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 121 - Yanks Take Series in Oakland

In a low hit, low scoring affair, the Yanks defeated the Oakland Athletics 3-2. In all the games I've watched at McAfee Coliseum it appeared to be another typical contest, whether it's because of the spacious foul territory or the damp air from the Bay Area fog. Both teams only mustered 6 hits apiece. Mark Teixeira accounted for all the Yankee runs with an RBI groundout to score Derek Jeter in the 1st and a 2-run HR in the 4th, his 31st of the season.

Yankee starter, Chad Gaudin, only allowed 1 hit in 4.1 innings, but his wildness and high pitch count earned him an early shower as he left the game with the bases loaded. Holding on to a 3-0 lead, Alfredo Aceves saved the game on his second pitch. He induced Kurt Suzuki, who's killed the Yanks all season, into a ground ball back to the mound for an inning-ending double play (pitcher-to-catcher-to-1B). Despite those heroics, Aceves nearly blew the game in the next 2 frames.

Aceves allowed a solo shot to Jack Cust in the 6th. It was Cust's first blast in nearly a month. In the 7th, after striking out the first 2 batters, he allowed 3 straight singles as the A's trimmed the Yanks lead to 3-2. Joe Girardi brought in Phil Coke to bail out Aceves. Then Girardi forgot to manage. Instead of having Coke go out for the 8th to face the switch-hitting Landon Powell and lefty masher, Cust, Girardi brought in his "8th inning" guy, Phil Hughes.

According to Girardi, there are no labels on his relievers, because he prefers matchups, but this move appeared otherwise. Hughes, for all his success out of the pen, does not handle lefties well. He walked Powell and Cust followed with a hard single to right, putting runners at 1st and 2nd with none out. In a curious move by the A's, they didn't bunt the runners into scoring position, and they paid for it. Rookie Tommy Everidge grounded into a double play to ARod, who stepped on 3rd and threw a one-hopper to Tex. Hughes retired the next batter to set the stage for Mariano Rivera.

Mo only needed 7 pitches to retire the side in the 9th, barely enough time for me to snap a picture of the great one, as he picked up his 36th save in 37 opportunities. The Yanks maintained their 7-game lead over the Red Sox as they conclude their 10-game road trip in Boston this weekend.

In the past 2 seasons, I've chosen my Yankees-A's games wisely, or more realistically, I've been lucky. I've been to 4 of the 6 games they've played each other in Oakland, and fortunately, the Yankees have won the games I attended and lost the 2 games I have not. My wife, a huge Oakland A's fan, gets pretty chapped, but I think I deserve this good run, especially after watching Marco Scutaro hit a walkoff, 2-run HR off of Rivera in 2007, after Rivera walked the abysmal Jason Kendall and had Scutaro down 0-2 in the count. It was the most painful loss I've ever seen in person.

Yankees Record: 76-45

Game 97 - Aceves Plays Arsonist

For 6 innings, Andy Pettitte and Athletics' starter, Gio Gonzalez, were locked into an old fashioned pitchers duel. Brett Gardner's triple finally put a run on the board as the Yanks led 1-0 through 6. In the top of the 7th, the wheels fell off the bus. Scott Hairston led off with a double and the fossil of Nomar Garciaparra worked out a walk. After Pettitte got Jack Cust to fly out, Rajai Davis, the same Rajai Davis that was cut last season by the offensively challenged San Francisco Giants, singled in the tying run.

For some inexplicable reason, Joe Girardi visited the mound and forgot to bring Pettitte back with him to the dugout. Bobby Crosby, proud owner of a .227 batting average followed up with a bunt single. Out goes Pettitte and in comes Alfredo Aceves, toting his gasoline can. For 3 pitches, Aceves looked great. He retired Mark Ellis on a first pitch pop up and went up 0-2 on Landon Powell. That's when Aceves lit the match to watch the inning, and essentially the game, go up in flames. Powell singled in 2 runs. Adam Kennedy, the same Adam Kennedy that the St. Louis Cardinals let go last season, singled in another, and Orlando Cabrera capped off the 6-run rally with a 2-run double.

Aceves piss poor performance cost the Yankees their 8-game winning streak. Girardi probably mismanaged the bullpen, too. He should have taken Pettitte out against Crosby and should have brought in Phil Coke to face the lefty hitting Powell or Kennedy, too.

As been the Yankees M.O. all season, they mounted a minor comeback. Derek Jeter hit a 2-run shot in the 8th and 1 out later, Mark Teixeira hit his league-leading 25th homer to make the score 6-4. After there was an actually Nick Swisher getting a hit sighting, Cano ended the threat with a long fly out to right. It wasn't Cano's fault - Swisher had the audacity of being in scoring position with 2 out and should know Robbie doesn't like hitting in those situations.

The Yanks finally gasp came in the final frame, but after leading off with 2 walks, the slug-footed Jorge Posada killed a chance of a rally hitting into a double play after fouling off a pitch down the pipe and swinging at absolute garbage in the dirt. The Captain ended the game with a runner on 3rd with a long fly out to center. And like magic, an 8-game winning streak vanished against a team with a lineup that could challenge for 3rd place in Triple-A Pacific Coast League.

Yankees Record: 59-38

Game 85 - Yanks Sweep Season Series vs Twins

The Yanks hung on to win another close one against the Twins, topping them 6-4, and sweeping all 7 games this season. Despite being handicapped with a starter on a 65-pitch count and needing 5.2 innings from the bullpen, the Yanks pulled into a first place tie with Boston, who lost to the Kansas City Royals.

With a 3-0 lead in the 2nd, Alfredo Aceves was touched up for a solo shot on an 0-2 count to Jason Kubel with a terrible fastball right down the middle. Sloppy defense by Aceves and Cody Ransom led to another run. Joe Girardi pulled Aceves in the 4th with 1 out and the bases loaded after he reached his pitch limit. David Robertson relieved him, and after punching out Nick Punto, lost the strike zone and walked in 2 runs, both charged to Aceves. One of the inexcusable walks was issued to the .180 hitting Matt Tolbert, setting up potential disaster when the Majors best hitter, Joe Mauer, came to the plate with the bases jacked. Fortunately, Robertson induced him to groundout and end the Twins last real threat of the game.

With the Yanks leading 6-4 in the 5th, Jonathan Albaladejo relieved an ineffective Robertson and pitched 1.2 scoreless innings, earning his 4th win of the season. The Philthys, Coke and Hughes, pitched the 7th and 8th innings before Mariano Rivera wrapped up the Yankees victory with his 23rd save.

The Yanks offense was efficient, but nothing to write home about, with one exception. Mark Teixeira ended the longest homerless streak of his career at 95 ABs with a solo blast in the 5th off of Twins starter, Francisco Liriano. The Yanks scored 3 runs in the third with only one hit in the inning. A bases loaded walk to Ransom, a run-scoring groundout courtesy of Brett Gardner and a bloop single by The Captain capped the rally. Ransom and Gardner added RBI singles in the 4th, and for Gardner, it was his 3rd straight game with 2 ribbies. Hopefully, this will keep Melky Cabrera on the bench a little while longer. Melky played for Johnny Damon today and failed twice to knock in a run when he had the bases loaded and no outs in the 2nd and runners on second and third with no outs in the 4th. Ransom and Gardner cleaned up his mess both times as Melky continues to revert to his old unproductive ways. Tex's HR finalized the Bombers scoring for the day, and ironically, it was the only HR in the series for the Yanks, who scored 19 of their 20 runs without the long ball.

The Yanks and Sawx both have 3 games left before the All Star break, as the Yanks take on Anaheim and Boston concludes their 4-game set against KC.

Yankee notes: Jose Molina was activated from the DL before the game and the Yanks optioned Francisco Cervelli to Triple A. Cervelli, who hit .190 in Double A before being called up this season, was very effective as a backup and an outstanding defensive catcher. He hit .269 and handled the pitching staff like an old veteran and looks like he has a promising future as a backstop. Since ARod's return, the Yanks have a 38-19 record after starting the season 13-15 without him.

Yankees Record: 51-34 and tied for first

Game 81 - Aceves Restores Order

At exactly the season's halfway point, the Yankees find themselves in good shape. They defeated Toronto, 10-8, today in a slugfest to put them a season-high 15 games over .500 and 1 game back of the Red Sox. Today's game was sort of a microcosm of their season so far - it started with high hopes, followed by a slight setback, and ended with a flourish.

The Yankee bats rallied for a quick 4-0 lead in the first 2 innings, highlighted by The Captain scoring 2 of those runs and Jorge Posada knocking in 2. Yankee starter, Joba Chamberlain, quickly squandered his early gifts from the lineup, as he was tattooed for 8 runs in the 3rd and 4th innings. In the 3rd, he gave back 3 of those runs with 2 out, including a 2-run shot by Adam Lind. Things got much worse in the 4th. With one on and one out, Cody Ransom, playing for the resting ARod, misplayed a grounder at 3B. Joba retired the next batter. Unfortunately, it would be the last out he'd register for the day.

Raul Chavez, a career backup catcher toting a career batting average of .228, laced his 2nd double of the game to tie the score at 4. Marco Scutaro followed up with a 2-run single. Joba then surrendered his second homer of the game to Aaron Hill, putting the Jays up 8-4. Granted, all 5 runs of the inning were unearned, but Joba had an opportunity to stop the threat with 2 outs. Instead, he got lit up for 3 straight run-scoring hits. He also gave up another single to Adam Lind before manager Joe Girardi had seen enough. Joba's line for the day: 3.2 innings, 9 hits, 8 runs, 3 ER and only 1 K. Terrible.

The Yanks desperately needed Joba to give them length today after their bullpen tossed 6.2 innings in yesterday's extra inning affair. Obviously, he failed miserably. Phil Hughes, Phil Coke and Brian Bruney were all unavailable out of the pen due to their numerous appearances lately. The Yanks brought up Jonathan Albaladejo from the minors in place of the injured Chien-Ming Wang. He tossed 1.1 shutout innings in his return to the big league. In the meantime, the Yanks began their comeback.

In the bottom of the 4th, Hideki Matsui, batting 5th in the lineup instead of the inept Robinson Cano, rocketed a 3-run shot, bringing the Yanks within 1 run. In the 5th, The Captain put the Yanks ahead to stay with an opposite-field 2-run shot. Posada followed up 3 batters later with an RBI double to give the Yanks a 10-8 lead. Both Jeter and Posada finished the day going 4-5.

The Yankees brought in Alfredo Aceves in the 6th, hoping to piece together some innings for the tired bullpen. Aceves' performance today was nothing short of spectacular. Aceves pitched the final 4 innings, giving up only 1 hit while striking out 5 and recording his first save. He threw 43 pitches, 33 of them for strikes. When he retired the side in the 6th and 7th innings, it marked the first time either team went down in order. Not only did he rest the young arms of Bruney, Coke, and Hughes, he also rested Mariano Rivera, who had pitched in 5 of the previous 6 games. I applaud Joe Girardi for sticking with the hot hand and not going to the well again with Mariano. Aceves ended the game in style, too, striking out his final 2 hitters.

Yankee notes: Chien-Ming Wang went on the 15-day DL with a shoulder strain. No word on who will start next Thursday in his place. Robinson Cano ran his streak to 0-21 with RISP. It's the longest streak in the AL this season. Absolutely abysmal. He shouldn't see the light of day in the middle order again if Girardi has any brains. With the Angels and Rangers tied atop the AL West, they both trail the Yanks by 2.5 games for the wildcard. The Rays have fallen 5 back. Maybe they want to stop their socialist ways and spend some money to help that talented team.

Yankees Record: 48-33

Game 72 - Yanks Take the Chop Out of Atlanta

In a game that featured 18 runs, 29 hits, 11 walks, 4 errors and 11 pitchers, the Yanks prevailed 11-7 over the Braves. The contest lasted nearly 4 hours before Mariano Rivera came on to retire the one batter he faced for his 499th career save. The Yanks knocked out old nemesis, Derek Lowe, in 3+ innings, going up 8-1. Yankee starter, Andy Pettitte, would not be around the enjoy the benefits and generosity of the Yankee offense though, as he did everything in his power to get the Braves back in the game before he was knocked out with 2 outs in the bottom of the 4th. With the Yanks large lead trimmed to 8-6 and the tying runs on base, Alfredo Aceves struck out old, and I mean old Yankee killer, Garret Anderson.

Aceves pitched 2.1 shutout innings to improve to 5-1. Phil Coke followed up with 2 scoreless innings of his own. David Robertson came on in the final frame when he awakened the Braves bats before Mariano brought semblance to the night's festivities. Robertson allowed a HR to Brian McCann for the 2nd time in the series and gave up 2 hits between 2 strike outs, before Mo picked up the "easy" one out save because the tying run was on deck.

ARod, The Captain and Johnny Damon were the hitting stars of the night. ARod went 3-5 with a HR in the 1st, a walk, and knocked in 4 runs. Jeter went 4-5, reached on an error and a walk, stole a base and scored 4 runs Damon had his hitting shoes on as well, going 3-4 with a bases loaded triple, 2 walks and knocked in 4 runs, too. Even Cody Ransom, fresh off the DL, got into the act. He went 2-5 with a 2-out, 2-run double. He played for Cano, who was out with a sore wrist. Hmm, I can't remember the last time Cano got a 2-out run scoring hit. Maybe Ransom could be the motivation Cano needs. In all, the Yanks had seven 2-out RBIs.

Strangely enough, while the Yanks pounded out 16 hits, Tex and Swisher combined to go 1-11. Tex alone stranded a Cano-like 6 men on base, going 0-5. The Yanks gained a game on Boston, who were shellacked by the mighty Nationals, 9-1, in John Smoltz' 2009 and Red Sox debut. The Yanks close out these overrated and highly annoying interleague games with their metropolitan rivals this weekend.

Yankees Record: 40-32, 1 game up in the wild card

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 56 - Cardiac Kids Come Through Again

For 7 innings, the Yankee bats looked lethargic, collecting only 4 hits and a run on a Nick Swisher HR.  Meanwhile, Joba Chamberlain pitched 6 solid innings, limiting Tampa Bay to 5 hits and 3 runs.  He only walked one and struck out 4.   The game was tied 1-1 till the sixth, when Joba, who had only thrown 70 pitches coming into the inning, lost command of his fastball.  In his last inning of work, he labored through 30 pitches and surrendered a 2-out, 2-run single to Gabe Gross to give the Rays a 3-1 lead.  

Things looked grim for the Yanks coming into the 8th.  Joe Nelson, coming into the game toting a robust ERA over 6.00, relieved Tampa starter, Matt Garza, and retired 6 straight Yanks without even giving them a whiff of first base.  Grant Balfour answered the bell for the 8th and retired his first batter.  But, as the hometown heroes have done time and again in this young season, they rose from the deck and mounted their signature rally.  Johnny Damon started it off innocently enough with a hard fought single on a 1-2 count after fouling off a couple of mid-90s fastballs.  Mark Teixeira followed with a rip off the right field wall, but held to a single because he hit it so hard.  ARod loaded the bases with a walk and then things really starting going the Yankees way.  

Robinson Cano pulled off the rare feat of actually walking with the bags juiced.  Cano has been swinging at a lot of first pitch swings lately, bringing on his old, terrible habits of yesteryear, but looked patient at the plate as he drew a 5-pitch walk.  Posada then stepped up to the plate with the tying run at 3rd, the same position he found himself in last Sunday's loss when he failed miserably by ending that threat with a double play.  Posada failed again today, but was spared by the ineptitude of the Rays defense.  3B Willie Aybar couldn't handle Posada's potential double play grounder, allowing the tying run to score and keeping the bases loaded with 1 out.  Hideki Matsui then chopped the ball up the middle to the 2B, and once again, Posada almost blew the Yanks chance of taking a 4-3 lead when he ran straight into the Ben Zobrist's tag, but Matsui found another gear in those old, tired legs of his, and beat the throw to first.  Without the ball leaving the infield (because they're the Yankees and they wouldn't know a sac fly if one came up and bit them on the ass), they scored 3 runs to take the 4-3 lead.  

Mariano Rivera avenged yesterday's poor outing by retiring the side in the 9th for his 13th save.  Alfredo Aceves picked up his 4th win, pitching 2 brilliant innings in relief of Joba, striking out 4, including the side in the 8th.  As for the Rays, it's enjoyable to watch their socialistic ways catch up to them in the bullpen.  By signing cheap retreads like Troy Percival and Jason Isringhausen and mixing and matching the rest of the bullpen with hacks (although JP Howell is not too bad), they are costing themselves a good shot at challenging for the division.  I can only imagine how good this team could be if they signed someone like K-Rod in the offseason.  Why wouldn't they even make an offer?  Their weak-ass bullpen nearly cost them the game yesterday as well, as the Yanks tied the game in the 8th and almost came back from a 4-run deficit in the 9th.  I'm glad I don't root for this team - their bullpen would give me a stroke.  Are Tampa fans calling for David Price to pitch in the pen a la Yankee fans with Joba?  Better question - are there any real Tampa fans in existence?

Yankees Record:  33-23, .5 game up on the Sox who lost today to Texas.  One more with Tampa Bay tomorrow and then 3 games in Boston.  Should be an interesting test.

Game 48 - Yanks Hang On For Win

For the first time since the 2006 season ended, the Yanks find themselves alone at the top of the AL East.  Last night, Andy Pettitte, Alfredo Aceves and Mariano Rivera clamped down on the vaunted Cleveland Indians offense, winning 3-1.  Pettitte would leave the game in the 6th inning after battling lower back stiffness.  He tightened up in the 4th, but hung on through 5+ innings.  It was a typical Pettitte performance, not overly sharp, but crafty enough to work in and out of trouble when he had to.  His improved his record to a team best 5-1.

Aceves relieved Pettitte with 2 runners on and a 2-0 count on Cleveland's Jamey Carroll.  Aceves would walk him (walk charged to Pettitte) to load the bases with none out.  He struck out Kelly Shoppach on a knee-bending curve, gave up a sac fly, and induced an inning-ending ground ball to Derek Jeter.  Mark Teixeira made the play of the game by ranging to his right and picking the terrible throw from Jeter which might have led to a second run and 2 runners in scoring position if the throw had skipped by.  Aceves pitched 3 shutout innings with 3 Ks, limiting the Indians to 1 hit.  Mariano pitched around a leadoff single, striking out 2, including the overhyped and overrated Grady Sizemore.  

The Yankee hitters nearly had Cleveland's Cliff Lee on the ropes in the first inning, loading the bases with 1 out.  However, Robinson Cano continued to follow his career trend of being terrible with runners in scoring position, particularly with the bases loaded.  He struck out on 3 pitches and is now 20-83 lifetime with the bases jacked.  Jorge Posada, back from the DL, followed up with a tough at-bat, having some good cuts, but looked a little rusty, and eventually struck out as well.

The Bombers, however, kept the pressure on Lee in the 2nd, and this time, broke through for 2 runs.  Jeter and Tex knocked in the runs to put them up 2-0, and Nick Swisher would hit a rarely seen sac fly in the 3rd.  I say rarely seen, because the Yanks appear to be the most inept team to hit that lazy fly ball to knock in the run.  But things have been different on this run, particularly with ARod's return, as the team improved to 15-5 with him in the lineup.  Last night marked the first time this season that ARod and Posada were in the lineup together, and it lengthens the lineup considerably.  Swisher, who has been struggling mightly in May, was knocked down to the 8th spot in the order.  As for Posada, he rebounded from his 1st inning strikeout to go 2-3 with a double and a walk.  

For the Yanks, everything's clicking and tonight, Crooked Cap faces his old teammates in a matchup against Fausto Carmona.  

Other notes:  The Big Sloppy has officially become the Big Floppy.  Another 0-4 performance in the Sox 6-3 loss to Toronto and now hitting an inexplicable .189.  The Blue Jays win snapped a nine-game losing streak.  Great timing, Toronto!   

Yankees Record:  28-20, first place by .5 game over Boston

Game 41 - Joba Hurt - Can't Stop Yanks

Despite losing Joba Chamberlain after 2/3 inning tonight, the Yanks won their 9th straight for their longest streak of the Joe Girardi era.  In the top of the 1st, Joba took a liner off his leg from Baltimore's Adam Jones.  Joba recovered to throw him out, but after attempting to tough it out, he was taken out of the game after giving up back-to-back singles while clearly limping around.

Though it was a setback for the Yanks, it didn't slow them down as they jumped out to a 6-0 lead after 2 innings.  The hit barrage started with 3 straight doubles from Jeter, Cano and Teixeira in the 1st.  Cano would also tack on a 2-run shot in the 2nd inning en route to a 3 hits and 3 RBIs.  Matsui would add a solo blast to the upper deck in the 5th.

After going 2 pivotal innings last night, Alfredo Aceves came up big again, throwing 3 1/3 scoreless innings.  Jonathan Albaladejo relieved Aceves and looked terrible getting slapped around, giving up all 4 of the Orioles runs in 2.1 innings, including 2 dingers.  Jose Veras surprisingly made an appearance and even contributed, pitching 1.2 innings, and for a change of pace, didn't walk a batter.  The great Mariano finished up for his 9th save in the Bombers 7-4 victory.  

Aceves has been a Godsend for the Yanks bullpen (and their fans), giving up just 2 runs in 13.2 innings of relief this season.  He picked up his 3rd win tonight, all coming during this streak.  Aceves could prove to be a dual threat for Joe Girardi, able to be the long man out of the pen, or the bridge to Brian Bruney and Mariano.       

Big test for the Yanks win streak this weekend.  They'll be hosting the World Champion Philadelphia Phillies as they wrap up their 10-game homestand.  They'll be sending out their top 3 guns:   Burnett, Pettitte, and Sabathia.  It should be a good test for the Yanks.

Yankees Record:  24-17