Tuesday, May 12th: Burnett vs. Halladay

I know this is a few days too late, but I didn't have a computer on me at the time and its been crazy lately. Anyhow, here are some notes and pictures from Tuesday's game in Toronto.

Here are some pictures that were taken before the game during batting practice.

• First of all, a huge crowd was on hand for this game. It was probably one of the largest crowds that the Jays have had since opening day. There were 6 sections upon in the tiers up until the 3rd inning and after that point they were packed and pretty much sold out.
• The fans in Toronto were pretty brutal. I heard of people throwing stuff from the bullpen and throwing bottles and things at each other in the stands. That is what the hate for AJ will do and when people start drinking alcohol.
• Above is a picture of Girardi as he is walking out to the mound to take AJ out. He was serenaded with loud cheers (i mean very loud boos).
• Aaron Hill and Adam Linbd are off to an amazing start. Rios has been getting hot and Vernon is doing pretty decent also.
• Johnny Damon and Vernon Wells before the game during batting practice.
• The crowd was insane. They were after AJ Burnett on every pitch (AJ Sucks) and A-Rod too (chanting A-Roid and steroids).
• Overall, it was a great game, despite the Yankees losing. I love Roy Halladay and he was absolutely dominating. It seems Johnny was one of the few who can actually hit Roy and everyone else was basically left looking clueless.
• Seats were amazing; 4 rows behind the Yankee dugout. Never sat in these seats before and so close. Was fun to see the guys come back into the dugout after striking out and whatnot. The fans were getting on them good.
• Pictures of Wednesday and Thursday's games will go up soon! Along with some cool shots from BP up in my hotel room!
  

Jays

Roy Halladay is going for his 8th win today against the Chicago White Sox

Scouting Report:
White Sox: For the fourth time in seven trips to the mound, Floyd failed to post a coveted quality start. Monday's start against the Indians was actually well below the quality cut-off, as the right-hander gave up eight runs on 11 hits over five-plus innings, including two batters faced in the sixth. Floyd has a 0-2 record with a 9.74 ERA in his past four starts and has allowed more double-digit-hit games this season (two) then he did in all of 2008. Floyd already has a 0-1 record with a 10.38 ERA against the Blue Jays this year and stands at 0-2 lifetime against the Blue Jays. But Floyd has never worked at Rogers Centre.

Blue Jays: Halladay threw his first complete game of the year against the Yankees at Rogers Centre on Tuesday. He gave up one run on five hits -- matching his lowest total this season -- and struck out five. For the third time in his eight starts this year, he did not walk a single batter. He got 16 outs via ground ball, and gave up only two extra base hits, both doubles.

Scouting Report:

Twins: Slowey had to labor a bit through his last outing against the Tigers, throwing 98 pitches in six innings while allowing just one run. He allowed the leadoff hitter to reach base in five of his six innings, which included Jeff Larish'’s solo home run to start the sixth. The home run was the lone run that Slowey allowed in his outing. He scattered eight hits to the Tigers and also issued two walks in the contest, equaling his total for the season. Slowey next will face the Yankees. He is 1-1 with a 6.00 ERA in three career starts vs. New York.

Yankees: Burnett took his first loss of the season on Tuesday, facing the Blue Jays at Rogers Centre. He gave up five runs on seven hits and lasted 7 2/3 innings. He allowed four walks while striking out three. Of the 110 pitches he threw, 66 were strikes. Burnett has not faced the Twins this year and owns a 1-1 record in four career starts against them, putting up an ERA of 4.21 in 25 2/3 innings.

__________________________

I am going to be posting some of the pictures from the games I was at so check back later. If you're in Toronto, enjoy that game! I wish I could watch the Jays game on tv. That link I was using for the us steam doesnt seem to be working anymore.

Baseball Notes from Toronto

• Brian Bruney apparently shaved his head. I noticed this when I was sitting in my hotel room watching the Jays warm up during batting practice. When I looked down I saw this guy running back and forth on the warning track and I had no clue who it was. After looking at it closely, I figured out it was Bru. I can't even tell you how many times he ran back and forth, but I will say he was out there for a good 30-45 minutes.

• Nick Swisher also found himself a barber. It's quite an interesting style. You could tell he was loving it as during batting practice, as he kept the helmet off so that he could show it off to the crowd.
• From a bunch of fans at the stadium, apparently Alex Rodriguez is still hanging out bad people. He was seen with some sketchy hockey player in Toronto which had many wondering if he still is back to his old ways. I am not sure if its more intriguing that people are following his every moves or why Alex only seems to find himself around sketchy people. Does he not have any "good" friends to hang out with?
  
• Saw Andrew during batting practice. I posted how he was able to get Derek Jeter's baseball bat last year when I was there. Well on Tuesday, guess who gave him another bat? Robinson Cano. And Mark Teixiera gave him his batting gloves. It wouldn't bum me out as much that he got the stuff is he wasn't selling it all for money. I either keep the stuff for my own collection or give it to the kids I tutor. In regard to my last post, Fernando, I just want a Louisville slugger model bat that is black and from one of the players. It doesn't have to be used and can be cracked, as was the case of the Robinson Cano bat. I have to figure out what Andrew does to get the players to give him these bats. I guess being a girl doesn't work in this case. One day i will get that bat, I just will have to try harder or something.
  
• On Wednesday before the games opened (about 330 or so in the afternoon when I was sitting in my hotel room), I saw this guy on the field stretching for a good 25 minutes. I zoomed my camera in as much as I could, but I am not sure who it is. What do you guys think? I was thinking it was possibly Rivera, but I am not certain. Regardless, he was really working out and stretching the entire body.
• This guy stands outside gate 5. I have no idea what his name is, but he is there every single year and he is the world's most annoying man to sell Blue Jays gear. I took this picture for my brother, who really seemed to enjoy standing around him last year while waiting for the gate to open.

The lonely 7 hour drive....

I picked a perfect day to travel as the weather was gorgeous and made for a pretty uneventful trip. The bridges you have to drive on as you are approaching Canada are quite scary and for some reason I felt compelled to take a picture as I was driving (not a smart idea, I understand that).

Bruno: You asked the difference between upstate NY and Toronto. Basically everything. For such a large city, Toronto is insanely clean and the people are genuinely nicer. I can guarantee when people walk around Albany, the last thing they think about is how clean the area is. It is a different atmosphere in general, but I guess it all really depends on where you are in NY and where you are in Toronto. I will say this though, I feel 10X more safer going on a subway alone than one in NYC.

I guess the Bills are coming to Toronto in December. They had stuff all over the stadium and during game time in which they were promoting the game and the "newly reduced prices." I guess the tickets aren't selling that fast. But they do have all of 6 months or so left to sell....They did have cheerleaders for the Bills show up during the game in their skimpy little outfits so they have possibly gained an extra fan or two from that. Plus, they also had players from the Bills at the Jays game on Thursday and they kept showing them on the outfield screen.

Back from Toronto!!!

Sorry for the lack of updates for the past few days but I didn't' have a computer with me when I went to Toronto. I think it's the longest I have been off the computer and facebook in forever. Well, I have so many different things to write about, but I am not sure where to start. I wish I could have posted things after each of the games, but since I had no computer I will go over each game at some point this weekend.

First off, it was a great trip. Coming home, the 7 hour drive turned into a 5.5 hour drive (Don't ask how fast I was going). It is always interesting to cross the border as I was able to realize how easy-going and nice the people are going into Canada and how tough the people are when you are entering the United States.

As I was driving home today, the guy at the border was asking me all these questions (what is your citizenship, where are you from, etc). He then proceeds to ask me what I was doing in Canada. I was like well, the Yankees were in town so I went to see the games. He was like "you drove that far for a game?", as if if was making up a story about why I was in Canada. Regardless, I explained to him that i make this trip every year and he was like oh wow, interesting. You are crazy. Yep, not the first time I have heard that I suppose.

Anyhow, I love the city of Toronto; it is so beautiful and easy going. The only thing I despise about this city is driving around, which I only did when I arrived. I can't stand the tracks that are on the street and the people walking around makes for a very aggravating time.

I am going to load all of my pictures from the game. I have some great stories also about A-Rod and other players. My hotel was facing the field in the Rogers Centre which was super cool and I got some nice shots from there too.

One more thing I must add. I am amazed at how fan-friendly the Blue Jays organization is. Each day they had things going on for the fans before the games began and they even allow their fans to go down to the lower level for batting practice. What a concept??

More stories and pictures later :)

Toronto, Here I Come!!!!

A warning to my fellow Canadian friends: Christina is crossing the border tomorrow!! That's right, I am heading to see my beloved Yankees take on the Toronto Blue Jays. I am excited for this trip as I absolutely love the city of Toronto. Its fun to walk around and just tour the city. I hope the weather is decent for my arrival though as I am ready to sport my new summer attire.

Anyhow, I am so freaking thrilled for the match-ups. Tuesday (Halladay vs. Burnett) should be amazing and I am thrilled to see Scott Richmond pitching on Wednesday. I have my score card all ready to go like the loser I am. I love pitching duels and they don't get any better than the one on Tuesday.

So what is the deal with the Rogers Centre. How often is the dome closed? Since I generally go to Toronto in July and August, I am used to the dome being opened. I am assuming there is a certain temperature to which they decide it is too cold and needs to be closed? In my opinion, I think the game has a whole different feel to it when the dome is closed. I wonder if they will have it open during batting practice?

So does anyone know that kid Andrew that goes to every single Jays game... Is he still around? The last time the Yankees were in town, Derek Jeter gave him his bat. For anyone who knows me, my obsession for the past 5 years has been to get a real, black, Louisville Slugger bat. It was ironic that Andrew was able to snag that bat. He is a lucky guy.

Well, onto packing. You would never know I am going for 3 days as I have packed my entire wardrobe. I am not sure how this always happens. I guess it is because I am a girl.

Preview: Roy Halladay vs. AJ Burnett

Tuesday, the Yankees make their way to the beautiful city of Toronto. They are playing a somewhat hot Blue Jays ball club that has won 7 of their last 10 games. The first games of the series should be quite an interesting match-up as this is the first game Burnett will be visiting his old ball club and will be pitching against his former teammate. Below is the scouting report for this upcoming game:

A.J. Burnett, RHP (2-0, 5.26) Yankees (15-16)

@

Roy Halladay, RHP (6-1, 3.29) Blue Jays (21-12)

Scouting Report:

Yankees: Assuming the Yankees don't alter their rotation with Monday's off-day, Burnett will face his former team for the first time this season. The right-hander is coming off Wednesday night's no-decision to Tampa Bay, in which Burnett allowed three runs over six innings. While not his best performance, Burnett did strike out eight Rays and was optimistic in his performance going forward.

Blue Jays: Toronto's ace was dominating in his last effort, reeling off eight strong innings in a road victory over the Angels on Wednesday. Halladay blanked Los Angeles for seven frames before allowing one run. The right-hander scattered six hits and ended with six strikeouts, two walks and 13 outs induced via ground balls. Halladay has six wins in seven starts, marking the fastest he has reached that many victories in a season in his career. In 32 games against New York in his career, Halladay has gone 15-5 with a 2.86 ERA. He went 5-1 with a 2.40 ERA against the Yankees last season.

It should be a great series to watch, as these are two great pitchers that have the ability to be dominating. As for which team has the advantage, I probably would say the Jays have the edge as their offense has been more consistent than the Yankees, and well Halladay is just Halladay. We all know the type of command he has and his record of 5-1 with an ERA against the 2008 Yankees was surely not a fluke.

Back from the country

Since Mother's Day is today, my Mom and I went to visit my Grandmother and the rest of my family out in Elmira, NY (actually Horseheads, but few, if any have actually heard of that town).
If you haven't heard of it, its basically located in the middle of nowhere. While there is no internet out there and I couldn't watch the Yankees game (which was probably a good thing from what I hear), it was nice to be able to forget about things and just sit outside to reflect on life.

Since I haven't been able to keep up with the real world, I don't have very much baseball to add. I heard Joba had some issues with his finger and a popped blood vessel, but I hear he is going to pitch today, despite this injury.

Big news though. I am heading to Toronto to see the Yankees play the Jays. I decided last night that I just need to get away and enjoy myself for a change. Baseball is something that makes me happy in life where I feel the most comfortable, so despite the cost and long travel, I am just going for it. I am thrilled to see Halladay and from what I project, I *think* and I hope, that Richmond will be pitching on Thursday. I would love to see the stuff he has in person.

For those of you that read and live in Toronto and go to Jays games, I have a question about the seating. While I have been to games at the Rogers Centre before, I never really have tried moving up before. Are the ushers very strict in letting people move up to closer sections? I really want to see Halladay pitch close up, but the prices of tickets have soared this year for some reason, and I notice they are more expensive when the Yankees are in town.

This trip is costing me a crap load of money, so I would rather not spend as much if I can try to just move closer. From what I can project, I cant assume they have going to have a packed crowd at the Rogers Centre. I could be wrong though.

Any other suggestions you guys might be have would be great.

Welcome home, A-Rod

First pitch, first at-bat back from having surgery, HOMERUN! You can't write it any better than that.

Side note: It appears as if Ian Kennedy has an aneurysm that will require surgery on Tuesday. Apparently the guy operating on him is the same surgeon who operated on David Cone when he had his aneurysm back in 1996. All the best to Kennedy with a speedy recovery. He was off to a decent start too in AAA.

Update: Scott Richmond is pitching tonight for Toronto against some dude on the A's named Outman. I will be keeping up with that game on gameday for sure!

The Yankees are a mess

• Posada--- injured
• Mariano--- injured??
• Molina---- injured
• Wang----- injured
• Teixeria---stinks
• Bruney----injured
• Marte---- injured
• Nady----- injured
• bullpen----stinks

1. I can't wait to see the catching situation for tomorrow. Should be great now that Molina is hurt and Girardi stated that he will be out for definite tomorrow. This team needs to learn how to develop young guys. They knew Jorge wasn't getting any younger, didn't they??? Perhaps they were too busy building that sham of a stadium to worry about the important things.
2. Lets hope Mariano isn't hurt or this team is going to look even worse than they already do look. The bullpen is atrocious and the team has very little degree of situational hitting. They are terrible with RISP.
3. The last thing we need is A-Rod trying to do too much. It all eventually has to come together.

Roy oh Roy

Roy Halladay is amazing. Need I say more?

Another terrible loss

The Yankees are brutal lately. Phil Coke has looked dreadful. As well as Teixeira. I wish I could pinpoint why they are so terrible. I hate to sit here and use injuries as an excuse as every team has their share of injuries. They just seem so lifeless. I know I bring up the Jays too much, but I while I see a team that also struggling with injuries, I see a team that also has heart. At this point tonight they are winning 7-0 to the Angels. My boy Roy is pitching tonight too!

The Yankees should be getting A-Rod back, but I don't think he is going to be an immediate savior, unless he can pitch in the bullpen. At least an addition of A-Rod will make our bench look a tad stronger.

I am tired, so my sentences are short and choppy. I have this dreadful project for my Master's due that I have no desire to write.

But anyhow, what do you guys think about the team?

Football??

I am already tired of this Brett Farve nonsense. It's all over ESPN and reminds me of Roger Clemens.

On another note, the Yankees stink. I have one last project for school that I am procrastinating and I must finish. The blog will continue once my life returns tomorrow I hope.

Rain Delays; Oh the Joy!

After a rain delay that lasted over 2 hours, the Yankees were able to get the game in. So far it is the bottom of the 7th and the are down 6-3 to the Red Sox. Lester has looked really well tonight, with the exception of two homeruns that were knocked out of the park. He has pitched 7 innings, while striking out nine and only giving up 6 hits.

Some notes from the game

• Not a great outing by Phil. 4 IP, 7H, and 3ER probably wasn't what he was hoping for tonight. Perhaps it was because the weather conditions were lousy and he had to wait over 2 hours to pitch. Hard to use that as an excuse though as it didn't really have an effect on Lester.
  
• Horrible throw by Jeter to first. Had that been Cano, people would have been killing him for his lackadaisical fielding.
  
• I think Jose Molina forgot to wear his contacts tonight. Someone please lend the man a pair of working eyes.
  
• Disappointed tonight by the guys at YES. In discussing the top second basemen in the American League, the announcers failed to even mention Aaron Hill of the Toronto Blue Jays. How can you discuss the second basemen within the American League East and not even slightly mention the hot start that Hill has had so far? He's a huge reason why the Jays are where they are so far.

Other notable baseball events from tonight:

• Zach Greinke pitched another amazing game. He is now 6-0 on the season. In his start tonight against the Chicago White Sox, he pitched a complete game shutout; giving up six hits while striking out 10.
  
• Marlins won tonight on a throwing error by Paul Janish of the Reds. The game lasted 14 innings and was over 4 and a half hours long.
  
• Did anyone see the two guys sitting behind home plate during the Jays game tonight? They were dressed as umpires and played the part quite well. It was comical from the 2 innings I saw on ESPN.
  
• Victor Martinez is freakin' hot lately! He is hitting .379 with 39 hits. This is coming off an injury from last year too.
  
• Brian Tallet had a no hitter going into the 7th inning until Michael Kay used his powers to jinx him (kidding, kidding).
  
• The Dodgers are 10-0 at home (not including the game tonight). How crazy is that? Torre must be having a ball in Los Angeles.
  

Scott Richmond

I am really intrigued by this starting pitcher on the Toronto Blue Jays. While I know hes nothing besides average, I think it's great to see a guy come up from the minors and succeed, kind of like in the same way Aaron Small did when he was on the Yankees. In order for the Jays to be successful this year, they are going to need some of their young guys to step up. They have been dealt with such a handful of injuries to their pitching staff that this is going to be a necessity until they can come back healthy.

A closer look on Richmond. He is a 28 year old guy from North Vancouver, BC. He is the first Canadian pitcher to appear for Toronto since Paul Quantrill made his debut in 2001.

His repertoire of pitches consists of a fastball, two-seam fastball, slider, change-up and curve. I have seen some clips of his curveball and it is as sick as a 12-6 curve can get. What I have read online is that it is his strongest pitch that he uses to get out lefties.

This is what they had to say in 2008 when he was called up:

"TOR: RHP Scott Richmond (0-0, -.-- ERA)
Richmond was summoned from Triple-A Syracuse on Monday, when the Jays placed Tallet on the DL. The 28-year-old Richmond will be making his Major League debut on Wednesday. The Jays have indicated that the right-hander will be a part of the rotation for at least the time being. Richmond replaces Parrish, who was moved to the bullpen. In Double-A New Hampshire, Richmond was 5-8 with a 4.95 ERA. After being promoted to Syracuse, he went 0-2 with a 2.53 ERA, holding opponents to a .210 (25-for-119) average. He walked six and struck out 31 across 35 innings."

He was called up last year and I think I can recall him pitching a game against the Yankees. Of his 5 appearances in 2008, he had a record of 1-3 with an ERA of 4.00. This is a small sample size and would be hard to make any positive or negative assumptions about the type of pitcher he truly is. It is also noted that he pitched a CG shutout in '08, but when I looked further into that it was against the Orioles and was a game that was shortened in the 6th inning due to rain.

He made the team in 2009 out of spring training. He is 4-0 with an era of 2.70. His wins have come against Texas, Minnesota, Baltimore, and Kansas City- so you can take what you want from those stats. I have read from sites such as THIS in which they state Richmond is somewhat overrated and is tired easily.

While he obviously isn't an ace and isn't going to be at the top of the rotation, I say give the guy a chance.

Where'd the weekend go

The rain washed away my Sunday of Yankees baseball, so i basically went to the library sale and bought 500 books which led to me coming home and falling asleep for countless hours. This isn't a good thing being that I am up to my head in homework for Grad school.

I wish that ESPN or TBS or the MLB Network would cover a Jays game. I have really been wanting to see the stuff that Scott Richmond has on the mound. From the clips I have seen and the things I have heard, he has a dominating curve ball that looks pretty sick. The Jays swept the Orioles today and Richmond is now 4-0 on the season. Also, Aaron Hill is still on a tear and is hitting .361 for the season.

So big news. Christina actually wore a dress last night. I am quite proud of this accomplishment so I will share a picture to the all of 2 people that probably read my blog!

That will be the last time I wear a dress for a while. Unless someone else decides to get married soon. It was fun while it lasted!

Quick post

Great win last night by the Yanks. I being the loser I am, fell asleep in like the 7th inning and missed the whole she-bang. Oh well, I guess thats why they have a Yankees encore. Ramiero Pena looked great and so did the Melk Man.

My man, Roy Halladay is 5-1 already. He's such a great pitcher.

Wedding today, so will be missing most of the game, and will be wearing a dress in the process. This should be quite an interesting sight....

Anyhow, hopefully we'll see a big game from Sabathia. They have won four straight, and a win today to make it five must be a record of some sort.

You can't always get what you want...

Is this debate about Joba Chamberlain ever going to end? I have a feeling that for the entire season we are going to be hearing fans and the media going back and forth about whether or not Joba should be a starter or if he should be in the bullpen.

I will admit, I was one of those fans who thought Joba should be in the pen. I have to also admit though that I listen to Mike Francesa quite often, and was suckered into the mindset that he had about how Joba is better as the guy who will eventually take over as the closer of the team once Mariano retires.

I have since then developed my own opinion and contemplated the pros and cons that erupt from both sides of the spectrum. On one hand, Joba had great success as the 8th inning man and it proved to be a great combination of having Joba being the bridge to Mo.

But you have to look beyond that. Joba was brought up as a starter through college and in the minor leagues. The reason the Yankees placed him in the pen was due to the fact they needed a boost to their bullpen and knew they needed to restrict the number of innings that he could pitch. It was designed as a temporary solution, not one that was going to continue long-term.

It's as easy as this: The man has 4 developed pitches. It would be hard to, if not impossible, to find a guy in the Major Leagues that has so many strong pitches and is being designated as a 8th inning man. Rivera, like Joba, was brought up in the minor leagues as a starter. But unlike Joba, Rivera has only 2 successful pitches that are part of his repertoire. Plus, with Rivera still the closer, you are wasting the talent that Joba has so that can he pitch the 8th inning of a game that could be a meaningless blowout.

Simple stated, you get more out of Joba as a starter. Perhaps a situation will arise where the Yankees are desperate for a closer and the switch to a starting role in the Major Leagues hasn't worked out well for him down the road. You never really know what can happen, but for now, you need to keep him where he is at. Where he has been at since a player in college. I am sure the is just the beginning of the debate of where Joba should be pitching, especially once Wang comes back and if Hughes is showing success in the major leagues. I guess time will tell, but regardless there will always be a group of people on either side of the argument that will be complaining.

Random Baseball Stuff

Since I had night class, I wasn't able to catch the whole game, so all I can really gather is that the Yankees had a very exciting inning during the 7th and that the rest of the game appeared to be very quiet on both sides.

Some other things to add:

• Posada has a pulled hamstring. While I hope it is nothing serious, I am glad to see that was the reason for running ridiculously slow to first Monday night. I was not thrilled to see Posada's lackadaisical playing, especially when the Yankees had already been looking like they were asleep for the entire game.
  
• Looks like Phil had a great game. I am looking forward to watching the encore to see how him and Melancon pitched. From the score, I take it I will be pleased with the results.
  
• The Joba in the bullpen debate has erupted again. Ay yi yi....
  
• Gary Sheffield had a triple. What?? I can't wait to see that replay. Mets still lost. They look terrible and their starting rotation is brutal (with the exception of Santana).
  
• King Felix pitched another stellar game, improving his record to 4-0.
  
• Blue Jays win again! Yay! Richmond looked good yet again and is now 3-0 on the season. Its insane how well some of their offensive players are doing. Hill is hitting .371 (5HR and 20 RBI) and Lind is at .314. I hope Alex Rios starts to heat up soon. He is hitting a mere .237 but will heat up soon as the weather starts to improve.
  
• Tomorrow should be a good game as Greinke goes for his 5th win of the season.
  
• Boston lost in the 9th inning against Cleveland. It is about time they lose.
  
• The Nationals are terrible. No need to really say much more. They need to start putting money towards that team before they hit the garbage.
  
• The Phillies are hot and have won 5 straight. I really like the crafty lefty Jamie Moyer, who is like 50 years old and still pitching strong, despite the fact his fastball is probably like 85mph. However, while his record is 3-1, his ERA is at a hefty 5.09. Ouch. It looks like hes been blessed by a strong Phillies offense for the games he has started.
  

Sunday Baseball.

Roy Halladay is 4-1! The man is on fire!!!

Hopefully a win for the Yanks tonight. Will be interesting to see if Melancon is put into the game tonight. I would think so since the pen is drained. But perhaps Pettitte will give us 9 innings. Okay small chance of that happening which means we will probably see Mark in the game..

I wish I could watch the game but instead I'll be at work. Gotta love having 12 jobs!

Thursday Night Baseball

• BJ Ryan is back on the DL again, along with JC Romero. I am shocked that Toronto is 12-5. Their starting pitching is so injured along with their bullpen now. Even though the season is young, it really does amaze me how well they are doing.
• Scott Richmond, the starter for Toronto today, had a freaking sick curveball. I love watching a guy when his stuff is really working and he gets people swinging at balls in the dirt.
  
• Wang did decent today but it appears as if he is going to try to figure his stuff out in AAA. Hopefully he can work on whatever he needs to work on
• The Mets are terrible and have lost 4 straight. I was watching the game today and they look horrendous. It's like Johan Santana is the only guy awake on the team. The Cards made some great defensive plays today too which were pretty sweet.
  
• It's interesting to also note that on a Thursday day game, the Cards were able to sell out a majority of their luxury box seats behind home plate. Hmmm Yankees?
• Pujols is on fire. He has 6 hrs and 21 rbis so far in this young season.

The ties that Albany has within Major League Baseball

After hearing Al Leiter briefly discussing his time with the Albany- Colonie Yankees, I thought it would be interesting to see what other notable alumni have developed out of the once popular Double-A Yankees that called Albany their home from from the years 1985-1994. The names I was able to find were alarming and it is pretty awesome to see the amount of talent that came up right in front of my eyes when I was a child.

Managers of the A/C Yankees:

• 1988: Stump Merrill- Yankees Manager from 1990-1991
  
• 1989: Buck Showalter- Manager of the Yankees, Diamondbacks, and Rangers
  
• 1990 Rick Down, who later spent time as the hitting coach for both the Yankees and Mets

Alumni (Currently on the Yankees):

• Derek Jeter (1994)
  
• Mariano Rivera (1994)
  
• Andy Pettitte (1993-1994)
  
• Jorge Posada (1993)

Additional Alumni

• Bernie Williams (1989-1990)
  
• Al Leiter (1987)
• Bob Geren (1987)- Current manager of the Oakland A's
• Fredi Gonzalez (1987)- Current manger of the Florida Marlins
• Casey Close (1987) Derek Jeter's agent
  

Other former greats: Gerald Williams, J.T. Snow, Roberto Kelly, Hal Morris, Doug Drabek, Pat Kelly, Randy Velarde, Andy Stankiewicz, Russ Davis, Sterling Hitchcock, Deion Sanders, Brad Ausmus, Russ Springer, and Mike DeJean.

Interesting baseball notes....

• We see everyone complaining about the lack of attendance at Yankee Stadium, but can you imagine the sight of under 7,000 at the Marlins/Pirates game on Monday night. The game was delayed due to rain and by the time play resumed, only a few thousand people were left in the stadium. During the final few innings, only a couple dozen fans could be seen in the stands... I cant even imagine that.
• My boy Roy Halladay finally received his first loss of the season. It had to happen one of these days
  
• Cliff Lee is off to a terrible start. Was last year a fluke?
  
• I think Matt Holliday would look amazing in pinstripes.
  
• Leiter mentioned his brief stint at Double-A Albany during the telecast on YES. I know myself and my friend were glowing when hearing this. Him and Bob Geren were on the team in 1987.
  
• Nice walk-off by the Melkman tonight. While I say that, and congratulate him I am by no means hopping on the Melky bandwagon. I still think hes terrible and I don't want him our starting CF. I'd rather stick with Brett Gardner.
  
• Toronto is off to a hot start. While I am shocked by this, I do not think they will be able to keep it up. Their starting pitching is too young and the back of their pen scares me. Hopefully BJ Ryan can figure his stuff out.
  

I love Vernon, but this was an odd interview.

That girl sure asks some retarded questions.

Looking foward to tomorrow

The A's come into town tomorrow and will be invading the Bronx. Not only am I excited to see the return of the Giambino, but my main man Matt Holliday is finally in the American League and I will finally be able to see him in action. Hopefully he can prove me right and continue to put up the same numbers he was able to put up while in the higher altitude of Colorado at Coors Field.


In addition, the Loquacious Lefty himself will be making his debut on the YES Network tomorrow which is very exciting. A lot of people seemed to think Leiter left YES, but it appears they have just lessened the number of games he will be calling this year. I know that leaves many Yankee fans and members of the media very upset.

Lets hope for a good game tomorrow. I guess the weather doesn't look so promising but lets cross our fingers they can get a game in as it is the only night I have this week that isn't being occupied by teaching the darling children and going to grad school.

What a great game

Well, this sure has been a great game, currently it is 22-4 Cleveland, but at this rate with the bases loaded and the way the ball has been flying out of the park, it could easily be 26-4. It is insane how balls that appear to be easy outs are flying out of the park. The person who built this park turned out to be a real genius.... (as we speak, the ball just fell short of being a grand slam, they were lucky someone hadn't let one loose to assist the ball in departing).

Anyhow, I'm not quite sure why i am still watching this sad of a game. At least I can say I am not one of those poor fools that spent 2,625 dollars to sit in the prime real estate. However, the 4 hours of game time would have at least made me feel like I got a little bit of time to make up for all the money I spent... 4 hours of food could go far.

In sum, I feel for the Wanger. He looks so lost out there. Swisher has so much energy out there and I am loving it. Lastly, the seats in the lower levels were dreadfully empty. Its quite sad. I know my booty would love to be in those seats. And I would have stayed for this entire dreadful game too.

I think i have some issues...

So to honor the first place Blue Jays (for the short time being anyway), and because I am a loser and for some reason love this song.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjdqEo2NiWM

Swisher is great

I am starting to really like Nick Swisher. Not only was he a cool guy when I saw him down in Tampa, but he has been off to a great start and he is quite a character. Heres a link of him pitching last night. Sadly he pitches a lot better than Phil Coke does. Plus hes a lefty so he could make a career out of this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pq1cvShfOok

Want to see a game with a group of friends, there are still tickets available!

Given it is the opening year of the new Yankee Stadium, I figured tickets were going to be pretty hard to come by. I was going to try to get together a group of 10 or so friends to go down to the stadium, but I know how tough it can be to get so many seats together, especially given the fact the Yankees are so popular. I found a game during the week in June that I thought would be easier for us to all attend, and I was quite amazed by the results of the search.

Its hard to see, but for 2,625 a ticket, I can get all of my friends together for a game. Now, those tickets don't include the 59.70 convenience charge for EACH ticket along with the 2.50 to print each at home or the up to 22.50 to have it shipped to you. So in adding all that up, it would cost a total of 27,072 for the 10 of us to see the game. Of course, this wouldn't include the tolls, gas and parking that we would also be paying.

I was surprised that they had so many seats together and that those tickets were for sale to the general public. I thought the legends suits were sold to full season ticket holders. It looks like there are going to be a lot of empty seats this year in the lower level.

The New Yankee Stadium- Protest is Still Intact

To make a long story short, I did end up going to the exhibition game at Yankee Stadium on Saturday. The assignment I had to do was postponed to the following day due to a death to a family friend. I figured this was a once in a lifetime thing (I am never going to be able to afford 2,600 so sit in these seats again) so I made the decision to just go for it instead of sitting at home wishing I had went.

The drive was uneventful. I made it to the stadium in a little under 2.5 hours, which is pretty good considering I wasn't going 90 the entire way. Parking at the stadium is always eventful but getting there early is always the way to go. The have this new system to paying for parking which is pretty stupid if you ask me. Just so you all know, the machine doesn't take Discover, which left me pretty annoyed. If you pay with cash, you have to pay at this pay station which can get quite crowded, depending on when you are paying for the ticket.

As for my seats, they were beyond amazing. Here's a little background about the 2,600 seats. For one, they are padded and there is a tremendous amount of leg space. There are only about 7 or so rows in each of the sections, which are secluded from the rest of the stadium by means of a concrete wall. The is a separate entrance next to gate 4 that is specifically for those that have tickets in this section. Upon entering the gate, there are about 10 security guards, 3 of which are there to check your ticket. After making it through all those people, you make your way towards restaurant, to which you are greeted by more people that want to see your ticket. Words cant even describe how fancy this restaurant is, you would never know you were at a baseball game.

The food is all included (as it should for the money you pay for these seats) and you have the choice of eating in your seats or at the restaurant. I cant understand why someone would pay 2,600 dollars for a regular season game, have amazing seats, and end up sitting inside a restaurant, watching the game on a TV screen. I am pretty sure you can do the same thing at a bar or a different restaurant for a hell of a lot cheaper.

The last thing I have to mention is how amazing the bathrooms are. People seats in this suite are provided with their own bathrooms which make all others look like crap. There were 3 flat screen tv almost like embedded in their mirrors that were behind the sinks.The are these lights that are part of the floor, which really put my ADD into action. Its hard to really explain how gorgeous it was, I was amazed. The one thing I will add though is that a man clearly must have designed the layout of this because no one in their right mind would only put 4 stalls in one bathroom, especially for a women's bathroom.

I am glad I ended up going, since I know I will never be able to sit this close to a game at Yankee Stadium ever again. I will say this though; from what I experienced, it is hard to believe that any real fan will be sitting in these seats. People who can afford to fork out 2,600 dollars for one game and need a restaurant downstairs clearly aren't attending the game to watch baseball. The section was empty for this game, and I am going to assume it is going to be quite empty for the regular season, whether it be from people not showing up or simply that they are sitting downstairs eating their fillet mignon in their 5 star restaurant. While I enjoyed the treatment of sitting down there, it left a sick taste in my mouth realizing how much this stadium has taken away from the average fan and has catered to the wealthy. And you cant say it hasnt, just look around and see how many seats are in the lower deck compared to those in the upper and more affordable seats (which are farther away from the field).