Yankees Blog: Inside Yankee Stadium

New Location

2006-05-23T23:52:00.000-04:00

Check it out IYS has moved to www.insidethestadium.com

It's now linked to www.nysportsday.com

Same crap, new home.

Little Brother Now Looking Like Twin

2006-05-22T13:18:00.000-04:00

Last night I skipped out the subway series finale to enjoy a late-afternoon game with my street hockey team, the Anklebiters. We won 3-2 in dramatic fashion and celebrated with $1.50 PBR cans all evening, the culmination of which was a co-ed arm wrestling match that ended in a huge pile on. Yes, the arm wrestling was dramatic, too.

And speaking of drama, all three games at Shea were nail-biters with Mets coming away with the series, two games to one after last night's 4-3 victory. From the looks and sounds of things at Shea, the Mets got power from their power guys as David Wright and Carlos Delgado used two swings to plate all four Met runs. Meanwhile, Aaron Small could've done more, giving up 4 runs in 4.1 innings...but then again, I wasn't watching and can't say if Torre yanked him too soon as he is apt to do.

Nonetheless, while I'm fighting the side-effects of celebrating, I do have a few general observations about this past weekend...most of which focus on the bullpen.

The NYC media's consensus lead story this morning was Billy Wagner closing the Yanks out...and it should be. Everyone has a tough one now and then. The important thing is to bounce back and Wagner did. He gave up two singles in the ninth, but got Miguel Cairo to ground out to end the game. The fact that all three games of this series banked on one team's respective Sandman makes for exciting baseball. Yet more importantly, this battle at Shea was an isolated demonstration of how crucial a top-level bullpen is.

Both the Mets and Yankees lost a game when their closer faltered. In the opener, Mets middle reliever Aaron Heilman retired nine straight Yankees to take control of the game. In last night's game, the Yankees had every chance to win when Ron Villone, Mike Myers and company shut down the Mets after Small was taken out.

Both New York baseball teams have great bullpens and great hitting. Duaner "Dirty" Sanchez has been purely awesome for the Mets. Villone and Myers have been the southpaw answers for the Yankees, and Scott Proctor is finally finding the strike zone. Add in a solid Kyle Farnsworth with Mariano Rivera (no, he is far from done folks...people ask every year...please do not forget that last year may have been his best season ever...) and the Yanks are looking real good out of the pen.

These days, it seems that both the Mets and Yankees are right on par with each other. Similar records, great offenses that can fix mistakes any starter makes, and a bullpen that will be the difference in tight games. Looks like Willie Randolph copied a blueprint he learned in the Bronx and brought it over the Triborough Bridge. God bless, Willie deserves success.

Round two of Yankees-Mets comes in June.

Patience

2006-05-20T19:24:00.000-04:00

Today I was at Shea for the second game of this weekend's subway series, taking things in from the press deck with WFAN's Mike Mancuso -- a great guy to watch a ball game with. Being on the job, I had my laptop with me and was getting taunting Instant Messages from Figz, my Met-fan roommate:

"Moooooooooooooooooooooooossseee" after Carlos Delgado and Cliff Floyd homered.

Or when Pedro Martinez squashed a Yankee rally: "hahahhahaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa".

And even the common: "You lose!"

All I could write back was "Have patience".

Of course, I was waiting for Pedro's inevitable 100 pitch collapse to come, but it didn't.

Leading 4-0 in the seventh inning, Pedro was over 100 and possibly in trouble...but he worked out of a two-out jam with runners on second and third by striking out Kelly Stinnett. At that point in the game the Mets were cruising. Willie Randolph, well familiar with Pedro's pitch count needs, put Duaner Sanchez in to set the Yankees down in the 8th and called in his own Sandman to work the ninth.

While Billy Wagner got loose on the mound, I shut off my laptop -- Instant Message included -- and prepared to fight with a sea of reporters to get sound from the Yankee locker room.

Now, to refresh, Billy Wagner had won the war of New York closers the night before and at that moment he looked to have plenty of cushion to work with. Yet he proceeded to give the game away without making the Yankees work.

Jason Giambi and Robinson Cano got singles and the rest of the Yankee offense came courtesy of Wagner who walked three batters and hit Bernie Williams to force in the third run. The Mets closer didn't make it out of the inning and the Yankees went on to win the game in the 11th when Miguel Cairo walked, stole two bases and scored on an Andy Phillips single. Not bad for a pair of guys usually designated to the Yankee bench.

It was truly a day for the little guys. And perhaps there was no greater moment than the key at bat Melky Cabrera had against Wagner in the 9th. Cabrera, starting in left and batting sixth, forced a walk in the middle of the Yankee rally by fouling pitch after pitch from Wagner. Later Joe Torre called it one of the biggest moments of the game.

The consensus in the locker room from Torre and players like starter Mike Mussina (7 innings, 5 hits, 2 earned runs), Johnny Damon and Mariano Rivera was that today's game was far from pretty. There were a combined seven errors from the two teams.

Still, Rivera was happy to rebound from Friday's rough outing by pitching two scoreless innings for the win, and Torre and Mussina were both pleased with Moose's efforts on the mound.

As for the Mets, I got to that locker room after most of the players had left. Word is that they were not there very long -- it was a demoralizing loss.

I rolled out of Shea Stadium ready to hit the 7 train back home. While I was walking to the subway platform I pulled out my cell phone and sent a text to my roommate. It was the final jab of the day:

"Patience is a virtue."

Millwood Floats on Yanks

2006-05-16T02:43:00.000-04:00

Rain came down around the 8th inning last night in the Bronx and washed away Mike Mussina’s sparkling effort as the visiting Texas Rangers rallied for two runs and defeated the Yankees 4-2. Mussina went 7 innings giving up only 2 runs on 6 hits and once again staked his claim to ace of the Pinstripe pitching staff. Yet, that effort wasn’t matched by reliever Kyle Farnsworth who gave up two runs in the 8th inning and was charged with the loss.

Kevin Millwood pitched splendidly for the Rangers and came away with virtually an identical pitching line as his Yankee counterpart: 2 earned runs in 7 innings, giving up just 5 hits. He needed only 78 pitches to complete those 7 innings of work.

Afterwards, Manager Joe Torre cited Millwood’s excellent location and tipped his hat to the Rangers’ righty. The skipper refused to blame Yankee hitters for not taking more pitches, mentioning Millwood’s excellent control – 55 strikes to 23 balls. Furthermore, Torre did not make excuses stemming from the absence of RBI producers, Hideki Matsui or Gary Sheffield. They are prepared to play without the former for quite some time.

But perhaps some power would have aided the Yankees last night who scored their two runs on a pair of RBI singles.

In the 2nd inning Robinson Cano singled and then demonstrated intelligent base running by taking third on a ground out to first base by Bernie Williams. The heads up play allowed him to score easily on Bubba Crosby's two-out single one batter later.

Then, in the bottom of the 4th, Cano came through again. Alex Rodriguez led off with a double to the wall in left center and scored on a Cano jam shot to center field. Cano’s promotion to the 5th slot in the injury-plagued Yankee line-up has paid immediate dividends.

Later, while seated in his office, Torre stated how much talent Cano has and how much faith he has in his young 2nd baseman.

Mussina, for his part, cruised through the first 4 innings, giving up just 3 hits and striking out 4. He then got some help from his defense in the top of the 5th.

Drawing their first blood off Moose, the Rangers scored on a lead-off home run by Brad Wilkerson. Mark DeRosa followed with a single to left and eventually scored on a Michael Young fly out to right on which Bubba Crosby made a spectacular, rolling catch to prevent further damage. Mussina struck out Mark Teixeira swinging to end the Rangers threat.

After the game Torre and Mussina both went out of their way to specifically cite Crosby’s catch and the difference it made in keeping things tied instead of Texas gaining a 1-run lead at the time. His energy in the field has been well-noticed as of late, and the crowd recognized him all game with loud cheers.

Kyle Farnsworth replaced Mussina at the beginning of the 8th and was greeted by Gary Matthews Jr who hit a cue shot down the right field line for a double. Matthews then advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored on a Teixeira single to right as the sky began to open at Yankee Stadium. Fighting through the rain, the Rangers scored again when Hank Blalock plated Teixeira with another RBI single off Farnsworth.

A 22-minute rain delay came between the top and bottom halves of the 8th inning, but the Rangers relief combo of Francisco Cordero and Akinori Otsuka were still up to the task as they shut down the Yanks in the 8th and 9th innings respectively. Otsuka, fresh off pitching the final 5 outs of the World Baseball Classic championship for the save, now has 5 on the year with the Rangers.

Although a few Yankee hitters like Johnny Damon blamed themselves for not scoring more runs off Millwood and company last night, Torre was not as harsh. Simply, he saw it as a game where they ran into a little rain and lots of great pitching.

Notes: Jason Giambi took himself out of the game in the 7th inning with a stiff neck. He has listed himself as day-to-day...Yankee relief pitcher Tanyon Strurtze was diagnosed with a small tear in his rotator cuff and will miss a significant period of playing time. In trying to pitch through the pain, Sturtze posted a 7.59 ERA in 18 appearances this season.

What will the Japanese Press Now Cover????

2006-05-12T03:33:00.000-04:00

Last night the Yankees lost 5-3 to the Boston Red Sox and dropped a 3-game series against their arch-rival 2 games to 1. Yet the loss took a back seat to the injury sustained in the first inning by Hideki Matsui as he dove for a Mark Loretta line drive and came away with a broken wrist. He was rushed to Columbia Presbyterian Hospital where x-rays revealed the nature of his injury, and early guesses have him out at least 2-3 months.

Across the board players like Bernie Williams and Johnny Damon seemed shell-shocked at the loss of their iron man left fielder. Manager Joe Torre mentioned how the team is like a family and that the Yankees’ thoughts are with Matsui.

After the stone-faced Matsui walked off the field with team trainer Gene Monahan cradling his arm, Williams came into the game in right field, pushing starting right fielder, Bubba Crosby, over to left to replace Matsui.

Initially, the Yankees seemed undeterred by their teammate’s injury and came out on the attack in the bottom half of the opening frame against Boston starter Tim Wakefield. Derek Jeter got things going with a one-out base hit and promptly stole second. After Jason Giambi followed with a fly out to center, Alex Rodriguez took a base on balls and executed a double steal with the Yankee Captain. The pair then scored on a base hit up the middle off the bat of Jorge Posada.

The Red Sox scratched across a run in the top of the third off Shawn Chacon when Loretta (4-6 for the game) doubled to lead off the inning and scored on a Ortiz ground out to second. Chacon then gave up a single to Trot Nixon but got out of the inning as Crosby made a catch against the wall to rob Mike Lowell of a potential home run. Chacon got further help in the 4th when Johnny Damon snagged a Doug Mirabelli shot that was also headed over the wall.

Both sides were aided by their defense early on, but in the top of the 7th Williams overran a Alex Gonzalez fly ball down the line that dropped for a ground rule double, setting the Red Sox up at second and third with one out. Williams was initially charged with an error on the play until it was changed to a double after the game.

Later, the veteran Yankee outfielder made no excuses for the play and merely explained that he was trying to find the wall and took his eyes off the ball while the wind played tricks with it.

Error or not, the play proved costly. With Gonzalez still on second and Doug Mirabelli on third, Loretta grounded a ball to Jeter that the Yankee Captain was able to corral, but then threw high to first. His throw pulled Miguel Cairo off the bag which allowed the Red Sox 2nd baseman to reach with an infield single, and both Gonzalez and Mirabelli scored on the play for a 4-3 Red Sox lead.

The Sox tacked on one more in the top of the ninth as Kevin Youkillis hit an RBI single off Mariano Rivera for the final margin.

The Yankees, for their part, got a good look at Boston’s young weapon out of the bullpen, John Papelbon. The 25-year old righty came in during the 8th inning with a runner on 3rd and 2 outs to fan Cairo. In the 9th Papelbon allowed a walk to Jeter, but went on to shut down the Yanks without incident.

After the game a composed Papelbon spoke of his excitement in pitching at Yankee Stadium right in the heart of baseball’s biggest rivalry. He is now a perfect 13-for-13 in save situations.

Still, however a loss to the Red Sox may normally feel, this game hurt worse than most. The Yankees are now without their starting left fielder for several months, and right fielder Gary Sheffield is still two weeks away from returning.

Looking around the locker room, players like Williams and Crosby know that they cannot replace Sheffield or Matsui, but they will try to hold the fort until they are back. It is also well known that situations like this often call for roster moves in the Bronx.

Notes: Even before learning the exact nature of Matsui’s injury, it was understood that his consecutive game playing streak had come to a close per rule 10.24 C in the Major League Baseball rule book that requires a player to play a half-inning of defense or have one at-bat to preserve the streak. All told, Matsui play 518 consecutive games with the Yankees to follow 1,250 straight for the Yomirui Giants from 1994-2002. His 518 games are a Major League record to start a career.

Hockey Talk

2006-04-29T10:17:00.000-04:00

It's been a week since my bold prediction of the Rangers in 7 over the New Jersey Devils. Ouch! That clearly won't happen now with Jersey holding a 3-0 series lead, and looking to sweep at Madison Square Garden this afternoon.

Why am I telling you this on a Yankees blog? Simply because I've been covering hockey, and until last night, had no real idea what the Yankees have done in a week.

That’s why it was nice to have a change of pace by heading up to the Bronx for the series opener against the Blue Jays with Roy Halladay taking on Jaret Wright. Hallady "scattered" 7 hits over 5.1 innings of shut out ball and the Yankees dropped the game by a 7-2 final -- the only 2 runs coming on Bernie Williams' first home run of the season.

After the game the Yankees gave Halladay credit for being tough when he needed to make a pitch. Which is true. But you also have to wonder why the Yanks couldn't capitalize on a rusty Halladay who has been battling stiffness in his forearm. In the first inning Alex Rodriguez ended the inning with a 6-4-3 double play with two on. In the 5th, Gary Sheffield popped to short with 2 runners on to end the inning.

Meanwhile, Jaret Wright was solid the way a number 5 starter could be called solid. Trouble is he's signed for about 7 million this year. Wright ran into trouble just two batters into the game as he gave up a 2-run home run to Frank Catalanotto. From that point Wright battled through 4 walks and 6 hits with the aid of 4 double plays -- what Torre called a good indication that he was getting movement on his pitches.

Wright then walked Catalanotto and gave up a single to Vernon Wells before giving way to Scott Proctor at the start of the sixth. Proctor buckled down to retire Troy Glaus and Lyle Overbay, but was victimized by Yankee-killer Shea Hillenbrand who drilled a 3-run home run to left field -- Hillenbrand's first of two home runs on the day.

All told, no one seemed to concerned by the loss, and Yanks like Johnny Damon talked about an improved Toronto club. Even the reporters seemed pre-occupied with Damon – questions about the ex-Red Sox returning to Fenway on Monday dominated the atmosphere. For his part, Damon expects a good reception. Good luck with that, Johnny!

The Yankees head into game two of the series at 1pm as Randy Johnson takes on Josh Towers. However, I'll be back at the Garden for game 4, returning to the Yankees when the hockey season in New York ends.

Oooooo Joe!!

2006-04-22T10:09:00.000-04:00

The bases were loaded and Yankee Stadium was rocking last night as a crowd that started the evening at 51,282 stood and cheered Hideki Matsui in the bottom of the ninth. Matsui had worked a full count with two outs and the Yankees trailing by a run, 6-5. Here, in only game 15 on the season, the Bombers were hoping for some classic Yankee Stadium magic on cool evening that could have been confused with Fall weather. That magic did not arrive.

Baltimore Orioles’ closer, Chris Ray, having just walked Jason Giambi to load the bases, found the courage to throw a 3-2 slider over the outside corner for a called strike three. Matsui and the Yanks turned and walked off the field discouraged by a 6-5 loss.

Chien-Ming Wang started the game for the Yankees, and was at times brilliant, retiring the first 6 batters he faced. But wildness was his undoing as he fueled a pair of 3-run innings by consistently falling behind a strong Orioles line-up. Melvin Mora came up big for the O’s with a 2-run infield single in the third inning, and ex-Red Sox Kevin Millar had a 2-run single of his own in the 6th.

The Yankees got ahead early in the first inning when Gary Sheffield followed a Derek Jeter triple with an RBI base hit, and then the Bombers tied things up in the 4th as Robinson Cano hit a 2-run home run to right. But Millar’s 2-run single in the 6th restored the Orioles lead and was followed by a bases loaded walk from Scott Proctor to Nick Markakis, pushing across what was ultimately the winning run.

After the game, Joe Torre tersely defend his pitchers. He said that Wang -- who pitched 5.1 innings, giving up 6 earned runs – looked good for the most part and was victimized by an infield single and a little inconsistency from the stretch position. Wang, for his part, blamed a poor arm angle.

As for the bullpen, Torre was generally happy with Proctor and mentioned the combined work of Tanyon Sturtze and Mike Myers who pitched effectively in relief.

Meanwhile, around the Yankee locker room players were disappointed, but not rattled. The final pitch of the game served as a large topic of conversation. Matsui – who scored the Yankees’ 4th run with a 1-out double in the 8th inning – said through his interpreter that he thought the ball was going to be outside. Meanwhile, both Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez gave Ray credit for having the guts to throw a bases loaded, 3-2 slider when a hitter should be looking for a fastball.

And like Torre, many of the players were supportive of Wang who met with bad fortune on both 2-run singles by the Orioles. Mora’s 2-out, 2-run hit in the 3rd was a grounder to short that Jeter threw high to first, pulling Andy Phillips off the bag. Replays show that had the throw been on target, it likely would have been the third out of the inning. In addition, Wang had been instructed to pitch from the wind up with the bases loaded in that situation, thereby allowing Ramon Hernandez the head start necessary to score from second base.

In the 6th, Millar’s 2 RBIs came off a single to right that was nothing more than an opposite-field flare.

Perhaps this is why Torre not only defended Wang, but was quick to chastize those who insinuated that it was a poor outing during his post-game interview.

Regardless, the loss now drops the Yankees to a game under .500 (7-8) and leaves only more question marks for a starting rotation that has been hard-pressed to keep games close.

The Yankees and the Orioles meet again today at 1:05pm with the struggling Shawn Chacon taking on Daniel Cabrera.

Notes: Johnny Damon was glad to see his old buddy, Kevin Millar, before the game today...long-time Yankee Stadium announcer, Bob Sheppard, returned for his first game at Yankee Stadium this season after throwing out his hip a night before the home opener.

Big Unit Gets Stiff

2006-04-18T22:56:00.000-04:00

I’m not sure what was worse: watching the NY Rangers fumble away the Atalantic Division title to the NJ f'n' Devils or hearing about Randy Johnson tonight. Frankly, I got home to watch both games, but tuned-in to the Yanks after the Big Unit had already been tagged for 7 runs in 3.1 innings. I did not feel compelled to watch the rest. At that point the Yankees were down 7-4 and ultimately lost 10-5. Matt Smith even got into the game to pitch a scoreless ninth for the Yankees. I'd never heard of Matt Smith before this evening and didn't expect to on a night Randy Johnson was starting.

The Big Unit was even staked to a 4-0 lead in the first on back-to-back home runs by Alex Rodriguez and Jason Giambi. That was the high water mark in Toronto for the Bombers. Shawn Chacon, exiled to the bullpen for a week as his spot in the rotation has been skipped, also got into the action and gave up 2 runs -- 1 earned -- in 1 inning. Ugh.

Now, whatever will happen to Chacon will happen. He should be able to straighten himself out. The major concern here is Randy Johnson. The Big Unit left his last start after 5 innings claiming that he was just feeling tired. Meanwhile, Joe Torre indicated that Johnson felt stiff. Sounds like Torre may have been closer to the mark and now questions arise about Johnson's health. The man IS 42.

Going back to last season, Johnson told me he felt fine when questioned about a back injury. Moments later he walked through the clubhouse holding his back. He was hiding an injury then, and he seems to be doing the same now.

And if Johnson's not right, the Yankees are in trouble. They will not win with a 2006 Porsche for an offense and a 1966 Duster on the mound. Of course, it's still early and the Yankees' record and level of play should not be a concern. But the health of the Big Unit should be.

Broken Unit? Yanks Fix Royals Anyway

2006-04-13T20:39:00.000-04:00

At this rate, the Yankees might want to call the commissioner’s office and petition to have the Kansas City Royals switched to the AL East.

Yesterday, the Yanks pounded out 9 runs on 12 hits in route to a 9-3 victory that gave them a 3 game sweep over the visiting Royals. It was simply another day of bottom feeding for the Yanks as they once again beat up on Kansas City and won their 14th straight home game against their inexperienced guests. Gary Sheffield and Jason Giambi sparked the Bomber’s offense with one home run each, and Bernie Williams added three hits as well as career RBI 1,200. Randy Johnson pitched 5 innings of 1-run ball before coming out with some form of fatigue or stiffness (depending who you ask), and the Yankee bullpen then went the rest of the way. A 5-run bottom of the 8th inning capped the scoring and put the game away for the Bombers.

Staked to an early 4-0 lead, the Big Unit cruised through the first 4 innings only giving up one hit. But in the 5th, Johnson was touched for three straight singles, including Shane Costa's 2-out RBI flare to center that scored Doug Mientkiewicz. He then got Tony Graffanino to fly out to right and got out of the inning without any further trouble. As he was moving along with apparent ease, it was a bit of a surprise when Scott Proctor ran out of the bullpen to start the 6th inning.

Joe Torre later claimed that Johnson experienced some stiffness somewhere in his body (read: shoulder or back), but Johnson laughed off reports of stiffness and contended he was only tired. His desire to be rested for the stretch run of the season was the major reason for coming out, Johnson said. However, after he threw a complete game in his last start in Las Angeles, his manager's version of the story may be more accurate.

Still, both Torre and Johnson said that there was no reason to be alarmed and that the Big Unit would pick up his next turn in the rotation.

And while Johnson's arm or back may have felt pain, his team's offense was very healthy. Gary Sheffield mirrored his effort from Wednesday by homering in his first at-bat, a solo shot, and missed another home run by inches in the 7th inning. The Yankees also did some early damage to Royal's starter Denny Bautista in the second inning with 4 straight singles to plate 2 runs, including Williams 1,200 career RBI. Johnny Damon then added a sacrifice fly that scored Williams for a 4-0 Yankee lead.

The Yankee bullpen kept the Royals at bay for the most part as Scott Proctor and Mike Myers then picked up Johnson without a hitch and maintained a 4-1 lead through the 7th. Then, in the top of the 8th inning, Torre brought in Tanyon Sturtze who promptly served up a home run to Tony Graffanino, halving the lead at 4-2. After a quick trip to the mound from the Torre, Sturtze returned to action and retired the next three batters. In his post-game interview the manager refused to shed light on what he said to Sturtze, but did state his unwavering faith in the struggling reliever who received a smattering of boos from Yankee fans.

As the bottom of the 8th started, Mariano Rivera began to get loose in anticipation of protecting a slim lead – he wound up sitting back down before the inning was over. Mo’ watched his offense score 5 times on the strength of a 2-run home run off the bat of Jason Giambi and a 3-run shot from Johnny Damon. All 5 runs were charged to Royals’ righty reliever, Steve Stemle. For Damon, his 3-run shot was his first at Yankee Stadium since crushing a pair in game 7 of the 2004 ALCS.

Yesterday was getaway day for the Yanks as they flew to Minnesota, and Kansas City was certainly glad to leave town, too. The Yanks start a 3 game set against the Twins tonight at 8pm with Mike Mussina going against the Twins’ Scott Baker.

Notes: Damon threw his bat into the crowd on an earlier pitch in the at-bat where he homered, and then went to check on the fans after he crossed the plate. Additionally, he refused to ask for his bat back saying that if he threw it in there it deserves to stay put...Derek Jeter joked that he wanted to sit in the outfield to watch Jeffrey Maier try to break his college’s hits record.

Sheff Causes Some Royal Pain

2006-04-12T21:24:00.000-04:00

All it took was a pre-game pep talk from a Hall of Famer to help the struggling Gary Sheffield snap out of his season-opening slump. Before the Yankees’ 12-5 victory over the Royals yesterday in the Bronx, Reggie Jackson had a one-on-one session with Sheffield that helped him become the major force in the middle of an awesome display of Yankee offense. Focused from the start, Sheff ended the day with 4 RBIs and 3 hits -- including a game-tying 3-run home run in the first inning that pulled Shawn Chacon and the Bombers out of early trouble.

The rest of the Yankee offense also clicked on all cylinders, pounding out 15 hits and drawing 8 walks off of 4 different Royal pitchers. Every Yankee in the starting line-up got at least one base hit.
In the top of the first, it looked like the Yanks were going to need all of that run support.

While many of the 41,448 fans on hand had yet to get settled, Royals’ clean-up hitter, Reggie Sanders, tagged Chacon for a 2-run home run. Two batters later, Emil Brown doubled home Matt Stairs and the Yankees were in a quick 3-0 hole.

Yet, the Royal lead did not last long thanks to the top third of the Yankee batting order. Johnny Damon and Derek Jeter both walked to start the bottom of the first inning, and set the stage for Sheffield. The Yankee DH came to the plate feeling more relaxed thanks to Jackson, and proceeded to line a foul rocket right at 3rd Base Coach, Larry Bowa. After Bowa hit the deck and dusted himself off, everyone had a good chuckle – including Sheff, who later claimed that helped him to relax even more. On the next pitch, he turned on an offering from Royal starter Jeremy Affeldt and launched a 3-run home run to right field to knot the score.

Later, Shawn Chacon would comment how the home run gave him a new life and made it easier to challenge a Royals' line up that was without All-Star Mike Sweeny -- out of the line-up after taking a Mariano Rivera fastball to the hand on Tuesday.

Manager Joe Torre liked enough of what he saw from Chacon to let him work into the start of the 7th inning, but the feeling was not mutual from Yankee owner George Steinbrenner. Watching the game from his personal luxury box, the Boss got up and walked away in the 5th inning after watching Chacon give up his second run-scoring double in a row. Torre, often thought to be more patient than his employer, let Chacon work out of trouble once again.

Perhaps it was faith in Chacon’s ability to work out of trouble, or perhaps the Yankee manger knew his hitters were unstoppable. All told, the Yankees scored runs in every inning but the 2nd and 8th. In between, Jason Giambi had a pair of run-scoring doubles and Damon, Jeter, Jorge Posada, and Miguel Cairo all added 1 RBI apiece.

In the 7th inning, Chacon gave up a single to Royal's catcher, Paul Bako and was replaced by Mike Myers. Myers – who now warms up to the theme from the horror movie, Halloween – retired the side in order. Kyle Farnsworth worked a hitless 8th and Ron Villone retired all three batters he faced in the 9th. Afterwards, Torre heaped praise on his bullpen, particularly Myers who has yet to give up a hit or a run in 4.2 innings of work this season. Although Myers was signed this past off season to be a lefty specialist, Torre felt comfortable leaving him in to face righty Mark Grudzielanek in the 7th.

The Royals went down without much of a fight and now the Yankees now look to sweep this 3-game set tomorrow in the Bronx. It will be a 1:05 start as Randy Johnson (1-1, 2.40) takes on right-hander Denny Bautista (0-0, 1.50).

Notes: After returning to the dugout in the first inning, Larry Bowa told Gary Sheffield that he will gladly take a close call on a foul ball in exchange for a 3-run home run...George Steinbrenner sat and watched part of the game with his Grandchildren in the owner's box...Reggie Jackson held court in the locker room after the game to explain how he helped Gary Sheffield earlier in the day. It is the second day in a row that Mr. October has visited the clubhouse after the game.

Clutch Captain Welcomes Team Home

2006-04-11T22:54:00.000-04:00

It's days like yesterday that seem to bring out the best in Derek Jeter. Celebrating his club’s home opener, the Yankee Captain helped rally his team to a 9-7 victory over the Kansas City Royals with a decisive 3-run home run in the bottom of the 8th inning.

The win extends the Yankees home opener win streak to 9, and boosts their overall record to 3-4 on the season. Newcomer and ex-Red Sox Johnny Damon gave the fans a taste of what to expect with a double in his first at-bat, and later laid down an impressive sacrifice bunt. Meanwhile, starter Chien-Ming Wang had his sinkerball going early, only to see it flatten out as he was touched for 8 hits and 5 earned runs in 6 innings.

But despite the shakey numbers, Manager Joe Torre had little concern about his starter stating that he saw a good sinker as well as Wang’s determination to win. Torre predicts big things from Wang this year.

The Yankees started the game strong with Damon's double, a walk to Alex Rodriguez and then a 2-out home run by Jason Giambi off of Royals starter, Joe Mays. They tacked on another run in the bottom of the 3rd when Mays walked Hideki Matsui with the bases loaded to force in Damon.

But the Royals tied things up at 4 after they touched-up Wang for 3 runs in the 4th, and then took the lead in the 5th when Mark Teahen singled to knock in Doug Mientkiewicz. Reggie Sanders plated two more with a base hit off Tanyon Sturtze in the 7th, setting the stage for Jeter's heroics.

After the game, both Torre and his players (such as Alex Rodriguez and Damon) repeatedly mentioned another name along with Jeter’s -- Jason Giambi. Not so much for his impressive 3-run shot to the right field bleachers in the first inning, but for his lead-off at-bat in the bottom of the 8th. Giambi fought Royal's lefty Andrew Sisco for a walk and scored on a fielder’s choice grounder off the bat of Robinson Cano. Bernie Williams then knocked in the second run of the inning with an RBI single. For the often-cheered Williams – who extended his Yankee career by resigning in the off season -- it was a slice of redemption after getting inexplicably doubled off second base in the 4th inning on a fly ball to the short stop.

With Cano on second and Williams on first, Jeter stepped-in to the roar of an expectant sellout crowd. Facing the second Royals reliever of the inning, Ambiorix Burgos, Jeter turned on a fastball and pulled it over the left field fence. Gary Sheffield greeted Jeter at the plate and then halted play long enough to let the man of the moment put his helmet down and wave to an adoring crowd.

And as the stadium rocked all eyes soon turned to the bullpen, and the warming Mariano Rivera who nailed down his first save of the year to end the game.

Afterwords, everyone had something to say about Jeter. Torre mentioned how he has come to expect this from Derek after 11 years. A-Rod knew something big was going to happen, but the home run surprised him. Across the locker room, Damon was just glad to have Jeter's heroics on his side for a change. And finally, Rivera was happy to get his first chance to save a ball game in 2006.

Game Notes: Yogi Berra threw out the ceremonial first pitch and was one of many Yankee alums on hand...Upon watching Giambi's home run in the 1st inning GM Brian Cashman and team President Randy Levin hooted in approval and exchanged high fives...Yankee Stadium announcer Bob Sheppard missed his first home opener since 1951 after throwing out his hip Monday night. Sheppard is said to be doing fine and is expected back at Yankee Stadium in late April.

Yanks Rip Angels' Colon, Again

2006-04-10T14:47:00.000-04:00

It took an offseason of waiting, but that headline is relevant again. Beautiful, really. The locals have the game covered by now, but there's no way a game like this could pass without that headline. If you missed it, Jorge Posada dominated with 2 home runs and 5 RBIs while Mike Mussina went 6 innings, giving up one run.

I'll be in the Bronx Tuesday - Thursday.

More to come.

1-4 Yanks Ready For Home

2006-04-09T12:42:00.000-04:00

To many Yankee fans, this must still feel like spring training. The Yanks are far from home, playing baseball no one back east can really watch, and nothing exciting has been happening. Right now, they're 1-4 on the season after a 3-2 loss in LA to the Angels last night. Derek Jeter homered in the first and Hideki Matsui knocked one out of the park against Francisco Rodriguez in the ninth, but that was it. Those two runs complimented a 3-run, 8 strike-out complete game from Randy Johnson. Meanwhile, Ervin Santana did most of the damage for the Angels by shutting down the Yanks the same way he did in the 2005 playoffs by going 5.1 innings and giving up one run. The LA bullpen finished the job, and today ESPN has started its "Boss Watch" -- as in: 'make your best guess for when George Steinbrenner will issue his first angry statement of the year.'

Here's a word for ESPN anchors who are so proud of thinking up that contest: relax. It took an entire month of 11-19 ball to get such a statement last year. Having the baseball season back is exciting kids, sure. Certainly, no one has put out a Bonds steroid rumor for a week, but give it time. There's got to be something more fun to harp on. "Professional baseball analysts" should know not to get so hysterical.

Now, from the Yankee perspective, they have to be pleased with another solid start. Randy Johnson was dominating for much of the game and gave the Yanks every chance to win. The Big Unit's slider had some serious bite and his fastball couldn’t be touched up in the zone. In addition, his control was phenomenal as he did not walk a batter. But, hey, you win some, you lose some.

At the plate, Alex Rodriguez and Jason Giambi continued to struggle in the infant season, going a combined 0-6. Yet no one aside from Gary Sheffield and Derek Jeter was on base more than once last night. A bad week at the plate to compliment the team’s poor road trip.

Still, if this were to have happened in August, there wouldn't be a 'Boss Watch' issued by ESPN. No one would bring up the team's combined salary or mention that people were calling this Bomber line-up ‘one of the best ever’ a week ago. But, alas, it is the first week of baseball in New York City. And the beautiful thing about that is if the Yankees win in dominant fashion today, people will look at a 2-4 road trip to California as nothing more than a so-so warm-up to the season. However, if the Yanks lose, get ready the media to go to code red.

Come Back Down From the Ledge

2006-04-06T11:49:00.000-04:00

Seriously. It's game 3 of 162. Derek Jeter and Joe Torre haven't even sniffed home turf in the Bronx this year. Most New Yorkers haven't even seen a full 9 innings of Yankee baseball due to the California time difference. Yet, you can already sense the protective lid getting flipped off the panic button, with millions of fingers ready to push it. So is life in New York City baseball. At least the Yankees have all dealt with it before. Which makes you feel for Billy Wagner over in Queens who not only made back page headlines with "Sandman-gate", but has now blown his first save as a Met. Welcome to NYC, Billy!

All told, the Yankees look fine. Johnny Damon is hitting, Hideki Matsui has a pair of home runs, and the starters have all been solid. Frankly, it looks like 2005 has carried over into the first 3 games of 2006. Good offense that can put up numbers, reliable starters (for the most part in '05), Mariano Rivera waiting in the bullpen, and a middle relief corps that continues to hold open auditions. Tayon Sturtz will be solid, and so will Kyle Farnsworth who was touched up for a run last night. It's characters like Scott Proctor and Jaret Wright, who are needed to bridge the gap in middle innings, that pose a problem for the Yanks.

Proctor has proven he cannot hit the strike zone under pressure. That's been true since he came to the Bronx. He's one of those guys with 'good stuff' but will never make it -- particularly in New York -- because you cannot teach mental toughness. Wright, on the other hand, is working with a broken body. His best chance for success these days is out of the pen, but he, too, is another pitcher not built to deal with the pressures of the Bronx. Talking to Wright last year, you could look into his eyes and see a nervous character -- and I'm not that physically imposing, folks.

So hiccups like Tuesday and Wednesday night will happen in the Bronx, and the middle relief will continue to be a problem until Brian Cashman (inevitably) fixes it. For the most part, though, the Yankees will feast on lower level teams and should fatten up enough to be successful. In games against the Royals the middle relief will not be a deal-breaker. So, Yankee fans, step back down from the ledge. There are 159 to go.

Blowing The Dust Off IYS

2006-04-03T23:58:00.000-04:00

Wow. Last post was December 10th, and that was my first since the end of the '05 season. Honestly, I'd even forgotten my login for Inside Yankee Stadium. Some would call it heavy drinking over the last 5 months. I call it mental preparation for the 2006 season.

So, yeah, we're back in style suckas, so get ready for a summer full of Yankee news from a Sports Reporter who sits next to a blind guy (Eddie Layten, who got married at home plate of Yankee Stadium last month) and a 50-something year-old friend of the Boss who has a legal guardian and talks to everyone -- including himself -- for 9 innings of ball. And yes, they're awesome company and I wouldn't want any other seat in the house.

Tonight, we're gonna ignore Jorge's and Hideki's great Spring, Pavano's broken body parts, and Japan's win in the World Baseball Classic -- congrats, guys. That stuff is for Lupica, Borden, and Kim Jones to figure out. Yes, we're here to talk about game one of 162, taking place as we speak out on the West Coast. I can't tell you the final score, but I'll make it real simple for anyone glued to the TV: the Yanks are going to win...tonight and on a lot of nights. Call it a jinx, but currently the boys in pinstripes are up 13-1 in the bottom of the 5th and Randy Johnson is cruising right along.

A's starter Barry Zito lasted only 1.1 innings -- the shortest outing of his career -- and gave up 7 runs, the final four coming off a grand slam by Alex Rodriguez. And speaking of the Final Four, congrats to Florida and a kid from Brooklyn who made good on a national stage. The office pool I organized ended in the most bizarre fashion as the two people I sit next to won first and second place...I'm sure conspiracy theories will abound. Now, not to belabor the Final Four in a Yankee article, but the woman who came in second picked schools based on the alma maters of her current and past lovers. Fortunately for this 30-something lady, her current favorite has strong ties to Florida. So much for the experts.

Anyway, tonight Yankees marched out their new and improved Johnny Damon-aided offense and have looked great. Currently, all the starters have a hit except for Posada. Beautiful. Matsui joined A-Rod in the home run column with a 3-run shot in the 4th inning and there seems to be little reason to catch the end of this one.

Now, we all know an offense like the Yankees can be a lot of fun to watch. But a solid start from Oakland's Rich Harden tomorrow night and the offensive show this evening will only amount to a tied series. Why make this point? To sober up myself and the loads of other Yankee fans out there that will start talking World Series title tomorrow. It's too soon. The Yanks will hit this year. They will close games if Mariano Rivera and Kyle Farnsworth stay healthy. But the main question is if their starting pitching can get it done. Tonight the Big Unit looks good...but so would I with a 12-run cushion.

Randy needs to stay healthy. Mike Mussina needs to be consistent. Chien-Ming Wang's shoulder and elbow need to take the beating he gives them with all the sliders he throws. Shawn Chacon needs to remain the mellowest man to ever don pinstripes. And then Jaret Wright and Carl Pavano either need to join in on the fun or clear way for Aaron Small -- who I would not be surprised to see as the 5th starter as early as June. Frankly, Wright's arm problems make him more suited as a middle reliever anyway.

Starting pitching. This is the key for the Yankees, as it is for all teams. Offense is fun...but pitching will get you a title.

**********************************************************************

As a side note, I want to say welcome back to the new season! Enjoy! I was glad to have the winter off to rest these weary typing fingers but am more than ready to do it all again this year. And yes, the Sultan will be back again as well.

So, dig in, and thanks for reading Inside Yankee Stadium!

Yanks Tighten Belt This Holiday Season

2005-12-07T19:07:00.000-05:00

This off-season is unlike any other in recent Yankee memory. Gone now is George Steinbrenner’s must-have free agent Christmas list. During the winter of 2005/2006, the Boss can kick bag with his eggnog and roast marshmallows over the Yule log. He can relax…there will be no new marquee players to welcome aboard. Nope, not for this Yankee team that now suddenly seems to have financial problems after reporting losses between 50 and 85 million dollars in the 2005 season.

Certainly, the changes will be few and the spending will be light. And the Boss – as he’s now agreed to do – will look away and let GM Brain Cashman handle things. It is up to Cashman to weave some magic and turn a little bit of nothing into a center fielder. Sure, Kevin Brown and his 15 million dollar contract are now gone. As is Bernie Williams’ 12 million dollar salary. Atlanta’s hard-throwing closer, Kyle Farnsworth, has been brought in, but Tom Gordon’s price tag has also been lifted in exchange. Where the Yanks have spent some extra cash to give Hideki Matsui a raise over the next four years, they’re getting a boatload of revenue back from Japan in the form of merchandise and YES Network subscriptions. Yes, for the most part the Yankee checkbook has been hidden. That’s fairly ho-hum for a team that traditionally throws money around like a CEO at Scores.

But even with money coming back in expired contracts, extra cash pouring in from a record attendance at the stadium, and Yankee logos on shirts, hats, and lunch pales from Europe to Asia, the Yankees are in the red. MLB's luxury tax has finally caught up to the big, bad Bombers. So this holiday season, the Yankees will skip Macy's and instead head to the dollar store.

And it is there that Brain Cashman will look for his man in center field -- the position the Bombers tried to duct tape together all last season with a combination of Bernie Williams, Tony Womack, Melky Cabrera, and Bubba Crosby. But of that group, Crosby is the only one with a shot at the job next year...and it will be the same kind of try-out Enrique Wilson got at second base in 2003.

For Cashman solutions don't seem to come easy to this center field question. Derek Jeter will not be playing the same hallowed position as Mantle and Dimaggio. Although Jeter at center with A-Rod at short and free agent Bill Mueller at third may be their best option, it won't happen.

Neither will Bernie Williams be back as a starter in center. Whether he is back at all as a 4th outfielder remains to be seen, but after getting an arbitration offer last night it appears he will play in a reduced role.

That leaves only one other in-house solution, Hideki Matsui. Matsui played center in Japan and it is often referred to as his 'natural position.' Interestingly, you'll hear Matsui called both a good and bad fielder depending on the day and who you're talking to. The truth is that he gets into good position to make a play, but has problems hauling in balls in tough situations. His arm is so-so. In center, Matsui would be passable at best.

However, while the talent at home may be lacking in center, acquiring anything superior may prove to be difficult. With the Yanks thinking thrifty, and unwilling to part with prized young talent like Chein-Ming Wang and Robinson Cano, few options remain.

Johnny Damon heads a shallow crop of free agent center fielders, but will demand too many years at too high a price for the Yanks' taste. There was also Juan Pierre who the Marlins shopped around until he finally landed on the Cubs yesterday. The Yankees once again took a pass.

If the price is right they may offer a three-year deal to free agent Preston Wilson. Last year saw the 31 year-old Wilson put up 25 home runs and 90 RBIs in a season split between Washington and Colorado. He's slowed some with age, but still plays a solid center and has a strong arm, placing him ahead of Damon and Pierre in that regard. But after making 12 million last season, Wilson's salary demands may be too much.

Perhaps the Yankees can find a way to free up some cash. There has been some speculation that the Yanks could chop jobs in the one position where they have an overabundance: starting pitching. Specifically, the underachieving Carl Pavano who spent most of the first year of his 7-year, 9 million per-season deal on the disabled list. To replace Pavano, the Yankees have cheap, capable parts available in the persons of Chein-Ming Wong and Aaron Small. Yet, to move Pavano, the Yankees would have to eat a good deal of that contract.

So where does this leave the Yanks? Well, unless GM Brain Cashman can free up more cash by trading away Pavano or the unappealing Jaret Wright, they’re probably looking in-house to start the 2006 season. But like all things in Yankee-land, once the season starts, everything is subject to change.

Hockey's Back

2005-10-11T19:29:00.000-04:00

Perhaps it was appropriate that I watched game 5 last night doubled over on the couch, bracing myself for one of many runs to the bathroom while my dinner kept forcing itself back up. Frankly, I haven't been sick like that in years. And the Yankees' 5-3 loss in game 5 did nothing to alleviate that sensation.

With Angel starter, Bartolo Colon, physically unable to pitch past second inning, the Yankees were poised to dismantle 22 year-old rookie, Ervin Santana. But they didn't. Time and again the Yanks failed with runners in scoring position and showed little fight in getting eliminated from the 2005 post-season. All told, Santana allowed 5 hits and three walks over the course of 5.1 innings. Yet the Yankees could only push 3 runs across against Santana while the heart of the order had plenty of opportunity. The two biggest culprits were A-Rod and Hideki Matsui who went a combined 0-9, and left a ton of runners on. In the series, A-Rod went without an RBI.

Mike Mussina started for the Yankees and was victimized by bloop hits and bad luck. While the Yankees jumped out to a 2-0 lead, the tide of the game turned with two on and two out in the bottom of the second. Adam Kennedy stepped to the plate and hit a fly ball that turned into a 2-run triple when outfielders Bubba Crosby and Gary Sheffield collided by the right-center field wall. The Yanks were down 3-2 at that point and just seemed to lose all their fight after one bump in the road.

In all, Moose gave up all 5 runs in 2.2 innings, and was then followed by Randy Johnson and Tom Gordon who combined for 5.1 shutout innings. But this one wasn't on Moose. It was on the Yankee hitters who failed to produce in the clutch. Sure, there were plays like the collision in the outfield, or Robinson Cano's controversially getting called out for running to first inside the line. But championship teams rebound from that sort of adversity. The Yankees couldn't, and thus don't deserve a ring this season.

****************************************************************

On Friday night I was killing time before the first pitch of game three in the Bronx. In the post-season, the media gets all kinds of information to sort through including a recap of every American League Division Series and ALCS game ever played. I thumbed through the '96 playoff run for the Yankees and remembered the time fondly. It may be the greatest championship run the Yankees will ever see for one simple reason: they came from behind in almost every single game they won...and often, it was late in the game. That team had heart. They were not going to be denied. But that was then.

The 2005 team lacked the same character. Some guys have fire, exemplified by Derek Jeter, Jason Giambi and Gary Sheffield who all fought their way on base in the ninth inning last night. But not everyone on this Yankee team has that sort of will. Collectively, they cannot take a punch.

***************************************************************************

It will be a long off season. Some predict a lot of changes, but I don't think that's true. Everyone questions Joe Torre's status. He will be staying. He's too popular and is signed for way too much money for the Boss to cut loose.

Player-wise there are two big questions: Hideki Matsui and Bernie Williams. There's a good chance both will be back next year. Matsui is a guy you can plug in every day and not worry about. You know you will get a .300 average and 100 RBIs. The Yankees will make him the right kind of offer. Meanwhile, Bernie Williams has been serenaded with good byes at Yankee Stadium, but that doesn't mean he won't be coming back. Williams has said he is not done playing yet. Being the sentimental type, he will try desperately to stay with the Yanks, even at a much reduced rate.

The only two prominent names who seem to be moving on are Mel Stottlemyre and Brian Cashman. Cashman's locker room break down as reported by several sources, including Joel Sherman in the NY Post, reeks of finality. He's had enough and is ready to leave the Boss behind. Stottlemyre will split for the same reason.

Additions? Here's one name to look for: BJ Ryan. The hard-throwing lefty closer from Baltimore hits the free agent market this winter and the Yankees will give him a good, long look. Ryan fits the Yankees' needs as a lefty set-up man and has been dominant this season. Furthermore, the Yankees always go after players they see a lot of (Mussina, David Wells, Randy Johnson, Jason Giambi...) and Ryan has certainly faced the Yankees enough. The only question is whether Ryan will want to move from a closer roll to being a set-up man -- with the prospect of replacing Mo' someday.

Another player who may wind up in pinstripes next season is Minnesota's Torii Hunter. Hunter is a gold glove center fielder who can drive in runs -- two elements that make him very appealing to the Yankees. Right now, the small-market Twins have him signed to a 8 million dollar contract and are rumored to be shopping Hunter around. Stories of the Twins wanting to move Hunter are serious enough that the center fielder has put his house on the market. The only reservations the Yankees would have here is Hunter's cost in terms of prospects, and the health of Hunter's broken ankle which forced him out of the final two months of 2005. But if the price is right, and he's cleared by team doctors, expect the Yankees to make a serious run at Hunter this winter.

******************************************************************

So, this is it. The season is done and the Yankees came up short. Bummer.

At least hockey's back.

Thanks to everyone who kept logging in to read Inside Yankee Stadium and a big thank you to everyone who encouraged me throughout the season. Also, a special shout to the Sultan for his excellent contributions. Truly, his expose on beer sales at Yankee Stadium might be up for a Pulitzer. Well done, my friend.

Although IYS is going on hiatus, please do check in during the off season as I will be keeping track of free agent signings and other Yankee news.

Until then.

-Commish

But Give Frank the Mic

2005-10-11T17:00:00.000-04:00

On second thought, Sinatra could be bitter fuck too, so let me sing my woes, it might be cathartic...

Awards for 'Biggest Stupid Fucking Dumb Stupid' go to:
--Alex Rodriguez
--Gary Sheffield
--Hideki Matsui
--Starting Pitcher Randy Johnson

When the heart of the order flatlines, and our ace is dealt to the house, you better believe we're gonna lose.

Congratulations A-Flat--hitting .133 with no RBIs in the series, and grounding into a crucial double play during a final 9th inning rally--you've proven again that after 162 regular season games, your bat turns back into a pumpkin.

Sheff Boyardino, do us a favor and can all the bullshit talk until you show some consistent postseason power. And regardless of the collision with Bubba, if there was one great play to make in the field last night, it was to catch the (double play) ball that landed at your feet and allowed Vlad to score.

It seems like tragic poetry that Matsui (0-4 last night) should get the final out of the game. Regarded as the new clutch king, he was anything but in this series and this final year of his contract. The guy who hit 45 doubles this year just delivered himself another.

Starting game 3 was Big Bird; postseason dominance was Snuffluppagus.

The song goes... 'if I can make it here, I can make it anywhere,' but you can't necessarily make it here if you made it anywhere else. These BSFDS Award-winners haven't earned the stripes until they wear them to November.

Keep Singin' Liza

2005-10-11T14:31:00.000-04:00

Now that the 2005 baseball season is over, I would like to thank the following for making 167 games (and roughly 500 hours) worth watching/listening:
--Captain Derek Jeter
--2005 MVP Mariano Rivera
--Designated Hitter Jason Giambi
--Pitcher Shawn Chacon
--Designated Hitter Robinson Cano
--Pitcher Mike Mussina
--The Legend of Bernie Williams
--The Redemption of Tom Gordon
--Relief Pitcher Randy Johnson

Game 4 was one of the greatest victories I've ever seen. Game 5 was one of the greatest disappointments I've ever seen.

When all is said and done, there's always more to say about what done it in. But I'm just done. See you next spring.

Going Back to Cali, Part 2

2005-10-10T12:55:00.000-04:00

Shawn Chacon toed the rubber and stood in. He had just given up his second run of the 6th inning, and of the game, on a run scoring double to Orlando Cabrera. Now he had Vlad Guerrero standing in front of him with Cabrera on second. It felt like the wheels were ready to fall of the Yankee wagon. But Chacon stood his ground to last year's MVP and got him to swing through a curve ball for strike three. Chacon had cracked before his counterpart, Angel starter John Lackey, but the Yankees weren't out of the game. Only down 2-0.

They got one run back in the bottom half of the 6th as Gary Sheffield singled home Alex Rodriguez. Then, Chacon got one out in the 7th before giving way to Al Leiter who entered the game to a chorus of groans. Mariano Rivera began to warm in the bullpen. This game could not get any further out of reach as the Yankees still had a tough enough task coming back against the Angels' stingy bullpen. Leiter battled Daren Erstad, but eventually won by getting an inning-ending double play. One look at the Yankee bullpen told you what you needed to know about the Yankees' pitching the rest of the way: Leiter was done. He given the Yankees what they needed. Win or lose, Mo was now getting the ball.

The Yankees then went to work in the bottom of the 7th. Robinson Cano started the inning with an infield single and one out later Jorge Posada walked. Then pinch-hitter Ruben Sierra stepped to the plate and smacked a single to right field prompting to Robinson Cano break for home. Gurrero fielded the ball cleanly and fired a strike to the plate. But Cano stepped around Bengie Molina's tag and the score was tied.

Next up was the Captain. 56,000 screamed -- things were turning for the Yankees. Jeter hit a chopper to third baseman Chone Figgens, whose defense has killed the Yankees this series. Posada broke for home on Louis Sojo's command. Figgens bounced a ball to the side of Molina while Jorge hit an awkward slide. They looked up at the umpire. Safe.

Yankee Stadium shook with energy.

The Bombers had the lead, and they turned the ball over to Mariano Rivera. There is no greater entrance in professional sports than watching Mo run out to Enter Sandman with a packed Yankee Stadium erupting at the sight of their hero. None.

Mo' didn't waste any time. He retired the side in order in the 8th, just like any other night. The Yankees went down half-heartedly in the bottom half of the frame, knowing that it didn't matter. The game was three outs away.

In the top of the ninth, the Angels sent up the top of their order. Mo started by striking out Chone Figgins. He then got Orlando Cabrera to ground back to the mound. And that only left Vlad Guerrero between the Yankees and a trip back to LA for a decisive game 5. Mo threw pitches all over the place knowing Vlad can hit them anywhere. He worked the count. And won. Vlad grounded out to Robinson Cano and the game was over. The series was tied. Both teams were flying back to Cali for an 8pm game tonight.

After the game, Joe Torre heaped praise on his team and his safety blanket, Rivera. "You stop managing at that point in time," Torre said. "You know he's going out there with the biggest heart in the world and he certainly doesn't shy away from the pressure."

Yes, Rivera and the Yanks got it done. Torre and his crew had shown resolve that they'd displayed all season, but had not had for the past several post seasons. From 2002-2004, when the Yankees got knocked down, they stayed down. But not tonight.

Ruben Sierra summed it up best for his team: "With this team you never know...we never give up. That's why we are the Yankees."

Amen.

So now it's back to Cali. Mike Mussina will be reunited with the Yanks after being left on the West coast for 5 days to pitch tonight. The Angels counter with Bartolo Colon, and this is where things get interesting. Colon, who gets hit hard by the Yanks, was Mike Scioscia's first choice to pitch yesterday when Jarrod Washburn turned up with 102 fever. But Colon couldn't pitch either. His back was hurting too much. Now, add to that fact that Scot Shields and Kelvim Escobar each went two innings last night and the Angels may be in some trouble.

Meanwhile, the erratic Mussina now has extra rest. He seems to work better that way.

I won't make any predictions, but will remain hopeful the Yanks will pull this one out.

Until tomorrow.

Going Back to Cali

2005-10-10T02:47:00.000-04:00

It's late and I have to be up in a few hours to call into the station. Then, I'm going back to sleep for a while. The bottom line is that Shawn Chacon, Mariano Rivera and the Yanks beat LA, 3-2 tonight, and game 5 is Monday afternoon. More later.

Angels Kick Yanks in the Unit

2005-10-08T11:02:00.000-04:00

Playoff fever was in the air. The place was buzzing. Yes, last night started with a jovial crowd at Yankee Stadium despite a steady drizzle that had been coming down all day. At least 20,000 fans had already filed in by the time the jumbo-tron showed the last two innings of the Red Sox's playoff elimination at the hands of the White Sox. As Edgar Renteria grounded out to second to end the game, a cheer erupted with the sort of volume usually saved for a Yankee walk-off home run.

But it didn't take long for that mood to change.

In fact, you could tell bad things were coming early on as the first two Angels batters hit loud fly ball outs to center off Yankee starter, Randy Johnson. Indeed, when weak-hitting Chone Figgins and Orlando Cabrera took Bernie Williams to the warning track to start the game, it was a bad omen. Aaron Small might as well have just gotten up at that point and started getting loose, because it was clear the Big Unit wasn't overpowering anyone. However, it wasn't until the 4th inning that Small finally relieved Johnson with runners on first and third with no one, down 5-0. Small got out of that jam, but the bullpen faltered and the Yankees fell by a 11-7 final.

With a 5-0 deficit it seemed the Bombers were through early. But that was not the case. They were able to rally to take a 6-5 in the 5th inning on a series of base hits and a Hidecki Matsui solo home run. The Stadium was buzzing again. Even louder than it did when the Red Sox lost.

But the bullpen was unable to hold it. By the top of the sixth the Angels recaptured the lead and tacked more runs on the rest of the way. The Angels rapped out a total of 19 hits, highlighted by Garret Anderson who went 4-5 with 5 RBIs -- including a 3-run shot off Johnson in the first inning. Angles' catcher Benji Molina also swung the bat well and went 2-3 with a pair of runs driven in before getting drilled in the left arm by a Tom Gordon fastball. Molina left the game, but X-rays were negative.

Gordon, for his part, didn't have it last night and wound up being the real goat as he faced 4 batters in the 7th, all of whom reached. His final line was 0 innings pitched with 2 earned runs, and they were crucial runs that pushed the LA lead from 7-6 to 9-6. Gordon's outing also forced Joe Torre to put in Al Leiter who gave up the final two runs. One can't help but think that had Gordon held the line, the Yankees would have had a shot. However, once the score reached 11-6, Derek Jeter's 8th inning solo home run was fairly meaningless.

After the game, Jeter felt 7 runs should be enough to win a playoff game: "We just need to pitch a little bit better...I thought we swung the bats well. We just need to find ways to stop them."

Randy Johnson was less diplomatic. When asked about the boos he got from the Yankee faithful, Johnson matter of factly stated: "If I'd paid for a ticket to watch me pitch today I probably would have booed myself. They've come to expect a little more out of me, I expect a little more out of myself."

Two long-time newspaper guys pointed out to me in the men's room that Johnson was not coming from over the top with his arm angle. So I made it a point to look at some video footage. They were right. Although Johnson denied it, his mechanics were off as his arm was coming around on the side -- almost like a 3-quarters motion. The Unit has said it himself, his velocity and the movement of his slider are off when his mechanics out of whack. Well, Randy, your mechanics were out of whack. And you got pounded.

So, pitching did the Yankees in last night, and now it is up to Shawn Chacon to rescue the team against Jarrod Washburn in hopes of sending the series back to LA for a decisive game 5.

Back To The Bronx

2005-10-06T23:35:00.000-04:00

As the Yankees' red eye flight landed them in New York for the first time in ten days, the Bombers could be a lot worse for wear. Despite a rugged 7-game road trip that culminated with an AL East title, and two road playoff games in California, the Yankees can now return to the friendly confines of Yankee Stadium. It feels like a long time coming, but the Yanks are back in the Bronx with home field advantage, an extra day's rest and the The Big Unit on the hill. Not bad. In fact, it's great for a team battling nagging injuries while playing a game-a-day for over three weeks.

Sure, there was a disappointing 5-3 loss to the Angels on Wednesday night. But let's look at how they lost...Where shall we start? How about A-Rod's error on an easy grounder that let the tying run on base in the 6th. Or A-Rod's counterpart, Angels' third baseman Chone Figgins, who made a couple run-saving dives to kill Yankee rallies. Then there's Bengie Molina's jam shot to center that knocked in the Angels' second run with two outs. And, to cap it all, there were two batted balls that had the fortune of bouncing off home plate -- making them virtually unfieldable -- to aid the Angels' 2-run 7th.

All told it was dumb luck. The Yankees could have been sharper, but they certainly weren't overwhelmed by the Angels. There's no reason to feel down after that loss. It was on the road...the game was late...stuff happens.

Now the Yanks are back in the Bronx with rest and their money man on the hill.

The way things looked a couple weeks ago, it could be a lot worse.

So, for Friday night's game, expect Joe Torre to place Bubba Crosby back in the line up facing Angels right hander, Paul Bird. Crosby brings a level of energy to the Yankees that the line up lacked on Wednesday, and his defense is solid. Add to that the simple fact that the Yanks won with Crosby in the game 1 line up, and it's enough of a reason for Joe to put him in there...but then again, Torre rarely does what you expect him to...we'll find out an hour before game time.

And I'll be up in the Bronx tomorrow and Saturday, with plenty of Yankee Stadium dish for you.

Until tomorrow night.

Cano Quick to Rip Angels' Colon

2005-10-04T23:53:00.000-04:00

Tonight's series opener against the LA Angels answered one major question. It was the one question that made most "experts" choose the Angels over the Yankees in their Divisional Series predictions. And that question was: is Mike Mussina healthy enough to beat a potential Cy Young winner? The answer is a resounding 'yes' as Mike Mussina went out and pitched 5.2 innings of shutout ball in route to a 4-2 victory over Bartolo Colon. As Moose hit his spots and mixed his pitches, he worked his way through the LA batting order with little trouble. When he began to tire in the 6th, Joe Torre gave him the hook in favor of the Yankee bullpen. A combination of Al Leiter, Tanyon Sturtze, Tom Gordon and Mariano Rivera gave up two earned runs, but sealed the win that was capped by Rivera's 33rd post-season save.

The Yankees pitching did their part in keeping the Angels' speedy offense off the base paths. And the Yankee bats did their job, too. They struck early with three runs in the first and one run in the second. Both run scoring rallies started with two outs. In the first, the Yankees strung 3 2-out singles together before Robinson Cano doubled over Garret Anderson in left field, scoring all three runners. Then, in the second inning, Derek Jeter singled with two outs and scored two batters later on a Jason Giambi double. And that was all the scoring Moose would need as the Yankees coasted to a game one victory.

For those who doubted the Yankees chances before tonight's game, things may look a little different now that the Bombers have taken home field advantage. Add to that fact that the Angels' best pitcher has been defeated and that a red-hot Randy Johnson awaits his start for game three on Friday night, and things look up for the Yankees.

Let me repeat what I wrote yesterday. These aren't last years Yankees. They have had their hazing, taken their lumps and are ready for war. Games on the road, on Cali time, in front of those annoying thunder sticks will not phase them. They are focused and if they wind up losing it is only because they got beat, not because they couldn't handle adversity.

So here comes game two tomorrow night. Chien-Ming Wang makes his post-season debut against John Lackey. It will be a fashionably late 10:05 start. See you all Thursday morning.

No Small Order

2005-10-04T02:54:00.000-04:00

How many games does Aaron Small (10-0) have to win to start in the playoff rotation? Torre's been slow to pull the trigger on his struggling starters this year, opting to load the bases before deciding they suck. With no proven middle relief, it makes more sense to have Ming the Merciless Wang, a groundball pitcher, in the pen for those situations. Regardless, Game 1 is tomorrow, and I'm hoping A-Rod delivers another healthy serving of Colon Blow.

Home Field, Playoff Preview

2005-10-04T00:16:00.000-04:00

A tie-breaker on Saturday helped the Yankees win the AL East. On the next day, a tie-breaker sent them out West to open up the Divisional Playoff Series in LA against the Angels. While the Yankees ran post-season try outs over the course of nine innings Sunday, the Angels defeated Texas by the score of 7-4 to earn home field advantage in the first round. Much has been made of how Texas manager, Buck Showalter, pulled his starters mid-game while the Rangers still had the lead. Some writers conjecture that the removal of those players may have cost the Rangers the game and the Yankees home field advantage.

Well, it ain't up to the Rangers to make sure the Yankees start a series in the Bronx. That's up to the Yankees. When Joe Torre started Jaret Wright and put Andy Phillips and Mark Bellhorn in the game, he was saying that he'd just assume open on the road. And now the Yankees are, in a city that never treats them right.

Because Joe Torre says that he's more comfortable starting Randy Johnson on normal rest, and at home, the Big Unit will pitch game three of the series. That leaves a rested Mike Mussina to pitch game one, Chein-Ming Wang to pitch the second game, and Shawn Chacon to go fourth. If any of the four should falter, Aaron Small will be there to pick up the slack.

Now, when would we most likely see Small? It could be game one. The way Mussina pitched in his last start -- getting lifted in the second inning -- leaves the coaching staff weary of Moose's health at this point. He did pitch well after 3 week's rest. The Yankees are hoping that 3 extra days will do the trick in this case.

As for match ups, the Angels have always given the Yankees fits and should continue to play well. Offensively they sport the speedy Chone Figgins who sets the table for the big bats of last year's MVP, Vlad Guerrero, and Yankee-killer, Garret Anderson. Their pitching also stacks up well with Cy Young candidate, Bartolo Colon, getting the ball for game one, followed by John Lackey, the location-minded Jarrod Washburn and the fearsome TBD. Additionally, the Angels can counter the Yankees 1-2 bullpen punch of Mariano Rivera and Tom Gordon with Francisco Rodriguez and Scot Shields. Like Rivera and Gordon, they are two of the best in the game.

All told, these teams stack up evenly on a blow-to-blow basis with one distinct difference. The Yankee line-up is stacked with more power and more RBI men. The Angels cannot answer a healthy ARod-Giambi-Sheffield-Matsui attack. LA's pitching will have to be that much better than the Yankees hurlers, or it will be over fast for them.

Many members of the 2002 World Series Champion Angels remain on the team. It was a team that out-played the Yanks on their way to the championship that year. Today we see a newer, more hardened version of the Yankees who have already been through plenty of battles this season. Expect them to be ready for this one.

Yanks Slap Sox Across Face With Johnson, Win AL East

2005-10-01T21:33:00.000-04:00

Almost no one woke up this morning believing that the Yankees would be AL East champs by the end of the afternoon. Instead of checking the rules myself, I listened to most sports "experts" who believed that a Monday playoff game would be automatic if the Yanks and Sox ended the year with the same record...little did we know. Even the folks at ESPN.com were confused. But by virtue of today's 8-4 Yankee victory, in combination with a Indians loss to the White Sox, the Yankees are AL East champs once again.

It was the type of game you really had to share with a rabid, screaming crowd of friends and strangers alike. And where better to do that than in a bar surrounded by diligent, toasted Yankee fans who hung on every pitch. It was the kind of atmosphere where the crowd booed Fox for going picture-in-picture with the White Sox-Indians game, putting Yankees-Red Sox into the much smaller screen. It was a game of such importance in this city that a mother even brought her 5 year-old daughter into the bar to get a score check. And fortunately for the New Yorker's in the crowd, the game was a runaway from the start.

However, despite everyone's enthusiasm, it wasn't until somewhere around the 5th inning that the Sultan pointed out how the Yanks could clinch another division title today. It took some hot debate over a couple chili cheese dogs and fresh beers -- a debate which frightened two ladies on the bar stools next to us -- but it began to sink in. This could be the day...And it was!

The game unfolded just about the way Joe Torre would've wanted it. The Yankees put up three runs on in the first inning, highlighted by a Gary Sheffield 2-run home run, and held on to the lead throughout. Manny Ramirez brought Boston back to within one with a 2-run home run of his own in the bottom of the first, but that's as close as it got. From there the Yankees, who took batting practice against an imported knuckleballer before the game, lit up Tim Wakefield and got their 3-run lead right back in the second inning on sacrifices by John Flaherty and Derek Jeter. The Big Unit settled in from that point with his nasty slider/fastball combo and allowed only a solo home run to Tony Graffanino the rest of the way. In all Johnson retired 16 of the last 18 he faced and finished with a final line of 3 earned runs in 7.1 innings and 8 strike outs.

Now, like the press kept saying, this was the game Johnson was brought here to win. And he did. Johnson shook off Manny's early home run and upped his season record against Boston to 5-0. Why was he so successful? Well, for one thing he's a future Hall of Famer. But in addition to that, the Unit is a lefty, and that neutralizes the Red Sox greatest weapon -- David Ortiz. It sounds strange for an MVP candidate, but Ortiz cannot hit lefties...particularly tough ones. Three weeks ago in New York Terry Francona sat Ortiz against Johnson because the Boston manager was weary of the match up. Today Ortiz went 1 for 4, and was not a factor.

As for the Yankees' offense, Sheffield's home run was complimented by round trippers from Hideki Matsui and Alex Rodriguez -- who took lone possession in the home run lead in the American League with 48. Combined with the Big Unit's solid pitching, it was no contest.

After the game a teary-eyed Joe Torre said it was the best division championship he's had with the Yankees. ESPN.com publishes an AP story with this quote from Joe:

"This was the best of all of them," he added in the clubhouse. "The first is always memorable. But this has to be the most special because of everything that went on this year."

God bless the man. It was Kim Jones who asked Torre about holding the team together all season. She noted a couple of players who went out of their way to praise the Yankee manager. It brought him to tears...and there ain't no shame in that.

So today the Yankees won. The Indians lost. This allowed the Yankees to win the AL East. Amen.

Like Ice Cube said, "Today was a good day."

"Small" Lead in East

2005-09-29T23:56:00.000-04:00

"Small Cushion" "Lead is so Small"...One of these has gotta be the headline tomorrow on the back page of the Post. Why? Because Aaron Small mixed up pitches, speeds, and Oriole batters while leading the Yankees to a 8-4 victory tonight in Baltimore. Meanwhile, up North, Team Papi came from behind for a 5-4 win to keep pace with the Yanks, one game out.

So now it's time, the showdown is here. Three games and maybe a 4th to determine the winner of the AL East. The Wild Card will likely go to Cleveland as they take on the resting and recovering White Sox this weekend. The Indians should be able to take advantage of the Yanks and Sox beating each other up in Boston. So, for all intents and purposes, this weekend series for the AL East crown is just another round of playoffs. Yes, the playoffs begin tomorrow!

And while it only seems like a side-dish at this point, tonight's game was huge for the Yankees. Aaron Small pitched 6 innings of shutout ball before giving up two runs in the 7th inning. But at that point, the game was over. It was still 8-2. The only question remaining was whether Mariano Rivera would have to come into the game or would he get the night off. It was the latter as Tanyon Sturtze, Tom Gordon, and Scott Proctor closed the door. Gordon and Proctor were good, but Sturtze was awful as he gave up a two-run home run to Jay Gibbons in the 8th inning. Like Rivera, Joe Torre was hoping to give Gordon the night off, but when the margin closed to 4, Flash was in the game in the 8th. Proctor then came in to close things down in the 9th and seal the win.

It's sad to say, but Proctor's one scoreless inning may have earned him key middle relief innings this weekend. That's how bad the middle relief has been. One flash of decency is enough to push the guy up in the depth charts. But then again, Shawn Chacon may be the new bridge to Mo and Flash this weekend with Aaron Small available to help on Saturday and Sunday. Things are touch-and-go like that for the struggling Yankee middle-relief core.

Offensively, the Yankees got great news in the first inning today when Jason Giambi crushed a mammoth 425-foot home run to left. For the injured Giambi, it was a sign of life as he has struggled with a bad back and a nagging elbow problem. When he's hitting well, the Yankees are a different team -- they are virtually unstoppable. They can score with Jason slumping...but if he's hitting well...damn.

So, tomorrow night it's Chein-Ming Wang and David Wells. Saturday The Big Unit takes on Tim Wakefield. Sunday is the Moose against Curt Schilling. With these match-ups the Yankees want to try to take the first two games and end things right away. Why? Because we all know how much Schilling loves pitching against the Yanks.

Buckle up, my friends. We're staring at the best end of a regular season in a generation. Enjoy!

Chacon Rolls, Yanks Alone in First

2005-09-29T10:54:00.000-04:00

Clearly, the Rockie Mountains are horrible for a breaking ball. That's all that's left to be said about Shawn Chacon's mediocrity as a starter in Colorado after the Yankees' 2-1 victory last night in Baltimore. In his final regular season start of 2005, Shawn Chacon stepped up once again and delivered a huge lift for the Yankees as they defeated the Baltimore Orioles last night and took a one game lead in both the AL East and the Wild Card race. Chacon gave up a solo home run to Javy Lopez in the second inning, but remained unphased while matching zeros with Baltimore starter Daniel Cabrera through five innings.

In the top of the 6th, Alex Rodriguez came through with an opposite field solo home run, setting a single season team record for home runs by a right-handed hitter. The next inning Derek Jeter added a RBI single and the Yanks had a 2-1 lead for Shown Chacon to protect. Chacon got 2 outs in the 7th before turning things over to Tom Gordon and Mariano Rivera to finish off the game.

And shortly after the Yanks walked off the field giving each other high-fives, Ted Lilly and the Toronto Blue Jays polished off the Red Sox 7-2. That defeat, coupled with a Cleveland loss, broke a three-way tie for two playoff spots and pushed the Yankees into the driver's seat for a day. But there's still room for anything to happen as only one night now separates the Yanks and Red Sox from squaring off in their clash of the titans.

And while every Yankee fan and their mom wants a one or two game lead going into Boston, I'd personally prefer a tie in the standings. Best-of-three series to show who's going to claim the AL East. Mano y mano down to the wire...still, I ain't complaining about a one game lead.

Tonight it's still all about the Orioles as Aaron Small takes on Erik Bedard in the series finale.

Ooooffal Pitching Against O's

2005-09-27T23:57:00.000-04:00

You could see it from the start. Joe Torre and Mel Stottlemyre both had that look on their face that said, "Who else we got out there?" They started with Mike Mussina. Then Al Leiter. Scott Proctor. They even brought Felix Rodriguez in with the bases loaded -- guess what happened? Next came Wayne Franklin. Phil Rizzuto. Andy Hawkins. It didn't matter. The Yankees got shelled.

Tonight's Yankees/Orioles game ended after roughly 4 hours and fifteen minutes that was akin to the Japanese water torture and had a final score of 17-9 in favor of the birds. Yankee starter, Mike Mussina, didn't make it out of the 2nd inning after giving up 5 earned runs...and from there the Yanks waved the white flag by sending out Leiter, hoping that at the very least Boston would lose, too. And they did. The AL East is still knotted at the top.

Now, to give credit where it is due, the Bomber's offense put up a good fight. On the strength of Gary Sheffield's 2-run home run in the 3rd and grand slam in the 4th, the Yankees took a brief 7-5 lead. But you can't hold back the ocean with a rake. Joe and Mel kept calling out to the bullpen and then just left the receiver down and put it on speaker phone. The relievers kept coming.

Truly brutal.

So let's step in to Joe Torre's shoes and play manager here. Not that Torre had much to work with, but I wonder about his choice of relievers. In the 5th, with the score still a manageable 8-7 deficit, Felix Rodriguez was tapped to come in the game. He soon walked in a run. Wayne Franklin came in with the score 11-7 and walked in another. These two choices were mistakes.

Rodriguez can't the broad side of a barn, and Franklin has never worked on anyone but the occasional lefty. My question to Joe is this: why not Ramiro Mendoza in that situation? He can't be worse than the other 2, and he is known for his groundball-inducing sinker -- which would have been great with the bases loaded and less than two out.

But I digress...once the B-side relievers started coming in it was basically over anyway. Hopefully the other 4 guys in the starting rotation have enough to go 6 or 7 strong over the rest of the week. Shawn Chacon gives it a whirl tomorrow night in Baltimore.

Big Unit Makes O's Ring

2005-09-27T10:36:00.000-04:00

For the second time in a week, Randy Johnson took the hill against the Baltimore Orioles and did not disappoint. Fighting through rain delays and long Yankee rallies in the 4th and 6th innings, Johnson stayed loose and delivered 6 innings of shutout ball in route to an 11-3 Yankee victory.

Orioles' starter, Rodrigo Lopez, matched Johnson for the first three innings, but then worked his way into a bases loaded jam in the 4th, bringing Derek Jeter to the plate. Lopez walked Derek Jeter to force in the first run and then Alex Rodriguez hit a key 2-out, 2-run double. The injured and slumping Jason Giambi followed with a 3-run home run and by then the game was out of reach. Sam Borden of the Daily News gives you a full rundown of the game's events.

As the Yankees learned last week, it would take little to crush the spirit of the Orioles who are already mentally in the off-season. Melvin Mora and Alejandro Freire exemplified the team motto of "It's time to hit the links" when they both allowed grounders to go between their legs. Although members of the Orioles might not exactly roll over for the Yanks, the team is done. The Yankees now have to step on their necks for three games.

And they may have gone a long way to doing just that by changing Thursday's starter from the struggling Jaret Wright to the undefeated Aaron Small. The hardest working man in sports writing, Sam Borden, covers this in another story for the Daily News. It seems like the obvious move, but even after Saturday's start where Wright got bombed for 7 runs and Small followed with 6.2 shutout innings, Joe Torre did not commit to change. However, with a few days to work it out Torre came to his senses -- Wright is awful, and Small has been the man.

And now there are 6 games left -- 3 in Baltimore, three in Boston. The Yankees have played one more game than the rained out Red Sox and lead them by half a game. It's down to the wire, my friends. Personally, I hope it comes down to the last game...

Outside Yankee Stadium

2005-09-27T10:17:00.000-04:00

You can catch tonight's game at Bryant Park, where it will be projected on the big screen for thousands of Yankee fans, countless crackheads, and mindless tourists who couldn't find 'Rent'. Why this game was chosen versus, oh, I don't know, hmm, how about, the most anticipated showdown in sports, goin down this weekend, I can't tell you. However, I'm certain the park is booked and that--while many of us Yankee fans bought defibrulators to deal with these last few weeks of baseball--there's a modern dance group that is equally excited to perform their version of the Diary of Anne Frank.

Jaret Says It All

2005-09-25T01:48:00.000-04:00

It's late, I've been out drinking all night, so this is gonna be short and sweet. This quote I got from Jaret Wright after today's loss says it all:

Early on I really didn't have the stuff I want to have, and I was just trying to find it, ya know, battle through it, and ya know, we got out of the first and it was just one of those days. I was bad.

Torre Halts Chacon, Yanks Win 5th Straight

2005-09-23T23:31:00.000-04:00

The only thing stopping Shawn Chacon tonight was Joe Torre. After pitching 8 shutout innings and giving up only 3 hits and one walk against the visiting Toronto Blue Jays, Chacon was lifted with a 5-0 lead. Scott Proctor was called in to get the final three outs pushing the Yankees to their 5th straight win and 10th in 11.

Offensively, it all started with a bang for the Yankees who had back-to-back lead off home runs from Derek Jeter and Robinson Cano. They tacked on two more in the first inning off Blue Jay starter, Ted Lilly, and sent all nine men to the plate. By the second inning Lilly was gone, but the Jays relievers restored order by giving up just one unearned run the rest of the way.

Yet it hardly mattered, Chacon was in control.

He had his curve ball working from the start, inducing harmless fly balls all night. As the game progressed, the only question that remained was whether Joe Torre would leave Chacon in for the 9th. Chacon had only thrown 111 pitches through 8 -- surely few enough to at least get a crack at the ninth...However, Joe played his hand the way he always does and went to the bullpen.

Now, if this were a late-90s Jeff Nelson or Mike Stanton coming in, this move might make sense. But Scott Proctor is a man whose year could be called shaky at best. The safer bet here wasn't going to Proctor to close it out...the safer bet was a nearly flawless Chacon who still going strong. This ain't the time of year to "just get someone some work out of the pen". Every pitching change counts in late September because you want to win and, if possible, avoid using your closer.

In the end, Proctor put two men on with one out which had Torre going to the phone to get Mariano Rivera up. And while I saw Mo getting loose all I could think is that the Yankee closer should have been lounging in the pen, reading the Bible or something. It should have been Chacon on the hill in the ninth, getting the chance to complete his first big league game as well as getting his first big league shutout. We've learned by now that the middle relief is the weak link on the Yankees. Leave 'em on the bench when you have a chance, Joe. That way Mo can stay on the bench, too, and be ready when you really need him.

However, despite the pitching move, and my tirade, it was a great night for the Yanks. Chacon was once again money and the team is rolling. Both Boston and Cleveland won tonight so the standings stay the same. 1 game up in the AL East, one half game back in the wild card -- if the Yanks should need it.

9 to play. 2 more at home. It's getting good.

The O's Woes

2005-09-23T01:01:00.000-04:00

Is there a worse job than being a Baltimore Oriole these days? I mean, hey, the money's nice, but there's less shame in holding the poobags for circus elephants. For much of the season, Baltimore was first in one of the toughest divisions, with all-stars and a record-breaking veteran. Then, they proved all their critics right, even Jose Canseco: Not halfway into the season, they found themselves tired and awful, and their slugging veteran embroiled in scandal. With a couple weeks left, the playoff-hungry Yankees sweep the O's in four games, and Palmeiro implicates their All-Star MVP in the scandal. For most people, shame at work is forgetting to attach a fax cover. Meanwhile, Miguel Tejada sits in the locker room showers, weeping softly to himself, preparing a bat for seppuku.

Lawton Athletically Supports Yank's Big Unit

2005-09-22T00:50:00.000-04:00

Randy Johnson went to the mound looking for redemption tonight, and man did he get it. After his last start ended abruptly with a 2nd inning ejection, the Big Unit went to the hill and let his actions do the talking in a 2-1 victory. Johnson was sharp, taking a no-hitter into the 5th inning and saved a weary bullpen by giving up just one run on three hits. He left after the 8th inning and made room for the gates to fly open in right, bringing on Mariano Rivera backed by his daunting "Enter Sandman" theme music. Mo made it exciting, but struck out a couple of batters and sealed the win for his 41st save of the season.

Matt Lawton supplied all the offense the Yankees needed with a 2-run home run in the second inning. For Lawton it was a slim form of his own redemption after getting booed in his early stages as a Yankee. Lawton, like so many before him, gave credit to Dr. Mattingly for fixing his swing.

As for the Unit, he was quick to leave the stadium saying he had friends waiting, and would not really comment on his night other than to say: "Got some easy outs...and just tried to stay focused." However, his manager suggested that payback may have been on the Unit's mind:

You know he waited a long time for this one, that wasted one on Friday night...he was every bit what he's supposed to be tonight.

And so he was. Yet, while this Yankees' victory pushed them past Boston and into first place for only the 3rd day this year, the mood was subdued in the Yankee locker room. Some of the guys like Mike Mussina huddled around the tv to watch Boston lose, but you could tell the Yankees were simply at the end of another day where they gave it their all. Captain Jeter summed it up for the press: "There's no time to congratulate anyone because we haven't won anything."

True. It's back to the grind tomorrow night as the Yankees go for the sweep over the O's.

Proper Credit, The Yankees Do Not Give

2005-09-22T00:39:00.000-04:00

Before tonight's Yankees/Orioles game, there was a sign that rotated on the Yankee scoreboard:

There is no trying.
Only doing or not doing.

Now, for those of us that grew up with Star Wars, we know that this is a bastardized version of a famous quote by Yoda. "Do or do not, there is no try."

Here's my question. Why not just roll with that? Hell, get the little green guy in there as a mascot. Sell Yoda dolls with Yankee hats. This is the Yankees were talking about here. They can afford even George Lucas prices.

The cross-marketing potential is limitless.

Bubba Walks Off

2005-09-20T01:29:00.000-04:00

If anyone tells you that pro ball players don't watch the scoreboard, they are liars. Big time. Because moments after Bubba Crosby's walk-off solo home run in the ninth inning gave the Yankees a 3-2 win over Baltimore, most of the team huddled around a huge plasma screen in the club house to watch Tampa Bay finish off Boston. You could hear screams of "Yes, yes...SLIDE!" coming from a crew that included Derek Jeter, A-Rod, Tino Martinez, Tanyon Sturtze, and tonight's hero, Bubba Crosby. And when the Devil Rays wrapped up their 8-7 win, there were whoops, screams, and clapping. Crosby cheered Rays' closer Danys Baez while Derek Jeter was quick to compliment the man who closed out the Sox: "What a tiger! What a tiger!"

All this elation thanks to Bubba, who lead off the bottom of the ninth inning with his first home run this season to snap a 2-2 tie. He was the most unlikely of heroes whose night was summed up best by A-Rod: "The last thing you're thinking is home run. Nothing against Bubba, but you're really hoping for a walk, hit-by-pitch, base hit, bunt single...and he hits the ball like Darryl Stawberry. I mean you're going 'holy shit!'

Later, the soon-to-be cult hero would joke: "I 've never hit a walk off home run, ever, in my whole life -- even in little league."

It certainly was a rare scene as reporters mobbed Crosby and a blinding light from video cameras illuminated his face. Jeter passed the crowd and shouted "Jee-sus Christ, Bubba!" But despite the shouts, Jeter and the rest of the Yankees All-Star line-up was ignored. The press wanted the man of the minute who calmly answered questions and admitted that "It just doesn't get any better than this."

Simply put, Bubba, a lefty hitter, got it done and made Joe Torre look like a genius for putting him in right field to face left-handed starter, Erik Bedard. Ruben Sierra's bat seemed destined for taking on lefties from the right field position, but Joe Torre was thinking defense first and played Crosby. And did it ever pay off. Crosby not only hit the game-winning home run, he also went 3-4 with 2 runs scored.

Of course, Crosby did not do it alone today. The other story of the game was Chein-Ming Wang who had his best start since returning from the DL. Wang went 8 innings, only giving up 2 runs on 7 hits. Across the board everyone said that Wang's strength was a slider that sunk dramatically and a fastball in the mid to high 90s. Wang's performance now gives Joe Torre what he called a good kind of problem -- too many pitchers. Mike Mussina is scheduled to return to the rotation on Thursday and Wang may be the odd man out. However, tonight, Wang made a great case for staying...

So now it is half a game back in the AL East with 13 to go. The Yankees and Sox are tied in the loss column. The Yanks have Baltimore again tomorrow and the Sox are still in Tampa. These last few games should be real fun.

It's getting late, time to hit the sack.

Flaccid Unit

2005-09-17T23:52:00.000-04:00

ESPN.com reports that Randy Johnson apologized for getting tossed from Friday night's game.

Certainly, the Big Unit should have been smart enough to keep his cool in a game with playoff implications. That's a given. But how can plate umpire Fieldin Culbreth truly think he's doing the right thing? In a playoff run, you don't toss a Hall of Fame pitcher in the second inning because he's arguing balls and strikes. It's like giving Michael Jackson your child to babysit for the night...there are some things you just don't do. Culbreth's got to be smart enough to walk away.

Fortunately, it didn't cost the Yankees the game. And the bullpen that got worn down from having to fill-in on Friday wasn't necessary in Saturday's game. Still, bad call. Very bad call.

Chacon Outduels Chacin, 1-0

2005-09-17T21:24:00.000-04:00

Today was one of those heart-in-your-throat kind of experiences as the playoff-hopeful Yankees behind Shawn Chacon edged the Toronto Blue Jays 1-0 at the Rogers Centre. From the get go it was clear that both Chacon and Jays' starter Gustavo Chacin brought their best stuff -- just one day after the two ball clubs slugged their way to a 11-10 final. Chacon was brilliant in retiring the first 7 hitters he faced and 13 of the first 14 Blue Jay batters to step to the plate. He then finished the day in impressive fashion, giving up just 4 hits and one walk with one hit batsman in 8 innings.

Chacon's counterpart was almost as good. Chacin was able to snuff out several Yankee threats and wrapped up the day by going 7 innings, giving up 8 hits and one earned run. But the young righty's effort wasn't enough as Chacon -- with the help of some stand-out defense and Tom Gordon in the 9th -- prevailed. The Yankee starter only ran into trouble in the 7th after allowing the first two Toronto hitters to reach. However, bearing down, Chacon induced a 6-4-3 double play off the bat of Shea Hillenbrand and got out of the inning unscathed.

The only run of the afternoon came in the Yankee 2nd when Jorge Posada doubled and then scored on a Bernie Williams single. Other opportunities surfaced for the Yankees throughout the game, but a dearth of clutch hitting combined with errant baserunning diffused several threats. Most notably, the Yankees wasted a golden opportunity in the 6th when Hideki Matsui was gunned down at the plate on an ill-advised scoring attempt, thereby squashing a potential 2nd and 3rd with one out situation.

Without substantial run support the Yankees kept everyone on the edge of their seats with late-inning defensive heroics. Stand out plays came from all areas of the field including Ruben Sierra who ran down a potential 2-run double to right in the 5th, and Robinson Cano who ranged to throw out Gregg Zaun to lead off the 8th.

But that wasn't the end of the excitement. Coming in to close the game in place of the overwork Mariano Rivera, Tom Gordon allowed singles to Frank Catalanotto and Vernon Wells to start the 9th inning. At this point, it seemed that the game might get away from Gordon and Chacon's brilliant effort would be wasted. But Gordon rallied to strike out Corey Koskie, bringing up Shea Hillenbrand with one out. Having relied on stellar defense all night, the Yankees would see one last flash of leather. Hillenbrand hit a smash to third that A-Rod speared to prevent at least the game-tying run from scoring, and started a 5-4-3 double play. Game over. The Yankees win!!!!!

And with the win, the Yankees tread water in the playoff hunt and remain 1.5 games behind the victorious Red Sox and half a game behind Cleveland. The Bombers try to wrap up a undefeated 6-game road trip tomorrow -- Jaret Wright takes on ex-Yank Ted Lilly at 1:07pm.

Yanks Complete the Sweep

2005-09-15T22:30:00.000-04:00

Like motor boats chopping up their namesake off the Florida coast, the Devil Rays were cut into pieces by the surging Yankees after completing a 3 game sweep tonight in Tampa. Tonight's final score was 9-5 as Aaron Small overcame a rocky outing and picked up the victory to bump his unblemished record to 8-0. And while there will be all sorts of "No Small Feat", "Small Wonder", and "It's a Small World" headlines tomorrow, the real story was the Yankee bats.

After trailing 5-1 heading into the 6th inning, the Yankees' offense exploded for 6 runs on the strength of a Robinson Cano grand slam, followed by a 2-run shot from A-Rod. And just like that the Yankees took the lead, tacked on 2 more in the 9th, and let Tom Gordon and Mariano Rivera sort out the rest.

For the Yanks, every starter had a hit or scored a run with stand out contributions coming from Robinson Cano (5 RBIs) and Bubba Crosby (3-5 with 2 RBIs). Crosby was tabbed Player of the Game by Suzyn Waldman, and after receiving his $50 check for some NYC steakhouse, he gave credit where credit was due. Waldman asked Crosby about his solid hitting in this series and Crosby did not hesitate utter the famous Yankee refrain: "I've been working with Donnie in the cage." Crosby noted that Don Mattingly has gone out of his way to help a 2nd tier guy on the team.

Of course, Crosby is not the first guy to say this. You hear it often. Mattingly is there early every day helping everyone. You hear it from guys like Crosby and you hear it consistantly from resurgent lefty, Jason Giambi. Simply put: Donnie is still the man.

So after taking care of business against the Rays, it's now up to Toronto for a 3-game set with the Blue Jays. Tomorrow night, the Big Unit takes on Dave Bush in a 7:07 start.

Strange time. F'n' Canadians.

Yanks Clinch Series Against Rays

2005-09-14T23:41:00.000-04:00

Tonight the Yankees traded blows in a scrappy match up with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays and walked away with a 6-5 victory in Tampa. Chein-Ming Wong started for the Yankees and showed rust from his long stint on the DL by giving up 5 runs and 9 hits in 6.1 innings. However, the bullpen picked Wang up as Tom Gordon went 1.1 impressive shut out innings and Mariano Rivera took care of business in the 9th for his 38th save. Mark Hendrickson took the mound for the D-Rays trying to once again torment the Yankees who he had already beaten 3 times this year, including once last week. The former NBA power forward was less impressive this time out and got the hook after going 5 innings and giving up three earned runs.

It was a game in which the speedy Devil Rays were playing catch up from the get go. In the first inning, the Yanks pushed across one run on a Hideki Matsui double, and then added another when Alex Rodriguez knocked in Robinson Cano in the 4th. However, the Rays soon countered with two of their own in the bottom half of the frame on RBI singles by Johnny Gomes and Aubrey Huff.

From there the Yankees and Rays continued to struggle back and forth like a pair of drunks in an arm wrestling contest. In the 5th, Robinson Cano plated two more runs on a bases-loaded single only to see Tampa answer right back with two more of their own in the bottom of the 5th.

The winning margin finally came off Derek Jeter's bat -- yet another bases-loaded, 2-run single. The Rays kept persisting like that STD that won't go away by plating another run, but it wasn't enough. The Yanks won and kept pace with the victorious Red Sox and Indians.

Gary Sheffield continued to play with a pulled thigh muscle and was a productive 2-4. He's been limping around the bases since coming back from his leg injury last night -- and could have scored on Matsui's double in the first if it weren't for the injury -- but a limping Shef is still more productive than 90% of the league.

And speaking of Shef, the front end of the line up now looks pretty bad ass with Shef back in there. Positions 1-5 are sick...Meanwhile, Cano batted 9th and contributed again at the plate. He is now hitting .471 in the month of September after batting .207 in August. Coincidentally, Mark Bellhorn was signed on August 31st. Call me Freud, bit I'd reckon that Cano may have needed a little kick in the ass to motivate him again. Nothing like losing one's job to get a guy moving.

So the Yanks go for the sweep tomorrow night in Tampa Bay. The undefeated Aaron Small takes on Seth McClung in a 7:15 start.

Odds & Ends 2

2005-09-12T12:37:00.000-04:00

Randy Johnson on whether he has a rivalry with Curt Schilling:

(Angry glare at cowering reporter) "Next question."

Don't think these guys send each other Christmas cards.

Odds & Ends

2005-09-12T10:44:00.000-04:00

Yesterday I was leaving Yankee Stadium and found myself trapped behind Jason Giambi and David Wells in the stairway. The old teammates had come from opposite sides of the hallway and met at the base of the stairs. Every third word was a curse from these two and the conversation went something like this:

Giambi: "Throwing gas the other day, pretty f&#@ing tough."
Wells: "Do what you f&$#ing can. How's by you?"
Giambi: "Well, I shoot up every three weeks so I'm hitting much better."
(both laugh)
Giambi: "I'm just kidding."

And with that we reached the top of the one-flight stairway where the burly pair hung back to talk some more. I brushed past and walked out the side exit of Yankee Stadium, hopping the D train home.

Yankees Show Sox Their Big Unit

2005-09-11T22:18:00.000-04:00

It was amazing. I couldn't believe my eyes. Right next to me at the start of Sunday's Yankees/Red Sox game was a post-game wrap written by a visiting beat writer from Boston. His laptop screen had it standing out for all to see, and it read a little something like this:

There was a time when the Red Sox would enter the Bronx in September, chasing the Yankees in the standings and fighting for their playoff lives. Chants of '1918' would circulate a stadium lined with the ghosts of Aaron F'n' Boone and Bucky F'n' Dent. But the year is now 2005, one season after the Red Sox defeated the Yankees in a dramatic ALCS. This is the year that Boston is ahead in the standings, and they now sit 5 games up after taking today's match-up by a final of _-_. And as the Red Sox can now cruise to their first division title since 1995, the Yankees are left to wonder if they will make the playoffs at all.

Well, way to jinx your team, douche.

After peering over my counterpart's shoulder to read his drivel, I established two things in my mind. One, Boston truly does suck. I mean, really suck. One championship and they have delusions of grandeur. And two, this ain't '04 anymore. The choking is over. It gave me the feeling that today was going to be the day the Big Unit would give Boston something to gag on.

And so he did. In 7 innings, Randy Johnson gave up just one hit and struck out 8 in route to a 1-0 Yankee victory. Although he left in the 8th inning with a calf strain, he did what was needed of him. The bullpen got the final 6 outs and the Yankees wrapped up the weekend 3 games back. You hear me, punk...3 games, not 5.

Afterwords, everyone was impressed with the Big Unit's dominance, including Joe Torre who had been looking forward to seeing Randy pitch all week. Sitting in his office after the game, Torre reflected on the Unit's day: "Randy was spectacular." He then added, "That's as good as it gets."

In the locker room it was a party like 1999. Everyone was talking reporters' ears off and brimming with joy. Everyone, that is, except for Randy Johnson who remained objective and monotone about his outing: "Today my velocity was up because my mechanics were much better and my arm slot is much better and things are really kind of falling in place now." But no matter how unexcited the man was, his outing spoke for itself.

And for Randy and the Yanks, it was perfect timing against Boston in a key September game facing a pitcher who was almost as impressive as The Unit himself. Boston starter, Tim Wakefield, was also stingy, only giving up a solo home run to Jason Giambi in the first inning, and three hits overall.

Later Derek Jeter and Giambi would comment that Wakefield's knuckler seemed to dance more than normal. In fact, Giambi's home run was off a rare curveball from Wakefield that "shocked" Giambi as it "popped" out Wakefield's hand.

Now, perhaps the most drama from today's game came when Mariano Rivera entered in the 8th inning with two outs and a man on to face a pinch-hitting David Ortiz (who walked) and then Sox DH, Johnny Damon (ground out). To add to the suspense in the ninth, Mo struck out John Olerud with Manny Ramirez on third base to end the game.

For Rivera, every bit of success against Boston is redemption for last year. Where Mo had faltered against Ortiz and the Sox in the past, he had enough to finish out this crucial game. Torre simply said, "It was our turn today."

The Yankees now hit the road, 3 games out -- not 5, dumbass. It's down to Tampa Bay on Tuesday for a three game set, and then up to Toronto for three more.

Overall, there are 20 games left, including a season-ending series in Boston. The Yankees still control there destiny in the AL East. It should be a fun finish.

Mr. Splitty?

2005-09-11T10:08:00.000-04:00

Yesterday, Curt Schilling credited part of his success to a better split finger fastball. In fact, on his own volition he told the swarm of media crushed in around his locker: "I've made adjustments...gotten advice from different people. People that throw it. Gotten some emails from some different people that I've talked to." Then, when asked if he would reveal who these people are he said, "Naw, I'd rather not."

Who would give split finger advice to an aging superstar? Most likely someone the age of that superstar or older. And who still throws a split finger effectively to dominate the opposition?

I'll give you a hint. He's an ex-Yank who plays in Houston, ain't Andy Pettite, once upon a time was a mentor for Curt Schilling and his name rhymes with Dodger Schlemens.

Still too much secrecy? I guess Schilling's "different people" will have to remain anonymous.

Schilling Regains Form Against Yanks

2005-09-10T20:40:00.000-04:00

You could see it right away. The Yankees were swinging early in the count and hitting pop flies and ground balls off Curt Schilling. Before even towing the rubber today, Schilling had a 2-0 lead and pitched with the confidence of a front runner, giving up a total of just 2 runs in 8 innings. Proof of his command came quickly as the first 8 Yankees went down in order and Schilling carried a one-hitter into the 7th inning. As his velocity waned in the late innings, the Yanks were able to scatter a few more hits off the man with the Bloody Sox (a total of 5 on the day), but he was never truly tested.

As for the Yankees, it did not go as smoothly. While Boston had two errors in one key inning on Friday night, it was the Yankees' turn to reciprocate the favor. In a 6-run Boston 4th, Robinson Cano threw a ball into the stands and a sun-blinded Hideki Matsui dropped a fly ball in left. Mix in the fact that Felix Rodriguez threw wide to home on what should have been a sure 1-2-3 double play -- forcing John Flaherty to make an acrobatic catch just to get the force at home -- and the Yankees had already sealed their fate. After the game Joe Torre was philosophical about the 6-run 4th, "Well, that was the difference (in the game)...they got 5 runs where they shouldn't have gotten them." Nuff said.

So it was pretty much over before it started. Although Schilling pitched well, Torre was quick to point out that Curt wasn't really tested and the Yankees didn't take him deep into counts: "We didn't put any pressure on him."

And where Schilling dominated, Yankee starter, Shawn Chacon, struggled. Facing the burden of expectation in September, Chacon got lifted in the 3rd inning with no one out, the bases loaded, and the score already 3-0. "It just was one of those days where I didn't have command, I didn't have good stuff...it was a bad day to have a bad day." Amen.

Catcher John Flaherty, filling in for the injured Jorge Posada (day-to-day), was to the point when asked about Chacon's day: "His location wasn't as sharp as we're used to seeing it...and they (Boston) did some damage." Amen, again.

Offensively for the Yankees, the only sign of life was from Jason Giambi who hit a solo home run in the 4th inning -- the Yankees' first hit and first run of the afternoon. It was a nice upper deck job, but by that time the game was already out of reach. Schilling was cruising.

In fact, he must have had a great time in what he claims is his favorite place to pitch. Long a tormenter of the Yankees, Schilling was asked about his usual reception in the Bronx. He grinned while answering: "The only thing better than being cheered in Fenway is being booed in Yankee Stadium."

And so it's down to the rubber game of this weekend series between the two biggest rivals in sports. Boston sends Yankee-nemesis Tim Wakefield to the mound to face the resurgent Randy Johnson. First pitch is 1:05.

High and Tight

2005-09-10T10:18:00.000-04:00

One more thing about last night's game. Aaron Small is the first Yankee pitcher I can remember pitching David Ortiz high and tight. Coincidentally, Ortiz, who hits well over .300 against the Yankees, went 0-4. In Ortiz's last at-bat against the 7-0 righty, Small issued a walk on a 3-2 count, but Papi didn't have one good hack. Perhaps there's a reason David Ortiz is a Yankee killer. Manny Ramirez, too, for that matter. Simply put, the Yankee pitchers have been frightened to come inside. Big Unit hasn't done it in pinstripes. Mariano doesn't really do it. Moose refuses to do it after getting assaulted for hitting a batter early in his career. But a guy who's lucky to crack 90 on the gun did it last night, and walked away with the win.

Yanks Top Sox

2005-09-10T01:31:00.000-04:00

Tonight the Yankees hosted the Red Sox in the first of a three game match-up and took the opener by the score of 8-4. It was another impressive outing for career minor leaguer, Aaron Small, who went 6.1 innings giving up just 4 runs to Boston's potent offense. Jorge Posada contributed mightily at the plate with three hits, including a monster home run to right off former battery-mate David Wells, and Alex Rodriguez hit his league leading 41st home run of the season. Posada also stepped it up with his glove by hanging onto the ball in a momentum-changing collision with Jason Varitek in the third inning. Later Posada would call the shot "ugly".

The game itself was a sloppy and sluggish one as Boston committed 4 errors -- including two on one play -- and both teams shuffled through relief pitchers. Notably, the Yankees got a solid performance from Tom Gordon who induced an inning-ending double play in the 7th, and then work a scoreless 8th. Gordon then turned the ball over to Mariano Rivera who worked a scoreless ninth in a non-save situation.

The win now puts the Yankees three games behind Boston for the division lead, but it is only a stepping stone for a team with high aspirations. Joe Torre took a minute after the game to assess where the Yankees have to go in the next two games. He simply stated: "We're in a situation now where...we've got to make an impact." And while players like A-Rod and Derek Jeter tried to downplay the importance of this series, their manager's words betray them.

Torre also made it clear that tonight was a team effort with Jorge Posada and Aaron Small taking the lead. Small got the job done by hitting his location in the strike zone, and keeping the ball out of the middle of the plate. Posada sang his battery-mate's praises after the game by saying: "He (Small) gave me a lot to work with. He was unbelievable." Certainly, he is still a surprise for the Yankees by sporting his impressive 7-0 record.

So, it's late, I'm tired and have to be in the Bronx by noon. The Yankees we're happy, but like me, in a rush to get to bed. Tomorrow Shawn Chacon takes on the struggling Curt Schilling...game time, 1:15pm.

More tomorrow...

Brew n' Cash Men: The Yankee Stadium Beer Conspiracy

2005-09-09T03:05:00.000-04:00

This isn't Woodward and Bernstein, but then again, I don't have a Deepthroat, just a deep liver and shallow pockets. Even by NYC standards, drinking at Yankee Stadium is pricey. It's difficult finding anything but Bud Light at Yankee games and I don't drink light beer. Light beer often has less alcohol than regular beer; and for the same taste, you can leave tea outside a couple days, and the bacteria will pack more punch. Do most people prefer light beer at Yankee Stadium? No, of course they don't. Bud Light is in such abundance because it is LESS alcoholic and, theoretically, the Yankees make MORE money. Here's how... Let's think like a marketing department. Yeah, I know, like the Yankees could afford a marketing department, pssh.

Baseball is a long game, and New York is a town of drinkers, bless us all. Now, there are fans who show up and don't drink, and others who are 'only going to have a couple beers,' or only have a couple bucks, or sit in the bleachers (and bring their own Boogie Down moonshine). But let's do some math...
--The Yankees are averaging 50,000 fans a game(!).
--The typical Yankee game runs over 3 hours.
--The Bud Light sold at Yankee Stadium is a 16 ounce can, for $7.50.
--Bud Light consists of 4.2% alcohol. A typical Budweiser is 5%.

Now, thirty-two ounces of 4% alcohol over 3 hours might make a middle school girl giggle. But, forty-eight ounces of 4% just might make a Yankee fan forget Tim Redding. Let's imagine that one in ten--5,000 beer-drinkers--are bridging that gap: Buying one more can of beer, a can they may not have bought if they were drinking regular beer. Now, marketing team, take out your 'bar' graphs, and how does a projected $37,500 (at least) in extra beer sales a game sound? And, 81 games?... Well, if anybody asks what the difference is between light beer and regular beer, you can say, 'Womack, Leiter, Wang, Small, and Chacon...'

But that's not the point. The point is, light beer sucks; what is the most efficient way to drink at Yankee Stadium? The best way to drink--unless you're sharing a strange colored Snapple in right--hey, don't knock it, it was a fave even before beer was outlawed in the bleachers--the best way to drink is find yourself one of the few Michelob or Foster's shacks. There's a Fosters tucked away at the far end of the right upper deck, almost on the tracks of the 4 train, and a couple Michelobs on the main concourse. One can of Fosters, $9.75. One Michelob, $8.50. Yeah, steep, but wait! Fosters, aside from tasting better than Bud, is 5.1% alcohol AND comes in a 25.4 ounce can (Michelob might taste worse than Bud but hey, 24 oz)! That's right! You're getting 10 more ounces of beer and 20% more alcohol for a mere 2 bucks more. Now, consume two or three, 51-76 ounces of lager (I drank a 100 oz plus at Tuesday's game, rough game), and that's why I have moments like the time I told the seven-year old red sox fan that Aaron Boone made his daddy cry like a little bitch.

Speaking of red sox, see you at tomorrow's game. You'll find me in the left upper deck, 20% more drunkerer than everybody else.

Bullpen's Second Line Blows Game

2005-09-08T23:09:00.000-04:00

If the Yankees have learned anything this season, it is that the Tampa Bay Devil Rays have their number.

The Yankees struggled again tonight falling by the score of 7-4 in the Bronx and ended this three game set with only one win over a team that they once dominated. In the heat of a pennant race, the Yanks were held to one hit through 6 innings against Tampa Bay starter, Mark Hendrickson. Meanwhile, the Yankees bullpen gave up 4 runs in 4 innings as the D-Rays upped their season record against the Yankees to 11-5.

Chein-Ming Wang returned from the DL for the Yanks and pitched reasonably well in his first action since early July. Wang went 5 innings giving up 3 runs, on 8 hits and 2 walks. For the D-Rays, Hedrickson, a former NBA power forward, was impressive. For 6 innings he only allowed a lead-off single to Derek Jeter in the first inning in route to his 3rd victory over the Yanks this season. The Yankees did score 4 runs off Hendrickson in the 6th, but it was too little too late. After a 2-run Ruben Sierra home run brought the game to within 6-4 in the 7th, the Yanks were shut down by Danys Baez and company the rest of the way.

To look at this game closely, there's only one place to point a finger: at the bullpen. Chein-Ming Wang gave the Yankees a chance tonight -- a crew of b-side relievers could not do the same. Wayne Franklyn, Scott Proctor, and Felix Rodriguez all got tagged for runs between the 6th and 9th innings and let a 3-0 game get beyond the reach of a late Yankee rally. While the Yankees really should have beat Hendrickson down like they were members of the LAPD, this is the time of year you need pitching. You need to win close games with your bullpen. 4 earned runs in the last 4 innings will win you few games.

Losing 2 of 3 to Tampa Bay this week has left the Yankees 4 games behind the Boston Red Sox heading into this weekend's showdown. Fortunately for the Bombers, Boston also lost tonight keeping the AL East standings where they are. Game one of the series is tomorrow night at 7:05pm. Aaron Small looks to keep his perfect record unblemished against ex-Yank David Wells.

I'll be at all three games this weekend and will update you regularly on the battle in the Bronx.

Yanks Top Rays, Rubber Match Tonight

2005-09-08T14:25:00.000-04:00

Last night in the Bronx it looked like another miserable loss to the Devil Rays as the Yankees trailed Tampa Bay 4-3 in the 8th inning. But that all changed when Jason Giambi played the hero once again and turned a 4-3 deficit into a 5-4 Yankee victory. With two out in the 8th, Giambi crushed a slider down the right field foul line scoring Alex Rodriguez and thereby setting up Mariano Rivera to record his 36th save. Hideki Matsui chipped in with 3 RBIs and his 21st home run of the season -- pushing his career total between the US and Japan to 400 – while Jaret Wright pitched 5.2 innings of shut out ball after giving up 4 runs in the first inning.

For the Yanks, it clearly wasn't pretty...Gary Sheffield even had to come out of the game with a soar hamstring and is now day-to-day...but it was gritty and it was a win. This time of year, that's all that matters. It is all about the standings and it is all about one last game against the D-Rays before the make-or-break weekend with the Red Sox. As for Sheffield, he will most likely rest tonight and then shift to DH duties against the Boston this weekend, with Matt Lawton in right field. And while we're looking ahead, Mark Bellhorn will probably start a game or two against his old team.

Now, let's talk media here. First, the Headline of the Day Award goes to the Daily News for Anthony McCarron's lead article. It simply reads: "Jason juices Yanks' rally". Take it to mean what you will, but Jason ain't never gonna live down the steroid rap. He hits a dramatic home run in the playoff stretch, and still catches crap in the headlines. Tough crowd.

Sean Brennen talks about Jaret Wright's rough start in the Daily News and picks up a couple of good quotes on the situation. Wright, who was coming off that lined shot to his collar bone, suggested he may have been a little too worked up for his start last night:

"I think in the first inning you try to do too much," Wright said. "They're big games and I think you end up trying too hard. At the start of a game, I think everyone is a little bit wired."

Now, I don't know if you can pin 4 earned runs in one inning -- exacerbated by an error on the pitcher -- on anyone but Wright, but the general point stands here. Wright got a little too worked up and was able to calm down. Joe Torre expanded on this after the game by saying: "...he settled in and that's the most important thing. He didn't lose his composure."

Over in the NY Post, Michael Morrissey reports that Mike Mussina is ready to play catch on Friday. Moose claims to still have pain in his right elbow, but if he can start pitching, he will. And here is where the Yankees need to be catious. Between Chein-Ming Wong and Aaron Small, the Yankees can aptly fill holes in the rotation. Putting a shaky Mussina in the rotation won't be to anyone's benefit if he gets lit up for another 8 runs in one inning. When healthy, Moose is one of the best. But if he forces the issue, the Yankees will throw away a game at a time of year where they can ill afford it.

Also in the NY Post, hockey man, Larry Brooks, gives Giambi credit for his revival and says Gimabi deserved a second chance. I agree with this point. Giambi does deserve his second chance these days, but only after having been raked over the coals in the press and getting booed out of every ball park in America -- including the one in the Bronx. He never admitted to using steroids in a public setting -- he cannot for legal reasons, so shut up about that already! -- but he never hid from the media or lashed out at the fans. All he can be accused of is using a catch phrase too often, 'I've been working hard with Donnie in the cage...'. So I give him credit at this point, he's taken it like a man.

Well, on to tonight and game three of the series before the series. Chein-Ming Wong returns for the Yanks against Mark Hendrickson. ESPN.com has the preview.

2nd Base

2005-09-07T11:13:00.000-04:00

With Cano's error at 2nd base last night, look for Joe Torre to give Mark Bellhorn more playing time. Torre has a strong affinity for pitching and defense, and Bellhorn is an excellent 2nd baseman -- something the Yankees have lacked for years. While Bellhorn has struggled this year at the plate, Cano's batting average continues to take a nose dive. If Cano continues to struggle at the plate, it will be an easy call for Torre.

Cano may be the future, but Torre will cut off his own arm to make the playoffs. Defense coupled with veteran experience may give Bellhorn the edge down the stretch.

D-Rays Down Yanks Again

2005-09-06T23:20:00.000-04:00

What a painful night. I'm glad that I was about 7 beers in when I saw the final score of tonight's Yanks/D-Ray's game at a bar downtown. It took the full nine innings for the Yankees to lose to Tampa Bay tonight, and the end came on an error by Robinson Cano in the 9th for a 4-3 final. Randy Johnson had started the game for the Yanks, and carried a 3-0 lead into the 4th inning. That's where I turned away for about three beers with the VP of my station who I talked with about getting some morning show air time. I feel guilty because as that conversation went swimmingly, Randy and the Yanks went down hill and the D-Rays tied the game off a combination of Randy Johnson and Tom Gordon. Mariano Rivera then got tagged for a loss.

Couple this Yankee loss with a Red Sox victory and the fact that I'm at home without a woman, and it was an all-around tough night.

Is it the end of the season? No. Will this one game keep the Yanks out of the playoffs? No. Is this the type of game they have to win to make the playoffs? Yes! Gordon and Rivera should be automatic against the D-Rays in September. No question...yet our best wasn't good enough, and that's hard to feel great about in an alcoholic haze.

Now Boston is up 4, and the Wild Card standings are still unsettled tonight. The Yanks cannot count on sweeping Boston during this weekend series as their answer. They need to keep pace in these other games. You can take individual accomplishments like A-Rod's potential MVP award and Triple Crown, along with Mariano's outside Cy Young chances, and shove them. The Yanks need wins. And tonight does nothing to help.

Tomorrow they go for it again. It's the D-Rays at 7:05pm.

What a Difference a Few Hours Make?

2005-09-03T20:57:00.000-04:00

Wow! Aaron F'n' Small. 5-hit shut out! 4-0 as a starter, 6-0 overall. Not bad for a guy who went 9 years between big league starts. With Mike Mussina hurt and Al Leiter getting pounded, the Yankees may have found another guy for their stretch run. But before we get ahead of ourselves, it's still day-to-day for the duct tape Yankees and Aaron Small is the man of the moment after his 7-0 win.

Before the game Joe Torre held a closed door meeting with his team, and Small got the message. Then, in the seventh, the Yankees exploded for 6 runs as they seemed to get the message, too. The inning was highlighted by a Jason Giambi 3-run home run...a home run hit while he was the team's first baseman, not the DH...

And now the Yankees have the same record as the A's, and await the outcomes of the Angles and Red Sox games to see whether the have gained ground today. We're not at the point where the Yankees have to pray their competitors lose, but it would be nice.

So, tomorrow is the rubber game of the A's series before the bombers return to the Bronx to face the surging Devil Rays. Shawn Chacon will take on Barry Zito in an ESPN Sunday night game at 8:05pm.

Soar Arms

2005-09-03T12:10:00.000-04:00

The Yankees got thumped last night by a final score of something like 87-0. Don't really care to relive it, but the bottom line is that Al Leiter got knocked out in the first inning and Danny Haren shut the Yanks down on a night where Boston had already lost. Still 3.5 back. Our buddy Sam Borden can tell you all about it in his Daily News article. He picks up a Joe Torre quote telling you what you need to know: "This is just a (butt)-kicking. There's not much more you can say about it then that."

So, you toss the one game out the window and move on. The only problem is that the Yankees are suddenly facing a lot of question marks in their starting rotation. Jaret Wright is shaking off a shot to the right shoulder from two nights ago and may or may not be ready for his next start (my best guess is that he will be ready), while Mike Mussina now has tendinitis in his pitching elbow. For Moose, the injury will knock him out for two weeks, if not the rest of the season. That leaves Shawn Chacon, Randy Johnson, and Aaron Small as the only sure things in the rotation. Wright will probably be there, too. But after today, you wonder whether Al Leiter will be allowed back on the hill...he probably will. It's just that nights like this make you hope Chein-Ming Wang gets well soon. As for the Moose, Mr. Borden's second Daily News article has more coverage.

Let's move on to the question everyone has been asking these days. Will the Yankees make the playoffs? They are 1 game out of the Wild Card and 3.5 behind Boston. Well, last night will neither make nor break them...much like winning only 2 of 4 in Seattle won't settle the deal for them. But if they don't play great ball in the last month, they are screwed. Mike Vaccaro asks the same question in the NY Post and it seems like he's almost ready to give up...but it's not that bad yet. There's still plenty of ball to play before it's all said and done. However, it just doesn't look that great the day after you get your ass handed to you by the score of 12-0.

Today is another game and Aaron Small looks to provide a lift against Oakland's Kirk Saarloos. Game time is 4:05 and ESPN.com has the preview.

Yanks Fall to M's Again

2005-09-01T22:20:00.000-04:00

Four days ago, this was the tale of two teams vying for a division crown with only 1.5 games separating the Yankees and the Red Sox. The divisional rivals had gone into the week looking to feast on the fat of the land with the Yanks playing the 3rd worst team in the league, and the Sox playing the 2nd worst. The script said that both teams would keep pace in preparation for a showdown starting September 9th...but the tale took a turn for the worse and now, for the Yankees, it's a different kind of story.

As the Red Sox swept the visiting Tampa Bay Devil Rays, the Yankees found a way to lose 2 of 4 to the hapless Seattle Mariners. Although the Yanks beat the M's best starter last night (19 year-old phenom, Felix Hernandez) they managed to lose games to one guy you never heard of and another with an ERA close to 6.

In today's game, Jaret Wright pitched a solid 5.1 innings of one-run ball only to be forced out of the game by a line drive that hit him square in the right collar bone. X-Rays were taken during the game and are negative. Still, Wright's departure was the beginning of the end for the Yankees who saw Tanyon Strutze, Alan Embree and the returning Ramiro Mendoza all get tagged for earned runs...more on these guys in a minute.

In the end the team fell by a score of 5-1. Yes, one run...now, I understand these guys have been traveling and haven't gotten much rest, but one run? Off of Joel Pineiro whose ERA has been lowered to 5.59 after today? I won't say the Yankees have to win every game, but this kind of production down the stretch will kill them. It's the kind of game they need to win in a pennant race. And one run from Jeter, A-Rod, Matsui, Shef, and Giambi ain't good enough. No way.

As for the relievers, there's a few things going on. One, Sturtze is close to losing his job. Felix Rodriguez has been very solid as of late and can easily be a set up man -- a roll he excelled at in San Francisco for Rob Nen. Meanwhile, Sturtze has been costing the team games. It's easy to do the math.

Two, Embree is only good for a couple of batters at a time -- lefties -- and then he should be lifted. Tonight he got charged with an earned run after Mendoza let an inherited run score, but all told, he has potential for the Yanks. Joe Torre loves to get cocky and extend Embree to face righties. Not a good idea. If used right, Embree will be helpful.

Three, great to see you back Mr. Mendoza. Hopefully that was rust coming off your arm today...In one inning of work, Mendoza gave up two earned runs and allowed an inherited run to score. Few games get won with that kind of relief.

Now the Yanks fly to Oakland for a Friday night series opener against one of their rivals for the Wild Card. Al Leiter faces Danny Haren in a 10:05 start. And as the week started as a tale of two teams, it is currently the tale of one team, the Yankees. It is the tale of the Yankees playing consistant ball as they fight themselves and their own let downs like the one they just had against Seattle. For the Yankees, it is time to play much better ball in Oakland. If they can do that, then they can start thinking about the Red Sox and we can resume our tale of two teams.

Lupica On New Yanks

2005-08-31T13:45:00.000-04:00

Last night Shawn Chacon and the Yanks got beat down by the lowly Seattle Mariners, 8-3. Chacon just didn't have it, as he gave up all 8 runs on 8 hits. Meanwhile, the Yankee offense couldn't get much going off 31 year-old rookie, Jeff Harris.

But by 3pm, that's all old news. Here's a good article by Mike Lupica in the Daily News about Brian Cashman. Lupica gives Cashman credit for his moves during the year and looks at their effect on the team. Those moves include: Aaron Small, Shawn Chacon, Al Leiter, Chein-Ming Wang, Robinson Cano, Matt Lawton and Mark Bellhorn. Now, when looking at these players it's important to not only look at their stats, but to consider their VALUE.

To start, let's look at an interesting stat Lupica puts in his article:

Torre's five starters were supposed to be Johnson, Mussina, Carl Pavano, Kevin Brown, Jaret Wright. Their combined record is 36-31. The record of Chacon, Leiter, Small and Chien-Ming Wang, before Wang got hurt, is 18-8, including that win Small got in relief of Mussina. All that record has done is keep the Yankees from falling off the American League like a piece of a space shuttle.

When the man's right, he's right. And let's look at what it cost to pick up these pieces.

Leiter - Waiver pick up. Mostly paid for my the Marlins.
Small - A career minor leaguer making his mark.
Wang - Recruited from Thailand for a sack of foam peanuts.
Chacon - Two B-list minor leaguers.

All told these guys cost nothing. Virtually free pitchers who have saved the Yankees' season up to this point. And with Moose hurt and struggling, all four could have very important starts for the Yankees down the stretch (Wang may very well be back soon).

And then there's Robinson Cano, Matt Lawton and Mark Bellhorn -- from the minors, for lesser prospects, and almost free with Boston picking up the tab. Not bad. Cano had been great until August, but is now struggling as he tries to handle off-speed pitching. Nonetheless, his contribution has been great.

The addition of Lawton gives Torre the extra outfielder he's needed so badly as he tries to rest Bernie Williams and keep Tony Womack's inexperience on the bench. Even better, it forces Williams into the DH roll thereby putting Jason Giambi at first base.

And Bellhorn? Who knows? He shaved for last night's game and still looks like a slob. His batting average is low, and he strikes out a lot, but at the price the Yankees are paying, why not?

So, where does the season go from here? I see the playoffs for the Yanks, particularly because of their pitching. And if that is the case, the 200 million dollar Yanks will owe a big debt of gratitude to Brain Cashman and his freebies.

Moose is Slumping, Giambi's Thumpin'

2005-08-30T09:49:00.000-04:00

For those who did not stay up to watch last night's Yankees-Mariners game, you will be pleasantly surprised to find out that the Yanks dropped Seattle, 7-4. It was a tale of two players: a struggling ace, and a surging slugger. The struggling ace, Mike Mussina, got knocked out after only 3 innings and left the game with his team trailing 4-0. But in the end, the slugger, Jason Giambi, was the greater force in the game as he hit two home runs and drove in a total of 4 runs. And while Giambi bailed the Yankees out last night, an assist goes to the exiled Aaron Small who came in and worked 4 innings of scoreless relief for the win.

The main focus of this morning's papers is on Giambi and his two-game tear where he's hit 4 home runs and driven in 11...anyone notice he's been playing first base? And while two games don't make up for a lost August, it's a good start. Sam Borden in the Daily News gives a rare editorial opinion and sounds confident in Giambi's return to form saying he: "seems to have regained that magic". Giambi credits a cortisone shot he got in his left elbow on Wednesday for curing tendinitis that was slowing him down (go ahead and make all your jokes about Giambi shooting up) after overworking it "with Donnie in the cage." Read more about it in Borden's features section in the Daily News.

As for Mussina's recent woes (which include a 8-run 5th inning in his last start), there is little explaination from the righty, but Moose doesn't seem worried. George King in the NY Post catches this quote off Moose:

"It maybe that my arm is a little flat," Mussina said. "I am not discouraged. Hopefully it won't last too long. [Dead arm] usually comes around in spring training but there are parts of the season you just get flat. It doesn't concern me and I am not worried about it."

Flat? That's fine, but the man is running out of games to just feel flat. The Yankees will need Moose in the September stretch, and he needs to get past whatever slump he's in.

And one last note. The Yankees have now officially opened a refugee camp for ex-Red Sox as they have signed Mark Bellhorn. Our ol' buddy, Sam Borden in the Daily News, tells us about the upside to the trade which appears to be twofold: he's a switch hitter off the bench with power, and a good defensive second baseman. Will he really help the Yanks? I don't think so. Bellhorn does not really fill any holes. Robinson Cano won't be coming out of games for his defense the way that Giambi does, and Ruben Sierra is already a switch-hitter off the bench with power. Furthermore, Bellhorn has been having a rough year at the plate where he seems to walk or strike out every time up. If Bellhorn can regain his stroke, great. But this move shouldn't do much to change the Yankees' fortunes.

So, tonight it's game two against Seattle. Shawn Chacon takes on Jeff Harris in a 10:05 start.

Royals Flushed Out of Bronx

2005-08-28T23:46:00.000-04:00

The Yankees wrapped up the a three game sweep of the Kansas City Royals with a 10-3 victory today in the Bronx. Jason Giambi almost single-handedly supplied the offense as he knocked in 7 runs on the strength of a 3-run home run, a 2-run shot and a 2-run single. Complimenting those three hits with a walk, Giambi's perfect day at the plate boosted his sagging batting average seven points to .273. Also adding to the assault was Bernie Williams who knocked in three runs on 2 singles and raised his average to .259. In his recent hot steak, Williams is now hitting over .350 with 20 RBIs in his last 15 games.

Meanwhile, Al Leiter took the mound for the Yanks and threw 6 innings of 2-hit ball and only gave up one earned run -- all on 112 pitches. Yet, despite the glossy stat line, Al struggled early as he reached 25 pitches in the first inning, fighting to get through only 4 batters. Much of the same followed from Leiter until the Yankees comfortably extended their lead to 5-0 in the third inning when Giambi hit the first of his two home runs.

At that point Leiter stopped nibbling the corners and began to throw strikes.

"It's much easier to pitch (with a lead)," he said after the game. "(You have) less regard for corners and you just start thinking 'middle of the plate'." His final three innings were then easier as Leiter cruised like he rarely has as a Yankee and delivered the game to Tanyon Sturtze, Alan Embree, and Felix Rodriguez who combined to finish the job.

In sum, it was a successful day, a successful series, and a successful homestand (6-1) for the Yankees as they now head on the road to face Seattle and Oakland on a West coast swing.

*****************************************************************
On a personal note, I asked Joe Torre the question that's been bothering me about Jason Giambi since his first season in pinstripes. On the day that Giambi broke out of a slump with 2 home runs and 7 RBIs while manning first base, I asked Joe if he saw a connection between Jason hitting better while he's the every day first baseman, as opposed to when he's the DH. Torre replied: "No...Jason's had pretty good days DHing, too. You know, we do what we have to do to win a game and I think it's a lift for him to not have to play first base all the time."

That's such crap, Joe.

I didn't want to push the issue as Torre clearly wanted to dodge the question, but the numbers are indisputable. Several posts ago, I took a look at Giambi's August slump -- he was playing very little at first. In July, when he was player of the month, he was out there every day.

Now, why would Joe dodge my question (as he did seem slightly annoyed)? 1) Giambi still has a bum knee or some physical ailment and Torre is trying to give Jason some rest...or 2) Torre really hates having Giambi in the field so much that he's willing to sacrifice M.V.P. caliber hitting numbers. If the former is true, well, then Torre has to rest him. However, if the later is true, then Torre is just plain wrong to think an occasional bad play at first is enough of a reason to put Giambi's bat on the shelf.

And this is where the Matt Lawton deal comes into play. With the addition of Lawton, Torre now has the extra outfielder he's been seeking all season. Lawton will start a lot of games in left, Matsui will be bumped to center and Bernie Williams (who has been too hot to take out of the lineup) will be the DH. Throw into the mix that one of Torre's old favorites, Ruben Sierra, is about to return from the DL, and that DH spot is reserved for extra outfielders. Jason Giambi should be getting plenty of games at first. Thank God.

Bernie, Unit Show Old Form

2005-08-27T12:28:00.000-04:00

In the aftermath of last night's 5-1 victory over the feeble Kansas City Royals, the Yankees had vintage performances from two of their aging stars. Bernie Williams smoked two home runs and Randy Johnson pitched a confidence-building 8 innings giving up just one earned run. For Williams, the home runs are a step towards proving that he's not done yet. The first one was a line shot off the loge level facade in right -- a location few balls ever reach -- and the second was a monster shot into the upper deck on a high and inside pitch. And as expected, Bernie got a pair of curtain calls from the sold out crowd in the Bronx.

As for the Big Unit, he could not have asked for much more. In 8 innings he struck out 6, gave up 4 hits while walking no one. Later, Joe Torre would say, "That's the best I've seen him in the attack mode." And although he didn't reach the mid-90's all day, he had full command of the strike zone.

Unit's personal catcher, John Flaherty, said, "We feel good about the way he's going to finish up the year and tonight was the first step towards that."

Let's hope he keeps it up.

Saturday's game is starting as I write, so I'm going to end here.

One last note, the Yankees stole Matt Lawton from the Cubs for the lint in their pocket, He'll be a great addition to the outfield and the Daily News tells you all about it.

Unit Goes Tonight

2005-08-26T14:49:00.000-04:00

With the Yankees getting another strong start yesterday from Shawn Chacon, they now put Randy Johnson on the hill against the visit Kansas City Royals. Joe Torre states in Kristie Ackerd's Daily News article that he thinks the Big Unit is coming around:

"He has had two bad innings in the last two starts and the one bad inning (in a no-decision at Tampa Bay) was just a three-run home run," Torre said. "The (fourth inning) in Chicago was a bad inning, that (in Tampa Bay) was not a bad inning, just a bad pitch. I am just feeling that he is much closer than he ever has been (since being here) of being back on the dominant side."

Could it be? Or is Torre full of wishful thinking? It all depends on the Unit's back. If it's good to go, he'll be fine. If he's hurt, he's done. A pitcher can't shake off a bad back. Also keep in mind that tonight's start is against the Royals. A major league club, sure, but no true test. His goal tonight will be 7 good innings. That will be a step towards becoming dominant again.

Moose Rocked for 8 In the 5th

2005-08-25T00:53:00.000-04:00

Tonight both the Sultan and I were at Yankee Stadium along with a cast and crew of various other friends. I went to visit everyone in their seats during the 4th inning, and at the start of the 5th I turned to Sultan and said, "If it weren't for Tony Womack missing that ball from the first batter of the game, Mike Mussina would have a perfect game." Talk about jinxes. The Blue Jays went on to send 13 men to the plate and score 9 runs that inning, including 8 off Moose, for a final score of 9-5.

And it wasn't even that close. The five Yankee runs came off a Hideki Matsui 2-run double in the bottom of the 7th, and a three-run home run by the pinch hitting Bernie Williams in the 9th.

Truly, it was a rough day for Mussina and the Yanks, but everyone was pretty factual about it. Joe Torre calmly stated, "All of a sudden things started coming apart on him." A-Rod added, "You don't really see that very often. Moose has been so consistent for us...all you can do is come back tomorrow."

And Mussina's calmness was almost eerie. He broke down the game like he was hanging out with his buddies and talking about someone else. Objectively, Moose said, "I didn't warm up very well...it wasn't my best stuff...it's disappointing to have a game go like that." Yeah, no sh*t.

Moose then went on to recall other bad outings with a straggling group of reporters and he was curious what dates these bad outings happened...Like at the end of the season a couple years ago where he missed his last chance at career win number 200 before the end of the year...he reflected upon getting shelled that game like the memory was an old friend. How about getting mad over someone bringing that up, like every other player would? Seriously, get pissed off, Mike!

Anyway, the Yankees turn it around quickly with a 1:05 afternoon game against the Jays as Shawn Chacon takes on the young and talented Gustavo Chacin. Boston lost in extra innings tonight keeping their lead in the AL East at 3.5.

Escalona Tackles Jays

2005-08-24T00:53:00.000-04:00

There was a huddle of reporters around one of the TVs in the radio press room as Hideki Matsui had fallen behind 0-2 to Blue Jays' closer, Miguel Batista. Howie, an old timer who is also one of 2 or 3 regular Official Scorers at the Stadium, was already making his usual sarcastic comments about the Yanks blowing a game they should have won. Peter Schwartz of ESPN radio was in the corner finishing his audio wrap of the game before it really ended -- and he'd already rewritten in once. WFUV's big-boobed college reporter was taping her mini-disc player back together, hurrying as the end of the game seemed near.

All this came before Matsui stood in and drilled a 2-strike pitch out to right, rallying the Yankees from a one-run deficit for the 3rd time that night.

And soon, little-used Felix Escalona would knock in the winning run and the Yankees were mobbing each other on the field.

As we marched through the dining room, past the writers' desks and into the hall next to the locker room, I made fun of Schwartz who turned his standard, stuffy 9th inning update into an excited play-by-play as the Yankees won. Something like: "We're here at the Stadium in the bottom of the 9th and the Yankees have just tied the game on a Hideki Matsui home run and are now trying to win the game as they have the bases loaded...and it's a liner back up the middle and the Yankees have now won on a Felix Escalona base hit!!!!..."

Watching the Yanks file out of the dugout and into the locker room was quite a sight. A-Rod was whooping. So was Louie Sojo. Jeter turned to the press and smiled while Suzyn Waldman scrambled to grab Escalona and get a couple of words in English out of him. From inside the locker room you could hear someone who was likely Sojo yell, "What a win!"

The press hung back and awaited our first post-game interview of the evening. A crowded session with Joe Torre in the manager's office. A few minutes passed. Then a few more. Finally, Yankee PR guru, Ric Cerrone, opened the door and we flooded in.

And it hit you right away...the smell of victory was in Joe's office. Yes, immediately following the Yankees' dramatic 5-4 win over the Toronto Blue Jays, Joe Torre's office reeked of cigar smoke. The ash tray on his desk was full of ashes...the unmistakable scent was in the air...but there was no stoagie to be seen. Weird. Yet, regardless of what the man did to dispose of his victory cigar, he earned it.

The manager, and his players, were all on cloud nine.

Joe's desk had pitching match ups and unsmoked cigars on it. He talked about the fight in his team, complimented Al Leiter for his gutty pitching performance and even praised Tanyon Sturtze for getting out of a bases loaded jam. What Joe failed to mention in that situation was that Sturtze gave up the go-ahead run and loaded those bases himself. But it didn't matter. The man was on cloud 9.

Then, after trudging through the sea of reporters and into the locker room, I found myself face-to-face with the man of the moment, Felix Escalona. I got enough English out of him to air on the radio -- something about how he felt "Amazing."

Then it was Al Leiter who got mobbed while only wearing a towel. He threw on a shirt and did his 15 minutes of Q&A with the press. He called the game "A total team effort."

Mariano Rivera said just about the same thing while his three sons made those strange sounds 4 through 8 year-old boys make while playing games with imaginary objects. He also spoke to giving up the go-ahead run to the Jay's in the ninth and called it "Just one of those things." And it was, because no one hit him hard and the run against him should have really been an error charged to Jeter.

As the press looked around and tried to figure out who to interview next, I looked at some of the players. A-Rod stood in the doorway to locker room waiting for Tino to finish up with the YES Network...I guess they were grabbing a late dinner. Tanyon Strurtze told Shawn Chacon that he was 'hooked up' and then Sturtze mentioned he wasn't sure where to look for something. Now, I have no idea what that was about, but I have used such vague terminology myself in mixed company.

Despite knocking in two runs, Bernie Williams ducked his head down and ran away from the press. He's still not really comfortable with the media after 15 years.

And that left Captain Derek. He hung about casually and let the press take their turn asking questions. Some nights he doesn't want to talk, other nights he does. Tonight he looked like he was hoping for more questions even when the press stopped asking. He did have the most head-on-his-shoulders answer of the night when he said: "30-something games left now, so we need to take it one day at a time."

Very true. The Yanks are on the home stretch, but there is still plenty of ball left to play.

At that point it was late and I was ready to go. I climbed the steps, saw Jason Giambi waving to fans by the parking lot, and marched around the Stadium to the D train entrance.

Food For Thought

2005-08-23T14:45:00.000-04:00

With a couple quality starts from Jaret Wright -- plus Shawn Chacon and Mike Mussina pitching well -- the Yankees are breathing a little easier about their starting pitching. Here's another little tidbit by Kristie Ackert in the Daily News to keep things interesting:

Chien-Ming Wang, the 25-year-old righthander who is rehabbing a shoulder injury, felt fine a day after throwing two innings of batting practice and is expected to throw again Thursday.

Wang, who has been the most consistent Yankee starter this year, would be a dream come true for the Bombers. His potential return would push Al Leiter to the bullpen leaving Randy Johnson as the major question mark in the starting rotation...that is if Jaret Wright can keep it going...and if Wang pitches well in his come-back...Food for thought as the Yankees fight for the playoffs...

Giambi-gate

2005-08-22T23:40:00.000-04:00

More to come on Jaret Wright's great pitching, the Yankees' win, and the state of the team...but consider this until tomorrow: Jason Giambi had one hit in his past 11 games until tonight when he went 2-3. That's one hit in 28 at-bats. He played first base tonight, but, in those previous 11 games, he was the DH 7 times. And he got his one hit in those 28 at-bats as the team's first baseman. Is their a link?

If you recall, I spent the early part of the year campaigning for Giambi as the every day first baseman. He hits better when he plays in the field. Can't tell you why, it's just the way it is. So, he becomes the every day first baseman and goes on to win July player of the month in the AL. Any correlation between playing the field and hitting?

I'll be sure to ask Joe tomorrow night...unless Giambi goes 0-4 with 3 Ks while playing first...

The Sultan's Soothsay-what?!

2005-08-22T16:38:00.000-04:00

The following prediction is, in no way, endorsed by Commish or Major League Baseball, information from the future is provided for entertainment purposes only, and neither Yankees Blog nor any of its content providers shall be liable for any actions taken in reliance thereon. I tell you this, the surprise spoiler team of the American League, and the biggest ally of the Yankees until the postseason, is... the Detroit Tigers. You heard it here, now go wager your kids' tuition on it. And buy my new children's book, 'Jorge Finds His Chin,' which is competing on the NY Times best-seller list with Manny's self-help book 'Tantrum to Attention: How to Win Fans, if Not Your Mama.'

Big Unit Roughed up for 6 Runs in the 4th

2005-08-22T12:51:00.000-04:00

It only took one inning to spoil a dominant weekend series for the New York Yankees' starting rotation against the AL's best team. Yesterday, Randy Johnson cruised to a complete game against the Chicago White Sox, but was touched up for 6 runs in the 4th inning on the strength of 4 homers. Tadahito Iguchi, Aaron Rowand and Paul Konerko went back-to-back-to-back on the Big Unit and then ex-Yank, Chris Widger, took him deep for a 3-run shot. And that was it. Johnson shut down the White Sox the rest of the way, but Jose Contreras was too much against the Yankee hitters and the Bombers fell 6-2.

The Big Unit's final line is one of the more peculiar ones you'll ever see. His numbers are: 8 innings, 6 earned runs, 10 hits, and 8 strike outs. But, if you remove the 4th, Johnson pitched 7 innings giving up 0 runs on 4 hits. And all this on 117 pitches. Perplexing. After the game John Harper of the Daily News caught up with Randy Johnson who couldn't explain it: "Have you guys ever seen anything like it?" And our unofficial mascot, Sam Borden of the Daily News, also catches the Unit's frustration:

"I was cruising along and then in the fourth inning all hell broke loose," Johnson said. "I felt great. I don't have an explanation for it."

Truly, it is a strange thing. If Johnson got tagged sporadically throughout the game, you could walk away saying that he's old, his back is shot, and the Yankees were suckers for signing him for three years at the age of 41. And while that is true to a certain extent, health did not seemingly play a factor in the poor results. His fastball was lively and Johnson's catcher, John Flarhety, even talked about how much fun he was having catching Randy.

A shame. You would think that Johnson and the Yanks deserved a better outcome.

Coupled with a Red Sox victory, the Yankees have now fallen to 4 games out of first. The season will still come down to the 6 remaining games between the two teams, but the Yankees are only making things tougher on themselves. They need Randy Johnson to not give up 4 home runs in one inning. The margin for error is too small.

So, the Yankees are now back home to take on the Toronto Blue Jays in the Bronx at 7:05. Jaret Wright will face on Scott Downs...ESPN.com gives the preview.

Yanks Go For Sweep In Windy City

2005-08-21T14:51:00.000-04:00

The Yankees and White Sox are about to throw the first pitch of their series finale as I start writing today. In the first two games, tempers have flared, the Yankees' pitching staff has been excellent, and New York has walked away with both games. Yesterday it was Shwan Chacon on the hill for the Yanks against our ol' buddy, El Duque.

It was a testy afternoon as El Duque threw behind A-Rod during the Yankee third baseman's first at-bat and both benches got a warning. Later Joe Torre called the pitch intentional. Then, A.J. Pierzynski added fuel to the fire by throwing a slight elbow at Shawn Chacon as the pitcher covered first. Both players got into some jawing, and we officially have a grudge match today.

Now, in the midst of a 7-game losing streak, it appears to be the White Sox who initiated this tension -- it is only natural to vent frustration. Intelligently, the Yankees didn't retaliate in either situation, but rather, let their play speak for them. In A-Rod's case, he hit a 2-run double in his next at-bat, and Chacon walked away from trouble knowing that his team held a 5-0 lead through 8 innings. Pierzynski was the last batter Chacon would face that day, a 5-run lead was enough of a statement. Felix Rodriguez went on to pitch a scoreless ninth and 5-0 was the final margin.

Right now I'd run through the papers, but they'll all be outdated soon because today's game is now underway. The one article I'll point to is Mike Lupica's page in the Daily News, which once again starts calling for Joe Torre's head. Now, this is Lupica's second feature in three days talking about how Joe should be fired if the Yanks can't get it done this year. He doesn't even want to hear the starting pitching excuse...the Yankees should be better, Lupica thinks:

The Yankees have plenty of time to make up a handful of games on the Red Sox. But I believe that even with what has happened with their pitching, they should be ahead of the Red Sox already. It is why the way they have played through the first three-quarters of the season is on all of them. That includes the manager, because it has to, because you can't get as much credit as Torre has gotten over the years without taking some of the responsibility when it's not 1998.

I'm not sure if Lupica is on George Steinbrenner's payroll, but he seems set on getting Joe Torre canned. Maybe Lupica's head was flushed in the toilet too many times as a kid, but trying to throw your two cents in to get someone fired is just sad. I wonder how much ass-kissing Lupica will do on Joe when the Yanks win the AL East.

Alright, time to watch the game as Randy Johnson takes on Jose Contreras. To update you, I'll be at Yankee Stadium starting Tuesday for this home stand. 'Til tomorrow.

Yanks Stretch Run

2005-08-19T13:05:00.000-04:00

Yesterday the Yankees had a travel day to line up the opening of their weekend series in Chicago against the White Sox starting tonight. The travel day allows for columnists to write their reflective pieces about where the Yanks are in the standings...and after dropping two in a row they should have won against the Devil Rays, those articles sound angry and desperate, like a scorned lover.

Well, maybe the woman won't come back, but it's too early to start getting desperate.

As much as the media's been in a panic all season about the state of the Yankees, it's safe to say there's still time. Check it out on ESPN.com, they are only 4 games behind the Red Sox with 43 to go. 43...that's a lot of baseball. And as many of us know, there are 6 games left against the Red Sox. Those games will likely decide the season -- ain't nothing settled yet. For those who are worried about the Yankees playing the White Sox this weekend, the Red Sox are on the road in LA during that time. No easy task for either team.

Now, let's take a look at one of our favorite columnists, who is clearly shaken by the Yankees' struggles. Mike Lupica. He writes in the Daily News today about how Joe Torre might be fired if the Yankees don't make the post-season. Sure, that might happen, but let's cross that bridge when we get there, Mike. There's lots of baseball left, and while Joe has made some bad pitching changes of late, let's see how he steers the ship the rest of the way. He's earned enough credit to clear him for now. Plus, how can you question going to Mariano Rivera the past couple of weeks only to see Mo melt down three times? Although Torre has lost the magic touch he seemed to always have when Don Zimmer was around as the bench coach, he's still working that locker room like no one else. Do you know how hard it is to get a bunch of high-priced free agents to play together? Look at the NY Rangers. Look at some of the older Yankee teams. All-star teams rarely come together, particularly in the face of adversity. Joe's been making that happen this season.

Mike Lupica writes about the potential of Torre getting canned:

Everyone will say that Torre will never be fired as Yankee manager, that Steinbrenner never got over the backlash from when he got rid of Buck Showalter after the '95 division series loss to the Mariners. Everyone will say that Steinbrenner would never fire the most popular manager in the history of the team, a manager whose success at Yankee Stadium is now properly discussed with Miller Huggins' and Joe McCarthy's and Casey Stengel's. People will say he especially won't do this at a time when he, the owner, is so desperate to be loved, even as he carries on this charade that he is as dynamic and forceful as ever.

I'm not so sure. Neither are smart people around the team. They still think Torre will be back, no matter what happens. They're just not nearly as sure as they once were.

Lupica makes a couple good points here. 1) The Boss would be fighting a major PR battle if he cans Torre. 2) There is, in fact, a vibe that Torre may be gone. And that's too bad. It's not like an athlete getting too old to play. Joe is still able to manage. Even if he goes through a rough patch, you're not gonna find a better fit for this team.

But before we discuss this too much, let's see what happens...

On The Media, Part 2

2005-08-17T12:03:00.000-04:00

In the spirit of looking at media sensationalism, I want to talk about another article that a friend sent me a couple of days ago. This article is Bob Raissman's Tuning-In feature in the Daily News -- a regular column on the media's coverage of New York sports. In this particular edition, Raissman brings up a conspiracy theory about Kim Jones of the YES Network being a Patsy for George Steinbrenner's questions to Joe Torre. Raissman writes:

Jones has been on the hot seat for an entire season. Spies say she has been stressed out over being force-fed questions she knows are going to irritate Torre.

Let's address the second part of that first. Yes, Joe Torre is clearly irritated by Kim Jones' questions -- more so than other reporters...in fact, it's funny to watch his voice patterns on my digital editing software when he answers Jones. They are much more bunched together than with any other reporter, suggesting abrupt and rushed answers…While Torre's attitude may have something to do with Jones' specific questions, it is the general consensus that Torre just doesn't respect Jones. Perhaps part of this is because she's a woman in sports reporting, but more to the point, it is clear Kim does not really know her baseball. Jones’ background is in football, yet she was hired to be a pretty face for YES. There is a common belief that if there were any justice, WFAN's Sweeny Murti should have gotten Kim's job after filling in for Suzyn Waldman several times last year. Murti is part of the absolute inner circle of Yankee press coverage, and knows both the team and baseball inside and out. Jones does not.

Now, is she being force-fed questions? Maybe. I don't see Jones until the end of the games when reporters gather for the final couple of outs outside of Joe Torre's office and await the interview session. However, I can tell you one thing. She is never sure if she's about to ask Joe Torre the right question. Most of the time we are waiting to go in to Joe's office, Kim is bouncing questions off of all the other reporters there -- particularly Sweeny and ESPN radio's Peter Schwartz -- to see if they are good ones. Why does she do this? My best guess is that she knows Torre does not respect her, and is fearful of asking the wrong questions.

Raissman finds a source from inside to support his own claims:

"This really was no big deal when the team was winning," the Yankee source said. "But now that they are fighting to make it to the playoffs, Joe has the feeling he is being set up. He's looking for certain questions that are coming down from the top."

Perhaps this is true, but again, I think Raissman is trying to create a story out of very little. Later he comes closer to the real meat of the issue:

But this is what happens when YES hires reporters who have limited knowledge of baseball. Torre recognizes this. That's why when Newman or Jones go into the lion's den they do so without benefit of a chair or whip.

While Jones may do some reporting for the Boss, I really don't think that A) George spends every game coming up with questions, and B) that this is the source of Torre's annoyance with Jones. In reality, Torre just doesn't like her, yet Raissman uses that knowledge to create a story the way the Inquirer does. The only difference is that people believe what they read in the Daily News.

Torre may be facing a rough off-season if the Yanks miss the playoffs, but don't believe there is an entire p.r. campaign against him. If the Yanks turn it on down the stretch you can wipe you butt with Raissman’s trash in October.

BloFly69/Ieat Discuss Loss

2005-08-16T22:37:00.000-04:00

I just had a back and forth with my friend, ieatpoopandpee (yes, his screen name...father of two children...) about the game. It sums up my thoughts on this rough loss. While I defend Joe Torre in general, he screwed up big time tonight by intentionally loading the bases with Scott Proctor on the hill...Proctor went on to walk in the winning run for the D-Rays in the 11th inning for a 4-3 final. It should also be noted that Proctor has been shuttled back and forth to Columbus because he is notorious for missing the zone. Why load the bases for him with the game on the line?

Our dialogue starts after Mariano blows the save in the 9th.

BloFly69: Fuck.

ieatpoopandpee: yeah

ieatpoopandpee: perez

ieatpoopandpee: Randy should not have pitched to him 3 - 0 after the last time he took him yard 2X

BloFly69: Was in the shower for that. He took another one out?

ieatpoopandpee: what the fuck? Proctor has control problems so they intentionally load the fucking bases. so stupid. I was yelling when they started the IBB

ieatpoopandpee: plusa we should have had 4. the call at the plate agasinst us was so obviously blown

BloFly69: Yeah, that was dumb. Even Michael Kaye called that.

BloFly69: That is the worst way to lose a game, no question.

ieatpoopandpee: fucksing stupid

ieatpoopandpee: torre's made some bad decisions the past coupla weeks

ieatpoopandpee: I dont think his job can be too secure if we miss the playoffs

BloFly69: Well, he's lost some mojo since Zim split, but how can you question a guy who has no real pitching staff.

BloFly69: And who goes with Mo to close a game.

ieatpoopandpee: I'm not questioning him in the way Sox fans question FArn-coma. I more or less implying that if I'm angry at one or 2 calls he's made, then the Boss is likely seething, and the comments he's made the past few weeks make me think the heats off Mel and Cash and back on Joe.

ieatpoopandpee: and staff or no staff, that was sumb tonight

ieatpoopandpee: dumb

BloFly69: This last one, yes. Proctor was demoted for not being able to hit the strike zone several times.

ieatpoopandpee: and a few weeks ago he turned to the scrubs in the pen b/c he didn't want to over work tangormo. then all of a sudden he's taking starters out after 5 and 6 quality innings only to have the pen blow large leads and forcing him to bring in the late inning guys

BloFly69: The starters are running high pitch counts. He has to take them out...and with the Unit he has a pitcher whose back is shot.

BloFly69: He's not working with gold here.

ieatpoopandpee: I'm more thinking back to Chacon earlier, and proctor's start (took him out after 75 pitches)

ieatpoopandpee: that's my point

BloFly69: True. But no matter what happens in these games the Yankees just have to keep it within 5 until September. Then they have 6 left with Boston.

BloFly69: They had won 5 in a row until tonight.

ieatpoopandpee: yeah. until it goes over 6, then you can at least say they have
their fate in their own hands

BloFly69: Check it:

BloFly69: Women shopping at various stores in Osceola County,
Fla., reported that they found notes stuck into their doors (or, if the
door was unlocked, on their car seats) that told them to undress. "If
you fail to listen to me I will get you. I know you are here all the
time.... I'm watching you... you will be so sorry," the note warned, if
they failed to comply. None of the women were dumb enough to disrobe
for the unseen man. After multiple cases over five years, sheriff
deputies staked out several parking lots and arrested Nicholas Lee
Koger, 27, charging him with six felony counts of written threats to
kill or do bodily injury.

ieatpoopandpee: NIcholas Lee Koger... right... or should I say 'COMMISH"!!!!!

BloFly69: Man, listen. I just check out the webcam I've got setup in the ladies room
at work.

On The Media, Part 1

2005-08-15T20:38:00.000-04:00

Last week a friend at work handed me a copy of New York Magazine's article on Gary Sheffield by Stephen Rodrick. Although I had read reviews on it, I had yet to see the story. The five-page article covers a whole array of subjects involving Sheffield, baseball, and how he is perceived by the media.

As I read it, one thought kept going through my mind: 'Gary Sheffield should never do in-depth interviews.' Why? Because you get what Rodrick spewed out -- an over-the-top projection of Sheffield's character. So, what follows is my review of the article. There is a ton of food for thought.

Now, the best way to address this article is one piece at a time. Let's start with a quote from Sheffield about the media:

I know this. The people don't know. Why? The media don't want them to know. They want to promote two players in a positive light, and everyone else is garbage.

There is a little truth to this. It seems Jeter and A-Rod get more attention than Sheff does in the Yankee locker room. However, this is not an intentional promotion of the Yankee shortstop and third baseman over Sheffield, like he suggests. Instead, it's a reflection of the media's fear of Gary.

Later in the article, Rodrick reveals Sheff doesn't see enough soul in the media:

While Sheffield admits he's made mistakes, he blames the largely white press for painting a negative picture of him. "It happens because you're white and I'm black," says Sheffield. "My interpretation of things is different. You don't see it the way I see it. You write how you understand it, how you would articulate it, not how I, as a black man, would articulate it. Why do you think Latin players don't like to talk to you guys?

Now, the fact is every single beat writer is white. But for the most part, the press seems to be doing the same thing to every player out there. To throw the race card at the media like that is absurd. Everyone gets asked the same questions. Why? Because the standard crap rolls off of every media members's tongue like they're hypnotized. "What pitch were you looking for in that situation?" "How does it feel to comeback and win in the ninth?" "Do you think Jason is back on the juice?"

It's all the same.

Also, to address Sheff's question at the end, most Latin players don't talk to the press because they don't speak English. Anything they can manage makes for a horrible quote anyway, so most members of the media don't bother. Why do you think there are hardly any Matsui quotes? Because the press hates waiting around for an interpreter to translate. The press wants quick and easy.

You see, no one talks to Randy Johnson because he decked a camera man on his way into the city. Similarly, people talk to Sheff less than A-Rod and Jeter b/c of lines like this. This doesn't mean A-Rod and Jeter like the press, they simply express that distaste by giving generic quotes all the time.

Which leads to another good Sheff quote:

"Tell me something," he says. "How come I talk to reporters, tell them the truth, but they treat me worse than the guys who say nothing?"

I honestly don't know. Must be because they're scared of you, Gary. It does make the press look particularly lame, though.

Let's check out another line from Gary:

"People say about me, 'He's moody,' but I don't see them in the same mood every day. Some days I feel like talking, some days I don't. Some days I don't feel like looking at you. I'm tired of looking at you. And I'm sure you're tired of looking at me. They're trying to catch me in a moment where I'm vulnerable. They're trying to do damage. I don't do damage to no one."

He's being honest... and paranoid. To address the first part, people get sick of each other. That happens over 162 games. But as for his bit about the media trying to do 'damage', he's just plain off. No one in the media sits there and thinks about how they are going to rip Gary apart. Most of them are thinking about how quickly they can get home, or what bar they are about to go to. There is no conspiracy. Trust me.

******************************************************************************

With all this said, Sheffield is my favorite Yank to interview for just the reason he talks about. Where A-Rod won't look at anyone who is talking to him, and Johnson just gives you the silent treatment, Sheff tends to be more direct. He looks you in the eye, respectfully responds to questions in a serious tone, and makes sure that he's fully answered you. I won't speak to the early part of his career, but he's perfectly cool these days...what else would you expect from a man who picks Shaft as his theme music.

*************************************************************************

Let's move more into Rodrick's spin on this story. He tries to make Sheff seem like the Yanks' best player, hands down, and winds up sounding like a jackass. Check out these nuggets of journalism:

In a season in which the Yankees have floundered like never before in the Joe Torre era, Sheffield has easily been the team's most consistent player. Where A-Rod, Jeter, and even the once-automatic Mariano Rivera have hit rough patches this season, Sheffield has been blessedly reliable.

Truth be told, Sheffield would probably have won the MVP last year if he wasn't largely despised by the beat writers who vote.

In the first statement there is a slice of truth that A-Rod (briefly at the start of the year) has not been as consistent as Sheff. However, Mo' might be a Cy Young-winner and will get MVP votes, too. Unless you're counting the first two games of the year, Mo' has been almost untouchable. Dominant. I won't even justify more words on the subject. Rodrick went over the top to spin the article his way.

As for the second statement, let's remember who did win MVP last year. If you'll recall, Vlad Guerrero had superior numbers in every offensive catagory and almost single-handedly propelled the Angels into the playoffs. Vlad deserved that award, and Manny and Ortiz were right there, too. It wasn't the media's hatred that cost Sheff the MVP, it was Vlad. In fact, the media may have helped Sheff who got votes that they refused to give to two members of the same team (Manny and Ortiz).

Rodrick's article carries this exaggerated tone thoughout, and makes any sensible reader cringe. But it is drivel like this that seeps into the mind of a casual baseball fan. Sheffield was right to think that there ARE members of the media who want to portray him in a certain light -- like Rodrick. It's no wonder that he was angry about the story as it was later reported by the NY Post's George King.

**********************************************************************

Sheff seems to resent what the media writes about him, but can't stop himself from saying the wrong thing -- like the famous quote from this article where he says: "I know who the leader is on the team."

It seems to me that he didn't think before speaking. If he gave it some good thought, he might talk about how the Yankees jump on the shoulders of the 2 or 3 players who are hot and coast from there. But he said too much in the heat of the moment and got eaten up in the press. For this reason, Sheff should stick to talking about what happened in a game and leave well enough alone.

Texas Swept Out of the Bronx

2005-08-15T12:01:00.000-04:00

Glad to be back in NYC after a long weekend away for Newport's Jazzfest. There was lots of sun, lots of great music, and lots of late-night madness on the streets of Newport...Be sure to ask Sultan about his glasses sometime...

Anyway, by now you should know that the Yankees finished off a 4-game sweep of the Texas Rangers with a 10-3 win yesterday in the rain-soaked Bronx. I won't attempt a recap as I was listening to the game while watching a spectacular lightning display from Route 95, however, here's the most important part of yesterday's game: Shawn Chacon is becoming THE MAN. Perhaps the Colorado air prevented him from becoming an All-Star. Perhaps he is just on a hot streak. But either way he is the Yankees' best pitcher right now and they are lucky to have him.

Chacon's numbers yesterday were 5 innings pitched, 3 earned runs and 5 strike outs in a rain delay-shortened outing. Not his best performance in pinstripes, but not bad against Texas. Here's Matt Marrone telling you all about it in the Daily News.

And tonight we see Jaret Wright's first start in months. He's been down with chronic shoulder pain, but after a single-A rehab start where he threw over 100 pitches, the Yankees have cleared him to start tonight. Questions swirl around Wright and his durability. Lisa Olsen in the Daily News notes that Wright has had two major arm surgeries and 7 trips to the DL since 1999. Doesn't seem like a smart pick-up in retrospect -- or at the time, even -- yet, he is a Yankee. Unfortunately, the size of his contract dictates a spot on the roster. But how Joe Torre uses him depends on his performance -- ie. he will have a short leash during the playoff push and we may see him out of the rotation very quickly.

With Wright's return, the surprisingly good Aaron Small gets bumped out of the rotation...for now. But this won't be the end of Small. Small will likely see more time as a starter as Randy Johnson will be troubled by a bad back for the rest of the season. Add to that the possibility of either Wright and Johnson winding up in the pen to relieve stress off their injured body parts (yes, Randy Johnson), and Small should be back starting very soon.

So, the Yanks are in Tampa tonight. Jaret Wright will take on Casey Fossum -- check out ESPN.com's preview.

Also, check in later today for commentary on recent Yankee media coverage.

Mo Gets Redemption, Saves Yanks' Pen

2005-08-12T10:16:00.000-04:00

This one has to be short and sweet. I've got to hit the road in a few minutes for R.I. to go to the Newport Jazz Festival. That also means you probably won't hear from me until Monday.

Anyway, Scott Proctor pitched well in place of the injured Randy Johnson, but the Yankees' bullpen was horrible and blew another lead -- this time against the visiting Texas Rangers. It took great late-inning heroics from Mariano Rivera to stop the bleeding in the 8th and 9th innings -- and a home run by Captain Jeter -- to seal the deal. The final was 9-8 in a win that was necessary, but hardly reassuring to those who watched the middle relief struggle.

Here's Sam Borden's write-up in the Daily News.

Catch y'all after the weekend.

-Commish

White Sox Give Red Sox 5.5 Lead

2005-08-11T10:03:00.000-04:00

The Yankees just can't catch a break. Everyone will blame Bernie Williams for this loss because there has to be a scape goat, but the fact of the matter is that the Yankees just plain lost. It was Juan Uribe's drive to center field off Mariano Rivera in the top of the 10th inning that set up Chicago's go-ahead run for a 2-1 final. Bernie's a little slower and couldn't get there. Mo' gave up the run. The Yanks lost and now sit 5.5 back.

Frankly, I'm depressed about it. The Yankees even got the pitching during this series, but only walked away with one win. Here are the starters' lines during these 3 games:

Mussina: 6 innings, 2 ER, 7 strikeouts.

Chacon: 7 innings, 1ER, 4 strikeouts.

Small: 7 innings, 1 ER, 7 strikeouts.

Mussina won that first game, and while Chacon and Small put in slightly better efforts, they lost. By now Chacon deserves a win after 3 brilliant starts. And Small deserves to stay in the rotation. Chacon will eventually win, but it looks like Jaret Wright will push Small to the bullpen (so says our ol' buddy Sam Borden from the Daily News).

The Yankees are now up against it. They've got Oakland and Chicago coming up on the road. Starting tonight they have 4 games with Texas at the Stadium. They don't need close games, they need wins.

The Sultan's Sentence

2005-08-10T19:43:00.000-04:00

As I sat in the upper deck at last night's game, and watched Dipshit leap into the netting, I recalled a flight I took out of LaGuardia several years ago... It was winter, and our plane was delayed about five hours. When we finally taxied out to the runway, some college prick, who spent those five hours getting hammered, vomited all over the lady next to him (the row in front of me, smelled great). Consequently, we were forced to turn the plane around, remove him, and wait another 2 hours for takeoff. My point is, Dipshit, if you have to act like a fucking moron, at least do it when there isn't a man on second with one out, down a run in the eighth inning. Next time, jump over the other side of the upper deck; kill yourself, not the Yanks' rally.

Fan Falls, Yanks Lose. Part 2

2005-08-10T10:06:00.000-04:00

So, Scott Harper from Westchester did it to get attention...and man, did he get attention. Covers of the NY Post and Newsday. Plus, the back cover of the Daily News...

If you missed it, last night's 2-1 White Sox victory over the Yankees was overshadowed by Scott Harper, who jumped from the upper deck of Yankee Stadium into the netting behind home plate. It happened during a Derek Jeter sacrifice bunt in the 8th inning. Turns out he did it on a dare and he managed to stop the game for 5 minutes.

At first, I saw the netting ripple from the press box where it seemed like a few fans could have just reached out and been shaking it. But then everything stopped and there was this kid sitting on the netting.

We all stood in the press box, looking down at the action...everyone in the stadium -- including the players -- were also standing, doing the same. And this kid just sat there, holding his head and looking confused. Immediately, debate raged as to what happened. Sweeney Murti from WFAN guessed that he just tripped over the low rail. So did Howard from the Bronx News. Not me. I've sat up in those seats before and never came close to falling. There was one answer: "the kid is wasted."

And one look on the YES monitor in our booth confirmed it. Underneath the shocked expression were those glazed eyes...those all-too-familiar glazed eyes that say "The fat chick at the bar looks hot." Yes, the kid was wasted. Reports by Evan Grossman in the NY Post say the same. And so does a woman in my office who's daughter went to school with Harper and his friends. Apparently these kids are always wasted. While his buddy, Mike Spadafino, deals weed (who didn't in high school?), all of them have a track record of doing dumb stuff.

So, Harper sat there. Then he started backing up, and that's when it got scary because the kid had ripped a hole in the netting and then tumbled forward. In his haze he started to back up, unaware of the hole. Finally, after 53,000 people told him to watch out for over a minute, he noticed the hole and climbed back to the seats at the edge of the net to safety.

This same thing happened in 2000 at a Yankees/Red Sox afternoon game. I was sitting in the bleachers and looked up to see a dude passed out in the net. The situation was about the same except that guy fell on his own. And, in that case, the Yankees and Red Sox didn't stop play for him.

For the rest of the game I ran around the basement of Yankee Stadium trying to get an interview with the kid. My buddies in security were trying to pass word on his location, but it was to no avail. They kept Harper hidden away until well after the game at which point the cameraman from the Post was the only one able to stick around to get photos. The rest of us had jobs to do and I had to get quotes from Joe Torre and the players.

No one really had much to say about it. Joe Torre said: "I'm just glad he was able to walk out." George Steinbrenner quipped, "That was the only exciting thing that happened today," and Derek Jeter claimed he was in the dugout and missed the whole thing...which is clearly a lie because it happened as he ran to first base. My best guess? Jeter didn't want to give the kid any more attention.

So, when all is said and done, the Yanks played well but lost. Yankee starter Shawn Chacon was "proud" of his start, but wished the team could have won. White Sox starter, Jose Contreras, got revenge on his old team for one night and now the two teams play the rubber game of the series this afternoon. Aaron Small will take on Freddy Garcia at 1:05. ESPN.com has the preview.

Contreras Tops Chacon, Fan Falls, Yanks Lose

2005-08-10T01:19:00.000-04:00

It's late and I gotta sleep...and look at some porn. So here's the write up I just sent to the Morning Show at my station. I'll update this tomorrow before noon, but this bland review should keep you cool 'til then.

Tonight is was another pitchers' duel in the Bronx as
the visiting Chicago White Sox defeated the Yankees by
a score of 2-1. Ex-Yankee, Jose Contreras, started
for the White Sox and shut out his former team for 7
innings. As for the Yankees, they sent newly acquired
Shawn Chacon to the mound and he did not disappoint by
giving up only one run in 7.

The game came down to the bullpens, where Ex-Red Sox,
Alan Embree, gave up a home run in the top of the
ninth pushing the Yankee deficit to 2-0. Alex
Rodriguez then homered to lead off the bottom of the
ninth, but with runners on first and third, Bernie
Williams lined out to end the game.

Perhaps the most exciting moment came in the 8th
inning when a fan fell from the upper deck into the
netting behind home plate. As he sat in shock, the
entire stadium tried to point to a hole in the netting
that his body had ripped so that he would avoid it.
After gathering his wits, he marched back up the
netting to the second level of seats where he was
brought in by security...despite my best efforts
(including getting tossed out of one area where this
fan would be escorted) I could not land an interview
with the guy...

2005-08-09T12:12:00.000-04:00

I thought we lost the world's greatest fan chant with Game 7 of the ALCS last year, but no, it's back--and mark my words--back with a vengeance come the final regular season series against Boston, when Alan "1918" Embree takes the hill. Look for him to win some love in the Bronx tonight.

Moose Out-Duels El Duque

2005-08-09T11:08:00.000-04:00

It was in the air last night. El Duque on the mound, the Yanks playing the league-leading White Sox...The game felt like a playoff game and it came with tons of anticipation in front of 54,871 at a packed Monday night game in the Bronx. Mike Mussina had the weight of the world on him to deliver a solid pitching performance, and he did. Moose went 6 innings giving up only two runs and punctuated his outing with a gutsy strike out of Jermaine Dye with runners on 2nd and 3rd to end the 6th. His effort was enough as Tanyon Sturtze, Tom Gordon, and Mariano Rivera held the line for a 3-2 victory.

The Yankee offense came early as Alex Rodriguez hit his league-leading 32nd home run in the first inning, and Tino Martinez scored on a Derek Jeter ground out in the second. And that was it. The Yankees won a classic game the old fashioned way and as A-Rod said later in John Harper's Daily News article: "It's important for us, for our psyches, to be able to win games like this. Especially down the stretch."

And once more, we saw the stat that is constantly put out there by the media: the Yankees had won one game in which they have scored three or fewer runs going into last night. Now they've won two. It's a dumb stat because you're blaming the Yankees for scoring as many runs as they do -- thus lowering their chance at winning games with only three runs.

Still, there's a point to what the media says here, but they don't need a lame stat to prove it: the Yankees aren't winning pitchers' duels. Last night Moose did just that. Nice change of pace.

And what else can you say about Mariano. He's the man! For every fan that questioned him after game number two this year, you owe the man a subscription to Penthouse, Cheri, 40 Plus or anything else you can think of...Perfect for a man who wants to be a minister when he retires.

Evan Grossman writes about A-Rod putting up huge numbers this year in his NY Post article. A-Rod has 32 homers for the year, should break Graig Nettles' record for homers by a Yankee third baseman (37), and is in solid standing for MVP (and could soon be joined in that race by teammate, Jason Giambi). And to field everyone's favorite complaint about him, he's now hitting IMPORTANT home runs...like yesterday's.

I was just on Instant Message with Sultan and he's telling me he's got a good feeling about the Yankees' bullpen down the stretch. So do I. Tanyon Sturtze and Tom Gordon went through a rough patch, but should be alright. Alan Embree looks to be settling down after a great road trip...and Felix Rodriguez has done alright, too. If any of these four falter, there should be plenty of live arms to pick up the slack. And, of course, there's Super-Mo to take care of the every 9th inning. If you don't trust me, just ask Joel Sherman in the NY Post.

And so we have round two of Yankees/White Sox tonight in the Bronx at 7:05. Shawn Chacon tries to continue his great transition into Pinstripes against ex-Yank Jose Contreras. Sultan and I will both be on hand to give you the low-down.

Pitching Down the Stretch

2005-08-08T12:36:00.000-04:00

As you know by now, the Yanks knocked off the Bluejays 6-2 last night to take two of three from their neighbors to the North. Al Leiter was all over the place, but did the job as he went 5.2 innings without giving up a run. He got plenty of help early as A-Rod (3-4 with a home run) and Jason Giambi (2-3 with 2 RBIs) paced the Yankee offense.

So, combine 2 of 3 with a 1 and 2 trip through Cleveland and the Bombers went .500 on the road. Not bad, but here we are now on the stretch run of the season and ALL games matter. Particularly with the Red Sox still up 3.5 games and the league-leading White Sox coming to town, .500 ain't gonna get it done.

Now, the aforementioned White Sox roll into the Stadium tonight with a couple of Cuban ex-Yanks taking the hill. El Duque goes tonight and Jose Contreras starts tomorrow. Sam Borden does a preview in today's Daily News where he catches a great quote from Mel Stottlemyre on El Duque: "He stays in great shape for his age - and I have no idea what that age is."

Borden, the most over-worked man in the written media, also writes about the Yankees' rotation in another Daily News article. The fact is, the Yanks are really up against it. They've got Moose. Maybe Chacon. That's it. Leiter seems to be an adventure every time out and Aaron Small, a career minor-leaguer, still has lots to prove. As of right now he is on a start-to-start basis with Joe Torre...Plus, Carl Pavano could very well be done for the year -- just check out another Borden article in the Daily News.

And, yes, I left Randy Johnson off the list of pitchers. Why? Because I honestly don't think he'll have much left to give by the end of the year. Perhaps he'll still be in the rotation, perhaps he won't. But I fear we have another Kevin Brown on out hands. The man's back is done -- he even admitted it to the press in Borden's 4th article in the Daily News today. (Seriously, it must be like sweat shop labor for this guy over at the News.) If Johnson actually talks to the press about his back, it must mean it's really screwed. Just two weeks ago, I saw him grab his lower back and limp away from his locker. I'm no doctor, but he had the same gimpy look as Kevin Brown had earlier this year. It would be nice to see the Unit turn things around during the last two months, but don't count on it.

A-Rod, Giambi Rally Yanks

2005-08-05T10:59:00.000-04:00

Last night it felt like the roof was about to cave in until more late-inning heroics saved the day. Losing 3-2 to the Indians heading into the 9th inning, the Yankees avoided a series sweep by blasting two solo shots off Cleveland closer, Bob Wickman. In the two previous games of this series, Wickman had come in and finished off the Yanks. Last night it was a different story as Alex Rodriguez and Jason Giambi sent solo shots into the stands and the Yankees salvaged the final game of this series. In the process, they also managed to keep within 4.5 games of the Red Sox in the AL East standings.

It was a game where the Yankees blew another brilliant start by newly-acquired Shawn Chacon, who gave up two earned runs in 6 innings -- but pitched even better than that. The first earned run against Chacon came in the 5th inning as both Jason Giambi and Hideki Matsui misplayed balls into hits, allowing Coco Crisp (Christ, what was his mom thinking?) to score. Then, after walking the leadoff batter in the 7th, Chacon was lifted for Alan Embree. Embree, who still seems to have the Red Sox's best interests in mind, walked Grady Sizemore and gave up a sacrifice bunt before getting removed in favor of Tom Gordon...Flash then managed to let both runs score and the Indians took a 3-2 lead, setting the stage for A-Rod and Giambi in the 9th. Effectively, Chacon could have gone 6 giving up NO runs. My man likes his Colorado liberation so far.

Meanwhile, following the two solo homers, Mariano Rivera came in and made yet another team his bitch. Mo' went 1-2-3 on the Indians, striking out Crisp on a high fastball to end the game. I was saying it last night: if the season ended today, Mo' gets Cy Young.

And speaking of awards, Robinson Cano is still looking at Rookie of the Year and, of course, A-Rod has a shot at MVP. However, a name my friend, Ayeet, threw out there last night was Giambi for MVP. It's a little early, but his suggestion forced me to look at his stats. Right now his average sits at .291 with 21 home runs. Those two numbers are starting to get into the league-leader area (his 21 home runs tie him for 9th in the AL). Additionally, he leads the league in OPS and OBP while placing 5th in slugging. But his numbers dip in one major category, RBIs. Giambi's RBI totals, at 49, are less than half of Manny's league-leading 100...this due to the fact he has about 100 to 180 fewer at bats than the rest of the league leaders. If Giambi keeps hitting like he has been, all the other numbers will be there...but he'll still be behind in RBIs. Yet, like Ayeet said to me, if he carries the Yanks into the playoffs that might be forgiven, and he may be looking at the ultimate redemption.

So, I'm away for part of this weekend. I may get a chance to blog on the next two games, but it is unlikely. The next post will probably be Sunday night. Have a good weekend, y'all...and enjoy the series in Toronto -- the North American home of SARS, our favorite chic-retro disease.

5th Inning Blues

2005-08-04T10:26:00.000-04:00

There was something about the 5th inning last night. For starters, my softball team was playing great until the 5th inning and then we lost our lead and dropped our first game of the year. Likewise, the Yankees and Mike Mussina had a 4-0 lead going into the 5th, but gave up 6 runs and ultimately fell 7-4. And again, like my softball team, the Yanks never got their mojo back after putting up some solid offense in the first few innings -- most notably a RBI double for Jason Giambi and a 2-run homer for Jorge Posada.

After the game Joe Torre said to the press, including Sam Borden in the Daily News, "I think (the fifth) just sort of shocked everybody."

With the loss the Yankees are 4.5 behind Boston. Not the end of the world, but these games are starting to mean more and the Yanks cannot afford to fall much further behind. I'm sure Michael Kaye was all worked up that the Yankees lost when one of their two dependable starters was on the mound (Moose and Randy Johnson), but the Yankees aren't going to win every game they start. They'll have to rely on some of the other guys to get it done -- Aaron Small, Shawn Chacon, and Al Leiter.

Of those three, Leiter seems like the one who will be pushed out when Carl Pavano returns. Pavano had a rehab start in single-A Tampa last night and gave up 3 runs on 77 pitches. Borden calls it "Six Strong" innings in another Daily News feature. Hopefully, he's ready to go in top form soon.

In other news, I'll rehash the claim I made of Jason Giambi preparing to go on a roll at the end of June by simply saying he won AL playa of the month. Check out George King's article in the NY Post.

So, glum day. Double whammy on the losses here, and I blame the 5th inning. For the Yanks, they get to play tonight as Shawn Chacon takes on Kevin Millwood at 7:05pm. Here's ESPN.com's preview. As for my softball team, we'll have to wait until next Wednesday at 5:30 to extract vengeance. I hate losing.

Yanks Fall Behind Early, Lose to Tribe

2005-08-03T10:29:00.000-04:00

Last night the Yankees fell behind early after a rough two innings from Al Leiter and could never quite catch up, losing the game 6-5. Al Leiter made it through just two innings while giving up 5 runs on 4 hits and 5 walks. By the time Leiter had walked the bases loaded and given up a bases-clearing double to Ronnie Belliard to start the third, Joe Torre had seen enough. He went to the pen and got Scott Proctor who did a respectable job of going 4 innings and only giving up a solo home run to Victor Martinez.

Meanwhile, the Yankees battled back -- most notably on the strength of a solo home run by Tino Martinez and a 2-run shot by A-Rod. But the Yankees left the tying run on in the ninth as Derek Jeter grounded out, stranding Bernie Williams on second.

So, as usual, New York's "Big Three" newspapers write the same crap. Story 1: Al Leiter had a melt down (Lead story -- read Sam Borden's version in the Daily News). Story 2: Bernie didn't have his contract picked up and his future is uncertain (more on this in a minute, but check out Borden's version in the Daily News or The NY Times version). Story 3: 'Giambi's hitting well...not to rehash the steroid story, but do you think he's on the juice? He says no!' (Borden in the Daily News and George King in NY Post.)

Now, to start in on the Giambi story, here's my beef. The press needs to shut up and let well enough alone. Giambi still has plenty to prove to everyone, but let's give it a rest. The man is doing what he can to make it right at this stage, and frankly, even if he's on juice again, I don't care to speculate. If he's dumb enough to try again, he'll get caught. If he's noton 'roids, let the man hit. Jesus.

On to Bernie. Here's a message for Joe Torre. His numbers are down. He's not worth 15 million anymore. True. But when did you give Bernie a fair shake this year? All season he's been in and out of the lineup without getting the chance to get anything going. He's 36, not 46. Bernie was labeled 'old' very quickly and cut out of center field fast. When did you believe Tony Womack was a better option? Did Brain Cashman convince you that this was the way to go? You're better than this, Joe. You're too loyal a manager to pull this crap. Even if Bernie is slower, he never forgot how to catch a ball. Look what he did to Ortiz in Boston. Torii Hunter broke his ankle trying to make the same catch. How did Giambi finally get it going this year? You made him the everyday first baseman. Screw Womack and let Bernie play out the season in center.

In blog news, SoxFan has been killing Yankees Fan in the Yanksfan Vs Soxfan blog. Despite falling 3.5 back, this is no time to grow silent, my friend.

Replacement Level Yankees thinks Leiter is done. I tend to agree, but until Pavano is back, there ain't much choice -- Jaret Wright and Nomo do not count as better options.

Was Watching plays the 'what if' game on the Yankees' season wondering what happened if the Yankees had held on to win specific games they blew. A) It's too early to lament the fact that the Yanks aren't in first. B) You're gonna blow a few games, it's how you react to those losses that effect the standings. Early in the year the Yankees went into nose dives after bad losses. That's why they aren't in first.

Anyway, enough is enough. The Yankees play game two against Cleveland tonight at 7:05. Mike Mussina takes on Cliff Lee and ESPN.com has the preview.

Yanks to Cleveland

2005-08-02T13:50:00.000-04:00

So the Yankees head out to Cleveland to start a 3-game set tonight against the Indians. Despite trailing the Red Sox by 2.5 games, there seems to be an air of easiness in the locker room after series wins over the Twins and Angels. Particularly after the two consecutive dramatic wins over LA. There is still plenty of time to catch the Sox, and right now Joe Torre and his crew are more concerned about how they are playing then where Boston is.

A-Rod seems to agree with this sentiment in Michael Morrissey's article from the NY Post. He says: "I think our best baseball is ahead of us. This team has a good frame of mind right now." Although he would probably say the same exact thing no matter how things stood, he seems to be making an accurate point here.

One thing that looks better for the Yanks is their pitching. Shawn Chacon has given the Yankees good reason for hope as Anthony McCarren reports in the Daily News. As everyone knows, it is the Yankees' belief that a move out of Colorado will do him good. And it should. That place is baseball's Siberia for pitchers...The article also notes that Chacon was suspended in 1999 for (most likely) smoking herb. Although Chacon is clearly excited to be in the Bronx, he will find that the quality is low and the prices are high in our post-Rudy & 9/11 city. Good luck, my friend.

Also in the Daily News, media critic, Bob Raissman notes that everyone is fluffing Jason Giambi big time. Hey, I am too. The guy has been amazing for 6 weeks. Is he on the juice again? I don't think he's that stupid, but you never know. Does he take his battering from the media personally? Yes, he does.

Where Jason took his time with the press early in the season, he is quick and dismissive now that he doesn't need to seem like a good guy. His numbers will now speak for him. On Saturday, he ran out of the locker room telling PR man, Ric Cerrone, to tell the media 'Not today'.

Does Giambi have every right to act this way? Hell no! He got busted cheating and was worthless for two years. People had every right to be angry -- particularly after his bat could have been the difference in the ALCS last year.

Raissman points to WFAN reporter, Sweeny Murti (one of my colleagues up in the radio booth), who said Giambi deserves to be judged by a full body of work this year. True, but I think Jason is well locked in at this point and will finish strong.

Our old buddy, Sam Borden, rates the top three players on the Yanks this week in the Daily News: Matsui, Jeter, and Giambi. Not bad choices...but I would bump Jeter for Chacon.

The Cleveland series starts tonight at 7:05. ESPN.com has a preview as Al Leiter takes on Scott Elarton. Which Leiter will we see tonight?

Thrilling Comeback, Again

2005-07-31T23:28:00.000-04:00

I gotta make this short. All weekend I've been a no-show, but with good reason. Tomorrow I've got a job interview that required a good deal of homework...and I won't lie, I've been out drinking, too. Anyway, thanks to the Sultan for a sizable and colorful post yesterday, and you'll be hearing a lot more from me soon.

Down to business:

For the second night in a row the Yankees came from behind with their backs against the wall to knock off the top team in the AL West. Trailing by scores of 6-2 in the 8th and 7-6 in the bottom of the 10th, the Yankees rallied to win in the 11th by a final of 8-7. Jason Giambi had another big day with 2 more home runs (pushing his total to 19 on the year -- good for 12 in the AL) and Derek Jeter came up big with 4 hits. The Yankees also got by with a little help from LA's defense late in the game. In the 8th inning a key error at first base by Darren Erstad led to 4 Yankee runs. And then in the 10th, Gary Sheffield smashed a fieldable ball to short for what turned into a game-tying hit.

So, the Yankees we're lucky to come away with this one...but there is something to be said for taking advantage when opportunity knocks. They now stand in the fortunate position of having taken 4 of 6 from two of the top teams in the AL.

And now it's a travel day to Cleveland to open a 3-game series Tuesday. More to come, I swear.

Wish me luck tomorrow.

-Commish

2005-07-30T18:55:00.000-04:00

Memorandum

From the desk of the Sultan™
To the office of Brian Cashman, General Manager, NY Yankees

Dear Brian

Let it pass, sweet cheeks. We're done trading, and you done good. Hey, it would have been fun to get Ken Griffey, but we have Bernie and Tony and after their performances today, fuck it, it'd be a waste of time to discuss anything but pitching.

I know it's hard not to feel a little anxious about our hurlers, which is why I'm writing to reassure you--we're alright. Yeah, believe it or not, I looked into my magic balls, and everything is gonna work out fine.

"But the injuries and the starters and the middle relief and--" Shh-shh-shh, save that mouth for blowing George. Let me tell you how it is...

The Sultan's Sentence Visions from the Future™ƒ©® !!!...
'Deep within the asshole wrinkles of space and time, for you, visions from the future of baseball and beyond, thank you kindly...'

Chacon is going to be the pitcher you dreamed Vasquez/Pavano/Wright would be. His performance today really isn't a surprise, just a blessing. Shawn Chacon is an underrated pitcher, from an under-achieving team in a zero-gravity park. Coors Field-In-The-Stars isn't kind to pitchers, they chill balls to keep the score in the thirties; away, Chacon averaged two runs a game. He's got a mean bag, and he'll find control of it with the Yankees. He's decent at holding runners on, the rest is up to Jorge; remember that, it'll be a factor, in the Future(!), mu-ha-ha-hah.

Alan Embree was the missing 7/8. That pick-up reminds us that the teachings and wisdom of 1918 live on. Destiny will cum on Boston's tits at the end of the regular season, when Embree shuts them down in the series that dashes Boston's wild card hopes. Embree will find his form, and with Sturtze-Felix-Gordon-Mo, provide a relentless bullpen.

Aaron Small... I can't explain miracles, but this guy's on. By the end of the season, he could find himself in the playoff rotation. No joke. Which is why I tell you not to expect much from Pavano, anything from Jaret Wright, and only retirement from Kevin Brown. Ming-the Merciless-Wang will return at the end of the regular season, and alternated in the playoff rotation.

When Ruben Sierra returns, the Yankee offense will be the greatest batting lineup in the modern history of baseball. I know, this seems like a stretch, but fifty-nine games from now, a cover of Sports Illustrated will ask that very same question.

My Balls grow dark. The rest of the Future is for you to see. But let the deadline pass, so you don't fuck it up.

Sincerely,
Sultan™

Small Wonder...

2005-07-28T23:06:00.000-04:00

No Small Feat...Small Gives Large Performance...Biggie Smalls...I can see all the headlines tomorrow. That's right, this afternoon Aaron Small went 7 innings giving up just three runs while pitching his way to a 6-3 win for the Yanks. On a day when the Yankees kissed the dice and tossed them across the table, they were rewarded with a 7-11 (winning craps numbers, y'all). Yes, Small did his part, got the ball to Tom Gordon who got the ball to Mo' and that was that.

The Yankee offense stepped up and gave Small all the support he needed via Gary Sheffield who had a 3-run home run and 4 RBIs along with Robinson Cano who had a pair of RBIs himself. In fact, the kid went 3-5 and is now batting a whopping .313. Damn! I'll say it now, Rookie of the Year.

Also, while I'm making predictions, let me close the door on the call of Jason Giambi getting nasty at the plate. He's hitting the ball everywhere for power, bunting down the third base line, and has an OBP of about .800...or .437. The call here at Inside Yankee Stadium was made just before the start of July. In the month of July, Giambi is hitting .349 with 11 home runs, 20 RBIs, 16 walks and an On Base Percentage of .518. His been on base more than HALF the time.

So you heard it here -- Cano will finish strong and take home the hardware.

And what about Mo'? 2 hits on the road trip. He blew away Torri Hunter like he was a child tonight to start of a 1-2-3 inning. He's unreal. Are we starting to look at a Cy Young award? His ERA is now 0.83. He's tearing off people's flesh and eating them. He is truly a monster out there.

So, now the question is what will become of Aaron Small. Will he shock us all and pitch like a champ, or be a footnote in the season? My best guess is he's destined to be bullpen help because the Yankees just landed Shawn Chacon who will start Saturday's game against the Angles. I'd give you a link to TSN.com's story but Blogger's link function is still screwed. TSN -- hockey is back, my friends.

For some "insider juice" I can tell you Brian Cashman didn't know what else to do. Cashman, Torre, and Randy Levine really didn't know who would start on Saturday until tonight...plus, for the past few days Brain Cashman could be seen in his office blankly staring at his flat screen computer. Cachon was good for half-a-year two years ago. Let's see what happens.

And speaking of the aforementioned Angles, the Yanks host LAAAAALAAA tomorrow night at 7pm with Mike Mussina taking on Ervin Santana. It'll be the opener of a 3-game set. I'll be there Saturday to keep tabs on the Yanks in person.

Until next time...

The Sultan's Sentence®

2005-07-28T16:12:00.000-04:00

Be prepared Yankee fans... With August around the corner and the Yanks taking another series with only two real starters, New Englanders* are certain to start bitching again about team salaries, but you can remind them what the highest paid team to ever win a Series was and how many homegrown players are in our respective lineups.

*New Englanders \grun"dels\, n. Characterized by loud nasally whines, lack of R's from alphabet, and challenged fashion cues (from Anglo-Bromidic: men, popped polo collars like foreskin; ladies, sweaters around the shoulders scream 'Wish I was a Du Pont.')

On fumes, a game and a half back. Bring on the dog days.

Santana Stifles Yanks

2005-07-28T10:18:00.000-04:00

It was a looooooooooooooooong game last night at the Stadium. 3 hours and 42 minutes to be exact. That's how long it took the Yanks to bow to the will of Cy Young-winner Johan Santana and the Twins by a score of 7-3. The reason it took so long was Al Leiter's painful return to Yankee Stadium for his first start in Pinstripes since 1989. He gave up 7 hits and 5 walks on 115 pitches through just 5 innings. It was amazing to look up at the scoreboard and see Al crack 100 pitches by the 4th inning. Nonetheless, he walked off the mound having given up just one run. It was the bullpen that then followed and faltered as Tanyon Sturtze gave up 3 runs in the 7th inning and both Scott Proctor and Alex Graman gave up one earned run in the 8th and 9th.

For the Twins, Santana was dominant and the Yankees had to wait to rally off Minnesota's bullpen. It was all too little too late. Santana got the game close enough to closer, Joe Nathan, to limit what damage the Yankees could do against the Twins' middle relief. It did get interesting, however, when Bernie Williams hit a potential game-tying, 3-run homer just to the outside of the right field foul pole in the bottom of the 8th. After the game, Bernie was his usual mellow self about it: "I'm not going to speculate on what could have happened. I gave it a good shot -- it's just a matter of sleeping real fast tonight, regrouping and starting fresh tomorrow."

For both starters, the difference was how far they made it into the game. Leiter created countless jams for himself and was spent by the 5th. Santana gave up some hits, but limited the damage enough to go seven. Both teams, in turn, had poor middle relief, but the Yankees' pen was on the field longer and they lost. After the game Al Leiter recognized that one run through 5 innings is not good enough: "I realize as a starter, 5 innings doesn't cut...(I) need to go deeper."

With the loss, the Yanks fall 2 back of Boston and face countless questions about their starting rotation...like who will start on Saturday. As of last night Joe Torre had no idea.

Still the mood around the Yankee locker room was loose and easy. Torre even poked fun at Leiter's painfully long performance: "Everybody was pacing in the dugout (laughs)...everybody was pacing."

And so the Yanks pick things up this afternoon at 1pm as they play their third and final game of the series against Minnesota. Joe Mays will take on the Yankees' latest stop-gap, Aaron Small, who pitched well enough in his last start against Texas. Still, the Yankees will need more out of their bullpen than what Sturtze & co. delivered last night. Small will not be able to take the ball straight to Mo'. They'll need that middle relief.

Unit Goes Eight Strong For Yanks

2005-07-27T00:28:00.000-04:00

Tonight Randy Johnson took a baseball and turned into a ball gag on the Minnesota Twins. The Big Unit went 8 innings giving up just two hits and striking out 11 while taking a no-hitter into the 6th inning for a 4-0 Yankee win. Johnson's velocity was down a little, but his location was spot-on and that was enough to baffle the Twins. After the game Johnson's personal catcher, John Flaherty, spoke about the lefty hitting his spots: "Maybe he made five or six pitches (all night) that weren't where he wanted." Not bad. Flats also called it Johnson's best game in Pinstripes.

After the game Randy spent exactly 2 minutes and 46 seconds with the media -- I know, I've got it on mini-disc. He responded to Kim Jones' (YES Network) interview and then plowed his way through the media, bluntly refusing another reporter's question. Even Joe Torre joked about Johnson's relationship with the media: "I don't talk to him during the game(laughter)...and you guys learned that the hard way." Was tonight any better than how he acted on the road recently? Who knows, but he came off as a big, awkward douche. In fact, it's almost sad. The poor guy is so sensitive to the media, he needs to shield himself. He's a small town guy who wasn't built for New York. But if he keeps pitching like this, he'll act just about anyway he wants.

Now, at the end of the day, this isn't a popularity contest...and Johnson mug never would have made it to a Wheaties box anyway. The bottom line is that he won. Even when talking about his no-hit bid Johnson sounded like he had his head on straight: "I just care about winning the ballgame and keeping our team in the game."

And for the record, as the Unit rushed away from the media he unconsciously grabbed at his lower back. Yeah, THAT BACK. The one that started the Unit's current unrest with the media. A-Rod mentioned that the Yankees are built for a 5 or 7 game series, not the regular season right now. If they lose the Unit, they won't have the rotation for a playoff series either.

Tonight the Yankees got their offense from an A-Rod solo home run in the 2nd and Hideki Matsui's 2-run single in the 7th. Pretty standard stuff with the Inside Yankee Stadium line of the night going to Jason Giambi -- 0-1 with two walks, one HBP, and a run scored. His OPB remains far and away the best in the AL...

Tomorrow night at 7:05 it's Yanks/Twins round two with Al Leiter taking on the dominant Johan Santana.

And as a final note, big shout to the Sultan for taking the IYS reigns this weekend while I was passed out on a beach and then out in Toronto for a wedding. Much obliged, Sultan and best of luck with mellon-girl.

Yanks Lose Third in a Row, Win One Back

2005-07-24T22:21:00.000-04:00

"She has huge boobs, like melons." This was enough for me to tear myself away from the inevitable--the Yankees trailed 8-6 and Frankie K was heading to the mound. "I'm leaving now," I told my cousin. Smart kid, she knows exactly how to get me out of the house. Many a whiskey and several hundred beers later, the night was a blur, thankfully. Drunken rants included, 'If Brown is still rehabbing, why not start Small again?', 'You wrote that movie? It looks like dogshit.', 'Those aren't melons, they're more like grapefruits.'

These days, there's always something positive to take from even a Yankee loss: Jeter ended his slump with a vengeance going 4 for 4; Small pitched a perfect inning, maybe we found a middle reliever; offensive production, hits from Cano, homers from Giambi... so when the friends cleared out at 8am Sunday morning, even the angry drunk could kick back without worries; this Yankee squad isn't the same as the first third of the season, the losing streaks are short ones, tomorrow is a day to win one back, and I still managed to get that girl's number no matter how big a douchebag I was.

Suffering a brutal hangover, Sunday was a welcome day for a good baseball game, and the Yankees were happy to oblige. Moose had another terrific outing--a slow start, he righted his wrongs and shut down the Angels. In the first inning, Mussina gave up one run that began, naturally, with a leadoff walk of Figgins. But that was all the Yankees would give up, as Moose went six and a third, and Sturtze and Rivera held LA to nil.

LAAofA--is this the dumbest fucking team name ever--led the game into the seventh inning, 1-0, until A-Rod reached on a single and Matsui homered to center, giving the Yankees a 2-1 lead. They added another run in the inning on a strange rally that saw Giambi safe at home when Erstad failed to complete a double play on a Tino grounder, his foot off the bag. Odd, considering all the dramatic fielding over the course of the game--a beautiful diving grab-and-throw by Jeter; Cano out at home on a bullet throw by Rivera; heads-up double play by A-Rod when the Angels threatened. Nonetheless, the Yanks put one more on the board and 4-1 was the final.

The Yanks return from this tough roadtrip with heads held high, a 6-5 record against three great teams, a few losses that could have easily gone the other way, and a game and a half out of first. Monday gives the Yanks a day of rest before a short home stint, and gives me the chance to call this girl with grapefruits.

Sultan™ is covering 'Inside Yankee Stadium' while Commish is on sabbatical.

Yanks Drop Two to Angels

2005-07-23T01:14:00.000-04:00

In the first two games of a four-game series, the Los Angeles Angels beat the New Nuevo York Yankees, 6-5 and 6-3, respectively. Both losses were some of the same, the Yankee signature problems--starting pitching and middle relief.

Thursday night, Randy Johnson went six innings and gave up two runs. In the bottom of the sixth, Johnson hurt his feelings or his back or whatever and was relieved holding a 5-2 lead (thanks to four homers, including two by Giambi for the second night in a row). However, with Tanyon Sturtze resting up, the Yankees were forced to go with Scott Proctor, who promptly gave up a walk to start the seventh. Exit Proctor, enter Buddy Groom. Groom gave up two hits, loading the bases. Exit Groom, enter Tom Gordon to face Vladimir Guerrero. Guerrero spanked Gordon's second pitch for a grand slam, and gave the Angels a 6-5 lead. The Yanks had a chance to tie it in the ninth, with A-Rod on third and one out. But Giambi struck out, and Posada grounded out, and the Angels held on to win it.

Problem 1: About three or four outs somewhere between the sixth and eighth innings--the triple-A showcase--when the starter is finished and before Sturtze or Gordon enter. The 7-8-9 punch of Sturtze-Gordon-Rivera can't go every night, and when you're on a road trip playing 11 games in a row, there's at least a few nights when a couple innings are handed to the rest of the bullpen--a couple minor leaguers too nervous to throw over the plate and a couple leftie specialists who aren't so special.

Friday night... Al Leiter made his second start for the Yankees. He got in trouble in the second, giving up four runs, but found his control and made it through the sixth, yielding just two more. The Yankees, down 5-1, grinded out a couple more runs against the angry, pasty Lackey, who was terrific, and cut the deficit to 5-3. But that was all they could muster, as the Angels set up their 7-8-9 punch of "Pine Tar" Donnelly-Shields-Rodriguez, beating the Yanks for the second night in a row. If not for the drugs I found, the last three innings would have been agonizing.

Problem 2: Digging out of a hole--pitch counts of 2-0; 2nd innings down 4 runs... this is how they spent the first half of the season. Now the Yanks have an offense that can scrape its way back into a game, but that's the story of the starters... They don't throw first-pitch strikes, and walk batters to start the inning.

Kevin "something breaks if the wind blows" Brown will start Saturday against Ervin Santana, who's as inconsistent a pitcher as LA has. Both teams will pray their pitchers can give them six. The Yankees need to take this one with bats, a rested Sturtze, Gordon and Mo. And to really kill this road trip, they need to split this series. The Yankees have taken their last five.

Slumping: Bernie; Jeter
Thumping: Cano; A-Rod; Giambi; Matsui; Felix(!)(?)

Sultan™ is covering 'Inside Yankee Stadium' while Commish is on sabbatical.

The Sultan's Sentence™

2005-07-21T12:30:00.000-04:00

I don't care--Giambi can inject Iran's nuclear program into his nutsack, young 'un Cano can get jesus juiced at the neverland ranch--those two have exceeded all expectations the past couple months, and helped the Yankees become the most brutal batting lineup in ages; the top six basically hitting over 300, Giambi with an OBP of 440, rookie Cano hitting 310, and three of the top six in RBIs.

Small Wins Spot Start, Yanks Take Series

2005-07-21T11:21:00.000-04:00

After watching Tim Redding, Darrell May, Sean Henn and co. get bombed as emergency starters, there was plenty of reason to dread a start from a 33 year-old with 8 career starts. Still, Aaron Small went 5.1 innings giving up just three earned runs and five hits to the powerful Texas Rangers. Add to the mix 6 home runs by the Yankees' offense, as well as a rested bullpen, and Small's effort was plenty for the Yanks who cruised to a 8-4 win.

With the victory, the Yankees have now won their second series in a row, pushing their record to 5-2 on their current 11-game road trip. And while there is plenty to be happy about in beating Boston and Texas -- particularly with little starting pitching -- the Yankees cannot sit back here. They now head to LA for a tough 4-game set with the Angels before heading home. Randy Johnson, Al Leiter, Kevin Brown, and Mike Mussina are slotted to pitch for the Yanks with Brown and Leiter still standing out as huge question marks. If the Yanks are to win another series, the offense will have to come up huge again.

I'd love to cover the NY media here, but my link function is still down. As always, I recommend the Daily News and the NY Post.

So, tonight it's The Big Unit against Bartolo Colon in LA. Game time is 10:05pm for all you night owls...

And one final note, I'm away in Toronto for the weekend to see my buddy, Mike, get married. Sultan should be taking care of some posts this weekend. Then the Yanks return to the Bronx Tuesday night to face the Twins -- I'll be at the Stadium and should have plenty to report that night. Catch y'all in a few.

Yanks Knocked Back to Second Place

2005-07-20T12:13:00.000-04:00

It was all going so well for the Yanks last night in Texas. A 1-0 lead into the 8th inning behind the excellent pitching of Mike Mussina...But instead of handing the ball off to Tom Gordon in the eighth, Joe Torre was forced to go to Wayne Franklin who promptly gave up a single to former Yankee, David Dellucci, and a home run to Hank Blalock. And like that, the Yanks were done. 6 innings of hard-fought, 4-hit ball went to waste for Mike Mussina. But you can't blame the bullpen...this loss falls squarely on the shoulders of the starting rotation.

Chan Ho Park was brilliant all night. With the help of a couple great defensive plays, and a Jason Giambi base running mistake, Park effectively shut down a hot Yankee line up. The game was going to come down to the bullpens. Now, normally if Moose goes 6, Tayon Sturtze, Tom Gordon, and Mariano Rivera can go the rest of the way. However, because the starting pitching was so ineffective in Boston, and because the Yankees needed 11 runs to win Monday, the bullpen aces were maxed out. Sturtze went 2.1 solid innings on Monday and Mo had saved 4 of the first five games after the All-Star break. Neither pitcher could go last night and that left Tom Gordon to cover the ninth...except the Yankees couldn't get to him.

So blame Wayne Franklin all you want -- he won't be on the team for long -- but this loss came as the result of several big Yankee wins where the starters couldn't get it done. Last night the pen had nothing left. Tonight each one of the big three will be ready to go.

The game starts at 7:05 as the Yanks' Aaron Small (from the minor leagues) takes on Joaquin Benoit (from the Rangers' bullpen). The Yankees are fortunate to have the pen rested for this one.

1st Place Yankees

2005-07-19T10:29:00.000-04:00

That didn't take long. Just 5 games into the second half the Yankees have gone from 2.5 games out to .5 games in front of the Red Sox. Their latest advancement in the standings was a result of last night's 11-10 win over the Texas Rangers that featured 5 home runs and 25 hits. Although Yankee starter Kevin Brown was entirely ineffective, Texas' starter, Ricardo Rodriguez, was worse. Rodriguez gave up 6 earned runs in 2.2 innings compared to Brown's 6 earned runs in 4.1 innings.

In relation to Rodiriguez, Brown had the better day...but it wasn't pretty for him --or relievers Scott Proctor and Wayne Franklin who followed. And in the end it was the late-inning bandage of Tanyon Sturtze and Mariano Rivera who stopped the bleeding, allowing the Yankees to rally. Sturtze went an impressive 2.1 innings of shutout ball to earn the win, and Mo' retired the side in order in the 9th to earn his 24th save.

But even while Sturtze and Mo' restored order, things remained ugly for the Yanks. Trailing 10-9 in the 8th, the Yankees put Gary Sheffield and A-Rod on second and first respectively with Ruben Sierra at the plate. While Joe Torre sent the runners, Sierra drove a the ball into right center for a two-out single that scored both runners and provided the eventual margin of victory. However, on the play, Sierra pulled up lame just before reaching first base and is now on the DL with a pulled hamstring.

Yes, the win was nastier than Ann Nicole before Trim Spa, but the Yankees won and are now in first place. Balance has been restored to the universe. Now it is up to the Yankees to build a lead on the slumping Red Sox and the pesky Orioles. The O's, it seems, are about to pull a coup on the Red Sox and acquire starter AJ Burnett from the Marlins according to John Harper of the Daily News. For weeks Burnett's name has been tied to the Sox, but the talented righty now appears closer to becoming a member of the Orioles. If the trade goes through, this could make them a real player in the East.

Also in today's Daily News, Sam Borden reports that Chein-Ming Wang's season might not be done after all. Wong has a partially torn rotator cuff and could rely on physical therapy to get him back into the rotation by September. If the therapy works, Wong will avoid season-ending surgery on his already once-repaired shoulder. Adding hope to the situation, Borden reports that Pedro Matinez is pitching with a similar tear in his pitching shoulder.

Mike Vaccaro reports in the NY Post that A-Rod is becoming more of a Yankee after his three home runs in Boston this weekend. Vacarro is wrong. A-Rod is surely growing more comfortable on the Yanks, but the clutch home runs are only a result of that easy feeling. The real cause of A-Rod's comfort on the Yanks is Gary Sheffield who pretty much challenged the entire Red Sox team if they went near the Yankees' third baseman...

So, the Yanks look to continue their hot streak tonight when they send their most reliable starter to the hill as Mike Mussina takes on Chan Ho Park at 8:05.

The Sultan's Sentence™

2005-07-19T01:51:00.000-04:00

An overzealous colleague and her family (from Boston) left me an insulting voicemail message after Friday's blowout, but Joe Torre looks out for a brother...
http://pub18.bravenet.com/postcard/pickup.php?usernum=1489376141&id=BE481AD18

Leiter Debuts With A Gem

2005-07-18T11:40:00.000-04:00

The Yankees pulled Al Leiter off the scrap heap for yesterday's emergency start and were immediately rewarded. The veteran left-hander went 6.1 innings, yielding one run, three hits, and striking out eight in a 5-3 Yankee victory. Leiter kept the Red Sox off balance throughout the evening, and all anyone could talk about after the game was his excellent location. Not bad for a man who put on waivers last week.

With the victory, the Yankees won their series over Boston 3 games to 1 and wrapped up a weekend of redemption. Yesterday's offence was supplied by three Yankee home runs with Gary Sheffield, Alex Rodriguez, and Jorge Posada going deep. For A-Rod it was his 3rd home run of the series -- all of which proved pivotal in the Yankees three wins. For a man who gets readily booed in Boston, and who will never live down the "ball slap", it must have been sweet.

Also getting a little slice of payback was Mariano Rivera. Mo' saved all three Yankee victories and got the team out of a particularly hairy situation last night courtesy of Tom Gordon and Robinson Cano. Mo' picked up his 23rd save of the year and looks better than ever.

And so the Yankees can only smile briefly as they take their wounded rotation to face two powerful lineups in Texas and LA. Kevin Brown goes tonight after NO rehab starts because the Yankees need to fill holes in the rotation. After Mike Mussina follows on Tuesday, the Yankees have no idea what they're going to doon Wednesday. Tanyon Sturtze? Another minor leaguer? It certainly won't be Tim Redding, Darrell May, or Sean Henn. It'll be another game the Yankee offense will have to shine in.

Tonight's game is an 8:05 start. Brown will face Ricardo Rodriguez.

One last note: anyone notice Robinson Cano cracked .300 yesterday? He is now the 5th Yankee hitting .300 or better.