Anyone associated with the Yankees during the dynasty years of the late '90s -- whether a member of the team or a fan -- can tell you that there are four celebrations to any successful season.
Clinching the playoffs, preferably taking the division, was first. Prevailing in the Division Round would set off another party. Winning the pennant was next on the agenda in the Championship Series. Of course, all this had to be followed up by the final fiesta by winning a World Series.
While the 2009 version has yet to accomplish anything of serious significance thus far, before long there will be a nightly check of "The Magic Number."
The four-game sweep of Boston not only legitimizes everything that's taken place over the past couple of months but knocks the Red Sox so far back that Beantown has to start looking at Wild Card competition.
Sure there are close to fifty games remaining, and a good number of them will be the best rivalry match-up in sports. However, everything is clicking in the Bronx and the Red Sox roster has more holes in it than a fisherman's net in Cape Cod.
Theo Epstein was once being hailed as a genius for his personnel moves. John Smoltz would come in mid-season and add to the starting pitching depth, what could possibly go wrong? Five losses in eight starts with an ERA almost as high as the Green Monster, that's what.
Getting rid of Manny Ramirez and bringing in Jason Bay looked like a fine trade in mid-May, but after a two-month slump the move isn't looking all that terrific. Shortstop has been an issue all season with no relief in sight.
The rotation is fine at the top but the back end is wide open. Smoltz is now gone, Tim Wakefield is on the DL as is Daisuke Matsuzaka. The bullpen has been serviceable but Jonathan Papelbon has had his issues despite what his low ERA will have you believe.
The Fenway faithful have all but given-up on the Yanks and are slowly turning on Theo even if he brought in Victor Martinez.
The Yanks meanwhile have evolved into a team that never quits. In the series against Boston they showed that the magic is returning to the Bronx, albeit across the street. This club is starting to develop a similar personality to those that threw all those parties and parades.
Since A-Rod's return the Yanks have been fairly healthy, except for Chien-Ming Wang. And it's been Brian Cashman who's looked brilliant.
There are still two west-coast trips to deal with including three games in Anaheim in late September which will be followed by three at the stadium vs. the Red Sox.
However, by that time the race for the division will be all but over. After a season in which the only celebration was the closing of The Stadium -- more like a funeral -- it's time to get ready for party number one.
Showing posts with label Red Sox. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Red Sox. Show all posts
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Bring On The Sox
"Bring on the Red Sox." No, that's not the chant of some arrogant Yankees fan who thinks this year's ballclub can go head-to-head with Murders Row and come out victorious. It's what Joe Girardi's boys better be thinking as we head towards a very significant four game set between the Bombers and BoSox.
The greatest rivalry in sports was last showcased on June 11th. The Red Sox completed yet another sweep of the Yanks and were riding high. They were 8 and 0 against the team that had the best chance of knocking them off their perch in the AL East standings. But things have changed a lot since then.
Over the past six weeks -- since June 24th against the Braves -- the Yanks have been playing as good a brand of baseball as they have played in years. Going into that game against Atlanta, the Yanks were five games back of Boston with a record of 38 up and 32 down.
Since that game the club has gone 27 and 10, a five game deficit has turned into a two and-a-half game lead. Boston has played just above .500 -- 19 wins to 17 loses in that time.
The Yankees have won ten series and lost only two in that time, and one of those losses came against the Angels whom it seems the Yanks can't beat so long as their manager's name is Joe.
The Red Sox 19 and 17 record is actually better than it should be. Consider that they played the AL East Punching-Bag-Orioles nine times in that span, winning seven of those match-ups.
Beantown has also suffered some terrible losses since to two clubs last played. There was that embarrassing loss when the Sox led the O's 10-1 only to implode and lose 11-10. Just over a week ago Jonathan Papelbon came into a game against Oakland with a three run lead only to have Nick Green commit two throwing errors with two outs to let the lead slip away, Oakland went on to win in extras.
Early in the season Red Sox Nation had Jason Bay as the shoo-in for MVP, not to mention next mayor of Boston. Well, Bay's stats have started to resemble G.M.'s stock charts from earlier this year, his batting average is down over .70 points in the last two months. Throw in a home run total for July that would make even David Wright cringe -- ONE, that's right just one homer for the month.
J.D. Drew batted to a .217 clip in July. John Smoltz has looked nothing like the pitcher we knew in Atlanta -- and that has nothing to do with his receding hairline. Smoltz is two and four with a seven-plus ERA. Add to all this, the steroid news concerning Manny and Ortiz.
No, it has not been perfect in the Bronx. Alfredo Aceves has been shaky over his last few outings, same for Phil Coke. Losing Chien-Ming Wang for the season is going to hurt, but all that is small potatoes compared to the problems in Beantown.
Boston has lost their last two. The Yankees have won three in-a-row. The Yankees have their pitching staff setup, the top four starters will pitch. Smoltz is the only one Boston would rather not have start in this series.
Taking three out of four in a series against anyone is tough. Pulling it off against a formidable foe like the Red Sox is asking a lot. To prove that things have turned around in the past month and a half the Yankees need to split the series -- minimum.
Anything short of two wins will mean a tie in the loss column atop the AL East standing. A sweep either way would obviously be a huge blow to the loser. The Yanks would have a 6.5 game lead and dispelled of all the demons should they win four.
If the Sox continue their dominance in the match-up they will not only leap-frog into first, they show that while the Yanks can walk over the rest of baseball they still can't beat the playoff contenders.
This series comes at the right time for the Yankees, now they have to take care of business on the field. If they don't, the Red Sox will have successfully called the bluff of the past six weeks.
The greatest rivalry in sports was last showcased on June 11th. The Red Sox completed yet another sweep of the Yanks and were riding high. They were 8 and 0 against the team that had the best chance of knocking them off their perch in the AL East standings. But things have changed a lot since then.
Over the past six weeks -- since June 24th against the Braves -- the Yanks have been playing as good a brand of baseball as they have played in years. Going into that game against Atlanta, the Yanks were five games back of Boston with a record of 38 up and 32 down.
Since that game the club has gone 27 and 10, a five game deficit has turned into a two and-a-half game lead. Boston has played just above .500 -- 19 wins to 17 loses in that time.
The Yankees have won ten series and lost only two in that time, and one of those losses came against the Angels whom it seems the Yanks can't beat so long as their manager's name is Joe.
The Red Sox 19 and 17 record is actually better than it should be. Consider that they played the AL East Punching-Bag-Orioles nine times in that span, winning seven of those match-ups.
Beantown has also suffered some terrible losses since to two clubs last played. There was that embarrassing loss when the Sox led the O's 10-1 only to implode and lose 11-10. Just over a week ago Jonathan Papelbon came into a game against Oakland with a three run lead only to have Nick Green commit two throwing errors with two outs to let the lead slip away, Oakland went on to win in extras.
Early in the season Red Sox Nation had Jason Bay as the shoo-in for MVP, not to mention next mayor of Boston. Well, Bay's stats have started to resemble G.M.'s stock charts from earlier this year, his batting average is down over .70 points in the last two months. Throw in a home run total for July that would make even David Wright cringe -- ONE, that's right just one homer for the month.
J.D. Drew batted to a .217 clip in July. John Smoltz has looked nothing like the pitcher we knew in Atlanta -- and that has nothing to do with his receding hairline. Smoltz is two and four with a seven-plus ERA. Add to all this, the steroid news concerning Manny and Ortiz.
No, it has not been perfect in the Bronx. Alfredo Aceves has been shaky over his last few outings, same for Phil Coke. Losing Chien-Ming Wang for the season is going to hurt, but all that is small potatoes compared to the problems in Beantown.
Boston has lost their last two. The Yankees have won three in-a-row. The Yankees have their pitching staff setup, the top four starters will pitch. Smoltz is the only one Boston would rather not have start in this series.
Taking three out of four in a series against anyone is tough. Pulling it off against a formidable foe like the Red Sox is asking a lot. To prove that things have turned around in the past month and a half the Yankees need to split the series -- minimum.
Anything short of two wins will mean a tie in the loss column atop the AL East standing. A sweep either way would obviously be a huge blow to the loser. The Yanks would have a 6.5 game lead and dispelled of all the demons should they win four.
If the Sox continue their dominance in the match-up they will not only leap-frog into first, they show that while the Yanks can walk over the rest of baseball they still can't beat the playoff contenders.
This series comes at the right time for the Yankees, now they have to take care of business on the field. If they don't, the Red Sox will have successfully called the bluff of the past six weeks.
Thursday, July 30, 2009
My Two Cents Worth
Mark Buehrle's performance of setting aside 45 consecutive batters is one of baseball's all-time best pitching feats. This year is the 50th anniversary of Harvey Haddix throwing 12 perfect innings -- and then losing the game -- for the best single game ever pitched. Buerle may have come close to matching Hard-Luck Harvey.
Buehrle did not do it one game, but that may be even tougher than what Haddix did. Mark faced two teams while Harvey dominated one. And while Haddix' dominance could be chalked up to one bad game by the Braves of '59, Buehrle faced the Rays and Twins -- two fairly good offensive teams.
Beuhrle has long been ignored as one of the better pitchers in the game, no more. Watching the White Sox lefty is seeing a pitching clinic. Get the ball and pitch, there is no need to be taking a mid-afternoon stroll around the mound.
Most importantly, however, is the confidence to throw strikes. A pitcher who trusts his stuff will throw it over the plate and have the batter hit it weakly.
Kudos to Buehrle for garnering the credit he has long deserved.
*************************************************************************************
"The Good, The Bad and The Ugly" has come to Queens.
The Good: How about the play on the field. Stringing together some wins and making a run at the Wild Card. For a change both the bats and the pitching staff have made contributions. Despite the injuries, a playoff spot is still within shouting distance.
Top to bottom the club is playing fine baseball. Good starts, timely hits, solid relief and sound defense. And all against teams vying for the same playoff spot. Once again, keep in mind, no other team will be adding the kind of talent to their roster for the stretch like the Mets will -- if the DL starts clearing up.
The Bad: Tony Bernazard taking his shirt off and challenging Minor Leaguers to a fight is as bad as it gets. Most fans would have no idea who the Vice President, Player Development guy is for their team. Yet, Bernazard keeps getting his name in the paper and almost always for the wrong reasons.
On top of that, Tony almost came to blows with Francisco Rodriguez -- one of the few top Mets not on the DL.
The Ugly: Well, few teams can take doing the right thing -- firing Bernazard -- and turn it into a disaster like the Mets did this week. First Fred Wilpon and then Omar Minaya have come out and apologized for attacking Adam Rubin's integrity.
Wilpon said he's not happy with the direction of the team. Is that the first sign for Omar to start packing? The Mets hierarchy has been known to be swayed by public opinion.
*************************************************************************************
Thank you Brett Favre for not completely destroying our fond memories of your days in Green Bay. While not the best quarterback to throw a football, certainly one of the most exciting.
We can forget about the one year with the Jets -- unless you're a Jets fan, of course -- but a year with the Vikings would be hard to overlook.
*************************************************************************************
Two more names from "the list" have come to light. Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz failed a drug test in 2003 according to The New York Times.
This has to really sting Red Sox Nation. While many Yankees have been known steroid users, this would be like finding out Derek Jeter and Bernie Williams were on the juice during the '98 season. Manny and Papi were not bit players, they were the heart and soul of the team.
Buehrle did not do it one game, but that may be even tougher than what Haddix did. Mark faced two teams while Harvey dominated one. And while Haddix' dominance could be chalked up to one bad game by the Braves of '59, Buehrle faced the Rays and Twins -- two fairly good offensive teams.
Beuhrle has long been ignored as one of the better pitchers in the game, no more. Watching the White Sox lefty is seeing a pitching clinic. Get the ball and pitch, there is no need to be taking a mid-afternoon stroll around the mound.
Most importantly, however, is the confidence to throw strikes. A pitcher who trusts his stuff will throw it over the plate and have the batter hit it weakly.
Kudos to Buehrle for garnering the credit he has long deserved.
*************************************************************************************
"The Good, The Bad and The Ugly" has come to Queens.
The Good: How about the play on the field. Stringing together some wins and making a run at the Wild Card. For a change both the bats and the pitching staff have made contributions. Despite the injuries, a playoff spot is still within shouting distance.
Top to bottom the club is playing fine baseball. Good starts, timely hits, solid relief and sound defense. And all against teams vying for the same playoff spot. Once again, keep in mind, no other team will be adding the kind of talent to their roster for the stretch like the Mets will -- if the DL starts clearing up.
The Bad: Tony Bernazard taking his shirt off and challenging Minor Leaguers to a fight is as bad as it gets. Most fans would have no idea who the Vice President, Player Development guy is for their team. Yet, Bernazard keeps getting his name in the paper and almost always for the wrong reasons.
On top of that, Tony almost came to blows with Francisco Rodriguez -- one of the few top Mets not on the DL.
The Ugly: Well, few teams can take doing the right thing -- firing Bernazard -- and turn it into a disaster like the Mets did this week. First Fred Wilpon and then Omar Minaya have come out and apologized for attacking Adam Rubin's integrity.
Wilpon said he's not happy with the direction of the team. Is that the first sign for Omar to start packing? The Mets hierarchy has been known to be swayed by public opinion.
*************************************************************************************
Thank you Brett Favre for not completely destroying our fond memories of your days in Green Bay. While not the best quarterback to throw a football, certainly one of the most exciting.
We can forget about the one year with the Jets -- unless you're a Jets fan, of course -- but a year with the Vikings would be hard to overlook.
*************************************************************************************
Two more names from "the list" have come to light. Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz failed a drug test in 2003 according to The New York Times.
This has to really sting Red Sox Nation. While many Yankees have been known steroid users, this would be like finding out Derek Jeter and Bernie Williams were on the juice during the '98 season. Manny and Papi were not bit players, they were the heart and soul of the team.
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