Yanks take series in Anaheim. No, hell did not freeze over.

The Yankees won a well-played, tight 3-2 game in Anaheim, but that score alone will hide the larger victories:

• AJ Burnett pitched well. He struck out eleven and threw too many pitches in doing so (strikeout pitchers will invariably throw a lot of pitches), but had it not been near 100 F in Anaheim, he may have stayed in longer than his just-over 100 pitches.

• Ian Kennedy (remember him?) pitched a scoreless eighth inning. Sure, he loaded the bases, but the important thing here is that he pitched. After surgery for an aneurysm, Kennedy wasn't expected to pitch at all this season. He came back to pitch in the International League's playoffs (AAA) and now pitched for the Yankees. His last memory of 2009 then won't be the aneurysm, but getting that final out in the eighth in a 3-2 ballgame.

• For the first time in five years, the Yankees won a series in Anaheim. Don't think it matters? It's a distinct possibility that the Yankees and Anaheim meet in the postseason. At this point it's unlikely that the Yankees would lose home field advantage, but even so the Yankees no longer have the monkey (bad pun intended) on their backs.

The magic number for the division is down to five, and while clinching against Boston is not a guarantee (though that would be awesome), the Yankees should be able to clinch it on their final homestand of the year.

Yankees at Tigers, 29 April 2009: A liveblog

4.49 PM: Relatively few updates today because I have a lot of work to do and not a whole lot of time to do it.

The most important news of the day concerns Ian Kennedy, who had felt numbness in one of his fingers.

He saw a MD today and was diagnosed with a vasospasm, which, in layman's terms would seem to involve a spasmodic blood vessel.

This is potentially very bad if they cannot find an underlying cause. The vasospasm itself can be treated with medicine, but it's a condition that, IMO is more likely to be a symptom of a larger problem.

Here's wishing him the best.

4.51 PM: Jorge Posada is getting the start today, and please, for the love of all that's holy, stop this nonsense about Molina beint a better everyday player. No one denies Molina has a cannon for an arm, but without Posada's bat, you miss the playoffs. Exhibit A: 2008.

7.12 Pm: I admit it. It's kinda hard to root against Rick Porcello. Why, oh why, did the Tigers get to draft ahead of us that year?

7.47 PM: Did Ken Singleton seriously just ask if a golf course was "white only"? I'm not sure if I should be amused or horrified. Just imagine if Cone had asked that...

7.49 PM: I should either brush up on my golf or get my hearing checked. Possibly both.

7.56 PM: Ayayay Joba...bases loaded, one out. Now 1-0 Tigers on a sac fly. Joba's command seems to be off tonight.

8.13 PM: ...Jorge Posada just stole a base. If this doesn't portend the apocalypse...

8.17 PM: Swisher hit a bomb to left. 3-1 Yanks, and the hitters are working Porcello's pitch count real good.

8.23 PM: Hopefully Porcello will wipe this start from his memory and go on to bigger and better things. I have to root for the Jersey kids.

However, I'd be lying if I didn't say that I absolutely love it when the Yankee offense explodes.

8.27 PM: The Tigers screwed themselves there. They should have pitched to the slumping Teixeira, but instead Matsui, who has been on fire, made them pay. The intentional walks seldom work.

8.42 PM: So what did Swisher have for breakfast this morning? Where can I get some? His second home run of the night, and it's 8-1 Yankees.

9.01 PM: Aww, Zach Grienke gave up an earned run. He has an ERA now.

9.07 PM: Robbie's hit streak is alive and well. Missed first base and grimaced as though he was hurt, but it was just a scare. Phew.

9.39 PM: Is there anything Swisher can't do?

9.40 PM: A warning system has gone off. Don't know why. Now I am very curious.

9.42 PM: False alarm. Someone just ruined their life by tripping the alarm in a crowded ballpark.

10.07 PM: Uh, Mo? Is everything okay?

Start Blog, Get Stuff (AKA How I became the world's biggest Trenton Thunder fan)

Most of the time, there aren't a whole lot of tangible rewards for writing a baseball blog--you do it because you love the team, because you love writing--and those reasons are usually enough reward in themselves.

Sometimes, however, you do a good deed, and it's returned in kind.

Last year, after supporting Tom Kackley's Domestic Violence Project auction of memorabilia, the Trenton Thunder clubhouse manager told me he had a couple extra bobbleheads from giveaways and asked if I'd be interested.

Since I'm the crazy-old-lady-in-the-attic-with-knick-knacks type of person, I said, sure, send 'em my way.

Last night, a prompt two days after my birthday, the doorbell rang. It was the UPS man, with a huge-ass box.

My first reaction was that it was probably the birthday order I placed with Amazon (before the AmazonFail debacle), but then I realized I hadn't ordered that much. Anyway, DVDs don't need a huge box. So I looked at the return address and saw: Trenton Thunder.

And I promptly jumped for joy.

I rushed to open the box, and this is what I found inside:


A T-shirt that I will wear should I get the opportunity to make it down to Trenton.


Magnetic schedule, and now my fridge has some decoration.


Thunder hat. Don't mind the mess in the background. I clean for visitors.


Statue of Lou Gehrig.


Thunder mascot bobblehead.


Ian Kennedy bobblehead. The caliber of players whose bobbleheads I unwrapped improved if the unwrapping went on. I was pleasantly impressed. Yes, that's a Sox shot glass in the background. My friend got it as a gag gift. Don't worry-my two Yankees' shot glasses firmly outnumber the one Red Sox one...


Old school lunch tin. I'm not sure what I'll put into it, but I'll think of something.


Melky Cabrera bobblehead.


A bobblehead dog! Maybe I'll name it Bo!


Phil Hughes bobblehead. I put him next to his friend Ian Kennedy.


A second Melky bobblehead that I actually unwrapped before the Hughes one.


My entire baseball display. The baseball there is signed by Jose Molina-who hit the last home run at the old Yankee Stadium. There's also an All Star game hat, two programs (one from the Final Game and the other from the Cubs exhibition series) and two shot glasses. I have a Yankees' pennant hanging over my TV.


Yankees wristbands. If I worked out, ever, I could use them. right now they're just pretty to look at.

SoCal SoBad (postgame notes 08 August 08)

The Yankees, it seem, have a physical inability to win baseball games in Anaheim.

This would be not a big deal if the Yankees were not in the middle of a pennant race--one in which they are outsiders looking in.

By all accounts, the Yankees have a beat up pitching staff, and the only reason Ian Kennedy was starting tonight was because there was no other option. Phil Hughes is still at least a start away from being a viable candidate.

This does not excuse Kennedy's poor performance tonight, but it might help explain it.

Still, only two innings from Kennedy was the last thing the Yankees needed. It doesn't just mean that Kennedy had a bad outing, but that the Yankees were forced to use Darrell Rasner for an extended period of time.

While Rasner pitched well, it effectively means he will be unable to start until Wednesday, and the Yankees are now short a bullpen arm.

Brian Bruney had an evening he would rather forget--when he entered the game, the score was 7-5, and the Yankees were clearly still in the game, but by the time the inning ended, they were down 10-5. It's admirable that Bruney worked his bum off to be able to come back, but an outing like the one tonight was not what the Yankees needed.

In terms of the offense, the Yankees did not have an awful game. Most of the time, five runs should be enough to win the game.

As one poster on LoHud Yankees says,

Two of the pitcher on your opening-day rotation have a total of zero wins. Your ace is gone. Your all-star catcher, who seems to be a clubhouse leader, is gone. Matsui is gone. You have a new manager. Your replacement ace is injured. Not one single person on the team, with the exception of Mo, is really even having an above-average season.

http://yankees.lhblogs.com/2008/08/08/game-116-yankees-at-angels/#comment-486394

It really is a miracle that the Yankees are still in contention for a Wild Card spot.

*****

The Opening Ceremonies were marvelously well done. I was especially touched by the story of the boy that walked with Yao Ming (who was carrying the flag for the Chinese delegation).

He had been in school during the earthquake a few months ago. He pulled himself out of the rubble, and then went back to help his classmates.

Why? Because he was one of the class leaders and it was his responsibility.

Pregame Notes 1 May 2008

If, at the beginning of the season, you said that the Yankees would be a game under .500 at the end of April, you probably wouldn't have been too happy, but given the Yankees' month-long road trip, you would have probably been okay with it.

However, even thought that's what the Yankees have, the cost of it is looking like it is prohibitively high. The Yankees have lost a large percentage of their offense with the injuries to Alex Rodriguez and Jorge Posada, and their young pitching has not only not been there, but is now getting hurt as well.

The Yankees will attempt to avoid a sweep tonight and get their first win since returning home, but they will need a better performance from Ian Kennedy than they have been getting, and much better production from their bats.

To that end, Joe Girardi continues to draw the line up at random; tonight Shelley Duncan will bat fourth, Morgan Ensberg will man third and Chad Moeller will catch. Melky Cabrera will once again bat in the sixth spot.

I have some more minor league tickets tonight so the postgame wrap will be a little late, unless it does like the radar says and rains, and then it might be on time.

No Ken Do (Postgame Notes 26 April 2008)

Note: I had tickets to the Syracuse-Scranton/Wilkes-Barre game tonight (which was rained out), so I only saw the first four innings of the Yankee game today.

Ian Kennedy struggled once again in his start today; though he managed to pitch through five innings, he struggled in the first and second.

The Yankees' offense came on Jorge Posada's three-run triple, and yes, you read that sentence right.

Losing games in the bottom of the ninth sting, but given that the Yankees have such a depleted bullpen, it can't be that entirely surprising. However, the Yankees need to get past the excuse making, now that it's about a month into the season, and start adjusting. It's certainly not time to panic, but the Yankees need to seriously think about looking for ways to restock their bullpen, even if it means going outside their system.


OPTIMIST TAKE: Posada had a triple. Shelley Duncan is back with the big boys.

****

The Scranton-Syracuse game, as I said above, was a washout; there's a doubleheader tomorrow and apparently our tickets are good for the 2 PM game though I'm not exactly sure how it works.

That said, I'll have pictures tomorrow when there's actually a game.

While we were waiting during the rain, there was a booth where you could attempt to throw a pitch and if you hit the catcher's mitt, you could win a prize or some such. I tried it out--in my platformish flip flops--for the fun of it, just to see how I did. Of four throws, two didn't register on the radar gun, and the fastest one that did?

26 MPH.


Yeah, there's a reason I don't play baseball.

Offensive Explosion, Bullpen Implosion (Postgame Notes 14 April 2008)

Ken Singleton summed up the offense back in the first few innings of the game:

"These are some real swings the Yankees are taking tonight."

Indeed, over the first four innings, there were three Yankee home runs and seven runs in total. The Yankees were overdue for an offensive breakthrough, and tonight it happened. Only Hideki Matsui missed being part of the hit parade, and even then, his last out was a long fly out that looked like it might clear the fence as well.

It's the first game of the year the Yankees have won on offense, but that should not take away from Ian Kennedy's start.

By all rights, Ian Kennedy should have gotten the win, going six innings and surrendering three runs (though Billy Traber was on the mound when the last one scored), and had he not been hit by Bartlett's infield single in the seventh, the complexion of the game may have remained a laugher.

However, as the baseball deities are fickle beings, it was not to be.

Going to Billy Traber in the seventh was the right choice. That needs to be clear. With three lefties in a row, you are supposed to go to your lefty specialist, and before today, Traber had been excellent. Every reliever will have a poor game, and today, Traber was the unfortunate one.

Brian Bruney had been good so far this season, despite faltering Saturday (probably just because I was there), so there was no reason be outraged at his appearing in the game; though if Joba was around he would have been in as soon as the game became a one run affair. The outrage, however, should come from Upton's home run on an 0-2 count.

Robinson Canò had been due to break out of his offensive sputtering; as far as moments to do it go, he picked a very good one. With luck, that will be the spark he needs to get back to the Robbie Canò we all know.


OPTIMIST TAKE: Best offensive showing so far, and a great bounce-back start for Kennedy. Four home runs, but more importantly, two hits with less than two outs and RISP from Johnny Damon and (a healthy) Derek Jeter. Mariano Rivera was himself in a four-out save. Theoretically, sometime before midnight tomorrow, I'll be done with the thesis. Theoretically.

Pregame Notes 09 April 2007

First things first.

If the story of Doug Davis doesn't inspire you or move you or get a response from you, you don't have a heart.

You don't even have to be a baseball fan to understand.


As far as the Yankees are concerned, Ian Kennedy will take the mound against Zach Greinke; Kennedy struggled greatly in his first start while Greinke, well, didn't.

However, ultimately, the bigger concern for the Yankees are the injuries. Jeter's out. Posada's out. Giambi is not 100%. Last year, the injury concerns included pretty much the entire pitching staff and Bobby Abrea; this year (thankfully, knock on wood) they haven't hit the rotation.

Right now, the trade and resigning of Jose Molina looks like a genius move; in him the Yankees have a capable, durable back-up that might not fill Posada's offensive shoes, but can certainly play some defense and hit enough to not be an automatic out.

However, the situation at shortstop is much more precarious; Alberto Gonzalez was pulled from the Scranton AAA game last night, ostensibly to come up and replace Jeter at short should Jeter be gone for any extended time. Gonzalez's one advantage over Wilson Betemit is supposed to be his glove work, but the absence of Jeter's bat in the line up will be felt. Robinson Canò has the makings of future batting titles, but a number two hitter, he is not.

If the Yankees can pull of a series win at Kansas City, it will put them in excellent shape heading into Boston.

Stung (Postgame Notes 04 April 2008)

Games like tonight, painful clunkers, will happen over the course of the season. How the Yankees respond to them, is what is more important.

Ian Kennedy simply did not have his command tonight. He did get squeezed on a couple of calls, but on the whole, he simply wasn't throwing enough strikes, and the hits that Tampa did get were good hits.

It says something about the Yankees as a team that, in the third, they came back offensively, and got the game to within 6-4.

For most of the game, the bullpen did a wonderful job--Albaladejo, Ohlendorf and Traber all pitched excellent, next-to-perfect baseball--and the Yankees were right in it, but they could not muster anything offensively once Andy Sonnanstine got it going.

Hawkins, however, had an even worse outing than Kennedy. Maybe it's part bad karma for wearing 21 (even if the intention to honor Clemente is itself very honorable) or just the cold night, but after tonight, you would think that it's Hawkins that should be sent down (even though he can't be), and not Albaladejo, to make room for Pettitte tomorrow.

Farnsworth did make the three-run mistake, but by that time the game was already 10-4.

So the Yankees fell a bit tonight, but, the score tomorrow starts at 0-0, and it's an afternoon game, so there's not too much time to dwell.

OPTIMIST TAKE: The job that Albaladejo, Ohlendorf and Traber all did inspires a lot of confidence in the bullpen. If Hawkins makes a habit of being awful, we have plenty other talent in Scranton itching for a chance. I'm thinking of you, Scott Patterson. Jason Giambi had his first hit of the season and Jeter had two well hit balls that didn't quite make it out. Matsui had his first home run of the year. Tonight's game also shows us just how much better defensively we are with Melky in center and Damon in left, so good thing that suspension's not any longer than two games.



SCORES AND STUFFS

Astros over Cubs, 4-3. Tejada with an important triple.

White Sox over Tigers, 8-5. The Tigers are still winless. However, the Pistons beat the Nets.

Brewers over Giants, 13-4. So the Yankee game wasn't the only clunker tonight.

Marlins over Pirates, 5-4 on a walk-off home run from Mike Jacobs.

Blue Jays over Red Sox, 6-3. Marcum pitched a one-hitter through six and Toronto has had a quality start in every game so far.

Orioles over Mariners, 7-4. The Mariners have placed closer JJ Putz on the DL.

Diamondbacks over Rockies, 8-1, as the Rockies are 2-hit.

Twins lead Royals 4-3 in the 8th, Cardinals lead Nationals 5-2 in the 7th, Phillies lead Reds 7-4 in the 5th, Rangers-Angels, Dodgers-Padres, Athletics and Indians are all scoreless in the 2nd.

Mets and Braves are postponed.

Quick, Someone Tell Michael Kay

On his blog, Phil Hughes says that he and Joba and Ian decided on The Three Amigos as their nickname.


I don't know about you, but, personally, I think anything is better than Generation Tre.

Three Amigos is classic and doesn't sound awkward in the English language.

Seeing Reds (Exhibition Game Notes)

So I saw most of today's baseball game, which is the first time i've been able to do that since, like, the beginning of last week, though I did miss most of Joba's pitching to eat dinner. Anyway, some notes.

1) Joba does need to get his pitch count down. He got the job done, but if he is to succeed as a starter, he's got to throw less than 45 pitches over two innings. I have no doubt Joba can do it, but I won't lie, I was a little nervous in the first where he was getting behind in counts and whatnot...but maybe I've just been spoiled by Phil Hughes.

2) Ian Kennedy got notably better as his innings went on.

3) Traber and Hawkins were good; Rivera was vintage. You would think he's got fifteen years left on his contract.

4) Cincinnati has this pitcher named Volquez, which keeps making me think of Star Trek, but the point is, Volquez struck out eight in four innings, including six in two. I haven't heard of him before tonight, but DANG.

5) The offense did its thing, of course.

You learn Something New Every Day, Last Friday of the Semester

(A thanks to Jay Destro for the idea, and to Baseball Reference for being the G-d of baseball statistics!)


Right, for this week's YLSNED, I thought I'd take a look at some historical teams that had started a rotation with three or more pitchers under thirty, perhaps as some food for thought given the Yankees' probable rotation next year.

First of all, you have what I consider the 'classic, best scenario example', the 1993 Atlanta Braves, with John Smoltz, Greg Maddox and Tom Glavine.

Maddox and Glavine were both 27 and Smoltz was 26.

The Braves won 104 games. Glavine was 22-6, Maddox 20-10 and Smoltz 15-11. The Braves only made it to the NLCS that year, but the year before they had made it to the World Series, and in 1995 (with no WS in 1994), they won it all.

I consider the Braves the classic success story because of the fourteen straight chances at a World Series, and the team they were able to build around their 'big three' that lasted nearly all of the nineties and into the beginning of the new millennium.


Right. Next example:

The 2003 Chicago Cubs. They are a great example of having something great...and then having it go way, way astray.

Kerry Wood, at 26, was 14-11. Mark Prior, at 22 was 18-6. Carlos Zambrano, at 22, was 13-11.

The team went to the NLCS, and if not for a fan's interfering with a foul ball (and a curse of some sort of goat thingie) would have likely met either the Yankees or Red Sox in the World Series (THAT would have been some series!)

Of those three starters, however, only Carlos Zambrano now still pitches on a regular basis, having just signed a massive $90 million contract extension. Wood has not won more than 10 games since, and Mark Prior has battled serious injury concerns, going just 1-6 in 2006.

The culprit? Overuse of the young pitching arms, which has had almost immediate effects with other teams across the league, which for Yankee fans will be familiar with two words: "Joba Rules"


Third example:

The team that beat the Cubs, AND the Yankees in 2003. Also known as 'why Loria will never be my friend'.

The Florida Marlins in 2003 won the World Series with a pitching rotation that included Dontrelle Willis, Mark Redman, Josh Beckett, Carl Pavano and Brad Penny.

At 21, Willis went 14-6. At 23 Josh Becket was only 9-8, but came up huge in the postseason. At 27, Carl Pavano was 12-13, but the next year 18-8. At 25 Brad Penny was 14-10.

The rotation was largely kept in tact through the 2004 season, but by 2006 Dontrelle Willis was the only one still left, and as you probably know now, he has been traded to the Detroit Tigers.



So, as you might have guessed, there is no way to tell exactly how a rotation of young studs could pan out--for every Maddox, Smoltz and Glavine, there's a Mulder, Hudson or Zito, or Wood, Prior, Zambrano.

There is no question that Hughes, Chamberlain and Kennedy have the talent to be a Maddox, Smoltz, Glavine (or, who knows, even better...), but there are so many unknowns as well.

So, basically the message regarding the Trinity/the Three Musketeers is thus: hope for the best, but keep your feet on the ground.

Hail to the President, but not to the 'Pen (Postgame notes 13 September 2007)

Well, seven game win streaks are rare, and eight game win streaks are rarer still, so you knew the Yankees would lose one eventually, but there's no denying that this one hurt.

Ian Kennedy deserved a lot better.

If you seven and a third, walk three and give up *one* hit (and one run), you should, by all logical definitions, get the win. Especially when your team has more hits.

Still, you have to take away good vibes from Kennedy's performance. Nine times out of ten, what he threw will get you the win.

On a day the Yankees needed a good pitching performance just to stay in the game with AJ Burnett pitching for Toronto, Kennedy was pretty damned near perfect. If Melky had caught that ball in the first, we would have had Mo on in the ninth, and (probably) won the game.

Oh well. No use crying over spilt melk. I mean, milk.

Offensively, there's not much that can be said. Yankees were able to get a few men on base, but unable to bring any of them in. Damon more or less had to RBI himself in, but I can probably guarantee you that the Yankees' offense on the whole will be lining up to apologize to Kennedy for not doing better. Or, they should be, anyway. We didn't need 20 runs to win tonight, we just needed two, and the Yanks' were unable to deliver.

This isn't to take away from Burnett who pitched a great game, but in the top of the ninth, Melky should have been able to score at least Bobby Abreu.

Still, as I'm determined to end on a good note, we're now 5-1 on the road trip. I won't guarantee it, but it's not likely the Yankees will be swept by Boston--I mean, we've got Pettitte on the mound tomorrow, and you know Pettitte thrives when pitching after a Yankee loss. Same with Wang.


I have to say, though, with Torre pitching Britton in relief in the ninth, I can't help but wonder if Torre's mind was on the Red Sox, in the not-using-Mo-to-let-him-rest sort of way...

Ah well, we won the series, right?

Scores and Stuffs

Not many games tonight, and even fewer have ended.

Baltimore did something really odd. They won. They made it odder: They won 3-0. Oddest? They shut out the Angels. Guess there's nothing like having your manager eject the umpire to get things going...

Cincinnati beat St. Louis 5-4, as the Cardinals have more or less decided, y'know what, no thanks, we don't really want the NL Central.

Cubs are up on Houston 6-2 in the seventh. Six home runs so far in this one, four for the Chi boys and two for the Astros.

Philadelphia leads Colorado 11-4 in the seventh, as they're playing classic too-little-too-late baseball. Well, in the division race, anyway. Wild card is still very much in reach.

Texas-Oakland, Tampa-Seattle and San Diego-LA have all yet to get underway.

Pregame Notes 13 September 2007

First off, I'd like to say that you guys are more than welcome to disagree with me--in fact, I'd encourage it, just as long as you're not trolling!

Anyway.

Tonight we've got The President, Ian Kennedy, going up Toronto's long vaunted but long injured pitcher AJ Burnett.

If Kennedy's previous starts are any indication, look for a rough first two innings, and then settling down a lot after that.

The Yankees bats haven't exactly been hot in Toronto, but they're getting the right hits at the right time, and enough pitching and defense to keep the lead intact, and win the games. In the baseball world, we call this 'practice for October'.

We all know what awaits the Yankees after tonight, but the Yankees, I can almost guarantee you, are only thinking about tonight. A win tonight and we are only 3.5 out in the loss column in the AL East.

It's interesting--the AL East seems right now like the one division that's a foregone conclusion, but there are actually three divisions where the division leader has a larger lead--the AL Central, West and NL East.

Don't be surprised if the AL East is decided on the last day of September.

It's been that kind of year.

Lucky Number Seven (Post Game Notes 07 Sept 07)

Yankees escaped with a win tonight. There is good and bad to take away from tonight's game. First, the GOOD:

Despite a very shaky first two innings, Ian Kennedy settled down and had a great third, fourth and fifth. Lesser pitchers would have caved--we saw it earlier in the year. That Ian was able to regain himself is a great sign.

Maybe, when the game starts, we should start with the third inning? ;)


A-Rod went yard again, and he's off to a crazy September--five home runs in seven days, and considering the Yankees have only played six of them, it means there are only two games in which A-Rod did not have a HR (he had the multi-HR game on the 5th). He also had two singles, with some great baserunning mixed in.

Jorge Posada also had a hr, but more importantly, threw out the guy at second in the fourth.

Kyle Farnsworth....got the WIN. Wow. That's where optimism and Scooter join forces...

Joba is...well...there aren't words to describe it, really. 14.1 Innings Pitched, and he still has an ERA of 0.00. More importantly, he pitched tonight, finally, in front of his father. If you saw the game, you saw Harlan's tears. Only someone unfamiliar with the story or with a heart of stone could fail to be moved by that.

Johnny Damon had a GREAT play. I don't want to say he plays left better than Matsui, but he's certainly not any worse, especially now that he's getting considerable time there.

Mo was his vintage self. Loved the ending with a strikeout!



The NOT-SO-GOOD:

The Yankees had the bases loaded with two out in the sixth, seventh and eighth, and scored NO runs in any of these.

The Yankees were lucky their pitching and defense held up; however not coming through in these situations won't help much in October.



About the LUCKY NUMBER SEVEN:

The Yankees more or less own the seventh inning right now--they blew the last two games against Seattle out in the seventh, and they won it tonight in the seventh.

Tonight was Mo's 777th appearance.

Game one in '98? Tino's grand slam was in the 7th.

So the fact that it's 2007 and we're going for 27...

Yeah. I feel it too.


[edit] Can't believe I forgot!

Other scores around the league:

Boston beat Baltimore, 4-0. Cabrera, the pitcher for Baltimore, was thrown out after throwing behind Pedroia of Boston, sparking a benches-and-bullpen clearing brawl.

Detroit beat Seattle, 6-1, meaning that Yankees fans gain another game on Seattle and Detroit is still three back. To hope for the best, the Yankees fan should hope for Seattle to win one game, and the Yanks to sweep in KC...unless Detroit sweeps we won't lose significant ground.

Toronto beat Tampa, 7-2, of note is that Toronto's pitcher had 12 Ks.

In the Battle for the Bottom of the AL West, Texas beat Oakland (and it actually is a battle--Oakland only has three more wins than Texas, a team that can apparently score 30 runs in a game).

After both rolling 6s in the 9th, Minnesota and the Chi Sox are tied at 10 in the 12th.

Angels are up on the Indians, 2-1 in the eighth.


All NL Central contenders (Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Louis) lost, Milwaukee's loss being the ugliest. Rick Ankiel did not have a home run, but Prince Fielder did. Don't think he's going to catch A-Rod, though.

In Atlanta, John Smoltz took a no-hitter into the eighth, he lost the bid but won the game, which keeps Atlanta on life support.

Mets won and Philadelphia lost, so the NL East right now seems to be a battle for second place, and a chance at the Wild Card.

Colorado is up on San Diego, and the Giants have just taken the lead on the Dodgers, making the NL West officially baseball's 2nd most interesting division, after the NL Central.

Pregame Notes 07 September 2007

Yankees begin a long road trip tonight, starting at Kansas City.

If the Yankees sweep Kansas City, which, while not easy, they are certainly capable of doing, they would go a long way to cementing themselves as the Wild Card for the AL...and who knows, maybe even pick a game or two up on Boston along the way?

Okay, I might be dreaming about the second part, given Boston is playing Baltimore, but it's still a pleasant thought.


Kennedy gets his second Major League start today, and this one is on the road. If Kennedy pitches tonight like he did on Saturday, that will also help to give him a place on the post-season roster. He's got great stuff, just hoping the innings total doesn't get to him.


I believe Joba's father might be in the crowd tonight? If that's the case, then I'd love for Joba to be able to pitch...with the off day yesterday Joba should be eligible to pitch tonight.

A-Rod has had three home runs in his last two games, and four home runs so far in the month of September. Looks like he wants to end the season the way he started...

Giambi's been slumping pretty bad lately, but his defensive play has certainly helped to make up for it. He'll get his stroke back, just needs to see some more playing time, which, with the injury to Phillips, he is likely to get.



In other news, SI is now alleging that Troy Glaus of the Jays received steroids in '03-'04.

They say things come in threes. Just waiting for the last one, then...



Post game notes after the game.