DEAR MORONS, GET A LIFE

Who takes the time to make a Go Fund me page to raise money for the New York Yankees so we can try and sign Manny Machado? Dumb people.

Do you realize how much money the Yankees have? Do you realize that if the Yankees were really jazzed about Machado they would have found a way to sign him already? They aren't in love with the idea... not at his price tag... which is why they didn't make an official offer and why he's not a Yankee.  Stop it... it's all very stupid.

We don't know what will happen. Chill. It reminds me of the sarcastic, yet, dumb tweet from Ryan Dempster the other day.

Literally anyone on twitter could write this. There is literally no information in this tweet. God bless you. You are bad at this.

— Robert Casey (@BleednYankeeBlu) January 10, 2019

The dude isn't a baseball analyst folks, even if that's what his title is these days.  You can't always transform into one, even though you were a baseball player before that, and he's just mocking the whole speculation scene too. And hey, I get it, but he's bad at it. He really is.  And he just needs to go away.

Let me say this again so you all get it. Stop falling for the bull and start using your head.  Fans don't control what owners and GMs want to do with their teams. We get guys whether we like them or not and we root for the uniform. It's how it's always been. Stop trying to insert yourself... you are irrelevant to the process.

Who the hell are you to be so self-absorbed that you actually think you can contribute 5 bucks to some fund so the Yankees can get Manny? Do you really think the Yankees give a crap that you're trying to collect for Manny?  Go away... all of you.

Oh... and Happy Friday, freaks!

FRAIDY CAT

I'm always baffled when David Ortiz talks.  He thinks he's important and I'll never understand that.  What am I talking about?  Well, Ortiz tweeted about Tom Brady and deflate-gate... giving him a shout out. I guess because he got off by a federal judge yesterday.  Like we needed someone else to talk about something that no one should care about...

Got our qb back!!!! S.o. 2 tom brady #patsnation pic.twitter.com/T48qlN2dwE

— David Ortiz (@davidortiz) September 3, 2015

Now look... full disclosure. I don't care for David Ortiz.  I think he's a blowhard. I think he's been around the game way too long.  I don't find him relevant anymore and I think his ego makes his head too big... or maybe that's the PEDs.  I kid, I kid.

Look, This is what I don't get about David Ortiz...

He comes out and defends Tom Brady for allegedly deflating the balls during his season.  For me personally, I don't care.  I don't care what Roger Goodell did. I don't care if Tom Brady or a ball boy deflated them. There are major things happening in this world that are of greater concern than letting alittle air out of the ball.  You beat your wife? That's a bigger story to me.  You know what I mean?

But this is about David Ortiz, the walking contradiction. That guy that sides with certain players because it helps HIM.  David Ortiz came out defending Tom Brady yesterday... yet, when everything went down about his then friend Alex Rodriguez... there was radio silence. SILENCE. In fact, he came out defending Alex when Ryan Dempster threw at him, but never made a peep about Alex and PEDs. Meanwhile Manny Ramirez, Papi and Alex were very, very tight during the height of the rivalry back around 2005.

But suddenly PEDs and Alex surface, and the dude bolts.  He bolted with Manny... and he bolted with Alex, distancing himself with a roadrunner cloud and everything. Meanwhile, he's kissing the ass of then commissioner Bud Selig. And Selig was kissing him back. I thought he and Alex were friends?  Hmmm... but let's take it further.

Do you notice when the subject of PEDs come up... Ortiz is awfully defensive?  I remember that ridiculous "sympathy piece" the Players' Tribune put out, written by Ortiz, about how he's harassed to give urine and blood "early" in the morning when "his kids are sleeping" when he's home in the D.R. How he's been tested "the most in MLB history" (Who's calculating that stat?).

I did my own through read of that piece this morning. When you really analyze his story, "MLB players" take all this stuff, but he's somehow removed from it.  Read this portion:

"Most guys are still taking over-the-counter supplements. If it’s legal, ballplayers take it. Why? Because if you make it to the World Series, you play 180 games. Really think about that for a second. 180 games. Your kids could be sick, your wife could be yelling at you, your dad could be dying — nobody cares. Nobody cares if you have a bone bruise in your wrist or if you have a pulled groin. You’re an entertainer. The people want to see you hit a 95-mile-an-hour fastball over a damn 37-foot wall.

 Most MLB players take a dozen pills a day just to get them through the season — multivitamins, creatine, amino acids, nitric oxide, all kinds of stuff. Whatever you tell them is legal, they’ll take it.

But back in the early 2000s, you’d go into GNC and the guy working there would say, “Hey, take this stuff. It’s great. It builds muscle, helps with soreness, burns fat, whatever.”

Okay, sure, I’ll take that. I’m buying an over-the-f***ing-counter supplement in the United States of America. I’m buying this stuff in line next to doctors and lawyers. Now all of a sudden MLB comes out and says there’s some ingredient in GNC pills that have a form of steroid in them. I don’t know anything about it."

I find this portion fascinating.  Ortiz has managed to accuse the other MLB players of taking "supplements".  Then he casually throws in that he'd take something from GNC, but if MLB says there's a steroid in it, "I DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT IT." 

"Not me! I'm on the straight and narrow.  The others guys do it." Interesting David.  In essence... ARod was one of those guys, and so, when Alex's lawyers accused "players in Boston" of using, David quickly cut Alex off.  Why? Alex's lawyer never said David's name?  He said: "...but some of them are God-like in Boston right now." What kind of an ego do you have to have to think it's you, David? Really?  Or maybe they're onto something? Is it you? If David's name wasn't said... hmm... interesting again.

My point is, friends are supposed to stick together when times are tough right? Back in February when a reporter asked Ortiz about ARod, he said "I say Good Luck. Next."

Oh, I get it, defending Tom Brady is OK because he doesn't tarnish David's reputation or throw suspicion David's way.  That's safe. That gets re-tweets. But defending Alex doesn't.  Got it.

You know what David Ortiz needs to do? Be quiet or come clean.  He's a baseball player and PEDs is in his history, when baseball wasn't testing for it.  That's fine, we all get that by now. But PEDs is still in baseball, and David Ortiz, and any of these other players don't have the authority to do whatever the hell they want anymore.  Ortiz complaining that he's being tested 80 times a season should be expected. Yes, David, you are an entertainer, and you're suspicious, and random or not, that's what baseball has become.

As far as your alignment to certain people? I'm quickly seeing a pattern here.  You've managed to allow your ego get the best of you.

You need a reality check, son.

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SPOILED ROTTEN

As New York Yankee Fans we are all, in a way, the adopted children of George M. Steinbrenner. We’ve learned a lot from the late, great Boss. The most important lesson he taught us was WINNING! There simply is no substitute. There are no medals or glory for placing second in the race. And moral victories are for those who find comfort in “Participant Ribbons”.

I have bought into these policies lock, stock and barrel. I feel that you should always play to win. Some more non-competitive types or the “Yay Sports” hipster crowd may not see it that way, and they are absolutely entitled to their opinion…but it doesn’t wash in the Bronx, New York.

The fine line we need to walk is how we deal with losing. Yes, we should NEVER be okay with coming up short. In all walks of life I feel that the goal should be to succeed, but losing is a fact of life. We learn from losses…often much more than wins. A loss shows us how to be better. It gives us the chance to reevaluate our plan of attack and try again.

I will always defend Yankee Fans. The Bombers are my team. They are my Father’s team. They were my Grandfather’s team. The Yanks are family. And as a family member it gives me no joy to say that the bulk of this fan base have become irrational, spoiled brats. And I haven’t seen it more clearly than in the venom spewed at our skipper Joe Girardi.

You want him canned? He's done a lousy job? If the Boss were alive he’d be gone? Do me a favor, count to 10 and take a look in the mirror. This awful season is hardly all Joe’s fault. Is he innocent of blame? No, and I don’t think Joe would ever claim to be.

A friend of mine made mention that he is the 1st Yankee manager to miss the playoff in consecutive seasons since the early 1990’s. Well, seeing as we had only Buck Showalter and Joe Torre at the helm since then…yeah, I guess he’s right. But let’s take a closer look at this sin against Yankee fandom.

The ABSOLUTE MASH UNIT of retreads and never-will-bes the Yankees fielded in 2013 HAD NO BUSINESS being anywhere near the race in late September…and yet, they were. This year the big time signings failed to hit at all. Not a lick! Sure, they play for Joe, but THEY have to hit. I’d say that it's time for K Long to go…but Girardi? Nah. Not yet. Joe is doing a hell of a lot with this dead to the neck up ball club. The Yankee fan wants blood on their Nathan’s hot dog as soon as something goes bad. The wave of success had to crash, folks. And it did because we stopped working on the farm and drafting worthwhile talent. The front office fell into the trap of the 1980’s again. Throw bad money after bad money. Chemistry? What’s that? It’s the backbone of what helped the dynasty teams win!

So the party ended with Joe Girardi at the wheel and now all of this is his fault? Well, that’s brilliant. If you can Joe you lose a good manager who KNOWS what it’s like to play in New York.

He never runs his players down (And boy could he). This guy stood up for ARod when “Dempster The Gutless One”  drilled him last year in Boston. Why? BECAUSE JOE GIVES A DAMN!

Joe’s guys respect him. They know he knows his stuff. He learned from Torre and Zim. He has been through the wars. Did he fly off the handle in the 6-1 loss to Tampa? Maybe…but what would Billy Martin have done? Or Buck? Hell, even Mr. T. would have put down his cup of Bigelow Tea and had a word with the Umps.

So this is what will happen. Joe Girardi will still be the skipper next year. The Yankees will go through a transition period and it won’t be easy. Yes, the Boss might have sacked Joe and the BOSS WOULD HAVE BEEN WRONG. Remember when Big Stein had a leave of absence Stick and the boys got to work building a foundation that ended up putting together an historical run. It is lousy not to have October baseball. It’s awful…but Joe Girardi wanted to get the Yankees there more than anybody…these Yankees flat out let all of us down. Just my two cents…

** This one is for you GI Joe. Keep that iron chin held high. LET’S GO YANKEES! **

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

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AND THE WINNER IS...

The clean up is under way in Boston. “Wicked” heavy accents chanting “LET’S GO RED SOX!” and the sound of the Dropkick Murphys had dissipated.  The 2013 campaign is over and much to the dismay of Yankee fans; their rivals up in Bean town will hoist a World Championship banner from the third time in a decade. 

I tip my cap to the Boston Red Sox. They played solid, team baseball all year and showed up big when it mattered most. Sure, it’s always tough to give credit to the Sox…their fans certainly aren’t as polite when it comes to Yankee victories, and if you are holding your breath that they’ll be more “gracious” now that they have reversed their imaginary curse…don’t. That’s just who they are…but enough about them. 

 Award Season is upon us! No, not the endless back patting that happens in Hollywood in February and March. I’m referring to real awards, like the CY Young, MVP and Manager of the Year. Recently, the finalists for the American League’s best skipper were announced. The powers that be, in all their “wisdom”, have selected Oakland’s Bob Melvin, Cleveland’s Terry Francona and Boston’s John Farrell. The one name that seems to be missing is JOE GIRARDI!! To quote the great Johnny McEnroe, “YOU CANNOT BE SERIOUS!” Look, you can call me a homer. You can say that I am towing the company line. You can say I am simply angry that I had to watch the Sox win another title in a year when the Yanks finished 4^th. Knock yourself out if that’s what you need to do. It doesn’t change the fact that Girardi absolutely deserves to be in the running for this award. 

Now, I won’t say that the other managers aren’t deserving of praise. Melvin continues to take a small market club and get every bit of talent out of each of his players. They make the Angels look like chumps (which I am all good with) and no one can take the A’s lightly under his watch.  They are the real deal and he deserves a lot of credit. 

Tito Francona is just a likable guy. He always has been. Even when he was at the helm in Boston, you couldn’t help but to respect him. He knows the game, was a worthy adversary and handled the rivalry with class. I think we all rooted for him when the beer drinking, chicken eating, trouble makers pushed the World Champion manager to walk away from the feud at Fenway. This year he did help make the Tribe much better. Guys want to play for Tito. I have no issue with him being considered for MOTY. 

John Farrell is a solid manager, but what adversity did he face this year? It was a love fest when he arrived. He’s an Irishman in Boston, Massachusetts and the skipper that took over for the absolute void that is Bobby Valentine. Farrell needed to not get in the way and echo the heart of that team, Dustin Pedroia. Many picked the Sox to be towards the middle or bottom of the AL East. So expectations were low to boot. Yes, he did a good job and the new guys, young guys and veterans play to form, but was he so outstanding? I don’t see it that way. And this is not an anti-Sox rant. Again, Boston was the best team in the league this year. Papi, Pedy, Shane, Lestah, Nap and Jawny Gomes were outstanding, kid (written so Bostonians can understand me). But was their manager? He was just good. Not great. Just good. 

I wrote about GI Joe Girardi earlier in the season, read GI JOE & HIS BRONX BRIGADE here. I applauded they way he handle “The Beaning of Alex Rodriquez by the Coward Ryan Dempster.” Joe is the manager of the New York Yankees. Yes, it’s cliché to say, but it is a tougher job to manage and play in The Big Apple than anywhere else. It is, be honest. The coaches and players here get it from all angles. The fans, the press and even there own front offices constantly hound them and second-guess everything they do.  You have to have a very thick skin and be focused on your job and your job alone to survive here. 

This year the Yankees training room was M.A.S.H. unit. They lost key player after key player…and then they lost them again. Joe took a patchwork quilt of aging players from the Island of Misfit Toys to war every day. That fact coupled with the sub par year that CC Sabathia had and the ARod circus made Girardi’s job much more difficult than any of the other candidates…and did Joe complain? Did he run down his replacement squad of “Not Ready for Primetime” rookies? No. He MANAGED with what he had! And the Yankees were in the mix right up until the last couple weeks of the season. That is a Manager of the Year. He didn’t have his Captain. He had more distractions than a kid with ADD at a Sharper Image store! 

Girardi even handled the press better than he has before…and Joe is not a fan of the press. He wears his disdain on his chiseled faced. He answers the doom and gloom questions with a frank answer and an uncomfortable, geeky chuckle. But he always faces the music, shouldering the blame and deflecting the credit. 

So in a way, if John Farrell is named Manager of the Year for 2013,the Hollywood awards 
and Manager of the Year will be very similar. The real winner would not even be nominated and an “industry darling” with take home a meaningless statue and hollow win. Basically if Farrell takes home MOTY over Girardi or Tito or Melvin, it will be like when “Chicago” won for Best Picture…it wasn’t. 

 

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

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THE YANKEES & TURNING IT ON

BYB Senior Writer Erica Morales said it best.  The Sleeping Monster is awake and there are many that believe with the confidence the New York Yankees have right now... anything can be accomplished, including, winning the division.

It's amazing how a few good games can build a team's confidence... as well as a fan base by the way. We've had struggles this season.  Those games, those reports are in the record books. They are also in the past.  We've had controversy and made up stories by Bill Madden of the New York Daily News on how Alex Rodriguez will NEVER PLAY AGAIN when the suspension game down. Guess what?  He's playing.  But now, with a 5 game winning streak happening and the parts working together, we seem unstoppable.

I certainly got down on my team this season, but there is no time for that now.  Now is the time to dominate. Now is the time to win and keep winning and reach back and continue to do great things every game.  Today I tweeted this:

Hustle today! Don't be complacent... It will kill you. #RISEUP #KICKASS #BEBETTER #PUSHYOURSELF
— Bleeding Yankee Blue (@BleednYankeeBlu) August 23, 2013

It's simple.  The Yankees can do this.  I picture my boys making incredible plays while the instrumental Training Montage of Rocky IV by Vince DiCola plays.


Push now more than ever.  Let those "moments" push this team further.  Let 4000 hits by Ichiro pick this club up.  Let the Joe Girardi argument after the Ryan Dempster plunk resonate with us fans... think about what needs to be done here.  The Yankees are 6 games out of first place and just a few away from the Wild Card.  3 weeks ago I would have told you that it was probably over.  Tonight, it's a much different story.  Steve Skinner said it best in WITH A HUFF & A PUFF... THE YANKEES WIN! "Anyone else feeling 1978-ish?"  It reminds me alot of that.

(In Photo: Ron Guidry, 1978)
A team that could. A team that believed and outsmarted and outplayed the Red Sox. We are at that "moment"" again... It starts with Hiroki Kuroda tonight and continues in this Rays series!

The late pickups of Alfonso Soriano and Mark Reynolds makes sense now.  The great pitching by Ivan Nova and Hiroki Kuroda and lately Andy Pettitte and CC Sabathia is all happening at the right time.  The "close" return of Derek Jeter could catapult this club after this weekend.

Even Brett Gardner is doing the little, and big things to help get wins! One thing is clear... we need to believe.  When you believe, anything is possible,  As fans, we've had huge celebrations and horrible losses... but now is the time to remember the good times, for we are the Yankees and we CAN do this!

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GI JOE & HIS BRONX BRIGADE

Most Yankee fans, if we are being honest with ourselves, didn’t want him. We all had visions of our beloved “Donnie Baseball” succeeding “Mr. Torre” as the skipper of The Bronx Bombers. When the 2007 season concluded, GM Brian Cashman and others from the front office were summoned to Tampa to deliberate about a new manager… it was as if they were selecting a new Pope. In our hearts, we were hoping Mattingly’s name would be announced once the white smoke billowed from the chimney at Steinbrenner Field.  Instead we were told former Yankee catcher Joe Girardi would take the helm of the biggest ship in professional sports.

Now, Girardi was a good player for us. He’d been part of World Championship teams. He’d caught a perfect game, and we all remember him gutting out that triple in 1996. But Joe wasn’t a Hall of Famer…or even a "Monument Parker."  He gave us all he had and played the game the right way, and that means a lot to Yankee fans. But the bottom line is Joe Girardi isn’t, as the late Bob Shepard would say, “The first baseman, #23, Don Mattingly, #23."

So like it or not, Girardi moved into his new office in the clubhouse at 161st and River Ave and Donnie went Hollywood with Mr. Torre.  As for Yankee fans, we got used to the idea. It's not like The Boss hired Grady Little or Tommy Lasorda. Hell, Girardi had a Manager of the Year Award on his resume. He has an Engineering degree from Northwestern, which isn’t exactly ITT Tech or DeVry, folks. Even Don Zimmer vouched for Joe, saying he was meant to be a Big League manager. So yeah, he isn’t Donnie but he’s far from a bad choice.

This season Girardi has dealt with more adversity than he could dream up in a nightmare. The exodus of some key players coupled with countless injuries to the engine room of the batting order…Joe didn’t even have Derek Jeter. Instead, he was given “talent” in the twilight of their careers or "not ready for prime time" players who, to their credit, played way over their skis and kept the Yanks from taking up the motto of the Chicago Cubs, “Wait ‘til next year.”

And then there was the “ARod Factor”. The return of Alex Rodriguez was like jamming a Grand Piano into the back of a moving truck already loaded with a house full of problems. Sure, ARod playing on one leg and blind folded is better than David Adams, my opinion, but the laser/light show of drama he brings with him could unsettle even the most Zen-like clubhouse. And yet, G.I. Joe remains steady as a US Marine in the heat of battle. He juggled the injuries, the re-injuries, the “uneasy” fan base, aging heroes and possibly the darkest cloud to hang over the game since the Black Sox in 1919.  All the while Girardi excelled at keeping his troops focused. He never ran them down or blamed the team’s struggles on bad moves or luck. These are the men Joe goes to war with, and they know he is always there to back them up. Joe Girardi might not be the former Yankee Captain wearing Dodger Blue in La La Land, but Joe Girardi IS a leader and one hell of a manager.

For years it has been said you’re not a real Yankee until you have your moment. Like Hideki Matsui earning his Pinstripes with a walk off dinger. This past Sunday night at a very hostile Fenway Park, Joe Girardi earned his.

Yes, Joe has rings. Yes, in 2009 Joe helped bring home number 27. But to me, on Sunday August 18th, Girardi solidified himself as a Yankee. Sox pitcher Ryan Dempster decided to take the code of baseball into his own hands and threw intentionally and repeatedly at Alex Rodriguez in his first at bat. Does ARod deserve to have players and fans angry with him? Yes, I believe he does. Does he deserve relentless jeering and boos raining down on him? In my opinion, you betcha. If found guilty of PEDs, should he be exiled from baseball? Absolutely. But is it Ryan Dempster’s job to dish out punishment? Is it okay for the Fenway Faithful (who seem to have forgotten the titles Manny and Papi helped deliver fuel by PED) to cheer wildly at their pitcher throwing up and in to drill Alex? No. No it isn’t. Not to me and apparently not to Joe Girardi either.

In a George Brett-like charge from the Visitor’s dugout, Girardi hit the field and defended his player. And this is a player that has caused Joe more than a few headaches. This is a player that he had to bench more than once, that has seemingly always put himself before his team and who’s lawyers are attacking the same employers that hold sway on Girardi’s job. And yet, there he was standing up for one of the most hated men in sports with everything in his heart. Why? It’s because Alex is, for at least this season, part of Joe’s unit. He is a one of Girardi’s soldiers and what Dempster did was cowardly and wrong.

As I watched, I found myself feeling a lot of pride in the man who was picked over one of my childhood heroes. Joe Girardi has integrity.  He has set an example for his team to follow. They fight like he does. Many of them weren’t the first choice either and yet they play with all they have following their Skipper into battle each and everyday. No excuses, they just leave it out on the field.

Will the Yankees make the playoffs? I don’t know. What I do know is that although this team doesn’t resemble the Yankees we have gotten used to, they don’t quit. They give us all they have just like their manager did when he played. They have handled everything the 2013 season could dish out and kept on keeping on. That is what G.I. Joe Girardi has taught them, and that is why he’ll be remembered as a great Yankee manager.




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

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ORTIZ: DEMPSTER WOKE THE SLEEPING MONSTER

With so many opinions being shared about Ryan Dempster beaning Alex Rodriguez, the most interesting to me was David Ortiz's. Turns out, Big Papi does not approve.

In an article in USA Today (HERE), Ortiz said "I didn't like it. I don't think it was the right thing to do. But we don't all think alike, and the guy who did it, Dempster, is a great guy. It's not that I didn't think it was right because Alex and I are friends, because once you cross the white lines, everyone's on their own. But we've got Tampa right on our heels, and that pitch woke up a monster in the Yankees' team at that moment."

I don't like Ortiz. He's a thorn in my side, but I know that is only because I am a Yankees fan. If I were a fan of another team, I probably would view him differently. As a fan of baseball, I am aware that he is  on of the most well liked, and well respected players in the league. I know it is difficult for some of us to understand how, but it's true. Scary, right?

I have to give props to Ortiz here. And trust me, that was difficult for me to write. This is one of those cases where it is easy to go with the flow, but difficult to stand out. Dempster is his teammate after all. Any sign of division in the Red Sox clubhouse usually sends Yankee fans, and baseball fans in general, into laughing fits. But in this case, Ortiz is right. Though I strongly disagree that Dempster is "a great guy." Like I said earlier this week, throwing at someone makes you a coward. Ortiz wasn't speaking as a friend to ARod, but as a player. One who probably doesn't appreciate being thrown at purposely. One who knows that a baseball coming at you upwards of 90 MPH hurts.

He was also speaking as a competitor. One who realizes that all the Yankees needed was a single spark to bring them back to life. He realizes that all Dempster did was fan the flame. He did indeed wake a sleeping monster. With Tampa nipping at the Red Sox heels, this couldn't possibly be what they wanted.

Got to admit, it makes me smile knowing that the Yankees put the fear of God in Big Papi. The fact that he is aware the team is a legitimate threat to the Red Sox makes me happy. Big Papi knows what the team is capable of, and would have preferred us to remain dormant. Can we all just take a moment to imagine Big Papi chewing Dempster's head off.

Ortiz: Why did you do that?
Dempster: I always put my team first.
Ortiz: Yea? And you think giving them the energy to make a come back is putting the team first?
Dempster: Well... I...
Ortiz: Yea! Nice going, jackass!

Even if Dempster shows no remorse over his actions, it's got to sting a little that the most respected player on his team disapproves. I mean, what an ego deflate! "I'm a bad ass... Nope! Ortiz says no." Now I have to go disinfect. I just gave David Ortiz props, and agreed with him to an extent. Feeling a little unclean. I wonder how much tomato juice it will take to get this stink out.

 
--Erica Morales BYB Senior Writer
Twitter: @e_morales1804

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MLB SENDS MESSAGE WITH DEMPSTER'S SUSPENSION

The MLB has suspended Ryan Dempster for five games. After intentionally hitting Alex Rodriguez on Sunday nights game, home plate umpire, Brian O'Nora warned both sides, and ejected Yankees manager, Joe Girardi.

Personally, I think O'Nora dropped the ball on this one. It was clearly intentional. Dempster should have been ejected. I get that pitchers intentionally throw at batters often. It happens. But you get one pitch to hit the batter. Not four. To make matters worse, three more Yankees batters were hit after the warning, with no consequences to the Red Sox.

In an article in USA Today, ARod says "Whether you like me or hate, that was wrong. That was unprofessional and silly. It was kind of a silly way to get someone hurt on your team as well." You can read the full article HERE. I don't always agree with ARod, but he's right on this point. Dempster's actions were completely unprofessional, and unacceptable. Dempster has also been fined an undisclosed amount.

I hope this is a lesson to Dempster, and MLB players in general. I understand that people may not be happy with what is going on. They may not agree with it at all. But these are the rules. ARod is allowed to appeal, and play until the appeal is heard. Behaving the way Dempster did, does not make you a hero. A baseball is a weapon. Especially when it is coming at you upwards of 90 mph. Intentionally throwing at someone makes you a coward.


--Erica Morales BYB Senior Writer
Twitter: @e_morales1804


 

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SHOOTOUT AT THE FENWAY CORRAL

CC Sabathia faced a moment of truth early. Bottom of the first, he found himself in a bases loaded jam with one out. How he handled it next could set the tone of the game. The Sox eeked out a couple runs. And it looked as though we would settle in for a war of attrition.

Then things got weird.

Ryan Dempster was determined to plunk ARod. After four throws, he did. It wasn’t even close to being subtle. As a friend says, it put the “B” in “subtle.” Fenway faithful cheered. Joe Girardi raced out to argue that Dempster should get tossed. Instead, Joe got ejected.

And that served to wake up the Yankee bats. In short order, the Bombers tied it and then pulled ahead in the third. The Sox answered back. Both of the latter runs were RBIs from groundouts.

Meanwhile, the ARod circus once again shouldered its way to the forefront and the game was forgotten by ESPN as they postulated on just what exactly was going on with Rodriguez. Once again, you can’t miss the mess.

It was if the commentary distracted the Yankees. Before you knew it, the Sox scored a sac fly and a solo homer and got in front by two. CC faced another bases loaded jam in the fifth and walked in Boston’s sixth run.

But ARod came through with a timely homer, and Brett cleared the bases after that with a triple to put the Bombers up 7-6. He would get hit by a pitch his next at bat. Robinson Cano would get hit by a pitch the inning after that. Really, it was completely ridiculous.

CC was average at best. Alex Rodriguez found some heat in his bat and the Yankee offense in general showed up. Mariano Rivera got a standing O from Boston upon entry. He gave us a couple nervous moments, allowing two base runners, before sealing the win.

The Yankees needed this game. This date should be remembered in all your calendars. Tonight the Bombers proved they are still in the hunt for post-season play.

And it’s good to know that when it comes to a shootout, the New York Yankees are not firing blanks.

Your final: Yankees 9 -  Red Sox 6

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


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