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Author: Neil Keefe

Blogs • Yankees

May 7, 2010

Time to Bury Boston

When Andy Pettitte left Wednesday’s game after the fifth inning and 77 pitches, I thought I might have seen No. 46 walk off the field for the last time ever. Hearing “tightness in the elbow”

When Andy Pettitte left Wednesday’s game after the fifth inning and 77 pitches, I thought I might have seen No. 46 walk off the field for the last time ever. Hearing “tightness in the elbow” with 37-year-old lefties who have been mulling retirement for four years is like hearing “broken leg” for a fallen horse at the Derby.

Hopefully the inflammation in Pettitte’s elbow is just that and a missed turn in the rotation will be enough to get him back on track and let him continue the best start to a season in his career. If not, then there’s a problem for a rotation that includes the incompetent Javier Vazquez who is being skipped over on Friday because of a mental injury and not a physical one. But we’ll cross that bridge if and when we get to it.

Pettitte’s injury, coupled with the minor injuries to Mariano Rivera and Jorge Posada has the Core Four suddenly being the Sore Four and people are just waiting to see what type of injury Derek Jeter will come up with. And all of this is apparently because the old guard appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated. It’s obvious that the Sports Illustrated cover jinx is to blame for the injuries, and not the fact that Pettitte is 37, Rivera is 40 and Posada is 38.

I believe in the Sports Illustrated jinx and all curses as much as I believe in the abilities of Javier Vazquez and Boone Logan. I don’t understand the whole no-hitter or perfect game jinx thing either. How can someone watching the game at home on their TV who says “no-hitter” during one change the outcome of a pitch thrown by someone who doesn’t know they exist? Did no one in the world say “it” when Ubaldo Jimenez threw a no-no on April 17? Doubtful.

But the same way I believed in Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, and the Tooth Fairy at one point in my life, I did believe in jinxes and curses, or at least one curse. A few games in October 2004 changed that.

This weekend the Yankees have a chance to do something they haven’t had a chance to do since 2006: Go to Fenway Park and end the Red Sox’ season. And in 2006 they didn’t get that chance until August.

Sitting five games up (six in the loss column) with two games in hand, the Yankees have a chance to bury the Red Sox in the AL East and make “run prevention” just as evil to say in Boston as it to say “Bucky Dent” or “Aaron Boone.” The Yankees have a chance to officially make the AL East race a two-team race (if it isn’t already) and push the Red Sox back under .500, where they have been treading water since the start of the year.

Yes, the Red Sox are winners of four straight, but those four were against the awful Angels (losers of seven straight) and who might be just as bad as the Orioles (who swept the Red Sox last weekend. I guess Mike Scioscia isn’t looking like much of a genius these days with that 12-18 record. The Angels are a mess, but at the same time, it looks like the Red Sox might be coming out of their month-long coma. If that’s the case, it’s time to pull the plug and make sure they don’t wake up.

There is enough trouble in the division right now with the Rays winning every day and Tampa Bay apparently not an option on the injury bug’s GPS. The last thing I need is the Red Sox coming around the corner like Super Saver. Let the city of Boston focus on the NHL and NBA playoffs and trying to keep their water clean. The Yankees need to further distance themselves from the Red Sox this weekend, and here’s how:

The Heart
When was the last time A-Rod dropped an A-Bomb over the Green Monster and onto the Mass. Pike? I don’t know either, but I am ready for him to revisit Lansdowne Street this weekend. I am still waiting for the best 3-4 combination in the league from 2009 to show up in 2010.

Tex has come alive in May, as expected, (7-for-20, five RBIs in five games), and with Nick Johnson showing a pulse on Wednesday, all the Yankees need is for A-Rod to find his power stroke to get the heart of the order to start beating again.

At some point in the near future, Brett Gardner and Francisco Cervelli are going to stop raking (at least I think they will) and the Yankees are going to need Mark Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez to be Mark Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez. Why not in Boston?

The Phranchise
Series sweeps and series wins come with your Game 1 starter, and in this case it happens to be Phil Hughes who gets the ball on Friday night. Hughes has made everyone forget about the deal that would have brought Johan Santana to the Bronx, and Johan has done his part (Thanks, Phillies) in helping everyone forget as well.

Hughes is 3-0 and could be 4-0 if Boone Logan and David Robertson weren’t so good at making leads disappear. His counterpart on Friday will Josh Beckett and his shark-tooth necklace, who is carrying around a 6.31 ERA with his new $68 million extension.

Hughes has allowed just 10 hits in 24 innings so far this season, and if he can do what he has done in his first four starts then it will make for a good night and a great start to the weekend.

The Bridge
Right now when the bullpen door opens, only bad things seem to happen. I’m not worried about Mariano Rivera’s health, but I am worried that he hasn’t pitched in a game since last Friday and is now available against the Red Sox in a place where he has had the most trouble in his career. After Mariano, the level of trust falls fast. Here is the pecking order of trust after Mariano:

Alfredo Aceves

Joba Chamberlain

David Robertson

Sergio Mitre

Damaso Marte

Boone Logan

Joba has yet to fully gain back my trust, but he has looked better of late. As for David Robertson, I think he left his deceiving fastball in 2009. If Sergio Mitre has to pitch this weekend, then you can forget a sweep. And if he has to pitch twice, then you can forget about a series win too. You should never be able to trust Mitre over any other pitcher on your team, let alone both the lefties in of the ‘pen.

I am still waiting for an explanation as to why Boone Logan is on the team because being a lefty just isn’t cutting it. He has put seven people on base in three innings, and the Yankees are 2-3 in games he pitches in, and were almost 1-4 thanks to his walk-a-thon in the ninth inning on Wednesday. I pray that the starters go at least seven, and then Boone can stay where he belongs: on the bench.

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Blogs • Email Exchanges • Yankees

May 5, 2010

Bald Vinny and the Bleachers

I can only remember a handful of times over the last seven or eight seasons that I have been to Yankee Stadium and haven’t sat in the right field bleachers. Vinny Milano is responsible for

I can only remember a handful of times over the last seven or eight seasons that I have been to Yankee Stadium and haven’t sat in the right field bleachers. Vinny Milano is responsible for that.

Milano, known as “Bald Vinny” to Yankees fans, has been the face of the Bleacher Creatures over the last few seasons, helping create an exciting environment in Section 203 (formerly Section 39) at the Stadium. The voice behind roll call in the Bronx and the leader of the “real” fans, Bald Vinny has become the most recognizable Yankees fan around.

Bald Vinny is also recognized for creating some of the best Yankees-related T-shirts (http://www.baldvinny.com) and for making his pregame home at his T-shirt stand on River Ave. before taking his familiar spot in right field. Vinny talked with me about the history behind roll call, his T-shirt business and the state of the Yankees. Here’s a transcript:

Keefe: As the leading voice of the roll call in Section 203, how did roll call come to fruition?

Bald Vinny: Roll call really came about out of boredom. As fans, we never know what players on the field can “actually” hear. We had always shouted out the outfielders (all the way back to the Dave Winfield days), but one afternoon in 1996, someone posed the question: “Hey, do you think we can get Tino Martinez to hear us?” At this point, we would regularly call out to outfielders Bernie Williams, Paul O’Neill etc. From there, we just went around the infield, and we wouldn’t stop until we got some sort of response. It just took on a life of it’s own after that, and it became our way to let the players know we were in the house and that we were pumped up and ready to go.

Keefe: Who has been your favorite player name to chant since roll call was established?

Bald Vinny: My favorite player to chant has always been Bernie Williams. Since roll call starts with the center fielder, I got to yell Bernie’s name a lot. So much so, that I would often do a one-man roll call (for Bernie only) at road games. He knew my voice from the “Yo Bernie” intro, and would always tip his cap to me. He loved it so much, that he even asked me to help introduce him to the stage at the Nokia Theater for his album release party.

These days, I love that the guys all have their own responses. It started with Johnny Damon, who would get down on one knee and shoot out “the double-finger point”, and now each guy has his own wave (even if it’s non-descript, like Derek Jeter). It means a lot to me, and the other fans, when you read of new guys coming over and stressing over how to respond like Curtis Granderson did when he wrote a blog about it for MLB.com the day before Opening Day.

Keefe: Since you are the leading man of roll call, and therefore the official starter of the “slow clap” that leads into roll call, is it frustrating when people try to jump the gun and put the clap and roll call in motion before you do?

Bald Vinny: I only get frustrated with people who sit out there who have no clue what roll call is (Thanks, StubHub). As for clapping, I just try to be the one to keep everyone on pace. If people want to clap because they are excited, then they should go for it. Our whole atmosphere is built on making noise, so no one will look at you crooked if you jump on your bench and start screaming. If you try that in the box seats, they look at you like you have two heads! We start with the big yell then everyone follows in because, frankly, it sounds like a mess otherwise! As unruly as we are, even our group needs some organization.

Keefe: There seems to be a lot of “unwritten rules” to sitting in Section 203, like not talking on the phone, participating in “The Wave” or joining into the untimely and awkward chants from Sections 201 and 202. What would you say is the most important “unwritten rule” to follow when sitting in Section 203 among the Bleacher Creatures?

Bald Vinny: I think our biggest un-written rule is “don’t get caught”. The core group of creatures is there on a fairly regular basis (60-plus games a year). We do what we can to police the section so that newbies don’t ruin it for the rest of us. Without blowing up any spots, let’s just say that membership has its privileges, and we don’t let strangers give us a bad name. For the most part, chanting profanities is a big no-no. Our guys know not to do it because then it makes the cops and security keep more of an eye on us because we’re troublemakers. More security means you get away with less, so we do our part to make sure they don’t have more reason than necessary to watch over us.

Keefe: Being the face of the bleachers got you publicity in Filip Bondy’s book Bleeding Pinstripes: A Season with the Bleacher Creatures of Yankee Stadium when he chronicled the 2004 season from Section 39, and it also landed you on the Ultimate Road Trip on the YES Network during the 2005 season. What was the bigger thrill: having a book written about the Creatures or getting to attend all 162 games during the ’05 season?

Bald Vinny: Bondy’s book helped me become the face of the group. We certainly weren’t “big” back then and not many people would really know of us if it wasn’t for Bondy’s coverage, first in the Daily News for a number of years and then the book. That certainly helped get me on the reality show. Both were really great experiences, but going to the Hall of Fame and seeing a book for sale with your face on it is pretty humbling.

Keefe: What was it like to have to sit in box seats during the year and watch the show go on without you?

Bald Vinny: The absolute worst part of the Ultimate Road Trip was not being able to sit in the bleachers. I’ve known most of the people out there for 14 years and consider many to be like my second family. Missing out on the good times was tough, especially because my wife (then girlfriend) would still get to hang with the group while I did Ultimate Road Trip stuff. After the first month or so, they did allow me to work out a deal. There were a few mandatory times that I had to be with the rest of the group, but they would let me sneak into the bleachers for a few innings.

Keefe: Now that you have become a recognizable face around the Stadium through the book and the show, how has that helped your t-shirt business outside the Stadium? What kind of response have you gotten from Yankees fans?

Bald Vinny: The exposure from the book and show has helped my business tremendously. It’s tough for any small business to compete in a large market, and it’s even tougher to compete against the Yankees and Major League Baseball. Fans know that I am a real person trying to accommodate a niche market, and not some corporation trying to exploit the popularity of the group. The “real” fans know that I have put my time in, and have worked tirelessly to promote a positive image for the bleachers as well as my brand. Being on the show really taught me about how passionate Yankees fans are, and I try to capture that passion in my designs. Yankees fans have been very supportive over the years. Without their loyalty, I would have been out of business years ago.

Keefe: How does it feel to have players like Nick Swisher stop by the stand before games and also wear your shirts?

Bald Vinny: It’s even more special when I get the support from players like Swisher and before him, Jason Giambi. I think they realize that I’m trying to build a brand extension of the Yankees franchise, and they “get it.” They know I’m not running some sweatshop that cranks out bootleg tees. Everything is original, and I don’t use any logos or trademarks (which makes design a lot more difficult). When I hear that guys like Swisher wear my tees in the clubhouse or under their uniforms, it’s pretty flattering.

Keefe: Now for some baseball talk. Everyone misses the “Home run, Matsui” chants from Section 203, the Johnny Damon point during roll call and the excitement Melky Cabrera brought to the team. Do you agree with the decisions to not bring either of them back?

Bald Vinny: It’s always tough when the team you support doesn’t re-sign a fan favorite. I’ve followed baseball enough to know that it’s a business, and sometimes players you really like go elsewhere. There are 1,000 disappointed Melky Cabrera fans, but I bet if Javier Vazquez can ever get his act together, he’ll do more for this team than Melky ever could.

Keefe: Have you enjoyed seeing Curtis Granderson in center field and as the new leadoff man for roll call?

Bald Vinny: The good part about being a fan of this franchise is that you know they are going to do their best to replace guys who left. Curtis Granderson is our first legitimate center fielder since Bernie in his prime. It’s a shame he went down with this groin injury, and I hope it doesn’t keep him out too long because I think he’s really going to make an impact this year.

Keefe: How about the new Yankees (or second go-around Yankees) like Javier Vazquez and Nick Johnson? I have been an advocate against both guys and so far neither of them has performed up to par, though there is still more reason to believe in Johnson than there seems to be with Vazquez.

Bald Vinny: Nick Johnson was a deal that really didn’t make much sense to me. He’s injury prone, and he’s not going to play first base all that often. For similar money, they could have had Damon back and at least had another outfield option. Ultimately, I think Jorge is going to shift to the DH role and the Yanks are going to get younger behind the plate with Francisco Cervelli.

Vazquez is a tough case. The guy can pitch in the National League, but I just don’t think he is suited for the Yankees. There are so many pitchers that just can’t cut it here for whatever reason, and I think Javy is one of them. Personally, I don’t think skipping his next start in Boston is the right move. He already has very little confidence in himself, and this shows him that everyone else has little confidence too.

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Blogs • Email Exchanges • Giants

Apr 29, 2010

Behind Big Blue’s Offseason

It’s hard to stay on top of everything with the Giants during the Yankees season when I have to worry daily about whether or not Nick Johnson will start hitting or if the bullpen will

It’s hard to stay on top of everything with the Giants during the Yankees season when I have to worry daily about whether or not Nick Johnson will start hitting or if the bullpen will hold a lead. Luckily I have Ralph Vacchiano, Giants beat writer for the New York Daily News, to trade e-mails with.

If you’re a Giants fan, Ralph’s Giants blog, The Blue Screen, is the best there is, and his book, Eli Manning: The Making of a Quarterback, is a must read for any Giants fan and Eli Manning fan for inside information on Eli’s career, and the inner workings of the Giants front office under Ernie Accorsi.

In our discussion, we analyzed the Giants’ draft, tried to make sense of Osi Umenyiora’s career downward spiral, picked apart the Giants schedule and tried to figure out how the defense will rebound in 2010.

Keefe: The Giants’ biggest hole entering the draft was in the middle of their defense and they didn’t address that need until Day 3 of the draft. You predicted that the Giants would take Jason Pierre-Paul, which they did, if Rolando McClain was gone by the time they were able to pick, which continued your near flawless record of Giants’ draft predictions.

From what I know and have read about Jason Pierre-Paul, I think I will be happy, as will every other Giants fan with the selection, though Osi Umenyiora might not be as happy. Did the team make a mistake by not addressing their most significant need with one their first three picks and by passing on Sean Lee and Brandon Spikes? And what does the selection of Pierre-Paul mean for Umenyiora’s role on the team and his career with the Giants?

Vacchiano: Well, they didn’t have a choice with their first pick. I still think they would’ve taken Rolando McClain if he were there. But he wasn’t. Could they have taken Lee or Spikes in Round 2? I guess, but they wanted a DT too and they may have gotten a steal in Linval Joseph. In the days before the draft a lot of people started mentioning him as a potential late first-rounder. A lot of teams liked him and he slipped into the Giants’ lap. They felt like they couldn’t pass that value up. They also apparently didn’t have Phillip Dillard rated too far behind Lee on their board (I heard they weren’t crazy about Spikes). So, was it a mistake? I guess that depends on Joseph and Dillard. They don’t think they made a mistake, though.

And I don’t think Pierre-Paul’s arrival will affect Osi much immediately. For now, Pierre-Paul is the fourth end and likely to be used as a situational pass rusher. How much he affects Osi in the future depends on a lot of factors — Osi’s happiness, how fast Pierre-Paul develops, what happens with Mathias Kiwanuka’s contract. But there’s enough uncertainty and defensive end for the Giants that I don’t mind them adding another. Things have a way of working themselves out, just like they did after they added Kiwanuka as a fourth end in 2006.

Keefe: The Umenyiora situation is pretty fascinating to me, considering I don’t spend every day in the locker room and I’m not in the Giants front office to know how good and bad some relationships are between the players and front office executives. All I know is that, Osi was an essential piece to the Super Bowl puzzle, and when Michael Strahan decided to retire, it was Osi along with Justin Tuck who were supposed to lead the defense into the future. Then, Osi goes down with the knee injury and Trent Dilfer says on ESPN that the Giants will “be the biggest disappointment in 2008,” only to have them win the division and get the No. 1 seed without Osi. Then he comes back and the team collapses, and he gets benched and is rumored to be on his way out of town. The whole thing doesn’t make sense.

I guess what I’m saying is Osi was supposed to be a staple in the defense for the future. Then because of injuries and some of the worst defensive performances (by the team, not just Osi), he became the scapegoat for the Giants’ defensive woes. We’re talking about a defense that had C.C. Brown starting before he was eventually benched. There are certainly no excuses for what happened last season and the abysmal play of the defense, but doesn’t it seem ridiculous that Osi comes out looking like bad guy in all of this? The way everything has unfolded with him since the Giants beat the Patriots just seems unfair.

Vacchiano: Yeah, I agree … for the most part. But Osi hasn’t exactly done himself any favors. I don’t think anyone considers him the biggest problem in last year’s defense. Bill Sheridan, injuries, the safeties, the linebackers, the defensive tackles, all would be listed ahead of him. But he wasn’t playing well against the run. He could rush the passer — though depending on whom you ask, he may not have been doing that at his usual standard either — but he was being pushed off the line of scrimmage and seemingly taking the wrong lanes on run defense. The Giants — Sheridan and Tom Coughlin — confronted him about that. And at that point, he had a real bad attitude about the whole thing. One of his teammates told me that he basically checked out mentally, which led to Coughlin and Sheridan to bench him. After that he was useless because he was ticked off.

Then, to make matters worse, he goes on that silly rant at the Super Bowl, demanding his starting job back or he’ll retire. He looked like a baby. Then, given the chance to back off it the next day, he insists that he wasn’t kidding — as if he’d really give up all that money. Then, a few months later, he has that “no comment” press conference where he looks even more ridiculous. Never once does he stand up and say “You know what? Nothing is given to you in life. I get paid a lot of money. I want to start. I’m going to go out and earn it and be a good guy and teammate.”

That would’ve gone a long way towards making him look like a good guy again. The whole defensive collapse definitely wasn’t his fault. But his own actions are what has put him in the spotlight.

Keefe: When it became evident that the Eagles were willing to part with Donovan McNabb, it was almost as relieving as when the Red Sox were finally ready to deal Manny Ramirez, except Manny left the division and went to the National League. For Giants fans, the only place that would have been worse for McNabb to end up other than staying in Philadelphia was Washington. Now he’s a Redskin, and if anyone wanted to question what division is the toughest in football, I don’t think there is really anything to question now.

But here’s the biggest problem with McNabb going to Washington: Where are the Giants going to get those two wins from? Sure, the Giants might still sweep the Redskins in the season series, but now a split is more likely and getting swept is even a possibility. I look at their 2010 schedule and I am having trouble finding 10 wins. Maybe it’s just me being down on the Giants after last year’s debacle, but where are the wins on this schedule that are going to get them in the playoffs? Where are the Giants going to finish in the division and the conference? Is it going to be another winter without a postseason for the G-Men?

Vacchiano: First of all, I won’t play the schedule game with you. I think it’s silly to look at a schedule in April and May and project wins. In the NFL, the success of teams varies wildly from year to year. Plus, it’s not always who you play, but when you play them. The Redskins games look a lot different if McNabb is hurt. The Green Bay games looks a lot different if it snows or if their defense is a mess, so who can tell this early? All I can tell you is the Giants were a disaster last year and still won eight games. Why can’t they win 10 with better health? I mean, they lost everyone on defense last year. Everyone, for at least a game or two. If they can stay in one piece, that’s got to be worth two wins, right?

Besides, if you insist on playing the schedule game, shouldn’t some of those wins come from Philly? Do you really believe the Eagles will be as good as ever now that McNabb is gone? I don’t know about Kevin Kolb. I really don’t. Maybe he’s Aaron Rodgers II. Maybe not. We’ll find out.

But for the moment — and this is really, really early, so I reserve the right to change my mind — I don’t see why the Giants can’t be right up there with the Cowboys as the best teams in this division. I really don’t.

Keefe: I agree that playing the schedule game is pretty ridiculous, but it’s hard to not look at it and try and play the season out in your mind.

I was never the biggest Antonio Pierce fan, but I understood what he meant to the team and what he meant to the defense. Now that he is gone, who steps up and takes leadership of the defense, and how will the team respond to the absence of Pierce for an entire season?

Vacchiano: I would hope by now that they’re used to Pierce being gone, since he was out the second half of last year. So I would hope they’d respond better to his absence. Who the leader will be is not real clear. I thought it was telling in the after-the-season press conference that when Tom Coughlin was asked about leaders he mentioned Jeff Feagles and then pretty much drew a blank. He had none on defense and he knew it.

I think the feeling is that Justin Tuck will be one, and that if he wasn’t so hurt last year he might have even emerged. They also have high hopes that Antrel Rolle will step in and be a leader, too.

Keefe: With the emergence of Hakeem Nicks and Mario Manningham and the outstanding season Steve Smith had, how good can the Giants offense be with Eli now having a full season under his belt with Nicks and Manningham? And how do you think Brandon Jacobs will respond after having a letdown season last year?

Vacchiano: I think the sky is the limit for the passing game. I really do. I have great respect for Eli Manning and think he’s going to be an upper echelon QB in this league before he’s done. And I think he’s got a good and diverse receiving corps. I do have questions about the running game, though. With Jacobs coming off knee surgery, and Ahmad Bradshaw coming off surgery to both his feet and his ankle, and with Andre Brown coming off a torn Achilles, I just don’t know what’s there. The potential is great, but I have serious reservations about whether any of these guys can stay healthy for a full season. That’s definitely a worry with Jacobs. I don’t see any evidence that he can take a pounding and survive. If he can, this has the ingredients to be one of the best offenses in football. If he can’t, it’s one-dimensional and that is just not good.

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Blogs • Yankees

Apr 28, 2010

The Early-Season Blame Game

Is it too early in the season to get on tilt? I don’t think so. Up until Joe Girardi took out Phil Hughes with two outs in the sixth inning, I was feeling good. Then

Is it too early in the season to get on tilt? I don’t think so.

Up until Joe Girardi took out Phil Hughes with two outs in the sixth inning, I was feeling good. Then Boone Logan (who wasn’t good enough to make the team out of spring training but was now being asked to pitch in a one-run game) was called upon to be the “lefty specialist” for the day and retire Luke Scott. Six pitches later, Scott was on first base, and four hitters and a pitching change later and the Orioles had put three runs on the board and suddenly led 4-2. Phil Hughes’ gutsy 5 2/3 inning of work over about two hours was erased in about two minutes.

That’s how things have gone for the Yankees over the last five games. Joe Girardi has been putting out fires with gasoline, and any button he pushes seems to be the wrong one. The Yankees are supposed to get into other teams’ bullpens and put up crooked numbers, not the other way around.

So why has the bullpen become a minefield to Mariano? Maybe it’s the Baseballs Gods making up for Joe Girardi getting three innings of one-hit relief from Chan Ho Park at Fenway Park in the third game of the season. Because let’s be honest, nearly every out in those three innings was a home run. The bullpen has reverted back to its old ways and the only guy I currently trust to get the job done is Mariano, and he never gets to pitch. I feel like the only time I have seen Mariano Rivera this season was when the President Obama acknowledged him on Monday.

Before Tuesday’s game in Baltimore the Yankees were 12-6. Now they are 12-7, which isn’t all that different except they have lost four of five. The Orioles had to win a home game at some point this season, and Kevin Millwood is good veteran pitcher, so I can understand only getting two runs off him in the first 5 2/3 innings. But to not score again until the ninth when the Orioles brought in a recent Triple-A call-up to audition to be their closer? That’s hard to digest. And what makes it even harder is that the Yankees had the heart of their order up against Jim Johnson in the eighth inning, and all they got was a single from Robinson Cano, the only guy who seems to be hitting during this team-wide slide.

This is Jim Johnson we’re talking about. JIM JOHNSON! Aside from Chris Ray and Arthur Rhodes, there is no reliever I like to see coming into a game more than Jim Johnson. Jim Johnson means runs and a lot of them. There are two things I do when Jim Johnson enters a game: (1) Laugh and (2) Get comfortable for what is sure to be a 20-minute inning and a possible bat-around inning. But Johnson retired Mark Teixeira, Alex Rodriguez and Jorge Posada to work around the Cano single in what was easily the best inning of his career.

When the Yankees were 11-3 everyone was getting a kick out of the fact that the team was winning every game despite the fact that Nick Johnson and Mark Teixeira weren’t hitting and that Javier Vazquez wasn’t pitching. But at some point the players carrying the club were going to slide as well, and you just hoped by then the already slumping players would be out of their funks. Well, that hasn’t happened.

This isn’t an attempt a reverse jinx. At least I don’t think it is. Considering my reverse jinx of Javier Vazquez got him a win in Oakland and then a beatdown in Anaheim and a public beating from Curt Schilling, and my reverse jinx of Nick Johnson got him his first in 18 at-bats and then a place on the bench with a bad back, I think it’s time to stay away from the reverse jinxes for a little. But we’re 19 games into the season and the Yankees are enduring their first slide of the season, so while it might be time to move away from the reverse jinxes, it’s a good time to start pointing fingers.

Javier Vazquez
The Yankees have lost seven games. Javier has lost three of those. He is single-handedly responsible for 43 percent of the Yankees’ losses. So yeah, I’d say it’s OK to point a finger at him. The only thing keeping me from turning my back on Javier is that Curt Schilling had to go run his mouth about Vazquez’s performance. I was pulling for Vazquez to do well before, now I am going to try to will him to do well in spite of Schilling. Vazquez has a big start on Friday night at home, coming off a disastrous loss, facing his old team and his old manager who called him a coward. Right now Ozzie Guillen is smiling and telling the world “I told you so” about Vazquez’s abilities in the American League. Javier has a chance to pull off the trifecta on Friday night: shut up the Yankee Stadium boos, Ozzie and Curt all on the same night.

Nick Johnson
Like the sun coming up in the morning and setting at night, Nick Johnson had a stiff back over the weekend. Yawn… I still believe that sometime in the near future Nick Johnson is going to go off and just start raking at an unbelievable rate. But that’s only because he has no other option but to now. Nick is hitting .135 with one hit in his last 23 at-bats. Yes, he has 10 walks over that time, but he also has scored just two runs in his last 10 games. He came here to be the ultimate No. 2 hitter and table setter, and he has been setting the table to some degree, but now it’s time to swing the bat as well. But some of Nick’s problems are due to …

Mark Teixeira
When Nick Johnson gets on base he usually doesn’t score, and that is because Mark Teixeira likes April as much as I like the Mets. I have been waiting for May just as long as Tex, but come on. At what point does this mega slump become a concern. I’m not going to say I’m concerned just yet since I don’t think there is any way that Tex doesn’t have similar numbers to last year, but I don’t think I can pick on Nick Johnson for not hitting and not include Tex. I sit up at night and pray that these hard-hit outs and walks are a sign that he is coming out of his funk. We all know he is a bona fide slow starter and eventually will play to the back of his baseball card, and if you didn’t know that, Michael Kay will remind you. But if the rest of the team is going to slump, it’s time Tex stepped up. He has had enough time to slump, and it’s time to give someone else a chance.

David Robertson and Joba Chamberlain
Robertson needs to be the most important arm in the bullpen after Mariano and Joba. Actually you could make the case that he needs to be the most important arm after Mariano given Joba’s recent struggles. I am a huge David Robertson fan, and when he was working out of bases-loaded no-out jams in the postseason like David Copperfield or David Blaine, he helped solidify himself in my mind and gain my trust and confidence in big spots. Maybe he hasn’t found his groove yet this season, but Robertson has allowed six runs and 10 hits in five innings. His strikeouts are still there, but Robertson needs to be a guarantee when he comes in because there are too many other question marks in the ‘pen.

We have seen glimpses of Reliever Joba but Starter Joba has been making his fair share of appearances this season as well. I am 100-percent sure that Kendry Morales doesn’t go deep on Friday night if the Joba from the “Joba Mania” days is on the mound. And I know that Hideki Matsui wouldn’t have singled off Joba before Morales came to the plate. Maybe I need to accept the fact that Joba Chamberlain won’t be the Joba Chamberlain from 2007 and the beginning of 2008? But I don’t want to accept that and don’t want to admit it either. All I can do is hope old Joba comes back to us and puts an end to all my worries.

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Blogs • Yankees

Apr 26, 2010

Joe Girardi’s Devastating Decision

I might be creating an all-new All-Animosity Team in the very near future, or at least adding a new member. Kevin Youkilis has held down first base on the team for a while now, but

I might be creating an all-new All-Animosity Team in the very near future, or at least adding a new member. Kevin Youkilis has held down first base on the team for a while now, but a new form of evil has developed on the West Coast in the form of Kendry Morales.

The Yankees lost their first series of the season over the weekend because of Kendry Morales’ bat. The implosions of A.J. Burnett and Javier Vazquez changed the momentum in both losses, but it was Morales who put the finishing touch on the Yankees twice in the late innings.

Maybe the Angels were going to win those games anyways. It’s likely if it wasn’t Morales on Friday night, it would have been someone else, and who’s to say the Yankees would have even scored a fifth run on Sunday if they were able to hold the deficit to 5-4? I’m not saying that the Yankees were going to win either of those games, all I’m saying is Joe Girardi left the door open for second-guessing and gave any sports talk shows in need of material a week’s worth of ammunition.

I can let Friday slide because Joba Chamberlain was on the mound and if you can’t trust him, then there is going to be a serious problem with the pecking order in the bullpen this summer. Sure, Girardi could have turned Morales around in that game and made him hit from the right side – his weaker side. We’ll chalk that one up as Joba Chamberlain just not getting the job done.

But after watching Sunday’s events unfold, I thought it was Groundhog’s Day.

Joe Girardi is a matchup machine and I’m surprised he doesn’t change pitchers in the middle of at-bats depending on certain hitters’ numbers in certain counts against certain pitchers. He has a matchup or answer (not always the right answer) for every situation, and no matter what a unique situation calls for, he will always resort to the numbers. So when he decided that on April 25, 2010 he was going to go against his trusty notebook for the first time in his managerial career, it didn’t make any sense.

Why did Joe Girardi put aside the pure numbers for the first time, and why did it end with “Damaso Marte” trending higher than “Justin Bieber” on Twitter? (That actually happened). Let’s pick it up in the sixth inning on Sunday…

With the Angels leading 5-3 in the sixth, the sweet stroke of Robinson Cano found Scott Kazmir again for a solo shot to cut the lead to 5-4. In the seventh, Alfredo Aceves retires Maicer Izturis on a line out to Cano. Aceves is pitching for the first time in 8 days and has retired all five batters he has faced on just 15 pitches. But with one out in the inning and Bobby Abreu due up, Joe Girardi calls on the lefty Damaso Marte to go after the lefty.

There are two Damaso Martes. There is the Damaso Marte that is lights out and makes you wonder how anyone ever gets a hit off of him, and there is the Damaso Marte that could stand on the mound all day and not throw a strike once. There is no middle ground for Marte. He can’t enter a game without his best stuff and battle through to get the job done. Whoever created the old cliché “you either have it or you don’t” was certainly talking about Damaso Marte. When he has it, it’s a thing of beauty. And when he doesn’t, I’d rather watch YouTube videos of the old Stadium getting demolished. We saw Marte No. 2 on Sunday.

When Marte is on, you can land a plane in center field or have the stadium PA system start playing Eddie Van Halen’s “Eruption” in the middle of Marte’s windup and it won’t faze him. But when things don’t go according to plan, he gets the look of a lost child in a department store. The key to handling Marte, or at least what I believe to be the key, is to quickly identify which Marte you have on a given day, and then make a decision off that. Don’t leave him out there and hope he finds a rhythm because that isn’t Damaso Marte.

Marte gets behind Abreu 2-0 before walking him on five pitches (all fastballs), as Abreu never takes the bat off his shoulder. Then, after getting ahead of Torii Hunter 0-1, he drills him to put two on with one out and Hideki Matsui due up. At this point, it’s evident that Marte No. 2 is in the game. He has thrown just two strikes in seven pitches and has walked a batter and hit a batter.

The age-old rule that says you have a lefty face a lefty doesn’t apply to Hideki Matsui. Matsui is 4-for-12 (.333) against Marte, but Girardi sticks with him anyways. Marte gets Matsui to hit a grounder to A-Rod and A-Rod steps on third to force Abreu out. Now, Hunter is on second and Matsui is on first with two outs and Kendry Morales due up.

Here are two things we know about the potential matchup of Kendry Morales vs. Damaso Marte at the time:

1. Kendry Morales is hotter than the sun. He is already 2-for-2 with a walk in the game, and in the previous five games he is 10-for-19 (.526) with two home runs and seven RBIs, including the bomb he hit off Joba on Saturday. Girardi’s notes on him should say: DO NOT LET THIS MAN SWING THE BAT. DO NOT GIVE HIM A PITCH TO HIT. WALK HIM. WALK HIM. WALK HIM.

2. Damaso Marte is pitching like Sean Henn. He has walked a batter, hit a batter and was fortunate Matsui wasn’t able to pull back his half-hearted swing and instead induced a ground out. He has thrown nine pitches and six of them have been out of the zone, and one of them nearly put Torii Hunter on the DL. Marte is doing his best to tell Girardi he doesn’t have it, and Girardi seems to finally realize it.

Or so we all thought.

Girardi calls for an intentional walk of Morales with David Robertson warming up to face Juan Rivera. So, Marte throws an intentional ball to Francisco Cervelli. 1-0. Then, for reasons unknown, Girardi changes his mind and decides to have Marte pitch to Morales. Girardi goes against the unwritten rule (maybe Dallas Braden can fill him in on what an unwritten rule is) of going against your first instinct. Girardi had picked “A” and now he had erased it for “B” even though he had his notes right in front of him telling him to choose “A.” The same notes he has based every other decision of his managerial career on.

On the 1-0, pitch Marte misses way outside and Hunter steals third base creating a recipe for disaster given the man on the mound. There are now runners on the corners, Marte has thrown eight of 11 pitches for balls and is behind the Angels’ hottest and arguably best hitter 2-0 with runners on the corners. Hunter just stole third base with Marte not paying attention to him. The “lost child in the department store” look has now taken over his face, and the entire setup of the at-bat and the inning has completely changed on one pitch. Having lost all control of the situation and visibly rattled, Marte misses the outside corner on the 2-0, and is now just one pitch from loading the bases for Rivera, which was the original plan anyways.

At this point, Girardi might as well have intentionally walked Morales. If the idea was to pitch around Morales in the first place, Marte had already done that, getting behind Morales 3-0. If Girardi was originally worried about moving a runner to third base with an intentional walk, he doesn’t have to worry anymore since Hunter stole his way there.

So on the 3-0, Cervelli calls for a pitch to be just outside the zone, but with Marte No. 2 on the mound, he misses his spot completely. When Marte is going like this, he can’t even throw a ball when he needs to and instead throws an 89 mph meatball down the heart of the plate. Morales, sitting patiently and given the green light, unloads on the present from Marte and hammers it over the wall for a three-run bomb to blow the doors open on the Yankees.

Friday night wasn’t as bad since it’s hard to say Girardi shouldn’t have used Joba there, and even if it was statistically wrong to let Morales hit from the left side on Friday, he proved on Sunday that he has no problem dropping bombs from either side. Sunday, however, wasn’t so simple since Girardi telegraphed his initial instinct to intentionally walk Morales and let Robertson face Rivera with two outs. By displaying his original thought to the world, he had already created an alternate ending for a potential disaster. If Plan B failed, Girardi had unlocked the door for second-guessing and criticism. And once it did fail, the media and fans just had to open the door he had unlocked.

So the Yankees lost their first series of the season, and two games in which they led. But the team is 12-6 (statistically have won each series sine the sweep of the Rangers and loss to Angels cancel out), and have the 3-16 Orioles next with Phil Hughes, CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett lined up. It’s hard to complain.

I’m just happy the Yankees don’t face the Angels again this season, unless they meet in October, and no games against the Angels means no more Kendry Morales. No more Kendry Morales means less times Joe Girardi has to make a tough decision, and that’s a good thing.

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