Chavez, Keppinger Off the Table

Go West moderately old man

Two of the options to fill in for Alex Rodriguez at third base during his recovery from hip surgery are no longer available. Eric Chavez, who spent the last two seasons with the Yankees, and Tampa Bay Rays utility man Jeff Keppinger have signed elsewhere.

Chavez was a Godsend for most of the 2012 season until too much playing time took a toll on his performance.  The former All-Star and Gold Glove third baseman was able to play more than 100 games for the first time since 2007, which was also the last time he produced  as well offensively. He inked a one year, $3MM deal with the Arizona Diamondbacks on Wednesday pending a physical.

While Chavez was great guy to have in the clubhouse, the rigors of playing showed up in his numbers the last month of the season (five RBI in 22 games) and in the playoffs (hitless in eight at-bats). Though options are limited, Chavez is 35 and I felt it was time to let him go anyway. The Yankees need to get younger, healthy players.

Keppinger was high on the Yankees list because of his ability to play second and third base, as well as shortstop. The 32-year old has been fairly successful at several stops in the big leagues and hit a career highs last season with a .325 average and nine home runs in 115 gamesn.

He reportedly inked a three year, $12MM deal with the Chicago White Sox and could see regularly playing time if the team doesn't bring back Kevin Youkilis. Keppinger could also see playing time at second base if Gordon Beckham does not improve offensively or is dealt.

The Yankees continue talks with Youkilis and have been in contact with the agent for Baltimore Orioles free agent third baseman Mark Reynolds. Though some fans and media may feel Reynolds would be a good fit, I disagree. He's wildly inconsistent and caught attention last year merely for killing the Yankees with his bat. But the big downside is the all or nothing part of his game. The Yankees suffered with the HR/Strikeout players last year and really don't need to add that type of player again.

Reynolds' numbers were mediocre last year  despite playing in a hitter's ballpark (Camden Yards) and they were no better on the road. Like Youkilis, he does give a team the ability to play him at both corner positions.

Tigers Near Pennant Behind Verlander Domination

Joe Girardi's "Make-a-Wish" lineup actually did worse than when Alex Rodriguez and Nick Swisher were a part of it. Then again the Yankees had the unenviable task of facing reigning AL Cy Young/MVP Justin Verlander in the third game of the ALCS.

Though Verlander wasn't at his best, he was good enough to pick up the win in Detroit's 2-1 victory over the Yankees in Game 3. The Yankees made it exciting in the 9th when Eduardo Nunez homered off Verlander and Mark Teixeira and Robinson Cano reached on 2-out hits against Phil Coke. But magic man Raul Ibanez had no magic this time around and struck out when he chased a 3-2 pitch out of the zone to end the game.

Delmon Young, who has excelled in the last two post-seasons against the Yankees, hit a solo home run off Phil Hughes in the 4th to snap the scoreless tie. After Hughes followed the gopher ball with a walk to Andy Dirks, the right-hander had to leave the game with a stiff back.

The Tigers doubled their lead thanks in part thanks to an Eric Chavez error that allowed Quentin Berry to reach safely to start the bottom of the 5th. Chavez got the start at the third base in place of the benched Rodriguez. Berry stole second base and scored easily on Miguel Cabrera's double off of David Phelps.

The Yankees pitching, as it has all post-season, did very well in Game 3. But with a punch-less lineup as soon as the opponent scores one run, the night was pretty much over. Slumps continued - Robinson Cano 1-30 (thought that is an improvement), Curtis Granderson 3-29, Eric Chavez 0-14.  The only hits the Yankees had on the night were a pair of singles by Ichiro Suzuki, who is one of the few batters left with some hits in him.

Verlander wasn't his sharpest, but was still better than most pitchers on their best nights. He allowed just three hits in 8.1 innings, hit 99 mph on the radar gun, and allowed just his second earned run in 24.1 post-season innings.

The Yankees will send CC Sabathia out Wednesday in hopes of putting off the end of the season one more day. The Tigers will go with right-hander Max Scherzer and Joe Girardi will try and figure out some lineup that might make some magic.  Otherwise, the Yankees will be hitting the golf courses sooner than they had hoped.

A-Rod, Swisher Take a Seat

The radio was a buzz this afternoon when the Yankees lineup came out and Alex Rodriguez and Nick Swisher were not a part of it.

Needless to say sitting Swisher didn't have much impact on sports radio discussions, but both Michael Kay (ESPN) and Mike Francesa (WFAN) blasted the idea of sitting down a $30MM a year superstar. Even if that star's glow has faded.  A-Rod has been terrible, there is no question about it, but neither felt putting Eric Chavez in was the answer. (Chavez is 0-11 thus far with six strikeouts.)

Brett Gardner, who hasn't started a game since April, is leading off and playing left field, while Ichiro Suzuki will slide over to right field.  Joe Girardi, in search of any offense, will take a hit defensively tonight with Eduardo Nunez getting the start at shortstop.

But all of those changes paled in comparison to Rodriguez sitting on the bench for the second time in three games. The relationship between Girardi and Rodriguez may have already been strained from the manager's decision to pinch-hit for him twice in the ALCS, but the benchings are even more embarrassing for the 37-year old.

Rodriguez is 4-7 against tonight's starter Justin Verlander, with a pair of home runs. No one thinks A-Rod's past success with impact his game tonight, but Kay and Francesa both felt you need to go with the one-time superstar in the biggest game of the post-season.

There was also speculation that A-Rod's supposed behavior during Game 1, as reported by the NY Post, had an influence on Girardi. Witness said that Rodriguez continually flirted with two women that sat behind the Yankees dugout, at one point sending them baseballs that he wrote on asking for their numbers.  One of the two obliged. It was only when Derek Jeter was injured that Rodriguez shut down the American Gigolo show. (Surprised A-Rod didn't go with a Joey Tribbiani, "How youuu doing?")

Kay was livid, for lack of a better word, that Curtis Granderson continued to be in the starting lineup despite the fact that he is just 3-26 (.115).

No matter who is in the Yankees starting lineup, they are going to have a hard time hitting, arguably, the best pitcher in baseball. Verlander won the AL Cy Young and MVP awards last season and was 17-8, 2.64 this year. Prior to this season, Verlander didn't pitch well in his previous post-season starts. But he was dominant in beating the Oakland A's in Game 1 and the decisive Game 5 of the ALDS. (16 IP 7 H 1 ER 5 BB 22 K)

He'll be opposed tonight by Phil Hughes, who pitches the biggest game of his career (supplanting last week's game against Baltimore) tonight.  Hughes allowed just a run on four hits and struck out eight in 6.1 innings against the Orioles in Game 4 of the ALDS, which the Orioles won in 13 innings.

It's doubtful tomorrow, no matter the outcome of tonight's game, that tonight's pitchers will be the topic of tomorrow's talk shows.

Jayson Gets Big Hit Just in the Nix of Time

Nix's game winner - courtesy of greenwichtime.com

The Yankees were this close to a miserable 1-6 West Coast swing against the Oakland A's and Seattle Mariners, but Jayson Nix delivered a go ahead 3-run double in the 8th inning and the Yankees topped the Mariners 5-2 Wednesday afternoon.

Unless GM Brian Cashman pulls off a deal for another asset, Nix and Eric Chavez will be looked upon to provide production at third base in light of Alex Rodriguez's broken hand. Nix entered the game hitting just .235 with 7 RBI, and faced a bases loaded situation after Josh Kinney hit Derek Jeter to start the 8th and Lucas Luetge gave up back to back singles to Robinson Cano and Mark Teixeira.

Curtis Granderson fouled out before Joe Girardi sent Nix up to pinch-hit for Raul Ibanez. Seattle manager Eric Wedge countered with right-hander Shawn Kelley, but Nix ripped a ball up the alley in left-center field to clear the bases. Russell Martin added an RBI single later in the inning for some insurance, but Nix's hit was huge for a player who entered the game just 1-9 with runners in scoring position.

Yankees starter Ivan Nova struggled his way through five innings and walked a career high six hitters. The final two free passes started the 6th inning and ended Nova's day. The Yankees bullpen was outstanding once again though as Clay Rapada, David Phelps, and David Robertson combined for three scoreless innings as a bridge to Rafael Soriano.


The Yankees' closer allowed a 2-out single in the 9th, but struck out Ichiro's replacement, Carlos Peguero, to end the game.


Notes

Utility Infielder Ramiro Pena was recalled from Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to take A-Rod's spot on the roster.

Derek Jeter (twice), A-Rod, and Ichiro were all hit by pitches in the last two games, but no Yankees pitcher retaliated. Felix Hernandez, who through the pitch that broke A-Rod's hand, said after Tuesday night's game that he "felt bad" about what happened. Hernandez does not have a reputation of a hitting batters.

David Phelps picked up his second victory of the season and struck out two batters to give him 51 K's in 46.2 innings pitched.

With A-Rod out of the lineup, Girardi moved Ichiro in the lead off spot and slipped Jeter back into his old number 2 hole.

Jesus Montero had to feel pretty good about himself after throwing out Ichiro when his former teammate tried to steal second base in the 5th inning.

Which Came First? The Pollo or The Juevos? Doesn't Matter, Home Runs Came Last

Frank Francisco made called the Yankees chickens prior to the weekend series between the Mets and Yankees. Of course, no one knew what the hell he was talking about, so they weren't insulted. Perhaps Francisco though he was Pedro Cerrano from Major League who wanted to sacrifice a chicken before the big game.

Francisco created a stir mainly among the Mets and the fans, and the NY Post came up with one of their ridiculous cover pages. It turned out Francisco was referring to the Yankees allegedly constantly complaining about ball and strike calls.

Of course there are certain people who should just keep his mouth shut. Especially idiots who once threw a chair in the crowd and injured two fans.

Yes, Francisco saved Friday night's 6-4 Mets win over the Yankees, but karma is a bitch, and apparently Francisco hurt his oblique. Perhaps it was from his jolly laughter about the whole chicken incident and his subsequent back track of his words.

Saturday night it looked like Francisco, before we knew he probably unavailable, might be called on again. But those things they call home runs, which Mets fans thought the Yankees couldn't hit in their spacious ball park, changed all that. Ivan Nova left in the 6th inning, trailing 3-0. He had allowed a home run to Kirk Nieuwenhuis and an Alex Rodriguez error led to an unearned run.

The Yankees were barely touching 6'10" Mets' starter Chris Young, who at times looked like he was dunking the baseball in the catcher Josh Thole's mitt. But after putting two aboard in the 7th inning, Young saw his lead slip away when Raul Ibanez hit a frozen rope over the wall in right to tie the game.

Two batters later pinch-hitter Eric Chavez did his Niewenhuis imitation by hitting an opposite field home run to left to give the Yankees their first lead of the night. Then it was up to the bullpen.

Boone Logan K'ed two to end the 8th; David Robertson did his Houdini act in the 8th when he walked two, but struck out the side, and Rafael Soriano finished it off in the 9th with two more K's and a Mets' stranded runner.

So the Yankees home runs stole one and the series is tied one apiece with a great rubber game Sunday night between CC Sabathia and R.A. Dickey. We'll see who laughs last.

Nunez Bobbles His Way To The Minors

One might expect that Eduardo Nunez would take extra fielding practice, maybe DH, sit on the pines a bit until he got his erroneous fielding in order. But the Yankees took one step further and sent him to the minor leagues today.

It's actually a smart move. While Nunez brings speed to the Yankees lineup, he has six stolen bases, his penchant for making errors for outweighs and offense he can bring to the lineup. In last night's 5-3 win over the Tampa Bay Rays, Nunez made a pair of errors that led to two unearned runs charged to starting pitcher CC Sabathia.

With Eric Chavez ready to be activated from the 7-day concussion DL, a roster move had to be made and Nunez turned out to be the marked man. This could also mean another move is in the works though since the Yankees do not have a true back up for shortstop Derek Jeter.

Veteran utility man Jayson Nix has played just 17 games at shortstop, while Chavez played five games at the position in his early/healthier days in Oakland. Empire State (formerly Scranton) Yankees' shortstops Ramiro Pena and Doug Bernier are both currently on the minor league DL while fill in infielder Yadi Mujica has played just nine games above Double-A..

Happy Yankeeversary

It was a big day in Boston on Friday afternoon, the Old Town Team was celebrating the 100th anniversary of Fenway Park. A veritable plethora of Boston Red Sox alumni was introduced prior to the game with the Yankees. From 91 year old Bobby Doerr to Carl Yastrzemski to Jim Rice to Johnny Pesky to Rico Petrocelli to recently fired manager Terry Francona. On and on it went. Then the teams got down to business and the Red Sox continued to struggle.

The teams wore throw back uniforms circa 1912, which contained no numbers on the back. But like most Yankees-Red Sox contests over the years, the Yankees got the better of Boston. This time the Yankees crashed the Red Sox party with five solo home runs, including a pair of Eric Chavez blasts, and came away with a 6-2 victory. Ivan Nova was very good for six innings and won his third game of the season. He allowed two runs, seven hits, didn't walk a batter and struck out five. David Ortiz's solo home run in the 2nd inning was one of the few mistake pitches Nova made on the day.

Meanwhile the Yankees took advantage of a shaky Clay Buchholz. The right-hander missed most of last season with a back injury and hasn't looked good so far this season. The Yankees led 1-0 in the 2nd when Nick Swisher hit an opposite field blast for third home run and 14th RBI of the season. Two batters later Chavez hit his first long ball of the season.

Chavez struck again in the 4th with a long blast to deep centerfield for his first multi-home run game in six years. One inning later, Alex Rodriguez, who also had an RBI single in the 1st, took Buchholz deep for his second round tripper of the year.

The Red Sox got a run back in the home half of the 5th on Mike Aviles' RBI double, but that was the last run the Red Sox would score against the Yankees pitching. Cory Wade, David Robertson, Cody Eppley (in his Yankees debut), and Mariano Rivera scattered three hits over the final three innings to seal the win. The Yankees weren't done scoring though- Russell Martin added one more home run when he finished Buchholz's scoring line with a solo blast in the 6th.

Mariano Is Ready For His Close Up

One of the rites of spring, along with seeing the first robin, is when Mariano Rivera toes the rubber in a Spring Training game. That day has come as Rivera will face the Philadelphia Phillies today in Tampa. The game will be televised on YES at 1 pm. Rivera will likely pitch in the middle innings like he starts out every year.

Watch it and appreciate it, because it may be a "last first".

Relieved Reliever:

It looks like David Robertson can somewhat breathe a sigh of relief. D-Rob injured his foot in a fall while trying to be ecologically responsible (throwing out recycling). The Yankees had cause for concern from an MRI, but the righty is done with his crutches and hopes to shed the walking boot soon after being diagnosed with a bone bruise. The Yankees will take it slowly with him.

Rotate on this:

CC Sabathia will also face the Phils while Phil Hughes takes the bus ride to Ft. Myers for a game with the Twins. Hughes needs to have a good outing after looking a little shaky his first time out. The one plus from that first game, which came in relief of Sabathia, was that his fastball was 92-93 mph. A good start today would go a long way towards helping his confidence.

Hughes would also like to have a good day after Freddy Garcia, his competition for the five spot in the rotation, threw three scoreless innings against the Braves on Friday.

Ivan Nova is looking to show that last season's 16 game output was no fluke, but the right-hander struggled on Thursday. Location, location, location is the key to pitch and so far Nova's hasn't been there.

I can hear the complaints already, but anyone who does complain is being ridiculous. I am, of course, talking about Michael Pineda's spring thus far. The Jesus Montero lovers, who already have him in the Hall of Fame, must bash Pineda in return. But the kid tends tonot have his fastball up to snuff early in spring training and has admitted to taking it slow. And that's just fine with the Yankees. This kid is the real deal. That is my mantra and I'll stand by it.

Hiroki Kuroda, a lock for the #2 spot in the rotoation, looked pretty good his first time out and should be no worries.

Benchmen:

Good interview by the Star-Ledger's Jeff Bradley with Eric Chavez, particularly about the movie Moneyball. Chavez was on that 2002 A's team and didn't give the movie a full thumbs up. Check it out here.

Eduardo Nunez isn't ready to hit yet after being hit with a pitch on the hand and is still in pain. He's planning on getting it re-checked on Sunday.

Chavez Wants To Return In '12, Yankees Should Pass

Eric Chavez was well liked by both his teammates and the fans, myself included, last season. He was a great influence on younger players like Eduardo Nunez, played stellar defense as a backup at the corners, and provided another option against right-handers as the DH. He was also excellent with runners in scoring position, putting up a .415/.468/.537 split in 47 plate appearances. But just as those numbers don't lie, neither do Chavez's overall numbers. And the numbers were not good for the five-time Gold Glove winner.

A .676 OPS was well below Chavez's lifetime average, which dipped to .817 as a result of the 2011 season. Chavez had his usual rash of injuries as well and appeared in just 58 games. The number of games played can, of course, be looked at in another way. The Yankees wouldn't expect Chavez to play too much, except to occassionally spell Mark Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez.

But with Rodriguez's own mounting injuries, the Yankees need a healthier player with more pop to fill in at third base. Nunez did a pretty good offensively (.698) in his first full season in the Majors, but is still maturing as a defender. Chavez hit just two home runs in 175 plate appearances and though he was decent 3-11 (.273) as a pinch-hitter, all his hits were singles. (His numbers were even worse when he entered the game as a sub - .513 OPS).

So while Chavez is a great guy to have around and can be depended on defensively, the Yankees need to find themselves a younger, more durable, and more offensively consistently model for the 2012 season.

Red Sox Get Martinized

The prospects for the Yankees winning 2 of 3 in Boston were not good, considering that A.J. Burnett, he of the 13.86 ERA in his last three starts, was going up against Red Sox stud Jon Lester in the series finale Thursday night. But John Sterling is occassionally right, especially when he says you can't predict baseball. Burnett kept the Yankees in the game through his 5.1 innings and Russell Martin delivered a clutch 2-run double in the 7th inning to give the Yankees a 4-2 victory and their first series win against Boston this season.

The biggest story lines coming into the game was how would Burnett fare (or as most people figured, how badly he would fare) and the Major League debut of Jesus Montero. Burnett was going along swimmingly until he threw a high fastball to high fastball hitter Dustin Pedroia, who launched it into the center field seats to the Red Sox a 2-1 lead in the 4th. But unlike most of his prior starts, Burnett didn't melt down. Instead he beared down and tossed a scoreless 5th inning before leaving with two men aboard and one out in the 6th. Boone Logan and Cory Wade stranded the base runners and the Yankees finally broke through against the Boston bullpen in the 7th.

Jon Lester had given the Yankees a number of opportunities to score, but they couldn't get the big hit off of him. What they did do though was work the count and forced Lester out of the game after five innings and 114 pitches. Andruw Jones worked his third walk of the night against former Yankee Al Aceves to start the rally. That brought up Montero, who had already stranded six base runners on the night. He didn't deliver a key hit, but got hit when an Aceves pitch clipped his jersey.

Terry Francona brought on fireballer Daniel Bard to face Martin, but as he has done often thi season, the Yankees catcher came through in the clutch, drilling a pitch up the alley in right-center. Jones scored easily to tie the game and Montero slid across home plate with the go ahead run well ahead of the relay throw home. Eric Chavez then gave the Yankees some insurance with a pinch-hit RBI single to right for a 4-2 Yankees lead.

But you know nothing is easy in a Yankees-Red Sox series and that was exemplified in all three games of the series. Mariano Rivera came in to close things out in the 9th and walked the lead off hitter Jed Lowrie. Rivera got his cutter in enough on the hands to Josh Reddick who couldn't get the "good wood" on it as Kenny Singleton likes to say, and flied to right. Rivera blew away Jarrod Saltalamacchia with a a pair of fastballs for the second out and things seemed to be easy going. But Mariano and company had to sweat this one out. He walked Jacoby Ellsbury to put the tying runs on basis and then gave up a single to his nemesis Marco Scutaro to load the bases. That brought up the AL's batting leader Adrian Gonzalez, who also entered the game with 103 RBI.

Rivera busted one cutter after another in on Gonzalez's hand and body- in fact Gonzalez fouled a pitch into himself that looked like it might have hit him had he taken it. The final pitch of the night was a result of all those inside pitches as Rivera fired a cutter at the outside corner that Gonzalez could only watch. Home plate ump Alfonso Marquez rung him up and the game was over some four hours after it began.

NOTES

Mark Teixeira took a hard breaking pitch from Al Aceves off the back of his right knee and went down in tremendous pain. He's listed as day-to-day, but it would not be surprising to see him miss at least a couple of games. Michael Kay pointed out on the broadcast that the White Sox Paul Konerko had a similar injury and missed four games. In fact he returned in a series against the Yankees and was still having trouble running.

In addition to Montero, the Yankees brought up old friend Scott Proctor, left-hander Raul Valdes, righty Lance Pendleton, outfielder Chris Dickerson, and third baseman Brandon Laird, Infielder Ramiro Pena will likely join the team as well once he finished his minor league rehab assignment.

David Ortiz extended his hitting streak to 15 games.

The Yankees return home Friday night to begin a three game series with the Toronto Blue Jays. Ivan Nova faces Brandon Morrow in the opener.

The Montero Era Begins

The much awaited Jesus Montero era begins tonight. Well, all Yankees fan hope it's the start of an era. With the Yankees in need of some added punch from the right side, Montero will get plenty of at-bats against left-handers in the final month of the season. In fact, he's been thrown right into the heat of the pennant race. He's in tonight's starting lineup vs. Jon Lester and the Boston Red Sox in the finale of the three game series in Fenway Park.

Still just 22 years old, Montero has had his share of ups and down in the minor leagues. He's had his catching ability questioned at every level and has evoked consistent negative comments from opposing scouts. But Montero has confidence in his ability to be a big league catcher and even more confidence in his bat. It's that bat that the Yankees hope can do damage in September and beyond. Joe Girardi has stated that he woud like to see Montero behind the plate this month, but with the Yankees in a scuffle for the division title, that's not likely to happen any time soon. Montero will find plenty of time though at DH whenever a southpaw toes the rubber.

Montero has also had his attitude questioned; some of it due to his own actions or words, some of it as a result of over zealous media members or once again, opposing personnel. That's why the first impression he makes as a big leaguer is even more important than whether or not he can recognize a curveball or go deep in a crucial situation. The Yankees feel the hitting will come in bunches, but they want to be sure Montero is mature enough to handle the big leagues. Luckily, he'll have fellow Latin players like Jorge Posada, Robinson Cano, and even fellow rookie Eduardo Nunez to help guide him.

Posada's influece is of course bit ironic since Montero's bat has become a necessity because of the continued lack of production from the Yankees veteran. Once Alex Rodriguez returns to the lineup on a regular basis, Posada will see little playing time outside of a pinch-hit here or there. Though a switch-hitter, Posada is now blocked by both Eric Chavez (from the left side) and Montero.

It's the start of one era and the end of another.

J.P. Morgan Gongs Phil Hughes

The Gong Show was classic 1970's television. Made on the cheap (it would be perfect for today's watered down television). It featured 'B' list celebrities like Jaye P. Morgan and Jamie Farr who would judge talented, semi-talented, or more likely, really bad acts. When the judges couldn't take it any more they would grab the big gong stick ('cause I don't know what you actually call the drumstick with the big marshmallow looking thing on the end) and slam the gong, crushing the hopes of the performer. (My wife and I still refer to anyone named Gene/Jean as "Gene, Gene, The Dancing Machine") Last night the gong would have been heard loud and clear when Phil Hughes put the Yankees in a 4-1 hole and then couldn't hold a 5-4 lead. The only missing was the over sized cane to yank him off the mound. The Red Sox went on to a 9-5 win to even the three game series with A.J. Burnett facing Jon Lester in the rubber game tonight.

Hughes had a chance to step up and grab the #5 spot in the rotation, but after getting slammed by Oakland last week, he wasn't much better in Fenway Park. The California native started the game with mid-90's velocity, but his speed began to peter out as his location faltered. Derek Jeter had given the Yankees 1-0 lead in the 3rd with an RBI single off Red Sox starter and winner Josh Beckett, but Boston took the lead in their half of the inning. Dustin Pedroia followed a single by Marco Scutaro and a double by Jacoby Ellsbury with an RBI ground out to tie the game. Hughes retired Adrian Gonzalez, but Joe Girardi's decision to intentionally walk David Ortiz backfired when Jed Lowrie singled in the go ahead run.

The Red Sox extended their lead to 4-1 in the 5th when David Ortiz crushed a pitch to the deepest part of the park in center field with a man aboard. One wonders what Francisco Cervelli was thinking as he watched Ortiz stand at home plate for 10 minutes, then raise both arms to the sky as he stood on home plate after circling the bases. With Beckett on the mound the Yankees could have been, but they got off the mat and actually took a short lived lead.

Beckett hit Mark Teixeira to start the 6th and then threw a wild pitch to move him into scoring position. Robinson Cano delivered an RBI double to halve the Red Sox lead and Nick Swisher worked a good at-bat to draw a walk. Eric Chavez ripped a fastball into the right field corner that skipped past Josh Reddick and tied the game. It was ruled a 2-run double with an error added in to allow Chavez to reach third. Eduardo Nunez's fly to center brought home Chavez and just like that the Yankees had their first lead of the night.

But after retiring Carl Crawford to start the bottom of the 6th Hughes walked Josh Reddick. Girardi should have pulled his starter right there, but Jaosn Varitek made him pay when he reached out and cued a ball down the third base line. Instead of hopping into the stands or ricocheting off the side wall, the ball took a weird hop off the wall and got by Brett Gardner for a game tying double. Hughes stayed in to get Scutaro for the second out before Girardi went to LOOGY Boone Logan to face Ellsbury. Logan had struck out two batters with the bases loaded to help win Tuesday's game, but this time out he grooved one to the Red Sox centerfielder who turned on it for his 24th home run of the season and a 7-5 Red Sox lead. Jason Varitek then put the game away in the 8th when he smacked a 2-run home run off of Luis Ayala.

NOTES

Derek Jeter had two more hits last night and finished August with a .387/.435/.472 split and 13 RBI in 25 games. He also had a league high 41 hits for the month.

No matter how A.J. Burnett does this evening, he probably has the #5 spot in the rotation locked up. Hughes has shown he can be good in short spurts and that would be better for his dipping velocity as the game goes on. Burnett, meanwhile, may be nothing more than an innings eater, but he's not suited to the pen. Neither pitcher figures to even be part of the post-season plans, though Hughes could be in the pen.

Robinson Cano finished August with a 1.014 OPS, 7 HR, and 29 RBI. His month also included a 16 game hitting streak.

AJ Stands For Aw Jeez

It's something I thought I would never see, especially two weeks apart. The Yankees offense rolled over the competition and yet the Yankees starting pitcher couldn't last the required five innings to get a win.

The Bombers laid it on Oakland 17-7 July 22, but Phil Hughes got knocked around and exited early. The Yankees topped that total by one yesterday and pounded the Chicago White Sox 18-7. This time around it was A.J. Burnett who Joe Girardi pulled the plug on early. What made it even more disturbing/annoying/frustrating is that the Yankees NEVER score runs for Burnett, but this time around they provided him with 13 after three innings. It was the first time the Yankees had scored double figures for Burnett since his first start of the season.

Hughes bounced back from that nightmare and blanked the White Sox in a 6 1/2 inning rain-shortened victory on Tuesday night. He's already been told he's making his next start and Ivan Nova will be facing the White Sox tonight.

There's been a lot of talk about who should move to the pen, Hughes or Nova, once a six man rotation is no longer/needed wanted. Perhaps that discussion misses the mark though- perhaps it is Burnett that should be pen bound. The 34-yr old right-hander was 6-3 with a 3.86 ERA after his start on June 1. He had pitched into the seventh inning or more in six of his 12 starts and never pitched less than five innings. That was then, this is now.

In his 11 starts since his June 1 win, Burnett has a 5.29 ERA, has not complete six innings six times, and has allowed four or more rusn five times. He's allowed 69 hits and 33 walks in 68 innings. His strike to ball ratio has also been horrible lately. Like most pitchers, Burnett is at his best when he gets ahead of hitters - batters have a .593 OPS when Burnett gets ahead 0-1 and they basically have no shot (.216 OPS) when behind in the count 0-2. Unfortunately, Burnett has gotten behind in too many counts himself the last two months and hitters have taken advantage.

According to fangraphs.com, Burnett has thrown, by far, the lowest percentage of fastballs in his career and has thrown more change ups than at any time (and the highest since 2005 with Florida). A dip in velocity, lack of location, pitch count, a new pitching coach, or all of the above could contribute to Burnett's different approach this season. Whatever the reason, nothing has worked of late.

So Joe Girardi and Brian Cashman have some thinking to do. Perhaps they should call for a change up too.

Notes

Derek Jeter had two five-hit games from 1995-2010. After last night's 5-6 performance, he has two in the last month. Jeter passed Lou Brock for the #22 spot on the all-time hit list. Next up is Rod Carew, who is 26 hits ahead of the Yankees captain.

Curtis Granderson drove in 5 runs in last night's win to increase his career high to 84 RBI. With two more runs scored, Grandy will reach 100 runs for the third time in his career.

Eric Chavez hit his first home run as a Yankee. Robinson Cano had four RBI and has 11 ribbies in last five games.

Alex Rodriguez is being investigated by MLB for participating in illegal poker names with some big names like Ben Affleck and Matt Damon. A-Rod's publicist said he will fully cooperate with the investigation. There's been talk of a possible suspension, which in a word is stupid.

CC Brings Out The Beast

It didn't take long to realize that the Seattle Mariners were in for a very long night at Yankee Stadium this evening. CC Sabathia was dominant from the start, perfect for 6.1 innings, and sharp as nails until a second rain delay threw him off his game in the 8th inning. The result was a 4-1 Yankees win that pinned a 17th straight loss on the Mariners, who had just one hit on the night.

In winning his Major League best 15th game, Sabathia outshone his counterpart, Doug Fister, who pitched well enough to win on most nights. But Sabathia was literally unhittable- he struck out seven straight at one point and 14 overall, setting a career high. His seventh straight strikeout was Mike Carp to start the 6th inning, but then the rain came down in sheets and led to a 31 minute rain delay.

When play resumed Sabathia retired the final two batters in the 7th on a pop out and ground out. Sabathia k'ed Ichiro Suzuki to begin the 7th, but Brendan Ryan hit a clean single to left-center to break up the perfect game and no-hitter. After the fans stood on their feet and applauded, Sabathia struck out Dustin Ackley and Miguel Olivo to end the inning.

The Yankees grabbed a 1-0 lead in the 4th when Curtis Granderson hit his 28th home run into the left field seats. It was the first home run that Granderson hit to the opposite field this season. An inning later the Yankees added some breathing room on consecutive singles by Nick Swisher, Jorge Posada, and Eric Chavez, who was activated from the DL prior to the game, and a ribbie ground out by Derek Jeter.

Another 18 minute rain delay impacted the game and Sabathia as he began the 8th by walking three straight hitters. Joe Girardi called on David Robertson, who struck out pinch-hitter Adam Kennedy and got Chone Figgins to hit a potential double play grounder to Chavez. But the third baseman booted the ball and could only get a force as the Mariners got on the board. Robertson then caught Ichiro looking to strand a pair of runners.

Mark Teixeira added an insurance run in the home half of the 8th with his 28th home run of the season before Mariano Rivera struck out two of three in the ninth for his 26th save.

Notes

The combined 18 strikeouts by Sabathia, Robertson, and Rivera tied the single game Yankees record held by Ron Guidry, who did it all by himself in 1978.

Brandon Laird was sent back to Scranton to make room for Chavez on the roster.

HOPE Week continued with the Yankees honoring Tuesday's Child, an organization that was originally started to help out children who lost parents in 9/11 as well as parents who lost older children on that horrible day.

The Yankees Report Brought To You By Band-Aids

The Yankees' muscles, bones, and ligaments are getting more hits than the Yankees these days. The Yankees got another great effort from Bartolo Colon Saturday in helping to win their second straight game, 4-0 over Cleveland, but lost Colon in the process due to a hamstring strain. A trip to the DL is inevitable. This could prove to be the biggest injury the Yankees have been hit with season, since aside from CC Sabathia, Colon has been the Yankees best starter.

Let's take stock now. Feliciano and Soriano may never be seen again this season. Chamberlain is done with Tommy John surgery coming up this week. Chavez has been out a month with a broken bone (he might be able to resume baseball activities soon). Martin has missed a bunch of games with a bad back, which has exposed Cervelli's bad throwing ability. Apparently, Sanit joined the walking wounded after his last outing with elbow problems (that's what happens when you throw 500 pitches in an inning).

Phil Hughes is expected to do a rehab stint at Trenton this week and then the Yankees will have to determine if one is enough before he replaces Colon in the rotation (Nova with a big sigh of relief). If Hughes needs more time, Joe Girardi could plug in Hector Noesi, who will be recalled for today's game or the Yankees could give Carlos Silva a shot (I shudder at the thought).

Sore hips and tempers flared up in yesterday's game as well. After Alex Rodriguez homered earlier in the game, Curtis Granderson took Indians starter Mitch Talbot deep in the 6th inning. The next hitter Mark Teixeira nearly missed making it back to back blasts with a deep fly to right-center. That brought up A-Rod again, who promptly got plunked in the left hip for the second time this week. Home plate umpire Dan Iassogna immediately tossed Talbot, who claimed he slipped. Replays didn't really verify that claim though. Whether he did or not Iassogna did a better job than Dale Scott on Friday, who should have immediately tossed Fausto Carmona after he nailed Teixeira in the back following a Granderson home run.

The Yankees need to do something either today or tomorrow to retaliate for A-Rod. The Yankees are being hit by opposing pitchers disproportionately to hitting opposing batters (except maybe when Burnett has one of his "Bad A.J." days).

Notes

With just five games left on the homestand, it's going to be very hard for Derek Jeter to get the nine hits to reach 3,000 while at Yankees Stadium. For sure, he needs a couple of multi-hit games, like now. Jeter's OPS (.656) is even worse in the five games he's DH'ed (.546).

Since asking out of the lineup May 14 with a mysterious back ailment, Jorge Posada has gone 17-52 (.327) and is 9-15 (.600) on the current homestand. He's also had multi-hit games in four of his last five games and has gone 3-4 from the right side after an 0-27 slide to start the season. Of course, he's still making base running mistakes and was picked off second yesterday on a failed bunt attempt.

Curtis Granderson enters Sunday's play tied with Jose Bautista for the AL lead with 20 home runs. Bautista has gone 13 games without a home run, his longest stretch of the season.

The Glove Headed Back To Yankees

Donnie Collins of the Scranton Times confirmed last night that Ramiro Pena will be joining the Yankees for their weekend series in Texas. Pena will replace Eric Chavez on the 25-man roster after Chavez broke a bone in his foot yesterday and was added to the 15-day DL.

It's likely Pena will also move ahead of Eduardo Nunez as Derek Jeter's back up at shortstop. Nunez's two errors yesterday gave him five for the season.

Changes Coming Yankees Way

Eric Chavez has been on the disabled list more times in his career than he would care to remember and unfortunately for him and the Yankees, the team's corner back up infielder is headed to the DL again. Chavez broke the 5th metatarsil bone in his his foot this afternoon while legging out a triple against the Detroit Tigers.

Chavez was in obvious pain as he slowed towards third base, but wanted to stay in the ball game. It became obvious as he walked off the field with some assistance that was never a possibility. Initial diagnosis was a small fracture of the bone that connects the pinky toe to the ankle.

There's no word on a call up yet, but possibilities include "El Chato", Jorge Vazquez, who tore up spring training and has continued to do so at Triple-A Scranton. The right-handed hitting first baseman (with some third base experience) has nine home runs, 27 RBI and a .906 OPS thru 25 games. Another possiblity could be good glove/no bat Ramiro Pena, Kevin Russo, who has gotten off to a slow start, and good bat/no glove Brandon Laird. The brother of Cardinals catcher Gerald Laird had an outstanding season for Double-A Trenton last season, but has just a .508 OPS for Scranton thus far.

A second, non-injury move may be necessitated by the play of Eduardo Nunez. The Yankees like his bat and his speed, but the utility infielder is not getting it done in the field. His two throwing errors today on routine plays led to a pair of Detroit runs that put the game out of reach for the Yankees. All five of Nunez's errors have come at shortstop in a limited number of chances. Though he made just 10 errors in 101 games at Scranton last season, the Yankees need a more reliable utility man in the field. Perhaps Nunez would be better served playing every day in the minors to continue to hone his craft.

The Yankees lackluster offense continued this afternoon in a 6-3 loss to the Tigers that also gave Detroit the series win (3-1). The Yankees have split their last 10 games, and except for a 12-run outburst against the White Sox, have scored more than four runs just three times in the other nine games. A fine effort by A.J. Burnett was wasted when the Yankees couldn't build on their 2-1 lead. Burnett had a no-hitter through five innings before the Tigers tied it up in the 6th. One inning later they broke it open with the help of Nunez's second error.

Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez were given routine days off though Joe Girardi may have actually sat Jeter due to a sore hip. A-Rod entered the game as a pinch-runner when Chavez had to exit the ball game in the 4th inning.

Requiem For A Heavyweight

The Oakland A's Eric Chavez had established himself as one of the best players in baseball during the period of 2000-2006. He was good for 25-30 home runs and 90-100 RBI nearly year in and year out. His defense was stellar and led him to six straight Gold Gloves (2001-2006) and helped lead the A's to five playoff appearances.

Chavez was as the top of his game until everything fell apart, literally. Chavez began having serious shoulder, back and other injuries (a broken right hand in 2004) that led to more time on the DL than in the field. Chavez had played in just 90 games in 2007 when he was DL'ed in July due to a lower back strain. A little more than a month later he underwent season ending surgery...on the torn labrum in his right shoulder that had bothered him since 2005. In October, Chavez went under the knife again to repair a bulging disk in his back. But wait, Chavez would undergo yet another surgery in November to remove "non-living" tissue that accumulated in his left shoulder as well as repair a tear that had caused pain during off-season workouts. Mr. Durable had become Mr. Hospital Gown.

Chavez reported to spring training to ready himself for the 2008 season, but lower back inflammation required two epidurals (in Feb., Apr.), and the 3rd baseman started the season on the DL. Chavez missed nearly two months of the season before he returned in late May. He played in 23 games, but had trouble finding his stroke (.688 OPS, two home runs). After going 0-3 on July 1, Chavez was placed on the disabled list once more. In mid-August his season ended prematurely again after he underwent surgery on his right shoulder. The face of the franchise was becoming a footnote.

Spring training was slow going in 2009, but Chavez was in the Opening Day lineup on April 6. He played in nine games over a 2 1/2 week span and had just three hits in 30 at-bats before the disabled list came calling again on May 1. This time his right elbow was sore and he was diagnosed with a forearm strain. Less than two weeks after being shelved Chavez started experiencing back spasms and was found to have a pair of bulging disks. In June he underwent season ending and a second career threatening back surgery. Chavez was down, but not out.

The long-time 3rd baseman saw some time across the infield to 1st base in the hopes that it would relieve some of the stress on his 32-yr old back. As it turned out he played just one game at 1st base, but DH'ed for 29 games. Then came May and the end of Chavez's season. Bulging disks in his neck were the cause this time. For the first time Chavez openly wondered if his career was over.

Each spring training is a time of renewal; the weather gets warmer, the birds come back north, and the sound of bat hitting ball can be heard throughout Florida and Arizona. With Opening Day just around the corner, Eric Chavez has once again made the journey through spring training. His facial hair is gone, he's not donning green and gold any more, but Eric Chavez's name will be announced on Opening Day. This time it will be in the Bronx and Chavez will be wearing the pinstripes of the New York Yankees when they take the field to play the Detroit Tigers.

The Yankees took a chance this past winter in the hopes Chavez could spell Alex Rodriguez at 3rd base and Mark Teixeira across the diamond. After endless hours of surgery, therapy, and doctor's visits, Chavez hoped that a change of scenery would also mean a change of luck. It's already gained him a $1.5MM contract and another opportunity to play Major League baseball.

Chavez made the team by being healthy and hitting the cover off the ball (.421). He put a cherry on the top of his spring training sundae with a home run, fittingly, on Sunday. He may not play in a large number of games this season, but if Eric Chavez gets to wear his uniform for 162 games he will be more than happy.

Yankees Could Get Hughes to This

Though we're just about 40 minutes away from today's Yankees-A's game, I'm still thinking about last night's contest.

Just 11 days after CC Sabathia took a no-hitter into the 8th inning, Phil Hughes did the same last night in his start against Oakland. Like the big man, it was Hughes' second start the season. The California native retired the first batter in the 8th, but couldn't handle Eric Chavez's hot smash back thru the box. Two batters later Gabe Gross walked and Hughes' night was done.

Hughes was even more efficient than Sabathia, entering the 8th will a relatively low pitch count. He relied heavily on his fastball, which helped him to a career high 10 strikeouts.

After walking Daric Barton with one in the first, Hughes set down the next 20 A's in a row before Chavez's comebacker played pinball on Hughes' glove and body. The ball bounded back towards home plate as Hughes, with his back to catcher Jorge Posada, looked skyward for the ball.

Notes

The Yankees had taken a 2-0 lead in the 4th, helped by a rarity. Alex Rodriguez and Robinson Cano stroked back to back triples to break up a scoreless game between Hughes and Ben Sheets.

Nich Swisher got a day off, with Randy Winn getting a rare start. Swish will be back in the lineup today, while Curtis Granderson gets a day off.

Hughes' brush with fame evoked many emotions on Twitter. There were plenty of people who defied superstition and talked about the no-no. (Michael Kay was probably screaming it at home.) Others worried about an injury like the one that occurred when Hughes had a no-no going against Texas in June, 2006. There was speculation if Hughes would be pulled by Joe Girardi if his pitch count got too high.