Yankees Vs Mariners Series Notes

Following a complete game pitched by possible future Yankee Cliff Lee last night, the bombers look to rebound against the lowly Mariners in these next two games. The task does not get any easier for the Yanks as they face Felix Hernandez tonight at the stadium.

Javier Vazquez will be on the mound for the Yanks agianst Felix. Vazquez has had a great month of June so far (3-1 3.00 ERA) following a horrible start to the season. Earlier this season Yankee fans were quick to kick Javy to the curb and wanted him traded. Since his struggle he has become a vital part of the Yankees rotation. With A.J Burnett struggling, and limiting the innings pitched by Phil Hughes, Vazquez has picked up his game and looked like the pitcher that they traded for.

Felix Hernandez will oppose Vazquez tonight. King Felix has faced the Yankees five times in his career and has a 2-3 record with a 4.59 ERA. So the Yankees have had there share of success against him, including Robinson Cano (.385 1 HR) and Curtis Granderson (.360 1HR).

If the Yanks win tonight's match up it would give them a greater opportunity to win the series, because on Thursday CC Sabathia takes the ball for them. CC would be facing Ryan Rowland Smith who has struggled this season 1-7 6.18 ERA. Sabathia has been dominant in his last three starts going 3-0 1.57 ERA, his dominance was felt last Friday by the Dodgers who were held to four hits over eight innings. Sabathia will look for his sixth straight win against a Mariners club who struggles to score runs. CC will have to look out for Franklin Gutierrez who has hit .444,1 HR against Sabathia in his career.

Quick Hits

• The Yankees will be playing in four straight 1:05pm starts, starting Thursday.
• Last season the Yankees played the Blue Jays on the July 4th weekend, the series before them they played the Mariners at home. The same as this season.
• All Star voting ends Thursday night
• Francisco Cervelli must be glad June is over , he hit just .190 this month

Mark Teixeira 2010 All Star? NO WAY

This may be a little late but like they say better late then never. When the 2010 All Star game voting started the Leader at first base was none other then Mark Teixeira. Shocking considering the slugging superstar was hitting around the Mendoza line.

The All Star game may be a game for the fans who want to see there favorite players in the game, but make sure the player deserves it. Even as Teixeira heated up a bit there is no reason for him to be in the mid summer classic. Sure some players may take it as a joke, but the game means something (As the MLB slogan for the game the past 7 years has been " This time it counts"). By giving Tex a pass to the mid summer classic, this is leaving a more deserving player off the roster. Luckily the fans seem to be getting this one right. During the latest voting Justin Morneau over took Tex, and should deserving go. Comparing the stats for this season is a win for the Twins first bagger who's hitting .350/15/49 compared to Tex's .230/13/48. So even though Mark's HRs and RBI are there the average is not and Tex hasn't come up big for the Yanks this year.

But don't worry Yankee fans, Derek Jeter and Robinson Cano seem to have there plane tickets already stamped for Anaheim with Andy Pettitte, Mariano Rivera and Phil Hughes not too far behind.

When will # 600 come for A-Rod

When Alex Rodriguez started the 2010 season he was 17 home runs away from 600. At the time i looked at the schedule and figured that he would have that many by the middle of June. We are now at the end of June and Alex has only 11 home runs. So it looks like i will need to reevaluate my original guess as to when he would hit it.

With the struggles of A-Rod this season his 600th homer will come later then expected. Following a post season where we saw Alex hit seven home runs, he is at 11 after 263 at bats this season. So when will this milestone come? Well if i was a betting man i would say that it would come following the all star break, in late July. My best guess would be the week of July 25th to July 31st when the Yanks are in Cleveland and Tampa, but that is only if he continues at his current pace of hitting homers.

If Alex was to get hot it could happen the week earlier at home (July 18-July24). But the other factor of why he may take even longer then the month of July, is because of what happened in 2007 when he hit his 500th homer. A-Rod hit career home run 499 on July,25,2007 it took him nine games in the mean time before he hit his 500th on August 4th. At the time A-Rod did admit that he was pressing a little and the flash bulbs that were going off were bothering him.

The saddest part is that when Rodriguez finally reaches the milestone, it won't have as much hype as when he hit his 500th in 2007. Since that time his reputation has been tarnished with the steroid admission. In 2007 Barry Bonds had just passed Hank Aaron for the all time home run king, and was assumed to have taken performance enhancing drugs (although it still hasn't been proven). Rodriguez was suppose to be the opposite of Bonds, a player that was clean and one day pass Bonds. If A-Rod hits number 600 on the road it will be interesting if the fans plan to cheer or boo. Either way Alex will become the youngest player to accomplish the feat and should be special either way.

Should Jeter continue to hit lead off ?

It seems that every time Derek Jeter is up this season he is swinging on the first pitch. This can be a good idea at times,for a veteran hitter like Jeter will see a fastball most of the times. It is not good to constantly do this if you are a lead off hitter. Jeter is on pace this season to drive in over 90 runs, but is drawing less walks. Jeter currently has 25 walks through 6/26, only one more walk then Jorge Posada and Nick Johnson (24 walks) both of whom have missed time due to injury.

Not only is Jeter walking less but he is seeing less pitches per at bat, seeing less then 3.5 pitches on average. Last season Jeter saw 3.84 pitches per at bat and drew 72 walks.

Now I'm not trying to kill Jeter here, he has been the heart and soul of the Yankees for the past 14 seasons and will continue to be until he retires. But i feel that it is time for him to go back to hitting second. Jeter was always known for being a great two hitter and prior to 2009 he had hit in that spot for most of his career. The move to the second slot in the order makes sense because currently the spot is fluctuating between Nick Swisher and Curtis Granderson.

So who would hit first you may ask ? Well i feel that the best choice would be every ones favorite speed-ster Brett Gardner. Gardner would make the perfect lead off and would give even more length to an already mighty line up. Gardner has draw 31 walks already this season in 83 less at bats and sees an average of over 4.5 pitches per game.

The original reason that Jeter was moved to the lead off position last season was so he would not hit into as many double plays and to give Johnny Damon a better chance to drive in runs. If you move Jeter down to second in the line up, you may have to worry about the double plays again but with Gardners speed,hustle and ability to take out the second baseman the chances of a double play are slimmer. With Jeter hitting second it also give Gardner the opportunity to steal more bases. How you may ask if Jeter takes less pitches? Well it is known that Jeter is one of the smartest hitters in baseball so he would know that with a base running threat like Gardy on the bases not to swing as often along with the fact that Jeter is great at putting the ball in play causing for a good hit and run combo. The other benefit is that with both runners on they could attempt the risky double steal.

What bothers me the most is that as the lead off hitter, it is your job to get on base. Jeter has not done that this season. Maybe i am making a little much of this because since Jeter has been the lead off man he has had one of his best seasons, helped lead the Yankees to a World Series victory, and so far this season the Yanks have the best record in the majors. But if Joe Girardi wants to make the most out of his line up the best decision would be to have Gardner lead off and move Jeter to his old two spot.

How is Yankees - Dodgers a rivalry?

While watching the Yanks-Dodgers Friday night , Michael Kay said something that left me scratching my head (seems like i say that alot with him). Kay mentioned how the Yanks and Dodgers are rivals. I understand with Joe Torre and Don Mattigly both being Yankee royalty once and now wear the Dodgers blue that some may feel this is a rivalry. There are two sides to every story and there are two sides to every rivalry, so lets break it down on why it should and should not be considered a rivalry.







Reasons why it is a rivalry

• 
  The pair of teams have faced off in 66 games in the World Series. The Yankees hold the lead 37-29.






• The rivalry began in Brooklyn before the Mets were around, this was the real subway series.






• In 1955 the Dodgers finally beat the Yankees in seven games. One of the more famous plays from that series is Jackie Robinson stealing home. Yogi Berra to this day claims that Robinson was out.






• The Yanks and Dodgers were two of the best teams during the late 70's. They faced off against each other in the World Series in 1977 and 1978. The Yankees would win both meeting.






• The Dodgers got there revenge on the Yanks in the 1981 World Series winning the series 4-2.






• The final reason and the most recent is Joe Torre agreed to become the Dodgers manager ,signing a three year deal. Once Torre left the Yankees he brought coaches Don Mattingly and Larry Bowa with him.

Reasons why it is not a rivalry

• The Dodgers are no longer in Brooklyn, what was once the original subway series now does not matter since the Mets are the Yankees city rivals.






• They only play each other once every few seasons during interleague play. At one point the teams did not face each other from the 1981 World Series till 2004.






• The last time they played each other in the post season was 1981.






• The younger Yankees and Dodgers fans have not seen them play against each other and have never experienced the rivalry.

With all that being said I feel that this was at one time a great rivalry. But that's if you lived to see them play each other when the Dodgers were in Brooklyn. During that time it was a match up between borough and even during the late 70's many of the fans could still remember the Dodgers,Brooklyn roots. But when the teams don't face each other in the post season in 29 years and have only faced each other in two regular season series since then it can't be called a rivalry anymore.

The Yankee Years : Jeff Weaver Edition

While the Yankees take on Joe Torre and the Dodgers this weekend, I though that it would be a good time to look back on the only Ex-Yankee on the Dodgers Jeff Weaver.

In July 2002 the Yanks looked to make a trade for a starting pitcher. In part of a three way trade including Oakland and Detroit, the Yanks acquired Weaver and traded away Ted Lilly. Looking back the trade was an overall mess, the Yanks got rid of Lilly who would go on to be a decent pitcher and Oakland traded away Jermey Bonderman who has had his struggles in the majors but has also showed flashed of greatness at time (Ex:2006). Once Weaver was a Yankee he would go back and fourth between the bullpen and the rotation.

In Weavers first start as a Yankee he faced the Boston Red Sox and gave up 5 homers yet got a no decision, this game can still be seen time to time on the YES Network as a Yankee Classic (Not because it was Weavers first start,but because Jorge Posada drew a walk off walk).

To start the 2003 season Weaver had to battle Jose Contreras for the 5th starters job. Weaver would win the job, but pitched poorly during the regular season and would be moved back to the bullpen. Weaver never looked confident out on the mound, after giving up a home run or an error was committed by a fielder, Weaver would often fall apart. Most of the season Weaver would get booed off the mound at home but it would get worse for Weaver.

Weaver had been left off both the ALDS and ALCS rosters during the 2003 postseason but was on the World Series roster. In a vital game 4, Weaver came into an extra inning game and pitched a scoreless inning of work, Torre liked what he saw and sent him out there for a second inning of work even though Mariano Rivera was out in the bullpen. Weaver would surrender a game winning home run to light hitting Marlins shortstop Alex Gonzalez. The Marlins never looked back and would go on to win the series. This would be Weavers final pitch as a Yankee.

Although Yankee fans never seemed to like Weaver, i think that they would have loved to keep him if they could predict the future. In the 2003-2004 off season Weaver was traded to the Dodgers for Kevin Brown.

Yankees vs Dodgers preview 6/25

Well it has been much talked about, but tonight will be the first time that Joe Torre faces his old team. I really don't get all the hype since it is not like Torre is coming to Yankee Stadium, but this is the first time he faces the Yankees since writing his book "The Yankee Years" and leaving the Yanks as there manager. Torre is not the only former Yankee, since he brought coaches Don Mattingly and Larry Bowa with him to L.A along with everyone favorite Ex-Yankee Jeff Weaver who is some how still pitching.

The Yankees this weekend will be skipping Phil Hughes start despite he has been arguably there best pitcher. Tonight CC Sabathia will face off against Vincente Padilla. CC last time out had one of his best outings of the season against the Mets going eight innings and allowing no runs. Sabathia had started out the season hot, but cooled down after April, having a couple of rough outing against teams not named the Orioles. With his last start against the Mets, hopefully Sabathia has turned the corner and will continue to pitch well like last season when he was dominent during the summer months and down the strech.

Facing Sabathia tonight will former Texas Ranger Vincente Padillia. Something to look for is this will be the first time that Padillia faces the Yankees since June 2009. During that start Padillia threw at Teixiera twice. Padilla was fined for his actions, but Teixera was still upset claiming that Padilla had thrown at him in the past.Padillia is 1-2 with a 7.65 ERA in four career starts against the Yankees

Notes and facts : The Yankees have not faced the Dodgers since 2004, and the Dodgers have never come to Yankee Stadium.

Derek Jeter is hitting just .195 in his last 10 games, Jeter looks to turn that around tonight against Padilla. Jeter is a career .400 hitter against him (4-10)

Since the Yankees closed out the old stadium in 2008, Dodger stadium now has the largest capacity (56,000)

Welcome to NYY Stars and Pinstripes

Yes i am sure that this has been long awaited but another voice is now part of the Yankees pinstriped blogsphere (Is that even a word?). I can't tell you at this point what exactly will be different from this blog compared to the millions of others, but i do have so things that i plan to incorporate. Those include game recaps that i attend of what is happening in the stands, not just what goes down on the field. Along with my opinion on trades, transactions and a whole lot more. So sit tight and expect much more then this original post as i follow the Yankees on there quest for 28.