HAPPY HOLIDAYS BOMBER BUDDIES

I would like to wish all you baseball fans out there a very Happy Holidays. We did get an early present in the form of newly shaven Johnny Damon. Like Larry Bowa, I would have liked to get him a little sooner. Imagine if we signed him when we signed Giambi and held on to Tino and groomed Nick Johnson as our regular first sacker. Bowa I would have loved to have at SS in his career. Feel sorry for Bubba Crosby tho.
WELCOME BACK BERNIE
Bernie Williams begins his finalee in pinstripes as a 4th OF/DH. Who knows what will happen if he does well in that role.
Hope you all get what you want this Holiday season. here's hoping all your hits go for extra bases.

OUTSIDE LOOKING IN

By Special Guest Blogger Kyle Reagan

Some thigs have been bothering me lately...some things have made me laugh...I want to share both,

1. Hideki Matsui, great guy, great player, glad we got him and glad we extended him. I love you Hideki, I really do...but when I checked my Japanese-to-English dictionary I found that "Hideki" in english means "face that will knock a buzzard off a shat wagon." Before he gets nominated that guy from "Lost" ...

2. Gonna be magical next year...sometime in early April Jason Varitek will catch a strike three and standup to throw the ball around the horn. He will throw a one-hopper to Mike Lowell that will bounce off his glove and roll into left field where it will be fielded by Gabe Kapler who will throw it into Lowell who will turn and sail one over Mark Loretta's head into right field where Trot Nixon will be totally unaware of what is going on while he tries to count to 13 with his shoes and socks on (he ignores Dave Roberts- the centerfielder's yells)...Loretta will jog out, pick up the ball and throw it over to Alex Gonzalez who will have it fall out of his glove on the transfer but will pick it up and throw it over Youkilis' head into the 5th row of seats behind first base...gonna be magical. Varitek (with the "C" on his shirt) will yell out "look alive guys, c'mon!" Somewhere Theo Epstein will smile...

3. Peter Gammons was on ESPN and commenting on the Sox dumping Rent--a-Wreck for a prospect. In his always-pro-Sox stance he said (with a straight face I might add) "The Sox were worried Renteria would never get comfortable and people have said that Marte, if he was a Junior in college would be a first round pick" Did someone slip a "mickey" into Peter's Fruit Loops? The guy has stopped even trying to make sense at this point. I fully expect him to yell out "Gridlock!" during a Sportscenter, ala General Stockdale.

4. Dick Vitale is back on my TV...this is the year I pull an "Elvis" on my TV- I swear. Shut the F up about "diaper dandies" and "windex teams"...oh, and St Louis beating up on Vanderbilt isn't "Awesome with a capital A" OK...Dick (a more appropriate name there could not be)

5. I laughed when the Blue Jays signed Burnett and Ryan to 5 year deals and then announced JP Ricciardi was given a 3-year extension...in other words, if these deals are exploding our face we will can your boner-nosed ass. It reminds me of politicians who always seem to come up with 5 year plans when their terms are 4 years...

6. I saw Keith Foulke on a milk carton the other day...$100 reward for any information leading to his whereabouts.

7. Expecting Bernie Williams to tutor Bubba Crosby is like asking Beethoven to teach Ozzy Ozborne the cello. I do think it is cool that the only guy named "Bubba" within 1000 miles of New York City is our CFer...

8. Why do place kickers wear shoulder pads? Jay Feely should be forced to wear a cheerleaders outfit. I don't hate too may people on my favorite teams...but I hate Jay Feely...the Chuck Knoblauch/ Mackey Sasser/ Steve Sax of place kicking.

9. Johnny Damon says he'll cut his hair and shave his beard to play with the Yankees...how bout you drop the "ny" from your name and cut your hair cuz you're 32. That is reason enough.

10. Javier Vasquez says he doesn't want to come back to the Yankees because of the way he was treated. How bout this Javy...we don't want you back with the Yankees because of the way you were treated (like a fricking BP pitcher!!!)

11. Jason Giambi will be dominant this year- an offensive force. But somebody has to explain to me why a guy who is in the top .05% of the human population as a hitter, runs like he has bleeding corns on the heels of his feet and throws like he's a finalist in an egg toss challenge. Hang a freaking tire off a branch in your backyard this Winter and throw baseballs through it, will ya. Call Goodad for advice.

12. The Reds say they will use Tony Womack in a "super utility" role...its unfair for me to judge... but the words "Womack" and "super" should never, ever be in the same sentence...unless that sentence is "Womack was a super disappointment with the Yankees." Just kidding, Tony was a class guy who never got the chance to do what he thought he could- but the torture we laid on him this year doesn't make up for the BS bloop double in the 01 World Series. Plus, why was his helmet so big? He looked like Rick Moranis in "Space Balls" as Lord Dark Helmet.

13. I want John Damon...OK, there I said it. 4 years, 5 years- whatever...get it done Cash...and defer 06 money until Sheff/ Mussina comes off the books...

14. I want Nomar (Garciapara)...that's been no secret...play him in RF and DH Sheff...

15. WE make those last two moves and our lineup just became...ready for this...Damon (will hit 20 in Yankee Stadium)Jeter (mechanically perfect)AROD (MVP)Giambi (see note #11)Sheff (unless he shanks Cashman in the shower will be great- again)Matsui (ugly...but great)Nomar (batting 7th? doesn't seem fair)Posada (try to hit into less than 2500 double plays this year)Bernie (did Mickey mantle ever bat 9th?)I will go to bed with that in my head...

Like what you read visit Behind the Bombers

FLASH IN THE PAST

If there is going to be any flash in the 2006 Yankees roster it won't be in the guise of John "Flash" Flaherty or Tom "Flash" Gordon. So after leading the majors in Flashes the Yankees suddenly find themselves flashless. John has retired and Gordon has gone the way of WC Fields and wound up robbing the Phillies of a 3 year contract for his burned out arm.

Joining the Bombers this coming season is RHP Kyle Farnsworth who agreed to a three-year contract through 2008. In 2005, Farnsworth went 1-1 with 16 saves and a 2.19 ERA. He struck out 87 batters in 70 innings, holding opponents to a .180 average in 72 appearances. Now if he can bounce back from his NLDS blow up he can be the perfect set up for Mariano Rivera.

Let's hope Farnsworth doesn't go the route of another Braves releiver Mark Wohlers. Like Kyle Wohlers gave up a rather monumental post season homer to Jim Leyritz which even Leo Mazzone couldn't snap him out of. Farnsworth gave up a pretty big grand slam in last year's post season. Wohlers never was the same again.

BACKSTOPPERS
The Yankees filled one of the holes on their roster on Wednesday, signing free agent Kelly Stinnett to replace Flaherty as the team's backup catcher. Stinnett signed a one-year deal for $650,000 to become second banana to Jorge Posada. The move is only the second free agent signing of the offseason for the Yankees, who re-signed Hideki Matsui to a four-year deal in mid-November to a reported 50 million.

BUBBA-LICIOUS
Bubba Crosby may very well roam the confines of the spacious centerfield at Yankee Stadium. With a little help from hitting coach Don Mattingly Bubba could make the fans stand up and cheer after his 400 batting average in September. Don't count Bernie Williams out just yet as he could catch on as a fourth outfielder and part time DH.

Huston Street edges Robby Cano

A's reliever Huston Street (isn't that a stop on the #1 train?) has won Rookie of the Year honors for his fine relief work in the 2005 season. Street, who took over as Oakland's closer in May, got 15 of 28 first-place votes in balloting by the Baseball Writers' Association of America and finished with 97 points. Bomber second baseman fenom Robinson Cano came in second with 57 points, followed by Tampa Bay designated hitter Jonny Gomes with 39. Ironic that Cano was named after Jackie Robinson, whom the award now bears his name.

In other Bomber news it looks like it will be Ron Guidry taking over for the "retired" Mel Stottlemyre as pitching coach in 2006. Joe Kerrigan who has been working as a scout for the Yankees will be the bullpen coach, taking over for the reassigned Neil Allen. While I like the potential of Kerrigan I feel Allen's work with the kids will be missed. That brings the total of 4 ex-mangers to the Yankees coaching staff.

COACHING STAFF NEWS

The Yankees have told Roy White, Louie Sojo and Neil Allen that they will be reassigned for the 2006 season. I am sorry to see Neil Allen go from the staff. He was good with the kids and helped Chien Ming Wang a lot.

Lee Mazzilli is returning to pinstripes as Joe Torre's bench coach. And my dream has come true, Larry Bowa is in pinstripes as well. Of course I wanted him as our shortstop but the Phillies thought he was Honus Wagner and wouldn't let him go.

Joe Kerrigan and Ron Guidry have inside shots at bullpen and pitching coaches respectively.

. . . To Be Continued

Another Long Off Season

The Yankees went home early again this year. What exactly went wrong? You can't pick any one thing to point your fingers at. Alex Rodriguez had a poor series. Hideki Matsui was a non factor. Gary Sheffield turned into a singles hitter. The Big Unit was washed up in his only start on a rainy Friday night.
I won't complain abount the scheduling and rescheduling due to rain although that does seem to play a factor on the older teams. I won't complain about the six record breaking ALDS errors made by the Yankees. I won't complain about the bad umpiring especially to Robbie Cano. To sum it all up we just played some ugly baseball. Between the bonehead plays and errors we practically gave the series to the Halos.
A-Rod is such an intense player but he strives for perfection and lets it get into his head. The results of his overthinking at-bats is zero. Godzilla who is one of the bet clutch players in the game couldn't buy a base hit. It wouldn't surprize me to find out if he played hurt during this series. If he was 100% we might have seen him in center-field more often. The young second baseman Cano made a few rookie mistakes one or two of them were costly.
The results were a Angel win. The White Sox were probably disappointed to see that. It seems that any team that beats the Yankees goes on to win it all. So who do I root for now? The White So, who swept the Red Sox? The Angel who beat us? The Cards, the Astros? Not me I will fire up the DVD player and watch my The New York Yankees Fall Classic Collector's Edition 1996-2001 (2005) seven DVD set. I guess #27 is on hold once again.

BERNIE IN DA BRONX

4090696 fans passed through the turnstiles this season at Yankee Stadium. That is a record for the American League. The NL record is held by the 93 Colorado Rockies who sold a lot of $1 tickets that year in a stadium sized for football. The Bronx faithful knew that this was potentionally Bernies Pinstripe swan song and chanted everything from Bernie Baseball to Thank-you Bern-ie!!!! He will be missed. He does have enough to be a DH and 4th outfielder. One thing for sure you will see him along with the other Yankee Legends in Tampa during future Spring Trainings.

We have a tough week ahead as every game is a must win. It starts out in Baltimore where we meet the O's who are 0-9 in their last nine games coming off a sweep by the Bosox.

Send in your Bernie Memories for our post season tribute.

SHOWDOWN IN DA BRONX

What is it about the Devil Rays that give the Bombers so much trouble? How can a team with a line up like the Yankees make a former New Jersey Net basketball player with a 6 plus ERA look like Roger Clemens? The Yankees concluded the three game set with the D-Rays with another loss, 7-4. Chien Ming Wang returned to the rotation and gave up three runs in five innings while getting the rust out. What is worse is that we have another set against these Yankee killers next week. The loss caused the Yanks to lose a hold of their AL wild card lead, as they now trail Cleveland by a half-game.

Before we head south to Tampa we have to take care of the business at hand with the Red Sox coming into the Bronx. Like Yogi says "it gets late early up here" and Derek Jeter pointed out in today's NY Newsday that we are running out of time. Three games in which we have to take two out of three minimum. Friday David Wells takes on Aaron Small to open the series. Al Leiter will be in the pen for the series.

Once again losing is not an option, if we don't want to be golfing next month we have to put together a winning streak right now. We can control our own destiny.

HAPPY LABOR DAY!

Those of you who know me probably could have guess the topic of today's blog. After a weekend where we took two of three in Oakland to put us one game ahead in the Wild Card Race the last thing we want is an off day. True we are changing coasts and you do need a day to travel, although for some reason they never do it in the ALDS. Under normal circumstances that would be fine but today is Labor Day and we have no Yankee Baseball.

Labor Day, July 4th, Memorial Day were all at one time automatic double headers. For those of you too young to remember a Double Header was when you saw to baseball games back to back for one admission price. Not only that the Soxes ( White and Red) have a make up game today and they are both bitching! Come on you greedy millionaires we pay your overpriced salaries play the game and clam up. So if you lose an off day here and there who cares??? What goes better with a barbecue than baseball?

Let's give something back to the fan bring back the holiday double headers.

After the "off day" it is the Tampa Bay Devil Rays that come into town to take on the Bombers. The Yanks are 4-9 verse the Rays this year we have to even that record up if we want to win. The only team with a winning record that we face the rest of the season is Boston.

It's A Small World After All

With Mike Mussina possibly out for the season, Carl Pavano out for the season and Kevin Brown out for his career the Yankees had a breath of fresh air on Saturday as Aaron Small pitched his first complete game shutout of his career.

The Bronx Bombers used a Small-ball approach to take a 4-0 lead before watching Jason Giambi put away his former team with a three-run homer. All of the run support backed up Aaron Small, who came up big for the Yankees improving his perfect record to 6-0. This time with a complete-game shutout, a 7-0 win over the Oakland A's. Small, starting for the injured Mike Mussina, allowing just five hits and two walks while striking out three.

The good news for the rotation is the Chien Ming Wang pitches on Monday for Columbus. Shawn Chacon goes Sunday against Barry Zito and Jaret Wright may not miss a turn.

ALL IS QUIET ON THE YANKEE FRONT

The trade deadline passed this afternoon without too much fanfare as the Mets never got Manny Ramirez and the Yankees just traded their designated for assignment pitcher Buddy Groom and His Band of Renown for a player to be named later or just cash. That shouldn't be much more than 8 bucks.

Speaking of Buddy Groom he blasted the Yankees and Skipper Joe Torre in the press today. All the tabloids had similar reports but ESPN sums it up nicely. Groom became expendable when the Yankees signed Bosox castoff Alan Embree. The Yankees also designated former Staten Island Yankee Alex Graman for assignment and recalled Wayne Franklin. All the afore mentioned are lefthanders. The Yankees are hoping that Embree and Felix Rodiguez will sure up the middle relief.

They Yankees had another wild ride on Sunday as the fans were passing out the Zantac as the Yankees came through victorious on a see-saw game 8-7. Jason Giambi hit two home runs in the victory giving him 14 dingers for July the most since Mickey Mantle did that feat in 1961. His second homer was his 300th of his career.

The 13 year old boy that was became missing on Friday Night at Yankee Stadium was found Sunday in Queens. What the report doesn't say is that the young man was a foster child . Either way always keep the ticket stub in your kids pocket. Heck a 13 year old that never been to Yankee Stadium before should NOT be sent to the mens room alone on a sold out game. I am sure more will come out in days to come.

WHERE HAVE ALL OUR PITCHERS GONE?

Greetings Bomber Buddies, If you didn't believe in Murphy's Law you probably do by now. Or perhaps it is just the Bambino's Curse being reversed. You did see that when David Wells stopped wearing #3 he and the Sox started winning. Let's add Chien Ming Wang to our list of Yankee casualties. He has been DLed with what is believed to be a torn rotary cuff and should be out for the remainder of the season. He will be examine by Dr. Andrews on Monday to determine the severity of the tear. That is added to Carl Pavano's tendinitis, Kevin Brown's back spasms and Jarad Wright's flavor of the year injuries. Never thought I would be looking forward to getting Kevin Brown back. Kevin Brown had a solid bullpen session yesterday and could be Monday's starter if he still feels good today. The Yankees would prefer him do do rehab but the situation may not permit it.

HELP IS ON THE WAY
Help (???) is on the way in the form of Al Leiter as the Yankees struck a deal with the Marlins to bring the veteran lefty back to Pinstripes for the proverbial player to be named later. Leiter, who is 39, was designated for assignment by the Marlins on Thursday. The team had 10 days to release or trade the left-hander, who was 3-7, 6.64 ERA this year as a starter and reliever. Gee a contender getting rid of a lefty pitcher, to an AL team no less??? Doesn't look like a cure to me. Mel Stottlemyre can't work miracles. Well if he doesn't work out maybe we can trade him for Jesse Barfield again. Leiter was a Yankee prospect before being shipped to Toronto for Barfield. One note on Al Leiter's Topps rookie card the mistakenly printed the wrong photo on it.

MORE HELP
In other news Felix Rodriguez, who pitched two scoreless innings with Trenton Friday and is scheduled to make one more rehab appearance with the Thunder (possibly on Saturday) before being activated. Further down the road, Ramiro Mendoza has began throwing batting practice as he attempts to come back from the rotater cuff surgery he had back in January.

In what is being biled as the battle of aces the Yankees seek revenge as Randy Johnson takes on Matt Clement on the FOX Game of the Week today at 1:20 PM.

HALFTIME

It's the All Star Break and off to Detroit are Alex Rodriguez, Mariano Rivera and Gary Sheffield. At the break we are really lucky to be only 2.5 games back after the way that we played. Aboard the Yankee Express now are three key rookies. Chein Ming Wang, who has been are most consistant starter in the first half. Robbie Cano who has opened a lot of eyes at 2B and Melky Cabrera who just two season ago was named the 2003 Staten Island Yankee MVP. The jury is still out on Melky who is adjusting to the large Yankee Stadium centerfield not to mention the tricky sun you have out there on day contests. His biggest advantage is that he is one of the few rookies who can hit a breaking ball, which is something that hampered such names as Dan Pasqua, Andy Phillips and even big names like Jack Clark.

BACK TO BUSINESS
After the break it is back to work when the Bombers face off against the Bosox in Beantown. Let's hope it isn't Deja Vu all over again as the Red Sox have already broke the momentum of this club of All Stars. We are on a roll right now and I for one didn't want this break to break our streaks especially with the Red Sox on the menu.

Last time around Joe Torre skipped young Chein Ming Wang against the Red Sox. You can be sure that won't be the case this time around. Let's hope that Brian Cashman doesn't have even remote plans to trade any of these three players.

REHAB-ROD
Here is a scoop that my new Bomber Buddies at POTY don't even know. I had the luck to see Felix "F-Rod" Rodriguez starting his rehab last night for the Staten Island Yankees. He was welcomed back to live pitching with a home run to left field by the Williamsport Crosscutter's (Pirate Short Season A affiliate) John Santiago (his first). Keep in mind this kid is 20 years old at most. He was erratic for the most part in the SI Yank 6-5 comeback but he did pick up 4 strikeouts without a walk in the two innings of work. He is scheduled to throw Wednesday for the Baby Bombers as well as they go for their ninth straight victory. Melky Cabrera was on hand to receive a plaque and his old SI Jersey.

MAY OR MAY NOT

Jason Giambi homered for the third straight game leaving him 5 short of tying the major league record. Former Staten Island Yankee 20-year-old Melky Cabrera singled in his major league debut and Mike "Mooooose" Mussina and the Yankees beat the Cleveland Indians 7-2 Thursday night. Alex Rodriguez homered for the second straight game leaving him 6 short of tying the major league record, tying Boston's Manny Ramirez and Texas' Mark Teixeira for the AL lead with 22, and Derek Jeter went long for New York.

The big news is tha Carl Pavano has wound up on the 15 day disable list. Rumor has it that Saturday's starter will be the newly aquired Darrell May, or it may just be the committee headed by Tanyon Sturtze. We'll see following Old Timers Day tomorrow. Former Yankee OF and current YES broadcaster David Justice will participate in the OT game. What's up with Paul O'Neill? Your fans want to see you Paully!!

Saturday marks the Behind the Bombers reunion. If you are at the game stop by and see us in the Outdoor Cafe after 12 noon or so.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BOSS

What better day to be born on than the 4th of July? Who better to have a birthday then than George Steinbrenner? Many people are pround to wish the Boss a big 75th Birthday but Harvey Frommer sums it up best. The New York Post printed quite a tribute themselves. Happy Birthday George and thanks for all the great teams you put on the field.

BERNIE BASEBALL/NEW HITMAN
Bernie Williams passes up the Hitman. Williams went 4-for-5 with five RBIs as DH on Saturday night. This launched him past Don Mattingly for fifth-place on the all-time Yankee hit list. The only Yankees still in front of Bernie are Lou Gehrig, Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle and Joe DiMaggio. Someday we may see #51 hanging out there in Monument Park. I guess Bernie isn't so "tired" anymore.

I'VE FALLEN AND I CAN"T GET UP!!!!

With less than a week to go before the 2005 BTB reunion the Yankees are falling deeper into the AL East. Growing up your mom always told you to act your age, well now the Yankees are acting their age and it isn't pretty at all. That alien pod that resembles Randy Johnson is pitching like Bob Shirley while Carl Pavano is doing a great imatation of Ed Whitson.

I SHALL BE RELEASED
The Yankees released the unproductive Mike Stanton and the over used and worn out Paul Quantrill. Back into the Bronx is Jason Anderson who returned to pinstripes by pitching two scoreless innings agaist the timers in Friday night's 10-2 loss. If you remember Jason was sent to teh Mets for Armando Benitez. He made a stop in Cleveland until he was released and claimed by the Yanks. Two days after designating Quantrill for assignment, the Yankees surprizingly found a taker for the right-handed reliever, shipping him to the San Diego Padres for right-hander Tim Redding, left-hander Darrell May and cash.

FOR STARTERS
As if we didn't have enough problems Carl Pavano has come up with a sore shoulder, but as ESPN reports he isn't too concerned about it. That puts the Grand Tanyon, Tanyon Sturtze into the starting rotation. He'll start Monday against the Orioles at home.

BTB salutes John Franco who was released by the Astros today in a career that included the Reds and Mets. Class act John, good luck.

PASS THE GERITOL

The team looks older by the day. After sweeping the Pirates and Cubs at home the Yankees showed signs of breaking out of their funk but with the Devil Rays in town the Yankees managed only one win in that series before losing two of three to the Mets. To sum it all up the Yanks have been playing some UGLY baseball.

In a game that would turn around the worse teams the Yankees scored 13 runs in the eighth inning to come back from a 10-2 deficit. The very next day the Bombers bombed out and went back to their losing ways. The only bright spots in our line up has been the rookie Robinson Cano and Chein Ming Wang. Sean Henn, who lost to the Mets on Saturday has proved for the third straight time that he is not ready for prime time.

In the midst of thing the deteriorating Bernie Williams has become a scapegoat of sorts. Well even if he isn't a scapegoat over the weekend he was a goat anyway. Sunday night the Yankees had a big come from behind victory against the cross town rival Mets. Again time will tell if that win can turn this team around as the Yankees go into to Baltimore to take on the second place Orioles. As Jason Giambi goes so does the Yankees. When the Giambino hits the Yanks seem to win.
The outfield situation is in shambles. Kevin Reese, the Columbus centerfielder, was brought up to play LF while the Yankee LF (who started the year at 2B) was shifted to CF. The reason Reese was brought up was because Bernie Williams was declared "tired". Monday at Camdan Reese is on the bench while Rueben Sierra spells Gary Sheffield while he rejuvenate himself as the DH. Hideki Matsui returns to LF with Tony Womack in CF. Reese, who wasn't even on the 40 man roster is not the answer. They need a CF, while I still believe Bernie has life as a DH he is a liability in the outfield. One rumor is what Peter Gammons reported that if the A's cannot sign Mark Kotsay to a contract extension the the A's will trade him to either the Cubs or Yankees.

Now, they'll look to make up some ground in the American League East as they open a three-game series with the slumping Baltimore Orioles at Camden Yards. The Yankees will send the Roadster Carl Pavano to the mound in the series opener. Pavano lost his fourth straight decision Wednesday, allowing five runs and six hits in 6 2-3 innings of a 5-3 defeat to Tampa Bay. The O's counter with Daniel Cabrera (5-7, 5.54 ERA). Cabrera lost his third straight start Wednesday, allowing three earned runs and five hits in five innings of a 3-2 loss to Toronto on Wednesday. The 24-year-old right-hander has allowed just five earned runs in 12 1-3 innings in his last two starts after giving up seven in two innings in a loss to Cincinnati on June 11. He is 1-1 with a 4.05 ERA in four career starts against the Yankees, including an 8-4 win on April 17.

There is no relief in sight for our starters either as Jaret Wright was moved from the 15-day DL to the 60-day DL. (that may not be all bad)

Do we need to shake something up? Yes we do! We need something to bring this team together. Maybe it is time to change the pitching coach? Maybe a lateral move. Reassign Mel Stottlemyre and make Neil Allen the pitching coach. Rich Monteleone can resume the pen duties. I know it isn't Mel's fault but he is the weakest link on the coaching staff. What do you think? Comment below.

JETER SLAMS CUBBIES ON SWING GAME

Two years ago the Yankees visited Wrigley Field and the Cubs took two out of there while putting Roger Clemens bid for #300 on hold. Well this weekend fresh off a sweep of the Pittsburgh Pirates the Yankees paid the Cubbies back and did them one better by sweeping them in the three game series. This brings the Cubs lifetime record at Yankee Stadium to 0-7.

On Saturday the Yanks beat the Cubs with the help of Derek Jeter's first Grand Slam in 135 chances. While it was nice to see DJ get his Grand Salami it should be no surprise that a disciplined player like Derek would be homerless with the bases loaded. The Captain is a team player and his primary objective is to win and score runs. Jeter tries to put the ball in play rather than risk a strike out or a long fly ball and ending a rally. So kudos to DJ on getting that monkey off his back and sparing us of listening to Tim McCarver give that grand slamless stat over and over again.

Kevin "Break Down" Brown is on the DL for his the 13th time in his career according to the NY post. It was long overdue but Kevin Brown hit the DL yesterday. Former Staten Island Yankee Lefty Sean Henn was called up to make his second career start against the same team he pitched against in his first start, Lou Piniella's Tampa Bay Devil Rays.

The Staten Island Yankees open up Tuesday across the gang plank to Brooklyn against the Cyclones at Keyspan Park. Then they continue their home in home openers on Staten Island on Wednesday. Former Yankee utilityman Andy Staniewicz is returning to the helm of the Baby Bombers after a year as a scout while Mookie Wilson will skipper the Clones.

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY
I would like to take time to wish all my Bomber Buddies a very Happy Fathers Day. This marks the first year that I have a Father's Day without my dad after losing him to the dreaded cancer last August. To all you fans who are lucky enough to still have your dads, never be ashamed to tell your dad you love him. Go home and give him a hug and thank him for everything he has given and taught you. Hug him once for me. Those of you who's dads are with mine in Heaven think of the good times.

YANKS SWEEP BUCS

Greetings Bomber Buddies, The Yankees took a well needed sweep from the Pittsburgh Pirates this week. Being it was the first meeting between the clubs since the 1960 World Series I thought the crowds would have been a bit larger. Heck Tuesday was Whitey Ford Staute night and they only drew 41,000. Then again it was for adults and the first 18,000 fans. The largest crowd was Thursday with 54,734 fannies in the seats with no giveaway. Wednesday night I was in attendance. That game will probably be in Cecilia Tan's update of her 50 Greatest Games book. It was a comeback for the Yankees and a comeback for Jason Giambi who hit his second Yankee walkoff homer to cement the Yankee come from behind victory 7-5. Now we need to make this game the turning point of the season. If this game doesn't set us on the right path nothing will. Ironically the gave out bandanas on a night when the team mascot of the opponent who wore one for years was in town. Kevin Brown suffered back spasms again last night. If he misses a start the Yankees may recall Sean Henn who is pitching well for Columbus.

BEYOND THE BOMBERS
Aaron Boone who shares the same middle name with Bucky Dent up in New England is finally starting to get comfortable in Cleveland. In his last 10, Boone is hitting .371 with three homers. Well this weekend its the Cubs in town, let's keep the momentum going!!

A REAL MYS-TOORE

In the aftermath of a game that had the Cardinal Tabloids boasting "Bronx Blunders" Joe Torre tried to shame the team to buckle down. The skipper tried being calm, he tried yelling, he tried to have his core players try to motivate the lothargic Bombers. The thing that got them going today was the vintage game they got out of Randy Johnson. He looked like the Johnson we thought we were getting against the first place Cardinals as the Bombers blanked the Cards 5-0 Saturday afternoon. So now we have a one game win streak and won two out of our last three as we go for the rubber game on Sunday.

The alleged "cursed" 1919 contract that shipped Babe Ruth from Boston to the Bronx sold at auction Friday at Sotheby's for a staggering $996,000. Talk about having too much money. Kevin Brown, scheduled to re-join the rotation Wednesday after missing last night's start because of a sore left shoulder, was late arriving from his home in Georgia last night because of airplane problems. It looks like the Yanks have offered Denton Jackson $1 million to have him skip playing point guard for Georgia Tech according to Georgia Tech losing PG recruit to baseball's Yankees.

Despite the Yankees playing like kaa kaa, Boss George still has faith in Joe Torre. But does he have faith in Mel and Donnie Baseball?!?!?!?

IT'S IN THE CARDS

Well in what should have been a rematch of the 2004 World Series the Yankees visit the Cardinals to night in interleague play. In the only time the team met during the regular season the Yankees swept a three-game series against the Cardinals in New York in 2003.

In a match up with a Staten Island taste to it it will be Former Staten Island Yankee Chien Ming Wang (3-1, 4.03) against Tottenville (SI) High School graduate Jason Marquis (7-3, 3.50) for the Cardinals. Jason was a big Yankee fan in his days at my old alma matta.

It will be a home coming of sorts for Joe Torre, who spent six years of his playing career in St. Louis. The last time the Yankees played in St. Louis, Busch Stadium wasn't built. Torre played for the Cardinals from 1969-74 and was the National League MVP in 1971. The Yankees haven't played in St. Louis since 1964 when the clubs battled to seven games before the Cardinals prevailed in the deciding contest. Busch Stadium opened in 1966.
The Yankees and Cardinals have faced each other five times in the World Series and St. Louis has won three of those times. The Yanks will again be without the DH.

Kudos go out to Alex Rodriguez for becoming the youngest player ever to reach the 400 home run plateau.

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!

OK anyone who is tired of the way we are playing please raise their right hand. OK you can put them down now that is exactly what I thought. I for one didn't expect us to win forever but I also didn't expect a total meltdown like we had. It seemed like we were on the right course then BAM! Boston comes in and we go into that funk again. We need a spell from the Hexman over at Yankee Tradition and we need it fast. I have seen some bad teams but this team has talent but sure isn't showing it. I have lived through the Horace Clarke years as did a lot of you. It seems every night we just find another way to loose. If this is getting to me, imagine a middle school kid, for them they never seen a bad Yankees team. So far this season we have yet to win a game where we score 3 or less runs. That is not a sign of a good team for sure.

Let me take a page from my old haunts and check out what the media is saying. I hope the team doesn't read this stuff they may start believing it and never win. Jim Souhan of the Star Tribune trys to show his intelligence as he tells us that we are not getting Much Bang For King George's Big Bucks. While North Jersey straight out reports that the Yanks' Slide Hit Six, like we didn't know that.
The Boss called Joe Torre before last nights loss to try to iron out the problems as the Journal News reported. And only Long Island Snoozeday will be talking about A-Rods retirement now. It is all wrapped up in a nutshell in North Jersey's Yankees Notebook.

Renoun baseball author Harvey Frommer talks about the anniversary of the start of Lou Gehrig's game playing streak and takes you through it in great detail on the Behind the Bombers Fansite.

Poland Spring (why are there Polish Springs in Maine?) is looking for the ultimate Yankee Fan. Go check it out.

JUNE SWOON

OK Bomber Buddies after hours of deliberation and deep thought I think I may have finally found the cause of the Yankees problems.

No it is not the age of the players although that is a definite problem, no it is not the lack of heart but we could use a little more in that department. I isn't those flag caps we wore over the weekend, I would bet anything our record is poor when we wear those.

You can't blame this losing streak on Jason Giambi, you can't blame Kevin Brown or Jarrad Wright. The real cause of all this bad baseball is Dave & Aziz Nekoukar.

For those of you who are not familiar with those names Dave & Aziz do a fine job writing the Yankees Weblog over at NJ.com where I use call home for about ten weeks. They took over for Mark Strawn who replaced yours truly over there. Mark was a butcher who disappeared right before the post season. His blogs tended to be missing on the heavy rated matchups like the Mets or Sox. But Dave and Aziz stepped in and filled that void and did it wonderfully.

There was one problem. Dave & Aziz are cursed. A curse that is stronger than the Cub's goat and Babe Ruth's curse combined. The Nekoukar brothers you see did the NY Rangers Blog on NJ.com for years. Last I checked the Rangers missed the playoffs for 7 straight seasons. Last season the NHL locked out the players so no hockey at all.

Then Mark Strawn left NJ.com and Dave and Aziz took over and guess what? The Yankees were knocked out of the ALCS after being up 3 games to none!!!! The biggest choke in Yankee history. And forget about what's happening now. A coincidence? I think not!

So when you hear these talk show hosts blaming Alex Roddriguez or Jason Giambi for the Yankee woes, phone them up we know the real reason and it's not a pretty one. Maybe they could write the Mets Blog for a while.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN

The Yankees begin a two week road trip tonight in Kansas City with Joe Gerardi at the helm. Joe Torre will be serving a one game suspension because of Paul Quantrill retailiating the beaning of Alex Rodriguez against the Tigers last week. Quantrill will receive a three game ban, so we won't have to worry about him for three days. Maybe the rest will do him good.
The Bombers came off a 15-2 stand in which the only team with a record over .500 whom the they beat on that stretch was the Mets. Against the two AL East teams they're battling with for the division the Yanks are 5-10 this season (4-5 vs. the Red Sox, 1-5 vs. the Orioles). Tonight in KC the Royals have settled on a new manager in the form of the golden haired (well maybe grey now) Buddy Bell. Let's hope the momentum doesn't swing in the Royals direction with a new skipper and Kevin Brown on the mound. Bell played a significant part in Yankee history. He made Graig Nettles expendable in 1973 allowing the Indians to send him to the Bronx. TRIVIA: Who did the Yankees send to Cleveland for Nettles and catcher Jerry Moses? Answer tomorrow.

HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY

Anyone over the age of 35 remembers Memorial Day, July 4th and Labor Day as automatic double headers in baseball. A day like today we would be looking forward to seeing two games in da Bronx or on Channel 11 even after two ugly losses like we just had.

Unfortunately now we have a travel day when we should be watching the Yankees sweep or split a double dip while having some fine barbecue.

The Double Header that doesn't include the word split admission has went the way of the day World Series game. Hey baseball we're the fans, time to give something back. Give the games back to the kids. Today's kids are tomorrows dads and they will keep you alive.

Boston 17 --- Yankees 1

I know you'll see things like "Bosox Bash Bombers", "Boston Masacre" and several other cliches we don't even want to get into all over the net and newspapers. My mom brought me up saying "if you can't say anything good then don't say anything". So I won't even link a game story because you don't want to read it anyway. If anyone saw anything positive about that game yesterday please leave it in the comments below. Actually the only positive note I saw was that the Bosox were having a hard time getting A-Rod out.

Boomer	SUNDAY 8:05 PM EST ESPN	Moose
BOS: Wells (2-4, 6.81 ERA) NYY: Mussina (5-2, 3.38 ERA)

Watch The Yankees/Boston Sunday Night on ESPN with your Bomber Buddies. Join the Live Chat on during the ESPN broadcast and cheer, jeer, moan and groan along with the BTB Family.

LIVE CHAT

SATURDAY IN THE PARK

The Yankees and the Red Sox face off again today on FOX 5 but last night there was a gem of a game right out of the pages of Yankees-Red Sox history. Robinson Cano hit a game tying home run as well as two defensive plays to gawk at and Gary Sheffield put them ahead for good and the trio of Tanyon Sturtze, Flash Gordon and Mo Rivera wrapped up the game for the shaky starter Randy Johnson.

Gary Sheffield's homer landed in the upper deck in left, and Robinson Cano planted a shot of his own into the bleachers in right. The Yankees threw out two runners at the plate in the top of the sixth to keep the game within reach.
Cano is spotlighted in today's Daily Snooze. Snoozeday rightly gives a bit of credit to Jorge Posada for finally blocking the plate. In the battle of third base coach round one goes to Luis Sojo who outdueled former Yankee and current Bosox coach Dale Sveum last night as the News points out. John Olerud is back in the show as the Boston Globe reports.

THE BOSOX ARE COMING

Last night Kevin Brown was lucky he sure wasn't good. He picked up his fourth straight win while being hit hard, real hard. The score was 4-3 the Yanks were lucky they had the four as they completed a three game sweep of the Tigers. Alex Rodriguez got the GWRBI by hitting his career 398 home run, 17th of the year to lead the AL.

Forget the Mets and Yankees. Forget the Cubbies and Chisox. Forget the Canadians and Leafs. There is only one rivalry in sports and it is happening tonight in the Bronx. The Boston Red Sox are in town and bringing their "a" game to the cathedral. What the "a" stands for is anyone's guess.

Johnny Damon sees the writing on the wall as he is trying to pump up his injury plagued team even before they set foot in the city that never sleeps. David Wells is back and pitching more like Ed Whittson. Curt Schilling admits now that "maybe" he tried to come back too soon. The difference now is that the Yankees are playing like Yankees and the Sox are having their troubles. But with these two teams that can all change nightly.

Mike Lupica of the Daily Snooze reports that the Red Sox are aware of the Yanks' upward climb. The Orioles won again last night and completed a sweep of the Mariners, that pushed the Red Sox to five games out while the Yankees are now in a second-place tie with the Blue Jays .

The series begins tonight and it is on ESPN (YES in NY, and NESN in New England), the pitching matchup for game one will be knuckler Tim Wakefield (4-3, 4.24 ERA) vs. Randy Johnson (4-3, 3.94 ERA). Lets go Yankees. Lets hope for some good baseball.

LET'S GO TO THE VIDEOTAPE

Well Derek Jeter made another fine play in the field yesterday. They just may have to update his Yankeeography again. Jeter's Catch is second only to the catch he made when he flew into the stands against Bostonlast season. The players were amazed at the Captain's heroics, Robinson Cano escaped injury as Derek mowed him over in the process. With the Yankees' 4-2 victory last night, the Yankee Chien-Ming (Don't Call Me Tiger) Wang gave Joe Torre a reason not to skip his turn in the rotation next time around, in 6 1/3 innings, he allowed only five hits while not walking a single batter. Wang lowered his ERA to a more than respectable 4.09 and threw just 77 pitches (46 for strikes) in mowing down 19 hitters. Wang rightly receives praise in the Post's space today, as he also does in Snoozeday.
The Yankees try for the sweep tonight as Jeremy Bonderman opposes Kevin (I am throwing good, they just found holes) Brown at 7 PM tonight. Of course Boston comes in for the weekend.

KUDOS FOR MR. QUANTRILL!!!

Paul Quantrill did what should have been done a long time ago. He finally retailiated for a Yankee getting hit by an opposing pitcher. He did something that Mike Mussina would never do because it would change his routine. He did something that Mariano Rivera should never do because he comes in a save situation. With two outs and the Yankees sitting on a 11-0 lead Quantrill pitched behind the light hitting Jason Smith and was immediately warned by the umpire. On the very next pitch he hit the shortstop in the back and was ejected instantly along with Joe Torre. That brought the Tigers out of their dugout, and Paul uncharacteristically egged them on, gesturing for them to come out for a fight.

Now I don't want to see anyone get hit in the head but the only thing I can fault Quantrill with is that he didn't hit Dmitri Young or Pudge Rodriguez. No offense to Smith but he is not Alex Rodriguez. "Q" was retailiating the hit of the Yankees star 3B Alex Rodriguez. Alex had homered twice off starter Wilfredo Ledezma, giving him 4 home runs in the four hits he has off of Ledezma. The pitcher must have had enough and hit A-Rod in the beefy part of the thigh taking the All Star out of the game. What sense does that make? You can't get him out so you hit him. It time for more pitchers to follow suit. There would be no better time to start than this weekend. The starters have to brush David Ortiz off the plate. Who better to start than the Big Unit?

Buddy Groom came into the game after the Quantrill ejection with 2 runners on, former Bomber Marcus Thames greeted him a three-run homer. That was Thames 5th homer in 7 hits. Robinson Cano hit his career debut homer into the right-field upper deck off Doug Creek in the bottom half. And Jorge Posada homered from both sides of the plate last night as well including his first right handed homer of the season.

HOME SWEET HOME STAND

The Yankees start a six game home stand with 3 games against the Tigers and Red Sox respectivly. After a sloppy weekend series against the crosstown rival Mets, the Yankees return to American League action tonight with the opener of a three-game set with the Tigers of Detroit. Mike Mussina, who has had great success against the Tigers throughout his career, takes the mound. The banged-up Yankees needed Monday's off day, as shortstop Derek Jeter, right fielder Gary Sheffield and catcher Jorge Posada are battling injuries. Jeter didn't start Sunday's game, and manager Joe Torre said Derek Jeter, Gary Shefield and Jorge Posada are scheduled to return to action against the Tigers.
Detroit's season series win over New York last year was its first against the Yankees since 2000. ... SS Guillen leads the Tigers with a .375 average, but is 4-for-20 (.200) with no extra-base hits against Mussina. ... LF White is 3-for-6 with a HR against Mussina, his former teammate. Yankees - 3B Rodriguez has two at-bats against Ledezma and has homered both times. ... OF Matsui is 8-for-19 (.421) with five RBIs and five runs in his last four games. ... 2B Womack is hitting .375 (6-for-16) with six runs in the previous four games.
The real rivalry starts this Friday and David Ortiz and the Boston Red Sox come into town.

YANKEES TAKE 5th STRAIGHT SERIES

OK the Yankees beat the Mets two out of three. The Bombers capped off the weekend by staging a come from behind victory over the Mets by a score of 5-3. The truth is it is only two wins no matter how you look at it. Now it is back home and the Detroit Tigers come into town. Guess what? We have to take two out of three there as well.
It was rivalry weekend for MLB. The Yankees/Mets, Chisox/Cubs, Braves/Bosox, Twins/Brewers ... huh???? The Mets and Yankees had some real sloppy games this weekend. Players injured stuff I didn't even know existed. The Mets sounded like a geometry class as Carlos Beltran injured his quad and Kaz Matsui injured his tangent. Derek Jeter injured his elbow ( I heard of that) and missed Sundays game along with Jorge Posada (sore shoulder) and Gary Sheffield (sore hand).
Robinson Cano only picked up one hit this weekend. BTW, Cano's childhood hero was none other than his teammate Bernie Williams.

My Inside Sources...
Have reported that Pedro Martinez did not actually have a cortisone shot this weekend. It was all a ploy to keep him from pitching in the cool damp weather Friday night. He sure pitched well Sunday and his post game press conference he was an ideal citizen once again.

DID YOU KNOW?
That Carl Pavano was traded for both Pedro Martinez and Cliff Floyd ?

ROTATION JUGGLING
After the next turn through the rotation, Joe Torre again plan to pass over Chien-Ming Wang due to an off day to keep Randy Johnson on four days' rest. Wang will pitch Wednesday against Detroit because Yankees manager Torre wants the Big Unit to start Friday's series opener against Boston. He'll be followed by Carl Pavano and Mike Mussina

RUBBER GAME TODAY

Derek Jeter was pulled from yesterday's game after getting hit in the elbow by a Kris Benson pitch. X-Rays were negative but then aren't all X-Rays? It didn't seem intentional, Jeet just love to hug that plate.
Will there be more hit batmens today. Normally with Pedro on the mound you could bet on it. Now Petey has to bat himself, it will be interesting to see if he changes his style. Ofcourse Martinez has been a model citizen with the Mets. As they use to say in Brooklyn "Wait Til Next Year".
After yesterday's humiliating 7-1 loss It will be Carl Pavano who is coming off a complete game shutout again the above mentioned Martinez.
Following the game on YES is the premiere of Center Stage with George Steinbrenner , there will be an encore tonight ay 9PM. Check your local listings.

A CASE OF "JEET" LAG??

Well Bomber Buddies the Yankees finally won a "home" game on UPN 9. That includes the two courtesy games they had in the 2001 post 911 resumed season. They did so with the help of some sloppy play on both sides. The Yankees were just a little less sloppy. Even the captain Derek Jeter played like he was suffering from jetlag. He made two errors in the same inning as well as striking out a couple of times in the winning effort.
Kevin Brown pitched himself in and out of trouble for his third consecutive victory while Yankee Killer Victor Zambrano took the loss. Mariano Rivera got the save in the 5-2 Yankee Victory.

BOMBER BYTES
Ruben Sierra was activated after spending the past month on the disabled list with a torn biceps muscle before straining his rib cage during rehab. To make room, Andy Phillips, who's batting .156 (5-for-32) and who hasn't batted since May 7, was optioned to Triple-A Columbus. ... Yankees GM Brian Cashman confirmed a New York Post report that he is interested in staying with the organization. The Post reported that Cashman has had discussions with general partner Steve Swindall in lieu of speculation that Cashman would take a similar position with Philadelphia or Washington after his contract expires Nov. 1 ...Carl Pavano will still start Sunday on regular rest despite throwing 133 pitches Tuesday night in his complete-game shutout. Rookie Chien-Ming Wang would have replaced Pavano if he required more rest. Instead, the Yankees will have Pavano's success against the Mets (3-0, 2..83 ERA in five starts with the Marlins) in their corner. Pedro Martinez will be on the mound for the Mets after gettinf a cortisone shot for a hip problem.

SUBWAY SERIES 2005

Strike up the band!!! It is time once again for the Subway Series. Time to print the special sections in your local paper, time to sell those special t shirts. This year the games mean more to the Bombers than ever before (outside of the World Series). Not because we need bragging rights to the city, although it would make it easier Monday at work for some of us, but because we just need wins, period. With these teams wins will not come easy. Willie Randolph has the new-look Mets off to a 22-19 start in his first year as manager after 11 seasons spent coaching with the Yankees. And he knows all about the Big Apple propaganda that comes with every Yankees-Mets series. I wonder if Subway has anything in store for the Series.

I for one feel we don't need to play the Mets every year. There is just too much of that pseudo pressure. And you can't tell me the 2000 World Series wouldn't have been much more interesting and exciting if we didn't play the Mets six times already that year.

Friday's Matchup pairs Victor Zambranno against Kevin Brown. Could be interesting if Zambranno continues his Yankee killing ways and Brown has a another gasp of life in his arm. Saturday will feature Randy Johnson who has had his problems with the Mets in the past. Sunday's matinee features Carl Pavano against Pedro Martinez. This will be the first time Pedro bats against the Yankees. Will Petey hit any Yankees and will Carl retaliate? Stay tuned!!!

LOOKS CAN BE DECEIVING

Sure Jason Giambi picked up three hits yesterday. Sure one was a home run, but don't let yourself get fooled for one moment that he is back to where to the player the Yankees thought they were signing. He is a mear morsal of himself without the enhancers. He will never put up Giambi numbers again. Take it from me who wanted to move Wade Boggs to 1B and play Russ Davis at 3B instead of trading for Tino Martinez, me who wanted to make Homer Busch an outfielder. Jason Giambi can be a singles hitter at best and don't expect him to hit above .270.

In the rest of the game Carl Pavano pitched a complete game five-hit shut out, and the Yankees defeated the Seattle Mariners, 6-0, at Safeco Field for their 10th consecutive victory. Bernie Williams should be the everyday switch hitting DH. Bernie won't complain, that is just the class guy he is. He is much more of a benefit and threat than Giambi. Bernie knows how to win.

Kudos to Tino Martinez for winning AL Player of the week last week. Mike "Moose" Mussina will take on M's soft-throwing ace Jamie Moyer tonight, all before an unbalanced pitching matchup after the travel day as Kevin Brown takes on Pedro Martinez to kick off the Subway Series. I wonder if they will beef up the Subway (sandwich) commercials for the weekend being that Willie and Joe are featured in them??

THE STATEN ISLAND YANKEES ARE IN THE HOUSE

Well Bomber Buddies, The Yankees took their 9th game in a row last night but the big news is that they done it with the help of two former Staten Island Yankees. Being a Staten Islander I was proud to see the starter Chien-Ming Wang get himself out of trouble in the first inning and then retire the 17 straight batters before being lifted in the sixth with one away. The second baseman Robinson Cano went two for four in the victory. The Yankee took the first game of the three game set largely because of the Grand Slam by Bernie Williams who played center field.
Tanyon Sturtze was lights out in relief of Wang as Tom "Flash" Gordon and Mariano Rivera each pitched a perfect frame to cement Wang's second career (and season) win.
The bad part of the game is that Jason Giambi had another single giving him 3 singles and a double in his psuedo hit streak. This may be a false sense of security for Jason and the Yankees. Just don't be so fast to believe that Jason isn't finished. Heck the last thing we need is an $80 Million singles hitter. The worse part if you do the math is that it keeps Bernie out of the line up. While Bernie is a laibility in the field, no matter how you cut it Giambi should be benched and Bernie should DH. Bernie needs to march into Joe Torre's office and demand to be played!

CANO CAN-DO

Robinson Cano bat has awoken since about mid week. The rookie who has lit the International League on fire has found his stroke in the majors against Seattle and Oakland. It may have helped that the A's and Mariners are slightly better than a AAA club but at least Robbie is gaining confidence and that's half the battle. In the last seven days Cano is hitting .389 bring his BA well above the Mendosa Line to a comfy .325
Jason Giambi's bat has come alive in Oakland as well he has three hits in three games including t he GWRBI Sunday in Oakland. Let's hope he closes his mouth now and carries it over to Seattle tomorrow. Bernie Williams is expected to be back in the line up Monday or Tuesday, Joe Torre has said Bernie has been cleared to play defense in CF as well.

A NEW PLATEAU
Joe Torre has become the 13th manager to collect his 1800th wind with the Yankees 6-4 victory over the Oakland A's on Sunday. Robinson Cano went 4 for 5 in the winning cause.

Tino Martinez went deep twice giving him 8 Home Runs in his last 8 games.

FAN-ANTICS
I don't want to hear anyone putting down New York fans. Following a night where a fan in Oakland threw a beer on Jason Giambi, the fourth inning turned into a circus. Several fans jumped on and off the field to play a game of tag with the Oakland security. Now these fans need to be made example of. They need to be arrested and become known offenders. They need to be banned from the ballpark. Are they waiting for someone to get hurt before they do something? Even the Raider fans stay in the stands. Oakland needs to beef up security ASAP.

Congrats go out to Manny Ramirez of the Red Sox for hitting his 400th Home Run.

BROWN BAGS 2nd WIN

Kevin Brown pitched well for the second consecutive time as the Yankees took game two of the three game set from the Oakland A's 15-6. This extended the Bombers win streak to seven and Tino Martinez homered for the sixth time in seven games. The homer tied him with his good buddy Paul O'Neill for 184th on the Yankees all time homer list.

Jason Giambi ripped just about everyone except Skippy the batboy over the talk of his potential demotion. Sam Borden of the Daily Snooze reports on the slumpping players reactions.

CLUB'S MED
Rueben Sierra (strained rib cage) is expected to begin playing in rehab games tomorrow. The switch-hitting DH could rejoin the Yanks next weekend during the Subway Series at Shea. ... Jaret Wright (inflamed shoulder) will go through two weeks of rehab exercises at the Yanks complex in Tampa, at which point team doctors will decide when he can begin throwing.

WEST COAST WONDERS

GIAMBI STREAK ENDS AT 18

Mike Mussina pitched 7 innings allowing only two runs and Jason Giambi ended his 18 AB hittless streak as the Yankees beat the punchless Oakland A's 9-4. Giambi who is under the microscope singled, struck out twice and scored a run. Tino Martinez went hitless thus ending his consecutive game homer streak at five. Jason Giambi was greeted by a sea of boos during his first visit to Oakland since the balco scandal as the The Sacramento Bee reports. (requires free registration)

YANKEE DOODLES

Ruben Sierra (biceps tear) still is taking batting practice in Tampa, Fla., and will not join the Yankees in Seattle as originally thought. Sierra might need two minor league rehab games to get ready, but his starting date still is under discussion.

WEST COAST PART ONE

Well Yankee fans it is the first west coast swing of the year as the Yanks have a six game stint against Oakland and Seattle. The real question is Jason Giambi. Giambi will be at DH tonight after turning down a trip to Columbus to work himself back in shape. Bernie Williams who is unable to play CF because of his elbow clearly should be in the DH role for the simple reason is that he can hit.
Jason you refuse to go the opposite way even though Donnie Mattingly has worked with you on it over and over again. Time to rethink your philosophy if you want to continue your career. That shift has caused serious injuries to twio players so far. One was your teammate Derek Jeter and the other was the Chicago Cub 2B who tripped over Kerry Wood two years ago. The Giambi shift puts players out of position and that causes havoc.
Sure Ted Williams never went against his shift but Jason, you are not Ted Williams, right now you are not Jason Giambi and may never be again.

Five In A Row

Well Bomber Buddies the Yankees are in the middle of their first win streak. Don't look now but Boston is getting hot at the same time. ... If we had lost yesterday's game you could bet the Post and News would have had E-Rod on the back pages. We won so Alex's two costly errors was only a minor story. ESPN 1050 Radio even speculated if he has mind problems like our old friend Chuck Knoblauch. ... Tino Martinez has now hit home runs in five consecutive games just three behind his coach Don Mattingly for the MLB record. The record is also held by Dale Long and Ken Griffey Jr. ... After two years of rehab Steve Karsay was finally released Thursday and fellow reliever Felix Rodriguez had surgery on his injured left knee and is expected to be out about four to six weeks. Don't look for F-Rod to return to Pinstripes any time soon. He is not happpy hear and has not tried to hide it. In addition, designated hitter Ruben Sierra planned to take batting practice on a field Friday as he rehabilitates a partially torn right biceps, and could return to the active roster next week. Look for Russ Johnson or Andy Phillips to be odd man out when Ruben returns.
A Happy 80th Birthday is in store for the incredible Yogi Berra. Happy Birthday Yogi.
Well after the off day it is off to the West Coast for our first visit of the year.