Waiting For "The Kick" To Come From The Horse

Maybe I just didn't pay close enough attention to the big declines in his overall power numbers the past couple reasons.  Maybe I saw what Kobe Bryant's offseason PRP therapy did for him this year and got overly optimistic.  Maybe I'm just too much of a homer.  For whatever reason, I really believed that Alex Rodriguez was going to have a big year this year.  He got healthy in the offseason, he looked good in camp, and Joe made a point early in the season to start getting A-Rod regular rest through either DH days or full days off.  Yet here we are, just days away from the midpoint of the season, and The Horse is having a pretty pedestrian year.  The 13 homers are nice, but his slash line of .266/.357/.436 is down from last year, as is his ISO (.170), his wOBA (.352), and his wRC+ (119).

The assumption going into the season was that a healthy Horse in 2012 would be a more productive Horse, and that just hasn't been the case.  Rodriguez is already well on pace to exceed his games played and plate appearance totals from his injury-plagued 2011 and he's still seeing declining numbers across the board.  There haven't been any reports about there being any physical problems with him, and with 19 games at DH A-Rod should be plenty rested, so what gives?

Game 79 Wrap-Up: TB 4 NYY 3

(What's more upsetting?  The missed scoop at 1st or that haircut?  Courtesy of The AP)

I picked Matt Moore as my AL Rookie of The Year winner.  So far this season, he hasn't exactly made me look good for making that pick (4.19/4.46/4.26 split, 4.30 BB/9 in 88.0 IP), but he did shut down the Yankees for 5 innings with 11 Ks in one of his first career starts last season, and as a young, good-sized lefthander with monster stuff, he was the type of pitcher on paper that should dominate the Yankee lineup.  The Yankees' starter last night, Freddy Garcia, is everything that Moore isn't: old, right-handed, and no stuff to speak of, and yet he still managed to outpitch Moore.

Game Notes:

- The Yanks got on the board in the top of the 1st on a Derek Jeter leadoff double and Hideki Matsui doing his best Raul Ibanez impression on a high flyball to right off the bat of Mark Teixeira that he lost in the ceiling for an RBI double.  I'm not ashamed to admit that I burst out laughing at Matsui's expense when the ball dropped.

- Alex Rodriguez and Robinson Cano followed up with line drive singles up the middle to make it a 2-0 game, but Nick Swisher conveniently grounded into an inning-ending DP to help Moore wriggle off the hook.

- Freddy worked through the first 3 innings scoreless, and looked pretty good doing it.  He got helped out by a couple of well-placed LD outs to Cano and Teix, but he was he throwing strikes and working efficiently as well.

- Freddy gave up a HR to B.J. Uption in the 4th and I didn't think much of it, but the slider he hung to Carlos Pena with 1 out in the 6th that Pena hit for a HR to tie the game at 2, at 74 pitches, was a clear sign that he was done.  I'm guessing it was a slider, because it barely moved, but 5+ innings of 2-run ball from Freddy?  I would have signed up for that before the game.

- Cody Eppley got the Yankees 1 out into the 7th, and it fell apart from there.  After being ahead of the immortal, intentional walk-worthy Sean Rodriguez 0-2, Boone Logan walked him and then allowed him to advance to 2nd on a wild pitch.

- D-Rob came in after a pop-up for the 2nd out and fell behind Brooks Conrad (also an immortal) 3-1 before grooving a fastball that Conrad hit for an RBI double to tie the game at 3.  A luckily-placed ball down the line from Eliot Johnson that Teix couldn't handle and it was a 4-3 Tampa lead.

- The Horse gave one a ride to the warning track to lead off the 8th, but that was close as the Yankees would come to mounting a comeback against the Rays' bullpen.  Balls.

AB4AR "Best Of The Month" Awards: June 2012

June was a much better month for the Yankees than May or April was.  It was easily the best month of the season for the team and that was reflected in their rise to the top of the AL East standings and the month ending with a 5-game Yankee lead on the Orioles (6 after yesterday's game).  That being the case, it was a much easier and more pleasant task picking the winners for the AB4AR "Best of The Month" awards for June.  I'm sure everybody already has an idea as to who the winner for Player of The Month will be, but after the jump the rest of the best players and moments from June can be found.

Game 78 Wrap-Up: NYY 4 CHW 2

(Ya gotta love Old Timer's Day.  Courtesy of Getty Images)

If this is how the rotation is going to pitch in CC and Andy's absence, then the Yankees should be just fine until CC returns sometime after the All Star break.  Ivan Nova threw 7+ innings of 1-run ball on Thursday, Hiroki Kuroda threw 7 shutout innings on Saturday, and Phil Hughes wrapped up the series split with 8 more solid innings of work yesterday.  The other 2 spots are yet to be solidified, but the 3 remaining everyday starters don't seem to have missed a beat.

Game Notes:

- The White Sox lineup came out swinging at everything, and they hit some show-me strikes hard to score 2 runs in the top of the 1st.  Hughes's fastball command was quite perfect, and the aggressive White Sox made him pay for it.

- As a counter to the strong Chicago start, the Yankees managed to load the bases with nobody out in the top of the 1st.  But cleanup hitter Robinson Cano grounded into a 1-2-3 DP and Nick Swisher struck out swinging.  Goddamn you, RISP Fail.

- Gavin Floyd escaped the 1st inning, but wouldn't be so lucky in the 2nd when he gave up a 2-run HR to Eric Chavez, or in the 3rd when he gave up another 2-run shot to Robinson Cano to give the Yankees a 4-2 lead.  Floyd wasn't very sharp, and had to work hard through the first 3 innings on a very hot day.

- Those 4 runs were all the Yankees would score, but they were also all Hughes would need.  After the rocky 1st inning he settled down, and really settled in after escaping another 2-on situation in the top of the 3rd.

- From the 4th inning on, Hughes retired 15 of the 16 batters he faced, giving up just one base hit and 0 walks while striking out 5.  Hughes used his curveball a lot more early in the count, mixed some changeups in when needed, and really started to hit his spots with his fastball.

- After getting 2 days off on Thursday and Friday, Rafael Soriano got his 18 save of the season in his 2nd straight day of work.

Monthly Minor League Report (June): The Upper Levels

(Hey!  Look who's back in Double-A! Note: not a good thing.  Used courtesy of MiLB.com)

The upper levels of the Yankee MiL system are very interesting places right now.  The starting rotations continue to be chaotic, ever-changing groups of pitchers, many of whom are underperforming to some degree or injured.  The lineups are still a mixture of hitters either hitting the cover off the ball or barely making contact, although there were more who hitter better in June than worse.  A couple of the bigger names are starting to come around after early slumps, and with the pressure of lower-level call ups stealing their playing time, their timing couldn't have been better.

Game 77 Wrap-Up: NYY 4 CHW 0

With CC on the DL, Hiroki Kuroda becomes the Yankee rotation's unofficial ace.  And after Friday night's pitching debacle, he took on the ace's responsibility of needing to provide innings and pitch well to avoid a losing streak.  It wasn't going to be an easy task, especially with Jake Peavy as his pitching counterpart, but Kuroda lived up to the responsibility and then some yesterday, blanking the White Sox through 7 of the strongest innings he's pitched this year.

Game Notes:

- Kuroda's worst inning was actually the top of the 1st, where he gave up 2 singles and a walk but managed to work out of trouble with a couple of strikeouts.  Those Ks would be a sign of what was to come.

- The offense quickly got on the board in the bottom half of the inning on Curtis Granderson's 23rd HR of the season.  Dewayne Wise doubled home Nick Swisher in the bottom of the 2nd to make it 2-0.

- Kuroda was brilliant after the close call in the 1st.  He retired all 12 batters he faced in the 2nd-5th innings in order, 6 of them via strikeout and all of the strikeouts swinging.  Kuroda really had his slider and splitter working, and the White Sox were practically powerless against them.

- As well as Kuroda was pitching, 2-0 was hardly an insurmountable lead, and Peavy wasn't pitching horribly either.  But he made a couple of mistakes in the 5th to Wise and in the 6th to Robinson Cano and they each hit solo shots to extend the lead to 4-0.

- Kuroda finished his afternoon in style, striking out his 10th and 11th batters of the game to end the 7th, and it was all bullpen from there.  After being spared from Friday night's carnage, D-Rob, Boone Logan, and Rafael Soriano combined for 2 painless, scoreless innings to complete the shutout.

- Major props to Wise in this series, who came up just a triple short of the cycle yesterday after throwing 0.2 perfect innings the night before.

Monthly Minor League Report (June): The Lower Levels

(I wonder if he'll get a call up or not.  Used courtesy of MiLB.com)

Another month of Minor League baseball is in the books, which means it's time to go back and look at how that month went.  With the Major League trading deadline looming in the distance and the Yankees suffereing through some more injury hardships, this could be the last time of these young players get mentioned as part of the Yankee organization.  And with the start of Short Season leagues taking place in June, there are 2 more teams to follow.

Injury Update: Setback For Aardsma

"Setback" seems to be the word of the year to associate with Yankee injuries and related comeback attempts, and David Aardsma is the latest victim of the word after feeling pain in his right elbow after his most recent outing this week.

Erik Boland of Newsday has the details, but the long and short of it is that Aardsma is going to be shut down for at least a few weeks and then start to throw again.  The team says they still plan to have Aardsma back this season, but any kind of return in July is out the window now, and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't greatly concerned about the prospects of him making it back this year.

The Yankees could really use Aardsma considering the recent struggles of Cory Wade in the bullpen, but it would be unwise to rush Aardsma back after this setback.  Can't take chances with an elbow that's coming back from TJS.

Game 76 Wrap-Up: CHW 14 NYY 7

(Tough night, kid.  Courtesy of The AP)

The first CC-less outing in CC's spot in the rotation since he joined the Yankees went about as poorly as it possibly could have.  It was not a good night for Adam Warren and it didn't get much better when any of the relievers who entered after he left came into the game.  Just an all-around bad pitching night and a bad loss, and the Yankees will probably have to make some more call-ups today to have a full bullpen of available pitchers.

Game Notes:

- The best thing that could have happened for Warren was to get an early lead, and the offense staked him to a 4-0 in the bottom of the 1st thanks to a Curtis Granderson 2-run HR and an Andruw Jones 2-run double.

- The lead didn't last long, though, as Warren gave the 4 runs back in the 2nd.  A.J. Pierzynski led off the inning with a HR, Gordon Beckham hit a 2-run double of his own, and Kevin Youkilis plated one with a groundout.

- Paul Konerko led off the 3rd with another solo HR, and after 3 more hits and 1 more run, Warren's night was finished.  It was a rough outing for Warren, who couldn't locate his fastball on the corners and never commanded any of his offspeed stuff.  The White Sox hitters were perfectly comfortable at the plate and just teed off on the kid.

- David Phelps made his return, and struck out the side in the 4th.  Jayson Nix followed that up in the bottom half with a 2-run double and it was a 6-6 ballgame.

- But Phelps would struggle through the next 2 innings, allowing a run in each, 1 on Pierzynski's 2nd homer of the night, and Chicago led once again 8-6.

- The offense would score only 1 more run on a Robinson Cano groundout in the 7th, and sacrificial lamb Cory Wade got torched for 6 more runs through the last 3 innings to solidify the loss.  Wade was so bad that he couldn't even finish the 9th inning and Dewayne Wise had to come in to get the final 2 outs.

- There's no way to sugarcoat how bad the pitching was last night.  14 runs on 19 hits, 4 walks, and 4 HR allowed is just putrid.

Friday Afternoon Linkapalooza: 6/29

I feel like I would be doing a disservice to myself and all of you dear readers if I didn't use this weekly random rant space before the Linkapalooza to inform you of how awesome Lay's kettle-cooked potato chips are.  I can't get enough of them.  The original ones are banging, the BBQ ones are banging, the cheddar ones are banging, and even the reduced fat ones that don't have the same saltiness are banging.  I have to force myself to stop eating them when I'm watching TV sometimes, like during the NBA Draft last night, because I can eat an entire bag and not even realize it.  Do yourself a favor and try some of those, because they are good shit.  Now onto the links!

- On Tuesday, Jamie Insalaco of Bomber Banter looked at what the Yankees are missing from their roster right now.  And that was BEFORE almost half their rotation went on the DL.  Like Jamie, I don't see much of these issues being addressed before the trade deadline.

- Steve Goldman of Pinstriped Bible commented on the lack of praise that Robinson Cano receives and why his numbers are worthy of more praise.  It's worth nothing that Steve Goldman has packed up Pinstriped Bible and teamed it up with the folks at Pinstripe Alley.

- Rich Kaufman of NYY Universe wondered if Derek Jeter has a chance to reach 4,000 hits, and if he doesn't, where will he end up?

- William Tasker of IIATMS, in honor of Derek Jeter's 38th birthday, went back in time and listed The Captain's 38 greatest hits by WPA.

- On Wednesday, William Juliano of The Captain's Blog, as he always does, uses the numbers (and the history) to help disprove the "Yankees hit 2 many homerz" theory.

- Delia E. of Yankees Fans Unite unveiled her Yankee report card for June.

- Mike Axisa of RAB analyzed Cory Wade's poor month of June, citing his poor changeup command as a cause.

- On Thursday, Rob Abruzzese of Bronx Baseball Daily listed 10 starting pitchers the Yankees could trade for if they felt the need after the recent rotation injuries.

- Mike Ashmore of the self-titled Thunder Thoughts scored an interview with the still-unsigned Ty Hensley.  Hensley's self-scouting report sounds like it was delivered by an actual scout.

- Not to be outdone, Andrew GM of Pinstripe Alley interviewed lifetime Yankee hero and current ESPN analyst Aaron F'ing Boone.

- Jimmy Kaft of Yanks Go Yard compared Adam Warren to Ivan Nova to see if we could see a similar pleasant surprise when Warren joins the rotation

- On Friday, Mike Eder of TYA investigated the new phenomenon of Phil Hughes' 2 different curveballs, a topic that became very popular after his latest start this week.

For the Friday Jam, I'm going with "Tres Brujas" by The Sword.  I could have seen The Sword and Kyuss last December at a little concert hall in Milwaukee.  I don't remember why I didn't.  Between the lack of memory, talk of potato chips, and The Sword, it's getitng real stoner-y on AB4AR right now.  Oh well.



Good luck to Adam Warren tonight, and enjoy your weekends, everybody.

A Quick Refresher On Adam Warren

(Just chillin'.  Courtesy of Getty Images)

Adam Warren will make his Major League debut tonight, and he's got some big shoes (and pants) to fill in CC Sabathia's rotation spot.  He's the 3rd of the previously-vaunted 5-man Triple-A staff to make an appearance in the show this year, and it wouldn't be unfair to say that his opportunity is the best one out of the 3.  With Sabathia on the shelf for a few weeks and Andy for a few months, Warren has a real chance to become a fixture in the rotation for the foreseeable future.  I had Warren ranked as my #7 prospect in the Yankee system in the inaugural AB4AR Top 30 Prospects list last December, but with a lot of time passing since then, it's probably good to reacquaint ourselves with him.

Game 75 Wrap-Up: CHW 4 NYY 3

(D'oh!  Courtesy of The AP)

Rafael Soriano didn't look very sharp in closing out Wednesday's win, and with good reason since it was his 4th appearance in 5 days.  He was not available last night to pitch the 9th, and it really cost the Yankees as the "closer by committee" crew gave up a late lead and snatched defeat from the jaws of victory to break the Yankees' winning streak.  Ivan Nova was good, not great, and the offense didn't do a whole lot to provide a huge margin for error, but it was still a game the Yanks should have, could have, and would have won if their relievers remembered the ABC rule.

Game Notes:

- The teams traded 0s through 4 innings, with White Sox starter Dylan Axelrod having the easier time overall.  Nova put at least one runner on in every inning, and didn't get a lot of groundballs, but managed to work out of trouble every time.

- The Yanks loaded the bases against Axelrod in the 4th on an Alex Rodriguez leadoff double and 2 walks, but couldn't come up with a big 2-out hit as Eric Chavez grounded out to end the inning.

- Nova's biggest mistake in his 7+ innings of work was the 2-1 fastball he left belt high and over the plate to Alejandro De Aza in the top of the 5th.  De Aza hit it into the 2nd deck in right for a 1-0 Chicago lead.

- Like The Empire, the Yankee offense struck back in the bottom half of the inning, and did it all with 2 outs.  Curtis Granderson singled, and Alex Rodriguez and Robinson Cano followed up with back-to-back RBI doubles to make it 2-1 Yanks.

- The 2-out runs continued in the bottom of the 8th when Mark Teixeira drove a HR to left to make it 3-1.

- Joe mixed and matched with Boone Logan and Cody Eppley to get through the 8th after Nova was removed, but it all fell apart in the 9th.  Alex Rios singled off of Eppley to start the inning, bringing Clay Rapada in to face the lefty A.J. Pierzynski.  He got the double play groundball he wanted, but threw the ball into center field to put runners on the corners.

- Joe went to D-Rob to put out the fire, and instead D-Rob threw gas on it, grooving a 1-0 fastball that Dayan Viciedo crushed for what turned out to be a game-winning 3-run HR.  You can question Joe's decision to not just go with Robertson to start the inning if you want, but the bottom line is that nobody got the job done in the 9th and the Yankees lost because of it.

A Rest For Raul

(Dude looks tired to me... Courtesy of Getty Images)

For someone who didn't come in with a lot of fanfare or expectations after being signed, Raul Ibanez has been an incredibly important piece of the Yankee lineup this year.  I know that after watching him flail his way through ST and deliver a classic .gif-worthy defensive botch almost immediately after taking a spot in the outfield, I had already started to countdown to the eventual "Raul Ibanez has been DFA'd" story in my head.  But he started to swing the bat OK and hit for some power early in the season, and with Brett Gardner's continued injury setbacks keeping the lineup flexibility limited, Ibanez has proven to be an incredibly valuable resource to have.  He's provided pop when the lineup needed it and his overall defense has been much better than expected.

June has been a pretty rough month for Raul, though.  After yesterday's game, he's hitting .177/.261/.290 for the month in 69 plate appearances, good for a .244 wOBA and a 45 wRC+.  His season batting line had dipped down below the .240/.300 BA/OBP barrier before he used yesterday's at-bats to get himself back up to exactly .240 and .300, and I can't help but wonder if all this time in the outfield covering for the loss of Gardner is starting to catch up with him.

Attempting To Put A Positive Spin On The CC/Andy Injuries

(Unless he's praying to Mecca, that's not a position you want to see Andy in.  Courtesy of Robert Sabo/NY Daily News)

Injuries suck.  There's no other way to say it.  And the reminders that they're "part of the game" and "every team is dealing with them" don't make them suck any less when they happen to your team.  The Yankees have already dealt with their fair share of injury woes in 2012, and yesterday's double-whammy of injury-related suckiness was even more woeful considering it knocked out the Yankees' 2 best starting pitchers for at least the next 2-3 weeks and certainly much longer than that for 1 of them.  There's no way for this situation to suck any less than it already does, but there are a few silver linings and maybe even a positive or 2 to be taken from this situation if I can spin things right.

Game 74 Wrap-Up: NYY 5 CLE 4 (Andy's Ankle 0)

(A grimacing pitcher is never good.  Courtesy of The AP)

At least they got the win and got the sweep.  That's really the only positive to be taken from yesterday's game and pretty much yesterday in general if you're a Yankee fan.  Well that and the fact that Robinson Cano is going to win AL Player of the Month for June.  They lost CC before the game, lost Andy during the game, and both of them are going to miss enough time to make their injuries more than just day-to-day.  It's a shame too, because outside of the 1 unearned run he gave up, Andy was putting in work against the Indians' lineup yesterday.

Game Notes:

- Andy came out firing, striking out the side in the top of the 1st, all on sliders.  He struck out 7 through the first 4 innings, and were it not for an A-Rod throwing error they could have been scoreless.

- Ubaldo Jimenez held the offense hitless through 3, but they struck in the 4th once the lineup rolled over.  Eric Chavez got the key hit, a 2-out, 2-RBI double to give the Yankees a 2-1 lead.

#RISPsuccess

- Andy's 1-1 pitch to Casey Kotchman in the top of the 5th would prove to be diastrous.  Kotchman lined a shot right off Andy's left ankle, and despite his best efforts he couldn't stay in the game.  After Andy departed, the combination of Cody Eppley and Clay Rapada coughed up the lead before Freddy Garcia (believe it or not) came in to finish the inning.

- The Yankee offense would not be held down, though, and it was the combination of Alex Rodriguez, redeeming himself for the earlier error, and the scorching-hot Cano who combined to regain the lead on a 2-run Cano HR to left in the 6th.  The dude is hitting everything right now, and hitting everything everywhere.

- Chavez drove in a big run in the bottom of the 8th on a groundball base hit to right to extend the lead to 5-3.  There's nothing flashy about his season line, but Chavez has had some big hits.

- After D-Rob struck out 2 in a perfect 8th, Rafael Soriano came on (4th appearance in 5 days) and made things interesting in the bottom of the 9th, walking in a run to make it 5-4.  But he held on and saved the win, ensuring that the day wasn't a total loss.

The Force Works In Mysterious Ways...

What Andy said:

"We’re playing well, everybody’s throwing the ball well, and we’ve got guys that are going to step up and do a great job. I’ll be back. Time flies quick. I’ll be back before you know it."

What he meant:

"You can't win, Casey. If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you could possibly imagine."

BREAKING NEWS: CC To the 15-Day DL (Update: Pettitte Out Too)

(Bummer, dude.  Courtesy of The AP)

The story has been out there for a little over an hour now, but CC Sabathia will be heading to the disabled list for the first time in his Yankee career after suffering a Grade-1 strain of the adductor muscle in his left leg.

Chad Jennings of LoHud has the backstory and the latest details on the situation, but it doesn't sound like anything serious; more precautionary than anything.  CC felt something in his start on Sunday against the Mets and it was still there during his latest bullpen, so with the All Star break coming up the decision was made to 15-day him and let him get back to 100%.  It's the smart play considering CC is the ace of the staff and the Yankees have a cushion in the division right now.

Freddy Garcia will take CC's spot in the rotation while he's out.  Shouldn't be more than 2 starts.  If any additional important details come up, I'll update as needed.

** UPDATE- 1:50PM- Not CC-related, but Andy Pettitte was knocked out of today's game in the 5th inning after taking a line drive off his left shin/ankle.  Limped off the mound, and Freddy Garcia is now in the game as part of the carousel of pitchers trying to replace him.  No news on Andy's condition yet, but this could throw an even bigger wrench into the Yankees' current rotation situation. **

** UPDATE- 2:47PM- Yankees are saying the diagnosis for Andy is a fractured left ankle.  No surgery planned, but he's expected to miss at least 6 weeks.  Suddenly the rotation is looking very thin. **

On Dewayne Wise's Non-Catch And Fan Actions On The Play

Obviously the Dewayne catch drop of the foul ball hit into the stands in the top of the 7th last night was an incredible botch by the umpires, and the latest example of why MLB needed to institute instant replay yesterday.  The video can't be embedded, but you can watch the entire play in real time and multiple replays here.  I can understand missing the call in real time to a certain degree, especially with Wise tumbling into the front row so quickly.  But 3rd base ump Mike DiMuro, shown running towards the play in the replays, was in perfect position to see the ball come out of the glove, still missed it, and then for some reason did not check to make sure Wise had the ball in his glove as he climbed back onto the field, which Wise didn't.  I mean, great effort by Wise on the play, but it wasn't like he even really sold the catch that well.

That is what it is.  What I want to talk about is the fan conduct in that area during the whole ordeal.  Too often we see overzealous fans in those front row seats around the field stupidly interfere with their home team players trying to make a catch so they can get on TV.  This was not the case last night.  Yeah, there were a few fans standing up and raising their hands to make a play, but check the people directly in the area of where Wise was reaching/falling to make the play, particularly the dude in the red shirt:

He's standing back, out of the way, and giving Wise room to make the play without interference.  He was smart enough to recognize the situation, follow the play, and make sure that he didn't get involve to screw up Wise's attempt to make the out.  Good on you, sir.  +1.

Now, on the other side of that coin are the 2 goobers who picked up the ball that Wise dropped:

Game 73 Wrap-Up: NYY 6 CLE 4

(Not a catch.  Courtesy of The AP)

After his awful start in Anaheim at the end of May, Phil Hughes rebounded in his next outing to pitch a 1-run complete game against Detroit.  Hughes got shelled in his start in Atlanta last week and much as he did in Detroit, Hughes rebounded big time against Cleveland last night at The Stadium, pitching 8 shutout innings and leading the Yankees to their 4th straight win.

Game Notes:

- Hughes walked leadoff batter Shin-Soo Choo but quickly retired the next 6 batters he faced in order to get through 2 innings.  He was throwing the curveball for strikes and there was even a changeup or 2 in there.

- The offense gave Hughes an early lead with a 3-run bottom of the 2nd against Justin Masterson.  With 2 outs and Nick Swisher on 1st, the Yanks put together 4 consecutive singles, 2 of which didn't leave the infield.  The big blow was Curtis Granderson's 2-run line drive to left.

- Stuff has never been a problem with Hughes this year.  He's shown to be fully recovered from last season's shoulder ailment, and his K rate this season reflects that.  Interestingly enough, Hughes didn't record his first K until the top of the 4th last night, an inning in which he had 2 and maintained his 3-0 lead.

- The Yanks plated another run in the 5th after a C-Grand leadoff walk, Robinson Cano single, and Mark Teixeira sac fly.  It wasn't a hit with RISP, but it was a manufactured run and didn't come on a HR, so suck it, haters.

- How about a hand for Dewayne Wise, master of the hidden ball trick?!  Replay showed that Wise' near-incredible catch into the stands in the top of the 7th wasn't even close to being caught, but Wise fooled the umpire.  Give him credit and give the ump scorn.

- Alex Rodriguez got things back to normal offensively with a solo shot in the bottom of the 7th to make it 5-0, just in case anybody was worried that the Yanks weren't going to hit enough HRs.

- Hughes was already over 100 pitches after 7, but Joe sent him back out for the 8th and Hughes had arguably his best inning of the night, retiring the side in order on 10 pitches.

- Chris Stewart plate a 6th run with a sac fly in the 8th and it turned out to be a damn good thing he did because Cory Wade almost gave the game back with a 4-run 9th.  His fastball command was not there and it was up to Rafael Soriano to get the 2-pitch save.

Happy Birthday To The Captain

"Why yes.  Jessicas Biel and Alba will be joining me for a postgame rendezvous." Courtesy of The Daily News)

It would be a Yankee sacrilege to not point out and acknowledge that today is Derek Jeter's birthday.  The Captain turns 38 today, and despite a recent stretch of underwhelming offensive output, is still outperforming what a shortstop his age should rightfully be doing.  The guy is and has been the unofficial King of New York for the last 15 years or so, is a 5-time champion, a member of the 3,000-hit club, a no-doubt first-ballot HOFer, and yet it still doesn't seem like it was that long ago that I was dragging my old man to card shows at the mall so I could push people out of the way and buy up as many Derek Jeter cards as my minuscule 13-year-old bankroll would allow.

So Happy Birthday, Derek!  Keep doing the damn thing.  If recent history has taught us anything, it's that Jeter will probably go 3-4 tonight with a walk, 2 doubles, and the game-winning RBI.

P.S.- What do you get Derek Jeter for his birthday?  Does his family even bother getting him gifts or even a card?  What do you get the guy who has everything??  He's Derek Effing Jeter for crying out loud!

5 Reasons To Be Confident That The Yankees Will Win The AL East

Just to be clear, before anyone bookmarks this post to point back to in October if the Yankees don't win the division, this is not me coming out and saying that the Yankees are absolutely going to win the AL East this year.

/checks the title of the post

Crap.  Maybe it is.  Well whatever.  I'm feeling pretty good about where the Yankees stand right now and I'm not going to apologize for it.  The doom and gloom of May has been replaced by a very successful June, and that's despite the fact that there are still some glaring problem areas in the team's overall performance.  The Yankees have risen while the rest of their AL East competition has either floundered or treaded water, and with 90 games to play to iron out their remaining issues there's reason to be confident.  That confidence comes with plenty of "ifs," "ands," and "buts" attached to it, and this season has already taught us that even the most unthinkable can happen, but here are 5 things that can counter a lot of the IA&Bs as we move closer to the 2nd half of the season.

Game 72 Wrap-Up: NYY 7 CLE 1

(Dude's been getting a lot of high fives lately.  Courtesy of The AP)

Hey look!  We're back in the American League! Back in baseball civilization where there are designated hitters and less than 17 sacrifice bunts a game, and people like Jordany Valdespin and Vinny Rottino are not on active rosters.  And last night's return matchup to the Varsity league should have been an interesting one as Hiroki Kuroda faced the Cleveland Indians, a team he'd never faced before, and the Indian hitters faced Hiroki Kuroda, a pitcher they'd never faced before.  The Yankee lineup was familiar with Cleveland starter Josh Tomlin and looking to build on previous successes against him.

Game Notes:

- Tomlin doesn't have putaway stuff, so he makes his living on command.  He didn't have it last night and against the patient Yankee lineup that's not a good thing.  They worked him over in the top of the 1st for 35 pitches and 2 runs on a C-Grand walk, Teix single off the wall in right, and 2-run double to the right-center gap by Robinson Cano.

- Tomlin's command didn't improve much in the 2nd when he pretty much put a curveball on a tee for Dewayne Wise that Wise crushed for a 2-run HR.  When Dewayne Wise is taking you deep, that's never a good sign.

- Cano kept the run-scoring train going in the the 3rd when he smashed a 2-out homer to right field to give the Yanks a 5-0 lead.  Nick Swisher shoveled more coal on the fire with an opposite-field solo job right after Cano to make it 6-0.

- Oh yeah, Kuroda was pitching too.  And he did a damn fine job through the first 6 innings, minus the top of the 4th when he started pussyfooting around the strike zone and walked the first 2 batters.  He was efficient, he threw strikes, and wasn't trying to do too much against a weak Cleveland lineup.

- The HR in the 2nd inning was good enough, but the RBI triple in the bottom of the 6th for Wise was just insult to injury.  And yeah, he was out at third but what are you gonna do?  Dewayne Wise: Power Hitter.

- His final line got marred a bit by the runners he put on in the top of the 8th when he shouldn't have been in the game (thanks, Joe!), But Kuroda was very good last night.  The bullpen hosses needed a night off and his 7+ strong innings gave them just that.

STOP THE FIGHT!!!!

Throw the damn towel indeed.  Poor Josh Tomlin.  Dude probably wishes it was still interleague play.

D-Rob Hasn't Missed A Beat

D-Rob's line since returning to the active roster on 6/15:

4 G, 3.2 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 6 K

- 4 appearances in a little over a week?  Check.

- At least on baserunner in each outing?  Check.

- Extra drama being added to each outing because of the presence of said baserunners?  Check.

- High K rate and incredible timeliness of strikeouts to close out innings and strand said baserunners?  Check.

Game 71 Wrap-Up: NYY 6 NYM 5

(Touchdown!  Courtesy of The AP)

The internet at my apartment was kind enough to crap out on me in the middle of the 8th inning last night, so while you can refer back to last night's live blog to get everything that happened leading up to that point, I'll use the space here to cover what happened after and hand out the AB4AR good checks and bad checks on another Subway Series victory for the Yankees.

Game Notes:

- After Robinson Cano's MONSTER blast to dead center field to give the Yankees the 6-5 lead in the 8th, the whole "Freddy Garcia coming into a close game" idea was scrapped and Joe went to D-Rob to pitch the bottom half.

- Pitching for the 2nd consecutive day for the first time since coming back, D-Rob did his usual thing, striking out the first 2 batters of the inning before Andres Torres singled to right, stole second, and took third on a balk.  After falling behind Ruben Tejada 3-0, Robertson battled back and forced a groundout to A-Rod to end the threat.

- Rafael Soriano came into the game to close it out in the 9th, and the rain came with him, but it didn't bother Raffy as he worked around a 2-out Lucas Duda single to pick up his 15th save of the season.