Tagged: Reds
I Hate To Jinx Anything But…
Wow. The Yankees have been looking good. Last night, CC and Mo put on a show against the Reds. Today, Bombko shut down the Braves for a few innings. The truth is, the Yanks have been winning games and playing good baseball, and I’m feeling unusually optimistic (for me) going into the season. But again, I don’t want to jinx anything, so I’d better do this.
When I think back to the beginning of spring training, there were so many question marks.
Would Jorge’s shoulder turn into shredded wheat?
Would Mo be carted off to the assisted living facility?
Would Matsui’s knees buckle the first time he DH-ed?
Would Wang’s foot fall off?
Would Jeter survive his stint in the WBC?
Would CC and AJ become best friends?
And there were other matters to be resolved.
Which Cano would show up: the ’07 model or the one from ’08?
Would Cashman let Melky and Gardner compete for center field or bring in a veteran like Mike Cameron or Andruw Jones?
Would Nick Swisher and Xavier Nady come to blows over the right field job?
Would Tex get off to one of his supposedly slow starts?
Would Brian Bruney gain back all the weight he lost and go from this…
to this?
So far, all the questions have been answered in an extremely positive way (well, the Gardner/Melky situation hasn’t been totally resolved), and there have been pleasant surprises (Ramiro Pena). Yes, everything is FINE in Yankeeland – a miracle! But again, I don’t want to jinx anything, so I’d better get some of these and hang them from my rearview mirror.
Uh-oh. I just read a recap of today’s action. Jeter left the game with a bruised knuckle on his pinky finger. How in the world did he let that happen?
And Ramiro Pena, the slick rookie shortstop I’ve been so giddy about, made a fielding error.
What’s more, Wang gave up two homers in a minor league game. Did his foot fall off after all? His whole leg too?
It’s my fault. I jinxed the Yankees with all my happy vibes in this post. I need to make things right. I’d better go out and get a Kabalah string and wear it around my wrist.
Oh, wait. A-Rod wears one, and things haven’t gone very well for him lately.
Maybe it’s time to give up my superstitions….if only I could.
Brian Cashman Is Such A Kidder
According to widely published reports, Yankees GM Brian Cashman won’t be acquiring an established third baseman to fill in for A-Rod while he’s rehabbing his hip. No signing a free agent. No sending another team prospects in a trade. Nada.
“I’m not optimistic about doing anything,” he said. “Our answer is here in camp.”
Yeah, right. Because the Yankees never go out and get a high-profile player. Tell that to Bubba Crosby, our supposed center fielder until we ended up with Johnny Damon. Or to Enrique Wilson, our supposed third baseman until we ended up with A-Rod. Or to Nick Swisher, our supposed first baseman until we ended up with Mark Teixeira. Sure, we’ll put Cody Ransom or Angel Berroa out there on Opening Day at our brand new stadium. Hahahahahahaha.
I asked a couple of other Yankee She-Fans if they found Cashman’s remarks as hilarious as I did. Here are their reactions.
O.K., so the Yankees will cast a wide net for a guy to play third. But who will it be?
I know, I know. I’m reaching. It’ll probably be him.
But how will I ever be able to spell Grudzielanek whenever I do a post about him? It’s always something, isn’t it?
At least Joba pitched well tonight and so did Phil Coke, and the Baby Bombers went on an offensive tear, beating the Reds 7-1.
New Reality Show: Who Wants To Be A Yankees Pitcher?
It’s spring training. I understand that. But why wasn’t there a single pitcher who could get through an inning without giving up a run to the Reds in the Yankees’ 13-11 loss? Because there wasn’t, that’s why. Not. One. Pitcher.
Don’t these kids work out in the off-season? Don’t they throw the ball around with their dads? Don’t they even try to simulate a real game or would their arms turn to sawdust?
All I know is that the Yankees took a bus load of pitchers to Sarasota and none of them looked ready for prime time.
Aceves: 3 runs.
Albaladejo: 1 run.
Cox: 1 run.
(Yes, that’s Jim Carrey. Cox doesn’t have a photo on the Yankees web site yet, and judging by today’s performance he never will.)
Marte: 2 runs.
Bruney: 1 run.
Garcia: 4 big ones.
Melancon: 1 run.
Again. I realize it’s spring training. Just practice. It doesn’t count. Who cares if the Yankees hurlers are rusty, ironing out the kinks, fine-tuning their stuff?
Great, but what if I used the same standard on this blog? Should I misspell every other word and forget what commas are for and act as if I’m just practicing? It’s spring training for me too, and yet you don’t hear me whining about being rusty.
So pull it together, pitchers, especially you, Melancon or Melancholy or whatever your name is. Just get batters out, would you? Somebody? Please?
Update: Just taped an interview with MLBlogger Lisa Winston and her hubby Wayne Wilentz for their “Baseball Honeymoon” podcast airing later this week. They asked me to name my top five baseball books and here’s the list I gave them. (No, I didn’t say my own book. I’m not that shameless.)
Ball Four
The Bronx Zoo
The Boys of Summer
Living on the Black
Fear Strikes Out
Anyone else have a top five list?
And The Yankees Starter For Spring Training Game One Is….
…this guy.
Who is also this guy.
And this one.
This one.
This one.
And, most recently, this one.
Yes, it’s the well-traveled Brett Tomko, who found his way to the Yankees via a minor-league contract.
Will he have success against the Toronto Blue Jays tomorrow, mowing the hitters down like a clone of Roy Halladay (well, there’s a slight resemblance)? Or will he reveal his propensity to give up home runs – a quirk that earned him the nickname “Bombko” when he was with the Dodgers? To put it in other terms, will he be any good or will he be LaTroy Hawkins?
We will know in a matter of hours. One thing is for sure, however: After the game he will head home to his playmate – literally. He’s married to Playboy’s Playmate of the Month for February 1998….the lovely and talented Julia Schultz.
O.K., so she’s no Marilyn Monroe to his Joe DiMaggio. But I applaud her loyalty. How would you like to move to a different city every six seconds with a guy named Bombko?
Confessions of a She-Fan 