Sunday Not in the Park With No George - An AL Look

It's Sunday, August 22...the baseball season is into the full stretch drive. Football is around the corner. And that really annoys me. Love football, but not this soon. I hate seeing people throw a football when I'm down the shore (that's on the beach to you non-Jersey types).

Today we'll just take a look at American League

The AL East race is going to the finish for sure. And I still stand by my words that it will between the Yankees and Rays for the division title as well as the wild card. Boston has hung in remarkably well despite a plethora of injuries, ineffectiveness from Josh Beckett, and a human Jon Papelbon.

Pitching is the key as always. I talked about the Yankees pitching concerns yesterday, and the Rays have them as well with both Wade Davis and Jeff Niemann expected back from the DL this week. Jeremy Hellickson was sent back to the minors to work out of the bullpen, but could still be placed back in the rotation if Davis or Niemann continue to struggle with their health.

Player to Watch - Derek Jeter. Lots of players I could have chosen here, but the Captain needs to be consistent down the stretch to set the table for the Yankees big guns.

The AL Central race should go to the wire as well with the Twins emerging as the cream of the crop. They were my pick all along and that hasn't changed. Now they have a 4 game lead over the White Sox.

The Twins pitching, outside of Carl Pavano and Francisco Liriano, has been incredibly inconsistent. Kevin Slowey has been suffering from tendinitis. It caused him to be pulled after 7 no-hit innings two starts ago. Yesterday he lasted only 3 innings. Scott Baker has been better of late and the Twins are recalling Nick Blackburn who has had a miserable year and killed my fantasy team until I kicked him to the curb. But they're still the better all around team.

Player to watch - Jim Thome. The masher has been mashing and that's great news for the Twins, especially since no one knows when and if Justin Morneau will be back.

The AL West is the Texas Rangers division to lose and I don't see that happening. Oakland has crept back to within 6 1/2 games, but this Texas team is too good not to hold on.

Cliff Lee had one of his worst outings yesterday (5.1 IP 8 ER) and has allowed 16 earned runs in his last 19.2 innings pitched. Overall he's 2-4, 4.18 in 9 starts since being acquired from Seattle. Tommy Hunter has crashed back to earth. After an 8-0 start, he's 1-2, 9.40 in his last four starts. He's lasted only three innings in three of those starts.

The Rangers really need Ian Kinsler back in the lineup. He's missed significant time twice this season with ankle and groin injuries and the lineup misses him. But Texas has the guy who is still my front runner for the MVP Award, Josh Hamilton.

The A's have gotten back in the race thanks to young pitchers Brett Anderson and Trevor Cahill, and a decent bullpen. A pen that is missing closer Andrew Bailey.

Player to watch - Cliff Lee; he needs to get back on track.

Early Awards

MVP- Josh Hamilton; runner up - Robinson Cano; third - Adrian Beltre

CY Young - There are number of players, including the guy I would like to see win - CC Sabathia- but for now I am going to give a slight edge to David Price. Clay Buchholz, Jered Weaver, C.J. Wilson, and Felix Hernandez are all in the mix.

Manager of the Year - Cito Gaston. The Blue Jays skipper is retiring after this season, just like his mentor Bobby Cox. In baseball's toughest division, Gaston has the Blue Jays playing over .500 and abusing their division rivals. Ozzie Guillen and Ron Washington are also in the mix.

Rookie of the Year - Neftali Feliz. The rookie has stepped right in to close for a first place team and has been outstanding. Others who have shown top form at times - Austin Jackson, Brennan Boesch, Wade Davis, John Jaso, Mitch Talbot, and Reid Brignac.

Biggest surprise - The Chicago White Sox. I really didn't see this coming despite the Chisox rotation. I figured they would have sold off most of their parts by now.

Biggest disappointment - Seattle Mariners, again. Seriously. A team with that much talent that is that bad.

Has his work cut out for him in '11 - Buck Showalter in remaking the Orioles image, ability, and performance.

Worst free agent signing - Nick Johnson; Everyone knew but you Cash.

Best free agent signing - Adrian Beltre; runner up - Carl Pavano

And the Moron of the Year Goes To...

... A.J. Burnett...

Yes ladies and gentleman it was never a contest. A.J. channeled his inner Kevin Brown and Doyle Alexander and decided to take out his frustrations on some lineup holders inside the Yankees clubhouse.

It wasn't bad enough that he had put the Yankees in a 3-0 hole early, but then he put holes in each of his palms. Bravo on a job well done.

Hey wait a minute. It gets even better. Not only did A.J. hurt his hands and his team, but he lied about it too, telling trainer Steve Donahue that he had fallen on the steps. Oops. A(ss)J(ack) later confessed and apologized to his manager, Joe Girardi, and GM Brian Cashman. He'll also apologize to the team tomorrow. He should also apologize to his banker for the withdrawal he'll have to make to pay for the hefty fine the team should hit him with. No pie for you!

It turned a nice day - Old Timer's Day - into a rotten day. Burnett, Dustin Moseley, and Chad Gaudin got pounded in a 10-4 defeat. Reid Brignac had two home runs all year, but managed to hit a pair and drove in 5 runs. While good for my fantasy team, it was not so good for the large crowd sitting in sweltering heat.

On another note, let's hope this is the last we will see of Gaudin. Seriously, enough already. Boone Logan returned yet again today, but it was in place of Damaso Marte, who landed on the DL with shoulder inflammation.

The few bright spots for the Yankees today? Home runs by Mark Teixeira and Jorge Posada. That really was about it. Oh, and Joe Buck was working the other Fox game though Tim McCarver manage to rile Yankees fans when he compared the Yankees organization to Nazi Germany.

Here's hoping Andy Pettitte's "Journey to Comfort" includes taking the series with a win on Sunday.

Yankees Win on Historic Night

Derek Jeter makes his history with his 2,721st hit

Jeter Ties Gehrig as Yankees Rally
Written for Baseball Digest Online

Jorge Posada ripped a 3-run home run into the right field in the bottom of the 8th inning last night to give the Yankees a 4-2 win over the Tampa Bay Rays. And Derek Jeter smiled. Jeter wouldn't have been happy last night had the Yankees lost on the night he tied Lou Gehrig as the all-time Yankees hit leader with 2,721 hits.

The current captain was 3-4 and had a chance to break the record in the 8th inning, but walked on a 3-2 pitch from Grant Balfour. But it was a still a historic night for Jeter, who is also the all-time hit leader at his position, having past Luis Aparicio earlier this season.

Entering the game in an 0-12 slide, Jeter laid a perfect bunt down the third base side to start the game with an infield single. He grounded out to shortstop in the third, but doubled to center in the fifth inning. That set up a dramatic 7th inning at-bat against Rays' starter Jeff Niemann. With the Yankees still trailing 2-0 and one out, Jeter ripped a first pitch fast ball past a diving 1ast baseman Chris Richard and into right field for the record tying hit.

The fans, including his parents, sister, and girlfriend (actress Minka Kelly) erupted in a long standing ovation. Jeter acknowledged the tribute, doffing his helmet on two occasions. After the game he self deprecatingly told ESPN, "I just tried to pull the ball, but as usual it went the other way".

Jeter was stranded on third inning, as every other Yankees base runner had been to that point. But the Yankees broke through against the beleaguered Rays bullpen in the 8th. Alex Rodriguez' lead off single finally knocked Niemann from the game and Hideki Matsui greeted Lance Cormier with a single to right, putting runners on the corners with no one out. Nick Swisher hit a potential double play ball to Richard, but the former Oriole, playing in his first major league game in six years, threw the ball into left field for a run scoring error.

One out later, Rays manager Joe Maddon sent for Balfour to turn pinch-hitter Jorge Posada around to the left side. It was a mistake. Posada hit a bullet into the right field seats for his 21st home run of the season and a 4-2 Yankees lead. With two down and no one on in the inning, Jeter stepped up to the plate and another huge ovation as he tried to surpass Gehrig. But after working the count full, he took a fastball well out of the zone for a base on balls. Balfour then left the game to a loud chorus of boos.

Joba Chamberlain had his, now custom, three inning start and quickly fell in a 2-0 hole in the 1st inning. Jason Bartlett led off the ball game with a home run and the Rays added another run in the inning on a Pat Burrell RBI single. Chamberlain ended up striking out the side and pitched well over the next two inning, which included a talking-to from Jeter.

Game Notes

The Yankees have Thursday off before starting a 3-game series at home with the Baltimore Orioles. You can see Derek Jeter try to break the record Friday night (7:05 P.M. ET) on YES and MASN in the area markets, plus the MLB Network will do live look-ins.

Jeter also stole his 300th career base, joining Rickey Henderson as the only Yankees to achieve that feat.

With Mariano Rivera unavailable last night, Brian Bruney and Phil Coke worked the 9th inning, with Coke picking up his second save.

The loss was the Rays 8th straight.

Breaking News: Rays Do Not Acquire Bay

It has not been confirmed yet, but MLB.com is reporting that the Rays will acquire Jason Bay from the Pirates for highly regarded prospects, shortstop Reid Brignac and pitcher Jeff Niemann.

UPDATE 4:15 P.M. EDT
Ken Rosenthal says the deal is dead. MLB.com was premature in reporting the deal, which is not likely to happen at this point.

Breaking News: Rays Do Not Acquire Bay

It has not been confirmed yet, but MLB.com is reporting that the Rays will acquire Jason Bay from the Pirates for highly regarded prospects, shortstop Reid Brignac and pitcher Jeff Niemann.

UPDATE 4:15 P.M. EDT
Ken Rosenthal says the deal is dead. MLB.com was premature in reporting the deal, which is not likely to happen at this point.