Baseball’s Savior

A Biased Look at the New York Yankees, the Greatest Franchise in the History of Sports

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April 30, 2006

Yankees Tickets, Concert Tickets and Broadway Tickets

by @ 5:24 pm. Filed under 2006 Season

The whole world of finding and buying event tickets such as concert tickets, sports tickets and theater tickets. It used to be that the only way you get tickets was to wait outside in long lines when the tickets first went on sale. Then you had the choice of buying tickets on the phone, but of course there was a whole lot of busy signals and waiting using that method as well. But now, in the 21st century, things become a whole lot easier. Now we can buy tickets to almost any event simply by going online. You wouldn’t believe how easy it is to buy concert or sports tickets online. I’m going to grab some Yankees tickets when they play the New York Mets, the Baltimore Orioles, the Blue Jays, the Texas Rangers, the Seattle Mariners and the Chicago White Sox. And of course, I am going to search high and low for some cheap Red Sox Yankees tickets. And when October hits, I’m going to buy some great Yankees playoff tickets too. Wouldn’t it be great if the Yankees made it to the World Series again?!

There are also lots of good concert tours this 2006 summer in New York to check out. For example, check out concert tickets for some of the hot tours coming up like Madonna tickets, Paul Simon tickets, Dixie Chicks tickets, Mariah Carey tickets, Eric Clapton New York, and tickets to the Dave Matthews Band. For sports tickets, you can get anything from sold out Yankees tickets, Mets tickets, New York Knicks tickets, Jets or Giants football tickets, NHL Islanders tix, the NY Islanders, or any other match up you can think of, professional or college. I read this Broadway date idea article and realized that you can get Broadway tickets online too, for any city. Whether it’s Boston or San Diego, Miami or Seattle, or anywhere in between, you can buy Broadway tickets to plays in any major city in North America.

Toronto Ruins Sweep With Series Opening Win

by @ 1:32 pm. Filed under 2006 Season

Yankees’ fans expect perfection.  When you play a garbage team like the Blue Jays, you expect a sweep.  This weekend though, the Blue Jays eked out a win on Friday before the Yankees unloaded on them in the final two games of the series.

I didn’t get to watch the game so I don’t know exactly how he looked, but Jaret Wright’s numbers have been pretty ugly.  He’s now 0-2 with a 7.20 ERA and on Friday he gave up four runs on six hits and four walks in five innings.  Scott Proctor and Tanyon Sturtze both gave up runs and ruined any chance that the Yankees might have had to come back against Roy Halladay and the Jays’ pen.  Bernie williams accounted for both Yankees’ runs with a two run shot.  It was the future Hall of Famer’s first homerun of the season.

The Yankees turned things around yesterday by blasting Josh Towers.  The Yankees scored in all eight innings that they hit in and racked up 17 runs on 15 hits.  Oddly, the Jays actually had the lead for a short period of time because they scored two runs in the top of the first inning.  Johnny Damon went deep twice and Jason Giambi and Jorge Posada each hit a homerun.  Damon scored five runs and Giambi drove in four.  The odd box score of the game was Alex Rodriguez.  He scored three times despite not getting a hit.  Randy Johnson picked up a win despite getting roughed up.   He gave up six runs on six hits and four walks in five innings, but he still improved to 4-2.

This afternoon, Mike Mussina continued to impress.  He’s now 4-1 and he gave up one run on seven hits with two walks and seven strikeouts in six innings.  His ERA is now down to an impressive 2.31.  Kyle Farnsworth and Mariano Rivera pitched the final three innings to finish up the Jays.  Rivera picked up his fourth save of the season.

Tomorrow, things get fun.  We travel to Boston to play a two game series in the shit box.  As it stands, the Yankees and Red Sox are tied for first place so when the Yankees take them both, they’ll have a nice cushion heading into the rest of the week.

April 28, 2006

Yankees Continue to Inch Their Way Up the Standings

by @ 3:21 am. Filed under 2006 Season

For every exceptional franchise like the Yankees (who are in a class of their own), there’s a “loser” franchise.  For a while, despite actually winning games, the Red Sox were in this category.  Another loser franchise would be the AL East’s own Tampa Bay Devil Rays.  There expansion partner won a World Series five years go while they continue to lose.  But it all makes sense.  If the Yankees continue to win like they will, there has to be a team on the losing end.  This week, in two of three games, that team was the Tampa Devil Rays.

On Tuesday, it was good ole fashioned beat down.  Derek Jeter went three for five with a homerun and three RBIs and Jason Giambi went two for four with a homerun and three RBIs in the 9-1 win.  Mike Mussina was solid and gave up a single run on four hits with seven strikeouts.  Everyone, including myself, was worried about Moose but he has a 3-1 record and a 2.45 ERA.  The Yankees bottom half of the bullpen put in some solid work.  Sturtze, Villone and Proctor combine to throw three shutout innings to finish up the game.

Wednesday was the blemish.  The Yankees just couldn’t get the bats going and despite a good start by Chien-Ming Wang, the Yankees couldn’t put the runs on the board to pull away.  Mariano Rivera dropped his second game of the season and gave up twp runs in the ten inning loss.  Gary Sheffield was the Yankees offense.  He drove in both runs for the Yankees with a two run shot.

Things got back to the way they should be last night.  Derek Jeter went three for three with an RBI and he’s now hitting .408.  Hideki Matsui drove in two runs and Shawn Chacon is picking up his game.  He’s now 3-1 and gave up one run on four hits in 6 1/3 innings.  His ERA is now down to a respectable 4.56.

Toronto comes to town this weekend, and they’re the team we’re tied with in second place.  Looking ahead, the Yankees play in the shit box next week.  I really hope they cheer Damon and then he puts the screws to the Red Sox with a great series.  I figure by the end of that series, we’ll be back in first place where we belong.

April 23, 2006

Yankees Take Two of the Three Against Orioles

by @ 5:50 pm. Filed under 2006 Season

What a weird year.  The Red Sox are tied for the second best record in the American League.  Ahead of them are the White Sox, which isn’t too big of a surprise.  Tied with them are the Detroit Tigers.

I’ll let that sink in for a minute.  Yes, the Detroit Tigers

And the Yankees are still in third place in the AL East.  They did pick up a game on the second place Orioles with two wins this weekend, and we’re only two and a half back of the Red Sox.  More importantly, we’re only one back in the loss column. 

Things got off to a bad start on Friday.  The Yankees had the lead twice, but Chien-Ming Wang let it go both times in the 6-5 loss.  He gave up six runs on eight hits in only 5 1/3 innings.  In the meantime, Kris Benson was just good enough to hold back the Yankees.  Robinson Cano hit his second homerun of the season and Gary Sheffield had three hits.  Hideki Matsui scored twice and Cano drove in two runs.  The Yankees had twelve hits and six walks in the game, but they stranded ten runners.

Shawn Chacon had his best start of the season on Saturday.  He gave up only a single run on four hits with three walks and three strikeouts.  He improved to 2-1 on the season.  Alex Rodriguez had two hits and he scored twice.  Derek Jeter drove in two runs and Jason Giambi walked three times in the 6-1 win.

The Yankees won the rubber game today with a strong outing by Randy Johnson and a great game by Jason Giambi.  The Unit gave up one run on only three hits and he struck out five.  Giambi went yard twice and he drove in five runs.  Derek Jeter had three hits and a run and A-Rod scored twice in the Yankees 7-1 win.

The Devil Rays come to town on Tuesday.  I figure a sweep is in the works and if the Indians can take down the Red Sox for three games, the Yankees could be in first place by next weekend.

April 20, 2006

Yankees Split Two Game Series With Blue Jays

by @ 4:45 pm. Filed under Uncategorized

These two game series are weird.  It’s nice that the Yankees have two days off this week to rest but they seem to come and go. 

Things got off to a bad start on Tuesday.  The Yankees scored four runs in the top of the fourth yet still got creamed.  The Blue Jays scored three in the first, three in the second, then one in the third to put the game pretty much out of reach.  To make matters worse, it was Randy Johnson who got shelled.  He gave up seven runs on nine hits with two walks and two strikeouts.  Alex Rodriguez hit a two run homerun and Jason Giambi went deep with a solo shot.  Derek Jeter double, tripled, had an RBI and one run.

Wednesday went much better.  Mike Mussina and Ted Lilly got into a pitching dual, and Moose came out on top.  He gave up one run on seven hits with seven strikeouts in 7 1/3 innings.  Mariano Rivera pitched a perfect ninth to earn his second save of the season.  A-Rod hit his fifth homerun of the season and Jorge Posada singled home A-Rod in the seventh. 

The Orioles come to town tomorrow and they’re ahead of us in the standings so this will be a nice way to vault our way back to the top.  I’m fully expecting us to sweep them, because the Orioles are just a bad team.

April 17, 2006

Yankees Salvage Series Ending Game and Avoid Sweep by the Twins

by @ 2:45 am. Filed under 2006 Season

I hate these mediocre starts.  I know most teams would be happy to start .500, but all it means for Yankees’ fans is a lot of much needed stress all the season.  I mean, you KNOW the Yankees will win the division, you just get concerned that maybe, just maybe, this is the off year the Yankees are bound to have at some point in time.  I mean, even the Yankees of the 1920s didn’t make it EVERY year.

On Friday, we made a rookie look pretty good.  Scott Bake and the Twins pen held the Yankees to four hits, and the only run came on Derek Jeter’s ground out.  Mike Mussina threw a nice game but it went to waste.  He gave up three runs on six hits with two walks and five strikeouts in 6 2/3 innings of work.  Kyle Farnsworth got touched up for the first time this season.  I wonder what the deal is with his strikeouts.  He has only three in 4 1/3 innings of work.  I wonder if he needs longer outings.  Four of his six games have been less then an inning.

Saturday was a major bummer.  The Yankees had a one run lead going into the ninth inning, and Mariano Rivera blew the lead.  Justin Mourneau singled home two runs against him to end the game.  Derek Jeter had a big game.  He went three for five with three RBIs.  Jaret Wright was hit hard in three innings of work, but the pen, outside of Rivera, did a really nice job. 

Sunday, things got back to normal.  The Yankees blew out the Twins and Brad Radke.  Jason Giambi homered twice and drove in three runs and Robinson Cano and Alex Rodriguez both went deep.  Chien-Ming Wang had a nice start.  He gave up two runs (one earned) on seven hits with eight strikeouts.  Shawn Chacon had a tough relief outing, but Ron Villone closed things out in the ninth to finish the blowout.

The Yankees get the day off, then they travel to Toronto for a two game series.  Then they FINALLY get to come home for a three game series against the Orioles.

April 13, 2006

Yankees Turn On Offense in Sweep Over Royals

by @ 6:33 pm. Filed under 2006 Season

Three games against the lowly Royals, and on each occasion the Yankees scored at least nine runs.  When you combine it with their Sunday win, the Yankees have won four straight games.

Tuesday’s game was actually close.  The Royals had a 7-4 lead, but a huge five run eighth inning put the Yankees in front.  Derek Jeter was the hero of that game because it was his three run shot that put the Yankees in front.  Jason Giambi also had a three run homer earlier in the game and Johnny Damon scored twice.  Chien-Ming Wang was hit hard (five runs and eight hits in six innings) and Scott Proctor picked up the win with a shutout ninth.  Mariano Rivera finished things up in the ninth and earned his first save of the season.

Wednesday’s game was a little cleaner.  Gary Sheffield was a monster.  He went three for five with a homerun and four RBIs.  Derek Jeter scored three times and Johnny Damon and Alex Rodriguez scored twice.  Shawn Chacon was beat up but he walked away with the win.  He gave up five runs on seven hits in six innings of work.

This afternoon, the Royals hung in the game until the Yankees crushed their hopes with five runs in the eighth inning.  This time it was Johnny Damon with four RBIs.  Jason Giambi hit his second homerun and scored twice and Gary Sheffield hit his third homerun of the season.  Randy Johnson improved to 2-1 and gave up one run on four hits with five strikeouts in five innings.  There’s conflicting reports of why he threw only five innings, and they range from a stiff back to just wear and tear.

The Yankees head back out on the road for a three game series against Minnesota.  Eleven of the first fourteen games for the Yanks are on the road.

April 9, 2006

Yankees End Four Game Skid With Blowout Win Over Angels

by @ 6:01 pm. Filed under 2006 Season

What is it about the Yankees not being able to get out of April with a winning record?  Last year we had to play from behind for most of the season and hopefully after a rough start here early, we won’t have to do it again this year.

On Friday, we couldn’t figure out Kelvim Escobar (someone has to let him know how to spell his name).  The Yankees were held to a single run on six hits and only Johnny Damon’s RBI double in the fifth kept us from being shut out.  Shawn Chacon was skaky and didn’t even make it through five innings.  He gave up four runs on eight hits and two walks in 4 2/3 innings.  The pen kept us in the game with 3 1/3 innings of no hit ball, but the Yankees couldn’t get the bats going.

Yesterday was another tight one.  Randy Johnson was his usual awesome self and struck out eight batters in his complete game, but he gave up three runs, which ended up being one too many.  With a 3-1 score, Hideki Matsui made things close with a solo shot in the ninth, but that’s all the Yankees could manage.

Sunday was a breath of fresh air.  The Yankees pummelled their opponent.  Five runs in the second and three runs in the third put this one out of reach early.  Jorge Posada had the monster game.  He homered twice and finished three for four with five RBIs and three runs.  Alex Rodriguez and Jason Giambi both scored twice.

Mike Mussina threw a good game. He gave up only a single run in six innings and the pen did the rest by shutting down the Angels.

The Yankees need this upcoming three game series with the hapless Royals in Yankee Stadium’s home opener.  When we sweep the Royals we’ll be back over .500 where we belong.

April 6, 2006

Pitching Not There in Yankees Loss

by @ 2:55 am. Filed under 2006 Season

This is the kind of game most Yankee fans are worried about.  The Yankees put “only” four runs on the board and their pitching didn’t show up.  Chien Wang was hit hard in 4 2/3 innings and the game was actually tied 4-4 heading into the bottom of the eighth.  In that inning though, the A’s ran up the score and the death blow was Frank Thomas’ three run double to make it 9-4.

Jaret Wright didn’t look good either.  Although two Yankee errors led to five unearned runs in the game.  On the hitting side, Hideki Matsui hit his second homerun of the season and Gary Sheffield hit his first.

The Yankees have the day off today, then they travel to Anaheim for a little revenge.  They knocked us out of the playoffs last year so we’ll pay them back by sweeping them.

April 5, 2006

Oakland Edges Yankees

by @ 2:42 am. Filed under 2006 Season

I know we’ve been arguing about the whole Enter Sandman/closer thing here lately, but this is a time where I wish the “closer” designation would just go away.  I know the ninth inning wasn’t a save situation, but Rivera should have been in there.  And that move (or lack of move) probably cost us the game.  Scott Proctor was in there instead and he walked two and gave up an RBI single to the A’s ninth hitter, Marco Scutaro (who?).  Game over.

And if you don’t think every game doesn’t count, look at last year’s final standings.

The good news is, Mike Mussina had a solid start after a shaky spring.  He went seven innings and gave up three runs on five hits and two walks.  He struck out six.

Jorge Posada drove home two runs and Alex Rodriguez and Johnny Damon both had two hits.  The rubber game is tonight.  Chien Wang will face off against Danny Haren.

April 4, 2006

Alex Rodriguez Hits Grand Slam in Yankees Blow Out Win

by @ 2:23 am. Filed under 2006 Season

This game was nice because I was able to go to bed after the second inning.  Alex Rodriguez capped off a seven run second inning with a grand slam in the Yankees 15-2 win over the A’s.  You have to feel for A’s fans.  This is their home opener and the Yankees treated them like most fans treat the Royals and Tigers.

Johnny Damon had three hits and two runs and Hideki Matsui was a perfect four for four with a homerun, two walks, four RBIs and two runs.  Jorge Posada was the only Yankees starter who didn’t have a hit but even he scored, as did the other eight Yankees starter.

Randy Johnson’s solid start was lost in the offensive onslaught.  He needed only 106 pitches to go seven innings.  He gave up one run on five hits with three strikeouts.  His only blemish was to a fellow future Hall of Famer.  Frank Thomas made his A’s debut and took Johnson deep in the second inning.

Mike Mussina takes the mound against Rich Harden tonight.  Hopefully it’s more of the same.

April 1, 2006

Ending the Drought

by @ 12:55 pm. Filed under 2006 Season

Most teams would be happy with a World Series win every six years.  For Yankees fans, it’s a drought.  The last time the Yankees won it all was 2000, and I know prior to winning four of five World Series from 1996 through 2000 the Yankees had an eighteen year drought, but we got used to winning.  This is the year the drought ends, and it all kicks off on Monday.

In an odd scheduling quirk, the Yankees actually start the season with a three game west coast swing.  They start in Oakland, who many people think will win the AL West, and then they travel to Anaheim to get some revenge for the Angels knocking the Yanks out of the playoffs last year.  Randy Johnson will throw against Barry Zito in that first game.

Joe Torre’s set the rotation.  Randy Johnson will be joined by Mike Mussina, Shawn Chacon and Chien-Ming Wang.  Jaret Wright will be the defacto fifth starter, but he’ll only be used when the Yankees need to go with a fifth starter, which appears to be April 15.

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