Jeter's Big Night: What They Are Saying

Teammate Brett Gardner:


 Teammate CC Sabathia:
 

 YES Network announcer Michael Kay when Jeter delivered in the 9th:

"Derek Jeter; turning fantasy into reality."

You could hear Tino Martinez yell, "That was awesome!" to his former teammate and fellow Florida snowbird. Charles Jeter told his "I'm proud of you."

Former teammate Paul O'Neill:

One of the coolest endings ever... Wouldn't expect anything else from Jete
— Paul O'Neill (@PaulONeillYES) September 26, 2014

Yankees announcer Ken Singleton:

LOOKOUT ! I'm heading home season over. ( too quickly ) Thank you fans 4 watching YES. See you next spring. Thanks to The Captain a classic.
— Ken Singleton (@29alltime) September 26, 2014

Tigers pitcher David Price, who gave up hit #3000 to Jeter when Price was on the Rays.

Shocker! #thecaptain does it like he always does!! That's what I envisioned 3000 to be like! Not 37 rows deep to left center!! #welldonejeet
— David Price (@DAVIDprice14) September 26, 2014

Price's teammate Justin Verlander:

Incredible!!! Did anyone expect anything less. #storybook #RE2PECT #FairWellCaptain
— Justin Verlander (@JustinVerlander) September 26, 2014

Hall of Fame Wide Receive Chris Carter

Derek Jeter #MyHero
— Cris Carter (@criscarter80) September 26, 2014

Former Braves 3rd baseman Chipper Jones:

Much respect #2! Sad to see u go. U deserved everything u got. Proud of ur career, even prouder to call u a friend! Now let's go golfing!!
— Chipper Jones (@RealCJ10) September 26, 2014

Former teammate and YES Network announcer John Flaherty:

Richardson scored the game winning run on the Jeter hit! How about the story he can tell for the rest of his life!!
— John Flaherty (@flash17yes) September 26, 2014

Twins infielder Brian Dozier:

Amazing finish in New York for a guy that taught me how to play the game the right way without him even knowing.. Thank you Derek #2
— Brian Dozier (@BrianDozier) September 26, 2014

YES Network's Jack Curry:

Incredible finish by Jeter. Did a lot of Jeter-esque things. Swung at 1st pitch. Singled to RF. Helped win a game. Celebrated like gentleman
— Jack Curry (@JackCurryYES) September 26, 2014

More from Jack on the YES website.

Rays Continue to Churn Out Pitchers: Cobb Chews Up Yankees

The Rays key to pitching success

While the Yankees have been waiting for their pitching prospects to pan out, the LA Dodgers, Oakland A's, and Tampa Bay Rays seem to crank out Major League ready pitchers as if they were put together in a factory.

While the Dodgers youngsters, outside of Clayton Kershaw, haven't produced quite as well as they have in the past, the A's and Rays have dominated the last decade with good, live arms. Due to budget constraints, both teams deal away their pitchers once their on the brink of earning big money, and they always bring back a nice booty of prospects in the process.

Facing the Rays 19 times a year, the Yankees have had the misfortune of going up against Tampa Bay's plethora of pitching talent. After averaging nearly 5.5 runs per game this season, the Yankees were held to five runs total in the three game series with the Rays that concluded Wednesday night. It was no surprise then that the Rays took two of the three games, with the Yankees defeat of ace David Price their lone victory.

The Rays dealt Matt Garza to the Cubs following the 2010 season for a package of players, including prospects Chris Archer (another pitcher, #36 in Baseball America's top 100) and shortstop Hak-Ju Lee (ranked the #56 prospect by mlb.com).

This past off-season it was James Shields' turn to move on. He was dealt with another former pitching prospect, Wade Davis, to the Royals for one of the top ranked hitters in the minor leagues (Wil Myers),one time highly ranked pitching prospect Mike Montgomery,and the #45 prospect in MLB.com's top 100 (Jake Odorizzi).

The Rays tabbed Matt Moore to replace Garza and Alex Cobb to supplant Shields. In his second full season, Moore is 4-0, 1.04 and has averaged better than 10 strikeouts per 9 innings. His performance has come on the heels of an 11-11, 3.81 campaign last year that saw him strikeout 175 hitters in 177.1 innings pitched. The left-hander won't be 24-years old until June and isn't arbitration eligible until 2017.

Cobb showed promise in a nine game call up in 2011 and got 23 starts last season. His 11-9 record with 4.03 ERA and 1.247 WHIP had to bolster Rays GM/Exec VP Andrew Friedman's confidence that he could deal Shields.

So far it has paid off. Cobb beat out Jeff Niemann for the final spot in the rotation and has gone 3-1, 1.82 in his first four starts. He came within two outs of his third career complete game in Wednesday's 3-0 win against the Yankees. It was a game in which Cobb out pitched veteran Andy Pettitte.

The rumor mill has already begun that David Price will be the next Rays pitcher to go. The 2012 AL Cy Young Award winner is making more than $10MM this year and is arbitration eligible in 2014. Something tells me the Rays front office isn't concerned though.  They've got an Archer, a Montgomery, an Odorizzi, a Taylor Guerrieri (#44 MLB.com), and an Enny Romero waiting in the wings.

Notes

Cobb was masterful in the rubber game of the series; he allowed a pair of hits through 8.1 innings pitched before Brett Gardner's single sent him to the showers. Fernando Rodney, who blew up in Tuesday night's loss, allowed another base hit to Tuesday's hero, Ichiro Suzuki, before he retired Robinson Cano and Travis Hafner to preserve the victory.

The Yankees only managed to get one runner to second base against Cobb, who retired the side in order in five separate innings and faced the minium in another thanks to a double play. 72 of his 106 pitches were for strikes, very similar to the 105/68 Pettitte threw in two and one-third less innings.

The game was scoreless until the 5th inning when Pettitte hit light-hitting catcher Jose Molina on the foot. Kelly Johnson followed with a single to right that went through Brennan Boesch, getting a rare start in the outfield. Molina's lack of foot speed was the only thing that prevented a run from scoring on the play.

With second and third and no one out, Pettitte looked like he might get out of the jam when he struck out Desmond Jennings and Ryan Roberts. But Ben Zobrist slapped a hanging curveball to right for a two-run double.  Sean Rodriguez added insurance an inning later with a solo home run.

Eduardo Nunez looked like a different player in the field last night, with a couple of spectacular plays at shortstop. He stopped a hard shot up the middle, did a 360 degree turn and threw the batter out. Later he made a stop deep in the hole between short and third and made a hard, one bounce throw for the out at first base.

The Price Was Right For Small Ball

The master of small ball

There are plenty of people out there, their own fans included, waiting for the Yankees to completely collapse. An 11-8 start and 10 wins in the past 14 games seems to be an aberration. How could a team with so many past their prime players being doing so well and how are they staying healthy?

Outside of Kevin Youkilis, who has had a bad back flare up, it's really too early in the season to be concerned with wear and tear. The Yankees are finding ways to win, and that's what good ball clubs do.  Tuesday night they went up against the reigning AL Cy Young Award winner in David Price.

First and foremost that meant the Yankees starter, Phil Hughes, had to pitch well enough to keep his team in the ball game. He did just that with two runs allowed in seven solid innings of work and as a bonus he did not allow a home run, which has been one of his biggest problems. Next, the Yankees needed to score some runs; that did not come so easily.

Though Price entered the game with a 6.26 ERA, he had thrown a pair of good games and was knocked around in another two, so his ERA was misleading. He also dominated the Yankees last year when they still had a lineup of big bangers.

Down 1-0 in the 4th inning, Eduardo Nunez reached when he struck out on a wild pitch and raced safely to first base. Robinson Cano and Vernon Wells followed with singles to tie the game. One of the most watched reclamation projects, Wells has posted a nifty .975 OPS against left-handers.

The Rays took the lead back on an RBI single by former Yankee Jose Molina, but right fielder Ichiro Suzuki stopped the inning from being bigger when he threw out James Loney trying to reach third base. The Yankees got the run right back on back to back one out singles by Ichiro and Jayson Nix and a ground out to the right side by Brett Gardner.

David Robertson kept the Rays in check to set up the heart of the Yankees order against Price to start the 9th. Cano entered the game just 11-47 (.234) against the 6'6" left-hander, but led off the final frame with his second base hit of the game.

Rays manager Joe Maddon brought in his closer Fernando Rodney to face Vernon Wells. Rodney dominated AL hitters last year en route to 48 saves and struck out Wells, but Cano swiped second base in the process.  Pinch-hitter Travis Hafner was intentionally walked and Lyle Overbay got an unintentional free pass when a 3-2 pitch just missed the strike zone. The Yankees then got extremely lucky.

Joe Girardi let Chris Stewart hit for himself with the bases loaded instead of going to a pinch-hitter such as Brennan Boesch. Stewart fouled out, with the ball only going what seemed like about 10 feet in the air and 10 feet from home plate. It was better than a double play though and gave Ichiro, the master of small ball, a chance to do some damage. With just two multi-hit games thus far, Ichiro added a third when he popped a 99-mph fastball in front of center fielder Desmond Jennings to plate a pair of runs.

Evan Longoria crushed his fifth home run of the season to start the bottom of the 9th inning against Mariano Rivera, but the Yankees' closer picked up his sixth save when he retired the next three hitters.

Notes

Remarkably, the Rays are 0-5 in Price's 5 starts.

The Yankees expect a visit from Derek Jeter tonight, with his left foot back in a boot.

Mark Teixeira has eliminated May 1 as a target date for his return after his wrist stiffened up from taking dry swings.

With Beasts of AL East Gone, Division Up For Grabs

There seems to be no grey area when the so-called experts talk about the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox. One or both teams will compete for the AL East crown or will crash roughly into the basement. One thing is for sure, the divisional race will be a five team free-for-all.

Yankees - The two-time defending AL East champs are in a bind, but no one is feeling sorry for them. The team has been beset by injuries, gone on a payroll slashing spree, and has aged seemingly overnight. They won 95 games last year, but some of the keys to that team are either gone (Nick Swisher, Russell Martin, Rafael Soriano) or on the disabled list (Derek Jeter, Curtis Granderson, Mark Teixeira).

What remains is a pretty good starting rotation of CC Sabathia, Hiroki Kuroda, Andy Pettitte, Phil Hughes, and either Ivan Nova or David Phelps. Mariano Rivera is back after missing almost all of 2012 with a torn ACL and is joined by David Robertson, Boone Logan, Joba Chamberlain, and Shawn Kelley to form a strong pen.

But the Yankees have several question marks about their offense and defense.  The Yankees relied heavily on the long ball last year to win games, but much of the power is now gone. Joe Girardi will instead depend on Brett Gardner to set the table as the lead off man. Gardner played only 16 games last year due to a surgically repaired elbow, causing the team to not be able to play much small ball.  His game is especially critical with Jeter out indefinitely as he continues to repair the ankle he broke in last year's post-season. An average between .270 and .280, a decent amount of walks, and 40+ steals are a must by Gardner.

Robinson Cano is now the go to guy in the lineup, the team's best hitter. The Gold Glove second baseman destroyed international pitching in the World Baseball Classic (1.296 OPS) and was commended for his leadership by Yankees bench coach and manager of the Dominican Republic entry, Tony Pena.

Cano slugged 33 home runs, knocked in 94 runs and had a career best .929 OPS in 2012.  The Yankees need him to repeat those type of numbers as well as improve his hitting with runners in scoring position (.268) and RISP with two outs (.207). They'll also need to find someone to bat behind Cano's third spot to give him some protection in the order.

Kevin Youkilis in a Yankees uniform? No way...wayyyyy. Timing is everything in life; back in 2003 Yankees third baseman Aaron Boone sent the Bronx Bombers to the World Series with a walk off solo home run in Game 7 of the ALCS. That winter Boone tore up his knee playing basketball prompting the Yankees to deal for Alex Rodriguez after Texas' deal with the Red Sox fell through.

This past off-season Rodriguez had hip surgery that opened a spot in the Yankees lineup. Youkilis banished from Boston at last season's trade deadline, signed a one year deal with the Yankees to fill the void. As it turns out Youkilis will non-simultaneously fill two voids. With Mark Teixeira sidelined with an injured tendon in his right wrist, Youkilis might see considerable playing time at first base when the opposing pitchers starts a left-hander.

Speaking of Teixeira, he and Swisher are both switch-hitters which made things tougher on opposing managers. But with Teixeira sidelined and Swisher now in Cleveland, the Yankees do not have a switch-hitter in their lineup. The Yankees may very well have three straight left-handers at the top of their lineup - Gardner, Ichiro Suzuki, and Cano - even when a left-hander is starting for the opposition.

The Yankees will need a healthy Teixeira, who is overly optimistic about a May 1 return, to come back healthy and with some strength in his wrist. He still faces the possibility of season ending surgery on the partially torn sheath.

The return of Curtis Granderson will be another huge step forward for the Yankees. Granderson had the bone in his right forearm broken in this year's first Spring Training game. (Thanks a lot J.A. Happ.) Granderson hit 43 home runs last year, but his overall at-bats were nowhere nearly as proficient as they were in 2011 when he hit 41 home runs and led the league in RBI (119) and runs scored (136). His OPS dipped over 100 points last season, he stole just 10 bases, and he struck out a ridiculous 195 times.

Granderson's 169 strikeouts in 2011 were too high as well, but it was tolerable due to everything else he brought to the table. The Yankees need Granderson to have a season more like the one he had with the Detroit Tigers in 2007 when he had 20+ doubles, triples, home runs, stolen bases, hit .302 and slugged .552.

With those two power sources out, Vernon Wells, Travis Hafner, Brennan Boesch, and Ben Francisco are going to need to pick up the slack. (My guestimate is that Hafner will be DL'ed or released by mid-Summer.)

Lastly, the Yankees need for their captain to get healthy sooner rather than later, but they may have no choice. Ankles don't heal quickly and Jeter's is no exception to the rule. He had a phenomenal season with the bat in 2012 after a resurgence in the second half of 2011. His return to the lineup would also allow Girardi to mix up the right- and left-handed hitters. Jeter is also the face, heart, soul, and emotion of the ball club, and the Yankees could use a big dose of all of those.

Red Sox- The downfall of the Red Sox in 2012 actually began in 2011 when, on the verge of a playoff appearance, they collapsed down the stretch and went home with no post-season plans. There was the chicken eating/beer drinking controversy among the starting rotation and the thought that manager Terry Francona had lost control of the team.

Francona was fired, and over the objection of GM Ben Cherington, the organization hired Bobby Valentine. The move turned out to be a disaster. Whereas Francona was a players' manager, Valentine never connected with the squad and the team finished in last place with just 69 wins.

Cherington and company started the team makeover at the trade deadline last year when he dealt injured/under achieving Carl Crawford, whiny/sapped of power Adrian Gonzalez, and Non-leader leader and pain in the rump Josh Beckett to the LA Dodgers. In the off-season they brought in character guys Shane Victorino and Mike Napoli, and traded for closer Joel Hanrahan to strengthen their bullpen. They also signed free agent Ryan Dempster to try to solidify the starting rotation.

With Beckett gone, Jon Lester is now the ace, but he must revert to his pre-2012 performance. New manager/former Red Sox pitching coach John Farrell needs Clay Buchholz and John Lackey to stay healthy and perform at a high level.

The Red Sox are counting on David Ortiz and Jacoby Ellsbury staying healthy to help Dustin Pedroia in the lineup and on youngsters Jackie Bradley Jr. and shortstop Jose Iglesias to perform like veterans. In Iglesias' case, at least until Stephen Drew returns from a concussion. Ortiz is already on the 15-day DL with troublesome heels- not a good omen for Boston.

Rays - Some teams like to flaunt their prospects, talk about how great they are, especially their pitchers. Neither the Tampa Bay Rays or the Oakland A's need to do that. They just continue to churn out guys that know how to pitch and are successful. The unfortunate side for both squads is they have to deal them away when the big contracts come into play.

The Rays have dealt Matt Garza and James Shields as they were on the brink of a big payday. But Joe Maddon can still turn to David Price (20-5, 2.56, 200+ innings for the fourth straight year), last year's AL Cy Young Award winner. He'll be followed by stars in the making Jeremy Hellickson and Matt Moore, promising youngster Alex Cobb, and veteran Roberto Hernandez (the former Fausto Carmona, beat out Jeff Niemann for the 5th spot).

Fernando Rodney was one of the most inconsistent relievers in all of baseball from 2002-2011. Then last year he was suddenly unhittable and saved 48 games in 50 attempts. He's joined by a host of power arms that gives the Rays an outstanding bullpen.

Offense has been an issue with the Rays for years, especially when their best hitter, Evan Longoria, is out of the lineup. Longoria missed 29 games in 2011, and a much more damaging 88 last year. Executive Vice-President of Baseball Operations/VP Andrew Friedman brought in second baseman Kelly Johnson and shortstop Yunel Escobar to help boost a lineup that finished 18th out of 30 teams last year in runs scored.

The Rays also need Matt Joyce and Desmond Jennings to continue to grow as offensive forces and Wil Myers (acquired for Shields and Wade Davis) waiting in the wings, but Longoria's health remains the key to success.

Orioles - Baltimore took everyone but themselves by surprise last year when they won 93 games and earned a wild card spot. They then knocked off the two time defending AL pennant champion Texas Rangers in the one game wild card playoff before losing in five games to the Yankees in the division series.

Buck Showalter's squad got big performances from rookies Miguel Gonzalez and Wei-Yin Chen, and a career-best year from veteran Jason Hammel. Closer Jim Johnson came into his own with a 51 save season to lead a solid bullpen.

Offensively, Chris Davis had a bust out year, Adam Jones shone like the star scouts always thought he would be, and catcher Matt Wieters produced his second consecutive solid season with the bat. Third baseman Manny Machado, a natural shortstop, played in 51 regular season games and played like 10-year veteran and not a 19-year old rookie. Imagine what they might do if second baseman Brian Roberts could ever stay healthy.

As a team, the Orioles got things done when they needed to. They were a phenomenal 29-9 in one run games, the best winning percentage (.763) in the modern era. The team also won 16 straight extra inning contests and did it all by using 12 different starting pitchers.

The O's are going to find it difficult to repeat the level of last year's play unless they can get a steady performance from their starting rotation and not have their offense fade away as it did in the playoffs.

Blue Jays - Toronto is the last team written about here, but they won't be near the bottom of the AL East standings. Though I am not going to go crazy on the Blue Jays bandwagon as many people have, the team's off-season moves have made them a formidable opponent.

This past November, the Miami Marlins, in one of their notorious salary dumping move, dealt veteran pitchers Josh Johnson and Mark Buehrle, shortstop Jose Reyes, and utility man Emil Bonifacio  to the Jays for four young Major Leaguers and three minor leaguers.

It cost them highly touted prospect Travis d'Arnaud, but Toronto then added NL Cy Young winner R.A. Dickey through a trade with the Mets. If Johnson stays healthy, Brandon Morrow gets more consistent, and Ricky Romero can revert to pre-2012 form, the Blue Jays starting staff is one to be reckoned with.

The bullpen is of major concern though with closer Casey Janssen  and former closer Sergio Santos both returning from shoulder surgery. The Blue Jays hope both are healthy in which case Santos will have ample opportunity to win back the job the Jays acquired him for after the 2011 season.

The two biggest question marks on offense are, is Jose Bautista healthy and can Edwin Encarnacion come anywhere near repeating his 2012 season? After winning two straight AL home run titles, Bautista went down with the injury that is now plaguing the Yankees' Mark Teixeira. After missing a month of the 2012 season, Bautista returned for two games in August, but was immediately shut down and required surgery to stabilize the tendon in his left wrist. He appears ready to go this year after he hit six home runs in Spring Training  and compiled a 1.000+ OPS.

Encarnacion has always been a player that has the burden of potential. Last year he realized it when he had career years in almost every offensive category, including 41 HR, 110 RBI, and a .941 OPS. Everyone doubted that Bautista could repeat his 2010 season when he slugged 54 home runs, but he followed that up with a 43 home run performance. Can Encarnacion follow suit?

The answer here is somewhat so; I would expect the 30-year old to be closer to 30 home runs and his RBI potential will depend on the risks the team took when they acquired Colby Rasmus last season and signed free agent/busted PED user Melky Cabrera.

Expect the Blue Jays to score plenty of runs either way, home and away. One final note- very odd choice to bring John Gibbons back as manager after being the skipper from 2004-2008.

Predictions:

So there you have the team by team preview of the AL East. So who wins the division and where do the Yankees fit?

1. Tampa Bay takes the AL East due to their combination of starting pitching and bullpen. They should also be improved offensively.

2. Toronto; the Blue Jays will have plenty of offense and solid starting pitching. The bullpen should be the only issue (outside of unpredictable injuries) that could sink their season. Otherwise they'll compete for one of the two wild card spots.

3. Yankees; the starting rotation and bullpen will get the job done, but the team is short on offensive firepower and looking to catch lightning in a bottle with guys like Vernon Wells and Brennan Boesch. If Granderson, Teixeira, and Jeter  (and what of Alex Rodriguez?) can return and contribute the team could slide up to second place and a wild card slot. But the feeling here is they will miss the playoffs for just the second time since the 1993 season.

4. Orioles; there would be plenty of outrage in Baltimore at this prediction. The Orioles starting rotation doesn't intimidate anyone and too many things would have to go right to win 90+ games again, especially with Toronto's improvement. Baltimore will give everyone a hard time though.

5. Red Sox; there should be no shock here. The Sox were in last place last year and didn't improve enough to get back to .500. Even before he was hurt, Lackey was struggling. Victorino isn't the player he once was and Napoli is overrated offensively.

Yankees Big Man Comes Up Small Again

"Maybe something is wrong with my elbow."

After Phil Hughes' gem in Boston last (I don't care if the Red Sox had fielded a little league team, shutting out the Red Sox in Fenway is a big accomplishment), the Yankees hoped to get a big boost from their big man, CC Sabathia.

But just like each of his previous starts since his return from the DL, Sabathia looked very ordinary. He blanked the Rays through four innings, but his fastball remained in the low 90's (he topped out at 93) and the Rays got to him their thrid time around in the order.

Steve Pearce's RBI single in the 2nd inning had given the Yankees a 1-0 lead, but Chris Gimenez started off the 5th with a double. The .183 career hitter entered the game 5-13 (.385) against the Yankees. Sabathia wild pitched Gimenez to 3rd base and proceeded to walk Carlos Pena.

Elliot Johnson and Desmond Jennings followed with RBI singles to give the Rays the lead for good, 2-1. Tampa Bay tacked on another run in the inning after another wild pitch and walk loaded the bases again. Sabathia got Even Longoria to bounce into a double play, but the Rays increased their lead to 3-1.

David Price, who improved to 18-4, gave up a run back in the bottom of the inning when Curtis Granderson belted his 38th home run of the year. The Yankees threatened for more when Eduardo Nunez and Derek Jeter, who DH'ed for the second straight night, reached on back to back singles. But Price got Nick Swisher to hit a weak fly ball  for the second out and Johnson made a diving stop in the hole between first and second to rob Alex Rodriguez of  an RBI single and end the inning.

Sabathia allowed another run in the 7th before he gave way to Cody Eppley.  The lefty's final line was 6.2 IP, 6 H 4 ER, 2 BB, 3 K and he is 0-3, 4.67 in his last four starts.

B.J. Upton hit a solo home run off of Eppley in the 8th, but the Yankees didn't roll over. A-Rod hit a long 2-run home run off Joel Peralta in the bottom of the 8th. The Yankees continued to rally, but has been the case for most of the season, they came up short. Robinson Cano reached on a walk, which sent Joe Maddon to the bullpen for Fernando Rodney.

The Rays closer is having a career year and struck out Russell Martin on a pitch two feet out of the strike zone for the second out of the inning. Raul Ibanez worked a walk, but Granderson swung at Rodney's first delivery to squelch the comeback attempt.

Joba Chamberlain gave up an unearned run in the top of the 9th after Nunez let a ball go through his wickets (he had made two marvelous plays earlier in the game) and the Yankees went down in order in the 9th.  They went home not knowing if they still have a share of first place in the AL East as Baltimore and Oakland played late on the west coast.

Yanks Stop the Slop at the Trop

photo courtesy of Yahoo sports

Tropicana Field, aka "The Trop" is a hideous excuse of a ballpark. It's a disgrace; arguably the ugliest ball yard in baseball history. A warehouse with low hanging cat walks, recycled rubber turf, and a ceiling that's easy to lose the baseball in.

Maybe it's no wonder that the Yankees play like total garbage every time down there. After two embarrassing losses in a row, the Yankees shook off the doldrums and emerged with a 4-3 victory  over the Tampa Bay Rays to salvage the finale of the three game series.

The Yankees losing streak at the Trop reached nine in a row after Monday and Tuesday defeats. One more loss would have been the Yankees longest losing streak in one opponent's facility since the Yankees dropped 15 straight at Texas from 1989-1991.

Starters David Phelps and David Price matched zeros for a while, but Phelps was forced to leave the game in the 5th inning trailing 1-0 (and after 81 pitches). The Yankees didn't manage a hit off Price until the top of the 5th and finally broke through on the scoreboard when Mark Teixeira hit his 14th home run of the season in the 7th.

The tie was short lived, however, when Carlos Pena turned on a Boone Logan delivery in the home half of the 7th for a go ahead 2-run home run. Pena is pretty much a one dimensional hitter, but he continues to destroy the Yankees, especially in Tampa. Pena has four home runs and 11 RBI against the Yankees in 2012 alone. And for some reason, the Yankees keep pitching to him.

It appeared a sweep was at hand, but the Yankees had some comeback magic thanks to their old pal Kyle Farnsworth. The righty reliever was Tampa's closer last season, but was on the DL for most of this year and was making just his second appearance of the season.

Farnsworth faced five hitters and not one put the ball in play. Eric Chavez led off the 8th with a pinch-hit walk before Farnsworth struck out Derek Jeter looking. It would be the last time Farnsworth could find the strike zone. He proceeded to walk Curtis Granderson, Teixeira, and Alex Rodriguez in order to force in a run and cut the Rays' lead to 3-2.

Lefty Jake McGee was brought in to face Robinson Cano, but the red hot hitting second baseman lashed a a 2-run single to give the Yankees the lead for good. Rafael Soriano continued his great season in place of Mariano Rivera and retired the side in order in the 9th for his 19th save. The final out? A pop out by Pena.

Notes

No one had more of a miserable series than Russell Martin. The Yankees starting catcher was 0-8 to drop his batting average to an anemic .179 (he weighs 210) and made two costly errors in Tuesday's 7-4 loss. If Martin's back is the reason for his latest round of hitting woes, he should either be DL'ed or rested through next week's All-Star break to see if it makes a difference.

A Mark Teixeira error was the difference in Monday's 4-3 loss, but it was David Robertson inability to pitch effectively when called upon in the middle of an inning that made the difference. With his fastball still inconsistent, Joe Girardi would be better off keeping D-Rob out of crucial situations for a bit.

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.

Baseball Digest | For Napoli, The Price Was Right

The pitcher is tall and lean, fluid and precise; a baseball magazine cover boy. The batter is average looking, the guy next door changing the oil in his driveway. But the batter can mash and today he did. Mike Napoli’s 2-run home run off of David Price in the 7th inning gave the Texas Rangers their first lead of the day en route to a 4-3 win over the Tampa Bay Rays. The victory also gave the Rangers a 2-1 lead in the best of five series.

Price had scattered five hits and a walk through six innings before Adrian Beltre led off the top of the 7th with a single. After a wild pitch moved Beltre into scoring position, Price threw a 2-2 fastball right into Napoli’s wheelhouse and the catcher turned on it and sent it into the left field seats. The Rangers grabbed the momentum by the horns and used their speed to gain another two runs. After Craig Gentry’s two out single knocked Price from the ball game, Brandon Gomes walked Ian Kinsler and the two base runners pulled off a double steal.

When Gomes walked shortstop Elvis Andrus as well, Rays’ manager Joe Maddon brought in left-hander J.P. Howell to face the left-handed hitting Josh Hamilton. But the career .278 hitter against southpaws came through with a line drive single to right to plate two more for a 4-1 Rangers’ lead.

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AL Playoff Rotations Forming

The Yankees' Joe Girardi knows he has CC Sabathia to start Game 1 of the ALDS against either the Detroit Tigers or Texas Rangers (or by some miracle the Los Angeles Angels) and Ivan Nova to go in either Game 2 or 3. But the rest is up in the air.

Perhaps Freddy Garcia solidified a spot on Saturday afternoon with six shutout innings in a win against the struggling Boston Red Sox. So who starts Game 4? Bartolo Colon? A.J. Burnett? CC Sabathia on 3 days rest?

Colon has allowed five or more earned runs in four of his last seven starts. He's been particularly bad in his last two starts; he allowed six earned runs in four innings against Tampa Bay (after eight days off) and followed that up with a seven run (five earned) outburst in three innings against Toronto.

Burnett's been miserable the entire second half with a couple of sprinkles of decent thrown in. In a word: non-trustworthy.

So that means CC Sabathia on three days rest for Game 4; something the big guy hasn't had a problem with in the past. There's no question that Sabathia hasn't been as sharp in the second half as was in the first. Some blame coming back from not one, but two rain delays in the same game, while others point to the use of a six man rotation. Whatever the reason, the Yankees will need Sabathia to be on top of his game if they are to make any kind of a run this post-season. Which means he'll likely be the Game 4 starter with Nova, on regular rest, starting the "if necessary" Game 5.


Detroit's Jim Leyland has made it easy. He has steadfastly said that his ace and the sure winner of the AL Cy Young, Justin Verlander, will not be brought back on three days rest. That means Verlander in Games 1 and 5, Doug Fister in Game 2, Max Scherzer in Game 3, and Rick Porcello in Game 4.


The Texas Rangers will use C.J. Wilson to start things off, but then Ron Washington has some decisions to make. It's likely he'll call on left-handers in the first three games with Derek Holland and Matt Harrison pitching Games 2 and 3 (possibly in the reverse order). If Washington doesn't want to go with Wilson on three day's rest, he'll choose from right-handers Colby Lewis and Alexi Ogando. Lewis is the likely choice with the way Ogando has struggled in the second half. Washington could also mix things up by starting Lewis in Game 2 since his numbers are much better on the road than at home. Ogando, meanwhile, will move to the pen where he was outstanding in 2010.


If Boston holds on to the wild card, they are two games ahead of Tampa Bay after Saturday's play, Josh Beckett goes in Games 1 and 5, followed by Jon Lester. John Lackey is likely to be the number three starter with Erik Bedard in Game 4. Tim Wakefield will step in if any of the starters have a physical issue.

Terry Francona has to be worried about the normally reliable Lester, who is 0-3 in his last three starts with 18 earned runs allowed in just 13.2 innings pitched. In years past Beckett would have gone on three days rest in Game 4, but with his back issues that is not a scenario Boston can/should use.

The Outsiders

If Tampa Bay does ease Boston out of the final spot, David Price, James Shields, and Jeremy Hellickson are likely to get the five starts. It all depends, of course, on if the final playoff spot comes down to the final day. If Tampa Bay needs a fourth starter, they'll go to Jeff Niemann. If Niemann's back isn't healthy, than Wade Davis will get the nod.

The easiest thing for any team do is just go out and win three straight and then we don't have to all worry about who is pitching when.