This is the 2nd time in 2 years that a MLB player was hit with a 50 game suspension. Last year Manny Ramirez got 50 games for using PED’s… and now the latest player is Edinson Volquez. The 26-year-old Volquez was 17-6 with a 3.21 ERA for the Reds in 2008 and pitched for the National League in the midsummer classic at the old Yankee Stadium. But he has not pitched this year as he recovers from Tommy John surgery. Volquez was 4-2 with a 4.35 ERA in 2009 but did not pitch after June 1. The suspension will be effective on Wednesday, April 21, 2010. To read the press release, please...

Will  Javier Vazquez get his first win tonight against the surprising Oakland Athletics who have posted a 9-5 record through their first 14 games? If Vazquez does not get the win tonight and starts the season 0-3, people will start wondering if this is the ’04 Vazquez who went 14-10 with an ERA of 4.91 instead of the Javier Vazquez who was 4th in Cy Young voting last season with a 15-10 record, and an impressive 2.87 ERA in 219.1 innings pitched. It’s still early in the season to start guessing, but if Javier doesn’t “pull his socks up”, it will be a long...

Hey Yankee fans! I just wanted to share some pictures with you from my trip to Yankee Stadium this past weekend. Weather was overcast and cold, but the game was great. Yankees won 7-3, Derek Jeter and Brett Gardner both had a 3-hit performances, and Alex Rodriguez hit his first home run of the season. I hope to do this after each visit to the stadium this season. Fortunately I will be going to at least 13 games this season… probably more. Hope you...

Swisher Salutes You, Derek Jeter, for carrying the team through the first home stand! You are the BronxBombersBeat Yankees Player of the Week for Week 2 of the 2010 season. With all the focus on the Yankees starting pitching, which was stellar over the first home stand, the play of some of the hitters has gone relatively unnoticed. However, when you take a look at the stats, once again the Yankees are being led on the field by their captain and the current face of the franchise. Jeter had an unbelievable home stand, going 11 for 22 (.500 BA/.500 OBP/.955 SLG) with 3 homers and 7 RBIs,...

The Yankees are 11-games into the 2010 season, and the team is a solid 8-3 on the year (check out the poll at the bottom of the post). This is their best start since 2003 when they started 9-2, and on top of their stellar start from a standings viewpoint, they have won the first 4 series of the season. This has not been done by a Yankees team since 1926. This is extremely impressive considering all 4 series were played against playoff potential teams (Red Sox; Rays; Angels; Rangers). As of today, the Yankees are tied for 1st place with the Tampa Bay Rays, while the team looks to close out...

Phil Hughes will be taking the mound for the first time in 2010.  Hughes, who beat out Joba Chamberlain and other candidates to nail down the final spot in New York’s star-studded rotation, will get his first chance to show the Bronx Bombers and their fans that the right decision was made during Spring Training. New look to the lineup tonight. Derek Jeter SS Nick Swisher RF Mark Teixeira 1B Alex Rodriguez 3B Robinson Cano 2B Jorge Posada C Marcus Thames DH Curtis Granderson CF Randy Winn LF RHP Phil Hughes: 0-0 With the lefty, Scott Kazmir pitching for the Angels, looks like Girardi...

Early in the World Series ring ceremony at Yankee Stadium yesterday, Jorge Posada walked over to the podium and asked Michael Kay to hold off for a minute before reading the name of the next Yankee to receive his ring.  It was just another classy move by one of the “core four,” that being Posada, Pettitte, Rivera and Jeter – who each received their 5th World Series ring.  The pause was to allow longtime trainer Gene Monahan to take in the standing ovation he received from the sold out crowd.  Monahan, who began his reign as head athletic trainer for the Yankees in 1973 – starting...

As the Yankees received their World Series championship rings, and the team raised the championship flag, another season of New York Yankees baseball is officially underway in the Bronx. The Yankees welcomed the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim for the 1st game in the ballpark for the 2010 season. With the help of a pair of bombs from Nick Johnson and Derek Jeter, the Yanks took the first game of the series by a score of 7-5. Andy Pettitte pitched masterfully in the Yankees victory yesterday. He threw 6 innings of shutout baseball, allowing 5 hits, 3 walks, and 6 strikeouts. He lowered his...

With all the pomp and circumstance surrounding the Opening Day, the ring ceremony and the Yankees 7-5 victory over the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim yesterday, a milestone was surpassed by Yankees catcher Jorge Posada. In the 7th inning, Jorge hit a double that was not just any ordinary double, it was the 345th of his Yankee career, which surpassed the great Mickey Mantle to place Posada 7th in the list. That is quite a phenomenal feat! Not only did Posada pass one of the greatest Yankees of all-time, he did it while playing one of the most grueling positions on a baseball field. On a day...

Hello Yankee fans. Today is Opening Day at Yankee Stadium and it is also the 27th Ring Ceremony for the New York Yankees. The last time this special event took place was back in 2001 when the Yankees beat  the Mets 4 games to 1, in the 2000 World Series. Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, Jorge Posada and Andy Pettitte will be getting their 5th World Series Rings. As Andy said it in the post-game interview of game 6 of the 2009 World Series, ” I’ve got one for the thumb” and that goes for Jeter, Rivera and Posada as well. The all-time Ring leader is Yogi Berra: Yogi Berra...

Swisher Salutes You, Curtis Granderson, for your immediate impact on the 2010 Yankees! You are the BronxBombersBeat Yankees Player of the Week for Week 1 of the 2010 season. Starting with a new team is never easy, and the first few weeks in the pressure-packed market of New York is especially difficult. Mark Teixiera, Jason Giambi, and Tino Martinez all struggled for long periods of time upon beginning their Yankee careers. For Granderson to get off to such a strong start was important for the team given the first week struggles by the middle of the Yankees lineup. Granderson didn’t have...

C.C. Sabathia has had his share of moments and memories while donning the pinstripes, but nothing comes close to the game he pitched today. For 7 2/3 innings, Sabathia held a very dangerous Tampa Bay Rays team hitless. Sadly, after 7 2/3 innings his bid of a no-hitter ended when Kelly Shoppach dropped a 2-out single into shallow left field. Despite the fact that the no-hitter did not happen, the Yankees rolled to a very solid 10-0 win over the Tampa Bay Rays. Sabathia threw 111 pitches for 7 2/3 innings before giving way to Dave Robertson for 1 1/3 innings. Robertson would allow the Rays to...

In the words of Ryan Dunne in Summer Catch, “Get off your knees blue, your blowing the game!” I am sick and tired of hearing about Joe West’s remarks the other day in regards to the length of the Yankees-Red Sox games. I mean seriously… your JOB is to stand on a baseball field and umpire for 3-4 hours, with the OCCASIONAL 4+ hour game. Would Joe West rather work at a desk from 9-5? If so, I would be more than happy to teach him a thing or 2 about what I do. The guy has some nerve! If you aren’t aware of the situation, Joe West had the juevos to call the Yankees...

On opening night, it was a wild pitch and passed ball that allowed Kevin Youkilis to score the go ahead run in the bottom of the 7th. The next game, he made an errant (more like TERRIBLE) throw to second base on a stolen base by Jacoby Ellsbury. This is a problem that is going to have to be solved soon. Baserunners can’t be stealing bases on us like crazy and knowing that they’re gonna have a great shot of getting second base, and maybe even third base! And just to throw it in there, it looks like there are going to be more than a few pitches going to the backstop that could be...

I am sure all Yankees fans remember the last time Javier Vazquez stood on the mound as a New York Yankee, and I am sure we all want to forget about that horrific night. Don’t worry… I won’t go into details. Over his entire career, Javier hasn’t really been more than a .500 pitcher. His 12-year win/loss total is 142-139. In his years since leaving the Yankees, his record stood at 64-61. In New york he was 14-10, and his career with Montreal was sub-.500 at 64-68. With the stresses he endured in 2004, and the weight that should be lifted off his shoulders in his second...