Bleacher Report - Articles by Marissa Marchese

Joba Chamberlain Should Stay In the Bullpen

Marissa Marchese — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 10:22:33 -0400

It was recently announced that the Yankees plan to include righty flame-thrower Joba Chamberlain in the 2009 starting rotation.

Although I'm glad the Yankees finally have his role decided, I wish they had chosen the other option. I would much rather have him in the bullpen.

Jorge Posada said on "CenterStage" that the Yankees should leave him in the bullpen.

"...If you start him and he pitches 200 innings, he won't be able to [last]. You're going to lose him. He's going to get hurt ... I don't see him as a starter. I'd leave him in the bullpen."

I agree with Jorge. His arm is more valuable as a reliever than a starter. If he throws at this velocity for 200 innings, he's bound to get injured or worn out. It'd be better for the Yankees to stick with Wang, Pettitte (if he returns), and Hughes/Kennedy (who should both battle for a spot). If Mussina returns, then Cash should sign Peavy.

The only way it would make sense to keep Joba a starter is if Mussina doesn't return and the Yanks pull a non-Santana-trade move again. If they didn't give up Cano and prospects for Johan Santana, they probably won't do it for Peavy.

Is it the right move to make him a full-out starter?

How Do You Pick a Favorite Team?

Marissa Marchese — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 09:59:04 -0400

As some of you may know, I am a huge New York Yankee fan.

When I was six-years old, I attended my first Yankee game and fell in love.

It was the first professional sports game I ever saw, and I wanted to be the cool younger sister who knew all about baseball.

In my area, all they sell is Yankees and Mets merchandise—I chose the Bombers simply because I had zero knowledge of the New York Mets organization.

From that first game forward, my father and brother kept me updating with what was going on in Yankee world. I learned about the greats: The Babe, Lou Gehrig, Joe Dimaggio and Mickey Mantle. They taught me about greats from Yogi Berra, Don Larsen, Billy Martin, and Reggie Jackson, all the way up to Derek Jeter, Paul O'Neill, and Mariano Rivera.

I became a fan for simple reasons:

1. They were close. I live about 45 minutes from Yankee Stadium, and they are the closest baseball team around.

2. The tradition of winning. For a young kid, it's easy to follow the team that always wins. When I was six, the Yankees won their third World Series of the decade.

3. The press. The Bergen Record was filled with tales of O'Neill, Jeter, Roger Clemens, and the like. It was very easy for me to keep track of who was who, and I soon began to appreciate the greatness that was the Yankee lineup.

Now, I'm faced with a problem.

I've never been a follower of football.

My brother played the game for 12 years, yet I never bothered to learn anything about it besides what position he played.

All I knew was that the Giants and Jets were from New York and the Packers were from Green Bay, Wisconsin (my father and brother are lifelong Packers fans). I would hear stories of Brett Favre this, and Brett Favre that.

Whenever someone asked me what my favorite football team was, I'd automatically say, "The Packers!!"

I realize now that I never really meant it. I knew nothing about the franchise whatsoever, and I only claimed to be a Packers fan because my relatives were.

So now, as I pursue a career in journalism (particularly sports journalism), I feel it's time that I learned about the sport of football. I told my brother about this, and his response was, "Well, what's your favorite team?"

I couldn't answer.

The process of acquiring a favorite team is not easy, and I know I can't just randomly pick a team out of a hat, but I'm at a loss.

Do we choose our team, or does our team choose us?

Will Citi Field Provide a Home For Cats?

Marissa Marchese — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 13:25:02 -0400

The destruction of Shea Stadium has officially begun, and some fans are worried about the precious felines that live within the confines of the ballpark.

Ever since the early years of Shea, kittens and cats have been roaming around the field. Some will remember the Chicago Cubs-New York Mets game in 1969, when a black cat scurried across the visiting dugout. The Mets, of course, went on to win the NLDS and World Series that year.

Mets officials, including Department Coordinator Anthony Rizzo, claim there are only "one or two" cats living in the stadium. Bryan Kortis of Neighborhood Cats (a Manhattan feline rescue group) believes there are plenty more—at least 20 to 40.

"It'd be unlikely (that) there'd only be one or two," Kortis said. In fact, he insisted the cats be moved to Citi Field, the future home of the Mets.

"They're a part of Mets lore," said Kortis, "Why not keep them around?"

Keeping the cats near Citi Field would be beneficial to the new ballpark. The field is built near the water, and without some sort of cat population, rodents could be a major problem.

Apparently, when the cats at Shea were caught, they were taken to shelters. As of now there is no plan to move the kittens to the new ballpark.

Thanks to Newsday for info.

Jaime Nared: 12-Year-Old Basketball Prodigy

Marissa Marchese — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 11:24:19 -0400

Jaime Nared is 6'1" and wears a size 11 shoe. She's also 12-years old.

Jaime is from Portland, OR, where she grew up engrossed in the sport of basketball. She watches the WNBA and the NBA, memorizing plays, practicing them with her father Greg.

The problem is that she is way too good to compete with girls her age. The last time she played an organized game with 12 year-old girls, the final score was 90-7. So Jaime did the next best thing: play some ball with the boys.

She joined a boys team called Team Concept. The management at the private gym where the team played, called The Hoop, and Head Coach Michael Abraham informed Jaime's parents that she was not allowed to play on the team. There was a rule that prohibited mixed-gender play.

After she was banned, Jaime's mother Reiko Williams was understandably upset. She called a local news station, and Jaime's story was covered on Good Morning America and CNN. Jaime received support from people across the country, from her former guy teammates to a 55-year-old woman who had never even met her.

Jaime and her best friend Kailee Johnson (6'2", age 14) now both play for Abraham, but with the best high-school girls around. She's already getting offers to Oregon State.

There isn't much to do for Jaime but play with girls in high school. If she plays with girls or boys her age, it's like watching A-Rod vs. the White House tee-ball participants. She may not be mentally tough enough to play consistently with girls five years older than her, but she sure beats them physically. She's a pure athlete with a real aptitude for the game.

Maybe she'll be the next Candace Parker...or LeBron...or Jordan.

Credit to NYTimes for original info.

2008 New York Yankees: What Went Wrong?

Marissa Marchese — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 14:49:05 -0400

Looking back at the Yankees 2008 season, one can't help but sigh in defeat. The season isn't even over yet, but it sure seems to be. This was supposed to be the year. The year the Yankees won their 27th World Series title. The year when A-Rod finally got his first ring. The good-bye year of Yankee Stadium, where magic happened and the ghosts always showed up someway, somehow.

It doesn't really feel like that year.

There are multiple factors that contributed to the fall of the Yankees: a practically brand new coaching staff, under-performing players, and a team plagued by injury after injury. But one of the main things missing was the spark. The Yankees seemed to have lost all enthusiasm towards the second half. It seemed as though things were going great with a winning streak after the All-Star break, and then suddenly, everything fell apart.

In the beginning of the year, however, there were signs that this season would not go as hoped. Two of the top Yankee pitching prospects, Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy, started the year off roughly; the two combined to sport an 0-6 record with an 8.67 ERA.

The fans witnessed injury after injury, each one a significant blow. Brian Bruney was sidelined with a foot injury at the beginning of the year and spent his time on the 60-day DL. They lost Andy Pettitte (back spasms) for 15 days. Jorge was getting weaker by the day, and a trip to the DL was inevitable. On June 15, the club lost their ace; Chien-Ming Wang was placed on the disabled list two days after the infamous base-running incident in Houston. Then, a sore knee sidelined outfielder Hideki Matsui, who has been dealing with knee problems since his days in Japan. A strained shoulder sent Johnny Damon to the DL when he couldn't come up with the ball after leaping at the left field wall. Then, as if matters couldn't get any worse, the Yankees lost two more pitchers in Joba Chamberlain and Dan Giese. But when you add up every single one of these injuries and when they occurred, it still doesn't provide a good enough excuse as to why the Yankees failed so miserably this season. Hank can say whatever he wants, but in reality it was more than just injuries. Earlier in the season, he said, "If we don't make it this year, I'm not going to explode...Injuries are a part of the game, and in 35 years since we've owned the Yankees, I've never seen a rash of injuries like this" (NY Daily News).

It wasn't just a cluster of DL trips that sent the Yankees into a downward spiral. No, the trickle of failure had to start somewhere: the coaching staff. There is no doubt that manager Joe Girardi could've had a lot more wins under his belt if he had just done his job more easily. Instead, he wound up over-managing and ended up losing many close games that could've been won with a simple bunt. But's not just Joey G. calling the shots here; pitching coach Dave Eiland was supposed to help guide the younger additions to the pitching staff, and look how that turned out [see Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy above]. Rob Thompson is a fine bench coach, but it wouldn't hurt if he had provided the occasional spark and/or toughness the team needed. Bobby Meacham is a fiasco, and it didn't help that Larry Bowa wasn't there to whip the younger players into shape.

It's obvious that Robinson Cano and Melky Cabrera were affected by Bowa's departure. Last season, the two were buddies were the life of the team. They were motivated by Bowa who was always there to keep them in check. This season, they completely flipped the switch. Melky was nothing more than a good arm in the outfield with a weak bat. Was it the absence Bowa, Cano's mentor, that sent the young second basemen into a frenzy? Perhaps it was the brand new $32 million contract that seemingly put him at ease. He seemed careless playing second base and ended up making a few costly errors.

Yankee pitching this year was a disaster. Moose was a big surprise, and I loved watching the games he started. Pettitte was fine, too. But Cashman should not have relied on Sidney Ponson, Carl Pavano and Darrell Rasner to lead the team in the direction it should've been going. I was shocked when the Yankees didn't make any big pitching moves before the trade deadline. However, seeing as there are a few top pitchers who will be free agents next year, such as Ben Sheets and CC Sabathia of the Brewers, there could be a few changes coming in the offseason.

To top it all off, there was just one tiny problem with the Yankees lineup that never seemed to be solved: nobody hit. The bats were officially pronounced dead a long time ago, and now it's too late to do anything about it—not like they could. The Yankee lineup was potent with run producers and power hitters, but somehow they never got the job done. Jason Giambi was surprising with his bat, but his power will decline. He has to go. I'll be surprised if there's a Yankee that finishes with 100 RBI (Bobby Abreu is the closest with 83...think he can do it? Yeah, me neither). The Bombers did not hit with runners in scoring position, and guess what? That's how you score runs. They're not even close to the 968 runs scored last year. They've recorded 649 runs as of today.

Next year should bring some major changes to the coaching staff, pitching staff, the players, and the overall attitude of the organization. The new stadium should bring a new feel to the club, and all we can do is pray to all things holy that things work out better than they did this year.

Yankees-Red Sox: The Bombers Take Another Beating from the Boys Up North

Marissa Marchese — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 16:46:48 -0400

This game was definitely one to forget for the Yankees, as they took an 11-3 loss to the Boston Red Sox. Up until the fourth inning, things looked hopeful; the two rivals were tied with two runs apiece. Then, in the fifth, Boston answered with another two runs, one of them being walked in by Sidney Ponson (4.2 IP, 7H, 4ER, 3K, 4BB).

The Yankees never got those runs back. For the second night in a row, a Yankees starting pitcher failed to make it past the fifth inning. Ponson wasn't at his best, and his poor outing was reflected in the Yankees' bats.

The Bombers put up one run in the first and one in the fourth, and the bats were silent until the top of the ninth when Jason Giambi went yard with a solo homer. The Red Sox bats really came alive in the top of the eighth.

Heading into the inning with a 4-2 lead, they tacked on another seven runs including a Jason Bay RBI triple and a Dustin Pedroia grand slam. Paul Byrd was solid for the Sox, going six strong innings with five strikeouts and two earned runs.

The Yankees surely hear the boos, the critics, the talk of not making it to the postseason for the first time in 13 years. Unless they could somehow pull off another stint like the 1995 Yankees did, their season is over.

Their postseason hopes are not looking good, and they will need to play every game with the intensity and knowledge that at any moment, they could be done. Leave it to Hank Steinbrenner to put his disgust right out there:

"All I can think about is this game at this point," Steinbrenner said when asked if his team's playoff hopes were finished. "We'll see what happens (today), but the bottom line is they sucked."

There is, however, the tiniest shred of hope; the Yanks are still mathematically in the race, and the season is not over until there is an "x" next to their name.

Yankees-Orioles: Robbie Cano Was Today's Leading Man for New York

Marissa Marchese — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 15:26:04 -0400

The Yankees won the final game of their six-game roadtrip, going for a sweep of the Baltimore Orioles. Who could've guessed that the Bronx's own Robinson Cano would be the hero?

For the first time in a long time, the Yanks looked as if they could muster up a seemingly easy win, taking an early 7-2 lead.

But Darrell Rasner, who lasted only 3.1 innings, was absolutely awful. He was a train wreck from the first pitch of the game. He gave up five runs, three earned, and then watched Edwar Ramirez give up a game-tying homer in the fifth inning.

In came Damaso Marte, who threw one-and-one-third innings of relief. After the game, it was revealed that Marte has been dealing with elbow inflammation for the past week or so. Fan-freaking-tastic. At least it didn't factor into his appearance today.

Robinson Cano, today's hero, went 4-5, with an RBI double in the second and a solo home run in the seventh, which turned out to be the deciding factor in this game.

The ninth inning brought on a feeling of "here we go again."

With two outs, Mariano Rivera gave Brian Roberts a free pass by walking him on four pitches. Roberts then stole second and advanced to third on an E2 (gee, thanks Pudge). But the next batter Mo faced, Nick Markakis, struck out.

It looks like the Yanks are turning things around.

They've won six of their last eight, and they're really starting to score more runs. They pounded Daniel Cabrera today, driving him out of the game after three-and-two-thirds innings. Cano is producing. Damon's hitting well.

If they can keep this up, the fans will have something to look forward to this season. They need wins any way they can get them, and if this offense can start producing like they should be, it should be exciting to see the wild-card standings come the end of September.

Hopefully, they can carry the momentum of a three-game sweep into their next series against the Red Sox, which starts Tuesday at 7:05 in the Bronx.

MLB Players: Should They Have Participated in Beijing Olympics?

Marissa Marchese — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 12:16:51 -0400

As much as I would love to see America's beloved Major League Baseball players participate in the Olympics, I can't help but think that it would have been a terrible idea.

There were no MLB players appearing on this year's roster, which is a good thing. If superstar players from the U.S. took two weeks off to go across the world to compete in the games, where would that leave us? There would be a two-week gap right in the middle of August, just when the games are really starting to matter.

It's not like baseball is a dying sport. It would be completely unreasonable to send players to Beijing to compete for the world title. Even if they won the whole thing, what would that do for the sport? Not much.

Look at all the attention Phelps and Bolt are getting. Baseball wouldn't be a top priority for the folks over at NBC. Baseball is this country's pastime, and NBC wouldn't be spending precious time on a sport that's already established in the U.S.

Sure, it would be fun to watch the superstars like A-Rod, Jeter, Wright, Howard, and Sabathia beat up on other teams, but it still would not be worth it. It would completely disrupt the flow of the regular season back here in the States. There are a lot more cons than pros, and I'm happy that America's MLB season is still in tact.

It'll be a shame to see baseball and softball go, though.

Dear Joe Girardi: The Entire Yankee Fanbase Has Given Up

Marissa Marchese — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 14:40:05 -0400

The Yankees are spent.

As of today, August 20, 2008, the Yankees are 11 games back of the Tampa Bay Rays in the AL East with 37 left to play.

Did I just say the Tampa Bay Rays are eleven games ahead? Yes, yes I did.

At the beginning of the season, I never imagined the Yankees not making it to the postseason in the final year of Yankee Stadium. It was crazy to even think. But here we are.

It's time to pack it up, Joe. You are the only one in that clubhouse who believes your team can make a comeback. Hell, you're the only one in the world. Even your owner says you're cooked.

Darrell Rasner may have tossed the best seven innings of his entire life, and you let it go. The year is going down the tubes right in front of your eyes.

And what's with the "no situational-hitting rule" that seems to be in effect?

Take the August 17 game, runner on first and you don't bunt Gardner or Damon. Perfect opportunity. Gardner lucked out and walked, but Damon grounded out. That's just dumb thinking in my opinion.

But it's not all bad, bomber nation. I guess there is still have next season to look forward to. The rotation won't be Moose-Pettitte-Ponson-Rasner-Geise. The Yankees will have Hughes, Joba, and Wang back in the mix. Moose and Pettitte are both in the final year of their contracts, so we could see one or even both of them back. Sounds like a solid rotation to me.

So for now, Yankee fans, all we can do is wait it out. It's not worth turning on the YES network anymore. In all honesty, these games are getting predictable. I can't remember a game where we've scored more than 4 runs [besides that 15-6 blowout], or a game where we've made a late-inning comeback. I'll stash away my A-Rod pinstripe jersey for now. It's gotten embarrassing to wear in public. There isn't even one player on the team right now who could convince me to buy their jersey.

So we'll have to find new teams to follow until next March. NFL, anyone?