WHO'S THE TOUGH GUY? MARK TEIXEIRA OR VICENTE PADILLA?

Vicente Padilla has been hitting batters for years.  That’s his “thing”…everyone knows it, including Major League Baseball, yet, he doesn’t get punished for it as much as he should. But yeah, the pattern is simple;  If Padilla is tagged for a homer run or a big base hit, there is no question the next time that batter comes to the plate, that hitter’s taking one on the chin.  Now, while I have stated numerous times my thoughts on what "real" baseball is. I have no problem with hitting a batter or at least brushing them back. It's part of the game. But if your a predictable pitcher who intentionally throws at guys for hitting well against you...that's NOT baseball.  That my friends is bad sportsmanship. 

Look, Mark Teixeira did something manly the other day. He called out Vicente Padilla because he had enough.  Good for him.  Tex is no woman, he’s a man for what he did.  He knew calling out Padilla would mean he’d have a bulls eye on his back, and guess what?  He doesn’t care, he did it for his team and he did it to send a message…"You’re on the radar Vicente, we're watching you closely."

Now let’s break it down.  Padilla and Teixeira have a feud going back several years.  They clearly don’t like each other and Tex has stated that Padilla doesn’t have any friends in the game because he hits guys. Read HERE.  Tex went further and believed that he and Michael Young (all were teammates in Texas) got the brunt of Padilla’s headhunting because opposing pitchers would come after them.

Padilla then went on NESN and not only accused Teixeira of picking the wrong profession and suggested he should compete in a "women’s sport", but he also accused Tex of violence toward him and the biggest charge, prejudice against Latin players. Read HERE. Here's the quote:

 “The problem is he talks about all the wrong things that others have done, but the things he’s done — against the Latinos [on the Rangers] — he doesn’t open his mouth about... He once threatened me and said he was going to hit me with a bat, and that’s when we were playing on the same team. And then, he also had problems with Frank Francisco. ... But he doesn’t talk about that, does he? Then, of course, he goes on and makes those comments about me.”

Tex called it comedy.  I tell you what, I do too.

Let’s call this what it is…silly.  Vicente Padilla is not Nolan Ryan, nor will he ever be.  He’s a middle of the road pitcher with an OK career and he utilized the “high and tight” to intimidate and payback batters because he’s overcompensating for his inconsistency and lack of talent. He’s been doing it forever.  Do I sound harsh? Does it sound like I’m protecting our guy? Sure I am. Padilla is now making charges of racism…that’s a pretty serious offense. 

Look as far as Vicente goes, let’s call it what it is; his career is pretty much over.  The best season he's ever had was 2002 with the Phillies when you had a 14-11 record and a 3.28 ERA. In fact, AJ Burnett has a better career record (131-113) and ERA (4.09) than Padilla (106-90, 4.30) and the Yankees shipped him off to Pittsburgh.  The point is Padilla is lucky that even the Red Sox took a chance on him. I’ve watched Mark Teixeira’s career since Texas.  He’s a hard worker, a fierce competitor and a team player, not to mention a great hitter and amazing defender.  I’ve never heard the guy speak out of turn, nor have I ever heard a bad word spoken about the guy in all the years he’s been there.  So you know what I think about Padilla's charge of racism? It’s bullshit…because this is the first time I’ve ever heard anything like it when it comes to Mark Teixeira.  Face it, Padilla is just pissed that he's getting called out so publicly.

So message to Padilla, we play him and the Sox in 3 weeks. If he makes a stupid move and tries to headhunt Mark Teixeira or any of the other Yankees, the writing will be on the wall and the Yankees will and must retaliate.  Because one thing that’s true about my Yankees... our guys actually back each other up, not themselves. 

Damn, reading that NESN interview it seemed like Padilla was upset...almost like he was going to breakdown like a "woman" and cry about it.  Ironic... isn’t it?

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YANKEE HATE, SOUR GRAPES OR JUST COMPETITIVE BASEBALL?

Over the years, the are guys that truly hate the Yankees. Guys that talk trash and guys that bitch and moan if the Yankees are good.  I mean, let’s face it, going up to Fenway park to catch a game…let’s just say, they HATE the Yankees and Yankee fans.   Yankee fans hate Red Sox fans too.  We have that understanding.  For me?  I don’t hate anyone, I just like to watch a good game and razz a bit, that’s me.

I think it's safe to say that a guy like Jason Varitek hated the Yankees, but it was more of a respect thing, he knew guys like Jorge Posada and Derek Jeter were good and wanted to beat them, so the hate was from a competitive standpoint and vice versa.   And it goes further than the Sox…competition becomes a passion and it drives you to the highest abilities that your body can handle for those 9 innings of play.  In the end, sometimes you win and sometimes you lose, but as long as you worked your hardest, God bless ya.

Which brings us to Bryce Harper and Jake Peavy, 2 guys who stirred the pot over the past few weeks. I didn't want to do a knee jerk reaction piece to what either of them said about the Yankees, I wanted to think about it and try and come up with a clever piece.  Well, you'll either like this or you won't but I tried to be thoughtful here.  Bottom line, getting under a Yankee fans skin is easy and for me personally, I love my team, but I thought about it, I thought about whether what they were saying was Yankee hate, sour grapes or just good clean competition.  You decide.

Recently Bryce Harper, the kid from the Washington Nationals spoke out. As you may or may not know this kid's stated for a while now that he wanted to play for the New York Yankees, I remember that way back when Sports Illustrated did their profile on him, but suddenly he's changed his tune.  He was quoted recently saying this:

“You look at Cal Ripken. You look at Derek Jeter. You look at all the greats that played for one team their whole career…I want to be like that. I’ve always wanted to be like that. I’ve always wanted to play with that same team.”

Read more about it HERE. You have to respect that. Then a quote came out that Bryce allegedly hold his father in mid-June when the Yankees played the Nationals. He said “I don’t want to be a Yankee. I want to beat them.”

My take on this is simple.  It’s competitive, it's loyalty and nothing more.  We’re talking about a guy that is considered one of the most talented ball players in a while.  If the Yankees we’re to hand over a ton of money for him to play in New York, guess what, I would predict he’d be in pinstripes.  We wrote about it in WHY BRYCE HARPER COULD BE A YANKEE before many because it is our belief that he eventually will. Our take is money talks, but if Bryce Harper can resist and stay with the Nationals? Well…more power to him.

Then...remember Jake Peavy last weekend? He ended up on the losing side of the Yankees, White Sox game, Yanks won 4-0. He came out blasting the Yankees, because of the long ball at Yankee stadium.  He told reporters: "They hit the ball in the air and it's a home run…Every guy is standing on the plate. How many balls get hit to the left side of the field? None. They have no interest in hitting the ball that way.”

Read about it HERE. Sour grapes much? Now you and I both know Peavy was frustrated with the loss.  The reality is he actually pitched well striking out 11 last Saturday and as far as hitting balls the left side, you and I have seen that happen dozens of times by our Yankees. The difference is Brett Gardner hasn’t played in a while and the Yankees have been playing to their strengths, one of which is power. So, is this Yankee hate? Not exactly, but it's damn close.  The reality is, Peavy was just annoyed. 

Look, Harper and Peavy are 2 guys I respect, and what a coincidence it was that both talked alittle trash about the Yanks recently, but if I’m the hate patrol, I can’t lie and tell you these comments are hate filled.  I break it down as competitive... alittle sour grapes but there have been more hate filled comments from other guys in years past than from Harper and Peavy.

Hell remember when Buck Showalter was giving Derek Jeter crap because he said he "jumped" out of the way of certain pitches? Read HERE. That stirred the pot amond Yankee fans pretty good, and clearly Showalter wasn't hating on Jeter. He IS however a Yankee hater and that stems from the way he felt he was treated while he was in the Bronx. He felt like he wasn't given enough time, or he wasn't respect.  Now, years later, he hates the Yankees organization and that is clear.

Guys like Harper and Peavy are competitive and all they're doing is talking trash, much like Frank Francisco did with the Mets a few weeks ago.  Look, bottom line, no one thought the Yankees would have as many injury problems as they've had this season, yet they've managed to have a good season so far.  Is it a sign of more good things to come? I hope so.

And as far as Harper and Peavy? They get a slide this time, but I did want to point out their comments.  I know they both have tremendous respect of the Yankees, but there’s a difference between talking trash and truly hating a team.  They don’t hate us…they probably want to be us, but they’d never admit that, would they?

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YANKS BEATS METS AND SEND A MESSAGE

The Yankees beat the Mets last night and I apologize for the recap delay, sometimes life comes before BYB and we all need to roll with the punches.  I just hope you realize that we try to at least bring it to you straight and at the end of the day, you come to us for a unique opinion and recap that you won't see anywhere else.  That's the plan at least.

The Yankees won last night 4-3 to beat the New York Mets and besides beating the Red Sox on a regular basis...or, besides beating the Tampa Bay Rays, or Buck Showalter's Orioles, I do in fact love to beat the Mets.  No, I don't hate the Mets, but sometimes after a Mets win against the Yanks, Mets fans act like they just won the World Series, yet, they haven't.  I guess we should be flattered as Yankee fans, when Mets fans rag on us, like for example, after Friday's loss, they give this sense of stature, like "Look at us Mets! We're the best!"  I guess you need to admire the true "fan" in that situation...but it's annoying.  Luckily, we won back last night and now all is quite in Metsland...or whatever they call it over there.

The way it broke down was simple; the Yankees didn't do a thing until the 7th inning, then, they woke up.  Raul Ibanez cranked a three run home run to tie up the game quickly and then Eric Chavez came up as a pinch hitter and knocked one out too.  Typical.

We just finished writing THE IMPORTANCE OF ERIC CHAVEZ 2 days ago, and there he goes, he helping the Yanks win it! Love the positive vibes we're bringing. 

As far as our pitching, well, what can I say, Ivan Nova struggled a bit last night. He went 5.2 innings, allowed 5 hits and 3 runs, but the bullpen was great; Clay Rapada got the Win, and Cody Eppley, David Robertson, Boone Logan, Rafael Soriano were great. David Robertson struck out 3 so that goes toward his strikeout total... $3 more that go in the pot for the extra money that Bleeding Yankee Blue is raising for High Socks for Hope. Way to go DRob!

So, overall, I'm thrilled, us "Chickens" beat the Mets.  Man oh man... I hope the "Chickens" make the playoffs this year...and not the Mets... then Frank Francisco can eat it...chicken that is...chicken!
Bock Bock.

Final Score: Yankees 4 - Mets 3.

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YANKEES FAIL TO PAYBACK FRANCISCO, FALL TO METS

“I can’t wait to face those chickens, I want to strike out the side against them. I’ve done it before.” – Frank Francisco to the New York Post

Those bold comments made by Mets’ closer Frank Francisco created a monster, really. Twitter exploded with silly chicken jokes throughout the day, mocking Francisco. It was a surprise to me that someone like Francisco (who came into Friday pitching to a 5.14 ERA) made those statements. But, to his credit, he backed up what he said, (sort of), and nailed down the save in a 6-4 Yankees loss on Friday night in Queens.

I wouldn’t argue if you told me the Yankees lost this game in the bottom of the first inning. Andy Pettitte, making his eighth start of the season, was very, very rusty in the beginning. He first allowed a two-out, two-run single to Justin Turner before allowing a three-run homer to Ike Davis, of all people, to give the Mets a 5-0 lead. That homer to Davis stung in two ways. One: he came into the game hitting .190, two: the baseball bounced out of Nick Swisher’s glove and fell over the fence. If Swish had fully secured the baseball, it would have been 2-0 after one and not 5-0. It was a total back-breaker.

The Yankees tried their darndest to climb out of the 5-0 hole they made themselves, but they couldn’t pull through in the end. Like a couple weeks ago, the Yankees had trouble hitting Jon Niese. In the sixth, Alex Rodriguez hit a solo shot into the Apple in center field before Andruw Jones hit a solo shot of his own in the seventh. It was 6-2 when Miguel Batista came into the game in the eighth, and Robinson Cano worked a great at-bat before destroying a two-run homer to make it 6-4. And, as you know, Frank Francisco came on in the ninth and pitched a scoreless frame to end the game, though he didn’t strike out the side like he wanted to.

After winning 10-in-a-row the Yankees have now lost three straight. They’ll be looking to end the skid when Ivan Nova (9-2, 4.32 ERA) opposes Chris Young (1-1, 3.06 ERA) in the middle game of the Subway Series.



--Jesse Schindler, BYB Lead Staff Writer
Follow me on Twitter @SchindlerJesse

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BE LIKE MARIANO...LET YOUR TALENT DO THE TALKING

Look, I'm not going to get all huffy about this, I really don't care about Frank Francisco, but there's 1 message that's clear to me when I heard that Frankie poo called the Yankees "chicken"; Be like Mariano Rivera... pitch hard, pitch well and let your talent do the talking.

Sure, if Frank had talent, I guess he wouldn't need to blab to the New York Post, but all I'm saying is name calling at this stage in Frankie's career is just silly. That's my take anyway.  Look, It's one thing to be a lights out pitcher and talk trash about the team you're about to face.  It's another to have a horrendous season and have the "balls" to trash talk.  That's Frank Francisco, the Mets closing pitcher with a 4.97 ERA, a 1-3 record and a WHIP of 1.571.  I wouldn't be talking trash at all if I was him, I would just be happy to be playing baseball on a major league level.  This so far is the worst season of his career. Seriously, why are you even opening your mouth?

Frankie's comments about the Yankees were most likely a light hearted comment that went viral and probably overboard considering it was the opening of the Yankees, Mets series tonight. Mike Puma of the New York Post has the story HERE and this is what Frank actually said: “I can’t wait to face those chickens... I want to strike out the side against them. I’ve done it before.”

Now, can you imagine if Mariano Rivera came out and talked trash about every team he faced? What a change in attitude players would have toward Mo if he did. The difference however is Mariano is a God to MLB players, he's respected and guess what? He's damn good and has been for years. It would be dramatically different.

Now look, Frank Francisco is not an enemy of mine, but he's clearly trying to stir the pot, obviously to rile up the Mets and Mets fans and ultimately get the Yanks angry. Now, it's true, the Mets won tonight, 6-4, read HERE (and look for our recap in the morning),and Frankie poo got the save, but tonight's win wasn't because Frankie opened his big mouth...the Mets struck early and played well.  Look, my take on this is simple, if you aren't the best or close to it, like Frank Francisco, just shut up and pitch. Why? Because the bottom line is, the New York Yankees are way too cool and professional to let a fool blab about them being "chickens". In fact, all it does is anger Yankee fans... and that's about it.

Good for the Mets, they won today, but it's June. Both the Yankees and Mets have plenty of baseball to play.  So I can only say this, if it's the Yankees that make it to the playoffs and not the Mets...we'll talk about chickens then I guess, won't we Frankie?

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