The first half has been fun.
Joba got to pretend he was pitching well as a starter. " I had my best stuff, today. They just kept hitting it. And then there were the long counts, the walks and the seeing eye base hits. But I was really good."
Note: Joba didn't get out of the 4th inning and the Angels took over the game. His fast ball was consistently 91. It overwhelmed no one. It set up nothing.
Our wheeling and dealing with the Pirates taught us some lasting lessons. Nady's Yankee career ended with about 7 games under his belt. Luckily, we have Nick Swisher, and now Hinske, to man Paul O'Neil's right field. No speed. Weak arms. Marginal athleticism. And solid, .240-.260 hitting. Waiting in the wings, of course, is the "diamond" of both deals, Damaso Marte. I think we are 2-35 when he appears in a game for us.
So now, the Yankees turn their attention to the Halladay boy up in Toronto. We have learned our lesson.
Keeping tabs on the Cano vs. A-Rod RISP failures has been instructive, too. The Yanks have been good at loading the bases with the top three hitters in the line-up. Then, A-Rod strikes out and Cano hits into a DP. It is clean, it is game-killing, it is predictable.
The Yankees will surely capitalize on their understanding of this trend in the second half.
Is it possible for Chien Ming to hurt the Yankees more than the Red Sox? Ever since they fitted Chien for his new shoes, following his LisFranc base running clown show last year, this guy has been lights out. He may now have the same mindset that Chuck Knoblach once displayed...an inability to throw the ball where it is supposed to go.
We are 0-8 vs. the Red Sox this year, and Chien Ming's ERA was about 34.23. How often can we count on scoring 35 + to beat Boston in the second half if Chien Ming gets off the DL?
Taking the air out of the balloons of some surprising young talent has been an added plus. Now that Ramiro Pena is shagging fly balls in Scranton, he can be a throw -in for the Halladay trade. Same with Cervelli. These guys showed fire, guts, speed, talent and ability for a team that hates that. Instead, the Yanks showed a preference for over-eaters anonymous' former third baseman, Eric Hinske and we welcomed back the .231 bat of "molasses" Modina.
Slow, heavy and old is the new Yankee mantra for the second season.
Prediction: the Yankees will continue to win most series against terrible teams. But we'll not beat Boston in a series. We have no shot against the Angels if we have to play them again. Tampa will play us even or edge us out.
We may scarf a wild card, because there are so many bad teams, but the Yankees will blow up when it matters.
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Yes, but you're neglecting a couple of material positives: we have Bruney back, and Godzilla is a fearsome DH 8 weeks a year.
You forgot Johhny Damon's clown act in left field.
And the worthless Bret Tomko.
Dennis Tampa
The only thing that matters is the post season. The Yankees almost never fail to make it to the post season (except last year) but they cannot hold up in October. The playoffs and series is all that matters. You can check out more on the Yankees, my opinions, thoughts, and latest news on http://twitter.com/Yankeesgirl450
Tex has gotten such a huge pass from Yankee fans.
His offensive numbers look more impressive than they have actually been and his RISP numbers are worse than A-Rod's.
He's had a few great weeks with a whole lot of okay or slumping mixed in.
Yeah, anonymous -- if that's your real name -- but even when Tex isn't hitting he's still defending, unlike any NYY 1B since Tino.
And I'm not being sarcastic. Strangely.
Tex deserves a huge pass. He's the best first baseman we've had in....well, a long time.
I think we just need to suck it up and put Mo in the rotation
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