Here's Johnny

Damon tips his cap to the Tropicana
faithful after his 500th double.

Tampa Bay Rays outfielder/designated hitter Johnny Damon entered elite company Saturday with his first inning double in their Interleague game against the Florida Marlins. It was the 500th two-bagger of his career adding to his already impressive resume.

Damon now joins a small group of Hall of Famers to record 2,500 hits, 100 triples, 200 home runs, and 500 doubles during their careers. The two-time All-Star is the eleventh member to swing his way into this exclusive club joining the likes of Al Simmons, Babe Ruth, George Brett, Goose Goslin, Lou Gehrig, Paul Molitor, Robin Yount, Rogers Hornsby, Stan Musial, and Willie Mays.

    Five of these now eleven players has recorded 3,000 hits throughout their careers. While Damon is not one of those five he has an outside chance of reaching a milestone only twenty-seven players in major league history have totaled with him currently at 2,646.

    There's a catch. Damon will turn thirty-eight in November and might not have too many years left in his legs. One of the most durable players in the last decade will need to average 120 hits over the next three seasons to accomplish that feat.

    Damon is one of only four major league players to play in at least 140 games each of the last ten seasons. Albert Pujols, Bobby Abreu, and Ichiro Suzuki are the other three.

    One mark none of the other ten players on that list have accomplished, Damon will. He is currently 8 steals shy of 400 for his career and when he swipes his 400th bag, he will become the first on the list to do so. Mays is the next closest coming up 62 short with 338 career stolen bases.

    With these numbers Damon is making a bid for his day in Cooperstown. Most see Damon as a complier rather than a Hall of Famer. He has never finished in the top ten of the MVP voting or been the best player on any team he has been in.

Damon's '04 grand slam might be the single
biggest hit in Red Sox history.

However, Damon has been one of the most clutch postseason performers in recent memory. While he was a productive postseason player during his time with the Oakland Athletics many will remember Damon has the "caveman" on the 2004 World Series champion Boston Red Sox.

    In Game 7 of the 2004 ALCS he propelled the Sox to their first World Series appearance since 1986 with two home runs including a grand slam against the hated New York Yankees. That same postseason he led off the clinching Game 4 of the World Series to ignite their sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals, ending the teams 86-year curse.

    Five years later as a member of the Yankees, he found himself in another World Series. Damon made the Series-defining moment when he stole second and third on one pitch in their Game 4 victory over the then-defending World Series champion Philadelphia Phillies. He and then-teammate Eric Hinske became only the ninth and tenth players to win a World Series with the Yankees and Red Sox.

    In the twelve postseason series he has played in, Damon as accumulated .279 average with 9 home runs and 30 runs batted in. While it's unclear if Damon is a Hall of Famer, he is putting together quite a case.

    As he moves closer to 3,000 the seventeen-year veteran might be preparing a speech for that Summer day in July in the not so distance future.



  

Pursuit Of 3,000 Takes A Stop To The DL

Jeter's injury might allow him to join the
3,000-hit club at home.

It has been a tough year and a half for New York Yankees captain Derek Jeter and Tuesday wasn't any better. In the second of inning of Monday night's 1-0 loss to the Cleveland Indians, Jeter was running out a fielder's choice to first base when he appeared to hurt his right calf. The shortstop stayed in the game, but after he flew out to right field in the bottom of the fifth inning, he gingerly ran to first in obvious pain. Jeter didn't return to play defense the following half inning as utility infielder Eduardo Nunez replaced the seventeen-year veteran.

    Jeter has suffered a Grade I strain of his right calf and was placed on the 15-day disabled list Tuesday leaving a huge hole atop the Yankees order.

    This is the first time Jeter has been on the disabled list since 2003 when he suffered a separated shoulder on Opening Day against the Toronto Blue Jays. The injury now puts Jeter's pursuit of becoming the first Yankees and 28th player in history to reach the 3,000 hit plateau to a straining hault.

    Jeter singled in his first at-bat Monday giving him 2,994 hits for his career, closing the gap to 6 hits shy of a mark that dignifies longevity and consistency.

    With Jeter now on the disabled list and two games left on New York's current home stand, the possibility of the captain doing it in front of a sold out Yankee Stadium or at least in New York never seemed more apparent.

    The eleven-time All-Star is eligible to come off the disabled list on the fifth game of the Yankees next home stand in an Interleague game against the Milwaukee Brewers on June 29th. There Jeter will have two games to try and get six hits before New York heads out on to the road once again. However, the Yankees play their second of their two annual Subway Series meetings with the New York Mets on the year to begin the road trip, giving Jeter the chance to at least reach the milestone in the Big Apple.

    Many Yankee fans remember closer Mariano Rivera recorded his 500th career save in the final game of the first Subway Series at Citi Field back in 2009. It might be a fitting place if not at the Stadium for Jeter to do it there.

Rivera recorded his 500th career save away
from the Stadium back in '09.

Jeter is already the Yankees all-time hits leader with his current mark, growing with every hit, after he passed the mythical Lou Gehrig in '09. He also passed Gehrig for the all-time hits mark at the Old Yankee Stadium in it's final year of play with 1,274 hits during his time in the House That Ruth Built.

    In 62 games this season Jeter is batting .260 with 2 home runs and 20 runs batted in and while those are not the number we are accustom to seeing with the Yankee captain we should be celebrating this historic moment rather than critcize one of the greatest players in Yankee history.

A Broken Bullpen In The Bronx

Chamberlain burst onto the major league
scene back in '07 postings 0.38 ERA.

At one point in his career Joba Chamberlain looked to be the air apparent to Mariano Rivera and would eventually close games for the New York Yankees. Oh how things have changed with Chamberlain now fighting for his major league career. A day after being placed on the 15-day disabled list with what was initially thought to be a strain of the flexor muscle in his throwing elbow, was revealed to be a torn ligament and could require Tommy John Surgery.

    With the injury to the hard-throwing right-hander, he is almost certainly lost for the rest of the season, leaving a gapping hole in Joe Girardi's bullpen. Originally thought to be a strength of this Yankee club, now becomes a weakness. Yes, they still have the godfather of closers in Rivera, but outside of the forty-one-year-old reliever and right-hander David Robertson there sits an abundance of question marks.

    When the Yankees were unable to sign prized left-hander Cliff Lee in the offseason, who would sign on for his second stint with the Philadelphia Phillies, Yankee brass went against general manager Brian Cashman and signed former Tampa Bay Rays closer Rafael Soriano to a three-year $35 million deal.

    Ownership felt with their longtime rivals in Boston making all sorts of offseason acquisitions, they needed to make a splash of their own and has not panned out.

    Soriano, who led the majors with 45 saves a year ago, last pitched on the 13th of May and has been sidelined since with an inflamed ligament in his right elbow. He and Chamberlain are just two on the laundry list of Yankees to land on the disabled list thus far.

    New York also signed former New York Mets left-hander and workhorse Pedro Feliciano in the offseason, but has yet to pitch in a regular season for the Yankees after suffering a torn rotator cuff during spring training. Feliciano led the National League in appearances each of the last three seasons, appearing total of 266 games for New York, by far the most in the majors during that time span.

    That is thought to be the main cause of his recent injury as his durability has been outstanding throughout his career.

   Another left-hander in Damaso Marte, who was a viable part to their 2009 World Series team, underwent rotator cuff surgery last October. He is currently on the 60-day disabled list with return expected to come sometime in September.

    That might be too late as the lone left-hander in the Yankee bullpen Boone Logan has struggled out of the gate after having a breakout season a year ago. Lefties are hitting a sensational .316 against the southpaw compared to right-handers, who are riding the Interstates at a .190 clip.

    Not to mention starter Phil Hughes has made only three starts for New York in 2011 posting a 13.94 earned run average. This after coming a year after his first All-Star appearance that saw him win a career-high eighteen games. Hughes has been sidelined since mid-April with a dead arm and is expected make his first of five rehab starts on June 14th.

    On the up side, Robertson has been spectacular for New York in his first 26 appearances, striking out 38 batters in only 23.1 innings. Veteran Luis Ayala has also been a pleasant surprise for Girardi and Co. posting a 1.47 ERA for the Yankees.

The Soriano signing has not bowed well for
New York thus far.

As for Rivera, well he is still Rivera. He has recorded 16 saves to begin the season, three off the major league lead.

If in fact Chamberlain does undergo surgery, he will began a grueling 10-14 month rehab process causing him not only to miss the rest of this season, but a portion of the '12 season. Cashman will look to be the market for relief help like most teams before the July 31st trading deadline and San Diego might be a gold mine.

    All-Star closer Heath Bell is in the final-year of his current contract with the Padres and almost certainly not returning to San Diego when he hits the open market this offseason. He along with his set-up men Mike Adams and Luke Gregerson could be prime targets for Cashman.

    Once under the "Joba Rules", question marks now surround Chamerlain's future along with the Yankees the rest of the way as they start the day a game back of the division leading Red Sox and are in danger of being swept by their arch rival for the second time this year in the Bronx.

A Roll Of The Dice

Matsuzaka showed signs of brilliance, but
was inconsistent for the Sox.

In November of 2006, the Boston Red Sox finally got the best of the Evil Empire outbidding the New York Yankees for Japanese phenom Daisuke Matsuzaka. New York on the other hand had to settle for second best, something they aren't accustom too, signing left-hander Kei Igawa to a five-year $20 million contract.

    Now almost five years later both Japanese imports look like a lost cause as Matsuzaka is set to undergo Tommy John Surgery, ending his season before it even got started.

  Matsuzaka was placed on the 15-Day disabled list back on the 18th of May, two days after what would be his final start of the year against the Baltimore Orioles, surrendering five runs and seven walks in only 4.1 innings. Originally diagnosed with a right elbow strain, it was later determined the right-hander would need season-ending elbow surgery and was transferred to the 60-Day DL Thursday.

    The Japanese import had a rough start to the 2011 season, allowing ten earned runs in his first two starts of the season in only 7 innings, accumulating to a 12.86 ERA. His next two starts, he would show signs of vintage Matsuzaka tossing 15 scoreless innings on only two hits, lowering his ERA to a respectable 3.81.

    That was only temporary as his final four starts were not good only making out of the fifth once. Matsuzaka finishes the year at 3-3 with a 5.30 ERA, leaving Red Sox Nation to wonder if he has thrown his final pitch in a Boston uniform?

    Most pitchers that undergo the Tommy John procedure average a year to a year and half recovery process before they have full healed, leaving Matsuzaka's future in doubt. The 2012 season will mark the final-year of a six-year $52 million contract Matsuzaka signed prior to the '07 season and with him sure to miss a good portion if not all of next season, he might have very well thrown his final pitch for Boston.

    Even though Matsuzaka was hampered by injuries the last three seasons, his time in Fenway was productive. In his first season with the Sox, Matsuzaka was 15-12, but proved to be vital part to them winning their second World Series title in a four-year span after sweeping the Colorado Rockies in the '07 Fall Classic.

    2008 would mark his best season with the Red Sox when he finished 18-3 with an ERA at 2.90. Opponents only hit .211 in '08 as he finished fourth in the American League Cy Young voting. From there on it was down hill for "Dice-K", making five of six trips to the DL the last three seasons.

    In his five years with the Red Sox, Matsuzaka has gone 49-30 with a 4.25 ERA, only eclipsing the 200 innings and 200 strikeout plateaus once, both coming in his first year with Boston.

    Matsuzaka showed signs of being the dominant pitcher he was in the '06 & '09 World Baseball Classic, winning the MVP in both of Japan's run to the championship, but his stuff and so called "Gyroball" never quite translated in the major leagues.

Igawa might be the biggest bust of a signing by
New York since they signed Hideki Irabu.

As for the Yankees' Igawa, he has only made 16 appearances in the big leagues since signing with New York. His career ERA in the majors is the devil's 6.66 and was never to be heard from again, making his last major league appearance back in '08. Igawa is currently pitching for the Yankees Double-A affiliate Trenton Thunder.

    Matsuzaka is the second player to hear the bad news this week as the Kansas City Royals top highly touted prospect John Lamb will also require surgery to repair a ligament in his left elbow. The left-hander was the No. 5 prospect in the Royals unbelievable farm system and ranked 27th throughout Major League Baseball.

    With the success rate of the surgery being so high we have yet to see the last of Matsuzaka. The question remains what uniform will he be wearing. You can sure a major league club will roll the dice on the thirty-year-old right-hander. 

Jeter Steals His Way Into Yankee History

Jeter continues to move up in Yankee
history.

Derek Jeter has broken yet another New York Yankee franchise record. With his 327th career stole base in the second inning off Seattle Mariners right-hander Felix Hernandez and catcher Miguel Olivo Saturday night, Jeter surpassed Rickey Henderson for Yankees all-time lead.

    In Henderson's four and a half seasons in New York from '85-'89, he racked up 326 stolen bases. He also set the Yankee franchise record for stolen bases in a season with 93 in his final full year in the Bronx. That record still stands today as no Yankee had come close to eclipsing his mark set in '88.

    Former Yankees coach and player Willie Randolph is third on the list with 251 stolen bags.

    For Jeter it's another accomplishment he can add to his already impressive resume. The captain ranks among the greats in every major category in Yankee history including fifth in batting average (.313), fourth in total bases (4282), third in runs (1714), second in doubles (474) and games played (2343), first in at-bats (9528) and of course in hits with 2979.

    Mr. November is now only 21 hits shy of becoming the first Yankee in history to reach the 3,000 hit plateau. With that just on the horizon, we can expect it some time soon for the five-time World Series champion. At his point in their careers Jeter is only 188 hits off the pace of all-time leader Pete Rose, who had 3,167 through this many games in his career.

   Its a stretch but if the now thirty-seven-year-old shortstop can stay healthy and productive, we might be talking about 4,000 one day.

    No matter what, when it is all said a done Jeter's name will forever be placed with the legends in Yankee lure.

Enter Sandman

Mo is still the same after 17 years and
1,000 appearances later.

New York Yankee closer Mariano Rivera has accomplished a lot during his 17 seasons in the Bronx, but Wednesday afternoon he did something no other pitcher in baseball history ever has. Rivera, who hadn't pitched in over a week, entered the game to his usual strains of "Enter Sandman" in a non-save situation with New York leading Toronto 7-3 just to stay sharp. The appearance marked the 1,000th of his illustrious career, making him the first pitcher in major league history to have 1,000 appearances for one team.

    Rivera is only the fifteenth pitcher in major league history to appear in 1,000 games, but the first to do so with one team. All-time saves leader Trevor Hoffman had made 902 appearances for the San Diego Padres before signing with the Milwaukee Brewers and appearing in 105 games for them over two season before retiring prior to this season. Hoffman is second on the all-time list in appearances for one club.

    The latest accomplishment by Rivera is truly a resemblance of his career in a nutshell. His consistence and longevity as a reliever has made him the most dominant closer the game has ever seen. His impeccable control and devastating cutter has set him apart from the rest.

    Rivera's postseason resume is really what has defined his career appearing in 94 postseason games. He has accumulated a 0.71 ERA in a 139.2 innings. pitched. His 42 saves are by far the most in postseason history. Fourteen of those saves have come while pitching more than one inning of relief.

    With Rivera still the best closer in the majors, this will not be the last time he makes history with the all-time saves record within his grasp. Rivera has recorded 572 career saves trailing only Hoffman's 601 for the all-time lead. With only 28 saves shy of 600, Hoffman's record is not safe.

    New York will need Rivera more than ever with the injury news to offseason acquisition set-up man Rafael Soriano. Soriano will miss anywhere between 6-8 weeks with an elbow injury, leaving the 8th inning to Joba Chamerblain for a while. Soriano is in the first year of a three-year contract he signed in the offseason even though general manager Brian Cashman told Yankee Brass not too.

    The way Rivera has painted the corners of home plate all these years, has painted a masterpiece of a career for forty-year old from Panama.

The Grandy Man Can

Granderson homered in his first at-bat as
a Yankee against the Red Sox last
year.

The New York Yankees may have pounded Toronto Blue Jays left-hander Jo-Jo Reyes in Wednesday's afternoon game in the Bronx, but they couldn't have done it without center fielder Curtis Granderson. Granderson had two of the five hits surrendered by Reyes in his three innings, they were his sixth and seventh doubles on the year. The more important thing for Granderson and the Yankees is Reyes is a left-handed pitcher, something he has notoriously struggled with. 

     Where would New York be without the great start from their All-Star center fielder?

    Granderson was acquired by New York in a three-way trade from the Detroit Tigers in December of 2009, adding another big bat to their already potent order. The Yankees saw Granderson as someone who hit 30 home runs the year before in the spacious Comerica Park, maybe he could potential hit 40 in the short right field porch at Yankee Stadium. Granderson homered in his first at-bat of the 2010 season on Opening Night in Fenway Park, and it looked like general manager Brian Cashman had struck gold once again.

    That would be one of the only good highlights for Granderson in the first half for New York. Granderson suffered a hamstring injury in early May and was placed on the disabled list missing a good portion of the first half.

    Despite the injury heading into the All-Star Break, Granderson had hit a disappointing .240 with 7 home runs and 24 runs batted in, well off his pace from a year ago with the Tigers.

    Still struggling in late July and early August, Granderson went to the masterful Yankee hitting coach Kevin Long to find a solution. Long and Granderson worked for hours on in to fix his swing and bring back the player Cashman traded for in December.

    Following the revamp of his swing, Granderson soared through second half all the way into the postseason. He batted .253 with 17 home runs and 43 RBIs in the second half, but his postseason was even better. In the nine postseason games the Yankees played in '10, Granderson hit .357 with a home run and 6 RBIs. Four of ten hits Granderson racked up in the postseason were for extra-bases and that has carried over into 2011.

    In the spring the center fielder had suffered a strain to the internal oblique on the right abdomen and his status for Opening Day was in doubt. Granderson fought through the injury and was in the starting lineup for manager Joe Girardi, and thank goodness he was. The left-handed swinger launched a go-ahead home run off ex-Yankee lefty Phil Coke to give New York the lead and send Yankee fans home with an Opening Day victory. The home run was the second straight year he had homered on Opening Day with New York and his third straight overall dating back to '09 with Detroit.

    After only batting .234 against lefties in '10, Granderson has improved greatly to start '11 batting .296 compared to his .273 clip against righties. Granderson is currently batting .280 with 16 home runs and 36 RBIs. His 16 homes are second in the majors behind only last years home run king, Toronto's Jose Bautista.

   Following Wednesday's series finale against the Blue Jays, the Blue Island native had reached base nine times in his last 12 plate appearances. Too go long with that, twenty-seven of his fifty-one hits this season have gone for extra-bases.

Granderson's defense goes overlooked
because of his offensive
production.

Even though the Yankees are first in the majors in runs scored (250), home runs (75) and slugging percentage (.445), the offense has been inconsistent most of the season relying solely on the long ball to win games. Granderson has been their most consistent player all year, wondering were the Bronx Bombers would be without him, putting his name in the early MVP discussion.

    Still only thirty years old, Granderson may be entering the prime of his career and developing into the superstar player New York thought he would be. The Grandy Man is looking to cement his legacy with the legends that have roamed center fielder in the hollowed walls of Yankee Stadium.

    

Healing A Mound

Monahan has been credited
with the Yankees success
as much as any player has.

When the 2012 Major League Baseball season begins there will be a different feel in the New York Yankee clubhouse. Long time New York head athletic trainer Gene Monahan is set to retire when the 2011 season comes to close. This is Monahan's forty-ninth-year in the Yankees organization and it has been an incredible ride.

    Monahan first joined the Yankees as a bat boy and clubhouse attendant in 1962. Now at age 66, Monahan can reflect on the wondrous things he has seen over almost five decades in the Bronx. Even though Monahan missed out on watching Roger Maris chase Babe Ruth's mythic single-season home run record in 1961, arriving a year too late,  he was greeted with a World Series champion in '62.  Monahan claimed the longest tenured Yankee spot in the organization with the passing of legendary public address announcer Bob Sheppard last July, who had been with the team since 1951.

    During his time in New York, Monahan has seen New York hoist the World Series trophy eight times, while capturing fourteen American League Pennants. The Yankees have made twenty postseason appearances in the trainer's forty-nine years in the dugout, including sixteen American League Eastern Division titles.

    Monahan has seen some of the greatest Yankees in history pass through the hollowed halls of Yankee Stadium over the years they include: Mantle, Maris, Berra, Munson, Jackson, Martin, Winfield, Mattingly, and most recently Rivera and Jeter. He became part of the training staff in 1973, also becoming one of only three members to survive the George Steinbrenner era in it's entirety.

Donohue, left and

Monahan embrace

after receiving their

'09 rings.

    Monahan was diagnosed with throat cancer following the Yankees 2009 World Series run causing him to miss his first spring training since he was hired on and undergoing treatment most of the '10 season. Monahan finally returned to the team in the middle of the season and continued his duty like nothing has happened. Following the season Monahan and assistant trainer Steve Donohue were named the best training staff in Major League Baseball by the Professional Baseball Athletic Trainer Society.

    Donohue looks to be the air apparent for the head training job when Monahan retires at seasons end. With the deaths of Steinbrenner and Sheppard last summer, the announcement of Monahans retirement, and the inevitable decline of Jorge Posada and Derek Jeter we are beginning to watch the end of an era in Yankee history.