Yankees High School

May 5, 2008

 Just thought I would do this for fun, so here it is.

 

Yankees High School

 

George Steinbrenner: The principal that suspends everyone for minor infractions to the rules.

 

Hank Steinbrenner: The assistant principal that thinks he is the boss but really has to ask daddy if he wants to do something.

 

Brian Cashman: The head of the admission department, under a lot of pressure to recruit brains to the school.

 

Joe Torre: The recently fired teacher who was everyone’s favorite but the administration didn’t think he did a good enough job.

 

Joe Girardi: The teacher who took Joe Torres place.

 

Derek Jeter: Captain of the football team, baseball team basketball team, 3 sport athlete golden child who has a GPA of 4.0 and goes out with just about every girl in school.

 

Alex Rodriguez: Alex is that rich kid who often whines about everything. He drives a BMW and everyone keeps him around because he offers to pay for everything

 

Robby Cano and Melky Cabrera:

The two friends that are known to be around each other all the time. The kids that are always cracking jokes and talking to each other during class. They also tend to get hot girls and go on double dates because they just can never leave each other’s sides.

Phil Hughes:  California surfer dude, he is always walking around with his board, shorts on and his Shell necklaces spouting catch phrases like sup bra. Or whooooooa man that was radical.

 

Kei Igawa: The Asian dork with glasses and braces
with a calculator in his hand with a huge backpack.

 

Joba Chamberlain: The incoming freshman everybody knows about because he got with one of his friends’ mom, a MILF.

 

Hideki Matsui: The foreign exchange student that lives with the hottest girl in the school. He has to watch her get double teamed by Cano and Melky. That’s how he gets in with the cool kids.

 

Johnny Damon: That stoner who always looks like he’s in outer space and having a normal conversation with him is almost impossible.

 

Roger Clemens: That older creepy guy who always goes to HS parties thinking he is the man but everyone just looks at him like dude why are you here? But then they realize he brought the alcohol so they allow him to stay.

 

Kyle Farnsworth: The virgin who got a tattoo thinking he’s bad ass but in reality he’s the 2nd biggest loser in the school. (Kei Igawa is the biggest)

 

Andy Pettitte: The handsome, intelligent, southern-gentleman senior who has all the girls wanting him bad. He drives all the ladies crazy and is a big flirt, but is always faithful to his girlfriend back home in Texas. He’s the teachers’ favorite student and gets along with all the cliques in the school. He’s president of the student council, star athlete and throws the sickest parties at the mansion he lives in. His personality is great; he’s a gentleman and an all around nice guy. All the guys want to be him; all the girls want to be with him.

 

Mike Mussina: Andy Pettitte’s close friend but just doesn’t have his charisma, so in reality he’s really his sidekick. He’s smart as hell and the school was considering changing the GPA system because Moose deserves more than a 4.0… He’s just that smart. He got accepted into all the Ivy League colleges and can’t decide which to go to. He’s every mother’s dream son, and dads always say to their daughters “Why don’t you date that Mike Mussina kid?” He gets lucky with the ladies because they see him as the gateway to Andy. Moose knows this, but isn’t complaining: it gets him laid.

 

Chien-Ming Wang: The Taiwanese foreign exchange student who just transferred and only speaks two words of English: Fuck and You. Everyone thought he was some skinny little Asian nerd who only wanted to solve math problems all the time, until some bullies tried to push him around and he broke one bully’s neck with a Naihanchi kata. Everyone knew not to fuck with him after that. His only weakness is when he goes anywhere other than his school: he gets panic attacks.

 

Bobby Abreu: Foreign kid. Really funny, always down for a good party, but knows when it’s time to work. He’s a solid B+ type of student, but has a lot of school pride.

 

Wilson Betemeit: The guy whose not really good at anything, he gets lots of B’s and C’s but he always willing to step in for someone who wants to cut class when a sub comes…thus he has racked up lots of money from being paid to do so.

 

Jose Molina: The kid that eats all the food, he will come over your house and walk right yelling “hello” until you respond. He will open your refrigerator without asking and just take your food and ask to have some almost in a tone that says I’m eating this. He will eat anyone’s left overs, he will drink about 8-10 cans of coke a day, he will get 2 meals from Taco Bell.

 

Edwar Ramirez: The kid who doesn’t eat anything at lunch and will always sell his lunch for cash.

 

Carl Pavano: The kid who is always in the nurse’s office.

 

Michael Kay: Runs the school newspaper. Also an occasional sub who is an absolute jackass who thinks he’s the best.

 

Bobby Murcer: English teacher- He’s been here forever! Still remembers kids name from 50 years ago, yet goes off on stories from about 100 years ago. Easy grader.

 

Ken Singleton: Music teacher-At one point worked as jazz musician. Loves to remind everyone of that fact-every twenty seconds. Nice though.

 

 

AND FINALLY…..

 

Yogi Berra: The school janitor. He’s been here since the damn school opened. Always has the school cleaned before class, and after. He loves to chat with kids. Gets respect from the teachers as he does his job so well, and loves to be around people. He loves nothing more than to tell stories about the old days, but always is there to hear out a problem

 

 

 

 

I’ve been pretty down on Farnsworth most of the season. Historically he’s been a bit of a disaster for the Yankees. I’m starting to come around to him a bit lately.

First of all, almost everything I read and hear about him from the mainstream sports media says that he’s a great guy in person; a very likeable and friendly guy. It’s hard to really stay down on a nice guy.

Farnsworth’s pitching has been very good of late. Girardi has put him in for a few single inning appearances and he has delivered. In today’s game, the Farns was getting ahead in counts, throwing strikes right out of the gate and looking relaxed and in command on the mound.

The historical criticism of Farnsworth has been that his stuff doesn’t work. He throws hard fastballs in the nineties, but can be very hittable at times, not getting much action on the ball. Farnsworth was on target with his fastball today and was able to establish it early, allowing him to maximize the effectiveness of his slider, sinker and change up later on.

With two outs and two strikes the fans got on their feet and Kyle delivered. It was a great moment for the beleaguered pitcher. I think the Yankee fans will quickly let Kyle back into their hearts if he continues to perform like this. I just hope they won’t turn too ugly if he does have a setback and get hit hard again.

I think Farnsworth is bound to get shelled every now and then, but if he can continue to pitch like he is, challenging hitters and getting his fastball working, he could be a dependable set up man. I like the idea of using Farnsy for only one inning, as too many at bats might start giving opposing hitters a good look at Kyle’s stuff.

Historically he hasn’t been any worse in two innings compared to just one, but I like limiting Farnsworth to just one inning.

 

Carlos Silva (3-0, 2.79 ERA) @ Darrell Rasner (4-5, 4.13 ERA - career )

Game Time: 1:07

TV Station: YES

YANKEES
Damon LF
Jeter SS
Abreu RF
Matsui DH
Giambi 1B
Cabrera CF
Cano 2B
Ensberg 3B
Moeller C
Rasner RHP

MARINERS                                                                               Suzuki CF                                                                                                          Jose Lopez 2B
Raul Ibanez LF
Adrian Beltre 3B
Jose Vidro 1B
Yunieksy Betancourt SS
Jeff Clement DH
Kenji Johjima C
Wladimir Balentien RF

 

Notes: Same line up as yesterday except you got Moeller in there instead of Molina……Ian Kennedy has sent down to AAA to make room for Darrell Rasner on the 25 man roster……Brian Bruney has been placed on the 60 day DL to clear space on the 40 man roster.

Back later with updates.

Update, 2:16p.m.: We had an offensive explosion in the bottom of the 3rd, and thats how our offense is supposed to be, having that 1 big inning.

Final Score: 8 - 2 Yankees

Recap of the game

From USA Today:

“I’m very disappointed with the way the season has gone, period.”

“The injuries have been a killer, too, there’s no question about that,” Steinbrenner said. “It happens to one team every year, sometimes more than one team. And it just appears to be our year. It’s something you’ve got to deal with in every sport.”

“There’s no question, you just can’t stick him in there right away,” Steinbrenner said. “He’s got to be brought along properly. You have to stick with it (the plan).”

“We just can’t win one out of five games, every time Wang pitches,” Steinbrenner said. “It’s not going to work. It’s not a good win percentage. Starting pitching is where it’s at, especially in the postseason. At this point, we’ll see if we even make the postseason.”

Classic Hank Steinbrenner right there.

Felix Hernandez RHP (2-1, 2.22 ERA) @ Mike Mussina RHP (3-3, 4.73 ERA)

Game Time: 1:07

TV Station: YES

YANKEES
Damon LF
Jeter SS
Abreu RF
Matsui DH
Giambi 1B
Cabrera CF
Cano 2B
Ensberg 3B
Molina C
Mussina RHP

MARINERS                                                                                 Ichiro Suzuki CF
Miguel Cairo 2B
Raul Ibanez LF
Adrian Beltre 3B
Jeff Clement DH
Richie Sexson 1B
Kenji Johjima C
Wladimir Balentien RF
Yuniesky Betancourt SS

Notes: Molina is 0 for his last 22 after a blazing start. Hopefully he can get back on track soon….3 years ago today Robby Cano made his ML debut, happy anniversary!….Look who’s batting 2nd for the M’s, remember him?

Non - Yankee Notes: Congrats to Kobe Bryant on winning the MVP award, his first of his career.

Update, 3:06p.m.: Now this is what our offense is supposed to be game in and game out, scoring 6 runs through the first 6 innings….GREAT outing by Moose.

Great game all in all. Great pitching and great hitting.

Final Score: 6 - 1 Yankees

Recap of the game

In other news, 48 year old Julio Franco has decided to retire.

Yanks Set MLB Record

May 3, 2008

From Yankees.com

NEW YORK — The Yankees announced today they have exceeded 4 million tickets sold for the 2008 season, becoming the first franchise in Major League Baseball history to reach the total in four consecutive years (2005-08).

“This achievement is a testament to our great fans,” said Yankees Chief Operating Officer Lonn Trost. “In this final season of the current Yankee Stadium, we think of each remaining game as a celebration. We continue to invite our fans to the House that Ruth Built as we salute the most famous venue in sports.”

Originally constructed prior to the 1923 season, Yankee Stadium was remodeled in 1974 and 1975. The club will move into a new state-of-the-art Yankee Stadium across the street from the current one in 2009.

The Yankees have surpassed the Toronto Blue Jays (1991-93) as the only other Major League team to accomplish the feat in as many as three consecutive years. The Yankees have also seen their home attendance increase in each of the last seven seasons (2001-07).

There are 68 regular season games remaining at the current Yankee Stadium.

LHP Nate Robertson (0-3, 6.91) vs. RHP Ian Kennedy (0-2, 8.53)

Time: 7:05

TV Station: YES

YANKEES
Damon LF
Jeter SS
Abreu RF
Duncan 1B
Matsui DH
Cabrera CF
Ensberg 3B
Cano 2B
Moeller C
Kennedy RHP

Notes: Nothing special here….just another line up…..Phil Hughes has a stress facture in his ninth rib and will be out atleast a couple months now. He will also see an eye specialist tomorrow about his lack of vision in the night time.

I feel bad for Hughes. He’s yet to stay healthy for a full MLB season. It’s good he’s only 21 though. At least he didn’t get hurt when he was doing spectacular like last season.

Here’s Hughes’s injuiry history (Courtesy of PA)

2004:Made only three starts for the GCL Yankees because of a fractured toe on his left foot.

2005:Had two stints on the DL with shoulder inflammation.

2006: Only healthy season. Went 12-6 with a 2.16 ERA.

2007: Tore left hamstring on May 1 and did not return until Aug. 4.

2008: Stress fracture in rib cage.

MLB Press Release - Reyes Suspended

The Office of the Commissioner of Baseball announced today that New York Yankees Minor League player Angel Reyes has received a 50-game suspension for testing positive for stanozolol metabolites, a performance-enhancing substance, in violation of the Minor League Drug Prevention and Treatment Program.

The suspension of Reyes will be effective at the start of the season for the Single-A Staten Island Yankees of the New York-Penn League.

Reyes’ career totals in the minors: 4-5, 3.02 ERA - 30 Games

Update, 7:55p.m.: Of course, right when I was about to have an update saying how much Kennedy has improved, he goes ahead and lets up a game tying double to Mags. He has showed signs of improvement though, attacking the zone more.

Tough game tonight. First and hopefully only sweep of the whole year.

Final Score: 8 - 4 Tigers

Recap of the game

As expected, Darrell Rasner has been called up and will join the Yanks rotation to replace Phil Hughes who is in the DL.

I’m happy to see him get another shot, and he’s deserved one too. He is 4-0 in AAA SWB. Good luck Rasner! Congrats