NY Times: On The 6th Day Before Christmas Rakuten Said No To Ma

The Grinch that kept Tanaka

New York Times reporter Ken Belson, citing several Japanese news sources on Thursday morning, reported that the Rakuten Golden Eagles have decided to not allow star pitcher Masahiro Tanaka to post to Major League Baseball.

Reports last night had Rakuten offering Tanaka 80MM yen ($8MM US) to remain in Japan for one more year. That figure could go as high as $12MM, three times the amount Tanaka earned in 2013.

The move would squlech the plans of the Yankees and other teams that were hoping to add a pitcher of Tanaka's magnitude to their starting rotation.

The Yankees should look for a short term fix - a deal for a quality pitcher that will not receive guaranteed money past the 2015 season. This is likely Hiroki Kuroda's last season, though it's been said before, so he could be replaced in 2015 by a pitcher acquired for this coming season. The Yankees should stay away from pitchers like Bronson Arroyo, who are looking for 3-4 year deals.

I'll repeat what I said earlier this week - Yovani Gallardo, MIL or Justin Masterson, CLE. I prefer Masterson.

Time to Take a Look at the Yankees Bank Account

With the addition of Jacoby Ellsbury, Carlos Beltran, and Brian McCann, and the return of Hiroki Kuroda, the Yankees purse strings have tightened up a bit.

So far this is roughly the impact of the players under contract on the luxury tax:

Derek Jeter: $12.81MM
Alex Rodriguez: $27.5MM
Mark Teixeira: $22.5MM
Alfonso Soriano $4MM
Vernon Wells: $0
Brian McCann: $17MM
Jacoby Ellsbury: $21.857MM
Carlos Beltran: $15MM
Hiroki Kuroda: $16MM
Ichiro Suzuki: $6.5MM
CC Sabathia: $24.4MM
Kelly Johnson: $3MM
Brendan Ryan: $1.6667MM

Add in about $11MM for insurance and the Yankees total, with A-Rod, is $183.233MM. Suddenly the luxury tax limit of $189MM is crushing. Since there is no immediate resolution to A-Rod's appeal hearing the Yankees have no choice but to operate as if the lightning rod will be part of the 25 man roster in 2014.

That means that if the Yankees have less than $6MM to spend and need 12 more players on the roster. Which is the reason the Yankees are shopping Ichiro Suzuki and Brett Gardner. The big ticket free agent signings are over for this year and the Yankees will now need to look to trades, from within the organization, and minor free agents to fill out the roster. Should one or both outfielders get dealt it could create an opening for Zoilo Almonte, who had impressed the Yankees the last two spring trainings and in 34 big league games.

Among the players still to be added to the roster are:

Ivan Nova
David Robertson
Shawn Kelley
Brett Gardner or a replacement if dealt.
Francisco Cervelli or Austin Romine
A left-handed reliever (possibly Cesar Cabral)
A 4th and 5th starter - one of which may come from David Phelps, Adam Warren, Vidal Nuno, or Michael Pineda. If Pineda is healthy he would be the ideal choice.

That would still leave four roster spots, five if they release Wells even though he has no luxury tax impact. If Ichiro is dealt, probably for low level prospects/non-prospects, that would take $6.5MM off the books. Gardner is arbitration eligible and would like get $3.5MM - $4MM.

The Rumor Mill

A report came out on Monday that the Yankees were looking into Twins free agent and ex-Met starting pitcher Mike Pelfrey. To say the reaction from the fans was pure rage would be an understatement. Letting Phil Hughes walk and replacing him with Pelfrey would be utter nonsense. (I'm keeping it clean)

The Indians are reportedly shopping Justin Masterson who made over $5.6MM last season and is arbitration eligible. Masterson made his first All-Star appearance this past season and you can expect he'll get a healthy increase, one that would be out of the Yankees range of spending.

The Kids Are Hot Tonight: Nuno, Warren Earn Split

When you've got Derek Jeter, Mark Teixeira, Alex Rodriguez, Curtis Granderson, and Kevin Youkilis missing from your everyday lineup, people need to step up their game. It's not just the seasoned veterans, but the youngsters as well. Pitchers Vidal Nuno and Adam Warren did just that Monday afternoon to lead the Yankees to a 7-0 win and a split of a "true" doubleheader with Cleveland Indians.

Another youngster, David Phelps, was outstanding in Game 1,but lost 1-0 to Justin Masteron. A Jason Kipnis first inning home run was the only damage done to the Yankees pitching. Nuno and Warren topped that performance by combining on a shutout that gave Nuno his first Major League win and Warren his first Major League save.

Nuno was outstanding in Spring Training and there was talk that he could make the team as a lefty reliever out of the bullpen. Having not pitched above Double-A, the Yankees felt it was better to have Nuno start every fifth day at Triple-A Scranton. Last month I spoke with Scranton RailRiders beat writer Donnie Collins who had this to say about Nuno: "He started tonight. I think he's a starter. Doesn't have great reliever splits."

Nuno threw 14.2 innings in the exhibition season and allowed just one earned run, 12 hits and four walks, while he struck out 13. He had made four starts for Scranton this season and was equally good. 23.1 innings pitched,  four earned runs, 13 hits, two walks, and 26 strikeouts. That translated to a 1.54 ERA, a league batting average of .157 against him, and a 0.64 WHIP.

The California native threw five innings in frigid Cleveland today and left with a 1-0 lead. He allowed three hits, three walks, and struck out three. Warren came on in the 6th and continued his impressive first month-plus in the big leagues. In a post last week I talked about how he has turned a lot of heads, including my own, after being so solid in the wake of a horrible Spring Training and a poor showing when he got called up for a cup of coffee last year.

Warren's allowed three runs in 18.2 innings, 14 hits, six walks, and has struck out 15. Today's outing lowered his ERA to 1.45 and his WHIP to 1.07. It was his third appearance of three innings or more innings as he continues to give the bullpen a break.

Nuno and Warren had to be spot on due to the Yankees lack of offense. After being shut out in the opener the Yankees managed to score just a single run (on Vernon Wells' RBI ground out) through the first six innings. Then the kiddie corps got it going again in the 7th inning. Corban Joseph, called up only because teams can add a 26th player for a doubleheader, reached on a lead off double. It was Joseph's first Major League hit. Austin Romine followed with a double of his own off start Trevor Bauer to pick up his first Major League RBI. You catching the theme here?

Jayson Nix, Wells, and Lyle Overbay each contributed RBI hits against to break things open against the Indians pen.

It was an especially big win after the Yankees had their four game winning streak snapped in the first game and with the prospect of having to face Felix Hernandez and the Seattle Mariners at Yankee Stadium on Tuesday.

Notes

Wells is 10-26 (.385) over his last seven games with 3 HR and 9 RBI.

Yankees Juggling Roster Like a Street Performer

Brett Marshall now in "The Show"

Monday's doubleheader  with the Cleveland Indians created some roster changes for the Yankees. Second baseman Corban Joseph was recalled with the "26 man" rule - you can add a 26th player to your roster if there's a doubleheader, but the player must get sent back to the minors afterwards.

Since it's an additional player and Joseph was already on the 40-man roster, no corresponding move needed to be made. Joseph played first base to give Lyle Overbay a rest and did a nice job defensively. He started at second base in the second game with Robinson Cano getting a partial game off as DH.

To help the bullpen out, Brett Marshall was called up to be a potential long man for Game 2. The Yankees sent outfielder Brennan Boesch down to Scranton. Of his 96 career minor league appearances Marshall has pitched in relief just twice. The 23-year old was 2-2, 4.60 in six starts this season, his first, at Triple-A Scranton.

Boesch was picked up in Spring Training after he was released by the Detroit Tigers. A good power hitter, Boesch will wildly inconsistent while he played in the Motor City. Boesch had just 41 plate appearances in 19 games and produced just two home runs, five RBI, one double, and one triple. He started just 10 games this season, including the first game of the doubleheader, and produced a .680 OPS.

It's possible that Curtis Granderson, who has swung the bat well in Scranton, could be recalled from his rehab stint (from the broken arm he suffered in Spring Training) to take Boesch's place.

David Phelps pitched his heart out in Monday's opener, a Jason Kipnis home run the only run he allowed in 6.2 innings pitched. The Yankees couldn't muster anything against Indians starter Justin Masterson and were shutout for the third time in May, 1-0. The prior two losses were both 2-0 scores to Oakland and Colorado.

Vidal Nuno made his first Major League start in the Game 2 against Trevor Bauer.

Big Puma Tops Big Surprises | Baseball Digest

Big Puma Tops Big Surprises | Baseball Digest

Every year it seems a light-hitting shortstop powers up in April, a team that isn’t expected to compete comes out like lightning out of the gate, and a journeyman pitcher dominates. But, the biggest surprise this season has been the resurgence of one-time All-Star Lance Berkman, aka “Big Puma”.

Berkman’s numbers had dropped drastically the last couple of years, especially when the switch-hitting first baseman was facing a left-handed pitcher. But Berkman, who has moved back to the outfield with the St. Louis Cardinals, came out swinging this season. He hit .393/.455/.753 in March/April with eight home runs and 22 RBI. Though his numbers are still pedestrian in limited exposure to left-handed pitching, Berkman has absolutely destroyed right-handers to the tune of a 1.352. Berkman kept the pace through the first two games in May with a home run, five RBI and four hits in eight at-bats.

The American League Central division standings are upside down. Favorites Minnesota and Chicago are at the bottom of the division while the Cleveland Indians and Kansas City Royals are 1-2 in the standings. The Tribe rolled out to a 20-8 start, thanks in large part to outstanding starting pitching and effective relief work. One-time Boston prospect Justin Masterson has started 5-0, 2.25, thanks to outstanding control, which has been a major issue for Masterson in the past. Though he walked five batters in one of his wins, he’s allowed just eight walks in his five other starts. Masterson has also allowed less than a hit per inning. The right-hander’s only no-decision came in his last start when he limited the Tigers to two earned runs over seven innings in a game the Indians eventually won.

Masterson’s teammate Josh Tomlin also entered his start Wednesday night with an unbeaten mark (4-0, 2.45). Like Masterson, Tomlin has limited the number of opposing men on base and has a better than 2:1 strikeout to walk ratio. The 26-yr old had shown promise since being selected in the 2006 amateur draft, including a 12 game stint with Cleveland last season. The Indians bullpen, which has allowed 27 earned runs in 79.1 innings pitched, has seen superb seasons from closer Chris Perez (1-1, 2.77, 8 SV), Vinnie Pestano (0.82 ERA) and left-handers Rafael Perez (2-1, 0.00) and Tony Sipp (1-0, 2.08).

Maybe the biggest surprise has been the Indians offense, which has averaged 5.36 runs per game, good for second-best in the American League. The Indians’ lineup has produced a balanced attack and received a boost when Grady Sizemore returned with force after missing the start of the season while recovering from microfracture knee surgery. The centerfielder has busted out a 1.058 OPS with four home runs and nine RBI in 13 games.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, the power-packed Chicago White Sox lineup looks more like a bunch of Punch-and-Judy hitters. It’s the overwhelming reason the White Sox are off to an 11-21 start. Just when things seemed like they were at rock bottom, Chicago was no-hit by Minnesota’s Francisco Liriano this past Tuesday night. Liriano entered the game with a 9.13 ERA and had allowed over 10 hits per nine innings pitched.

Chief among the lack-of-offensive offenders is free agent DH Adam Dunn. The first year AL player is adjusting to a new league and being a full-time DH, but that being said, he entered Wednesday’s play hitting just .157 with three home runs, 12 RBI, and an anemic .582 OPS. He’s not alone though; outside of Paul Konerko (.298-8-24) and Carlos Quentin (.283-6-17), none of the White Sox regulars are hitting. The team is averaging less than four runs per game while the pitching staff has put up a decent 4.37 ERA.

Houston Astros first baseman Brett Wallace has heard the murmurs, “He’s a bust”, and things of that nature. The still just 24-yr old was drafted by the Cardinals with the 13th overall pick in the 2008 draft. He was then dealt to Oakland in July, 2009 as part of the deal that brought Matt Holliday to St. Louis. Eight months later, the A’s dealt Wallace to the Toronto Blue Jays for fellow prospect Michael Taylor, who was part of the Roy Halladay deal. Finally, in July, 2010, Toronto sent Wallace packing to Houston for a “project” minor leaguer in part of a three-way deal that landed Roy Oswalt in Philly.

Wallace showed 20-HR power in the minors and had a career .863 OPS in three minor league seasons. He got a cup of coffee with the Astros last season, but his splits (.222/.296/.319) were nothing to write home about. This season, Wallace was given the chance to prove himself at the Major League level, and so far he’s got everyone taking notice. He has an NL third-best .383 average with a pair of home runs, nine doubles, 10 RBI, 10 walks, and a .990 OPS. The Astros, who are surprisingly fourth in the NL in scoring, have even moved Wallace into the clean up spot. Only time will tell of course if Wallace can do it over the long haul.

A Mark in the Park

Sunday was a great day for the first trip to Yankee Stadium this year (notice I didn't call it the 'new' Yankee Stadium). Good game, at least the last three innings anyway. Perfect weather, good crowd, etc.

For years, we've always parked in the River Ave. garage. That was until last year when we were informed it was for season ticket holders only, much as the garage that was beyond THE Yankee Stadium. Things changed this year though and it's back to being an open lot. A $23 open lot.

"Sir, any money you take out of your wallet will be considered a tip"

Needless to say I forgot that you don't pay as you enter any more. That's a direct quote from the parking lot attendant. You get a ticket, which at some point you insert into a machine in the lot to pay. I also forgot that last year we went to the museum after the game so there weren't many people left in the lot. Ugh. A half-hour to exit the lot this year. Very poor system that has been set up by Kinney or whomever owns the lots now.

Seats were section 420c, upper tier, a little to the left of home plate. Very good viewing.

As for the game itself, great game by A.J. Burnett. It really helped out the bullpen with an eight inning stint. He nearly came out on the short end though as the Yankees bats were silenced by Justin Masterson, who entered the game without a win. There weren't many good at bats leading up to the 7th, when the Yankees finally broke through.

Derek Jeter, whose error led to two insurance runs for a 3-0 hole, singled in a pair to cut the deficit to one.

Curtis Granderson doubled off lefty reliever Tony Sipp. That brought up Mark Teixeira, who has been swinging the bat better of late, but still not coming up with hits in clutch situations.

Let's go back to Saturday's game for a moment. Paul O'Neill, doing color commentary for YES, talk about Tex's struggles. O'Neill talked about how you tend to press. Before you know it, you're down 0-2 and you press even more. Back to Sunday.

Tex quickly fell behind 0-2 and O'Neill's words echoed in my head. But Tex worked the count back to 2-2 and then crushed a pitch deep to left for a go-ahead 3-run home run. The 250th career home run of Tex's career.

The Yankees added two more insurance runs in the 8th and then it was an easy 1-2-3 9th for Mariano Rivera, though he nearly didn't come out of it unscathed. Mo broke yet another bat, but this time the bat tried to get revenge. Luis Valbuena hit a comebacker and his broken bat was neck and neck with the ball. Basically in one motion Mo hopped over the bat and knocked the ball down with his glove. Calmly picked the ball up and threw to first to end the game. There's no one better.

Oh, one final note. The people who make up the nachos (this is just from witnessing, not eating them) - the food should look better going in then coming out. That is all.

Big Day for White and Red Sox

The Boston Red Sox weren't able to land Doc Halladay, but they did shore up their lineup with the acquisition of Cleveland catcher/1st baseman Victor Martinez. V-Mart came, in my opinion, for a song. The Indians received pitchers Justin Masterson, Nick Hagadone, and Bryan Price.

Red Sox GM Theo Epstein must have held a gun to the head of Indians GM Mark Shapiro to get away with this deal. Boston held on to Clay Buchholz, Daniel Bard, and Michael Bowden. There's no way Epstein felt any pain in making this deal. Masterson is nothing special. Price is from Rice, a school with a reputation with good, but injury prone, pitchers.


The Chicago White Sox countered Detroit's acquisition of Jarrod Washburn by finally acquiring Jake Peavy from the San Diego Padres. Peavy had balked at earlier attempts to go to Chi-town, but this time went along with the move that brought pitchers Clayton Richard, Aaron Peroda, Dexter Carter, and Adam Russell.

The White Sox are taking a gamble that Peavy can pitch in the AL, but giving up 4 prospects isn't a bad thing, especially when one is the soft tossing Richard. It would be no surprise if he had success in the NL, but it's not likely he would have had long term success in the AL.

Fenway Flashback

April 19, 2007...the Yankees are down 6-2 with 2 outs in the bottom of the 9th against the Cleveland Indians. Josh Phelps hits a solo home run to ignite a 6 run rally, climaxed when Alex Rodriguez hits a walk-off 3-run home run off of Joe Borowski to give the Yankees an8-6 win. The victory extends the Yankees winning streak to three games and raises their record to 9-6 as they head to Fenway Park for a 3-game series with the Red Sox.

Final scores in Fenway - 7-6, 7-5, 7-6 - all in favor of the Red Sox, who raise their record to 12-5. Mariano Rivera blows game one.

Flast forward - April 22, 2009 - the Yankees complete a three game sweep of the A's with a drawn out 14 inning affair that ends with a Melky Cabrera 2-run walk-off home run. The Yankees head to Fenway with a 9-6 record.

Final scores in Fenway - 5-4, 16-11, 4-1 - all in favor of the Red Sox, who raise their record to 12-6. Mariano Rivera blows game one.

Hopefully, that's where the similarities end since the '07 Red Sox won the World Series.

Last night's 4-1, ho hum loss was much different than the first two games. The Yankees didn't even show up for this one, at least not with their bats. They managed just 7 hits off four pitchers, including two who had basically no major league experience between them.

Just as they had in the first two games of the series, the Yankees struck first. Hideki Matsui singled to start the third inning and later came home on a Brett Gardner sac fly. A pair of Angel Berroa errors lead to the tying run in the bottom of the inning and the Red Sox put the game away in the fifth.

Andy Pettitte walked Jason Varitek and Jacoby Ellsbury, but with two outs and the slumping David Ortiz up, Pettitte still had a chance to get out of the inning. But Ortiz sliced a ball into the left field corner that plated Varitek and moved Ellsbury third.

The Yankees wisely chose to intentionally walk Kevin Youkilis and pitch to the left-handed hitting J.D. Drew. But before Pettitte knew what hit him, Ellsbury took advantage of Pettitte pitching from the wind up and broke for home. He slid in easily ahead of Pettitte's throw to Jorge Posada for a steal of home and a 3-1 lead. Drew then added to the misery with an RBI double.

The Yankees failure to deliver in the clutch has reached epidemic proportions the last few seasons. Last night was no different. With two on and two out in the fourth, Justin Masterson struck out Melky Cabrera to end then inning. The Yankees put two more aboard in the six with just one out, but that household name, Hunter Jones, retired Matsui on a line out and also struck out Cabrera.

With Jonathan Papelbon unavailable, Takashi Saito came on in the ninth inning for the save, allowing just a two out single to Cabrera before retiring pinch-hitter Johnny Damon to end the game.


Game Notes

Mark Melancon made an impressive major league debut last night. He retired Ellsbury, Dustin Pedroia, and Ortiz in order in the seventh, and got out of a bases loaded, no out jam in the eighth.

Johnny Damon was banged up from his collision with the Green Monster on Saturday. He's expected to start tonight in Detroit.

		Final		1		2		3		4		5		6		7		8		9		R		H		E
		NY Yankees	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	7	2
		Boston	0	0	1	0	3	0	0	0	X	4	7	1
WP: J. Masterson (2-0) S: T. Saito (2) LP: A. Pettitte (2-1)

Bananas for a Split

Pardon the bad pun. We're back after a little R & R, which in this case stands for lazy & listless. Okay, so they aren't "R" words, but who cares. Just needed a little time away from the blogosphere. But boy do we have a lot to talk about now.

Let's start off with the Yankees-Red Sox games of the last 2 days. A remarkable set of games that enabled the Yankees to split the 4-game series. And it was a HUGE split after losing those first two.

We'll work our way backwards starting with last night. Yankees got jump started in the 2nd inning when Alex Rodriguez took Sox starter Tim Wakefield deep for a 1-0 Yankees lead. It was home run number 536, tying Mickey Mantle for 13th place on the all-time home run list. The fans went crazy, even Madonna, who shall be known as Mad-Rod from this day forward.

The Red Sox countered with 3 off Joba Chamberlain in the 5th inning. The little gnat Dustin Pedroia delivering a 2-run single to put Boston ahead. We don't often (as in never) agree with Joe Morgan, but he hit the nail on the head last night. With the game tied 1-1, two and two out, Chamberlain had a full count against Jacoby Ellsbury. He twice shook off Jose Molina, who wanted him to throw a fastball. Instead Chamberlain threw a breaking pitch for ball four and one of the hottest hitters in baseball, Pedroia, had an ideal hitting situation. Chamberlain is way too inexperienced to be shaking off a veteran like Molina. That last part is our theory not Morgan's, but we'd bet he'd agree.

The teams exchanged runs, which put the Yankees down 4-2 entering the 7th inning. A-Rod led off with a single and one out later, Jorge Posada singled off reliever Javier Lopez. That brought up Robinson Cano, who hit ripped one to right. The ball kicked around a bit allowing both runners to score and Cano to pull into third with a game tying triple.

We take issue a bit here with Joe Girardi here for not having Melky Cabrera try to squeeze home Cano. Melky's swung the bat better the last few games, but he's still nowhere close to firing on all cylinders. Melky put the ball on the ground and Cano, running on contact, was easily out at the plate. Molina then struck out to end the inning.

Mariano Rivera walked the tight rope in Saturday's save- more on that later- but was back on target last night. He did have to face Manny Ramirez in the 9th with two out and the go ahead run on 3rd base, but Manny never took the bat off his shoulder, looking at three straight called strikes. Mo mowed them down in the 10th and then it was the Yankees turn to face the Sox closer.

Jon Papelbon has been good, but not as good as last year. Cano took him back up the middle for a lead off single and Melky laid down a perfect sac bunt. Papelbon blew fastballs easily past Wilson Betemit for the 2nd out, but then got into a battle with rookie Brett Gardner. The kid finally hit one back up the middle, just off the glove of a diving Julio Lugo and past Pedroia, who was backing up on the play. Cano raced home with the winning run and the Yankees had themselves a mighty fine win.


Back to Saturday's chaos. A magnificent performance from Mike Mussina, who was screwed out of an All-Star selection, but more on that later. He was great once again, throwing six shutout innings, allowing 4 hits, one walk, and striking out 5.


The Yankees had scored in the 2nd on an RBI single by Melky Cabrera and a sac fly in the 6th by Brett Gardner (not a bad weekend for him). Jose Veras and Kyle Farnsworth pitched a stellar inning each, which brought things to the 9th and Mariano Rivera. And that's when things got a little crazy.

J.D. Drew started the 9th with a single back up the middle. Rivera then hit Manny Ramirez, and just that quickly, Boston had the tying men on base. Mike Lowell poked a single to right to cut the lead in half, with pinch-runner Brandon Moss stopping at 2nd base. Mo then hit Kevin Youkilis, which nearly caused us to spit our shrimp francese across the restaurant (made sure to get a seat with a view of the bar TV), to load the bases with no one out.

"Moose doesn't deserve not to win this" played over and over in our minds. But then Mo went back to being Mo. Coco Crisp took a weak hack and struck out. Jason Varitek, AL All-Star, yeah we'll get back to that later too, popped up to first. So it came down to Julio Lugo and he was no match for "The Great Ree-Vare-uh", as John Miller likes to say. Strike 3, ball game over, Yankees win...yeah, you know the drill.

Bananas for a Split

Pardon the bad pun. We're back after a little R & R, which in this case stands for lazy & listless. Okay, so they aren't "R" words, but who cares. Just needed a little time away from the blogosphere. But boy do we have a lot to talk about now.

Let's start off with the Yankees-Red Sox games of the last 2 days. A remarkable set of games that enabled the Yankees to split the 4-game series. And it was a HUGE split after losing those first two.

We'll work our way backwards starting with last night. Yankees got jump started in the 2nd inning when Alex Rodriguez took Sox starter Tim Wakefield deep for a 1-0 Yankees lead. It was home run number 536, tying Mickey Mantle for 13th place on the all-time home run list. The fans went crazy, even Madonna, who shall be known as Mad-Rod from this day forward.

The Red Sox countered with 3 off Joba Chamberlain in the 5th inning. The little gnat Dustin Pedroia delivering a 2-run single to put Boston ahead. We don't often (as in never) agree with Joe Morgan, but he hit the nail on the head last night. With the game tied 1-1, two and two out, Chamberlain had a full count against Jacoby Ellsbury. He twice shook off Jose Molina, who wanted him to throw a fastball. Instead Chamberlain threw a breaking pitch for ball four and one of the hottest hitters in baseball, Pedroia, had an ideal hitting situation. Chamberlain is way too inexperienced to be shaking off a veteran like Molina. That last part is our theory not Morgan's, but we'd bet he'd agree.

The teams exchanged runs, which put the Yankees down 4-2 entering the 7th inning. A-Rod led off with a single and one out later, Jorge Posada singled off reliever Javier Lopez. That brought up Robinson Cano, who hit ripped one to right. The ball kicked around a bit allowing both runners to score and Cano to pull into third with a game tying triple.

We take issue a bit here with Joe Girardi here for not having Melky Cabrera try to squeeze home Cano. Melky's swung the bat better the last few games, but he's still nowhere close to firing on all cylinders. Melky put the ball on the ground and Cano, running on contact, was easily out at the plate. Molina then struck out to end the inning.

Mariano Rivera walked the tight rope in Saturday's save- more on that later- but was back on target last night. He did have to face Manny Ramirez in the 9th with two out and the go ahead run on 3rd base, but Manny never took the bat off his shoulder, looking at three straight called strikes. Mo mowed them down in the 10th and then it was the Yankees turn to face the Sox closer.

Jon Papelbon has been good, but not as good as last year. Cano took him back up the middle for a lead off single and Melky laid down a perfect sac bunt. Papelbon blew fastballs easily past Wilson Betemit for the 2nd out, but then got into a battle with rookie Brett Gardner. The kid finally hit one back up the middle, just off the glove of a diving Julio Lugo and past Pedroia, who was backing up on the play. Cano raced home with the winning run and the Yankees had themselves a mighty fine win.


Back to Saturday's chaos. A magnificent performance from Mike Mussina, who was screwed out of an All-Star selection, but more on that later. He was great once again, throwing six shutout innings, allowing 4 hits, one walk, and striking out 5.


The Yankees had scored in the 2nd on an RBI single by Melky Cabrera and a sac fly in the 6th by Brett Gardner (not a bad weekend for him). Jose Veras and Kyle Farnsworth pitched a stellar inning each, which brought things to the 9th and Mariano Rivera. And that's when things got a little crazy.

J.D. Drew started the 9th with a single back up the middle. Rivera then hit Manny Ramirez, and just that quickly, Boston had the tying men on base. Mike Lowell poked a single to right to cut the lead in half, with pinch-runner Brandon Moss stopping at 2nd base. Mo then hit Kevin Youkilis, which nearly caused us to spit our shrimp francese across the restaurant (made sure to get a seat with a view of the bar TV), to load the bases with no one out.

"Moose doesn't deserve not to win this" played over and over in our minds. But then Mo went back to being Mo. Coco Crisp took a weak hack and struck out. Jason Varitek, AL All-Star, yeah we'll get back to that later too, popped up to first. So it came down to Julio Lugo and he was no match for "The Great Ree-Vare-uh", as John Miller likes to say. Strike 3, ball game over, Yankees win...yeah, you know the drill.

Minor League Recap - 5/29

Kei Igawa gave up 2 runs over 7.2 innings in Scranton's 9-4 win over the Pawtucket Red Sox last night. Igawa didn't walk a batter and struck out 4. Alberto Gonzalez made a triumphant return to the Yankees lineup with 3 hits and 4 RBI. Cody Ransom also belted a 3-run home run to help Scranton beat the PawSox for the 2nd straight night. The finale of the 4-game series is tonight with prospects Dan McCutchen and Justin Masterson squaring off.

Trenton lost their 3rd straight to the New Hampshire Fisher Cats, 5-4, in 11 innings. Eric Hacker allowed 1 earned run in 4 innings, striking out 7, before leaving after 80 pitches. Don't know if he's on a pitch count or not, but we've asked beat writer Mike Ashmore if he knows. Ramiro Pena lead the Thunder offense with 2 RBI.

The Tampa Yankees were below normal, well they were 2-hit over 7 innings by Duane Below of the Lakeland Flying Tigers in a 4-0 loss. Mike Dunn pitched a decent 5 innings, but Kevin Whelan allowed 2 runs in his 2 innings of relief. Mitch Hilligoss and Jose Gil had the lone Yankees hits.

The Charleston RiverDogs had the night off, but start a 3-game series at home tonight with the Hickory Crawdads.


Eric Hacker photo courtesy of Mike Ashmore.

Minor League Recap - 5/29

Kei Igawa gave up 2 runs over 7.2 innings in Scranton's 9-4 win over the Pawtucket Red Sox last night. Igawa didn't walk a batter and struck out 4. Alberto Gonzalez made a triumphant return to the Yankees lineup with 3 hits and 4 RBI. Cody Ransom also belted a 3-run home run to help Scranton beat the PawSox for the 2nd straight night. The finale of the 4-game series is tonight with prospects Dan McCutchen and Justin Masterson squaring off.

Trenton lost their 3rd straight to the New Hampshire Fisher Cats, 5-4, in 11 innings. Eric Hacker allowed 1 earned run in 4 innings, striking out 7, before leaving after 80 pitches. Don't know if he's on a pitch count or not, but we've asked beat writer Mike Ashmore if he knows. Ramiro Pena lead the Thunder offense with 2 RBI.

The Tampa Yankees were below normal, well they were 2-hit over 7 innings by Duane Below of the Lakeland Flying Tigers in a 4-0 loss. Mike Dunn pitched a decent 5 innings, but Kevin Whelan allowed 2 runs in his 2 innings of relief. Mitch Hilligoss and Jose Gil had the lone Yankees hits.

The Charleston RiverDogs had the night off, but start a 3-game series at home tonight with the Hickory Crawdads.


Eric Hacker photo courtesy of Mike Ashmore.

Around the Horn - 4/25

Two of the most promising young pitchers hooked up at Petco Park last night. The Giants sent second year man Tim Lincecum to the hill against the Padres big man, 6'10", Chris Young. Young allowed 1 run on 2 hits, and struck out 10 in his 7 innings...and lost the game.

Rich Aurilia, who seems like he's 400 years old, hit his first home run of the season for the game's line run. Lincecum's line - 6.1 IP 4 H 5 BB 9 K- earned him the win.

Chipper Jones, "Wally" to those out at Shea, celebrated his 36th birthday with his 393rd career home run and went 3-3. The Braves beat the Marlins 7-4 as the chipper feeling Jones raised his average to .442.

Troy Tulowitzki's fielder's choice and Ryan Spilborghs singled plated a pair of runs in the 8th to give the Rockies a 4-2 win over the Cubs.

Lance Berkman went 3-3 with a home run and 3 RBI in the Astros 5-3 win over the Reds. Rookie phenom Johnny Cueto gave up all 5 runs in 7 innings.

The Mets lead the Nationals 3-0, but starter Oliver Perez and the bullpen faltered, and the Nats pulled out a 10-5 win. Aaron Heilmann continued his horrid pitching, serving up a grand slam to Felipe Lopez who drove in 6 on the day.

Conor Jackson and Jeff Salazar drove in 2 runs each to pace the Diamondbacks past the Dodgers 6-4.

Pat Burrell's 2-run double in the 8th snapped a 1-1 tie and the Phillies held on against the Brewers, 3-1. Jamie Moyer and Jeff Suppan both pitched well in gaining no-decisions.

Brian Barton drove in 2 runs and Joel Pineiro picked up his first win in the Cardinals 6-2 win against the Pirates.

Eric Hinske drove in 2 runs to back a strong outing from Andy Sonnanstine in the Rays 5-3 win over the Blue Jays. Toronto starter Dustin McGowan walked 7 hitters in just 4 innings.

The Orioles rallied from a 5-0 deficit to beat the Mariners 8-7. Former 'M', Adam Jones drove in 3 runs including the game winner. George Sherrill picked up the save, his 5th against his former team this season (out of 8 total).

The Indians swept the Royals in a doubleheader, 9-6 and 2-0. Grady Sizemore had 4 hits including a home run and Fausto Carmona was shaky but earned his 3rd win. In the nightcap, Cliff Lee threw a complete game shutout to raise his record to 4-0 and lower his ERA to a mind boggling 0.28.

The Angels came back from a 3-0 deficit to beat the Rex Sox 7-5. The Angels couldn't solve rookie emergency starter Justin Masterson, but they had the number of the Sox pen. Gary Matthews Jr. enjoyed a 3-hit, 3 RBI afternoon.

The Tigers rolled over the Rangers again, this time by an 8-2 margin. Magglio Ordonez hit two of the five Tigers home runs on the day. Detroit outscored the Rangers in the three game series, 37-10. Jim Leyland has to be concerned about Jeremy Bonderman, who was removed one out shy of being eligible for the win. He'd already thrown 110 pitches and walked 7.

Donnie Murphy hit his first two home runs of the year and knocked in 4 as the A's steamrolled the Twins 11-2. Twins starter Francisco Liriano only retired 2 hitters, allowing 6 runs, 5 hits, and 3 walks. He's probably ticketed for a return to the minors.

Around the Horn - 4/25

Two of the most promising young pitchers hooked up at Petco Park last night. The Giants sent second year man Tim Lincecum to the hill against the Padres big man, 6'10", Chris Young. Young allowed 1 run on 2 hits, and struck out 10 in his 7 innings...and lost the game.

Rich Aurilia, who seems like he's 400 years old, hit his first home run of the season for the game's line run. Lincecum's line - 6.1 IP 4 H 5 BB 9 K- earned him the win.

Chipper Jones, "Wally" to those out at Shea, celebrated his 36th birthday with his 393rd career home run and went 3-3. The Braves beat the Marlins 7-4 as the chipper feeling Jones raised his average to .442.

Troy Tulowitzki's fielder's choice and Ryan Spilborghs singled plated a pair of runs in the 8th to give the Rockies a 4-2 win over the Cubs.

Lance Berkman went 3-3 with a home run and 3 RBI in the Astros 5-3 win over the Reds. Rookie phenom Johnny Cueto gave up all 5 runs in 7 innings.

The Mets lead the Nationals 3-0, but starter Oliver Perez and the bullpen faltered, and the Nats pulled out a 10-5 win. Aaron Heilmann continued his horrid pitching, serving up a grand slam to Felipe Lopez who drove in 6 on the day.

Conor Jackson and Jeff Salazar drove in 2 runs each to pace the Diamondbacks past the Dodgers 6-4.

Pat Burrell's 2-run double in the 8th snapped a 1-1 tie and the Phillies held on against the Brewers, 3-1. Jamie Moyer and Jeff Suppan both pitched well in gaining no-decisions.

Brian Barton drove in 2 runs and Joel Pineiro picked up his first win in the Cardinals 6-2 win against the Pirates.

Eric Hinske drove in 2 runs to back a strong outing from Andy Sonnanstine in the Rays 5-3 win over the Blue Jays. Toronto starter Dustin McGowan walked 7 hitters in just 4 innings.

The Orioles rallied from a 5-0 deficit to beat the Mariners 8-7. Former 'M', Adam Jones drove in 3 runs including the game winner. George Sherrill picked up the save, his 5th against his former team this season (out of 8 total).

The Indians swept the Royals in a doubleheader, 9-6 and 2-0. Grady Sizemore had 4 hits including a home run and Fausto Carmona was shaky but earned his 3rd win. In the nightcap, Cliff Lee threw a complete game shutout to raise his record to 4-0 and lower his ERA to a mind boggling 0.28.

The Angels came back from a 3-0 deficit to beat the Rex Sox 7-5. The Angels couldn't solve rookie emergency starter Justin Masterson, but they had the number of the Sox pen. Gary Matthews Jr. enjoyed a 3-hit, 3 RBI afternoon.

The Tigers rolled over the Rangers again, this time by an 8-2 margin. Magglio Ordonez hit two of the five Tigers home runs on the day. Detroit outscored the Rangers in the three game series, 37-10. Jim Leyland has to be concerned about Jeremy Bonderman, who was removed one out shy of being eligible for the win. He'd already thrown 110 pitches and walked 7.

Donnie Murphy hit his first two home runs of the year and knocked in 4 as the A's steamrolled the Twins 11-2. Twins starter Francisco Liriano only retired 2 hitters, allowing 6 runs, 5 hits, and 3 walks. He's probably ticketed for a return to the minors.