NEW
YORK YANKEES
26-22 (3rd Place) 2.5 GB
It beginning to feel like
2011, when Phil Hughes and his dead arm woes filled the rotation with question
marks…
Well
from watching the youngster last night in Anaheim I feel the Yankees need to
find another excuse for yet one more awful appearance. The time table on Phil
is running out in my eyes as J. Weaver went down with a lower back issue after
not being able to get an out and the Yankees jumped out to a 3-0 lead early
last night. You would think Phil can take the positive an roll into a win, but
the “merkin ball” crashed again and Mr. Hughes is a blemish of hell that has
become of this plainly decent pitching staff. Kuroda is soft with one
good start followed by a bad and back and forth his seesaw goes. CC is
great for 6 innings but labors in two others. The good thing about CC is that
the man is a workhorse. No matter how bad he struggles at times he hives
the bullpen a breather. Ivan Nova is a heck of a young player, but ankle
problems and control issues stop him from escalating to the next level of
pitching. A number three starter is the best he'll ever be, but stands a worthy
number four as of right now. Andy is back, and couldn't be any better posting a
2.53 ERA in his first three starts winning two of those games, but can age and
stamina become his worse batter he will ever face?
These five starters are
not superstars across the board and consistency is what this team need
drastically. The bats are quiet, Jeter has fell back down to Earth and how long
can everyone wait for Cano, Swisher, Rodriguez and Tex to wake up?
Understanding that two games back is no big feat to overcome, but the
whole division is only separated by 4.5 games. No matter how bad you
might say, "Oh man, look at how bad Boston is..." it doesn't really
factor in because this division is anyone’s to take. The Yankees have not taken
advantage of any teams slow start for they are stuck only four games above
.500. Not great. Not powerful. Not making your mark in an already tough
division.
The Bronx (once named
Bombers) looked real good against teams like Oakland and Kansas City last week
and that is always good to beat the basement dwellers, but the did need Soriano
to close out four games against these chumps. Shaky as always, but better
then bad he got the job done, however, how far from a Championship is a team
when the can't blow out the bottom feeders?
David Robertson's injury
is hurting the sparse bullpen. Last year Mike Harkey had the bullpen ERA at an AL
league best 3.12 which can help any team win 90+ games. Now do not get me
wrong, Cory Wade has stepped up Boone Logan has stayed strong with 24
appearances already, but the confidence of a fan's perspective must be
shattered in half with Robertson and Rivera missing. The 1-2 punch is now a Joe
Girardi tug-of-war. Can Cody Eppley and Clay Rapada continue to be somewhat
effective? Can David Phelps rebound from his couple of bad starts? These
questions and more can all be hushed from the offense, but when both refuse to
click at the same time you get a 3rd place outcome and a just above .500 result
show.
As always, the worry
button in Yankee Land is very dusty and hard to press down. They seem to get
the job done enough to keep their heads above water and weather the storm of
bad situations. They are far better then average and just need to put things
together to prove it. They have a 3 man rotation right now with Nova laboring
fourth with a 5.46 ERA. His record might be 5-2, the earned run average is how
well you really do at your job.
Bats need to rise! And
they will!
The purchase of a Jake
Peavy or think about Bud Norris from Houston would really do wonder for the
rotation and the bullpen. Think hard Mr. Cashman because you will not survive
this year without a big move to get this Yankee team over the hump.
THE FUTURE:
The Yankees finish with the Angels before heading home for Detroit and Tampa Bay. These are certainly another two tough match-ups that
will shape and set the table for the summer. Then, the doctor will be back to
discuss the BIG SERIES between the Mets and Yankees June 8th -
10th. The Yankees lost their first inter-league series to Cincinnati
two games to one earlier this month.
-----------------------------
NEW
YORK METS
27-22
(2nd Place) 2.5 GB
"Now introducing...number 33 for your New York Mets...Vinny
Rooooooooottttttttttiiiiinooooooo!" 
After having a rough go in
Toronto a couple weekends ago the Mets turned things around in Pittsburgh,
where most teams do, then took 3 out of 4 from the Padres. Winning five out of
the last seven keeps the Mets higher in the standings any one fan could have
thought at this point in the season. Regardless of what happens in the next two
games against the struggling last place Phillies the New York Mets will enter
the month of June over .500. That right there devoted reader is a perfect
example of a surprise. I want so bad to use the word "miracle", but
I'll talk to you all before the All-Star break and maybe miracles can be spoken
of.
Let's chat about what we
know. The Mets now have no SS, after Ronny Cedeno and after yesterday Justin
Turner are out with injuries. In a desperate move D. Wright played most
of the 8-4 loss against the Phillies at shortstop. It was odd to see and as
always this year you seem to think this might be the beginning of the end. It's
like Mets fans are waiting for the fall so they can say, "See, I told you
the Mets were gonna suck this year". Let us not live this way of
rooting. Cheer for the now lowly fans of the Queens Dreamer. Wilder
things have happen, have they not?
Vinny Rottino (my new
favorite Met, since Joe Smith) hit his second HR in as many days which is
exciting, but Jon Neise had his 2nd bad outing in three games. He walked 5
while striking out 7. He gave up only two hits but one was a long one
from Mayberry. His control was the issue and it kept him from pitching more
then 5 innings. Manny Acosta ballooned his ERA to 11.86 on the year as he gave
up three earned runs while recording only one out.
This team still has a tone
to prove and the steps are moving in the right direction. I know, it's absolute
bonkers. 2nd place in a pretty talented division is spectacular at this point,
but many factors go in to keeping it this way. The Mets must stay scrappy and
refuse the become exhausted. The year is still very young. The pitching need to
continue the way of Johan Santana and pitch remarkably into and out of the
summer. Questions rise: who can pitch 200 innings? Who can help the
bullpen? How long can these youngsters play consistently for? All tough
questions, but necessary ones. Miami is out of the dumps and playing like a
team. Phillies should rebound. Atlanta will get beyond this horrible 9 games
losing streak. All while The Curly W's in Washington still hold the power. The
pitching reminds me of the 86' Mets and you cant disregard what Davey Johnson
has done down there.
So the Mets brought up a
gentleman named Omar Quintanilla from Triple-A Buffalo to
start tonight at SS. He was batting .262 with 6 HRs and 27 RBIs
before yesterday's call up. There is no other option for skipper Terry Collins
right now. I say let him do his thing as it's been working so far.
THE FUTURE:
The Mets began a tough stretch last night with
three against the Phillies then four
against the defending Champion Cardinals.
Been pissed about Beltran, be very angry! The Mets faithful never saw that
bastard hit 15 HRs in the first two months. Then comes an all-important
match-up with the young division leaders. The Nationals host the baffling Mets for the first time on their home
turf this season. After that it doesn't get any easier as they fly back
to New York, but the bus will take them to the Bronx instead of Queens.
---------------------------
ADAM HAMMER’S “Loose Lips”
-
Johan Santana threw a complete game shut out last week, his
first in two years. When asked for comment, Terry Collins said he is still mad
at Ruben Tejada for being late to spring training.
-
The Yankees continued their hot and cold tendencies by having
multi-game winning and losing streaks. At this rate, the team will be ready to
be nice and cold come the first week of October!
-
Albert Pujols is now hitting and leads the Angels in home runs
and RBI's. Rumors or declining skills have subsided and have been replace by
rumors of steroid abuse.
NEXT
ISSUE
SUBWAY
SERIES #1
June
8th, 2012
Follow me @Boroughbaseball
"...and I swear I'll tweet more"
Follow me @Boroughbaseball
"...and I swear I'll tweet more"
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