Logan Heads West

Boone Logan, who spent the last four seasons coming out of the Yankees bullpen, is headed to the Colorado Rockies via free agency. CBS Sports' Jon Heyman reported that Logan agreed to a three-year, $16.5MM deal.

The Yankees had negotiated with Logan's representatives, but it's not known if an actual offer was made. What is not said, but certainly known, is there is no way the Yankees would make a three year offer.

Despite a plus fastball and 202 strikeouts in 176 innings pitched as a Yankee, his inconsistency could drive you insane. This past season he also had difficulty with his left elbow during spring training and the problem persisted throughout the season. He had bone spur removed from the elbow in October.

I personally believe that too many appearances contributed to Logan's issues with consistency and his balky elbow. Under Joe Girardi, Logan's games pitched increased from 51 to 64 to 80 in his first three seasons in New York. That doesn't included the number of times he warmed up and didn't enter a game.

He entered just 61 games in 2013 and had a four year low of 39 innings pitched. Logan could come up in with the bases loaded, no one out, and strike out the side, but there were too many times he was called on to face a lefty and walked the most important batter of the apperance. (In 2010 and 2012 he averaged at least 4.5 walks per 9 innings pitched.)

Solid lefty specialists are hard to come by,  but the Yankees made the right move in not meeting Logan's contract demands.

Yankees Extend Qualifing Offers to Trio

Curtis Granderson has some thinking to do.

Robinson Cano, Curtis Granderson, and Hiroki Kuroda have big decisions to make this off-season. The three are free agents, but each is looking for something very different than the other two. With that in mind, the Yankees extended a $14.1MM one-year qualifying offer to each player.

By extending the offer, the Yankees would receive draft pick(s) if any of the players signed with another Major League team.

There's absolutely no chance that Cano accepts the offer, but Granderson and Kuroda will probably at least consider it. Granderson played in just 61 games in 2013 due to a broken forearm and broken finger that occurred when bone met baseball.  His production- a career worst .723 OPS and .407 slugging pct. - was not conducive to landing a big money, long term free agent deal this off-season.

It's possible that Granderson could accept the qualifying offer in the hopes that he has a very productive season as he did in 2011 (.916 OPS, 41 HR, 119 RBI, 136 runs scored) and then could land a big money deal next off-season. The Yankees would certainly welcome him back on a one year, $14.1MM contract, which would be a slight pay cut for Granderson from last year's $15MM salary.

Rumors say that the White Sox and/or Cubs are preparing big offers for the Chicago native, but until that actually happens, they will remain just rumors.

Kuroda was the Yankees ace in 2013 until the 38-year old wore down during the last month of the season. He turned down the $13.1MM qualifying offer the Yankees tendered in 2013 and signed a one-year deal for $15MM. Should Kuroda decide not to retire and not return to Japan, he's likely to turn down the qualifying offer again.

Should that be the case, the Yankees have to decide whether Kuroda is worth pursuing on another one year deal that would likely cost them a minimum of $15 - 16MM. As good as Kuroda was for the majority of the season, the Yankees front office should be thinking "take it or leave it" this time around.

The Yankees did not extend offers to pitchers Phil Hughes, Joba Chamberlain and Boone Logan, infielder Brendan Ryan, corner infielders Kevin Youkilis and Mark Reynolds, DH Travis Hafner, and first baseman Lyle Overbay. Reynolds and Ryan are likely the only two of the group that the Yankees have any interest in bringing back.

In the meantime, Cano is probably out shopping for a very large vault.

It's Miller Time

With a shortage of manpower in the bullpen, the Yankees have recalled Jim Miller from Triple-A Scranton. The right-hander signed as a free agent this past off-season after a solid year with Oakland in 2012.

Miller spent the entire time in the minor leagues, despite an average of 13.1 strikeouts per 9 innings and less than a hit per inning. He'll help spell a pen that is without Shawn Kelley, David Robertson, and Boone Logan.

Oh yes, the Yankees Season Can Get Worse

Read 'em and weep

You couldn't blame Andy Pettitte's teammates if they shackled Joe Girardi to the dugout bench the next time the 41-year old takes the mound for the Yankees. The bullpen blew up two potential Petttitte winning efforts in a six day span. In each case Girardi may have been premature when he yanked his longest tenured starting Yankees pitcher.

This past Sunday the Yankees were nine outs from beating Baltimore when the Orioles hammered the Yankees pen for seven runs in the 7th inning. Pettitte departed Friday night's contest with the Boston Red Sox after six innings and 100 pitches only to see his 8-3 lead turn in a disgusting 12-8 loss. To make matters worse it came on the heels of the blown comeback effort the night before.

Things started out well Friday night, as opposed to the first game of the series on Thursday. Alfonso Soriano smacked a 2-run home run off starter Felix Doubront in the 1st inning. Vernon Wells contributed an RBI and a pair of runs scored, Brett Gardner knocked in two, and Eduardo Nunez had a pair of hits with a ribbie and a run scored.

Then came the fateful 7th inning yet again. This time Girardi didn't allow Pettitte to start the inning as he had on Sunday. Instead he brought in Phil Hughes, who was making his first appearance since he was shifted/demoted to the bullpen.  Hughes managed to retire one batter, but was charged with four runs, three hits and a walk.

Boone Logan replaced Hughes and struck out David Ortiz for the second out, but the bases remained loaded. With little option, Girardi stuck with Logan against Yankees killer Mike Napoli. Big Mistake. Napoli fouled off a couple of 3-2 pitches before he delivered a grand slam to tie the game at eight apiece. Logan then departed with a sore elbow that he said bothered him during Napoli's at-bat.

Preston Claiborne continued his disappearing act an inning later with some help from the guy who somehow passes himself off as a competent pitcher, Joba Chamberlain. Four runs later the Red Sox were ahead 12-8 and the Yankees were done.

Remarkably, the Yankees are STILL 2.5 behind the Tampa Bay Rays, who lost once again, but have been passed by Baltimore and Cleveland in the standings. Both teams and the Rays have a game in hand to the Yankees and the Indians have the easiest schedule the rest of the way.

Girardi talks about his ramshackle bullpen

Notes

David Robertson woke up with a cranky shoulder Friday morning and went for an MRI. Tendinitis was found and D-Rob will be out for a number of days. Logan will go for an MRI as well. Shawn Kelley hasn't pitched since September 1, but might be available on Sunday.

Andy Pettitte talks about his start

Yankees Top Tina Fey and Paul Rudd and the White Sox

"Make another error and next time it'll be hot coffee."

Tuesday night's Yankees-White Sox game had all the makings of a disaster. Hiroki Kuroda was attempting to right his ship after three poor outings in a row and struck out the side in the first inning. The only problem was Alfonso Soriano had played a potential fly out into a double and Eduardo Nunez added to his error total at shortstop. Kuroda worked out of the jam with just one run allowed, but the Yankees already trailed after a half inning. More poor play by Soriano in left field and domination by White Sox starter Chris Sale put the Yankees in a 4-1 hole.

By that time the five human and one furry occupants of our household were watching Admission with Tina Fey and Paul Rudd. A cute movie that was no blockbuster, but enjoyable nonetheless. I had already lambasted Nunez repeatedly in debating his value with my brother. "His bat is not good enough to put up with his defense in the field."  A little later Nunez tried to prove me wrong.

After the credits rolled on the movie, I glanced at Yahoo baseball and was shocked to see Yankees 6 White Sox 4.  The Yankees get all the credit in the world for coming from behind to win another must win game. Robin Ventura should be sent a thank you card for his role in it - he pulled Sale after the star in the making threw 114 pitches. (The people that knocked Ventura need their heads examined - 114 pitches in this day and age is a huge amount.)

Derek Jeter got the ball rolling with a one-out single in the bottom of the 8th and Robinson Cano followed with a double. Ventura ended Sales' night and brought in Nate Jones to face Soriano. The second time around in pinstripes has been fruitful for Soriano, whose bat does make up for his defensive deficiencies. He laced a single back up the middle to cut the White Sox lead to 4-3 and moved to third when Alex Rodriguez followed with a single of his own.

Lefty Donnie Veal replaced Jones to face pinch-hitter Curtis Granderson, but the Grandyman lined a game tying single to center field. Veal struck out Mark Reynolds, but Nunez lined a double to left off right-hander Matt Lindstrom to put the Yankees on top for the first time, 6-4.  Mariano Rivera made quick work of the White Sox with a 12-pitch, 9th inning for his 40th save.

It was a tremendous win, but also a reminder that Nunez cannot, should not, be in the field with such huge importance on every game. With Jayson Nix out, the Yankees should have picked up a Miguel Cairo-type player to spell Jeter in the field and kept Nunez on the bench.

Notes

The time finally arrived - Phil Hughes has been plucked from the rotation and put in the bullpen. David Huff, who has a similar career path to Hughes will take his turn in the rotation against Boston on Saturday. Hughes was tremendous out of the pen for the Yankees in 2009 and the move could mean that Joba Chamberlain gets crazy glued to the bullpen bench in close games.

Girardi told the media that he will use the off-season to try to get Rivera to return next year. The odds are slim to none.  Rivera is a man of his word and the "retirement tour" that has taken place would seem disingenuous.

The Yankees first run came on a double steal. A hit and a pair of Chicago errors put Vernon Wells on third and Nunez on first. Nunez broke for second on Sales' delivery and catcher Josh Phegley fired towards second. Wells broke for home and scored when second baseman Gordon Beckham cut the ball off in front of the bag, but made a throw to the wrong side of home plate.

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Nunez became the first non-Jeter shortstop since Randy Velarde (1995) to drive in the game winning run in the 8th inning or later.

Suckered By the Yankees Again

"They brought in Joba?!!!"

There's a famous scene in the Godfather Part III - a horrible movie by any standard - that has stood the test of time. It's been repeated, re-phrased, re-imagined, and spoofed a 1,000 times over.

Al Pacino's Michael Corleone says with much exasperation, "Every time I try get out, they pull me back in!" When it comes to the Yankees, it's more like "Every time I try to get in, they pull me back out." Sunday was one of those days. Having already won the first two games of a three game series against the Baltimore Orioles, Andy Pettitte continued his August turnaround with six solid innings.

The Yankees led 3-0 when the first two Orioles reached to start the 7th inning. Joe Girardi sent for Shawn Kelley to face Matt Wieters. The Orioles' catcher singled to drive in Baltimore's first run of the day and then J.J. Hardy hit an opposite field 3-run home run to put the Orioles ahead for good.

Kelley gets a pass; though every game is a must win, he's been pretty solid all season. The next two relievers don't get a pass from though, especially one of them. Boone Logan replaced Kelley and gave up a hit and a walk. When Logan is on, he's fantastic and when he stinks, he smells worse than East River. There's no-in between for the left-hander.

Things got worse moments later when Girardi signaled for number 62 to enter the game. Joba Chamberlain should never be in another game in a Yankees uniform unless it's an Old-Timer's Day and he's buzzing  the head of a 70-year old Kevin Youkilis.  Rumors have it that Adam Jones could be seen drooling as he watched Chamberlain warm up from the on-deck circle.

Chamberlain retired Manny Machado on a failed bunt attempt, but Jones blasted one to deep center for a 7-3 Orioles lead that was three more runs than the O's would need. The Yankees had momentarily moved into third place, but slinked back to fourth place in the AL East after Sunday's sudden score change. They also dropped  back to 3.5 out in the wild card after Oakland won.

The Yankees now play a more inept Chicago White Sox team that swept a three game series with the Yankees in Chi-town in August. With this Yankees team, you just don't know what you'll get...except for aggravation.

Yankees First Half Report Card: The Bullpen

Valedictorian of his class.

The Yankees and the Boston Red Sox are in the midst of the rubber game of a three game series Sunday night to kick off the post All-Star break portion of the season. Remarkably, this is the first time that the Yankees have visited Fenway Park this season.  It's also the first time in a long time that neither Derek Jeter nor Alex Rodriguez have been in the Yankees lineup for a game against the old town team.

Both starters were roughed up, especially the Yankees CC Sabathia, who saw a 3-0 lead go bye bye. So what better night is there to post the first half grades for the Yankees bullpen.

(Note - statistics are as of the All-Star break)

Mariano Rivera - I might as well start right at the top. There's no reason to go into a lot of detail here; it's been talked about, written about, gifts, videos, the greatest retirement tour ever. Mariano is human, believe or not, as evidenced by the two blown saves in 32 chances. Has anyone ever had a quieter 30 saves, even with the hoopla surrounding his retirement tour? And 30 saves by a 43-year old at the All-Star break? 

It's hard to believe, but just how outstanding he has been seems to have been a bit overlooked by the media. "He's the same old Mariano" doesn't quite cut it.

Grade: A+

David Robertson - DRob's off the field endeavors (High Socks for Hope) get a bit lost among the stars in the Yankees clubhouse, and his on the field performance tend to as well. While he may never be the Yankees regular closer, he's one helluva set up man.

Robertson was selected to the AL All-Star game two years ago when he finished 4-0, 1.08 ERA, 1.125 WHIP, and 13.5 strikeouts per nine innings pitched. After scuffling at times last year (still averaged 12 K's per nine IP) with his performance and health, DRob has improved on some areas of his 2011 performance. He's still averages 12 K's per nine IP and has put up a WHIP under 1.0 in 41 relief appearances.

Grade: A

Joba Chamberlain - Has there been a Yankees relief pitcher in recent history that has created more headaches than Joba Chamberlain? I'm not going to go in summarizing the rise and fall of Joba, but we know that some past issues are due to injuries, the"Joba Rules" and other nonsense the Yankees front office created.

But just like someone who has a bad beginning in life, sometimes you have to pull yourself up by your cleat laces and get things done. Such is not the case with Joba, who comes off very down to earth one minute and then undeservedly arrogant the next. He has not been the type of pitcher that has earned the level of respect he believes he has coming to him.

Is there any situation in a game that you trust Joba in at this point?  He allows inherited runners to score, he lets the opponents lead get bigger, and the Yankees lead get smaller. It's time for Joba to try to find success somewhere else.

Grade: F

Boone Logan - The tall left-hander is a bit of enigma, he looks incredibly solid one second (strikes out Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau with the bases loaded) and very ordinary the next. Joe Girardi has been very careful with not overworking his bullpen like his predecessor Joe Torre did, but Logan is the exception. He appeared in 64 games in 2011 and 80 last year, and that's not counting how many times he got warmed up and didn't enter the game.

It was no surprise that he reported to camp with a cranky elbow this year. It carried over to the start of the season with a shaky April, but Logan bounced back strong in May. In fact, he struck out 25 batters and walked just two in 15.1 innings over May and June combined. In July, opponents have just a .111 Batting Average on balls in play (BAbip). All that said, I still have difficulty trusting him in big spots...or small ones.

Grade: B

Shawn Kelley - Was a surprise pick up this past off-season. With the Mariners trying to improve you would think they would have held on to Kelley, who made only $600K last year and had a solid season. On top of that they dealt him to the Yankees for Abe Almonte, a non-prospect.

Kelley has been a strikeout machine in pinstripes with an average of 13.2 per 9 innings. He quickly gained Girardi’s trust and has become invaluable in high leverage situations. If David Robertson gets the closer's role next season, Kelley is the likely replacement as the 8th inning guy. Then again, he could fill the closer role instead of Robertson.

Grade: B+

Preston Claiborne - The 25-year old came out of nowhere to be an integral part of the bullpen early on. The bloom has come off the rose a bit over the last month, but it doesn't take away what Claiborne did in May and the first half of June. Namely, he gave up just one run in 15 appearances.

For now Claiborne will likely be doing mop up and non-crucial work until if and when he gets back on track.

Grade: B- (very close to being a C+)

Adam Warren - I have to admit I never saw this one coming. Warren looked horrible in his debut last year and looked like he was the target in a game of whack-a-mole in spring training. But since the regular season began it has been Warren doing the whacking of opponents in the long man role.

Warren has amassed 43.2 innings in 16 appearances, half of which he has finished, and has compiled a nearly 3:1 strikeout to walk ratio. It's doubtful he'll be a starter again (if he remains in the organization), but he can certainly fill a valuable role in the bullpen.

Grade: A-

Kuroda, Rain, and Pen Dominate the Twins

Kuroda has been the Yankees ace and should be an All-Star

I am starting to honestly believe the Yankees could win 160 of 162 meetings with the Minnesota Twins. Last night the Yankees endured a 73 minute rain delay to win their 5th straight meeting with the Twins this season and their 3rd straight win overall.

Hiroki Kuroda lowered his league leading ERA to 2.65 (Just 1.74 at Yankee Stadium) by throwing five innings (one after the delay) of six hit ball in a 2-0 Yankees win. The Yankees pen, particularly Boone Logan, came up big over the final four innings.

The Yankees had managed just one hit in 3.1 innings off Twins starter Scott Diamond, but jumped on Ryan Pressly in the 5th for a pair of runs. Brett Gardner and Robinson Cano provided RBI singles to account for the Yankees runs.

Yankees reliever Preston Claiborne breezed through the 6th, but put two aboard in the 7th. A call to the bullpen sent Logan in to the rescue. Twins manager Ron Gardenhire called for Chad Parmalee to bunt the runners on first and second over, but the right fielder fouled off two attempts and then Logan struck him out swinging.

Logan's real challenge came up next though- the back to back duo of Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau. To make matters worse, Logan gave the Twins the equivalent of a bunt when he wild pitched the runners over a base. But the left-hander caught Mauer looking with a curve ball for strike three and Morneau couldn't hold up his swing for an inning ending strikeout. A disgusted Morneau flipped his bat in the air and threw his helmet, but was not tossed from the game.

Mariano Rivera picked up his 30th save with a 1-2-3 9th inning.

Notes

The Twins displayed some remarkable defensive plays in the game, no better than when Aaron Hicks threw out Vernon Wells trying to stretch a double into a triple. A fan use Google Earth to estimate the throw was 325 feet.

Logan the Yankees' Boondoggle

The Yankees lost the game and Eduardo Nunez

There's a reason a lot of Yankees fans don't trust Boone Logan and Sunday afternoon's game was a prime example. Down 4-1 to the Oakland A's, the Yankees rallied for three runs in the 6th inning to tie things up at four apiece. It stayed that way until Logan served up a gopher ball to the A's Josh Donaldson and the third baseman hit it out for this third home run of the season. The Yankees rally against closer Grant Balfour fell short in the 9th and the 5-4 loss gave Oakland the series win two games to one.

Logan looks dynamite at times and other times not so much. Part of the problem I put squarely on the shoulders of Joe Girardi. His predecessor, Joe Torre, was a notorious bullpen killer in his dozen years with the Yankees. Scott Proctor and Tanyon Sturtze were just two of the relief pitchers that were never the same after they were over worked by Torre.

Girardi has been much more protective of his bullpen, but Logan appeared in 64 games two years ago and 80 last season. That does not count, of course, the number of times Logan warmed up in the pen, but did not enter the game. It's no wonder that Logan felt elbow tenderness in Spring Training. Logan has been in 11 of the Yankees first 30 games, putting him on a pace for approximately 60 appearances. But that number could easily rise as the season goes on.

I've said it before and it bears repeating - there is absolutely no reason for Girardi or any manager to mix and match as much as he does. A good relief pitcher can get out right-handed and left-handed hitters no matter what arm they deliver the ball with. There have been times when the Yankees had a five run lead and a right-hander would open the inning by striking out the first two hitters, both of which were right-handers. The pitcher was in a groove, but because a lefty was coming up, Girardi had to go to the pen and counter with a left-handed pitcher. With a five run lead there is no reason to. For that matter there's probably no reason to even warm that pitcher up unless you have no trust in your first pitcher.

Notes




Andy Pettitte's last two starts are something to worry about more than Logan's outing. In his prior start against Houston, Pettitte lasted just 4.1 innings and allowed seven runs on 10 hits. He only made it through five innings on Sunday, and allowed four runs (three earned), walked four batters and hit another. A very unusual start for Pettitte, who is normally very accurate with his pitches. Pettitte's problems started when his back started aching.

Lyle Overbay was nearly the hero in two different spots in the game. Down 4-1, The Yankees put a couple of men on base against starter Dan Straily in the 6th inning, which led to a quick hook from manager Bob Melvin. Left-hander Jerry Blevins entered to face Ichiro Suzuki, Jayson Nix, and Overbay.

Ichiro singled to cut the lead in half, and after Nix went down for the second out of the inning, Overbay dropped a ball in front of center fielder Yoenis Cespedes to tie the game. The Yankees put two aboard against Ryan Cook in the 8th and it came down to Overbay with two outs. The first baseman just missed getting all of one and flied out to the warning track in centerfield.

The Yankees had one more shot with two outs in the 9th against closer Grant Balfour. Brett Gardner roped a single and advanced to second on a wild pitch. The disadvantage there being that the A's then intentionally walked Robinson Cano, even though it put the winning run on first base. That left things up to Vernon Wells who swung and missed at a strike three fastball to end the game.

Eduardo Nunez had to leave the game in the middle innings when he felt discomfort in his rib cage. An MRI was negative, but with the Yankees about to start a three game series in Colorado on Tuesday, they are probably going to need another position player.

Nuno Impresses in Win Over Red Sox

If you mentioned the name Vidal Nuno to anyone at the start of Spring Training this year, they probably scrunched up their eye brows at the person who queried you and said, "Who?".  There's a chance that won't be the case much longer.

Nuno continued to make the Yankees front office and manager Joe Girardi take notice with five shutout innings in the Yankees 4-0 win over the Boston Red Sox Wednesday afternoon.

Nuno impressed in the 20 starts he made for Double-A Trenton last year. He had a 2.54 ERA against Eastern League hitters, struck out 100 in 114 innings and walked just 27 to help finish 9-5.

The 5'11", 25-year old was drafted out of Baker (KS) University by the Cleveland Indians in the 48th round of the 2009 MLB amateur draft. Household names don't usually get selected in the 48th round of anything. After an impressive post-draft stint in the New York-Penn League (NYPL), Nuno didn't fare as well the following season (6-9, 4.96 in 'A' ball) though his impeccable control continued. Inexplicably, the Indians released him the following March.

After six games in the independent Frontier League, the Yankees signed Nuno in mid-June. The 24-year old dominated the NYPL hitters, most of which were just out of high school or college. The Yankees quickly moved Nuno from Staten Island to 'A' ball in Charleston where continued to dominate opposing batters. Between the two levels, Nuno had a laughable 11.2:1 strikeout to walk ratio. The Indians loss appeared to be the Yankees gain.

Soon the Yankees will have decisions to make concerning the team that goes north for the April 1 home opener with Boston and which players get sent to the minors or released. The Yankees two left-handers in the pen were both banged up this spring. Boone Logan appeared in his first spring training game on Tuesday after sitting out with elbow inflammation. Clay Rapada made two appearances this spring, but has been out for nearly two weeks after he was diagnosed with bursitis in his shoulder.

The Yankees don't necessarily need two left-handers in the pen to start the season, but if Logan or Rapada is not ready, the Yankees could turn to Nuno.  The California native could also be considered a dark horse for a spot in the rotation if Phil Hughes starts the season on the disabled list. (Ivan Nova and David Phelps are the experienced pitchers that are currently battling for the number five spot among the starters.)

The most likely spot for Nuno will be in the starting rotation for the Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (What a horrible name). With Manny Banuelos recovering from Tommy John surgery, Nuno has leaped to the top of the charts among the team's left-handed pitching prospects.

Jeter Out With Crankle, Logan Returns

From the moment he reported to training camp Derek Jeter has insisted he and his previously broken left ankle would be ready for Opening Day on April 1.  Each time he has also thrown in a slight caveat to hedge his bets.  Jeter is still maintaining he will be in the lineup come April 1, but he is sitting it out the grapefruit league games for the second straight day with what has been referred to as "cranky" ankle (or a crankle, if you will).

It's no surprise that there would be a setback since you generally don't rehab from an injury without some pauses here and there. It's perfectly normal and more apt to happen once you are on the other side of 30-years old.

An MRI showed inflammation in the Captain's ankle and he will take things day-to-day for now.

The Yankees got some good news on Tuesday when Boone Logan (how come he's never been nicknamed "Wolverine"?) pitched in a game for the first time this spring. Logan had been out with elbow inflammation, and though he maintains he is pain-free, he believes there is still inflammation in the elbow.

Never one to ice his elbow after an appearance, Logan has begun the practice to help his arm rebound from the stress a game puts on it. Perhaps Joe Girardi would like to keep Logan from pitching in 80 games as well (not to mention how many times he warms up without coming in).

UPDATE 1:10 PM - Just got word that Derek Jeter got a cortisone shot in his ankle this morning. The likelihood of missing Opening Day just increased by A LOT.

Nova Looks Good in Weekend Sweep

The New York Yankees entered the weekend with just one win so far in the 2013 Grapefruit League. There hasn't been too much worry (this isn't your father's Steinbrenner) about though. Losses have mainly due to poor fielding, pitching, and lack of hitting by the Yankees' youngsters that have no chance of making the 25 man roster when the team departs Florida at the end of the month.

Ivan Nova is one of the youngsters that is an exception to the rule. A 16-game winner in his rookie season in 2011, Nova struggled with his command, some physical issues, and his confidence last season. The result was  a 12 win season, but an ERA over 5.00 and no spot on the post-season roster.

It didn't start out that way; Nova finished the first half 10-3, 3.92 in 17 starts. In the second half, Nova was the polar opposite and finished 2-5, 7.05 in 11 starts. After he allowed 13 home runs in 165.1 innings pitched in 2011, he allowed 28 home runs in just five more innings pitched a year later. Though his strikeouts went from 5.3 per nine innings in 2011 to 8.1 last season, it was clear that Nova was not placing the ball where he wanted to.

Nova's clean slate for 2013 began on Saturday when he  tossed a pair of scoreless innings in the Yankees 10-3 win over the Tigers. He allowed one hit and struck out one in his Spring Training debut. He threw 27 pitches.

Meredith Marakovitz spoke with Nova about his performance.



The Yankees won their second straight on Sunday, 5-1 over Boston in their first spring meeting with the Red Sox. Adam Warren was solid in three innings of work, with the only blemish a Mike Napoli home run. 23-year old Jose Ramirez followed with three scoreless innings and picked up the win.

Among the offensive highlights was a solo home run by Thomas Neal.

Injury Update

Andy Pettitte and Mariano Rivera both threw simulated games on Sunday. Rivera threw 21 pitches while Pettitte worked two innings and threw 34 pitches.

Lefty reliever Boone Logan has been shut down for a few days to rest his achy elbow. An MRI only showed some inflammation and Logan is hopeful that he'll be able to get back at it this week.

Starter Phil Hughes' back is feeling better and made 25 tosses from 60 feet on Sunday.

Outfielder Ichiro Suzuki was, thankfully, not injured when involved in a car accident on Saturday. Ichiro was on his way home from Saturday's game when his Land Rover was struck by another car attempting to make a left turn across traffic. The other driver was cited for failure to yield.

O's Give Yankees Christmas in August

It wasn't Phelps' birthday, but he'll take it.

The Yankees were headed to another boring loss Saturday afternoon when, out of the goodness of their hearts, the Baltimore Orioles handed them the baseball game. Hopefully, after the game Joe Girardi sent a thank you note to Buck Showalter. It's the proper thing to do when someone gives such a tasteful gift.

The Yankees trailed 3-1 in the 7th inning after a shaky start from David Phelps (6 free passes, 3 ER in 4.1 IP) and a lack of hitting from a lineup that looked like it belonged in a future Old Timers Day. Then the magic happened, a magic we haven't seen too often in the Bronx this year.

Skipper Buck Showalter left starter Wei-Yin Chen in just a tad too long and the normally reliable bullpen and defense didn't get the job done.

Chen had allowed just two hits to that point- a 4th inning solo home run by Robinson Cano and a harmless single in the 6th inning by Nick Swisher. He retired Andruw Jones (seriously, still batting Jones in the clean up spot? In case you haven't noticed, Joe Girardi, that was last year that Jones killed lefties, not this year.) to start the inning, before Steve Pearce reached on a single.

No worries, Russell Martin flew out and Chen was about to finish up his day and get ready to watch Jim Johnson and company save the ball game. But the left-hander walked Jayson Nix and was kept in to face the right-handed hitting Eduardo Nunez, who had just been recalled from the minors. YES' Michael Kay and Ken Singleton speculated that it could be the biggest at-bat of Nunez's career, given the Yankees current circumstances.  They weren't wrong and Nunez came through with a broken bat bloop that landed softly in the outfield for an RBI single.

Showalter sent for hard throwing right-hander Pedro Strop to face Ichiro Suzuki with the tying and go ahead runs on base. Strop had been dynamite all year, but in his prior two games, the native of San Cristobal in the Dominican Republic had allowed three runs and five hits in 1.1 innings pitched. Hits weren't a problem against the Yankees, but Strop walked Ichiro Suzuki to load the bases and then lost a battle to Derek Jeter, that resulted in another walk and a tie ball game.

With left-hander Brian Matusz warmed up in the pen, Showalter stuck with Strop despite the fact that Swisher has hit righties at a better rate than when he's in the other batters' box. Perhaps Showalter was thinking about Swisher's "Golden Sombrero" in the series opener. Swisher lined a one-hopper that ate up shortstop J.J. Hardy, who compounded matters when he bobbled a second attempt at making a play. The error allowed the Yankees to take the lead for the first time in the series.

Then it came down to the Yankees bullpen and they were perfect. David Robinson retired the side in order in the 8th and Rafael Soriano struck out a pair in the 9th for his 35th save and an untucked shirt for a well done performance.

Notes

The victory moved the Yankees back to three games ahead of the O's entering Sunday's series finale. Phil Hughes will be pitted against red-hot Chris Tillman.

Curtis Granderson struck out in the 2nd inning and didn't return to the field due to a tight hamstring. The Yankees certainly don't need any additional injuries to their already weakened lineup and, thankfully, an MRI revealed no structural damage. The Grandy Man will be considered day-to-day for the moment.

The Yankees' pen did a fantastic job; in addition to Robertson and Soriano, Cody Eppley retired the only man he faced in the 5th inning and Boone Logan tossed two scoreless innings for the win. Baltimore only had one hit after the 5th inning.

David Phelps entered the game with a 2.7 walks per 9 innings average. He also averaged 9.4 K's per 9 innings, but picked up just 3 K's.

Pen Beats a Tribe Called Less

I will not untuck before it's time.

Fans of the Cleveland Indians had their hopes up when the team burst out of the gate with a 27-21 record and led the AL Central from May 2 to May 28. But after splitting the first 100 games, the Tribe entered Sunday's action with the Yankees having lost 21 of their last 26 games and plummeted to 14.5 games behind the Chicago White Sox in the AL Central.

The teams split the first two games of the series with Swisher & Soriano saving Sabathia's start (I've been waiting days to say that....if Dan Rather said it, he'd whistle your ear right off) for the win on Friday and then the Yankees hitters let down Hiroki Kuroda, who was excellent again after a shaky first inning, in Saturday's defeat.

Sunday afternoon's rubber game of the series was all about the Yankees' bullpen after Sweaty Freddy Garcia couldn't make it out of the 5th inning for the second straight start. The Yankees built a 3-0 lead against starter Ubaldo Jimenez  on RBI singles by Nick Swisher and Ichiro Suzuki, sandwiched around a Derek Jeter run producing ground out in the 2nd inning,

But after seeing leads slip away in a three game series sweep at the hands of the Chicago White Sox, manager Joe Girardi was not going to let the finale of the six game road trip get away when Garcia ran aground in the 5th.

Garcia had worked out of a pair of jams leading up to his final inning, but the Indians stranded five men on base, three of them in scoring position.  Garcia retired the first two hitters in the 5th, but gave up a double to Jason Kipnis, hit Asdrubel Cabrera,  and walked Shin-Soo Choo to load the bases.

Catcher Carlos Santana had flied out to right in the same situation back in the 3rd inning, but this time singled to center to for a pair of runs and sent Garcia to the showers. Lefty Boone Logan got left-handed hitter Michael Brantley to ground out to end the threat.

Curtis Granderson gave the Yankees an insurance run in the 6th, when he belted his 200th career home run off of lefty reliever Tony Sipp. It was the Grandy man's 33rd home run of the season and RBI number 74.

Logan retired the side in order in the 7th before he exited when Kipnis reached on a out-single in the 8th. David Robertson picked up the final two outs of the inning and left in the 8th after he retired two batters and allowed a single to Brantley.

Closer Rafael Soriano induced an inning ending fly out from Matt LaPorta, before he worked the 9th inning for his 33 save. The victory didn't come without a scary moment, however, when Kipnis hit a comebacker that got a piece of Soriano's glove and bare hand (he wasn't sure after the game which it hit first).  Soriano was able to recover to throw Kipnis out at first and said after the game that he felt fine. Hopefully that will still be the case on Monday.

Notes

Ironically, a day after the passing of astronaut Neil Armstrong, the Indians honored former astronaut and US Senator John Glenn for the 50th anniversary of Glenn's orbit of earth. The 91-year old threw out the first pitch (underhanded) for a strike.

Nick Swisher continued his torrid August with three hits and an RBI. He's now hitting .336 for the month with five HR, 19 RBI, and seven doubles. He narrowly missed a home run when he hit the base of the right field wall and settled for a double.

Pfen Pfail

Just about everyone has had it happen to them at least once. Dress shirt on, pen in the pocket. The next thing you know you've got a giant ink stain on your shirt. Thursday afternoon's performance by the Yankees bullpen was the baseball equivalent of said scenario.

The Yankees had a legitimate shot to pull off an unthinkable four game series sweep of the Texas Rangers, but the Yankees relievers couldn't get it done. The Yankees had rallied from a 4-0 deficit to put five on the board in the bottom of the 6th against Rangers' starter Derek Holland, but Texas quickly wrested control back in the top of the 7th.

Yankees starter Ivan Nova had departed after 5.2 innings and four earned runs allowed, unable to build off of his 10 strikeout win against the Toronto Blue Jays five days ago. Boone Logan took his first loss in five decisions after he allowed an inherited runner to score and gave up the lead on an RBI double by David Murphy.

Joba Chamberlain continued to struggle since his return from the disabled list on August 1. He came on after Logan and struck out Geovany Soto for the second out of the inning, but then allowed a back breaking 2-run single to Chris Gentry for a 7-5 Texas lead. The Yankees got one back in the  bottom of the inning, but Texas put the game away with three more runs charged to Chamberlain and Clay Rapada for a 10-6 final.

While it would have been nice to pull off a four game sweep against one of the toughest lineups in all of baseball, the Yankees have to be happy having taken three out of four. Especially with David Phelps and Freddy Garcia having started two of the four games.

Notes

The Yankees five run 6th was highlighted by Andruw Jones' game tying 2-run home run. The Yankees then took the lead when Casey McGehee reached on error and came home on Russell Martin's RBI single.

Which Came First? The Pollo or The Juevos? Doesn't Matter, Home Runs Came Last

Frank Francisco made called the Yankees chickens prior to the weekend series between the Mets and Yankees. Of course, no one knew what the hell he was talking about, so they weren't insulted. Perhaps Francisco though he was Pedro Cerrano from Major League who wanted to sacrifice a chicken before the big game.

Francisco created a stir mainly among the Mets and the fans, and the NY Post came up with one of their ridiculous cover pages. It turned out Francisco was referring to the Yankees allegedly constantly complaining about ball and strike calls.

Of course there are certain people who should just keep his mouth shut. Especially idiots who once threw a chair in the crowd and injured two fans.

Yes, Francisco saved Friday night's 6-4 Mets win over the Yankees, but karma is a bitch, and apparently Francisco hurt his oblique. Perhaps it was from his jolly laughter about the whole chicken incident and his subsequent back track of his words.

Saturday night it looked like Francisco, before we knew he probably unavailable, might be called on again. But those things they call home runs, which Mets fans thought the Yankees couldn't hit in their spacious ball park, changed all that. Ivan Nova left in the 6th inning, trailing 3-0. He had allowed a home run to Kirk Nieuwenhuis and an Alex Rodriguez error led to an unearned run.

The Yankees were barely touching 6'10" Mets' starter Chris Young, who at times looked like he was dunking the baseball in the catcher Josh Thole's mitt. But after putting two aboard in the 7th inning, Young saw his lead slip away when Raul Ibanez hit a frozen rope over the wall in right to tie the game.

Two batters later pinch-hitter Eric Chavez did his Niewenhuis imitation by hitting an opposite field home run to left to give the Yankees their first lead of the night. Then it was up to the bullpen.

Boone Logan K'ed two to end the 8th; David Robertson did his Houdini act in the 8th when he walked two, but struck out the side, and Rafael Soriano finished it off in the 9th with two more K's and a Mets' stranded runner.

So the Yankees home runs stole one and the series is tied one apiece with a great rubber game Sunday night between CC Sabathia and R.A. Dickey. We'll see who laughs last.

J.P. Morgan Gongs Phil Hughes

The Gong Show was classic 1970's television. Made on the cheap (it would be perfect for today's watered down television). It featured 'B' list celebrities like Jaye P. Morgan and Jamie Farr who would judge talented, semi-talented, or more likely, really bad acts. When the judges couldn't take it any more they would grab the big gong stick ('cause I don't know what you actually call the drumstick with the big marshmallow looking thing on the end) and slam the gong, crushing the hopes of the performer. (My wife and I still refer to anyone named Gene/Jean as "Gene, Gene, The Dancing Machine") Last night the gong would have been heard loud and clear when Phil Hughes put the Yankees in a 4-1 hole and then couldn't hold a 5-4 lead. The only missing was the over sized cane to yank him off the mound. The Red Sox went on to a 9-5 win to even the three game series with A.J. Burnett facing Jon Lester in the rubber game tonight.

Hughes had a chance to step up and grab the #5 spot in the rotation, but after getting slammed by Oakland last week, he wasn't much better in Fenway Park. The California native started the game with mid-90's velocity, but his speed began to peter out as his location faltered. Derek Jeter had given the Yankees 1-0 lead in the 3rd with an RBI single off Red Sox starter and winner Josh Beckett, but Boston took the lead in their half of the inning. Dustin Pedroia followed a single by Marco Scutaro and a double by Jacoby Ellsbury with an RBI ground out to tie the game. Hughes retired Adrian Gonzalez, but Joe Girardi's decision to intentionally walk David Ortiz backfired when Jed Lowrie singled in the go ahead run.

The Red Sox extended their lead to 4-1 in the 5th when David Ortiz crushed a pitch to the deepest part of the park in center field with a man aboard. One wonders what Francisco Cervelli was thinking as he watched Ortiz stand at home plate for 10 minutes, then raise both arms to the sky as he stood on home plate after circling the bases. With Beckett on the mound the Yankees could have been, but they got off the mat and actually took a short lived lead.

Beckett hit Mark Teixeira to start the 6th and then threw a wild pitch to move him into scoring position. Robinson Cano delivered an RBI double to halve the Red Sox lead and Nick Swisher worked a good at-bat to draw a walk. Eric Chavez ripped a fastball into the right field corner that skipped past Josh Reddick and tied the game. It was ruled a 2-run double with an error added in to allow Chavez to reach third. Eduardo Nunez's fly to center brought home Chavez and just like that the Yankees had their first lead of the night.

But after retiring Carl Crawford to start the bottom of the 6th Hughes walked Josh Reddick. Girardi should have pulled his starter right there, but Jaosn Varitek made him pay when he reached out and cued a ball down the third base line. Instead of hopping into the stands or ricocheting off the side wall, the ball took a weird hop off the wall and got by Brett Gardner for a game tying double. Hughes stayed in to get Scutaro for the second out before Girardi went to LOOGY Boone Logan to face Ellsbury. Logan had struck out two batters with the bases loaded to help win Tuesday's game, but this time out he grooved one to the Red Sox centerfielder who turned on it for his 24th home run of the season and a 7-5 Red Sox lead. Jason Varitek then put the game away in the 8th when he smacked a 2-run home run off of Luis Ayala.

NOTES

Derek Jeter had two more hits last night and finished August with a .387/.435/.472 split and 13 RBI in 25 games. He also had a league high 41 hits for the month.

No matter how A.J. Burnett does this evening, he probably has the #5 spot in the rotation locked up. Hughes has shown he can be good in short spurts and that would be better for his dipping velocity as the game goes on. Burnett, meanwhile, may be nothing more than an innings eater, but he's not suited to the pen. Neither pitcher figures to even be part of the post-season plans, though Hughes could be in the pen.

Robinson Cano finished August with a 1.014 OPS, 7 HR, and 29 RBI. His month also included a 16 game hitting streak.