Boston Honors Mo...Kind Of

Perhaps it was for ruining their 100th anniversary celebration last year (Yankees won 6-2), or for being beaten to a pulp for so many years, or the 2004 idiots were in charge. No matter the reason, the Red Sox utilized a bit of tongue in cheek when they honored Mariano Rivera prior to the game.

It started with what Boston MC Dave O'Brien described as "...less of a toast and more of a roast." The video board then showed Bill Mueller, Dave Roberts, and Kevin Millar, who really still is an idiot, discussing Game 4 of the 2004 ALCS. Mueller and Roberts were pretty much factual, while Millar played up his clown act.

At the end the three congratulated Mariano on his fabulous career. So it wasn't so bad, but then they showed the 2005 Boston home opener when the Fenway faithful gave Mariano a standing ovation for blowing leads in the playoffs.

Mariano, ever full of class, smile, laughed and tipped his cap. I can't find anything to corroborate it, but I recall Mariano being annoyed by it a short time later. Basically, he said, okay, you had your fun; that's enough. Something to that affect.

The Red Sox then presented several gifts, including a portrait of Mariano from that 2005 opener. Really? You couldn't do better than that? There were nice gifts as well.

A signed (by the Red Sox) number 42 placard that  is put on the scoreboard whenever Mariano came on to pitch. A pitching rubber and a nice donation to Mariano's foundation were presented as well.

The Sox also brought in cellists to perform a class version of "Enter Sandman" and then went out and spanked the Yankees for the third straight night (as of the 7th inning).

Rain Moves Yankees Into 1st Place

The Yankees and Red Sox waited 3 1/2 hours before last night's was finally called. (Nice job jerking the fans around even if the fans up there are jerks.)

In the meantime, Bruce Chen of all people pitched a complete 2-hit shutout of the Rays to give the Yankees a half-game lead in the AL East.

The Yankees will play their regularly scheduled game at 4 pm thanks to the bozos at Fox. Andy Pettitte will face Tim Wakefield. The knuckleballer will be filling in for Clay Buchholz, who was scratched due to a sore back.

The nightcap will pit A.J. Burnett against Daisuke Matsuzaka. The game is scheduled to start at 9:05 pm. Again, thanks to the idiots at Fox since the first game doesn't start until 4. The second game will be televised on YES.

This is Burnett's last chance to step up and basically force his way on the ALDS roster. (By the way Bruce Chen has more wins than Burnett.) If it's me, Burnett isn't coming close to being on the ALDS roster.

The Red Sox will also be without Adrian Beltre all weekend. He's gone home to be with his wife who is about to give birth. Since he's a free agent, Boston may have seen Beltre in a Red Sox uniform for hte last time.

Yankees and Rays In Flat Footed Tie

Zack Greinke gave the Yankees a better chance to win the AL East when he dominated the Tampa Bay Rays in a 3-2 Kansas City Royals win. The AL East leaders are both 94-65 with three games left this weekend.

The Yankees begin a series in Boston Friday night with Andy Pettitte facing Daisuke Matsuzaka. A.J. Burnett goes against Clay Buchholz on Saturday and Phil Hughes and John Lackey finish things up on Sunday.

The Rays won 10 of 18 meetings with the Yankees so if the teams finish in a tie the Rays will be the AL East title holders.

Yankees Clinch Tie With Wild Win

Written for Baseball Digest

Yankees Get The Tie That Binds

New York Yankees manager Joe Girardi made a move Sunday night that he felt was necessary. Instead of pushing back Phil Hughes to Wednesday night, Girardi decided he needed his young gun to take the ball in prime time against the Boston Red Sox. Hughes gave his skipper everything and more, but it took a trio of Yankees rallies to pull out a 10 inning, 4-3 win that enabled the Yankees to clinch a tie for a playoff berth. It also moved them back to within a half-game of the Tampa Bay Rays in the AL East as the last week of the regular season arrives with Monday’s sun.


Click here to read the rest of the story for free, as always, on BaseballDigest.com.

Move to Hughes Not a Panic

You can't blame Joe Girardi if he's a little antsy (anskY?) right now. His team has slept walked it's way through the last 15 games. Ten of those games have resulted in losses. The two biggest issues have been poor starting and relief pitching, and a lack of timely hits. Maybe I should consider that three issues.

With the team really in need of win, both for the standings and psychologically, Girardi and/or Brian Cashman decided that Phil Hughes should face the Red Sox tonight instead of Dustin Moseley. This was originally Hughes' regular spot, but the Yankees decided to push back Hughes to Wednesday in order to preserve his innings limit (app. 175) and possibly have him pitch closer to the beginning of the playoffs.

After having lost four straight games, dropping into second place in the AL East, and seeing the Red Sox suddenly pull to within 5.5 games of them in the wild card race, the Yankees obviously realized they needed to try to do something different tonight. Something to give them a boost in the arm.

So while it's not a panic, it is certainly time for a shake up and wake up.

Ugly, Uglier, Ugliest

The last 3 games could be described in the title above, pretty much in any order you choose. Just as things were looking back up again - 4 wins in 5 games, a 2.5 game lead in the AL East - things went to pot again. Three straight losses and back into 2nd place in the division.

It started out on Wednesday when a 2 hour-11 minute rain delay forced starter A.J. Burnett from the game. Now obviously you know what you're going to get from Burnett on any given evening, but when play resumed Joe Girardi chose to go with the back end of the bullpen to finish the final six innings. Why?

Girardi continues to baffle the mind with his moves. Did he figure he had his ace CC Sabathia pitching the finale against the Rays and since he had a 2.5 game lead he could just reserve the top pen guys? He seemed to forget that the Rays were throwing David Price against Sabathia and nothing is ever a given.

Needless to say the pen completely put Wednesday's game out of reach (7-2 loss). Then came Thursday and Sabathia didn't have it. Price wasn't as sharp as he was either when the two locked horns the prior week in Tampa, but he was able to watch as Sabathia lost the strike zone and the game, 10-3. Javier Vazquez also added some comic relief by hitting three straight batters. (I hope Cashman doesn't plan on bringing Vazquez back in 2016.)

The lead in the east had shrunk back to a half-game with the Boston Red Sox coming to town for the last regular season series at home this year. Andy Pettitte was making his second start since being activated off the DL last Sunday. As good as he was that day in a no-decision against Baltimore, that's how bad - actually more like 10 times worse - he was last night.

The Red Sox took batting practice against Pettitte and then Jonathan Albaladejo came on to throw some feul on the fire (Albaladejo looks like Mark Melancon 2.0 - great minors, poor majors) as the Yankees faced a 10-1 deficit. The Bombers banged out six home runs - two each by A-Rod and Mark Teixeira, and one apiece for Nick Swisher and Curtis Granderson - but still came up short 10-8.

The Yankees now find themselves looking up at the Rays, a half-game back in 2nd place. Today they have to face Jon Lester and we have to listen to the idiots on Fox (Hopefully we'll be spared Buck, who may be already at an NFL site to set up for Sunday). Ivan Nova goes for the Yankees.

The series finishes Sunday night (Miller and Morgan, oy) with the unpredictable Dice-K going against the more unpredictable Dustin Moseley. What's the over/under on how many times Miller say Adrian "Bel-TRAY"?

Red Sox Inch Past Yankees

Baseball is a game of inches. We've heard it a thousand times and it was never truer than this afternoon. Marcus Thames' 7th inning drive came within inches of being a game tying 2-run blast. Instead, the Yankees ended up stranding the bases loaded and the Boston Red Sox went on to a 2-1 win in the series finale.

Thames followed Jorge Posada's lead off single with a fly to right-center that hit the very top of the wall and bounced back into play for a double. Red Sox starter Jon Lester then hit Austin Kearns to load the bases. But that's where all the good came to an end. Lester struck out Curtis Granderson and Daniel Bard came on to blow away Derek Jeter and Nick Swisher to escape the threat.

Phil Hughes struggled in the early going, throwing 57 pitches in the 1st two innings alone, but settled down thereafter. Bill Hall gave the Red Sox a 1-0 lead in the 2nd inning with an RBI single and J.D. Drew added an RBI ground out later in the frame.

Lester was masterful and held the Yankees hitless until Kearns' single with one out in the 5th. The Yankees finally got on the board in the 8th when Mark Teixeira continued his hot second half with a deep blast off of Daniel Bard. to halve the lead. But the Yankees left two more aboard in the inning when Bard retired pinch-hitter Lance Berkman on a pop up and closer Jonathan Papelbon got Kearns on an inning ending ground out. Papelbon then struck out Swisher and Teixeira with Jeter representing the tying run at 2nd base in the 9th.

Notes

Teams continue to steal on the Yankees pitchers and catcher Jorge Posada. The Red Sox stole six bases, including a franchise tying four by Jacoby Ellsbury.

Nothing Like a Good Beckett Smashing

Getting ready for today's Yankees-Red Sox series finale, but still smiling over last night's Josh Beckett drubbing. A 7-2 win made even better by a remarkable performance by Dustin Moseley.

Subbing for A.J. Burnett, Moseley was solid all night, leaving after 6.1 innings with just a Bill Hall home run allowed. Moseley was given a heads up on Saturday after Burnett bullpen session led to back spasms on Friday.

The Yankees busted the game open and sent Beckett to the showers with a 5-run 5th inning. Derek Jeter drove in 3 runs on the night and passed Babe Ruth for 39th place on the all-time MLB career hits list. He's now one hit behind another Hall of Fame member, Mel Ott, for the next spot on the list.

Mark Teixeira continued his hot second half, with his fifth home run in eight games. It was also the first time Tex had success against Beckett. And Tex became the 4th players with 25 home runs or more in each of his first eight seasons.

Lance Berkman, for now, quieted the idiot boo birds with a 3-hit night and Alex Rodriguez got over his banged up shin to steal his 300th career base. He's just the third player, Willie Mays and Barry Bonds are the others, to have 600 home runs and 300 steals. A-Rod also became the 10th player with 300 steals, 200 home runs, 2,500 hits, and 1,500 runs scored. Seriously, they actually keep track of this.

One down note in this game was Joba Chamberlain. Yes, he was victimized by a cheap infield RBI single by Mike Lowell, but it was his 3-2 pitch to punch and judy hitter Marco Scutaro that was disturbing. A slider. A guy with a plus fastball and he threw a slider. Needless to say, Scutaro walked and Joba exited. He really needs some mental pitching lessons.

Sunday in New York

The Sunday night match up between the Yankees and Red Sox is just a little over a half hour away. It was tough listening to Joe Buck and Tim McCarver on Saturday, and will be almost as bad with Jon Miller and Joe Morgan tonight.

CC Sabathia made yesterday's game enjoyable with a gritty, masterful performance. After a shaky start the big man settled down and the Yankees offense jumped on John Lackey. Uglier? Randy Johnson or Lackey? Still have to go with the Big Unit.

The victory was #150 in CC's career, making him the 5th youngest start to reach the milestone since 1969. He's also now 8-0, 2.64 in 11 home starts this season.

Dustin Moseley gets moved forward a day to tonight's start after A.J. Burnett came up with back spasms. Phil Hughes will slide into Monday's start, with Burnett hopefully being able to go against Texas on Tuesday. Good news though on the injury front- Alex Rodriguez is back in today's lineup after taking a Lance Berkman BP ball off the shin on Saturday.

The Yankees have a chance to gain more ground in the AL East tonight after the Rays lost to Toronto once again today. After being outscored 17-11, with 8 home runs surrendered, on Saturday, the Rays were nearly no-hit today. Brandon Morrow, who was once Seattle's version of Joba Chamberlain, struck out 17 and had a no-no with two outs in the 9th before Evan Longoria broke it up with a single.

Tampa Bay had been red hot, taking 2 of 3 from the Yankees and the first two of a four game set with the Twins, but have dropped five straight.

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.

July 4, 1983: Rags to Riches

Written for BaseballDigest.com

Dave Righetti had his All-Star break plans all set when he arrived at Yankee Stadium on July 4, 1983. The man known as Rags would have liked to have been heading to the All-Star game in Chicago the next day, but wasn't selected despite a 9-3 record. Instead, he and teammate Graig Nettles were headed to Atlantic City for a good time. First though, Righetti had a game to pitch against the Boston Red Sox on the Nation's birthday.

The Yankees-Red Sox rivalry had rekindled in the late 1970's, culminating with the one game playoff in 1978. The Yankees entered the holiday 2.5 games behind first place Toronto while the Red Sox sat 4 games back.

All no-hitters are accomplished with solid defense. The Yankees had a bit of an unusual alignment behind Righetti on the 4th. Dave Winfield, who mainly played the corner outfield positions in his career, was in center. Nettles had the day off and was replaced at third base by veteran shortstop Bert Campenaris. The result was seamless.

Except for a walk, Righetti breezed through the first three innings, recording seven of the nine outs by strikeout. Rod Nichols drew a one out walk in the 5th, but Righetti picked him off with his patented snap move to first. A Jim Rice walk in the 7th was erased by an inning ending double play.

The Yankees meanwhile had built a 2-0 lead off Red Sox starter John Tudor as the Sox came to bat in the 8th. Right fielder Steve Kemp's time in the Bronx was not a favorable one, but he became a hero for a day when he leaped over the wall in foul territory to snare Dwight Evans pop up to star the inning and contributed some insurance in the bottom of the 8th with a 2-run single.

Righetti had to appreciate the breathing room of a 4-0 lead, especially after he walked Jeff Newman to start the 9th. But the lefty bounced back to retire Glen Hoffman and Jerry Remy on ground outs. That left things up to Wade Boggs.

The future Hall of Famer was leading the league with a sizzling .361 average entering play, but had gone for the collar against Righetti thus far. Moments later Boggs flailed at a strike three slider for the final out of the game. Dave Righetti had become the first Yankees pitcher to throw a no-hitter since Don Larsen tossed a perfect game in the 1956 World Series.

Righetti hugged his catcher Butch Wynegar and soaked in the applause of the 41,077 fans. It created a great holiday memory and a fantastic birthday present for one George Steinbrenner.

Righetti wouldn't have too many more big games as a starter. After finishing the season 14-8, 3.44, the Yankees moved the promising young pitcher to the closer role. He wasn't happy at first, but Righetti would flourish in his new position. At one time he held the major league record with 46 saves.

After retiring in 1995, Righetti moved into coaching and has been the pitching coach for the San Francisco Giants since 2000. But every July 4 he can smile and think back to one memorable holiday.

Ker-Plop

"Good Thames, Bad Thames, you know I've had my share" - Peter Botte via Twitter

I hadn't seen such similiar back to back games played since games 4 and 5 of the 2001 World Series, Unlike those two unbelievable World Series finishes, the Yankees only came out on top in half of this duo with the Red Sox. Oh, and these games were a lot uglier.

Previously on Yankees baseball - you remember Monday night...Marcus Thames becomes an instant hero with a 2-run walk-off home run off of enemy closer Jon Papelbon. Flash forward to Tuesday (perhaps I should call it Lost instead of Flash Forward...either way neither will be on the air for ABC next year). The goodwill towards Marcus Thames disappears in an instant as he drops a 9th inning fly ball. The error led to a pair of Red Sox runs and the Yankees lost 7-6 after building a 5-0 lead against Josh Beckett.

The problems started for the Yankees though an inning earlier. The Red Sox torched Joba Chamberlain for four runs, three of them earned. The inning started with a close play at first that could have altered the outcome of the game. Alex Rodriguez made a nice stop of a Marco Scutaro hard grounder, but threw wide of first base. Mark Teixeira stretched to make the grab, but 1st base umpire Jeff Nelson ruled that Teixeira's foot was off the bag. Replays were inconclusive. Though many Yankees fans felt it was an out, there was no way you could tell from the replays available.

Consecutive hits by Dustin Pedroia, J.D. Drew, and Kevin Youkilis cut the lead to 5-4 before Chamberlain finally retired Victor Martinez. But David Ortiz's one out single tied the game and set up the 9th inning craziness.

An umpire again had an influence as Darnell McDonald appeared to be out on strikes for the second out of the 9th inning. But Mariano Rivera's pitch which hit the inside corner was ruled a ball by home plate ump Angel Campos and McDonald took advantage with a one out single.

Scutaro's bat caused another error as Thames dropped the shortstop's pop up to put two men aboard. Pedroia grounded out, but Jeremy Hermida, who had replaced Drew earlier, lofted a deep fly to left. For some reason, the Yankees had Randy Winn playing shallow as if he were facing the number 9 hitter in a little league lineup. The ball fell in easily for a go ahead 2-run double.

The Yankees rallied once again against closer Jonathan Papelbon in the 9th, but this came up short. Scutaro partially returned the favor by whiffing on Rodriguez's grounder to start the inning for an error. A Robinson Cano double cut the deficit to one, but with two men aboard, Juan Miranda grounded out and Winn struck out to end the game.

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.

2 Out Of 3 Ain't Bad

I want sweep (I want sweep),
I need sweep (I need sweep).
But there ain't now way that A.J.'s gonna sweep you,
Now don't be sad 'cause,
'Cause 2 out of 3 ain't bad.
- Mitreloaf

What is about the combination of a New York Yankees uniform and Fenway Park that has turned A.J. Burnett from stud to dud? When Burnett was a member of the Toronto Blue Jays he dominated the Red Sox with ease, and that was a better Red Sox lineup.

But last year and so far this year, Burnett would settle for a quality start. (He came close on April 6, allowing three earned runs in five innings.)

Burnett had been red hot entering Sunday night's play - a 1.99 ERA. But after a promising start, Burnett began losing the strike zone. He wasn't just missing by inches either. And it doesn't matter if Francisco Cervelli, Jorge Posada, or Yogi Berra in his prime is behind the plate either.

To make matters worse, Marcus Thames did a great job of playing DH in left field. ESPN's John Miller kept talking about the how the wind was playing tricks on Thames, yet no other outfielder had such difficulties. As much as Joe Girardi would like to DH Posada, it does more damage to have Thames in left field or Randy Winn's bat in the lineup.

Jon Lester, a perennial April slow starter, pitched well again in May. He limited the Yankees to four hits over seven innings and has allowed just three earned runs in his last 27 2-3 innings.

But the Yankees still won their 9th series in 10 tries and have taken 4 of 6 from the Red Sox, all of which were in Fenway Park. 2 out of 3 is better than "ain't bad".

There's a New Sheriff in Town

On one side was the crusty old gunslinger. On the other side, the kid trying to prove himself in a hell hole. At the end of the night it was the old gunslinger who lost his composure and started firing stray bullets and it was the kid who remained tried and true. Old John Wayne movie? Nah, just the first of a three game set between the Yankees and Red Sox in Fenway Park.

Josh Beckett, not so old, but plenty crusty, started out like a house afire. He struck out five of the first six Yankees. But as the night wore on, the veteran right-hander lost control. Nick Swisher drove a hanging curveball from Beckett in the 4th over the wall in center for a 3-0 Yankees lead.

Beckett completely fell apart in the 6th, and though scoring, the Yankees weren't happy about it. Joe Girardi's squad had already lost Nick Johnson to a wrist injury (more on that further down) when Robinson Cano took a Beckett cutter to the inside of his left knee. Cano tried to stay in the game, but left shortly thereafter for a pinch-runner. He told the media after the game he wanted to get out before it felt worse. Girardi later said he wouldn't be surprised if Cano has to miss a game or two.

With two aboard and one out, the Red Sox elected to intentionally walk Brett Gardner to load the bases and set up a potential double play. But Beckett's 3-2 fastball nearly knocked Francisco Cervelli on his behind and forced in a run. Cervelli was visibly disgusted as he moved towards first base, having been dusted earlier in the game for calling a timeout when Beckett (or Suckett as I prefer) was about to pitch.

After a Randy Winn single gave the Yankees a 5-1 lead, Beckett drilled Derek Jeter in the back to force in another run. It also brought the Yankees bench to the top step of the dugout where Alex Rodriguez and CC Sabathia were among those jawing at the Red Sox starter.

After run producing singles by Marcus Thames and Mark Teixeira, Sox manager Terry Francona finally pulled his ace from the game. Afterwards, Beckett told the media he wasn't sure why he lost his command so quickly, and the Yankees Derek Jeter said there was no way Beckett was throwing out him with the bases loaded.

It will be interesting to see though if anything develops over the final two games. Once cooler heads prevail, it's quite possible the Yankees will feel Beckett really wasn't throwing at them and will let things go. Or they'll feel it doesn't matter whether it was on purpose or not and someone on the Red Sox will have to eat some rawhide. I have to agree with Michael Kay (yeah, it happens) that Beckett's expression and demeanor certainly were not of a guy who cared about where his pitches were going at that point.

Lost in all this, of course, was the terrific job once again done by Phil Hughes. He improved to 4-0 with a stellar seven innings of work. He allowed a pair of runs, scattered seven hits, walked one, and struck out seven. He had great command of all his pitches and made more than a few Red Sox look silly at the plate.

Notes

Nick Johnson will be placed on the DL and was being sent back to New York to evaluate his right wrist. It's been bothering him for a while, but felt worse after Johnson took some swings in Friday night's game.

Prior to the game, the Yankees sent down outfielder Greg Golson and brought up pitcher Romulo Sanchez. The Yankees will bring up a player for Saturday's game, likely an infielder to help out with Cano hurting. It's possible Juan Miranda will eventually get a call too with Johnson on the DL.

Recipe for Disaster

Someone forgot to tell the Yankees that Spring Training was over. Staked to 5-1 and 7-5 leads, CC Sabathia and the Yankees pen blew both and the Boston Red Sox pulled out a 9-7 victory in the season opener at Fenway Park last night.

Twitter was on fire as the Yankees knocked around Red Sox starter Josh Beckett, who exited before the end of the 5th inning. Jorge Posada had three hits on the night and combined with Curtis Granderson on back to back home runs in the 2nd inning.

The Sox cut the lead to 5-2 in the 5th and then Kevin Youkilis and Dustin Pedroia, two of the Red Sox you love to hate, took over the game.

Youkilis' two run triple past Nick Swisher in right in the 6th, cut the margin to one before new Red Sox third baseman Adrian Beltre singled off of reliever David Robertson to tie the game.

The Yankees quickly took the lead back in the 7th on a run producing ground out by Robinson Cano and an RBI single by Posada. But Pedroia greeted Chan Ho Park with a two run blast atop the Green Monster to tie it again. Two batters later, Youkilis doubled, moved to third on Damaso Marte's wild pitch and scored when Posada mishandled a Marte delivery for a passed ball.

Posada gave the Yankees one more chance in the 9th when he singled off of Jonathan Papelbon, but Granderson grounded out to end the game.

Game Notes

CC Sabathia took the full blame after the game, saying "It was all on me," Sabathia said. "I was missing trying to make the perfect pitch." But he had plenty of help. The fans still love him though. A NY Post poll showed the fans felt Chan Ho Park (Notice Park spelled backwards is Krap?) and Joe Girardi over Sabathia.

Prior to the game, Girardi would not commit to his 8th inning man would be. Joba Chamberlain was shaky in his first appearance, allowing an insurance run.
Pedro Martinez threw out the ceremonial first pitch and received a rousing ovation. And they didn't leave him on the mound too long.

The teams are off Monday and will return to action Tuesday evening.

Yankees-Red Sox Opening Night Lineups

Courtesy of the NY Daily News' Mark Feinsand:

YANKEES

Derek Jeter, SS
Nick Johnson, DH
Mark Teixeira, 1B
Alex Rodriguez, 3B
Robinson Cano, 2B
Jorge Posada, C
Curtis Granderson, CF
Nick Swisher, RF
Brett Gardner, LF

CC Sabathia, LHP

RED SOX

Jacoby Ellsbury, LF
Dustin Pedroia, 2B
Victor Martinez, C
Kevin Youkilis, 1B
David Ortiz, DH
J.D. Drew, RF
Adrian Beltre, 3B
Mike Cameron, CF
Marco Scutaro, SS

Josh Beckett, RHP

Pump It Up

The Yankees and Red Sox are probably playing down this weekend's 3-game series in the Bronx. The Yankees already have a playoff spot sewn up and it's just a matter of time before the Sox sew up the wild card. There's no real reason for the Red Sox, other than to try to get home field advantage, to bust their behinds to win the AL East. It's an uphill battle as they enter the weekend 5 1/2 games behind the Yankees.

The Yankees, as I said, are in and most likely have the division title won. But all that being said, this is an important series for both teams. The Yankees turned the corner against the Red Sox when they swept a four game series at home from Aug. 6 - 9. They followed that up by taking 2 of 3 in Fenway from Aug. 21-23. After losing the first eight games of the series, the Yankees are now 6-9 against Boston. There's no question that the Yankees would like to continue their winning ways against the Red Sox. You always want to be in the head of your opponent and after taking 6 of 7, the Yankees have to be in the Red Sox' minds just a little bit right now. May the trend continue this weekend.

This is probably also the last chance for Joba Chamberlain to show something that could earn him a playoff start. Though he will get one more start against either the Royals or Rays, this start is against a playoff team and a very dangerous one at that.

* * *

The Yankees will probably be without Jerry Hairston Jr. this weekend. An MRI of his sore wrist showed tendinitis, so Hairston received his second cortisone shot in two weeks.

David Robertson has been ruled out of this weekend's series by Brian Cashman.

New Supreme Court justice Sonia Sotomayor will throw out the first pitch before Saturday's game.

Yankees vs. Red Sox

Yankees vs. Red Sox