A Deconstruction of Champions: The Three-Man Rotation

Welcome to the second edition of Deconstructing Champions. Today we look at the catchers and pitchers of the 2009 Yankees. For the past few years, pitching has posed quite a setback for the Yankees and the beginning of this year looked like it would be a another bad year for pitching. Luckily, the Yankees found a nice rotation towards the middle of year, which included Sabathia, Burnett, Pettite and Chamberlain. When the postseason came around, many people were worried with Joe Girardi's decision to use a three man rotation but as we know the Yankees pulled through. So with that we look at the contributions of the ptichers and catchers that led the Yankees to their 27th victory.


Jorge Posada - Posada made his debut as a Yankee in 95, the same year that his fellow teammate, Captain, and good friend Derek Jeter made his debut. Jorge Posada has always been consistent as a catcher and a batter. Ending the season with 109 hits, Posada did quite well this year. He hit the homer in the ALDS against the Twins to give the Yankees a 2-1 victory and his double in Game 4 of the World Series helped secure a 7-4 win against the Phillies. Posada had always worked hard and it was finally good to see him pick up his 5th World Series ring.


Jose Molina - Being a backup catcher for Posada, we didn't see Molina as much during this season, but he deserves an honorable mention. With the help of A.J. Burnett he did a good job when he played in Game 2. Although he did perform as well as he did last year offensive wise he got 30 hits this season and 1 home run.

Francisco Cervelli and Kevin Cash deserve honorable mentions for their contributions during the regular season.

Pitching


C.C. Sabathia - Acquired during the offseason last year, Sabathia proved to be a helpful add to the Yankees starting rotation. With a fantastic 19-8 record and excellent pitching in Games 1 and 4 of the World Series, he has quickly become a favorite among many Yankee fans. As long as Sabathia never has to pitch to Utley again, he'll help shut down the opposing team.


A.J. Burnett - While Game 5 might have been a bad night for Burnett, we can't forget the excellent game he pitched in game 2. Like Sabathia, he signed on to the Yanks during the offseason and had a tough season with a 13-9 record. Usually pitching great starts in his games, he could go five or six innings without giving up a hit. He pitched a hitter against the Mets and pitching an immaculate inning when the Yanks played the Marlins.


Andy Pettitte - In Game 6, when Pettite left the mound and was given a standing ovation, it kind of reminded me of the scene from "Angels in the Outfield" where everyone flaps their arms for Tony Danza. Like Jeter and Posada, Pettitte made his debut with the Yankees in 95. He had a decent season with a 14-8 record. However,Pettitte's performance in Game 3 and 6 helped secure the win for the Yanks. He definitely would've been a good candidate for the MVP.


Alfredo Aceves - Quite effective as both a starter and a reliever, Aceves pitched an excellent season and had Girardi decided to use at least a 4 pitcher rotation, maybe the Yankees would've have won it in four. He ended the season with a 10-1 record.


Joba Chamberlain - The poor guy keeps on getting thrown back and forth as a starter and reliever. A tough year for Chamberlain he went 9-6 for the year and was almost sent back to the minors. Although he did give up that home run against Pedro Feliz he got a couple of strike outs. We're not sure what will happen to Joba next year but for now he could celebrate his first World Series championship.


Phil Coke - Although his performance in the post season was not too great, he had an ok regular season with a 5-3 record including 2 saves. Nevertheless he did help the Yankees in helping them pick up their 27th World Championship.


Phil Hughes - Fully recovered and healthy from the end of last season, Hughes replaced Wang at the end of April and had a great year with a 8-3 record. He spent the second half of the season as relief pitcher, but there is much speculation that he might be back on the starting rotation for next year.


Damaso Marte - A good reliever, who did very well in the post season. He struck out the two big hitters Utley and Howard in Game 6, which set up for Rivera to come in and finish the series. He retired 12 of the 14 batters he faced during the postseason, five of which were strikeouts.


David Robertson - Although he contributed to the 6-1 loss in game 1 of the World Series, he also helped the Yankees get out of a tight spot in both ALCS and ALDS.


Mariano Rivera - The fourth current Yankee, who started in 95,Rivera has always been called in to seal the deal and he's usually delivered. With his fifth World Series ring and turning 40 in a couple of weeks, we wonder what will become of Mariano Rivera in the future. For now, he can celebrate along with the rest of his team for a 27th World Championship.

With Rivera, we round up the pitchers and catchers who did an amazing job, but we must give honorable mentions to several other pitchers including Michael Dunn, Chad Gaudin,Brian Bruney, who does a better job causing controversy, and Chien-Ming Wang, who still got a World Series ring despite being disabled for most of the season.

Next time, we hit the outfield and look at the power and talent out there.

This has been Ian K. Feldman speaking words of wisdom.

A Deconstruction of Champions. How the Yankees Reclaimed The Title of World Champions!

How did the Yankees win the World Series?

A. They Cheated
B. They're Perfect
C. They Were Lucky
D. IT IS WRITTEN

The question above is a variation of a similar question asked in the film, "Slumdog Millionaire," but I think it perfectly sums up how the Yankees came from a dreadful season starter to retaking the World Series Title for the 27th time after a lengthy nine year wait.

The second half of the season, the 2009 Yankees paralleled the success of the 2007 Giants, who would go on to defeat the 18-0 Patriots in the Super Bowl. This is pretty amazing considering that they had a horrible start that included a notorious 22-4 loss to the Indians back in April. Look back at the season, especially the post season we could see the excellent teamwork that got the Yankees back in first, eight games ahead of the second place Boston, and a trip to the World Series after six years. Mind you this is coming from someone who's a Met fan and thought the 2004 ALCS was the best series I ever watched. Sorry Yankee fans but that's hands down the greatest comeback I've seen in baseball.

Of course, the key to the Yankees winning the title comes down to the individual contributions of the players, who worked together to pull themselves out of a slump and regain what I felt would be the inevitable. Therefore, I'm presenting a segment called the Destructing Champions, where we will look at the contributions of each Yankee that played a prominent role in leading them to their 27th World Championship. Since discussing the contributions of each Yankee will be quite a lengthy blog, I will be breaking this down into several segments, which will appear throughout the month of November. All of the players featured are Yankees, who played after the All-Star Break and made an appearance in at least one postseason game. We'll start off with the infield players for this edition.



Derek Jeter - Who better to start off with then the captain, who had a fantastic season with the Yankees. With an impressive 212 hits (including 18 homers)and surpassing Lou Gehrig's all time hit record with the Yankees, Jeter deserves the nickname "Hit Man." Jeter made successful hits in 14 of the 15 postseason games and ended the year with a career 2747 hits. One of four Yankees, who played the last time they won the World Championship, this is Jeter's first win as Captain and he has plenty to be happy about. We have sportscasters, managers, and fans who acknowledge his hard work both on and off the field. It's not unreasonable to suggest that Jeter defines what baseball is supposed to represent. I cannot wait to see the day they retire his number 2 and he gets his induction into the Hall of Fame.



Mark Teixeira - With Jason Giambi gone, the Yankees needed a good replacement for first place and they did just that with the acquisition of two time Gold Glove winner Mark Teixeira. Needless to say, Teixeira delivered both on the field and on the plate. Although Teixeira struggled a little in the World Series, he had a fantastic season tying with Carlos Pena for the most home runs hit in the AL (39.) He also had an impressive 122 RBI for the season. This is Teixeira's first appearance in a World Series and what a wonderful first season to have with the Yankees.



Robinson Cano - The second baseman proved to have a much better season this year then he did in previous years. He was one of 2 Yankees to get over 200 hits this season. It was also the first time Cano hit over 20 home runs in a season. Although he struggled on the plate this post season, he delivered some well executed doubles plays in Game 6. Hopefully for Yankee fans, they'll see Cano continue to improve for next season.



Alex Rodriguez - At the start of this season A-Rod was plagued by bad news from his admittance of taking steroids while playing with the Rangers to torn labrum in his hip, which kept him off the field until May. Early in the season, A-Rod seemed to be the help that the Yankees offense needed and despite all the controversy he pulled through. This was A-Rod's first home run appearance and he has pulled through in the World Series with a home run in Game 3 and helped secure the win in Game 4. With a slightly improved postseason and well played season, it seems that most Yankee fans are willing to forgive him. However, it's important to remember that we cannot pass judgment on a person based upon how they perform because it doesn't properly represent their character.

That's it for now. Next time, we'll look at the contributions of the catchers and the pitching staff.

This has been Ian Feldman speaking words of wisdom.

Jason Maybe Scary, But Paradoxes Will Haunt You Forever

Like every Halloween for the past six years, another grisly installment of the Saw series was released, only this time it didn't reach the number one spot. Maybe it had a lot to do with the fact that the creativity of series died out after the second film and now it's just a gorefest. Or it could be that people were tired of the same old premise and wanted something different. That's exactly what Paranormal Activity did and word of mouth got it a nationwide release and a jump to the number one spot of the box office.

I only learned of the movie a week prior to its limited release and although I still haven't seen the movie, I'm fascinated by the claims of this being the scariest movies despite the lack of violence. I've read up on the film and I don't know if it was done intentionally, but the director sort of makes a possible metaphor to our own lives and I think that's where the horror is coming from. The film follows a young couple, Micah and Katie, who move into a suburban home and we learn that Katie is followed her whole life by a demon. I've refused to know the ending and therefore you don't have to worry about me revealing it to you, but a great deal of the movie takes place in the bedroom where Micah has set up a video camera so he could record what happens as they sleep. A lot of people claim they freak out during these scenes. In a way this reminds me of some of Andy Warhol's films. The psychological aspects of the film seems to be some homage to Alfred Hitchcock, which is ironic since Psycho was a film that was long remembered after audience stepped out of the theater.

The demon although it could be seen as something supernatural, can also be viewed in metaphorical terms. Demons can also be interpreted to mean our own internal struggles through lives and sometime when those demons take over they can have horrific consequences on certain parts of our lives including our familes, our friends, and our jobs. Although this message of dealing with our own demons is probably not the message at the forefront, but I get the feeling that it does appear subconsciously and I think it's the reason why we so many are calling this the scariest movie of all time. Movies like Halloween, Friday the 13th, Nightmare having that sense of fake present in them and we know they could not happen. Even in the Saw movies, you must suspend all aspects of reality. However, a film like Paranormal Activity, which exposes its audience to potentially realistic, psychological experiences reminds us of the scariest, most fearful horror villain of all time; the mind.

All Work And No Play, This has been Ian Feldman speaking words of wisdom.

Blowin' In The Brass Windpipe: Two Centuries of The Blues Harp

I have always considered the harmonica to be one of my favorite instruments and although I've tried learning it, I never managed to pick up on it. There are plenty of bands or artists that I listen to who often feature the harmonica in many of their songs. In fact, there are many harmonica players, who perform such moving harmonica solos. While the harmonica still remains widely popular in the blues, folk and country genres, it has branched out to other styles of music over the past several decades. We'll take a look at some of the most influential harmonica players, including Bob Dylan, Neil Young, and John Popper.

The harmonica has always and will always remain one of the major components of the Blues. When records featuring the harmonica first appeared in the 1920s, it was considered a staple instrument among the African American communities in the South until the Memphis Jug Band sparked interest among the Black and White communities. Ironically, the harmonica has often surrounded the history of American oppression. The harmonica eventually made it's way up North to Chicago, where it helped define the Chicago Blues sound of artists like Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Paul Butterfield, and Willie Dixon. In the 60s and 70s, the harmonica would find its way into classic rock and still can be found in contemporary music. Without further ado, here are some of the most influential harmonica players of our time.

#1 - Sonny Boy Williamson II - From Robert Johnson and Elmore James to The Yardbirds and the Band, Sonny Boy Williamson played with them all. This is Eyesight To The Blind, which was later covered by The Who for their rock opera "Tommy."



#2 John Lennon - A brilliant songwriter and eccentric artist, John Lennon also happened to be a pretty good harmonica player. The opening bars of the Beatles first #1 hit, "Love Me Do," features a bluesy harmonica progression. John played the harmonica in several other early Beatles songs including, Please Please Me, From Me To You, I Should Have Known Better, I'm A Loser,and later on in Rocky Raccoon.



#3 Robert Plant - Four words - Bring It On Home.



#4 Bob Dylan - A friend of my felt that his style is rather sloppy. Still he's been a major influence to numerous musician's and folky blues style is good to listen to.



#5 Neil Young - He doesn't just play the harmonica. He speaks through it and he has a fair, share of beautiful harmonica solos. My personally favorite would have to be from "My My Hey Hey."



#6 - John Popper - One of the more contemporary harmonica players, he first caught my attention at the end of Kingpin. You've probably heard of his band, The Blues Travelers, best known for, "Run Around", and "Hook." Anyway, John Popper is one of the best modern harmonica players out there so check him out.



So check out these cool harmonica bits and let me know what you think.

This has been Ian K Feldman speaking words of wisdom.

In Media Res/ Uhmm Excuse Me

Right now I'm in between studying and preparing for three midterms, so I am limited with the free time I have to post much material. I'm hoping to do an article this weekend on that Balloon Boy but I don't want to promise anything. In the meantime, here's something that I've been wanting to post for the past two weeks.

I'm taking sociolinguistics this semester and one of my responses got a really positive feedback and I would like to get your opinion of the situation. Most of the chapter dealt with how women and men are defined by the kind of language they choose to utilize. One section in particular deals with interactions between members of the same sex, as well as members of the opposite sex. Interruption, gossip (yes, men do gossip.) and feedback are all examples of interaction. My response comes from a statement made in the book that claims in cross-gendered interactions, almost all the interruptions came from males." The author, who happens to be a woman, is implies that men have no trouble breaking into a conversation. However, based on my personal experiences, I find this to be a fallacy. I decided to give my take on the issue and my professor commended me for offering a contradicting explanation to what the book claims. Here it is and please feel to post your thoughts.

“In cross-gender interactions, almost all the interruptions were from males.” (pg. 306.) This line really stood out to me because there have been number of times that this has happened to me. There have been a number of times where I have wanted to put my two cents into a conversation that I found interesting, but most of the time I find it difficult to find the perfect spot to jump in. I sometimes feel hesitant about breaking into a conversation, especially if it’s with a group of girls, because I don’t want to blurt out something that comes off stupid. I guess that’s where my typical male ego kicks in, but I’m sure a lot of guys will agree that unless a girl brings you into a conversation, it’s not so easy finding the right time to break in. I personally feel that it’s easier for a guy to start a conversation with a girl and then have other people join in whenever they feel it’s necessary. One thing that a guy should not do is wait until the discussion is over to make a comment because girls will give you a look that reads, “Dude, that was five minutes ago.”

I do notice that people rarely have a problem with interruptions when it comes to talking to members of the same sex, especially for women. I’ve seen women go from being strangers to finishing each others sentences after one class and that’s amazing. I also get the feeling that most women know the right time to “break the ice” and I think a lot of that has to do with body language and the detection of certain cues. I’m sure that guys have similar cues but I’ve never taken the time to make note of it. In the end, we can assume that both males and females interact better with members of their gender.

This has been Ian Feldman speaking words of wisdom.

Temporary Reformat

With school work and other stuff piling on to my Fall Semester, I have become very limited in the free time I have to post up entries. Since, I don't really don't want to go on an indefinite hiatus, I've decided to temporarily change the format of the site. For now, I will only be publishing articles and papers that I have written, which I feel might be of interest to you. This includes stuff from The Banner, my own assignment and prior side projects.

Once again, I apologize for not posting as much for the past month, but it certainly doesn't mean I'm putting my pen or, in this case, my keyboard down anytime soon.

This has been Ian K. Feldman speaking words of wisdom.