Friday, August 31, 2007

Breaking News: Joba suspended

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/press_releases/press_release.jsp?ymd=20070831&content_id=2181072&vkey=pr_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb


Over all, this is pretty pointless.

According to the Joba rules, he wouldn't have pitched for 2 days anyway.

This isn't really anything at all but a way for the MLB to save face and protect one of it's umpires choices.

No big deal.

A look at tonights matchup

Tonight's match up is:

RHP Andy Sonnanstine (3-9, 6.38) vs. RHP Phil Hughes (2-2, 5.35), 7:05

Rookie pitcher Andy Sonnanstine has gotten progressively worse as the season has gone on..

Here are some basic 'by the number' stats for him:

In the month of June: 5 games, 32.1IP, 5.85 ERA, .287 BA, 27K
In the month of July: 6 games, 39IP, 5.31ERA, .291BA, 24K
In the month of August: 5 games, 24.2IP, 8.76ERA, .305BA, 17K

The Yankees faced him once this year. He went 6.1 giving up 5 runs on 9 hits, 2 of which were HRs.

It's also worth noting that he is 0-7 in night games with a 6.88ERA.


Phil Hughes hasn't been having the greatest success, but there are bright spots for him..

First, the bad stuff. The number of Home runs he's giving up. Coming into the season, one of Hughes' biggest bright spots was the lack of HR's he gave up. He had a streak going in the minors.. That's vanished though as hes given up 5 HRs so far this month..

The good news, is that in his last 5 starts, batters are hitting just .231 against him. Hes also struck out 25 against 11 walks in the last 5 starts..

All in all though, this game should be one the Yankees take. Sonnanstine gives up far to many hits.

Sweep

Yankees sweep the Sox. I'm sure you've read everything about that now.

Here's an article from ESPN titled "Shut up, Red Sox nation", which proclaims:
"Red Sox fans, sadly, have taken over the mantle as the most obnoxious fans in sports."

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=caple/070829&sportCat=mlb

The most shocking thing about this article is where its coming from. ESPN is notorious for being incredibly biased towards the RedSox. (Joe Morgan anyone?)

Be nice if they try to shift away from that.

Wednesday, August 29, 2007

Yankees win, Kennedy up, Seattle drops another one

The Yankees beat the Red Sox last night with a mostly home-grown team on the field:

Posada, Pettitte, Phillips, Cano, Jeter, Cabrera, Chamberlain Rivera.

But you wouldn't know that around Boston. Yes, there is an acknowledgment to Joba and some of the other young players, but you won't hear or read much about the Yankees fielding a team they built through the draft.

That's because the Yankees have become synonymous around here with spending money and fielding a team of over priced free agent signings. There is no Yankee-Red Suax argument that doesn't go back to the amount of money the Yankees spend.

Eventually all of baseball will have to come to a realization of how deep the Yankees farm system is, and that the players there will be playing a great roll in the Yankees future.

Speaking of the farm, the big news is that Mussina is out and Ian Kennedy is in.


Read more about it here:


http://bats.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/08/29/kennedy-replaces-mussina-in-the-rotation/
and here
http://www.nyjournalnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070829/SPORTS01/708290389/1034/SPORTS

And finally, Seattle lost again last night. That's four in a row for them, and it brings the Yankees to within 1 of the wild card. Seattle scored 5 in the first but only managed 1 run over the next 8 innings.

Seattle has been one of the best teams at home, going 41-25 before last nights game. So gaining a game on them while there at home is a big bonus for the Yankees. Soon, they head out on a tough 10-game road trip, and they are currently only 32-31 on the road.

Why Hello There

I'll try to keep this 'about myself' post brief because I don't really think anyone comes to read a sports blog to learn all that much about the writer.

I'm a life long Yankees fan. I was born in western Massachusetts, but I've lived the majority of my life about a half hour outside of Boston. I've gone my entire life surrounded on every side by Red Sox fans, with the exception of my home as my parents and most of my family are also Yankee fans.

I usually feel like I have a thing or two to say about the team, but it's tough to discuss the Yankees while surrounded by Red Sox fans, so I thought I'd create this blog to try and give a perspective on the attitude here behind enemy lines as well as share my own thoughts and feelings on the team.

I loathe writing these introductions.