Game 40: Orioles at Yankees

As the Yankees hope for the their 8th win in a row they send out the following lineup (via Peter Abraham):

SS Derek Jeter

LF Johnny Damon

1B Mark Teixeira

3B Alex Rodriguez

DH Hideki Matsui

RF Nick Swisher

2B Robinson Cano

CF Melky Cabrera

C Kevin Cash

And on the mound Phil “Phranchise” Hughes

 

This is a big game for Hughes with Chien-Ming Wang inevitably returning soon.

 

 

Not much news today, but you got to check this out (I found it on RAB)

On Memorial Day the Yankees and all of baseball will be wearing this hat

 

Ewww...

 

 

Game 39: The Birds fly North to the Bronx

Let’s start it off with tonight’s lineup:

SS Derek Jeter

LF Johnny Damon

1B Mark Teixeira

3B Alex Rodriguez

DH Hideki Matsui

RF Nick Swisher

2B Robinson Cano

CF Melky Cabrera

C Francisco Cervelli

And on the mound, Carsten Charles Sabathia

 

Hot Hands

Girardi continues to play a similar lineup, and a lineup that I personally like very much. How about you? What is your desired lineup considering the current lineup?

Indecisive Management

Supposedly Brian Bruney was activated today, but the Yankees have yet to make a corresponding roster move. Are they going to wait until the game starts?

Oh So It’s His Fault…

Joe Torre (who I personally wanted out of New York no later then after the 2004 season) says Scott Proctor can blame himself for his arm problems. According to Torre, Proctor was pitching stupid, going out to pitch when he was hurting. I’m sorry but how Torre blame Proctor, Joe is supposed to be the guy who can tell when a guy is pitching hurt. Also, how come Torre only says things about players after they are not his players anymore, Proctor is a Marlin now, and the Yankee book was written after he left the Yankees. Sorry to pick on Joe, I know many fans liked him, and I liked him too until the point when I felt it was time for him to go. Well anyway, good luck to Scott Proctor who just had Tommy John surgery last week, hopefully he can get his career back on track.

The Kimberly Jones Blog

I recommend that you give the Kim Jones blog a look. It really has some interesting content on it, recently she did a set of Q and As with Paul O’Neil.

If your not good, Santa won’t bring you presents

If you don’t vote for Nick Swisher, Santa will not bring you presents. I am only joking. However, it won’t hurt to vote for him. Make the guys over at VOTESWISHER.COM happy.

Game 38: Twins at Yankees

The last three games the Yankees have played have ended in dramatic fashion. On Friday night Melky hit a walk off single, on Saturday afternoon Alex Rodriguez hit a walk off home run, and yesterday on a good ol’ Sunday Johnny Damon hit a walk off home run. I was lucky enough to be at yesterday’s game, it was technically my first game at Yankee Stadium (I went to the stadium on May 3rd but the game was rained out). Tonight the Yankees take the field against the Twins at the stadium which is really starting to feel like home. Ron Gardenhire must really hate the stadium, he has probably been having nightmares about all three walk off wins. Anyway, hopefully the Yankees can win tonight to take game four of the series and come out with a sweep, and Joe Girardi pencils in the following lineup hoping to do just that:

SS Derek Jeter

LF Johnny Damon

1B Mark Teixeira

DH Alex Rodriguez

RF Nick Swisher

2B Robinson Cano

CF Melky Cabrera

3B Ramiro Pena

C Fransisco Cervelli

And on the mound, Andy Pettitte

 

 

Hmmmmmm?

I don’t quite get why Girardi has been hitting Swisher fifth instead of Cano, but the Yankees might as well stick with it unless they start losing.

We Need You

Brian Bruney is expected to be activated off the DL tomorrow. He will most likely settle back into the setup man role, pushing everybody else back an inning which will really help.

Another injury (sigh)…

 

Brett Gardner is day to day with a contusion in his right shoulder, most likely a result of the collision with Mauer yesterday.

Why do they always end up on the Pirates?

Steven Jackson, who was recently designated for assignment, was claimed off waivers by the Pirates. Is it just me or do our cast-away pitchers always end up on the Pirates…Jeff Karstens…Ross Ohlendorf…Eric Hacker…and now Jackson.

 

Ohlendorf as a Yankee. He is actually pitching tonight for the Bucs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Game 34: Yanks at the Rogers Centre

First let me start off with the starting lineup

SS Derek Jeter

LF Johnny Damon

1B Mark Teixeira

3B Alex Rodriguez

DH Hideki Matsui

RF Nick Swisher

2B Robinson Cano

CF Brett Gardner

C Francisco Cervelli

And on the mound, Carsten Charles Sabathia

Jeet is back

Derek Jeter rejoins the starting lineup tonight. He missed the last two games with a sore oblique.

No Melk today

Melky is not in the starting lineup tonight, he has been hitting very well of late, but I guess Girardi wanted him to have a day off.

Burn Damon Burn

Johnny Damon has been on fire lately! In the last nine games he is batting .477 with 16 RBI’s. In addition, over that span of nine games he has hit 16 extra base hits (5 of them homers), with a least one each game. He is making a strong case to be resigned. However, it is early and the Yankees look like they are leaning against it.

A Teixeira spotting?

Reportedly, Mark Teixeira was spotted at the Yankee game last night going 2-4. We will see if he shows up to the rest of the Yankee games this year. In the beginning of the year, a man with similar looks to Teixeira played for the Yankees and batted to a sub-.200 average.

Pick on someone your own size

Yesterday Brett Gardner hit a 2 run home run, the first homer of his career. When Brett got back to his locker after the game he saw a baseball lying there and it read,  “First career home run, solo shot of Sam Richman for Brett Gardner. 05-14-09.” The problem was that Gardner actually hit a two run home run, off of Scott Richmond, on 05-13-09. After seeing the ball, Gardner said, ” I hope that’s not really the ball.” Fortuanetly for Brett, it was not the ball. The real ball with the real information was given to Gardner later on.

Vote Swisher

Don’t forget to vote for Nick Swisher for the 2009 All Star Game. I know he is not doing well lately, but vote for him anyway. Make the guys over at VOTESWISHER.COM happy. Click here to vote (you have to write-in Nick Swisher).

I am still without my computer (I am currently using a friend’s computer). I should recieve a new computer on or around Monday, and once I do posts will appear regulary again.

Random Notes…

Yesterday the Yankees Johnny Damon defeated the Orioles 5-3. Today they have an off day, there are only 4 MLB games today, and only one is in the AL. Tomorrowthey start a three game series with the Jays, the first game will be AJ vs. Halladay, that is awesome!

• Johnny Damon has been on fire for the Yankees. Not only has he been hitting extremely well, he has come up in clutch situations and produced. Last night the Yankees were losing 3-2 in the 7th inning, and Damon comes up and smacks a 3 run home run to right center.
• Chien-Ming Wang will pitch in AAA tomorrow against Charlotte. He is clear to throw 100 pitches. I think if he pitches well enough, we could see him soon since Hughes was not to dazzling in his last start.
• Yesterday Joba gave up a home run to Aubrey Huff and as Huff passed first and as he crossed home he did a Joba-esque fist pump. After the game Joba said he did not notice, and Huff said he was just doing it for fun because Joba did it once after he struck out Huff last year. Supposedly the joke around the Baltimore clubhouse was that Joba popped his blood vessel by doing a fist pump. Some people are taking this issue way too seriously. First of all if a pitcher does fist pumps when you strike out a guy, you should expect batters to do fist pumps when they hit home runs. I do not think that could be considered showing someone up. I love that Joba shows emotion, it adds life to the game. However, nobodyshould get upset when someone else does fist pumps. Joba was not upset, so why should any fan be upset?
• On Friday Xavier Nady will begin hitting off a tee and soft toss. From there they will see how he feels and if he can move forward in rehab. Let’s hope for the best.
• According to Peter Abraham, the Yankees and Steiner Sports will begin selling memorabilia from the old Yankee Stadium tomorrow. Just letting you know that they will be available to buy, if you have the money.
• Don’t forget to vote for Swisher for the All Star Game. VOTESWISHER
• My heart goes out to the Kennedy family, as Ian has an aneurysm in his right arm. He will undergo surgery tomorrow. Let’s wish him the best.

Okay, that wraps up this random notes session. Don’t forget, tomorrow at 7:07 AJ goes up against Halladay in Toronto. You can catch the game on MY9.

Game 31: Yankees at Orioles

I did not get to see last night’s game, and I am glad about that. I did not see any poor pitching performances or any failed opportunities. Anyway, I will be watching today’s game. Here is the lineup:
SS Derek Jeter
LF Johnny Damon
1B Mark Teixeira
3B Alex Rodriguez
DH Hideki Matsui
2B Robinson Cano
RF Nick Swisher
CF Melky Cabrera
C Francisco Cervelli
And on the mound, Jobs Chamberlain

Notes:

It feels good to see “Alex Rodriguez in the 4 spot.

I think Teixeira could use a day off both mentally and physically. I think his wrist might not be feeling so well.

Joba will be pitching today despite having a popped blood vessel in his thumb. He said he does not feel it; it can’t be too serious since the Yankees are letting him pitch.

I really am impressed with Cervelli’s enthusiasm behind the plate.

Sorry for the decrease in content…

Over the past few days the 161st Street blog has had less content up on it, with fewer updates and such. Don’t worry, I have not lost interest even in the slightest bit for blogging. The problem is that my computer is broken beyond use. For now I will be using other people’s computers when I get the chance. However, I will not have regular access to other computers, so there may not be too many entries a day. Once I either get my computer fixed, or get a new computer I will be back and running in full force. Just think of it in baseball terms, I am hurt so I don’t play regularly, but I refuse to hit the DL.

PS. The issue with my computer is that when I turn it on I get the message, “Alert! CPU fan failure.” Sometimes I can use the computer for 10 or 15 minutes before it shuts down, but most of the time it shuts off right away. I am not a computer genius, so if anyone has any suggestions throw that at me. Thank you.

ARod is back tonight!

Game 28: Rays at Yankees

The Yankees take the field tonight hoping for a win. They will be sendin the following lineup out to face the Rays:
SS Derek Jeter
LF Johnny Damon
1B Mark Teixeira
DH Hideki Matsui
2B Robinson Cano
RF Nick Swisher
CF Melky Cabrera
3B Ramiro Pena
C Jose Molina
And on the mound, Andy “hopefully he’s dandy” Pettitte

The Yankees officially announced that ARod will return tommorow!

Vote Nick Swisher

Over at VOTESWISHER.COM,  Frank, Tim, and Matt, who are die-hard Yankees fans, are determined to see Nick Swisher play for the American League All-Stars over in St. Louis this year. They make a great case for a one-of-a-kind player. Here is part of their message

Swisher is a player who gets it. Not only is he a throwback player who is always hustling and working hard; but he is amazing with the fans. Swish isn’t on the ballot, so we need write-in votes.

Let’s make this happen so that players like him get the recognition they deserve! You can vote 25 times online, but you need to write him in. Click here to get to the ballot and follow the prompts. It’s pretty simple and takes only a couple minutes to vote 25 times. Before you leave the site, visit our mobilize page. That’s how we make this happen.

Let’s do this.

Please, make an effort to vote him in. It is not difficult to do so, and it does not take that long to get 25 votes in. Although it may seem a little tedious, it will be worth it to see Swisher in the All-Star game. Last year there was a support the stache campaign for Jason Giambi which was really fun, so this year’s VoteSwisher campaign should be fun as well. Please, all I am asking is that you make an effort to vote him in, I am sure the guys over at VOTESWISHER.COM will appreciate it very much.

Game 26: Red Sox at Yankees

After losing last night earlier this morning, the Yankees send Joba to the hill against the Sox hitters. The Yankees will throw out the following lineup to face Josh Beckett: 

SS Derek Jeter

LF Johnny Damon

1B Mark Teixeira

DH Hideki Matsui

2B Robinson Cano

RF Nick Swisher

CF Melky Cabrera

3B Ramiro Pena

C Jose Molina

And on the mound, Joba Chamberlain

 

Bad News… Jorge Posada hit the DL today. He has a strained hamstring. According to Peter Abraham, the Yankees are saying he will be out for 2-3 weeks, but the fear is that he could actually be out for 2-5 weeks. (Sigh) Just when he was really getting hot. Francisco Cervelli was called up from Trenton to take his place. Cervelli had 11 hits in 58 AB’s down in AA. That’s a .190 batting average. Ouch. Well, he did have two home runs.

Arod Update… Alex went 3-6 today with two home runs and a single. He also made several plays. I think we can look at Friday as the return date.

 

Hopefully, Mark starts to get hot now.