Tough Weekend Out West-- Drop 2 of 3

This was not a good weekend out in Anahiem for the Yankees. It usually never is when the Yanks head out west. They lost their 1st series of the year, one where they were ahead in both games they lost.

Friday night the Yanks had a 3-1 lead but AJ Burnett couldn't hold the lead. Joba Chamberlain later gave up a go-ahead HR to Kendry Morales and the Angels were victorious. Sunday, the Yanks were up 3-0 but Javy Vazquez' early season struggles continued and he couldn't hold the lead either. The knockout blow was once again dealt in the later innings off the Yankee bullpen. Damaso Marte served a 3-0 fastball down the heart of the plate to Morales in the 7th inning and hit a 3-run HR to seal the deal and put Anahiem up 8-4. The Yankees never recovered.

In between the losses was the performance of Andy Pettitte. He was excellent. He gave New York 8 solid innings giving up 1 run while issuing no walks. He was able to earn his 3rd win of the season.

Another high point of the weekend was Robinson Cano. Cano hit his 5th HR of the season on Sunday off of Angels Starter Scott Kazmir. It was Robbie's 3rd HR this season off Kazmir alone. His emergence as an elite hitter in the 5th spot of the lineup behind Alex Rodriguez is exciting to watch.

Tough weekend for the Bombers but I'm sure they'll rebound just fine. They travel to Baltimore this week to complete their 9 game road trip. With the Orioles sitting at 3-16 for the season, it's probably the best time for the Yanks to go pay a visit. Phil Hughes starts the opener on Tuesday night and looks to keep on rolling after his impressive 8 inning, 10 strikeout, near no-hit performance against Oakland last week.

C800 Asks You: With the Yankees losing 2 of 3 in Anahiem this weekend,does this still make you worry about coming back here in October? Should we really be worried about Javy Vazquez? Will Robinson Cano ever slow down? We're talking Yankees baseball on The Forum. Come check us out, register and share your thoughts!
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Player Profile: Jorge Posada

Jorge Posada is in his 16th season in the majors, all with the New York Yankees. He has been apart of 5 All-Star teams (2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2007) and 4 World Championship teams (1998, 1999, 2000, 2009).

Posada is from Puerto Rico. In high school Jorge participated in basketball, volleyball, track, and baseball. As a baseball player in the 1988-89 season, he was named an All-Star player at shortstop. He was drafted by the Yankees in the 24th round of the 1990 Major League Baseball Draft. He played second base in his 1st season in the minors but was then moved to catcher.

Posada made his MLB debut in 1995 but only appeared in 1 game. In'96 he appeared in 8 games but was not apart of the postseason roster so he did not recieve a championship ring for that season. He was however with the team to take in the expirence of October baseball in the Bronx, something that helped him greatly as the years went on. In 1999 Posada became the full-time catcher for the Yankees once his mentor, and current manager Joe Girardi left via free agency.

He is the only Major League catcher to ever have hit .330 or better with 40 doubles, 20 home runs, and 90 RBIs in a single season. Posada and Yogi Berra are the only Yankees catchers to hit 30 home runs in a season. Since the 2000 season, Posada has had more runs batted in, home runs, and hits than any other catcher in baseball.

Jorge is known to be all business and have an old school mentalily. Which is what Yankee fans love about him. He has been a consistent force in the Yankee lineup since becoming an everyday player. He is one of the "Core Four" remaning from the Joe Torre Dynasty Years. He along with Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, and Andy Pettitte make up the legendary quartet. To take things a step further, this year marked the 1st time in American Sports history that 3 players have played together for the same team for 16 straight season. He accomplished that with Jeter and Rivera. Pettitte was gone from the 2004-2006 seasons.

He is looking to add his 5th championship this season with the Yanks. He remains an importance figure both on and off the field. The newer Yanks look to him for his veteran leadership and his wisedom behind the plate. While Posada has had his issues at times with Yankee pitchers, his overall presence looms great importance for the Bombers. I expect another solid season in 2010 from Jorgie. I also expect him to finish his career as a Yankee. One of the best catchers in all of baseball calls the Bronx home and for that I am greatful he wears the pinstripes. I wouldn't want it any other way!
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A-Rod Blasts Another! Yanks Keep Rollin'

The Yankees started off their west coast trip on a positive note. Javier Vazquez had a strong outing, Alex Rodriguez went deep again and the bullpen held the game together for the 7-3 victory.

A-Rod's 2nd HR of the year allows us to update the HR tracker and hopefully is a sign of things to come as Alex appears locked in the past few games.

Derek Jeter returned to the lineup after missing Sunday's game with a head cold but went 0 for 5. Jorge Posada knocked in 2 runs, as did Nick Swisher. The Bombers are now winners of 5 straight.

Taking the mound for Game 2 of the series against the A's is Phil Hughes. Hughes got the win on April 15th against the Angels in his 1st start of the year. He looks to improve on his 5 inning performance. He says he feels more comfortable now as a member of the Yankee rotation,let's see if that turns into a win for Phil.

If A-Rod continues his recent hitting then it'll be a matter of time before Mark Teixeria gets on board with the longballs and starts hitting everything in sight,much like last year, once Alex returned from injury.

The Yanks should take 2 of 3 from Oakland in this series and winning Game 1 surely makes that a lot easier. I'm just curious to see how Hughes pitches this time out and see if his changeup is effective.

C800 Asks You: What do you expect from Phil Hughes out of the 5th spot in the rotation? Does he even belong there? Share your thoughts on the Forum.
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Yanks Spring Into Hot Start

Winning a championship is a difficult task. Defending it is often even harder. That is why the Yankees 9-3 start to the 2010 season is impressive.

The Champs have continued from where they left off last Novemeber. Much of the success of last season has translated early on this season. The Yanks are atop of the A.L. East after the first 2 weeks of season. That's also with Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixeria combining for 2 HRs. Fast starts by Derek Jeter (.380 3 HR 9 RBI) and Robinson Cano (.356 4 HR 9 RBI) have led the charge offensively, meanwhile CC Sabathia (2-0 2.84 ERA), AJ Burnett (2-0 2.37ERA), and Andy Pettitte (1-0 0.75 ERA) are still in postseason form. Mariano Rivera (4 SV) and Joba Chamberlain (2.84 ERA) had led the way in the bullpen.

It's nice to see everything coming along as smooth as it for the Bombers, considering in recent years, they've gotten off to slow starts. The Yankees have been picked by many to repeat as World Champs so this is no surprise. They have won their first 4 series of the season,all against playoff caliber teams (Boston,Tampa Bay, Anahiem, and Texas). So you really can't say they haven't been tested. In both the Boston and Tampa series, the Yanks lost the first game of the series, only to come back and win the next 2 to win the series.

Sweeps are nice but winning series is the goal. If the Yanks can do that, they'll be a .600 winning team and should cruise right into the postseason....yea, yea I know, it's only April 19th, and I'm getting a little ahead of myself talking about the playoffs but when your team is the defending World Champs, you have the right to do so!

In the coming week, the Yanks head out west to Oakland and Anahiem. The west coast trip is always a test for them but now with the monkey off their back with Anahiem, there isn't much worry about making the trip in Yankeeland. I'm not crazy about 10:05 pm games, but after a long day, a Yankee game putting me to bed sounds like a good idea. Sorry Kim Jones, no post game for me this week.

Let's see what the Yankees do this week on the left coast. Does Cano's hot hitting continue? Will A-Rod hit a couple HRs so we can see the HR counter go up and up? Is Javy Vazquez going to turn things around after a few poor outings? What do you think? Share your thoughts on the Forum!
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Yanks Shine In Tampa

Another good series is in the books for the New York Yankees as they win their second straight. This one coming at the hands of the Tampa Bay Rays.

On Friday night Javier Vazquez made his Yankee return but it wasn't one for the ages. He was hit hard and gave up 8 runs in his first outing of the season. The Yanks dropped the opener of the series but they didn't let the loss affect them for long.

Saturday afternoon was all Pinstripes. The Yankees dominated every part of the gamein a 10-0 win. Pitching saw CC Sabathia come four outs away from pitching a no-hitter, defense saw Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixeria made amazing plays at the corners to preserve the no-no, and the offense saw Robinson Cano continue his hot start to the season with his second HR of the year to start the 10-run outburst. It also saw A-Rod record the 1,000th hit of his Yankee career. Still, the story was Sabathia who rebounded quite nicely after getting roughed up in Boston for his first start of the year. CC looked good as he was spotting his fastballs and getting swing and misses from his chaneup.

On Sunday AJ Burnett took the hill and delivered a quality start as he pitched seven strong innings. Alex doubled twice and drove in two runs. We're still awaiting his first big fly of the season but maybe he's waiting to get back to the Bronx to do that.

So the Yanks win their second series in a row after losing the first game. That's a good sign considering they'll need to look at that come October (assuming they make it of course). Nothing new to the Bombers as they lost Game 1 of the 2009 World Series at home to the Phillies and they went on to win it all.

The first week of the season is over and all pieces of the team seem to be clicking early on. It's only been six games but they took two of three from the Rays and the Red Sox, two teams that are going to the Yanks main competition all year. Every game counts with both teams so in essence these were huge wins, even if they are in the early days of the season. Good first week for New York who now heads back home to recieve their championship rings.

C800 Asks You: What did you find as the most impressive aspect of the Yankees play this week against two of the American League's best teams? The Yankees return to Yankee Stadium on Tuesday and they welcome back World Series MVP Hideki Matsui. What are your thoughts on Matsui's return? Share them on the forum.
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Yanks Take GRAND Finale At Fenway

The Yankees beat the Red Sox on the strength of Curtis Granderson's 10th inning Home Run off of Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon. The Yanks win the opening series of the season and first series with Boston. It's an impressive series win considering the Yanks lost on opening night.

Andy Pettitte was back to his old ways as he showed no ill effects of being 37 years old and having a "weird" spring training. He pitched 6 solid innings giving up 1 run and 7 hits. Sunday night's goat Chan Ho Park got back in stride as he pitched 3 scoreless innings of relief to earn the win.

Granderson is quickly earning his pinstripes. His HR in the 1oth was his 2nd of the series and put the Yanks ahead for good as Mariano Rivera came in for the save. Granderson hasn't looked particularly good against the lefties he's facedso far, but no Yankee fan will complain at this point.

Last year, the Yanks lost their first 8 games of the season to Boston but have since won 11 of the last 13.

The defending World Champs prove why they won it all last year, as the never say die attitude of the team hasn't left. The Yanks leave Boston on a high note. It was an intense series and they came out on top. It's nice to see them bounce back after a mini-collapse on Sunday night.

So far so good for Granderson and the Yanks. Damon who? Yes, it's only 3 games into the season but it was the Red Sox they beat...wheter it's April or October..winning in Beantown is always sweet!

C800 Asks You: It's only the first series of the season but does this set the tempo for both teams going forward or should we just see this series as just a regular 3 game series? Is Granderson going to be a big player in the Bronx or did he just have a good 3 game strecth? Your thoughts? Share them!
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