18 posts tagged “yankees”
It really stinks when your baseball team loses a game by 20 18 runs (Indians: 22, Yanks: 4).
And it really, really stinks when they do something they have NEVER done before (first time they have given up 14 runs in one inning).
And it really, really, really stinks when your #2 pitcher has a ERA that resembles a speed limit sign sign (34.5 for those keeping score at home).
But it really, really, really, really stinks to realize that your team's new ballpark does not play to their traditional strengths and has the potential to average 5 home runs a game (when is A-Rod coming back?).
Sigh. I miss the old house more than ever.
Oh,.and the really kick in the teeth? Your crosstown rivals built a new stadium too and didn't f**k it up.
Ahhhhhhh Spring. Ahhhhhh baseball.
Opening Day, when everyone is 0-0 (except the Braves and Phillies). The Yanks are in Baltimore to face the O's (preview here) provided the rain moves out.
I am not loving the Yanks chances this year (a lot of players are one year older, again) and the reviews of the new Stadium have been a little unsettling.
But, for the next six months (hopefully seven) I get to have baseball, and that is a good thing.
There's news that long time Yankee announcer Bob Sheppard is retiring (almost everyone is reporting it)...unless he's not.
If Bob is hanging it up (and who can blame him, the man is 98) then he will be missed by the Yankee faithful. And I regret that MLTU and DMTU will never hear him announce a game (or see at game at the "old" Stadium).
However, at least Jeter had the forethought to have Sheppard prerecord his introduction, so no matter when my kids see a game at Yankee Stadium III they will hear:
Na-how...ba-hatting...nu-humber two...De-herek...Jee-taa...sa-hortstop...nu-humber two.
I was already lamenting the new stadium and now I won't even have Bob Sheppard's voice to sooth me during the transition. I'll miss you Bob, you were there at my first game in the house that Ruth Built and almost everyone since. All the best.
I have been holding back on the nostalgia this week, partly because I've realized that Yankee Stadium is a building, not a person and partly because the Yanks are all but out of the post-season race.
Man, this was wrong in April, it was REALLY wrong in May, but in August, it is unforgivable.
The Tampa Bay Rays have the BEST RECORD IN BASEBALL
| 2008 Major League - Standings (August 19, 2008) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| MLB | W | L | PCT | GB | HOME | ROAD | STRK | L10 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Tampa Bay | 77 | 48 | .616 | - | 47-17 | 30-31 | Won 3 | 8-2 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Chicago Cubs | 76 | 48 | .613 | .5 | 45-17 | 31-31 | Won 1 | 8-2 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| LA Angels | 76 | 48 | .613 | .5 | 37-23 | 39-25 | Lost 3 | 5-5 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Boston | 72 | 53 | .576 | 5 | 43-18 | 29-35 | Won 1 | 6-4 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Chicago Sox | 71 | 53 | .573 | 5.5 | 43-19 | 28-34 | Won 3 | 7-3 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Milwaukee | 72 | 54 | .571 | 5.5 | 37-23 | 35-31 | Won 1 | 7-3 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Minnesota | 70 | 54 | .565 | 6.5 | 44-23 | 26-31 | Lost 1 | 7-3 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| St. Louis | 70 | 57 | .551 | 8 | 33-28 | 37-29 | Lost 1 | 6-4 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| NY Mets | 68 | 57 | .544 | 9 | 36-23 | 32-34 | Lost 1 | 7-3 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Philadelphia | 67 | 58 | .536 | 10 | 33-27 | 34-31 | Won 2 | 5-5 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| NY Yankees | 66 | 59 | .528 | 11 | 38-27 | 28-32 | Lost 1 | 3-7 | |||||||||||||||||||||
(Note that I included the top 11 teams in MLB so that I could get the terrible Yankees in there at #11)
Worse still is that fact that the Rays do not have a losing record against any team in the AL (they are 6-6 vs. Boston) and are 5-2 against the Angles (a team that had been considered the "best in MLB" until they went to Tampa this week). Even worse still, it is August and there are less than 40 games left to play. With a FIVE GAME LEAD over Boston, the Rays have a very good shot at wining the AL East.
This is so wrong. I would take Baltimore winning the division for ten years in a row before seeing the Rays win it once. Oy.
On another baseball note, when Joe Torre went West I looked up the roster for his new team and realized something: the Dodgers were packed with players who had been key members of rival teams through the years that Torre managed the Yankees. Take a look:
Juan Pierre -- played on the 2003 Marlins who beat the Yanks in the World Series
Andruw Jones -- played for the NL rival Braves from '96 - '07
Nomar -- no comment needed
Jeff Kent -- played for crosstown rival Mets in the early days of interleague play
Mark Sweeney -- was on the 1998 Padres who faced the Yanks in the World Series
Casey Blake -- played on the 2007 Indians who beat the Yanks in the ALDS which lead to Torre's "firing"
Derek Lowe -- Helped break "the Curse" in 2004 with the Sox
Brad Penny -- One of the other young stars of the 2003 Marlins
Then they go out and get Manny and Greg Maddux in mid-season moves. It is almost freaky that this team is packed with guys who Torre use to have to worry about. Now they have his back. I mentioned to StillDocked_Too that it was as if Torre had entered a bazarro universe and was forced to manage guys who had beat him in the past. At the time, StillDocked commented that it souunded like a good premise for a short story.
I guess there is no point here, I just find this interesting.
Thankfully I have the olympics and the conventions to distract me from how bad baseball is these days. Bring on the VP speculations, it is all that is keeping me going this summer.
Updated: Please note that I wrote this post while several games were still in progress last night. As this morning's standing reflect, the Rays are tied for the best record in baseball with the Cubs. Also, the Red Sox are 4.5 games back, not 5. Still, it's August and the Rays are 77-48...seriously WTF?
It was wrong last month, it is even more wrong this month.
AL East Standing on May 16, 2008:
| W | L | PCT | GB | HOME | ROAD | RS | RA | STRK | L10 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tampa Bay | 24 | 17 | .585 | - | 16-8 | 8-9 | 186 | 161 | Won 1 | 8-2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Boston | 24 | 19 | .558 | 1 | 14-5 | 10-14 | 216 | 193 | Lost 4 | 4-6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Baltimore | 21 | 19 | .525 | 2.5 | 12-6 | 9-13 | 164 | 171 | Won 2 | 5-5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Toronto | 21 | 22 | .488 | 4 | 10-9 | 11-13 | 162 | 163 | Won 4 | 5-5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| NY Yankees | 20 | 22 | .476 | 4.5 | 9-9 | 11-13 | 173 | 179 | Lost 1 | 4-6 |
Really, I am fine with the Yankees being in last place. They are playing .500 ball and in this divisions that puts you at 4th or 5th place (this is not the NL Central after all).
But Tampa Bay is in first place???? Come on Boston, cowboy up and win a few. This is just wrong.
Thanks to rain out on Monday the Yankees home opener was moved to Prime Time on Tuesday. This helped restore the natural order of the universe (because everyone knows that the Baseball season should not start until April) and it allowed MLTU to experience her first Opening Day game (albeit on TV).
While watching the game I taught MLTU some new words including "baseball", "Je-ter" and "A-Wad". She held strong through the first inning, but then started to lose interest (she is two after all). But she watched long enough to see A-Rod get his first RBI of the year. I think she enjoyed herself.
Okay New York Times, you finally are getting it. This is clearly "breaking news":
Oh boy.
It is still unclear what the offer was, but ESPN reports that is was for one year, $5 million base salary with incentives up to $8 million and an option for a second year that would have vested if the Yankees made the World Series in 2008 (that's make it, not win it).
Given everything that has gone down I have to say, I think that this is a fair offer. The organization is changing and it has to get younger. Torre is not going to be there is 10 years and the kids need a manager who will help them grow and who will grow with them. At the same time, the Yanks want to groom the manager of the future because Donnie Baseball and Joe G. are not ready yet.
One year to give Joe his last hurray is more than fair given how the Yanks have limped in the Playoffs since the great choke of 2004. In fact, I thought the Yanks would do this and then firm up contracts with the free agents like Jorge and Mariano.
The fact that he has rejected it says one of two things to me: A) he needs a break already or B) his is pissed at the way he was treated and finally said "I have had it". The only good thing I see here is maybe because he rejected the offer the free agents will not be pissed and walk away.
Thanks for everything Joe. It has been a great ride and I wish you all the best in whatever you do.
For those of you who do not like baseball, I promise, posts like this one will end soon.
Here are some predictions:
- The Indians will beat the Yankees (and may sweep them given that they are up 2-0 in the 2nd)
- Joe Torre will be fired (King George has already said that Torre's job hangs on the Yanks winning this series)
- A-Rod will opt-out of his contract and will spend the rest of his career seeking fan that he received this year in the Bronx
- The Rockies will beat the Diamond backs in 5 games
- The Indians will beat the Red Sox in 7 games, with Gange giving up the deciding run
- The World Series will go to 7 games and the Indians will be two outs away from winning it all, only to have the Rockies come back and win in 12 innings. Thus the Indians will lose another World Series to a 1993 expansion team.
The New York Times finally got a breaking news headline right:
Finally, the magic number is 0 and the Yanks are in the playoffs. I am watching Joe Torre cry on YES right now.
How do you know it is September in the Bronx? You are looking forward to October.
Bring on Cleveland (or the Angels).
