This has been an interesting past week to 10m days for the guys from the Bronx. The title of this post reflects the injury situations for CC Sabathia and Bret Gardner. On the positive side of the ledger, CC returned from his groin (I love how we have learned to refer to these things with one word and everyone seems to know what you mean – he has a knee, he has a groin, he has a steroid) and pitched very, very well. What to me, that was even better, was the fact that he talked about how much the time off helped his arm (didn’t know he had an arm). He said he felt rested, stronger and I am or at least my fantasy team is expecting a big second half. There is part of me that thinks this type of thing may end up being a wave of the future in terms of managing pitching staffs. Take your big gun(s) and shut them down just before the All Star break, have them miss only one start, get the 5 day break for the game and return rested and revitalized. This could also be a boon for older starters or the guys that throw a lot of pitches. Watch for this, you heard it here first.
On the negative side of the ledger, it seems that Brett Gardner is destines to play only 9 games for the Bombers in 2012. Everyone who calls themselves a fan knows the story – hurt his arm in a game, DL, rehab starts, still hurts, keep him on the DL, rehab starts, still hurts, keep him on the DL, rehab starts, still hurts, go see Dr. Andrews, have surgery, wait until next year. This I think is the reason the Yankees have been more dependent on home runs as Gardner’s absence affects the entire line up. This whole injury thing for him has been a pain in the …elbow.
How about a little love for the tandem of Ibanez and Jones. Yes, the defense suffers, especially when Ibanez puts on a glove, but the bats are a real bonus, a REAL bonus. Jones almost singlehandedly took apart the Red Sox a couple weeks ago and it seems as if Ibanez picks perfect times to go yard. Hopefully this continues well into October
Finally a few words about ARod. Believe me, I am no ARod apologist. He was a dumb HGH user, he showed what not to do when you talk to the media by bringing down teammates and much of the time he looks more interested in how he appears in the media rather than performing on the field. But to me, the fans need to take a chill pill or they are going to have to defend that “greatest fans in the world” moniker. In the series against the Angels, Alex Rodriguez homered in the first inning of yesterday’s 10-8 loss versus the Angels, and the crowd cheered. With the winning run on first base in the bottom of the ninth, he popped out to end the game. This time, the crowd let out boos. The Yankees’ fan base likes to pride itself on being knowledgeable, but too many from among the team’s legion of followers are unworthy of that distinction. Those are the fans who incessantly boo Alex Rodriguez. Although just about every player has been treated harshly by the home crowd at some point in their career, but the abuse of Arod by Yankees’ fans has gone beyond the point of being rational. Look, Red Sox fan can ignore their own skeletons in the closet and boo and taunt him for his HGH mistake but Yankee fan needs to look at just what they arte doing and why. Perhaps their memory is better than Jeter, who felt the ARod stupidity but please, you guys know better.PINCH HITS-Old nemesis, Kevin Youkilis, hit a game winning homerun for the Chicago White Sox to beat the Boston Red Sox. Or should I say, my new best friend, Kevin Youkilis. BFF! You can tell the state of Red Sox Nation by the comments on their bulletin board. Comments like even Stevie Wonder could see that coming, Lester (who gave up the bomb) is finished. Not an Ace, not even a good pitcher anymore. Whose fault is that Sox fan? Josh Beckett of course, the fried chicken and beer king. He made no comment because he was out on the golf course again today, not his day to pitch. Plus Sox fan is now Garciaparring Youkilis/. Several people commented that he was jaking it his last few weeks as a Red Sox to get out of town. THAT would be Bobby Valentine’s fault. There is nothing, NOTHING as good as watching Sox fan self-destruct. I may have to listen to Boston sports radio to get the FULL effect. Thanks Youk! And the sound in the stands after his big homerun was not Yoouuuuk. That was Booooooo…