Postage Not Included

The writing was on the wall. The Yankees had just completed a 3 game sweep of the Red Sox and now had to face the cellar dwelling Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Sure enough, they were flat and mailed it in, and Phil Hughes was awful. Hughes (2-3, 5.65), looking more like Roger Rabbit than Roger Clemens, allowed 3 straight base runners reach to start the game and the Yankees were in the hole for good. The final outcome was a 9-1 Devil Rays victory. Luckily for the Bombers, both the Red Sox and Mariners both lost, so the Yankees still sit atop the Wild Card lead, and remain 5 back of Boston.

Trailing 3-0 in the 4th, Alex Rodriguez singled home Derek Jeter, who also singled, with the Yankees lone run. Andy Sonnanstine, who entered the game with an ERA near 7 (sounds like a game against Edwin Jackson not too long ago), allowed only those 2 hits in 8 innings to improve to 4-9. The usually patient Yankees only managed 1 walk, issued by Grant Balfour in the 9th.

Hughes pitched scoreless 2nd and 4th innings, but the odd number innings bit on the behind. Carlos Pena lead off the 5th with his 1st of 2 home runs on the night (numbers 32, 33). B.J. Upton followed with a walk and Delmon Young singled. When Brendan Harris sacrificed the pair into scoring position, Joe Torre sent for Chris Britton. Greg Norton's sac fly upped the score to 5-1 before Britton got the final 2 outs of the inning.

But the Yankees could must no offense, and Britton and Brian Bruney, who look like a WWE tag-team, gave up 2 runs each to put the game out of reach.

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Joba Gets 2 Game Suspension

The question remains whether or not Joba Chamberlain really threw at Kevin Youkillis. But apparently, Major League Baseball has made up its mind. Joba was hit with a 2 game suspension. He'll sit out Tonight and tomorrow's games with the Devil Rays...which he would have done anyway due to the "Joba Rules".

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Tonight's Lineups (8/31)

Last Day of August, the Yankees start a 3 game series with the Devil Rays and My Pinstripes heads out on vacation.

Here are tonight's lineups:

Andy Sonnanstine (3-9, 6.38) vs. Phil Hughes (2-2, 5.35)

Devil Rays

A. Iwamura 3b
C. Crawford lf
C. Pena 1b
B.J. Upton cf
D. Young rf
B. Harris 2b
G. Norton dh
D. Navarro c
J. Wilson ss

Yankees
J. Damon dh
D. Jeter ss
B. Abreu rf
A. Rodriguez 3b
H. Matsui lf
J. Posada c
J. Giambi 1b
R. Cano 2b
M. Cabrera cf

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Yankees Take Over Wild Card

Moments ago, the Indians Kenny Lofton walked with the bases loaded to give the Tribe a 6-5 win over the Mariners. They M's had tied the game in the top half of the 9th against Joe Borowski, but the Indians jumped on Rick White. With the bases loaded, 2 outs, and a 3-2 count on Lofton, White threw ball 4 to force in the winning run.

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Suh-Weep, Don'tcha Know

Robinson Cano hit a pair of opposite field home runs and Chien-Ming Wang dominated the Boston Red Sox for 7 innings as the Yankees completed a 3-game sweep with a 5-0 win this afternoon. One day after Roger Clemens threw 5 1-3 innings of no-hit ball, Wang tossed 6 innings of no-hit ball in front of a packed Yankee Stadium crowd. Mike Lowell finally broke it up with a single back up the middle. It came one batter after Derek Jeter committed his 16th error of the season on a ball hit by Kevin Youkillis. That would be the only true jam got into all day, despite walking 4 batters.

Meanwhile, Cano showed big time power, hitting a Curt Schilling deliver over the 399-ft. sign in left-center in the 3rd and repeating the feat in the 5th. His 2nd blast landed on the netting in front of the Yankees retired numbers, and was his career high, 16th HR of the season.

While Schilling seemed to be getting by on guts and guile all afternoon, Wang innings. When and his hard biting sinker dazzled the Red Sox. Twice he walked batters to start an inning, but got out of it easily, once with the help of a double play. He struck out David Ortiz twice, ending the 1st and 6th innings. Jeter's error and the Sox 1st hit of the day got him in trouble, but Wang relied on his friend, "the ground ball" to get him out of it.

J.D. Drew hit a bouncer to 3rd that Alex Rodriguez fielded, made a tag at Youkillis going by, and then fired to 1st to get Drew. But 3rd Base umpire Mark Carlson ruled Youkillis safe, saying that A-Rod missed the tag. Youkillis clearly ran out of the base path, on to the infield grass, sending Joe Torre out out to argue. The umpires finally gathered in an impromptu conference. The result - Youkillis was called out, sending him into a rage and resulting in Terry Francona's ejection from the ball game. Wang then struck out his final batter, Jason Varitek, to end the inning.

After Joba Chamberlain threw a scoreless 8th, that included a Dustin Pedroia double and no strikeouts, the Yankees busted the game open in the bottom of the inning against Hideki Okijima. Derek Jeter singled with 1 away, his 4th hit in 4 trips to the plate. Bobby Abreu ripped one up the alley in right-center for a double, with Jeter scoring all the way from 1st.

After an intentional walk to A-Rod, the 2 runners pulled off a double steal and both scored as Varitek's throw sailed into left field. With a 5-0 lead, Torre decided to leave Chamberlain in the game to finish, but that's when things got even more interesting.

After retiring David Ortiz on a fly out to start the 9th, Chamberlain buzzed a pair of 98 mph fastballs up high and tight on Youkillis. The 2nd one prompted home plate umpire Angel Hernandez to toss Chamberlain from the game. Torre was beside himself and nearly went ballistic. He was still fired up after the game, vehemently protesting Hernandez's decision and the thought processes that lead up to it.

Edwar Ramirez had to come out of the pen, and despite walking Youkillis (charged to Chamberlain) and throwing a pair of wild pitches, he escaped from the 9th unscathed. The Yankees had themselves a sweep that pulled them to within 5 games of Boston in the AL East, and maybe, just maybe, sent a message for the future via a pair of Joba Chamberlain fastballs.

...

As you would expect, Youkillis felt that Chamberlain was throwing at him considering how good the kid's control is. And as you would expect, Chamberlain denied it, complimented the type of player Youkillis is and was upset that he had let the team down by having to use another reliever. Perhaps Youkillis yelled "HA" as he ran past A-Rod. Nah.

Chien-Ming Wang has allowed just 15 hits and 4 earned runs in his last 21 innings pitched. It resulted in 3 wins, 2 against the Tigers and today's victory.

In addition to setting a career high in home runs, Robinson Cano is now just 2 RBI shy of the 78 he drove in last year.

With his 4-4 performance, Derek Jeter went 7-11 (with a walk) in the series. And that came after starting 0-2 in the 1st game.
Alex Rodriguez had his 1st non-successful series against the Sox this season, going 2-9 with 2 walks. Of course he didn't see many good pitches either.

This was the 1st game that Joba Chamberlain entered a 2nd inning without having 2 days off prior to it.




The latest in rally caps?







photos courtesy of AP

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This Afternoon's Lineups (8/30)

Curt "Schitbag" Schilling vs. Chien-Ming Wang...The Wanger!


Red Sox

D. Pedroia 2b
C. Crisp cf
D. Ortiz dh
K. Youkilis 1b
M. Lowell 3b
J.D. Drew rf
J. Varitek c
E. Hinske lf
A. Cora ss

Yankees
J. Damon lf
D. Jeter ss
B. Abreu rf
A. Rodriguez 3b
H. Matsui dh
J. Posada c
J. Giambi 1b
R. Cano 2b
M. Cabrera cf

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Today's Yankees News

Learn more about Ian Kennedy. Ironically, it sounds like Kennedy is similar in thought processes to the man he's replacing, Mike Mussina. Source

Mike Mussina is not happy about being skipped in the rotation. Even though he admitted that he "doesn't what to do" out there, he feels his resume should keep him pitching. Source

The Joba Rules and why Brian Cashman is sticking to them. Interestingly enough, on last night's broadcast, Michael Kay stated that Yankees pitching guru Nardi Contreras is the person who actually set the rules for Joba Chamberlain's handling. Source

Joe Girardi did a, seemingly, great job as skipper of the Florida Marlins last year. But with a crop of injuries and ineffectiveness by the Marlins starters this year, people are questioning if Girardi's handling of them is the reason. Source

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Rocket's Red Snare

Roger Clemens uncharacteristically walked 5 batters, but threw 5 1-3 innings of no-hit ball as the Yankees held on for a 4-3 over the Boston Red Sox last night. Sox starter Josh Beckett was tagged for a career high 13 hits, but managed to escape trouble himself as the Yankees left 16 men on base.

The Yankees lead 3-1 in the 7th, when Alex Rodriguez went yard against Beckett for his 44th home run of the year. The extra run proved to be the difference, because Kyle Farnsworth returned to his 8th inning role and failed as usual. Kevin Youkillis belted a 1-out, 2-run HR to cut the lead to just a single run. Farnsworth struck out J.D. Drew for the 2nd out, but after he walked Jason Varitek, Joe Torre went to Mariano Rivera for a 4-out save. Mo dominated for the 2nd straight night, retiring all 4 batters he faced, and had 3 assists. With David Ortiz looming in the on-deck circle, Rivera recorded the final out by showing his athleticism. Dustin Pedroia hit a dribbler to the 3rd Base side of the mound, but Rivera was on it like a cat and fired a hard cutter, what else?, which handcuffed Andy Phillips. But Phillips did a great job to hold on to the ball and the Yankees had themselves a win.

The victory pulled the Yankees to within 6 games of Boston in the AL East and more importantly, put them into a virtual tie with Seattle for the wild-card lead. The Mariners lost earlier in the day to the Angels, who completed a 3 game sweep of their divisional rivals.

The game was scoreless in the 2nd, when the Yankees put 2 aboard with 2 outs. Jorge Posada singled, for the 1st of his 3 hits, and Robinson Cano drew a walk. Melky Cabrera battled Beckett until he hit a sharp grounder through the middle for an RBI single and a 1-0 lead. Cano raced to 3rd on the play and Cabrera moved up to 2nd when Beckett delivered a wild pitch to Johnny Damon. Damon, who had the game winning 2-run HR on Tuesday, came through against his former teammates again, singling through the left side for a 3-0 lead.

Clemens battled all night, and although he walked those 5 batters and hit another (Pedroia), he didn't allow a hit until Ortiz hit a mammoth upper deck home run with one out in the 6th. Ortiz has now hit a minimum of 25 HRs for 5 straight years. Clemens issued a 2-out walk to Youkillis and Drew singled through the ride side, but the Rocket came back to retire Varitek on a ground out to Cano.

...

The victory clinched the 3rd straight series win for the Yankees over the Red Sox.

The victory was #354 lifetime for Roger Clemens. He recorded 2 strikeouts, giving 4,666, 2nd only to Nolan Ryan.

A-Rod's home run was his 508th, tying him with Frank Thomas for 20th all time.



photos courtesy of AP

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Angels Thump M's 8-2; Wild Card Update

Up to the second update - the Angels, behind Jered Weaver, beat the Mariners 8-2. The Yankees are a half game back in the Wild Card standings and can move into a tie with a win.

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Tonight's Lineups (8/29)

Thanks to Peter Abraham for the early lineups :)

Josh Beckett vs. Roger Clemens

RED SOX
Lugo SS
Pedroia 2B
Ortiz DH
Lowell 3B
Youkilis 1B
Drew RF
Varitek C
Crisp CF
Hinske LF

YANKEES
Damon LF
Jeter SS
Abreu RF
Rodriguez 3B
Matsui DH
Posada C
Giambi 1B
Cano 2B
Cabrera CF

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The Pennant Race

With a little over a month to go in the season, divisions and both wild cards are up for grabs. We'll skip the AL East and wild card since we think you've already have all the info on that one. But here goes.

NL East

The Mets have had an up and down season, but have still dominated the division. It's unlikely that they won't hold on to/run away with the lead, but Philly is making it interesting. One day after beating the Mets 9-2, the Phillies rallied from a 2-0 deficit to send the game into extra innings. Ryan Howard drove the home crowd crazy with a walk-off 2-run HR. The Phils now trail the Mets by 4 games going into their contest tonight. Oliver Perez faces off against Jamie Moyer, who has really been bad of late, in tonight's game. If the Mets win the tonight and tomorrow for a 4-game split, the Phillies will walk away empty handed.

The Braves lost to the Marlins in extra innings, and remain a distant 6 games back of the Mets.

NL Central

Big series between the Cubs and Brewers. The Brewers lead the division for much of the season before hitting the skids. The Brewers lead 3-0 behind Jeff Suppan last night. But the Brewers pen took over in the 7th and immediately gave up 4 runs. The Cubs 5-3 win pushed the Brewers into 3rd place, 2.5 back. The defending champion Cardinals remained just 2 back with a 7-0 win over Houston. Great match up in tonight's game, Ben Sheets vs. Carlos Zambrano.

The Cards have a tough one as they pit Kip Wells against Roy Oswalt.

NL West

Another big 1-2 division series. Arizona against San Diego. The Padres won 3-1 Monday night behind Jake Peavy and last night beat up Brandon Webb in a 6-4 win. The Pads now trail the division leading Dbacks by just 1 game. Young vs. old tonight (no, not either of the Chris Young's) - Micah Owings vs. Greg Maddux in the 3rd of 4 games.

The Dodgers beat the Nats 4-3 to move within 4.5 of AZ, and today picked up Esteban Loaiza off of waivers from the Oakland A's. He'll be immediately plugged into their rotation.

AL Central

The Indians bounced back from their 3 game sweep at the hands of the Yankees, by going 9-4, including winning their last 4 in a row. That put them 3.5 ahead of the Tigers, who except for this past weekend's series with the Yankees, have struggled against everyone. That included a 6-3 loss to the Kansas City Royals last night. The Tigers hope to bounce back tonight when they send rookie Andrew Miller against one-time phenom, Zack Greinke.

The Twins quietly crept to within 4.5 of the Indians, but the Tribe quickly dispatched them the last 2 nights, 8-3 and 6-5. The series concludes tonight with a great match up of Johann Santana vs. C.C. Sabathia.

AL West

Yet another series between the top 2 teams in the division. The Angels John Lackey dominated the Mariners Monday night in a 6-0 win, and battled back last night from a 5-0 deficit to win 10-6. The 2 losses dropped the Mariners 4 back of the Angels.


NL Wild Card

The Padres are the top dog right now, with a 3 game lead over the Phillies. The Dodgers are 3.5 back, while the Braves sit 5 back. We're not going to bother getting into the rest of the teams on the periphery.

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Ian Kennedy, Come on Down!

Mike Mussina is out of the rotation. For 1 start any way. The Yankees made it official last night, announcing that last year's number 1 pick, Ian Kennedy, would be starting Saturday's game vs. Tampa Bay.

Kennedy has been outstanding at 3 different levels this year, moving up along with his best friend, Joba Chamberlain. The Yankees hope he can be as successful as his pal.

Kennedy compiled a 12-3, 1.91 record with 163 strikeouts in 146.1 innings. The 22-yr old allowed only 91 hits and walked 50.

photo courtesy of mlb.com

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The Bronx is Burning, Again

Johnny Damon hit a clutch 2-run home run against his former teammates, and Mr. August, Andy Pettitte, was brilliant in defeating the Boston Red Sox 5-3 last night at Yankee Stadium. Jason Varitek's home run in the top of the 7th had tied the game 3-3 and left Pettitte smashing his glove in the dugout at inning's end.

But Andy Phillips lead off the bottom of the inning with a single of Sox starter Daisuke Matsuzaka, and Melky Cabrera successfully sacrificed him to 2nd. Damon jumped on Dice-K's (13-11) first pitch and sent it just over the fence in the right field short porch for his 9th HR of the season. The crowd went crazy and amped it up even more when Joba Chamberlain got up in the Yankees pen.

Chamberlain's first Yankees-Sox experience was a memorable one. After walking Kevin Youkillis on a 3-2 pitch, Chamberlain got David Ortiz to pop out on a high fastball. He struck out Eric Hinske on 3 straight pitches before Mike Lowell hit a soft liner to center for a single. But Joba the Great came right back and fooled J.D. Drew for an inning ending strikeout.

Mariano Rivera was even more outstanding in the 9th, blowing away Varitek and Coco Crisp, before getting Julio Lugo on a soft liner to Robinson Cano for the game's final out and his 21st save.

The Yankees staked Pettitte to a quick 2-0 lead when they jumped on Dice-K in the 1st inning. The Bombers loaded the bases on a single by Damon, a walk to Bobby Abreu, and Alex Rodriguez was hit by a pitch in the small of the back. Hideki Matsui grounded into a force out to score one run and Jorge Posada delivered another with an RBI double. Matsuzaka escaped further trouble when Cano's drive to deep right-center settled into the glove of Crisp for the final out of the inning.

Boston got 1 run back in the 2nd on Manny Ramirez's 20th home run of the season. It was Ramirez's 13th straight season with at least 20 home runs. He would have to leave the game later with back spasms. David Ortiz's sac fly tied the game up in the 3rd, but the Captain brought some excitement back in the 5th.
Derek Jeter, hampered by injuries, was muddled in a 1-18 slide when he drove a Dice-K delivery to right for his 9th home run, and 1st since August 1st. Then it was up to the former idiot, Damon, and the guns, Joba and Mo, to finish things off.

...
The Yankees pulled to within a game of the Seattle Mariners in the Wild Card chase. The M's jumped on the Angels Ervin Santana for 5 runs in the 1st inning, but ex-Yankee Jeff Weaver helped pay them back for the misery he caused. The Angels came back for a 10-6 win.

Andy Pettitte earned his 198th career victory, and finished August 6-0, 2.36.

Joba Chamberlain has now thrown 10 scoreless innings over 8 appearance. He's allowed just 4 hits, walked 3, and struck out 17.


Derek Jeter's home run was the 192nd of his career, tying him with Tino Martinez on the all-time Yankees list. It so happened the Bam-Tino was in attendance.

photos courtesy of AP

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Odd Rumor of the Day

From the NY Post via Yahoo Sports. Tony Pena is being considered for the Houston Astros job. Pena refused comment when asked about it. Okay, that's now the odd part. Here it is.

The rumor is based on the fact that Pena is the godfather of one of Tim Purpura's children. I guess the Post didn't get the memo that Purpura was fired as GM when Phil Garner got let go.

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Yankees and Red Sox start a HUGE 3 game series at the Stadium tonight. Daisuke Matsuzaka (13-10, 3.76) vs. Andy Pettitte (11-7, 3.69).

As expected, the Yankees have sent Sean Henn back down, and Chris Britton finally makes his return to the majors.

Here are tonight's starting lineups:

Red Sox

D. Pedroia 2b
K. Youkilis 1b
D. Ortiz dh
M. Ramirez lf
M. Lowell 3b
J.D. Drew rf
J. Varitek c
C. Crisp cf
J. Lugo ss

Yankees
J. Damon lf
D. Jeter ss
B. Abreu rf
A. Rodriguez 3b
H. Matsui dh
J. Posada c
R. Cano 2b
A. Phillips 1b
M. Cabrera cf

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Hughes Lacking in Velocity

The NY Times' Tyler Kepner spoke with Brian Cashman about Phil Hughes' lack of velocity. Instead of averaging 91-93 mph, Hughes is only hitting 88-91.

“I don’t know why,” Cashman said. “It’s our job to continue to look and see if there’s anything mechanically. He could still be just building arm strength from being down for so long.

“It’s starting to improve, though. His last two outings, he’s been popping a few more high-velocity fastballs. But he’s got more arm strength than he’s shown lately. He’s not coming at hitters with his full ability yet.”

Read the full story.

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Around the Horn (8/28)

Chase Utley had an immediate impact for the Phillies in his return from the DL. Playing his 1st game since July 26, when he suffered a broken hand, the All-Star 2nd Baseman had 3 hits, including a home run, and 2 RBI in the Phillie 9-2 win over the Mets.

Not so good news for Utley's teammate Freddy Garcia. The right-hander, who has not pitched since June 8, because of a shoulder strain, may need surgery.

Gary Sheffield's shoulder has been acting up again and it landed him on the 15-day DL on Monday. Why the Tigers waited, when they knew he couldn't play this weekend, is beyond anyone's guess. Perhaps they were afraid of being charged with racism.

Steroid Sammy Sosa has decided he wants to come back for at least 1 more season. It's not likely to happen in Texas, but perhaps Mets GM Omar Minaya will finally land his man.

Hearst newspapers argued in court yesterday that names revealed to George Mitchell from steroid user/abuser/stoolie Kirk Radomski, should be made public. Read more.

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Tigers Bag Moose

Mike Mussina may have made Joe Torre's decision making process about the rotation a little easier last night. The Tigers clobbered Mussina for 6 runs in 3 innings en route to a 16-0 blowout. Mussina told pitching Ron Guidry, "I don't what know to do.", as his own frustration mounted even more than our own watching it. It was the first time in his 17 year career that Mussina (8-10) gave up 6 or more runs in 3 straight starts.

After Edwar Ramirez gave up 1 run in an inning, Sean Henn took one for the team, throwing 79 pitches in 2-plus innings. He was charged with 9 runs, 7 of them earned. The Yankees are expected to call up a reliever today - perhaps Chris Britton will finally get a chance - with Henn most likely sent down since he wouldn't be able to pitch for several days.

All Tigers starter Justin Verlander would have had to do was throw his glove out on the mound to earn his 14th win in 19 decisions. The hard throwing right-hander had a 6-0 lead after 3 innings and the Yankees bats reflected their overall sense that there was no way they were winning this one. Verlander, who went 7 innings, and Zach Miner limited the Yankees to just 3 hits.

Mussina's night could have been even worse or shorter had it not been for an outstanding play by Melky Cabrera. The center fielder raced back to the wall to snare a bases loaded drive by Carlos Guillen in the 1st inning. Instead of 3 runs, the Tigers settled for just 1. Robinson Cano also threw out Curtis Granderson trying to score from 3rd on an infield grounder. But after the Tigers scored 2 in the 2nd and 3 more in the 3rd (do you a see pattern here?), Torre had no choice but to finally remove his veteran starter.

Now the decision making process begins in earnest to determine whether it's Mussina, Kei Igawa, Steven White, Jeff Karstens, Matt DeSalvo, Ian Kennedy or someone else to take Mussina's next turn in the rotation.

...

One week after taking 3 of 4 from the Tigers at Yankee Stadium, the Yankees gave it back, losing 3 of 4 at Comerica Park. The Yankees now trail the Red Sox by 8 games in the AL East. They remain 2 back (3 in the loss column) of Seattle in the Wild Card, after the Mariners were shutout by the Angels last night.

Derek Jeter returned to the lineup after missing 1 game with a sore knee. His 0-3 night left him 1 for his last 18.

Mike Mussina's ERA has jumped from 4.50 to 5.53 over his last 3 starts, 2 against Detroit and 1 vs. LA.

There's speculation that since Matt DeSalvo pitched last night for Scranton he would be the natural answer to take Mussina's next start. But considering the fact that DeSalvo allowed 16 runs in his last 14 innings, over 5 starts, for the Yankees, that would NOT be a wise choice.

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Tonight's Lineup (8/27)

Mussina vs. Verlander

Yankees

J. Damon lf
D. Jeter ss
B. Abreu rf
A. Rodriguez 3b
H. Matsui dh
J. Posada c
J. Giambi 1b
R. Cano 2b
M. Cabrera cf

Tigers
C. Granderson cf
P. Polanco 2b
M. Thames lf
M. Ordonez dh
C. Guillen ss
I. Rodriguez c
S. Casey 1b
R. Raburn rf
B. Inge 3b

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Astros Drop the Ax

According to Ken Rosenthal, the Houston Astros have sent manager Phil Garner and GM Tim Purpura to the unemployment line. The Astros are just 58-73 this season, 2 years after making it to the World Series. Bench coach Cecil Cooper takes over as interim manager.

Although they signed Carlos Lee this off-season, the Astros took a big hit with the loss of Andy Pettitte and Roger Clemens.

Source

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Slipping Away

Phil Hughes only allowed 4 hits over 6 innings, but 3 were home runs as the Detroit Tigers held off the Yankees 5-4. The Yankees jumped on starter Jair Jurrjens, who left in the 2nd with a shoulder injury, and Chad Durbin, but the Tigers bullpen, reinvigorated by the return of Joel Zumaya shut down the Bombers over the final 4 2-3 innings.

Todd Jones picked up his 33rd save with some big defensive help by Carlos Guillen. Guillen, who is usually manning shortstop for the Tigers, played 1st Base and show his defensive skills in the 9th. He went in the hole between 1st and 2nd to take a hit away from Hideki Matsui, and Jones helped him out, leaping to catch Guillen's high throw, and getting his foot on 1st Base in time. Jason Giambi gave the Yankees another chance with a single, but with pinch-runner Shelley Duncan aboard, Guillen turned Robinson Cano's grounder into a game ending 3-6-3 double play.

The Tigers got off to a fast start against Hughes, whose fastball was straight for much of the day. Curtis Granderson hit what appeared to be harmless fly to shallow, but the ball fell past the outstretched glove of Matsui, and bounced all the way to the wall. The speedy Granderson raced around the bases for an inside-the-park home run. Guillen, who hit a walk-off home run on Friday, went the traditional route, smacking a 2-run HR to right for a 3-0 Tigers lead.

Giambi got a run back in the 2nd with his 12th home run of the year. It was also the last batter of the day for the Tigers rookie starter, Jurrjens. Making just his 3rd start in the majors, Jurrjens felt soreness in his right shoulder and was removed.

Hughes (2-2) gave up the long ball again in the 3rd when Marcus Thames hit 15th of the year with a man aboard. Cano got the Yankees right back in it in the 4th when he hit a 431-foot, 3-run blast to dead center field, cutting the Tigers lead to 5-4.

Hughes settled down, retiring 11 of the final 12 hitters he faced, and Kyle Farnsworth and Luis Vizcaino threw a scoreless inning each. But the Yankees couldn't solve the trio of Bobby Seay (1-0), Zumaya, and Jones.

...

The Yankees are now 11-19 in 1-run and extra inning games.

Derek Jeter missed Sunday's game with wear and tear in his right knee and expects to play tonight. Joe Torre may feel otherwise.

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Top Pick to Have TJ Surgery

The Yankees number one pick in this year's amateur draft, Andrew Brackman, will undergo Tommy John surgery. It was thought that surgery would be needed eventually, but it has now been decided that the time is right. Dr. James Andrews will be performing the surgery.

Brackman recently signed a four-year deal worth $4.5 million that includes a $3.3 million signing bonus and could escalate to $13.8 million if incentives are met.


Source

Photo courtesy of minorleaguebaseball.com

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Today's Lineups (8/26)

Phil Hughes vs. Jair Jurrjens

Yankees

J. Damon dh
M. Cabrera cf
B. Abreu rf
A. Rodriguez 3b
H. Matsui lf
J. Giambi 1b
R. Cano 2b
W. Betemit ss
J. Molina c

Tigers
C. Granderson cf
P. Polanco 2b
M. Thames dh
M. Ordonez rf
C. Guillen ss
I. Rodriguez c
S. Casey 1b
B. Inge 3b
C. Maybin lf

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Joba Rules

Joe Torre has indicated that discussions are underway to try to amend the so-called "Joba Rules". Currently the rookie right-hander must have 1 day off if he pitches 1 inning and 2 days off if he pitches 2 innings. He must also have 2 days off prior to pitching 2 innings. There are pitch count rules, etc.

But as Torre has pointed out, what's wrong with pitching Joba on back-to-back nights if he threw only 10 pitches the night before.

Source

Photo courtesy of AP

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The Late Show

The controversy over Friday's night 11 PM start continued yesterday. Based on Joe Torre's comments, Yankees announcer Michael Kay was quick to throw the umpiring crew under the bus. But after further details came out, it looks like major league baseball is to blame.

It all started with Thursday's Red Sox-White Sox game in Chicago. Rain delayed the start of the game and it was finally called at 9:30. It never rained the rest of the night and the umpires took a big hit for it. So a directive came out via VP of umps Mike Port, but originated from higher up.

So Friday night, Rick Reed's crew, the same crew that was in Chicago waited as long as possible. There were several conflicting weather reports that had the game nearly starting on several occasions.

The weather may not have been clear, but it was clear that the fans should not have had to wait 4 hours for baseball.

Source


Photos courtesy of AP

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Back on the Wang Track

Chien-Ming Wang pitched his best game in over a month, dominating the Detroit Tigers en route to a 7-2 Yankees win. Wang had lost only 2 of his previous 10 starts, but even in victory, he hadn't been nearly as sharp as we've grown accustomed to seeing him. Tonight's outing was the Wang we know and love. He limited the Tigers to 5 hits over 8 innings, struck out 6, and recorded 12 outs via the ground. He got plenty of run support too as the Yankees knocked around Jeremy Bonderman for the 2nd time in a week.

Bonderman (10-7) retired Johnny Damon and Derek Jeter to start the game, but Bobby Abreu singled and stole 2nd. With an open base, Bonderman unintentionally walked Alex Rodriguez to put 2 men aboard. Hideki Matsui then came up with the big hit, a drive into the gap in left-center that went all the way to the wall. Both runners scored easily and the Yankees had themselves a quick 2-o lead.

Detroit came right back against Wang (15-6) in the bottom half of the 1st as Placido Polanco walked, stole 2nd, and scored on Magglio Ordonez's single. It was Ordonez's 116 RBI, 2nd to A-Rod for the AL lead.

The Yankees got the run back in the 3rd when Johnny Damon lead off the inning with his 8th home run of the season. They also put Bonderman on the ropes as Abreu walked and stole 2nd again and A-Rod moved him to 3rd with a single to right. But this time Matsui popped out to 3rd Baseman Brandon Inge in foul territory, and after A-Rod stole 2nd, Jorge Posada flied out to center.

The Yankees helped the Tigers back into the game in the 6th after Inge singled and stole 2nd. Posada got crossed up on a Wang delivery and the pitched caromed off his glove for a passed ball. With Inge at 3rd and 1 out, Wang bounced a pitch to Curtis Granderson, and Inge scored as the ball went to the backstop. But the offense was quick to make amends for the sloppy inning.

The Bombers loaded the bases with 1 out in the 7th on singles by Matsui and Robinson Cano, and a walk to Wilson Betemit. Melky Cabrera, hitting in the 9 hole, ripped a line drive in the right field corner to clear the bases. The triple broke the game open, giving the Yankees a 6-2 lead. Damon made it back to back triples when his drive to right-center hit off of the glove of a diving Granderson. With the infield in, Jeter lined to Guillen for the 2nd out, but Tigers manager Jim Leyland saw enough of Bonderman, who lost his 6th straight decision.


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Chien-Ming Wang is now 42-17 in his Yankees career. His 15 wins are 2nd in the AL to Josh Beckett and Tim Wakefield's 16.

Bobby Abreu had a huge night with 2 hits, 2 walks, and 3 stolen bases. He now has 20 steals in 26 attempts this season, and has stolen 30 bases in 38 attempts as a Yankee.

Melky Cabrera's triple was his team leading 8th of the year.

With 2 hits in 4 trips against Bonderman, Johnny Damon is now 14-32 in his career against the right-hander, with a pair of home runs. Damon is now hitting .343 for August.

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Tonight's Lineups (8/25)

Yankees J. Damon lf
D. Jeter ss
B. Abreu rf
A. Rodriguez 3b
H. Matsui dh
J. Posada c
R. Cano 2b
W. Betemit 1b
M. Cabrera cf

Tigers
C. Granderson cf
P. Polanco 2b
M. Thames lf
M. Ordonez rf
C. Guillen 1b
M. Rabelo c
S. Casey dh
B. Inge 3b
R. Santiago ss

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