Having Bad Baseball Dreams

OK, Yes, I'm a Yankees Fan and I'm Suffering
Baseball season has started off weird for me, that first day so glorious but then it's been a roller-coaster-ride every game since. Looking over the pitching staffs of nearly every major league team and you see ERAs in double figures--and you see some really big stars with ERAs of 6, 7, and 8.

In yesterday's Yankees-Seattle squareoff, Seattle started a pitcher (Ramirez) with an 8.50 ERA. OK, you say to yourself when you're a Yankee fan, no problem for Killers Row, the Yankees starting 7 hitters, they'll kill this bum--why, one of Killers Row, Derek Jeter, is leading the American League in batting; one of them, A-Rod, is leading the league in home runs and RBIs, and Jorge Posada is the third best hitter in the American League and is on-fire hot so far. Plus, too, the Yankees are leading the major leagues in runs scored and team batting average; yet, yesterday, the Mighty Yankees could just not hit this Seattle pitcher with an 8.50 ERA. Andy Pettite was the Yankee's pitcher and he was his normal Handy Andy self--it's always a fingers-crossed situation when Andy's pitching--as long he can make it past the fourth without giving up 4 or 5 runs in one inning he can last over a hundred pitches easy--but Andy's on the rebound after George Steinbrenner screwed him a couple'a years ago when Andy was the Yankees's leading pitcher. Steinbrenner forced Andy to follow the Sagging Rocket Clemens to Houston after the Rocket retired, got his new car from the Yankees, and then moved to Houston and unretired. Houston got rid of Andy back to the Yankees for bucks, yes, but also because they know maybe Andy's arm and back ain't what they used to be and they're likely as not to go out on him before the season's very far along. Whatever the Yankees can't depend on Jeter, A-Rod, Posado, and Andy Pettite to get them past high-flying Boston to get into the playoffs this year.

Killers Row couldn't hit last night against Seattle. Yeah, Jeter, A-Rod, and Posada got hits and Andy Pettite pitched one of his best games this year, but not enough--and the Yankees shot their wads futility into the dirt around home plate--A-Rod striking out in the eighth inning with their last chance to win.

Currently here's how the billion-dollar Yankees are hitting: Jeter is hitting .375--he's hit in every game this year but 4; Johnny Damon is hitting a very disappointing .250--so Boston got rid of him for a reason, too; Matsui, the Japanese wonder hitter who was supposed to be the Yankees's Ichero, is hitting .249; Bobby Abreu, who General Manager Brian Cashman said he stole from the Philadelphia Phillies on the advice of whack-job Larry Bowa, who is the Yankees's third base coach--I never was a Larry Bowa fan, is hitting like .230--he led both leagues in on-base percentage and walks last year--this year he's leading the league in strike outs--he couldn't hit a beach ball if you underhanded it up to him. A-Rod is batting around .350, but he hasn't had but one home run since his 14 in April, plus he's beginning to swing for the fence with every pitch and in so-doing he's now trying to recapture his early glory and he's failing--2 men on in the eighth inning last night--2-1 Seattle--and A-Rod strikes out.

Robie Cano, the Yankees's wonder rookie who hit 3rd in the American League last year with a .344 average is currently batting .239 and can't hit the ball right now even with his grandmother pitching; Doug Menkavich (sic) another fool purchase by Brian Cashman--they treated Bernie Williams like dogshit not offering him a contract this year--fools--instead this no-hittin' millionaire Menkavich is hitting like .229--he was at .169 but he hit a hot streak a week ago, but now, I sad to say, he's skidding backwards again--and with all the praise for his gold glove firstbasemanship in yesterday's game he let a ball go right between his legs letting the run score that eventually beat the Yankees.

Jorge Posada is a hitting fool this year--he's batting .359--this guy, A-Rod, and Jeter are keeping this team afloat; and then there's the Melkman, Melky Cabrero--the Yanks kicked Bernie off the club for this dude--so what's he doin'?--NOTHIN! --he's hittin' .220--producing nothing; then there is a great ballplayer named Miquel Cairo on this team--he can easily hit .250 and he's a hell of an infielder, but Joe doesn't use him much at all--he's also an old Yankee who was traded away to the Mets who then traded him back to the Yankees--you tell me what's goin' on? The Yankees's backup catcher, Nieves, has 1 hit in 30 times at bat--he's no help to the team and Jason Giambi is hitting right at .279, on the skids, complaining he's got a bone spur in one of his heels now that they can't do anything about orthopedically until they get back to NY in time for the Mets. Giambi since the steroids almost killed him has been up and down and at some point in the season flopping off on the DL while one of his neurotic-caused injuries heals--so suddenly Giambi can't hit for shit so he's worthless to the team.

At least 7 of the 9 Yankee starting players should be hitting over .300 or close to it. Pitching! Forget about it; the Yankees have the worst pitching staff in major league baseball. The Yankees kept Carl Pavanno who has been injured now with a mysterious injury for all of last year and most of the year before. So what happens? Carl comes back this year, pitches one good game and then one typical Pavanno lousy game, and then he announces that he's injured and can't pitch anymore this year. Jesus. A goldbrick. Why not? I don't blame him; he's still getting millions a year injured or not; plus he doesn't have to face the humiliation of giving up 6 runs in one inning and walking 5 in a row and getting boo-ed by the fans and the catcalls, "Go back to the Staten Island Yankees, you bum!"-- such bullshit he's given the Yankees since they hired him. He hurts the team and certainly ain't helping it.

The trouble with baseball? General managers. General managers are lucky bastards who can't play baseball so they get into the administration part of it. General managers used to be old ball players, but now, they're slick business majors who really do think they know baseball and baseball players better than the managers--better than Joe Torre in the case of Brian Cashman and the Yankees.

Even the Mets's vaunted General Manager, Omar What's His Name, will eventually F up the Mets for this same reason. Right now the Mets are good but they've got old pissed-off Bobby Cox and Atlanta slugging it out with them. Again the Mets can hit but what about their pitching? How reliable is it? The Mets took a chance on Pedro Martinez--but here again, Boston didn't get rid of Martinez without considerations. So the Mets are stuck with old pro Tom Glavine who's breaking his ass trying to get 300 wins though he's now on a good day a 50% winner and old worn-winged Pedro Martinez, who like Carl Pavanno on the Yankees, is looking more and more like a perpetual injured kind of player, eventually worthless to the team. Plus, El Duque they can't trust. He's injured alot, plus he has a tendency to take on the El Puque role where he'll give up 7 runs in one inning; I've seen him do it as a Yankee gobs of times.

And back to the Yankees for the saddest thing of all, the tearing down of Mariano Rivera, once the greatest closer in baseball and nobody would argue with you on it; now, he's the nonsavingest closer in baseball--in fact, this year, Mo has already blown two games by giving up walk-off home runs--at one time in Mariano's career, if he gave up 2 home runs a year he was off. Too bad, Mo's a damn great ballplayer. But it might be time for him to join Pedro Martinez in the Senior League.

Yankee hitters must get at least 7 runs in the first two innings to have any chance at all at winning games from here on with their worthless pitching staff--2 of their starters are Double A ball rookies--one of their Single A pitchers pitched one great game but in the second game he started he gave up a record-tying 4 home runs in a row--there ya go!!!

However, one must consider: Yankee fans are used to this year-in and year-out. Every year the Yankees start slow--except the year they had the record-setting season of over 114 wins and they, like the Mets last year, led all year long--every year they start behind Boston recently; Boston is the best team in baseball right now--them and Milwaukee, but Boston's pitching is iffy and if their hitters stop hitting, then you 'll see Boston sliding.

This coming weekend is gonna be for the NYC championship with the Mets coming to Yankee Stadium followed on Monday by the BoSox--this will be the six-games that will decide the Yanks's future--if they sweep the Mets and the BoSox, they'll be right back on the heels of the best team in baseball. If they lose all six games, they may well be doomed this year--they'll be 15 games behind the BoSox and that may be impossible to make up given what the Yankees have to work with this year. Pitchers decide it all. Pitchers look so lousy this year I defy anyone to tell me who will win in any division this year. No way.

The ex-Yankee Willie Randolph's Mets just beat ex-Yankee Lou Pinella's Cubbies and Atlanta lost so the Mets are back in first place. Good for the Mets. In the meantime, we Yankees fans have nothing but 9 stomach-knotting games in a row the Yankees either win or their season could be almost over before the All-Star game. Yeah sure, I'm saying deep in my deepest well of Yankee pride, past, and future longings.
thegrowlingwolf
for The Daily Growler

For Your Reading Pleasure a Little "Psychology of Baseball"

http://www.physorg.com/news94554127.html