What is great about baseball is the word “hope.” We all live in hopes, and baseball is played practically every day, so unlike football we don’t have to wait a week. In baseball, on any given day, one’s pitcher can beat the 1927 Yanks. By the way they even lost 44 games. So it’s a long struggle of attrition. One can enjoy a well-played game, and an exciting season, even though it may not result in a championship. This idea that winning the World Series is everything is down right flummery. It takes years to build the right combination of players, and if management can keep them together, a city may just have a contender for years. As for the Mets, as bad as they have been throughout the years, they have been a late inning team. With decent pitching they have made a lot of late inning rallies exciting. But, it is a long season with injuries, slumps and sometimes just bad luck. But it is much more exciting to see the Mets make a decent run. Personally I don’t think they have the horses, and their starting pitching is still quite vulnerable. The Phillies could run away and hide, and don’t count out the Braves.
Unfortunately, baseball, which I love, is living up to its age-old criticisms. There is not enough action. There are too many strike outs, too many homeruns by mediocrities, too much reliance on the pitch count, no more 1-0 complete game shut outs, and too much money concentrated in too few hands. Baseball needs local revenue sharing, and contraction. In fact, as bad as the game is, it is too sophisticated for many fans. There are not enough plays on the field. The Yankees became successful by waiting on pitches, wearing out staffs and getting to below-average bullpens. By the way they are on the decline. Too bad Tampa couldn’t keep its players. The Yanks, with this current line-up could be in 3rd place easily. I look for a mediocre season from ARod, the most overrated player in history, Jeter, who got what he wanted, will not be better. He won’t be around for the option year. He was terrible last year. He grounds out more than Dave (W)infield. Whether Jorge can affectively DH is a question mark. I hope he can! Mariano will run out of gas in August, Joba should be cut! Burnett will be the same or worse. Hughes is a questionable commodity and CC may need the extra weight.
The only saving grace is that their competition is still weak around the league, and the Mets may be worse for another season. At least the Meds finally put an excellent management team together, and got rid of that idiot Omar in their front office. By the way, I believe Cliff Lee would have been a bust for the Yanks. They were crazy with their offer. This guy’s career stats were really no-wheresville and the pressure would have gotten to him. When will baseball learn? Never until half the teams are broke!
Speaking of Baseball!
The Yanks are on their way to another under-achievement year, with the uninspired guidance of Joe Girardi, who should have been eased out after last year. Take my word, as a diehard Yankee fan for 60 years, he will be gone next year if they come in 3rd.
He expects his bullpen to get up every day and throw aspirins and get them over the plate. He pissed away CC’s efforts, and he’s playing by Soriano’s idiotic contract. Let CC throw, he had only thrown 104 pitches. He’s a big and strong fellow. As to the Yanks, they can only hit homeruns early, have no ability to get a clutch hit, or put a team away. In fact, with all that talent on the field, they stink. Jeter will get 3000 hits, finish out this season and the next, and that will be that. He’s over the hill and I love the guy. The thought that this guy will get 3500+ hits is a pipe dream. My guess is 3260 hits at the most. He needs 70+ now and he’ll get maybe 170 if he bats enough this year and next year, he’ll finish with 160 hits or so. The opposition should bring in an outfielder to play just behind 2nd and the other two outfielders to crowd the middle and right field. He cannot get the ball out of the infield and that inside out swing is too slow. My suggestion is that like a lot of older players, he learns to pull the ball. He’s a big and rangy and maybe he’ll develop a bit more power by pulling.
As to ARod he is, and was, a stiff and cannot get a clutch two-out hit. He’ll lead off the inning with a hit or get a homerun when they are up 4 runs or behind by 4 or 5. I see a year with decent numbers, but few game winners or important hits.
Hughes has lost his fastball and Nova can pitch 4-5 innings as long as men don’t get on the bases. I am happy with Jorge’s and Teixeira’s fast starts. Martin is a pleasant surprise, but he will revert to form. Jorge may get bored at DH, Gardener must strikeout less, and Granderson needs also to get his bat on the ball. Cano seems to be sleep-walking early and I am amazed with all this talent, they continue to play boring and uninspired ball.