to the happy and charming Rafael Soriano.
After another unsurprisingly wasted season by the Chicago Cubs they were more than willing to trade Soriano to the Yankees for a minor league pitching prospect. The move was partially a reaction to the Yankees extreme lack of hitting, but also likely a sign the Yankee front office feels Alex Rodriguez is going to be suspended really soon. Another big name in baseball, Ryan Braun, who is also linked to biogenesis, recently accepted a 50-game suspension for this season in a plea deal with MLB. Rodriguez was due back last week, but after a quad strain the Yankees had their doctor examine him and the MRI results, according to the Yankee doctors, was that A-Rod's return needed to be pushed back. A-Rod smelt conspiracy that the Yankees were trying to keep him out of the lineup, so he had his own doctors review the MRI results and they (naturally) cleared A-Rod to play. To make things even more disruptive, Rodriguez went on Mike Francesa's radio show for a desperate PR blitz to make noise that he's fit to play and that perhaps the Yankees are keeping him away on purpose.
Although Brian Cashman would love for A-Rod to fall into the polar bear exhibit at the Bronx Zoo, they both agreed to a rehab assignment which will begin on August 1st and should have A-Rod finally back in action a week later, pending he's not hammered with a suspension beforehand.
Even if he's back in pinstripes, a suspension still may come down on him at a moment's notice. In addition to the suspension of using PEDs, there's also the possibility A-Rod could be charged with obstruction of justice for supposedly trying to buy the evidence off of the biogensis guy before he went public. The Yankee front office will be rooting hard for MLB and the US Department of Justice to nail Rodriguez really good so they could somehow remove themselves from the $114 million left of that contract they gave him. The pickup of Alfonso Soriano is a great insurance policy in case Rodriguez doesn't return in 2013, and with Curtis Granderson due back in about a week's time, maybe the Yanks will be able to score more than 1 run per game, perhaps even 2.
Jeter's first homer of 2013 was probably the most important one for the Yankees this season....
Despite a slight delay in scheduling of his return, Derek Jeter made his 2nd debut of 2013 and deposited the first pitch he saw over the right field wall for a homerun!! It's clique as heck, but there is something magical about the Yankee Captain.
It was a much needed spark for a club that was chewed up badly against a tough stretch up in Boston, through Texas, and came home for Tampa in which the Yanks went 4-6. The sad part was the Yankees could've easily went 9-1 during those games if they could've even gotten a little shred of offense. The hitting and lack of power has been so bad that Yankee pitching would lose a game if they gave up even 1 run. To help inject a little power into the lineup the Yankees invited back the former "Robinson Cano" of the farm system before being traded for A-Rod back in 2004, that is Alfonso Soriano. No relation to the happy and charming Rafael Soriano.
After another unsurprisingly wasted season by the Chicago Cubs they were more than willing to trade Soriano to the Yankees for a minor league pitching prospect. The move was partially a reaction to the Yankees extreme lack of hitting, but also likely a sign the Yankee front office feels Alex Rodriguez is going to be suspended really soon. Another big name in baseball, Ryan Braun, who is also linked to biogenesis, recently accepted a 50-game suspension for this season in a plea deal with MLB. Rodriguez was due back last week, but after a quad strain the Yankees had their doctor examine him and the MRI results, according to the Yankee doctors, was that A-Rod's return needed to be pushed back. A-Rod smelt conspiracy that the Yankees were trying to keep him out of the lineup, so he had his own doctors review the MRI results and they (naturally) cleared A-Rod to play. To make things even more disruptive, Rodriguez went on Mike Francesa's radio show for a desperate PR blitz to make noise that he's fit to play and that perhaps the Yankees are keeping him away on purpose.
Although Brian Cashman would love for A-Rod to fall into the polar bear exhibit at the Bronx Zoo, they both agreed to a rehab assignment which will begin on August 1st and should have A-Rod finally back in action a week later, pending he's not hammered with a suspension beforehand.
Even if he's back in pinstripes, a suspension still may come down on him at a moment's notice. In addition to the suspension of using PEDs, there's also the possibility A-Rod could be charged with obstruction of justice for supposedly trying to buy the evidence off of the biogensis guy before he went public. The Yankee front office will be rooting hard for MLB and the US Department of Justice to nail Rodriguez really good so they could somehow remove themselves from the $114 million left of that contract they gave him. The pickup of Alfonso Soriano is a great insurance policy in case Rodriguez doesn't return in 2013, and with Curtis Granderson due back in about a week's time, maybe the Yanks will be able to score more than 1 run per game, perhaps even 2.
Position:
55-50 (4th Place AL East - 7.5 games behind 1st Place Boston Red Sox)
Homeruns:
- Derek Jeter made a real return this time and homered in his first at-bat. It might mean nothing, or it could be a sign that something special about to start.
- Alfonso Soriano was brought back to town in a trade and that mean less of seeing Vernon Wells.
- Ivan Nova continues to roll along with dominating stuff, but like other Yankee starters, he's been getting no run support.
- Alfonso Soriano was brought back to town in a trade and that mean less of seeing Vernon Wells.
- Ivan Nova continues to roll along with dominating stuff, but like other Yankee starters, he's been getting no run support.
Foul Tips:
- Alex Rodriguez's return was pushed back with a quad strain, and although a 5-game rehab plan is in place that somewhat makes his return foreseeable, there's been extreme tension between him and the front office, plus a serious possibility of being suspended for the rest of this season and even 2014 is hanging over his head. If he can return and escapes any legal issues, the his return, coupled with Granderson's, Jeter's, and the trade for Soriano makes the Yankee lineup that more formidable.
- Andy Pettitte has been making strides in improving himself, but he's yet to have a dominant start since his rough period began a couple of months ago.
- Phil Hughes keeps throwing well, but also has been plagued with no run support. As the trade deadline approaches, Hughes' name is rumored to being shopped around by the Yanks. He would certainly be an attractive item to help the Yankees bring another good bat into the lineup, especially at 3B.
- Andy Pettitte has been making strides in improving himself, but he's yet to have a dominant start since his rough period began a couple of months ago.
- Phil Hughes keeps throwing well, but also has been plagued with no run support. As the trade deadline approaches, Hughes' name is rumored to being shopped around by the Yanks. He would certainly be an attractive item to help the Yankees bring another good bat into the lineup, especially at 3B.
Strikeouts:
- CC Sabathia has turned into the Yankees' worst starter; being clobbered in his both starts since the All-Star break. Is this going to be another bad long-term contract the Yanks have to deal with?
- Travis Hafner is just about as done as it gets and is bound to either being designated for assignment or traded away once the Yankees get more of the players back. He's been absolutely horrible and the sad fact is he's statistically the team's best hitter with runners in scoring position. A shoulder injury has landed him on the DL for 15 days, but there's a great chance he'll never wear the pinstripes again.
- After a small window of success after tweaking his swing, Vernon Wells has fallen into the pits again and continues to be an automatic out.
- The latest Yankee 3B call-up, Brent Lillibridge, has been like all the call-ups for 3B this season, an automatic out.
- Travis Hafner is just about as done as it gets and is bound to either being designated for assignment or traded away once the Yankees get more of the players back. He's been absolutely horrible and the sad fact is he's statistically the team's best hitter with runners in scoring position. A shoulder injury has landed him on the DL for 15 days, but there's a great chance he'll never wear the pinstripes again.
- After a small window of success after tweaking his swing, Vernon Wells has fallen into the pits again and continues to be an automatic out.
- The latest Yankee 3B call-up, Brent Lillibridge, has been like all the call-ups for 3B this season, an automatic out.
There's two months left of which Jeter, Granderson, Soriano, and A-Rod should be around for barring any injuries or suspensions or obstruction of justice charges. They got the pitching, they just need to start getting the hits.
Jeter's first homer of 2013 was probably the most important one for the Yankees this season....
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