Yankees Sweep Twins, Move to ALCS

For the first time since October 2004, the Yankees won a postseason series.

Not only did they win the series, but they swept the way they were supposed to sweep, not like underachieving squads of not too long ago.

The game was similar to most of the Yankee-Twins games played this season: a close affair in which the Twins had a lead, lost it, and had one too many miscues to be able to recover.

Baserunning miscues may have coast the Twins two games this series, and the Yankees' ability to step on the Twins' neck, with two more runs in the ninth inning to turn a 2-1 nail-biter into a 4-1 game almost assured of being a sure thing with Mariano Rivera on the mound, Minnesota never had much of a chance.

No one will forget that the losing pitcher in this game was Carl Pavano, because it simply fits too well.

Pavano, in a sense, is THE symbol of the underachieving Yankee squads of recent note--$40 million to ride the disabled list, pitching just enough in 2008 to prove he can and get signed by another team in the offseason.

When motivated, Pavano is a decent pitcher--and he showed it tonight, matching Pettitte nearly pitch for pitch into the seventh inning.

Still, even the great Carl Pavano (note the biting sarcasm) could contain the Yankees forever. They were simply a better team than the Twins.

There are no MVPs awarded for the ALDS, but if there was such an award, there is no question that its recipient would be Alex Rodriguez.

How many of you thought you would be reading that sentence back in February?

Long the brunt of many a "but-he's-not-a-true-Yankee" criticism, Rodriguez was simply stellar throughout the series and tonight, again, played a hero, tying the game at one with a no-doubt home run into the stowed away football seats.



Andy Pettitte's pitching was also stellar--only one run through six and a third and only throwing 81 pitches in doing so.

There's a considerable question mark as to whether or not Pettitte should have been removed from the game at that point--and I would argue that Girardi simply remembers 1996 too well: going to a lock-down bullpen in the seventh inning to shorten the game, won championship #23.

It remains to be seen whether or not it will bring about #27, but for the moment Yankee fans can content themselves with the knowledge that no matter what, there will be at least four more games of Yankee baseball in 2009.


*****

Check back throughout the week for ALCS previews and analysis. Game one is Friday, 10/16.

Reflections

By the time you read this post, it will have been 24 hours since the first pitch of last night's ball game and last night's win that was everything that 2006 and 2007 were not.

The more I think about it, the more I realize that last night's game was a microcosm of everything this season, a microcosm of the team, of its flaws and its strengths, of its poise and of its fight.

We've been following this team all year. We know about the walk off wins, about the pies, about the pitching staff that at times is unhittable and at other times can't find anything that looks remotely like a strike zone. We know about all the breaks that just seem to go the Yankees' way, about the A-Rod story that is over and done, and we know about the life injected by Sabathia, Burnett, Swisher and Teixeira.

So last night played out like any important game this season did: a close game with just enough breaks going the Yankees' way and a pie a la AJ.

It can't be a coincidence that Rodriguez has the two biggest home runs (thus far) of the 2009 Yankees: the bottom-of-the-fifteenth inning blast to win a scoreless marathon against Boston, and last night's game-tying ninth inning blast. Rodriguez has hit many other home runs--like the first pitch he saw of the 2009 season and a three run home run and grand slam in the final regular season game, and it seems odd to say but he may very well have been the most underrated Yankee this year.

It can't be a coincidence that, not since the middle of October 2003, did such a thing seem possible.

Yet, this is, historically, who the Yankees are: they reign in October. They find heroes in the likely, in the unlikely, in those in need of redemption and in those further cementing a legendary glory.

Just look at Alex Rodriguez, Mark Teixeira and David Robertson.

All three of them have had an impact on 2009--two of them with salaries more than the GDPs of some small nations, and one of them whose role last night might, some years from now, be forgotten by all except his teammates and the most die-hard among his team's fans.

Rodriguez had helped his case with his Game One performance, but he still needed that ultimate redemption, that signature moment in the postseason in which fans could forever ask, "remember when A-Rod hit that home run?".

Mark Teixeira had found himself welcomed this season in the Bronx with open arms--his defense alone, perhaps, being worth the honor--but he was on the verge of an 0-for-two-games and there was not a single Yankee fan that wanted to stomach, no matter how briefly, that as being a possibility.

Then there was Robertson, a bullpen pitcher who has largely remained unnoticed because he has been so effective. The closer and eighth inning spots already taken, Robertson often appeared either earlier, or later, in extra innings, when the most climactic moments of the game seem to have passed by. Robertson, who has none of the experience of Mariano Rivera, found a way to exhibit the same poise.


Three different players, at three very different points in their careers, three different personalities and three different projections and postulations by the media, and yet all three crucial to the win.

That's the thing about the Yankees that resonates so well: sure, there are the heroics from Babe Ruth and Mickey Mantle, Joe DiMaggio and Derek Jeter, Reggie Jackson and Alex Rodrigues, but then there are also the heroics from those like Bucky Dent and Chad Curtis, Luis Sojo and Jose Vizcaino.


We don't know what tomorrow's game will bring; the only guarantee is that since the Yankees are not the home team, they can't have a walk off win.

That doesn't seem likely to matter, however, as this team, like the great ones not so long ago, has found a way to win in nearly every situation.

Will the game story be the starter, Andy Pettitte? Will it be another hitter? A baserunning play that saves the Yankees' the game or costs them it? We don't know, and that, perhaps, might be why we love this team so much.

Anything is possible.

Demonize This

"I can't believe this," Jason says. "I can't believe we're going to lose to this team."

"I can," I say, sighing. "My luck isn't that good."

We're sitting in luxury suite 32, tickets that were a gift from my father. We've got a view that looks a bit like this:



Only, now it's night time and everyone's in a bit of a state of disbelief. It's not that the Yankees are losing this game that has us baffled, it's that the Yankee offense has only managed one run and that two of Minnesota's three runs were gotten off of Phil Hughes and Mariano Rivera.

Phil Hughes and Mariano Rivera. The back end of the Yankees' bullpen. The reason the team won 103 games. They are going to cost the team the game.

****

Earlier:

The story heading into the game was whether or not Joe Giradi (#27 below) and his decision to start Jose Molina over Jorge Posada would be cause for concern.



As it would turn out, the decision would be a non-issue. Molina, as we suspected, did not get a hit, but he never came to the plate in a crucial situation, either.

When AJ Burnett was done pitching after the sixth inning, Jose Molina was done catching. And so it went.




The Yankees didn't score a run until late in the game, when Alex Rodriguez drove in Derek Jeter after Jeter hit a double to right field.



We celebrated A-Rod's RBI hit, his third RBI in two postseason games, further strengthening the notion that A-Rod's demons are stuff of myth and slow-news-day media constructs. We didn't know what would happen later.

After Burnett came out of the game, Joba Chamberlain came in to pitch the seventh.



Chamberlain was sharp, getting the first two hitters he faced out before failing to get the third and Girardi, with a quick hook, pulling him from the game.



We were treated mid-seventh inning to Ronan Tynan's stirring rendition of God Bless America.





The entire Stadium sang with him, maybe because it was him, maybe because it was the postseason, but whatever reason, we sang.

****

In the eighth inning, Phil Hughes fails. The game is a 1-1 tie, and Hughes gets two quick outs, but can't get the third. Minnesota scores one run and Girardi goes to Mariano Rivera, who is more or less the Hammer of God, as multiple sources call him. If Mo can just hold it here, we think, we'll have a chance.

Thing is, Mo does not. The Twins score another run and it's a 3-1 game with only two at bats left for the Yankees.

It gets worse in the bottom of the eighth, when the Yankees go down 1-2-3, not even making an effort of it.

Jason is inconsolable, but the man sitting to my right is stoic.

"They're going to win," he says.

****

In the bottom of the ninth inning, Mark Teixeira is first up.

"He really needs a hit here," Jason says, "he can't take an oh-fer for the first two games." Jason is right. Teixeira doesn't have a postseason hit yet, and if he doesn't get one here, he'll fast become a goat.

Maybe Teixeira hears us; he lines the pitch into right field for a single. The Stadium begins to sense something and gets a little excited.

After all, Alex Rodriguez comes to the plate.



My thoughts are simple: I just want Alex Rodriguez to get on base without making an out. I even pray: please, G-d, please let the Yankees do this. Please let them win.

Jason's are more elaborate: "This place is going to go ape-shit if Alex hits one out."

We watch as Joe Nathan deals ball one to Alex. Then ball two. And ball three. Nathan gets Rodriguez to a 3-1 count and then...

...A long, high, grand drive. It's going to be pretty darned deep. It's going to be at least a double. It's going to hit off the wall. It's going to be GONE.

One swing, and all of the past Rodriguez playoff demons are forgotten as though they had never existed in the first place.





The Stadium crowd is so loud, so excited that it's literally shaking. A home run. A game tying home run. A game tying home run by Alex Rodriguez. A game tying home run by Alex Rodriguez in the ninth inning.

Whatever happens from here on out, we've all beared witness to this. We'll all remember this. Everything about it. Everything that went into it, and everything that came out of it.

We make Rodriguez take a curtain call.

****

The Yankees don't win the game in the ninth, and they don't win the game in the 10th although they should have: Brett Gardner, running for Jorge Posada makes it to third base on a bad throw to second while trying to steal, and Derek Jeter is on first base with only one out.





All Johnny Damon needs to do is hit a fly ball deep enough to score Gardner and the Yankees will win.

Damon, however, does not. He lines out, and because Gardner is halfway to home--having gone on contact--it becomes an easy double play.

The Stadium deflates. Minnesota has another chance and the Yankees are running out of pitchers.

****

Damaso Marte enters the game because Joe Girardi has already used Phil Coke.

Marte hasn't had a good season and none of us have much faith in Marte's ability to get three outs. We'll take just one, and Marte can't even do that tonight.

Girardi has three choices: leave Marte in, go to Chad Gaudin or go to David Robertson. Gaudin is a generally effective long reliever, but Robertson, who has occasionally struggled in high-leverage situations, has the better stuff.

Girardi goes to Robertson.

At first, the choice is disheartening as Robertson allows a single that loads the bases with no one out.

"There is no possible way this can end well," I say, not because I'm Optimist Prime, but because I want to temper my own expectations.

Yet, Robertson gets the next batter to line out to Teixeira, so hard that no one has a chance to tag and score.

After one out, there's a soft grounder that Teixeira throws home for out number two, and all of a sudden, there is a palpable relief of tension. It doesn't matter how the third out is gotten, just as long as there's the out.

There's a fly ball to Brett Gardner, who sets under it, catches it, and runs off the field.

***

It's fitting that in the bottom of the eleventh, Teixeira is first at bat.



He had the two stellar defensive plays last half inning, and had he not had that single in the ninth inning, Rodriguez's home run would have meant little.

Here, we'd just like Teixeira to get on base. We want the game to end this inning.

So Jose Mijares, a rookie reliever who's not actually that shabby, pitches to a $180 million first baseman.

There's a drive to left field.

We know it's hit hard enough, but we don't know if it's fair or foul.

It stays fair, but we don't know if it's high enough.

It has the height. Just. Barely. It grazes the top of the wall, and if you watch the replay, you can hear a hush as the crowd tries to process what has just happened. Then we realize:

"It went over! It's over! We win!"









We stay for the pie, because you have to. These are the New York Yankees, this is 2009. You stay for the pie.




****

I had never before been to a game and thought, afterwards, "I'll remember this for the rest of my life."

Never, that is, until tonight.


*****

I was able to meet up with a fair few: fellow bloggers Ben Kabak of River Ave Blues, Amanda Rykoff (@amandarykoff), fellow blog reader Justin Y. and beat writer Marc Carig (@ledger_yankees).

I went to meet Justin while the Twins were taking BP. Justin was sitting in the bleachers, but we'd never met before, so while I was looking for him I wasn't entirely paying attention to what was going on on the field.

This, ladies and gentlemen, is a bad idea. My head was nearly lopped off by a home run ball, saved only by my very innate and well developed instinct to duct.

I attended the game with Jason Rosenberg from It's about the money, Stupid. He has a much, much better camera than I do so please hit him up for some truly amazing shots.

Ghosts? What ghosts?

The common refrain going around the Yankee fan base right now is that while nothing is guaranteed, and that the Yankees are not guaranteed to win their series against the Twins, there is a different feel around this year's squad than there has been in many years. This team is likable, fun to root for and really, really damned good.

So nevermind CC Sabathia's less than stellar postseason ERA or Alex Rodriguez's absence of a decent postseason since the ALCS of 2004.

This is a team where expectations are not just high for the free agents signees who make more in a year than some entire countries, but for those who have played only for the Yankees and those who came to the Yankees in unheralded trades. The team won 103 games in the regular season, and one or two players can't win 103 games all on their own. Though, God knows Albert Pujols tried.


As with any beginning, there are opening ceremonies of a sort. With the ALDS it's nothing too spectacular--full line ups and guys in uniform, but it's somewhat muted. It's good to be here, but there's still a while to go before the grand prize.



When the players are introduced, some receive particularly loud accolades--like Mariano Rivera and Derek Jeter--while others receive, well, lots of non-accolades. Like Carl Pavano.



Because of the odd start time, the Stadium was still fairly empty as the lineups were being announced.



By the time the first pitch was thrown, however, almost every seat was filled.

The National Anthem always seems to add a sense of "this is it, this is what we live for."





As the Yankees take the field, there is a rush of excitement. As stated earlier, if you're a fan at that Stadium at that time, you're either way amped up, or you're dead.



With no other game going on at the present moment, the scoreboard instead displays the line up of both teams, highlighting the next batter to come to bat.



The blazing lights against the sunset make for an auspicious early game atmosphere.



The Twins took an early 2-0 lead that could have never have been: had a close pitch been called a strike three, CC Sabathia would have gotten out of the inning. Instead, a couple hits and a passed ball, and the Twins had a 2-0 lead.

That lead was, however, short lived.

Reason A: Derek Jeter



Jeter has done a lot of great things in his career and is something of an immortal among Yankee fans. Hitting a left field home run to tie a game? Awesome. And in the postseason? Well, there's only one Derek Jeter.



Hit a home run like that, then hear the entire Stadium erupt in chants of M-V-P! M-V-P! (Yes, we know it's going to Mauer. No, we don't care.)


Meanwhile, Sabathia must have been somewhat mindful of his rapidly escalating pitch count: he settled down and started to deal.



Despite having over 70 pitches after the fourth inning, Sabathia pitched into the seventh inning and did not walk a single batter.

The Twins were the first to go to their bullpen--by this time the Yankees had already taken the lead.



Who did the Twins call upon?



I swear I'm not making this up.

Not too long afterwards, Hideki Matsui hit a home run--the type that screams HEY YAY INSURANCE RUNS! My friend Brent summed up our reactions pretty well.





With two outs in the seventh inning and the Yankees with a four run lead, Joe Girardi did the prudent thing and went to the bullpen before Sabathia's pitch count approached abusive levels. He left to a raucous ovation.



In came Young Master Hughes.



There was a massive Orlando Cabrera at bat just to end the seventh inning, but Hughes got the job done, and instead of having to face Joe Mauer with the bases loaded, Joe Mauer came up in the 8th with no one on.

This is the only game I've ever been to where I've actually heard people sing "God Bless America".



It was a stirring rendition courtesy of the NY Pops



This is just a really awesome late-game shot:




Out went Phil Hughes, and in came Joba Chamberlain. Phil Coke also made an appearance and had the best possible appearance for a reliever: one pitch, one out. It was nearly a double play, but Mauer was just a shade too nimble for Teixeira.




With a five run lead--and here it should be noted that two of these runs, yes two are the direct responsibility of Alex Rodriguez, something you haven't seen in an October write up for a while--it perhaps seems strange that the Yankees bring in their closer, but this is October. You don't take chances.

Enter Sandman. Exit Twins.










Magic number, that real magic number that all Yankee fans really care about, is now down to ten.

And we'll see you Friday night!

Yankees Get Series Win in Final Visit to Metrodome (Postgame Notes 08 July 2009)

The Yankees' 12th win in their last 14 games was a bit of an odd one.

For example, take AJ Burnett, who had been stellar in his past four starts. It wasn't quite a bad start, at least not by the final results--technically it was a quality start--but it involved making a lot of good pitches at the right time.

He didn't get his first strike out until later in the game, but it came with two outs and the bases loaded.

Talk about wiggling out of jams.


Ultimately, it was a start that would have thwarted lesser pitchers--there were always, it seemed, men on base and control was in short supply, as the three wild pitches will attest--but AJ Burnett is not a lesser pitcher.

Actually, when you think about it--and friends at River Ave Blues took this line--the game was less Yanks-vs-Twins and more Yanks-vs-Mauer. Given what Mauer's been doing this season, that's not entirely shameful.

On many rotations he could be the ace of the staff, and tonight he showed why.


As for the offense, it wasn't the offensive show of yesterday, athough it looked in the beginning like it might be, but as has been so often the case in this 12-of-14 stretch, the Yankee hitters did just enough.

For you A-Rod hitters, just remember that Alex Rodriguez had the RBI hit that ended up being the winning run for the Yankees.


Now, as Alfredo Aceves takes the mound tomorrow, he can do so knowing that the Yankees have already won the series and that the bullpen, for the most part, is fairly well rested. Phils Coke and Hughes pitched tonight, and Hughes is probably unavailable for tomorrow. Still, though, Tomko, Robertson and Bruney should all be available--and, if necessary, Mo--so, unless Aceves completley flames out, the Yankees are not in poor shape.

Yankees vs Orioles, 21 May 2009: A Liveblog

4.35 PM: Some really interesting going-ons today

1) The White Sox and Padres had worked out a Jake Peavy deal, but it looks like Peavy didn't like the idea and used his NTC to get out of it.

2) The Brewers and Padres pulled off a Tony Gwynn Jr-for-Jody Gerut trade.

3) The Minnesota Twins are currently up on the ChiSox 20-0 and there's still another inning to play.

4) Yankees lineup, from @Yesnetwork:
Jeter SS
Canó 2B
Teixeira 1B
Rodriguez 3B
Matsui DH
Swisher RF
Cabrera LF
Cervelli C
Gardner CF


I'm not entirely sure why Canó is batting second, but I am assuming Johnny D is just getting a night off.


4.50 PM: I'm always wrong. From LoHud:

Josh reports that Phil Hughes will get another start. Hughes will start Monday in Texas. Chien-Ming Wang will pitch a minor league game tomorrow.

“We just want to see him have the stuff he had in the bullpen,” Girardi said.

Johnny Damon wrenched his neck jumping for Adam Jones home run yesterday. He is sore but Girardi hopes its only one day. “He’s a little sore.”

It doesn't seem like Damon's hurt too bad, but even so there's no being too cautious, especially with a neck.


5.40 PM: There's a rumor going around that Phil Hughes has asked to go to the bullpen when Wang returns to the rotation. If/when I get this from an official source I'll say so. For now, it might just be pointless rumblings.

5.42 PM: Now I'm hearing it was Girardi per WFAN.

5.57 PM: Phil Coke is a game time decision after getting hit on the shoulder yesterday.

7.03 PM: Yeah, old news now, but Peavy officially rejected the trade.

7.17 PM: Joba kind of couldn't get out of the way of an Adam Jones liner; he's in the game now, but we'll see if there are any effects.

7.19 PM: It looks like the Yankees are going to go to the bullpen. We have to hope that Joba's injury is not serious. And that the Yankees can piece this together with the bullpen.

7.31 PM: Guess Robbie's okay hitting second out of the line up.

7.41 PM: Melky is so clutch. Even lets the runs score before getting tagged out. 4-0 Yankees and Aceves and co. have some breathing room.

7.48 PM: I don't know which of the Yankees scouts signed Aceves, but he deserves a huge bonus check.

7.57 PM: Robinson Canó has three RBI and it's only the second inning. That ball probably doesn't get out at the old park, but it is at least a gapper.

8.11 PM: Ken Singleton asked Michael Kay if he remembered Ramiro Mendoza and then corrected that to Mario Mendoza, but an Aceves/Ramiro Mendoza comparison here seems more apt.

I'm not sure how much longer the Yanks let Mendoza Aceves go, but that might depend on what the Yanks do in the bottom of the inning.

8.14 PM: The longer we go without hearing about Joba, the more I worry.

8.27 PM: Can we give Aceves a medal here? And how the heck did this team go so long without a long man, given what Aceves has done? It's like Ramiro Mendoza spawned.

8.35 PM: Looks like Aceves is coming back out to start the fifth. I can't say I'm entirely fond of this idea. He's thrown 50 pitches so far. I know he's a starter, but he threw two innings last night

8.37 PM: And I am wrong yet again. Albaladejo is in. And he promptly serves one up to Brian Roberts. Now 6-1 Yanks.

8.40 PM: Only an eight pitch inning there. I can live with Roberts' solo HR, especially if the Yankees can tack on. Also, it means Albaladejo should be okay for the sixth, too. And then would you go Veras-Bruney-Mo? Or Veras-Bruney-Bruney? Or Veras-Bruney-Tomko? Or any combination thereof in which you can stay away from Phil Coke who is slightly injured?

8.49 PM: I know it's a bandbox, but as long as the Yanks keep hitting absolute bombs like that, I'm okay with it.

9.02 PM: And now it's a 7-3 game as Wigginton has a PH double. Albaladejo really needs to get the last out here before Baltimore gets any closer.

9.04 PM: That works. Yanks head to the bottom of the sixth with a four run lead. This would not have happened if the Yanks needed 8 innings from the pullpen as recently as three weeks ago.

9.11 PM: Word from YES is Joba X-rays are negative and he has a bruised right knee. That could have been so much worse.

9.15 PM



You see where that "I" is supposed to be in the big Mac sign?

Pujols took that out.


And A-Rod grounds out with the bases loaded. So unclutch.

(Photo credit Matthew H Leach/St Louis Cardinals)

9.20 PM: Markakis with a solo shot and now 7-4 Yankees. Albaladejo is likely gassed, but I'm not sure you can trust Veras with a three run lead. Guess we're gonna find out.

9.32 PM: Yankees could have used a run there but it was not to be. Somehow they have to fashion six outs out of the remaining relievers and I don't know if they go to Mo after a four out save last night, albeit a 14 pitch only appearance.

9.41 PM: Veras worked into and out of trouble there. The Yanks will go to the ninth with a three run lead.

9.48 PM: George Sherrill looked good there. It is now up to Mo. We'll see if there's any effects from last night.

Yankees Bend, don't Break, win Sixth Straight and Sweep Twins (Postgame Notes 18 May 2009)

For a while, it seem scripted that the Yankees might have to settle for a fourth-straight walk off if they were going to win the game. Going into the ninth with a 7-5 lead and an unavailable Mariano Rivera, there was perhaps more tension here than in any of the walk off wins, as going to extras here would have meant blowing a one-time 6-2 lead.

Yet, with Carlos Gomez dancing off of first, Francisco Cervelli and Ramiro Peña--and not Derek Jeter--went out to the mound to calm the young Phil Coke, who like the rest of the pitching staff buckled, but never broke.

The Yankees were down 2-0 at the end of the first--Minnesota scored first every game of this series--but got to work quickly on Glen Perkins.

The first four batters all reached base and scored, thanks to home runs from Mark Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez, and Perkins was knocked out of the game in the first.

The Twins' bullpen, was, however, very effective, and slowly the Twins began to chip away. A run here, a run there, and soon enough the score was 6-4, a two run lead and only a depleted Yankees' bullpen to protect it.

Teixeira added another home run to make it 7-4, and after Edwar Ramirez served up a home run to Michael Cuddyer Denard Span, it became very clear that the extra run was needed.

It's perhaps fairly surprising that the combination of Veras and Ramirez only gave up one run, but it was quite hairy. The Twins didn't have a 1-2-3 inning all game.



The Yankees were perhaps also helped by stellar defense from Ramiro Peña, Derek Jeter, Robinson Canó and Mark Teixeira. They were making plays that I doubt Jason Giambi or a still slightly gimpy Alex Rodriguez would have made, and they loom large now.


Still, despite the hairyness, the Yankees have won six straight to get to four games over .500 for the first time this season, and Brian Bruney should return tomorrow (and Mo should be available, of course).

Mo, Bruney, Coke and Aceves is not quite an imposing bullpen core, but the four have been steady all year when healthy (or in Mo's case, all career).


CC is on the mound for the Yanks tomorrow night; the last time he pitched Baltimore, it was crack. Hopefully he can emulate the performance.

Yankees Vs Twins, 18 May 2009: A Liveblog

4.28 PM: After a great weekend I get a chance to veg out on the couch and watch some baseball. Today's line up, courtesy of LoHud:

Derek Jeter SS
Johnny Damon LF
Mark Teixeira 1B
Alex Rodriguez DH
Nick Swisher RF
Robinson Cano 2B
Melky Cabrera CF
Ramiro Pena 3B
Francisco Cervelli C


As lovely as all the walk off wins have been, it would be nice for the Yanks to score early and often, thus not draining the bullpen--or our emotion.

4.32 PM: Courtesy of Bryan Boch (@bryanhoch) via Twitter: Brian Bruney to be activated Tuesday. Chien Ming Wang will throw pen at Stadium Tuesday and decision will be made after.

4.36 PM: Some words that Brett Gardner is DTD with a bruised shoulder; have yet to hear it from an official source, WFAN is reporting.

4.46 PM: From Hoch: "Additionally, Brett Gardner has a contusion of his right rotator cuff after his slide into home plate yesterday. He had an MRI today and Girardi said he is day-to-day."

That makes it sound a little more serious than just a bruised shoulder, but that's what happens when you use fancy medical terms I don't always understand.


7.12 PM: Whoa didn't mean to go three hours without updating. Anyway, Mark Teixeira makes a better gymnast than me.

7.14 PM: Inauspicious start (sorry Kay), as a double and a single and now the Twins have a 1-0 lead with one out.

7.17 PM: Now 2-0 Twins. Not really the start Pettitte envisioned, I'm sure.

7.21 PM: That didn't go very well, as the Twins hit the ball hard. Hopefully Pettitte's just pulling a Joba, but we'll see.

7.27 PM: Two singles for the Yanks and then a balk... which doesn't matter, because Teixeira just crushed one to left field. 3-2 Yanks.

7.30 PM: Alex Rodriguez has now homered in three straight games. And this was back-to-back with Mark Teixeira. It's true, chicks dig the long ball, and I could so get used to this.

7.41 PM: I think that single by Cervelli there, where three fielders could not come up with the baseball, explains the entire weekend for the Twins.

That's all for Perkins who pitches 2/3 of one inning. Yanks up 6-2. Only Swisher and Peña didn't reach base, and Swisher didn't miss by much.

7.47 PM: Now here's a question: does the long inning hurt or help Andy?

7.58 PM: Seemed to help Andy well enough. Twins got runners on via HBP and a bunt, but did not hit the ball hard at all that inning. Of course, the Yanks' stellar defense also helped.

8.06 PM: Nothing doing there for the Yanks. Stupid knuckleballers, and all...

8.15 PM: Andy's getting better as the game is going on.

8.23 PM: A hit, a CS, and two ground outs there. Canó basically gave himself away and Mauer's probably not the world's best catcher to run on.

8.27 PM: That was an absolute bomb by Cuddyer, good thing no one was on base. Now Carlos Gomez with a base hit and Andy Pettitte better watch out. He's only up by three.

8.30 PM: Punto was out by a mile there. Cervelli, it seems, has quite the cannon.

8.31 PM: The Yanks have flashed all sorts of leather tonight. Girardi picked a good day to DH A-Rod.

8.55 PM: Good job there by Pettitte to get himself out of trouble. One would like to see the Yankees score a couple more runs.

9.09 PM: Denard Span bloops one over Jeter's head and now it's 6-4 Yanks. The Yanks really need to get some more runs. They need to get out of this inning first.

9.10 PM: Okay, so they got out of the inning. Now they really need some more runs. Do you trust a 2-run lead in the hands of the bullpen when Rivera's possibly not available after throwing 44 pitches the past two nights? Yeah. Me niether.

9.20 PM: Second and third with one out and the Yanks didn't score, Jeter and Damon striking out. I know, I know, the Yankees are still winning, but now it's only two runs...and that bullpen...

9.29 PM: José Veras coming in to face Cuddyer with two men on. Why do I feel this terrible compulsion to look away?

9.35 PM: Veras gets out of it, but only after walking the bases loaded. Ayayay. Good thing Bruney's back tomorrow, isn't it?

9.40 PM: Teixeira with his second HR of the evening. The Yankees needed that run. They would like some more.

9.50 PM: Only one run there, but even just the one helps a bit. Now, does Veras actually attempt to pitch a whole inning, do they leave it to Edwar, or do they have Swisher come in to pitch?

9.59 PM: And that is why you need the extra run. Now 7-5 Yankees and I'm not really sure who you want facing Mauer and Morneau.

10.03 PM: On the bright side...well... Morneau up with Mauer on in a two run game? I need a drink. Again.

10.07 PM: And Phil Coke strikes out Justin Morneau who had been 4-4. Now the question du jour, who pitches the ninth? Normally it's Mo but he could use the night off.

10.22 PM: To the ninth the Yanks go, with a two run lead, a Mo probably not available and the options of Coke, Albaladejo, Tomko and Aceves. This could be quite interesting.

Maybe it was Tino (Postgame Notes 17 May 2009)

Friday night, as Dan and I are sitting there, at Yankee Stadium, watching the game, there's a roar from the crowd.

We glance at the screen in centerfield to see why: Tino Martinez in the broadcast booth.

Three games later, three walk off wins later, I wonder if maybe there was something to it.

Do the dynasty teams invoke this much magic, to be able to affect the games ten years after? We don't even ask if they can, just if they do.

Perhaps the best part of it all is that this is the type of magic that turns a stadium from just a building into a home.

How must it feel to be the Minnesota Twins, to have to come back here tomorrow night knowing full well how the last three have ended?

Three wins, three walk off wins, five wins in a row.

It's a good weekend to be a Yankee fan.

How I Caught A-Rod's Walkoff (Postgame Notes 16 May 2009)

Dan and I have just walked the length of Fifth Avenue, from Central Park South to 34th Street/Herald Square.

We want to get down to Greenwich Village, but our feet are a little tired, so we hop the subway to West 4th Street.

We wander around a little, trying to figure out where things are in a neighborhood I am hardly ever in. Eventually, I cave and buy a map.

We're walking down West 4th Street towards Sullivan Street, and on the corner of MacDougal there's a bar showing both the Yankees and the Mets games. I look quickly at the screen; the Yanks are batting in the bottom of the 10th and the game is still tied. I pause to watch the batter.

"You wanna go in and get a drink?" Dan suggests. I know it must be torture for him, to watch this much Yankees baseball when he's a die-hard Red Sox fan.

"Sure."

So we take seats at the bar; he gets a Sam Adams and I get a glass of water because I can't drink beer.

We watch the Yanks do nothing in the 10th, play some stellar defense in the top of the eleventh...

...and then, in the bottom of the eleventh, we watch as Mark Teixeira works a lead off walk.

"Lead off walks come around to score sixty percent of the time," I muse.

Next batter, Alex Rodriguez. It'd be cool if he got a hit here, I think.

He does. He sends it right over the left field wall.

****


Two walk off wins in a row.

If that doesn't get a team going, nothing will.

Some More Thoughts From Last Night's Game...

...Now that I've had a chance to think about it.

• Brett Gardner was the first to run to Melky after Melky's walk off hit. The two might be competing, but that scene is what you want to see--competition, but healthy competition that makes everyone better.

• There had to be something to the fact that Tino Martinez was in the Stadium and it was a walk off win. I refuse to believe that it was nothing more than coincidental.

• The game did have 'walk off win' written all over it. I'm not really sure how you explain it, but somehow we knew. We just knew. Once Robbie Canó was walked it was all but over. If Melky keeps up his knack for walk off hits, he'll be a legend in his own rights.

• Hughes didn't pitch all that well, but Minnesota had a ton of chances they didn't take advantage of--not that the Yankees were necessarily much better. Still, it was better than Hughes' last inning. I think for Hughes, there's an issue with confidence soon as the first run scores. If he can get past that, he should be okay.

• On the replay, Mark Teixeira barely avoided having his arm shattered when Carlos Gomez ran past. He had a legitimate beef there.
  

I am not covering today's game in any way, shape or form, so all you need to know is that Joba is pitching, Teixeira's DHing and Swisher is playing first so that Gardner and Cabrera can play in the field--which seems to be a well deserved reward for their play last night.

How I Nearly Missed Melky's Walk-Off (Postgame Notes 15 May 2009)

Scene: 12.30 PM, Fordham area, Bronx, NY.

Dan and I make our way up to the fourth floor of my building, where my apartment is. Dan doesn't have a lot--you don't need a lot when only staying for a weekend--but he puts it down on my coffee table, which I worked so hard to clean last night.

The plan was to go to Central Park, toss a frisbee and find a bar to watch the Yankees.

You could not have asked for nicer weather.

I'm sitting on the couch, checking my email while Dan's putting his contacts in, when I get an idea.

"Hey, want to see if we can find cheap tickets to today's game?"

"Sure, why not?" He says.

I go to Stubhub and look for tickets. I can't do Grandstand or Terrace--Dan is not a height person--so I look around at the Main sections. I find one where the tickets start at $20. I click; I find two tickets for $26 each. I go to Yankees.com to compare face value. Face value on gameday is $80. It's a no brainer.

I buy, they send, and we walk over to the library to print.


5.30 PM Near New Yankee Stadium, Bronx, NY.

Dan and I get off the subway. It's quite hot out right now, the air from the city sitting heavy as it likes to do in the summer.

"Would you like to go to Stan's or into the Stadium?" I ask. Dan's a beer and bars fan. I can't drink beer and I get claustrophobic in bars, but since Dan is visiting, it's up to him. If he wants to go to the bar, we go to the bar. It's reversed when I visit him.

"Well..." He gives it some thought. "It's early. Let's go to Stan's, I'll get a drink, then we can head over."

So we go to Stan's. It's crazy crowded, and the music is really loud, but the music is good music. I can't remember now, so many hours later, what they were playing, but I know the mood it set: life is good. Forget your troubles. Life is good.


Second Inning, Yankee Stadium.

Justin Morneau comes up to bat.

I think, but do not say, it would not be surprising if he hit a home run here. A few pitches later, I watch the ball sail over the right field fence. I do not even rise from my seat to see the ball land; there is no way it is going to come down in time for Swisher to have a chance.

At the end of the inning I am amazed it is only 1-0. The Yanks are still in this.


Third Inning, Yankee Stadium.

Dan and I have great seats, for the most part. We can see the entire field, and the players are large enough to be human, to be nuanced and flawed.

But we cannot see the pitches well.

From our angle, down the right field line, we can only tell if pitches are way high, way low or way inside--because the player jumps out of the way. We cannot see movement and location on close pitches.

When Johnny Damon strikes out, we are not sure how to react--and then Johnny Damon makes it clear for us.

He argues. There's no question what he's arguing about and no one is surprised when he gets tossed. We wonder if it'll give some life to the offense; we don't realize what, exactly, the consequences of bringing in Brett Gardner to play center will be.


Later in the Third Inning, Yankee Stadium


We kind of knew this would happen.

We kind of knew that Alex Rodriguez would be called on to do something big. Bases loaded here, one out, the Yankees down by one run, and all the Yanks need is a single to take the lead.

A-Rod's timing is still off, however.

A few more weeks, and some of those pitches go way over the centerfield wall.

Not tonight.

The chorus of applause turns to boos. This is, after all, New York.

It's refreshing to see some things never change.



Fourth Inning, Yankee Stadium


Minnesota's just scored again on a sacrifice fly.

I text Joe from River Ave Blues, who's at the game.

Me: Way too many pitches.
Joe: I'm just glad he got out of it.

How is the score only 2-0?

It baffles us.



Fifth inning, Yankee Stadium


Justin Morneau is at bat again.

I don't think about him hitting another home run, but this is what he does.

It's now 3-0 Twins. It's by no means undoable for the Yankees, but eventually the runs will continue to build. If Phil Hughes can keep it here, we have a chance.

I look at the scoreboard. I can't believe it's already the fifth inning. I can't believe it's only the fifth inning.



Later Fifth Inning, Yankee Stadium


Derek Jeter is at bat.

The count goes to 0-2 (or so I think. Later I see the count was actually 2-0, but somehow I've missed this.)

"Please," I say, "please, please do not strike out on three pitches."

He doesn't.

He plants one over the right field porch. The Stadium comes alive: We are still in this.


Sixth Inning, Yankee Stadium

"You know, Rebecca," Dan says, "I think this is the best idea you've ever had."

I want to agree; it's hard when the Yankees are losing, but there is time yet.


Seventh Inning, Yankee Stadium

Phil Coke comes into pitch.

It's been a few days since Coke has pitched and he's perhaps the only other reliever in the bullpen capable of getting outs.

It's refreshing to see him again.

So refreshing that he serves up a home run to Joe Mauer.

Not so refreshing after all. He settles down and gets two outs before Joe Girardi brings in Brett Tomko.

"Uh Oh," I think.

Then, two pitches later, the side is retired. Maybe it's not such a big deal after all.



Later Seventh Inning, Yankee Stadium

There are two quick outs and Brett Gardner comes up to bat. It does not seem too promising, and soon enough, Gardner is down in the count, 0-2.

"He's going to strike out on three pitches," I say.

"The last time you said that, there was a home run," Dan says, not really amused.

So I watch, but I don't expect much. Gardner doesn't have Jeter's power.

Gardner doesn't hit a home run. Well, it doesn't seem that way...just a bloop down the line...but then it gets past the third baseman and the left fielder, and Gardner never stops running.

He's flying around the bases and by the time he gets to third the Stadium is in an uproar, because we all sense it: Gardner can make it home.

We egg him on. He keeps running. He slides, and is safe.

I have never heard the Stadium this loud. None of us have ever seen an inside-the-park-home run before. We don't realize it'll get louder later.



Ninth Inning, Yankee Stadium


It's a 4-2 game and the Yankees have to hold it here to have a chance. Against Joe Nathan it will likely not be much more than that, just a chance.

"You never know," says the man sitting in front of me. "That's baseball."

"You're right," I admit.

Dan brings up an issue that is on both of our minds: it is getting late.

"Well, if the Twins hit a two-run home run here, against Edwar, we're leaving," I say. They don't hit a home run, but they do send to the bullpen for José Veras. You can hear the Stadium's collective "Uh oh", you can see the mass exodus.

Dan and I have a 15 block walk from the subway back to my apartment. It's late and we, despite being city people, still find ourselves preoccupied with our safety.

"All right," I say, "let's go."

We walk down the ramp and are heading towards the exit. We are in the great hall and I can see the Babe Ruth Plaza outside the gate.

Ten steps, eight, seven, six, five....

And with that, Vera strikes out the side. Do they have a rally in their bones?

I grab Dan's arm.

"You know what? Let's stay."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. It's Nathan. It'll probably be quick, anyway."

We walk up to the edge of the field level concourse. A crowd has gathered, all like us, all nearly out the door and deciding at the last minute to stay. Hey, why not?

So I try to watch Gardner's at bat--I can't see the field that well, because there are too many people in front of me, but I can see the screen.

I expect Gardner to strike out, but he doesn't. He hits the ball to the gap. He slips as he rounds first and still winds up at third. If he doesn't slip, he quite possibly has another inside the park home run.

"Dude," I say, "I've never seen one inside-the-park home run before, and we nearly had two."

Mark Teixeira follows. We just want a ball in the outfield. Something to score Gardner.

He obliges with a single.

It's now 4-3. The Yankees are only down one run, there's no one out, A-Rod's at bat. We can taste it. We are in this. We can win this.

"He's rattled," says the tattooed man behind me, referring to Nathan.

After A-Rod walks, it's clear, Nathan's definitely rattled.

We root for Matsui, who strikes out, and then root again for Swisher, who grounds out but moves Teixeira and A-Rod to second and third in the process.

This is key.

It's key because Joe Nathan and Joe Mauer and the Twins decide to intentionally walk Robinson Canó. It's a good idea in theory. Vaguely.

"Horrible idea," says the tattooed man.

"I know," I say. "Robbie's not good with men in scoring position and Melky's been hot. Gardner has a inside-the-park home run and a triple. You know Melky wants to do something."

"It's the competition. It's working. A little center field competition," smirks the tattoeed man.

While Robbie is being walked the Stadium starts chanting Mel-ky, Mel-ky.

Melky's already given the Yankees one walk off this season. He's been one of our most clutch hitters.

Right now, either he comes through and it's the most amazing experience I've ever had at a Yankee game, or he doesn't and we go home heartbroken, but right now, at this moment, none of us think Melky won't come through.

This has walk-off win written all over it.

Nathan pitches.

Melky dunks one in there.

The Yankees win.

The Stadium is howling with WHOOO, YAY, and everything else in between, including a lot of four letter words.

Brent calls me and is excited and I can't let him get a word in edgewise. This is way, way, too amazing.


10.30 PM, outside Yankee Stadium

Dan and I take a taxi back, instead of the subway. It's a little on the pricey side, but it's well worth it. The cabbie plays the Yankee postgame in the car.

"You know," says Dan, who is from Boston and a Red Sox fan, "I almost, just for a second, got caught up there. I almost had to cheer."

"It's the best $25 I've ever spent on baseball," I say.

I don't add: it's also the best two feet I never walked.

Game 35: Twins at Yankees

Hi all, Andrew Fletcher from Scott Proctor's Arm here. Rebecca is enjoying herself at the Yankees game tonight, so I'll be updating you periodically throughout the night.

The Yankees begin a four-game series against the Minnesota Twins as part of an even longer 10-game homestand. Phil Hughes (1-2, 8.49 ERA) gets the start for New York tonight. Alex Rodriguez is also playing in his first game at the new Yankee Stadium.

Here is the Yankees' lineup:

Derek Jeter SS

Johnny Damon LF

Mark Teixeira 1B

Alex Rodriguez 3B

Hideki Matsui DH

Nick Swisher RF

Robinson Cano 2B

Melky Cabrera CF

Kevin Cash C

Hughes threw to Cervelli when he got bombed in Baltimore last time out. Is that why Cash gets the nod tonight? I don't know, but that would be the case if I had to guess.

7:13 p.m.: Hughes allows a leadoff single to Denard Span but strikes out Matt Tolbert and gets Joe Mauer to ground into a 4-6-3 double play. He only threw 11 pitches.

7:25 p.m.: Justin Morneau golfs a pitch over the right-center field wall for a leadoff home run in the top of the second inning. 1-0 Twins.

7:35 p.m.: Hughes walks two batters but escapes further trouble. He wasn't helped when Teixeira couldn't scoop out a possible double play ball out of the dirt. Still 1-0 Twins, with Rodriguez leading off the bottom of the second.

8:06 p.m.: Damon strikes out on a questionable call with runners on first and second and no outs. He argued the call and got ejected, ending his extra-base hitting streak. Meanwhile, a walk to Teixeira loads the bases for Rodriguez.

8:10 p.m.: Fittingly, Rodriguez strikes out and gets booed.

8:12 p.m.: And Matsui can't beat out a slower grounder. Surprise, surprise; the Yankees left the bases loaded without scoring.

8:40 p.m.: The Twins scored on a sacrifice fly in the fourth inning and on a solo home run by Morneau in the fifth. 3-0 Twins. The offense has been nonexistent against Francisco Liriano and Hughes has been subpar. He has thrown 93 pitches through five innings, with only 50 of those going for strikes.

8:46 p.m.: Jeter lines a homer to right field. 3-1 Twins.

9:22 p.m.: And Joe Mauer homers off Phil Coke. 4-1 Twins. Here we go again.

9:38 p.m.: Gardner hits an inside-the-park home run and Teixeira hits a two-out double. There's some life in this crowd. 4-2 Twins.

9:49 p.m.: Swisher pops out with the bases loaded. Shucks.

10:32 p.m.: Gardner triples to right-center to lead off the ninth inning. He tripped over first base and still made it into third standing up. Teixeira follows with an RBI single. 4-3 Twins with Rodriguez up and no outs.

10:36 p.m.: Rodriguez walks for the fourth time tonight, despite two balls that were called strikes by home plate umpire Wally Bell. First and second, no outs.

10:42 p.m.: Matsui has a terrible at-bat (strikes out and doesn't advance the runners) and Swisher is robbed by Morneau at first. They are now walking Cano to load the bases with two outs with Cabrera on deck.

10:45 p.m.: Cabrera dunks in a single in between the left fielder and center fielder to win the game 5-4! Hooray!

A Lost Road Trip

So first off, I apologize for being so sporadic recently. I've been dealing with some personal issues which will hopefully sort themselves out, but it looks like I haven't been missing much.

This was, after all, a make-or-break road trip for the Yankees, and, well, when you only win three games out of ten, things don't look very good.

It's hard to pinpoint where it all went wrong.

It's easy enough to blame the injury to Joba as a death knell or contend that the Angels are simply unbeatable, but the fact is, the Yankees had a legitimate chance to win every game they played on the road trip.

In at least one of the Texas games, all of the Anaheim games and two of the Minnesota games, the Yankees had a physical lead. They only won three of those games, and in only two of the games, if memory serves, did they not relinquish a lead.

Teams that play baseball in October, it should be noted, know how to keep leads once they have them.

There wasn't any one part of the Yankees that has been more at fault than the other--when they hit, they didn't pitch, when they pitched, they didn't hit, when the starters couldn't go deep, the bullpen was overworked and prone to giving up even more runs.

The ERA of the pitching staff, once one of the best in the majors, has skyrocketed since the eight game win streak.

To add injury to insult---err, reverse that---it now looks like Derek Jeter and Dan Giese are hurt as well.

It's not time to write 2008 off just yet--speaking as an optimist, I won't until the Yankees are mathematically eliminated--but the team is fighting for its life right now, and the fight is not going in their favor, at all.

Miracles can happen, but the Yankees shouldn't have to rely on that for October baseball.

Six in the City (Postgame Notes 23 July 2008)

Eight shut out innings.

Two clutch hits.

Six wins and two sweeps in a row.

The Yankees can't ask for too much else right now (aside from an effective Hawkins, but even I admit that's pushing it).

The team hasn't just played better out of the break; they've been dominant. Oakland and Minnesota are not bad teams--overachieving, maybe, but certainly not bad. In fact, before the All Star break, the Yankees were trailing both Minnesota and Oakland in the Wild Card Race.

Now?

Not so much.

Mike Mussina's ERA is now down to 3.26.

Mussina. ERA. 3.26.

This is a guy that at the beginning of the season was supposed to be competing for the five spot.

He now has thirteen wins, tied for the league lead with Cliff Lee.

Today he allowed six hits over eight innings, struck out seven and (once again) did not walk a batter.

If he is not a candidate for Comeback Player of the Year, there is something drastically wrong with the universe.


Also of note: seven different Twins struck out.


As for the offense, the Yankees did not have a dominating offensive explosion as they had in the first game, but they played like the Yankees, exploiting Minnesota's mistakes (Alexi Casilla running off the field as if the inning were over as opposed to doubling up Jose Molina most prominent among these) and getting two two-run hits from Justin Christian and Alex Rodriguez.

They have scored five runs or more in four of their first six games after the brea.

The Yankees have a well-earned off day tomorrow before they head into Boston, and that series now has some added significance. As of right now, the Yankees are only two back in the loss column of Boston; if Seattle can win tonight, they will be just one game out of the wild card spot.

The Yankees have Joba, Pettitte and Sidney Ponson pitching against Beckett, Wakefield and Lester, so it should be a very interesting weekend.

Twin Killing (Postgame Notes 22 July 2008)

So I went to the Yankee game again.

I've had these tickets since the beginning of April--meaning it was the second game for which I actually had tickets this season (the first being the 12 April affair in Boston). So, as you might imagine, I was pretty excited.

Turns out, the Yankees seem to have been pretty excited to play as well--that happens when you've won four games in a row, and two of them by scoring more than five runs.

It was great to see Johnny Damon play again after he got hurt; when he is right all is well with the team and tonight wasn't much different.

Damon was 2-3 with two walks, which will do a lot to help jump start an offense.

The Yankees need his production to keep their offense strong--just look at what's happened in the past two games, 12 runs and eight runs respectively!


Robinson Canò has been absolutely on fire since the All Star break, and tonight was no different.

He went 2-4 with two RBI, and continues to act as though he is the best pick up the Yankees made during the All Star break that you simply did not read about in the papers.

I'm not sure what's in the water in the Dominican Republic, but perhaps the Yankees ought to import some before the start of the season?

If Canò could figure out how to hit in the first half like he does in the second, he'd contend for batting titles every year.






Derek Jeter was only 1-5, but the one hit he did have, in true Captain Clutch fashion, was a two run double down the left field line.

Before the double, the Yankee lead was a modest 4-2---comfortable considering how well the bullpen has been pitching, but not an impossible mountain for Minnesota to climb--so Jeter's hit was not just clutch because it scored two men on base, but because it blew the game open and virtually assured the Yankees would win.


The game was not played perfectly--the Yankees did have two errors in the game--but they were able to get the pitches and the hits when they needed them most.

Darrell Rasner pitched a gem through five, and should have gotten through the sixth with the game still tied if not for a botched call by the first base umpire. That said, tonight was by far the most impressive Rasner has looked in a very long time--it's as though the All Star Break has rejuvanated him just as it has the Yankee offense.

As for the bullpen, well, just take a look at this. Who would of thought that the Yankees could get this out of a bullpen where Kyle Farnsworth is your eighth inning man?

Yankees play a day game tomorow before heading to Boston for the weekend.

Sidney Ponson on the mound, Win in the column (Postgame Notes 21 July 2008)

Somewhere, in Yankeeland, apparently, there is a switch.

It's just like a light switch, with an on-off choice, and underneath the switch there is a label that reads:

New York Yankees

Underneath the label, there is a sign that reads:

PLEASE TURN ON SWITCH AFTER THE ALL STAR GAME AND LEAVE ON FOR REMAINDER OF CALENDAR YEAR

Someone turned that switch on, again.


Sidney Ponson was not great--5.2 innings, nine hits, two walks, two strikeouts and three earned runs--but he was able to Houdini himself out of a couple of tight spots and after the Yankees re-took the lead in the bottom of the second, he never looked back.

It's almost as if on the days that Ponson starts, the Yankees get an extra urge to win--of the four games he has started so far, the Yankees have scored at least nine runs, and in the one they didn't, they still won the game, anyway.

The Yankee offense was, simply, on fire tonight.

Every Yankee hitter except for Jason Giambi (who needs to dye the 'stache again) had a hit; even late inning replacements Wilson Betemit, Justin Christian and Richie Sexson reached base.

Alex Rodriguez had a two run home run with two out in the first; Robinson Canò and Derek Jeter each had solo shots as well, but perhaps what is more impressive is that eight of the Yankees' 12 runs were scored on hits that were not home runs.

The Yankees bullpen continued their stellar season--allowing just one run in 3.1 innings pitched. Even LaTroy Hawkins had a 1-2-3 eighth inning--as if to put a stamp on how well the bullpen is pitching.

One has to wonder if they add something to the water in New York in July--the Yankees have won four in a row now, eight straight at home, seven of nine, and eight of ten. Even in their last two losses--against Toronto--only one of the losses was really a "bad loss".

It happened last year: the Yankees went on an utter tear to come from 7.5 games out of a playofff spot to take the wild card. They're chasing more teams right now, but if they keep playing like this, it's not a question of if they'll make the playoffs, but when.

Sputtering (Postgame Notes 2 June 2008)

Of all the types of baseball games one can play, ones like tonight's are by far the most frustrating to watch.

Every inning (or almost every inning), it seemed, the Yankees took the lead, only to lose it in the bottom half of the inning. Both the pitching and offense are to blame--as neither could pick up the other--even if, on the surface, it looks like the offense had a good showing.

As seemed to be the case for the entire month of April, the Yankees were able to get runners on base without a problem, but then unable to bring them in to score. Multiple innings they had runners in scoring position with less than two outs, and they could never build a lead larger than two runs.

Andy Pettitte, who has built a career around being a "stopper", is not having the best season of his life. While he is a second half pitcher, it can't be ignored that Pettitte's inability to provide some stability in the rotation is hurting the Yankees.

Kyle Farnsworth, simply, did not have a good outing. If the Yankees are looking to make any move in the coming days, one has to hope that they can find someone that can fill the bullpen void that Farnsworth seems to be unable to do. An 8th inning pitcher does not have to be Joba-good, but he has to be able to get three outs before giving up the tying run. It doesn't seem like it should be a hard thing to do...


OPTIMIST TAKE: Alex Rodriguez looked great at the plate; Jeter looks like he is finally coming out of his slump.

Postgame Notes 1 June 2008

When Derek Jeter hit the solo home run in left center field after the Twins had only managed to score one run with the bases loaded and no one out, it looked like the Yankees might have had a chance to win the game.

When Justin Morneau hit a home run, while that ball didn't leave the ballpark, the Yankees' chances of winning the game did--or at least, that was how it felt.

It wasn't exactly a horrible loss--the Yankees were in the game until the later innings--but they were never able to muster much of anything offensively, and looked lifeless on that end.

Darrell Rasner had his worst start while in pinstripes this season. It wasn't a horrendous start--in fact, he went deeper into the game than Chien Ming Wang last night--but he received almost no offensive support.

There was a scary moment in the game when Twins' pitcher Nick Blackburn was hit in the face on a line drive off of Bobby Abreu. He fell down backwards and laid there almost lifeless for a moment before getting up. Fortunately, he seems to be okay, but it does remind you just how dangerous that the sport of baseball can be.

OPTIMIST TAKE: The Yankees are still at .500. Chris Britton finally got a chance to pitch--and sat the four Twins he faced down in order.

Extra Good (postgame notes 31 May 2008)

Well, for the very first Yankee game I've seen in over a week, the Yankees certainly managed to keep it interesting.

It's been so long since the Yankees had won an extra-innings game on the road that when the game went to ten innings, one had to wonder if it was just a matter of time before marking the loss column. Fortunately, despite a couple of very close calls, the Yankees could mark the win column.

Even better: the Yankees are now over the .500 mark--hopefully, for good.

The Yankees' offense seems to finally be showing some signs of cohesion; instead of collapsing when Minnesota staked out to a 2-0 lead, it kept going. Even the Yankee pitching, far from great tonight, never let Minnesota take control of the game.

The win was satisfying because the Yankees had to work that much harder for it, though now it's been five rough starts in a row for Wang.

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I'm still battling jet lag, hence why this post is late and undetailed. I'm working on a couple different non-gamers; I'll get them up eventually.