Game 133 - CC, ARod Help Yanks Sweep Baltimore

The Yankees highest paid pitcher, CC Sabathia, limited Baltimore to 1 run in 7 innings, and their highest paid position player, ARod, went 3-5 with 4 RBIs to lead the team to a 10-2 victory and sweep over the sad-sack Orioles. Crooked Cap allowed a 1st inning run on a bunt single, a check-swing single and a SF by Nick Markakis. He got into more trouble in the 2nd when he loaded the bases on 3 singles with 1 out. He struck out the next 2 batters to escape the jam and finished up with 9 Ks. He improved to 16-7 on the season and leads the AL in wins.

For a while, it appeared the Yanks were going to waste CC's effort, as they struggled to come through with a big hit against Jason Berken, who came into the game with an unsightly 6.33 ERA. For 5.1 innings, Berken allowed 8 hits and 2 walks, but the Yanks left men all over the place. Only Eric Hinske's HR, his 2nd in 2 days, kept the game tied at 1 till ARod broke the tie with a 2-run single in the 7th.

To my horror, Brian Bruney came out for the 8th inning. Mariano Rivera was unavailable after saving the previous 2 games as Joe Girardi was saving Phil Hughes for the 9th. Why not a 2-inning save? Bruney didn't disappoint in scaring Yankee fans everywhere, allowing a 1-out dinger to Nolan Reimold to bring the Orioles within 1. Girardi, like Yankee fans everywhere, had seen enough, and brought in Phil Coke. He retired Markakis and Girardi brought in Hughes to get the last out of the inning.

In the top of the 9th, the Yanks erupted for 7 runs on 7 singles and 2 walks. Unlike last night, when they scored 8 of their 9 runs via the long ball, only 1 of the 10 runs tonight came on a HR. For the game, they pounded out 17 hits. Johnny Damon led the way with 4 hits. Robinson Cano, who's been absolutely en fuego, had 2 more hits, tying the Yankee record for hits in a season at Camden Yards with 17. He shares the record with Alfonso Soriano.

Phil Hughes struck out the Oriole side in the bottom of the 9th for his 2nd save. With the win, the Yanks moved 7.5 games over Boston, who lost to Tampa. Josh Beckett tossed another unimpressive game and was on the hook for the loss, but Boston tied it in the 8th before their bullpen coughed up 3 runs in the 8-5 loss.

Yankees Record: 85-48

Game 128 - Not a Misprint: Cano Wins it With Walkoff HR

For the second time this season, the RISP-challenged Robinson Cano had the game-winning, walkoff hit to help the Yanks win 5-2 over the White Sox. In a rare moment, Cano came through in the clutch and connected for a 2-out, 3-run shot in the bottom of the 10th inning.

Through 6 innings, it appeared the Bombers would win a tight one, with CC Sabathia cruising through the White Sox lineup, with the Yanks leading 2-0. He struck out 10 while limiting the Chisox to 4 hits. Things fell apart in the 7th inning though, when Crooked Cap surrendered 4 hits and his only walk. He was bailed out twice when ARod and Nick Swisher threw out runners at the plate. With luck and poor running by the Pale Hose, Sabathia escaped the inning tied at 2.

Derek Jeter began the game with a bang against ol' Yankees punching bag, Mark Buehrle - tattooing a blast to deep center to pass Don Mattingly for 10th place on the Yankees All Time list with his 223rd career HR. Buerhle has a career 1-6 record against the Yanks with an ERA over 6.00, but danced out of trouble several times with the Yanks going 0-6 with RISP. Johnny Damon got the Yankees other run with a solo shot in the 3rd inning. Before Cano's extra-inning heroics, he had squandered 2 opportunities when he came up with runners on 2nd and 3rd in the 3rd and bases loaded in the 5th. At least the 3rd time was the charm.

Phil Hughes, Mariano Rivera and Brian Bruney each pitched 1 inning and retired all 9 batters they faced. Brian Bruney picked up the win and improved to 4-0. With Toronto Blue Jays rolling over once again against the Red Sox, the Yanks maintained their 6-game lead in the division.

Yankees Record: 80-48

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 120 - Sabathia and The Captain Get Yanks Back on Track

The Captain continues to rake and their ace stepped up and halted their 2-game losing streak, as the Yanks prevailed over the Oakland Athletics, 7-2. Derek Jeter collected his 3rd straight 3-hit game and knocked in the go-ahead run in the 6th, as the Yankee bats finally broke out and rallied for 5 runs after leaving men all over the place in the first 5 frames.

CC Sabathia, with the exception of 2 solo shots in the 1st and 2nd innings, dominated an overmatched A's lineup. He tossed 8 solid innings, giving up 5 hits while striking out 7. He only needed 94 pitches as he relied mostly on his fastball. David Robertson came on in the final inning to wrap up the victory. For a moment, it looked like he contracted a mild form of Rick Ankiel disease, walking the first 2 batters on pitches that weren't even close to the plate, but settled down to retire the side, including 2 on Ks.

Through 5 innings, the Yanks left 8 men on base and went 1-7 with RISP. They managed to score their runs on an Adam Kennedy error and Jorge Posada's RBI ground-rule double. Posada, perhaps feeling the ghost of ex-Yankee, ex-Athletic, speedster, Rickey Henderson, thought he could reach 3rd when a pitch got away from catcher, Kurt Suzuki. He was gunned down by 10 feet easily, ending the inning and adding to his long, long resumé of stupid base running mistakes (I haven't forgotten about that non-slide against Boston, Jorge). Oakland was kicking the ball all over the place, committing 4 errors in the game, but the Yanks only managed 1 unearned run.

Meanwhile, The Captain has raised his average to .330, going 20 for his last 36. Do I smell an MVP push? I'm sure the sportswriters will once again overlook his season for one of the M&M boys of the Twins, despite their presence in the weak Central Division. Since he set the all-time hit record for shortstops, there's been debate whether or not he's the best SS of all time. He's one of the most consistent players I've ever seen, not to mention, one of the most clutch performers. He has 4 rings to his name and a World Series MVP. Though not the flashiest of fielders or noted for his range, he fields his position well and most Yankee fans will admit that they never have to worry when the ball is hit to his sure hands. Jeter's got my vote for greatest SS of all-time. He may not have the power seasons of Ernie Banks or ARod or the production of Honus Wagner and Robin Yount, but for the length of time he's manned the 6-hole with his steady production, no one's been better.

Yankees Record: 75-45

Game 110 - Sabathia, Yanks Keep Bosox Scoreless

CC Sabathia tossed 7.2 shutout innings and the Yanks ran Boston's scoreless streak to 24 innings in their 5-0 victory over their rival. CC improved to 12-7 and pitched his best game to date as a NY Yankee. He limited the Sox to 2 hits and 2 walks while striking out 9. He retired his first 13 batters before walking Big Fraud Ortiz on a full count and held Bosox hitless for 5.2 innings before Jacob Ellsbury broke up the no-hitter. CC outdueled Clay Buchholz, who kept the Sox in the game by allowing 2 runs in 6 innings. Buchholz limited the need for Boston's beleaguered bullpen that's emptied its bullpen in 2 games this week. The Yanks have taken the first 3 games of the series and go for the sweep Sunday night.

The Yanks scored a single run in the 3rd on a 2-out, RBI single by Mark Teixeira. They added single runs in the 6th and 7th on a Jose Molina sac fly and Nick Swisher bases loaded walk. The Captain, Derek Jeter, finished the scoring with a 2-run HR that just grazed the top of the wall down the RF line. Jeter is now 3-17 in the series. Robinson Cano had 3 of the Yankees 9 hits, and was the only Bomber with multiple hits. He also collected his 30th double of the season. Despite all that, the only time he was retired came with the bases loaded and 1 out when he forced Tex out at home. Typical Cano. The Yanks also continued their typical ways with RISP, going a combined 2-12. Good thing Boston is struggling a lot worse.

After CC retired the first 2 batters in the 8th, Joe Girardi lifted him after 123 pitches. Phil Hughes struck out Nick Green for the final out of the inning. David Robertson, one of the rare relievers that did not see any action in yesterday's marathon, pitched the 9th. He matched CC's hit total, giving up 2 hits, but escaped the jam to preserve the shutout by striking out the King of Frauds, Big Sloppy to end the game.

Sunday night, it will be a battle of lefties, Andy Pettitte vs. Jon Lester. Pettitte has been outstanding since the break, but is he due for a setback? I'm thinking the Red Sox are due to break out, too. Hopefully, the Yanks will go for the jugular and put their foot on the throats of their division rival. Currently, their division lead is 5.5 games.

Yankees Record: 68-42

Game 105 - Yanks Salvage Series With Melky's Cycle

After blowing their second 3-0 lead in 2 days, it looked like the Yanks were going to be laughed out of Chi-town as another of their high-priced pitchers appeared to be failing miserably when the team needed him most. But Crooked Cap Sabathia hung in there after giving up 4 runs in the 3rd inning. He stuck around till 1 batter in the 8th, eventually giving up 5 runs on 10 hits, 7 of which were extra base hits, including back-to-back HRs to Jermaine Dye and Jim Thome.

Despite another subpar outing from Sabathia, Melky Cabrera saved the day with perhaps his greatest performance at the plate. He went 4-5 with 3 runs, 4 RBIs and hit for the cycle. No longer will Yankee fans see the name Tony Fernandez flashed on the YES Network as the last Yankee to hit for the cycle back in 1995 when a Yankee is threatening to hit for one. It will now read Last Yankee to Hit for a Cycle: Melky Cabrera, August 2, 2009. Melky hit a 3-run HR in the 2nd, led off the 4th with a double and scored, singled in a run in the 5th, and pulled off the cycle the hard way by leading off with a triple in the 9th. Melky's performance played a huge part in the Bombers 8-5 victory.

The Yanks pounded out 15 hits and walked 6 times and were 6-17 with RISP. That's kind of misleading though, since they started out 5-8 with RISP. They left 12 men on base, with Robinson Cano (surprise, surprise) striking out with the bases loaded with 1 out and Jorge Posada striking out with a man on 3rd and 1 out being the chief culprits. Cano left 7 men on by himself. Different game, same old story for Cano.

Phil Hughes entered the game with a runner on 2nd in the 8th. He bookended strikeouts around a Jim Thome walk. Manager Joe Girardi didn't want to take any chances at salvaging a win in the series and brought in Mariano Rivera. Mo would surrender an RBI single to Carlos Quentin, the final run charged to Sabathia, but he got the final 4 outs for his 30th save. It was the 12th time in his career and 7th straight year he's recorded at least 30 saves. With the win, the Yanks held on to their tenuous .5 game lead over Boston.

Yankees Record: 63-42

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 95 - Tex and Posada Lead Yanks Past A's

The Yanks waited out a 2 hour, 43 minute rain delay to start the game. The way they started, it looked like someone forgot to tell them the game wasn't called. Things were looking grim early for the Yanks. After 3.5 innings, they were trailing 3-0 to Oakland. The Athletics starting pitcher, Vin Mazzaro, a local kid from Rutherford, NJ, and pitching in front of friends and family, looked unhittable, striking out 6 of the first 10 batters he faced. He struck out 2 hitters in each inning with only Brett Gardner's walk blemishing his line as the Yanks flailed away at his nasty slider.

Meanwhile, Yankee starter, CC Sabathia, ironically from the Bay Area, was getting slapped around by the Oakland lineup. He allowed 3 runs on 6 hits in the first 4 frames. Kurt Suzuki had a double and single with an RBI and run scored. Earlier this season, he took Crooked Cap deep for a 3-run shot. Fortunately for the Yanks, CC settled down and things were a lot different the 2nd time around facing Mazzaro.

In the bottom of the 4th, Mark Teixeira hit a 2-run bomb, connecting on a 3-0 count, to get the Yanks on the board. Jorge Posada doubled in ARod and Eric Hinske singled him in for a 4-3 lead, as the wheels fell off for Mazzaro. The Bombers tacked on 2 more runs in the 5th on RBI hits from Tex and Posada. The RBI-phobic Robbie Cano killed any chance of a big inning by fouling out with the bases loaded and one out. You can lower Cano in the order, but you can't hide him.

Sabathia rebounded from his early struggles to toss 7 innings, giving up 9 hits and 3 runs while striking out 4. He became the Yanks first 10-game winner this season, improving to 10-6. Phil Hughes earned his first career save, pitching the final 2 innings, retiring all 6 batters he faced and giving Mariano Rivera a rest.

Notes: Chicago White Sox' Mark Buehrle pitched a perfect game against Tampa Bay. Defensive replacement, CF Dewayne Wise, made a miraculous catch in the 9th inning off the bat of Gabe Kapler. Wise robbed Kapler of a HR as he crashed into the wall. He had to barehand a juggling ball as he fell to the ground. It was the 18th perfect game in MLB history. The Yankees have 3 of them - Don Larsen in the 1956 World Series, David Wells and David Cone. For Buehrle, it was his 2nd career no-hitter.

The Sawx were idle and now trail the Pinstripers by 2.5 games.

Yankees Record: 58-37

Game 90 - Sabathia Outduels Verlander

It seems rarely does a marquee matchup between 2 ace pitchers live up to the hype, but CC Sabathia and Justin Verlander hooked up for a pitching clinic in the Yankees 2-1 victory over the Detroit Tigers. For 6 innings, the score remained at zeroes, as CC dodged a couple of threats by holding the Tigers hitless in 7 attempts with RISP. Verlander didn't have to work as hard, holding the Yankees to 0-3 with RISP, and at one point held the Yanks to 2 Derek Jeter singles till Johnny Damon doubled with 2 outs in the 6th.

In the bottom of 7th inning, ARod finally broke through, leading off with his 571st career HR, an opposite field fence scraper that must have made Verlander nauseous. He now trails Harmon Killebrew by 2 for 9th place on the all time list. The Yanks tacked on another run, piecing together 3 hits with 2 outs. Robinson Cano singled, Nick Swisher doubled and Melky Cabrera's infield single knocked in the important 2nd run. Alfredo Aceves, back in the bullpen after his abbreviated start in Minnesota, surrendered a solo shot to ex-Yank, Marcus Thames, in the top of the 8th. The great Mariano Rivera earned his second save in 2 days for his 25th of the season.

CC rebounded from his loss to Anaheim last Sunday to improve his record to 9-6. The Yanks improved to 4-1 on the season against first place Detroit, with Joba Chamberlain going against Edwin Jackson in the series finale. These wins should provide confidence to a team that has struggled against 1st place Boston, Philadelphia and Anaheim this season. Boston's lost to Toronto currently leaves the Yanks 2 games out in the AL East.

Yankees Record: 53-37

Game 88 - Yanks Faint Again at Sight of Angels

The All-Star break can't come quick enough for a Yankee team that got embarrassed in Anaheim this weekend. The Angels completed the 3-game sweep with a 5-4 victory over the Yanks and their ace, CC Sabathia. The good news is, the Yanks didn't blow another 4-run lead, but they did have a lead for the 3rd straight day with a 1-0 lead after 3 innings. Crooked Cap got lit up for a 4-spot in the 4th, as the Angels continued putting up big innings.

Ol' friend, Bobby Abreu, haunted the Yanks this series, doubling in a run to tie the score at 1. He went 6-13 in the series with 6 RBIs. The Crooked One then walked a guy hitting .226, an RBI double to Yankee killer, Howie Kendrick, a ground out brought in the 3rd run, and a .221 hitter knocked in the final run of the inning with a single. How come the rest of the league has figured out Kendrick, who was sent down to Triple A earlier this season for his struggles, but he continues to pound the Yanks? Who is in their scouting department? Once again, this weekend's pounding came against a team with their top 2 run producers on the DL.

The Yanks began clawing back with a Jorge Posada pinch-hit RBI single in the 7th. CC, though, handed the 3-run lead right back, and it proved to be the fateful play of the game. With 2 out in the bottom frame, Chone Figgins tripled and Maicer Izturis singled him in. The Yanks gave a valiant effort in the 8th, loading the bases with no one out. Melky Cabrera singled in a run and Posada followed with a sac fly. With 1 out and runners on first and second, pinch hitter, Nick Swisher, ripped a line drive up the middle, heading for CF and tying the game - but, NO! Angels reliever, Darren Oliver, made a miraculous stab of the ball and doubled up Melky off of first. Inning over, threat over, and pretty much - game over. In the 9th, the heart of the Yankees order, The Captain, Tex and ARod, went down meekly as the Yanks go into the All Star break with their tail between their legs. As quickly as the Yanks tied Boston for the division lead, they find themselves 3 games back.

Yankees Record: 51-37

Game 83 - Yanks Pound Twinkies

CC Sabathia rebounded from his previous bad start, tossing 7 innings of 3-hit, 1 run ball, and the Bombers pounded out 16 hits in a 10-2 victory over the Twins. CC's only mistake of the night came on a fastball he grooved to Mike Cuddyer, who hit his 14th HR of the season. The other 2 hits were weakly hit infield singles. CC struck out 3 and walked one - strangely, it was against the very weak hitting, Nick Punto. He held the faux M & M boys, Mauer and Morneau, hitless in 6 ABs after the Yanks had trouble getting either of them out in their 4-game series in the Bronx earlier this season.

The Yankee bats were led by the bottom third of the order. Robinson Cano, Brett Gardner and Francisco Cervelli were a combined 7-14 with 6 RBIs. Each of them had an extra base hit with 2 RBIs. Cano snapped an ungodly 0-22 slump with RISP when he blooped a bases loaded single in the 6th, albeit with the Yanks already up 5-1. Gardner followed with a 2-run triple and Cervelli's double gave the Yanks an insurmountable 10-1 lead. Earlier, Cervelli knocked in the Yanks second run with a long sac fly in the 2nd inning.

Mark Teixeira also went 4-6 with an RBI, hopefully breaking out of his snide. Hideki Matsui demonstrated what a real 5th place hitter in the lineup does when he got the Pinstripers on the board in the 1st with a 2-out RBI single. Hopefully, Cano was taking notes. The Yanks nearly blew the game wide open in the 4th, but Twins CF, Carlos Gomez, made a beautiful leaping catch at the fence, robbing ARod of a grand slam. ARod settled for the sac fly, but just missed HR #568.

Seldom used Brett Tomko pitched the final 2 frames, giving up one run. Oddly enough, he also walked the .218 hitting Punto, who came around to score the Twins last run. Punto has 11 HRs in 2000+ ABs in his career - I'd take my chances pitching the ball underhanded to him before walking this guy. The Sawx won 5-2 against Oakland, remaining 1 game up in the division. Hopefully, AJ Burnett continues his recent hot stretch in game 2.

Yankees Record: 49-34

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 73 - Sabathia, Gardner Manhandle Mets

The Bombers blasted the Metropolitans, 9-1, to win their 3rd straight. They've scored 28 runs in their 3 wins, after only scoring a total of 18 in their previous 7 games. CC Sabathia, after being pulled in the 2nd in his last start for biceps tendinitis, pitched 7 solid innings, giving up 1 run on 3 hits with 8 Ks. His lone run came on a Gary Sheffield blast, as the Yanks continued to donate to their favorite charity "Revive an Aging Slugger". It's Sheffield's 3rd homer of the year against the Yanks. Sabathia helped his own cause at the plate, too, going 1-4 with a run and an RBI single. Bret Tomko tossed 2 hitless innings to finish up for the boys from the Bronx.

With Derek Jeter sitting out with a respiratory infection, Brett Gardner took over the leadoff spot and looked like a man who doesn't want to go back to the bench. Gardner had his best day as a major leaguer, going 5-6 with a triple, HR, SB and 2 RBIs. Who says it's hard to hit HRs at the new Citifield? Melky Cabrera and/or Nick Swisher may want to stock up on their sunflower seeds, because Gardner has clearly regained his starting CF position.

ARod continued his recent hot streak, hitting a dinger for the 2nd day in a row and passing Reggie Jackson for 11th place all-time with HR # 564. It's bittersweet, though, as Reggie was a childhood hero of mine, and despite being an ARod apologist, I can't help feel his HR total is tainted with his steroid admission earlier this year. However, it's obvious the Yanks offense clicks when ARod is hitting.

The starting lineups looked like the Yankees B-team vs. the Mets C-team. The Yanks were missing Jeter, Posada, and Swisher from their lineup while the Mets were playing without Jose Reyes, Carlos Beltran, and Carlos Delgado. It was real apparent that the Mets were fielding an inferior team during their embarrassing 3-error performance in the 2nd inning that staked the Yanks to a 4-0 lead. Meanwhile, Jeter's replacement, Ramiro Pena, had a nice day at the plate. He went 3-5 with a pair of doubles and an RBI in the Yanks 14-hit attack.

Of course, I can't finish my blog without reference to my 2 favorite subjects - Robinson Cano and RISP. Despite going 2-6 with a double, Cano stranded 7 men on base. Nothing astounds me more than his 42 RBIs on the season. He if could hit close to his average with RISP, he'd probably be leading the league without 70+ RBIs. As for the team, despite scoring 9 runs, the Yanks were an abysmal 3-17 with RISP. Thank God for the Mets porous defense and the long ball.

AJ Burnett will face off against Tim Redding in game 2. However, what looks like a mismatch on paper in the Yankees favor has proven to be anything but in this interleague rivalry.

Yankees Record: 41-32

Game 69 - CC Leaves Game Early; Yanks Struggles Continue

CC Sabathia left the game in the 2nd inning with tightness in his left biceps while the Yankee hitters mentally left the game after the 3rd inning. The Bombers built an early 3-1 lead on a 2-run single by ARod in the 3rd. However, after Brett Gardner's infield single in the fourth, they didn't scratch out another hit till the last frame when their rally fell just short, losing 6-5 to the Marlins.

Alfredo Aceves relieved CC in the 2nd and pitched a brilliant 2.2 shutout innings. Joe Girardi brought in Brett Tomko to start the 5th, saving Phil Hughes for the 8th inning. Brian Bruney pitched Friday and warmed up yesterday according to Girardi and wasn't going to pitch today. Tomko, though, through a wrench into Girardi's plans, surrendering 3 runs on 2 dingers in 2 innings of work, giving Florida a 4-3 lead after 6 innings. Relievers Phil Coke and David Robertson didn't fare any better in the 7th, giving up 2 critical runs that ultimately led to the Yanks downfall. One of the runs scored on an ill-advised throw to the plate by Melky Cabrera, allowing the Marlins' 6th and deciding run to score.

Unfortunately for the Yanks, their bats didn't wake up again till there were 2 outs in the 9th. Jorge Posada and Melky Cabrera extended the inning with singles before Brett Gardner laced a triple into the RF gap for 2 runs. Johnny Damon came in to pinch hit and walked, leaving the game in the hands of The Captain, Derek Jeter - the man most Yankee fans prefer to see at the plate when the game is on the line. Jeter, however, ended the game on a grounder to short, curtailing any hopes for a miraculous comeback.

Red Sox, Rays, and Jays all won today, as the Pinstripers fell back 4 games. They still lead the wild card over the Rangers by a half game, with the Jays and Rays nipping on their heels.

So what's happened to this team lately? Since the calendar hit June, they've stopped hitting and fielding. In each of their last 10 games, the starters have hit the following: Jeter - .300, Damon - .205, Tex - .231, ARod - a team worst .114, Cano - .375, Posada - .200, Melky - .229 and Swisher - .206. With the exception of Jeter and Cano, no one is even hitting .250. Cano's and Jeter's stats don't look bad due to their respective big game in the 15-0 blowout game against the Mets last Sunday. Since the Yanks ML record setting 18-game errorless streak, they've made an error in nearly every game since.

Does GM Brian Cashman have to look for another bat to jump start this team? I'd love to see Mark DeRosa in a Yankee uniform to spell ARod at 3B, motivate Cano at 2B and send either a struggling Melky or Swisher to the bench. Hopefully, Xavier Nady can provide a jolt when/if he returns from the DL. In the meantime, Brett Gardner went 2-4 with a triple and has been producing in his spot starts. I'd like to see him take away more starts/at bats from Melky. Plus, with his speed, maybe he can help generate a run or 2 without reliance on the long ball. Girardi needs to play the hot hand - or at least a lukewarm one, because they're just not cutting it at the plate right now.

Yankees Record: 38-31 (4-8 in their last 12)

Game 64 - Yanks Rally For CC

The Yanks led 2-0 after 3 innings, but it looked as if they were taking the lowly Washington Nationals for granted, as they started the game 1-7 with RISP.  CC Sabathia cruised through the first 4 innings till he faced the Nats' daunting bottom of the order.  Ex-Yankee rejects, Alberto Gonzalez and Wil Nieves both singled with one out, and the very light-hitting Anderson Hernandez hit his 2nd career HR, first since 2006, to give the Nats a 3-2 lead.  

Washington starter, Shairon Martis, held the Yanks to 2 runs on 4 hits in 6 innings, despite walking 5 batters.  He looked as though he could have walked every lefty batter in the lineup, if the Yankees had let him.  He was bailed out twice by Hideki Matsui's weak dribblers with RISP, ending potential threats.  

The Yanks finally woke up from their slumber in the 7th, rallying against ol' Yankee reliever, Ron Villone for 2 runs.  Doubles from Mark Teixeira and Robinson Cano (yes, there was a Cano sighting with a RISP), gave the Yanks a 4-3 lead.  Both doubles were aided by the horrendous fielding of criminal CF, Elijah Dukes.  Cano finished the day an impressive 4-4 to raise his season average to .309.  

CC improved to 6-4, pitching 7.2 innings with 2 Ks - his only mistake the 3-run shot to Hernandez.  Brian Bruney, fresh off the DL, came on with 2 out in the 8th to retire his only batter.  The great Mariano finished up the 9th for his 497th career save, 15th this season.  Besides the lack of clutch hitting, the only other thing to mar the Yankees win was Derek Jeter leaving the game in the 8th due to soreness in his ankle.  

Yankees Record:  37-27 

Game 60 - Yanks Leave Boston With Tail Between Their Legs

Brutal.  Absolutely brutal loss for the Yankees, as they were swept out of Boston in a 4-3 defeat.  The Yanks led 3-1 going into the bottom of the 8th.  CC Sabathia had cruised through the first 7 innings, only giving up a solo shot to the mysteriously better Big Sloppy Ortiz up to that point, when he came out for the 8th.  That's when the wheels came flying off the bus.  

The bottom of the 8th started with Nick Green lacing a hanging changeup into left, Yoda Pedroia weaseling out a walk and JD Drew lining a single up the middle to load the bases before Joe Girardi finally pulled CC.  Alfredo Aceves came in and surrendered the lead on 2 dinky hits (he was absolutely squeezed by the ump on a 2-2 pitch to crybaby Youkilis) and a sacrifice fly.  Papelbum hammered the final nail in the Yanks coffin with a 1-2-3 ninth for the ballgame.  

Somewhere off in the distance, all the "Joba to the bullpen" troglodytes are beating their drums.  Joe Girardi is getting raked over the coals for his decisions.  Unfortunately, that's not the true reason the Yanks lost tonight's game.  CC did tire in the 8th and the bullpen did cough up the lead, but the offense, once again, cost the Yanks a second night in a row.  Facing Brad Penny and his 5.85 ERA, they allowed him to escape one jam after another as he threw 6 shutout innings.  After last night's unexplainable 2-16 with runners in scoring position, the Yanks followed that up with another comatose-like 1-10 performance.  They had a man on 2nd with no outs in the first 2 innings and left them stranded.  For a second straight night, Nick Swisher inserted his noggin up his derriere, once again running into out after the ball was caught in front of him.  Are you kidding me?  This is little league stuff.  

Has anyone seen Robinson Cano?  This guy is just God-awful with runners in scoring position and an instant out when he's in that situation with 2 out.  He left 3 more men on in scoring position.  For the season, he's 11-40 with RISP and 2 out for a .220 batting average.  My poor wife has been listening to me about Cano's failures for 3 years now.  Digging further into Cano's statistics, before tonight's game, I discovered he hits .242 against starters and .403 against relievers.  This would be the last guy, outside of the rarely used Angel Berroa, I would ever want to see at the plate with the game on the line.

Girardi should seriously consider dropping Cano deep in the lineup and giving Swisher a day or two to think about his base running blunders.  As for his use of CC and the bullpen, it's hard to second guess him.  CC only had 106 pitches going into the 8th.   If anything, maybe Girardi should have broken the mold of saving your best reliever for the 9th, but if he brought Mariano Rivera during the 8th to get out of jam and then someone else lost the game in the 9th, he would get killed publicly.  

So Boston is now 8-0 against the Yanks and now lead them by 2 games in the standings.  Fortunately for the Yanks, they don't see Boston again till August.  Yankee announcer, Kenny Singleton brought up a good point on tonight's telecast.  The Sox are tough to beat at home, but they are a below average team on the road and also hit 40 points less away from home.  I'm looking forward to the Sox next road trip.

Yankees Record:  34-26

Blown Games:  6

Game 55 - Pitching Duel Blows Up

The Saturday matinee featured a doozy - CC Sabathia vs. David Price.  The cheap, upstart Tampa Bay Rays vs. the free spending, capitalistic Yankees.  What the customers watched was a slop fest, as Tampa prevailed 9-7.  Crooked Cap limited Tampa to one hit through the first 4 innings, as the Yanks led 2-0 on an ARod homer and Robinson Cano's RBI groundout.  In the top of the 5th, the Crooked One served up a dinger to the hot-hitting Ben Zobrist.  The Rays tied the Yanks in the inning, when Johnny Damon took minor league journeyman Joe Dillon's single in leftfield and promptly tossed it into short rightfield.  If you didn't know there was a game going on, one would have thought he was trying to have a catch with Yankee RF, Nick Swisher.  What really happened was he airmailed the throw over second that Nick Swisher had to go chase down.  Rays catcher and ex-Yankee, Dioner Navarro followed up with a sac fly to tie the game.

David Price pitched 2-hit ball through 5.2 innings, walking 5 and striking out 3.  He gave up 3 runs, but only 1 earned.  Tampa would commit 4 errors in the game, with Navarro throwing the ball all over the place, committing 3 throwing errors himself.  He left the game with the lead, 5-3 after Willie Aybar deposited a pitiful changeup from Sabathia into the leftfield seats for a 3-run blast.  

The Yanks rallied back to tie it up at 5 against the Rays pathetic bullpen in the 8th, with Teixeira hitting his 17th HR and Melky Cabrera's RBI fielder's choice.  The only thing more pathetic than the Rays pen today, though, was Mariano Rivera.  He was brought in the top of the 9th to hold Tampa, but instead got torched for 4 runs.  He wasn't helped out by Phil Coke, who came in and allowed a run scoring single and ARod committed the Yanks second gaffe of the day for the last run.  

In the bottom of the 9th, the Yanks, following a trend all season, would not go away quietly.  Mark Teixeira's double knocked in Jeter and Damon to close the gap to 2 runs.  In a move that saved the game, Rays manager, Joe Maddon, moved back CF BJ Upton after Damon doubled over his head.  Upton normally plays a very shallow centerfield, so when Maddon moved him back, he was able to catch Jorge Posada's deep fly to center and corral and absolute bullet from Cano to end the game and stranding Teixeira.  

It was a tough loss for the Yanks, especially in the first game of a series where your staff ace pitched.  Mariano continues to struggle in non-save situation games, which follows his career trend.  This season, in 10 non-save games, his ERA is 5.59 and opponents are batting .310 off of him.  Maybe he doesn't bring the same adrenaline into those games, because he looks mortal, almost Edwar Ramirez-like.  It's easy to spot when Mariano is not on his game.  His pitches will be lower in the zone and not have the rising movement or dart down like a slider which his cutter normally does.

Tomorrow brings another good matchup with 2 more hard throwers - Joba Chamberlain vs. Matt Garza.  

Yankees Record:  32-23

Blown Games:  5

Game 49 - CC Wins in Return to Cleveland

The Yankees continued their winning ways and CC Sabathia won in his initial return to Cleveland.  Every Yankee starter in the lineup had a hit except for Brett Gardner, who reached on an error and walked, in the 10-5 victory.  Robinson Cano had 3 RBIs, with Derek Jeter and Johnny Damon adding a pair each.  Jorge Posada, playing in his second game since being activated from the DL yesterday, hit a solo HR in the 2nd inning, with Nick Swisher following up with one of his own, one out later.  

CC though, was the story coming into the game.  In his second start against Cleveland this season, but first in his old stomping grounds, CC pitched 7 innings of 3-run ball, striking out 8 Indians.  He held them hitless till the 5th inning, when Cleveland finally touched him up for a pair of runs.  The Bombers, however, already built a 7-0 lead against Fausto Carmona, putting the game into cruise control.  Although Sabathia wasn't as sharp in his final 3 innings, he gave the Yanks another solid start, improving his record to 5-3.   

David Robertson came out of the bullpen and retired the side in the 8th inning, hopefully leading to more appearances.  Joe Girardi seemingly is reluctant to use Robertson in big spots, but the kid has pitched pretty well in his 2 stints with the team this year.  Jose Veras came on in the 9th and embarrassed himself, yet again.  On his first pitch, he surrendered a bomb to Shin-Soo Choo to dead center.  On the bright side, at least he didn't walk him.  He gave up another run in the inning and now sporting an ERA of 6.97.  

Veras is out of options and cannot be sent down to the minors without being exposed on waivers.  But how much longer can the Yanks keep rolling this guy out there?  Fortunately, they had a 7-run lead when he entered the game.  His of-speed stuff has been erratic all season.  Is anyone working with him on the side?  I know it's hard to have relievers work on the side because they might be called upon on any given night, but they have to get this guy right if they want to carry him on the roster all year.

Other good news for the Yanks today:  The Red Sox lost to Toronto and now both teams trail the Pinstripers by 1.5 games.  I don't think the Yanks are worried about Toronto, though.

Yankees Record:  29-20

Game 5 - Sabathia Begins Earning His Paycheck

Crooked Cap came rearing back today, and it started from the very first batter:  Coco-roach Crisp. He struck out the Coco-roach with a mid-90s fastball, and would finish with 6 Ks in 7 2/3 shutout innings.  Unlike his first start, he was able to locate his fastball, consistently hitting 93-94 on the radar gun.  Some thought he may have an undisclosed injury after he was seen with a heating pad in his first start, but any doubts should have been erased today.  The Crooked One did hit 2 lefties with vicious inside fastballs, which led my imagination to run wild with thoughts of CC drilling a hard one into David "Big Sloppy" Ortiz' rib cage.  Ah, I can only dream. 

Back to reality for the moment, Nick Swisher continued his torrid hitting, knocking in 3 ribbies with a triple and HR.  Swisher was playing first base for Teixeira, who was sitting out with a sore wrist.  However, Girardi must seriously consider making Swisher the everyday DH/OF with Xavier Nady and Johnny Damon, leaving the fossil, Matsui, buried on the bench.  Although Matsui collected his second hit of the season and went 1-4, he looked lost in a couple of at bats. He left a man at third with less than 2 outs in the third inning with one of his patented weak rollers to second.  For a man who was so renown for his power in Japan and nicknamed Godzilla, he hits grounders so weak, they wouldn't kill worms.  

Jorge Posada continued to drink from the fountain of youth, driving in the 3 other Yankee runs. His 6 RBIs for the season are now only 12 short of Jose Molina's total for all of last season, leaving one to wonder where the Yankees may have finished last year with a healthy Posada. For all the Yankee injuries last season (Wang, Posada, and Arod missing 26 games), this team still won 89 games.  Something to chew on, Red Sox fans.  

The Yanks did strike out 9 times today, making it 20 Ks in 2 games.  Are the Royals bullpen this good? 

On a personal note, my wife and I went to an Athletics-Mariners game today with our friends Alan and Amber.  The Mariners won 8-5 after pounding the A's bullpen for 5 runs.  I almost fainted in my seat when I witnessed Jason Giambi legging out an infield single.  I don't recall him doing that in his 7 years with the Pinstripers.  The A's lineup is an interesting mix:  Matt Holliday, Orlando Cabrera, Giambi and Nomar Garciaparra.  This could have been quite the team in these guys prime.  My highlight though, was seeing ol' Johnny Wetteland as the Seattle bullpen coach.  Yankee fans should remember Wetteland as the 1996 World Series MVP when the Yanks beat the Braves in 6 games.  

Note:  Neither Suzuki played today.  I was disappointed Kurt didn't start.  Griffey, Jr. also sat out to Alan's disappointment.    

Happy Easter!

Yanks Record:  3-2

Game 1 - Sabathia God-Awful

Ol' Crooked Cap was terrible today.  Absolutely terrible.  He couldn't throw his fastball for a strike.  The man didn't even have a strikeout in his 4+ innings.  Yankee announcer Ken Singleton thinks maybe Sabathia was having issues with his ribs.  He was using a heat pad between innings. I thought Girardi left him in 2 batters too long, too.  

The other new Yankee, Mark Teixeira, wasn't any better.  0-4 and left a big run at third in the 8th when the Yanks were still only a run down.  What was up with all the Baltimore fans booing him though?  Baltimore had no shot at signing him.  They made an initial offer, but was blown out of the water by Boston and Washington before the Yankees ever got involved in the bidding.  The B-mo fans must be delusional.  

New season, new pitcher, and the Yanks still make Brian "I bought steroids, but didn't use them" Roberts look like the greatest 2B ever.  And Adam Jones?  3-3 with 2 walks?  C'mon. And then there's the every man for every season, Cesar Izturis.  This guy's played for half the league, but today, the Yanks made Izturis and Roberts look like the greatest offensive middle infielders since Alan Trammell and Lou Whitaker of the Tigers during the 1980s.  

Yankees hitting:  Jeter goes 3-5, but what I remember is him failing miserably in bringing in the runner from third with less than 2 outs in the 8th that would have tied the game at that point.  Terrible.  That's what killed this team constantly last year.  It was like a bad disease.  Posada and Matsui had nice bombs to give the Yanks a fighting chance.  Posada's HR tied him with the immortal Don Mattingly for 8th place on the all time Yankees list.  Mark this day down:  Cano walked - twice!  I might not be able to write that down again till mid-August.  Swisher had a nice pinch hit double in the 8th.  Girardi did a nice job moving Gardner earlier in the game when Jeter hit it through the hole while the SS was covering the bag.  Otherwise, Mr. Double Play would have started his quest to lead the league for a second straight year.

Yankees pitching:  I already discussed Sabathia's brilliant performance.  Historically, he hasn't pitched well in the playoffs, so pitching in New York might be a scary proposition for this guy.  Girardi should have never let reliever Phil Coke come out for the 8th inning.  He threw an inning and a third and looked good.  He had nothing left when he came back out in the 8th and gave up the 2 run homer to Izturis.  Bruney looked like a deer in headlights as well.  Why is a grown man who can throw 97 mph nibbling at the corners?  Challenge the hitters!   Marte - useless.  I thought the bullpen would do well this year.  I might need to seriously reassess.  Why should I reassess - the Yanks GM, Brian Cashman might need to.     

Final score 10-5, Baltimore.  

Yanks record:  0-1.  So far, a $200M bust.