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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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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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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Game 39....maybe?

It doesn't look good right now as it's been raining all day and looks to continue to rain off and on the rest of the night. But if they do play, here's the lineups.

Yankees
Derek Jeter SS
Brett Gardner LF
Mark Teixeira 1B
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Robinson Cano 2B
Francisco Cervelli C
Marcus Thames RF
Juan Miranda DH
Randy Winn LF

LHP CC Sabathia

Red Sox
Scutaro SS
Pedroia 2B
Drew RF
Youkilis 1B
Martinez C
Ortiz DH
Beltre 3B
Hall LF
McDonald CF

RHP Beckett

That's Why It's the Greatest Rivalry: So yesterday I made a post about how I wasn't as excited for this Yankees-Red Sox matchup and that I thought it was losing its luster. Well that didn't take long to prove me wrong. Yesterday's game is one example of why these two teams are the greatest rivalry in sports. It doesn't matter where they are in the standings, these two teams desperately want to beat each other no matter how they do it and yesterday's game was the exact definition of a Yankees-Red Sox game. You just don't know what you're going to get when they face each other.
Battle of Aces?: CC Sabathia has done a very good job at continuing to be the Yankees ace this season. Josh Beckett for the Red Sox....not so much. Beckett has struggled this season with a 1-1 record and 7.46 ERA.
Make Joe West Proud: With rain in the forecast, the Yankees and Red Sox should make Joe West proud and get this game in as quick as possible (if there's a window to play) so they don't have to make it up later in the season.


UPDATE 7:42: Jim here. the tarp is apparently off the field and first pitch is scheduled for 8 PM. Outfielder Greg Golsen was optioned to AAA and Mark Melancon was recalled to help the depleted bullpen.

As usual, we'll be on the Twitter accounts: @jgeant and @jphealy.

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Perfect Pettitte

Yankees 7 14 0

Image via Wikipedia

Angels 1 7 0

WP: Pettitte (3-0)
LP: Pineiro (2-2)

Player of the Game: Andy Pettitte was brilliant on the mound today. One run and six hits over eight innings will stop any team in any division.

Play/Turning Point of the Game: Francisco Cervelli continues to come up with key hits including today's 2-run single to give Pettitte a 3-0 lead.

• Today's win prevents the Yankees first back-to-back losses of the season, and keeps the hopes of winning a sixth straight series alive.
• After today's win, Pettitte leads the team in wins and ERA. Not bad for a 37-year old who considered retirement in the offseason.
  

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Yanks in 2010? World Series or SEE YA!

So we've gone through our predictions for the individual Yankees in 2010. Now we're going to take a look at how the standings will look at the end of the season.


National League
East:
Phillies 97-65
Braves 89-73
Mets 80-82
Marlins 79-83
Nationals 69-93

Central:
Cardinals 94-68
Cubs 87-75
Brewers 84-78
Astros 80-82
Pirates 66-96

West:
Dodgers 95-67
Giants (WILD CARD) 91-71
Rockies 90-72
Diamondbacks 81-81
Padres 70-92

AMERICAN LEAGUE
EAST:
Yankees 101-61
Red Sox(Wild Card) 95-67
Orioles 86-76
Rays 85-77
Blue Jays 69-93

CENTRAL:
Twins 93-89
Tigers 91-71
White Sox 85-77
Indians 76-86
Royals 67-95

WEST:
Mariners 94-88
Rangers 88-74
Angels 82-80
A's 74-88

PLAYOFFS:
FIRST ROUND
Yankees over Twins (I'm thinking they sweep and clinch it on the frozen tundra of Target Field)
Red Sox over Mariners (Unless Papelbon blows it, again)
Phillies over Giants (Though Lincecum and Cain in a short series will be tough)
Dodgers over Cards (Setting up a rematch in the NLCS)

LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES
Yankess over Red Sox (In 7 games, thus taking another 10 years off my life)
Dodgers over Phillies (In 6, because if it goes 7, I think Roy Halladay wills the Phillies to victory)

WORLD SERIES
Yankees over Dodgers
The Yanks will take home their 28th World Series title in 6 games, and Alex Rodriguez will take home MVP honors after channeling his inner Reggie Jackson and bombing 3 home runs in the clinching game. You heard it here first.

What do you think? Leave a comment and vote in the poll on the right.

(Props to @brmeyer for inspiring the headline)

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How do you think the Yankees will do in 2010?

Buster Olney has the Yankees facing off with the Colorado Rockies in the World Series this year - and losing.

I'm sure I don't have to tell you that I respectfully disagree with his opinion. (Translation: That's a load of crap, Buster!)

What do you think? Take a look at our poll on the right and tell us how you think the Bronx Bombers will fair this season.

The poll will close at 8 pm on April 4, so get your votes in before the first game!

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Yanks trade Melky to ATL for Vazquez

According to Buster Onley of ESPN, the Yankees have sent Melky Cabrera, Mike Dunn, and $500,000 in cold hard cash to the Atlanta Braves for Javier Vazquez and Boone Logan.

My first reaction: "No, not the Javier Vazquez from the ALCS-that-shall-not-be-mentioned."

My second reaction: This is actually a very good trade for the Yankees. After the Top 3 of CC, AJ, and Andy, there were question marks. Hughes and Joba were in line to fill the last spots in the rotation, and this sures up one of those spots. Now one of those two will head to the bullpen, and my money is on Joba (but more on that later, and likely all off-season). Vazquez comes in after posting a 15-10 record and a 2.87 ERA (keep in mind that was the NL, and the NL West, one of the weaker divisions in MLB). He also was second in the NL with 238 strikeouts.

The Yankees rotation now looks like this:

1. CC Sabathia
2. AJ Burnett
3. Andy Pettitte
4. Javier Vazquez
5. Hughes (or Chamberlain)

I believe that's the best rotation in the Majors, but I'm obviously biased.

The fact that they pick him for Melky (who despite being a fan favorite, was a career .269/.331 hitter with 36 career homeruns) and a minor league reliever, is a plus. Cashman is being very shrewd this off-season, making some bargain deals and short-term contracts. Vazquez is due $11.5 million this season, so after you take out the $3 million Melky will likely get in arbitration, that adds about $8.5 million to the Yankees payroll.

With Melky gone, and Gardner not exactly everyday left fielder material, the Yanks will likely go after someone to play left. Mark DeRosa is looking for about $6 million and can also play several positions, so he may be a target for the Yankees.

As John and I discussed, the worst part about this trade will be having to watch highlights of Game 7 of You-Know-Which-ALCS for the next 2 days, the first time Vazquez starts for the Yankees, the first time Vazquez starts against the Red Sox, and anytime Vazquez faces Johnny Damon.

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The Balance of Power shifts in the division...but which one?

Well, obviously there was a lot of news coming out of Major League Baseball today. Enough even to prevent SportsCenter to not mention Monday Night Football in the first 15 minutes of the show, which is almost unfathomable. Let's take a look at the deals:

Image via Wikipedia

Halladay" style="border: medium none ; display: block;" width="300" height="377">Image via Wikipedia

First, the deal that most directly affects the Yankees. John Lackey signs a five year contract worth more than the $82.5 million A.J. Burnett got from the Yanks last year. This doesn't really scare me that much. Yes, Lackey is a workhorse who has had success in the playoffs, but besides that what is he? He went 11-8 in 2009 and 12-5 in 2008 while missing time with injury. Boston's rotation, as of right now, is Josh Beckett, Jon Lester, Lackey, Daisuke Matsuzaka, and Clay Buchholz. I think the Yankees rotation matches up favorably to that, but I do have a biased opinion.

Now the big news: the Roy Halladay trade. The three team deal between the Phillies, Blue Jays and Mariners is still pending, and it is still unclear what prospects are headed where but the basics: the Phillies get Halladay, the Mariners get Cliff Lee, and the Blue Jays get prospects from both teams.

Now for the Phillies, they get the guy they've wanted for months now, but they have to give up Lee, who was their ace from this postseason. I literally just got off the phone with a friend of mine who is a Phillies fan who had just heard of the trade. He had only heard that the Phillies got Halladay and I was the one to break the news that they had to give up Lee in the deal. After assuring him that I was not trying to get back at him for the Giants-Eagles game last night by joking around, he was considerably less excited about the trade. Now, Halladay is an upgrade over Lee, but they Phillies would have been a lock for a World Series appearance next season if they had both.

But I think that the attention should be going to the Mariners. They added a front-line starter in an off-season where they already signed Chone Figgins and have been linked to players such as Matt Holliday and Jayson Bay to add to their lineup. They have taken advantage of the Angels losing some big names over the past few years (like Teixeira and Lackey) and have made an aggressive push to make themselves competitive. I think this deal affects the AL West more than the NL East or the AL East.

Well it's finals week, so there may not be too many posts, especially if no big news comes out of Yankee-land because, you know, priorities.

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Battle in the Bronx

YANKEES (97-56)

Joba Chamberlain on May 17, 2008" style="border: medium none ; display: block;" height="248" width="300">Image via Wikipedia

Jeter SS
Damon LF
Teixeira 1B
Rodriguez 3B
Matsui DH
Posada C
Cano 2B
Swisher RF
Cabrera CF

Pitching: RHP Joba Chamberlain (8-6, 4.73).

RED SOX (91-61)

Image via Wikipedia

Ellsbury CF
Pedroia 2B
Martinez 1B
Youkilis 3B
Ortiz DH
Bay LF
Drew RF
Varitek C
Gonzalez SS

Pitching: LHP Jon Lester (14-7, 3.33).

TIME/TV: 7:05, My9, MLB Network.

High Five!: The magic number for the Yankees is 5, which means the Yankees can clinch the division with a sweep of the Red Sox this weekend.

They're due: The Yankees have never beaten Lester in his career as he is 3-0 with a 1.9o ERA. I'd like the Yankees to put an 8 spot on him today so I don't have to listen to people tell me he is one of the best lefty pitchers in the game, as in better than CC or Johan.

Chance to tie it up: Right now, the Red Sox lead the season series 9-6, so a sweep also means the two teams will tie the series. While it may be insignificant, just think back to the Yanks starting 0-8 against the Sawks and see how far they've come.

Joba's time to shine: Joba, whether he thinks so or not, has struggled the past couple of starts. He could really prove a lot of things to a lot of people, most importantly Joe Girardi and Brian Cashman, with a big start tonight.

Win it for Nathan!: If you haven't seen this story yet, click here to get caught up. I want this teacher to have to wear a paper bag over his head when he goes to school next week.

Blog Updates: I will be (forced to be) at a Shen Wei Dance Performance as part of the program for Syracuse freshman. I will of course be sneaking looks at the score, but may miss a large portion of the game. I am unaware of John's schedule, but we'll try to get something up for this one.

Enjoy the Game

UPDATE 7:15: John here, I'm forced to watch the game on NESN, and I want to say, they are actually making a good point about Joba. That if they were to limit his innings like this it should have been done earlier in the season rather than heading into the playoffs. Because now he is taking steps backwards, which I agree wholeheartedly with.

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Game 146: Blue Jays at Yankees

YANKEES (93-52)
Jeter SS
Damon LF
Teixeira 1B
Rodriguez 3B
Matsui DH
Posada C
Cano 2B
Swisher RF
Gardner CF

Pitching: RHP Sergio Mitre (3-2, 7.02).

BLUE JAYS (65-79)
Scutaro SS
Hill 2B
Lind DH
Wells CF
Overbay 1B
Encarnacion 3B
Barajas C
Bautista RF
Snider LF

Pitching: RHP Roy Halladay (14-9, 3.03).

Not so Dandy: Andy Pettitte will be skipped in his scheduled start tomorrow because of shoulder fatigue. He is slated to go Monday instead. Chad Gaudin will get the nod tomorrow. I don't think this is a serious issue, the Yankees are just being cautious with the playoffs right around the corner.

Him again: Roy Halladay takes the mound for the Blue Jays after shutting out the Yankees in his September 4 start against them in Toronto while allowing only one hit and striking out nine.

2010: The 2010 preliminary schedule was released by the MLB and the Yanks will start the season in Fenway against the Sawks.

NESPN: ESPN recently launched ESPNBoston.com, a website devoted to Boston sports, to go along with the TV Channel they've had since 1979.

UPDATE 10:23: Luckily they have the 40 man rosters, because there are probably going to lose a couple of guys for several days.

UPDATE 10:33: So, Posada is going to be suspeneded for some time here. He was the only Yankees ejected, and hopefully the video tape doesn't show too much that makes MLB take more action.

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Game 143: Orioles at Yankees

YANKEES (91-51)
Jeter SS
Hairston LF
Teixeira 1B
Rodriguez 3B
Swisher RF
Cano 2B
Duncan DH
Cabrera CF
Molina C

Pitching: RHP A.J. Burnett (11-8, 4.19).

ORIOLES (57-83)
Roberts 2B
Fiorentino CF
Markakis RF
Reimold LF
Scott DH
Wieters C
Wigginton 3B
Aubrey 1B
Andino SS

Pitching: LHP Brian Matusz (4-2. 5.26).

TIME/TV: 1:05, YES.

Do you believe in magic?: Magic number remains at 14 after the Red Sox were rained out.

It's good to be King: Now that Jeter has finally passed Gehrig, maybe he will feel a little less pressure and get on a real hot streak.

Burnett really needs to start pitching better. He needs to throw more strikes and regain command of his fastball.

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Game 133: Yankees at Orioles

Lineups from the Big Man Upstairs. You know, upstairs, in the press box.

YANKEES (84-48)
Jeter SS
Damon LF
Swisher 1B
Rodriguez 3B
Matsui DH
Cano 2B
Cabrera CF
Hinske RF
Molina C

Pitching: LHP CC Sabathia (15-7, 3.56).

ORIOLES (54-79)
Roberts 2B
Izturis SS
Reimold LF
Markakis RF
Mora 3B
Wieters C
Scott DH
Wigginton 1B
Pie CF

Pitching: RHP Jason Berken (4-11, 6.33).

TIME/TV: 7:05, YES.

Correction: Last night I mistakenly said the Yankees Magic Number was 26, but I did not realize that 26 was the number before last night's game, so it is now 25.

Boys of Summer: Yankees during the first 81 games: 51-37, .580 winning percentage. The second half: 33-11, .750 winning percentage.

It was only a matter of time before Kay did the CC~Cy Young thing. It was just as bad as I thought it would be.

UPDATE 8:41: I've got the game on in the background and muted, but it seems like CC is gutting this one out without having his best stuff. 83 pitches and 1 run through 5 innings. Yanks need to help him with some hits.

UPDATE 9:15: A-Rod with the big single right there. You know he's feeling well when he goes back up the middle. One man on, no outs, don't stop now.

UPDATE 9:17: A-Rod gets a little greedy and guesses wrong with the lefty on the mound, it happens.

UPDATE 9:39: Bruney continues to struggle. He's pitching his way out of a chance to be on the postseason roster. At this point, he may have to be worried about having a job next year.

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Home is where the heart is: Yanks win again in extras to end homestand

Blue Jays 3 14 1
Yankees 4 7 0

WP: Gaudin (1-0)
LP: Camp (1-6)

This is one of those games where it's a little obvious that the Player of, Play of, and Turning Point of the Game are all about Robinson Cano and his walk-off hit.

GAME NOTES

• Gaudin came in and got some big outs for the Yankees in advance of his start on Sunday. Hopefully the joy of going from last place to first place will help Gaudin lock in and pitch well down the stretch.
• Burnett didn't really pitch well today, allowing 12 base runners in 6 innings while throwing 107 pitches, but the Yankees were still able to pull through with a win. It's good that even when one of your top guys has a rough day on the mound, the offense can still hit well enough to win the game.
  
• The Yankees finish this home stand 6-1, and are 15-2 at home since the All-Star Break. Now they head out for a road trip that begins in Seattle tomorrow.

TOMORROW:
Yankees at Mariners
Sabathia vs Snell


SEE YA!

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When it's over: Jays snap Yanks streak

Well, I don't know about the Yankees, but I felt a little burnt out today after that game last night. They kept the game close, and had chances to win, but couldn't pull through. They just need to make sure this hangover doesn't last too long, because you can't count the Red Sox or Rays out until they are mathematically eliminated. The Yankees know better than anyone that you can make up a lot of ground on a team without actually playing them.

We'll be back and recharged for tomorrow's game. Until then, I'm Jim Geant saying,

SEE YA!

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Yankees find Peace of Mind against Boston

Red Sox 6 8 1
Yankees 13 18 0

WP: Chamberlain (8-2)
LP: Smoltz (2-5)

PLAYER OF THE GAME: It's too hard to pick just one guy, so I'm just giving it to the entire lineup. They pounded out 18 hits and four home runs on their way to scoring 13 runs.

PLAY OF THE GAME: The Jeterian play by Robbie Cano in the top of the eighth inning on a ground ball to short right-center field by David Ortiz.

TURNING POINT OF THE GAME: I'm going out on a limb here, but I think the turning point was the 8-run 4th inning. After Casey Kotchman homered in the top of the 4th to give Boston a 3-1 lead, the Yankees scored 8 runs on 8 hits, including 2 home runs.

GAME NOTES:

• The Yankees pitching staff allowed 12 walks. That is horrible. 7 of them were from Joba, and he only pitched 5 innings.
  
• While Joba did not pitch well, I'm not worried. He's been pitching very well lately, but he isn't going to dominate every time out.
  
• Now, the Yankees are 3.5 games ahead of the Red Sox and because the Rays were idle, Tampa Bay falls to 6 games behind.
• In case you had turned the game off by that point, Dustin Pedroia was hit by a pitch to lead off the top of the 8th. He decided to be dramatic about it, despite the fact he's shorter than me (and I'm pretty short) by barking at Mark Melancon. So, with Beckett and Burnett on the mound tomorrow, don't be surprised if there are some fireworks.
  
• Now that they finally got the first win against the Red Sox out of the way, the Yankees can just worry about beating up on them all time.
  

TOMORROW:
Round 2
Red Sox at Yankees
Beckett vs. Burnett

SEE YA!

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Johnny B. Goode: Damon and Yanks sweep Jays

Yankees 8 10 0
Rays 4 11 0

WP: Aceves (7-1)
LP:Rzepczynski (1-3)

PLAYER OF THE GAME: Johnny Damon. With a 3-5 night at the plate with 3 RBI's and a home run, he helped spark the line up.

Image via Wikipedia

PLAY OF THE GAME: The catch by Melky Cabrera as he went back to the wall in the 8th inning in support of Phil Hughes.

TURNING POINT OF THE GAME: The 7th inning. The Yankees scored 4 runs to take the lead with a game-tying home run by Swisher and then 3 singles by Matsui, Damon, and Teixeira.

GAME NOTES:

• So now that this series is over, we can turn our full attention to the Red Sox series. Thanks to the Rays, the Yankees will go into that series 2.5 games ahead of the Sox.
• The bullpen situation: Hughes has pitched 2 straight days, but Mo did not pitch today. So Philthy may not be available tomorrow, but Mo can maybe get 4 outs tomorrow.
  
• I have the YES Network Postgame on as I'm writing this, and Bob Lorenz just said something about "doing his 'Sweating to the oldies' tape twice a day now." Is the not-talking-about-baseball thing (AKA the Michael Kay syndrome) contagious?
• PeteAbe says the Yankees told him that Muhammad Ali will be honored before the game tomorrow night. Upon hearing this, John and I set the over/under for Michael Kay boxing references at 7.
• The Yankees are 30-16 since the last time they played the Red Sox, so they are a very different team than they were in mid-June.
  

TOMORROW:
The Empire Strikes Back
Red Sox at Yankees
Smoltz vs Joba

And I am rooting for the Yankees not only because I am a die-hard fan, but because I already have a great headline for it if they do.


SEE YA!

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Game 105: Yankees at White Sox

YANKEES (62-42)
Jeter SS
Damon LF
Teixeira 1B
Rodriguez DH
Swisher RF
Cano 2B
Cabrera CF
Hairston 3B
Molina C

Pitching: LHP CC Sabathia (10-7, 3.83).

WHITE SOX (54-51)
Podesdnik CF
Beckham 3B
Dye RF
Thome DH
Konerko 1B
Quentin LF
Getz 2B
Nix SS
Castro C

Pitching: LHP Mark Buehrle (11-4, 3.45).

TIME/TV: 2:05 p.m., YES.

Are we home yet?: After a 9-1 homestand, the Yankees are 2-4 on this road trip, that continues Tuesday in Toronto.

He's due for a bad game, right?: Buehrle retired 45 straight batters over his last two starts, one of which was a perfect game. So let's hope the Yankees can get something going against him as the lefty is 1-5, 6.11 against the Yankees, 0-4, 6.91 at Comiskey Park.

Sabathia the Stopper: When you're the ace of the staff, as CC is, it's your job to put an end to long losing streaks. Let's see if he earns his paycheck.

UPDATE 2:12: Jerry Harriston makes a very nice play as the first ball is hit to him in his first game. That always seems to happen in baseball.

UPDATE 2:18: Nice play by the Melk Man, I guess the Yankees decided they are actually going to look sharp today.

UPDATE 2:35: There's a lot of nice defense going on in this game. The Yanks can't be satisfied with this lead, they need to tack on.

UPDATE 3:00: Well, CC just handed that 3-run lead right back to the White Sox.
And as I wrote that, the South siders take the lead.

UPDATE 3:05: Did Johnny Damon just throw someone out or am I seeing things?

UPDATE 3:12: So much for that pitching duel everyone was expecting.

UPDATE 3:30: The Yanks did get to Buehrle, as he is already out of the game. They need to keep pouring on runs here, because it's going to be a battle of the bullpens.

UPDATE 4:00: How do you let a pitcher off the hook, when he walks the bases loaded by not scoring a run?

UPDATE 4:41: Big at-bat here for Hughes with the tying run at the plate.

UPDATE 4:55: Melky Cabrera hits for the cycle. I doubt he has ever run that fast in his life.

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White Sox 3- Yankees 2

Yankees 2 6 2
White Sox 3 8 0

WP: Thornton (5-2)
LP: Hughes (4-3)

PLAYER OF THE GAME: Gavin Floyd. The righty didn't
get the win, but still pitched a great game. 4 hits, 1 walk, and 10 strike outs over 7.2 innings is an excellent performance against any lineup, especially one as good as the Yankees.

PLAY OF THE GAME/ TURNING POINT OF THE GAME: It's too difficult to differentiate on this one, as it's Wise's game-winning single, just off the glove of Phil Coke.

GAME NOTES:

• Two more errors tonight, and another play that should have been an error make it a week of poor defense for the Yanks. They obviously haven't received the Tom Emanski video we sent them .
• Pettitte has hit a rough patch lately. He hasn't won since July 1 against the Mariners.
  
• Girardi tried to try and get another full inning out of Hughes, and it backfired. Hughes hadn't gone more than 2 innings since June 10. We thought that he might be trying to stretch him out, but its doubtful. And, even if he was trying to stretch him out, they ninth inning of a tie game isn't the place to do it.
  
• The Trade Deadline is now less than 16 hours away. If the Yankees make a deal, be sure to check here for news, analysis, and opinion.
  

TOMORROW:
Yankees at White Sox
Sergio Mitre vs. Clayton Richard

SEE YA!

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Yankees 11-Rays 4

Yankees 11 15 1
Rays 4 6 1

WP: Burnett (10-4)
LP: Shields (6-7)
S: Robertson (1)

PLAYER OF THE GAME: AJ Burnett. With his 7 inning, two-hit performance tonight, Burnett won his fifth-straight decision. We are going to take all the credit for it, because he started his hot streak on June 27 against the Mets, and we were in attendance.

Image by Keith Allison via Flickr

PLAY OF THE GAME: Robbie Cano and Nick Swisher going bakc-to-back, belly-to-belly in the sixth inning. It was the ninth time this season that the Yankees have hit back-to-back jacks.

TURNING POINT OF THE GAME: Robinson Cano's RBI triple in the 2nd inning to give the Yankees an early two-run lead, which is all Burnett would need.

GAME NOTES:

• The Yanks are obviously on a roll. They've lost only 1 game since the All-Star break. In their last 12 road games, they are 9-3 (all three losses were to the Angels) and are averaging 7.2 runs in those games.
• Robinson Cano walked twice (TWICE!) into tonight's game. That means he let 8 pitches go by without swinging. This is a good example of Cano's maturation as a hitter.
• The Red Sox won, so the Yankees remain 2.5 games ahead of Boston, but move 7.5 ahead of the Rays.
• Johnny Damon hit his 200th career home run in the 9th inning. And the fan who caught it didn't get the opportunity to extort Damon because he threw the ball back in.
  

TOMORROW:
Yankees at Rays, 7:08 PM at Tropicana Field (which, by the way, is probably in the bottom 5 of baseball stadiums I've been to)
Sabathia vs. Kazmir
Great match up set for tomorrow, until then....


SEE YA!

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