May 8, 2009

2009

YANKEES (13-15)
Derek Jeter SS
Johnny Damon LF
Mark Teixeira 1B
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Hideki Matsui DH
Nick Swisher RF
Robinson Cano 2B
Melky Cabrera CF
Francisco Cervelli C

Pitching: CC Sabathia (1-3, 4.85)

ORIOLES (12-17)
Brian Roberts 2B
Adam Jones CF
Nick Markakis RF
Melvin Mora 3B
Aubrey Huff 1B
Ty Wigginton DH
Lou Montanez LF
Chad Moeller C
Cesar Izturis SS

Pitching: Jeremy Guthrie (2-2, 5.05)

TRANSACTION: Mark Melancon has been returned to Triple-A to make room for Kevin Cash, necessary with Jose Molina going on the DL.

May 8, 2009

Adventures in Mannyland

By Jon Lane
Today on YESNetwork.com, reaction to the suspension of Manny Ramirez:

“Manny being Manny” reached a whole new level, writes Chris Shearn.

The latest Manny saga is disgusting and abhorrent to baseball, writes Steven Goldman.

Alex Rodriguez should be thankful for Manny’s logic-defying explanation, writes Kimberly Jones.

My hope, and I’m still holding out hope, is that players are finally scared straight into not doing anything so stupid.

Sadly, there was neither shock, nor awe, only sadness and indifference. Because Ramirez and Alex Rodriguez will now be judged against their recent (or distant) past, this will not go away and people will continue to bring this up.

I won’t be one of them.

A-Rod returns tonight and that’s great, because he’s going to give the Yankees a big boost. Tabloid reporters have had a feast with tales of his tomfoolery, narcissism, steroid use admission and Selena Roberts’ new book. Like him or not, the truth is he has 553 career home runs, a career .306 average, owns three MVP awards and is the Yankees’ record holder for most homers by a right-handed hitter (54). He will provide Mark Teixeira protection and the lineup is another step closer to becoming a circular threat. Teixeira needs Rodriguez behind him, anything to get him going, because right now, he’s batting .198 and he stinks.

Tonight in Baltimore will be a circus with inquiring minds asking all questions A-Rod, but here’s hoping that like yesterday, Manny’s idiocy will keep the focus to baseball. Rodriguez is peculiar, but he’s one of the best to play the game and his entire body of work cannot be judged on the three seasons spent in Texas in which he admitted steroid use. Starting tonight, it’s A-Rod’s chance to be a true impact player before judges and juries: the fans.

Thanks to Manny Ramirez, baseball fans have a new punching bag. That alone is a good start.

May 7, 2009

Rays paying Price for keeping David down

By Glenn Giangrande
Didn’t the Rays stop the arbitration clock silliness by locking up Evan Longoria? Thursday’s start by Jeff Niemann serves as exhibit A, B, and C for why David Price should be up in the Majors. Oh, and after his performances last September and October, no I don’t care that he was 1-3 with a 3.92 ERA through May 6th at Triple-A Durham. He’s going to get his money eventually. Start the clock already.

Niemann gave the Rays just 3.1 innings and 78 pitches before being lifted against the Yankees. He won the fifth starter job in Spring Training, beating out Jason Hammel before he was traded to Colorado. Price was ticketed for the Minors no matter what. Why? As long as a youngster proves that he is mentally tough, what’s the harm in putting him into a prime Major League role if he is the best alternative? The high-end potential of Price versus what Niemann can offer – a 5.68 ERA in five starts this year heading into action versus the Yanks…who would you take?

To be fair, Niemann was a top prospect once upon a time, a 4th overall draft pick before arm problems set him back. Now 26, he might be right up against his ceiling. If you believe in having your best players on the field, Price should have started the year in the Majors and never looked back.

When I haven’t been on the job with YES lately, I’ve been really getting into Man vs. Food on the Travel Channel. I have no idea when it airs on a normal programming schedule, but re-runs tend to air somewhere in the 1:30, 2 AM range. I don’t know what show came first – that one, or Diners, Drive Ins, and Dives on the Food Network, but they look like they could be sister shows, and thankfully, us viewers win.

May 7, 2009

Rays vs. Yankees: Lineups 5/7/09

YANKEES (13-14)
Derek Jeter SS
Johnny Damon LF
Mark Teixeira 1B
Hideki Matsui DH
Robinson Cano 2B
Nick Swisher RF
Melky Cabrera CF
Ramiro Pena 3B
Jose Molina C

Pitching: Andy Pettitte (2-1, 3.82)

RAYS (13-16)
Jason Bartlett SS
Carl Crawford LF
Evan Longoria 3B
Carlos Pena 1B
Pat Burrell DH
Ben Zobrist RF
Gabe Kapler CF
Akinori Iwamura 2B
Dioner Navarro C

Pitching: Jeff Niemann (2-3, 5.68)

May 7, 2009

You are what your record says you are

By Joe Auriemma
The Yankees are 27 games into the season and under .500. They already have two four-game losing streaks and are playing exactly like their record states. This team has problems and it’s the type of problems that won’t just disappear with the return of Alex Rodriguez into the middle of the order.

As was the case with last season, the Yankees already have had major injury issues. The loss of A-Rod was just the tip of the iceberg when they lost two of their big money relievers in Brian Bruney and Damaso Marte. Now Marte had not been good before he was injured, but he is an experienced pitcher. Bruney has not had a full season with the Yankees since his 58-game performance in 2007. He has been lights out every time he’s been in there and he seems to be what’s missing from what has been a subpar bullpen this season. There are many inexperienced arms out there that give up the big hit at the worst possible moment.

I never like to blame injuries, but it has ravaged the bullpen, the lineup and the bench. The Yankees lost A-Rod, then his replacement Cody Ransom went down, Xavier Nady has been out and then they lost their leading RBI man in Jorge Posada. To make matters worse, Johnny Damon and Hideki Matsui have been playing hurt and let’s not forget about Chien-Ming Wang, who was just putrid in three starts this season. Every team has injuries, but the Yankees’ situation is pretty bad.

Could the injury bug for the second straight season be blamed on age? Yes, I think the advanced age of these players has a lot to do with the injuries. The Red Sox and Rays have a pretty young core of players and they don’t seem to be going through this same problem over the last two seasons.

After the injuries and the bullpen issues, the Yankees have had a tough year defensively. That seems to be the difference between a lot of the upper echelon teams to how they are playing right now.

This team also is not manufacturing runs. They don’t move runners over and when they do, they don’t drive them in.

With all of this being said, the Yankees can still snap out of this with the talent that they have and win their share of ballgames. However, when you combine everything that’s going on with the team right now, it really is true, “You are what your record says you are.”

May 7, 2009

Maybe players will finally be scared straight

By Jon Lane
Maybe the suspension of Manny Ramirez is the best thing for the Yankees in some twisted, convoluted way. As Peter Abraham notes, the news broke one day before Alex Rodriguez makes his season debut. A lot of the heat is off of A-Rod – for now – and this topic is expected to share space with life as a sub-.500 team in the Yankees clubhouse before tonight’s game.

Ramirez said in a statement that he saw a physician for a personal health issue who gave him a medication, not a steroid, which he thought was okay. Multiple reports have stated that it’s an agent “customarily used for performance enhancing” and neither a steroid nor human growth hormone. Too many players are pointing fingers and not accepting blame. If you’re given a prescription for an unknown drug, or visit your local GMC for some strange supplement, why on earth do you assume – especially in this day and age – that it’s perfectly okay? What’s so hard about seeing your team physician and taking it up with the office of Major League Baseball to receive a second and third opinion?

Manny being Manny just took itself to an entirely different level, writes Chris Shearn.

Baseball’s new drug policy can improve, but it’s good and it’s tough. Phillies reliever J.C. Romero was given the benefit of the doubt when MLB never said he tried to cheat, yet he was ruled guilty of “negligence” and issued Strike 1. Here’s hoping players are finally scared straight into taking more responsibility for what they put in their bodies. A little accountability helps too. A-Rod’s explanation may have been shady, but he manned up and said, “I did it” without any excuse.

As far as the Dodgers, 21-8, off to their best 29-game start since 1983 and owners of a new record for consecutive home wins to begin a season (13), it’ll be easy to write them off. Don’t even think about it, third base coach Larry Bowa told Colin Cowherd today on ESPN Radio. Bowa looks at this as a challenge to his young players tired of hearing the Dodgers are winning because of Manny. Joe Torre’s Dodgers feature rising stars Andre Either and Matt Kemp in the outfield, and James Loney at first base. Veteran Juan Pierre slides into Ramirez’s spot in left field. Chad Billingsley (5-0, 2.21 ERA) anchors a rotation with promise (Clayton Kershaw), veteran stability (Randy Wolf) and supported by a lockdown closer (Jonathan Broxton).

And don’t forget the Torre effect. He’s the right guy to handle this crisis. Anyone who’s followed the Yankees since 1996 knows how Torre cemented his reputation.

“It’s time for some of our young kids to grow up now,” Bowa said.

3:03 p.m.
Two sources told ESPN’s T.J. Quinn and Mark Fainaru-Wada that the drug used by Ramirez is HCG (human chorionic gonadotropin), a women’s fertility drug typically used by steroid users to restart their body’s natural testosterone production as they come off a steroid cycle. It is, reports the duo, similar to Clomid, the drug Bonds, Giambi and others used as clients of BALCO.Yahoo! Health explains that HCG is used to cause ovulation and to treat infertility in women, and to increase sperm count in men.

The operative words are “steroid cycle.”

“It’s not infrequently part of the mix of the poly-drug approach to doping,” Dr. Gary Wadler, chairman of the committee that determines the banned-substances list for the World Anti-Doping Agency, told The Associated Press. “It typically is used most when people are coming off a cycle to restore to normal biophysiological feedback mechanisms.”

_______________________

At least until first pitch, most of the focus is off another terrible loss from the Yankees and how they did nothing against Andy Sonnanstine, off whom opponents were hitting .366 and owned a 1-3 record with a 6.75 ERA. Blame the bullpen all you want; Phil Coke made one bad pitch, and Edwar Ramirez and Jonathan Albaladejo did their jobs. Second-guess Joe Girardi about not sending Mariano Rivera out for the 10th inning. But this is a problem which becomes more insidious with every loss: The Yankees went 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position and are 4-for-32 (.125) during their four-game losing streak. This team has showed little fire and passion, along with the obvious knack of failing in the clutch, but you have to love the mettle A.J. Burnett showed after the game.

“When it clicks, it will be ridiculous,” Burnett said. “When it clicks, it will be fun to watch.”

_______________________

REACTION TO RAMIREZ SUSPENSION
Derek Jeter
“I’m still surprised. It’s not like you assume everybody’s doing it so you’re still surprised when you hear about it.

“It doesn’t look good. It seems like it’s a never-ending thing. That’s what it seems like as of late. So you want to put it behind you and then you have something like this come up.”

Mark Teixeira
“I don’t like to give too much reaction until more details are out there. It’s just disappointing that it happened.

“I can only speak for myself. There’s no resentment because I can sleep really good at night and at the end of my career I can look my kids in the eyes and say I [kept clean].

“IWe’ve done a lot. Ever since 2004, I’ve been at the union meetings talking about what we can do. It’s almost every year like we try to test more and have it more strict. That’s the only thing we can do.”

Joe Girardi
“I don’t have all the specifics and I don’t know if we’ll ever get all the specifics. But the commissioner has vowed to crack down. The rules are very stringent and we’re seen another guy suspended 50 games.”

Johnny Damon
“I’m just surprised somewhat but everything that comes out with baseball it seems like it’s mostly negative stories and unfortunately, Manny’s one of them, a former teammate of mine and it’s disappointing to hear.

“This game has been able to withstand the test of time and this game has been able to I believe thrive so far this year. This is another black cloud and hopefully we can weed all this stuff out of the game in the upcoming years. Unfortunately, some very good baseball players have to go down with it.

“I think Manny’s going to be the one that can answer that the best. That’s all I have to say about that, I don’t know. These guys want to be the best and to us they did look like the best and now they’re paying for it.”

May 7, 2009

Statement from Manny Ramirez

By Jon Lane
Dodgers slugger Manny Ramirez, suspended today for 50 games for violating baseball’s drug policy, issued this statement through the MLB Players’ Association:

“Recently I saw a physician for a personal health issue. He gave me a medication, not a steroid, which he thought was okay to give me. Unfortunately, the medication was banned under our drug policy. Under the policy that mistake is now my responsibility. I have been advised not to say anything more for now. I do want to say one other thing; I’ve taken and passed about 15 drug tests over the past five seasons.

“I want to apologize to Mr. McCourt, Mrs. McCourt, Mr. Torre, my teammates, the Dodger organization, and to the Dodger fans. LA is a special place to me and I know everybody is disappointed. So am I. I’m sorry about this whole situation.”

Much more on this developing story later. It’ll be interesting to find out if this medication was not a steroid whether that removes some of the sting. Nevertheless this is the second major drug revelation since February, when Selena Roberts broke the story of Alex Rodriguez taking steroids while playing for the Texas Rangers from 2001-03. Like A-Rod, Ramirez is a lighting rod known for his immense talent along with idiosyncrasies and mannerisms that make you shake your head. From Los Angeles, to New York, to Boston and all around the game, people will be talking about this.

May 6, 2009

Rays vs. Yankees: Lineups 5/6/09

YANKEES (13-13)
Derek Jeter SS
Johnny Damon LF
Mark Teixeira 1B
Hideki Matsui DH
Robinson Cano 2B
Nick Swisher RF
Melky Cabrera CF
Ramiro Pena 3B
Jose Molina C

Pitching: A.J. Burnett (2-0, 5.40)

RAYS (12-16)
B.J. Upton CF
Carl Crawford LF
Evan Longoria 3B
Carlos Pena 1B
Pat Burrell DH
Gabe Gross RF
Jason Bartlett SS
Akinori Iwamura 2B
Dioner Navarro C

Pitching: Andy Sonnanstine (1-3, 6.75)

Steven Goldman is covering the game tonight. Check out the terrific Pinstriped Bible for pre and postgame nuggets like only he can share.– Jon Lane

May 6, 2009

Another stumble out of the gate

By Jon Lane
Back blogging after a few days out of pocket and it figures I return to a mess. It’s not my job to clean up, but I can weed through what’s going on with the Yankees and do my part to calm the waters.

Right now, fans have a right to be angry. Granted, there’s an absurd injury epidemic, but the Yankees are 0-5 against the Red Sox and stand at 13-13 coming off two hideous defeats.

Aside from the Red Sox’ ownership of the Yankees, how is this different from any of the past few seasons? For the fourth time in five years, the Yankees are at or below .500 in May – and chasing their competition. On May 6, 2005, the Yankees were 11-19 and two games out first, and won the AL East. Two years later, with team executives breathing down Joe Torre’s neck, the Yankees were eight games below sea level and 14 � back on May 29, but made it above .500 on July 14 and snuck into the postseason as a Wild Card.

Think Joe Girardi is having it rough? The 2005 season was when George Steinbrenner made his infamous “enough is enough” statement when the campaign was just 12 games old. In 1985, the last time the Yankees lost five straight to Boston, Yogi Berra was fired after 16 games. And be sure to catch the re-runs of “The Bronx is Burning” or buy the series on DVD to see how vintage Steinbrenner handled any time the Yankees were on a losing streak. Yet we’re at the point where fans chanted “We Want Torre!” in the ninth inning Tuesday night. Chris Shearn speaks out about how New York is suddenly in love with Torre again. What’s the next solution, purchasing Casey Fossum’s contract?

The big problem here is that while the Yankees were given an expensive face lift, they have failed to avoid the slow start that is threatening to force them to piece together another miraculous run, which will leave this veteran team out of gas for the playoffs. The Yankees are winless against the Red Sox and 3-8 against the AL East. Spending $400 million on people will have you judged against ridiculous standards. Floundering against your chief competition and getting outscored 38-23 by your hated rivals leave you open to criticism – which like it or not is fair.

“It’s not any fun. It’s frustrating,” said Girardi, thus far spared by Hal Steinbrenner and working with a roster with six key players on the disabled list and a bullpen underbelly nothing short of a complete disaster.

Think Joba Chamberlain still belongs in the bullpen? Yes, he was the losing pitcher. No, the total effort wasn’t outstanding due to a miserable first inning when he allowed four runs. But instead of folding, Chamberlain gave his team a chance to rally and looked damn good doing it, whiffing 12 batters in 4 2/3 innings after the rough beginning. His last eight outs came via the strikeout until Girardi removed him after 108 pitches.

The crowd protested, but Girardi did the right thing. Chamberlain is a 23-year-old prodigy more important for tomorrow than today. David Cone brought up Dwight Gooden during Tuesday’s telecast. At age 19, Dr. K threw 218 innings. The next two seasons, 276 2/3 and 250, and he was never the same again. The point is that organizations are being more and more protective of their young arms, especially when you have one in Chamberlain’s that destined to be special.

“Physically, you can’t do that to him,” Girardi said. “It’s a tough spot if we let him keep going and he gets hurt. That’s the real tough spot.”

Besides the lousy bullpen and Jason Bay taking Chamberlain deep for a three-run shot in the first, here’s why the Yankees lost Tuesday night: Trailing 4-3 they put runners on second and third with one out against Josh Beckett in the sixth, getting a bad break when Melky Cabrera’s double bounced into the stands and forced Nick Swisher to stay at third. Still, elite teams find a way to overcome bad luck. Ramiro Pena and Jose Molina, both playing thanks to injuries to Alex Rodriguez and Jorge Posada, failed to bring anyone home.

Beckett scattered 10 hits but limited the Yankees to three runs. The Yankees were 1-for-5 with runners in scoring position – 1-for-12 in the two games at Yankee Stadium – and are 8-for-54 (.148) against Boston in those situations. On the season, New York is batting .254 with RISP, .244 with two outs. You can have Bob Gibson, Sandy Koufax and Walter Johnson leading your rotation, but even the all-time greats have gotten outpitched and if you don’t score runs in the clutch, you’re not winning. Period.

Don’t think I’m letting the rotation off the hook. Andy Pettitte and A.J. Burnett are tied for the team lead in wins – two. Burnett’s ERA is 5.40 and CC Sabathia 4.85. You certainly hope the sleeping giant awakes from his annual spring hibernation, because the returning A-Rod will do nothing to help the pitching.

May 6, 2009

Meet Ken Singleton in Baltimore

By Jon Lane
This release from the Sports Legends Museum:

BALTIMORE – Sports Legends Museum at Camden Yards today announced that it will host a program with current YES Network analyst Ken Singleton on Saturday, May 9 at 1:00 p.m. while the Yankees are in Baltimore for a series with the Orioles. Singleton will offer his unique perspective on the 2009 AL East, discuss his role with the YES Network and comment on his days with Baltimore. Following the program, he will sign autographs for those in attendance. The program is free with paid admission to the Museum.

Singleton is in his seventh season with the YES Network, serving as both color commentator and play-by-play announcer for New York Yankees’ games. Before joining YES, he divided his time calling play-by-play and providing commentary on Yankees’ telecasts on the MSG Network. In 1998, he was part of MSG’s production team that won four New York Emmys for its Yankees coverage.

Born in Manhattan and raised in nearby Mount Vernon, N.Y., Singleton played both baseball and basketball in high school, and also played baseball in the Bronx Federation League at Macombs Dam Park – across the street from Yankee Stadium. After receiving a basketball scholarship to Hofstra University and playing baseball as well for one year, he was drafted by the Mets in 1967.

Singleton spent 15-years in Major League Baseball. He began his major league career in 1970 before being traded to Montreal in 1972. He was acquired by Baltimore in a trade with Montreal in 1974, and helped the Orioles win two pennants (1979 and 1983) and a World Championship in 1983. Over his career, Singleton was selected to the American League All- Star Team in 1977, 1979 and 1981. He was named Most Valuable Oriole in 1975, 1977 and 1979, and his .438 on base percentage (in 1977), 118 walks (in 1975) and 35 switch-hit home runs (in 1979) are all still Orioles’ single season records. Singleton was inducted into the Orioles’ Hall of Fame in 1986.

He is one of only six players in Major League Baseball history to hit 35 or more switch-hit homers in a season. In 1982, Singleton received the Roberto Clemente Award from Major League Baseball as the player who best epitomized the game of baseball, sportsmanship, community involvement and the individual’s contribution to his team.

Located adjacent to the main gate of Oriole Park, Sports Legends Museum at Camden Yards consists of 22,000 square feet of artifacts and interactive exhibits profiling Maryland’s sports history, as well as legendary Yankees’ slugger Babe Ruth. Sports Legends Museum is owned and operated by the Babe Ruth Museum.