1928.  1939.  2010.  Those are the only three teams in Yankee history to open a season by winning eight of their first nine series.  Pretty neat, huh?  After winning tonight’s game 4-1, the Yanks locked up the series heading into tomorrow afternoon’s series finale.  Oh, and in case you were wondering, the ’28 and ’39 Yanks both went on to sweep the World Series.

The Good:

• AJ Burnett was lights out tonight, as he has been all season long.  Burnett pitched into the 8th inning, allowed only seven baserunners (5H/2BB) and struck out eight O’s.  He had command of his fastball and his breaking pitch and, when he had to, was able to work quickly and more efficiently by pitching to contact.  In short, everything people said about his maturation as a pitcher was on display tonight;
• Francisco Cervelli put on a defensive clinic with acrobatic catches over the dugout railing, blocking all varieties of pitches in the dirt, and generally commanding the area behind home plate for his pitchers.  His enthusiasm is infectious and it really looks like the staff loves throwing to him.  Best of all, Cervelli had his first three-hit game, going 3-for-3 with a sacrifice bunt that led to an additional insurance run.  Posada who?

The Bad:

• It’s hard to find any “bad” in tonight’s performance by the team.  Sure, I could nitpick Cano’s swinging at the first pitch in a bases-loaded, two out situation in the bottom of the 5th after Orioles starter Brian Matusz had walked three batters in the inning but Cano had two hits on the night (both opposite field singles).  I could also nitpick Jeter’s declining plate discipline but I won’t be overly concerned until we reach mid-season and he’s still swinging at bad pitches early in counts.  There’s just not much to quibble with after back-to-back wins against the woebegone O’s.
• It’s not so much “bad” as a legitimate question: Joba Chamberlain has thrown 31 pitches in back-to-back days of work in place of Rivera.  Say tomorrow’s game is a save situation.  Who comes in?  It surely can’t be Robertson, as he’s off high-leverage work until further notice.  Aceves?  Marte?

The Yanks have won three in a row and six of their previous seven games.  At 18-8, they’re off to a nice start.  Pettitte goes for the sweep tomorrow…

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At least, the speculation is that Greg Golson will be activated today.

I wonder if Greg Golson has ever had a Molson Golden?

And, why do I have a mental picture of Rich Coggins every time I think of Greg Golson?

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Via Tom Verducci’s recentl SI.com feature entitled “Why an essential part of the game’s romance is in decline” –

Today baseball includes fewer hits, less contact and more walks and strikeouts. Baseball remains a beautiful, fascinating game that becomes even more interesting the more you know about it. But if you’re the kind of fan who simply likes to see the ball put into play, there is less to like.

Verducci’s feature is a good one – I highly recommend reading it. As far as his point, quoted above, I agree with it. And, I hope this “trend” does reverse itself someday. How about you?

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Have you seen this one yet?

Betcha Tom Gamboa gets asked for some opinion on it.

Maybe Philly needs a moat like Yankee Stadium has these days? It would cut down on access points to the field.

Then again, maybe this whole thing is a bad idea? How long until the Yankees start tasering fans trying to get into Legends Suite without a ticket?

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Things are not going so well these days up in Beantown. Via the Boston Herald -

The time of waiting for the Red Sox to turn things around is over. They either start playing to their potential now, or they can prepare for five months of garbage time.

“Everyone thought Baltimore was three easy wins and we got our ass kicked three times,” [Dustin] Pedroia seethed. “We’re going to have to play a lot better, especially against those teams. And soon.”

As Epstein paced in the empty manager’s office after the game, he was asked if the team will be able to fix itself.

“Things haven’t really changed,” he said. “We talked about this last week. We’re still playing bad baseball. Unintelligent, undisciplined, uninspired baseball. It’s got to change.

“It either changes itself or we have to do something to change it.”

A clear divide is opening between the veterans of the team’s World Series and playoff runs and the new players who were acquired to bolster the club this winter. Marco Scutaro seems like the only truly assimilated player of the bunch. It’s not hard to read between the lines.

“A lot of guys that have been here, we’re not used to this,” Pedroia said. “We’ll grind it out, but we’ve got to find a way to start winning some games.”

[Terry] Francona can only do so much. The players need to step up and police themselves.

“There’s no accountability,” fumed one clubhouse source.

The Red Sox are a dysfunctional mess. Victor Martinez can’t hit to save his life. Beltre keeps making poor plays defensively and has become a free-swinging singles hitter. Mike Lowell is struggling to find a groove while playing sporadically. Jacoby Ellsbury’s injury and absence have killed them.

It’s hard to even pinpoint one major flaw, as the weekend showed.

“It wasn’t a lot of fun,” Francona said. “You show up to win and we didn’t. We’re going to have to regroup in a hurry and figure it out.”

Hey, maybe it’s “The Curse of Jed Hoyer?”

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How many times, since the Steinbrenner Family has owned the team, have the Yankees won 17+ of their first 25 games in a season? It’s only happened five times – including this year. That’s rare stuff – five times since 1973. Here are all the Yankees teams, since ’73, to win 15+ of their first 25 games in a year:

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Lonn Trost, this Bud’s for you.

Via Ross –

With tonight’s announced attendance of 41,571, the Yankees have set a new record low attendance at [new] Yankee Stadium. The previous low was on 4/21/09 when the Yankees drew only 42,065 on a drizzly and cold night for a game against the A’s.

Looks like it’s going to be a long time before the Yankees ever draw 50,000 for a regular season game again.

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The beginning of this game had all the hallmarks of those frustrating losses where Yankee batters appear overeager and bail out a lousy pitcher by making quick outs early in their AB’s.  To wit: Derek Jeter, Nick Johnson and Robinson Cano combined to go 0-for-11 with a walk on a total of 35 pitches or, 2.92 per PA.  Fortunately for the Yanks, however, their Ace™ was on the mound and was once again the picture of efficiency.  The Yanks won tonight’s game 4-1 and are now 5-1 since losing four out of five games from April 22nd-27th.

The Good:

• CC Sabathia didn’t have complete command of the corners tonight and had to work some deep counts.  Part of that was attributable to a somewhat inconsistent strike zone being called by homeplate umpire Bill Hohn.  In any event, Sabathia was undeterred as he went on to record 16 outs on 14 ground balls (two double plays) and limited the O’s to only eight baserunners in his eight innings of work.  Sabathia improved to 4-1 with a 2.74 ERA and a 1.05 WHIP;
• Since April 20th, Nick Swisher is hitting .396/.431/.688 with 3 HR and 12 RBI over that 12-game stretch.  There’s just no other way to say it, he’s simply on fire right now; and
• Although I have very low expectations for him overall, it was still nice to see Randy Winn provide the go-ahead three-run homer in the bottom of the fourth inning.  It was even nicer seeing how genuinely excited his teammates and coaches were for him right after he hit the bomb.

The Bad:

• Somewhat troubling injury news came out of today’s game.  First, Jorge Posada was lifted in the top of the sixth inning with pain in his right calf.  He was sent to the hospital for an MRI and no official diagnosis has come back yet.  As much as most Yankee fans have faith in Francisco Cervelli as a competent backup, losing Posada’s offensive firepower would shorten the lineup significantly;
• The next bit of troubling injury news came when Joba Chamberlain, not Mariano Rivera, came out to start the ninth inning in a save situation.  Chamberlain earned the save but Girardi’s post-game press conference revealed that Rivera had complained of tightness in his left side (oblique? ribcage?) on Saturday and had made himself unavailable for the final two games of the White Sox series and was still unavailable this evening.  Girardi said Rivera was improving but that his availability for tomorrow’s game was still to be determined.  We all know how vital Mo is to the team.  Here’s hoping he’s all mended up by the time we play Boston this weekend; and
• A-Rod is still MIA in 2010.  Since hitting his mammoth bomb in Oakland on April 20th, A-Rod is batting a sickly .209/.200/.279 over his last 43 AB’s.  Awful.

Overall, the Yanks are 17-8 and need to win only one of the next two games — with their #2 and #3 starters on the mound, no less — to make it eight out of nine series wins to start the year.  Not too shabby.

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Via Tyler Kepner –

The decision not to use Vazquez in Boston, then, is a stinging indictment of a pitcher the Yankees privately believed would perform like a No. 2 starter. Instead, Vazquez will pitch Monday at Comerica Park in Detroit, against a Tigers team that has hit much better than the Red Sox. It reinforces the notion that he cannot handle a big stage.

“When you’re struggling like this in a market like this, it’s louder and it’s harder,” General Manager Brian Cashman said. “It just is. No one’s going to run from it. It bothers him. It hurts. He wants to do right by everybody, and he’s fighting himself to keep doing it.”

Vazquez did not make himself available to reporters Monday, but Girardi said Vazquez told him he wanted to start at Fenway. Girardi said that he understood but that he told Vazquez he believed he would benefit from extra days off.

By starting his second New York stint with a 9.78 earned run average, highest in the league among pitchers with five starts, Vazquez has called into question his stomach for pitching here. It is safe to say the Yankees believed they were past that.

Vazquez is a genial person, but staying hidden from reporters before Monday’s game was not a good sign.

But the Yankees are convinced that Vazquez is so lost that he could not win on the road against a Red Sox team that looks strikingly ordinary. A victory at Fenway could boost Vazquez’s shattered confidence. By not giving him the chance, the Yankees revealed just how worried they are.

“Unfortunately, there’s a clear recognition that there’s some major struggling going on here,” Cashman said. “It’s an opportunity for us to show we’re going to do everything we can, in our power, to fix this on the run.”

You know, at the end of last season, Big League Stew said that “Vazquez’s worst ERA+ years — with the exception of his first two seasons — all came with contenders: the ’04 Yankees, the ’05 D’Backs and the ’06 and ’08 White Sox.”

Maybe the Yankees should have considered that?

Me? Well, when the Yankees made the trade for Vazquez, I wrote:

But, the big thing with Vazquez is: Can he pitch in the American League? If you look at his career, in terms of his component skills, Vazquez is pretty consistent. Yet, for some reason, his bubble-gum card stats, outside of 2007, are much better when he’s in the N.L. than when he’s in the A.L. (where the Yankees play). In the Senior Cicuit, he’s a Cy Young contender. In the Junior Circuit, he’s a league average pitcher. Perhaps it’s the A.L. ballparks that do him in? (By the way, his lifetime ERA while pitching in the Bronx is 7.09 over 6 games.) But, even at his worst, Javy should be good for close to 200 innings pitched and somewhere around 12-14 wins.

And, I really meant that – in that I thought it was fair to expect 200 innings pitched and somewhere around 12-14 wins from this guy in 2010.

Of course, that could still happen…but the clock on that hope is ticking fast…because it sure sounds like Javy Vazquez is one messed up little dude.

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No, it’s not Capitaine Picard making it so…

…it’s the Baseball Borats at it again. Good stuff:

Take that, Harold Wayne (#43) Smith!

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Via Mark Hale –

Javier Vazquez will not pitch for the Yankees against the Red Sox this weekend, instead making his next start Monday in Detroit, Joe Girardi said today.

Vazquez has struggled in his return to the Yankees this season, most recently Saturday in a loss to the White Sox, starting speculation he would be removed from the team’s rotation.

“We’re just going to move him back a few days, give him a couple bullpen sessions,” Girardi said.

He was next scheduled to pitch Friday at Boston in the opener of a three-game series. An off day Thursday will allow Girardi to skip that turn and send Vazquez back out against the Tigers.

Wow. We’re less than 20% into the season, and, already, albeit supposedly temporary, Javier Vazquez has been pulled from the rotation. Go figure…

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To date, through yesterday’s game, Robinson Cano’s career BA/OBP/SLG line with the Yankees is .309/.342/.488 (in 3,140 PA). When I look at that line, the first thing I think about is Cano’s minor league production prior to becoming a big leaguer – and how few thought (before 2005) Robbie would hit, like he has, at the Major League level.

Related, here are his minor league numbers:

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Interesting, huh?

How does a guy fashion a career BA/OBP/SLG line of .278/.331/.425 (in 2,106 PA) in the minors go on to post a line of .309/.342/.488 in the majors?

Typically, players do better in the minors than in the majors because the level of pitching is more advanced in the big leagues.  You just don’t see guys who hit .280 in the minors become .300 hitters in the majors – at least not everyday.

I know that many like to cite Don Mattingly in a situation like this – saying that he was a better hitter in the majors than the minors. But, in truth, Donnie Baseball had a “slash” line of .307/.358/.471 in the majors compared to a .332/.378/.471 one in the minor leagues.

So, just how did Robinson Cano become the player that he is today? Is it just a matter of better food, playing surfaces, lighting in the majors along with pitchers who throw more strikes? That would be the conventional wisdom. Maybe that’s it? Then again, maybe it’s something else? To be candid, I have no clue on this one.  And, if I did, it would be more of a suspicion than a clue.

Granted, this matter is not one of the world’s greatest and most enduring unsolved mysteries. And, it’s not a natural or supernatural phenomena. But, to me, it’s still an interesting question.  How about to you?

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The story via Joel Sherman -

Alex Rodriguez was not in the starting lineup yesterday against the White Sox because of pain behind his right knee.

Rodriguez felt an ache behind the knee while running the bases Saturday and was run for by Ramiro Pena in the ninth inning. He discussed the situation with manager Joe Girardi and, though Rodriguez believed he was capable of being the designated hitter in the series finale yesterday against the White Sox, the decision was to not start him.

General manager Brian Cashman said that there are no structural problems and that the pain was probably muscle- or cramp-related. The problem is not considered serious and Girardi said Rodriguez “will be in the lineup” tonight against the Orioles.

And, more, via Will Carroll -

The Yankees are also watching A-Rod. He was given Sunday off after having some soreness behind his knee. It’s minor, but the Yankees will be careful with Rodriguez for the next couple days while they monitor the situation and make sure that the symptoms aren’t overlying something that could be significant.

No truth to the rumor that Rodriguez hurt the knee squatting behind Cameron Diaz…hiding from what he thought were FBI agents from Buffalo…

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When it comes to baseball caps, I’m down with what Frank Deford once said about them – they are the most familiar American artifact.

Driving home from the game yesterday, stopped dead in road resurfacing induced traffic on the southbound side of the New Jersey Turnpike, I glanced at my Yankees hat which was sitting in the front passenger seat next to me. (Why was it sitting there in the seat? Hey, it was a hot day and I was in my car a good distance from Yankee Stadium. No need to keep wearing the cap at this point, right?)

I always wear my Yankees hat when I attend games at the Stadium. Maybe twice in the last 13 years, or so, have I not worn a cap to a Yankees game. If I had to explain it, I would say it’s like a security blanket for my head. And, for sure, I’ve been known to pull it down over my eyes when I can’t stand what I’m seeing. And, to be candid, there’s just something about putting the hat back on after the playing of the National Anthem that makes me feel focused and mentally in “Game On!” position. Probably goes back to my playing days…placing a baseball cap on my head before taking the field was my own personal and internal way of locking down and saying “O.K., now, let’s get to work.”

In any event, looking at my cap, I thought about how long I’ve had this one. I remember very well when I got it. It was Opening Day 2003 – at Yankee Stadium. My Yankees hat, back then, before this current one, had seen better days. And, it was time for a new model. Besides that, it was the 100th anniversary year of the Yankees franchise and Hideki Matsui’s Grand Slam had me feeling really “Yankees good.” So, I made the spending splurge and picked up a new hat at the Stadium that day. (I can still hear my dad, who was with me, saying “You paid how much for that hat?”)

It’s funny – I’ve had sort of a love/hate relationship with this hat since I bought it (on Opening Day 2003). I love it because it’s a Yankees hat – and it’s my Yankees hat. But, at times, I’ve also semi-hated it because I thought it was jinxed in a way – considering all the bad things that happened to the Yankees in October (outside of the 2003 ALCS) since I discarded my old Yankees cap and started using this “new” one. Somehow, I felt that I put the whammy on the team with his hat exchange. But, not being 100% sure, I stuck with it.

Thank goodness for 2009. That proved that my hat switch had nothing to do with Yankees October misfortunes – and the 2003 World Series, 2004 ALCS, and the ALDS from 2005 through 2007, were not my hat’s fault. And, now, I can wear this one without any reservations and/or guilt.

Thinking about it all, further, now, I can’t believe that my Yankees hat is more than seven years old and entering it’s eighth season of use. Since I only wear it, for the most part, while attending Yankees games, it’s holding up pretty good. (I have other caps – many with some Yankees logo and the like – that I wear for just everyday knocking around. And, I don’t like to mess with my “gamer” by using it like any other ordinary hat.) I don’t see myself replacing this one for a while…

How about you? How old is your Yankees hat? Any story and/or feelings about it?

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So my friend and I decided to have a little fun during yesterdays game with a bottle of Jameson’s Irish Whiskey. For every run the Yankees scored, we were going to do a shot. You know what the score ended up being. Needless to say, that’s why I’m writing the recap today instead of last night.

Another recap? Another solid pitching performance and Cano mashing the ball. What can I say other than he is killing it.

Hughes had another dominant showing, allowing no runs, 4 hits with only 1 walk over 7 frames. I have to admit, he’s proving me wrong. I didn’t really think he’d have this much success this early. Kudos to you Mr. Hughes.

And don’t look now, but over the past 10 games Teixeira’s slash rates are .289/.413/.447 (Sure largely due to his 4 hit day during this game, but it’s time to be positive…it’s May)

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The Core Four is a phrase that has often been thrown around when discussing Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, Jorge Posada, and Andy Pettitte. I don’t remember when exactly people started referring to them as ‘The Core Four.’ I think Michael Kay had something to do with it.

It’s pretty self-explanatory how the name ‘The Core Four’ was created. Jeter, Rivera, Posada, and Pettitte have been important cornerstones on championship teams. They’ve played with each other for nearly two decades. There’s four players. It rhymes. It sounds good.

Last week, SI had a cover story on The Core Four. I’m sure you’ve all read the article by now and have seen the picture that headlines it. If you haven’t, it’s definitely worth a look.

With the advent of free agency and the inevitable pitfalls of age, it’s amazing that they have remained together for so long. Only a team like the Yankees would be able to consistently sign four superstar players to lengthy and expensive contracts. This wouldn’t – and couldn’t – happen in Kansas City or Cincinnati or Oakland.  Jeter, Posada, and Rivera are the only trio of teammates to play 16 consecutive seasons together – in any sport. Pettitte would be in there too if not for a three-year stint with the Astros from 2004-2006.

What makes the situation unique is that they all came up around the same time (they all debuted in 1995), they are all similar in age (Jeter is the youngest at 35, Rivera the oldest at 40), and they are all in the upper echilon of the game’s greats. Two of the four are sure-fire Hall of Famers (Jeter, Rivera), one (Posada) has a very good chance of being enshrined in Cooperstown, and one (Pettitte) has an outside shot.

I think Yankee fans tend to agree that Posada should be in the Hall of Fame. He has a career slash line of .278/.379/.482. He is a five-time All Star. He’s been on four World Championship teams. He has been extremely durable (he has caught 1,507 career games as of today). He also caught a perfect game. The case for Jorge Posada’s Hall-of-Fame candidacy is definitely strong.

But what really stands out is Posada’s comparatives to other catchers. Take a look at his OPS+ numbers in comparison to some other current and future Hall of Famers:

Mike Piazza- 142
Johnny Bench- 126
Jorge Posada- 125
Yogi Berra- 125
Carlton Fisk- 117
Gary Carter- 115
Ivan Rodriguez- 108

Posada’s OPS has been above the league average in every full season he has played, except 1999. This, while playing in one of the biggest offensive eras in the game’s history.

And unlike 99% of catchers, he has aged very well. Some would argue that he’s gotten better (offensively, not defensively) throughout his career. He had his best season in terms of OPS in 2007 (his age 35 season), and even though he’ll be 39 later this year, he is still hitting close to .300 with five homers and twelve RBI’s through his first 19 games of 2010.

Non-Yankee fans tend to believe that Posada just hasn’t been good enough to merit Hall of Fame enshrinement. He has never really been looked at as the best catcher in baseball. During the early part of his career, Pudge Rodriguez was the best. In the last few years, it’s been Joe Mauer. So it’s understandable why people don’t think he belongs in. He never has been dominant.

That said, I think he should be a Hall of Famer. And I think in time, he will get elected. I think the numbers speak for themselves – and he’s still not done yet.

Anyway, back to the main point. People always talk about how the Yankees of the early ’90′s were terrible. And they were. The emergence of guys like Jeter, Rivera, Posada, and Pettitte really allowed the team to erase their bad memories from the early ’90′s and transition into a period of dominance. But when you think about it, the struggles of the early ’90′s were necessary in order for the Yankees to obtain such good talent. Derek Jeter, for example, was a first-round pick (6th overall) in 1992. If the Yankees hadn’t had such an awful season in 1991, Jeter would have fallen into the hands of some other team.

Guys like Posada (24th round), Pettitte (22nd round), and Rivera (not even drafted, signed as a free agent in 1990) basically fell into the hands of the Yankees. Good scouting had a lot to do with it. But it’s amazing when you think about how many teams passed up on them.

And now here we are, close to twenty years after some of these guys were signed. The Core Four have remained together all this time (Pettitte took a vacation from 2004-2006). They are still putting up big numbers and have shown few signs of slowing down. Four players, five championships, sixteen seasons. One team.

I don’t think we’ll ever see this again.

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Some things I’m thinking about after attending today’s game…

…and I’ll let the fellas do the usual game recap and comment therein on the actual game once that’s up…

Tommy Bahama’s Bar. I don’t get it? Every time I happen to pass it inside the Stadium, it’s packed. Why? By this, I mean, why go all the way up to Yankee Stadium, buy a ticket to get into the game, and then spend your time there hanging out at Tommy Bahama’s Bar watching the game on the bar TVs and on the big screen in the Great Hall? Why not just watch the game at Moe’s Tavern, Kelcy’s Bar, the canteen at Deep Space Station K7, or whatever your local watering hole is, and save some money? If you’re going to Yankee Stadium, don’t you want to watch the game, live, in person, through your own unfiltered eyes?

Cupholders. All the seats at the new Yankee Stadium are equipped with cupholders. Then, why is it, every time I attend a game there, and sit in my two season ticket seats, there’s only one cupholder available to me within my two seats? Either the person to my left is using what should be my cupholder. Or, the person sitting to the right of the my game mate is using the wrong cupholder – forcing my game mate to use my cupholder and leaving me without one. Is there some ballpark cupholder etiquette that’s being ignored here? Or, is the rule of thumb on cupholders, in Yankeeland, that there’s no rules and it’s first come, first grab, and, if that leaves you “S.O.L” then dem’s the breaks?

Fans of the opposing team. It seems more and more often at Yankee Stadium, large amounts of fans of the opposing team are making the pilgrimage to the new Yankee Stadium and representing their colors, etc. I would say it’s more more prevalent than it was in the 1970′s and ’80′s. And, in the last half-dozen years or so it’s really happening a lot. At today’s game, there were four Chisox fans sitting to my direct right – two women and two younger guys. (I’m assuming the fellas were sons or nephews or something of the women.) Much to my good fortune, these four – while passionate fans – were extremely polite and friendly. We talked a bit during the game. And, they seemed to enjoy witnessing my son, who’s six, having a good time at the ballpark (with his dad). It’s infrequent that you run into fans of the opposing team at Yankee Stadium who behave in a good-natured manner while watching the game. And, when you do, and share some time with them, as you experience the game, it’s a flat-out pleasure. Unification via baseball is sweet. It’s a shame that it doesn’t happen more often.

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Note this picture, taken at today’s game, about 70 minutes into the contest…lots of patches of “blue” to be seen in the pricey seats. And, today was a warm wonderful Sunday in N.Y.C., to boot.

Click on the picture to enlarge.

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As the headline states, Baseball America wrote a nice little story about how Yanks 2B prospect David Adams (AA-Trenton) is advancing as a hitter in his second pro season.

Taken in the third round of the 2008 draft out of Virginia, the 22-year-old has played his way to Double-A Trenton in little more than two seasons.”Everybody who has seen him play second base, there is no question he can play there,” personnel director Billy Eppler said. “There is no question he can play there at a high level.”

Adams kicked off the season with a lively bat, going 19-for-53 (.358) with two homers and six doubles in his first 14 games.

In addition to a solid righthanded bat and the ability to turn a double play, Adams has another tool: intelligence.

“He is a real smart player,” Eppler said of Adams, who played for his father Dale at Grandview Prep in Boca Raton, Fla. “That’s the thing you notice about him.”

Almost immediately after Adams signed, the Yankees went to work on his swing.

“He has a lot of aptitude and is strong and athletic,” Eppler said. “He has been able to implement the adjustments (roving hitting instructor) James Rowson asked him to make.”

Granted it’s always nice to see something positive written about Yankee prospects, I still don’t buy into the theory that Adams can be much more than a utility infielder in the big leagues.   There’s certainly no shame in that — any player that graduates the farm system is a feather in the organization’s cap — it’s just that I get the distinct feeling that Yankee fans are going to start gushing about Adams in a way not necessarily befitting the quality of prospect that he might truly be.  After all, John Sickels grades Adams as a C+ and BA ranked him 22nd in their annual top-30 team-by-team publication.

A dissenting view is held by Keith Law, who listed Adams as the team’s 9th-best prospect, although that doesn’t really tell us if Adams is good or if K-Law thinks the Yanks’ system is none too deep…

Baseball America subscribers can read the full story here.

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I’ll be attending the rubber game of the Chisox-Yanks series today. It will be my first time to the Stadium this year – so, I’m looking forward to going up to the big ballpark in the Bronx. Although it’s going to be strange wearing just shorts and a T-Shirt to a game being played on May 2nd in New York. (Yesterday, believe it or not, my family and I went to the beach and the kids dug in the sand and played at the foot of the incoming waves – on May 1st!)

And, I’m very interested in seeing Chicago’s Mark Buehrle in person. He’s a Ray Miller dream: Work Fast, Throw Strikes, Change Speeds.  All pitchers should be this way, in my humble opinion.

But, on the whole, Buehrle has not done very well when facing the Yankees:

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Will today continue this trend for Buehrle? Or, will it not? We’ll know…pretty soon.

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The Ozzie and Swishalicious Show is still looking for a happy ending. Via the Chicago Tribune -

The White Sox expected bigger things from Nick Swisher in 2008, when they traded three young players for him.

Swisher was dealt to the Yankees before the following season after batting .219 and not having a true position available for him.

The Sox were well-aware of Swisher’s outgoing nature that could be viewed as being self-absorbed, especially after one incident in which he showed his bobblehead doll to his teammates in the clubhouse.

Sox manager Ozzie Guillen took note of Swisher pumping his right arm after hitting a two-run home run in the sixth inning that put the New York Yankees ahead. But the Sox rallied for a 7-6 win, and Guillen had a quick answer when asked about Swisher’s gesture.

“That’s the way he is,” Guillen said. “Good for him. Enjoy it. I wish he could do it for me, he was a very horse(bleep) player for me.”

Maybe “Horse(bleep) Player” is big league manager code for “low BABIP“?

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I can’t believe it has taken me over 4 months to see this one, but, last night, I caught the Yankeeography on the 2009 season (for the first time). Man, was it good. Very well done. I later found out that it’s available on DVD too – entitled “New York Yankees 2009 – Season of Pride, Traditions & Glory.” It’s just as good as those year-end VHS summaries that MSG used to do.

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I went for a jog this morning, came home, made lunch, sat down to watch the game and promptly took a long afternoon nap.  Basically I was awake long enough to see Javier Vazquez serve up two homers to Andruw Jones and then saw the Yanks come back from a two-run deficit with Swisher’s three-run shot in the 6th inning.  The rest of the details of the game…  Let’s just say I’m not sorry I was dozing in and out.  This game sucked.

Yanks lose 7-6 thanks to Vazquez’s ineffectiveness early and Robertson’s inneffectiveness late.  I won’t even deign to do the usual “Good/Bad” recap because of how cruddy this game was.

(It wouldn’t be an “MJ” post, however, if I didn’t point out that the White Sox’ run in the top of the second inning was exclusively the fault of a certain catcher who shall remain nameless but who has made a name for himself with his inability to move his feet in order to block balls.  If Catcher X blocks the wild pitch, the runner doesn’t advance and then the following pitch ends up being a 4-6-3 DP.  Every run saved counts, especially when you end up losing by one.  Tony Pena, any time you’re ready to give Catcher X a refresher course on backstop defense, we’re all ready for it).

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Eight of the last twenty-one batters that David Robertson has faced have come around to score. Granted, it’s a small sample size – five games – but, that ratio is scary. If Mark Melancon gets into a game in the next couple of days, and does well, it could mean a trip to Triple-A for Robertson.

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Curtis Granderson has a Grade II strain to his left groin and was placed on the 15-day disabled list. (Since Javy Vazquez brought cause for the Yankees to use Sergio Mitre and Alfredo Aceves in the same game today, and it seems that New York doesn’t trust Phil Hughes to go deep into tomorrow’s game, Mark Melancon will replace Granderson on the Yankees roster – at least for now.)

This is the first trip to the D.L. for Granderson since 2008 when he missed a month due to a fractured right hand. His only other extended time missed came in 2004 when he was out for two weeks with a sprained left ankle.

When it comes to groin strain grades, here’s how it works:

Grade I—A minor stretch of the muscle which results in some discomfort, but normal everyday activity is not significantly impaired.

Grade II—A more severe stretch and possible partial tear to the groin muscle. A Grade II groin injury is considerably more painful. Also, activity may be limited due to the pain, bruising, and swelling.

Grade III—A severe tear of the muscle, pain from which can limit even the smallest movements. A Grade III injury often produces marked bruising, muscle spasms, and severe swelling.

The Angels’ Torii Hunter had something like this last season and missed close to six weeks. It’s probably safe to expect Granderson to miss 4-6 weeks with this injury today. Then again, only those who have gone through this know what it’s like to have a groin injury…

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Right about now, I’m not even sure that Vazquez could beat a baseball team made out of the Emma Willard School (for girls) May Pole Dancers…and, no, I don’t mean the exciting pole dancers…

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Yup. Unlike the movie Daredevil, this is a true story. Via Bob Raissman:

What’s up with Reggie Jackson?

Twice last week, the Hall of Famer took it upon himself to telephone Chris (Mad Dog) Russo’s Sirius/XM afternoon show to defend Alex Rodriguez.

Jackson was offended when Russo torched A-Rod (Reggie refers to him as “Al”) for crossing the mound and showing up A’s pitcher Dallas Braden. The dialogue between Doggie and Jax produced hot radio but didn’t distract from the pathetic nature of this sour gab session.

On Monday the mighty Jackson, for reasons known only to him, decided to reduce himself to the role of A-Rod’s whimpering water waiter, spinning like a top for the Yankees third baseman. Jackson said if any other player crossed the mound, Russo, or other critics, would not have said one word.

“The only reason you’re upset is Al did it,” Jackson said. “… Now my boy Al gets in there and they all want to bang him. I’ve never heard of it (the “unwritten” rule of the mound being off limits).”

When Russo read quotes from Tom Seaver and Jim Kaat (both said crossing the mound was a no-no) Jackson went into the whole “I have tremendous respect for them” line, quickly adding “but I’ve never heard of it.” Russo dug in, bringing up Kaat and Seaver’s words at least four times.

Reggie continued stonewalling. He was good, offering enough non-answers to make those boys from Goldman Sachs envious.

Then, just like “Al,” Reggie went after Braden.

“You don’t have as many innings (pitched) as Al has home runs,” Jackson said. “I don’t even know the kid’s name … If you (Braden) had a problem you should have walked up to Al and punched him in the nose.”

Tuesday, Jackson phoned in after Russo inferred Reggie is a guy suffering from the disease of me. “I’m your friend,” Jackson said. “You can’t be banging me.”

Well, at the least, this addresses the question of “Who listens to Mad Dog Russo anymore?” Apparently, the answer is: “Reggie.”

Update: Here’s a YouTube clip of Reggie and Mad Dog going at it –

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I used to do a 10 Game Rewind in my previous blogging career that basically recapped every 10 game span the Yankees had.  At the moment, I am incredibly busy and can’t possibly do that for every 10 games the Yankees have, but I figure I can do it for each month.  So here we go…

A Month in Review: The April Edition

First, Mr. Lombardi expected the Yankees to go 13-9 this month.

April Record: 15-7 (@ BOS, 2-3; @ TB, 2-3; vs LAA, 2-3; vs TEX, 3-0; @ OAK, 2-3; @ LAA, 1-2; @ BAL 2-1; vs CWS 1-0)

Season Standings: Tampa Bay (17-6); New York (15-7); Toronto (12-12); Boston (11-12); Baltimore (5-18)

Team Offense: .816 OPS

The Good

• Robinson Cano–I will honestly be shocked–SHOCKED–if Cano is not the Player of the Month for April.  His 1-4 game last night brought his average down to .400.  There are 4 separate Yankee regulars whose slugging percentages are lower than Cano’s batting average.  Also, not only is he hitting everything thrown to him, but he is hitting everything thrown to him well.  In addition to the obscenely high average, he is slugging .765 with 14 extra base hits including 8 home runs.  Cano’s OPS+ is 225.
• Jorge Posada–Posada is having a nice start to the 2010 season.  Right now he is sitting with a line of .310/.394/.638.  His OPS+ is 180.  He is having a difficult time behind the plate, but honestly, if he keeps hitting the way he has been, I can forgive him for most of his defensive woes.
• Derek Jeter–Jeter had an excellent April finale last night driving in the tying and winning runs.  In addition, his 3 hits last night made him the active hit leader surpassing Griffey Jr.  Overall, Jeter finished up the month with a .330 average and 4 home runs.  At the moment, it seems very likely that Jeter’s 2010 campaign will be just as good as his 2009 season.  Yes, yes very early and all that.  Whatever.

The Bad

• Mark Teixeira–Yankee fans were hoping that an MVP caliber 2009 season and a World Championship would mean that Teixeira would get off to a good start this year.  Well, his April woes continued.  First, he had the worst start of his career by opening the season 0-19.  For the entire month, he batted .136 and he slugged .259.  Seriously, his slugging percentage is .259.  At least he has taken 17 walks so he isn’t completely useless.
• Curtis Granderson–After a very promising opening series in Boston, Granderson hasn’t done much of anything.  For the month of April he has a .221/.310/.377 line.  In addition, he splits are the same as last season.  He is batting .172/.200/.241 against lefty pitching.  He should perhaps sit against a few of them, instead of Brett Gardner.  I fully expect his numbers to return to his career norms.
• Nick Johnson–Yes, Nick Johnson has a .383 on base percentage, but that is almost entirely due to his 21 walks.  His batting average is .138.  So yes, Nick Johnson is extraordinarily selective, but as MJ pointed out earlier this month, it is entirely possible that he is too selective.  I’m not advocating free swinging, but if every once in a while he could swing at meatball pitch and get a hit–possibly extra bases, possibly moving a runner an extra base–instead of taking the walk, I would be happy.

Team Pitching–3.55 ERA

The Good

• The Starters sans Vazquez–Normally, I would list specific pitchers, but really, the entire rotation is rocking with one notable exception.  Sabathia, Burnett, Pettitte, and Hughes are a combined 11-1.  That one loss came in a complete game (8 innings) 3 ER effort by Sabathia.  Sabathia’s ERA is the highest of the four with 3.12.
• Mariano Rivera–Yep, he is still Mariano Rivera.  He only pitched 9 innings, but his ERA is still hanging out at 0.00.  He has more strikeouts, 9, than base runners, 5.

The Bad

• Javier Vazquez–He won’t end the season with an ERA of 9.00, but it probably wasn’t a good thing for him to start that way.  Vazquez having a slow start, is not like Teixeira having a slow start.  Yankee fans know that Teixeira will hit for them.  Yankee fans do not know if Vazquez will pitch for them.  Yankee fans only remember 2004, and really they only remember the 2nd half of 2004 and one gut-wrenching grand slam.  I trust that he will get his ERA down to a respectable number, but I fear Yankee fans will do everything in their power to make that a difficult task.  If Vazquez gives up an infield single in the first inning today, he will be booed.
• David Robertson–Robertson did not start 2010 where he left 2009.  His ERA is chilling at the lovely 10.80.  Luckily, this is only in 7 games and 5 innings of work, so it will hopefully improve.

Odds and Ends

• I rather like Francisco Cervelli.  I think he is an excellent back up catcher, and if he keeps hitting the way he has been, he could maybe be an excellent everyday catcher.
• Brett Gardner has been a nice surprise this season.  People were a little afraid that he wouldn’t be able to hold his own as a regular, but, in this small sample size, he is showing them wrong.  His slugging is only .385, but his value comes from getting on base–which he does–stealing bases–which he does–and taking those extra bases–which he does.
• Marcus Thames has been a very good bench player.  He is simply killing lefties so far this year.  But seriously, what is up with the pronunciation and spelling of his name?  They don’t mesh.
• Chan Ho Park is still hanging out on the DL.  After a recent MRI, it appears that his hamstring injury is exactly the same as it was a couple of weeks ago.  Who knows when he will return.

So, until next month…

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I’ll call this a law of averages game for Pettitte. He was due to have a start where he had nothing, and this was just that. Even despite that though, Andy still grinded out 6 innings allowing only 4 runs. It was the kind of start that Roger Clemens would gush over.

Is it just me, or does anyone else think “the shift” would work on Cano? Seems like he pulls everything to the right side in the infield. He does go the other way but when he does it’s usually in the air to the outfield.

The best part of the game, to me, was Brett Gardner’s pure mental dominance of Freddy Garcia in the 5th. Everyone in the building knew that Gardner was going to take off for 2nd during the Derek Jeter at bat. Garcia threw over to 1st at least 4 times. But, you can’t throw over there forever and on the 1-0 pitch Gardner stole 2nd by a mile. Really, he could have probably gone into 2nd standing up. This caused Garcia some mental anguish and prompted him to serve up a tater to Jeter. Just..awesome. Color me a Gardner fan.

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Heading into this month, I thought that it would be reasonable, all things considered, if the Yankees went 13-9 for the month of April.

And, in reality, the Yankees went 15-7 – which is two wins better than I expected. Nice.

And, that warrants giving the Yankees an eagle for the month of April 2010.

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