Baseball

The best Shortstops in New York Yankee history Shortstop may be the most important defensive position - after catcher - on a baseball field. Quickness, speed, the ability to cover a lot of ground, and a strong accurate arm are essential. Going into the hole to backhand the ball and then throw out the runner at first, and being able to turn the double play consistently, are also important. The Yankees have had some pretty good shortstops, and some have been impressive contributors on offense as well.

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The best Catchers in New York Yankee history Most teams favor having a player with top notch defensive skills behind the plate. The Yankees have had some steady defensive players who also helped their pitching staffs by calling a good game; fortunately for the team these five catchers were dominant offensive players as well.

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The best Right Fielders in New York Yankee history Right field may be a position where kids in sandlot games try to hide someone who isn't a great player, but that isn't true in professional baseball. There have been many great offensive and defensive players at the position, and the Yankees have had some good ones. Here are the top five in their history.

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The best first basemen in New York Yankee history Some people have said, "Anybody can play first base."  But that's not really true, there's more to the position than some fans think. A first baseman needs good hands, quick feet, agility, and the ability to make split second decisions on plays such as bunts and cutoffs. Let's not forget the skill of scooping infielders' bad throws out of the dirt. All of these can save a team runs, and sometimes can mean the difference between a win and a loss. The Yankees have had some great hitters at the position, and several have also been outstanding defensive players. Here are the top five in franchise history.

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The best Left Fielders in New York Yankee history The Yankees have had a number of good outfielders in franchise history, with many playing more than one spot. But who are the best left fielders? I took a look at who played the most games at the position, and put up good offensive as well as defensive numbers. Contribution to championship teams was also taken into consideration when ranking the players. Here are the top five Yankee Left Fielders of all time:

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The best Center Fielders in New York Yankee history Centerfielders in baseball are usually players who have the best combination of speed and a strong throwing arm among the three outfielders, since they have to cover the most ground and make throws from different areas in the field. The Yankees have had many great players at the position, so let's take a look at the best in their history. As it turns out these five are also the top five in games played in centerfield.

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The best Third Basemen in New York Yankee history The third base position in baseball is called the 'hot corner' because when a right handed batter pulls the ball he's got a lot of power behind it, and the ball gets to the third baseman very fast. A player who is great defensively will stand out at third base, and the Yankees have had several at the position. Here are the top five:

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One of the keys to championship baseball in the major leagues is the double play. Since the second baseman is involved in more double plays than anyone else, this is a pretty important position.

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Detroit Tigers fans are justifiably too excited for words about the Tigers' prospects for the 2012 season.

The Tigers added Prince Fielder to an already-strong core comprised of superstars Justin Verlander and Miguel Cabrera. RF Brennan Boesch is back, and will play right field every day. Up and down the lineup are dangerous, powerful hitters like the aforementioned Boesch, as well as SS Jhonny Peralta, C Alex Avila, LF Delmon Young and even 2B Ryan Raburn- hitters who should do well to complement the explosiveness of Cabrera and Fielder.

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Second baseman Brandon Inge has been placed on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to March 30th. That means he'll be eligible to play on April 14th against the Chicago White Sox in Chicago. 

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Former undisputed heavyweight champion of the world “Iron” Mike Tyson was recently interviewed by Michael Kay of the Yes Network for a segment of CenterStage that will air on May 26. 

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He’s got 4 World Series rings: 1 with the Mets and 3 with the Yankees. His career was tainted with drug abuse. He’s Darryl Strawberry. He was a special guest on the show “Centerstage” with Michael Kaye on the Yes Network. He was a class act. Whatever questions Michael Kaye had about the negative things that happened in his life, he took full responsibility for it: drugs and tax evasion. You name it! Whatever he did wrong he took full responsibility for it, unlike Roger Clemens, who’s given denial after denial that he did steroids.

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How did "Catfish" Hunter get his nickname?  The story that went around was that while the A's were waiting at Jimmy Hunter's farmhouse to sign him to his first professional baseball contract, he was fishing down in the creek.  After waiting for several hours the A's representive saw Jimmy walking home with a large string of catfish. 

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These days, going to a baseball game isn't what it used to be. Seldom will a pitcher throw into the 7th inning; the score is usually 7-6 or 10-9; and your favorite slugger is likely to hit one, if not two balls, out of the park. The game is shamelessly jacked up on HGH, and its obvious. The best hitter (Bonds) and pitcher (Clemens) of our generation used it, and more players are getting busted by the day (A-Rod, Manny). However, most fans don't care. They still go to the ballpark. That's because baseball, and pro sports in general, is merely another form of entertainment.

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Could Babe Ruth predict his Homers?  This is my all time favorite Baseball story! The New York Yankees had won 107 games leading up to the 1932 World Series. This is how I heard the story: game 3, 5th inning with Babe Ruth at Bat.  The game was tied at 4 with 1 out.  Babe's count was 2-2.  Then he pointed his bat to center-field.  Root let the next pitch go and Babe sent it sailing over the center field wall of Wrigley's Field! 

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Accusing New York of buying a team might be a bit of an understatement. I say this as a firm defender of the Yankees and as a fan. These off-season pick-ups should be despairing moves for long-time fans, because New York has overpaid time and time again for big-name players that never live up to their name. Giambi turned his contract into a hospice stay, A-Rod's bat goes flaccid in the post-season, and Johnny Damon's effectiveness was swept off of a barbershop floor. Billionaires just don't have very good eyes for ballplayers. CC "More Stuffing Please" Sabathia is looking at possible back problems a la David Wells, AJ Burnett is going to need a rehab session after clubbing in New York, and Mark Teixeira, mark my words, will pull his hamstring within two weeks of opening day.

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  Ok, so I wasn't there when Barry Bonds broke the home-run record.  I wasn't there when Cal Ripken passed Lou Gehrig in most consecutive games played (although I saw both on television as they happened) and the piece of history I witnessed is not nearly as glamorous as either of those two events.  However, I was there tonight.  I can already hear the wheels turning. "What the heck happened tonight?" asks the die-hard baseball fan who happened upon my article.  Tonight was the first time in MLB history that an instant replay was used to review a home-run call.

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To compete, a baseball team needs pitching and defense. An old adage maybe, but it exists for a reason. A team that continuously gives up runs ends up yanking their starters early in games and taxes their bullpen, lessening their effectiveness over time and thereby compounding the problem over the season. Ironically, trying to keep games close hurts the team in the long run. But with one of the best fielding percentages and team ERA’s in the league, the Toronto Blue Jays are competing.

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Just picture it: it’s the top of the ninth inning and the Toronto Blue Jays are holding a slim 2-1 lead over the New York Yankees. Up to bat is Derek Jeter with Bobby Abreu and Alex Rodriguez on deck. Cito Gaston, in order to shut the door on the game and the series gets on the phone and brings in the big gun, Pedro Luis Lazo, winner of two Olympic Gold medals with Cuba and current closer of the Blue Jays. And even if he gives up a run its okay, because leading off the bottom of the ninth for the Jays is Alexei Bell, who hit 30 HR with 100 RBI with Santiago del Cuba last year.

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As I sit here and watch Johan shutout the Yankees for first three innings I wonder what it would be like for him to be in the road grey's. Sure it would be nice to have some one of his caliber as a member of the Yankees but I think his performance is season thus far has proven Brian Cashman correct. If the Yankees had traded Melky Cabrera, Phil Hughes, and Ian Kennedy for Johan Santanna, Yankee fans would be asking for more. I know Hughes and Kennedy have no wins this year but Hughes is only 20 years old and has great potential. He needs time to devlop. I am not sure what Kennedy turns into and I would have definetly been fine with trading him in a deal just not packaged with Hughes. It just wasnt fair for the Yankees to give up prospects and a huge contract.

Continue reading "3 Months into the Santanna Decision"

We're all already on a first-name basis with him... so will Joba Chamberlain be the starter to take us back to .500 tonight and get the season on the right track?

The Yankees are off to a horrifying 28-29 start, with key players injured (Posada) and others suspended (Hawkins).  Luckily, Toronto isn't particularly good at hitting first-time starters, and the Yankees seem to be faring well with a recent record of 14 for 20.  And even though Joba can't throw 99 mph for seven innings, he's a pitcher with the presence of mind to get himself through his first 60-70 pitches as a starter (which is how many Girardi said he'd allow the near-rookie to throw).

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I have to laugh when I hear that Brian Cashman will be in demand as a general manager if the Yankees don't sign him to a new contract beyond this season. Here's a guy who landed an job with the Yankees solely because his father was friends with George Steinbrenner; the two met while involved in the horse racing industry. So young Brian was able to land an internship that other just as, if not more, qualified college students can only dream about. Lots of people can make something of an opportunity; not everyone has it handed it to them like Cashman did. Many people could learn the ins and outs of how major league baseball operates, given the chance. I could have learned all about the waiver rules, too.

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     It seems that this year the The New York Yankees won't be sending more than 1 (maybe 2) players to the All Star game being held in Yankee Stadium. Johnny Damon had a stella

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The Yankees should send Willie Randolph a nice little present.  If it wasn't for him taking so much heat in the papers and all over the internet about some of his comments, the Yankees and their terrible play would be front and center. 

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No wonder there are websites completely devoted to the firing of Joe Morgan.  How can anyone take this guy seriously as far as being a broadcaster is concerned.  This guy's hatred for the Ya

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Big win for the Yanks today, following last night’s loss.  

Darrell Rasner had another solid, 6-inning outing and notched his second win in as many starts. 

Kyle Farnsworth helped get out of a jam in the 7th and Joba looked great in the 8th and Mariano looked the same in the 9th.   

Continue reading "Yankees at Tigers gm. 2 of 3 POST GAME THOUGHTS"

I call it "Baseball Heroin," as it's all too easy to sit for hours flipping between games, immobile, helpless to the draw of constant, and constantly changing, baseball.

This year has the added bonus of being able to watch either the home or away feed for a game, so I can tailor my watching to the team I like, or switch between the two to get a different perspective on a game. This somewhat ameliorates some of the problems DirecTV has been having this year with feeds--I'm one of the many, many people who woke up at 3AM on Opening Day in Japan . . . only to find that DirecTV's satellite problems were blacking out the broadcast. A handful of games later on in the season experienced this same problem, but these problems have been by and large small ones.

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Sorry for the lack of pre-game thoughts...goddam traffic. 

Well any Yankee fans that doubted Cliff Lee’s start are silent tonight.  He was dominant for 7 innings, plain and simple.  For the most part, Chien-Ming Wang was good, despite a few early mistakes. 

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Bring back day games for the World Series. Baseball's being lost to other sports, in part because kids don't watch the games (live or in person) the way they could when the games were in the daytime. Sure, ratings are higher at night, but how much does this affect ad revenue, really? And even if it does, sometimes you've gotta sacrifice the present for the future, instead of the other way around.

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Well that was very unexpected… The 'Post Game Thoughts' return as the winning streak (short but sweet) is over... 

Just when things seemed to be going great…Andy Pettitte gets back on track with a strong outing, Kyle Farnsworth looks impressive yet again, and the offense scratches out enough to put the team in position to win…the unexpected happens. 

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So the Yankees open a 3-game set against the Indians tonight at the Stadium.  Andy Pettitte goes for the Yanks against Fausto Carmona.

Carmona (3-1, 2.60 ERA) has pitched well to start the year for the Tribe, although he has walked twice as many batters has he has struck out.

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Well we can put another notch in Phil Hughes’ cap.  82 pitches thrown in 3.2 IP, which by the way is his average innings pitched per start.  He is lost right now and unless the Yankees get some sort of help in the form of a starter that can eat up innings, you may want to buy stock in whatever company is in charge of transporting pitchers from Scranton-Wilkes Barre to the Bronx. 

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Hello All...

Allow me to introduce myself...

I am a 23 year old passionate (sometimes too passionate) Yankee fan from the Hudson Valley...My first memories of the Yanks include Steve Sax, Mel Hall, Matt Nokes and Kevin Maas.  (great huh)

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           It is almost time to say goodbye to an old friend of mine.  I’ve been visiting this fixture in my life for the past 15 years.  Invited inside with open arms, I could not wait to jump off the train and get there so I could be treated to a good time, some ice cold lemonade, and a bunch of homemade cold-cut sandwiches.  Usually this would be a story about a grandmother’s house, or a family friend of some sort.  The second one is somewhat correct, but only in my mind.  This is the last year for Yankees Stadium, my home away from home every other Sunday during the Spring, Summer and Fall months.

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on and New York have been fighting a sports war on multiple fronts for more than a century.  Baseball, football, hockey, basketball: you name the championship, our teams have battled over it.  Up until a few years ago, New York seemed to have the edge.  Even though the Patriots were winning, their other teams seemed incapable of making the all-important final round of the playoffs.  The Knicks were hot throughout the 90’s, while the Celtics were not.  The Yankees were World Series Champions, leaving The Red Sox in the Wild Card.  I disqualify hockey because both the Bruins and the Rangers stunk for a few years there, but you get the basic gist.  New York had the lead.  “The curse” kept Boston beneath us in the sports world.  Then, everything changed.

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