For decades, Lupica relentlessly assaulted George Steinbrenner because of Steinbrenner's absurd mission statement that the Yankees should win the World Series every year.
Of course, anybody who pays attention knows that Steinbrenner was really primarily interested in making profits, and that's what he did:
"You would compare the Yankees of the past decade to the Atlanta Braves of the decade right before it in baseball except for one thing:
The Braves went to the World Series more."
Well, the Yankees are far more profitable and popular.
Also, the Braves' manager is going right to the Hall of Fame for winning one World Series. Is the comparison to the Braves supposed to be an insult?
"Since Mike Piazza hit one into Bernie Williams' glove at the end of the 2000 Subway Series, the Yankees have spent more than $2 billion in payroll and luxury taxes. On average, they have spent $50 million more per season than the next biggest baseball payroll."
You're counting luxury tax again and that makes no sense.
Luxury tax is not part of payroll.
It's a tax.
It's sort of the opposite of payroll.
"The Braves of the 90s were known as the Buffalo Bills of baseball. They went to the Series five times between 1991 and 1999, winning once, in 1995. The Yankees have been to three World Series since the ball was in Bernie's glove that night at old Shea."
I didn't know that the Braves were known as the Buffalo Bills of baseball. I also think any reasonable person would praise the Braves and Bills compared to their peers who were playing golf. Which is why all the important people involved with those teams are going to their respective Halls of Fame.
"George Steinbrenner's mission was pretty simple: Win it all. Or else. It is almost unfathomable that with this kind of financial advantage over the field, in a sport without a salary cap, the Yankees have only won it all once in 10 years."
It's fathomable, especially with three rounds of the playoffs.
"The Yankees are still covered like they're the dynasty of the late 90s. They're not. People still act as if it's some kind of aberration when it's the Giants and Rangers in the World Series. It's not."
What people?
I think almost every person on Earth knows that four titles in five years was the aberration.
If Lupica is changing his tune and now adopting Steinbrenner's mission statement as his own, then Lupica is ... well, he's a hack and a liar and a hypocrite.
But you already knew that.
I actually think 2010 was a fun year for the Yankees. An exciting team with a good blend of speed and power. Burnett and Joba tanked and the team shut it down in September. But, other than those disappointments, nobody was complaining after four playoffs games, that's for sure.
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Mike Lupica does not like Alex Rodriguez.
But why would a grown man, in his dislike for another man, subvert his own intelligence? Essentially, this article is not an attack on ARod so much as a revealing assault on Mike Lupica's lack of mature thought processes:
"On Thursday, day before Game 6, they were asking Alex Rodriguez about the Rangers series, and he said something about how if the pitches weren't there, he was willing to take a walk and 'pass the baton.'
Even in this baseball culture where we're supposed to carry players around on our shoulders because they work the count and take pitches and sometimes do everything possible NOT to swing a bat, it was a pretty amazing admission from somebody who's supposed to break the all-time home run record someday."
On the rare occasion when ARod has peformed poorly in the postseason, it has been because he swing at too many bad pitches.
Yes, it's an amazing admission because it demonstrates that ARod is a baseball genius, even though he's a moron every time he opens his mouth off the baseball field.
"Somebody else, maybe Reggie Jackson, ought to explain to A-Rod that big Yankees don't look to pass the baton at this time of year, especially when their Yankee team is up against it. Especially if the big Yankee we're talking about already has 600 home runs in the big leagues."
Swinging at bad pitches doesn't help ARod or his team.
"One year after A-Rod carried the Yankees in the postseason, he was almost as soft a hitter this October as he was in all his other Yankee Octobers and his one November before last year."
Keep lying about ARod's postseason career. It's good journalism.
"Rodriguez talks about passing the baton, even after Robinson Cano was hitting in front of him. Really? Who did he want to pass it to, Nick Swisher?"
Yes, Nick Swisher. Because Nick Swisher batting with runners on base is better than Nick Swisher batting with runners out.
I mean, this is basically a guy who sits behind a keyboard telling Alex Rodriguez how to hit a baseball.
Not even chastising the results, questioning the strategy.
"No, he is also fascinating because even as good as he is, and even though people still seem to think he is going to get to 800 home runs, the Yankees had to go get Mark Teixeira to hit in front of him. It means they needed a $180 million switch-hitting star to come hit in front of him, as a way of taking pressure of him."
I challenge any human being on the face of the Earth to dig their way out of the erratic logic of this sentence.
Mike Lupica is claiming the Yankees acquired Mark Teixeira to take the pressure of Alex Rodriguez in the batting order.
Like, the main impetus was not to get another good player to help win baseball games. It was to take the pressure of Alex Rodriguez.
It's also probably why the Yankees acquired Lou Gehrig way back when, to take pressure off Babe Ruth. They acquired Reggie Jackson to take pressure off Thurman Munson. They acquired Roger Maris to take pressure off Mickey Mantle. They acquired Good Player to take pressure off Other Good Player.
"So this year he had Teixeira in front of him, Teixeira coming on after a bad start, putting up big numbers of his own until he hurt his thumb. And A-Rod had Robinson Cano having a career, MVP-type year. And still struggled to get to 30 home runs at the very end, despite big RBI numbers."
Uhhh ... so you're saying ARod is awesome? With his 30 HRs and 125 RBIs, and ARod is obviously going to get 500 HRs in his career?
"He is always going to be a numbers hanger, at least as long as his body holds up. Just not the numbers he had in Texas."
Right! Because he's awesome.
"Not the 54 home runs he hit after he got to New York."
Of course not! But he'll easily get to 800 HRs, right? Despite a bum named Mark Teixeria batting .250 in front of him in the regular season and .000 in the ALCS?
"Ask yourself a question: If A-Rod had hit like Hamilton in the ALCS and Hamilton had hit like him whose team is going to the World Series."
I actually don't know.
Hamilton had 7 hits in the World Series and 4 HRs (bringing his career postseason batting average up to a whopping .237, by the way). If ARod had hit 4 HRs and Hamilton had hit 0 HRs, I certainly can't guarantee the Yankees would have won the series.
It's kind of a pointless mind exercise, don't you think?
ARod is the best player on the field based on his career. It doesn't mean he will perform the best every game, every series, every year. It also doesn't mean he should swing at everything trying to hit HRs.
"On Thursday, day before Game 6, they were asking Alex Rodriguez about the Rangers series, and he said something about how if the pitches weren't there, he was willing to take a walk and 'pass the baton.'
Even in this baseball culture where we're supposed to carry players around on our shoulders because they work the count and take pitches and sometimes do everything possible NOT to swing a bat, it was a pretty amazing admission from somebody who's supposed to break the all-time home run record someday."
On the rare occasion when ARod has peformed poorly in the postseason, it has been because he swing at too many bad pitches.
Yes, it's an amazing admission because it demonstrates that ARod is a baseball genius, even though he's a moron every time he opens his mouth off the baseball field.
"Somebody else, maybe Reggie Jackson, ought to explain to A-Rod that big Yankees don't look to pass the baton at this time of year, especially when their Yankee team is up against it. Especially if the big Yankee we're talking about already has 600 home runs in the big leagues."
Swinging at bad pitches doesn't help ARod or his team.
"One year after A-Rod carried the Yankees in the postseason, he was almost as soft a hitter this October as he was in all his other Yankee Octobers and his one November before last year."
Keep lying about ARod's postseason career. It's good journalism.
"Rodriguez talks about passing the baton, even after Robinson Cano was hitting in front of him. Really? Who did he want to pass it to, Nick Swisher?"
Yes, Nick Swisher. Because Nick Swisher batting with runners on base is better than Nick Swisher batting with runners out.
I mean, this is basically a guy who sits behind a keyboard telling Alex Rodriguez how to hit a baseball.
Not even chastising the results, questioning the strategy.
"No, he is also fascinating because even as good as he is, and even though people still seem to think he is going to get to 800 home runs, the Yankees had to go get Mark Teixeira to hit in front of him. It means they needed a $180 million switch-hitting star to come hit in front of him, as a way of taking pressure of him."
I challenge any human being on the face of the Earth to dig their way out of the erratic logic of this sentence.
Mike Lupica is claiming the Yankees acquired Mark Teixeira to take the pressure of Alex Rodriguez in the batting order.
Like, the main impetus was not to get another good player to help win baseball games. It was to take the pressure of Alex Rodriguez.
It's also probably why the Yankees acquired Lou Gehrig way back when, to take pressure off Babe Ruth. They acquired Reggie Jackson to take pressure off Thurman Munson. They acquired Roger Maris to take pressure off Mickey Mantle. They acquired Good Player to take pressure off Other Good Player.
"So this year he had Teixeira in front of him, Teixeira coming on after a bad start, putting up big numbers of his own until he hurt his thumb. And A-Rod had Robinson Cano having a career, MVP-type year. And still struggled to get to 30 home runs at the very end, despite big RBI numbers."
Uhhh ... so you're saying ARod is awesome? With his 30 HRs and 125 RBIs, and ARod is obviously going to get 500 HRs in his career?
"He is always going to be a numbers hanger, at least as long as his body holds up. Just not the numbers he had in Texas."
Right! Because he's awesome.
"Not the 54 home runs he hit after he got to New York."
Of course not! But he'll easily get to 800 HRs, right? Despite a bum named Mark Teixeria batting .250 in front of him in the regular season and .000 in the ALCS?
"Ask yourself a question: If A-Rod had hit like Hamilton in the ALCS and Hamilton had hit like him whose team is going to the World Series."
I actually don't know.
Hamilton had 7 hits in the World Series and 4 HRs (bringing his career postseason batting average up to a whopping .237, by the way). If ARod had hit 4 HRs and Hamilton had hit 0 HRs, I certainly can't guarantee the Yankees would have won the series.
It's kind of a pointless mind exercise, don't you think?
ARod is the best player on the field based on his career. It doesn't mean he will perform the best every game, every series, every year. It also doesn't mean he should swing at everything trying to hit HRs.
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Intentionally walking the go-ahead run was a very bad decision and it is not the first time this season Girardi has done this.
Here is the box score of a game from May 1, 2010.
If it pleases the Court, I will highlight the top of the 7th inning. Yankees are winning 6-5, but not for long:
"Top 7th: Chi White Sox
Yankees ended up losing by one run.
No one will ever know if the Yankees would have won Game Four if Girardi had managed the game differently. But if a manager can't be criticized for a major gaffe that potentially costs his team a trip to the World Series ... well, then let's all drink some green tea, dig out our Steve Karsay jerseys, and put Joe Torre back in the dugout:
"Robinson Cano and Nick Swisher and Curtis Granderson and Jorge Posada got big hits. The Rangers didn't. So the Yankee manager, a bum less than 24 hours earlier, didn't get hit after this one."
Really interesting use of conjunctions. A nod to Ernest Hemingway's propulsive prose? Or a nod to a lack of education?
"In a few hours, across the country in San Franciso, in a game the < needed so they wouldn't make the same 1-3 hole for themselves the Yankees had made against the Rangers, Phillies manager Charlie Manuel would end up with , his No. 2 starter, pitching the 9th inning against the Giants. And losing the 9th inning and the game. If Girardi had done it, if the Yankees had lost a game like this with a starting pitcher pitching the 9th, people would have looked to fire him before he got on the bus."
Awww, "people" are being too hard on Girardi.
I promise you, every Phillies fan I know is apoplectic. They don't want to fire Manual before he gets on the bus. They want him to stand in front of the bus while they get into the driver's seat and rev it up.
"I thought that if Burnett had enough arm left to be in the game, he had enough arm to get out David Murphy, the Rangers' lefthanded No. 7 hitter. And if he didn't somebody else should have been pitching for the Yankees in Game 4."
Ivan Nova should have been pitching for the Yankees in Game Four.
But if you thought Burnett had enough arm left, then you simply haven't analyzed Burnett's stats for the season, Burnett's stats with runner on base, and Burnett's propensity to allow homeruns.
"Swisher, even with his Game 5 home run, is hitting .105, which makes this another postseason when he hasn't been up to the circumstances, at least so far. Mark Teixeira, before he grabbed his leg, was 0-for-14 against the Rangers.
At cleanup, still looking like you can only call him Mr. October 2009, is Alex Rodriguez, with a .176 batting average and two RBI and hitting the ball barely better than he did in the Octobers before the last one."
ARod's career postseason stats are .291/.399/.529. Compared to regular seasons stats of .303/.387/.571.
Take ARod's 62 postseason games and adjust for 162 games. You get .291, 34 HRs, 99 RBIs, and 105 runs scored.
So you're going to claim that Girardi is an easy target and unfairly criticized, and your response is to do the same thing to ARod?
If it pleases the Court, I will highlight the top of the 7th inning. Yankees are winning 6-5, but not for long:
"Top 7th: Chi White Sox
| - B. Gardner in left field |
| - R. Winn in left field |
| - B. Gardner in center field |
| - D. Robertson relieved S. Mitre |
| - A. Jones flied out to left |
| - P. Konerko doubled to right |
| - M. Teahen grounded out to third |
| - C. Quentin intentionally walked |
| - D. Marte relieved D. Robertson |
| - A.J. Pierzynski doubled to deep left, P. Konerko and C. Quentin scored |
| - M. Kotsay flied out to left" |
Yankees ended up losing by one run.
No one will ever know if the Yankees would have won Game Four if Girardi had managed the game differently. But if a manager can't be criticized for a major gaffe that potentially costs his team a trip to the World Series ... well, then let's all drink some green tea, dig out our Steve Karsay jerseys, and put Joe Torre back in the dugout:
"Robinson Cano and Nick Swisher and Curtis Granderson and Jorge Posada got big hits. The Rangers didn't. So the Yankee manager, a bum less than 24 hours earlier, didn't get hit after this one."
Really interesting use of conjunctions. A nod to Ernest Hemingway's propulsive prose? Or a nod to a lack of education?
"In a few hours, across the country in San Franciso, in a game the < needed so they wouldn't make the same 1-3 hole for themselves the Yankees had made against the Rangers, Phillies manager Charlie Manuel would end up with , his No. 2 starter, pitching the 9th inning against the Giants. And losing the 9th inning and the game. If Girardi had done it, if the Yankees had lost a game like this with a starting pitcher pitching the 9th, people would have looked to fire him before he got on the bus."
Awww, "people" are being too hard on Girardi.
I promise you, every Phillies fan I know is apoplectic. They don't want to fire Manual before he gets on the bus. They want him to stand in front of the bus while they get into the driver's seat and rev it up.
"I thought that if Burnett had enough arm left to be in the game, he had enough arm to get out David Murphy, the Rangers' lefthanded No. 7 hitter. And if he didn't somebody else should have been pitching for the Yankees in Game 4."
Ivan Nova should have been pitching for the Yankees in Game Four.
But if you thought Burnett had enough arm left, then you simply haven't analyzed Burnett's stats for the season, Burnett's stats with runner on base, and Burnett's propensity to allow homeruns.
"Swisher, even with his Game 5 home run, is hitting .105, which makes this another postseason when he hasn't been up to the circumstances, at least so far. Mark Teixeira, before he grabbed his leg, was 0-for-14 against the Rangers.
At cleanup, still looking like you can only call him Mr. October 2009, is Alex Rodriguez, with a .176 batting average and two RBI and hitting the ball barely better than he did in the Octobers before the last one."
ARod's career postseason stats are .291/.399/.529. Compared to regular seasons stats of .303/.387/.571.
Take ARod's 62 postseason games and adjust for 162 games. You get .291, 34 HRs, 99 RBIs, and 105 runs scored.
So you're going to claim that Girardi is an easy target and unfairly criticized, and your response is to do the same thing to ARod?
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Girardi blew it.
Girardi tanked September and home field advantage so he could rest his bullpen. The first six games of the playoffs justified his decision. Even the decision to start Burnett was rewarded for 5 2/3 innings. Then, when it was time for Logan to come in, Girardi inexplicably stuck with the unreliable Burnett:
I don't really know if Girardi's problem is his unwillingness to play hunches or if he is deaf to the beats of his players' hearts.
This particular decision was contrary to most of his decisions -- i.e., his quick hook -- and completely indefensible. It was like Girardi was trying to build Burnett's confidence for a World Series appearance that will never occur.
“ 'I thought A.J. was throwing well at that point,' Girardi said. 'It was hard to argue with the way he was throwing the ball.'
That was the rationale for plowing through the inning, which soon reached its crossroads with a runner on second and two out. With an open base, Girardi again refused to listen to his inner voice, ignoring common sense to intentionally put the go-ahead run on base.
Why? Because of his maddening attachment to numbers. Girardi was uncomfortable with David Murphy’s career 5-for-18 against Burnett, so he called for an intentional walk. Never once did Girardi consider what an extra base runner would do to Burnett’s fragile psyche.
Why? Because time and again, Girardi has proven he has no feel for his players, no sense of the flow of the game. The stats are his haven; they act as an after-the-fact defense when it’s time to be accountable.
Anyone who’s watched Burnett’s acts of sabotage all summer knew what was coming. It didn’t matter that the right-hander had a brilliant fastball, charged by 11 days’ rest. In the first inning, Burnett’s four-seamer didn’t come in under 95-mph. He kept the heat through the fifth inning, and even into the sixth, Girardi said, 'he was still throwing great.' "
I don't really know if Girardi's problem is his unwillingness to play hunches or if he is deaf to the beats of his players' hearts.
This particular decision was contrary to most of his decisions -- i.e., his quick hook -- and completely indefensible. It was like Girardi was trying to build Burnett's confidence for a World Series appearance that will never occur.
Teixeira's fielding isn't THAT good.
"There is no sugarcoating this: Teixeira was having an awful postseason at the plate, going hitless in 14 at-bats this series. His biggest achievement was drawing a walk against Cliff Lee in Game 3, the first Yankees base runner against the dominant Texas starter that night.
Still, as much as he struggled offensively, his defense at first base was saving runs in every game. In the inning before he limped off the field, he dodged the broken bat of Texas first baseman Mitch Moreland to start a 3-6-1 double play that negated a leadoff runner.
The Yankees might not have gotten out of this round with Teixeira in the lineup, not with the Rangers outplaying them in nearly every phase of the game.
But it is certainly hard to see them returning to the Canyon of Heroes without him. You could see it on their faces in the dugout when he limped off. It was a turning point."
Golly.
Imagine how upset they'd be if Teixera was batting .001 in the ALCS instead of .000.
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
My key to the game for the Yankees is to score about twenty runs.
Three quick questions for Joe Girardi:
1) Why is Burnett starting?
2) Why is Cervelli catching?
3) Why is Gardner not leading off?
1) Why is Burnett starting?
2) Why is Cervelli catching?
3) Why is Gardner not leading off?
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Trash.
The Yankees weren't "resilient" in the eighth inning on Friday because their players are paid a lot of money and I'm a typical sportswriter and I'm a dope.
The Rangers were "resilient" in Game Two because ... well, I don't know ... I can't quite figure it out. A team is down 1-0 in a 7-game series and Phil Hughes pitched poorly and it's an inspiration for abandoned puppies all over the world. After a bullpen meltdown, the Rangers were supposed to stop trying because their li'l hearts were broken.
The combined Championship rings of Elvis Andrus plus the combined Championship rings of Ian Kinsler equals the combined Championship rings of the Texas Rangers. Which is zero.
In fact, just to teach the kids a math trick, if you took the combined Championship rings of Elvis Andrus, Ian Kinsler, and the Texas Rangers, and multiplied that number by the biggest number in the whole Universe, the result would still be zero. Isn't that amazing?
The respective team histories don't even matter when assessing the Rangers' chances in the 2010 ALCS. The players on the Rangers just ought to keep their mouths shut and act like grown-ups.
When you talk this much, it sounds like you expect to lose and are trying to convince yourselves that you are going to win:
Elvis Andrus: " 'We all know the Yankees don’t like the speed game,' Andrus said. 'So that’s going to be a big key for us in the series.' "
I guess he means while playing defense the Yankees don't like the opposing baserunners to be aggressive on the basepaths?
Well, I suppose that's sort of true. Posada/Cervelli don't have great arms and Burnett can't hold anybody on base. But I also distinctly remember Game One where Kinsler was picked off first base and some other Ranger yahoo was thrown out at home, unable to outrace 475-lb. CC Sabathia.
So ... thanks for that "speed game," Rangers. Keep it up.
Ian Kinsler doing his best Jimmy Rollins impersonation: " 'We outplayed them for two days,' Kinsler said of the Yankees."
No, you did not. You outplayed the Yankees one game out of two.
You know how you know which team outplayed the other? The scoreboard, that's how.
Late-inning comebacks don't count somehow because they're unexpected. Eighth-inning runs don't count. Unearned runs are lucky, or something.. Almost wins count as actual wins.
In Game Two, I say Cano should have made a better play on the steal of home (gold glove candidate, my butt), Berkman should have hit a HR, and Hughes should have made a few better pitches.
Therefore, Yankees totally outplayed the Rangers and the Yankees should be up 2-0.
Monday, October 11, 2010
9-2 in postseason since re-joining the Yankees.
The postseason performance catching up to his reputation.
Also, some HOF talk building. Which I only find amusing because this particular discussion tends to avoid the mention of human growth hormone.
Also, some HOF talk building. Which I only find amusing because this particular discussion tends to avoid the mention of human growth hormone.
Thursday, October 07, 2010
Mike Lupica is saving Mariano Rivera's arm for games in December.
"He came running out of the bullpen, running out of all the other Octobers, one out earlier than he should have in the first game of the playoffs. But here came the great Mo Rivera anyway, here came Rivera to show you how much and how badly Joe Girardi wanted Game 1."
Uhhh ...
You know it's the playoffs, right?
You know it's a five-game series, right?
Can you imagine if Girardi hadn't brought in Rivera?
Uhhh ...
You know it's the playoffs, right?
You know it's a five-game series, right?
Can you imagine if Girardi hadn't brought in Rivera?
Sunday, October 03, 2010
The ethereal world.
"And anybody who doesn't think the Mets can come all the way back and go toe-to-toe with the Yankees doesn't remember what the '80s were like in the place I've always called Baseball New York."
What is your deal, dude? What sort of invisible demons are your fighting?
First, the idea that an imaginary place called "Baseball New York" existed in the first place.
Second, the fact that you're living in the '80s. The last time the Mets were better than the Yankees, you didn't have a cell phone, you didn't have an Internet, the astronauts were dusting moon shmutz off their uniforms, the Berlin Wall was up, Barack Obama was in high school, and "Falcon Crest" was your favorite pop culture reference instead of "Dancing With the Stars."
Third, who are the people who don't think the Mets can come back and go toe-to-toe with the Yankees? Besides you, who is thinking about the Mets right now?
The Mets should worry about going toe-to-toe with the Marlins in the NL East before they worry about the respective attention they receive from Russ Salzberg.
"The Yankees are often right about big-ticket starting pitchers, but only as long as they're named Clemens or Sabathia."
I know, right?
The guy giving us a New York Baseball history lesson has forgotten about:
What is your deal, dude? What sort of invisible demons are your fighting?
First, the idea that an imaginary place called "Baseball New York" existed in the first place.
Second, the fact that you're living in the '80s. The last time the Mets were better than the Yankees, you didn't have a cell phone, you didn't have an Internet, the astronauts were dusting moon shmutz off their uniforms, the Berlin Wall was up, Barack Obama was in high school, and "Falcon Crest" was your favorite pop culture reference instead of "Dancing With the Stars."
Third, who are the people who don't think the Mets can come back and go toe-to-toe with the Yankees? Besides you, who is thinking about the Mets right now?
The Mets should worry about going toe-to-toe with the Marlins in the NL East before they worry about the respective attention they receive from Russ Salzberg.
"The Yankees are often right about big-ticket starting pitchers, but only as long as they're named Clemens or Sabathia."
I know, right?
The guy giving us a New York Baseball history lesson has forgotten about:
- 1. Jimmy Key.
2. David Cone.
3. David Wells.
4. Orlando Hernandez.
5. Andy Pettitte.
6. Mariano Rivera.
Friday, October 01, 2010
Awww, you're just upset because Johnny Damon didn't make the playoffs. Johnny Damon with his .271 batting average and 8 HRs.
Let's see how many times Lupica can be wrong in two pages. Start with the headline:
"CC Sabathia is a sure thing for the Yankees, same can't be said for A.J. Burnett and Javier Vazquez"
1) If Sabathia is a sure thing, then you can make reservations for the parade. Sabathia is going to start 2 games in a 5-game series and perhaps even 3 games in a 7-game series.
2) Vazquez won't be on the postseason roster. Burnett should not be. So if the gist of this argument is that the Yankees overpaid for these two pitchers, then you're stating the obvious. But if you're trying to predict playoff doom for the Yankees, you shouldn't look at the back end of the roster.
"This is as disinterested a September as a top-shelf Yankee team has had in a long time."
3) Last year, the Yankees were disinterested in September and they won the World Series.
4) This has been the Yankee way for at least a decade.
"Only now, on the verge of another Yankee postseason, it feels as if the only reliable postseason rotation the Yankees have is CC Sabathia."
5) Pettitte is reliable.
6) Hughes is reliable.
"Whatever Girardi and Brian Cashman say, would ever say, the Yankees have approached their rumblin', bumblin' September as if they will do anything not to face Cliff Lee and the Rangers in the first round."
Errr ...
7) The last time the Yankees faced Lee, the Yankees overcame a 6-0 deficit.
8) When the Yankees started taking the pedal off the metal -- around Labor Day -- they had no way of knowing the Twins would win 10 in a row and, frankly, the Yankees still don't know who will win the AL East and who will win the wild card.
"It would be pretty amazing, the big, bad $200 million defending champion Yankees looking to avoid a Rangers team that hasn't been in the playoffs in more than a decade."
9) ??? Why would that be amazing? I think that could conceivably be wise, but I also think the Yankees have no way of planning the Universe like that. As if Cashman is commanding the Royals to beat the Twins and the Rays. I Decree it so.
"No worries, though. Once the season is over, the Yankees will throw money at Lee - less than Sabathia money, more than Burnett - and act as if they have some sort of brilliant plan at Yankee Stadium that doesn't involve spending a couple of hundred million dollars on starters every couple of years."
10) I think Lee will likely replace Pettitte. I don't know who will replace Vazquez (Ivan Nova?).
11) The Yankees can afford Lee because of Cashman's brilliant moves in the outfield. Who needs Carl Crawford or Jayson Werth? (Or Hideki Matsui? Or Johnny Damon? Or Melky Cabrera?)
"The season wasn't supposed to go anything like this. But Pettitte got hurt, because aging pitchers do."
12) All pitchers are aging. All entities in the Universe are always aging, every second of every minute of every day.
13) Lee got hurt.
14) Santana got hurt.
15) Strasburg got hurt.
So if you meant to say old pitchers get hurt, then you're using an invalid modifier.
"The Yankees weren't supposed to have to pitch Hughes in an emergency start against the Red Sox Sunday night. They did."
16) Oh, I remember. The unreliable Hughes knocking the Red Sox out of the playoff race. That was sweet.
"The Yankees weren't supposed to be rooting this hard for Burnett to show up in Toronto the other night with something resembling the stuff he showed us in the last postseason."
17) In last year's postseason, Burnett had one good start out of four.
"CC Sabathia is a sure thing for the Yankees, same can't be said for A.J. Burnett and Javier Vazquez"
1) If Sabathia is a sure thing, then you can make reservations for the parade. Sabathia is going to start 2 games in a 5-game series and perhaps even 3 games in a 7-game series.
2) Vazquez won't be on the postseason roster. Burnett should not be. So if the gist of this argument is that the Yankees overpaid for these two pitchers, then you're stating the obvious. But if you're trying to predict playoff doom for the Yankees, you shouldn't look at the back end of the roster.
"This is as disinterested a September as a top-shelf Yankee team has had in a long time."
3) Last year, the Yankees were disinterested in September and they won the World Series.
4) This has been the Yankee way for at least a decade.
"Only now, on the verge of another Yankee postseason, it feels as if the only reliable postseason rotation the Yankees have is CC Sabathia."
5) Pettitte is reliable.
6) Hughes is reliable.
"Whatever Girardi and Brian Cashman say, would ever say, the Yankees have approached their rumblin', bumblin' September as if they will do anything not to face Cliff Lee and the Rangers in the first round."
Errr ...
7) The last time the Yankees faced Lee, the Yankees overcame a 6-0 deficit.
8) When the Yankees started taking the pedal off the metal -- around Labor Day -- they had no way of knowing the Twins would win 10 in a row and, frankly, the Yankees still don't know who will win the AL East and who will win the wild card.
"It would be pretty amazing, the big, bad $200 million defending champion Yankees looking to avoid a Rangers team that hasn't been in the playoffs in more than a decade."
9) ??? Why would that be amazing? I think that could conceivably be wise, but I also think the Yankees have no way of planning the Universe like that. As if Cashman is commanding the Royals to beat the Twins and the Rays. I Decree it so.
"No worries, though. Once the season is over, the Yankees will throw money at Lee - less than Sabathia money, more than Burnett - and act as if they have some sort of brilliant plan at Yankee Stadium that doesn't involve spending a couple of hundred million dollars on starters every couple of years."
10) I think Lee will likely replace Pettitte. I don't know who will replace Vazquez (Ivan Nova?).
11) The Yankees can afford Lee because of Cashman's brilliant moves in the outfield. Who needs Carl Crawford or Jayson Werth? (Or Hideki Matsui? Or Johnny Damon? Or Melky Cabrera?)
"The season wasn't supposed to go anything like this. But Pettitte got hurt, because aging pitchers do."
12) All pitchers are aging. All entities in the Universe are always aging, every second of every minute of every day.
13) Lee got hurt.
14) Santana got hurt.
15) Strasburg got hurt.
So if you meant to say old pitchers get hurt, then you're using an invalid modifier.
"The Yankees weren't supposed to have to pitch Hughes in an emergency start against the Red Sox Sunday night. They did."
16) Oh, I remember. The unreliable Hughes knocking the Red Sox out of the playoff race. That was sweet.
"The Yankees weren't supposed to be rooting this hard for Burnett to show up in Toronto the other night with something resembling the stuff he showed us in the last postseason."
17) In last year's postseason, Burnett had one good start out of four.
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