Yankee Talk: Quest not worth enjoying

Past drug use makes Rodriguez chase for 600 hollow

NEW YORK – We are a very forgiving group of people.

Well, most of us are.

At Yankee Stadium Sunday, a rain delay lasted in excess of two and a half hours.

Normally, for a game at home against the Royals, many fans would head for the exits, unconcerned with the result until they got home.

However, a good majority of fans stayed in the park. They were not there to see the Yankees bludgeon the Royals with seven additional runs after the fifth inning when the downpours began.

Instead, they stayed to be a witness to baseball history if you want to call it that. Alex Rodriguez was in his pursuit of homerun number 600.

The slugger came up two more times in the game. In the seventh, he reached on an infield single to drive in a run. In the eighth, as if the stars could align, the Yankees were able to bat around to bring him back to the plate again, this time with the bases loaded.

Everyone at Yankee Stadium stood as one, loudly cheering a man who used to receive loud boos for his failure before delivering emphatically last October when the team finally won its world championship.

Oh, and that whole steroids thing? Forget that it ever happened.

That is all in the past, at least for some.

Not for me.

For Rodriguez unfortunately, it is difficult to ignore and impossible to forget.

Instead of slugging number 600, a rising fastball hit off his forearm and hand, sending him straight to the ground in pain, not giving him a chance to reach the career milestone.

If you want to call it that.

Throughout the season, there has been an empty feeling that surrounds this “pursuit”. Back in 2007, anticipation was high to see him hit number 500. It took him 28 at-bats to do it, but we celebrated the accomplishment.

At the time, there was the belief that because of feeling of illegitimacy around Barry Bonds and his alleged steroid use, Rodriguez would eventually become the all time leader for homeruns by the time his career was over and would have done so without the use of performance enhancing drugs.

That all went away in 2009 when after reports surfaced in Sports Illustrated combined with Rodriguez’s personal admission of doing the steroid “boli” for three seasons while he was in Texas as a way to deal with the burden of expectations that came with his $252 million contract he signed after 2000 with the Rangers.

Once that happened, everything genuine about the historic numbers compiled one of the most talented players baseball has ever known changed. Rodriguez became just “another one”, adding himself to list of drug cheats that have littered the game over the last 20 years, drastically inflating their own numbers for personal and monetary benefit at the expense of the authenticity of the game.

Do I simply accept the numbers put up by him and anyone else and call them real for no other reason than to say that of the biggest drug users, he was the best of the best?

Many have drawn that conclusion as they did with Bonds, Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa. As a result, all of their accomplishments are looked at as fraudulent, with some wanting their records wiped away from the record books.

Those players do not receive a high level of scrutiny as Rodriguez because he is only active player visual to us on a daily basis. For the rest of his career, the debate can rage on about his greatness that will be in the eye of the beholder.

All of Rodriguez’s accomplishments can be put into question now. Is he still on PED’s? Without testing for human growth hormone, no one will ever know. This is the situation created by himself and now for the rest of his career, the viewing public will never really know for sure if what they are seeing is realistic.

This is why even though the hype surrounding this feat coming from those on the Yankee payroll (see: John Sterling, Suzyn Waldman and Michael Kay) whose voice you hear the loudest, it is the consumer that ultimately makes the final judgment.

Sunday, many fans casted their vote by waiting out the rain, showing that they have forgiven him and accept his previous transgression while appreciating the player that they did not fully accept until the Yankees won big.

In the end, here we have an immensely talented player that now suffers from a case of the “Yeah, but”.

“Rodriguez will likely break the home run record…but he was a cheater.”

“Rodriguez is an all-time great player…but he cheated.”

Most of them did, benefiting greatly. The others that did it and have yet to be caught have escaped scrutiny, which is part of what makes him somewhat of a sympathetic figure in all of this.

That is what makes this so difficult.

As Rodriguez heads on the road this week to Cleveland and then to Tampa Bay for the Yankees seven game road trip, percentages are high he will hit number 600 sometime this week.

You want to appreciate it, but you have to stop yourself.

It is record in statistic only, lacking in any true meaning.

Time for another edition of Yankee Random Thoughts

For reasons we have still yet to conclude, Phil “The Franchise” Hughes seems to have a problem pitching at Yankee Stadium this season.

The numbers may simply be a coincidence and a statistical anomaly, but right now there seems to be a distinct difference between his performance on the road and how he does at The Stadium.

Hughes split his two home starts this week against the Angels and the Royals to make his record 12-3. However, one startling number stands out and that is the 15 homeruns allowed, all of which have taken place at home.

So why the difference?

According to Hughes, he may be trying too hard to do his best at home instead of controlling his emotions. This excess energy has allowed pitches to flatten out on occasion, leading to home runs.

I have long since been of the opinion that the only way the Yankees can lose in October is if both The Underachiever and Javier Vazquez are both in the same postseason rotation.

You cannot allow these two to hijack the season by them melting down in October.

If they lose with Hughes blowing up, I can accept that. But there is no way I can accept both of them pitching three of the seven games in a series.

Think about it, the Yankees can have a 20 –game winner pitching out of the bullpen.

Despite Vazquez being the second best pitcher on the Yankees since May, even if he threw like the 1999 version of Pedro Martinez, he will still keep me up at night before he takes the ball in Game 4.

If Wednesday’s performance was any indication, he will give me plenty of reason for worry.

After needing only 37 pitches to get through four innings, Vazquez mysteriously lost it, throwing 39 pitches, giving up three runs as the Angels cut a six run deficit in half that could have been worse if Erick Aybar stupidly did not attempt to steal third base with one out while they had him clearly on the ropes.

Girardi left him in the game to begin the sixth and gave up a two-run homer to make it 6-5 and his afternoon was over.

What happened? I have no answer.

I may be going down with the Vazquez ship, but I want to make everyone aware that the possibility for a meltdown can happen.

When did Boone Logan start throwing 97 MPH on the gun? I don’t believe this.

Left unexplained by the offense is their inability to hit Sean O’Sullivan on Tuesday night after the first inning.

O’Sullivan had no command of the strike zone and was behind 2-0 with the bases loaded. One big hit and his night likely would have been over.

Instead, he get the final out and the Yankees did not get another hit off him until the seventh inning.

Odd.

Even more odd was that the very next day, O’Sullivan was traded by the Angels to the Royals and started against the Yankees again.

Reality set in on Sunday when he gave up five runs over four innings, confirming that his performance five days earlier was a fluke.

Joba Chamberlain better get his act together. His performance again on Saturday did not inspire any confidence and nearly led to Mariano Rivera coming into the game in the ninth for a save situation if the Yankees did not score five runs in the eighth on Sunday.

When Scott Podsednik is taking you deep, that is problematic.

Quietly, David Robertson has pitched much better as of late, but he still runs into occasional mechanical problems with his delivery, causing balls to float out of the zone.

That is the reason for the 10 walks since June 5 despite rebounding from a slow start to begin the year, pitching to a 2.10 ERA with 20 strikeouts.

Thursday night against the Royals, entrusted to hold a one-run lead in the seventh inning. He was able to get a pop out and strikeout to end the inning, setting the table for the Yankees to add five insurance runs over the next two innings.

What is the deal with the umpires lately?

On Tuesday, Girardi went out toward first base to argue a call on a close play involving Mark Teixeira.

The Yankee first baseman was ruled out and replays confirmed that he did not reach safely. Girardi however, did not agree.

While arguing his case, Bruce Dreckman, the home plate umpire came over wanting to give his two cents for whatever reason. Clearly confused as to why he was interjecting himself in a conversation that did not involve him, Girardi angrily told him in so many words to “butt out”.

The next day, Brett Gardner disputed a called second strike and argued, leading to an ejection.

Colin Curtis would have to come to the plate quickly as a substitute. He worked the count to 3-2 and then hit a three-run homer to right to put distance between them and the Angels in a 10-5 win.

Umpires need to stop acting as if we pay to see them. Get lost.

If I know your first and last name, that is not a good thing.

Think of the irony of this for a moment:

One pitcher is injured on the mound, tweaking his groin and will miss the next five weeks.

The other acts like a loon, cuts himself, lies about it (at first) and he gets to make his next start without a problem.

Burnett shutout the Royals for 5 innings, earning a win after an extended rain delay shortened his evening.

Life is just not fair.

Yankee Talk: Burned out

AJ brings down himself and Yanks

NEW YORK – If you can name a more frustrating pitcher to watch in baseball than AJ Burnett, I would love to know who it is.

You watch him and you see the talent he possess. But at the same time, you see everything that has made him incapable of harnessing it.

Saturday, Burnett took it one-step further.

As if Yankee fans could not take any more drama from the enigmatic right-hander, Burnett decided to take it upon himself to put himself before the rest of the team, further infuriating the few public defenders he was already losing.

For some, it may already be the last straw.

For others, they will continue to give him a chance mainly because they have to.

The problem with all of this is that in order for the Yankees to win, they have to put their faith in his right arm.

This would be great, but the fact is Burnett cannot be trusted under any circumstances.

Tampa Bay already struck for four runs against him through the first two innings. In both of the frames, Burnett retired the first two men of the frame before the runs scored, a problem that speaks more to inability to concentrate fully when he is out there.

After hitting Evan Longoria in the third inning, followed up by a wild pitch and an RBI single to center by Carlos Pena, Dave Eiland and Joe Girardi came to the mound to remove him from the game with an “injury”.

The cynic watching had to conclude that the injury related exit had more to do with his performance than anything else, if only to avoid the excessive ensuing boo-fest set to take place under normal circumstances.

Two innings later, reports surfaced that Burnett told Eiland before the third inning that he lacerated his right hand while slipping up the stairs. The sudden control problems in the third inning in their minds were a byproduct of the “slip”.

I was not buying any of it.

Suddenly by the end of the game, the new story was that Burnett slammed both of his hands through a clubhouse door, opening up cut on the palm of each of his hands, a plastic lineup cardholder shattering the impact from an even worse injury.

Had it been worse, Burnett would have likely seen time on the disabled list, all of his own making.

It was once again another example of his inability to control his emotions and get the most out of his talent instead of the least. They got the best of him again as they have done his entire career, doing little to change the notion that he is in fact nicknamed “Mental Case” and “The Underachiever”.

Nothing is worse than a player who fails to live up to their God-given gifts that far exceed that of their other peers.

There are those who do more with less.

Burnett does less with a lot more.

The dynamic in play is that when is good, he is as good as any pitcher in baseball.
At different points over his first year and a half in pinstripes, they have seen that.

While he had valleys during the course of last year, he had many peaks, dominating opposing offenses with the repertoire he has.

In October, he will always be remembered for his best performance, Game 2 of the World Series when the Phillies did not have a chance against him.

But there was also the bad, namely Game 5 of both the ALCS and World Series.

Good AJ and Bad AJ.

Welcome folks to the AJ Burnett experience. The Yankees were able to win it all because of and despite him all at the same time.

It was around June of last year when we had the same conversation that we are going to have right now.

The Yankees were in Boston attempting to remove the “donut” that was on their ledger in the season series with the Red Sox.

84 pitches, 44 balls, 5 runs, 2 2/3 innings, and a kicked water cooler later, he took an early shower.

“Bad AJ” had made another appearance.

Many hope that he will “find it” and turn things around. History states that at some point he will go through a stretch where he pitches well.

He is the worst kind of pitcher to root for. You wonder when he will show mental toughness and figure everything out until you realize that at 33 years of age, he never will have his epiphany. He does not have the ability to grind out a game when he does not have his best stuff. When he is not bullying the opposition and in full control. Put even the least bit of adversity in front of him and he melts like ice cream when the weather turns 100 degrees.

Perhaps J.P Riccardi, Burnett’s former general manager when he was with Toronto said it best when he called him, “a roller coaster ride”.

Riccardi paid $55 million back in 2005 thinking he too could find a way to unlock his potential only to find out he could not.

The Yankees thought they could do it and their attempts have come up unsuccessful with things only set to get worse as his $16.5 million salary becomes an albatross as the team receives performance that equates to nothing more than a number three or four starter.

Before it was having Jorge Posada as his catcher. Then it became not having his pitching coach. It was always something with others receiving the blame for his failure to perform.

As we have all finally concluded – the problems start and end with Burnett and Burnett only.

Burnett is like the girl that you date that is incredibly hot. Her looks are so tantalizing that you are willing to except many of her flaws.

The girl also brings plenty you plenty of agita, to the point where you consider strangling them. You want to break with them but continue to give her a chance and put up with all of this because, in the end, she is still hot.

You go so far to put up with everything she brings to the table right up until the point when she does something so egregious that you cannot take it anymore.

The Yankee fan equivalent for this would be seeing Burnett blow up in the postseason.

It would not be a surprise.

Yet, we all could see it coming.

Yankee Talk: The All-Everything Edition

Looking back on the Yankees first half

When it comes to winning, I am never content, and that is a good thing.

So even though the Yankees finished the first half of the season by winning eight of their last nine games, it felt good.

However, I was still upset about that loss on Saturday night.

Javier Vazquez (who is this close to escaping my calling him of “mental patient”) pitched one of his best games of the season, throwing seven shutout innings and leaving the game with a 1-0 lead.

Unfortunately, Joba Chamberlain once again imploded, giving up two base hits, an intentional walk after falling behind in the count 3-1, and topped it by serving up a grand slam to Jose Lopez turning victory into defeat.

The loss snapped a seven game winning streak. Even though they pounded the Mariners 8-2 the following day to close the west coast trip an impressive 6-1, I can only look back to that loss on Saturday.

It was not necessarily the loss, but the ramifications of the loss. As it stands, Chamberlain is still a question mark in the bullpen and thus, makes the eighth inning a question mark.


“People are going to look at the five bad ones, “said Chamberlain in reference to the outings in which has given up three runs or more. “But I’m going to look at the 25 good ones.”

No one is available to bring in that can replace him and so the Yankees are always going to wonder whether he can get the ball to the now one-inning only version of Mariano Rivera.

Scouring throughout baseball for an eighth-inning reliever is a frugless task because no such pitcher is good enough to come into our pressure environment and succeed.

The answer either has to come from within the minor league system or by Chamberlain simply pitching better. The idea that Phil Hughes, a potential 20-game winner this season, should come out of the rotation to pitch in the bullpen in October is ridiculous.

We will just have to wait and see.

Tex Finally Sends a Message

Who said Mark Teixeira was not going to hit?

Teixeira, who told everyone during his early season struggles that he was not concerned at all, pointing out that by the end of the season he would have what the back of his baseball card shows is now starting to hit.

After going 4-for5 on Sunday, Teixeira now has 18 hits in 43 at-bats (.418) the average is now over .250 as he continues his climb at just the right time for the Yankees offense.

Since June 8, he has hit .316 with 9 homeruns and 26 RBI. The All Star break could not have come at a worse time during his hot stretch.

“The last couple weeks, I haven’t been chasing too many pitches and if I do get a good pitch to hit, I’m putting a good swing on it,” Teixeira said. “Hopefully when I get back, I’ll still be swinging the bat well. I do feel pretty good up there right now.”

For the most part this season, the offense has been underwhelming, usually just getting enough runs and not putting up prolific numbers as in the past.

To a man, the Yankees feel as if they can improve in this area with Teixeira being among the catalysts after the break.

“You don’t want to take a break,” Teixeira said. “But at the same time when we get home I hope I can pick it back up.”

If he can, the Yankees will be even tougher to beat in the second half.

Best and worst of the first half

Top game: May 17 vs. Boston

The best game of the first half of the season had to be the Yankees rally against the Red Sox and Jonathan Papelbon by scoring four runs in the bottom of the ninth inning.

After having a 5-0 lead, the Yankees blew the lead and eventually trailed 9-7 down to their final three outs.

Papelbon would give up a two-run home run to Alex Rodriguez to tie the game and then another two-run blast to Marcus Thames as the Yankees celebrated at home plate with their first pie of the season.

Heartbreak City game: April 21 vs. Oakland

Phil Hughes had his attempt for a no-hitter broken up in the eighth inning when a ball off the bat of Eric Chavez deflected off him.

Thinking the ball was in the air, he looked up only to have Jorge Posada alert him that the ball was on the ground but it was too late as Chavez reached first base safely.

This was the second time in just over two weeks that an opponent broke up a Yankee potential no-hitter in the eighth inning.

Against Tampa Bay on April 10, CC Sabathia pitched 7 2/3 hitless innings that included numerous great defensive plays. However, Jason Bartlett would single to left in front of Brett Gardner to end his bid at history.

Head scratcher moment: April 25 vs. Los Angeles Angels

With runners on second and third and one out, Yankee lefty Damaso Marte fell behind slugger Kendry Morales 2-0.

Morales, who won the game on Friday night with a three run blast has been a notorious Yankee killer and Manager Joe Girardi obviously knew that.

Or so he thought.

He would call for an intentional walk as the count went to 3-0.

Suddenly, he changed his mind and call it off, electing to have Marte pitch to him.

The signal came from the bench that Morales would swing 3-0 and not to throw anything he could get a good swing on.

Instead, the ball found the middle of the plate and Morales hit another to turn a one run lead into an eventual 8-4 Angels win.

Girardi after the game put the blame on himself, but we all had a feeling the worst was going to happen after the confusion that took place in that sequence.

“WTF?” Moment: May 16 vs. Minnesota

The Twins had lost to the Yankees 12 straight times, and were on the verge of losing to them again, swept out of the Bronx once more.

With Joba Chamberlain in the game, the Twins were able to get two men on. Girardi elected to bring in Mariano Rivera and even up 1-2, pinch hitter Jim Thome was able to work a walk.

Jason Kubel stepped and cheated on a Rivera cutter, connecting on the first pitch for a grand slam into the lower deck that gave the Twins a 6-3 lead.

The Stadium was silent. No hitter had taken Mo deep like that since 1995.
Even the great Rivera is human.

The oddball moment: May 25-26 vs. Minnesota

AJ Burnett made his start in the first game of a series against the Twins. However, heavy rains after the fifth inning suspended the game with neither team having scored a run.

Wednesday, the game resumed and Derek Jeter hit a homerun in the top of the sixth to give the Yankees the lead.

Four relievers would keep the 1-0 score where it was and Burnett, without having to throw a pitch, earned a victory.

Not a bad day’s work.

Worst loss moment: May 29 vs. Cleveland

With a six-run lead and CC Sabathia on the mound, the Yankees appeared to be in complete control.

However, when Sabathia (who struggled throughout) departed, all hell broke loose.

David Robertson could not get anyone out and he had to leave after an injury. Sergio Mitre gave up a walk and Girardi did not want to see him anymore.

In came Joba Chamberlain, proceeding to give up five hits, allowing five runs to score and allowing the Indians to rally and take the lead in a game they went on to win 13-11.

It was perhaps the most disgusting loss of the season.

Unexpected moment: June 16 vs. Philadelphia

After giving up nine runs in his previous start on Friday to the Red Sox at Fenway Park, it sure had the feel the Yankees would be ready to feast on Jamie Moyer and his geritol self at The Stadium.

Instead, Moyer baffled the Yankees, throwing eight innings of two-run ball, allowing only three hits in a 6-3 Phillies victory.

As shocking as it was to see Roy Halladay pounded the previous night, Moyer turned the tables. His 83 MPH junk completely had them fooled.

Even now, I still do not understand it.

Most dramatic moment: June 27 vs. Los Angeles Dodgers

For those who leave when they think a game is in doubt should look back at this game as a reason never to shut the television off or head out the park to beat traffic.

The Yankees bumbled and stumbled their way to what seemed to be a loss to the Dodgers on the final game of their long west coast trip.

Trailing 6-2 in the ninth inning, the ending appeared to be inevitable with Jonathan Broxton in to get the final three outs.

Alex Rodriguez would single with one out, moved to second on defensive indifference and would score on a double by Robinson Cano.

Dodgers 6, Yankees 3.

Jorge Posada single to right center and Curtis Granderson worked a walk to load the bases where Chad Huffman singled home two runs with a sharp single to right.

Dodgers 6, Yankees 5.

Colin Curtis was now up and worked a 10 pitch at bat before grounding to first where Dodgers first baseman James Loney stepped on first and made the ill-advised decision of throwing home, where Granderson beat the throw sliding feet first as the umpire signaled safe and the Yankees had tied the score.

Dodgers 6, Yankees 6.

Robinson Cano would hit a two-run homer in the tenth inning and Mariano Rivera slammed the door as the Yankees completed one of their best comebacks in years at Dodger Stadium.

That is why you never leave early.

Yankee Talk: Only one “Boss”

Steinbrenner leaves as one of a kind


There has never been another owner like him. Not in the past, present or future.

Many have tried to imitate him, but have never duplicated his success.

He came into this game purchasing the Yankees for roughly ten million dollars back in 1972.

Today, the value of that franchise is over a billion, some estimates have valued it at over three billion dollars, printing money daily. It is arguably the greatest purchase and model of success in all of business and sports.

Not a bad investment.

Now, arguably the most recognizable owner in sports leaves us.

George M. Steinbrenner III died on Tuesday morning after suffering a massive heart attack near his home in Tampa. He was 80.

For the last several years, Steinbrenner was no longer the visible face of a franchise that he was able to turn into an empire. Failing health and a series of strokes eliminated him from controlling the day-to-day operations of the club that he now transferred to his sons, Hank and Hal.

In his time, he brought 11 American League pennants and seven World Series championships and, restoring a franchise that was in peril before he purchased it back in 1972 from CBS.

He saw something in his purchase that no one else saw. The thought in his mind being if he efficiently and effectively built the Yankees into a success, he would have a license to print money.

The man who grew up as a child in a suburb of Cleveland, Ohio came to the big city of New York trying to make it big. He came in with his bombastic nature, determined to make the Yankees a winner again.

It was his belief that if you spent money, not only will your team improve, but you will win. From there, the money follows.

The Yankees indeed made money, millions of it.

He then took the profits and put the money back into his product. It was his spending at the beginning of free agency, helping the Yankees improve quickly shortly after taking over.

Four years into his reign, they won their first pennant. The next two seasons, the Yankees were world champions.

Between that time and 1996, many people came and went. Steinbrenner’s personality clashed with many in and outside the organization. No one will ever forget his run-ins with Billy Martin, hiring and firing him on an almost comical basis. He would have his general manager trade young players and signing players who were great in name, but either past their prime or not good fits with the club in haste to win, only to be unsuccessful in his quest in regaining former glory.

By the end of the 1980’s, the Yankees were down again. All of Steinbrenner’s moves after 1981 (their last World Series appearance in that time before 1996) netted zero playoff appearances, many empty seats and a franchise needing resuscitation.

It was not until Major League Baseball suspended Steinbrenner in 1991 did the Yankees restore order. Five years later, they began a run of four world championships.

Steinbrenner, toned down much more in his 60’s than he used to in his 40’s and 50’s, went along for the ride, turning into a loving figure amongst fans that originally found him to be a nuisance, infringing upon their team with bad personnel decisions.

Sure, there would be the occasional outburst. In 1999, he would call pitcher Hideki Irabu a “fat, pussy toad” after struggling for most of a season. There was the time in 2003 when he criticized Derek Jeter in a magazine for staying out to late, causing a media firestorm that ended with the two doing a VISA commercial comically making fun of it. There was another after a Division Series loss in 2002 to the Angels that he was going to “trim the fat” in the organization, with one-way being to cut the dental plans of his employees.

He did not speak much in his later years, but his presence was always around.

When things on the field with the Yankees did not go well, Steinbrenner would usually call General Manager Brian Cashman from his home in Tampa to ask what was wrong. In other times of crisis, he would summon his officials to fly down to their training facility to sit around a conference table to discuss what is ailing the club and if there was anything he can do about it.

It was a product that he wanted the best for and would anything to keep it strong. He grew up with a football mentality and played baseball out as if it were that. By saying things and putting out missive statements, he felt that when things were not going well, a mere pep talk would rally the troops and get them to play better.

Otherwise, he would find others who would.

He was demanding. It made losing uncomfortable for everyone. It was exactly how he wanted it.

In his mind, there was no substitute for winning. Anything less was unacceptable. Second place was the equivalent of losing the game.

That is why he treated exhibitions as more than just training for the season. If his team lost three games in a row, he would consider that a crisis. Any worse and you waited for him to explode.

In turn, the fans adopted this mentality for better or worse.

Win or else was the mantra.

Losing to the Red Sox or Mets was intolerable. A sweep by any of those teams and the team was bound to hear it.

Winning was an expectation. He expected a championship every season. The New York fan he felt deserved a winner and he saw fit to make that happen.

At the same time, the winning and the eventual championships reestablished the Yankee brand, and in turn, made him a whole lot of money.

When Madison Square Garden paid him $500 million to air Yankees games on the MSG Network, it opened the avenue to regional sports networks as a means to make money. Later, a lucrative radio deal followed and he was on his way to making the franchise the richest in all of sports.

Seeing how he could profit, he had the vision to create the Yankees Entertainment and Sports Network, a channel owned by the team to show its games and take in all of the profits.
It was a revolutionary idea that other teams have since tried to duplicate, all in their chase to close a financial gap about as wide of Secretariat in the Kentucky Derby.

His last piece of business was to build a new Yankee Stadium that became a reality when ground broke in 2006 and finally opened for business last season.

Constant illness kept him away, serving now as only a face drifted far in the background. He made a memorable appearance in 2008 at the All Star Game in the final season at the old Stadium.

Last season, the Yankees finally delivered a world championship that he had sought for nine seasons after winning his last in 2000 against the Mets, paying over one billion in salaries before finally accomplishing what he wanted all along.

Several years ago, he had a saying: “Winning is the most important thing in my life, after breathing. Breathing first, winning next.”

This serves as the modus operandi of the Yankee organization.

It was his imprint on a franchise he brought up from the ashes. Today it is the standards that all others are measured.

He made it the greatest in all of sports.

Today he leaves us. There will never be another like him.

Yankee Talk: “The Voice” says goodbye

Bob Sheppard passes away

One death is always saddening.

When you have two of them take place over the course of three days, it makes it even sadder.

The Yankee family lost two of its legendary figures this past week when the long time voice of Yankee Stadium, Bob Sheppard passed away on Sunday morning. Two days later, tragedy struck again when longtime Yankee owner George Steinbrenner suffered a massive heart attack, ending his life.

Sheppard, who died at the age of 99, was the public address announcer for 57 years. His synonymous voice seemed to echo from the heavens whenever you would hear him announce a man coming to the plate. Hearing him was part of the experience of going to Yankee Stadium as much as the great players that played on the field.

His voice was unmistakable.

“Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, welcome… to Yankee Stadium.”

That is what you would hear at the beginning of the night before a ballgame. In between, you would hear his voice introduce whoever was coming up to the plate.

Unlike what you hear today from most modern day public address voices, the loud, bombastic nature that you may hear was never in Sheppard’s personality. It was not his way.

He always kept the highest of standards in his vocal profession. To him, he kept the philosophy of being “clear, concise, and correct.”

“Batting second, num-bah two, De-rek Jet-uh, num-bah two…”


It was not flamboyant, but it was accurate, and it was powerful.

He started in 1951 and over the next 50 years, only missed five games. During this time, he also was the public address man for the New York Football Giants from 1956 up until 2005.

It was during his time with the Yankees that Hall of Fame outfielder Reggie Jackson dubbed Sheppard “The Voice of God”. Many others would go on to say their official indoctrination to the big leagues would be when they heard their voice introduced through the loudspeakers by him.

Sheppard has been so much a fixture that a plaque in Monument Park exists in his honor. Derek Jeter, who before the end of the 2007 season had Sheppard introduce him at every home game, has allowed the tradition to continue. When Sheppard fell ill, Jeter asked that a recording of his introduction used whenever he came to the plate to remainder of his career as a Yankee.

My personal memory of Sheppard actually did not even involve him.

When I was at St. John’s University, I was covering the football team for the school newspaper. I was in the press box for a game and the public address announcer sounded almost exactly like Sheppard.

At halftime of the game, most of us chose to leave the press box to either get food or use the bathroom, as the public address man came out, a young child, who had to be no more than ten years old came up to him as asked if he was in fact, Bob Sheppard himself.

Unfortunately, he had to tell the child he was not him and the response was, “You sound just like him.”

It was a flattering comment and it went to show how distinctive his voice resonated with everyone young and old.

We will miss him.

So while The Voice will no long we be with us, he will always be a part us forever.

Yankee Talk: Lee Yanked Away

Mariners ship Cliff to Texas, spurns Yanks

SEATTLE – When you have the best record in the league, many would simply stay content with what they have and not look to tinker with their already talented roster.

However, when you are the Yankees, the regular season is always just a warm-up for October and no season is more important than the one that is in front of them.

Therefore, it did come as a surprise on Friday morning to read a report from Joel Sherman of the New York Post that the Yankees were on the verge of finalizing a blockbuster trade with the Seattle Mariners to acquire ace left-hander Cliff Lee.

What started out as a definite, turned into a maybe, and by the end of the day fizzled out as the Mariners sent Lee to Texas instead, reneging on their original deal over alleged injury concerns as a matter of using them in their quest to get what they sought from the Rangers all along.

This is not the first time that Seattle has acted as sketchy trade partners.

Last year, when inquiring about pedestrian starter Jarrod Washburn, they asked for their best prospect, before eventually accepting a lesser deal from Detroit.

Unfortunately, Lee will not be a part of the Yankees during the rest of this season. They will have to settle for the consolation prize of signing him to a deal when the off-season begins and have him in the rotation for the start of 2011.

On the surface, one could have seen the trade as a head scratcher. Why would the Yankees need Cliff Lee when they already sported the best one-through-five man rotations in baseball with each having at least seven wins?

Putting six men into a five-man rotation was going to mean that someone would no longer be in the rotation, either sent to the bullpen or traded off the team.

In addition, some would suggest that this would have been another example of gluttony on the part of the Yankees. By stacking the deck so much in their favor going into October, they would make the postseason their own invitational.

This would bring out more nonsensical cries from those on the outside of the Yankees “buying championships”, how this is a “bad move for baseball”, and other assorted garbage spewed out from those in the (drive by) media who usually see a world without Yankee victory as some of triumph for humanity.

Thankfully, General Manager Brian Cashman and the rest of the organization do not live in such a world and handles the pressure of his job to a tee.

They know that if they win (as they did last year) those same vultures will criticize them for winning with a large payroll as much as they would criticize them for spending all of their money and falling short. Either way, the Yankees cannot win with a percentage of the public, so why care what they think anyway?

Having Lee on the team would have been an incredible addition had everything worked out. Starting out a playoff series with him and CC Sabathia in the first two games is a dream. This slides Andy Pettitte into the “Game 3” role and then allowing the Yankees to plan the rest from there.

As I wrote several weeks ago, the Yankees could not run the risk of having both the mentally combustible AJ Burnett and Javier Vazquez, start two out four games in a playoff series no matter how well they end up doing by the end of the season.

Burnett’s performance in the postseason marked his whole career. There was the great (Game 2 of the ALCS and World Series) and there was the bad (Game 5 of the ALCS and World Series). Seeing his extreme up-and-down season this year, they have no clue what to expect from him on a start-by-start basis.



The same for Vazquez, who has made a remarkable turnaround since his blowup in April where the Yankees saw fit to remove him from the rotation. Since then he has been tremendous. Even he resembled the 1968 version of Bob Gibson, no Yankee fan would still feel comfortable with him taking the ball on the road in Game 4 of the playoff series, especially if the team was trailing 2-1 because of his past.

Seeing this, the Yankees felt the need to get Lee on this roster.

They know firsthand that he is the one man capable of shutting their lineup down. Over the last three years, Lee has made six starts against them, winning five and posting an ERA of 2.84. The numbers would be even better if several of the runs charged to him did not come after he had at least a six-run lead.

Now, he goes to a Texas team that leads the American League by several games and appears poised to make its first postseason appearance since 1999. With Lee at the front of a rotation that features youngsters C.J Wilson and Colby Lewis, they no longer are first round pushovers.

If things work out, Lee will see the Yankees in the playoffs again.

If things really work out, Lee will be wearing pinstripes next season.

Yankee Talk: Half-way there

Good first half, but much work to be done


NEW YORK – Your team must be very good when you can have the best record in the league and still say the following:

“They can do better.”

Yes, this possible. You may not understand how this can be, but it is. After 81 games, the world champions are 50-31, still atop the AL East, meaning they are still the best team in the league.

The standings may show that teams like Texas and San Diego are within close range of the Yankees, but often numbers can lie.

Make no mistake that while the Yankees are halfway towards 100 wins, there is still plenty of room for improvement. October does not begin for another three months, but the remaining 81 games are a time to tie up all of the current loose ends in preparation for a successful championship defense.

In a year that has been dominated by pitching throughout the league, it is the Yankees starting pitching that have carried them in the first half as they fight through inconsistencies scoring runs and finding the right combination of relievers in the bullpen as numerous injuries have zapped the team of depth in very specific areas.

With CC Sabathia (10-3), Andy Petttitte (10-2) and Phil Hughes (10-2) each halfway toward 20 wins, they have carried the staff as (early on) Javier Vazquez and (recently) AJ Burnett have experienced inconsistencies.

You look ahead and attempt to project what your playoff rotation and after Sabathia, the question becomes who starts Game 2?

Joe Girardi would clearly like to place Burnett into that spot as a matter of keeping him away from the hostility of pitching on the road and also allowing Pettitte to start the usually pivotal Game 3 (he was 2-0 last year in those games). After that, who do you select in Game 4? Hughes through the first half has earned that chance to start in the playoffs, but will the current innings limit the Yankees have placed on him this year prevent him from starting in October?

If that is so, then the Yankees are taking an extreme risk by placing both Burnett and Vazquez, two men known for their ability to be mentally combustible on the mound in spots to blow up a chance for back-to-back championships.

One of them? Yes. Both of them? No.

In the bullpen, the bridge to Mariano Rivera still has yet to form. With the injuries to Alfredo Aceves and Sergio Mitre, no long man currently exists. This has created problems this year when a starter has not pitched at least six innings.

Luckily, this has not been the case this season.

Late in the game, Joba Chamberlain has been a mystery. His aggregate numbers would tell you he is having a good year with the amount of times he has pitched a scoreless inning this season. However, he has had several instances this year where when he has been bad, he has been terrible, costing the Yankees several victories this season.

When he is right, the Yankees have the best 8-9 combination in the league. Girardi will rarely force Rivera into games prior to the ninth inning unless the right situation presents itself, so it is incumbent on Chamberlain to right himself.

The last thing the Yankees want to have is worrying if Chamberlain will self-destruct in the postseason.

On offense, the numbers show that they are second in the league in scoring runs. However, watch them day-to-day and you see the struggles the team has had scoring runs in comparison to prior years.

Of course, an argument can be made that offense is down all over the league and the Yankees are simply a byproduct of this. However, that does not explain the early season struggles of Mark Teixeira, the early lack of production of by Alex Rodriguez or Curtis Granderson’s inability to improve his average against left handed pitching.

Change those three things around and the Yankees would be a juggernaut, but you cannot have everything. The make up for this has been great first halves by Brett Gardner, Nick Swisher and (what should be the MVP) Robinson Cano.

Nagging injuries to Jorge Posada have had him in and out of the lineup, but his presence cannot go understated. He made the bottom half of the lineup whole and prevents having Francisco Cervelli (despite his early hot start) in there on a consistent basis.

When Nick Johnson returns is anyone’s guess and the Yankees should have seen this coming based on his history. One can only hope that is he will he healthy by the time the playoffs come so his patience can be a factor in the number two slot in the lineup.

Having Derek Jeter and Johnson at one-two followed by Teixeira, Rodriguez and Cano in the three-four-five is what the blueprint before the year was. Posada, Granderson, Swisher and Gardner six-through-nine make the “playoff lineup”.

The only question is whether they get there healthy.

Tampa Bay and Boston have made it a three team race in the AL East for the two playoff spots. One of them will not make it.

The Yankees have the consistency in the starters and the ability to improve on offense to get there comfortably.

Now, it is just a matter of getting it done.

Time for another edition of Yankee Random Thoughts

No previous seasons World Series winner that has won 50 games after 81 games has ever won the championship in that season.

Hmmm....

Just in case any of you did not think Mariano Rivera is not human, he shows that he is.

Saturday afternoon, Rivera blew only his second save of the season when he allowed the game-tying run in the ninth inning in a game the Yankees would eventually win in the tenth 7-6.

The three hits came on a ground ball single through the right side, another single through the middle that got past the leg of Rivera, and the bleeding two-out single into shallow center by DeWayne Wise.

So as you see all of these other closers out there blowing games, Rivera still stands alone, even if he has the occasional hiccup.

I have withheld my opinion on The Underachiever due in part because much like an extremely hot woman that has many flaws except her beauty, you are willing to put up with it.

Suffice it to say that on Friday when he pitch 6 2-3 scoreless innings against the Blue Jays, that is the reason why I put up with him.

Poor Mental Patient.

For the moment, Vazquez has relinquished his nickname of “Mental Patient” to Burnett, “The Underachiever”.

In three of his six losses this season, the Yankees offense has scored a grand total of zero runs.

As Sterling says, “You can’t win if you don’t score.”

It is safe to say that Chan “No No” Park needs to get off my screen immediately.

Ok, we get it. I understand he is bad and was not a good fit for the team as I thought he would be before the year started. But damn, it has gotten to the point where I cannot take it anymore.

I only want to see No No in the game if the lead is winning or losing by at least five runs. It has become obvious that he is incapable to pitching with the game relatively in the balance.

The velocity seems to be the there, but unlike last season in Philadelphia, he has just been bad.

No more please.

How great was Cliff Lee on Tuesday night?

Listen, he has the Yankees number. This is no longer up for debate.

Over three years and six starts, Lee is 5-1 with a 2.65 ERA. Eight of the runs he has allowed have come in which he already had a six run lead, which would lower the number to 1.98.

Safe to say the Seattle Mariners will not trade him to any team within the AL West. Since the AL East competitors Boston and Tampa Bay each have strong five man staffs. That leaves only Detroit and Minnesota as the two teams in the AL that would be potential suitors.

Seeing that the Yankees likely would face a team from the AL Central in the Division Series, you would hope that Lee does not end up there.

Message to Seattle: Trade him to the National League.

Thank you.

I can understand not hitting against the likes of Lee and Felix Hernandez. But how about the two games they had against Ryan Rowland-Smith and Brett Cecil?

At least things changed against Ricky Romero on Saturday and to a lesser extent, Brandon Morrow on Sunday.

By the way, where does the Brett Gardner grand slam on Saturday rank on the improbability scale?

I keep thinking of the scene from Major League when Lou Brown tells Willie Mays Hayes that if he puts one in the air, he will have to do 20 pushups.

He tried swinging for the fence on the first pitch and that immediately had me saying “WTF are you doing?”

Turns out, he was right all along.

Adding to it, the very next day, he came up with an inside-the-park homerun.

The kid can do it all.

My ideal scenario would be to trade Granderson at the end of the season, sign Carl Crawford and move Gardner over the center field.

Not sure if I’ll get that.

Interesting to note the numbers of Phil “The Franchise” Hughes have been in decline ever since his great start to the year.

Of course, unless your name is Halladay, Johnson or Jimenez, who can perform to such lofty standards?

After beginning the year 5-0 with a 1.38 ERA, Hughes has not been the same. After Seattle lit him up for six runs in the Mariners 7-4 win on Tuesday night, he is still 5-2, but with a bloated 5.51 ERA, over four runs above his early season average.

Yikes!

The real Franchise is somewhere in the middle of Bob Gibson and 2005 Randy Johnson. Where the middle is, we are not sure.

This is what happens when a pitcher has one terrible start? We all get a bit uneasy and irrational.

It is just how we are.

Teixeira really made joining the season now as he appears to be on a mini hot streak.

Keep it going Tex.

Nick Swisher is among the final five players up for voting for the final addition to the American League roster.

Help send Swish to Anaheim.