AGES & SALARIES MATTER TO SPOILED YANKEES FANS

This is the first time in a long time that I'm strongly concerned about next season's Yankees.  My main two concerns are their aging stars and the Steinbrenner's wallets.

Their Ages:  They've just renewed the contracts for several "senior" (in baseball sense) players - Mariano Rivera (43), Andy Pettitte (40), Ichiro Suzuki (39), and Hiroki Kuroda (soon to be 38).  They also just signed Kevin Youkilis (33) because another aging player, A-Rod (37), may not be able to play until at least July because of hip surgery.  Additionally, they have Mark Teixeira (soon to be 33) and Jeter (38) who they hope recovers from ankle surgery by opening day.

For me, 33 years old is when MLB players begin to diminish in regards to health, reflex, and strength issues.  Of course, they typically add experience as a benefit, which is great to have on any team, but if I owned the team I'd want no more than 5 "senior" players to also take advantage of the young athletes and other team mixtures for the most diverse opportunities to win.  Unfortunately, the Yankees are currently projected to have 7 on their Major League team roster by the second week of the season and, once A-Rod gets back, they're anticipated to have 8 which is almost one third of their major league roster!

Salaries:  For the first time in the Steinbrenner era, the Yankees are concerned about salaries!  Their main reason is totally sensible from a business standpoint, even for the most spoiled Yankees fans to accept.  If the Steinbrenners keep the costs of the Yankees 40-man roster including its players' average payroll & benefits under $189 million dollars in the 2014 season, they will reap multiple financial rewards totaling approximately $50 million.  That money will derive from both the MLB luxury tax and market disqualification (a market rebate for teams that have paid luxury tax over the last few years). 

Currently, the average payroll (in millions) for five of the "seniors" that will still be contracted in 2014 (barring trades) includes Sabathia (24.4), A-Rod (27.5), Teixeira (22.5), Ichiro (6.25) and Jeter's option (8.0).  Additionally, I've read that their projected benefits for 2014 will cost $10 million.  Collectively, that's $98.65 million - over 50% of the threshold they need to achieve!!  Furthermore, Robinson Cano's contract expired in 2013 and he and his agent (Scott Boras) will be seeking an average of around $26 million of annual salary!

They obviously need some low-salaried players for the remaining 19 players with a balance of only $64.35 million!  Brian Cashman and his scouting team did a great job over the last few years drafting/trading for such players, but due to some ill-fated injuries to many of the Yankees prospects including Michael Pineda, Manny Banuelos, Dellin Betances, and Austin Romine, their readiness to provide major low-salaried help from within the organization may not happen in time.

My Surface Solution:  Part of the "Age" issue will lessen in 2014 with the anticipated retirement of Mariano Rivera and Andy Pettitte, along with the expiring contract of Kevin Youkilis.  As for the "Salaries" issue, the expected payroll removal of Rivera, Pettitte, and Youkilis will help, somewhat; but, in addition to that, I would make a gutsy trade.  Although a lot of Yankees fans would argue with me, I would trade Cano in 2013 and/or convince Teixeira (he has a no-trade clause) to accept a trade.  Either or both would certainly offer opportunities to attain multiple low-costing 2014 salaried players with excellent talent in return.  Plus, mathematically, without subtracting Teixeira's and/or Cano's salaries, it is very improbable the Yankees would be able to assemble a competitive team in 2014.  I really like both players a lot, but I further value the Yankees being within striking distance of the championship every year - because I'm a spoiled Yankees fan.

TERRIBLE LOSSES

I'm sure all Yankees fans were just as disheartened as I was as we watched Jeter pinned to the infield dirt, grimacing in pain for a prolonged period, and trying to make every attempt possible to lightly toss the ball to Cano.  This was not just a player that was about to go to the hospital for x-rays, this was our Captain.  Derek has, together with Mo, led our team to so many victories and literally a handful of championships.  This happened in Game 1 of the ALCS and resulted as the first time since 1996 that Yankees fans had neither Jeter nor Mo for the championship run!

While we have all been preparing for these aging superstars to eventually retire, neither player was set to do so this year.  When it finally happens, it will still be hard for us to readjust after so many years of success, but it's merciless for severe injuries to make it happen.  Next year we know Jeter will be back (after his ankle surgery) and I'd be shocked if Mo didn't attempt to play one more year so that he had the chance to retire on his own terms.

Of course, the Yankees could have attempted to "win for the Captain" but their hitting woes not only continued, but worsened.  A-Rod mounted his failures at the plate (for the at-bats Joe Girardi scheduled) and both Granderson & Swisher seemed determined to hit a home-run with every pitch thrown.  Of course, neither Ichiro nor Gardner bunted for base hits to take advantage of the so-so fielding of the Tigers' Cabrera or Fielder.

The Yankees' hitting looked way too lethargic in this series.  As a result, not only did they lose the ALCS, but they got swept 4-0 by the Tigers!  I hate to lose, but if it has to happen, at least I get some personal satisfaction knowing I fought to the end; something they clearly failed to do.  

By the way, I must mention how classy Jim Leyland acted throughout this series.  The man's reactions to Jeter's injury and the complementary comments he mentioned towards the Yankees, Girardi, and Cashman genuinely came from his love and appreciation of baseball.

This past ALCS loss will be one that stands out as one of the worst losses in Yankees history.  Of course Jeter's injury before Game 1 even finished was certainly a terrible loss in itself but, the ineffective hitting and the lack of effort by this 2012 team during this series disgracefully added to one of the Yankees most "Terrible Losses".

NOW, THE 2012 AMERICAN LEAGUE DIVISION SERIES (ALDS) CHAMPIONS!!!

Well, the Yankees pulled it off and beat the Baltimore Orioles for the aforementioned ALDS title!  It certainly didn’t come easy, as it took all five games to achieve.

As with any series, there are always many stories to tell.  For the ALDS, besides the Yankees’ accomplished outcome, the other key story revolves around A-Rod.  Joe Girardi did something out of the ordinary for managers these days – he managed a major decision with his brain instead of depending on doing things by the book.  In my last blog, I was adamant in pointing out that Joe needed to manage as such in my “Stop managing like a robot and manage by what you're seeing in front of you!!” point.  Joe saw the failures of several hitters including Granderson, Swisher, and A-Rod happening right in front of his own eyes and decided to replace A-Rod in the 9^th inning of Game 3 with Raul Ibañez as the pinch-hitter.  The Yankees were losing at that point by one run and, lo-and-behold, Ibañez smashed the ball for a homerun, tying the game.  A few innings later, Ibañez connected again to win the game!!  Joe looked like a genius!

I am not an A-Rod supporter, but I am also not one who focuses on ripping him, as many members of the press and baseball fans often do.  As a Yankees fan, I am lucky that my favorite team has such great owners as the Steinbrenner family, whereby I don’t need to focus on “their” A-Rod expense.  He does indeed have a ridiculous contract that pays him way too much money, but why should I hold that against him?  My main focus is towards the Yankees winning, so I am thankful that Joe did exactly what was needed for a win – replacing one of the failing hitters, who happened to be A-Rod in this case.

In Game 4, he was again replaced with a pinch-hitter – this time by Eric Chavez who didn’t come through and, in Game 5, Joe chose to omit A-Rod from the whole game – also uneventful.  One thing that was eventful in Game 5, Granderson began showing good offensive signs as he finally hit the ball with authority for a homerun.

Now, we get ready for Game 1 of the American League Championship Series (ALCS) tonight.  As I write this, A-Rod is officially scheduled to bat 6^th in the starting lineup tonight.  One thing for sure - this will be an intense series against the Tigers, who have the best hitter in baseball (Miguel Cabrera) and the best starting pitcher (Justin Verlander).

There are many questions including:

1)  Will A-Rod finally begin to hit the ball solidly during this series?

2)  Will Joe pinch-hit for Swisher if his woes continue?

3)  Can the Yankees limit Cabrera from too many extra-base hits?

Those are obvious questions, but I have five key points that I think can help the Yankees win, if they’re applied:

1)  Joe should continue managing away from the provided stats on many of his decisions.

2)  The Yankees should take advantage of the weak infield defense of the Tigers.

3)  Hughes needs to duplicate his last games’ effort for his scheduled Game 3 start.

4)  Teixeira has to continue driving the ball and return to being a key run-producer.

5)  The Yankees should take extra pitches to accelerate the ousting of the Tigers’ starters so that they can take advantage of their questionable bullpen.

Okay, Yankees, let’s win this thing and move onto the World Series again!!!

THE 2012 AMERICAN LEAGUE EASTERN DIVISION CHAMPS

First of all, congratulations are in order for the New York Yankees as are now the American League Eastern Division Champions.  Wasn't it even more rewarding that they didn't have to depend on the Orioles to lose as the Yankees took on their own fate by humiliating the Red Sawx in a 14-2 bashing?  Now, they are on a quest to win their 41st American League Pennant and 28th World Series Title!


My expectations of the Yankees winning 95 games and the Red Sox being a weak team were right on the mark this year.  Regrettably, I predicted that to several friends on an email back in April, before my "The NYY Writer" blog was initiated to share my prediction with everyone.

Of course, I hope that the Yankees work their way to winning their 28th Championship; however, I have three major concerns:

First, as I have always felt, the best-of-5 format should not exist in baseball.  I believe that the following rounds which offer the best-of-7 format is much more definitive in baseball.  So, while the Yankees are playing within the first round, I will be nervous of them proving their full abilities in a short series.  Of course, I'm elated that they didn't lose the division and end up in a one-game playoff to determine the wildcard team!

My second concern evolves fully on their health.  While all teams have health issues, this year was totally ridiculous for the Yankees.  The best closer in the history of the game is still recovering from surgery and will still not be available to help the team besides being able to add more great stats to all the records he has already established in the playoffs since 1996.  Furthermore, players who have just returned from injuries include Teixeira, A-Rod, Pettitte, Gardner, and CC.  Are they healthy enough to produce at least 90% of their earlier abilities?  Now, I know Teixeira and A-Rod haven't proven much in the playoffs lately; but, I want them to be mostly healthy so that health is not a factor - whether they produce or don't produce.  The last health concern is based on their Captain, Derek Jeter.  Everyone knows his abilities in the playoffs are positively off the charts.  Hopefully, this 38-year-old phenom can be his abnormal self and produce his usual without hobbling on his injured foot.

My last concern is Joe Girardi.  He has shown us some strange decisions over the past few years in the playoffs.  I am hoping he manages the Yankees as if each game is do or die, instead of counting pitches!  I also hope he doesn't do his impersonation of La Russa by constantly changing pitchers from lefty to righty and vice-versa.  It's overrated!  Even La Russa wasn't doing it as often as he used to before he won in his final year last year.  If the pitcher (especially a reliever) is pitching well, leave him in there!!  Stop managing like a robot and manage by what you're seeing in front of you!!

There's one thing for sure - this Sunday will begin a very intense series!  Let's keep our fingers crossed that we win the series and move onto the next round.  We have a team that can certainly do it, especially if my last two concerns are negated by them staying healthy and Joe managing with his sight and not his detailed stats.

As of today, the Yankees remain in 1^st place having won 83 games, while losing 63.  Hence, beginning tomorrow, they have just 16 games to go.  Presently, the Orioles are only ½ of a game behind the Yankees and the Rays are 5½ games behind, in third place.

While the Yankees are still in first place, it’s a disgrace that the Yankees played so lethargic over the past few weeks.  Approximately one month ago, they had a double-digit lead over all of the American League Eastern teams.  With the added wild card this year, it is even more crucial that they strategize to play every inning & every pitch like it’s the playoffs or else they won’t be in the real playoffs in a few weeks.

 

As mentioned in my prior blog below, the Orioles simply won’t go away!  The Rays were expected to be there in the end, though.  It’s funny, but I was one of the few that stated (to my baseball pals) that the Red Sox weren’t that good this year, especially with the replacement of Terry Francona with Bobby Valentine.  I knew his idiotic behavior mixed with many of the Red Sox players’ idiotic behaviors were going to cause an explosion.  Typically, though, many of the so-called experts from the press, MLB Network, ESPN, etc. predicted them to be in 1st or 2nd place - similar or exactly the same position they had predicted the prior year!

 

Well, sit tight Yankees fans as we watch the final 10%, or so, of the 2012 season.  As for the fans that mercifully root each year for the Red Sox or Mets, I’m sure you’ve been enjoying the U.S. Open Tennis matches and now are delighted to watch football.  Hopefully, for us Yankees fans, we will still have the opportunity to watch the Yankees in the Post Season.

 

PS:  Get well, Teixeira, we need you!!

ORIOLES ARE CLIMBING

Who would have predicted this past April that on August 12, 2012 the Baltimore Orioles would be tied for second place (with the Rays) and only 5½ games behind first place in the American League Eastern Division?  The only team ahead of them, of course, is my favorite team - the NY Yankees.

In 2011, the Orioles were at the bottom of the AL Eastern Division.  They have miraculously climbed ahead of the Toronto Blue Jays and even ESPN's favorite team, the Boston Red Sox!  Additionally, the Orioles are presently midway in terms of payrolls throughout the Major Leagues and have still found a way to persevere when playing the two divisional teams with much more payroll, the Yankees & Sawx.  They are a prime example of smart baseball, similar to the Marlins years ago.

Yankees fans should really consider them a threat to our goal of winning our 41st pennant this year, especially with the new playoff system.  For the past few years, the Rays & Sawx were always posing and expected threats but now it's gotten even harder! 

REGGIE - "HELL OF FAME"

This week, Reggie Jackson put his foot in his mouth, which is so typical of this egotistical man. He publicly made arrogant statements to a reporter for Sports Illustrated opinionating that players such as Gary Carter, Kirby Puckett, Phil Niekro, Don Sutton, and Jim Rice did not deserve to be in the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. He also stated that anyone admittedly tied to steroids such as Alex Rodriguez and Andy Pettitte should never be elected for the Hall of Fame. How moronic is it for someone to diminish two members of his own employer, the New York Yankees, to a point that could lessen his employer's bank account - that same one that is used to pay him?

I have NEVER been a fan of Reggie! Sure, I was ecstatic when he hit his infamous 3 homeruns in the 1977 World Series and fully appreciate that achievement and respect his 563 career homers; but, I dislike way too many other things about Reggie that outweigh those two key achievements of his such as his classless, self-admirations of his homeruns. He stood in the batter's box watching the flight of all of his own well-hit fly balls, along with some that didn't quite make it out - as he embarrassed his teams by not running hard enough to offer a double instead of a single, occasionally contributing to a projected team loss. He displayed the same lack of effort for his defense as many fly balls fell just a few feet or inches in front of his barely unscathed outfield glove throughout each game.

His opinions on Gary, Kirby, Phil, Don, Jim, Alex, and Andy are seemingly the same as many who love the game. I personally would agree with Reggie concerning Kirby, Phil, Don, and Jim; while I would support both Gary and Andy. As for A-Rod, I'm still undecided at this point. Freedom of speech certainly allows Reggie (and every American) to opinionate freely. The problem, though, is adults (Reggie is supposed to be one of those at the current age of 66) are expected to feel sensitivity towards others. Not only did Gary Carter die just a few months ago, but he, Kirby, and Andy have always carried themselves as gentlemen in the sport and, likewise, should be treated as such.

Additionally, egotistical Reggie may want to look in the mirror (as I'm sure he does plenty of times with full wonderment) and review his own Hall of Fame qualifications. While he is currently and impressively 13th on the all-time homerun list and 23rd on the all-time RBI list, he also has the most strikeouts of any player (not just those inducted but) in the history of the sport!! His lifetime batting average (.262) is not even close to remarkable. Furthermore, his fielding percentage (not including many of those aforesaid lazy endeavors) is merely .968 lifetime. Other Hall of Fame right field sluggers including Al Kaline (.985), Frank Robinson (.986), Mel Ott (.980), and Hank Aaron (.980) each have a much better fielding percentage than him. One notable slugger (some guy named Babe) is comparable to Reggie's defensive record - as a right fielder Babe Ruth's percentage is slightly lower, at .966; but, in Babe's career, he contributed to more than just right field with a glove. Some other key positions for the Babe included left field and pitcher - in which he tallied 94 wins for his teams!!  Reggie was basically one-dimensional.

In the end, I personally do believe Reggie's main contributions of his homerun and RBI totals do mostly qualify him to rightfully be in the Hall of Fame; but his leading strikeout totals, his weak fielding percentage, his singles that failed to become doubles, his classless ego, and now his derogatory remarks fully qualify him to be elected into my "Hell of Fame".

SUBWAY SERIES - FUTURE & 2012 REVIEW

MLB has determined that, beginning next year, the interleague schedule will be revamped dramatically because of their prior decision to reposition the Houston Astros from the National League to the American League.  With that, both leagues will have 15 teams instead of the present 14:16 ratio.

In regards to the Yankees & Mets, it will mark the end of their yearly scheduled six games (three at Yankees Stadium & three at Citi Field).  Two possible scenarios being reported for the New York teams is either scheduling two games at Yankees Stadium and two games at Citi Field or three at one of the NY ballparks with alternating years.  My preference is the alternating years.  Of course, the Yankees & Mets could have additional games to play if they both make the World Series as they did in 2000.  Of course, that's a long shot & worth a Yankees fan laugh, since the Mets don't seem to play too much October baseball as they've only been to the World Series four times in their "historic" 50 years of existence!

Well, based on the upcoming changes and the fact that both NY teams have just finished their Subway Series this year, I would like to take the time in the remaining and majority of this blog to boast and gripe...

My boasting begins with the bottom-line point that the Yankees took five out of the six games.  The rest of my points are summarized as follows:

-The Yankees hit 15 home runs, while the Mets hit 4.

-The Yankees bullpen responsibly helped collect 3 wins, while the Mets bullpen's only responsibility was collecting 3 losses.

-The Mets had both their aces (Johan & R.A.) face the Yankees after Johan's no-hitter and R.A.'s back-to-back 1-hitters, but the bottom line is that the Yankees demolished both of them.

My griping is regarding their TV announcers.  I would like to first point out that I dislike most of today's TV & radio announcers including the Yankees radio announcer, John Sterling.  But, one day I'll blog my complaints about him specifically.  These gripes are focused on the Mets TV commentators, especially Gary Cohen:

Gary, Keith Hernandez, and Ron Darling were all demeaning the Yankees home run totals by insinuating that the dimensions at Yankees Stadium were dramatically aiding their leading MLB home run totals.  Amazingly, during the 6-game series, the Yankees hit 15 altogether with slightly less than half (7) at Citi Field.  Well, I guess their ignorant point was pointless.  Additionally, have they (or all the others who typically go down that insinuation) ever noticed that the Yankees do not readjust the walls at Yankees Stadium while the opposing team is batting?

Furthermore, since MLB allows all baseball teams to have their own unique stadium dimensions (well over 100 years now), the teams generally build their stadiums based on those dimensions or vice-versa to enhance their home field advantages; just like the Yankees & Mets did in 2009.  Oh, wait, that didn't pan out for the Mets, as other teams actually won more games there!  So, this past winter, they readjusted their own stadium walls to help guys like David Wright hit more home runs.  Oh, wait again; David is certainly having a great year, but not overwhelmingly in the home run department.  Nor is any Mets player, for that matter.  Of course the Mets commentators failed to recognize any of that!

Gary kept referring to the Yankees' David Robertson as "David Roberts".  Maybe, once in a while, he could tune into the other (and main) team in NY and learn the correct and easy last name of "Robertson" since David has been the second best reliever (of course next to Mariano) in the state of NY for several years now!  In fact, David was also an All-Star pitcher and led the majors with the lowest ERA last year.

At least Ron & Keith offered a few objective comments regarding the Mets, even a few against Gary's non-objective angles.  In fact, it was apparent to me that Gary frustrated them, too, as their disagreeing comments had a perturbed tone.  In each of those instances, Gary backed off without a sound.  Ah...that would be great - not hearing the sound of Gary Cohen!!

GREED

Oh, those Mets are at it again! First, as noted in my previous blog, they lucked out by getting their first no-hitter in over 50 years of existence a few weeks ago thanks to a well-pitched game AND the assistance of a stubborn, blind umpire. Now, they get another very well-pitched game - this time by R.A. Dickey - and they attempt to look for assistance from another non-team member. This time they greedily want the Commissioner's Office to help them.

The game was this past Wednesday, June 13th. During the very first inning, B.J. Upton grounded a ball towards the Mets' third baseman, David Wright. David (a below-average defensive third baseman) chose to use his bare hand instead of his mitt to grab the ball. Well, he missed grabbing the ball entirely as B.J. raced to first base safely for the game's only hit. Many (including David Wright) stated that B.J. Upton is one of the fastest players in the game and that even if David had chosen to scoop the ball up with his mitt, transferred it to his bare hand, and threw to first base, B.J. would have still been safe.

Anybody, including me, that has seen B.J. Upton run knows he more than likely would have been safe at first base - even if Graig Nettles fielded the ball at third base for that play! Thankfully, today, experienced leaders from the Commissioner's Office including Joe Torre and Tony La Russa realized one or both of these conditions to conclude the ruling remains intact as a 1-hit game:

1) B.J. would have been safe no matter what David Wright executed on that play.

2) Even if B.J. was somehow called out by the first base umpire, presuming David Wright managed to grab and throw it accurately, that the whole scope of the game would have changed. For instance, R.A. would have had much more adversity dealing with the next 8 innings of no-hit ball and every single play would have had to transpire exactly the same way as each had done during the "1-hit" game.

What will the Mets think of for their next attempt of a no-hitter? Oh, I know:

They'll ask all members of the Commissioner's Office to rescind their 1971 trade of Nolan Ryan and 3 other Mets to the Angels for Jim Fregosi. If all goes well, the ruling would negate the trade and reallocate the 7 no-hitters from the Angels, Astros, and Rangers to the Mets so that they can add 7 to their official 1 no-hitter in almost 51 years!!

THE TWILIGHT ZONE

I'm convinced that the supposed stars shown in the Twilight Zone picture are actually baseballs from this year in which Rod Serling is manipulating from the heavens above us.  It's been a very strange baseball year thus far (now, close to the first third of the 2012 season).  Teams like the Yankees & Phillies are not dominating, while teams like the Dodgers, Mets, & Orioles are.  The Yankees do have the most home runs, but the team with the 2nd most is the 1st-place Orioles!  The Yankees are hitting, but it seems to be only when the bases are empty.

More evidence of the strangeness is that the Mets' Johan Santana threw the franchise's first no-hitter in their 51st year of existence!  Their fans have been waiting for quite a long time to finally celebrate something sensational, since they have not won a World Series in over 25 years (sorry, Mets' fans, I just couldn't resist.)  I do offer my kudos to Johan as he deserves a lot of credit for throwing the no-hitter (or arguably a 1-hitter) especially after having major shoulder surgery just two seasons ago.

As alluded to above, this past Friday's no-hitter by Johan didn't happen without controversy.  In the sixth inning, a lined shot by former Mets' player Carlos Beltran was hit onto the foul line, but the 3rd-base umpire (Adrian Johnson) called the ball foul even though the ball hit the foul line just a few feet in front of him where the chalk erupted into the air and left its marked impact!  In the end, it proved to help the game's results as becoming an official no-hitter in the records.

It certainly wasn't the first no-hitter with a wrong call!  Two years ago, the opposite affect happened when Detroit Tigers' pitcher, Armando Galarraga, lost his chance at pitching a perfect game (a step above a no-hitter, but still a no-hitter) when Jim Joyce called a runner safe at 1st base on what would have been the final out of the game.  It would have been part of the rare perfect games thrown, only 21 as of today.  I can easily go on about other impacted poor calls, but that topic will be detailed in an upcoming blog.

Will the year continue with more unexpected happenings in the Major Leagues?  I'm sure it will, but I hope some things will turn back to expectations, such as the divisional placement of teams in the standings before the season is over.  It seems as though the Cubs, Padres, and Pirates are the only teams truly following the original script before most of the other teams entered into the Twilight Zone.  Hopefully, at least the Yankees will get back into their prior dimension!

RESILIENCY

Well, now that a decent amount of games (46) have been played for the 2012 season which is barely above the 28% mark, I thought it would be a respectable time to evaluate the Yankees at this point:

All teams end up with injuries throughout their long 162-game season. In the case of the Yankees, they have five (20%) of their major players currently on the disabled list including (in my order of importance) Mariano Rivera, David Robertson, Brett Gardner, Michael Pineda, and Joba Chamberlain. Neither Mo nor Pineda are expected back for this season, while Robertson & Gardner are expected back during June and Joba might be back by the end of the season.

In the interim, even without 20% of their roster, somehow they are still a few games above the .500 mark. Mostly, it's thanks to both their starting & relief pitching. Even I'm surprised at Rafael Soriano's take-charge closer performance. Sabathia has done what he normally does, Hughes is showing velocity, Nova looked good in his return the other day, and Pettitte acts like he's 29 instead of 39 years old.

The biggest disappointment thus far has been the lack of hitting. Based on the aforementioned injuries, Gardner is the only hitter that has been out of the lineup for a substantial time. While he is somewhat of a catalyst, it's not detrimental enough of an excuse for this team not to hit more successfully. Thankfully, the Yankees offense has begun to show signs as of late. Cano, Rodriguez, and Teixeira have each been hitting some homeruns again, which is their main barometer. Players such as Jeter, Ibanez, Swisher, and Granderson have been fairly consistent. The only offensive starter that's still slumping is Russell Martin. Hopefully, he'll join the rest soon.

In summary, this team has kept their composure and shown resiliency and no withdrawal, even during many hitting droughts. CC & Pettitte have led the pitching; Soriano has matured & led the bullpen; and Jeter, Ibanez, and Granderson have mainly led the hitting. Hopefully, no more major injuries will occur for the remainder of the season and both Gardner & Robertson will join the Yankees within a few weeks to help position them from the middle of the Eastern Division Standings to the top.

CORE ANDY

Just as the infamous "Core Four" was reduced to just three members last season and then two members at the beginning of this season, it became one for the first time most recently with the loss of Mo (see my previous blog).  Well, for tomorrow's Mothers' Day (by the way, happy Mothers' Day to all you moms) the "Core Four" goes back to two members once again.  That's because we will all have the chance to see Andy Pettitte attempt to come out of his short-lived retirement.

I can remember when he first began in the major leagues for the Yankees back in 1995.  It was very exciting for me because I had been anticipating his promotion for quite a while.  Around that period, the only truly successful starting pitcher that originated from the Yanks' farm system was Ron Guidry.

In time, Andy became one of the greatest starting pitchers ever for the NY Yankees and one of the most successful starters of all time for MLB.  In fact, last decade, Andy earned the most collective wins of any pitcher during those ten years.  He also has the most wins (19) in playoff history.  With his eyes barely showing from the bottom brim of his cap, he has intimidated many opposing hitters during his starts.

His one hiccup was associating himself with Roger Clemens.  Not only did Roger promote the use of steroids, but (I believe) he influenced Andy to leave the Yankees and join him in Houston (2004-2006). Andy was certainly adult enough to make his own decisions, but (like all of us) made a wrong choice - he trusted Roger.  Of course, he also made the wrong choice to leave the Yankees!  (Alright, I'm not being totally objective on that portion of my opinion.)

Even though Andy admitted to using steroids on two occasions, both instances were during periods in which he was trying to increase his recovery from injuries.  Thus, his intentions were never to cheat by gaining pitching velocity.  He was also the only one who ever spoke the truth about personal steroid usage.  Does anyone truly believe McGwire, Clemens, Sosa, or Bonds never used them?  So, not only has Andy proven to be one of the best pitchers of all time (especially during extremely crucial games) but he's also shown that honesty is the best policy - as the saying goes.

I'm not sure if Andy will continue to be successful after not pitching for a full year, but I really hope so - for the Yankees' sake (of course) and for his own personal impressive career stats.

PUBLIC HERO  

Every once in a while someone in the public eye offers hundreds, thousands, or even millions of people a leadership quality so great that we consider them one of our heroes.  I've had three (again, not including a family member or personal friend) that have inspired me.  Based on an accident that happened a few days ago which may possibly end the career of one of my public heroes, I'd like to tell you about him today.  His name is Mariano Rivera - from the New York Yankees.

As a huge Yankees fan, when Mariano tore his ACL the other day, my thoughts about him accelerated what this man epitomizes to me.  He, unlike the majority of sports stars today, always demonstrates the truest sportsmanship.  How many times have we seen an NFL star dancing around after his first down or touchdown or a MLB hitter drop the bat and admire the flight of their anticipated home run?  There are so many examples that I could mention, but you've all seen them and know exactly what I'm saying.

Mariano Rivera is considered by most baseball players, coaches, and fans as the greatest at what he has done for over 16 years - close and/or save games.  In fact, he has achieved the most closed games and the most saved games in MLB history.  Additionally, he has the most closes and saves while giving up the lowest earned runs in playoff and World Series history!  Yet, for each one of the aforementioned successes that he has accomplished, there has never been a display by him in which he's rubbed his success into the faces of his opponents.

So much has already been accomplished statistically by this man and yet he continually demonstrates true humbleness.  That's my favorite thing about him.  Of course I love the stats he carries, especially since all of those stats are also attributed towards my team's success.  But, again, it's the character of such a man that is his greatest achievement.

Furthering his character, after being carted out to the ambulance and after his hospital tests, this man insisted to return the next day to support his team for a few games so that he can help boost the bad morale he accused himself of causing.  So, while in physical pain and prior to more testing and his inevitable surgery, once again he has demonstrated putting others ahead of himself.  He has also reached out to his fans to let us know that he intends to be back after the recovery.  He said that with strict confidence, knowing that the odds of his return to success are against him.  Mariano will try his best to change our lingering tragic view of his career suddenly ending and, instead, work extremely hard behind the scenes to return and offer each of us more positive views of his great pitching and sportsmanship.

So in my "closing" of today's blog, I am very proud to say that my current public hero is not only one of the greatest baseball players of all time, but also one of the greatest demonstrated human beings of all time, Mariano Rivera.