'The Greatest Game' is another great read

Just finished reading another great Yankees book, "The Greatest Game: The Yankees, The Red Sox and the Playoff of '78" by Richard Bradley. This book is written in a similar style to Buster Olney's "The Last Night of The Yankees Dynasty" - which is one of the best Yankees books ever - and offers great insight into the '78 season, the players on both teams, and the famous "Bucky Dent" playoff game of Oct. 2, 1978. The writing is superb and the picturesque details of the game itself are amazing. Highly recommended.

A theory on Joba ...

Right after the All-Star break, Joba had a few very good starts in a row. In fact, it was probably the best he pitched all year. During his hot streak, they kept saying on YES how he went home to Nebraska during the break and relaxed, recharged and refocused, and they kept attributing his sudden turnaround to his visit at home, where he decided to just be himself and have fun. I think it might be a load on nonsense. He started pitching great when his name came up in a trade rumor for Doc Halladay, and he continued to pitch well until the trading deadline had passed. Once it did, and he realized he wasn't going to Toronto, he immediatley reverted to his old ways. Tonight, he blew a four run lead against Texas, threw a ton of pitches, and was gone by the fifth inning. Pehaps it was the thought of the trade - not Nebraska - that got him fired up and on a roll. Just a thought ...

Mike Francesa is always right

I've been meaning to blog about this for a long time now. Mike Francesa of "WFAN Sports Radio 66" in New York City is always right. I mean, always. I've been listening to this guy for years and watching him on YES, and I don't think I've ever disagreed with anything he's had to say about sports in general, especially the Yankees. He is a Yankees fan, but he is smart, objective, sometimes critical, and always spot on with his analysis and commentaries. The guy simply rules.

CC rolls ... and other Yankee news

1. Yanks took 2 of 3 from BoSox at Fenway and maintained a 7.5 game lead in the standings. They put 20 runs on the board on Friday and took Beckett out of the park five times on Sunday. Yanks have now won 6 of their last 7 games against Boston.

2. CC Sabathia is 5-0 in August and is the first pitcher in the majors to win 15 games.

3. Jim Rice is still as asshole. The old and angry Red Sock - just inducted into the Hall of Fame - recently took some shots at some of today's MLB players, including Derek Jeter. Rice was a fool in the '70s and '80s when he played in Boston, and even many his own teammates didn't care for him, so this is no surprise. Rice is pretty much being ripped apart in the media for his latest malfunction of the mouth, particularly for mentioning Jeter, one of the toughest, most team-oriented, classiest players the game has ever seen. Screw Jim Rice.

4. Being an asshole seems to be a Boston requirement. The Sox claimed Billy Wagner off waivers - a seemingly good move for any bullpen - but pout-face Papelbon has already started to whine about it.

5. There is certainly a problem with Posada and Burnett. They've had some great games together this year, but were clearly not on the same page on Saturday. Jorge is a fiery guy and great leader, and what's not to like about a switch-hitting catcher with power, but sometimes, I think he should just let pitchers - especially veteran pitchers - throw what they want to throw. They better work this stuff out before October.

Yankees now 30 games over .500

The Yankees are now 30 games over .500 - yes, 30 games - with a record of 73-43.

The Yankees have the best home record in MLB and are 41-18 at the new Yankee Stadium. Home finally feels like home.

The Yankees lead all of MLB in home runs with 179.

How sweet it is. They've come a long way from the team that some of us - myself included - described as "unwatchable" at the start of the season. Major props to Phil Hughes for really stepping up and helping anchor the bullpen. And Texiera? Perhaps the best free agent signing in 10 years.

And on we roll ...

Yanks NEPA fan site notes 1st anniversary

The New York Yankees NEPA Fan Discussion Board is noting its first birthday/anniversary this month. Since last August, we've posted 83 short blogs and have had hundreds of comments from local Yankee fans. If you look through some of the old posts from the past year, you'll see that it's been a pretty wild ride. Thanks to everyone for talking Yanks with us and sharing your thoughts. It's always a lot of fun ...

Mickey Mantle in NEPA

The great Mickey Mantle passed away on this date in 1995. I can still remember the Yankees game from that day very well, with Scooter and Murcer sharing their Mantle stories on the TV broadcast. Here is a photo I took of Mickey Mantle at The Woodlands in Wilkes-Barre in 1982. He was speaking at a banquet, and he was very entertaining. Thought some of you might enjoy seeing a picture of "The Mick" right here in NEPA, and this funny story from that night that I've posted in the comments ...

Absolutely beautiful ...

What an excellent, excellent, excellent four days at Yankee Stadium.

INJECT!

It's August. Game on. There will be no big trade. THIS is the team that will take us down the stretch and into the playoffs. THESE are our guys. We need to make statement to BoSox. We need to ROCK the new stadium like we rocked the old one. We need venom.

Boston in town for four games: Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Time to INJECT!

Remembering Thurman ...

On this date in 1979, Yankee captain Thurman Munson was killed in a plane crash near his home in Ohio. On the 30th anniversary of his passing, I thought we'd share some memories of the great No. 15 ...

Cheats ...

Reports say that Manny Ramirez and David "Big Papi" Ortiz have been named in same MLB steroids report from 2003 that got A-Rod in so much hot water back in February. Let's see if it's treated the same way, with days and days of non-stop media coverage. Will there be a big press conference in Boston for Papi, like the Yanks had to do with A-Rod? Will there be a special sit-down interview on ESPN with Peter Gammons? I doubt it. But hey, whatever. The fact is the greatest team in BoSox history, the 2004 club, continues to get more and more tainted. For some thoughts on that, read the comments, and please share yours ...

FOLLOW UP: Check out this article from the New York Daily News on Friday that really rips the 2004 Red Sox and agrees with our thoughts:

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/2009/07/31/2009-07-31_red_sox_2004_title_is_tainted.html?page=0

These guys ain't bad ...

Yanks just completed a 10-game home stand, during which they went 9-1 and at one point won eight straight games. I refused to post anything here on the blog during the winning streak out of fear that I would be blamed by some of you for jinxing the streak. (That means you, Dad.) But now that it's over, we can celebrate a great start to the second half. Starting pitching has been good, bullpen has improved and Mo is in the zone. And, they are still a great team late in the game. No lead is safe against the 2009 Yankees. They just keep coming at you. Jeter is so clutch it's ridiculous. On to Tampa ... with an eye on Aug. 6-9 when Boston comes back to New York.

We need Doc Halladay

I want Roy Halladay in pinstripes, really bad. He's an amazing pitcher. Saw him pitch against the Yanks last year in Toronto and he made them look silly. Honestly, as our guys were walking back to the dugout, after continuously being struck out, they were glancing back over their shoulders, just looking at him, as if to say, "What the f-ck was that?" It was really nasty stuff. I not only want to get him because he's great, but also because, if he goes to any contender, we are screwed. If he goes to the Angels, he will beat us twice in the ALDS. If he goes to Boston, he will beat us twice in the ALCS. If he goes to the Dodgers, he will beat us twice in the World Series. I'd give Toronto half the farm and two roster players for this guy in a heartbeat.

Torre book a must-read

Finally got a chance to read Joe Torre's "The Yankee Years." It really is a must-read for the die-hard Yankee fan. I'd already read all of the books written about the late '90s championship teams, so I was more interested in reading about the 2004-2007 teams, which I thought were good enough to win it all, but came up way short. This book does a good job and explaining why, from the way some GMs started to change the way they evaluated talent, to the steroid era, to the simple fact that most of the guys the Yanks brought in to replace the championship players simply weren't as good, especially the pitchers. The demise of George also plays into it, as do some interesting other factors. I was a bit down on Torre after the 2005, 2006 and 2007 seasons, but after reading this book, I now really feel he was the best manager for the Yankees and for NYC, and he should have been able to leave on his own terms. I got the book for Father's Day and finished it in about two weeks. Highly recommended.

Yanks 51-37 at break, trail BoSox by 3

The Yanks are 51-37 at the All-Star break. They are 14 games over .500 and trail Boston by three games in the A.L. East standings. However, they're actually four out in the loss column, and Boston is 20 games over .500. Plus, we are not really at the "halfway" point in the season. There are actually only 74 games left, which means Yanks must go 44-30 in second half to get 95 wins. As usual, they beat up on the grabage teams over the past few weeks, but when they ran into a first-place club in Anaheim, they got swept and ended the first half on a downer. What are your thoughts on the Yankees first half? What's been positive and what's been negative?

Mo gets 500th save

The great Marino Rivera earned his 500th career save last night, helping the Yankees sweep the Mets at their own ballpark. 500 saves. That's more games than three FULL SEASONS of baseball. Unreal. There's nothing else that really needs to be said, except "Thank you" to the great, great Mo.

NL baseball sucks

National League baseball sucks. What's so great about seeing a guy that absolutely can't hit at all come to the plate? Fans of NL ball always talk about "the strategy." Give me a f-ing break. Let's say it's a 1-1 game in the 6th inning, you've got a guy on second, and the pitcher is due up. Here is the f-ing strategy: "Hmm ... what's the best way to screw myself over here? Do I take the guy who's pitching great out of the game for a pinch-hitter, or do I let him hit and totally squander my chance to take the lead?" You can have that crap. I'll take a big slugging DH any day. It was funny seeing Mo hit last night, but I'm glad he got out. Remember how Wang got hurt last year? It's all nonsense. I hate the National League.

Joba: starter or reliever?

Though it's discussed all the time on WFAN and in the New York papers, we haven't discussed it here. At one time, I was strongly in favor of having Joba Chamberlain become a starter. I thought he had too much talent to be wasted as a middle relief guy, and considering how bad the rotation was in 2008, we needed him to start. Now, I've changed. I think he's better off in the bullpen. How do YOU feel about this? Should Joba stay in the rotation or move back to the pen?

Are you kidding me?

The great and mighty Washington Nationals - considered to be one of the worst baseball teams of all-time - just took two of three from the Yankees at home. I could not name you one guy on their entire team, and they kicked our ass. Joba, though not awful, loses again. Gardner nearly knocks himself out cold. A-Rod continues to struggle. Swept by Boston, then very, very lucky to have gotten two of three from the Mets ... and now this. The hot streak of May and early June is cleary over. We need to crank it up again. Now.

Dave Eiland a problem?

One of our more frequent comment posters wants to discuss Yankees pitching coach Dave Eiland. His thoughts: "I'm calling for Dave Eiland's head. There has got to be an internal problem with this Yankee pitching staff. We have three top starters - Sabathia, Wang and Burnett - and none of them, short of Sabbathia, can pitch all of a sudden. What is going on here?" Joba has also struggled, as has most of the bullpen this season. Any thoughts on Eiland?