The biggest flaw I’ve got running this site is updating the links. There have been so many new Yankee blogs in the past few seasons and we are still woefully behind the times in terms of providing a full listing. I will make sure to change this and apologize to the quality blogs out there that aren’t listed on the blogroll. It’s me, not you.
Anyhow, I’m sure I’m not telling you anything you don’t know, but River Avenue Blues, continues to do a great job. The first quality a good blog needs is reliability. Was Watching, YFSF, No Maas. They are all different but they keep showing up.
I dug this recent River Ave. piece on Johnny Damon:
Damon is currently enjoying the best season of his career at age 35. He’s two shy of tying his career high of 24 homers, which he set in his first year in pinstripes. His .532 SLG and .240 IsoP are far and away career highs, ditto his .894 OPS and 11.1% walk rate. Oh sure, Damon’s getting a ton of help from the New Yankee Stadium this year (.979 OPS at homer vs .803 on the road), but HitTracker says that every one of his homers would have been gone out in at least one other park, and 15 of his 22 homers would have left the yard in at least 20 big league ballparks. Even if you want to discount the 57 home games he’s played this year from his career production, it’s like taking a cup of water from the ocean.
Damon's offense has improved as his defense has declined. I would like to see him re-signed, but only at a reduced salary, and only for one year because as a result of his defensive decline, he would almost certainly have to DH most of the time to remain in the lineup in 2011, and by then Posada and possibly Montero will likely be the primary DHs, and that doesn't even take into account where Jeter and A-Rod are defensively at that point.
btw, Lupica, the overrated columnist, made some mindless comment yesterday that Damon's HRs at NYS should cause it to be called Coors Field East (or some such), but of course, the myopic fool that he is never bothered to look at Swisher's HR H/R splits.
[0] Behind on links perhaps, but having Cliff's tweets on the sidebar is pretty cool!
I've also always appreciated the historical ordering of the "Bronx Bloggers" list, and I hope you guys can keep that up as you update the roll.
Damon has absolutely been worth the cost. I personally thought he'd be a waste by year three of his Yankee contract, but I was completely wrong.
You're too hard on yourself. I think the biggest problem we have with the site is technical; that's a WordPress issue, not an Alex & Co. issue...
[1] To use a phrase that I generally disdain, "Swisher is the exception that proves the rule." The Yankees have hit a disproportionate number of HRs at NYS (107 to 75). Jeter has hit 11 of 15 HRs at home; Matsui 11/19; Teixeira 19/30; Posada 11/15. The new stadium has the highest HR park factor in the league by far (1.38), according to ESPN.com.
It's a stretch to get on Lupica (or whomever) for calling attention to the obvious HR boost that NYS has given the home team.
It is interesting, however, that the *scoring* at NYS has leveled off, and the new stadium does nt appear to be scoring haven, even if it is---obviously--a HR haven.
If the Yankees can't get Crawford, I absolutely want Damon back.
[6] It's funny; I'd like to see the Yanks get Craawford but I feel like it wouldn't pan out if he came here. Just a hunch.
Russ Ortiz opts to become a free agent! Wahoo!
[8] Yup. Not even worth a tweet in my estimation. What was he with SWB for a week?
[9] Or to put it another way - you don't give a tweet?
[10] A much, much better way.
I just assumed that as a terrible pitcher, he'd impress the decision makers and come up here for the last six weeks.