Yankees Daily

I caught the end of the game, and Brett Gardner never goes! Steal the base already! Stop pitty pattying around! Is he kidding? I mean, it’s the fourth pitch already and he still hasn’t gone.

First, the downside of putting Gardner in a game as a pinch runner almost showed at the end of the game when his spot was about to come up but Teixeira struck out to end the game.

I’ll give you a good example of what drove me crazy today with Gardner on the base paths. A-rod singled in the eighth inning and they substituted Gardner for A-Rod. Robinson Cano was up. Cano was waiting for Gardner to steal second base. Before you know it, the count was 1-2 and Cano had to protect the plate. This meant that Cano would be hitting a lot of foul balls so he wouldn’t strike out and Gardner would really not get a chance to steal the base. STEAL THE FREAKIN BASE ALREADY! Why do you wait for more than two pitches?? You should be gone on the second pitch. That is it. Second pitch and boom, you are gone. Not the 10th pitch!

The Yankees lost by one run. You never know what happens when there are different situations in a game and if Gardner was on second instead of first for a half hour, the game might of been different.

That’s the question. Which two batters are batting over .300 that’s on the New York Yankees? Yes, every one knows that Robinson Cano is batting over .300, easily. What about the other batter? Ok, ok, Derek Jeter you ask? Nope. Ok, ahhh, Alex Rodriguez? Nope. Ok, how about newly acquired Curtis Granderson or often injured Nick Johnson? No and no.

The other batter on the Yankees that’s reeking havoc on the base paths and scares teams with his speed that’s hitting over .300 is Brett Gardner. He’s batting .324. For some one who was only going to be a substitute or platoon player, that’s pretty impressive. He’s played 65 games so you know he’s legit.

Can you guess what else he’s doing? He’s stealing bases at an alarming rate. He has 23 stolen bases which is fourth in the American league. He also has 49 runs which gives him a pace to reach 100 runs by the end of the year. Out of the top five leaders in stolen bases, Gardner has the least amount of at bats with 222.

Brett Gardner is ninth in the league in on base percentage at .404 which is good news because the more he gets on base, the more he has a chance to get himself into scoring position with a steal.

Remember when Melky Cabrera was on the Yankees and took playing time away from Gardner and took his position away from him? He’s batting .260 and only scored 24 runs with an on base percentage of .319. You can say that we’re much happier with Brett Gardner.

Let’s see… 2-for-4 with one run scored and one RBI. Oh! I almost forgot. A stolen base. Guess what? This wasn’t any old stolen base. This was a stolen base of home plate. Imagine that? A player, playing against the Red Sox in their home park and he steals home off of them. Yeah, that Derek Jeter… wait, what? You mean, it wasn’t Jeter who did that? Whose line was that any way? Let me tell you who’s line it was Yankee fans… Brett Gardner’s.

I mean, who does “that?” I’ll tell you who. Brett Gardner does “that.” He does this and that. He drives in runs, he scores, he steals bases. Maybe he’s the “one.” The X Factor that will get big hits and take over Hideki Matsui’s mantra from last year.

I told you guys to watch out for the Gardner. It’s Brett Gardner’s time. .. to step up, to show opposing teams that he is a force, to show Yankee fans that he is a star. Yankee fans? Welcome aboard.

Let me make myself clear to all pitching opponents of the Yankees and the haters… The free ride you had is over when you face the Yankees’ ninth batter in the order. You won’t make a mockery of the ninth spot any more. Try it and you will be squelched like a bug. Yankee fans? Let’s go!

I know it was only one game but you have to admit, the future looks promising. It’s looks promising for Brett Gardner, the Yankees, the Yankee fans and Derek Jeter who gets up after Brett. Just ignore the throw from left-field. It was one bad play but Gardner is still a “player.”

It was a magical moment, Brett’s steal of home. Magic like this season is going to be. Ya see, Brett Gardner is going to dominate in every way this year and there’s nothing you will be able to do about it. Can’t wait for Tuesday. Can you? Can you feel the vibes yet? I can. Yankee fans? Welcome aboard.

Hello Yankee fans. I have a question to ask you. Do you know what “wheels” are? Do you? Do you really? If we go to dictionary.com, here’s what it says under “wheels.”

“a circular firework that revolves rapidly while burning”

Does that describe some one we know? Yes, I believe it does. It describes Brett Gardner. He burns and he revolves rapidly. Very rapidly. When you see Brett Gardner suit up for the New York Yankees this season, you are going to see fireworks. You are going to see explosive speed. Explosives and fireworks go hand and hand, don’t they?

What will Victor Martinez of the Red Sox do when he sees Brett Gardner on base? He will do nothing because Gardner is going to expose him. Make him smaller. What are the odds of Martinez slowing Gardner down? If you ask the Red Sox fans to name any of the real big threats this Sunday, you are bound to find that they will think that he is not a big deal.

There is one exception, one scenario that will bring the Red Sox to their knees. It won’t be A-rod and it won’t be Mark Teixeira. It will be speed. The Red Sox can’t and won’t be able to handle speed. Brett Gardner could be the x factor in this series. He can run all over the Red Sox.

If the Red Sox pitching is as good as advertised, then expect Brett to be quiet this series. If they are not as good as people think they are, Brett is going to run wild and become a star before our very eyes. A sleeping giant just might be awoken.

Yankee fans? Welcome aboard.

We already know the argument of Joba as a starter compared to him being in the bull pen but is it time to put him back in the bull pen?

I say this not because he doesn’t have the stuff to be a starter but because he’s being babied.

How much longer can you baby some one and treat him like he’s not a major league player? I was a little bothered by the fact that he was taken out of the game on Tuesday and Joba let himself be taken out of the game when he was hit in the knee by a hit pitch.

There were no problems with his knee and he made his next start.

In his next start, was taken out after four innings. To me, this is nonsense. Joba has pitched seven innings just once this year. I don’t imagine Nolan Ryan or Curt Schilling being taken out after six innings after every game when they played.

It’s time to take the training wheels off of Joba or put him back in the pen.

Wang is coming back and Hughes has been solid. One person has to be the odd man out. I’m usually sure about my thinking on certain situations but this isn’t one of them.

Maybe we need more patience? After all, he’s only 23 years old.

Joba has started 10 games this season and only has two wins to show for it. The Yankees are 5-4 when he starts. Maybe in our dream world Joba will be an ace but I’m not in a deep sleep right now.

A good recent argument on why Joba should be in the bull pen.

Jorge Posada is coming back tomorrow and I don’t like it. The Yankees were 11-10 when Jorge was behind the plate. The Yankees are 14-7 without Jorge. That’s seven games over .500 compared to one game over .500. Is it just a coincidence that the Yankees have taken off in his absence? He plays one of the most important positions in baseball and to me, Francisco Cervelli and Kevin Cash are more than up for the job. They save more runs than with Posada behind the plate.

They definitely don’t need his bat. The Yankees have scored five or more runs 12 times since his absence but that has more to do with the wind tunnel in Yankee stadium. Still, the Yankees score runs with or without him.

A good recent argument on why Jorge Posada shouldn’t be the starting catcher.

Nick Swisher. Sure, he’s a team guy that’s great in the club house but he can’t hit. He’s batting just .123 since May 1st. He’s a career .243 hitter and he’s not going to get better.

If Melky has a starting outfield position, which he has earned, I want to see him moved to left or right field and have Gardner start in centerfield. Gardner is a much better outfielder than Swisher and he makes things happen when he gets at bats. Gardner doesn’t get on base on a consistent basis but you have to give him more experience so he becomes a better player.

The thing we don’t have to worry about right now is who to put where because Melky Cabrera is going to miss 5-7 days with a bruised right shoulder. So it looks like Gardner is going to have to make the most of his opportunity.

The inside the park home run by Gardner was the first one I’ve ever seen live. It was really fun to watch.