Thursday, August 11, 2011

BACK ON TRACK

***YANKS AND NOVA WIN 9-3***
It appears the Yanks have found starter #2 in Ivan Nova. The crack Yankee broadcasters had it right: not only were his pitches crisp and accurate, but his attitude and body language were overpowering, too. If nothing else, his performances may be inspiring Phil Hughes to pitch better also. The threat of the bullpen, or even worse, Scranton, hangs over Hughes head.
Granderson hit two last night to give the Yanks a pair of 30+ home run hitters. The last time that happened was 50 years ago, with the M&M boys. Granderson & Teixeira have accomplished it in game #115. Put this in perspective: Mantle and Maris reached that level in game #84, 31 games earlier! Pretty scary. As of last night, Granderson is hitting .275. I remember when Maris was threatening Ruth's record, Roger was chided all year because he was hitting "only" .270 - .280. Yet, we're not hearing anything like that now, but Grandy's not threatening any record, either.

A-Rod is scheduled to rehab in the minors starting Friday and is supposed to be back up on Monday, which should bring about changes to the roster and the lineup. Somebody has to go down, probably one of the pitchers. I'm guessing Noesi. If Girardi follows his usual form, Gardner will be batting ninth from now on. I'd like to see Gardner lead off with Jeter hitting 2nd and moving the rest of the lineup down one spot (Granderson 3rd, Tex 4th, A-Rod 5th, etc.).

***YOU CAN'T DO THAT***
The latest rumor is that Toronto is stealing signs by having a guy in the stands holding up his hands for a fastball and not doing anything when the pitch is a curve. Which brings to mind two questions: One, how does he get the signal so fast and can he signal the batter fast enough to do him some good? Two, if it works, why isn't Toronto undefeated at home, or least hitting about .450 as a team? And how much real help is it? even if the batters know what's coming, they still have to hit it and hit it away from fielders. This is silly...as these people proved:
http://www.torontosun.com/2011/08/10/is-there-a-man-in-white

Just an update: Yesterday, Granderson hit two home runs, so far today, he has hit into two inning-ending double plays. What have you done for us lately?
CP-

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