The Yankees are having a homestand for the ages. They have 4 walk-off wins and have had some memorible moments. Who says this Yankee Stadium doesn't have any history?

We saw 3 walk-off wins in a row last weekend. When did you ever see that? A-Rod has been hitting HR's left and right. That's all he's hitting right now but we'll take it. Mark Teixeria is hitting anything and everything. Robinson Cano remembers how he hit in 2007 and so far isn't breaking stride. CC Sabathia is finally the real CC. Melky Cabrera has been money in the clutch. I mean things are clicking on all cylinders now.

What makes this homestand so great is that you can see how the Yankees are finally loosening up. Pies in the face by AJ Burnett, crazy haircuts by Nick Swisher, a WWE Title awarded to the MVP of each game by Johnny Damon. This stuff is great. Where has all this been the last few years. The relaxed Bombers are a fun team to watch. It's been a pleasure to watch. I'm glad to see the chemistry is finally coming along.

The presence of Alex Rodriguez was thought to be sort of a distraction but it hasn't. If anything he was the right man at the right time coming to a team who deseperatly needed him. He's contributing and so is everyone around him. How long is this little run of coolness going to be around the Bombers? I'd say all season but it's going to be one long summer so anything can happen. But remember...the Yankees will get healthier, Jorge Posada, Xavier Nady,and Chein Ming Wang are all expected to reclaim thier roles in the next few weeks. What happens then? Who knows, but for the time being, this is the best team to watch, beacuse if you don't, you're gonna miss something amazing.



Share your thoughts on The Forum: http://www.chasingrecords.com/

Read more »

These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

0 Comments

Tags: AJ Burnett, Alex Rodriguez, Baseball, CC Sabathia, Chein-Ming Wang, Johnny Damon, Jorge Posada, Mark Teixeira, Melky Cabrera, Nick Swisher, Robinson Cano, Xavier Nady, Yankee Stadium, Yankees

As I was browsing the internet this morning I came across an interesting post by Peter Abraham. He questions the Yankees and their handling of injuries. He gave a few examples for his questioning, here's an excerpt:

Just wondering, but does anybody else question what is going on with the Yankees and their ability to properly evaluate injuries?

Damaso Marte went seven days without pitching then they decided to put him on the disabled list. Then we found out today that the injury he had in spring training never really cleared up. Meanwhile, he made seven appearances and got knocked around.

Chien-Ming Wang, as it turns out, had weakness in his injured foot and that led to atrophied hip muscles. How did this go unnoticed all spring and lead to his getting crushed for three starts?

A-Rod said his hip injury was an issue last June. Yet he played the rest of the year and it went undiagnosed until March. Then he needed surgery that has so far kept him out a month......

Look at Mark Teixeira, for instance. He has not been the same since he injured his wrist. What would be better for the Yankees, Juan Miranda playing first base or Tex going 2 for 27? Should he be on the DL?

It's worth looking at. The Yankees have so much pressure on themselves to win that they may be throwing injured stars onto the field to justify their big payroll and now, new stadium. By doing so, they are hurting their chances of being a competitive team. If Marte has been hurt since the WBC in March, he should've been placed on the DL. Alex's hip has been bothering since last season so why did it go unnoticed for so long? Maybe the Yankees knew and tried to dance around it and wanted to see if it would clear up during the winter. Who knows, but a healthy player is far better than an injured player.

The Yanks have been hit with the injury bug quick this year but continue to stay strong with an above .500 record. They did shut down Xavier Nady once they saw he injured his elbow so maybe they do know what they're doing after all. Brian Bruney's elbow is acting up again and may miss a good chuck of time, much like last year. Injuries are apart of sports and the best teams overcome them. For all the talk about how great the 2009 Yankees are, this is a time where we get a good indication of just how good they are. 1 MVP, 1 potential Cy Young, 1 All-Star, and 1 would be closer down and they are still above water. Let's see what happens when the Yanks are all fully healthy.


Share your thoughts on The Forum: http://www.chasingrecords.com/

Read more »

These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

0 Comments

Tags: Alex Rodriguez, Brian Bruney, Chein-Ming Wang, Damaso Marte, Juan Miranda, Mark Teixeira, Xavier Nady, Yankees

Chasing800 is going to look at each position and give you insight and opinion on the current situation and what may loom ahead. Today we will look at Right Field.

Right Field
This position belongs to Xavier Nady. He is the power threat of the three outfielders. After being acquired in July Nady provided some much needed pop the Yankee line-up. He hit .268 12 HR and 40 RBI in 59 games while in the Bronx. He has an above average arm and plays pretty good defense. His value to the team will be on offense. He combined for 25 HR and 97 RBI last year between the Yanks and Pirates so expect similar production this season. This is also his walk year, as he becomes a free agent at year's end. He's a hard nose player who likes to get dirty and is a player the Yankees need around. In a game last season at the Stadium he went off and recorded 6 RBIs in a game against the Angels, a show of his capabilities.

Nick Swisher will also see time behind Nady as he's the utility outfielder for the Yanks this season. Expect a spot start from him every now and then.

Chasing800 Prediction:
Nady has another solid season. He will almost certainly leave the Yanks when he becomes a free agent because he's a Scott Boras client and will command more money than the Yankees are willing to pay. I see a .278 23 HR 95 RBI from the X-Man this year with solid defense. His arm is not Bobby Abreu's but his hard nose effort and grind-it-0ut mentality will win us over in a full season...maybe just enough to bring him back for '10?? Let's see about that.

Share your thoughts on The Forum: http://www.chasingrecords.com/

Read more »

These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

0 Comments

Tags: 2009 Outlook, Baseball, Nick Swisher, Spring Training, Xavier Nady, Yankees

The Yankees are looking to trade Xavier Nady, a move that most fans are not too supportive of. It's either trade Nady or Nick Swisher.

The Yankees are looking to trade Xavier Nady, a move that most fans are not too supportive of. It's either trade Nady or Nick Swisher.

Going in Swisher's favor is the fact he's a switch hitter and makes $21 million over the next three seasons as opposed to Nady who will be a free agent at the end of the 2009 season. Nady is also represented by Scott Boras which ultimately means he will walk come season's end because the Yankees probably won't give Nady the money he'll be asking for.

Nady was acquired in late July in 2008 and helped proved pop in the lineup. He was a consistent force in the liuneup behind Alex Rodriguez, especially with the Yanks missing Hideki Matsui and Jorge Posada for an extended period of time. The Nationals are the only team that have publicly had interest in both Nady and Swisher. I would take there's more teams in the mix but for right now things are quiet on the trading front.

I personally would like to see the Yanks retain both men and think they should take their chances come next winter with Nady. They do have Matsui and Johnny Damon also coming off the books so they're going to need some outfielders. I trust Brian Cashman so I'm not going to worry. But if we do trade Nady we better get a good pitcher in return.

Read more »

These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

1 comment

Tags: Alex Rodriguez, Baseball, Brain Cashman, Hideki Matsui, Jorge Posada, Nick Swisher, Scott Boras, Xavier Nady, Yankees

The Yankees front office, Brian Cashman and Hal Steinbrenner said a few days ago that they were going to be aggressive this offseason and would address all the teams' needs and issues. Over the last 48 hours they have made some moves to help the roster.

Marte Re-signs -----------


On Wednesday they re-signed lefty Damaso Marte to a 3 year contract with a club option for 2012. The Marte signing was bound to happen as there was no way the Yankees were gong to lelt him walk away from the team considering that lefties out of the bullpen are hard to come by these days.

“We looked at him over a broad range of his work. His stuff is there and finding a left-hander has been difficult,” Cashman said. “I can’t say exactly what his role will be, but he can pitch from the fifth inning through to the eighth.”

The Yanks haven't had a good lefty reliever since Mike Stanton back in the dynasty years. His last productive season was in 2002. I knew this deal was going to get done because the Yankees traded away 3 guys toget him. This was the great trade pulled off by Cashman in which he robbed the Pirates of Marte and Xavier Nady. Both men are now under contract for 2009.
--------------------------------------------------


Yanks Get Nick Swisher ---------


The other move the Yankees made was acquiring switch-hitting first baseman/outfielder Nick Swisher and right-handed pitcher Kanekoa Texeira from the Chicago White Sox in exchange for infielder Wilson Betemit and right-handed pitchers Jeff Marquez and Jhonny Nunez. Swisher addresses the need for a 1B for the time being. When asked who would be the starting first baseman if the season started tomorrow Cashman replied "Nick Swisher". Swisher can also play the outfield which adds to his value. I do have to question his overall value to begin with. He has power and can get on base but his average wasn't great last year and he doesn't look like he'll improve. A positive sign with Nick is over the last 4 seasons he has recorded at least 20 doubles and 20 homers, not bad, not to mention he's also a switch hitter. The addition of Swisher gives the Yanks a lot of flexibilty with just one guy. He can be your righty hitting first baseman or your lefty hitting centerfielder, how cool is that? If Nick can just hit around .270 the Yankees are a winner in this move.

“We’re excited with the addition of Nick Swisher,” said Yankees Manager Joe Girardi. “We feel he has a ton of upside. He’s a patient switch-hitter, adds versatility at a number of defensive positions, including first base and the outfield, and will be a positive presence inside the clubhouse.”

The Yankees were so impressed by how the Tampa Bay Rays won on the basis of being young and athletic. Swisher fits the bill on both. Swisher, 27, batted .219 (109-for-497) with 86 runs, 21 doubles, 24 HR and 69 RBI in 153 games with the White Sox in 2008, leading all American League switch-hitters in home runs and ranking 2nd in RBI.
He made 69 starts in center field, 47 starts at first base, 16 starts in left field and 11 starts in right field. The guy can move around.

I didn't expect this move by the Yanks but I like it. It gives them flexibilty at a few different positions and didn't cost them much. It saves the Yanks money by not throwing the checkbook at Mark Texieria (even tho that's still a possibilty). It appears that Cashman and the front office are clearing looking to get younger and athletic. As I mentioned the Rays made it all the way to the World Series on those two things. Sure there were a lot of other factors that got Tampa Bay to the dance but youth and athleticism got them a long way. Many organizations look to follow in those footsteps and now use Tampa's foundation as a model to go by.

The offseason of change has started and with Friday being the first day of free agency ANYTHING is possible. The Yankees and CC Sabathia watch will be on. Is it a matter of time before he's in pinstripes or will it take more than a blank check to lure him to the Bronx? We'll find out.

Read more »

These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

0 Comments

Tags: Baseball, Brain Cashman, CC Sabathia, Damaso Marte, Mark Teixeira, Nick Swisher, Tampa Bay Rays, Xavier Nady, Yankees

The Yankees mounted a late inning rally last night against the Baltimore Orioles as they won 9-4. Bobby Abreu went 5 for 5 and homeruns by Robinson Cano, Jose Molina, Cody Ransom, and Xavier Nady all contributed to the victory.

Mike Mussina wasn't able to further along his quest for 20 wins for the first time in his career as he went six innings and allowed four runs and left when Baltimore had a 4-3 lead.

"I kept us in the game. We were never out of it,” Mussina said. “We got the at-bats we needed in the end.”

Moose entered the game with an 11.29 ERA against his former team entering last night's game so giving up four runs was an "accomplishment" on his part.

“To hold them to four runs the way I pitched the last two times against them, this was pretty good,” Mussina said. “If you can hold them to one run an inning, it’s not as demoralizing to your team. We were able to stay in and come back and win it.”

He now is 0-2 with 8.49 ERA against the O's this season in three starts.

Derek Jeter recorded his 2,500th hit of his career with a hit in the first inning. That puts him with Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig as the ONLY men to have at least 2,500 hits all as a Yankee. When asked about how he felt about his latest accomplishment, Jeter responded:

“It means we won the game today. I guess if you play long enough, you’re bound to get some milestones. More importantly we won. We needed this game.”

The Yanks didn't pick up any ground on the Red Sox and remain six games out of the wild card. Saturday, the Yanks send Carl Pavano to the mound....OMG hold on to your seats, we're in for a ride.

Read more »

These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

0 Comments

Tags: Baseball, Bobby Abreu, Cody Ransom, Derek Jeter, Jose Molina, Mike Mussina, Robinson Cano, Xavier Nady, Yankees

On a bright Sunday afternoon the Yankees were the Bronx Bombers again. They hit 4 homeruns and scored 15 runs against the Royals at the Stadium in the series finale and took 2 of 3 this weekend.

The Yanks were down 3-0 quick after Mike Mussina gave up 3 runs in the top half of the 1st but New York answered back in the bottom half of the inning. With 2 men on Alex Rodriguez came to the plate and drilled one out to left center tying the game at 3. A few batters later, the X-Man, Xavier Nady hit one off the right field foul pole to give the Yanks a 4-3 lead. In the the 2nd, Jason Giambi and his new 'stache hit a grand slam into the bleachers in right that busted the game wide open. Later in the game new-comer Cody Ransom hit a 2-run HR, his first as a Yankee and the Yankees were well on their way to victory. Final score, 15-6 Bombers.

Mussina settled down after the rough 1st inning and pitched well. 6 innings, 3 hits, 3 runs, a quality start for Moose, who now ups his record to 16-7 on the year. The 266th win of his career which ties him with Bob Feller on the all-time win list. 20 wins in a season is looking very possible for Mussina, a feat he has never accomplished. He's got around 7 starts left.

"That would be pretty cool," he said, "Twenty wins for the first time at 39? But who knows? With only 33 or 34 starts, it's tough now to win 20 games."

A-Rod hit his 28th HR of the season and 546th of his career on Sunday. He went 3 for 3 and recorded 5 RBI. Most importantly to Yankee fans, he finally hit a HR when they needed one, when he tied the game at 3 in the 1st. Derek Jeter went 4 for 4, raising his season average to .295. The Red Sox got pounded by the Blue Jays at Fenway so the Yanks picked up ground in the wild card, which they now sit 5 games back. 37 games left, not much time to get things turned around, but certainly anythings possible.

Read more »

These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

0 Comments

Tags: Alex Rodriguez, Baseball, Derek Jeter, Jason Giambi, Mike Mussina, Xavier Nady, Yankees