Yankees Fall To O's,but Gardner Impresses

The New York Yankees already knew their game plan was going to be a little different this year. The big home run hitting machine is no more. It's time to get back to the basics - moving runners, stealing bases, putting on the hit and run, etc. The ability to play small ball will be even more important with the loss of Curtis Granderson for a minimum of 10 weeks due to the broken right arm he suffered on Sunday.

One of the Yankees that Joe Girardi will be counting on the most is center fielder Brett Gardner. Girardi was hoping to give Granderson a look in left and move Gardner back to center where it is felt he is the superior defensive player of the two. With Granderson's injury Gardner gets center field back by default. Now they need his bat and speed to pick up some of the slack with Granderson's home run power out of the lineup.

Gardner missed all but 16 games of the 2012 regular season after he injured his right elbow in April and had to have it surgically repaired. This afternoon against the Baltimore Orioles, Gardner led off, played center field, and was 3-3 at the plate. Speed played a factor in two of the three hits as Gardner beat out an infield grounder (and dove into first base much to the dismay of everyone on the Yankees side of the field) and later bunted his way on.

 It's that speed that the Yankees will count on to help produce runs. In a healthy 2011 season, Gardner swiped 49 bases in 62 attempts. In 2010 he was even better with 47 steals in just 53 tries. Gardner knows though that he has to be more aggressive when the game is on the line and not be worried about being thrown out. It's something that even the casual observer has noticed during Gardner's career.

The Yankees fell 5-1 to the Orioles Monday afternoon, breaking up the shutout in the 9th on a Walter Ibarra RBI. The Yankees had eight hits with Jayson Nix picking up a pair. Vidal Nuno started for the Yankees, who threw all minor leaguers on Monday. Brian Matusz started for the Orioles and tossed a pair of scoreless innings as he attempts to make it back to the rotation after a successful second half stint in the O's 2012 bullpen.

The Yankees play the Phllies in Clearwater on Tuesday at 1. The game will be televised live on the MLB Network.

YCN: No One Hits Home Runs Like The Yankees

Ever wonder who the Yankees' top 10 franchise leaders in home runs are? I'm sure you know where Babe Ruth and Mickey Mantle are on the list, but what about Graig Nettles, Derek Jeter, and Jorge Posada.

That was the latest assignment for the Yahoo Contributor Network. Unfortunately, I was limited to 400 words and the first draft was over 1,000. Still I hope you find it interesting.

New York Yankees' Top 10 Home Run Hitters

25 or 6 to 4

All that slugging (not Posada and Carlson) going on in the Bronx..and on the road (Take note FOX and ESPN) has the Yankees on the brink of a new team record.- Players with 25 or more home runs.

The team is currently tied with the 1938 squad with 3 players and with Johnny Damon (1) and Robinson Cano (2) on the brink of reaching the season milestone, this year's team should set a new standard.

Hideki Matsui's game tying home run on Wednesday was his 25th, joining Mark Teixeira (36), Nick Swisher (27), and Alex Rodriguez (25) who had already eclipsed the mark.

The '38 team members with 25 or more were Joe DiMaggio (32), Lou Gehrig (29), Bill Dickey (27), and Joe Gordon (25).

Always overlooked on the great Yankees team is the pitching and the '38 starting rotation is no exception.

Red Ruffing 21-7, 3.31
Lefty Gomez 18-12, 3.35
Monte Person 16-7, 3.97
Spud Chandler 14-5, 4.03

Ruffing and Gomez are both in the Hall of Fame.

And now some classic Chicago.

Milestone Men

Time to take a look at who around baseball is close to achieving greatness, or greater greatness(?).

Because chicks love the long ball.

Player Total
Ken Griffey Jr. 597
Alex Rodriguez 522
Frank Thomas 516
Jim Thome 514
Manny Ramirez 498
Gary Sheffield 482
Carlos Delgado 436
Chipper Jones 397


Games Played
Manny Ramirez 1,991

Wins
Greg Maddux 350 (5 wins to pass Clemens)
Randy Johnson 287

Strikeouts
Randy Johnson 4648 (5 more to pass Clemens for 2nd place)

Milestone Men

Time to take a look at who around baseball is close to achieving greatness, or greater greatness(?).

Because chicks love the long ball.

Player Total
Ken Griffey Jr. 597
Alex Rodriguez 522
Frank Thomas 516
Jim Thome 514
Manny Ramirez 498
Gary Sheffield 482
Carlos Delgado 436
Chipper Jones 397


Games Played
Manny Ramirez 1,991

Wins
Greg Maddux 350 (5 wins to pass Clemens)
Randy Johnson 287

Strikeouts
Randy Johnson 4648 (5 more to pass Clemens for 2nd place)

Yankees High Five White Sox

The Yankees power surge continued tonight with a 5 home run outburst and a 8-1 drubbing of the White Sox. Alex Rodriguez once again went hitless, but Jorge Posada hit a pair of home runs, and Robinson Cano, Derek Jeter, and Shelley Duncan hit one each.
Andy Pettitte got to enjoy some run support and gave the Yankees bullpen some rest as a reward. Pettitte threw 117 pitches in a 7 inning effort in evening his record at 7-7.

The White Sox reached Pettitte for 1-0 lead in the 2nd on Scott Podsednik's RBI triple, but the Yankees quickly jumped on young lefty John Danks. Hideki Matsui lined a single to center and Posada followed with his 13th home run, from the right side of the plate, to tie the game at 1 apiece. Melky Cabrera later added an RBI single for a 3-1 lead.

In the 4th, Cano hit his 10th of the season off Danks (6-8), and 2 batters later, Duncan belted his 5th in 8 games. Derek Jeter homered off of Ryan Bukvich in the 7th and Posada hit his 2nd of the night and 14th of the season, this time from the left side, against knuckleballer Charlie Haeger. Haeger than hit Cano with a 71 mph knuckleball and was ejected by home plate ump Tom Hallion. White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen, who was ejected Tuesday night, argued vehemently, but to no avail. It was clearly a horrendous overreaction call by Hallion.

Despite having already thrown 106 pitches, Torre send Pettitte out for the 7th and he responded with a 1-2-3 inning. Luis Vizcaino and Brian Bruney finished up the Yankees 2nd straight win.

....

Posada's multi homer game was the 14th of his career. The 2 homers raised his average to
.341.

To make room on the roster for Wilson Betemit, Chris Basak was sent down to Scranton. The Yankees also activated Jeff Karstens from the 60-day DL.

Pettitte's victory was the 193rd of his career and the 156th of his Yankees career.

Yankees High Five White Sox

The Yankees power surge continued tonight with a 5 home run outburst and a 8-1 drubbing of the White Sox. Alex Rodriguez once again went hitless, but Jorge Posada hit a pair of home runs, and Robinson Cano, Derek Jeter, and Shelley Duncan hit one each.
Andy Pettitte got to enjoy some run support and gave the Yankees bullpen some rest as a reward. Pettitte threw 117 pitches in a 7 inning effort in evening his record at 7-7.

The White Sox reached Pettitte for 1-0 lead in the 2nd on Scott Podsednik's RBI triple, but the Yankees quickly jumped on young lefty John Danks. Hideki Matsui lined a single to center and Posada followed with his 13th home run, from the right side of the plate, to tie the game at 1 apiece. Melky Cabrera later added an RBI single for a 3-1 lead.

In the 4th, Cano hit his 10th of the season off Danks (6-8), and 2 batters later, Duncan belted his 5th in 8 games. Derek Jeter homered off of Ryan Bukvich in the 7th and Posada hit his 2nd of the night and 14th of the season, this time from the left side, against knuckleballer Charlie Haeger. Haeger than hit Cano with a 71 mph knuckleball and was ejected by home plate ump Tom Hallion. White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen, who was ejected Tuesday night, argued vehemently, but to no avail. It was clearly a horrendous overreaction call by Hallion.

Despite having already thrown 106 pitches, Torre send Pettitte out for the 7th and he responded with a 1-2-3 inning. Luis Vizcaino and Brian Bruney finished up the Yankees 2nd straight win.

....

Posada's multi homer game was the 14th of his career. The 2 homers raised his average to
.341.

To make room on the roster for Wilson Betemit, Chris Basak was sent down to Scranton. The Yankees also activated Jeff Karstens from the 60-day DL.

Pettitte's victory was the 193rd of his career and the 156th of his Yankees career.

John Sterling Gets Laryngitis

Okay, not really. But those famous pipes were put to the test last night when the Yankees clubbed 8 home runs and bombarded the Chicago White Sox, 16-3, at Yankee Stadium. The Yankees tied the team record set back in 1939, when Joe DiMaggio (2), Babe Dahlgren (2), Bill Dickey, George Selkirk, Tommy Henrich, and Joe Gordon all went deep. The one home run missing from those 8 last night was Alex Rodriguez's 500th. The Yankees also had 16 hits, but A-Rod went 0-5, though he just missed hitting one out a couple of times.

The Yankees jumped all over Jose Contreras, whose trade value dropped quicker than Dubya's approval rating, in the first two innings. Johnny Damon and Derek Jeter lead off the 1st with singles and Bobby Abreu crushed his 9th home run for a quick 3-0 lead. Two batters later, Hideki Matsui hit his first of two home runs on the night for a 4-0 lead. Matsui finished July with 13 home runs.

Mike Mussina (or Miss Sena as One-By-One of The Yankee Zone calls him) nearly gave the lead it all back at once. After allowing 2nd inning singles to Paul Konerko and Scott Podsednik, Moose served one up to Juan Uribe, who promptly crushed his 10th home run to cut the lead to 4-3. But Contreras was as bad as it gets.

The Cuban born right-hander retired the side in order in the 2nd, including a pair of strikeouts, but he wouldn't make it out of the 3rd. Matsui drew a 2-out walk and Jorge Posada followed with a single to center. Robinson Cano (9th) ripped a bullet into the bleachers in right-center to push the lead back to 7-3, and send Contreras to an early shower.

It only took 2 batters for reliever Charlie Haeger to join the party. Andy Phillips reached on an error and Melky Cabrera, batting from the right side, lined a 2-run HR (his 6th) into the left field seats. Even Mussina wasn't going to blow a lead on this night.

Moose settled down and gave the Yankees 6 innings before Kyle Farnsworth, who was roundly booed, Mike Myers, and Sean Henn threw 1 inning each. But the Yankees offense wasn't done.

Jorge Posada hit a 2-run shot, his 12th, in the 4th inning. Posada went 4-5 to raise his season average to .339. Matsui added a 2-run blast in the 6th, and Johnny Damon (6th) and Shelley Duncan, a late inning replacement, hit solo home runs in the 7th.

On a day that was unmemorable for the Yankees ability to make a trade, the night at Yankee Stadium was one to remember for the ages.

...

The victory moved the Yankees to within 7 games of Boston and 3 of Cleveland.

Mussina's victory was the 245th of his career.

A-Rod may have gone 0-5, but one young fan behind the Yankees dugout was quite happy with him. After his last at-bat, A-Rod gave him his bat.

Duncan's home run was his 4th in 7 games, and 21 at-bats. Hideki Matsui must have hated for the calendar to turn to a new month. He hit .345-13-28. Ironically, he only had 14 runs scored - or he was driven in only 1 time by someone other than himself.

Robinson Cano reached the .300 mark for the 1st time this season. He hit .385 in July with 6 HR and 24 ribbies. He's batting .410 since the All-Star break.

John Sterling Gets Laryngitis

Okay, not really. But those famous pipes were put to the test last night when the Yankees clubbed 8 home runs and bombarded the Chicago White Sox, 16-3, at Yankee Stadium. The Yankees tied the team record set back in 1939, when Joe DiMaggio (2), Babe Dahlgren (2), Bill Dickey, George Selkirk, Tommy Henrich, and Joe Gordon all went deep. The one home run missing from those 8 last night was Alex Rodriguez's 500th. The Yankees also had 16 hits, but A-Rod went 0-5, though he just missed hitting one out a couple of times.

The Yankees jumped all over Jose Contreras, whose trade value dropped quicker than Dubya's approval rating, in the first two innings. Johnny Damon and Derek Jeter lead off the 1st with singles and Bobby Abreu crushed his 9th home run for a quick 3-0 lead. Two batters later, Hideki Matsui hit his first of two home runs on the night for a 4-0 lead. Matsui finished July with 13 home runs.

Mike Mussina (or Miss Sena as One-By-One of The Yankee Zone calls him) nearly gave the lead it all back at once. After allowing 2nd inning singles to Paul Konerko and Scott Podsednik, Moose served one up to Juan Uribe, who promptly crushed his 10th home run to cut the lead to 4-3. But Contreras was as bad as it gets.

The Cuban born right-hander retired the side in order in the 2nd, including a pair of strikeouts, but he wouldn't make it out of the 3rd. Matsui drew a 2-out walk and Jorge Posada followed with a single to center. Robinson Cano (9th) ripped a bullet into the bleachers in right-center to push the lead back to 7-3, and send Contreras to an early shower.

It only took 2 batters for reliever Charlie Haeger to join the party. Andy Phillips reached on an error and Melky Cabrera, batting from the right side, lined a 2-run HR (his 6th) into the left field seats. Even Mussina wasn't going to blow a lead on this night.

Moose settled down and gave the Yankees 6 innings before Kyle Farnsworth, who was roundly booed, Mike Myers, and Sean Henn threw 1 inning each. But the Yankees offense wasn't done.

Jorge Posada hit a 2-run shot, his 12th, in the 4th inning. Posada went 4-5 to raise his season average to .339. Matsui added a 2-run blast in the 6th, and Johnny Damon (6th) and Shelley Duncan, a late inning replacement, hit solo home runs in the 7th.

On a day that was unmemorable for the Yankees ability to make a trade, the night at Yankee Stadium was one to remember for the ages.

...

The victory moved the Yankees to within 7 games of Boston and 3 of Cleveland.

Mussina's victory was the 245th of his career.

A-Rod may have gone 0-5, but one young fan behind the Yankees dugout was quite happy with him. After his last at-bat, A-Rod gave him his bat.

Duncan's home run was his 4th in 7 games, and 21 at-bats. Hideki Matsui must have hated for the calendar to turn to a new month. He hit .345-13-28. Ironically, he only had 14 runs scored - or he was driven in only 1 time by someone other than himself.

Robinson Cano reached the .300 mark for the 1st time this season. He hit .385 in July with 6 HR and 24 ribbies. He's batting .410 since the All-Star break.