Monday, October 10, 2016

Yankees Postseason History Recap: The Flip


Derek Jeter did a lot of amazing things in his career as a New York Yankee and it would take me a few pages and 20-30 minutes to probably tell you all of them and that’s just the regular season. Jeter somehow found a way to step it up in the postseason and always be in the right place and the right spot at the right time. See the 2001 ALDS against the Oakland Athletics with the Yankees backs against the wall for a perfect example of this.

The Yankees were down 2-0 in a best-of-five series against Oakland and with their playoff lives at stake the Yankees sent Mike Mussina to the mound. The Moose did not disappoint as he was pitching a gem before Terrence Long ripped a ball down the right field line. Jeremy Giambi came rumbling around third base while Shane Spencer retrieved the ball and hauled it home over the cutoff man Tino Martinez. Giambi looked all but safe at home and the Yankees looked all but dead in the water before out of nowhere came Derek Jeter.

Jeter grabbed the ball and flipped it to catcher Jorge Posada who applied the tag to Giambi thus saving the game, the series and the season for New York. Some will say that Jeter should have been in that position anyway and that he shouldn’t be cheered for simple fundamentals but it’s the small things that make ordinary men great and other men mediocre in this game and Jeter was great. Plays like this cemented his legacy.


ICYMI: A Few Bullpen Moves

From Bryan Van Dusen seen originally HERE:

Blake Parker, Kirby Yates, and Anthony Swarzak are no longer with the Yankees

Parker and Yates were claimed off waivers by the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim of California of The United States of... you get the joke, and it's not a good one anyway.

Swarzak elected free agency instead of accepting an outright assignment to the minors.

None of these three will be missed by the Yankees or their fans. That's not to say they weren't good guys or teammates, but Parker's ERA was 4.96 in 16 games, Yates' was 5.23 in 41 appearances, and 5.52 in 26 games.

Most Popular Article of the Week: The George Steinbrenner Quote That May Define 2017


Hal Steinbrenner, I’m calling you out. I’m calling you out to the front because there is one monumental difference between you and your late, great father. Your father knew how to build not only a team and an organization from the ground up but he also knew how to build a mindset as well. A mindset that has long gone by the wayside unfortunately. The good news is though, for you anyway, is that it’s not too late. Listen to this quote from your father and take it to heart because he, of all men, knew how to build a contender and a mindset in the state of New York.

Baseball is not just a sport anymore; we are a business. We are show business. To compete for the entertainment dollar, particularly in New York, you have to have more than nine guys playing baseball; you have to have an attraction. And I have tried to do the best job I possibly can to give my fans an attraction.”
George Steinbrenner, New York Yankees


You can be excited for the future all you want but you must remember one thing. The New York Mets beat the New York Yankees in television ratings for the first time EVER in 2016. Ever. Ratings have been down across the board for a long time now. You can’t keep doing the same thing and expecting different results as that will never work. It’s time to bring the fans back to the stadium and it’s time to bring them an attraction again.





How about this guy? I already laid out how… now it’s time to do it.

I Love Stats: Yankees Trade Joe Gordon


I have done these posts a few times now because like the title states, I love stats. I love it when the stars align and things end the way they should. For instance, Derek Jeter finished his postseason career with an even 200 hits and Mariano Rivera finished with an even 42 saves, the number he wore on his back.


On this day in 1946 the New York Yankees traded second baseman Joe Gordon to the Cleveland Indians for right handed starting pitcher Allie Reynolds. The future Hall of Famer ended his Yankees career with exactly 1,000 games played and exactly 1,000 hits.

MLB Postseason Schedule for 10/10/16


The ALDS and the NLDS are winding down so as we march towards the championship series let's check out the schedule for another beautiful Monday. Hope everyone and everything survived Hurricane Matthew and I hope everyone is around to have another great day of playoff baseball.


Texas Rangers @ Toronto Blue Jays (Game 4 if necessary) - 1:08 pm ET inside Rogers Centre on TBS

Washington Nationals @ Los Angeles Dodgers (Game 4) - 4:08 pm ET inside Dodger Stadium on MLB Network

Cleveland Indians @ Boston Red Sox (Game 4 if necessary) - 6:08 pm ET inside Fenway Park on TBS

Chicago Cubs @ San Francisco Giants (Game 3) - 9:38 pm ET inside AT&T Park on Fox Sports 1

This Day in New York Yankees History 10/10: Yankees/Mariners Set ALCS Record


The New York Yankees have set many records along the way in their storied franchise history but on this day in 2000 the Yankees and the Seattle Mariners set an ALCS record for all the wrong reasons. In the Game One matchup where Seattle won the game 2-0 the Mariners struck out nine times while the Yankees struck out 13 times combining for 22 strikeouts in a single ALCS Game for the record.


Also on this day in 1964 the New York Yankees beat the St. Louis Cardinals to take a two games to one advantage in the World Series. The walk off hit came in the form of a home run off Mickey Mantle’s bat, his 16th of his World Series career breaking the major league record held previously by Babe Ruth. Mantle also became just the fifth player to ever walk off in a Fall Classic game.



Finally on this day in Yankees history New York claimed a pair of World Series championships for the franchise. The first was on this day in 1951 when the Yankees beat the Giants in six games for their 14th World Series championship. New York was on the winning side again in 1956 when they beat the Brooklyn Dodgers in seven games to capture the team’s 17th World Series title.