"A New York Treasure" --Village Voice

Everything’s Coming Up Roses

In grading the Yankees first-half performances this morning, I was struck by the fact that every question mark the Yankees had on offense coming into the season has been answered positively. Robinson Cano, Jorge Posada, Hideki Matsui, Nick Swisher, and Melky Cabrera have all returned to their pre-2008 levels of production. Posada’s shoulder, Matsui’s knees, and Alex Rodriguez’s hip have all held up to regular play. Age hasn’t been much of an issue for the 35-year-old Captain, and has been only a minor hindrance to Posada, Matsui, and Johnny Damon. Brett Gardner has translated his minor league production to the majors, and Mark Teixeira has hit like Mark Teixeira.

Lest we take any of that for granted, consider how things have turned the opposite way for the Chicago Cubs. I take a look at the Cubs disappointing first half and offensive collapse over at SI.com. It looks a lot like what the Yankees went through last year with injuries and poor performance combining to sabatoge a would-be playoff team. The key question now is whether the respective good and bad luck of these two teams continue in the second half. Only time will tell.

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21 comments

1 Mattpat11   ~  Jul 16, 2009 5:29 pm

I was totally ready for the worst case scenario this year, which is why I wanted Manny.

Apparently I was wrong

2 Mr. OK Jazz TOKYO   ~  Jul 16, 2009 9:02 pm

The Cubs are such a mess..but still in the race, and if they get anything from Harden and Soriano in the 2nd half then they can hang with St.Louis.

[1] I don't remember if I wanted Manny or not..can you imagine Mike Lupica's articles had he been suspended as a Yankee?? Such a monstrous platter of platitudes is beyond human comprehension..

3 RIYank   ~  Jul 16, 2009 9:33 pm

Has anyone mentioned this Melissa Segura article at SI.com?

A top New York Yankees prospect is not who he claims to be, sources tell SI.com. Two weeks ago, the Yankees signed a shortstop purporting to be 16-year-old Damian Arredondo from the Dominican Republic to an $850,000 bonus. Now Major League Baseball's Department of Investigations has determined that Arredondo is not the player's real name and that he is older than 16.
[...]
Mark Newman, the Yankees Senior Vice President of Baseball Operations, says that he has not received official notification of the outcome of the Arredondo investigation. The Yankees did not lose any money on the prospect because his bonus was contingent on the outcome of the investigation. Newman expressed gratitude that the investigative process was swift, allowing the team time to continue searching for prospects among the pool of free agents who have not yet been signed.

4 Cliff Corcoran   ~  Jul 16, 2009 10:49 pm

[1] So far, at least . . . But who knew? I didn't think the Yankees needed Manny after they got Tex, but I didn't think every coin would come up heads either, and I'm pretty sure no one saw Ramirez's suspension coming.

[3] I wonder how often that sort of thing happens. I suspect more than we think.

5 Rich   ~  Jul 16, 2009 11:13 pm

[4] I think it's harder to pull off the age scam for very long after 9/11.

6 Mr. OK Jazz TOKYO   ~  Jul 17, 2009 12:22 am

I want to go to a sleepover at Jeter's one day.. http://tinyurl.com/lkhcs7

maybe he'll hook me up with anyone in his little black book?

7 Mr. OK Jazz TOKYO   ~  Jul 17, 2009 12:49 am

http://tinyurl.com/mrqxo6
Ahh..Jerrry Jones..makes Steinbrenner look like Mother Theresa..what a shocking waste of money..10 games a year at most!?!

8 Mattpat11   ~  Jul 17, 2009 1:19 am

Who the hell needs nine bathrooms?

9 Cliff Corcoran   ~  Jul 17, 2009 1:29 am

Someone with a 30,875 square foot house and a fondness for volatile food.

10 Mr. OK Jazz TOKYO   ~  Jul 17, 2009 1:34 am

Imagine the headlines if A-Rod was building that place..by my calculations, you could fit 722,698 of my Tokyo-sized apartments in Jete's mansion...

11 thelarmis   ~  Jul 17, 2009 1:45 am

buying a house is my biggest thing in the world right now. i actually did NOT sleep a freaking wink last night, b/c of new inconsiderate downstairs neighbors. it is completely beyond comprehension how rude people can be and how they can completely ignore the reality of their surroundings. i'm barely working these days, but had TWO jobs today. both suffered simply 'coz i couldn't get any shuteye last night b/c asshole motherfuckers think it's okay to be loud throughout the night.

of course, finding an affordable home, somewhat close to the city, in a relatively safe neighborhood, is nearly impossible. unless you can hit a baseball. but then again, Mick Mars isn't lucky. he can co-write a hit song!!! : /

12 Mattpat11   ~  Jul 17, 2009 1:46 am

[10] If A-Rod were building the house there'd be some weird quirk about it that everyone but A-Rod finds a little off, and in his rush to defend it he'd stick his foot in his mouth defending his in home slaughter house or something.

Because that's the story of his life.

13 Mr. OK Jazz TOKYO   ~  Jul 17, 2009 1:52 am

[11] Oh man, I feel your pain brother..Housing here often leaves something to be deisred in terms of wall-thickness, I've heard neighbors doing things that left very little to the imagination..seeing them bow politely to me and exchanging greetings in the morning was very awkward! Hope you find the perfect spot soon..maybe Jete can spare the attic down in Tampa for you, think he's a Blue Note fan?

[12] A-Rod would have a 20-ft marble statue of himself in the entryway..

14 thelarmis   ~  Jul 17, 2009 1:58 am

[14] thanks, man. whatever person or personS are down there, have been here a month now. i've NEVER seen them once. no vehicle, even. what is giving me pause in saying anything, is there was MAJOR violence down there last weekend. if anyone here knows how i am as a person, it's non-violent (except on the drumkit!!!). so i'm afraid to try and reason or even leave a note. i've been in this pad for 10 YEARS (come Turkey Day), and it's, for the most part, been wonderful, but all signs are pointing to the end of the run. it's a terrible situation.

i'm livid right now. i'd love to be practicing, but without any sleep, it'll be the law of diminishing returns. i need to get out for even just 30 minutes, so i'm a-gonna grab last call at my watering hole. at least my Yankees will be playing a meaningful game tomorrow...

ps - Jetes has TERRIBLE taste in music!! hip-hop. blech!!! : )

15 Mr. OK Jazz TOKYO   ~  Jul 17, 2009 2:06 am

[14] ouch..that doesn't sound good at all..as one peaceful jazz fan to another, you better find a new joint soon..possible to stay central, somewhere you can still walk to places? (I envision Atlanta as one big suburb!)

Hip-Hop..I will trust you about TooL so trust me about Public Enemy, one of the greatest American bands ever, ANY genre! though I imagine Jeter listens to that modern "R&B" (with neither R nor B, IMHO)...

16 thelarmis   ~  Jul 17, 2009 4:00 am

[15] yeah man, Atlanta IS kinda like one big suburb, but there are sooo many subdivisions. i'd love to end up in a place where i can walk, but i don't know how feasible that is. right now, i'm in the absolute BEST location in the *entire* city, and it's one of the main reasons i've stayed here so long. if i end up in a place that's not walking distance to a local pub, i hope it's a short - and cheap! - cab ride. i've got a taxi driver friend here - an old Jew from Brooklyn. he's awesome! : )

dude: TooL RULE!!! : )

crazy story from tonight. not good news, but there was a reason i went out... there hasn't been very good "life" news lately. i lost my grandpa recently. it's impossible to deal with. he basically raised me and IS my hero. a friend of mine just lost her dad. the guitarist from my Penn State band just visited last week. he lost his oldest sister and mom in recent years. he informed me his dad has 6-12 months to live. not long ago, he moved his wife and 2 daughters back up to Philly. one of my best drummer buddy's from NYC just told me about his oldest sister, who has brain cancer. she has a 5 1/2 month old baby...

i went to my watering hole and saw waaaaay more employees than i was expecting for a thursday night just before last call. a pal of mine that works there - 30 year cat, AMAZING artist - his mom just died. completely out of nowhere. fell in the shower, broke her neck. NO foul play. how the fuck do you deal with that?!

weirdest thing is, he had a college buddy that was here today for the funeral. his english name translates to one of his nicknames: Juan Carlos. of course, this reminded me of our own MAJOR loss - Todd Drew. the circle of sadness continues...

loud downstairs neighbors are all relative. my entire family is outta work right now. i just want my mom to visit me and hoist a few beers. i really hope the Yankees win the World Serious and i wanna share every last pitch with every single Bronx Banter member, but i'd really rather nobody else get dead...

let's just play music instead!!! : )

17 Mr. OK Jazz TOKYO   ~  Jul 17, 2009 5:51 am

Aw man..so sorry to hear about your granddad..it's real good at least you spent time with him recently (if I remember correctly from earlier conversations)..things will pick up around you soon, and until then, there's music to take you away into something perfect and beautiful!

18 Chyll Will   ~  Jul 17, 2009 6:16 am
19 Simone   ~  Jul 17, 2009 7:40 am

[16] alarmis, my sympathiess about the lost of your grandfather. Hang in there.

[6] Jeter is brave building a massive house on Davis Island. Gorgeous view of the harbor, I am sure, but that place floods. At least, there are not too many hurricanes in Tampa.

20 Simone   ~  Jul 17, 2009 7:41 am

We need an edit button. I meant "sympathies."

21 thelarmis   ~  Jul 17, 2009 2:25 pm

[18] i know you do, man! i totally understand. i hope you find a great place...soon!

[17] thanks, man. yup, spent A LOT of time with him! i'm sooo glad i did...

[19] thank you, Simone and good to see you round these parts again! it's actually been a few months now. i probably just haven't said anything. it still hasn't fully sunk in yet. not long ago, i got in my car and pulled my phone out to call him, just to say "hi." he wouldn't have answered. that slayed me...

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"This ain't football. We do this every day."
--Earl Weaver