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.