Hanging with Mr. Cooper

Congrats to Cecil Cooper on being named full-time manager of the Houston Astros. Coop got a 2 year deal after taking over from Phil Garner on August 27th.

Coop gave the Yankees trouble back in the '70s and '80s with as a sweet swinging 1st Baseman for the Milwaukee Brewers. He had 3 top 5 finishes in the AL MVP race.

Good luck to a class guy!

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Tonight's Lineups (9/28)

Mike Mussina vs. John Leicester

Yankees

Johnny Damon CF
Derek Jeter SS
Bobby Abreu RF
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Hideki Matsui LF
Jorge Posada C
Jason Giambi DH
Robinson Cano 2B
Doug Mientkiewicz 1B

Orioles

Brian Roberts 2B
Tike Redman CF
Nick Markakis RF
Miguel Tejada SS
Aubrey Huff DH
Melvin Mora 3B
Ramon Hernandez C
Jay Payton LF
Scott Moore 1B

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The Wild Wild West, and East, and Central

When Bud Selig sprang the Wild Card on the world, he could not have envisioned a final week such as the one taking place in the National League. All 3 division races as well as the Wild Card are coming down to the wire.

NL East

The Mets got off to a fast start, struggled at times, but still manged to hold a healthy lead over the Philadelphia Phillies and Atlanta Braves. Then the Phillies beat the Mets in 8 straight meetings and the Mets stopped pitching in their other games. The bullpen, once a strength, has become the biggest problem.

After the Mets got swept by the Nationals, they had a match up with the Cardinals last night. The Mets dominated the Central Division this year and hoped to get healthy on the ailing cards. Pedro Martinez took the hill for the Mets and gave them his longest outing this season, 7 innings. But the hot Met bats suddenly went cold and Joel Pineiro shut them down for 8 innings in a 3-0 Cards win.

Meanwhile in the city of brotherly love (boy is that an oxymoron), the Phillies got home runs from Ryan Howard and Pat Burrell to beat John Smoltz and the Braves, 6-4. The Mets and Phillies go into the weekend in a flat footed tie for 1st place.

The Mets open a 3 game series with the woeful Marlins tonight. Here are the pitching match ups:

Byung Kim vs. Oliver Perez
Chris Seddon vs. John Maine
Dontrelle Willis vs. Tom Glavine

The Mets have a clear advantage in 2 of the 3 games, so you would think the Mets would win 2 of 3 minimum. But with the current state of their bullpen, they might just be lucky to win 1 of 3.

The Phillies host the pesky Washington Nationals for 3 games. The (g)Nats helped the Phillies out earlier this week with a 3 game sweep of the Mets. Here are the pitching match ups:

Tim Redding vs. Cole Hammels
Matt Chico vs. Adam Eaton
Jason Bergmann vs. Jamie Moyer

The Phillies have a big advantage tonight with their ace going, but the next 2 are toss-ups. Kyle Lohse will replace Adam Eaton earlier if Eaton falters.

We picked the Phillies to win the NL East prior to the season and even in August, we still felt we had made a stupid pick. People like Guillermo Mota are starting to make us look real smart.

NL Central

Milwaukee sprinted out early while the Cubbies were busy fighting each other. When the Brewers started to falter, the Cubs, and the Cardinals started to reel them in. While the Cards faded, as expected, the Cubs kept firing on all cylinders. Now its the Brewers doing the chasing and it doesn't look good. The Cubs lead by 2 games with just 3 to play. The Cubs got swept by the Marlins, but the Brewers couldn't cut their lead.

The Brew Crew's biggest problem. They started a 4 game series with the San Diego Padres last night. The Pads took the opener 9-5. Meanwhile the Cubs go on the road to face a bad Reds ball club, that just got worse with the loss of Adam Dunn to knee surgery.

Here are the pitching match ups for the 2 series:

Cubs vs. Reds

Carlos Zambrano vs. Bronson Arroyo
Rich Hill vs. Aaron Harang
Ted Lilly vs. Homer Bailey

Padres vs. Brewers

Greg Maddux vs. Chris Capuano
Chris Young vs. David Bush
Brett Tomko vs. Jeff Suppan

Conclusion- the Cubs should have no problem wrapping up the division title. Nice year Brewers.

NL West and Wild Card

We've already talked about the Padres series up above, so we'll focus on the division leading Arizona Diamondbacks. We never saw this coming. We know its a weak division, but the DBacks and their ugly new uni's? They have a 1 game lead over the Pads, thanks in part to an amazing 24-9 mark against the NL East.

Arizona goes on the road for a 3 game series with the hot Colorado Rockies. The Rockies looked like they were dead in the water, but they suddenly find themselves tied with the Mets and Phillies, 1 game behind the Padres for the Wild Card lead.

Here are the series pitching probables:

Brandon Webb vs. Jeff Francis
Edgar Gonzalez vs. Mark Redman
Doug Davis vs. Ubaldo Jiminez

What a great pitching match for tonight's opener. After that you have to give the edge to the Dbacks- decidedly on Saturday, and just barely on Sunday.

The DBacks should take 2 of 3, and since the Pads should do the same this weekend, we see the DBacks hanging on for the division and the Pads taking the Wild Card. Which means either the Phils or Mets, and the Rockies are SOL.

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Our Pal Hal

Steve Swindal's misfortune has turned into Hal Steinbrenner's opportunity. Swindal, King George's son-in law, is officially on the outs after a DUI this past Spring and a divorce from Jennifer Steinbrenner. Hal Steinbrenner, 38, has been selected as the chairman of the board of Yankees Global Enterprises LLC, the holding company for the team and the Yankees Entertainment & Sports Network.






The Yankees new chairman of the board with THE Chairman of the Board







While King George has never named a successor to the throne, this is a pretty good indicator of just who that person will be.

Source

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Olberman: Thaaaaaaaa Yankees Win

SPORTSbyBROOKS has an amusing piece on Keith Olberman's desire to become the Yankees play-by-play announcer. It's definitely worth checking out.

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Hughes Makes a Pitch for Post-Season

In our discussion the other day of the Yankees post-season roster we didn't feel that Phil Hughes would be included in the 1st round . No need for too many starters and the rook doesn't have relief experience. But last night the Yankees #1 pick in 2005 may have pushed his way on to the playoff roster.

Hughes improved his record to 5-3 with 7 innings of 4-hit ball as the Yankees subs topped the Devil Rays 4-1. Hughes threw 102 pitches, walking 2 batters and striking out 5. He finished his rookie campaign with a 4.46 ERA and was 3-0, 2.73 in his last 5 starts.

The only Yankees regulars in the lineup last night were Johnny Damon, Hideki Matsui, Robinson Cano, and Jason Giambi, and even Giambi hasn't been a regular of late. Carlos Pena had given the Rays a 1-0 lead in the 4th with his 44th HR of the season, and Scott Kazmir blanked the Bombers through 5. But Damon's RBI double tied it in the 6th, and Jose Molina bounced a 2-run single back up the middle off of Jon Switzer (0-2) in the 7th to give the Yankees the lead for good.

Joba Chamberlain entered in the 7th in his first back-to-back appearance as the "Joba Rules" continue to be molded for the post-season. Chamberlain started the inning throwing in the mid 90's, but was hitting 97-98 when he struck out B.J. Upton to end the inning. He allowed a double to Josh Wilson and hit Pena on the foot with a breaking pitch, but did record 2 strikeouts. Jose Veras pitched the 9th to earn his 1st save of the season, and 2nd of his career.

...

Bronson Sardinha started in right field and picked up his 1st major league hit. Alberto Gonzalez accomplished the feat as well, getting the start at shortstop.

Shelley Duncan started at 1st Base, and made a nice diving stop, throwing to 1st from his butt to get the out.

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The Boss Speaks

through Howard Rubenstein of course...

"I'm elated," Steinbrenner said in a statement. "After a tough first half of the season when everyone seemed to lose faith except for our players and our fans, the team has really stepped up and shown themselves to be the champions that they are. ... I really like the mix of veterans and younger players who have contributed to this comeback. It has been exciting to watch them play, coalesce and pull together. The fans and I look forward to the team accomplishing our ultimate goal -- bringing a world championship back to New York."

Sounds like Rubenstein's words, not George's...coalesce? C'mon.

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A-Rod Wants to Stay

At least that's what his words were last night, via Peter Abraham:

Then there was this quote from Alex Rodriguez:

“This feels like home. It’s hard to believe that I played for another two organizations. So much has happened to me here, adversity, some success, that I feel like anything but New York feels weird for me now.”

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Let the Champagne Flow...

...and may the Steve Phillips and Mad Dog Russos of the world, shove it up their collective asses! I am not going to lie and say I was confident on July 1st that the Yankees would return to the post-season, but I never gave up watching/listening/hoping. And neither did millions of Yankees fans. Tonight we were rewarded.

The Yankees uncorked a blow out, beating up on the Devil Rays 12-4. Chien-Ming Wang won his 19th game for the 2nd consecutive season and Robinson Cano homered and drove in 5 runs.

In a scene repeated many times over the years, Mariano Rivera stood on the mound as the final out - in this case a Greg Norton pop out to Cano - was recorded. A jubilant, and is that ever understated, celebration ensued in the locker room with many of the Yankees youngsters energizing the party.

A tearful Joe Torre couldn't help but let his pride show through his emotions. And even owner George Steinbrenner was in the house. Seeing Andy Pettitte back where he belongs made a great night even more special. So was seeing Kim Jones soaked with champagne.

As for the game, it was only a contest until the 4th inning when the Yankees scored 7 runs. Already leading 2-1 on a Derek Jeter home run and a Cano ground out, the Yankees drove J.P. Howell from the game with a mix of timely hits, and battered the Rays bullpen. Jeter's sac fly gave the Yankees a 3-1 advantage and was the 2nd out of the inning. But with the help of an error by Josh Wilson to start the inning, the Yankees opened the flood gates.

Jorge Posada singled in 2 runs, Cano belted a 3-run home run, and Mientkiewicz, batting for the 2nd time in the inning, doubled in a run. The Yankees added 3 more in the 6th, which would be Wang's final inning. Joba Chamberlain tossed a scoreless 7th before Luis Vizcaino gave up a 2-run bomb to Jonny Gomes. But the plan was already in place for the Yankees Hall of Fame closer to enter and for another celebration to begin.

...

Robinson Cano's monster 2nd half continued. He's hit 13 HR and driven in 54 runs in 276 at-bats. He's also hitting better than .340 since the break.

Doug Mientkiewicz's post game interview with Kim Jones was special, as the Yankees veteran 1st Baseman clearly appreciated how much it meant for him to get back to playing this season. He talked about his moment with Joe Torre following the game, and how important the injured Andy Phillips had been to the team.

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Tonight's Lineups (9/26)

Chien-Ming Wang (18-7, 3.72) vs. J.P. Howell (1-5, 6.80)

Yankees

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

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

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Post Season Roster Not Set in Stone

The usual suspects will be on the Yankees post-season roster, but there are still a number of question marks for the bench, rotation, and bullpen. Lets take a quick look at each area and see how it shakes out.

Okay, the given - Jeter, A-Rod, Cano, Giambi, Posada, Matsui, Damon, Cabrera, Molina, Mientkiewicz, Betemit, Abreu, Pettitte, Clemens, Wang, Rivera, Chamberlain, Mussina, Vizcaino.

That's 19 players, leaving 6 spots to fill on the bench and the bullpen. And that's assuming Clemens will be able to give it a go.

Of those 6, Shelley Duncan is probably a lock to give the Yankees a right-handed bat off of the bench. That leaves 5 spots, all going to pitchers. The Yankees have already stated that its not likely that Ian Kennedy will be on a 1st round roster. With Mussina seemingly locking down a spot, Phil Hughes may not be needed either. He's certainly not used to pitching out of the pen.

A new rule change may also dictate how the roster is assembled. For the first time, a player may be replaced in mid-series because of an injury. A pitcher would have to replace a pitcher, and a position player would take the place of one of his colleagues. The injured player would not be allowed to participate in the next round.

With the new rule, the Yankees could opt to leave Hughes off the roster initially, and add him later if Clemens can't go or Mussina reverts back to total ineffectiveness. Also the division series is likely to have more off days than usual, so the Yankees may only use 3 starting pitchers.

That leaves Joe Torre, Brian Cashman, etc., to choose from Russ Ohlendorf (could definitely be the dark horse here), Jose Veras, Kyle Farnsworth (most likely will be added), Brian Bruney, Edwar Ramirez, Chris Britton, and Ron Villone (could be added simply beacuse he's left-handed).

So lets say Ohlendorf, Farnsworth, and Villone are added. That leaves 2 openings - the Yankees could take another position player (either Bronson Sardinha or Alberto Gonzalez) and leave the final spot for a coin flip between Veras, Ramirez, Britton, and Bruney. For now we'll say they go to Veras, whom they seem to have fallen in love with lately.

So the 25 would look something like this:

Catchers (2)
Posada
Molina

Infielders (6)
Giambi
Mientkiewicz
Betemit
Cano
Jeter
A-Rod

Outfielders (6)
Damon
Cabrera
Matsui
Abreu
Duncan
Sardinha

Pitchers (11)
Pettitte
Wang
Clemens
Mussina
Veras
Rivera
Farnsworth
Villone
Ohlendorf
Chamberlain
Vizcaino

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The Ump Gets Struck Back

Trouble has followed Milton Bradley everywhere he's been, but Major League Baseball has partially agreed that this time he got pushed into it. As you may recall, Bradley blew out his ACL after a confrontation with 1st Base ump, Mike Winters.

An anonymous official from MLB stated that Winters used a profanity towards Bradley, and would be suspended for the remainder of the regular season.

Source

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Yankees Forced to Wait Another Night

With Kei Igawa replacing Roger Clemens for this evening's start, you had to figure the odds were not good for clinching the AL Wild Card tonight. Given 5 runs and 5 scoreless innings by Igawa, you would have thought it would have been a lock, but the garbage that is the rest of the Yankees bullpen made sure it wasn't to be. The Devil Rays rallied from 5-0 to take a 6-5 lead, and eventually won in 10 innings, 7-6 on Dionner Navarro's walk-off home run off of Jeff Karstens (1-4).

Igawa had done the impossible, holding the Rays to 2 hits and no runs over 5 full innings. He did struggle with his control, walking 5, but didn't give up the big hit to the Rays. Already leading 1-0 entering the 4th, the Yankees thought they had broken the game open when Alex Rodriguez belted his 3rd grand slam of the season, off of Jason Hammel. A-Rod's 53rd HR gave the Bombers a 5-0 lead and gave him 151 RBI. The latter total are the most since Joe DiMaggio drove in 155 in 1948.

But the Yankees middle relievers provided no relief. Early favorite Edwar Ramirez is quickly moving into the doghouse alongside Brian "Base on Balls" Bruney, who helped blow the game. BB-Ram (the former K-Ram) walked B.J. Upton to start the 6th, and one batter later Navarro doubled in the Rays first run. When Ramirez walked Jonny Gomes, Joe Torre sent for Bruney, and the small fire quickly became a 4-alarmer.

In typical Bruney fashion, the right-hander walked Greg Norton to load the bases, blew away Josh Wilson with 3 straight upper 90's fastballs and then walked Akinori Iwamura to force in a run. Then household name Jorge Velandia struck with a grand slam, the 32-yr old's 1st major league home run to give the Rays the lead.

The Yankees tied things up in the 8th against Dan Wheeler on Melky Cabrera's sac fly, but with runners on the corners and 2 outs, Derek Jeter took a 3-2 pitch for an inning ending strike 3. But Al Reyes and Gary Glover (6-5) blanked the Yankees over the next 2 innings and Navarro's 9th HR kept the Tigers breathing for one more day.

...

Johnny Damon certainly can't be blamed for the loss. The left-fielder went 5-5 with 2 stolen bases and 2 runs scored.
Publish Post
Derek Jeter had hits in first 2 at-bats to extend his hitting streak to 12 games.

Roger Clemens has been shut down for the rest of the regular season, and remains a question mark for the post-season roster, when and if it finally gets here.

photos courtesy of AP

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Tonight's Lineup (9/25)

Kei Igawa (2-3, 6.75) vs. Jason Hammel (2-5, 5.88)

With Igawa going, we probably won't have to miss out on the season premiere of NCIS.

Yankees

J. Damon lf
D. Jeter ss
B. Abreu rf
A. Rodriguez 3b
H. Matsui dh
J. Posada c
R. Cano 2b
D. Mientkiewicz1b
M. Cabrera cf

Devil Rays
A. Iwamura 3b
J. Velandia 2b
C. Pena 1b
B.J. Upton cf
D. Young rf
D. Navarro c
J. Gomes lf
J. Guzman dh
J. Wilson ss

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Another Rocket Launch Scrubbed

CBS Sportsline is reporting that the Yankees have scratched Roger Clemens from tonight's start with the Devil Rays due to lingering hamstring problems. Kei Igawa, last seen in a flying monkey costume, will get the start. Make alternate plans ASAP.

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We're Off to See The Wizard

It was rookie hazing day following yesterday's game and the result was a riot. With Wizard of Oz as the theme, the Yankees rookies stepped outside, fully costumed, to an awaiting crowd of autograph seekers. There was Joba Chamberlain as the Cowardly Lion, Ian Kennedy as Dorothy, Shelley Duncan as the Scarecrow, and Phil Hughes as the Tin Man. Each had to sign autographs before leaving for the flight to Tampa.

Chase Wright was dazzling as Glina the Good Witch, while Edwar Ramirez took on the Wicked Witch of the West. Kei Igawa was dressed as a flying monkey, while Matt DeSalvo, Tyler Clippard, and Russ Ohlendorf were palace guards. Yankees strength coach Dana Cavalea was the Munchkin Mayor.































































































photos courtesy of AP, Daily News

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Yankees Sleepwalk to Tie Clinch

It seemed like the Yankee veterans were in too much of a hurry yesterday to see their rookie counterparts in Wizard of Oz regalia as part of this year's freshman hazing. The Yankees let rookie Jesse Litsch manhandle them in a 4-1 loss to the Blue Jays. They did manage to clinch a tie for the Wild Card last night though, when the barely breathing Detroit Tigers were blanked by the Minnesota Twins, 2-0.

Andy Pettitte felt his stuff was good, but the Blue Jays battled him hard, scoring 3 runs in the 2nd inning to take control of the game. Pettitte retired Frank Thomas to start the inning, but allowed a single to Aaron Hill and walked Greg Zaun. Curtis Thigpen doubled in the game's 1st run and Hector Luna followed with an RBI ground out. John McDonald's double to deep center made it a 3-0 game, before Pettitte finally retired Reed Johnson to end the inning.

The Blue Jays added an insurance tally the next inning when Derek Jeter couldn't handle Hill's potential inning ending ground ball. The Yankees got their only in the 6th when Jeter doubled and came around on ground outs by Bobby Abreu and Alex Rodriguez. It was A-Rod's 147th RBI of the season.

Litsch left after 7.2 innings of 5 hit ball. Casey Janssen came on for the final 4 outs to record his 6th save of the season.

...

Russ Ohlendorf continues to put himself into post-season consideration, especially with Ian Kennedy not likely to pitch this week. Ohlendorf's scoreless inning yesterday lowered his ERA to 2.45 and gave him 5 strikeouts in 2.2 innings.

Derek Jeter's double extended his hitting streak to 11 games.

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Today's Lineups (9/24)

Jesse Litsch (6-9, 4.16) vs. Andy Pettitte (14-9, 3.79)

A.J. Burnett was scratched due to personal reasons.

Blue Jays

R. Johnson lf
M. Stairs rf
A. Rios cf
F. Thomas dh
A. Hill 2b
G. Zaun c
C. Thigpen 1b
H. Luna 3b
J. McDonald ss

Yankees
J. Damon dh
D. Jeter ss
B. Abreu rf
A. Rodriguez 3b
H. Matsui lf
J. Posada c
R. Cano 2b
D. Mientkiewicz1b
M. Cabrera cf

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An Elite Win

It wasn't that long ago that it was unlikely that Mike Mussina would ever make another start for the Yankees, let alone win his 250th game. He did just that yesterday, as the Yankees overcame a 3-0 deficit and beat the Blue Jays 7-5 at a sun and fan filled Yankee Stadium. Mussina (11-10) became the 1st pitcher in major league history to win 250 games without the benefit of a 20 win season. He gave up those 3 runs to the Blue Jays in the 2nd inning, but shut the door on them after that, retiring the last 9 men he faced. Jose Molina lead the comeback with a 3-hit, 3 RBI day.

Luis Vizcaino gave up a 2-run HR to Matt Stairs (his 20th) in the 8th, but Joe Torre called on Joba Chamberlain with 2 outs in the 8th and the rookie came through again, retiring all 4 batters he faced, 3 by strike out. He celebrated his 22nd birthday with his 1st major league save. On Friday, Torre, GM Brian Cashman, and minor league pitching guru Nardi Contreras participated in a conference call to discuss amending the "Joba Rules" (unlike Michael Kay, we're not going to go into the details of them again). Ordinarily, Chamberlain would have not have been able to pitch on Sunday after throwing 2 innings and 30 pitches on Friday. But everyone realizes they can't use Mariano Rivera and Luis Vizcaino every game, and they'll need Chamberlain to pitch more regularly in the post-season, so why not groom him for that role now.

Molina, Johnny Damon, and Derek Jeter stroked RBI singles off Dustin McGowan (11-10) in the bottom of the 2nd, to answer the Jays 3 in the top of the inning. In the 6th, Robinson Cano put the Yankees ahead with an RBI single, and Doug Mientkiewicz and Molina added RBI singles as well. Molina drove in the final run with a double in the 8th.

The victory moved the Yankees back to 1.5 games of the Red Sox in the AL East, but Ed Price of the Star-Ledger reported this morning that a source close to the situation said that if the Yankees clinch the Wild Card, they will call off the dogs and prepare for the post-season. The Yankees cite 2005 as an example of chasing the division to the wire and then beating physically and mentally beat in the playoffs. The Angels beat them in the 1st round of the ALDS that year.
The Yankees reduced their magic number yesterday to 2 to clinch the Wild Card spot, with the Tigers hanging in with a victory over the Royals.

...

Derek Jeter was having a disastrous September, but has now put together a 10-game hitting streak. He's 21-48 (.438) during the streak, which has left him just 3 hits shy of his 6th 200 hit season.

Jose Molina has given the Yankees what they have been looking for, a catcher who was not only reliable defensively, but could swing the bat some too. Molina was hitting just .224 when he was acquired from the Angels, but the .242 career hitter is batting .321 (17-53) as a Yankee. He's also got an .811 OPS.

photos courtesy of AP

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Must be 4 Feet to Ride

If you felt like you were on the Cyclone at Coney Island yesterday there's good reason for that. The Yankees blew 1-0, 6-3, and 9-8 leads, but rallied from 3-1, 8-6, and 11-10 deficits to beat the Toronto Blue Jays 12-11, in 10 innings. With Friday night's marathon, the two teams played 24 innings in a 24 hour period. The win combined with the Tigers loss, dropped their magic number to 3 to clinch the Wild Card. The Red Sox won, as the Rays' Al Reyes blew his 3rd save to them this season, clinched a post season berth for Boston and kept them 2.5 games ahead in the AL East.

Melky Cabrera, who was 0-4 at one point, had game tying singles in the 7th and 8th innings and set off a celebration in the 10th with a game winning line drive to right-center. Both starters were long gone by then. Phil Hughes had a very erratic outing, unable to protect a 1-0 lead when he was touched up for 3 runs in his 5th and final inning. He threw 99 pitches and was hurt by a pair of hanging breaking pitches.

Blue Jays' starter Shaun Marcum had to leave the game after just 3 innings with a sore knee. The Jays also lost Frank Thomas with a sore knee in the 5th and reliever Scott Downs with a strained back in the 6th.

The Yankees trailed 3-2 in the 6th, but Alex Rodriguez and Hideki Matsui drove in 2 runs each for a 6-3 Yankees lead. Russ Ohlendorf, who got the final out of the 6th, was in line for the win, but instead of seeing what Ohlendorf could do, Joe Torre decided to go to Jose Veras in the 7th and the lead was soon gone. Veras and Edwar Ramirez combined to give up 5 runs and the Yankees suddenly found themselves down 8-6.

But the Bombers came right back in their half of the 7th as Cabrera's single plated a pair and A-Rod put them back up again with a single. The only problem was that Kyle Farnsworth was coming into the game. He was loudly booed by the fans upon his entry and didn't leave with any more love after giving up 3 runs. Chris Britton and even Kei Igawa managed to retire the only men they faced, but the Yankees again trailed by 2 as they went to the bottom of the 8th.
Thankfully for the Yankees, the Jays' bullpen was even worse than their own. With Brian Wolfe on the hill, Jorge Posada lead off the inning with a single. Robinson Cano drew a 1-out walk and both runners moved up on Wilson Betemit's ground out. That's when Aaron Hill helped the Yankees out again. The Blue Jays' 2nd Baseman, who is known more for his glove than his bat, couldn't field Cabrera's bouncer up the middle, the ball squirting under his glove. Cabrera was given a 2-run single and the teams would soon be headed to extra frames again.

The Jays had a chance to take the lead, but Cabrera's defense prevented that. Matt Stairs had lead off with a single off of Jeff Karstens and tried to score on Hill's 2-out double to center. But Cabrera played the high carom off the wall with his bare hand and fired a strike to relay man Robinson Cano. Cano's throw home hit the mound, but still found it's target in Posada's glove, and the catcher tagged out a sliding Stairs for the inning's final out.

The 3 players who combined for the big defensive play then combined for the game winner. Posada blooped a ground rule double to left off of Josh Towers. After an intentional walk to Jason Giambi, Cano's fly to left moved pinch-runner Johnny Damon and Giambi up a base. Betemit struck out, but the Melkman delivered the game winner.

...

Alex Rodriguez's amazing season continues. His 3 RBI gave him 146 on the season, the most by a Yankee since Don Mattingly knocked in 145 in 1985. He's the 1st major leaguer since Ted Williams in 1949 to score at least 137 runs in addition to driving in 146.

Jorge Posada's double was a career high 41st. His 3 hits raised his average to .337, 60 points better than his career mark.

photos courtesy of AP

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Today's Lineup

Shaun Marcum (12-6, 4.15) vs. Phil Hughes (4-3, 4.75)


Blue Jays

R. Johnson rf
M. Stairs 1b
A. Rios cf
F. Thomas dh
A. Hill 2b
R. Adams 3b
A. Lind lf
C. Thigpen c
R. Olmedo ss

Yankees
M. Cabrera cf
D. Jeter ss
B. Abreu rf
A. Rodriguez 3b
H. Matsui lf
J. Posada c
J. Giambi dh
R. Cano 2b
D. Mientkiewicz1b

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Home Run, but no Atonement

Had the Blue Jays' Greg Zaun taken the night off for Yom Kippur, the Yankees and Blue Jays might still be playing right now. But Zaun's solo home run off of Brian Bruney in the 14th gave the Blue Jays a 5-4 win and dropped the Yankees 2 1/2 games behind Boston in the AL East. The Yankees also saw their Wild Card lead shrink to 4 1/2 games with the Tigers beating Kansas City, 5-4.

It actually looked like the game would be done a lot earlier. Roy Halladay brought a 4-0 lead into the 9th, and if not for some shoddy play by 2nd Baseman Aaron Hill, would have picked up his 16th win.

Johnny Damon lead off the 9th with a double and one batter later moved to 3rd on Bobby Abreu's single to center. Alex Rodriguez lined a single to center to reach a career high 143 RBI and break up the shut out. Hideki Matsui's soft grounder to 2nd moved the runners up a base and left it up to Jorge Posada to keep the Yankees alive.

Posada lined a shot back up the middle that Halladay got a glove on. The ball deflected to Hill who had plenty of time to throw out the slow footed (that's putting it nicely) Posada. But Hill's soft toss to 1st bounced in front of Lyle Overbay, who couldn't come up with it in time to retire Posada. Jays manager John Gibbons then decided to replace Halladay with lefty Scott Downs to face Robinson Cano. A clearly irate Halladay cursed vehemently as he entered the dugout, slamming his glove into the bench. He would get even more irate moments later.

Cano hit a sharp grounder to the right side that stayed down, under Hill's glove for an RBI single. Jason Giambi, who had entered one inning earlier as a pinch-hitter, singled to left field and suddenly the game was tied at 4-4. Melky Cabrera had a chance to be the hero with Cano in scoring position at 2nd, but right-hander Casey Janssen came on to retire the Melkman on a grounder to Overbay.
Halladay and Yankees starter Chien-Ming Wang were locked in a scoreless pitcher's duel when the Blue Jays final got to Wang in the 7th. Hill and Russ Adams started the inning with back-to-back singles to put runners at the corners. With the infield at double play depth, Zaun was robbed of a double by A-Rod, who made a diving stop to his right and threw out the catcher at 1st. Adam Lind's single to right resulted in a bang-bang play at the plate. Abreu finally made an accurate throw, a one-hopper that beat Adams to the plate. But Posada was given an error when he dropped the throw as he went to apply the tag.

Alex Rios belted his 24th home run, a 2-run shot off of Edwar Ramirez, in the 8th to give the Blue Jays, what seemed like at the time, an insurmountable 4-0 lead.

...

Derek Jeter's 2 hits moved him past Joe Torre and into 118th place on the all-time hit list.

Alex Rodriguez's previous career high in RBI was 142 with Texas in 2002. He also hit a career high 57 home runs that year.

Saturday's starter Ian Kennedy was scratched with a tight upper back, so the Yankees moved each starter up 1 day. Then, according to Peter Abraham, Roger Clemens was scratched late last night with a leg issue. Phil Hughes will now make Saturday's start with Sunday a big question mark.

Apparently home plate umpire Rob Drake decided the game shouldn't go more than 14 innings. His strike zone in the bottom of the 14th was erratic, at best. He punched out Wilson Betemit for the final out on a 2-2 pitch that was clearly low and away. Some much for the impact of QuesTec. I'm not saying the Yankees would have rallied, but an umpire should never take the game out of a player's hands.

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Yankees vs. Blue Jays in 4 Game Set

Tonight: Roy Halladay (15-7, 3.82) vs. Chien-Ming Wang (18-7, 3.82)

Lineups

Blue Jays

R. Johnson rf
M. Stairs 1b
A. Rios cf
F. Thomas dh
A. Hill 2b
R. Adams 3b
G. Zaun c
A. Lind lf
R. Olmedo ss

Yankees
J. Damon lf
D. Jeter ss
B. Abreu rf
A. Rodriguez 3b
H. Matsui dh
J. Posada c
R. Cano 2b
D. Mientkiewicz1b
M. Cabrera cf

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Lord of the Cardinals

J.R.R. Tolkien Towles is a 23 year old rookie catcher on the Houston Astros. You probably never heard of him and you wouldn't be alone. But you will now. The homegrown kid had appeared in 5 games this year and was hitting a less than gaudy .231 (3-13). The kid went ape shit in St. Louis tonight with a home run, 2 doubles, a single and 8, count 'em, 8..RBI.

His official website (how he got one already is anyone's guess) describes him as a "a Christian Baseball Player with great work ethics and morals".

He's not just a flash in the pan apparently, having been chosen for this year's Futures game. Wonder what God thinks of some of his favorite activities?

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