Dude, it's time for a Yankee post

Now, I've taken a look at our boys over the last few days, and I think that any realistic fan will admit that we have to make some changes if we are going to get anywhere this year. Darrell Rasner? Who is this dude? And I wish you guys could have heard me when I found out Pavano was opening for us this year. I flipped out. And it doesn't matter that Wang is just waiting to bust out of the gate for us, and you know why? Because he is still Chien-Ming Wang. And he was on pace to open for us before he blew a hammy. And that's what gets me, and I'm going to say this right now - unless the Yanks make some changes in this rotation, they are not going to the World Series. And maybe some of you guys are going to hit me for that, but you know I'm right. And if you don't, and you think Wang, Pavano, and Mussina are going to carry you to a championship, you're an idiot. I say this because fans, and apparently those inside the Yankees organization, need to speak up. All your stars are getting up there on Father Time, so if you're Cashman, you have to make something happen now.

I think that part of the problem with this team, of late, is the fact that we don't have a stable of steady horses. And I don't just mean in the rotation. What we need right now is a sports psychologist. Or maybe just a social psychologist. Someone who can explain to me why a team of stars can perform worse than a team of moderately performing players. Perhaps it has something to do with motivation. If you're already making tens of millions for a season of play, maybe it's tougher to set aside all that ego and pull it together as a team. I have no idea. But it's not a chance thing anymore - the Yankees are not the best team in the American League right now. Either way, this team is not going to shock anyone in the post-season this year. So c'mon guy's, lets step it up. Unfortunately, the only thing Yankee fans can really do is stop attending games, buying merchandise, etc. And that really makes no sense. So let's just hope the big guys like to win as much as we do. We need to get some young blood - good, young blood - into this team. That takes time, I understand. So let's get going.

Meanwhile, enough of that... we all know that. How about last night? 10-1, good guys. Pettitte had a nice outing. I say nice because the guy went 6 innings, that's good. Four hits, three K's, one walk. One problem. Dude chucked 96 over the plate in those 6 innings. 36 balls to 60 strikes. But I'll chalk that up to beginning of the year jitters. And this is what needs to happen more often now - we get a guy to go in there for 6 innings, let the big boys throw a few - or in this case, 7 - runs up on the board, and then you're straight. You can't lose if you play like that. Actually, you can. But it's tough. And how 'bout big man? Dude's got six shots already, and we're seven games in. Just for old time's sake, remember when he went for the Home Run cycle last year? Had a grand slam, 3 run jack, a 2 run jack, and came about 5 feet from a solo shot. I'm tired of hearing about how New York hates Alex. Dude produces. He's got problems with the clutch, but they're just confidence problems. How the best player in the world, or at least the former best best player, can have confidence issues is beyond me.

And how about this. As we know, I have a long streak of breaking up no-hitters. And it happened again tonight. This one was uncanny. Followed The Kid's bid for the no-no against Boston for about 2 hours online, only because he was pitching for my brother's fantasy team this week. And we get pretty worked up about these family fantasy match ups. Finally, it's the bottom of the eighth and I figure I have a shot of seeing something happen. So I look at the TV listings online, and I see it's on ESPN2. I flip it on and I hear, literally, "He's 21 years old. And of course, you know Felix was thinking about the no-hitter, because it's human nature. Here's a look at the hit that J.D. Drew..." That makes me angry, because I know that no matter how long I live, I will never see a no-hitter. Ever. I didn't even know about the last no-hitter until the day after it happened, when I checked MLB.com during class. It'd just be nice, one day.

THIS JUST IN:
The Moose just popped a hammy. Seriously, what's the deal? These hamstrings are popping like a bunch of big bright balloons at the fair. At least partly due to the cold weather, we have to hope. Which doesn't explain The Moose, since that was an indoor pop. Or Wang's, since that happened in spring training, right? So I guess we can only explain Zilla's this way. But I tried to justify it. Shoot.

Yankee OF and catchup - Part I - May 15th, 2006
The Hit Streak v. The Perfect Game - April 3rd, 2006