THE HIGH STAKES OF POKER

And now Major League Baseball wants to investigate Alex Rodriquez for a poker game. I don't side with ARod on a lot of things but this is just ridiculous.

Major League Baseball is stating that they have already warned Alex about these poker games. They don't like the fact that he is in some high stakes games and that the people that attend them are not up to major league standards. MLB has tried to get some of the big time actors to snitch on Alex Rodriquez. The actors will not talk and Major League Baseball does not have subpoena power. Does Major League Baseball think that these poker games are going to ruin baseball?

This is like my company telling me that I can't go to the racetrack. It's legal and yes, there are some shady characters that hangout at the track. I am a big boy and I think I can make my own decision on whether I want to hang with those people. I think ARod is allowed to play in these high stakes poker games because of one reason, they are legal. If there are shady characters, I would hope that he would make the right decisions. Now if he screwed up and made the wrong decision then we have something to talk about.

Right now MLB has bigger issues to deal with than a legal poker game and if you are just like me, you just don't care what MLB thinks.

I was watching the beginning of the Yankees/Red Sox game and Curt Schilling was in the booth and I noticed something. Doesn't Schilling look like Jeff Garlin from Curb Your Enthusiasm?

Just a thought.

BARTOLO "CHRISTMAS MIRACLE" COLON

Did you know that after Friday's night game,  the Red Sox are leading the Yankees 96-95 in head to head games, including play-offs, in the last ten years.

And here it is, August, and the Yankees are tied for first place with the Red Sox going into Friday nights game. Hows that for a rivalry? The Yankees had already lost 7 of 8 games to the Red Sox this season.

The Yankees sent Christmas Miracle to the mound and the Red Sox were starting Jon Lester on Friday. As the game rolled on, Lester was in complete command through five innings. It appeared that his 2-0 lead was going to be enough of a cushion.

At one point Colon topped the radar gun at 97 MPH but the Red Sox were making him earn his money. Colon got himself into a jam in the fifth. He loaded the bases and with two outs and after 94 pitches, Girardi pulled him. The next batter was Adrian Gonzalez and Girardi brought in his only lefty Boone Logan to face the possible American League MVP. Logan struck him out with three pitches to keep the game close.

The Yankees were able to take a 3-2 lead on a run scored by Derek Jeter. This run moved Jeter past Honus Wagner for 21st place on the all-time runs list.

The bullpen is the Yankees forte and they held the one run lead. They went with Logan, Soriano, Robertson and then Mo.

Tomorrow Sabathia goes against Lackey and on Sunday Freddy Garcia is up against Josh Beckett.  Let's see how this part of the rotation looks against the competition. They pulled one off with two more to go.

And how could we go a month without hearing from Sean Avery. Can you believe that he shoved a Los Angeles Police Department Officer after they responded to his house in the Hollywood Hills to quiet down a party. Sean was eventually sent to the penalty box for more than two minutes. Word of advice Sean, pushing a police officer is not like pushing someone on the ice. There are no referees to save your behind, there is no third man-in penalty and no matter what, you are going directly to jail. Grow up Sean before the Rangers trade you to Siberia or the Islanders.

There is NOva Question

Ivan Nova took the mound yesterday for his audition.  I do believe that he passed the audition and the role should be his. He lasted seven and two thirds innings and gave up one run. He struck out 10 batters and raised his record to 10-4.

Girardi said that Phil Hughes will get another start next week. That will put Nova as the sixth man in the rotation. It appears that no matter what Nova does he is always going to be on the bubble.

Now that the Yankees are tied for first place, they face the Boston Red Sox this weekend. At least Sabathia is starting one game. This series is going to be a litmus test for the Yankees starting rotation.

WHAT ABOUT KEI IGAWA?

The Yankees showed why they are a complete softball team last night. They beat the White Sox 18-7. The Yankees line-up can definitely hit, even without Alex "Texas Hold 'Em" Rodriguez. To add to their softball mystique, AJ Burnett could not make it out of the fifth inning. He looked awful.

There are two pitchers that are fighting for a spot in the rotation. You might as well make that three. I know that I have said that AJ Burnett has been a bad luck pitcher and has had his moments but these one inning meltdowns are killing the team. How do you get a 12 run lead and have to be removed and not get a win? This is not play-off baseball, this has turned into recreational softball. The Yankees resemble a baseball team on only one day. That day is called Sabathia.

Let's really make this entertaining. Why not call up Kei Igawa from the minors. The Yankees signed him to a 5 year, 46 million contract. He is on his last year of his contract and has only pitched in 16 major league games. He has been pitching for the Trenton Thunder for at least three years. Bring him up and audition him before he goes back to Japan. Why not? He couldn't be anymore of a question mark than the cast of characters they are sending to the mound right now.

Even Alex Rodriguez would not try to bluff with a hand like this.

OK MR. GIRARDI, I'M READY FOR MY CLOSE-UP

Yesterday Phil Hughes pitched for his spot in the Yankees pitching rotation. He knows that all eyes are on him and then all eyes will turn to Ivan Nova come Thursday.

Hughes allowed no runs and three hits over 6 innings. At one point Hughes fastball topped out at 95.  He was more aggressive than in any of his past starts this year. It also helps that the Yankees scored 6 runs for him.

Hughes has been unable to throw his fastball with any command in his any of his starts this year. He had to go with his off speed stuff that just wasn't working due to the lack of zip on the fastball. Yesterday, his fastball had some zip, which made the rest of his pitches that much better.

Although Hughes has a better overall record through the years, Nova is having a more consistent 2011. In my opinion he is the favorite. The ball is now tossed to Nova for Thursday. If Nova wants the spot he has to pitch his way into it.

A TRIBUTE TO THE CAPTAIN

It was 32 years ago today that I heard the news that Thurman Munson had died. I remember that I just got home from my summer job and I was in my grandmother's house. I turned on the television (no ESPN or 24 hour news services) and when the channel 4 news came on, the top story was that Thurman Munson had died in a plane crash. I was crushed, he was my favorite Yankee at the time. He was the reason that I wanted to catch in baseball. I did not know how the Yankees were going to continue without him. Believe me, it took awhile for the Yankees to right their ship after his passing. They didn't win another World Series until 1996.

Right now I am reading Munson's biography that Marty Appel had wrote in 2009. It is very interesting and an amazing insight into this baseball player who was very hard to understand.

Munson was the consumate Yankee. He played only for the Yankee organization. He was named Rookie of the Year in 1970 and was named American League MVP in 1976. He is the only Yankee to ever do that.  At the start of the 76 season, Munson was named Captain of the New York Yankees. He was the first Captain since Lou Gehrig.

He won 3 Gold Glove awards in his career and was an outstanding defensive catcher. During the 1977 season the Dodgers stole 114 bases and when they faced the Yankees in the 77 Series, Munson threw out 4 of 6 runners. He batted .320 in that series but was overshadowed by the 3 consecutive homers by Reggie Jackson.

During the 1976 World Series against the Cincinnati Reds, which the Yankees lost 4 games to none, Munson batted .529. This accomplishment lead Sparky Anderson to classlessly state, "Munson is an outstanding ballplayer and he would hit .300 in the National League, but you don't ever compare anybody to Johnny Bench. Don't never embarass nobody by comparing them to Johnny Bench." This visibly hurt Munson especially after an outstanding performance in a losing effort.

Heading into the All-Star break in 1979, the Yankees were in fourth place, 11 games behind the Baltimore Orioles. Despite a .297 average, the wear and tear was taking its toll on Munson. He did not make the All-Star game in 1979 and he was thinking of retiring and/or being traded to the Indians so he could be closer to his family.

Munson was taking flying lessons so he could be home with his family more often. On August 2, 1979, he was practicing take-offs and landings. During these exercises he lost control of the plane and crashed. He perished in the burning plane.

The day after the crash, the Yankees began a four game homestand against the Orioles. The team paid tribute to their deceased Captain in a pre-game ceremony with all of the defensive players standing in their positions, except for the catcher's box, which remained empty. Cardinal Cooke said a prayer that was followed by a moment of silence and America the Beautiful was song by Robert Merrill. The fans then burst into an eight minute standing ovation. The man who would replace Munson on that night, Jerry Narron, stayed in the dugout and did not enter the field until Bob Sheppard (The Voice of God) said, "And now it is time to play baseball. Thank you ladies and gentleman for your co-operation."

I remember watching this and seeing Reggie Jackson standing in right field and crying like a baby. Bobby Murcer was sobbing. It was heart wrenching.

Munson's number 15 has been retired, he has a monument in Monument Park and his locker remains empty to this day. Derek Jeter has the locker next to the empty locker. There is a street in the Bronx named after him, Thurman Munson Way and a school was built on that street called, Henry Lou Gehrig Junior High School.

Thurman Munson (June 7, 1947-August 2, 1979)

PLAY THE CARDS YOU ARE DEALT

The last time the Yankees did not make a trade at the deadline was in 1998. They did not make a move to strengthen their bench nor did they make a move to strengthen their starting rotation.

Brian Cashman has decided that the make shift pitching staff will do them just fine. With the way Sabathia is pitching, it is easy to overlook some of the shortcomings of the rest of the staff. Sabathia earned his 16th win yesterday in a 3-2 win over the White Sox. Sabathia didn't look great but he just knows how to win.

The Yankees have a six man rotation and that will not last long. The spot that is open is a fight between Hughes and Nova. Hughes will pitch tomorrow night for his audition. Ivan Nova goes Thursday for his audition. I know that Hughes had 18 wins last year but that was last year, this year he has had arm problems. Nova is young but he seems to pitch well when he takes the mound. The Yankees don't have many options and the only thing they can do is start the five pitchers that are doing the best. Too bad the Yankees can't start CC every night.

This is what the Yankees have decided to do and so be it. They are going to have to trust a youngster and two pitchers from the scrap heap. If they can give the Yankees 5 good innings then the bullpen can take over and they have a chance. We'll see, we definitely will see how this turns out.

As we take a look across the river, we see that once Nnamdi-mania had ended, the Jets still had their eyes set on going after a cornerback. Getting a bookend cornerback to pair with Revis was of the utmost importance. See a weakness and address it. The Jets went after Cromartie hard and they ended up signing him for four years. See a weakness and address it.

You can't win a Super Bowl without an outstanding defense and you can't win a World Series without pitching. Cashman has been dealt a hand that is playable but beatable and he has just gone all in and he hopes no one calls his bluff.