Game 124 - Yanks 5 Jacks Beat Boston, Beckett

Derek Jeter took Josh Beckett deep on the first pitch of the game, and it was a premonition of things to come. ARod, Robbie Cano and another 2 jacks from Hideki Matsui led the Yanks to an 8-4 victory over Boston in the rubber game of the 3-game series. CC Sabathia gutted through 6.2 innings, giving up 4 runs, 3 earned while striking out 8. He allowed no walks in his 118-pitch effort, winning his 5th straight and league-leading 15th game.

The Yanks scored at least a run in the first 5 frames against Beckett. Matsui followed up Jeter's leadoff HR with a shot of his own to leadoff the 2nd. Tex and ARod had RBIs in the 3rd, Cano homered in the 5th, and ARod hit a rising liner over the Monster for a 2-run shot. Matsui finished off the scoring with another solo blast in the 8th. Curiously enough, Terry Francona kept Josh Beckett in the game for 8 innings, despite surrendering all 5 dingers and 8 earned runs. Does this demonstrate a lack of faith in the once highly touted Sox bullpen? The move, or lack thereof, was interesting.

Sabathia, for the most part, kept the Sox in check. He blew an early 2-0 lead in the 2nd. Yet again, the Yanks allowed 2 runs to score with 2 out. After striking out Big Nugget Youkilis and Jason Bay to start the inning, Crooked Cap gave up a double to the crippled Mike Lowell, an RBI single to mysterious fatigue-diseased Rocco Baldelli and an RBI double to the overhill Jason Varitek. It wasn't CC's finest moment.

Cano was at fault for the Sox 3rd run. With 2 outs (of course), he dropped Varitek's pop up after calling off Tex, allowing Bay to score all the way from 1st. It was Cano's 2nd error of the game and it continues his recent fielding slump where recently, he's been making errors at a regular clip. Is this a sign of fatigue or lack of focus with a huge lead? Either way, Cano is someone I don't feel comfortable with in the big game or big moment.

Phil Hughes pitched 1.1 scoreless innings to bridge the gap to Mariano Rivera. Mo walked JD Drew to leadoff the 9th for only his 9th free pass of the season, but struck out 2 of the next 3 hitters to seal the win. With the victory, the Yanks won the series, ended their 10-game road trip at 7-3 and increased their division lead to 7.5 games over the Bosox.

Godzilla's 2-homer game was his 2nd in the series and 3rd in his last 7 games. The man is "en fuego". I don't know how to say "on fire" in Japanese. Reportedly, the Yanks won't be re-signing Matsui in the off-season, but he's making a pretty good case for someone to take a flyer on him. Oakland perhaps?

Off day today and the Yanks return home to the Bronx to face the Texas Rangers, who are 1 game back of the Sox for the wild card. Would the Yanks sabotage this series to help eliminate the Sox? Starting Sergio Mitre or Chad Gaudin tomorrow may be a good start to hurting the Sox. We'll see.

Yankees Record: 78-46

Game 122 - Yankees Hit the Batting Cages in Boston

The Yankee hitters took the Red Sox pitchers behind the woodshed and pounded them for 23 hits en route to a 20-11 victory. As great as the offense was, the Yankee pitching and defense were awful. Andy Pettitte, perhaps suffering from the effects of sitting 29 minutes while the Yanks batted in the 5th inning when they scored 6 runs, began to get tagged by Boston in the bottom of the 5th and 6th innings. He departed after 3 batters and no outs in the 6th and was charged with 7 runs, 5 of them earned. Despite Pettitte's shaky performance, he's been brilliant since the All Star break, but he only had 1 win to show for it. Tonight, he finally had support and then some.

Every Yankee in the lineup, including Johnny Damon's replacement, Eric Hinske, had a hit, scored a run and knocked in a run. Damon fouled a pitch off his knee in the top of the 1st and left the game with a deep bruise after striking out. ARod went 4-4, Hideki Matsui hit 2 HRs with 7 RBIs, Melky collected 4 hits and The Captain and Tex chipped in 3 hits apiece. In fact, everyone had at least 2 hits with the exception of the slumping Robinson Cano, who finished 1-6. They feasted on Sox starter, Brad Penny for 8 runs, highly touted rookie, Michael Bowden for a 7-spot, and reliever Ramon Ramirez for another 4. Manny Delcarmen got off cheap with 1 run and Takashi Saito was their only reliever to escape unscored upon.

The Yankee pitching didn't fare much better, they just weren't as bad as the batting practice pitchers Boston threw out there. Brian Bruney came in to relieve Pettitte in the 6th and was God-awful. Statiscally, he didn't give up any runs, but he allowed his inherited runners to score and inexplicably walked in a run with a 10-run lead. In the 7th, Joe Girardi had seen enough when Bruney loaded the bases with one out. Damaso Marte, on the DL since April, was activated before the game and got the final 2 outs of the inning and stranded all 3 runners. Sergio Mitre came on for mop up duty for the final 2 innings, and the Sox did just that - mopped him around for 4 runs in the 9th. He surrendered 2 bombs to Mike Lowell and Jason Varitek. Mercifully, the game finally ended.

The Yanks defense was a little sloppy in the blowout, too. Cano had a fielding error and his buddy, Melky, allowed a pop up to drop in the 6th inning, hastening Pettitte's departure. On one odd play, Hinske couldn't make a play on a Yoda Pedroia fly that hit the Monster. For some dumb reason, Yoda thought he could stretch a triple out of it, but Jeter played the rebound off the wall in shallow left and threw him out with the Sox down by 5 runs at the time. I don't watch the Sox much, but it seems Yoda is thrown out at least once a series against the Yanks trying to stretch a hit or steal a base. Is it possible he's a dumber runner than Posada?

With the win, the Yanks now lead the Red Sox by 7.5 games. It was the Yanks first win of the season at Fenway and their first since Mike Mussina won his 20th last season.

Yankees Record: 77-45

Game 113 - Back 2 Back Jacks Lead Yanks

The night began to look a lot like last night. The Yanks went up 3-0 after 2 innings, but Joba Chamberlain allowed the Blue Jays to tie it up in the 3rd on a Lyle Overbay bases loaded double. Joba gave up a solo HR in the 4th to Bronx-born and bred, Randy Ruiz, that put the Jays out in front, 4-3. Jays starter, Scott Richmond, settled down and pitched 6 innings and Jeremy Accardo pitched a scoreless 7th, as it looked like the tying run would elude the Bombers for the 2nd night in a row.

But this year's team is a far cry from the team of last season. The boys from the Bronx would have gone down quietly last year, but this team never thinks of quitting. Hideki Matsui and Jorge Posada led off the 8th with back-to-back HRs to put the Yanks out in front. Godzilla hit a bomb to deep right, and Posada hit an opposite field shot that barely cleared the RF wall. The ball landed in a fan's mitt positioned right behind RF Joe Inglett's leaping glove. Replay review confirmed the ball landed over the fence without fan interference. The Bombers tacked on 2 more runs on RBI singles from Melky Cabrera and Johnny Damon.

Joba looked strong for 2 innings, working quickly and appearing sharper than his last appearance against Boston. He ran into trouble in the 3rd, when he walked Inglett, a guy who has spent his career on the minor league shuttle bus. He hurt the Yanks last night, too, with an RBI triple. A single and another walk, Joba's only 2 free passes of the night, loaded the bases with 2 out. But Joba grooved a fastball to Overbay and he drove it into the right-center gap to clear the bags. Another grooved fastball led to Ruiz' shot in the 4th, but Joba settled down to pitch an effective 6 innings.

Brian Bruney, Phil Coke and David Robertson pitched 2 scoreless frames. Robertson picked up the win when the Yanks rallied in the 8th. Mariano Rivera came on in the 9th and allowed a dinger to Edwin Encarnacion to dead center. Good thing Melky and Damon tacked on those insurance RBIs. With Marco Scutaro as the tying run at the plate - Mo's ol' nemesis that beat him with a walkoff blast last season, Mariano struck him out to earn his 33rd save of the season and #515 of his career.

With the win, the Yanks remained 5.5 games ahead of Boston.

Yankees Record: 70-43

Yankees Record since ARod's return: 57-28

Yankees Record since I said they would have to go 60-40 in their last 100 games to make the playoffs: 34-17

Game 106 - Yanks Slay the Halladay Dragon

Prior to tonight, Roy Halladay was 8-0 in his last 10 starts against the Yanks, and 16-5 in his career. Make that 16-6. The Yankees and Andy Pettitte outdueled the notorious Yankee killer in a 5-3 victory. Pettitte defeated the Blue Jays for the 19th time in his career, as he pitched 6.2 solid innings. He limited the Jays to 1 run on 4 hits while striking out 6, finally earning his first win after the All Star break despite pitching well in his previous 3 starts. Luck was on his side, too, as the Jays laced 4 line drives right at his infielders, including 1 for a DP.

The Bombers jumped out quick on the AL All Star starter, putting 2 runs on the board in the first on an ARod RBI double and an error by Halladay allowed ARod to score on a Hideki Matsui grounder. It looked like the Yanks were going to get to Halladay early, collecting 5 hits in the first 3 innings. In the 3rd, with Mark Teixeira on 2nd after a double, ARod hit a shot down the 3B line that appeared destined for another RBI double. Toronto's Edwin Encarnacion dove to keep it in the infield for a single and Halladay was able to escape the jam. Halladay would cruise through the next 15 outs. Only Jorge Posada reached on a single, but he was quickly erased by a DP.

The Yanks finally struck for 2-out lightening in the 8th. Johnny Damon and Teixeira hit back-to-back HRs, providing what would prove to be the winning runs. In the bottom of the 8th, Phil Hughes allowed 2 straight singles before coming back with 2 Ks. Enter Mariano Rivera. He did not look good and perhaps is starting to feel the effects of his 4-out saves this year. He fell behind Vernon Wells before allowing a 2-run double to bring the Jays within 1 run. Matsui provided a little breathing room with the Bombers 3rd solo shot of the night off of Halladay in the top of the 9th. Mo made things interesting again by allowing 2 more singles in the 9th before escaping with a huge victory against Halladay. Especially with Sergio Mitre going on the mound for the Yanks tomorrow.

Yankees Record: 64-42

Game 100 - Yanks Play Like a Last Place Team

Instead of looking like the division leaders that have been steamrolling since the All Star break, the Yanks looked like a cellar dwelling team going through the rigors of a long season in their 6-2 loss to Tampa Bay. Crooked Cap Sabathia's pitching was abysmal, their hitting was non-existent, the defense was an absolute joke, and for good measure, they even committed a hideous baserunning blunder.

The Crooked One got lit up for 9 hits and 6 runs in 5.2 innings of work. Granted, his defense deserted him at times, but he never buckled down and caused his own troubles. After Derek Jeter's hideous throwing error over Mark Teixeira's head allowed Ben Zobrist to reach second, Sabathia walked the pitiful .223-hitting Pat Burrell (who struck out in his next 3 at bats) and the equally pitiful Gabe Kapler to load the bases. Instead of knuckling down to try and get the even weaker hitting Dioner Navarro to strike out or hit into an inning ending DP, he allowed Navarro to drive the ball to CF for a sac fly.

Sabathia never found his groove, as he allowed a run-scoring triple to Crawford on an 0-2 count, surrendered a HR to the struggling Evan Longoria, and embarrassed himself further when he allowed the aforementioned pitiful Kapler to double off him in the 6th. Jason Bartlett followed with and RBI single and then BJ Upton, in turn, doubled in Bartlett to finish off Crooked Cap.

As for the Yanks defense - there was none. As previously mentioned, Jeter airmailed one. ARod followed suit with an errant throw of his own. Sadly, it would have held Crawford at 3B, but the bad throw allowed him to score. Then, there's Nick Swisher. He must be drinking buddies with the official scorer, because he blatantly had 2 hideous plays in RF and wasn't given any errors. On one play, he ran down the RF line and unnecessarily went into a slide and dropped the ball that was ruled a triple. A major league ballplayer catches that ball 99 times out of a 100. If not, it's usually ruled an error. Then he allowed a bloop hit from Upton turn into an RBI double instead of knocking it down, or strange as it sounds, fielding it cleanly and holding the runners to first and third.

The Yanks hitting tonight wasn't any better. Facing an old nemesis, Scott Kazmir, someone forgot to tell the Yanks this wasn't the same guy that has given them trouble in the past. Kazmir came into the game with an unsightly 6.69 ERA. Obviously, the rest of the league has been having their way with him like a drunken sorority chick. Not the Yankees though. Even when they scored their first run, Hideki Matsui, running on the legs of an 80-year old, was caught between 1st and 2nd on a late throw to home. Where the hell did he think he was going? Not 2B with those stumps! Tonight clearly could have been collectively one of their worse performances of the year.

The Yanks did have 2 bright spots though. Rookie reliever, Mark Melancon, had his best performance as a major leaguer, throwing 2.1 scoreless innings with 2 Ks. ARod looks like he's coming out of his slump, after doubling in his last at bat last night, he had 2 more hits tonight.

Yankees Record: 61-39

Game 92 - Matsui's Walkoff HR Leads Yanks

For a team record 3rd game in a row, the Yanks won 2-1, beating the Orioles in the opening set of a 3-game series. Andy Pettitte pitched 1-run ball for 7.1 innings, with his only blip a HR by Nick Markakis in the 1st inning. He also struck out 8. After Eric Hinske matched Markakis' HR in the top of the 2nd, his 4th dinger in 15 ABs with the Yanks, Baltimore retired 22 of the next 24 Yankee batters. Only Derek Jeter and Johnny Damon were able to get on via walks.

With one out in the bottom of the 9th, Hideki Matsui blasted his 15th HR of the season against reliever Jim Johnson for the win. It was Matsui's first walkoff hit since his rookie year in 2003. AJ Burnett kept up this year's custom of shoving a cream pie into the walkoff hero's face in the post game interview. It's good to see Burnett does not shy away from delivering the pie treatment to stoic and serious players like Matsui and Posada.

There was a moment in the game though, that looked like the Yanks might have needed more than Matsui's heroics. Pettitte left the game in the 8th with runners on 2nd and 3rd. Phil Coke came in to face Nick Markakis with 1 out. Markakis hit a grounder to Mark Teixeira. Tex threw home to catcher Jose Molina, who tagged out Cesar Izturis for the 2nd out. Coke then threw a pitch in the dirt that bounced away, but Molina pounced on it and threw to Coke to tag the speedy Brian Roberts out at the plate.

Alfredo Aceves came in relief during the 9th with a runner on and 1 out. After a stolen base, he sandwiched the final 2 outs around an intentional walk to avoid any trouble. He was credited with the win and improved his record to 6-1. It also gave Mariano Rivera a much needed, not to mention a deserved, night off after saving all 3 games in the Tigers series.

The Yanks, who lead or near the top in most offensive categories, can credit their 4 game winning streak to strong pitching. In the last 3 games, they have combined for only 16 hits, relying mostly on solo shots for their scoring, while holding their opponents to 3 total runs.

With Boston's loss against Texas, the Pinstripers moved into a tie for the AL East division. Kevin Millwood beat his old Atlanta teammate, John Smoltz, as Boston looks like they haven't been notified the All Star break is over. Adding insult to injury, Tim Wakefield took his 11-3 record to the DL. Laptop thief, Clay Buchholz, will take his place on the roster.

Yankees Record: 55-37

Game 80 - Yanks Win Despite Cano's Sabotage

Appropriately, on 4th of July, the mighty Yankees defeated their neighbors to the North, the Toronto Blue Jays, in a 12-inning affair, 6-5. The win came in a game started by their nemesis, Roy Halladay. The Pinstripers touched him up for 5 runs in 7 innings, with Hideki Matsui, Jorge Posada and Johnny Damon all going deep against one of the AL's premier pitchers. Damon's homer tied the game at 5-all in the 7th, setting the stage for 3 innings of "free baseball".

Chien-Ming Wang started for the Yanks and had similar results as his previous 3 starts. However, he left the game in the 6th with an apparent shoulder strain. He is scheduled for an MRI today. He allowed 4 ER on 6 hits in his 5.1 innings before departing. He threw one pitch to Scott Rolen after surrendering a 2-run shot to Adam Lind that gave the Jays a 4-3 lead. David Robertson came in relief and gave up the Jays 5th run.

This game, though, probably never should have gone to extra frames. Robinson Cano's well-documented struggles with RISP took on a whole 'nother level today. He stranded an unheralded 10 runners on base. T-E-N! I thought when he left 8 men on last week would be the pinnacle of his troubles, but this has become an epidemic of unprecedented proportions. Joe Girardi has to banish him to the bottom of the order. Has to! Cano left ARod at 2B in the first, runners at first and second in the 3rd and the 5th, and he hit into a DP in the 7th. He had a chance to redeem himself in the 9th. ARod was intentionally walked, putting runners on 1st and 2nd, again, but Cano grounded out to end the threat.

In the 12th, Mark Teixeira led off with a double and the Jays intentionally walked ARod again. Girardi must have seen enough of Cano's troubles (not to mention Yankee fans), which includes his high propensity of hitting into DPs. He gave Cano the bunt sign. After working the count to 3-0, Cano inexplicably bunted without taking a strike, which appeared to confuse Tex as he was forced out at 3rd. Posada ended the drama, knocking in ARod with a walk-off single. For the game, Cano went 0-6, and is now 0 for his last 20 with RISP. It's impossible for Cano to continue hitting in the 5th hole. Right?

I'd be shocked if Girardi doesn't move the hot-hitting Matsui behind ARod. Matsui, at least, has a long history of hitting in that spot with the Yanks and has come through in many clutch situations. Anyone at this point would be better than Cano.

The Yankees bullpen continued their exceptional pitching, only allowing 1 ER in 6.2 innings. After relieving Robertson in the 7th, Brian Bruney wiggled out of a bases loaded jam. Hughes retired the side on 8 pitches in the 8th, and he was followed by Mariano Rivera for 1 inning, Phil Coke for 2, and Brett Tomko pitched the 12th for his first Yankee win. With Wang's injury, will Hughes go back to the rotation?

The Sawx 3-2 loss to the Mariners, the Yanks now trail by 1 game. Imagine if they had beaten Boston at all this season - hopefully things will change in August.

Yankees Record: 47-33

Game 78 - Mariners Halt Yanks Win Streak

The Yanks 7-game winning streak went by the wayside as Seattle downed the Bombers, 8-4. Crooked Cap Sabathia got lit up for 6 runs in 5.2 innings, on 10 hits and 3 walks. CC had trouble spotting his pitches all night and his defense didn't do him any favors, either. Mark Teixeira had an Ichiro Suzuki line drive go through his mitt in the first and Melky Cabrera misplayed a ball by the lucky fraud, Suzuki, for another double that led to 2 runs in the 4th.

The Yanks continued to produce sluggish numbers at the plate. Despite their recent winning streak, they haven't actually torn the cover off the ball lately. They only mustered 7 hits, five by Robinson Cano and Hideki Matsui. One of Matsui's hits was a 2-run HR. He hit a sac fly , as well, giving him 3 RBIs in the losing cause. The Yanks woes continued with RISP, going 0-6. If one counts the 2 sac flies they hit, technically they were hitless in 8 at bats.

With tonight's loss, the Yanks fell behind a half game to idle Boston. Next up - Toronto in a 4-game wrap around series.

Yankees Record: 45-33

Game 61 - The Popup Heard 'Round the World

In a game with more twists and turns then the Coney Island Cyclone, it was only fitting how the intraleague rivalry game between the Yanks and Mets ended tonight.  Before the start of the game, it looked like a total mismatch with Joba Chamberlain facing off against Mets pitcher, Livan Hernandez.  The depleted Mets lineup is missing Jose Reyes and Carlos Delgado and Hernandez came into the game with an 0-3 record and 6.37 ERA against the Bombers.  It seemed the perfect recipe for the Yanks to put the Boston embarrassment behind them, but there's a reason why these games are played on the field and not on paper.

Amazingly enough, the first inning went quickly and quietly, as both pitchers retired the side.  Cano got things started with a homer in the 2nd - solo, of course, because Cano has no clue how to hit with men on.  I feel like a broken record when it comes to Cano, as he left 2 more men in scoring position tonight.  

Joba looked real good for 2 innings, but took a trip on the wild side in the 3rd.  He walked the light-hitting Brian Schneider and the punchless Alex Cora, before hitting the overmatched Fernando Martinez to load the bases for Carlos Beltran.  Joba walked him after a 10-pitch battle, tying the game at 1.  It looked like Joba would work out of trouble when he struck out the dangerous David Wright, but then he hit Ryan Church with a pitch, gift-wrapping 2 runs without a single hit for the Mets.  It also took him a whopping 43 pitches to get out of the inning.  

The Yanks took the lead for the second time in the 3rd on Mark Teixeira's league leading 20th HR.  The 2-run shot put the Yanks up 3-2.  Joba ruined the good mood in the 4th.  After quickly retiring the first 2 batters, he walked the equally punchless Luis Castillo and Cora (his 2nd walk) before getting out unscathed.  Unfortunately, that frame cost Joba another 25 pitches, giving him an even 100 on the night, only 52 for strikes.  It also ended Joba's night after 4 innings.  He only allowed 1 hit, but his 5 walks and numerous full counts did him in.  Joba and Jorge Posada didn't connect all night on signs, as Joba continually shook him off and Jorge wore out a path to the mound.  Jorge, at one point, barked at Joba, probably telling him to stop throwing breaking balls and throw his damn fastball.  Joba just wouldn't ease up on the slider tonight, despite having no control with it.  Why anyone with a plus 90's fastball would shy away from using it is astounding.

Enter Bret Tomko in the 5th - goodbye Yankee lead.  He got shelled for 4 runs, including a bomb to ol' Yankee buddy, Gary Sheffield.  The Yanks have been very charitable this week to struggling, overaged sluggers (see:  Ortiz, David).   The Captain, Derek Jeter, got one back in the bottom frame with a solo shot, bringing the Yanks within 6-4.  Hernandez, despite yielding 3 homers, was being efficient, not allowing the Yanks any rallies - until the 6th.  With 1 out, Cano singled (again, no men on) and Posada walked.  Mets manager, Jerry Manuel brought in freshly called up lefty, Jon Switzer, to face birthday boy, Hideki Matsui.  Last year, I saw Matsui hit a grand slam, live, at Oakland.  This year, I watched him take Switzer's first pitch on TV and deposit it into the rightfield seats.  With the game's 5th lead change, the Yanks went up 7-6.  

It didn't stay that way for long, as ol' man Sheff led off the 7th with a gapper for a double.  2 batters later, the game was tied.  In the bottom frame, both ARod and Cano (seeing a pattern here with this guy?) left a man on 2nd.  In the top of the 8th, Phil Coke quickly retired the first 2 hitters.  He retired the last 4 overall.  Joe Girardi then panicked.  Apparently, he spent most of his day reading Yankee blogs or listening to the sports radio about how he should have used Mariano Rivera in the 8th against Boston yesterday.  I thought Girardi was in a tough spot in yesterday's loss and gave him a pass.  Not today.  As soon as he called for Mo to face Beltran, I didn't understand why he would turn the switch-hitter around to bat left-handed at Yankee Stadium.  Mo walked Beltran and then gave up a run scoring double to David Wright.  Absolute terrible call.  And historically, Mo is not as dominant when he enters a game tied.  

Entering the bottom of the 9th, trailing 8-7, things looked grim for the Yanks as KRod entered the game, a perfect 16-16 in save situations.  The Captain provided a small window of hope as he singled with 1 out.  He stole second on Johnny Damon's strike out, leaving it up to Big Tex.  KRod pitched around Tex, bringing up ARod.  He fell behind ARod, and to my horrors, I was afraid he would walk ARod, too, and leave the fate of the game in Robinson Cano's hands.  It never got that far - on a 3-1 count, ARod lifted a popup towards 2B.  Angrily slamming his bat to the ground as he trotted to first, Mets 2nd basemen Castillo circled under the ball - and dropped it!  Jeter scored and Big Tex hustled all the way from 1B with the miraculous winning run.  It looked like the bad dream of a little leaguer and it's something I've never seen end a baseball game (the Bill Buckner play comes the closest thing to it).   

For one night - the sins of Cano, Rivera and Girardi could be forgotten as the Yankees bless their good fortune.

Yankees Record:  35-26