WHY BOSTON GOT SERVED HUMBLE PIE

OK, I've been waiting to do this piece for months now. On January 2nd, a NESN.com writer wrote a piece on why the 2011 Red Sox could unseat the 1927 Yankees as the greatest team in the history of Major League Baseball. You can read the comedic gold HERE. Mind you, it was written before 1 pitch was thrown in spring training or even the season itself.

Casey was immediately outraged as well, and wrote WHY BOSTON SUCKS: PART II. Read it.

I saved the NESN piece the moment I read it. I knew at the time that this prediction would backfire on them easily and now, the season is over, the Red Sox didn't make the playoffs and, I just have to laugh. Who would dare suggest something so silly? Let's break it down. The piece started off saying: "The Red Sox have won 100 or more games three times in their 110-year existence. They will make it four in 2011."

We all know by now that he was way off in this prediction. The Red Sox finished with a 90-72 record and finished 3rd in the American League East. Meanwhile, the 1927 Yankees finished with an astounding 110-44 record. Can you say, EPIC fail? I can...oh, I did.

Next, the writer showcased the Red Sox lineup which looks like this:

CF. Jacoby Ellsbury- .321/.376/.552/.928 (BA/OBP/SLG/OPS), 32 Hrs, 105 RBI, 39 SBs
2B. Dustin Pedroia- .307/.387/.474/.861, 21 Hrs, 91 RBI, 26 SBsLF. Carl Crawford- .255/.289/.405/.694, 11 Hrs, 56 RBI, 18 SBs
1B. Adrian Gonzalez- .338/.410/.548/.957, 27 Hrs, 117 RBI
3B. Kevin Youkilis- .258/.373/.459/.833, 17 Hrs, 80 RBI
DH. David Ortiz- .309/.398/.554/.953, 29 Hrs, 96 RBI
RF. JD Drew- .222/.315/.302/.617, 4 Hrs, 22 RBI, 81 games
C. Jarrod Saltalamacchia- .235/.288/.450/.737, 16 Hrs, 56 RBI
SS. Marco Scutaro- .299/.358/.423/.781, 7 Hrs, 54 RBI
SS. Jed Lowrie- .252/.303/.382/.685, 6 Hrs, 36 RBI

That lineup looks pretty good, I mean, this team lead the majors in runs scored with 875, that's 8 runs ahead of the Yankees, but they're NOT the 1927 Yankees who scored 976 runs, 131 more runs than the second place Detroit Tigers... astounding. Also keep in mind that the 1927 Yankees had four Hall of Famers, Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Tony Lazzeri, and Earle Combs, in their lineup.Speaking of the 1927 Yankees lineup, let's take a look at how each individual fared that season:

CF. Earle Combs- .356/.414/.511/.925, 6 HRs, 64 RBI
SS. Mark Koenig- .285/.320/.382/.702, 3 HRs, 62 RBI
RF. Babe Ruth- .356/.486/.772/1.258, 60 HRs, 164 RBI...WOW
1B. Lou Gehrig- .373/.474/.765/1.240, 47 HRs, 175 RBI... WOW
LF. Bob Meusel- .337/.393/.510/.902, 8 HRs, 103 RBI, 24 SBs
2B. Tony Lazzeri- .309/.383/.482/.866, 18 HRs, 102 RBI, 22 SBs
3B. Joe Dugan- .269/.321/.362/.683, 2 HRs, 43 RBI
C. Pat Collins- .275/.407/.418/.825, 7 HRs, 36 RBI

Pretty good, huh? A couple of things...One, the writer of the NESN piece had us look at the Boston bench. It looks like this:

OF. Mike Cameron- He got DFA'd from the team in late June after hitting .149/.212/.266/.477 in 33 games with the Sox.
OF. Darnell McDonald- He hit .236/.303/.401/.704 in 79 games. Certainly doesn't strike fear to me.
INF. Marco Scutaro- .299/.358/.423/.781 (above)
INF. Jed Lowrie- .252/.303/.382/.685 (above)
C. Jason Varitek- Hit .221/.300/.423/.723 in 68 games, but he's the Captain of the team and wears that "C" on his jersey!

Now, in all fairness, the Red Sox improved their bench with the call up of outfielder Josh Reddick (.280/.327/.457/.784) and trading for utility man Mike Aviles (.317/.340/.436/.775 in 38 games for Boston).

And finally, I just wanted to say this before we conclude this piece. It is very hard, if not impossible, to compare different players performances between two completely different eras, not to mention that that 2011 season hadn't started yet. Baseball was an entirely different game way back when, and a lot of changed. But, the writer for that NESN piece brought it up in the first place, so it's his own fault.

Next we'll try and break down the pitching for you, comparing the 2011 Red Sox and 1927 Yankees. Stay tuned.




--Jesse Schindler, BYB Staff Writer




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WHY THE YANKEES ARE A STATE OF MIND

The past 20 hours have been quite insane. When I watched the Yankees lose to the Tampa Bay Rays and saw the Red Sox’s Carl Crawford miss a liner and Jonathan Papelbon walk off the field, it may have been the greatest feeling of my life since the worst feeling of my life, that 2004 collapse of the Yankees when the Red Sox won 4 in a row. I still don’t know how that happened there. I just remember this… the Red Sox fans made every single one of us Yankee fans feel like shit and when I think about it, I still get pissed. Now, the payback is sweeter. I don’t hate 1 Red Sox fan. I hate the franchise and love my Yankees beating them, and if that means they don't make the playoffs, that's terrific... plain and simple.(Photo: Getty)
Then I got to thinking about last night’s Yankee game, you know the one where Joe Girardi single-handedly lost the game being cute using every pitcher we had, I realized that you can’t even blame Scott Proctor for that loss last night. He was throwing around 60 pitches at that point where Evan Longoria homered. You have to expect a homer to happen eventually. Even though that game didn’t matter to the Yankees, I thought about something interesting. If the Yankees were playing the Red Sox last night but were in the same position, meaning that they had already clinched, and already had the best record in the AL, would we have played the same way? Would Girardi had used all his pitchers the way he did? No. Would Mariano Rivera had come in to try and shut down the Sox? Yes. If last night we played the Red Sox, it would have been a must win.

It goes back to my theory, winning every ballgame counts. Look, the Yankees and Red Sox don’t mix, they’ve never mixed and trust me, if Dan Johnson was David Ortiz last night, the Yankees would have brought in the top closer in the world to shut him down.
(Photo: Getty)
You know me. I hate to lose and in my opinion, walking into a playoff against a potential Cy Young winner like Justin Verlander scares the everliving shit out of me. Why? Because we’re riding a 4 game losing streak. Now, the ALDS is a whole new season, this is true. Do I have faith in CC Monster and my Yankees? Yes, but losing is easy to do and once you do it a few times, it becomes easier and easier and all I’m saying is our Yankees need to and will have to turn it around tomorrow. We need to set the tone.

Luckily for us, this Yankee team is loose. This Yankee team forgot about last night, because, let’s face it, it was more of a celebration of the Red Sox being out of it than the Rays winning the Wild Card. Today is a workout day, tonight, a light dinner, talk alittle strategy, early bed of an early rise and my Yankees will be ready to go. They’re over it so I’m over it... I’m ready to see my Yankees do damage.

I wrote a piece simply titled WHY THE YANKEES WILL LOSE ALDS WITHOUT MOMENTUM. I was sick of losing the last few games of the season and was shooting from the hip. Luckily, you die-hards talked me off the ledge. @jenjeter2211 said it best. “Casey, we have momentum… home field, CC, Nova, Freddy... Jeter, Grandy."
She’s right. We DO have CC and the others. The Yankees CAN make their own momentum. Yankee Stadium during the playoffs is the best place in the world. We have the best fans in the world and the Yankees know that. They feed off that, they feed off each other. Can we win this ALDS? Yes, damn straight! Will it be tough? Yes, but there is one phrase that I forgot about in my 48 hours nervous insanity... “One game at the time.” We can do this, we WILL do this and we will advance… Why? Because we’re the God damn New York Yankees, that's why.

A few quick notes: Alex Rodriguez will be in the lineup tomorrow night for the start of the ALDS. Read about ARod HERE.

Jesus Montero’s X-Rays have come back negative and he’ll be ready to play. Read about it HERE.

Freddy Garcia will be the #3 starter in the ALDS behind CC Monster #1 and Ivan Nova #2.
The Yankees won 97 games this season. That’s no fluke, that’s not luck... that’s solid offense and solid pitching… and we were worried about our rotation all season...remember?

Get Ready Ladies & Gentlemen… here come our New York Yankees…Quest for 28 coming up!

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WHY GOD IS SMILING ON YANKEELAND

I feel like I'm getting Punk'd. I feel like I'm being watched, and I keep containing myself, not to get too giddy, like someone's about to jump out from behind a door in my house and point their finger at me and laugh hysterically. Then Ashton Kutcher will come out and tell me it's all a joke, that the Red Sox really aren't this bad. But the reality is... they are. Couple that with the Yankees just looking so good right now and it's the perfect recipe for Yankeeland.
David Ortiz said it best a few weeks ago and believe me, all of Red Sox Nation heard him and groaned. "Hell yeah, you've got to panic." To me, that's giving up. You never show your hand and never show doubt in your club publicly. That statement did both. Remember when I wrote WHY RUSSELL MARTIN HAS BALLS? That statement by Ortiz demonstrates no balls.
Today was a beautiful day in the Bronx. Seeing the number 61 on the field to honor Roger Maris, with no asterisk by the way, was awesome. I've always read about and appreciated Roger Maris for all he did in pinstripes and I'm so glad he's honored in the Bronx.

Let's start with AJ Burnett today. The guy looked good. They guy looked like he can handle another game and he looked like he's the "good" AJ right now. Although, I noticed a "look" while he was coming off the field today. It wasn't a look of a dominant pitcher. It was a look of a pitcher who was still uncertain with himself. A pitcher who clearly still has confidence issues. Look at it, tell me what you think:This was after the 4th inning.

2 stories today, the Yankees offense continues to be great and AJ Burnett. Burnett will give Girardi a headache I'm sure, now Joe must decide who follows Ivan Nova in the rotation; AJ Burnett, Freddy Garcia or Bartolo Colon.

Today Burnett went 7.2 innings, he allowed 5 hits and only 2 runs. He had 6 strikeouts and allowed 2 homers today. Ultimately, he did good. Enough to think maybe he'd be in the running for the 3rd man in the rotation in the ALDS. Personally though, if it came down to me deciding, I'm choosing Freddy Garcia because of his veteran grittiness and that Burnett picture doesn't excite me. That's my bottom line.Jorge Posada had his 14th homer today and 2 RBIs. I love Posada at DH from the left side and it's clear, Jesus Montero will be in against lefties, so that DH platoon seems to be working out nicely, wouldn't you say?

Derek Jeter was 3 for 4 today and is batting .300 Ladies and Gentlemen. I'm just saying. Oh Captain, my Captain...lead us.

One play stood out and spoke volumes today. There was nothing better than watching Carl Crawford miss a ball he should have caught off of Jeter's bat today. But this is what was really telling; As the ball bounced, he swatted at it and missed, and as the ball continued to the wall, he actually looked at his glove like someone put a hole in it. I'm not kidding. I had to take a picture of this play because it was laughable. This is a guy that has a monster contract and he can't do a thing right right now. So why is this play significant to me? Because Jeter came around to score on an Alex Rodriguez hit. Runs win ballgames.

David Robertson came in and closed out the game nicely. Houdini does it again. The future New York Yankees closer? I don't mean to sound like I'm pushing Mariano out, I'm not. I'm just saying, the future's exciting.

Final Score: Yankees 6 - Red Sox 2

Game 2 tonight, keep rolling Yankees!

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JETER & MARTIN EXCHANGE TEXTS

(Photo: Getty)

Jeter: So,you hate the Red Sox? WTF bro, lol

Martin: ha ha, I knew u woULd break my balls

Jeter: no I love it, out of character for yanks

Martin: that salamanticmoccia redsox guy gave me a bad vibe

Jeter: lol saltalamacchia

Martin: whatever and papi ticks me off when he comes up to the plate

Jeter: keep going, hilarious bro

Martin: I’d like to go high and tight on his ass, like BYB says

Jeter: your on fire bro. this series is the best ever, i've done it for years

Martin: I love the pinstripes what can I say im fired up

Jeter: we like having u fired up. has Hal and hank told talked to u yet?

Martin: about what

Jeter: speaking out of turn. I heard ur in trouble for the Marchand interview

Martin: WHAT????

Jeter: they may use Montero in playoffs now, not u. sorry

Martin: what the f bro, r u serious????

Jeter: messing with u dood. Hahaha

Martin: ur a dick bro, Posada told me to watch out!!!

Jeter: look u said that stuff, now we HAVE to win. a must win!

Martin: true dat. we will. yankees rule

Jeter: so lets get out there and kick some ass.

Martin: u got it Cap.

Jeter: later bro

Martin: I can’t believe you just tried to play a joke on me

Jeter: welcome to the Bronx, I like to break balls :)

Martin: clearly lol

(NOTE: THESE ARE FAKE TEXT EXCHANGES. THIS IS ME USING HUMOR AND MAKING A GUESS OF HOW THE PEOPLE INVOLVED WOULD SPEAK TO EACH OTHER VIA TEXT. THERE IS NOTHING REAL ABOUT THIS. IT IS DONE STRICTLY FOR LAUGHS. ENJOY)

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YANKEE LEGENDS & WIFFLE BALL

If it’s not Little League, it’s wiffle ball, probably one of the greatest yard games ever. The ball doesn’t travel as far as a baseball when you hit it, but there is something about a wiffle ball hit and watching the ball travel that just screams “childhood” all over again.

My son is a baseball animal. It’s all he wants to do. If he’s not playing in an organized game, he’s throwing up a wiffle ball in the backyard and cranking it across the yard. On Christmas, there was a sale at Modell’s, a Yankee sponsor. I bought my kid 12 wiffle balls and a Junk ball bat. When March hit. he got the fever for baseball after a long winter’s nap. He was out there and started cranking them over the fence. He has 1 left. They’re stuck in the evergreen trees, they rolled down the street and into the sewer, and he cranked a few across to the neighbor's yard with what he calls his “power swing.” I just can’t keep up.

Now he has a new thing, baseball stances. You’ve seen the guy on Youtube that imitates the players stances of the Yankees players, right? My son has Robinson Cano down, plus, he can stand there like David Ortiz or even do his best Brandon Phillips. He’s a child baseball scholar at this point. I made a suggestion. Let’s watch video of the greats. We watched Yogi Berra and Reggie Jackson and now he’s trying to perfect them as well. I nicknamed my son “The Show” because as his fall ball league is starting and he’s standing in the batter’s box, he’ll give me a look for a moment and then it’s my chance to figure out what stance he’s doing at that at bat. He’s quizzing me; the freaking kid is quizzing me as I sit in the stands, it’s hilarious.

Yesterday, we were in the backyard hitting wiffle balls. He stood in the worn out dirt spot in the yard and said “Who’s this?” Now, my son is lefty. He stood in the imaginary box, and swung the bat straight through the zone about 3 times and the barrel of the bat pointed at me at the end of each practice swing. He then lifted his back elbow up alittle, the bat was alittle higher than normal and he had some slight movement. His right leg was out a bit and it all looked pretty familiar, but I couldn’t place it. “Who?”, I said. “Paul O’Neill.” I got chills.

I was proud at that moment. Paul O’Neill is probably the most exciting Yankee to watch over the years and being part of 4 World Championship Yankee teams, it hit me, my son has never actually seen Paul O’Neill play. What’s my point? Baseball greats carry over from generation to generation in such a powerful way because, the bottom line is, everybody loves a winner. So, it looks like I’ll be picking up a #21 Jersey this Christmas.

A salute to "The Warrior". Your influence has translated to a 9 year old kid in suburbia USA in 2011. Warrior... meet "The Show."

You can’t beat that... you really can’t.

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WHY THE YANKEES NEED TO BUST A MOVE

The Yankees are 4.5 games ahead of the Red Sox in the AL East and now’s the time where they need to bust a move.I’m not going to lie, the title of this post is very lame, but Young MC popped up on the ipod and moments before I was looking at a blank slate and thinking about Yankeeland and what is important to you guys. It clicked and it makes sense. It's kind of what needs to happen for the Yankees. If the Yankees bust a move, and make a strong run NOW, we could bury the Sox. Of course, we'll need the help of the Rays, who won the first game of their series in Fenway Park last night 9-2 (Box score HERE) and hopefully they continue to pound on the Sox the next 3 days. Bottom line, the Yankees need to make the playoffs, it's the next stage in our Quest for 28 and it would be much much sweeter without the Red Sox there.

Trust me, with the Yankees off last night, and all New York Yankee fans were watching somewhere or listening to their radios or internet surfing for a score update between the Rays and Sox. I know I did. We were rooting for the Rays, as crazy as that sounds, to beat the evil Red Sox. David Ortiz said it himself a few days ago, “Hell yeah, you’ve got to panic.” That echoed through Beantown for the past few days and all of Boston just shit the bed. “He said what?” Can you imagine if a New York Yankee said they were panicking...IN SEPTEMBER? The NY media would not only bury them, but the fans would disown him. David Ortiz doesn’t sound like a winner, David Ortiz sounds like a whiner.

The Yankees will open a division series against Toronto tonight and like I’ve stated, every division rivalry game is a must win. It doesn’t matter that the Blue Jays are in 4^th, the Yanks need to take care of business and treat this like it’s a playoff series. One game at a time, but you play your hardest at that moment.

Yankees pitching is always the top focus and again, I hate to beat a dead horse, because I feel bad for the horse, but the Yankees pitching is not solid. Yes, good outings happen, but as we saw from Ivan Nova in Seattle, it was wasted on a tough and ridiculous loss because the Yankees had no offense. CC Monster is no doubt a monster, but how long can he carry the rotation. Freddy Garcia is a gritty veteran, but we are now seeing signs of fatigue. AJ Burnett? Bartolo Colon?, Phil Hughes? My buddy even suggested giving Cory Wade a shot. Now, he wasn’t entirely serious, he was making a point and the point is this: It's September 15^th... we have many question marks, who will be in the playoff rotation is anyone’s guess. You want these problems in April, not September.

Yes, the Yankees can win games, we have a strong offense, but pitching wins ballgames. I’m here to tell you that whatever the Yankees are doing is working, but I fear for the playoffs with the rotation we have. Can we beat teams in a short elimination series? I can say “Yes” and sound confident because I’m a Yankee fanatic and I bleed Yankee blue but the reality is, I just don’t know. Everything has to click, decent pitching, solid and clutch hitting, and a little bit of luck.

If it clicks, we win, and if it doesn’t click, well, we go home. That’s the reality... a reality I don’t like.

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WHY DOES CLASS HAVE TO TURN CRASS

When Ted Williams was still alive, do you remember when Major League Baseball was celebrating the All-Century team back in 1999? Williams was driven out on a golf cart for the world the see and every top ball player in history came over to give the old man a hug. Now, you know me, I hate the evil Red Sox more than anything, and Ted Williams was one of them, but for the love of baseball, the world rejoiced, including us Yankee fans and many who understood what baseball was doing tipped their hats to an incredible ballplayer and war veteran.

I watched Jon Lester come back from cancer and pitch a no-hitter in 2008, it was a story for the ages, and again, I hate the Red Sox. But anyone with a heart and a love for baseball got it and again you tip your cap.

When Josh Hamilton cranked out 28 home runs at Yankee Stadium in 2008 at the Home run derby, while I hate the Rangers, I respected this feat. It was pretty damn incredible and I got it... it was good for baseball, the best sport in the world.

So, to my surprise, or maybe not, some ridiculous blogger decided that the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim really did a stupid thing honoring a living legend in Derek Jeter with a painting last Friday night at Angels Stadium. I wrote WHY IT’S BIZARRO WORLD last month because yes, even I was confused by the honor, but the more I thought about it, I found it to be true class. Wow, another ball club other than the Yankees was going to honor Jeter. To me, it was pretty damn unselfish and respectful, plus, it’s great for baseball.

The Angels gave Derek Jeter a painting commemorating his 3000^th hit. There wasn’t a party, there wasn’t a parade, there was just a gift and a photo op and that’s it. I stated in my piece last month:

"...you have to wonder how baseball fans and Angels fans in Angels Stadium will react. I would expect fans will get it and a standing ovation would take place, but to tell you the truth, with that stupid rally monkey all over Angels Stadium and the rivalry that has developed over the years between the 2 teams, there will be plenty of booing and aggravation..."

I was hopeful however that baseball traditionalists would understand and tip their cap, out of respect for Jeter and for the game. I think more did than didn’t, and one guy, uses his blog as a hate site and found this generous deed by the Angels "outrageous." He wrote:

“LA Times fossil Bill Dwyre was sniffing Jeter’s jock in public on the pages of the rag he blogs for and mentioned the fact that the Angels were planning a tribute to Jeter. Is Carpino hoping to be hired away by the Yankees organization?”

He goes further: “Someone must pay for this rubbing of our noses in East Coast dogshit in our own town kennel.”

Wow. Look, I get the frustration, but I find this to be crass. He is however entitled to his opinion and clearly I am to mine. Derek Jeter has 5 championships under his belt. True, it’s a team effort, but he contributed to every one. Derek Jeter is on a hit list with players who are long retired from the game of baseball. Currently he stands at #20 at 3073. Derek Jeter is the most clean cut ballplayer I’ve ever witnessed in my lifetime, a role model. What happened to a tip of the cap and you move on? No? Too soon? I’m not getting it.

True, if David Ortiz can into Yankee Stadium and the Yankees gave Papi a painting, I’d be furious. If the Angels’ Ervin Santana was honored at Yankee Stadium with a painting, it wouldn’t make sense. The difference between them and Jeter is simple, he’s a living legend, a baseball icon, and they are not. Longevity, presentation and championships define Jeter.

Jeter is on the most “overrated” players list every year… yeah, that’s because he’s good and jealousy runs that poll. Just look at his numbers. No one likes a winner, no one likes the Yankees but everyone likes baseball. The point is, you may not care for the team or the athlete, but respect the game and the achievement, that's all.

Bottom line, I feel like before you run your fat mouth off on your blog, you should think. It's all about the game. I'm not saying we have to hold hands with opposing fans, I'm saying decipher between respecting someone and being annoyed by someone... the game's more fun that way.

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WHY AJ NEEDS TO SEND A MESSAGE...HIGH & TIGHT

If there is one thing that is driving me crazy, it's having my Yankees continually getting hit in the batters box and us not retaliating. Sure, it's the right thing to do, just grin and bear it and beat the Sox... and that's the Yankee Way. We wrote about it earlier this year in WHY WE RETALIATE THE YANKEE WAY. But, just like dealing with a bully on a walk home from school, sooner or later you just snap like Ralphie in A Christmas Story. Sooner or later, it's time to take care of business because after all, you can't take it anymore.

So what am I suggesting? Wait until AJ Burnett throws today... that my friends is when we should retaliate. That my friends is when the plunking war continues against the Sox in our favor. AJ Burnett is about to have every Yankee fan love him again, at least for the moment.

No, it won't be so much for his pitching, but it will be for his courageous stance tonight to protect Francisco Cervelli for getting plunked. AJ should take a stand for his team and for the fans. We hear all day long how pitching high and tight to batters is "baseball", but God forbid we suggest plunking a player, well then, everyone says how "wrong" it is.



Let me ask you something; Do you seriously think the Red Sox pitchers are just "accidentally" hitting our Yankee batters? They are intentionally doing it. Many and most are intentional. We've done nothing about it and I'm suggesting of all people, AJ Burnett could be a hero tonight if he went high and tight at the right time, not to hurt anyone, just to send a message: "I'm a team player, I'm protecting my guys and I want the fans back."If AJ Burnett can pitch halfway decent tonight and go high and tight when the time is right, you will see a rejuvenated fan base. That my friends will bring AJ Burnett back in our good graces...not forever, after all, he still needs to pitch and win, but for the moment.



The way I see it, AJ Burnett has nothing to lose right now and everything to gain by this assignment. He's lost his drive and his mental state is fragile. Mine would be too if I had to read about how awful I am in the New York papers every day. It's horrible and it's going to be damn hard to turn it around. So, in light of this recent shit storm between Lackey and Cervelli, why not retaliate? AJ will prove to many, that while he may be struggling, he is a team player. He would earn from temporary respect, maybe even jolt himself out of this funk he's in. Look, I'm no expert, this is my opinion. I didn't even feel it necessary to hammer AJ Burnett as bad as he was getting it. I wrote WHY CRUCIFYING BURNETT NEEDS TO STOP. But the bottom line is, when you can't pitch, you're going to get hammered. Eventually, I joined in. But I know this about AJ.: Psychologically he seems to be a mess and he probably feels like a failure.

This could shake him out of that failure and give him a moment of confidence.



The Yankees need this series tonight ladies and gentlemen, sure, we need to win, and we see these Red Sox again, so it's just not about going high and tight tonight, it's also about winning. Bats need to come out swinging and the pitching needs to be crisp and hold down the Sox. And hell, if we go up on the chin on David Ortiz... it's just baseball right?



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WHY THIS YANKEE LOSS WAS A HEARTBREAKER

(Photo: NY Daily News)

The Yankees had the lead. While a lead against the Sox is never easy to keep, it is possible. After all, we did win 5-2 the night before and all we needed to do was hold them down. One problem, Phil Hughes isn't 18 game winner Phil Hughes...mistakes happen... or Ortiz happens, and the next thing you know, the Yankees lose this one 9-5. Heartbreaker? I'd say so.



I know, you've heard it from me before and your reaction is "Casey, you can't just put every pitcher in the pen!" You're right, but Phil Hughes is a pitcher that I believe should move there. I wrote about it in WHY THE PEN IS WHERE HUGHES BELONGS and I'm not alone Ladies and Gentlemen. This little ditty surfaced today by John Harper of the Daily News: Time to Phil up Yank pen.



Look, I don't dislike Hughes, in fact, I really like the kid, but we're sitting here September 1st and Lord knows time is running out with our scotch-taped rotation. Decisions need to be made and stuck to. Consistency and confidence are key and the Yankees rotation has none of that right now. Do you really think the Yankees can go all the way to another championship with the rotation we have?? Who are you kidding?

Hughes gave up a homer to David Ortiz in the fifth inning and after that, old man Jason Varitek, who can still hit, knocked double in the 6th. He also homered later. Then, with Boone Logan in, he let up that homer to Jacoby Ellsbury to put the game out of reach. You guys still think we're OK with just 1 lefty specialist in the pen? I've been bitching for weeks that giving Logan a night off for another lefty would be helpful. Guess what, last night proved my point.

Now, back to Ortiz for a moment. 2 nights ago we watched an over excited Francisco Cervelli fist pump after almost every strikeout and he clapped after he crossed home plate after hitting a home run. The next time up, Lackey plunked him and the implication was Cervelli was showboating. Michael Kay and Mike Lupica went on a rant yesterday about how horrible it was that Cervelli was "too excited." My take on this is simple. Cervelli never plays, and when he does, he likes being on the field. His fist pumping and clapping may not be the "Yankee way" as you put it, but it's not showboating. In fact, what is worse to me is watching David Ortiz stand and watch his ball launched into the bleachers from home plate for 5 minutes. That is showboating. Rethink this guys, you got it wrong and I'm disappointed you don't see it clearly.The Yankees offense was good last night. But clearly if the pitching is giving up runs, it's hard to come back. Derek Jeter had 2 hits and an RBI, and Eric Chavez and Robinson Cano had RBI doubles.



Final Score last night: Red Sox 9 - Yankees 5.



One more thing, Roger Rubin had a good piece about the Yankees Red Sox rivalry and the headline was just rich: Red Sox DH David Ortiz says rivalry with Yankees doesn't have to resort to bench-clearing brawls. Look, I'm not in the business of anyone getting hurt, but let's face facts Ortiz, you guys are overdue for a plunking. If a Yankee player came forward and said something like that, I'd have more respect for you, but you're team is responsible for the venom and I hope Burnett does the right thing tonight, popping you between the numbers. The timing is right, wouldn't you say? Anyway, nice piece by Rubin.



Please comment and let me know what you think and follow me on Twitter @BleednYankeeBlu and join the group Bleeding Yankee Blue on Facebook, just type it in.

TO FLIP OR NOT TO FLIP, THAT IS THE QUESTION

So I certainly don't need to remind Yankee fans how Big Papi just owns us. I don't need to remind you all how Big Papi just digs into the batters box for every pitch and never seems concerned that an inside pitch may actually be coming. Or, God forbid a pitch that might actually dust him. And, finally, I won't remind you how Big Papi just seems to thrive hitting the long ball against us. How he spends at least a half hour standing in the batters box just watching his home runs fly out and, even flipping his bat?! Hey CC, you reading this?

Speaking of bat flipping...remember that "little" bat flipping incident back in early June? Remember when Big Papi decided to flip his bat at the Yankees after taking us deep, yet again! No one was happy with that moment, including our Yankee skipper who called out Ortiz for showing the Yankees up.

Some fans were ticked off beyond belief when Ortiz did that and were all but calling for his head. Calling for his head is just ridiculous! But, pitching inside, even waaaay inside can certainly keep a batter on his toes. Pitching inside is part of the game and always has been. Now, on the other side of the coin there were many fans saying that the Yankees basically got what they deserved for not getting that clown out. For not taking care of business on our end and letting our bats do the talking. In fact, BYB's own Christy Lee titled HEY PAPI... FLIP THIS! Christy, like a lot of fans, did not see that flipping of the bat as a big deal. Her point was the Yankees need to take care of their own business.

Anyway, we here at BYB are curious to what you all think? Should we make Big Papi eat a little dirt tonight or just let our bats do the talking? Lets us know what you think? You can comment here or hit us up on Twitter or Facebook. Now, LET'S GO YANKEES!!!







--Mikey Blue, BYB Senior Writer

Email: DonnieBaseball2323@gmail.com

Twitter: @MikeyBlu23

Please comment and let me know what you think and follow me on Twitter @BleednYankeeBlu and join the group Bleeding Yankee Blue on Facebook, just type it in.

HEY PAPI... FLIP THIS!

I had to write something about that horrendous 3 games against the Sox but, what can I say about this series that hasn’t already been said before? Well, one of the things that make Yankee fans so great is their ability to be objective without losing loyalty to their team.



When we suck, we suck, and we tell it like it is. We’re not blaming umpires for bad calls, the other team for cheating, the weather, or anything else but our performance; and during this series there was little, if anything, to write home about.



The Red Sox outplayed the Yankees by far. The irony of it all is that it literally seemed like our boys in pinstripes weren’t even trying. At one point during Game #3, I was waiting for the grounds crew to go out onto the field with lawn chairs, so that our boys would be more comfortable watching the Red Sox run around the bases. It was like a revolving door stuck in motion, they just kept circling, scoring, and we just watched. I didn’t think that the David Ortiz “bat flip” was as big of a deal as Girardi made it out to be. Trust me, from my seat at home I was flipping a lot more than a bat at my TV.



I took it like this, Papi was saying “C’mon, man, we’ve waited to play you guys to fight for first place, and you’re not even trying….so step it up!” Not that we want to make it fun for anyone, but let’s think about something for a minute. You are the opposing team, fighting for first place in the AL EAST, a rivalry that spans decades and personifies professional competition. You show up ready to play, and your rival team basically says “eh, I don’t feel like playing today,” it is like taking candy from a baby. Regardless of what we might think, the Red Sox are a professional ball club too, and they want to earn their spot. Under these circumstances, they didn’t earn squat and they know it, just like we know it. At least put up a fight, huh?



In my opinion, our skipper needs to focus a little less on creating drama in the media, and focus a little more on the team. With all of the heated emotions swirling around before the teams made it to the field, Joe Girardi was talking big smack against Papi for the bat flip, and Papi fired right back.



I hate to tell you this, Joe but you are not in a position to talk smack to anyone right now...not even my grandma.



We had no pitching, no bullpen, no defense, and a ridiculous amount of base running errors. The focus should have been there, not on the other team and what they were doing, saying, or not doing. Get your stuff together, and right the ship. I don’t care if Big Papi flips his bat every time he plays the Yankees now, or if Youkilis shows up wearing a dress….you do US, and let the other teams worry about THEMSELVES...







--Christy Lee, BYB Staff Writer







--Jeana Bellezza, BYB Associate Editor







Please comment and let me know what you think and follow me on Twitter @BleednYankeeBlu and join the group Bleeding Yankee Blue on Facebook, just type it in.