Evil Empire's New York Yankees fan blog

Just hours away from the real beginning of the Yankee Stadium All-star festivities, beginning with tonight's Homerun Derby, I cant help but feel a little sad. Don't get me wrong I am as excited as I have been for any game that I have attended and that includes World Series games. It is almost on par with Game 7 2003 Yankees Red Sox. This is a once in lifetime opportunity and I have been hoping to get a chance to go to one of the events when it was announced this time last year. To be lucky enough to go to both events is amazing. I can't be happier to go.

But the feeling of sadness comes from it being here and coming so quickly. The next two days will be ones I will hopefully never forget as I get to see the game's best and brightest send off the most famous stadium in the world. And I will be able to share the experience with my dad who keeps saying how excited he is to be going to this great event. I have been looking forward to this day for over a year and to think it will all be over in about 36 hours is a little hard to believe. This could be the last great event in the House that Ruth Built as there is no guarantee that playoffs will happen this year.

Continue reading "Bittersweet"

Well one manager got it right and one well got it half right.

Clint Hurdle made the right choice for the NL Starter. Ben Sheets has had a great year and has never had the honor of starting the game. Hurdle was left with only two choices, Sheets and Edinson Volquez, as everyone else who deserved to be there (Tim Lincecum and Brandon Webb) both threw lastnight. Volquez was eliminated by his manager Dusty Baker as he threw over 120 pitches Saturday. (Hopefully Lincecum, Webb, and Volquez can all get an inning of work and showcase their talents). So that left Sheets as the starter, and he was the right guy to get the nod.

On the otherhand Terry Francona had the chance to give a former Cy Young winner, a good guy in the game, and one of the top pitchers in baseball for the last few years the honor of throwing the first pitch in the final Mid-Summer Classic at Yankee Stadium. The idea for Mariano Rivera to start would have been a great story and very unorthodox, basically it was unrealistic and just a fantasy. So because it was unrealistic the choice should have been Roy Halladay. This is not to say Cliff Lee hasnt been great this year but Halladay has been one of the games best for over five years. This would be a great honor for him. His start Friday night, a two hit shutout of the Yankees should have put his 1st half resume over the top. Apparantly Francona had other ideas and went with Lee. Maybe Halladay will remember this next time he faces the Red Sox, a team that he usually cant beat, and can pitch halfway as effectively as he has versus the Yankees in his career.

Continue reading "Cliff Lee vs Ben Sheets"

Allstar week has brought some heavy duty excitement to New York City this week. As baseball gets ready to honor America's Sports Cathedral one last time, all eyes will be on the House that Ruth Built. Since Friday there have been exciting events going on all through out the city. As All-Star week is sadly half over, I have to admit that I will be lucky enough to have been able to attend or will attend all the major events that have made up All-Star Week 2008.

Saturday Night- Livin on a Prayer with Bon Jovi

Continue reading "Allstar Week Packed With Action"

The New York Yankees couldnt wait to get the allstar break. Of 32 ab's this afternoon only 7 went past 3 pitches. That means that 25 at bats were three pitches or less. That is an unbelievable stat for a team famous for grinding and making pitchers work. They need to bring back Jorge Posada's saying from 2006 "Grind It," because the team definetly isn't. I have to compare back to the late 90's teams but do you think that Paul Oneill, Scott Brosius, Bernie Williams, and Tino Martinez would ever let the team have 25 at bats of under three pitches?I dont think so, they were famous for tiring out pitchers and getting to bullpens and beating the mediocre middle relief. That is why they were always succesful vs guys like Pedro Martinez and Roger Clemens. Some of it is losing Johny Damon and Hideki Matsui for a couple weeks, they should be back in a week, but there are too many free swingers who don't work counts. The team seems to have lost the focus. Hopefully this is just a case of them being antsy to have a rare four days off in the middle of the season. But still that is no reason to have lacksidasical ab's when every game means so much. Lets hope they come back from the break focused and ready to go on a tear like last year, because as Andy Pettitte said, they stink right now.

Continue reading "Limping to the Break"

I never got to see Bobby Murcer play. However I have listened to him announce and I will greatly miss him. Yesterday was a sad day for me. Finding out Bobby Murcer had passed away came as a quick and sudden shock. He seemed like such a nice and amazing man and all the stories about him seemed to confirm it. Listening to the stories about him on and off the field really have been a joy. He was the lone bright spot on some miserable Yankee teams and he was the link between Mantle and Mattingly. Bobby Murcer meant a lot to a generation of Yankee fans and they always loathed the day he was traded. No matter how much it helped the team win two championships they always wanted him there. You could also see how much he meant to everyone as former teammates, broadcast partners, and current Yankees could barely hide the tears as they reminsced about the kindess of Murcer. The allstar week should be a time of celebration and this has brought some damper to that joy. Baseball and the Yankees have lost someone very special, but we know Bobby Murcer will Always be a Yankee.

Continue reading "RIP Bobby Murcer: Always A Yankee"

Taking a look around baseball one thing is clear, younger is better. Baseball is not a game dominated by older, experienced teams. It has become a game that is about youth, athleticism, energy and excitement. This is an extremely exciting time in baseball as there is a brand new fresh crop of youngsters who are taking the game by storm. Every team that is leading their division or contending for a playoff spot has a lot of youth and enthusiasm. They are ready to take the torch from older players like Ken Griffey Jr, Greg Maddux, Curt Schilling, and John Smoltz. With players like Jay Bruce, Josh Hamilton, Ian Kinsler, Hanley Ramirez, Jon Lester, Troy Tulowitzki, Ryan Braun, and Evan Longoria the league looks like its in good hands.

Continue reading "No League For Old Men"

Continue reading "VOTE STACHE"

As we head into the final week of the unofficial first half of the 2008 season there are a lot of interesting story lines. From the Devil Rays, i mean Rays, and the big moves in the NL Cetral Major League baseball is in a great position.

 The best story in baseball is the amazing transformation of the Tampa Rays. They have gone from the worst team in baseball for the past ten years, to what appears to be a legitimate playoff contender. They currently have the best record in the major leagues and have 9 and 4 game leads in the loss column over the Yankees and Red Sox respectively. They are a story just like the 1969 Mets and the 1991 Braves as they attempt to go from worst to first. They have done it with a lot of athleticism, youth, pitching and defense. Led by Carl Crawford, Carlos Pena, and BJ Upton the Rays can run with anyone and play great defense. Their pitching staff has turned into one of their rocks. With Scott Kazmir, Jamie Shields, and Matt Garza upfront they have a 1-2-3 that can match up with anyone else. And their bullpen is now one of the top in the leagues anchored by Troy Percival who has re-ignited his career. But the main guy to focus on is third baseman Evan Longoria. He has brought instand credibility to the Rays lineup. He plays gold glove third and can hit with anyone else. He is a clutch performer who will be the face of their orginization for years to come. I do not expect the Rays to go anywhere the rest of the way as even a 500 finish will lead them to 90+ wins.

Continue reading "Good For Baseball"

All of New York needs to give Kyle Farnsworth a little forgiveness. Everytime he enters a game or even warms up there is a chorus of boos and groans. Everyone is always expecting the worse everytime he enters the game. In actuality they should be expecting him to get the job done. He has been extremely servicable and dependant this year as the 8th inning man.

Is he Mariano Rivera? No. But who is? He is actually one of the top 8th inning guys in the league. He is just as good as Okajima and better than Delcarman. He might give up some runs or homeruns, but he hasnt blown a game. He has filled in admiralably for Joba as he transitioned to a starter. He has had an ERA under 3.50 and has kept the team close in the games he has pitched in.

This weekend was a great example of that. He entered Sat's game and had a 1,2,3 inning and held the lead at 2. What did he do Sunday to follow it up? Even though all of NY was expecting disaster he has another 1,2,3 inning to keep the score tied. Pretty impressive stuff.

Continue reading "Krazy Kyle Deserves Some Dap"

Wow what a game. In a typical Yankee-Red Sox fashion, tonights Sunday Night ESPN game was one to remember. It was a game that the Yankees probably don't win last month or even last week. Girardi's tyrade seems to have woken the team up and gotten them going. They kept fighting and clawing and finally found a way to win. Maybe it wasnt the prettiest game but it earned them a split, which is great after dropping the first two.

 This was an old time Yankee win. Mo finally remebered how to pitch in a tie game and dominated over two innings. He even embarassed Manny in another Manny Being Manny moment where he didnt even swing at one pitch after pinch hitting. Francona could have used a skeleton and had the same result. And then Cano is able to single after falling down 0-2. The Yankees finally bunted Melky to get Cano to second. And Gardner scratched and fought off all of Papelbon's fastballs, he finally got a splitter and hit a bouncing ball up the middle, would have been a single if gloved, but it bounced off Cora's glove for a walk off winner. It was Luis Sojo esque circa 2000.

Continue reading "Bret Gardner Comes Through"