Have you ever looked at Nick Johnson’s contract with the Yankees? Via Cot’s, here it is:

signed by NY Yankees as a free agent 12/18/09
1 year/$5.75M (2010), plus 2011 mutual option

10:$5.5M, 11:$5.5M mutual option ($0.25M buyout)

price of 2011 mutual option increases to
$6M with 500 PAs,
$6.5M with 550 PAs,
$7M with 600 PAs

price of 2011 buyout increases to
$0.5M with 550 PAs

performance bonuses:
$50,000 each for 400, 425 PAs;
$75,000 each for 450, 475 PAs;
$0.125M each for 500, 525, 550, 575, 600, 625 PAs

On the bright side, the Yankees won’t have to worry about those performance bonuses or option/buyout increases. But, for sure, you know that Johnson is going to take that $5.5 option for 2011.

I guess that’s five-and-a-half mill less that the Yankees will have to play with in their “budget” for 2011.

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Two outs, no one on base, a ten run lead…and you cannot throw a single strike to two consecutive batters? Com’on really? Then you allow the next two batters to reach, throw a wild pitch, and then allow another walk, before finally getting the last out on a drive that just missed being a homer. Really?

My goodness, Mr. Cashman. Please, please, admit your mistake in signing Park and just release this guy…

…release him, now, and don’t even let him get on the plane for Tampa.

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Just for the record, there were some games last season, too, where Derek Jeter started the game and was not the lead-off batter in the line-up:

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Phil Hughes has been selected to the 2010 American League All-Star team – as he was voted in on the players’ ballot.

In his first six starts this season, Hughes went 5-0 and had an ERA of 1.38 in 39 innings pitched.

Since that time, in his last nine starts, Hughes has gone 5-2; however, in this span he’s had an ERA of 5.56 in 55 innings pitched.

Does 39 great innings offset 55 putrid innings and warrants an All-Star selection?

Man, this is a joke…and a bad one. And, if I’m Jeff Niemann, Jered Weaver, Felix Hernandez, C.J. Wilson, Colby Lewis or John Danks right now then I’m wondering how Hughes gets selected over me. Shoot, Carl Pavano – and, yes, I can’t believe it – is more deserving of an All-Star selection based on 2010 first half stats than Phil Hughes.

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Have you seen Curtis Granderson’s BA/OBA/SLG line from the All-Star break last year through yesterday’s game? It’s .239/.312/.438 (in 540 PA over 130 games).

Is it time to say Brian Cashman got duped in this deal? I think it’s time to give this one the Ruppert Jones stamp, no? And, guess what, Granderson has two more years on his contract after this season.

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With today’s extra inning loss to the Blue Jays, the Yankees are now 27-23 in their last 50 games. If you take that winning percentage, and apply it to a full season, that’s an 87-win team.

Last time I checked, winning 87 games doesn’t get the job done in the A.L. East. And, for sure, that win total doesn’t match what one would expect from a team payroll like the Yankees.

And, you can’t just “small sample size” this one away – we’re talking 50 games here (which is close to one-third of a season). Also, check the Yankees schedule over their last 50 games, it hasn’t been all that tough.

Something better happen soon in Yankeeland to get this team playing better baseball – and it better happen soon.

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So far, the Yankees are 15-8 in the month of June.

Five of those eight losses have come in games started by A.J. Burnett.

Burnett is 0-5 this month and has an ERA of 11.35 in June (in 23 IP).

Amazing how one guy can be the key to just about everything bad that’s happened in one month, eh?

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Before they came to New York to play the Yankees, the Philadelphia Phillies had won just 8 of their last 24 games. Yes, eight out of twenty-four. And, what happens? The Phils take 2 out of 3 games from the Yanks…at Yankee Stadium. Ouch.

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Here are A.J. Burnett’s stats over his last 8 starts – including last night:

IP: 46.6
ERA: 6.36
BA/OBA/SLG allowed: .290/.377/.530 (218 BF)

For $16.5 million a season, you would expect a little better results than that, right? Granted, that’s just a one-quarter slice of what should be a full season for him. But, those numbers are just terrible.

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In the current print edition of Baseball America, John Manuel looked at their the grades for every major league team’s draft over the last ten years. And, along with that, Jim Callis went back and graded each draft for the last decade and ranked teams by their overall grade-point averages.

In this analysis, the Red Sox (3.40 GPA), Diamondbacks (3.20), A’s (3.10), Phillies (3.05), Rays (2.90) and Twins (2.90) were the top five teams in baseball in terms of drafting well over the last ten years. (Rays and Twins were tied for fifth.) And, the Yankees ranked 26th overall – with a GPA of 1.95 – only bettering the Mets (1.90), White Sox (1.75), Astros (1.55) and Mariners (1.45).  Clearly, this is not pretty news for the Yankees front office in terms of grading out well in the draft.

In the same edition of Baseball America, Jim Callis had a feature on the best scouting directors (current and former) in the last few years. Among those listed were David Chadd, Mike Rizzo, Logan White, R.J. Harrison, and Jason McLeod. Note there’s no mention of Damon Oppenheimer, the man in charge of the Yankees amateur scouting and draft, or anyone else within the Yankees front office here.

And, today, with their first pick in the 2010 draft, the 32nd overall pick, the Yankees selected Cito Culver - probably two or three (or maybe four?) rounds earlier than he should have been selected – passing on talent like Anthony Ranaudo, Bryce Brentz, Ryan LaMarre and Seth Blair (just to name a few).

Considering all this, and then factoring in that the Yankees had screwed up their first three picks in the draft just about every year from 1998 through 2008, I have to wonder about what’s going on in the Yankees front office with respect to handling the draft?   (“What about 2009?” some may say?  Well, the jury is still out on that one.)

At some point, Damon Oppenheimer – and his bosses, Mark Newman and Brian Cashman – have to be held accountable for the way they’ve been wasting the Yankees “prime” picks, draft after draft, no?

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From May 9th through June 5th, yesterday, has been exactly 4 weeks. During this time, the Yankees have gone 13-14 (in 27 games).

New York’s overall team ERA during this period hasn’t been all that bad: 4.25 in 239.3 IP. However, their bullpen has allowed 35% of inherited runners to score during this span too. (The overall big league average, to date, is 32%. So, the Yankees pen has been worse than average in this area during this time. As you can see later, we can probably thank Joba and Chan Ho for that.)

During this span, the Yankees collective bats have posted a BA/OBA/SLG line of .282/.353/.426 (in 1,069 PA). And, that’s been good for an average of 5.0 runs per game. But, that’s misleading because there were three games within these 27 where the Yankees scored 11 runs – where they won two and lost one.

But, the big number here, of course, is that record of 13-14. Given their team roster/payroll, there’s no excuse for the Yankees playing one game under .500 over a period of four weeks. Plus, the Yankees play has been worse than that 13-14 mark suggests.

During these four weeks, the Yankees went 6-1 when facing the Orioles and Indians – who are two of the worst teams in the league with records of 15-41 and 21-33, respectively. The Yankees also went 2-1 against the Twins – who, for some reason, just cannot beat New York if their life depended on it. (Since 2002, Minnesota is 18-54 against the Yankees under Ron Gardenhire and 725-572 against everyone else.)

This means, since May 9th, the Yankees are 8-2 when playing the O’s, Tribe and Twinkies and 5-12 when playing everyone else. Yes, five and twelve. That’s not exactly the level of play that you would expect from the defending World Champs, is it?

So, whose to blame? Well, let’s look at some Yankees pitchers, first, during this span:

CC Sabathia: 5.81 ERA in 33 IP
A.J. Burnett: 5.65 ERA in 36.6 IP
Joba Chamberlain: 7.94 ERA in 11.3 IP
Chan Ho Park: 7.45 ERA in 9.6 IP

If not for Javier Vazquez (2.77 ERA), Andy Pettitte (2.91 ERA) and Phil Hughes (3.41 ERA), the Yankees pitching would look a lot worse than that aforementioned 4.25 ERA during this span.

Next, some Yankees batters and their BA/OBA/SLG marks during this four week span:

Marcus Thames: .205/.360/.308 in 39 AB
Francisco Cervelli: .208/.302/.278 in 72 AB
Mark Teixeira: .222/.311/.343 in 108 AB

And, really, that’s about it on the truly bad side. Everyone else has been doing as expected during this span – or better. In fact, Robbie Cano, Curtis Granderson, Jorge Posada and Nick Swisher have been great over the last four weeks (when they’ve played) – and Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez have both been reaching base 36% of the time since May 9th.

So, does this all mean, if CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett and Mark Teixeira play lousy then the Yankees will not do well? Sure seems like it, over the last four weeks, no? And, of course, we know what happens when they perform well – as we saw the Yankees Championship season last year.

Let’s hope these three get their act into gear soon…and that, what we’ve seen from them the last four weeks doesn’t last for another four weeks or longer.

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Well, put it this way, if his season ended today, it would be one of the worst showings by a Yankees starting pitcher since 1996. Note his place among these other clunkers:

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Yeah, I know, going 14-12 in your last 26 ain’t terrible. But, when you take out going 5-1 against the Baltimore Orioles, the Yankees record in their other games is 9-11 (during that 26 game span).

It’s been a rough four weeks in Yankeeland.

Yes, there have been some injuries. But, Andy Pettitte only missed one start with his elbow issue. Therefore, the Yankees starting pitching has no excuses. And, Granderson has been out – but he wasn’t doing anything when he was in there either. Ditto Nick Johnson. Ditto Chan Ho Park too. What does that leave? Aceves, Swisher and Posada.

So, does that mean this Yankees team can only play .500 baseball when it’s missing Alfredo Aceves, Jorge Posada and Nick Swisher? Really?

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Via Wallace Matthews –

Yankees designated hitter Nick Johnson is unlikely to return to action before the first week of June and could be out until August.

Johnson’s sore right wrist may require surgery to remove inflamed tissue, GM Brian Cashman said. The surgery would keep him out four to six weeks on top of the month he already is expected to miss.

Cashman said Johnson got a cortisone shot in the wrist last weekend in Boston, but it will not be known for a couple of weeks if that treatment was effective.

If not, then Johnson is headed under the knife for at least the third time in his injury-plagued career.

“It’s my intention to learn if [the shot] worked as soon as possible,” Cashman said before Saturday’s win over the Twins. “If not, then we want to go right to the surgery. When healthy, we know what this guy can do, but he can’t do anything for us right now.”

The Yankees signed Johnson to a one-year, $5.5 million deal after failing to come to terms with Johnny Damon, whose No. 2 spot in the lineup Johnson was expected to fill.

$5.5 million for one year of Nick Johnson versus $8 million for one year of Johnny Damon. For a savings of $2.5 million, Cashman really made the wrong call on this one.

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Via Tim Bontemps -

Shortly after landing a franchise record $3.35 signing bonus in August 2007, [Andrew] Brackman underwent Tommy John surgery that forced him to miss the entire 2008 regular season. He then spent his first full season with Low-A Charleston a year ago, with little success. The 24-year-old right-hander was 2-12 with a 5.91 ERA in 29 games (19 starts), striking out 103 and walking 76 in 106 2/3 innings.

This season hasn’t been much better. After spending two weeks on the disabled list with an injured finger on his pitching hand, he is 0-3 with a 11.49 ERA, including allowing seven runs (six earned) on eight hits in 3 2/3 innings in a loss to Brevard County on Thursday night.

The Yankees could have taken Brett Cecil with the pick they wasted on Brackman. That’s too bad. Cecil would be much more useful to them now…

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So, Javier Vazquez has now made four starts for the Yankees this season. Let’s review them:

• April 9th – @ the Rays: 5.2 IP, 8 ER, 11 H+BB allowed
• April 14th – vs. the Angels: 5.1 IP, 4 ER, 8 H+BB allowed
• April 20th – @ the A’s: 5.1 IP, 3 ER*, 9 H+BB allowed
• April 25th – @ the Angels: 3.2 IP, 5 ER, 8 H+BB allowed

*this outing should have been much worse. In the 2nd inning of this contest, the A’s had runners on 2nd and 3rd with no outs against Vazquez. But, the next batter hit into a FC with the runner out at home. And, the following batter lined into a 1-3 DP to end the inning.

So, after four starts this season, Vazquez’ ERA sits at 9.00 (in 20 IP). Sure, there’s been talk that he’s had issues with his mechanics this season. But, one has to question that – because there was hardly any talk of this issue in Spring Training.

Bottom line: The Yankees only have 6 losses now, so far, this season – and three of them have come in games started by Javier Vazquez. (That’s half, for those not into fractions.) Therefore, at this junction – he is the Yankees weakest link.

Vazquez’ next start will be against the White Sox in Yankee Stadium. If he’s not sharp in that one, he’s going to hear it from the crowd at that game – and it won’t be pretty.

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Joba Chamberlain of the New York Yankees reacts after getting out of trouble in the 8th inning against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park on April 6, 2010 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Jim Rogash/Getty Images)

Somebody needs to tell Joba Chamberlain that getting two outs during the 8th inning of the second game of the regular season is not the same as striking out Ryan Howard with the bases loaded in Game 7 of the World Series with the game on the line.

You’d think…after being able to watch Mo Rivera go about his business with professionalism and class over the last three years…this kid would have learned something by now?

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Via the Free Press –

Curt Schilling has been hired by ESPN as a baseball analyst. The network said the former pitcher, who won World Series with the Arizona Diamondbacks and Boston Red Sox, will appear on “Baseball Tonight” and ESPN Radio, in addition to contributing to ESPNBoston.com and the company’s main Web site. He will make his debut tonight during ESPN’s pregame coverage of the season opener between Boston and the New York Yankees.

I’ve never been one of those people who believed that ESPN had an anti-Yankees bias. But, with the addition of Schilling, they may have an element of that now.

Don’t get me wrong here…Schilling knows more about baseball than many other people. He’s a true student of the game. But, he’s also a narcissistic grandstanding windbag who’s in love with the sound of his own thoughts/voice. Plus, he’s a Red Sox propaganda artist. So, I’m pretty sure this will lead to some anti-Yankees slant on the coverage that he provides for ESPN.

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You know…every time I hear the part of that stupid song where Jay-Z says “…I made the Yankee hat more famous than a yankee can…,” I wish that, someday, someone, somehow, would make their foot more famous than a sneaker can by sticking it up his ass in retaliation for him making that crazy claim. Really, what nerve.

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Via the AP –

With critics calling for expanded video review of umpires’ calls and some players pushing to expand the first round of the playoffs, baseball commissioner Bud Selig established a committee of managers and longtime executives.

Managers Tony La Russa, Jim Leyland, Joe Torre and Mike Scioscia were selected Tuesday for the “special committee for on-field matters,” which Selig will chair and will meet for the first time next month.

Hall of Famer Frank Robinson, who is black, was the only minority picked for the panel.

Scioscia was livid with the number of off days during the postseason, and Selig promised to re-examine the format, which added four extra off-days starting in 2007 at the behest of the sport’s broadcast networks.

Following a series of blown calls by umpires during the playoffs, many said baseball should expand video review, which began in 2008 and is limited to whether potential home runs are fair and whether the ball went over the fence.

“This is not a reaction to some of the things that happened during the playoffs,” Selig said. “I’m not saying that it didn’t keep moving me along in this direction because it did, but frankly I had this in mind for a long time.”

The group will examine scheduling, umpiring, the strike zone and pace of game, which again became an issue when Yankees catcher Jorge Posada made frequent trips to the mound during the postseason.

More on the Posada thing this post-season.

Hey, does ‘Sado have issues getting on the same page with his pitchers? Ah…yeah. Duh! There’s no question there. But, com’on…Jason Varitek has been doing this stuff for years now.

I want to swear that I’ve seen Varitek go to the mound when there are two outs, no one on base, in the 7th inning, with the Sox up by five, and an 0-2 count on the batter. Really. He’s the worst.

So, Bud…let’s not pin this all on Posada. He’s just one of several who do this stuff.

And, for the record, I would love to see them put a stop to this practice. Catchers have fingers and pitchers have eyes – and they should learn to use them…if you ask me.

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Game	Inn	Runs
G2LDS	11	4
G3LDS	9	4
G1LCS	8	4
G2LCS	13	4
G3LCS	11	4

The Yankees have scored just 4 runs in each of their last 5 post-season games this October. But, some of those games were extra-inning contests. (See chart above.)

When you boil it down to runs scored per 9 innings of play, over their last five games of this post-season, the Yankees are averaging 3.46 runs/9 Inn played. And, some of those runs were gifts from the Angels bad defense in Game 1 and 2 of the ALCS.

So, what’s happened to the big, bad, bats of the Yankees regular season offense? Are they all on vacation or something? Or, is it a whole different ballgame when you’re facing post-season teams and their pitching compared to when you’re facing teams like Mets, Orioles, Blue Jays and A’s in the regular season?

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Via the Houston Chronicle with a h/t to BBTF –

Former New York Yankees star Chuck Knoblauch surrendered to authorities this morning after being charged with assault.

The former major leaguer is accused of choking his common-law wife Friday night after drinking heavily and taking the anti-anxiety prescription drug Xanax, prosecutors said.

Assistant District Attorney Kari Allen told State District Judge Hazel Jones that the couple was arguing and Knoblauch’s wife was trying to take his car keys away from him when the alleged assault occurred. She said a family friend saw Knoblauch beat, punch and choke his wife.

The two are divorcing and have a 5-year-old child.

Knoblauch, 41, was charged with assault of a family member, a third-degree felony. He is being held in Harris County Jail in lieu of $10,000 bail.

Knoblauch’s attorney, Dan Cogdell, called the incident a dispute between two divorcing people and said charges should not have been filed.

This goes back to my Mell Hall beef back in 2007.

Chuck played with the Twins for seven seasons – and he played in New York for four years. Yet, when it’s bad news to report…they’re always a “former Yankee.” It’s just not right…

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Excuse me while I go on a little rant…

I am so tired – and done – with hearing people talk about pitch counts and innings limits. (And, in Yankeeland, where there’s “Joba,” there’s talk about counts and limits, etc.)

Regarding pitch counts and innings limits, with respect to preventing abuse of pitchers, to quote the dying Comedian “It’s a joke. The whole thing is just a joke.” And, here’s why:

1. Using an inning as a measuring unit for pitcher workload is a mistake. Not all innings are alike. Do you really think a pitcher works as hard in a 9-pitch inning as he goes in a 35-pitch inning? Of course, the answer is “no.” But, in the world of limiting innings, based on innings pitched totals alone, you are treating the 9-pitching inning the same as the 35-pitch inning and that’s just silly.

2. Using pitch counts, to determine a pitcher’s workload, alone, is a mistake. Not all pitch count totals are the same. Do you really think that a pitcher who throws 100 pitches over 7 innings in a game has worked as hard as a pitcher who has thrown 100 pitches over 4 2/3 innings? Of course, the answer is “no.” But, in the world of watching pitch counts, based on pitch count totals alone, you are looking at the destination and ignoring the journey that it took to get there. And, the journey is where all the labor is – and it’s not at the end of trip.

3. Heck, not all pitches are alike in terms of the stress they put on a pitcher’s arm. Do you think it’s the same on a pitcher’s arm when he throws a four-seam fastball as it is when he throw a split-fingered fastball? How about when he throws a two-seam fastball and a curve? Think that feels the same on his elbow? How about a straight-change versus a slider? While we’re at it, how about a pitch thrown from the full wind-up versus the stretch? Think they both feel the same on the arm?

So, forget pitch counts and innings limits when worrying about protecting a pitcher’s arm. If you really want to protect a starting pitcher’s arm, do this: The day after each of his starts, do a test on his arm – the shoulder, rotator cuff, elbow, etc. – and measure the strength of it. And, if you see that his arm is not losing any strength after each start, more so than usual, then he’s fine. And, only if you start to notice a trend where his wing is starting to weaken, again, more so than usual, after his starts, then you can start to back-off on his workload.

Anyway, that’s what I would suggest – rather than just look at pitch counts and/or innings totals. How about you?

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Yankees pitching prospects Ian Kennedy, George Kontos, Christian Garcia, Alan Horne, Zach McAllister, Brett Marshall, Garrett Patterson and Dellin Betances are all currently on the disabled list, in the minors. And, most of them have serious injuries. Just who is in charge of keeping the Yankees minor league pitchers sound? Or, is it more a matter of the Yankees drafting guys without doing their homework on their injury risk?

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Via Bill Madden -

Say this for the Yankees and Mets: They went into the baseball trading deadline with low expectations and met them.

Privately, the Yankees were astounded at the seemingly underwhelming return Seattle GM Jack Zduriencik got for Jarrod Washburn (second-tier pitching prospects Luke French and Mauricio Robles) – especially after he’d pulled off such a coup earlier in the week by fetching shortstop Jack Wilson and former 14-game winner Ian Snell out of the Pittsburgh Pirates’ firesale for light-hitting shortstop Ronny Cedeno, defensively challenged catcher/first base prospect Jeff Clement and three low-level pitching prospects. The Yankees thought they could have given Seattle a better package for Washburn, who’s a free agent after the season, but Zduriencik kept asking for top-tier prospects such as outfielder Austin Jackson.

Nevertheless, the Yankees have to be classified with the losers at the deadline, if only because they really needed to add a starting pitcher, while two of their potential postseason opponents, the Tigers (with Washburn) and the Red Sox (with catcher/first baseman Victor Martinez) made significant upgrades.

I’ve seen the reports since Friday that say the Yankees passed on Jarrod Washburn because Jack Zduriencik was insisting on Austin Jackson in return…and, I have to confess, it sounds like Yankees propaganda to me. You know…like…”Hey, we wanted Washburn, but, Seattle tried to rob us blind…and Brian Cashman is too smart for that!”

Sure, maybe the M’s asked for Jackson. I bet they may have asked for Jesus Montero too. Shoot, maybe they even asked for Mariano Rivera? After all, that’s the job of the G.M. – to get the best player in return, if possible. But, on the flipside, the Yankees should have not let it go at that…there’s an art to negotiations, no? If Jack Zduriencik started high on the return for Washburn, the Yankees should have tried to get him down from there…rather than just say “No way!” and walk away.

Maybe the M’s would have taken a package of Dellin Betances and Ian Kennedy for Jarrod Washburn? When you look at what Seattle got, Luke French and Mauricio Robles, it’s not an insult to say Betances and Kennedy are somewhat close to that…

In any event, this whole “They wanted Austin Jackson and that was the end of it” thing just bothers me…because it really does make it seem like the Yankees really weren’t trying here…

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Some of the notable and should-have-been-available guys missing the action at today’s Old Timer’s Day at the new Yankee Stadium:

Bernie Williams, Tommy John, Paul O’Neill, Ed Figueroa, Dave Winfield, David Wells, Tino Martinez, Jim Abbott, Mike Pagliarulo, Jim Kaat, Wade Boggs, Kei Igawa, Scott Brosius, Chuck Knoblauch, and David Justice…

O.K., I’m kidding about the Kei Igawa part…

But, no Bernie, Tino, Boomer or the Warrior? What’s up with that?

(And, I’m not forgetting guys like Don Mattingly, Willie Randolph, Chris Chambliss, Lou Piniella, Roberto Kelly, Dave Righetti, Sparky Lyle, Tim Raines and Mike Torrez. I left them off because they have jobs that would not allow them to be there. Roger Clemens? Well, if you gotta ask…)

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Over the course of their first 28 games this season, from Opening Day on April 6th through May 7th, the New York Yankees went 13-15. And, at the close of business on May 7th, the Yankees found themselves sitting in 3rd place in the A.L. East, 5.5 games back of first place. With an overall record two games under .500 after their first month of play, New York played, and looked like, a mediocre ballclub.

However, over their next 13 games, the Yankees caught fire – as they went 11-2 from May 8th through May 21st. During this time, they moved four games closer to first place (shaving their games back from 5.5 to just 1.5).

At that time, few looked at that 11-2 run by New York and were willing to say that most of that was against the Orioles and Twins (where the Yankees went 9-1).

In fact, the Yankees went 5-1 against the Orioles during this time and Baltimore had just fashioned a terrible string of games prior to this period where they went 6-15 (from April 15th through May 7th). Basically, the Yankees caught the O’s when they were playing terrible baseball. Also, the Yankees went 4-0 against the Twins during this period where the Yankees were very lucky, out-scoring the Twins by five runs, overall, in those four contests.

But, for the record, at this blog, on May 27th, one week after the Yankees finished that 11-2 run, I wrote:

As of this morning, the Yankees are in second place in the A.L. East – one game back of the Boston Red Sox. That’s the good news.

Overall, the Yankees record is now 26-20. They are 6 games over the .500 mark.

However, to date, the Yankees are 6-3 against the lowly Baltimore Orioles this year. And, the Yankees recently took a four-game series from the Twins – where the Yankees were very lucky, out-scoring the Twins by five runs, overall, in those four contests.

When you take these layup games against the O’s out of the picture, and subtract those four lucky wins against the Twinkies, the Yankees are 16-17. This is one game below the .500 mark.

This leads to today’s wild thought: Is the Yankees current place in the A.L. East standings misleading in terms of capturing their performance this season, so far? Has New York, sans some favorable match-ups and a few lucky games, been more of a mediocre performer this season?

Based on the comments left to that entry, many disagreed with my suggestion that “sans some favorable match-ups and a few lucky games” the Yankees had “been more of a mediocre performer this season.”

Well, what’s happened in Yankeeland since that run where New York went 11-2?

Including today’s loss against the lowly Washington Nats, in their last 25 games, from May 22nd through June 18th, the New York Yankees have gone 13-12. Just as was the case in their first 28 games of the season, with this mark, New York has played, and looked like, a mediocre ballclub. Actually, it’s worse than this when you consider that Willy Aybar and Luis Castillo handed the Yankees two wins during this period. Even Yankees fanboys with the biggest and baddest pair of Yankees Blinders possible would be willing to admit that New York’s record should be more like 11-14 over these last 25 games rather than the 13-12 that it’s been, in reality.

So, in summary, this has been the Yankees 2009 season to date: 28 games of mediocrity, followed by 13 games of serendipity, followed by 25 games of mediocrity. Basically, it’s been a couple of thin slices of luck sandwiched by two thick oversized slices of mediocrity. And, to me, when you digest that sandwich, you mostly taste the mediocrity.

Hopefully, the remaining 96 games for the Yankees this season will be more palatable. However, if it ends up being another big bowl of mediocrity, I would not be shocked. As, so far this season, the Yankees have showed us that they are capable of little else other than playing bourgeoisie (middle class) baseball.

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Several readers of this blog have questioned my recent criticism of Nick Swisher’s play in the Yankees game of June 10, 2009 – where I said it was Nick Swisher who cost the Yankees the contest that evening. Many wanted to know why I was not willing blame Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, or Robinson Cano for not providing hits – or blame Worm Killer Wang for his poor pitching. The answer to this is simple.

There’s a huge difference between physical errors, failures, shortcomings that happen in the course of a baseball game and bad play that is the result of a lack of concentration and focus. Every baseball manager understands this matter. In fact, many times, the physical “stuff” is a matter of law of averages, the sun not shining on the same dog’s butt everyday, or, even, the result of a player trying too hard. In baseball, you have to learn to live with that. However, it’s inexcusable, when a player fails on the field because of a lack of hustle or they just don’t have their head in the game. This is the stuff that drives baseball managers – and some fans, like me – crazy.

When you allow yourself to fall asleep on the bases, and/or misplay a fly ball after tracking it and being in a position where it is inches from your glove, like Swisher did in this game (in question), it shows that you’re not giving the contest 100% concentration. And, such lack of attention during a critical game is indefensible – again, in my opinion. Hence, this is why Nick Swisher has garnered the bulk of my wrath about the loss of June 10th.

Save the bonehead act for the clubhouse and the media Nick. On the field, it’s important to play “hard” – in the sense of staying focused – all the time, not just most of the time.

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Via Tim Brown -

For several hours before Rivera took the ball Saturday afternoon in that tie game, he’d suffered with a stomach ailment that brought aches and repeated vomiting, according to one Yankee. Rivera had rolled off the trainer’s table, where he’d hoped to sleep it off, and into the bullpen in the eighth inning, when he began to warm up.

So, no, he didn’t have his best command. And, no, he didn’t have his best fastball.

But, he didn’t sprinkle the Yankee Stadium mound with breakfast, which, in itself, was a small victory, even in defeat.

“He was so upset afterward,” the teammate said.

And yet, Rivera did not mention it after the game, and he did not reveal it late Sunday afternoon, when it would have played less like an excuse than, in victory, the simple retelling of a trying 30 hours. He did not hang those hittable fastballs or that loss on his illness. He did not blame manager Joe Girardi for asking him to pitch in a tie game when a healthier body might have – and probably should have – done.

He accepted the baseball.

That was that.

A day later, when clearly his vigor had returned and the Rays had been helpless, Rivera said only that these are the public and emotional wanderings he accepts as a closer, indeed, as the Yankees’ closer. He said he slept fine Saturday night, and that he would again Sunday night.

“Yesterday was yesterday,” he said.

Well, Mo may not want to blame Joe – but I will do it. When someone has a stomach bug – bad enough to cause repeated vomiting – it’s insane to ask them to play in a major league baseball game at the same time. You need at least one day, of eating real food and being able to keep it down, before you start to tax your body again.

Granted, if this were Game Seven of the World Series, sure, that would change my stance on this one. But, the Yankees should be able to find someone else to pitch the 9th inning of a tie-game in June, right? Or, is the bullpen that Brian Cashman built so bad that there’s no one else to trust in a spot like this other than Mariano Rivera on fumes? If so, maybe Cashman, and not Girardi is to blame here? What do you think?

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Before a game on the Yankees last homestand, Nick Swisher, as he ran out to his position in right field in the top of the first inning, did a “Lambeau Leap” type move – where he sprung up against the outfield wall in order to give a fan a high-five. The problem was, on his “landing,” Swisher crashed down to the ground, ending up with his buttocks in the warning track dirt, and nearly sprained his back. Seeing this, YES broadcaster Kenny Singleton said something along the lines of “If I’m the Yankees, I put a stop to that move by Swisher in a hurry. He’s going to injure himself.”

In last night’s game, Nick Swisher, after doubling and then moving to third on a ground out, in the fouth inning, got picked off third base by the pitcher – sleeping on the bases so badly that Yankees third base coach Rob Thomson pushed him back to the bag…which is a no-no, per the rules. Swisher’s nap on the bases cost the Yankees a run in that spot.

In this evening’s game, during the bottom of the second with runners on first and second and no outs, Phil Hughes allowed Gregg Zaun to single to right. Nick Swisher, playing right field, picked up the ball and air-mailed a throw…way past home plate…when the lead runner, who was on second, had stopped at third base. Swisher’s throw then allowed the run to score while also allowing the runner on first to go to third and Zaun to reach second. The safe and secure play would have been to get the ball to the cut-off man. Instead, Swisher’s boner set-up Hughes for what would become a disaster of an inning.

Nick Swisher is showing us, in Yankeeland, that he’s a meathead on the field as much as he is in the clubhouse and when he’s hamming it up for the media.

I know that I may come across, to some, like Siegfried saying “This is Kaos. We don’t shush here!” when I say this, but, frankly, someone needs to take Nitwit Swisher aside and tell him “We’re the Yankees. We don’t play with our craniums lodged in our sphincter here.”

There’s a pattern forming with respect to Swisher’s on field actions and it needs to be nipped in the bud. Pronto.

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