In Less Dramatic Fashion

             A disaster of a West Coast trip unleashed a pack of gremlins all over the Yankees organization; causing offensive ineptitude of epic proportions and an irresponsible Tweet from Alex Rodriguez. With a possible 50-game suspension hanging over his head, A-Rod saw it fit to start a Twitter account and then immediately announce he's ready to take the field. Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman took the news in good stride; quoting that A-Rod, "Should shut the f*$k up!"



             The only snafu is that a ready and willing Alex Rodriguez is the Yankees best hope for making something out of this season which is rapidly headed for a public restroom. Season-ending surgery on Mark Teixeira's fragile wrist that never healed and a three month time frame of getting Kevin "Still Playing for the Boston" Youkilis back from his back operation makes A-Rod's power potential even more crucial. After taking a few swings in Anaheim, Teixeira took himself out of the game with complaints of his wrist being sore, the same wrist which kept him out at the beginning of the year. When pain-killers didn't do the trick, the inevitable occurred and Teixeira had his trip to the surgeon scheduled. Just about the same time, when Youkilis returned from his DL stint, the bulging disc in his back never got better and he too had to go under the knife. Although there is a window for Youkilis to return in 2013, he's basically finished this year and for the $12 million the Yankees paid him - he contributed with two entire homeruns.



             Although Rodriguez usually does the wrong thing 99.9% of the time, Cashman's reaction to the Tweet was irresponsible for a GM and a clear indication the organization is fed up with all these injuries, the poor offense, and especially the $114 million they still owe to Rodriguez. If somehow A-Rod couldn't ever play baseball again, the Yanks would be able to collect upon the insurance of most of that $114 million as well as be rid of the media circus A-Rod always brings about. Certainly, A-Rod declaring himself ready to play and going over the Yankees' medical team staff in doing it pressed upon many a nerve which prompted the Cashman cursing. Despite that, desperate times cause people to look the other way and with the Yankees' offense as exciting as watching pain dry, a few days after the Twitter situation settled down the front office said Alex Rodriguez is ready to begin his rehab assignment. So A-Rod was right!!



             In less dramatic fashion, Derek Jeter and Eduardo Nunez took the field too on their mission to get back to the club with enough time to make an impact in 2013. Both are about a month away from returning to the majors. Francisco Cervelli is also at the Yankees complex in Tampa working on his swing, but his the broken bone in his hand isn't healed to the point where he can perform his catching duties. Granderson's timetable still isn't drawn, but his return shouldn't take as long as Jeter or A-Rod. These key pieces are needed badly because the feel-good stories of Vernon Wells, Travis Hafner, Austin Romine, and David Adams are really wearing thin on the team in the standings. Couple that in with poor hitting from Ichrio and Lyle Overbay and the burdens weighing on Cano and Gardner, and the once powerful and mighty Yankee lineup is worst than what most National League clubs are throwing out there. The only bright spot has been the play of minor league call-up outfielder Zoilo Almonte who has knocked out his first homerun and has been clutch in a several key situations with men on base. This team which was once thirteen games over .500 is barely keeping its head over .500.



              The strength of the Yankees this season has been the starting staff and the bullpen, but now the starters are beginning to show some rips at the seams. Kuroda still continues to be brilliant, but David Phelps has struggled lately, along with Sabathia and Pettitte, who look nothing like their usual self, and when Phil Hughes does throw a good game, its a game where the Yankee offense totally takes the night off. If Ivan Nova throws enough quality innings out of the bullpen, he can find himself taking Phelps' or Hughes' spot in the rotation. Michael Pineda (the guy they traded Jesus Montero for last season) has been throwing games in the minor leagues as he rehabs from last year's Tommy John procedure and might be a possible arm for the Yanks in August or September, or hopefully they're in it in October, but there's no official word there. Boston has been staying on top, Toronto has completely turned their season around for the better, and Baltimore and Tampa get better each passing day. The Yankees need the big names to stay in the mix.

Position:
43-39 (4th Place AL East - 6 games behind 1st Place Boston Red Sox)

Homeruns:
- There are finally clear timetables for the returns of Jeter, A-Rod, and Nunez, with Granderson sprinkled in the middle.
- Zoilo Almonte reminds Yankee fans of Melky Cabrera, before he became an HGH-head.
- Mariano Rivera continues to shine in this last go-around with tremendous numbers and a sure trip to the All-Star game.

Foul Tips:
- Just when CC Sabathia looks like he's about to put a good string of starts together, he's been coming up with more clunkers than Yankee fans have been used to seeing. Clearly, his adjustment to being a 91mph pitcher is going to have more bumps.
- Nagging injuries and poor performances lately should be telling Pettitte that this might be the last season.
- Ivan Nova is healthy, but fails to dominate and show everyone the Nova from 2011 and most of 2012.
- Statistically Ichiro is hitting a little better, but has yet to show a hot-streak.
- Cano's batting average was down in the .270's and only now is starting to snap out of his funk.
- Jayson Nix is a good role player at shortstop, but his limited skills at the plate doesn't do much for the offense.

Strikeouts: 
- Vernon Wells looks totally clueless at the plate and is nothing more than an automatic out at this point.
- David Adams' two weeks of bliss is a long forgotten memory and is also an automatic out with absolutely no danger to pitchers to hit one out.
- Phil Hughes and Joba Chamberlain in 2007 were two of the most prized blue chips in the Yankee system, in 2013 they are doughy, inconsistent, and likely gone after this season.
- The Yankee bench is as thin as fly paper and there is nobody Girardi can call upon for a pinch-hitting situation.



             With empty seats at Yankee Stadium and lower ratings for YES Network, even when the team was doing well, it shows the fans want their stars!! So love him or hate him, the fans want to see A-Rod at the plate again because he always brings that excitement that he might hit one out. Whether he has anything left in the tank remains to be seen. This is the one-time the Yankees have nothing to lose with going all-in with A-Rod.

              It can't be any worse than seeing David Adams everyday....

Welcomed With Open Arms

             With the Yankees riding high to the peak of being twelve games over .500, while receiving contributions from youngsters such as David Adams and crafty veterans like Lyle Overbay, many were wondering if the 'Re-Enforcements' would hurt the good chemistry that had developed in 2013. Well, a nightmarish four-game sweep at the hand of the lowly Mets and a de-moralizing weekend series loss to Boston has left the team begging for any shred of offense as they fall down to 3rd Place in the AL East.



              Before any of the 'Re-Enforcements' came back, one needed to be added to the ever-growing list. Andy Pettitte tweaked a trapezoid muscle, or something, in his back and needed a 15-Day DL stint. He's scheduled to be back today, thankfully.



             The first big name to return was Curtis Granderson, who broke his forearm during the opening Spring Training game this season by an errand pitch. After a week back in the "Bigs", Granderson was sent back down, thanks to another hit-by-pitch at Tropicana Field that broke a bone in his pinkie finger. This break isn't listed as severe as before and will only require five weeks before he can return. Some rotten season so far for a player in his contract year who needs to put up big numbers to get a nice new juicy deal.



             After a great weekend against the Rays (despite the Granderson injury) which included an amazing comeback against Fernando Rodney, the Yanks were geared up for the 2013 Subway Series which had been designed differently this year. Instead of the two weekend series showdowns, this time it would be four games during the week, with two in Flushing and two in the Bronx. The Mets had been reeling badly coming in and this was shaping up to be a shellacking at the hands of the Yanks, or three out of four games at the very least, knowing Mets pitching phenom Matt Harvey was starting one of them. This series would turn out to be the beginning of the bump in the road everyone had been anticipating with this surprisingly successful undermanned Yankee squad.



            The Mets took all four games!!



            This included two-walk off wins at CitiField, smacking David Robertson around one night and causing Mariano Rivera to blow his first save opportunity of the season. Then at Yankee Stadium, the Mets totally pounded David Phelps one night and got a great pitching performance from Dillon Gee the next as he struck out twelve Yankee batters. Other than the bad Phelps start, Yankee starting pitching did their best to keep their team in the games, but the offense completely hit a wall and getting Kevin Youkilis and Mark Teixeira back for the Boston series was at an opportune time.



           Things looked promising the first game against the long-time rivals. CC Sabathia turned in his best performance of the season going 7.1 innings and holding the Sox to one lone run. Both Teixeira and Youkilis were instrumental in Yankee rallies that lead to a 4-1 Yankee win. Any thoughts the Yanks had snapped out of their offensive woes were washed out over the next two games. The Sox battered the Yankees 11-1 the following night and shut down the Yanks the next night 3-0. Although, the finale was called by the 6th inning due to rain, but it didn't seem like it would've made a difference anyways. They can't find their hitting!!



Position:
31-25 (3rd Place AL East - 3 Games behind 1st Place Boston Red Sox)

Homeruns:
-Hiroki Kuroda has transformed into the team's most reliable starter (which has been the case since 2012).
-Ivan Nova has life on his pitches again since he's returned from the DL, but for now he's being used solely as long relief. It looks like its David Phelps' starting job to lose.
-Vidal Nuno looks like a keeper!! Even if he's sent back down to the minors, the lefty starter has shown alot of poise and maturity during his first major league stint. Hopefully he'll be a regular in the rotation in the future.
-Lyle Overbay seems to have a knack of getting clutch hits late in ballgames.
-Brett Gardner made some unbelievable catches at CitiField and has been very good as the Yanks lead-off hitter.

Foul Tips:
-Taking away the good start recently against Boston, CC Sabathia has been struggling to keep the other teams off the scoreboard and posts a mediocre 5-4 season record.
-Chris Stewart needed to stay out a few games to rest his groin, but now he left a game to deal with dizziness. Austin Romine seems to be the only healthy catcher.
-After a good start with the bat, David Adams has stopped hitting. Perhaps scouts have figured out something with Adams that Adams doesn't know about.
-Travis Hafner never needed a DL stint for his sore shoulder, but aside from one tremendous homerun in Camden Yards, his power has taken a major vacation.
-No word yet on returns for Nunez, Jeter, and A-Rod.

Strikeouts:
-Ichiro has looked horrible all season long at the plate, thankfully he hasn't carried it into the field.
-After the hot start from Vernon Wells, he's now looking like the Wells the Anaheim Angels wanted to get rid of in the worst way.



              With the return of Teixeira of Youkilis, pending they too don't get a case of the 'Curtis Granderson' Curse, the lineup will be deeper and that takes the pressure off the likes of Ichiro, Wells, and even Cano. The team had smooth sailing all season long up to this point, they had to struggle eventually.

               It happens to every team every season, and at multiple times.....

Coming Back with the Oldies

             After being knocked out of the playoffs by the paws of the Detroit Tigers for a second consecutive year, and hitting historically bad in the process, the Yankees will be back at again with the old squad for a fresh new set of disappointments for a 2013 postseason run.



             With Hal Steinbrenner's $189 million benchmark in mind to avoid paying major luxury taxes down the road, Brian Cashman had to say goodbye to a couple of recent steadies in the lineup who were in their final contract year. Catcher Russell Martin seemed likely to resign again with the club, but wanting more years than the Yanks were willing to offer, Martin bolted to Pittsburgh to reunite with AJ Burnett's awful pitches in the dirt on a three-year deal. Living in fantasy world by thinking the Yankees were going to give him $70 million on a long term deal to be terrible in the playoffs every season, Nick Swisher ended up in Cleveland for the tune of only $54 million. Eric Chavez, after rejuvenating his career by playing two productive seasons for the Yankees, took a three-year deal to play for the Arizona Diamonds, which is closer to his home on the west coast. Cashman didn't even think twice about not asking Andruw Jones to return after doing nothing in the second half of 2012. Jones would fly off and find himself playing baseball in Japan. Raul Ibanez wasn't asked back, despite coming off of the greatest late-season homerun surge in Yankee history!! Last, but not least, Rafael Soriano, who built up his value in 2012 by brilliantly stepping into the Yankee closer role once Rivera went down, opted out of his contract to seek a more lucrative deal. He would shuffle off to the nation's capital for a two-year deal at $28 million to close games for the Washington Nationals.



             With half the clubhouse gone and many holes in the pitching staff and lineup, Cashman went to work retaining the pieces he deemed most salvageable. Starting pitching was a strong point last season, so the GM brought back the guys who helped make it a formidable staff. Andy Pettitte received $12 million reasons to stay from retiring again. After appearing to be headed back to California, Hiroki Kuroda agreed to play another year in NY for $15 million. Although he had a high ERA and was inconsistent, Cashman also worked out a $7 million arbitration deal to retain Phil Hughes. Hoping Ivan Nova's bad second half was a mirage - the starting staff will likely feature CC Sabathia (minus the bone chips he needed taken out of his elbow that plagued his 2012 season) Pettitte, Kuroda, Nova, and Hughes. Both Pettitte and Kuroda hover the forty-year age mark.



             For the bullpen Cashman also locked down one-year arbitration deals with David Robertson and Joba Chamberlain. As promised, Mariano Rivera did agree to return for another season for a one-year deal at $10 million plus incentives. Yankee fans have to pray he doesn't shag fly balls in the outfield anymore before games since the safety net of Soriano is gone.



             When Ichiro joined the Yankees in the middle of last season, it sparked life into his body after the torture of playing in Seattle over the last decade, and the Jeter-Ichiro combo at the top of the lineup became a deadly weapon in Joe Girardi's arsenal. Wanting more than just a one-year deal, Ichiro was able to get the Yanks to up their offer to two years to keep the Japanese import in pinstripes as he continues his quest for 3,000 hits. With a healthy Brett Gardner ready to go in left, Ichiro will slide over in right field while Curtis Granderson stands his ground in center; giving the Yankees perhaps the best defensive outfield in baseball, though losing power with the departure of Swisher. To help bolster the bench and DH spot, Cashman invited the oft-injured Matt Diaz to Spring Training to audition for the role of right-handed slugger, as well as Juan Rivera, who was a good player about ten seasons ago. For catcher, a light-hitting trio of Francisco Cervelli, Chris Stewart, and Austin Romine will battle it out for jobs. There had been some trade rumors concerning Michael Morse from the Nationals to add some much needed power, but so far there's been no significant additions to help offset the power the Yanks have lost and the farm system doesn't contain any real major league-ready hitting. So then that brings the spotlight once again to A-Rod.



              Already with low power numbers before he got injured in 2012, Rodriguez would miss significant time after a pitch from King Felix broke a bone in his left hand. A-Rod did return in time for the postseason, but he had the worst offensive showing imaginable. By the second round Girardi had to bench the one-time 'Best Player in Baseball', and still highest paid, because he couldn't even make basic contact with the ball. There was speculation maybe his hand was never fully recovered, but then things made sense when it was announced he needed off season surgery to repair a torn hip (after having surgery in 2009 to fix the tear in his other hip). At best, A-Rod wouldn't be available till well after the All-Star break, so to fill the void at third base the Yankees dug into the depths of hell and offered a one-year deal at $12 million to bring long-time hated Red Sox foe Kevin Youkilis to join the other side of the rivalry. Youkilis' numbers have been declining in recent years (a theme with several Yankee players), but the only upside is he would turn thirty-four this season, which is "getting younger" compared to what would have been A-Rod's thirty-eight. Once A-Rod would return, him and his recovering hip would likely serve as the steady DH with spot starts at third, while Youkilis could shuffle over to first to spell Teixeira a few games. The plan made sense and all systems were go, but as usual things got more complicated when it came to the subject of A-Rod.



              At first things were a little fishy when Cashman gave an interview that changed the company's line about being confident in A-Rod's return to the lineup in 2013. Then a story from the Miami New Times broke that named Alex Rodriguez with a number of other MLB players who were receiving banned PEDs from a "wellness" clinic in Miami. The worst of it is that the allegations are A-Rod was abusing these substances in 2009, which was the season he had the amazing postseason performance to lead the Yankees to the World Championship. 2009 is also well beyond the 2001-03 seasons A-Rod previously stated he used banned substances when "coming clean" in 2008. Of course A-Rod has denied these allegations, meanwhile the Yankees are trying everything they can behind the scenes to void the rest of his wasteful bloated contract with the built-in moral clauses. With the Baseball Writer's Association of America voting nobody into the Hall of Fame this season, namely Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds with their steroid baggage, Alex Rodriguez can almost certainly guarantee himself no place in Cooperstown with this second PED bust, pending these allegations are true. Either way, it looks like Yankee fans might not have Alex Rodriguez to kick around anymore, or at least during 2013.



             The Toronto Bluejays made huge additions in the offseason and look to replace the Baltimore Orioles as the Yankees' biggest thorn for the AL East. Another Miami (Florida) Marlins player dump after the whole new stadium attraction went bust, yielded the Bluejays great talent such as Jose Reyes, Mark Buehrle, and Jim Johnson. In addition, Toronto traded for Mets knuckleballer R.A. Dickey, fresh off the 2012 NL Cy Young, and through free agency got Melky Cabrera, who was also named in that PED article along with A-Rod. The Tampa Ray Rays might've gotten a little weaker with the loss of James Shields to Kansas City, and the Orioles wont be catching anyone off guard this time around, which only makes things tougher for them. The Red Sox added Mike Napoli and a few other small pieces, but overall they're still recovering from the train wreck of Bobby Valentine last season. The Yanks might not be hitting as many long balls this time around, and with the likes of Jeter (healed ankle and all), Ichrio, Gardner, Nunez, and now Youkilis, the philosophy might be changing to a grind-it-out-speedster approach to scoring runs after years of people complaining that they rely too much on the homerun ball.



              Through it all, somehow they always find a way to make it to the playoffs.....

Southside Snoozefest

             A trip to middle-America has caused Yankees fans to start sweating when three losses to the White Sox, coupled with the surging Tampa Bay Rays, have dangerously cut the Yanks' lead in the AL East to just 2.5 games. It's gotten so bad Yankees manager Joe Girardi almost tore off the head of a heckler in a postgame press conference after just have been swept in the Windy City.



             It was a sunny start for the Yankees in the first game when Chicago starter Gavin Floyd was chased by the 3rd inning by the Bombers, and his 0-3 score deficit could've been much worse. Freddy Garcia was cruising along for the Yankees and it wasn't until the 5th inning when the roof caved in on him. Chicago started their scoring with a 2-run homer from the released-Yankee Dewayne Wise.



             Garcia couldn't get anyone else out and was yanked out in favor of Cody Eppley after going just 4.1 innings, but Rapada and Chamberlain would also be needed to finally get out of the 5th, and by then Chicago had taken a 5-3 lead. Derek Jeter brought his hot hitting on the road with him and hit a solo shot to bring the Yanks to 5-4 in the 6th. Both Mark Teixeira and Casey McGehee had RBI singled to reclaim the Yankee lead at 6-5. In the bottom of the frame, the struggling from his return from the minors Chamberlain, still in the game from the 5th, served up a solo homer to the bottom of the order hitter Gordon Beckham to blow the lead and let the game be tied at 6. The Chicago homers didn't end there; Alexis Ramirez went deep on Logan in the 7th and Adam Dunn took Derek Lowe yard in the 8th to give the White Sox the 9-6 lead. Addison Reed came on in the 9th to close it out for Chicago for his 22nd save of the season.



             After blowing a tough game the night before in which the opposing starter was knocked out early, the Yankees got right back up on the horse and busted out into a 2-0 lead in the 1st inning off of old Twins pushover Francisco Liriano. Jeter lead off the game with a homerun, and later in the inning, Curtis Granderson grounded into a fielder's choice RBI with the bases loaded (a double or grand slam would've been nicer). Ivan Nova, who had the Yankees and their fans holding their breath with every start since the All-Star break, gave half one of the runs back in the 2nd from an AJ Pierzynski sac fly that scored Alex Rios, but held Chicago there. It wasn't until the 5th inning that Nova had his usual implosion. With the game already tied 2-2 from a homer Nova served to Konerko in the 4th, Nova gave up another big fly to Kevin Youkilis, but this time the bases were full for a grand slam. Nova was only able to go 6 innings and it was yet another miserable start for the young Yankee right-hander. After the game, and possibly a reason for his poor pitching lately, Nova was placed on the 15-day DL for shoulder tightness, but maybe its just to clear his head as well. Russell Martin added a solo homer in the 7th to bring the game back to a respectable 6-3 Chicago lead, but the White Sox added another run in the 8th to make it 7-3 and that's how the game ended.



             Bad enough the Yankees were facing a sweep and continued to be stymied by the White Sox, but the Jekyll-n-Hide Phil Hughes on the road was on the mound for the finale. Hughes ended up spinning a good game over 7 innings, but the only problem was that Chicago's young lefty Chris Sale was slightly better. The White Sox got on the board first with an RBI fly out by Kevin Youkilis in the 3rd inning. Liking the Windy City air, Derek Jeter hit his third homer of the series in the 6th to tie the game at 1-1, but Hughes surrendered a homer to Alex Rios in the bottom of the 6th to give Chicago back their lead at 2-1. The Yankee bats were quiet again and Addison Reed finished them off in the 9th to complete the Chicago sweep. The Media had also been unfriendly for the Yankees as ESPN reporter Skip Bayless had open speculation that the 38 year-old Yankee Captain Derek Jeter might be using performance-enhancing drugs as a reason for his great hitting lately, and in the wake of positive tests recently from former Yankees Melky Cabrera and Bartolo Colon. After the final White Sox game, Yankees manager Joe Girardi interrupted his own press conference to go over and tell a heckling fan to shut up, which was captured by news cameras.



             With the trailing Rays and Orioles seemingly never losing a game anymore, a series against the terrible Cleveland Indians, with the return of CC Sabathia from the DL, couldn't have have come at a better time...