With Tanaka back, the Yankees have a chance

Masahiro Tanaka returned from the disabled list yesterday, and he was flat-out filthy. Here's what pitching dominance looks like:
 

Tanaka was held to a hard 80-pitch maximum in his return, but he made the most of them with seven pretty innings in 78 pitches (3 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 9 K).

The only knock on Tanaka's return was it was against one of the weaker offenses in baseball. Still, his stuff looked good enough to get most hitters out: he painted corners with a two-seam fastball, embarrassed hitters with his splitter, and surprised hitters with his backdoor slider.

Tanaka isn't the only surprise on the Yankees this season. Mark Teixeira finally looks healthy and his production has been huge. He leads the league in RBIs (41) and is second in homers (16).

The Yankees are one game up in the relatively weak AL East, but if Tanaka and Teixeira can keep this up that one-game margin should expand.

Numbers Never Lie: Mariners overpaid for Robinson Cano [Video]

Of course, we won't know for sure if the Mariners overpaid for Robinson Cano until 2023, but ESPN's Tim Kurkjian reminds us that big contracts for older players don't usually pan out.

Seeing Cano wearing an M's cap so soon was tough to take, but this video should help fans deal with the pain.

Mike Francesa falls asleep during interview on WFAN

This, my friends, is why radio shows are now televised.

The polarizing sports talk radio host Mike Francesa nodded off while interviewing WFAN's Yankees beat reporter Sweeny Murti today. Make sure you watch him wake up at 0:53 (or see the GIF below).

If only, if only, Francesa had stayed asleep through Murti's response. "Mike? Mike? You there?"

Joe Girardi almost fought a heckler during an interview [Video]

This was the second unusual story from last night (here was the first). Watch this:

It's hard to hear exactly what the heckler said, but you can hear Joe Girardi respond to him:

"Hey, hey, hey, hey. Shut up. I'm doing an interview."

Initial reaction: Is this the first time Girardi has ever gotten riled up in an interview, albeit by a heckler, not a reporter?

My reaction moments later: How could Girardi and the reporters shake this incident off so casually? He walked right back to his spot surrounded by reporters and continued answering the question he was asked.

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In light of the two acts of weirdness last night, I wanted to rekindle this compilation of oddities from the 2010 season. I'll never forget this one.

Derek Jeter Ford commercial bloopers [Video]

This makes you wonder how many takes it took Derek Jeter to nail his scene(s?) in "The Other Guys." Sadly, I still haven't seen that movie yet.

Not sure if Ford will be too happy about him saying, “Wanna see why the Ford Edge is the hottest… whatever to hit the street?”

(via Jimmy Traina's Hot Clicks)

Rafael Soriano untucks shirt after save [Video & Photos]

Time to show off my new camera for you readers. I like the photos better, but the main attraction, of course, is Rafael Soriano's post-save superstition: The Untuck. Watch it here, and then check out my photos (mostly) from the upper-deck.

Must-see: Dewayne Wise's hidden ball trick

When a player tries to catch a ball that lands in the stands, it should be the nearest police officer's job to make the call. It's his turf, and umpires clearly don't have the better angle.

Dewayne Wise dove into the stands last night in an attempt to catch a fly ball. When he came out, he simply showed the umpire the ball his glove and the batter was called out. Watch it here.

Umpires didn't care to pay attention to a man in a red shirt holding up a baseball, and another guy pointing to him, perhaps giggling at him.

Kenyan students reenact Buckner play [Globe]

Finally, I have a second to post here, and it's a good one, too. As posted on Boston.com, I present Kenyan students reenacting Bill Buckner's infamous play nearly 16 years after it happened.

Another Yankees-Red Sox New Era ad with Alec Baldwin & John Krasinski [Video]

I’m sure you’ll see this New Era Yankees-Red Sox commercial with Alec Baldwin & John Krasinski again in tonight’s finale. These are fantastic, but I think this one is still my favorite.

Alec Baldwin owns John Krasinski in latest New Era commercial [Video]

See for yourself what Yankees fan Alec Baldwin does to Red Sox fan John Krasinski in the latest installment of the hilarious New Era commercials.

Luis Ayala steals foul ball from Rays fan with his hat [Video]

The stunned look on the Rays fan’s face is the reason for watching this video, not the nice grab by Luis Ayala. It looks like Ayala gave the ball back to the fan, but the video evidence was inconclusive.

Tonight’s matchup is Freddy Garcia vs. David Price. Should be fun.

Curtis Granderson featured on ESPN’s E:60 tonight [Video]

The Yankees are on at 7 p.m., but set your DVRs to ESPN during the game. Curtis Granderson will be featured on ESPN’s E:60, which might be the best show on that station. Click read more for the press release.

Video: Cameron Diaz feeds David Letterman popcorn

Remember that time at the Super Bowl when Cameron Diaz fed her boyfriend Alex Rodriguez popcorn? Well, Cameron was at it again last night, only this time she fed David Letterman. She also reveals her side of the story that night at the Super Bowl. Just skip to 2:40 for the popcorn part.

My Facebook page now has a welcome video

I made a welcome video for my Facebook page. I hope you enjoy it. (Yes, you can still view it even if you aren’t on Facebook.)

Let my Yankees updates come to you, rather than you coming here on a whim. I’m just trying to make it easier for you, you know?

While you’re at it, follow me on Twitter or subscribe to my RSS feed.

Alec Baldwin & John Krasinski smack talk in New Era commercial [Video]

Alec Baldwin is a Yankees fan and John Krasinski is a Red Sox fan. They both go at it here in a comical New Era commercial (via Huffington Post & tweep @danielramosnyc).

I enjoyed the ending.

Curtis Granderson having difficulties choosing at-bat music [Video]

I think he should have gone with Jitterbug, no? If not, help Curtis Granderson pick his at-bat song in the comments! This is from Jimmy Traina’s Hot Clicks.

Video: Cameron Diaz feeds A-Rod popcorn at Super Bowl

This video of Cameron Diaz feeding Alex Rodriguez popcorn at the Super Bowl is excellent. Of course, it happened when I went outside to pick up the wings my friends and I ordered.

H/T Jason@IIATMS

[Video] How a baseball is made

Here’s an in-depth video of how a baseball is made: all the way from the cork, to the layers of yarn, and finally to the leather.

In the factory featured in this video, there are 350 sewers who help produce 8,000-10,000 balls per day.

Robbie Goes Boom! [Nike Video] Cano & Bo

Even though the NL MVP was announced today (Joey Votto almost unanimously, if you didn’t hear), it was a pretty slow news day in Yankeeland. With the AL MVP set to be announced tomorrow, I’m posting this fitting video of Robinson Cano and Bo Jackson in a Nike commercial.

Anyone think Cano has a shot to beat out Josh Hamilton or Miguel Cabrera for MVP? ESPN’s Wallace Matthews thinks so.

Sterling shouldn’t be replaced: Part II

John Sterling’s home run calls are priceless. Cheesy, but priceless.

It’s only when he says, “That ball is high, it is far, it is … caught!” I don’t like Sterling. But because his other calls are entertaining, I just can’t help but laugh when he incorrectly predicts a home run.

What’s your favorite Sterling home run call?

I’d go with “An Aaaa-Bomb, from Aaaa-Rod. Alexander the Great conquers again.”