SB Nation User Blog: yankee come lately

All Things Considered

yankee come lately — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 03:56:01 -0000

Yeah it was a shit sandwich.

It's April and we showed some real signs of fight in a tough environment with less than ideal circumstances. Can this team battle? Yes. Enough to win? I'm not so sure. But I like this team better than any since '01.

Girardi should not be fired for a .500 start with our best player, second best pitcher, and our second best reliever hurt. Those days were over a long time ago.

Baseball isn't football guys. There are 162 games not 16. Sometimes in this game adversity breeds character and a team finds strength in the gritty determination that they are better than people think.

Am I ready for some A-Rod bullshit? Yes bring back the narrcicist. Screw the baggage.

Am I ready for Melky's detention to end? Yes and if B.G. keeps sucking let's give Austin Jackson a shot.

Do I want Joba back in the bullpen like Mike Francesa and many others did; calling it the second coming of Goose? No. If this series taught us anything, it was that this kid has too much fire to waste on one or two innings a game. He showed up with no stuff and found a way to get a win ( even if we blew it ).

The easy years are long gone. They were great. This is a new team; to me it feels like a new team. The time for booing C.C., Wang, or A-Rod when he gets back because they don't crush everybody is over. Boo the empty seats instead.

My Day At The Park

yankee come lately — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 03:23:01 -0000

I visited the stadium for the first time today with high hopes. The afternoon was perfect for baseball. The new park exceeded my expectations.

I took my seat in the upper-deck and felt giddy. My seat's view was as good as the old mezzanine. All around me the crowd was in good spirits.

But there were creeping signs of shadows I should have heeded. Coming in on the 4 train, I caught a glimpse of the old Stadium's field. It was dry , brown, and dead. Walking into the gates, I couldn't stop looking back at the old place. I stopped before going in because I was captivated by the ghostly sight. I looked around. No one else was giving it a second look. It was like it was already demolished.

Entering into the new Stadium all was forgotten. It really is the best balance between function and form of any sports facility I'd ever been in, or even imagined. What shadow?

Not long after I was in my seat I heard the gripes, and they came from all sides. The seats behind home plate that cost the tears of our newly poor country were empty. People were angry even in their first euphoric experience in this glorious new park that in so many ways payed more attention to them then the other park ever did. And the bad feelings didn't go away even after Wang's scoreless first, and Tex's homer. "Look at that " they said. "How can they let that happen". Those damn seats.

I stayed longer then the game deserved and walked around exploring the the new home for my favorite team. You can go to the Mohegan Sports Bar in center and watch the game in style. The causeways are so massive you can watch the game on field level without feeling like your back on the train. You can even take your beer outside at Hard Rock and smoke a stoogie and get back inside. It is an incredible stadium.

But there are no memories. Ruth doesn't live there. And the ball flies out like it was Citizens Bank Park. I still enjoyed myself; kind of like I would at a wake.

So in trying to figure out what I felt about such a conflicted emotional experience, I ended up with a surprise: a haiku. Here it is and feel free to give me the full Abu Ghraib for it.

First game at the park

Doppelgangers take the mound

Ghosts across the street

C.C. Sabathia and The Red Sox

yankee come lately — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 08:31:48 -0000

C.C. Sabathia and The Red Sox

Yeah it's a link to my blog. What of it?

The Lament-A.J. Burnett

yankee come lately — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 08:20:07 -0000

I've been excited. I've got to admit I've been excited.

The Yanks are throwing weight around and it's striking a nostalgic chord.

But I looked at A.J.'s stats on baseball-reference.com, and got fucked in the ear.

IP:221.3

H:211

R:109

ER:100

Are those real numbers, I asked myself? Or another cruel hoax of free-agencies past?

He also walked 86 guys. At least it's not a hundred.

Big Righty Bat to the Bronx

yankee come lately — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 19:55:58 -0000

Big Righty Bat to the Bronx

These are the numbers that matter: against lefties- AVG .344, OBP .423, SLG .623, OPS 1.045.

I see him helping against Kazmir, Lester,et al, and maybe prompt Tito into pulling Okajima and bringing Papelbon in a couple of batters earlier than he'd like.

I figured we could use a couple chuckles around here. I particularly like this guy's Bernie.

yankee come lately — Thu, 01 May 2008 19:50:37 -0000

I figured we could use a couple chuckles around here. I particularly like this guy's Bernie.

The Babe rolled Blunts!

yankee come lately — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 21:25:00 -0000

The Babe rolled Blunts!

Ozzie Guillen wants Derek Jeter inside his hypothetical Daughter

yankee come lately — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 17:04:47 -0000

Ozzie Guillen wants Derek Jeter inside his hypothetical Daughter

So I usually find FJM.com too mean spirited, but this was great.

Moving Johnny Down

yankee come lately — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 00:41:41 -0000

I am aware of Bill James's arguments against the impact of batting order. I believe it has a lot of validity. But I also believe that not everything can be represented by stats.

Without getting into speculation why, Johnny's number's have been falling even before his ill-advised signing with the Yanks.

I'll also refrain from commenting on Damon's desire, except to say that his "demeanor" has been much more subdued in his NY tenure, as opposed to his time with Boston, Oakland, and KC. I know "joy" is not quantifiable, but my impression is he has a lot less of it.

It's early, so his numbers for this year fall into the "small sample" arena for stat crunchers. But regardless of size, they aren't good. His numbers last year were his worst, almost across the board, in a full decade( under 100 runs, under 150 hits are the two stats that stand out to me).

Johnny's poor performance at the plate has flown under the radar since he's been in the Bronx. His fielding garnered the most criticism and a proper on-field response. It's time to apply the same scrutiny to Johnny's hitting.

I'd like to see Melky in the lead off spot. I heistate to say it, because I don't have the stats to back it up, but Melky gets around on the fastball much better than Johnny at this point. Damon's shoulder issues, that killed his throwing arm, seem to have robbed him of his bat speed as well.

What If Sports league

yankee come lately — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 21:22:21 -0000

So I recently discovered this site: http://www.whatifsports.com.

I'm a late-comer, as it has been around since 1999. It's a simulation league that allows you to draft a team of players from the 1880's to the 2007 season, and then play against other people's teams. It's a lot of fun and addictive as hell.

They have an exhibition season of ten games that is free and a full 162 game season with more options for $12. I've played about ten exhibition seasons, and they're great.

I also am just finishing up my first full season, and believe me it is well worth the 12 bucks. There are twenty-four teams separated into two leagues, and six divisions. The six division winners get the added bonus of playoff games.

I just qualified for the playoffs with a team featuring a 3-4 of 1922 Ruth, 1960 Mantle, and 1983 Goose pitching the 8th inning for me (just to name some Yankees on my team).

I'm bothering to post all this because in about two weeks I'm going to play another full season ( did I mention It's addictive?), and there's the options to invite others. So I thought why not throw it out to all the P.A. baseball fanatics out there and see if anybody's interested.

And just so you know, I'm in no way associated with this site. I read about it in a Bill Simmons column ( he's an avid player ).

So if anybody's interested, I 'd suggest to try it out for free and see if it's for you, and if you're interested let me know and I can send you an invite.

Here's the link again: http://www.whatifsports.com