Joe Girardi inadvertently won the game for the NY Yankees Thursday night. He contested a controversial call in the ninth inning. His behavior got him kicked out of the game and is being touted as the reason for the Yankees win.

Umpire Chris Guccione ruled the a ball had ticked the handle of Jason Giambi’s bat, resulting in a foul tip, giving the Baltimore team a strike three. This forced Girardi from the dugout in what was to be an extremely dramatic display of displeasure. There was even the kicking of a hat.

In being ejected, he returned to his office, with a standing ovation from the crowd. This got the entire team fired up, giving them the extra push that they needed to squeak out a tough win. The Daily News quotes Jason Giambi:

“Maybe that’s the little spark that we need to get us going. We’ve been right on the verge, playing good baseball but not great baseball. Maybe this is the thing that gets it all going.”

The drama must have gotten to pitcher Johnson, who then walked Bobby Abreu and allowed a single by Cano which won the game.

When asked later if it was worth getting ejected for the win, Girardi responded that he’d do it 162 times. Maybe the Yankees have a new winning strategy.

This is just sad. Mike Pelfrey came super close to a no-hitter, an accomplishment never achieved in Mets history. Yet in spite of his stunning performance the Mets still lost?

How? The hitters couldn’t score for the life of them. The consequence? 1-0 loss. Totally heartbreaking.

The Daily News writer Kristie Ackert reports that his great run ended in the seventh inning when “Aaron Boone led off the inning with a single to right-center field, meaning Pelfrey had to settle merely for pitching a gem. An inning later, Felipe Lopez’s sacrifice fly cost Pelfrey his shutout.”

But in spite of his small miss at perfection, the Shea stadium ticket buyers were brought to two standing ovations in his honor.

Surprisingly enough, he attributes the success to a cold. Feeling a little under the weather actually improved his performance. He said that he has a tendency of trying to do too much. The cold kept him from overthrowing.

So now the Mets head into the Subway series, what can we expect from these two teams hovering around .500 for the season? The rivalry will never end and NY fans will still be excited to see their two local teams go at it. Maybe both teams’ mediocrity will result in an even match up that could result in a few good games. Let’s hope.

Alex Rodriguez feels great. But the doctor is still telling him that he’s not ready to hit the field quite yet. This is not the news that Joe Girardi was hoping for, but one that they must accept.

The Yankees have gone 5-8 without the big slugger at bat. Which means that they’d like him back on the offense as soon as possible. But they certainly don’t want him back before he’s truly ready, risking his presence for the long term.

They learned this lesson the hard way. The injury occurred back on April 20th. He sat out of for 3 games, returning for 4, aggravating the injury and making it worse. They’re not bound to make the same mistake twice, erring on the side of extra caution.

The injury was initially diagnosed as a Grade 2 tear. It’s now being called a Grade 1 injury, which means it’s an improvement. It’s healing and moving in the right direction. Just not nearly as fast as everyone except the Yankee opponents would hope for.

The Daily News quotes Rodriguez:

“I don’t feel it. I think it’s more precaution now than anything else. It’s frustrating, but everything happens for a reason.”

It’s looking like he may be able to play in a pair of rehab games this weekend, with the hope to see him back in the lineup on Tuesday next week against the Orioles.

Yankee fans who hope to see the dynamic MVP in action again can purchase their future NY tickets online with a little more confidence.

I’m sure that New York is happy that it isn’t relying on Roger Clemens to sell Yankees tickets any longer. The former Yankees pitcher recently was forced to deny, vehemently, and inexplicably, in front of congress, any use of performance enhancing drugs. It was hard to believe.

Now, with allegations that he had an affair with a 15-year-old country singer, Mindy McCready, when he was a 28-year-old Boston Red Sox ace, married, and the father of two children, Clemens integrity is clearly in question. He was forced to apologize Monday for mistakes in his personal life, but he’s added clarification to the claims, only increasing speculation.

No doubt, some of the claims made are probably inaccurate, as claims go, but there is also truth to the fact that Clemens has not been the sterling example of honesty that he tried to portray himself as during the congressional hearings a few months ago.

This sheds doubt on his testimony about performance enhancing drugs. If he’s willing to lie to his wife and children about his sexual behavior, what would stop him from lying to everyone else about drug use?

It’s a difficult issue for the superstar, who’s legacy as one of baseball’s greatest pitchers is in danger. The consequences could prove tragic for everyone involved. Cheating never helps anyone.

Jorge Posada could not start in the Yankees’ game against the Cleveland Indians. Chien-Ming Wang would have to face the team as starter. This was the team that proved that his sinker was not invincible back in the playoffs last year.

Wang, not be undone again, switched up his speed. The result—a 1-0 win for Wang the Yankees, ending a three game losing streak, putting the Yankees at an even .500 mark for the season.

Chamberlain also contributed by striking out two of the three batters. He attributed his strong play with a lot of rest in between games, preventing problems from his left hamstring which irritated him last week.

Rivera ended the game with a powerful two strikeouts, solidifying the win.

Sabathia played well against the Yankees as well, limiting the Yankees to only one run, making it a tough win for New York.

Girardi is quoted in the Daily News as saying:

“It was unbelievable. You need to win games like this, because your offense isn’t always going to score runs.”

Thankfully, the Yankee pitchers were up the challenge, keeping the Indians scoreless in a tough competition. This much needed win will reassure Yankee ticket buyers that this is a season for cheering.

Thirteen teams have announced a startlingly unhealthy new baseball viewing option. In addition to the seat with a clear view of the game, they are offering an all you can eat buffet of gluttony.

Ticket prices range from anywhere between $30 to $200. They offer traditional ball park staples—hot dogs, nachos, peanuts, and soft drinks. They don’t, however, include beer, burgers, pizzas, or desserts.

My first complaint with this new option is this: Those are some expensive hot dogs. I’m sorry, but I would never spend $30 bucks, let alone $200 for all you can eat crap. I mean seriously, you could have all of your friends over for a rocking party with the exact same junk food for the exact same price. And I mean all of your friends.

My second problem is this: In a time when America seems to becoming aware of it’s obesity epidemic, this is offering a temptation to many food addicted individuals that could be too much to pass up, and could in fact threaten their lives. A nice buffet of organic options would be nice. Maybe a salad bar would be helpful.  But that would hardly be in the tradition of baseball which honors the hot dog as the true American staple.

But this attitude doesn’t make sense to me. Shouldn’t we be celebrating good health with professional athleticism?

For now you can buy your NY Yankee tickets in good conscious, knowing that they have yet to stoop to such lame stunts as this. Let’s hope it stays that way.

As you well know, there’s a new Yankee Stadium in the works. The price tag simply for clearing the land has skyrocketed! The initial estimate was $128 million. The new estimate is somewhere around $190 million. To do the math for you on that, it’s almost 50% more than expected.

The Associated Press reports:

“Unforeseen environmental problems and other hitches have raised the estimated cost from $128 million to $190 million, parks officials said at a City Council hearing Wednesday.”

Of course, this isn’t your average project. They’ll be creating 28 acres of new parkland. They’re also turning the old stadium into a children’s ballpark.

Price on the actual stadium facility has also increased dramatically. It was projected last year at $1 billion and now sits at $1.3 billion.  Opening date for the new ballpark home is 2009.

One big surprise in clearing the land, according to Parks and Recreation Commissioner Adrian Benepe, was an underground oil tank that they found. This little unexpected gift had to be drained and removed, escalating the price dramatically.

There are no plans to stop or adjust the project. Hopefully it will all be worth it.  Until then, we’ve got a ball season to think about. For purchasing NY Yankee tickets click on the link.

It’s spring training and the Yankees are working on giving fans a reason to buy NY Yankee tickets. This is likely going to be a very well conditioned team. Girardi seems to be running his team more than the Torre era. They are running more in practice and you can expect them to be running more in games. Girardi is also making defense a major focus.

Team captain and shortstop, Derek Jeter, is also doing some running. Gerry Fraley reports in his blog:

“Rather than trying to add bulk that would enable him to remain strong throughout the season, Jeter concentrated on quickness. Jeter said he worked on speed, lateral movement and a quicker first step.”

This same blog also mentions the three young pitchers that seem to be forming the future for this franchise’s mound. Phil Hughes, Ian Kennedy, and Joba Chamberlain are getting a lot of attention at training. When Chamberlain took Legends Field recently, the crowd burst into cheers. Fans see a lot of potential and talent.

These three young athletes could be the key to Yankee’s success in 2008. Fraley quotes Andy Pettitte:

“They all have so much talent. The sky is really the limit for them. They’ve even picked it up from last year, and that’s what’s exciting to me.”