WHY BOSTON GOT SERVED HUMBLE PIE

OK, I've been waiting to do this piece for months now. On January 2nd, a NESN.com writer wrote a piece on why the 2011 Red Sox could unseat the 1927 Yankees as the greatest team in the history of Major League Baseball. You can read the comedic gold HERE. Mind you, it was written before 1 pitch was thrown in spring training or even the season itself.

Casey was immediately outraged as well, and wrote WHY BOSTON SUCKS: PART II. Read it.

I saved the NESN piece the moment I read it. I knew at the time that this prediction would backfire on them easily and now, the season is over, the Red Sox didn't make the playoffs and, I just have to laugh. Who would dare suggest something so silly? Let's break it down. The piece started off saying: "The Red Sox have won 100 or more games three times in their 110-year existence. They will make it four in 2011."

We all know by now that he was way off in this prediction. The Red Sox finished with a 90-72 record and finished 3rd in the American League East. Meanwhile, the 1927 Yankees finished with an astounding 110-44 record. Can you say, EPIC fail? I can...oh, I did.

Next, the writer showcased the Red Sox lineup which looks like this:

CF. Jacoby Ellsbury- .321/.376/.552/.928 (BA/OBP/SLG/OPS), 32 Hrs, 105 RBI, 39 SBs
2B. Dustin Pedroia- .307/.387/.474/.861, 21 Hrs, 91 RBI, 26 SBsLF. Carl Crawford- .255/.289/.405/.694, 11 Hrs, 56 RBI, 18 SBs
1B. Adrian Gonzalez- .338/.410/.548/.957, 27 Hrs, 117 RBI
3B. Kevin Youkilis- .258/.373/.459/.833, 17 Hrs, 80 RBI
DH. David Ortiz- .309/.398/.554/.953, 29 Hrs, 96 RBI
RF. JD Drew- .222/.315/.302/.617, 4 Hrs, 22 RBI, 81 games
C. Jarrod Saltalamacchia- .235/.288/.450/.737, 16 Hrs, 56 RBI
SS. Marco Scutaro- .299/.358/.423/.781, 7 Hrs, 54 RBI
SS. Jed Lowrie- .252/.303/.382/.685, 6 Hrs, 36 RBI

That lineup looks pretty good, I mean, this team lead the majors in runs scored with 875, that's 8 runs ahead of the Yankees, but they're NOT the 1927 Yankees who scored 976 runs, 131 more runs than the second place Detroit Tigers... astounding. Also keep in mind that the 1927 Yankees had four Hall of Famers, Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Tony Lazzeri, and Earle Combs, in their lineup.Speaking of the 1927 Yankees lineup, let's take a look at how each individual fared that season:

CF. Earle Combs- .356/.414/.511/.925, 6 HRs, 64 RBI
SS. Mark Koenig- .285/.320/.382/.702, 3 HRs, 62 RBI
RF. Babe Ruth- .356/.486/.772/1.258, 60 HRs, 164 RBI...WOW
1B. Lou Gehrig- .373/.474/.765/1.240, 47 HRs, 175 RBI... WOW
LF. Bob Meusel- .337/.393/.510/.902, 8 HRs, 103 RBI, 24 SBs
2B. Tony Lazzeri- .309/.383/.482/.866, 18 HRs, 102 RBI, 22 SBs
3B. Joe Dugan- .269/.321/.362/.683, 2 HRs, 43 RBI
C. Pat Collins- .275/.407/.418/.825, 7 HRs, 36 RBI

Pretty good, huh? A couple of things...One, the writer of the NESN piece had us look at the Boston bench. It looks like this:

OF. Mike Cameron- He got DFA'd from the team in late June after hitting .149/.212/.266/.477 in 33 games with the Sox.
OF. Darnell McDonald- He hit .236/.303/.401/.704 in 79 games. Certainly doesn't strike fear to me.
INF. Marco Scutaro- .299/.358/.423/.781 (above)
INF. Jed Lowrie- .252/.303/.382/.685 (above)
C. Jason Varitek- Hit .221/.300/.423/.723 in 68 games, but he's the Captain of the team and wears that "C" on his jersey!

Now, in all fairness, the Red Sox improved their bench with the call up of outfielder Josh Reddick (.280/.327/.457/.784) and trading for utility man Mike Aviles (.317/.340/.436/.775 in 38 games for Boston).

And finally, I just wanted to say this before we conclude this piece. It is very hard, if not impossible, to compare different players performances between two completely different eras, not to mention that that 2011 season hadn't started yet. Baseball was an entirely different game way back when, and a lot of changed. But, the writer for that NESN piece brought it up in the first place, so it's his own fault.

Next we'll try and break down the pitching for you, comparing the 2011 Red Sox and 1927 Yankees. Stay tuned.




--Jesse Schindler, BYB Staff Writer




Please comment, we have DISQUS, it's easier than ever. Let me know what you think and follow me on Twitter @BleednYankeeBlu and join the group Bleeding Yankee Blue on Facebook, just type it in.

WHY THIS YANKEES LOSS STINGS

Leave it to the Yankees and Red Sox to go extra innings in the last game of the year between the 2 clubs. No one ever said it would be easy and while the Red Sox are dear death, they clearly aren't dead yet. Long game.(Photo: Getty)
Mark Teixeira had a beautiful 2 run double in the first inning for the Yankees, it appeared we were on our way. Chris Dickerson had a sac RBI in the game.

Ivan Nova pitched OK. In 6 innings, he gave up 4 runs on 8 hits. He's been better, but I ain't made at him. After Nova, the Yankees used 7 pitchers and held down the Sox until Scott Proctor blew it but, more on that in a moment.

(Photo: Getty)
In the 6th inning, an amazing play by Austin Romine tagging Dustin Pedroia trying to get home. The picture above clearly captures the out. But look, this is athletic on both ends and for Romine, a rookie to be thrown into that and succeeding is something special. They always said Romine's defense was great, here's a great example of that.

In the extra innings, there was a horrendous call at first. Dustin Pedroia sliding into first and a running quick throw from Ramiro Pena at third to Nick Swisher at first base. Pedroia was clearly out with the naked eye, but when I saw the play in YES-mo, I became a crazy person. Joe Girardi was right to fight that battle and he getting thrown out, was better than risking Nick arguing the call and getting tossed. It also was a tactic to energize the Yankees who weren't hitting in the later innings, but it didn't work.

Scott Proctor, who's really not too great, allowed Jacoby Ellsbury to give one a ride in the 14th inning, a 3 run shot to make it 7-4. Not too good. The Yankees really wanted this game, and it was a mistake by Proctor and perhaps, may I suggest, a mistake by Tony Pena to put him in. Look, I like Scott Proctor, but the numbers don't look too good. Clearly there's a reason why he let up that home run to Ellsbury. Why wouldn't we use Luis Ayala? He was available. Well, what can you do.

One final thought. Anyone hear Baba O'Riley by the Who being played when Brett Gardner came out? My take on this is simple, that's Paul O'Neill song. It's sacred and it shouldn't be played for any other player ever. Just saying, I loved the Warrior and everytime I hear that song, I think of Paul O'Neill.

Final Score of Game 2: Red Sox 7 - Yankees 4

Don't look now, the Red Sox aren't dead yet.

Please comment, we have DISQUS, it's easier than ever. Let me know what you think and follow me on Twitter @BleednYankeeBlu and join the group Bleeding Yankee Blue on Facebook, just type it in.

GOING INSIDE THE NUMBERS WITH THE AL MVP

As of September, there are probably five candidates who can win the American League MVP. Those five guys are Curtis Granderson, Adrian Gonzalez, Justin Verlander, Jacoby Ellsbury, and Dustin Pedroia. The two front runners for the award are most likely Curtis Granderson and Adrian Gonzalez. Verlander, Ellsbury, and Pedroia are all having great years, but they either don't have quite the offensive numbers as Grandy and AGon, or they're a starting pitcher like Justin Verlander, who doesn't contribute to the team's success nearly every game like Granderson and Gonzalez.



Let's look at both of the front runner's numbers (As of 8/31):Curtis Granderson: 38 home runs, 107 RBI, 123 runs, and 10 triples all lead the league. Grandy also has a .963 OPS, fourth in the AL, and 24 stolen bases, good for 10th.



Adrian Gonzalez: .342 average, and 184 hits both lead the AL. He is 13th in homers, but is second in RBI with 103. But, he trails Granderson in stolen bases by 23, runs scored by 33, and triples by seven. He's also fifth in the league in OPS at .957.



With those stats in mind, baseball experts believe Gonzalez is right there in the AL MVP race, and some believe he should still win it. But not so fast, if you go inside those numbers you can clearly tell Granderson is by far the better candidate to win the award.Look at how Granderson does against opponents who have a .500 record or better, and against opponents with sub .500 records:

• Above .500 opponents: 63 games, .276 average, 22 homers, 54 RBI, 13 steals, 60 runs, .381 OBP, .627 slugging %, 1.009 OPS

• Below .500 opponents: 68 games, .273 average, 16 homers, 53 RBI, 11 steals, 63 runs, .371 OBP, .553 slugging %, .924 OPS

Now, if you look at those numbers you can see Granderson is pretty much the same player against all types of competition, which is good, because he doesn't fold against elite competition, and that's who he'll face in the postseason.Here are Gonzalez' numbers against above and below .500 opponents:

• Above .500 opponents: 66 games .261 average 68 hits, 13 homers, 48 RBI, .339 OBP, .487 slugging %, .826 OPS.

• Below .500 opponents: 66 games .419 average, 116 hits, 10 homers, 55 RBI, .464 OBP, .617 slugging %, 1.081 OPS.

If you look at Gonzalez' power numbers between the two splits, they're pretty much the same. But the main reason why he's in the MVP discussion is because of his batting average and hits. As you see, his numbers completely drop off when the competition gets tougher. Baseball writers, take note of this.



Sure it's nice Adrian Gonzalez can feed off against the bottom feeders of the league. That's fine and dandy, but anyone can do that. But it's a red flag when his signature batting average and total hits take a huge drop off when he plays better teams. In my eye, to be the most valuable player you have to continue to produce against all kinds of competition, and Granderson is either the same in some categories, or he's better. For Gonzalez, he's the same in some categories, but he drops off significantly against the better teams. I really hope I've caught the voter's eye on this, it really shows that Gonzalez really shouldn't be a front runner for the American League MVP, and that Granderson should be ahead of the pack.









--Jesse Schindler, BYB Staff Writer









Please comment and let me know what you think and follow me on Twitter @BleednYankeeBlu and join the group Bleeding Yankee Blue on Facebook, just type it in.

WHY THIS YANKEE LOSS WAS A HEARTBREAKER

(Photo: NY Daily News)

The Yankees had the lead. While a lead against the Sox is never easy to keep, it is possible. After all, we did win 5-2 the night before and all we needed to do was hold them down. One problem, Phil Hughes isn't 18 game winner Phil Hughes...mistakes happen... or Ortiz happens, and the next thing you know, the Yankees lose this one 9-5. Heartbreaker? I'd say so.



I know, you've heard it from me before and your reaction is "Casey, you can't just put every pitcher in the pen!" You're right, but Phil Hughes is a pitcher that I believe should move there. I wrote about it in WHY THE PEN IS WHERE HUGHES BELONGS and I'm not alone Ladies and Gentlemen. This little ditty surfaced today by John Harper of the Daily News: Time to Phil up Yank pen.



Look, I don't dislike Hughes, in fact, I really like the kid, but we're sitting here September 1st and Lord knows time is running out with our scotch-taped rotation. Decisions need to be made and stuck to. Consistency and confidence are key and the Yankees rotation has none of that right now. Do you really think the Yankees can go all the way to another championship with the rotation we have?? Who are you kidding?

Hughes gave up a homer to David Ortiz in the fifth inning and after that, old man Jason Varitek, who can still hit, knocked double in the 6th. He also homered later. Then, with Boone Logan in, he let up that homer to Jacoby Ellsbury to put the game out of reach. You guys still think we're OK with just 1 lefty specialist in the pen? I've been bitching for weeks that giving Logan a night off for another lefty would be helpful. Guess what, last night proved my point.

Now, back to Ortiz for a moment. 2 nights ago we watched an over excited Francisco Cervelli fist pump after almost every strikeout and he clapped after he crossed home plate after hitting a home run. The next time up, Lackey plunked him and the implication was Cervelli was showboating. Michael Kay and Mike Lupica went on a rant yesterday about how horrible it was that Cervelli was "too excited." My take on this is simple. Cervelli never plays, and when he does, he likes being on the field. His fist pumping and clapping may not be the "Yankee way" as you put it, but it's not showboating. In fact, what is worse to me is watching David Ortiz stand and watch his ball launched into the bleachers from home plate for 5 minutes. That is showboating. Rethink this guys, you got it wrong and I'm disappointed you don't see it clearly.The Yankees offense was good last night. But clearly if the pitching is giving up runs, it's hard to come back. Derek Jeter had 2 hits and an RBI, and Eric Chavez and Robinson Cano had RBI doubles.



Final Score last night: Red Sox 9 - Yankees 5.



One more thing, Roger Rubin had a good piece about the Yankees Red Sox rivalry and the headline was just rich: Red Sox DH David Ortiz says rivalry with Yankees doesn't have to resort to bench-clearing brawls. Look, I'm not in the business of anyone getting hurt, but let's face facts Ortiz, you guys are overdue for a plunking. If a Yankee player came forward and said something like that, I'd have more respect for you, but you're team is responsible for the venom and I hope Burnett does the right thing tonight, popping you between the numbers. The timing is right, wouldn't you say? Anyway, nice piece by Rubin.



Please comment and let me know what you think and follow me on Twitter @BleednYankeeBlu and join the group Bleeding Yankee Blue on Facebook, just type it in.

WHY THE YANKEES PROVE OFFENSE AND CC WIN BALLGAMES

(Photo: Getty)

I am not sure exactly when it happened but at some point in last night's game vs. the Twins, something snapped in CC Sabathia. It is almost like a light was turned on inside CC and he once again became CC Monster!

The way the game started though for the Yankees and CC was not promising. Almost immediately we saw shades of the CC from the past 3 starts who has struggled and has been getting bombed. I have to admit, when the M&M boys smacked CC in their first at bats I was not feeling to good. I was beginning to freak out like half of the Yankee fans on Twitter were, tweeting questions like, "What's wrong with CC?" "Is CC overused?" "Is CC underused?" "Is CC hurt?" All of these tweets had me in panic mode! But then it happened...I think it was a combination of when CC got the final out in the bottom of the 2nd and then when Curtis Granderson led off the top of the 3rd with a triple. I think CC woke up and thought, "What the hell am I doing?" "I'm freaking CC Sabathia!" "It ends now!"



CC was far from perfect for the rest of the evening but he definitely showed signs of the CC Sabathia we know and love who keeps batters off balance and piles up the K's. CC's final line not doesn't reflect Cy Young numbers but he did get the "W" and that's all that matters, right?

7 IP's -- 10 Hits -- 3 ER's -- 1 BB -- 9 K's -- CC is now 17-7 for the year.

The Bronx Bombers showed up at Target Field last night. Despite how nearly impossible it is to hit a home run at this new field, balls were flying out; especially for the Yankees. The three home runs hit by New York were off the bats of Mark Teixeira, Andruw Jones, and Nick Swisher.

Jones' shot was hit to another time zone. What a shot! Along with the home run, Tex had a great night at the plate and in the field. Tex went 2-3, including a single and 2 walks and 2 RBI's. Tex now has 33 home runs along with 91 RBI's. And, of course, what would a Yankee game lately be without another great game at the plate by the "2011 AL MVP" Curtis Granderson. The Grandyman kept the ball in the park but did manage to go 3-5 including a triple and another run scored. Grandy now leads the AL with 112 runs scored. The next guy behind him, Jacoby Ellsbury is a distanced 2nd in AL runs scored with. Just an incredible offensive year for Granderson so far.

The Yanks took the lead 1-0 in the top of the second on a Gardner sacrifice fly but CC gave the lead away in the bottom of the inning via a a few hits and and a fielders choice. But after the 2nd, as I mentioned above, CC turned it on and the Yankee offense took advantage. The Yanks took the lead back once and for all 3-2 on the 2-run bomb by Tex. Then the Yanks tacked on three more important runs in the bottom of the 5th that pretty much locked up the game. After Tex doubled, Robinson Cano grounded out then Swish hit his 15th home run of the year which gave the Yanks a 5-2 lead. Then it became back-to-back and a belly-to-belly time when Andruw Jones hit a bomb that I believe is still traveling! So at the end of the 5th inning the Yanks had a 6-2 lead.



CC ran into a bit of trouble in the bottom of the 7th when the Twins scored twice cutting the Yankee lead to 6-4. But CC just held it together and closed down the Twins ending any fantasy of a rally. That was the last inning for CC.

We all know that if a Yankee starter gets through 7 innings with a lead, it is usually game, set match and last night was no different in Yankeeland. David Robertson came in and "shockingly" had another 1-2-3 inning. It's just business as usual for DRob as he continues to lower his ERA (which is now 1.27) and becomes one of the most impressive pitchers in all of MLB.



"Unfortunately" the Yankees tacked on two more runs in the top of the 9th on a two-run single by Francisco Cervelli which made the score 8-4. So a four run lead means one thing: No Mo... Oh well! But Cory Wade came in and was spectacular. A 1,2,3 inning striking out one Twin and another win for our New York Yankees.



FINAL SCORE: New York Yankees 8 -- Minnesota Twins 4





--Mikey Blue, BYB Senior Writer

Email: DonnieBaseball2323@gmail.com

Twitter: @MikeyBlu23







Please comment and let me know what you think and follow me on Twitter @BleednYankeeBlu and join the group Bleeding Yankee Blue on Facebook, just type it in.

WHY IT AIN'T OVER TILL IT'S OVER

Everything was set up in this one. Get a lead in the middle innings, hand the ball off to Rafael Soriano, David Robertson, and Mariano Rivera and enjoy the off day. Well, the first three of those happened, but the last didn't, and thus it ended up being a very tough loss in extra innings.(Photo: Getty)

Freddy Garcia was matched up against Josh Beckett in this one, and before it started I didn't know what Garcia would do. Would he blow up? Would he pitch a good game? Well, he did the latter. Garcia gutted through five innings, and allowed just one run. He was seeing eye singled and infield hit to death, to go along with a very tight strike zone. Big ups for Freddy being able to overcome the adversity to go five innings, allow five hits, three walks, and just one strikeout and one run.



The Yankees offense didn't do much in this game. Just solo shots by Eduardo Nunez of Beckett--which came right after Russell Martin being thrown out trying to stretch a single into a double--and Brett Gardner off of Matt Albers in the seventh to give the Yankees a 2-1 lead.(Photo: Getty)

Rafael Soriano and David Robertson each pitched scoreless innings, but Mo came on and couldn't get the job done. He allowed a lead off double to Marco Scutaro. Jacoby Ellsbury bunted him to third, although they had the out at third if Nunez didn't play in, and Dustin Pedroia drove him in on a sac fly. Phil Hughes then came on in the bottom of the 10th and allowed a walk off single to Josh Reddick. For shame.



The Yankees squandered many opportunities in this game. They went 0-10 with runners in scoring position and they left 10 men on base.

(Photo: New York Daily News)

Also a quick note: Jorge Posada was benched for this game, and it was a surprise because normally Posada starts against righties. Maybe this could be a sign of things to come with Jorge. This could be the beginning of the end for him. You can read that story HERE.



Final Score Red Sox 3 - Yankees 2



I hate losing to this team. It just plain sucks. But whether you like it or not, you gotta put it in the rear view mirror, and move on to the next series. The Yankees have an off day on Monday before they face the Angels on Tuesday. With Phil Hughes pitching 1/3 of an inning we don't know if he'll start or not on Tuesday. If not, Ivan Nova (10-4, 3.81 ERA)will be matched against Dan Haren (12-6, 2.81 ERA)







--Jesse Schindler, BYB Staff Writer









Please comment and let me know what you think and follow me on Twitter @BleednYankeeBlu and join the group Bleeding Yankee Blue on Facebook, just type it in.

WHY SORIANO HAS RETURNED TO FORM

Ladies and Gentleman, it looks as though the Yankees' high priced reliever Rafael Soriano has returned to form. Soriano had a nightmare beginning to his Yankee career. First, he started the season with a 5.40 ERA in 16 games. He landed on the DL due to elbow inflammation, and in an outing in which he blew a four run lead against the Minnesota Twins by allowing four runs in 2/3 of an inning, he refused to talk to the media after the game. A huge no-no in New York. But with his 78 day layoff, he may have recollected himself, and adjusted his attitude a bit, which was needed.Since returning from the DL on July 30th he's been perfect. In three outings he's retired every batter he has faced, including four strikeouts. This is obviously the best he has looked since last season when he was the closer for the Tampa Bay Rays. In fact, the last time Soriano pitched a perfect inning before his return was on Opening Day against the Detroit Tigers. And since his return, he's lowered his ERA from 5.40 to 4.50. Also in his last eight outings dating back to April 30th against the Toronto Blue Jays, he hasn't allowed one run. I'm really starting to believe Soriano is the real deal, and so should you.

But, the one game that made me 100% convinced that he's back was Friday night in Boston. It was another tight one at Fenway Park, they usually are between the Yankees and Red Sox. But, it was a 3-2 game going into the bottom of the seventh. Remember, Soriano came into two blowout games against the Baltimore Orioles and the Chicago White Sox. But this had a whole new feel to it. Fenway Park, close game, the pressure was on Soriano to perform and God dammit, he did. (Photo: Getty)
He forced Josh Reddick to pop out to Eduardo Nunez in third base foul territory, then he made Marco Scutaro fly out to Brett Gardner in left field, and finally he struck out Jacoby Ellsbury to end the frame. Just a fantastic job by Soriano when the stage was set.

Folks, I know the vast majority of you have doubted Soriano and wanted him out. I'm sure you've changed your minds by now and you should. But I've been behind him he entire time. You can read a piece I wrote way back in May in a piece titled WHY SORIANO WILL BE FINE, check it out.

He was solid in his last few outings before the DL stint, and he's been better than ever since coming off. If he continues it looks like we have a lethal 7-8-9 in the bullpen with Soriano, David Robertson, and Mariano Rivera.



--Jesse Schindler, BYB Staff Writer




Please comment and let me know what you think and follow me on Twitter @BleednYankeeBlu and join the group Bleeding Yankee Blue on Facebook, just type it in.