Managing the Yankees

Joe Girardi has improved a lot since last year. He managed to minimize the team injuries by giving some time off to their prize but aging veterans. He adjusted his once-rigid style accordingly. Now it seems he continues to evolve, perhaps ready to make any move necessary to win in the post-season.

He has learned to accept the fact that Joba belongs to the bullpen (at least at the ALDS). Chamberlain can still be an important weapon in the play-offs. Joba can help guys like Hughes and Robertson to bridge the gap to Mariano Rivera.

There are strong indications that Girardi will have Jose Molina, rather than Jorge Posada, catch A.J. Burnett in ALDS, a potentially crucial move if it keeps Burnett's head in the right place. Girardi knows that Burnett is much effective when Molina is behind the plate. And he might give Molina the nod to start in game 2 or 3 in ALDS. If that what it takes to give Burnett a 7-8 good innings, so be it.

Girardi also knows how to spot an opponent weakness. Remember the game when the Yankess stole a lot of bases against the Red Sox. They know that the Red Sox's catchers are bad when throwing out runners. The Yanks capitalize and managed to produce some rus.

Come play-off time. Let's watch what Joe Girardi has under his sleeves.

The CEO of the company is a leader. The Buck stops here. In baseball, the Boss appearance and support to the club is very inspirational. That's what Yankees principal owner George Steinbrenner did. On the last game of the Yankee season, Steinbrenner dropped in with a few words of motivation for his play-off bound team. He spent an hour with the club.

Steinbrenner, who is 79 years old, has spent most of his time in Tampa, Florida leaving the Yankees to be run by his sons Hal Steinbrenner and Hank Steinbrenner.

Girardi said that after Tuesday's game, Steinbrenner arranged a team party at a New York steakhouse, which the players appreciated. Girardi summarized Steinbrenner's message to the team as: "Just keep going -- keep doing what we're doing."

Steinbrenner is not expected to travel to New York for the ALDS, but he will likely be in attendance for selected games if the Yankees advance to the ALCS.

Hal Steinbrenner stated earlier this week that his father is planning to be present if the World Series is played in the Bronx.

"That's the plan, particularly if -- and when, I should say -- we make it to the World Series," Hal Steinbrenner said recently. "He'll absolutely be here."

When entering the play-offs, each member of the team should make some sacrifices. Time with the family will be reduced. Social life will be a thing of the past...and relationship will have to take a back seat for the mean time.

Tell that to A-Rod and find out what he has to say. Rumors are swirling in that his girlfriend, actress Kate Hudson, is pregnant. Perfect timing i know... but being a professional athlete Alex Rodriguez is, this issue (either the rumors are true or not) should not be at any matter be a disturbance.

I will give you one scenario in the past. This happened last October 18, 2007. Game 5 of the ALCS between the Red Sox and Indians. Josh Beckett was the starting pitcher for Boston in that game. Country singer Danielle Peck, rumored girlfriend of Beckett, was invited by the Cleveland Indians to sing the National Anthem. Red Sox fans theorized that her invitation was an attempt by the Indians organization to distract Beckett. Although the Indians denied this claim, it did not seem to affect Beckett, as he beat the Indians with 8 innings pitched and 11 strikeouts.

In a postgame interview with Beckett, when asked if he was affected by Peck's presence, Beckett replied "I don't get paid to make those decisions...She's a friend of mine. It doesn't bother me at all. Thanks for flyin' one of my friends to the game so she could watch it for free." You could feel the fire in Beckett's response. It didn't bother him at all. Eventually, the Red Sox won the series and won the World Series in that same year.

My point is Professional athlete should leave their problems and distractions behind when they are in the game. Most especially when the are in the post-season. They are being paid to perform and that's what they should do.

Going back to A-Rod, as the seasons change and it gets cold on the East Coast, this is when the heat is intensely on Alex Rodriguez. He spends summers knocking the snot out of pitchers but in October falls flat on his face. If the New York Yankees are to avoid another postseason bust, Rodriguez needs a breakout October in the Bronx. It's not all on him, of course, but it's time. He's overdue, and so are the Yankees.

In able to support the demand and the increase number of tickets buyers in the play-offs. The New York Yankees will install 60 cafe seats on the field level and sell 200 standing room places on the field and main levels. The cafe seats will cost $81 for the division series and $131 for the league championship series, and standing places will go for $30 and $25 in the first round and $64 and $48 in the second round.

That's good news for all Yankee fans out there. Their is a possibility that we might experienced the Yankees finally winning the World Series championship.

Post-season has arrived. Games in the play-offs will be more tense and exciting. Coaching staff will busy scouting opponents strengths and weakness. Players will be pressured to produce and perform better than what is expected of them.

But one thing that every team or organization in baseball forget that the game is suppose to be fun and not purely business. Every team must have that kind of mentality to ease away the pressure in the play-offs. Just think like your a kid playing baseball in the park.

Look at Nick Swisher for example. Why is he a vital part of the Yankees lineup. He is just an average hitter and average fielder, but he brings something different to the team. Swisher brings a good attitude. It seemed that in the past couple of seasons the Yankees were not having fun and everything was tense. Listening to Nick Swisher in postgame interviews leads me to believe he lightens up the atmosphere around the clubhouse. He seems like the type of player that could keep the team in high spirits if they happen to lose one or two games to open a series.


These are the things that we don't normally see or is to attached on watching baseball stats and numbers. Have fun out there! It will rub-off your team-mates and your team. Winning games is easy when the team's mood is relaxed and poised.

Do you know that Robinson Cano is struggling with runners in scoring position. That doesn't sound really good isn't it? Especially going to the post-season. Cano is only hitting .208 (38-for-183) with RISP, compared with .350 (164-for-468) in all other situations.

"Every time I'm in that situation, I just think, 'C'mon, Cano, just do your thing,' " Cano said. "I don't remember if I'm in a slump. I just go by the at-bat and forget about what happened the last game."

But who cares about the fact that Cano is struggling with RISP. He had a good turn-around season this year. The Yankees 2nd base man is evolving into a consistent power threat. Cano has 25 homers and and 85 RBI's. His batting average is up at .322. Give credit to Yankees hitting coach Kevin Long. Long went to Cano's hometown in the Dominican Republic during the off-season to develop Cano's batting stance and swings.

I am pretty sure that the Yankees coaching staff are finding ways on how to improve Cano's hitting with RISP going in the play-offs. Let's cross our fingers and hope for the best. That's Robinson Cano dont' you know!

David Robertson or what we come to known as "D-Rob". Robertson has given the Yankees another reputable and reliable arm in their bullpen, which by the way is having a strong performance this season. It seems that Robertson is an automatic assurance in their post-season roster spot. But he got injured last Sept.5 (elbow stiffness). Will he ever play in the play-offs? Yankee Manager Girardi is confident that he will play. Robertson is back in the line-up and his last outing against the Royals shows no sign of pain in his elbow and there is a possibility that he could make the roster.

Here is Joe Girardi's comments:

• "In bullpen situations, you want guys that have the ability to strike guys out when they come in during the middle innings with guys on base,"
  
• "He definitely has that, and that's an important piece of the puzzle".

This are Robertson's quotes:

• "The elbow felt great, I didn't have any problems at all warming up. It felt really good. It felt just like normal. And then once I got out of the game, it felt the exact same. It felt like it was a month ago."

Though Robertson's inclusion on the postseason roster is no guarantee, another strong outing on Friday against the Rays in St. Petersburg could solidify his case. Currently, Robertson, Brian Bruney, Damaso Marte, Alfredo Aceves and Chad Gaudin are all in contention for what appears to be three open spots in a seven-man American League Division Series bullpen.

Robertson, easily the best strikeout artist of the bunch if he's healthy, would seem to have an early advantage based on those merits.

Let's just hope D-Rob remains healthy. We're gonna need him come play-off time.