Although the Yankees just finished up a series with the Royals, I figured now would be as good a time as any to do a post of "The Best of Times and the Worst of Times" on the Royals/Yankees rivalry, especially because barring an unlikely run to the playoffs by Kansas City, the two teams will not play again this year. The end of the 2011 season marked the 26th consecutive season since the Royals last made it to the postseason, the longest current streak in the American League (the Washington Nationals/Montreal Expos hold the longest streak in baseball at 30 years). However, back when the Royals were routinely winning division titles in the late '70s and early '80s, the Yankees were a frequent foe in the American League Championship Series.

Kansas City Royals

All-time regular season record vs. NYY: 183-268

All-time playoff record vs. NYY: 8-9 ('76 ALCS: 2-3; '77 ALCS: 2-3; '78 ALCS: 1-3; '80 ALCS: 3-0)

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A-Rod has 22 grand slams in his career. The MLB record is 23, held by another Yankee, Lou Gehrig. As A-Rod is all but guaranteed to break Gehrig's record (he has five seasons left on his contract after this one), I thought it would be fitting to look at Biscuit Pants' history of grand slams. (That's apparently one of his nicknames.)

His first was on July 23rd of 1925, off RHP Firpo Marberry of the Washington Senators. Unfortunately, for many of these old games, we don't have much of the context of the home run. But for this one, we do. The Yankees were trailing 6-5 in the seventh with no outs when Gehrig belted the first grand slam of his career. Win Probability would surely have named it the "Play of the Game," as the Yanks went on to win 11-7, behind RHP Bob Shawkey. Gehrig went 3-4 overall and had seven RBI.

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Welcome to the start of another series here on Pinstripe Alley, "The Best of Times and the Worst of Times." In it, we will take a closer look at the Yankees' all-time franchise history against the club that they're currently playing against. With some foes, like the Red Sox, there will be a plethora of information on games against each other, but with others, like interleague opponents, there won't be as much to research. Regardless of the differences between such teams, the series should help us revisit unforgettable memories (both awesome and not-so-awesome) in Yankees history that have had dramatic effects on the franchise. By examining the teams' head-to-head history, perhaps something can be learned of which players to expect great things from in the future matchups.

Cincinnati Reds (and the team's scariest logo!)

All-time regular season record vs. NYY: 6-5

All-time playoff record vs. NYY: 5-8 ('39 WS: 0-4; '61 WS: 1-4; '76 WS: 4-0)

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Mood Music - Life For Revenge by Dark Moor

This post is probably more interesting than meaningful, but that could be why you're here. That other thing that you're doing can wait another five minutes for something interesting to read on the internet. I mean, the post is called Good News with an exclamation point. Who doesn't like good news? Probably communists. Communists hate good news but love exclamation points. This post will be a mixed bag for any of you who happen to be communists.

I don't like pure DH splits. For his career, Player X is hitting ___ when they play in the field and ____ when they DH is almost certainly going to introduce a substantial selection bias. The vast majority of players do not spend a lot of time DHing in the prime of their careers when they're having their most productive offensive seasons. If they do get more than a game or two, it's likely the result of injury. So, I would assert that -- in a majority of cases -- players will put up worse numbers as a DH not entirely as a result of not playing the field, but also as a function of being old or injured.

But, lots of players really don't like the way DHing takes them out of the action of the game. Jorge Posada was famous for it. While I would guess that most hitters would regress to their true hitting levels once they had enough time to get used to DHing every day, I could definitely see different players handling it differently. It seems logical that some guys would take to DHing better than other guys. Jorge Posada really hated DHing. Probably because when he was a DH, he would be on the bench to hear everyone else laughing at how the back up catcher was so much better on defense.

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Once upon a time, a reliever named John Wetteland was the ace of the Yankees' bullpen. The Yankees basically stole him from the financially depleted Montreal Expos shortly after the 1994 Players' Strike, as they traded 20-year-old outfielder Fernando Seguignol and cash for the man who had notched an impressive 2.32 ERA and 105 saves in three years with Montreal. Wetteland proceeded to do more of the same in New York. In his first season, he immediately impressed with 31 saves, a 158 ERA+, and a 0.88 WHIP, and he helped the Yankees get back to the playoffs for the first time in 14 years. Although Wetteland suffered through a horrible Division Series against the Seattle Mariners that certainly played an important role in the team's loss, he came back in '96 to lead the league in saves with 43 as the Yankees won the World Series (and he won the World Series MVP). Wetteland's success helped the Yankees achieve an incredible 86-1 record when leading after eight innings. After the season ended, Wetteland was a free agent for the first time and wanted to be paid, but the Yankees balked at giving him the four-year, $24 million deal that he wanted. The reason they felt comfortable in telling Wetteland his services were no longer required was the performance of young setup man Mariano Rivera in '96. Although he wasn't the closer, Rivera had an even better season than Wetteland- 107.2 innings, 130 strikeouts, a 232 ERA+, and a third-place finish in the AL Cy Young Award voting. The Yankees thought that Rivera could do just as good a job as Wetteland for a much lower price.

The start of the '97 season was a disaster for Rivera. He saved his first two opportunities without any problems, but he blew three of his next four chances, which led to some intense scrutiny by the New York media. How could the affluent Yankees have let their World Series MVP closer depart simply over a question of money? Why did they think this guy who had never closed before could do the job just as capably as Wetteland?

Follow the jump for some news clippings from April 1997 that should hopefully offer some writers and fans some perspective on David Robertson's blown save from last night. Robertson has a tough task in filling in for the legendary Rivera, but even Mo had his early-season jitters replacing a World Series hero.

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Mood Music - The Battle Of Evermore by Led Zeppelin

In the midst of all the rotation talks and all that happy nonsense, I thought I might bring up a different topic which I, I'mGivingYouARaise, find appropriate to talk about today. Why today, you might ask? Well, a NYC radio station by the name 98.7 KISS FM is no longer there. The famous NYC R&B station, around even before I was born, is now the new FM home of ESPN Radio, which was previously 1050 AM, a station that on September 1st will become ESPN Deportes New York, an all Spanish New York radio sports station. I think it's pretty obvious to all native New Yorkers that FM stations come in a lot better than AM stations. Lord knows that when I'm driving through Manhattan listening to Sterling and Waldman, I don't love the random static when I'm trying to hear the game. Okay sure, it helps to drown the both of them out, but still I want my Yankees like I want my women, to be clear and precise and not having me guessing what just happened. That also means you, Ibanez in the OF!!

As you may or may not know, the WCBS contract with the Yankees Radio Network, driven by Jeep, will end after this season and it's pretty obvious that ESPN Radio wants a piece of that sweet Yankees Radio Network nectar. This move to FM radio might help them secure their pinstriped ambrosia, since the Yankees would now have a much clearer radio station in NYC, which would fit with the Yankees mantra of excellence, producing a quality product, and to always be better than the Mets. Ultimately though, what does this mean for the likes of Sterling and Waldman? Should they stay with WCBS? Is there another option we haven't considered? Also, how does this whole broadcasting thing work?

I'mGivingYouAnExplanation after the jump...

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Bill "Moose" Skowron didn't have the boyish charm or matinee idol looks of Mickey Mantle. Instead, he portrayed a gruff exterior and chiseled profile that was more befitting a football player, which was appropriate, considering the Yankees signed him off the college gridiron. Beneath the surface, however, those who knew him best described Skowron as a gentle giant. To everyone else, he was one of the faces of the great Yankees dynasty under Casey Stengel as well as an enduring crowd favorite on Old Timer's Day and whenever else he returned to Yankee Stadium.

When the Yankees signed Skowron as a 19-year old, he was regarded as one of the best athletes in the NCAA's Western Conference (the modern day Big Ten). As a halfback and kicker for the Purdue University Boilermakers, Skowron was a coveted football prospect who seemed more likely to end up playing for George Halas' Chicago Bears than Stengel's New York Yankees. However, the Bronx Bombers gave him 25,000 reasons to make baseball his priority.

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The New York Yankees are playing their home opener against the Los Angeles California Anaheim Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim today at 1 PM. The last time that happened was not long ago at all- 2010, when the fans welcomed back World Series MVP Hideki Matsui with a roaring ovation as he received his World Series ring. The Angels returning to the Stadium for the home opener again this year got me thinking about the 2009 team. Amazingly, just 13 players remain from the 30 listed on the commemorative T-shirt, and the number would have been just 12 if Andy Pettitte hadn't come out of retirement. The majority of them have moved on, even though only two full seasons have passed since the team's ride down the Canyon of Heroes.

So, as a fun little piece before today's opener, join me as we take a look at where these players have done in the few years since the championship. There will be snacks!

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