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The New York Yankees owner, George Steinbrenner III, was rushed to the hospital in Florida. This is the latest from New York’s ABC affiliate, Eyewitness News, whom was the first to report that the Yankees owner was rushed to St. Joseph’s hospital. 

The Boss’ condition is still unknown and the entire Yankees Universe is praying that he is recovering well. The man is 80 years old, but he remains young in the hearts and minds of all Yankee fans that had a chance to see him run the team to several championships. 

There have been reports that he has stepped down from baseball operations a bit since 2006, but in recent interviews, Randy Levine and Brian Cashman have said that he is still active with the team. He may not be the same prominent, big, and imposing figure, but George Steinbrenner will forever be The Boss. 

People like Bald Vinny and Yankees beat writer, Bryan Hoch, have all expressed their concern for the Boss’ health. Prayers are being said everywhere for Steinbrenner as Yankee fans hope that this will not be the darkest month in Yankees history.

The family lost Bob Sheppard earlier in the week and the Yankee family does not want to lose yet another big member of the family.

There will never be another George Steinbrenner in baseball or any other sport. This man did everything with whatever he had. Steinbrenner was given a talent by God to build a great team and he did it in a matter of years with the Yankees. 

The Bleacher Report Community prays for George Steinbrenner and his health. Our prayers go out to the Steinbrenner family and the Yankees community. 

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Omar Minaya made a pretty good move by finding this random baseball player with an odd name and a knuckleball. The pitcher’s name is R.A. Dickey and he has started off the season 6-0 with the Mets. He has been around the block for a while, but this season many feel like this guy came from nowhere. 

Nobody knows his true identity. 

Last year, he went 1-1 with the Twins in 35 games. This season’s wins are equivalent to the amount has with Seattle and Minnesota the last two years. But Baseball Reference and all other websites have all of his stats wrong.

Omar Minaya may have spilled the beans a bit when he recently revealed R.A. Dickey’s real name on Twitter. His unconfirmed Twitter account tweeted “Little known fact: The “R.A.” in R.A. Dickey stands for Rick Aguilera.

The shocker comes to a surprise to many. Status Crow , a blog by a die-hard R.A. Dickey Fan also noted the report. In reality, people believed that they had seen the last of Rick Aguilera, but here he is still pitching after finding the Fountain of Youth apparently.

Rick Aguilera is no stranger in Minnesota and that is why signs point that R.A. Dickey is in fact the ’86 Met. Aguilera pitched for Minnesota from 1990 to 1998. Then he returned in 2009. 

R.A. Dickey has been stellar for a 49 year-old. He could even find some votes to put him on the All-Star team. That would be amazing!  An even more interesting stat brought up by Omar Minaya’s Twitter was that last night, R.A. Dickey improved the team’s record to 19-9 in games he has not started. Talk about an All-Star performance!

R.A. Dickey has refused to comment on his identity being revealed. This could also be why Rick Aguilera has not been seen in a while. Dickey could be chosen to start on a future night where the ’86 Mets are honored. It would only be appropriate. 

Could there be another name change coming up? Who knows? Well at least we have set our sights on you, R.A.

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One of New York’s biggest Mets fans will be working with the team he adores in the broadcast booth for the Mets vs. Yankees game. Jerry Seinfeld will be the guest of honor for three innings, replacing Ron Darling for a bit. This was first reported by the New York Post’s Michael Starr .

According to Starr, this is all a Fathers’ Day gift to Jerry from his family. The television sensation will definitely be pleased to be a part of a Mets broadcast for the first time.

It is also cool because he will not be working with total strangers. Not that he wouldn’t know who Gary Cohen is, because as a Mets fan, he has to to have some idea of who he is listening to on the air, and he works with television.

But Jerry Seinfeld will also be reunited with one of his former co-stars. 

When Seinfeld was still on the air, Keith Hernandez guest starred in an episode. In the episode he asked for assistance from Jerry, while being ridiculed and criticized by people like Kramer and Newman. Hernandez’s acting was mediocre. You can be the judge of that.

Here is the original story of the episode as told by Kramer and Newman with Seinfeld coming to Hernandez’s defense.

Here is Keith Hernandez acting at his finest .

It will definitely be entertaining to see Seinfeld and Hernandez at it again. Hernandez is funny alone. Imagine what he is like with Seinfeld, a comedian, as they reminisce about their 1992 episode. Definitely worth tuning into the game. 

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As the trade deadline approaches, teams are going to be pulling the trigger on deals that could have an impact on the rest of the season.

The American League East is always one of the most competitive divisions. Meanwhile, the Chicago Cubs have put Kosuke Fukudome on the trade market. The outfielder has a no-trade clause and said he is willing to waive it for the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees. 

Recently, the Cubs approached Theo Epstein and the Red Sox according to Sean McAdam of CSNNE.com .  The Red Sox may need the Cubs’ outfielder more than the Yankees. They have Jacoby Ellsbury, Mike Cameron, and Josh Willingham all on the DL., which gives them two ways to go. Their first route could be to go with a farm-bred player from their minor league system. Daniel Nava looks like an attractive option, but there are other young players that they can go with. 

The Yankees are the other team that Fukudome would like to be traded to. Their outfield did not look solid at the beginning of the season, but right now it is looking like one of the finest. 

Gardner has picked it up since the start of the season and is currently on fire. Granderson has been a nice addition to the line-up since he arrived and since he returned from the DL. Nick Swisher is looking like an All-Star outfielder and has come up clutch for the Yankees.

No matter how tempting a deal for Fukudome may seem, Brian Cashman should not make the deal. Fukudome’s numbers show that he is better before the All-Star break than afterwards. This is not good news for a team in contention for a play-off spot. 

The pitching in the American League is also a step up than the pitching in the National League. This could also lead to a dip in Fukudome’s numbers coming from the Chicago Cubs. 

Fukudome also comes with a hefty contract worth $21 million through 2011. The Yankees may want to keep their wallet a bit light for Carl Crawford’s possible free-agency. The Yankees may not want to give up a big prospect or too much money for Fukudome. The addition of Kosuke could harm the Yankees’ chances at Crawford. 

The Nationals may seem like Fukudome’s best bet, even though they are on the no-trade list. Believe it or not, Fukudome may help Washington’s rebuilding process and add a nice veteran to the team. In the end, the image of Fukudome in pinstripes does not bode well in the mind of many Yankee fans. Maybe a cursive “w” looks better, as such was the case with Chien-Ming Wang.  

T his article was also featured on MTR Media’s Yankees Page— Bombers’ Banter . Check It Out!

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The Yankees will probably not take a different approach to Game Two of their World Series rematch with the Phillies tonight.

Phillies starter Jamie Moyer has been up and down this season including a complete game, but has since returned to his inconsistent form.

The Yankees’ AJ Burnett was stellar against the Phillies in the postseason, and it will be interesting to see how amazing he may look if the Phillies bats don’t show up—much like they have done all season. 

The last time the Yankees saw Moyer as a starter on the mound was in 2005, and this is definitely a different team.

There is no Jason Giambi, Gary Sheffield, Bernie Williams, or Tino Martinez on this team. Moyer is looking at a completely new lineup with several players having won a World Series ring last year. 

Moyer was ripped apart by the Red Sox in his last start. Is this a good sign for the Yankees? Only time will tell. The Red Sox offense has been picking it up recently, so the runs scored can be justified. 

Burnett can be like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. He has two sides to his pitching. He can be lights-out, especially against a National League team. Or Burnett can be ripped just as badly as Moyer. Both were subtly displayed in the World Series. 

But Burnett should have some help from Alex Rodriguez. The Yankees’ third baseman is expected to return to the lineup after missing the team’s last series and the first game of the Philadelphia series.

All eyes will be on A-Rod and his hip as he steps onto the field for his first bit of action in a few days. He should be fine, though, since he was at batting practice and participated yesterday without pain. He also shagged grounders inside the stadium afterwards. Either way it is A-Rod, and he will always be at the center of attention.

This article was also featured on Bombers’ Banter .

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The Yankees made the right move by not moving against their longtime foe, Roy Halladay. The former Blue Jays ace and now Phillies pitcher was dealing, but at the wrong spots.

The Yankees took the bad pitches and were able to get ahead in the count and ahead in the game. 

The Yankees chose to wait for their perfect pitch, and it paid off. There were three home runs off the bats of Curtis Granderson, Nick Swisher, and Mark Teixeira.

This was not the same Halladay that the Yankees were used to seeing. They are used to seeing a much more dominant guy on the mound. He has won most of his decisions when it comes to taking on the Yankees.

It is also surprising to note that the Yankees are doing all of this without their go-to guy for offense, Alex Rodriguez.

Rodriguez sat out the first game of the series to rest his hip for at least one more night. But reports are saying that he was feeling better. He was out for batting practice before the game and shagged ground balls inside of the stadium afterwards. We should be seeing him on the field for Game Two.

The Yankees almost had another possible injury scare when CC Sabathia was hit in his hand with the ball. CC surrendered all three of the Phillies’ runs in one inning, but he eventually got his groove back and was back to being the dominant CC. Afterwards, Joe Girardi said that anytime a pitcher gets hit back with the ball it is scary, but in CC’s case it is not a serious injury. 

In other Yankees news, the Rays won their match against the Braves. This means that the Yankees do not have sole possession of first place just yet.

Final Score of Yankees vs. Phillies Game One: Yankees 8, Phillies 3

WP: CC Sabathia (7-3)

LP: Roy Halladay (8-5)

HR: Curtis Granderson (5), Nick Swisher (11), Mark Teixeira (10)

This article was also featured on Bombers’ Banter.

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-Bronx, New York, 06/13/2015

The New York Yankees have completed their starting rotation for the 2015 season.

This past spring training, Joba Chamberlain was trying once again to figure out his role. Joba was involved in two competitions: one was for a spot in the rotation and the other was for the closer role. Whichever competition he did not lose, he would take over.

Mark Melancon served as his competition for the closer role. The Yankees were considering either Chamberlain or Andrew Brackman for their final starter slot. That is all before the Yankees decided to sign Stephen Strasburg on June 13. Strasburg was unsigned due to the fact that he underwent elbow surgery in December. No team wanted to take the risk.

Strasburg has been great for the Nationals through his first four years. He went 11-2 in his rookie season in 2010 with 207 strikeouts. This upcoming campaign would mark only the second time that Strasburg has started his season off in June since 2010.

The Yankees will have him start after the aging A.J. Burnett. Strasburg will make his Yankees debut after one tune-up start in Triple-A. The irony is that he will start against his former team, the Syracuse Sky-Chiefs.

Experts project Strasburg to pitch his first game on July 1 at the Florida Marlins Stadium. The press-box in Miami will most likely be filled to see the Yankees $190M arm. 

The Yankees president, Derek Jeter, has said that he is very pleased with the signing and proud to have Strasburg at the front end of the rotation for several years to come. 

GM Brian Cashman said, “Stephen Strasburg will be a big part of future Yankee championship runs. New York welcomes Strasburg with open arms.”

Alex Rodriguez is entering his first season as the Yankees player-manager. He has drawn comparisons to Diego Maradona and his run as Argentina’s World Cup coach in 2010. Both these guys have very high profiles and their success is mostly due to the high-caliber talent on their respective teams.

Rodriguez commented on the Strasburg signing saying, “[Pitching] coach Mussina visited Stephen several times over the winter to see how he was doing. We both learned that for a young kid, he is very mature. The Bronx is a huge stage for someone young and the first few years may be rough. I am no stranger to that. But I believe Stephen will be fine.”

Bleacher Report wishes Strasburg the best of luck as he dons the legendary Yankee pinstripes for the next few years!

Pictured Above: No. 37 Stephen Strasburg – Yankees RHP

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On Wednesday afternoon, Ken Griffey Jr. took the next step in his baseball career, and that was to end it.

The Mariners outfielder and designated hitter was not having his best season and decided it was time to call it quits. Next stop for Griffey…Cooperstown.

How can a player not make it when he is listed as No. 6 overall on the all-time home run list and made the All-Star team 13 times in 22 years? Griffey is beyond qualified for a spot in baseball eternity.

Sure, Tom Seaver earned his spot with the highest percentage ever to be inducted, but that may soon be in jeopardy with Griffey. Ken Griffey is a sure bet and unanimous pick for a spot in Cooperstown.

He has 630 home runs in his career. Many, including myself, believe that Griffey would be atop the all-time home run list had he not been injured several times throughout his career.

Barry Bonds had—and has—nothing on Ken Griffey Jr.

One important thing to note about Griffey is that there is not one steroid accusation against him. He was one of the cleanest players in the game. The belief that he may have taken something while he was injured to get back on the field more quickly is quite absurd.

The baseball world would come crashing down if either of its two ambassadors, Derek Jeter or Ken Griffey Jr., were caught on performance-enhancing drugs.

Some people love to watch Michael Jordan highlights in their spare time, but I wouldn’t mind spending a day watching Griffey’s finest. Whether it was crashing through a wall or diving for a catch, this guy put his body on the line at all times.

10 Gold Gloves cannot compare to the memories he created for fans in the stands when he went all out on the field or fans watching some of the greatest plays ever and seeing the Mariners or Reds star.

Griffey will always be that baby-faced kid with the backwards hat and the white tape on the bat. He has swagger and will always have swagger.

The only difficult thing is how will that be translated onto a gold plaque at Cooperstown with Ken Griffey Jr.’s face and a Mariners hat.

This article was featured on Bomber’s Banter and on the newly launched sports website, Sports Leak, the site to express your love of sports. 

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Roy Oswalt has asked the Houston Astros for a trade. The Yankees are looking for another starter since Javier Vazquez is struggling to keep is spot. What if the Yankees could make a deal for the Houston ace?

The Yankees save several guys on the team that they could move in order to bring Oswalt to New York. The Astros would like to get a pitcher in return from the Yankees, so why not add Vazquez to the deal?

Vazquez seems to pitch great in the National League, because last year he was one of the best and was in contention for the Cy Young Award. He showed that yet again, when he pitched a great game against the New York Mets on Friday night. He serves no use to the Yankees if all he is going to do is pitch well against National League teams. 

Lets add some youth to the mix. Throw in the young relief pitcher, David Robertson. Robertson has been inconsistent and not the same since last year. It seems like every game he goes into, he has to give up a hit. The Yankees do not need that especially when they could possibly be fighting against the Tampa Bay Rays for the American League East title. 

Does Houston want some more pitching? How about Sergio Mitre? The Yankees have been using him this year to eat up innings, but there definitely are better people out there in the farm system and on the market that could replace him easily. Mitre could revamp the Astros’ bullpen with Robertson. 

The Yankees should add a minor league player to be named later just to secure the deal. There are some guys that could be used as chips to make it happen like Kelvin De Leon, a Yankees outfield prospect or catcher Gary Sanchez. The Astros may want youth in the catcher position as they have Kevin Cash and Humberto Quintero behind the plate right now. Sanchez could be ready in a year or two if all goes well.

The Red Sox may want to get in on a deal to block the Yankees from doing so. Another team that may be out for Oswalt are the Mets, who desperately need pitching. Oswalt will be on the move, and it is only a matter of time before someone pulls the trigger on a deal. The Yankees need to act fast if they want to be the ones pulling the trigger.  

This article was featured at Chris Chavez’ Bomber’s Banter .

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Throwing out the first pitch at a baseball game is a tradition that extends to the old days.

Presidents, movie stars, athletes from other sports, politicians, Broadway actors/actresses, singers, etc have all had the honor to be a part of the opening ceremony at a baseball game.

There have been excellent throws that have led people to wonder whether this person could have had a baseball career and there are those that should quit whatever career they hold after embarrassing themselves in front of thousands of people.

Bleacher Report takes a moment to recognize some of the worst first pitches around the baseball universe. Enjoy!

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