Gatorade: Made In New York featuring Derek Jeter

Derek Jeter is in another tribute commercial, this time for Gatorade. Check it out, it's great. 

9/18 Game Preview vs. Toronto Blue Jays

The New York Yankees and the Toronto Blue Jays will start a four game set tonight at Yankee Stadium as the two AL East foes play out their remaining 2014 schedules. The Yankees will send Shane Greene to the mound for one of his last starts in his rookie campaign and he will be faced off with the Blue Jays ace R.A. Dickey. The game will be played at 7:05 pm ET and can be seen on the YES Network, MLB TV, and can be heard on the radio with John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman on WFAN.

Greene is coming off a start in which he went 5.1 innings against the Baltimore Orioles striking out nine and allowing two runs for his fifth victory of the season.  Greene is definitely making his case to be in the 2015 starting rotation with all these quality starts.

Dickey is coming off a start in which he threw his 20^th quality start of the season in a victory over the Tampa Bay Rays. Dickey is also on pace to throw his fourth consecutive 200 inning season. If its high let it fly, if its low let it go.

It’s the last home stand of the year so get your Yankees tickets now. They should come pretty cheap with the Yankees out of playoff contention and we won’t add on any annoying fees or shipping costs if you BUY HERE.

Go Yankees!!

I Say Again, Fire Kevin Long

The New York Yankees are officially eliminated from American League East contention and the second Wild Card is not far behind. The pitching has been spectacular but the offense has lulled us to sleep far too many times. This team makes rookie starting pitchers look like Clayton Kershaw and marginal pitchers look like Cy Young (yes I think Kershaw is better than Cy). Too often have we seen this team blow spectacular pitching performances from the likes of Michael Pineda, Brandon McCarthy, Masahiro Tanaka, and others and too many times has this team simply been shut out and shut down. This team has talent and the coaches and the staff are not getting the best out of their talented players. When your only job is to get the best out of your players and you’re not doing that how can one justify keeping you in your current position?

It’s not a coincidence that players that have come here have had far less success than they have had in their careers. Sure Kevin Long gets lucky every once in a while and gets a good couple of weeks out of a Chris Young or raises a Brendan Ryan’s batting average from .201 to .220 and breaks his own arm patting himself on the back but that’s not what he is getting paid to do. Long is getting paid to get the most out of the big money signings of Carlos Beltran, Brian McCann, Jacoby Ellsbury, Mark Teixeira, etc.

Beltran has a career batting average of .281 and in a full healthy season before 2014 his career low batting average was .247 way back int he year 2000. In 2014 Beltran is batting a meager .236. Blame it on the barking elbow if you want but it wasn’t bothering him all season long and he has had three cortisone shots and hasn’t seen an uptick in production.

Same can be said for McCann whose career average with the Atlanta Braves was .273. McCann’s worst season batting average was in 2012 when he batted .230 but bounced back in 2013 with a .256 average. McCann has only been able to muster a .235 average in 2014.

Ellsbury had a career .293 batting average with the Boston Red Sox but has seen that number drop significantly since coming to New York. Currently Ellsbury sits at .271 and is surprisingly leading the “Bronx Bombers” in average this season.

Teixeira was, believe it or not, a perennial .300 hitter before coming to the Yankees. Teix had a great 2009 season batting .292 with the Yankees but has seen his address drop almost every year since. In 2010 Teix batted .256 and followed that up with a .248 campaign in 2011. The 2012 season was not much better for Teixeira as he batted .251 and an injury riddled season in 2013 saw him produce only a .151 batting average. Currently in 2014 Teix is struggling to stay above the Mendoza Line as he bats .218.

Teixeira recently went as far as to mention in an interview when asked about beating the shift that he was “not paid to hit singles.” I’m sorry I was under the assumption that you were paid to hit home runs which if you compare his home run output to his salary he is not doing his job. I also thought his job was to drive in runs, you cannot drive in runs pulling off of every single pitch and pounding it into the ground for an out or a double play. This is where Long has to be outraged, not even publicly, with these comments and take Teixeira to the side and tell him to beat the shift. Teixeira seems like a nice enough guy and I don’t get the pre-Madonna vibe from him so I can only assume this approach comes from his hitting coach and instructors, but maybe I’m wrong on that one.

I could keep going all day but I think you get the point. If you haven’t got the point yet I have about five or ten more posts similar to this asking for the head of Long, look them up. If you paid me to cut your grass and I only cut half of it I probably wouldn’t last long. If you paid me to wash your dishes and I only washed some of them adequately I would probably be looking for another job. Why does Kevin Long continue to get a free pass here?

A Thank You & Get Well Soon Letter to Martin Prado

Martin,

First and foremost I want to say that I was sorry to hear about your appendectomy and the news that you would miss the rest of the 2014 season. These things happen and while they are unfortunate they do tend to happen for a reason. Your hamstring was not healing and you, like a true warrior and a gritty player that wants to win, continued to play on it as much as the Yankees coaching staff would let you. For that, for your heart, and for the way you left everything out on the field I want to thank you.

You exemplify the “Yankee Way” where winning comes before anything and everything. You were unselfish and you never complained when being bounced around from position to position and all over the batting order. All you did was hit, in the beginning of the game, in the middle of the game, at the end of the game, in the clutch, when the team was behind or when the team was ahead. You played the game like a fellow Yankee Derek Jeter plays the game, like it’s a game.

Get well soon Martin and get healthy for the 2015 season. We’ll see you in March.

Your fan and biggest drum beater,

Daniel Burch

Twitter Says Goodbye to Derek Jeter

As the New York Yankees and Derek Jeter begin their last home stand of the 2014 season at Yankee Stadium I asked our Twitter followers and friends to give their goodbye’s to Jeter in 140 characters or less. Today as New York begins their last set of games in the Bronx for the year I share those responses with you today, enjoy. 

@GreedyStripes thank you captain for all the memories you gave us throughout the years. Couldn't ask for a better captain. #FarewellCaptain
— Re2pectTheCaptain2 (@_MiguelG06) September 16, 2014

Nothing but respect for the Captain

@GreedyStripes Goodbye Mr.November! Enjoy your life after baseball you old man! See you at Old - Timers day! :)
— Mutt Thorntun (@Mutt_Thorntun) September 16, 2014

Matt Thornton all the way from Washington says goodbye... kind of.

@GreedyStripes Goodbye to the only Yankee shortstop Ive ever known. A perfect favorite player to be there while I fell in love with the game
— Josh Sepich (@J_Dub_Sep) September 17, 2014

Come to think of it he's really the only Yankee shortstop I have ever known as well...

@GreedyStripes Goodbye Captain...Thank you for all the great memories! Baseball won't be the same without you.
— Charisse Hake (@CharisseHake) September 17, 2014

More RE2PECT

@GreedyStripes my goodbye: NOOOOOOOOOO DONT LEAVEEEEEEEEEEE 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭
— I luv Derek Jeter ⚾️ (@JeweleeYankee) September 18, 2014

Some people are still in denial.

@GreedyStripes #FarewellCaptain. You have changed all of baseball & my life forever. Thank you for being my role model for 16 years.😭❤️
— Farewell Captain (@Alyssamariee02) September 18, 2014

Jeter is all some people know in their baseball lives.

@GreedyStripes I have sufficient time to prepare for the tears, I cannot express my love for the man who gave me the love of the game 💙
— ashley michelle (@ashleyyhughess) September 18, 2014

Get your tissues ready Ashley. If you don't have any I have plenty to share.

@GreedyStripes Good Bye #DerekJeter Baseball will miss you! pic.twitter.com/ZxReOC9sFs
— Big Daddy Wag's (@bigdwags) September 18, 2014

You will definitely be missed!

@GreedyStripes Thank you for everything Captain! You were that 1 in a million, baseball was blessed to have such a great player like you!
— Derek Jeter Fan (@jeter_fan26) September 18, 2014

1,000,000 Thank You's would not be enough.

@GreedyStripes #FarewellCaptain Your career spanned almost half my life; you have been such a great role-model for so many children--thanks!
— Charlie Ricker (@Charlie_Ricker) September 18, 2014

Role Model.

@GreedyStripes Thanks for the memories from age 2 to 20. Can't wait to pay my #RE2PECT forward at the final stadium game!
— Galvin Johnson (@BG_lll) September 18, 2014

More thanks for an entire lifetime.

@GreedyStripes Can't be sad that it's over but happy that it happened, game will never truly be the same, great career, ambassador to game
— Total Yankees Move (@YankeesMove) September 18, 2014

And it will never be the same.

@GreedyStripes Thank you Derek for all the amazing memories you have given me for the last 20 years. You will be missed by me and many fans.
— Jill Poock (@ejpoock) September 18, 2014

Goodbye from us all.

Don't worry we're working on an extra special goodbye for your final game at Yankee Stadium. Stay tuned. 

Is It Just Me?

Is it just me or is everyone simply ready for this season to be over? Just a quick rant to start the morning off right, my apologies in advance. This season has been full of so many ups and downs and highs and lows that it has been more defeating than usual. I was tore up when the New York Yankees did not make the postseason in 2008 and I was pretty emotional in 2013 when we couldn’t send Andy Pettitte and Mariano Rivera off the way we should have but this season seems different.

It doesn’t seem different because I necessarily liked Derek Jeter more than the rest of the Core Four I think it was just the expectations that the team came with this season. Conceivably if you spend in excess of $500 million in an offseason you expect to be there. As a fan when you see five of your top six starting pitchers go down and guys like Shane Greene, Bryan Mitchell, Brandon McCarthy, and others step right in and not skip a beat it invigorates you a little and gives you that “we can do this” feeling.

I am beyond depressed about how this season turned out and well beyond disappointed. I think I speak for all Yankees fans when I say we envisioned this season going a lot differently. I think we all had high hopes of sending Derek Jeter out with another championship ring, Masahiro Tanaka with his first, and Joe Girardi with a new uniform number for the 2015 season.

Anyone else just ready for this season to be over because you cannot look away? Even though New York is out of it and struggling you still find yourself watching every single inning of every single game? I know I have been and Twitter has been quiet so I think I know the answer. It’s depressing, I’m depressed, and it’s going to be a long winter.

My apologies for being down and sappy this morning but this is a FAN site and a fan driven site. I am not an insider, I am not an analyst, nor am I an expert, but I am a fan. I get emotional because I put everything I have into this team every single season and sometimes you just have to let it out. Thank you for baring with me through it and supporting the blog, we appreciate it. 

Saying farewell to Derek Jeter

When Derek Jeter announced during spring training 2014 that this season would be his last season, the sadness that I felt was enormous.  Derek Jeter, the skinny kid from Kalamazoo, MI had such an impact on my life that stretched way beyond baseball, hearing of his retirement felt like a death in the family.  It might seem a bit dramatic, let me explain.

In the summer of 2009, my fiancé was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma.  This was his second battle with the disease, he had been in remission for over 10 years.  Chemotherapy would start immediately.  2 treatments per month for the next 6 months.  The first few months weren't bad, some mild side effects from the chemo, nothing he couldn't handle.  Around month 3, the side effects became more challenging to deal with.  But with the excitement of the Yankees going to the World Series, my fiancé focused on the team as much as possible.  Of course, that included Derek Jeter. 

Unless you've been a caregiver to a loved one going through a battle like this, it's very hard to appreciate the little things that happen in the course of a day that can bring a smile to sick man's face, and Derek Jeter did just that.  Watching the Yankees win the World Series that year did more for my fiancé's spirit than I could ever have imagined.

After the celebration of the win died down, my fiancé and I were dropped back into reality that there was still another battle to be won, beating the cancer.  Things were progressing nicely, until the chemo stopped being effective and a new mix of drugs was needed to fight the cancer.  The drugs, more potent than the first set, left my fiancé hospitalized numerous times, making the mental battle to stay positive that much more challenging. 

During the 2010-2012 seasons, my fiancé's health got much worse.  I had read so many books on being a caregiver, things to do for the patient, and the importance of staying positive and how that could help in the fight.  This is where Derek Jeter became another member of my family.  My fiancé would watch every game he could, he would see Derek strike out, he would see him hit a homerun, he would see him defend himself with the critics who called him "old."  He would see that no matter what, Derek stayed focus on the task at hand, and never gave up.  My fiancé took that to heart.  He focused on getting better.  He focused on positive thoughts no matter how badly the side effects from the chemo were making him feel.  When the doctors told us the cancerous tumor was too big to remove and was pressing on his heart, he didn't let that get him down, he compared it to the bases being loaded, 2 outs, and Derek at the plate looking for an area of where to hit the ball to get a run scored.  It might not make too much sense, but for him, it was the only thing helping him get through this ordeal.

In the fall of 2012, my fiancé lost his battle with cancer.  Ironically, 2 weeks after he passed away, Derek broke his ankle and had to be carried off the field.  While I watched our Captain in visible pain and shock, I couldn't help but feel a connection between Derek and my fiancé. 

Derek Jeter, an amazing baseball player who has touched so many fans lives for generations to come, was the biggest inspiration for my fiancé to fight in his battle with cancer.  Every time an announcer would say Jeter was 0-10, boom, he would come through with a hit, or homerun; every time one of the doctors would tell us bad news, boom, he would brush it off, and move on.  Even though he lost his battle with cancer, he never gave up, he found comfort in Derek Jeter.

If you've managed to read through all of this, thank you.  This wasn't meant to be a sad sappy post, but rather an insight into my life with Derek Jeter being a huge part of it.  He will be missed not only on the field, but off as well.  If I ever had the chance to meet Derek Jeter, the only 2 words I would say to him... thank you.

TGP Daily Poll: Masahiro Tanaka Will Remain Healthy Through 2014

Simple poll question to start the day. The New York Yankees ace starting pitcher Masahiro Tanaka will make his two starts to end the season and come through them both healthy. Tommy John surgery will not be needed, not this winter anyway.

Vote in our poll!

NSFW: We Suck Video

This Day In New York Yankees History 9/18: CC Sabathia is a 20 Game Winner

CC Sabathia before coming to the New York Yankees never had a 20 win season, although he did win 19 games in two separate occasions, but finally reached the milestone on this day in 2010. The New York Yankees would beat the Baltimore Orioles 11-3 on this day. The southpaw would lead the league in victories and is the fourth Yankee to win 20 games since 2000 joining Roger Clemens (2001), Andy Pettitte (2003), and Mike Mussina (2008).

Speaking of clutch Yankee pitching and beating the Baltimore Orioles Mike Mussina became the first American League pitcher to win 10+ games in 16 consecutive seasons. The Yankees would thump the Orioles on this day 12-0. Moose would join Steve Carlton (18), Warren Spahn (17), Nolan Ryan (16), Don Sutton (17), Cy Young (19), and Greg Maddux (20) as one of only seven pitchers to ever achieve the feat. Mussina would get his 17^th consecutive season with at least 10 wins in 2008 in his final season.