Double Shot of Sweeps

It's too bad that the Yanks don't play Seattle again until September. A 4-run 8th did in the M's as the Bombers overcame a 5-2 deficit to win 6-5. The Yanks have won all 6 games they've played this year against the Mariners, all this month and all at home. Seattle's bullpen has just been terrible this year.

The 6th run came when Jose Molina doubled to right center and Ichiro, who could've made the catch, just let the ball fall in. Looked like he may have lost it in the sun. Matsui scored easily from second.

Accept No Imitations

This Call Your Shot promotion with David Ortiz is a total insult to the Yankees. Why should David Ortiz or any Red Sox player try to imitate the Babe at Yankee Stadium during the All-Star Home Run Derby? The gist is that a fan picks a particular part of the ballpark for Ortiz to hit a dinger on a particular pitch. If he does, the fan wins something. Why couldn't a Yankee be part of this promotion? Either that or apply it to every hitter, not just Shrek.

The Yankees hadn't even heard of the contest until a reporter told them about it. This thing had to be designed by a Yankee-hater, and especially stings after the buried jersey fiasco. Awful idea by MLB.

Back in the Win Column

The Yanks finally picked up a win after two straight blow outs and dropped the O's 8-0. Rasner's been something else. He's 3-0 after throwing 7 shutout innings tonight. A-Rod's been contributing since his return, too, so that's a big lift.

What the Hell, Man?

Giambi, other Yanks use thong as slump antidote

It's not working. Try hitting the ball more.

Hit and Miss

The anemic Yankee offense mustered 2 runs tonight but still managed to pull out a win. The team has scored 4 runs its last 29 innings. They're lucky the pitching has managed to bail them out in some of these close games. The lineup is so fragile without A-Rod and Posada and nobody has stepped up to lead the team.

It's also frustrating/boring to watch.

Yawn

Another day, another blasé loss. Over the last few years, this team has made a habit of being extremely dull in the early going. The pitching staff is shaky (namely Kennedy and Hughes, with some of the worst pitching stats thus far in the league) and the bats come and go. Not having A-Rod and Posada won't help, either. It's only one month into the season so there's no need to panic just yet, but Kennedy and Hughes can't pitch like this forever. It looks like they're already talking about sending down Hughes, who looked so promising last October.

Luckily Clemens is still making headlines and Hank Steinbrenner is still being an ass, so there's still plenty of fodder for the tabloids.

A Little More Than 1 Game's Worth of A-Rod's Salary

After the David Ortiz jersey auction brought in over $175,000 for the Jimmy Fund, you have to wonder what the guy who won will do with it.  If he can afford that much for a tattered uni then he can probably bribe the construction workers to re-bury the thing.

Not in Our New House

Construction workers unearth buried Red Sox jersey

I kind of like this move because it tells Boston that they can suck it for having one of their own try to taint the new Yankee Stadium. They might even pursue legal action. It also tells me that the Yankee brass was scared shitless of being cursed by a construction worker and doubts its ability to put together the best team in baseball. You don't spend five hours drilling to get just any jersey out of there.

It was even a David Ortiz jersey. Hasn't he done enough already?

Like the moon landing, this could all be a staged event. Originally I believe it was supposed to be a Sux T-shirt, not jersey, and it wasn't found below the visitor's clubhouse. The Yanks may want everyone to think they unearthed it. On the other hand, I'm gonna take the Yanks' side because Sox fans have proven here again that they cannot be trusted and are like school in the summertime - no class.

The New Joe is 1 and 0

It wasn't pretty, but the Yanks won 3-2, their 11th straight win on Opening Day at the Stadium. Wang pitched in and out of trouble and the offense blew some chances (and lucked out on a big error), but it's April, so the quality of play isn't at its peak yet. No big deal.

How many times did Michael Kay mention that Girardi is wearing #27 for his goal of winning the Yanks their 27th championship? Thirty? He better not bring that up every game, or that it's the last year of play at this Yankee Stadium. People know. Over four million tickets have already been sold. I don't want to hear about it again until September.

Same Old Joe

Noticed the box score for yesterday's Dodgers/Giants game and it wasn't difficult to tell who was managing the team. Brad Penny threw 89 pitches and was relieved with two outs in the 7th by - who else? - Scott Proctor. He got out of the inning and LA won 5-0.

Play Ball...Tomorrow!

There's nothing like Opening Day. And that's why it's such a bummer when a little bit of rain postpones it until the following night.

I'm sure they love rain-outs for profit purposes. Fans get to buy peanuts and Crackerjack to sit in the stands and watch nothing, then get disappointed. Fun.

Mr. Met

A-Rod told the Daily News he regrets not signing with the Mets in 2000. He didn't want to make the mistake of signing just for big money again, so he re-signed with the Yanks.

He's got to let his bat do the talking and stop using sports writers as free therapists. At least he finally admitted signing for money, though (which almost everyone does anyway).

He didn't comment about Canseco saying he introduced Alex to a steroid dealer. I guess now he's going to stop the yapping.

Yanks a 1/2 Game Back

Start to panic. No, seriously; it's time to begin thinking about the wild card.

The Pen is Mightier

The decision on where Joba will begin the season has finally come out (for the time being). He's going to be in the bullpen, which isn't too surprising with the Yanks already having five starters. If someone goes down or falters, though, we'll see what the team decides for him. The longer he stays out of the rotation in the next few years increases his chances of becoming the next closer.

Garciaparra Has Broken Right Hand

No, he didn't break it adjusting his batting gloves - he was hit by a pitch. The Dodger infielder could miss Opening Day.

Reflection

The Yanks had their promised exhibition game at Virginia Tech today. Both teams wore their home unis, which include pinstripes, so it looked sort of like an intra-squad game. It was preceded by a sad visit to the memorial. Even A-Rod was touched, saying he never felt more proud to be a Yankee.

The game ended in an 11-0 Bomber win, but that was an afterthought. Just being there put a lot of smiles on the VT players' and students faces.

The Yanks and Hokies also wore NY hats in VT's colors, though the Yanks just wore them for BP:

Crystal Clear: He Stinks

Billy Crystal struck out in his one at-bat leading off today's exhibition game against Pittsburgh. He was ahead in the count 3-1, them whiffed at two cutters. He did make contact, fouling off one pitch.

This chance to play with the Yanks kind of irked me. I know he's been a fan since he was a kid but he basically got to play because of that and since he's famous. You don't see them letting season ticket holders of forty years play in Spring Training. Plus he's a partial D-backs owner. Let him play for them.

Round 2

I guess they couldn't wait for the season to start. The Yanks and Rays had another game today and five players were ejected. Shelley Duncan, who said the other day he expected Spring Training to stop being a land of sun and fun, slid hard into Akinori Iwamura with his spikes raised even though he was a dead duck at second. Duncan, Jonny Gomes, two Yankees coaches and one prospect were thrown out.

This isn't really surprising. Duncan's a hard-nosed kind of player and even if Girardi didn't say anything directly I'm sure he would've slid hard anyway.

Too bad Billy Crystal wasn't involved. I'd like to see him crash into a catcher at home and start something.

Removing "Devil" from their Name Was Just a Ploy

Girardi has every right to be upset on that play at the plate that left Francisco Cervelli with a broken wrist. I know that Rays player wants to make the team, but it's Spring Training. Now another guy's chance, however slim, is over.

Joe Maddon didn't see anything wrong with the play, and most likely told his players to tough it out this spring and show everyone that the Rays are determined to finish better than the Orioles this year. Carl Crawford, who's already got a roster spot and is an All-Star, even ran into an Astros catcher a few days earlier.

This team is gonna see some bean balls when the season starts, no question.

Dumping the Dump?

I'm really tired of all the steroid talk going on these days, just because it's boring and I don't appreciate being consistently lied to by a guy who keeps saying he's re-retiring and then wants some credibility. I'll mention something we can all enjoy - artistic renderings of a new ballpark! The best part is this new field proposed by the Tampa Bay Rays (no, I didn't forget the "Devil;" they are now just the Rays) would replace the number one contender for ugliest stadium in the Majors - Tropicana Field. (Don't worry, Shea - you're number two). The field would have a sail for a roof, utilize the St. Petersburg waterfront breeze, and only seat 34,000. Looks great.
Here's the press release, which came out in November, but the picture with the "roof" closed is new.