The Yankees Need A Long Man
It’s not that I think Brett Bombko is such a catch. But why wasn’t he put on the Yankees’ roster? He could have eaten innings and performed the kind of public service that would have avoided over-using the pen in tonight’s 15-5 drubbing by the Rays.
Instead, the game took on a circus atmosphere right from the start.
Poor Wang.
The way he was getting pounded, batter after batter, reminded me of…Well, just watch and you’ll see what I mean.
After he departed in the second inning, Albaladejo, Edwar and Coke did their best imitations of circus acts too.
Not that it was just the pitchers who looked clownish.
Cody Ransom lost a ball while staring up into Tropicana Field’s dome, apparently entranced by its unique beauty.
Cano and Pena (Ramiro, not Carlos) put on a show of their own following a Navarro pop up
in the manner of these two.
And for the grand finale, Nick Swisher entertained the crowd by pretending to be a pitcher
in much the same way that a mime entertains the crowd by pretending he can’t speak.
Swisher was a great sport and actually held the Rays scoreless – the feat of the night – but if I wanted to watch a circus I would have gone to see Cirque de Soleil.
Were there any bright spots for the Yankees during this humiliating exercise? No. Well, except that A-Rod was back with the team, and I brightened every time the camera found him in the dugout. I’m sure Ransom is a lovely human being, but I want the guy who hits 50 homers in the lineup.
As for the Rays, they did everything right tonight. But the player I’m intent on kidnapping in order to prevent him from having his way with my guys is him.
Upton is maddeningly good. He hits for power. He bunts for base hits. He steals bases. And he makes over-the-shoulder – yes, circus – catches. If he doesn’t show up for Tuesday’s game, it’s because he’s being held in a secure location.
Confessions of a She-Fan 
I [unashamed to say] was actually grateful for the all out epic fail, solely because of that 8th inning. It was the hilarious times 2. Despite how horrible the game ended up being, Swish made my day with that, lol..
The Yanks definitely need a long man, and that was evident even before the season began, but Girardi thought the Yanks could survive w/o one.. I don’t think he’s feeling the same way today.. but at least we got some entertainment out of it =)
– V [ http://flairforthedramatic.mlblogs.com ]
I can see why you’d want A-Rod back in the lineup. Not only does he hit 50 homers a year, but he can also field routine fly balls. And routine ground balls. I’d be a little worried if Nick Swisher is the most effective pitcher in the bullpen, though. Maybe you should kidnap Soria after all ;)-Erinhttp://plunking-gomez.mlblogs.com
Jane, you’ve put the whole thing in perspective.. as much as i was disgusted by today’s game, i’m now actually amused!
the Yankees are like a vh1 reality show, lol
Jane – I’m beginning to think that the Red Sox/Yankees can do one of those separated by birth segments. Okay – maybe we didn’t have to resort to pulling a guy off the field to pitch but it still wasn’t pretty.
Julia
http://werbiefitz.mlblogs.com/
Jane
Call the Commish….check CMWang’s papers….are we SURE his last name is not really PEÑA? He’s rapidly BECOMING a PEÑA in my you know what!!!
Predictions – Wang to Scranton. Clearly there are some kinks to work out.
Hughes comes up and does better than last year.
Wendy
While I don’t think Wang should take a demotion to the minor leagues, I do think that going down for a set period of time to get in some less pressurized starts and hopefully correct what’s wrong would be a good thing. I had a bad feeling about last night, and I don’t think that we should have to watch Wang fan the flames every 5th day as he attempts to find himself. I agree about Upton, but you know that at some point in this series, Longoria is going to go off. I don’t care if Ransom got a hit last night, I am so done with him! I don’t even want him on the team as a backup utility infielder. If Irabu was the fat toad, Ransom’s the thin toad!
Scott
http://fotr.mlblogs.com
The solution? Throw Joba in the pen and bring up Phil Hughes.
Or are Cashman and Steinbrenner too proud to reverse their decision? Time will tell.
Steve T.
http://soxblog.mlblogs.com
Oh, was that ugly. Couldn’t even get home from softball last night, before the Oriole announcer casually mentioned, “and the Yankees are already down 9-0 in the second inning.” You know, in softball, if you’re behind by 10 runs or more after 5 innings, they call the game. It’s called the “mercy rule,” altho’ players call it the “slaughter rule.” Even Enos Slaughter in his prime wouldn’t have helped last night. Fun to see Swisher pitch; did he sell popcorn and souvenirs between innings, too? We need what we used to call some “pig pitchers” when I played fantasy baseball; the polite term is “inning eaters,” but you knew that…
Ok… so I didn’t watch the game cause I haven’t added the MLB package to my cable, but now I will… Swisher as a pitcher????? Ransom looking at the roof???? Am I going crazy?????? Ramirez-Cano play????
turururururururururu (twilight zone theme)
Please help me comprehend what went on last night…
First Markakis, then Soria, now Upton? I know what you’re trying to do! You want to have your own team! I’m sure if you took just one from each opponent, they’d never notice. 🙂
Sue
Rants, Raves, and Random Thoughts
Ah… here we go. This could be a long season for you (and your readers 😉 if they don’t pick things up. And it’s still hard for me to take Swish seriously unless he has a beer in his hand.
–Jeff
http://redstatebluestate.mlblogs.com/
I wonder if ARoid can pitch?
Did Nick Swisher get pitching advice from Jose Canseco? It’s quite embarassing for Kapler (an MOT) to strike out against him, though!!! I think I mentioned before that Cody Ransom wasn’t a very good fielder, so I wasn’t surprised to see that he missed a pop-up. The Yankees always had good fielding third basemen who were Orioles killers, such as Nettles and Brosius, so I can see why you’re frustrated.
Ken
http://brooksrobinsonrules.mlblogs.com/
Hey, I’m loving Swish.. don’t get me wrong, he has, so far, being a great acquisition… he does whatever you need him to do, and he does it well.. I wonder what else can he do???
Haha that’s great! Lots of circus comparisons there…maybe your Yankees will start playing better soon!
http://kaybee.mlblogs.com
“The solution? Throw Joba in the pen and bring up Phil Hughes.
Or are Cashman and Steinbrenner too proud to reverse their decision? Time will tell.
Steve T.
http://soxblog.mlblogs.com“
how does this relate to last night? would Joba in the 8th inning saved the game last night? The Yankees biggest problem so far this year has been Wang. Joba did an excellent job as a starter the other day. perhaps you didn’t notice? one ER in six innings is a lot more valuable than getting out 3 guys in the 8th. if you are going to bring up the fact that they lost the game in the 8th inning then i would have to suggest that your logic is flawed. I’d suggest that girardi lost that game for various reasons but one of them was mixing and matching. he could have left marte or veras in and the game would have been a W for Joba. it’s clear to all but Girardi that Coke isn’t the real thing.
http://www.michaelfierman.net/_/Blog/Blog.html
V, Swisher was great and I enjoyed him. But did you see Jorge’s face? He wasn’t laughing. I think the old guard was completely humiliated.
If Soria joined this current group, Erin, he’d probably end up throwing batting practice too. I think it’s contagious right now.
Maybe they just needed to get a laugher like last night out of their system, Levelboss. Tonight will be different. (Please, God.)
I’ll have to go read about your game, Julia. I know the Sox lost but I don’t know the details. Ugh on the losing in any case.
Wendy, I’d agree with you about sending Wang to Scranton to work out the mechanics, except that he won 19 games twice. Surely, he’s just “out of whack” and they can fix him? I guess the next start against Cleveland this weekend will determine what happens next.
Scott, I’d be okay with having Wang make one more start. They owe him that much. But if it goes bad after that, it’s down to Scranton until he can figure it out. I feel sorry for Ransom. Everyone was so relieved to have A-Rod out of the way and put the nice, quiet Cody in his place. The problem is, the nice, quiet Cody can’t play! (“Thin toad.” LOL!)
I don’t think it’s pride, Steve. I think they honestly believe Joba can make a better contribution as a starter. I’d be fine with it either way. I wouldn’t mind bringing Hughes up, but he hasn’t proven he can get it done at this level, so I’m not sure about that.
Dave, Swisher would probably be up for any job they give him – outfielder, infielder, pitcher and traveling secretary!
That’s it, Sue. I’m going to stealthily make my way around the league and swipe players. No one will ever know. 🙂
Jeff, I don’t think even Swish takes Swish seriously!
Interesting question, Paul. I bet he can pitch. And then he wouldn’t have to worry about stealing bases or sliding into second to break up a double play.
I’m sure Kapler wasn’t amused after that strikeout, Ken. The third base situation is temporary, which is why I’m eager for A-Rod to be back in the lineup. He’s turned himself into a very good third baseman. (Not as good as Brooks, I know.)
Latinyankeerebel, in addition to being the Yankees’ traveling secretary (see above) I bet Swish could be a terrific vendor. He would probably sell a lot of hot dogs.
It sure felt like a circus last night, Kaybee. I hope the Yankees will have a better game tonight.
Mike, it’s puzzling about Coke. (Wang is more puzzling, but I think he should get another start and go from there.) He seemed so effective early on. I hope Girardi isn’t falling into the bullpen pattern of Torre. Remember how he was in love with Proctor and kept using him in spite of the evidence? I’d hate to see us go that route again.
Send in the clowns! or have they already arrived?
Soon A-Rod the ringmaster will be back 😉
John
Major League Ballhawk
http://ballhawk.mlblogs.com
Somehow it makes me glad to know that I top out at 67-70 MPH. Swisher was pitching in the majors and topping out at that much!! It would just be like taking me me out of the crowd and putting me in for an inning!
http://homerfoodandhistory.mlblogs.com/
I think Jorge needs to take that stick out of his you-know-what… That’s something I’m liking from Swish, I mean, we are competing, but you still have to have fun, if you don;t have fun or enjoy it then you’re gonna suck.. I didn;t see Jorge making any homers last night (maybe he did and I didn’t see it… LOL)… I love Jorge to death, but I think he is getting the idea that he is getting old and soon will need to retire…still, he should enjoy every minute he is playing… Jeter was laughing at Swisher, isn’t he old guard?
Next time I talk to Mo’ I’ll ask him what he thought. 😉
Swisher Pitching? That must have been hilarious! I mean the guys a funny dude even when he’s trying to be serious. My husband caught a clip of him striking out Kapler and said Nick dissolved in laugter afterwards. I wish I had seen the whole thing!
My condolences on the drubbing your guys took. Is the D word, as in “don’t break my heart again”, rearing it’s ugly head? Maybe it’s too early in the season to panic.
I hope my A’s can continue beating the Bozox, but Dice-K is on the mound tonight. We shall see.
Bee Hylinski
Author: “Contract Year,” a baseball novel to be published soon
http://contractyear.mlblogs.com
I love the secure location Jane! Hope the roof was entertaining, and Swisher pitching was…well…different. Maybe you should bring up Hughes…
Canuck
http://watercooler.mlblogs.com
John, I can’t wait until A-Rod is back. After last night, I’ll be happy with anybody who wants to be the ringmaster and take charge!
Jeremy, if you’d been on the Yankees’ bench last night, Girardi might very well have tapped you for the mop-up job.
Yeah, ask Mo what he thought, Latinyankeerebel. And make another video of him for me! As for Jorge, don’t forget he had to sit out most of last year and is probably so eager for himself and the team to do well. I’d give him a pass. And maybe he was laughing and I just missed it.
I think it’s too early in the season to panic, Bee. But last night’s game was tough to swallow, as were the first two in Baltimore. I can see Joe Girardi’s jaws clenching tighter and tighter. Good win by your guys. You’ll have your hands full with Dice K tonight.
I dread tonight, Canuck. But I also hope the Yanks will turn it around and kick butt!
Yes, as seems usual these days, our Yanks have to outhit their own semi-miserable pitching. As for Hor-Hay…I have a local Lifelong Yankee Fan-Friend (call him Jersey Bob) who has been on Posada’s case for YEARS. He blames about 95 percent of our pitching woes on Hor-Hay…he called me up today to ask if I knew that Tampa stole six bases last nite –SIX!! Not that it cost ’em the game, but you get the idea; Jersey Bob is convinced that Posada has nada left, that he’s even tipping some pitches (don’t ask me how), any AA catcher can do better, AND that he can’t manage the staff. Other than that, everything’s just lovely…what say you?
Well, it makes me sad to hear that about Hor-Hay. I love the guy. Seems like CC likes having him catch/call games. AJ too.
Were there comments from Jeter after the game? I would like to get his take. I have always respected him as a professional and wonder if it ticked him off that the game did indeed turn into a “circus”.Russhttp://wight4256.mlblogs.com
From what I read, Russ, he was his usual non-panicking self, saying it was a bad game and there will be plenty of those over the course of the season. Very even-keeled.
Hey, Jane, when is Swisher entering the pitching rotation? ;)I see the Red Sox and Yankees are still keeping pace with one another–we can’t seem to help ourselves! 😉
You’re so right, Greg. Our teams are tied to each other for better or worse!
Jane,
I wanted to kidnap Upton in the ALCS. He IS maddeningly good. I thought it was hilarious that Swisher pitched. On his Twitter account later that night he was like: “My arm hurts” as a joke. Tex is back, I’m sure you’re happy!
Elizabeth
http://redsoxgirl46.mlblogs.com
Jane, like I said before, watch your favorite National League team the Dodgers. It is early in the season to get too depressed or too confident. Things change dramatically.
http://catlovesthedodgers.mlblogs.com
I’m happy Tex is back, Elizabeth. I’m just wince with every swing he takes, because I’m afraid he’s aggravating his wrist!
I think I’m too far gone not to get depressed or confident, Russ. My moods go up and down depending…
well you were right, Upton didn’t show up for today’s game… 0/4 with 3 K’s…
http://eatsleepmlb.mlblogs.com
I loved it, Jonnnnnn. I held him captive and he couldn’t do a thing.