Jun 27 2008 07:59 AM
I'm going to do away with part II of my personal history of Yankee animosity because I got the distinct impression that nobody gave a shit. Which is fine because I don't remember much that happened from 1980 on anyway. Alcohol and Marijuana you know.
I don't know the Yankee lineup because, well, I don't watch a whole lot of Yankee games. So here is a position by position breakdown. Information contained in this KTE has been stolen from multiple sources.....
FIRST BASE
Jason Giambi has rebounded from an awful April and May and ranks tied for second in the league in homers with 17. Fifty-one percent of Giambi’s hits have gone for extra bases, and his homer total leads the team. Golden thongs, porn 'staches and undetectable HGH seem to have helped his revival.
SECOND BASE
Robinson Cano is off to a brutal start and needed back-to-back three hit games in Pittsburgh this week just to get up to .241. So all that talk of being the next Rod Carew has died down just a touch.
SHORTSTOP
Derek Jeter had a 13-game hitting streak through Wednesday and his errors are down. Probably because he can't get to anything to misplay it. He remains overrated.
THIRD BASE
Alex Rodriguez has been hot since coming off the DL on May 20 and was second in the league with a .324 average through Wednesday but leads the AL in high-fives not being given to him by teammates.
LEFT FIELD
Johnny Damon has been hot over the past month hitting .413 over his last 31 games and is in the AL's top 10 in both average and on-base percentage. His left foot has been giving him issues though. Supposedly he still has the best ass in the majahs, but I wouldn't know about that.
CENTER FIELD
Melky Cabrera is "a third or fourth outfielder with limited range." I like that quote and I'll let it stand for itself.
RIGHT FIELD
Bobby Abreu is in a slump at the moment but remains the Yankees' RBI leader. He makes lots of $$ and is allergic to walls.
CATCHER
Jorge Posada is hitting over .300. The Mets should be looking to test that balky shoulder. They should also blow high-pitched dog whistles to confuse him and his supersonic hearing.
DESIGNATED HITTER
The DH will only be used in Game 1 today. The Yankees are likely to go with Hideki Matsui or Wilson Betemit.
BULLPEN
Mariano Rivera has been Mariano Rivera. Jose Veras has also been solid.
BENCH
Matsui won't be playing the outfield this weekend due to a bad knee, but his bat is available. That's pretty much the only real threat off the bench for the Yanks.
PITCHING MATCHUPS
Game 1 Mike Pelfrey -v- Dan Giese, RHP (1-2, 0.64). Giese threw an impressive 6 2/3 innings in his Major League starting debut against the Reds on Saturday. The right-hander recorded outs quickly and avoided long at-bats, throwing only 75 total pitches. Of those 75 tosses, 53 were strikes. Giese was tagged for three unearned runs to pick up the tough-luck loss. He gave up just four hits and struck out five with no walks. The righty's one mistake was a throwing error to second that blew a double-play opportunity. Giese retired 20 of the 25 hitters he faced in his first big league start.
Game 2 Pedro Martinez -v- Sidney Ponson, RHP (4-1, 3.88) Ponson made his Scranton/Wilkes-Barre debut last Saturday, giving up one run through four innings in a tuneup for the Mets. He is 1-1 with a 2.86 ERA in three career starts against the Mets, though he hasn't faced them since 2003.
Game 3 Johan Santana -v- Andy Pettitte. Pettitte threw six shutout innings on Sunday in the Yankees 4-1 win over the Reds. He has allowed just one earned run in his last three games and none in 19 innings. He's 7-4 with a 3.48 ERA in 17 career regular season starts against the Mets, though one of those losses came earlier this year.
Game 4 Oliver Perez against Darrell Rasner. In Rasner’s, only ever appearance against the Mets, he gave up two earned runs in 0.0 innings of work. Ollie is 4-1 with a 2.88 ERA with 23 strikeouts against the Yankees.
