Skid Hits 3 as Rally Falls Short

The Yankees climbed out of a hole in the 9th inning tonight, turning a runaway into a one run ball game with the tying run on 2nd base and just 1 out. But as we've seen time and time again this year, they come up short when needing the big hit. This time it was Robinson Cano and Wilson Betemit both going down on swinging strikes as George Sherrill barely preserved a 7-6 game.

Darrell Rasner kept the Yankees in the game, leaving in the 7th with two on, two out, and the Orioles ahead 2-1. The Yankees newest Damaso Marte had a chance for heroics, but failed miserably. After a bloop single by Nick Markakis loaded the bases, Marte temporarily escaped trouble when Aubrey Huff's blast into the upper deck in right field faded into foul territory. But Marte wasn't so lucky with his next pitch.

Huff drilled a Marte breaking pitch into the gap in left-center to clear the bases and put the Orioles on top 5-1. Melvin Mora added an RBI double for Marte finally worked out of the inning. Huff would narrowly miss a home run again, in the 9th against Mariano Rivera, but later in the at-bat he tied a career high with his 4th hit, yup, a home run against Rivera in the same at-bat.

The Yankees lone run until the 8th was Alex Rodriguez's 22nd home run off of Daniel Cabrera. Down 6-1 in the 8th Cabrera was ejected after hitting Rodriguez in the shoulder with a high fastball. Home plate ump Chad Fairchild felt there was intent though manager Dave Trembley strongly disagreed. Cano would deliver a 2-run single that would cut the lead to 6-4 and put the tying runs on base with no one out.

But Jim Johnson struck out Betemit (gee, what a shock that was), retired Melky Cabrera on a line out to center and struck out pinch-hitter Xavier Nady (you think he wishes he were back in P-Burgh?) looking.

Huff's home run off Rivera would prove to be crucial when the Yankees rallied in the 9th against closer George Sherrill. Johnny Damon's lead off single was followed by a walk to Derek Jeter and an RBI double by Bobby Abreu. It was suddenly a 7-5 game and A-Rod was up. But Sherrill won the showdown, throwing a high fastball past the reigning AL MVP for a strikeout.

Jason Giambi came through, lining a pitch off of the mound, and nearly Sherrill, for a 2-run single. Down a run, pinch-runner Justin Christian swiped 2nd, putting the tying run in scoring position. But Sherrill K'ed Cano on three pitches and threw a 2-2 pitch past Betemit to hand the Yankees their third straight loss.


News and Notes

Alex Rodriguez's home run was the 540th of his career. It put him 8 behind Mike Schmidt on the all-time list.

Derek Jeter extended his hitting streak to 10 games, in which he's hitting .318 (14-44)

Kevin Millar homered for the second straight night. Why does no Yankees back him off the plate?

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Hump Day Rumors - 7/23 Edition

Things are starting to heat up as we get closer to the July 31st trade deadline. Locally the Yankees are taking a look at Seattle's Jarrod Washburn, Pirates' lefties Damaso Marte and John Grabow, the Reds' Bronson Arroyo (yech), and the Rockies' Brian Fuentes. The Denver Post reports that a team source said the Rockies have asked for Rays Double-A starter Wade Hendrickson, the Yankees' Ian Kennedy, the Red Sox's Clay Buchholz or Mets minor-leaguer Jon Niese. The Yankees have even talked about the Jays A.J. Burnett.

The Post's George King reports that the Yankees have also sent a scout to watch the Dodgers' Derek Lowe, who becomes a free agent after this season. The Yankees are also looking at hitters Jason Bay, Xavier Nady, and others.

Many of the decisions regarding the Yankees plans will be made this Thursday when the front office meets in Tampa. According to the Daily News' Mark Feinsand, the Yankees will be going for it.

The meeting will include co-chairmen Hank and Hal Steinbrenner, president Randy Levine, general manager Brian Cashman, special adviser Gene Michael, pro scouting director Billy Eppler and senior VP Felix Lopez. Manager Joe Girardi isn't expected to be at the meeting, but he is expected to have some input.

A source with knowledge of the situation said that the Steinbrenner brothers have been pleased with the team's recent play, so they want to show the players that they are committed to winning this year by making moves to bolster the roster.

"They're ready to do whatever they need to do at the deadline," the source said. "They want to make a run this year."

A couple of minor trades did go through yesterday. For some reason the Houston Astros acquired left-hander Randy Wolf from the San Diego Padres for minor league Chad Reineke. Perhaps the Astros will look to re-deal Wolf since they aren't coming close to sniffing a playoff spot.

The Diamondbacks strengthened their bullpen by getting setup man/part-time closer Jon Rauch from the Washington Nationals for infielder Emilio Bonifacio. The Dbacks now have two of the tallest players in baseball in Rauch and Randy Johnson.

Okay, enough fact, back to rumor. The Cardinals, according to the St. Louis Post Dispatch are looking for a left-hander. They've expressed interest in Orioles All-Star closer George Sherrill, who has 29 saves and a 3.83 ERA, Rangers set up man Eddie Guardado. The Brewers are said to be eyeing Sherrill as well.

According to the Baltimore Sun, the Brewers are close to signing former Orioles outfielder Jay Gibbons to a minor league contract. The oft-injured outfielder couldn't find a major league job after being named in the Mitchell Report last Fall. He's been playing this season for the Long Island Ducks in the Atlantic League.


UPDATE 3:15 PM EDT

Ken Rosenthal of FoxSports is reporting that the Yankees are looking for an offensive upgrade at catcher with Jorge Posada not expected to be able to play the position the remainder of the season. The Yankees have reportedly contacted the Texas Rangers about Gerald Laird and the Kansas City Royals about Miguel Olivo.

The Rangers are looking for young pitching in return for Laird, who is signed through 2010. The Royals are working hard to move Olivo, who would come at a lower asking price.

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