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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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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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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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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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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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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Game 83: Yankees at A's

YANKEES (51-31)
Brett Gardner LF
Derek Jeter SS
Mark Teixeira 1B
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Robinson Cano 2B
Nick Swisher DH
Jorge Posada C
Curtis Granderson CF
Colin Curtis RF

LHP CC Sabathia (10-3, 3.33)

ATHLETICS (41-43)
Coco Crisp CF
Daric Barton 1B
Kurt Suzuki C
Kevin Kouzmanoff 3B
Mark Ellis 2B
Jack Cust DH
Adam Rosales SS
Matt Carson RF
Rajai Davis LF

RHP Trevor Cahill (8-2, 2.74)

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Game 82: Yankees at A's

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

RHP Javier Vazquez

Athletics
Coco Crisp CF
Daric Barton 1B
Ryan Sweeney RF
Kurt Suzuki C
Jack Cust DH
Kevin Kouzmanoff 3B
Gabe Gross LF
Mark Ellis 2B
Cliff Pennington SS
RHP Ben Sheets

Get Off My Mound: The Yankees return to Dallas Braden's mound tonight, but the man from the 203 is on the DL. Thank goodness.
Gardner Leading Off: Brett Gardner is hitting in the leadoff spot with Jeter back in the two-hole. The reason is to split lefties in the lineup.
Send Swish: Although some other candidates may have better numbers, Swish has proven he is one of the best outfielders in the league this season so far, and he deserves the nod. Keep voting.

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Deja Vu All Over Again

On the Fourth of July 2009, the Yankees defeated the Blue Jays on a walk off single by Jorge Posada. On the Fourth of July 2010, the Yankees defeated the Blue Jays on a walk off single, this time it was Marcus Thames, who came through with the pinch-hit bloop single in the bottom of the eleventh.

It wasn't the prettiest game either. The Yankees had three baserunners thrown out at home plate, including Nick Swisher twice, they blew a 3-1 and 6-5 lead, and even the Blue Jays had trouble, as DeWayne Wise lost a ball in the sun that resulted in an "inside the park home run" for Brett Gardner. It should have been ruled an error, but, whatever.

The most shocking thing was Mariano Rivera blowing his first save in his last 2o chances as he allowed three singles in the top of the ninth for the Blue Jays to tie the game 6-6. You rarely see that from Rivera and everytime he blows a save the talks of is he done usually rise. But after just being named to the All Star team and the fact the Yankees won, there probably won't be much talk of a declining Rivera, because he really isn't declining at all.

It was a hot day and probably frustrating for the fans who stuck out all 11 innings, but in the end the Yankees won and they got to witness the second pie in the face of the season, once again going to Marcus Thames.

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Year of the Grand Slam?

I missed the game today, but here's a quick recap of what happened:

Brett Gardner hit a grand slam in the Yankees 11-run third inning offensive outburst to lead the Bronx Bombers to an 11-3 win over the Toronto Blue Jays.

Andy Pettitte earned his tenth win as he went six innings allowing three runs on five hits while striking out four.

Alex Rodriguez had an impressive day as well knocking in four runs.

And is it me, or is this the year of the grand slam? It was the eighth (yes EIGHTH!) grand slam of the season for the Yankees. While last year was the year of the walkoff, this year may just be the year of the grand slam.

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Well, That Sucked

As Brett Gardner leaped into the air and robbed Alex Gonzalez of an extra base hit in the eighth inning, it appeared that the Yankees were catching all the breaks to seal a 1-0 victory. But Joba Chamberlain allowed a two-out single to Aaron Hill, which knocked in Jose Bautista, who walked earlier in the inning to tie the game 1-1.

Gonzalez came up again in the eleventh, and this time singled off David Robertson with the bases loaded to give the Blue Jays a 2-1 lead, and eventually win the game, 6-1.

The win snaps a five-game losing streak for the Blue Jays, but the loss for the Yankees makes it three losses in their last four days.

A.J. Burnett gave the Yankees what they were looking for, going seven innings without allowing a run, but it was the Yankees bats that were absent. After Alex Rodriguez hit a sacrifice fly in the first inning the Yankees couldn't muster up any offense the rest of the game.

Their best chance came in the bottom of the third when Brett Cecil loaded the bases with nobody out, but got out of the jam by striking out A-Rod, Robinson Cano, and getting Jorge Posada to groundout.

After Joba blew the game, the Yankees bullpen couldn't match the Blue Jays' pen's effort as Robertson gave up the go-ahead single and Chan Ho "white flag" Park gave up a bases loaded walk and triple to give the Jays a 6-1 lead.

Andy Pettitte takes the mound tomorrow, but the question is, will the Yankees offense finally show up this week?

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Like I Said Earlier, Every Day

A Yankees victory over the Orioles is as sure a thing as the sun rising in the east every morning.

NYY 4
BAL 2

WP: Sabathia (6-3)
LP: Tillman 0-2
S: Rivera 14

Player of the Game: Who else but Robinson Cano? The guy got three more hits and an RBI and is now batting a league-leading .376! He's ridiculous.
Play of the Game: I'll give this one to Kevin Russo's diving catch in the eighth inning. It was a two-run game and making that play prevents any momentum to get an Orioles rally going.
Turning Point of the Game: I'm going to say it was when Sabathia got Luke Scott to strike out with the bases loaded in the seventh innning. That strikeout was huge as it was only a one-run game at the time and it killed the Orioles only legitimate rally.

Notes

• Brett Gardner had x-rays on his left thumb before the game, but they came back negative and he ended up pinch-running and scoring a run late in the game.
• Sabathia still did not have his best stuff. It was his fourth straight win this season against the Orioles.
• No home runs by the Yankees tonight ended an 18 consecutive home run streak by the team.

Tomorrow

Yankees at Orioles

Burnett vs Arrieta

See Ya!

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Let's Play the Orioles Everyday

The Yankees offense returned last night, as well as Mark Teixeira as they won 12-7 over the Orioles. Oh, and how about Stephen Strasburg's debut? Talk about living up to the hype.

Here's the lineups for tonight's game. Brett Gardner is out getting x-rays on his left thumb. Hopefully it's nothing serious.

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
Kevin Russo LF

LHP CC Sabathia

Weather Alert: It's raining all over the northeast today. The rain is supposed to stop around first pitch and pick up later on in the night. Btw, is it me or does CC Sabathia always pitch when it rains?
Home Run Streak: The Yankees have homered in 18 games straight after hitting three home runs yesterday. No reason it should stop tonight against the O's.

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Just Another Win Against the Orioles

The Yankees continued their dominance of the Orioles and homestand by completing another sweep of the O's.

BAL 3 3 1
NYY 6 12 1

WP: Sabathia 5-3
LP: Millwood 0-6
S: Rivera

Players of the Game: I couldn't decide between the two, so I'll give it to both CC Sabathia and Alex Rodriguez. Sabathia won his first game in a month by throwing seven innings allowing three runs and striking out seven batters. Meanwhile, A-Rod had a nice game too, going 2-for-4 with a two run home run.
Play/Turning Point of the Game: I didn't see much of the game so I'll give the play the same as the turning point, which was A-Rod's two-run homer in the third, which gave the Yankees a comfortable 5-0 lead.

Notes:

• Sabathia attempted to field a hard hit ball back to the mound with his bare hand, but he's fine.
• Robinson Cano. Is there anything he can't hit? He just flicked the bat on a pitch off the outside corner and drilled it to centerfield. He now has a 17-game hitting streak. I made it my facebook status in April, and I will stick by it, Cano can win the AL MVP this year.
• Always nice to see Brett Gardner hit a home run. Those are very rare.
• Anyone interested in what was going to happen with the botched call in the "perfect" game last night, apparently they will not reverse the call to an out.
• Michael Kay's Successors will be going on a road trip to Toronto to see our beloved Yankees play north of the border. We won't have any posts over the weekend but we will be sure to have pics and a post about our experience in Toronto and at the Skydome (it will always be the Skydome to me).

See Ya!

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Post-Game/Pre-Game

An unusual day today in Yankeeland. Last night's game was suspended due to rain after five innings and was continued earlier today before this evenings game. In the suspended game, Derek Jeter hit a solo home run to give the Yankees a 1-0 lead. That's the only run scored all game and secured the Yankees victory. Only other thing worth noting is that Mariano Rivera was wild today. I think I counted eight of his 14 pitches were balls. Not a very Mo-like ratio. Anyway here's the lineups for the evening game.

Yankees
Jeter SS
Swisher RF
Teixeira 1B
Rodriguez 3B
Cano 2B
Thames DH
Cervelli C
Russo LF
Gardner CF

LHP Andy Pettitte

Twins
Span CF
Hudson 2B
Mauer DH
Morneau 1B
Cuddyer RF
Young LF
Hardy SS
Harris 3B
Butera C

LHP Francisco Liriano

Lefites Dueling: Andy Pettitte and Francisco Liriano are both having solid seasons and the lefties squeare off against each other today. They faced each other the last time the two teams met and Pettitte won that battle.
Gardner Sliding: Joe Girardi inserted Nick Swisher in the two-hole and moved Gardner back down into the ninth spot. It seemed as if Gardner's production had declined since moving into the two-hole.
Roster Moves: The Yankee signed Chad Gaudin and added him to the 25-man roster. To accomodate this move Boone Logan was optioned to AAA Scranton and Shane Lindsey was DFA'd.

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Game 45: Yankees at Twins

Yankees
Derek Jeter SS

Brett Gardner CF
Mark Teixeira DH
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Robinson Cano 2B
Nick Swisher RF
Juan Miranda 1B
Francisco Cervelli C
Kevin Russo LF

RHP A.J. Burnett

Twins

TBA

RHB Scott Baker

On Target: This is the Yankees first look at the brand new Target Field in Minnesota. It's 88 degrees and sunny in Minneapolis, so they won't miss the Metrodome tonight.

Finally an off-day: Yesterday, the Yankees got their first scheduled off day since May 7 (there was a rain-induced day off on May 11). Hopefully this day-off helps some people who are struggling, like A-Rob and Teixeira. Francisco Cervelli had also caught 7 consecutive days, so his legs got a little bit of a break.

Injury Report: Marcus Thames is available to play, he just is not playing today against the righty Baker. Alfredo Aceves was throwing on flat ground in Tampa, and his back tightened up, so his status is uncertain for now. Javier Vazquez threw a bullpen session today after getting hit on the index finger bunting on Friday night. Curtis Granderson has started his rehab assignment, and he should return to the team in Cleveland this weekend.

We Hardly Knew You: This series is the last of the Twinkies the Yankees will see this year in the regular season. Just another oddity of the MLB scheduling system.

Super Jersey: The NFL awarded the New Meadowland Stadium the Super Bowl in 2014. Now, being born in New Jersey and living here for 16 of the 19 years of my life, I don't like this whole "New York/New Jersey" bid thing. The game's in NJ, not NY. I also don't like how they're called the New York Giants and Jets. If we're paying tax dollars to build stadiums, at least name the teams after the state they actually play in. And I'll bet $10 that they do the cliche thing and have Bon Jovi do the halftime show.

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Ouch

That game was painful to watch. The Yankees had quite a few opportunities to score in the game or score more runs. Most notably, the seventh inning. With runners on second and third and one out. Mark Teixeira struck out and Alex Rodriguez grounded out ending that threat. The eighth inning the Yankees had bases loaded one out, drew a bases loaded walk, then Jeter grounded into a fielder's choice and Gardner grounded to third. Those two innings were brutal to watch along with the ninth and every Teixiera at-bat. I don't want to write more because this offense is so frustrating.

Oh, and don't even get me started with Randy Winn and Chan Ho Park.

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Game 42: Yankees at Mets

YANKEES (25-16)
Derek Jeter SS
Brett Gardner CF
Mark Teixeira 1B
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Robinson Cano 2B
Nick Swisher RF
Francisco Cervelli C
Kevin Russo LF
Javier Vazquez P

RHP Javier Vazquez (2-4, 8.01 ERA)

METS (20-22)
Jose Reyes SS
Alex Cora 2B
Jason Bay LF
Ike Davis 1B
David Wright 3B
Angel Pagan CF
Rod Barajas C
Jeff Francoeur RF
Hisanori Takahashi P

LHP Hisanori Takahashi (3-1, 3.12)

Game is in progress, Javy pitching well right now.

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Home Cookin'

MIN 1 7 0
NYY 7 12 0

WP: Pettitte (5-0)
LP: Liriano (4-2)

Player of the Game: Hard to argue against Andy Pettitte for this one. After missing his last start due to elbow issues, he pitched 6.1 scoreless innings allowing 2 hits and striking out 2 against a very good lineup.

Play of the Game: The fan's catch on Jorge Posada's home run. Posada's home run was crushed to centerfield, hit the top of the wall that separates Monument Park and the Yankees bullpen, and the fan on top of the Mohegan Sun bar made a nice grab as the ball bounced up toward him. Oh, Brett Gardner's diving catch in the first was pretty good too.

Turning Point of the Game: Mark Teixeira's two-run home run that landed in the suites between the second and third deck. The monster shot gave the Yankees a 5-0 lead, and erased any hopes of a Twins comeback.

Notes:

• Nick Swisher was in the lineup but it appears he can only swing right-handed. When right-hander Jesse Crain came into the game, Swisher remained on the right side of the plate.
• Pettitte has not lost a game yet this season and has a 1.79 ERA.
• With today's win the Yankees are 12-2 at home and are once agains proving their dominance at Yankee Stadium.

Tomorrow

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

Mitre vs Blackburn

See Ya!

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Hughes is HUUUGE

Yankees 8 10 0
Tigers 0 6 1

WP: Hughes (5-0)
LP: Bonderman (1-2)

Player of the Game: Once again, it's Phil Hughes. He went 6.2 IP, allowing no runs on 4 hits and one walk. Hughes is turning into the ace the Yankees project him to be.

Play of the Game: Completely forgot about this before, but I'm adding it now: Joba Chamberlain's under flip and flop. Very impressive play by the big man.

Turning Point of the Game: Brett Gardner's stolen base in the first inning. It put him in scoring position to score on A-Rod's single and give Hughes all the run support he would need.

Game notes:

• Yanks were able to pick up the split of the doubleheader, and at least give them a chance to split the series with a win tomorrow.
• Hughes has been absolutely amazing so far this season. He hasn't given up more than 2 runs in a start all year. If he keeps pitching like this, the rest of the league better watch out.
  
• Francisco Cervelli continues to step up when called upon. A 2-4 game tonight bumps his average up to .408. It's gonna be tough for Joe Girardi to not give him more playing time, especially with Johnson on the DL, which would open the DH spot for Posada.
  
• Mariano Rivera pitched for the first time since April 30, despite the fact that it was not a save situation.
  
• I started working on this post when the game was 3-0, and this game got out of hand very quickly.
  

Tomorrow:
Yankees at Tigers, 1:05 PM


SEE YA!

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