SIMON SAYS JOHNSON? YOU'RE JOSH-ING!

Regular readers of BYB weren’t surprised by an article by ESPN’s Mark Simon talking about Josh Johnson. That’s because we talked about it last month in Pitching Fits. He weighs the pros and cons on Johnson, but ultimately here’s what Simon says:

"The verdict: Johnson is going to be one of the most intriguing free agents this winter because of the combination of tantalizing potential and legitimate risk. He probably makes the most sense for a team looking to go bargain-hunting.

The Yankees have enough resources that they don’t need to invest in a pitcher of this nature. They can pursue pitchers with a bit more performance certainty.

Let someone else roll the dice on Johnson. Our call is to pass.”

(In Photo: BYB "Friend", Mark Simon)
Just like we said to do. Johnson is too injury prone and has had a disastrous run these last couple of seasons. Not to mention how many bad puns about his name Yankee fans would then have to endure. Intentional or not.

Johnson with two balls. Oh, he was shafted by that call! Here’s the pitching coach to pump Johnson up. He’s put on a seminal performance tonight, real spurts of energy. Johnson will have to suck it up to squelch this uprising. Let’s see if he can pull it out!

You have to figure a "Johnson Joke" drinking game would quickly catch on. I mean I am not even trying here, you think the announcers will be able to resist? Yankee fans will be dying of liver failure by May.

And just imagine the chaos should the Yankees get Chien Ming Wang! Only thing worse would be signing a guy named Tommy Testicles or something. May as well bring back The Yankee Dandy if that happens.

So anyway, thank you, Mr. Simon, for reporting something we mentioned last month. If ESPN starts running articles about baseball action figures next, I will call shenanigans.

That kind of thing can get you kicked right in the Johnson...or something.


Chad R. MacDonald
BYB Features Writer
Facebook: New York Yankees the Home of Champions
My Blog: ChadRants


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THE MICRO LEAGUE BASEBALL REDUX IS COMING...

Or... we hope so at least.

When we last left you, we were doing everything we could to figure out a way to get the old 1984 original version of Micro League Baseball back! We were trying to get it up and running and perhaps maybe... just maybe eventually get a network of Micro League Baseball nerds together for some online game play.  I know... I know... baby steps, but you need to think big to make things reality.

We have written a few articles about this game and how, as a kid, it literally changed my life. I started compiling stats, creating my own teams and making my own seasons.  Needless to say, I didn't have much of a life, but I loved baseball and that's where it really began for me.  It appears I'm not the only one.   Once we released LET'S MAKE A MICRO LEAGUE BASEBALL NETWORK we received this Tweet from "old buddy" Mark Simon of ESPN who Tweeted:

@BleednYankeeBlu Dibs: 1986 Mets
— Mark Simon (@msimonespn) June 10, 2013

We love Mark ever since he helped put us on the map introducing us in his ESPN article a few years ago when he wrote Yankees at Twins and wrote the paragraph:

 "David Robertson who got a day off yesterday, has been amazing in his last nine outings, allowing two hits and no walks in 9 2/3 innings pitched. One intrepid blogger has even started a Cy Young campaign for him."

That's another post for another time, but needless to say, we never forget, and we appreciated that and to be honest, if I could have my 1978 Yankees compete against his 1986 Mets in a Redux of Micro League Baseball, I'd absolutely love it.

So where are we at, you ask? I have a friend named Jim, a computer genius who is trying his best to figure it all out. He was able to secure a 5.25" floppy disk drive. He was able to hook it up to his computer. 1 problem we encountered, but fixable though; When we started the game, the computer was so fast, a 9 inning game lasted about 2 minutes if simulated on it's own.  Furthermore, if you attempted to play and put in your selection, the move would take place so quickly, you wouldn't be able see what the outcome was.  Remember this was played on a 1984 IBM PC Jr back in the mid-80's. Times has changed, technology is much more advanced.

No worries. Jim has a plan to slow down the game, but we need to get there first.  The biggest obstacle right now is getting this Micro League Baseball "self-booted" game read and copied as a file (almost like an APP), that I can eventually have downloaded from Bleeding Yankee Blue... and that's where were at... a road block.

Now, road blocks are made to be busted throug and Jim is working to figure this out. Again, the man is a genius, but as alittle extra backup, I ask all of you;  if you know how to get this 5.25" disk made into a file let us know. Remember this a a "self-booted" disk. Right now, because it's NOT a disk you place into the drive and boot yourself, we are thinking that's the reason why we can't make the file.  If you have an idea, let us know.  We'd love to figure this out. Email me Bleednyankeeblu@gmail.com.

Nerds stick together, you know.

 Please comment, we have DISQUS, it's easier than ever. Let me know what you think and follow me on Twitter @BleednYankeeBlu and join the group Bleeding Yankee Blue on Facebook, just type it in.

WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT THE DAVID ROBERTSON INJURY

Say what you will about the New York Yankees, but when it comes to news and information, it’s not always straight forward. Take Joe Girardi for example… he is never the right guy to talk to when it comes to an injured player. For the most part, He’s vague and doesn’t give you the whole story and sometimes he doesn't give you the truth. Now, in fairness, he’s working on that flaw, but picking today to be totally honest was not the right time. This is Joe Girardi commenting on David Robertson’s foot injury:

“I’m concerned, By the way I saw him walking today, it hurt him to walk so you assume he’s going to be down a little bit of time, even if everything comes back OK. Now that doesn’t mean he wouldn’t have time to get ready for the season but he’ll have to start over a little bit but not totally. Again, depending on how long he’s out.”

Sure, if you read that, you don’t know if Robertson’s going to be OK sooner or later. But one thing that’s important is what Girardi said first. DRob’s clearly hurting and sure, the injury just happened and he’ll be sore, that's all fact, but if he’s in pain and can’t really walk, well, I’d be concerned too. Now the latest on Robertson's injury is simple, after the MRI, the Tampa doctor will consult a foot doctor before reporting to the Yankees on Friday. Read about that HERE.

This is how Robertson's injury happened, according to ESPN:

"...Robertson suffered the injury while moving some boxes down a flight of stairs at his home and "missed a step," causing the injury. Robertson called team trainer Steve Donohue Wednesday night and was taken for X-rays early Thursday morning, which came back negative.

He was then given an MRI, which revealed unspecified damage to Robertson's right foot, which was immobilized in a walking boot..."

Now, according to Jack Curry, he tweeted this about the Robertson injury: "If Robertson foot injury causes him to miss more than 2 weeks, Girardi said that his availability for opener would be in doubt."

So yeah, there's a lot going on. In the beginning, David Robertson chalked up the injury as funny, but Girardi isn't happy, and that's being reported. Robertson says it was an accident and it probably is, but the Yankees still need to think ahead. Look you need your legs and feet to pitch. It’s a must. I think about Chien-Ming Wang immediately and what happened to him with his whole injury (read HERE.) I also thought about Kendry Morales who was clearly on his way to being a superstar for the Angels. He did what a lot of major leaguers do when they hit a walk off homer, they run home and jump on home plate, except there was one problem...Morales shattered his ankle. Remember that? (Read HERE.) Sure, you can argue those injuries are totally different. I'm here to tell you that that's not my point. My point is, foot injuries screw you as a player, it takes longer to get back and it's a brutal injury. It’s a long process depending on the injury and once you go through the rehabilitation and the waiting and training… you sometimes have a real hard time trusting your leg or foot again because you’re afraid to put too much force on it, you don’t want to overwork it and it’s a constant concern.

Am I worried for the Yankees bullpen? Well, it’s a temporary loss but the reality is, the pen is strong, but missing DRob sucks. You just want the guy healthy. We here at Bleeding Yankee Blue, we love the guy. He and Erin Robertson's interview with us when we wanted to help promote High Socks for Hope was great, plus we’ve written extensively about Robertson to the point where Mark Simon of ESPN even picked us up one day for our belief that David Robertson was pitching so well in 2011 that he should be considered for the Cy Young. Read WHY BLEEDING YANKEE BLUE GOT A SHOUTOUT... KIND OF. No doubt we want him to be 100%.

Look, we’ll be following the Robertson injury closely, and if there's an update tomorrow, we'll write about it here at BYB. Believe me, we’ll have a considerable amount of stories written about him over the next few days… you need to look for them here.

Get well soon Houdini, we need you buddy. Who would have thought David Robertson would have been the guy to get hurt first… my money was on Eric Chavez.

Please comment, we have DISQUS, it's easier than ever. Let me know what you think and follow me on Twitter @BleednYankeeBlu and look for the hashtag #BYB. Also, join the group Bleeding Yankee Blue on Facebook, just type it in.

WHY BLEEDING YANKEE BLUE GOT A SHOUTOUT... KIND OF

(Photo: Getty)
When we started Bleeding Yankee Blue we were just happy to get readers. The ones that we have now, you, are so loyal we couldn't be happier and we love interacting with you all on Twitter and Facebook... it's alot of fun, so thank you for your support.

In doing my daily reading through the sports pages, looking for a nugget, I can across Mark Simon from ESPN and his piece titled simply YANKEES AT TWINS and he goes through the players that no doubt will be looked at closely today... AJ Burnett, Francisco Liriano, today's pitchers as well as red hot Curtis Granderson, Nick Swisher and David Robertson where he wrote this:

"David Robertson who got a day off yesterday, has been amazing in his last nine outings, allowing two hits and no walks in 9 2/3 innings pitched. One intrepid blogger has even started a Cy Young campaign for him."(Photo: Getty)
I was curious, who could the intrepid blogger be? No idea, but I had to click. Luckily... it was BYB and Mikey's piece titled WHY DAVID ROBERTSON IS CY YOUNG WORTHY. Needless to say, we are excited and as the head of Bleeding Yankee Blue I wanted to personally thank Mark Simon for the mention, and, for even noticing. It seems sometimes when us bloggers even try and communicate with these writers, we don't even get a response, like we're not worthy of it. I just want to say we appreciate you acknowledging that we have a voice too, even if we are intrepid... or bold, or courageous, whatever you want to call us. The best part of what we do here at Bleeding Yankee Blue is write from our hearts; we're all Yankee fans, I think that's what makes us unique, don't you think?

Please comment and let me know what you think and follow me on Twitter @BleednYankeeBlu and join the group Bleeding Yankee Blue on Facebook, just type it in.