Shelley Duncan is here! How do you know that? Here's how:

Friday night: 1 for 4, 1 RBI.

Saturday (Game 1): 1 for 4, 1 HR 2 RBI, Yankee Stadium curtain call.

Sunday: 2 for 4, 2 HR 4 RBI, another curtain call.

Via ESPN.com:

"It's a crazy experience," Shelley said. "You kind of get frozen in the moment."

That was the weekend Duncan had, and that's why you know who he is. Not to mention fist pounds and high fives that would take your arms off. He's the brother of St. Louis' Chris Duncan and son of Dave Duncan , pitching coach of the Cardinals. He was drafted in 2001 by the Yanks out of Arizona. His infectious manner in which he plays the game has brought a sense of life and enthusiasm to the team and to the ballpark. A factor that the Yankee Stadium crowd did not let go unnoticed. On Sunday, he recieved curtain calls after both of his home runs and recieved a standing ovation upon his third at-bat.

Via Bill Madden, NY Daily News:

"He's not just up there hacking and that's important," said Joe Torre ."He knows who he's facing and maybe it's a benefit to have a father who's a pitching coach teaching you about preparing and focus."

What seems to be Shelley's claim to fame is his overjoyed emotion, "It's fun until after he scores," Derek Jeter said, laughing "He gets a little physical when he gets excited." Asked about his aggressive high fives after Saturday's Game 1 win, Shelley offered YES Network reporter Kim Jones a sample. A sample that surprised her as well as her colleagues in the booth.

Should we be surprised with Duncan or is this a preview of things to come? Torre is going to have to find a way to get him in the lineup, a problem that is certainly a good thing for Torre and the Yanks.

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Tags: Baseball, Derek Jeter, Joe Torre, Shelly Duncan, Yankees

The Yankees are showing life. Last night's 13-2 win was their third straight. Another step in the right direction.

Andy Pettitte picked up the win, after going over a month without one. He got support from an offense that is starting to wake up. The Yanks sent 13 men to the plate in the bottom of the 5th inning scoring 8 times.

"This game may have been a turning point," Hideki Matsui said last night after the Yankees beat the Seattle Mariners 13-2 before a crowd of 52,005 at the Stadium. "We are starting to play well."

This win marks the fourth time the Yanks have beat up on the Mariners this season, all this month and all at Yankee Stadium.

I am liking what I see from the Bombers as of late. Since the debacle on Tuesday night against the Orioles, the Yanks have answered back and answered in a big way. It's no coincidence that since A-Rod's return the Yankees are 3-1. He was deeply missed in the lineup and it shows.

"I think Alex helps everybody, no matter where they are in the lineup," hitting coach Kevin Long said. "When he's around, everything falls into place much easier for us. We're not so dependent on left-handed hitters. We're just a harder team to pitch to, which is what we thought we had in spring training."

The offense got the best of Seattle ace Erik Bedard, a lefty. It was nice to see Shelley Duncan finally get a big hit with his three-run homerun last night. It's also nice to see the Yanks playing with consistency. Solid pitching and an offense that hits can do wonders. With the Mariners in town for two more you have to like the Yankees chance of winning the series. The weather is warming up and so are the New York Yankees.

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Tags: Alex Rodriguez, Andy Pettitte, Baseball, Hideki Matsui, Joe Girardi, Shelly Duncan, Yankees

Kei Igawa is NO GOOD! It's that plain and simple. He gave up six runs on eleven hits in three-plus innings. I'm not sure if Ian Kennedy would've done any better but I'm going to say at least he would've lasted until the fifth inning.

I'm sure many Yankee fans share my frustration. Manager Joe Girardi shared his frustration with the media after the game last night.

"He couldn't get a breaking ball over, whether it was his changeup or slider," Girardi said. "They were basically able to focus in on one pitch. It's not pitching like he's capable of pitching. We need him to pitch with all his weapons."

I'm not sure Igawa has any weapons at all. If anything, the way he pitches you would think he was sent by the other team as a spy. Ok, that's a little far fetched, even for me, but you get the point.

I don't like this guy and I don't like his style. He's afraid to challenge hitters and everything he throws over the plate gets tattooed all over the ballpark. He was a bad investment and I don't think he will ever turn out to be any good. Why GM Brian Cashman didn't send him to the Padres last season is beyond me.

What makes this start even more laughable is that Igawa thought he was ok.

"The result is part of baseball," Igawa said through his interpreter. "It can happen in any game at any time. The next thing I would like to work on is getting more strikeouts."

That's great because he had no strikeouts.

The Yankees made a late inning comeback...or at least tried to. Down 6-2 in the ninth inning, they were able to make it 6-5 and have the tying run at second base and the go-ahead run at first. With Shelley Duncan at the plate, he made solid contact, that at first made you think he might've tied the game but it turned out to just be a flyout to left-center to end the game.

Wilson Betemit was also a guy the Yankees can fault for losing last night's game. He misplayed a few groundballs at third base that led to Detroit's onslaught in the early innings. To be fair, the Yankees couldn't get a hit with runners in scoring position again...until the ninth inning. Too little, too late.

Igawa's turn in the rotation is next Wednesday when the Yanks visit Tampa Bay. Let's keep our fingers crossed Kennedy makes another brilliant start so he can get his spot back. And you thought it couldn't get any worse than Kennedy. Did we forget about Igawa and how awful he is?? Apparently so did the Yankees. One would think they would give another shot on Wednesday but if he bombs, Kennedy will be on his way to the Bronx in a hurry.

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Tags: Baseball, Ian Kennedy, Joe Girardi, Kei Igawa, Shelly Duncan, Yankees

The struggles for the Yankees continued last night as Phil Hughes picked up his third loss of the season. With the Yanks losing 8-2 in Baltimore last night, it pushes their record to 9-9 on the year.

Over at Peter Abraham's LoHud Yankees Blog, he notes why Yankee fans shouldn't be worried about the team's performance to this point. Here are some highlights:

* The Yankees have played 18 straight days. Kids making shoes in factories in Third World countries don’t work 18 straight days.
* The following players have missed games because of injury: Andy Pettitte, Derek Jeter, Jason Giambi, Jorge Posada, Jose Molina, Wilson Betemit
* The following players missed games because of suspension: Melky Cabrera, Shelley Duncan.
* The following players have so far forgotten how to hit: Jason Giambi, Robinson Cano.
* The following players have been away to care for critically ill fathers: Joba Chamberlain.
* The following managers missed games because of illness: Joe Girardi.
* Number of games at home: 9
* Number of games on the road: 9
* Number of games when it was warmer than 60 degrees: 5
* Number of new managers: 1
* Number of new coaches: 4
* Number of games against the defending World Champions: 5
* Number of starts by Andy Pettitte: 3 out of 18.
* Number of times Joba and Mo have pitched in the same game: 3

I know it hasn't been typical Yankee baseball this season but as you can see, it's been a little crazy around the team in such a short period of time. Once everyone gets healthy and people settle into their roles on the team then things will start to click. It took until July last year for things to get rolling. Phil Hughes,Ian Kennedy, and Mike Mussina are a combined 1-7 Let's not even go to the E.R.A. because that will just make your head spin.

So far the year of transition is in full effect, just as many people predicted. Hughes looked a lot better last night through the first five innings than he did in previous two starts. He will be better and so will Kennedy. Mussina on the other hand better start finding some tricks up his sleeve or else he won't be around for much longer. Kei Igawa won't be much better. You think the Yankees would've posted more money to sign Matsuzaka last winter if they knew they would be in this position with their pitching? It's worth the thought. But if the struggles continue, Joba will be in the rotation faster than Roger Clemens recieved that check for the pro-rated $28 million he got last year. Speaking of Roger..do you think its possible the Yanks would give him a call this season or is that completly out of the question??

Anything is possible. I would sign Clemens but it would HAVE to be at a salary of about $1 or $2 million. Or do the Yanks make a trade for a stud? Well it's way too early in the season to be asking these questions, so sit back and relax, it's only April. Things have been worse around here, no need to worry....yet.

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Tags: Andy Pettitte, Baseball, Derek Jeter, Ian Kennedy, Jason Giambi, Joba Chamberlain, Joe Girardi, Jorge Posada, Mariano Rivera, Mike Mussina, Phil Hughes, Robinson Cano, Shelly Duncan, Yankees

Over at Peter Abraham's LoHud Yankees Blog) he takes a look at the Yankees bench. With the addition of Ensberg Friday night to the 40-man roster, the bench is pretty much set.

Heres a look at the bench that manager Joe Girardi will have at his disposal:

Jose Molina (C)
Shelley Duncan (RF, 1B)
Wilson Betemit (1B,2B,SS,3B)
Morgan Ensberg (1B,2B,3B)

Not too bad, but Abraham also notes that their isn't much speed or defense on the bench. I agree with Peter on that notion. I believe the bench was set up this season so Girardi has more of a "B" lineup than a bunch of "fill-ins". Sure these guys are not the best guys to have come off the bench but the Yanks' have had worse. With Melky Cabrera, Johnny Damon, and Hideki Matsui sharing the duties in center and left, that would give Girardi another option in both positions if need be. As the season rolls along I'm sure we'll see changes but for now, this is the bench that will start the season. Let's hope the starters stay healthy and the bench all perform up to their potential, otherwise the Yankees might be in trouble.

(Frank's articles can also be found at OnTheBlockNY)

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Tags: Baseball, Joe Girardi, Melky Cabrera, Morgan Ensberg, Shelly Duncan, Spring Training, Yankees

It didn't take Joe Girardi long to put his stamp on the Yankees. A mere three weeks into Spring Training and we already see in a difference in the Bronx Bombers. With the exception of a few players, this is basically the same team that Joe Torre managed in his last game as Yankee manager last October. Yet, we there seems to be a world of a difference this spring.

I'm sure most of you have seen the recent developments between the Yanks and the Tampa Bay Rays. Last weekend saw Tampa Bay's Elliot Johnson run over Yankee catching prospect Francisco Cervelli, thus breaking his right hand. Wednesday the Yanks' Shelly Duncan went into second baseman Aki Iwamura with an aggressive slide, which led to a bench clearing brawl. As a result Duncan along with Melky Cabrera were suspended 3 games each by Major League Baseball for their actions in the brawl. Girardi was fined for the incident. The Rays' Jonny Gomes was also fined and suspended 2 games for his "tackle" of Duncan at second base (he plays right field, so how in the world does he end up at second base within seconds of the play?) That, in my opinion is worthy of at LEAST 5 games. A right fielder has no business at second base in what appeared to be an attempt a full fledged charge at Duncan.

"What Jon did was reaction to what they had done, and we did not start a thing," Tampa manager Jon Maddon said. "They perpetrated the entire situation. And then to have the punishment doled out almost on a similar basis, to me is unjust and it's not right. I'm sure we're going to appeal the situation and see what we can do."

"What's unfortunate is it's a situation that if our catcher didn't go down with a broken arm, I don't think (Duncan) would be suspended," Yankees Captain Derek Jeter said. "Now he's suspended and people talk about the way he plays the game. Shelley plays hard all the time. If I were Shelley, I wouldn't change the way I play. There's no reason."

I think too much was made of this situation, but on the other hand according to Don Zimmer and the rest of the Rays, the collision at home plate was "part of the game." So an aggressive slide into second base was "part of the game" as well. This was Girardi's message to the league...don't mess with the Yankees, because we'll get you back. It's something Torre never liked to do while he was manager, so I think this attitude that Girardi brings to the team is excatly what the Yanks need. They will not be push overs for anyone, especially the Tampa Bay Rays! Good for the Yanks and Girardi! The rest of the league has been put on notice, but for now lets just play baseball and get ready for Opening Day.

Oh by the way, the Yanks and Rays play Saturday at Legends Field, we'll see if this situation continues to esculate. Must see tv for Spring Training? We'll find out.

(Frank's articles can also be found at OnTheBlockNY )

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Tags: Baseball, Franciso Cervelli, Joe Girardi, Joe Torre, Melky Cabrera, Shelly Duncan, Spring Training, Yankees