We’re Back

Sorry about the five-day layoff, guys. I couldn’t even bear to post a recap of that horrific third game of the series in Anaheim, and decided to take a break(like the players) during the ASB. But don’t worry, I’m back! And like our Pinstriped Bombers, hoping for a good start to the beginning of the end of the 2009 regular season.

Since the 12th(my last post), the AL won the All-Star game, Prince Fielder won the HR Derby, Shelley Duncan and Austin Jackson started in the AAA ASG, and our Yanks dropped their third straight in Anaheim. Not a very productive layoff for Yankee fans.

In Tuesday’s All Star Game, Mark Texiera and Derek Jeter went a combined 0-5, but scored two runs(both by Jeter) in the process. Let’s hope that this doesn’t carry into tonight’s game. As for our favorite closer, Mo did brilliant(like usual), and pitched a perfect 1-2-3 ninth to close the door on the NL. I’m sure Papelbon wasn’t too thrilled about that.

Enough of the All-Star chatter, let’s talk REAL, YANKEE BASEBALL. Tonight, we’ll see the AL Central leading Detroit Tigers and a pitching matchup of A.J Burnett(8-4) and rookie, Lucas French(1-0). Hopefully we can take advantage of the newbie, and show him that pitching in New York is just as hard as it sounds.

The game starts at 7:05 est at the “NEW Yankee Stadium”(<<<<Michael Kay quote). Don’t be late.

Oh yeah, follow me on Twitter at http://twitter.com/HipHipMatsui if you could. Thanks!

That’s all for now.

Double-Dipping

Two in a row. Two damn losses in a row. In each game, we’ve had a four run lead that was taken for granted and eventually lost. With the way we’ve been playing lately, how in the world is a four-run lead blown in two consecutive games? Blame it on the starting pitching. No, blame it on our unproductive offense after the Anaheim comeback. Or maybe we should just blame it on the entire team which fails to make a sufficient effort at a rally. A sudden revival that we’ve seen in many previous games has been absent during the past two. Meanwhile, we’ve lost two games in the AL East race.

In the first four innings of these past two games, we’ve outscored Anaheim 8-2. But in the next five, they’ve obliterated us – 22-6. Embarassing, confusing, perplexing, awful, atrocious, hideous, ugly, and gruesome are all words that can be used to describe this particular situation. But in my opinion, bad suits it the best. Joba and Andy were mediocre at best, as they gave up a combined ten earned runs in 8 2/3 innings. When our offense has secured us with a four-run lead, I believe that the pitching staff should be able to close it out.

There were very few positives that have come out of these past two games in Anaheim. But, just in case you didn’t watch the games, here they are:

- Eric Hinske hit two homeruns in yesterday’s contest, driving in three RBI.

- Alex Rodriguez did the exact same thing, hitting #569 and #570 in his career, which gives him sole possession of the tenth spot on the all-time list.

- On Friday, Derek Jeter went 4-for-5 at the plate.

Today, we’ve got C.C throwing for us in what I believe is a must-win game. Though we’re only 87 games into the season, we need to go into the All-Star Break on a high note. And who better to trust in this situation but C.C? Hopefully, we can gain a game on Boston, thrash the struggling Joe Saunders, and see C.C baffle each and every Angel in the starting lineup.

The first pitch is at 3:35 est time. Don’t be late!

That’s all for now.

Back On Top (Sorta)

This morning was definitely a bright one for New York Yankee fans, figuratively and literally. With yesterday’s victory in Minnesota, we shared the division lead for the first time since early June. Though it might not be important three days before the ASB, it speaks volumes for how driven this team actually is.

Alfredo Aceves was shaky(as was Francisco Liriano)  to say the least in his Major League debut as a starter, but kept us in the game for the first 3 1/3 innings, where he left the bases jacked with one out. Robertson, who was signaled in by Girardi, proceeded to get out of the jam, but walked two in two runs in the process. The rest of the pitching staff was flawless, giving up two more hits in the ballgame, leading to something we’re very familiar with – a Mariano Rivera save.

Mark Texiera contributed to the offensive cause by sending a “Tex Message” into the left-field stands during the fifth inning, ending his 96 at-bat homerless streak.  Brett Gardner and Cody Ransom, the bottom two in our order, also created offensive firepower by driving in two runs apiece against the defiicient Liriano.

With a clean sweep of the Minnesota Twins, we have now reached a plateau that most fans like to call “first place”. Normally, first place in the division isn’t something that two teams can claim at one time, but today’s situation is different. The hated Boston Red Sox are in a dead lock with us for the division lead. Does any New Yorker want to be associated with someone of that nature? Of course not! So how do we break this tie? By continuing our impressive hot streak in Anaheim tonight, tomorrow, and Sunday.

In 45 minutes, we’ll see the struggling Joba Chamberlain take on former All-Star Joe Saunders in a pitching duel for the ages. *NOT! It’s certainly not a terrible matchup, but could be a letdown if Joba has another performance like last Sunday. That’s was disgusting. Just pitiful.

Well, that’s all for now.

* = using Borat voice

Ransom!!!

After getting a clutch RBI single, I found this outrageous video of Cody Ransom’s standing vertical leap. WOW.

Go to YouTube, and type this in:

TRIPLE THREAT PERFORMANCE CODY RANSOM 55” BOX JUMP

I’ve heard that he has great athleticism, but this definitely proves it.

6-0

In two series against the Twins this year,  we’ve been nothing short of perfect. Games have been extremely close, but each time, someone in pinstripes has stepped up in order to give us the edge. Last night, we barely got by. In fact, we were lucky to come out with a victory. But when a clutch hit or inning of relief was neccesary, guys like Alex Rodriguez and Phillip Hughes took advantage of it, icreasing our season record versus the Twins from 5-0 to 6-0.

A.J Burnett’s fastball was wild and somewhat ineffective, but he found a way to sit the hitters down, and gave us a solid 6 1/3 innings. He later called his outing “a metal grind”, after throwing a season-high three wild pitches. But in the bottom of the fifth, A.J showed poise and determination while striking out Michael Cuddyer with the bases juiced. After this run production failure, the Twins couldn’t muster up another rally for the remainder of the game. In baseball, you might only get one chance to succeed. Minnesota passed up this opportunity, which eventually cost them the game.

After annihilating a Phil Coke offering in the 7th, Joe Mauer had one more shot to be the hero for his home-town club. But this time, Mariano Rivera got the best of him, forcing a line-out to Derek Jeter. This gave Mo his 503 career save and 22nd of the season.

Our Boys in Blue look to sweep the season series and continue their push for a lead atop the AL East today at 1:10 in their final meeting at the Metrodome. Alredo Aceves is taking on the once-superb Francisco Liriano on a beautitful sunny day in Minny. Hopefully we can say goodbye to the Dome in appopriate Yankee fashion, by sweeping our final series in its confines.

That’s all for now.

Update 2:33 p.m: Yankees winning 5-2. We’re laying a beatdown on Liriano. Ransom even had an RBI. Men on 1st and 3rd for the Twins. Ace needs to get out of this jam with minimal damage.

Update 4:04 p.m: Yankees winning 6-4. Hughes is throwing right now with one out in the eight. Texiera hit a homerun after Robertson walked in two runs. Aceves was somewhat disappointing, but not terrible in his 3.1 innings of work. Ahh, Hughes just struck the 2nd batter out, now there’s two down.

Minnesota Beatdown

Boy, what a win! C.C put on a show last night, as we easily took down the Minnesota Twins by an eight run margin. Carsten-Charles was dealing while keeping the M&M boys hitless in six at-bats. Previously, the duo was 14-for-32 with five homeruns when facing the Bombers this year. It feels pretty sweet to have them have no effect on us whatsoever.

Don’t you know about Robby Cano? Well, I know that he’s snapped his 0-for streak without driving in a runner from scoring position. Whew! That’s a huge weight off of his back. Cano went 2-5 and worked the count magnificantly in each of his plate appearances. In all, he saw 29 pitches from Minnesota hurlers. That’s around 1/6 of all pitches thrown to Yankee batters throughout the entire game. Talk about waiting for your pitch!

Francisco Cervelli went 2-4 in his final game before gettin’ the boot…To Scranton Wilkes-Barre that is. Molina will be activated(if he hasn’t been already) soon, and Cervelli will take a long, painful ride from Minnesota to Pennsylvania. Don’t worry folks, it looks like we’ll definitely be seeing more of this kid. Just not until Posada or Molina gets injured, which shouldn’t take long, considering they both seem to get injured very often. With that in mind, what the hell every happened to Kevin Cash?

Getting a tad bit off subect. Well, in this blowout victory, each Yankee starter had at least one hit. It’s terrific when offensive contributions come from everyone in the lineup.

In tonight’s contest, we’ll see a matchup of A.J Burnett and Anthony Swarzak, a righty who’s posted a 2-2 record thus far. According to the LoHud Yankees blog(http://yankees.lhblogs.com/), Glen Perkins wasn’t feeling well and was scratched earlier today.

Before I bid you farewell, I’ve got to point out something that I’ve began to take note of – Mark Texiera’s long-ball struggles. He hasn’t hit a dinger since June 12th, and is in dier need of a “Summer Slam”. Let’s hope he breaks that 90 at-bat  streak in Minny tonight.

That’s all for now. See you guys at 8:10.

Updates? Why Not?

It’s official. We now have an Ace in our starting rotation. Well, his full name is Alfredo Aceves, and most of you know him as our shutdown relief pitcher who continues to impress Yankee fans from around the globe(or New York). It’s been reported on Peter Abrahams Blog(http://yankees.lhblogs.com/2009/07/07/game-83-yankees-at-twins/), and is obvious that he is replacing the injured Chien-Ming Wang.

In other news, infielder Angel Berroa was released around 4:00 p.m est today after being designated for assignment on June 24th. Good luck, Angel, hopefully you find success with another club.

Don’t worry, I’ve been saving the best update for last. Oakland has begun its quest for a win in Boston as of 7:17 tonight, when Scott Hairston, the newest Athletic, hit a towering homerun over the monster in left. Take that, Beckett!

Make sure you tune in to tonight’s game in Minnesota. Opening pitch is at 8:10. Dont’ be late.

That’s all for now.

Hip-Hip? Marty Foster!

It seems as if everytime we attempt to come back in a game, we find a way to win. And even though we made an effort to battle back from a 7-1 defecit, it just wasn’t in the cards yesterday. When Eric Hinske, our newest Yankee, struck out on a high 3-2 slider, the Yankee Stadium faithful were cetrainly not pleased. No, not just because he swung at ball four – TWICE. And not really because of Mark Texiera’s woeful day at the plate. But because of the way we lost, and how many opportunities we(or the third base umpire) passed up in the process.

In the bottom of the first, Jeter found his way to second with no outs. Perfect situation for us, right? But surprisingly, Derek decided to participate in a risky experiment – stealing third with no outs. As Michael Kay explained to us seconds after Jeter was thrown out by Rod Barajas(who has a freakin’ cannon), YOU NEVER TRY TO STEAL THIRD WITH NO OUTS. Why? Well simply because that run could be scored on two outs.  In this particular situation, Swisher would have to hit a groundball to the right side, and Tex would have to hit a sac fly to somewhere in the middle-to-deep outfield. All you really want to do in the first inning is get on the board, somehow.

Derek was wrong with his intentions on going to third, but he was CLEARLY safe. His left hand was in before he was tagged, but third base umpire Marty Foster begged to differ. When Jeter asked for an explanation of the call, Foster told him something like “The throw beat you to the bag.” In baseball, if I remember correctly, the fielder has to tag you in order for an out to be called. If he doesn’t tag you, you’re usually not out. Derek had a definite right to argue this call. And if you’ve been watching Jeter play throughout his career, he almost NEVER argues a bad call. This was definitely an exception for him, as he evidently believed that he was safe.

Foster’s error on judgement costed us a run that would prove to be huge in determining the outcome of this game.

Yes, we recieved a loss in this one, but that doesn’t mean that everything went terribly wrong. There were some positives that came out of it.

- Hinske made a beautitful play in the outfield, while going 4-4 with a solo-shot.

- Swisheroo(as John Sterling likes to call him) went 3-4 with three ribbies.

- Robertson and Albaladejo combined for 2 1/3 innings, giving up one hit and no earned runs.

That’s all for now. And as Michael Kay says – “SEE YA!!!

The Great Beginning

Hip-Hip? Jorge! Hip-Hip? Jorge! Yes, if you’ve been a Yankee fan within the tenure of veteran catcher Jorge Posada, then there’s a likely chance you’ve heard the chant mentioned in the opening sentence. But why only say it when Posada’s up? Is there a rule that prohibits us from saying it while other Yankees are in the batter’s box? Absolutely not.

During today’s contest with Toronto, my friends and I were noticing how well Jorge Posada was performing after the “Hip-Hip” chants were yelled in his direction. And with two runners on base in the fourth, we were down four with Matsui stepping in. Two men were on base, and Godzilla needed to provide us with a spark to keep the fans(and players) in the game. With that in mind, we began to chant “Hip-Hip? Matsui” repeatedly. As we got into our third or fourth round of the chant, something unimaginable occured. Hideki decided to hit the ball – FAR! The staidum proceeded to jump into a frenzy that changed the game for the rest of the afternoon. And if most of you reading this are Yankee fans, chances are you know that we ended up winning the game with the help of Derek Jeter and Ace, to give us our tenth win in our last eleven.

Now when you see Hideki at the plate, spice it up a little. Don’t just say “Go Hideki.” or “C’mon, Matsui.” in a monotonous tone. Take it to the next level, and give him a “Hip Hip? Matsui!”

Laughs aside, I do believe that this Yankee team is finally coming together and looking like the championship caliber team that we used to know and love. And while I was bored after the game, I gathered some stats and came to a conclusion – The Yankees have 75% chance of making the ALCS, and 50% chance of making the World Series. Yes, I might sound like every other Yankee fan in the world, but I have information that proves that this hypothesis isn’t just an assumption. Throught 81 games this season, we’ve won 48 games.  Since 2000 when we’ve won 48 or more at the halfway mark, we’ve made the Series two of four times, the ALCS three of four times, and the playoffs four of four times. Sounds pretty damn assuring to me.

Below are the stats I collected. Simple, yet they still might brighten uo your day!

Yankees Through 81 Games (in 2000s era)

2000 – 44-37, World Series Win

2001 – 48-33, ALCS Win

2002 – 50-31, ALDS Loss

2003 – 50-31, ALCS Win

2004 – 51-30, ALDS Win

2005 – 42-39, ALDS Loss

2006 – 46-35, ALDS Loss

2007 – 40-41, ALDS Loss

2008 – 44-37, Missed Playoffs

When winning 40 or more games….

-Make playoffs 8 of 9 times

- Make ALCS 4 of 9 times

- Make World Series 3 of 9 times

When winning 42 or more games….

-Make playoffs 7 of 8 times

- Make ALCS 5 of 8 times

- Make World Series 3 of 8 times

When winning 44 or more games….

-Make playoffs 6 of 7 times

- Make ALCS 5 of 7 times

- Make World Series 3 of 7 times

When winning 46 or more games….

-Make playoffs 5 of 5 times

- Make ALCS 3 of 5 times

- Make World Series 2 of 5 times

When winning 48 or more games….

-Make playoffs 4 of 4 times

- Make ALCS 3 of 4 times

- Make World Series 2 of 4 times

When winning 50 or more games….

-Make playoffs 3 of 3 times

- Make ALCS 2 of 3 times

- Make World Series 1 of 3 times

That’s all for now. Comment this entry whether you like it or not. I want to hear opinions!