Game 148 - Rivera Blows Game

AJ Burnett finally showed up and pitched 7 solid innings, holding Seattle to 1 run as he turned a 2-1 lead over to the bullpen. He even picked off the napping Ichiro Suzuki twice off of first base. Phil Hughes pitched a scoreless 8th inning, and as it's drafted up, turned the ball over to the great Mariano Rivera to finish up the game. It didn't happen.

Mo looked unhittable for 2 batters, striking them out both, but then lost the game on 2 pitches. He allowed a double to the feeble, decrepit Mike Sweeney, who hasn't played a 100 games in a season since 2005. And then, to my horror, he allowed the girl softball leadoff hitter, Suzuki, to turn on an inside cutter and drill it into the RF seats for the game-winning HR, giving Seattle an improbable 3-2 victory. Why can't this girly slap-hitter do this more often? I might almost respect him if he did. Nah, probably not.

Suzuki's still the only major leaguer I've ever seen lay on the ground for 5 minutes after being hit in the back with a pitch from my hero, Hideo Nomo. I saw Tino Martinez take a 98-mph heater from Armando Benitez in 1998 that touched off an ugly brawl against Baltimore, and he didn't crumple to the ground like nancy-boy Suzuki did.

It was Mo's first blown save since his Boston debacle in April. He recorded a career high 36 straight saves.

Yankees Record: 94-54

Blown Games: 8

Game 132 - Yanks Overcome (A)nother (J)unker From Burnett

The Yanks hit 5 long balls to overcome an Atrocious Job from AJ Burnett in their 9-6 victory over the Baltimore Orioles. Burnett flushed 2 leads in his 5.1 innings of work, blowing leads of 3-1 and 5-3, despite 2 HRs from Jorge Posada and a 2-run shot from the hot-hitting Robinson Cano. Burnett was roughed up for 11 hits and 2 walks while only striking out 2. He's winless in his last 7 starts, going 0-4, and has allowed 31 runs in 42.1 innings of work while watching his ERA climb from 3.53 to 4.29.

Posada gave the Bombers their second lead with his 2nd blast of the game in the 5th inning. Burnett quickly flushed it in the bottom of the 5th when he surrendered a 3-run shot to Luke Scott that barely stayed fair down the rightfield line. Amazingly enough, Joe Girardi allowed Burnett to come out again in the 6th inning after ARod tied the game with an RBI single in the top of the frame - the only run that came in for the Yanks not via the long ball. AJ was pulled after Teixeira made an error on a throw from ARod.

The Pinstripers pulled out in front to stay on a 2-run shot from Nick Swisher and Eric Hinske followed up with a solo shot of his own in the 7th. Swisher now has 13 HRs in 26 career games at Camden Yards. According to Kim Jones of the YES Network, he has 4 HRs at Camden this season and only 3 at Yankee Stadium. Go figure.

Damaso Marte relieved Burnett and tossed a scoreless inning to pick up his first win this season. He's thrown 3.1 shutout innings since his return from the DL. David Robertson, Phil Coke and Mariano Rivera finished out the game, with Mo picking up his league-leading 38th save.

Burnett's performance has to create some concern for the Yankees brass. He's been touched up for double digit hits in 3 of his last 7 starts. Of course, the Yanks can look at his 1-hit performance against the Bosox in the 15-inning marathon and he only allowed 2 hits last start against Texas to feel better about themselves, but they may want to take a long look at Andy Pettitte for the #2 spot in the playoffs if Burnett continues to produce inconsistent performances.

Yankees Record: 84-48

Game 127 - Yanks Done in by RISP Woes

The Yanks faltered to Texas today, 7-2, dropping their first home series since June. They shot themselves in the foot, going 2-12 with RISP. Both hits came courtesy of Mark Teixeira and knocked in the Yanks only runs. Despite having Texas starter, Dustin Nippert, on the ropes with 7 walks, they couldn't manage the big knock. The Rangers bullpen picked up Nippert's slack and tossed 5.1 innings of scoreless ball.

AJ Burnett recovered from his horrendous outing in Boston to strike out 12 Rangers in 6 innings. He retired the first 11 batters he faced before walking Josh Hamilton and Nelson Cruz on back-to-back full counts. The .245 hitting Ian Kinsler took him deep to put the Rangers up for good. Of course, this all occurred with 2-out, as Yankee pitchers continue to falter in squelching 2-out rallies.

The Yankees 4-7 hitters were the main culprits in leaving men on base. ARod and the RBI-phobic Cano both left 5 on base, while Matsui and Swisher left 4 on. What is Nick Swisher's hitting allergies in Yankee Stadium? He came into the series carrying a 9-game hitting streak and went 1-12 against Texas. He's hitting around the Mendoza line at home, whereas, every other Yankee is putting up career numbers in the hitter-friendly park. And has anyone seen Melky Cabrera? He's 18 for his last 91 - that includes 2 four-hit games! Take those games away and he's 8-80! That is horrendous. Please, Brett Gardner, hurry back.

Jose Molina grounded into a double play today. Message to Joe Girardi - this guy should never be allowed to swing with a man on first. You're so fond of the bunt, as witnessed by your debacle call on Monday night's loss, you should make it mandatory for Molina without even giving him a sign. He's a double play waiting to happen.

Phil Coke was horrendous in his short relief stint. The lefty allowed a double and 3-run bomb to lefties David Murphy and the contact-phobic Chris Davis. T-E-R-R-I-B-L-E. At that point, the game was out of reach with the way the Yankee hitters were going down meekly.

Yankees Record: 79-48

Game 123 - AJ is Absolute Joke Again in Boston The

The Red Sox did a great job of putting yesterday's humiliating loss behind them by pasting the Yanks 14-1. It appears Absolute Joke Burnett isn't a big fan of Fenway Park since joining the Bombers this season. In 3 starts and 12.2 innings, he's been torched for 22 hits and 22 runs and his ERA is 14.21. Before this season, he was 3-0 with an ERA of 0.40! Back in April, he cost the Yanks in a meltdown after he was staked to a 6-0 lead against Josh Beckett. Today, he was bitch-slapped for 9 runs in 5 innings. He surrendered HRs to the weak-hitting Alex Gonzalez, the Nugget Youkilis and the decrepit, steroid-addled Big Sloppy Ortiz. P-A-T-H-E-T-I-C.

Alfredo Aceves eventually relieved him in the 6th and fared no better. He allowed Big Nugget to connect for his second dinger of the day and was touched up for 3 runs. Dave Robertson failed miserably in his 1 inning appearance, too, giving up 3 straight doubles after quickly retiring the 1st 2 batters. The Yanks new epidemic lately is allowing runs to score with 2 out. They allowed 13 out of the 14 runs to score with 2 men gone today as they continue to struggle in retiring the elusive third out. It started when they allowed all 10 runs against Seattle last Sunday to score with 2 out, and the theme has continued all week.

Meanwhile, the Yanks allowed another overrated Red Sox rookie pitcher, Junichi Tazawa, to escape out of trouble all day. After blistering the Bosox yesterday by going 15-25 day with RISP, the Yanks came crashing back to earth with an 0-8 performance against Tazawa. Godzilla knocked in 7 runs yesterday, but continued his below par performances against his fellow countryman by leaving 4 men on base today. An Ill-timed strikeout and double play also kept the Yanks off the board against the Tazawa.

Nick Swisher finally broke up the shutout in the 7th with a HR off Peter Gammon's love child, Daniel Bard. He and Robinson Cano had 3 hits apiece - apparently, they didn't get the memo to take the day off after yesterday's hit parade. Let's hope today's pitiful display is not reminiscent of the epic 2004 ALCS collapse after the Yanks buried the Sawx 19-8 and then didn't win a game again.

The Pinstripers blew a golden opportunity to win this series today, with their #2 starter going up against the rookie, Tazawa. I think the boys partied pretty hard at Daisy Buchanan's on Newbury Street. Tomorrow, Crooked Cap goes up against Josh Beckett. I don't like the Yanks chances, especially when it's nationally televised. Their record is abysmal on Fox/ESPN games. Just ask Burnett.

The Captain's hot streak came to an end today, as he went 0-3 and will have to wait till tomorrow to try for hit # 2700. Johnny Damon, as expected, sat out with a bruise on his knee after fouling off a pitch yesterday.

Yankees Record: 77-46

Game 119 - Tomko's Revenge is Yanks Embarrassment

Yankee castaway, Brett Tomko, mowed down the Yankees for 5 shutout innings en route to a 3-0 Athletics victory. Tomko, in his short stint as a Yankee, allowed 12 runs in 20+ innings and gave up 5 HRs, but felt he got shafted by his former team for the lack of work. Tonight, he got his payback.

Only Derek Jeter showed up to play, going 3-4 while the rest of the team went 4-29. The play of the game occurred in the 3rd inning, when ARod hit a tapper back to the mound with the bases loaded and 1 out. The A's turned the double play and escaped the jam. ARod showed piss-poor judgement swinging at the first pitch after Tomko just walked Mark Teixeira. The Yankees only other threat ended in the 7th when the clueless Jorge Posada watched a 3rd strike go by with 2 runners on.

AJ Burnett was the tough-luck loser, going the distance while only giving up 3 runs. All of the A's runs came in the 4th inning. Burnett surrendered 4 hits and balked in a run. Replays showed his cleats may have gotten caught up on the mound as he attempted a pitch. Despite pitching a decent game, manager Joe Girardi was getting peppered by the media with questions about AJ's performance. I think my first question would have been "how embarrassed are the Yankee hitters for not showing up against Tomko and Craig Breslow, 2 nobodies who have been released numerous times in their careers"? Who cares if Burnett gave up 10 runs - the Yanks were shut out by a last place team fielding a plethora of minor leaguers.

With the loss the Yanks division lead dropped to 7 games.

Yankees Record: 74-45

Game 109 - WOW!

ARod ended a marathon 15-inning scoreless duel against the hated Red Sox with a 2-run, walkoff HR, ending an improbable night and a long homerless draught. AJ Burnett and Josh Beckett kicked off a classic pitcher's duel, both matching zeroes and both working out of a 2-on, no out jam. By the time both starters left the game, there was still a long, long, way to go before this game would see its conclusion. Burnett held the Beantowners to 1 hit in 7.2 innings, a leadoff bloop single by Jacob Ellsbury in the first. Beckett went 7 innings and limited the Bombers to 4 hits - two by Hideki Matsui.

As brilliant as the starters were, Boston and NY's bullpen were just as impressive. The Yanks marched out Phil Hughes, Mariano Rivera, Alfredo Aceves, Brian Bruney and winning pitcher Phil Coke, combining to toss 7.1 scoreless innings (1 out less than AJ), and limiting the Bosox to 3 hits. Boston threw everybody and the kitchen sink from their bullpen for 7.2 innings (2 outs more than Beckett): Hideki Okajima, Daniel Bard, Ramon Ramirez, Jonathan Papelbum, Manny Delcarmen, Takashi Saito, and the losing pitcher in his major league debut, Junichi Tazawa.

Except for ARod's HR, there isn't anything to discuss about either team's hitting. Derek Jeter, Johnny Damon and Mark Teixeira combined to go 1-20. The bottom of the Bosox order went 0-19. Both teams walked 7 times, with AJ issuing 6 all by himself. This game was so strange, it even included a catcher's interference by the incompetent Jorge Posada. JD Drew made 2 beautiful running catches in RF in the 5th and 14th innings with a runner on 2nd. Even more incredulous, both teams thought they were getting a little squeezed by the home plate ump. Can you imagine if he was calling more strikes? This game might have gone 3o scoreless innings!

Some stats from the game:

* RISP: S0x 0-8 Yanks 0-11 Jeter was 0-3

* LOB: Sox 10 Yanks 12

* Batting: Sox 4-44 Yanks 9-51

* The side was retired 13 times, with the Sox sending 3 up and 3 down seven times and the Yanks six.

* The Sox struck out 13 times, the Yanks 14. Both catchers, Jason Varitek and Posada, led their team with 3 each.

ARod's HR was his 20th of the season and tied him with Harmon Killebrew for 9th place on the all time list with 573. It ended his longest season homerless draught at 73 ABs. The game lasted 5 hrs and 33 minutes and was the longest a game went scoreless ever between the Yanks and Boston (14 innings). It marked the 1st time the Red Sox went scoreless through 14 innings since 1916. That's was a period when Babe Ruth use to PITCH for them.

With the win, the Yanks now lead the division by 4.5 games.

Yankees Record: 67-42

Game 104 - AJ is Absolute Joke in Pathetic Performance

The Yanks needed a solid performance today from AJ Burnett, who's been their best pitcher since his loss to Boston. The bullpen has been banged up lately and had to pitch 5 innings yesterday after Sergio Mitre's debacle. Instead, Absolute Joke Burnett got slapped around hard by the White Sox, giving up 7 runs on 10 hits in 4.2 innings of work. He allowed 6 runs to score in the 2nd inning. He only walked 2 - unfortunately, it came with the bases loaded twice and to the same hitter, Jayson Nix en route to a 14-4 pasting. The same guy batting ninth in the White Sox lineup carrying a mighty .231 batting average. Pathetic.

The Yankee hitters weren't any better, as they continue game after game struggling with RISP. They went 2-13 today and are now 12 for their last 62 for a .194 average. Things were so bad, the Yanks loaded the bases in the 6th with none out and only scored one run. It came on a bloop to LF from newly acquired Yankee, Jerry Hairston. Jorge Posada fell for Carlos Quentin's fake catch and was forced out at 3B. He continues to be one of the worse base runners I've ever seen. Cody Ransom signed his own death warrant, going 0-4 with 3 Ks, leaving 5 men on base. Cody, we hardly knew ye. Good riddance.

After Burnett's early exit, the Yankees marched out a myriad of relievers. None were worse than Phil Coke, who wouldn't be outdone by Burnett's 6-run inning. Coke got shelled for a 6-spot of his own, and he only retired 1 batter. Lefty Coke promptly surrendered 3 hits to the first 3 lefty batters he faced. He also issued the Yanks 3rd bases loaded walk of the day to Scott Posednik, another lefty hitter who has no power whatsoever, not to mention, they were down by 6 runs already at that point.

Leave it to the Yankees to wake up the Chisox bats after they'd been dormant in their 2 previous series. There's about 4-5 guys in their lineup I've never heard of either. With the Bosox beating up on hapless Baltimore again, the Yanks 3.5 game lead has dwindled all the way back to a half game. CC Sabathia and the Yanks better wake up tomorrow. They'll be facing Mr. Perfect, Mark Buehrle, himself. I'm smelling sweep.

Yankees Record: 62-42

Game 99 - Burnett, Yanks Dismantle Penny Pinching Rays

After winning 9 of 10 at home, including 6 wins against last place Baltimore and Oakland, it was time for the Yanks to take their act on the road and face some stiffer competition. AJ Burnett and the Bombers rode their hot streak since the All Star with an 11-4 pounding against the Tampa Bay tightwads.

Burnett continued his torrid pitching, tossing 7 innings while giving up just one unearned run, thanks to a passed ball by Jorge Posada on a third strike to BJ Upton. He only allowed 2 hits and 2 walks while striking out 5, improving to 10-4 on the season, 2-0 against the Rays. He's now won his last five starts.

Burnett was backed up by Robinson Cano and Nick Swisher on offense. Cano went 2-3 with a triple and HR with 2 RBIs. He also walked twice to the astonishment of Yankee fans everywhere. There was a Nick Swisher sighting tonight, as he went 2-5 with 2 HRs and 3 RBIs. His homers came from both sides of the plate, as he crushed one lefthanded deep into the rightfield seats and hit a laser righthanded over the leftfield fence. The Yanks pounded out 15 hits, led by The Captain with 3 to raise his batting average to .325. Every Yankee in the lineup had a least one hit and to paraphrase Yankee announcer, Kenny Singleton, Johnny Damon finally "got his invitation to the party" when he connected for a 3-run shot in the 9th for his 200th career HR.

The cheapskate Rays scrounged for 3 late runs against relievers Jonathan Albaladejo and David Robertson in the final 2 frames. Robertson had to bail out Albaladejo in the 8th, striking out Yankee killer, Carlos Pena, with runners on 2nd and 3rd. Robertson gave up a blast to Pat Burrell in the 9th, but picked up his first career save.

A funny thing happened on Damon's career HR. An idiot Tampa Bay fan threw the ball back onto the field and cost himself a chance at bargaining with Johnny Damon for perhaps an autographed bat, extra tickets, or an autographed ball from Damon or one of his teammates. If I went to a game and caught a visiting team's HR ball, I wouldn't care if Big Sloppy Ortiz, Big Nugget Youkilis or Yoda Pedroia hit it - I'm keeping the damn ball! Besides, it's a Chicago Cubs fan tradition to throw the ball back. I've seen Yankee fans doing the same thing this year - I thought Yankee fans were better than that - at the very least, more original.

The best thing about the Yankees early lead tonight - the silencing of the God awful cowbells from the redneck Tampa Bay fans. Let's hope the Yanks saved some runs for CC Sabathia tomorrow.

Yankees Record: 61-38

Game 94 - Yanks Complete Second Straight Sweep

The Yanks completed a sweep of Baltimore with another 6-4 victory and have gone 6-0 since the All Star break. AJ Burnett shut down the Orioles for 6 innings before surrendering a 2-spot in the 7th. He pitched 7 innings, giving up 6 hits, 2 runs while striking out 6. The Pinstripers were led by Jorge Posada who went 2-3 with a double, homer, walk and 2 RBIs. ARod and Cano each knocked in 1 run and Nick Swisher, in an event-filled day for him, knocked in 2 runs.

Swisher had quite the adventure in RF. In the 3rd inning, he dropped a fly ball that allowed Brian Roberts to reach second. Burnett worked out of trouble, but was bailed out by the man that initially caused the trouble in the first place. Ty Wigginton laced a liner tailing away from Swisher toward the right field line. Swisher made a great running catch at full extension as his momentum carried him up the RF wall. Burnett greeted Swisher at the dugout to share high 5s. Swisher wasn't done in the field, either. In the 6th, he went back and crashed into the wall and robbed Luke Scott of an extra base hit. Something Yankee fans would've never seen with ol' friend Bobby Abreu in the field last year.

Philthy Phil Hughes tossed a scoreless 8th inning and ran his scoreless streak to 20 innings. With the Yanks tacking on an insurance run in the bottom of the 8th for a 4-run cushion, Mariano Rivera sat down and Brian Bruney came into the 9th for some work. Bruney looked great - for 2 batters. He struck out the first 2 guys he faced, but then gave up 2 solo bombs to Adam Jones and Nick Markakis. Manager Joe Girardi quickly gave Bruney the hook and brought in Mo to strike out Aubrey Huff and end the game. It was Mo's 28th save and 510th of his career.

The Bombers increased their division lead to 2 games as Boston got the broom treatment and got swept out of Texas. It's the Sawx 5th straight loss as they dropped to 1-5 since the break while scoring only 13 runs. The Rays also lost, falling 4-3 to the White Sox, and they currently trail the division by 5.5 games. It'll be interesting to see if the Rays make any big moves to help the team or if they will continue their miser ways.

Yankees Record: 57-37, a season-high 20 games over .500

Game 84 - Burnett, Yanks Get the Job Done

It wasn't pretty, but AJ Burnett gutted out a win, as the Yanks triumphed 4-3 over the Twins. AJ only allowed 2 ER in 6.1 innings, despite walking 4 and throwing 3 wild pitches while improving his season record to 8-4. He didn't record his first strikeout till the final out in the 5th inning when he K'd Michael Cuddyer with the bases loaded. His only other strikeout stopped a Twins threat in the 6th, too. Burnett's wildness started in the 3rd inning with 2 outs. After allowing a single to Denard Span, he walked the harmless Brendan Harris and then uncorked 2 wild pitches that led to a run. Joe Mauer followed up with a run scoring double.

The Yanks jumped out to a 3-0 lead against heralded Twins rookie pitcher, Anthony Swarzak, in the 2nd. With the bases loaded, Nick Swisher hit a dribbler towards first for their first run and Brett Gardner followed up with a 2-out, 2-run single. Hopefully, this will keep Melky Cabrera on the bench for another game. The only other offense the Yanks mounted came in the 5th when ARod drove in Derek Jeter. The Captain led off the inning with a double. Strange stat of the night: the Yankee hitters didn't have a single strikeout.

Phil Coke came in to relieve Burnett with 1 out in the 7th and the M&M boys coming to the plate. He promptly served up a long ball to Mauer, but came back to strike out Justin Morneau. Phil Hughes, the other half of the "Philtys", came in and retired Cuddyer to end the inning. He retired the first 2 batters of the 8th before being relieved by Mariano Rivera after surrendering a single. The Great Mo retired the final 4 batters to record his 22nd save of the season, getting the dangerous Mauer to line out to SS to end the game.

The Yanks have won 12 of their last 14 and are 6-0 against the Twins. They wrap up their season series tomorrow with Alfredo Aceves making his first start of the year. It's a shame they don't play the Twins more!

Yankees Record: 50-34

Game 79 - Burnett Beats Former Team

One of the major reasons the Yanks signed AJ Burnett during the offseason was his 20-5 career record against AL East opponents. Today, he defeated his former team, the Blue Jays, in the Yanks 4-2 victory. AJ improved to 7-4 this season, 3-2 against the AL East, as he continued his impressive run since getting slapped around by Boston 5 starts ago. He limited the Jays to 2 runs in 7 innings, allowing 6 hits, 2 walks, while striking out 7. His only real mistake was allowing a HR to Vernon Wells on an 0-2 fastball down the pipe. He's 3-1 with an ERA of 0.99 in his last 4 starts.

Robinson Cano got the Yanks on the board with a solo shot in the 2nd. It was his 13th HR of the season and his first RBI in 12 games. Cano still retains the title of "Greatest Hitter with No Men on Base", but his struggles continue with RISP, going 0-2. With the score tied at 1, the Yanks rallied for 2 in the fifth frame, but it should have been a bigger rally. With bases loaded and none out, Mark Teixeira walked in a run. ARod then forced a runner out at home. With the enigmatic Cano at the plate, Johnny Damon scored on a passed ball as all runners moved up a base. 1 out, 2 runners in scoring position, Cano at the plate - you probably guessed it, he didn't knock in anyone, as Tex was tagged out at the plate on a grounder to 2B. Swisher, who's turning into the switch-hitting version of Cano, minus the high batting average without men on base, ended the inning taking a called 3rd strike.

ARod supplied an insurance run in the bottom of the 8th with an opposite field solo shot, his 14th of the season. The 2 Phils - Coke and Hughes, pitched a scoreless top of the 8th, as Joe Girardi didn't go with his "8th inning guy", Brian Bruney. Girardi feels Bruney needs to work things out, but he trusts Bruney will return to the form he displayed prior to his DL stint. It's good to see Girardi managing to win these games first, instead of continually throwing Bruney into the fire, especially after he blew a 2-run lead against Seattle. As usual, we Yankee fans are so spoiled, Mariano Rivera came into the 9th and wrapped up the Bombers 8th win in 9 games.

Tomorrow - Yankee killer, Roy Halladay.

Yankees Record: 46-33

Game 74 - Burnett, Yanks One-Hit Mets

The Yanks shutout the Mets 5-0 today, as AJ Burnett tossed 7 innings of 1 hit ball and 3 walks while striking out a season-high 10 batters. He had a no-hitter through 5 innings before Alex Cora led off the 6th with the Mets lone hit of the game. Relievers Brian Bruney and David Robertson pitched the final 2 frames to complete the 1-hit shutout.

Burnett dominated from the get-go, striking out 2 in the first inning. His fastball routinely hit 94-95 mph on the gun all day and his curve balls were nasty, diving in and disappearing on the Mets left-handed hitters. He was aided by 2 brilliant defensive plays by Melky Cabrera in LF and a diving stop by Ramiro Pena at SS - all off the snakebitten Daniel Murphy. Burnett improved to 6-4 and lowered his ERA to 3.93.

The Yankee bats started out slow against ex-Yankee and Mets starter, Tim Redding. He lasted all of 1 start for the Yanks in 2005, lasting just 1 inning in a loss to Boston. He was shelled for 6 runs in that game, thus ending his brief Yankee career with an ERA of 54.00. Nick Swisher finally broke through in the 3rd with an opposite field solo shot to LF. The score remained 1-0 till the Yanks broke through for a 4-spot in the 6th. On 4 straight pitches from Redding, Teixeira hit a 415' double, ARod knocked him in with a single, Robbie Cano doubled and Jorge Posada hit a 3-run shot. That would be more than enough for the Yanks, as the Mets couldn't scratch a sniff against Burnett and the bullpen.

Granted, the Mets have sent out a depleted lineup the past 2 games, but this same team just took 3 of 4 from the 1st place Cardinals, including an 11-0 drubbing in one game. The Yankees were shorthanded themselves, as they played without Derek Jeter, sitting out a second straight game with the flu, and he must have passed it on to Johnny Damon, who also missed the game.

Brett Gardner came crashing back to earth going 0-5 after his career game yesterday. Next up, Chien-Ming Wang goes for his 1st win of the season against Livan Hernandez.

Yankees Record: 42-32

Game 68 - Burnett Loses in Pitchers Duel

AJ Burnett and the Yanks suffered a tough loss, stumbling to the Marlins and Josh Johnson, 2-1. Burnett and Johnson locked up in a good ol' fashion pitchers duel. AJ went 6.1 innings, giving up 5 hits, 2 runs, 1 earned, with 8 Ks. In the 3rd inning, he struck out the side on 9 pitches. At one point, he recorded 6 straight outs via the strike out. AJ's doom came in the 6th inning when Johnny Damon couldn't make the catch on a drive by Jorge Cantu, with his error leading to the Marlins 2nd run that proved the difference.

As great as Burnett was dealing, Josh Johnson pitched even better. He went 7 frames, allowing only 1 earned run on 3 hits. He only allowed an AJ Burnett bloop single that barely escaped a diving lunge by 2B Dan Uggla through 6 innings and retired the side 4 times. He finally surrendered the Yanks lone run in the 7th on a walk and 2 singles, but escaped further trouble by striking out Melky Cabrera.

The Yanks best shot to tie the game came in the 8th against the Fish's bullpen. Hideki Matsui led off with a pinch-hit single. With Brett Gardner running for Matsui, he swiped second. ARod came on to pinch hit and walked, giving the Yanks runners on 1st and 2nd with no outs and The Captain coming to the plate. After failing to lay down a bunt, Jeter banged into his 2nd double play of the day. For Jeter, king of the DP last year, it was his sixth twin-killing this season. The Yanks last gasp came in the 9th when Mark Teixeira led off with a single, but for the 2nd time this week, Robinson Cano ended the game on a double play. It was the 3rd DP of the game for the Yanks as their team-wide troubles continue at the plate.

Notes: Boston beat Atlanta 3-0, regaining their 3 game lead on the Yanks. Xavier Nady continues to rehab in Tampa and is scheduled to begin playing in minor league games next week. Phil Hughes pitched a dominating 8th inning, striking out 2. Damn, he looks good in the pen - although I'm still on record that he's a starter and belongs in the rotation.

Yanks Record: 38-30

Game 63 - Yanks Blow Out Mets & Santana

In the "that's why you play the game" category, the Yanks handed Mets ace, Johan Santana, the worse start of his career en route to a 15-0 win.  Santana got shelled for 9 runs in 3+ innings.  Derek Jeter led the Bombers 17-hit attack with 4 hits.  Francisco Cervelli chipped in 3 hits of his own.  His first hit in the 2nd inning led to the Yanks first run, when he blooped a 2-out, 2-strike pitch to rightfield.  That hit may have doomed Santana, because he followed that up with run scoring hits to Jeter and Johnny Damon during a 40+ pitch inning that gave the Yanks a 4-0 lead.

The Pinstripers knocked out Santana in the 4th, scoring 9 more runs in the inning that was highlighted by Hideki Matsui's and Robinson Cano's HRs.  AJ Burnett followed up his stinker in Boston with 7 shutout innings, limiting the Metropolitans to 4 hits while striking out 8.  He wiggled out of a bases loaded jam in the top half of the 3rd after the Yanks gave him a 4-spot.  He struck out Yankee pest, Alex Cora, and then Fernando Martinez, before Carlos Beltran ended the threat by lining out to the Captain. 

After losing yesterday's game that looked favorably for the Yanks against a pitcher who hadn't started in the Majors since 2006, they were able to turn the tide today in the rubber match.  The Mets must have liked their chances with one of the best pitchers in baseball on the mound, but Santana didn't have his stuff today.  The long 2nd inning certainly did him in.  The Yanks improved to 8-1 in series clinching games.  With Boston's loss today, the closed within 2 games for the division lead.  99 games left in the season.  I'm predicting Yanks go 60-40 for their last 100 games to make the playoffs.  

Yankees Record:  36-27

   

Game 58 - Yanks Turn In Gutless Performance

Robinson Cano's strike out to end the game tonight was a fitting end to a dreadful, gutless performance by the Yankees.  There wasn't any positives to take away from this game, unless one considers Jose Veras not walking a batter in 2 innings of relief a success.  This despite Veras only throwing 13 out of 29 pitches for strikes and hitting a batter (plus giving up a HR).  Below is a list of the many, many Yankee negatives in what was suppose to be a marquee matchup of the AL's 2 best teams:

-AJ once again stood for Absolute Joke when it comes to facing the Red Sox.  When Burnett signed with the Yanks this offseason, one of the big positives was his sterling 5-0 record against the Yanks archrivals.  In 2 starts against the Bosox this year, he coughed up a huge 6-0 lead in a 16-11 blow out and looked completely lost in his 2.2 innings of work tonight in the 7-0 loss.  He threw only 40 strikes in 84 pitches and fell behind the hitters from pitch 1.  Amazingly enough, he only allowed 5 runs and only 3 earned, but there were Red Sox base runners everywhere you turned.  He surrendered 5 hits and 5 walks with 1 K.  He was down right God-awful.  He did get ahead of 2 hitters, Big Nugget Youkilis, who he walked after having him down 1-2 in the count and JD Drew, who smacked an RBI double on an 0-2 count.  Pitiful.

-Big Sloppy Ortiz hit a 2-run bomb to dead center with the wind blowing directly in.  This is inexcusable.  This guy had the same number of HRs as Yankees reserve outfielder, Brett Gardner did coming into this game - and Ortiz plays everyday!  He's hitting below the Mendoza line.  Big Sloppy supposedly visited an eye doctor and received eye drops the other day.  Since then, he's hit 2 HRs in 3 games.  I guess eye doctor and eye drops is now code for steroid supplier and a needle in the ass.  All of a sudden he's catching up to a 95 mph heater on natural talent?  Doubtful.

-Nick Green knocking in 2 runs with a double and a HR.  I repeat, Nick Green.  This guy has been dumped by the Braves, Rays, Yanks and Mariners before showing up on the Red Sox doorstep.  He didn't even play in the Majors last season.  And yet, the Yanks made him look like an All-Star tonight.  Unbelievable.

-The entire Yankees starting lineup amassed a total of 2 hits and 4 walks.  They finally mounted a "threat" in the 4th, already trailing 5-0, when Jorge Posada struck out with runners on 1st and 2nd to end the inning.  Derek Jeter set the tone, grounding out on the game's first pitch.  Josh Beckett recorded 8 Ks in 6 innings of work.  I believe the offense is beginning to slump and it couldn't come at a worse time, going up against the Sox.  In the 3 games against Tampa Bay, they recorded 7 hits, 6 hits, and 6 hits before dinking in 2 tonight.  21 hits in 4 games - not acceptable.  What happened to this dangerous lineup?  Jeter, ARod, Cano, Posada and Cabrera have all gone into mini-slumps.  Horrendous.

-ARod had an error in the 2nd and now the Yankees have erred in 7 straight games after setting the ML record of errorless ball in the previous 18 games.  ARod's gaffe came against the aforementioned Nick Green - a batter the Yanks just need to get out against the Red Sox lineup.  Sloppy.

  

-7 walks to the Red Sox.  To quote Yankee announcer, Michael Kay, "that's dreadful".  You can't walk the Sox - they'll kill you every time.  3 of the walks came in to score.   What Kay said. 

I'm sure I've missed some other negatives, but what it comes down to is the Yankees didn't look like they came to play against a team they are competing with for the division.  Boston has beaten them like a drum this season and the Yanks, going 6-0.  Tonight, the Yanks acted like a team who knows the Sox have their number, which surprises me, because this team has been walking around with a lot of swagger since the ARod's return off the DL.   No matter how badly the Yanks struggled in the last few seasons, they always showed up to play against Boston.  Where were they tonight?

I just found at least one other positive from tonight's game - the fraudulent MVP, Yoda Pedroia went 0-4.  

Yankees Record:  34-24

 

MLB Suspends Burnett 6 Games

Major League Baseball suspended Yankee pitcher, AJ Burnett, for 6 games.  Burnett threw a high hard one towards Texas Rangers, Nelson Cruz, in apparent retaliation of Vicente Padilla tagging Yanks first basemen, Mark Teixeira, not once, but twice.  

Burnett is appealing the suspension, hoping it will be reduced.  Predictions are 5 games, for one turn through the rotation.  What's shocking about the suspension is that Padilla, the true criminal that continues to walk the streets a free man, was only fined an undisclosed amount.  I must admit though, I like Padilla's style.  Instead of walking batters and wasting pitches, he's known to just plunk a batter.  Often, I've wished Yankee pitchers would hit Big Nugget Youkilis with a pitch just to move on from his customary 8 pitch at bat.

Game 52 - Yanks Take Texas Behind the Woodshed

The score was tied 3-3 in the bottom of the 4th, when Texas pitcher, Vincente Padilla, plunked Mark Teixeira in the buttocks.  It was the second time in the game he hit Tex, and you could see Tex shout at him "(Bleeping) throw the ball over the plate".  Unfortunately for Padilla, he woke the sleeping giant and he was very angry.  

With ARod at the plate and the bases loaded with one out, Padilla still had a shot to get out of the inning.  All he needed was a double play ball and it looked like ARod would oblige Padilla when he hit a grounder to second.  But Tex went in hard to the base with a vengeance, upending SS Elvis Andrus and allowing ARod to just beat the throw, avoiding the DP.  Robinson Cano and Jorge Posada would follow with run scoring singles and Hideki Matsui hit a 3-run blast, completing a 7-run outburst for a 9-3 lead.  Tex loved every minute of it, as he shed his usually calm and stoic persona and showing, dare I say, true emotion and fire.  I can only hope the Yankees will continue to show any kind of emotion and passion, which seemed to have disappeared with O'Neill, Brosius, Knoblauch and others of the 90's dynasty as they took on the boring, business-like persona in the latter years of Joe Torre's regime.  

AJ Burnett pitched well, despite nearly collapsing in the 3rd inning.  For the first 2.2 innings, he was in cruise control, until he walked a batter.  That was followed up by a double and 3-run jack by Nelson Cruz that gave Texas a brief 3-2 lead.  Burnett gave up 2 more hard singles and a long drive to deep center that finally getting him out of the inning, but he looked very shaky.  However, he would settle down again and pitch 7 strong innings with 8 Ks and one walk.  He even defended his teammate, Tex, nearly decapitating Nelson Cruz with a high inside fastball.  Both teams received warnings from the ump and it will be interesting to see if this bad blood will carry over tomorrow night. 

The Captain, Derek Jeter, banged out another 3 hits tonight and scored his 15ooth run of his career.  He collected his 2600th hit of his career yesterday, and with the 3 more tonight, has an excellent shot at passing Lou Gehrig for the all-time Yankee hit record later this season.  Gehrig had 2,721 hits in his career.  Posada also had 3 hits, including a 3-run blast and 4 RBIs, although his throwing error brought an end to the Yankees consecutive errorless streak at 18 games.  

But other things went well for the Yankees tonight, so well that even Brett Tomko and Jose Veras pitched a scoreless frame each, as the final score was 12-3.  They also didn't issue any free passes.  To Veras' credit, he won a tough battle against Ian Kinsler for the last out of the game, repeatedly challenging him on a full count after Kinsler fouled off numerous fastballs, instead of walking him.  Hopefully, Veras can build on this performance.  The Yanks need him till Brian Bruney and Damaso Marte return from their injuries.  

Yankees Record:  31-21 - best record in AL

Game 42 - Yanks Streak Snapped

It didn't take long - on AJ Burnett's first pitch of the game, Philadelphia's Jimmy Rollins deposited one into the rightfield seats and the Yanks 9-game winning streak was doomed from the start.  The Phillies would hit 3 more HRs en route to a 7-3 victory.  

Burnett yielded 5 earned runs in 6 innings.  The 5 runs came on 3 pitches:  Rollins solo shot, and two-run HRs by Jayson Werth and light-hitting Carlos Ruiz.  Chien-Ming Wang, fresh off the DL and toting an ERA of 34.50, relieved Burnett to start the 7th.  He gave up 2 runs on 6 hits, including a bomb to Raul Ibanez, in 3 innings of work.  Although his fastball was hitting 93-94 mph consistently, he couldn't spot his pitches and looked shaky.  The good news is, he lowered his ERA to a "respectable" 25.00.

As for the Yanks offense, it consisted of an ARod HR,  Jeter HR, and a Tex HR - all solo blasts.  Other than that, they couldn't muster anything off of Phillies' starter, Brett Myers.  With the exception of 1 run, all scoring came courtesy of the long ball.  It's become more apparent everyday that the Yankee organization has built themselves a launching pad and any mistake by a pitcher will be crushed in this ballpark.  

Yankees Record:  24-18

Interleague Play:  0-1

Game 17 - Pitcher's Duel at Fenway

The Yankees suffered another humiliating defeat at the hands of the hated Red Sox. In a matchup that looked to be an old fashioned pitcher's duel on paper, turned into a slow pitch softball game. The Yanks quickly jumped all over Josh Beckett, building a 6-0 lead by the 4th inning. AJ Burnett was cruising, pitching one-hit ball for the first three innings. In the bottom of the 4th, the wheels fell off yet another bus for the Yanks. AJ turned into Absolute Joke, and turned a 6-0 lead into a slim 6-5 margin after 4 innings when he allowed a run scoring single and a grand slam to the highly suspect and suddenly looking buff again, Jason Varitek.

By the end of the 5th, the Yanks lead evaporated as Absolute Joke allowed banjo hitting Jacob Ellsbury to tie the score with a HR and newly anointed Yankee killer, Jason Bay, hit a 2-run double giving the Sox an 8-6 lead. Gone are the days of Manny and a much younger, perhaps enhanced Big Sloppy, but these Red Sox can still hit. How come no one is talking about what a joke hitting in Fenway Park is? I've been telling my buddy Craig even I could have hit about .260 in this ballpark.

The Yanks' hitters did their best by crawling back in this game. They tied the score at 8 on a Damon 2-run shot, only to have the Beantowners bounce back and go up 9-8. The Yanks then reclaimed the lead 10-9 when the midget Pedroia, a fraudulent Gold Glove winner last year, let a ball go through his wickets, leading to the go ahead runs. Never fear, Red Sox fans, the Yankees God-awful bullpen just kept coughing it up, serving up a 3-run blast to the gimp Mike Lowell. The Yanks staged one last gasp, as Cano hit his second HR of the day, bringing the Yanks within 12-11.

The Yankees bullpen however, would do everything they could to make sure the Sox wouldn't blow this game, allowing 4 more runs in the 8th, the fifth straight inning Boston scored.

Yankee Bomber Doghouse: Everyone who impersonated an MLB pitcher on the Yankee staff today. They should all forfeit a day's salary to charity. Absolute Joke was handed a huge 6-0 lead and flushed it down the toilet. 9 Red Sox runs came with 2 out. Unacceptable. For the Yankee hitters, there's not much to complain about, but Jeter failed getting a run in with less than 2 outs, striking out with men on second and third in the 7th. And Melky is up to his old tricks that he pulled last year, where he was horrendous and an utter failure with runners on third with less than 2 out. Finding himself in this position yet again, he weakly grounded back to the pitcher in the 8th, getting Posada caught in a rundown. If I were GM, he would be banished to AAA.

The Yanks have been besieged by injuries as Bruney, Wang and Ransom officially went on the DL today, but that's the least of their worries. I don't think GM Brian Cashman envisioned his bullpen being this horrific. I personally thought the Yanks should have signed reliever Juan Cruz from the D-backs this offseason. He signed with KC for cheap after striking out 71 batters in 51+ innings with a 2.61 E.R.A. Certainly he would have been a huge upgrade over Edwar Ramirez and Jose Veras. Plus, has anyone seen Damaso Marte this year? Why pay so much money on a team and not upgrade the latter part of the game with good relief?

Red Sox are probably feeling giddy these last 2 days. I have not been impressed with either Lester or Beckett and their bullpen is suspect, despite the reports I heard they're bullpen was much improved. They gave up 11 runs today to a Yankee lineup that has been struggling. I don't think they'll be putting up 16 runs everyday to bail out their overhyped pitching staff (although no more overhyped than the Yanks much abused staff). That being said, I feel a sweep coming.

Yanks Record: 9-8

Does today's loss count as a Blown Win?

Game 16 - Brutal Loss

Tonight was a brutal loss to swallow for Yankee fans. Up 4-2 in the bottom of the 9th with 2 out, Mariano Rivera served up a game tying gopher ball to Jason Bay. And then to top off the evening, Kevin "Please Don't Throw at my Big Head" Youkilis won the game in the 11th with a moon shot off of Damaso Marte.

Joba Chamberlain started the game for the Yanks and apparently was visited by the ghost of Chien-Ming Wang past, using 4 double plays in 5 1/3 innings to constantly duck out of trouble and avoiding the big innings by the Bosox. He walked 4 and struck out 2, both Ks coming against the blow hard, hypocrite Big Sloppy Ortiz, who called out Joba for throwing near the Nugget Youkilis' head a couple of times. When Joba left in the 6th with one out, I must admit, I had no confidence the Yankees bullpen would be able to reach Rivera with a lead. Never in my imagination did I imagine Rivera would once again collapse against the hated Red Sox after a brilliant effort by the Yankees pen to bridge the gap to him.

Although the Red Sox had many chances early in the game to break this game open, the Yankees had just as many, if not more, and were a putrid 4-19 with runners in scoring position, blowing one opportunity after another. It seemed like they had 2 runners on base every inning, but couldn't come up with the big hit to put the game out of reach. Hopefully, this game will not carry over the rest of the weekend, however, they must face old nemesis Josh Beckett in Saturday's afternoon match.

Yankee Bomber Doghouse: Rivera. C'mon, you can't be serving up a game tying HR with 2 out in the 9th. Haven't you blown enough saves against the Sox? And of all teams, this just kills Yankee fans. Nick Swisher makes the list for failing to get in a run with the bases loaded and no outs. Different season, different players, and yet the same old results that haunted and killed this team last year - failing to get that runner in from third with less than 2 outs. Others who also failed: Cano, who hit into a miserable double play with the bases loaded in the 9th with 2-out, failing to bring in any insurance run for the Yanks. And Jeter, Teixeira and Cabrera all failed in extra innings with a runner in scoring position.

Where is Brian Bruney? Apparently, he has a cranky elbow and was sent back to NY to have it checked out. They could have used him instead of the ineffective Marte. The Yanks put the ghost of Chien-Ming Wang present on the DL with "weakness in the abductor muscles of both hips". I don't know what this is, but bravo to the Yanks for coming up with this mysterious ailment. They just can't send this guy out again till he's right. The reign of the Interstate King may have come to an end tonight. Cody Ransom was pulled from the game in the 8th for a pulled quadricep and placed on the DL after the game. The Yanks called up Dave Robertson from AAA and probably will call up Angel Berroa to replace Ransom till Arod returns. The only good thing that came out of tonight's game was watching Big Sloppy get the Golden Sombrero with 4 Ks. Time for someone to retire maybe? Or has someone's secret source dried up? Interesting.....who are those 103 other names that tested positive back in 2003? Hmmm.

Yankees Record: 9-7

Blown Wins: 2