Jane Heller

New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author

“The Bargain Basement Yankees?” I Don’t Think So

Courtesy: Christie’s Real Estate

More like “The Penthouse Floor Yankees,” despite what Michael Kay calls this scrappy team of cast offs.

What an exciting comeback win tonight to kick off the series at Camden Yards. The O’s always play us tough, despite their pitching woes, so I had a feeling there would be extra innings somehow.

What I didn’t expect was CC’s mediocrity. Is he just having his first half doldrums or was it the result of the rainout of his scheduled start? Who knows, but I hope he snaps out of it soon, because watching him give back the lead was not my idea of a good time.

Watching guys like Adams, Cano, Overbay and Hafner go deep, on the other hand, was very entertaining, as were the huge doubles by Ichiro and Wells.

I keep wondering how long this team can continue to win ballgames, but maybe I should be wondering why I’m suddenly not that desperate for Tex, Youkilis, Nunez, Joba and Nova to come back. (Notice I didn’t say Jeter. He’s always welcome to show up.)

 

 

"The Bargain Basement Yankees?" I Don't Think So

Courtesy: Christie’s Real Estate

More like “The Penthouse Floor Yankees,” despite what Michael Kay calls this scrappy team of cast offs.

What an exciting comeback win tonight to kick off the series at Camden Yards. The O’s always play us tough, despite their pitching woes, so I had a feeling there would be extra innings somehow.

What I didn’t expect was CC’s mediocrity. Is he just having his first half doldrums or was it the result of the rainout of his scheduled start? Who knows, but I hope he snaps out of it soon, because watching him give back the lead was not my idea of a good time.

Watching guys like Adams, Cano, Overbay and Hafner go deep, on the other hand, was very entertaining, as were the huge doubles by Ichiro and Wells.

I keep wondering how long this team can continue to win ballgames, but maybe I should be wondering why I’m suddenly not that desperate for Tex, Youkilis, Nunez, Joba and Nova to come back. (Notice I didn’t say Jeter. He’s always welcome to show up.)

 

 

“Brett Gardner Just Saved Ramiro Pena’s Bacon”

That was a direct quote from Michael Kay after Gardner made that tremendous throw to nail Duda at home plate (nice tag by Russell Martin too). Unfortunately, no one could save Pena’s bacon or anything else about the kid. It was a bad day at the office for him. For Mo too. He kind of looked like he was phoning it in for some reason. (I hate writing that.)

It’s not the end of the world that the Yankees dropped the series finale to the Mets, but to waste the fine outing by Garcia was frustrating. Also frustrating was our offense; they caught a break when Dickey and his knuckleball left the game but still couldn’t manage the necessary runs.

Still, there’s very good news with Jeter coming back. I’m excited about it. I’ve missed him. And I think the defense of Nunez and Pena made everybody miss him even more.

And Nova? Well, I’d rather have him pitching in Scranton than sitting around in our bullpen. And he’ll be back, no doubt.

For me the question mark is Hughes. Which Hughes will we see on Wednesday? The one with velocity and command or the guy that dithers around on the mound and is gone by the fourth inning? Fingers crossed for the former.

The All-Star selections? Ask me if I care. Of course I wish every Yankee could be picked and it would be cool for Robertson to get his shot, but it’s an exhibition game. It’s about as exciting to me as the WBC. Sorry.

Hope everyone’s enjoying the holiday weekend despite today’s loss. Happy 4th in advance.

"Brett Gardner Just Saved Ramiro Pena's Bacon"

That was a direct quote from Michael Kay after Gardner made that tremendous throw to nail Duda at home plate (nice tag by Russell Martin too). Unfortunately, no one could save Pena’s bacon or anything else about the kid. It was a bad day at the office for him. For Mo too. He kind of looked like he was phoning it in for some reason. (I hate writing that.)

It’s not the end of the world that the Yankees dropped the series finale to the Mets, but to waste the fine outing by Garcia was frustrating. Also frustrating was our offense; they caught a break when Dickey and his knuckleball left the game but still couldn’t manage the necessary runs.

Still, there’s very good news with Jeter coming back. I’m excited about it. I’ve missed him. And I think the defense of Nunez and Pena made everybody miss him even more.

And Nova? Well, I’d rather have him pitching in Scranton than sitting around in our bullpen. And he’ll be back, no doubt.

For me the question mark is Hughes. Which Hughes will we see on Wednesday? The one with velocity and command or the guy that dithers around on the mound and is gone by the fourth inning? Fingers crossed for the former.

The All-Star selections? Ask me if I care. Of course I wish every Yankee could be picked and it would be cool for Robertson to get his shot, but it’s an exhibition game. It’s about as exciting to me as the WBC. Sorry.

Hope everyone’s enjoying the holiday weekend despite today’s loss. Happy 4th in advance.

A Captain-Less Blowout

Before I get into tonight’s fun fest, what to make of the Yankees’ acquisition of Brian Gordon, the well-traveled minor leaguer who will probably get the start on Thursday (leapfrogging over a couple of the Yankees’ own triple A guys)? On one hand, it’s an odd move; we do have in-house candidates including Noesi. On the other hand, Gordon had great numbers for the Phillies’ triple A team. Maybe he’ll be another Aaron Small. Remember him?

Photo: Sabo/Daily News

All he did was go 10-0 after toiling in the minors for years.

But I’m getting ahead of myself. Tonight was all about beating the stuffing out of the supposedly unbeatable Alexi Ogando.

Photo: AP/Charlie Riedel

The Yankees did it every which way in a truly memorable display of offense.

Interesting that Jorge has a streak going, that Gardner looked great in the leadoff spot, that Nunez played the Gehrig role to Jeter’s Wally Pipp, that Swisher finally hit the ball. We put our “weakest” lineup on the field and they delivered big time.

CC wasn’t at his dominating best but he didn’t need to be. He inspires confidence on the mound and was worth every penny. (Hey, it’s not my money.)

Once the game was well in hand, my entertainment came from the booth listening to Paul O’Neill with Leiter and Kay. The guy is hysterical. I said on twitter that he should have his own sitcom on YES called “Everybody Loves Paulie” with Kay dropping in every week as his wacky neighbor. Judging by the overwhelmingly positive response I got to the tweet, the show would have a huge audience. Now, people, how can we make this happen?

Follow Me!

  • Jane Heller on Goodreads
  • Jane Heller on Pinterest
  • Jane Heller on Facebook
  • Jane Heller on Twitter

Get in touch!

I’d love to hear from you! Contact me!

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.