GIMME SHELTER

Since he arrived, JD Drew’s little brother has had Yankee fans showing him the door.  It is safe to say that he is pretty much the most unwanted member of the team since Jose Canseco…but at least he hits a bit.

Stephen is bad.  He doesn’t seem to be able to catch up to the game at this level any longer and should probably just hang it up.  BUT HOLD THE PHONE!  There is one voice softly telling Drew to stick around.  It’s coming from his right…a little bit further…no, not Chase…somewhere in between.  OH!  It’s Didi!  Wait, why do you want Stephen to stay, Sir Didi? Is it to take the heat off of you and your less than remarkable 1st season in the Bronx? 

I see.

My brother served in the United States Navy.  He attended Annapolis and when he completed Plebe Summer (the grueling rite of passage for Naval Academy incoming freshmen) our family went down to see him be officially welcomed into the class of 2004.  While we were there, we met a number of his new classmates.  One young man caught the attention of my Dad.  He seemed like Jerry Lewis in an old military comedy. 

He was shorter, thin, goofy and clumsy.  A really good guy and seemed well liked by the other guys.  Later that day my brother uttered a phrase I’ll never forget.  When talking about his knucklehead friend he said, “We all love Timmy.  He’s our “Sh*t Screen”.”  That wasn’t meant as an insult.  Basically this young sailor was so bad at being a Naval officer, the Marines that ran the program over the summer months targeted him above all others.  He basically took the brunt of the heat for the rest of the boys in his outfit.  The story ends up great in case you were wondering.  That young man graduated, became a decorated Marine and now has a great career in business and a wonderful family.

The more I think about Stephen Drew the more I see the benefit of a “Sh*t Screen” for a player like Didi.  He is trying to fill the unfillable spikes of a Yankee legend.  He has been erratic at times with his highly touted defense and his bat…well…his bat is giving opposing pitchers a nice, cool breeze on warm early summer nights.  Didi flat out NEEDS Drew around to give him some shade!

The unfortunate fact…for our young shortstop anyway, is that Drew’s days are numbered.  Or at least we hope they are.  There is no way that even the always-positive Joe Girardi can defend Stephen’s play.  He needs to be DFA’d.  They should see what they have in Double R.  Why the hell not?  Yes, he is not as sure a glove…but I’d say it’s worth the gamble.  If that doesn’t work Cashman will start combing the market for a decent middle infielder to help the offense…ya know, like Prado!

I feel for you Didi.  But my advice would be to play without a Sh*t Screen.  Up your game, take your knocks and toughen your skin.  This is the Bronx!  It doesn’t come easy, but if you play your heart out they’ll love ya for it…even if they’re showing you the door at the same time.


** This is for you Sir Didi.  Welcome to the Bronx.  There is no shelter here. Play ball!**

 
 
 
--Mike O'Hara
Senior "Features" Writer
Twitter: @mikeyoh21


   
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STEPHEN DRE...ADFUL

The readership of BYB thinks what Mike O’Hara tends to write is Tex Bashing. “The guy LIVES to bash Tex!”  It’s very true.  I went from Boone Logan to Tex in a flash.  Mark has been my target…sometimes for good reason (most times for good reason) and sometimes I’m little tough on him (just sometimes).

Tex got a boo boo on his toes recently and we’ll see if it becomes an excuse.  But for now let’s move on to someone much, much worse.  Stephen Drew is just ridiculous.

He MUST have some incriminating photos of Cashman locked away somewhere to still be in the Bigs collecting 5 million for his “services”.  Which as far as I can tell consist of a decent glove and ABSOLUTELY NOTHING ELSE!  We could actually make opposing teams place the ball on a tee for JD’s little brother and he’d still hover around the Mendoza line.

He doesn’t have a hole in his swing; he has a swing in his hole!  Why is he on this team?! Seriously.  Tell me.  Anyone? Bueller?

Is the Yankee Brass just being stubborn that they royally screwed the pooch on this one?  What can they possibly see in this guy?  The Sox are laughing at us!  When Girardi pencils his name in the lineup you KNOW Joe, a good-hearted guy, is saying, “Drew…this really sucks.”

The Yankees aren’t good enough to just let Stephen suck all year.  They have Didi already.  It’s time to bring someone up or teach ARod to play 2nd…I’m kidding of course, but at least in that scenario we’d get the bat with the errors.  Drew is bad.  No, no…he’s is just sinfully lousy.

It’s time to fix this problem.  Eat the 5 million.  You gave it to him, now you can feeling like clowns as you write the check and send him away to spend it on an in house batting cage in Arizona or where ever he calls home.

So Tex, heal up that bruised piggy and keep off my list.  For now I’ll take my swings at Drew.

** Harsh?  Nah.  Here’s one for our Shortstop/2nd baseman.  I’d pencil him in as, and have him walk up to this gem by Pearl Jam. **





 
--Mike O'Hara
Senior "Features" Writer
Twitter: @mikeyoh21


 
You've made BYB the fastest growing Yankees fan site in history. Now shop at the Bleeding Yankee Blue store!  Follow me on Twitter @BleednYankeeBlu and LIKE Bleeding Yankee Blue on Facebook!  Also, don't forget to check out the BYB Hub.

THE SEA OF MEDIOCRITY

If you were like me you too would have thought the 2014 version of the New York Yankees would be much better than a game or two over .500 at this point of the season. The organization opened up the pinstriped wallet and went out to find fixes to the issues that plagued the Bombers in 2013. The one thing you can’t pay for however is certainty. You cannot BUY titles…. much to the chagrin of Yankee haters around the world.

This season the Yanks have been okay, not great, not awful. They are, like most of the league, a middle of the road type club. Injuries have been a big part of why the club seems to start and stop so often. CC, Nova, Mikey Pine Tar, Tex, DRob, Beltran, Machine Gun Kelley…the list is already too long and we are only in the month of May. In any other year the Yankees might be in serious trouble and 5 to 6 games back in the AL East…but this isn’t any other year. We have seen that Boston, Toronto, Tampa and Baltimore have also had a host of issues and no one is able to run away with the division. Welcome to the SEA OF MEDIOCRITY!

Coupled with Yankee starters checking out like the rotation was a La Quinta Inn in Detroit, the team on a whole has yet to gel. Fans are still waiting to see Brian McCann shake off the early season struggles. The new backstop has been silenced by the shift and his frustration is apparent. Jacoby Ellsbury has scuffled as of late and although the middle infielders have been better, Jeter and Roberts are abysmal with runners in scoring position. The lineup looks like it is on the verge of putting it together one minute and then helpless the next.

The silver lining, if there is such a thing, is that the rest of the East is also failing to launch…the Sox brought back JD Drew’s kid brother for crying out loud. That’s your solution to find a “Spark”? Whatever you say, kid.

The thing that worries me is that it seems GI Joe is the little Dutch boy with his fingers in the dam. He sees a leak and plugs it with Vidal Nuno. He sees another and throws Kelly Johnson in. Sooner or later he will run out of fingers. The Yankees are older where they need to be younger. They are banged up where they need to be healthy…what happens if Baltimore or Boston figures it out first?

Don’t misunderstand me. I am not a doom and gloom guy and still believe the Yankees are a playoff team when October rolls around. Its just they have to be the team that get up first now that everyone tripped out of the starting block. They have a stretch against teams they SHOULD beat. Dropping one to the Cubs, Tanaka’ first loss by the way, is not what you want to do. The Bombers need to be on the plane after this week in the Windy City singing “Chicago is my kind of town!” They need to string together some wins and start to play at a higher level. As of now you don’t know what Yankee team is going to show up day in and day out.

I don’t want to hear “Hey Hal go buy us this!” or “Hey Cash get on the phone!” at this point. It’s not that easy and by the way, NOBODY IS AVAILABLE! What are you Veruca Salt?! “DADDY, I WANT A JEFF SAMARDZIJA NOW!” The team needs to win in this Sea of Mediocrity. It’s not impossible, in fact it’s ABSOLUTELY DOABLE with the guys they have. SWIM YANKS! Before the rest of the AL East does first.

** This one is for you Yankee fans demanding MORE!**





--Mike O'Hara, MLB Fan Cave Host, Season 1
   Twitter: @mikeyoh21
"Paulie was always my favorite player."



You've made BYB the fastest growing Yankees fan site in history. Now shop at the Bleeding Yankee Blue store!  Follow me on Twitter @BleednYankeeBlu and LIKE Bleeding Yankee Blue on Facebook!

WHAT WOULD STICK DO?

That is a question I think about a lot these days. We are watching the last tie to the Dynasty Years begin his final brilliant season in the sun. ‘Da Cap’n”, “Mr. November”, “Derek Jeetah, #2” will hang ‘em up at season’s end. Sure, we will all be sad to see him go, but we will talk about watching him play the way earlier generations spoke about watching The Mick or Joe D. Jeter will soon belong to the ages. He won’t be just our Captain any longer. It’s a bit sappy and sentimental, but it’s true.

The thing that troubles me even more than watching one of my favorites (a guy my age mind you) retire is the panic that it has cause. People are saying and writing truly desperate things about who can replace our beloved Captain.

 “Hey Cashman! Wise up and sign JD Drew’s little brother!” What?

“DEAR GOD! We have to find a way to trade for Reyes toot sweet!” No.

“Okay, I’ve got it. We put a package together with Nova and Murphy now and get Tulo! He wears #2 because Jeter is his idol.” Nope. He can stay in Denver. Thanks all the same.

Who will replace Derek Jeter? NOBODY will replace Derek Jeter. Nobody will replace Mariano or Andy or Jorge or Paulie or Bernie…it’s not an immediate fix, ladies and gentlemen. It took a while to build that kind of team. It was very special team. It was comprised of so called "iffy trades" (All Star Bobby Kelly for a fiery platoon outfielder named O’Neill).

It was Strategic signings that paid off like bringing in The Boomer, The Straw and Doc. It took saying goodbye to Donnie and paying Tino. And most importantly, it took Stick telling The Boss, “Hey, let the kids play.” And those kids became…well, you know who they became. Thank God for Stick Michael.

I completely understand that the Yankees play to win every year. I love that they never say, “We’re sitting this one out to retool.” I agree with paying a Brian McCann. That is a great deal. He is a leader, a great catcher and will serve as a model for Murphy or Sanchez until it’s their time behind the dish. McCann brings the type of heart that Jorgie and Thurman had. And I firmly believe he was playing the game “The Yankee Way” even back in Atlanta. Brian is part of the foundation on which they can build the next great dynasty…if they play their cards right and without panic.

I don’t love the money we gave him, but signing Jacoby makes us more athletic on the base path, gives us a dynamic and defensive duo in the outfield…and is a nice thumb in Larry Lucchino’s eye. Now he can flood the sports section of the Globe and Herald with his pathetic “I don’t sweat the Yankees” claims. Oh by the way, BREAKING: LARRY LUCCHINO DOES IN FACT SWEAT THE NEW YORK YANKEES. This clown sits alone in a room like Glenn Close in “Fatal Attraction” turning his lamp on and off while mumbling quietly to himself and listening to Madam Butterfly. That’s a picture huh? Yikes.

What I don’t agree with is the 1980’s mentality that we need to sign a name to replace a name. Especially when that name is Stephen Drew. Look, I am not saying Nunez should be given years to develop. He just isn’t that good…and most likely won’t be. But believe it or not there is a kid in high school right now. He has posters of Derek Jeter on his wall. He shows up early to practice and leaves late. And he WILL make it to the big leagues.

What’s his name? I don’t know, but I bet Stick Michael probably does.

The type of dynasty we as Yankee fans enjoyed in the late 1990s took patience (Not a virtue for New Yorkers, I know). It took passing on the likes of Drew and Reyes. We saw it happen and when the plan came together we got spoiled. It’s time to do it all over again. It’s time to make McCann-like signings, smart trades and allow that kid taking grounder by the light of his dad’s Chevy to become “The shortstop, number 33…”

That would be worth the wait…wouldn’t you agree?




--Mike O'Hara, MLB Fan Cave Host, Season 1
   Twitter: @mikeyoh21
"Paulie was always my favorite player."




You've made BYB the fastest growing Yankees fan site in history. Now shop at the Bleeding Yankee Blue store!  Follow me on Twitter @BleednYankeeBlu and LIKE Bleeding Yankee Blue on Facebook!