The Disparity between Yankees Blogs and the Media

(**Editor's note - this is the first post from the newest TFB contributor, Jamie From BomberBanter.com. Drop some comments, or shoot him an email at jamie.thefowlballs@gmail.com)

Since the Yankees offensive struggles began a few weeks ago, a cruise through the Yankees blog scene has most people calling for Derek Jeter to move out of the lead off spot in the line up as his pension to ground out to short stop feels like its at a career high. Then, you wander over to SI.com's MLB homepage and BOOM! Joe Posnanski is comparing Jeter to Pete Rose. Now it should be noted that Posnanski doesn't think Jeter will get his hit total up in Rose territory (and I tend to agree), but the fact that he wrote the article in the first place is what caught my attention. Ian O'Conner, on the other hand, thinks Jeter can catch Rose.

As the nonsense that is ESPN and our local paper's coverage of the Yankees weighed on me all off season long, SI.com became a daily destination for me, but as this season has rolled on, I find myself visiting less and less. The simple fact is, Yankees Blog coverage is just better than Media coverage. I know that I'm tooting my own horn on some level (try to keep the comments on that PG, folks), but its true. Flip through the Yankees blogs and you'll find
amazing statistical analysis at River Ave Blues, incite on other parks and cities from Yankeeist or just silliness from An A-Blog for A-Rod.

What's going on at ESPN, you ask? More Joe West comments on length of games. Yep, they're still beating that horse. And speaking of desecrating graves, The NY Post has got yet another McNamee/Clemens article - I think I counted 5 entire sentences. Just awesome. Now that's good reporting on a topic nobody cares about anymore.

I could go on, but it'd be an exercise in futility. The Yankees Blogs are doing better because they're not beholden to a business model that dictates they create as many pages/posts as possible in an effort to serve as many banner advertisements as possible. Yankees Blogs don't post a bunch of crap and their not motivated by financial gain; we blog the Yankees because we love 'em. Even when the Bombers play like ass, they're still there for us, just about every day, from late February to (hopefully) early November and beyond. Covering baseball is a writer's dream - they play every day and there are a million stories to write that are interesting and relevant. Yankees Blogs give you an analysis, statistical information and facts, passion for their team and a laugh. The media is just filler.

Help Wanted

The Fowl Balls is looking for writers. We have some extra cubicles to fill here at TFB world headquarters, and we need some like-minded, borderline-douchebag Yankee fanatics to contribute to the site. If you are interested (and who wouldn't be) drop a line at jimmydugan.thefowlballs@gmail.com . I look forward to seeing what type of degenerates would want to work for us.

Gross.

There is no other word to describe what I was forced to watch as a Yankee fan this weekend. Just BRUTAL. No pitching, no offense, and I got to watch that d-bag K-Rod celebrate like he just closed Game 7 not once, but TWICE. Act like you been there, guy.

PS - To all of my Mets fan friends: RELAX. Good for you for taking 2 of 3 from a superior team. But let's get one thing straight - your team is flat out not good. Johan is solid, and it looks like Mike Pelfrey has put it together. That leaves 60% of your rotation that is dogshit. Your star third baseman strikes out like there's an incentive in is contract tied to it. Jose Reyes makes horrific decisions on the bases. Jeff Franceour's head is so far up his own rectum at the plate that he's wearing himself as a hat.

PPS - I hate K-Rod with the heat of 1,000 suns. It makes me smile when his newly acquired chubby face dryhumps a fastball to the plate at 89 MPH.

Yankees limp into series against JV team

(Nice grab, bro)

After getting their dicks kicked in by the Rays, the walking wounded Yankees get to take some BP reps this weekend at Citi Field. In game one, look for Javier Vazquez to stay on track (he will be pitching against an NL team, after all). If the Yankees don't win at least 2 of these 3 games, I think that there should be some serious thought about contraction.

Yankees, AJ get pummeled by first place Rays - but that's not the bad news

AJ Burnett looked terrible last night against the Yankees' only competition in the AL East, losing 10-6 in the Bronx. It was another lackluster performance by the Yankees as a whole, soring some garbage runs after the game was well out of reach. AJ was terrible, Boone Logan was worse, and Mark Melancon hopped right on the suck train himself.

With all that being said, it was one game of 162 (or 19 if you want to talk about the ridiculous amount of times they are forced to play divisional opponents). The real news in the Yankees Universe is that Jorge Posada has a hairline fracture in his foot, and could be out up to a month. Up until now, the Frankie Cervelli bandwagon was a cute little idea. Now, Yankee fans and followers wake up this morning looking to the kid to be a stabilizing force for a struggling pitching staff in a more long-term capacity. Look, I love Cervelli. He plays his balls off, and handles himself behind the plate. Do I think he is a starting catcher on a championship team? Maybe, if the heavies are hitting. But wiith a lineup that is already depleted (Winn and Thames in the outfield!!11!!!!1), the Yankees could really use Jorgie's bat right now.

Mind you, I am not all doom and gloom. Frankie has handled the bat in limited time this year, and that could continue. Hell, the only reason he got reps last year at all was that Posada and Molina got hurt, and that team did OK. However, Posada is, in my opinion, one of the most underrated offensive players in the league and replacing him in the lineup is no small feat. So, cue the crazy rumors about everyone who has ever hit a home run in the Major Leagues. I beg the beat writers, please do not force me to read about Jermaine Dye and Pat Fucking Burrell.

Well, that was quick

Marcus Thames' run as Yankee Hero came to an end last night. Just 25 hours after erasing what was a disgusting game with a two-run, game winning home run against the Red Sox, Thames crapped himself in the outfield. It was nice while it lasted, I guess.

PS - Did you see the 2-2 pitch to Jeremy Hermida? I didn't think I would ever see a call like that that didn't go Mo's way. I mean that thing clipped the corner, and SHOULD have been strike three. I know that Thames should have caught that ball, and the Yankees didn't deserve to win the game anyway, but REALLY? That's Mariano F'ing Rivera out there. He gets that call.

No Explanation Necessary

Sure, I could do what I usually do and write an incredibly witty and insightful summary of the best game of the year so far. But I think I will just let the picture say its 1000 words.

Not the same Twins

After years of being an overachieving, scrappy, no-pop, well managed, gritty squad, it seems as though the Twins are taking a different route.

Gone are the days of slappy hitters up and down the lineup. For years all we heard was how the Twins had no power in their lineup, and now you are seeing Mauer, Morneau, and Cuddyer as offensive forces, and a power bat in Jim Thome coming off the bench. The firepower is there.

You know what else is there? The money. On the YES broadcast today, Michael Kay said that the Twinkies' payroll had eclipsed the $100 million mark this season, placing them above the mega-market Dodgers on the list.

The wave of changes has even reached Manager Ron Gardenhire. Long respected for his baseball acumen, Gardy trotted Matt Guerrier out to face A-Rod after intentionally walking Mark Teixeira to load the bases. Let me break that down for you: the Twins intentionally walked a hitter in FRONT of Alex Rodriguez to load the bases in a one run game in the 7th inning, and brought a pitcher in that A-Rod was 4 for 6 off of. Oh, by the way, 3 of those 4 hits happened to be home runs. A-Rod took just two pitches to deposit a go-ahead granny into the lefct centerfield seats. Wow. Just, wow.

You know what hasn't changed? The Twins absolutely can not figure out how to beat the Yankees in this or any other Yankee Stadium. Change is good, as long as there is some continuity mixed in.

News from Less Important Teams: Asshole Throws Perfect Game

Dallas Braden too time off from his busy schedule of crying about Alex Rodriguez to squeeze in a perfect game on Sunday. Although I can't stand the site of him, at least it came against the Rays.

Well, it looks like April is over

(Mark Teixeira watches his third home run leave the yard on Saturday in Boston)

Tex's numbers in May -

7 games, .400 BA, 3 HR, 11 RBI

I don't care how good the Rays are - when Teixeira and A-Rod get no the same page, nobody is safe.

Rivalry.

Gone are the days of pussies like Mike Mussina who refuse to protect their hitters. This is a shot of CC Sabathia after Josh Beckett drilled Derek Jeter in the 6th. I would say that the Yankees should retaliate tomorrow by hitting the Red Sox' best hitter, but I am not sure at this point that they have one. When in doubt, hit Kevin Youkilis.

Morning Dump

The Morning Dump is a new feature on The Fowl Balls that will compile what I perceive as the most entertaining Yankees links from the previous day. If you find anything that you think is dumpworthy, leave it in the comment section

MJR and the Rays should get a room - Mike over at Yankeeist gushes over what Tampa Bay has been doing thus far.

Looks like Brett has ditched the "look overmatched" gameplan - Joe P at RAB breaks down the changes that Gardner and Swisher have made to their respective approaches at the plate

...and tomorrow they will break down the anatomy of booing Javy Vasquez - Moshe Mandel at TYU discussed the gayest tradition in spectator sports

Billy Beane needs to put a muzzle on this asshole - Dallas Braden keeps talking, and Bronx Baseball Daily tells us all about it

Good Luck Bro

According to MLBTR, noted ball thief Doug Mientkiewicz has signed with the Florida Marlins. South Florida baseball writers just cursed in unison. Full disclosure, this is barely news and I certainly wouldn't be posting about it if Doug wasn't my BFF on Twitter.

Housekeeping

Hey all - just a few notes on what to expect from The Balls in the near future...

- The Morning Dump will make it's triumphant, corn-riddled return on Friday so you know exactly what to read this weekend

- I am also working on running some guest post over the next few weeks because even a man as impressive as myself can't do it on his own

- The blogroll is also going to subject to overhaul to make sure that only the best Yankee blogs sit in the prime real estate in the margin of the world's best Yankees blog.

- Drop me a line at jimmydugan[dot]thefowlballs[at]gmail[dot]com with any suggestions, comments, or vids of lewd acts that come your way.

Uh Oh

(Elbows shouldn't do that anyway)

After another 5 stellar innings against the lowly Orioles today, Andy Pettitte left pre-maturely with elbow stiffness (at his age, he should be happy when anything gets stiff /rimshot). While the Yankees went on to win the game, this serves as a reminder of just how fragile the 2010 season is in the Bronx. While speculation will run wild, let's take a look at what the Yankees could be faced with if Andy is truly hurt (and he doesn't reach for the magic needle to get back early).

So, let's say Pettitte hits the 15 day DL. Basically he would miss two starts, with Sergio Mitre in line to take his start on Tuesday after following him up today. Then, because of a built-in off day, he would miss just one more start before returning to make his scheduled start on the 21st against the Mets. To me, this is the move. If he is going to (probably) miss the first start, give him the second start off. While he has been great thus far, the innings that Andy Pettitte throws in May are not the reason that he was re-signed. And after seeing Javier Vasquez fold like origami every time out thus far, the Yankees could be in dire need of vintage Andy Pettitte come September.