Why are Yankee fans cheering when Hideki Matsui hits a home run against their team?

Not exactly the greatest of games last night - the Yankees looked really flat, and Phil Hughes didn't have it. But the thing that ticked me off the most about the loss was hearing Yankee fans cheer the opposition. When Hideki Matsui hit a homer off Chan Ho Park to put the game out of reach for the Bombers, all too many Yankee fans got excited over it. The worst was that female "fan" clad in Yankee gear holding up a sign for Matsui and cheering and bopping around like the Yankees won the World Series or something. Good grief.

This isn't the first time this has happened this year - Yankee fans did the same thing in an April Angels-Yankees game, when Matsui hit a homer to put Anaheim ahead. I don't get that at all. It's one thing to give an ex-Yankee like Matsui a round of cheers the first time his name is called out in the lineup. After all, even though Matsui and the Angels were in the Bronx in April, that doesn't mean everybody in the ballpark was there any of those games.

But it's an entirely different deal to cheer him every time, and to applaud him when he gets a homer, or even a hit, against your team. Matsui isn't a Yankee any more. I have no reason to cheer his home runs now, especially when they're against the Yanks.


Enough with the Matsui worship already. It's like when Billy Crystal wore a Switzerland hat when the Yankees played the Dodgers, because of Joe Torre. Please. To me, it's not a hard decision to root for the Yankees over former Yankees. My team comes first. Johnny Damon was one of my favorite Yankees ever, but if he hits a homer against the Bombers when he returns to the Bronx this summer, I will hold my applause.

Look, I'm not saying to boo Matsui. I'm just saying that the silly applause and cheers for his hitting feats against the Yankees need to end. It's annoying.

One other thing - didn't hear the game on the radio, so I don't know if John Sterling did the Thrilla by Godzilla call, the way he did this April. Does anybody know?

What do you think? Tell us about it!

A-Rod counts the ring, Hideki gets hailed, and other Opening Day thoughts

You see this, Red Sox fans? This is how you welcome back your playoff hero who went off to a rival team - the way the Yankees, and their fans, welcomed back Hideki Matsui to the Bronx yesterday.

I thought the hugs, cheers, and accolades for Matsui were terrific yesterday, and a highlight of Tuesday's home opener. (Yahoo Sports has a nice slide show of pix from the event, and MLB has video if you want to see it.) It was great to see Matsui treated that way. His old teammates were happy to see him (and Derek Jeter even played a joke on him with a fake ring!)

And Matsui arguably got the biggest cheers of the day from the fans, even though he's wearing a different-colored uniform now. Yes, I realize that the Angels aren't the Yankee rivals the way the Red Sox are, althought they have been a thorn in the Yankees' side for the last decade. But the way some Boston fans couldn't give Johnny Damon one measly at-bat to cheer him still rankles. So there!

Here are some other things I loved about the Opening Ceremony:

* Jerry Hairston Jr. taking a red-eye flight from the West Coast just to be a part of the day. He seems like a great guy - and boy, did he look happy to be there!

* The cheers for trainer Gene Monahan, who is battling cancer.

* The introductions being done in reverse uniform number.

* And the look on A-Rod's face when he finally got his ring (and the look on the face when he showed the ring off to the media after the game.)


I also liked what he said afterwards about his new jewelry:
"I heard a lot of guys talking about how they're not going to wear it because they're too cool," Rodriguez said on Tuesday. "I'm going to wear it -- and wear it every day. If they let me wear it to third today, I would have tried to do that."

It I were A-Rod, not only would I wear the ring all the time, but I'd have it made to fit the middle finger, just for emphasis.Yes, I'm mean that way!

Anyhow, as for the game itself, it looked like Andy Pettitte's great pitching, and the Yankees' hitting, would give Mariano the day off. But then David Robertson gave up a grand slam to ex-Yankee Bobby Abreu, and Mo had to go into the game!

Fortunately, the Yankees won, and all is right in the Bronx - at least for now.

What do you think? Leave us a comment!

What if the Yankees tried to copy the Hideki Matsui Snuggie giveaway?

Longtime readers know I'm all about the Snuggie, even if it is a ripoff of the Slanket. So I was all excited to hear that former Yankee Hideki Matsui is the subject of an Anaheim Angels giveaway/stunt involving a Snuggie-like product.

According to MLB.com:

On Tuesday April 6, 2010, the Angels will attempt to break the Guinness World Record for the "largest gathering of people wearing fleece blankets." All fans in attendance at the Angels vs. Minnesota Twins game (7:05PM) will receive a complimentary Hideki Matsui Blankie courtesy of Konica Minolta.

So, it's not a Snuggie, it's a Blankie. Got it.

Squawker Jon just told me he thought the name Blankie was the only thing sillier than Snuggie!

I'm envious that the Angels are going to try to break the Cleveland Cavaliers' recent record involving the most number of people to wear this Snuggie-like product at one time (although the Cavs went for the Snuggie, and not the Blankie!) So why aren't the Yankees trying to get in on this action, with a Yankee Blankie giveaway (hey, it even rhymes)?

Then I got to thinking about a few drawbacks as to having such a promotion in Yankeeland. Like, which player would it be based on:

• A-Rod was going to be the subject, then his critics complained such a product wouldn't be a True Blankie, and it wouldn't keep people warm in October
• The Nick Johnson Blankie was already falling apart, and it wasn't even Opening Day
• The Yankee front office thought about having Joba Chamberlain involved, but couldn't decide if he should be wearing a Snuggie or a Blankie
• A.J. Burnett offered to have the product be based on him, but then he wouldn't let Jorge Posada wear one
• Finally, the Yankees decided to have Nick Swisher be the subject of the Blankie giveaway, only to have him crop the top of his Blankie into a Swishalicious Mohawk

 What do you think? Tell us about it!

The best and worst of ALDS Game 1 - Yankees-Twins

Well, that was a relief. I'm, of course, very happy that the Yankees won. But I'm also relieved. Losing to the Twins would have been being at the short end of a losing match for the ages. Now the Yanks just have to beat the Twins two more times. (Incidentally, Red Sox fan Paul asked me which game I thought the Yanks would lose, to make my Yankees in 4 prediction come true. The Carl Pavano one, of course!)

As for last night, let's break down this Yankee victory's highlights and lowlights:

* Derek Jeter had a great night - the kind of night that justifies his clutch reputation. He started with a single to lead off the game, also had a two-run homer, and two walks. And I think it's appropriate for this team's history that Derek Jeter is the first player to hit a homer in the new Yankee Stadium.

 * CC Sabathia wasn't the best he's been this year, but he still had an impressive start, albeit one with a very shaky beginning. When was the last time the Yankees 1) had an ace to start an October game, and 2) had an ace that actually won the game?

* Part of CC's initial shakiness last night had to do with Jorge Posada, who is getting on my nerves. After doing that little passive-aggressive hissy fit over not getting to catch for A.J. Burnett, it probably wasn't the best time for Posada to have such a terrible night behind the plate, with two passed balls, and all sorts of sloppiness. (He looked as bad as Jason Varitek does out there these days!) After watching Posada chase after the ball, I said to myself, "I just hope we win that game. That’s all I’ve got to say."

* And our long national nightmare is over - Alex Rodriguez finally got a hit with runners in scoring position, and then got another hit with RISP. Did A-Rod say, "Kiss me, Kate" after the game? (Sorry, I crack myself up sometimes!) Anyhow, let's hope that this starts to get the postseason monkey off his back.

* Hideki Matsui had a quietly brilliant season for the Yankees, and he quietly got a critical homer for the Yanks last night, one that allowed Joe Girardi to get his bullpen some work. Some might think he did a little too much mixing and matching, but I think it was good, given the layoff, to have Phil Hughes, Phil Coke, Joba Chamberlain, and Mariano Rivera get some work in.

* Speaking of Joba, I am strongly leaning towards having him as a bullpen guy. For whatever reason, he is a much more fearsome pitcher coming out of the bullpen.

* Nick Swisher was having fun, and got a key hit and RBI. Mark Teixeira, on the other hand, didn't look so great behind the plate. Squawker Jon and I were trying to think of some Twilight Zoneish plot behind it, where some gremlin haunting A-Rod in October moved into Tex's locker!


What do you think were the highlights and lowlights of last night's game? Leave us a comment!

Whip it good! Hideki Matsui and the Yankees celebrate another walkoff win

Ladies and gentlemen, your first-place New York Yankees (for now, at least!)

Pretty cool to see the Yanks' have their ninth walkoff win of the year, and it's still only July. Also amazing to see that the Bombers have won three games in a row with a 2-1 score. The coincidence itself isn't what shocks me; the fact that there were such low scores in this bandbox of a ballpark is the astonishing part!

The other jaw-dropping thing was Hideki Matsui's uncharacteristic celebration of his walkoff homer. The only other time I remembered seeing him so excited in a game was in Game 7 of the 2003 ALCS, where he jumped at home plate. (Speaking of which, I saw that clip again when watching Mike Mussina's "Yankeeography" last night.)

Last night, Alex Rodriguez, Melky Cabrera, and Jorge Posada (another shocking thing right there!) all encouraged him to toss his helmet a la A-Rod. And Hideki did so while rounding third, while the three teammates went after the helmet. Squawker Jon teased me that Matsui was a "punk" for tossing the helmet, though!

Then, of course, Matsui was treated to a pie in the face, courtesy of A.J. Burnett. 

It really is a different team this year. I don't know what's more shocking - that Matsui was participating in the Yankee mayhem, or that Jorge Posada was! Or maybe it was that Andy Pettitte finally pitched a great game at Yankee Stadium.

Squawker Jon doesn't care for this era of good feeling in Yankeeland. He wonders why Yankee fans gripe about Francisco Rodgriguez and Jose Reyes celebrating, when the Yanks are doing such elaborate walkoff win stuff. Good grief!

(Photo courtesy of the Star-Ledger)

What do you think? Leave us a comment!