STOP THE MADNESS!

The line came from my friend Doug tonight.  It was on Twitter, the only way to communicate these days it seems.

STOP THE MADNESS! @BleednYankeeBlu #Yankees
— Doug Stroup (@dougstro) August 29, 2013

Pardon my French, but what the fuck happened to Hiroki Kuroda tonight? What the hell happened to the Yankees? We need this guy! We need this team? What happened?  5 innings, 9 hits and 7 runs.  I don't even care about the hits, you can give up hits all night but if your giving up runs, that's a problem!

But that's not the only problem.  This is how MLB.com described the worst part of the game tonight, "A passed ball and throwing error by Chris Stewart led to two early Blue Jays runs, and Toronto didn't let up, using Edwin Encarnacion's 34th homer to pile on for Todd Redmond and hand Hiroki Kuroda his third straight loss." (Read HERE.)

Hey... that's about right.  I hate errors and errors usually hurt a club and kills confidence.  That, and Kuroda just unravelling tonight is not fair to any Yankee fan. We didn't need this tonight. We needed a win!

The Yankee runs went like this: The 4th inning consisted of Alex Rodriguez singling in Curtis Granderson.  After that, and in the same inning, it was Mark Reynolds doubling in Alfonso Soriano with Alex Rodriguez being thrown out on a throw at home. Hey, you want to be aggressive, you go for it! I have no problem with ARod giving it a shot. Too bad it didn't work out!

That was it though. It just felt like we were flat tonight. 

Final: Blue Jays 7 - Yankees 2

Tomorrow. Tomorrow we turn it around.  We need wins more than ever now.

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THE TALE OF 2 EX-YANKEE PITCHERS

I just wanted to update you on a few guys we learned to love while they were in pinstripes.

Cory Wade who was with the Tampa Bay Rays has been released.  The Rays put that out yesterday:

ROSTER MOVES: OF Jason Bourgeois accepts outright assignment to Durham; RHP Cory Wade granted his release by #Rays
— Durham Bulls (@DurhamBulls) August 27, 2013

According to Sports Talk Florida, HERE, "He signed a minor league deal with Tampa Bay back in May after struggling through 16 innings with the Cubs’ Triple-A affiliate. Wade, 30, saw a drastic turnaround in the Rays organization, pitching to a brilliant 2.17 ERA with 6.0 K/9 and 2.5 BB/9 in 49 1/3 innings of relief for the Durham Bulls."

The other guy is Chien-Ming Wang.  According to MLB.com, the Jays have designated Wang for assignment.  They write HERE, "...Wang's departure also opens a spot on the 40-man roster.  Wang lasted only three innings in Saturday's 8-5 loss to the Astros, allowing five runs (four earned) on four hits and a walk. He went 1-2 in six starts for the Blue Jays this season, pitching to a 7.67 ERA with 14 strikeouts and nine walks over 27 innings."

There you go. Where they will wind up next is anyone's guess.

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THE DANDY MAN CAN'T

By the time he had reached the end of his career, he was reviled in the Bronx. The front office would barely acknowledge his existence, the players would not associate with him, and the fans mocked him relentlessly.

What? No, this article isn’t about Alex Rodriguez. It’s about Dandy, the long forgotten mascot of the Yankees.

Stop laughing. This was a thing. Really.

Let’s go back in time to the late 70’s. Mascots were a huge thing for baseball. The Phillie Phanatic was bringing his team in excess of 2 million a year since his debut in 1978. The Bronx wanted a piece of this action.

Bonnie Erickson, formerly of Jim Henson’s Muppets and creator of Miss Piggy, had designed the popular Phanatic and Montreal’s Youppi with partner Wayde Harrison. Both of these characters hold spots in the Baseball Hall of Fame. The couple were contracted to create a New York mascot. The result was the Yankee Dandy. He was doomed from the start.

It was a rare miss for the accomplished couple. What they created basically resembled a cross between Captain Caveman and a fuzzy sex toy with a walrus porn ‘stache. In their defense, the mustache was supposed to be evocative of Thurman Munson. Also his baseball cap could spin around. And he carried a red bandanna. For some reason.

Dandy was universally mocked and immediately reviled. He looked awful and had a silly name. At best, he looked like a bowling pin. At worst, Big Bird’s penis. Cute is one thing. But looking like a dirty joke about Sesame Street is quite another. Dandy was to debut in July of 1979. But his puzzling appearance was Strike One.

Strike Two happened the previous June. Freelance mascot The Famous Chicken was working for Seattle and got into some silly business with Ron Guidry. This set off Lou Piniella, who stated mascots had no place in the game. The Boss backed up his manager, and said that mascots shouldn’t be in baseball. It was two weeks before his own mascot’s debut. Strike Two.

Dandy was not allowed on the field or even anywhere near it. He was consigned to the Upper Deck. Fans in the Upper Deck in 70’s New York City, regarding mascots, were only interested in whether or not they could fly. Tales and rumors abound of the beatings Dandy took. They are either funny or tragic, depending upon the storyteller.

Then, only days after the mascot debuted, on August 2, Thurman Munson died in a plane crash. The one thing they got kinda right on Dandy would now remind people that their Captain was dead. Strike Three. Dandy was over before he began.

The poor schmuck was kept hanging around for a little bit, but Dandy was shelved for good in 1981. He was never given any real shot, announcements, or fanfare. Little publicity. Hated in general. New York was quick to forget him. Even his designers tossed him aside.

You would think this would be the end of Dandy’s story. But you would be wrong. We have no intention of leaving our readers hanging when it comes to his fate. After all, Dandy was an unlucky shmoe who never asked to be what he was. None of this was his fault.

Happily, one of the Yankees greatest mistakes has re-invented himself in Brazil. He found a worthy cause to represent, shaved off the silly fur, and fights testicular cancer as Mr. Testicles.

No it’s not nuts. It’s Dandy.

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


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ICHIRO... MR. 4000

4000 hits. Now that is a milestone! Only three men have achieved it, and this past week we got to celebrate Ichiro Suzuki having become the third man ever to achieve that accomplishment. A few detractors have pointed out that they were not all in Major League Baseball. However, the fact is that Japanese baseball is legitimate, and the milestone is worthy of recognition.

Before coming over to Major League Baseball in the United States, he spent nine season with the Orix Blue Wave – seven of them full seasons - amassing 1278 hits and a cumulative batting average of .353. He struggled in his first two seasons, not getting consistent playing time. Then in his first full season in 1994, at age 20, he exploded with a .385 batting average and 29 stolen bases. For the rest of his Japanese career, he would never hit lower than .343 for a season, never fail to reach double digits in stolen bases, and would never fail to win a Gold Glove in any season there.

His hitting mechanics were, and still are, flawless. He has an even swing, and can hit to all fields. There is no point in trying to put the shift on him. The most curious thing about his hitting is his unorthodox swing. They teach you that when you swing, you plant your front foot while generating torque from your core and your shoulders to maximize bat speed and power. Ichiro does not plant his front foot. He swings his front foot in such a way that as he is already charging to first when his bat makes contact with the ball. As if his hitting is not good enough on its own, he has always been a threat to get an infield single on a slow or misplayed grounder.

By the winter of 2000, American baseball scouts had caught on to him, and the Seattle Mariners paid $13M for the rights to negotiate with him. They succeeded in signing him to a 3 year, $14M contract. The impact was immediate. He won the American League batting title with a .350 batting average, led the league with 242 hits, 56 stolen bases, was elected to the All Star team, and won Rookie of the Year and American League MVP. Additionally, the Mariners set the record for most wins in a regular season with 116, and made it to the American League Championship Series. He would continue his fierce hitting with the Mariners for 12 seasons, always hitting above .300, always making the All-Star team, always winning a Gold Glove, until 2011 at age 37.

By 2012, the Mariners had fallen into serious decline. They were on their way to the third consecutive last place finish. In fact, the Mariners finished last in seven of his 12 seasons there. By the middle of the season, it was reported that Ichiro had asked for a trade. He was batting in the .260 range for most of the season, and you could sense that he was losing the joy of the game. Then came the day when he was finally let go and sent to the New York Yankees. We couldn’t’ have been luckier.

The Yankees hitting was starting to falter. The only thing we kept hearing about from certain sportscasters was RISP – the Yankees’ failure to hit with men in scoring position. Ichiro added a spark that the Yankees needed, turning his season around and hitting .322 the rest of the way. Though the postseason did not go as we hoped, where the hitting all but disappeared against the Tigers, Ichiro hit .353 in that series.

In that off season, the Yankees were able to sign him to a 2-year deal, which means that we get to benefit from his excellent hitting, base stealing, and Gold Glove fielding through next year. Last week, we were fortunate enough to see this future Hall of Famer hit his 4000th professional baseball hit while he wore the pinstripes. It has been an honor.


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

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HAPPY BIRTHDAY RON GUIDRY!

One of my favorites, Ron Guidry, Louisiana Lightening, Gator has a birthday today.  This is the guy I pretended I was when I was a kid. This is the guy that transformed me into a pitcher for the New York Yankees in my backyard. I would literally throw baseballs at a plastic crate for hours at a time.  Yup, I made a fake mustache and wore a Yankee T-shirt and a Yankee hat that looked more like a trucker's hat... but hey, it was close enough.  I don't even know or remember if they sold fitted hats back then... it was the early 80's.

I even had a Ron Guidry baseball glove... and guess what? I still have it today and use it with my sons when we have catches. Any way, the point is, for that moment, all dressed up and ready to pitch as a kid in my backyard... I WAS Ron Guidry.

Happy Birthday Gator... many more!

Oh... and Go Yanks!

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CANO GETS HIT, BUT THE YANKEES ARE BOMBERS

You would think that the Yankees have the Curse of the Bambino hanging over their heads or something... but we're no longer in that house, so it wouldn't make sense.  Why do so many Yankees keep getting hit by pitches?  Something needs to be done.  I know hitting batters is part of the game, but at this point, how many more Yankees are going to get hit on the hand? It's ridiculous... it's like they're aiming.

The Yankees won tonight but Robinson Cano got hit and left in the 2nd inning.  According to USA Today, the precautionary X-rays came back negative and he'll be day to day, read HERE.  It still bothers me though.

The Yankees dominated in the game tonight though and Alfonso Soriano led the charge with 2 home runs tonight.  It seemed like everyone loved what they saw tonight.  Funny moment from Wally Matthews on Twitter tweeting this at Soriano's 3rd at bat:

Alfonso Soriano did not hit a HR his third time up. Bum
— wallace matthews (@ESPNNYYankees) August 28, 2013

That's just funny. He's joking by the way.... just in case you didn't get it.

The runs for the Yanks went like this: Derek Jeter singled in the first knocking in Brett Gardner. Shortly after that, Alfonso Soriano cranked out a 3 run home run.  His first of the night.  In the 3rd, Sori homered again. In the 6th, Mark Reynolds went deep.  In the 7th ARod homered. 

Home run central tonight for the Bronx Bombers.

The pitching was brought to you by Andy Pettitte who went 7 strong, gave up 5 hits and 0 runs.  The only run came off Adam Warren... but the Yanks just dominated tonight... You gotta love it.

Final: Yankees 7 - Blue Jays 1

2 in a row tomorrow, that's the plan!

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THE YANKEE HIGHLIGHT VIDEO THAT WILL GIVE YOU CHILLS!

I don't know who Justin Glick is, but I know that if I knew him, we'd be fast friends.

If you ever want to be inspired.  If you ever wanted to really feel goose bumps all over your body, you need to watch this video of every Yankee highlight all in 1 apparently edited by Justin Glick. Incredible in every way!


As Glick writes under the You Tube caption... "Freelance production I did...because I'm so passionate about the Yanks, this project meant a lot to me."

This production means alot to any Yankee fan... and we need it right now.  We need too be inspired as fans and we need our Yankees to win it all!  Watch this video, share this Bleeding Yankee Blue Post... let's get pumped... Watching this... 1 thing is certain...we CAN DO THIS!

Go Yanks... thanks Justin. This is so great, I'm putting it in my BYB Video section of Bleeding Yankee Blue. I love it.

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THE IMPACT OF JETER, THE PLAYOFFS & BEYOND

Ok, maybe it’s expected, Jeter leading us, but it needs to be said.  I say this, give Derek Jeter his 0-3 night last night.  Not every first at bat returning from injury can be a home run.  It’s tough to look at the Captain and not expect perfection and last night, just his presence alone is cool enough for me, although, I wanted the win.  But add in a walk and it’s special for Jeet.  But there is no question, all eye balls in baseball are watching this guy right now.  All players will root for the Captain to return to baseball after such a long time fighting injury. Because, quite honestly, much like when we missed Mariano Rivera last year, not seeing these guys on the Yankees lineup is just plain weird. 

Derek Jeter will get into his rhythm and Derek Jeter will help this club make a run for the playoffs.  Hell, it will not be easy but if anyone can do it, Derek Jeter can.  Jeter leads by example.  He’s never been connected to PEDs, unless you want bring up Skip Bayless’s ridiculous accusation which was a reading frenzy on BYB for days after that. Read SHAME ON SKIP BAYLESS if you need direction on that.

 I wrote a piece that appeared in the USA Today weekend edition back in June titled THE JETER EFFECT.  It was a piece to the point, and probably obvious to any of us Yankee fans, but the reality is, it needed to be said, especially after Jason Keidel pubished his piece in CBS before me suggesting Derek Jeter should retire, read HERE.  Jeter never says die and back then I wrote: "Yankees fans are loyal to Jeter, because he’s been loyal to us. It’s not just his greatness. He’s been with us since the beginning, and we know he’ll be there till the end...Despite the absence of Jeet so far in 2013, it’s clear the man knows how important his presence is. If he’s not on the field, he’s leading in other ways: Talking to teammates, mentoring, guiding. He’s a true leader—a captain in every sense of the word. As we move forward together as fans of Yankees—fans of baseball in general—we should cherish every at bat, every tip of the cap, because he’s rewarded us so much. Not because he has to, but because he wants to."

All true, and even in the end of August, even with the cloud of Alex Rodriguez and PEDs lingering, Jeet goes about his business because he has a job to do… play baseball for the New York Yankees and win.  There is no nonsense with Jeter. You see him, you know he is programmed to give you nothing too print if you're a reporter and he’s focused on the game at hand.   Even Ichiro last night showed Jeter tendencies. Jeter must rub off on the players, huh? 

Ichiro was asked about his error in right field and he said in a nutshell, “What else is there it to talk about. It’s over, I messed up and it’s embarrassing. Let’s move on.”  The Yankees need to focus on the winning, the positive, the Jeter way, not nonsense. You can’t go back and so, like Jeter, Ichiro was saying “Move on”.  I like that.

The playoffs are in our grasp. We know that and  we can do this. While the Wild Card is possible, it’s not what I want as a fan, but as my neighbor said yesterday, “Take what you can get and be happy, it’s been a brutal season.”  True, and now, with Jeter back, it's a possibity that his leadership can get us there.  Not only that, he wants to prove to himself that he's still a champion.  He wants to prove to the fans that he's still a leader.  With Jeet, we can do  this... I have no doubt... and we will!

Thank you Derek for being such a great role model to my children and such a terrific leader.  Guide us Jeet, like you've did so many times before.  Make us all wake up and fight to the end... you're a champion and we'll never give up with you righting the ship!

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WHAT TO WRITE ABOUT WHEN THERE'S NOTHING TO WRITE ABOUT

I’d love to give you a kick ass piece and tell you that all is right in Yankeeland.  I’m sure it will be, but it’s so strange, right now, for me personally, and maybe you... it seems quiet and weird.  Not sure if it’s because it’s the end of the summer and my kids will be returning to school, or that the Yankees are just not WOWing me, but it’s an odd time.

There’s really nothing to write about and something that we vowed too do here is to not bore you.  When something happens, or someone has something interesting or fascinating, we’ll post it, but for the first time in the history of Bleeding Yankee Blue… there’s nothing.

So, what do you do as a reader?  You look for the nuggets on BYB! You should definitely look through our archive and maybe you should even buy a Bleeding Yankee Blue shirt… shameless plug, but you can buy them HERE, they are now discounted and going fast.

 

(In Photo: Doug & Mikal)

All I ask is you stay with us. Our archive is extensive, over 4 thousand pieces too choose from and it’s a lot of fun to look through the archive and read some old articles.  It’s a lot of fun actually.  One of my readers recently told me “There is so much your site has to offer, you just have to dig a bit.” It’s true, it’s all there, great old interviews, good heartfelt pieces and of course… many on our mighty New York Yankees.  Enjoy them, because we enjoy writing them.  

Stay strong Yankeeland.  We are still here, we’re as passionate as ever, but it’s that final stretch in the year where it appears too be "blah."  Schools coming, the summer’s winding down and the Yankees are not in the playoffs yet.  I’m right there with you… stay strong… Yankee Strong.

In the meantime, here's a picture of a Yankee fans favorite... Laura Posada!

Go Yanks!

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AN UPDATE ON THE BABY BOMBERS

(In Photo: Ronnier Mustelier)
I got a chance to see the Baby Bombers visit the "Pawsox" here in Pawtucket 2 night ago! I also wanted to take the opportunity to bring you, the readers, an update on the farm club! Sorry no Derek Jeter sightings as I hoped for. But I did get to see a good ball game and some familiar faces. You heard the names, David Adams, Bobby Wilson and Ronnier Mustelier?

Scranton took an early lead scoring in the first. The Pawsox answered back in the bottom of the 1st with a run to tie it. Bobby Wilson crushes a 2 run shot in the top of the 2nd giving SWB the lead 3-1. Scranton scores a run in the top of the 3rd and 4th taking a 5-3 lead. Pawtucket ties it at 5 a piece on a two run double by Jonathan Diaz. Pawtucket's Brock Holt goes deep to right to take the lead 6-5. David Adams went 1-4, he had a single and a walk. Ronnier Mustellier and Bobby Wilson both went 2-4. Pawsox win it 6-5. But it was a gorgeous night for baseball, I got a 2013 Topps Yankees team card set. 

Don't ask why they sell that at a Red Sox affiliated park but they do. My son got an autograph from Brett Marshall and Chris Bootcheck, and my daughter was promoting BYB to her best friend who came along with us. 

I couldn't ask for a greater night at the ballpark with my family. At least the New York club pulled off a win earlier in the day. I just can't get enough of this sport or this team.

-- Rudy Laurens, BYB Writer
Facebook: House of Champions


 

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MATT HARVEY IS OUT FOR SEASON

It's a "partially torn ulnar collateral ligament in his pitching elbow" for Matt Harvey and the New York Mets just can't get a break can they?

Sure, this isn't a Yankee thing, but let's face it, everyone likes Matt Harvey, how can you not?  Now, with reports coming down that Harvey is likely out for the rest of the year with this injury, you need to feel alittle bad for him.

ESPN says (HERE), "Harvey is unlikely to pitch again this season, general manager Sandy Alderson said. Tommy John surgery may be required, although a decision will wait two to three weeks, until swelling subsides and a clearer assessment of the extent of the tear can be determined."

We here at BYB wish Harvey well.  Tough Break.

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