Alfonso Soriano Archives

Thanks, Minny

July 6, 2014

The Yankees always seem to rise to the occasion when they’re playing the Twins and the past four games were no exception, not counting yesterday’s loss. (Three out of four was damn good for this team.) In today’s marathon, which should have been a laugher but was made way too close by the bullpen, Jeter and Ellsbury strutted their offensive prowess. But overall in this series, we got just enough pitching and hitting to get the job done.

And what an eventful day it was off the field. The Yankees said goodbye to Soriano, which was necessary but got me choked up nonetheless. I always liked him and he was a big help last season. I’ll remember him fondly as a Yankee through and through and hope he comes to Old Timer’s Day once he officially retires. Bye, Sori. Keep smiling.

While Sori was going, Brandon McCarthy was coming.

(Yes, ESPN has already photo shopped his Diamondbacks pic.)

His stats with Arizona weren’t exactly spectacular, but he’s an upgrade over Vidal Nuno and he should give us innings. And he’s proven that he’s nothing if not gutsy. He was with Oakland when he was hit in the head by a comebacker off the bat of the Angels’ Erick Aybar and suffered a fractured skull. The fact that he’s pitching at all is pretty heroic.

I would hope Cashman still plans to make a deal for another starter (Cliff Lee?).

Meanwhile, I was excited to see that Betances and Tanaka will join Jeter at the All-Star Game. Congratulations to them.

Bad Body Language

September 17, 2013

This pic was from a loss to the Tigers in the postseason, but it typifies the helplessness and haplessness of the Yankees right now. How frustrating it must have been to get a great outing from Pettitte (another great outing, by the way) against a last place division rival and not be able to score any runs – especially when the scoreboard screamed, “Take advantage of the teams that lost tonight!”

Sad, but inevitable. Soriano, who has provided such an offensive spark, told the beat writers that he can’t generate any power because of his thumb and if it weren’t September he wouldn’t be playing. Ditto A-Rod, who seems not to have any body parts that don’t hurt. And on and on it goes.

I was taking my afternoon walk at the beginning of the game and listening to John and Suzyn on my At Bat app. In the top of the first, A-Rod hit one deep and Sterling went into his home run call, only to say, “Oh. Sorry. It was caught.” Made me furious. What an egregious mistake to give fans hope early on. He’s been doing that all year but this time it really got to me.

Maybe it’s all getting to me. It’s definitely getting to the Yankees, judging by that body language.

Another Man Down

September 14, 2013

When I read before today’s game that Soriano had been scratched from the lineup with a sprained thumb, I laughed. I couldn’t believe it. What in the world is going on with the Yankees this year? It’s nuts.

Obviously, I didn’t have high hopes for our chances with Sori out, and my fears were realized in yet another loss to the Sox. CC just isn’t CC and hasn’t been all year. Phelps is back from the DL but he’s not exactly Whitey Ford so I’m not jumping for joy.

The best the Yanks can hope for regarding the Wild Card is, assuming they’ll lose again tomorrow, that they’ll win every other game from now until the very last day.

Not realistic, I know, but that’s about the size of it.

Unbroken!

August 27, 2013

The moment was too gruesome to contemplate. There was Cano at the plate against Happ, the same pitcher who’d plunked Granderson on the hand and broken it, getting hit on the hand and writhing in pain. As we now know, the hand isn’t broken. We also know that if Happ can’t throw inside to lefties without breaking their hands, he shouldn’t be pitching in the major leagues. Enough already.

And then there was our emergency backup second baseman: Nunez. Whatever he did to his knee/leg didn’t look pretty, and I hope he’s OK. At this rate, maybe the ball boy can play second.

On the plus side, the Yanks beat the Blue Jays in convincing fashion, thanks mostly to Soriano. Who doesn’t love all the homers since he joined the team? No one. He’s a streaky hitter, but he’s given us much-needed power and I’m grateful for it.

As A-Rod’s homer total gets closer to that of Willie Mays, I have to admit I’m cringing. Not only is Willie an icon, but if I’m the Yankees and I’m stuck paying my problem child a $10 million bonus during a season in which he’s played a handful of games and declared war on everybody, I’m not thrilled.

Pettitte has been pitching like Pettitte lately, which is a big relief. I don’t know what was off with him earlier in the season, but he seems to have corrected the problem. I wish he’d pass along his secret to CC.

Another win tomorrow would be much appreciated, so I can keep telling myself we have a fighting chance.

Not So Fast, Rays She-Fans!

August 25, 2013

With the score tied at 2-2 and another tense contest at the Trop today, it was entirely possible the Yankees would get swept. But Alfonso Soriano came to the rescue with that double in the 11th, then the steal, aided and abetted by terrific relief work by Logan, Robertson and Mo and excellent defense from Cano and Granderson. Whew.

David Cone on YES had the line of the day when he said, as A-Rod stepped up to pinch hit and the crowd at the Trop livened up to boo him, “Now batting: Darth Vader.” LOL.

No one looked more relieved to win that one than Girardi who, as Granderson maneuvered to make that catch to end the game, could be seen saying, “Come on, Grandy. Come on, Grandy.” Hopefully, Joe can relax a little on the flight to Toronto. He sure made me nervous when he brought Joba in to pitch in that tie situation instead of in his usual mop-up role and promptly gave up a lead-off walk.

Finally, after two disappointing games, a happy ending. It may mean nothing but it definitely beats losing.

Soriano Is This Hot Right Now

August 16, 2013

And Joba is ice cold. I’m not a professional lip reader, but I could have sworn Girardi said to Rothschild, when Joba had bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth with a 10-3 lead and two outs, “I’m not bringing Mo in.” It was painful to watch. Thankfully, Huff cleaned up the mess and got the out, and the Yankees won the series opener at Fenway with another Janer.

Back to Soriano. I cannot believe all the RBIs lately. Six homers in six games? Amazing. Once he got that 2,000th hit he’s been pure gold. And how about Mark Reynolds: first time up as a Yankee and he went deep. Welcome, Mark.

There were plenty of others who showed up offensively, but I have to mention Ichiro, who batted in the ninth against reliever Drake Britton. Britton seemed to have a fondness for throwing high and tight. He got much too close to Gardner’s head and before that he buzzed Ichiro above the neck. Ichiro responded by hitting a chopper, legging it out for a hit and scoring. Well done.

And Pettitte finally had a solid outing until the seventh. My faith in him has been restored.

The game did have its share of sloppiness; there were errors and the Red Sox ran the bases as if they were the desperate ones, not us. But it was entertaining (until the bottom of the ninth).

I’m assuming I’ll be blacked out by FOX tomorrow afternoon – we’re always stuck with a west coast game – but I hope the boys keep up the good work. Their season depends on it.

An Even Better Janer, Thanks To Him

August 14, 2013

Soriano was pure magic tonight in the Yankees’ second blowout in a row. My dearly departed grandmother could have hit some of Jered Weaver’s fat pitches into the seats, but Soriano did it at just the right moments and with great style. I agree with the fan above: Welcome Back, Sori.

Oh, those precious runs, one after the other. When was the last time the offense overshadowed a starting pitcher’s performance? Nova wasn’t un-hittable by any means, but he kept the Angels from scoring more than a couple of times. I’ve gotten to the point where I really look forward to the games he pitches, almost as much as I look forward to Kuroda’s outings.

Can this team keep it up? Who knows, but this little streak has been a lot of fun and has made me love watching again.

An Actual Janer!

August 13, 2013

Are the Angels the new Twins? All I know is I wish the Yankees could face their pitching every day of the week, because the offense exploded tonight and it doesn’t happen very often. It was especially satisfying to see Soriano give us the homers he was brought to the team to deliver. Nunez, too, had a good night at the plate, although his error-plagued defense continued. CC finally got a win, but what was up with all the walks? At least he wasn’t pounded, I guess. And poor Bettances didn’t make much of a first impression, having to be bailed out by Joba, the mop up guy.

Anyhow, it was fun to have the Yanks scoring all those runs, not to mention win their third game in a row. Is this what is known as a second half streak? I hope so.

A Great Day For Yankee Fans

July 28, 2013

Photo: Michael Buckner/Getty Images North America

I admit it. I got choked up watching the pre-game ceremony to make Matsui a Yankee forever. I loved that his parents and brother were there (what happened to “the wife” who was shown to the media in that famous drawing?) and that Jeter presented him with the plaque of his jersey. Very cool.

Then came Jeter’s big moment at the plate: one swing, one homer, one run – an actual lead! He seemed to ignite the rest of the players and set the tone. Soriano was terrific in what felt like his real return to the Yanks, and Ichiro showed he’s not done yet in the hits department.

Phil Hughes? I’ve given up trying to find ways to express my displeasure. All I know is he gave back the lead and can’t put batters away. He’s not terrible, by any means, just not somebody I want on the mound at the Stadium.

Whether today’s win over the Rays leads to more “W’s” remains to be seen, but it sure beats losing.

Welcome Back, Sori

July 27, 2013

I’d forgotten what a great smile he has and it was great to see the warm reception for him last night. If only he’d delivered on everybody’s optimism in the Yankees’ dreadful loss to the Rays. I actually predicted he’d go 0-for-6, given the pressure to produce and the fact that he was switching leagues and didn’t know the pitchers. But I was pretty close at 0-for-5. The killer was when he came up with the bases loaded and had chances to be the hero. Ugh.

CC was the real culprit though, and it’s becoming tiresome to sing the same song about him. He’s just bad. Every pitch looked like batting practice for awhile – long enough for the Rays to jump out to a 6-0 lead.

The Yanks staged an exciting comeback, and I kept watching till the bitter end. But it was to no avail.

I’ll probably miss the rest of the games this weekend and maybe it’s for the best. Hopefully they’ll play better without my verbal abuse.