This 10-game road trip has been a disaster for the Yankees. They are 2-5 through the first 7 games, they have lost 3 games in the AL East to Tampa and 1.5 to Boston in the wild card. Not to mention, they lost their ace-to-be Joba Chamberlain.

What's interesting to note is that the Yanks had a lead in each of the 3 games against the Angels this weekend and could not hold any of them. Ian Kennedy got rocked again Friday night and said..

“I felt like I made some good pitches,” he said. “I’m not too upset about it. … What was it, a bunch of singles and three doubles? I’m just not real upset about it. I’m just going to move on and I’ve already done that.”

...wow, did he really say that? That earned him a first class ticket back to AAA Scranton. Good move by the Yankees. He later apologized for those comments, but come on you got to be smarter than that.

Saturday, Dan Giese pitched 6 solid innings giving up only 1 run, but the bullpen blew up thanks in part to an 8-run 8th inning. The first 6 runs came before the Yankees recorded an out. Ouch! Joe Girardi was asked how he felt watching that 8-run 8th unfold...

“What do you think? You think it’s fun watching that crap?” Girardi snapped. “Silly question.”

...I agree.

Sunday, the Yankees were again ahead in the score, but could'nt hold on. This time a baserunning mistake by Alex Rodriguez in the 7th ended a chance at a rally that could've broke a 3-3 tie and a walk by Damaso Marte in the 9th to the 9th place hitter set up the game winning single by Chone Figgins. Those two plays sealed the Yanks' fate this weekend.

"We had a lot of opportunities. We have to blame ourselves," said Abreu, who grounded to second with the infield in and a runner on third in the fifth inning. "I wish I had an explanation. I don't think we understand what's going on."

The Yanks have a chance to redeem themselves with 3 games against the Minnesota Twins. A team they trail in the wild card by 2.5 games. It'll be worth watching to see how the Yankees respond to being swept this weekend in Anaheim. 44 games left to go.


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Tags: Alex Rodriguez, Bobby Abreu, Chasing 800, Damaso Marte, Dan Giese, Ian Kennedy, Joba Chamberlain, Joe Girardi

Now what I saw yesterday was just down right terrible. The combination of Edwar Ramirez, David Robertson and Jose Veras did their best Kyle Farnsworth impression. They blew a 3-1 lead and most importantly, they blew a solid performance by Dan Giese. That's something the Yanks can not afford to do given their situation. With 45 games to go, the Yanks must win the games their pitchers allow them to win.

During the 8-game winning streak a few weeks ago, everything was clicking on all cylinders. The pitching, the hitting, the bullpen, the defense, the clutch hitting. Now, the Yanks have lost 9 of 14 and are really pushing towards the possibilty of no postseason. While everyone, myself included wait for the Rays to fall on their face, it doesn't appear thats going to happen anytime soon. Time is running out. The past few seasons, this is usually the time the Yankees go and make up their ground and win the games they need to. That's not happening this season. The heart of the team seems to have fallen once Joba Chamberlain went down. Ian Kennedy doesn't seem to be the answer either as he pitched poorly once again. Granted he did face the best team in baseball but nothing in his approach gave you any sense of encouragement for his next start or two. Phil Hughes is on his way back and I hope he becomes "The Franchise" once again and lives up to his expectations.

Expectations need to be met now, the Yankees are always in a win now mode, just look at the trades they made last month. That tells you the Yankees want to win and will do anything they can to do just that. Now, four games out of the wild card, there should be no cause for concern but after seeing the 7th and 8th innings of yesterday's game, there certainly is a lot to worry about. Joe Girardi and his troops have time to turn this around, but the clock is ticking...they better start doing whatever it takes to win. The last winning streak showed what the Bombers are capable of. The loss of Joba put the Yankees down but they're not out. Here's one of my favorite quotes:

"..it ain't about how hard you hit, it is about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward, how much can you take and keep moving forward. That's how winning is done." - Rocky Balboa

Yes that is from the last installment of the Rocky series, but there's much truth to it. Rocky was an underdog in most of his fights and eventually came out on top. I realize he lost his last fight in the last movie but he gave it his all. I want the 2008 Yankees to do the same no matter what their situation is. I think it's time for Girardi to be as encouraging as Mickey was for Rocky. Something has to work...but it needs to be done.... time is running out.

Yanks 2nd Half Record: 13-9
My Yanks 2nd Half Prediction: 39-27

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Tags: Baseball, Dan Giese, David Robertson, Edwar Ramirez, Ian Kennedy, Joba Chamberlain, Joe Girardi, Kyle Farnsworth, Phil Hughes, Yankees

Yesterday was quite the day for New York baseball. One of those days that rarely happen, which makes it more memorable. Both the Mets and Yankees didn't disappoint as both teams won a game to split the home and home twinbill.

Game 1:

Carlos Delgado was the story. He hit 2 HR's and had a Mets franchise record 9 RBI. The same Carlos Delgado that the NY Post wanted out of town. Make no mistake about it, Delgado still has something left in him, or was it a result of the bad pitching he faced? Whatever the case may be, his 2 HRs were some of the longest HR's you will ever see hit at Yankee Stadium. If you have not seen them, then I'd suggest you make it to business to YouTube it or turn on ESPN. I'm not sure those balls Delgado hit have landed yet.

Dan Giese got the start and pitched poorly. He threw 100 plus pitches in 4 plus innings. He got into trouble in the fifth when he walked Jose Reyes and Luis Castillo. David Wright then followed with a base hit and the bases were loaded. Exit Giese, enter Edwar Ramirez. Two batters later Delgado followed with a 2-run double.

"It was like every time I came up, I had a lot of guys on base," said Delgado, who is hitting .462 (6-for-13) with two homers and 11 RBI in his first three games against the Yankees this season. "I got good pitches to hit and I was able to drive them. It's nice to go out and get a good game."

Boy did Delgado make the Yankees pitching look bad. I mean he got the hits off of Giese, Ross Ohlendorf, and LaTroy Hawkins. Not excatly top of the line pitchers but Carlos got the job done. The end result was a Mets 15-6 victory in Game 1 of the split stadium doubleheader.

"It doesn't matter if it's Yankees-Mets or whoever is playing," Jorge Posada said. "It's all about executing pitches, and today, that wasn't the case."

This game showed how much the Yankees lack pitching depth and if I were Brian Cashman, I'd look at that game and get on the phone quick. There's no way you can keep running these guys out there. Giese got released by the Giants, Ohlendof wouldn't be in the majors if the Yanks didn't lack depth, and Hawkins....well I don't know why he has a job. Enough said.

Nothing you can take positive out of this game if you're a Yankee fan. Maybe Alex Rodriguez' 3 for 4 day, with a HR and 2 RBI. The Yanks were 4 for 14 with runners in the scoring position by the 4th inning! You can't win games with stats like that. Just a bad overall performance by the Yanks and a good game for the Mets.

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Tags: Alex Rodriguez, Baseball, Brain Cashman, Dan Giese, Edwar Ramirez, Jorge Posada, Mets, Ross Ohlendorf, Yankees