Game 148 - Rivera Blows Game

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

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

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

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

Yankees Record: 94-54

Blown Games: 8

Game 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 89 - Yankee All Stars Lead Team in Win

Trailing 3-2 in the bottom of the 7th, Yankees All Star shortstop, Derek Jeter, led off with a single, Johnny Damon doubled and All Star first baseman, Mark Teixeira, homered deep to right to erase the one-run deficit and give the Yanks a 5-3 lead over Detroit. The lead held up with the other All Star, Mariano Rivera, closing the door in the 9th in the Yanks first game since the All Star break.

AJ Burnett kept the Yankees in the game, limiting the Tigers to 3 runs in 6 innings, but he was far from stellar. He walked 5 while only striking out 1 and fell behind most of the hitters all night. He had a similar start prior to the All Star game when he walked 4 and struck out 2 batters in a win against the Twins. Hopefully, these 2 starts are just a blip and not a trend.

Mark Teixeira, historically a much better hitter after the mid-season break, led the Pinstripers with 3 hits. Hideki Matsui had 2 hits and knocked in the Yankees first run of the game. Phil Hughes relieved Burnett and struck out the side in the 7th and 8th innings sandwiched around 3 hits, topping the radar gun at 97 mph. Unlike his predecessor, Burnett, Hughes pumped strike after strike, getting the ball over the plate 30 times in 41 pitches.

I found Joe Girardi's decision to use Hughes for 2 innings interesting, as that deviates from the way the Yanks have been using him out of the pen. Girardi and the Yanks have intimated that Hughes has worked his way into the 8th inning role, but this 2-inning appearance virtually takes Hughes out for the rest of the Detroit series.

Hughes also recorded the win to improve his record to 4-2 and snapped the Yanks 3-game losing streak.

Yankees Record: 52-37

AL All Stars Win World Series Home Advantage

The American League beat the National League 4-3, to remain unbeaten in 13 straight contests that includes one tie. Because of that one tie, MLB concocted this ridiculous plan to have the winner of the All Star game determine who will have home field advantage in the World Series. Hopefully, this year, it means the Boys from the Bronx.

After the infamous extra inning tie in 2002, MLB, in it's infinite wisdom, panicked and threw together this notion that "this time, it counts" slogan for the annual mid-summer's classic. I don't know why they just didn't remind people when there was a collective groan that a game ended in a tie that it's just an EXHIBITION game!

Shouldn't home field advantage go to the team with the best record? Why play 162 games? Many baseball people have recommended the league with the best record after interleague competition should decide home field. This isn't a bad concept, either. If you were a Yankee or Red Sox fan, would you want the fate of where a potential Game 7 of the World Series is hosted in the hands of Kansas City's lone all star vs. the NL's best closer in the 9th inning of a close game? I know I wouldn't, especially when the best All Stars have all been sitting since the 5th inning. In the end though, we all know it's about money and TV ratings. Rumor has it, the ratings haven't changed much since that tie game in 2002. Maybe MLB will have a best of 3 All Star series next.

Personally, I've hated the All Star game. It's usually 3-4 days without watching the Yanks. Hopefully, the ol' timers like Damon, Matsui, Posada and Pettitte are resting up for a strong second half run. I'm sure ARod and his hip needed a break, too. For those reasons, I'll welcome a break in the action. I just wish Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera hadn't been selected - they're no spring chickens, either.

Game 77 - Pettitte, ARod Lead Yanks to 7 Heaven

Andy Pettitte rebounded from his previous bomb of a start, tossing 7 strong innings, and ARod jacked another long bomb to lead the Yanks to a 4-2 win over the Mariners. Everything came up 7s, as the Yanks won their 7th straight in their 77th game. ARod's 2-run dinger was the 7th of his career against Seattle starter, Jarrod Washburn, giving him a 7-game hitting streak since his 1-25 slump.

Johnny Damon and Melky Cabrera hit solo shots to account for the rest of the Bombers scoring. They couldn't muster much of anything else against Washburn, who induced 2 double plays in the first 2 innings to kill both threats.

Pettitte only allowed 2 earned runs on 6 hits in his 7 innings of work. He walked 1 and struck out 5. It was a stark contrast to his last start against Atlanta, when he couldn't get out of the 4th inning despite the Yanks giving him an early 8-1 lead. Pettitte did allow a HR to the shell of former greatness known as Ken Griffey, Jr., as the Yanks continued their "Rehab an Aging Slugger" program. See: Ortiz, David and Sheffield, Gary - both who have already benefitted from the Yankees charity this season. Griffey's shot knotted the score at 2 before ARod's heroics in the bottom of the 6th. ARod deposited a shot over dead center into Monument Park. It was his 4th HR in 7 games.

Curiously, Joe Girardi used Alfredo Aceves and Phil Coke to pitch the 8th instead of Brian Bruney or Phil Hughes. Mariano Rivera retired the side in the 9th and is off to a great start towards saving 600 games. It was his 20th save of the season and he's now recorded a save in 3 straight games. The Yanks are 13 games above .500.

Notes: The Sawx pulled a game out of their asses today, rallying from 4 runs down in the 9th against Baltimore to tie the game before winning it in 11 innings. Orioles' manager, David Trembley demonstrated why bad teams are bad. Instead of going with his closer, George Sherrill, to start the 9th, he went with Jim Johnson, who gave up a walk and HR to the Nugget - Youkilis. Trembley then went to Sherrill, who struck out the 1st 2 batters before giving up a single, 2 walks and a 2-run single to Rocco Baldelli. Granted, Sherrill still had a chance to save the game, but I would have liked his chances if he started the inning.

Good news for the Yanks - the Jays finally snapped the Rays 7-game winning streak.

Yankees Record: 45-32

Game 76 - Yanks Streak Reaches 6

The Bombers continued their winning ways, prevailing 8-5 over Seattle, despite their struggles with RISP and blowing two different 2-run leads. Joba Chamberlain squared off against Seattle's own flamethrower - Brandon Morrow (picked ahead of Tim Lincecum!). Both starters were less than impressive. Joba allowed 9 hits and 3 walks in only 5.1 innings, and repeatedly found himself in a full count on most hitters. He allowed a HR to the .133 hitting Ronny Cedeno and blew a 3-1 lead in the 5th, allowing the Mariners to chip away for 2 more runs to knot the score. Morrow wiggled through 3 bases loaded jams, minimizing the Yanks to 3 runs in his 4.2 innings of work, despite giving up 5 hits and 5 walks. The Yankees certainly didn't help their cause or provide Joba with a comfortable lead, starting the game 0-10 with RISP.

ARod gave the Yanks their second 2-run lead of the night when he absolutely crushed a high-inside fastball in the 7th. It wouldn't last long. Brian Bruney gave up 2 runs in the 8th after he relieved the impressive Phil Hughes who tossed 9 pitches in the previous frame. I guess Joe Girardi is intent on Bruney being his 8th inning bridge to Mariano. However, Bruney's been ineffective since his return from the DL. In 4.2 innings, he's given up 3 runs, 4 hits, 5 walks with only 3 Ks. Brian Cashman said today that the Yankees may be hampering Hughes long term as a starter, but the team's current needs require him to be in the bullpen. Perhaps it's time to let Hughes throw multiple innings, a la Mariano in 1996, and be the 8th inning reliever, at least till Bruney can rediscover his form.

Luckily, the Yanks had one more rally in them in the 8th. Melky Cabrera laced a run scoring double and The Captain followed by knocking in 2 more runs with a single to give the Yanks the 8-5 lead. They finished the game 4-16 with RISP. Better late than never. In the 9th, the great Mariano came on to record his 501st career save, characteristically ending it with a punch out. The Yanks honored Mariano before the game by having him throw out the ceremonial first pitch.

Notes: Great night overall for Yankee fans. Boston blew a 10-1 lead to Baltimore, giving up an astronomical 10 runs in the 7th and 8th innings. What happened to the "best" bullpen in baseball? Justin Masterson, Hideki Okajima, Takashi Saito and Papelbum were bitch-slapped in Baltimore's epic comeback. If I were a Red Sox fan, I'd want to throw up tonight. Thank the good Lord, I'm not. There's nothing to like about this smug team. They're so smug, they walked off the field in the 6th with only 2 outs! How embarrassing. Speaking of smug, the Rays won their 7th straight. Look out.

Yankees Record: 44-32 - season high 12 games over .500

Game 75 - Mo Saves 500th; Yanks Sweep

Mariano Rivera became the 2nd MLer to save 500 games, joining Brewers' closer, Trevor Hoffman, as the only players in history to achieve the feat in the Yanks 4-2 victory over the hapless Mets. Mo earned this save, too, as he entered the game with 2 outs in the 8th after Brian Bruney walked 2 men in the inning. He caught Omir Santos looking on a 3-2 cutter on the inside corner to get out of the jam.

Mo picked up another milestone tonight, as well, when he came to bat against K-Rod, the single-season saves record holder. With 2 outs and the bases loaded, Mo worked a full count on K-Rod, including one helluva vicious cut on a 2-2 fastball. Mo walked, driving in the Yanks final run for his first career RBI (in 3 career at bats). Robinson Cano - please take note.

Mo's RBI wasn't the only first of the night - his save marked Chien-Ming Wang's first win of the season in his 11th start. He pitched 5.1 innings of 2-run ball in another respectable, but rather unspectacular outing. He did lower his ERA to 10.06 and has a shot at lowering it to single digits in his next start. He didn't have great command, walking 3 and 1 HBP, but fortunately he faced a depleted Mets lineup that couldn't take advantage.

The Yanks looked like they were going to blow this game wide open in the 1st against Livan Hernandez. They put 3 on the board on a 2-run double by Mark Teixeira and a sac fly by Jorge Posada. The Mets might've had a chance to limit the damage to 2 runs, but 1B Daniel Murphy dropped the relay throw on a potential double play ball off the bat of Robinson Cano.

Amazingly, the Yanks only managed 1 more hit off of Livan Hernandez. They did have a couple of opportunities to blow the game open. My favorite whipping boy, Robinson Cano, came up with the bases loaded twice, and killed both rallies, one with a double play. For the game, he left a whopping 8 men on base. I've written so much on this topic, it's become absolutely boring to me. Someone please explain to me why this guy continues to be penciled into the 5th spot of the lineup. Cano best serves the team in the lower third of the order where there's less pressure on him. He's now 2-12 with the bases loaded this season and batting .236 with the bags juiced for his career. I won't even rehash his career RISP numbers.

Fortunately for the Yanks, those missed opportunities didn't come back to haunt them as their bullpen continues to pitch well. Phil Coke and Phil Hughes did their jobs and bridged the gap to Bruney in the 8th, setting the stage for Mo's big night. With tonight's win and Boston's loss earlier in the day to Braves outstanding rookie, Tommy Hanson, the Yanks closed to within 3 games. They better not look in the rearview mirror - Tampa Bay swept the Marlins and have won 5 straight just like the Bombers.

Yankees Record: 43-32 - ties their high season mark of 11 games over .500

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 71 - Joba, Yanks End Slide

Things looked grim, as the first 15 Yankees were retired through 5 innings. Despite a closed door meeting between the hitters, and Joba Chamberlain knocking out Braves starter, Kenshin Kawakami, with a line drive to the neck in the 3rd, the Yanks could muster nothing. Not even against Braves reliever, Kris Medlen, owner of an ERA just under a tick of 6.00. When Jeff Francouer took Joba deep in the bottom of the 5th, I'm sure a lot of Yankee fans, including myself, felt that could be the ballgame.

Brett Gardner finally broke up the perfect game with a leadoff walk in the 6th. However, all hope appeared dashed when Gardner was horrendously called out on a pickoff at first. Replays clearly showed Gardner beat the tag back to the bag. Joe Girardi jumped all over the ump for his terrible gaffe and earned an early shower. Girardi's boot finally awakened the slumbering bats of the Yanks.

Francisco Cervelli tied the game up with his 1st ML home run, providing a huge lift to an offense that was clearly pressing. With 2 out, hits by Jeter and Damon, and a walk to Tex loaded the bases for the enigmatic ARod. Struggling through a 1-25 slump, ARod quickly fell behind 0-2 in the count. After fouling off a pitch, he laced a single to right to knock in 2 runs and giving the Yanks a 3-1 lead on what was considered an endangered species around these parts - the 2-out hit with RISP.

Nick Swisher, who had a mysterious closed door meeting with GM Brian Cashman and Girardi earlier in the day and then found himself in the lineup after being initially left off of it, laced an opposite field HR to left to make it 4-1 Yanks in the 6th. Joba pitched into the 7th before he ran into trouble. The Braves rallied to make it 4-3 with Phil Coke closing out the inning, thanks in part to a circus catch by Swisher in RF. The Yanks would "rally" for 2 more runs in the 8th, despite Robinson Cano's best efforts to sabotage the whole inning. With the bases loaded, no outs, Cano embarrassed himself, yet again, by hitting it to 1B for a force out at home. Braves catcher, Brian McCann, hit Cano in the back in an attempt to double him up at first, leading to the 5th run. Swisher knocked in another run with an RBI groundout. Someone please tell me how Cano is still hitting 5th in this lineup.

There was a Brian Bruney sighting in the 8th, but with 2 outs, he ran into trouble, setting the stage for another rare sight - Mariano Rivera. Mo hasn't pitched in 8 days, but it didn't show in his performance tonight. He struck out all 4 batters he faced, recording his 16th save this season and 498th of his career. He even got to bat with the bases loaded in the top of the 9th, while the Yanks cushioned the lead to 8-4. Mo hit a hard liner to CF to end the inning, as his amused teammates were hopeful it would fall in for a hit. It's been awhile since these guys had any fun.

After starting the game 0-15, the Yanks ended it by going 10-20 after Girardi's ejection, with 2 dingers and scoring in every inning after the 5th. Joba improved to 4-2 on the season, 4-0 on the road. They'll face an old foe in Derek Lowe tomorrow in the rubber match.

Other AL East notes: Boston, Toronto and Tampa Bay all won. Big Sloppy hit his 7th HR of the year, 6th this month, as the Sawx beat Craig "Yankee Killer" Stammen. They've never seen him before either, yet they proved it is possible to beat someone the first time a team faces a pitcher. That excuse is getting old for the Yanks. Other teams are beating these first timers like a drum, so why can't a club of the Yankees caliber do the same? Besides, they've faced the likes of Josh Beckett and Roy Halladay all the time and they still beat the Yanks regularly, so that "facing a pitcher the first time" theory is garbage. Pat Burrell helped Tampa beat his old team, the Phillies. I'm sure that will be a topic of discussion in Philly tomorrow.

Yankees Record: 39-32

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 51 - Yanks Walk Out of Cleveland With Win

With Chien-Ming Wang pitching decently in relief and Phil Hughes coming into his own, the "Joba to the bullpen" fanatics started circling their wagons again.  In response, Joba Chamberlain came out and threw a career-high 8 innings, limiting Cleveland to 2 runs on 4 hits with 5 Ks in the 5-2 victory.  Who still wants Joba in the bullpen now?  Joba came out with ace-like stuff, flashing all 4 of his pitches as he was perfect for the first 3 frames.   In the 4th, he made his only real mistake of the night when he surrendered a solo homer to Victor Martinez, tying the game at 1.  

The play of the game came in the 5th, with Joba showing off his catlike reflexes.  He turned a Kelly Shoppach popup bunt into a highlight play, going full out on a dive (Joe Girardi characterized it as a bellyflop) and miraculously speared the ball as he hit the turf.  Runners were on 1st and 2nd, no out, and as he caught the ball, he jumped up and threw a strike to Derek Jeter to double up the runner.  

The Yankee hitters almost didn't provide Joba any support tonight.  Going into the top of the 6th, they loaded the bases on 3 walks with none out.  ARod, Posada and Cano were coming to the plate.  They all failed miserably and all runners were stranded.  ARod struck out.  Posada, after blowing yesterday's game, promptly swung at the first pitch and tapped back weakly to the mound, forcing the runner at home.  And, to finish off the humiliation, Cano lined out to left to end the inning.  

In the top of the 7th, like deja vu all over again, they loaded the bases on 3 walks.  With one out, Nick Swisher, batting in the 2-hole with Johnny Damon resting, ripped an opposite field double to left that just missed a grand slam by a foot.  After an intentional walk to Tex to reload the bases, ARod hit a 2-run single to finish up the Yankees scoring.  The Indians walked the Yanks 11 times tonight and the score could have been much worse, if the Yanks had come through with all of their opportunities.  They were 3-13 with runners in scoring position, and with Posada failing in yesterday's loss, I hope this doesn't start becoming a trend like earlier in the season.  They've been playing exceptionally well for the better part of a month now and cannot let up, playing in the brutal AL East.  

The Yanks defense went errorless tonight for the 18th straight game, setting a major league record, and to make it sweeter, broke the 2006 Red Sox record.  Joba wasn't the only pitcher to make an outstanding play tonight, either.  On the final batter of the game, Mariano Rivera fielded a Baltimore-chop over his head from Shin-Soo Choo and threw him out by a step at first for his 11th save in 12 opportunities.  With tonight's win, the Yanks gained a half game over the idle Red Sox.

Yankees Record:  30-21

       

Game 16 - Brutal Loss

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

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

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

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

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

Yankees Record: 9-7

Blown Wins: 2