Tagged: AJ Burnett

April 2, 2011

Joe Buck needs a hug

Russell Martin hits hit 1st Yankee homerun!
…and Joe Buck almost falls asleep…

Seriously, that homerun call was THE most uninspired call Ive ever heard in my life.

Is he even trying anymore? In the past he would at least pretend to care whenever the Yankees did something good. We all knew he was faking, but I’d let it slide and he’d continue to phone in the Yankee praise….now? Nothing.

Is he playing a drinking game where you take a shot whenever the Yankees do something good? Cuz with a 9-3 Yankee lead and AJ striking out people, Id assume Joe would be pretty blitzed by now.

Seriously FOX, fire this f*cker!

Someone pass him a tissue, I think he’s about to start sobbing…

January 20, 2011

I’m Jones-in for a reason behind this one

Yankees signed Andrew Jones. This wouldve been HUGE 10 years ago. Now its a big question mark. We let Austin Kearns and Marcus Thames walk but we throw 2 million at Andrew Jones? What, was his 2 homer game against up last year that impressive?

Really though-was signing another bat really neccessery?
Seriously, we have the most complete infield in baseball, a pretty solid outfield, and our catchers are currently in the changing-of-the-guard stage. What we really need to throw money at is one more starter, or at the very least sending Andy Pettitte another gift basket with a miss you/thinking of you card attached.
Hell, trade AJ and see what we can get to replace him. Cant be any worse.
I’d rather roll the die with Greg Goslon. Guys already got fielding skills and a killer arm, teach the kid to swing the bat and presto, theres our 4th outfielder.

I guess what with Nick Johnson gone, the Yankees need someone new to frequent the DL.

Just add it to the pile of storylines for the 2011 Yankees:
Will Nova be able to handle an entire season in the rotation?
Will Hughes give us a repeat season?
Which AJ will show up this time?
How badly will we miss Pettitte?
Joba?
Will Sorianos ego stay in the 8th inning?
…and now…
Will the Yankees regret signing Jones?

October 24, 2010

2010 ALCS vs Rangers…Game 6

Yeah, Im a bit late, who cares…

Yankees did a lot of things right in this series:
-Give the ball to Wood and Mo
-CC pitching at home
-Anytime Cano got to hit
-Convincing Vazquez the Yankees were playing the Angels in the ALCS and sending him on a 1-way plane to Anaheim while everyone else went to Texas.

…and they did a lot of things wrong:
-Burnett ever pitching
-Everytime Robertson came in to pitch
-Posada falling for a double steal
-Did I mention Burnett?

Girardis pitching rotation for this series was a joke.

Girardis rotation:
1-Sabathia
2-Hughes
3-Pettitte
4-Burnett
5-Sabathia
6-Hughes
7-Pettitte

The problem there was there wasnt enough Pettitte and too much of Hughes and Burnett.

My, better, and Yankee winning rotation:
1-Sabathia
2-Pettitte
3-Burnett
4-Sabathia
5-Hughes
6-Pettitte
7-Sabathia

Sabathia on short rest (works), Pettitte earlier and twince on normal rest, Hughes only once and at home, then be available in the pen the rest of the way (also a bullpen option for game 1)…and Burnett pitching in game 3 where it wouldnt matter how well he pitches cuz the Yankees were losing that game anyway.
Yankees wouldve won games 1 and 2, Rangers win game 3…game 4 would be ours, game 5 would be up in the air but Pettitte wouldve won game 6. Game-set-series-and Yankees go to California.

…just saying

….Im actually glad the Giants won. Joe Buck now doesnt get to talk about dynastys…Im alos gonna root for the Giants in this series, if only to prevent Ron Washington from doing lines of coke off the trophy.

October 20, 2010

2010 ALCS vs Rangers…Game 5

Life boats are filling fast in NY. Teixeira is out for the year…and the way things are going, that might be for about 1 more day.

Burnett ptched last night and did what many of us thought: prepare the white flag….actually, Girardi prepared the white flag simply by pitching Burnett, then did his usual bullpen dance and allowed a tsunami of runs to score after Wild Thing left.

So now weve got CC Sabathia pitching for us with our backs against the wall…the last time we were this close to elimination, we managed to prolong our existence by 1 day against Cleveland in 2007…we were never even close to elimination in our 09 championship run…

But Sabathia isnt a stranger to these types of games. He dealt with that kind of pressure every start (on short rest no less) during his breif stint in Milwaukee, Weve got a bit of a bonus of having him on regular rest…so yeah…

but even if we were to win today and force this thing back to Texas, we still need to never lose again, which means we’d potentially have to deal with a certain someone in game 7…

Speaking of the 07 playoffs, after dispatching the Yankees, the Indians went on to blow a 3-1 ALCS lead…so its not over till its over Texas…

October 19, 2010

2010 ALCS vs Rangers…Game 4

I really dont feel like adding a whole lot to the whole AJ Burnett pitching thing…besides, one of my previous posts still sum everything up nicely on the matter. That being said, unless the Yankees win tonight, the season is already over.

Pitching Burnett with his terrible season, and terrible performance in his simulated game earlier is an insult to the year the Yankees have had up until this point. Tonight is a chance to even up the series, and keeps those slim hopes alive that we can avoid a Cliff Lee encore, and instead of pitching Sabathia (or anyone else for that matter) Girardi goes with the most unreliable pitcher on rotation?

Either Girardi knows something the rest of us dont and is throwing in the towel in 2 losses early…or he knows something the rest of us dont and knows Burnett has the mother of all aces up his sleeve and will pitch an absolute gem…

Whats the big deal with tonight?

If Burnett does what Burnett does best…
The Yankees than fall into a 1-3 hole in the series, which would guarentee a Cliff Lee game in game 7…if the Yankees even make it that far. It would force all our starters to be perfect from here on out, when only Pettitte has even been close to good so far. It would be a steep, not insurmountable, battle and forces the Yankees to try to pick up the slack for AJ again.

If Burnett shocks the world and wins…
As inprobable as it seems, Burnett has a history of showing up in October…the moments are rare, but they exist. But if Burnett was to turn everything around tonight, it might inspire the rest of the team to start playing like defending world champions too. then we head into a game 5 with everything tied up 2-2 against the Rangers with a fully rested (but not over rested) Sabathia and all of a sudden there seems to be hope. Actual, tangable hope-not only to win this thing, but to win it in 6 games, thus rendering Cliff Lee useless.

We need 2009 World Series game 2 AJ Burnett tonight…not Wild Thing Burnett…

…no one will judge you for not holding your breath though…

October 18, 2010

2010 ALCS vs Rangers…Game 3

So we’re tied 1-1 and things look bad for the defending world champions for the next couple games…we’ve gotta face Cliff Lee for game 3, then we march Burnett out for game 4, and he has this habit lately of bringing a gas can out with him instead of a glove…

Ill say this now, if we lose tonight, go down 1-2 in the series and Girardi still lets Burnett pitch, then we lose. Period. DONT do it, Joe. Hell, even if we beat Lee, DONT do it. Sabathia has made a career out of winning on 3 days rest and I doubt hes too tired after pitching only 4 innings in game 1.

Speaking of which, Ill just be happy if one of our starters pitch 5 innings. Be a nice change of pace. Either way, the Yankees-Rangers series can go either way still. Lee may have beaten the Yankees twice in last years world series, but Andy Pettitte beat the Phillies twice as well in that series….and the Phillies are a far superior lineup to the Rangers. So just because Lee is pitching doesnt mean an automatic win for Texas because remember: CJ Wilson was also suppose to be an automatic win as well and we got to him too.

Look at it this way, if the Giants found a way to beat Halladay after pitching a no hitter, than no “ace” is untouchable in the postseason.
Its time for Pettitte to show why hes won more postseason games than any other pitcher.

October 13, 2010

Year of the Pitcher Continues

Holy F’n sh!t! Look at all this kick *** pitching for the ALCS and NLCS game 1s…except for Texas…

for the NL…

In the red corner, for the NL east champion Philadelphia Phillies, with 21 wins, over 200 strikeouts and comming off a freakin no hitter in his last start…Roy “Doctor No” Halladay!!!

And in the blue corner, for the NL west champion San Francisco Giants, with back to back Cy Young awards, +200 strikeouts this year and a complete game shutout in his last start…Tim “The Freak” Lincecum!!!

meanwhile in the AL…

In the red corner, for the NL west champion Texas Rangers, uh…well…he beat the Rays in game 2 of the ALDS though his resume againt New York is a bit lacking…Christopher John “Not Cliff Lee” Wilson!!!

And in the blue corner, for the 27 Time Defending World Champion New York Yankees, with 21 wins, a Cy Young award on his resume, the last remaining AL Cy Young nominee in the playoff run and the defending ALCS MVP…Carsten Charles “CC” Sabathia!!!

…oh yeah, predictions. I wish I could predict the NLCS, but the pitching matchups are too good. I hope they both go with 3 man rotations because Halladay-Oswalt-Hamels vs Lincecum-Cain-Sanchez would make one bad *** match, and 4th starters on either side would only water it down.

…In the ALCS, Im goin Yankees in 6. Once again, I think the lack of faith in a 3 days rest Cliff Lee will cost the team facing the Yankees since the Yankees are too good to assume you can make it to game 7. Rangers will beat Burnett, and Cliff Lee might beat the Yankees, but beyond that, youll need more.

October 11, 2010

Uh oh, Burnett to join the postseason rotation?

Oh god oh god oh god Oh god oh god oh god Oh god oh god oh god Oh god oh god

….if CC wins game 1, Lee/Price wins game 3, then Burnett would get the ball in a 2-1 situation. Either way we’re giving the ball to the most unstable player on roster in what could be the most crutial point in the series. hell, when is game 4 NOT a big deal? Either its 3-0 or 2-1 and the series could either end, go 3-1 or get tied and make it a best of 3 series…

Seriously, whats wrong with the 3 man run? CC is clutch and is just fine on short rest, Pettitte is clutch and could probably use the extra work after his 2 month vacation, and I trust Hughes on 3 days over a rested Burnett any day.

I know Burnett has had the occasional flash of brilliance on his resume, and world series game 2 last year was his greatest moment…but 2010 has been a dismal year for AJ. He started great, then hit a wall and died. The 2nd half featured no redeeming starts for him….and is the postseason really the time to prove your usefullness?

And even if he goes out a pitches a freakin perfect game, I still dont trust him for his next start because he might fall apart in the next start, because thats the story of AJ Burnett.

Hell, lets go over last years postseason for AJ…

ALDS Game 2: Doesnt count because its the Twins. I could beat the Twins in October.
ALCS Game 2: Shakey at best. He got wild and let the Angels storm back in the game.
ALCS Game 5: Terrible. Angels had batting practice off him before out #1. Pitched well afterwards, but pitching well AFTER allowing a sh!t load of runs isnt saying much.
World Series Game 2: A gem? Where did that come from?
World Series Game 5: Back to the old AJ. As a result, series goes to game 6.

If the Yankees take a 3-0 lead, I might be inclined to let AJ pitch….but only then…

October 4, 2010

Playoff Histories-2010 edition

The Rangers were praying a lot on Sunday. They were praying to God that the Rays would win the AL east. They were probably willing to sell their souls in order to avoid having to deal with the Yankees this year. Good reason.

The Rangers are in the playoffs for only the 4th time in franchise history. The 3 other times?
Each. And. Every. Time. The Texas Rangers made the playoffs previously (1996, 1998, 1999) they faced off against the New York Yankees in round 1.
Each. And. Every. Time. The Texas Rangers played the Yankees in the ALDS, the Yankees won. 3-1, 3-0, 3-0.
Thats right, the Rangers all time playoff record is 1-9 with 0 wins at home and 0 ALCS runs.

This year will be different because they wont have to play the Yankees, but they still have to deal with the AL east winner.

Anyway, once again I feel the need to bring up all 8 playoff teams recent playoff history before I figure who has the best shot at the LCS…

“recent playoff history”=the last 10 years only
So, the Reds and Rangers have no recent playoff histories.

New York Yankees: 52-41…4 AL Pennents…2 World Championships
Philadelphia Phillies: 20-12…2 NL Pennents…1 World Championship
San Francisco Giants: 12-13…1 NL Pennent
Atlanta Braves: 9-16
Tampa Bay Rays: 8-8…1 AL Pennent
Minnesota Twins: 7-17
Cincinnati Reds: 0-0
Texas Rangers: 0-0

Thats overall playoff records, heres what all 8 of these guys have done against each other only:

New York Yankees: 13-4
Philadelphia Phillies: 6-5
San Francisco Giants: 3-2
Atlanta Braves: 2-3
Minnesota Twins: 2-9
Tampa Bay Rays: 1-4
Cincinnati Reds: 0-0
Texas Rangers: 0-0

LETS MAKE PREDICTIONS!!!

Texas Rangers vs Tampa Bay Rays
(No prior matchups)
So the Rangers get someone new to face for the 1st time ever, and they need to make the most of it…the Rays meanwhile need to get themselves back on track after the late season tumble. The Rangers were the only AL playoff team to not suck down the stretch, plus theyve got Hamilton back, plus theyve got Cliff Lee, so its win-win-win.
I don’t expect a sweep, mainly because the Rays have proven they can dig deep, but the Rays also have no homefield advantage unless they give free tickets away. Either way, it’ll be party time in Texas, cuz I think theyre finally gonna do it.
Rangers in 4

New York Yankees vs Minnesota Twins
Previous meetings: 2003 (NYY-3, MIN-1), 2004 (NYY-3, MIN-1), 2009 (NYY-3, MIN-0)
While the Rangers were praying for the Rays to win the east, the Twins were praying for the Yankees to win. If theres one team the Yankees have owned harder than the Rangers, its the Minnesota Twins.
And if anyone misses the Metrodome more than the Twins, its the October Yankees who were a perfect 5-0 there. But I dont expect anything different this year.
Yankees in 3 if AJ Burnett doesnt pitch
Yankees in 4 if AJ Burnett pitches

Philadelphia Phillies vs Cincinnati Reds
(No prior matchups)
The Reds (aka-the “other” NL playoff team) will be the unlucky team facing the Phillies as they try to defend their back-to-back NL titles. The Reds will try to stop them with future NL MVP Joey Votto but it might not be enough.
Let it be known that the Phillies arent observant. Taking a page from the 2009 World Champion New York Yankees playbook, theyre going to roll out a postseason starting trio of their own. Halladay wont disappoint, Oswalts just happy to be on a postseason favorite, and Cole Hamels is hot, but his last start meltdown might have a few concerned, especially after his playoff meltdown last year.
As much as I want to see the Reds in the world series…
Phillies in 4
-wait a minute…this is my f*cking blog…and if the better team on paper always won, then the Yankees wouldve won more than 2 world championships last decade. So screw Roy Halladay, screw Chase Utley and screw the Philles. The “best team” thing doesnt always equal a win in the playoffs…so…
Reds in 5
(For the NL, I’m a Reds fan dammit. So f*ck you)

Atlanta Braves vs San Francisco Giants
Previous meetings: 2002 (SF-3, ATL-2)
In their world series run, the Giants met the Braves in the NLDS in 2002. Back then Barry Bonds and Chipper Jones led their respective teams. A lot has changed since then, except one guy: Bobby Cox.
The Giants have the freak Lincecum while the Braves have some serious resolve to make it this far. But the Braves are struggling, especially against the Phillies B-squad, while the Giants are riding high after surviving the scare the Padres gave them. The question here isnt who will win, but how many games exactly will it take?
Seeing how the Giants have a knack for taking until the last damn second to do things, Im gonna go with…
Giants in 5

And those are my fearless 2010 predictions. I would love to see a Yankees-Reds series, but a Yankees-Giants series would be interesting given the old NY Giants appeal…..a 2009 rematch would be neat as well, as would a 1996/99 rematch with the Braves…a lot of good options in the NL this year…

What? Someone else win the AL this year? Thats silly. Youre silly.

October 2, 2010

I cant possibly be the only person suprised at the Giants/Padres

5-12…

As of this second thats the record the Giants have against the Padres this year.

5-12

And yet, people are acting shocked that the Giants havent been able to put the Padres away this weekend. Gee, I wonder why?

Remember when San Diego lost 10 strait and blew that huge lead in the west?
Beating the snot out of San Francisco got them that lead, and they sure as hell didn play the Giants during that 10 game skid-they played Philly, Arizona and Colorado.

Hell, if the Padres were put in a “you must sweep” situation, theyd sure as hell would want to face the Giants, because theyre the only team where you know they can at least take the 1st two because theyre not being pitched by a man named “Lincecum”

…and man, the Braves sure do suck for not being able to clinch the wild card in the meantime.

No offence to the Giants but….well c’mon, the numbers speak for themselves: 5-12, that just says that the Padres can really only beat YOU.

Meanwhile, Joe Buck and Fox means I cant make myself watch todays Yankee game without the mute on….but the big story here is: Who wants to win the AL east???

Tampa Bay sucks…the Rangers suck…the Twins suck….
…and the Yankees havent been playing well either…
So the AL side of the playoffs are gonna be interesting because nobody is playing worth a damn. Hell, with the injuries to Longoria, Hamilton and whatever the Twins guy is (I cant be bothered to care who plays for the Twins anymore) its gonna be like going to a huge broadway production only to find that the understudies are performing.

The Yankees rotation looks good (ie: the all star trio) but for some reason people keep talking about Burnett possibly starting a game in October. Its baffling because AJ has been a large dose of SUCK this month. Im gonna cringe for the night cap of this double header too because hes starting……..which brings me to my next issue tonight…

What dumbfukk thought it was a good idea to start a Yankees-Red Sox doubleheader at 4 o’clock? Yankees/Red Sox games are easily the longest games in all of baseball, almost as long as a typical football game…and yet, why not start it at 1? Ya know, lets get this started early so that we can all go home before 3am!!! But no, apparently FOX wanted to keep it their game of the week or something.

Hell, I got an idea: lets play a triple header. Why not, by the time the 2nd game ends, itll prolly be 1:30 the next day, which just so happens to be the start time for tomorrows game.

….as for the whole wild card/division title thing, Im between a rock and a hard place for that. I hate the wild card, but then we face the Twins (who happen to be our b!tches in October) while the division winner faces Cliff Lee (aka the only reason the Phillies won at all in the world series last year)
The Red Sox must be facing a similar dilemma right now. Beat us up and let us roll over Minnesota next week…or roll over to us and make us deal with Lee?

Either way the Yankees are playing next week and the Red Sox arent, so I guess its a moot point…