New York Yankees News

Changes to Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service

2012-01-28T10:13:00.001-05:00

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Dear Google user, We're getting rid of over 60 different privacy policies across Google and replacing them with one that's a lot shorter and easier to read. Our new policy covers multiple products and features, reflecting our desire to create one beautifully simple and intuitive experience across Google. We believe this stuff matters, so please take a few minutes to read our updated Privacy Policy and Terms of Service at http://www.google.com/policies. These changes will take effect on March 1, 2012.
One policy, one Google experience

Easy to work across Google Our new policy reflects a single product experience that does what you need, when you want it to. Whether you're reading an email that reminds you to schedule a family get-together or finding a favorite video that you want to share, we want to ensure you can move across Gmail, Calendar, Search, YouTube, or whatever your life calls for with ease.	Tailored for you If you're signed into Google, we can do things like suggest search queries – or tailor your search results – based on the interests you've expressed in Google+, Gmail, and YouTube. We'll better understand which version of Pink or Jaguar you're searching for and get you those results faster.	Easy to share and collaborate When you post or create a document online, you often want others to see and contribute. By remembering the contact information of the people you want to share with, we make it easy for you to share in any Google product or service with minimal clicks and errors.

Protecting your privacy hasn't changed Our goal is to provide you with as much transparency and choice as possible, through products like Google Dashboard and Ads Preferences Manager, alongside other tools. Our privacy principles remain unchanged. And we'll never sell your personal information or share it without your permission (other than rare circumstances like valid legal requests).	Got questions? We've got answers. Visit our FAQ at http://www.google.com/policies/faq to read more about the changes. (We figured our users might have a question or twenty-two.)

Notice of Change March 1, 2012 is when the new Privacy Policy and Terms will come into effect. If you choose to keep using Google once the change occurs, you will be doing so under the new Privacy Policy and Terms of Service. Please do not reply to this email. Mail sent to this address cannot be answered. Also, never enter your Google Account password after following a link in an email or chat to an untrusted site. Instead, go directly to the site, such as mail.google.com or www.google.com/accounts. Google will never email you to ask for your password or other sensitive information.

Changes to Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service

2012-01-27T04:51:00.001-05:00

		Is this email not displaying properly? View it in your browser.
Dear Google user, We're getting rid of over 60 different privacy policies across Google and replacing them with one that's a lot shorter and easier to read. Our new policy covers multiple products and features, reflecting our desire to create one beautifully simple and intuitive experience across Google. We believe this stuff matters, so please take a few minutes to read our updated Privacy Policy and Terms of Service at http://www.google.com/policies. These changes will take effect on March 1, 2012.
One policy, one Google experience

Easy to work across Google Our new policy reflects a single product experience that does what you need, when you want it to. Whether you're reading an email that reminds you to schedule a family get-together or finding a favorite video that you want to share, we want to ensure you can move across Gmail, Calendar, Search, YouTube, or whatever your life calls for with ease.	Tailored for you If you're signed into Google, we can do things like suggest search queries – or tailor your search results – based on the interests you've expressed in Google+, Gmail, and YouTube. We'll better understand which version of Pink or Jaguar you're searching for and get you those results faster.	Easy to share and collaborate When you post or create a document online, you often want others to see and contribute. By remembering the contact information of the people you want to share with, we make it easy for you to share in any Google product or service with minimal clicks and errors.

Protecting your privacy hasn't changed Our goal is to provide you with as much transparency and choice as possible, through products like Google Dashboard and Ads Preferences Manager, alongside other tools. Our privacy principles remain unchanged. And we'll never sell your personal information or share it without your permission (other than rare circumstances like valid legal requests).	Got questions? We've got answers. Visit our FAQ at http://www.google.com/policies/faq to read more about the changes. (We figured our users might have a question or twenty-two.)

Notice of Change March 1, 2012 is when the new Privacy Policy and Terms will come into effect. If you choose to keep using Google once the change occurs, you will be doing so under the new Privacy Policy and Terms of Service. Please do not reply to this email. Mail sent to this address cannot be answered. Also, never enter your Google Account password after following a link in an email or chat to an untrusted site. Instead, go directly to the site, such as mail.google.com or www.google.com/accounts. Google will never email you to ask for your password or other sensitive information.

Changes to Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service

2012-01-25T22:54:00.001-05:00

		Is this email not displaying properly? View it in your browser.
Dear Google user, We're getting rid of over 60 different privacy policies across Google and replacing them with one that's a lot shorter and easier to read. Our new policy covers multiple products and features, reflecting our desire to create one beautifully simple and intuitive experience across Google. We believe this stuff matters, so please take a few minutes to read our updated Privacy Policy and Terms of Service at http://www.google.com/policies. These changes will take effect on March 1, 2012.
One policy, one Google experience

Easy to work across Google Our new policy reflects a single product experience that does what you need, when you want it to. Whether reading an email that reminds you to schedule a family get-together or finding a favorite video that you want to share, we want to ensure you can move across Gmail, Calendar, Search, YouTube, or whatever your life calls for with ease.	Tailored for you If you're signed into Google, we can do things like suggest search queries – or tailor your search results – based on the interests you've expressed in Google+, Gmail, and YouTube. We'll better understand which version of Pink or Jaguar you're searching for and get you those results faster.	Easy to share and collaborate When you post or create a document online, you often want others to see and contribute. By remembering the contact information of the people you want to share with, we make it easy for you to share in any Google product or service with minimal clicks and errors.

Protecting your privacy hasn't changed Our goal is to provide you with as much transparency and choice as possible, through products like Google Dashboard and Ads Preferences Manager, alongside other tools. Our privacy principles remain unchanged. And we'll never sell your personal information or share it without your permission (other than rare circumstances like valid legal requests).	Understand how Google uses your data If you want to learn more about your data on Google and across the web, including tips and advice for staying safe online, check out http://www.google.com/goodtoknow	Got questions? We got answers. Visit our FAQ at http://www.google.com/policies/faq to read more about the changes. (We figured our users might have a question or twenty-two.)

Notice of Change March 1, 2012 is when the new Privacy Policy and Terms will come into effect. If you choose to keep using Google once the change occurs, you will be doing so under the new Privacy Policy and Terms of Service. Please do not reply to this email. Mail sent to this address cannot be answered. Also, never enter your Google Account password after following a link in an email or chat to an untrusted site. Instead, go directly to the site, such as mail.google.com or www.google.com/accounts. Google will never email you to ask for your password or other sensitive information.

The Orioles left the Yankees on the road for the second straight day

2011-09-09T15:28:00.002-04:00

Second baseman Robert Andino hit RBI single in the bottom of the tenth inning to break a tie on the board and give the Orioles a 5-4 victory against the Yankees in New York.

History repeated itself for a second day after yesterday Wednesday, the Orioles also won by 5-4 to the Yankees in the eleventh inning, in their field of Yankee Stadium, to leave the Bombers Bronxs the second straight loss having won six straight games.

Andino drove in the winning run with a single to tie it after the eighth, with the executioner for the Yankees, who are leading the Eastern Division of the American League.

The designated hitter Vladimir Guerrero homered, doubled twice and scored two runs for the Orioles, becoming the undisputed leader of the Baltimore attack team, already eliminated from the final stage.

With an "out" on the board, left fielder Nolan Reimold hit an infield hit off reliever Scott Proctor (0-1) in the tenth.

Rimold advanced to second after giving Proctor walked and scored the winning run with a grounder down the Andino, who placed the ball down the third base territory.

Reliever Clay Rapada (1-0) retired the only batter he faced in the tenth inning and got the win.

Dominican starter for the Yankees, Ivan Nova, which was praised by the team manejor Joe Girardi as a candidate for Rookie of the Year, allowed three runs in five and one third of tickets to go no-decision.

The right-hander is headed to tie a record for victories by a rookie for the Yankees, but the Orioles tied for eighth and twelfth denied him victory in a row, and the sixteenth so far this season.

His compatriot, Alfredo Simon, Baltimore opened and allowed four runs, six hits and six walks in four innings he worked from the mound.

MLB: Yankees 8, Orioles 3, 2nd game, Granderson gives two homers

2011-08-29T12:50:00.001-04:00

Curtis Granderson homered twice to register as a leader in the majors with 38, while the Nova Rookie Ivan won his 10th straight decision and the Yankees beat the Orioles 8-3 in Baltimore in the second game of a double billboard which split the victories.

Nova (14-4) allowed three runs and seven hits in seven-plus innings, striking out seven batters and giving two walks. The right has won seven straight starts and has improved to 10-0 in 11 starts since June 3.

In the opener, rookie Zach Britton received just four hits over seven innings to the Baltimore Orioles achieved their longest streak of the season with six straight wins to win 2-1 against Bartolo Colon (8-9) and New York Yankees.

The Orioles had not won six straight games since April 2008.

However, defeat to shake off the early-morning, Granderson hit three-run homer in the third inning and a solo shot in the seventh. Dominican beat the Blue Jays' Jose Bautista, who has 37 home runs and took the lead in the major leagues with 107 RBIs.

The match was tied at three before New York stick three homers in consecutive four-run sixth inning. After Robinson Cano was blown off by a man on base, Andruw Jones and Nick Swisher also connected a run of four corners.

It was the first time the Yankees hit three homers in a row from May 20, 2009, against Baltimore.

Brian Matusz (1-7) allowed six runs and six hits, including three home runs in five innings. Adam Jones drove in two runs for the Orioles, who ended his streak of six straight wins.

However, in the first meeting, the board just went from zero in the seventh inning when Nick Markakis doubled and Vladimir Guerrero followed with a single to tow.

Baltimore sealed the outcome in the eighth when Mark Reynolds started his third hits and scored JJ Hardy's single with two outs.

Derek Jeter played his 2402 th game with New York and broke the tie he had with Mickey Mantle for the highest number of encounters with the Yankees. Jeter went 4-0 as a DH. The captain was injured in the third inning and despite ending the game, missed the second with a knee problem.

In the first game for the Orioles, Vladimir Guerrero 3-1 with an RBI.

For the Yankees, Robinson Cano of 3-0 and Eduardo Nunez 3-0. The Francisco Cervelli 2-1.

In the second game for the Yankees, Cano Dominicans 5-2 with a run scored and two RBIs, and Nunez 4-0.

For the Orioles, the Dominican Guerrero 4-1.

Nova is credited the win and maintaing the lead for Yankees

2011-08-22T11:55:00.002-04:00

Dominican starter Ivan Nova pitched seven innings and outfielder Curtis Granderson and first baseman Mark Teixeira homered to lead the Yankees to a 3-0 win over the Minnesota Twins.

On the return to the field by third baseman Alex Rodriguez, who was 5-0, the Yankees won their eighth win in the last 10 games to establish themselves as leaders in the Eastern Division of the American League, a half-game lead over the Boston Red Sox.

Nova (13-4) pitched seven innings to dominate from the mound, allowing five hits, walked one and retired five strikeouts for the win.

The Dominican made 101 submissions, 63 got them perfect to leave on his 3.97 ERA after putting under control to 27 enemies.

Closer Mariano Rivera (33) is credited with launching a rescue episode, striking out two. Rivera made 10 shipments, eight directed them to the perfect area and left his ERA 2.25.

Granderson (35), Teixeira (34) homered for the Yankees.

Rays-Yankees postponed by rain in New York

2011-08-15T12:49:00.001-04:00

Sunday's game between Tampa Bay and the local New York Yankees was postponed by rain and did not set a new date to play.

The match was suspended two hours before his scheduled start because the rain falling from the night was forecasted to continue throughout the day.

The Rays return to Yankee Stadium to play three matches between 20 and 22 September. The last of these is a game postponed on July 8, also by rain. It is likely that one of these days play a doubleheader.

Top 10 signs the Yankees are going to release Jorge Posada

2011-08-08T11:11:00.002-04:00

After a disappointing lose to the Red Sox last night, Yankees are back to the one game behind the Soxs. The evolution of Jorge Posada has not satisfied the team and so a change is in need. Obvious sings that Posada will be released are inevitable:

10) They keep asking him if he'd like to see more of Bernie Williams

9) Too much praise for that durable and affordable Eric Chavez

8) Outside of Boston, there's not much call for catchers who can't throw, hit, or catch

7) The legal limit for DHs is three

6) Unlike some people, he doesn't have a crippling contract and counting total record to keep sucking down ABs

5) Jesus Montero has placed a call to Amnesty International

4) One too many cracks about how he doesn't even wear the World Series rings he has

3) The other teams in the AL continue to send cards of support and appreciation to the club for keeping him around

2) Dropping him from the lineup before a nationally televised game has a certain finality to it

1) Have already sent him the Old-Timers Game uniform

Yankees set club record with 12 runs in first inning

2011-08-01T13:22:00.002-04:00

Nick Swisher hit a homer for the Yankees to two stripes in the first inning against the Baltimore Orioles in the closure of a doubleheader on Saturday, July 30, 2011 in New York. Imposed Yankees team record by scoring 12 runs in the first inning.

New York Yankees on Saturday imposed a franchise record with runs in the first inning by scoring 12 times against the Baltimore Orioles in the second game of a doubleheader.

Nick Swisher homered and drove in three to continue the match on after his performance in the opener. Robinson Cano hit a pair of RBI singles and the Yankees sent 16 batters to the plate in an offensive explosion that lasted 40 minutes.

New York shot 10 hits in their most productive episode from the 13 runs he scored in the eighth inning on June 21, 2005, against Tampa Bay.

Derek Jeter hit a two-run single in the second round bat, and that was it for Zach Britton starter, who had been recalled from the minors before the game. Britton was able to make just one out with a called third strike against Jeter to start the chapter.

New York Yankees Week in Review: Sliding Back

2011-07-25T11:47:00.002-04:00

Coming out of the All-Star break, the Yankees were within shouting distance of first place. By the end of the week however, New York found itself 3 games behind the Red Sox in the division. While most Yankee players know there is a lot of season left to play, and that anything can happen, it is also obvious that the Yankees pitching has been less than exceptional so far this season. Everyone outside of CC Sabathia has had their struggles. With the trade deadline looming, and with the gap between New York and Boston growing ever wider, the Yankees need to be concerned with, and looking for, pitching. But before I address that, we need to look at how the Yankees got to this point.

The Yankees went 6-5 since the All-Star break, splitting 4-game sets with Toronto and Tampa Bay, and taking 2 of 3 from Oakland. That gives them an overall record of 59-40, good enough for second place in the AL East behind the Boston Red Sox.

Player of the Week: This has to go to Curtis Granderson, as he continues to power the Yankees to victory.

Game of the Week: Last Monday’s game against the Rays proved to be the game of the week

Surprise of the Week: Freddy Garcia pitched 8 shutout innings with 7 Ks against Tampa Bay on Wednesday, and while he remains inconsistent and in danger of being moved at the deadline, this was a nice surprise as it was clearly his best outing of the season. He is now 8-7 with a 3.21 ERA. He just needs to be more consistent. Had he been doing this all year, pitching wouldn’t be an issue for the Yankees.

Predictions: With the way the Yankees pitching has been lately, this week doesn’t seem easy. But Seattle has struggled, and the Yankees totally own the O’s this year. Maybe with one last hurrah, the Yankees pitchers can make one last effort to save their jobs with the trade deadline approaching. It would be naive of me to think that the Yankees run the table this week, especially since they have a doubleheader on Saturday, so I have them going 5-2 this week, taking 2 of 3 from Seattle and taking 3 of 4 from Baltimore.

Yankees 7, Blue Jays 2, Hughes won his first game

2011-07-18T11:47:00.001-04:00

Phil Hughes pitched six entries to score his first win of the season and defeated the New York Yankees 7-2 on Sunday to the Toronto Blue Jays.

Brett Gardner had three hits, while Curtis Granderson drove in three runs, with the Yankees managed to split honors in the four-game series, then they were outscored 23-8 in the first two games.

In his fifth start of the season and the second after recovering from a right shoulder injury, Hughes (1-2) allowed two runs and four hits to get his first win since October 2, 2010 in Boston.

Gardner won his second straight game with three hits, to go 4-2 with a walk, two steals and three runs scored. The outfielder has stolen 12 bases in a row without being put out and is batting .625 (10 hits in 16 at-bats) after the All-Star break.

Cory Wade pitched the seventh, David Robertson handled the eighth and Boone Logan completed by the Yankees.

New York scored four runs in the fourth to go up 5-1. The cluster was crowned by a two-run double to Granderson.

Carlos Villanueva (5-2) suffered his second loss in 10 starts since May became the starting rotation. He allowed five runs and eight hits in six innings.

Jose Bautista missed his third straight game with a sore right ankle. The Dominican, who with 31 homers led the majors, still practiced with the ball before the game and could return on Tuesday against Seattle.

For the Yankees, Robinson Cano 4-1, an RBI and Eduardo Nunez 4-1, a run scored. The Ramiro Pena 3-0, one RBI. Jorge Posada 4-0.

For the Blue Jays, the Yunel Escobar 3-1. Edwin Encarnacion 3-1, two runs scored.

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2011-07-11T09:02:00.001-04:00

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Derek Jeter doubles for 2,998th hit - soon to have 3000 and write history!

2011-07-08T11:17:00.002-04:00

After picking up a first-inning double, Derek Jeter thought Thursday could be the night he became the first Yankee with 3,000 hits.

"I'd be lying to you if I didn't think it was attainable today," Jeter said after the New York Yankees lost 5-1 to the Tampa Bay Rays.

Jeter went hitless in his final four at-bats and is two away from the milestone.

"Early on, I thought I was going to get a few but it wasn't the case," Jeter said.

In front of an announced sellout of 47,787, the game almost felt secondary to each Jeter at-bat. Fans stood for each plate appearance, and intermittently chanted Jeter's name as cameras flashed in the night.

"The fans were very loud when I went up to the plate," Jeter said.

In the fifth with one on and one out, Jeter nearly rewarded them with a second hit. Jeter knocked a grounder down the third-base line. Rays third baseman Sean Rodriguez made a nice stab and then fired across the diamond to nail Jeter.

"They were joking on the bench that I hit two or three balls a year down the third-base line," Jeter said. "He caught one of them. It was unfortunate but I thought it was going to get by him at first."

To begin the game, Jeter hit the initial pitch he saw from Tampa Bay Rays starter Jeff Niemann into the gap. Center fielder B.J. Upton fielded the ball. With Upton slow throwing the ball into second, Jeter hustled into second and beat a tag.

In the second, with men on second and third, Jeter grounded out to third to end the inning. In the seventh, Jeter grounded out to short.

Jeter got one last at-bat in the ninth. He chopped out to third, unable to beat the throw to first.

"We'll have to wait another day," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said.

Since coming off the disabled list Monday, Jeter is 4-for-18 in four games. The Yankees are 1-3 in those games. With Jeter on the DL, the Yankees went 14-4.

On the year, he is hitting .257 with two homers and 22 RBIs.

When Jeter reaches 3,000, he will become the 28th major leaguer in history to the mark. He will be the first to hit the milestone as a shortstop his entire career.

Jeter seems destined to be the fourth-youngest player in history to 3,000. Ty Cobb (34 years, 244 days), Hank Aaron (36 years, 101 days) and Robin Yount (36 years, 359) got to 3,000 quicker.

If Jeter gets two hits on Friday night, he will be 37 years and 12 days. Peter Rose was 37 years and 21 days when he got his 3,000th hit. Jeter said he has no current designs on 4,000, let alone Rose's record of 4,256.

Five or six years ago, Jeter said, he first realized no Yankee had ever reached 3,000 hits. During spring training, he and a few of his teammates were thumbing through a media guide and came across the all-time hit list.

"We saw that no one had 3,000 hits and that was mind-boggling to me," Jeter said.

When he realized that Babe Ruth or Lou Gehrig or Joe DiMaggio never reached 3,000, his first thought wasn't that he could become the first Yankee to accomplish the feat.

"I've always tried to focus on the present," Jeter said. "I try not to look too far ahead because you never know what is going to happen. You realize that you may have an opportunity if you play long enough. But I try not to look to far down the road."

Jeter said that Thursday night was the first time his teammates had mentioned the mark. A few told him to get three hits on Thursday. Jeter got one, so the Yankees updated their advice.

"After the game, they said get a couple of hits [Friday]," Jeter said.

GET you YANKEES tickets to see Jeter break the record !!!

NY Yankees Schedule and Tickets

2010-06-03T14:51:00.000-04:00

New York Yankees vs. Baltimore Orioles	New Yankee Stadium Bronx, NY	Thursday 6/3/2010 1:05 PM	view tickets
Toronto Blue Jays vs. New York Yankees	Rogers Centre Toronto, Canada	Friday 6/4/2010 7:07 PM	view tickets
Toronto Blue Jays vs. New York Yankees	Rogers Centre Toronto, Canada	Saturday 6/5/2010 1:07 PM	view tickets
Toronto Blue Jays vs. New York Yankees	Rogers Centre Toronto, Canada	Sunday 6/6/2010 1:07 PM	view tickets
Baltimore Orioles vs. New York Yankees	Oriole Park At Camden Yards Baltimore, MD	Tuesday 6/8/2010 7:05 PM	view tickets
Baltimore Orioles vs. New York Yankees	Oriole Park At Camden Yards Baltimore, MD	Wednesday 6/9/2010 7:05 PM	view tickets
Baltimore Orioles vs. New York Yankees	Oriole Park At Camden Yards Baltimore, MD	Thursday 6/10/2010 7:05 PM	view tickets
New York Yankees vs. Houston Astros	New Yankee Stadium Bronx, NY	Friday 6/11/2010 7:05 PM	view tickets
New York Yankees vs. Houston Astros	New Yankee Stadium Bronx, NY	Saturday 6/12/2010 1:05 PM	view tickets
New York Yankees vs. Houston Astros	New Yankee Stadium Bronx, NY	Sunday 6/13/2010 1:05 PM	view tickets
New York Yankees vs. Philadelphia Phillies	New Yankee Stadium Bronx, NY	Tuesday 6/15/2010 7:05 PM	view tickets
New York Yankees vs. Philadelphia Phillies	New Yankee Stadium Bronx, NY	Wednesday 6/16/2010 7:05 PM	view tickets
New York Yankees vs. Philadelphia Phillies	New Yankee Stadium Bronx, NY	Thursday 6/17/2010 7:05 PM	view tickets
New York Yankees vs. New York Mets	New Yankee Stadium Bronx, NY	Friday 6/18/2010 7:05 PM	view tickets
New York Yankees vs. New York Mets	New Yankee Stadium Bronx, NY	Saturday 6/19/2010 1:05 PM	view tickets
New York Yankees vs. New York Mets	New Yankee Stadium Bronx, NY	Sunday 6/20/2010 1:05 PM	view tickets
Arizona Diamondbacks vs. New York Yankees	Chase Field (formerly Bank One Ballpark) Phoenix, AZ	Monday 6/21/2010 6:40 PM	view tickets
Arizona Diamondbacks vs. New York Yankees	Chase Field (formerly Bank One Ballpark) Phoenix, AZ	Tuesday 6/22/2010 6:40 PM	view tickets
Arizona Diamondbacks vs. New York Yankees	Chase Field (formerly Bank One Ballpark) Phoenix, AZ	Wednesday 6/23/2010 6:40 PM	view tickets
Los Angeles Dodgers vs. New York Yankees	Dodger Stadium Los Angeles, CA	Friday 6/25/2010 7:10 PM	view tickets
Los Angeles Dodgers vs. New York Yankees	Dodger Stadium Los Angeles, CA	Saturday 6/26/2010 4:10 PM	view tickets
Los Angeles Dodgers vs. New York Yankees	Dodger Stadium Los Angeles, CA	Sunday 6/27/2010 5:00 PM	view tickets
New York Yankees vs. Seattle Mariners	New Yankee Stadium Bronx, NY	Tuesday 6/29/2010 7:05 PM	view tickets
New York Yankees vs. Seattle Mariners	New Yankee Stadium Bronx, NY	Wednesday 6/30/2010 7:05 PM	view tickets
New York Yankees vs. Seattle Mariners	New Yankee Stadium Bronx, NY	Thursday 7/1/2010 1:05 PM	view tickets
New York Yankees vs. Toronto Blue Jays	New Yankee Stadium Bronx, NY	Friday 7/2/2010 1:05 PM	view tickets
New York Yankees vs. Toronto Blue Jays	New Yankee Stadium Bronx, NY	Saturday 7/3/2010 1:05 PM	view tickets
New York Yankees vs. Toronto Blue Jays	New Yankee Stadium Bronx, NY	Sunday 7/4/2010 1:05 PM	view tickets
Oakland Athletics vs. New York Yankees	Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Oakland, CA	Monday 7/5/2010 7:05 PM	view tickets
Oakland Athletics vs. New York Yankees	Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Oakland, CA	Tuesday 7/6/2010 7:05 PM	view tickets
Oakland Athletics vs. New York Yankees	Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Oakland, CA	Wednesday 7/7/2010 7:05 PM	view tickets
Seattle Mariners vs. New York Yankees	Safeco Field Seattle, WA	Thursday 7/8/2010 7:10 PM	view tickets
Seattle Mariners vs. New York Yankees	Safeco Field Seattle, WA	Friday 7/9/2010 7:10 PM	view tickets
Seattle Mariners vs. New York Yankees	Safeco Field Seattle, WA	Saturday 7/10/2010 7:10 PM	view tickets
Seattle Mariners vs. New York Yankees	Safeco Field Seattle, WA	Sunday 7/11/2010 1:10 PM	view tickets
New York Yankees vs. Tampa Bay Rays	New Yankee Stadium Bronx, NY	Friday 7/16/2010 7:05 PM	view tickets
New York Yankees vs. Tampa Bay Rays	New Yankee Stadium Bronx, NY	Saturday 7/17/2010 4:10 PM	view tickets
New York Yankees vs. Tampa Bay Rays	New Yankee Stadium Bronx, NY	Sunday 7/18/2010 1:05 PM	view tickets
New York Yankees vs. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim	New Yankee Stadium Bronx, NY	Tuesday 7/20/2010 7:05 PM	view tickets
New York Yankees vs. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim	New Yankee Stadium Bronx, NY	Wednesday 7/21/2010 1:05 PM	view tickets
New York Yankees vs. Kansas City Royals	New Yankee Stadium Bronx, NY	Thursday 7/22/2010 7:05 PM	view tickets
New York Yankees vs. Kansas City Royals	New Yankee Stadium Bronx, NY	Friday 7/23/2010 7:05 PM	view tickets
New York Yankees vs. Kansas City Royals	New Yankee Stadium Bronx, NY	Saturday 7/24/2010 1:05 PM	view tickets
New York Yankees vs. Kansas City Royals	New Yankee Stadium Bronx, NY	Sunday 7/25/2010 1:05 PM	view tickets
Cleveland Indians vs. New York Yankees	Progressive Field (formerly Jacobs Field) Cleveland, OH	Monday 7/26/2010 7:05 PM	view tickets
Cleveland Indians vs. New York Yankees	Progressive Field (formerly Jacobs Field) Cleveland, OH	Tuesday 7/27/2010 7:05 PM	view tickets
Cleveland Indians vs. New York Yankees	Progressive Field (formerly Jacobs Field) Cleveland, OH	Wednesday 7/28/2010 7:05 PM	view tickets
Cleveland Indians vs. New York Yankees	Progressive Field (formerly Jacobs Field) Cleveland, OH	Thursday 7/29/2010 7:05 PM	view tickets
Tampa Bay Rays vs. New York Yankees	Tropicana Field Saint Petersburg, FL	Friday 7/30/2010 7:10 PM	view tickets
Tampa Bay Rays vs. New York Yankees	Tropicana Field Saint Petersburg, FL	Saturday 7/31/2010 7:10 PM	view tickets
Tampa Bay Rays vs. New York Yankees	Tropicana Field Saint Petersburg, FL	Sunday 8/1/2010 1:40 PM	view tickets
New York Yankees vs. Toronto Blue Jays	New Yankee Stadium Bronx, NY	Monday 8/2/2010 7:05 PM	view tickets
New York Yankees vs. Toronto Blue Jays	New Yankee Stadium Bronx, NY	Tuesday 8/3/2010 7:05 PM	view tickets
New York Yankees vs. Toronto Blue Jays	New Yankee Stadium Bronx, NY	Wednesday 8/4/2010 1:05 PM	view tickets
New York Yankees vs. Boston Red Sox	New Yankee Stadium Bronx, NY	Friday 8/6/2010 7:05 PM	view tickets
New York Yankees vs. Boston Red Sox	New Yankee Stadium Bronx, NY	Saturday 8/7/2010 4:10 PM	view tickets
New York Yankees vs. Boston Red Sox	New Yankee Stadium Bronx, NY	Sunday 8/8/2010 TBD	view tickets
New York Yankees vs. Boston Red Sox	New Yankee Stadium Bronx, NY	Monday 8/9/2010 TBD	view tickets
Texas Rangers vs. New York Yankees	Rangers Ballpark In Arlington Arlington, TX	Tuesday 8/10/2010 7:05 PM	view tickets
Texas Rangers vs. New York Yankees	Rangers Ballpark In Arlington Arlington, TX	Wednesday 8/11/2010 7:05 PM	view tickets
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They look aggressive to me

2009-03-14T09:19:00.028-04:00

They look aggressive to me

I don't know about you, but it's sure as hell seemed to me that Yankee hitters have been far more aggressive at the plate this year. Do the facts back that up? To BRef we go!

There are a few factors that can tell us whether they're being more aggressive. One is how often they're putting the first pitch into play.

- This season, Yankee hitters have put the first pitch into play 459 times in 4045 PAs. That's 11.3 percent. The AL, on average, is putting the first pitch into play 11.7 percent. So the Yankees have actually been slightly more patient in that regard.

Compared to last year, when the Yanks were the best offensive team in baseball, they put the first pitch into play 10.6 percent in 2007. So there has been an increase from last year.

- How often are they having two strike counts?

They're getting to two strikes in 46.7 percent of their plate appearances. The AL is at 47.4 %, so in this respect, the Yanks have been slightly less patient than the AL.

But compared to 2007, there's essentially no difference.

- How often are they getting to full counts? And are they taking more walks on a full count?

In 12.9 percent of their plate apperances, they're going to a full count. The AL is at 12.6 percent; so in this case, the Yanks are slightly more patient than the AL.

Last year, the Yanks were at 14.6 percent, so there has been a relatively significant decrease in full counts.

They're drawing more walks on full counts compared to the AL, but less than they did in 2007.

- What about putting 2-0 pitches into play? Because it seems like DJ swings at more 2-0 pitches than at any point in his career.

They've put 2.84 percent of 2-0 pitches into play this year, compared to 2.82 percent last year. Essentially negligible. While the AL is at 2.73 percent. So the Yanks are still less aggressive than the rest of the AL.

- How many pitches are the hitters seeing per plate appearance?

Some hitters are slightly below their career norms (Jeter, Arod, Abreu), while others are above (Cano, Giambi, Damon), so it pretty much balances out.

So I guess the conclusion is that the lack of offense this year (7th in the AL) is not due to the hitters being either too passive or too aggressive. Is it the aging factor? The injuries?

- Phil Hughes and Carl Pavano made their first rehab starts tonight for the A-ball Charleston Riverdogs. Neither allowed a run in five innings.

Travis G.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17451410553795367839noreply@blogger.com

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Posada officially done

2009-03-14T09:19:00.027-04:00

Posada officially done

He'll have shoulder surgery to repair a torn labrum and will need about six months to rehab. He should be ready for Spring Training in 2009.

- Damaso Marte is pretty good. In fact, he's the second best left-handed reliever in baseball history!

- Tonight's game was bad. What else can you say? Moose just wasn't fooling anybody. This was a game where Moose needed to scare someone. The hacks the O's were taking, even with two strikes, were indicative of the fact they knew they weren't in any danger. It also didn't help that not one close call (or so it seemed) went Mussina's way.

- Just one phone call away:
Mark Melancon took one more step toward the Bronx when he was promoted to Triple-A Scranton. Chase Wright joined him.
(RAB with the tip.)

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Halladay was just too good

2009-03-14T09:19:00.026-04:00

Halladay was just too good

But Joba was nearly as good. If not for Posada, Cano and Betemit errors, he walks off with a line of 7 ip, 5 h, 1 r, 0 bb, 9 k. He allowed just one extra-base hit (I'm not counting the double that was lost against the ceiling of the dome). The most encouraging part is that Joba's control is improving: he threw a ridiculous 73% strikes, walked none, and got nine groundouts and just two flyouts. Outside of a sloppy 3rd inning behind him, this might've been his best start.

The Yanks managed a whopping two hits. What next, a run? HA!

Two runs or less counter: 32 out of 93 (34%)

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Thoughts on Shock, Barry and football rules

2009-03-14T09:19:00.025-04:00

Thoughts on Shock, Barry and football rules

I'm very conflicted when it comes to Barry Bonds. I hated him for tarnishing the game's history with his PED-enhanced record-breaking homeruns. But if I hated him, shouldn't I also hate Jason Giambi and Andy Pettitte, who have admitted and apologized for PED usage? I don't hate Jason and Andy, and here's why: I'm biased toward Yankees (what can I say?), they apologized for their transgressions, they were already on the team at the time (meaning the Yanks would be bringing in a known PED user in Bonds), and didn't break any cherished records, all unlike Barry. Yeah, those are fairly shallow reasons, but reasons nonetheless. I wouldn't like the idea of bringing the Bonds-media circus to the Bronx, but hey, if he helps us win ballgames, he'll be tough to dislike.

- The Giants offense may suffer this year with the loss of Jeremy Shockey, but it was the right move in the long run - and until Jerry Reese fucks something up, I'm going to continue believing he's infallible. Shockey was one of the better tight ends in the game, and also an excellent run blocker. I still remember his first pre-season game when he bowled over some poor Houston DBs as a preview to his career. Unfortunately, he never truly lived up to the hopes of management or fans.

His incessant enthusiasm was fun to watch (usually), but got out of control at times, causing stupid penalties and demands for more passes. His refusals to work out with Eli in New York didn't help either, as the two never seemed to get into a rhythm. Eli would throw left, Shockey would break right. And the worst thing that could have happened to Shockey happened: the Giants won without him. Steve Smith and Kevin Boss proved they could make big catches with the game on the line. They discovered Ahmad Bradshaw was the most explosive player on the team. Eli Manning actually looked comfortable - no one ran back to the huddle screaming for the ball. Football is funny: the Giants lost Tiki Barber and Jeremy Shockey, two of the better offensive weapons over the last decade, and went on to win the Superbowl.

With a year of experience under the belts of Smith, Boss and Bradshaw, a healthy Plaxico, an O-line going into it's second year entirely intact, and with the addition of Mario Manningham, the offense might not skip a beat. I expect we'll see more four and three (with two backs) wide receiver sets.

- Speaking of football offense, this high school has the right idea. They're using six-WR sets with two quarterbacks. If only the NFL was that brave and creative. Although I'm not sure if NFL rules would restrict such creativity. I don't know why the NFL has to be such a stickler for contrived rules. If the offense wants to send nine WRs out for a pass, why shouldn't they be allowed? Where did they come up with the arbitrary rule that five men have to be on the line of scrimmage? Why five? Why not four or six? Imagine how exciting that would be to see nine WRs out there. Maybe because of that, the defense, if they wanted, could blitz just two guys (because there'd be only one blocker, the center). That kind offense would require a mobile QB; it would be perfect for Vince Young and Michael Vick. But what about making a backfield of Eli and Vick, where the defense wouldn't know whether Vick would be running or throwing, if Eli would be throwing or handing it off or throwing a short pass to Vick. And hey, if you don't want to run that crazy offense, there's always the the tried and true I-Form. But it would nice to at least have those options.

Travis G.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17451410553795367839noreply@blogger.com

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a lil' hot stove

2009-03-14T09:19:00.024-04:00

a lil' hot stove

The Yankees are considering trying to acquire Seattle lefty Jarrod Washburn, who's been a solid back-of-the-rotation starter during his 11 year career. Apparently, Seattle would be willing to take Igawa, a mid-level prospect and cash. If that's true, the trigger has to be pulled. End the OKei experiment. Washburn has been a Yankee-killer, so this falls under the "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em" category. At worst, Washburn will be a good lefty reliever.

- It's translating! Edwar Ramirez and David Robertson have sick minor league stats, and it seems that with regular work now, it's translating to the Bigs. Nice work by Cash and Girardi. (thanks to Pete Abe for alerting us.) In his last five innings, Robertson has allowed just one hit, two walks and nine strikeouts. Edwar has been even better: over his last 11.1 innings, he's allowed just one hit (including nine straight innings of no-hit ball), two walks and 16 strikeouts.

- Posada's throwing problems could continue "well into 2009".

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Wow

2009-03-14T09:19:00.023-04:00

Wow

I didn't think hitting a home run out of the Stadium was possible, but Josh Hamilton came as close as I've ever seen, and made me actually believe it was possible. The most impressive was the shot that hit half-way up the wall behind the right-field bleachers.

And what the hell was Rick Reilly thinking? He made stupid and awkward comments throughout the telecast that I'm sure he believed were clever. The first was a diatribe about there being no minorities in the Derby (to which Karl Ravech, after a long, uncomfortable pause, said "Interesting concept.") He followed by slamming Arod, saying something to the effect of 'Arod couldn't put on a show anywhere near Josh Hamilton.' Really? The future all-time home run champ couldn't even come close? Then the final 'Huh?' comment was a knock on atheists; apparently because Hamilton is a born-again Christian, it "was a bad night to be an atheist" according to Reilly.

- Chase Utley cursed out the fans who booed him. That will only hurt him in the long run. New York, especially Met fans, don't forget quickly. He later apologized.

- The NYPD (not surprisingly) felt the need to choke a fan trying to catch a home run in the black seats.

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Bad news on a good day

2009-03-14T09:19:00.022-04:00

Bad news on a good day

The Yanks won their fourth in a row (12-4 behind another lucky Sir Sidney start), but news came down that Jorge Posada could miss the rest of the season with a labrum injury. Jose Molina will fill in more than adequately behind the plate, but it's at the plate where Posada's loss will be felt most.

- Watched the Trenton Thunder game from July 17 (against Portland) and I just had to expound the virtues of Austin Jackson, who went 4-4 (including two doubles) with a walk. Three of the hits were to right-centerfield and the fourth was a lined shot to center, all on outside pitches. I was extremely impressed with his approach and ability to not only hit the other way, but for power. He looked like a major leaguer. What I didn't see though was his ability to hit inside pitches, which Portland stayed away from entirely. He can clearly handle outside pitches, and if he can handle the inside ones as well, he's a stud in the making.

- If you haven't seen The Dark Knight yet, you're missing out. A great movie, much better than the first, and the critics nailed it: Heath Ledger truly is remarkable as the Joker. I never thought I'd say this, but his Joker is at least on par with Nicholson's.

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Yanks trade Tabata and others for Marte and Nady

2009-03-14T09:19:00.021-04:00

Yanks trade Tabata and others for Marte and Nady

The full deal is Jose Tabata, Ross Ohlendorf, George Kontos and Phil Coke. Damaso Marte is an excellent lefty specialist, while Nady is a decent rightfielder. At first glance, I'm not happy.

Nady is having an extraordinarily good season, well out of line with his career averages. His 2008 looks like this: .330/.383/.535 (142 OPS+). Certainly a great season, but Pittsburgh is trading high; his career line is a slightly above average: .281/.337/.456 (108 OPS+). Range Factor shows him to be an above-average rightfielder. He's 29, so is at the peak of his career; it will probably all be downhill after this season. Nady is fairly versatile, having played 3b, 1b, and all three outfield positions in his career. However, with Abreu entrenched in RF, where does Nady play? Left-field, where he hasn't played since 2007 (when he played just 10 games there)?

Marte is an excellent lefty reliever, owning a career 141 ERA+, with 484 strikeouts in 454.1 innings. He absolutely owns lefties: .578 career OPS against them. What about 2008? Not quite as dominant: a .669 OPS against left-handed batters. Is that an aberration? It might be, because in 2007 he destroyed lefties - they had a .352 OPS against him. Ironically, Marte was with the Yanks for half a season before being traded for Enrique Wilson in 2001.

According to Cot's, Marte has a team option for $6 million next year, which will likely be exercised. Nady (as far as I can tell) is arbitration eligible.

Frankly, I don't understand the move because the bullpen is the strongest area of the team right now. Marte might be great, but he also might block guys like Cox, Melancon and Horne who deserve chances once they show they're ready (which should be soon). Both players are at or past their prime, and Nady is having a career year. The Yanks are buying high on Nady and selling low on Tabata and Ohlendorf (who are both having poor years).

Nady won't play his natural position of right-field because of Abreu, so where is he going to play? He hasn't played LF in over a year, so will he be expected to jump right into Yankee Stadium's spacious leftfield? Now that I think about it, he might be the 1b replacement for Richie Sexson, and occasional leftfielder.

- That was the Yanks best start of the year... after Wang's complete game shutout in Fenway of course. Just an incredible game by Joba. THAT'S why he became a starter: 7 ip, 3 h, 0 r, 1 bb, 9 k.

- Back from the dead, Carl Pavano is making a minor league start on Tuesday for the GCL Yankees. Monday will see Phil Hughes also make his first rehab start.

Travis G.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17451410553795367839noreply@blogger.com

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Deja vu

2009-03-14T09:19:00.020-04:00

Deja vu

Melky didn't bunt (or hit), neither did Arod, Joba couldn't find the strike zone; apparently Mo can't pitch in a tie game and Posada can't throw out a runner if the game depends on it (oh, wait...).

Now we have to rely on Sir Sidney Ponson to merely avoid a sweep.

Travis G.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17451410553795367839noreply@blogger.com

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Pitiful

2009-03-14T09:19:00.019-04:00

Pitiful

The worst pitching staff in the AL just shut down one of the best offenses in baseball. Explain that one to me.

Our pitchers threw a gem - you can't ask any more from Moose, and nine times out of 10, allowing two runs against the Rangers guarantees a win. Not tonight with the suddenly pitiful offense that has managed to plate two runs in the last two games and five in the last three.

These pitchers are simply not good. Oliver Perez' ERA entering yesterday's game was 5.29 (in the NL no less) with a career 93 ERA+, while Scott Feldman (yeah, who?) had a 4.60 ERA entering tonight's game with a career 97 ERA+. They ain't the fucking '65 Dodgers.

Jeter was the goat: 0-4, three weak groundouts and a strikeout with Gardner on 2nd (representing the tying run).

(Speaking of Feldman, I couldn't help thinking of the Bizarro Seinfeld episode - "This is Kevin, Gene... and Feldman.")

- Manny being a shithead.

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Posada wants to catch

2009-03-14T09:19:00.018-04:00

Posada wants to catch

But Girardi ain't letting him (yet). It's not just that Molina is a better catcher - he's a much better catcher, so it's hard to blame Girardi.

- Phil Hughes will throw off a mound tomorrow for the first time since April. "The Yankees are hopeful [he'll] return in September." Ugh. Basically another wasted season for him.

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Pen blows it

2009-03-14T09:19:00.017-04:00

Pen blows it

I spoke too soon. Jose Veras came in and promptly served up a two-run shot that won the game for Pittsburgh. Despite this article's title, it was really the offense that blew it. Two runs off Paul Maholm... Paul Maholm? Arod: 0-4, Cano: 0-4, Melky: 0-4, Molina: 0-4, even Justin Christian and Mike Mussina got hits.

Just when this team looks like it's going to go on a tear, they don't - story of the season.

As Pete Abe astutely pointed out, the Yanks have scored two runs or less 31 times this season (in 92 games). It means they have the slimmest of chances in a full third of their games. That's pathetic, especially with two first-ballot Hall of Famers and several multiple-time All-Stars.

- Great interview with Mark Newman, the Yanks VP of Baseball Operations, as he discussed the farm system. The most intriguing part:

There's a health risk with pitchers, there's a performance risk with hitters. When you see a pitcher in college or high school throw 98, or 95, or 92 with plus movement…if you see a breaking ball that spins, if you see delivery, if you see command, because they're the initiator, we feel confident about that transferring to professional baseball. Pitchers are fragile physically. Hitters on the other hand, high school hitters are going to see an 80 mile per hour fastball most of the time. He's going to hit with aluminum. He's not going to see quality breaking pitches. And he's not going to see a closer coming out of the bullpen that throws as well or better than the starter...

Typically, where we pick, the gold-plated, can't miss position player is already gone. There's some (hitters left), but you feel more certainty with the pitchers.

- For those who don't know, I despise Joe Buck. And here's yet another reason why. He watches 'barely any' sports, and watching sports is 'not part of [his] day, not part of [his] night.' And this guy is FOX's number one sports commentator?! Fine, I understand that he has a job, a baby and a wife, etc., so how about finding someone that does watch sports? I know, a radical idea for FOX.

- Thanks for voting in the Bill Belichick poll. The final tally:
36% - the NFL should asterisk Belichick's New England tenure.
33% - the Pats should be penalized (again) by the NFL. (They already lost a first round draft pick.)
27% - Belichick should be suspended.
19% - the Pats should have their titles stripped.
16% - Belichick should be banned from the NFL.
15% - let the Pats' opponents record their defensive signals (what the Pats were convicted of).
7% - ignore what Belichick and the Pats did.
(it adds up to more than 100 because voters were allowed to choose multiple selections.)

- A good MLB draft recap over at Saber Scouting. Listen at the 12:00 mark when they field my question!

Travis G.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17451410553795367839noreply@blogger.com

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Harden dealt to the Cubbies

2009-03-14T09:19:00.016-04:00

Harden dealt to the Cubbies

That NL Central race is heating up!

Travis G.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17451410553795367839noreply@blogger.com

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The trade changed

2009-03-14T09:19:00.015-04:00

The trade changed

It's not Kontos and Coke, but Karstens and McCutchen going to Pittsburgh. This definitely makes it look better from Pitt's side, as McCutchen is a fairly high ceiling pitcher, and Karstens already has shown he can be an effective ML pitcher. Both should do better in the NL Central as well.

- The trade (unfortunately) overshadowed the best game of Joba's career. His slider was darting and diving, his fastall averaged 95 mph, and he even tossed in a few nice curveballs and changeups. Did he throw at Youkilis? Probably. Did Youkilis run over his dog or something? Maybe. I remember when Pedro put two Yankees in the hospital in the same game. Until Joba does that, he's ok in my book.

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Moose wins no. 13

2009-03-14T09:19:00.014-04:00

Moose wins no. 13

Has you noticed how rarely Moose has been throwing his changeup recently? He threw just three today - all for strikeouts, and didn't unleash the first until the last pitch of the 7th inning. He's a lot of fun to watch.

- Missed this somehow: Jeremy Shockey was (finally) traded to New Orleans - for a 2nd and 5th round pick. His enthusiasm will be missed, but not his attitude.

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Sabathia to Milwaukee

2009-03-14T09:19:00.013-04:00

Sabathia to Milwaukee

From Yahoo -

The Milwaukee Brewers just made themselves legitimate contenders in the National League Central.
According to published reports, the Cleveland Indians on Sunday traded reigning American League Cy Young Award winner C.C. Sabathia to the Brewers for a package that includes top prospect Matt LaPorta.

Sabathia could be on the mound for Milwaukee as soon as Tuesday against the Colorado Rockies, the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reported. The deal is contingent upon paperwork being finalized and medical reports being exchanged.

The left-handed Sabathia will become a free agent at the end of the season and already had turned down a lucrative contract extension to stay in Cleveland. it is believed he will test the market at the end of the season, meaning he may just be a three-month rental for the Brewers.

- C-Rod no more: Cynthia will file for divorce from Alex tomorrow. He will become the most eligible bachelor in New York, although he might already be spoken for.

- Damon to the DL: Johnny Damon was placed on the disabled list for the first time in his career. Justin Christian was recalled from Scranton.

Travis G.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17451410553795367839noreply@blogger.com

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Anyone still miss Joba in the pen?

2009-03-14T09:19:00.012-04:00

Anyone still miss Joba in the pen?

Another stellar game from Yankee pitchers as they held Tampa Bay to one run in two games. Sir Sidney worked his magic again, allowing just one run despite nine baserunners. Veras, Farnsy and Mo (for two innings) shut the door as the Yanks finally got that second run in the bottom of the 10th.

The bullpen has a ridiculous .438 OPS against this month (Alberto Gonzalez territory), and it will drop even further after today's game. For comparison, the starters' OPS against is .825 (making ever hitter look like Jorge Posada).

Jose Molina's defense is so good that it's hard to take him out the lineup despite his .229/.268/.318 line. He's gunned down 25 of 52 base-stealers - that's a 48% clip, the best in baseball (for catchers with at least 25 games played).

What was Grant Balfour thinking, throwing a changeup (his 2nd or 3rd best pitch) to Abreu with the winning run on base? His fastball his the upper 90s and no one's been able to touch it recently, yet he pulled a Mark Wohlers and served up the game-winning hit.

Travis G.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17451410553795367839noreply@blogger.com

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Sexson and ratings

2009-03-14T09:19:00.011-04:00

Sexson and ratings

To address their .732 OPS against southpaws, the Yanks signed former Mariner slugger (and I use that word loosely) Richie Sexson to a league minimum contract. At this point, he can't be worse than Wilson Betemit and will only play against lefties, so it's a low risk move. And he does hit lefties well: 1.045 OPS this year (albeit in 71 plate appearances) - his career totals aren't quite so hot: just an .879 OPS vs. southpaws. This presents a frightening scenario, what if Sexson regresses to his career norm? Then the situation is no better off and probably even worse than a right-handed Wilson Betemit. If that happens, Sexson can always be released, but the damage done will be irreversible.

- The 15 inning All-Star Game received great ratings, which will only further empower FOX and MLB that the 8 p.m. start time is perfectly suited. What kid watching on a Tuesday night stays up to 2 a.m.? I understand that 15 innings is an aberration, but even the normal All-Star game lasts until near midnight because of the frequent pitching changes and longer commercial breaks. Not a good formula for future fandom (how's that for alliteration?).

Travis G.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17451410553795367839noreply@blogger.com

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Odds and Ends

2009-03-14T09:19:00.010-04:00

Odds and Ends

- Brian Bruney and Phil Hughes are making slow progress returning from injuries. We could see Bruney as soon as late July, and Hughes as soon as early August.

- Not to be forgotten is the (potential) gem of the Sheffield trade, Humberto Sanchez, who has thrown 3.2 innings for the Gulf Coast League Yankees down in Rookie Ball. Management will look to move him slowly (coming off Tommy John surgery), but I expect he'll finish the year with Triple-A Scranton. Both him and Melancon could be huge additions to 2009's bullpen.

- The big move this team needs to make in the off-season is acquiring C.C. Sabathia. He's not having a great season, but his numbers have been skewed by a terrible start. After his first four games (18 ip, 32 h, 14 bb, 14 k, 13.50 era), he's been his usual dominant self: 104.1 ip, 85 h, 20 bb, 109 k, 2.16 era). And best of all, he'll be just 28 next year, still in the heart of his prime. A top three of Sabathia, Wang and Joba would be sweeeeet. But he's not worth a two-month rental and the loss of our top prospects.

- A win might be nice today, then we could salvage a split tomorrow. If there is a bright spot, it's the bullpen, which has allowed just three earned runs in it's last 29.1 innings.

Travis G.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17451410553795367839noreply@blogger.com

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Robertson gets his chance

2009-03-14T09:19:00.009-04:00

Robertson gets his chance

David Robertson was promoted to the big club today. And he certainly earned it. During his 133 inning minor league career, he's sported a 1.15 ERA, 183 strikeouts, 54 walks, 0 HR and a .93 WHIP. His stats this year between Trenton and Scranton are just as impressive: 48.2 ip, 1.48 ERA, 70 strikeouts, 22 walks, 0 HR and a .97 WHIP. Yes, that's right, he hasn't allowed one homerun in his professional career.

His biggest problem coming into the year was control, but he's refined that at Triple-A, where he's walked just five in his last 17 innings.

- The baseball gods shone on Sidney Ponson last night. He escaped two bases loaded jams without allowing a run. He actually settled down and retired the last six batters he faced. Going purely by results, he deserves the next start over Giese.

- A scouting report on the top international free agent, Michel Inoa, who is expected to sign for upwards of $4 million. The Yanks are in the mix, but the A's look to be the frontrunner. (PP with the link.)

Travis G.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17451410553795367839noreply@blogger.com

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Movin' on up

2009-03-14T09:19:00.008-04:00

Movin' on up

Check me out over at my new pad, Pinstripe Alley, where I've begun and will be doing most of my future writing.

Cheers!

Travis G.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17451410553795367839noreply@blogger.com

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It ain't all great memories

2009-03-14T09:19:00.007-04:00

It ain't all great memories

(This was written specifically for River Ave. Blues, so now that it's been posted there, I'll do the same here.)

Remember when you used to love going to Yankee games? For me, although I certainly did, it's hard to even recall why.

Let me explain…no, there is too much. Let me sum up. My father's company (that he co-manages) was able to acquire box-seat season tickets when the Yanks were at their lowest: 1989 ("It's a whole new ballgame" was the motto that year; I still have a bumper sticker with it.) I went to at least 10 games each year through the 90's — saw the Jeff Maier home run in '96, Tino's Game 1 grand slam in '98, Clemens spraying the fans with champagne in '99, and the following year throwing a bat at Mike Piazza. Each year though, my access to tickets waned as demand among my father's clients increased. My father and his business partner sold all the playoff tickets in 2001 for several reasons: they were bordering on unaffordable, the offers/requests from buyers/clients were too strong to turn down, and they (and I admittedly) thought they'd be in the World Series about every year.

So I guess you could say we were part of the problem — the reason the attending fan base started to change to more corporate/casual-fan types (the 'glitterati' — you know, people who glitter). We definitely deserve some of the blame, but other reasons for that change include the success of the Yanks, the ensuing demand for tickets, and the freedom that gave the Yankees to raise prices astronomically.

There used to be knowledgeable, passionate fans in attendance, but a side effect of the team's success is that those fans were forced out by demand. In fact, my wife and I prefer sitting in the $18 upper deck seats where the fans actually care about the game.

Does anyone, anyone, still do the YMCA? I pity the grounds crew that must endure that contrived garbage (aimed purely at casual fans) on a nightly basis. Then there's the relentless audio bombardment that doesn't let up until "New York, New York" has played several times. And what ever happened to organic chants, cheers and general fan enthusiasm? On countless occasions have I witnessed organic chants snuffed out by the PA system blaring some canned chant or music that we've heard a thousand times.

There's just a lack of understanding of what the fans want, like the refusal to show video replays (of close plays) on the jumbo-tron. I know they don't want to show up the umpires, but they do it all the time in the NFL, why not in MLB? I had no idea Jeff Maier had even reached over the wall until I got home that night to see the replay. That brings me to my next point: while all the cons of attending a game have increased over the years, the pros of watching from home have also increased. The advent of HD, surround sound, the YES Network and DVR have combined to make the home-viewing experience better than being there. And where would you rather sit, on a plastic folding chair or your living room couch?

Then there's the food situation. I can order in a large pizza for the price of about three disgusting slices at the Stadium. $9 for shit beer? No thanks. I'll take my favorite, Dogfish Head, which runs $9 for a six-pack. At my only game this year, the trio in front of me ordered food and drinks through the waiter service. It took almost two hours to get something akin to two beers, a soda, chicken fingers, a hot dog, and a sandwich (for $71 plus tip). It's basically fast-food quality, only slow. I learned my lesson long ago and now bring soda, water, sandwiches, peanuts and seeds to every game. It saves money and time (outside of tasting better). The vendors don't even come down to the box-seats; to get food you have to order through a waiter (and wait the requisite hour plus) or leave your seat to catch up to a vendor or wait in line at the food court.

Transportation has become more difficult. Instead of spending an hour (each way) and $20+ getting to and from the Stadium, I can spend that time walking my dog, cooking dinner, watching the post-game show, watching another ballgame, etc. Parking is absolutely FUBAR around the Stadium, and I have a knack for being the first car locked out of the parking lot (it's happened twice) – I mean I was literally the very first car that cops started putting traffic cones in front of to block out of the garage. You might suggest taking the subway, which I did many times when I lived in Manhattan and Queens, but it's hardly better than driving, only more cost efficient. The worst subway ride of my life followed a Yankee game: a hefty, teenage boy stood near me holding the ceiling rail on a hot summer day (you know what that means), and the stench emanating from him was unbelievable. It was hold your breath horrible, and there was no where to go as the train was completely packed.

On top of that, my wife and I have a talent for attending rained out/rain delayed games, which now kills us because we live in Philly (have since last May). I was upset to find out the new Stadium will not have a retractable roof. I know it would cost about $400 million, but they're spending over a billion dollars already, and the Stadium's supposed to last more than 50 years, why not make the investment that would ensure a complete and on-time game every single day? Yet another reason we have and will be attending fewer games.

My father's tickets, $250 a seat this year, will jump to the $500-$2500 range next year, and they're not even being guaranteed the same seats in the new Stadium. He's going to try to "move back" to affordable territory: back section of the field level or front section of the upper deck (we hope).

With all that being said, I'm certainly going to a game at the new Stadium, but more for the novelty, not to watch my beloved Yankees.

This might come off as whiny, but don't get me wrong, I still enjoy attending games in person, just not as much as I used to; and the preceding was a summary of my problems as a cathartic exercise. I know this is a season to celebrate the Stadium, but I for one will miss nothing but the history. As far as I'm concerned, the original Yankee Stadium was destroyed in 1974.

Travis G.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17451410553795367839noreply@blogger.com

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Farnsy for Pudge

2009-03-14T09:19:00.005-04:00

Farnsy for Pudge

This trade might not seem like a win at first glance. Kyle Farnsworth is having his best season since 2005 (ironically when he spent half the year with Detroit), while Pudge is having a pretty average season (for him). But Cashman, unlike the Marte/Nady deal, is selling high on Farnsy. Does anyone really trust Farnsworth despite a good season? It's quite possible (probable in my opinion) that Farnsworth was on a hot streak until his last two outings, when he gave up four hits in 1.1 innings. Cashman sold at the right time.

The Yanks are far more in need of a catcher than a reliever. The backup before today was Chad Moeller; now it's Jose Molina, one of the best defensive catchers in baseball this year.

Pudge will be a free agent after the season, and he'll likely be a Type A, netting the Yanks extra first and compensation round draft picks (if he declines arbitration (which Pete Abe says the Yanks won't even offer)). On the other hand, Farnsworth looks to be a Type B, which would only net us a compensation round pick. Would Pudge accept a one-year deal for $10-11 million? Or does he want to try to get one last multi-year deal?

There's more: the relief core is the strongest part of our team, so we're trading from an area of strength for an area of need. And the relief core will only get stronger: Brian Bruney is on his way back, Mark Melancon made a stellar debut for Scranton, Scott Strickland is having a phenomenal year there and Chris Britton is having another typically great season.

Pudge's game at the plate is much the same as Molina's, only he's far more successful. In other words, he's a hacker who can hit. He takes just 3.4 pitches per plate appearance, which is slightly below Jose Molina. Behind the plate, he's one of the best there's ever been, gunning down 36% of basestealers this year and 47% for his career.

- The trade takes some of the attention away from Joba (again). He was the starter the night the Nady/Marte deal was announced. Anyway, over his last four starts, the dude has completely dominated the opposition: 25.2 ip, 21 h, 5 er, 2 bb, 32 k.

Travis G.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17451410553795367839noreply@blogger.com

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The King of Pick-offs

2009-03-14T09:19:00.003-04:00

The King of Pick-offs

Some off-day reading for y'all -

Inspired by a conversation with my father-in-law about Andy Pettitte, I decided to try to discover who has the best pick-off move in history (via stats). Bear in mind though, pick-offs have only been recorded since 1956, so we don't know about some of the great pitchers before that time (e.g. Cy Young, Walter Johnson, Lefty Grove, etc.).

Going by total career pick-offs, Andy Pettitte ranks second to Steve Carlton. No surprise that southpaws top the list. Both Pettitte and Carlton are quality lefties, and both had/have pretty lengthy careers. The main reason Carlton bests Pettitte is longevity: he threw roughly twice as many innings, and hence has about twice as many pick-offs. That's not really fair to Pettitte, who has a better pick-off-per-inning rate than Carlton.

Pettitte picked off a runner every 31 innings. Carlton every 36 innings. The 'King of Pick-offs', though, might just be Darold Knowles, who nailed a base runner every 24 innings. He isn't higher on the list because he threw just 1092 innings, primarily as a reliever for nine different teams during the 60's and 70's.

That's not the conclusion though, because Carlton and Knowles pitched in more pitcher-friendly eras (meaning they generally had less base runners, hence less pick off opportunities). The real stat we need to find is pick-offs-per-base runner. We find this by adding hits and walks, subtracting home runs, and dividing by pick-offs. I'm not going to account for hit-batters and double plays as they roughly cancel each other out.

Carlton picked off one of every 42 base runners.

Pettitte: one of every 39 base runners.

Knowles: one of every 32 base runners.

Again, Knowles is the best, but we're not quite done.

Who was the best at keeping runners from stealing - who put the most fear into base runners?

We can find this by calculating total base runners, then dividing by attempted steals.

Carlton: one of every 11 base runners attempted to steal.

Pettitte: one of every 15 base runners attempted to steal.

Knowles: one of every 28 base runners attempted to steal.

So now we can make the educated assumption that Darold Knowles is one of, if not the best pick-off artist of the last 50 years.

(I wish there was video of him, but alas, I could find none.)

Travis G.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17451410553795367839noreply@blogger.com

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All right Phil!

2009-03-14T09:19:00.001-04:00

All right Phil!

I haven't listened to WFAN (on purpose) in about five years. But they interviewed Phil Hughes today so I took a listen. He's throwing from flat ground and doesn't expect to throw off a mound for weeks, but there was a bright side: he called out Chris 'Mad Dog' Russo for criticizing the Joba-to-the-rotation move. That bumps him up a notch in my book (if I had a book).

- Tonight's contest started with promise, as the Yanks tattooed Paul Maholm for three runs in the 1st (double, double, triple, double), only to storms stop the game in the 2nd. The reason the umps waited two-and-a-half hours to call the game (especially when the Yanks play a doubleheader tomorrow), is beyond me. Pittsburgh ain't that far from New York that they can't travel out there on an off day to finish the game (which is what they're going to do on July 10). It should've been called after an hour.

- Great interview with the Director of Player Development Mark Newman.

- A career projection for Johnny Damon. He actually doesn't tail off too badly.

Travis G.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17451410553795367839noreply@blogger.com

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Christmas List

2008-09-24T11:54:00.001-04:00

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Gerrit Cole UCLA Bound?

2008-09-23T09:22:00.001-04:00

UPDATE MONDAY 11:34 AM :

There seems to be a lot of [understandable] confusion regarding Gerrit Cole's decision to attend college and consequently turn down a multi-million dollar deal with the New York Yankees. I'm pretty confused myself. But, I have been hearing a lot of people discuss the topic with the misconception that the failed signing has, in any way, to do with the efforts of Brian Cashman.

I just sent an email explaining this to my brother and this is what I said:

This falls solely on Cole [and/or his dad]..

As you probably know, the baseball draft is an entirely different animal than the NBA or NFL drafts. In baseball, kids can get drafted out of HS [like Cole], but they can choose to go to college instead [like Cole]. However, the top prep players make sure their advisors inform clubs what the player plans to do in regards to the draft.

For example, Alex Meyer is a beast RHP coming out of High School - he made it abundently clear that he would be attending Kentucky U. next year so teams shouldn't bother picking him in the draft. The Red Sox picked him in the 20th round hoping a bunch of money might change his mind. It didn't and Meyer turned down $2million to go to college.

Cole, on the other hand, informed everyone that he DID want to pursue a careeer in professional baseball [the minors] and did not plan on attending UCLA - unless of course his financial desires weren't met. Knowing this, the Yankees jumped at the chance to draft Cole, and knew they had the financial might to sign him regardlesss of what outlandish demands Scott Boras made.

Out of nowhere Cole said he wanted to go to school and that no amount of money could sway that fact. Essentially, Cole turned down money which only top-5 picks got [and a chance to pitch for his favorite team] in order to got to school [and a just OK UCLA program].

For me and everyone else who followed the negotiations, this is completely inexplicable. There is no sound reasoning behind this decision except for maybe Cole's desire to be the big man on campus and pick up college chicks. Even so, having $5 or $6 million in the bank would probably get him more than a baseball scholarship. Hope he knows what he's doing, because an arm injury is just one greedy UCLA coach away - considering the overuse top college pitchers often face.

***

And the hits just keep on coming, huh?

According to an anonymous source cited by the always reliable Tyler Kepner, 1st round draft pick Gerrit Cole will not sign with the Yankees and instead plans on attending UCLA.

Kepner says that money was not an issue as Cole decided to go to school regardless of what money the Yankees offered.

This, regardless of what Yankees brass say, is a gutpunch considering an 18 year-old with a high-90s fastball and potential plus breaking ball is a rare commodity. It hurts even more considering the underwhelming status of the Yankees 2008 draft - which becomes especially evident without Cole in the fold.

Aside from Brett Marshall, and the probable signing of LHP Anthony Bleich, the Yankees played it safe this draft. Cole was the one piece of the puzzle which had to be had. Unfortunately, Scott Boras probably pushed for the same type of major league deal given to Andrew Brackman, and when he didn't get it, decided to take Cole's electric right arm to college and hope to get a Porcello type deal.

Looks like Mr. Cole wasn't nearly as big a Yankees fan as he led on. Either that or Boras pulled another one of his hypnotist tricks on Gerrit and Papa Cole.

ROYALTY FOR CANO?

2008-09-10T16:08:00.003-04:00

WFAN talkie Joe Benigno spewed out a rumor today that the Yanks were talking a deal with the Royals that would send Robinson "Lazy Bones" Cano to KC for righty starter Zack Greinke and infielder Alberto Callaspo.

Greinke is 10-10 sporting a 3.70 ERA. If he is to become a Yankee they certainly will reduce his innings pitched. Zack is on his way to 200 innings, which in the land of Joba Rules, is too many for a 24 year old. He is also the brother of Luke Greinke, 22, who was drafted in the 12th round (380th overall) by the Yankees in this years draft. Luke is 0-6 in 9 starts for single-A Staten Island.

Callaspo, 25, was signed by Anaheim, broke in with Arizona in 2006 and traded to KC for pitcher Billy Buckner. In 107 major league games he as played 2b, SS, 3b and OF. He was named by Baseball America as the Angels' ninth best prospect for 2005 and the Royals' minor League player of the year for 2006. Callaspo was arrested in 2007 by Phoenix police for domestic violence at his home, however, the charge was later dropped.

A Few Quick Points

2008-09-08T05:07:00.012-04:00

A few quick points:

Pavano is back, which is good I guess. His post game interview was hilarious (I'm just doing what I've gotten paid my whole life to do, which is every 5 days go out there and pitch). I can't believe I'm even willing to torture myself with this thought, but perhaps for the rest of the season, he is that stability, the quality start guy the rotation lacks after Moose and Pettitte. . . . Did I just say that?

The person that seemed to get the wake up call when Melkey got demoted was Robinson Cano - batting .333 his last 10 games.

Nady is the real deal.

Yanks catch a break in not having to face Beckett with this go around with the Sox and need to take advantage of it. We have six games left with these guys, and none bigger than the coming three. This is the season.

What's the deal with Jose Reyes?

2008-09-08T05:07:00.011-04:00

Scooter I was thinking the same thing you were while I was watching these last two games with the Mets - Shea stadium is one pile of crap facility. When that eye sore is gone, the league will be better for it.

What's the deal with Jose Reyes?

I think the only thing I complain about more than Melkey sucking is the state of the Yankees pitching. After a quick look at the numbers though, I think my frustrations may have been wrongfully placed. So far this season you've got got Moose pacing to win 20. Pettitte pacing to win 18. Wang was 8-2 when he went on the shelf. Joba seems to be primed up and pitching well. And heck, I was fairly impressed with Sidney Ponson (5-1 for the season) Now, as an indicator on the bull pen situation - I heard this on the air during Sunday's game: Yanks are 36-1 when leading after 6 completed innings. That doesn't happen with a shitty bull pen.

So maybe things aren't so bad in the world of Yankee pitching. Agree?

A Quick Yankees Note

2008-09-08T05:07:00.010-04:00

No time, so I'll make this quick:

Great game pitched by Moose. Let's give him an extension on his contract!

It pains me to say it, but Mr. Rasner's time in the bigs is probably over. 1-7 his last 8.

Next year, Chamberlain will be the Ace of the staff, and Wang can take his rightful position as the best #2 in the league.

Melkey Sucks - piss poor quality ABs are driving me nuts.

Gardner came through last night which is good I want him to do well. But the fact that they are sticking with him while he is batting beneath .100 tells me perhaps there is not a future with the team for Shelley Duncan.

Bats came alive after Joe G. got bounced - it is about time Joe - you were hired to show some fire out there.

These last 6 games before the break are the season.

Sabathia to the Brewers? Who saw that coming? At least they are going for it, with the revenue sharing system, more smaller market teams need to be making moves. Big risk for them, hope it pays off.

No Mets starting in the field at the ASG - and that's a good thing.

And The Rays, just completely and totally disrespected by the voting system of the ASG.

The Case With Bobby Murcer

2008-09-08T05:07:00.009-04:00

I think one of the cool things about being a Yankees fan, is that we are willing to think highly of those that were not just the biggest stars in the franchise history but also those that played the game "the right way". And I think that is the case with Bobby Murcer.

I was too young to appreciate his body of work as a player. About the only memory I do have from his playing days didn't really have anything to do with him playing. Back when I collected cards it seemed the only Yankee that showed up in a single pack of Tops more than Rick Cerone was this guy Bobby Murcer. .

I liked him the booth. Did not realize that he was this close to the end. He'll be missed.

Yankees Boot in the @$$

2008-09-08T05:07:00.008-04:00

All right, Yanks, listen up.

You've got some ground to make up in the standings, and not a whole heck of a lot of time to do it.

I understand that this season has been hard. Right now, in fact, you have only one starting pitcher that was in the rotation and active on Opening Day, and that's Mike Mussina--and dude, Moose, there's no justice in the universe if you can't get to 20 wins this year. More than ever, you deserve it this year.

Anyway, back to what I was talking about--the injuries. When the bug bit, it really went all out--it didn't just take pitchers (including our current "ace" and by most accounts our future "ace" as well), but it took our shortstop, third baseman, starting catcher and our left fielder/designated hitter as well; the latter two for most of the season. That's a tremendous part of the offense--no denying it.

That said, guys, you can't wallow in that misery.

Fact is, the line up still has the power to be potent--or did you not just score fourteen runs against the best team in the league?

I know at the beginning of the season I said that one of the things about optimism is the belief that anyone, on any given night, can be the hero of the game. I didn't mean, however, that everyone should try to be the hero.

Just think about this--in the eighth inning tonight, instead of hacking away, Robbie Canò took pitches and worked his third walk of the inning, which brought Richie Sexson to the plate, and, well, you saw what happened there.

Robbie wasn't trying to play the hero, and it helped get the team back into the game.

Look, I know three back in the loss column in the Wild Card looks pretty daunting right now, but that's not the only way to look at it. All you have to do is win the games you play. Take it game by game--leave worrying about the big picture to Joe Girardi. It's his job to worry about that.

Remember Mariano Duncan in 1996: We play today, we win today, das it!

The only thing you can control is the game you are playing on that day. You can't control what Boston or Tampa does, so don't worry about it.

Instead, focus on winning your own games. If you play hard, with heart, and don't give in, even if you're down by five runs and only have one out left with which to work, you'll start winning more games.

Right now, that's all that matters.

You're still in this. You have enough games left with Boston and Tampa that right now, saying the season is 'done' is incredibly premature.

Don't give up, don't give in, play hard, play with heart, and win.

Joba back to Pen

2008-09-03T02:22:00.003-04:00

Cashman and Giradi announced that Joba will return to the bullpen and not be stretched out and returned to the rotation. Makes sense since the trio of Pavano, Ponson and Razner are sure to lead us on the 20-5 run we need to make the playoffs. (that's right folks that is what it would take to reach 93 wins).

Game remaining - 25
Possible innings with Joba the reliever-18
Possible innings with Joba the starter - 37 (Assumes the following inning breakdown 3,4,5,6,6,6,7 with normal rest between each appearance except the first)

Even I realize that more Joba means less Giese, Razner, Edwar, etc. Also, you maximize the amount of innings Joba throws this year hopefully avoiding a replay of Joba the reliever transitioning to Joba the starter. The Yankees just continue to make questionable decisions, this is sure shaping up to be a year to forget.

...except all they have to do is makeup 4 games before the final series of the season to have a shot. Imagine a final weekend sweep in Boston followed by a one game playoff in Yankee stadium, now that would be the way to play the last Yankee Stadium regular season game, wouldn't it?

Dead in the Water

2008-08-31T17:22:00.004-04:00

The Yanks' chances of making the playoffs look pretty slim at this point. Not that they look like a team that deserves to play in October. There have been too many games, like yesterday's, where at this time in the season the team should be winning. Playoff contenders pull out close games and need that consistent comeback ability, and this team just doesn't have it.

Game 135: Painful

2008-08-30T22:22:00.004-04:00

There are bad ways to lose; we've seen some of them this season. But I'm not sure that any loss so far has hurt as much as this one did. This was a game the Yanks needed, and had, and just let slip away.

The breakdown came with the Yankees up 6-2, and Joe Girardi trying to squeeze one last inning--the seventh--out of Darrell Rasner. With no outs and a man on first, Rasner got a double play ball to Robinson Cano, who tried an awkward lateral-flip move that skittered away from Derek Jeter. The runner wound up taking third, which was left empty when Alex Rodriguez came out to back up the play. The Blue Jays would score three times in the inning, then take the lead the following inning touching up three pitchers--Brian Bruney, who pitched well given bases loaded and no outs in the seventh; Damaso Marte, who may or may not still be hurt; and Edwar Ramirez, who's had a brutal August.

The Yanks had their chances to strike back, particularly when the Yanks got two men on in the ninth inning with no outs for Alex Rodriguez. Alex hit into a DP, keeping up the bizarre record that Brother Joe noted in his Friday column: A-Rod only has 3 RBI all season after the seventh inning. The box score would short Rodriguez some credit here--the ball was hit extremely hard down the third base line, and it took a great reaction play by Jose Bautista to turn a 5-unassisted-3 double killing. Still, an out's an out, and it's been a week of boo-birds for the highest paid man in the baseball business (well, the baseball-playing business, at least).

Anyway, I'll be in the crowd tomorrow to cheer the team in the rubber game of the series. It's my next-to-last ticket to the Stadium, and Brother Joe (that's Sheehan, for those of you who didn't check out the linked article) will be my guest in box 342. Hope to see some of you there.

****
NOTES

Hopefully, the "Catching Up" posts will continue tomorrow, along with the day's Game Story later on in the evening.

In other news, Jay Mariotti, of TV, radio, and, until recently, of the Chicago Sun-Times, has long been a mystery to me. I've never met anyone who would cop to being a fan of his, and every time I've read or heard his work, I've wondered how he could be so popular. Is it just that he doesn't write baseball well? Is he a crackerjack at other sports? Maybe people just like when a guy with a mullet condescends to them?

As a writer, his columns give off such powerful pretension, it's as if he can't believe he has to write about anything so trivial as sports. He tends to put himself at the center of the story, as when Ozzie Guillen hurled a sexual slur at him. Although Guillen's words were unacceptable, Mariotti's reaction was so over-the-top that it made you wonder if Guillen had outed him, rather than just insulting him (apparently, he hadn't).

Anyway, this comes up because of Roger Ebert's open letter to Mariotti, on the issue of his leaving the Sun-Times. It's great when a writer as good as Ebert takes the gloves off to take someone to the woodshed, and defend something he loves (in this case, the newspaper business).

Carrol's Latest On Joba

2008-08-26T01:22:00.002-04:00

Will Carrol's been working the phones since Joba Chamberlain went down with shoulder tendinitis in Texas and posted his latest analysis today at Baseball Prospectus. By all accounts, it seems as though Chamberlain is well on his way back - regardless of what Abraham's pessimism says over at Lohud.

The idea will be to work Joba back into the rotation the same way which was implemented the first go-round - in other words use him in relief until his arm strength allows him to start again. This is an especially smart move because the minor league season will soon be over and therefore take away the chance for him to rehab down there.

Carrol's thoughts:

Things looked good for Chamberlain when he got back up on the mound in the latest in a series of throwing sessions. The news has been more about shifting him back to the pen than it has about the success of his steady but slow return. There are a couple of factors that appear to be pushing him to relief work, none of them having anything to do with the injury. First is the impending end of the minor league season, making it tougher to send him down for a rehab start, and secondly the Yankees have chosen a more advanced approach to pitching management, something that has allowed them to transition Chamberlain from the pen to the rotation in the first place. Think of this as the same sort of transition, allowing him to build up stamina at the major league level while controlling his innings. The media and less-informed fans might panic, but in the end the Yankees have one starter who should be established enough for them to build around for 2009 and beyond.

As much as I enjoy a rotation built around Carl Pavano and Sidney Ponson and Darrell Rasner, for some reason Chamberlain and Phil Hughes would be a bit more exciting come September.

*** Humberto Sanchez has been promoted to Tampa and pitched one scoreless inning Monday night.

*** Ian Kennedy struck out another nine batters over six innings, allowing two runs on four hits. Over his last two starts IPK has punched out 18 batters over just 11 innings while walking just three. As you've read here [probably too many times], Kennedy needs to refine his curveball if he's going to be successful in the bigs. And that's what he's been doing during his latest foray into the minor leagues. Hence the big strikeout totals.

HIDEKI ARRESTED!

2008-08-20T23:05:00.001-04:00

Ex-Yank pitcher Hideki Irabu was arrested at a bar in Japan Wednesday for attacking the manager after his credit card failed.

The "fat toad", 39, was arrested in the bar in Osaka at 5:30 am.

Irabu admitted that he had drunk around 20 "jugs" of beer and was upset when the machine did not read his credit card.

"I-Robbed-U" grabbed the bar's 22-year-old manager by the collar, pushed him against the wall and "yank"ed his hair, the police said. He also threw ashtrays and beer bottles.

George Steinbrenner once called Irabu a "fat toad" for failing to cover first base during a play in a spring training game.

In the Yanks 1999 traded him off to the Montreal Expos in exchange for Jake Westbrook, Ted Lilly and Christian Parker.

Irabu went 34-35 with a 5.15 ERA in six seasons with the Yanks, Expos and Rangers. He returned to Japan in 2004 and pitched for the Hanshin Tigers.

Who?

2008-08-19T18:28:00.005-04:00

Q: Now that everyone from the Wangster to Dan freakin' Geise is injured and I-Ken has no immediate plans to turn himself into a viable major league pitcher, who would you like to see inserted into the rotation?

A: Too bad - You get Carl Pavano.

You heard me (read me, whatevs), munecas. The big CP has been rehabbin' and just might make a triumphant (in this case, triumphant is a synonym for "humiliating" or "unwanted") return to pinstripes sometime very soon. His rehab assignment is nearly its completion, and once it's done the Yankees have to activate him - unless they can conjure up some excuse to keep him rehabbing (or, more likely, unless he injures himself getting on the plane back to NYC [smothered by a $5 JetBlue blanket?]). Unless IPK throws a no-hitter or a witch doctor anoints Wang with some magical healing tonic within the next couple days, necessity will probs bring the Alyssa Milano castoff back to the Bronx.

To be fair... he's looked alright in his rehab starts. He pitched 6 innings in Trenton today and allowed just 1 run on 6 hits with 1 walk, and he managed to strike out 6 as well. His Tommy John surgery obviously went well enough and at least no tendons/fingernails/eyelashes got damaged during the healing process and practice starts. I don't think anyone really WANTS to depend on him in this terribly crucial point in the season, when every game is essentially a must-win, but what choice do we have?

Maybe he performs really, really well under a lot of pressure. Perhaps during the TJ surg the doc replaced his tendon not with a new one but with a bionic prosthesis allowing him to pitch up to 300mph at his whim. Or maybe I've been wrong all along and there not only IS a god but he is a CP fan and has just been waiting to bless him until this very moment.

Sidenote: Which is more likely: the existence of god or the possibility that he would be a CP supporter?

Anyway. Back to the matter at hand. Assuming he comes back within the next week or so, he'd probably be on tap for just 5 or 6 starts (unless they make it to the playoffs and we're forced to watch him serve up 234890234890 homers to Vladdy). Despite my (feeble attempt at) jokes, I don't think it'll be such a horrible thing. It will put a lot of pressure on the offense, but he can't possibly be worse than Kei Igawa or the new FAIL model of IPK.

Godzilla Attacks Toronto

2008-08-19T18:28:00.004-04:00

Good news, peeps: Matsui and his busted knee are back to attack and in the lineup TONIGHT. He hasn't played in almost 2 months, but he was playing pretty gosh-darned well before the Injury Gods struck him down, hitting .323 with a .404 OBP. He only narrowly avoided surgery, which worries me a tad - a sore knee (possibly still partially full of some nasty fluid) could certainly preclude the hitting of a bunch of homers or stretching a single into a dub. He'll be occupying the DH spot (the Damster will be in CF), so at least we won't have to worry about fly balls sailing over his head, or worse yet, an aggravation of the current injury.

Let's all cross our fingers/toes/miscellaneous other appendages that he brings a spark to the team. If we can't win in Toronto and Baltimore, the already slim chances of a playoff spot are going to look mighty dim.

Oh, and Justin Christian was the casualty of the Matsui activation. Fare thee well.

N.Y. Yankees Edge Kansas City In 13 Innings

2008-08-17T14:09:00.002-04:00

Another Brett starred in New York Saturday afternoon, as Brett Gardner's walk-off single in the 13th inning lifted the Yankees to a 3-2 win over the Kansas City Royals.

The first Yankee run didn't come until Robinson Cano's triple scored Alex Rodriguez in the bottom of the seventh.

It was only New York's second win in the last eight games and keeps them relevant, for now, in playoff discussions.

Cano's only other hit in six at-bats set up a walk-off single by Gardner, who effectively replaced the slumping Melky Cabrera after he got sent back down to the minors.

Sidney Ponson tossed 6 1/3 innings, allowing just two runs in another reliable start for the Yanks after putting him in pinstripes in a mid-season trade.

Kansas City's Matt Greinke pitched equally well, holding the Yanks scoreless for the first six innings, though Jeff Fulchino let the Royals down by allowing the walk-off hit to Gardner.

AL East race may hinge more on M.D.'s and less on HR's

2008-08-13T23:46:00.000-04:00

The American League East, the traditional home of baseball's most compelling division race, has turned into a battle of attrition.

The Tampa Bay Rays, Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees are having difficulty these days filling out a lineup card with their flurries of injuries.

"Nobody feels bad for the Yankees, believe me," New York general manager Brian Cashman says. "We've had our injuries, but everyone goes through injuries. We should have the talent to withstand injuries."

Certainly, the East powers are being tested. The Rays, vying for the first playoff berth in franchise history, learned Wednesday that left fielder Carl Crawford will have hand surgery, sidelining him at least until October. The Red Sox placed third baseman Mike Lowell on the 15-day disabled list with a strained side muscle. And the Yankees, who already have eight players on the DL, played Wednesday without shortstop Derek Jeter. He is hoping to return Friday from a bruised instep.

"It's part of the game," Red Sox manager Terry Francona says. "The good teams overcome it. That's why I will never write off the Yankees.

Bruised foot slows New York Yankees' Jeter

2008-08-13T23:44:00.001-04:00

Derek Jeter admitted he would have had trouble playing Wednesday on his bruised left foot but promised to be ready for Friday night's game against the Royals.

"I'll play," Jeter said after sitting out for the second time since April 14.

Jeter fouled a ball off his instep in Tuesday's fourth inning, staying in until being replaced in the ninth by a pinch runner. X-rays were negative.

Wilson Betemit played shortstop Wednesday. Jeter was going to pinch- hit if the Yankees got a second runner on base in the ninth inning.

"I just didn't think he was well enough to play nine innings," manager Joe Girardi said. "I'd be shocked if he didn't play (Friday)."

Jeter admitted he would have had trouble going side to side Wednesday.

"I'm good, good to go (Friday)," he said. "I'll be fine."

New York Yankees swept by Angels

2008-08-10T23:22:00.003-04:00

New York Yankees swept by Angels

In a way, it was a save situation yesterday for Mariano Rivera.

He was trying to save the Yankees' season.

Instead, he gave up a dribbler to Chone Figgins that somehow became the game-winning single, and the Los Angeles Angels finished off a killer three-game sweep of the New York Yankees, 4-3 at Angel Stadium.

"It was a devastating series for us," Alex Rodriguez said.

Since following the All-Star break with eight straight wins the Yankees have gone 5-10 -- their worst 15-game stretch of the year.

With 44 games left, the Yankees are 8½ games out in the AL East and four out in the AL wild-card race, in third place.

"(The eight-game winning streak) seems like a long time ago," said Andy Pettitte, who got no decision after allowing three runs in seven-plus innings. "We haven't been able to sustain it. We haven't been able to stay consistent. You try to stay as optimistic as you can, but it's a horrible series. And it hurts."

The Yankees can say they've been in this spot before. Except with 44 games left last season, the Yankees were tied for the wild-card lead.

They have held a lead in four of the five defeats so far on this trip, including all three to the Angels.

"Frustrating losses," manager Joe Girardi said, "very frustrating losses here, because I thought we had a chance to win each game, and we had opportunities to win each game, and we weren't able to get the job done."

With the score 3-3, Howie Kendrick led off the bottom of the ninth with a single off Damaso Marte (0-2). Instead of holding Rivera back for a save chance, Girardi called on him after Marte's one-out walk of Mike Napoli.

On Rivera's first pitch, Figgins hit a wormburner to the right side.

Wilson Betemit, who had just entered at first base after pinch-hitting in the top of the ninth, jogged to first base, assuming second baseman Robinson Cano would field the ball. But Cano was shading Figgins up the middle, and the ball got past Cano and into right field as Kendrick scored.

"I still don't know what happened," Girardi said. "It looks like it's about a 10-hopper through the infield. It's almost like our guys froze.

"No way did I think that was going to win the game. ... I didn't think it was going to get through the infield."

Rivera said he was "shocked" the ball got through. Betemit second-guessed himself for not going after the grounder.

"He hit it to the right spot," Cano said.

The Angels were surprised Cano didn't dive to try to knock down the ball.

"That's their team, man," Torii Hunter told the Los Angeles Times. "That's their problem.

"I'm glad that's not my team. If it was, we'd probably be arguing in (the clubhouse) now."

Figgins' ball wasn't the only way the Yankees lost the game. After four hitters had batted in the first inning, they led 2-0 with runners on second and third. But they didn't score again that inning and went 0-for-10 the rest of the way with men in scoring position.

"Our inability to get a runner in from third with less than two out killed us today," Girardi said. "It cost us the ballgame."

The Yankees also blamed third-base umpire Bill Welke for one thwarted rally. After a one-out double in the eighth, Rodriguez tried to steal third with a 2-0 count on Xavier Nady.

Welke called Rodriguez out, drawing arguments from A-Rod and Girardi (replays were inconclusive).

"I was safe," Rodriguez said. "(Welke) just missed it and he probably knows that."

Girardi did approve of Rodriguez's attempt.

"I don't have a problem with it whatsoever," Girardi said.

A-Rod called it "100 percent the right move to make.

"I think it would be foolish to just sit back and let the game come to us."

If things don't turn around soon, all that will be coming to the Yankees in October is time off.

"Every game is a playoff game from now on," Rodriguez said. "We're really going to show what this team is made of, character-wise."