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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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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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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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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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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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 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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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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Grand Slam Season Continues

Ok, the game's not over but it's 6-1 in the ninth and I'm about to pass out so I'll make this quick.

A-Rod hit another grand slam today, that's 596th home run of his career, the ninth grand slam of the season for the Yankees, and his 21st of his career. Lou Gehrig has the record with 23.

CC Sabathia was magnicficent. He struck out 10 batters in eight innings and he's now won seven consecutive starts.

Ok that's it we apologize but West Coast Games after 7 hours of work will do that to you,

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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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What To Do About the All Star Game?

Ty Wigginton, Omar Infante, Jason Heyward, Alex Rodriguez, CC Sabathia, Matt Capps, Fausto Carmona, Yadier Molina, Jose Reyes.

Joey Votto, Kevin Youkilis, Paul Konerko, Heath Bell, Matt Latos, Felix Hernandez, Jered Weaver, Andy Pettitte, Mike Pelfrey, Jamie Garcia, Miguel Olivo, Billy Wagner.

The difference between the two sets of names you see is that one group is on the All Star team and the others were left off. Obviously, regardless of how you select All-Stars, there will be some snubbed, but wow was it pathetic this year.

How in the world can you justify having Omar Infante on the team over first half NL MVP Joey Votto? And how can Ty Wigginton, who returned back to earth after a superb first six weeks, make the team over both Paul Konerko (who is tied for second in the AL with 20 HR) and Kevin Youkilis? (who leads the league in runs, is third in OBP, and also has 17 HR and a first half MVP candidate).

Then you have CC Sabathia and Fausto Carmona, who are both having good seasons, chosen over the likes of Andy Pettitte, Jered Weaver, and Felix Hernandez, who are all having great seasons.

The NL roster does not have a single pitcher from the San Diego Padres, who lead the majors in ERA. Meanwhile they have Matt Capps who has allowed 25 more hits this season than Billy Wagner, who was left off.

And even though this is a Yankees blog, we still recognize Alex Rodriguez has not had the greatest first half of a season and Youkilis and Konerko may be more deserving.

Due to injuries, the new rule where pitchers starting the Sunday before the All Star game cannot be eligible to pitch in the game, and the fans voting in the last roster spot, there will be some additions to each team. But in the meantime, if this game is going to "count," what can MLB do to fix it?

My first proposition is to eliminate the fan voting. I know many fans enjoy the voting even I like doing it, but it's become a joke over the last few years. The fans can't be dependable to put the best team on the field. Yadier Molina should not be the starting catcher over Brian McCann. Chase Utley has been injured and underperforming all year, and Jason Heyward's been hurt most of the season as well, and they are starting. Mark Teixeira was almost selected to the team and he's been a major disappointment this season. If it counts, then the fans shouldn't be voting, because it's just a popularity contest with the fans.

I also think they should eliminate the rule that every team needs to be represented. A lot of times this is the reason why players are snubbed. The Wigginton instead of Konerko/Youkilis is Evidence A. And maybe you can make a case Matt Latos or Heath Bell could be represented over the Pirates' Evan Meek (although he's having an excellent season as well). Basically, many players' hard work is not being recognized because they have to take someone else just to represent each team.

By fixing these two things, I think it is the right step in the direction of fixing the All Star Game. The game is meant to have the best players in the league playing against each other for home-field advantage in the World Series, and if the best players aren't out there, then it loses some of its integrity.

But hey, at least they didn't select Stephen Strasburg, who only has six starts in the majors. Imagine how much more ticked off Mike Pelfrey, Jamie Garcia, Mat Latos, Heath Bell, Billy Wagner, and Clayton Kershaw would be?

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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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Phew! Yanks Avoid Sweep

SEA 2 5 0
NYY 4 7 0

WP: Sabathia (10-3)
LP: Aardsma (0-5)
S: Rivera (18)

Player of the Game: Despite blowing a 2-0 lead in the eighth inning in large part to a wild pitch, CC Sabathia continued to show his dominance of late, striking out four and going eight strong to win his sixth consecutive start and earning his tenth win of the season almost three weeks earlier than last season when he won 19 games.
Turning Point/Play of the Game: I didn't see all of this game but Alex Rodriguez's two-run home run in the bottom of the eighth can account for each of these as he helped regain the lead for the Yanks. It was A-Rod's 595th career homer as he closes in on 600.

Notes:

• Robinson Cano hit a solo home run to continue his MVP-type season.
• You have to wonder if Girardi will take Sabathia or Phil Hughes along with Andy Pettitte for the All-Star game. Sabathia has been much more effective than Hughes of late and you can make a case he deserves it over Hughes.
• Speaking of the All Star Game, remember to help get Nick Swisher in by voting all day today until midnight.

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Some Old Friends (and Enemies)

Tonight the Yankees return to action against the LA Dodgers who are led by former Yankee manager Joe Torre and coaches Don Mattingly and Larry Bowa. Much has been made about whether or not the Yankee players will embrace Torre tonight, especially after the way he left and the book that he wrote. Alex Rodriguez did not want to comment on it, but any Yankee that was part of a championship team with Torre will probably be all hugs and reminiscing before the game tonight.

This also leads me to the way the fans may think of Torre now. We won't know the kind of reception he'd get in New York because these games are in LA. But I get the feeling many fans would boo Torre. Sure, the last four or five years weren't very great, but you can't blame all that on him. You have to remember the good times Torre brought to the Yankees, and remember how he was the man who helped the Yankees get back on top of the sports world. They were in an 18-year World Series drought before Torre arrived, and he won four in five years and led them to six AL pennants in his 12 year stint with the Yankees.

Torre is a Yankee legend and I hope the Yankee fans treat him like one whenever the next time he arrives at the Stadium may be. We don't boo our World Series heroes. We are not Red Sox fans.

Speaking of Red Sox fans booing World Series heroes, the Yankees are reunited with their all-time villain Manny Ramirez tonight. Ramirez has haunted Yankees fans as a member of the Indians and Red Sox, but now he is at the end of his career and his numbers have been on the decline. But say what you want about Manny, he always turned it up a notch whenever he was facing the pinstripes, and expect the same during this weekend.

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