YANKEES QUESTION HAMELS' "ACE" STATUS

Cole Hamels has been a star pitcher for several years now, and the subject of the longest running rumor mill in recent memory. The stories of a Hamels trade have been running for more than a year, and this spring, the Yankees and a number of other teams came up in a possible trade. For me, I have not seen a deal for him that would have been good for the Yankees. Apparently, every team that has tried to negotiate a deal has seen the same thing since he is still wearing a Phillies jersey when he steps on the rubber. I believe there is a couple of reasons why the deal has not happened.

Last week, an anonymous source within the Yankees organization has said that they are wondering if he is still the ace he once was (Jon Heyman reported it for CBS Sports HERE). I think they have good reason to be suspicious. Through six starts this season, Hamels is off the mark compared with last season and his career numbers. Of those six starts, three were Quality Starts and three were terrible. His ERA is almost a full point above his career average. His BB/9 is about double his career total. His WHIP went from 1.148 last year to 1.351 this year. He gave up 14 home runs over 30 starts last year. This year, he has already given up eight. Is he in decline? The Yankees seem to think so. I think they are on to something.

The other problem with Hamels is the Phillies’ asking price. The Phillies have told teams that they want a package for Hamels. From the Yankees, a package included Luis Severino, Aaron Judge, and Rob Refsnyder – as was reported HERE. Thankfully, the front office had the wisdom to decline an offer of the top talent in the farm system for a 31-year old pitcher. They have asked a lot from other teams as well, including the Boston Red Sox. All have balked, so Hamels continues to sit on the Phillies roster.

There is still a high likelihood that the Phillies will move Hamels. It’s only a question of who will blink first. The best thing for them would be if Hamels turns it around quickly and they explain April away as a slow start. That will help them get the talent they are looking for, even if they have to eat some of his salary. If not, you may see them make a surprising move for much less than they were asking for. Either way, the Phillies need to move him and the sooner the better. The decline of Cole Hamels’ numbers just means that teams will be keeping their eyes open.

--Ike Dimitriadis, BYB Senior Staff Writer
Twitter: @KingAgamemnon
My blog is: Shots from Murderer's Row







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THE SWEEP WE NEEDED!

Yankee fans wanted something big this season and it didn't start out that way.  But slowly, we are getting the wins we need. It started that weekend against the Mets.  Mets fans had it all figured out then... they were "The best team in baseball. The Mets would manhandle the Yanks", you remember. It was silly  then... it's sillier now.  We came out of that series looking real good and we haven't looked back.  This sweep of the Sox is big.  Last night's win was terrific. We did it in their park, on our terms.  Wonderful.

The Yanks won 8-5 last night.  I'm not gonna lie, I feel asleep.  I had a busy weekend, full of baseball. I just couldn't keep my eyes open.  Here's the thing though; I had faith that if I DID fall asleep, the Yanks would keep it going.  They did. Adam Warren gave up 4 runs in 5.2 innings and the rest of the pen only gave up one other run. That was it. The Yankees on the other hand hammered Sox pitching:

Mark Teixeira hit his 9th homer in the first. It was a 2 run shot.  In the third, Brian McCann doubled knocking in 2. Then Beltran doubled knocking in McCann.

In the 6th, Gardy cranked out a 3 run homer. At that point, the Sox made an attempt to comeback, but came up lame.  Andrew Miller ended up closing the door with his 10th save of the year, and just like that, the Yankees won and swept the Sox.

Happy? I am.  I'll be happier if we can keep doing this... I'm diggin' it right about now. Aren't you?

Final: Yankees 8 - Red Sox 5

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THE YANKEES DUEL OF CONTRADICTION

Chemistry and morale is key to this years New York Yankees, and while many believe that Alex Rodriguez should not get his bonus money for hitting number 660, the fact of the matter is, he should.

As you know, Cashman has made his statement yesterday. The New York Yankees aren't interested in paying Alex.  Dumb... dumb... dumb. Wally Matthews has it here:

"'We have the right but not the obligation to do something, and that's it,' said Yankees general manager Brian Cashman before Saturday's Yankees-Red Sox game at Fenway Park. 'We're going to follow the contract as we follow all contracts, so there is no dispute, from our perspective.'

In other words, in the Yankees' interpretation of the contract, they are under no obligation to pay off on a deal they feel is no longer valid due to Rodriguez's 162-game suspension for drug violations last year."

So now what? The Yankees will look at the wording of the contract and try and figure out how to weasel out of the deal they originally agreed on.  The wheels are in motion.  Meanwhile, if you think about it, this is what the Yankees wanted all along, to have the All-Time home run record back. They banked on Alex, until now, they aren't.

And it's funny... as players, all is forgotten.  It's a boys club again.  Yankee players showered Alex with champagne the other night because, guess what... it's a major milestone.  Willie Mays released a statement to Alex to congratulate him...

"Congratulations to Alex Rodriguez on his 660th home run. Milestones in baseball are meant to be broken and I wish him continued success throughout his career."

My point is, aren't we passed all this? Well, not exactly, Jack Curry of YES has explained it wonderfully, and it's quite interesting:

Clause from ARod's marketing agreement: "It is the sole discretion of the New York Yankees to determine whether each of these milestones...

— Jack Curry (@JackCurryYES) May 2, 2015

is commercially marketable as the home run chase."

— Jack Curry (@JackCurryYES) May 2, 2015

A second ARod passage: "The Yankees have the right, but not the obligation, to determine whether it's a commercially marketable milestone."

— Jack Curry (@JackCurryYES) May 2, 2015

So this is a duel, a major duel because now, if you read that, you may think that suddenly the Yankees are just pulling the carpet out from under Alex. But what it actually does is pull the carpet out from under not only the whole club, but us fans as well.  Chemistry and morale is a terrible thing to waste and the Yankees are doing something very noble this season as a team. They have, with ARod's help, taken the field, worked toward winning and left all the baggage behind.  Yankee brass however has not. They're holding onto their grudge and trust me, that will kill a club because this will become a war.  Fans once again pitted against fans, and Yankee brass getting even more heat for making bad decisions that appear angry and desperate. It's happening... and no one wants that, trust me.

I understand baseball is a business. I also understand that Alex Rodriguez is not the most likable guy in the world.  But I do know "Team" and what I've seen from the Yankees this year is the will to win.  It took a few weeks to get there, but they're there.  Now you have Cashman making a statement about possibly withholding a bonus and Yankee brass basically being able to do whatever the hell they want, and I call foul.

I'm not an Alex fan. I'm a baseball fan. I'm a Yankee fan and I've come to the realization that these players that violate the illegal substance agreement get fined, get suspended and disappear only to come back and play again...time served.  But for some reason Alex Rodriguez continues to get punished... over and over and over again.  No player in baseball history was suspended for 162 games like Alex was, but that's apparently not enough.  Now the Yankees will take away a bonus that they sat across a long table and agreed on, knowing Alex had skeletons from his Rangers days. The Yankees are not innocent in this either, but now they stand there tall, holding the cards or moral judgement and acting like they are the authority. Sure, they are... but they are also part of the problem.

Stop the charade... pay the man.  Let him donate it to charity or something. He earned it. You signed off of it. That's it.




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WINNING & LOSING AT YANKEE STADIUM

My life, for the most part, revolves around my children. Most parents will say the same I am sure. We're always rushing around to baseball practices, or swim meets, or whatever activity they have that day. Last weekend, while Yankees fans flooded to the Bronx for the Subway Series, I was in the stadium for a different reason. The Pinewood Derby.

Boy Scouts from the Bronx came and rallied right in the Great Hall. Under a picture of Derek Jeter, and Jorge Posada embracing Mariano Rivera. It was kind of... epic. Of course, these are first to fifth graders, and most of them don't fully grasp how great that is. Here you have this energetic group of kids standing under banners of these phenomenal players... greeted by Thurman Munson and Reggie Jackson, and they were completely oblivious to everything except their Derby cars and the Trophy table a few feet away. Complete and utter focus. The Great Hall humming from their excitement.

If you've ever been a scout or if you've raised a scout, you know the time that goes into those Pinewood cars. We had to sand down my sons car three times alone, just to get the color to go on right. Then you have to make sure the nails that make up the wheel axels are smooth and have graphite, and put enough weight on it to make it zoom, but not so much that it drags. It's a process, and these kids are excited because they worked damn hard for their final product.

My boy, we call him RJ, is sitting right in front. His Spiderman car isn't the most aesthetically pleasing, because lets face it, neither my husband nor I can draw a stick figure. But there he sits, waiting patiently for his Den to be up. And then his name comes on the board, and he gets all fidgety and nervous and almost seems to want to bury his head in the sand. I have to remind him, it's about having fun. And the gates are opened and his car completely destroys the other three cars. First race of four down, and my kid is strutting around like a peacock, showered in high fives by the boys around him.

He gets first in the next race as well, then misses first by .002 seconds the next two. Still, he did pretty well over all. So he sits, and cheers on the boys that have become his friends in the two hours sitting around this track. They share lunch and laughs, and my kid is really enjoying his childhood. He's making friends and just laughing his heart out. It's awesome. He's got this huge smile plastered all over his face. His little car missed placing top by all of .004 seconds.

I wasn't prepared for how devastated he'd be. All he could say was "I was just so close." And what do you say to that? He's right. He was very close. And it's tough when you get that close to something just to have it denied to you. If you'd just pushed a little harder or if you'd only had that extra something. You could've made it... you almost did and then nothing. It sucks!

We started leaving, and all these boys he hadn't previously met came over to wish him well. The next race is June 27th... they made plans to meet there. These little wooden cars had forged a friendship between these boys, and while they all couldn't win, they had a bonding experience that no one could take from them.

We walked home that day. He was quiet the entire way. He hadn't spoken much until later that night. We sat out in the stands to watch the last game of the Subway Series. We were seated around a lot of the same boys that were now calling him "friend." Together they discussed all the reasons why the Yankees were better than the Mets. A lot of the boys left early... it was an evening game on a Sunday, after all. But the few that stayed continued to bond. They made plans for adjustments that needed to be made to the Derby cars, while cheering for the Yankees.

My RJ lost the Pinewood Derby that day, but he gained so much from the experience. Those boys... he may or may not see them again. But for that one day, in Yankees stadium, they were a little brotherhood.

--Erica Morales BYB Senior Writer 
Twitter: @e_morales1804

 

 



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TWO IN A ROW AGAINST THE SOX IS NICE

I have always loved Fenway Park.  Believe it or not, it may be one of my favorite ballparks ever.  I know, I'm a Yankee fan.... I shouldn't say that, but I just did. It's a fact.  I love it more however when the Yankees win in Fenway.  That's when it's a perfect day.  

When they win 2 in a row... it's more perfect!  I hate to get ahead of myself... but a sweep tonight would be delightful... that's just me spitballing...

The Yankees won again.  Nathan Eovaldi, who's been pretty great for us went 6.2 innings, striking out just 2, but giving up only 2 runs on 7 hits.  The Yankee pen, who's been spectacular, held down the Sox bats after that.  The combo of Chris Martin, Justin Wilson and Dellin Betances struck out 5 combined and only gave up 1 hit.  I like that.

The Yankee run scoring went like this:

In the 3rd inning, Brett Gardner doubled and knocked in Didi Gregorius.  Then in the 5th, it was Brett Gardner again, this time singling in 1.

For insurance, in the 9th, Chris Young homered.  Mets fans hate Chris Young right now... he's exactly what he wasn't in Queens... good.

Final: Yankees 4 - Red Sox 2




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PAY THE MAN!

Here's what I don't understand about the Yankees perhaps "not wanting" to pay Alex Rodriguez for his 660 home run milestone tying Willie Mays.  If you're gonna gear up for a fight... ignore the home run.

Instead, the Yankees made 1 critical error last night... they tweeted it:

With his homer in the 8th inning, @AROD ties Willie Mays with No. 660.

— New York Yankees (@Yankees) May 2, 2015

When you do that, you've reached a point where you kind of acknowledged it happened, don't you? Once you do that, and once Major League baseball wallpapers their web page with it and MLB Network runs with it... let's just say you've reached the point where you can't exactly go back on that agreement... you know what I mean?



If you do go back on it, you look bad... very bad.  And hey, I get it, Alex did some pretty stupid things in his career, but the Yankees were at the table the day they reworked that contract, and you knew there was something not so honest about Alex. many were suspicious of him and his days in that Texas Rangers clubhouse... but they made the deal anyway.  That's on them.

If you're truly ready to fight for the $6 million, be dicks about it.  Don't tweet the milestone, and while you're at it, make sure your sister networks do too.

Make sure YESNetwork.com ignores it in some fashion. Get on the same page. Fight! Instead... they did something slimy.  They chose clicks and alittle publicity to make a few Internet bucks.  Now it's my opinion that it's way too late for the fight now.  Now... you basically tipped your cap to line your pockets... but wait, if you just ignored and fought against it, wouldn't you be better off banking that $6 million? It's confusing.

I wrote this in YANKS BEAT SOX & AROD'S 660,

"In the end, ARod is number 4 on the All-Time home run list.  Say what you will about it, but as long as suspensions are fulfilled and baseball doesn't kick these offenders out of the game, no asterisk will be placed on any of these guy's records.  It's one of those things.  Home runs help baseball, and baseball needs the fans, and so, if the offenders  "serve their time" after a suspension for PEDs... guess what? All is forgotten in baseball. That's because baseball is a business and they need to make money.  Home runs bring in fans and fans have money. You see where this is going..."

It does come down to money. Ultimately, I feel as though ARod wins this battle.  The New York Post thinks otherwise:

Q: Any guess on who would win the case?

A: At this juncture, I’m putting my money on the Yankees. Even though many right-minded Yankees fans publicly have embraced A-Rod, there’s a wide gap between that and investing in memorabilia celebrating his statistical accomplishments.

In the end, it's my opinion that the Yankees need to pay the man.  There is nothing wrong with admitting you made a mistake with this milestone and embracing it. Why? Because when the Yankees signed Alex Rodriguez, their ultimate goal was to bring the All-Time Home Run record to the Bronx.  So keep it moving. Like Alex or hate him, he served his time and in 2015, he came to play.

Yanks need to pay the man. 

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STAYING HEALTHY IS A FULL TIME JOB

Athletes will go to great lengths to ensure they are at their best but some do it the right way and others do it the wrong way.  Mark Teixeira has started off 2015 right by deciding to go gluten-free.  The other evening, there was a debate between Suzyn Waldman and John Sterling on whether or not Teixeira would have made it to first base on a ground ball hit to him instead of flipping the ball to CC Sabathia who has admittedly stated that he "isn't able to make that play anymore."  Mark has been injured over the last few years but many believe that he has made a real comeback this year, holding onto 2nd place in home runs in the AL.  He came to spring training lean and healthy and as I reap the benefits of no injuries and going lean myself as a runner heading into a half marathon in a few weeks, I can't help but feel that Teixeira has realized what many have overlooked over the years: Staying healthy is in fact, a full time job.

According to Runners Connect, going gluten-free can be viewed as the latest fad or nutritional therapy, "However, it has often been viewed in the media as a weight-loss or performance-enhancing diet backed by testimonials from a wide range of celebrities and athletes worldwide who don’t actually have a known gluten sensitivity, but follow the diet anyway in the belief that it is healthier. In fact, some have estimated that 15-25% of North Americans either adhere to a gluten-free diet or consume gluten-free products."  Mark Teixeira is one of many athletes who have gone gluten-free and has reaped the benefits it has had on his body.

Unfortunately, Josh Hamilton relapsed after he battled back from a drug and alcohol addiction.  "Hamilton left the Rangers after the 2012 season to sign a five-year, $125 million contract with the Angels. Two unproductive seasons were followed by a shoulder injury and then a relapse with drugs and alcohol for a player whose supreme natural talent and budding career were nearly waylaid by substance abuse a decade ago," reported USA Today.

Then there are guys, like Alex Rodriguez, who let the pressure mount and turned to illegal substances to enhance performance on the field.  At the start of this season, we saw a resurgence of a substance that tossed four players off the field and into suspension.  According to another article in USA Today, "The sudden rash in positive steroid tests among big leaguers – four pitchers, all caught with Stanozolol in their system – has Major League Baseball looking into any links between the cases and exploring why the old-school drug is popping up on tests again. The four players suspended for 80 games in a stretch of 16 days starting March 27 – David Rollins of the Seattle Mariners, Arodys Vizcaino of the Atlanta Braves, Ervin Santana of the Minnesota Twins and Jenrry Mejia of the New York Mets – are already one more than the number of players on 40-man rosters penalized for using performance-enhancing substances all of last year."

It is a hard pill to swallow when you hear of guys like Cardinal ace Adam Wainwright and former Yankee pitcher Brandon McCarthy hurt for common athletic injuries; an Achilles and ACL tear respectively.  Injuries happen all the time, even to the healthiest of us, like Mariano Rivera who went on the DL after shagging balls in the outfield as part of his full time health regiment.

If staying healthy is a full time job, then how come so many players abuse their youth, diet and athleticism and others work so hard to preserve their talent?  Damned if I know, but as I said to a good friend this week, you can only control your own self, emotion and body.

My advice: watch your diet, exercise daily and make good choices.  Youth is temporary but you are stuck with your body for the rest of your life.

--Suzie Pinstripe, BYB Senior Staff Writer
BYB Hot Stove Columnist
Twitter: @suzieprof



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YANKS BEAT SOX & AROD'S 660

It was a cool, yet weird moment for me personally. You see, I'm a big fan of Garrett Jones and now that he's a Yankee, it's great for me to watch the guy play, but they haven't played him enough. Plus, when they pinch hit for him tonight, and ARod came up to the plate against a righty pitcher, I was very confused.  Why remove a lefty hitter? It didn't make sense.  Little did I know that Alex would crank out his 660th home run and essentially put the Yankees ahead of the Sox at that point. We ended up winning the whole damn thing tonight.  But again, it was a weird moment.  Yankeeland was excited, but many can't stand Alex Rodriguez.  I checked out Twitter immediately, surely I knew I could find a few haters.  But it was a mixed bag.

Fuck Alex Rodriguez. Fuck his home run. Fuck his life.

— Bentton LaFontaine (@TheBrooklynLife) May 2, 2015

Zero comment on 660. #Yankees

— Jon Cupo (@joncupo) May 2, 2015

Congrats to @AROD on hitting HR number 660! I will probably get crap for this tweet but I don't care!!

— Jen Rainwater (@OakAsSocksGrl) May 2, 2015

Teammates seem to have doused ARod w/ champagne postgame in clubhouse; towels on floor by his locker. "just a little shower," Sabathia said.

— Daniel Barbarisi (@DanBarbarisi) May 2, 2015

One question answered: Yankees official Twitter account did, in fact, recognize No. 660 for A-Rod.

— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) May 2, 2015

Write the check, No. 660

— Kevin Kernan (@WheresKernan) May 2, 2015

The bottom line is Yankee fans want the win, but ARod haters would rather 660 didn't happen. 

Baseball fans, fans that believe in forgiveness simply wished him his congratulations and they are happy to move on.  And yes, for me, I'm just happy to see the Yankee win, and for baseball... it was kind of a dramatic moment. 

Whatever the case, the game was a good one. CC Sabathia pitched well, and I like the fact that he only walked 1 batter.  In the end though, he didn't get the win. It instead went to Esmil Rogers who relieved CC in the 7th.

The Yankees scored first tonight when Carlos Beltran doubled knocking in Jacoby Ellsbury.  The Red Sox came back, scoring 2 runs. Then in the 7th, Brian McCann singled knocking in Didi Gregorius.  That's when the 8th happened, and with Junichi Tazawa pitching, they pulled Jones and ARod walked up to the plate.

The boos were loud, after all, it's Fenway. It was one of those moments where you know Alex will either strike out, or homer, but you really didn't think he'd homer. You know what I mean?  Well, he did and it was dramatic.

After that, Betances and Miller came in and shut the Sox down.  For Miller, it was save number 9.

In the end, ARod is number 4 on the All-Time home run list.  Say what you will about it, but as long as suspensions are fulfilled and baseball doesn't kick these offenders out of the game, no asterisk will be placed on any of these guy's records.  It's one of those things.  Home runs help baseball, and baseball needs the fans, and so, if the offenders  "serve their time" after a suspension for PEDs... guess what? All is forgotten in baseball. That's because baseball is a business and they need to make money.  Home runs bring in fans and fans have money. You see where this is going...

Final: Yankees 3 - Red Sox 2

Congrats to Alex Rodriguez.  Clean, dirty, whatever.  I'm tired of fighting it.  It still takes talent to hit a ball over a fence, and you did it, 660 times in your career.  That's pretty amazing.

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IT'S EASY TO PILE ON AFTER THE FACT...

Try being ground breaking, better, smarter, instead of submitting garbage just to make deadline.   I can't get the last 2 minutes back and it annoys me. Don't know what I mean? Keep reading...

Ernie Palladino of CBS wrote a piece so insanely stupid, I'm not quite sure why it's even in print.  In short, he's telling his audience that the Masahiro Tanaka "gamble" was worse than the Bartolo Colon "gamble"... NOW... Not when they signed Masahiro Tanaka... Now, after Tanaka has been placed on the DL and after there was tenderness in his elbow.   Here... waste some time, read this:

"Alderson? He won his bet. Bartolo Colon is still around and can plan to stay around despite Wednesday’s 6 2/3-inning, four-run, nine-hit loss.

Cashman lost his. He bet that Masahiro Tanaka’s valuable but fragile right arm would weather the season. Now he’s gone for at least a month... Take the Colon gamble, for instance. Last year, Alderson brought the now 41-year-old, rotund righty in as a “placeholder,” as the Daily News’ Andy Martino so aptly put it in his blog Wednesday morning... Then dump him off to some other team by the July 31 trade deadline...Somewhere along the line, however, the plan changed...

The gamble paid off. Alderson won. Cashman, not so much.

He bet that Tanaka would survive at least most of the season before his partially torn ulnar collateral ligament gave way and forced him into Tommy John surgery. If nothing else, he can say it wasn’t the elbow, but the inflamed wrist and forearm that landed him on the 15-day disabled list.

That one lost, he now bets that the tendonitis will subside, and Tanaka can return after a month or so of rest. But considering how these things tend to go, there is an equal likelihood that Tanaka will ultimately have to undergo the season-ending surgery after all and miss at least a chunk of next season, too."

So here's the thing.  If you're a really, smart journalist that wants to be provocative, a way to do it is to make a prediction that Tanaka will break down once signed.  Be it because of over-work in Japan, or something unique. Something no one knows about. You know... actually do the research and present a case to your audience.  But walking into 2015 and suggesting what every regular fan already knows just brings more of the same and it's boring by the way.

When the Yankees signed Tanaka, it was the signing of the year.  Every team wanted Tanaka.

The Mets probably wanted him, but couldn't afford him which is why he's not in Queens.  Secondly, where was Palladino when the Yankees signed Tanaka? He was no where, because Tanaka isn't a gamble. What happened next for Tanaka and the Yankees is unfortunate, but hardly a gamble.

And I'll give you one further... Bartolo Colon has always been solid.  He was solid for the Yankees and he's been solid for the Mets and him doing his job these days is no surprise at all.  In fact, it's encouraging to see a 41 year old still pitching decent.  Colon... is not a gamble either.

Here's the problem with bad opinion pieces; There is no point and there is no substance.  I guess Palladino could have pointed to Zack Wheeler being a gamble as well. He should have... that was the basis for his entire piece.  Wheeler was supposed to be the next big thing in Queens in 2015, until he wasn't because of Tommy John Surgery.  But strangely, Wheeler was never mentioned in Palladino's piece.  I mean, it's fair to say Wheeler was a gamble... especially if Palladino's going there, right?

Here's the bottom line.  Athletes get hurt.  Athletes also shine. That's because athletes are human beings.  Writers write brilliant pieces sometimes.  They also state the obvious and write crap.  Guess what I think of Palladino's piece?

Here's my favorite, a funny comment following the Palladino piece:

 tough guy wrote: "This article is gibberish. I guess it doesn't take much intelligence, insight or ability to be a WFAN 'reporter'. I really have come to expect such drivel from the 'talking heads' at WFAN. It is un-listenable and it is striving to become completely un-readable."

Enjoy your Friday.

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MARK TEIXEIRA GOT HIS GROOVE BACK!

Gluten free agrees with Mark Teixeira and whatever fitness and dietary regimen he is following PLEASE don't stop. Teixeira is a notoriously slow starter but this season has been different. I need to find out exactly what this guy is eating because I am all in!

Usually when I watch games the first two months of the season I hear sports announcers talk about how Tex is a slow starter and eventually he will heat up. Just wait until June and then we get the complete version. Not this season! We are already seeing the power, and the RBIs are there. He has been key to the Yankees offense and is a big reason why the Yankees have won their last 4 series.

It's about time this guy gets some acknowledgement! On Monday Tex was named the AL payer of the week thanks to his .333BA, 5HR and 10 RBI over the last 7 games. It is his sixth time to earn the award, but he hasn't had the honor since 2010. So....it looks like shades of vintage Tex, right? If he can keep this up the Yankees are going to score a LOT of runs this year.

On Friday's game against the New York Mets Mark even hit two home runs making it his 38th multi-home run gave of his career. As excited as I was to see that....I wanted to kick myself. The night before the Mets series I picked him up on my fantasy team because I needed another hot hitter but stupid me BENCHED him. So I left 24 points on the bench and my opponent for the week our very own Erica Morales laughed at me. Lesson learned Tex....I won't be doing that anytime soon. I am going to ride the wave!

Tex and April suddenly go very well together. So well in fact, that his 8 home runs and 18 RBIs are the most he has had during the first month of the season. He is showing all of us that even though he is 35 and has had some disappointing seasons that those are in the past and he has found the winning formula.

I am really excited and encouraged by what I have seen so early into the season and you should be too! It's been a long time since we have seen a 30 home run and 100 RBI season from Tex and he is on his way. So Tex....I am sorry for benching you again. Now, can you please email me whatever regimen you are on? I am definitely inspired.



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




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