Andy Still Good In Return

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Andy Pettitte made his return to baseball yesterday and although the results don't say so, he had a damn good outing. In their finale against the Seattle Mariners, the Yankees would lose 6-2; four of the six runs Andy was responsible for, as he gave up two 2-run home runs.  But the two shots were really the only black marks on his outing. Overall, I think it's safe to say that Andy is back!

On a day where there was much speculation that perhaps Andy might begin the game so hyped over his return he might over-pitch, he was actually his same old self--throwing his cutter and curveballs in the mid to upper 80's and inducing ground balls. He managed to get through the first three innings without giving up a hit  and wasn't hurt by the walks to Ichiro in the first and Alex Liddi in the second. But in the fourth the walk to Jesus Montero set up a the first two-run shot by Justin Smoak, and Andy faltered a bit from there. In the next 2 1/3 innings, he would give up six more hits, one being the second two-run homer by Casper Wells.



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So again, the two homers were really the only mistakes Andy made in his return. he worked economical innings and threw 94 pitches into the seventh. Not bad for the 39-year old who returned after an entire year away from the game. Andy is most likely replacing David Phelps in the lineup, as Phil Hughes pitched to his best outing on Saturday in the Yankees 6-2 win. In my opinion, Phelps was a long-shot to beat Hughes for a roster spot, but it was nice to see this kid get his shot in the majors after staying atop the Yankees prospect list for the past few years. Any kinks in the rotation's armor during the season, and we could see him return.

Quite disappointing yesterday was the offense. The Yankees only two runs were both made on bases loaded walks, which was all they could muster because they could not hit Seattle's Kevin Millwood, who pretty much threw fastballs and sliders around 90 mph his entire outing. In the 5th with bases loaded, Derek Jeter hit into a double-play; in the eighth with bases loaded, Mark Teixeira swung and missed for the final out. Curtis Granderson, Alex Rodriguez and Robinson Cano failed to hit again, but Eric Chavez went 2-4 as the DH, and has had a hot bat since returning from "concussion-like symptoms" on May 11.

Next up, the Yankees take on the Orioles at Camden Yards. Hopefully the offense will get itself back in order. Ivan Nova gets the start against Jason Hammel.

Follow Rasheeda Cooper on twitter: @ra_cooper

Is This A Joke???

The Associated Press

Before last night's Yankee game against the Royals, Mariano Rivera, shagging flyballs in the outfield, appeared to have tripped on the warning track and hurt his knee. While the sight of seeing Mo buckle to the ground wincing in pain--and Alex Rodriguez scream, "Oh my God, oh my God"--was scary and unsettling at first, the "unofficial" reports that he sprained his knee, didn't seem so bad. If you're like me, you were thinking, "Okay, he'll be out for a bit. No problem."

But reports from every news outlet this morning, are far worse. Apparently, Mo has a torn ACL and meniscus in the injured knee; two problems which mean he's probably out for the season.

It's a cruel world, folks. Freak accidents happen all the time, especially in sports, where the rigor of games and workouts make the possiblity of accidents much more likely. The problem here is, this accident happened to Mariano Rivera.

Is this some sort of sick joke? How could this be the thing to end the career of not only the greatest closer of all time, but one of the greatest Yankees of all time? Again, if you're like me, you had to have the mistaken belief that Mo would walk away from the game on his own terms. If age didn't stop him, what would? An injury? Never. In no time during his career has Mo ever suffered any injury that has caused him to take significant time away from the game. No way would the baseball Gods allow him to injure himself like this during what has already been speculated at being his last year playing baseball. It would be the equivalent of being tackled for the win in a football game at the one yard line.

But this has happened. Mo has suffered the worst injury of his career, at the most inopertune time. And now he, the Yankee fans who love him and the baseball world as a whole, are faced with the fact that April 30 may have been the last time he would ever closed a baseball game.

Now for those of you questioning what he was doing shagging flyballs in the first place, stop!! This is something that he has been doing for pretty much his entire career and without incident. It was part of his routine--and we know how having a routine plays with athletes, particularly baseball players. This was also what he did to exercise before games, and as good and healthy as he's been, no one should argue that this would have eventually been to his detriment.

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So while the question remains who will be his replacement, I think the bigger question is, what will baseball do without him? He is probably the most revered player in Major League Baseball, definitely the most respected. Not just for his accomplishments--all-time saves record with 608; most seasons with at least 30 saves:14; most seasons with a sub 2.00 ERA: 11; lowest post-season career ERA: 0.70; most career post-season saves: 42; lowest ERA in Divison Series history: 0.32--but also for the class of which he has always possessed. With all his success, he could have been the most arrogant, self-serving and narcissistic player ever. But that's not Mo. He is humble, appreciative and extremely aware of all his blessings. How many times have we heard him thank God for all his achievements? For the success and hard work of his teammates? For being able to play the game of baseball? For his fans? That's who Mo is and that's why this is so unfair.

But getting down to the business of closing, who should replace Mo? The question may not be as simple to answer as you may think. My personal choice, without a second thought, would be David Robertson. To date this season, he's pitched to a 0.00 ERA with 18 strikeouts in 11 innings, making this the best start of his career thus far. This continues his All-Star season from last year, where he posted a 1.08 ERA with 100 strikeouts in 66.2 innings, the best in the majors. He's certainly in the right position to take over closing duties for Mo. But what about Rafael Soriano?

Yes, Soriano has been "okay" as a Yankee so far. But he was "lights out" as a closer in Tampa Bay, which is why the Yankees acquired him in the first place. In 2010 with the Rays, he saved 45 of 48 games (which was the best for all closers that year), had a 1.73 ERA, a 0.80 WHIP and had only allowed 12 runs the entire season. Those are excellent numbers, fanatics. So if Soriano is given the opportunity to close, and shines again, maybe his less-than-stellar showing with the Yankees was just the mental effect of losing his duties as a closer. It would also ease some of Brian Cashman's tension, as he would finally be paying Soriano "closer money" for closing games.

Either way, this is the biggest disappointment that the Yankee organization and its fans have had to deal with in a very long time. Is it just me, or is this worse than losing a World Series? Maybe it feels that way because, we've been through our team losing the Series before but we've never dealt with losing Mo. And if the Yankees were to win it all this year, without Mo, wouldn't the win feel bittersweet? If we're honest with ourselves, we know that he's been the main force behind all of the last five WS wins; how would another one feel with him watching from home, unable to have had any part of it due to some freak injury? Not too gravy.

The Associated Press

I have to believe in my gut that at some point, Mo will be back. He would never leave the game or his fans this way. Maybe this will work in our favor; if he does sit out the remainder of the season, it might make him want to come back next year. It would certainly give him something to prove: that, at his age, he could come back from a season-ending injury and remain a force on the mound. It would also allow him to walk away from the game with a proper good-bye.

So, until everything is decided, I will be praying for Mo to make a speedy recovery. We get caught up in what he means to us as baseball fans, but a knee injury can be life-altering for anyone, and it's more important that he gets well for himself. He should be able to enjoy life in good physical health, even if it's away from the game. I'll also pray for all the Yankee fans out there; this is big, and I hope that you all keep cool and stay positive until the final word on this has been said.

Follow Rasheeda Cooper on twitter: @ra_cooper

The Yankees Win; I Lose

The Associated Press

Good afternoon fanatics! I'm sure that you are all feeling pretty good today, going back to work and bragging to anyone who will listen about how the Yankees just completely embarrassed the Red Sox this weekend. I'm sure that you are all gloating over what must have been every Red Sox fan's worst nightmare. Well, good for you; I wish that I could join in on the bragging and gloating, but I'm still too upset about the fact that I missed Saturday's game.

Yes, I was not at home when Nick Swisher and Mark Teixeira went on an absolute tear in late innings to bring the Yankees back from being down 7-0, to winning 15-9. On Saturday, I took a trip with family and friends to Atlantic City. So I, completely forgetting that the game would be broadcast on FOX, did not employ the use of my DVR; I thought I could watch the encore on the YES Network. Bummer.

And to be completely honest, I wasn't going to watch the encore, as I caught a short part of the early innings via a sports bar in the Bally's Wild, Wild West Casino. At that time, the Yankees were down 6-0, and I was convinced that they had given that one away. You can imagine my shock when, on the bus coming back home, my cousin Hector--an even bigger Yankee fan than I am--screamed from his seat behind me, "Oh s*** Rasheeda, the Yankees came back and won that game. They beat Boston 15-9!" He was catching updates from the game on his cell phone.

So, I'm not going to go over what happened, or give you guys stats. I could easily go to yankees.com and get all that info, but I don't feel like doing that. Sorry, but I'm selfish that way. I'm mad as hell at myself for not paying better attention to the programming schedule. This could end up being the biggest game for the Yankees this year; a turning point that inspires a lot of winning, and the best I could get out of it were a couple of highlights on ESPN. I promise you fanatics, this will never happen again.

The Associated Press

But I would like to say a few words about Swish and Tex. Both of these guys are stepping up big time and, while it's exciting for us Yankee fans, it's also somewhat bittersweet. There is a huge possibility that this could be Swish's last hoorah with the Yankees. He's in a contract year, and the Yankees will make cuts in order to keep both Robinson Cano and Curtis Granderson on the payroll, while keeping it to $189 million or less. ESPN's Buster Olney pointed out last night that the Yankees have some promising outfielders in their farm system and are a team that likes to bring up their young talent. So Swish could very well be on his way out at the end of the season. If the Yankees are considering letting him go, what could only help his case to stay would be to have a fantastic post-season, assuming the Yankees make it in. Swish is batting .283 with 4 home runs and is leading the team with a whopping 20 RBIs.

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And it is refreshing to finally see Tex have a great April. It was slow goings for him during the first week of the season, but he's managed to turn that all around. I said in Yankees 2012 Season: Five Areas for Success that in order for this team to win the AL East, one thing that had to happen was getting more production from Tex. So far, he's batting .288 with three home runs, and is third on the team in RBIs with 11. Hopefully, he keeps this going and can find a way to extend his production into the postseason also.

Follow Rasheeda Cooper on twitter: @ra_cooper

The Grand Finale

I know it's still very early, but in my opinion, last night's game was a must win for the Yankees. I say that because the pitching and offense have been somewhat sluggish thus far this season, and to have the Minnesota Twins, a team that the Yankees knock around like cats do mice take a four-game series, could have induced some mental doubt; something that may have affected them going into tonight's series against the Red Sox.

Granderson inset - AP photo

So, the Yankees did what they needed to do. The "Big Bats" went to work and simply out-slugged the Twins for the win. Curtis Granderson put on his own version of the "Laser Show" with three home runs last night--two solos and a two-run shot for four RBIs. He would go 5-for-5, adding in two singles. None of Minnesota's pitches were safe from Grandy. His first two homers came off of 93 and 90 mph fastballs from Anthony Swarzak. The third home run pitch was an 88 mph changeup from Jeff Gray. The singles came on an 84 mph slider and 96 mph four-seamer from Alex Burnett and Glen Perkins, respectively. Grandy now leads the team with 6 homers and 14 runs. He's second behind Derek Jeter in RBIs with 10.

Alex Rodriguez, Mark Teixeira and Raul Ibanez had a good night as well. Tex went 2-for-4 with a two-run shot in the first which put the Yankees one run behind the Twins, who had already scored four runs. A-Rod hit singles in the first and second innings and Ibanez added singles in the third and seventh. Speaking of Alex, he seems to be slowly making his way out of the slump he's been in; hopefully home runs will ensue. He seemed a little less antsy at the plate last night and more focused on putting balls in play instead of trying to drive them for home runs. And Ibanez has looked excellent of late, going 7-for-16 in his last 4 games.

The Associated Press

A somewhat disappointing start for Phil Hughes, however, although the offense allowed him to get his first win of the season. He went 5.1 innings, giving up six hits and allowing 2 earned runs. As I mentioned, the Twins knocked in four runs off of him in the first inning, two of which came on an error by Eduardo Nunez. Regardless, Hughes still has not figured out how to put batters away when he's ahead in the count, as he continues to rack up his pitch count in early innings. What has looked great in all of his starts, has been the movement and placement of his changeup.

And just a little note on The Captain, Jeter went 1-for-5 last night, and has hit safely in 10 straight games. He's batting .373. Nice.

In a few, our boys head up to Fenway Park to meet the Red Sox on what is the park's 100th birthday. I could care less about all the ceremonies taking place; I just want the Yankees to put Boston into further misery, as they are 4-8 to start the season. There are reports of dissention in the ranks; Bobby Valentine is not playing nice with some of his superstars. Let's see how long this lasts. Ivan Nova gets the start against Clay Buccholz.

Follow Rasheeda Cooper on twitter: @ra_cooper

Yankees Back On Track; Beat Twins 8-3

Associated Press

Good morning fanatics! I've been asleep at the wheel, having not posted anything on our beloved boys in blue since last Friday. It's been a busy few days for me, and while I love bringing you guys all the news you can use, I know that my fellow Yankee bloggers have given you all plenty to digest until my return. I have a feeling that there will be a post coming soon inviting all you great writers out there to apply to write here at Bomber Boulevard; I simply can't keep daily entries coming by myself. So all you aspiring Yankee bloggers, look out for it.

In just a small recap, the Yankees won their series against the Angels, taking Games 1 and 2 on Friday and Sunday. They started their series against our favorite team to beat--the Minnesota Twins--on Monday, continuing with Game 3 tonight at the stadium. Game 1 was a wash for our boys, as Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau went a combined 5-of-9 to lead the Twins to a 7-3 vistory.

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But of course, the Yankees did what they always do to Minnesota: lull them into a false sense of security and give them hope that maybe they've gotten over the Yankee hump. But that's never quite the case, and it wasn't last night in Game 2 as the Yankees had a big comeback, beating Minnesota 8-3. CC Sabathia got the start and struggled in the third inning, but managed to regain his ace-like form for his first win. CC went 7.1 innings with seven strikeouts, four hits, a walk and only three runs. He mixed his fastball and slider for strikes; the FB reaching a speed of 93 mph.

Chris Stewart, who gave Russell Martin a needed day off behind the plate, also came up big for the Yankees, and backed up CC in that shaky third inning. The Twins had just taken a 3-1 lead; the team seeming to respond to the ejections of manager Ron Gardenhire and right-fielder Denard Span, both of whom argued balls and strikes with the umpire. Thankfully the offense was able to stop the Twins' momentum. Following an RBI single from Eduardo Nunez that scored Andruw Jones, Stewart hit a line-drive double to score Nunez and Curtis Granderson. Granderson had been on with a single to right.

The Yankee offense had a great night. The bottom of the lineup--Nunez, Stewart and Brett Gardner--combined for a 6-for-10 night with 5 RBIs; hitters 1thru 6--Derek Jeter, Nick Swisher, Robinson Cano, Alex Rodriguez, Jones and Granderson--went 7-for-26 with 3 RBIs. The hits total might have fared better had A-Rod not come up empty in last night's game. His stats don't say so, but he is actually hitting very well, connecting on line-drives, but he's hitting directly at the outfielders. Hopefully, he'll start hitting balls in the gap and revert those line-drives to home runs.

Associated Press

And can I just say that The Captain is once again defying the laws of age, and seems on his way to another monster offensive season. Jeter is hitting everything that is coming his way and is tied with Grandy for the club lead in homers at three. He's also leading the team in slugging with a .633 percentage, and hits with 18. As great a hitter as Jeter is, a batting title has eluded him his entire career. Could this be the year? Only time can tell, fanatics. I personally will be adding a request that it does to my prayers.

Tonight, Hiroki Kuroda gets the start against righty jason Marquis.

Follow Rasheeda Cooper on twitter: @ra_cooper

What A Home Opener Should Be

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A Friday afternoon in the city. Sixty-five degrees under bright, sunny skies. A capacity crowd at the stadium. A beloved member of The Core Four throwing out the first pitch. And the afternoon capped off by a 5-0 shutout of the Angels. The Yankees made my day yesterday. *Curses* to not being at the stadium!

Jorge Posada, returning to the stadium to throw out the ceremonial first pitch, was a great moment. It was odd seeing him run out their in "civilian" clothes, though; just made it even more apparent that he would no longer be out their playing in pinstripes. I loved that he was able to throw the ball to his dad, the man whom he credits for making him such a great baseball player. And it was nice how the team stood behind him while he was on the mound. They'll never forget everything Jorge did for the team, and I'm sure yesterday will rank high on his list of great Yankee memories.

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So I guess all Alex Rodriguez needed was to get a whiff of the air in the Bronx. After a five-game slump, he came out blazing in yesterday's game, going 3-for-4 with two singles and his 630th home run. He also threw in a stolen base for good measure. Alex is now tied with Ken Griffey, Jr. for 5th place on the all-time home run list, and needs 30 more to tie Willie Mays for 4th place. I think he can get that done this year; last season was the first in 14 that he didn't reach the 30 homer mark, and regardless of how bad the season played out for him, I'm not ready to give up hope that A-Rod can still put up big power numbers.

And how about Nick Swisher? He's been coming up with big hits for the Yankees, and today, his three-run, base-clearing double in the first inning proved to be the game winner. Swish has been seeing the ball really well, and is looking good at the plate; he's not swinging at too many pitches out of the zone and is fouling off balls pitched inside. I'm expecting him to have a season comparable to 2010; this is a contract year for Swish and with his name having been bounced around in trade talk for the prior two seasons, it's a no-brainer that he'll have to show the organization why he's more valuable to them than not.

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But today's game was really about Hiroki Kuroda. He pitched 8+ innings of shutout ball, allowing just five hits and  two walks while striking out six. He showed all four of his pitches--fastball, slider, sinker and curveball--mixing speeds anywhere from 78 to 93 mph. He had great command throughout the game, and showed a steady demeanor for a pitcher making his debut at the stadium. It was nice to see him bounce back from his shaky start in Tampa Bay.

And Curtis Granderson hit his second homer of the season; a line drive over the porch in right field that barely looked like a double at the point of contact. Grandy started Opening Week slow, but has picked up the pace rather nicely in the last few games.

Today, Phil Hughes gets his second start and will face CJ Wilson. There are two things I'm hoping will happen: Wilson doesn't make the Yankees regret not signing him in the offseason, and A-Rod and Albert Pujols go toe-to-toe in a match-up of the active home run leader versus his heir apparent. Today's game starts at 1pm on FOX.

Follow Rasheeda Cooper on twitter: @ra_cooper

Swish Secures Yankees Sweep of Orioles

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Nick Swisher saved what would have been a terrible loss for the Yankees, smashing a two-run home run in the top of the tenth inning of a 4-4 tie against Baltimore. The Yankees would go on to win 6-4, completing a sweep of the O's and bringing their record to 3-3. Last night's game was another nail-biter, as both teams went extra innings for the second night in a row. Swisher's home run followed a double by Mark Teixeira with two men out.

The Yankees were off to a great start in the first inning with Derek Jeter hitting a double and Curtis Granderson following with a monster two-run homer that made its way on to Baltimore's Eutaw Street. CC Sabathia pitched a stellar first, going 1-2-3 on just 12 pitches mixing his slider and sinker for strikes, and was able to get his four-seamer up to 92 mph.

But CC struggled afterward and alllowed Baltimore to come back and tie the game in the second inning at 2-2. It would take him 38 pitches just to get out of that inning. The Yankees needed CC to give them innings since most of their bullpen was unavailable, and he managed to stretch his outing to six. With 112 pitches, he gave up eight hits, two walks and struck out eight batters. Not a great night for the ace, but he was able to keep the Orioles at bay just enough for the bullpen to take over. Boone Logan, Rafael Soriano and Mariano Rivera all got the job done, giving up only two hits between them for the last three innings. Mo is now 2-for-3 in save opportunities.

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And although he wasn't the only batter to struggle in tonight's game, Alex Rodriguez had another poor night offensively, going 1-for-4 and striking out twice. A-Rod's batting average now sits below .150 on 4-for-23 hitting; not a huge deal at this point in the season, but not something that should be overlooked, either. Alex is not seeing the ball well as he's taken too many fastballs in the zone. He's also swinging "late" against pitches that he would normally tag. But what's most alarming is that he seems unable to make a full swing "through" balls pitched inside. This was a problem he had caused by his hip surgery, and it looked as if he had made progress with it during Spring Training. Hopefully with the off-day today, he'll be well rested and we'll see more production from him tomorrow.

Follow Rasheeda Cooper on twitter: @ra_cooper

Jeter and Nova Shine; Yankees Get First Win of '12

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Derek Jeter was on fire last night, leading the Yankees to a 6-2 win over the Orioles; their first win of the season. Jeter went 4-for-4 with three singles, a double, an RBI on a sacrifice fly and he scored a run. Ivan Nova also pitched a gem in his first start of the season, going seven innings and striking out seven without allowing a walk. Nova also prevented the Orioles from getting a hit with runners in scoring position. He had excellent command of his fastball, and was able to mix his four-seamer with curveballs for strikes. He was also able to get his fastball up as high as 96 mph.

The Yankees knocked out Orioles pitcher Brian Matusz early, limiting him to just four innings. In the fourth, he gave up walks to Curtis Granderson and Andruw Jones, followed by an RBI single to Russell Martin and sac-fly to Eduardo Nunez. Jeter would tag him for his second hit, an RBI double, and the Yankees were ahead 4-1. Nunez would later make an incredible defensive play, catching a line drive mid-air off of Wilson Betemit. The play prevented Matt Wieters from scoring from second base, and ended the fourth inning.

The Associated Press

Jones also did his part, hitting a line-drive solo shot to left field, putting the Yankees up 5-1 in the sixth. The Yankees final run would come on an RBI bunt from Brett Gardner who took over for Jones in left field in the bottom of the sixth.

Tonight, Freddy Garcia will get the start against Taiwanese import Wei-Yin Chen, who will make his major league debut after signing with the O's this past offseason.

Follow Rasheeda Cooper on twitter: @ra_cooper

Not Time to Panic

Kim Klement - US Presswire

While I remain trying my best to get over the abomination of what was the Yankees' first series this past weekend, I would like to call on all of my fellow fanatics out there to calm down and release the panic button. An 0-3 start is not "sexy," but in Yankeeland, it's not even close to being the end of the world. The cries for Joe Girardi's job really need to stop; he made some very poor decisions this weekend I agree, but he's still a damn good manager, and deserves to at least make it through the first month of the season before fans start with the "Girardi has to go" nonsense. I just wanted to put that out there.

Wikimedia Commons

I won't rehash yesterday's game. It's too painful. I'd just like to look ahead to tonight's game against the Orioles, and pray that Ivan Nova has gotten over whatever his problem was in Spring Training. He's been solid against the O's in his short career, going 2-0 with 21 strikeouts in 25.1 innings; his best mark against any club. I'm also hoping that Camden Yards, known as a hitter's ballpark, will ignite a home run assault from our lineup.

And Andy Pettitte will make his first minor-league start tonight with the Tampa Yankees team against the Clearwater Threshers in Clearwater, Fl. I'm hoping that tomorrow's reports will say that he had excellent control of his cutter and slider, and that he mixed in a nasty changeup to strikeout several batters. Fingers crossed.

Here is tonight's lineup:

Derek Jeter - SS
Nick Swisher - RF
Robinson Cano - 2B
Alex Rodriguez - DH
Mark Teixeira - 1B
Curtis Granderson - CF
Andrew Jones - LF
Russell Martin - C
Eduardo Nunez - 3B

Follow Rasheeda Cooper on twitter: @ra_cooper

Bleeding Yankee Blue Needs Our Support

One of my favorite Yankee blogs on the web is Bleeding Yankee Blue. Like Bomber Boulevard, BYB gives its readers a look at all things happening in Yankeeland from their perspective. Owner and Founder, The Mighty Casey, has brought together a group of insightful writers that are true Yankee fans, and it shows in every post on BYB. Not only are these guys big on Yankees baseball, they are also big on supporting worthy charities.

In their latest effort, BYB is teaming up with High Socks for Hope: The David and Erin Robertson Foundation, to continue their support of victims of the the tornadoes which hit D-Rob's home of Tuscaloosa, AL last April. Casey & Co. are selling Bleeding Yankee Blue t-shirts, and will donate $1 from each sale to HSH. Also, BYB will donate $1 of its own money to the foundation for every strikeout D-Rob collects during the 2012 season.

For the Yankee faithful out there, who may have been wondering how they could involve themselves with a worthy cause in support of the team's players, this is the way to go. David and Erin's charity will help victims get their lives back on track from what is a very lengthy process of healing and regaining self-sufficiency. The Mighty Casey & Co. have made this easy: buy a t-shirt and join the Robinson's in the fight to help these families. And by the way, the t-shirts are pretty damn cool!

For more information on BYB's efforts and to order your t-shirts, click here.

David and Erin Robertson Courtesy of Bleeding Yankee Blue

Follow Rasheeda Cooper on twitter: @ra_cooper