The State of the Evil Empire -- The "Oy Vey" edition

Alright so September is wrapping up, and boy what a September it has been for the Yankees! The starting pitching has been HORRIBLE. The rotation has been more like a hodge-podge of starters during the month of September! It's nice that the Yankees were able to rest players, but having a 12-15 record just wasn't worth it! In fact, even if they went 13-14 they'd have an AL east lead! 


Now I don't want to be a conspiracy theorist, but having the Wild Card this year seems like a blessing in disguise! If the Yankees take the Wild Card, then they will face Minnesota in the ALDS, a team that they have a GREAT history against! Whereas, an AL East pennant and home field takes them to Texas, a team that has killed the Yankees during this season! Facing Texas also means the Yankees have to face future Yankee Cliff Lee, a Yankee playoff killer! Granted, the Wild Card option wouldn't give them home field and would force the Yankees to become well known with Target Field and beyond that the Trop, Yankees are comfortable at both venues! We just saw a few weeks ago that even though they in the past have played well in Arlington, Texas, this is A MUCH different Texas team this season! As for the rotation in the playoffs....all I have to say is "Oy Vey!" Yankees of course have CC...then after that....well you just hope Pettitte will be healthy and have the rest knocked off....Hughes has shown improvement this month....and after that....the 4th slot is a mystery! AJ has been a train wreck, a dumpster fire, a grease fire, a Shuttle Challenger like DISASTER! How he can get back on track in time for the playoffs is beyond me! But I suppose miracles can happen! 


So in my opinion Girardi is taking the "resting the players" route, which is a decent option to get the team healthy and perhaps give his team the better chance of succeeding in the playoffs! Basically, a sacrifice of the AL East crown would be worth it in the long run in order to obtain another American League pennant and more importantly World Series #28! 


One other quick thing outside of baseball........so ANOTHER Tour De France winner gets cited for doping! SHOCKER! Alberto Contador, when asked why he was tested positive responded with.......get this.........wait for it.........FOOD TAMPERING!!!! YES!!!! Contador believed his food was contaminated with whatever substance he was tested positive for! ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! So we've heard every PED excuse from crazy Dominican Republic milkshakes, to needed PEDs for injuries, to "I was young and naive", to "my cousin injected it to me"....AND NOW WE GET THAT?! COME ON ALBERTO! BE A MAN! ADMIT THAT YOU AND NO OTHER CYCLIST CANNOT SUCCEED WITHOUT SOME SORT OF PERFORMANCE ENHANCING DRUG TO ENSURE THAT YOUR BODY WILL HAVE THE STAMINA! Holy crap! I guess I'm going to be scared now to go out and eat anywhere! Especially somewhere overseas! I could get my meal contaminated! YIKES! 


So there you go! Those are my feelings on the state of the Yankees and cycling! Keep reading and post a comment! See you next time!

The State of the Evil Empire -- Labor Day weekend edition!

            Happy Labor Day Weekend to all! How about them yanks?! Even with mediocre starting pitching, the yankees are on quite the win streak! Today made it eight straight wins in a row! They go for a sweet of TORONTO tomorrow before they welcome in the rejuvenated Orioles to the Bronx starting on Labor Day, a game in which I will be in attendance!
            Now here's the deal people....I understand the bullpen has been on a tear and the offense has been picking up the slack, but the wins have come against Toronto, Oakland, and Chicago. Does anyone out there REALLY think this lineup with Nunez, Pena, Thames, and Berkman is going to continue to pick up the slack in November?! The lone exception is Thames who has been sizzling! But still...the Yankees HAVE TO stay healthy down the stretch and maintain the lineup! 
              Yankee fans have a lot to look forward to down the stretch. Jeter has been cold, Cano has been cold, and A-Rod has been out! You HAVE TO imagine that Jeter will get on a streak along with Cano down the stretch! And you have to hope that A-Rod will contribute in October! Hopefully AJ will put together a good September to give him confidence for the post-season...BUT....this season AJ has had one good month followed by one bad one and alternating in that pattern! Hopefully he'll break the pattern in October! Yankees also have to give Hughes consistent work so he says consistent down the stretch! He HAS NOT been performing coming off of 6 days of rest! That's for sure! By the way...how about Ivan Nova?! He's been pretty good! Good enough where I can see him on the post-season roster as a long-man! Right now Nova is better than Javi and Mitre! Mitre is way too inconsistent! He's either good or bad! No middle ground! Gaudin has been good for the Yankees! Also in the bullpen, thank goodness "boom boom" Boone Logan has been outstanding or else the yanks wouldn't have a dependable left-hander out of the 'pen! The other lefty the yankees have is Marte who is NOT looking good to  be ready for the post-season! As of today he's not even throwing yet and working on strengthening his shoulder! 
             Coming up the Yankees will host the Orioles, then the yanks fly to Texas, Tampa, and Baltimore! The Orioles are a tougher out, but the Yankees SHOULD win that series, they also SHOULD win the Texas series since the rangers have been slumping as of late and the yanks like to play over there in the ballpark in Arlington, home of the Bobby Murcer Memorial Jetstream in right center field! True Yankee fans will understand that joke! The Tampa series will be THE series to watch! Those three games will have a playoff feel to them! Much more so then the remaining games with Boston (sorry sox fans! that team is done!). 
            We'll see what happens coming up! Keep on reading and leave a comment or two! I enjoy reading ALL feedback! Thanks!