The Hot Stove

Well, a ton has happened since I last posted. I have been extremely busy finishing up the first semester of my junior year at school. Here are some major moves that have occurred.

Yankees - The Yankees acquired Curtis Granderson. Granderson is a wonderful fielder, he is very fast and a good guy, but doesn't have the best batting average (249. last year). To get Curtis, the Yankees dished out top prospect Austin Jackson, reliever Phil Coke, and prospect pitcher Ian Kennedy. Many think the Yankees gave up a lot, but this was a good move for them. Kennedy is prone to injury and has shown nothing in the majors. Coke did contribute to the Yankees this past season as a lefty in the pen, but struggled a lot. As far as Jackson goes, some prospects pan out and some don't. Chances are that he will not end up being better than Granderson. Curtis is welcomed by me to be our starting center fielder for a bunch of years.

As far as Yankee free agents go, they were able to resign Andy Pettitte to a one year deal. Hideki Matsui signed a one year deal with the Angels. Johnny Damon is yet to sign, but has said he is going to start to look around at teams since he hasn't heard much from the Yankees yet.

New York needs help with their starting pitching, so it wouldn't surprise anyone if they went after some back of the rotation guys like Ben Sheets or Jason Marquis.

Are they going to sign Matt Holliday or Jason Bay? I don't think anything the Yankees pull off would surprise anyone, but it appears as though they are not talking to these players currently which would lead us to believe they would try to resign Johnny Damon.

Major Moves:

• Roy Halladay to the Phillies
  
• Cliff Lee and Chone Figgins to the Mariners
• John Lackey to the Red Sox

Taking a Look at the Winter...

The Yankees made huge off-season moves after the 2008 season, and it helped lead them to a World Series title in 2009. This off-season proves to be another where the Yankees have many decisions to make.

Three notable Yankees are free agents: Johnny Damon, Hideki Matsui, and Andy Pettitte. These three individuals played a major role in the Yankees championship run.

Damon:

Everyone knows that Johnny is an exceptional player. He hits home runs, hits for average, and still has speed. The one main fault in Johnny's game is his play in the outfield. He has no arm, and not much range in left field. A major question for the Yankees is: Do they want Damon to be their left fielder next season? I see them re-signing him as a DH, if they do not sign Matsui.

Matsui:

Not enough can be said about Matsui. He hit over 600. in the World Series, and had 6 RBIs in the clinching game. He had an excellent season as well. The problem with Matsui, is that he does not have the legs to play left field anymore. He is strictly a DH, and nothing else. Matsui has had a great career with the Yankees, but if I had to guess, his tenure in New York is over.

Pettitte:

Andy Pettitte thought about retiring before this season, ended up coming back, only to win the clinching game of every playoff series. What a year for Pettitte. He definitely still has gas in the tank, and hopefully comes back to pitch in New York on a one year contract. If not, the Yankees must take a look at John Lackey.

World Series Champs! #27

The Yankees have done it again. After winning in 96', 98', 99' and 2000, the Yankees went through a nine year drought. During that nine year period, the Yankees reached the World Series twice, yet hadn't made it past the first round since 2004.

This championship marks the 27th title in Yankee history. That by far, is more than any other franchise. Behind this championship comes many different story lines.

The first that sticks out is Alex Rodriguez breaking out of his playoff slumping history with a bang. A-Rod was huge for the Yankees this postseason and Joe Girardi said "We wouldn't have done this without Alex." Not only did A-Rod get many hits and home runs in the playoffs, many of them were clutch, game tying or game leading. Rodriguez had done everything in his career besides get a ring. This means so much to him, and it's nice to see a guy who had such a tough off season (steroid admission, rough divorce, hip surgery), succeed and get a ring.

Another story is the big free agent signings that Brian Cashman was able to get done in the off-season. He brought in C.C. Sabathia, A.J. Burnett, Mark Teixeira and Nick Swisher. Every single one of these players played huge for the Yankees this year.

C.C was the clear ace of this team, and continued to fill that role in the playoffs.

Burnett was the #2 starter, and although he had some shaky starts, for the most part Burnett had an excellent season, and really fit in well with this team.

Mark Teixeira is an MVP candidate. His play at 1st base makes the entire infield better, and he finished tied for the lead for home runs in the American league.

Swisher came to this team not knowing what his role was going to be. Boy did he step up. After starting right fielder Xavier Nady went down with a shoulder injury, Swish filled the role. Not only did he put up nice numbers, he became the biggest and friendliest personality on this team. Swisher was not only a huge producer, but a huge clubhouse guy.

Not enough can be said about this year's Yankee team. They got their championship, and it was well deserved. They were the best team in the regular season, and the best team in the playoffs.

Celebrate we will, but for Brian Cashman, it's decision time. Hideki Matsui, Johnny Damon, and Andy Pettitte are free agents. He must also figure out what to do with Chien-Ming Wang.

It will be a long off-season, but it's great to know that the Yankees are back where they belong, as champions.

We're Bacccck

The New York Yankees defeated the Angels 5-2 last night, to win the American League Championship Series, and move on to their 40th world series. The Yankees have won the World Series 26 of the 39 previous times they have been in it.

I haven't posted about this series yet due to a massive amount of schoolwork, but what a series this was.

The Yankees ace, C.C. Sabathia was the MVP of the series. I thought that he and Alex Rodriguez should have been C0 MVP's. What an unbelievable series for the two of them.

C.C. went eight innings in game one and game four on just three days rest. He gave up one run in each of those starts.

A-Rod has been batting 400. plus throughout the postseason, hitting big home run after big home run. In game six last night, he got on base all five times he was up, getting two hits and being walked twice. A-Rod has also played well defensively in the playoffs.

What can be said about Andy Pettitte. He has always been a big game pitcher for the Yankees, and he proved that again last night. Pettitte went six plus innings giving up one run.

Mariano Rivera came in during the eighth inning for the six out save, and he did the norm. He succeeded.

As the Yankees head back to the world series, the city of New York awaits Wednesday night, where Jay Z is scheduled to perform "Empire State of Mind" before first pitch.

I'll tell you one thing, the Bronx will be rocking.

Recap of Game Three/ALDS

The Yankees entered game three of the ALDS in a wonderful position. They lead 2-0 going into the clinching game with season veteran Andy Pettitte on the hill. Not only was that the case, they were facing former Yankee Carl Pavano, a pitcher who made 39.4 million dollars with the Yankees over the course of four seasons and made just 26 starts.

The Yanks came in ready to hit Pavano hard and win the series. This wasn't the case. Pavano looked like Greg Maddux in the 96' World Series just sitting Yankees down left and right.

Pettitte matched him pitch for pitch as neither team was getting swings through the first six innings. The Twins finally broke through for a run in the bottom of the sixth inning. Trailing 1-0 in the top of the seventh, with dominant Pavano still on the mound, Alex Rodriguez stepped up to the plate.

A-Rod took a 3-2 pitch the opposite way and out of the park. He did it again. More game tying heroics for Alex, highlighting the unbelievable series he had. He finished the series 5-11 with six RBI's and two home runs. Later that inning, Jorge Posada hit an opposite field home run to give the Yankees the lead. They never looked back. After adding insurance runs in the eighth, the Yankees finished with a 4-1 win.

Some may say the Twins are not a great team, and the Yankee's sweep was expected, but you cannot look at it this way. They hadn't gotten past the ALDS since 2004. A-Rod hadn't had post season success since before he was a Yankee. The Yankee bullpen is looking like it was in the late 90's, and their three man rotation looks like they can take the Yankees all the way. Impressive ALDS all around, can't wait for the Angels on Friday. What a match up it will be.

Magic in the Bronx

Game two of the ALDS was one of the most storied games I have ever seen. The Yankees willed their way over the Twins 4-3 in the bottom of the 11th inning walking off for the 16th time this season.

A.J. Burnett stepped up and gave the Yankees a solid six innings, despite getting trouble a few times, he only gave up one run.

Mark Teixeira got the game winning hit but the heroes of this game were Alex Rodriguez and Dave Robertson.

We all know what A-Rod was in the playoffs before this season. We all have heard it a million times. A-Rod cannot hit in the clutch. It has been documented ever since he has been a Yankee.

Everything this season with A-Rod has just been different. Ever since his steroid admission and hip surgery he has seemed like a different person. This isn't the first regular season where A-Rod has gotten clutch hits, but it is the first time he has done it staying out of the spotlight. He kept to himself and did what he had to do.

Alex's first two playoff games: 4-8 with five RBI'S and one HR. His home run tied the game in the ninth inning last night, his RBI single tied the game in the sixth inning last night, and his two RBI's in game one gave some much needed security to the Yankees lead.

We'll see how he does throughout the rest of the postseason, but so far he has been simply dominant in the 2009 playoffs.

Who knows if Alex would have had the opportunity to tie the game last night if it wasn't for Dave Robertson. He came in the top of the 11th inning with two on, nobody out, and after giving up a hit the bases were loaded with no one out. He then recorded three straight outs to keep the Yankees in the game. What a job by him.

Once the game reached the bottom of the 11th and the heart of the Yankee order was due up, it was only a matter of time before a slice of Burnett Pie would be served. Mark Teixeira lined a bullet off the top of the left field wall, and that was that.

Yankees win again, and can clinch Sunday night against Carl Pavano.

Breaking Down Game One

The Yankees defeated the Twins 7-2 last night, overcoming a 2-0 deficit in the 3rd inning. C.C. Sabathia went six and two-third innings to get the win.

There were a few story lines in the defeat. Derek Jeter proved once again to be Mr. Clutch drilling a two run homer into the left field seats in the third inning to tie the score. Nick Swisher hit an RBI double down the right field line to put the Yankees ahead in the fifth. Alex Rodriguez had two RBI hits breaking out of his major slump batting with runners in scoring position in the playoffs.

This was good for Alex to get some weight off his back. Even if his playoff numbers were not running through his mind, he still will not have to listen to the questions about his playoff struggles at least for now.

Hideki Matsui hit a 2 run blast to center field last night. All Matsui has done this year is prove his case for the Yankees to keep him next year, but who knows what will happen with that.

C.C. Sabathia broke out of his playoff struggles as well putting in a great performance, especially if you take away Posada's two past balls. He really has proved himself to be the ace of this pitching staff all season, and he continued that into last night's huge game.

With a 1-0 lead in the series, the Yanks take the field again Friday night with A.J. Burnett on the mound. Hopefully A.J. brings his lights out stuff to the mound. He has the ability to throw a perfect game on any night with his dirty breaking ball. We'll see which A.J. shows up as the Bombers look to go up 2-0 heading into the Metrodome.

HotBox Sports

Just a heads up. Beginning in about two weeks, I will be writing for an NBA Fantasy website called HotBox Sports. The link to this website is www.hotboxsports.com.

I will be discussing individual player matchups twice a week for the Indiana Pacers. I am excited for this role as the Pacers are a young exciting team, with some new and upcoming talent. They are lead by superstar Danny Granger, and are looking to have themselves a better year than last year.

Looking Ahead to the MLB Playoffs

First of all, I would like to congratulate the Boston Red Sox for backing into the playoffs after being swept by the Yankees and losing the first three games to Toronto.

The fact that C.C. Sabathia is pitching in game one of the playoffs next Wednesday is a lock. With the way things are shaping up, it looks like C.C. will be opposed by Justin Verlander of the Tigers (if the Tigers can hold off the surging twins). I attended a Tigers Yankees game at the stadium this summer. What was the pitching matchup? C.C. vs. Justin. Let me tell you, forgetting about the numbers and all, Justin Verlander has unbelievable stuff. He made the Yankee lineup look like a bunch of little leaguers hitting for the first time after graduating tee ball. Regardless, the Yankees found a way to win the game on an Alex Rodriguez home run that just got over the right field wall.

C.C's struggles in the playoffs in the past have to be forgotten about. Both seasons in which he has struggled, his arm has been shot. He pitched on three days rest consistently last year to will the Brewers into the playoffs. The previous year with Cleveland, he had pitched a ton of innings before postseason. I am confident in C.C as he has been a workhorse all year for us, but hasn't been overworked.

Many debate who the number two starter should be in the playoffs for the Yankees. The obvious choices are A.J Burnett and Andy Pettitte. The two are such different pitchers. A.J is an overpowering hurler who has the stuff to no hit any team on any day, yet also has the moments where he simply implodes. Andy meanwhile, is a more consistent pitcher with honest stuff. Personally I would like to see A.J in game two as I truly believe he will step up to the occasion in the playoffs. We'll see who the Yankees choose.

Either way, the ALDS is always a hard series. A best of five is more of a crapshoot then anything. One bad start by a pitcher could turn an entire series around. As the Yankees have seen in recent division series, they are not easy to win.

The New York Football Giants

The New York Giants are 3-0. Some New Yorkers may be overlooking the play of the Giants so far this season for a few reasons. The first is that the Jets are also 3-0. The second is that the Giants have the expectation to do well. They haven't just done well so far this season, they have done great.

Let's be honest, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are not a great football team. They have no offense whatsoever. Their quarterback situation is a complete mess, and they have a quite weak defense. Despite all of those things, the Giants completed an absoluter slaughter of them this past Sunday. The Bucs didn't get a first down until there were four minutes to go in the third quarter. That is unheard of. It was such a dominate Giant performance that the game was almost hard to watch. You knew after the first Giants drive that the game was over.

With a big win over the Cowboys in Dallas in week two, the New York Football Giants are being looked at with high expectations for the 2009-2010 season.

What a Day

What a day for New York Sports. The Giants move to 3-0 with a 24-0 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Jets move to 3-0 with a 24-17 win over the Tennessee Titans, and the Yankees win their 100th game to clinch the Al East title and clinch home field throughout the playoffs.

What a season for the Yankees. They have 100 wins with six games to go. They lost the first eight games against the Red Sox this season, and panic begun. People were saying this team just did not match up well enough against Boston. Since then, the Yanks won 9 of 10 against their arch rival to secure the division title a week before the season is over. To make things even sweeter, they clinched with a win against Boston, to complete a sweep, at home. Another comeback win for the Yankees.

It was great to see the guys celebrating in the locker room after the game. This is a special group of guys who have one common goal: to win the world series. They have now accomplished all of their regular season goals, and I assume will give some guys rest this week while preparing for the starts of the playoffs on Wednesday, October 7th. C.C will start game one, that's as far as we know.

Magic Number is Five

The magic number to clinch the AL East division is now five games for the New York Yankees. A game is gained whether they win or Boston loses. When playing Boston this weekend, they can gain two games on that magic number with each win. If all goes right, the Yankees will clinch this weekend at home against the Sox.

Months ago the Yankees were 0-8 against Boston and trailing the division by about five games. No one thought they would be at the point they are at now during the stretch. It really has been an enjoyable season. Besides a few bumps in the road (the first month without A-Rod, Jobas struggles as a starter, a few very rough starts from AJ Burnett, and some other small bumps), this has been an incredibly successful team. They just took a series from the Angels on the road for the first time since 2004. It was a very big series win as the Angels are a possible playoff opponent and they needed to give themselves confidence that they could beat them in LA.

Although the Yankee attitude is "the World Series must be won for it to be a successful season," either way you look at it, it really has been a great season. A lot of luck is involved in short series in the playoffs. Hopefully this Yankee team can find the will and way to win 11 postseason games. They really deserve it.

State of the Yanks

What a season so far for the New York Yankees. After an average start while playing without Alex Rodriguez for the first month, they have been hot ever since. The Yanks now sit 39 games over 500, with the division basically won.

It will be nice to see recently called up Shelley Duncan get some at bats in the last few weeks of the season. Shelley has always been one of my favorite players.

When will Derek Jeter break Lou Gehrig's Yankee hit record? Four hits to go...we shall see.

Coming Back

Interesting game for the Yanks last night. Joba was once again awful. If they are not going to pitch him on normal rest, there is no point in starting him at all. Clearly it is messing with him as he hasn't succeeded at all when not given five days rest.

This Yankee team always gives you the feeling that they will come back. Down five runs in the ninth last night, they still almost won the game. I believe that Nick Swisher who has 20 plus home runs should not be bunting in that situation. However, the team will lose games, it is quite impressive how they come back all of the time. Exciting ninth inning until the end.

Let's hope the Yanks take tonight's game and set themselves up to win yet another series.

Big W

Big win last night for the Yankees. It has been rare this year to see the Yankees go on losing streaks. Last night they stopped the possibility of a three game skid with a 7-2 victory over the A's. C.C. Sabathia was great as he pitched eight innings and was able to get his 14th win of the season. With the way he's been pitching lately, there's still an outside chance that he will win 20 games. What a feat that would be in his first season as a Yankee.

The Yanks square off against the A's tonight in the series finale. They then have tomorrow off to travel and go into Boston for another three game series with their arch rival.

The Yankees have an opportunity to basically put the division away if they sweep in Boston. They would have a 10 game lead in the AL East.

7.5

After winning their fifth straight game last night, the Yankees now have secured a 7.5 game lead in the division. About three weeks ago when the Yankees were 0-8 against the Red Sox on the season who would have ever thought they would be where they are right now.

This isn't just a good Yankee team. They are a great Yankee team. They have 74 wins. No one else in baseball has reached 70 wins. Forgetting about the first month of the season when the Yankees were without A-Rod, they have been virtually hot this entire season. They had one awful stretch that lasted for about nine games in June, but other than that, wow.

Joba on the mound today in Seattle as the Yankees look for their second sweep in three series and look to go 32 games over 500.

State of the Yankees

The Yankees are 15-2 at home since the all-star break. They have won eight of nine and are still rolling. They are at their high water mark of the season at 71-43. They hold a 5.5 game lead over Boston in the division.

Another walk off win for the Yanks today as Robbie Cano came through with an RBI single in the 11th. It is nice to see Robbie get a walk off hit.

As the Yankees go out west, they need to continue to play well and win series. While Boston is 5.5 games back, it's easy to creep up.

Some possible injuries today. A-Rod and Jeter were both hit with pitches today. Alex in the elbow and Derek in the foot. Nothing too serious, but I wouldn't be surprised if Alex was given a few days off.

It's Arrived

Well, it's August 6th. The long awaited Yankees-Red Sox series is here. Four games at the stadium in the Bronx. The Yanks, who hold a 2.5 game lead on Boston in the division are 0-8 against the Sox and have basically been dominated by them. Tonight is a MUST WIN for the Yankees. With Jason Bay out, there is no excuse for losing this game.

Joba has been excellent in the second half so far and needs to keep that up. A-Rod is 1-10 this season so far against Boston in three games. A big night/series for him would be another huge boost for the Yankees. When Alex hits, they hit. My Prediction: Yanks take three out of four.

Solid Few Days

Another excellent win for the Yanks tonight. A.J. Burnett was just brilliant tonight. Seven innings and one hit allowed, no runs. He has pitched great both times against the Mets. We've now won four games in a row. Two great pitching performances on Friday and Saturday Night.

A-Rod seems like he's getting back into the swing of things. He's been getting big hits the last few days, and when he's on, this lineup truly is unstoppable.

The Yankees really need a sweep after their struggles the last two weeks. Let's see if Wang can get his first win tomorrow night.

Need To Turn Things Around...

The Yankees are at a crossroads right now. They just lost two out of three to the Marlins. The series before that they lost two out of three to the Nationals. The series before that they should have lost two out of three to the Mets. The series before that they got swept by the Red Sox.

The Yankees, who have had trouble getting the clutch hit in the last 12 games, are lucky they are still seven games over 500. They now sit four games behind the Boston Red Sox for first place in the AL East.

They sit at a point where they really must start playing better baseball. Four is not a huge deficit, but if they continue losing games, trouble is going to begin.

The fact is simple, the Yankees must start winning games, to keep this race interesting.

Close One

Last night was a must win for the Yankees. They had their ace on the mound against the worst team in the MLB. The Yankees led 2-0 for most of the game until C.C. Sabathia gave up a three run homer to Angel Hernandez in the sixth. At that point, the game got a little scary. The Yankees trailed 3-2 to the Nationals.

Robinson Cano turned out to be last night's hero as he went 4-4 and had the game winning double in the eighth. The Yankees had yet another comeback victory as they ended up winning 5-3.

With Boston winning again, the Yanks remain two games out of first. Chien-Ming Wang on the mound tonight, and it's on record stated by Joe Girardi that he must pitch well today or changes will be made.

Tough Loss-But No Panic

Chien-Ming Wang came out last night and once again got rocked. The Yankees cannot expect to win when allowing four runs in the first few innings.

After Wang came out, Phil Hughes looked decent in 3.2 innings, but the Yanks couldn't climb back from a 6-2 deficit.

The Yankees have now lost seven straight games to the Red Sox. I have never seen something like this in my lifetime. One would think they would be getting killed in the AL East because of this. The Yankees however are in no position like that.

They have their #1 starter on the mound tonight, and with a victory, they can be 1-7 against the Red Sox this year, and still be tied for first in the division. In such a long season, you have to take positives out of each situation. If they somehow can be tied for the the lead in the division after tonight, that would be quite a feat.

Come on C.C., show us something tonight.

Must Win...

After an embarrassing loss last night at Fenway, the Yankees are almost in a must win situation tonight. They are tied for first place in the AL East with the Sox now, so losing tonight would not be the biggest deal in the world, however pride wise the Yankees NEED this win.

They are 0-6 this year against Boston. That is the first time since 1912 they have lost the first six to the Red Sox.

If the Yankees can get a good performance tonight out of Wang, and somehow win the next two, they'll actually be in excellent shape. They would have a two game lead in the AL East, which would be their biggest of the year.

So no need to panic, but a very big one tonight at Fenway.

Yankee Stadium Roaring

I was at the stadium last night. Wow, was it rockin. This Yankee team goes out there every night and makes you feel like they are going to win the game. Whether they are ahead or behind in the game, it still feels like they are going to win.

Decent start by Pettitte last night, as he allowed three runs in six innings. Phil Hughes looked lights out in the seventh inning, and Mo looked excellent in the ninth to close it up for the Bombers.

A huge week ahead, as we go to Fenway today. The Yankees are 0-5 against the Red Sox this season but really need to just put that behind them and win at least two out of three this week. We'll see what A.J. Burnett gives the Yanks tonight as they face Beckett. The Yankees have done well against Beckett this season, so hopefully that continues.

It's hard not to love Nick Swisher. The guy plays with a smile on his face every night, and it seems as though he may be getting hot again with a homer in each of the past two games. It's nice to see.

Big Day

Huge day for the Yanks today as Chien-Ming Wang takes the mound as a starter for the first time in a while. He has looked good in the bullpen recently, so hopefully he has a solid start. With Phil Hughes now in the bullpen, the Yanks added some depth to the pen.

The Bombers have won 16 of 21. If they get a win today, they will still be rolling. Hopefully Teixeira will be back in the lineup after sitting out last night's loss with a sore ankle.

Rolling

Last night, the Yankees completed a four game series in Cleveland. They took three out of four games and easily could have won them all. The Yankees look so good these days. No one is going to win every game in such a long season, but man have they been impressive. The Yankees set an MLB record for games without an error last night. This really helps, as pitchers can have the confidence to let hitters put the ball in play and know that their fielders will get the job done.

I'm going to the stadium tonight, and hoping the Yankees keep up their winning ways.

Keeping it up

After losing two out of three to the World Champion Phillies, it was nice to see the Yanks come out and hit like crazy on Monday. A-Rod went five for five without a home run. When is the last time we've seen him get five straight hits without a home run. Phil Hughes kept up his excellence in Texas going eight innings and not allowing a run. Maybe we should trade him there, who knows, with the way he's pitched in that ballpark maybe we could get Josh Hamilton. Kidding. But still, Hughes has looked decent in his last two starts.

The Yankees are playing very good baseball all around. Too bad Brian Bruney can't find his way off the DL. Should be interesting to see what the Yankees do regarding Chien-Ming Wang especially because Hughes has done well for the most part. It would be nice to sweep Texas and try and gain first place over the stinkin Red Sox.

On Fire

The New York Yankees are absolutely on fire. They have won seven games in a row, three of them being walk off wins. A-Rod has homered in four straight games, and Mark Teixeira is sizzling hot. C.C. gave them another great outing last night. All of this is being done without Chien-Ming Wang in the rotation, without Jorge Posada behind the plate, and without Brian Bruney in the bullpen.

The Yanks are doing what they needed to do. They came home for a 10 game stand against teams that they really need to beat to get over that 500. hump, and they are succeeding. It wasn't hard to tell that as soon as Alex came back the Yankees would see much more production from Mark Teixieira. Pitchers have to show him pitches because they don't want to walk him and face A-Rod with men on. So far, the two have been quite a tandem, getting homer after homer, and RBI after RBI. Phil Hughes is on the mound tonight vs. the O's, he could use a good outing. Keep it up Bombers.

Updates

Big win last night for the Yankees. They have now won two in a row, four out of six, and two straight series. This is what they need to do to get on the right track. With a 10 game homestand coming up, and a pretty easy schedule, the Yankees really need to take this upcoming two weeks to get way above 500. Mark Teixeira is starting to hit a little bit better and C.C. really seems to be in a groove. As the Yanks begin to get players back from injury, this season can really turn around quickly.

It would be nice to see them get a good win tonight at home vs. the Twins.

Last night was an excellent night for me in all aspects: Bruins, goodbye; Celtics, lose, and Red Sox lose (David Ortiz 0-7, 0 HR since September....steroids.

Win the Series

In the MLB, there are 162 games. No team is going to win every game, or even close to every game. The goal of the New York Yankees at this point has to be to take each series, and win that series.

Great start to the weekend on Friday night. Without argument, the best Yankee game of the year. Alex Rodriguez, first pitch he sees all year, hits a three run jack. That moment set the tone for the Yankees. One swing, and the game was over. C.C. threw a complete game four hit shutout. That is the reason the Yankees got him, and most definitely had his best start of the year.

A rough outing on Saturday for Phil Hughes was quickly forgotten about after the Yankee's comeback victory on Sunday. Joba allowed three runs in the first inning, but calmed down after that and finished with an acceptable start. Damon hit his ninth home run, which is unbelievable at this point in the season for him. A 5-3 victory gave them their second win in three games, and hopefully they can continue to win every series that they play in.

A day off today, the Yanks are back at it tomorrow.

A-ROD'S Return, Selena Roberts, and Manny Ramirez

Well folks, the day has finally come. Alex Rodriguez is back. The struggling Yankees need anything they can get right now, and getting arguably the best hitter ever is surely something they will accept. A-Rod, as usual will have tons of pressure on him to perform. Hopefully the news of Manny Ramirez will help take some of the heat off Alex. Not that there EVER is heat off Alex, but who knows.

Hopefully A-Rod being back in the lineup helps Mark Teixeira. I really believe it will, and it would be nice to see Mark get hot.

The Selena Roberts book about Rodriguez came out recently. What is the reason for her to write this book? Why is one woman trying so hard to demoralize this guy? She didn't write anything that people don't know. We know A-Rod doesn't say the smartest things, we know that some of his teammates don't like him, and we know that he did steroids. Do we really care anymore? Anyone can pick a person and just tear him apart by pointing out every negative thing that he has done in life. Roberts is ridiculous and I have grown to despise her over the past few months through this whole situation.

Is anyone really surprised that Manny Ramirez failed a drug test? I sure am not. I was shocked when I saw that he was suspended for 50 games effective immediately. However, no ones use of steroids surprises me anymore. Now the Red Sox fans can stop their excuse of "the Yankees are cheaters." Well , it looks as though most of these guys are cheaters. Because I'm sure during the steroid era the NEW YORK YANKEES were the ONLY team using these things. Steroids must ONLY have been in New York. Get a grip on reality Boston. David Ortiz hit over 50 home runs a few years ago and hasn't hit one since September. If that doesn't sound like a steroid user I do not know what does.

C.C. NEEDS a good start tonight, Go Yanks.

Update: The NBA Playoffs

Both series that were played last night are now tied at one as expected. I'm pretty sure no one expected the Lakers to lose a second straight game to the Rockets at home. Although the Rockets do match up very well to the tough LA team, they weren't taking last night's game. Kobe Bryant had a stellar performance dropping 40 points and taking just 27 shots. They said on TNT last night that when Kobe scores one point for every shot he takes, the Lakers are nearly unbeatable. Last night he had 1.48 points for every shot he took, and was just too good for the Rockets. Ron Artest was ejected from the game after running and getting into Kobe's face. It originally appeared as though it was all Artest to blame for what happened. However the replay showed Kobe throw what looked like an elbow to Artest's neck. Craig Sager reported that Kobe's elbow is going to be reviewed by the league's office for possible fines or suspensions. Wouldn't that be something if Kobe missed a game because of this? The Rockets were led last night by an unexpected hero. Carl Landry shot seven of nine for the field and dropped 21 points. He had one of the best games of his career for the Rockets who still fell short. The Rockets however, must be happy with taking one out of two from LA at home. As they head back to Houston for game three, they definitely will have some hope. The problem is, the Lakers are the best road team in the game, and I expect them to win out in this series as long as Kobe Bryant does not face suspension. The combination of Bryant, Odom, Gasol, and Bynum is just too much for Houston Rockets.

The Boston Celtics won game two last night in Boston vs. the Magic in weird fashion. Paul Pierce, the captain and leader of the team had three points in 16 minutes while Eddie House had 31 points in just 28 minutes. Rajon Rondo also had an unbelievable game as he dropped 15 points, had 11 rebounds, and 18 assists. The Magic were never really in this game. Stan Van Gundy said to his team during a timeout, "Wake up, it doesn't even look like you're trying to win this game." Stan's comments seemed true when watching the Celtics demolish Orlando without Dwight Howard. As the series goes back to Orlando, look for the Magic to get a second life and win game three. They were better than Boston all year with a healthy Kevin Garnett. Without Garnett, the Magic should be able to win this series.

Yankee Positives and Negatives

Well, the Yankees have now lost four in a row. Last night was one of the most upsetting losses of the year to watch. I watched the feed on MLB.tv as I don't get the YES network here in Rhode Island. I turned the game on just as Teixeira got his biggest hit of the year. A bases clearing double in the bottom of the eighth tied the game up at three, and it really looked like the Yankees were going to win at this point. They had a runner on third with two outs in the ninth but couldn't come through. After Phil Coke gave up a solo shot to Carlos Pena in the top of 10th, the Rays never looked back. Mark Teixeira was up with a man on third with just one out, but could not even hit a deep enough fly ball to bring him in. Matsui flied out to left for the last out, and there it was, the fourth straight Yankee loss.

As it is 27 games into the season, I'm not going to panic. But it really has been a tough season so far for Yankee fans. One can surely argue the positive. The Yankees had their best April since 2006 and did it without arguably the best hitter ever in baseball. They are playing 500. ball without their third baseman, right fielder, catcher, #2 starter, and top two set up man. As Pete Abraham wrote in his Yankee Blog, their situation would spell serious trouble for any team. When A-Rod comes back tomorrow, will some pressure be taken off Teixeira? How will he respond to this? Will Chien-Ming Wang be back anytime soon? How will A-Rod perform after all of his off-season trouble with steroids, and now his hip injury? Many questions remain to be asked for the New York Yankees. One thing is for sure though, until they get some help in the bullpen, they are not going to be winning many games. They have one reliable guy in the bullpen who is healthy right now, and even he can only pitch in the ninth inning.

The State of the Yankees

The Yankees suffered a disappointing loss last night to the Boston Red Sox. The game was delayed about 2 and a half hours. Phil Hughes came out and allowed a run in each of his first four innings. The Yankees, who trailed 4-0 fought back with back to back home runs off Lester late in the game, but couldn't take advantage of a bases loaded situation in the ninth off Papelbon.

This Yankee team is so plagued with injuries that it is just getting ridiculous. Now Jorge Posada may be seriously injured. He will undergo an MRI today, but he said he felt a "grab" in his hamstring. Losing Jorge would just be another of many huge blows to the Yankees so far this season. They showed last year that is hard to get wins without Posada playing almost every day. Just add him to the list of : A-rod, Bruney, Nady, Marte, Teixeira (bad wrist but playing), Swisher (just got back in the lineup last night). No matter how good a team is, with the amount of injuries they have, its just so hard to put together wins.

The Yankees brought up Alfredo Aceves yesterday and he did very well for them. He showed some promise in long relief, and I'm guessing Girardi wants to keep him around for a little while to see what he has.

Meanwhile, it's good to see some bad blood developing between the Yankees and Red Sox again. I don't like how friendly the teams have been with each other the last few years. Joe Girardi accused the Red Sox first base coach of stealing signs and told him that "someone was going to get hurt." JD Drew was then beamed in the seventh inning.

Joba back on the mound tonight, hopefully we can rock Josh Beckett again.

A Great Night in Sports

As far as sports goes, last night was one of my favorite nights in recent memory. The Yankees, who always struggle with the Angels had a comeback 7-4 victory to win their third straight game. The Red Sox lost 13-0, and got just one hit off Matt Garza and the Tampa Bay Rays. The Celtics got edged in triple overtime in Chicago to the bulls 128-127.

The Yankees now sit at 12-10 for the month of April. This is their best month of April since 2006 and they did it without Alex Rodriguez. They also did it with Chien-Ming Wang's three horrific starts. A very uncharacteristic start of the season for Wang, got him sent down to Tampa. Due to this, Phil Hughes was brought up and had an EXCELLENT first start. The Yankees always seem to play best in the middle of the summer as opposed to April and May, so if they can continue to stay above 500. now, they should be en route to win the Al East if all goes well.

Once again, I am falling in love with Chicago Bulls. Joakim Noah's steal and dunk plus the foul last night was a wonderful moment in the NBA. The Bulls deserve to win this series and I really think that they will do so in game seven. Ray Allen put in an impressive performance to say the least by scoring 51 points last night, but the Bulls just fought to hard and seemed to want it a little more. Game seven Saturday night should be one for the ages at the TD Banknorth Garden in Boston.

Joba Chamberlin and Nick Swisher

The Yankees went out last night and got another key victory. Joba Chamberlin threw seven innings allowing only a few hits. He allowed one run off just a sac fly. My man Nick Swisher jacked two home runs for the Yankees. He now leads the team with seven on the year. Where would the Yankees be without Swisher at this point? Everyone has to be very happy that we signed him. A-Rod can be back sometime within the next 10 days, and hopefully when he's back, the Yankees consistently can put a lot of runs on the board every night.

Relief in Yankee World and a Flagrant Foul

Well, Phil Hughes is back Yankee fans, and what a debut he had. Six innings, two hits, and zero runs. It's his best start since he pitched seven perfect innings in May of '07 and then injured his leg. With Wang sure to be out for a good amount of time, Hughes really needs to step up for New York. Last night was a wonderful start and hopefully a sign of things to come. Finally the Yankee bats woke up banging out 10 runs in the seventh inning. If Hughes can continually pitch well, this really is excellent news for the Yankees.

Once again watched the entire Celtics-Bulls game. I was upset that the Bulls lost because I thought that they deserved to win the game. That was a flagrant foul on Rondo at the end and Brad Miller should have gotten two shots and the ball. We'll see what happens in game six.

Hughes is Back

Huge start tonight for Phil Hughes. Everyone knows that we need this guy to be big for us this year. Tonight is his first chance to shine. We'll see what happens.

The New York Knicks

Being an avid Knicks fan was not hard in the 90's. Although they never won a championship, they had so many players who showed so much heart and will to win. I grew up watching guys like Charles Oakley, Patrick Ewing, and John Starks give everything they could to win games for the New York Knicks. Over the past five or six years, rooting for this team just has not been as easy. It seems as though the Knicks has been comprised of a bunch of selfish players who play no defense. Clearly, as shown through the Knicks record in recent years, this does not win games.

Well all (Knicks fans) have hope in our hearts that at the end of next season basketball in New York will be back to the way it should be. With guys like Lebron James, Dwayne Wade, and Chris Bosh on the free agent market, all Knicks fans are hoping that the electricity of the garden is brought back. If any 2 of these huge name stars are signed, it's likely that New York Knick basketball will be back on the map. The Knicks will once again be a contender, and New York City will be them as they always have.

Yankee Struggles and NBA

Well, another night has passed and another Yankee loss has occurred. This has now happened four straight days. C.C. pitched a complete game, but allowed a two run homer in the sixth which proved to be the difference. Once again, barely any hitting by the struggling Yankees. A-Rod is needed in the Bronx, and all (or most) Yankee fans cannot wait for his return.

The New Orleans Hornets suffered one of the most embarrassing losses that I have ever seen in sports. They lost by 58 points at home! It seemed as though they gave up after the first quarter. Chris Paul, who to his credit was wearing a knee brace, seemed as though he was hiding and didn't even care at all in this game. The Hornets seem as though they are road kill to this point down 3-1 going back to Denver.

Random Thoughts on the Weekend

After a long weekend of sports, I am reflecting. The Yankees went into Boston and got swept. Normally this is something that would bother me a lot. For some reason, I am not so bothered by it. Friday night was a game that the Yankees should have won. Mo does what he does, but he's going to blow some saves. He is human after all. Saturday afternoon looked like the Yanks were back in good form until they blew a 6-0 lead and went on to allow 16 runs and lose the game. Let's remember something that a lot of people seem to forget early in the baseball season. There are 162 games, and we are now 18 games into the season. Although everyone would like to win every game, and especially not lose to the Boston Red Sox three straight times, we have to take into account some things. The best player in the MLB hasn't suited up yet for the Yankees. Chien-Mien Wang is going through some early season difficulties but he will be back. Brian Bruney (our potential set up man), is now out for two weeks. Xavier Nady is out for the year. While they won't have Nady back, they will eventually get these other guys back. There are so many ups and downs in the baseball season that I am not going to let something like this get to me so early. We'll see what happens mid-summer when the Yankees are hopefully in full form.

I watched the entire Celtics-Bulls match-up on Sunday again and boy am I impressed with the Chicago Bulls. This young team is really coming together and I see them beating the Celtics in seven. Derrick Rose and Rajon Rondo went at it all game, back and forth, until it turned into the Ray Allen vs. Ben Gordon show. This has seemed to happen every game in this series. The young guys get everything going and the veterans take over the game at the end. I want to see Rose keep the ball on these late possessions.

That's all for now, Go Yanks tonight in Detroit...