August 5, @ Toronto     W (5-4)    62-50    6GB      .5GB  Wild Card

So Toronto finally made their "retaliation" for their own imbecile infielder's mistake back in May (for those who forgot, A-Rod was nearly sent to the guillotine for screaming at Howie Clark on a routine pop-up to third that Clark let fall).  Jesse Litsch was given the order to throw behind Alex in the 2nd inning to "send a message."  Alex kept his composure and eventually took a base on balls.

One thing managed to slip the minds of the Blue Jays, though: Winning the game. When retaliation for perceived injustice on a routine fly clouds the mind as much as it obviously did in this case, victory can be a difficult task. Actually, victory is normally a difficult task for the Blue Jays. Today was no different, coincdentally, as their bullpen imploded in the 6th and turned a 3-1 lead into a 5-3 deficit.

Am I against the old school brand of baseball? Certainly not. If a guy earns it and you want to let him know he better be careful, go ahead and send a message. But what A-Rod did was so ridiculous and minute compared with the attention it received; and obvioulsy only because he's Lightning-Rod, a man who so many love to hate.  What exactly were they retaliating for though? Maybe poetic justice would be to sneak up on A-Rod and scream Ha! in his ear and scare him, then point a finger and say gotcha!

Despite the fireworks, or lack thereof, the Yankees played one heck of a game in spite of the "retaliatory" efforts of the Blue Jays. Pettitte ran into some trouble in the 5th after already giving up the third run of the game. But did Andy ever pitch his way out of it, getting all three outs on K's. He saved the game in that 5th inning. In the 6th, Abreu led off with a walk and A-Rod singled before Matsui blooped one into left field to score Bobby. After a Posada K, and with runner at the corners, Robbie Cano doubled to center and gave the Yankees the lead. Then Melky, with 2 out, singled in Cano for an insurance run (which ended up being the difference). Luis Vizcaino actually pitched 2 full innings today, and though he ran into a little trouble, survived long enough to get to Mariano in the 9th. Mo was in true Mo form, striking out the side for the W.

I can't say enough about the efforts that Cano and Melky are putting in right now.  Melky solidified himself as the starting CF, there's no question about that. And his proven ability to hit at the ML level now has really made him valuable. That's why Brian Cashman (who I supported in this) held on to Melky. The same goes for Cano. He was terrible for the first half of the season but finally figured it out, and is one of the hottest hitters inthe game, plus a reliable 2B.

So today there was comeback win, a gutty pitching performance, a bullpen that held together, a Mariano save, and all of this on the road. This was encouraging. Much has been made of the Yankees ability to pound on weaker opposition, and how it means nothing (despite them having the best record in baseball over the last 2 months).  This is a .500+ team that they beat on the road, after needing to come back. While this is only a small step, it's an encouraging one nonetheless. There will be 2 more in Toronto before a huge 3-gamer in Cleveland over the weekend. Monday saw the road trip start off well and hopefully it will continue.

Note: Mike Myers was designated for assignment today and likely will never see the Yankees again. Best of luck Mike, I wish I could say it was good while it lasted. I'll say this, though, you weren't as bad as Kyle Farnsworth. Accordingly, the release of Myers allowed for the call-up of Jim Brower, who more than likely will eat some time until Joba Chamberlain gets the call. Joba, between AA and AAA has struck out 84 in 48.1 innings. God help him translate it to The Show.

The Yankees reached 10 games over .500 today and that was just one several events that took place at The Stadium. A-Rod (finally) hit number 500 of his career off of poor Kyle Davies who seemingly was only just traded from Atlanta to lowly Kansas City in order to give up that homerune (poor bastard). Today was also the return of Phil Hughes, whose solid and later shaky performance may not be as bad as it seemed, but more on that later. And also, of course, the Yanks bombed KC for 16 runs and continued their wooden assault on opposing pitching.

As for Hughes, he finished going 4.2 and gave up 7 hits and 6 earned after being given a 6-2 lead going into the 5th. He also struck out 5. The kid came out and had that wicked stuff that we can remember from May, but KC figured him out the second time around the order and began pelting the ball all over the field. Mainly, he continued trying to sneak his fastball in and the Roayls sniffed it out; without being able to make adjustments, little Phil was throwing BP.

What does this mean, exactly? It doesn't mean Hughes is Mike Pelfrey, or that he's going to channel Jaret Wright, but it does mean that he's going to have growing pains. He's only 21 years old people. Take this example: Felix Hernandez of the Mariners is the same age and has far more experience than Hughes. You may recall him throwing a one-hitter in Fenway earlier this year, but you won't recall his so-so and bad games. They're growing pains, and Phil will likely be better more often than he is bad. He's wasn't great in his debut this year, but came back with a near-no-hitter in Texas. Plus the Yankees were scoring runs, and pitchers have a tendency to pitch to the score a lot, meaning that they may throw more freely because they have a lead. Phil is way too young to do that, and also still not schooled on making adjustments to big-league lineups. He will be, though, and I was encouraged by what I saw.

On to the bats. Cano had 4 hits today, moving his AVG to .311. He's raised his BA 45 pts since July 1st and his struggles from the first half are a distant memory. Actually, all the offensive struggles have become a distant memory. Abreu hit .353 in July and knocked in 29 runs, a career high month. Not to mention the gargantuan month of Hideki Matsui, who slugged .735 and hit 13 homers (leading the majors) in July while knocking in 28. He was also named player of the month. Even Shelley Duncan was called up and already has 5 homers.

The offensive surge is important because it was missing early on in the year, and could have saved them a significant portion of the hole they dug themselves. While the pitching hasn't been perfect, it's been ok, and has been surviving. At this point, the Yankees are handling the "make-or-break" portion of their schedule as they are supposed to, going 16-7 since the all-star break, and 21-9 in their last 30. The bullpen is still an issue, and while I'll commend Cashman for not going through with the Gagne deal, there is still a gaping hole in the bullpen that will be hemmoraging should they make the playoffs. Joba Chamberlain is suppoed to be called up as a reliever, and my fellow Yankee fans and I will be praying that this will call-up will work. Joba has been annihilating every level he's played on, so we'll see where it goes.

With about 2 months left, the Yanks are 1.5 games out of the Wild Card and 7 behind Boston. There's reason for both optimism and worry, but far less than there was in May or even June. The month of August will take the Yankees on the road to Cleveland, Detroit, Toronto, and Los Angeles, and will have them host Baltimore, Boston, and Detroit. This will be a monumentally difficult and telling month on what the Yankees will be doing come playoff time. The Yankees are 5 games below .500 on the road this year and will need all the offense and pitching they can muster against the upcoming schedule. My feeling is that with one more solid reliever they'll have a solid bullpen. What will be equally interesting is what Torre does now that Giambi is about to come back to the lineup, leaving him with a plethora of solid everyday players to choose from. If only one of them could pitch, right? Stay tuned.

The news is now out in the open about the Celtics resuming talks with the Timberwolves about a trade involving Kevin Garnett, and this time (supposedly) the deal has some teeth.

Maybe it does, but maybe it doesn't. At this point, the deal involves Al Jefferson, Theo Ratliff's expiring contract, either Rajon Rondo or Sebastian Telfair, and possibly Gerald Green going to Minny for Mr. Garnett; i.e. a whole lot of compensation for one of the best players in the league. It's funny how Theo Ratliff has become nothing more than a guy who's only value is that his contract makes big trades work. Anyway, with Garnett it bears the question: Should they do it? There are reasons for both yays and nays in this situation, but is either decision the right one?

Unlike football and baseball, in basketball any team can instantly become relevant by acquiring one superstar. LeBron James took a YMCA team to the NBA finals last season in a conference of mostly NBDL teams, and throwing one star onto most of said teams could put any of them in position to dominate. But by understanding the importance of acquiring that one guy that instantly puts you in contention, what if you might already have that guy?

The Celtics Might Already Have Enough

Danny Ainge has kept Boston fans in a state of confusion for years with questionable moves and steady decline, but has now, somehow, built a young nucleus that is changing opinions. The centerpiece in their situation is Al Jefferson who, in Boston, has become the darling of Boston fans and one of the better up-and-coming players in the NBA. At 22 years old, he can score, rebound, block shots, and, on the surface, could be a franchise player in Boston for over a decade. Moreover, as NBA fans have seen, if you have a big man that can be built around, you'll be a force to be reckoned with. Also, Rajon Rondo is a point guard that is strong and long enough to defend as well as score, distribute, and even rebound. Even Gerald Green, who is a tremendous athlete with a good-looking jumpshot that needs to be refined, is only 21 and may also have a bright future. Add those 3 to Paul Pierce and new Celtic Ray Allen and there is good reason for optimism.

That being said, however, that lineup isn't even a paper-champion in the lowly Eastern Conference, and the key word regarding the young Celtic players is potential. The Boston love affair and hopes for Al Jefferson could be in haste. No one can be certain of his capability as a player down the road, and most would agree he is not yet ready to be a superstar; it will take time. And it will also take time for Rondo and Green to refine themselves into great players, if they even have that in them. Yet all this potential has many Celtic fans questioning the pemise of this deal because it would "cost them their future." But what future is that? Would they be better off keeping these young guys and hoping they can be groomed into a bonafide team down the road? With both Paul Pierce and Ray Allen on or near (or already on the other side of) the very tips of their respective mountains of ability, they don't have the time to be patient.

Winning Now

This is the idea that owners and GM's battle with every year: Should we work with what we have, or should be put all our cards on the table and go for the gusto? The bottom line is that while Al Jefferson may have a future, and even a bright one, the chances of him being anywhere near Kevin Garnett, among the best of all-time, are quite slim. It's not an indictment of Jefferson's ability, but this is Kevin Garnett we're talking about.  Acquiring KG makes the Celtics an instant Eastern Conference contender (if not the best team on paper) and puts three perennial all-stars (while all still in their prime) on the floor at the same time. It gives them 3 legitimate take-over-the-game-at-any-given-time scoring options, and would be the best thing to happen to Ray Allen and Paul Pierce in their entire NBA careers. KG would own the paint (and in the East this would be child's play), distribute the ball to Allen and Pierce (this would do wonders for both their games), and KG would add that leadership and toughness that the C's currently lack (not to mention would bring that fire back from Pierce). This move would make more fomiddable than they were by adding Allen, and Boston fans would have themselves a legitimate title contender.

There's a catch though, and there ALWAYS is. By acquiring KG the Celtics would be paying $60M between KG, Pierce, and Allen alone. That's a lot of money, and it begs another question: Is winning now worth the risk of mortgaging away your future? One need not look far for an example, the Miami Heat are victims. In consecutive seasons the Heat added a massive amount of contractual obligation between Shaq, Antoine Walker, Jason Williams and James Posey. What was the result? NBA Champions. The Heat made everything culimnate in a championship and made it look like pure genius, for a little while. A year later, the Heat looked old and decrepit and a far cry from the team the reigned supreme only a year prior. So, naturally, Miami went out of their way this offseason to change things. But guess what? They mortgaged away their future for a championship. Even with Posey a free agent, they simply did not have enough money under the cap to go after free agents of significance, and were jerked-around by Mo Williams who leveraged himself a bigger deal in Milwaukee by having dinner with Riley on South Beach. Not to mention didn't have enough money to sign their very own 3-point champion Jason Kapono. Championships can be very short-lived, and the Heat are a prime example. They decided to win now and it worked, but it was actually win now, pay later.

What's the Right Decision?

It's not easy for GM's to decide these things, even Phoenix was considering trading Amare Stoudemire (who's a fantastic player with an unbelievable future) for Kevin Garnett. Any wrong decision could set you back for years. Surely most Heat fans would never trade away the elation of winning a championship, even considering their current situation, because they are so incredibly hard to come by in the NBA. And Boston fans, who have plenty of them but none in 20 years, would kill for another championship. Sure, Kevin Garnett is on the other side of 30, has been beat up for over a decade, and is long overdue for his iron-man health to deteriorate, but he is one guy that is absolutely worth it.

You hear about KG's loyalty to Minnesota, and it can't really be comprehended unless you look at his career. He's been in the better conference his entire career, and has NEVER had pieces put around him, save the one season. He's been criticized for not being able to lead his team to the second round many times, but big men can never do that without strong wing players, and the only time he had players like that they ran into Shaq and Kobe. KG is too unselfish a player to average 30ppg, and believe me he is fully capable of scoring on that level. Through all the losing seasons, he never asked out of Minnesota, he honored his contract, and gave 200% every night. The fire and intensity that comes with Kevin Garnett is the stuff of legend, and Bostonians, while clinging whole-heartedly to Al Jefferson, would embrace KG in an entirely different way. And KG would embrace them right back.

This trade would turn the Eastern Conference on it's head, and would also add a little more (and much needed) respectability and star power to the Eastern Conference. Boston would beat the Atlantic Division worse than Arturo Gatti was 2 weeks ago, and I don't see ANY reason why the Celtics would back out of this thing. Let say, hypothetically, that 2 years from now Ray Allen misses 50 games and KG misses 60 and the Celtics finish 35-47 and have no cap room, meanwhile Al Jefferson averaged 20 and 12 in Minnesota and they got the 8th seed in the West; that would be pretty disappointing. But let's say that the disappointing season immediately followed Boston winning their first champioinship in over 20 years, would it have been worth it? Think about that.

Boston should make this move without hesitation. In sports, for both GM's and Owners and fans alike (most of the time at least) a championship is the goal. It's not about being relevant, about developing your young players, protecting your future, or being a playoff contender. It's about championships, period. Kevin Garnett puts you in position right now, not later, not in two years, not in 5 years, but right freakin' now, to win one. He puts you closer to a June parade, to another banner, to glory. Does Boston really want to turn their back on that opportunity? Make it happen Beantown, get ready for the next level.

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.