The thrill of Victory...I just wish it would happen more often...
Going
up or going down?...
About 20 games into the season and the
Yankees are barely closer to first place than they are last place. Only two games separate the Yankees from the
dismal start by the Boston Red Sox but of course the Sox are playing better as
of late. It’s only April so at this
point, the standings don’t really mean too much as the superior AL East teams
will begin to separate themselves from the pretenders over the course of the
next couple of months.
It was nice to see the Yankees pull
off a walk-off win at Yankee Stadium last night against the team that seems to
terrorize them in the play-offs in recent years, the Detroit Tigers. I am really surprised that Justin Verlander
holds an 0-2 mark with 4.50 ERA for his career at the new Yankee Stadium. When he is on the mound, it is hard not to
expect bad things for the home team. So,
regardless of Verlander’s struggles at Yankee Stadium, it is still a great
feeling to pick up a win on a night when he took the mound.
Cashman
made the right decision…
Lately, there have been numerous
columns and articles written about how disastrous the Yankees trade for Michael
Pineda has become. I realize that he’s
lost for the season due to his shoulder injury, but he is still a young and
talented pitcher. I know there’s always
a risk that he isn’t quite the pitcher was projected to be when he comes back,
but I think it’s way too early to criticize the trade which sent talented
hitter Jesus Montero to Seattle. Pineda’s
injury was suffered on the Yankees’ watch and not while he was in Seattle, and
there is still a good chance that he’s a strong, contributing part of next year’s
rotation.
Phil Hughes is probably the
beneficiary of Pineda’s injury as I feel that Freddy Garcia will be the odd man
out when Andy Pettitte returns to the Bronx.
Hughes hasn’t exactly pitched like he wants to stay, but I am not ready
to see the Yankees banish him to Pittsburgh or someplace like that. Maybe I am an eternal optimist but I still
believe that Hughes can prosper in New York.
I am a bit concerned by the uneven
starts provided by new Yankee Hiroki Kuroda, but I think he’ll settle in and
deliver consistent performances in the coming weeks and months. Yes, I do thank the lucky stars every day for
CC Sabathia.
A
sad day in the Yankees Universe…
I was saddened to hear the passing of
Yankees great Bill “Moose” Skowron yesterday.
He was part of the 1961 Yankees which will always be a special team in
Yankees history for the famed M&M Boys (the year Mickey Mantle hit 54 home
runs, and Roger Maris hit the then record 61 homers). But there’s no way either Mickey or Roger
could have reached those heights without guys like Skowron on the roster.
Next
stop, Superstardom…
Well, the Bryce Harper Show begins its
maiden tour in Washington with the scheduled first start today for the
ultra-hyped, super prospect National. Given
that he was called up to take the roster spot of injured 3B Ryan Zimmerman,
there’s always the chance that Harper goes back down when Zimmerman returns
from the DL. But if Harper starts to hit
like we know he will, it will be hard for the Nats to remove him from the
roster. It will be interesting to see
how this plays out. America loves
superstars and Harper certainly has as much of a chance to be the best as
anyone in the game today.
When
Christian Ponder and Adrian Peterson are happy, so am I…
It’s only been three rounds, but I am
pleased with the NFL draft selections made by the Minnesota Vikings. Prior to the draft, my preference for the
Vikings #3 pick in the first round was USC OT Matt Kalil. There was talk that the Vikings were
undecided among Kalil, CB Morris Claiborne, and WR Justin Blackmon, but in the
end, it proved to be a smokescreen. I
was a bit anxious when I first heard the Vikings had traded down with the
Cleveland Browns, but it was clear that the Browns were going after RB Trent
Richardson so there was no risk of losing Kalil off the board. At first, I didn’t understand the logic of
the move, but clearly the Vikings (and GM Rick Spielman) had made the Browns
fearful they’d trade down with another team which could potentially cost the
Browns a shot at the premier running back in the draft. The move brought three late round picks to
the Vikings and it didn’t cost them anything as they were focused on Kalil from
the start.
I also like the Vikings’ subsequent
picks (late first round selection of S Harrison Smith and early third round
choice of speedy CB Josh Robinson). For
a team that was desperate of upgrades in the secondary, they fared well. It
would have been nice if Robinson were a bit taller, but his 4.33 speed at the
Combines was unmatched. I think he’s
good material for the coaching staff to mold for playing at this level. The Vikings have a plethora of selections
today as Rounds 4-7 are completed, and I am sure that the defense will continue
to get attention. I also expect the
Vikings to choose a wide receiver, but I have no idea who they might
target. Nevertheless, with Spielman’s
decisions so far, I have no doubt that he’ll continue to bring talented
playmakers to Minnesota.
As
Luck would have it…
Like everyone else, I think that QB
Andrew Luck has the potential to be one of the greats in the game but how much
more difficult can it be to be replacing one of the greatest QB’s to play the
game with added pressure of being the number one selection in the NFL Draft
(along with the expectations that go with it)?
If Luck succeeds, and I do not doubt that he will, he will prove,
without a doubt, that he was the right choice to replace Manning. Luck, with a horseshoe on his helmet, seems
like it was destiny. Meanwhile, I
continue to “ponder” things in Minnesota…
Today, with Yankees-Tigers on tap and
the conclusion of the NFL Draft, will be a fun day. Enjoy!
--Scott
