Pop-Ups and Foul Tips

-The New York Yankees were able to accomplish something that hasn't been done since 1913 on Thursday night, lose 6 straight home games to the Boston Red Sox. Just to put that in perspective, the Yankees didn't even have Yankee Stadium back then. So, congratulations Yankees.

-The New York Yankees have very big, very real problems. First, their bullpen which was supposed to be their biggest strength has turned into a huge potential weakness. First, free agent signee, Pedro Feliciano, their supposed lefty neutralizer, goes on the DL without throwing a pitch. He is followed by the other free agent signee, Rafael Soriano, who, when he did throw a pitch, wasn't very good at it. Now, Joba Chamberlain is on the DL and likely out for the year after hearing he might need Tommy John surgery. Boone Logan remains up and down, and the rest of the bullpen is pieced together by guys fresh from AAA or guys like Luis Ayala who is trying to put his career back on track. This is probably not what Brian Cashman envisioned this offseason.

-So who is available to step up into the bullpen void for the Yankees? Well, at AAA there is Kevin Whelan who has posted some excellent numbers as Scranton/Wilkes-Barre's closer. Whelan is 1-1 with 18 saves, a 1.67 ERA, 30 K's, 6 BB's and has allowed only 17 hits in 27 innings. Tim Norton, who just made his AAA debut this past week was also an option before landing on the DL for a reason I am not sure about. He was 1-0 and struck out two batters in 1 inning at SWB but was lights out with Trenton where he posted a 1-0 record and 1.55 ERA with 44 K's in 29 innings. George Kontos is another option. He has posted a 2-0 record with a 2.64 ERA and has struck out 32 batters while walking 11 in 30.2 innings. All the other guys we have seen in the Bronx already this year. Mark Prior is another option but he is still on the DL at SWB after 1 game. The good news is its not an arm issue. Andrew Brackman has been too wild at AAA to earn a call-up and would be a disaster in the pen right now given his inability to stay in the strike zone.

-I am still shocked that the Nationals were able to secure Anthony Rendon at pick #6 in this weeks draft. Could a Nationals-Royals World Series be a possibility down the road?

-Francisco Cervelli, filling in for Russell Martin who is dealing with some back issues, gave his best Chuck Knoblauch/Steve Sax impersonation during this Red Sox series. Three throwing errors on attempted steals at second base have to have Yankees brass scratching their heads. All his throws tail away from second which is probably the result of rushing his throws. Either way, I am surprised the Red Sox didn't try to exploit it more.

-Jeff Marquez made his Yankees debut last night. He was part of the Nick Swisher trade but the White Sox released him and the Yankees claimed him. So, seven years after getting drafted, the kid makes his Yankees debut.

-First it was Eric Hosmer. Now Mike Moustakas has been called up by the Royals. Nice to see the Royals doing what is best for the baseball side of operations by bringing these kids up and not worrying about arbitration years down the road.

-The Sporting News came out with their list of the Top 50 baseball players as voted on by MLB executives. Albert Pujols was number one followed by Troy Tulowitzki, Felix Hernandez, Joey Votto, and Tim Lincecum. Jose Bautista was #23. Joe Mauer was #9! Really? Wow. Robinson Cano was #12. I don't know how you put Mauer that high. Must be the Head and Shoulders commercials. How Bautista is #23 I will never know. Notable Yanks and Mets on the list: Cano #12, CC Sabathia #15, A-Rod #17, Mark Teixeira #26, Mariano Rivera #29, and David Wright tied at #41 with Ubaldo Jimenez. First of all, Wright at #41 and no Jose Reyes on the list. Right now, Wright is not in the top 50 and Reyes is in top #15, period.

-Don't look now bu the Dallas Mavericks are one win away from beating the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals. The Heat are by no means out of this but I don't think many people expected this. Many hoped for it though.

-After having trouble scoring an goals in the first two games, the Boston Bruins are exploding on Canucks goalie Roberto Luongo. That series is tied 2-2.

-Getting back to the NBA...I am thoroughly shocked the Mavs are up 3-2 right now. Dirk got hurt in Game 1 and the Mavs really lack that second superstar. Still, there they are. But, how can you count out any team that has Dwayne Wade and LeBron James as options 1 and 1A?

-Joba Chamberlain is proof positive that no matter how much you coddle and arm it will still break down if that's what its gonna do. The Joba rules didn't protect Joba anymore than letting him throw too many pitches hurt him. Its not what you do to an arm, its what the arm does when throwing. Shoulders and elbows don't know about rules.

And that's all I got. Enjoy the day. Oh, and my fellow Yankee fans, don't worry. The Sox left town, we can resume winning I hope.

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Pop Flies & Suicide Squeezes

-Derek Jeter went 259 at bats between home runs when he hit his first today against the Rangers. He then had to wait until his next at bat before belting his second one of the year, the shortest wait time for him between homers. Baseball is weird sometimes. By going 4 for 5, Jeter raised his batting average 20 points to .276. Baseball is a strange, strange game. But awesome as well.

-Francisco Cervelli hit his first grand slam today. He actually had to wait longer than Jeter between homers, going 307 AB's, last homering on June 24, 2009.

-Justin Verlander threw his second no-hitter of his career, and the second one this week which is also the second one this year. Verlander struck out 4, which tied his lowest output this year, which is also his other complete game this year.

-Mariano Rivera pitched 1 inning on May 6, 2011 and struck out more batter than the starter, Ivan Nova did in 7 innings.

-According to Ben Badler on Twitter, Blue Jays minor league shortstop Gustavo Pierre has 20 errors in 27 games. All that for the bargain basement price of $700,000.

-There will be no repeat this year in the NBA. The Dallas Mavericks completely outplayed the Lakers. The Lakers showed absolutely no class in their loss. Andrew Bynum and Lamar Odom got thrown out for flagrant fouls and the Lakers had no control over their emotions, or the Mavericks. On a side note, I guess Kobe Bryant was right to feel like the Mavs could beat the Lakers, because, well, because they did. In four games. So, now I guess its time for Phil Jackson to take a hiatus from the NBA before he goes on to coach the Heat, Knicks, or some other team with some superstar power.

-Whose offense is more feeble? The Twins or Padres? The Padres have been shut out 8 times this year. The Twins have a team OPS of .614, the Padres are second to last at .620. The Padres are hitting .216 as a team and the Twins are hitting .230. The Twins have hit 14 home runs while the Padres have 20. I honestly can't decide who is worse.

-The Mets are one of the 16 teams with a higher team batting average than the Yankees (.250-.247). The other team with a higher team average are: Cardinals, Cubs, Angels, Royals, Astros, Indians, Rangers, Reds, Phillies, Dodgers, Tigers, Brewers, Mets, Red Sox, Marlins, and Blue Jays. Yes, the Royals are 4th in the big leagues with a .268 AVG. However, the Yankees do lead the majors in home runs with 49, 9 more than the Rangers.

-Justin Maxwell hit his 11th home run for the SWB Yankees in 101 at bats. He also has 45 K's, and 20 BB's. He only has 24 hits (11 of which are the homers) and has 3 2B's, and 1 triple. So, he either hits the ball a long way or not at all. Kind of Jorge Posada this year.

-SWB Yankees reliever Andy Sisco has yet to allow a run this year. That is 12 games and 11.1 innings. He has struck out 12, walked 8, and allowed only 4 hits. If he can cut his walks a bit he could be in the Bronx at some point this season. Or, he could just be this year's version of Zack Kroenke.

-The Royals have stayed true to their commitment to winning. Yeah, you read that right. They called up Eric Hosmer this past week without regard to starting his arbitration clock early. The Royals think he is ready and they needed some help at first base. Hosmer is just the first of a long line of Royals prospects who should make their major league debut this year. Mike Montgomery and Danny Duffy should be next in the parade, followed by Mike Moustakas. It could be the days of the Royals being pushovers might be coming to an end. If half of these prospects they have in their system live up to the hype the Royals are going to field an amazing team.

Well, that's all for now. Enjoy your sports.