Yankees in Cellar's Market

1966 was a horrible year for New York Yankees baseball. Their stars either retired early or had stayed too long. The Yankees finished 70-89 that year and in 10th place...which was out of 10 teams.

No one is saying 2012 holds the same fate for the Yankees, but the last time the Yankees and Boston Red Sox (who blew two final inning leads on Sunday) started the season with an identical 0-3 record was in that horrid 1966 season.

The Yankees pitching staff only allowed three runs on Sunday, but their bats were put to sleep by a near complete game shutout by Jeremy Hellickson. Only a two out walk to Nick Swisher in the 9th prevented the second year right-hander from finishing off a 3-0 Tampa Bay Rays win.

Phil Hughes made his first start of the season and took the loss. While he had effective stuff, he burned out early and was pulled after 99 pitches and 4.2 innings. Stuff will only get you so far, just ask A.J. Burnett.

The Yankees continued to make the mistake of pitching to Carlos Pena. Already leading 1-0 on a Matt Joyce 1st inning RBI triple, Pena double the score with his second home run and 7th RBI of the series. He later had a near home run turn into a ground rule double due to fan interference.

But the story of this game was Hellickson, who walked four batters, but limited the Yankees to just three hits. All three were doubles (Alex Rodriguez, Mark Teixeira and Swisher), but the Yankees bats failed in the clutch, much as they did in the entire three game series. Pena's 24 home runs against the Yankees are his second highest total against any one team.

Series Notes

It's only the first series of the season, but a team should be embarrassed when Fernando Rodney saves two games against you.

The Yankees three starters in the series, CC Sabathia, Hiroki Kuroda, and Hughes, combined to allow 11 earned runs in 16.1 innings pitched. Mariano Rivera, Clay Rapada, and Boone Logan gave up a combined five additional runs out of the pen.

Eduardo Nunez' season got off to a rocky start in the field Saturday evening. After making an error on the very first ball hit to him in this year's Spring Training debut, Nunez repeated the feat when he started at shortstop behind Kuroda. Unfortunately for Nunez, Kuroda didn't pick him up and gave up a 2-run single to Luke Scott.

Kuroda fooled no one, except maybe his catcher Russell Martin, in his AL debut. The former Japanese star and LA Dodger mainstay, allowed six runs, four of them earned, eight hits, and walked four in just 5.2 innings.

Joe Girardi has fans and media scratching their heads already. He left southpaw Clay Rapada in to face right-handed hitters in Saturday's game despite the fact Rapada cannot get righties out. The result was a pair of extra runs that proved to be the difference in the ball game.

The Yankees had managed just one run off of starter David Price through 6-plus innings, but rallied against the Rays pen in the 9th. Swisher had the big blow with a 3-run home run to pull the Yankees to within two. But after a Robinson Cano walk, Rodney retired Rodriguez, who represented the tying run, with a bounce out to second to end the game.

The Week Ahead

The Yankees move on to Baltimore for a three game set with the Orioles before returning home for Friday's home opener with the LA Angels.

The Pena is Mightier Than The Closer

An opening game (opening day is really at home...to me anyway) match up of CC Sabathia and James Shields. You're talking a 2-1/3-2 game! And it was...by the 2nd inning. Only the Rays had already scored four.

Despite a shaky outing from Sabathia, the Yankees led 6-5 in the 9th thanks to an even shakier start from Shields and Raul Ibanez' 4 RBI. And then things got really ugly. Mariano Rivera started his 18th season by blowing the lead and then the game in the 9th inning. I'm sure I'm not the only one who was thinking, "game over" when Mo stepped on the mound.

But Rivera left a pitch up to lead off hitter Desmond Jennings that resulted in a lead off single and Ben Zobrist ripped a cutter up the alley in right-center for an RBI triple. Rivera, who intentionally walked two batters in all of 2011, issues free passes to Evan Longoria and Luke Scott to set up a force at any base.

Rivera struck out Sean Rodriguez, but threw another meatball to Carlos Pena, who drove it to the base of the wall in left-center for the game winner. It was a big day for Pena who was a member of the Rays from 2007 - 2010 and was greeted with a standing ovation his first time at-bat. The 1st baseman, who spent last season with the Cubs, got the fans even louder when he stroked a grand slam off of Sabathia to give the Rays a 1st inning, 4-0 lead.

Some questionable strategy came into play prior to Pena's at-bat when Joe Girardi intentionally walked Rodriguez with two outs and a base open. Though it set up a lefty-lefty confrontation, Pena is a much more dangerous hitter than Rodriguez.

The Yankees had cut the lead to 4-3 with the help of a rare bout of wildness from Shields and took the lead in the 4th when Ibanez blasted a 3-run home run deep into the right field seats. Ibanez had struggled for most of spring training, but had said that it was meaningless. He was right for at least one day. Rivera backed Ibanez's words up by having a great spring training and a really bad opener.

Notes

The Yankees looked like the Yankees for much of last season, going 2-11 with runners in scoring position. Though Mark Texeira walked twice, he and Nick Swisher looked off balance most of the day.

No manager love defensive shifts more than Joe Maddon and it paid off on Friday when his strategy took two hits away from Curtis Granderson.

Yankees Top Cubs In Spite Of Themselves

Ray Liotta, er, Russell Martin takes Carlos Pena's best shot

The Yankees did everything they could today to give the ball game away, but held on a 4-3 win over the Chicago Cubs. It evened the series at a game apiece, with the rubber game another nationally televised affair on ESPN Sunday night.

The Yankees squandered offensive opportunities, ran the bases poorly, committed errors, threw wild pitches, hit batters, and still came out on top even after Mariano Rivera surrendered a solo home run to Reed Johnson in the 9th and a follow up single to Alfonso Soriano.

The Yankees had Ryan Dempster on the ropes all day, but it took until the 6th inning and the game tied 2-2 to finally take the lead for good. Eduardo Nunez reached on a lead off single and moved to second base on an odd bunt from A.J. Burnett. The ball rolled foul, but first baseman Carlos Pena didn't pick the ball up and it rolled back into fair territory for a successful sacrifice. Brett Gardner's single put runners on the corners and drove Dempster from the game. Reliever James Russell got away with a pitch to Curtis Granderson, who narrowly missed his 22nd home run, but delivered a sac fly and a 3-2 Yankees lead. With a chance to possibly score more and Mark Teixeira at the plate, Gardner was picked off first base to end the inning. But Gardner would more than make up for his gaffe a short time later.

Yankees starter A.J. Burnett was effective for the most part, his one mistake a flat fastball that Pena turned in a game tying (2-2) home run. Burnett almost became a victim of bad luck in the bottom half of the 6th when the wheels came off the Yankees defense. Burnett's breaking ball broke into Pena for a hit batter with one out and Nunez booted Reed Johnson's ground ball to put the tying and go ahead runs on base. Joe Girardi went to Cory Wade to face Alfonso Soriano, who hit a sharp grounder to third. Alex Rodriguez made a nice play to snare the ball, but Robinson Cano dropped the throw to second for the second Yankees error of the inning.

The dangerous Geovany Soto stepped in and hit a bullet to left that Gardner caught on the run and then fired a perfect one hopper to Russell Martin at home plate. Pena came barrelling in high and slammed into the Yankees catcher, who had a firm grip on the baseball for an inning ending double play. Martin was sure not only to show the ball to the umpire, but Pena as well in a "I took your best shot" moment.

The Yankees got a much needed insurance run in the 9th when Nunez doubled home Cano, but Nick Swisher continued the Yankees tough day on the bases by getting throw out at home plate to end the inning. The run proved to be huge when Reed Johnson hit a hanging cutter from Rivera into the left field seats to make it a one run game. (FOX's anti-Yankee Joe Buck announced the game was tied with much glee, but then had to sadly retract his statement) But after Soriano followed with a single, Rivera got Soto to bounce into a double play and struck out Jeff Baker to nail down the win.

Notes

In addition to Gardner and Swisher, Granderson was thrown out attempting to steal and Rodriguez was nailed trying to stretch a single into a double.

The Yankees were 3-12 with runners in scoring position, plus two sacrifice flies.

BD Hot Stove Breaking News: Pena Lands in Chicago | Baseball Digest

Carlos Pena has himself a new gig on Chicago's north side.

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BD Hot Stove: Who’s On First? | Baseball Digest

A look at this year's free agent crop of 1st basemen.

Paul Konerko Adam Dunn Carlos Pena Derrek Lee

Yankees Get Last Laugh on Rays

Yankees Pound Rays in Post-Season Prep

Written for Baseball Digest Online

The Yankees still don’t know who they will be playing in the American League Division Series, but they got their focus back on Sunday and pummeled the Tampa Bay Rays 10-2. To be more precise, Alex Rodriguez pummeled the Rays on Sunday.

A-Rod came into the game two home runs and seven RBI shy of a 30/100 season. All he needed was one inning to accomplish the feat for the 12th straight year. Trailing 2-0, the Yankees put two aboard in the 6th against rookie starter Wade Davis. That set the stage for Rodriguez to blast his 29th home run of the season for a 3-2 Yankees lead. But the Bronx Bombers weren’t done yet.

The Yankees loaded the bases against Davis and reliever Andy Sonnanstine, who appeared to get out of the inning when Jose Molina hit a potential double play tapper in front of the plate. But in his haste to throw home, Sonnanstine lost control of the baseball and everyone was safe. Two batters later Johnny Damon made him pay for the error with a 2-run double that extended the Yankees lead to 6-2. That’s when things really got interesting.

Mark Teixiera came to the plate tied with the Rays’ Carlos Pena for the AL lead in home runs. Pena’s season ended early when a CC Sabathia pitch broke three of his fingers. David Price threw at Teixeira Friday night in retaliation and manager Joe Maddon decided on Sunday that Teixeira would not lead the AL in home runs by himself, ordering an intentional walk (Teixeira did win the AL RBI crown).

Teixeira got the last laugh though as he watched from the dugout after being removed for a pinch-runner. Rodriguez blasted a Sonnanstine delivery over the n right-center field fence for a grand slam. One inning, two swings of the bat and just like that A-Rod reached the 30/100 milestone and also tied Mark McGwire for 8th place on the all-time major league home run list with 583 round-trippers. A-Rod also broke the AL record for RBI in an inning.

Game Notes

A.J. Burnett won his 13th game with a decent outing. He did cross up Jose Molina once, which resulted in a Rays’ run when the ball ricocheted off the inside of the catcher’s knee. There is still a lot of speculation that Molina will catch Burnett in theALDS.

The Yankees will now sit and watch Tuesday’s one game playoff between the Detroit Tigers and Minnesota Twins, both of whom won on Sunday. The Tigers will start rookie Rick Porcello, while the Twins counter with Scott Baker. With the best record, the Yankees had the option of starting the ALDS on Wednesday or Thursday, and opted for the former.

Joba Chamberlain worked a 1-2-3 inning on Sunday as he prepares to most likely work out of the pen in the post-season.

The Yankees 103 wins was the highest franchise total since the team also won 103 in 2002.

Doubleheader Disaster

Sabathia Spanked in Attempt at 20

There was a possibility of the aforementioned "Sportsgasm" tonight. Afterall, CC Sabathia was going for his 20th win in the Yankees-Tampa Bay Rays game and the New York Rangers were opening their NHL season with a road game against the defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins.

"Nightmare on Elm Street" was more like it. The team lost both games, though the Rangers at least made a game of it.

Things started out poorly for CC Sabathia and only got worse. He lasted on 2-plus innings and got charged with nine runs, five of which were earned. His night ended by firing his glove into a collection of water bottles on the bench. In CC's first and last starts the season he was 0-2 with a 12.86 ERA. It was also Sabathia's first loss since July 28.

Things started out even worse for the Yankees when fireballer David Price hit Mark Teixeira in the left shoulder during the 1st inning. It was apparently in retaliation for Sabathia hitting Carlos Pena with a pitch on September 7. It ended Pena's season, though he still leads the AL with 39 HRs. (Got a good laugh when it was reported on Twitter that the Rays announcer said it started the Rays downward spiral. The Rays have sucked from the get go gents.)

It was a big night for the Rays' B.J. Upton. He started his night with a fine running catch in center field and then became the first Tampa Bay Ray to hit for the cycle. And he completed teh feat in the 5th inning! Upton started with the hardest hit, a triple, followed by a double, home run, and finally a single. He wasn't done either, adding another single for a 5-5, 6 RBI night.

On the bright side, Juan Miranda hit his first major league home run.

You Hockey Puck

The Rangers had to endure the opening night ceremonies in Pittsburgh, which included raising the championship banner and seeing the Stanley Cup, which has not touched Rangers hands since 1994.

The Pens tallied first on their killer power play, but Chris Drury tied it in the 1st period, off a nice feed from new Ranger Chris Higgins. But the Pens quick strike offense put together two second period goals in just a 1:08 span.

First Sidney Crosby cleaned up a loose puck in front, putting it past Henrik Lundqvist for his first goal of the season. Some sloppy play in front then led to a Tyler Kennedy goal for a 3-1 lead.

The Rangers put pressure on Marc Andre-Fleury in the third period and the Rangers biggest offensive acquisition, Marian Gaborik lit the lamp to cut the lead to 3-2 at 5:56. But that would be it for the night, as the Rangers went 0-4 with the man advantage.

Team		Shots on Goal						Faceoffs				Power Plays
		1st	2nd	3rd	Total			Won	Lost			Converted	Total
NY Rangers		7	12	8	27			28	28			0	4
Pittsburgh		9	12	10	31			28	28			1	2

Swisher Keeps Summer of Fun Going

Swishhhh...nothing but seats
Written for Baseball Digest

The Summer of Fun continued in the Bronx last night as Nick Swisher provided the first and last runs in the Yankees 3-2 win over the Tampa Bay Rays. After a rare "bad" outing by Phil Hughes, Swisher's second home run home run of the game provided the Yankees 13th walk off win of the season. The 9th inning victory put the Pinstripes 40 games over .500 (90-50) and raised their winning pct. to .750 since the All-Star break.

Hughes came on in the 8th to protect a 2-1 lead, but Jason Bartlett smacked his 13th home run of the season to tie things up. It was the first earned run allowed by Hughes since August 4 and the first home run given up since June 10. But Swisher, who had smacked his 25th home run of the season in the 1st inning off starter David Price, turned around to the left side against Dan Wheeler and hit a laser into the first row in right field.

A wild celebration ensued, the culmination of course being an A.J. Burnett delivered pie to the face. Swisher, whose personality has helped turned the ball club from a corporate, button down philosophy to a more relaxed business casual, enjoyed every moment of it.

Alex Rodriguez' RBI single in the 6th had given the Yankees a 2-0 lead behind Chad Gaudin (6 IP 6 H 1 ER 2 BB 6 K), who was clearly having his best outing as a Yankee. Through six scoreless innings he had thrown just 65 pitches and scattered four hits. But Evan Longoria greeted him in the 7th with a lead off home run, his 30th, and Gaudin was pulled after a walk and single followed. Joe Girardi fully utilized his bullpen, bringing in Damaso Marte, Brian Bruney, and Phil Coke to strand both runners.

Game Notes

Derek Jeter's hitless string continued as he only put the ball in play once. His third straight 0-4 left him 0-12 in his last three games.

Mariano Rivera (2-2) earned the win after pitching a scoreless 9th inning.

From the Elias Sports Bureau - Nick Swisher tied his own AL record (2007), shared with Tony Clark, for most games (3) in which he has homered from both sides of the plate in one season.

Rays 1st Baseman Carlos Pena will miss the rest of the season after suffering two broken fingers on his throwing (left) hand. CC Sabathia hit him with a pitch in Monday's day part of the day-night doubleheader. Pena currently leads the AL with 39 home runs.

David Robertson has been experiencing discomfort in his elbow and will be visiting Dr. James Andrews for further evaluation.

Joba Chamberlain will get his 3 inning stint tonight when he faces Jeff Niemann in the series finale (7:05 P.M. ET TV-ESPN).

Yankees gets "Ray'ned" on

Pena Continues Yankees Pain

1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10		R	H	E
Tampa Bay	0	0	1	0	0	2	0	0	0	1		4	9	0
NY Yankees	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	0	0		3	9	1

For a while it seemed that the heavy rains that fell on the Bronx last night would wash away the bad play, the poor pitching, and the lack of timely hitting that have plagued the Yankees so far this season. In the bottom of the eighth, Mark Teixeira looked through the rain drops and delivered a game tying 3-run double. Then the umpires held up play for 28 minutes. When play resumed the Yankees reverted back to theirpre-rain form and lost to the Tampa Bay Rays, 4-3 in 10 innings.

Carlos Pena greeted reliever Phil Coke with a solo home run to start the 10th inning to give the Rays the lead back. It was Pena’s Major League leading 12th home run of the season. The Yankees had a chance against Rays’ closer Troy Percivial in the bottom of the 10th, but came up empty once again. Johnny Damon hit a one hop ground rule double to center and moved to third base on a wild pitch. That gave the Yankees two cracks with Teixeira and Hideki Matsui due up. But Percival retired Teixeira on a shallow fly to right and Matsui on a weak fly to left to extend the Yankees losing streak to four games.

A.J. Burnett gave the Yankees another solid performance, allowing three runs over six innings. The Rays led 1-0 entering the sixth when Burnett ran into further trouble. Pat Burrell started the inning with a walk and Gabe Gross followed with a single to right. Jason Bartlett bunted the runners over, enabling Aki Iwamura (sac fly) and Dioner Navarro (single) to bring both runners home for a 3-0 lead.

Rays’ starter Andy Sonnanstine cruised through most of the game. He escaped a two on, two out jam in the fourth when he got the suddenly slumping Robinson Cano to fly out to end the inning. The Yankees finally came alive in the eighth when Melky Cabrera reached on a one out single and moved to third on Jose Molina’s double. Dan Wheeler struck out Derek Jeter, but Howell walked Damon to load the bases and set up the show down with Teixeira. The first baseman broke his bat, but still managed to line the ball into the left field corner. Damon raced home from first base unabated to tie the score. After the rain delay Brian Shouse struck out Matsui to strand Teixeira.

Mariano Rivera gave up a lead off single to Navarro in the ninth, but then struck out the side to give the Yankees a chance to win it in regulation. Cano singled to start the bottom of the ninth and moved to second on Brett Gardner’s sac bunt. Reliever Joe Nelson walked Melky Cabrera, but got Ramiro Pena to ground out on a bang-bang play at first base. Replays showed that Pena was actually safe. Grant Balfour then retired Molina to send the game to extra innings.

Game Notes

Joe Girardi opened himself up to a world of second guessing by not using Rivera for a second inning and going with Coke instead.

Nick Swisher was ejected for arguing balls and strikes after striking out to end the seventh inning.

Derek Jeter has gone ice cold. He’s just 6-31 (.194) over his last 7 games.

Robinson Cano’s 9th inning single snapped an 0-15 skid.

The series concludes tonight when Andy Pettitte faces Jeff Niemann.

Burnett Dominates Rays

Here's my recap for Baseball Digest of tonight's game.

Burnett gives an A+ performance

Filed Under: Yankees

Tags: A.J.Burnett • brett gardner • Carl Crawford • Carlos Pena • Dan Wheeler • Derek Jeter • Matt Garza • New York Yankees • nick swisher • Tampa Bay Rays • Yankees recap 4/14/09

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
NY Yankees	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	4		7	11	0
Tampa Bay	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0		2	3	0

WP - Burnett (2-0) LP - Howell (0-1)
HR - Swisher (4)

It may only be the second week of the regular season, but A.J. Burnett and Nick Swisher are making a push for the AL CY Young and MVP Awards. All kidding aside, both players are doing their best to get the Yankees off to a good start this season. Tuesday night they both played pivotal roles in the Yankees 7-2 win over the Tampa Bay Rays.

Once again the Yankees were looking for Burnett to pick them up after a terrible start the previous night by Chien-Ming Wang. Burnett not only picked them up, he carried them. He threw six innings of no-hit ball before Carl Crawford laced a single to left to start the seventh. In picking up the win, Burnett struck out nine over eight innings, while allowing just three hits and one walk.

With the game tied 2-2 in the eighth, the Yankees only top rookie candidate stepped up. Brett Gardner drove a ball over the head of Crawford in left for a lead off double. Derek JeterJoe Maddon stuck with left-hander J.P. Howell since Mark Teixeira’s tendinitis bothers him when he’s hitting from the right side. But Teixeira nearly hit one out, settling for a sacrifice fly and an RBI to give the Yankees a 3-2 lead. followed with a bloop single to center to put runners on the corners with no one out. Rays manager

With Mariano Rivera warming up in the bullpen the Yankees put the game out of reach in the ninth. Robinson Cano and Melky Cabrera stroked back to back singles to start the inning. Dan Wheeler looked like he would work his way out of trouble after retiring Ramiro Pena, who failed to get a sacrifice bunt down, and Jose Molina. But Gardner came through with a big two-out hit, this time powering up to center field for a ground rule double over the head of B.J. Upton, who slammed the outfield wall in disgust, for a 4-2 lead.

Then it was the captain’s turn. Jeter had been been in a 1-20 slump entering the game, but he smashed a Wheeler fastball over the fence in right-center for a back breaking 3-run home run.

Burnett cruised through the first six innings, retiring 17 of the 18 hitters he faced. A one-out walk to Pat Burrell was the only base runner he allowed to that point. Burnett struck out at least one batter in every inning except the third and struck out two batters in an inning four times. But he quickly ran into trouble in the seventh.

Evan Longoria and Carlos Pena followed Crawford’s no-no break up hit with singles of their own to cut the Yankees lead to 2-1. Burrell’s fly ball to right brought in the tying run before Burnett struck out Dioner Navarro and Molina picked Pena off of first base to end the inning.

The Yankees gave Burnett a quick 1-0 lead to work with in the first inning. Back to back singles by Gardner and Jeter, and a walk to Teixeira loaded the bases with no one out. Starter Matt Garza struck out Swisher, but Jorge Posada, who was in the lineup as the DH, drove in the first run of the game with a fly ball to left field. The Yankees extended the lead to 2-0 in the sixth when Swisher homered for the second straight night and the fourth time in six games.

Games Notes

Xavier Nady left the game after the seventh inning with sharp pain in his right elbow. Nady had Tommy John surgery on the arm back in 2001 and will be sent for an MRI on Wednesday.

Derek Jeter is now one home run behind Jason Giambi (209) for 10th place on the franchise’s all-time home run list.

The series wraps up on Wednesday with a 4:08 pm EDT start. Andy Pettitte (1-0, 1.29) faces off against Andy Sonnanstine (0-1, 9.64) in the rubber game of the series.

From Bad to Worse

When Nick Swisher is called upon to pitch, you know your team is in trouble. That's how poorly things went for the Yankees tonight in St. Petersburg.

You thought Chien-Ming Wang's start against Baltimore was bad? His showing against Tampa Bay this evening was even worse. Wang didn't retire a batter in the second inning and the Rays humiliated the Yankees 15-5.

Swisher provided the comic relief in the eighth inning, but he was the only Yankees pitcher to escape unscathed. Wang was awful right from the start. He walked B.J. Upton, who was playing his first game of the season, to start the first and then hit Carl Crawford.

Wang struck out Evan Longoria, but the Rays pulled off a double steal, with Upton swiping his second base of the inning. Carlos Pena doubled home both runners and scored on a Pat Burrell double for a 3-0 Rays lead. Back to back singles by Dioner Navarro and Gabe Gross produced another run, with Gross helping Wang out by getting thrown out trying to advance to second on the play. Wang then retired Aki Iwamura to get out of the first inning down 4-0.

Things didn't get any better in the second for Wang. Jason Bartlett singled and promptly stole second. Upton's bunt single and a walk to Crawford loaded the bases and Wang followed with another walk to Longoria to force in a run. Joe Girardi called on Jonathan Albaladejo, but before the Yankees manager knew what him, or Albaladejo in this case, Pena blasted a grand slam into the right field seats for a back breaking 9-0 Rays lead.

After that it was all about getting the game over with. The Yankees scored three runs off of Scott Kazmir in 6.2 innings, with Swisher hitting his third home run of the season. Edwar Ramirez and Phil Coke gave up four more runs before Girardi, in desperation, turned things over to Swisher to save the bullpen.

After giving up a walk and a single to start the eighth, Swisher struck out Gabe Kapler, retired Pena on a pop up to Robinson Cano, and ended the inning by getting Burrell to fly out to left field. It was the only time the Yankees got to smile all night.


Game Notes

Incredibly, Wang's ERA stands at 23.98 after two starts (4.2 IP 17 ER).

With a tired bullpen, it would not be surprising to see the Yankees call a pitcher up from Scranton in time for Tuesday's game.

Upton made a terrific return to the lineup after missing the first six games due to off-season shoulder surgery. He was 1-3 with three walks, two runs scored, two stolen bases and made a spectacular, back to the infield, running catch in center field on a ball hit by Xavier Nady.

Swisher was the first position player to pitch for the Yankees since Wade Boggs did it on August 18, 1997. The future Hall of Fame inductee tossed a scoreless inning against the Anaheim Angels in a 12-4 Yankees loss.

	Final		1		2		3		4		5		6		7		8		9		R		H		E
	NY Yankees	0	0	0	1	1	0	1	2	0	5	9	1
	Tampa Bay	4	5	1	0	1	1	3	0	X	15	17	0
WP: S. Kazmir (2-0) LP: C. Wang (0-2)

It Shall Rain for 40 Hours and 40 Minutes

And then the voice said, "Take 2 each: outfielders, pitchers, catchers, and infielders, unto the ark."

Okay, really the umpires just said to put the tarp on the field last night, suspending game 5 of the World Series. The series isn't still on because the Rays forced a game 6, but instead because a deluge of precipitation fell on Citizen's Bank Park causing so much water pooling that Greg Louganis could have landed in one puddle off the high dive.

Play stopped in the middle of the sixth inning after the Rays had tied the game 2-2 on Carlos Pena's RBI single. It was clear that MLB was praying for the Rays to either tie the game or go ahead so that a possibly decisive game wouldn't be decided in part due to the weather. But it was clear, despite the protestations of MLB COO Bob Dupuy to Fox's Chris Myers, that the game would have continued had the Rays not tied the score.

The game likely won't be completed until Wednesday night, because tonight's forecast in Philly is calling for even worse weather than last night. The game could have been called prior to the fifth inning, but MLB was going to do everything they could to get the game in and they didn't want to get negative feedback from Phillies fans for calling the game with the Phils leading. Obviously no consideration was given to the health and well being of highly paid athletes who aren't used to playing baseball in a mud pit filled with water hazards. On top of everything else we had to listen to Joe Buck and Tim McCarver use the word "hydroplane" countless times.

The stoppage has to favor the Rays since it means there's no way that Cole Hamels will continue in the contest. Though he wasn't as dominant as he had been in his prior post-season starts, he had still limited the Rays to just 5 hits over 6 innings and those 2 runs. On the other hand, Rays starter Scott Kazmir was awful, the weather notwithstanding. He lasted only four innings, walking 6 hitters and only gave up 2 runs due to the Phillies' continuing inefficiency with runners in scoring position.

There was good news in the game for the Rays as Carlos Pena and Evan Longoria finally broke out of their O-fers. Pena had a pair of hits, scored the Rays' first run and drove in the second. Longoria's fourth inning single broke his shneid and brought home Pena.

The Phillies took advantage of Kazmir's control problems to take a quick 2-0 lead in the first inning. Kazmir put two men on with one out by walking Jayson Werth and plunking Chase Utley. But after blowing a 94-mph strike three fastball past Ryan Howard, Kazmir walked Pat Burrell to load the bases, and then gave up a 2-run single to Shane Victorino. Pedro Feliz' single loaded the bases again, but Kazmir escaped further trouble by retiring Carlos Ruiz on an inning ending fly out.

Pena's one-out-double in the fourth brought some life to the Rays bench and Longoria capitalized with with his first hit and RBI of the series with a single to left. Hamels came right back though, getting Dioner Navarro to bounce into a double play.

Kazmir was in trouble again in the home half of the fourth, issuing back-to-back 2-out walks to Jimmy Rollins and Werth to load the bases. But Utley grounded out to second baseman Aki Iwamura to strand all three runners.

Rollin's error on a wind-blown pop-up in the fifth gave the Rays a lead off man on base, but Hamels, with a big assist from Utley, got Jason Bartlett to hit into a double play. Utley tagged runner Rocco Baldelli as he went by and then spun around to throw out Bartlett at first.

Joe Maddon finally went to his pen in the fifth when Kazmir walked Howard and Pat Burrell to start the inning. Grant Balfour did the job, retiring all three men he faced to strand the runners. Then it was the Rays' turn to come back and in the process halt play. B.J. Upton reached on a 2-out infield single, and despite the sloppy turf, stole second base. It paid off when Pena singled to left and Upton just beat the throw home from Burrell to tie the score. Pena moved to second base on a passed ball, but Longoria flied to deep center to end the inning and the night's play.

It Shall Rain for 40 Hours and 40 Minutes

And then the voice said, "Take 2 each: outfielders, pitchers, catchers, and infielders, unto the ark."

Okay, really the umpires just said to put the tarp on the field last night, suspending game 5 of the World Series. The series isn't still on because the Rays forced a game 6, but instead because a deluge of precipitation fell on Citizen's Bank Park causing so much water pooling that Greg Louganis could have landed in one puddle off the high dive.

Play stopped in the middle of the sixth inning after the Rays had tied the game 2-2 on Carlos Pena's RBI single. It was clear that MLB was praying for the Rays to either tie the game or go ahead so that a possibly decisive game wouldn't be decided in part due to the weather. But it was clear, despite the protestations of MLB COO Bob Dupuy to Fox's Chris Myers, that the game would have continued had the Rays not tied the score.

The game likely won't be completed until Wednesday night, because tonight's forecast in Philly is calling for even worse weather than last night. The game could have been called prior to the fifth inning, but MLB was going to do everything they could to get the game in and they didn't want to get negative feedback from Phillies fans for calling the game with the Phils leading. Obviously no consideration was given to the health and well being of highly paid athletes who aren't used to playing baseball in a mud pit filled with water hazards. On top of everything else we had to listen to Joe Buck and Tim McCarver use the word "hydroplane" countless times.

The stoppage has to favor the Rays since it means there's no way that Cole Hamels will continue in the contest. Though he wasn't as dominant as he had been in his prior post-season starts, he had still limited the Rays to just 5 hits over 6 innings and those 2 runs. On the other hand, Rays starter Scott Kazmir was awful, the weather notwithstanding. He lasted only four innings, walking 6 hitters and only gave up 2 runs due to the Phillies' continuing inefficiency with runners in scoring position.

There was good news in the game for the Rays as Carlos Pena and Evan Longoria finally broke out of their O-fers. Pena had a pair of hits, scored the Rays' first run and drove in the second. Longoria's fourth inning single broke his shneid and brought home Pena.

The Phillies took advantage of Kazmir's control problems to take a quick 2-0 lead in the first inning. Kazmir put two men on with one out by walking Jayson Werth and plunking Chase Utley. But after blowing a 94-mph strike three fastball past Ryan Howard, Kazmir walked Pat Burrell to load the bases, and then gave up a 2-run single to Shane Victorino. Pedro Feliz' single loaded the bases again, but Kazmir escaped further trouble by retiring Carlos Ruiz on an inning ending fly out.

Pena's one-out-double in the fourth brought some life to the Rays bench and Longoria capitalized with with his first hit and RBI of the series with a single to left. Hamels came right back though, getting Dioner Navarro to bounce into a double play.

Kazmir was in trouble again in the home half of the fourth, issuing back-to-back 2-out walks to Jimmy Rollins and Werth to load the bases. But Utley grounded out to second baseman Aki Iwamura to strand all three runners.

Rollin's error on a wind-blown pop-up in the fifth gave the Rays a lead off man on base, but Hamels, with a big assist from Utley, got Jason Bartlett to hit into a double play. Utley tagged runner Rocco Baldelli as he went by and then spun around to throw out Bartlett at first.

Joe Maddon finally went to his pen in the fifth when Kazmir walked Howard and Pat Burrell to start the inning. Grant Balfour did the job, retiring all three men he faced to strand the runners. Then it was the Rays' turn to come back and in the process halt play. B.J. Upton reached on a 2-out infield single, and despite the sloppy turf, stole second base. It paid off when Pena singled to left and Upton just beat the throw home from Burrell to tie the score. Pena moved to second base on a passed ball, but Longoria flied to deep center to end the inning and the night's play.

Rays Sting Red Sox to the Brink

Joe Maddon knows the history. He has seen what the Red Sox have done in the past. A comeback from a 3-0 deficit to the Yankees in the 2004 ALCS that led to a World Series championship. A comeback from a 3-1 deficit to the Indians in last year's ALCS that led to another title. After last night's Rays 13-4 blow out of the Red Sox, Maddon's Tampa squad is in the same position. An American League pennant is in their grasp. Now they have to finish it off.

Carl Crawford (5) and Willy Aybar (4) combined to out hit the Red Sox (7) last night as Tim Wakefield knuckled under. For the second straight game the Rays scored early and often, and didn't let up. Wakefield didn't make it out of the third inning and was charged with five earned runs. Manny DelCarmen gave up the same amount in just a third of an inning. Meanwhile, Andy Sonnanstine gave the bullpen a rest with a solid 7.1 innings pitched.

Carlos Pena ignited the Rays attack with a 2-run home run in the first and Evan Longoria added a solo shot. Aybar, who drove in 5 runs, also homered.

Box Score

But beware Rays. The Yankees won game 3 of the 2004 ALCS, 19-8. Getting that last victory is not a given.

James Shields was originally slated to start game 5, but Joe Maddon has switched to Scott Kazmir instead. Kazmir was hammered in game 2, and all season, by the Sox, but we understand the thinking here. If Kazmir loses, Maddon will still have Shields, who pitched very well in losing game 1, to try to close things out at home in game 6.

The Red Sox will be without third baseman Mike Lowell for the rest of the season. Last year's WS MVP has opted for season ending hip surgery on Monday.

Rays Sting Red Sox to the Brink

Joe Maddon knows the history. He has seen what the Red Sox have done in the past. A comeback from a 3-0 deficit to the Yankees in the 2004 ALCS that led to a World Series championship. A comeback from a 3-1 deficit to the Indians in last year's ALCS that led to another title. After last night's Rays 13-4 blow out of the Red Sox, Maddon's Tampa squad is in the same position. An American League pennant is in their grasp. Now they have to finish it off.

Carl Crawford (5) and Willy Aybar (4) combined to out hit the Red Sox (7) last night as Tim Wakefield knuckled under. For the second straight game the Rays scored early and often, and didn't let up. Wakefield didn't make it out of the third inning and was charged with five earned runs. Manny DelCarmen gave up the same amount in just a third of an inning. Meanwhile, Andy Sonnanstine gave the bullpen a rest with a solid 7.1 innings pitched.

Carlos Pena ignited the Rays attack with a 2-run home run in the first and Evan Longoria added a solo shot. Aybar, who drove in 5 runs, also homered.

Box Score

But beware Rays. The Yankees won game 3 of the 2004 ALCS, 19-8. Getting that last victory is not a given.

James Shields was originally slated to start game 5, but Joe Maddon has switched to Scott Kazmir instead. Kazmir was hammered in game 2, and all season, by the Sox, but we understand the thinking here. If Kazmir loses, Maddon will still have Shields, who pitched very well in losing game 1, to try to close things out at home in game 6.

The Red Sox will be without third baseman Mike Lowell for the rest of the season. Last year's WS MVP has opted for season ending hip surgery on Monday.

Around the Horn - 4/17

6-hours, 16 minutes. That's how long it took the Colorado Rockies and San Diego Padres to complete 22 innings of baseball. Troy Tulowitzki, in his 10th plate appearance, doubled in the game winner. The final out was recorded 1:21 a.m. PDT.

Jeff Francis (7 IP 0 R 7 K) and Jake Peavy (8 IP 0 R 11 K) started the pitchers duel off. No one scored until the 14th inning when both teams put a runner across home plate.

The Phillies belted 4 home runs in thrashing the Astros 10-2. Pat Burrell continued his hot start (.373-6-17) with a home run, single, and 2 RBI.

The Mets and Nationals went 14 innings before Joel Hanrahan wild pitched home the winning run.

The Brewers rallied from a 3-0 deficit to beat the Cardinals 5-3 in 10 innings. Prince Fielder ended his month long home drought with a game winning 2-run blast.

Joey Votto homered and drove in 5 runs in the Reds 9-2 win over the Cubs. Ken Griffey Jr. slugged a 3-run shot, the 596th of his career.

Chipper Jones, Mark Teixeira, and Brian McCann hit consecutive home runs in the 5th inning to propel the Braves past the Marlins 8-0. Jones went 4-4 with a pair of home runs as John Smoltz picked up his 210th career win.

In an AL Central battle of heavyweights, Fausto Carmona and the Indians outpitched Justin Verlander and the Tigers. The Tribe won 11-1 with a 13 hit attack. The game also featured some hit batters (Verlander into Garko's back) and clear retaliation (Carmona and Sheffield), but no ejections.

Vincente Padilla outpitched Roy Halladay in the Rangers 4-1 win over the Blue Jays. Halladay pitched his 2nd straight complete game.

The Mariners used a 5-run 3rd inning to beat the A's 8-1. Raul Ibanez (.343) and Jose Lopez had 3 hits each. After Kurt Suzuki (.327), the highest average in the A's lineup was Ryan Sweeney at .267.

The Orioles rallied from 2 down in the 9th against White Sox closer Bobby Jenks, and Adam Jones stroked the game winning single in the 10th.

Eric Hinske homered and Jason Hammel picked up his first win in the Rays 7-3 victory over the Twins. Carlos Pena had to leave the game with a hamstring injury and has been listed as day-to-day.

Garrett Anderson drove in 3 runs and John Garland improved to 2-2 in the Angels 5-3 win against the Royals. David DeJesus already bothered by a bad ankle this year, had to leave the game with a jammed toe.

News and Notes

Evan Longoria has only played 6 major league games, but the Rays know what they've got. That's why they've signed him to a 9-year, $44 million deal.

Braves pitcher Peter Moylan may have to have season ending elbow surgery, but the Braves are still looking into all the options.

Miguel Tejada may or may not have lied about P.E.D. use, but he did lie about his age. Tejada admitted yesterday that he's 33 not 31.

Around the Horn - 4/17

6-hours, 16 minutes. That's how long it took the Colorado Rockies and San Diego Padres to complete 22 innings of baseball. Troy Tulowitzki, in his 10th plate appearance, doubled in the game winner. The final out was recorded 1:21 a.m. PDT.

Jeff Francis (7 IP 0 R 7 K) and Jake Peavy (8 IP 0 R 11 K) started the pitchers duel off. No one scored until the 14th inning when both teams put a runner across home plate.

The Phillies belted 4 home runs in thrashing the Astros 10-2. Pat Burrell continued his hot start (.373-6-17) with a home run, single, and 2 RBI.

The Mets and Nationals went 14 innings before Joel Hanrahan wild pitched home the winning run.

The Brewers rallied from a 3-0 deficit to beat the Cardinals 5-3 in 10 innings. Prince Fielder ended his month long home drought with a game winning 2-run blast.

Joey Votto homered and drove in 5 runs in the Reds 9-2 win over the Cubs. Ken Griffey Jr. slugged a 3-run shot, the 596th of his career.

Chipper Jones, Mark Teixeira, and Brian McCann hit consecutive home runs in the 5th inning to propel the Braves past the Marlins 8-0. Jones went 4-4 with a pair of home runs as John Smoltz picked up his 210th career win.

In an AL Central battle of heavyweights, Fausto Carmona and the Indians outpitched Justin Verlander and the Tigers. The Tribe won 11-1 with a 13 hit attack. The game also featured some hit batters (Verlander into Garko's back) and clear retaliation (Carmona and Sheffield), but no ejections.

Vincente Padilla outpitched Roy Halladay in the Rangers 4-1 win over the Blue Jays. Halladay pitched his 2nd straight complete game.

The Mariners used a 5-run 3rd inning to beat the A's 8-1. Raul Ibanez (.343) and Jose Lopez had 3 hits each. After Kurt Suzuki (.327), the highest average in the A's lineup was Ryan Sweeney at .267.

The Orioles rallied from 2 down in the 9th against White Sox closer Bobby Jenks, and Adam Jones stroked the game winning single in the 10th.

Eric Hinske homered and Jason Hammel picked up his first win in the Rays 7-3 victory over the Twins. Carlos Pena had to leave the game with a hamstring injury and has been listed as day-to-day.

Garrett Anderson drove in 3 runs and John Garland improved to 2-2 in the Angels 5-3 win against the Royals. David DeJesus already bothered by a bad ankle this year, had to leave the game with a jammed toe.

News and Notes

Evan Longoria has only played 6 major league games, but the Rays know what they've got. That's why they've signed him to a 9-year, $44 million deal.

Braves pitcher Peter Moylan may have to have season ending elbow surgery, but the Braves are still looking into all the options.

Miguel Tejada may or may not have lied about P.E.D. use, but he did lie about his age. Tejada admitted yesterday that he's 33 not 31.