Headlines
Red Sox rally, remain undefeated against Yankees
Want a good laugh? Head on over to Nick Swishers Twitter page and take a gander at his "tweets". In addition to being unbelievably boring, Swisher remains eternally optimistic about the Yankees. Okay, I guess that's the attitude you're supposed to have, but it would be nice if he could back up any of his tweets on the field. Here is his tweet prior to the game on Wednesday:
"Let's get 'em tonight"
Hey, way to be Swish! That's the spirit! Go get 'em! That's the kind of enthusiasm I like from my team's players. Based on that tweet, I am sure Nick had a stellar game. You would think, right? But no. A horrendous base running mistake and a dropped ball in right later, Swisher was back at the keyboard typing up another enthusiastic tweet. Here's his tweet from before last night's game:
"Alright...enough is enough. Let's get this one tonight."
Hmm, not as confident as I would hope, but he is trying. He wants to make up for his blunders from the night prior. Did he? Once again, no. He got doubled-up off of second on a fly ball to left field. If he were in little league, he wouldn't even get a snow cone. Toddlers don't even make that mistake.
I think it's time for Swisher to sit out the next few plays if you know what I mean. Trust me, I love effort and determination. But not at the expense of generic baseball smarts and intuition. Boy needs to read Baseball for Dummies. But it might be too advanced for him.
Fisher nails three at end of regulation, Lakers win in OT
I mentioned a few days ago that this was one of the least interesting NBA Finals ever. I take it back. What I will say now is that it will be one of the most interesting five-game series ever. Two overtime games, a missed potential game-winning layup, some serious pushing and shoving, J.J. Redick's sudden relevance. Just riveting stuff! But there is no way the Lakers lose on Sunday at home. The Magic are going to be too broken from blowing last night's game. I mean, how does Fisher get that shot off? My guess: Magic.
John Sterling: The Highest, Farest, Gone’est Announcer Ever!
Survey a hundred New York Yankees fans: What do you think of John Sterling? Odds are, there will be fifty positive responses and fifty negative responses. The "Legendary Voice of the Yankees" (Sorry Michael Kay) has been calling games since 1989. And in that time, he has been the personification of hyperbole and exaggeration. Ironically, such qualities have split the New York Yankees supporters into those who love him and those who can't stand him. There are actually those who enjoy his self-serving, over-the-top homerun calls. They think that it is campy and cute. Maybe they are, but somewhere a line needs to be drawn. There are times when a ball is well hit into the outfield and there is a need for the play to be described and analyzed. However, he has already gone into "Homerun Voice Mode". So while the ball is bouncing in the corner and runners are rounding the bases, Sterling is describing a majestic drive off the bat of whoever. He is too preoccupied with getting his "call" in, that he sacrifices actually doing his job. I would excuse his behavior if his "calls" were interesting and worth the effort. But if you were ever to listen to a game where a Yankee hit a homerun, you would think Sterling had five year-old writers.
The simplicity of the late Harry Kalas' home run call, "Outta here", is what made him great. Sterling, on the other hand, in addition to "It is high! It is far! It is gone!" adds a unique different call for each player hitting the homerun. They are so cring-worthy, that the sound of Suzyn Waldman's voice would be welcome over it. Let's go through them, shall we?
Melky Cabrera: "The Melkman delivers!" "It's the Melky Way" "The Melkman always knocks twice"
(Ed Note: That third one doesn't even make sense.)
Robinson Cano: "Cano! Don't you know?" "Cano can do!" "A Ribbie for Robbie!"
(Ed Note: With a name like Cano, I'm sure there are an infinite amount of others.)
Johnny Damon: "Positively Damonic!" "Johnny's on the spot!" "It's a Johnny's Rocket!"
(Ed Note: "Johnny" provides too much for him. It's time he be referred to as "John Damon".)
Derek Jeter: "El Capitan!" "A Jeterian swing!" "A Jeter Jolt!" "Oh Captain, My Captain!"
(Ed Note: His Jeter calls are done with his pants around his ankles.)
Hideki Matsui: "A Thrilla by Godzilla!" "An Upper-Decki by Hideki!"
(Ed Note: I see what he did there.)
Xavier Nady: "X marks the spot!"
(Ed Note: Looks like this one will be put away for a while.)
Jorge Posada: "Jorgie juiced one!" "Jorgie jacks one!"
(Ed Note: I guess he thought "juiced" implied too much.)
Alex Rodriguez: "An A-Bomb from A-Rod!" "Alexander the Great Conquers Again!"
(Ed Note: He pulled out the second one during Rodriguez's 54 homerun year. "A-Bomb" was running dry.)
Nick Swisher: "Jolly 'Ol St. Nick!" "Nick at Night!"
(Ed Note: Google was obviously used for these ones.)
Jose Molina: "Jose, can you see that?!"
(Ed Note: Thought of seven minutes before the first pitch)
And the best...
Mark Teixeira: "A Tex Message!" "You're on the Mark, Teixeira!"
(Ed Note: No response)
Weekend Internet Wrap-Up
Here are a couple articles, blog posts, pictures, videos I thought were interesting throughout the week.
- Is Nick Swisher the Yankees best off-season pickup? (Ed Note: Yes)
(Link) - A terrific article on the incompetency of Brian Cashman. (Ed Note: Sadly, I would have to agree)
(Link) - Drew Magary and L. Jon Wertheim discuss MMA, Isaiah Rider and Rasheed Wallace. (Ed Note: Podcast)
(Link) - Bill Simmons and David Jacoby talk MTV's The Duel. (Ed Note: Podcast)
(Link) - On The DL talks with Sportscenter's wunderkind Josh Elliot about his hair, ESPN, and Hannah Storm. (Ed Note: Podcast)
(Link) - Reviewing the Mark Sanchez pick for the Jets. (Ed Note: NFL Season is only 16 weeks away)
(Link) - Old Video: Red Sox batting stances (Ed Note: This site has too much Red Sox stuff. I have to cut back)
(Link)
Why am I watching…
Why I am watching Magic's Biggest Secrets Finally Revealed on FOX instead of the Yankees on YES. I will tell you why:
- Because Chien-Ming Wang is an utterly useless pitcher if he "gets his pitches up". This is why he was never considered an ace for the Yankees. An ace has the ability to adapt on the mound when their best pitches are not working. Wang, on the other hand, is rendered ineffective if his arm slot is too high or release point is too early. If his hard sinker is not down, might as well call it a night.
- Because Mark Teixeira is eight minutes into his 8-year, $180 million contract and has been sidelined with a "sore left wrist". For 6 years, he has been a rock at first base for the Rangers, Braves, and Angels. But once he joins the Yankees, his limp wrist starts to act up. Look, I am all for protecting your assets, but a sore wrist is something a little leaguer could play through. Isn't Teixeira's idol Don Mattingly? This may be news to Mark, but Donnie Baseball played 90% of his career with a bad back. And lets not forget the man who invented the term "Suck it up" manned the same position as Teixeira. Lou Gehrig played in 2,130 consecutive games with broken fingers, broken hands, strained backs, and yes, even sore wrists.
- Because regardless of the atrocious pitching displayed by CC Sabathia in the first game and Wang in his first two starts, this offense is just not going to cut it until Rodriguez comes back from injury. I have already stated that Swisher should start over Matsui. Okay, so Swisher is basically an everyday player now. Good. You're half way there Yankees. Now it's time to sit Matsui. Forever. Or at least until you need a left-handed hitter off the bench in the late innings of a blowout. If you haven't noticed Mr. Hideki has 3 hits on the year. 3. That's only 3 more hits than I have. Granted, that's 1 more hit than Cody Ransom has. Which brings me to my next point. Alex Rodriguez is scheduled to come back on May 15th. That's over a month from now. That is too long to continue this "Cody Ransom Experiment". He may have a 60 inch vertical leap, but God forbid he hit a single off a breaking ball. I swear he's like Pedro Cerrano out there. I know we're only 7 games into the season, but it's time for a change. It's time for Ramiro Pena to take over at third until Arod returns. He is equally, if not more talented than Ransom defensively. Not to mention the fact than he is ten years younger than Ransom. I'd rather struggle with growing pains than legitimately bad baseball.
155 more games left...
Swisher over Matsui?
It's very rare that I write a post about my thoughts on possible lineup changes, pitching adjustments, promotions, demotions, or the everyday nonsense that is personnel moves. But when those potential moves include the Yankees, I suddenly have an opinion. And that opinion needs to be heard.
Throwing out the notion that "It's too early...", Nick Swisher needs to start over Hideki Matsui for a majority of the season. In the first two games Matsui went 1 for 10 and had two walks. On Thursday, Nick Swisher started the game at designated hitter and subsequently went 3 for 5, drove in 5 runs and had 7 total bases.
Ever since Matsui came over from Japan to join the Yankees in 2003, he has been an all-or-nothing hitter. Not in the sense that he hits homeruns or strikeouts. In the sense that in order for him to get a hit, everything needs to go right. He keeps his hands back, shoulder tucked, hips don't fly open, head down. If those things are in sync, you can expect a nice line drive into the right-center field gap. Otherwise, expect a slow dribbler to the second basemen or a pop up to third. Unlike more successful hitters in the majors, Matsui can not get away with making mistakes at the plate. Derek Jeter may not keep his hands back long enough sometimes, but the result may be a dunker over the second basemen's head. Alex Rodriguez may not make solid contact with the ball, but he's strong enough to hit it out on a short porch. Hideki does not have the speed, the improvisational bat skills, or the intangibles to adjust when making mistakes in the box.
Did I mention that he can only play DH until July? Well that's what Girardi and the rest of the coaching staff decided on at the beginning of the season. Sweet. It really offers a lot of lineup flexibility when a player can either hit or be a paper weight on the bench. To be honest, I believe it's better that he can only be a DH, because he is worthless as a fielder. He covers little ground, is afraid of the wall, and has a below average arm. I know baseball players who have that type of skill set, except they get a snowcone after the game.
I feel stupid even mentioning the reasons why Swisher should start over Matsui. Aren't they obvious?
1. He plays rightfield
2. He plays leftfield
3. He plays centerfield
4. He plays first base
5. He's only 28 (Matsui is 35)
6. Higher OBP
7. Higher SLG
Sometimes it's tough to guess what exactly is going through the heads of the Yankees coaching staff. But I believe as the season progresses, we will see Swisher get more and more playing time over Matsui until he is officially coming off the bench. Hopefully. Fingers crossed.
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Yankees acquire Nick Swisher in deal with White Sox (Link)
Me personally, I like the move. My friends, not so much. Swisher is exactly the type of player the Yankees need. I could care less how much he strikes out or how low his batting average is. He will get on base and score some runs. Brian Cashman says that they will use him a lot at first base which in turn means that they aren't getting Mark Teixeira. They're going to overpay for an overweight ace. Seems financially responsible. Speaking of which, Randy Johnson filed for free agency. Hint, Hint Yankees. Look at my eye, it's winking.
- @robdelaney His fault. He should've had his hands in fists. Doesn't he understand science?
- @YankeesWFAN So a coaches only responsibility is to make sure his players don't mutiny?
- Amendment 28: All links should open in a separate tab.
- @YankeesWFAN But he can't hit. He hasn't had an OPS over .900 since 2009.
- Oh, I get it. It's "MAID in Manhattan". Because she's a maid.
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