The Last Time the Yankees Missed the Playoffs...

...the NBA was still relevant (although hockey wasn't)

...this man was their starting Shortstop

...Bill Clinton lifted the ban on gays in the military

...Michael Jackson was accused of dittling a 13 year old boy - the first time

...River Phoenix died from what amounts to 'natural causes' for a 23 year old actor

...Joe Carter effectively ended Mitch Williams' career

...a stamp cost $0.29

...Rodney King became a movie star

...Jesus returned to his people in Waco, TX

I guess nothing lasts forever.

It's About F@#*ing Time

Melky Cabrera has been optioned to AAA Scranton. Although it may now be too late, hopefully this is the wakeup he (and possibly Cano) needed.

Yankees All-Nighter Ends with Two Big Rods and a Hit of X

After Mariano Rivera faultered in a save situation for the first time all year, ARod, IRod, and Xavier Nady come up big in the 12th inning to secure a Yankee victory.

Steinbrenner: The Next Generation

In an interview with the Associated Press today Hank Steinbrenner actually sympathized with the current Yankees team, citing injuries as a reason for the teams struggles.

"I think it's very simple, we've been devastated by injuries," Steinbrenner said. "No team I've ever seen in baseball has been decimated like this. It would kill any team. Imagine the Red Sox without [Josh] Beckett and [Jon] Lester. Pitching is 70 percent of the game. Wang won 19 games two straight years. Chamberlain became the most dominating pitcher in baseball. You can't lose two guys like that." (Source: http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080812&content_id=3297917&vkey=news_nyy&fext=.jsp&c_id=nyy)

Although he did state that he is not "writing off the season", this is the closest thing we have seen to a white flag out of the Steinbrenner family since they took over. As someone who watches every game, I have also witnessed the plight of the team as they have plodded along this season. And, don't get me wrong, I understand that injuries have a lot to do with their current standing. But what is this world coming to? Since when do the Yankees, more specifically the Steinbrenners, empathize with mediocrity?

Still only a handful of games out of the Wild Card race, the Yankees are still in the thick of a postseason run. Call me crazy, but I am still of the mindset that a $200 million+ payroll should equate to a team that is devoid of excuses. The Red Sox have had injury problems. The Ex Rays are dealing with potentially crippling injuries right now.

At the end of the day, a lack of performance has done this team in. Derek Jeter is a shell of his former self. Melky Cabrera is not a good baseball player. The Kennedy-Hughes experiment has been a bust. The team has not hit with runners in scoring position. Still, with all of these issues, this team is still only four games out of a playoff spot. Although injuries may be enough to convince Hank that an early offseason is acceptable, this writer finds it a little harder to swallow.

Red Sox obtain Paul Byrd

One question: HOW?

How the hell does ANY starting pitcher make it past the Yankees on the waiver wire at this point? On top of the fact that DARRELL RASNER starts again tomorrow, a serviceable starter will now be helping the Red Sox in their stretch run. Byrd has turned his season around of late, and could potentially fill a hole left by the imploding Clay Bucholz.

I know I will get emails about this, because Paul Byrd sucks. I know he sucks, you know he sucks, and his mother knows he sucks. But if he goes 4-2 in a pennant race for the Red Sox while the Yankees could have had him for a player to be named later and $37 cash, somebody's ass is getting fired.

Joe Girardi Stricken with Joe Torre Disease

Let me get this straight: the Yankees are basically in must-win mode for the rest of the season, right? So PLEASE explain to me how Melky Cabrera, aka the worst every day player in any pennant race, is getting the start in center field.

Upon further review, I must retract my previous statement. Among AL center fielders with more than 400 at bats this season, the Melk Man is only second to last in VORP, coming in marginally higher than Carlos Gomez, but still representing negative value. For those unfamiliar with VORP, or Value Over Replacement Player, it represents the number of runs contributed beyond what a replacement-level player at the same position would contribute if given the same percentage of team plate appearances. VORP scores do not consider the quality of a player's defense. (http://www.baseballprospectus.com/). And before everyone jumps on the "Melky is a great defender" bandwagon, let us put that in perspective. According to this calculation, he has cost the Yankees 3.4 runs in his 430 plate appearances. His spectacular arm has thrown out just 6 runners trying to advance this season, and his range is just not as exceptional as the YES Network would have you believe.

Meanwhile Johnny Damon, a .292 hitter against left handers, sat and watched this evening as the Yankees were shut out on only four hits, wasting a gutsy performance by Sidney Ponson. Luckily, he looks to have enough gut to go around.

This Kid is a Moron

Ian Kennedy needs to be locked away from the media. As noted at nomaas.org, IPK made some startling comments concerning his lackluster performance in a critical, series opening game on friday night in Anaheim.

"“It’s the first bad outing I’ve had in a long time, since the All-Star break,” Kennedy said. “I’m not going to look much into it. I felt like I made some good pitches. I’m just not too upset about it.”

Ian failed to mention in that quote that these magnificent starts he was speaking of took place at AAA. Now he has done a half hearted job of retracting his statements, with this quote via the New York Post:

"It came out wrong. I was very disappointed with myself. I always want to do well," Kennedy said. "I had seven innings to think about it. I hate losing but I wasn't going to let it ruin what I had done recently (at Triple-A)."

You're right, pal. Why let the fact that you can not get outs at the big league level ruin your lofty Minor League resume. Enjoy the flight back to Scranton.


Read the whole article right here: http://www.nypost.com/seven/08112008/sports/yankees/demoted_kennedy_sorry_for_postgame_faux__123974.htm

It Finally Happened...

Joe Girardi finally let his gut take over, and left the best relief pitcher in the history of the game sit in the bullpen in favor of Damaso Marte in a tie game in the 9th inning. After realizing his mistake with one out two men on, it was just too late. Chone Figgins hit a ground ball with eyes off of of Mariano Rivera, earning the Angels a win and a sweep of the Yankees.

Bromance

Even though this is a baseball-centric blog, I felt kind of left out being the only media outlet in the galaxy not to report on this. Also, being a Jet fan, this picture is like Viagra to my system.

BRETT FAVRE IS A JET, albeit 17 years later than we had hoped.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled Yankees programming.

Andy Pettitte Misremembers How to Pitch

Last 2 starts: 10 1/3 innings, 17 hits, 14 runs, 2 catchers