Wang Out, Cano Still Sucks

The Good

The Yanks had another come from behind win, winning the game off of Jorge Posada's walk off single in the bottom of the twelfth. We would have won earlier but our second baseman is Robinson Cano. Also, and perhaps most importantly, we scored five runs on Roy Halladay.

The Bad

Cano with runners in scoring position is bad, but Wang out with a right shoulder strain is worse. Just kidding. Nothing is worse than Cano with runners in scoring position. Preliminary reports are that Wang should only miss a few weeks. In Yankees language that means he's probably out for most of the rest of the season.

The Ugly

Tomorrow, the RJG boys will be headed to Scranton to join the Lohud Yanks Blog festivities. This means we will not be able to post until we return to RJG headquarters (I can' tell you where that is, but I can say it is in a crystal fortress of solitude) on Monday evening. The primary implication of this is that there will be no more funny posts from us for almost 48 hours. Without RJG there will be no joy in the Yankee blogosphere, no laughter. Your children will sob uncontrollably and there will be nothing you can do. It will be dark, as though the sun herself could not bare our absence. Prepare for cold. Deep cold.

Charity Loves Us

Posada and Damon both hit home runs in today's winning effort. Even Matsui hit one, though that was probably unintentional since it would mean that he had to run around all the bases, not a strength for him right now.

Jorge Posada 11hr = $11.00
Hideki Matsui 12hr = $12.00
Derek Jeter 9hr = $9.00
Mark Teixeira 20hr = $20.00
Nick Swisher 14hr = $14.00
Robinson Cano 13hr = $13.00
Johnny Damon 16hr = $16.00
Melky Cabrera 8hr = $8.00
Jose Molina 1hr = $1.00
Alex Rodriguez 13hr = $13.00
Brett Gardner 3hr = $3.00
Francisco Cervelli 1hr = $1.00
Total = $122.00

If you are interested in Johnny Damon's Homerun Club or the Children's Health Fund you can find links to both at the top right hand corner of our page.

Burnett Pitches Yankees to a Win

The Good

7 innings and 2 runs out of AJ Burnett was quite a good appearance. Coke-Hughes-Rivera closed the game out with 2 innings of scoreless baseball. A-Rod and Cano both hit homeruns.

The Bad

Nick Swisher went 0-4, and is now down to a .236 batting average.

The Ugly

Posada had to sit for a second consecutive game after taking a pitch of his thumb. He is back in the lineup today.

Respect Jeter's Gangster is for the Children

The "Respect Jeter's Gangster" blog joined Johnny Damon's home run club, which raises money for the Children's Health Fund. We are pledged to donate $1.00 for every homerun the Yankees hit this season. A-Rod and Cano both hit homerun. A-Rod has been excellent after getting some days off. Lets hope it continues.

Jorge Posada 10hr = $10.00
Hideki Matsui 11hr = $11.00
Derek Jeter 9hr = $9.00
Mark Teixeira 20hr = $20.00
Nick Swisher 14hr = $14.00
Robinson Cano 13hr = $13.00
Johnny Damon 15hr = $15.00
Melky Cabrera 8hr = $8.00
Jose Molina 1hr = $1.00
Alex Rodriguez 13hr = $13.00
Brett Gardner 3hr = $3.00
Francisco Cervelli 1hr = $1.00
Total = $119.00

If you are interested in Johnny Damon's Homerun Club or the Children's Health Fund you can find links to both at the top right hand corner of our page.

Scranton Outing This Sunday

The good fans over on Pete Abe's blog have organized an outing to the Scranton Wilkes Barre Yankees game this Sunday. The RJG will be in attendance. If you're interested there may still be tickets available as Pete Abe pointed out. If you're planning to attend stop by and say hello. One or both of us will be wearing a Respect Jeter's Gangster t-shirt. Its looking to be a fun outing, and it should be good to see the minor league players. We hope some of you can make it.

Sabathia Can't Get it Done

The Good

Cano went 3-3 and Mastui went 2-3 hitting a homerun and driving in 3 runs.

The Bad

Jeter got thrown out trying to steal second, but the throw was beautiful, perfect even. It would have gotten any base stealer.

The Ugly

Sabathia went 5.2 innings and allowed 6 runs. Hardly a good effort. He was due for a melt down though, so I guess today was as good as any. That being said, the Yankees are still chasing the Sox and are 3 games back. A win yesterday would have put us 2 games back. Hopefully Burnett gets us back on track today.

Respect Jeter's Gangster is for the Children

The "Respect Jeter's Gangster" blog joined Johnny Damon's home run club, which raises money for the Children's Health Fund. We are pledged to donate $1.00 for every homerun the Yankees hit this season. Last night, Matsui showed what he could do for children's health even with two bad knees, with his 11th homerun of the season.

Jorge Posada 10hr = $10.00
Hideki Matsui 11hr = $11.00
Derek Jeter 9hr = $9.00
Mark Teixeira 20hr = $20.00
Nick Swisher 14hr = $14.00
Robinson Cano 12hr = $12.00
Johnny Damon 15hr = $15.00
Melky Cabrera 8hr = $8.00
Jose Molina 1hr = $1.00
Alex Rodriguez 12hr = $12.00
Brett Gardner 3hr = $3.00
Francisco Cervelli 1hr = $1.00
Total = $117.00

If you are interested in Johnny Damon's Homerun Club or the Children's Health Fund you can find links to both at the top right hand corner of our page.

Cashman to Release Sequel to MoneyBall, Motion Picture In the Works

Many know about Michael Lewis' book "Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game", which centers around Oakland GM Billy Beane's philosophy about putting a team together. But what you may not know is that Yankee GM Brian Cashman is poised to release his own book titled "Moneyball: #&^% Billy Beane" (Censored by RJG). Where Beane's philosophy focuses heavily on sabermetrics and claims that statistics such as batting average, homeruns, stolen bases, and RBI's are flawed and antiquated, Cashman's philosophy says "#&^% Billy Beane" (Direct quote from book, censored by RJG). Here are some excerpts from the book:

"Billy Beane says that statistics such as homeruns, batting average, and RBI's are flawed. He prefers on base percentage, slugging percentage, VORP, PEDP+, and others like them. The sad thing is that many intelligent baseball fans have beleived this crap. Here's a stat for you Billy: 11 games under .500. &^%$ you Billy! (Censored by RJG)."

"I remember this one time, we reached the post season for the 13th year straight, and somebody asked me about OPS+. I hadn't even heard of it. I thought the guy was talking about the Transformers movie. Then later, I hear Billy Beane talking about OPS+ and how he builds great teams with it. I told Billy that I appreciated him doing all this statistical analysis to find great players since it made my job easier when I signed them away from him. He looked all mad, so I said 'Relax Billy, you can keep Bobby Crosby. We have a real shortstop.'"

"My Moneyball philosophy is quite simple. You mix expensive free agents with expensive international signings, sprinkle some money on top, and just like that you have a competing team. Admittedly, we didn't reach the post season in 2008, but neither did Billy Beane's Athletics so bleep him, and bleep you! [sic]."

"I hear a lot of people talking about sabermetrics, moneyball, and Billy Beane. They say that if the Yankees would just use sabermetrics to guage players, we would be signing much more valuable players. I say 'Yeah, like Nomar right?' and these critics can do nothing but shut up. The best player on the Athletics is Matt Holliday, and shockingly, I figured that out without sabermetrics. All I had to do was watch a couple games."

"Its kind of like all those stats that say Derek Jeter is the worse shortstop in the game. Those same stats say that Clint Barmes from Colorado is the best shortstop in the game. Barmes isn't even the best shortstop on his team. That's why he's playing second."

"Some teams don't have money, and there's a way they can build a winning team too. Its called getting new ownership."

There it is, excerpts from Brian Cashman's forthcoming sequel to Moneyball. Its a fun read, and very insightful. The RJG gives it 5 Tommyguns, our highest rating.

Pettitte Reaches July, Pitches Well

The Good

Pettitte pitched a strong game going 7 innings and allowing 2 runs. I'm hoping it continues because he was quite awful in June. A-Rod had a mamoth 2-run shot to put the Yanks ahead. Mariano pitched a scoreless inning for the 20th save of the season.

The Bad

The Baltimore Orioles couldn't hold onto a 4-run lead going into the 9th. Since the Yankees can't beat the Red Sox, we really need our AL East compatriots to beat them for us. Step your game up Baltimore.

The Ugly

There's no way that Michael Jackson is the biological father of those kids.

Respect Jeter's Gangster is for the Children

The "Respect Jeter's Gangster" blog joined Johnny Damon's home run club, which raises money for the Children's Health Fund. We are pledged to donate $1.00 for every homerun the Yankees hit this season. Three mighty homeruns yesterday from A-Rod, Melky and Damon. I'm pulling for Damon's first 30 homerun season. Melky hit his 8th of the season, which matches his career high. A-Rod's batting average is at .239 but has a .401 OBP. Perhaps the result of having Robinson "GIDP" Cano batting behind him.

Jorge Posada 10hr = $10.00
Hideki Matsui 10hr = $10.00
Derek Jeter 9hr = $9.00
Mark Teixeira 20hr = $20.00
Nick Swisher 14hr = $14.00
Robinson Cano 12hr = $12.00
Johnny Damon 15hr = $15.00
Melky Cabrera 8hr = $8.00
Jose Molina 1hr = $1.00
Alex Rodriguez 12hr = $12.00
Brett Gardner 3hr = $3.00
Francisco Cervelli 1hr = $1.00
Total = $116.00

If you are interested in Johnny Damon's Homerun Club or the Children's Health Fund you can find links to both at the top right hand corner of our page.

RJG Discusses Hinske Deal With Brian Cashman

As the Yankees have picked up their play as of our last conversation, we thought it time to give best friend of the blog Brian Cashman another call via satellite video phone. Below is a transcript of our conversation:

BC: Hello?

RJG: Hey there Bron-Bron, how are you?

BC: Bron-Bron. Great. I didn't think you guys could be more annoying. What do you want, I'm busy?

RJG: Whoa there, Bronny. Don't big time me just because your team has won 6 in a row. I was calling you back when nobody even knew who you were.

BC: You started calling me within the last two years.

RJG: Check mate.

BC: What?

RJG: Let's not fight Bronny. It seems your boys really picked you up since we last spoke. Remember? I told you you suck at your job.

BC: Yeah, it was pleasant.

RJG: Always. The offense has really come to life, and even Joe Girardi hasn't been able to foil his team with his inexplicable pitching changes. Wtf?

BC: There's no question we're playing well right now. But the season is like this, there are up times and down times, you just hope that at the end of the day the up times outnumber the down.

RJG: Are you watching Oprah right now? That sounds like something Oprah would say? What is wrong with you Bronny?

BC: I don't watch Oprah.

RJG: Whatever you say Dr. Phil. So Bronny, you just made a trade for Hinske, what kind of difference do you think this move will make?

BC: It gives us a little more depth in the outfield, and a little more pop off the bench offensively speaking.

RJG: Yeah, I was starting to worry about what we would do with only four outfielders. It just seems to me that guys like Pena and Cervelli have been hitting well enough that we didn't need to go find some .250 hitting utility outfielder.

BC: Pena and Cervelli have done a good job but . . .

RJG: So you get rid of them? Is that their "reward?"

BC: We feel Pena is better served playing every day, not riding the pine on the major league team. He's played great for us, and next year, who knows? He may be here every day.

RJG: It's not all about you, Bronny.

[Click]

There you have it folks, Hinske adds depth and allows for Pena's continued development in Scranton.

The Supposed Leak

Rotoinfo, a fantasy website, recently posted a list of baseball players, which they claim is the infamous 2003 steroid list. Deadspin already poked holes in the authenticity of the list (Jason Grimsley's not on it), and Peter Abraham has largely discredited the report since even the main stream media has stayed away from it. The people at Rotoinfo claim it came from a reliable source, but who cares. Red Sox fans will probably be most angered by this list seeing as the first 8 players were with the Red Sox and 7 of them were on that 2004 championship team.

The thing is, stuff like this is going to happen until they actually release those names. I for one am all for the release of the list. In the meantime, we at the RJG have decided to release our own version of the leaked 2003 list. This, as always, comes from a reliable source:

1. Jason Grimsley (won't make that mistake twice)
2. Alex Rodriguez
3. The 2004 Red Sox
4. Roger Clemens
5. Sammy Sosa
6. Angel Presinal
7. Senator George Mitchell
8. Jose Canseco
9. Ted Williams
10. Carl Yastrzemsky
11. Bud Selig
12 - 104. The NFL

So there you have it. The real 2004 leaked steroid list found exclusively on RJG.

Yanks Take First Game From Mariners

The Good

The Yankees offense stayed hot, in the late inning anyway, good for a 5-8 victory over the Mariners. Mo threw the ceremonial first pitch, then closed the game with a 1-2-3 ninth. A-Rod hit a monster shot in the seventh. Melky drove in the go-ahead run in the eighth, putting the Yankees ahead for good.

The Bad

Two words: Brian f-----g Bruney. This guy has been dreadful. He came into the game with a two run lead, gave up 3 consecutive singles to bring the game within one, then allowed the tying run to reach on a sac fly. It isn't clear to anyone why Girardi didn't leave Hughes in for the eighth. Hughes needed only 9 pitches to get through the seventh, and he has been dominant. It would've made sense to leave him in, considering the lead (only 2 runs) and Bruney's recent ineffectiveness. Girardi's new hobby, however, seems to be to piss me off, so he went with Bruney instead.

The Ugly

Through 6 and 1/2, the Red Sox were leading 10-1 over the lowly Baltimore Orioles, whom most last place little league teams pity. The Red Sox bullpen then proceeded to allow 5 runs in both the seventh and eighth innings, then closed out the ninth to win the game 10-11. Holy $#!%. That is ugly, even for Boston, and that is saying something.

We Pay Cash for Home Runs

A-Rod had the only home run for the Yankees, a two run supernova (that's right, it was more than a "blast") to left in the seventh.

Jorge Posada 10hr = $10.00
Hideki Matsui 10hr = $10.00
Derek Jeter 9hr = $9.00
Mark Teixeira 20hr = $20.00
Nick Swisher 14hr = $14.00
Robinson Cano 12hr = $12.00
Johnny Damon 14hr = $14.00
Melky Cabrera 7hr = $7.00
Jose Molina 1hr = $1.00
Alex Rodriguez 12hr = $12.00
Brett Gardner 3hr = $3.00
Francisco Cervelli 1hr = $1.00
Total = $113.00

If you are interested in Johnny Damon's Homerun Club or the Children's Health Fund you can find links to both at the top right hand corner of our page.

Best of the RJG

We received a great suggestion from one of our readers about creating a greatest hits of RJG on the right hand side of our page for new readers to get the full experience of RJG. In order to accomplish this we would like you, the readers, to tell us what your favorite posts are. We have some in mind that we can put up, but we want to know what you all like. So please sound off in the comments section with all the posts you deem worthy. We appreciate it!