Do the Yankees really want to face the Twins this year?

Ah so the other day on Twitter, I saw that someone I followed was taking a poll on who as Yankee fans, they would like to see the Yanks face in the first round. Majority were fine with losing the division and facing the Minnesota Twins in round one, instead of having home field advantage against the Texas Rangers.

So many fans may remember the Twins as the team that the Yankees have beat up on every season since 2003, both during the regular season and during the postseason. In fact this year the Yankees have played better against the Twins (4-2) then they did against the Rangers (4-4). The Yankees faced the Twins twice early in the season when the bombers were playing much better then now, however against the Rangers they would be 1-4 outside of a three game sweep of the Rangers in early April when Texas was still struggling.

What many forget is that even last year when the Yankees swept the Twins in the first round that it was much closer then it seemed. The Twins had used up much of their pitching just to get into the postseason and were forced to start Brian Duensing in game one. Of course that was no match for CC Sabathia who dominated the Twins and gave the Yankees their first postseason victory since 2007.

Game two was not as easy for the bombers, but there were helped out by Carlos Gomez who over ran second base before Delmon Young could score. Nick Blackburn shut down the Yankees bats, even though AJ Burnett was doing the same. Eventually the Twins took a 3-1 lead, scoring two runs off Phil Hughes in the top of the eight. This was when Alex Rodriguez and his magical 2009 season came into play in the bottom of the ninth, when he hit a two run homer off Joe Nathan. To many Nathan was considered to be the best closer outside of Mariano Rivera until this season when he had season ending elbow surgery. The Yanks and Twins went to extra innings, in the top of the 11th inning of play the Twins had the bases loaded with no outs, but the Yankees managed to overcome a miracle and get out of the jam. The bottom of the 11th Mark Teixeira hit a line drive down the left field line and just like that the Yankees had a 2-0 series lead. This was a game the Twins could have easily had, but blew so many opportunity's.

In game three the Twins had old pal Carl Pavano on the mound against Andy Pettitte. From the start the Yankee hitters could hit Carl Pavano who earlier that season had quieted the Yankee bats. Pettitte was doing the same thing but the Twins drew first blood against Andy in the bottom of the sixth to give them a 1-0 lead. The Yanks had struggled against Pavano all night, but once again A-Rod came up and homered to tie the score, and moments later Jorge Posada also hit a solo shot,this time to give the Yankees the lead. Pavano struck out nine Yankees that night, and gave the Twins every chance to win. But the Twins pen gave up two more runs and the Yanks pen gave up none.

The Yankees of course won, but many forget that it wasn't as easy at it seemed. It helped in game two that the bombers had home field advantage (along with a effective Burnett), but this time they wouldn't.

The Twins this season have already won the division and are just waiting on who the opponent will be. All the talk is about the Rangers pitching since it has the big name Cliff Lee, but the Twins may have a better staff overall. They have Pavano again who is having a revival season (17-11 3.83), Francisco Liriano (14-9 3.48) and Scott Baker. The Twins also have a stacked bullpen and have three relievers that have been closers on other teams in Jon Rauch, Brian Fuentes and Matt Capps.

The Twins may not have the same offense that the Texas Rangers have, and suffered a blow when Justin Morneau went down (Morneau has begun to work out with the team, although it is unlikely he will see any game action). Jim Thome has stepped it up in Morneau's absence, Michael Cuddyer and Justin Kubel have been having great seasons as well. Joe Mauer has only hit nine home runs this season and is day to day with inflammation in his left knee. But when the playoffs come around that shouldn't stop him from at least being the DH.

The Yanks would be at Target Field for ALDS games 1,2 &5

The only thing that I do like about the possible match up is that the Twins don't steal bases. In fact they only have one player (Denard Span) that has double diget steals (26). Posada will be behind the plate, most of the postseason and it has been noted that his defensive skills have declined with age.

With the way the Yankees have played in September (12-15 record), a lot of negativity and questioning surrounds the club. The Rays also have struggled in September, practically giving the Yanks a shot at the division title over these past few days. It seems as if neither team wants the crown, but along with the division comes home field advantage and a chance to avoid a first round match up in Minnesota.

The streak continues! A-Rod 14 straight seasons of 30/100

This has to be one of the toughest seasons for A-Rod, he struggled early in the season to hit for power and spent much of the season with nagging injuries. But once again Alex showed why nobody should count him out. A-Rod had gotten 100 RBI long ago, but the big question would be if he would get to 30 home runs. Well tonight against the Blue Jays A-Rod sent number 30 over the left field fence to give him 14 straight seasons of 30 and 100, very impressive.


Last season A-Rod hit two home runs and seven RBI's in the final game of the season to give him 30/100. Some including myself felt that was the way he showed that he was ready for the 2009 postseason, and we all know what happened then. This past week A-Rod has been hot once again and has managed to reach 30/100 in the last week of the season. Lets see now how he does in the 2010 postseason.

Even philosophers have a take on the Yankees...

Alright so this isn't the most exciting thing ever but earlier today myself and MJ from wcwpsports.com had to make a class presentation about philosophers and a current topic. We chose to act as radio hosts for our campus radio station and relate the Yanks and the philosophers, here ya go....


Machiavelli: 6 o clock, welcome to the Sportswire, 88.1 WCWP. Machiavelli and Aristotle with you till 7. Call us at 516-299-2790. Leading off with some 2010 Yankees Baseball and Aristotle, this team really limping their way into the post-season. They have some questions to answer don’t they?

Aristotle: You’re absolutely right and the biggest question mark is starting pitching and who they could lean on after C.C. Sabathia?

Machiavelli: Let’s start with the young guy, Phil Hughes. Yankees took an absolutely wrong approach in dealing with this guy! What’s the deal with this an innings limit? I don’t comprehend the idea of putting a 17 game winner and only letting him pitch 175 innings.

Aristotle: Disagree, it’s all about finding a medium with this guy. Nothing in excess, nothing to deficient. Save him for the long-term and don’t throw his arm out after one season.

Machiavelli: But he is your best pitcher after Sabathia this season, you need to take a head on approach with him in his final couple of games and not just limit him before the post-season, that won’t get him ready.

Aristotle: Alright, well moving on from Hughes let’s talk about AJ Burnett. This guy has just 4 wins since July 1st and is 10-15 with a 5.33 ERA. What a joke he has been and the problem I think he has right now, is that he has no idea who he is. He’s lost all confidence in his pitches, his command is all over the plate, he’s just lost his identity.

Machiavelli: So what’s the plan of action if you’re Girardi?

Aristotle: No way this guy can be relied upon in the playoffs. Let him work things out, hopefully, in the off-season where he work on his faults and become a better pitcher. Again, he needs to know who he is. There is no reason to jeopardize the good of the team by sending him out on the mound this season.

Machiavelli: Moving away from the pitchers, let’s talk about some position players

Aristotle: One of the bigger stories of the Yankees season has been Brett Gardner. Here’s a guy who has surprised everyone in left field but at the same time, might be challenged once Tampa Bay Outfielder Carl Crawford hits the open market in free agency, do you think the Yanks should pursue him?

Machiavelli: You know my feelings. If you have the money to get someone, go and get them! Don’t wait around and let another team scoop up one of the best players in the game. It will make them better and not you. You have to beat them to the punch and the Yankees organization has the tools to get him…Right now we got a caller on the line, this is St. Thomas Aquinas. Thomas, how’s it going?

St.Thomas Aquinas – Hey guys, first time caller, long time listener. I disagree with what Machiavelli is saying about Carl Crawford. I don’t like the idea of the Yankees just using all these millions of dollars and consuming and consuming. I believe in building from within. Brett Gardner started in our minor leagues, was drafted by the team…his roots are in New York. Enough of this spending spree of buying players.

Machiavelli – Well, thanks for the call Thomas, appreciate it. The Yankees going out and spending money is nothing illegal. They are simply getting these players before anyone else. Why risk being hurt by the Red Sox if they sign a big time free agent. If you can prevent it, do so.

Aristotle: So all in all, the Yankees post-season could go either way. They could either falter due to their questions in the rotation, especially with Phil Hughes and AJ Burnett. Or, they could repeat because of their young talent like Brett Gardner. No matter how it ends up, it should make for an interesting October.

Machiavelli: There you have it, the Sportswire on 88.1 FM WCWP. We are out of time for tonight, join us tomorrow where Aristotle and myself will be chatting about the debacle that was the 2010 Mets, you won’t want to miss that.

Cano goes Boom

I like the commercial overall since it contains my favorite Yankees player Cano and an all time Raiders great Bo Jackson.

Is it time to panic in the Bronx ? Hughes to start tonight, not Moseley

From the New York Times : "The Yankees, mired in a four-game losing streak and struggling to clinch a playoff spot, decided to start Phil Hughes against the Red Sox on Sunday for his regular turn in the rotation. The Yankees had planned to start Dustin Moseley to give Hughes extra rest for the postseason. Starting pitching has been a particular concern over the course of the losing streak after poor appearances by C.C. Sabathia, A.J. Burnett, Andy Pettitte and Ivan Nova. After the Yankees’ loss on Saturday, Alex Rodriguez said: “It starts with starting pitching. We have to have someone come in and shut the door and step up. It’s hard to play with an edge when you’re down five or six runs.”

Sounds like Girardi is starting to panic, with the Red Sox taking the first two games of the series and the Yankees playing awful this month (6-13 record) Joe is trying to get something going. I will say that I do believe that the Yanks are going to make the playoffs via the wild card but a collapse is completely possible. With the way the Yanks are playing, then add in the fact that they have strugggled against the Blue Jays this season, and they still have three games left in Fenway Park.

Hughes and the Yankees won't give up just yet.

Girardi has made alot of questionable descsions this month, this could become another one if it turns out to be a Red Sox victory. Sure Moseley doesnt have as much talent as Hughes, but earlier this season on August 8th Moseley pitched phenomenal against the BoSox. I would have liked to see Dustin get a chance to start and if he stunk they could have gone to the bullpen, or even use Hughes to keep the game close.

Seems like Girardi is starting to feel the pressure coming down on the Yanks, lets just hope he doesnt fault under it.

Yankee Stadium Experience : Yankees vs Red Sox 9-24-2010

It had been a few weeks since I was at Yankee Stadium.Class has started back up, along with working I have been pretty busy, but a Yanks vs Sox match up could not keep me away. I had bought tickets for this game all the way back in March, when tickets went on sale to the general public so I wasn't sitting in my usual seats, but instead in 434B a.k.a the last section in the left field upper deck.

While driving down River Ave I took a picture of what was once a parking lot, that has been turned into a park. The parking lot use to be right across from the old stadium, but now it would be considered a longer walk. Some may remember this lot because it was very small (possibly a private lot) and along the back wall was a mural that included Mantle,Ruth, Munson and many other Yankee greats.

What once was a parking lot is now a playground.

After my friend and I parked we walked around River Ave a bit looking at the shops, I had been looking for a Paul O'Neill shirt. After looking at a poorly done knock off, I choose to buy a shirt from bleacher creature Bald Vinny.

It was almost 5pm and the gates to the stadium were soon going to be opening, the lines to get in were absolutely ridiculous, so long you have thought the playoffs had began already. But before we went in we went into the McDonald's across the street. I had never been inside, but it is one of , if not the cleanest McDonald's I had ever been in.

Eventually we went into the stadium, the entire season I have brought in a small drawstring backpack with water and a few snacks and security never even checked the bag. This time the guard went all out searching, maybe cause the Red Sox were in town.

As I wandered around to gate 2, I noticed they got rid of the clearance stand and the kiddie cart and speed pitch were back. My friend Jerry did the speed pitch and hit 62 MPH (while throwing his arm out, but in his defense I have hit against him before and I believe he could throw a bit harder). Apparently if you hit a certain MPH they give you a prize and he won a 2009 World Series lanyard and a poster that was out dated mentioning 26 rings. It should be noted that gate 2, was an absolute ghost town, even the employees looked really bored.

Before we hiked to our seats we walked around each level. After visiting the stadium so many times you see things and hear about them but never actually try/ visit them. In this case it was the team store on the main level. I never bother to go into the team stores cause they are often over crowded and over priced. The coolest thing was that I had never realized that the store looked above the entrance to gate 4.

All the walking around worked up an appetite, so I purchased nachos from Wholly Guacamole for $8.50 (how warped am I that I consider that reasonable ?). The seats weren't that bad even though we were very far away from the action. Seemed like the crowd was going to be sparse since 10 minutes before game time, there were plenty of empty seats but when the game began they filled up.



Annoying Red Sox fan

Just from walking around it didn't seem like many Red Sox fans were around, maybe because they realize that their team stinks ? That their season is over ? Or Mets fans realized that this season they couldn't turn into Red Sox fans. But of course where I was sitting I had to deal with two of the most Red Sox creatures alive (they don't deserve to be called people). One was an annoying woman behind me that screamed over everything that happened, and the other was a guy who was wearing a Ortiz jersey and had a red mohawk. More on them in a bit.



I had been excited to see Andy Pettitte face Josh Beckett but soon that excitement turned to anger once the Red Sox started to tee off on Andy, while the Yankees struggled to hit Beckett early. The Yankees were down, but after back to back homers by Tex and A-Rod the crowd began to get back into the game. Swisher would also add a two run shot to close the gap to 10-5. The worst part was that the fans attempted to do the wave at one point.

Once A-Rod hit his second homer of the night to pass Sammy Sosa on the all time list, it began to get a bit crazy in my section. The entire night the Red Sox fan with the mohawk had been obnoxious and yelling, some fans were yelling back at him but it never got too bad. Eventually one female Yankees fan had enough of him and decided to throw a soda in his face, the Sox fan threw his right back at her. She was kicked out, he got to stay. It should be known that security did have to call him over at least five times during the game to tell him to stop. He was eventually tossed in the ninth inning, but the annoying lady behind me was still around.



Mohawk Red Sox fan getting tossed



The Yankees rally fell short in the ninth even with Tex hitting a solo shot to make it 10-8 and Cano coming up as the tying run.



Just a few quick things, Tex now comes up to "Good Vibration" by Marky Mark. I liked it better when he came up to "I wanna rock". Another thing is why in the world do they still have Nick Johnson in the match game and in the videos they play on the scoreboard. They show Rocky getting pumped and then Nick Johnson ? Talk about complete opposites.

The next time I will be at the stadium will be for the ALDS. Thanks for reading.

Yankees Postseason pre-sale results

Ah the temperature is starting to drop, soon the leafs will be changing colors and most importantly Postseason baseball will return in the Bronx. With that Postseason baseball comes Postseason tickets and this morning partial plan holders were able to get first crack at October baseball in the Bronx.

The waits were still long but most fans including myself ended up happy, purchasing tickets to the Yanks in action at home. It was great to see that although the waiting time was long and frustrating that many fans over at NYYFans got tickets (Best Yankees message board in my opinion).

As for myself I was able to get a pair of tickets for ALDS home game 2 in section 414 row 13, and ALCS home game 1 in section 410 row 12. World Series tickets go on sale at a later date.Now lets hope that the Yankees can hold of the Rays and get home field advantage.

If you don't have a plan, it will be tough to grab a ticket from the Yankees but the sale date is set for Monday October 4th at 10:00 AM.

The Yankees split with these guys ?

What a bad way for the Yankees to lose these last two games, after winning the first two. The Yankees last three series are against the Blue Jays (3 games) and Red Sox (6 games), while the Rays face the Mariners, Orioles and Royals. The worst part is that the Yankees lost to a bunch of guys who dress like this....



Joe Madden, David Price and Evan Longoria along with the rest of the Rays.



Yankees notes : who's hot/not , pitching match ups & postseason presale

The bombers have just a game and a half lead in the division with just four home games left during the regular season. The Yanks and Rays have lived up to the expectation of a race till the end, and tonight it gets even better. CC Sabathia and David Price will be on the hill, two potential Cy Young award winners battling for the division. Last Monday the pair of lefties faced off and each proved why they each deserve consideration for the award, throwing a combined 16 innings and allowing just five hits combined. So expect a pitchers dual tonight at the stadium. The Yankees win and the lead goes back up to 2 1/2 games but if they lost it will be just 1/2 game with nine games remaining.The Yankees magic number to clinch a playoff birth is three.        

The pitching match ups for the final Yankees vs Red Sox series in the Bronx for 2010 :

Friday 7:05 YES Network: Andy Pettitte (11-2) vs Josh Becket (5-5).

Pettitte will make his first start at home since suffering the groin injury in July. While Josh Beckett, who has been beat up by the Yankees over his career (except in the 2003 World Series) attempts to prevent the Yankees from clinching a playoff birth.  Beckett has a career 6.23 ERA against the Yankees and needs to watch out for Robinson Cano who has hit .341 against him along with three homers.

Saturday 4:05 Fox : Jon Lester(18-8) vs Ivan Nova (1-0).
Looks like a mismatch for the Yankees who will go with the inexperienced Nova. Nova has pitched well the first two times through the line up and then hits a bump in the road. Lester on the other hand never hits bumps against the Yanks (5-1 3.63 ERA ). Cano (.227), Posada (.231) and Nick Swisher (.133) all had had their struggles with Lester over their career. This one looks like a win for the BoSox.

Sunday 8:05 ESPN : Daisuke Matsuzaka (9-6) vs Phil Hughes (17-8)
You know its a Yankees-Red Sox weekend when Fox and ESPN each have a game that they are airing, even if the Red Sox are out of it. The Yanks have hit Dice-k hard (ERA 6.31) but the Red Sox have done the same to Hughes (5.81) , so expect a slug fest for the final regular season home game.

Who's hot
Curtis Granderson may be only hitting .256 but his four home runs and 12 RBI have helped the bombers beat up on the Rays in the first two games of the series. Curtis also has drawn seven walks.

Shh don't look now but Derek Jeter has an 11 game hit streak and over that time is hitting .357. So much for Jeter being finished for his career, the hot streak comes at the perfect time. Lets hope he can keep this up during the post season.

Could Cano pick a better time to continue his hot hitting ? Over his last 10 games hitting .350, while driving in nine. Josh Hamilton has been sidelined since September 4th, suddenly Cano could really make a fight for why he should be MVP.


Who's not
Tex has been battling injuries since the end of August and it has shown hitting just .176 during this month with out a home run.

Austin Kearns had looked like a great pick up when he first came over for Cleveland but recently has cooled off , hitting just .214 and battling a few nagging injuries.

Last thing don't forget that if you are a Yankees partial season ticket plan holder that the pre-sale is tomorrow starting at 10:00 AM. Your password for the sale can be found in you Yankees account manager page.

The House of Steinbrenner : Review

Two years ago yesterday the Yankees closed out the old Yankee Stadium with a 7-3 victory over the Baltimore Orioles. At the end of the game Derek Jeter gave an emotional speech about how things wouldn't change the next season at the new ball park. That old stadium, where Yankee icons had played for 85 seasons was always called "The house that Ruth built", but in 2009 the Yankees would be playing across the street in "The house that George built".

When George Steinbrenner passed away in mid-July, I remembered reading that ESPN was going to have a documentary about his life later this year. I had forgotten about it completely until this past week, when again it was mentioned in a newspaper article this time talking about the monument Steinbrenner received Monday.

My first complaint about the documentary which was an ESPN 30:30 presentation , was that it aired the same night as the Yankees played the Rays. Most Yankees fans I know would rather watch the two teams face off then to watch the documentary. Lucky for myself the show aired again on ESPN2 at 11pm, after the Yanks had beaten the Rays.

The show starts with the 2009 Yankees championship parade down the canyon of hero's in New York City. It shows the joy of the fans and players, along with some footage of how the 2009 championship was for the boss. But before it gets too in depth about the Yankees championship run it flashes back to September 21st,2008 , the last game ever at the old Yankee Stadium.

Barbara Kopple gets great footage of fans visibly upset that the old building is coming to a close and talks to many sad fans who are sad to see the old park go. During the entire time that the show was being filmed the Yankees gave Kopple complete media access to the players along with access to the old stadium while it was being torn down.

So far most of this review has been about the stadium, and that's because most of the show seemed to be about the old and new Yankee stadiums. Sure they mentioned George Steinbrenner and had the chance to talk with Hal Steinbrenner, but when it came to footage on George , Kopple does a poor job. Most of the interviews seen during this documentary are old interviews that I had seen clips of in the past , nothing that was original or not seen before.

The most enjoyable part of this film was seeing the workers taking down the old Yankee Stadium and how many of them were also Yankee fans who were sad to see the place come down. When it came to footage about the old ballpark Kopple did a great job of talking to fans and filming various parts of the ballpark being dismantled.

Towards the end of the film, Kopple is outside the new Yankee Stadium before the first regular season game interviewing fans. The fans react in different ways, some saying how they love the new park and they thank George for it, while other fans hate the new park and miss the old stadium. A few fans even say that although George wanted to build the new park , that if he was still around and healthy enough the prices would be lower and it would have been more fan friendly.

If you have an extra hour in your life that you want to spare I would recommend watching this. The film does a nice job of getting footage about the two ballparks, including the death of the old one and the birth of the new one. But if you plan to watch this in hopes of learning a little bit more about George and the Steinbrenner family, well then your looking in the wrong area. Kopple had a good idea trying to blend the two together, but for me it didn't work well.

I found a few clips from the show on youtube interviewing Hal Steinbrenner :

George Steinbrenner monument ceremony 9-20-2010

If you missed it last night, aside from Curtis Granderson going off on the Rays. The Yankees dedicated a monument to late owner George Steinbrenner.

Torre and Mattingly return to the Bronx for first time for unveiling of George Steinbrenners monument

From the New York Post

Joe Torre and Don Mattingly will attend the unveiling of George Steinbrenner’s monument in Monument Park, according to multiple people with knowledge of the names who will be on hand tomorrow night at Yankee Stadium.

The Steinbrenner family invited people with ties to The Boss and Torre and Mattingly responded by telling the Steinbrenners they will attend.

Also expected to attend are Yogi Berra, Reggie Jackson, David Wells, David Cone. Lou Piniella was attempting to make the unveiling prior to the first of a four-game series against the Rays.

Well all I can say is I didn't see that coming. Maybe with all the talk about Torre retiring and Mattingly taking over as the Dodgers manager, Torre would like to make peace with the Yankees. If that is the case it shouldn't be long before we see Joe Torre day or Torre getting a front office job (could him and Cashman get along ?).

Although I am excited to see the reaction both get from the fans, something doesn't seem right that they should steal the spot light from George. George would want all the eyes to be on him, and it should be that way.

Third times a charm ? CC Sabathia goes for win 20 tonight

The last time CC was on the mound against the Orioles he was roughed up for five runs and gave up 9 hits. Sabathia was standing at 19 wins then , and is still stuck on 19. The hefty lefty has never won 20 games in his career and tonight he hopes that his third try for 20 is the night he gets it.

Last time out against the Rays, Sabathia was lights out but so was David Price who matched the zeros CC was throwing. Although last time Sabathia may have been roughed up against the birds, his past performances have been great, going 13-2 with a 2.81 ERA in his career.

Not only has CC beaten up on the Orioles, but the pitcher for the O's is Jeremy Guthrie has been beaten up by the Yankees in the past. Guthrie who is notorious for plunking many Yankees over the years (of the top of my head this season Jorge Posada was hit in the knee and Derek Jeter has been plunked numerous times) has a record of 3-8 against the Yanks with an ERA hovering above five.

So will tonight be the night CC gets 20 ? I sure think so, its a must win for the Yankees and Sabathia has always come up large (no pun intended) when they need him. The Yankees need some momentum, after a streak of struggling and dropping some games in the standings last night A-Rod gave the Yankees what could be a defining moment in this pennant race. The Yanks just need CC to build upon that, and it would be great for him to do that tonight while gaining win number 20.

Yankees vs Rays just don't sell like Yanks - BoSox

The Rays may have gained a short lived lead in the AL East this past week, when they took two of three from the bombers but it doesn't mean that they are now a hot ticket. The division race is not over , and the Yanks and Rays will face each at the start of next week September 20-23, a four game series at Yankee Stadium.

Maybe it is because it is during the week, and school is back in session but the ticket prices for that series can be had for below face value. This year has been a tough one if you sell a lot of tickets since the Yankees market became flooded and seats were widely available for cheap. But in the middle of a pennant race against a team that is just half a game back is crazy. I'll admit that I sold two of the games I had from this series early in the season because I figured that by this time the Yankees would have a nice lead and the series wouldn't mean that much. Tickets can be had for as low as $8 on Stubhub for the series. It should also be noted that on three of the four nights there will be a promotional giveaway (including a Yankees Snoopy doll).

So while the Rays series is going for less then face, when the Red Sox come into town the next night the prices are above face. The Red Sox are currently six games back , and just don't seem to have that fight to get back into the mix. Yet because its Boston and the whole rivalry the prices are reasonably high. Another factor could also be because it is the last regular season series and it is being played on the weekend.

So while the Red Sox series may come when the Yankees are about to clinch a playoff berth, it wont have the same rivalry feeling. The Red Sox will be out of contention and will have young players in the game, not the old usual suspects that Yankee fans love to hate. Meanwhile the Tampa Bay series will feel much more like a playoff game, with every single pitch mattering. It just shows that even with the Rays being one of the best teams in baseball, coming to Yankee Stadium for a possible ALCS preview, the New York vs Boston rivalry holds stronger.

2010 Postseason Yankees Pre-on-sale Information

Today I received an e-mail from the Yankees regarding the 2010 Postseason pre-sale.

Friday 9/24 -Ticket holders may purchase tickets online only to the ALDS and ALCS. For both series their will be a two ticket limit for the entire series, so pick accordingly to what game you want.

Monday 10/18- World Series pre-sale. Online only , also two ticket limit for the series.

The Yankees also will randomly select a few hundred plan holders and give then a pre-pre sale. Yes that is very confusing.

The Yankees announced the prices for the postseason about a week ago, and they can be found here . Currently the Yanks are half a game behind the Rays for the AL East, and the winner of the east will get home field advantage throughout the playoffs.

New favorite Yankees commercial

Nothing gets me more pumped for October then to watch this commercial for Johnnie Walker. Even though we still have two weeks left in the regular season I cant wait for the chase for 28.

 

Save that date ! 2011 preliminary Yankees schedule released

It seems like just yesterday Curtis Granderson was starting his Yankees career at Fenway Park with a home run. Boy, how the season has gone by so quick, and next thing you know the off season will be back and the winter doldrums will be sneaking back in. But anyways before this gets out of hand and I complain about winter, the 2011 preliminary schedule was released today and can be found here .

If you are too lazy to click the link, or would just like to read some of the tidbits here we go :

• The Yanks open at home against the Detroit Tigers. It will be two seasons that the current Yankee Stadium is up, but can we still call it New Yankee Stadium ?
• They play 18 games at home in April. I hate this since it will be cold and New York is known for poor weather during this time of year. Will also kill season ticket holders who are trying to re-sell games.
• The Red Sox make their first trip to the Bronx on May 13-15th, while the Yankees will be greeted at Fenway April 8-10th.
• The Yankees visit the Rays for a short two game starting May 16th, this will be their first meeting of the season.
• This year the Mets come to the Bronx in May and the Yankees go to Queens in July.
• Whether you hate of love interleague play it is here to stay. The bombers visit the Cubs and Reds , and host the Brewers and Rockies. It will be the first time the Brewers have faced the Yankees at Yankee Stadium since they were an American League team.
• The Rays don't come to the Bronx until July 7th.
• The Yanks should get use to having their suitcase with them in August, they play 20 games on the road.
• Once again the Yankees end the season on the road in Tampa Bay. This has bothered me for a while, the last time the Yankees ended the season at home was 2006, the time before that was 2003.
• The 2011 season will end on a Wednesday.

Yanks looking up in the standings



Jeter and the Yanks are looking up in the standings.

 Heart breaking loss for the bombers last night but with the way manager Joe Girardi was working the bull pen you could see it coming. Why in the world would you have Chad Gaudin and Sergio Mitre in a game against the Rays who are just half a game behind ? These pitchers have been long relievers the entire season and now you are bringing them in to games that count. It just doesn't work that way, and it doesn't matter if you want to rest a few pitchers in the pen or the long relievers had thrown well. Instead I would have liked to see Joba or even Albaledejo in the game instead of Sergio and Chad, or even let Boone Logan face more then one batter.

The Yankees have now lost 7 out 8 and dropped into second place. Tonight they send Ivan Nova to the mound, and although he has had a few nice outings, he is still a rookie who wasn't in the rotation a few months ago. By losing game one it will have to be an uphill climb for the Yanks but lucky for them they still have six more games against these pesky Rays. But until then they will be looking up at Tampa, and hoping to regain first in the east to gain home field advantage throughout the playoffs.

Jay-Z & Eminem awkward interview from back in May

In honor of the Jay-Z/Eminem concert that is being held tonight at Yankee Stadium,while the Yankees are battling the Rays for first, here is an interview that was held on YES during a Yankees vs Tigers game. I had always wondered that Jay's response would be to when asked about " Making the Yankee hat more famous then a Yankee can".

  

Who would have ever guessed that Michael Kay would be more hood then Ken Singleton ? Or is it that Singleton is just whiter then Kay ? Either way Eminem made that interview very strange and awkward.

Yankees half game up over the Rays with 19 to play

While most of the country will be watching the football season start, I know I'll be tuning into the Yanks and Rangers. The Yankees have lost the last two games in heart breaking fashion, both games they could have easily won. Joba did his best impression of himself, replicating game 4 of the 2009 World Series when he gave up a home run to Pedro Feliz. Well this time he gave up the tying shot to Nelson Cruz. A few innings later with Chad Gaudin in Cruz homered again for the win. The last night after a clutch hit by Alex Rodriguez, Mariano Rivera walks two batters and hits a batter to give the Rangers a victory. So it is safe to say the Yankees cant wait to leave Texas.

The bombers may want to bolt from the lone star state, but it wont get much easier. The Yankees will head to Tropicana field to play the surging Rays and defend their slim lead in first. It will be like a small playoff preview, the games should be sold out down in Tampa (if they are not then they don't deserve to have a team anymore). If the season ended today and the Yanks won the AL East, they would have to face the Texas Rangers. The Rangers may have been swept in the Bronx in April, but since then the Rangers have had their way with the Yanks outside of one game that the bombers came back to win. So winning the Wild Card may not be the worst thing in the world for the Yankees, since they would get to face the Twins.

The date in Yankees history : 2009 Derek Jeter becomes the Yankees hit king

September 11th 2009 : Derek Jeter had needed to just one hit on a rainy night in the Bronx to pass Lou Gehrig as the Yankees all time hits leader. Fans around baseball felt that the accomplishment was being over hyped, but if you are a fan of the Yankees or live in New York you realize what it meant.

Lou Gehrig is one of the many iconic figures in Yankees history, and held the Yankees hit record for 72 years. But on this night, at the new Yankee Stadium Derek Jeter would pass that record and further his historic Yankees career.

2009 was one of Jeter's best overall seasons, he hit for a high average and won a gold glove. The same statement can not be said for his 2010 season, almost all of his stats this season are careers lows and well below his career average.

The stage is set for Jay-Z and Eminem at Yankee Stadium

While the Yankees are on this tough road trip, the stage is being set for a memorable concert in the Bronx. No literally they are setting up the stage for the concert. This is the first concert to be held at the new Yankee Stadium. B.O.B is set to open for the two rap legends, but the biggest thing I want to know is does Jay-Z open or close with Empire state of mind ?

Here is a clip of Jay and Alicia Keys from last years World Series.

Yankees Quick Hits : Hughes, Pettitte and a quick glance at the upcoming roadtrip

The Yankees start a road trip tonight in Texas against the Rangers. This is going to be one of the toughest road trips of the season for the bombers, they have just a 2.5 game lead in the AL East and will have to face the Rays,Rangers and the Orioles all on the road.

• Phil Hughes since the All Star break hasn't pitched well going 5-5 with a 5.47 ERA. His innings limit for this season look to be safe, but if the Yankees can they should think of giving him a start off.

• Andy Pettitte pitched four scoreless inning Thursday night in his first rehab start in Trenton. Pettitte didn't suffer any set backs, always a good sign. It has not been said what the next step will be for Pettitte but I would think that he would only need another rehab start and then he could be back with the team.
• Brett Gardner has 40 steals this season, the last Yankees player to steal 40 bases was Alfonso Soriano in 2002.
• Damaso Marte and Alfredo Aceves will not return this season, Joe Girardi announced. Both played large roles in 2009, Marte was great in the 2009 Postseason , while Aceves was a crutial part of the bullpen and was one of the reasons the Yanks made the playoffs.
• Derek Jeter claims he doesn't care what his batting average is as long as the Yankees keep winning. But it is strange to see the captain hitting just .262. Over his last ten games Jeter is hitting just .125 . Through the first two months of the season Jeter's average was at .302 , but in June he hit .243  and that trend continued. In July he hit .245 , August .239 and so far in September just .172

Swish saves the day

The Yankees were 2 outs away from being swept by the Baltimore Orioles when Nick Swisher showed some opposite field power and deposited a home run into the visitors bullpen. The walk off came at a time when the Yankees needed it most, having lost three straight after an eight game winning streak. The bombers job ain't over yet since they will have a tough road trip ahead facing the Rangers and Rays on the road, but the walk off by Swisher makes the trip start on a positive note.

Yankees vs Orioles brawl from 1998

Oh to think that in 1998 I was just an eight year old kid, who was still claiming to be a Marlins fan and my favorite players were Gary Sheffield and a young Derek Jeter.


That season the Yankees had a year for the ages and set team records. They also got into a big fight with the Orioles that to this day is one of the better baseball brawls.




A few notes :
Armando Benitez would later be a closer with the Mets and even had a short stint with the Yankees in 2003. Ironically Benitez was traded from the Yankees to the Mariners for Jeff Nelson who he fought with in the brawl.

I can remember watching the 1998 season Yankeeography and they talked about the brawl. Gene Monahan said that the tissue in Tino's back was damaged from the fastball he recieved from Benitez.

Its really strange to see the stadium that empty, heck in the clip Bernie hits a homer into the upper deck and not a single fan is in view. Boy how times have changed, I'm shocked now when the Yankees draw a few thousand under capacity of the new stadium.

Yankee Stadium Experiences : 9/6/10 Baltimore Orioles come to town on Labor Day

Welcome back to another edition of Yankee Stadium experiences, this time it was the Yankees facing the Baltimore Orioles on Labor Day.

For most Yankee games I attend I go with someone who drives to the Bronx. This time I went via public transportation (go green!) so my morning started with taking the Long Island Rail Road to Penn Station. From Penn Station, I took the A train to Columbus Circle then I hopped on the D train. The subway was a lot quicker then I had remembered from the last time I went.

Once I got to the stadium, the crowd outside of gate 6 was huge, lots of people were mulling about all around on Babe Ruth plaza. Instead I went to gate 8, their was no line at all and the security workers were just standing around chatting. I may have mentioned this before but gate 8 is always the quickest way into the stadium (also the quickest way to monument park).

Once inside I wondered around and went to gate 2, to check out the kiddie cafe cart. But instead I was surprised to see a make shift team store in its place. The store is selling former player tees and other shirts relating to 2009 events for $10. They also had pins and lanyards for $ 1 and hats ( sized 7 7/8 - 8 only) for $10. I purchased a pair of lanyards that hold tickets.

I was sitting in my usual bleacher seats, this year most of the games in my plan had been night games, I had forgotten how hot the sun is out there. After the first inning my guest and I headed for shade, so we found a place to stand on the field level. We stayed down on field level from the second inning till about the sixth inning. The entire time their was an entire section of empty bleacher cafe seats, the entire time the security guard kicked people out who sat their or even put down their food. I can understand doing that early in the game, but by the fifth you have to realize nobody is coming. Just another bad job by the Yanks security.

The game was pretty exciting even though I saw A.J Burnett pitch for what felt like the 100th time. The Yankees came back from a two run deficit but Burnett couldn't keep the birds down and they would take the lead. The Yanks bats were silenced by star relievers Jim Johnson and Koji Uehara (sarcasm referring to star) and the bombers lost the game 4-3.

The season is coming to an end and since my college starts back up tomorrow so I have sold off most of my remaining games, but my final game before hopefully the playoffs is against the Boston Red Sox.

Some pictures from the match up :

What happened to the good ol' program booth.

Kei Igawa as part of the $10 shirts

This ad I found funny for the Jets on the LIRR

Best off season move for 2010 season : Marcus Thames

When the Yankees gave Marcus Thames a non guaranteed contract in February, it seemed like an after thought. Many teams sign players that are trying to catch on with a team to spring training and then either send them to AAA or cut them.

The Yankees had gotten Nick Johnson to fill the DH spot, along with Randy Winn to be the fourth outfielder, so Thames had a slim chance of making the team. But much to my surprise Thames made the team, and the Yankees carried five outfielders, Thames role was to hit against lefty starting pitching. I figured it wouldn't be long before Thames was gone, hes a great hitter but the Yankees had Nick Johnson at DH and Girardi planned to rest the older regulars at that spot. Thames is a poor defender so at the time was it really necessary for the Yanks to just have one player on the team to hit against lefties?

This season Thames got off to a good start and Yankees fans embraced him for his walk off home run against Jonathan Papelbon and the Red Sox in May. The love for Thames, who go the first pie of the 2010 season didn't last long, as the next night he dropped a key fly ball in the outfield and the Yanks lost the game.

Thames spent some time on the DL and missed most of June. But looking at his current numbers, it is easy to say that this has been the best pick up that Brian Cashman made this past off season. Thames already has 11 homers in only 165 at bats, not only is Thames hitting homers but he is hitting .327 against left handed pitching.

Thames recently gave the Yankees a huge spark while Alex Rodriguez was out, but even with A-Rod back Thames should see more playing time. Lance Berkman has struggled since coming to the Bronx and Austin Kearns can play the field instead of Brett Gardner.

I understand that during the playoffs Thames may not get many chances, other then at DH against a lefty pitcher. But Thames could always come off the bench and pinch hit, making a team re-think about bringing a lefty in for Curtis Granderson or Brett Gardner. With the Postseason arriving, and Thames possibly being on the bench as a pinch hitter, we should enjoy these Happy Thames !

2010 Yankees Postseason Schedule and Ticket Information

The playoff schedules and ticket info have been announced so far, even though the bombers wont know who they are facing. So even though it may seem early to be discussing postseason schedules and ticket information, it is appropriate since the Yankees have a game and a half up on Tampa and the Red Sox are close to being the dead sox. So with that, here are the two possible American League Division Series schedules, followed by the American League Championship Series and last the World Series.

If the Yankees have home field advantage :
ALDS Game 1 : Wednesday 10/6/10 at Yankee Stadium
ALDS Game 2: Thursday 10/7/10 at Yankee Stadium
ALDS Game 3: Saturday 10/9/10 at away
ALDS Game 4: Sunday 10/10/10 at away
ALDS Game 5: Tuesday 10/12/10 at Yankee Stadium


If the opponent has home field advantage:
ALDS Game 1 : Wednesday 10/6/10 at away

ALDS Game 2: Thursday 10/7/10 at away
ALDS Game 3: Saturday 10/9/10 at Yankee Stadium
ALDS Game 4: Sunday 10/10/10 at Yankee Stadium
ALDS Game 5: Tuesday 10/12/10 at away

To have home field advantage in the ALDS all the Yankees have to do it win the AL East and have the best or second best records in baseball. Currently the Yankees own the best record in baseball.


If the Yankees make it to the ALCS their would be two different schedules. Of the two teams playing, who ever has the better record and won their division will have home field advantage.

If the Yankees have home field advantage :

ALCS Game 1: Friday 10/15/10 at Yankee Stadium

ALCS Game 2 : Saturday 10/16/10 at Yankee Stadium

ALCS Game 3: Monday 10/18/10 at away

ALCS Game 4: Tuesday 10/19/10 at away

ALCS Game 5 : Wednesday 10/20/10 away
ALCS Game 6 : Friday 10/22/10 at Yankee Stadium
ALCS Game 7 : Saturday 10/23/10 at Yankee Stadium

If the opponent has home field advantage :

ALCS Game 1: Friday 10/15/10 at away

ALCS Game 2 : Saturday 10/16/10 at away
ALCS Game 3: Monday 10/18/10 at Yankee Stadium
ALCS Game 4: Tuesday 10/19/10 at Yankee Stadium
ALCS Game 5 : Wednesday 10/20/10 at Yankee Stadium
ALCS Game 6 : Friday 10/22/10 at away
ALCS Game 7 : Saturday 10/23/10 at away


Since the American League lost the All Star game, partially due to Phil Hughes. The National League will get home field advantage.

WS Game 1 : Wednesday 10/27/10 at National League park
WS Game 2 : Thursday 10/28/10 at National League park
WS Game 3: Saturday 10/30/10 at Yankee Stadium
WS Game 4 : Sunday 10/31/10 at Yankee Stadium
WS Game 5 : Monday 11/1/10 at Yankee Stadium
WS Game 6 : Wednesday 11/3/10 at National League park
WS Game 7 : Thursday 11/4/10 at National League park

If you want to attend a game, its going to be tough since the Yankees have so many season ticket and partial plans that the general public will not have a great chance of picking up games from the Yankees at face value. But here is a run down of the ticket prices for each series. 


For the ALDS

Field Level seats run from $81-$256
Main Level seats run from $51-$131

Terrace Level seats $46-$71

Grandstand $23 or $29

Bleachers $6 or $14

For the ALCS

Field Level runs from $146-$381

Main Level runs from $101-$197

Terrace Level runs from $91-$131

Grandstand $43 or $54

Bleachers $11or $27

For the World Series

Field Level runs from $181-$456

Main Level runs from $156-$231

Terrace Level runs from $131-$181

Grandstand $93 or $104

Bleachers $11 or $51

Now word yet on the prices of the standing room or the field level cafe seats. But good job by the Yankees on seating the ALDS and ALCS prices reasonable. In case anyone doesn't know MLB sets the price of the World Series tickets and sends out a list of suggested prices when it comes to the first two rounds.

Yankees offensive team leaders

Yankees Average Leaders :

Robinson Cano .318
Nick Swisher .295
Brett Gardner .284


Yankees Home Run Leaders :

Mark Teixeira - 30
Robinson Cano - 26
Nick Swisher - 25

Yankees Runs Batted In Leaders :

Mark Teixeira - 99
Alex Rodriguez - 97
Robinson Cano - 91

Just a few things, its strange to not see Derek Jeter up their with batting average leaders. The other is, it shows you how Mark Teixeira has been an absolute monster since June, he looked so bad the first two months of the season and now outside of his average his numbers will look the same. Even though Cano has cooled off a bit as of late, hes still top three in all the categories and has been the Yanks most consistent player along with Nick Swisher.

Damaso Marte Watch

Some of you may know that Damaso Marte is one of my favorite players on the Yankees. Why you may ask ? Well I love that hes a lefty and is always able to get lefty batters out. This season before he got hurt Lefty batters were hitting just .146 against him.

Anyways Marte went on the DL back in July with a sore left shoulder, since then he has been forgotten about due to the performance of Boone Logan. Marte threw a bullpen session on August 21st to try out his sore shoulder and complained that he still felt pain. As of now it is possible that the next time we see the Dominican lefty will be in 2011, the final year on his current contract.

Cheap tickets to see the Yankees play in a hurricane tomorrow

I was just scanning through Stubhub before and noticed that for tomorrows matinee against the Toronto Blue Jays tickets are selling for as cheap as $0.90 . Their are almost 6,000 tickets available for tomorrows game that are listed for $35 or less.

My first instinct was to call up someone and say lets go to the game but then I realized these tickets are only going for so cheap because of the hurricane that is suppose to hit this area tomorrow right when the game is going on. It's still a great deal if you are able to grab a cheap pair in the legends or champions sections of the stadium that normally run for $350 or more and you get all you can eat food. Another reason it cant hurt is because the Yankees most likely will make the game up some time this weekend as part of a double header. The weather looks great fro Saturday and Sunday so it might not be such a bad investment.

What I may never understand is why people would bother to sell their tickets for that cheap. I know I rather give them away to a friend or family member or just eat the tickets all together. The Yankees have a program that you can donate your tickets to charity or if you don't want to use them you can get a five dollar credit on them.

This season has been awful in general for reselling tickets. Many season ticket holders last year after the Yankees won the World Series bought extra plans they never planned on using to sell. They thought that they would be able to make a profit on the premium games and make a killing come the post season. Well this season many premium games could be had at face value, the postseason is still ahead so maybe they could still make some of their money back. Anyways that got off track, and I plan to write my own post about that soon enough.

So if you don't mind either sitting in the rain or going to a game later in the weekend, go ahead and grab a ticket to see the Yankees face the Blue Jays tomorrow. After all it wont hurt the wallet too much, something rarely said when talking about Yankee tickets.