Anyone know the over/under on how long until she dumps Looney Bin Jim and hooks up with A-Rod?

Com’on, you know Alex…and this is just waiting to happen.

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Via the Daily News -

Brian Cashman was in his Yankee Stadium office Monday, plodding through the heap of administrative work that a general manager must sort through in preparation for the winter ahead.

One item not on that agenda was Cashman’s own contract, as the GM and the Yankees had not yet started talks on a new deal.

“My contract runs until Oct.31; I don’t have any expectations,” Cashman said. “We don’t currently have plans to meet and there’s no flights to Tampa. I’m doing my job, but there are no conversations. I’m fine with all of it.”

Despite recent reports that the two sides were close to a deal, Cashman said, “None of that’s true,” and that he and the Yankees “haven’t had any talks whatsoever.”

Cashman is finishing up a three-year, $6 million contract, though both he and team ownership have said publicly for months that they would like the relationship to continue beyond this season.

A source with knowledge of the Yankees’ thinking said the team will likely sit down with Cashman “sometime next week” and hammer out the details of the deal.

“I don’t see any issues,” the source said. “They should get it done pretty quickly. I don’t think it’s going to be any big deal.”

Wonderful.

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“Bald Vinny” is hanging them up. I guess he doesn’t want to be the next Freddy Sez?

I went to the last Friday home game this season – the one that was called just after it was scheduled to start and then rescheduled for Sunday night (against the Red Sox). And, I parked in the River Avenue garage.

While I was inside the Stadium, someone stuck a hard flyer under my windshield wipers (in the garage) – which I didn’t notice until I pulled out of the garage (after the game was called).

Of course, since it was raining, and I was driving in the South Bronx, in the dark, I didn’t elect to pull it off my car – and the damn thing stuck to my windshield during the whole ride home.

The next morning, I noticed that most of it had emulsified into pulp stuck on my car – but, there was still enough of it left for me to tell that the flyer had BaldVinny.com and SwishersWishes.com (or something like that) on it.

In the end, it left a mark on the windshield – that’s still there now. (I guess I can try and Windex if off or something.)

So, I suppose that will be my final “Bald Vinny” Stadium memory…at least until I figure out how to get that ink stain off my windshield.

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Anyone see what Nelson Cruz and Albert Pujols did in Games 2 of their LCS? They powered their teams to victory.

Too bad we can’t grab A-Rod and Teixeira by their collars and make them watch the highlights of that and tell them “See? That’s how it’s done!”

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I would like to wish all my friends at Was Watching a joyous Tom Tresh Day.  So celebrate your Yankees fandom accordingly this holiday.   What? Columbus who? Don’t know him.   Just where was he on this date in 1962?  I know where Tom Tresh was:

Yankee Stadium, Game 5 of the World Series, played before a crowd of over 63,000 (yeah, this was the old old stadium).

The Series was tied up at 2 games apiece between the Yankees and the Giants—and with games 6 and 7 to be played in windy Candlestick Park a win today was seen as critical for the Bombers.  Could they pull it off?

The pitching match-ups of aces Ralph Terry (23-12 regular season) and Jack Sanford (24-7) was a rematch of Game 2 when Sanford bested Terry 2-0 on a 3 hit shutout, so runs would probably be at a premium.   And, as it turned out, they were.

The day did not start out well for Tresh and the Yankees.  The rookie came to bat in the bottom of the 1st with Richardson and Kubek on 1st and 2nd with none out and hit a line shot—right at Sanford, who stuck out his glove ,  snagged the ball, and flipped it to McCovey to catch Richardson off 1st.  Double Play.  The Yankees would not score.   But the Giants pushed a run across in the 3rd to take a 1-0 lead.   That was the score when Tresh came to bat to lead off the 4th inning and promptly doubled.  He was moved to 3rd on a ground out and then scampered home on a Sanford wild pitch to tie the game at 1-1.     But a Jose Pagan solo shot in the 5th put the Giants back on top 2-1.   The Yankees mounted their comeback (of sorts) one inning later.  Richardson led off with a single.  Tom Tresh laid down a sac bunt (yep #3 hitter sacrifices) to move Richardson to 2nd.  Richardson then moved to 3rd on a Mantle ground out and then, with Sanford facing Maris, the Giant ace unleashed a pitch that catcher Tom Haller couldn’t handle.   Passed Ball.  Game tied again 2-2.   And that was the score going into the bottom of the 8th when Tom Tresh came to the plate with Richardson and Kubek on 1st and 2nd again.  Only this time Sanford wouldn’t catch the ball hit off Tresh’s bat.  Neither would Felipe Alou.  It would be caught by some nameless, lucky Yankees fan in  the Right Field seats cheering hoarsely as Tresh rounded the bases with a 3 run homer.  5-2 Yankees.  What a moment!  And as the Giants went on to score a run in their half of the 9th and then went on to beat Whitey Ford in Game 6 it was perhaps a turning point in the Series.  Yes Ralph Terry got the win.  But the day, October 10th,  belonged to Tom Tresh.

You know the rest.  Terry and Sanford matched up a 3rd time in Game 7.  McCovey’s liner to Richardson in the bottom of the 9th with two outs, the score 1-0,  and runners on 2nd and 3rd.   And the Yankees are Champions.

I was 7 years old when the Yankees won that World Series.

I would be 22 when they won their next.

Such was my childhood.

Happy Tom Tresh Day to all!

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Next time someone tells you that the Yankees cannot live without Nick Swisher next season, tell them to check these numbers:

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And…

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Last season, Swisher was between Jeff Francoeur and Torii Hunter in terms of production. And, over the last three years, he was between Michael Cuddyer and Ben Zobrist.

Nick Swisher is a nice player. He’s not a great player. And, he can be replaced, if the Yankees opt to make that call.

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Anyone see what Prince Fielder and Ryan Braun did in Game 1 of the 2011 NLCS? They just wrecked the Cardinals.

Too bad we can’t grab A-Rod and Teixeira by their collars and make them watch the highlights of that and tell them “See? That’s how it’s done!”

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Here’s how the Yankees have done over the past 10 seasons:

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And, here’s how the Atlanta Braves did in the first 10 years of their “post-season run” -

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So, have the Post-2001 Yankees become the Atlanta Braves of the 1990′s? 

You can make a case for it – both reached the post-season 9 out of 10 times and only won one ring.

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I just finished reading Ralph Branca’s A Moment in Time: An American Story of Baseball, Heartbreak, and Grace.

It’s a wonderful story.  To so many, Branca is only known, unfairly, as the pitcher who allowed Bobby Thomson’s “Shot Heard ’Round the World.” However, as we learn reading this book, there’s so much more to his baseball career and life.

Branca was pitching in the majors when he was 18-years old. As a 19-year old, albeit in a handful of games, he was excelling in the big leagues. And, at the ages of 21, 22 and 23, Ralph was an All-Star and a MVP candidate. Then, after allowing the homerun to Thomson, in the following Spring, he suffered a freak accident and his career was derailed. However, he kept fighting to still pitch in the game that he loved so much.

One thing that I truly enjoyed about Branca’s A Moment in Time, was that it captured what is was like to grow-up in the ’40′s and play in the major leagues, and in New York, in the 1940′s and 1950′s. For example, Branca was there when Jackie Robinson broke into the big leagues – and Ralph was a Robinson supporter, and a good friend, to Jackie, right until Robinson’s death.

But, what I enjoyed most was learning about Ralph Branca, the man. He is extremely elegant and you cannot come away from A Moment in Time without realizing this to be true – especially when you learn how Branca kept quiet for many, many, years after learning about how the Giants were stealing signs in 1951.

Branca is now 85-years old. And, we’re so lucky that he’s taken the time to share his story. I highly recommend Ralph Branca’s A Moment in Time: An American Story of Baseball, Heartbreak, and Grace to baseball fans of any team and of all ages.

For more on the book/story, click here.

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Interesting words from Mike Lupica on the state of the Yankees -

Lately the progression goes like this: Win World Series in 2009, lose ALCS in 2010, lose in first round in 2011. But Randy Levine, who never does too well trying to channel George Steinbrenner as much as he wants to act and sound like a boss (lower-case “b”), still called his team’s season “a bitter disappointment.”

Actually, it is quite normal, if you put it into current historical context.

The Yankees always win a ton of games during the regular season and make the playoffs every year out-spending the competition by a lot – every year – and then are more likely to lose in the first round than they are to make the World Series. It is the way they are built and will continue to be built because Hal Steinbrenner seems perfectly happy to watch the money roll in under the current management.

Somehow that management still talks as if it is 1996-2000 and Joe Torre is still the manager and the Yankees of that time – still working off a blueprint created by Gene Michael – always seemed to find a way to win the game they lost Thursday night to the Tigers.

Only this team is not that team despite the way they always invoke the spirit of the dead Boss. This operation is not the old one that actually built a Yankee dynasty.

If it was the old operation, maybe there would be more accountability for the “failure” to reach a goal that they make sound like an inherited right:

The winning of the World Series. And that means winning more than one in 11 years.

But the most dramatic thing the Yankees do, other than sign more free-agent stars, is change pitching coaches once in a while. They make the playoffs with amazing consistency, year after year. Make boatloads of money. Then they make the Series about as often as a lot of other people in baseball, even as they talk about how special they are.

They continue to have the biggest financial advantage of any team in any professional sport and feast on bad teams and bad pitching and always make the playoffs. You bet. They are a playoff-making dynasty. Just not a Yankee dynasty. It means they are the modern version of the Atlanta Braves of the 90s. Only those Braves made the Series a lot more than the Yankees have over this past decade.

“Oh, they destroy secondary pitching,” a manager from out of their division said Friday night. “They destroy fourth and fifth guys in the rotation and then the guys who replace those guys in the fourth and fifth innings. Only they don’t get to face pitchers like that in the playoffs, at least not outside of blowout games.”

The guy continued, “You know what they need? They need more guys like Brett Gardner. More tough guys like that. But they keep getting away from the essence of who they were once. They can’t wait to get rid of old guys like Posada and Jeter. But when they’re all gone, and Rivera is gone, they’ll be further away from their essence, the thing that made them great in the late 90s, than ever.”

I agree with everything that Lupica writes here. How about you?

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The wins by the Cardinals and Brewers yesterday were just crazy.  Add the Tigers nipping the Yankees by a run in their Game Five to that – and we had three LDS this year going down to the 5th game, and being decided by a run (each).

Putting Yankees fandom aside for a moment, and just looking at all this as a baseball fan, I have to say “Holy Smucking Foke!” 

It’s a shame that the Rays couldn’t push the Rangers to a Game Five too.  Now, that would have been something.

So, no Yankees, Rays, Phillies – or Red Sox – in this post-season now.  Ditto the D-backs – and Braves and Giants.  Who would have saw that back in August?

It’s left to the Tigers and Rangers, and, the Cardinals and Brewers. 

I hope that both LCS go seven games – and the World Series too.  Again, as a baseball fan, this could be a post-season for the ages.

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Check out these three slices of Alex Rodriguez’ post-season production as a member of the New York Yankees:

Pre-2009:

• 24 Games
• 113 PA
• 94 AB
• .245 BA
• .436 SLG
• 4 HR
• 22 SO

2009:

• 15 Games
• 68 PA
• 52 AB
• .365 BA
• .808 SLG
• 6 HR
• 13 SO

Post-2009:

• 14 Games
• 61 PA
• 50 AB
• .180 BA
• .220 SLG
• 0 HR
• 12 SO

2009 is starting to look like a fluke, no?

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Maybe I’m really tired, or looking forward to the weekend starting – and the plans I have for the next few days; but, I’m starting to feel less “stung” by the Yankee loss last night – and beginning to put the whole thing in the rear-view mirror and closing the book on the 2011 season.  How about you?

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At least Sori’s came in a win.

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The game started at 8:07 PM and it was 2-0 Tigers by 8:10 PM. Talk about a quick punch to the gut. Ugh.

In the end, those two runs were important – as the Yankees lost, 3-2. But, the Yankees offense was a joke in this one – as one of their two runs was set up by two infield singles and a bases loaded walk.

And, to me, the key to this game, for the Yankees, was that aforementioned bases loaded situation. Just before that walk (to Teixiera) to force in the run, A-Rod was up at bat (with the sacks juiced) and there was only one out. In that situation, he has to get a run home – him being the clean-up batter, it being a sudden-death playoff game, it being the seventh inning, and the Yankees were down by two runs (at that time). He has to get the ball into the outfield. A hit would be great – but, a sac-fly would have been fine. But, Rodriguez stuck out.

It would be A-Rod’s theme for the night – as he went down on strikes three times, out of four trips to the plate, including the “K” to end the game, and the season, for the Yankees.

Rodriguez batted, and slugged, .111 for the ALDS – what a total dud. Where’s Anthony Galea when you need him?

Then again, Mark Teixeira and Nick Swisher were busts this ALDS too, for the most part, just like they’ve been in every post-season where they’ve played for the Yankees. Hey, they’re really nice guys, great for the media, and do a ton of wonderful charity work. And, they kill crappy pitching during the regular season. But, when it comes to October baseball, they suck. And, having A-Rod, Tex and Swish batting in a row is a huge “gimmie” to the opposing team. Chokers and whiff-masters. Not winning players.

In any event, this was a close game, whether it was 3-1 or 3-2, late in the contest. And, in my heart, I was hoping for a 2003 ALCS-like ending. As long as the Yankees kept it to a run or two, I sincerely felt like they had a chance to send everyone home walking on air. I knew that it was going to have to be Jeter, Granderson, Cano, Posada, Gardner – or maybe Martin – to get the job done. (And, Jeter came sorta/kinda close in the 8th inning.)

There was no way that the Yankees were going to lose this one, Game 5 of an ALDS, at Yankee Stadium, against the Tigers bullpen, just scoring two runs. No way. And, I think that most in the Stadium felt that way.

Yeah, the Yankees blew a chance in the 4th inning – bases loaded with one out. (And, Martin and then Gardner popped up.) But, there was just a feeling in the crowd – at least in my section – that something was going to happen in the 7th, 8th or 9th inning…

It couldn’t have just been me that felt this way, or, was it?

Once Cano homered in the fifth, getting the Yanks within two, I really, really, thought “As long as we don’t allow any more runs, we’re going to catch up and tie this game.” But, no dice.

I have to say, the place was packed – 50,960 were there.

In the top of the 5th inning, I quickly ran from my seat to go get a hot pretzel. (The stand is right behind my seats.) And, I saw a monster line. At first, I had no idea what the line was for – and then I realized what it was…it was a line just to get into the men’s room. It was a huge line – again, just to get into the restroom. I’m used to seeing that at the old Yankee Stadium. But, in all the times that I’ve been to the new Yankee Stadium – and it must be around 15 times that I’ve gone – I’ve never seen that before…

When A-Rod went down on strikes to end the game, they place emptied out – fast. It was like cockroaches fleeing when someone turned on a light. And, it was quiet. Even outside the Stadium, it seemed like everyone – the street vendors included – just wanted to get the hell out of there, as fast as possible.

Well, it was late – around 11:50 PM – at that point. And, that could have been in play here. (For the record, I didn’t get home until 1:35 AM.) But, I think that everyone was just sick that the Yankees lost this game and wanted to run home.

Before I left my seat, I did take a quick look at the Tigers celebrating on the field after the A-Rod whiff to end it. And, it was sickening to see them jumping around on the Yankee Stadium turf. (I even muttered out-loud, to myself, as I left my seat “Sure, act like you just won the World Series, why don’t you? Geez…”)

It’s hard to capture what it felt like to be there for this one. It was exciting before the game. Confident. There was little doubt that the Yankees wouldn’t win this one. After Nova allowed the two homers in the first, so quickly, it was “What the f*ck?” time – but, that went away as the Yankees kept the game close. And, there was still a ton of hope…when the bases were loaded in the 4th, when Cano homered in the 5th, when the bases were loaded in the 7th…after Gardner singled in the 8th…

The crowd was trying to will something into happening. But, no cigar.

Being there, and watching it in person, just made you feel dirty afterwards. Like you had been used. And, it is going to take more than a shower to make that feeling go away. Hell, as I write this, it’s almost eight hours after the game ended and I still feel sick to my stomach over this one.

It’s not 1995, 1997, 2001, 2003 or 2004 sick. But, it’s worse than 2002, 2005, 2006, 2007 or 2010 sick. Maybe because it was at home and so close? Maybe it’s because I was there in person?

Driving home, I was listening to the post-game on 880 and then WFAN after that. And, I heard Jeter keep using the word “disappointing.” That is an understatement. The Yankees should not have lost this game – and this series. But, they did. And, now, they, and we, have to live with it.

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I’ll be at the game tonight – and expect to get in too late to comment on it, right after it ends.  So, feel free to use this post to leave your in-game and post-game comments.  I should have something up on the game on Friday.

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Today, on his WFAN show, Mike Francesa said that New Yorkers (and I assume this can be carried out to all Yankees fans) don’t feel the same way about this current Yankees team (and I assume he means the 2005-2011 squads) the way they felt about the Yankees of the late ’90s (and I assume he means the 1996-2001 teams). He said that these current teams don’t “strike a chord” like the older teams and that fans don’t “live and die on every pitch” now the way that they did in the late ’90′s.

Francesa suggested that this could have something to do with 1996 being such a special season in Yankeeland.

So, what do you think? Do Yankees fans feel different about the more recent Yankees than the last great Yankees squad (from the late ’90s)? And, if so, why?

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Anyone else have any fears about Miggy Cabrera, or another Tigers player, wrecking the game for the Yankees tonight like these guys (below) did in the past?

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Or, are you confident that the Yankees will be able to stay away from someone being a one-man nightmare this evening?

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Here’s the ones before tonight -

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Yanks have only lost one of these in my lifetime. I hope they maintain that this evening.

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On December 11, 2008, the San Diego Padres claimed Ivan Nova from the New York Yankees in the Rule 5 Draft.  He was then returned to the Yankees on March 29, 2009.

Just imagine how the Yankees 2011 season, and tonight, would have been if the Padres had not returned him…

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I think there’s a point here.  “Great catches” set up by bad reads, late jumps, and breaking the wrong way?  It’s possible…very, very, possible.

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This is a great read on John Sterling. 

At some point, the Yankees are going to pull the plug on him.  I just wonder who will get his job…

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Via Joel Sherman today -

…in his final 10 starts of the regular season, [CC] Sabathia had a 4.06 ERA and a .316 batting average against. He then did not distinguish himself in Monday night’s Game 3 either. No pitcher has thrown more innings the past five years than Sabathia. Plus, after losing weight for spring training, Sabathia seemed to put it all back and more during the season — a troubling sign since this was a walk year and, generally in walk years, players get in the best shape possible.

His bulk of innings and body would make even the remaining four years worrisome. One Yankee official said of Sabathia, “he’s got a troublesome body.”

When asked directly yesterday about Sabathia’s size, Yankees GM Brian Cashman said, “I don’t think this is the right time to talk about this stuff.”

Asked generally if he was worried about Sabathia’s late-season fade, Cashman said, “No, I don’t look at two months, especially since there were factors like we were using a six-man rotation. He’s one of the better pitchers in the game. I hope he stays, but really it is a conversation for another day.”

Of course, the Yankees already have begun the conversation, internally registering the lack of available aces to replace Sabathia should he leave.

As crazy as it sounds, I would let Sabathia walk at the end of the year if he opts out. Yes, short-term, it means a huge (no pun intended) hole in the Yankees rotation. But, long-term, it’s probably the right thing to do.

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Amazing, huh?  I like the Yankees chances in that one. Nova on full rest.  Back in the Bronx.  Tigers have to be thinking  “We really didn’t want to come back here.”

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Don’t push it Joe…

This is a gift.  Don’t keep trying to milk the same cow forever…

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Let’s hope that this evening is not a case of “First you mime it, then you do it” for A.J. Burnett. And, that he doesn’t join these notable “efforts” in Yankees history:

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Via Joel Sherman -

Brian Cashman insisted it was “not a guarantee,” yet the Yankees general manager repeated several times this morning that “I expect to win the next two games” and advance to the ALCS.

The Yankees face elimination Tuesday night with Detroit leading this best-of-five Division Series two-games-to-one. But, of all things, the loss that put the Yankees on the brink actually has Cashman encouraged about the abilities and mental makeup of his squad.

“(Justin) Verlander had Nolan Ryan stuff and we figured out a way to score four runs and be in that game,” Cashman told The Post by phone. “This team is tough. Verlander was amazing last night and what we did against him was amazing, too. I know we lost, but I think we have a mentally tough team. I know it is not a good spot to be down two-to-one, but this team is tougher than people think. I believe in our guys. It is not a good spot, but I believe we will win the next two games.”

Verlander, after the first inning of Game 3, locked in with all four of his pitches, particularly bedeviling the Yankees with a fastball in the 96-101 mph range and with a curveball that was buckling knees one hitter after another. Yet Brett Gardner’s two-run double in the seventh tied the score before Rafael Soriano served up a game-deciding homer to Delmon Young in the bottom of the inning in what became a 5-4 Detroit triumph.

“It was spectacular what we did against Verlander,” Cashman said. “It is an indicator that we are not going away. That we are going to be tough to put down – and I don’t expect us to be put down.”

However, to survive, the Yankees have to first win in Detroit on Tuesday night with A.J. Burnett simply to get back to The Bronx for a decisive game Thursday.

“It’s A.J. and everybody else,” Cashman said, speaking of the bullpen being on instant alert for Game 4. “If everything is working for him, (Burnett) will be tough on the Tigers. If not, I will expect Phil Hughes (to relieve) and be on. Or the next guy.”

I sincerely believe, if the Yankees can get to Game 5, they have a decent shot at reaching the ALCS. But, I don’t share Cashman’s “can do” attitude about Game 4. Not with Burnett starting, and Hughes next in line, and with A-Rod, Teixeira and Swisher not hitting. I can see this one snowballing quickly and the Yankees finding themselves in a hole that the hitters cannot escape from…like Game 7 of the 2004 ALCS…or Game 4 of the 2006 ALDS…or Game 6 of the 2010 ALCS…or Game 4 of the 2002 ALDS. (Which, by the way, all happened on Cashman’s watch.)

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Burnett’s career games at Comerica Park:

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Burnett’s career post-season games:

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Burnett’s Home/Road Splits this season:

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So, how are you feeling about A.J. Burnett’s chances this evening?

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Unless AJ Burnett comes up big today’s ALDS contest will be the last game Jorge Posada  ever plays for the Yankees.   If this is the case I’m hoping he goes out with a bang—say 2 for 3 with a walk.  And why not?  Thus far he’s 4 for 8 with 4 walks in this series with what I believe to be the only triple ever hit in the Post Season by a 40 year old player with over 1,500 career games caught.

Vaya Con Dios, Jorge.  You will be sorely missed.

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…they would bench Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira in Game 4 of the ALDS – and then play Eric Chavez at third, Jorge Posada at first, and Jesus Montero at  DH.

But, that’s never going to happen.  It’s no longer 1996 in Yankeeland.  And, it’s way too much money to send to the pine.  Also, way too much fall out to follow such a move from the players and the media.

I just hope that they have enough nerve to remove Burnett from the game the minute he allows his second run to score – no matter what the inning.  Then again, I could see them replacing A.J. with Phil Hughes, if it’s early, and then Dough-Boy Large Head implodes and the game gets out of hand in a hurry.  (Think of the hand-off between Kevin Brown and Javy Vazquez in Game 7 of the 2004 ALCS.  Yes, it could be that ugly.)

Ah, heck, maybe something good happens Tuesday night?  Maybe, somehow, the game is close for five innings and then General Joe goes to Robertson for two innings – and then to Mo for another two?  Hey, that’s pushing it.  But, the Yankees backs are against the wall here.  They have to play this one like it’s sudden death…because it is…

But, in any event, the Yankees have to start getting some production from their fourth and fifth slots in the line-up. 

A-Rod and Tex have done nothing so far this series.  Granted, it’s only three games.  But, Teixeira has never done anything for the Yankees in the post-season outside of the 2010 ALDS.  And, Alex Rodriguez has done little for the Yankees in October outside of the 2004 ALDS and the 2009 Anthony Galea Spectacular! And, the Yankees are not playing the Twins now – like they did in the 2004 and 2010 ALDS. And, “Dr. G” ain’t around to stick anyone in the butt right now.

Bench ‘em, really. And, if not both, then at least one of them – and move the other one down to eighth in the line-up. It’s time.

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