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Why does he insist on having TWO dumb catch phrases for Granderson?  The “Something sort of Grandish” reference (a 1947 Musical “Finian’s Rainbow”) is bad enough.  But then he must follow that up with singing “the Grandy-man can”.  Its just flat out awful.

The problem is there is no alternative on radio.  If you are fed cube-steak every day and told it is filet mignon, do you think, as you chew down on the tenderized-yet-still-tough meat, man this is goood? or do you say, man filet mignon is not all its cracked up to be?  Sterling is cube-steak with too much seasoning.  It’s time for some new menu items.

By the way, Finian’s Rainbow had a broadway revival that ran from Oct 2009 through Jan 2010.  Although I’m sure Sterling saw the original, I have no doubt he went to the revival this past off-season and thought…”WOW.  What a great catch phrase!”

On July 21 I wrote down my predictions of what the AL East would look like on September 1. On August 11, I published those predictions here.  Lets see how I did:

Pretty much nailed the Yankees performance (the KC series split 2-2 instead of 3-1 is essentially the difference), and slightly underestimated the Rays.  I did not predict that Pedroia would be out for the year which has impacted the Red Sox tremendously, but I still was only two games off.   These were predictions over 38-40 games.  Apparenlty, Mr. Sterling, you CAN predict baseball.

So far… and if anyone groans at the title, it’s better than Sterling’s HR call for Thames.  Happy “Thames” are Here Again!  I thought it was Happy Days are Here Again.  Anyway, where would the Yanks be without this guy?  Hopefully he can keep it up, because he is going to be some weapon off the bench in a playoff  series.  Especially with runners on against Cliff Lee in the 6th inning of a tie game.  That’s playoff baseball!

Anyway, big start for A.J.  I watched Friday night’s debacle against the White Sox.  If he doesn’t pitch even mediocre tonight, he’s got to go to the  pen.  Javy has to come back.  And go with CC; Javy; Hughes; Nova and Mosely until Andy comes back.  Oh, and by the way, I know Hughes has not been great lately …. but I’ll give him the ball in a playoff series.  He’s part of the team, isn’t he?  He’s got to start sometime?

Now that is an old school term. Now it’s Divison winner, ALCS or NLCS champion, you don’t hear “AL pennant winner” thrown around. Words and terms change, I read that they are thinking of only publishing the bible of the English language, the Oxford English Dictionary electronically, with no printed edition.

So it is that I am 98% in favor of the current playoff system in baseball. But the neck and neck “race” between the Yanks and Rays definitely loses a lot of excitement since they both seem relatively assured of a playoff slot regardless. I don’t think anything should be changed, but we are losing a little fun nail-biting with how the AL is working out this year.

Look what the Yankees found.  This guy looks good and doesn’t get rattled.  A.J. – take a good long look at your playoff replacement.  It’s a good thing that the Yankees have some talent at the minor league level… Mosley and Nova have helped while Pettitte is on the shelf and Burnett and Hughes stink it up.   Another bright spot has been Nunez.  But, September is the time for everyone to get healthy.  We need A-Rod and Tex back. We can’t count on Nunez to go 4 for 4.  We’ve had our “dog days of Summer” swoon.  Now it’s time to tune up for the Playoffs.

Ok, a little more tuning up for a week.  It’s time to shake the sand out of your shoes and get ready for the stretch run.  Thoughts:

1) Andy Pettitte – I think he’ll be fine.  As long as no “pulling” or “catching” in the groin area (and they’ve been very cautious remember July 18 was his last start.  A simulated game and take two more weeks.  He’ll be fine as long as he has 3 starts in the regular season.

2) Phil Hughes – A very nice season.  He can’t get Vernon Wells out but Vernon Wells ain’t going to the playoffs. 

3) Post -season rotation – a little early to speculate, but assuming Pettitte , Burnett better pick it up, otherwise I think Hughes gets a start definitely.  I’m not as concerned with Vasquez as some other people are.  I have no problem giving Hughes a start – he’s a big part of the team now.  And, you’ve got to get your first start sometime. 

4) Let’s go Tampa this weekend.  Not only do I hate Boston under all circumstances, here it makes the most sense.  Banish the Red Sox and secure a spot.  With some of these injuries, I think the Yanks might need an uneventful last week of the season to set it up for the post season.

5) Jets – that’s right this time of year it’s a little football.  Who are they kidding?  Reevus has all the leverage.  They want to charge their fans an arm and a leg and they don’t want to give Reevus guaranteed money?  They think they’re going to the Super Bowl without their best player?  They have a second year QB, with a weaker running game, and no Reevus?  Miami is better, and the Pats are still the Pats.  Don’t they realize under the best of circumstances, it’s still a dogfight to get in the playoffs with their division?

6) Giants – time to step up.  New Def Coordinator, everyone on Defense back in the fold.  And, time for Eli to finally show he is in the elite.  No more games with 4 INTs.  No more silly mistakes, just proficient, prodcutive management of the offense.  It’s time Eli, time to be more than the guy who is good running a two minute offense, we need you for 60 minutes. Continue Reading »

You clearly hate Boston and would want them as far away as possible, so I clearly cant choose the cup in front of me.

Man in Black: All right. Who do you root for in tonight’s match up between the Red Sox and the Rays? The battle of wits has begun. It ends when you decide and we find out who is right… and who is out of the playoffs.
Vizzini: But it’s so simple.  All I have to do is divine from what I know of you: are you the sort of man who would want to battle a new enemy or an old and battered enemy?  Now, a clever man would want to keep as many enemys as far away as possible, because he would know that only a great fool would want both his enemys at arms reach. I am not a great fool, so I can clearly not choose the Red Sox.  But you must have known I was not a great fool, you would have counted on it, so I can clearly not choose the Rays.
Man in Black: You’ve made your decision then?
Vizzini: Not remotely. Because the Red Sox come from Boston, as everyone knows, and Boston is entirely peopled named Mac and Sully, and those people can be murderous when it comes to playing at Fenway, so I can clearly not choose the Red Sox. 
Man in Black: Truly, you have a dizzying intellect.
Vizzini: Wait til I get going! Now, where was I?
Man in Black: Boston.
Vizzini: Yes, Boston. And you must have suspected I would have known the Red Sox origin, so I can clearly not choose the Rays. 
Man in Black: You’re just stalling now.
Vizzini: You’d like to think that, wouldn’t you? You’ve beaten my giant, which means you’re exceptionally strong, so you could assume that you can take your chances against both Boston and Tampa, trusting on your strength to save you, so I can clearly not choose the Boston.   But, you’ve also bested my Spaniard, which means you must have studied, and in studying you must have learned that no lead is safe, so you would want your closest enemy to fall further behind, so I can clearly not choose the Rays. 
Man in Black: You’re trying to trick me into giving away something. It won’t work.
Vizzini: IT HAS WORKED! YOU’VE GIVEN EVERYTHING AWAY! I KNOW WHICH TEAM TO ROOT FOR!!
Man in Black: Then make your choice.
Vizzini: I will, and I choose – What in the world can that be?
Vizzini: [Vizzini gestures up at the Scoreborad.  The Man in Black looks. Vizzini looks at the playoff-odds report from baseballprospectus.com]
Man in Black: What? Where? I don’t see anything.
Vizzini: Well, I- I could have sworn I saw something. No matter. First, let’s choose, I’ll take Boston; You take Tampa.
Man in Black: You guessed wrong.
Vizzini: You only think I guessed wrong! That’s what’s so funny! I checked the stats while your back was turned! Ha ha! You fool! You fell victim to one of the classic blunders – The most famous of which is “never get involved in a land war in Asia” – but only slightly less well-known is this: “Never go against Veteran Pitching when the Playoffs are on the line”! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! Ha ha ha…
Vizzini: [Vizzini stops suddenly,his smile frozen on his face and falls dead]
Buttercup: And to think, all that time the right choice was Tampa.
Man in Black:  There is no right choice.  Regardless of who wins, if the Yankees win their games, they come out of the weekend with a better chance of making the playoffs.

So much for 30 games over .500.  That lasted all of one day, after taking nearly a month to get there.   The Yankees reached 29 games over .500 on July 29 when their record reached 65-36.   Then they lost, and won and lost and won etc.  They are 12-12 since July 29, which is how they got to 77-48.

If you look at the season, its been a upswings and plateaus.

• First Sustained Winning Stretch – April 4th to May 8th.  By April 21st, the team was already 11-3 (8 over).  By May 4th (12 games later) they reached 10 over for the first time at 18-8.  By May 8th, the Yankees were 21-8 (13 games over).
• First Doldrums –   Then came the first doldrums of the season.  When the Yankees lost the last game of the Boston series on May 9th, (Burnett giving up 9 runs in 4.1 innings), that started a stretch of inconsistency with the Yankees going 5-10 (losing 3-4 to Detroit, winning a 3 game series vs. Min, splitting a 2 game series with Boston, losing a 2 game series to Tampa, and losing a series 1-2 to the Mets), leaving the Yankees at 26-18 on May 23 (8 games over, back where they were on April 21st).  
• Second Stretch of Sustained Wins – This excellent stretch began after the loss to the Mets.  From May 23 through July 29, the Yankees went 39-18, running their record to 65-36 (the first time they reached 29 over).  Pettitte strained his groin on July 18th, and Mitre lost the first start in Pettitte’s absence (July 24), Mosely one the second start in Pettitte’s absence (July 29).  However, without Pettitte and with Vazquez and Burnett and Hughes all relatively shaky, we are again in the Doldrums.  (FYI this is why Cashman tried to get Cliff Lee)
• Doldrums II – Beginning July 30 with the series with Tampa through today, the Yankees are 12-12, going 5-7 against through the tough stretch of Tampa, Toronto, Boston and Texas and 7-4 against the easier stretch of KC, Detroit and Seattle.  With the loss yesterday (thanks Jose Bautista), the Yankees are back at 29 over at 77-48.

With 37 games left, and the Yankees tied with Tampa, here are a few things to ponder.  A-Rod is on the DL; Pettitte is on the DL; Burnett is maddeningly inconsistent; Vazquez is inconsistent; and Hughes has an innings limit.

Here are the Yankee opponents down the stretch: @ Toronto (who currently lead the season series 4-6 and who hit the most HR in the AL); @ CWS (tough team, in playoff fight, good starters, good bullpen); vs. Oak (best ERA in the AL); vs. TOR (again); vs. The Fighing Showalters (12-8 since Buck to the reigns); @ Tex (good team, great pitching, playoff hunt); @ Tampa (no need to comment); @ Fighting Showalters; vs. Tampa (again); vs. Boston (Armageddon); @ TOR (again); @ Boston (Armageddon II).

The Yankees need to get on a roll, and soon.  Even though Boston is 6 games back in the loss column, all they need to do is shave off 3 games and the those games in September all of a sudden mean a hell of a lot.  Here’s to Pettitte recovering soon.

While Hideki Matsui is hitting three run bombs in Fenway Park tonight, Nick Johnson is on the DL…as he has been for most of the year.

Now, newly aquired Lance Berkam is on the DL too. Berkam was hitting .179  with 4 RBI in 39 at bats. To be honest, his being on the DL isn’t such a bad thing since Girardi seemed to feel he HAD to play him. 

It’s a curious thing…Berkman goes on DL, offense comes to life vs. Tigers.

I’d much rather see Kearns (.333 in 27 at bats with a home run) and Thames in a platoon situation. Also, it seems that Kearns is capable of delivering off the bench as a pinch hitter – a task where very few players find success.

Taking 3 of 4 from the Tigers was very important. The schedule isn’t doing the Yanks OR Tampa any favors. Yes, they face a bad team in Seattle next – but Tampa faces Oakland. While the Yankees battle Toronto, Tampa faces the Angels. The Angels are a .500 team, but they’re not giving up and Scioscia will be sure to have them playing to win against the AL East powerhouse teams.

One would have never thought you’d need to worry about playing Baltimore down the stretch. Both the Yanks and Rays play them 6 times each – and you can bet Buck Showalter has those games circled on his calendar.

The stretch run is going to be a nail-biter…

Apparently, others are taking notice of Captain Jete’s tremendous ground ball rate and penanct for the DP.  His 2.06 ground ball/fly ball ratio means 2 out of every three balls he puts in play are on the ground and he’s among the AL leaders in GDPs.   This was the stretch where the Yankees needed to put some meat on their bones – and they are 3-3 so far.  Pretty average.

Oh and as John pointed out in a comment to my earlier post.  The team is 17-14 since the All-Star break and 8-8 since Cashman made his trades.  Berkman, Kearns and Wood will do nothing for this team, whereas the Colin Curtis-es and Jaun Miranda-s add youthful energy.