Remember my post the other day about how a lot of my relatives were born the same year the Yankees won the World Series?

Well, the Yankees always seem to win a World Series when the Kentucky Wildcats win the Men’s Basketball Championship. It’s happened in 1949, 1951, 1958, 1978, 1996 and 1998. And now, the Wildcats are one just win away from another title after defeating Louisville 69-61 in the NCAA Semifinals tonight.

Now, I know their head coach John Calipari isn’t very likable, in fact, he’s pretty smarmy but if rooting for the Kentucky Wildcats is in the best interest of the New York Yankees, well then, I urge you all to root for the Wildcats.

So…

GO KENTUCKY!!!

Ouch.

Cesar Cabral was diagnosed with a stress fracture of the tip of his left elbow. He had an MRI, CTscan and X-Ray.

He will be placed on the 60-day DL and is walking around with his arm in a splint.

Amazingly, he pitched a full inning with that stress fracture.

Oh and in case you didn’t know, the Yankees are up 2-0 over the Astros.

*Drum roll*

The New York Yankees starting rotation is…

CC Sabathia
Hiroki Kuroda
Phil Hughes
Ivan Nova
Freddy Garcia

Of course, Michael Pineda’s injury made this decision a lot easier for the Yankees’ coaching staff but it’s nice to finally have a set rotation.

Countdown to Opening Day: Six days!

Well, I hope everyone who was obsessed with Michael Pineda’s lack of velocity is happy now. After hearing people harp on it all Spring, Pineda felt it was necessary to go out on the mound last night with an already sore shoulder to prove to everyone that he can throw faster. Instead, his velocity was hovering around 91-92 m.p.h., occasionally hitting 94 which is where he’s been all Spring and now he’s heading to the MRI machine later today.

From MLB.com:

Pineda said he told the Yankees about the soreness after he was lifted from the game. He said that he had tried to throw harder on Friday and also may have been flying open with his left shoulder in his delivery, causing his fastball to run.

“I don’t know. I tried to pitch my game,” Pineda said. “I tried to throw harder today. I don’t know what was my velocity. I tried a couple of times.”

So who is to blame?

Is it the media for their obsession with Pineda’s velocity? Is it the Yankees coaching staff? Or is it Pineda himself?

Personally, I think there is plenty to go around and that everyone has a cog in the blame machine but I also think certain members of the media have played a big role in this fiasco.

Let’s hope the injury isn’t serious, that it’s just soreness and that the real Michael Pineda, as Eminem would say, stands up soon.

“I think I’m the same Michael Pineda,” he said. “I’ll make my adjustments and that’s it. I’m pitching, you know? I’m not worried about that. I’m the same Michael Pineda from last year.”

Update: Pineda has tendonitis in his right shoulder. Phew! He will be placed on the 15 day DL and Freddy Garcia will pitch the fifth game of the season.

Now there’s word that lefty Cesar Cabral was in a sling and is going to get x-rays on his elbow.

All of this is happening because I decided to take a Twitter break isn’t it.

Ugh, this is the worst “break” since Ross and Rachel’s and it’s barely been a day.

Oh there was good news tonight, I guess, the Yankees won 13-9.

The big news tonight isn’t Michael Pineda’s less than stellar outing. It’s the fact that he admitted afterwards that his shoulder was sore. You’re probably thinking, well, it’s probably just normal wear and tear. Nope. Pineda felt the soreness before he out to pitch against the Philadelphia Phillies tonight.

Better yet, he didn’t tell anyone how he was feeling.

Hmm, could he have been feeling pressure and felt like he needed to prove himself? And what happened? In order to try and impress his bosses and quiet the doubters, Pineda went out, pitched with a sore shoulder and his performance took a hit.

Oh goody.

From what the beat writers have been saying in their quick blog posts, Pineda looked deflated while addressing the media.

I cannot wait for the “PINEDA CAN’T HANDLE NEW YORK!!!” articles that will be coming out tomorrow.

God help us all.

Michael Pineda didn’t do too well tonight:

• He only lasted 2 2/3 innings
• He allowed six runs on seven hits
• His velocity was 89-91 most of the time

Yikes.

To quote one of my favorite Seinfeld episodes: “That’s not going to be good for business” “That’s not going to good for anybody.”

So the Yankees released Russell Branyan…and then re-signed him to a new minor league deal.

Um, okay?

Spring Training is finally winding down. Most teams are just a week removed from their first official game of the season and as of now, the Yankees’ starting rotation is still not set. And for once, the problem is not a shortage of starting pitching options, it is a surplus.

So far CC Sabathia and Hiroki Kuroda are all set. Phil Hughes who has impressed this Spring seems as if he would be a likely candidate for a spot in the rotation as well which leaves us with Ivan Nova, Freddy Garcia and Michael Pineda.

Out of those three, Ivan Nova won 18 games last year for the Yankees, Freddy Garcia is a veteran and has a long track record and Michael Pineda is the new kid on the block.

But the pitcher who seems to be the focus of the “Should he or shouldn’t he be in the rotation?” discussions and the who has caused the most indecisiveness among the teams coaches is the newcomer Pineda.

As has been documented ad nausem, on this blog and on every other Yankee blog from here to kingdom come, the main source of grief – if you will – is the decreased velocity of Pineda’s fastball. But while his fastball may be slower than expected, his off speed pitches have been a pleasant surprise for the Yankees coaching staff.

And it’s not as if Pineda has been going out and getting shelled in every outing. It’s just that he was throwing in the mid to high 90′s last year and that velocity has not been reached as of yet.

So Pineda’s last chance may be tonight. He is scheduled to pitch against the Philadelphia Phillies and the plan according to Manager Joe Girardi, is to stretch him out. His performance in the game may be the difference between being added to the starting rotation or starting the season in Triple-A.

Can baseball season start already? Please? And I know what you’re all thinking, “But it has started Stacey! The Mariners and A’s are playing in Japan.” Yes I know, those games actually count but no offense to my Mariners and A’s sisters of Aerys Sports, I don’t really care. My season begins when the New York Yankees take the field to play a real game and that’s still not happening for another week.

I can’t take the wait anymore. It feels like this offseason and Spring Training have taken forever and I just want to watch and write about games that count.

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