Recent Yankee News

Just some recent news from the Yankee universe and the MLB:

• Team president, Randy Levine, was subpoenaed today by a state assembly committee investigating the public funding that is being used for the new Yankee Stadium. Levine is supposed to report at the hearing on Wednesday.
• Rickey Henderson got elected into the Hall of Fame in his first appearance on the ballot. Congratulations to him, he really deserves it considering how great a player he was. He ended with over 90% of the vote, but many analysts expected him to get more than he did.
• Former Boston slugger Jim Rice also made the Hall, in his last year of eligibility.
• Mark McGwire, in his third year on the ballot, actually saw a decrease in number of votes. It isn’t looking good for the performance-enhancing drug users- thankfully.
• The final decision on the Cubs sale should be coming later this week.
• The Braves sign Derek Lowe to a $60 million deal
• The Red Sox sign John Smoltz to a $5.5 million deal
• The Yankees will win the World Series in 2009- at least I’m hoping.

Rays knock out Red Sox

The Yankees didn’t make it and neither did the Red Sox. At least there was some good news for the Yanks this postseason. The Rays finally overcame Boston in a 3-1 victory tonight.

What’s next for the Yankees?

It has been quite a road for the Yanks thus far this season, with a plethora of big happenings, both good and bad. The team continues to fight on in the death match with the Red Sox and Rays, but the injury bug just won’t go away. Combine that with the reliance on young guys and you can really see that the Yanks have been through a lot. First it was the struggles of Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy, as they continue to try and find their place in the bigs. Then it was Chien-Ming Wang getting hurt while base running, and after that Posada and Matsui leaving a void in the lineup after sustaining injuries.

The Yankees, as always, didn’t give up as they continued to stay in it with the likes of Darrell Rasner, Dan Giese, and Sidney Ponson stepping up when needed. Brian Cashman responded with a couple of deadline moves, bringing in good replacements for Posada and Matsui with Ivan Rodriguez and Xavier Nady as well as extra bullpen help in Damaso Marte. Yet, the injury bug still didn’t care. It has bit again and Pudge is now out, again leaving the Yanks without a good-hitting catcher. Joba has also been struck, having been placed on the 15-day deal and putting even more pressure on the iffy rotation.

Yet, the Yankees will continue on. We really have no other choice. Andy Pettitte will likely continue to play consistently and Mike Mussina looks like he can keep this up. But, after that it’s still a mess. Perhaps Sidney Ponson will be able to keep up this run, but it’ll have to be something we hold our breath with. Same goes for Giese and whoever the other starter will end up being (for now its Kennedy, but I don’t know how long that will last; hopefully he can surprise us.) Let’s just hope that this group can keep us in it until Joba comes back, if he does this season.

Rasner Struggles Against A’s

Darrell Rasner had his first bad game of the year against the Oakland A’s yesterday. He lasted a little under 4 innings in which he gave up sevens runs on nine hits. The bats were really swinging for Oakland, especially during the 6-run third. They eventually cooled off, but the margin was too great for the Yanks to overcome. The final score would be 8-4 as the Yankees see themselves back at .500. I don’t think anyone could have put it better than Joe Girardi did postgame:

“We seem to take a couple steps forward and then take a couple steps back. That’s frustrating because we’re a better team than what we’ve showed. Some days it’s our offense, some days it’s our pitching. It’s a combined effort. “

There really isn’t much more to say about it. The only bright side of the game was probably the good job the relievers did. Ross Ohlendorf, LaTroy Hawkins, Kyle Farnsworth, and Edwar Ramirez all pitched about an inning and Ohlendorf was the only one to give up any hits/runs (he let up one run on two hits.) The ninth inning was good, with three runs by the Yanks, so maybe that momentum will rollover into today’s rematch against the A’s.

The game is at 10:05EST again and Andy Pettitte will start for the Yankees. Joe Blanton will take the mound for the A’s. You can catch the game on YES.

$175k For a Battered Jersey

The David Ortiz jersey that was thrown in the cement of New Yankee Stadium in an attempt to curse the Yankees was auctioned off on Ebay in an auction that ended today at 12:30. The jersey fetched an astounding $175,000 and the Yankees have decided to donate the money to the Jimmy Fund, a cancer charity. At least some good came out of Gino Castignolli’s (the construction worker who threw the jersey in the wet cement) action. The winner of the bidding will also get a pair of Red Sox game tickets and a new jersey with the latest artifact from the Red Sox-Yankee rivalry.

Farnsworth Suspended

Kyle Farnsworth has been fined and suspended for three games for throwing the ball at Manny Ramirez’s back in last Thursday’s game. Now this is just ridiculous, especially considering that it didn’t even hit Manny. Farnsworth and the team was shocked when they heard the news and an appeal request has been placed. Farnworth said it was simply a mistake and that the ball slipped. We all know that he doesn’t have the best control over his pitches, so it certainly might’ve been a mistake. Ramirez believes that it was just retaliation for David Aardsma’s pitch that hit A. Rod. Manny said that he understands if it was intentional and he isn’t angry about it because Farnsworth was backing up his teammate.