The Big Man Gets His Groove On

The Yankees increased their AL East lead while CC Sabathia was on the disabled list, but you can bet they were ecstatic to get him back tonight. A modest Tuesday night crowd was too as Sabathia cruised through six scoreless innings en route to a 6-1 Yankees win over the Toronto Blue Jays.

Sabathia was DL'ed  for the first time in his career after straining his groin at the end of June. But he showed no rust in his return as the Yankees improved to 4-1 after the All-Star break. Sabathia threw 87 pitches, 66 for strikes (75.8%) and limited the Blue Jays to four hits and a walk, while he finished with six strikeouts.

The win was Sabathia's 10th of the season; in doing so, per YES research manager Jeff Quagliata (@yestoresearch), Sabathia became the first Major League pitcher since Tom Seaver to reach double figures in wins his first 12 seasons.

As is the case in most of the Yankees win this season, the home run played a big part in this one. Andruw Jones smacked one out in the 2nd inning off Brett Cecil with two aboard to give the Yankees a quick 3-0 lead.

The Blue Jays defense and some non-home runs gave the Yankees some necessary insurance in the 7th inning. Third baseman Brett Lawrie played a chopper into an RBI double for Chris Stewart for a 4-1 lead. Derek Jeter followed with an RBI double to right that was misplayed by Anthony Gose, who was making his Major League debut. The final run of the inning came across on a sharp Alex Rodriguez ground out.

The run were needed when the Blue Jays loaded the bases with one out off of Chad Qualls and Clay Rapada. Joe Girardi was forced go to his closer, but Rafael Soriano only needed five pitches to end the game. J.P. Arencibia hit a bullet right to Mark Teixeira, who tagged out Gose before he could get back to 1st base.

Notes

Qualls continues to struggle and may be looking for a job soon. Since he was acquired off waivers from the Philadelphia Phillies, the 33-year old right-hander has allowed five runs and nine hits in 6.1 innings pitched.

Clay Rapada showed that he is not someone likely to win a Gold Glove Award any time soon. Back on June 28, Rapada's throwing error on a potential double play ball helped cost the Yankees a game against the White Sox. Tuesday night Rapada had another miscue on a come backer with runners on the corners and one out in the 9th. Rapada cleanly fielded Gose's hack-swing/bunt, but when he looked toward 2nd base it gave Gose time to reach first safely with his first Major League hit. (Personally, I think it should be an error on Rapada). Rapada can thank Soriano and Teixeria for getting him off the hook this time around.

Robinson Cano extended his career high hitting streak to 20 games. He's hit .405 during the streak with six home runs and 20 RBI. According to the YES Network, it's the longest streak by Yankees second baseman since Joe Gordon in 1942. Ironically, Tuesday marked the 71st anniversary of the end of Joe DiMaggio's 56 game hitting streak

Jones has six home runs and 12 RBI in his last 12 games. The home run was the 432nd of his career.

Joba Chamberlain pitched an inning for the GCL Yankees and was reportedly clocked at 98 mph.

The Yankees have now scored three or more runs in 40 straight games.

Colon A Winner..Period

Bartolo Colon stepped out on a Major League mound in the 1st inning tonight for the first time since July 24, 2009 and though he looks like he's more suited for Sumo, the guy still knows how to pitch. He gave the Yankees a solid six innings and the Yankees gave him the run support he needed in a 6-2 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays at the Rogers Centre. The win gave the Yankees a split of the two game series and got some revenge against the guy with the ugly glasses.

That would be left-hander Brett Cecil, who last season topped the Yankees four times in five starts. But the sixth time is apparently the charm. The Yankees loaded the bases with one out in the 1st inning on a pair of walks and a Mark Teixeira double. Robinson Cano's RBI ground out put the Bombers up 1-0. An inning later, Curtis Granderson tripled home Russell Martin and came home himself on a Derek Jeter ground out. Granderson would later add an insurance run with a solo home run.

Colon meanwhile got out of a 2-on, 2-out jam in the 1st, but gave up a solo home run to rookie J.P. Arencibia to start the 2nd to cut the Yankees lead to 3-1. The veteran right-hander then faced the minimum amount of batters over the next four innings, allowing just a single which was erased in a double play. He ran out of gas in the 7th though, which led to an RBI single by Jayson Nix off of David Robertson; John McDonald struck out to keep the lead at 5-2.

The Blue Jays threatened again in the 9th, putting two aboard, but Rafael Soriano came on for his first Yankees' save. After walking Nix, Soriano retired McDonald and Yunel Escobar to preserve the win, the first for Colon since May 26, 2009.

Notes

Alex Rodriguez returned to the lineup tonight after sitting out with a strained oblique. He was 0-2 with an RBI, two walks, and a caught stealing.

Pen Writes A Bad Ending

Today's game between the Yankees and Toronto Blue Jays should have been about A.J. Burnett's return to the nickname the "Good A.J." as fans like to refer to him as. But instead the bullpen rained on Burnett's parade and the Blue Jays topped the Yankees 6-1 in extra innings.

Pitching coach Dave Eiland said he found a problem with Burnett's mechanics that was causing his front shoulder to fly open. But obviously there was reason to be skeptical after the horrendous month that Burnett endured in June.

This time out though Burnett left to a standing ovation after 6.2 innings with the Yankees clinging to 1-0 lead. It didn't last long.

In the 8th, the Jays rallied against Joba Chamberlain to tie the game on Aaron Hill's single. It was the third base runner allowed by Chamberlain in the inning. The right-hander with the plus fastball continues to get burned by his off-speed pitches. Something, in my opinion, he relies on much too much. It's one thing to throw a variety of pitches as a starter, but you don't need as large an array as a reliever.

The Yankees wasted numerous opportunities in the game, including a bases loaded no out situation in the 3rd inning. Blue Jays starter Brett Cecil struck out Alex Rodriguez and Robinson Cano, and got Jorge Posada to hit into an inning ending ground out.

Fans were hoping for the first walk off victory of the season, but the Yankees went down in order in the 9th and 10th innings. After Mariano Rivera and David Robertson each tossed a scoreless frame, Robertson got tagged in his first two inning appearance of the season.

The Blue Jays loaded the bases with one out and took the lead when Alex Gonzalez's line drive went beyone the reach of a leaping Alex Rodriguez. Chan Ho Park came on to strike out Jose Bautista, but walked Vernon Wells to put the Jays on top 3-1. Dewayne Wise, who entered the game as a pinch-runner in the 8th, then delivered the back breaker - a bases clearing triple for a 6-1 lead.

This outing once again proved what a horrible signing Chan Ho Park was. Brian Cashman has not learned not to give deals, be it long term or short term, to National Leaguer pitchers who have had one good year. Jaret Wright, Carl Pavano, Chan Ho Park. The list goes on.

Park's ERA is now 6.66, that in itself is in omen. I actually get angry every time he comes into the game. Park, Chamberlain, Robertson and most of the pen suffer from the same problem. Getting behind in the count. It happened to all three today and all three paid for it today.

The good news, of course, is that Burnett got a tremendous shot of confidence after allowing four hits and three walks, while striking out six. Hopefully he can now build off of today's performance.

Notes

Boone Logan was optioned to Scranton prior to the game to make room for Dustin Moseley. The former Angel pitcher had the option to opt out of his minor league deal. The Yankees wanted to see if he could do a better job as the long man at least until Sergio Mitre is back. With Chad Gaudin out of options, the Yankees decided to send Logan down despite how poorly Gaudin has been pitching.

The Yankees were hitless with runners in scoring position and had just five hits on the day.

photo courtesy of Lohud.com

Domed With a Chance of Meatballs

A.J. Burnett wasn't happy last night. He wasn't happy that the Rogers Centre dome was closed. He wasn't happy with the mound. He wasn't happy with himself. He especially wasn't happy with the two meatballs he served up to major league's leading home run hitter, Jose Bautista.

Wait, what? Jose Bautista? The guy who doesn't hit for much average and has some pop. But like 15 home runs a year pop, right?

Yeah, that would be the guy. Bautista is the main man on a Blue Jays squad that is on a pace to break the major league record for home runs in a season. Last night Bautista crushed a pair of Burnett meatballs off the facing of the second deck in left field to back eight stellar innings from starter Brett Cecil. Both help the Blue Jays cruise to a 6-1 win over the Yankees in the series opener.

Bautista jump started the Jays offense in the second when he belted a fastball down the middle. Two innings later, he got virtually the same pitch and put the Jays up 3-0. Edwin Encarnacion would join the home run parade as well taking Burnett deep in the 5th.

Cecil, meanwhile, silenced the Yankees bats with relative ease. He allowed just five hits, walked one, and struck out five. And like his idol Andy Pettitte, used a couple of double play balls to get out of jams. The left-hander has now allowed just five runs over his last 29 1-3 innings.

AL '09 Rookie Preview - AL East

Who will be this year's Evan Longoria or Alexi Ramirez? While there may not be a player of Longoria's stature or someone who comes out of nowhere like Ramirez, there are plenty of good first year players to compete for this year's rookie of the year honors.

We start out today by taking a look at the rookies in the AL East.

AL East

Yankees

With All-Stars and/or veterans at nearly every position, you won't see a rookie make an impact in the Bronx, outside of the bullpen, this season. And even then it would probably only be in a long man role. Al Aceves, Anthony Claggett, or Mark Melancon could be that guy, but none will be in the rookie of the year running.

Red Sox

Like the Yankees, Boston has put together a veteran team, with a sprinkle of younger players. But none of the youngsters are rookie eligible. Japanese import Junichi Taweze could have an impact in the Red Sox search for middle bullpen men.

Rays

You already got a glimpse of the favorite for the AL ROY in last year's post-season. David Price showed baseball fans what Rays fans have been drooling over since they selected him as the first overall pickout of Vanderbilt in the 2007 amateur draft.

Big, left-handed, and throws hard; that all spells intimidation. Price dominated Double-A hitters before struggling at the Triple-A level. However, a recall to the majors didn't prove to be a problem. Price posted a 1.98 ERA in 14 appearances (all but one of which were out of the pen) and then won one game while saving another in the ALCS. Price then threw 3.1 innings in the World Series to bolster his resume and confidence.


Blue Jays

Outfielder Travis Snider is one of the top prospects in baseball and a bona fide ROY candidate. He hit .301-2-13 in a 24 game call up late in the season. The just-turned 21-yr old is only three years out of high school, but he's quickly moved up the organization's depth chart.

Snider had a fabulous year at 'A' ball in 2007, belting 16 home runs and driving in 93 runs, while batting .338 and posting a .902 OPS. He built off of it last season, playing just 17 games (4 HR, 7 RBI) at high 'A' before a promotion to Double-A. While his batting average dipped (.262) and he had the usual young hitter's strikeout problem (116 K's in 362 ABs), he earned a promotion to Triple-A with 17 HRs, 67 RBI, and an .818 OPS in 98 games.

The Blue Jays came calling after Snider hit .344 at Syracuse with 2 HR and 17 RBI in just 18 games. That gave him a combined minor league season of 23 HR and 84 RBI.

With the departure of A.J. Burnett, 22-yr old Brett Cecil has a chance to join the Blue Jays starting rotation. Like Snider, Cecil played at three levels last season, spending most of his time at Double-A New Hampshire. 129 strikeouts in 118.2 innings pitched opened GM J.P. Riccardi's eyes and Cecil has a legitimate chance to go north with the Jays if he can prove himself this spring (He won't have to wait long; he's got the starting assignment for Toronto's first spring training against the Yankees on Wednesday.)

Cecil was a closer and full-time reliever at the University of Maryland, but has made more than a smooth transition to starter. But just like a young hitter has a tendency to strike out, young pitchers tend to walk hitters. That wasn't the case for Cecil at Single- and Double-A, but he issued 16 free passes in just 30.2 innings for Syracuse.

Orioles

Everyone in the Orioles organization as well as their fans is awaiting the arrival of catcher Matt Wieters, last season's minor league player of the year. Not since Joe Mauer has a catcher brought such expectation to the game. That's what will happen though when you hit 27 home runs, between 'A' and 'AA', and post a 1.054 OPS.

Wieters is likely to start the season in Triple-A, but is expected to be called up by the All-Star break. Wieters only has one year of pro ball under his belt, but he destroyed college pitching for three years while at Georgia Tech. Wieters has gotten good marks for calling games and handling pitchers. He's quickly become a team leader and is great with the fans. This guy is just what the Orioles organization has needed for a long time.


Ranking the AL East ROY Prospects

1. David Price
2. Matt Wieters
3. Travis Snider
4. Brett Cecil