Keith has gotten a bit of mail on his recent article in which he predicts that the Yankees will not make the playoffs.  Here is a sampling:

Hello sir,

I am writing to refute the article you wrote on July
15th about how the Yankees will not get to the
playoffs. Although I know the main reason you wrote it
was to get your name recognized, it is full of holes
and total BS.

To recap, here are your five reasons they wont make
the playoffs and my rebuttal:

5) The Pitching's All Wrong
____________________________
No, not really. Its not a stellar rotation, but they
get the job done and have a better than expected
bullpen.

4) Too Many Holes in the Lineup
_________________________________
Have you even watched a game this year? The Yanks have
the best line up in the majors, IMO

3) The Remaining Schedule
_________________________
Yeah, they had a tough August, but got thru it OK. Now
we finish up with a ton of home games.

2) They're in a Tough League
____________________________
Besides the White Sox and Tigers, whom we've done
well against, who else do you have? Its tough but not
out of the realm of possibility (As shown by the lead
we have in the AL East!!)

1) Steinbrenner Got Stingy
__________________________
Really! Bringing in Abreu was stingy? If you want to
see cheap owners who don't make trades at the deadline,
go up north about 200 miles and talk to the grandma
who owns the Sucks and the teenager who runs it.

I'm not writing to flame or to say "I told you so", I
am  just curious if you will be revising or writing a
new article about the Yankees lead in the AL East and
how you were wrong about all five of your points.

Thanks for your time!

-Sean Harder

Sean,

Thanks for writing, and thanks even more for not saying, "I told you so!"

While the Yankees certainly will make the postseason, you seem to have forgotten the Twins and the A's when you listed the best AL teams.  It's "not out of the realm of possibility" that the Yankees finish with the fifth best record in the league, and the White Sox and Twins are probably stronger teams either way simply because they've faced tougher competition. 

However, the Yankees are a much, much stronger team now than they were at the beginning of the year (or even July 15th).  I am tempted to write another Yankees article because most writers don't tend to revisit their bad predictions, and I like to break the trends.  On the other hand, there is enough Yankees propaganda out there already without my adding to it.

~Keith

Thank you for the reply! Yes, I agree that there is
enough Yankees propaganda - anyone that's watched
Georges "YES" Network will tell you that.

Also, I do believe the Twins, A's and White Sox are
tough teams although I don't see the tougher
competition. The White Sox and Twins play the Indians
and Royals just as much as the Yankees play the Devil
Rays and Orioles. I guess we'll have to wait for
October and see!

Once again, thank you for the reply! I love your site!

Sean
 

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I'd like to direct your attention to a former article you wrote about
the Yankees playoffs chances in July.
http://story.scout.com/a.z?s=303&p=2&c=547060

I don't think you could have been any more wrong (I probably don't have
to tell you that, but I will anyway).  You stated there are too many
holes in the lineup.  Granted, at the time of your article, Abreu was
still in Philly, and I know he's had a positive effect on the lineup,
but COME ON!  As I'm writing this email, they've scored 739 runs,
second
in the bigs behind the White Sox.  2ND BEST IN THE BIGS!  And they've
got holes?   Robbie Cano is hitting .332.  Yes, I agree, I'd like him
to walk more too, but he has excelled down the stretch, as opposed to
fading down the stretch like you wrongly predicted.  This kid is going
to win a batting title or two in his career, and hopefully will become
more patient with age.  To say he's a hole in the lineup is just
irresponsible.

Like Cano, Wang has yet to falter as well, like you wrongly predicted. 

You also stated that the "Blue Jays and White Sox are both better than
the Yankees."  You could make a case for the White Sox, but the Blue
Jays?  Come on man, what were you thinking?  Or, perhaps a better
question, what were you smoking?  About the only thing the Blue Jays
have on the Yankees is that John Gibbons could probably beat the
daylights out of Joe Torre. 

"Problematically, the Yankees have no good prospects to trade for a
veteran who wouldn't come with a hefty salary, so if Steinbrenner
really is squeamish to shell out the dough, then GM Brian Cashman is pretty
much handcuffed to a 90-win team that misses the playoffs comfortably."
Well.....we all know how that one turned out.  I may not be a writer,
but it might be advisable to NOT write about the Yankees' lack of
trades/moves 15 DAYS BEFORE THE TRADING DEADLINE!!!! And for all the
criticism surrounding their supposed dearth of quality prospects,
Cashman has been able to do pretty well for himself and the Yankees.

Question for you.  Do you just make bold, boisterous predictions just
to stand out and get attention, without realizing how wrong you are?  And
do you write articles slamming the Yankees because you hate them?  I
mean, you said the Blue Jays were better than the Yankees.....which
leads me to believe you were A)drunk at the time, or B) actually as
stupid as you sound.  Oh, and here's another gem of yours:
http://baseballevolution.com/keith/joeg.html  This guy should be the
unanimous selection for manager of the year.  Good job Keith!  Keep
making those bold, ridiculous predictions and keep slamming a rookie
manager one month into his career!!!! 

Max
 

Max,

Thanks for directing my attention that way.  I'll try to answer your questions in reverse order.

Yes, I hate the Yankees.  I hate them even more now that two of my favorite players, Bobby Abreu and Craig Wilson, will soon become wildly overrated through no fault of their own.  I hate them especially more now that they're proving me wrong...

I make bold predictions because they're more interesting and because they are more satisfying when correct.  I suppose I could have written an article in July about why the Mets would make the playoffs... but what would be the point?  Feel free to peruse my bold preseason predictions and point out the errors that you see

Not only was I wrong about the Blue Jays; I was wrong about the Red Sox.  However, I may have been correct about the Tigers, White Sox, and Twins in the article.  As you might expect, I don't get as many emails directing my attention towards that.

Wang: I was ignorant about the way the Yankees doctored their infield dirt at Yankee Stadium to help out their poor-range infield. Wang will continue to succeed at home and struggle on the road. 

Cano: I'm actually glad that he's had a good August.  Now when he hits .270 in September, no one will be able to use the injury as an excuse.

But as for Girardi, give me a break.  This is the guy who wanted to have Josh Johnson and Ricky Nolasco begin the year in the minors, and the one who waited a couple of months before inserting them into the rotation.  He's doing better now than he was early in the season, but he's about as deserving of the Manager of the Year Award as Melky Cabrera is of the MVP.

~Keith

Anonymous:

Keith:

More feedback from Yankees fans