HOME RUN DERBY 2013: CESPEDES & THE ROOSTER BOY

Homers. Dingers. Rockets. Lasers. Blasts. Goners. Upper Deckers. Jacks. Shots. Whambleblams. Oppo Tacos. Yes, that last one is a thing. Take it up with the Angels.

There is just something special about home runs. We all love to watch them. The whole point of the Derby is to give fans a show of awesomeness that no other sport can duplicate. We look forward to this every year.

Pitbull opened up with a song that sounded to me like every other Pitbull song except it sampled “Take On Me" by A-Ha. Is it me or is the guy looking more and more like Yul Brynner in “The Magnificent Seven?"

That’s not a bad thing.

Presentation was spiffy. Nice montage of New York hitters knocking dingers, including Piazza’s emotional knock after 9/11. They finished with that, rightly enough, but the Yankees were represented well too.

Prince Fielder killed the second and third pitches he saw for absolute monster shots, the latter going a projected 548 feet. He launched another tower of a shot that bounced off the roof of an impromptu TV studio for 424 feet. He finished with 5 long bombs. Not enough for him to be Three Time Derby Champion. This year, at least.

Michael Cuddyer got two fast shots as well, just missing one of the two trucks in center. It seemed like he was running out of gas when he decided to tack on 5 more shots to left and finish with 7, getting him to the second round.

Yoenis Cespedes, in his first Derby appearance, promptly began littering the upper deck with baseballs, and knocked one off of the scoreboard for good measure. The Cuban native brought fans to their feet time and time again, ringing up tater after moonshot. David Ortiz put in a word about how incredible it was to watch Cespedes take BP.

Big Papi brought Cespedes a drink at the 12-Homer mark, and the 27 year old told Ortiz he would take it easy from there on in. His idea of “taking it easy" was to swat 5 more runs, finishing with 17. Incredibly, 12 of those were over 400 feet! Needless to say, Yoenis was in the driver’s seat.

Pedro Alvarez went next, the first hitter for the NL. He had a tough act to follow, and television coverage was divided between his swings and interviewing Cespedes. Alvarez still put on a respectable display, getting 6 Big Pokes, one going for 461 feet.

Chris Davis is having a career year and he showed why with some very high, very long home runs. An early favorite to win it all, Davis finished with 8 Taters, getting him to the second round.

Bryce Harper and his ridiculous haircut came next. His father Ron pitched him a steady diet of cut fastballs, and Harper logged 8 Big Flies. Impressive, considering he swung at cutters. Even more impressive considering he looked like Rooster Boy from that old Kids in the Hall skit.

I am surprised his father didn’t bean him for looking like such a punk, and yes, you can get off my lawn now. Anyway, “Rooster Boy" made it to the next round.

Next up was our man, Robinson Cano. After posting a goose egg in last year’s Derby, it was nice to see Robbie quickly ring up 3 in short order. It was also nice to see Mariano Rivera get interviewed during Robbie’s cuts. It wasn’t nice to see Robbie only add one more for a total of 4 runs. He did better than last year, but his first run established that. Sigh.

David Wright finished Round One. He surpassed Cano’s run total, but only by one. The NL Captain finished his night at 5.

Mike Piazza showed up at the media booth to watch Michael Cuddyer just miss the truck again while notching 8 more runs for a total of 15. Chris Davis followed with 4 long bombs, but wasn’t getting near the mark set by Cespedes. He was done for the night with a total of 12. Next came “Rooster Boy" Bryce Harper, passing Cuddyer’s total with 16 runs to advance to the final round.

Yoenis Cespedes stepped back to the plate and continued to shower outfield fans with baseballs. He won a truck, hit the restaurant window, smacked a $23,000 gold ball, and added 6 runs for a total of 23. He would face Rooster Boy in the finals, both of them starting from scratch.

Harper started off the final round. Why nobody from the AL tried to distract him with chicken feed is beyond me. Rooster Boy knocked 8 runs, exactly the same number he got in the previous two rounds. Rooster Boy may look silly, but he’s consistent and talented. And he set a high bar for Yoenis.

No problem for Cespedes. He continued to casually smack the dickens out of Mr. Rawlings, easily reaching 400+ feet, into the upper deck, and wherever he felt like putting the ball. He tied Rooster Boy with a jaw dropper that the restaurant got in the way of, with only 5 of his outs used. He won it with a 455 shot to center.

Great Home Run Derby this year. Lots of terrific towers and humbling homers. Yoenis Cespedes handily won the Derby, cruising to victory despite an impressive challenge from Bryce Harper.

Which is good, because I didn’t want the guy winning the Derby be the guy resembling loud-mouthed poultry.

Your 2013 Home Run Derby Winner, Yoenis Cespedes with 32 total home runs.


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



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RUMORS IN YANKEELAND: PART 2

Who likes rumors? We do. We like finding them and writing about them. If any of them turn out to be true that makes it even better. The Yankees have made a lot of moves this season. Some of them turned out to be pleasant surprises who have been an anchor to the team. Some have had a relatively short stay. So anything can happen. Who else is out there that could be Bronx bound?

There are some interesting name out there, and one that you may not have heard of. Thanks to some recent success from signings on the international scene I think this draft will have more attention. I guess we have Yu Darvish and Yoenis Cespedes to thank for that. It does make baseball exciting though, and that is even more true when you look at how many fans were following the World Baseball Classic this year.

This year, the Yankees were rumored to have some interest in a top ten international prospect named Leonardo Molina, read that HERE. Supposedly, the Yankees were rumored to be the favorite. We have heard that before though so who knows if it was actually true. I say WAS only because Major League baseball changed their mind yesterday and have decided to cancel the draft until after the Collective Bargaining Agreement expires in 2016, read more on all of this HERE. So who knows what will come of Molina, but if he somehow manages to find his way to New York someday, you heard the speculation here from us!

But back to familiar territory now, If I were a betting woman I would take my money to the nearest casino and bet that the Yankees were going to shop for a right handed bat. You could tell during Wednesday night's game against the New York Mets that the Yankees need more right handed bats because right now lefties are just stacked against them in a never ending line. Once Mark Teixeira and Kevin Youkilis come back that will help, but it may not be enough. So who is available?

Mike Morse: He started off the season swinging a hot bat. Since then he has cooled down a little, and some think that unless the Mariners can turn their season around he may be on the chopping block regardless of him signing with the Mariners in the off season, read more HERE. The Yankees were interested during the off season, but when he wasn't interested in a one year deal, like many other free agents, it never amounted to anything. If the Mariners do fall out he would make a nice addition to the roster. His bat may not be as hot right now but don't let the .254BA fool you. He does have 11HR, 21RBI and he knows how to get on base. Plus add his bat in the lineup and I am sure those home runs will go up. He is also very versatile. He could fill in at first, shortstop and the outfield so it will help give some guys some much needed rest right now. I like the possibility.

Josh Willingham: He is one possibility on a very suspect Minnesota Twins team. The Twins looked like they were keeping pace pretty well in their division for awhile, but have really slipped lately. If they continue to underachieve they could be sellers by the trade deadline, read that HERE. There are a few possibilities on this team including Corey Hart but he has not played yet this year and is still rehabbing from an injury so I feel more confident in Willingham. His .212BA isn't pretty but he does have 9HR and 24RBI on the season. More importantly, if the recovery doesn't go as expected for Curtis Granderson then we have someone else who can play left field.

I do believe that the Yankees are going to focus on a right handed bat, and if one of these guys becomes available then hopefully the Yankees will make the move. As good as we have been, we could be even better with another right handed bat. Stay tuned, and if anything happens you know we will fill you in here at Bleeding Yankee Blue.

--Jeana Bellezza, BYB Senior Writer and Editor
Twitter: @NyPrincessJ



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STANTON: "I DON'T LIKE THIS AT ALL"

Great reporting by Peter Gammons HERE, although you have to wonder if after this interview with Giancarlo Stanton, he wasn't trying to recruit Stanton to play for the Red Sox.  I kid. I kid... maybe. Anyway, this is what Stanton told Gammons about this whole mess in Miami.

“I do not like this at all... This is the ‘winning philosophy?’ Then to say it’s not about money? What is the motivation? There comes a breaking point. I know how I feel. I can’t imagine how the city and the fans feel.”
 
“Jose, Bonifacio, Hanley … all three are gone now. I had people warn me that something like this could happen, but it runs against the competitive nature every athlete has, that nature that everything is about winning. This kind of thing is what gets talked about all the time around this team. Former Marlins come back and they warn us. It gets talked about during the stretch, in the clubhouse, after games, on the road. Again, I do not like this at all.”

So, if former Marlins are warning current players that something could happen, and if fans are pissed and the Marlins star player is pissed, plus, you couple that with guys like Yoenis Cespedes and Albert Pujols both meeting with the Marlins last season and then darting for the West Coast... something or someone looks real bad in Miami.

Where's Crockett & Tubbs when you need them?

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GUESS WHO WON THE AL ROOKIE OF THE YEAR AWARD?

I think everyone knew the Angels Mike Trout was going to win the American League Rookie of the Year, right? Well, he did it and he did it unanimously.  All 28 ballots were for Trout. The kid's a freaking bad ass, no other way to describe him.

I just wanted to let everyone know the news, a full news item is HERE about it.  This is a very special kid and he is going to accomplish a lot of great things.  I haven't felt this good about an athlete since Derek Jeter and Jeet will always be the man, long after he retires.  Anyway, it's true... Trout wins. Finishing in second was the Athletics Yoenis Cespedes and third was Yu Darvish. Congrats to all!

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REMEMBER WHEN THE YANKEES SPENT LIKE THE DODGERS?

You have to appreciate the Dodgers if you're a Yankee fan.  Jayson Stark of ESPN.com says that the Dodgers are gunning for guys like Anibal Sanchez, Zack Greinke and even Hiroki Kuroda...perhaps looking for alittle reunion after he had a successful season with the Yankees in 2012. Here is Stark's tweet:

Look, I get it, you need to snatch up guys you believe can help a club. I think back to the days when the Yankees went out every off season and signed the big name free agents and made trades when no one expected it.  Now we see Magic Johnson on the West Coast taking a page from the George Steinbrenner playbook, buying big talent to give his Dodgers a chance to win it all. It started last year with guys like Shane Victorino and Hanley Ramirez and so on... I like that.

Don't get me wrong, when young talent comes in and contribute to a club and they win, like for instance to 2003 Florida Marlins, that's impressive. But I was brought up in the Steinbrenner era.

I watched George sign guys like Reggie Jackson and Catfish Hunter, and later Alex Rodriguez and CC Sabathia and Mark Teixeira and in the end, those names were part of championship Yankee teams.

Sure, we were accused of "buying" championships and to be honest, I never quite understood that logic.  Every team is given the same opportunity to pay for Free Agents.  It's not exclusive to teams like the Yankees or the Red Sox.  Look at the Miami Marlins last season. They ended up signing Jose Reyes, Heath Bell, Mark Beurhle and they were literally willing to pull the trigger to sign Yoenis Cespedes last winter until he decided to go to Oakland.  The point is Miami was trying to make a huge splash and there was plenty of expensive talent out there to help them win.  They went for it, they didn't win, but they tried.

Look at the Detroit Tigers trading for Miguel Cabrera a few years back and then last winter signing Prince Fielder,  to a huge contract! They made it all the way to the World Series this season, and if they were to win, do you think anyone would suggest they were "buying" a championship? Doubtful.

And remember when the Los Angeles Angels signed CJ Wilson and Albert Pujols? Big free agent names, yet, in the end, they didn't make it to the playoffs...but they sure did try signing those guys!

The point is, you sign guys you think can give your team a shot.  George Steinbrenner may have started it, but Magic Johnson is running with it now... and as a Yankee fan, I miss those days and I love to see what Magic is doing.  Hey, I may not be a Dodgers fan, but I love anything that's connected to Don Mattingly.  So hey, if Magic can make magic in LA for Donnie Baseball... let him, but at the end of the day, you know where my heart is... N Y C Baby... BX... the Yankees.

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UMPS & SLOPPY PLAY GET THE BEST OF THE YANKEES

Yesterday’s win against the Oakland A’s was not only their seventh straight, but the best of the season. It was an up and down roller coaster type of win that would propel the team going forward, at least in theory. However, following some umpire shenanigans, sloppy defensive play, and underwhelming pitching, the Yankees were unable to complete the sweep and win their eighth straight in a 5-4 loss.

Let’s get the umpire stuff out of the way because normally I don’t like to blame something the Yankees have no control over. Home plate ump Mike Estabrook had a pretty crappy strike zone the entire day, most notably on strike three calls to Alex Rodriguez in the first and Nick Swisher in the fifth. But the one blatant, awful call came in the second as Josh Donaldson was ruled safe at first, according to first base ump Larry Vanover, after Eduardo Nunez threw him out.

 Following a ground out by George Kattaras, Cliff Pennington hit a two-run home run to make it 3-0, though it should have been just a solo homer to make it 2-0. Hiroki Kuroda probably shouldn’t have given up a homer to Cliff friggin’ Pennington, who went 3-for-3 on the day, umpire miscues or not.

The Yanks also made some pretty sloppy plays in the field in this one. I hate to single out Eduardo Nunez, but it’s pretty hard not to. He had a rough game in the field, which is nothing new. With the game tied at four and one out in the sixth, Nunez made a two-base throwing error as he threw the ball away on a Donaldson grounder. Donaldson ended up scoring with two outs in the inning, as Pennington grounded a single through the left side of the infield to give the A’s the lead for good. To say this error hurt is an understatement.

Nunez’s second error came on a fielding miscue the following inning. He bobbled a Yoenis Cespedes grounder, though thankfully that did not cost the Yankees another run. The Yankees made three errors in total; the non-Nunez error was sandwiched in between Nunez’s errors as Clay Rapada threw the ball away attempting to pick-off Pennington at first in the sixth. The ball got so far away from everyone that Pennington was able to advance to third. Like Nunez’s second error, this one did not cost the Yankees a run. Either way, errors are bad and they need to be kept to a minimum, especially in a pennant race.

Hiroki Kuroda started, and he wasn’t very good, though he wasn’t very bad either. He went 5.2 innings while allowing five earned, four earned, or three earned runs depending on your perspective (officially four earned) on seven hits, three walks, and five strikeouts. This whole “Kuroda wasn’t very good or very bad” thing has been the norm for him for about a month now, and it’s getting quite annoying. Of course we don’t want him to be bad, but we want him to get back to his mid-July-mid-August form, or at least close to it.

The Yanks scored four runs, as you already know, and they all came in the fourth inning. Nick Swisher started it off with a two-run homer to drive in Robinson Cano, who led off the inning with a single, before Raul Ibanez doubled home Curtis Granderson. To cap the inning off, Eduardo Nunez drove in Russell Martin from third on a grounder to second. Derek Jeter also recorded two hits as his hit-streak is now up to 17 games. ARod had a pretty tough game, as he struck out three times and flew out to the right field wall in the ninth.

Final was 5-4, A’s

For some reason I’m not too terribly upset about this loss. It could be because I’m still pumped up after Saturday’s game, or I’m just in a good move overall. Either way, the lead in the AL East remains at one as the Red Sox beat the Orioles. The Yankees will head on out to Minneapolis to play three against the Twins. Andy Pettitte (4-3, 2.97 ERA) squares off against Liam Hendricks (1-7, 5.88 ERA) in the opener.




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


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"LOOKS LIKE I PICKED THE WRONG WEEK TO QUIT DRINKING!"

Holy cow, what a game! As the distinguished Jack Curry said in the Yankee post-game wrap, "I don't really know where to begin."  I don't really know where to start myself with this wild affair featuring the Yankees and Oakland A's, but I will begin with pitching, or the lack thereof.  The two starters were awful.  Oakland A's manager Bob Melvin actually juggled his rotation to get a start for Travis Blackley in Yankee Stadium. He lasted all of two innings and allowed four runs, but only two were earned.  Blackley could have employed a lawyer to argue non-support, as third baseman Josh Donaldson made an error in the first that directly contributed to the first unearned run.  That argument would have required someone with the skill of Perry Mason to make the case, because Blackely was just as culpable.  He allowed two hits and three walks in the first inning alone.  In the second, Blackley allowed two more hits and contributed a wild pitch as another unearned run scored thanks to another Oakland error by second baseman Cliff Pennington.

The Yankees had similar pitching problems but without the errors.  Ivan Nova was erratic.  He allowed three straight doubles to start the game, and the first two Oakland runners scored.  Nova recovered to pitch a solid second inning, but then yielded a HR to Stephen Drew to begin the third.  Ivan then loaded the bases via two walks and single, and Joe Girardi had seen enough of Mr. Nova.  Reliever Clay Rapada allowed a run in the fourth inning and the score was knotted at 4-4 after four.  Both teams would scramble for pitching for the rest of the day thanks to the ineffective starting pitching.

The game stabilized somewhat as each team added one run over the next three innings.  Raul Ibanez hit a solo, pinch-hit HR in the fifth for New York to give the Yanks a 5-4 lead.  Oakland added a run in the seventh on a walk to Yoenis Cespedes, a single by Brandon Moss, and a sacrifice fly off the bat of Chris Carter.  The A's run tied the game at 5-5 and it stayed that way over the next five innings.  If you need help with that math, the game was tied at 5-5 through twelve innings.

The Yankees squandered a golden opportunity to score in the twelfth inning as they benefited from a hustle double by Raul Ibanez.  Unfortunately, Raul was gunned down at home on a contact play.  Ibanez had advanced to third on a passed ball, but was put out on a ground ball to Pennington at second.  Girardi had the contact play on with one out, and Oakland catcher Derek Norris held the ball as Ibanez crashed into him at home plate. The Yankees put two more runners on base via walks (Curtis Granderson & Eric Chavez) and that loaded the bases.  They were left loaded as Derek Jeter was retired via fly ball to right.

In the thirteenth inning, Freddy Garcia imploded.  Garcia had pitched well for three innings (10, 11, & 12), but in the 13th, he allowed a single and back-to-back HR's to Jonny Gomes and Cespedes.  Justin Thomas relieved Garcia and allowed yet another Oakland HR, this one off the bat of Chris Carter.  The Yankees appeared defeated at that point as the A's lead ballooned to 9-5 through 12.5 innings.  Miraculously, the Yankees rallied with singles from Suzuki, Rodriguez, and Cano to load the bases.  Ichiro scored via wild pitch and Eduardo Nunez followed with a sacrifice fly to plate Rodriguez.  Suddenly the A's lead had shrunk to 9-7.  Having a career day, Ibanez ripped a HR to right field that went "high and far" and tied the game at 9-9!  Wow! 

 (In Photo: Melky Mesa / Eduardo Nunez)

Cory Wade pitched like a closer in the 14th inning, as he retired the A's one, two, three.  In the bottom of the inning the Yankees got a lead-off single from Chavez and Melky Mesa made his major league debut in a pinch-running capacity.  Jeter sacrificed him to second and Suzuki was promptly intentionally passed.  ARod ripped a single to center and Mesa could have cruised home, but he missed third base!  He returned safely to the bag and the Yankees had the bases loaded.  Cano bounced back to the pitcher who fired home to force Mesa.  I'm really not making this up!  This stuff actually happened!  Nunez hit a fairly routine ground ball to first that should have ended the Yankee threat, but the A's first baseman, Brandon Moss, made an error that will live in infamy, especially if the A's miss the playoffs.  Suzuki strolled home and the Yankees had a 10-9 victory.  What else can I say?  Believe it; the Yankees still have a one game lead in the AL East division race, as the Oriole juggernaut rolled on in Boston with an extra inning victory of their own.

Saturday's unbelievable final:  New York 10  Oakland 9! 

Oh and for you youngsters out there who have never seen the film Airplane, Lloyd Bridges is the picture at the head of this recap and it's one of the more famous lines in the film, along with a few others...we found a clip on YouTube with those lines.


Enjoy the clip and the win! Go Yanks!

--Frank Gentry, BYB Writer

Twitter: @yankeefrank23

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A'S STAY COMFORTABLE IN OAKLAND AS YANKEES LOSE AGAIN

At game time, the 70 degree, cool, clear air in Oakland Coliseum finished the job on the already cooling Yankee offense. The Yankee hitters turned completely anemic! Blame it on the transition from the heat and humidity of New York to the cool, clear air of northern California. Blame on the Oakland pitching, or blame it on Yankee ineptitude! Whatever the cause, the Yankees could not generate any offense last night.

No New York batter reached base via a walk in the first two games of this series, and as you know, both were Yankee losses. Curtis Granderson finally broke that string and worked a walk in the top of the sixth, but he was the last Yankee to reach base until a lead off single by Alex Rodriguez in the ninth inning. More on that in a minute.  The walk saved the Yankees the ignominy of going three straight games without earning a walk for the first time since 1991.

Nick Swisher's hip-flexor strain/quad injury forced DeWayne Wise into right last night.  His offensive performance was similar to Cano's ineptitude.  Wise's three at bats produced two weak unassisted ground outs to first and a strikeout leading off the eight inning.  The Yankees did produce a lone run in the fourth inning.  ARod led off the inning with an infield single and subsequently scored on an RBI single to center by Eric Chavez. The Chavez hit followed ground outs by Cano and Teixeira that had moved Rodriguez to third.

 Phil Hughes, pitched adequately.  He struck out six, allowed four hits and two walks in 7.2 innings of work.  The problem was he allowed two monster home runs.  One to Yoenis Cespedes in the the fourth inning and another to Brandon Inge in the eighth.

(In Photo: Brandon Inge)
In typical fashion, Hughes missed location a few times and two pitches thrown middle-middle were hit hard, high, and far. In fairness, Cespedes is a red-hot hitter. He is now 18 for 31 since the All-Star Game, a .581 average, so he has torched a few pitchers other than Hughes. Likewise Oakland is a hot team at 13-2 for the month of July. Boone Logan recorded the final out for the Yankees in the eighth on a pick off play.  He actually picked off A's base runner Coco Crisp twice, but on the first play the Yankees badly botched the run down, and Crisp was able to safely return to first.

(In Photo: Sean Doolittle)
As for that single by Rodriguez in the ninth, Oakland reliever Sean Doolittle struck out Robinson Cano, Mark Teixeira, and pinch hitter Andruw Jones in succession to end the game, earn his first career save, and secure the third consecutive one-run win, 2-1, over New York for the surging A's. With the strikeout of Cano in the ninth, Doolittle also stopped the second baseman's 23 game hitting streak.  Cano went 0 for 4 on the night, and frankly looked pathetic in the process. Weak ground outs to second and first followed by two strikeouts ended the longest hitting streak in MLB this year and the longest such streak in Cano's career.

The third straight Yankee loss to Oakland has this seven game west coast road trip headed for disaster.  The Yankees have lost three games off their AL East Division lead already on this trip, and the suddenly struggling offense, combined with the injuries to Brett Gardner and Swisher, offers little hope for immediate relief. Bottom line, the Yankees need to turn it around...fast.

This 2-1 loss to Oakland makes it crystal clear... the Oakland A's are very comfortable playing home and were able to keep the Yankees just out of reach 3 days in a row with great pitching.

They held the Yankees down and they just couldn't get over the hump. Meanwhile, it's left Yankeeland quite uncomfortable...we need a win today boys...let's do it!

--Frank Gentry, BYB Writer




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FREDDY STRUGGLES AS YANKEES DROP 1ST GAME IN OAKLAND

The Yankees came into this game with the best record in baseball, a 10-game lead, and having won 11 of the last 12 games in Oakland. However, the Athletics had momentum of their own, having won 10 of their last 12 games, and they came ready to play some aggressive baseball.

Freddy Garcia did not seem to have his curveball, as it was hammered for a 2-run home run by Yoenis Cespedes in the first inning. Unfortunately, his other pitches were not much better as Oakland hitters continued to reach base against him, taking a 4-0 lead by the third inning. However, he seemed to settle down, keeping the Yankees in the game and giving them a chance to win.

The Athletics' A.J. Griffin mixed his pitches well, keeping the Yankee batters uncharacteristically ineffective, at one point retiring eight batters in a row. However, we all started to think about pitch counts as he started to lose it after his 75th pitch, with the Yankees cutting the deficit in half.

David Phelps came in the bottom of the sixth and got a key out to keep us within two runs. He finished out the game, looking like his good old self, striking out four in 2 1/3 innings. 

Alex Rodriguez has adjusted his stride, and it seems to be paying off. He went 2 for 4, with a pair of singles and a fly out that was loud and long. Here's to hoping he can finally end the funk he's in and bring terror to the hearts of opposing pitchers.

Of course, we have to mention that Robinson Cano extended his hitting streak to 22 games. I have often thought that this is one of those records that will never be broken. Nevertheless, it's fun to watch, and I am excited to see how far this will go.

Nick Swisher got his 14th home run of the season to keep our 3-runs or more streak going for the 43rd straight game. However, it was still one run short. Final Score: Athletics 4, Yankees 3.

In other news, the Yankees appear to have lost Brett Gardner for the season due to his injured elbow requiring arthroscopic surgery. Read about it HERE.

--Ike Dimitriadis, BYB Writer







 
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WE'LL KNOW JORGE SOLER'S FATE SOON

(pictured:  Jorge Soler)

Why do I think Jorge Soler's close to deciding on a major league team? A source familiar with the Yankees thinking suggested that.  I was spitting piss and vinegar since I woke up.  Last night I read that the Yankees were "pushing hard to get him", meaning Jorge Soler, by a source familiar with the Yankees thinking. Do you know what that means? There is no source and whomever wrote that is banking on you actually believing that they have an inside track to Jorge Soler. It's lazy reporting, they might as well just call you stupid.  Let me break it to you, no one knows much on Jorge Soler and the info on Soler is coming out in drips and drabs.

Here's what we do know:

-The deal is expected to down 2 4 years and $20 million.

-Soler, as far as we know didn't make a sequel "showcase" video called The Showcase II" like Yoenis Cespedes did for his video "The Showcase."

-We know this, only from Buster Olney. Originally the 4 teams in the hunt for Jorge Soler were the Yankees, Cubs, Braves and Dodgers. That has now been fine tuned to the Yankees and Cubs.

-We know that Soler is expected to decide by "early Monday", but "early Monday" came and went and still nothing.

-We know that because the "early Monday" deadline passed, Jon Heyman decided that he needed to out due his other "baseball insider" friends and say, "Well, it's not 'early Monday' but instead the decision will come down to the next 24 to 36 hours.

See? Then it starts to get wacky, baseball insiders trying to top baseball insiders, yet their all getting the same information that you and I can get by talking to people on Twitter or just using common sense.
I think the Yankees have a really good shot. That's coming from people that are familiar with the Yankees thinking...Me.

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THE BLEEDING YANKEE BLUE NEWSSTAND VII

FOLEY’S PUB DOES IT RIGHT: My friend John Mooney sent me an email about something great that Foley’s Pub is doing for all you baseball fanatics. Between June 7^th and the 9^th, game players of Strat-O-Matic, Brett Carow and Sam Henneman of Minnesota will attempt to break a Guinness book world record by playing the board game in the longest marathon ever. Read Strat-O-Matic press release HERE. The record is 53 hours and 59 minutes. 

Damn, that’s a lot of Strat-O-Matic, but if I know Foley’s Pub they will do it right.  Get there and check it out and support these 2 baseball fanatics! Good luck to Brett and Sam! Foley’s Pub is at 18 W. 33^rd Street, NYC.

IS THIS WILLIE? Look, I am constantly looking for old pieces of memorabilia that I’ve never seen before, photographs and rare pieces as well as old baseball cards.  I stumbled across this photograph of what I believe is Willie Randolph from the late 1970’s.  To be honest, I’m not sure if I’m right or not, but I tell you what, I love it. What do you guys think, is it Willie? Comment; let me know if you know anything.

WILL THAT POPCORN KID COME FORWARD? So, back in April we posted that famous 4 seconds that I was able to find of Don Mattingly dipping his hand into the kid’s popcorn. (Video HERE)  I said in the piece that I would have loved to have talked to that kid now to see what was going through his mind when that happened.  Shortly after that, we received the comment below.

Well, we contacted Katelyn McGuire on Facebook and we can’t seem to see if her comment is legit or not. She hasn't written back! So I’m asking you, if you are or truly know that “Popcorn” kid, email me, I want to talk to you.

HOLY CESPEDES! All that talk about signing Yoenis Cespedes in the off season and he ended up signing with the Oakland Athletics.  Sometimes we forget that these players are human even though all the talk all winter was that he was a machine after watching that wacky Internet video he put out HERE.Word on the street is Cespedes has a strained left hamstring and got it in the Oakland, Texas game today.  No, he’s not a Yankee, but there was so much talk about the guy, I felt obligated to fill you in. Read about it HERE.

YANKEE TICKETS & STUB HUB TO BLAME?  Yankee Stadium attendance is down 3.6% after dropping 3% last year and the New York Yankees are blaming Stub hub. Randy Levine said they are currently looking for more fan-friendly ticket options. In a nutshell, because Stub hub’s prices are too low, fans won’t go to Yankees.com to buy tickets, they’ll go directly to Stub hub. Read HERE. Look, I don’t really care about this other than to just say this, the Yankees contract with Stub hub expires after the 2012 season anyway.  They can obviously build a relationship with another vendor, but for now, let’s be honest, wasn’t the whole reason for Stub hub getting so popular in the first place was because tickets were cheaper there in the first place? I don’t want to sound like I know everything, but doing marketing research before the Yankees even signed that deal, wouldn’t they already know that? Whatever, I’ll file this under “silly.”

 ORDER A BYB SHIRT NOW, DROB WEARS ONE! Also, 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.