Marty Appel, in his must-read book, Pinstripe Empire, provides great insight into Billy Martin's comments that forced the New York Yankees to fire him in 1978. After Reggie Jackson's suspension was lifted on July 23, Martin didn't put him in the lineup. Speaking to reporters Murray Chass and Henry Hecht, Martin explained that if Jackson didn't keep his mouth shut, he wouldn't play. "If he doesn't shut his mouth, he won't play, and I don't care what George says. He can replace me right now if he doesn't like it," ...
Mark Teixeira is not having a good season, with health problems contributing to his lack of production.Last season (.248/.341/.494 but with 39 home runs) was not one of Teixeira's best years. It was good because the power was there, but Teixeira is more than a .250 hitter. After he failed in the clutch against the Seattle Mariners in Andy Pettitte's first start of the season on Sunday, the fans booed Teixeira vociferously. He told the media, via The Record, "I feel like I’m swinging the bat OK. I’m just not ...
To say the Yankees will not make the playoffs if closer David Robertson does not shine is defeatist, to say the least.Understand that one blown save in two opportunities is not impressive in the wake of losing Mariano Rivera.But Yankees fans need to give Robertson a chance.In 85 games the past two seasons, Robertson has given up just 12 earned runs in 80.3 innings of work. In his five-year career with the Yankees, Robertson has gone 14-7 with 294 strikeouts and a 3.00 ERA. And until recently, Robertson had not ...
We all remember March 22, 2012. While playing with his kid on a trampoline, New York Yankees pitcher Joba Chamberlain suffered a nasty and gruesome ankle injury dislocating his ankle causing the bones to protrude through the skin.Chamberlain had been on the verge of a potential comeback after going through extensive rehabilitation after Tommy John surgery.As terrible as his ankle injury was, it appears that he is recovering quite well and more quickly than expected. The Yankees have placed Chamberlain on the 60-day disabled list, which is a good sign ...
Ever since Mariano Rivera landed on the disabled list, MLB fans have speculated on the closer role for the New York Yankees. Most thought David Robertson would be ready to take the title as the closer for 2012, leaving veteran Rafael Soriano as the eighth-inning setup man.The Yankees tried that for a few games.Robertson got two chances to save games against the Tampa Bay Rays. In the first one, he loaded the bases before striking out Carlos Pena to end the game and get the save. In the second , Matt Joyce ...
Phil Hughes has put together back-to-back quality starts for the New York Yankees after a dismal opening to the 2012 season. Although his 2012 numbers currently don't look too great—5.50 ERA, 1.361 WHIP, 3-4 record, 5.1 innings per start—he has shown signs of improvement over each of his past three starts.With his status in the rotation up in the air for most of April, Hughes has since silenced many of his doubters and is working on establishing himself as a consistently reliable starter.The last—and only—time he was considered a reliable ...
Johnny Damon considers himself a future Hall of Famer. Speaking to Tyler Kepner of the New York Times, Damon claimed his statistics merit election to the Hall. “I think even if you look at my numbers now, how high I am on the runs list, how high I am on the doubles list, and you also have to take into account the ballparks that I’ve played in. I’ve played in some pretty tough ones for left-handers." One can infer from the headline of the article, "Statistics Say Cooperstown, and Damon ...
The New York Yankees won their second series in a row over the weekend vs. the Seattle Mariners, and it seems that pitcher Phil Hughes has once again managed to keep his spot in the starting rotation.I will be the first to admit that Hughes pitched better in his last two starts, which were against the Kansas City Royals and Mariners.Here are the stats from Hughes' last two starts:As you can see from the stats, Hughes was not the only Yankee playing well in those two team wins. The bats scored 16 runs in total, but to be fair, ...
Bryce Harper, the Washington Nationals' new, young superstar, has already started making an impact for the organization.The No. 1 pick of the 2010 draft has already shown how much talent he possesses, and at 19 years old, he's bound to only get better with each season. He definitely has the potential to be the next mega star of baseball over the next several years.With that in mind, why not look ahead to the future? His contract ends in 2018.In baseball, that's a long time from now, and anything can happen. ...
If it wasn't for Josh Hamilton playing like he's Roy Hobbs, Derek Jeter and his hot start would be the talk of the town in the American League. Jeter is defying the odds and playing out of his mind as a 37-year-old veteran for the New York Yankees. In recent years, critics keep saying that Jeter can no longer play at an elite level, is not worth the big bucks for the Yankees and should just hang his spikes up. The critics have to realize the last man in baseball that ...