And The Yankees Let Out A Collective "Phew! Ok, We're Still In It"

I remember waking up today and thinking, "I have so much to do and where to begin?" When you get a day off, the extra free time should be spent on doing things that are productive. So, what did I do today? I stayed in my bed, curled up, and pushing down nerves because today was Game 5 Do or Die for the New York Yankees. How did we do? Read on and you'll see.

I am proud to announce that the Yankee bats hopped up out of bed, turned their swag on and led us to a 7-2 victory over the Texas Rangers. By doing this, they allowed CC Sabathia to be dominant and efficient in holding Texas to nearly nothing.  Our backs were against the wall and honey we mauled our way out of obscurity. I remember tweeting last night that "The Rangers were guests in our home and they left with the silverware, china, and furniture" so going into today's game, I kept thinking: what else are you going to allow them to take? I'm glad the Yankees noticed the missing items and retrieved what was theirs. A special thanks to Derek Jeter, Nick Swisher, Robinson Cano, Alex Rodriguez, and hell the rest of the lineup for COLLECTIVELY shining. I saw no individual efforts today and I couldn't be any happier.

The rest of the series has to be taken one day at time and while we're all pumped up for Game 6, we can't forget that everything is an uphill climb. I'm confident that these guys will be wearing the necessary shoes to take that climb on.

Now, to end this post it's only fitting that we honor "staying alive" in the series by playing the Bee Gees. Tweet/blog with you all on Friday!



XOXO,
Whitney

And Just Like That....Everything Is Swishalicious...

In what was the final game of a series between the New York Yankees and the Baltimore Orioles which left Yankee fans scratching their heads and questioning, "Are we really losing to the Orioles?" the Yankees brought all of their might to the ballpark.

Ivan "SuperNova" Nova was on the mound today and while his performance wasn't great, Nova came with some fight. However, the Orioles, who just continue to surprise everyone, well...not surprising since Buck Showalter is their manager, managed to swing well enough to garner 2 runs on the board. Next up, the Yankees decided to give it a go at getting some runs in and were successful with 1 run. The game would be at a constant 2-1 until the bottom of the ninth when Nick Swisher appeared at the plate.

Prior to Nick's plate appearance, Robinson Cano, who has been going through a rough slump, almost hit a well needed confidence booster, a homerun, but was denied. Haven't we seen this upcoming occurrence before? When the hot hitting guy or the captain doesn't save the day a hero emerges...come on guys, the answer should be YES! We've seen this before and the hero's name is Nick Swisher.

Now, back to the story. With Nunez pinch running for Rodriguez, Nick Swisher comes to the plate and does what he normally does and ends everything with a bang. Today, that bang was a 2 run walk-off homer which helped the Yankees avoid a sweep from the Orioles and helped the Yankees win 3-2. Fun fact: A year ago, September 8, 2009...Swisher hit a a walk-off homerun against the Ray's Dan Wheeler.

So, how do we conclude what has been an amazing day? Well, I'll conclude by saying....damn good Nicholas Thompson Swisher.

XOXO,
Whitney

Boss...This One Is For You

The Yankees played their first game at home since the All Star Game and the sudden death of George Steinbrenner. The team knew that their return to the Bronx would be filled with commemorative tributes to both Steinbrenner and Bob Sheppard thus; they didn't disappoint.

Mariano Rivera placed two roses on home plate one for Mr. Steinbrenner and one for Mr. Sheppard. Following this gesture came the speech by the captain Derek Jeter who poured his emotions into his farewell speech to the two men who had the greatest impact in his life. After a moving performance of the National Anthem, it was time for baseball.

The Rays came swinging early to take an early lead to 1-0. Then, after pouring on the muscle power, the Rays took a 3-1 lead. Just when it seemed as if the emotions of losing the boss would take over, Robinson Cano hit a solo shot to make the game 3-2. Right after that blast, Jorge Posada hit another solo shot to tie the game 3-3. The stadium was in an uproar.

However, the play of the night would come from Nick Swisher who hit hard into the upper deck to tie the game 4-4. Think the Yankees were trying to make the boss proud? Hold on for the final cap off of the night.

In the bottom of the night with 2 on, Derek Jeter came to plate and it would only be fitting for the captain, the man whose heart is torn into pieces, to win the game. Sadly, he struck out.  But, here's the kicker. George Steinbrenner was a native of Ohio and besides loving his family, he loved the Yankees and the Buckeyes. Now, Nick Swisher attended Ohio State and this sat well with Steinbrenner so can you guess who won the game?...NICK SWISHER! As an appropriate goodbye to "The Boss", Swisher hit a shot in the outfield as Granderson scored at home. Mr. Steinbrenner definitely oversaw tonight's victory. Yankees win 5-4.

Way to make George and Bob smile guys.

XOXO,
Whitney

Nick Swisher Must Be Feeling Swishalicious

Nick Swisher has just been announced to participate in the 2010 Homerun Derby. This comes days after another Yankee, Robinson Cano, withdrew from the competition after concern about his swing and an apparent "back injury". What a high Nick Swisher must be feeling right now.

After a brilliant campaign for the Final Vote in this year's All-Star Game, Nick Swisher trounced Kevin Youkilis from the Red Sox to secure his spot on the American League team. Likewise, Swish has improved his batting tremendously from roughly around .280 to above .300. Now with this latest addition, Nick Swisher is on Cloud 9. However, I can't help but wonder when concerns will emerge to deter Swisher from hitting on Monday night.

Until then, Nick Swisher is participating in the derby. As noted by Mark Feinsand on his twitter page, "Swisher called Girardi, Long and Cashman before agreeing to participate in the Home Run Derby. They all gave him their blessing". 

Congratulations Nick Swisher. Many more blessings to you.

You can follow Mark Feinsand on Twitter at twitter.com/BloggingBombers

XOXO,
Whitney