Evil Empire's New York Yankees fan blog

I am still getting over some of the decisions for the Allstar game. Here are some of the questionable calls (I realize some of this is my Yankee bias) I will not argue with fan picks, but the player and manager picks definitely have some question marks.

Snubs:

1) Jason Giambi- The Big G has ranked in the top in the league in OPS, Slugging and Hr's. He would be a perfect replacement for Ortiz and has a shot to be the last man in. But he is a Yankee its his home ballpark and his play has merrited a trip to the allstar game. Plus it would be fun to see the Stache get a shot to win the Homerun Derby

2) Mike Mussina- Moose is in the top 2 in wins and top 15 in ERA. He has been the Yankees ace and has definetly been one of the top pitchers in the AL in the first half.

3) Jermaine Dye- Dye has been the Whitesox best player in the first half. Every game I watch the Whitesox play he is making a great catch, hitting a homerun, or getting a clutch hit.

Continue reading "Allstar Snubs"

As the time nears for Terry Francona to announce his selections for the 2008 allstar game at Yankee Stadium, I do believe there should be good contingent from the Yankees. Besides Jeter and A-Rod who are the top two vote getters I believe that they should be joined by Mariano Rivera, Mike Mussina, Jason Giambi, and Johny Damon. Damon is hurt so he should be named and he wont even need to play. Mussina is 2nd in the league with 11 wins and showed Francona what he can do last night. Giambi is in top 5 in OPS and HR's and could easily fill in for Ortiz as the DH. A case can be made for Matsui but I do not think that there will be more than 5 Yankees.

Continue reading "Yankee Allstars and an Interesting Starter for the game."

Following the Yankees 18 run outburst it looked like they were back and ment business. Apparantly that was just a mirage as this team continues to struggle. The only thing consistant about this team is their inconsistency. One day they look amazing like world beaters (either with a pounding like wednesday or by doing enough to beat Santanna Sat) and then they have games like lastnight or monday, tuesday where they do nothing right and their general interest in the game has to be questioned.

Its hard to question a teams effort because I really hope they are giving it their all. They should be for all the money they are being paid. And good pitching makes teams look lethargic, I know this, but last night was dreadful. They let Jon Lester throw 80 pitches in the last 8 innings and 101 for a complete game shutout. That is a joke. This is supposed to be one of the best lineups in the game not a AA lineup. Continually swinging at the first pitch and doing nothing with it last night. Melky gets a single so Damon and Jeter swing at next two pitches (pop up and GIDP,) it was almost as if the team had somewhere else to be. Maybe a party with Madonna? Maybe Jon Lester was just great lastnight but I think the Yankees lineup was at fault and didnt do anything to tire him. Instead of facing a tired Sox bullpen, now it is rested and ready for the last 3 games of the series.

Continue reading "Yankees Embarassed"

I still am in shock over not bunting last night but its time to get over it. Tonights game is 100 % on the offense. They need to score whatever it takes, ifits 10 runs they need to get 10 if its 20 they need 20. Hank is right they need to step up. The pitching has been great the last few games and if the offense was average they would have won most of them. So tonight and the next few are on the offense. I dont care who you face the offense needs to get the job done. Jeter, Giambi, Abreu, Cano, A-rod, Damon, Gardner, Betemit get the job done tonight and lets face Boston with a positive feeling.

 Posada can not be the catcher right now. He either needs to dh, move to 1b, or go back on dl.  This is reminding me of Mike Piazza. Any time someone reaches 1b they steal second. He cant throw anyone out. Its not his fault he got hurt but its still a problem that teams take advantage of. He is still a leader and very important part of the lineup but he just cant throw. He needs to move to another position for the good of the team. What are the Rays and the Sox gonna do the next few games? Its gonna be ugly if he cant throw and everyone sees this and runs more and more.

Continue reading "General Opinions"

I find it ludacris that the media is making a big deal about this a-rod madonna thing. The guy is a married man leave him alone who know what your doing to his relationship. He should be getting praised for the way he has embraced the young boy with cancer who he brought to the game last night. Instead he is bombarded with MAdonna questions, with the young boy right in front of him.

 Just let the man live! Everything he does isnt front page news.

Continue reading "Whats up with the New York Media"

As I sat in the stands watching Melky Cabrera never attempt a bunt with a man on 1st and no outs in the 9th inning down by one three thoughts popped into my head 1) he is going to hit into a dp 2) girardi is an idiot 3) where is Joe Torre? This is baseball 101, there is no excuse for not bunting with your 9 hitter down 1 in the 9th. Especially a 9 hitter hitting 240 and who is 0-21. I am pretty sure that there is something about this in the Baseball Coaching Handbook for Dummies. Maybe Girardi should read that vs reading Baseball Prospectus. Sure knowing stats are good but so is making good baseball plays. If you are going to let Melky hit and not bunt, then put up jeter, at least he has a real chance of getting a hit. And if he doesnt get a hit, we fans can live with it: ITS DEREK JETER NOT MELKY CABRERA. Girardi was willing to bunt in the top of 1st with a man on 2b and no one out, with a lefty up, needing to just hit a groundball to 2b. I am fine with this choice but be consistent.

Continue reading "Clueless Joe??"

Thweek will go along to show what the Yankees currently have in Joba Chamberlain. This will show if he is ready to make the next step to being THE ACE. These will be the best two lineups that he will ever face. First Tuesday night will be the Texas Rangers. They feature 3 of the top 10 hitters in baseball and the Rangers are arguably one of the three best offenses in baseball. Joba will need to show he dominate quality hitters like Milton Bradley, Ian Kinsler, and Josh Hamilton. They also have perrenial All-Star Michael Young which gives them an extremely tough 1-4 in their lineup. Joba will need to work ahead and mix speeds to be succesful.

The Yankees are not making life easy for Joba. They will really know what type of fortitude he has after Sunday's start. He will be on National TV vs their biggest rivalry. The Stadium will be going nuts as Yankee fans are ready for Joba to go out and dominate their foes. He will need to keep Ellsbury and Pedroia off the bases and have Manny Ramirez come to the plate with no one. When people are on they can not challenge Manny. The spotlight should not get to Joba as he has shown great confidence in himself every step of the way since being called up last August.

Continue reading "Test Week for Joba"

This is a big week for the Yankees, their final homestand before the stadium is converted into an All-Star facility.

Monday, Tues, Wed- Texas Rangers

The Yankees pitching will be tested this week as they face the hot-hitting Texas Rangers. This series will actually feature 6 of the top 10 hitters in the AL (Kinsler, Bradley, Hamilton, A-Rod, Damon, and Matsui.) The Yankees will likely score a bunch of runs, they need to hope that they can hold Texas to under 5 runs a game. Yankee fans will get their first look at the great story of Josh Hamilton however it wont be their only one as he will likely be back July 15 for the mid-summer classic. Look for the Yankees to take 2 out of 3 in this series.

Thurs, Fri, Sat, Sun- Boston Red Sox

What can be better than the New York Yankees - Boston Red Sox meeting on a 4th of July Weekend? Well a Yankees sweep of course. This is another series that will truly test the Yankees pitching. The Sox havent missed a beat without David Ortiz as JD Drew and Coco Crisp have picked up the lead. The Yankees pitching will also see something rarely seen in a Red Sox uniform- the league leader in SB (Jacoby Ellsbury.) The Yankees hope that they have their own version of Ellsbury in Bret Gardner. The Yankees will also get a chance to see some of the Red Sox youth in the rotation as they face Justin Masterson and Jon Lester. The Yankees will of course have their pitching lined up as they send out Pettitte, Moose, and Joba in 3 of the 4 games. The Yankees Red Sox series are always intense and unpredictable. Usually the two teams play even and you should expect this series to be the same as the teams split.

Continue reading "Preview of the Upcoming Yankee Week"

I have been hearina lot lately that interleague play has run its course. I couldnt disagree more. Major League Baseball is first and foremost a business. Its # 1 goal is to make money and it seems that interleague play is a huge money maker. What National League team doesnt want the Yankees or Red Sox coming to town? I know Pittsburgh sold out three mid-week games versus the Yankees this week. This adds juice to the stadium and it also gets the team pumped up. They can finally play in a sold out stadium that is their own. Watching these games you can see teams like the Pirates or the Rockies last year play in a different gear to try and impress the fans and see how they do versus the best teams.  From a business stand point I belive that Interleague play will be here for a long time.

Continue reading "Interleague Play"

As I sit here and watch Johan shutout the Yankees for first three innings I wonder what it would be like for him to be in the road grey's. Sure it would be nice to have some one of his caliber as a member of the Yankees but I think his performance is season thus far has proven Brian Cashman correct. If the Yankees had traded Melky Cabrera, Phil Hughes, and Ian Kennedy for Johan Santanna, Yankee fans would be asking for more. I know Hughes and Kennedy have no wins this year but Hughes is only 20 years old and has great potential. He needs time to devlop. I am not sure what Kennedy turns into and I would have definetly been fine with trading him in a deal just not packaged with Hughes. It just wasnt fair for the Yankees to give up prospects and a huge contract.

Sure Santanna has a good ERA but he is greatly a 500 pitcher who struggles to go 6 innings. Wouldnt you want more for a 20 million dollar pitcher? This is just year one of his contract, what if this is the best he is? Also it could be that he is just getting aclamated to NYC and the whole media onslaught that it brings with it. This trade will be decided in years to come. If Santanna leads the Mets to the World Series or a Championship it will be a great move. But three months in it looks like Cashman made a good choice.

Continue reading "3 Months into the Santanna Decision"