Jeter To Return Monday

Word is Jeter just through a full practice, and was able to run around the bases 100% without any problem. The goal is to have him playing minor league games this weekend and be back with the Yankees as early as Monday. Jeter is just 6 hits short of the 3,000 hit marker and I am sure Yankee fans are just drooling over that, but you have to wonder if the Yankees have been playing ball better without him around. The Yankees have gone 8-2 in their last 10 games. Nunez is good in the field and has much better range, but I still think Jeter is the better player at this time.

Yankees Falling Apart

We have already hears that Colon is on the DL (shocking), and now we get word that Jeter and Russel Martin could be next. When you add that to Joba, Rafael Soriano, and Highes the Yankees could be in some trouble. I wrote awhile back how the downfall of the Yankees is coming. They might be good this year, but what about in 2-3, as Jeter and A-Rod get older and are unmovable because of their contracts?

Let's forget about the long term though and focus on this year. The Yankees are 1-8 against the Red Sox so far this year, most recently getting swept at Yankee Stadium in which only one game was decided by less then a 5 run margin. On top of that the Sox are riding a 9 game winning streak while averaging 9.2 runs per game.

With the Yankees injuries the Yankees have they are in serious trouble. Sure, they might go out and sign some pitchers and they always seem to have the money, but I don't see them getting anyone who is going to make them better then the Red Sox. On top of that I think there are a couple teams that could pass them in the Wild Card. The Rays have a lot of good young pitchers, and Longoria is finally healthy should start rolling soon. The White Sox are the sleeping giants in the AL, you would think with all their talent they are going to start rolling at some point (maybe they already are, 9-4 in their last 14 games). Then there are the Tigers, who look more dangerous by the day.

Maybe I am being to hard on them, but maybe I am not. There is not a lot that excites me about their team, and with each passing day they are a little bit older, a little bit slower, and a little more overpriced.

More Trouble In The Bronx

There was a huge fallout this weekend after Posada refused to take the field, since he was put to 9th in the batting order. That is fucking insane since he is .165 on the season. Things seemed to cool down with the Yankees, as he apologized the next day, but in typical New York fashion this problem isn't going away...

"Jeter, in his statements to reporters, essentially exonerated Posada from any wrongdoing for taking himself out of Saturday's lineup against Boston. According to sources, Yankees management was surprised and frustrated by what Jeter said -- particularly in his standing as captain -- even after Posada acknowledged that he was wrong in his actions Saturday and apologized to manager Joe Girardi (ESPN)."

The article goes on to say that the Yankees were so mad at Posada that they considered just cutting him. If he doesn't start hitting soon, they might anyways. Now this seems to be turing into a weekly problem with Jeter. He has been blasting the Yankees right and left. First his contract, then how it became public, now this...

"If I thought he did something wrong, I'd be the first to tell him," Jeter said in the midst of a long session with reporters (ESPN).

How is bailing on your team not the wrong thing to do. It is obvious Jeter is standing up for his friend, but he should've left this alone. Posada had no right to do what he did. He is useless against lefties (not a single hit against one), he can't catch anymore, and as I stated before is hitting .165. So getting dropped in the order should be the least of his concerns. They fact that he is even playing right now is kind of a gift.

There was an article written over the weekend by ESPN that went into detail about how this is going to be a growing problem. They have an aging 3rd baseman, who is signed till he is 40+, and seeming pissed off SS who's skills are declining. They went on to add CC into this mix, but I'm not ready to do it. The bottom line is that as ugly as this Posada thing might get, it is probably only to get worse in the future.

Jeter Not Being A Very Good Captain?

"Yankees manager Joe Girardi appears to be walking on egg shells when the discussion turns to where Derek Jeter bats in the lineup. It is the most delicate of issues since the franchise icon is off to a lackluster start (.250) as he moves methodically toward the coveted 3,000-hit plateau. The problem is the Yankees may be a better offensive team with Jeter batting down in the batting order. As Jeter continues to struggle, Girardi will soon have a big decision on his hands (ESPN)."

Personally I think the media is blowing this out of proportion. It's not like Jeter is terrible right now (.250 BA) and it is really early in the season to be moving the face of your franchise. Still, I see where they are coming from. If Jeter doesn't raise is OBP (.310), and the Yankees do have a lot of options with guys like Swisher, Granderson, Cano (who all have a higher OBP).

All I know is this situation will get ugly whether it's this year or the next, and the Yankees are going to have to deal with it at some point. The best thing Jeter could do as the "captain" is to meet with the coach and drop himself down the order, if the situation gets to the point where it needs to happen. This will take the pressure off the coach, and make it a lot less tense in the locker room.

Jeter Really Hated A-Rod

We always heard rumors that these two weren't the biggest fan of each other, but today we got a look into what it was really like...

O'Connor's book demonstrates other awkward Jeter-Cashman moments. When the relationship between Jeter and Alex Rodriguez was at its coldest in 2006, the two came together for a dropped pop-up in a blowout loss to the Orioles. After the ball fell harmlessly to the dirt, Jeter gave A-Rod a death stare in full view of everyone in the ballpark. Then-manager Joe Torre would scold the third baseman and shortstop for the drop, but Cashman asked his manager to do more. The GM asked Torre to talk to Jeter about improving his relationship with A-Rod. When Torre declined, Cashman confronted Jeter himself.

"Listen, this has to stop," the GM told the captain. "Everybody in the press box, every team official, everyone watching, they saw you look at the ball on the ground and look at him with disgust like you were saying, 'That's your mess, you clean it up.'"

"Show me the video," Jeter told Cashman in disbelief. "Show me the video."

The GM didn't bother, but advised Jeter to do a better job of embracing Rodriguez, if only for the sake of perception. One friend of Jeter's agreed with Cashman and told the shortstop to try to make A-Rod feel more welcome in the clubhouse.

"Now you're sounding like everyone else," Jeter told the friend, according to the book. "Don't you think I've tried? I try, and sometimes I've just got to walk away and come back and try again, but you know I've tried. And every time I try, he'll do something that pushes me away (ESPN)."

Very interesting, and you have to wonder what their relationship is like now. Usually I would blame the player for not being there for their teammate, but A-Rod is such a douche that I feel like it really would be hard to have him as a teammate. These things that "push Jeter away" are probably the same things baseball fans (outside of New York) hate him for, like tipping pitches for the other team, slapping at the ball, yelling "I got it" behind a guy catching the ball, and just his general way he goes about his life.

The story also doesn't paint a very good picture of Jeter though as it goes on to his negotiations this last offseason. Cashman, at the end of his rope, asked Jeter how much above his market value were they going to have to pay him, and Jeter stormed out of the room. To be fair to Jeter it does state that he was more upset that everything was made so public, which I could see, because usually he is a class act.

Anyways, just more drama for the Yankees, which just seems endless.

Just Joshing Ya

Ah, Nothing like a trip from your most heated rival to get things back on track. To be fair, Beckett was straight dealing last night, there wasn't anything the Yanks could do about it. After pitching terribly against the Yanks the past couple years, Beckett turned back the clock and shoved it like it was Game 6 of the 2003 World Series.

Some alarming points in Yankeeland:

1.) Phil Hughes' Velo. 85 MPH BP fastballs aren't going to get it done in the AL East. Hopefully he gets his arm strength up as the season progresses but the fact that the Yankees needed to throw money at the corpse of Carlos Silva this weekend is not an encouraging sign.

2.) Derek Jeter. - I love the Captain, and he can play on this team for as long as he desires and I won't complain or boo. Ever. With that being said, he just isn't the same player anymore. I got caught up in the hype around his new batting stance this spring and how he was going to have a bounce back year. With every AB that is looking more and more like a pipe dream.

3.) Ivan Nova. Kinda. - Nova seems to be doing exactly what he did last year; rip through the lineup the first time through and then struggle the next time around. He needs to learn to make adjustments out on the mound or he will continue to just be a mediocre pitcher. Fenway is a tough place to pitch in, especially against the Sox ruthless lineup so I still am willing to give him some more time before officially passing some judgment.

Either way, this weekend went exactly how I thought it would. Nothing like a little Pinstripe to cure Boston's hitting woes. Welcome to the 2011 season Sox, lets get down for the thrown down.

Red Sox Should Offer Jeter A Contract

A lot is being made of Jeter and the Yankees' negotiation process. Jeter (according to many reports) wants a lot more then the three-year, $45 million contract they are currently offering. Jeter is looking for something like a 4-5 year deal worth $23 million a season. Obviously that is outrageous for Jeter, but the Sox could really come in and fuck everything up, and I think they should.

What if the Sox came in and offered Jeter a 3 year deal worth $54 million a year? In the worst case scenario Jeter actually accepts the contract and the Sox are stuck with the aging shortstop. Even in this case they will demoralize a proud Yankees franchise, and ruin the legacy one of the greatest Yankees of all-time. Oh yea, and he is still better then most other SS in the game.

But the most likely scenario would be the Yankees would have to up their offer and offer Jeter near $20 million a year for 3-4 years. This hurts the Yankees who already have a bunch of huge contracts and are about to sign Cliff Lee. Although the Yankees seem to have an endless amount of money that luxury tax could hurt them, especially with so many guys signed to long term contracts.

So, come on Sox! Why not piss off the Yankees for old time sake!!!!

Yankees To Offer Jeter $45-60 Million

"The Yankees are likely to offer Derek Jeter a three-year deal worth $45-60MM, according to Wallace Matthews of ESPNNewYork.com. One of Matthews’ sources, someone intimately familiar with knowledge of the team’s negotiations with agent Casey Close, says the Yankees are prepared to “overpay” the shortstop (MLBTradeRumors).

Wow, I thought when I said they would give him a 4 year deal for around $15 million a season I was being generous, but 3 years at $20 million is crazy. Then again, what choice do they have? The Yankees fanbase would never let him go, and he is still the leader of this team. I guess with the Yankees money really is never a problem, the best thing for them is to limit the number of years. There have been rumors that a year or two from now the Yankees would move Gay-Rod to DH, and Jeter to third. Maybe that would expend his career, but after a down year you know the Yankees front office at to be at least a little bit concerned.

Why not?

Why not doctor up a picture of ARod and Jeter? Well, I did. I found this awkward photo on awkwardfamilyphoto.com, which if you're bored at work is definitely a hysterical waste of time. I decided that I am unhappy with the Red Sox play, and since I just don't think they have a good team this year I will revert to the old days of just making fun of Jeter and ARod. It's really a no-lose situation.
So here it is. Enjoy it.
*I am not expert in photoshop, nor do I care to learn. I just use the ol' copy and paste method. So yes, it is rudimentary, but still funny.

Yankees-Twins Game 1

Something I was thinking about while waiting for the game to start: The last two times the Twins reached the playoffs (2004, 2006), Game 1 was so important to them because they couldn’t lose Johan Santana’s start or the series was considered over. That’s how much he meant to that team. Now, they have no pressure going into the opening game. Brian freakin’ Duensing is on the mound! What do they have to lose? You think Johan is watching in Queens? Kind of funny.

One last pregame thought: I really wish Justin Morneau was healthy for this series. The Twins wouldn’t be even close to topping the Bronx Bombers but, aside from CC Sabathia, there aren’t many pitchers on the Yankee staff who could get Morneau out.

Innings 1-2
A leadoff double from Denard Span gave the Twins some hope of a spark but the Twins went down scoreless. The first two innings have been scoreless and Duensing has kept the ball down to this point while letting his defense help him. He retired 6 batters in a row after Jeter’s leadoff single but you have to wonder if his smoke-and-mirrors approach will last past the fifth inning. Sabathia hasn’t looked great but he doesn’t have to as he’s facing this tired, albeit resilient, Twins team.

Top 3
Sabathia almost out of the inning but allows opposite field singles to Orlando Cabrera, Joe Mauer and Michael Cuddyer. Out of the three hits, only Mauer’s was a quality pitch.
Passed ball by Jorge Posada. Had to have been a mixed up signal seeing as it was a fastball. Let the Posada Molina arguments ensue….
TWINS 2, YANKEES 0

Bottom 3
Important inning, obviously, for Brian Duensing. He’s had the Yankees off balance and after getting Nick Swisher to line to left his wild pitch put Melky Cabrera on second base before…

Duensing hung an inside slider to Derek Jeter and Jeter knocks it many rows back into the left field seats. Easily the worst pitch of the evening. A guy like Duensing has such a small margin for error and he got burned on a bad breaking ball.
After a Damon single to left, Cabrera, surprisingly, gave the Yanks more life in this inning as his throw to Nick Punto was low and the Twins missed out on a double-play opportunity on a Mark Teixeira grounder. Ron Gardenhire has to be taking TUMs as he watches a team that can’t afford those kinds of mistakes miss out on a DP.

Arod struck out to end the threat, a truly shocking development.

I’m not the first to psycho-analyze Arod but…You have to think at this point Arod needs to do well his first game of the postseason or he will slide into his usual funk by trying to make up for what he didn’t do his last at bat.
TWINS 2, YANKEES 2

Top 4
Delmon Young leads off and has two awful swings to go 0-2 and the third pitch was even worse, more than a foot outside as he went down swinging on 3 strikes. Can the Twins dump him and bring in Dimitri?

Sabathia’s changeup is looking fantastic right now, which is good because it seems like he’s unable to locate his fastball as well as he wants to.

Bottom 4
Matsui rolls over on the first pitch and grounds out, big out for Duensing
Posada loves his bloop hits, doesn’t he? Why did I say that? Man…I guess I still do have some scar tissue from 2003.

With two outs and Cano on first after a fielder’s choice, Swisher rips another flat slider down the left field line. Cano may not have scored if Young had hit Cabrera on the fly with his relay.

Hmmm….he can’t hit (clearly) and can’t field. Why is he playing again?
Duensing is finally aggressive and gets an inside fastball (a roaring 91 mph) past Melky Cabrera.
YANKEES 3, TWINS 2

Top 5
After two quick outs, Cabrera singles to left to extend the inning and, more importantly, puts a runner on for Joe Mauer. I might try to run here to get a RISP. We’ll see how aggressive Gardenhire is here.

Cabrera steals second, I’m glad coach heard me.

If you’re thinking “Why don’t the Yanks walk Mauer, he’s Super Man" and you have first base open, check out Cuddyer’s stats in September. He had 8 HR and 24 RBI in that month alone and 32 bombs on the year. Don’t worry, I didn’t notice, either.
Anyway, Mauer grounds to second to end the inning. I know it’s early but Mauer not coming up with a hit while having a runner in RISP has to be a bit deflating for the Twinkies.

Bottom 5
Leadoff walk to Jeter. No good. Looking like it might be curtains soon for Duensing.
Duensing is extremely lucky the rocket off Damon’s bat wound up in Cuddyer’s glove and after Teixeria’s pop out, Arod once again is up with a man on second.
Maybe Arod will give himself a chance to come out of the postseason funk now. His single to left center drove home Jeter and he obviously knew he only had 1 RBI in his past 16 playoff games. It’ll be interesting to see how he hits now that he finally had a big hit with a RISP.

Side note: Francisco Liriano is now warming in the bullpen. It almost makes me sad to see him in that role. He and Kerry Wood had the two best sliders I’ve seen in the past 15 years before getting hurt.

Liriano in, Hideki Matsui bomb out into the night. Not a terrible pitch from Liriano but the wind didn’t help as Matsui’s fly ball kept carrying.
YANKEES 6, TWINS 2

Top 6
Um…..what happened that inning? I got up to grab a drink and it was over. Did Sabathia really retire three in a row after getting another 3 runs? Do they need to play the rest of this game?

Seriously, though, the Twins not scoring in the fifth pretty much sealed this game for the Yankees. You can see the Twins are running on fumes.

Bottom 6
Nice play from Nick Punto at second might be the highlight of the remainder of the evening for Minnesota.

Top 7
I was wrong, the Twinkies have life! Matt Tolbert’s HBP put him at first and Nick Punto’s grounder off Sabathia put runners on for Denard Span with 2 outs.
I couldn’t imagine trying to hit Sabathia’s slider as a left-handed hitter. The difference with his slider is that late break. He’s worth every penny he makes.

Posada can’t find the baseball on a low pitch to move the runners over with 1 out. Span’s fly ball to right can’t bring Tolbert home and Sabathia night is over.
Enter Phil Hughes. Cabrera’s job is clear: get on base somehow (there are 7 ways, remember) and get the soon-to-be MVP up. He’s doing a nice job of fouling off pitches on the outer half of the plate and brought it to a full count. Hughes throws a seed on the outside corner and strikes Cabrera out.

Bottom 7
A Jeter walk, Teixeira double play ball, and ANOTHER Arod RBI has the Yankees up 7-2 going into the top of the eighth.
YANKEES 7, TWINS 2

Top 8
I feel like this is a waste of a Joe Mauer at bat since he’s leading off the eighth inning of a game in which his team is down 7-2.

Mauer unleashes that beautiful swing and lines a single to center. Not unexpectedly, three straight outs are recorded to end the inning as Phil Coke and Joba Chamberlain come in to get an out each.

Bottom 8
Ron Mahay is still kicking around, huh? Seems like over 10 years since he was in a Sox uniform. Oh, wait…it has! Ahhhh, the joys of being a lefty.
Three up and three down. Could this game be close to coming to an end?

Top 9
Mariano Rivera into the game with a 5 run lead. I don’t like the Twins chances here.
Despite a pair of hits with 2 outs, the end of the game was never “interesting” and Rivera induced a groundout from Cabrera to end it.

FINAL: YANKEES 7, TWINS 2

There is very little doubt in my mind the Yankees sweep this series.

I like the Cardinals both tonight and in the series to beat the Dodgers. I don’t see it going more than 4 games.

Check back tomorrow for a Sox-Angels preview.

Derek Jeter and Minka Kelly Are Engaged

"ARE Derek Jeter and Minka Kelly (above) ready to take the next step? "Derek and Minka are secretly engaged," an insider told Page Six. The Yankee captain and the actress are telling close pals to "save the date" for nuptials in the fall. "The wedding is being planned and will take place after baseball season is over," said our source (NY Post)."

Derek Jeter is a guy I'll also hate, but at the same time I probably have more respect for him then anyone else...

Good for him. She is a hottie...

Yankees 8 Red Sox 4

So much for a pitcher's duel. The Yankees lit up Josh Beckett for 8 runs over 8 innings, including 5 home runs which is a career high for Beckett. The Yankees jumped out fast, as Jeter went deep before the lineups were ever announced (first pitch). Matsui followed going deep on the 1st pitch of the 2nd innings. Beckett was having trouble keeping his fastball down in the zone, and the Yankees just have too much power to leave balls up.

Beckett eventually settled down, but not until he had already let up 7 runs. After pitching a scoreless 6th and 7th inning, Beckett let up his last bomb of the night to Matsui (his 2nd of the game). Boston had their chances to put some runs on the board, as they had 9 hits in the game, but 8 runs is just too much to overcome.

Sabathia may not have dazzled, but he just pounds the strike zone, and has been everything the Yankees have needed. Sabathia is 20-2 in August since 2005, which is just fucking silly.

Anyways, with the loss the Sox are now only 1 game up in the the Wild Card race.

Girardi Might Be Smoking Crack

"The Yankees' lineup will have a new look this season. Derek Jeter will be the leadoff hitter and Johnny Damon will bat second, a top of the lineup switch the Yankees will use for the rest of spring training (Sportsline)."

A lot of people are flipping out about this, and I can understand why this move seems to make no sense. Damon is a natural leadoff hitter. He has been doing the same thing since 1996. That being said I think Jeter will do fine there, and I don't see it affecting too much. What I do see affecting the team is Girardi's plan with Mariano Rivera. He plans that anytime a lefty starts a 9th innings, he is going to use Igawa then Rivera. That is fucking stupid. Rivera still is one of the top closers in the game, and there is no reason to baby him. Igawa is a joke, and I think no matter what he will get crushed. There is a lot of pressure pitching in the 9th, and I don't see Igawa doing well (especially in NY).

Torre Rips Yankees

ESPN has been covering this story all weekend, and I have to say I was kind of surprised that Torre came out and blasted the Yankees in this new book. The book apparently says that A-Rod and Torre never got along, and a lot of the team really didn't respect A-Rod at all. It goes on to say that A-Rod became obsessed with his rivalry with Jeter. Obviously as a Sox fan, I just hope this is just another thing that will add more controversy to the Yankees, and they will fall apart much like the Cowboys did this year. Still, I am shocked that Torre is the one what really gave the insight to his former teams problems. He has always been such a class act, so it surprises me that he would rip the team he won a bunch of championships with. I guess A-Rod, and the Yankees really got under his skin and he just wanted to get it out, or he is just like Canseco, and anyone else who write a book, he just wants to sell more copies.