Abreu Slams Yankees to 7th Straight

Bobby Abreu knows how important is too put up good numbers in a free agent season. Last night the right fielder hit a grand slam in the 10th inning to give the Yankees their seventh win in a row, 6-2 over the Toronto Blue Jays. The 4 RBI left Abreu one shy of the magic century mark, a feat has accomplished in each of the last six seasons, and the seventh time overall in his career.

The Yankees also saw the best of Phil Hughes this year. He'll still finish the season with no wins, but the second year right-hander had his most impressive outing of the season, allowing two earned runs over eight innings. He left the game after having allowed a solo home run to Scott Rolen in the eighth inning that tied the game at two apiece.

Abreu has produced impressive numbers since being acquired with the late Corey Lidle prior to the 2006 trade deadline. He had a poor first half in 2007 after straining an oblique muscle, but rebounded after the break to help the Yankees reach the playoffs for a 13th consecutive season. Abreu's play this season has left the Yankees decision makers in a quandary as to the possibility of re-signing him to a new deal.

While we agree that Abreu has put up consistently good numbers and he, along with Jason Giambi, are the only Yankees that consistently work the count, we think the Yankees would do better to let Abreu walk after this season.

While Abreu comes off as very likeable, and genuinely seems to be popular among his teammates, he's always had a reputation as a soft player, and it is clearly the case when he's playing defense. Will Rogers never met a man he didn't like and Bobby Abreu has never met a right field wall, period. Abreu doesn't go aggressively after any ball hit near the wall, and for that matter, he doesn't attack balls hit in front of him either.

The 34-yr old Abreu would most likely be seeking a three year or more deal. Letting Abreu go would also enable the Yankees to move Xavier Nady to his more natural position in right field.

It remains to be seen whether Hughes figures in next year's plans either. After not being dealt for Johan Santana in the off-season, Hughes was counted on to be a major part of the '08 season. But he struggled early and then suffered a stress fracture in his rib cage that kept him out of action for several months.

Last night he pitched like the prospect the Yankees have been counting on, and they hadn't seen since the 2007 ALDS. Hughes' fastball was clocked at 89-91 all night, and hit a high of 92 mph. He mixed his new cutter in well with his top notch curve ball. It was only one game, but it gives us some hope for next season.

A.J. Burnett, who will reportedly seek $15 million per year when he opts out of his Blue Jays contract after this season, allowed one earned run in eight innings and struck out 11. He finished 3-1, 1.64 in five starts against the Yankees with 43 strikeouts in 38.1 innings pitched.

Xavier Nady's 2-out, 2-run single in the third inning gave the Yankees a 2-1 lead before Rolen's 11th home run tied things up. Juan Miranda, who had earlier picked up his first major league hit, doubled off of Jesse Carlson to lead off the 10th and Chad Moeller followed with a walk. After Brett Gardner successfully sacrificed the runners over, Robinson Cano was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Abreu then delivered with his 20th home run of the season, giving him eight 20-20 (HR-RBI) seasons in his career. Only Bobby and Barry Bonds have achieved the feat more times than the Venezuelan native.


News and Notes

Jose Veras, who has struggled the last two months of the season, completed his third straight scoreless stint to earn his fifth win of the season. Sidney Ponson, scheduled to start Saturday in Boston, pitched the 10th inning to get some work in.

The Yankees have won 10 of 11...too little too late.

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What Happens When You are Eliminated

A lineup like this one.

Sept 24 vs. Blue Jays
Gardner CF
Cano 2B
Abreu RF
Nady LF
Giambi DH
Betemit 3B
Ransom SS
Miranda 1B
Moeller C

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Moose Wins 19th, but Yanks Eliminated

The Yankees hit a high and a low last night in Toronto as Mike Mussina won his 19th game, but the Yankees were officially eliminated from the playoffs for the first time since 1993. While the Yankees were beating the Blue Jays, 3-1, the Red Sox were beating the Cleveland Indians, 5-4, in Boston.

It was almost entirely a night of lows when Mussina was hit on the right elbow by a line drive off the bat of Travis Snider. Moose was clearly in pain as he tried to walk it off, with a stressed Joe Girardi looking on. After a couple of warm up tosses, Mussina remained in the game and quickly got Joe Inglett to hit into an inning ending double play.

The Yankees took a 1-0 lead against Jay's starter Jesse Litsch in the second inning when Xavier Nady followed Jason Giambi's single with a double, and Robinson Cano grounded out, with the infield back conceding the run. Giambi made it a 2-0 game in the fourth when he crushed a pitch over the wall in right-center for his 32nd home run of the year, and the 396th of his career.

Mussina showed no ill effects in the fourth and fifth innings, retiring six of the seven hitters he faced, but his elbow stiffened up and Girardi removed him before the sixth inning.

The Yankees added a big insurance run in the seventh when Cano doubled, and came around on a pair of wild pitches. The play at the plate was a close one, and catcher Greg Zaun and manager Cito Gaston argued, to no avail, that Cano was out.

After Phil Coke and Brian Bruney combined for a scoreless sixth inning and the first out in the seventh, Girardi sent for Damaso Marte to face a pair of Blue Jays' lefties. But Adam Lind singled and Marte walked Lyle Overbay to bring the tying run to the plate. Girardi quickly went to Joba Chamberlain, who was greeted by a line drive RBI single off the bat of Scott Rolen to cut the lead to 3-1. Chamberlain struck out Zaun and then wild pitched the tying runs into scoring position. But the hard throwing right-hander struck out Snider swinging to end the threat.

Chamberlain got in trouble again with two out in the eighth after a single by Alex Rios and a throwing error by shortstop Cody Ransom on Vernon Wells' grounder. Chamberlain compounded the issue by walking Lind to load the bases, and went to a full count on Overbay. But a nasty slider froze Overbay for a called third strike and the Blue Jays' threat was done.

Mariano Rivera struck out two of three in the ninth, including Zaun, who got the "Golden Sombrero", for his 38th save in 39 tries.


News and Notes

Mike Mussina won his 19th game for the first time since 1996, when he his finished his second consecutive 19-win season. He also needs just 5.2 innings pitched this season to reach 200 innings for the first time since 2003. Elbow permitting, he's set to face the Red Sox in Boston on Sunday.
Derek Jeter was scratched from the starting lineup after not being able to effectively swing a bat, due to the fastball he took off his left hand on Saturday, during batting practice. He came in as a defensive replacement in the ninth inning, with Cody Ransom sliding over to first base to replace Jason Giambi.

Yankees pitching had 14 strikeouts in the game.

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The Daily Yankeeland - 9/23

What? There's a game tonight? Didn't the season end on Sunday? Oh wait, that's right, the MLB scheduler makers fecked up. The Yankees travel north of the border tonight to visit the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre.

Tonight's game is huge and we're not talking about the fact that the Yankees aren't mathematically eliminated. Mike Mussina (18-9, 3.57) goes for win number 19 tonight. If he gets it, he'll go for number 20 in Fenway Park. Moose will be opposed by Jesse Litsch (12-8, 3.72).

Phil Hughes makes his second start, since coming from the DL, tomorrow night against new Yankee killer, and maybe future Yankee, A.J. Burnett. The series finishes up on Thursday with Carl Pavano going against Roy Halladay, who will be looking for his 20th win.

We waded through many of the reviews of Sunday night's festivities and though most were favorable, there were some definite on-the-money criticisms. The ridiculous re-enactment of the 1923 lineup and of players like Joe D. The complete omission of Joe Torre from the highlights. The inclusion of Jesse Barfield in the highlights.

There was one thing we were quite curious about - who pulled the lever to set the countdown to zero. We saw no mention of it, so we asked Peter Abraham during his live chat yesterday - the answer? Michael Kay. Michael Kay??? WTF. Not even Hal or Jennifer Steinbrenner? By the way, nice of Hank not to show.

Here are some of the good columns we read concerning Sunday's ceremonies and some of the suggestions of what could have made the day better:

Richard Sandomir of the Times.

Joel Sherman of the Post.

Peter Abraham's video chat from yesterday. We asked what Pete would have added and taken away from Sunday's ceremony, how Jason Giambi felt about the possible end of his days in Pinstripes, and about the countdown lever.

Yankees spokesperson Jason Zillo claimed that Torre and Clemens were not intentionally skipped. Yeah, right.

Word has it that Roger Clemens was not invited. Duh. He was reportedly heartbroken over being left out of the montage. Ya reap what you sow.

You knew there were some people who were going to try to purloin some history on Sunday.

As for the business of rebuilding the Yankees. We're not happy about the Yankees considering bringing back Jason Giambi. Remember, this is about winning, and while the Big 'G' is a really likeable guy, it's time to go.

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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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Tonight's Lineup

Ian Kennedy vs. A.J. Burnett


Yankees

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

Blue Jays
R. Johnson lf
R. Adams 3b
A. Rios cf
F. Thomas dh
M. Stairs rf
A. Hill 2b
L. Overbay 1b
G. Zaun c
J. McDonald ss

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No He D'int

Oh yes he did. Mike Mussina went out to the Rogers Centre mound last night in Toronto and threw 5 2-3 shutout innings for his 1st win in over a month. The Yankees managed just 4 hits, but their pitching dominated in a 4-1 win, their 7th straight.

Mussina hadn't chalked up one up in the 'W' column since August 11 and Yankees fans were already scoping out the TV listings prior to the game to see what they could switch too. But there was no need. Moose had a decent fastball and his off-speed pitches broke sharply. He got immediate run support when the Yankees jumped on Jays starter Dustin McGowan in the 1st inning.

McGowan retired the 1st 2 hitters, but issued back-to-back walks to Bobby Abreu and Alex Rodriguez. Hideki Matsui, mired in a 5-45 slump, laced an RBI double to left for a 1-0 lead. In doing so, Godzilla snapped an 0-12 skid with men in scoring position. Jays catcher Greg Zaun couldn't stay down on a McGowan pitch in the dirt and it ricocheted off him for a run scoring wild pitch and a 2-0 Yankees advantage.

After a relatively easy 1st inning, Mussina got himself into trouble in the 2nd as the Jays put 2 men aboard with 1 out. But the right-hander struck out Zaun swinging and retired John McDonald on a ground out to Robinson Cano. It was one of 11 assists on the night for the Yankees 2nd Baseman.

The Yankees extended their lead in the 4th when Matsui reached with a lead off single and stole just his 4th base of the season. With an earlier steal by Abreu, 28 of 28 would be base stealers have been successful with McGowan on the mound. (Even more remarkable is the fact that A.J. Burnett, tonight's starter, has given up 27 out of 27). Jorge Posada singled to left and Jason Giambi took a fastball to his elbow to load the bases. Cano then ripped a single to left to double the lead to 4-0, and a career high 82 runs batted in. Then it was up to Moose and the pen.

Mussina left after giving up a 2-out single and walk in the 6th, and the Yankees got a brief scare with Edwar Ramirez on the hill. K-Ram, who struck out 5 the previous night, walked Aaron Hill to bring the tying run to the plate. But Lyle Overbay lined out to Abreu in right to end the threat.

Joba Chamberlain threw a 1-2-3 7th, but finally allowed a run, albeit unearned, in the 8th. After allowing a lead off double to Russ Adams, Chamberlain retired the next 2 hitters with Adams moving to 3rd, before walking Matt Stairs. Hill hit what should have been an inning ending grounder to Alex Rodriguez, but A-Rod's throw pulled Doug Mientkiewicz off the bag at 1st for a run scoring error. With the tying run at the plate, Joe Torre opted to go to Mariano Rivera for a 4-out save.

Overbay reached on an infield single, but Rivera struck out Zaun to end the 8th. He then pitched a 1-2-3 9th inning for his 26th save.

...

Joba Chamberlain's scoreless streak ended at 15 1-3 innings, the 2nd longest in Yankees history. Slow Joe Doyle (who comes up with these nicknames?) had a 18 inning streak in 1906.

The wizards at Baseball Tonight were taking last night's game as a sign that Mike Mussina must be used by Joe Torre in a playoff start. Have these guys actually been watching any games? I can understand it from Eric Young, who has never managed, but Dusty Baker was spouting the same stuff. Then again, Dusty has never won anything.

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Tonight's Lineups

Mike Mussina (and a cast of 1000's from the pen vs. Dustin McGowan

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

Blue Jays
V. Wells cf
R. Adams 3b
A. Rios rf
F. Thomas dh
M. Stairs lf
A. Hill 2b
L. Overbay 1b
G. Zaun c
J. McDonald ss

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Weekend Series Looms Large

The Yankees head to Cleveland for a big 3 game series with the Centreal Division leading Indians. The Tribe entered today's action, 1/2 game ahead of the Detroit Tigers.

Pitching Probables

Friday - Phil Hughes vs. Fausto Carmona
Really looking forward to this one. Dr. Phil Good has all our expectations quite high and Carmona is a young star on the rise.

Saturday - Mike Mussina vs. Paul Byrd
The kids on Friday, the old farts on Saturday

Sunday - Andy Pettitte vs. Jake Westbrook
The Yankees need Pettitte to keep going smoothly.

A little bit more on the recently completed Blue Jays series. Brian Butterfield complained about take out slides at 2nd Base from Johnny Damon (Monday) and Shelley Duncan (Tuesday). Considering the Blue Jays threw at A-Rod on Monday, and again on Tuesday, you've got no room to say word one.

And how about Josh Towers. What has this little sh*t done in the majors to mouth off about Tony Pena. Pena was one of the best, grittiest catchers in baseball. We don't know his reasoning for leaving KC as manager, but Towers should be eating a fastball sandwich for his remarks.

"I heard somebody chirping when I was talking to Lyle (Overbay) and I didn't think it was Alex and I asked who it was," said Towers. "And Tony Pena is running his mouth and I was like, 'What's this guy running his mouth for? This dude is a quitter, he managed a team and quit in the middle of the season because he couldn't hack it. He's going to run his mouth to me?' So I ended up getting into it with Alex a second time."

Some credit to the Jays' Alex Rios. He took a Roger Clemens fastball between the shoulder blades, and though pissed, went right to 1st Base. Perhaps he realized his pitched screwed up.

Joba Chamberlain had a successful debut Tuesday night. His fastball was consistently clocked at 96 mph and he had a nasty slider that he struck 2 hiters out with. The biggest surprise was seeing him shake off Jorge Posada several times. It was also nice to see the game ending double play. He doesn't just have to blow hitters away...not that there is anything wrong with that.

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Tonight's Lineups (8/7)

Clemens vs. Towers

Yankees

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

Blue Jays
R. Johnson lf
L. Overbay 1b
A. Rios rf
V. Wells cf
F. Thomas dh
T. Glaus 3b
A. Hill 2b
G. Zaun c
J. McDonald ss

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Mo Strikes Back

Mariano Rivera struck out Alex Rios, Vernon Wells, and Frank Thomas in the 9th inning today to preserve the Yankees 5-4 win over the Toronto Blue Jays today. Aaron Hill's solo home run off of Luis Vizcaino in the 8th cut the lead to one, but Mo easily converted his 18th consecutive save opportunity.

The Blue Jays had taken a 2-1 lead in the 3rd off of an up and down Andy Pettitte. A one-out walk to Reed Johnson and a single by Rios started the rally for the Jays. Pettitte got Wells to fly out, but Thomas drilled a shot to deep left that eluded a leaping Johnny Damon for a 2-run double. With a chance for more damage, Pettitte struck out Troy Glaus to end the inning.

The Yankees had an opportunity to tie it in the 5th when Melky Cabrera and Johnny Damon stroked 2-out singles, but Jesse Litsch retired Derek Jeter on a ground out to end the threat. But in the bottom of the inning, the Blue Jays took advantage of the Yankees trouble holding runners. John McDonald lead off with a double and Johnson walked. The two immediately pulled off a double steal, with McDonald beating the throw to 3rd.

Pettitte struck out Rios, but Wells' lined a pitch off of A-Rod's glove for an infield single and a 3-1 lead. Pettitte hung tough though, and struck out Thomas and Glaus to end the inning. It would turn out to be huge.

Bobby Abreu lead off the 6th with a walk and Alex Rodriguez singled to left. John Gibbons quickly pulled Litsch in favor of left-hander Scott Downs (1-2). Hideki Matsui doesn't really care who he faces these days and it didn't matter today either. Godzilla singled to left to cut the margin to 3-2. Jorge Posada struck out, but Robinson Cano, the hottest hitter in baseball, doubled in the gap in right-center to score both runners and give the Yankees a 4-3 lead. Two batters later, Cabrera picked up his 3rd hit of the day, an RBI single for a big insurance run.

Pettitte (8-7) ran into trouble again in the 6th. Rookie catcher Curtis Thigpen singled with 1-out and easily stole 2nd. A 2-out walk to McDonald ended Pettitte's day as Joe Torre went to newly called up Jim Brower. Johnson hit a bullet, but right at A-Rod to end the inning.

When Brower allowed a line drive lead off single to Rios to start the 7th, Torre immediately went to Vizcaino, who worked a stressful 2 innings.

The Yankees had taken a 1-0 lead in the 3rd when Cabrera tripled and came home on a Damon ground out.

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Melky Cabrera now has a 12 game hitting streak. He had a 10 game streak in July.

Andy Pettitte's victory was the 194th of his career. It was his 157th as a Yankee.

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