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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Cliff Lee To Yanks Nearly Done Deal (UPDATE)

ESPN's Buster Olney is reporting that a deal is near done and in agreement to send Cliff Lee to the Yankees in a deal setup around Yankees prospect Jesus Montero. The deal would mean somebody, most likely Javier Vazquez, will be dealt as well. Or, maybe the Yankees push Phil Hughes back into the bullpen to limit his innings. Yet that doesn't seem to make much sense.

In fact, I'm not sure if I can make much sense out of any of this. The Yankees pitching has been doing very well lately, they have the best record in baseball, and they haven't even hit their stride yet in terms of how good they can be, and if Cashman trades Montero it goes against every reason why he wouldn't deal for Johan Santana, CC Sabathia, and Roy Halladay.

So it's a little puzzling and I want to hear more about this trade, but that Queen from Cleveland is taking over ESPN so I just have to keep refreshing MLB trade rumors. And if Lee does in fact come to New York, well, we may just take a break from the blog until October when things really start to heat up.

UPDATE: It now appears that talks have stalled and that the deal looks to have died when Mariners became concerned about David Adams's health, the second baseman who the Yankees were offering in the Montero package. ESPN also reports it's possible another team has came in with a better offer. But right now, Lee is a Mariner.

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Yanks Take Back-to-Back Ace Kickings

Two games. Two aces. Two losses. The Seattle Mariners put Cliff "Yankee Killer" Lee and "King" Felix Hernandez on the mound in back-to-back games and the Yankees faltered in each to back-to-back complete-game efforts. Lee dominated everyone but Nick Swisher Tuesday in a 7-4 loss while Hernandez absolutely dominated the Yankees, pitching a complete-game shutout and striking out 11 batters while only allowing two hits.

Many can look at these games and complain about the Yankees offense, but this is how Seattle drew it up in the beginning of the season, that Lee and Hernandez would be a dominant duo, however, it is just the second time they've followed one another with victories this season.

What is a little alarming is the fact that the Yankees have given up seven runs the last two games to an inept Mariners offense. Phil Hughes had the extra rest and you could use that as an excuse and Javier Vazquez didn't pitch awful, but he did not pitch well either. And the bullpen did not help as they were unable to stop the bleeding and keep the Yankees in the game.

These past two games are the type of games where you want CC Sabathia and Andy Pettitte on the mound, the guys who can go toe-to-toe with the opposing pitchers. But tomorrow things will be back to normal as the Yankees have the upperhand in the mismatch of Sabathia versus Ryan Rowland-Smith.

All in all, not to fret, things will return to normalcy tomorrow.

Note: The last time the Yankees lost back-to-back games to pitchers throwing complete games was in April of 2000 when Chris Carpenter and Kelvim Escobar defeated the Yankees as members of the Toronto Blue Jays.

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Seriously, A.J.?

I'm probably going to be asleep before the end of this game, but A.J. Burnett threw another stinker today and the Yankees will most likely lose this one. There has to be a real cause for concern with him. I mean, it's gotten to the point where if the playoffs started tomorrow, I'd rather see, gulp, Javier Vazquez, formerly known as Public Enemy Number 1, starting in the playoffs over A.J. Burnett. And with the money Burnett's getting paid there's no reason why he shouldn't be starting in the playoffs.

In other news, Phil Hughes, who's been maybe the best pitcher all season, is being skipped a start so they can manage his innings limit. I see the Yankees learned from last year, when they started skipping Joba's starts in August and limiting him to three to four innings the games he did pitch...which was just stupid. It's better to skip his turn now then down the stretch of the season.

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Will Yankees Go After Lee?

Today in the NY Post, Joel Sherman writes about the possibility of the Yankees making a move for Cliff Lee by the July 31 trade deadline. Sherman writes that it will be difficult because the Mariners will ask for Austin Romine or Jesus Montero. But Sherman throws in his own idea, which is trading Javier Vazquez to an NL team to get the prospects needed to make a trade work. Now, this is reminding me a little bit like the Roy Halladay situation last year because the Yankees don't need Lee...at least not this year. People will talk about the Yankees being involved but in the end, it won't happen. And here's why:

• Brian Cashman won't trade Vazquez to make room for Lee. Vazquez is someone who Cashman put a lot of trust and confidence in, and it was a risky move bringing him back. Why would he jump ship with him in just half a season? Plus he is pitching like the Vazquez Cashman expected he was getting, so I doubt he makes any moves for him.


• The Yankees have a 3.84 team ERA, which is third best in the American League. Once again, they don't need Lee right now.


• Cashman won't part with his top prospects. We've seen it before with Santana, and as recently as last year with Halladay. Cashman won't part with his top prospects. The Mariners asked for Austin Jackson last year for Jarrod Washburn and Cashman wouldn't do it, so you have to imagine the asking price for Lee will be high as well.


• Lee is a free agent after this season. The Yankees have shown they are patient and have the money to sign the pieces they need. Vazquez may be gone next year and Pettitte may retire (although he looks like he can pitch for five more years) which will mean the Yankees will look for another starter (preferably a lefty to replace Pettitte) during the offseason.

Basically, it's pointless for the Yankees to trade for Cliff Lee right now. Their pitchers are doing fine (although I'd like to see Burnett pitch a little better and CC beat someone other than the Orioles) and they are 2 games behind the Rays for first place. This wasn't the first time the Post wrote about the Yankees and Cliff Lee, and if they can't find anything else better to write, it won't be the last. Just don't expect anything to happen during the season unless a significant injury occurs.

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Anyone (still) Concerned about Yankees Offense?

Last night the Yankees continued to beat up on the JV portion of their schedule by beating the Orioles 3-1. The victory marked their fourth win in their last five games, so any concerns during that stretch against Tampa Bay and the Mets are over, right?

Well for me, I'm still a little worried about the bats. It seems like most of these game the Yankees have not been able to capitalize or get going against the starting pitching, and have relied on beating up on the opposing team's bullpens. Yeah, things may be coming around, but I'd feel a lot better if they can beat up the starting pitching of the weak instead of getting to the bullpens, because getting to the bullpen is how you beat the good teams.

Speaking of concerns, you have to feel better about Javier Vazquez and Joba Chamberlain, right. Albeit it was against the Orioles, any outing they can get their confidence up is a good thing.

Hughes takes the mound tonight in search for his seventh win of the season.

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Game 52: Yankees vs Orioles

Now that Memorial Day Weekend is over, we can make more posts as we are not as consumed with work.

Yankees
Derek Jeter SS
Nick Swisher RF
Mark Teixeira 1B
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Robinson Cano 2B
Marcus Thames DH
Francisco Cervelli C
Curtis Granderson CF
Kevin Russo LF

Orioles
Corey Patterson LF
Miguel Tejada 3B
Nick Markakis RF
Ty Wigginton 1B
Luke Scott DH
Matt Wieters C
Adam Jones CF
Julio Lugo 2B
Cesar Izturis SS

Brian Matusz LHP

In the Lineup: After being hit in the back of the leg and taken out of the game in the seventh inning, Derek Jeter is in the lineup tonight and will be playing shortstop.
Swishalicious: During the month of May, Nick Swisher hit 374/.441/.670 with seven home runs, 17 RBI, and 24 runs scored. Let's see if he continues the hot hitting into June.
Matchup Mediocrity: Javier Vazquez and Brian Matusz each take the mound tonight, and niether one has had great seasons. While Matusz got off to a good start he has struggled lately, and Vazquez, well, we all know how he's done this season.
Weather Watch: Apparently the tarp is on the field at Yankee Stadium but the rain has stopped and it appears that there should be baseball tonight.

UPDATE 6:18: This is unrelated Yankee news, but it's baseball news, and I just heard on ESPN that Dontrelle Willis was traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks. Just thought that was interesting.

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Game 43: Yankees at Mets

Is it me or was this game supposed to be earlier today?

Lineups

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

Mets
Reyes SS
Castillo 2B
Bay LF
Davis 1B
Wright 3B
Pagan CF
Barajas C
Francoeur RF

Young Aces: Phil Hughes and Mike Pelfrey are both having terrific seasons and are both still very, very young. Hughes is 5-0 with a 2.25 ERA while Pelfrey is 5-1 with a 3.02 ERA.
Phil at the Plate: Phil Hughes will be making his NL ballpark debut, meaning he will hit for the first time. He said he was only able to hit fastballs in high school, so hopefully Pelfrey doesn't know that.
Battered Bombers: Javier Vazquez was hit on his pinky during an attempted bunt last night to be the latest victim of the injury bug. He believes he will make his next start (which I don't know how many days will be). Alfredo Aceves will be throwing in Tampa tomorrow and Marcus Thames should be available to pinch-hit.

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First Losing Streak of the Season

Yankee have lost 3 in a row. Time to panic? I wouldn't...Hughes pitches in game 2 in a couple of hours.

NYY 0 4 0
DET 2 5 1

WP: Porcello (3-3)
LP: Vazquez (1-4)
S: Valverde (10)

Player of the Game: Rick Porcello. The Jersey bred right-hander shut down the Yankees allowing only four hits and striking out 2. Fifteen of his outs were groundouts.

Play of the Game: The Tigers turning an around the horn double play in the seventh off the bat of Ramiro Pena. It was key for them to turn it as the Yankees were in position to get back into the game.

Turning Point: The sixth inning. Vazquez was not hit hard, but a couple of singles and ground balls getting through the infield gave the Tigers a 2-0 lead which is all they needed.

Notes:

• Didn't really catch this one, but the one thing everyone has to be happy to see is the pitching performance of Javier Vazquez. This Tigers lineup is no walk in the park, and he did a good job, giving up just two runs in seven innings while striking out seven. Unfortunately for Vazquez, the Yankees offense couldn't get anything going for him.

Game 2:

Hughes vs Bonderman 7:05 p.m. Comerica Park

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Late Game Post

Sorry, but I just got onto my computer now. It's Javier Vazquez vs Rick Porcello in Game 1 of a day/night doubleheader. It's scoreless heading into the bottom of the 4th. Here's the lineups:

Yankees
Derek Jeter SS'
Brett Gardner CF
Mark Teixeira 1B
Alex Rodriguez DH
Robinson Cano 2B
Jorge Posada C
Nick Swisher RF
Randy Winn LF
Ramiro Pena 3B

Tigers
Austin Jackson CF
Johnny Damon LF
Magglio Ordonez DH
Miguel Cabrera 1B
Brennan Boesch RF
Brandon Inge 3B
Ramon Santiago 2B
Gerald Laird C
Adam Everett SS

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Yankees Rained Out

The game tonight against Detroit has been postponed due to rain. They will play a day/night doubleheader tomorrow. Javier Vazquez will pitch the first game, Phil Hughes the second.

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Yanks Show Weaknesses in Win

The Yankees won today thanks to the bat of Nick Johnson, and if it weren't for him, they would have lost the game thanks to the incapable arms in the bullpen. Both Joba and Mo were unavailable to pitch today and Girardi had to use four guys to get the last five outs. It's days like todya when you appreciate how good and great Mo has been for over a long period of time. Now, I didn't catch the end of the game because of finals, and I'm glad I didn't, but it sounded ugly.

Over to Andy Pettitte. Pettitte left the game after five innings and went to NY Presbyterian Hospital to get an MRI on his left elbow, which he has had problems with before. The results came back and revealed he has a mild inflammation of the left elbow and will be treated day-to-day. The Yankees are really starting to show their age with Pettitte, Posada, and Rivera all nicked up, rumors of A-Rod with an achy Knee, and Granderson (albeit he is young, 29) on the DL.

The Yankees were blessed with limited injuries last season, and I think that played a huge factor into winning the World Series. It's only May, so the Yankees must be careful with how they handle these injuries, because if they are not, it may come back to haunt them in the long run.

Also, if Pettitte does have to miss some time, it would be the perfect time for Mr. Javier Vazquez to step up his game and redeem his reputation.

So although today was a victory in the standings, the shaky bullpen (outside Mo and Joba) and injuries are the main headlines that will be all over New York as they enter a 3-game set against the Red Sox on Friday.

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Slow and Painful Loss

CWS 7 9 0
NYY 6 11 0

WP: Linebrink (1-0)
LP: Robertson (0-2)
S: Jenks (5)

Players of the Game: A.J. Pierzynski and Andruw Jones. Jones had 2 home runs for the day while Pierzynski went 3-for-4 with a go-ahead double in the seventh.

Play/Turning Point of the Game: A.J. Pierzynski's go-ahead 2 RBI double in the seventh inning off of Damaso Marte. The Yankees had just taken the lead and the White Sox were able to take it right back.

Notes

• Curtis Granderson left the game with a strained left groin. Should be interesting to see how further results will come out on this. He may end up on the 15-day DL.
• Javier Vazquez had another rough outing, and you can tell he's nervous out there when he couldn't field a groundball after allowing a home run. He just needs to pitch with some more confidence.
• Speaking of pitchers struggling, David Robertson and Damaso Marte have been nothing but disappointments this year. They were the unsung heroes of the 2009 postseason, but it seems like they can't get anyone out now. Boone Logan actually had a pretty good outing today, hitting 97 mph on the gun so Marte better watch his back.
• Nick Swisher finally broke out of a slump at home by hitting a go-ahead 2-run home run which seemed like it would be enough for the Yankees to win.
• Mark Teixeira certainly happy it's May as he went 2-for-4 with an RBI.
• The game was almost 4 hours long. It was "embarassing and pathetic" for Joe West. It was a slow and painful loss for Yankees fans as it appeared we may have pulled off the comeback victory during the sixth.

Tomorrow

Yankees vs White Sox 1:05 p.m.

Hughes (2-0) vs Buehrle (2-3)

See Ya!

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Shut Up Curt

Earlier today, former Red Sox Idiot and current ESPN Idiot Curt Schilling said that Javier Vazquez won't thrive in the AL on his ESPN Radio show. It hasn't looked good for Vazquez, who is off to a poor start but for Schilling to go out and say he won't thrive in the AL is a bit premature. Keep in mind Vazquez was an All-Star his first time out in the AL with the Yankees in 2004 before his season went downhill. The Yankees have said that Vazquez has some mechanical issues they are working on and once they fix that they will most certainly be the most unbeatable team in the majors. I'll admit I'm no Javy Vazquez fan but I'll get his back when someone like Schilling starts talking out of his ass.

As a matter of fact, I hope Schilling's comments fire Vazquez up and make him go out there and prove him wrong and shut that fat piece of crap up. I know it has me fired up. But I've hated Curt Schilling since 2001, and hate him more than Pedro, Manny, Kevin Millar, Kevin Youkillis, Papelbum, Varitek, and David Ortiz combined. So I doubt Vazquez has that kind of feelings toward this guy.

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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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