Jane Heller

New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author

Holy S*%T! John Was Right! (With A P.S.)

Friend of the Blog John urged me to have patience that we’d be getting a starting pitcher, and tonight comes breaking news that he was right.

However, there’s good news and bad news regarding this news.

The good news is that we got Mariners superstar-in-waiting Michael Pineda.

He’s not Felix (the Mariners said no) but he’s a highly-touted young righty who filled in for Verlander at last year’s All Star game and is supposed to be a stud. He could solidify our rotation for years to come if he stays healthy.

(We also got a pitching prospect named Jose Campos.)

Now here’s the bad news. We gave up Montero and Noesi.

I figured the organization wasn’t high on Jesus since they’ve tried to include him in trades before. He’s not a great catcher and we’ve got better ones. Plus, the DH slot will be crowded with our veteran players. Still, he was a homegrown kid and I was rooting for him to make it big in the Bronx.

And I thought Noesi had real potential as a starter at some point, so I’m sad to see him go too.

But you can’t have everything as a fan, and overall I’m stoked about this deal.

P.S. No sooner did I post this entry than I heard we also signed Hiroki Kuroda to a one-year deal.

Obviously, Hal opened his wallet a little wider…..

 

 

Oh, Brian

nomaas.org

With only a couple of days until Christmas, I thought I’d check in with this blog one more time to:

#1 Wish everybody a very Merry.

#2 Express my bewilderment at Cashman’s off-season “strategy.”

To elaborate, the Yankees GM said starting pitching was a priority and yet he’s done nothing except re-sign Sweaty Freddy. Puzzling? It is to me.

Today’s report was that he likes Kuroda but doesn’t have the money. Excuse me? The Yankees don’t have the money?

We’ve seen Darvish, Wilson, Buehrle, and now Gio Gonzalez land with teams. Yes, there’s Edwin Jackson and Roy Oswalt, but nobody expects the Yankees to go after them (with good reason).

So where does that leave us?

Right – with an empty Christmas stocking.

I just hope Hector Noesi turns out to be the second coming of Ivan Nova.

Merry Merry.

 

Different Paths For Our Tormenters

Photo: AP/Winslow Townson

There was a time when the sight of the above twosome made me squirm. I would literally hide my eyes when they came up to hit against us.

But those times are over.

Manny wants to make a comeback, apparently, and there are two reasons why any team would be foolish to sign him:

1) He’s a multiple PED offender and hasn’t fully served his suspension.
2) He’s not good anymore.

As for Ortiz, he did make a comeback last season and, despite his advancing age and inability to do more than DH, I think he still has value. If I had to bet, I’d say he’ll end up back in Boston.

Meanwhile, Cashman (between rappellings – is that even a word?) said we don’t have a pressing need for anybody and the prices are too high. Lalalalala. Noesi seems poised to be 2012’s Ivan Nova. That would be fine with me – if he’s ready. I haven’t seen evidence that he is.

 

 

Of Course It Was A One-Run Loss

Seriously. Was there any doubt after the umps decided that Butler’s double homer was legit that the Yanks would lose by that run? I was out for dinner, but got home just in time to see the hubbub. Is Kaufman Stadium the new Trop? There seem to be crazy rules about paddings and railings and walls and what constitutes a home run. All we needed was a catwalk. How about Mo? Was he angry or what? I’m no lip reader but I think he said a naughty word.

But disputed call or not, this game was lost because Colon hasn’t been the same since the first half – since he injured his hammy, really – and because the offense didn’t capitalize early against Chen.

Great job by Noesi, giving the Yanks a chance to mount a comeback against Soria in the ninth, but it was a frustrating inning. Posada (Happy 40th Birthday) had a shot to be a hero. Instead, he didn’t get the bat off his shoulder.

The Red Sox lost. We had a chance to gain more ground. We blew it.

CC Has A Monkey On His Back

He can say it was his command. He can say he doesn’t need to watch video. He can say it was just an off-night. But until CC can beat the Red Sox this season and be as dominant against them as he’s been against everybody else, he’s not going to help us when it counts. We have to play Boston again and again before this is all over, and we need our ace to step up. Very unfortunate game tonight.

I had to leave for a dinner date when the score was 7-3, but I didn’t have much of an appetite when I got to the restaurant. Ayala was pitching by then and soon after Noesi gave up his runs, and our offense wasn’t in gear at all.

Well, first place was fun while it lasted.

I don’t know why I found this game so discouraging, but I did. Maybe it’s because the Sunday matchup of Beckett-Garcia doesn’t thrill me. Or maybe it was because we should have done a better job against Lackey. Or maybe it was just hard to watch our best pitcher cave.

I just hope tomorrow night goes better – if the game is even played. It’s pouring here in CT so I’m assuming the rain will make its way up to Boston.

Walks and Errors and Lightning, Oh My

What a weird win, but I loved it. Well, I loved everything except A.J.’s wildness (six walks and a throwing error – ugh). If I read tomorrow that he smashed his hand into a glass door after the game, I won’t be surprised. He looked kind of snarly in the dugout.

Anyhow, it was a nice comeback for the Yanks. For most of the game, the offense was half dead against yet another pitcher they’d never faced. But then came the Rays’ exhausted bullpen, plus a kid they’d called up from the minors, and the Yankees pounced. It didn’t hurt that Noesi had a huge strikeout with bases loaded, that D-Rob was a strikeout machine and that Mo did his usual save thing. Good job, boys.

I wasn’t sure the game would be finished, given the delay because of the lightning-induced power outage at the Trop. Not only did that bank of lights go out, but so did my YES feed. Doesn’t it seem as if something spooky always happens there? It’s like that dome is haunted or something.

I know I said this in last night’s post, but how hot is Brett Gardner right now? And, conversely, how cold is Mark Teixeira? This cold?

For the uninitiated, the above is a box of It’s-It ice cream sandwiches and I had one (a sandwich, not the whole box) during the game. It’s-It is a San Francisco-based ice cream producer and there’s nothing – I mean nothing – like their ice cream. The original ice cream sandwich has vanilla surrounded by a chocolate shell with an oatmeal cookie on the top and bottom. It’s to die for.

Sorry. Back to business. With game 1 of this series in the books, we turn to Colon tomorrow night. I say if he falters again, a trade is imperative – as in Make It Happen, Cashman.

A Good News/Bad News Joke

Good news:

Jeter drew one hit closer to #3,000 in the very first inning and only needs two more.

Bad news:

He didn’t have another hit in the game and left runners on base in the process.

Good news:

Noesi was great in relief.

Bad news:

Colon was throwing meatballs.

Good news:

We get three more cracks at the Rays in this series.

Bad news:

We’re not in first place anymore.

Good news:

I had dinner at The Counter, so I didn’t dwell on tonight’s loss. (If you’ve never been to one of their restaurants, go.)

Bad news:

I’m so stuffed that my stomach can probably type this blog post all by itself.And so The Jeter Watch continues. Will he get his two hits tomorrow night? Or will he do it on Saturday when most of the country is blacked out by FOX? And when he does reach his milestone, will he make a speech like he did with the Gehrig thing? Oh, the drama.

Can We Just Forget The Second Game Happened?

The Reds were bound to win tonight’s finale with Cueto on the mound. Does he wind up like Luis Tiant or what? (I’m talking about the way he turns his back on the hitters.) I was less perturbed about our lack of offense than I was about our pathetic pitching. Gordon threw a few too many meatballs and Noesi blew the game open.

Oh, well.

I’d rather gush about Garcia’s performance in Game 1 of the doubleheader. Now which starter do we want in the pen when Hughes comes back, huh?

All in all, it was a very good road trip for the Yanks. It would have been better if we’d been able to take advantage of the Red Sox’s loss today, but whatever. It’s still June. Despite all the injuries, we’re hanging in there.

It Could Have Been Worse

Yes, we could have had a Buster Posey situation on our hands.

Tell me you didn’t hold your break and think about Posey when Lester’s pitch made a direct hit on Tex’s knee. I heard that crack, watched our guy go down and felt sick. But the x-rays were negative and he’s got a contusion and nothing’s broken. At least that’s what we heard tonight. How long he’ll be out remains a question mark. And just when he’d gone on a home run streak too. Figures.

What further bothered me was that despite Lester’s lack of control (he hit Martin to add insult to injury), the Yankees couldn’t knock him out earlier. They couldn’t even take advantage after Jenks went lame with a stiff back. Just not enough firepower tonight. A-Rod, in particular, was not helpful. Granderson had an atypically off night at the plate. And Andruw Jones looked ready for the glue factory.

Should I even bother to talk about Garcia? Oh, why not. He was throwing batting practice. He had nothing. I know he’s pitched well and I’m not supposed to complain about him but I’m doing it anyway. He’s not the answer over the long haul, he just isn’t.

On a positive note, how about Hector Noesi?!

Photo: Nick Laham/Getty Images - bleacherreport.com

Aside from Big Sloppy’s homer, he was brilliant. Who wants to see him in the rotation?

(courtesy: villagevoice.com)

Kudos to Ayala too.

And Jorge. Clearly, all he needed was to play defense instead of just DH. He had a terrific night. So if he takes over at first for awhile, maybe we’ll see some real offense from him.

And a word about Cano and that throw he made from Granderson to nail Ellsbury at third: sweet.

I hate losing to the Red Sox yet again, especially at the Stadium. I hate losing one of our hottest players too. But there’s always tomorrow and Thursday.

I’m being amazingly level-headed about all this, aren’t I?

Where Do I Begin?

I’m so drained after watching that 15-inning dramathon that my eyes are rolling around in my head.

Did everyone watch the whole thing? (I know. I’m lucky I’m on the west coast. The game just ended and it’s only 9:15 here.) It was one of the most bizarre contests I’ve ever seen and I would have been crushed if the O’s had won. Here’s why.

  1. Colon pitched like the Cy Young Award winner he once was. Don’t ask me how. He just did, like the Frankenstein monster who said, “I’m alive!” He was brilliant – so brilliant he should have come back out for the 9th.
  2. I always love and feel reassured by the sight of Mo, but it was Colon’s night. Why not let him try to finish it, Joe?
  3. Instead, we got a blown save by our beloved closer – always a tough one to swallow.
  4. What a job by Boone Logan.
  5. And what a major league debut by Noesi. I mean seriously. No pressure or anything, Hector. Clap clap clap.
  6. Turning to the offense…Well, there wasn’t much until the 15th. No matter how many leadoff men we got on base, they were stranded. It was agonizing. Over and over we couldn’t score – despite the second productive evening in a row for A-Rod. Fortunately, Cano finally came through with the big hit and not a moment too soon as I was about to punch my TV.
  7. A word on defense….Nunez nearly made yet another error but Tex saved his butt on the throw. We need somebody to give our infielders a rest, but he’s not the guy. As someone said on Twitter, he’s turning out to be Edwardo Knoblauch.
  8. Last night’s star of this blog, Chris Dickerson, provided the scare of the game. I was so happy the umpire ejected Gonzalez immediately after he hit Dickerson in the head, because I was good and ready to fly to Baltimore and eject him myself. I only hope the kid is okay. Just a horrible, stomach-churning moment.
  9. On a brighter note, it was fun to see A.J. pinch run. He seemed to enjoy himself during his 10 seconds on the base paths. The only thing “funner,” as he would say, would have been for CC to pinch hit.

So now we have ourselves a little two-game winning streak. I hope the boys will get some sleep tonight. They’ve earned the zzzz’s.

(courtesy: sikids.com)

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About Jane Heller

Jane Heller is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author. Her fourteen breezy, witty novels of romantic comedy and suspense are now entertaining millions of readers around the world, along with her two books of nonfiction.