Jeter 251, Nettles 68

Monday night was another night for Derek Jeter to move up the charts in the record books. A shoddy performance by Freddy Garcia and the bullpen overshadowed Jeter's 4-hit night.

Among those four hits was career home run #251; that enabled the Yankees' captain to pass Graig Nettles for sole possession of 9th place on the all-time franchise home run list. It was inevitable, but it was a very nice way for Nettles to celebrate his 68th birthday.(How the hell is Graig Nettles 68?!)

If you never got the chance to see Nettles play 3rd base, you really missed out. One of the best glove men in the business, Nettles performance in back to back World Series wins ('77-'78) against the LA Dodgers was 

truly remarkable.

Jeter's quad gave him 3,255 career base hits to tie him with Eddie Murray for 12th place in MLB history. Up next on the hit parade is Willie Mays with 3,283.

How Not To Spend Your Time on the DL

Michael Pineda had to field questions about his maturity during Spring Training earlier this year. He showed up out of shape and  it was thought at first that was the reason he had diminished velocity on his fastball. Since the Yankees dealt top prospect Jesus Montero for him, that didn't go over too well with the fans.

As it turned out Pineda needed shoulder surgery and his season was lost. But apparently the maturity issue remains out there. Pineda got busted for DUI  at 3 in the morning Monday down in Tampa and was released on $500 bail.

Not the way to make a second impression.

The Captain Adds to His Record Book

With one swing in Friday night's game against the Boston Red Sox, Derek Jeter added a couple of more achievements to his storied career.

That swing resulted in a home run into the left field seats, the 250th such hit in the Yankee captain's career. That gave the Yankees 10 players with a minimum of 10 home runs this season. The last time the Yankees accomplished that feat? Yup, Jeter was there too...the 1998 Yankees were quite prodigious with the long ball as well.

Besides Jeter, there was Tino Martinez, Bernie Williams, Scott Brosius, Paul O'Neill, Shane Spencer, Darryl Strawberry, Jorge Posada, Chuck Knoblauch, and Chad Curtis on the '98 team.

This years squad is comprised of Jeter, Nick Swisher, who went deep twice Friday night, Curtis Granderson, who also hit one out against Boston, Alex Rodriguez, Raul Ibanez, Eric Chavez, Robinson Cano, Andruw Jones, Mark Teixeira, and Russell Martin.

Jeter also became the 5th players in MLB history with 3,000 hits, 250 home runs, and 250 stolen bases. He joined Willie Mays (the only other player with at least 1,200 RBI), Rickey Henderson, Craig Biggio, and Robin Yount on that short list. Seven more hits of any kind will put Jeter in a tie with Eddie Murray for 7th place in the MLB career hit list with 3,255.

As for as team records go, Jeter also tied third baseman Graig Nettles for 10th place on the all-time franchise home run list. He sits 25 back of his good buddy Jorge Posada, who turned 41 yesterday, for 9th place. Jeter is also approaching Bernie Williams for 6th place all-time in RBI (21 to go) and Willie Randolph for 7th place in sac flies (one more).

Another day, another addition to Derek Jeter's Hall of Fame credentials.

YCN: 10 Greatest Yankees That Were Former Red Sox

This weekend's Yankees-Red Sox series doesn't quite have the oomph of many of their previous encounters. Clearly, Boston is a team in disarray at the moment. But Yankees fans do have to be thankful to the Red Sox for some of their former players- Johnny Damon, Roger Clemens, and Wade Boggs to name just a few.

For my latest feature for the Yahoo Contributor Network, I decided it was time to count down the 10 greatest Yankees that were former Red Sox. And no, Alan Embree is not on the list.

Click here to read the feature, and thanks as always for doing so.

Pfen Pfail

Just about everyone has had it happen to them at least once. Dress shirt on, pen in the pocket. The next thing you know you've got a giant ink stain on your shirt. Thursday afternoon's performance by the Yankees bullpen was the baseball equivalent of said scenario.

The Yankees had a legitimate shot to pull off an unthinkable four game series sweep of the Texas Rangers, but the Yankees relievers couldn't get it done. The Yankees had rallied from a 4-0 deficit to put five on the board in the bottom of the 6th against Rangers' starter Derek Holland, but Texas quickly wrested control back in the top of the 7th.

Yankees starter Ivan Nova had departed after 5.2 innings and four earned runs allowed, unable to build off of his 10 strikeout win against the Toronto Blue Jays five days ago. Boone Logan took his first loss in five decisions after he allowed an inherited runner to score and gave up the lead on an RBI double by David Murphy.

Joba Chamberlain continued to struggle since his return from the disabled list on August 1. He came on after Logan and struck out Geovany Soto for the second out of the inning, but then allowed a back breaking 2-run single to Chris Gentry for a 7-5 Texas lead. The Yankees got one back in the  bottom of the inning, but Texas put the game away with three more runs charged to Chamberlain and Clay Rapada for a 10-6 final.

While it would have been nice to pull off a four game sweep against one of the toughest lineups in all of baseball, the Yankees have to be happy having taken three out of four. Especially with David Phelps and Freddy Garcia having started two of the four games.

Notes

The Yankees five run 6th was highlighted by Andruw Jones' game tying 2-run home run. The Yankees then took the lead when Casey McGehee reached on error and came home on Russell Martin's RBI single.

Oh Leche

I first started following Melky Cabrera's career when he was playing 'A' ball in the New York Yankees farm system. The kid looked like he had talent based on the numbers he produced. The Dominican born Melky put up 8 home runs and 67 RBI in 2004 for Battle Creek and Tampa.

He worked his way up the chain and got a cup of (spilled) coffee in the Majors in 2005. He was clearly over matched at the plate and field, but was back in the Majors as a regular a year later. His best year came in 2009 when he contributed to the Yankees' 27th title with career highs in home runs (13) and RBI (68). But there was always talk of Cabrera being a bit portly and out of shape. It had actually contributed to his demotion to Triple-A during the 2008 season.

Cabrera has had his ups and downs since then - released by the Atlanta Braves during the 2010 season, a career resurrection with the KC Royals in 2011 and an MVP type season this year with the San Francisco.  But Wednesday, the fit hit the shan.

A 50 game suspension handed down by Major League Baseball after it was revealed that Cabrera had tested positive for testosterone. Cabrera at least came clean, no pun intended, about the failed test.

"My positive test was the result of my use of a substance I should not have used," Cabrera said in a statement released by the union. "I accept my suspension under the Joint Drug Program and I will try to move on with my life. I am deeply sorry for my mistake and I apologize to my teammates, to the San Francisco Giants organization and to the fans for letting them down." (quote courtesy of espn.com)

Cabrera had won this year' All-Star game MVP Award in his first appearance. His big night out included a solo home run. The Melk Man, who grew a cult following in NY, was hitting a career high .346 at the time of the suspension, which will wipe out the rest of the regular season. Cabrera would also miss the beginning of any post-season series.

It's especially disappointing when you think a guy turned his career around by doing the work, getting in shape, and really working at his craft. But now Melky's career will always be tainted and his chances for a big time contract after this season just went down the tubes. Of course, the only reason he may have had that opportunity was due to performance enhancing drugs. Another likable player's reputation bites the dust.

For more on the story, I recommend reading Tyler Kepner's excellent piece in the NY Times.

My My My Kuroda, Has the Knack for Pitching

There was plenty of concern from fans this past off-season when the Yankees signed Hiroki Kuroda to a one year free agent contract. Fans questioned the idea of signing a National League pitcher to throw in the highly competitive AL East. Those feelings of disappointment only got worse when Kuroda got clobbered by the Tampa Bay Rays in his regular season debut. But no ones belly aching now.

Kuroda was as good as it gets Tuesday in tossing a complete game 2-hit shutout against the dangerous Texas Rangers. For the second straight night Nick Swisher delivered the big hit, this time a 2-run home run in the 7th , to ignite a 3-0 Yankees victory. The win guaranteed the Yankees no worse than a split of the four game series.

Matt Harrison wasn't nearly as sharp as Kuroda, but he managed to put goose eggs up on the board through the first six innings. Manager Ron Washington pulled his lefty starter after Derek Jeter reached with a one out single in the 7th. Hard throwing right-hander Alexi Ogando came on to face Swisher, who turned around to bat from the left side. A great battle ensued that ended when Swisher turned on the 8th pitch of the sequence, a 98-mph fastball, and put it in the seats for a 2-0 lead. It was Swisher's grand slam that turned the tide in Monday's series opening victory.

One thing that baseball has proven time and time again is that it doesn't matter how hard you throw if your ball doesn't move. Ogando found that out four pitches later, when Mark Teixeira ripped a line drive off a 99-mph fastball into the seats for a 3-0 Yankees' advantage.

Then it was time to watch Kuroda work the final two innings. He had spun a no-no through six innings and had the crowd and YES announcers buzzin. Those at home sat up a little straighter and moved closer to the edge of their leather couch. Not that I am speaking from experience or, um, anything. Rangers' shortstop  Elvis Andrus broke things up when he hit a slow bouncer back up the middle to start the 7th. Yankees' shortstop Jayson Nix made a diving stop, but his throw was not nearly in time or accurate.

Andrus eventually made it to third base with two down, but Kuroda got Nelson Cruz to ground out to end the inning. Mike Young led off the 8th with the Rangers only other hit, but Kuroda induced a 4-6-3 double play off the bat of David Murphy to quickly erase Young from the base paths. The outs were two of the 17 that Kuroda got via a ground ball. He also struck out five and picked up his second complete game shutout of the season, though his prior shutout was a rain-shortened seven inning affair against Toronto back in July.

In fact, it was just the fourth career complete game and shutout of the Japanese veteran's five year career in the US. It was the Yankees first complete game shutout since CC Sabathia tossed one against the Rays on July 10, 2011.

Good Evening Mr. Phelps

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to shut down the Texas Rangers through five innings. If you or any member of your team fail in this mission, the fans will NOT disavow any knowledge of your actions. In fact they may boo. This tape will self destruct in five seconds.

Mission Not Impossible

David Phelps gave the agency, er, Joe Girardi exactly what he needed - five innings of solid baseball, keeping his team in the game against one of the toughest lineups in all of baseball. Phelps allowed single runs in each of the first two innings, including a solo home run by David Murphy, but put three zeros on the board as the Yankees took the lead and went on to an 8-2 win.

The newest Yankee, Derek Lowe, than came out of the pen to throw four scoreless innings to earn a save in his Bronx debut.  Texas Rangers starter Ryan Dempster was making his third start since being acquired at the trade deadline from the Chicago Cubs. Dempster's first time out was a rocky one as the Los Angeles Angels battered him, but Dempster bounced back with a win over the Boston Red Sox his last time out. Monday's game resembled his Texas debut as the Yankees hammered him for eight runs and nine hits in six innings.

The Yankees loaded the bases in the bottom of the third behind singles by Russell Martin and Raul Ibanez, a sac bunt by Ichiro Suzuki, and a walk to Derek Jeter. Nick Swisher then ripped a Dempster delivery into the second deck in right field for a grand slam and a 4-2 Yankees lead. It was the 200th home run of Swisher's career.

The Yankees loaded the bases again in the inning on Robinson Cano's walk and back to back singles by Mark Teixeira and Eric Chavez. Curtis Granderson brought home the fifth run of the inning with a deep fly to center field.

Phelps helped himself out with a pair of pick offs in the early going. He hit Ian Kinsler with a pitch with two out in the 2nd inning, but caught the second baseman before he could return to first safely with a quick toss to Teixeira to end the inning. The Rangers had a chance to break the game open in the 3rd on singles by Elvis Andrus and Adrian Beltre, but Phelps picked Andrus off second base to kill the rally.

The Yankees tacked on runs in the 6th (solo home run by Chavez) and 7th innings (triple by Ichiro followed by a Jeter double, and an RBI single by Swisher). If Lowe was at all nervous he certainly didn't show it in his performance. The 16-year veteran allowed just two hits, didn't walk a batter, and struck out four.

Notes

Mariano Rivera was at the Stadium to throw from flat ground. The Yankees still insist there's no way Mo will return this season.

Swisher's slam gave the Yankees a Major League leading nine for the season.

Derek Jeter extended his hitting streak to nine games; he's hitting .372 (16-43) during the stretch.

Chavez's home run was his 13th of the season and fourth in August. It's his highest season HR total since he hit 15 in 2007 while with the Oakland A's.

Granderson's average dipped to .239, the lowest it's been since mid-April. He also struck out twice more and has 142 on the year. It's already the third highest total of his career.

DJ the Hit Machine

photo courtesy of I4U.com

It's pretty good when you do something well that puts you in the company of just one other person. Derek Jeter joined another elite club this afternoon when he stroked two hits against the Toronto Blue Jays to become the second player with 17 straight seasons of 150 hits or more.

Hall of Fame right fielder Hank Aaron is the only other player to accomplish the feat. Aaron's streak began in    Milwaukee in 1955 and ended in Atlanta with the 1971 season. Hammerin' Hank finished with 3,771 hits in  3,298 games over 23 seasons.

Jeter's second hit of the game, a double to the gap in right-center, plated a runner and gave him exactly 150 hitson the season. 150 hits is not where Jeter generally stop though; in fact the only season that the Yankees shortstop had less than 160 hits was his injury (shoulder) shortened 2003 campaign when he finished with 156. His second lowest output was last year when again he missed significant time due to injury and finished with 162 base knocks.

The Yankees' captain has topped the 200 hit plateau seven times, as recently as 2009 when he hit .334 and the Yankees captured their 27th title. Jeter now has 3,238 hits spread over parts of 18 seasons and needs just four hits to tie Nap Lajoie for 13th place on the all-time hit list.

From the High to the Lowe

The Yankees name always came up whenever Derek Lowe was available. Whether it was when Lowe was a free agent or at the Major League trade deadline.

Though he's had some success - 174 career wins, 21 wins for the Red Sox in 2002 - I've never been enamored of him as a pitcher and was always glad when he or others decided he would not don the Pinstripes.

That all changed today, when Lowe, who was designated for assignment by the Cleveland Indians last week, signed on with the Yankees. Lowe had said he was willing to start or relieve for any team. The Yankees clearly signed Lowe as insurance after CC Sabathia was placed on the 15-day DL Saturday with a sore elbow.

Lowe was in his first season with the Indians after being traded by Atlanta this past off-season. He had signed a four year, $60MM deal with the Braves prior to the 2009 season, but was just 40-39 over the first three years of the deal and lost 17 games in 2011.  Cleveland released him after he had posted an 8-10, 5.52 record in 21 starts.

Lowe was part of one of the best deals the Boston Red Sox ever made when they acquired him and catcher Jason Varitek for reliever Heathcliff Slocumb at the 1997 trade deadline. He was 70-55, 3.72 in eight seasons in Boston, and was a member of the 2004 World Series winners.

He then moved on to the LA Dodgers as a free agent and was part of a high profile divorce when it was learned he was having an affair with Fox Sports' Carolyn Hughes, who was covering the team at the time. The two later married.

Sabathia to the DL; Time to Worry?

Yankees fans didn't get much of a chance to celebrate Saturday afternoon's win over the Toronto Blue Jays, the fourth straight on the road trip, before it was learned that CC Sabathia was put on the DL with left elbow soreness.

You never want to hear about a pitcher, especially your team's ace having an elbow or shoulder issue. Sabathia's elbow started to bother him on August 5, two days after his prior start, but an MRI showed no issues.

The soreness was present after Sabathia's last start as well, a 12-8 win over the Detroit Tigers this past Wednesday. Joe Girardi pulled the big lefty after just 94 pitches and 6.2 innings pitched because of concern over his number one's elbow.

Sabathia was reportedly upset about being placed on the DL and felt he could make his next scheduled start on Monday against the Texas Rangers. The Yankees were not taking any chances with their ace though.

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.

YCN: Ichiro and Other Pinstripe Oddities

The acquisition of Ichiro Suzuki certainly came out of left field, pun very much intended. But seeing Ichiro in the Yankees' uniform is not the oddest I've seen. Think Roger Clemens, Wade Boggs.

That was the theme for a piece I wrote for Yahoo yesterday and you can check it out by clicking here.

Yankees Scratch Their Ich For An Outfielder

Shane Victorino, Denard Span, Justin Upton; those are the names we kept hearing that the Yankees were looking at to bolster their outfield once it was learned Brett Gardner was likely done for the season.

But as we've seen in the past, GM Brian Cashman made a move for a player that no one heard mentioned. Late this afternoon, that player turned out to be Ichiro Suzuki, the multiple All-Star right fielder for the Seattle Mariners.

Suzuki is a free agent after this season, so the cost wasn't all that much- minor league pitchers D.J. Mitchell, who has had a few cups of coffee with the big squad, and Danny Farquhar.  The Yankees will also assume the $2.225MM remaining on  Suzuki's contract.

Suzuki been a nine time All-Star since he signed with the Seattle Mariners before the 2001 season. In his first season alone, Suzuki captured the AL Rookie of the Year and MVP Awards. To date, he's collected 2,533 hits, including a record 262 in 2004. Suzuki topped the 200 hit plateau in the first 10 seasons of his 12 year career. At the moment, the 38-year old is hitting a career low .261 and has posted a career low .642 OPS (His .645 OPS in 2011 was the worst of his career to this point).

Beside being a hitting machine, Suzuki has stolen 438 bases, though he has attempted just 17 this season (with 15 swipes). He stole 40 in 47 attempts last season and has stolen bases at an 83.4% clip in his career.

Suzuki is also known for his prowess in right field, though he will be playing left field for the Yankees (Joe Girardi did mention that Suzuki will play right field on days Nick Swisher DH's or has a day off). He won Gold Gloves in each of the first 10 seasons of his career and has amassed 100 assists, though most base runners will not tempt fate on his cannon of an arm.

Mitchell was the Yankees 10th round pick out of Clemson in 2008. He compiled a 44-24 (.647) record with a 3.56 ERA in 94 minor league appearances, 87 of which were starts. Ironically, Farquhar was a 10th round pick by the Toronto Blue Jays in the same 2008 draft. He's been in the Blue Jays, Oakland A's, and Yankees organization this season. Neither pitcher is considered to have a high ceiling.

Suzuki wore 51 with the Mariners, but the Yankees wisely did not make that number available in honor of Bernie Williams. Suzuki chose to wear #31 and will bat 8th as the Yankees open their series in Seattle Monday evening.