The Johnny Damon, moments after going extinct.

Happy Thursday, fine facial-haired friends! (And you lovely not-bearded ladies)

As many of you know, today is the final Thursday in the glorious to some, infamous to others, month of Movember, or No Shave November, the tradition of furry-in-your-face-ness that began in 1999 in Australia, and continues stateside to this day as a noble effort to raise awareness for men’s prostate cancer and depression. And I guess that, mustaches in particular, is what (the artist formerly known as) Prince was talking about when he coined the phrase “party like it’s 1999. Not to mention, (the artist formerly known as) Prince totally had a party ‘stache in good old ’99.

As you probably also know, if you have been hanging around Aerys for any amount of time in recent history, I have quite strong affectations to beards and mustaches of any kind. Which leads me to have an incredible bias when discussing one baseball team in particular. That is:

The New York Yankees.

Just look at all these bald chins. Horrid. Anyways.

» Continue reading “Throwback Thursday: Not-So-No-Shave Yankees Beard Ban”

Babe Ruth, circa 1918, the year before The Curse befell Boston. Image via Wikimedia Commons

October 18, 2004

A match made in… heaven? That certainly depends on who you’d be asking. To remain impartial, I’d say, not quite… But arguably the wildest ALCS of all time.

At 5:11pm, Game Four of the American League Championship Series was underway. The Yankees were up on the series 3-1 against the time-rivaled Boston Red Sox. A loss that night for the Sox meant another year of disappointment. Another year without a Series title. Another year of bad luck after 86 years of the Curse of the Bambino, which began in 1919 when Boston, a winning team, sold The Babe to the Yankees.

But something unknowable and unexplainable was in the air at Fenway Park that evening. The Sox were down by two runs late in the game. They were looking to hang up their uniforms until next season, quietly shuffle out the locker room, and turn off the stadium lights- until the bottom of the eighth inning.

Better late than never, they arrived: A solo shot by Big Papi. A sac fly for Jason Varitek. And  they had done it, they had tied it! Perhaps October 18 2004 was not the end of the light. Onward, into extra innings it was.

The two teams tugged at either end of the rope, but neither budged into the 14th inning. Then, with the power of clutch, David Ortiz took charge, and knocked in one bearded and bewildered Johnny Damon, for the win after a grueling five hours and 49  minutes of play, seven pitchers for either team, 30 men left on base, and 471 pitches.

Not only did the Red Sox live to see another October ballgame because of their unsuspected success on October 18 2004, but they won both games six and seven and were the first team to return from a 3-0 deficit to win the League Championship Series. And not only did they win the ALCS, of course, but the Curse was finally lifted and the Boston’s baseball club took home the long awaited trophy and the so terribly missed title.

» Continue reading “Throwback Thursday: On This Day In Postseason History…”

When Bud Selig and MLB came up with the new wildcard system for the playoffs, they couldn’t have dreamed of the first round we experienced this past week.

In all my years of being a baseball fan, I’ve always said that the five-game series is a crapshoot. The best teams don’t always win and that’s what makes baseball so great. Well, at least for the teams that win and advance to the League Championship Series.

Believe me, I’ve lived through many first round exits as a fan of the New York Yankees and it’s not fun especially when your team enters the series as the favorite which brings us to the first series we’re going to discuss.

» Continue reading “A Look Back At The Division Series Round: What A Week For Baseball”

The current NL standings via MLB.com

As of Friday, the MLB Playoffs officially begin! Last time, I went over what some of the Playoff terminology meant and how to actually get to the playoffs, but what about what’s happening right now this season? Well, here’s where we stand:

With the exception of the 2nd Wild Card team, the National League teams are all set.  We have the Washington Nationals representing the NL East (FYI…this is their very first division title as the “Nationals”).  Then we have the Cincinnati Reds in the NL Central (who are tied with the Nationals for the best record in all of baseball) and the San Francisco Giants in the NL West.

» Continue reading “Baseball For Beginners: So, Who’s Going To The Playoffs?”

Standings via MLB.com

Holy first place tie in the AL East, Batman! That’s right… it’s coming down to the wire, we’re on the home stretch and already into October, but two teams with impressive records are holding ground in first place.

Guess who has two thumbs, just clinched a post-season berth, and is sitting in first place in the AL East right now? Hint: you have a two-in-five chance of getting it right.

What did you do this weekend? The Orioles swept the Red Sox, bringing them back into first place and with the potential to win the pennant, and a playoff berth secured with the Angels loss to Texas Sunday night. This is Baltimore’s first playoff berth since 1997. For those of you who can’t do math, well, that was a long time ago, especially if you’re a dog.

The fate of the Orioles and the Tampa Bay Rays is very much intertwined at this point. The two teams begin a three-game series Monday night to round out their season. The Rays need to win all three games in order to secure one of the league’s two wild card spots. Currently, the Rays’ elimination number is set at 1, and the team trails Oakland for the wild card.

» Continue reading “AL East Recap: Holy First Place Tie, Batman!”

American League East Standings via MLB.com

New York Yankees

The Yankees fought for a crucial series win over the Rays this weekend  in order to maintain their straddle atop the division, where they currently sit only 1.5 games up over the Orioles.

Veteran ace Andy Pettitte is making his way back to the mound in the Bronx for a start on Tuesday against the Toronto Blue Jays. Manager Joe Girardi expects to see about 70 pitches out of the 40-year-old southpaw. Pettitte was out of the rotation this season due to a fractured ankle.

Curtis Granderson is on track to join Mickey Mantle for consecutive seasons with 40 homers. Granderson is at number 39 as of Sunday afternoon. Derek Jeter continues to climb in the all-time hits list, and is currently three hits over the great Willie Mays at 3,286.

» Continue reading “AL East Recap: Heating Up & Winding Down”

American League East division standings via MLB.com

New York Yankees

The Yanks are still clinging to the top of the peak in the AL East, but the Orioles are rabidly nipping at the heals of their cleats, only two games below. Meanwhile, the Rays are only 3.5 games back from first.

Third baseman and everyone’s favourite, Alex Rodriguez, who fractured his left hand on July 24th, should rejoin the ‘Bombers on Monday for the series opener in Tampa. Another slugger missing from the lineup is first baseman Mark Teixeira, out with a calf strain, who is taking recovery slow in order to prevent a setback that could cause him to miss the rest of the season. Old Andy Pettitte is meanwhile making progress in his rehab from a fractured ankle.

Roster expansion for the Yankees meant catcher Francisco Cervelli, DH Eduardo Nunez, outfielder Chris Dickerson and pitchers Cory Wade, Adam Warren, and Justin Thomas made the 40-man, while infielder Ramiro Pena was designated for assignment.

» Continue reading “AL East Recap: The Great Divide”

Hello everyone! It’s Stacey. I am stepping in for designated hotter duty and posting this week’s entry.

As a Yankee fan I was torn. In my humble opinion, we have a few guys on the team who would be worthy of being the designated hotter. There are the obvious choices Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez – oh shush, you know it’s true – and we even featured Curtis Granderson a couple of months back on this very site but then I thought about which guy solicits the most tweets from panting female Yankee fans during games and I came up with the perfect choice.

Behold, Eric Chavez…

Courtesy of Athletics Nation (SB Nation)

Wow, I’ve never seen that picture before. Hubba hubba.

Because I’m a Yankee fan and they have a facial hair policy – none of the players have anything that looks like it could house gnomes and other small creatures on their faces – I usually don’t like those tufts of chin hair players on other teams have but in this case, it’s perfectly okay.

Courtesy of Athletics Nation

Okay, so I don’t even know what is happening in this next picture and I don’t really care…

Courtesy of Jane Heller

Oh dear, here’s another one:

Courtesy of Bling Cheese (Yes, that’s really the name)

Look! He’s even hot when he’s making a weird face during pregame warm ups:

Flickr Image Courtesy of Keith Allison

Here he is about to swing a hot bat:

Flickr Image Courtesy of yankeefan1959

He has a nice smile.

Courtesy of Bleeding Yankee Blue

Let’s end it on this…

Courtesy of sandragreene1965

You’re welcome.

American League East standings as of Sunday. via MLB.com

New York Yankees

The Yankees are sitting atop the AL East with the Tampa Bay Rays and the Baltimore Orioles nipping at their heels. Their record is .592, ridiculous, but what’s more, in the National League, both the Nationals (.617) and the Reds (.607) are higher still.

Friendly giant C.C. Sabathia should return to the rotation as soon as Friday’s game against the Indians. Sabathia was assigned to the DL for a second time this season just earlier in the month for elbow tightness, but has begun thrown bullpen sessions.

Switch-hitting first baseman Mark Teixeira is still day-to-day with a wrist injury he sustained at the end of July. Manager Joe Girardi is hesitant to move Tex to the DL, but will if it move seems critical to full recovery.

For more on the Yankees, visit Second Place Is Not An Option.

» Continue reading “AL East Recap: Off To The Races”

AL East Standings as of August 5, via MLB.com

Toronto Blue Jays
The Blue Jays are showing suffering signs of their injuries. Toronto has been without the help of slugger Jose Bautista as well as starters J.P. Arencibia and Adam Lind. But even more devastating is that this weekend also lost both Brett Lawrie and Colby Rasmus to injury. Third baseman Lawrie is day-to-day with a nagging ribcage injury left over from a series in July against the Yankees, and Rasmus strained his groin catching a fly on Friday night’s game in Oakland.

Pitcher J.A. Happ, who was acquired in the 10-man trade with the Astros in late July, should start for the Blue Jays on Thursday against the Rays.

» Continue reading “AL East Recap: More Injuries, More Mending”