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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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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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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Granderson deal official, Pettitte re-signs

The 3-team deal to bring center fielder Curtis Granderson to the Bronx is official. A couple of quotes from the press conference with Brian Cashman and the conference call with Curtis Granderson:

Cashman
On Granderson:

We're excited about what he brings to the table -- his athleticism, his youth, his power and how it all relates to where we play. His personality, how people gravitate to him -- they're all plusses.

On Austin Jackson and the other players the Yankees gave up in the deal

We're excited about what we're getting, and we're distraught about what we gave up at the same time. It's not like I'm doing handstands. It's a tough decision. You're trading the future for here and now.

Granderson
On his role on the team

I'm not going to be the standout guy. I'm not going to be the guy that you're constantly worried about. But if you don't keep an eye on me, hopefully, I can go and sneak in and do some positive things for our team.

On playing at Yankee Stadium

I've never been a guy who's gone up there trying to hit home runs.I think it's one of those things that has evolved over my career, and hopefully, the same will hold true at Yankee Stadium -- going up and trying to drive the baseball, and if it gets out, it gets out.

On whether he will wear #28 (or whether manager Joe Girardi will)

It'll be interesting. Of course, [Girardi's] the man. He's the one that makes everything go. He's going to definitely have first dibs on it, and if he chooses to take it, I've played in other numbers before. It's just a number on the back. Whatever you do on the field hopefully will stand out more.

In other news today, Andy Pettitte will return to the Yankees in 2010, as he signed a 1 year, $11.75 million deal that was announced today. After going 14-8 with a 4.16 ERA and winning all the clinching games in the postseason, the Yanks rewarded one of their "Core Four" with a raise over his $5 million base salary last season.

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Game 1 ALDS: Yankees vs Twins

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

Pitching: LHP CC Sabathia (19-8, 3.37 regular season)

TWINS
Span CF
Cabrera SS
Mauer C
Cuddyer 1B
Kubel RF
Young LF
Harris DH
Tolbert 3B
Punto 2B

Pitching: LHP Brian Duensing (5-2, 3.64 ERA regular season)

TIME/TV: 6:07 p.m., TBS

The Hangover: The Twins enter Yankee Stadium roughly 20 hours after winning the AL Central. Their reward? CC Sabathia in the Bronx.

But Look At His Postseason Numbers: CC Sabthia is 2-3 with a 7.92 ERA in five playoff starts. He is also 9-4 with a 1.91 ERA against the Twins in his last 13 starts. So you can pretty much throw all trends out the window at this point and just expect the best pitcher in the AL since August to show up (at least that's what I'm doing).

Weather Report: No Ollie Williams today. Instead it is a blustery fall evening in the Bronx. With winds blowing out to...where else? Right Field. Expect some home runs to fly out tonight. My money is on Johnny Damon in the first inning for the first home run of the game.

Pressure Point: Alex Rodriguez arrives in October with probably the least amount of pressure than previous years. However, the moment he starts struggling he will be ridiculed and become the focus of attention. If he suceeds, he will be praised as a hero. Either way, all eyes will still be on A-Rod even if it seems like the pressure of previous years isn't there.

If you have 5 minutes to spare and want to get pumped up for the game, watch this video It's a compilation of the Yankees season that YES showed after the final game on Sunday.

I know I don't want to be by my computer and be distracted from the game, but perhaps we may do a little live blogging in between innings.

UPDATE 5:34: Jim here: I will be tweeting during the game @jgeant, because I can do that from my cell phone. So you can follow my quips and comments about the game there and we'll get on the blog a little bit, too.

Enjoy the game.

UPDATE 6:19: After giving up a leadoff double to Denard Span, CC Sabathia came back and struck out Orlando Cabrera, Joe Mauer, and got Michael Cuddyer to fly out to center. Hopefully after that first at bat he's settled down. Now for the Yankees offense to go to work.

UPDATE 6:35: Not only did I, but apparently Jim also thought that ball by A-Rod was going to be out. We both pulled a Michael Kay on that one.

UPDATE 7:10: Ok, Sabathia is not getting that outside corner. Posada can't catch. And I think the entire Yankee Universe is now panicking. Let's get those two runs back NOW!

UPDATE 7:15: And that is why he is the modern day Mr. October. The Captain strikes again with a 2-run home run to tei the game and the crowd has not stopped chanting his name.

UPDATE 8:10: Sorry I missed Swisher's go-ahead RBI, but now A-Rod is getting in on this thing called the postseason with an RBI of his own. And now Matsui just hit one into Monument Park for a 6-2 lead. Things are looking good right now for the Yankees as long as CC keeps rolling.

UPDATE 8:41: CC Sabathia leaves the game after 6 2/3 innings giving up 8 hits, 2 runs, 1 earned, and striking out 8. Phil Hughes enters the game with runners on second and third 2 outs. It'd be first and second if it weren't for Posada's awful defense. Orlando Cabrera up at the plate.

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Lucky Town

I'm going to put off doing my home work for a little while so I can get a blog post in for what is a huge win for the Yankees.

First of all, the win gives the Yanks the series win in Anaheim, the first time they've done that since in forever.

Second, it gives the Yankees a 6.5 game lead over the Angels for home field advantage throughout the playoffs.

Third, the Yankees lowered their Magic Number to 5 to clinch the division. Now, if the Royals can finish off the sweep (yes, you read correctly the SWEEP) of the Red Sox, it will be 4.

Fifth, AJ Burnett finally remembered how to not give up a boatload of runs. He went 5.2 innings, which could be better, but he struck out 11 and walked 3 so that drove his pitch count up. The most important thing is he only allowed 2 runs after the Bombers had already spotted him 3. Now if Joba can get back on track we might be a little more confident about the starting rotation headed into the playoffs.

Sixth, Robinson Cano finally got a hit with runners in scoring position! (It's the end of the world as we know it, but I feel fine). His two-out, 2-run single in the fourth inning was the difference in the game.

Seventh, Ian Kennedey returned to the mound after having surgery to remove an aneurysm earlier this season. He pitched a scoreless inning where he walked two (which can be expected in an appearance like that, especially in your home town) and struck out one.

Other notes (Not big enough or related enough to the game to get a number):

• Jorge Posada's x-ray on his right foot came back negative. He fouled a ball of his foot last night and did not play in today's game. Girardi said Posada may not play Friday against the Red Sox.
  
• Boston is up 6-2 over the Royals in the sixth inning, so the magic number may stay at 5 heading into a 3-game Battle in the Bronx. I don't want to put the cart before the horse, but how sweet would it be if the Yanks swept the series to clinch the division and reach 100 wins against the Sox? I can't say I expect that to happen, but it would be amazing.
• Happy Birthday to the "other" Boss, Bruce Springsteen, who's song Lucky Town came off the 1992 album of the same name.
  

We'll try to get something out to you tomorrow, so until then...

SEE YA!

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I take that SEE YA! back, I just noticed we are at 98 fans on our Facebook page. Come on people, just two of you need to become a fan for us to reach 100. (Well technically 4 of you do, because John and I are already fans, but that's just semantics)

What would do if I said the 99th and 100th fans get fabulous prizes?

If you answered "Call Jim a big, fat liar," you're correct. While we don't have prizes, imagine the pride you'll feel knowing you became our 100th fan.
Or you could just do it to make John and I feel good, that works for us.

We're also on Twitter (because at this point who isn't?). @KaysSuccessors is where you can find us.

Ok, I'm sure this time...

SEE YA!

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