Game 64 Wrap-Up: NYY 5 WAS 3

(That's a game-winning swing if I've ever seen one.  Courtesy of The AP)

Another game, another win for the Yankees on a day where they didn't bring their A-game.  When things are going well they're going well, and they're going really well for the boys in pinstripes right now.

Game Notes:

- It was another solid outing for Andy Pettitte. He had his one bad inning, and didn't have the greatest command again, but he also got burned by a couple of broken bat hits and still managed to pitch 7 innings of 2-run ball.  His team had the lead when he left the game and he was in line for the win.

- The offense slowly clawed its way back into the game against Washington starter Jordan Zimmerman.  They scratched a run across on an error by Ian Demons in the 4th, and then 2 more in the 6th on an RBI groundout by Raul Ibanez and an RBI double by Eric Chavez to take a 3-2 lead.

- Between the 2 runs scoring in the 6th, Nick Swisher was thrown out at home trying to score on a groundball and had to leave the game with a bone bruise to his left quad.  Chances are he's going to have to miss a few days, but at least it wasn't something more serious.

- Cory Wade reliever Pettitte in the 8th, and after getting the first 2 outs and getting ahead of Desmond 0-2 he hung a 2-2 fastball that Desmond hit for a HR to tie the game and redeem himself for the earlier error.

- Wade left for Boone Logan after a walk, and a decision to move Dewayne Wise from left field to right worked perfectly as Wise gunned down Tyler Moore at the plate to end the inning.  Replays showed that Moore might have been safe, but sometimes the calls go your way.

- The rest of the bullpen combined to throw 6.1 scoreless innings after Wade came out, and it was a good thing too because the offense didn't record a hit from the 7th inning on into the 14th.  When they finally did, they made them count.  Jayson Nix led off the 14th with a single, stole second and moved to third on Derek Jeter's single, and then both came home when Mark Teixeira lined a double to right for the game-winning runs.

- Give a call to Freddy Garcia, who pitched 2 perfect innings with 2 Ks in just his second appearance since May 21st to pick up the win.

- Tough day for Bryce Harper at the plate.  He got fed a steady diet of cutters from Pettitte early and never managed to find his stroke after that.  Harper ended up 0-7 with 5 Ks.

Outfield Options: Internal

(The cause for concern.  Courtesy of Getty Images)

Multiple reporters were quick to confirm that the Yankees were not in the market for an outfielder after Thursday's official re-diagnosis of Brett Gardner's elbow injury.  With Gardner only expected to be out for another 3-4 weeks, and Raul Ibanez and Andruw Jones doing a good job of holding down the fort in left for the time being, there really wasn't much of a need for the Yankees to be thinking trade.  But with Nick Swisher leaving today's game after suffering what's being called a "left quad contusion" on a play at the plate in the 6th inning, and his status being up in the air right now, the outfield situation might have to be revisited.  Before we all jump on FanGraphs and try to figure out which trade target best suits the Yankees, let's first examine what they could in-house to try to cover for the loss of Gardner and Swish, if it turns out he has to miss some time.

Game 63 Wrap-Up: NYY 7 WAS 2

(Curtis doesn't get to do this a lot because he's not a home run hitter, you see.  Courtesy of The AP)

Yankees and Nationals, 2 first-place teams going at it.  I don't think the Yankees have ever played the Nationals, and no, I'm not basing that on anything and I'm too lazy to look it up, but it was definitely not a clown series, bro.  The resurgent Phil Hughes was on the mound for the Bombers, facing off against the AL-to-NL transplanted and probable All Star Gio Gonzalez, so a pitcher's duel was in the cards.

Game Notes:

- Gonzalez started off hot, striking out 5 of the first 6 batters to make an out in the game.  Hughes got 3 Ks in the first 2 innings, but also allowed 3 baserunners.

- The Yankees were the first to put a crooked number on the scoreboard, and they did it all with 2 outs in the top of the 3rd.  With Derek Jeter on second after a 1-out double, Teix walked and A-Rod and Swish hit back-to-back RBI singles to make it 2-0.  A-Rod stifled the rally a bit by getting thrown out trying to go first to third, but it was still a lead.

- Hughes almost gave it all back in the next inning, loading the bases with only 1 out and giving up an RBI base hit to Michael Morse, but got Ian Desmond to ground into an inning-ending double play on a first-pitch curveball.  Hughes getting groundball outs is always a nice bonus and there were none bigger last night than those 2.

- Both pitchers settled in after the 3rd, with Gonzalez working the next 3 innings in order and Hughes retiring the next 8 he faced after the DP in order.  Gio struck out 8 and Phil struck out 9, but Gonzalez was left in to face a batter to lead off the 7th and that was the difference in their final lines.

- Andruw Jones walked to start the inning, pinch runner Dewayne Wise stole second, was sacrificed to third, and scored on an infield single by Jeter.  Russell Martin also scored on a throwing error on the play, but the bigger blow came in the next at-bat, when Curtis Granderson lined a double to the opposite field that scored Robinson Cano and Jeter and made it 6-1 Yankees.

- Cody Eppley got 3 outs in the 7th, Clay Rapada worked a clean 8th (including Ks of Bryce Harper and Adam LaRoche), and Curtis Granderson: Non-HR Hitter hit a solo shot in the top of the 9th to put the game away.

- It was good to see D-Rob back out on the mound, even if he did give up a cheap run.  He got 2 groundball outs and finished with a K, though, and had his fastball sitting in its usual 92-93 range, so I would call it a good first appearance back.

- It's worth mentioning that last night was Joe's 500th career managerial win.  Congrats to him for that.

Friday Afternoon Linkapalooza: 6/15

My apartment is gross.  I came to that conclusion the other night while watching Game 1 of the NBA Finals.  Between the back-to-back weekends traveling back to CT to see family and friends, and the creative hot streak I've been on with the blog, I have gotten way away from my normal cleaning/apartment maintenance schedule, and the place is suffering because of it.  It's not like I have anybody to bring over or impress, but it's never a great feeling when you feel like you're living in squalor.  I'm passing on my company's annual golf outing tomorrow and that's probably for the best.  I need the next 48 hours to whip my place back into shape.  Now onto the links!

- On Monday, Nick Fleder of Bronx Baseball Daily profiled 5 pitchers the Yankees could target at the trade deadline.  Not a lot of need for starting pitching right now, but you never know when the injury bug could bite again.

- Brandon C. of Pinstripe Alley scored an interview with Ty Hensley, the Yankees' 1st-Round pick and hopefully soon-to-be prospect.  Seems like a good kid.

- On Tuesday, Brien Jackson of IIATMS mused on the Yankees' current RISP struggles and put a brighter spin on it than most.

- On Wednesday, William Juliano of The Captain's Blog looked at A-Rod's career numbers and projected where he could end up in the all-time rankings of some major categories when he finally hangs 'em up.

- SJK of NoMaas updated Joe Girardi's team nickname list. I started laughing when I got to Teix and didn't stop until I closed the page.

- Kate Conroy of Lady Loves Pinstripes argued for the idea of trading for Carlos Quentin as a LF plug-in for Brett Gardner.  Like the offense, but Quentin's horrific defensive numbers would have me passing on him for other options.

- Jon Heyman of CBS Sports caught up with Francisco Cervelli and spoke with him about his demotion and extended stay in Triple-A this season. Cervelli still seems plenty salty to me.

- On Thursday, friend of the blog Jamie Insalaco of Bomber Banter expressed his desire to see Garcia go and Eppley stay when D-Rob was activated.  That's a desire that I shared; too bad it was Phelps that got the boot.

- On the other side of that coin, Jesse Schindler of Bleeding Yankee Blue stated that it should have been David Phelps who went down and Garcia that stayed.  I can appreciate the logic there as well, and commend on Jesse on the wise choice.

- And to bring the Phelps discussion full circle, fishjam25 of Yankees Fans Unite wondered out loud if Phelps should have been the man to go.

- Dan Pfeiffer of NYY Universe looked at 5 MiL guys who should be due for a promotion in the near future.

- Chris Carelli of Yanks Go Yard put together a real good profile of 2nd-Round pick Austin Aune, even getting some feedback from his HS athletic director.

- Mike Axisa of RAB looked at the 40-man roster and pointed out some Rule 5-eligible guys not on it who could be affected by the upcoming trade deadline.

- On Friday, Mike Eder of TYA put CC's fastball under the PITCHf/x microscope to try to dig deeper into the problems surrounding it.  I had a hunch Mike was going to do something like this after myself and others touched on it earlier in the week, and he didn't disappoint.

For the Friday Jam, I'm coming with the heater and hitting you with some Carly Rae Jepsen.  It's real simple, folks. "Call Me Maybe" is the hottest song out there right now, and if you don't like it then you don't like America.  "I threw a wish in the well/Don't ask me, I'll never tell" is a straight fire line, and if Kelly Clarkson had thought of it maybe her career would still be relevant.



You're welcome.  Enjoy your weekends, everybody. If you're in the DC area, the RAB guys and some of my fellow TYA bros will be in town for the series.  Find 'em and buy them a beer.

Gardner's Arm Better Come Back Looking Like This

He's had rest.  He's had rehab outings.  He's had more rest.  He's had "treatment."  He's had MRIs.  Now he's had PRP therapy and a cortisone shot.  If Brett Gardner doesn't come back in 3-4 weeks looking and functioning like the T-1000 with this injured elbow, everybody involved on the Yankee medical staff should have their end-of-the-year bonus taken away.

(Swanny Duckson Productions.  Back and better than ever!)

Nick Swisher Is Not Coming Back

(Smiling all the way to the bank.  Courtesy of Herb Swanson/EPA)

Nick Swisher's future as a Yankee after the 2012 season has been a constant point of conversation this year, as he is the first big internal free agent candidate who could be affected by the future payroll plans.  The conversation heated up this week after the Dodgers announced their new deal with Andre Ethier, with everybody chiming in on how they think the Ethier deal will affect Swish and his value on the open market.  I'm one of the last chimers, so I'll just try to make my point short and sweet.

Everybody SHHHHHHHHH!!!! The Mets Are Trying To Play Baseball

"Quiet please, the Mets are trying to play baseball.

The Amazin’s are silently floating plans for a “designated quiet-seating section” in Citi Field.

The team e-mailed a survey to fans yesterday, asking about their ballpark experience — including queries about the scoreboard, between-inning entertainment, music, and even interactions with Mr. Met....

This proposed silent treatment would apply to a section in the second-deck, left-field seats that now go for between $20 and $78 a ticket, depending on the opponent." (Courtesy of The Post)

Designated quiet-seating section?  Have the Mets' brass BEEN to Citi Field?  The whole place is a designated quiet-seating section.  That's what happens when your fanbase gets so disgusted with your team that they stop showing up.

BOOM, ROASTED!!!!!



In all seriousness, is there a more "typical Mets" move than this?  I mean, other than whining to MLB to get a call overturned so they can sell more fake tickets to their fake fans for another fake no-hitter, even though their own manager and the guy who threw the fake no-hitter openly admit that the call won't and shouldn't get overturned.

When Can I Start Worrying About Manny Banuelos?

(Am I the only one looking at the elbow there?  Courtesy of Bombers Beat/Bryan Hoch)

When Jesus Montero was jettisoned off to the land of grunge, Manny Banuelos became the clear cut #1 prospect in the Yankee organization.  If you voted for Gary Sanchez, more power to you, but a 21-year-old lefty with ace-caliber stuff and advanced command who rises through the system to Triple-A in just 3 full seasons gets the nod in my book.  After he put in some solid work in his brief SWB debut late last season, and impressed the Yankee coaching staff in Spring Training, my hope/dream/thought was that ManBan would be best served spending another year in Triple-A refining his command and building up his innings count to prepare for an introduction to the Yankee rotation as a low-stress #4 or #5 starter in 2013.  But with the way things have gone for Manny over the past couple seasons, now I'm not so sure about that plan.  I swear I'm not trying to be the harbinger of prospect doom here, but in the same way that I was concerned about Dellin Betances last week, I've got some concerns about ManBan now.

Game 62 Wrap-Up: NYY 3 ATL 2

(Bump it.  Courtesy of The AP)

As far as the game notes go for this one, I'm just going to refer everybody back to the live blog of the game from last night.  I think it paints a pretty good picture of how everything went down.

As for who got the good checks and who got the bad checks on their postgame report cards, you can find that out after the jump.

Yanks-Braves "Sweepin' In The South" Live Blog

It's been a while since I've done a live running blog for a game.  In fact, for the last one I did in March the game didn't even count, so this is an even more monumental occasion and the timing couldn't be better.  The Yankees are playing good baseball right now, they're on top of the AL East, and they're going for their 2nd consecutive sweep.  The only thing that could potentially ruin this situation is if ESPN has a crummy announce team (which they will).  But it's not like this will be the first time I've bagged on ESPN.

Tonight's Lineup:

1) Derek Jeter- SS
2) Curtis Granderson- CF
3) Alex Rodriguez- 3B
4) Robinson Cano- 2B
5) Mark Teixeira- 1B
6) Raul Ibanez- LF
7) Nick Swisher- RF
8) Russell Martin- C
9) Hiroki Kuroda- P

First pitch is scheduled for just after 7PM Eastern/6PM Central, so check back around then and we'll kick this thing off.  It's going to cut into my usual writing time for the posts that I have to put up tomorrow, but fuck it.  WE'LL DO IT LIVE!!!



** Live blog starts after the jump **

What's The Deal With CC's Fastball?

(If "this" is the 4-seamer, then yes, people can definitely touch "this.")

There are 4 things that have defined CC Sabathia's 2012 season so far: eating innings, limiting damage, rough starts to games, and consistently poor fastball command.  The first 2 things are nice, and something that anybody would want in a starting pitcher, but the last 2 are the bigger issues.  They are undeniably linked together and the easiest things to point to when explaining CC's less-than-ace-like 3.80/3.41/.3.29 slash line.  The high HR rate is also a contributing factor, but even that can probably be tied back to the lack of fastball command and the resulting poor location in the strike zone.  This has been a hot topic of discussion over on the AB4AR Facebook Page (hint, hint- "Like" that shit), and everybody has reasonable theories for what the cause is.  So what's the deal here?

Game 61 Wrap-Up: NYY 6 ATL 4

("I believe I can flyyyy... " Courtesy of The AP)

Well that sucked for 7 innings and then kicked ass for 2.  It was a little frustrating to see all those zeros up on the boxscore for the majority of the game, but I'll take 7 bad innings, 2 good, and a win over the opposite any day of the week.  CC still isn't nearly as sharp as he needs to be with his fastball, the offense still isn't fully clicking, but a little bit of the late-game magic is starting to trickle back into the Yankees' play right now, and that's not a bad thing.

Game Notes:

- I'm not sure what it is with CC that's affecting his fastball command and making him get off to these slow starts, but last night's 1st inning was not good.  3 hits, 1 walk, and a bases-clearing double is never a good way to start a game, and there were fastballs catching too much of the plate and too much hard contact.

- The offense certainly looked baffled by Atlanta starter Mike Minor early on, which is strange considering he's Mike Minor, owner of a 6.01/5.20/4.53 tripleslash.  The few opportunities the Yankee bats were able to generate were snuffed out by more RISP Fail.

- The biggest problem with CC last night was that, unlike a lot of his other rough outings, he didn't really get much better as this game went on.  He made it through 7 innings, but he was still giving up hard contact.

- I understand what Joe was trying to do in the 7th, and he got the groundball he wanted, but I questioned the decision to walk more runs on base late in a game where your team is already down 3 runs.  The weak chopped that Jason Heyward hit actually turned out to work to the Braves' advantage in driving in another run.

- Apparently Mike Minor leaving the game was all the Yankees needed to wake up, because they quickly loaded the bases against Jonny Venters and then unloaded them on Alex Rodriguez's 8th-inning grand slam.  It wasn't high, it didn't go that far, but it was still gone and the game was tied.

- Venters gave up another hit to Cano and then gave way to Cory Gerrin, who promptly gave up the game-winning HR to Nick Swisher in what was easily the most dramatic offensive inning the Yankees have had this year.

- Give a call to Clay Rapada for working a scoreless 8th in his 4th straight appearance, and also to Rafael Soriano for his lockdown 1-2-3 9th to save the win.

The Horse Ties The Iron Horse

It's one thing to hit a grand slam.  It's another to hit a grand slam that ties you with one of the greatest Yankee and baseball legends of all time for the most career grand slams.  And it's quite another to hit that record-tying grand slam in the 8th inning of a road game where your team was down 4-0 and have it be the catalyst for a seemingly improbable comeback win.

Too bad this didn't happen at home.  Woulda been cool to see A-Rod give a little speech after the game.

"Tonight (-night...).  I consider myself (-self...).  The luckiest centaur (-taur...).  On the face of the earth (earth...)."

Good Starting Pitching Is Good. Great Starting Pitching Is Better

Do you see that?  Do you?  That's straight up DOMINANCE with a capital "dominance."  In the month of June, the Yankee rotation has posted the following line:

7-1 Record, 1.77 ERA, 2.58 FIP, 2.02 BB/9, 8.96 K/9

And that's with the ace of the staff not pitching his best.  If you're looking for the number 1 reason why the Yankees risen back to the top of the AL East, look no further than that spreadsheet.  They had their ups and downs early, but this crew looks like they're starting to settle in.  They aren't going to be this good for the rest of the season, but if they can pitch consistently well enough, that should be more than enough to win this division.  And if the offense ever catches up, watch out.

Bunch of stone cold killers right here.

(See no evil, smell no evil, speak no evil?  Courtesy of US Presswire)

The Return Of Derek Jeter's GB Demons

As awesome as Derek Jeter's scorching hot start to the season was, deep down we all knew it was going to come to an end eventually.  There were just too many factors playing against him for his low-1.000s OPS and low-.400s wOBA pace to hold up over the long haul, and eventually the law of averages was going to cause his tremendous BABIP luck to turn.  The numbers started to turn in May, when Jeter's OPS dropped to .692 and his wOBA to .314, and that downward trend has continued into the first third of June, where he's currently hitting .200/.289/.275 (.265 wOBA). The big shift in contact rates so far this month is a a red flag, bigger than the drop in batting line, and now the hope is that the production pendulum doesn't swing too far in the other direction and back towards the powerless GB machine that Jeter was a little more than a season ago.

Game 60 Wrap-Up: NYY 3 ATL 0

(Swishalicious at the wall.  Courtesy of The AP)

After dispatching of the Mets in relatively easy fashion, the Yankees moved south to take on their NY little brother's NL East brethren in Atlanta.  The Braves, and their fans, are used to getting their asses handed to them by the Yankees, and Ivan Nova and company were looking to keep that trend, as well as their winning streak, going.  They'd be without the DH for the first time this year, but with the way the rotation has been going lately, that wouldn't be a problem.

Game Notes:

- The offense wasted no time in getting to Atlanta starter Randall Delgado.  With 2 outs in the top of the 1st, Alex Rodriguez doubled and was driven in by a Robinson Cano single.  A hit with RISP AND with 2 outs?!  People watching on TV must have thought they were dreaming.

- Whether it was nerves or just general lack of pitching talent, Delgado was not sharp early, and the patented Yankee patience beat him to the tune of 5 hits and 3 walks in the first 3 innings.

- The Bombers tacked a run on in the 2nd when Raul Ibanez led off the inning with his 10th HR of the year, and another in the 3rd when Delgado threw a wild pitch with the bases loaded.  He had real trouble navigating through the heart of the Yankee order, and at 3-0 it looked like the rout was on.

- Nova was effective if not spectacular in the early innings last night.  He allowed just 4 hits through 4 innings, 2 of them on the infield, and 0 runs, but he wasn't generating a lot of groundballs, and it took some solid D behind him to keep the Braves off the board (see Nick Swisher's leaping catch at the wall in the 4th).

- That rout I mentioned before?  Never materialized.  The RISP Fail came back in a big way and kept the game closer than it should have been.  The Yanks put 2 on in the 5th, 2 on in the 6th, and loaded the bases in the 7th only to come up empty every time.  Back-to-back inning-ending DPs in the 6th and 7th killed those rallies.

- The final 3 innings for Nova were much better than the first 4, as he got 7 of his last 9 outs either on the ground or via the K and didn't allow a runner past first base.  The lead baserunner got on in 5 of the 7 innings he pitched, but Nova worked around trouble every time.

- With Rafael Soriano unavailable, it was bullpen by committee last night, and the team of Cody Eppley, Clay Rapada, Cory Wade, and Boone Logan worked 2 scoreless frames with 3 strikeouts to close out the win for Nova.

Looks Who's Back On Top

Granted it's a tie for first place, but first place is still first place and it's never a bad thing when the Yankees are there.  Bare minimum, it gives me a reason to put the Magic Number countdown back up on the homepage, and maximum it gives the other teams in the AL East reason to be shook.  The Yankees lost their #2 starter before the season started, have played the majority of the season without their 2 best relief pitchers, haven't gotten the production they expected from any of the major run-producing spots in their lineup, still can't hit consistently with runners in scoring position to save themselves, and yet they find themselves on top.

In short, this team hasn't even come close to hitting its stride yet.  It's maybe a 7 out of 10 right now, and that's still good enough to be leading the best division in baseball.  Be afraid, American League.  Be very afraid.

Gardner Visiting Dr. Andrews Today

(Maybe just catch it on a hop next time, guy.  Courtesy of MLB.com)

It's not quite as nerve-wracking as the Michael Pineda or Mariano Rivera injury follow-ups, but after suffering yet another setback with his elbow after playing in a Low-A rehab game this weekend, the call has finally been made for Brett Gardner to go see Dr. Andrews today for another evaluation/opinion on the elbow.

By my count, this is at least the 2nd, possibly the 3rd setback that Gardner has had since the initial injury diagnosis and DL trip.  Far be it for me and my marketing degree to question people in the medical field, but I can't help but feel like something was missed here. Gardner has been out since the middle of May, and with Joe's recent comments stating that he doesn't expect to have Gardner back until after the All-Star break, you're looking 3 months on the shelf.  With as much rest as he's had, a simple elbow strain doesn't seem like something that should have this many lingering effects for this long.

It's still too early to jump to the worst-case scenario conclusions, and the Yankees have more than made due without Gardner since he went down, but talks about looking for a replacement could heat up if the diagnosis comes back bad.  I know I still get nervous every time I see Raul Ibanez's name penciled into the LF spot on the lineup card, and not just because he's a poor defender.  Dude is 40 years old.  The more he's out there running around, the more he's at risk of injuring himself too.

Game 59 Wrap-Up: NYY 5 NYM 4

(Russell the Muscle.  Courtesy of The AP)

A little lefty-on-lefty action to finish out the Subway Series.  Andy Pettite vs. Jonathon Niese.  The Yankees loaded up their lineup with the usual "vs. lefty" suspects to try to get to Niese, while the Mets took a different approach and loaded up on no-name bums like Mike Nickeas and Jordany Valdespin in their lineup.  There was also a guy named Vinny Rottino in there, who I assume was somebody they found out in the parking lot selling bootleg t-shirts before the game.  An added bonus, for me at least, was that the game was televised on TBS, so the Game Notes are a little longer than usual.

Game Notes:

- Andy needed just 7 pitches to work through the 1st, but got gave up a cheap RBI single to Vinny Rottino in the 2nd to give the Mets the early 1-0 lead.

- That should've been just a blip on the radar, but a combination of poor command by Andy, questionable calls by the home plate ump, a botched potential DP ball by Cano, and some downright lucky BIP placement by the Mets' hitters turned it into a 3-0 lead before Andy K'd Bay and Wright to end the inning.

- The offense looked like they were in business after A-Rod walked and Cano singled to start the bottom of the 2nd, but Nick Swisher inexplicably squared to bunt on the first pitch from Niese and bunted it right back to him to force A-Rod out at third.  Naturally, Niese finished off the inning with 2 Ks.

- Andy settled down after the 2nd and held the Mets scoreless through 6.  His fastball command wasn't there, so he threw a lot more curves and sliders, but he was still effective.  He even got a couple of pickoff outs and made a slick bare-handed play to get an out in the 6th.

- The offense, however, was just putrid.  They put the leadoff runner on in the 3rd, 4th, and 6th innings, and managed to plate nothing.  Jon Niese pitched well, but the lineup didn't do anything with the pitches he did give them to hit, grounding into 2 DPs.

- After Swish grounded into another DP to erase another leadoff baserunner in the 7th, Russell Martin capitalized on a David Wright error with a 2-run Yankee Stadium Right Field Special HR to make it 3-2.  The ball literally could not have been hit any shorter for a HR, but they all look the same in the box score, right?

- The offense did nothing most of the day, and did almost nothing in the 8th when they took the lead.  Jeter's grounder should have been scored an error, C-Grand blooped a single to left, Teix hit a weak grounder through the middle, and A-Rod popped one up to spot in right where nobody could get to it and it was 4-3 Yanks.

#Ihavenowords

- After all of that, of course Rafael Soriano was going to come in and blow the save.  Throwing fastball after fastball over the middle of plate usually leads to that.  Throw some blame Curtis' way too for a terrible read on Lucas Duda's leadoff double.

- It didn't take long for Soriano to get picked up.  Martin, obviously trying to prove that he can hit a real HR, hit a high, deep shot to left on a 3-2 fastball from Jon Rauch for the Yankees' first walk-off HR win of the season.  What a game.

Yankees Rule, Mets Drool

(Courtesy of MLB.com)

Well that was fun today, huh?

On Friday, I came right out and said that the Mets weren't actually a good baseball team, and I don't think any game in this series better exemplified that statement than today's.  The Mets didn't fully capitalize on the small advantage they gained in the 2nd inning, barely did anything on offense from then on, had their best player make a crucial error that opened the door for the Yankees, and got bad pitching from their bullpen to complete the loss.

The Yankees, on the other hand, played a very sloppy game on both sides of the ball, didn't hit with runners on or in scoring position AGAIN, and somehow managed to scrap together enough late lucky hits to capitalize on the opportunity that David Wright gave them in the 7th.  Overall, it wasn't a good game for the Yankees and they still got the W because that's what good teams do; they find a way to win even when they aren't at their best.

The Yankees are a good baseball team; the Mets are not.  And this series proved it.

Bring Me Jorge Soler

(Courtesy of Getty Images)

The Jorge Soler Sweepstakes was reignited yesterday when Buster Olney tweeted that the list of teams who were the "most aggressive" in their pursuits of the young Cuban was down to 4- the Dodgers, Cubs, Braves, and Yankees.  That fire was stoked a bit more today when The Post reported that Soler was expected to finalize a deal with one of those teams before tomorrow.  According to George King, Soler and his agent are looking for a 4-year deal, and with what's already known about the 20-year-old Soler that's a deal the Yankees should make sure they offer and make sure they offer a good one.

The makeup on Soler paints him as a potential 5-tool player with plus power, speed, and arm strength.  If he were in the recent MLB Draft, he likely would have been a top 5-10 pick.  He's not a finished product yet, and almost certainly wouldn't make an immediate Mike Trout or Bryce Harper-like jump to show, but Soler would be an easy top 5 prospect in any organization.  His 4-year contract won't be a cheap one, but he'll almost certainly come cheaper than Yoenis Cespedes, and at 6 years younger than Cespedes he's positioned to have a longer career.

Game 58 Wrap-Up: NYY 4 NYM 2

(Check the WPA on that play.  Courtesy of The AP)

Phil Hughes threw the best game of his Major League career in his previous outing.  Before that, he threw one of his worst.  There was really no way to predict what version of Hughes would show up to pitch against the Mets last night, even if his overall performance had been solid for the last month or so.  If his fastball command was there, he should have success against the weak Met lineup, and it turned out that it was.  The only question was whether or not the offense would give him enough run support.

Game Notes:

- The bottom of the 1st perfectly encapsulated the Yankee offense this season.  Jeter led off with a single, A-Rod drove him in, they loaded the bases with only 1 out, and Raul Ibanez grounded into an inning-ending double play to limit the damage to 1-0.  Fucking failboat.

- Hughes was solid through 5 innings, allowing a solitary run on a solo HR by some guy named Omar Quintanilla, and striking out 6.  He gave up some hits here and there, but did a good job of limiting damage.  He struck out the side looking in the 5th, all on well-located fastballs.

- The problem was that the offense did nothing to help him after the 1 run in the 1st.  Dillon Gee pitched pretty well, but I can't give him too much credit, because he's Dillon Gee.  He walked the leadoff batter in the 3rd and 4th innings, but the Yankees couldn't do anything.

- After striking out David Wright on a brilliant curveball-curveball-4-seamer sequence in the 4th, Hughes tried to get cute and work a changeup into the mix in the 6th and Wright hit it for a HR.  You can't get too upset at David Wright hitting HRs against you, but with the lack of run support it put the Yankees in a 2-1 hole.

- Apparently all the offense needed was a deficit to wake them up.  In the bottom of the 6th they jumped back ahead on a Mark Teixeira 2-run HR.  It came with 2 outs and 2 strikes, and on the 3rd curveball of the AB that Teix absolutely knew was coming.

- Curtis Granderson, mired in a mini-slump, provided some insurance in the 8th with his 18th HR of the season off Bobby Parnell.  The lesson, as always, don't miss with a fastball over the plate against Curtis.

- Hughes pitched into the 7th and got 2.2 innings of solid bullpen work to close out the win.  Strange to see the 'pen not rack up one K.

Some Pregame Food For Thought: Starting Pitching

As the rotation cycles back around to Phil Hughes' turn again, and he makes his first start since his outstanding complete game against Detroit last Sunday, it's worth taking a look at the individual performances of each member of the rotation the last time through.  Take notice of who had the worst outing.

- Hughes: 9 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 8 K (W)
- Pettitte: 7.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 10 K (W)
- Nova: 8.0+ IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K (W)
- Sabathia: 7.0 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 12 K (L)
- Kuroda: 7.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 7 K (W)

There really isn't a bad outing to be found in there, and I'll take rotation-wide production like this 25 hours a day/8 days a week, but the big fella was thoroughly outpitched by the rest of his rotation mates.  We're living in a world where CC Sabathia is presently the Yankees' worst starting pitcher.  It's some straight up bizarro world shit, and it can only be the latest sign that the end of days are near, but I'm OK with it.

Bullpen Injury Updates

The bullpen has been the biggest source of the Yankees' injury woes this season (see: Rivera, Mariano).  But over the past couple weeks, some of the key members who aren't lost for the season have been making progress towards their returns.  One will be able to return sooner than others, but both the short and long-term prognosis for the re-strengthening of Yankee bullpen depth looks good.

After the jump, here's a quick update on 3 key guys.

Game 57 Wrap-Up: NYY 9 NYM 1

(You'd be smiling too if you had a swing that sweet.  Courtesy of The AP)

I threw down the gauntlet before the game and the Yankees responded.  The overall sloppiness that permeated their series-ending game against Tampa on Thursday night was nowhere to be found in the Subway Series opener at The Stadium last night.  The offensive jumped all over Johan Santana early, and Hiroki Kuroda was spectacular as the Yankees cruised to an easy win.

Game Notes:

- After both pitchers worked quickly through the 1st, it looked like we could be in for a low-scoring night, but the Yankee offense struck in the bottom of the 2nd when A-Rod led off with a walk and Robbie Cano smacked the first pitch he saw for a 2-run homer.

- It didn't take long for the Yanks to build on their early lead, as they came right back in the 3rd and pounded Santana.  After getting 2 outs, A-Rod reached again and Cano did the exact same thing he did the previous inning, murdering a hanger for a 2-run HR into the second deck in right and a 4-0 Yankee lead.

- But it didn't end there.  Nick Swisher followed that up with a solo shot of his own, and Andruw Jones did as well for the Yankees' first back-to-back-to-back HRs since last season and a 6-0 lead.  Oddly enough, it was the same 3 guys who did it last year.

- It was hard to say if Santana was still feeling the effect of his marathon outing last week, as he struck out 5 early, but he did seem to tire quickly and his command in the strike zone was not there.

- Kuroda was the exact opposite.  He was money from the word go and waltzed through the first 5 innings, allowing only 1 baserunner on a Derek Jeter error and striking out 6.  He had all his pitches working and used all of them to stifle the Met lineup.

- Scary moment for Kuroda in the 7th. After losing his no-hitter the previous inning, he continued to mow down the Mets until he took a line drive off his left foot.  A-Rod caught it for the out, but Kuroda limped off the mound and did not return to the game.

- With Kuroda out, the Yankee offense turned it back on for some insurance in the bottom of the 7th with a sac fly by A-Rod, RBI double by Swish, and RBI single by Jones to make it 9-0.

- In Kuroda's absence, the Yankees used Cody Eppley and the recently called up Ryota Igarashi to finish the game off.  Igarashi allowed a late run in the 9th to break up the shutout.