Nova Struggles, But Keeps Win Streak Intact

Getty Images

Last night's start in Kansas City was not what we've seen lately from Ivan Nova. The rookie phenom has been as dominate a pitcher as any in the Yankees rotation for the past few months, well, with the exception of CC Sabathia. He's not quite there, yet. But he had been spectacular in his last few starts until last night when he struggled early on. Yet, he kept the game close enough for his offense to secure his 12th win.

Nova's performance was what I would call "AJ-esque." In the first inning, he struck out his first batter, induced a groundout to Melky Cabrera, who bats second in the Royals lineup, then gave up two singles and a double, putting the Royals up 2-0. How many times have we seen AJ Burnett get two outs with ease, only to implode and give up runs afterward? The Yankees would back up Nova in the 3rd inning, first on a single from Robinson Cano that scored Curtis Granderson who walked on an HBP. Later, a single from Russell Martin would score Cano and Mark Teixeira, who had also been walked by Royals rookie Danny Duffy. The Bombers were up 3-2.

But in the bottom of the 3rd, Nova would give up two more runs on a groundout which scored Alcides Escobar, who hit for a triple on his first at-bat, and then a home run by Cabrera. The Royals would go up 4-2. How many times have we seen Burnett give up a lead immediately following runs scored by the Yankees? Do you get the "AJ-esque" reference now?

AP

Thankfully, the Yankees followed the 3rd with a 5-run outburst in the 4th inning; the big hit coming on a 3-run homer from none other than Cano, who scored Granderson and Teixeira. Before the homer, Derek Jeter scored Brett Gardner with a double to left and Teixeira scored The Captain with a single to right. The Yankees went up 8-3, and it was all Nova would need for the win, as the final score was 9-7. The win marked his 8th straight since early June, and it tied him with Andy Pettitte and Orlando "El Duque" Hernandez for the most wins (12) by a rookie in the last 30 years.

Nova was lucky to have kept the Royals as close as he did. The majority of his pitches were fastballs, but too many of them were directly over the plate and high in the zone. In the 1st inning, he seemed determined to rely on his slider, which has been a successful pitch for him during his win streak, but the Royals were all over it so he wisely vacated it. Eventually, his control on the FB clicked, and he was able to pitch through for 5 solid innings.

''A win is a win, no matter the way you get it,'' Nova told the media afterward. Joe Girardi also seemed less concerned about the way Nova won, and more content with the win.

''We won the game. Bottom line is we won the game. He's pitched really well. Great pitchers get hit. It's going to happen.''

I was hoping that Nova would have a more representative outing than he had. The last time he pitched against the Royals in May, they tagged him for 8 runs on 10 hits, including 2 homers. He would only go 3 innings in that outing, making it his worst thus far for the season. Maybe the Royals will be one of those teams that just have his number. The good news is, this is the final series the two teams will meet this season. This is the first year that Nova has faced them, so it will be interesting to see how he fares against them in the future.

Robert Sabo/News

On a more enthusiastic note, Alex Rodriguez continues to move closer toward a return for the next series in Minnesota. In his first game with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, A-Rod went 1-for-3 with a single in a 2-0 loss to the Durham Bulls, the Triple-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. A-Rod played 6 innings at 3rd base; a great sign that the knee is doing well. Check out A-Rod's start and post-game press conference, here.

In tomorrow night's finale, Bartolo Colon will get the start against Bruce Chen. Chen is coming off of a 5-1 win against the White Sox last Friday, where he went 6 innings and allowed only one hit and 4 SOs. The last time Chen faced the Yankees was August 12, 2010, a 3-4 loss to Sabathia.

Follow Rasheeda Cooper on twitter: @ra_cooper

Hip, Hip, Jorge!

It's been a rough year for Jorge Posada.

A valued member of the "Core Four," he has taken a lot of hits this year, beginning in the offseason, when GM Brian Cashman told him that he would no longer be the everyday catcher for the Yankees, but would instead be their designated hitter. It was a move that most of us saw coming, taking into account Jorge's age and the injuries that have plagued him for the past few seasons, coupled with the rising star of prospect Jesus Romero and the known defense of newcomer Russell Martin. Being the DH made sense, as Jorge has always been productive as a hitter, but his efforts in April and May were, for lack of a better word, lackluster, as he batted .132 and .219, respectively.

And who could forget "Jorge-Gate;" my term for the craziness that surrounded Jorge's request for a "day off" just an hour before a start on May 14, after learning of his demotion in the lineup during a series against the Red Sox at the stadium. It was an ugly turn of events that left many believing Jorge's run with the Yankees may come to an end this year.

But, Jorge managed to turn things around in June. He batted .382, getting 26 hits in 22 games. It seemed as though he was on his way back to being the hitter he once was, and on the verge of silencing the critics who deemed him "washed up." But it wouldn't last very long, as July saw his production dwindling again. He fared better overall than he had earlier in the season, but in 17 games following the All-Star break, Jorge went homer-less and managed only two RBIs. The lack of hitting was enough to force Joe Girardi to make a difficult, but necessary decision.

And so, it was announced last Sunday, that Jorge would no longer be the everyday DH, but would instead be a bench player. The honor of DH would go to Eric Chavez, who could be platooned to third base on days when starters like Derek Jeter or Mark Teixeira need a day off from playing in the field.

"[Girardi] said he's going to put the best lineup on the field," Jorge said. "And he doesn't know when I'm going to DH again, so right now I'm sitting the bench."

The one thing that most of us had to know, was that there was no way Jorge would repeat the mistake he made on May 14 by throwing another "temper tantrum." The criticism he received by haters and fans alike was scathing, and I believe he learned all too fast how quickly even an icon can turn into Public Enemy No. 1. What Jorge needed to do was just be ready to play whenever called upon, and give Girardi a reason to rethink his position. He did that yesterday.

Coming up to the plate in his first at-bat yesterday afternoon against the Rays, Jorge received a standing ovation at the stadium from sympathetic fans who wanted to show him that they appreciated all he's done for the Yankees in his career. Jorge responded with a two-RBI single to right field. He answered a second round of cheers in the fourth inning, with a single to center. For an encore in the fifth, following a solo shot by Curtis Granderson and a double and two walks by Robinson Cano, Nick Swisher and Eric Chavez, respectively, Jorge smacked a grand slam homer to the right field porch; the tenth of his career. It put the Yankees ahead 7-0 and they would go on to win 9-2. This was an incredible day for a proud man who has to have been in doubt of his worth at this point in his career.

After the big hit, Jorge would wave to the crowd for a rousing curtain call; a definite act of vindication.

"The fans are a big reason that I love playing the game. They deserve a lot of credit,"Jorge said.

It's been rumored that the relationship between Jorge and Girardi has been sketchy since Jorge relieved Girardi of his everyday catching duties back in the late 90's. If there is dissension between the two, you wouldn't know it listening to Girardi's comments after the game.

"[Jorge] is a beloved Yankee and we all love him," Girardi said. "At times it's been a struggle for him but he's never stopped working. For that, I'm extremely proud of him."

As are we. I'll be the first to tell you fanatics, that I was in total agreement with Girardi for benching Jorge, and I still am. It's never easy benching a legend, especially when that legend plays for the Yankees, but what's best for the team must always come first, and I believe Girardi made the right call. I also believe that Jorge, although obviously disappointed, knew in his heart that the demotion was deserved. But today, he gave me, Girardi, and every other person in agreement with his benching, a reason to maybe think twice before relegating him to the dugout. The legend appears to have a lot of game left in him. With a month and a half left to the season, a continuation of today's performance down the stretch, could easily secure Jorge a spot on the postseason roster. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

And...

Phil Hughes continues to make a bid for a permanent spot in the rotation. He pitched 6 solid innings, striking out six batters, and only allowing two runs on four hits in yesterday's win. The fastball was definitely working for Hughes. It's likely that he may be designated to the bullpen, as Ivan Nova has clearly earned his way back in to the rotation, but Hughes certainly made that an even tougher decision for Girardi to make with today's performance.

Follow Rasheeda Cooper on twitter: @ra_cooper

Back to Business

It's been a while fanatics. To say that I have been busy would be putting it mildly. So busy in fact, that I've missed numerous games this season. Sacrilege! Yet, while it pains me deeply to admit that, it has all been for a worthy cause: my pursuit of a journalism career in sports. I've been continuing toward my degree and doing some freelance writing for a few online outlets. It's kept me away, but, I'm back to Bomber Boulevard, and have no plans on vacating my post anytime soon.

But enough with the personal stuff, let's talk Yankees. It's been somewhat of an eerie week in Yankeeland, and while I'm not the least bit frazzled or deeply concerned about what's transpired, I would be lying if I said that I hadn't, like I'm sure many of you had, raised my eyebrows at the pitching performances of both Mariano Rivera and CC Sabathia. Again, I'm not deeply concerned, but to watch these two--two of the very best pitchers in all of baseball--give up home runs the way that they have in their last few games, well, let's just say I'm a tad bit thrown.

In last night's 5-1 loss to the Rays, CC gave up five homers, three of which came in the third inning.The good news here, was that all of the home runs were solo shots (dare we imagine what the final score would have been had men been on base?). The bad news, is that CC gave up five home runs. How many times have you seen that happen, fanatics? Never. The five homers were a career-high for CC, and marked his worst outing at the stadium this season.

"They put good swings on balls right down the middle," CC said after the game. "It's baseball. It's a humbling sport."

Humbling for sure. Although this was the second time in his career that CC's given up three homers in an inning, it was his first time doing it in a Yankees uniform. Add to that, going into last night's game, he had only allowed eight homers thus far this season. And, consider the homers to Johnny Damon and Casey Kotchman. Two lefties. CC had only given up two homers to lefties all season.

Cause for concern there? Not for Damon.

"I wouldn't make a big deal out of CC's start," Damon noted. "He's still the horse you want out there, and he's probably the Cy Young frontrunner right now, that's how good he is -- especially in the second half."

What I saw last night was a lack of location on CC's fastball. He's one of the best at "painting the corners" with the FB, but he let them fly directly across the plate last night, and Rays' batters took advantage. CC also had trouble locating his changeup, and was unable to get it over for strikes. He still had a representative night, going eight innings with seven strikeouts and no walks, and the ERA remains under 3.00 at 2.93.

And on the six-inning, 7-run debacle in Boston last Saturday? Let's just chalk that up to a loss that we're more than happy to forget.

And now to Mo. To say that the week he's having is any less than shocking would be an absolute lie. His ERA now stands at a whopping 2.40 for goodness sake. Whopping, you say? Yes! We are talking about Mariano Rivera.

He has given up a home run in his last three relief appearances, two of which resulted in blown saves. Unbelievable! The three homers came in games against the Red Sox and Angels, the Yankees biggest rivals, and the two teams that they will probably be in the most contention with for a playoff spot. Once again, Marco Scutaro, who would seem the most unlikeliest hitter to ever tag Mariano with a big-game hit, got him again with an RBI double that tied the score in the ninth of Sunday's game at Fenway. Remember Scutaro's walk-off, three-run homer against Mo in Oakland in 2007? And speaking of the Angels, they continue to be a pest for Mo; his 3.60 ERA against them, is the highest of any other opponent.

Could there possibly be any good news to this? Of course there is. We've seen this before, fanatics. Mo went through a similar stretch of bad game performances last year, and came out of it. The three homers, are the only homers he's given up this season. In 2009,the year they won it all, he'd given up seven. But the best news of all is, he's still Mariano Rivera. For those of you who have come ever so close to hitting the panic button, I would say, relax, breathe and remember who our closer is. He's never been perfect, yet he remains the greatest, ever. The anxiety we fanatics may have felt during his last three appearances, don't hold a candle to the anxiety that still rises in any opposing dugout.

And let's not wallow in our sorrows, people. There has been some good news to report. Alex Rodriguez began in-game rehabilitation yesterday, playing as the DH with the Tampa Yankees against the Blue Jays minor-league affiliate team in Dunedin, FL. And of course, he gave local fans something to remember: a solo shot over the left-center field wall in his first at-bat. He would go 2 for 3 on the night.

"Just to be able to drive the ball out of the park whether it's [Class] A, Double-A, Triple-A," A-Rod said. "The fact that I could drive the ball, hopefully it's a sign of good things to come,"

The surgery on the torn meniscus in his right knee seems to have been a success. Not only will A-Rod play in another start today, he'll be playing the field as well.

"The health of the knee is good now and it's all about ramping it up now."

Originally, Alex was assumed to be heading back with the Yankees this coming Monday against the Royals. Now it seems he'll be back on Thursday when the Yankees play the Twins in Minnesota. Either way, fanatics have to be rejoicing at his return. This may be his first season since 1997 where he won't get to the 30-hr, 100 RBI threshold, but then again, we've seen magic from Alex at times when he's been counted out. He stands at 13 homers and 52 RBIs right now; seventeen homers and 48 RBIs are certainly not an impossible achievement for the 3-time MVP to reach with a month and a half left to play.

Follow Rasheeda Cooper on twitter: @ra_cooper

3000!

If you had asked any of his teammates back in 1995, "Would Derek Jeter ever get 3,000 hits in his career?" The answer probably would have been a resounding, "No."

When Jeter made his debut in May of 1995, not many of his teammates were very impressed. He was a skinny, tall, unpolished kid who wasn't quite ready for the big leagues. During his time playing in the minors, he was homesick; he called his parents every day crying that he wanted to come home. His discomfort with being away from his family for the first time in his life seemed to translate to his play on the field; he committed numerous errors and sported a batting average under .250 when he was called up from Triple-A to replace the injured Tony Fernandez.

"I can remember," said Paul O'Neill, "some of us [on the team] saying, 'this is the guy that's supposed to be our shortstop?'" Thus, a lackluster beginning for Jeter led to a demotion back to the minors.

But Jeter would have a second chance. Yankees brass and manager Joe Torre made the decision that  he would be the starting shortstop for the 1996 season even though Fernandez, the seasoned vet, still bore the pinstripes. In Jeter's first game of the season, he hit a home run.

The rest as they say, is history.

Jeter would go on to win the Rookie of the Year Award after batting .314 with 10 home runs, 78 RBIs and 104 runs scored. But that was just the beginning. Four World Series titles in 5 years; eleven of his 17 seasons where he boasted a batting average of .300 or better; twelve All-Star selections; five Gold Gloves; a fifth World Series win after an 8-year drought; being named team captain in 2003; a host of clutch hits in big game situations; the flip-play that will go down as one of the greatest defensive plays in baseball history; sacrificing his body to make a game-saving, diving catch against the Red Sox. I could go on fanatics, but you all know the history. The history of every great game and great play of a great Yankee.

And now today, in one of the greatest performances that the baseball Gods could have only written for the Captain, Jeter became the first Yankee, ever, to reach 3,000 hits. He did it on a game-tying home run. A home run. Only his third of the year. His first at the stadium since last July. He would go 5-for-5 on the afternoon, coming within a triple of hitting for the cycle. YES Network announcer Michael Kay, called the afternoon "storybook." And it was storybook. While his historic hit tied today's game against the Rays at 1-1 in the third inning, his fifth and final hit of the afternoon scored the go-ahead run. Yes, fanatics, storybook indeed.

And of course, for the always humble Captain, the most important thing was a team win.

"It would have been really, really awkward to be doing interviews and waving to the crowd after the game if we would have lost," Jeter said in his press conference after the game. "It's nice obviously to get a hit but, you know, we needed to win this game."

Business as usual for Jeter. Or maybe not so much. Although most of us probably could have guessed it, the ever-calm and relaxed Jeter admitted that he was nervous and felt pressure to hit coming into today's game.

"I've been lying to [the media] for a long time saying that I wasn't nervous and there was no pressure. There was a lot of pressure to do it here. So I have been lying to you for quite some time."

What did Jeter's teammates have to say about Mr. 3000's performance today?

"This definitely ranks...at number one to me," Mariano Rivera said. "[Jeter] being the first one that has done that for the New York Yankees is tremendous."

"I think he enjoys that moment," said Jorge Posada. "Five-for-five [doesn't] come easily. It's amazing what he's able to do."

" [Jeter is] a guy that's really represented the city of New York and this uniform as well as anybody," Alex Rodriguez told the media. "He's the symbol of the Yankees. I couldn't be more proud."

And neither could we. We've watched the skinny, unpolished, homesick kid become a great man and represent the pinstripes as honorably as his great predecessors. One could only imagine the smiles on the faces of Ruth, Gehrig, DiMaggio and Mantle, as they looked down on the Captain's historic performance today.

"He's one of us," they might have said.

Yes. Derek Jeter is one of the greatest Yankees, ever, indeed.

Follow Rasheeda Cooper on twitter: @ra_cooper

Jorge-Gate and Everything Else

It is a bad time in Yankeeland. A very, very, very bad time. As the Yankees go down last night for the second straight game to the Red Sox 6-0, the loss marks their 8th in the last 11 games.

In these first 2 weeks of May, the Yankees have managed only 5 wins, 51 runs, 15 homers and 48 RBIs. Their April numbers were 14, 128, 41 and 127, respectively. They've gone from slugging .475 to.395, a drop of almost 100 points. And their OPS has shifted from .813 to .728, another significant drop. Yes, we're only halfway through May, but in watching these games for the past two weeks, seeing what appears to be a total collapse of this team's offense, it seems hard to fathom that the Yankees can pull their numbers up to even contend with what they did in April.

And the ugliness of what is becoming pure fodder, made a terrible turn for the worse last night. Jorge Posada, who has been absolutely abysmal as of late and was slated to bat 9th in the lineup, decided to scratch himself from the game because he needed to "clear [his] head," as he told the media afterward. Rumblings from different media sources were that Jorge "threw a fit" on learning of his demotion, this according to team officials. Ken Rosenthal, who reported from the sidelines for the FOX game coverage, said that he personally spoke to Posada before the game and Jorge said that he was okay with playing 9th and acknowledged that it was a deserved move by Joe Girardi. During the game, Rosenthal spoke to GM Brian Cashman who said that Jorge's removal was not injury related and that Jorge "just took himself out of the game." Shortly after Cash spoke, Jorge's wife Laura posted on facebook that her husband suffered with a stiff back.



In the midst of all this, rumblings began that perhaps Jorge was about to make an early, permanent exit. But YES' Jack Curry spoke with Jorge's dad who said that Jorge was in no way retiring, but acknowledged that his son should have played in the game. After the loss, Girardi told the media that Jorge came to him and just said he needed to "take a day," but never made mention of any back stiffness. Finally, when Jorge spoke to the media at his locker, he said that he just needed a day off, but also acknowledged that he never told Girardi or Cash that his back was stiff. He also acknowledged, when asked, that he felt disrespected.

So you can see how all of this is very confusing. The stories aren't clearly adding up. But regardless of that, one thing is clear: Jorge Posada gave up on his team last night, and that is unacceptable, especially for a guy who has been known to get in the faces of other players in that clubhouse who he himself has accused of doing the same thing.

I have no problem with Jorge needing a day off. In fact, I think that it was necessary. He has been struggling mightily of late and seems to be falling into the worst luck of his career. But my problem, is the timing. If any of us showed up to work an hour before the start of the workday and decided that we needed to take that day off for personal reasons, we'd be fired. Period. I refuse to believe that Jorge didn't realize the need for a day off, say, the night before. It's obvious that he was upset over being moved to the 9-spot and he protested; I'm not buying that this had no bearing on him scratching himself.

So what could this mean for Jorge? Quite simply, no negotiation for a new contract. Don't know if any of you fanatics out there saw Rosenthal's interview with Cashman, but Mr. GM's tone and body language were reminiscent of the "cryptic" response he gave when he fired Dave Eiland as pitching coach. When he said that he spoke to Jorge and that Jorge pulled himself out of the game, he twitched, almost like he was struggling not to announce Jorge's dismissal right then and there. But Cashman is the master of holding back, yet giving viewers just enough to know where his mind is. It's classic PR, and he is the best at it. One can only imagine, however, if Rosenthal were interviewing Hank Steinbrenner, how different that would have gone down.

And, Jorge was upset that Cashman decided to make a statement during the game.

"I don't know why he made a statement during the game," Jorge said. "I don't understand that. That's the way he works now, I guess.

"I think we should have waited for the game to be over to talk to whoever. You don't do that. You're not supposed to do that."

Cashman countered that it is common practice for a statement to be made when a player removes himself from the lineup and that Jorge knew that he was going to make a statement. Matter-of-fact, Cashman spent an hour talking to Jorge and his agent letting them know as much. My question is, if Cashman was so wrong to interject during the game, what does Jorge have to say about his wife Laura, who is making it a bad habit to post and tweet comments at inopportune times? Comments that should be left to her husband?

But with all this, it remains that there is serious trouble in the Yankee clubhouse. This team as a whole is not living up to their billing at all and it's embarrassing. No offense, silly errors in the past few games and a disgruntled soldier within the ranks, all add up to the need for a shake-up. I'm calling for someone in that clubhouse to crack skulls. Normally, that would be Jorge, but at the moment, I think he could use someone shaking him up a bit. I elect Derek Jeter for that role, as the two are best friends and Jeter's careful approach to everything, can only work for a guy with as much pride as Jorge.

But it would really surprise me if a team meeting hasn't already been called. Someone needs to remind Alex Rodriguez of why he's the highest paid contractual player in the history of sports. Somebody needs to tell Mark Teixeira that it's enough with the pop-ups already, especially with men on base. Somebody needs to let Nick Swisher know that his patience at the plate has been lacking and that it's time for him to stop swinging at bad pitches. And Jeter needs to remember that the name "Captain Clutch" was not simply given, it was earned. It's time for this team to get back to playing YANKEES baseball. Period.

And for an interesting and eye-opening look at how Jorge-gate is only the beginning of what may be in store for this team, check out ESPN's Wallace Matthews' scathing assessment here.

Follow Rasheeda Cooper on twitter: @ra_cooper

Bartolo, Cano Shine In Yankees Win

Before last night's 3-1 Yankee win over the White Sox, I tweeted to my fellow fanatics that we would see if Bartolo Colon was the real deal. I've given him much praise for what he's done so far, but there was still a part of me that was not ready to believe that he is as good as he looked in his start before last night. Bartolo proved me wrong, again.

His performance last night at the stadium was an even better showing than the start in Toronto. The biggest difference was that he pitched a brilliant 8 innings without any signs of fatigue or wear. He allowed only one run and struck out 6 batters. Again, he had all four of his pitches working last night--fastball, curveball, changeup and slider--and he dialed his fastball up to 96 mph. This is amazing when you consider that before this season, he hadn't pitched in the majors since '09.

But besides the performance, Colon is showing a cool confidence on the mound right now, that I believe is the reason why Joe Girardi opted to keep him in the game for 8 innings. We knew before the game that Rafael Soriano, who's clearly in a battle with himself right now, would probably not be available for the 8th inning, but I don't believe that to be the reason why Colon was stretched. David Robertson, Joba Chamberlain and Boone Logan were all available. I think Girardi saw what I did: a guy in a good pitch count that was in complete domination mode. Colon simply dominated the White Sox last night. He now sports an ERA of 2.77. Dare I say that Bartolo may be moving back to his 2005, Cy-Young form? It certainly looks that way right now.

And let's give it up for Robinson Cano, who is on his way to another standout season. With singles from Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez, Robbie clubbed a sharp line drive to the right field seats for a 3-run home run that would prove to be all the Yankees needed last night. He now has 4 homers and 10 RBIs on the season.

Overall, the Yankees offense didn't do much, but the home run was just enough for Bartolo to keep them in line for the win. Tonight, the ace, CC Sabathia, gets the start against Edwin Jackson. Could be another good night for Robbie, as lefties are hitting .329 against Jackson so far.

Follow Rasheeda Cooper on twitter: @ra_cooper

Brian CashmanLooks Like A Genius Right Now

Let's go back to the off-season, fanatics. The Yankees took a big hit when they lost out on the Cliff Lee sweepstakes. Not their fault, as Brian Cashman made "The Assassin" the most lucrative offer of all the teams pursuing him. But still, the Yankees lost out and were dubbed "losers." Add to that the retirement of Andy Pettitte. So Cashman put his GM brain in action and scrambled to acquire players that he believed could keep this team afloat until better options become available mid-season.

The majority of Cashman's acquisitions came with scrutiny from the fan base and some in the media. The signings of Bartolo Colon and Freddy Garcia were met with angst as most believed that these two were no longer the big-impact pitchers they were in their past, and could never fit the bill of the rotation that took this team to their 27th World Championship in '09. I was one who cried foul at these signings, as I believed that Cashman had jewels in his farm system, like those of the Killer B's, and didn't need to ride his hopes on "washed-up" pitchers. Garcia actually had an admirable season with the White Sox last year with a 12-6 record, but it wasn't enough to convince me and many others that he had the "gusto" to make it New York. And so, I scoffed.

More scrutiny came at Cashman, with his hesitation to sign closer Rafael Soriano as Mariano Rivera's set-up man. Soriano had 47 saves last year, the most in the AL and threw a fastball that dominated even the best hitters in the East. It seemed like a no-brainer that Cashman would sign him; if for no other reason to stack his bullpen to off-set a weak rotation. But Cash was emphatically against the signing, preaching the ridiculousness of paying closer-type money to a would-be set-up guy, and asking the fan base to trust that he would make the right move for the team.

The Yankees front office stood behind him in the beginning, but with Pettitte's retirement seemingly inevitable as the days wore on, and with no other top-brand options left, the front office forced Cash to make the signing. A great PR move would have been for him to say that he was on board with bring Soriano over and that he was happy to have him play for the team. But Cashman made it clear that the signing was not his choice and if left to him, never would have been made.

And now, we fast-forward to the season. The Yankees have played 20 games so far. In those games, Soriano has seen action in 11. In the 10.1 innings he's pitched, he's allowed 12 hits, 9 earned runs, 8 walks, has blown a save and sports a 7.84 ERA. In last night's loss to the White Sox, he gave up the winning 2-run home run to Paul Konerko on a fastball that sailed directly across the middle of the plate, putting the Sox up 3-2. It was Konerko who singled on a line drive to left off of Soriano in Monday's game, giving the Sox an insurance run as the hit scored Brent Lillibridge and put them up 2-0.

Soriano has a few games where he's actually pitched well and those games came early in the series against the Tigers and Twins. But he's faltered since, and has had a hand in the majority of the Yankees losses thus far. Meanwhile, Freddy Garcia has pitched to a 0.69 ERA in 2 starts. He's allowed only a run on 5 hits with 9 strikeouts. Bartolo Colon "stutter-stepped" in his first relief appearance against Detroit, giving up 4 runs in 4 innings. But he has settled in ever since, and in his next 3 games has only allowed 3 runs total, and in all 4 games has 20 strikeouts. In his start against Toronto, he pitched 6.2 solid innings and gave up only 2 runs to secure his first win.

Garcia and Colon have stepped up and given this rotation and team what they needed following an uncertain off-season. Soriano hasn't been abysmal, but he's clearly not pitching like he did last year. This was exactly why Cashman did not want to take a chance on Soriano as a set-up man. He still has a closer's mentality and is not comfortable in a role where he's not saving games. And, what's up with the scowl? Would it be too much to ask of this guy to at least look like he wants to be with this team?

It is still early in the season. For all I know, Garcia and Colon could completely fall apart from here on out, and Soriano could prove worth more than his contract. Could happen. But right now the opposite is true, and Brian Cashman, on the basis of being a shark GM, is WINNING!

Follow Rasheeda Cooper on twitter: @ra_cooper

The 3-day Yankee Rewind

My sincere apologies, fanatics, as I have failed to post on the last 3 Yankee games. Apparently my browser, Mozilla Firefox, became cranky for whatever reason and kept blocking me from opening up Bomber Boulevard. Don't really know what happened; I tried to clear cookies and the cache to no avail for 2 days, and now all of a sudden, I'm back in. So, I'm not gonna question it, I'll just be grateful that it's working and hope this never happens again.

So where do I begin? Perhaps I'll start with a quick review of Saturday and Sunday's games. In a nutshell, the Yankees beat up on the Orioles. The birds had no answer for the Yankees brutal offense and dominating pitching of CC Sabathia on Saturday, as they were shelled, 15-3. Two homers by Russell Martin--3-run homer and solo shot--a 2-run homer by Jorge Posada and a grand slam by Alex Rodriguez put the game away. But the sweetest of them all was the 2-run homer by Brett Gardner in the 9th inning to answer an obvious shot to Martin's back by Orioles pitcher, Josh Rupe, who clearly didn't appreciate Martin embarrassing his team. Not only did Gardy back up his catcher, he also got the big hit he needed to hopefully get himself back on track.

Sunday's game was another stellar showing for Freddy Garcia who pitched 6 scoreless innings, showing the same "stuff" he displayed against Texas the week before. Unfortunately, his bullpen collapsed with Joba Chamberlain giving up a 2-run homer in the 7th to Mark Reynolds, and then the invincible Mariano Rivera showing his "human" side as he gave up a walk, single and double to allow one more run to score in the 9th. The game was tied; Garcia lost his chance for a 2nd straight win, but the Yankees scored 3 runs in the 11th and won the game, 6-3.

And now we get to last night's loss at the stadium to the Chicago White Sox. The lowly Chicago White Sox, who, going into last night's game, had lost 10 of their last 11. Why is it that the Yankees always seem to allow a lesser team to sneak one in? While I doubt the Sox will win this series, it just irritates me that they managed to best the Yankees last night. Typical of the Bombers to shut down to a pitcher they've never faced before, but this Phil Humber dude sported an 2-5 record with a 4.42 ERA coming into yesterday's game. With the way the Yankees' offense has been swinging the bats, I thought this game would go down as a win, but, that's baseball. On any given day the best team will fall to one of the worse. It happens.

But the worse part of the loss was that AJ Burnett pitched another great game. He gave up only 1 run on 3 hits and he pitched 8 innings. Going into the game he hadn't pitched more than 6.1 innings in any of his starts. He gave the Yankees exactly what they needed, but got no help from his offense. That A-Rod broke up what was turning into a no-hitter by Humber in the 7th, was a relief, but very little consolation. The loss was the first April loss for AJ since becoming a Yankee. His record now stands at 8-1.

Tonight is game 2 of the 4-game series. It's a beautifully warm day in the Bronx and Ivan Nova is on the mound. He won his first career win in a solid performance last year against the White Sox. Let's hope history repeats itself.

Follow Rasheeda Cooper on twitter: @ra_cooper

A Letter To Bartolo Colon

Dear Bartolo Colon,

First, let me start by congratulating you on your first win of the season. You pitched a spectacular game, going 6.2 innings with 2 earned runs and 7 strikeouts. It was amazing watching you deliver all of the pitches in your arsenal; the fastball, changeup, slider and curveball were all working for strikes yesterday. It was a little "touch-and-go" for you in the beginning, as you allowed a single and a walk in the 1st inning and then gave up the solo shot to J.P. Arencibia in the 2nd. But thankfully,scoring in the first 2 innings from the lineup had the Yankees on the board already with 3 runs, so the homer didn't hurt as much, and you cruised from there, pitching 1-2-3 innings in the 3rd, 4th and 5th. You pitched a solid, veteran game tonight and for that I, and every other fanatic, are truly grateful.

And with that, I would like to formally apologize to you. I have never been a fan of yours, as you were once the CY Young pitcher for the Yankees' nemesis, LA Angels. There was much talk about you when you won the award in 2005, and I resented the sentiment of those who dared speak of you possibly winning the MVP award that year, when it clearly belonged to Alex Rodriguez. I remember the game that year on April 26 when A-Rod hit 3 homers off you; I was there at the old stadium that night and, although I'm fully aware of how great A-Rod is, I didn't think much of you as you allowed your team to lose at the hand--or should I say bat--of one man.

Then I watched as you completely shut down in the 4 seasons that followed. Shoulder injuries made you a shell of your former Cy Young self, and it seemed that you would never be relevant as a big-game pitcher in the majors ever again.

And so when rumors first came of the Yankees showing interest in you, I completely lost it. I blamed the rumors on you; theorizing you using the Yankees name to build interest for yourself during the offseason. I won't go over everything that I said again, but you can read it all here. And then, when the Yankees decided to sign you in late-January, well, let's just say that I wasn't thrilled at all; you can read about that here. I blamed the Yankees' vulnerability to the indecision of my beloved Andy Pettitte on their rush to judgment. I even broadcast my anger on twitter. But one of my fellow bloggers, J-Boogie of Baseball & The Boogie Down, reminded me that you were a low-risk signing, and that if you were to give the Yankees what they needed, then that was a plus for them. He was right, and I, was so wrong.

You have given this team everything they've needed and then some. You were fantastic in Spring training; you've pitched solid innings this season in relief. And now, last night, you gave this team a reason to be comfortable while Phil Hughes does his stint on the DL for his "dead" arm. No one would ever think that a guy who hadn't pitched since 2009; a guy plagued with shoulder injuries, could come back this strong, but you have, and you are no longer to be ridiculed, but to be commended. Thank you.

A new believer,

Rasheeda Cooper

Follow Rasheeda Cooper on twitter: @ra_cooper

Season of the Home Run Continues In Yanks Win

There's a reason why I chose to call this site Bomber Boulevard. The Yankees have always been a team to come up big when they need to via the home run. So far this season, homers have been what's propelled this team to lead the AL East in standings, not to mention break their own franchise record with 27 homers in their first 14 games. Last night, the "Season of the Home Run" continued as the Yankees took the series from the Texas Rangers with a 6-5 comeback win.

With all this talk of home runs, it was a single that actually won the game last night. Eric Chavez, who replaced Alex Rodriguez at 3rd while he continues to nurse his stiff back and oblique, broke a 5-5 tie in the 8th inning with a line-drive single to center that scored Mark Teixeira from second. I have to say that Chavez was a great pick up by the Yankees as he seems able to fill in for A-rod beautifully. Not just with his offense, but his defense is still solid.

But back to the homers. In the 2nd inning, Robinson Cano hit a solo shot to the rightfield second deck, pulling the Yanks with one as Texas' Adrian Beltre had launched a 2-run homer in the first. With the Yanks down 3-1 in the 5th on an RBI single from Beltre in the 4th, Russell Martin slapped a run shot to left on a 1-2 count scoring Chavez, who singled to center. In the 6th with the Yanks down 4-3, Curtis Granderson hit another 2-run shot to right scoring Derek Jeter who singled to right. With the Yankees ahead 5-4, Texas' Michael Young doubled scoring Ian Kinsler, and the game was tied at 5-5 in the 7th. The previous play mentioned by Chavez and Teixeira in the 8th would win the game.

Even with the win though, I am a little thrown by CC Sabathia. He pitched another "shaky" game last night, giving up 8 hits and 4 earned runs in 6.1 innings on 117 pitches. He struggled to locate his fastball last night, and this has been his biggest issue in all of the games he's pitched so far. But, CC somehow still has great numbers. His ball-strike ratio last night was 39-73. His ERA is at 2.52, and he's only allowed 7 runs in his first 4 games. Not bad at all, but my concern is that he's laboring through his starts right now, and doesn't seem comfortable at all. I just hope that his performances and another win opportunity gone don't get into his head and take him out of his game. That missed opportunity came via Joba Chamberlain, who walked Kinsler in the 7th to set-up the RBI double by Young that tied the game.

Next game will be tomorrow in Toronto against the Blue Jays. With the off day today giving him 2 days to treat his back, A-Rod should be available.  AJ Burnett gets the start against Kyle Drabek, who's 1-0 with a 1.93 ERA in 3 games. Since coming to the Yankees, Burnett hasn't had much success against his former team. He has a 1-4 record combined for both the '09 and '10 seasons. Hopefully, he'll continue to pitch well tomorrow and improve to 2-4.

Follow Rasheeda Cooper on twitter: @ra_cooper