Yankees Fall Short Despite 9th Inning Surge

The Good

Alfredo Aceves releived Darrell Rasner in the second inning and pitched 5 innings of 1 run ball. I think we know who will take Rasner's spot. Cody Ransom, who has to be the greatest hitter of all time, went 3-3 with a double and an RBI. Jeter and A-Rod hit back-to-back homeruns in the 9th with 2 outs to make the score 7-5, but of course it was just short.

The Bad

Damon, Giambi and Gardner all went hitless with Gardner going 0-3 with 3 strikeouts. Chris Britton pitched 1.2 innings of 1 run ball.

The Ugly

Rasner lasted 1.1 innings yesterday and gave up 5 runs in that time. At this point you have to know he's being replaced, but this should have happened a while ago. He's thrown 1 quality start and 1 decent start in his last 8 outings. Girardi's been saying all along that Rasner is throwing the ball well, but I guess I'm missing something.

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. We will keep a running tally of the home runs hit and the money donated throughout the season. A-Rod and Jeter both hit 9th inning 2-out homers to bring the score as close as it was.

Melky Cabrera 8hr = $8.00
Alex Rodriguez 32hr = $32.00
Hideki Matsui 9 hr = $9.00
Bobby Abreu 15hr = $15.00
Jorge Posada 3hr = $3.00
Jason Giambi 28hr = $28.00
Johnny Damon 12hr = $12.00
Morgan Ensberg 1hr = $1.00
Robinson Cano 13hr = $13.00
Chad Moeller 1hr = $1.00
Wilson Betemit 5hr = $5.00
Derek Jeter 9hr = $9.00
Shelley Duncan 1hr = $1.00
Xavier Nady 9hr = $9.00
Jose Molina 2 hr = $2.00
Ivan Rodriguez 2hr = $2.00
Richie Sexson 1hr = $1.00
Cody Ransom 2hr= $2.00
Total = $152.00

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.

Respect Jeter's Gangster First Ever Blog Poll

There is something that's been bothering me all season long, and I'm hoping you all can help me with this. I've thought about this for several restless nights, burning the midnight oil, and feel the matter is of too great an importance to just let go. Now after an entire season of contemplating both sides of the argument, reading books about the topic, studying out the history, and seeking input from several experts in the matter I've finally broken down and decided to turn it over to yall. Does Julio Lugo look like Jiminy Cricket?



Please vote in the poll to the right and put an end to this nation tearing debate once and for all.

The Yankees Win!

The Good

Ramirez-Coke-Bruney combined to pitch 4 innings of 1 hit ball. Coke pitched two perfect innings. Abreu had a pair of hits and stole two bases. A-Rod went 3-4 with 4 RBI's. Cano also had a pair of hits.

The Bad

We won the game, but Carl Pavano's start wasn't quite a progression from his last one. He lasted 4 innings and gave up 3 runs. Edwar Ramirez got the win. Jose Veras has also been awful of late, giving up another run in an inning of work last night.

The Ugly

Tonight its Darrell Rasner vs. Scott Kazmir. Scott Kazmir! The offense needs to bring its A-game to this one.

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. We will keep a running tally of the home runs hit and the money donated throughout the season. A-Rod hit another homerun last night only this one required instant replay to decide whether it was fair or not. After reviewing the tapes the umpires felt it was in the best interest of children's health to give A-Rod his homerun.

Melky Cabrera 8hr = $8.00
Alex Rodriguez 31hr = $31.00
Hideki Matsui 9 hr = $9.00
Bobby Abreu 15hr = $15.00
Jorge Posada 3hr = $3.00
Jason Giambi 28hr = $28.00
Johnny Damon 12hr = $12.00
Morgan Ensberg 1hr = $1.00
Robinson Cano 13hr = $13.00
Chad Moeller 1hr = $1.00
Wilson Betemit 5hr = $5.00
Derek Jeter 8hr = $8.00
Shelley Duncan 1hr = $1.00
Xavier Nady 9hr = $9.00
Jose Molina 2 hr = $2.00
Ivan Rodriguez 2hr = $2.00
Richie Sexson 1hr = $1.00
Cody Ransom 2hr= $2.00
Total = $150.00

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.

Should The Yankees Hire Willie?

One of the pressing questions of this off season will be whether the Yankees should hire Willie Randolph. I for one say yes. Robinson Cano hasn't been the same without a strong presence in the clubhouse to prevent him from getting lazy and trying to coast on talent, so the Yankees could benefit from signing Randolph to a 1 year deal to play second base. As a veteran with World Series experience Randolph would fit right into the Yankees 2001-2007 model of player development, and would also be a great reminder of the Yankees championship past. Think of the great double play combination of Jeter and Randolph, and how much this could benefit the team. Cano could be the understudy, a utility infielder watching one of the all time greats show him how it's done. It seems clear that the Yankees need a stronger second baseman if they hope to make it to the 2009 playoffs, and Randolph is the answer. Am I right or am I right?

Cabrera's Corner

In this week's edition of "Columnist Weekly", guest author and outfield expert Melky Cabrera discusses the Yankee outfield situation and the possible changes that could be made for next season.

With the Yankees on there last push of the season....without me....It only serves this great team to discuss the matter of the outfield as it looks going into the off season....without me.

Right now the Yankee outfield has Johnny Damon, Bobby Abreu, Hideki Matsui and Xavier Nady with Brett Gardner playing back up. Bobby Abreu will be a free agent next season, which leaves a hole in right field....my original position....that the Yankees cannot fill....without me.

Hideki Matsui requires surgery again this off season, which will probably mean he'll need to DH....without me.

Xavier Nady has one more year under arbitration, so he will be playing for a contract next season. Nady could move into right to replace Abreu, only moving into right would mean the Yankees would move on....without me.

Johnny Damon has taken my old spot in center, which is fine since I took it from him. He will also be playing for a new contract next season. Something he will have to do....without me.

Lastly, Brett Gardner, the Yankee back up is fast, and plays good defense, which he could never really do....without me.

I'm in the minor leagues right now. The result of a stinging coup from within the organization to dethrone me in center. They say I wasn't hitting, that I wasn't getting on base, but its hard for the Yankees to do either....without me.

....Without me.

Without me....

Read this Haiku I wrote:

The Yankees outfield
has decided to move on
they lose....without me

Read this short story I wrote:

(Editor's note: For reason's of redundancy, the editor's of "Respect Jeter's Gangster" have decided to end Cabrera's corner here.)

Many thanks to our guest columnist Melky Cabrera for enlightening us on the Yankee outfield situation.

Mussina Wins 17th In Route to 20

The Good

Mussina got the win after pitching 6 innings of 2 run ball. He struck out 8 and only walked one. Marte-Chamberlain-Giese combined to throw 3 shutout innings. A-Rod hit a solo homerun to tie Mike Schmidt on the all time homerun list. Damon had a pair of hits.

The Bad

Abreu and Molina went hitless yesterday with the latter going 0-3 with 3 strikeouts, but far worse is Jeter who went 1-5, which is unexcusable. He better go 7-7 today and hit for the cycle.

The Ugly

Chamberlain was back in the bullpen yesterday, and made his first appearance since the injury. His velocity was down, which is to be expected, and he wasn't particularly sharp, but that comes with the process. The only upsetting part of it is that he's back in the bullpen. It seems the Yankees will need to build up his innings once more.

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. We will keep a running tally of the home runs hit and the money donated throughout the season. Nady and A-Rod both hit homeruns, and they both crushed the pitches. Nady hit the catwalk on his.

Melky Cabrera 8hr = $8.00
Alex Rodriguez 30hr = $30.00
Hideki Matsui 9 hr = $9.00
Bobby Abreu 15hr = $15.00
Jorge Posada 3hr = $3.00
Jason Giambi 28hr = $28.00
Johnny Damon 12hr = $12.00
Morgan Ensberg 1hr = $1.00
Robinson Cano 13hr = $13.00
Chad Moeller 1hr = $1.00
Wilson Betemit 5hr = $5.00
Derek Jeter 8hr = $8.00
Shelley Duncan 1hr = $1.00
Xavier Nady 9hr = $9.00
Jose Molina 2 hr = $2.00
Ivan Rodriguez 2hr = $2.00
Richie Sexson 1hr = $1.00
Cody Ransom 2hr= $2.00
Total = $149.00

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.

Guess Who's Back?

Allow me to reintroduce myself, my name is Job(a), J to the O, B. So Joba's back, as a reliever, which sort of makes sense. I guess the thinking is, "we broke his shoulder by making him a starter so let's make him a reliever before he's fully healed since broken shoulder + fewer innings = healthy shoulder + six or more innings every five days."

Admittedly, I am one of the people who believes Joba is best used as a starter. I still believe this, despite the obviously disastrous effects to his arm and our season. Nonetheless, it seems they should just let him rehab the shoulder for now and pick up some innings in the Arizona fall league if need be. I know we're making our big playoff push now, but why bother with this? When Wang had shoulder tendinitis in 2005 he rehabbed and came back as a starter. If Joba can't do the same it's probably because he's not ready. Further, pitching in relief, even if he can do it without further hurting himself, does not aid his development since he will not throw his secondary pitches, just fastball slider. Lastly, is Carl Pavano the Yankees minor league strength and conditioning coach? How did all three of our minor league pitching prospects get hurt so quickly once they began starting regularly in the majors? Makes no sense. Personally, I blame the underaged Chinese "women's" gymnastics team. Which reminds me, shouldn't we call it girls gymnastics? I realize there are a few gymnasts out there over 18 but by and large there are no women in this sport. Good night and good luck (that's right, my blog posts are like standing up to McCarthyism. What do you think about that mofos?).

How do the Yankees Make the Playoffs?

For those of you wondering what the chances are of the Yankees making the playoffs, I did some quick number checks. If the Red Sox play .500 baseball for the month of September, and the Twins go 15-10 which seems possible given their 6 games against the Royals, the Yankees would have to go 20-6 on the month just to match them. That means that they would need to go 21-5 to beat either of those teams in that situation OR have the Red Sox play under .500 AND the twins do worse than 15-10 in September. For those hanging on to hope, at least the Yankees took a right step in that direction by winning today. At this point it's not just about how good the Yankees play, it's about how good the other teams play, and to be honest, they don't need to play that good to beat out the Yankees. But who knows? Maybe there will be a Mets like collapse by both the Red Sox and the Twins, and maybe the Yankees remember how to play this game I know called baseball. I suppose anything is possible.

Yankees Flex Offensive Muscles

The Good

Who didn't have a good day at the plate today? (answer in the bad). 6 Yankees had multiple hits including A-Rod who went 3-4 with 4 RBI's. Damon had a great game with 3 hits and 2 walks, and Jeter also had a great game with 2 hits and 3 walks plus 2 runs driven in. Even Nady who went 1-5 drove in 2 runs. Bruney-Coke-Marte-Britton combined for 4.2 innings of shutout ball.

An encouraging sign was Phil Coke's inning. The kid faced 3 .300 batters and then a power bat in Miguel Cabrera. Although he threw alot of pitches, he struck out Granderson to start his outing and popped up Polanco for the second out. He gave up a single to Ordonez who advanced to second on a wild pitch, but then struck out first baseman Miguel Cabrera to end the inning. 1 inning 2 strikeouts. Marte pitched a perfect inning with 2 strikeouts.

The Bad

Jason Giambi once again did not get invited to the hits party. He went 0-4. Luckily he was able to contribute with a sac fly to drive in a run so he didn't feel entirely left out.

The Ugly

Nothing was uglier than Ponson's outing followed by Ramirez's relief. Ponson lasted 3 innings and gave up 7 runs, 6 earned. Ramirez came in and gave up 2 runs in 1.1 innings of work allowing 3 walks and a homerun in that span. I don't think Ponson will be here next season, and if Ramirez is not careful he might not be either.

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. We will keep a running tally of the home runs hit and the money donated throughout the season. Johnny Damon hit a solo shot to help put the Yankees up early. Props to him seeing as it is his homerun club that's raising money for the children's health.

Melky Cabrera 8hr = $8.00
Alex Rodriguez 29hr = $29.00
Hideki Matsui 9 hr = $9.00
Bobby Abreu 15hr = $15.00
Jorge Posada 3hr = $3.00
Jason Giambi 28hr = $28.00
Johnny Damon 12hr = $12.00
Morgan Ensberg 1hr = $1.00
Robinson Cano 13hr = $13.00
Chad Moeller 1hr = $1.00
Wilson Betemit 5hr = $5.00
Derek Jeter 8hr = $8.00
Shelley Duncan 1hr = $1.00
Xavier Nady 8hr = $8.00
Jose Molina 2 hr = $2.00
Ivan Rodriguez 2hr = $2.00
Richie Sexson 1hr = $1.00
Cody Ransom 2hr= $2.00
Total = $147.00

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.

August Recap

This is Why They're Hot

-Derek Jeter finished the month of August with a .342 average and a .382 on base percentage.

-Bobby Abreu matches Jeter's August average and raised him a .405 on base percentage. He had a 5-5 game against Baltimore. You'd think he needs a new contract or something.

-Xavier Nady finished August with a .304 average, 6 homeruns and 19 runs driven in. One highlight was his 4-5 game against the Angels where he hit a homerun and drove in 6.

-Johnny Damon batted .304 with 4 homeruns, but also swiped 10 bags. You would think that with a .386 on base percentage from their lead off guy the Yankees would score some more runs, but then you'd be wrong.

This is Why They're Not

-A-Rod finished the month of August with a .243 average and 16 RBI's, 5 of which came in a single game against Kansas City. He grounded into 11 double plays after only grounding into 4 coming into August.

-Giambi hit 8 homeruns which is pretty good, but he batted .232 in that time. He struck out 4 times in a single game against Toronto.

-Pudge. Its no secret he's been struggling, but at .196 with 2 homeruns and 2 RBI's I'm sure he's way below what the Yankees expected. He was good against the Angels however going 4-7 in two games with a homerun and 3 runs scored.

-Matsui hasn't quite returned as strong as the Yankees would hope. Although he's gotten some timely hits, he batted .186 with a .271 on base percentage.

Blame the Offense!

Mike Mussina went 3-0 in August with a 2.93 ERA with 30 strikeouts and 6 walks. He threw 5 quality starts, 2 of which the Yankee offense could not back up.

Blame the Pitching!

-Pettitte went 1-3 with a 5.84 ERA in August throwing 3 quality starts. He struck out 26 in that time and walked 13. He had one game where he was getting squeezed by the homeplate umpire and that clearly effected him, but he came back yesterday to similar results. And you guys were mad at Ponson.

-Sydney Ponson also went 1-3, but managed to keep his ERA to a mere 5.29. That's the best August ERA of all the starters not named Mussina, and who pitched more than 2 games. Some of his pitching problems may be a result of his striking out 12 while walking 14. You can't do that.

-Darrel Rasner may not be in the rotation next season. In the month of August the Razz went 0-1 with a 5.52 ERA. He seems to cruise right along and then completely fall apart in an inning.

Get the Hardy Boys on This Mystery

The Yankees played under .500 baseball finishing the month of August with 13 wins and 15 losses. The Yankees have not had a lossing August in 11 seasons. The last time the Yankees had a losing record in August was 1996, Torre's first year. Since then, this team has always had a stronger second half. This year? Not so much.