The Baseball Gods got must have gotten ahold of this picture and decided to punish him

Sarcasm aside, I suppose we should feel lucky that it is only a small tear and should heal quickly. We should also feel lucky to have Cairo, who, while he isn’t exactly a hit machine, is doing fairly well for a bench player. He’s stolen 6 bases, and he can.....

....never mind. Enough optimism. The Yankees Chick is very, very frustrated. Let's all hope Cano heals up quickly - - - and fully. Candlelight vigil, anyone?

Labels: injuries, roster moves

Labels: injuries

The Yankees Chick won’t be in New York until next week, so if any of you will be in attendance this weekend and are able to snap some pictures of the old men, please send them my way (I’ll credit you, simmer down). I’d love to do a tribute to those former Yanks and include some pictures of how they look now.

Forget, for a moment, about Matsui. Forget about Sheffield. Forget even about Johnson and Chacon. Sit down and make sure you remove the young children from the room, as the numbers I am about to discuss may cause explosive language to come from your mouth.

The Yankees’ bullpen actually started out fairly strong, but in the past month they have gone sharply downhill. For comparison, the relievers have a combined ERA of 3.86 on the year (8^th in the majors), but in the past 30 days they have an ERA of 4.86 (20^th in the majors) and their opponents are hitting .333 off their pitching. Without Mariano, who continues to be strong despite a couple rough innings, these numbers would be even worse.

Scott Proctor: 16.1 IP, 7.71 ERA, 1.59 WHIP

Kyle Farnsworth (right, vomiting into his jersey after giving up yet another run): 13.0 IP, 6.23 ERA, 1.92 WHIP

Scott Erickson: 6.2 IP, 9.45 ERA, 1.95 WHIP

Aaron Small: 13.0 IP, 3.31 ERA, 1.85 WHIP

Ron Villone: 12.1 IP, 1.46 ERA, 1.14 WHIP

Bullpen Disasters, Last 30 Days

5/22: Bean allows 2 ER in bottom of 8^th, giving Red Sox 8-run lead. Yankees lose to Red Sox 9-5

5/26: Proctor blows save, 1 ER. Farsworth allows 3 more ER. Yankees lose to Royals 6-7

6/1: Farnsworth blows save, 2 ER. Yankees lose to Tigers 6-7

6/4: Erickson (right, covering up his low self-esteem with a sassy pose) allows 4 ER, putting game out of reach. Yankees lose to Orioles 4-11

6/8: Proctor blows save, 3 ER. Yankees lose to Red Sox 3-9

6/11: Farnsworth gives up 1 ER, allowing the A’s to take the lead. Yankees lose to A’s 5-6/15: Small (left, tipping his hat to his career) gives up 2 ER in 9^th inning, putting creating a 4-run deficit for the Yanks. Yankees lose to Indians 4-8

6/17: Beam allows 2 ER in 5^th, Proctor allows 1 (though he faced just 5 batters). Mariano blows save and allows 2 ER. Yankees lose to Nats 9-11

6/19: Farnsworth allows 1 ER, turning a 1-run shortfall into a 2-run deficit. Yankees lose to Phillies 2-4.

Lest you continue to think that the Yankees problems stem solely from their offensive troubles, rest assured that their bats still quite dominating. As a team, the Yankees are 2^nd in the majors in runs scored (399), 3^rd in batting average (.286), 6^th in hits (688), 6^th in slugging percentage (.453), and 1^st in OBP (.369). They are clearly doing their very best with their persistently changing lineup, and they are hitting well enough to win most of their games.

What, then, should be done? More accurately, what can be done? The Yankees are dangerously low on resources and good bullpen help is hard to come by. They could try to deal for a starting pitcher and rotate one of the starters into the bullpen, or they may try to add another big bat. Octavio Dotel is allegedly going to be ready to pitch in a couple weeks, so waiting to see what his contribution can do is another option. What do you think the Yanks should do? Submit your requests in the comments, and I’ll see what I can do to make it happen*.

*nothing can be done.

Labels: bitching, injuries

Series 2: vs Philadelphia Phillies at Citizen’s Bank Ballpark
June 19, 20, 21
Phillies’ Current Record: 33-33 (Home: 16-19, Away: 17-14), 2nd place in NL East
Who to Watch: Outfielder Shane Victorino is hitting a sweet .318 right now, but the real man to watch out for is closer (and former Yank) Tom Gordon, who has 18 saves in 19 opportunities and has allowed just 5 earned runs in 28 innings!
Difficulty Level: 5 out of 10. The Phillies started out strong and although they’ve been slipping a bit as of late they should not be discounted. They have strong offense in Abreu, Howard, Utley and Victorino, a fairly solid bullpen with Gordon, Greary, and Cormier. The good news for A-Rod, Phillips, and Giambi is that Citizen’s Bank Ballpark is approximately the size of my backyard and they should be able to knock some balls out of the park.

Series 3: vs Florida Marlins at Yankees Stadium
June 23, 24, 25
Marlins’ Current Record: 26-37 (Home: 12-17, Away: 14-20), 5th place in NL East
Who to Watch: Dontrelle Willis, of course. He’s off to a slow start, but there’s no doubt that he’s capable of shutting a team down. He’s also one of the pitchers rumored to be a possible future Yankee, so keep your eye on him.
Difficulty Level: 2 out of 10. They have won 7 of their last 10 games, but even with the plentitude of Yankees injuries I cannot fathom the Marlins dominating the Yanks at home.

Series 4: vs Atlanta Braves at Yankees Stadium
June 26, 27, 28
Braves’ Current Record: 30-37 (Home: 14-14, Away: 16-23), 3rd place in NL East
Who to Watch: Brian McCann and Matt Diaz both have averages above .350, and Andruw Jones and Jeff Francouer have 57 and 47 RBIs respectively, making Atlanta’s outfield a true force to contend with.
Difficulty Level: 3 out of 10. Atlanta has been a perennial presence at the top of the charts for years, but they have really been fumbling this year. They just got swept by the Marlins and have a very poor road win-loss percentage, making their chances of winning at Yankees Stadium pretty slim.

Series 5: vs NY Mets at Yankees Stadium
June 30, July 1, 2
Mets’ Current Record: 42-23 (Home: 19-11, Away: 23-12), 1st place in NL East
Who to Watch: The Mets have a mob of hot players right now: 3rd baseman David Wright is hitting .335, outfielder Carlos Beltran is hitting .300 with 18 homers, and 1st baseman Carlos Delgado has 19 homers and 49 RBIs. They've also got great pitchers coming out of the bullpen, including Duaner Sanchez and Billy Wagner.
Difficulty Level: 10 out of 10. Everything has been coming together for the Mets this year, from the pitching to the offense to the management. They are doing everything they can to become “THE” New York team, and the Yanks are going to have to be on their best game to beat them.

"Jim has either left me a phone message or spoken to me in person or on the phone for every game of my career. Every game. For more than 2,000 times he has said to me the following statement: 'I hit solid with an accelerated bat head.' And I've repeated to myself the same mantra at least 10,000 times over the years."

S: self-discipline

C: concentration

O: optimism

R: relaxation

E: enjoyment

A-Rod has used Fannin’s system (and his daily personal support) to get through some tough slides despite increasingly obnoxious heckling from fickle Yankees fans. His latest slump is his 4-for-29 record since returning from a brief bout with the flu earlier this month (including 3 strikeouts yesterday), and fans in the Bronx are getting frustrated. Unfortunately for A-Rod, the mounting pressure only seems to make things worse in the short-term. It may be tough to imagine a 6’3” legend having confidence issues, but A-Rod’s dedication to personal improvement—and willingness to share it with his fans—only endears him to me more. Time and time again A-Rod has pulled himself up out of these slumps, and he credits his "life coach" for his help. Perhaps A-Rod should pass some of Fannin's business cards around the dugout...

Labels: a-rod support, a-rod trouble

• Mike Mussina – 8-2, 2.76 ERA


• Randy Johnson – 7-5, 5.63 ERA


• Shawn Chacon – 4-1, 5.23


• Chien-Ming Wang – 6-2, 4.52


• Aaron Small – 0-3, 8.20


• Jaret Wright – 3-4, 4.44

With the exception of Moose, whose performance has far exceeded any expectations the Yankees Chick has held for him since his first day in pinstripes, each Yankee pitcher that has started a game is giving up at least 1 earned run per 2 innings of pitching. Those 6 starters have combined to give up 180 earned runs thus far, and 3 of them (Unit, Small, and Chacon) don’t even rank in the top 115 starting pitchers in the league. Such a performance would perhaps be tolerable from a 5^th starter, but when 5 of the Yankees’ 6 available starting pitchers fall into that category there is simply no ignoring that the rotation is falling short.

Why, then, does the spotlight remain on the outfield? The Yankees’ current outfielders include:

• Johnny Damon - .293 BA, .366 OBP, 30 RBI

• Melky Cabrera - .272 BA, .375 OBP, 12 RBI

• Bernie Williams - .260 BA, .303 OBP, 28 RBI

• Kevin Thompson - .383 BA, .420 OBP, 9 RBI

The addition of Soriano or Abreu would certainly be a huge boon to the outfield and the lineup, but would the extra run per game or one fewer error per month give the Yankees the push they need to maintain a hold on the AL Eastern Division? Probably not. On the other hand, what impact would the addition of a quality starting pitcher have on the Yankees’ record? If the Yankees were to snap up Zito or Willis, it is conceivable the extra 8-10 wins they would contribute could put the Yankees back on top.

If Cashman decides to deal for an outfielder, the Yankees’ offensive dominance will increase. However, with the starting pitching giving up runs the way they have been, the Yankees will still have to score an average of 5 runs per game to win, a goal that is sure to wear out even the best offense. An arm like Zito’s, though, would take some of the pressure off the offense and allow the Yankees the chance to take the division out of the reach of the Red Sox or the Blue Jays without pressuring the offense to hit 15 homers a week.

There’s still a good 7 weeks before the July 31^st trade deadline, so there is still hope that Cashman can convince Steinbrenner to pick up an arm instead of a bat. The only problem, then, will be figuring out who the Yankees can deal…

Labels: rumors

Labels: do-gooders, happy time

The Yankees have had to shuffle their roster almost daily this season, what with the injuries to Sheff, Matsui, Chacon, Bubba, Jeter, Mariano, et al. The seemingly never-ending parade of injuries plaguing the Yanks is disappointing, but the real surprise came not in the injuries but in their aftermath. Melky has exceeded even the biggest expectations the Yanks had for him; Torre noted that even if Melky were to hit a slump for the rest of the season his contributions during May and June are so impressive that he is confident Melky has what it takes to be a Yankee. Bernie, who was signed as a DH and 4^th outfielder and was predicted by many to be virtually worthless this year, has stepped up to the plate (pun intended) both offensively and defensively: he’s hitting .269 and has made just 1 error in the outfield. With Giambi playing DH more often, Andy Phillips has been manning 1^st base and despite a slow start (he was hitting .208 as recently as 10 days ago) he has shown perseverance and power, including a recent hot streak that has boosted his average all the way up to .284. Even Miguel Cairo, who filled in for A-Rod at 3^rd during his flu-induced absence and has been playing shortstop while Jeter’s wrist is hurt, has been playing decently.

Before tonight's game against the BoSox, the Yankees’ record stood at 35-22, a record better than all but 2 MLB teams (Tigers and White Sox). They’ve managed to beat some of the best pitchers in the league and have shut down power-offenses, all without the help of Sheff or Matsui, and even Jeter as of late. Sheffield’s surgery is bad news, but I imagine it will prove to be no more than a blip in a season of tough luck and incredible playing by the remaining roster.

Labels: bern bernie bern, injuries

The Yankees and Red Sox will be getting an unexpected day off tonight, thanks to some wild weather. This is the second match-up the Sox and Yanks have missed this season (the first was May 2^nd at Fenway), and there is no scheduled make-up at this time.

Labels: red sox rivalry

Oppenheimer was very satisfied with the Yanks’ selections and feels confident about the future of the team’s farm system. It will take several years to see what impact these players will make on the organization, but as Oppenheimer said, "If we can sign all of the guys we took, we'll have had a heck of a draft."*

*Assuming he’s not using “heck of a draft” in the same vain as the “heck of a job” Dubya felt FEMA was doing during Katrina.

Labels: farm hands

Here are the vital stats for tonight’s game:

Pitching: Mike Mussina vs. Josh Beckett. Beckett has been solid for the Sox thus far, winning 7 and losing 2 with a 4.46 ERA, but his performance pales in comparison to that of Moose. Mike is 7-1 on the season and is the only pitcher in the MLB to have at least 10 starts and to have thrown at least six innings in those games, and his 2.42 ERA is the best in the American League. His last start was a 1-run (unearned!) complete game, and he has been so dominating this year that I have full confidence that he will be able to shut the Sox down tonight.

Injuries: Sheffield is still on the DL, and Mariano is likely still not available (due to last week’s shoe-tying induced back spasms). A-Rod seems to have recovered from his stomach virus, but it is unclear whether Giambi is still being bothered by the virus. Jeter should be able to play despite getting whacked in the hand by a pitch this weekend.

Game time is 7:05pm EST

Labels: injuries, red sox rivalry

After all the effort Mariano has had to put forth for his team recently—including pitching 3 innings during Tuesday night’s game—and the way the Yanks have been getting injured this year, it should come as no surprise that Mo has become the latest New York casualty. While putting on his shoes before batting practice on Thursday, Mo was struck by extremely painful back spasms, bad enough to necessitate help just to get back on the team bus. "When it happened, I couldn't believe it," Rivera said. "I thought it was a little thing, then all of a sudden, I couldn't move my legs.” His condition is listed as day-to-day, but he is not expected to pitch at all while the Yanks are in Baltimore.

A-Rod will also be sitting tonight’s game out, and possibly tomorrow as well, due to some sort of “virus”. Torre has had to shuffle his lineup around considerably lately, and without A-Rod to bat 3^rd or 4^th he has had to make some interesting changes. Here is tonight’s starting lineup:

Johnny Damon, CF (.279)
Melky Cabrera, LF (.310)
Derek Jeter, SS (.342) [wrist feeling better after 2 days of rest]
Jason Giambi, DH (.280)
Bernie Williams, RF (.266)
Robinson Cano, 2B (.306)
Andy Phillips,1B (.273) [on a hot streak!]
Miguel Cairo, 3B (.250)
Kelly Stinnett, C (.235)

Labels: a-rod trouble

The Astros may be 7.5 games behind Pujols and the Cards, but they’re not too worried about losing their NL Champion title just yet. Roger Clemens has agreed to pitch one more season for Houston, and that could be just the boost they need to push the Cardinals out of the lead. The Rocket agreed to a $22,000,022 1-year contract with the Astros, of which he will receive about $12.8 million for the 4 remaining months of the season.

Clemens will start the season in the minors (where his son Koby plays, coincidentally), but is expected to make his first start for the Astros by last June.

"I have to now take the next step to get my body ready to come back, to be effective, win games and do what I'm used to doing, and that's being extremely competitive at a high level. My body feels good. Condition-wise, I'm great. I need some game experience. I haven't felt soreness in my legs like actual game situations." - - Roger Clemens