Bring on October

The Yankees, and their fans, can only hope that today's champagne drenched locker room is only the first of many to come.

As Mariano Rivera soaked Kim Jones in the clubhouse, and Nick Swisher chugged Dom in the middle of his postgame interview, Yankee fans could simply sit back and enjoy the moment.

A season that started with steroids scandal, a starter's complete collapse and a right fielder making an emergency relief pitching appearance has culminated now in a season guaranteed at least 100 wins and a division title.

This group of Yankees has been mentioned, by more than one, as being the first Yankee team in a long time that's fun to watch for fans--a team full of life, personality and good works. It would thus seem all that more fitting that it is the team that reclaimed the eastern division and will now have every advantage it is possible to have in the postseason.

The hardest work is still ahead of the Yankees, but they're ready for it.

2009 has certainly been a season to remember.

Yanks 2-hit Sox and Reduce Magic Number to 1 (postgame notes 26 September 2009)

As per my post on TYU:

Behind an absolute 7-inning, one-hit gem from CC Sabathia, the Yankees reduced their magic number for winning the AL East to one. One more Yankee win or Red Sox loss and the Yankees will be your 2009 AL East champions.

It should be noted here that the forecast tomorrow involves copious amounts of rain, so while we might all dream of the Yankees clinching while playing the Sox, they might not get the opportunity.

The pitching from Sabathia today should be the story, even more than the Yankees inability to hit with runners in scoring position, as this is the type of pitching the Yankees hope for--and even expect--from Sabathia in the postseason.

What's more, is that CC pitched most of the game while still scoreless. The Yankees simply refused to score with any runners on base (until the bottom of the eighth), getting their offense instead from a Robinson Canó lead off home run in the sixth.

The Yankees again ran against Boston, this time running against Victor Martinez instead of Jason Varitek. If defense--including catching--wins championships, then the Red Sox have some issues. The Yankees, with Damon in left, aren't perfect, but even Jorge Posada throws out more runners than the Varitek-Martinez tandem.

After a swing that saw the Yankees drop a series to the Mariners and lose the first of three to the Angels, the Yankees have now won four straight and are a virtual lock for the division.

Right now the Yankees' biggest concern is whether Andy Pettitte or AJ Burnett gets the ball in game two.

That's not a bad problem to have.

Joba pitches well, Melky takes out Lester, Yanks win (postgame notes 25 September 2009)

As per my post on TYU:

While beating the Red Sox always makes for interesting storylines of its own, tonight's game produced two occurrences of note:

1) Joba Chamberlain pitched well. If anything, Chamberlain may have been hampered by the long innings the Yankees had at the plate, but he pitched six innings completely and used only 86 pitches to get there.

2) Melky Cabrera took Jon Lester out with a liner off of the plant leg. Officially, it's a contusion on the quadriceps, but every fan of the Red Sox has got to be concerned--Lester appeared to be in serious pain, and he is easily one of the two best Red Sox pitchers (though he didn't pitch like it tonight.)

The Yankee offense has Alex Rodriguez to thank tonight--his four RBI ended up as the difference in the final 9-5 score.

It should also be mentioned that the Yankees ran roughshod over Boston's defense, stealing bases at will and not even coming close to getting caught.


***

Much of the broadcast tonight was taken up by Michael Kay and Al Leiter arguing that the current postseason format does not penalize the Wild Card slot enough.

While I don't agree with everything the two brought up, there are two points with which I do agree:

1) a five game series is too short of a series. It benefits the team with a better 1-2 starting rotation; not a better team.

2) Give the top two teams in the league a first round bye. Then, the Wild Card team or teams will have to exert more energy and more strategy in that first round. Think of an NFL-like scenario, though ostensibly without six teams.

One for the Bulletin Board

Today on SIRIUS XM’s Mad Dog Radio channel, host Gary Williams spoke with actor Matt Damon, who was on to promote his new movie, “The Informant,” and the charitable foundation he supports, “One X One.”

This will be of interest to Yankees fans:

Williams: “Meanwhile, your Red Sox, they’re only about 19 games back of the Yankees. Do they have anything for them in October?”

Damon: “Yeah, of course, man. October comes and everybody is 0-0. All we need to do is back into the wild card and we’re fine. We’re fine. Listen, New York, they’re going to collapse. They’re still, I mean, nobody on that team has won a World Series in... I mean, Jeter has but the rest of them…”

Williams: “Posada has, Pettitte has…”

Damon: “Nine years ago these guys won the World Series. They got so smoked by the Red Sox in ’04, I mean, I’m telling you, man. They’ve got the yips. They’re going to fold like a cheap suit. You watch, man. You watch. If we make it into the playoffs, man, we’re taking them down.”

Look, I've never met Matt Damon (though I'm sitting here with Dogma on TV), but I'd be thinking here that the team that's, you know, 91-50 and 39-8 since the All Star break doesn't actually need the extra motivation...

Ah, well, I mean.

It's not like the Yankees haven't taken seven of the last eight six of the last seven against the Red Sox including a fifteen inning walk-off and an eighth inning comeback victory.

Or that their only pressing concern is their #4 starter.

Or that the Red Sox are nine games back.

Or that this team is putting up a team OPS+ number similar to that of the 1927 squad.

Or anything.

Predicting the AL and NL Wild Card Races

With just over a month left, the playoff races are beginning to take shape.

The division races are fairly clear: Yankees, Angels and one of Tigers/White Sox in the American League, and Phillies and Cardinals in the National League; surprisingly it's the Dodgers who may have the most tenuous hold on their division lead in the NL.

The Wild Card races, however, are a bit harder to predict.

When the Yankees are so likely to win the East, why does the Wild Card race matter?

For two reasons: a) if the AL Wild Card winner comes out of the Central or the West, that will likely be the team the Yankees play in the first round, and b) The Wild Card winner has played in--and won--a fair few of this decade's World Series.

So, let's go through the teams in most contention:

American League

Boston Red Sox

The Red Sox have to be considered the favorite just because they've held the position for so long, but that doesn't mean they are a good choice to be favorite.

They made their biggest move early in the season with a 12-game win streak, but right now their starting rotation is mostly "Josh and Jon and then there are bombs". Getting Wakefield back should help, but not if Beckett keeps pitching like he did in his last two outings.

The good news is that the offense has stepped it up quite a bit--but there's only so much an offense can do.


Texas Rangers

The darlings of the AL this year, they're finally doing it with pitching. Derek Holland and Scott Feldman have been revelations. Head to head, they took two of the last three that they played with Boston, but the one loss came when the night's closer, Frank Francisco, blew the lead.

If they make the playoffs, Ron Washington is probably a shoo-in for manager of the year.


Tampa Bay Rays

The Rays are still paying for the slow, 2007-Yankees-like start to the season and may now have too much to overcome. They are only three games back, but they are trailing two teams and their pitching hasn't been as good as it was last season. Trading Edwin Jackson away does not seem to have been a great decision, speaking mildly.

There's certainly hope, though, and unlike the Rangers, this group has postseason experience.



National League

Colorado Rockies

Once again, they've taken on a veneer as a team of destiny. The division isn't out of the question for this group, and if they did take it, it would be a come back even bigger than the 1978 Yankees--just to give an idea as to what the Rockies have done already.

We still aren't quite sure how Jason Marquis is doing it, but somehow he's found a way.


San Francisco Giants

When both Lincecum and Cain are on, they are probably the best 1-2 in baseball. The problem is, outside of Pablo Sandoval, they basically have zero offensive support. Yes, pitching wins championships, but you can't win every game 1-0, which is pretty much what the Giants have had to do all season.

Given how poorly the Giants have played in recent years, the fact that they are this good this year has been especially remarkable. If only they had that little more bit of offense...


Atlanta Braves

Four-and-a-half games out, it's not exceedingly likely the Braves make the postseason, but it's also far too soon to count them out entirely.

Like the Giants, they have the pitching but not necessarily the hitting--that is, until they decide to give Heyward a shot...

Yanks Beat Beckett (Postgame Notes 23 August 2009)

The Yankees' just-finished 10 game road trip was their longest of the season--and they responded by going 7-3.

Think about that for a moment.

That's the type of road trip that separates the contenders from the pretenders.

The Yankees, going into the series against Boston had only one thing they needed to do, and that was to not get swept. They accomplished that the first night, but tonight they won the series as well.

It's not very often a baseball team will get five home runs off of Josh Beckett (Matsui had two--all four of his hits on the road trip were home runs), but that is what happened tonight.

Funny game, that baseball.

The Yankees couldn't buy a run off of Junichi Tazawa yesterday, but scored in each of the first five innings today.

Some observations:

• Derek Jeter hit .500 on the road trip. Let me repeat. Derek Jeter hit .500 on the road trip. There's being good, there's going on a hot streak, and then there's that.

• The Yankees --okay, Robinson Canó--was doing his best Luis Castillo impression in the field today. He mitigated it a bit with one of five Yankee home runs, and I wouldn't get too concerned--one poor defensive game does not a season make.

• Sabathia wasn't unhittable, but he was what the Yankees needed, and the bullpen was (as it usually is in a win) excellent.

• It's going to be an odd series with the Rangers--the Yankees want to win, of course, but us fans have been rooting for the Rangers to win the Wild Card. Guess we will see who are true Yankee fans and who are just Red Sox haters...

• Nick Swisher had his consecutive-game-reached-based streak snapped, but this only underscores how great he's been this season--especially on the road.
  

Super Smash Party (Postgame Notes 21 August 2009)

Everyone on the Yankees tonight except for Johnny Damon and Robinson Canó had multi-hit games tonight--and Johnny Damon left in the first inning after getting hit by a pitch.

If, uh, you can remember that far back.

Every one on the Yankees who started except for Johnny Damon had an RBI--and even Damon's replacement, Eric Hinske got in on the act.

Hideki Matsui had seven of them himself.

So forget the fact that Andy Pettitte, Brian Bruney and Sergio Mitre more or less crapped the bed pitching wise--tonight was a night for the offense.

The Yankees came to Boston with only the requirement that they did not get swept.

They didn't.

Life, for Yankee fans, is pretty good.

Boston Sweep Party

If there was any question, any doubt, any uncertainty about the character of the 2009 New York Yankees, this weekend it was answered.

Oh, was it answered.

All the talk, all the rumors that the Yankees could not beat decent teams, that they were a bully team that could only beat up on teams like the Mets and the Orioles, all the insinuations that Alex Rodriguez couldn't hit in the clutch, all of it has gone for naught.

The Yankees came into the weekend set with the Red Sox needing to win one--just one--to ensure they woke up on Monday morning still in first place, and to get the 0-fer off their backs.

So they won the first game.

It wasn't pretty, a 13-6 slugfest in which the Yankees walked twelve of the Red Sox, but it counts.

After winning the first game, the rhetoric turned to winning the second. Win the second game and ensure a split, ensure that no matter what there is no net loss in the standings. Win and get AJ Burnett's own Boston monkey off his back.

So they won the second game.

It was pretty--a thing of baseball beauty--until it went too long, well into the early morning hours. Eventually, Joe Girardi out-managed Terry Francona's bullpen strategy; while Girardi maximized the relievers he did use in extra innings, Francona opted for one-inning stints and eventually Junichi Tazawa made his Major League debut, and Alex Rodriguez was waiting.

After winning the second game, the rhetoric turned to winning the third. Win the third game and ensure a net gain in the standings. Win the third game and ensure a series victory in a series in which most would have been satisfied with a split.

So they won the third game.

It was pretty, too. The pitching was pretty--more, actually, like domination than pretty--and with a starter like CC Sabathia on the mound, domination seems a better term to describe it. The offense scored early enough and the team never looked back. It wasn't a 15-0 thrashing, but the way the Red Sox had been hitting, it might as well have been.

After winning the third game, then, the rhetoric turned to winning the fourth game.

To a sweep.

No one wanted to utter that word before--too much attached to it, it might too quickly act as a jinx--but now, three wins already down, the fans (and, one senses, the Yankees) smelled blood in the water.

The match up, on paper, favored Boston. Jon Lester, in his career, is (still) undefeated against the Yankees, although he has not always won.

Tonight, Lester wasn't much different. He made only one mistake--a solo home run to Alex Rodriguez--in seven innings of work. That the Red Sox were held scoreless, too, had less to do with Andy Pettitte (though it must be said that Pettitte got much stronger in his last two innings of work) than it did the Red Sox offense, which has simply disappeared.

Between the ninth inning of Thursday's game and the eighth inning of tonight's, the Red Sox did not score a single run. Thirty-one-and-a-third scoreless innings. Blame Boston's offense or laud Yankee pitching, it's your choice, but the fact remains that in four games against their rivals the Red Sox scored eight runs and four of those came before the fifth inning on Friday.

If there was one blemish tonight, it was Phil Coke giving up a two-run home run to Victor Martinez, but Girardi's reasoning for using Coke in that spot was sound: Phil Hughes was unavailable after pitching four games out of five, and if the game got to extra innings, the Yankees needed pitchers available who could give length.

During the postgame interview on YES, Coke explained that the pitch to Martinez was supposed to be up near his hands, and not down by his thighs. He was angry about it, and then was not angry anymore once the Yankees won. "So much for 8-0," he said.


Johnny Damon and Mark Teixeira were there to bail Coke out, though, with back-to-back home runs in the next half inning. In fact, while with two outs, the Yankees would proceed to bat around in the inning.

So the Yankees won the fourth game.

They won the fourth game and swept the Boston Red Sox.

Had they swept this series against any other team it would be noted for the stellar pitching, clutch hitting, brilliant defense and everything else that went right. Since the series was against the Red Sox, though, it'll be remembered, rightly or wrongly, mostly for being a sweep of the Red Sox.

The Yankees are now 6.5 games in first place--the first time since 2006. It's still early, and there's still a long way to go, but there it is.

This is a team that is not just playing like it could, but playing like it will go on to do special things.

They can't get complacent now. They have to keep going. This has the feeling right now that the Yankees have just clinched the division. They have not, and with a month and a half to go it's not really that close, either.

Look for some of the regulars to get a day of rest while playing Seattle--after that it's back to the West Coast and then Boston again the weekend after.

For the moment, enjoy what you've seen.

And so much for Boston being 8-0, huh?

October in August (Postgame Notes 7-8 August 2009)

So this is what October feels like, eh?


For a baseball purist, or any fan of pitching, tonight was manna sent from heaven.

If anyone told you that today's game wasn't a big game, they'd be lying--while it may not have been as big (at least for the Yankees) as last night's was, it was still big. Win, and the Yankees assure themselves of at least a series split and now Boston cannot, no matter what, come out of this having gained any ground on the Yankees.

Furthermore, tonight was a chance for AJ Burnett to prove that the Yankees didn't make a mistake in signing him to pitch a big game, though his two previous starts in Boston would have seemed to indicate otherwise. He had a real chance to deliver tonight.

And deliver, Allan James Burnett, did.

Holding Boston to just one hit--the first batter of the game on a play that probably should have been made--Burnett went 7.2 innings, which has a further benefit in that since Phil Hughes only pitched to one batter, he can probably pitch tomorrow.

The problem was, as well as Burnett pitched, Josh Beckett matched him step-for-step.

And so they dueled.

That the game became a battle of the bullpens should be no surprise to fans of either team, but the caliber of the relief pitching on both sides was mostly extrodnary.

The Red Sox used their entire bullpen; the Yankees five men, and it came down to a rookie making his major league debut only since Terry Francona had no other options, to break the scoreless tie.

Otherwise, tonight's game may have gone on forever.

There's thus nothing really to say about the offense--both teams had chances and couldn't capitalize, but it has more to do with the quality of the pitching than anything else.

So, you there Yankee fan, take it and enjoy it.

This is what October feels like--the atmosphere, the quality of play, the unfathomable-ness of a loss.

It's been a while, now, since there was October baseball in the Bronx, but the way these Yankees are playing, they may well be unstoppable.

Sign of the Times

Jason Giambi was released today and John Smoltz DFA'd.

Giambi was batting .193 and had an OBP in the .330s. Smoltz, well, we know what he did last night.

At one point in time both were among the elite; Smoltz is widely still considered a first-ballot Hall of Fame candidate while Giambi has had some not-so-great moments with PEDs and golden thongs, but he did spend seven seasons in pinstripes, attempting to fill the shoes of the now-legendary clutch Tino Martinez.

More and more of the stars from the late 90s and 00s are nearing the end.

Sad, sure, but in their wake we get to see guys like Mark Teixeira and Jair Jurrjens.

So, as Dr. Seuss would say, don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened.

"An Offensive Orgy" to win an ugly game (Postgame Notes 06 August 2009)

I should explain here that the term "offensive orgy" comes not from me but from Michael Kay.

Aha!, you say, as you make your way through this post.

Basically, it's like this:

If you're going to walk twelve (yes, twelve) batters for the other team, you'd better show up to hit yourselves, and that's exactly what happened.

Every Yankee starter had a hit and only three (Jeter, A-Rod and Matsui, and yes, you read that right, too) did not have multiple hit games. Four Yankees--Jorge Posada, Johnny Damon, Melky Cabrera and Mark Teixeira--hit home runs.

The funny thing here is that going into the bottom of the fourth innning, this game looked much like its 09 Yankees-Sox predecessors: poor pitching, bad baserunning, and timely hits by the opposition.

In fact, everyone--and I mean everyone was killing Jorge Posada for refusing to slide when attempting to score. to be fair, the criticism was warranted, but as so often the case, Posada would more than make up for his blunder, ending up falling "just" a triple shy of the cycle.

In the bottom of the fourth, Posada doubled, Canó reached, and then with one out, Melky Cabrera hit an absolute bomb to right field--out in any ballpark.

That one home run may have been the defining moment that changes the Yankees fortunes against Boston this season.

The Yankees took the 5-3 lead on that home run, and that proved to be the start of an eight-run onslaught in the fourth inning. The Yankees, as you might expect, never looked back. Okay, so that's not entirely true--while the score never got to within four runs from that point, the Yankees did end up walking twelve. Boston had runners reach ever single inning.

To be fair, only Chamberlain and Anthony Claggett gave up runs, and despite the number of pitchers used today, Aceves, Hughes, Bruney, Rivera and probably Coke should all be available tomorrow.

When all said and done, the Yankees win tonight might be the most important win of the season thus far:

1) They get the 0-8 monkey off their back.
2) There's less pressure on AJ Burnett to outpitch Josh Beckett. Of course, that's not saying a whole lot, but it counts.
3) It assures the Yankees, now 3.5 in first, that whatever happens the rest of this series they will still wake up on Monday morning in first place.
4) If the Yankees can, however, they now have an opportunity to go 4.5 up tomorrow. Which could then become...you know...


So sit back, and for all of tonight's ugliness, enjoy it.

This win means just that little bit more.

Papelbon Would Consider Pinstripes (Not that we'd want him, of course)

This from an interview today at the MLB Home Plate Sirius XM channel:

Host, Jody McDonald: “If you couldn’t work out a contract with the Red Sox before free agency comes up and you eventually become a free agent, is the Bronx ever a possibility?”

Jonathan Papelbon: “Oh, of course. I mean, I think if we can’t come to an agreement on terms here in a Red Sox uniform, I mean, I think that’s pretty much the writing on the wall. If they can’t come to terms with you they’re letting you know that, ‘Hey you know what? We can go somewhere else.’ And I think it’s the same way on the other side, ‘Hey if ya’ll can’t come to an agreement with me then I can go somewhere else.’ Not only in the Bronx, but anywhere. I think anywhere is a possibility. You always have to keep that in the back of your mind because you can’t just be one-sided and think that, ‘Oh I’m going to be in a Red Sox uniform my entire career.’ Because nowadays that is very, very rare and hopefully we can because there’s no question I would love to stay in a Boston Red Sox uniform but I have to do what’s best for me and play in an atmosphere where I’m wanted and play on a team where I’m wanted and that’s all I can really say about that, you know?”

Make of that what you will. Given the prevailing rumors about the departures of Nomar Garciaparra, Johnny Damon and Manny Ramirez (among others), this may not be the most heartwarming thing Papelbon could have said about his relationship to his team.


That said, I'm not entirely sure Papelbon and pinstripes would work out. It's not so much that I have a hard time imagining a Sox player on the Yanks (hello Johnny Damon!), as it is that I have a hard time imagining Papelbon following Mo. I'm sure, as a Yankee fan, you can understand why.

Yankees Make a Game Over It but Still Can't Beat the Sox (Postgame Notes 10 June 2009)

Officially, today's game was the first game in a week where the Yankees did not officially commit a fielding error.

Unfortunately, an error on the basepath way back when in the second inning may have cost the Yankees the game.

It's kind of funny--Nick Swisher's all out diving catch in the later innings is likely to make ESPN's highlight reels (okay, maybe not ESPN's...), but the awful baserunning move, where he strayed too far off first base and was doubled off in the second inning is what looms large.

With Chien Ming Wang starting, it was not really much of a secret that the Yankees would need to score a lot of runs to win, and when Wang somehow escaped the first inning only giving up one run, it seems the Yankees were poised to make good on the opportunity.

After Jorge Posada homered, the Yankees had two runners on first and third when Melky Cabrera came to bat, and one double play later, the entire complexion of the game changed.

The Yankees did have some good performances--Mark Teixeira was 4-5 and Phil Hughes, Phil Coke and Alfredo Aceves pitched relatively well in relief, though the two run HR was ultimately the difference maker--but they were overshadowed by two poor performances in particular:

Wang's yet-again poor outing and Derek Jeter and Robinson Canó combining to go 0-10.

The bigger issue, of course, is Wang--it's highly unlikely Jeter and Canó will go 0-for-the-rest-of-the-season.

The problem with Wang will be discussed in a post following this, but the fact remains that right now the Yankees are 0-7 against the Sox, and no matter what else they might do in the meantime, until they can beat the Sox, no one will count them a legitimate contender to win the AL East or win in the postseason.

Yankees at Red Sox, 10 June 2009

5.53 PM: Today's line up, which will likely need to score ten or so runs in the first inning:

Jeter
Damon
Teixeira
Rodriguez
Canó
Posada
Matsui
Swisher
Cabrera


Interesting to note: both Swisher and Teixeira, both switch hitters, have indicated they may try to hit righty against the RHP knuckleballer Tim Wakefield.

There's a lot of pressure on Chien Ming Wang tonight...and the general consensus is that this might be a long night.


5.59 PM: Wang's wife is due any day. Besides numerous wishes for good luck, the jokes are flying way too easy tonight.

7.14 PM: Teixeira batting righty. 2-0 count right now.

7.15 PM: One dent-in-the-Green-Monster later, the strategy worked.

7.20 PM: And after A-Rod walks, Canó pops one up. And here our troubles begin.

7.24 PM: One out, one on for Kevin Youkilis. Uh oh.

7.24 PM: And a four pitch walk to Youkilis. Two on, one out for the Yankee killer Jason Bay.

7.29 PM: How the heck did that ball get through?

7.37 PM: Got lucky there with only one run as Wang simply doesn't have the zone. Glad to see Girardi wasn't going to waste any time if need be. Hopefully the offense can score a few runs here. I'm not used to being shut out in 2009.

7.40 PM: Hip hip Jorge!

7.41 PM: Matsui refuses to go 0-17 at any point. And Swisher is up batting right handed.

7.44 PM: Melky was unlucky there, but the real error was an awful baserunning move by Swisher. Too bad you don't get E's for offensive blunders.

Wait. Actually, that might end up being a good thing...

7.47 PM: Bad baserunning cost them that inning there.

7.54 PM: I'll be shocked if Wang makes it out of this inning.

8.07 PM: Teixeira's onto something.

8.16 PM: The Yankees, it would seem, have a real issue on their hands. They can't afford to let Wang pitch like this over the long term when Phil Hughes clearly seems to be the better option right now.

Glad I'm not the GM's office right now...

8.36 PM: Line drive single for Melky Cabrera and it's now 4-2 Sox. Men on first and second for Derek Jeter with one out.

8.48 PM: Trouble for Hughes. Man on third with one out and he's begun to nibble.

And Youkilis just hit a two run shot.

You know, I get that there's always a team we can't beat, but why, for the love of Mo, does it have to be the Sox this year?

8.58 PM: Yanks got one run back there, but with the exception of Teixeira, no one really seems to be playing with much energy. The potential is there, but they can't capitalize.

9.32 PM: Holy Mark Teixeira is 4-4.

9.44 PM: With six outs to go, the Yankees have made a game of it and it's now only 6-5. If the Yankees bullpen can hold it here--certainly not a given--they have as good a shot as anyone.

9.47 PM: Even if Swisher occasionally makes bone-headed moves, you can never accuse him of not giving it his all.

The AL East Isn't What We Thought It Would Be. It's Better.

Last night I was thinking about the Jays.

I was thinking about the Jays, and how people are saying,

"Look at how Toronto is now 1-5 against non-Baltimore AL East opponents," as if to say that no, they're really not that good.

Now, these people are likely right. That a team that a number of experts picked to finish last in the division, or only just above it, has maintained its hold on first place for so long, deserves commendation...and also a second look.

The Jays are 16-8 against the AL Central, and 19-8 against the AL Central and Baltimore. They're 7-4 against the AL West, which is respectable enough, and, as said before, 1-5 against non-Baltimore AL East, for a total of 8-9 against non-AL Central, non-Baltimore opponents.

This illustrates two things:

1) The early Jays schedule was chock full of AL Central opponents,

and,

2) That the AL Central is quite possibly not very good.


It's not just the Jays here, either:

The Yankees are 10-4 against AL Central opponents; two losses against the Indians and one each against Justin Verlander and Kansas City.

Then again, maybe it's not the AL Central.


Maybe it's the AL East.


The division leaders in the AL Central, AL West, NL East would all be in fourth place in the current AL East; Milwaukee in the NL Central and the Dodgers in the NL West are right now the only teams that would be in first in the AL East, and when you consider the Dodgers' competition in the NL West--and they are 20-8 in their own division--the 29 wins is a bit qualified.

As another example, consider how the other teams in the AL are doing against the AL East.

Out of the other nine teams in the American League, only the vaunted Angels have a winning record against the AL East, and they've played their favorite regular-season foe Red Sox a few times already.

I would guess, right about now, that teams in the AL Central and AL West are very thankful for the unbalanced schedule, and that getting into the playoffs is based on how you do in your division more so than overall standings...

Another way of looking at it is that the AL East has not one, but two teams over .600, and the Yankees, at .585 are not far behind.

Granted, the Blue Jays will fall back to earth, at least a little, but the Rays are only just beginning to play well. In the end, the Jays and the Rays may simply end up flip-flopping, although, right now, if one takes the record against AL East teams as a portent, the Red Sox would have to be favored, being 16-6 against the division (with five wins against the Yankees and three against the Jays).

At any rate, what this means--and what we've kind of known all along--is that the AL East could end up finishing the season with the, potentially, three or even four best records in the American League, if Toronto doesn't falter too badly, and only two will even have a shot at the playoffs.


Crazy sport, right?

Joba's 12 K performance undermined by bad first and bullpen (Postgame notes 5 May 2008)

If you ask someone whether it's more important that Joba Chamberlain struck out 12 batters in five innings or that the Yankees can't buy a win against the Red Sox, the answer they give you will probably tell you where they sit on the Joba-as-starter-or-in-the-bullpen debate.

There's no getting around the fact that Joba's first inning was bad, and I mean really, really bad.

The first five batters all reached base and before Joba recorded an out it was 4-0 Sox. No matter what Joba did the rest of the game, this would hang over him and the Yankees.

So what did Joba do?

He did the only thing he could do after that inning.

He went back out and pitched some more, and dominated. I don't mean he pitched well. I mean dominated.

He struck out 12 Red Sox and the last eight were all in a row. The last time a Yankee struck out 12 at Yankee Stadium? Mike Mussina in 2003.

It's been a long time.

Joba's pitch count did get up there fairly quickly because of the first inning and because strike outs tend to take a lot of pitches, but, if Joba's doing this at 23...


Alas, the good news for the Yankees ends there.

The bullpen was handed a 4-3 lead, and within a couple innings it was 6-3. The only reliever right now who seems to be able to get anyone out with any sort of certainty is Phil Coke; Veras and Ramirez inspire little confidence, Melancon could not throw a strike and Albaladejo simply had nothing.

The offense was never able to get the clutch hit, but with Posada injured and A-Rod still at least a few days away, the Yankees will have to get used to a Peña-Molina combo at the bottom of the line up. It doesn't help that Robinson Canó seems to have gone ice cold, either.

Granted, Canó was never going to keep up his hot start, but it's been a few games now without a hit and the Yankees really need everything to be working.

I don't know if anyone else has noticed it, but Nick Swisher doesn't seem to like to hit at Yankee Stadium. His hitting on the road sorta makes up for it, but it'd be nice to see him hit at the Stadium.

Right now, Melky's attempt to stretch a double into a triple looms large, as he was the tying run, but with one out it wasn't an awful decision, and he very nearly made it.

It's only the fourth time all season the Yankees failed to score four runs, and they would have if not for that play.


So there are two things to take from tonight's game:

1) Joba is a starter. No question. Yes, he could help the team in the bullpen, but the bullpen isn't even a factor if the Yankees can't get to it with a lead or a close game.

2) The bullpen is an abyss. It's baffling. These guys were so good last year, so why are they so bad this year? It makes little sense.

Such is the nature of baseball, however, and if you can't handle that, then you need to find a different sport.

Yankees vs Red Sox, 5 May 2009: A Liveblog

3.54 PM: Damn, that was scary. Just trying to open a new window in Firefox and my entire computer just crapped out, making a really really strange noise with the fan. I've needed a new computer for a bit, now, but I lack the funds for one. But, hey, if you've got a Macbook you're willing to donate...

3.56 PM: Hopefully, if the home plate umpire today is a little bit better, and Joba has something vaguely resembling command, he pitches more than four innings.

It's misty at the moment; certainly not as bad as last night. They'll get this one in.

4.26 PM: during my computer freak out, forgot to mention, the campaign to vote Nick Swisher to the All Star game--he's not even on the ballot! It's a write in campaign and the details can be found here

4.41 PM: Okay, so, if I can find 100 people to donate me $10 each, I can afford the computer I want...who wants to donate?! Anyone? Come on, please?!

5.08 PM: Here is a great explanation of a hamstring strain, the grades (1-3) and an explanation of their severity. Word is Jorge's is a grade 2, but I don't have it from any official source.

5.27 PM: According to my ESPN alerts on my phone, Brett Favre is meeting with Minnesota to consider coming out of retirement. Again.

5.42 PM: Just got really dark. I've kind of forgotten what the sun looks like. All this rain is suffocating.

6.39 PM: According to this post, Bruney won't be back any time soon with the Yanks. Spectacular!

6.55 PM: According to LoHud, the Yankees have re-signed Humberto Sanchez. He is, however, still off the 40 man, so no worries there.

7.14 PM: Two base hits in a row does not a good start for Joba make.

7.18 PM: 4-0 Sox and the Yankees don't have a single out. They haven't really come close, either.

How long do you leave Joba in pitching like this?

7.22 PM: So the Yanks spotted Josh Beckett a four run cushion before they even come to bat. As someone else said, every. single. thing. has gone right for the Sox playing the Yankees thus far. It's a little painful.

Still, this is a Sox-Yankees game. Four runs is definitely not a safe lead.

Unless Beckett starts pitching like Lester.


Who wudda thought you'd ever hear that?

7.34 PM: The good news is that the Yankees won't be no hit, but it kind of ends there.

7.41 PM: Much, much better inning for Jobamania. Maybe now the offense can do something.

7.52 PM: Dustin Pedoria reminds me of a rat. Meanwhile Joba's pissed. Good. He should be.

8.00 PM: So maybe that first inning was a fluke, or something. Would love the offense to do something here, but with Molina-Jeter-Damon, I feel like someone is bound to GIDP.

8.05 PM: A Jeterian single.

8.06 PM: Johnny Damon is cranking them to right. All of a sudden, we have a ball game.

8.14 PM: Canó is 0-for his last-10, but he's still working the count much better than he did last year.

Yanks didn't tie it there, but they got on the board and it was only the third inning. Plenty of time to make up one run if Joba does his job.

8.22 PM: Apparently someone needs to tell Joba that it's the second inning when he comes into the game...

8.26 PM: Melky, you idiot. Okay, it wasn't a terrible idea, but it didn't exactly work.

8.34 PM: Had Melky not been called out, he would have scored on Peña's error-turned-double. It wasn't a bad idea to try for third with one out, but it didn't work and it's still 4-3 Boston.

8.48 PM: Joba's struck out 10 in five innings, though whether or not he starts the sixth is questionable.

Mike at RAB said it well:

"15 starts and he’s K’ed 9 on four occasions?

By all means, make him a reliever."

9.03 PM: Joba's last 8 outs were all strike outs. I don't know where Joe Girardi gets this faith in José Veras, but at least Joba won't be out there in the rain.

9.24 PM: Black holes of doom at the bottom of the line up suck. They really do. I wish the warning track wasn't so bouncy. Swisher probably would have scored.

9.51 PM: This is frustrating, because instead of the normal 'hey, we still have two innings', there's the uncertainty that they might call the game. It is absolutely pouring.

10.04 PM: This Yankee bullpen is killing me. As is Girardi's overmanaging of it. Just plain killing me.

10.08 PM: I am beyond pissed right now. What the hell will it take to beat Boston? What the hell will it take for our bullpen to, you know, pitch like they did last year?

10.36 PM: Should have just left Coke in there.

Yankees vs Red Sox, 4 May 2009: A Liveblog

3.41 PM: Somewhat doubtfull they play tonight considering the rain is only supposed to get worse. Two rainouts in a row would leave me feeling empty and despondent.

3.42 PM: Finally! Alfredo Aceves has been called up and the bullpen has a long man! He replaces Anthony Claggett who, clearly, was not ready for the Show.

Also, Nick Swisher is good to go tonight.

Assuming, of course, they play.

4.00 PM: The line up, if they play:

Jeter SS
Damon LF
Teixeira 1B
Swisher RF
Cano 2B
Posada DH
Cabrera CF
Molina C
Berroa 3B

My thoughts: A) Great to have Swisher back there, B) Lefty Matsui is probably sitting so the Yankees can have Posada's Switch hitting bat and Molina catching. Molina has pretty good numbers against Lester. Matsui off the bench isn't a horrible thing: C) You could PH him for Berroa, if need be, and then play Peña (who is likely sitting because of that lefty thing again) for defense.


6.58 PM: Some say start time 9 PM, some say no way they'll play...about the only thing we know for certain is that the game won't start on time and the radar, once promising, now looks U-G-L-Y you ain't got no alibi ugly.

8.49 PM: I am so good at updating this, aren't I?

No word on the Yanks, but this Toronto game could be something special.


8.51 PM: Or not.

8.58 PM: They're pulling the tarp and the word from the Stadium is a 9.20 start time. Just pretend we're on the west coast.

9.23 PM: Raining again, and somewhat hard, too. Still, even seeing just one inning is better than nothing.

9.35 PM: You know, it's entirely possible Hughes' pitches have too much movement right now, hence the poor location. Balls are going in and out and up and down. Boston's up 1-0, but they've only had one hit. If Hughes can settle down a bit in the zone, the Yankees will be fine.

9.45 PM: Jon Lester strikes out the side. This is gonna be a real long night. *gulp*.

9.48 PM: Ouch. Like I said, long night.

9.57 PM: Okay, so it's 2-0 Boston. It's not like the Yankees haven't come back from worse, but they need to, you know, not let Lester strike out the side.

10.10 PM: Man, the Yanks have got to get some better RISP hitting. Lester's struck out five in two. Ouch.

The Yanks at least have a hit now...and that might not seem like much, but the way Lester's throwing...

10.16 PM: Third inning and four walks already for Hughes. This cannot possibly end well.

10.22 PM: I don't like to complain about umpires too much, but...this is possibly the worst I've seen all season.

10.26 PM: 75 pitches through 2.2 innings for Hughes?

Ow.

10.37 PM: Okay, Mark Teixeira is starting to worry me. I know he's a notorious slow starter, but right now he's really hurting the team out there. The walks help, until you face a pitcher like Lester who tends not to walk hitters.

10.43 PM: You know, there are a lot of things you can complain about regarding Johnny Damon, but in terms of guys giving their body up to the game, it's a pleasure to watch him.

10.44 PM: Okay, this one-run-an-inning thing has got to stop. It's one thing to come back from two runs, four is another story.

11.06 PM: Zach Greinke is a wunderkind.

11.12 PM: Whoa, the Red Sox didn't score that inning. Maybe this is the inning things turn around?

11.20 PM: Girardi got thrown out for trying to defend Jeter. Well done. Some ejections are worth it--if Jeter gets upset, you know there's a gripe.

11.21 PM: See? Ejections work!

11.22 PM: You think maybe Teixeira was due or something?

11.35 PM: Buh? Angel Berroa made that play? What sort of Twilight Zone is this?

11.43 PM: Posada's kind of gimping off the field. Think he's hurt.

11.52 PM: José Molina wants to forget this night. Jason Bay is a Yankee killer. I kind of hate him.

12.02 AM: It's Cinco de Mayo and I have to say, reaching for a Corona right now is really, really tempting, except I don't have any because, uh, I don't drink beer.

12.13 AM: Yanks always tend to get burned when they IBB guys. *Gulp*

12.15 AM: *And Exhale* All right, the Yankees need three runs to tie, four to win and they have six outs to do it.

12.18 AM: Teixeira was due. Like I said.

12.21 AM: Matsui on deck to PH for Posada, so it looks like Posada's hurt. You hope it's not too bad, but he looked like he was in pain.

12.33 AM: Bad night for José Molina. Could have erased it with a hit there, but never mind. Two runs in the ninth inning has been done before.

1.13 AM: Oh, so close. Robbie Canó is, historically, the last guy you want up there with the bases loaded.

I'll give the Yanks this: they NEVER showed that kind of fight last year.

Anyway, I'm going to sleep. You can survive without postgame notes. What you need to know is that Hughes wasn't very good, Aceves was good minus the Bay HR and Posada got hurt.

Sox Sweep; Yankees Reel but Melancon Stellar (Postgame Notes 26 April 2009)

This is not the first time the Yankees have ever been swept.

Nor, I would gather, is it the first time that they have been swept at Fenway.

Still, this weekend was especially painful.

Today's heartbreaking moment came in the fifth inning, when Jacoby Ellsbury created a straight steal of home. Alas, as much as us Yankee fans would like to forget about the steal, it will probably be replayed on ESPN five billion times, so we'd best get used to it.

The irony, of course, is that had the Yankees gotten this pitching effort yesterday, they would have at least won yesterday's game. Four runs isn't anything to write home about, in terms of pitching performances, but it's certainly enough to give your team a chance to win.

Except, this time, only the second game this season, the Yankees could not muster anything offensively.

Was it a product of having Brett Gardner, Melky Cabrera and Angel Berroa in the same line up? Probably, though I kow there are some that will starkly disagree.

The Yankees had hit Masterson well in the past, but tonight, they simply couldn't get any hits when they needed them.

There was, however, one bright spot:

Mark Melancon.

The reliever made his major league debut tonight, and gave Yankee fans quite a taste. In the bottom of the seventh he set the side down in order, 1-2-3, and in the eighth, after loading the bases with no one out, Melancon got out of the inning without allowing a single run.

It certainly caught my attention.



Anyway, the Yankees now head to Detroit, which will be no walk in the park as the team is much better than it was last year. The good news, however, is that Armando Gallaraga pitched today so the Yankees won't have to face him. And the Rick Porcello-Joba Chamberlain pitching matchup on Wednesday will either be really, really good, or really, really bad. You know it.

Yankees at Red Sox, 26 Aprill 2009: A Liveblog

5.04 PM: Tonight's Yankees line up from LoHud begs two questions:

1) Is Girardi trying to get swept?

2) Is Damon hurt from last night's date with the Green Monster in the latter innings?

The line up:

Gardner CF
Jeter SS
Teixeira 1B
Swisher LF
Cano 2B
Posada C
Matsui DH
Cabrera RF
Berroa 3B

5.35 PM: The answer to question one seems to be question two. The problem isn't so much giving Damon a day off as it is having both Gardner and Cabrera in the line up.

6.26 PM: Here's some irony for you: Down on the farm, Carmen Angeline, he of the error-in-every-game-but-three variety, scored today...on an error.

6.34 PM: From LoHud (link above): Johnny Damon is out of the lineup with a sore right shoulder, a sore knee and a sore back. Ouch!

7.30 PM: Every time I read something about Swine Flu I get a scratchy throat. Yay for being a hypochondriac!

8.09 PM: Finally ready to get underway. Meanwhile in the other game I'm watching, Rolston should shoot the f'ing puck once in a while.

8.16 PM: Yankees go down 1-2-3 in the first, without getting a single ball past the infield. I hope this is not a sign to things to come. With my luck, however...

8.24 PM: You mean these two teams actually put together a scoreless inning? A lead off single for Ellsbury goes for naught as Pedroia flies out to deep center and Ortiz lines into a double play.

8.31 PM: A base hit would have been nice. Swisher put together a decent AB but struck out; Canó dribbled a ball that should have gone foul but didn't, and Jorge Posada flew out to left.

8.40 PM: Back to back two out singles for the Red Sox. Meanwhile it looks like the Devils-Canes series will be heading for a game 7. Maybe I'll try to get a ticket.

8.46 PM: Andy Pettitte works around the two singles and the score is still (!!) 0-0 after two.

8.49 PM: Matsui with the Yankees first hit of the evening, a lead off single. Let's see if they can do anything with it.

8.54 PM: Gardner with a sac fly after Berroa's sac bunt after Melky's single (got that?) plates Matsui. Yankees lead 1-0.

Meanwhile, Joe Morgan says the Yankees are not and offensive juggernaut and yet the rank in the top five in many offensive categories...

8.57 PM: After Jeter reaches on an error Teixeira flies out on the first pitch he sees. 1-0 Yankees after two and a half. I don't expect the score to last very long.

9.04 PM: Fenway park loves their sausages? Dude, there are kids watching...

9.07 PM: Yeah, this lead is not going to last very long. Angel Berroa has two errors in one inning. And we thought Cody Ransom was a black hole...

9.10 PM: Never a Pettitte start without a pick off.

9.24 PM: Ayayay, is that a BLACK HOLE OF DOOM at the bottom of the Yanks' line up or what? With Canó at third and two out, Melky swings at the first pitch and hits a lazy ground ball. Meanwhile, Matsui is 2-2.

9.34 PM: Andy Pettitte works around a two out walk and strikes out Lowell to end the inning. Still tied 1-1.

9.44 PM: Teixeira gives one a ride but it falls short on the warning track. We go bottom five still tied 1-1.

9.48 PM: Andy Pettitte has thrown five straight out of the strike zone. Ah, there's a strike.

9.57 PM: Pettitte walks two and gets burned with a two out double by David Ortiz. 2-1 Sox. Pettitte's pitch count is getting precariously high.

10.02 PM: A straight steal of home for Jacoby Ellsbury and now a ground-ruled double and it's 4-1 Boston.

Did someone on the Yankees murder a baby or something? I don't understand the karma.

10.23 PM: Wow, the Yankees look kinda helpless right now, don't they? Maybe we'll get to see Melancon...

10.30 PM: Pettitte manages to get through six innings. Alas, unless the Yankee offense can put something together, it will go for naught. I wonder how many times we'll be forced to watch replays of Ellsbury's steal of home...

10.40 PM: Right now it looks like this will be only the second time all season the Yankees have failed to plate more than four runs.

10.44 PM: Welcome to the bigs, Mark Melancon.

10.45 PM: Wow, I'm kinda shocked Melancon was able to handle that with the bat flying everywhere.

10.47 PM: Is Melancon single? Will he marry a Jew?

10.57 PM: I hope someone starts throwing crap in the locker room or something after this game. At least get SOMETHING out of these guys.

11.04 PM: The Sox have the bases loaded and no one one out. I am sorely tempted to throw something through a window, but I don't have enough money to pay for a replacement. However, if you'd like to donate to the cause I can totally give you my paypal information.

11.08 PM: Mark Melancon gets out of the jam without allowing a run. You know, it is entirely possible I might forget about how much this loss sucks just to fawn over Melancon...