I just want to take a minute to say congratulations to Ken Griffey, Jr. for reaching 600 home runs today.  In my mind, he is the epitome o####reat player.  Despite injuries, he has continued to power through and is good for the game.  He is definitely one of the reasons that baseball is such a great game.

Tonight starts Joba's foray in the starting rotation, with limited pitch numbers and all that good stuff we've been reading about for weeks.  But the real problem is how this is going to effect the bullpen.  From what I've seen through the weekend, the effect won't be good.

Joba's switch leaves a huge hole in the 8th inning spot that is going to need to get filled quick, and Kyle Farnsworth is not the guy to do it.  He totally blew the game last night against the Twins, and almost blew the game Friday night as well.  Fortunately, Friday he had a 2 run cushion, which helped, but come on.  The guy just can't get it done, it's a shame that he was a waste of money, but just deal with it and work on finding someone else.

I think one of the biggest problems with this guy is that he's so full of himself that he can't admit that he needs a lot of work.  During the offseason he came out and said that the reason he did so bad over the past two season is because Joe Torre lacked communication and had no confidence in him.  Of course it just made him sound like a fool, but people went with it, maybe the relationship with Torre was part of his problem.  Doubtful, but let's give the guy a chance.

Guess what Kyle, you're terrible dude, get over it and try to work on it.  What is his excuse now that Torre is gone and he has a manager who supposedly has the utmost confidence in him.  Oh I know, Joe Torre is sending him bad mojo from out in LA, that must be what it is.

Bottom line is that with the way he's pitching, Kyle Farnsworth is not even in the same league as Joba and Mo, and him & the coaching staff need to stop acting like he is.  Maybe he needs some innings in Triple A, or maybe he needs to pitch a couple of middle innings to get himself ready.  He should not be in the 8th inning in a close game for any reason. If you throw him in there, and the game is tied, or it's a 1 or 2 run lead, you better hope that the bats are good that night, because he'll blow it.  The Yanks need to identify a new 8th inning guy, whether it's someone currently in the bullpen or they have to trade for someone.  As a passionate fan of the Yankees, all I can do is hope that the coaching staff realizes that really quick, or else I think it may be a long season of dissappointment.

Time for me to go off on another rant about the mlb and the people who drive me crazy.  If anyone even remotely knows me, you know my obsession with the Yankees.  It's not something that I attempt to hide, that's for sure.  So being a die hard Yankees fan, I read every possible article I can get my hands on daily.  Doesn't always make for the most productive of work days, but whatever.

So, over the past couple of weeks, I've been reading several articles about Joba Chamberlain and his fist pump that he does after he strikes out a batter.  Most of the articles lately have come from guys like Dave Dellucci, who was offended by the fist pump after he was struck out.  Obviously I'm biased, but in my opinion, Dellucci came out sounding like a big crybaby, but again, just my opinion.  Then yesterday, I read an article that Goose Gossage, the hall of fame pitching great, is now taking offense to the fist pump, saying it's un-Yankee like. 

Here is where my commentary is going to come into play.  My first thought is, who cares.  It's not like he's making an #### out of himself, and I really don't think it's an intentional action.  I honestly believe that the fist pump is not meant to be a taunt toward the batter who just struck out.  What I believe is that Joba is showing sincere passion for a game that he loves.  It is actually refreshing to see that, and not to see a bunch of guys who make the game look like it's nothing more than their job.

In general, I'm sick of the sports writers being focused on everything except what happens on the field.  Just recently a huge drama came out about the White Sox and what was so nicely dubbed "Dollgate."  For those of you who didn't hear about it, let me enlighten you.  During a series in Toronto, the White Sox decided to get themselves a couple blow-up dolls and position them with bats in strategic locations in an attempt to break out of their batting slump.  Childish and immature, most likely, but they did it in the clubhouse away from where impressionable minds could see it.  Some woman reporter, who obviously has no business reporting on sports, took offense to it and turned it into a big deal.  Now don't get me wrong, I'm all about women reporting on sports, it's actually my dream job.  But if you are going to do that, you need to realize that you are dealing with a bunch of men, who a lot of times will act like little boys and are spending their career playing a game from their childhood.  If you are easily offended, you probably shouldn't be reporting from the clubhouse or locker room.  So now, an innocent joke the White Sox played in their clubhouse outside of the public eye, is splashed all over the news media.

Overall, it appears that everyone is more concerned with what the players are doing with blow up dolls, who they are having or had an affair with, or any number of other nonsense things that have nothing to do with how they perform on the field.  When I'm reading about my team, or just the mlb in general, I want to read about performance, injuries and things that are going to affect the season.  I don't care about the other stuff, to me it doesn't matter.  So if Joba wants to pump his fist after he strikes someone out, I say go for it man.  I like to see that kind of passion and excitement when I'm watching the game.