Please allow me to put on my Yankees fan cap for a minute and discuss the state of the Bronx Bombers.

Some facts about the Yankees season so far:

• The Yankees were schooled by the Tampa Bay Rays during the first three games of the season.
• The only thing between the Yankees and last place at this moment is the struggling Boston Red Sox.
• The Yankees have lost 7 of their last 12 games.
• The Tampa Bay Rays now head into Yankee Stadium for a three game series.

How important is it for the Yankees to play well in these three games against the Rays?

Yes, it is only May 8th.  And, yes, it’s only three games against Tampa.  And, yes, there’s still a ton of baseball to be played after this series.

However, how damaging would it be to the Yankees heads if they get beaten by Tampa, again, this time in their home park?  And, how bad would it be for New York to come out of this series even closer to last place than they are now?

Sure, George Steinbrenner is dead.  So, that takes off some of the heat.  But, the media is still out there.  Think they’re going to take it easy on the Yankees if they don’t play well against Tampa?  And, at some point, should Yankees fans start to get somewhat concerned too?

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The list since 1918 -

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Mr. Byrd made the list thanks to that wild game in Fenway yesterday.

By the way, everyone ready for that Buck Showalter vs. Don Mattingly showdown in the World Series this year?

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Here’s the Podcast that I did with Bernadette Pasley – which I mentioned yesterday.

My thanks to Bernadette for having me on her show! (And, yes, I use “um” when I speak as much as I use commas when I write…)

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Back in the late 70′s, I had an english teacher in high school who always had a question on every test that went like:

…in literature as well as in life, “something” is to “something” as “Something else” is to “blank.”

And, then we would have to fill in the blank, related to the reading assignment for that test period, and then write about it.

I wonder if that teacher, if they were still around today, would say:

…in politics as it is in baseball, the meaning of the word “is” to Bill Clinton is the same as the meaning of the word “sellout” to the Boston Red Sox…?

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Hart Seely, aka “el duque” of the blog “IT IS HIGH! IT IS FAR! IT IS…”, one of the forces behind the awesome collection “O Holy Cow!: The Selected Verse of Phil Rizzuto,” has written a new book: The Juju Rules: Or, How to Win Ballgames from Your Couch: A Memoir of a Fan Obsessed.

I’ve never met Hart. But, after reading his book, I would have to cast Larry David (Yankee fan, by the way*) to play the lead in this one – if asked to take the book and translate it to the screen. As Hart tells the story of his life as a Yankees fan with this new book, interwoven with his “manifesto that reveals the deep secrets of fan jinxes, hexes, and charms,” several times I pictured the story being played out like an episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm. Seriously, it’s that quirky, funny and interesting.

Flat out, Hart Seely is a dude that must Yankees fans can resonate with – albeit seeing a bit of themselves in him, or, being reminded of someone they know who is (or was) a passionate fan of the team. And, you get that from reading “The Juju Rules” – throughout the entire book. That said, I highly recommend this book to all Yankees fans.

Further, back in 2005, when I first saw the movie “Fever Pitch,” I thought to myself “This is a film that a diehard fanatic of a team can appreciate as it depicts so many moments that we all share and emotions that we all have inside us – again, as fanatics of a particular team.” And, the same thing applies to “The Juju Rules.”

Anyone who was ever lived and died with the sundry good fortunes and tribulations of their favorite baseball team, and who has allowed their fanatic association to creep into their everyday life, will enjoy reading “The Juju Rules” – and seeing that there are others like them, out there.

Hart Seeley’s wit is keen and his story-telling delivery with this work is often hilarious. I was very happy to have read The Juju Rules: Or, How to Win Ballgames from Your Couch: A Memoir of a Fan Obsessed.

*You have to read the book to get this joke.

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This morning, I did a PodCast interview where I was asked about the Yankees. The topics included Phil Hughes’ woes and the lack of power this season from Cano and A-Rod. And, then, look what happened today. Oh, well,…

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If anyone knows of any places that buy/sell or consign used sports team-wear in the NJ/NY/CT area, please let me know. I have a friend with a huge collection of caps and other things that they may be looking to move.

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This clip is four years old, but, it is still inspiring:

This one special kid. He even has his own foundation. Awesome.

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One of my dogs, who will be 105 years old in a few weeks, bless her heart, got me up early this morning.  But, that was OK, I wanted to get up at 7 AM anyway since we had a Little League game today and I needed to be at the field early.  (About an hour after I was up, the league called off the game because of wet grounds.  Go figure.)

In any event, since I was up, I decided to watch a little Quick Pitch on the MLB Network – and then I starting clicking around.

And, when I landed on one of the Showtime channels, I saw that they were playing a Bud Greenspan documentary on the 2000 Olympics.  Specifically, they were featuring the USA baseball team.  It caught my eye because they were interviewing my old friend, Rico Bergman.

I was glued to the segment.  What a story and what a team!  It’s a shame that more is not said about what that cast of characters did Sydney.  They were awesome.

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Mariano Rivera, Drew Storen, Brian Wilson, Ryan Madson, Sergio Santos, Joakim Soria, Kyle Farnsworth, Andrew Bailey,…

Did I miss anyone?

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Maybe his name should have been Octavio Dotravel?

Seriously, the dude has now played for 13 different teams (which is a record) in a span of 14 seasons.

In the last 8 seasons, he has played for 11 different teams.   That’s one way to get to know a lot of different people.

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Joel Sherman had this tweet three days ago:

And, now, look what happened to Mo Rivera.

I guess Joel doesn’t know the power of the whammy?

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Tony Phillips was the first batter to face Mariano Rivera in the major leagues.  He was a strikeout victim on May 23, 1995.  And, it appears that Nick Markakis will be the last batter to face Mariano Rivera. He hit into a double-play on April 30, 2012.

Who was in uniform for both of those games?  Just Rivera and Buck Showalter.

Now, there’s a trivia question for you.

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I just hate it when I go to bed on a twisted knee and wake-up to find a torn ACL. And, oh, how it happened…talk about really getting fuc…, er, I mean, shagged.

What a day for Jayson Nix, huh? The excitement of being called up to the Yankees, back in the big leagues, being in the starting line-up, and then hitting the BP fly ball that ended Mo Rivera’s season and most likely his career.

Of course, Nix is not to blame. But, now he has his name in Yankees history, for all-time, for a very sad reason. I feel bad for Nix. I hope he’s not taking this too hard.

I feel terrible for Rivera. This is not the way that his career is supposed to end. Granted, he’s an automatic first ballot Hall of Famer. That’s locked up. And, the odds are in his favor that he will be the all-time career saves leader for the rest of his life. But, it would have been nice to see him go out with a special moment during his last All-Star appearance and an even bigger moment during his last appearance, in uniform, as an active player, at Yankee Stadium.

I just hope this doesn’t become an excuse for the Yankees when they don’t make the post-season this year. It would not be right for the front office and/or players to get a buddy-pass on a bad job this season because Rivera blew out his knee.

The interesting question now is: Who will close for the Yankees in 2012? Do they use the guy with the best stuff (David Robertson) or the guy who is getting paid like a closer (Rafael Soriano)?

And, yes, I don’t think that Mo is coming back from this situation. Rehabilitation after ACL surgery may take several months to a year. So, you’re looking at a return in 2013. And, Rivera will be 43 at the end of this season. Plus, he was hinting that he wanted to retire after this season. When you add this all up, it sounds like the end of a career.

May 3rd, 2012 won’t ring in the minds of Yankees fans the way that August 2nd, 1979 does…and with good reason. Rivera had a great career, perhaps the one of the greatest of all-time, and he has the rest of his life in front of him. But, I think that Yankees fans will now always think of him whenever New York plays in Kansas City – especially when there’s a fly ball in the spot where Rivera was injured during BP. The whole thing is just terribly sad.

It seems like a bad dream.

Sleep with one eye open.
Gripping your pillow tight.

Exit light.
Enter night.
Take my hand.
We’re off to never-never land.

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Here are Alex Rodriguez’ career “clutch” stats, through last night, via B-R.com -

As you can see, A-Rod has his best production (OPS) when his team is ahead in the game or when the game is somewhat out of hand (meaning there’s a difference in the score of five runs or more).  And, A-Rod has his “worst” production in “Late & Close” situations or when there are two outs with RISP. 

Note that his career numbers in ”Late & Close” situations or when there are two outs with RISP are very good.  It’s just that he’s so much better, production-wise, when his team is ahead in the game or when the game is somewhat out of hand.  And, that’s why some probably consider him to be someone who pads his stats with garbage time production.

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Since 1918 -

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Well,  that answers the question of:  “What do A.J. Burnett and Boots Poffenberger have in common?”

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In the 91 seasons between 1921 and 2011, the New York Yankees had 50 “Playoff Appearances.” (See chart below.)

For those scoring at home, that’s a rate of making the post-season 55% of the time over a 91-year period. And, it means that just about half the time they made the post-season, they have won a ring – as they have 27 World Series Championships.

However, over the last 11 seasons prior to this year, the Yankees have made the post-season 10 times and only won one ring.

Is that because there are more rounds in the post-season today? Or, is it because the Yankees of recent years are a team built to reach the post-season but not win in the post-season? What do you think?

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Where does your favorite team rank?

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This clip is 10 1/2 minutes long. But, it’s worth checking out.

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Since 1918, these are the teams to have 100+ games in a season, of 9 innings or less, where their team had at least 9 hits -

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The 1930 Phillies really had no pitching…

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I just had a chance to review Rob Fleder’s Damn Yankees: Twenty-Four Major League Writers on the World’s Most Loved (and Hated) Team.

For those not aware, this book is a collection of 24 original essays by contemporary writers each focusing on the Yankees.

There’s some uniqiue stuff in this one. I found the features by Michael Paterniti, Steve Wulf, Will Leitch, Jane Leavy, Rick Telander, Bill James and Roger Director to be interesting.

If you’re a Yankees fan and enjoy reading about the team, I suggest checking out Damn Yankees.

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A case could be made that Phil Hughes’ big league career, to date, has mirrored the start that Kevin Slowey had to his:

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Maybe the next time R.A. Dickey climbs a mountain, he can bring Hughes with him? Or, maybe the next time Brian Cashman rappels down a building, he can bring Hughes?

In any event, doesn’t it just seem like yesterday that all we heard about Hughes was how he was in the best shape of his life, had regained his form, and was pitching like an ace in Spring Training? That turned-around not so “slowey,” didn’t it?

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It’s not up there (in Yankees history) with the Lemon ordered Bobby Murcer bunt in Game 3 of the 1981 Word Series, or the July 1978 against Martin’s orders Reggie Jackson bunt, but, clearly, it’s now time to update the Alex Rodriguez Yankeesography with this great achievement.

Via ESPN -

With the Yankees trailing the Orioles 6-1 on Tuesday night, Alex Rodriguez strode to the plate to lead off the bottom of the sixth inning.

Baltimore starter Brian Matusz threw a first-pitch breaking ball, and Rodriguez — with 633 career home runs to his name — shocked everyone in the stadium by laying a bunt down the third-base line.

A-Rod easily made it first base safely — his first bunt for a hit since 2004 — but the next three hitters all made out, stranding him at first base, in what turned out to be a 7-1 Orioles victory.

“Whatever it takes to win, you’re gonna try to do,” Rodriguez said of the bunt after the game. “Obviously we’re down five, I’m leading off the inning. I saw [Wilson] Betemit [playing] back, I saw an opportunity to get on base, and I took it.”

“Smart play,” said manager Joe Girardi. “We need base runners, that’s the bottom line. We’re trying to put together a big inning, and you need a bunch of base runners, so I don’t have a problem with it.”

An inning later, with the bases juiced and two outs, Rodriguez again came up to the plate, with a chance to put a serious dent in the Orioles’ lead. A-Rod again offered at the first pitch, but this time he popped out to the catcher in foul territory.

Rodriguez responded by slamming his helmet to the ground as he ran down the first-base line, and heard plenty of boos afterward.

“Beautiful pitch to hit,” Rodriguez said. “I mean, that’s exactly the pitch you want, right down the middle, hanging slider, and I should have done a lot better than popping up to the catcher.”

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The Daily News is keep tabs.

I am still waiting for the judge to ask Clemens’ lawyer: “Did you say ‘yutes’?”

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Via Adam Rubin -

Major League Baseball is working on a scheduling reconfiguration for the 2013 season and beyond that likely will eliminate the Mets and Yankees as well as other “natural rivals” playing home-and-home, six-game series annually, baseball sources told ESPNNewYork.com.

With the Houston Astros moving to the American League West next season and the leagues becoming balanced at 15 teams apiece, natural rivals throughout baseball no longer will be guaranteed six games a season and home-and-home series, the sources said.

That goes for obvious intracity rivals such as Mets-Yankees and Cubs-White Sox, as well as for more-forced natural rivals such as the San Diego Padres and Seattle Mariners.

The Mets and Yankees will continue to play six games a season — three apiece at Citi Field and Yankee Stadium — when the AL East and NL East line up for long-form interleague play every three years.

But in the other seasons, a major league source added, the competition likely will be limited to three games at one ballpark, or two games apiece at each ballpark.

Sources cautioned that the 2013 Major League Baseball schedule, and the precise new configurations, are still being discussed.

I wish there was a way to get this right. If the Yankees are going against the Red Sox, Rays, Orioles and Blue Jays to see who finishes first in their division, then, those five teams should all play the same schedule. That’s only fair, right?

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Alex Belth asks Robert Ward everything you ever wanted to know with the exception of whether or not he is ever confused for Burt or Jay. Cool stuff.

Check it out.

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Brian Cashman and his 8-year old son were sitting in the stands at yesterday’s Yankees game. 

And, I was also at the game with my 8-year old son yesterday.  (If you saw a father and son in Yankees game jerseys, dad in #21 and son in #2, that was us.  But, we only left our seats for a little bit in the 6th inning.  So, I doubt you saw us walking around.)

I wonder if Brian had the same reaction as me when the vendors came by selling hot chocolate for $10 a cup?

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For the baseball history/trivia mavens out there.  Can you spot the history made in this game?

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Girls gone stupid.

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