In Mo We Trust

27!

2009-11-05T08:31:46Z

I just got home from The Stadium. My voice is gone, my back is toast, my head is pounding and I've never been more pumped. After the jump I've got a bunch of video I shot during the game and the celebration afterward. Matsui MVP, Mo on the hill to finish it off. Just a perfect night, and the only way to end what was an amazing season.
]]> Mo Comes In, 1 Out in the 8th

The Final Out

We Are The Champions!

Party In The Streets After the Game

That's Two

2009-10-23T03:42:53Z

I don't have the energy or the inclination for a long-winded diatribe about just how pitiful Joe Girardi is as a manager. Suffice it to say, the Yankees have lost two games this postseason, both as a direct result of asinine moves by our diminutive manager. I don't feel like a very good Yankee fan right now, because impure thoughts are running through my head. Thoughts like, "If this team wins the series, there's no way they'll get rid of Girardi." And, "If they lost this series and Joe Girardi was fired as a result, I don't think I'd even be upset about losing the series." Watching him submarine this team is one of the most painful things I've had to endure in my 30+ years as a fan. I don't know how much more I can take.

The Ever Declining Defense Of Jorge

2009-08-13T05:00:32Z

After the jump I'm going to share a quote from AJ Burnett with you, then I'll tell you what it really means. If you're a huge Jorge Posada fan, I wouldn't click through.
]]> Here's the complete item from the LoHud Yankees Blog:

The last interesting nugget from the postgame was Burnett's reluctance to discuss his wild pitches. Burnett reached a career-high 17 with three today, and he quickly said "I don't want to discuss wild pitches" when asked about them. Of course, one was pivotal because he scored the tying run in the sixth.

The reason A.J. doesn't want to talk about all the wild pitches is that the vast majority of them should have never happened. Jorge Posada is quite possibly the worst defensive catcher in the league at this point. I'm not just talking about his throwing, which is pitiful, I'm talking about the physical and mental aspect of catching. He botches balls that reach him on the fly, he almost never moves his body to block pitches, he stabs at balls in the dirt with his glove, he's extremely, extremely lazy behind the plate. It has already cost this team games (one in LA when two batters reached base on dropped third strikes in the same inning comes to mind), and it will continue to cost this team games.

The sad part about it is that I don't believe this is a physical thing. Blocking pitches is almost 100% mental. You expect the pitch to be in the dirt and you give your body up to keep it in front of you. That's basically all there is to it. You have to be willing to do the work and know the technique, which he surely does. Someone needs to address this with Posada, and they need to do it quickly. The passed balls and wild pitches are only the problems you can see. What won't make its way into the box score is the loss of confidence the pitching staff has in him. The next time you see a pitcher hang a slider with an 0-2 count and a man on third I want you to think back to this post. If a pitcher doesn't have confidence that his catcher will keep the ball in front of him, he's going to make too good of a pitch. He's going to be afraid to give up a free run. That's dangerous, and it may already be happening.

I think AJ Burnett is pissed that Jorge is lazy behind the dish, and you know what? He has every right to be.

Kevin Youkilis, Still A Sissy

2009-08-12T04:38:59Z

This time, Kevin Youkilis just wasn't going to take it anymore. In the bottom of the second inning tonight, 20 year-old Rick Porcello hit Youkilis in the upper arm with a fastball. Youkilis hesitated for a second (to give the catcher enough time to stop him), then charged the mound. This was a defining moment for the league's biggest sissy.
]]> Let's break down Youk's epic charge of the mound. We already talked about the slight delay so someone could stop him, so we'll pick it up from there. I think Youk was sprinting to the mound, but it's hard to tell when a guy is that slow. Porcello seemed shocked and backed off the mound. When Youkilis got close enough, he threw his helmet at Porcello. Basically, the equivalent of hitting someone with your purse. He then proceeded to try to hug the young righty. Porcello was having none of it and flung Youkilis to the ground like a rag doll. When the benches cleared Porcello had Youkilis's sissy body pinned to the infield grass, and he may have been giving him head noogies and calling him a bitch, but I can't confirm that.

Once his teammates were able to pull the lanky kid off poor Kevin, he went about whining to whoever would listen and acting tough.

I've often made fun of Youkilis for pretending like he was really mad at pitchers for hitting him, but never doing anything about it. Basically, he would give the "hold me back, I'm reallly mad," posture at home plate, but never do anything. Well, he finally followed through on all the hard looks and somehow he came out looking even weaker. Congrats, Youk. It's going to be years before anyone challenges you for the title of the biggest sissy in baseball.

By the way, this was the 10th time the king of all sissies has been hit by a pitch this season, 9 other players have been hit as many times. Chase Utley leads the league with 17, typically the league leader is over 20 for the season. Enough of the "they all throw at me, it's not fair" b.s.

UPDATE: Youkilis is taking his whining, bitchy act to the internet.

Girardi Is Trying To Lose This Game

2009-08-08T02:26:24Z

This game isn't over yet, it's tied 0-0 in the top of the 10th right now, but Joe Girardi has done everything in his power to blow it for the Yanks and I just had to break my silence to vent about the moronic actions of our diminutive manager.
]]> Bullets should do:

First and second, no one out in a tie game. Melky Cabrera at the plate, Girardi takes off the bunt after the first pitch. Melky hits into a double play with Jeter on deck.
Matsui on first, one out, Cano at the plate, full count. Girardi sends Matsui, who runs into the strike-em-out-throw-em-out double play
Phil Hughes comes in to finish off the top of the eighth inning on 5 pitches. The Yanks fail to score in the bottom of the 8th. Instead of sending Hughes back out for the top of the ninth, effectively extending the best part of the bullpen deeper into the game, Girardi instead calls on Mo for the 9th. Now we get Aceves in the 10th.

Ridiculous, unimaginable decisions by a guy who is so clearly over his head it isn't even funny. If the Yanks win this game it will be despite the choke job by their manager. He is not fit to manage this team, it's like having a fat guy riding a thoroughbred in the Kentucky Derby.

Unfortunate Changes

2009-06-22T12:04:33Z

It's been a week to forget as Yankee fans. 2-4 against the Nationals and the Marlins. The Yankee bats have scored to the tune of 5, 2, 0, 5, 1 and 5 over that stretch. Alex Rodriguez needed a couple days off due to fatigue. Sabathia was pulled from Sunday's game after 1.1 innings of work with biceps tendinitis (he says he'll make his next start). I'm sure things will turn around, I mean, CMW only allowed 3 earned in 5 innings of work in his last start. An unbelievable improvement. Still, there's more bad news, check after the jump.
]]> Unfortunately, the time has come when one of the thousands of balls I've been juggling has to drop. I won't bore you with my myriad responsibilities, but I will say I make this announcement with a heavy heart. Gone are the days of daily updates here at In Mo We Trust. I just don't have the time. The blog won't die, but updates will be far less frequent (hopefully more than once a week, but I can't make any promises).

Instead of post-game analysis, you'll probably get more general thought/research pieces on a less regular basis. I'm truly sorry it's come to this, but something had to give and this is it. Hopefully you won't forget about us.

Yankees Weekend Update

2009-06-15T13:45:47Z

After Friday night's hilarious win, the Yanks were staring a 2-1 series win in the face. All they had to do was beat a rookie on Saturday, then take their lumps against Johan Santana on Sunday. Well, they wound up winning the series, but they didn't take the expected route.
]]> Fernando Nieve made his first start of the season for the Mets on Saturday, Andy Pettitte made his 10,000th for the Yanks. Nieve looked like a cool, calm, composed veteran. Pettitte looked like he belongs on the next bus back to the Mexican League.

Andy yielded 5 earned on 12 hits in only 5 innings of work. I know that would be a stellar effort for Chien-Ming Wang, but the Yanks need more from Pettitte, especially considering the immense strain that's been put on the pen over the past handful of games (thanks in large part to Mr. Wang.)

Even though the Yanks alternated between looking inept and hapless, the game was immensely enjoyable because we got to hear Tim McCarver and Joe Buck pull out every dickbag joke about New Yankee Stadium for several hours. Those guys are a laugh riot.

I was hoping A-Rod's solo shot in the second inning on Saturday was a sign that he's breaking out of his slump, but he finished off the weekend on a 0-5 jag. Can you imagine what this offense would look like if he was just 80% of the usual A-Rod? It's odd, because he keeps getting on base. I don't think he's that far away, I just wish he'd return to form sooner rather than later.

Anyway, everything that went wrong on Saturday went right on Sunday. Johan Santana was abused to the tune of 9 earned runs (a career high) in just 3 innings of work, while the guys the Yanks were reportedly unwilling to trade for him, Melky Cabrera and Phil Hughes, were busy helping the Yanks on their way to a 15-0 demolition of the Mess.

The Yankee offensive heroes were numerous. I'll go with Frankie Cervelli for drawing first blood as the most important bat. Cervellis finished the game 3/5 with 2 runs and a RBI, he pushed his average up to .298 (pay no attention to the paltry .310 OBP). Matsui and Cano both went deep, and Cano really stung the ball a couple of times.

All the runs were great, but more importantly, A.J. Burnett gave the Yanks 7 strong innings and saved the pen. I know the game turned out to be a laugher, but if not for a mammoth Houdini by Burnett in the top of the third, this game could've been a shootout. The Yanks put four runs on the board, all with two out, in the bottom of the second. Burnett responded by walking Murphy, yielding a single to Schneider and walking Castillo. Bases loaded, no one out. Burnett dug deep, struck Cora and Martinez out, then got a little bit lucky when Beltran hit a rocket right at Jeter to end the inning. Tragedy averted, Burnett cruised the rest of the way. His final line, 7 innings, 4 hits, 4 walks, 8 Ks, 0 runs.

One final thought: Has anyone else noticed the fact that Derek Jeter is suddenly an excellent defensive shortstop? Seriously, he's covering more ground, making all the routine plays, like he always did, and even sprinkling in spectacular plays now and then. The double play he turned with Sheffield throwing a body block on him was superb. I don't know what he did in the offseason, but he looks 10 years younger out there and it's a sight for sore eyes.

Player of The Weekend: Burnett.
Team Record: 36-27
Up Next: Vs. Washington, on Tuesday. CC vs. Martis (I'll be there).

Ha Ha!

2009-06-13T09:07:02Z

Is it September already? If it was any team other than the Mets (or the Sox) I'd probably feel a little bit bad for them, but in this case, all I can do is laugh. If you missed the game, A-Rod popped one up to second base with two men on and two men out in the bottom of the ninth. K-Rod was just about ready to do his little dance on the mound to celebrate another shaky save and then Luis Castillo went after the ball with one hand, dropped it, and both runners scored to give the Yanks a 9-8 win.
]]> Two questionable decisions by Girardi tonight, the first could really go either way. Girardi didn't let Joba go out for the fifth inning with 100 pitches under his belt. Joba's control was horrible tonight, and honestly, I think he just cannot work with Posada. Whether it's Jorge's fault or Joba's, they just can't get on the same page. I'm leaning toward Jorge being a cranky old man. Girardi opted for Tomko, who got ripped, instead of Hughes or Aceves. Like I said, though, it's tough to send a kid back out there with 100 pitches, no matter what the circumstance.

Girardi's second questionable call was going to Mo in the bottom of the 8th with the game tied, two men out and no one on base. Phil Coke took care of the Mets top two hitters with no problem, and Girardi hopped out of the dugout to call on Mo. It was almost as if he was reacting to the criticism he got for not going to Mo the night before in Boston. Joe just doesn't have a feel for the game, as far as I'm concerned. Mo promptly coughed up the go-ahead run and this game should've been a loss. If anyone should be thanking Luis Castillo tonight, it's Girardi.

Player of The Game: Castillo, obviously
Team Record: 35-35
Up Next: Pettitte vs. Fernando Nieve tomorrow.

0 4 8

2009-06-12T02:50:19Z

Surely the Yanks couldn't drop their eighth straight to the Sox with CC on the hill against Brad Friggin' Penny, right? I mean, this madness has to end at some point, doesn't it? Well, it didn't happen tonight. This one hurt more than the first seven combined.

]]> It's late and the bile is rising in my throat, so we're going to go with a few bullets to sum this one up:

Nick Swisher needs to be benched for a couple of games. I can live with poor defense, I can live with the guy striking out looking at an alarming rate, I absolutely cannot live with stupid baseball. In the past two games, Swisher has been doubled off twice on asinine baserunning plays. There has to be accountability. Put Gardner out there for a couple games, send a message to Swisher that it's more important to be a smart baseball player than a clubhouse joker.
The Yanks basically got screwed in the first inning when Brad Penny beaned A-Rod on purpose and the umps immediately issued a warning. That took the matter out of the players hands, took the inside part of the plate away from CC and it will boil up to the surface the next time these teams meet. Never warn on the first bean ball.
Is Ortiz going to give a curtain call for all 8 of his bombs this season? Give me a break.
Damon did his best Swisher impersonation on a routine fly ball, luckily, CC was cruising at that point.
1-0 game in the bottom of the 6th, good time for the Fenway douches to do the wave. I guess I should be happy that Yankee Stadium isn't the only place that's been taken over by non-fans and wanabees.
Great call by Girardi on the Cervelli hit and run, and Frankie did something very smart as well. It was a situation in which Girardi usually bunts, on the first pitch of the at bat, Delcarmen threw over to first and Cervelli slid his hand up the bat like he was going to bunt. It drew Lowell in a little bit more at third, just enough for Cervelli's liner to get into the corner and tie the game up.
I can't say enough about A-Rod's at bat later that inning. He's hitting like crap right now, but his pitch recognition is great, which is rather odd. He hung in there through a tough at bat and lined a shot off the wall in left-center. That should've iced the game.
The Pedroia at bat did CC in. The missed call did Aceves in. Gardner's throw was pitiful. Coke did an awesome job getting out of the jam. Papelbon is still a sissy.

Player of The Game: Cervelli, the first run is always the hardest to score.
Team Record: 34-25
Up Next: Vs. the Mess tomorrow night. Joba vs. Livan.

BoSox Continue Mastery Over Yanks

2009-06-11T02:35:27Z

Missed it by that much.

Chien-Ming Wang didn't make it past the third inning, Kevin Youkilis homered and drove in two and Jonathan Papelbon picked up his 15th save of the season as the Red Sox outlasted the Yanks 6-5 in Boston. Jorge Posada launched his 13th tater of the year in the second inning and Johnny Damon and Mark Teixeira went back-to-back (and a belly to belly) in the seventh but it wasn't enough to stop Boston from moving into first place in the AL East -- one game ahead of the Bombers.

The Yankees battled back from a 6-2 deficit and had several chances to push across more runs (they outhit Boston 11 to 9 Wednesday night) but couldn't get over the hump. Their missed opportunities were crystallized in the ninth when Alex Rodriguez worked a one-out walk and Ramiro Pena (who came in to pinch-run) swiped second. But Robinson Cano went down swinging and Posada flew out to left to end the threat and the game. Bitter.

I was surprised that Joe Girardi went to Phil Hughes when Wang faltered in the third (John Flaherty on YES agreed. I always liked Flash), but he did an admirable job. Hughes worked 3 2/3 innings and struck out five, but he also served up Youkilis' two-run jack in the fourth inning. And that turned out to be the margin of victory.

O cruel fate! Why do you mock me?

The Good:

Mark Teixeira. There's usually a bit of concern for a hitter that facing a knuckle-baller could wreck his swing. Especially if he's in a groove. Well, that didn't apply to Teixeira Wednesday night. The switch-hitter decided to bat righty against Tim Wakefield and that plan worked. Big time. Tex singled and doubled twice in three at-bats against Wakefield. Then he flipped over to the left side in the seventh and greeted Ramon Ramirez with his 19th round-tripper of the year. When you're hot, you're hot. Teixeira finished 4 for 5 with 2 runs scored and an RBI.

The Bad:

Chien-Ming Wang. I thought it was a good omen when Dustin Pedroia led off the first inning with a groundout to shortstop. But Wang followed that up by walking J.D. Drew (the first of three free passes in the frame) as the Red Sox eventually took a 1-0 lead after one inning. But my spirits were still up. The Wanger was lucky to give up just the one run in the first inning, I thought -- maybe he'll settle down. Didn't happen. Wang threw too many pitches and too many of them were well out of the strike zone. I could make more excuses and say Wang was unlucky when Nick Green reached on an infield single to lead off the second inning and victimized by Nick Swisher's poor defensive play later on in the frame, but that would be weak. I'm almost positive Wang will get another start, but the Yanks (and Wang) have to be concerned. Deeply concerned. Wang dropped to 0-4 with this mess: 2.2 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 3 BB, 3 K, 1 HR.

Derek Jeter. The Captain has a knack from coming through in the clutch, but his mojo wasn't working Wednesday night. Jeter had three chances to knock in a runner in scoring position and came up empty each time. DJ flew out to center in the second, stranding Hideki Matsui at third base; left Swisher at second base with another fly out to center in the fourth and struck out in the eighth with Brett Gardner at second base. Not a night for the time capsule. Jeter finished 0 for 5.

The Ugly:

Unlucky seven. This is madness. The Yanks strutted into Tuesday night's tilt against the BoSox with renewed confidence and a feeling that things would be different after dropping the first five games against their archrivals. Well, nothing (nothing!) has changed. The Bombers have now dropped their first seven (yes, seven!) games against Boston this season. It doesn't help that Girardi said before Tuesday's opener that this three-game series was big. Sometimes a team just has your number, but this is unacceptable. This sort of thing could happen when one team is superior to the other -- but even then it's hard to drop seven straight games to a ballclub. And it's not like the Red Sox are infinitely better than the Yankees. Are they?

The Yanks will try to avoid the sweep Thursday night and send CC Sabathia (5-3, 3.56 ERA) against Brad Penny (5-2, 5.85 ERA). Sabathia is 4-0 in his past six starts, but picked up a no-decision his last time out against the Tampa Bay Rays, surrendering five runs (four earned) through eight innings in an eventual 9-7 Rays win. It was the most runs he's allowed since May 2 when he also gave up five runs (four earned) against the Los Angeles Angels. The Halos were also the last team to tag Sabathia with a loss. The big southpaw is 4-2 with a 3.07 ERA in six road starts this year and is holding lefty batters to a meager .176 average. Sabathia is 2-4 with a 3.91 ERA in seven career starts against the Red Sox and is 1-1 with a 2.35 ERA in three lifetime starts at Fenway Park. Penny was roughed up in his last start against the Texas Rangers, allowing five runs on seven hits over 5 2/3 innings in a 5-1 loss. It was Penny's first "L" since the Rays beat him 5-3 on May 3. Penny is 3-1 in six night starts this season, despite a bloated 7.12 ERA. The right-hander is 1-0 with a 5.40 ERA in one career start against the Yankees.

The odds are in our favor. Right?

Boston Massacre

2009-06-10T04:10:16Z

On a chilly, rainy day in Boston the Yanks were completely embarrassed by the Sox to the tune of a 7-0 shutout. A.J. Burnett was a disgrace to the road grays, the offense managed a meager two hits. Boston has now tied the Yanks for the lead in the A.L. East, and hold a 6-0 advantage over the Bombers in the season series.
]]> There were three highlights from the Yankee perspective, in order of enjoyment:

Burnett kicking a water cooler as he walked off the field in defeat. Great to see that kind of fire out of a mediocre pitcher.
Robinson Cano's single off Dustin Pedroia's glove
Brett Gardner's single off Nick Green's glove.

That's right folks, both Yankee hits were singles that really should've been outs. Honestly, it didn't matter how pitiful Burnett threw, and trust me, he was pitiful. Josh Beckett owned the Yankee bats and they pretty much rolled over and died long before the pen came into the game.

This game doesn't concern me a whole lot. It's only the first game of the series, and Beckett has been pitching well lately. I had it down as a loss, I have zero faith in Burnett. The thing that worries me is we're counting on Chien-Ming Wang to right the ship tomorrow, and well, he's been the worst pitcher on the planet so far this season.

The lowlight of the game had to be Burnett yielding a dong to the artist formerly known as Big Papi. The Sox decrepit, bloated, un-juiced designated hitter connected for this third of the season off Burnett. The shame. Well, at least we have Burnett's suspension to look forward to.

The Yanks will look to turn things around against Tim Wakefield tomorrow, weather permitting. I'm wondering if the Yankee switch hitters will bat from the right side against Wakefield. I think Posada has done that in the past.

Player of The Game: Robertson, for pitching a clean inning.
Team Record: 34-24
Up Next: Pray for rain?

Four Yankee Home Runs Cut Down Rays

2009-06-09T01:51:01Z

They don't call 'em the Bronx Bombers for nothing.

Andy Pettitte went six adequate innings, Johnny Damon broke a 3-3 tie with a solo home run in the sixth and the trio of Phil Hughes, Phil Coke and Mariano Rivera worked three scoreless innings as the Yanks trimmed the Rays 5-3 in the Bronx. Mark Teixeira ripped his 18th round-tripper of the season in the first inning to give the Bombers a quick 1-0 advantage and Nick Swisher pushed the lead to 3-0 with a two-run jack in the second. Derek Jeter capped the scoring with a homer in the eighth to help the Yankees take two of three against Tampa this weekend and move one game ahead of the Boston Red Sox in the AL East.

The Bombers looked poised to coast to an easy victory early on in this one, but the Rays tied things up with a three-spot in the fourth inning thanks in large part to Gabe Kapler's two-run long ball. But in the end it was too much pinstriped power. The Yankees managed just six hits Monday night, but four of them left the ballpark.

Sometimes you have to flex your muscles -- just to show the other team who's boss.

The Good:

Johnny Damon. There's been a lot of complaining about the way the ball jumps out of Yankee Stadium (especially to right field), but one guy who won't be bad-mouthing the new ballpark anytime soon is Damon. JD pulled an Andy Sonnanstine pitch over the right-field wall in the sixth inning for his 12th homer of the year and ninth at The Stadium. And Damon didn't think he got enough of the pitch after he swung. In fact, he put his head down and did a quick little shake of the head as if to say "Dang, didn't get enough of it." I guess Johnny D forgot where he was playing for a minute. Damon finished 1 for 4 with a run scored and 1 RBI.

Nick Swisher. The dial is definitely turned to hot for Swisher. The switch-hitter ripped his second home run in as many games (Nick-Knock! A Swisher Sweet!) and pushed his average for the month of June to a cool .500 (9 for 18). It was Swisher's 12th blast of the season. But before you point to the homer-friendly ballpark, nine of Swisher's home runs have come on the road this season. Just another example of Swisher's schizophrenic tendencies. Swisher finished 2 for 3 with a run scored and 2 RBIs.

Phil Hughes. This could be the start of something. Hughes relieved Pettitte in the seventh inning and looked terrific. The hard-throwing righty came in throwing gas and retired the Rays in order on just 11 pitches, capping it off by striking out the dangerous Evan Longoria to end the frame. Why didn't Joe Girardi send Hughes out for the eighth? Fair question. I guess he wanted to pull the kid after a good outing to boost his confidence. I was wary of putting Hughes in the bullpen at first since he'll probably be needed in the starting rotation again at some point during the season, but if the Yanks can give him regular work and he pitches like he did Monday night -- well, then things should be just fine. Hughes' night: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.

The Bad:

Hideki Matsui. Looks like Godzilla is hitting another bad stretch. Matsui and Swisher are neck-and neck when it comes to streakiness and right now Matsui is scrapping. The Sayonara Kid is 0 for his past 16 and is hitting just .105 so far in June. But it wasn't all bad as Matsui managed to work out a walk Monday night. Baby steps. Matsui finished 0 for 2 with a base on balls.

The Ugly:

Six in a row. The Yankees either don't read what I write (no, that can't be true) or they simply chose to ignore when I pointed out Sunday that they have committed an error in five straight games. Heed my words! I'm here to help! It was Alex Rodriguez's turn as the E-man Monday night as he booted a ground ball in the fourth inning for his third error of the season. And that mistake came around to score. Tighten things up, fellas.

The Yankees will hit the road and begin a three-game set against the Red Sox at Fenway Park beginning Tuesday night. A.J. Burnett (4-2, 4.69 ERA) will go against Josh Beckett (6-2, 4.09 ERA) in the opener. Burnett has won his past two starts and has allowed just three runs in 13 innings over that span. Dustin Pedroia is a career .300 hitter against Burnett (6 for 20) with six walks, two homers and four runs batted in. A.J. is 5-0 with a 3.52 ERA in nine career starts against the BoSox, and is 3-0 with a 2.93 ERA in four lifetime starts in Boston. Beckett defeated the Detroit Tigers his last time out, allowing three runs on eight hits over seven innings in a 10-5 Red Sox victory. The hard-throwing right-hander is 4-0 in his past six starts and hasn't lost since April 30 at Tampa Bay. The Bombers have hit Beckett well in the past, though. Eight Yankees have a career average of .300 or better against Beckett: Derek Jeter (.341), Johnny Damon (.316), Robinson Cano (.333), Alex Rodriguez (.324), Melky Cabrera (.364), Jorge Posada (.346), Nick Swisher (.357) and Angel Berroa (.375).

Burnett and Beckett faced off April 25 at Fenway, but both came away with a no-decision in a 16-11 Red Sox win.

The Yanks will enter Tuesday's game with an 0-5 record this season against the Red Sox.

Time to crack the win column.

Yanks Sting Rays With Three-Run Eighth

2009-06-07T22:50:41Z

It won't go down as the prettiest comeback this season, but a win is a win.

Gabe Gross snapped a 1-1 tie with a two-run single in the sixth inning, but Hideki Matsui capped a three-run eighth with an RBI ground out and Mariano Rivera worked a perfect ninth for his 13th save of the season as the Yanks upended the Rays 4-3 at The Stadium. Nick Swisher crushed his 11th dinger of the season and Alfredo Aceves pitched two innings of shutout relief to help the Bombers reclaim first place in the AL East, one-half game ahead of the Boston Red Sox.

The Yankees loaded the bases with one out in the eighth and managed to push across three runs without getting the ball past the infield. Robinson Cano walked, Jorge Posada reached on an error and a fielder's choice at third base and Hideki Matsui beat out a double-play ball to second base that drove in the go-ahead run. That was enough to get the job done. And that's why you can't predict baseball.

Joba Chamberlain surrendered three runs over six innings -- a quality start if you go by the book -- but picked up another no-decision, his seventh in 11 starts this season. Still, Chamberlain didn't pitch poorly and may have been able to go longer if not for a 31-pitch sixth inning in which he allowed two runs. But even though Joba walked only one batter, his strike-to-ball ratio wasn't great (56 strikes to 44 balls) and that contributed to his early departure.

The Good:

Alfredo Aceves. The Yanks don't have any blue-chip relievers in the pen after Rivera, but Aceves is close -- real close. Ace entered the game in the seventh inning with the Yanks trailing 3-1 and held the fort. I've been wondering why Joe Girardi hasn't given the eighth inning to Aceves and this may be the reason. Aceves is probably the only reliever who can be counted on to keep the game close in the middle innings. I still think Ace would be a dynamite set-up man and he should definitely get first crack if the Bombers are up by one in the eighth, but maybe he's too valuable and versatile to pigeon-hole. We'll see. Aceves improved to 4-1 with this: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K.

Nick Swisher. It's shaping up to be an up-and-down type of season for Swisher. The people's champ hit a rancid .150 during May, but he's been hot, hot, hot so far in June. Swisher pulled the Yanks even at 1-1 in the third inning with a solo bomb to right center. Pow! Right in the Swisher! It was the 100th home run hit at Yankee Stadium this season. Maybe that will be the answer to a trivia question one day. Doubtful, but you never know. Anyway, Swisher is hitting a sizzling .466 so far in June. Swisher finished 1 for 2 with 2 walks, a run scored and 1 RBI.

Mariano Rivera. It's always shocking when Rivera is hit hard and it's even more shocking when he leaves the mound before recording three outs. That's what happened to The Sandman Saturday afternoon, but if you thought that was going to carry over into Sunday, well, you just haven't been paying attention to Rivera these past 13 years or so. Rivera came in to close out a one-run lead and did so in typical fashion -- ground out, strikeout, ground out. And it took just 10 pitches -- eight of them for strikes. I wouldn't call it redemption for Rivera, but it gives me an excuse to put up some more Corrosion of Conformity.

The Bad:

Derek Jeter. The Bombers managed just six hits on the afternoon and while four other Yankees also went hitless, Jeter was the only regular who didn't work out a walk or drive in a run. Reason for concern? Not even close, but I have a job to do here. And if there's anyone on the team who isn't worried about his stats, it's DJ. The Captain is focused solely on winning and that means that being placed in this section will roll right off his back. Jeter finished 0 for 4.

The Ugly:

Five in a row. The Bombers set a Major League record with 18 straight games without an error this season, but they have followed that up with miscues in five consecutive contests. Jorge Posada was the culprit Sunday afternoon when he fielded a nubber in front of the plate off the bat of Dioner Navarro and sailed the ball past Mark Teixeira at first for a two-base error. Still, Posada's boo-boo belied some good defense by the Bombers -- Alex Rodriguez made some nice picks at third, Melky Cabrera made a diving stab in center field and Teixeira made a pretty play on a sharp grounder at first. But I'm here to snuff out any bad habits that may be forming.

Andy Sonnanstine (4-5, 7.07 ERA) will go against Andy Pettitte (5-2, 4.33 ERA) in the rubber game Monday night. Sonnanstine pitched well in his last start against the Kansas City Royals, giving up two runs on six hits over 6 2/3 innings in a 6-2 Tampa win. But outings like that have been few and far between this season for Sonnanstine. Right-handers are hitting an astounding .433 against the righty this year, with seven doubles, three triples, eight homers and 33 runs batted in. It's also been a rough-go for Sonnanstine away from home -- he's 1-5 with a 9.00 ERA in seven starts on the road. Yet, he's somehow managed to pitch well against the Yankees in 2009. Sonnanstine is 0-0 with a 2.92 ERA in two starts against the Bombers this season. Pettitte had a rough time against the Texas Rangers his last time out, walking six batters in just five innings, en route to his second loss of the year. The veteran lefty has had control issues of late. He's walked 11 batters in his past 10 innings. Pettitte has pitched well in his career against the Rays -- he's 15-4 with a 3.78 ERA in 27 appearances, but he's 0-0 with a 5.40 ERA in two starts against Tampa Bay this season. Carlos Pena loves Pettitte -- the big lefty is 11 for 33 (.333) lifetime against Pettitte with two triples, four homers and seven ribbies.

These two Andys squared off April 15 in Tampa, but each picked up a no-decision in an eventual 4-3 Yankees win.

A repeat performance will be just fine with me.

No Mo Ties

2009-06-07T06:12:47Z

What began as a sick pitcher's duel between two of the nastiest southpaws in the game, ended with Mariano Rivera shaking his head as he was removed from a game in the middle of an inning for the second time this season. The moral of the story: I won't question Girardi again if he avoids using Mo in a tie game.
]]> The Yanks sent CC to the hill today in the hopes that he could continue his streak of dominant performances, I think it's safe to say CC is the best lefty in the A.L. I also don't think it's a stretch to say David Price could be the guy who dethrones him a couple of years down the road.

Unfortunately, neither guy brought his a-game to the park today. CC went his usual 8 innings, but yielded 5 runs in doing so. Price couldn't get out of the sixth inning, thanks to a bloated pitch count, a flat slider, and horrible defense behind him. Both guys had live fastballs and not much more.

The Yanks entered the bottom of the eight down 5-3, they rallied to tie the game on a ground out by Melky (Senor Clutch), then Girardi made the call to the pen. CC's day was done, and Mo was coming in to get the team to the bottom of the ninth with a chance to win the game. The top of the Yankee order was due up, only three outs separated them from another walk-off win.

It just wasn't meant to be, though. Ben Zobrist led the top of the ninth off with a triple in the left-center gap. He scored on Dillon's single to give the Rays a 6-5 lead. When all was said and done, Phil Choke would be called upon to get the final out, two more runs would score on his watch, making the score 9-5.

The Yanks weren't quite done: Jeter singled, Damon doubled and Teixeira doubled them both home off Dan Wheeler to start the bottom of the ninth. A-Rod stepped to the plate in front of his new lady friend (allegedly), Kate Hudson, with a chance to play the hero. He represented the tying run, he grounded out to third. Then Posada got his chance to knot the score up. He lined out to deep center. Finally, Cano took a turn against former Yankee Randy Choate, he lined out to deep center as well. Honestly, the Yanks scorched 5 balls in the bottom of the ninth, two of them were caught by B.J. Upton, and another one probably should've been. As Sterling I'm sure said multiple times during this one, "That's baseball."

Player of The Game: Teixeira. LOOOONG bomb off the hands of some butterfingers in the suite level in right, plus that two-run double in the 9th.
Team Record: 32-23
Up Next: Joba vs. Garza tomorrow.

Yanks and Rays Rained Out

2009-06-06T00:21:56Z

Doesn't Mother Nature realize it's June and not April?

Friday night's contest between the Yankees and Rays was washed away. No makeup date was announced, but Tampa will return to the Bronx Sept. 7 for a three-game set and both squads will have a day off Sept. 10.

Cue the Creedence:

So, the battle between David Price (1-0, 3.00 ERA) and CC Sabathia (5-3, 3.46) will take place Saturday afternoon.

The Bombers will shuffle their rotation a bit on account of the rain out. Joba Chamberlain will take the hill Sunday and Andy Pettitte (not A.J. Burnett) will pitch Monday night in the series finale. That means Burnett will start the opener Tuesday night against the Boston Red Sox.

It also means that Chien-Ming Wang will go Wednesday night at Fenway Park.

No one ever said the road to redemption was easy.