Michael Kay Gaffe

I was just looking at my twitter account, and saw Michael Kay's name flash across the news feed more often than it usually does (which is, not at all, especially in the offseason), and was trending in NYC. At first I thought, "OMG we've gone viral." Such was not the case.

Apparently Kay broke news that Royals ace Zack Greinke was traded to the Phillies. He based this news on a tweet by SI writer Jon Heyman's (his account can be found here). Unfortunately for Kay, the tweet came from a different account that was a fake Jon Heyman account (which I can't seem to find, possibly deleted). So Kay is pretty much getting bashed for this right now. Truth is it's probably not even his fault, that seems like it would be the producer's job, but it's not called "The Producers" (pretty sure that name's already taken anyway), it's "The Michael Kay Show." Kind of the way a pitcher gets the "L" when it was bad pitch calling by the catcher.

I'm inclined to give him a break, because 1) he probably wasn't the one searching through Twitter for the news 2) it could happen to anybody and 3) assuming he comes out and admits he was wrong, no harm done.

The best tweet I saw about this came from @asilecchio.

Michael Kay = Ron Burgendy Twitter= teleprompter.

If you don't get that reference, watch this YouTube clip:


Then go watch Anchorman.

And as long as Michael Kay doesn't get fooled by this Twitter account, he should be ok.

I'm Jim Geant? saying

SEE YA?

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All is right in the world

Derek Jeter has officially resigned with the Yankees. There's a press conference at 2:30 on ESPN. I'm stuck in class, but if anything important comes out of it, I'll post later.

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Winter Wonderland

Well we've got about 8 straight days of snow in the forecast here in Syracuse, so I'm a little jealous of everyone in Orlando for the Winter Meetings, which start today.

• GM Brian Cashman is done playing Santa's elf, and now wants to bring Yankee fans a Christmas present in Cliff Lee.
• Lee's agent was surrounded by reporters today, but said there isn't anything to report or speculate on yet.
• Pat Gillick was elected to the Hall of Fame by the Veteran's Committee, but late Yankee owner George Steinbrenner did not receive the requisite number of votes.
• Another ridiculous contract out of the Washington, DC sports market (after the McNabb-Redskins deal) as Jayson Werth signed a 7 year, $126 million contract with the Nationals. I can't find a quote from Werth, but if it says anything other than "I signed here because the Nationals were the only ones stupid enough to give me this much money" he is flat out lying.
• And as Jayson Stark writes, the only person who likes the Werth deal more than Werth is Carl Crawford, who is going to be swimming in money after this offseason.

There will probably be a lot more news this week than there has been this offseason, which of course MLB coincides with finals week, but we'll do our best.

SEE YA!

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Re-Enter Sandman

Reports form the NY Daily News say that closer Mariano Rivera is on the verge of signing a 2 year, $30 million contract.

The deal should be done by Friday night. This gets one of the 3 "Core Four" locked up before the Owner's Meetings begin on Monday.

Now hopefully the Yanks can get the Jeter deal done before moving on to Cliff Lee.

SEE YA...for now.

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Going Shopping...

Well Black Friday always marks the beginning of the Christmas shopping season, and it usually marks the beginning of the Baseball Offseason as well. Let's get caught up on what's going on.

Derek Jeter
Well, these negotiations have pretty much turned "messy" as Hal Steinbrenner forewarned. Word around town today is that he wants $150 million (cue Dr. Evil pose). That's much much more money than Jeter (or anyone else for that matter) is worth at this point. The Yankees have drawn the line in the sand with $45 million for 3 years. I don't understand why they don't sign a reasonable player contract and then do one of those personal services contracts for when he retires. I think, no matter what, Jeter's probably going to be laughing all the way to the bank.












Mariano Rivera
There had been talk about Rivera pulling an Andy Pettitte and going year to year, but now he apparently wants a 2-year deal. I don't see why the Yankees don't sign him to that contract right now. The second year is probably tied to the chance to pass Trevor Hoffman on the All-Time Saves list. This deal will probably get down soon, and with hopefully less drama than Jeter's deal.





Cliff Lee
And now we move on to the biggest non-Yankee target the coveted left hander Lee. There are conflicting reports on whether an official offer has actually been made, but Cash Money (Brian Cashman, not the rap label) went down to Arkansas to visit with him and his family. It's probably more a matter of years at this point, because Lee's going to want about 7, but he's 32 so he's probably going to have to settle for less.







So that's it for now. But as more news develops, we'll keep you updated.

SEE YA!

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That's All She Wrote

I know Yankee fans (well, I am) are circulating around the blogosphere to make themselves feel better. The fact is the Texas Rangers just outplayed the Yankees. Their offense kept piling on runs and their pitching stifled the Yankees bats. Sure there are moments we can blame Girardi or a player or two, but the bottom line is the Rangers were just the better team.

The Yankees did win the World Series last year so, for me personally, it doesn't sting as it has in years past. But the team just didn't seem to have that special feeling it did last year. The second half of the season was a mess, and injuries (Pettitte) and underperformance (Burnett) were hard to overcome this season.

And I have the postgame on the YES Network and they just interviewed Andy Pettitte. Man, that was tough to watch. It sounds like he may not come back and we've seen the last of Pettitte. He's been debating retiring for a few years now, so it would be no surprise if he retires. There's going to be a lot of questions in the offseason and moves to be made.

I do want to say one more thing. When Mark Teixeira went down with that hamstring injury in Game 4, that changed the whole dynamic of the series. It seemed like it was the final nail in the coffin for a series that didn't have anything go right except for 15 pitches in Game 1.

We will do our best to keep the blog going through the offseason and into the 2011 season. It's a place where we've been able to vent our frustrations and share our excitement, whether anyone actually reads it or not.

There's only one thing to say...See Ya!

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What Happened?

Seriously I don't know what to say. A.J. Burnett was willing his way to a quality start. The Stadium was loud. The Yankees were winning. Then Mark Teixeira's hamstring blew out. The stadium went dead. Joe Girardi starts deciding to intentionally walk the fearful (I'm being sarcastic) David Murphy with 2 outs and Joba warming and leaves Burnett in to face Bengie Molina who is raking in the playoffs, and next thing you know it's 5-3 and Molina's rounding the bases.

It didn't end there. Girardi brought in Robertson for the 7th inning and he gets the first two outs nice and quick. Then for God knows why, he brings in Boone Logan when David Robertson is perfectly capable of getting left-handers out to face Josh Hamilton. What does Logan do? Gives up a home run. 6-3.

It didn't end there. The Yankees loaded the bases in the 8th down 7-3 with Swisher and Berkman coming up and niether one can get a hit or push a run across. Sergio Mitre entered the ninth and well, a slow and painful death became even slower and more painful as I left and didn't bother to watch the rest of the ninth.

By no means is this series over. But it felt like the life of the team, fans, and everyone was taken out the moment Tex went down. CC is on the mound tonight. He's came up big for us before. If he do his job and send it back to Texas, just maybe, there's some hope.

As Yogi Berra said, "It ain't over till it's over."

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Why I'd pitch CC in Game 4

Going into the top of the ninth inning, it was 2-0 Rangers, and Cliff Lee was dominating. I was prepared to just be "Lee pitched a helluva game, nothing you can do about that." But then that monstrosity of a 9th inning happened and really pissed me off. You can't let a team score tack-on runs, especially 6 of them, in the playoffs. We all know that the Yankees can score in bunches to win games in the late innings (see: Game 1) but not when they're down 8. If it's a 2-0 loss, you just tip your hat and come back the next day, but 8-0 leaves a bad taste in your mouth.

Then there's the AJ Burnett situation. Joe Girardi immediately told the media Burnett is starting tomorrow. I disagree with this decision 100%. The Rangers are throwing Tommy Hunter, who gave up 3 runs in 6 innings against the Rays in the ALDS, but isn't in the same ballpark, zipcode, state, country, or even continent of Cliff Lee. The Yankees should (if they wake up) hit him well. But do you really want to have to try to win a 10-9 game with Burnett pitching? I say they throw CC to shut down the Rangers and tie this thing up 2-2.

John disagrees with me (which, believe it or not, actually happens from time to time.) His concern (and I have to admit, it is a valid one) is that if CC loses, do you really want AJ pitching Game 5 down 3-1? The answer to that is obviously no. But, to me, it's like when a pitcher's pitching in a tough spot; when they have the option between their best pitch and their fourth-best pitch, they pick their best pitch every time (or at least they're supposed to). If you are going to get beat, you have to lose with your best. If the Yanks go down 3-1 with CC on the mound, at least you know they weren't screwing around went all in and they play "all hands on deck" the rest of the way. If AJ loses, sure you have CC to pitch Game 5, but you still have to win 3 games in a row, 2 of them on the road.

The reason CC isn't starting this game outright is Girardi and the Yankees don't want to use Hughes and Pettitte (who also pitched a helluva game tonight) on 3 day's rest. Hughes because he's already thrown a lot more innings than he ever has and Pettitte because he was injured most of the second half. Here's my solution to that: CC pitches Game 4 and wins. AJ starts Game 5 with Hughes ready to come out of the bullpen for 2, maybe 3 innings (it would be his throw day), you go Pettitte Game 6, and CC Game 7, if necessary. I would still throw Pettitte on 3 days rest for a few reasons: 1) I think his performances so far in the postseason prove he's healthy, 2) the Yankees have no long-term investment in him. I know it's not a nice thing to think about, but Pettitte's contract is up after the season, and he's been hinting at retirement for about 5 years now. If something happens to Pettitte, he just goes off quietly into the sunset waiting for his number to be retired and possibly be inducted into the Hall of Fame. Chances are that's what is going to happen anyway.

Now, this is baseball, so AJ could channel his inner Sandy Koufax tomorrow and pitch a gem and make me come back tomorrow night and eat my words. I hope to the Great Yankee Fan in the Sky that happens, but I'm not going to hold my breath.

SEE YA!

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What A Game

By now everybody knows what happened in last nights ALCS opener. The Rangers got to CC early, and CJ Wilson was pitching like an All Star and before you knew it, the Rangers were up 5-1 in the 8th inning just six outs away from their first home postseason win. Other than a Robinson Cano solo shot in the seventh the Yankees showed no signs of getting to Wilson.

Then a routine groundball to first base changed everything.

Brett Gardner beat C.J. Wilson to the bag as he dove for first and was safe. Derek Jeter doubled down the line and made it a 5-2 ballgame. Wilson's night was over and it was up to the Texas bullpen to prevent any more damage from being done. Four pitchers, two walks, a double, and two singles later, the Yankees were up 6-5 and everyone in Texas looked like this.

The Yankees showed why Texas is going to have a hard time with them. They don't give up. After a miserable September many people were doubting the Yankees. Well keeping doubting because this Yankee team showed enough to me yesterday to make me feel like they are going to repeat as World Series champs. I know there's a lot of baseball left to be played but tell me how Texas can recover from that? The Rangers got almost everything they could have asked for. Early lead, work CC, great starting pitching, but the bullpen didn't do the job whereas the Yankees lineup and bullpen did theirs.

Colby Lewis takes the mound against Phil Hughes today at 4:07 ET. We'll see how Texas responds.

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ALCS Game 1

Yankees

Derek Jeter SS
Nick Swisher RF
Mark Teixeira 1B
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Robinson Cano 2B
Marcus Thames DH
Jorge Posada C
Curtis Granderson CF
Brett Gardner LF

CC Sabathia

Rangers

Elvis Andrus SS
Michael Young 3B
Josh Hamilton CF
Vladimir Guerrero DH
Nelson Cruz LF
Ian Kinsler 2B
Jeff Francoeur RF
Matt Treanor C
Jorge Cantu 1B

CJ Wilson

Time/TV: 8:00 PM, TBS (let's home the Yankees sweep so we only have to listen to these guys for 4 more games)

End it early: The Yankees need to not let this series go 7 games for a few reasons. One, I'm gonna go crazy/have a heart attack if this goes 7 games. And Cliff Lee is pitching game 7, so let's not even think about that.

Texas Homecoming: Mark Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez are back at the Ballpark in Arlington playing where they could never bring the Rangers; the playoffs. Expect the boo birds to be even louder than usual when these two come up to the plate.

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Hughes on mound looking to break out brooms

YANKEES
Derek Jeter SS
Nick Swisher RF
Mark Teixeira 1B
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Robinson Cano 2B
Marcus Thames DH
Jorge Posada C
Curtis Granderson CF
Brett Gardner LF

Phil Hughes

TWINS
Denard Span CF
Orlando Hudson 2B
Joe Mauer C
Jason Kubel RF
Delmon Young LF
Jim Thome DH
Michael Cuddyer 1B
Danny Valencia 3B
J.J. Hardy SS

Brian Duensing

Ceremonial first pitch: Yogi Berra

Time/TV: 8:37 PM/ TBS(I know, I know, these guys have me pining for Tim McCarver, they're so bad)

A picture's worth 1,000 words: Sweep

Hughes in October: This will be Hughes's first start, but in 11 games out of the bullpen, he has a 1-1 record, 5.25 ERA, and 13 K in 12 IP.

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2 up

There were some doubts about Andy Pettitte coming into tonight. Mostly concerning him coming off the recent injury and just how deep he could go into the game. He answered all those questions without a doubt with 7 innings of 2 run ball. Lance Berkman came up big with a homer and a RBI double, and Mo was Mo.

Now the Yankees have a day off tomorrow before Hughes takes the mound for Game 3 in the Bronx. We'll get to have John being torn between wanting the Yankees to win and clinch the series, or lose so he can use his Game 4 tickets. It's situations like that where your moral fiber is really tested.

SEE YA!

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Game 1 ALDS: Yankees at Twins

Yankees lineup has been announced. They decided to go with Brett Gardner over Austin Kearns against the lefty Francisco Liriano.

Yankees
Derek Jeter SS
Nick Swisher RF
Mark Teixeira 1B
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Robinson Cano 2B
Marcus Thames DH
Jorge Posada C
Curtis Granderson CF
Brett Gardner LF

Twins
Denard Span CF
Orlando Hudson 2B
Joe Mauer CD
elmon Young RF
Jim Thome DH
Michael Cuddyer 1B
Jason Kubel RF
Danny Valencia 3B
J.J. Hardy SS

Game 1: CC Sabathia's went 2-1 in opening playoff series last year going at least six innings and giving up no more than three runs in each start. Expect a quality start from him tonight.
Twin Killers: Ron Gardenhire's career record against the Yankees is 18-54. The Twins have beaten the Yankees once in the last two years, playoffs included. They are 0-3 against the Yankees in the ALDS. But Angels fans talked about their dominance over the Yankees in last year's ALCS, so be careful now.
Bring Your Gloves: The Twins are playing outdoor baseball in October for the first time. It's actually not supposed to be that cold the next two days with highs reaching 70 degrees, but at night, lows are expected to be in the 40's, so it will be pretty chilly, but nothing crazy.

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It's Playoff Time

After a horrible September that showed pretty much every single weakness the Yanks have (poor starting pitching, inability to get runners in from 3rd with less than 2 out, catn't stop base stealers etc. etc. etc.). But, as they say, it's a clean slate.

Here's the pitching matchups for Series via LoHud Yankees Blog

GAME 1
Tonight, Target Field
LHP CC Sabathia (21-7, 3.18)
vs.
LHP Francisco Liriano (14-10, 3.62)
8:37 p.m., TBS

GAME 2
Thursday, Target Field
LHP Andy Pettitte (11-3, 3.28)
vs.
RHP Carl Pavano (17-11, 3.75)
6:07 p.m., TBS

GAME 3

Saturday, Yankee Stadium
RHP Phil Hughes (18-8, 4.19)
vs.
LHP Brian Duensing (10-3, 2.62)
8:37 p.m., TBS

GAME 4

Sunday, Yankee Stadium
LHP CC Sabathia (21-7, 3.18)
vs.
RHP Nick Blackburn (10-12, 5.42)
8:07 p.m., TBS

GAME 5

Tuesday, Target Field
LHP Andy Pettitte (11-3, 3.28)
vs.
LHP Francisco Liriano (14-10, 3.62)
8:07 or 8:37 p.m., TBS

We'll get up a lineup post before the game.

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Finally! And CC for MVP?

With today's 5-1 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays, the Yankees clinched a berth for the playoffs. While we still don't know if it's wild card or division leader, the Yankees made things interesting down the stretch and finally put the final nail in the coffin of the regular season. Things have been ugly lately and it's good to get it out of the way and finally begin to look at the playoffs without glancing in the rearview mirror.

By the way, the general consensus is Felix Hernandez is the AL CY Young award winner. I think it's safe to say there's an argument for CC Sabathia for that award, but an even better argument as CC for MVP. There hasn't been one player more important to his team this year than CC Sabathia. With an erratic season of A.J. Burnett, the inconsistencies of Javier Vazquez, the learning curve of Phil Hughes, and the injury to Andy Pettitte, and all the spot starters in between, Sabathia has been the rock of the rotation, but also the team. He has 21 wins this season and has given the Yankees the opportunity to win everytime out. Anytime the Yankees have had a "must-win" or a game where the pitcher needs to save the bullpen, Sabathia has been dependable upon.

And today was another one of those days. The Yankees wanted to wrap up the division today, they didn't want things to linger around any longer, and he came through with 8 innings of two hit ball. CC Sabathia is the MVP of the American League, no question in my mind (which is extremely biased).

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One is the loneliest number...

After last night's Yankee-Red Sox game last night that surely took a few years off my life, the Yankees magic number to make the playoffs is 1. More importantly the Yankees pull within a half game of the Rays for 1st in AL East. A couple of points from last night:

• Joe Girardi desperately wanted to win this game. After initially saying Dustin Mosely would start so they could skip Phil Hughes in the rotation. Then yesterday afternoon it was announced that Hughes would take the ball to star the game. Then he brought Mariano Rivera in to pitch for more than one inning for only the fifth time this season.
  
• Speaking of Mariano, he's struggling. In September he's thrown 10.2 innings, giving up 12 hits, 6 earned runs, 3 blown saves and a loss. Hopefully this is just one of those phases that Mariano goes through from time to time, but it's disconcerting that its happening in September.
  
• I don't usually like to curse on here, but the only thing Jonathan Papelbon does better than blowing saves in big games is whining like a bitch.

  "It was tough considering the fact that I was not only pitching against their lineup, I was also pitching against the ump. When you do that against this lineup, you are never going to be successful."

  He's talking about the 1-2 pitch to Tex, who eventually singled. But you know what Papelboner? Bad calls happen. You still had one out, and the chance to get A-Rod and Cano out, but you didn't. I hope the Red Sox don't re-sign him just so I don't have to listen to him anymore.

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CC on mound with series, Cy Young on the line

So after the Rays won last night, the Yankees are 1.5 games ahead of the Rays for the AL East divisional lead. So if you're a baseball fan, tonight's game is a piece de resistance. We've got CC Sabathia vs. David Price in a Cy Young pitcher's duel. The Rays came out on top the last time these two lefties faced each other, but hopefully the Yanks can pull out this one, and get CC win #21.

Lineups

YANKEES (92-60)
Derek Jeter SS
Nick Swisher RF
Mark Teixeira 1B
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Robinson Cano 2B
Marcus Thames DH
Jorge Posada C
Curtis Granderson CF
Greg Golson LF

LHP CC Sabathia (20-6, 3.05)

RAYS (90-61)
B.J. Upton CF
Jason Bartlett SS
Carl Crawford LF
Evan Longoria 3B
Ben Zobrist 1B
Rocco Baldelli RF
Willy Aybar DH
Kelly Shoppach C
Sean Rodriguez 2B

LHP David Price (17-6, 2.79)

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Breathing Room

The Yankees have risen to the challenge the past two nights, giving them a 2.5 game lead over the Rays in the AL East, and lowering the magic number for a playoff birth to 3 after the Red Sox loss tonight.

Hughes came out and pitched a strong 6.1 and then Javy and Joba worked well out of the bullpen. They also gave Mariano a night off, so that's a plus.

Needless to say (but I'll say it anyway) I feel much better about the State of the Yankees today than I did on Sunday night. But, this is a four-game series, so the Yanks need another win to take the series, and I for one am not going to say "No" to a sweep.

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New Poll Question: How'd AJ get the black eye?

If you saw the game last night, you probably saw that big bruise around AJ Burnett's right eye.( I apologize if you didn't, I couldn't find a decent picture of it online) After the game, he and Joe Girardi had no comment on how it happened. So that's just going to let me speculate on how it happened. Here's what I've come up with:

1) AJ pulled a David Wells, went out bar hopping the night before a start and got into a fight.
2) After doing something wrong, he got frustrated and somehow hit himself in the face.
3) Joe Girardi pulled him aside and told him that he needs to start pitching better...or else. And to drive the point home, he punched him in the face.

Let us know what you think in the poll in the top right hand corner of the page. The poll closes at 7:05 next Wednesday, the day of AJ's next start, assuming he doesn't receive any more mysterious injuries.

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One Swing changes everything...

It's 3-1 Orioles in the top of the ninth, 2 strikes on Alex Rodriguez. If he strikes out, I'm sitting here yelling about how the Yankees season is collapsing around them. The sky is falling, our pitchers can't shut down opposing lineups, our hitters can't score more than one fun of Kevin freaking Millwood, and the Rays are gonna run away and hide in the AL East.

Luckily, however, A-Rod turns on one and sends an A-Bomb into the left field stands. Everyone can breathe a sigh of relief. The Yankees win, the Rays lose, and the Bombers are back in first where they belong. The Yanks, as we all know, have an extremely tough schedule down the stretch, and they need to take advantage of these 3 games against the Orioles.

Enjoy your college football everybody! I'll be at the 'Cuse vs. Maine game at the Carrier Dome tonight. Let's Go Orange!

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Awesome

While the Yankees blew a 6-run lead and shouldn't have even been in extra innings, that's not what I'm taking away from this. What I'll remember from this game is my boy Kerry Wood pitching a solid 8th inning. That awesome catch that Curtis Granderson made is gonna be remembered for a long time. Jorge absolutely crushed that ball to center in the top of the 10th, and to top it all off Greg Golson.

I'm sitting here watching Golson make that catch, and I'm screaming at the TV as usual, "Just throw it to the cutoff man. Just hit the cutoff." I didn't think there was a snowball's chance in hell that Golson would throw out Crawford and was imagining him throwing it over everyone and Crawford tying the game. Then Golson just throws this absolute lazer to A-Rod to get Crawford to end the game. Not one person on the field (except maybe Golson) thought he was gonna throw Crawford out. After it happened, Jeter, A-Rod, Gardner, and Mo were all completely shocked.

But the important thing is that the Yanks are back in first. They've snapped their longest losing streak of the year, and they have a chance to win the series tomorrow and extend the lead to 1.5 games.

SEE YA!

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Disgusting

I don't even want to talk about this loss. I'm sure Jim doesn't either. Disgusting. I'm speechless right now. Three walk-off losses in the last four games. Yeah, they better get home-field avantage because they desperately need it.

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State of the Yankees (It's Not Good)

Last week the Yankees went on an eight-game winning streak which saw them extend their AL East lead on the Tampa Bay Rays to 2.5 games. Then, the Orioles came to town and took two of three. Then the Yankees traveled to face the Texas Rangers. The bullpen blew the game the first night. Mariano Rivera had one of his three meltdowns he has all year and blow the second game. And Cliff Lee was Cliff Lee and the next thing you know the Yankees are dealing with their first three-game sweep of the season, lost six of their last seven, and enter a three game series with the Tampa Bay Rays who are just 1/2 a game back. The Yanks would be on a seven game losing streak if not for Nick Swisher's walk-off home run on Wednesday.

The rest of the Yankees schedule is against all AL East teams. They have just three games against the Orioles, who are the only team under .500 (and have been playing good baseball since Buck Showalter took over). Over the last seven days the Yankees as a team are batting .236/.337/.303 with one home run and 16 RBI. On the pitching side the last seven days, they have a 4.66 ERA have allowed 44 hits in 46.1 innings, while allowing 25 runs and striking out 36.

Brett Gardner and Nick Swisher are battling through injuries. A-Rod still needs to sit out about once a week. The only consistent pitcher the Yankees have in their rotation is CC Sabathia. If Andy Pettitte returns at the end of the week he is probably only good for about 80 pitches.

The Yankees are staring at a very possible scenario where they back into the playoffs in the wild card spot. The seven games they have left with the Rays are going to be playoff games because knowing the Yankees, they'd rather have the division crown than the wild card. But if they cannpt capitalize on these games against the Rays, you have to wonder, just how far can this team go into the postseason?

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Who do the Yankees want to face in ALDS?

Right now the Yankees are 2.5 games ahead of the Rays for first place in the AL East. The Rays are 6.5 games ahead of the Red Sox in the Wild Card. So barring a Mets-like collapse that would end in me taking a long walk off a short bridge, the Yankees should make the playoffs. The only question now is whether they go in as the AL East Champ or the Wild Card.

I'm working under the assumption that the Twins will win the Central, and the Rangers win the West. Let's take a look at the scenarios:

If the Yankees win the AL East, and the Rays win the Wild Card:

• Yankees play the playoff team with the worst record, the Texas Rangers.
• Rays play Minnesota, with Minnesota having home field advantage.
• If Yankees advance to ALCS, they will have home field advantage, regardless of who they are playing.

If the Rays in the AL East and the Yankees win the Wild Card:

• Rays play the playoff team with the worst record, the Texas Rangers.
• Yankees play Minnesota, with Minnesota having home field advantage.
• If Yankees advance to ALCS, they will NOT have home field advantage, regardless of who they are playing.
  

So which is a better situation for the Yankees?

Twins:

• The Yankees won the season series 4-2
• Yankees outscored Twins 24-21.
• Likely playoff rotation: Baker, Liriano, Duensing, Slowey.
• Record since Aug 1: 25-11
  

Rangers:

• The Yankees lead season series 4-1 (with a 3-games to play, starting tonight)
• Yankees have outscored 27-16.
• Likely playoff rotation: Lee, Lewis, Wilson, Hunter.
• Record since Aug 1: 16-20
  

So this question might be easier to answer on Sunday after the 3 game set against the Rangers, but I'm asking now; who would you rather play?

Case for wanting to play the Twins:

1. You don't have to face Cliff Lee in a short series
2. Sweeping the Twins in the ALDS is an annual right of passage for the Yankees
3. Starting rotation is kind of weak.
4. Not a powerful lineup, especially if Justin Morneau doesn't return the season.

Case for wanting to play the Rangers:

1. They've struggled down the stretch.
   
2. Pitching staff behind Lee isn't anything special.
3. The away games are in Texas, where average early October temps are between 60-80, instead of Minnesota, where average early October temps are between 40-60.
4. Playing the Rangers means the Yankees finished strong, and have good momentum going into the playoffs, and will have home field advantage in both ALDS and ALCS.
   

So as the next three weeks of the baseball season wind down, these situations are going to be talked about a lot. Only time will tell which one comes to fruition.

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Swish Stops Sweep

With one swing of the bat, Nick Swisher put a halt to the Yankees 3 game losing streak and prevented the lowly Baltimore Orioles from sweeping a series in the Bronx for the first time since 1986.

If the Yanks had gotten swept by the Orioles this late in the season, that would have been horrible. Losing 2 out of 3 to the O's this late in the season is still pretty pathetic, but obviously not as bad as getting swept.

As of 4:15 PM, the Yankees are 2 games in front of the Rays in the AL East. The Yankees have an off day tomorrow before heading to Texas to take on the Rangers. Just so you know Cliff Lee will start in Sunday's game against Dustin Moseley, as the Yankees are skipping over Phil Hughes in order to keep his innings under the limit.


SEE YA!

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O's deny CC chance at 20th win; have chance for sweep tomorrow

So CC Sabathia still hasn't won 20 games in a season, because the Orioles offense came out and scored 3 runs before CC even got an out. So after winning 8 straight games, the Yanks have come out pretty flat against the O's these past couple days, and have now lost 3 in a row.

The Red Sox actually did the Yanks a favor last night by beating the Rays, but common decency can only last so long in Boston and they got crushed tonight. So Tampa Bay is now only 1 game behind the Bombers in the loss column with 23 games remaining.

This is how the Yankees schedule breaks down the rest of the way:

• 7 games vs. Tampa Bay
• 6 games vs. Boston
• 4 games vs. Baltimore
  
• 3 games vs. Texas
• 3 games vs. Toronto
  

The Yanks last series of the year is a 3-game set at Fenway Park, while the Rays play 4 in Kansas City against the Royals.

If the Yankees want to win the East, they obviously need to play well against the Rays, but if they keep playing like crap against bad teams, it's not going to help at all.

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Labor Day Matinee: Yankees vs Orioles

The Yankees seven-game winning streak was snapped Sunday and they look to start a new one today. It's the fifth day game in a row which is very unusual. Also, Andy Pettitte is scheduled ot make a rehab start in Trenton. He is expected to throw 65 pitches, or four innings.

Yankees
Derek Jeter SS
Nick Swisher RF
Mark Teixeira 1B
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Robinson Cano 2B
Marcus Thames LF
Jorge Posada DH
Francisco Cervelli C
Brett Gardner CF

Orioles
tba

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7th Heaven

The Yanks won again today to extend their winning streak to 7 games. More importantly, they take a 2 game lead on the Rays, pending the outcome of their game against Baltimore.

The most amazing thing is that Yankees are playing good baseball despite all the maneuvering that's been going on with the team. A-Rod and Pettitte are still on the DL and Swisher's day-to-day. And don't forget the starting rotation is pretty much week-to-week.

Now it doesn't hurt that Mark Teixeira's been hitting .529 with 2 homers and 7 RBI's and Jorge Posada has a .412 average over the past week, but I'm still not completely sold on this team right now. I'll see how things go over the next 10 days leading up to the 4 game set in the Bronx between the Yanks and Rays before I set my confidence level.

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Game 135: Yankees vs Blue Jays

For some reason today's game is at 1:05. I have no idea why. Anyway the Yankees take a six-game winning streak into today's game as they face Brandon Morrow and the surprsingly above .500 Blue Jays. The Yankees will send Ivan Nova out to the mound who pitched well his last time out and well in his season debut when he faced the Blue Jays.

Yankees
Brett Gardner LF
Curtis Granderson CF
Mark Teixeira 1B
Robinson Cano 2B
Jorge Posada C
Lance Berkman DH
Austin Kearns RF
Ramiro Pena 3B
Eduardo Nunez SS

Blue Jays
Mike McCoy SS
Travis Snider LF
Jose Bautista RF
Vernon Wells CF
Lyle Overbay 1B
Aaron Hill 2B
Adam Lind DH
John McDonald 3B
Jose Molina C

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September 1

It's been a while. Cross country preseason, moving into my house at school, and school itself, has consumed my life the last 10 days or so, causing me not to have time to blog. Anyway, today is September 1 and the Yankees sit atop the AL East at 82-50. However, they are just one game up on the Tampa Bay Rays.

The Yankees have the best home record in the AL so winning the division would be a priority instead of falling back into the wild card. The Rays have 15 games left against teams under .500 records, while the Yankees have just six. The Yankees and Rays have seven more games against each other head-to-head. The Rays finish the season against the Royals while the Yanks finish against the Red Sox at Fenway. The Yankees expect Andy Pettitte and A-R0d to return shortly.

With all that being said, do you think the Yankees will win the division or the wild card? How do you feel about the team at this point? Check out the new poll and feel free to comment.

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Game 125: Yankees at Blue Jays

YANKEES (77-47)
Brett Gardner LF
Nick Swisher RF
Mark Teixeira 1B
Robinson Cano 2B
Jorge Posada DH
Curtis Granderson CF
Eduardo Nunez SS
Ramiro Pena 3B
Francisco Cervelli C

RHP Ivan Nova (0-0, 0.00)

BLUE JAYS (64-59)
Fred Lewis LF
Yunel Escobar SS
Jose Bautista RF
Vernon Wells CF
Adam Lind DH
Aaron Hill 2B
Lyle Overbay 1B
Edwin Encarnacion 3B
Jose Molina C

RHP Brandon Morrow (9-6, 4.45)

Notes:

• Former Yankee (and Red Sox) was claimed off waivers by the Boston Red Sox today. The Tigers and Sox have 48 hours to work out a deal, and Damon also has a no-trade clause.
• Ivan Nova gets his first MLB start. He's pitched 3 scoreless innings out of the bullpen so far this year, but let's see what he's got against a good Blue Jays lineup.
• Let's hope things go better this time in Toronto.
  

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Will Joe Girardi be the Yankees manager next season?

So as many of you know by now, Lou Piniella, manager of the Chicago Cubs, stepped down after yesterday's game. The Cubs are pretty much out of the race, so it doesn't affect this season so much as it affects next season. The search for his replacement will begin and the Cubbies might be looking in the Bronx for their next skipper.

Joe Girardi, before, and after, his stint with the Yankees, played for the Cubs. He's actually from Illinois and went to Northwestern University. Girardi is always portrayed as a family man, and if all these factors (plus, of course, the money) combine to pull Girardi to Chicago, the Yankees will be without a manager once again. I'm obviously hoping the Yankees win the World Series again, and resign Girardi, but it is something to be watchful of when the off season comes around.

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Grandy and Tex

DET 5
NYY 9


WP Moseley (3-2)
LP Bonderman (6-9)

Players of the Game: Curtis Granderson and Mark Teixeira. Granderson's new and improved swing has been productive so far and he's really been playing good defense. Another diving catch and another home run tonight for the Grandy Man. Teixeira was the only Yankee with a multi-hit game tonight going 3-for-4 with a home run, double, and two RBI.


Play of the Game: Granderson's diving catch in the fourth. He was frozen for a second then had to come in on the ball and made a nice diving catch.


Turning Point of the Game: I'd say Granderson's home run. It broke the game open and it was key because the Yankees bullpen had to work out of a lot of threats in the late innings.


Notes:

• David Robertson and Mariano Rivera both pitched on back-to-back days in non-save situations. This might affect the way the bullpen is used tomorrow.
• The Yankees remain tied in first with the Tampa Bay Rays with tonight's win.
• Robinson Cano and Mark Teixeira went back-to-back in the first inning to give the Yankees a quick 3-0 lead.
• The Yankees bullpen once again did a great job. Joba, Kerry Wood, Chad Gaudin (who actually wasn't effective, David Robertson, and Mariano Rivera). Robertson got out of a bases loaded jam that Gaudin got into by only allowing one run.
• I fell asleep at the beginning and wasn't really watching late so I don't fully understan what was going on with the home plate umpire and hit batsmen tonight. Apparently the benches were warned in the first and I believe it was the eighth when Miguel Cabrera was hit in the back after he hit two home runs already. Jim Leyland thought Chad Gaudin should be ejected but he wasn't. Leyland argued and was thrown out. The following inning the Tigers pitcher threw behind Jeter and was also not thrown out. And Girardi was irritated by this because it was blatantly with intent. So very confusing night for the umpire behind the plate.

Tomorrow:

Yankees vs Tigers 1:05 p.m. Yankee Stadium

Phil Hughes (14-5, 3.94) vs Rick Porcello (5-10, 5.53)

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Yankees vs Tigers

The Tampa Bay Rays defeated the Texas Rangers 8-6 today to give them a temporary 1/2 game lead on the Yankees. Here's the lineups that will attempt to keep that lead temporary. Once again, no A-Rod.

Yankees
Brett Gardner LF
Derek Jeter SS
Mark Teixeira 1B
Robinson Cano 2B
Nick Swisher DH
Jorge Posada C
Curtis Granderson CF
Austin Kearns RF
Ramiro Pena 3B

RHP Dustin Moseley

Tigers
Austin Jackson CF
Ramon Santiago 2B
Ryan Raburn RF
Miguel Cabrera 1B
Johnny Damon DH
Jhonny Peralta SS
Brandon Inge 3B
Alex Avila C
Don Kelly LF
Jeremy Bonderman P

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Offense finally wakes up as CC earns 16th win

Finally. After attending last night's game in the awful humidity and watching the Yankees offense look anemic against Max Scherzer the Yankees offense finally woke up tonight against Justin Verlander of all people.

After Sabathia led off the game surrendering a home run by Austin Jackson things looked bleak for the Bronx Bombers in the beginning. But Nick Swisher hit a two-run single in first to give the Yankees the lead and they never looked back.

Curtis Granderson hit a solo home run off his former team and has been hitting the ball much better since Kevin Long worked with him to make some changes with his swing. Granderson is going to be a key piece down the road for the Yanks so the more production out of him the better.

CC Sabathia had a solid outing going seven innings while striking out nine and allowing three runs.

Robinson Cano capitalized in the cleanup spot with his 22nd home run of the season.

So good things all around, right? Well, not so much.

First, the Rays won, so they're still tied in first and the Red Sox won too so they're not separating themselves from them.

Second, Andy Pettitte had an MRI today on his left groin and it revealed that there was still a strain so he won't be back untill September.

Finally, A-Rod had an MRI on his calf today andd it revealed a minor strain and he should remain day-to-day.

All we can do now is hope the Yankees offense is out of this funk and can keep them ahead of the Rays until Pettitte comes back.

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Hey Yankees, WAKE UP!

On the morning of August 1st, the Yankees were 66-37, and 2 games up and the Rays. Since then, the Yanks have gone 6-9, and are now tied with the Rays for first in the AL East.

Someone may have forgotten to tell the Yanks, but teams in the playoff hunt are supposed to play better in August and September. They haven't won a series since taking 3 of 4 against Cleveland at the end of July. They lost a 3-game series to the Rays before splitting series against the Red Sox and Rangers.

If the Yankees are going to make the playoffs, and repeat as World Series Champions, they're going to need to turn this slump around, and fast.

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Pettitte Not Quite There

Just tuned into the Yankee game and saw a great play by Brett Gardner to throw somebody out. But the news I want to talk about is Andy Pettitte. Pettitte threw a simulated game today and threw 50 pitches. However, Pettitte said it was a 75 percent effort. Girardi has said Pettitte will ahve to throw one more simulated game before making a rehab start, and the date that is set for that game is Wednesday. So it's looking like about another week-and-a-half before Pettitte returns.

So this seems like a semi-setback for Pettitte, but as any Yankee fan will tell you, all we need to do is hold our ground on first place and let Pettitte not rush his way back to the rotation. Pettitte is a vital part of this team's postseason rotation and the Yankees need to make sure he's 100 percent healthy and vintage Pettitte when October comes.

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Best Win of the Season?

So I heard on ESPN Radio today refer to last night's game as "the best win of the season for the Yankees." And you know what? I think I agree. Let's look at the drama the game had:

Down 6-1 in the fifth and Cliff Lee is appraoching double-digits in strikeouts you're starting to think, guess not today. Then, Derek Jeter hits a triple and narrows the gap to 6-2 by scoring on a wild pitch. Suddenly Lance Berkman hits a ground-rule double, and the Yankees have runners on second and third and it's a 6-3 game and Cliff Lee seems human.

But the two heroes of the game last night were Marcus Thames and Mariano Rivera. Thames helped inch the Yankees closer, hitting a solo home run in the eighth, making it a 6-5 game. Then in the top of the ninth with the game tied, Thames, who was batting in the third spot with Teixeira out of the lineup, singled in the go-ahead run, capping a five-run comeback and giving the Yankees a 7-6 lead.

But the drama didn't end there. One night after Mariano Rivera suffered his first loss since May 18, Elvis Andrus led off the ninth with a triple. Rivera had to face Michael Young, Josh Hamilton, and Vladimir Guerrero with they tying run on third, on the road, and nobody out. And he got them all out with ease.

If that's not enough drama for you for that to be the best win of the season, I don't know what is. The Yankees needed to win that game. They had already lost a series to potential ALCS foe Tampa Bay Rays, and were staring at a two-game sweep by another potential ALCS opponent in the Texas Rangers. But the Yankees showed why they are the defending champs and scored in the last four innings for what was, the best win of the season.

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To the Bronx...

I just realized I haven't posted since July 26th. I've been pretty much drowning in french fries and burgers since then so it's nice to enjoy a day off at the Stadium.

John and I will doing the reverse Benny trip tonight to see AJ Burnett take on Josh Beckett in what is sure to be a four and a half hour game. With Bad AJ showing up most of the time, and Beckett with his 5 plus ERA, this has all the makings of a 10-9 decision.

This is Yankees-Red Sox, so it still has a certain buzz about it. But the team I'm worried about is the Rays. Remember waaaaaaay back at the beginning of the season when I picked the Orioles to finish ahead of the Rays? Yeah, I should have put money on that; it would have been like buying BP stock on April 19. The Yanks are 27 games over .500, have a .624 winning percentage, and the best record in baseball, but are still only 1.5 games up in the standings. That means one bad series and the Yanks are looking up at the Rays. So the sooner the Yanks can get there bullpen going and Andy Pettitte back on the mound, the better.

I know I'll be doing some tweeting during the game, and John might be as well. So follow @jgeant and @jphealy. We'll see how many Boston "fans" get thrown out of the bleachers tonight.


SEE YA!

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Sabath's the Way I Like It

Does that headline work? Is it corny? Well, I don't care because CC Sabathia showed us why we are paying him so much money to be our ace. After the Rays lost earlier today, and the Yankees coming off a loss yesterday, Sabathia went eight strong innings striking out four and allowing just two runs to help lead the Yankees to a 5-2 win, and pick up a game on the Rays and Sox.

After a shaky first two innings, which included a home run to Victor Martinez, Sabathia had to settle down to deliver a solid outing. It may not have been dominant CC, but it was efficient CC, and that was good enough to give the Yankees their major league-leading 68th win, and tying David Price for the AL lead in wins.

Curtis Granderson hit an RBI triple and Ramiro Pena, who was not scheduled to start, delivered two RBI's to provide the offensive boost for the team. Cano also added an RBI single.

Pena received the start after Alex Rodriguez was hit in the shin during batting practice by a line drive from Lance Berkman. X-rays were negative, and A-Rod is reportedly day-to-day. Although the Yankees may miss his bat, Pena filled in nicely today, so there is no need to rush him back if he's not ready. They are going to need him for the end stretch of the season and postseason.

Overall, good day for the Yankees (with the exception of the freak A-Rod injury) as they gain a game in the standings on both the teams they are chasing. Jim and I will be at the game tomorrow as we pray for the good A.J. Burnett to show up against Josh Beckett.

See Ya!

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Time To Put The Sox Away

I don't know about you, but I'm sick of the Red Sox just lingering around waiting to jump back into the race for the AL East. The Yankees begin a four-game series tonight with Boston and this series is far more important for the Red Sox than it is the Yankees because, essentially, the Red Sox season is on the line. So if the Yankees can take 3 of 4 that would be huge and basically putting the Red Sox away and not have to worry about them the rest of the way.

Javier Vazquez takes the mound tonight against Clay Buchholz to start the series off. I'll be out this evening so I will be spared the flashbacks of Vazquez's postseason moment against the Red Sox. But Vazquez has been better lately and they can definitely win tonight.

Here's the lineups:


Yankees

Derek Jeter SS
Nick Swisher RF
Mark Teixeira 1B
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Robinson Cano 2B
Lance Berkman DH
Curtis Granderson CF
Francisco Cervelli C
Brett Gardner LF

Red Sox

tba

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Back On Track

Alex Rodriguez homered for the 600th time in his career and the Yankees defeated the Toronto Blue Jays 5-1 at Yankee Stadium today.

In addition to A-Rod's home run, Derek Jeter went 4-for-4 with three runs and Mark Teixeira went 2-for-3 with three RBI to anchor the Yankees offense. Meanwhile, Phil Hughes did a good job, lowering his ERA under 4.00 and picking up his 13th win of the season by going 5 1/3 innings allowing one run and striking out five.

While the Yankees pick up a half game in the standings as they wait for the Tampa Bay Rays to play tonight, the story was Rodriguez and his milestone.

On a 2-0 pitch in the bottom of the first, A-Rod bombed a pitch off Shaun Marcum to straight-away center field and the ball landed in Monument Park to give the Yankees an early 2-0 lead.

In fact, this game started the same as the last two games. Yankees get off to an early 2-0 lead, but crumble in the middle innings. However, Hughes knew the Yankees needed to win, and although it was not his best performance, he worked himself out of trouble, limiting the damage to just one run.

An overlooked aspect of the game may be the Yankees bullpen. Boone Logan finished off the sixth after inheriting a runner with just one out. And Joba Chamberlain, David Robertson, and Mariano Rivera all pitched scoreless innings to seal the deal.

Today's game was a step in the right direction. Jeter had a good day, Tex continued his hot streak, A-Rod got the 600 monkey off his back, and the Yankees got back on track and can now rest up and get ready for Yankees-Red Sox this weekend as they try and get back into first place in the AL East.

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A-Rod Hits 600...Finally

Alex Rodriguez hit his 600th career home run in the first inning, a two-run shot to Monument Park to give the Yankees a 2-0. Of course I had I Love You Man on TV and was looking at possibilities of switching classes for this upcoming semester, so I completely missed it and only realized it when I went on twitter. So, finally A-Rod hit his 600th, hopefully this means everyone can focus on what's really important, and that's taking back control of the AL East.

That's a file photo we have of A-Rod in what I believe was Game 3 of the ALCS.

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Must Win Games Start Now

Yankees enter the day in second place since June 13 today. It's only August 4, but these games are starting to become must win so they aren't staring down a second-half collapse. It's a matinee game today and Phil Hughes is on the mound. Here's the lineups:

Blue Jays
Travis Snider LF
Aaron Hill 2B
Jose Bautista RF
Vernon Wells CF
Adam Lind DH
John Buck C
Lyle Overbay 1B
Edwin Encarnacion 3B
John McDonald SS
Shaun Marcum P

Yankees
Derek Jeter SS
Nick Swisher RF
Mark Teixeira 1B
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Robinson Cano 2B
Jorge Posada C
Lance Berkman DH
Curtis Granderson CF
Brett Gardner LF

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Uh-Oh...

AL East Standings
NY Yankees
66-39 .629
Tampa Bay
66-39 .629
Boston
60-46 .566 6.5

After losing two of three to the Rays, A.J. Burnett melted down in the fifth inning and the Yankees lost 8-6 to the Toronto Blue Jays. Meanwhile, the red-hot Twins and the American Idle himself (Carl Pavano) couldn't take care of the Rays, and both teams are in a dead tie for first place. The Red Sox lost 6-5 to the Indians, but still loom just 6.5 games back.

For the first time all season, I'm a little nervous about the Yankees. Burnett cannot, and I mean CANNOT, keep pitching like this. A-Rod needs to hit his 600th home run so he can just move on and stop worrying about it, and the Yankees desperately need Andy Pettitte back from the DL. The Rays are hot right now, the Red Sox are getting healthy, and even if the Yankees fall back and land the wild card, do you want them to face Cliff Lee and the Rangers in a five game series?

Tomorrow is the beginning of the race for the AL East. There are 57 games remaining. Out of the Rays and Yankees, whoever finishes with the best record over the next 57 games, wins the AL East and avoids Cliff Lee. Every game will be under the microscope until a playoff birth is clinched. It's time for the Yankees to find their identity this season and show us who they really are.

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Game 100: Yankees at Indians

So I came back in from my run, showered, turned on my TV at 7:15 and missed nothing. Turns out there was a rain delay. Looks like the tarp is off but apparently they're waiting an hour before starting. Here's the lineups:

Yankees
Derek Jeter SS
Nick Swisher RF
Mark Teixeira 1B
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Robinson Cano 2B
Jorge Posada DH
Curtis Granderson CF
Francisco Cervelli C
Brett Gardner LF

Indians
Trevor Crowe CF
Asdrubal Cabrera SS
Shin-Soo Choo RF
Carlos Santana C
Travis Hafner DH
Austin Kearns LF
Matt LaPorta 1B
Andy Marte 3BJ
ason Donald 2B

History in the Making....still: A-Rod's 22nd at bat since his last home run will pass Willie Mays' mark the longest time any player has taken to go from 599 to 600 home runs.
A.J. the Stopper: CC Sabathia lost his first game since May 23 so it's up to A.J. to right the ship and prevent the losing streak.

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This is the Curtis Granderson we traded for

Since Curtis Granderson's name is in the headline, that should make it fairly obvious that A-Rod didn't hit #600. So A-Rod Watch will go in to Day 6.

But Curtis is finally starting to pick it up. He's had a pretty crappy season so far, while missing most of May. But he's in the middle of a 6 game hitting streak and has 3 homers in the past 2 days. If Granderson and Teixeira can hit to their ability in the second half of the season, the Yankees can put a little breathing room between them and the Rays.

Speaking of the Rays, Matt Garza threw the first no-hitter in franchise history against the Tigers. That's the 5th no-no of the season (6th if you count the 28-batter perfect game by Armando Gallaraga). It also means the Mets and the Padres are the only teams with 0 no-hitters in team history. There was one point when I was about 14 that my dad grew his beard out and said he wasn't going to shave it off until the Mets threw a no-hitter. I think that was the year Tom Glavine had one going with 2 outs in the 8th before giving up a hit. Luckily the old man decided not to follow through on that, or I'd be living with Zach Galifianakis.



The Trading Deadline is also coming up at the end of the week, so we'll obviously have news on that if CashMoney pulls the trigger on any deals.

SEE YA!

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Game 98: Yankees at Indians- Game 5 of the A-Rod watch

YANKEES (62-35)
Derek Jeter SS
Nick Swisher RF
Mark Teixeira 1B
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Robinson Cano 2B
Jorge Posada DH
Curtis Granderson CF
Francisco Cervelli C
Brett Gardner LF

RHP Javy Vazquez (8-7, 4.68)

INDIANS (41-57)
Michael Brantley CF
Asdrubal Cabrera SS
Shin-Soo Choo RF
Carlos Santana C
Travis Hafner DH
Jhonny Peralta 3B
Matt LaPorta 1B
Trevor Crowe LF
Jason Donald 2B

RHP Jake Westbrook (6-6, 4.74)


History in the Making?: A-Rod has had past success against Jake Westbrook, so there's a good chance he could hit #600 tonight. Too bad only like 300 people will be in the stands to watch at Jacobs Field (I know it's not called that anymore, but I don't really care). Remember when the Indians used to sell out every game for years and years?

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Looooooong Day at Yankee Stadium

So today I was at the Yankees-Royals game to see A-Rod attempt to hit career home run 600. It was blistering hot outside but that didn't stop the fans from getting on their feet during every A-rod at bat. Unfortunately A-Rod was unable to come through, but the Yankees still put up a 'W' with a 12-6 win over the Royals behind two Curtis Granderson home runs.

There was also a two-and-a-half hour rain delay which caused many fans to leave. My friends and I sticked around and were able to move our seats from the bleachers to the second-deck level seats thanks because my friend's brother knew people who were leaving and gave us their tickets.

Not many fans stuck around, but we did with a chance to see history, however, it was to no avail. We did see Robinson Cano's 1,000th career hit, so we didn't go home milestone-less.

I'm absolutely exhausted so I'm sorry if you were expecting more but I'm just too tired to blog. Just going to watch Entourage and call it a night.

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A-Rod Still Stuck On 599

The Yankees loss 7-4 this afternoon to the Kansas City Royals and Alex Rodriguez is still sitting on 599 home runs. While Sergio Mitre struggled to keep the Yankees in the game, Mark Teixiera's bat was able to do enough damage to stay within striking distance. Down 6-0, Teixeira put the Yankees on the board with a solo shot to make it 6-1.

A couple batters later Jorge Posada hit a solo home run and narrowed the deficit to 6-2. After Jose Guillen hit a solo home run in the fifth, Mark Teixeira blasted a two-run shot to turn it into a 7-4 game.

In the ninth it came down to Teixeira again. With runners on first and second and two outs Teixiera was up with A-Rod looming on deck. Teixeira hit a soft grounder to short and replays show Tex may have been safe, but the ump ruled him out. Had the call gone the other way, it would have set the stage for A-Rod with the bases loaded and representing the game-winning run all with his 600th career homer on the line. But we never got to see that happen, boy would it have been something if he reached it in that kind of setting.

A-Rod will try and hit his 600th home run tomorrow as Phil Hughes takes the mound against Sean O'Sullivan, who faced the Yankees Tuesday as a member of the Angels.

I will be in attendance hoping to witness history tomorrow and will have a recap afterwards.

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Game 95: Yankees vs Royals (A-Rod 600 HR Watch)

Yankees
Brett Gardner LF
Derek Jeter SS
Mark Teixeira 1B
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Robinson Cano 2B
Jorge Posada C
Curtis Granderson CF
Francisco Cervelli C
Colin Curtis RF

Royals
TBD


Milestone watch: As many of you already know, A-Rod is on the brink of history to join an exclusive club as he is sitting on 599 career home runs, one shy of 600. Only 6 players have ever hit 600 home runs and A-Rod would be the seventh. While there's alot of controversy that has surrounded A-Rod over the last year-and-a-half expect the media coverage to be, well, Bonds-like.
Psycho: A.J. Burnett makes his first start since his Saturday afternoon meltdown in which he cut his hand smacking a glass window in the clubhouse and had to be taken out of the game for it. Burnett has had a dissapointing season (7-8, 4.99) and needs to pitch better.
Swish Scratched: Nick Swisher was scratched from the lineup with a sore achilles. Sounds like a precautionary thing to me.
Dejesus Out: Royals outfielder and a local Jersey Shore high school product David Dejesus is out for the season to undergo surgery on a torn ligament in his right thumb. DeJesus has been a topic of trade speculation lately, especially with the Yankees as a fourth outfielder.

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A-Rod on #599

Alex Rodriguez moved another step closer to baseball history with his 599th homer. If he had hit number 600 tonight, I would have been SO angry. I went to a Texas Rangers vs. Chicago Cubs game on June 19, 2007. I was sitting in the right field seats about 10 feet left of the foul pole. It was about a million degrees (which is a cool day in Texas) but I stuck it out for the entire game to hopefully see Sosa hit #600. (A little context here: I lived 45 minutes outside of Chicago from 1997-2000, so I was a big Sosa fan, as well as wanting to see baseball history.) When I turned ESPN on the next day, I saw on the bottom line that he had hit number 600. Then I saw the replay. Sosa hits one right down the right field line in the aisle next to the section I was sitting in. Right place, wrong time. There are currently only 6 hitters in MLB history to slug 600 homers, and I don't think I could handle it if I missed seeing 2 of them in person by one day.

A-Rod hit homers number 1 and 500 against the Royals, too. He's got three more chances to hit 600 against them at Yankee Stadium. John will be in the stands on Sunday to see his last chance.

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Offense slugs Yanks to victory

I took in today's game in the Bronx. First things first, it was hot. Like really really hot. I was loving it when the Yankees were up 5-0 and Javy was dealing. It was going to be an easy Yankee win and take about two and a half hours. Then the 5th inning happened.

But the Yanks offense was able to help Javy out and get him over the .500 mark. But I'll tell you some of the stories that you wouldn't get from watching on TV.

First of all, I was sitting in Section 203, home of the Bleacher Creatures. The roll call that takes place at the beginning of every game is cool when you hear it from another part of the Stadium but it's another thing to actually participate in it. I recommend doing it at least once.

Funny story about Colin Curtis's home run. After we were done trying to figure out why Gardner had been thrown out, I turned to my dad and said, "Now Curtis is gonna step up and hit a three run homer." Four pitches later, and Curtis is taking a curtain call after belting his first Major League home run. I'm not on the level of Paul the Octopus, but you know, baby steps.

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Hughes Hit Hard

It's been a tough few days for the Yanks starting rotation. First Burnett gets hit hard and hurts his hand on a clubhouse door. Then Andy Pettitte is out for about a month with a groin strain. And now Hughes gives up 6 runs in 5 innings in what is probably his worst outing of the season. I know the Yanks have been doing really well so far, but the Rays are only 2 games behind in the AL East. This race is going to get really tight in August and September if the Yankee pitching starts falling apart.

I'll be at the game tomorrow afternoon. And if I can get UberTwitter on my BlackBerry to work, I'll be tweeting @jgeant.

SEE YA!

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For the Boss and Bob

Nick Swisher hits the walk-off single to win the game 5-4 in the ninth. What an emotional, dramatic, and key win for the Yankees tonight. They distance themselves to 3 games ahead of the Rays in the AL East and Mr. Steinbrenner and Bob Sheppard are looking down at Yankee Stadium with a smile on their faces.

I'm going to have to admit, I'm still disappointed Derek Jeter didn't come through for the storybook ending in the ninth. He probably had the closest relationship with both the Boss and Sheppard out of all the Yankees. Nonetheless, all the Boss would have wanted is a win, no matter how it got done or who got it done.

Mariano Rivera had an impressive ninth inning where he picked off B.J. Upton and struck out Evan Longoria. David Robertson also had an impressive outing, striking out the side in the eighth inning.

Down 3-1, Robinson Cano and Jorge Posada hit back-to-back homers to tie the game. The Rays were able to take the lead thanks to some misplays by Nick Swisher, but he made up for it tying the game with a monster shot to right field. He later got the big hit winning the game in the ninth.

This game kind of reminded me of the game after Thurman Munson died. Very emotional. Back and forth contest. 5-4 final score, both games won in the ninth. I thought the ceremony was well done, the Bleacher Creature silent roll call, and the PA address system shutdown for the game were go ideas remembering Bob Sheppard and the Boss.

No question it will be an Instant Yankee Classic...probably Monday.

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Game 89: Yankees vs Rays

Pre Game ceremonies going on now (6:45). Here's the lineups. Remember this is an important series too, not just remembering Steinbrenner and Sheppard.

Yankees
Derek Jeter SS
Nick Swisher RF
Mark Teixeira 1B
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Robinson Cano 2B
Jorge Posada C
Curtis Granderson CF
Juan Miranda DH
Brett Gardner LF

Rays

*Got the lineup from RiverAveBlues.

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First Half Report Cards

Here are our grades for the individual players dfirst half performances of the Yankees.

Starting Pitchers
CC Sabathia: A. After a rough start, Sabathia finished the first half winning his last eight starts and has returned to the CC we can count and rely on.

Andy Pettitte: A+: Is there anything more you could ask for? The guy is at the end of his career and proved to be the most consistent pitcher on the staff and his ERA is 2.70, top five in the AL.

Phil Hughes: A-: Hughes had a great start to the season winning 10 of his first 11 decisions, but hit a rocky road at the end of the first half.

A.J. Burnett: D: Probably the most disappointing starter the first half. He went winless the month of June and was atrocious during the absence of Dave Eiland.

Javier Vazquez: C+: After a rough start to the season and questions about overcoming his last New York stint, Vazquez turned it around and has had the lowest ERA on the staff since mid-May.

Infield
Mark Teixeira: C: Teixeira's bat was disappointing much of the first half, but he has began to heat up and turn things around and his defense has remained flawless.

Robinson Cano: A+: The first-half MVP of the Yankees. He led the majors most of the first half in batting average, though it has dropped to .336. He has taken over the fifth spot nicely, coming up with big hits and hitting with RISP. His defense has also been superb.

Derek Jeter: B: After a terrific start, Jeter has struggled through the month of June and early July. His defense has been shaky as well, not making plays he used to.

Alex Rodriguez: B+: Just when it seemed his power numbers were down, he came out the last two-three weeks of season crushing the ball and returning to his old self.

Jorge Posada: C+: Posada spent some time on the DL and has been banged up most of the first half. However he's been productive wihle in the lineup, but age and injuries is catching up to him.

Francisco Cervelli: B: Numbers with RISP are ridiculous, cooled off after long playing time exposed him as just a backup. Still brings lots of energy, especially defensively.

Outfield
Brett Gardner: A: Who would have thought Gardner would be hitting over .300 and had a handful of home runs by the All Star Break? Not to mention his tremendous defense.

Nick Swisher: A-: Swisher has finally putting up power numbers while hitting for average which garnered him his first All Star appearance. His defense has looked to improve too.

Curtis Granderson: C: His numbers against lefties have not improved much and has been average so far. Spent time on DL, but has had some big moments.

Marcus Thames: C: Thames filled in nicely for Granderson against lefties until he got hurt. His defense is awful, but has only two walk-off hits this year for Yanks.

Relievers
Mariano Rivera: A: Still the best at 40. Couple of bumps here and there, but can't be perfect all the time.

Joba Chamberlain: D: Dominant at times, but an ERA above 5.00 is not what you want from your setup man.

David Robertson: C: Inconsistent season so far.But 3.09 ERA since May 7 shows some promise and improvement.

Damaso Marte: C+: Has held lefties to a .146 batting average, but 4.06 ERA is not good. However, it's a bit inflated since he's usually in for 1/3 of an inning.

Chan Ho Park: F-: His pitching is diarhea. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6GIEHPGj9sI

Sergio Mitre: B-: Effective early in season as long reliever. But struggled at times when Aceves went down on the DL. Finished last five weeks on season on DL with oblique injury.

Other
Ramiro Pena: C: Has filled in nicely on the bench, but has no bat whatsoever.

Kevin Russo: C: Did a good job playing out of position and had an awesome debut. But since then has not been hitting ball well, but I still take him over Randy Winn.

Nick Johnson: Incomplete: Almost forgot he was on the team, spent basically whole season on DL.

Alfredo Aceves: Incomplete: Too much time on DL. May not return this season.

Joe Girardi: A: You can't argue with the best record in the majors, but sometimes bullpen management has been frustrating. Then again, there's nobody you can trust in the pen.

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NL Gets World Series Home Field

Yeah yeah, I know this is late but I feel obligated to make a post on the All-Star Game. Yesterday the NL All Stars defeated the AL All Stars 3-1 behind Brian McCann's bases loaded double off Matt Thornton. Phil Hughes was charged with the loss while Matt Capps earned the win and Jonathan Broxton closed it out for the NL's first victory since 1996.

As for the Yankee All Stars, Robinson Cano had the AL's only RBI with a sacrifice fly in the fifth. Derek Jeter walked against Ubaldo Jimenez, struck out against Josh Johnson, and singled off Roy Halladay. Nick Swisher struck out against Adam Wainwright.

Andy Pettitte pitched a scoreless third inning, striking out two batters and inducing a groundout to Jeter who flipped to Cano for a force at second (very familiar).

Phil Hughes recorded one out and allowed two singles before being relieved by Thornton. Thornton could not get out of the jam and the runs he allowed were charged to Hughes, hence whyHughes picks up the loss.

Alex Rodriguez did not enter the game at all. Now, this seems to be the subject of debate today, and I found it a little surprising but here is what I think. First, it seemed Girardi wanted to give guys who were in their first All Star Game a chance to play, hence why Adrian Beltre, Ty Wigginton, and Nick Swisher got in the game ahead of A-Rod. Secondly, I think maybe he didn't want to use A-Rod unless necessary so he can give him full rest these four days. But with home-field advantage on the line, I think you need to find a way to get A-Rod an at bat late in the game.

Either way, the NL was due. I've been expecting them to win for the last five years. It's just the law of averages. The Yankees have won World Series titles without home field advantage before, I'm sure they can do it again if they get back there this year.

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"Began with Horace Clarke and died World Champion" Remembering The Boss(Updated with more reaction)

There are many quotes I could use as the headline, but the above is what MLB analyst Peter Gammons wrote on his twitter and I thought that speaks volumes of how far Steinbrenner has come when he first bought the Yankees, and how appropriate it is that he leaves us as a reigning World Series Champion. Here are some more reactions from players, writers, coaches, and friends of Steinbrenner:

"Steinbrenner was a fascinating figure: Charitable and cruel at the same time, stubborn yet visionary. He changed all of sports. In my 1st year covering the Yankees, most of spring training was spent chasing George down hallways. He was bigger than any player." Peter Abraham, Boston Globe. Former Yankees beat writer.

"George Steinbrenner was one of the most giving n generous person I ever met-he had a special fire in his belly to win and a Big HEART!...In my years in sports I have met many winners- the 3 people I knew that hated losing more than most were Steinbrenner ,Knight, n Bo Schem." Dick Vitale, NCAA Basketball Analyst, Baseball Fan.

"George was The Boss, make no mistake. He built the Yankees into champions and that’s something nobody can ever deny. He was a very generous, caring, passionate man. George and I had our differences, but who didn’t? We became great friends over the last decade and I will miss him very much." Yogi Berra, former Yankee catcher, manager under Steinbrenner.

"Few people have had a bigger impact on New York over the past four decades than George Steinbrenner. George had a deep love for New York, and his steely determination to succeed – combined with his deep respect and appreciation for talent and hard work – made him a quintessential New Yorker." NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg


Mark Feinsand of the Daily News also has more reactions. It seems nobody has any current player reactions right now. Once I find some I'll add them to this post.

"He was bigger than baseball. Everybody knew who The Boss was. Anywhere you went with him, people wanted his autograph or to talk to him." Gene Michael, former Yankees GM.

"I will always remember George Steinbrenner as a passionate man, a tough boss, a true visionary, a great humanitarian, and a dear friend. I will be forever grateful that he trusted me with his Yankees for 12 years. My heart goes out to his entire family. He will be deeply missed in New York, Tampa and throughout the world of baseball. It’s only fitting that he went out as a world champ." Joe Torre, former Yankees manager.

"George redefined professional sports ownership with his vision, his ability to build a champion and a passionate approach that lifted the visibility and popularity of his franchise and his sport. From an interest level, baseball was always better when the profile and the performance of the New York Yankees was at a high level, and George always made sure that was the case." Jerry Jones, owner of the Dallas Cowboys

"He expected to win every day. I remember my first or second year I got doubled off third base on a line drive, but we won the game. Afterward he’s yelling at me, ‘Don’t get doubled off again.’ I said, ‘We won the game.’ But he expected perfection.” Derek Jeter, Yankees shortstop

"Winning the World Series meant a lot to him, but the next day he was back to work – ‘OK, how are we going to win next year? He loved winning the World Series, thought it was a huge accomplishment, but never rested after it." Joe Girardi, Yankees manager

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