yankees228

AJ just has to limit the damage here against the bottom of the order.

You're never as good as you look when you're playing well, and you're never as bad as you look when you're playing poorly (obviously there are exceptions to both of these rules). But I'll admit, I'm optimistic.

Swisher is just absolutely brutal in these spots. One of the worst hitters I've ever seen when it comes to getting runners in from third with less than two outs.

They should not lose this game, when you're already winning and the Rangers only get seven outs from their starter.

Graceful slide there from Posada. Two more fantastic Yankee ABs.

Not what you're looking for there. Feldman is on the ropes, and A-Rod and Cano have really helped him out.

It can be tough to stop a fastball in that spot, but Posada should have had that. EDIT: Big batter here. A run would be huge for the Rangers, especially after falling behind last inning. EDIT 2: And there we go. Nice pitching by AJ. It might be the early season wind, or it might be other things (YS being knocked down, flukey this season, flukey last season, etc.), but the ball isn't carrying at all so far this year like it was last year. Granted, what happened in the early season last year was pretty insane, but I think over a much larger sample size you'll see a relatively normal (probably above average) home run output from this ballpark.

Really good inning, even though they only got two runs. Feldman isn't long for this game. A-Rod got a great pitch to hit there, and seeing him pop it up is the only thing that stops this offense from clicking on all cylinders (Teixeira and A-Rod).

Wow that was absolutely filthy after all the foul balls. Great pitch selection and execution.

That's fair. There was a time (2006) or so, when Posada seemed to really be in a groove throwing out base runners, but, when he has gotten the opportunity to throw this year, it hasn't been pretty. You're right, it's not the worst thing in the world, but it could come back to bite them against teams that run a lot.

That's true. Unfortunately none of the other guys are great at it either, even Pettitte, who teams now aren't afraid to run on anymore. When you couple that with the arms that the Yankees' catchers' possess, and they're not going to throw out anyone all year. My guess is that they're going to be no better than the Sox this year.

Not a bad first for AJ. Unfortunately, teams are just going to run at will on the Yankees. After Young's steal, teams have now stolen bases in thirteen of fourteen attempts against the Yankees.

This makes a mockery out of the game. Plain and simple.

I have a friday ticket plan, which gives you all the friday home games (thirteen of them) and two random weekday games. In addition to that I'll get tickets to a couple other home games a year (opening day for instance), one or two series on the road, and maybe a random road game or two in a place like Baltimore, for instance. In a typical year I'd say I go to about twenty games, give or take a couple.

Well, it was 2-1 going into the top of the sixth inning, and that's when it really started to rain hard. With two outs the Rays tied the game, and after the inning ended they put the tarp on, and subsequently suspended the game. In my opinion, they never should have been playing in the top of the sixth inning, when there is such a high probability that rain could have an influence on the outcome. I admit, either way, rain is going to influence the outcome, because the game is going to be delayed. However, games should never be played in conditions that are that poor.

So many conventional methods of retaliating against someone, and he goes with that. Just when you think you've seen it all...

Definitely one of those nights where I'm happy my tickets are under an overhang. Offense wasn't anything special, but the Rangers were sloppy, and CC was great. Not much else to say about the game.

Right, I agree with this. The top of the sixth inning, when the Rays tied game five, should never have been played. No way to know if the rain played a factor, but the possibility never should have been allowed.

If they're able to play tomorrow, I'm sure they'll just start the new game after the suspended one is completed. If you want a reference point, the Yankees did this in Baltimore in August of 2007. As for the people here complaining that they should have just played the inning, for the fans, just to get an outcome, or for whatever reason, I think it's unfair to both teams. In the end, the most important thing is to finish up with a legitimate outcome. The rain should not play a factor in deciding who wins and loses, and if they were to continue the game in rain that hard, you would be running that risk.

One final thought on Cano. Whether it's this year, next year, the year after, whatever, at some point I expect him to have the best WAR on the team.

Not a problem. Obviously I really enjoy the topic, and I'm prone to longer posts because of it. Robbie has been one of my favorite players since he came up, so he's one guy I certainly don't mind talking about. For a quick summation, I think there are four main areas (some of them interconnected) where, if Robbie improves on them, he can be elevated into the elite category which I talked about before. -Hitting for more power (home runs). -Hitting with men on base. -Patience at the plate. -An improved focus on defense, and everything that encompasses being a good defender. He has the tools to improve in every single one of these areas, and I'm optimistic.

Well, to get a good idea about what was expected out of Cano, lets take a look at his yearly slash lines. 2005: .297/.320/.458 2006: .342/.365/.525 2007: .306/.353/.488 2008: .271/.305/.410 2009: .320/.352/.520 After a solid rookie year, he was fantastic in 2006, and while he took a slight step back in 2007, that could just be attributed to the natural progression of a young player. However, in 2008 he was extremely streaky, and if it wasn't for a hot start following the all star break those numbers would be even worse. In the list of Yankees' disappointments from 2008 Cano is near the top. He seemed to alter his approach a bit, and he bounced back in 2009 with a really good year. I think there were more contributing factors to his resurgence in 2009 than the simple ebb and flow of a young player. Sending Melky down in 2008 likely told Cano that his spot is hardly a guarantee. I think they also began to really stress pitch selection and focus on defense with him. Most people who watch Cano play agree that he has all the talent in the world. This is just my opinion, but when you consider the fact that he's entering his prime, that he seems a bit more mature based on things I've read, and all his talent offensively and defensively, I think he can be a top fifteen player in this game. This would mean, in my mind, eclipsing a .900 OPS and becoming a plus player defensively. With that kind of production at second base, combined with positive defensive contributions, you could begin to mention him in the same breath as Utley. Maybe that's a bit of a reach, but I've watched him play for five years now, and when you see all that talent, I can't help but hold on to lofty expectations. EDIT: Spud, obviously expectations are purely subjective, and many people might hold Cano to vastly different standards than I do. I don't want to sound like these are the universal beliefs about Cano. This is just the way I see him. Hope this answered your question. EDIT 2: I'm also assuming your post was about Cano, and not Chan Ho Park. Hope I'm right on that count lol.