Behind yet another phenomenal performance from CC, the Yanks beat the A’s 5-0 to sweep the four-game set and notch their sixth straight victory. It was the Yanks’ first four-game sweep of Oakland at home since 1985.

The Good:

On the ninth anniversary of Mike Mussina’s near perfect game against Boston, CC (19-5) went eight innings and gave up just one hit with five strikeouts to three walks. The A’s failed to hit a ball out of the infield from the second inning until Coco Crisp’s fly ball to right in the eighth inning. CC did it all on just 95 pitches, with 58 going for strikes.

With the win, CC tied Whitey Ford’s record for consecutive home starts without a loss (21) and is 16-0 over that span. Over his previous 20 home starts coming in (since ‘09 All-Star Break), CC was 15-0 with a 2.17 ERA. Wow.

Grandy, who went 2-for-3 with two homers and three RBI on Thursday, has 31 hits vs. lefties this season (after missing a month), he had 33 against LHP all of last season. He is now 10-for-24 against LHP since working with Kevin Long. It was his six career multi-homer game and second this season.

A-Rod tested out his injured calf by fielding ground balls and taking batting practice, and Pettitte is on schedule to make his simulated start on Saturday.

As I predicted the other day, Javy will start over Moseley on Saturday.

Dallas Braden left the game in the sixth inning with cramps…I’ll leave it up to you to insert the proper joke.

The Bad: Continue reading this post »

As I write this, I’m standing at Stan’s drinking a beer after having a number 11 from Burger KIng.
In each of my five previous trips to Yankee Stadium, all wins, I have done the exact same thing. So if the Yanks lose – God forbid – don’t blame me. I did my part.
Anyway, I just hope the Yanks can keep their hot streak going and get their fifth win in a row. It’s all on AJ’s shoulders now.
I do not know what the purpose of this post is, I think I just need to kill some time before my friends get here.
LET’S GO YANKS!!!!!

After sitting in a tie atop the division with the Rays for a record (this late in the season) eight consecutive days, the New York Yankees are in sole possession of first place in the AL East following a 9-3 shellacking of the A’s. The Yanks have the Blue Jays to thank as they beat the piss out of the Rays, 13-5.

The Yanks got to Oakland early with a bizarre first inning in which the team scored three runs on two hits with a walk, a hit by pitch, a GIDP with the bases loaded, two steals, an error and a triple by Posada. Yes, you read that correctly A TRIPLE BY JORGE POSADA, his first since April of 2008. On the play, Georgie passed Bob Meusel for sole possession of 11th place on the club’s all-time RBI list with number 1,014.

Swish Dog went 1-for-4 with a two-run dingy and moved to 21-for-54 (.389) with six homers against his former teams (OAK, CHI) this year.

Teixeira went 2-for-3 with a three-run homer and scored twice (scoring his AL-leading 100th run). In doing so he recorded his seventh straight season of at least 30 homers and became the sixth Yankee ever to hit 30 homers in each of his first two seasons with the club (Ruth, Maris, Giambi, A-Rod and Shef).

Jeter went 0-for-3 and is now 2 for his last 30…

Lance Berkman is expected to be activated from the DL on Wednesday. “I’m going to play the game tonight, and if nothing unforeseen happens I’ll be back tomorrow.” In addition, the Yanks plan on calling up Albaladejo, Moeller and Golson when the rosters expand. Also, after the SWB season is over there will be more players joining the Yanks. A-Rod is set to make his return on Sunday.

According to Jon Heyman, the Yanks won the claim to Ted Lilly before he was pulled back by the Dodgers on Tuesday.

The Yanks will send AJ to the mound on Wednesday to face Brett Anderson in the third game of this series. It’s ironic because the Yanks are riding a four-game winning streak and the last time they lost was AJ’s last start. Let’s pray that we get Good AJ.

LET’S GO YANKS!!!!!

The Yanks routed the A’s 11-5 on Monday in the opener of a four-game set, kicking off the team’s longest homestand of the season (10 games).

In doing so, the Yanks’ 3-4-5 hitters (Tex, Cano and Swish Dog) went 9-for-11 with two homers, three doubles, seven RBI and seven runs scored. The team duffed Buster Olney’s Cy Young pick, Trevor Cahill, up for a season-high eight runs on nine hits in four-plus innings of work.

Fun facts:

• Trevor Cahill’s ERA against the Yankees this year: 12.60. Trevor Cahill’s ERA against all other opponents this year: 2.17.
• Starter Dustin Moseley went 4 1/3 innings and gave up four runs on five hits with four walks and strikeouts. Banished-to-the-bullpen Javy went 4 2/3 innings in relief and gave up a run on two hits with six punchouts to one walk. I’ve got a feeling that Javy will be making his next start on Saturday against the Blue Jays, just a hunch.
• Cano recorded his career-high 26th home run of the season, has homered in five of his past seven home games and is seven RBI shy of a career high.
• Swish Dog established a career-high 142 hits on the year, and he still has a month to go. Remember, WILSON BETEMIT.
• Ramiro Pena is 5 for his last 10.
• Marcus Thames is hitting .400/.464/1.160 over his last seven games (six starts) and has homered in five straight starts. Hitman, of course, holds the record with homers in eight straight starts.
• Derek Jeter who, along with Grandy, was the only starter to not get a hit, is mired in a 2-for-27 slump and is hitting .268 on the year. To make matters worse, look at his home/away splits. Yikes. That’s not going to bode well in contract negotiations this coming offseason.
• One day after throwing a bullpen session, Pettitte said he felt “A tiny bit of soreness but I haven’t been on the mound in a long time. I just think that’s pretty normal. I feel really good.”
• Lance Berkman was 2-for-5 with a run scored in his first rehab start in Trenton (AA).
• Ace allowed one run on two hits through 1 1/3 inning in Scranton (AAA). He threw 33 pitches, 21 for strikes, which was a step up from his prior two outings.

Postgame quotes: Continue reading this post »

The Yanks edged the Pale Hoes, 2-1, to take the rubber match of this weekend set on Sunday, spoiling Frank Thomas Day in Chicago.

The story of the game was Ivan Nova, who earned his first major league win in just his second career start. SuperNova went 5 2/3 innings and gave up one run on five hits with seven strikeouts to just one walk. Nova, who hit 97 mph on the radar gun, became the first rookie pitcher for the Yanks to record seven strikeouts within his first four games since Ian Kennedy did it in his third start (September 13, 2007).

Good News: “He’s going to make another start, I can tell you that.” Girardi on Ivan Nova.

Bad News: AJ will also make his next start, (most likely) spoiling what will be my bid to go 6-0 at Yankee Stadium this year.

Fun Facts and News: Continue reading this post »

On Ron Guidry’s 60th birthday, the Yanks won a 12-9 slugfest in Chicago but suffered a loss. Mark Teixeira left the game with a bruised right thumb. He hurt it diving yesterday but decided to try to play today.

Girardi said Marky Mark is day-to-day and Swish Dog will play first tomorrow if Tex can’t go. The last thing this team needs is another injury. Michael Kay, who has been doing a bang-up job of annoying the hell out of me the past few games, said x-rays were not necessary.

Shit I liked: Continue reading this post »

The less said about Friday’s debacle the better. Here is some news to make you feel better:

1) Pettitte felt fine after throwing 25 pitches on Friday, but he wasn’t throwing at maximum effort. Regardless, it’s a good sign for the Yankees. His next session will come on either Sunday or Monday. The Yanks are going to need him healthy with the way AJ has been shitting the bed lately. Get well soon, Andy!!!!!

2) The Red Cox beat the Rays, so the Yanks are still in first place…albeit in a tie.

3) The Yanks have CC pitching on Saturday. He will be going against John Danks in the second tilt of this three-game series.

Fun facts:

• AJ’s splits by month: April (3-0, 2.43); May (3-2, 4.03); June (0-5, 11.35); July (3-1, 2.00); August (0-4, 7.80). Lest we forget, AJ didn’t win a game all of last August either and that season played out honky dory.
• Prior to Friday, Freddy Garcia hadn’t beat the Yankees since May of 2002.
• Girardi said after Friday’s game that “We’ll evaluate after this weekend where we are and what we need to do. Take it the way you want to take it. We’ll do what we have to do.” Meaning that Javy, who now has a lower ERA than AJ, might take Burnett’s spot in the rotation, which falls on September 1 against the A’s. That just so happens to be a game I’m going to, which puts my undefeated 2010 streak (5-0) on the line. Yikes.

LET’S GO YANKS!!!!

As the Yanks relax on their first off day since August 5, a huge series with the Chicago White Sox looms.

During a stretch of 20 games in as many days, the Yanks went 11-9 and are 78-49 on the year. They sit tied atop the AL East with the Tampa Bay Rays, who are also off on Thursday. The Rays, though, play an even bigger series at home against the Red Cox this weekend. Boston, as you probably know, is 5 1/2 games back in the division

It’s going to be tough, but I think we’re going to have to root for the Sox this weekend. I know it’s blasphemy for Yanks fans to root for Boston, but you gotta do what you gotta do. Best-case scenario is the Yanks sweeping in ChiTown (obviously) and Beantown doing the same in Florida. God, I feel dirty for just typing that.

The free-falling ChiSox are 6-12 over their last 18 and, at 68-58, sit 3 1/2 games behind the Twins in the Central. Though both teams are in action on Thursday.

Pitching match ups for this weekend: Continue reading this post »

We may now have a reason as to why Derek Jeter is hitting .253/.305/.373 over the last 18 games and .276/.338/.390 on the year (both prior to Wednesday’s action). It’s not that he is washed up and can’t play anymore, apparently it’s because he is battling tendinitis in his left leg right below his knee. According to a report in the Daily News, Girardi confirmed that the Yankee captain has been nursing an injury for a “little bit” and that’s why he was not in the lineup on Monday.

Girardi:

His leg has been a little sore. It doesn’t really hurt him or bother him except to slow down a little bit. Not sprinting, not going after balls, it’s when he decelerates. He’s been dealing with it for a little bit, but we’ve managed it. I thought it was important that we give him a day.

He did look a little gimpy running the past few games, so I suspect this might be more concerning than Girardi is letting on. I have to believe that tendinitis near the knee would effect one’s batting stance, so let’s chalk this sub-par season up to injury.

However, in typical Jeter fashion he denied any allegation of injury.

I’m fine. I don’t even know what he’s talking about.

You gotta love Jeter’s desire to play hurt and refusal to admit that he’s dinged up, it’s one of the reasons we love him, but can you imagine the backlash if A-Rod contradicted his manager to the media? It would be a shit storm. I guess you get a pass when you have five rings and pretty smile (no homo, not that there’s anything wrong with that).

Fun fact: After going deep on Tuesday, Jeter became just the second player in MLB history to record double digit steals and home runs in 15 consecutive seasons (Bonds ‘86-’91). So the haters can say what they will about Jeet but I’ll take that any day of the week.

Via LoHud, Javy will have his next start skipped in favor of Ivan Nova.

Coming off an impressive first career start on Monday, SuperNova will get the nod in Chicago against the White Sox on Sunday. Meanwhile, Javy will be moved to the bullpen for the time being.

No decisions beyond this weekend have been made, but we can only hope that Javy is out of the loop for good. Although he did string together a few good starts after getting skipped earlier this season. So maybe this is another kick in the ass Javy needs to get going down the stretch, which would be a good thing as Hughes approaches his innings limit.

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