Hang 'em Javy Keeps Yanks Looking Up

You know you had your doubts coming into tonight's Yankees-Blue Jays game when you saw that Javier Vazquez would make the start in place of Andy Pettitte. Joe Girardi talked before the game about how Javy was still in the mix for the post-season roster, blah blah blah.

Vazquez gave up three home runs on a night that the Blue Jays honored retiring manager Cito Gaston. The Yankees gave Gaston their own present, an 8-4 Blue Jays win. Vazquez should be joining A.J. Burnett on the sidelines during the division series since he has done nothing to gain Girardi's confidence.

The Blue Jays are a home run hitting monstrosity and Vazquez was happy to oblige them. Travis Snider, wearing a fake lamp black mustache in tribute to Gaston, homered to lead off the bottom of the 1st and you know things would only get worse from there. Aaron Hill and John Buck also went deep, with Buck reaching 20 home runs for the first time.

One of the few bright spots for the Yankees was the continued hot hitting of Alex Rodriguez. He homered for the fifth time in six games and reached the 30 home run mark for the 13 straight season and 14th overall. (I had predicted he would finish with 28; thankfully I didn't make any wagers on that.) He also added an RBI ground out to increase his team leading RBI total to 123.

The game started a half hour later than usual as the Toronto organization brought back some of Gaston's former players, such as 1992 World Series hero Joe Carter, and presented Gaston with a painting done by outfielder Vernon Wells' father, Vernon Jr. (the ball playing Wells is the III). Gaston then gave a very heartfelt speech.

The Yankees remained a half-game back of the Tampa Bay Rays thanks to a stellar pitching effort by the Baltimore Orioles staff. Kevin Millwood, who has had a horrendous year, limited the Rays to two hits over seven innings in the 2-0 O's win. The victory gave the Orioles the series victory with all three games being shutouts. The Rays now travel to Kansas City for their final four games of the regular season.

The Yankees have Thursday off and travel to Boston for a final three game set with the Red Sox beginning on Friday night.

Yankees Make Rotation Change

Had the pleasure of working tonight's Yankees-A's game for BaseballDigest.com.

Joe Girardi said he is happy with his starting rotation, but with a slight adjustment. Girardi opened his pre-game press conference today by announcing that Javier Vazquez will be replacing Dustin Moseley in the rotation beginning this Saturday against the Toronto Blue Jays.

Girardi feels the rest Vazquez has had working out of the pen, coupled with an adjustment in mechanics, has gotten Vazquez back on track. Girardi feels the right-hander’s fastball has been “truer”, which has resulted in good location and success. Pitching coach Dave Eiland later added that he made an adjustment in Vazquez’s leg kick and moved him to the middle of the rubber to ensure he “gets behind the baseball.”

Click here to read the rest of this always free story with updates on Andy Pettitte and Alex Rodriguez as well.

Yankees Crush A's, But Javy's The Story

With Dustin Moseley still trying to make a name for himself, Andy Pettitte still on the DL, and A.J. Burnett still pitching crazy after all these years, Javier Vazquez knows he has an opportunity to step up. He did just that last night, throwing 4.2 innings of relief in the Yankees 11-5 laugher over the Oakland A's. A minor adjustment made by pitching coach Dave Eiland seemed to make the difference for Vazquez, who was unusually animated during last night's game.

All it took was Vazquez moving his leg kick backward and in, which, in turn, allows him to have more momentum going forward. And, as a result, according to the right-hander, his ball doesn’t tail inside as much, because he’s throwing more over the top instead of dropping his arm slot. (Source: NJ.com)

The game didn't start off well as Moseley struggled, allowing three runners to cross home plate in the 1st inning. The Yankees immdiately answered back and took a 5-3 lead. But when Moseley gave up another run in the 4th and put runners on base in the 5th, Joe Girardi had seen enough. Vazquez was making his third relief appearance of the season and earned the win (his second in relief) after allowing just a single run the rest of the way. His fastball was clocked at a consistent 90 mph and was offset by low-to-mid 70's off speed stuff that kept hitters off balance all night. And Vazquez's own hitters game him more than ample support.

Mark Teixeira was back in the lineup after missing most of the weekend series with the Chicago White Sox with a bruised thumb. Tex hit back to back home runs with Robinson Cano and added a double, single, and three runs scored. Nick Swisher enjoyed a 3-hit, 3-RBI night, and Marcus Thames continued his torrid streak with a 3-run bash of his own. In his last five starts, Thames has six home runs and 11 RBI.

Oakland starter Trevor Cahill entred the game with a 2.43 ERA, but saw it rise nearly 40 points after he allowed eight earned runs in four innings.

Now Vazquez must sit and wait. He could replace Moseley, who has allowed 14 earned runs in his last 19.2 innings or A.J. Burnett if were to have another rocky outing on Wednesday. For now, the Yankees are glad they have an experienced starter to pick up some long relief innings.

Notes

Lance Berkman began the first of two game Trenton rehab stint and went 2-5. He could be activated in time for Wednesday night's Yankees game.

Javy To The Pen

The Yankees announce today that Javier Vazquez's next start will be skippe an he will temporarily move to the bullpen. Ivan Nova stays in the rotation for now and how he performs could dictate just how long Vazquez remains in the pen.

The dead armed right hander has averaged less than five innings in his last five starts and has been thoroughly thrashed.

BD.com - A-Rod to DL, Javy Should Follow

Written for BaseballDigest.com

Shortly after the Yankees 9-5 victory over the Seattle Mariners this afternoon, the team announced it had placed Alex Rodriguez on the 15-day DL with his troublesome strained calf. The Yankees would be wise to have Javier Vazquez join him on the sideline.

The Yankees were able to overcome the right-hander's shortest outing since May 1, when Vazquez also lasted just three innings, by beating up on Jason Vargas and the Mariners' bullpen.

Vazquez was diagnosed with a dead arm several starts ago and has regressed rapidly. His last five starts have gone from bad to worse - 6.1, 5.1, 4.1, 4, and 3 innings pitched. He's been tagged for 16 earned runs in 20 innings and has seen his ERA rise from 4.45 to 5.05 since July 10. He's also been ripped for 35 hits during the stretch and has walked 12 batters to boot.

Dead arm, tired arm, call it what you want, it's not something a pitcher can work through. What it does, however, is wear out the bullpen. The Yankees got exceptional work from the pen today, specifically the beleaguered Chad Gaudin who shut down the M's after entering the game in a 4-4 tie.

When Vazquez has no velocity, which has been the case in his last five starts, he has to be perfect with his location. That's just as hard to do as it sounds. And when Vazquez doesn't hit locations, home runs are sure to follow. Today it was a pair from Ichiro Suzuki and a monster upper deck shot, the first in the new Yankee Stadium, to right field by Russell Branyan.

I had a Twitter discussion a short time ago with Jack Curry of YES, who felt there was no need for the Yankees to bring in another starting pitcher. I disagreed then and I do now. How long the call up will last remains to be seen, but Ivan Nova has been summoned from Scranton to take A-Rod's place on the 25-man roster and is scheduled to start Monday night in Toronto.

With Andy Pettitte probably not back until early September and A.J. Burnett's continued inconsistency, the Yankees should definitely take a long look at Nova or another minor leaguer. Brian Cashman's daily to-do list should also include checking the waiver wire for a decent starter. While they're not likely to land a top notch starter, perhaps a serviceable arm will be available.

With an off day this coming Thursday, manager Joe Girardi is also likely to revise the rotation so that Burnett and Vazquez are not throwing on back to back days.

Speaking of waiver wires, the Detroit News reported earlier today that both Johnny Damon and Brandon Inge have been placed on waivers. Stop before you start, the Yankees do NOT need Damon back. It shouldn't even be up for discussion.

Inge, on the other hand, should be a player the Yankees put in a claim on. The third baseman is pretty slick with the glove, and though he doesn't hit for average, he does have pop; he had career highs in HR (27) and RBI (84) last season. Inge's numbers are down this season, but he missed a large chunk of games with a broken hand. The former catcher could also be used in that position in a pinch- he caught 60 games as recently as 2008, and has some outfield experience as well.

In the meantime, Eduardo Nunez and Ramiro Pena figure to split the bulk of the work at third base. Nunez had his first major league hit and RBI in this afternoon's contest.

Yankees Bow Down To The King

Won-Loss records in baseball aren't indicative for starting pitchers. Just look at Felix Hernandez. "The King" dominated the Yankee for a third time this season, yet has the same number of wins (9) as the bumbling, stumbling, inconsistent A.J. Burnett.

His royal pitchness has allowed one, I said one, earned run in 26 innings with 31 strikeouts against the supposedly potent Yankees lineup. The Yankees have hit just .176 (16 hits) in the three starts.

Burnett put the Yankees in an immediate hole last night when he gave up the first of two bombs to Russell Branyan to give the Mariners a 3-0 lead in the 1st. The audible groan from the crowd was expected since the King was toeing the rubber for the M's.

Just that quickly a team can lose it's good feeling. The Yankees just took 3 of 4 from the Tigers, but now after losing the opener to an inferior Mariners team, the Yankees are in danger of losing the three game series. You can't have much confidence, again, in Javier Vazquez these days. His loss of velocity has returned along with an associated lack of pinpoint control. This is a problem.

Vazquez's last four starts have regressed from 6.1 to 5.1 to 4.1 to 4 innings pitched. He's allowed 16 earned runs in those 20 innings. By the way, Vazquez also has the same number of wins as the King.

Jorge Vargas, wow..9 wins too, gets the start for the M's today. He limited the Yankees to a run over 7 innings in his previous start (no decision) against them this year. He's got a 4.15 ERA in three career appearances, two of which were starts.

There will be no Alex Rodriguez in the lineup tonight either. One at-bat is all A-Rod lasted last night after his calf prevented him from doing more than loping down to first base. Can't even imagine why he was in the lineup at all; his calf couldn't have felt that good beforehand. A DL trip is a definite possibility as well as a look at the waiver wire again. In case A-Rod is out for a substantial amount of time you really don't want Ramiro Pena's bat in the lineup on any consistent basis (esp. when Francisco Cervelli is in there too).

Is Edwin Nunez the Yankees heir apparent to the Captain? Who knows, but Nunez will get a look while Lance Berkman is on the DL with a sprained ankle.

Back with more later.

In the meantime, whose better than Eric Clapton and BB King?

Good Things Happen To Those Who Don't Watch

I admit it. I shut off the TV last night when the 6th Texas run crossed home plate last night. Down 6-1 against Cliff Lee there was no way the Yankees were coming back.

Only they did.

Now while I messed around on Facebook and played Spider Spolitaire and considered going to bed early, I also kept checking the score on Yahoo Sports.

A wild pitch, a Lance Berkman ribbie double. Brett Gardner finally gets a hit..hmm, 6-4.

Resisting urge to turn the game back on; they're doing fine without me.

Marcus Thames homers off Frank Francisco in the 8th to cut the lead to 6-5. Will NOT put the game on.

The game is tied and two are on...CLICK...we now return you to your normal programming day. Just in time to see Marcus Thames single through the left side to put the Yankees on top 7-6.

But this isn't over yet. Elvus Andrus triples off Mariano Rivera to start the bottom of the 9th. Perhaps I should have left the game off.

But Mo would make Houdini proud.

Michael Young bloops one to right for a sure game tying single. But wait. Austin Kearns shoe top catch saves the day for a moment. Even Mo said "Oh God" to himself when Kearns caught it.

Next Mo gets the league's leading hitter Josh Hamilton to hit a comebacker for the 2nd out. That leaves it up to the dangerous Nelson Cruz, but the big outfielder grounds out to A-Rod. Yankees win. THeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee Yankees win!

Notes

Kerry Wood picked up his first win as a Yankee. Though he's walked too many hitters, he's allowed just one earned run and struck out nine in six innings pitched.

Jorge Posada was back behind the dish after sitting out all of Tuesday's game with a sore shoulder.

George King of the NY Post reported that Andy Pettitte was scratched from a simulated start today. No reason was given.

Curtis Granderson has had his swing revamped by Kevin Long in hopes of turning his season around. Granderson will unveil the new look tonight in Kansas City.

Javier Vazquez's last three starts have not been good - 6.1 - 5.1 - 4.1 innings pitched. He's allowed 13 earned runs in the 15 innings with 22 hits and 7 walks.

Cervelli and Yankees Drop the Ball

The course of a baseball game or life can change an instant. Okay, enough paraphrasing John Sterling. Francisco Cervelli learned the hard way last night just how much one play can change things. Cervelli's drop opened the flood gates last night en route to a 6-3 loss to the Boston Red Sox.

Yankees starter Javier Vazquez may have flashed back to October '04 when he surrendered home runs to David Ortiz and Ryan Kalish, but it was his multiple walk in the park that really ruined his and the Yankees' night.

The Bombers, as is their custom lately, took an early lead and then went to sleep on offense. Up 2-1 in the 2nd on a Mark Teixeira blast, Vazquez gave up a lead off double to Adrian Beltre to start the 2nd inning, but got J.D. Drew and Mike Lowell to hit back to back pop ups. The only problem was that Cervelli dropped Lowell's would be second out.

Vazquez struck out Kalish, but then completely lost the strike zone, issuing consecutive walks to Jed Lowrie and Jacoby Ellsbury to force in a run. Vazquez then left a hanger in the zone that Marco Scutaro ripped to left for a 2-run double and 4-2 Red Sox lead.

The Yankees wasted a 2-on, no one out opportunity in the 4th, but chipped away with a run in the 5th. Derek Jeter reached with one out when he was plunked by a Clay Buchholz pitch. Nick Swisher followed with a single to right and two batters later Alex Rodriguez delivered an RBI single. Robinson Cano had a chance to tie things up, but grounded out to end the inning.

Vazquez, known as "Hang 'em Javy" by disgruntled Yankees fans lived up to his longball reputation when he served up a back breaking 2-run shot to Kalish in the 6th. It was the rookie's 1st major league home run and gave Boston a 6-3 lead.

The Yankees final try came in the 9th when Jeter reached on a 2-out walk by closer Jonathan Papelbon, but Swisher flied out to end the game.

Notes

The Yankees remained in first place in the AL East thanks to some help from Toronto, which beat Tampa Bay 2-1.

Since July 1, Mark Teixeira is hitting .328 with 11 HR, 35 RBI, and OPS over 1.000 in 31 games.

New daddy CC Sabathia will try to stop the Yankees skid when he faces off today at 4 p.m. against John Lackey.

Slugger Carlos Delgado worked out for the Red Sox in the Stadium's indoor batting cage and could be signed to a deal as early as today.

Another Red Sox went on the DL yesterday; this time it was lefty Hideki Okajima with a hamstring strain.

Vazquez's fastballs were mostly below 90 mph last night; not a good sign.

UPDATE 12:35 pm 8/7 - Ken Rosenthal is reporting that Carlos Delgado has agreed to a minor league with the Red Sox. If not called up by 9/1, he becomes a free agent.

Cano And Away We Go

Rafael Soriano throws hard. Robinson Cano swings smooth. Sometimes when the two forces meet, magic happens. It did tonight at the Trop in Tampa when Cano smashed a tape measure home run off Soriano (2-1) in the top of the 9th for a 5-4 Yankees win.

The victory pushed the Yankees lead over the Rays back to two games in the AL East and kept Boston, which had topped Detroit earlier, eight back.

It was a game in which the Yankees battled throughout, coming back from 1-0, 3-1, and 4-3 deficits. It was a game won despite managing just six hits off of starter Matt Garza and the Rays' pen. It was a game won despite a mediocre outing from Yankees starter Javier Vazquez.

It was a game won due to the long ball and a strong performance from the Yankees bullpen. Mark Teixeira hit a monster 2-run home run in the 6th to tie the game at 3-3. Then after Vazquez surrendered a solo home run to Friday's hero Matt Joyce, Nick Swisher tied things back up with a solo shot off Garza in the 7th.

Boone Logan and David Robertson (2-3) retired all five men they faced to set up Cano's heroics in the 9th. Soriano had retired Alex Rodriguez, who was 0-3 with a walk in his quest for #600, on a pop up to start the inning, but there would be no denying Cano.

The 2nd baseman had three hits on the night to raise his average to .334 and sent Soriano's fastball to the back of the right field seats. That left things up to Mariano Rivera. The Yankees closer picked up his 22nd save, allowing just a 2-out bloop single before retiring Jason Bartlett on a game ending force out.

Notes

Lance Berkman, wearing his customary #17, went 0-4 as the DH. He batted in the 2nd spot in the lineup. Austin Kearns donned #26, but did not enter the game.

Vazquez Has a Grandy Time in Cleveland

No one is saying they want to see Javier Vazquez in a crucial playoff game, but the just turned 36-yr old has stuck it to many of the nay-sayers he booed him mercilessly at the start of the season. Monday night Vazquez limited the Indians to two runs and five hits over seven innings and got a boost from a late Curtis Granderson home run for a 3-2 Yankees win.

Vazquez has allowed three earned runs or less in eight of his last 10 starts and has gone 6-2 over that time frame. Last night he gave up a solo home run to Travis Hafner in the 2nd inning and fell behind 2-1 when he surrendered an RBI double in the 5th to Shin-Soo Choo.

But Granderson bailed him out when he drilled a Jake Westbrook delivery into the right field seats with a man aboard for a 3-2 Yankees lead in the 8th. Joe Girardi allowed Vazquez, who had thrown 92 pitches to that point, to start the bottom of the 8th, but quickly pulled him when he walked the lead off hitter. David Robertson got Asdrubel Cabrera to bounce into a 6-4-3 double play before Boone Logan came on to strike out Choo for the final out of the inning. Mariano Rivera earned his 21st save with a scoreless 9th inning.

The Yankees had managed just two hits off of Westbrook through the first seven innings, though one of them was a Nick Swisher solo home run. Posada led off the 8th with a single through the left side to set the stage for Granderson, who has now hit three home runs in the last two games.

Notes

After hitting .240 in the first half of the season, Granderson is hitting at a .306 clip since the All-Star break. He also has a .958 OPS in his last 10 games.

CC Sabathia makes his 2nd start against his old team tonight. He'll face 25-yr old right-hander Josh Tomlin, who is making his major league debut.

Alex Rodriguez will go for his 600th home run tonight on his 35th birthday.

Joba Robba Javy, Now What?

Joba Chamberlain burst on to the scene in 2007 as a fearless, fist pumping, triple digit throwing right-hander who took no prisoners. Boy, have things changed.

Last night's meltdown in Seattle cost the Yankees their seven game winning streak and made fans once again wonder what happened to the previous version of their cult hero. Javier Vazquez may be wondering too since he went toe to toe with Felix Hernandez and exited after seven innings with a 1-0 lead. But he could only helplessly watch as the Mariners pulled out a 4-1 victory due to another under performance by the "chosen one".

The Mariners loaded the bases in the 8th on a pair of hits and an intentional walk (after Chamberlain threw a wild pitch). Chamberlain quickly fell behind 2-0 to Jose Lopez and was forced to come in with a fastball. He got it up in the zone and Lopez launched it out for a game winning grand slam.

Joe Girardi said afterward that he would stand by his 8th inning guy, but you have to figure that Brian Cashman is working behind the scenes to possibly change the Yankees late inning scenario.

The 2007 version of Chamberlain is something the current version can't possibly live up to. An instant folk hero, the heir apparent to Mariano Rivera, and all of the other plaudits thrown out there by fans and the media. (One afternoon host in particular.)

You might not want to ponder the thought, but it's quite possible that Chamberlain isn't that good. That he's an average pitch, or even above average but not as good as the previous incarnation.

Of course it didn't help that the Yankees themselves messed with the kid's head last year, shuttling him between the pen and rotation. Limiting his innings so that even if things were going well he would be removed after three innings because of a pitch count. We all knew he would be better off throwing six innings every 5th day at Scranton, but the Yankees insisted he stay up with the big club. Not only did it mess with Chamberlain psyche and approach, but as a result it unnecessarily taxed the bullpen.

Chamberlain's 2010 season is a bit misleading though if you strictly go by his ERA (5.79). Prior to last night he had three straight scoreless appearances and has two other strings of five or more games without allowing a run. Though holds are not always a true reflection of a performance, Chamberlain has been scored upon only once while recording 18 holds. That figure is tied for the top mark in the American League with Kip Jensen and Daniel Bard.

But when he's bad, Chamberlain is as bad as you can get.

Last night's debacle was the fifth occurrence that Chamberlain has allowed three or more earned runs. Two of his four losses have come when he entered with a lead. I am no fan of Sabermetrics, but for those of you who are, WAR is a big stat. That's Wins Above Replacement. Per Baseball-Reference.com, a WAR of 8 is an MVP, 5+ is All-Star quality, 2+ is a starter, 0-2 is a reserve and less than 0 is less than a replacement player (literally someone from Triple-A or a bench player).

Chamberlain's WAR was 1.2 in 2007 and 3.2 in his full rookie season of 2008. But this year it has dipped all the way down to -0.8. By comparison, Chan Ho Park's is -0.5, and we know how horrible he has been.

So if you're Cashman what do you do?

You get someone else to throw into the 8th inning mix and ease back on the reins on Chamberlain. If you're Joe Girardi, you throw him in the 7th or 6th innings and look for more consistency and confidence. You get Chamberlain to stop chugging a Red Bull as he's exiting the bullpen. (That really can't help, ya know?) You mix and match as you would in other innings rather than rely on one guy.

Damaso Marte has quietly pitched very well over the last two months. With two aboard and one out in the 8th last night, it was a perfect opportunity to bring Marte in to face Russell Branyan, who strikes out against left-handers with alarming regularity. The Mariners have no right-handed hitter sitting on the bench who strikes fear in the hearts of opponents. Girardi could then have countered with David Robertson or whomever to face Lopez.

The reliance on one pitcher to handle a set up inning is absurd. But that's a story for another day.

Relievers to take a look at:

Scott Downs, Tor: The left-hander is much more than a lefty specialist and can close games when needed. Downs' teammates Jason Frasor and Shawn Camp would be lesser options.

Mike Adams and Luke Gregerson, SD: Neither is necessarily available especially with the Padres in the race in the NL West. But one may be if the Padres can acquire another piece to help their team in the stretch run (Hey, Jed Hoyer..Kei Igawa can be your's).

Brad Ziegler, Oak: A righty specialist.

Bobby Jenks, Chi: The White Sox closer is nuts, but still can be nasty most of the time. With Matt Thornton in the Chisox pen, Jenks may be available if Chicago falls out of the race by the trade deadline.

Who else do you think could help?

Yankees on Brink of Acquiring Cliff Lee

Written for BaseballDigest.com

With all of the hoopla (pun very much intended) over LeBron James last night, I was shocked to see he was not the subject of conversation on Twitter this morning. No sooner had my computer booted up then my brain got a jolt as well. The NY Post’s Joel Sherman reported that the Yankees are in deep conversations with the Seattle Mariners for Cliff Lee.

Say what?

By 10 a.m. Sherman had tweeted and written that the teams were on the brink of getting the deal done. Jesus Montero, the Yankees number one prospect, would be the centerpiece of the trade. Montero has struggled at the plate for much of his first full season at Triple-A, but is still highly regarded around baseball. This would also indicate that the Yankees front office is higher on catching prospect Austin Romine for the future.

The Mariners are also said to be intereted in 2nd base prospect, and UVA product, David Adams. Sherman says a third prospect will also be included in the deal.

With Lee’s free agency on the horizon, you have to wonder if the Yankees will demand a window to negotiate a long term deal with the prized left-hander. Though the Yankees would be giving up prospects, acquiring Lee would preclude losing draft picks if Lee went elsewhere and the Yankees then signed him as a free agent.

Some feel this deal would be overkill since the Yankees roll out CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett, Andy Pettitte, Phil Hughes, and Javier Vazquez on a regular basis. Though three of the pitchers are All-Stars, Hughes has an innings limit and Burnett and Vazquez have struggled at times. It’s possible once he nears the innings limit, Hughes could bolster the bullpen for the remainder of the season as he did last year.

While there are mixed feelings about giving up a top prospect, Cliff Lee is the type of player you give him up for.

Update: 11:20 am ESPN's Buster Olney tweeted that since Lee is set to face them tonight, the Yankees told the Mariners they have to have answer soon.

Joel Sherman has now reported that the Yankees will not ask for a negotiating window to get a long term deal done with Lee.

Update: 3:45 pm Sherman says the deal is off - he just tweeted:
"To repeat the Yankees aren't getting Cliff Lee. Mariners concerned about David Adams ankle plus apparently another team has jumped in hard."

Update: 4:20 pm According to several people involved with the Yankees, the deal is definitely dead (for now) with Seattle.

It look the Texas Rangers are the team that has re-entered the fray. Rangers' Hall of Fame beat writer T.R. Sullivan says "...the Rangers won't do (Justin) Smoak". Possibilities are Jared Saltalamacchia, Engel Beltre, Derek Holland, Omar Beltre and Blake Beavan.

Stay tuned for updates.

Vazquez Gets West Coast Trip Off On Right Foot

Javier Vazquez remembers back in April when the boos outweighed his fastball. But since then Vazquez has pitched at an All-Star level. The new and improved Vazquez continued last night when he pitching seven strong innings to earn his 7th win in the Yankees 3-1 victory over the Oakland A's.

Vazquez pitched to a 9.00 ERA in the first month of the season and was booed lustily by Yankees fans who still erroneously blamed him for the game 7 loss in the 2004 ALCS. But despite being skipped over in the rotation once, Vazquez hung tough and has recorded a 6-4, 3.57 mark since May 1. He's been even better since June 1, putting up a 2.93 ERA and has held opponents to under a .200 average.

The Yankees needed a good start from Vazquez since the team's offense couldn't muster much against A's starter Ben Sheets. The Yankees got on the board in the 2nd inning with a trio of clutch two out base hits.

Nick Swisher doubled into the right field corner and came around to score on Curtis Granderson's triple. Francisco Cervelli then served one back up the middle for an RBI single and a 2-0 Yankees lead.

Oakland got a run back in the 4th on a one out triple by Cliff Pennington and a sacrifice fly by Coco Crisp. But Mark Teixeira smacked his 14th home run of the season in the 6th to re-establish the two run lead.

That's all Vazquez, Joba Chamberlain, and Mariano Rivera, who earned his 19th save, would need to take the first game of the three game set.

Notes

With Brett Gardner red hot at the bottom of the lineup, Joe Girardi decided to shake things up a bit and put him in the lead off spot. Derek Jeter moved back to his old number two spot in the order. Gardner was 0-4, but is expected to get a shot at using his speed at the top of the lineup.

Curtis Granderson and Colin Curtis made back to back diving catches in the 7th inning to take away a pair of Oakland hits.

Jorge Posada will still need another day or two, according to Girardi, before being able to return to the lineup after a foul tip left him a sprained left ring finger on Sunday.

Forget LeBron, Felix is King of New York

Today marks the start of the NBA free agent frenzy with LeBron "King" James as the grand prize. But it was "King" Felix Hernandez who was in the spotlight last night, blanking the Yankees on two hits in tossing a 7-0 complete game shutout.

The Mariners have struggled this year, but the Yankees had the misfortune of having to face two of the top pitchers in the game, Cliff Lee and Hernandez, in the first two games of a three game series. While the Yankees managed to put four runs on the board against the soon to be dealt Lee, they couldn't do anything last night.

Yankees starter Javier Vazquez scuffled for much of the night, but limited the M's to three runs over six innings. But Damaso Marte and Chad Gaudin gave up two runs each as Seattle blew the game open.

Michael Saunders entered the game with five home runs in 102 at-bats, but went deep twice to drive in three runs. Russell Branyan and Milton Bradley also homered to help the Mariners improve to 33-44.

Hernandez walked three, including Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez in the 1st inning. But he retired Robinson Cano on a fly out to end Yankees threat. Mark Teixeira led off the fourth with a double, but the King stranded him there. He struck out A-Rod, one of 11 K's on the night, got Cano to fly out again, and retired Jorge Posada on a ground out to keep it a 3-0 Mariners lead.

Notes

Gaudin, who gave up Bradley's 2-run shot in the 8th is the likely candidate to be designated for assignment today when Dustin Moseley is recalled from Scranton. Moseley's contract gave him the ability to opt out of his deal beginning today (7/1).

Felix Hernandez and Cliff Lee became just the third teammates in the last 25 years to toss back-to-back complete games against the Yankees.

CC Sabathia faces Ryan Rowland-Smith in the series finale today at 1 p.m..

photo courtesy of NY Daily News

Yankees Outlast Dbacks in 10

Mariano Rivera must have been experiencing some deja vu, or at the very least, some near deja vu last night. But thankfully for the greatest closer of all time this is June, 2010 not November, 2001. Rivera worked out of a bases loaded, nobody out jam in the 10th inning and the Yankees defeated the Arizona Diamondbacks 6-5 last night. In doing so, the Yankees took two of three and picked up a game on the Rays and Red Sox, both of whom lost.

The Yankees did everything they could to not win the game, particular on the basepaths, but the Diamondbacks bullpen was much more giving. After Alex Rodriguez's sac fly tied the game against Aaron Heilman in the 9th, Curtis Granderson smacked a solo home run off Carlos Rosa in the 10th inning to give the Bombers a 6-5 lead. Granderson is the only major leaguer with more than one home run in extra innings this season.

The Diamondbacks immediately rallied against Rivera in their half of the 10, loading the bases on a Stephen Drew single, a double off the bat of Justin Upton, and intentional walk to Miguel Montero. Rivera got Chris Young to foul out to Francisco Cervelli and Adam LaRoche, who had driven in all five Dbacks runs, to pop out to third. That left things up to Mark Reynolds, king of home runs and strikeouts. Rivera made it the latter, pushing Reynolds strikeout total to 103 with a swing and a miss at strike three.

This was a game that was ugly for the start. Dontrelle Willis couldn't throw strikes, but the Yankees made a pair of base running blunders to ruin a potential big 1st inning. Nick Swisher was picked off 1st base (though it was recorded as a caught stealing) and Mark Teixeira was thrown out on ill time double steal time as Robinson Cano struck out.

Javier Vazquez lasted just five innings before being lifted for a pinch-hitter in the 6th. LaRoche victimized for a pair of 2-run singles, but he got off the hook when the Yankees tied the game at 4-4 in the 6th with a pair of runs. That included a pinch-hit RBI single for Colin Curtis.

Damaso Marte gave the run right back in the bottom of the sixth with the help of a balk and a wild pitch. LaRoche's ground out gave AZ a 5-4 lead and set up the late game drama.

Yankees Hit Their Way to Finale Win

The Toronto Blue Jays silenced the Yankees bats through the first two games of the their three games series and had done so for much of Sunday's finale. Then the Yankees finally got some clutch hits. Well, it started out just by being hit, period.

Francisco Cervelli and Brett Gardner each took one for the team as the Yankees rallied for four runs in the eighth inning and a 4-2 win.

Javier Vazquez kept his team in the game with another stellar performance. He actually had a no-hitter going for 5.2 innings, but Vernon Wells broke it up with a 2-run home run that also snapped a scoreless tie.

Brandon Morrow had limited the Yankees to four hits and walk through seven innings, but hit Cervelli in the left shoulder to start the eighth. Cisto Gaston brought in left-hander Scott Downs to face Brett Gardner, but the southpaw drilled the Yankees left fielder on the wrist.

The land of Twitter thought for sure Joe Girardi would bunt as he often does in the situation the Yankees found themselves in. But the Yankees skip let Derek Jeter swing away and it paid off when the Captain doubled down the right field line to cut the Yankees deficit to one.

It was long day for Nick Swisher at the plate, in part due to the appropriately named home plate ump Bruce Dreckman. Swisher had been called out on strikes earlier in the game on a pitch out of the zone and was beside himself when Dreckman said he didn't check his swing for a third strike and the first out in the eighth. Girardi quickly came out to protect his player and got into with Dreckman whose strike zone well exceeded both sides of the tangible part of home plate. Needless to say Girardi got got tossed with Tony Pena taking over.

Even though the numbers have proven otherwise, Gaston elected to walk the struggling Mark Teixeira to face Alex Rodriguez with a force set up at any base. Those situations had resulted in five hits, three grand slams and 18 RBI in seven at-bats.

Jayson Frasor helped the Yankees out further, bouncing a pitch in front of Jose Molina. The ricochet got far enough away from the former Yankee catcher to allow Gardner to slide home head first with the tying run. A-Rod looked at a called third strike (one of the few good calls by Dreckman), but Robinson Cano delivered a 2-run single to the left for a 4-2 lead.

The Blue Jays got a run back off of Joba Chamberlain, but Damaso Marte retired Adam Lind with the tying run on base in the 8th and Mariano Rivera pitched a 1-2-3 9th to end the Yankees two game losing streak.

Pork Chops and Apple Sauce

Yes, it is a Brady Bunch reference to when Peter was trying to find himself and decided to be Humphrey Bogart reincarnate. It also has to do with last night's Yankees game with the Minnesota Twins.

You probably have heard all about it by now, but in case you haven't, while Javier Vazquez was getting chopped up by the Twins, YES' Kimberly Jones was having her pork chop assaulted. Wait, that sounded really unseamly. More precisely, Kimwas demonstrating a Target Field food item - pork chop on a stick, when a Yankees fan leaned over and took a bite out of the "other white meat" (not Kim's arm). She was disgusted. Announcers Michael Kay and Leiter were disgusted and hysterical all at the same time. And despite Kim's tweet later on that the incident will all be forgotten about when she returns to work next week, the porkchop horror will most certainly live on.

As for the game itself, yeah, that was pretty much a horror show as well. Vazquez reverted back to his pre-Tigers and Mets contests self and was smacked around by the Twins lineup. It didn't help any that the Yankees lineup continued to stagnate. And for a final show stopper, Chad Gaudin marked his return to the Yankees by giving up a 3-run home run to Jason Kubel to put the game completely out of reach.

Vazquez looked uncomfortable most of the night. His fastball continued to be unimpressive and his mechanics and psyche seemed off. He put the Yankees in a 3-0 hole after just two innings and the RISP-less Bronx Bombers, despite 10 hits, couldn't come back.

Robinson Cano did his best to prove otherwise, driving in both Yankees runs with a single in the 4th and double in the 6th. But down 4-2 in the bottom of the 6th, Vazquez allowed a solo home run to Kubel, who was just getting started.

Joe and Mauer and Justin Morneau each reached against the always unreliable Chan Ho Park to start the 7th and two batters later Kubel crushed a Gaudin meatball into the right field seats. Welcome back Chad.

Notes

Some bats are starting to come around a bit. Derek Jeter's two hits last night put him on an 8-18 (.444) streak. Mark Teixeira had his second straight two hit game, though both he and Alex Rodriguez continued to deliver in the big spots.

Stop the Slide - I Want To Get Off

"As Unclutch As Unclutch Gets" - Drew Sarver (Me), Twitter 5/22/10


Last night's Mets 5-3 win over the Yankees was a microcosm of the Yankees month of May. Poor pitching, no clutch hitting, and shoddy defense. After a tremendous month of April, the Yankees have hit the skids in May.

Things specifically started to go downhill after pounding the Red Sox up in Boston on May 8. The Yankees were 21-8 after the win. They're 5-9 since and just 11-10 overall in the second month of the season.

One of the things that everyone marveled at early on was the Yankees depth. But with a number of injuries, the Yankees depth has been exposed. Good players, but not good enough to be playing on a regular basis. With Nick Johnson, Curtis Granderson, and Jorge Posada hurting, players like Randy Winn and Marcus Thames aren't getting it done offensively and/or defensively.

To make matters worse, the players the Yankees rely on most - Jeter, Teixeira, A-Rod, aren't carrying their share of the load. Let's take a quick look, shall we, starting with the Captain. Rookie Kevin Russo had the best at-bats the last two nights, delivering a 2-run double on Friday and a bases loaded walk on Saturday.

Derek Jeter, just like the team he leads, got off to a tremendous start in April. An .875 OPS, 4 HR, and 18 RBI in 21 games. 31 hits, including nine for extra bases. Then May came around - a pathetic .522 OPS and 19 strikeouts. It hasn't helped that Brett Gardner, the team's secondary table setter, has just seven hits in his last 34 at-bats.

Mark Teixeira always starts badly in April, so it was no surprise when that happened again. When the calendar turned to May, Tex got going. That included a 3-HR, 5 RBI barrage on that Saturday in Boston when the Yankees reached their high watermark (to borrow a phrase from Michael Kay).

Tex is in a 1-20 skid (and 2-24) and has just one RBI in his last six games. He's also struck out seven times in those 20 at-bats, including three in last night's loss.

Tex would be helped if Alex Rodriguez starts devouring pitchers, but the Yankees third baseman really hasn't gotten into a consistent groove all season. Whether or not a painful knee is part of the problem remains to be seen, but his .877 OPS is nearly 100 points below his career average.

Though hitting .351 in May, just eight of A-Rod's 27 hits have been for extra bases. Pitchers will be more than happy to serve up singles to the player who is 7th on the all-time home run list.

Those three players and the rest of the lineup have failed time and again with runners in scoring position. They barely held on for a 2-1 win in Friday's Subway Series opener after squandering numerous opportunities. Saturday it cost them dearly as Phil Hughes was human and the Yankees bullpen stumbled yet again. The latter has been an issue that actually goes back to last season.

The pen is once again trying to find themselves. There's no question that the bullpen was vital to the Yankees winning their 27th championship. But the biggest part of that success was moving Phil Hughes into the 8th inning set up role and the emergence of David Robertson. Now, basically, the same cast is struggling during the regular season again.

We'll take Mariano Rivera out of the equation immediately. Every season sees some bumps in the road and Mo is in one of those ruts right now. If the reason for this particular instance is because of his mysterious side strain, then this could go on longer than usual. But for now, he gets a pass.

Joba Chamberlain finally told Kim Jones, who was doing a WFAN radio show on Saturday, that he prefers to work out of the bullpen. Perhaps he's realized that's where he's had his most success (somewhere Mike Francesa is doing cartwheels...let's not go there). Joba has stumbled some here and there, including poor back to back performance against the Twins and Red Sox this past week, but overall has been decent. You have to figure he'll get better as he gets more re-accustomed to his role. It would also help if he didn't shake off his catchers so much.

The remainder of the pen though is up for grabs. Robertson has gone back to being the unsure, under confident hit machine. Chan Ho Park was a horrendous signing- I said it immediately and will stand by it. Damaso Marte is as bad as he was in 2009. Boone Logan has been terrible and taking up a roster spot that should go to someone else. Al Aceves went and got himself hurt. Okay, that last one was said tongue in cheek. Aceves' injury has not only hurt him, but has really wrecked the pen as well. And to his credit, Sergio Mitre has stepped up.

Overall though, the pen has been incredibly shaky. They've allowed leads to get away and deficits to increase. Simply, they have not done their jobs.

Okay, not all is bleak. The Yankees are nine games above .500 because of the cushion they built. And players will be back, the soonest of which could be Curtis Granderson this coming week. That means much less playing time for the anemic bat of Randy Winn (and poor judge of fly balls last night) and the the scary glove of Marcus Thames.

Javier Vazquez has given the Yankees two straight solid or better starts. Maybe most importantly, the schedule will lighten up soon and the Yankees won't have to face the best of the American League. Hopefully they can hold out their best play for those meetings in October.

Javy Drives the Train

photo courtesy of Yahoo Sports

The Yankees took the first game of the current version of the interleague Subway Series with a pair of unexpected contributions. The Yankees topped the Mets 2-1 at Citi Field behind six top notch innings from Javier Vazquez and a 2-run double from rookie Kevin Russo.

Vazquez was beyond good (some would say Jella Good), allowing just one hit, a 5th inning single by Angel Pagan before exiting with an injury. Yes, yet another Yankees injury. This one doesn't seem to be too bad though according to Vazquez himself. Just before laying down his second successful sac bunt of the night, the Yankees hurler took a pitch off his finger as he bunted foul. Bleeding and swelling ensued and Vazquez's night was done.

Vazquez wasn't the only one having trouble with the bat though. The Yankees couldn't solve Mets starter Hisanori Takahashi all night. The left-hander scattered five hits and a walk over six innings and struck out five. He struck out Derek Jeter and got Brett Gardner to ground to strand two runners in scoring position in the third inning.

The Yankees put two more in scoring position in the 4th, but Takahashi struck out Nick Swisher and retired Francisco Cervelli on a fly out. The Yankees finally got on the board in the 7th with the help of the Mets bullpen and their defense.

Swisher led off the frame with a single off Elmer Dessens and Cervelli followed with a potential double play grounder to Alex Cora at second base. Playing in place of Luis Castillo, who had the disastrous drop in last year's Subway Series, Cora cleanly fielded Cervelli's bouncer, but threw the ball well out of the reach of shortstop Jose Reyes. Both runners moved into scoring position and Russo, who had picked up his first major league hit earlier in the game, brought them home with a double into the right field corner.

Joba Chamberlain retired all five men he faced, three by strike out, to set up the bridge to Mariano Rivera. The Yankees closer was on the verge of an easy 1-2-3 inning, but Jason Bay doubled on a 2-strike, 2-out to keep the Mets alive and Ike Davis followed with a double of his own to get the Mets on the scoreboard. But Rivera bounced back, retiring David Wright on a first pitch ground out to preseve the win and end the Yankees three game losing streak.

Yankees Blast Their Way to Victory

The Yankees won, they lost, they won again. It was a crazy night in the Bronx this evening as the Yankees rolled Dice-K, watched their bullpen get pounded, and then saw Alex Rodriguez and Marcus Thames take Jonathan Papelbon deep for an 11-9 Yankees win.

The Yankees led 6-1 before Phil Hughes ran out of gas and Boone Logan and Chan Ho Park turned the lead into a 9-7 deficit. As the bottom of the 9th inning started, YES commentator John Flaherty mentioned that Papelbon had pitched two and one-third innings on Saturday and may not have his best fastball. His words were prescient.

Brett Gardner started the inning with a double that sliced under a sliding Darnell McDonald in left field. After Mark Teixeira flied out to deep center, Rodriguez hit a no mistake about it home run to center to tie the game at nine apiece.

Papelbon put the winning run on base by plunking Francisco Cervelli and then served up a fat first pitch fastball to Thames, who drilled into the left field seats for the game winner. Needless to say there was pandemonium on and off the field. It also resulted in the first walk off pie of the season as A.J. Burnett delivered a spot on facial to an unsuspecting (well, not totally unsuspecting) Thames.


The most ironic part of the night though may have been the winning pitcher. It was none other than Javier Vazquez who came on and struck out Kevin Youkilis to end the top of the 9th inning.

The Yankees had jumped all over Datsuke Matsuzaka for five runs in the first inning, which included a pair of RBI for Rodriguez and one for Thames. But down 6-1, the Red Sox started chipping away.

David Ortiz hit a solo shot in the 4th and an inning later J.D. Drew blasted a 3-run home run off Hughes to cut the Yankees lead to a single run. A gassed Hughes got the final out of the 5th, but was done after 105 pitches.

Thames' RBI double in the bottom of the 5th put the Yankees back up by a pair of runs, but Victor Martinez's answered back with a solo home run off Boone Logan in the 6th.

With a shortened bullpen, Chan Ho Park had to go two innings and it caught up to him in the 8th. First, Youkilis put the Red Sox on top for the first time with a 2-run home run. Then Martinez made it back to back shots and home runs from each side of the plate when he drove Park's delivery into the night.

It appeared the Yankees might be done, but Damaso Marte and Vazquez quieted things down before the Yankees bats got Yankee Stadium rocking again.

Notes

As expected, Ivan Nova was optioned to Scranton to make room on the roster for Park.

Joba Chamberlain was unavailable because he warmed up two different times on Saturday in addition to pitching on Sunday.