Gary Spewing Love and Kindness Once Again

     Sheff is in the news yet again and it's not because of his bat, rather, it's because of his most powerful weapon: His mouth. Not too long ago he cried racism about why less blacks were in baseball and reasoned that it was because Hispanics were easier to "control." So apparently to Sheff, Black folks are a more difficult race to "control" than Hispanics. Take that as you will.

     Gary managed to follow that insanity recently by calling Joe Torre a racist and claiming that Derek Jeter "ain't all the way black." I find it interesting to note that the only one throwing race into anything is the man who claims that everyone else is perpetrating it. The one who says everyone else is racist is the one who says Hispanics are easy to "control."

     Obviously Sheffield is an authority on the questioning of character, since he admittedly committed errors on purpose while in Milwaukee so that he would be traded to another team. Gary is a poster-boy for the bad things about Free Agency and the antithesis of loyal. He's always chosen to be intentionally nomadic with his teams rather than ever stick things out. When on the field, he is as ferocious a hitter as we have seen, and someone I believe has a seat waiting in the Hall of Fame. But that doesn't free him from being a perennial scumbag.

 This is Nothing New

    Gary is on his 7th team because of his selfishness, period. He has always been a mood swing away from being disgruntled, and never far from asking to be traded. He'll go to his grave claiming that any problems he had with any team stemmed solely from a lack of respect towards him; it's always about how Gary deserves more. Plus once Gary is gone, it's only a matter of time before he burns his former team in the press. He's the classic "stick a mic in front of him and let him go" player, and now he is attempting to burn one of the most beloved and successful managers of all time, and one of the class acts of baseball.

      Naturally he'll claim the "taken out of context" card on this one, and he already has, claiming that Derek is one of his friends, and the editors can make it look however they want. But Gary Sheffield has no context, his context is anger. His context is a chip on his shoulder. His context is I can only trust myself. He's been that way his entire career, and now he thinks he can tear down the characters of two men whom each have more character than 20 million Gary Sheffield's. Two men whose names will live on long after Sheffield's is only a shriveled memory to future generations of his own family.

     It's that kind of attitude that's been behind behind the million times I've seen him get hit by a pitch or brushed back, and then coming back with a homerun. But that same fiery attitude is what gets him traded or prompts him to unnecessarily insult other people in the press. He left the Yankees on a negative note because he did not want to honor the contract that HE SIGNED HIMSELF and, in true Sheffield fashion, forced a trade to Detroit. Now we wait to see what Detroit's fate will be. A man so volatile and so sensitive to any perception of persecution or disrespect, long as he feels he is, constantly lives near a breaking point.

      Gary, you are one of the best hitters of my generation. If I had a Hall of Fame vote, I'd put you in. But I've seen you play the victim and place the blame on everyone else one too many times. I will always remember you as a textbook disgruntled athlete; the coward who always chose to burn his former teams only after he left them. You will always be that selfish scumbag that could have been a legend had you kept your mouth shut. Can you honestly say that by voicing your opinions rather than keeping quiet you have actually made your life better? Go to hell Gary, I hope it's all been worth it.

July 14, @ Tampa Bay            W (6-4)             44-44   9GB                

 There were a few things that I loved seeing in this game, and I favored two of them in particular. Wang came out in the 1st and was awful, getting raked immediately for 3 runs on 4 hits. Things didn't look good at that point. Then Wang did something that often goes unnoticed about him: He kept his cool. Wang retired 15 of the next 16 batters he faced and held the Rays to those 3 runs and simultaneously gave his team a chance to support him. Wang is a very composed pitcher, and is extremely reliable under pressure.

 That brings me to the other aspect of the game I enjoyed: Bobby Abreu drove in 5 runs. On a night where the Yankees were down early, and Alex Rodriguez was 0-5, Bobby Abreu picked his team up and came through when they needed him. Trailing 3-2 in the 5th, Abreu put that perfect swing on the ball and hit a majestic homer into the right field seats. The other 3 came on two ground outs and a double. It seems as though they're few and far between this season, but tonight Bobby showed why he's been regarded for so many years as a great RBI man. He put his team ahead, then added an insurance run, and then added another insurance run after the Rays got a run back.

 All this was encouraging after the difficult loss yesterday on a bad outing from the Rocket. I've tried to drive home the point that you can't expect to sweep every team you play, even the bad teams, and it's necessary to hold a more realistic outlook with the Yankees this season. With a win today the Yankees can take 3 of 4 from Tampa Bay, and that's all you can truly hope for. Torre has said himself that they need to win every series and that's simply what Yankee fans have to pull for. Seeing Rocket lose a game against a weak team is difficult, but salvaging 3 of 4 would ease the brunt of that setback. Moose gets the ball and the opportunity for that 3rd win against 1-9 Edwin Jackson tomorrow and Moose can ask for no better opportunity to get his 5th win of the season.

July 12, @ Tampa Bay            W (7-3)       43-43   10GB       8.5GB Wild Card

 With the road to the unthinkable reaching further than the eye can see, the Yankees opened the second half of the season with a W. It's only one of the 50 or so they'll likely need if they want a playoff shot, but it's still one out of one in the final 77 games of 2007 and a step in the right direction.

 Alex picked up right where he left off going 3 for 3 with a solo homer and scoring 3 runs; with one homer coming on back-to-back shots between he and Jeter (that was the first time the two have accomplished that together). The Yanks got a third homer in that inning as Bobby went yard on a solo shot and capped-off the day going 3 for 4 with 3 RBI, a double and a homer. And the double was only a few feet from being a homer itself. Bobby had that swing looking right in this one and it was nice to see that he can still unleash it. All in all, the team accumulated 10 hits with Cano being the only Yankee that went hitless.

 Andy wasn't great but he was effective; going 5 and 2/3 and giving up 3 runs. He could have finished the 6th but Joe, as Joe always does, pulled him just a bit early. Vizcaino got the last out and handled the next inning with ease. He gave way to Farnsworth, and he gave way to Mariano, both of which fared well and held Tampa at bay.

 So they started things off properly, and amid the newfound A-Rod controversy (that of his refusal to negotiate with the Yankees during the season) the mountain climb began. Scott Boras, not surprisingly, is already voicing his expectation of Alex eventually being the first $30M a season player, and considering Ichiro is about to get $20M, I don't see anything stopping Boras.

 Alex has been pushed around and alienated by the media and, sadly, the fans as well since he first came to town and I feel very uneasy about his returning next season. Why should he stay? I can only imagine that the Yankees are willing to pay the most money, but Lord knows how this thing will go. It's sad because seeing Alex finally find his comfort zone in New York has yielded his best season so far, and it may lead to glory down the line. He came to New York to win and even sacrificed his position, this guy deserved to be embraced, at least, by his own fans doesn't he? Sure it's justified for everyone else to hate him, as is the case with Bonds, but he should be embraced by his home fans and city.

 Aside from that, tomorrow The Rocket will take on Scott Kazmir. It has been an inconsistent season for Kaz and it has been an awful season for the Yankees against lefties. This game will be little litmus test of its own as second half Rocket will be tested, the Yankees against lefties will need to change, as will the Yankees difficulties against their division. Each game is important, and has been, so it will be interesting to see if the Yankees can come out and perform as they did tonight.

July 1, Oakland L (11-5) 37-41 11GB 8GB Wild Card

New month, same crap. An optimistic view would have seen July 1st as a day that the Yankees may have turned the corner in their season. A new month and a perfect time to erase the past and start fresh. Andy Pettitte was on the mound and he could be counted on to at least keep you in the ball game and give you a chance to win; so much for optimism. Andy got chased in the second after getting bombed for 7 earned on 9 hits, 2 of them being homeruns. The initial run came on a ball Abreu misplayed, allowing a runner to advance. The Yankee problems finally came around and got to Andy as well.

So after 1 and a half it was 8-0 Oakland and with Dan Haren and his 1.91 ERA the game was pretty much over right? Not exactly. An Abreu grounder to first scored one and an Andy Phillips single scored a second; 8-2. Villone came in and did a great job settling things, keeping the A's at bay through 5. The Yanks scored 2 more in the 4th on a sac fly from Abreu and an infield single by Phillips (Andy was 3 for 4 with 2 RBI) and managed to get the bases loaded with the tying run at the plate in Cano...oh boy.

Torre had Cano in the 3rd slot and Joe is continuing the merry-go-round for a guy that can handle hitting number 3. With the way Cano has been this year, maybe this was the jolt he would need. So he comes up in a monster spot and, well, flies out to the right fielder, ending the inning. I'll give him this - he didn't hit a grounder or strike out, which is pretty much his M.O. lately. Derek Jeter would single in a run in the 6th making it 8-5 and that would bring Cano to the plate once more with 2 on and 2 out. Would this be the moment he turned it around? Absolutely freakin' not. He was made to look a fool with a terrible check swing where he clearly went around, the Yankee threat, and the game itself really, was over. Cano finished 0-5 with 5 LOB and 2 K's and was visibly down in the dugout. For those that are angry with Robbie over what seems like him not caring enough, he really does, he just doesn't have it together so far this year.

The Yankees got to Haren as they surely hoped they would, though Haren was handed an 8-run lead and was more than likely pitching to the score, thus throwing more hittable pitches. But Andy took his team out of the game from the very beginning, and even though there were opportunities to come back, you can't fault a team for being unable to score 8 runs when all they could muster was 5. Five runs will win you a ball game most of the time. They showed more fight today than they've show in a while, but the mountain put in front of them today was simply too high to climb.

I knew this stretch would be a difficult one, and it has started that way. Minnesota comes in next for 4 games and the Angels immediately follow. These are all home games but honestly it doesn't seem to matter at this point. The Yankee faithful tried their best to will their team to victory this weekend and it just wasn't enough. The stretch following the All-Star break will be against very weak teams, but what will the Yankees record be by that point?

Giambi Anyone?

One thing about good American League lineups is that normally they will have guys near the bottom that can drive runs in or set up the guys at the top of the order. The Yankees just don't have that right now. The loss of Sheffield hurt because they lost the right-handed bat and his power. That would have been masked somewhat if Giambi was healthy but with him gone there's a very significant RBI-producing gap in the lineup and the Yankees are paying dearly. We know that Giambi seemed like he was going to either walk, homer, or strike out when he came to the plate, we know that much, but he drove home a lot of baserunners.

Let's put it this way, right now the Yankees have only 1 guy that is a threat for a homer every time he comes to the plate; with Giambi there were 2. It may seem simple, but it makes a massive difference. Sure the troubles of Matsui and Abreu and Cano and even Damon have hurt the team, but even with Giambi hitting his usual .250 he may have had 40 or 50+ RBI. Those aren't numbers that put the Yankees 20 games over .500, of course not, but it could be the difference in 5, 6, or 7 games. It could have made the difference in Colorado, in Frisco, and definitely in Baltimore. Plus he would have forced Damon to the DL and Johnny could have had time to heal and return a better player. Initially I didn't think losing Giambi would hurt, but it truly has and has made the loss of Sheffield sting badly. As bad as Giambi has looked, and he's been terrible, his bat is missed right now, there's no question.

June 29, Oakland W (2-1) 37-39 11GB 8GB Wild Card

The Moose pulled himself together and pitched his best game of the season tonight holding the A's to 1 run in 7 innings. Moose struck out 3 and allowed 6 hits, walked 1 and did it all on 84 pitches. That's about as effective a ball game as you will see this guy pitch. Moose deserves some credit for his effort, in this game at least, because he's been pretty maligned this year and, knowing the way he is on himself, fighting battles on the inside as well. His constant nibbling and nibbling around the plate gets him into trouble when umps won't give him the edges, but it worked tonight. He was helped a lot by his defense and despite a 2-run first, the Yankees mustered nothing else the rest of the game; leaving 9 on base in the process. It was a win nonetheless though, right?

Mariano came in to get 4 outs and was as harsh on batters as we've seen him all year, striking out 3 and recording the save on 18 pitches. Torre went to Rivera with 2 out in the 8th and 2 men on after pulling Farnsworth from the game; this did not please Kyle.

Joe's decision to go to Rivera was clear evidence of his regard for the significance of the win. In a 1-run ballgame considering all that has happened with the Yankees, how can you blame him? Farnsworth can cry all he wants about getting the hook but he's brought that on himself by giving up 38 hits in 32 innings. An effective setup man doesn't put up those kinds of numbers.

Alex and Jorgie were responsible for the two RBI's and Alex has now brought his BA to .334. Derek and Jorgie have done a fantastic job this year, but Alex has been the backbone of the offense for this team and I don't even want to imagine where they would be without him. It's funny to see Alex flourish in a way we've never seen him while in Pinstripes, and yet watch as most of the lineup just can't seem to rise out of the funk they're in. The answer is pretty clear, of course. During Alex's struggles in New York people managed to forget that A-Rod was an Albert Pujols before there was an Albert Pujols; he was one of those young phenomenal once-in-a-generation talents that defied logic. Great players manage to overcome struggles, even gigantic struggles, and the good and above average players have a much more difficult time doing this; some don't ever come out.

This is the situation Bobby Abreu is in right now. We know Bobby is not a great player, but he is a very good player and a guy that can still be an all-star. Are we supposed to believe that Bobby has nothing left and would be wise to retire after this season? That he wouldn't flourish on a team that provided less pressure? Please. Bobby still has it in him and we saw it over that stretch earlier this month. Can he pull out of it though? Can Bobby pull out and focus enough to earn his respect back on this team and for himself? Considering how he and Johnny Damon performed only a year ago, I fully believe they're capable of so much more. The team needs to keep it together and fight back into the mix.

So as I figured it would, the Hillenbrand talk began and it looks like the Yankees are going to make a push for him. I guess I could live with him; career .285, never walks and has a terrible OBP, but maybe it would work somewhat. If the team were playing well while only having a weakness at 1B then this may have been the missing piece, but there's so many issues that this move doesn't really do much for me. What will help is the All-Star break because Johnny will get much needed rest and players can get themselves together. That will be important because immediately following the break the Yanks will face their most important stretch of the year; the one that will truly make or break their season. The first 27 games after the break are against teams that are a combined 173-218, a .442 winning percentage. A successful stretch before and after the break would put the Yankees right back in the hunt. This is no simple task, however, as the Yankees are below .500 themselves and have much work ahead of them if they hope to reach a higher level, but there is still reason for optimism.