Rain, Rain, Go Away, But the Yankees Still Have to Play!

I got stuck in yesterday's near-monsoon driving home last night, and heard the rain pounding against the windows when I got home, so I assumed that the Yankees would not play Tuesday night. Silly me. They did play the Orioles Tuesday night -- and Wednesday morning -- with a game that started past my bedtime (after 11 p.m.) and went on past 2 a.m. And according to the clips I saw, it rained pretty much the entire time. Good grief.

It was MLB, not the Yankees, who insisted that the game be played last night. Bud Selig reportedly ordered that the game be played, no matter what. Ridiculous. At least the Yanks are giving those with ticket stubs the opportunity to attend another game. But geez, that game never should have been played in the first place.

Since I was snoozing when the game started, I missed seeing the Francisco Cervelli home run controversy (it involves hands, but not his hands this time!) Big League Stew has the details.

Anyhow, hopefully the Yanks will be able to get today's game in without another huge rain delay. Rain, rain, go away!

What's the Deal With the Yankees and Bugs?

My jaw dropped when I heard that a moth flew into Phil Hughes' eye when he was trying to make a critical pitch in last night's game. What's the deal with young Yankee pitchers and insects? First Joba and the midges; now Hughes with the moths! Good grief.

I don't think Hughes should lose his spot in the rotation, thought -- A.J. Burnett ought to have that honor, even though Hughes' overall ERA this year is higher. Hughes, at times, has shown something ever since returning from the DL. All Burnett has shown as of late is the ability to give Yankee fans agita.

Speaking of which, The Michael Kay Show was giving me agita yesterday, with the twisted logic about how it was okay for David Ortiz to flip his bat when hitting a homer, but Francisco Cervelli -- aka the Yankee Clapper -- was committing the crime of the century by clapping his hands. Um, which unwritten rule is this, again? Ridiculous.

The other thing that bugged me was that Kay painted anybody defending Cervelli as being pro-Yankee. But a lot of Red Sox fans, including some of my Sox fan friends, thought John Lackey (who, BTW, has arguably worse numbers than Burnett this year) was out of line, especially since he ended up costing the Sox a run with his hissy fit. Too bad Kay et al couldn't bother to show the other side of the story.

One other thing: Boston Red Sox catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia suggested that Francisco Cervelli was acting that way because he is Latino. Never mind that Cervelli is also of Italian descent, and that the comment itself is pretty offensive.

Then Salty backtracked, complaining about these kids today acting out. Which is pretty funny, given that Saltalamacchia is all of 26 years old himself. You don't get to complain about these kids today until you're at least 30. It's one of those unwritten rules thingies!

What do you think? Tell us about it!

Why Didn't John Sterling Have a Home Run Call Ready for Francisco Cervelli?

The most shocking thing about Sunday's Yankee win wasn't Derek Jeter hitting two home runs, or even Francsico Cervelli hitting a grand slam. It was the fact that John Sterling did not have a personalized home run call for Cervelli ready to go.

Granted, Cervelli only had one home run in his career prior to Sunday. But geez, Sterling had "Russell has muscle" prepared for Russell Martin in only his second game as a Yankee. And Andruw Jones got the "Andruw Jones makes his bones" treatment for the homer he hit in his very first at-bat in pinstripes. Cervelli has been on the team since 2008. Is it too much to expect Sterling to have *something* in the can for him? I think not, especially when there are more than a few options.

Squawker Jon and I were tossing around some ideas for what Sterling could have done. Here are some possible calls. If John Sterling happens to hear about this, he is free to use any of these ideas:

* Frankie 'Velli and the four-bagger!
* It's a San Francisco Treat!
* Francisco Cervelli turns pitchers to jelly!
* Cervelli hits that ball to New Delhi!
* Turn on your telly and watch Cervelli!
* It's the Frisco Kid!
* What's the buzzelli? It's Francisco Cervelli!
* Frankie Goes to Hollywood!
* Francisco hits the disco!
* What the helli? There goes Cervelli!

Or maybe you have some better ideas for home run calls for Cervelli? What do you think?

Why I'm okay with Francisco Cervelli catching for A.J. Burnett

If there were any doubt that A.J. Burnett and Jorge Posada aren't exactly BFFs, it's that tonight's Yankee lineup contains Francisco Cervelli instead of Posada.

I was actually going to suggest this idea today. Given the importance of this game to both Burnett and the Yankees, they might as well pair him with the catcher he has the greater comfort level with. Not to mention the catcher better able to handle wild pitches and throwing runners out. Cervelli isn't great at it, but I trust him more than I do Jorge at this point. If Posada were to catch tonight, we'd see double steals and home steals and all sorts of mayhem off A.J.

Besides, Burnett's ERA is better with Frankie. According to the New York Post, here's how the numbers break down:

During the season, Burnett pitched 186 2/3 innings, and his best results overall were with Cervelli, who caught 129 1/3 of the innings as Burnett posted a 4.66 ERA. Posada caught 38 1/3 innings with Burnett, during which the righty posted a 7.28 ERA. Burnett's other 19 innings were with Chad Moeller, who worked with him to a 5.21 ERA. Moeller is not on the ALCS roster.

Yes, I know Posada is a better hitter than Cervelli. But Posada, along with the rest of his teammates with the exception of Robinson Cano, hasn't exactly been hitting up a storm as of late -- he has just two hits in the first three games. Could Cervelli be any worse?

I know some readers don't like the idea of personal catchers, especially considering Burnett isn't exactly the second coming of Greg Maddux. Well, tonight's game is a must-win. Increasing A.J.'s comfort level is necessary at this point for the good of the team.

I did see that Burnett showed up late to the interview room yesterday because he was buying stuff at the Halloween Store. As one of my friends put it, let's hope he'll be wearing the costume of a great pitcher tonight.

What do you think? Tell us about it.

Lance Berkman, Joe Buck, and Yankees give me something to scream about

I'm peeved. I had a meeting to attend last night, and I missed the first hour or so of the Yankees-Red Sox game. "No problemo," I thought, "I'll just put my TV on the game channel before I go, and rewind the first hour." Unfortunately for me, I forgot that the game was on My9, and not the YES Network. So when I came home, the Yankees were losing 4-2, and I didn't get to see the Francisco Cervelli-Javier Vazquez uncaught ball mishap until later. Maybe that's just as well, though.

Then today, my Facebook friend Paul (a Red Sox fan, BTW) posted something on my Facebook wall about Lance Berkman hurting Alex Rodriguez during batting practice. My reaction in front of the computer was similar to "The Scream" picture I posted here!

I found this article on ESPN New York about the mishap, which occurred when Berkman accidentally hit his shin with a batted ball, while Rodriguez was at third base:

In obvious pain, Rodriguez hobbled around on the infield grass for a few seconds before staggering into short center field, where he rolled around on the grass before turning face down.

Some of Rodriguez' teammates, including Derek Jeter, thought at first that he was joking and yelled some light-hearted insults. Then, when it was obvious the injury was serious, Jeter shouted for trainer Gene Monahan, who hurried out to where Rodriguez lay.

Manager Joe Girardi, conversing with a member of the Red Sox behind the batting cage, also set out to minister to Rodriguez, and a small group of Yankees huddled over the stricken player before he arose and walked slowly off the field under his own power.

The clip is even more dramatic. A-Rod looked the way I did when Squawker Jon told me he would not go see "Cats and Dogs 2: The Revenge of Kitty Galore" with me!

To top it all off, FOX broadcaster Joe Buck just revealed that A-Rod got hurt because Rodriguez was saying hello to him. Yet another reason to hate FOX baseball broadcasts!


What do you think? Tell us about it!