WHY THE YANKEES NEED THE HUNGER AGAIN

It’s the off-season early for the New York Yankees and all of us Yankee fans are walking around aimlessly with nothing to do. Yes, we could watch the postseason without the Yankees, and yes, I’ve told you numerous times that if baseball is on, I watch, no matter who’s playing.

But let’s face it, this is October and the Yankees aren’t playing, and I don't want to watch. I want to scream like Mark Wahlberg in the Other Guys, I cannot take it. Sometimes I feel like the more we try to do things right, the more we screw them up. The Yankees need that hunger back and the fans are craving it.

The Yankees looked like scrubs out there as I reflect on the ALDS, with the exception of Jorge Posada and Brett Gardner and even Derek Jeter to some extent. Where was the hunger? Where were the bats? I firmly believe that hot teams move forward and it all has to do with momentum. I don't necessarily believe great teams win it all. I think great teams need to be hot to win it all. The Yankees were great with 97 wins going into the ALDS, but they weren't great and hot, plain and simple. Now all we’re doing is sitting in front of our computers, looking at Twitter and bitching at each other.

I long for the days when Steinbrenner would put out a press release, thanking the Yankee fans for their support and apologizing for failing to win it all. Then, weeks later, we’d go out and find the top free agent out there and all would be well in Yankeeland again, we would forget, just for the moment, that we blew it.

Time is running out for some of our icons. Yes, Jorge Posada was close to possibly getting a 5^th ring, but we fell short. Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera are close to retirement; wouldn’t it be nice to get one for championship before they sail into the sunset? It would, for all of us.The pitching rotation will be a priority again this year, just like it is every year and while Cashman preached patience and picked up Bartolo Colon and Freddy Garcia and had lightening in a bottle, that charade won’t work this winter; fans get impatient, Yankee Brass gets impatient and I expect a big splash. Yes, Cashman needs to agree to a deal, but once that is done, CC Sabathia is next and then after what, who? I'm a fan of Mark Buehrle and I would love to get him, but who else? CJ Wilson? Matt Cain? Yu Darvish? Felix Hernandez?

Look, Felix is my top name after CC Sabathia. I’m not too big on “Pretty Boy” Wilson because I hate his pompous attitude. I’m also not sold on him. Matt Cain, yeah, he good, but we need him to be great. Yu Darvish…we’ve been through that Japanese pitching thing before. Felix Hernandez is the guy and if that means waiting until he’s a free agent, so be it; If it means being creative with you we unload for him, so be it. I have no desire to trade off someone like Jesus Montero for the King. After seeing him hit, it reminded me a hell of a lot like Miguel Cabrera. I can’t part with the guy.

Something needs to be done about Nick Swisher, Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira. Look, no doubt they are pissed that they didn’t deliver and they looked foolish in the ALDS, but let’s face it, they always do. 2009 is long gone, these guys get paid a fortune to perform, bottom line and October is the biggest show on earth, and they need to show up. They didn’t and it’s pathetic. If I’m the Yankees, I pick up Swisher’s option and I’m bringing in a bright young outfielder this spring and have him compete for Swisher’s job. Light a fire under Nick’s ass and let him know, no job is safe.

Alex is Alex and he’s owed a ton of money. You can’t eat his contract and you can’t trade him and the Yankees won’t, they want him to hit 700 and they want him the break the home run record in pinstripes... he’s not going anywhere. I also believe ARod wasn’t healthy and while nerves were a factor in the ALDS, he’s not better yet because of injury. Hopefully a long winter’s nap will heal this guy and in Spring 2012, he’ll be back.

Mark Teixeira seems to shrivel up at the wrong time...October. Not sure what happened to this guy. He’s a great hitter…when he hits, and I would never suggest we cut Tex lose for someone better, because; let’s face it, who’s better? Tex is one of the best defensive first basemen we’ve ever had; he just needs to get his swing tweaked by the King of Swing…Kevin Long. Maybe the pressure gets to Tex, who knows, but something‘s got to happen.

The Yankees hunger is gone while the hunger by the fans grows. We need something drastic, a shakeup… so we can stand up and say, “The Yankees put the best on the field and we will return to win it all.” Because, let’s face it, 1 championship in 11 years is not a dynasty, it’s average.

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2011 ALDS YANKEES VS. TIGERS GAME 4 PREVIEW

I said last night wasn't a must win. You know why? Because if the Yankees lost, which they did, there's still a tomorrow, which is today. Well ladies and gentlemen, after last night's grueling, gut-wrenching 5-4 loss, tonight is literally a must win game. AJ Burnett is on the mound for the Yankees. Yes, I know it's not the ideal guy we want on the mound, but let's be honest, it's all we've got right now. But, A.J isn't the only guy on the team who needs to step up. The offense needs to step it up too. You know who you are Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira. Rodriguez and Teixeira have combined to go 1 for 21, an ugly .047 average while combining for no homers and just two RBI thus far in the ALDS.But all in all the spotlight will be on AJ Burnett. I mean, he is the starting pitcher and he's the guy who the Yankees need to pitch well to win this game. Burnett has struggled in his career against the Tigers going 4-2 with a 6.33 ERA. But look at the bright side, he made two starts against the Tigers this season, one on April 2 at the Stadium in which he picked up his first win by going 5 innings and allowing three runs while striking out six. His second start against Detroit came in Comerica Park on May 5 in which he went 7 innings, allowing five runs--two earned--while striking out five. So at least there's recent success for Burnett against the Tigers. If he can pitch like he did in those first two games against the Tigers, there's a good chance the Yankees win.

Now, although Burnett has a career ERA over 6.00 against Detroit, there isn't a batter in Detroit's lineup that has handled Burnett regularly. Miguel Cabrera and Victor Martinez have each hit .214 (3 for 14) and .259 (7 for 27) against AJ Martinez has one career homer off Burnett and three RBI. Delmon Young, Magglio Ordonez, and Brandon Inge have combined to hit .384 (10 for 26) in the series, but have combined to hit .227 (10 for 44) in their career's against A.J Burnett.

The Yankees will be facing Rick Porcello in this game. All the naysayers say the Yankees are doomed because AJ Burnett is going for the Yankees. Not so fast, Porcello isn't Cy Young himself either. He's won 14 games, but he has a 4.75 ERA while allowing 210 hits in 182.2 innings in the process. He's gone 2-2 in his four career starts against the Yankees with a 5.56 ERA. He did pitch against the Yanks this year in Comerica Park on May 5. He went 7 innings while allowing just two runs. I mean, the guy isn't a scrub, but he's certainly hittable.There are a number of hitters in the Yankee lineup who have had good success against Porcello, although they're in small sample sizes. Robinson Cano is a .455 hitter (5 for 11) against Porcello. Nick Swisher and Jorge Posada are hitting .300 (3 for 10) and .333 (3 for 9) each against the 22 year old right hander. But the two guys in the Yankee order with the biggest spotlight, Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira, hit a combined .142 (2 for 14) with no homers or RBI against Porcello.

Like I said, this is a must win. If the Yankees win, they'll send it back to the Bronx for a winner take all Game 5. If not, they go home for the winter wondering what went wrong. Can A.J Burnett step up and pitch well? Sure he can, but it's certainly no guarantee. But, I think he'll have a representative start. But, according to Joe Girardi, he'll have a short leash. Read HERE.

Either way, he'll need his offense and bullpen to back him up. It's going to take a team effort as usual to win this game, but it can most definitely be accomplished.




--Jesse Schindler, BYB Staff Writer




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ONE GAME AT A TIME

(Photo: AP)
The Yankee Stadium crowd was hushed today by Max Scherzer, doing his best Cy Young impersonation. Look, Scherzer is not an incredible pitcher, but for some reason, he has the Yankees number. You have to give him credit, he came into our house and took over. I watched today in frustration, but I didn't watch it real time believe it or not. Thank God for my DVR.

At 3 o'clock, I was at my kid's Little League game. There's a lot going on as you can tell. My son told me as we pulled up to the baseball field, "Today, I'm going with my Cano stance." He was clearly honoring Cano after last night's grand slam. I looked at him and said "Just be you." My guy was on his own mission today, he was fighting for more playing time next game as well as a shot at moving up in the batting order. To him, the playoffs and his personal challenge we're similar. You have to give him props, he's hungry.(Photo: AP)
Meanwhile, Freddy Garcia gave us a good pitching performance today and delivered what we needed him too. In 5.1 innings, he allowed 6 hits and 4 runs and struck out 6. Although, it started out rough, with a quick 2 run home run by Miguel Cabrera and by the bottom of the first inning, it was 2-0 Tigers. The only thing that would make that worse would be Max Scherzer man-handling the Yankees... and he did. The Yankees we no-hit for the majority of 6 innings. Scherzer left the game just giving up 2 hits.

Meanwhile, back at the Little League field I was constantly pacing, watching my son play and listen to the radio at the same time. I was a wreck. My boy creamed a liner down the first line in his first at bat, but right at the first baseman. 0 for 1. Then, he worked a walk and came around to score. The next time up, he singled on a softy dribbler...my man beat it out. Then, in his fourth time up today, a nice line drive over the head of the second baseman and into right center. 2 for 3 today and a smile as he stood base. Good. One stress is over, my kid did good today, but now the Yankees need to win.

As we came in the house, we turned on the TV. It was 4-0 Tigers and then Curtis Granderson came to the plate and crushed a homer run to make it 4-1. The Tigers got the run back making it 5-1 in the top of the ninth off of Luis Ayala. More on him in a moment.
In the bottom of the ninth, Nick Swisher came up to face a lethal Jose Valverde. Well, he wasn't that lethal to Swisher who crushed a solo shot to make it 5-2. Then Jorge Posada came up and he cranked a shot to center and Austin Jackson was lost. Posada got a triple. Next, Russell Martin worked a walk and Andruw Jones who was 3-7 lifetime against Valverde came up. He had a nice shot to right, but ran down by Don Kelly . Jones sacrificed Posada home. One out.

Derek Jeter came up. Russell Martin was on first. After Jeter had him chucking pitch after pitch, Jeter eventually struck out. 2 outs now and hope was dwindling. Curtis Granderson came too the plate and it was a huge moment. Martin is now on second base. Granderson hits a high pop up to the Tigers side in foul territory. Alex Avila slips on the Yankees on-deck circle logo trying to catch ball, but misses... how ironic. I thought for sure, that would be the turning point. Then... Granderson walked.The table was set for Robinson Cano. Men on first and second and Cano is up. The score was 5-3. The rain was now pouring in the Bronx and with an 0-2 count on Cano, a soft grounder to second... Game over... Tigers win. The ALDS Series is now tied at 1-1.

Now I mentioned Luis Ayala and I noticed the Twitter world is hammering Ayala. Yes, Ayala is giving up runs, but I think I understand Girardi's thinking. I think Joe wants to have the big guys fresh for the next 3 games and if Ayala can get some outs and not allow games to get too out of control, that's a good thing in Joe opinion. Look I don't know if that's what he's doing, and if it is, I don't agree, but I think that's what his thinking is. My thinking is, this is the playoffs, we need to shut down the competition. Look, I really don't think we're going to see Ayala much more this ALDS. I really think it's a strategy by Girardi. All I'm saying is don't panic yet.

Final Score: Tigers 5 - Yankees 3.

Tomorrow in Detroit is Game 3. It's being billed as the Matchup of the Century...CC Sabathia vs. Justin Verlander. Interesting stat for CC... As a Yankee, his record in Comerica Park is 0-3 6.00 ERA. Now, stats don't mean much because CC could come in tomorrow night shut down Detroit. The good news is, if for any reason CC can't hack it, the Yankees have a well rested bullpen in Rafael Soriano, David Robertson and Mariano Rivera.

Justin Verlander at home is 10-3 with a 2.37 ERA but with no day off, anything can happen. Don't forget, Verlander has never pitched on short rest, CC has. It's going to be a tough pitched game.

Yankees need to pull this off... and I know they can. Let's Go Yankees!

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2011 ALDS YANKEES VS. TIGERS GAME 2 PREVIEW

(Photo: AP)
Last night's resumption of Game 1 was awesome. Ivan Nova proved to everyone he can pitch on the big stage against a very good Detroit Tigers team, while Robinson Cano continues to become a great postseason hitter. Did you know, that in Cano's last 10 postseason games--three series--he's hit .375 (15/40) with five homers, and 12 RBI (six in last night's game)? He's been amazing, and he's really one of the best hitters and probably the best second baseman in all of baseball, and because of it the Yankees have a 1-0 lead in the best of five ALDS against the Tigers.

Anyway, the game this afternoon is huge. In a best of five--or seven--series, visiting teams like Detroit really aim to win one of the first two games in the series so they can go back home and win their home games and win the series. With that being said, it's very important that the Yankees get this one. Justin Verlander is going on Monday in Game 3, so the Yanks would love to have a 2-0 lead.The pitching matchup for Game 2 is Freddy Garcia (12-8, 3.62 ERA) for the Yanks, against Max Scherzer (15-9, 4.43 ERA) for the Tigers. Garcia has an 18-8 career record against Detroit with a 3.88 ERA while losing his only start against the Tigers on May 4 in Comerica Park while going 7 innings, allowing four runs on 10 hits and two walks while striking out a season high eight batters. Some guys who've had good success against Garcia in their careers are Magglio Ordonez, Miguel Cabrera, Alex Avila, and Delmon Young. Ordonez is hitting .327 (17-52) with a homer and six RBI while Cabrera is hitting .391 (9-23) with three homers and six RBI career against Garcia. Some hitters who don't fare quite as well against Garcia include, but aren't limited to, Victor Martinez, Austin Jackson, and Ryan Raburn. Martinez is a .233 hitter (7-30) while Jackson and Raburn each hit .222 (4-18) and .111 (1-9) against Garcia, respectively.(Photo: AP)
Max Scherzer is 3-0 in three starts with a 2.84 career ERA against the Yanks, while going five innings and allowing six runs in his first start of his season on April 3 at the Stadium, and pitching eight shutout innings while striking out eight Yankees at Comerica Park on May 4. It's tough to find too many players who've had good success in a big sample size against Scherzer, but Mark Teixeira is 3 for 10 with a solo homer and Curtis Granderson is 3 for 12 against Scherzer. After last night's 0 for 5 Alex Rodriguez probably won't enjoy seeing Scherzer because he's 0 for 8 in his career against him.
(Photo: Getty)
The other starters that include Russell Martin, Derek Jeter, Nick Swisher, Jorge Posada, Robinson Cano, and Brett Gardner have combined to hit .166 (10-60) against the Tiger right-hander in their career. It should be interesting how this one will turn out.

This would be a huge win for the Yankees if it can happen. Being up 2-0 and putting Detroit on the brink of elimination would be great.

Go YANKEES!!!




--Jesse Schindler, BYB Staff Writer




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2011 ALDS YANKEES VS. TIGERS GAME 1 PREVIEW

Mother Nature has been a pain to the Yankees all season long. With the postponement of yesterday's Game 1 due to rain--the Yankees 22nd game this season affected by rain by the way, the Yankees and Tigers will go at it again. The game will resume tonight at 8:37 PM Eastern Time with the Yankees batting in the home half of the second inning and the game tied at 1-1.

The starters for Game 1 were originally CC Sabathia and Justin Verlander. But now that Mother Nature is playing a role, both starters won't pitch again until Game 3 in Detroit on Monday. So, Ivan Nova (16-4, 3.70 ERA) will oppose Doug Fister (11-13, 2.83 ERA) later tonight.Ivan Nova doesn't have much experience against the Tigers. He didn't pitch against Detroit at all this season, and has only pitched against them once in his career, which in fact was his first career major league appearance. He pitched in relief on May 13, 2010 in Detroit against the Tigers while going 2 innings, allowing two hits, no walks or runs with one strikeout. The only two hitters in the Tigers' starting lineup that have a hit against Nova are Delmon Young and Magglio Ordonez who are a combined 2 for 4. Wilson Betemit has one hit in one AB against Nova, while Miguel Cabrera, Victor Martinez, and Austin Jackson are all 0 for 1 against Nova. Obviously, those are all extremely small sample sizes against Nova, so you can't make any conclusions.
(Photo: Getty)
Doug Fister, on the other hand, has faced the Yanks in a bigger sample size compared to Nova against the Tigers. Fister has faced the Yankees three times in his career going 1-2 with a 6.00 ERA while allowing 24 hits in 18 innings pitched. He faced the Yankees once this season while he was still with the Seattle Mariners. He went 7 innings, allowing three runs on seven hits and five strikeouts on July 26 at Yankee Stadium. There are some hitters in the Yankees lineup who have had good success against him in his career. Derek Jeter has gone 4 for 10 with two RBIs against Fister. Mark Teixeira has gone 3 for 9 with a homer and four RBIs.

Also, Curtis Granderson and Nick Swisher have each hit a homer against Fister while combining for 3 hits in 10 AB's with three RBI. As a team the Yankees are hitting .302 in 63 AB's against the Tiger right-hander.

Although the weather forecast doesn't look to promising, (it's actually worse than it was last night) hopefully we can get this one in. The Yankees and Tigers have lost their travel day on Sunday because of last night's rain out and another rain out tonight may force them to lose their Wednesday travel day--if necessary--to New York for a possible Game 5. This game will be a big test for both Nova and Fister as the two are making their first career playoff appearances. Hopefully Nova and the Yanks can come out on top.

Go Yankees!!!

--Jesse Schindler, BYB Staff Writer




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2011 ALDS: BYB YANKEES NOTES

Yankees against Verlander: Justin Verlander is 4-3 with a 3.97 ERA against the Yankees. The Bombers hottest hitters are Derek Jeter (.357 AVG/10 H). Jeter has also struck out 7 times against Verlander in 28 at bats. Jorge Posada (.333 AVG/7 H/5 RBI), Brett Gardner (.375 AVG) and Russell Martin (.400 AVG/2 H in 5 AB). Nick Swisher has 3 home runs against Verlander but is only batting .167 against him and has 19 strikeouts. Wow.

Nick Swisher: No one’s better than George King III and he had a piece in the New York Post about Swisher and his struggles in the postseason. Read it HERE. He writes that part of the problem, according to Kevin Long is Nick Swisher gets too amped up. Swisher says “I get jacked up and my emotions are high. That’s my fight, to control my emotions.” Since 2009, Swisher is batting 12-81 with 2 homers and 4 RBIs in 5 postseason series. In 2 ALDS, Swisher is batting .208.

Tigers against Sabathia: CC Sabathia is lifetime 15-12 pitcher against the Tigers. He carries a 4.54 ERA. The hottest Tigers hitters against Sabathia are Miguel Cabrera (.563 AVG/2 HR/11 RBI), Austin Jackson (.286 AVG/1 HR/2 RBI), and Magglio Ordonez (.268 AVG/3 HR/18 RBI).

Freddy Garcia: Freddy gets the nod for Game 3. Garcia is 6-2 in the postseason. When he was a member of the White Sox in 2005, he was 3-0. In my humble opinion, Freddy Garcia earned this spot in the ALDS.

Justin Verlander: The Yankees faced Verlander 2 times this season. Both times the Yankees were patient with him and made him throw a lot of pitches until he was knocked out of the game. Both times Verlander had a no decision against the Yankees. Patience will be key once again.

Alex Rodriguez: “The knee is ready to go,” is what Alex Rodriguez said. I’m not quite sure ARod will be has dominant as he was in 2009, and that could hurt a bit. In the 2009 postseason, Alex hit 6 homers and batted .365. If Alex can’t hack it and the knee is bothering him, I suspect Eric Chavez, a former Gold Glover would get the call at 3^rd.

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