Girardi It Is

It's official, and a good call.

Now they need to focus on Mo, Posada and Abreu..

Then they need to turn their eyes towards 1B, 3B and the bullpen..

Its going to be an interesting 100 or so days..

Girardi?

Girardi is the long shot in this race.. Chances are the Yankees are making it seem like they are giving him serious consideration for bussneiss reasons..

That said, it would show a nice breaking of the mold to hire him over Mattingly or Pena..

I love both Mattingly and Pena, but their personality seems to be right along the same lines as Torres.. The team next year would have the same 'feel' or 'personality' as they have the last 7 or 8 years..

Girardi would bring something almost completey different with him. I think he has a completely different style of managing compared to Pena and Mattingly..

Would that be good or bad? That's a much harder question..

So Long, Joe.

Ok well, Joe is gone.

Let's be blunt about this.

I myself didn't partake much in the Joe Torre debate over the last few years. Everyone knows his bullpen managment is suspect, but everyone also knows that the Yankees have made the post season 12 years in a row.

I very much disliked what they did to Torre, he did deserve to be treated better. To fly him down there take him away from his comfort zone and put him in a spot like they did, was an ugly choice by the Yankees brass.

Heres the thing, the Yankees are a business and because of that, they need to sometimes make hard and unpopular choices. It can't always be friendly.

As a team, as a business, the Yankees demand perfection. They passionately want to put winning teams on the field. They tried to play Torre, and he called them on it. Now, change happens.

Things are electric right now, but they'll calm down. The Yankee will hire a new manager, he'll have a tough task, but this is the Yankees. They respond to this kind of thing.

Try not to get caught up in the media tornado that's going on right now. ESPN and the like hate the Yankees. They'll milk this for as long as they can. Just remember that change is always inevitable, but this is the Yankees. Don't forget about the players. Don't forget that despite what happened with Torre, the Yankees brass knows what they're doing. This team will shape up and although many of us will miss Joe, things will work out in end.

End of an Era?

It would seem so...

So disappointing, but lets not overlook what this Dynasty did.. It was a great ride..

This was this Dynasty's last breath.. Year after year we try to fool ourselves and say 'making the playoffs is enough', but we know that's not true.. We need to win.

But these teams have not been enough.. A lot of things will need to be looked at... It's time for a change, and I think we all know it.

Thankfully, we have a core of young players that are eager to step up and start a new Dynasty for the Yankees..

For now, take a deep breath, remember the good times this team has given us and try to focus on the future because it truly is bright for the Yankees.

Don't Stop Believing

It's just one game folks. Lets relax, regroup, and get them tomorrow.

Go Yankees!

Yankees vs. Indians Preview

Well it definitely was an exciting regular season. Or at least, exciting in retrospect... After all, it wasn't very exciting back in April and May.

Now the real fun begins. The pose season. I'm looking forward to the anxiousness, the pacing around the room, the tension and the emotion.

So the Yankees play the Indians. What does this mean? Well it means the Yankees have to go up against a couple of pitchers who could very well finish 1 and 2 in the CY Young voting. In a 5 game series, C.C Sabathia will likely be scheduled to pitch twice, first in game 1, and probably in game 5. Because of that, the majority of the experts seem to favor the Indians, though I have seen quite a few pick the Yankees.

When writing this preview, I tried to decide how much of it I wanted to dedicate to statistics. Did I want to list out batter vs pitcher comparisons and rattle off number after number? I'm sure we've all seen the stats and that we all know the Yankees haven't faced C.C since 2004.. I'm sure we all know the Yankees are 6-0 against the Tribe this year, etc, etc..

In the end, I've decided not to list all these stats. I feel that numbers lie when it comes to the post season. The post season is a whole different season. Yes, a lot of things will stay the same. Certain patterns we've seen and certain player tendencies will not change. But some things will. Every post season, we all see a multitude of things that don't add up to what we've been told.

Things happen that the 'experts' didn't predict.. Things happen that completely go against all the stats. So yes, I could list off each teams stats. I could give you their regular season clutch hitting numbers, or how they pitch with men in scoring position, and who knows, maybe those numbers will carry over to the post season.. But I really think history tells us otherwise.

All that long winded talk aside, of course I'm picking the Yankees. Here near Boston, all I have been hearing is how bad the Yankees pitching is. It's the same thing I've heard for years. Just like I've always heard them say 'The Yankees have no farm system'.

So, just as the 'Yankees have no farm system' proved to be wrong, I believe the idea that the Yankees have no pitching will be proved wrong as well.

I also just have a feeling about this team. There's a chemistry on this team that has been absent in years past. They have a winning attitude that was lacking in past seasons.

There is also the myth that this Yankee team is just on a streak at the end of the season, and that they're playing above themselves. Well, here's something that a lot of the 'experts' as well as the people here in Boston are missing... The Yankees have won 73 of their last 112 games. That's a .652 winning percentage.. That, simply, is consistent winning baseball. That is what the Yankees play.

There is an aura around this team. They're having fun and they're winning. This is the Yankees year. Anyone over looking the Yankees and counting them out for whatever reason will be in for a big shock.

So, I'll turn the TV on, and I'll be nervous, excited and anxious. I'll be perfectly still, and ill pace around the room. But somewhere inside I'll know that in the end, it's all going to be worth it.

Start Times for The ALDS

Lohud has reported the start times will be:

Game 1 at Cleveland on Thursday: 6:30 p.m.

Game 2 at Cleveland on Friday: 5 p.m.

Game 3 at New York on Sunday: 6:30 p.m.

Game 4 at New York on Monday: 6 p.m.

Game 5 at Cleveland on Oct. 10: 5 p.m.

Here's whats interesting..

The Yankees are 29-27 in day games, and 65-41 in night games, which is the third best night record in the league.

I have no idea what category these random start times fall into.. But I consider these times closer to night, rather than day.. So lets go with that.