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Another step to wiping the name of Barry Bonds off the top of the pile. Cleaning up the list that Bonds sullied when he took the record from Aaron.

…he’s just going to be another one with an asterisk to his name.

Sad really, had his chance but those three seasons in Texas means it ain’t going to be as big a celebration if he does get to the magic 763 than it should be – three seasons at 52, 57 and 47 homers that are making it only 444 he’s hit according to some.

And that’s if he does make it. 163 to go, took him exactly three years to get this last 100, factor in natural slowing down, seems to pick up more injuries these days, his game numbers have been down the last three years, will he need 6 or more years to get the remaining bombs? Even being the youngest, at 35 years and 8 days, to reach the 600 milestone does he have the time to top the chart?

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Three and a half months into the season and only one post about baseball – damn you all to hell channel 5 – and the second one is about the death of The Boss. And I’m a bit late on that.*

Not much to say really, what can I say that hasn’t already, whether good, bad or indifferent. All I know is the Yankees are a bit better off now than when he and his cohorts paid $8.7 million for them in ’73 – where can you go now in the wolrd and not see that famous NY logo on a blue cap?

And while some fans bitch and moan about the him and the Yankees, the players they bought and traded for he was paying the luxury tax to make the Yanks winners while other team owners were just making sure their pockets were well lined. Don’t blame George because your owners have produced crap teams.

Hey I know it’s not GMS III but Larry David but a fitting tribute?

Just wish he hadn’t fired Billy that fifth and final time before a certain trip to the new old Yankee stadium in ’88.

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*Also so late I never mentioned Bob Sheppard’s passing, happy I got to hear him at his job.

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And it’s my first baseball post of the season – damn you channel five, damn you all to hell – hell it’s almost my first baseball post since the Yanks ended the Toxic Curse all those months ago, just over 5 ain’t it.

Nothing over the close season about the Yanks or the game, bar my absolute shock at the news that a home run record breaker took drugs in the 90s. So nowt about any of the reigning World Series Champions acquisitions or those they let go.

I wasn’t that bothered to see Johnny Damon go to be honest, sad to see Godzilla leave, always liked the unflappable, unfidgety way he went about his batting, but I kinda understood why it had to be. Especially with the arrival of Curtis Granderson from the Tigers. I’ve always liked the kid after he came over here during the off-season a couple of years back and appeared on channel five’s baseball show. Seemed like a top bloke and certainly put a hell of a lot of British sportsmen in the shade with his communication skills – I don’t seem to remember any “you knows” – he came across as a top bloke and a great ambassador for the game.

Added to all that he looked to have all the skills required on the park, skills that in a way need to be realised early on in a Yankees shirt for it to be the start of a Yankees career. Slow starts build a pressure that creates busted Yankees careers.

Now does it get any quicker than a homer in your first at bat – OK it could be quicker with a first pitch home run, we can also forget the game ending at bat in that first loss – and then the game winning HR against the Red Sux in their backyard to win the first series of the season.

Nice one Curtis, just have to keep it up for the next 159 games and you may have earned that pinstriped jersey

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Not the best way to open the $1.5 billion Yankee Stadium, certainly not Babe Ruthesque.

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Jorge Posada wasn’t happy about what happened last night in the 15-5 defeat to the reigning AL champion Rays, he’s doing his part, 8 RBIs with a .350 average and he’s right that losing so badly isn’t a laughing matter…

Nobody was laughing. Today was embarrassing; just one of those days where everything went for them and nothing went for us. We didn’t pitch or do the things we were supposed to do. Nobody was laughing. - Jorge Posada

But Nick Swisher was laughing his way through the eight inning, after all he was the one up there on the mound getting, Ks, outs and walking off with no runs added, when it’s your first outing on the mound since freshman year of high school if that isn’t something to laugh about what is.

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And when you are leading the team main players in home runs (3), RBIs (10), runs (9), total bases (23), AVG (.450), OBP (.542), SLG (1.150), OPS (1.692) you have the right to smile, joke and laugh your way pitching a scoreless inning against a major league team that had already notched up 15 runs against guys that do this for a living.

You are doing your bit for the team, who cares if it’s with a huge grin on your face, you’re doing it right on the field.

We know we didn’t play very well today, but we had to find something to laugh about in that moment and I just happened to be the guy everyone was laughing at,” Swisher said. “If that’s what it takes to get us back together and get rockin’, then I’m all for it. - Nick Swisher

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OK nine Nick Swishers might be too much, just think the Yanks might not have had even one, brought in as the 1st base for the season that was knocked for six when Tex signed for all that dough. Nady got the starting right field role, Nick was riding pine, the odd pinch hit here, odd start there when someone was rested, that’s if he wasn’t heading off to another team in a trade.

But no Nick Swisher – #33 Outfielder / First baseman / Relief Pitcher – has become an instant fan favourite, helped by putting up those numbers in his first few games as a Yankee, this comic relief outing certainly hasn’t hurt.

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They aren’t going to go through the season winless, the big money pitchers aren’t going to be K less and hitters aren’t going to go hit, RBI and HRless.

Though it did take the $82.5 million pitcher that no one seemed to want the Yankees to sign, A.J Burnett, to help stop the “rot”. We can now of course look forward to a 160-2 season

Going to be hard to keep Nick Swisher out of the starting lineup if he keeps this up, could Godzilla be the one for the push?

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Nah it wasn’t meant to start off this season worse than it did last, at least that lot that finished third in the AL East last year had actually won a game by now, not lost the first two straight to the birds from charm city.

It’s time for a classic Yankee fan “what have you done for me lately?”

I don’t care if you went 5-0 last April, Wang, this is this April and we ask one thing of you sink that ball and you can’t even mange that, it ain’t going to be a 161-1 season then. If they lose tonight they could go for a 114-48 like 1998, which had a happy ending after all.

Added to all that it’s bugger all points from another starter in my fantasy team, three starts so far combining for 0 wins, 14 innings and a whole 3 Ks.

It is only two games in, Burnett tonight I don’t have him on my roster so that pretty much guarantees a good outing with a big fat W at the end.

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Yes I was supposed to post up yesterday about the Yanks first win of the season behind a storming debut from $161 million CC Sabathia, helped by $180 million Mark Teixeira against the latter’s home town Orioles.

The fact I didn’t post anything yesterday had nothing to do with the fact it didn’t turn out like that instead it was a 10-5 loss to the Baltimore birds, but this place crapped out on me, somehow got my I.P. blocked by the host.

CC didn’t have his stuff on the day and Tex might have let some of the crowd get to him when he could manage no more than one base on balls. Oh well one down one hundred and sixty one to go, as Yanks manager Joe Girardi said…

I guess we’re not going to go 162-0 - Joe Girardi

Historically CC and Tex haven’t been the best of starters to the season, would any of the Yanks competitors now turn around and say they wouldn’t want either player after one game in April if they had the chance? No!

Wang tonight, he’ll get me some fantasy points.

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So of course there was two players I felt they had to get this off season and yes it was the bleeding obvious ones – CC Sabathia and Mark Teixeira. Thankfully last night they added the latter to the former.

Yes there are problems, it’s a lot of cash and while the wage bill is down from last year it won’t be down by much when you add in AJ Burnett – a signing I wasn’t hoping for so much. And it’s a lot of years to tie a top notch defensive player at first base, it does create problems about where are the Yanks going to hide those players that are getting on a bit in age in future years. Posada and Jeter can’t stick at their positions for ever and when will ARod need a rest from 3rd, with only the DH spot open to the three there’s a bit of a log jam.

Then there’s an abundance of players that can play outfield, with Swisher added, while not exactly being the greatest out there. Well that’s something Girardi and Cashman are going to have to figure out.

Still on the plus side there’s all the whinging from the haters to brighten the day. Oh the poor old Sux couldn’t pay up that kind of money it would break their wage structure going over the twelve dollars fifty three cents and lunch vouchers they pay annually. I wonder what amount of crying about money and salaries we would have heard from certain media outlets if Tex had headed to BeanTown. Or the other lot who object to the Yanks putting the money they make back into the team, I wonder what they think should be done with it. No doubt they’d like it handed to their team to create parity, welcome to the Union of Soviet Socialist Baseball Fans.

Ah there’s more pressure on the Yanks to win number 27 this year with all that money spent, because there was no pressure before was there

That possible Yanks lineup and rotation, if ARod can keep Madge out of his head and have his usual odd numbered year MVP season could just be a good one. TWKoD.

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