Let The Fun Begin

We’re only at Halloween and a lot has already taken place in Yankeeland. Let’s start from the beginning and work our way forward.


• George Steinbrenner quickly ended the biggest speculation of this off-season by telling Joe Torre he would be back for his 12th season as Yankee’s manager. I think Torre has done a great job while he’s been here, but I also think it was time for a change. Poor decision making in the playoffs since the 2003 World Series should have spelled the end.


• The tragic death of pitcher Corey Lidle on October 11th was a complete stunner to everyone, not just baseball fans. Bud Selig let Mother Nature cancel the Mets-Cards game that night, but he should have done it himself.


• M*A*S*H 4077th – The post-season surgeries began with Randy Johnson having his bad back worked on and Jason Giambi having a torn tendon taken care of in his wrist. Andy Phillips also had his right knee scope. All three are expected to be ready for Spring Training, with Johnson likely behind the other pitchers. Unless of course Carl Pavano is still here.


• The Asshole That Roared – Gary Sheffield may be more reliable than Tommy Henrich was. Of course in Henrich’s case it was referring to his ability to hit in the clutch. Sheffield on the other hand can be counted on to make outrageous statements and demands when his ego isn’t stroked enough. This time it’s because of a hot rumor that the Yankees will pick up Sheffield’s $13 million option for 2007, but only so that they can trade him.

Sheff’s all bent out of shape because he wanted to test the free agent waters and has already been quoted as stating that if he gets dealt on a one-year deal, it’s going to be a problem. Wait a second Sheff. Aren’t you the guy who was ecstatic in Spring Training when you thought the Yankees were going to exercise the option. And then weren’t you the same guy who was pissed because you misunderstood Brian Cashman – and the option was an auto-renewal like you were lead to believe?

Sheffield even went as far as dropping by George Steinbrenner’s place in Tampa. Only King George wasn’t home (though you can picture him peeking from behind a curtain as Sheff throws pebbles up at the window).

Bend over and take it like a man Sheff. Weren’t you the guy who negotiated your contract. Yeah, absolutely. So one more thing Sheff. Shut your fucking hole. You have NO leverage. The Cubs, Phillies, Angels, and Tigers are among the teams that have already shown interest.


• There, There A-Rod – Can we please Kleenex in bulk from Costco? We ask because it’s going to take a whole lot of therapy sessions this off-season so that Alex can come back and play with his teammates next season.

There’s no question that the abuse that A-Rod took this season from the fans went beyond what was called for. A-Rod took the heat for the Yankees failures this season, especially in the playoffs, when he was once again a no-show.

That being said, is this really the same player that won the MVP award in 2005? While he insists he wants to stay, and Brian Cashman insists he is staying, it would probably serve everyone the most if A-Rod went somewhere else. He’s about this close to becoming Nancy-Rod to the fans.


• You Stand Over There – When a manager returns after a poor season or playoff, one of his coaches usually takes a hit. Especially if that manager is working for George Steinbrenner. Though it hasn’t been officially announced, Lee Mazzilli is gone as bench coach for the Bombers and Don Mattingly has been “promoted” to bench coach. Long time minor league hitting instructor Kevin Long will be named to replace Mattingly.

Now we know that there is a push from behind the scenes to make Mattingly the successor to Torre in 2008. However, this move really makes no sense. Mattingly did a very good job as hitting coach and can’t be blamed for the horrendous performance by the Pinstripes in the last 2 playoffs.

Additionally we have no idea if Mattingly can manage and it would have made a lot more sense to make Joe Girardi, who it appears will not be managing this year, the new bench coach and possible successor to Torre. Instead it looks like Girardi’s talents will be wasted in the YES broadcast booth.

Can Kevin Long cut it as a hitting instructor at the Major League level? Especially, with a team full of egos. It’s great that the guy gets the chance, but it would have been greater if it were somewhere else.


• Brian Cashman has his work cut out for him this Winter. It was made crystal clear that this team cannot win on talent alone. The greatest lineup ever assembled couldn’t have beaten the cast of a Broadway musical. The starting pitching needs to be revamped, the bullpen needs to be strengthened, and some heads need to roll (besides Sal Fasano and Nick Green). It should make for a very rumor filled winter.

Jeter, Abreu Tame Tigers

Captain leads the way with 5-5 night.

Derek Jeter was arguably the regular season AL MVP. Last night he put the first exclamation point on the post-season with a 5-5 night that concluded with a home run and an 8-4 Yankees victory over the Detroit Tigers. Jeter wasn't alone though as the vaunted Yankees lineup got a big boost from Bobby Abreu who had 4 RBI in his first post-season game in 9 years as the Yankees. Jason Giambi chipped in as well with a 2-run home run as the Yankees captured the 1st game of their AL Division Series. Chien-Ming Wang was the recipient of the run support, but did his part as well by allowing 3 runs in 6 2-3 innings.

There is no weak spot in the Yankees starting lineup and Tiger's starter Nate Robertson quickly learned that. After throwing 2 scoreless innings and facing each batter in the order, Robertson ran into a roadblock in the 3rd. It started innocently enough when Johnny Damon's little dribbler eluded a stumbling Robertson for a lead off single. Jeter followed with his 2nd hit, a double to center to put two runners in scoring position for Abreu. The last time Abreu appeared in the playoffs he had gone hitless in 3 at-bats for the Houston Astros in the 1997 playoffs. Abreu grounded out his 1st time, but picked up his 1st career post-season hit when a slapped a Robertson delivery into the gap in right-center for a 2-run double. Gary Sheffield followed with a line single to right-center for a 3-0 lead and Jason Giambi capped the inning with a towering 2-run HR.

Wang ran into his only real trouble of the night in the 5th. Craig Monroe took him deep for his first post-season home run. Placido Polanco and Sean Casey delivered two-out, run scoring doubles and all of a sudden the Tigers were back in the ball game at 5-3. Magglio Ordonez represented the tying run, but Wang struck him out on a hard sinker to escape further trouble.

The Yankees added some much needed insurance in the 6th and once again Jeter and Abreu were right in the middle of it. Robertson retired the 1st two hitters, but Damon slapped a single to center and Jeter lined a double to left. Abreu came through again, hitting a bleeder just out of the reach of a diving Polanco and into right field to drive in both runners. Polanco appeared to aggravate the shoulder injury which kept him out of the lineup for 5 weeks in August in September, but he remained in the game. It was the last batter Robertson faced, however, as Tiger's manager Jim Leyland went to the pen.

Wang retired the side in the 6th and the first two hitters in the 7th before he was inexplicably pulled by manager Joe Torre after 93 pitches. It was one of those cases that have plagued Torre too many times in the last several years - overmanaging. And in bit Torre in the ass again as lefty specialist Mike Myers gave up a solo home run to left-handed hitting Curtis Granderson. Torre quickly replaced Myers with Scott Proctor who had trouble finding the zone as he gave up back to back singles to Polanco and Casey. Ordonez again failed to come through in the clutch, stranding both runners when he flew out to Damon in right-center.

Kyle Farnsworth continued the shaky bullpen outing when he walked Carlos Guillen to start the 8th, but bounced back to retire the next 3 batters to bridge the gap to closer Mariano Rivera. Torre had vowed not to use Rivera for more than 1 inning in the 1st round of the playoffs and possibly longer. Jeter made sure Rivera would have even more to work with as he belted a solo home run, his 5th hit of the night, to centerfield for an 8-4 lead. It was more than enough for the greatest post-season closer, who allowed a 1-out single to Granderson, but induced Polanco into a game ending 4-6-3 double play.

Except for the set up men, Yankee fans couldn't have scripted the game any better. Tonight the Bronx Bombers will try to replicate it in the sequel.

Notes

Derek Jeter entered the game with the most career hits in the post-season with 142. That quickly jumped to 147. The home run was the 17th of Jeter's career, spanning 116 post-season appearances.

Chien-Ming Wang became the 1st pitcher from Taiwan to win a post-season game. The LA Dodgers
Hong-Chih Kuo, who is from the same town as Wang, will try to replicate the feat when he faces the Mets Wednesday night.

Former Yankee Tino Martinez had the honor of throwing out the 1st ball before last night's game.

One could not help but think about Twin's manager Ron Gardenhire last night as Ronan Tynan sang what seemed to be an even slower version of "God Bless America". Gardenhire was outraged during the 2003 ALDS when Brad Radke gave up a decisive 3 runs in the bottom of the 7th following Tynan's deliberate rendition.

Game 2 will feature Tiger's rookie Justin Verlander going against Yankee's veteran Mike Mussina. The Yankees are expected to use the same lineup.

Rookies Step Up as Yanks Sweep Rays

Cano drives in 3 more in 7-4 win

With rain falling throughout the day, Yankee's manager Joe Torre decided to push scheduled starter Chien-Ming Wang back a day and pulled outfielders Johnny Damon and Bobby Abreu from the starting lineup. It didn't matter much as reliever Darrell Rasner threw 4 shutout innings and Robinson Cano drove in 3 runs as the Yankees completed a 3 game sweep of the Tampa Devil Rays with an 7-4 victory.

Jeff Karstens moved up a day in the starting rotation, but was not sharp for the first time. He gave up a pair of home runs and a triple to Rocco Baldelli as the Rays built a 4-1 lead. But Ray's starter Jamie Shields ran into a wall when he tried to retire the side in the 5th to make an official game. Hideki Matsui opened the inning with a walk and Aaron Guiel followed with a single to move Matsui to 2nd. Shields bounced back, striking out Kevin Thompson and Bernie Williams to set up a two-on, two-out situation for Derek Jeter. Jeter, who had extended his hitting streak to 23 games with a 1st inning single, singled to right to cut the lead in half. Robinson Cano then followed with a drive to deep left. Carl Crawford, who probably played the worst defensive series of his career, shied away as reached the left wall and the ball kicked off the heal of his glove for a gift 2-run double to tie the game. Shields escaped further trouble by getting Alex Rodriguez to ground out to third.

With a brand new ballgame, Torre pulled Karstens and brought in Rasner, who had been unceremoniously dumped earlier in the year by Washington. He was making his 8th appearance of the season and immediately rewarded Torre for using him by retiring the first 7 batters he faced. The Yankees then took advantage of the Ray's bullpen in the 7th.

Thompson and Williams stroked one out singles off of Ruddy Lugo to put runners on the corners. Shawn Camp came out of the pen to strike out Jeter for the 2nd out, but Cano came through with an RBI double to left-center. Cano has driven in 40 runs in the 36 games he's played since returning from the DL on August 8. A-Rod then singled through the right side to bring home 2 more to break the game open. Rasner did the rest, allowing just 1 hit over 4 innings, while striking out 5 and walking none.

Notes

Derek Jeter's 23-game hitting streak is the longest since Don Mattingly hit in 24 straight in 1987. Jeter momentarily took over the batting lead from Joe Mauer, but Mauer singled his final time up to take the lead back by a percentage point.

Gary Sheffield will NOT be activated this weekend despite speculation that it could occur. Torre will not do so until Sheffield is swinging at or near 100%.

Chien-Ming Wang will look for his 18th win tonight as he faces Josh Beckett and the Boston Red Sox in the opener of a 4 game series.

Around the Horn - 9/13

I'm not going to lie and say it's great to be back from vacation, but it's great to be able to get back to the information world. With no computer and newspapers that were published too early to even have 7 pm starts, it took a healthy, well maybe unhealthy, does of Baseball Tonight to keep up with things. That and wading through college football scores on the TV screen tickers.

- Ryan Howard - this guy is incredible. He's got 56 home runs entering today's play. The only other lefties in NL history to top 50 home runs in a single season are Barry Bonds and Luis Gonzalez. He has slugged 80 home runs in 870 at-bats of his brief career. He's also driven in 201 runs in 228 games. And he's only 26! Hopefully he's done this all clean and will one day eclipse Bonds's tainted single season record. He should become just the fifth player to top 60 home runs in a season, and the first to do it since Roger Maris without cheating.

- The AL East batting title is going down to the wire. Fellow MVP candidates Joe Mauer (.348) and Derek Jeter (.346) are separated by just 2 percent points entering Wednesday's play.

- Just how far can the KC Royals fall before they hit rock bottom? At the conclusion of last night's 3rd inning, starting pitcher Runelvys Hernandez and catcher John Buck exchanged blows. They both stayed in the game and Hernandez picked up the victory. What did Buddy Bell ever do wrong to deserve this?

- Can Jeffrey Loria please shut his mouth. That's not a request either. Do it. Of course when Joe Girardi is managing in Chicago next year, you can come up with some other reasons for your team's drop-off from this year and why you're playing in front of 10 of your closest friends. Idiot. Guys like you and Peter Angelos are Steinbrenner wannabes. Only difference is George "somewhat" wised up from his 1970-1980s days and the Yankees became consistent winners. You two are just consistent idiots.

- Talk about playing under the radar. In case no one has noticed, or possibly not cared, Barry Bonds has gotten hot in September. Recent injection or rub-on cream? Perhaps. Either way, Bonds not has 731 home runs after hitting 4 in the first 8 games of September. Now if they can only find a way to ban this scumbag in the off-season before he breaks Hank Aaron's record. You can bet Bud Selig is praying that George Mitchell can find something.

- How about Mike Piazza. Last night he belted his 21st home run, the most he has hit since 2002. More remarkable is that he leads all catchers in home runs.

- Eddie Guardado, Jason Isringhausen, Roger Clemens, Brad Radke...those are just a sampling of the major players that are hurting in September. Some are DL'ed, some are resting, either way they have a big impact on their team’s chances in September, and in some case, in October.

- The Minnesota Twins have to be worried. After throwing pain-free in his rehab start, Francisco Liriano had to leave his start against Oakland today after just 29 pitches due to elbow pain.

And finally, a speedy recovery and prayers sent out to the Red Sox's Jon Lester who is battling non-Hodgkins lymphoma.

Matsui Return Perfect, Yankees Roll 12-4

There aren't many nights when a hitter can knock in 7 runs and get overshadowed. But that's what happened to Bobby Abreu last night when Hideki Matsui played his first game in Pinstripes since May 11 as the Yankees pounded the Tampa Bay Devil Rays 12-4. Abreu drove in 7 runs, 6 in the 1st inning, but it was the return to the lineup of Matsui that really pumped up the paid crowd of 52,265. It started with a standing ovation his first time up, which resulted in a bloop RBI single and ended with another standing ovation when he left for a pinch-runner after going 4-4 with a walk. Matsui did all that batting 8th in an even deeper Yankees lineup.

The Yankees jumped all over Ray's starter Tim Corcoran, sending him to the showers before the first inning was even over. After a lead off single by Johnny Damon and a walk to Derek Jeter, Abreu crushed a Corcoran pitch over the right-centerfield fence for a 3-0 lead. It was Abreu's first home run at Yankee Stadium. An Alex Rodriguez walk and stolen base was followed by an RBI double by Jorge Posada. Consecutive singles by Robinson Cano and Matsui pushed the score to 5-0 and sent Corcoran home early. Reliever Brian Stokes didn't fair much better, allowing a single to Melky Cabrera to load the bases and then issued a bases loaded walk to Jeter to force in the 6th run. Abreu blew the game wide open when his fly to deep left-center was played into a 3-run double by Carl Crawford, who ran a poor route to the ball. Abreu's 6-RBI inning tied the AL record and is the 2nd highest total in MLB history.

Of even greater importance than Matsui's return was the effective, free throwing performing by starter Mike Mussina. Mussina had one ineffective start after returning from a groin injury and had his start pushed back from Sunday due to a sore shoulder. Moose retired the first 10 hitters before allowing a single to Delmon Young. He departed after 6 1-3 innings and 87 pitches, having allowed no runs, 5 hits, struck out 5 and walked none.

T.J. Beam threw a scoreless 1 2-3 innings, before Octavio Dotel got lit up for 4 runs in the 9th to end the shutout. But this game was about offense. Abreu added a 7th RBI on a sacrifice fly and narrowly missed a grand slam and 11 RBI. Now if only Gary Sheffield could pitch.

Notes

In a quirk of the official rulebook, Derek Jeter's 21-game hitting streak is still alive despite not getting a hit in 4 trips to the plate. That's because all 4 trips were not official at-bats. In addition to walking 3 times, Jeter was also hit by a pitch.

Gary Sheffield took live batting practice before the game, but swung lightly. Sheffield is hoping to return this weekend.

Mariano Rivera continues to feel better and is hoping to throw back-to-back bullpen sessions this weekend if he continues to progress.

Wang Captures 16th in Opener

Wilson HR highlights 2-0 win

Chien-Ming Wang won his 16th game of the season and Craig Wilson hit his 3rdd home run as a Bomber as the Yankees shutout the Detroit 2-0 in the 1st game of a day-night doubleheader. Pitching before a sparse crowd of a little over 18,000, Wang excelled for 7 2-3 innings, limiting the Tigers to 3 hits and recording 13 ground ball outs. He left to a standing ovation in the 8th with runners on 2nd and 3rd and 2 outs. Scott Proctor retired Magglio Ordonez on a fly to Melky Cabrera in left on the first pitch he threw. Mariano Rivera closed things out in the 9th, allowing just a bloop single, for his 32nd save.

The Yankees wasted many opportunities against Tiger's starter Nate Robertson, but nothing could stop Wilson's fly ball from leaving the ball park. It snapped a scoreless tie and was his 16th of the season between the Yankees and Pittsburgh Pirates. Johnny Damon followed with a walk and Derek Jeter moved him to a third with a single, one of his three hits on the day. Robertson struck out Bobby Abreu, but Jason Giambi lofted a fly ball to right-center for a sacrifice fly and a 2-0 lead.

That would be all the scoring the Yankees would manage on the day. They had runners on 2nd and 3rd with 1 out in the 3rd, but Jeter struck out and Abreu grounded out. One inning later, Melky Cabrera stranded two runners in scoring position with an inning ending fly out. The Yankees got 2 men on again in the 6th with help from Carlos Guillen error, but Wilson flied out and Damon grounded out. In the 7th, Robinson Cano came up with the bases loaded, 2 out, and a .171 average when the sacks are full. He promptly grounded out on the first pitch as Robertson pulled his final escape artist trick on the day.

Notes

Alex Rodriguez was 0-3 with a walk, but made several outstanding defensive plays to help keep the Tigers off the board. He also had to be relieved not to strike out.

Chien-Ming Wang is now tied for the AL and Major League lead in victories with Toronto's Roy Halladay. Chicago's John Garland has a chance to match the feat this evening.

Wilfredo Ledezma (2-1) and Jaret Wright (9-7) face off in the 2nd game this evening at 7:05.

Yankees Notes - 8/29

Tigers in Town; Pavano injures himself yet again;

The Yankees open a 3 game series tonight with the AL Central leading Detroit Tigers. No, it doesn't get any easier for the Pinstripes, even though they're finally sleeping in their own beds. Coming off a stretch of 21 games in 20 days, in which they went 11-10, the Yankees finally got a much needed day off yesterday. Scott Proctor and Ron Villone probably pitched anyway.

The Yankees got more bizarre news on the Carl Pavano front. After last Friday's rehab assignment for Columbus, Pavano complained of some discomfort in his oblique area. Nice try there Carl. Turns out that Pavano was in a car accident 2 weeks ago and hadn't bothered to inform the team. The truth finally came out on Saturday. Pavano is being evaluated to determine if he can continue to pitch. Maybe they should evaluate his mental state instead, It's hard to imagine, but this has been a bigger disaster than signing Jose Contreras. You can see the Yankees eating salary to deal Pavano and then he'll win 20 somewhere else.

Weather permitting, Chien-Ming Wang takes the hill tonight looking for his 16th win. That would match Roy Halladay for the AL lead. Lefty Nate Robertson gets the nod for the Tigers. The two teams met back in late May/early June with the Yankees taking 3 of 4 on the road. The Tigers have struggled in August, going 12-14, and lost their starting 2nd baseman Placido Polanco for the remainder of the season with a separated shoulder. Polanco led the AL in hitting with runners in scoring position. The Tigers have still managed to maintain a 5 game lead over Minnesota and 5.5 games ahead of Chicago.

Bernie's Blasts Salvage Weekend

6 RBI end road trip on a high note

Bernie Williams and Derek Jeter each hit a pair of home runs Sunday and Jeffrey Karstens earned his first major league victory as the Yankees held of the Los Angeles Angels 11-8. Bernie drove in 6 for the day with a solo shot, a 3-run blast, and a 2-run double. He also added a single. Jeter's 2-run shot in the 1st, the first of three hits on the day, jumped the Yankees out to the early lead. After poor performances by veterans Jaret Wright and Corey Lidle in the 1st 2 games of the series, Karstens tossed a quality start to gain the win. His numbers would have been even better if had not been for an errant throw by Alex Rodriguez on a potential inning-ending double play ball.

The Yankees built up an 11-4 lead when Kyle Farnsworth entered the game in the 8th. What looked to be a laugher quickly changed into a near nail biter as Farnsworth couldn't find the plate. All 4 batters he faced reached safely, 3 of them on walks. It caused Joe Torre to bring in Mariano Rivera into a 6 out, non-save situation. The inning could have ended quickly, but Chone Figgins's possible DP grounder went right thru Nick Green for an error and the lead was suddenly 11-7. Mo retired the next 3 hitters without further incident. He did allow 1 run in the 9th before striking out Friday night's hero Mike Napoli to end the game.

Angel's starter Joe Saunders (4-2) dominated the Yankees at the Stadium back on August 11, but the Yankees made quick work of him this time. After building a 3-0 lead on home runs by Jeter and Williams, the Yankees temporarily broke it open in the 3rd on Robinson Cano's 2-run single and a 3-run Bernie blast.

Karstens (1-0) worked an efficient 6 innings, scattering 6 hits while allowing 3 runs. He walked 2 and struck out 1. He threw 83 pitches, 53 of them for strikes. He'll likely get another start with Mike Mussina on the DL.

Notes

- The Yankees finished the road trip 7-4, going just 2-4 after the 5 game sweep in Boston. They still managed to add to their AL East lead, however, with the Mariners sweeping the Red Sox.

- What I wouldn't give for another starting pitcher right now. The bullpen was maxed out on the trip and didn't get any help Friday or Saturday with poor, make that rotten, outings from Jaret Wright and Corey Lidle. The Yankees need to find a way to get Wright out of the rotation. You get 6 innings out of him at best, and it was a shaky 6 at that. To put it bluntly, he's crap..no, he's shit. And don't look for Carl Pavano to be a conquering hero. This guy clearly doesn't want to pitch. After his 89 pitch outing last Friday he complained about some discomfort in his oblique muscle. It's more likely he's got discomfort between the ears. I've always been a big defender of Brian Cashman, but the signings of Pavano and Wright have been disastrous.

- Johnny Damon hit in all 10 games, in which he batted, on the road trip and added a cheesy mustache as is the team trend right now. He's hit in 11 straight overall. He's hit at a .304 clip in August with 11 HR and 23 runs batted in.

- After today's off day, the Yankees take on the Detroit Tigers for 3 at the Stadium.

Wang, Cano Sink Mariners 9-2

5 run outbursts keys victory

The arrival of Chien-Ming Wang and Robinson Cano early last season helped turned the Yankees 2005 campaign around and opened the door for other young players, like Melky Cabrera, to contribute this season as well. Wang and Cano have been even better than last year. Last night, Wang pitched a brilliant 7 innings to earn his 15th win and to give the tired bullpen a much needed rest as the Yankees topped the Seattle Mariners 9-2. Cano was the biggest contributor on offense driving in the first two Yankees runs with a single and knocking in the last one with a double. Cano now has 16 RBI in his last 10 games.

The Yankees knocked around Mariners sensation Felix Hernandez from the beginning, though he did retire the 1st 2 hitters to start the game. It was all downhill after that. A Bobby Abreu single and walks to Jason Giambi and Jorge Posada loaded the bases. Cano delivered a pair with a single up the middle.

Hernandez worked out of a jam in the 2nd and retired the side in order in the 3rd, but the Yankees knocked him out of the game in the 4th. The Yankees loaded the bases on a walk to Cano and singles by Melky Cabrera and Nick Green. Green was starting at 3rd base in place of Alex Rodriguez who sat out with a throat infection. Johnny Damon singled to drive to drive in 2 and both Damon and Green advanced an extra base when the rightfielder Chris Snelling misplayed the ball. A two-out walk to Abreu loaded the bases again and Giambi made the Mariners pay with a 2-run ground rule double that just stayed fair. Jorge Posada's RBI single increased the lead to 7-0 and finally sent Hernandez (10-12) to the showers.

Posada's sacrifice fly and Cano's RBI double in the 8th off of Joel Pineiro accounted for the final scoring. Mike Myers and Octavio Dotel worked an inning each to close out the win.

Wang (15-5) dominated from the outset, something he has struggled to do on the road this year. He allowed just 3 hits over the 1st 6 innings before a controversial umpire's call cost him a possible shutout. With 2 out and the Mariner's Richie Sexson on 3rd, Jose Lopez hit a ball back up the middle. Cano ranged far to his right, backhanded, and apparently threw into time to first to get Lopez. But 1st base ump Jeff Nelson ruled Lopez safe and the M's were on the board. The Mariners added another run on a bloop single by Yuniesky Betancourt.

Notes

With 2 hits last night, Bobby Abreu is now hitting .393 in 23 games with the Yankees. He also has 12 RBI, 18 runs scored, a .505 on-base percentage and is slugging at a 1.066 clip.

With the victory last night Chien-Ming Wang has won 23 games in his 46 major league appearances.

Yankees Score a Pair

26 runs gains sweep

It took 26 runs, 8 hours and 41 minutes, 20 pitchers, and 783 pitches for the Yankees to complete a huge sweep of their day-night doubleheader with the Boston Red Sox yesterday in Fenway Park. After blasting the Red Sox 12-4 in the 1:10 afternoon start, the Yankees and Sox battled for a 9 inning record time of 4:45 before the Yankees prevailed 14-11.

Unlike previous trips to Fenway Park, Johnny Damon shrugged off the boos and destroyed his former teammates. Damon homered in both games, and drove in 7 runs on a 6-12. His 2nd HR of the night was his 20th of the season, matching his career high set in 2004. Bobby Abreu was 6-9 as the Yankees had 17 hits in each game.

Chien-Ming Wang (14-5) struggled in and out of jams in game 1, allowing 3 runs in 6 innings, but held the Sox hitless in 10 at-bats with runners in scoring position. He also put the collar on David Ortiz, who ended up 0-4. The Yankees held a 4-3 lead when they blew things open with 4 runs in the 7th. They added 4 more runs in the 9th. Jason Johnson (3-12) managed his own little Houdini act before it finally caught up with him in the 3 run 5th that gave the Yankees the lead for good. Johnson was designated for assignment after the game.

The nightcap saw two starting pitchers that didn't have much of everything. Underachiever Sidney Ponson started for the Yankees, in what one can only hope will be his last appearance in pinstripes. Rookie Jon Lester went for the Sox. Trailing 1-0 in the 2nd, the Yankees jumped on Lester for 5 runs. Robinson Cano, Melky Cabrera, and Damon each drove in a run before Abreu delivered a 2-run double. But Ponson gave most of it right back as the Sox scored 3 runs on doubles by Kevin Youkilis and Mark Loretta. The Sox tied the game in the 3rd when Craig Wilson made like Bill Buckner, letting Coco Crisp's grounder skip through his legs. Manny Ramirez came home with the tying run.

The Yankees came right back at Lester to take the lead on Damon's 2-run shot. His 3rd straight game with a home run. But Joe Torre, hoping to save his bullpen, let Ponson go back out to start the 4th. 3 straight singles to start the inning finally convinced Torre to go to the pen for Ron Villone. Ortiz hit into a fielder's choice to drive in one run and then Ramirez singled to tie the game once again at 7-7.

A clearly overworked Villone couldn't keep the game tied one inning later. Alex Cora singled in the go-ahead run and Mark Loretta delivered a 2-run single off of Bob Bruney for a 10-7 lead. Neither team actually scored in the 6th, but the Yankees took advantage of a weakened Sox pen in the 7th.

Youngster Craig Hansen retired Cano to start the inning, but the Yankees then loaded the bases on a walk to Jason Giambi and singles by Bernie Williams and Jorge Posada. Terry Francona went to veteran Mike Timlin who has struggled since coming off the DL. His struggles would continue. Melky Cabrera, who is quickly establishing himself as a very good 2-strike hitters, quickly fell behind in the count 1-2. But after working the count full, Cabrera lined a single to run to cut the lead to 10-8. Damon flied to shallow left for the 2nd out, but Derek Jeter ripped a 2-strike pitch into the right field corner. Williams and Posada scored easily and when rightfielder Wily Mo Pena bobbled the ball, 3rd base coach Larry Bowa sent Cabrera home as well. Melky easily beat the relay for an 11-10 Yankees lead.

The Yankees weren't done either. The Sox opted to walk Abreu to pitch to the struggling Alex Rodriguez, but A-Rod came thru with an RBI double. Cano, who started the inning, kept it going with a 2-run single for a 14-10 lead. Giambi finally made the final out, but the damage was done.

The Yankees had hoped not to use Scott Proctor after he threw in the first game, but Pena lined a shot off the knee of Kyle Farnsworth. Remarkably, Farnsworth was able to recover to throw Pena out at first, but had to leave the game. X-rays were negative, but the big righthander is expected to be out a few days. Proctor finished his good day by tossing 1 1-3 scoreless innings - giving him 3 scoreless on the day. Ortiz got the Sox final run in the 9th when he hit his major league leading 43rd home run off Mariano Rivera. Another A-Rod error on a Ramirez ball kept the inning going, but Mo shut it down and the Yankees could get a very good night's sleep.

The Captain Comes Up Small

A lot has been made by the media, Mike Francesca in particular, that Derek Jeter needs to step up, defend A-Rod, and tell the fans to simma'. I haven't taken a particularly strong stance about this until now. Yesterday, Derek Jeter, the Captain, the leader of the team, the man with the 4 rings, looked very small.

The play should have been an innocuous one. The Yankees were already getting crushed; the game was all but over. The Yankees were trailing 9-2 in the 6th when Jay Gibbons hit a harmless pop-up. Alex Rodriguez was settled under it. Derek Jeter was moving to his right and calling for the ball. The ball started to settle in A-Rod's glove and Jeter bumped into him, causing the ball to pop out. Jeter was charged with an error for impeding the play.

Jeter was quoted as saying "he said you got it? I thought he was kidding. I started to run off the field". Jeter did in fact start to run off, which at the time made me think WTF? Why isn't he picking up the ball? He also had an icy glare on his face as he looked back at A-Rod. A run came in and then Fernando Tatis, who only seems to homer against the Yankees, bashed one out to finish the scoring.

Jeter was shocked to learn he had been charged with the error. He sloughed it off to reporters, but then was seen in the hallway campaigning the official scorer to change the ruling. Now we know that A-Rod made comments to Esquire magazine several years ago downplaying Jeter's importance to the Yankees. And we know that A-Rod has a tendency to say too much to the press and to make too many excuses (or excuses that aren't excuses - "I was hurt, but I'm not going to tell you what it was").

All that being said it's time for Jeter to step up. If the Yankees are to not just win the division, but have any chance of making the playoffs, the Yankees need the real A-Rod. Not the robotic, average looking guy that has been here for most of this year. Jeter needs to put his own feelings aside and do what's best for the ball club. If he doesn't the team will suffer and so will his well preserved reputation.

Wright All Wrong

Wright walks the park, Yankees crushed 12-2

I had the distinct displeasure of witnessing yesterday's Yankees-Orioles game first hand. Things started out oddly enough when I saw the backhoes digging up the site for the new stadium. Holy slap in the face Batman.

Wright was awful - no two ways about it. Maybe he was overthrowing. The Stadium radar had him consistantly in the mid 90s. He struck Miguel Tejada out with a 97 mph fastball. That is about the only one he threw for a strike. Nothing is more annoying then seeing a guy not find the strike zone and Wright couldn't have found it if it were right in front of his fat, chaw-chewing face.

The game started out all right - home runs by Johnny Damon and Robinson Cano (whose warm up shirt I had on) gave the Yankees a 2-1 lead after 2. It was all downhill from there. There's no real reason to go into details of the game. I would rather than not relive it.

Needless to say it's one that has to be tossed out the window with the big 5 game series with the Sox starting today.

Octavio Dotel Joins the Big Club

The Yankees hopefully strengthened their bullpen today when Octavio Dotel was recalled from his minor league rehab stint. Jose Veras was sent down to make room on the roster. Dotel was expected to be recalled by September 1, but the Yankees had been hesitant to commit to a date. I guess a big series with Boston will makes those decisions.

Around the Horn - 8/16

4 games in 2 - MLB witnessed some unusual history last night. Not one, but two games went 18 innings before a winner was decided. Roger Clemens wasn't at his best last, but finally got some run support and departed after 6 innings with a 6-5 lead. But the Cubbie's Matt Murton took Brad Lidge deep in the 9th to tie the game. And the goose eggs started. The Cubs used all 25 men on their roster for the first time in 20 years. Their 10th pitcher, Rich Hill, picked up the victory when Murton came through again in the 18th with a 2-run single. The game has a lasting effect as the Cubs had to call a player up from the minors to start today's game. The game took 5:36 and poor Willie Taveras went 1-9.

The 2nd double-game occurred between the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Colorado Rockies. The Rocks tied the game up in the 5th and that's the way it would stay for 13 more innings. Luis Gonzalez finally singled in the go-ahead run in the 18th off Ramon Ramirez. The game was ended in 5:21 and Jamey Carroll had the big oh-fer in 8 at-bats.

The Detroit Tigers run for the pennant took a serious blow last night when 2nd baseman Placido Polanco separated his left shoulder making a diving catch in the Tigers game with the Red Sox. Polanco could miss the remainder of the season. The Tigers substitution was an unexpected one - Ivan Rodriguez.

Pedro Astacio has been on the disabled list more than the pitcher's mound in recent years. But last night Astacio got up off the scrap heap for the Washington Nationals and threw a complete game shut out against Atlanta. Making it even remarkable was the fact that he threw just 89 pitches. The game only took 2:01 to play.

Apparently the Toronto Blue Jays are conceding the playoff race. Today they dealt left-hander Scott Schoenweis to the Cincy Reds for a player to be named and cash. It must be the Reds hope to acquire every reliever in MLB by the end of the year.