ICHIRO HAS LOTS TO SAY ABOUT BEING A YANKEE

I love having Ichiro in New York with the Yankees. I've been searching around and I've been looking for some different quotes from him since he was traded.  I just like reading what he has to say about the Yanks.  I still look at the guy and just can't believe he's a New York Yankee.  It's something I always wanted.  I literally posted this piece called ICHIRO TO THE YANKS IS MY PIPE DREAM  the Sunday before he was acquired.  It could not have been planned better. Any way, check out some of Ichiro's great quotes... all coming to us through an interpreter:


Ichiro on playing home games in the Bronx:

“I need to prove myself and I need to play to the level that the fans can really enjoy and really think highly of my play...I really feel like when I get there, I want to show the fans what I can do.”


“I hope the fans do call my name...But I need to get there and play to the ability, where hopefully the fans will call my name.”

(Courtesy of Marc Carig (Star-Ledger) and his piece Ichiro Suzuki readies himself for his first home game as a Yankee)

Ichiro on playing the Red Sox as a Yankee:

"I was very excited... My first game at Yankee Stadium [as a Yankee] was against the Boston Red Sox.... In Japan, you grab your cheek to see if it's real or not, if you're dreaming. That's really how I feel right now."

On being a New York Yankee:

"I used to have a Yankees uniform as a fan; I wore that in Japan... Also, in the 2001 All-Star Game, I traded jerseys with Bernie Williams, so I put that on before. Obviously it's very special."

(Courtesy of Ray Monell (Yahoo Sports) To Ichiro Suzuki, Being Part of Yankees-Red Sox Rivalry Feels like a Dream)

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WHAT'S IN YOUR JUNK DRAWER?

Back on July 15^th, Pete Caldera of the Bergen Record made me smile.  He did a terrific piece about what every true baseball fan should be doing once in a while. Opening up the junk drawer just to see what types of collectibles, no matter how big or small or expensive or cheap they are. You know, the stuff you've accumulated over the years. Pete's idea for his piece came from the story about the guy in Ohio that found those baseball cards of Ty Cobb and Honus Wagner in his grandfather’s attic…read that story HERE.

Caldera described some of the stuff he found around his apartment, like a matchbook from Rusty Staub’s restaurant (Rusty Staub's on Fifth) that used to be opened back in the 1980’s, a 1980 Yankees Yearbook and an old Abbott & Costello “Who’s on First?” cassette, among other things. I had to laugh.  I own an autographed Rusty Staub menu from the old restaurant somewhere as well as that Abbott & Costello cassette.  But that’s not what I found in my basement.

I have weird stuff that I’ve collected over the years.  I figured I’d share them with you, after all, it’s the beginning of the week, you’re just waking up, you’re having your coffee before work, let's start off light. Check it out:

 

I'm a card collector, but this one seems to have snuck away from my collection and was sitting in a top drawer of my laundry room.  It's a 1956 Topps card of Eddie Robinson, he was with the Yankees from 1954 to 1956 until he was traded to the Kansas City Athletics.  He was a career .268 hitter with 172 homers in 13 seasons.  Anyway... I thought that was interesting. 

 

 This is a pen I bought from at a Newark Bears game a few years back.  I was never good at keeping score while at the ballpark but I gave it shot that day, I didn't have a pencil.  I bailed on it in the 4th, but I kept the pen.

Here's a signed picture of Bo Jackson, someone I really idolized for his talent on the baseball field as well as football field.  The "Bo Knows" days were a phenomenon.  I think I got this signed years later...he was already retired.

This is one of my favorites.  It's an older ceramic Roger Maris bobble head that I bought off a dealer on ebay in the 1990's.  I've always had a thing for Maris and reading the history of how things went down in 1961, and the stress of the Home Run race.  I've always had a soft spot for him. Luckily history happened the way it did for the Maris family.  Anyway, I love this piece.

Look OUT! A 1971 Ken Singleton Topps baseball card.  Love it.  I was born in 1971 and for a while there I was trying to collect every 1971 card so I could complete the set.  That hasn't happened yet, I still have a long way to go. But it's still fun.

Remember Chase Wright? He was going to be the next big thing for the Yankees...or at least the next big thing for the moment. I kept this I guess thinking it may be worth something.  It's from that 2007 season.  It's not worth a thing, but that's OK. I did alittle research and found out Chase still pitches. He's 29 years old these days and plays for the Somerset Patriots. Good for him!

I love this.  This is a 1946 Yankees program and scorecard and inside, the Yankees played the Red Sox.  I got this from a friend a few years ago.  The scorecard is filled in. If you click on the image below, you can just make out some of the players that day for the Yankees...Joe DiMaggio, Phil Rizzuto, Bill Dickey.  It's just a cool, yet frail and old collectible that I stare at from time to time.

So, what do you have in your junk drawer, or basement or closet? Tell us here at BYB, comment! I’d love to hear about it.  Better yet, take pictures of your items and send them to Bleednyankeeblu@gmail.com and we’ll do a piece about it.  Include your name and the city you're from with a picture of something you’ve come across.  I can’t wait to see what you guys have!

And thanks for the idea Pete Caldera, you da man! Enjoy this everyone!

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YANKS LOSE SERIES TO BOSTON; CIRIACO IS A PEST

It was a tough loss to the archrival Boston Red Sox, in spite of the fact that Hiroki Kuroda pitched brilliantly. He pitched into the eighth, giving up only two runs, walking one, and striking out four. His control was excellent, not throwing his 100th pitch until the eighth. Despite what you see in the box score, he pitched better than Felix Doubront did. Nevertheless, the hitting support was not there until late in the game for the Yankees.

Felix Doubront, who has been hot and cold all season, had a hot and cold night for the Red Sox. As is typical for him, he struggled with his control as he gave up five walks over 6 1/3 innings. At times, he looked strong, getting ahead in the count early and making Yankee hitters chase pitches out of the strike zone. At other times, he just could not throw a strike. Still, he kept the Yankees scoreless until the seventh.

Russell Martin showed some real clutch hitting, hitting a homer in the bottom of the seventh, and bringing the team and the crowd to life. Ichiro Suzuki followed with an infield single and a stolen base to get to second. Derek Jeter (aka Mr. Clutch) came through for a base hit to move Ichiro to third. However, that was as far as they could get in the seventh. Later in the 8th, following an Andruw Jones 2-out double, Martin hit a hard grounder up the middle for a base hit to tie the game.

After Rafael Soriano held down the Red Sox in the ninth, David Robertson put the first two men on base in the top of the 10th. Pedro Ciriaco's flair into right field brought Jarrod Saltalamacchia in for the go-ahead third run. That third run would be all the Red Sox needed. In the process, Bobby Valentine and Josh Beckett were ejected for arguing what was correctly called a strike, after Will Middlebrooks was hit by a pitch on a bunt attempt, failing to bring his bat back.

(In Photo: Pedro Ciriaco)

Andruw Jones is showing his lack of fielding range. Admittedly, I have noticed in games lately that he is not running down the line hard on grounders and fly balls. However, we really saw it in this game. Most observers agree that Ryan Sweeney's hit could have been held to a single, but for Andruw Jones' inability to get in front of it. Later in the 7th inning, a ball dropped for a hit that should have been caught, except that Jones could not get there in time. This is where the Ichiro Suzuki acquisition is going to start paying dividends.

• The Yankee infield showed a lot of skill tonight, turning four double plays, each of them taking away scoring opportunities from the Red Sox. An honorable mention goes to Jayson Nix, who started two of those double plays, and looked defensively solid at the hot corner.

• Another honorable mention goes to Raul Ibanez, who battled Boston closer Alfredo Aceves for a 9-pitch at-bat that included some very hard hit balls, but ultimately ended in a strikeout and the end of the game.

Final Score: Red Sox 3, Yankees 2 (10)

Tonight the Yanks play the Orioles. Let's turn it around guys!

 

--Ike Dimitriadis, BYB Writer




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PETTITTE SUFFERS SETBACK. YANKS WILL NEED A STARTER FAST

Bad News coming out of Yankeeland as we speak... and it's both devastating to the state of the Yankee rotation as well as Andy Pettitte, whom we all love.

George King III reports, along with Ken Davidoff in his Tweet that Andy Pettitte has suffered a "setback" during rehab.  Now it looks like there will be a delay.  Remember, the target for Pettitte was September 1st.  Don't look for that now.

According Andy Pettitte, he "did alittle too much in Seattle" and the "ankle hasn't healed up as much as (the doctors) thought it would."

It's interesting, it seems that there wasn't much progress in the healing process the past 2 to 4 weeks than there was in the beginning.  Oh boy...welcome to age 40 I guess. But as bad as this is for Andy Pettitte, it's not the end of the world for him.  He just needs to heal, whether it be so he can play this season, or not. Sure he wants to compete, but he can't push himself.  The bigger problem is that the Yankees have a championship to win, they need Andy.  If they don't have Andy, they need someone else, but who? Several pitchers recently have found homes;  Francisco Liriano, Cole Hamels, Zack Greinke and to be honest, the only real option is Matt Garza and even he is struggling a bit lately with a minor setback.  Read HERE. It's August, maybe Sidney Ponson's available again...I kid, I kid.

This is an interesting dilemma so pay attention to it Ladies and Gentlemen... more to follow for sure.

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THE MARK TEIXEIRA PUZZLE

I'm not sure what to make of this.  So yeah, before the Yankees lost to the Red Sox last night (Read HERE), the game was 6-4 Sox in the bottom of the 8th inning.  Of course, like clockwork, Vicente Padilla was pitching and Mark Teixeira walks to the plate.  Soon enough, Tex cranked a home run and did something unusual.  In fact, for Mark Teixeira it was totally out of character...he stood there and watched the ball sail out of the ball park and just like that, the Yankees tied the game.

Now, I'm on the record as saying I hate the show boat at home plate.  I also am not a fan of the Red Sox and based on all the information I've read about Vicente Padilla and Mark Teixeira (Read HERE), I'd suggest they have their own rivalry.  In this case, when Mark Teixeria hit that home run and stood there, I'm giving him a pass.  I know what he was doing.  He wasn't aiming that gesture toward the Red Sox as much as he was toward Padilla.  It was big "F OFF"! Clearly they don't like each other. Over time, Padilla will probably come in high and tight on Tex and Tex knows this, but for the moment, Teixeira got his payback.

But what happened later was weird. Over Twitter Teixeira wrote this and asked this question:

I was puzzled to say the least, his home run was clearly in the seats with enough power behind it that there was no hook what so ever. Here's the video:

 
 So the next Tweet I saw was equally mind boggling.  I came from David Robertson:

So, I thought, "What's going on here?" I started to realize something and this is just me as an outsider.  It's my own speculation that maybe Mark Teixeira felt alittle strange standing at home plate after that home run.  Maybe he was doing his best job trying to re-write history on Twitter, and DRob, being a friend and loyal teammate was just trying to help him out.  No harm no foul...literally. Plus, who knows, maybe it was an inside joke because lord knows, if you look at where that home run was falling last night, and the screen grab is below, there is no way in hell that ball was going foul. Look:

Am I over thinking? Should I care? Am I just way too obsessed and maybe I should take a vacation? Sure, all those questions apply here.  Mark Teixeira was out of character last night.  He let his emotions with Vicente Padilla get the best of him, so he stood home plate for a moment.  The world wrote about it because it "wasn't him."  So yeah, maybe he was trying to ease the blow and maybe he doesn't want a bad reputation or something. Lord knows he's no showboat and just a hard worker on the field, but who knows?  Whatever the case, I just thought the whole chain of events was interesting. nothing more.

Enjoy your Sunday guys...

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FRANCISCO LIRIANO GOES TO THE WHITE SOX

Nugget time! It's being revealed by the Associated Press, HERE, that the White Sox, after failing to land Zack Greinke, have in fact acquired Francisco Liriano in exchange for Eduardo Escobar and Pedro Hernandez.

Paul Konerko said of the acquisition, “He just has to come here and be solid... He doesn’t have to throw shutouts. He just has to give us a chance to win. That’s all we’re looking for.”

We can cross another guy off the Yankees pitching list.  First Cole Hamels, then Matt Garza gets hurt and will have some throwing sessions to determine if he's tradeable (read HERE), Zack Greinke goes to the Angels (Read HERE) and now there's word of Francisco Liriano.  Will the Yankees sign a starting pitcher or will they stay with what they have? Stay tuned.

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PROVING BOBBY VALENTINE WRONG

"Obviously, we would like to beat Boston- especially at home- every time." 

--Russell Martin

The focus is clear, the Yankees want to win every game they play against Boston.  And for me, my focus is clear, I need to prove to everyone in baseball that Bobby Valentine is a dud.  So far, it's been easy, he's doing it himself.

I've never understood the hype surrounding Bobby Valentine.  I mean, sure, the guy was a major leaguer... a career average of .260, a part time player that played for teams like the Angels, the Mets and Dodgers from 1969 to 1979. But then came his big moment... manager and that started in 1985 with the Rangers.
Suddenly, the pedestal for Bobby was created...not by him, but by baseball and when he came in to manage the New York Mets, the hype surrounding this guy was so high, so huge, it was like Casey Stengel had comeback to life.  I never understood that.  Bobby Valentine may be a nice guy, but in the world of truly great managers, he's just another manager.  Valentine has a 1166 - 1123 career record as a manager.  With the Mets, he had mild success, winning 536 games and losing 467.  And throughout all of that, what type of champion is he? He won the 2000 National League Pennant with the New York Mets...that's it.

Yet, after he left the Mets, he was praised... "a great manager". People considered him a great baseball mind. He became an analyst and was booked on all the shows, yet, all he did was have an opinion, like you or I.  He talked about the past, "When I did this with the Mets..." or, that player "... played for me with the Rangers" and everyone fawned over it. Yet again... he won a pennant in 2000...that's it. Not a World Series, a pennant...once.

One he won a championship in Japan, where it doesn't matter in the United States by the way, he came back to the states and the Boston Red Sox took him in.  Terry Francona was forced out for something that adult baseball players did and I am a believer that Francona cannot stand that franchise anymore.  Let's be honest,  Francona may have been the Red Sox manager, but the guy's likable, not cocky.  The guy understands the players and the players understand him. It was right about then that the rivalry was amazing and it had everything to do with personalities and respect for each player, the Yankees and across the line, the Red Sox. Sure, we hate each other, but we hated each other in terms of the team, the personally. The players and managers actually liked each other, the rivalry was huge.  Now Valentine has brought in his own hype and more so, he's bought into the hype surrounding him as well.  Bobby's arrogance reeks, yet, he's got nothing to be arrogant about.  The players on the Red Sox don't like him, and don't want to play for him.  How do I know? Watch them play.

Now Bobby made a bold statement before the Yankees clobbered him on Friday night in the Bronx 10-3, read HERE. He told Michael Kay this: "...it's about time to put the pedal to the metal and I think it's just about time that we get out and get our act together."

Sure, it's a matter of time, but time's running out. Bobby should have gained trust and respect back in Spring Training, but instead he chose to fuel the fire of a rivalry he knew nothing about, just to try and be relevant.

He was also asked about his aces Jon Lester and Josh Beckett having a bad start this year. To that he stated: "It's a mystery...They're very, very talented guys. There's been a lot of weird plays when they're pitching -- that one play that could end the inning and turn the game around. It seems like most every time it's been going the other way. The way I look at that is that the next 10-12 starts, things could start going their way and they could get on a real run, and that's exactly what we need."

Just break down that ridiculous statement.  I could see if this was Little League and the kids in the field just couldn't make a play because their still developing and they give up a few runs here and there, but this is a pro team.  This is where his "baseball analysis" falls short.  Don't call Beckett and Lester a "mystery", don't blame bad plays. Simply tell the media, "We're working to turn them around. I have confidence they will, they're pros." That's it.  There is no blame. Do you know how I know? Because the last time he blamed Kevin Youkilis, he got out of Beantown and started to actually play well with the White Sox. No one likes negative people.

(In photo: Kevin Youkilis #20)
Let's say it like it is, Lester and Beckett can't get over the hump for the chicken and beer scandal, they were publicly attacked and then Bobby shows up with a big mouth to over manage and blab about his team until they need to stick ear plugs in their ears just to get through the day.  Bobby Valentine in Boston is a disaster, he's no longer a manager, he's a guy whose time is up.  He's living in the past, he believes the hype surrounding him and he needs to go away.

Now comes word that Dustin Pedroia has a few choice words about the Red Sox after last night's loss:

“The first hundred games have been (expletive)... We’re two games under .500. We’re the Boston Red Sox. If anyone’s thrilled about where we’re at, they need to reevaluate because I don’t like losing. I know everyone else doesn’t like losing. We’ve got to play better, man.”

He  told that to the Boston Herald HERE. Look, I actually feel bad for Red Sox fans. I can't believe I'm even saying that but the reason is simple;  I understand passion for my team and I understand when things don't go well, you get annoyed. Red Sox fans and Yankee fans can relate to that.   It doesn't help that Valentine is there, he makes matters worse.  Bottom line? As a Yankee fan, I'm thrilled Beantown is crumbling, but I'm also pleased that finally, as predicted when Bobby showed up... people are opening their eyes ...Bobby divides ... he doesn't unite.

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THE BLEEDING YANKEE BLUE NEWSSTAND XI

This is an extra long Newsstand today because there are a ton of things going on around the world of baseball, the Yankees and just life.  You’ll love it…happy reading this Saturday.

DID VENTURA ACTUALLY FIGHT BACK? The first one comes from someone who analyzed the world famous brawl between Nolan Ryan and Robin Ventura from back in 1993.  Everyone walked away from that fight suggesting Nolan Ryan beat the ever living crap out of Robin Ventura, until you analyze it like this dude did...he's clearly a Ventura and White Sox fan. You need to appreciate the "fan" in this guy. Anyway, it’s a different perspective on what happened that day.  Check it out:
I appreciate this tape, What do you guys think?

THE CURSE OF CRAWFORD: Nothing brings me joy more than the Red Sox crumbling and the lack of play by Carl Crawford since he went to Boston.  Crawford is the perfect example of a guy working the system, getting the most money he could possible find from a team willing to pay up, and then…he shits the bed.  I haven’t been a fan of Crawford since he talked trash about the Yankees NOT signing him. Read HERE  how he felt after the Yankees drove up the price on purpose. He was clearly upset about it.  Well, I’m just glad he didn’t come to New York, it would have been an absolute disaster.  It’s being reported that the Red Sox actually tried to trade Crawford for Jose Reyes. That's an interesting nugget.  You can read that CBS Sports.com story HERE.  No team in their right mind is going to pay that kind of money. 

SPORTING THE BYB SHIRT: Tate was recently at Frontier Field  in Rochester, NY for a  home game of the Rochester Red Wings (Twins farm team.) There she wore her Bleedingyankeeblue.com shirt for the world to see. Love it! She got compliments, and took pictures at her at the park.  Tate, thanks for the free advertising, we appreciate the support and not only that, money went toward High Socks for Hope.  David and Erin Robertson are smiling.  Thanks!

THE METS HAVE PITCHING HELP: Matt Harvey made his rookie debut for them the other night and really did a great job racking up double digit strikeouts (11) in 5 1/2 scoreless innings, good for him. You can read an good piece about Harvey’s nice in the Bergen Record...read HERE.  The Mets don’t seem to have it this year, although they started strong.  Whatever the case, I love when kids get their shot and shine.  I tip my cap to you ?...but I still don’t like the Mets.

TRAVEL…YOU NEED TO: My buddy has started this great travel site, it’s called America Trek, click on the name to see it... you need to check it out.  Great places, great information and he’s trying to drum up alittle traffic. He also has one called Euro Trek.  If you love to travel and want to get more information about exotic and non exotic places,  has it all.  Pass it to a friend and get on board. You'll enjoy it.

IT’S NOT MINE! We all know Marisa Miller from her modeling photos from the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issues over the years.  The picture above is for all the men who read BYB. She’s something else and she has been for many years.  Well, I found this picture just the other day of Marisa Miller…she’s got a baby bump! I found originally from an Erin Andrews Tweet, she tweeted the People story HERE. You gotta love twitter.

This is for all the ladies…everybody say “AHHHH”.  That’s right, Marisa Miller is expected.  Good for her and congratulations.  Many are puzzled wondering…”Why did BYB show this?” The answer? Because I can.

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NASTY CANASTA!

Nasty Canasta was once a cartoon character created by animator Chuck Jones.  It's also a term a buddy and I used years ago to describe something really disgusting or an unfortunate incident.  "Damn, that was Nasty Canasta with a capital C!" Tonight was Nasty Canasta...and the "C" was for Curtis.  What was once a thrill to watch, meaning, the Yankees creeping all the way back to tie the Red Sox 6 to 6, and then losing the way they did... it's was unfortunate, it sucked... it was Nasty Canasta.  If Curtis Granderson doesn't misplay that Pedro Ciriaco ball in the 9th inning, the Yankees momentum probably leads them to victory tonight... or at least that's how I pictured it.

The best and biggest shot of the night was by Mark Teixeira who ended up tying the ball game off of enemy Vicente Padilla.  Now, you know me, one thing I hate is showboating and it was unusual to see Tex watching that ball launch into the seats. He never does that. But because of everything we know between he and Padilla and the bad blood between the 2, (Read WHO'S THE TOUGH GUY? MARK TEIXEIRA OR VICENTE PADILLA?), I get why Teixeira did it, but historically on BYB, I don't like the "stand and stare" when you crank out a home run.  Tying the game 6-6 was glorious though.  I'll take that all day long. Tex was 2-4 tonight with 2 RBIs.

CC Sabathia was not vintage CC and now the questions will start... "Is everything OK with CC?" or  "What's going on with our ace?" Look, it think it's safe to say CC isn't having a great year, although I predict by August 5th, we will see a strong run by CC to give that push to the playoffs.  That's him and with injury this year, I think he's just alittle out of whack.  Tonight he pitched 6 innings, allowed 8 hits and 6 runs.  He also struck out 6.  That's more like a Hughes performance than a Sabathia performance, but, don't fret, we'll get the CC we want very shortly...promise.

Other highlights:

• Jayson Nix had 2 RBIs and was 1-2 with a home run.
• Ichiro Suzuki made an outstanding catch in the 7th robbing Adrian Gonzalez.  Loved to see that!
• Chris Stewart cranked out a home run early on.

So, the final score tonight...it was a heart breaker on a silly fielding mistake by Granderson, but... Life goes on.
 
Red Sox 8 - Yankees 6.

I'm going to bed...good night.

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AARDSMA TELLS BYB HE STARTS THROWING MONDAY

It was been revealed by David Aardsma himself that he will begin throwing again on Monday.  Well, happy days are here again.  I like Aardsma and have been following his progress for a while now. Yesterday I noticed he was on Twitter so I reached out and asked how he was feeling. Only to get a Tweet back a few moments later that said:

As you know, Bleeding Yankee Blue has written plenty on "Aardsma the Animal."  Read about it in:

AARDSMA THE ANIMAL & JOBA THE HUTT

JOBA RISES UP & AARDSMA SITS DOWN

Don't forget, it was that second piece that it was revealed by Cashman that Aardsma was almost moving too fast and he needed to stop for a bit. Here's what I revealed in that piece: "... he (Aardsma) was progressing fine, but almost too fast for his body to handle.  According to Cashman, “His body basically said, ‘no, no, no. Too fast…”

Fair enough. The Yankees have an investment in this guy, they aren’t about to ruin him so they shut him down for a bit.  No problem, it’s not like we’re desperate, we have DRob and company in our pen now and we’re dynamite.  We will be fine and Aasrdma needs his time to get back.. I say let’s just relax and give it to him.

Cashman says “I suspect we’ll see him this year…but not on July 19^th…” So there you go."

I look forward to seeing Aardsma! How about you?

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WELCOME TO THE RIVALRY, ICHIRO!

On Monday, the Yankees organization shocked their fans, and basically everyone who watches baseball, by acquiring Ichiro Suzuki in a trade from the Mariners. Read about it HERE. The whole thing happened so fast that I almost couldn’t believe it was true. Wednesday night after the last out in SafeCo field, Ichiro took a moment to acknowledge his cheering section before walking into the visiting dugout. It was a great gesture on Ichiro’s part. It showed a lot of respect. And it got me thinking, “How will he be received when he plays in the Bronx on Friday?” The answer is awesomely!

Ichiro has always been on the other side at Yankee Stadium. With his long list of professional accolades, it’s easy to see how fans at the stadium would heckle him. Like Derek Jeter told Robbie Cano at Kansas City, “They only boo you if you’re a good player.” And, his current stats not withstanding, Ichiro is just that. But now Ichiro will take the field in pinstripes. He will wear #31 in pinstripes and add to that, the fact that his Yankee debut in the Bronx is against the Red Sox, and you have a whole new ball game.

Whenever the Yankees play the Red Sox, there is always pure adrenaline. It’s like the air molecules have become electric and super charged. It’s no secret that Ichiro asked for this trade. By his own admission he said he didn’t feel like he fit into the new Seattle team anymore. When you take into consideration his OBP and batting average in Seattle this season, the Yankees, their fans and this series, let's just say that it may kick Ichrio high gear!

I’m not going to lie, the Yankees need this series and the fans are depending on it. BYB wrote about it in THE YANKEES EBB & FLOW WILL SOON FLOW & FLOW. We just came off of a road trip where we won two out of seven. Considering how well we had been playing before we got to Oakland, it’s frustrating to say the least. So, we need a good jolt and luckily we got one last night with a 10-3 win against the Sox.  Is it the beginning? Man I hope so.

So I sit here thinking about this rivalry, and Ichiro and I say this... we will root for the new guy. When he makes a good play or has a good at bat, he will be cheered. And maybe that's all he needs, to feel like he is appreciated, to feel like he's home...again, but this time it's the Bronx and not Seattle. Maybe this different New York atmosphere coupled with this legendary rivalry will be the smelling salts that Ichiro needs this season. Is there a better way to make your playing debut as a Yankee? No... no way.

--Erica Morales, BYB Writer



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THINKING ABOUT DAVID WRIGHT ON THE YANKEES

It’s funny how quickly things can change in baseball. At the beginning of the season, the Mets were the big surprise ending the first half with a winning record. The Yankees have been battling with injuries all year, and just as we get closer to getting some guys back….Alex Rodriguez goes down with a fractured hand, read HERE.

Both the Mets and the Yankees are going to have to make some adjustments. Now with Alex out, the Yankees need to look at adding another bat. No offense to Ramiro Pena….but his bat is not comparable. Eric Chavez and Jayson Nix are not the best everyday options. Yes, there has been talk about Eric Chavez being he every day 3rd baseman, but, there is concern about him being able to handle it and of course, there's worry of injury...the guy's accident prone after all.  The Mets has faltered since the All-Star break losing 12 of their last 13 games and have started to re-work their team. Are you thinking what we are thinking here at BYB?

So, let’s think about this a moment. The Mets have already made some minor moves, and if they want to continue to build for the future, they could choose to part with David Wright. That's right, I said it. Sure, it may sound a little crazy but we aren’t the only ones who are exploring this idea, read more on this HERE. I can’t believe I am even going to suggest this, my dad the Mets fan would probably mock me for it, but here it goes….why NOT bring Wright to the Bronx?

You're asking "Why would the Mets just give us their star player?"  I'll tell you. Wright is in the final year of his contract and has a $16 million team option for next year. If the Mets did want to let Wright walk to free up some cash for next year now is the time for them to make a move and the Yankees definitely have some infield prospects that could be of interest to the Mets. The Mets say they are not going to be sellers by the trade deadline, but if the Yankees gave the Mets a good offer, maybe they would bite.

If the Mets choose to let Wright go, it would be a benefit to both teams. The Mets wouldn’t be giving him away to a division rival and they could rebuild and save money while we strengthen our needs as we head closer to the post season. Now that Alex is on the disabled list, we need an everyday player who can fill in for Alex, and those are not easy shoes to fill. Wright can be that guy, he knows how to deal with the bright lights in New York and let’s face it, he has the combination of offense and defense that we need. In fact, this year Wright has some pretty impressive numbers and could even be a candidate to for MVP. He has an impressive .344BA, 15HR, 67RBI and a high on base percentage. He also has some speed with 10 stolen bases on the year, so he has a good balance of speed and power. If Wright can give this kind of production at park that is harder to hit in, imagine what he can do in Yankee Stadium?

I have to admit, it is hard to imagine seeing David Wright in pinstripes, but the idea fascinates me. If this happened, our lineup becomes that much more powerful, if that's even possible. Sure, thinking about someone from the Mets on our team is a little strange, especially since that is my dad’s favorite team, but if he worked out for us I don’t think it would take too long to overlook.

Do I think this is likely? Honestly, no,  but as we have all seen Brian Cashman can pull off some amazing moves that no one expects…like the Ichiro Suzuki trade this week! I don’t think the Mets will want to deplete their organization this much and it could make some very unhappy Mets fans but anything that gets us closer to World Series victory this year is worth considering...plus, it's fun to think about!

The trade deadline is getting closer and anything is possible. So, what do you think? Tell us what you would do if you were Cashman.

--Jeana Bellezza --BYB Writer and Editor

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