Whose mound will it be Thursday ? CC vs Braden

Dallas Braden made his mark in Yankees history when he told Alex Rodriguez to stay off his mound earlier this season. But whose mound will it be Thursday when the Yankees and A's wrap up their four game set in the Bronx. CC Sabathia started that game when Braden went off on A-Rod like a lunatic for touching his precious mound. Sabathia pitched well outside of giving up a three run homer to Kurt Suzuki, and had the Yankees defense behind him turn a triple play but CC got the loss.

So whose mound will it be Thursday? CC and Braden have both pitched well this season, Sabathia is in the discussion for the CY Young award and Braden has throw a perfect game this year and has an ERA of 3.28, but has received little run support.

Braden wont have to worry about A-Rod who is still on the DL but he should expect to hear an earful from the Bronx faithful. For those of you who forgot the whole thing here is a grainy  video :

Jorge Posada on the Today show talking about his son

Jorge and Laura Posada were on the Today show this morning talking about their new book in stores today. Glad to see his son is doing better.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Yankees push Field Level seats at 40% off this homestand

Looking to go to a Yankees game before school starts ? Are you a high roller who can afford to sit on field level ? Well the Yankees have a deal for you ! For the A's, Blue Jays and Orioles series' during this homestand you can get field level seats for 40% off along with other locations with the code : DKNYBTS. The reason I mention the field level over and over is because even though they mention other locations I wouldn't expect any other then maybe a few Jim Bean Suite tickets. I have talked about this a few times but I really hope the Yankees do the right thing next year and again lower the price on the tickets since the economy hasn't picked up much. It would be great publicity for the Yankees to lower the prices on the tickets again to make them more affordable instead of seeing empty seats.

No big suprise here : Yankees lead the majors in attendence so far this season

This season has been more about the Yankees and their on the field play then it has been about the new stadium and the empty seats. Sure you can tune in at any time during a Yankees home game and still see empty seats but for the most part the Yankees either found people to pony up more cash or slashed the price. This season on the secondary market (Stubhub) prices to see a game at Yankee Stadium are down compared to in 2008 and 2009. But that hasnt kept the Yankees from leading the majors in attendence at home through 64 games.

The Yankees have the highest overall total attendance number so far through the season at 2,971,446. The Dodgers are just behind the bombers but they have played two more games at home. The Dodgers still could pass the Yankees in home attendance since Dodger Stadium has a higher capacity.

The Bronx bombers also lead the majors in averager attendance per game at 46,429, which is slightly up from last season (45,364). Since the new Yankee Stadium has opened the capacity of the park has been debated by some. It was orginally listed as 52,325 which was suppose to include standing room, but the seating capacity is 50,086. Either way the capacity at the new stadium is smaller then the ballpark that once stood across the street that held 56,936, so gone are the days of the Yanks drawing four million fans.

As the Yankees head down the stretch they have just 17 games remaining at home this season. This season almost every game has been a sell out and even the ones that arent a sell out the only seats avaliable are north of $150.

A look at the Yankees remaining schedule

Much has been made about how the Yankees will have to face the Rays and Red Sox a combined 13 times in the month of September. The Yankees will also face the Oakland A's,Toronto Blue Jays,Texas Rangers and Baltimore Orioles in September. So with the Yankees tied for first in the AL East at the moment lets see how the Yankees have matched up to date with the teams they need to face (and beat) to make it back to the postseason.

If the Yankees want to win the AL East or even make it in as the wild card they will need to start by beating the Oakland A's starting next week at the stadium. It shouldn't be a big problem to the Yankees since they are 5-1 against them this season and all those games have taken place in Oakland. But the A's have been playing better, and the Yanks cant take them lightly. This could be the first time Dallas Braden makes a start in the Bronx since the famous "get off my mound" to A-Rod. Total games remaining against A's : 4 (all at home)

It will be a fight till the end for the Yanks especially facing the Jays.

Next up would be the Toronto Blue Jays, a team that surprised many this year. While they have not played well enough to make a run at the postseason they are above .500 and give the Yankees a ton of trouble. To date the Yankees are just 5-7 against them, that's the lowest winning percentage for the Yankees against all the teams they have faced this season (.417). The Yankees will face the Jays at home in early September, but the crucial games could come on in the last week of the season when the bombers will have to play in Toronto. Total games remaining against Blue Jays : 6 (3 away,3 home)

The easiest opponent for the Yankees would be the Buck Showalter led Baltimore Orioles. This season the Yanks are 10-2 against the birds, but this is before Showalter became the manager. In fact the last time the Yankees faced the Orioles it was in June. Since the O's got a new manager they have been playing much better. I'm sure Buck would love to play spoiler against the team he once managed. Total games remaining against the Orioles : 6 (3 away, 3 home)

Bengie Molina could be telling Swisher that the Rangers will see the Yankees in October.

As August is coming to an end most of the division races are tight, all except one and that's the AL West, and that's because the Texas Rangers have ran away with it. The Rangers were thought to be favorites in the west, but after an early season sweep in the Bronx and a overall slow start the Rangers didn't look ready to take the next step. Four months later and the Rangers are considered a playoff favorite since adding Cliff Lee. The Yankees are 4-1 this season against the Rangers, including a sweep of them in April and recently splitting a pair of games in Texas. One of the games in Texas the Yankees were down five runs against Cliff Lee and the Rangers bullpen but managed to over come the deficit and win the game, some consider it to be one of the Yankees biggest wins of the season. Total games remaining: 3 (all in Texas)

Once again the Yankees end the season up in Boston at Fenway Park. It has the chance to feel like a preview of October baseball (Technically it will be the series is Oct 1-3) or by then the Red Sox could be out of it, and what better would the Sox love to do then to cost the mighty Yankees a chance at the AL East and be forced to stick with the wild card. Then again you never know and the Rays could collapse all together and the Yanks and Sox could be in the fighting for the postseason. Either way a Yankees Red Sox game in late September always has some juice to it, even if the Red Sox will be clinging to stay alive.This season the bombers are 7-5 against the hated Boston bunch. Total games remaining: 6 (3 away, 3 home)

The Yankees and Rays are tied at the top of the standings and boy could the teams be anymore closer facing one another. So far this season the Yankees are 5-6 against the Rays, a fairly close record considering how well both teams have played. But even the runs are close, this season the Yankees have score 58 runs against the Rays, while the Rays have scored 59 on the Yanks. Pretty close wouldn't you say? So with seven games remaining against each other it may come down to that seventh game to decide who will win the series and possibly win the division. The Yankees play in Tampa Sept 13th-15th, but the crucial series right now looks to be when the Rays come to the Bronx the second to last week of the season to play four games. The strangest part maybe the Yankees playing important games against an AL East rival not named the Red Sox in late September. Total games remaining: 7 (3 away, 4 home)

Yankees and Jay-Z team up to make more money !

Yankees, Jay-Z team up on co-branded merchandise - MLB - Yahoo! Sports: "Get your New York Yankees hats here—with a Jay-Z logo.
The hip-hop mogul is teaming up with his favorite baseball squad on co-branded clothes that will be sold exclusively at Yankee Stadium beginning next week. All the items, from baseball caps to T-shirts and hooded sweat shirts, will feature Yankees and Jay-Z logos.
In a news release Thursday, the Yankees said the attire was created to commemorate the first official concerts at the new Yankee Stadium on Sept. 13 and 14, when Jay-Z and Eminem will co-headline.
The shows mark the second half of their “Home and Home” tour, following joint performances at Detroit’s Comerica Park on Sept. 3 and Sept. 4.
The new merchandise will be available at Yankee Stadium from Aug. 30 to Sept. 14."

Should be an interesting concept, I mean on one hand you have the most famous team in sports and on the other you have arguably the most famous rapper of this generation. Either way the Yanks and Jay will be making a nice deal of cash from the clothing. Ill admit I would be interested in checking out the clothing ,since Jay already has his own brand Rocawear and I am always up for more Yankees clothing. But I doubt I will buy any of this over priced merchandise unless it is sold at Modells for a cheaper price then at the stadium or their is a shirt/hat that blows me away. The concert is sold out and still one of the hottest tickets in New York, should be good.

Yankee Stadium : Home of the Day Games

Ever realize how many day games the Yankees play at Yankee Stadium ? I noticed it once on a Saturday when the Yankees were the only team playing at 1:05pm compared to other teams playing at 7:05pm or later. While most teams hold night games for different reasons, the biggest is to get a larger revenue and have more fans in the stadium. In the south they hold night games, so fans aren't roasting in the sun. But the Yankees don't need to worry about losing revenue from day games, because they know that regardless of the team it will be a sell out.

Since July till the end of the season the Yankees will have played 23 day games at home. During that time the Yanks will have played a total of 44 games at home, so more then 50% of them have been during the day. I am including the FOX 4pm games as day games.

So how can the Yankees hold so many day games ? While I mentioned above that most teams hold Saturday night games because they get more revenue, the Yanks sell so many tickets in advance through season ticket plans, and advance ticket purchases they know that the game will sell out regardless. Ive also noticed that over the years the Yanks, don't play many Sunday night ESPN  games at home. Sure they play a few against the Red Sox or Mets, but most of the time the Yankees are the team on the road. It could just be a coincidence but maybe the organization prefers the day games.

Although some players may complain about day games after night games because of lack of rest. Many enjoy the opportunity to either go out that night or spend time with their family. Day games are also great when the team has a game the next day and need to travel to get there.

Looking at pictures of the new Yankee Stadium during the day it looks very grand and majestic, something that the Yanks would have like to hear. It fits in with the Yankees tradition, also with the long tradition of baseball being played during the day. So while other teams are playing at night to create higher revenues at the park and on TV, the Yanks don't have to worry about that. It seems that the Yankees like day games this year too, since the start of July they are 11-4 at home.

Camden Yards, Nationals Park and Yankee Stadium

I mentioned the past few entries that I was on vacation in Baltimore and Washington D.C area. Of course one of the things I had wanted to do was check out the ballparks in the area, so with that said a little non Yankee talk (Although I will compare a lot of stuff the Yankee Stadium).

First was Baltimore, the Orioles were playing the Texas Rangers on a Sunday afternoon. The weather forecast was for rain, but the rain was holding off and it was pretty hot. Unlike at Yankee Stadium, at Camden Yards they let you down behind the dugouts no matter what type of ticket you have so I was able to get a few autographs (Also unlike NY, no pushing and shoving for autographs) including Mike Gonzalez and Brad Bergesen.

Right before first pitch, it began to rain hard and the game was delayed. Like most fans I headed to the concourse to keep dry. Their was plenty of room to move around during the delay, unlike at times at the current Yankee Stadium (don't even get me started on the old stadium), but that could also be because the attendance was only a little over 14,000.

Once the rain delay ended and the game was set to start I went to the seats I had purchased the week before over the phone. The seats were behind home plate on the field level and were the most expensive seats in the stadium at $55. That's right the same view at Yankee Stadium would have cost $300, and for $55 in Yankee Stadium you would be sitting in the second deck in the out field.

Hey where is everyone ?

I had been to Camden Yards before in 2007 to see the Yankees play, and since then not much has changed. The only thing I could really think of is that now the Orioles draw less fans, to the point they had a sign up that said "Buy an authentic fitted cap, get two tickets free". The other thing was that parking increased from $7 to $10, meanwhile when I go to the Bronx it cost $23 ! Once the Orioles lost to the Rangers 6-4, many of the crowd departed, I stuck around for a few minutes to get a couple of pictures and never once was asked by security to leave. The only thing that I hated was after the game I went to look for a vendor outside the stadium to buy a shirt or baseball cards and only one vendor was still around, in fact the area around the part quickly cleared out to the point it was a ghost town.

The second ballpark on this trip was to Nationals Park in Washington D.C. I had visited relatives in the area and since we were so close I also wanted to check out the Nationals park that opened in 2008. I may have complained about the parking at Yankee Stadium from $23 but in D.C they charged $40 in many of the lots surrounding the stadium, that is just insane. Eventually I was able to find a garage for $20 and found that more reasonable. The area around the stadium isn't the greatest, but the traffic is similar to what you find in the Bronx.

This time around I had not had tickets and went to the box office to buy a pair. I wanted the cheapest tickets, just to explore the stadium and picked up a pair for $10 each. It was suppose to be Strasburg t-shirt night but I arrived to late to get one.

Upper concourse similar to Yankee Stadium.

The stadium itself is a nice park, but nothing that distinguished it from other parks built around this era. It was built by HOK Sports, the same architectural firm that has built many of the current ball parks including the new Yankee Stadium. More and more I'm not a fan of the company since most of the ball park designs have been similar. I took a picture of the upper deck concourse at Nationals Park and it was almost identical to the new Yankee Stadium upper deck concourse.

I was wearing a Washington Redskins, Santana Moss jersey (fan of Moss from when he was with the Jets) and it seemed like ever few minutes somebody commented on it or wanted to talk about the Redskins, too bad I'm really a Raiders fan (Yes seriously I am).

The highlight for me on this trip was seeing that they sold Chien Ming Wang shirts at the team store, so even for the high price I had to buy it since they didn't sell them at Modells. In face when I was looking at the Wang shirt one of the store employees said that I was one of the first people he can remember looking at Wang shirts and why I wanted one. All I had to do was point to the Yankees hat I was wearing for him to know why.

The ushers at both parks were friendly, at Nationals park one usher even let me sit in a section that didn't have too many fans and was not where my ticketed seats were. This is something you would never see at Yankee Stadium, even if seats are empty they never let you just go to them and sit their.

Yes that is a large bug below the cup holder.

The worst park about Nationals Park was that their were a lot of  bugs flying around and I saw one of the largest grass hoppers ever. I can say that being from New York that I don't like flying bugs ! The attendance at Nationals park that night to see the insects along with the Cubs beat the Nationals 5-4 was just 18,250.

Both parks were great, cheaper prices , fan friendly, kind ushers and laid back security. Following this trip I would love to see the Yankees on the road in one of these cities. After the Nationals game on the way back to the parking garage one vendor outside was even selling CC Sabathia jerseys along with Nationals hats. I don't think I have ever seen vendors outside Yankee Stadium selling other teams products.

Now that I am back expect more Yankees related posts.

Look what I got in Washington.......

Yes, its old friend Chien Ming Wang , and yes that is a Nationals shirt. Just got back from the Nationals loss against the Cubs, at Nationals Park. Nice ball park, but nothing that makes it ultra special, but I will talk more about that in an upcoming post. Until then keep following me on Twitter @NYMoot until I return home. Oh and of course nice rebound for the Yanks in Toronto tonight.

Follow up story : Bleacher fight from 8/18/2010

In one of my earlier posts I mentioned last week that their had been a fight in the bleachers around section 238. Well now we have the video to show it.







In other news, their wont be many new posts until next Wednesday since I am on a family trip. I will be making updates from the road on my twitter @NYMoot

A-Rod could be looking at a DL stint

Just when Alex Rodriguez had returned to the line up Friday night, he left once again. A-Rod had been recovering from a left calf strain but after one at bat in the Yanks 6-0 loss to the Mariners, Rodriguez was taken out of the game. After the game Joe Girardi said that a DL stint is possible.

This has been one of the most difficult seasons for A-Rod with all the injuries, and comes at a hard time for the Yankees who have become a mess with the amount of injuries. Since A-Rod has been out of the line up the Yankees have done their best, but if you look back to last season when Alex missed the first month and a half the Yanks struggled a lot during that time. Even though A-Rod wasn't having his best season he was still a league leader in RBI's.

Any extended amount of time with Andy Pettitte (Groin) , Alex Rodriguez and Nick Johnson on the DL is going to hurt the Yankees a lot during time in which they only have a slim small game lead over the Rays. But if the Yanks are willing to take a wild card slot then this all could be a blessing in disguise. What I mean is that since the Yankees are an older team, it could lead to having two of their most important pieces healthy during October.

Pitching Match ups vs Seattle Mariners

Fri: RHP Felix Hernandez (8-10, 2.62) vs RHP A.J. Burnett (9-10, 4.66)

Burnett has been pitching well and the Yanks offense has been hot but will they be able to beat King Felix ?


Burnett should look out for : Chone Figgins, Figgins has hit .417 against Burnett. Outside of Figgins and Ichiro not many Mariners have faced Burnett.

Hernandez should look out for :  Nick Swisher. Swish has hit .263 against the king along with three long balls. Much to my surprise many of the Yankees have decent numbers against Hernandez.
Sat: LHP Jason Vargas (9-5, 3.15) vs RHP Javier Vazquez (9-9, 4.89)

Not to often do you get two pitchers with a last name starting with a V pitching against each other. I hadn't realize how well Vargas had been pitching this year especially since the Mariners have well for lack of a better term sucked this year. Vazquez has had a few rough outing, and seems to have the good ol' El Duque dead arm.
Vazquez should look out for : Franklin Gutierrez. Franklin has hit .333 with one home run against Javy.

Vargas should look out for : Robinson Cano : Cano is 3-3 against Vargas, most Yankees only have faced his two or three times. Kearns has seen Vargas the most,six at bats.


Sun: LHP Luke French (2-3, 4.02) vs LHP C.C. Sabathia (16-5, 3.12)

Looks to be the biggest mismatch of the series, CC will look for 17 wins.

Sabathia should look out for : Ichiro Suzuki. Ichiro has hit CC well, but then again who hasn't he hit well ? Against the big lefty, the smaller lefty batter has hit .348 and two home runs.

French should look out for : Robinson Cano and Mark Teixieria. Again not many Yankees have seen French a lot but Cano is 4-6 (.667) and Tex is hitting .500 with a home run.

As always its dangerous to look at the match ups and say a game is an easy win for the Yanks. At first glace the last two games of the series may look like easy wins, but with Javy having a dead arm and the Yankees lack of success against pitchers they haven't seen much of you never know.Remember as John Sterling says "You cant predict baseball".

Derek Jeter 2010 Walk Up Music

By know if you have watched the Yankees, even the most casual of fans would know that Derek Jeter isn't having his typical season. This year he is on pace for career lows in most categories, but that hasn't stopped Jeter from bopping up to the plate with some classic hip hop tunes. If you are a real Yankees nerd like myself who, enjoys music and the Yankee Stadium experience then you would probably know what song certain Yankees have as their walk up music. Over the course of time I will update on the blog what songs the players are coming up to but lets look at Jeter, for the first edition. After all you could arguably say that Jeets is the most popular Yankee. So with that lets get started.



Jeter has come up to a few songs this season, his first was Candy by Cameo. This funky 1989 song, has an even stranger video above. But I guess if you grew up in that age it wasn't that strange, too bad the song is from before I was born.



Jeter eventually ditched Cameo and went with a classic Biggie Smalls Juicy. Personally this is one of my favorite songs all time, so I loved it when Jeter came up to this classic beat.



I guess Jeter was going in order of how old the songs were starting with the oldest and now the newest with Too Short- Blow the Whistle. In the first few lines Too Short says "I go on and on , cant understand how I last so long". Makes you wonder if Jeter plans to keep playing until he cant last any longer, yesh if hes got poor range now, imagine him at age 42 at short stop.



This seems to be the newest song for the Yankees captain. Can't nobody hold me down by Puff Daddy and Mase, Jeter seems to be a bad boy records fan just by these few selections (Biggie earlier). Jeter has only switched his song to this during the August 16th home stand, and comes up to the instrumental part of the song.

After hearing some of Jeter's walk up song, you may want to add them to your own play list if you like his choice in music or you are just a big Jeter fan. If not it could be just another reason to show your displeasure at the captain after a key double play.

Yankee Stadium Experience 8/18 Yanks vs Tigers

8/18 tix with Jorge and Mo on them.

It was time to head back up to the Bronx, this time to see former Yankee Johnny Damon and the Tigers. I had on my Yankees Damon jersey and was looking forward to seeing him during batting practice in left field. Once I got to the stadium, it was drizzling and Damon was shagging fly balls in center field. Damon would eventually head in to take his turn hitting but by that time security had kicked all the fans out of the field level that didn't belong.

So it was up to my seats in the bleachers, I had noticed it a few times but in the bleachers behind section 237/238 area there is a sign that says "Advanced ticket kiosk", yet no kiosk is in sight  only hot dog and beer vendor.

Wholly Guacamole nachos for $8.50

Since my friend and I had some time to kill before the game we grabbed nachos from Wholly Guacamole. For $8.50 they gave you a fair amount of nachos along with as many toppings as you want. In other stadium news I also saw somebody actually buy a shirt and program from the souvenir stand located below my seats. For most of the season, it seemed as if nobody even would look at the small stand but i guess tonight was their lucky night. I'll never understand paying $30 for a player tee when if you go to modells you can get them for $18.

The line ups were announced and Damon got a warm reception, nothing Matsui like but still a nice cheer, Damon was 1-3 with a stolen base. It was Jeremy Bonderman who was once suppose to be a star against Dustin Moseley. The Yanks got a quick lead on back to back homers by Mark Teixeira and Robinson Cano, but not before Brett Gardner was hit by a pitch. The Gardner hit by pitch was something I had expected after Monday when he slid hard into second to try and break up a double play, Carlos Guillen was hurt on the play and has missed the past few games.

Moseley was so-so for his five innings he was in the game, he did give up two bombs to Miguel Cabrera (who had hit a ball 15 rows up in the left field bleachers during batting practice and left a dent on the bench). But the Yanks offense woke up, even Ramiro Pena joined the cause with a RBI triple (who needs A-Rod !). Curtis Granderson also would add a homer against his former team. Granderson seems ready to break out of his season long slump, although he did strike out against a lefty with the bases loaded later in the game.

For this game I was sitting in my bleacher seats in 235, at the start of the game even with the Yanks offense putting some runs on the board the crowd really didn't seem into the game. By the fifth with the Yanks holding a 7-4 lead the bleachers got a bit rowdier. It started with a fight a few sections over between two girls, both being ejected. Thought out the game I heard a few Detroit sucks chants and the ol' A-hole chant (not exactly that way but you should get the point).

As the Yankees pounded away at the Tigers holding a 9-4 lead in the eighth, the Yanks called Chad Gaudin in. Gaudin hit the first batter Miguel Cabrera and then proceeded to load the bases. A grand slam would have lead to the lead cut to one, but apparently to some it didn't matter. The people in section 235 were to busy trying to start the wave. The wave starters kept trying and started to get off the wave a few times, and since 235 of the bleachers is right below, yet next to the main section. One fan was trying to convince the wave starters to start the wave towards the main section, while leaning over the railing I made sure to tell him to jump. The Yanks managed to get out of the inning by only allowing one run, and for myself I was lucky that the fans finally stopped trying to do the wave.

This is not the same sign, but you get the point

The Yankees would nail down the 9-5 victory by bringing in the great Mariano Rivera to finish it. Through out the game I had noticed that the security at the stadium now holds small stop signs at the top of each section. On the sign it reads to please be curtious and wait until the end of the at bat to go to your seat. It is a great idea since it can get really annoying with people walking up and down sections, but the bleacher guards didn't have any sign. I guess the figure that for the fans paying the cheapest tickets, it doesn't matter if they get bothered with people moving around all game.

Overall it was one of the rowdier games of the season, even though it wasn't against an opponent that the Yanks have had a long history with. It should be noted that this was the bombers first win that I had attended since June, I had been on a three game losing streak. The final from the Bronx : Yankees 9 Tigers 5

Next probable game September 1st vs the Oakland A's.

Oh, and one last note, when Jorge Posada comes up I am all for the hip,hip Jorge chants. But if nobody is responding please do not continue to yell it. It just seems silly when a fan keeps yelling hip hip.

Some Pictures from the game :

Looks like this places has closed down, it was right across from the old stadium.

Over cast Yankee Stadium.

View from left field during batting practice.

What was once a tray of nachos is now empty. Nice Yankees logo at the bottom.

The shop that I never see anyone buy stuff from until tonight.

The crowd early in the game.

May have been a quiet crowd at the start but once the camera guy comes around people wake up and try and get on the big screen.

The people in my row kept moving over and eventually this is what my size of my seat turned into.

Where has the offense gone ?

The last time the Yankees put up double digit runs was July 29th in Cleveland. Over the last eight games the Yanks have averaged 3.4 runs a game. So what has happened to the offensive that leads baseball in runs scored ?

So lets look at how the main stays in the Yankees line up has fared over their past 10 games.

Derek Jeter .261 , 0 HR, 4 RBI, 9 SO : Jeter has been having a mediocre season based on Jeter standards.But he has killed the Yanks with his double plays and he lack of power.

Nick Swisher .243 0 HR 1 RBI 16 SO 3 BB : Swisher has been one of the most consistent hitters this season. Past 10 games Swisher wasn't driving in the runs and had only 3 walks.Now Swish is day to day with a forearm injury.

Mark Teixeira .250 3 HR 8 RBI 11 SO : Tex has been one of the better hitters for the Yankees during this tough stretch.

Alex Rodriguez .282 , 4HR , 10 RBI, 9 SO : A-Rod rediscovered his power stroke last Saturday hitting three homers. Just when it seemed like Rodriguez was about to heat up, he got injured and is now day to day with tightness in his calf.

Robinson Cano .235, O HR , 2 RBI, 5 SO, 6 BB : Cano has struggled lately, but it isn't cause hes swinging at bad pitches. Cano has drawn more walks then strike outs, had a written that line in 2008 you would have though i was kidding. Cano had been suffering from a bad cold when the Yanks were in Texas.

Jorge Posada .129 , 1 HR , 2 RBI ,7 SO : Posada has been awful. He doesn't seem comfortable at the plate at times and has really shown his age. The worst part is that his replacement Francisco Cervelli isn't much better (see below).

Curtis Granderson .290, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 5 SO, 3 BB :  Grandy had been working with Kevin Long to improve his swing and it looks like it's helping. Its always a good sign when Granderson has only five strike outs over 10 games.

Lance Berkman .194 ,0 HR,4 RBI , 5 BB , 5 SO : The big puma has struggled since coming over to the Yanks at the trade deadline. He still hasn't hit his first home run as a Yankee and recently was hurt his ankle on a play running to first base.

Brett Gardner .250 , 0 HR, 2 RBI, 9 SO : Gardner had been playing poorly at the start of the week, but seems to have figured it out. With speed like Gardner's, your not going to be in extended slumps.

Posada and the Yanks have forgotten what to do with a bat.

Francisco Cervelli .138, 0 HR, 2RBI, 1 BB , 7 SO : Mentioned above that Posada couldn't be benched since he had no replacement. That's because Cervelli has been just as bad as Posada and has less power. Cervelli has been terrible since late May, offensively and defensively.

So as you see the Yanks have a reoccurring problem. First it is that many of the players are banged up, but that's to expect coming from an older team that has played every single day since July 19th. The other is that the players are striking out too often. So combine those two problems and add in the struggles of the Yankees this season to hit young pitchers they have never seen before and you get the current struggles.

Yankees talk hope week on the today show

Well instead of trying to explain it I'm going to lets CC,A-Rod and Nick Swisher do the talking. This was recorded this morning from the today show before the Yanks 3-1 loss to the Tigers.




I love how they had to ask A-Rod about 600, and I know that it is a great event that the Yanks do, but they should think of making two seperate hope weeks after last season seeing the joy that the contestants (is that the right word? ) get out of it.

Johnny Damon returns to the Bronx :How will the fans welcome him?

It was the bottom of the third inning and the Yankees were leading the Phillies 2-1 in game 6 of the 2009 World Series. Derek Jeter had just singled to give the Yanks a runner on first with one out, Johnny Damon came up to face Pedro Martinez for his second at bat of the game. Damon worked the count full before drawing a walk to give the Yankees runners on first a second. Damon would move to second once Mark Teixeira was hit by a pitch. Following an Alex Rodriguez strike out Hideki Matsui singled to center scoring Jeter and Damon to give the Yankees a 4-1 lead. The bombers would tack on three more runs, and win the World Series but that walk and run scored by Johnny Damon would be his last inning wearing the pinstripes in a game. Damon was forced to leave the game after that inning with a strained calf.

After becoming one of the few players to win a World Series with the Yankees and the Red Sox, Damon became a free agent. Represented by Scott Boras, Damon was looking for a four year deal. Damon had come off one of his best offensive seasons of his career, but age and poor defensive skills had the Brian Cashman and the Yanks looking for a shorter deal. Both sides couldn't come to an agreement, and Brian Cashman took it upon himself to go out in the meantime and get DH Nick Johnson. Johnny, then came back to the Yanks and said he would take a smaller deal to stay in the Bronx but it was too late.

So the question is what will the reception be like for Johnny Damon ? Earlier this season Hideki Matsui came back and received a huge ovation during the ring ceremony. Matsui also received a warm reception each time he came up to the plate, each game he played at the stadium. So will Damon receive the same ?

Lets remember that Hideki Matsui had played with the Yankees since 2003, had a huge game 6 of the World Series and was named MVP of the series and had wanted to come back to the Yankees in 2010 but the Yanks had no interest in signing him. Damon on the other hand had been a Red Sox prior to coming to the Bronx, and became greedy when negotiating with the Yanks this past off season.

But when it comes down to it, I feel Damon should and will get a nice hand from the crowd. Even though he may not have left on the best terms, when it comes down to it he accomplished what he was brought in to do. Damon won a championship, helped lighten the mood in the clubhouse and was productive during his four years in pinstripes. When the Yanks signed Damon to a four year $52 million deal, many around baseball felt it would be a good deal in the first two years, but his production would have dropped off during the final two. But Damon proved the critics wrong and during those four years his worst offensive stats were hitting .270, 12,63,.351 all of those stats coming in 2007 when Damon was battling depression symptoms, out of shape and thinking of retiring. Other then Damon losing a step in center field, and being forced to move to left field, Damon was worth every dollar of his contract especially when you think of all the clutch hits he had gotten over the years.

 The Yankees have used Damon's bat at times, this is possibly why they went out and got Lance Berkman. Of course looking back on it, many Yankee fans wish the bombers had signed Damon instead of Nick Johnson, who struggled when he was healthy and then did what he does best, got hurt. This season Damon has put up solid numbers but nothing compared to last season. The new Yankee Stadium is perfect for Damon's swing, and that is what helped him have such a great season in 2009. But Brett Gardner is younger and has done a great job playing left field (although they have comparable throwing arms ) and reminds me of Damon at times with the way he fouls off tough pitches.

When Damon steps up to the plate for the first time at Yankee Stadium wearing a Detroit Tigers uniform expect to hear cheers. I know when I'm at the game Wednesday I will cheer for him, but then again I cheered for Matsui and even Jose Molina (What can I say I think hes a great catcher ). Its doubtful but following this season Damon's deal with Detroit is over, and if the Yanks need a DH and someone who could occasionally play left field I think they will know where to turn.

My favorite Johnny Damon moment : The two stolen bases, on the same play in game four of the 2009 World Series. The Yankees were tied with the Phillies in the top of the ninth when Damon went to steal second base. After making it successfully to second Damon stood up and began to run towards third. I immediately began to scream and think what is he doing ! But with Mark Teixiera up, the Phillies had put on a lefty shift, so nobody was covering third base. Damon made it to third base easily and would eventually score the go ahead run for the Yankees on an Alex Rodriguez double.

Will the 2010 Yankees party like its 1999 ?

The 2009 season was a magical one for the Yankees and Yankee fans, who could forget the comebacks, pies and of course # 27. This season the Yankees have the best record in baseball, but at times they don't seem to be that same team that had the fight to comeback like last season. Sure they have showed hints of it, like this past week against Texas, or in L.A vs the Dodgers when they came back on the ESPN Sunday night game. But for a team with the best record in baseball, you could see some flaws.

Each time I am ready to compare the current Yankee squad to last season I must remember that last year was really a magical season. Although I am not old enough to have personally seen the championship teams before the late 1990's, I felt that last years team was comparable to 1998. Before I killed for making that statement let me say that although last years team did have the most wins in the majors they did not tie a record for wins in a season like the 1998 group. But the teams were similar that they were both fun to watch and every thing seemed to click right for them.

That is why I feel this season is similar to the 1999 Yankees season. Just like that season the Yankees are winning, but now it is almost expected of them. Last season was fun, sure they were expected to win but the Yanks hadn't won since 2000, so their was almost a bit of doubt. This season it is expected from this club to get back to the World Series, no matter how hard it is going to be (and possibly facing the Rays or Rangers on the way).

Of course any Yankee fan would take the chance to repeat the 1999 season and repeat as champions. But unlike last season when it was fun and hadn't happened for eight long seasons, this year anything less then a championship will be considered a failure (Yes, I know they always are considered like that in the Bronx), and if the Yanks do win it will have been expected. I've realized that Yankee fans tend to get spoiled but following the title drought from 2000 till last season, any championship will be appreciated.