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Jobamania Delusionmania |
| Saturday, July 11, 2009 |
Remember that annoying kid you knew growing up who always insisted they were great at something despite ever-increasing evidence to the contrary? The type of kid that could fail 10 math tests in a row and still brag about it being his best subject, or the horribly klutzy girl that kept trying out for the cheerleading squad year after year, thinking they really had a chance at making it? Their confidence was so ridiculously off-base that you couldn't help but feel bad for them while wondering what the hell their parents were telling them to convince them of their awesome-ness.
Joba is totally that guy right now.
Our dear Jobamania, whose pitching this year has continued to be ineffective at best and downright pathetic at worst, stated last night that his "stuff" and "mechanics" in his last two starts were the best he has had all season. Read that again, and then take a gander at his line over those aforementioned last two starts: 8 IP, 18 hits, 13 runs, 7 earned runs, 2 BB, 5 K, 3 home runs. Now, I certainly understand that it is possible to pitch well but get unlucky (bad backing defense, particularly lucky opposing hitters, etc etc), but I simply cannot agree that Joba has shown his "best" stuff recently. You know how I know this? BECAUSE I HAVE EYES AND CAN SEE THAT HE'S BEEN PITCHING HORRIBLY. Giving up 18 hits in 8 innings is not a fluke, it's an indication that your pitches are not good. To be fair, Joba also expressed frustration and disappointment in the results of his recent outings, but to say that he feels his "stuff" was at his "best" is worrisome indeed. Confidence is important and I certainly don't want the poor kid to get too down on himself (putting immense pressure on oneself is a recipe for disaster; just ask the growing number of players on the DL for anxiety problems), but how is he going to improve (which we desperately need him to do) if he thinks that what he's been doing is his "best"?
For those counting, the Yanks are already down to 4 starters thanks to the Wangster's inability to recover from suck-itis, and 4 innings of Joba's current "best efforts" every fifth day is not helping matters. It's lovely that Joba has such faith in himself, but he's going to need to step it up to re-gain mine.
Labels: bitching, haha...ha., jobamania, pitching |
posted by Yankees Chick @ Saturday, July 11, 2009   |
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| TONS of Silver Linings. TONS (seriously)! |
| Saturday, April 18, 2009 |
After what has proved to be a wild ride in the world of the Yanks this past week, some fans are admittedly frustrated. We've seen some truly frightening pitching, the worst of which came from the Wangster, whose performance today moved him from the "well, anyone can have one or two bad starts" category to the more critical "pardon me sir, but what the fuck is wrong with you?" status, and we're down an outfielder (I guess the Cash Man was on to something with those 13289023890 outfielders after all) thanks to Nady's elbow - but despite all this there have been plenty of great things to focus on in Yankeeville thus far this season. So forget about the game you watched today and ponder all these silver linings surrounding the bad stuff:
1) Robby Cano Dontcha Know is BACK TO ATTACK! His numbers weren't great last year, but he finished the 2008 strong and he has picked things right back up in 2009. So far he's hitting .405 with a .468 OBP, 3 homers, 2 dubs, and 8 RBI - stellar!
2) CC's opening day start really was a fluke. His subsequent two starts have been just what we were all counting on from him.
3) Nick Swisher, our "backup/utility dude", has proven himself worthy of a roster spot. Is the lifetime .240-ish hitter going to finish the season with the .371 average he's currently rocking? Of course not. But is he better than the average utility player? YES.
4) Melky is doing his damndest to stay on the team. He lost out on the starting job to Gardy, but he's not giving up - every time he gets a chance, he's making an impact.
5) Mariano is still Mariano. Every year I think "maybe this will be the year he starts to decline, he is getting pretty old..." and every year he proves me wrong. Thank you.
6) Dandy Andy Pettitte is off to a great start.
7) So is AJ - and he's managed to stay un-injured!
8) Swapping the Jeet and Damon in the lineup is already paying off - Jeet has stolen 2 bases (that ain't gonna happen on Damon's bum foot) and isn't hitting into infinite double plays!
9) A-Rod is on his way back and is in great shape. Say what you will about the man's indiscretions, frightening choice in women, etc etc: he is one hard working man and will do anything to get back in action. He's been working his cute little booty off since the moment he woke up from his hip surgery and I have every confidence that he'll be back in full effect right on schedule as planned.
Feel better yet?
LET'S GO YANKS!Labels: bitching, happy time, pitching, you make me sick |
| posted by Yankees Chick @ Saturday, April 18, 2009 |
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| Everything is Under Control |
| Thursday, April 09, 2009 |
Monday and yesterday's games were admittedly a tad disappointing pretty disastrous. The Wangster and CC didn't bring their A-game and the relievers didn't look too keen on picking up their slack; we also didn't see anything spectacular from our pricey new toy over at first base. Nevertheless, I don't think there was any need for the sheer panic I was hearing from fans, much less the glee anti-Yank crusaders were expressing. Case in point, from the comments on Monday's post:
It's Wed. and yet again the yanks are lossing in the 5th 7-1. It's going to be a long year if your a Yankee fan. The best last place team money can buy. They spent 180 million a un-tested first baseman who is now 0 for 6 (hitless and clueless) 161 million on a pitcher who couldn't get one K in his first outing. Time to fire Girardi????? First, the Yanks were losing, not lossing. Second... IT WAS THE SECOND GAME! I try to judge players on a larger sample size than, say, 5 innings. Third, since when is Tex "un-tested" - I'd say six seasons of experience is a decent "test". Finally, what does Girardi have to do with this? He had nothing to do with the contracts any of these guys received and can't force CC to throw strikes (unless I'm mistaken and he is indeed a puppet master).
Sheesh. Had this stressed-out commenter not posted anonymously, I would have contacted him and/or her directly to issue some soothing words.
Luckily, the Yanks took care of that for me by playing a fabulous game today. In case you missed it, here's the highlights:
- Final score: 11-2
- Burnout's line: 5.1 IP, 7 hits, 2 ER, 1 BB, 6 K
- Coke, Veras, Bruney, and Mo combined for 3.2 scoreless/hitless/walkless innings
- Homers from Tex, Cano, and Swisher
- Stolen base for Gardy
- Molina threw out a potential base-stealer
- Cano was 3-4 (I told you last year was an anomaly!)
So seriously: simmer down. Everything will be just fine.Labels: bitching, happy time, pitching, you make me sick |
| posted by Yankees Chick @ Thursday, April 09, 2009 |
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| I Pity You New Yorkers... |
| Monday, April 06, 2009 |
...who are doomed to pass by infinite newsstands tomorrow featuring the NY Post, whose cover will surely lambaste poor CC.
What will it be? C-See Ya Later? CC Sucksbathia? Post your guess in the comments. Best one wins a prize!
Aside from the pitching, the game wasn't that bad. Jorgie, who I consider to be our biggest question mark, came through with a sweet homer, and Gardner showed off why he earned that centerfield gig with a huge assist to gun down Mora at the plate. As for CC, he'll be just fine - everyone is entitled to a bad start every now and then, it's just unfortunate his had to come today.
The good news is that the Orioles have nothing after Guthrie. See you Wednesday, O's!Labels: bitching, cc fatsbathia, pitching, you make me sick |
| posted by Yankees Chick @ Monday, April 06, 2009 |
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Gimme a D! Gimme an E! Gimme a Fense Who the Hell Needs Drills?! |
| Tuesday, March 24, 2009 |
Time sure does fly when there's not a Yankees game to sit down and watch every night, doesn't it?
It's been a couple weeks since I last had a moment to stop by here and chit-chat, but not because there hasn't been anything about which I could blather. Quite the contrary! I had a fabulous time watching the WBC and even went to see the USA humiliate themselves against our superior Japanese brethren on Sunday evening, allowing myself to holler such foreign phrases as "GO D-WRIGHT!", "USA! USA!", and "YOU BLEW IT JETER!" After watching the games on TV and seeing the semi-final up close and personal (and by "up close and personal" I mean "far, far away in the upper deck"), I think it's fair to say that the WBC has highlighted a fundamental truth that has been overlooked in the MLB lately:
DEFENSE IS IMPORTANT. ERRORS COUNT.The Domincan Republic, Venezuela, China, and the USA all lost huge games thanks to lazy and sloppy defense, while teams like Japan and Korea cruised past their competition with seamless, textbook play in the field. When Team Japan was in the field, you could just about guarantee that any ground ball hit to the infield was going to result in an out - no need to fear the bobble or wayward throw. The half-assed fielding efforts displayed by the likes of Dunn (not entirely his fault; what was he doing in right field anyway?!) and even our dear Jeet offered no such assurances. I'm sure that defensive drills are boring as hell, and there's nothing overtly sexy about watching a game packed with tight defense (we don't cheer for defensive feats with quite the same gusto as we cheer a home run... unless a player dives into the stands, I suppose). Everyone loves a stolen base or a stand-up triple, but the results of the WBC make it clear that defense is important too. Let's hope Jeter brings that message back to Tampa. Labels: bitching, jeter jeter pumpkin eater, WBC, you make me sick |
| posted by Yankees Chick @ Tuesday, March 24, 2009 |
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| SAVE ME!!! |
| Saturday, April 26, 2008 |
In addition to my usual Yankees Chick posts, I have also begun writing regularly for AOL's FanHouse blog on all things AL East. I will post the beginnings of those articles here on YC, and then you'll have to click the link to jump on over to FH to read the rest... stick with me here, amigos!-------------------------------------------------------- Will someone please tell me why teams refuse to bring in their closers when the game is tied??? WHYYYYYY?! I'm very upset right now. Furious, even. After beating the Yanks 6-4 last night, the Indians pulled it off again today and topped the Yanks 4-3. This one irritated me even more than the last, my friends (and foes, I suppose...), and not just because it was the second night in a row such a pathetic display had been forced upon my eyes. No, there is much more vexing me tonight, namely the waste of a lovely effort on the part of the lineup to tie up the game (forget about the fact that they left 23 batters on base; that's fodder for another tirade) that could very possibly been parlayed into an extra-innings win had Girardi not opted to have Ross Ohlendorf pitch the bottom of the night instead of Mo. Continue Reading SAVE ME!!! Labels: bitching, fanhouse articles, you make me sick |
| posted by Yankees Chick @ Saturday, April 26, 2008 |
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| Holy HELL I Hate It When... |
| Wednesday, March 26, 2008 |
...Jose Canseco defames A-Rod's good name with unsubstantiated reports of steroid use.Let me state upfront that I actually like Canseco - he's quite the fascinating character, what with the playing record, a marriage proposal to Madonna, his Surreal Life participation, and the rescue of a wayward owl during a Rangers game. What's more, I think that a lot of his claims most likely are indeed based on truth; after all, he did host a delightful steroids BBQ (like an 80's theme party, or a slumber party... but steroid-aliciuos!) and was obviously right in the heart of the 90's steroid culture (like punk rock, or nudism... but steroid-alicious!). HOWEVER! I am sick to death of his incessant insistence that A-Rod was involved in the aforementioned steroid "ring." Jose's second book, "Vindicated: Big Names, Big Liars, and The Battle to Save Baseball," on the subject is set to be released on April 1st, and A-Rod is a featured player. According to Canseco, he personally introduced A-Rod to a juice peddler. He admits that he did not ever inject him but maintains that A-Rod was in contact with the distributer and henceforth surely a user. This all makes my YC blood boil. I can think of several reasons to disbelieve his claims just off the top of my head: - Assuming this meeting took place somewhere in mid-1998 - since thats when the steroids bash took place - juice use would would indicate a dramatic spike in performance. Not so: every year since his full-season debut in 1995 has been similar: high batting average, good OBP, high slugging percentage. In his numbers were '98 .310/.360/.560 with 42 homers, in '99 .285/.358/.586 and 41 homers, and in 2000 .316/.420/.606 with 41. Furthermore, his numbers continued to improve nearly every year since then, and Canseco's allegations regard past drug use; he has not implied that A-Rod is currently on steroids. If he took them and then stopped, we would most likely see a subsequent decline in power at the very least.
- He has not suffered from extensive and chronic injuries that go right along with juice usage - see Klesko, Balco B, Nomaaaaaaaah, etc etc etc.
- Where is that distributor?
- His head is not the size of a watermelon.
On a funnier note, Canseco's anti-A-Rod ramblings include something of an even more soap opera-esque nature: he claims that A-Rod was trying to seduce his wife. JERRY, JERRY, JERRY! Related sidenote: I didn't realize that Canseco and McNamee disagreed on whether the Rocket was at the infamous juice BBQ. McNamee testified to congress that he was present, but Canseco said he was not. Interesting... thoughts? Labels: a-rod support, a-rod trouble, bitching, holy HELL I Hate it When..., steroids, you make me sick |
| posted by Yankees Chick @ Wednesday, March 26, 2008 |
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| Holy HELL I Hate It When... |
| Saturday, March 01, 2008 |
... People think that the Mitchell report is the definitive list of steroid users and that no player not on the list could have ever juiced. Do you think that Mitchell has some wondrous magical power to sniff out every player to use PEDs? He and his whopping TWO sources ain't that good, folks. "[Insert your favorite player here] wasn't ON the Mitchell report! That means he never did steroids! Hahahaha losers, Clemens did steroids and [aforementioned favorite player] did not!" Go away.
Labels: bitching, steroids, you make me sick |
| posted by Yankees Chick @ Saturday, March 01, 2008 |
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| Stop Breaking Bones (And My Heart) |
| Tuesday, September 04, 2007 |
We’re all familiar with the old “two steps forward, one step back” adage, but the 2007 Yankees have introduced us to a whole new level of the unfortunate cliché. With the constant barrage of injuries and their roller coaster style of falling behind and then attempting to make come-backs, I believe the phrase should be modified to something more along the lines of “one player healed, 9213 more important team members down” or “ three games won, 2 lost against crappier teams” to better suit the state of affairs. At this point in the season one might think I’d be getting used to all the setbacks and become more cautious about assuming the team is finally running into a stroke or two of good luck, but apparently I have learned nothing from the past 5 months, as I continue to be amazed by the ridiculous maladies affecting the team time after time. After sweeping the Sox last week the Yankees quickly followed that positive step with injuries to not one but two key components of the team with the Injury Gods striking Dandy Andy P. down with a broken hand (thanks, Jason Hammel) that will require surgery and over a month of recovery time and sidelining Old Man Rocket with elbow problems (which he somehow tried to blame on a blister in his foot) for at least one start. This is not good news, my friends, not good at all. The glory of the September extended rosters is supposed to bring the teams more options, and yet here it is September 4th and the Yankees have already lost 2 players. Furthermore, the replacements available for these dudes are not exactly primo - Moose will likely take the Rocket’s spot for at least the immediate future, and I have a bad feeling we’ll be seeing more of Jason “Lungemaster” Giambi busting his lunges out over at first base this month. The fact that Ian Kennedy did so well on Saturday in Moose’s spot is a huge relief, because had he been a bust the Cash Man probably would have had to resort to horrible sinking lows like allowing Kei Igawa back into a Yankees uniform at some point. Similarly lucky timing is the return of my boyfriend* and defensive first baseman extraordinaire Dougie Mienticantspellhisname, who has rejoined the roster and can relieve Giambi of some of the defensive duties, but his numbers are nowhere near Phillips’s. As for Kennedy, he obviously has talent and looked great on Saturday, but he does not have the experience (especially if we get to the post-season) of an older pitcher, so who knows how he’ll handle the pressure of these last few weeks? The one good element I can extract from all of this is a hope that these are our “steps back” and therefore we are due for another step forward… preferably in the form of gaining a sizable lead in the wildcard race this week or maybe a perfect game from Hughes. Whichever.
*that's a lie. Labels: bitching, injuries, Mientkicantspellhisname |
| posted by Yankees Chick @ Tuesday, September 04, 2007 |
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| Linkity Links |
| Saturday, August 25, 2007 |
Saturday is no day for a proper update - - - especially a Saturday when the Yankees Chick went to bed at 4am after watching a 4-hour Yankees game that began 4 hours late due to some light mist that couldn't even be called proper rain and then when they finally did play they essentially gave up after, say, inning #8 (which, of course, was right after Joba "Bow Down To My Greatness" Chamberlain left the game; perhaps they were all in such awe of his infallibility they simply could not re-focus their attention on actually playing baseball), subsequently losing the game in the 11th inning off a cheap bloop single and a walk-off homer by a dude that totally isn't even good at all*. Sigh. On that bitter note, I am in no mood for writing. Here's some links for you to enjoy, links that lead to things written by less-bitter folks:
*bitter lie.Labels: bitching, jobamania, Mientkicantspellhisname |
| posted by Yankees Chick @ Saturday, August 25, 2007 |
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| More Like All-SUCK Game!! (Yes, I have the sense of humor of a 6 year old) |
| Friday, July 06, 2007 |
There are many aspects of this crazy little game that drive the Yankees Chick batty (not that I am one to complain, no sir!), from people's insistence on using the useless win stat to the lack of effective drug policies, and the All-Star game also has a home on my i-dont-like-you-one-bit list. Every July our near-daily dose of important baseball is rudely interrupted by a near-meaningless (save for the lamentable fact that home field advantage for the World Series is dependent on the outcome of the game; fear not, we will be returning to this matter in a moment) game surrounded by 2 off-days, and the problems with this affair are many. I realize that some folks enjoy the 3-day reprieve from the usual grind and get a kick out of watching players from different teams join together for a game, but I find the whole operation to be frustrating and even quite worrisome. Let’s examine: - The threat of injuries alone is enough to make me wary. Yes, each player generally only stays in the game for a couple innings, but all it takes is one sharp drive back to the pitcher (see Rasner, Karstens) or an accidental collision (see Mientkicantspellhisname) to put a player right out of commission. Since the game features the top players of the game, the damage an injury would do to a team is greatly intensified. Imagine if Jeter or A-Rod were to get smacked in the face by a wayward pitch…
- Home field advantage during the World Series is much too crucial a matter to be determined by a game that is not taken seriously by most players – many of the participants already know that the post-season is not in their future and thus have no real incentive to ensure their league wins the game, and the threat of injuries keeps most if not all players from going all out. The AL has a clear advantage, winning 15 of the last 20 All-Star games (2002 ended in a tie; no it was not a hockey game), and that surely isn’t fair for the NL World Series team.
- Taking 3 days off could be detrimental to a team that needs to be rallying for a post-season race, such as the Yankees this year. The only way they are going to have a shot at October is if they buckle down, focus, and start consistently winning 5+ in a row. The last thing this team needs is to get out of the groove - they’re still not even in their groove.
- The idea of an All-Star game is to showcase the league’s best players, but the rosters do not reflect that. Fan voting turned the selection process into a popularity contest, putting the most exciting or well-known players ahead of lesser-known or small-market folks. Also, since the rosters much feature at least one representative from each MLB team, some talented players do not make the cut simply because there is no room.
That said, congratulations to Jeet, A-Rod, and Jorgie, who will be representing the Yanks in the game this year. A-Rod may decide to sit out and take the 3-day break to rest his strained hammy (a much wiser use of the break than playing in the game, if you ask me), but I’m sure it was a nice feeling for him to come out on top of the voting. I’ll be watching, of course, but throughout the entire game I will be thinking “I sure do wish I was watching an actual game right now and not a bunch of dudes that don't know or like each other half-assing their way through 9 innings of baseball.”Labels: a-rod trouble, accolades, bitching, jeter jeter pumpkin eater |
| posted by Yankees Chick @ Friday, July 06, 2007 |
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| Still Only 97% Sickened! |
| Friday, June 29, 2007 |
My dear friends/enemies/family/Yankees players (don’t deny that you read this, Mr. Pavano), it’s only the end of June, but I feel like this season has been dragging on for 5 years already. The roller coaster ride has induced in me a severe case of situational-onset bipolar disorder stemming the Yankees’ continued swings from one side of the spectrum (amazing team packed with talent scoring 8 runs a game) to the other (bunch of losers wasting my time and that of the opposing team); my brain is exhausted from the rapid swings from joy to hope to disgust to apathy. I’ve made a concerted effort to keep my disgust in check here on the bloggity, encouraging myself to seek out positive aspects of the season (for instance, the fact that the game was suspended yesterday and therefore the Orioles did not have a chance to come back and possibly force the Yanks into another loss…I’ll take “good news” wherever I can get it, folks) so as to maintain some semblance of a balance between bitching and pathetic optimism, but that plan is getting dicey.
The Yanks are currently 3 games under .500 and 11 games behind the Red Sox with just 87 games left to play – and as the former Vice President of the La Canada High School Math Club (don’t think I haven’t considered putting that accomplishment on my resume) I can tell you that they will need to win 45 of the remaining games just to hit .500, and if the Sox continue winning at the same pace they currently are (mathematically possible but not probable given JD Drew’s and Schilling’s propensity for injuries and the powerful hex I cast upon them), the Yanks would need to win 66 to top them. I think that the Yankees could reasonably hope to win approximately 50 of the remaining 87 games, which would put them at about .531 for the season, but even if the Sox do falter a bit during the 2nd half of the season it will be tough for the Yanks to take the division.
Now, before you assume that this is solely a bitching post, allow me to assure you that I am in no way throwing in the towel! The wild card is still up for grabs, and there is no reason that the Yankees can’t make a run for that. Rasner, Karstens, and Hughes should make their way back from DL-ville at some point later this summer, and maybe Damon will even remember how to hit (or run, or throw…). There’s also always the chance that our pitching and offense COULD show up on the same day for once, but I wouldn’t bet on that just yet. For now, let’s just concentrate on thinking positive. Oh, and getting through the next month without losing another player to the DL.
Labels: bitching, red sox rivalry |
| posted by Yankees Chick @ Friday, June 29, 2007 |
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| Won't Somebody PLEASE Think of the Children?! |
| Wednesday, June 27, 2007 |
 Figure 1: Yankees
We're living in troubled times, my friends. The Yankees have made a return trip to Loserville during this pathetic road trip, and as usual, the losses have incited another rash of the dreaded emergency trade talk. While we all hate to see our beloved team struggle like a turtle on its back (see fig. 1 above), sometimes there's nothing we can do but sit back and let the poor little thing try to right itself. Granted, if I saw an actual turtle on its back I can assure you that I would run like the wind to get the appropriate turtle-flipping apparatus (I'm referring to one of those 200-year-old, 400lb Darwin turtles; contrary to what my video blogs may lead you to believe, I do not have the muscles of a roided up slugger and therefore would most likely require some sort of turtle-flipping machine to put one of those huge suckers back on its belly), but the notion of making an 11th hour trade to try to salvage the season seems as futile as me demanding that the YES Network put me up in the booth with Ken and Paul. The latest folks to be brought up as potential trade bait in the wide world of internet rumors (AKA “stuff people make up”) are various members of the White Sox (another team that has taken up residence in Loserville), namely Dye, Buerhle, Konerko, and Contreras. The White Sox have been playing poorly all season and have apparently wisely decided to give up entirely and trade off all their players to stockpile young prospects that will be more useful to the team’s future. I commend them for taking this approach and recognizing that they will not be making the 2007 post-season and instead using the opportunity to trade for prospects at a time when many teams will sell their farm to acquire a veteran. Any of the aforementioned White Sox could be a boon to the Yankees – another pitcher would do wonders for the team, and a first baseman would be quite a delight – but the White Sox know that they are in a seller’s market and will not surrender any player for anything short of the very best prospects. If the Yankees were to make an attempt to acquire any one of them, it is very unlikely that the Sox would accept any deal that did not involve Phillip Hughes and Ian Kennedy (the Yanks’ 2005 first round draft pick), in addition to other farmhands. I’ve mentioned my distaste for last-ditch-effort trades in the past, and a trade like this would most definitely fit right in on my hate list. Selling off the farm would be the worst possible move the Yanks could make at this point. If the Yankees don't make the post-season this year, it will certainly not be because they didn’t get one of these White Sox; their failure can be blamed on a number of faults but one player cannot make or break the team. Losing the farm that Cashman has taken the last several years to painstakingly build up to something more than a barren wasteland, on the other hand, would have a major impact on the future of the club. The Yankees have made this mistake in the past (many, many, many times…) and I would not be surprised if Big Stein suddenly woke up from his coma (he has been quiet lately, so I assume he must be physically incapable of speech) and demanded that a trade be made immediately. The prospect of a Yankee-free post-season will not be tolerated by Steinbrenner regardless of the cost. I can only hope that Cashman can explain the science behind the "future" and "big picture" concepts to Stein before its too late. Labels: bitching, farm hands, rumors |
| posted by Yankees Chick @ Wednesday, June 27, 2007 |
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| You've Got To Be Kidding Me |
| Sunday, June 03, 2007 |
Honestly, my friends/enemies/people that actually stumble upon this blog while Googling "Stray-Rod"... The Yanks are one injury away from me becoming convinced that some crafty and clearly nefarious Red Sox fans have turned to some variety of witchcraft to cast a hex upon the team. We've already muddled (with limited success) through injuries sustained by Matsui, Moose, Wang, Rasner, Karstens, Hughes (who, incidentally, injured his ankle while rehabbing his hammy and will likely not be available until the end of July), Damon, and of course the perennial hometown hero Carl Pavano, and the steady stream of bad bodily luck is showing no signs of slowing. Not one, not two, but three new injuries have afflicted the already hobbled Yanks this week.
 Giambi was the first to go down, and while that was not particularly shocking - he's been wrestling with that pesky bone spur all season - the diagnosis and estimated time out came as a disappointment. It turns out that the trouble was not just a bone spur but plantar fasciitis and a partial tear of his plantar fascia, an injury that could sideline him for anywhere from 6 weeks to the remainder of the season - and with the Yankees' track record for injury recovery my guess would be that Giambi will miss the next 198 games. Injury #2 is a frightening-sounding fatigued groin affecting Mr. God-Please-Save-This-Team-You're-Our-Last-Hope  Clemens, which, while not (yet) a DL-necessitating injury, does push back his start date. He was slated to start tomorrow's game in Chicago, but after his workouts last week he determined that his poor groin was just too tired to make the start. The criminally overworked team of Yankees medical experts will be examining the Rocket this week to determine how much rest his exhausted groin will need before he can hop back on the mound and start pitching again. As disheartening as Giambi's foot trouble and Clemens' setback are, the injuries sustained by Mientkicantspellhisname  during yesterday's game at Fenway are the most heart-wrenching of this trifecta. Mienky was knocked down and out by reported off-season pal Mike Lowell's knee when Lowell was motoring in to 1st to beat out a double-play ball; he was wheeled out on a stretcher after laying motionless on the field for a few minutes and was later determined to have a mild concussion, cervical sprain and a fractured scaphoid bone in his right wrist. According to the ESPN announcers during today's game, he will probably be out for the next 6 weeks. Everyone seems to love Mienky, and its a bummer to lose our defensive first baseman to a pure accident. In a strange turn of events, there is a small part of me that feels that the injuries to Giambi and Mientky could force the Yankees to make some interesting moves. Damon was shown practicing at first base before the game today, indicating the possibility of him taking over at first at some point, putting Melky in the outfield on a daily basis. In that scenario, the Yanks would no longer be forfeiting offense in the lineup (sorry, Mientky....), but they would then have to either bring up a farmhand to play outfield and put Matsui in the DH role or even make a trade for an outfielder and/or DH. This is clearly pure speculation, but I will say that I like the idea of Damon out of centerfield - and I am looking for a silver lining.... Labels: bitching, injuries, Mientkicantspellhisname, pavano must die, red sox rivalry, you make me sick |
| posted by Yankees Chick @ Sunday, June 03, 2007 |
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| Hey, 4 out of 25 Ain't Bad! Oh Wait, Yes It Is. |
| Saturday, May 26, 2007 |
 This could be the only Yankees team winning fancy trophies this year, my friends
Per official MLB rules, each team is allowed 25 men on their active roster. Per logic, in order to win games, a majority of these 25 athletes need to be performing well.
The Yankees have 4 players on their active roster that are playing like champions, and 21 losers taking up space and contributing close to nothing (and that's being generous, some of these chumps contribute less than nothing and are actually detrimental just by coming near the rest of the team [I'm looking at you, Farnsworthless]). By the magic of mathematics and the probability (and do not forget, the Yankees Chick was the vice-president of the math club in high school), it seems highly unlikely that the Yanks could win many games operating at just 16%.
Before I continue to bitch about the underperforming wastes of space on this team, let me take a moment to congratulate the 4 aforementioned champion players and thank them for their tireless efforts to salvage some semblance of quality play for the team. Thank you, Andy Pettitte, for being the only pitcher on the team to pitch consistent quality starts. He hasn't had one cringe-worthy start all season and his record should be much higher - - he's had a couple leads blown by the bullpen. Another thank you goes to A-Rod, for forcing fickle Yankees fans to see and appreciate his talent as he continues to be the only Yankee showing any power and the one knocking in almost a fifth of all the Yanks runs. Dear Jeter is deserving of a third thank you, for doing what he always does - hitting for average (.364), getting on base (.443), and coming through in the clutch (.500 average with runners in scoring position). Rounding out that quartet of Yanks who are actually playing respectably is Jorgie Posada, whose .371 batting average puts him ahead of the rest of the league, and whose arm remains as sharp as those of many of his younger counterparts - he's thrown out 9 would-be base-stealers so far. Good work, men! I hope you're enjoying your personal successes as your teammates screw you out of hopes of winning a World Series ring this year.
Now back to the hating. I have an indiscriminate and largely irrational hatred for most of the team right now, from Cano right on down to Mariano. Every batter is chopping at balls like the object of the game is to never stand still and look at a pitch, and every pitcher has apparently forgotten that they are supposed to throw the ball past the batter, not directly at the sweet spot of the bat. Their overall attitude is disappointing and worrisome; how are we supposed to remain hopeful when none of them get fired up or inspired to try harder in the face of tough times?
Labels: a-rod support, bitching, jeter jeter pumpkin eater, you make me sick |
| posted by Yankees Chick @ Saturday, May 26, 2007 |
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| Don't Mess With the Rocket (Or He Will Eat Your Firstborn) |
| Wednesday, May 16, 2007 |
 It's nice that the Yankees can afford the same photographers that my high school hired to take our yearbook photos
As some of you faithful Yankees Chick supporters are aware (and I love all 3 of you), I make a weekly appearance on Free the Fan's Sunday evening radio show, chatting Yanks and subjecting myself to the harassment of a Mets-loving host and belligerent callers. During the most recent show, one particularly irate listener called in and took issue with the signing of Roger Clemens and what he will or will not be able to do for the team. This delightfully bitter gentleman argued that the the addition of the Rocket couldn't possibly save the Yanks, and could end up doing more harm than good, either by creating dissension in the clubhouse because of his "I'm better than all of you, haha!" contract or by exhausting the bullpen if he can only go 5 innings each start. Blatant anti-Yankees acerbity aside, this man actually did raise some interesting points. I have made no secret of the fact that I too find Clemens' contract demands to be ridiculous, and while I suppose he has "earned" the right to respect with his 78 years of civil service, the special treatment certainly could be grating to his teammates. The possibility of him further exhausting the bullpen is a bit frightening as well; there is only so much our friend Dr. Proctor can do before he ends up buckling under the stress and exhaustion and hangs himself in the bullpen. The caller's overall negativity regarding the Rocket signing was unwarranted, though. For starters, I don't think anyone - from Steinbrenner on down to us fans - believes that any one person, Rocket included, can be the savior of the team. Still, signing Clemens was a good move by the team on several levels: he will add an essentially fail-proof arm to our rotation (as long as he doesn't get in a car with Pavano), the signing prevented Clemens from going to the Red Sox and potentially causing even more losses for the Yanks, and the move confirmed to the fans and the public that the front office was not giving up on the team and was willing to make some moves to stay competitive. As for him upsetting the team with his extra days off and shortened season, I say "too bad for them". With the losses aplenty the team has been suffering of late, I highly doubt Jeter and the gang are going to be crying over Clemens being treated like a diva. Unlike certain other aging amazing pitchers (I'm looking at you, Mullet-Man), at the very least Clemens doesn't seem to have the type of grumbly attitude that puts a serious damper on the clubhouse. In short, only time will tell if Clemens can help the Yankees improve their ever-worsening record, just like only time will tell if Pavano is a human or a simply a cyborg on a sabotage mission from Boston. Labels: bitching, radio, signings |
| posted by Yankees Chick @ Wednesday, May 16, 2007 |
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| I've Officially Failed |
| Sunday, May 06, 2007 |
 Peace out to your elbow ligament, CP
Lest you get too jazzed about the Roger Clemens signing and start thinking that all the bad pitching mojo may at last be on its way out the door and out of our lives, the Yanks got some disappointing (if not surprising) news regarding my best friend and soulmate, Carl Pavano. After just 2 starts this year, one of which looked pretty promising, Pavano is officially out for the season and heading for Tommy John surgery. As you are probably aware, TJ surgery is very serious business and takes quite a while to recuperate from, usually 12-18 months, meaning all you hardcore CP fans will have to wait until approximately October of 2008 to see him pitch again. The Yankees likely weren't exactly counting on Pavano to rejoin the team anytime soon even before the TJ news broke, but the fact that there is no hope of him returning puts the team in quite a bind for the next month. Clemens won't be joining the team for a month, and Hughes and Karstens will both be out for at least that long. Rasner did well today and we'll see how DeSalvo fares tomorrow, but suffice it to say that the offense is most likely in for another month of pressure as they try to carry the team. The fact that Pavano is injured again comes as no real surprise, but the 3% of my brain that is optimistic has been holding out hope that perhaps Pavano could be a serviceable pitcher this year. I did my best to conjure up some good thoughts and positivity for the fellow, but clearly my efforts were in vain. Perhaps he is not an avid Yankees Chick reader (as I'm sure the rest of the team is) and was not aware of the positive vibes I have been campaigning for? It's the only explanation I can envision. Labels: bitching, injuries, pavano must die, steroids, you make me sick |
| posted by Yankees Chick @ Sunday, May 06, 2007 |
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| We Need a Scapegoat, And You're It. |
| Thursday, May 03, 2007 |
 " This is as much my failure as anything else. I take full responsibility. I'm the one who hired Marty. At end of the day, this is a result-driven sport and a result-driven industry," Cashman explained, and we are all thankful that he enlightened us on the fact that this sport is result-driven. First and foremost, I'd like to extend my very deepest and most sincere gratitude to Mr. Phil Hughes for helping the Yankees achieve a much needed win on Tuesday and allowing the bullpen to rest for the first time in 2007. Having said that, I have a bone to pick with now ex-strength coach Marty Miller. Clearly Cashman and the rest of the front office gang share my sentiment, as he was let go yesterday, largely due to the exorbitant number of goddamn HAMSTRING INJURIES the Yanks have collectively endured this season. In addition to Phil Hughes, the list of soldiers wounded by hammy strains includes Mike Mussina, Chien-Ming Wang, Hideki Matsui, and perhaps we can even blame Pavano's forearm troubles on Marty, too (although if the dear chap wasn't sidelined with the arm issue he would most likely have injured himself in some other way by now, even despite my " Pavano Must LIVE" change of heart). While the pessimistic side of me fears that ditching Marty may be too little too late after all the injuries and subsequent April losses, I am glad that Cash and the gang finally seem to be realizing that the "hope things will get better" method of dealing with the plethora of injuries sure isn't working. Marty's assistant, Dana Cavalea (I am unsure if that is a dude or a chick at this point) is going to take over the training duties for the time being, and we can only hope that he is a strong proponent of a solid stretching regimen. Labels: bitching, front office, injuries, pavano must LIVE |
| posted by Yankees Chick @ Thursday, May 03, 2007 |
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| But Look on the Bright Side! |
| Monday, April 30, 2007 |
Sure, the Yankees have lost 8 of their last 9 games, their record is third worst in all of the MLB (only Kansas and Washington are behind...), and it seems like not a single player is immune to the highly-contagious injury plague targeting the clubhouse, but things can't all be bad. Although I am not by nature an "every cloud has a silver lining!!" type of gal, I'm putting out a valiant effort to look on the bright side. Amidst the rubble that is the Yankees at this time, let's dig out some good news!
 A-Rod had a truly splendid April, with 14 homers, 34 RBI (9 more than Francoeur, who was in 2nd place), .355 average and the best slugging percentage (.882) of any player with 5+ at-bats. Sure, his handiwork did not push the Yankees' record over to that lovely winning side of the spectrum, but at least he started the season to some cheers rather than boos. ( Also, Gibson has a custom A-Rod guitar [right]. No, I don't get it either.)
Doug Mientkicantspellhisname has hit 2 homers and knocked in 5 runs! Sure, his average is just .154 and the Yanks would likely be better off letting Phelps and Giambi manage first base and using the roster spot for another pitcher, but who doesn't get a nice warm feeling in their heart when an offensively-challenged player gets to round the bases?  We got to see what Phil Hughes has to offer the Yanks much sooner than anyone had anticipated (or desired, if we're being honest here). Sure, his call-up came under truly dire circumstances and the incredible pressure he is likely feeling can't be helping his performance (see left), but the very fact that the Yankees have a cache of viable players in the farm system is encouraging for our future. The "Torre will/should be fired" stories being perpetuated by the media have forced Big Stein to defend old Joe for once. Sure, Stein had essentially no other option than to defend his team and staff when faced with such scrutiny, but i'm confident the support boosted Torre's spirits by a good 0.5%. All the injuries and poor pitching have made dear Carl Pavano quite the desired gentleman. Never before have Yanks fans so eagerly anticipated his return to good health or so valued the short time he has been alive enough to pitch. Sure, pretty much anyone starts to look good when the alternatives are a 12-year-old with no experience or 2 innings of Farnsworthless, but my "Pavano must LIVE" campaign must be working!See, folks? The state of affairs is really not all that bad. With any luck, the off-day was spent boosting morale and strategizing and the Yanks will be raring to go when they get to the Texas for tomorrow's game against the Rangers. Hughes might fare better away from the expectations of the fans at home, and the probable pitcher for the Rangers is Kameron Loe, who has a 1-3 record and 7.62 ERA in 4 games that he's pitched against the Yanks. My fingers are crossed for a turn of the tide.... Labels: a-rod support, bitching, farm hands, injuries, Mientkicantspellhisname, pavano must LIVE |
| posted by Yankees Chick @ Monday, April 30, 2007 |
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| Time For Some Bitching About This Pitching (And a SMIDGE of Good News...) |
| Monday, April 23, 2007 |
It is with a heavy heart that I sit down to craft this post, and I must admit that updating Yankees Chick is a task I've been dreading all weekend for lack of anything non-A-Rod-related to say. After today's game, I have finally progressed from frustrated about the pitching to downright sickened and some bitching is therefore in order. My delightful friends, it is a sad state of affairs when a team's offense can consistently score 6+ runs, has seven starting position players that are hitting at least .300, and gets on base with with supreme consistency but still cannot win a goddamn game. Every single one of the Yankees embarrassing 10 losses can be attributed to their pitching woes, which range from injuries to inconsistency to the apparent inability for the starters to last longer than 5 innings. It is the latter two that concern me most, as injuries leave the hope of a return while inconsistency and that horrendous "I will spontaneously combust the moment this game gets into the 6th inning and henceforth my life quite literally hinges upon me not pitching well enough to convince Torre to keep me in any longer" condition afflicting the starting rotation do not appear to have any sort of remedy. At the risk of burning your retinas, take note of the following: - The Yankees have racked up 75 appearances from their bullpen, the most in the MLB (and in just 18 games, surely some sort of mathematical improbability).
- After tonight, the collective ERA of the starting pitchers is a dismal 5.64.
Despite the unfortunate overuse of the bullpen, they have actually been pretty effective as a whole - their ERA is 3.51. The inevitable burnout and blowout of all their arms is going to come much too soon at this rate, though, and there are over 140 games to go in this marathon. Proctor was a savior of sorts last season, but the workload he's been shouldering spells doom to me; the same goes for Bruney, who is one of my favorites but is way too young and unseasoned to handle so much work (and such intense pressure!). The good news - and there is some! - is that there is help on the way on the starting pitching front. Wang has recovered from the hamstring trouble that has had him sidelined since before the start of the season and will be pitching tomorrow, hopefully a solid 6+ innings to let the poor bullpen take a little nap. Finally, the one and only Philip Hughes, Prospect Extraordinaire, will be joining the roster this week for an emergency Thursday start. This is obviously a bit sooner than anyone would really like, but the Yanks are out of alternative options (I'm sorry, Chase Wright) and Phil seems up to the job. The return of Wang and the excitement of seeing Hughes so early in the season makes your Yankees Chick cautiously optimistic for a turnaround on the mound... ...And if the pitching implosion continues, give A-Rod the ball and send him out there. He's on a roll.Labels: bitching, injuries, pavano must LIVE, you make me sick |
| posted by Yankees Chick @ Monday, April 23, 2007 |
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