With Tanaka Signed, Time For the Other Chips to Fall Into Place

Of course he's smiling, he's got a guaranteed contract.

The front offices of Major League Baseball teams around the country waited and waited. They waited until Japanese-born pitcher Masahiro Tanaka chose the team and the contract he would play for in his quest for success in the United States. With that done and pitchers and catchers reporting to Spring Training in a couple of weeks, it's time for the remaining free agent pitchers to find a new home or return to their existing ones.

Matt Garza didn't take long at all to decide on which team it would be (the Milwaukee Brewers), but it did take some time to get the contract finalized. With some concerns over lingering arm issues, the Brewers gave Garza a guaranteed four years and $50MM, incentives that could tack on another $4MM, and an option for 2018 that will give Garza the opportunity to earn $67MM when everything is said and the contract is done.

A.J. Burnett had trouble deciding if he wanted to play any more, but once he did the Baltimore Orioles decided to go (MLB Network's Peter Gammons tweeted) "all in" on the lanky right-hander. After the success Burnett had in the National League the last two seasons with Pittsburgh, you would think he would stay in the NL, but those offers may not be forthcoming.

FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal reported the Toronto Blue Jays have looked extensively at the medical records of Ubaldo Jimenez and Ervin Santana. The Blue Jays are hoping to make an official offer to at least one of them. ¹ Both have been hoping for long term, big money deals.

Bronson Arroyo has had his name brought up by many teams, but told ESPN"s Jayson Stark that he has yet to receive an official offer. He's baffled by the lack of action.

"I get [Clayton] Kershaw," Arroyo told ESPN.com. "I get why he got all that money. But then you've got guys like Dice-K [Matsuzaka], who came over here and was good for the first couple years but then didn't pan out. And when he doesn't pan out, they all just forget and go on to the next guy who's not proven, and pay him. 

"Meanwhile, they forget about guys like me, who have done the job for the last eight or 10 years, and treat them like they've never done anything in this game. That's hard, man." ²

Scott Baker was an emerging star for the Minnesota Twins over the stretch of 2009-2011, but Tommy John surgery wiped out 2012 and most of 2013. The 32-year old signed a minor league deal with the Seattle Mariners and was given an invitation to spring training in his comeback attempt.

Journeymen Paul Maholm, Jason Hammel, and one time stud Tommy Hanson are all still available. Back end of the rotation starters Jerome Williams, Jason Marquis, and Roberto Hernandez (the former Fausto Carmona) are all still on the market as well. Either they are holding out for guaranteed money or teams are still waiting to sign them to minor league deals.

15 more days until the sound of ball thudding into catcher's mitt. I can't wait.


1 - foxsports.com
2 - espn.com

New Year, New MLB Rumors

Nelson Cruz is among those still wondering where his next contract is.

Happy New Year to one and all. We are just 43 days away from pitchers and catchers reporting to camp. A truly great Valentine's Day gift. There are quite a number of free agents still not signed, but I would expect some trades, mostly minor, to occur prior to spring training.

The biggest news right now is, of course, the chase for Masahiro Tanaka. With the posting fee reduced to $20MM there are plenty of teams that will try to persuade the Japanese star to sign with them. Only a handful will be able to afford the $100MM he's expected (or expecting) to sign for.

ESPN's Jayson Stark reported that, according to some Major League execs, the Seattle Mariners could be big time players in the negotation battle. The Yankees have to be concerned after the ridiculous contract that Mariners gave Robinson Cano. Apparently, they still have quite a bit of cash to play with.

You can onlyhope that Ichiro Suzuki refuses to discuss playing in Seattle with Tanaka and only will talk about playing in New York..and only discuss the positives.

There are other big name pitchers on the market, though the names don't necessarily merit the contracts they are looking for. Matt Garza, Ervin Santana and Ubaldo Jimenez are tops among them. The Twins, who already signed Phil Hughes and re-signed Mike Pelfrey, are willing to give big money, but not years to a pitcher like Garza. Then again the report was from ESPNradio 1500's Darren Wolfson who also reported last week that the Twins had an interest in Tanaka. I hadn't laughed that hard in a while. Everyone has an interest, but the Twins NEVER spend that kind of money...well, outside of Joe Mauer and that hasn't worked out so well.

The Cleveland Plains Dealer's Paul Hoynes reported that Jimenez is looking for $17MM-$20MM annually. Apparently he needs that much to get counseling for his delusions. Jimenez was phenomenal in the first half of 2010 and has been downright awful in every season since, except for the second half of last year (1.82 ERA). But you don't give a guy that much money based on 13 starts.

Santana is another pitcher who is clearly pricing himself out of the market. The right-hander has been too inconsistent in his career to command an upper dollar contract. The Arizona Diamondbacks are interested in Tanaka, but are more likely to be able to sign Santana, whom they have major interest in.

Bronson Arroyo is still out there, but he appears to be everyone's plan 'B'. Perhaps he's asking for too much money after hearing WFAN's Mike Francesa talk about him like he's Walter Johnson.

No rumor here; good luck to Mark Mulder who is attempting a comeback with the Los Angeles Angels. The left-hander hasn't pitched in the big leagues since 2008 due to shoulder problems. He's been working as a commentator since then, but decided to give it another try. The 36-yr old signed a minor league deal with an invite to spring training and reportedly threw in the low 90's during December auditions.

It's not just the big names pitchers still waiting for offers. Outfielder Nelson Cruz, who was one of the players suspended 50 games in 2013 for the Biogenesis scandal, has yet to find a new team. He won't be returning to his old one, the Texas Rangers, after they signed Shin-Soo Choo to a seven-year, $130MM contract. Jeff Wilson (Ft. Worth Star Telegram) reported that there are four (unnamed) teams interested in the unsigned 33-year old.

First baseman/DH Kendrys Morales is still looking for a new home as well after one season with the Mariners. Morales may never be the same player he was before he broke his leg in 2010, but he's become a productive hitter again. One that would benefit from a hitters park rather than pitcher friendly Safeco Field. Most of the rumors are writers saying "this team" should sign Morales.

Despite rumors, probably started by his agent Scott Boras, Stephen Drew will not be signed by the Yankees. Brian Cashman stated Monday that the team has no plan to sign Drew.

Two major closers remain unemployed, though one thought he had a job. Grant Balfour agreed to terms with the Baltimore Orioles on a multiple year deal, but some warning bells on an MRI of his right shoulder caused the deal to fall through.

Fernando Rodney was dominant when he closed for the Tampa Bay Rays in 2012 and had a pretty good year with them in 2013. Teams have to be wary, however, of Rodney inconsistent past. For most of his career, he was not a pitcher you could trust in a big situation.

Time to check some email. I wonder if I got anything from Alex Rodriguez or Randy Levine.

Steinbrenners Must Decide: Pass or Play

The Yankees need their big man to come through in the clutch.

The All-Star break has arrived and the New York Yankees are slowly fading into the sunset or AL East basement. If not for the underachieving Toronto Blue Jays, the Yankees would already be dwelling in the place where no Yankee has finished since 1990. That team won just 67 games and finished last among seven teams. It's remarkable that entering Sunday's play the Yankees were only six games out of first place.

It's all well and good that the Steinbrenners want to meet a $189MM payroll goal next year, but they have to decide what to do this year. Either make moves, somewhat regardless of salary implications, to try to make the playoffs or sell parts and start to build next year's team.

Injuries and salaries have hamstrung the current squad and the chances of getting those injured players back are getting less and less probable. Mark Teixeira and Kevin Youkilis are already out for the year. Derek Jeter came back after missing the entire season and immediately got hurt with a different injury. Will his second half be a wash or will he contribute? 

Curtis Granderson broke a forearm when he was hit by a pitch, then it was his finger's turn when he came back and got hit by another pitch. He has just gotten the go ahead to take dry swings. A return in mid-August seems to be the likeliest scenario..

Francisco Cervelli appeared to be very close to a return from a broken hand when an old elbow injury acted up. He's also facing possible suspension due to the Biogenesis case.  Speaking of which, Alex Rodriguez is on a slow road back from his second off-season hip surgery and may be hit with a whopper of a suspension. Rumors came out on Sunday that A-Rod was working a plea deal with MLB. Considering this is not yet a judicial matter for A-Rod, the term "plea deal" is awfully strange for this process.

The Yankees need help with their lineup, starting rotation, and bullpen. Hiroki Kuroda has emerged as the ace of the staff with CC Sabathia in a #2 or #3 slot. Sabathia is as competitive as ever, but his fastball and pitch location is not what it was. Andy Pettitte has won a couple of games of late, but has struggled for most of the year and has looked more like a #5 starter than a middle of the rotation guy.

Some of the help for the pitching staff could come from within the organization. Ivan Nova has appeared to recapture his 2011 form, but that is based on a small sampling of work. That being said, his last two starts have produced 17 innings pitched, 17 strikeouts and just three runs (1.59 ERA). He's also limited opponents to eight hits and three walks (0.65 WHIP). Nova has allowed nine earned runs in 35.1 innings (2.29 ERA) over his last six appearances, half of which were starts.

The secret weapon/unknown factor could be Michael Pineda, who has returned strong from career threatening shoulder surgery. It appears that Yankees want to take things slowly with their prized possession, acquired from Seattle in the Jesus Montero deal. After a rehab stint, the Yankees activated Pineda and sent him to Scranton to continue his way back to the Major Leagues. The hard throwing right-hander has had mixed results in his two starts. He allowed two runs and struck out seven over five innings in a win against Lehigh Valley, but gave up a pair of home runs and six runs in four innings in a loss to Syracuse.

Then there's Vidal Nuno, who was impressive in Spring Training and made three starts and a couple of relief appearances in April and May. The southpaw allowed four runs over 17 innings in his starts, but won just one of them due to a lack of run support. Unfortunately, he's been out of action since June 8 with a strained groin.

Among the current starters, Phil Hughes continues to look good one moment and bad the next. Sometimes both at the same time as he did Saturday against the Twins in his final start before the All-Star break. Hughes dominated for much of the game, but allowed four runs and three home runs and took a tough loss. Word is that the Yankees are aggressively shopping him and they should. They need to get near-ready prospects or a Major Leaguer in return rather than wait to see if the draft pick they get as compensation when Hughes leaves, will pan out.

David Phelps started out strong, but has struggled of late and ended up on the DL. Phelps could move back to the pen, possibly sharing a long man role with Adam Warren,  or work on his stuff in Scranton, or return to the rotation.  The Yankees might even try Warren as a starter since he's done such a good job in long relief. A lot will depend on how Nova does while Phelps is out or if Hughes is moved.

Brian Cashman could look at the number of pending free agents to supply another starter as well.  There's quite a list of starters that might be available, but not a lot of quality.

Matt Garza: The Cubs right-hander had a stress fracture in his elbow last season and a latissimus dorsi strain during Spring Training this year. He came back seven weeks later and has been an effective member of the Cubs' starting rotation. Garza is 6-1, 3.17 with a 1.141 WHIP and 62 strikeouts in 71 innings pitched. With his  fastball clocked in the mid-90s, the 29-year old is in demand. ESPN's Bruce Levine has Toronto and Texas as the leading candidates to land the former Tampa Bay Ray. Thus far there has not been any indication the Yankees are interested. (At least if the Yankees did get Garza they can rip that ugly as hell goatee off of him.) Whoever does land Garza will pay a hefty price to land him.

Ervin Santana: This guy is one of the biggest enigmas in baseball. One minute he looks like he's pitching likeJohan Santana (Ervin's actual real name) in his hey day with the Twins, the next he's pitching like Carlos Santana...the guitarist not the Indians catcher. He's had two seasons with an ERA above 4.00 and three season over 5.00. He's also had four seasons under 4.00 and once finished 6th in the AL CY Young voting.
Santana is a streaky pitcher in the way some sluggers are streaky home run hitters. It's hard to tell what you'll get out of him from one start to the next. So far he's not available, but I would expect that to change.

Bronson Arroyo: It's hard to believe that Arroyo is 36-years old. It seems like just yesterday he was a young, brash pitcher for the Boston Red Sox and mouthing off to A-Rod. Arroyo's been in Cincinnati eight years now after Theo's Epstein dealt him for Wily Mo Pena. Yes, Epstein would like to forget that deal ever happened. Arroyo is one shy of 100 victories in a Reds uniform and has been a workhorse, averaging better than 200 innings a season. With the Reds in the thick of a pennant race he isn't likely to go anywhere.

Of the three, the Yankees have the best shot at getting Santana.

Unfortunately, the remaining pending free agents are either not available (i.e. Atlanta's Tim Hudson) or aren't any better than what the Yankees have now (Guys like Jorge De La Rosa and Jason Vargas). Another option for Cashman is try to obtain a pitcher currently on a team that is already out of the pennant race. One such pitcher would be John Danks from the Chicago "almost everything must go sale" White Sox. On the plus side, Danks is left-handed, but he is coming off shoulder surgery and is ridiculously overpaid at $14.25MM a year and has three more years on his current contract. No thanks.

Kyle Lohse is on a horrible Brewers team, but is in the first year of a three year, $33MM contract. Lohse also seems to be strictly a National League pitcher. He wasn't very good or consistent in the AL. Perhaps a pitcher like Kyle Kendrick could become available closer to the deadline if the Phillies decide to rework the team. That is the biggest problem in trying to obtain front line talent. There are just too many teams still in the playoff race, particularly with the addition of a second wild card in both leagues.

For now it looks like the Yankees will have to do some fixing from within. Guys like Nova and Pineda may be better than anything Brian Cashman can up with in the next month.

Derek Jeter: Now You See Him Now You Don't

Hit number 3, 305 in progress.

The Yankees are 1-0 with Derek Jeter back in the pinstripes. And it may stay that way for a while. The Yankees rallied from a 3-0 deficit to the KC Royals Thursday afternoon and pulled out an 8-4 victory. The win gain a split of the four game series after the Yankees dropped the first two.  Jeter picked up his first hit, an infield single on the first pitch he saw from Royals' starter Ervin Santana, his first RBI, and his first run scored of the season. And then he picked up his first tight quad.

Jeter, who DH'ed and batted second, left the game after a 1-4 day  and headed for an MRI machine. His status for this weekend's series with Minnesota depends on the results of the MRI and how the Captain is feeling.

It was the only thing that put a damper on the day. With Brett Gardner sore after being hit with a baseball Wednesday night and Travis Hafner hurting, because he's Travis Hafter, Jeter came to the Bronx one day earlier than expected.

Eduardo Nunez started at shortstop and of course had to make an error in front of his unofficial mentor. Andy Pettitte struggled through another start, but battled long enough to pick up his 252nd career win, good enough for 44th place on the all time Major League wins list.  He put his team in a 3-0 hole in the first inning, but Jeter and the boys struck back quickly.

The crowd was sparse for an afternoon, non-divisional affair, so the ovation when Jeter stepped into the batters' box was not as loud or as long as you would have expected. Then again, most fans did not know Jeter would be playing on Thursday.  Any nerves he may of had were channeled through that first swing that resulted in a dribbler inside the third base foul line. Veteran infielder Miguel Tejada tried to make a bare hand grab, but couldn't come up and Jeter raced to first with career hit #3,305.

Joe Girardi called for a hit and run, and Robinson Cano came through with a single to center that sent Jeter to third. Vernon Wells' sac fly brought him home for the Yankees first run of the day.

The Royals bounced right on Pettitte for another run and a 4-1 lead in the top of the 2nd, but the Yankees came right back with two of their own. Austin Romine (double) and Ichiro Suzuki (single) provided the two out RBI hits before Jeter grounded out to end the inning.

The Yankees pounded Santana in the 5th to take control of the game. Ichiro drew a one-out walk, stole second, and moved to third on Jeter's ground out. The Royals elected to intentionally walk Robinson Cano, but Santana then walked Wells to load the bases. Lyle Overbay hit a grand slam in the same situation Wedesday night, and delivered again, this time with a 2-run single. Nunez and Zoilo Almonte added RBI singles, before Almonte got thrown out at third to end the inning.

Girardi pulled Pettitte with two outs in the top of the 6th to keep him out of further trouble and the pen was magnificent, especially Shawn Kelley and David Robertson, who combined for five strikeouts in 2.1 innings.

Jeter got his final at-bat of the day and hit another grounder, but this one knocked in the Yankees' eighth run of the day.

Kuroda Shines On Opening Day

Hiroki Kuroda's Yankees debut was less than memorable - 4 earned runs allowed in five-plus innings in an 8-6 loss to Tampa Bay a week ago. But despite being admittedly nervous, Kuroda stepped on the mound for the home opener and pitched a gem and the Yankees beat the LA Angels 5-0.

Kuroda allowed five hits over eight innings, before David Robertson finished up in the 9th, to pick up his first American League victory. Kuroda got an early boost when Nick Swisher delivered a two out, bases loaded double to jump start the Yankees to a quick 3-0 lead in the 1st inning against Ervin Santana.

The former Dodger is now 2-2, 1.71 against the Angels, whom he faced three times in inter-league play. He threw 109 pitches, 71 of them for strikes, walked two and struck out six, including an aggravated Albert Pujols in the 6th.

The Yankees added some tack on runs with a pair of home runs. Alex Rodriguez tied Ken Griffey Jr. for fifth on the all-time home run list with blast number 630, a shot to straight away center field. Curtis Granderson then took advantage of the short porch in right with his second home run of the season.

A-Rod Saves the Day

A-Rod Sac Fly Allows Yankees to Escape With Win

Filed Under: Yankees

Tags: Alex Rodriguez • chad gaudin • Chone Figgins • Derek Jeter • ervin santana • hideki matsui • Jorge Posada • LA Angels • NY Yankees • Yankees 9/22 recap • Yankees vs. Angels

Written for Baseball Digest Online

Moses parting the Red Sea

Jesus turns water into wine

US hockey beats Russia in the 1980 Winter Olympics

The Yankees beat the Los Angeles Angels in Anaheim

While that last miracle may not be up to the caliber of the previous ones, the Yankees did indeed finally beat the Angels on their home turf last night, 6-5. Of course the victory wasn’t stress free as the Yankees blew a 5-0 lead before winning it on an Alex Rodriguez sacrifice fly in the 9th inning. The Yankees also clinched a playoff berth last night when the Texas Rangers lost to the Oakland Athletics. The Yankees also increased their lead in the AL East to six games ahead of the Boston Red Sox when the Sox lost to the Kansas City Royals for the second straight night.

The Yankees borrowed from the Angels’ aggressive play book to pull out the triumph. Brett Gardner singled off Matt Palmer and stole 2nd base, his 23rd successful theft in 28 attempts. A walk to Derek Jeter allowed Joe Girardi to play small ball, and it worked effectively when Johnny Damon bunted the runners over. A-Rod, who earlier had his his 580th career homer, hit a fly to center field off lefty Darren Oliver to bring home Gardner with the go ahead run.

Mariano Rivera, whose 36-game consecutive save chance streak ended in Seattle on Friday, walked Kendry Morales to start the 9th. But the Yankees closer then struck out Juan Rivera and Jorge Posada threw out would be base stealer Reggie Willits at 2nd base for a “strike ‘em out/throw ‘em out” double play. Rivera then retired Erick Aybar on a ground out to Robinson Cano for his 41st save.

It appeared that the Yankees might actually be in for cake walk when they jumped out to a 5-0 lead on home runs by Rodriguez, Posada, and Hideki Matsui. Chad Gaudin had relatively breezed through the first four innings in his best performance as a Yankee to date. But in the 5th he surrendered a solo home run to Yankees killer Chone Figgins, and two hits, a walk, and a run later he was out of the game in favor of Al Aceves.

Aceves was on the hill for the first time in eight days and it showed an inning later. Three singles in four at-bats, the last by Gary Matthews Jr., cut the Yankees lead to 5-3. Aceves than walked former teammate Bobby Abreu with the bases loaded to force in a run and Vlad Guerrero appeared to produce the go ahead hit when he ripped a ball down the 3rd base line. But Rodriguez dove to his right, snared the baseball and threw Guerrero out to save two, and possibly three runs.

The Yankees defense saved them in the 6th, but it came back to bite them in the 8th. A Cano error allowed Howie Kendrick to reach 1st base safely and then Jorge Posada threw a one-hopper into center field when Kendrick stole 2nd base. Just like that, the Angels had the tying run on 3rd with nobody out. Hughes retired Figgins on a pop up, but Maecir Izturis singled to right to the game at five apiece.

With the Yankees already 0-5 with runners in scoring position Rodriguez put the Yankees on the board in the 3rd when he followed Mark Teixeira’s single with his 27th home run of the season off of Halos’ starter Ervin Santana. Two batters later, Posada went deep with Hideki Matsui aboard for a 4-0 lead. Then it was Matsui’s turn in the 5th. Godzilla smoked his 28th home run of the season, with the total being evenly split before and after the All-Star break.

Game Notes

Derek Jeter picked up his 200th hit when he singled in the 4th inning. He now has seven 200-hit seasons, one shy of the team record held by, you guessed it, Lou Gehrig.

Alex Rodriguez is now three home runs by Mark McGwire for 8th place on the career home run list.

The Yankees will try to take the series tonight when they send A.J. Burnett to the mound against left-hander Scott Kazmir.

Swinging Like a Rusty Gate

Dedicated to the Yankees who are already 0-5 with RISP thru 2 innings.

2009 AL West Preview

The division was a joke last season with the Los Angeles Angels cruising (21 games ahead of second place Texas) to their fourth AL West title in five years.

Even with the Angels rash of injuries, we don't see much evidence that 2009 will be any different than 2008.



AL WEST

Angels
Rangers
Mariners
A's

Don't get us wrong, the Angels definitely have to be concerned with injuries to their starting rotation. John Lackey (April return) and Ervin Santana (May return) are DL'ed with elbow injuries, while Kelvim Escobar rehabs from off-season shoulder surgery. But the team still has Jered Weaver and Joe Saunders. (The Jake Peavy trade rumors have already started as well.)

They lost Mark Teixeira and Francisco Rodriguez to free agency, but we still think the Angels are the best team in the division. For one thing, they have the best manager in the division in Mike Scioscia. He'll mix and match and move things around until it all fits. If Brian Fuentes struggles at closer, he'll turn to Jose Arredondo and Scot Shields. On offense, Bobby Abreu and Kendry Morales should pick up some of the slack left by Teixeira's departure.

The Rangers finished four games under .500 last season and should be back in that neighborhood thanks to an offense that's still potent even without Milton Bradley, who left for the Cubs. The problem with this team is the same year in and year out - starting pitching. Kevin Millwood, Vincente Padilla, Kris Benson, Brandon McCarthy and Matt Harrison aren't going to scare anyone. The Rangers should win a lot of 9-8 games.

The Mariners have to better than last season's 61 win campaign. Don't they? New manager Don Wakamatsu certainly hopes so. Erik Bedard is feeling good. Kenji Johjima swung a hot bat in the WBC and spring training. And Ken Griffey Jr. is back!

But WAIT...Ichiro is out with bleeding stomach ulcers, Jarrod Washburn and Ryan Rowland-Smith are in the rotation. Brandon Morrow is being used as closer and...Ken Griffey Jr. is back.

While the team is improved from last year, big run producer Raul Ibanez is gone. Adrian Beltre is suffering from a bad toe and is a lame duck. .500 is a long shot, but the team should see at a 10 game improvement.

The A's are a mix of wet behind the ears kids and banged up, over the hill stars. The A's can be very good in 2-3 years because of the talent they always produce at pitcher. They're basically starting over again this year with a rotation of Dallas Braden, Sean Gallagher, Brett Anderson, Trevor Cahill, and Dana Eveland (Justin Duchscherer will take a spot when he returns from the DL.) Brad Ziegler will close, but the team suffered a big blow when would be closer Joey Devine went on the 60-day DL with a sprained elbow.

Eric Chavez's back feels better, but will he ever resemble his early seasons again? Can a team really win with Jason Giambi, Nomar Garciaparra, and Orlando Cabrera at this stage of their careers? Nah. This team is starting to look like a squad KC would put together (except their pitching would stink).

Around the Horn - Injury Update

Alex Rodriguez's hip is of prime concern to Yankees fans, but there are plenty of other top major league players suffering through injuries at the moment. Here's a quick update.

Justin Duscherer (A's)
The right-hander is suffering from an elbow pain and will most likely start the season on the disabled list. Duscherer feels fine warming up, but experiences pain when throwing at game speeds.

Ryan Braun (Brewers)
Braun has been feeling tightness in the back of his rib cage, but an MRI has not revealed anything. Braun played through similar tightness last season and felt it again during the World Baseball Classic. For now, the team has barred him from hitting.

Nate Robertson, Adam Everett, Joel Zumaya (Tigers)
Robertson, battling for the fifth spot in the Tigers rotation, sprained his thumb while field a grounder in Wednesday's exhibition game with the Mets. X-Rays were negative, but he's day to day for now.

Everett injured his left ankle in the same game on a slide into second base, but is expected to back in the lineup on Saturday.

Zumaya won't be ready for opening day after continuing to experience stiffness in his throwing shoulder.

Ervin Santana, Kelvim Escobar, John Lackey (Angels)
Santana is expected to miss at least the first month of the season with a sprained elbow ligament.

Escobar is ahead of schedule in his recovery from shoulder surgery and hopes to be back by the end of April.

Lackey is experiencing forearm tightness and will skip his next start. The Angels hope he can still be their opening day starter.

Aceves Makes His Pitch

The Yankees have a lot of questions to answer this off-season, and as usual, the starting rotation and bullpen will be among the chief issues. Al Aceves threw his hat in the ring last night to be part of the 2009 pitching staff with a solid, six inning performance, in his first major league start, to lead the Yankees over the Angels, 7-1.

Aceves' stuff is not among the best in baseball, but he's gritty and isn't afraid to throw strikes. Location is key and last night he was masterful in hitting Chad Moeller's mitt. He held the Angels scoreless until the sixth, and even then made effective pitches so LA couldn't open up a big inning. Aceves also had plenty of help on offense where Alex Rodriguez slugged a 3-run home run and Johnny Damon hit a pair of blasts.

The Yankees had a 1-0 lead against Angels starter Ervin Santana when a crucial error helped break things open for the Bombers in the sixth inning. Center fielder Torii Hunter had left the game after fifth inning due to tightness in his left quad and his replacement, Gary Matthews Jr., made an immediate impact.

Derek Jeter hit a lead off drive in the sixth that Matthews ran down on the warning track, but dropped for a three base error (the play was originally ruled a triple). The play changed Santana's demeanor and he immediately walked Bobby Abreu to get into further trouble. A-Rod made Santana feel even more miserable when he crushed a pitch to right-center field for his 33rd home run of the season, and number 551 for his career.

Aceves had allowed just a single through the first three innings when Garret Anderson led off the fourth with a base hit. One out later, Derek Jeter mishandled Vlad Guerrero's potential double play grounder for an error, putting the tying and go ahead runs on base. But Aceves got Hunter to hit a comebacker for an easy 1-4-3 double play.

An Anderson one out single in the sixth was followed by a Mark Teixeira double and the Angels were in business. But Aceves retired Guerrero on an RBI ground out and Matthews on an inning ending grounder to Robinson Cano to escape further trouble.

Damon put the game out of reach with a 2-run home run off of Santana in the seventh and a solo shot against Justin Speier in the ninth.


News and Notes

Al Aceves won his first major league game in front of about 30 friends and family.

Jered Weaver was originally supposed to get the start for the Angels, but was scratched due to a problem with a finger on his pitching hand.

Dave Eiland was feeling better last night after falling in the dugout on Tuesday night. It was apparently caused by a dizzy spell. While he landed hard on his shoulder, Eiland was more embarrassed than anything else.

Aceves Makes His Pitch

The Yankees have a lot of questions to answer this off-season, and as usual, the starting rotation and bullpen will be among the chief issues. Al Aceves threw his hat in the ring last night to be part of the 2009 pitching staff with a solid, six inning performance, in his first major league start, to lead the Yankees over the Angels, 7-1.

Aceves' stuff is not among the best in baseball, but he's gritty and isn't afraid to throw strikes. Location is key and last night he was masterful in hitting Chad Moeller's mitt. He held the Angels scoreless until the sixth, and even then made effective pitches so LA couldn't open up a big inning. Aceves also had plenty of help on offense where Alex Rodriguez slugged a 3-run home run and Johnny Damon hit a pair of blasts.

The Yankees had a 1-0 lead against Angels starter Ervin Santana when a crucial error helped break things open for the Bombers in the sixth inning. Center fielder Torii Hunter had left the game after fifth inning due to tightness in his left quad and his replacement, Gary Matthews Jr., made an immediate impact.

Derek Jeter hit a lead off drive in the sixth that Matthews ran down on the warning track, but dropped for a three base error (the play was originally ruled a triple). The play changed Santana's demeanor and he immediately walked Bobby Abreu to get into further trouble. A-Rod made Santana feel even more miserable when he crushed a pitch to right-center field for his 33rd home run of the season, and number 551 for his career.

Aceves had allowed just a single through the first three innings when Garret Anderson led off the fourth with a base hit. One out later, Derek Jeter mishandled Vlad Guerrero's potential double play grounder for an error, putting the tying and go ahead runs on base. But Aceves got Hunter to hit a comebacker for an easy 1-4-3 double play.

An Anderson one out single in the sixth was followed by a Mark Teixeira double and the Angels were in business. But Aceves retired Guerrero on an RBI ground out and Matthews on an inning ending grounder to Robinson Cano to escape further trouble.

Damon put the game out of reach with a 2-run home run off of Santana in the seventh and a solo shot against Justin Speier in the ninth.


News and Notes

Al Aceves won his first major league game in front of about 30 friends and family.

Jered Weaver was originally supposed to get the start for the Angels, but was scratched due to a problem with a finger on his pitching hand.

Dave Eiland was feeling better last night after falling in the dugout on Tuesday night. It was apparently caused by a dizzy spell. While he landed hard on his shoulder, Eiland was more embarrassed than anything else.

Breaking News: Jeter Catches the Bambino

Derek Jeter just picked up hit number 2,519, putting him into sole possession of second place on the all-time Yankees hit list. The hit, a hard chopper through the left side, moved him ahead of Babe Ruth. The single came off of the Angels' Ervin Santana.

Breaking News: Jeter Catches the Bambino

Derek Jeter just picked up hit number 2,519, putting him into sole possession of second place on the all-time Yankees hit list. The hit, a hard chopper through the left side, moved him ahead of Babe Ruth. The single came off of the Angels' Ervin Santana.

Yankees Waste Ponson Effort

Sidney Ponson gave the Yankees more than they ever could have expected last night against the Los Angeles Angels. Ponson hadn't thrown 7 shutout innings since 2004, so when the happens against the team with the best record in baseball, you had better win the game. But the Yankees couldn't do anything against Angels starter Ervin Santana and Mariano Rivera once again coughed up a run in a tie game. The outcome was a 1-0 loss, the Yankees fifth in their last six games.

No blame could placed on the large shoulders of Ponson, who allowed just 2 hits over 7 innings, and escaped a number of jams. In the 5th, he loaded the bases with one out by walking Juan Rivera and Jeff Mathis after Garret Anderson had singled to break up the no-hitter. But Chone Figgins helped him out by popping up on a 2-0 pitch and Maecir Itzturis flied out to Johnny Damon in left.

In the 7th, Ponson allowed a lead off single by Mark Teixeira, but it was quickly erased when Vlad Guerrero bounced in a 6-4-3 double play. Meanwhile, Ervin Santana was matching Ponson's zeros.

The Yankees appeared to be off to a good start when Johnny Damon started the bottom of the 1st inning with a walk and Derek Jeter singled through the right side. But Santana struck out Bobby Abreu and Alex Rodriguez, and retired the slumping Jason Giambi on a pop up.

In the 4th, Abreu singled with one out and stole 2nd base, but was eventually stranded at 3rd, when Giambi and Robinson Cano both flied out. In the 6th, Damon singled and stole 2nd base after there were two away, but the Angels intentionally walked A-Rod and Giambi failed again, striking out for the inning's final out.

Second guessers had a field day after Damaso Marte retired the side in order in the 8th, including a pair of strikeouts, but wasn't brought back for a second inning. Doubting Mariano Rivera? It's become the new thing in non-save situations. And unfortunately, Rivera lived up to that new founded attitude.

He walked Mark Teixeira to start the 9th, just the 5th walk he has allowed in 48.1 innings. Guerrero then singled to right, allowing pinch-runner Reggie Willits to easily reached 3rd base. With the infield in, Torii Hunter hit a bullet off the mound and into center field for the game's lone run.

Francisco Rodriguez made easy work of the Yankees in the 9th. He struck out A-Rod looking on a 3-2 pitch, and Giambi and Cano on routine fly outs for his major league leading 45th save.


News and Notes

Brian Bruney was recalled before the game and Chris Britton was sent back down to Scranton.

August 1, 2008

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
LA Angels	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1		1	4	0
NY Yankees	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0		0	5	0

LA Angels	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	LOB	AVG
Figgins, 3B	4	0	0	0	0	2	4	.281
Izturis, SS	4	0	0	0	0	0	3	.263
Teixeira, 1B	2	0	1	0	2	0	0	.284
1-Willits, PR	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	.185
Quinlan, 1B	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.262
Guerrero, RF	4	0	1	0	0	0	2	.285
Hunter, CF	4	0	1	1	0	0	1	.281
Anderson, DH	4	0	1	0	0	1	2	.284
Kendrick, 2B	3	0	0	0	1	0	3	.331
Rivera, LF	2	0	0	0	1	0	1	.240
Mathis, C	2	0	0	0	1	1	1	.222
Totals	29	1	4	1	5	4	17
1-Ran for Teixeira in the 9th.
BATTING TB: Teixeira; Guerrero; Hunter; Anderson. RBI: Hunter (59). Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Izturis 2. GIDP: Guerrero; Kendrick. Team LOB: 6. FIELDING DP: (Kendrick-Izturis-Teixeira).

LA Angels	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Santana (W, 12-5)	8.0	5	0	0	2	8	0	3.38
Rodriguez, F (S, 45)	1.0	0	0	0	0	1	0	2.42

NY Yankees	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	LOB	AVG
Damon, LF	3	0	1	0	1	1	0	.315
Jeter, SS	4	0	2	0	0	1	1	.282
Abreu, RF	4	0	1	0	0	2	4	.286
Rodriguez, A, 3B	3	0	0	0	1	2	3	.323
Giambi, DH	4	0	0	0	0	1	5	.253
Cano, 2B	4	0	0	0	0	0	1	.260
Betemit, 1B	3	0	1	0	0	0	0	.250
Rodriguez, I, C	3	0	0	0	0	1	1	.292
Cabrera, CF	3	0	0	0	0	1	0	.249
Totals	31	0	5	0	2	9	15
BATTING TB: Damon; Jeter 2; Abreu; Betemit. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Giambi 2; Cano. GIDP: Rodriguez, I. Team LOB: 6. BASERUNNING SB: Damon (16, 2nd base off Santana/Mathis), Abreu (14, 2nd base off Santana/Mathis). FIELDING DP: 2 (Jeter-Cano-Betemit, Jeter-Betemit).

NY Yankees	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Ponson	7.0	2	0	0	4	1	0	4.23
Marte	1.0	0	0	0	0	2	0	3.60
Rivera (L, 4-4)	1.0	2	1	1	1	1	0	1.49

WP: Santana.
IBB: Rodriguez, A (by Santana).
Pitches-strikes: Santana 118-73, Rodriguez, F 13-7,
Ponson 96-48, Marte 15-10, Rivera 19-13.
Ground outs-fly outs: Santana 7-9, Rodriguez, F 0-2,
Ponson 5-15, Marte 0-1, Rivera 2-0.
Batters faced: Santana 30, Rodriguez, F 3, Ponson 26,
Marte 3, Rivera 5.
Umpires: HP: CB Bucknor. 1B: Joe West.
2B: Ed Rapuano. 3B: Ed Hickox.
Weather: 81 degrees, partly cloudy.
Wind: 9 mph, L to R.
T: 2:32.
Att: 53,997.