Game 123 Wrap-Up: NYY 9 BOS 6

(Courtesy of Getty Images)

The stagnation of the Yankees' recent winning streak has put a major dent in their forward momentum.  They've gained little to no ground in any of the playoff races despite a 6-2 stretch and their failure to win a sloppy game on Saturday afternoon with their ace on the mound put them in a tough spot for the series finale in Boston.  Their once and former ace CC Sabathia got the final start and the Yankees needed him to continue to move forward in his battle to overcome his command issues and not have another forgettable Fenway Park outing.  Sabathia stumbled again, but the A-Rod-related fireworks stole the headlines.  At least they were on the field this time as the Yanks secured the series win.

Game Notes:

- CC was in trouble right out of the gate.  He loaded the bases in the first 4 batters of the 1st on a pair of walks and single.  Tough to avoid damage in those situations when you aren't at your best and CC ended up with 2 runs against him before he got out of the inning.

- His lineup picked him up with 3 runs in the next 2 innings to give him a lead, the big hit a Curtis Granderson double in the 2nd to set up the RISP situation and the big moment the Alex Rodriguez HBP that preceded it.

- It wasn't unexpected that somebody finally came inside and hit A-Rod.  What was surprising was that it took 4 pitches for Ryan Dempster to plunk him to start the 2nd, and what was even more surprising was home plate ump Brian O'Nora's decision to immediately warn both benches without ejecting Dempster.  Joe went understandably nuts and was ejected.  Terrible job by O'Nora there.  If he's going to pull the automatic double warning, he HAS to throw Dempster out.

- CC couldn't make the lead stand up.  He gave up leadoff doubles in the bottom of the 3rd and 4th and gave up 3 more runs in those innings.  Another in the 5th and he was out early in the 6th after another disappointing outing.

- Despite being down 6-3, The Yankee offense didn't say die and it was A-Rod who led the charge back.  His solo HR off Dempster to lead off the top of the 6th sparked a 4-run inning to regain the lead.  Brett Gardner's bases-clearing triple was the big hit.

- A couple insurance runs in the 7th and 9th provided plenty of cushion for Mo, who put the finishing touch on a terrific performance by the bullpen (3.2 IP, 0 R, 5 K) in his first work in a week.

BREAKING: Nunez Leaves With Leg Injury (Updated)

Plenty of more to come on this game tomorrow, but the big story at the moment is another injury to a Yankee shortstop.  Eduardo Nunez left tonight's game after appearing to injure his leg running the bases in the top of the 6th.  He was advancing to second on a single by Lyle Overbay, and after Chris Stewart walked to move him to third he was taken out of the game and replaced by Jayson Nix.  With no timetable for Jeter's return, the Yankees can ill afford to lose Nunez for extended time right now.

No word yet on any official diagnosis.  More on this story as it becomes available.

** UPDATE 10:17 PM- Via the beat writer corps, Nunez was taken out of the game with a tight right hamstring.  I assume an MRI will follow. **

A-Rod's Lawyer Kicks It Up A Dozen Notches With New Accusations

The Alex-Rodriguez-New York Yankees-Major League Baseball threeway legal dance surrounding the Biogenesis case and A-Rod's resulting suspension has already been playing out like great TV drama.  As someone who's admittedly tired of all the steroid talk in baseball and really doesn't care about it, I'll admit that I find each new rumor and leaked story to be both fascinating and entertaining.  When the baseball season ends and the appeal happens, it's going to be absolutely wild.

How much wilder will it be after the latest story and newest twists laid out by A-Rod's legal team?  Probably somewhere between "much" and "way."  In a story published by the New York Times yesterday, A-Rod's newest lawyer, Joseph Tacopina went on the offensive in his efforts to build A-Rod's defense case.  He accused the New York Yankees of intentionally hiding MRI results revealing A-Rod's labrum tear and continuing to play him while he was hurt, working in collusion with MLB to void A-Rod's contract and ban him from baseball, and singled out team president Randy Levine for allegedly telling the doctor performing A-Rod's hip surgery "I don't even want to see him on the field again."  That's not just "looking to get on base" type of going on the offensive, it's swinging for the fences as hard as you can with a juiced bat.

Game 122 Wrap-Up: BOS 6 NYY 1

(Courtesy of Getty Images)

The Yankees came into Boston last night and beat up on the Sawx in a big way.  They outhit them, outpitched them, and even outdefended them by a slight margin.  They looked like the type of team that should be the leading the AL East, not one struggling to pull back into the AL playoff race.  They had another chance to get a step closer in that race this afternoon against John Lackey, one of the more outspoken players when it comes to Alex Rodriguez and the Biogenesis case and, in case anybody has forgotten, a certified jackass of the highest order.  There would have been nothing sweeter than to knock him around the park on route to another victory but today it just wasn't meant to be, not even with Hiroki Kuroda on the mound.

Game Notes:

- It was a true all-or-nothing first few innings for the Yankee offense.  They went down 1-2-3 in the 1st and 3rd innings on 6 GB outs, and failed to score on a bases loaded situation in the 2nd and 2 hits in the 4th.

- They certainly weren't playing it safe against Lackey, attempting 3 steals in the first 2 innings.  Alfonso Soriano and Curtis Granderson were each successful in their first attempts.  Soriano got gunned down for the first out of the 4th after leading off with a single.

- Kuroda worked around 4 hits to keep Boston off the board through 3.  He couldn't repeat the feat in the bottom of the 4th and got burned for 2 runs on a Lyle Overbay error and questionable call at third base.  A few 2-out hits after the error made it a 3-0 lead.

- In their best chance of the day, the Yanks had second and third and nobody out in the top of the 5th and the top of the order coming up.  Another trio of groundouts led to just 1 run and got Lackey off the hook again.

- The Red Sox put the game out of reach in the bottom of the 6th, knocking Kuroda out in the process.  The final blow was a 2-out RBI double by Jacoby Ellsbury that made it a 5-1 lead.  Tough day for Kuroda all around.

- The Yanks just couldn't get the breaks when they needed them.  12 baserunners in 9 innings should generate more than 1 run.

Lack Of Logic In The Claiborne Demotion

The Yankees had to make yet another roster move yesterday to clear a 25-man spot for the newly signed Mark Reynolds.  In a move that came as a surprise, it was Preston Claiborne who got sent down.  With rosters expanding in 2 weeks, it's not the end of the world for him.  Claiborne will be called back up and he should re-assume the role he had carved out as top middle inning guy.  Still, the decision to send Claiborne down when there were other more worthy candidates doesn't make a whole lot of sense.

Game 121 Wrap-Up: NYY 10 BOS 3

(Welcome aboard, Mr. Reynolds.  Courtesy of Getty Images)

No hangover from the tough series finale loss to Anaheim on Thursday.  This was a straight up mollywhopping from the top of the 1st right through the bottom of the 9th.

F*ck Yeahs:

- Alfonso Soriano: 3-4, 1 HR, 2 R, 4 RBI, 1 K, 1 LOB.  How locked in is this guy right now?  Tied an MLB record with 18 RBI in a 4-game span.

- Mark Reynolds: 2-5, 1 HR, 1 R, 3 RBI, 1 K, 2 LOB.  Not a bad debut at all.

- Andy Pettitte: 6.2 IP, 6 H, 3 R (0 ER), 1 BB, 5 K.  The best Andy's looked in over a month and it came against a tough lineup.  That's a good sign.

Oh Nos:

- Eduardo Nunez: 2-4, 1 3B, 2 R, 3 LOB.  His day at the plate wasn't the problem.  It was the 2 errors, 1 fielding and 1 throwing, that led to all Andy's runs allowed that hurt.  This guy just flat out can't play shortstop.

Next Up:

Hiroki Kuroda takes the ball this afternoon in the second game of the series, looking to continue his streak of dominance.  John Lackey is the opposing pitcher and I'm PRAYING for A-Rod to hit a home run off him.

Friday Afternoon Linkapalooza: 8/16/13

Have people noticed the ad ESPN has been using to plug Sunday night's Yanks-Sawx game?  The one with A-Rod where the voiceover makes direct reference to his steroid suspension and then calls him a lightning rod?  I've long given up on the idea of ESPN pulling its head out of its ass and getting back to being a reputable sports network, but it almost astounds me how they continue to find new ways to drop the bar even lower.  A-Rod is a "lightning rod" because you guys cover him like he's the worst person who ever existed.  You over-dramatize everything he does when you cover the guy, you trash him nonstop, then you use him to plug yourself and your product while acknowledging that you over-dramatize him and trash him.  Incredible.  Now onto the links!

- On Monday, Domenic Lanza of IIATMS/TYA put together an all-encompassing breakdown of the all-homegrown MLB rosters.  If you missed this earlier in the week when it was blowing up the baseball blogopshere, here's your chance to redeem yourself.

- On Tuesday, Andrew Mearns of Pinstriped Bible looked back at Alex Rodriguez's strange walk-off celebration batting helmet fetish.  I had never noticed this before and it's absolutely hilarious.

- Bryan Van Dusen of The Greedy Pinstripes crunched some numbers from this season to show how CC Sabathia could start to become a huge burden on the payroll if he doesn't start pitching better next season.

- Martin Riggs of NoMaas made a case for Hiroki Kuroda's Cy Young candidacy, and compared him to leading contender Felix Hernandez.

- Delia E. of Yankees Fans Unite mused on Brett Gardner's leadership qualities and how he's stepped up to assume a bigger leadership role with Derek Jeter out for so much of the season.

- On Wednesday, Chad Jennings of LoHud compared the differing paths that Chris Stewart and Austin Romine are on behind the plate.

- SG of RLYW played with projections and win-loss pace to see how much the Yankees will benefit from the upgrades to the lineup.  They're much better, no doubt, but that's still a tall mountain to climb to make the postseason.

- On Thursday, el duque of It Is High... looked ahead to this make-or-break weekend series against the Sawx.  I guess a Yankee sweep would at least make things interesting.

- Mike Axisa of RAB discussed Michael Pineda's service time situation and how it could affect the Yankees' plans for him moving forward after another lost season.

- On Friday, Michael Eder of IIATMS/TYA showed how the move to Yankee Stadium could do good things for newly-acquired Mark Reynolds' production.

This week's jam is "The Symbol" by Action Bronson.  Even if rap isn't your cup of tea, you should be on the Action Bronson bandwagon.  Big fat white guy with a vicious beard who can rap, is shoot hilarious, readily admits that he's high all the time, and also happens to be a gourmet chef.  Sounds like a pretty fun dude to hang out with if you ask me.



Enjoy your weekends, everybody.

Mark Reynolds Finally Give Overbay The Platoon Partner He Needs

(Courtesy of Getty Images)

It took much longer than it should have, and it's a little puzzling that the Yankees decided to let weeks go by after the trade deadline before finally addressing it.  Still, the addition of Mark Reynolds to the bench gives them the right-handed platoon bat they very much needed to pair with Lyle Overbay.  As first reported by Jon Heyman, the Yanks and Reynolds agreed to a deal last night, and he should be with the team and available for the start of tonight's series against the Sawx.  After suffering through the first few months of the season with next to no right-handed power, the Yanks now have another big righty bat to use.

Game 120 Wrap-Up: LAA 8 NYY 4

(Courtesy of the AP)

Can you believe we've reached the quarter pole of the 2013 season?  It doesn't seem that long ago that we were worrying about CC's velocity, Derek's ankle, and A-Rod's hip.  Now we've moved on to CC's command/weight, A-Rod's suspension, and Derek's... well, ankle still.  The Yankees have fallen out of the lead spot in the AL playoff race, but they're toying with the idea of legitimately pulling back into contention with this little run of 5 wins in 6 games.  The middle of their order has beefed up, and they could have made a statement to the rest of the AL with a win yesterday afternoon and a series sweep of the Angels.  Instead, they got beat by one of their former sub-replacement level middle infielders.  Can't make this stuff up.

Game Notes:

- Phil Hughes was up to his old tricks early yesterday, giving up a 2-out hit on a poorly-located pitch to allow Anaheim to get on the board first after striking out 2 batters in the top of the 1st.  Worse, he gave up the hit to Josh Hamilton's corpse.

- The Yanks evened things up in the bottom of the 3rd on an Alfonso Soriano RBI single.  The inning could have been bigger than just 1 run had Vernon Wells not rapped into an inning-ending double play with the bases loaded.

- Hughes didn't keep the game tied for very long.  In fact it only took him 4 batters into the next half-inning to turn the tie into a 3-1 deficit.  I don't know much, but I know it's not good to give up a home run to Chris Nelson after a 10-pitch at-bat where you couldn't put him away with 2 strikes.  His solo shot was his first homer of the year.

- There was no shortage of hits against Angels starter C.J. Wilson.  The Yankees got at least 1 runner on base in all of the first 6 innings.  They also stranded almost all of them and had just the 1 run to show for their 10-hit effort.

- With the game still 3-1 in the top of the 8th, Joe went to Boone Logan in a LOOGY situation and even got the bonus of another out against righty Erick Aybar.  With 2 outs and a runner on second, Joe called for the intentional walk of Mark Trumbo to pitch to Hank Conger.  Logan walked him too, unintentionally, to load the bases and up came Nelson again.  Logan left an 0-1 slider up to him and Nelson snuck it over the fence for the game-clinching grand slam.  I get pitching around Trumbo to get to 2 weak hitters.  I don't get leaving Logan in to face those righties in the first place.

- If you want to, you can talk about the Yankees' token 3-run rally in the bottom of the 9th to make the game respectable.  I'm not.  I'll just say at least they're still hitting.

Late Thursday Morning Small Sample Size Turnaround

Last Friday, the Yankees were in the midst of another offensive slump, a slump that had them sitting at 1-5 in their last 6 games with only 16 runs scored.  This latest slump was extra frustrating due to it coming after Alfonso Soriano, Curtis Granderson, and Alex Rodriguez has been added to the lineup and provided next to no offensive spark.  Since then, things have turned around in a big way:

- Soriano last 6 games: .280/.308/.920 w/ 7 R, 15 RBI in 26 PA

- C-Grand last 6 games: .429/.520/.667 w/ 6 R, 2 RBI in 25 PA

- A-Rod last 6 games: .250/.286/.500 w/ 3 R, 4 RBI in 21 PA

These 3 have combined for 7 HR in New York's last 6 games, and not coincidentally the Yankees have gone 5-1 in those 6 games with 39 runs scored.  For the first time since late April-early May, the lineup looks competent, competitive, and downright dangerous.  Amazing what happens when the middle of the batting order starts producing, ain't it?

Mark Montgomery Back To The DL

(Courtesy of the AP)

At the end of last season, Mark Montgomery was the hands down top relief prospect in the Yankee system, a borderline top 10 organizational prospect overall, and on his way to breaking into the Major League bullpen sometime around now if not earlier.  After leaving his last appearance on Saturday with more shoulder problems, he's likely done for the year and has become a much bigger question mark for next season rather than a possible bullpen answer.

Game 119 Wrap-Up: NYY 11 LAA 3

(Courtesy of Getty Images)

I had honestly forgotten what these games feel like.  The games where you stop paying attention and go to bed early because you know the team is going to win.  The Yankees have now rattled off 2 of those in a row and 4 wins in a row overall after last night's drubbing of Jered Weaver and the Angels.  Weaver had been pitching really well lately, something that normally doesn't bode well for the Yankees.  They slapped him around silly last night, and for all intents and purposes this game was over after the 1st inning.  If you don't already know, spoiler alert, it was another Alfonso Soriano show.

Game Notes:

- With 2 outs in the bottom of the 1st, the Yanks loaded the bases on a Robinson Cano single, Alex Rodriguez double, and Curtis Granderson walk.  Soriano strode to the plate and smacked an 0-1 fastball out to center for a grand slam and an immediate 4-0 cushion for Ivan Nova.

- Nova needed that cushion last night.  His fastball command wasn't what it's been and he kept leaving it in good spots in the hitting zone.  After a 1-2-3 1st, Nova gave up 2 runs on 3 singles and a HBP in the 3rd and another on 3 more singles in the 5th.

- The offense gave Nova all the insurance he would need in the bottom of the 2nd.  They got things started with 2 outs again and eventually plated 4 runs, the big hit a 2-run Soriano double.

- Soriano homered to lead off the bottom of the 5th to make it 9-3 and capped off an impressive 2-day run.  4 HR, 6 R, 13 RBI in just 2 games, and he set his new career high RBI mark in each game.  Incredible.

- Just to add insult to injury, the Yankees tacked on 2 more runs in the 7th on a Chris Stewart 2-run single.  When TCS is dropping 2-out ribbie hits on you, you know it just ain't your day.

- Nova was sharper in his final 2 innings of work, holding the Angels at 3 and working into the 8th.  Preston Claiborne relieved him and took the game home to give the bullpen aces another day of rest.

Joe Still Pushing The Right Buttons

(Courtesy of the AP)

(Originally published at IIATMS/TYA)

I know I wasn't all that enthused to see that both Brett Gardner and Ichiro Suzuki were out of the starting lineup last night, even with a lefty opposing pitcher on the mound.  I was even less enthused to see Eduardo Nunez batting leadoff in their place and was fully prepared to write this morning's post on Joe still leaning too hard on the matchup binder instead of just playing his best guys.  Naturally the team went off for 14 runs on 19 hits, Nunez went 2-6 with 2 R and 4 RBI at the top of the lineup, all 14 runs were driven in by right-handed batters, the Yankees won their 3rd in a row and 4th out of 5, and I was once again reminded why Joe is the manager of the New York Yankees and I'm a cubicle monkey Yankee blogger.

Preston Claiborne Also Onboard The Train To Regression Town

(Courtesy of the AP)

Bullpen issues seem to be a hot topic in Yankeeland these days, much hotter than they were earlier in the season.  From Boone Logan not getting lefties out as often as a lefty specialist should to Mariano Rivera blowing 3 straight saves to Joba Chamberlain ceasing to exist as a viable medium-leverage-and-up relief option, the Yankee 'pen hasn't been the strong, deep unit it was months back.  This is partly because the rotation hasn't been very good either and the bullpen has had to take on more innings, but it's also because some guys, mostly the young guys, have regressed from their pre-summer levels of performance.  Last week we took a look at Adam Warren's rough trip down the ladder, this week it's former walk-less wonder Preston Claiborne who's under the microscope.

Heathcott Back To The DL, Could Miss The Rest Of The Season

He had already set new career highs for games played (103) and plate appearances (444) this season, so I guess it's not a huge surprise that the injury bug finally caught up to Slade Heathcott.  As first reported by Nick Peruffo yesterday, Heathcott has been put on the DL with "right knee tendonopathy."  Coming on the heels of Tyler Austin's disappointing and injury-shortened season and a relatively "meh" season from Ramon Flores, this adds to the overall tough campaign for the top crop of Yankee OF prospects.

As someone with a very checkered injury history, this latest one comes as more cause for concern about Heathcott's future.  Per Peruffo, manager Tony Franklin said Heathcott's knee has been bothering him all season, not a good thing for somebody with hi.  Franklin also said that he thought it would only take rest for this injury to heal, but acknowledged Heathcott could miss the remainder of the season.  It's a shame too, since Heathcott had started hitting better recently and had his season batting line up to .261/.327/.411.  Hopefully there are no lingering effects of this injury and the season-long knee problems heading into 2014.

Mike Francesa Boomsauces Bill Madden

Normally I'm not a Francesa guy.  Most times I find him smug, rude to too many callers who don't deserve it, and not nearly as knowledgeable about baseball or sports in general as he thinks he is.  But one thing Mike does better than anybody is on-air interviews, especially when he's trying to use that interview to steer the conversation somewhere else, and he killed it yesterday with Bill Madden on the A-Rod steroid story.

If you haven't had a chance to listen to it yet, you can check out the whole thing here.  It's pretty lengthy and the first 15 minutes or so are just recapping what's already happened.  It starts getting good in the middle and it was pretty obvious that Mike had an axe to grind with Madden and the NY MSM in general for how they've singled out A-Rod and outlandishly run him through the mud.  The continued questioning about Madden's comparison of A-Rod to Whitey Bulger without any real justification for that from Madden and the heated nature of their exchange about the other names on that unreleased list of 100 players were great.

There hasn't been nearly enough of this in the New York media, so kudos to Francesa for taking Madden and really the rest of the MSM A-Rod haters with him to task yesterday.  Sorry, Bill.  You got roasted, bro.

Game 118 Wrap-Up: NYY 14 LAA 7

(Courtesy of the AP)

A winning streak.  A real actual winning streak.  It seems like so long ago since the Yankees had one of those.  They stood on the precipice of one last night, and once again Joe decided to throw out a questionable lineup to get it done.  I get playing the L/R matchups, but Gardner and Ichiro both out of the lineup and Eduardo Nunez in the leadoff spot?  I feel like this isn't the first or even second time this has happened this season.  I get ready to bash Joe for it every time, but damnit if it doesn't always work out in his favor.  Last night's win was fun, a nice stress-free blowout to send everybody to sleep happy.  For one game at least, we got a look at what the improved offense can actually do.

Game Notes:

- Not a fun start to CC Sabathia's night.  He struck out the first 2 batters he faced, walked Mike Trout with 2 strikes after Vernon Wells failed to get to a foul ball, and gave up a 2-run HR to Mark Trumbo to put the lineup in an immediate hole.

- Wells made up for it in the bottom of the 2nd by leading off the inning with his 11th home run of the season, and (FINALLY!!!!!) his first since May 15th.  Obviously in direct response to my post on his weak H/R splits.  I see you, Vernon.

- Wells helped push another run across in the 4th with a 1-out single, and the Yanks grabbed the lead in the 5th on a 2-run homer by Alfonso Soriano.  They weren't fooled at all by a returning Jason Vargas.  Not at all.

- Some bad defense and a few walks cost CC another run in the 3rd, and those walks almost came around to bite him again when he walked the bases loaded in the top of the 6th.  Wells (in on everything) bailed him out by starting an inning-ending double play.  Sure it was aided by a bad call, but the Yankees have been on the other end of that stick enough times to have one go their way.

- The Yanks got to the bullpen early, and in the bottom of the 6th they struck against the soft underbelly of the middle relief.  The key at-bat was probably the Lyle Overbay walk to put 2 on and nobody out.  The loudest at-bat was Alex Rodriguez's 2-run double to finish off what ended up being a 4-run inning.

- It went from comfortable to lead to full-fledged blowout after a 3-run Soriano HR in the 7th and an Eduardo Nunez 2-run single in the 8th.  Little rain delay, little Dellin Betances meltdown, and that was that.

On Derek Jeter's 2014 And The Future At Shortstop

(Courtesy of the AP)

(Originally published at IIATMS/TYA)

Derek Jeter's battle to return to the playing field for more than a few days raged on yesterday.  The Captain resumed baseball activities - a little "tee and toss" hitting according to Joe - after playing catch over the weekend.  The activities are obviously a little light.  With no real hitting or running involved, it's not like Jeter is close to returning.  The plan is to send him to Tampa to continue his rehab work when the team hits the road on Friday, and as of right now there are no plans to activate Jeter when the team returns, even though he's eligible to come off the DL this Sunday.

At this point, Jeter has spent more time this year doing baseball activities than he has playing actual baseball.  The rushed rehabs and resulting leg issues have reduced Jeter to just 5 games in 2013.  5 games, 21 measly plate appearances, a season's worth of frustration for both Jeter and the Yankee fans, and a whole lot of questions about what next season could be like.  This season is already a wash, whether Jeter makes it back and stays healthy to the end or not.  For Jeter and the Yanks, it's next season that's now the concern.

No Home Cooking For Vern

Since troublesome H/R splits are a topic of conversation this week, let's take a look at one that could actually have an impact on the 2014 season.  I don't know how I missed it, but I didn't realize until Sunday's TBS broadcast that Vernon Wells was hitting so horribly at home this season.  Entering tonight's game, Wells has a .190/.238/.291 batting line at Yankee Stadium, good for a .233 wOBA and a 37 wRC+.  By comparison, his OPS is .748 on the road (.328 wOBA, 106 wRC+) in a little north of 30 more plate appearances.  What the hell is that?

Wells underperforming offensively is hardly front page news anymore.  The guy has been worth negative offensive value in his 0.0-WAR season to date, and thinking about how he STILL hasn't hit a home run since May 15th makes my brain hurt.  But to post numbers like that at The Stadium?  Sure it doesn't cater to right-handed power nearly as much as it does left-handed power, that we know.  It's still a very hitter-friendly stadium no matter what side of the plate you're on.  If there's somewhere where Wells' noodle bat should produce a little more power it's YS3.

Notice that I used the word "could" have an impact on the 2014 season and not "would."  The Yankees have Wells under contract next season, as part of the growing collection of old guys who will combine to patch up the outfield corners around Brett Gardner.  Through some fancy accounting work at the time of the trade, however, the Yankees will not be on the hook for any of Wells' salary next season, making it much easier to cut bait on him if his production continues to wallow below the line of respectability.  There's nothing Wells has done since mid-May that warrants a guaranteed roster spot next year.  If a low-.500s OPS is all he can muster in 81 home games again, he shouldn't even make it to mid-May next year.

Don't Sweat D-Rob As The Closer

(Courtesy of the AP)

Almost as if it was scripted, an opportunity presented itself for David Robertson to prove his mettle as the next Yankee closer last night.  With Mo experiencing his yearly bout of command problems and unavailable due to workload and some bad BABIP luck bringing the tying run to the plate in the form of Mike Trout, Joe summoned D-Rob to work out of the jam and save the team's 3rd win in 4 games.

At face value, D-Rob's work last night was in agreement with the growing cry from the MSM (looking at you, Michael Kay) that D-Rob "doesn't have what it takes" to be Mo's successor.  He walked Trout to bring the winning run to the plate, gave up an RBI double that put the tying run on third with 1 out, and loaded the bases before wriggling off the hook.  As the crowd chanted "we want Mo!" Robertson made them sweat a bit before managing to escape trouble and avoid a 4th straight blown save.

Game 117 Wrap-Up: NYY 2 LAA 1

(Courtesy of Getty Images)

If you were going to make a list of the most disappointing teams in the AL this year, it would the Angels, the Blue Jays, and the Yankees.  That pretty much sets the excitement level for this week's 4-gamer against the Angels, who are even further out of playoff contention than New York and looking possibly in even worse shape for the future despite having the best all-around player in the game on their team.  The 2 teams got things started last night at The Stadium as Hiroki Kuroda looked to continue to be the guiding force of the rotation and strengthen his slowly-growing Cy Young candidacy.  He won't win in the end, but he'll get a few more votes after last night.

Game Notes:

- Kuroda worked the sinker a lot the first time through the order, and got the first 9 outs on the infield through 3 while allowing just 1 hit.  When he needed to, he snapped off some nasty sliders for strikeouts.

- Anaheim starter Garrett Richards breezed his way through the first 2 frames, then got manufactured to death in the bottom of the 3rd.  Eduardo Nunez got a 1-out hit, moved to second to stay out of the DP on an aggressive call by Joe, and scored on Brett Gardner's bloop single to center.

- Kuroda continued to overpower the Angels through 5 innings.  He gave up a leadoff walk to Erick Aybar then expertly worked around it with a groundout, strikeout, strikeout finish.  He was working his sinker inside to both righties and lefties and the Anaheim lineup had no answer.

- After singling in his first AB in the 2nd, Richards decided to smarten up and get those fastballs in on A-Rod's hands.  It led to inning-ending double plays off Alex's bat to end the 4th and 6th innings and kept the game at 1-0.

- Kuroda continued his brilliance through 8 shutout innings, and even got an insurance run in the 7th on a Curtis Granderson solo HR before dialing it up to 94 on his last pitch of the night and turning it over to the 'pen.

- It was Boone Logan who emerged from the bullpen to begin the 9th and not Mo.  A bad luck bounce off the first base bag ruined Joe's plan and D-Rob got an impromptu high-leverage save opportunity audition out of it.

- It got a tad interesting after a walk and a blooped double, but D-Rob K'd Mark Trumbo and former Yankee great Chris Nelson with the bases loaded to preserve Hirok's well-deserved win.

Prospect Stock Watch: August 2013

(Jagielo in action.  Courtesy of Ashley Marshall/MiLB.com)

I'm a little late for this next "Prospect Watch" post from when it was last month, which was much later than the post before that, so as far as meeting deadlines for these monthly prospect posts go I'm spitting the bit and I know that.  But, with another month plus passing since the last edition, we've now built up enough of a sample size in the short season leagues to start commenting on the guys down there.  It's been a rough go for some names expected to be big contributors this year, but a couple of international standouts in the GCL have helped balance things out.  After the jump, an in-depth look at the guys making noise in Staten Island and the GCL.

Mo's Recent Home Struggles

(Say it ain't Mo.  Courtesy of the AP)

(Originally published at IIATMS/TYA)

In a scene that seemed unfathomable even as it was happening, Mariano Rivera blew a 9th inning lead again yesterday, giving up 2 solo home runs to Miguel Cabrera and Victor Martinez to tie the game the Yankees won soon after.  The blown save was Mo's third in a row, the first time he's ever done that in his career and the first time it's happened in Yankee history since Kyle Farnsworth did it in 2006.  A pitcher of Farnsworth's caliber blowing 3 saves in a row is hardly news, but to watch Mo do it, even in short highlight form, was unnerving and unfamiliar.  He's allowed his 1 or 2 bad weeks a year and it just so happens that this past week was one of those weeks.  For as long as he's been around, intelligent Yankee fans know that it's no cause for concern  Still, it's always weird watching Mo when he doesn't have it and yesterday was one of those days.  It continued a strange trend of Mo having his worst moments at home this season.

2013 Draft Already Looking Shaky

You may have noticed that the only 2013 1st round pick to start his pro career is Eric Jagielo.  He's hit .248/.358/.336 in 134 plate appearances with SS Staten Island, this underwhelming production coming after he had the start of his season delayed by a hamstring injury.  Lefty Ian Clarkin has been out with an ankle issue since signing, and last week it was reported that OF Aaron Judge, the last of the 3 to sign, will be put on the MiL DL with a quad injury.

3 1st round picks, 3 injuries, 3 delayed starts to the season, 2 of which could end up shutting guys down for the remainder of the year since we haven't heard anything about rehab schedules for Clarkin and Judge.  Add in 3rd rounder Michael O'Neill's .299 wOBA and 33.0% K rate in 200 SS league PAs and the shine has already come off the 2013 draft class.  Gosuke Katoh is hitting well in the GCL, but that level of competition is barely above what he was playing against in HS.  As Austin Aune's 2013 has shown us, it's a bit of a stretch to get excited about 1 good GCL season.

It's far too early to declare this season's class a bust.  There's no way to account for injuries that happen after a player is drafted, but with how little the Yankees have gotten from their top picks the last 2 years (Aune, Hensley, DBJ, Culver) it is disheartening to see another group of top picks get off to rough starts.  They've taken a lot of heat for their 1st round picks recently, and the injuries to this year's crop don't help to turn down that heat.

Game 116 Wrap-Up: NYY 5 DET 4

(Brett Gardner, clutch hitter.  Courtesy of Getty Images)

Well how about them apples, eh?  After dipping into the "blown save/walk-off win" well on Friday night to start this series, the Yankees decided to take a dive in it again on Sunday to close out the series.  In a game that was an exercise in head scratching - Andy Pettitte only making it through 4.1 innings despite allowing only a run, A-Rod actually hitting RHP, Austin Jackson forgetting how to run the bases, Mo blowing more saves - the Yankees somehow managed to come out on the winning side and get their first series win since early July.  If you missed it, you picked the wrong Sunday to make other plans.

Game Notes:

- So yeah, Andy.  He was magician out there yesterday, the kind of one who has no real stage show to impress you but pulls off some neat tricks.  He gave up his lone run on 3 hits and a walk in the top of the 1st, and stranded 5 runners through the next 3 innings to keep it at 1.

- He didn't have to wait long to get some run support and it came in a big way from Alex Rodriguez, who yanked a Justin Verlander fastball on the inner half over the left field fence to tie it at 1.  An Eduardo Nunezx sac fly a few batters later gave New York the lead.

- A-Rod extended that lead with a ribbie single in the 3rd, and Alfonso Soriano added to it in the 4th with another lead off home run, reaching the 2,000 career hits milestone in the process.  Definitely worth saving that ball.

- Andy loaded the bases with 1 out in the top of the 5th and Joe went to his bullpen to preserve the lead.  It was the right move given how hard Andy had to work (102 pitches) and it worked out perfectly as Shawn Kelley and Boone Logan each tossed scoreless 1.1-inning appearances to get to the 8th.

- David Robertson came on for the 8th and immediately gave up a solo HR to make it 4-2.  With 1 on and 1 out, he looked like he was going to give up another on a Torii Hunter deep drive until Brett Gardner made a great catch and turned an inning-ending double play thanks to Jackson's brain fart on the basepaths.

- Handed that bit of good luck, Mo couldn't do the job in the 9th, giving up 2 solo HR to Miguel Cabrera (again) and Victor Martinez to tie the game.  3 straight blown saves.

- Didn't need extras to fix that mistake this time.  With 2 outs in the bottom of the 9th, Gardner was looking to swing big in a 1-0 fastball count.  He got one right down the middle from Jose Veras and crushed it into the second deck in right for his second walk-off hit in 3 days.