Game 129 - Mitre Makes Mince Meat Out of Chisox

The much-maligned Sergio Mitre held the White Sox to one hit in 6.1 innings and the Yanks mounted a 14-hit attack for a 10-0 beatdown. Mitre was perfect through 4.1 innings before Jim Thome ripped a shot down the right field line for a double. He only allowed 1 more runner on with a walk in the 7th before he had to leave the game when AJ Pierzynski lined a shot off his forearm. Mitre bounced off the mound to throw Pierzynski out, but the Yanks removed him for precautionary members. He had only thrown 73 pitches to that point and may have had an excellent shot at completing the game. He induced 12 ground ball outs in his spectacular effort

Chad Gaudin was pressed into emergency relief and finished off the 1-hitter, tossing 2.2 scoreless innings while walking 1 with 4 strike outs. The Yankee hitters jumped on ex-Yankee, Jose Contreras, for 4 runs in the 2nd inning and another 4-spot in the fourth. Derek Jeter and Robinson Cano led the way with 3 hits apiece. Johnny Damon, ARod, Cano and Jerry Hairston each finished with 2 RBIs. ARod capped the scoring with a solo shot in the 8th, the only HR of the game as the Yanks used a steady barrage of hits to score the first 9 runs. Tex and Jose Molina were the only Yankee starters who didn't join the hit parade.

The Yanks send out Joba Chamberlain out for the sweep. The Red Sox, who have really begun to heat up, once again beat the hapless Blue Jays to remain 6 games back and 2.5 games in front of Texas for the wild card.

Yankees Record: 81-48

Game 112 - Yanks Suffer Post-Dramatic Boston Syndrome

For once, the Yanks dodged a bullet against Toronto, just missing Roy Halladay. It seems every time they play the Blue Jays, even in the 2-game series last week, Halladay pitches against the Yanks. But the Yanks didn't take advantage tonight, and they appeared to take the night off after a dramatic 4-game sweep of the Sox this weekend. Problem is, the Bosox won their game tonight.

The game didn't start that way. Derek Jeter led off with a solo shot to CF. Sergio Mitre struck out 5 Jays through 2 innings. Mitre surrendered a solo shot in the 3rd to Aaron Hill and after the Yanks scratched out another run, things ran afoul for him in the 4th. With 2 men on and none out, Mitre fielded a comebacker and threw slightly wide of 2B. Robinson Cano couldn't handle the throw as a run scored and the Jays had runners on 2nd and 3rd. Cano was charged with the error, but it wasn't a good throw from Mitre. The Jays would score 2 more runs with Mitre allowing career utility player, Joe Inglett, to triple in the 4th run with 2 out. He has consistently demonstrated a lack of ability to get the 3rd out in innings. It has to be his inability to bear down, because he is not talented enough to let up.

The Yanks though, gave him one last shot. Robinson Cano and Jerry Hairston, Jr. led off the bottom of the 4th with back-to-back HRs to tie the game. Mitre coughed it up one last time when Lyle Overbay crushed one in the 5th. Overbay's dinger would hold up, as the Yanks weren't able to push across the tying run, despite Alfredo Aceves tossing 4 shutout innings in relief. Are the Yanks trying to stretch him out as a starter?

Cano led off the 6th with a double, but was stranded. Jeter led off the 7th with a single, but Nick Swisher, Mark Teixeira and ARod all K'd. Their last shot came in the 9th when Hideki Matsui hit a one-out single, but pinch runner Ramiro Pena was left stranded when Swisher struck out for the 3rd time to end the game.

The Yankees will have to ask themselves if they can afford to keep Sergio Mitre in the starting rotation. Granted, only 3 of the 5 runs were earned, but he is not able to nip innings in the bud, and it cost him and the team tonight.

Yankees Record: 69-43

Game 107 - Yanks Sweep Toronto

Sergio Mitre kept the Yanks in the game, despite only pitching 4.1 innings and HRs by Nick Swisher and Johnny Damon led the Bombers to an 8-4 victory over Toronto. The Yanks took both games in the short 2-game series, as they return home to face Boston with a 2.5 game lead after the Red Sox loss to Tampa Bay.

Mitre gave up 8 hits in his short stint, but limited the Jays to 3 runs. A HR by Adam Lind and single by Lyle Overbay in the 5th sealed his fate and ended his night. Alfredo Aceves picked up his 7th win when the Yanks rallied from a 1-run deficit with 4 runs in the 7th. Blue Jays rookie starter, Marc Rzepczynski, a soft-tossing lefty, kept the Yanks off-balance all game, limiting them to 2 runs and 3 hits through his first 6 innings of work with 7 punch outs.

After Rbcdfghjklmnpqrstvwxyzski (spelling is close enough) retired 11 straight batters, his luck ran out when Swisher led off the 7th with his game-tying dinger. Robinson Cano followed with a double in the gap, ending the night for the guy with the long name, and scored on Hideki Matsui's 1-out, pinch-hit RBI single. Damon and Mark Teixeira hit key 2-out RBIs to give the Yanks a 6-3 lead. After a Marco Scutaro HR off Aceves in the bottom of the 7th, the Bombers tacked on single runs in the 8th and 9th on an Eric Hinske pinch-hit sac fly and Damon's 19th HR of the season. Damon finished the game going 3-5 with 3 RBIs.

Phil Coke got the final 2 outs in the 7th, Phil Hughes pitched a scoreless 8th and David Robertson wrapped the game up in the 9th. I thought Joe Girardi made a couple of odd decisions in tonight's game. He pitched Hughes in back-to-back games, essentially making him unavailable against Boston tomorrow. After Robertson gave up a 1-out single, Girardi had Mariano Rivera begin to warm up with a 4-run lead. Can you say panic button? Geez, Joe, let a run or 2 score before you make your 38-year old reliever, who had to get a 4-out save yesterday, get up and throw in the pen.

Overall, the Yanks did all the little things that help teams win ballgames. Tex busted down the 1B line, avoiding an inning-ending double play to tie the score at 2. Melky Cabrera twice moved Cano over to 3rd with none out. Matsui and Hinske both did their jobs as pinch hitters and each knocked in Cano. Jose Molina, yes the Jose Molina, walked twice! Damon and Tex had their 2-out RBIs and the team was 4-9 with RISP. The bullpen only allowed 1 run and 3 hits in 4.2 innings while striking out 8 and walking no one. The Yanks also played flawless defense. Team efforts like this will lead to nice winning streaks as they ended their road trip 5-4, despite their road bump in Chicago.

The Pinstripers will attempt to end their 0-8 stretch against the Sawx. They have their pitching lined up with Joba, AJ, CC and Pettitte set to pitch in that order. Personally, I'm not feeling confident about the team's chances in this series and would be ecstatic with a split. My worries are these: Joba and Pettitte have pitched great since the break - they're both due for a let down. AJ and CC - which pitcher will show up? The dominant ace or the one who throws the occasional clunker, particularly against teams with winning records this season. Last, but not least, Mo is also due for a let down and came close against Toronto. Historically, he has a tendency to slump in August, and not to mention, Boston has his number.

I shudder to think what will happen if Boston sweeps or takes 3 out of 4. I'm guessing panic in the streets, or the airwaves, of NY.

Yankees Record: 65-42

Game 103 - Sergio Mitre? Is This the Best They Can Do?

The trading deadline came and went at 4 pm EST today and all the Yankees could muster in a trade was career utility player, Jerry Hairston, Jr. After kicking the tires on Roy Halladay, taking a sniff at Cliff Davis and being linked to starters Jarrod Washburn and Brian Bannister in potential trades, the Yanks came up with bupkis. Nada. Zilch. After watching the pitiful performance of Sergio Mitre in their 10-5 thrashing by the White Sox, I'm sure GM Brian Cashman must be feeling sick to his stomach tonight that he didn't trade one of his overrated, overhyped prospects.

The Yanks came out swinging in the 1st inning, nearly matching their hit total from last night. 4 hits gave them a nice 3-0 cushion. It didn't last long. Mitre had absolutely nothing and looked like complete garbage on the mound. He pitched 3 pathetic innings and gave up 5 runs. Amazingly enough, Mitre did not receive credit for the loss. Eric Hinske hit a 2-run shot in the top of the 4th to tie the score at 5-all. It was his 5th HR in 20 ABs for the Yanks. I'd like to see more of him and less of Nick Swisher.

Through 4 innings, the Yanks had 9 hits and 5 runs off of White Sox emergency starter DJ Carrasco. They only had 3 hits the rest of the game against the bullpen. Ol' friend, Octavio Dotel, shut them down for 2 scoreless frames, allowing 1 hit. For the game, the Yanks were 2-10 with RISP, but 0 for their last 7. Jorge Posada was useless, stranding 6 runners and hitting into a DP.

David Robertson took the loss, allowing the go-ahead run to score in his 2 innings of work. The Yanks were still in the game till the 7th. Alfredo Aceves, who's been nursing a sore shoulder, since his arsonist act against the A's last Saturday, did it again tonight. He got lit up for 4 runs after it looked like he might escape a 2-on, no out jam. He retired the next 2 batters and then allowed 2 hits and a walk to open the floodgates. Aceves must be hurt, because right now, he's hurting the hell out of the Yankees. I guess Cashman didn't want to trade for another reliever, either.

The Sawx pulled out another win out of their ass against Baltimore. Interesting that David Ortiz hit another HR today - he's kind of had a resurgence after 2.5 terrible months...is this guy being tested? With Boston's win and the Yanks loss, the division lead dwindles to 1.5 games. Wouldn't you know, the Sawx end their season with a 4-game set against Cleveland, who traded their one ace, Lee to Philly. Meanwhile, the Yanks have finished their season series against the Indians. Amazing, utterly amazing how Boston continues to duck and weave teams' ace pitchers. When's the last time the Yanks faced Toronto without going up against Roy Halladay? I can't remember, but Boston's ducked him twice this year.

Initially, after watching the Yanks take 9 out of 10 on the homestand and 2 of 3 from Tampa, I thought they could stand pat at the trading deadline. But, with the recent news that Chien-Ming Wang is done for the season and Joba Chamberlain is on some secret innings limit, my gut feeling is the Yanks need another starter. It didn't have to be an ace like Halladay or Lee, but Washburn or Bannister would have been a nice upgrade over Mitre, who has shown nothing in 3 starts since being called up from Scranton. Rumors reported by Joel Sherman of the NY Post said the Mariners were looking for an Austin Jackson-like prospect. I'm not sure why the Yanks are high on A-Jax. My gut feeling is he will be like Melky Cabrera, but makes less contact. No thanks.

Yankees Record: 62-41

Game 98- Yanks End Homestand On a Good Note

The Yanks concluded their 10-game homestand with a 7-5 win over Oakland, going 9-1 and hitting the road with a 2.5 game lead over the Red Sox. The Captain, Derek Jeter, helped the Yanks overcome a 5-4 deficit with a 2-run single in the 6th inning after Oakland's Mark Ellis had given the A's the lead in the top of the inning.

Yankee starter, Sergio Mitre, starting in his second game since being recalled, quickly ran into trouble in the first when he surrendered 2 runs on 4 hits. The Yanks came right back in the bottom of the first. Hideki Matsui knocked in a run, and overcoming all odds, Robinson Cano hit a 2-out, bases clearing double for 3 more. Cano had everything going against him in this at bat - he has a terrible average the first time he faces a pitcher in a game, horrible numbers with the bases loaded, and God-awful statistics with 2-out and RISP.

Oakland came back with a sac fly in the 4th. Mitre was pulled from the game in the top of the 6th after a leadoff single. Phil Coke retired his first 2 batters before Ellis connected to give the A's their second brief lead. Oakland starter, Dallas Braden, couldn't hold on to his 2nd chance though, as he walked Melky Cabrera and allowed a double to Cody Ransom who played for a resting ARod. This set the stage for The Captain's heroics. Jeter would get picked off, but Johnny Damon followed up with a double and Mark Teixeira finished the scoring with an RBI single.

Phil Hughes came out for the 7th inning. He retired the first 4 batters he faced, striking out 3, until he yielded a walk and a double. With the tying runs on base, Joe Girardi made a gutsy call and called Brian Bruney in to face Ellis. The move paid off handsomely, as Bruney struck him out. Not wanting to push his luck, Girardi brought in the Hammer of God, Mariano Rivera, for the final 4 outs of the game. Mo picked up his 29th save of the season.

Overall, it was a great day for the Yanks, with the exception of losing Brett Gardner to the DL. The Sawx lost, the Rays lost, and the division leading Tigers and Angels lost. The Seattle Mariners got pounded for a 3rd straight day by sad-sack Cleveland, hopefully helping them to decide to become sellers at the trading deadline and giving the Yanks a chance at making a deal for starter Jarrod Washburn.

The Yanks are in for a real test - 19 of their next 26 games will be on the road.

Yankees Record: 60-38

Game 93 - Mitre, Cano Lead Yanks to 5th Straight

Newly recalled pitcher, Sergio Mitre, won his first game since 2007, and the RBI-phobic Robinson Cano hit a 2-run shot to pace the Yanks in a 6-4 victory over Baltimore. Mitre tossed 5.2 innings, yielding 4 runs, 3 earned, while striking out 4. The Bombers provided enough offense, scoring their 6 runs in the 2nd, 3rd and 4th innings.

A bases loaded single by ARod in the 3rd gave the Yanks a 3-2 before Cano connection in the 4th extended the lead to 5-2. Johnny Damon finished the team's scoring with a run-scoring single later in the inning. Baltimore tried to chip away at the lead with a Melvin Mora 2-run single in the 6th. After Mitre struck out the next batter, Joe Girardi went to the bullpen. Alfredo Aceves, Phil Coke and Mariano Rivera held Baltimore to 1 hit in the last 3.1 innings to seal the win. The Great Mo earned his 27th save of the season.

For the fourth straight game, the Yankees were held to a low hit total, collecting only 6 knocks. They've amassed a total of 23 hits in the last 4 games. Hopefully, the hitting will come around before the pitching slumps.

Boston lost again to the Texas Rangers and for the first time since the end of the 2006 season, the Yankees stand atop the division alone. Texas' Big Tommy Hunter outpitched Josh Beckett in a 4-2 victory. It was Boston's 4th straight loss.

Yankees Record: 56-37