The Yankees

my yanks are still hangin' around...I think they will continue to and will contend for a post season spot as long as arod gets suspended and never returns!!!!

Yanks can't hit and I honestly think it is hopeless.  Fourth place seems about right but last place isn't out of the question.  Can't blame Girardi, they just don't have the talent.  Blame the Steinbrenners for resigning A-Rod!

sabrjay wrote:The Twins hung around .500 for awhile. Went on a long losing streak and have never really recovered. They are something like 5-22 since June 15. Not pretty. We may have the next Gary Pettis in CF.

buxton? lots of hype for him right now, if he pans out his floor is torii hunter it seems.

i don't know how the yanks were winning, seems like they have no offense and their run diff isn't very good. i probably just chalk that up to luck or a strong bullpen? they should be fading. i'm surprised by the renaissance in boston and how tampa keeps competing year after year with a tiny payroll.

The Diamondbacks are still in first, and should hang around to the end. The sked gets real tough as their remaining interleague games include series with Boston, TB and Baltimore (plus a makeup game with Texas). Their offense should improve so long as they stay healthy--Hill, Kubel and Montero have underperformed, although injuries played a part for the first two. I REALLY wish they would make a trade for Glen Perkins to solidify the back end of the pen, which has blown 19 saves thus far. They may try and get Garza, although I'm not overly impressed with him and what seems to happen to teams that acquire him. Guess I still have it in for him for never winning a game in the Dome while with the Twins.

hicks throw

nah, Aaron Hicks. Can't hit a lick but he's been a stud with the glove and arm so far.

cccc wrote:ur ballpark suck ty.  none of their hitting prospects have really panned out.  i thought the m's are owned by nintendo?  can't they step up salary-wise and compete with the angels and texas?  of course maybe when faced with those choices the grand poobahs fa's don't really want to plant roots in the pacific northwest.

Your right Q. Safeco is a great field to WATCH a game but the only player who used the park to his advantage was Ichiro. Not many hitters like him out there. Felix could pitch in a phone booth, or be successful at any park. Ibanez is Safeco Field career leader in home runs (helped by 24 this season at 41 years of age).

M's are owned by Nintendo, and have been for more than a decade, but I don't know the name of the owner. On one hand, ownership is not intrusive, but on the other, they often seem completely disinterested in the success of their franchise.

In the old days, the Yankees won pennants by trading for struggling young players, having them blossom and perform in their prime, then trading them back to the Red Sox once they are established but getting old.

Now it's the opposite. The Yankees trade away all their young prospects and have a bunch of old players. Look at Soriano, for instance, we missed all his best years and he's only back as an afterthought. At least we are only paying him a small fraction of his old salary.

yankees need a few amnesty clauses. ironic thing is their oldest and (still) productive player is voluntarily retiring at the end of the year.

2013 season ends. What grade does your team get?

Hernandez & Iwakuma were great. Late season pitching prospects Taijuan Walker & James Paxton look promising. Bullpen was terrible, no reliable closer all year, as Wilhelmsen was a head-case.

Catcher was a mess before Zunino got called up, and after he got hurt. Jesus Montero, who I liked a lot, was suspended for Biogenesis scandal.

Middle infield was equally poor. Ackley & Ryan could not hit, both were moved; Ackley to part-time CF and Ryan to the Yankees. Miller & Franklin look serviceable, and Seager has developed into a darn good third sacker.

Unfortunate health issues for Manager Eric Wedge derailed a nice run, but he has now resigned. Another off-season of developmental-hype followed by another lackluster season with no signs of improvement and I might get discouraged.  Though this has been the norm since 1977.

Give the Mariners a "D".

Pitcher Andrew Albers was the lone bright spot for the Twins. Now we'll see if he can do it for a whole season.

Grade: D-

I give the Yankees a "B". Mainly because they weren't that talented and sustained a lot of injuries, but still managed a winning record. Bright spots were Brett Gardner, Cano continuing his dominance, and Ivan Nova. Another bright spot was A-Rod's suspension, which takes money off of next year's payroll.

Struggles were the injuries, especially to Teixeira, and C.C. Sabathia's bad year. Also a weak minor league system. Letting Russell Martin walk was a big mistake. But this team will have to rebuild eventually as Jeter and the others retire. There is no one left.

russell martin's had kind of a rebirth, not sure if it's gonna last.  he was a corpse of his former self the last couple years with the dodgers.

dodgers have sustained alot of injuries this year.  kemp has done squat and the offense is weak besides hanram, a-gon, and puig now.  those will be the cogs, but the driving force will be kershaw/greinke.  they will make or break this postseason for the dodgers.  also when they go deep they can mask the tactical deficiency of mattingly.  that guy is the worst!  who bunts to advance runners anymore, and his handling of the bullpen is out of left field...horrible!

B for team, C for mattingly...step it up dude!

OT: i'm so happy with my new bo jackson. he was big in '89-'90 when i got started. just looking at this card reminds me of alvin and the chipmunks and the smurfs and old-school transformers and .50c wax packs....god those shows were great!

Nice Bo. Too bad his career got cut short. What an amazing athlete.

Those were the days before WAR and other advanced stats. Bo wouldn't fair quite so well on those numbers. But he was an incredible athlete. Anyone who can excel at two pro sports like that is amazing. MJ tried and couldn't do it - couldn't even come close. That tells you just how good Bo Jackson was. But football did him in. Like for many others, big mistake.