Wednesday, April 2, 2008

Bowa Goes Crazy


Apparently the umpire told him to stay in the coaching box. I miss him already.

Mussina Optimistic About '08

From the Daily News:
"Last year was last year. It wasn't my best year, and I know that. But you've got to let those things go," said Mussina, who will oppose Toronto's A.J. Burnett tonight. "It's like having a bad game - or three bad games - you've got to let them go and move on. That's pretty much what I've done."

Following what he referred to as a "more-involved" workout regimen before and during spring training, Mussina says he feels "better physically now than I did last year," when he missed a few early starts with hamstring problems.

With Mussina's contract set to expire in October, the Yanks are counting on a healthy and productive season from the righthander, who is 43rd on the all-time list with 250 wins after reaching double-digits for an AL-record 16 straight season.

"It's just like the end of any other contract. You've just got to play," Mussina said. "This team doesn't negotiate early, so that's not an issue. And because I'm getting up there in age, there are other factors that go into what I'm going to do next year. So I'll just play."

A lot of people think Moose is done, but I'm not going to say that yet. I think the guy has a little left in the tank, at least enough for one more solid year. I don't expect him to be the pitcher he was in '06 (15-7, 3.51 ERA), but I do think he will be better than he was in '07 when he was just awful. I figure he'll finish this season with an ERA around 4.50 and win 12-15 games.

A few pics from Opening Day and Night

Sorry there aren't more in-game shots, but I was too busy watching the game.

Trenton Defeats Scranton in Exibition Game

SWB and Trenton played each other last night in Trenton and the Thunder won 3-2. Here's a full game report from Chad Jennings. Trenton scored it's runs on RBI singles from Colin Curtis and Cody Ethers, and a solo HR by Matt Carson. SWB scored it's runs on an Eric Duncan RBI ground out, and a passed ball which scored the speedy Brett Gardner.

Tuesday, April 1, 2008

Great Win for To Start Season for Yanks

One down, 161 to go.

The Yanks defeated the Toronto Blue Jays tonight 3-2 behind a great effort from Chien-Ming Wang. Wang went 7 innings and allowed only two runs on six hits. Then Joba Chamberlain came in and struck out two in his inning of work. Mariano Rivera finished the game with an easy 1-2-3 inning in the 9th. Last year Mo didn't record his first save until April 28th.

This is exactly what a you would want from the Yankees; seven innings from the starter, an inning from Joba, and an inning from Mo. If only this could happen 99 more times this year.

Derek Jeter looked very good at short tonight. I don't know if it was his offseason workout routine, but he looked like he was moving very well tonight. Keep it up Jeet.


IPHRERBBSOHRERA
Wang (W, 1-0)7.06222202.57
Chamberlain (H, 1)1.00001200.00
Rivera (S, 1)1.00000100.00

BLUE JAYS PITCHING

Melky Cabrera (1-for-3 HR, RBI) was the player of the game (I don't care what YES said). He made two great plays in center and hit a solo HR to tie the game in the 6th. Alex Rodriguez picked up right where he left off last season with two hits and an RBI. Bobby Abreu (2-for-4, R) also had two hit, and Hideki Matsui (0-for-3, RBI) also drove in a run on a fielders choice.

Here's the Yankees box score:


ABRHRBIBBSOLOBAVG
Damon, LF4010010.250
Jeter, SS4010001.250
Abreu, RF4120001.500
Rodriguez, 3B3121101.667
Giambi, 1B3000103.000
Cano, 2B3010002.333
Posada, C2000111.000
Matsui, DH3001002.000
Cabrera, CF3111012.333
Totals293833313

BATTING
2B: Rodriguez (1, Halladay).
3B: Damon (1, Downs).
HR: Cabrera (1, 6th inning off Halladay, 0 on, 0 out).
TB: Damon 3; Jeter; Abreu 2; Rodriguez 3; Cano; Cabrera 4.
RBI: Rodriguez (1), Cabrera (1), Matsui (1).
2-out RBI: Rodriguez.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Giambi 2; Cabrera.
GIDP: Posada; Rodriguez.
Team LOB: 5.

BLUE JAYS HITTING


Tonight was the 11th straight home opener won by the Yanks, a major league record. The last time they lost the home opener was in 1997 when they lost 3-1 in 12 to the Oakland A's. The Yankees got a great start from Cone that day, going seven, and allowing no runs on 2 hits and 4 walks, while striking out 12. The Yankees had a 1-0 lead going into the 9th, but Mo couldn't close out the game, and allowed a game-tying homer to Mark McGwire. Jeff Nelson took the loss and the winner was a guy by the name of Aaron Small.

QUOTE OF THE NIGHT: “You look forward to this day from the time I signed as manager on November. You do all the preparation up to spring training and during spring training. I saw it pay off tonight. It’s an unbelievable feeling when you actually get to play for real because that’s what you work for.”
- Joe Girardi

Game two of the three game set with the Jays is tomorrow night at The Stadium. With Mike Mussina goes up against A.J. Burnett. First pitch is set for 7:05 and the game can be seen on YES, and heard on WCBS 880.

By the way, good job booing Hawkins tonight. Keep booing him until he gives up that number. Morgan Ensberg understood the fans didn't want him wearing No. 21, apparently Hawkins will have to learn the hard way.

Anyway, it was a great night to be at the greatest stadium in the world. Hopefully many of you were able to enjoy it as much as I did.

Yanks vs. Jays Game Thread - Opening Day

OK let's try this again; The day is finally here, the quest for #27 begins today tonight.

Regular Season Game 1 - Opening Day Night
Yankees vs. Blue Jays
Yankee Stadium - Bronx, NY
Game Time: 7:05 p.m.
TV/radio: YES - WCBS 880

"You always get a special kick on opening day, no matter how many you go through. You look forward to it like a birthday party when you're a kid. You think something wonderful is going to happen."
- Joe DiMaggio

Here are the lineups:

YANKEES
Damon LF
Jeter SS
Abreu RF
Rodriguez 3B
Giambi 1B
Cano 2B
Posada C
Matsui DH
Cabrera CF

Starting Pitcher: Chien-Ming Wang

BLUE JAYS
Eckstein SS
Stewart LF
Rios RF
Wells CF
Thomas DH
Overbay 1B
Hill 2B
Scutaro 3B
Zaun C

Starting Pitcher: Roy Halladay

I'm going to the game tonight so I won't be able to post a game summary. Enjoy the game everybody, and go Yankees!

Canseco Warns A-Rod: "I've got the ace in the hole, and he knows it."

From the Daily News (hat tip to WasWatching.com):

It's been a week, of course, since an obscure blog first reported on the juicy parts of "Vindicated." It's been a week since fans learned of Canseco's claims that he introduced A-Rod to a steroid dealer, and that the third baseman returned the favor by trying to sleep with Canseco's then-wife. Canseco is still reveling in the discomfort he's caused Rodriguez. Every awkward "no comment" from A-Rod gives Canseco great glee.

The best part, Canseco says in an exclusive interview at the Omni Berkshire in midtown, is that Rodriguez can't do anything about it. If A-Rod threatens to sue Canseco or goes on "60 Minutes" to attack his credibility, Canseco will respond with "Max," the Canadian steroid dealer he claims to have hooked A-Rod up with in the late 1990s. If Canseco is sued or attacked, Max - up to this point simply known as an unidentified .steroids supplier - will go public with everything he knows about A-Rod, says Canseco. This, Canseco adds, is not a war that A-Rod can win.

"I've got the ace in the hole," Canseco says with a laugh. "And he knows it. So there's no way that he's going to fight me. He's trying to make it go away."

First things first, I believe A-Rod and Canseco spoke about steroids, I believe Canseco may have even introduced A-Rod to the steroid dealer, but I do not necessarily believe A-Rod used steroids. OK, just wanted to get that out of the way.

This is why I questioned A-Rod's "no comment" last week. Even though some Yankees fans thought that this would just go away because "nobody believes Canseco," that just isn't the case. Canseco was on ESPN and Letterman yesterday, and will be on Howard Stern and Keith Olbermann today, as much as people don't want to admit it, people are interesting in what he has to say. This will go on as long as Canseco wants it to go on, he has complete control of the situation.

There is always the chance that Canseco's "ace in the hole" doesn't exist, and that it's just a way for him to keep people interested. Either way it seems like it's working.

Sheppard to Introduce Jeter, Sort of

From Bryan Hoch:
NEW YORK -- Bob Sheppard's voice will be at Yankee Stadium after all for Monday's season opener, the final Opening Day in the ballpark's history -- although he will be heard for just one batter.

Sheppard, the Yankees' public address announcer since 1951, will not be able to attend the game as he recovers from health issues that have limited his workload. But shortstop Derek Jeter plans to have Sheppard introduce him for his at-bats, the first of which will come in the bottom of the first inning against the Blue Jays' Roy Halladay. Jeter has had Sheppard's introduction recorded on tape.

"It's unfortunate, because one of the first things I looked forward to when I was called up was coming to Yankee Stadium and hearing him say my name," Jeter said on Monday. "I had Bob Sheppard record introducing me. I'll always come to the plate with Bob Sheppard."

Good idea, it just isn't the same going to Yankee Stadium without hearing Sheppard's voice.