Game 67 Wrap-Up: ATL 4 NYY 3

(You're out, dude.  By a fucking mile.  Courtesy of MLB.com)

We all knew that the Yankees weren't going to win every game for the rest of the season.  And the fact that they had this 10-game winning streak against a bunch of above-.500 teams was an impressive feat and a sign of what this team is capable of.  But that doesn't make losing and having that streak broken any easier, especially in a game where the Yankees had multiple chances to get the runs they would have needed to win.

Game Notes:

- Hiroki Kuroda worked briskly through the first 2 innings on 2 strikeouts, 2 groundouts, and 2 flyouts, and it looked like he was lined up to keep the streak of standout starting pitching going.

- The offense followed up with a Teix single, Raul Ibanez double, and Nick Swisher 2-RBI double off of Tim Hudson to take a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the 2nd, and it looked like the winning streak was going to be in good shape to continue as well.

- But it all came to a halt after that half-inning.  Kuroda gave back 1 run in the 3rd after a leadoff triple from Jason Heyward, and then imploded with 2 outs in the 4th, going walk, double, walk, single to allow 2 more runs to score and the Braves to take a 3-2 lead.

- The offense bounced back in the bottom half, scratching an unearned runs across on a pair of errors by Freddie Freeman and Chipper Jones to tie the game, but that was really the last time we would hear from the lineup all night.

- The Braves took the lead in the 6th on a leadoff ground-rule double and a hotshot RBI single by Heyward that went off of Teix.  Kuroda wasn't awful last night, but in situations where he needed to make a pitch, situations that he consistently came through in last time against Atlanta, he couldn't do it.  Sometimes it goes that way.

- Ugly finish to the game by the offense.  Teix got thrown out at home in the 5th by about 100 feet, and Curtis Granderson also got thrown out at home in the 7th, the 2-55 spots in the lineup went a combined 2-16 with 0 RBI, and they only recorded 1 hit as a team in the final 4 innings.

- When you draw 5 walks against somebody like Hudson and get him out of the game after 5 innings, you should win.  The Yankees' inability to capitalize and get those timely hits that they've been getting (2-11 w/ RISP as a team) were why they didn't last night.

Josh Norris' "State Of The System"

I'm a day late on this, but if you're looking for some good afternoon/evening reading, look no further than Josh Norris' 4-part "State of The System" series that he posted over on his blog on Sunday.  Norris covers the Trenton Thunder full time, but he's also one of the foremost authorities on the Yankee farm system in general, and the insight he provides and direct quotes from scouts that he posts here is further proof. 

I'm always fascinated by the drastically different opinions that one scout and another can have on one prospect, and there are more than a few of those cases in Josh's report.  Definitely a must-read if you like following the Minors or fancy yourself an amateur prospect expert.

- Triple-A Empire State

- Double-A Trenton

- High-A Tampa

- Low-A Charleston

A Quick Word On Roger Clemens

Everybody knows by now that the verdict came back in the Roger Clemens perjury trial yesterday, and unsurprisingly it came back not guilty on all counts.  Seeing the way the Barry Bonds trial played out, I knew this was coming, and I don't feel bad saying that you're a complete idiot if you expected anything otherwise.  I didn't give this incredible waste of media air time and US taxpayer money one second of thought while it was going on, and I didn't give it one more second when the verdict was announced yesterday.

I don't need a guilty verdict to know that Roger Clemens used steroids.  I know he did, and I've known for a while now.  And it really doesn't change my opinion of him because I was never a big Roger Clemens fan anyway.  I always thought he was an asshole; I always thought he was a money-grubbing mercenary who was too caught up in the smell of his own farts and the sound of the local and national media fellating him to care about any of his teammates or fans.  My greatest memory of Clemens is him pitching like shit and probably faking an injury to get removed from Game 3 of the 2007 ALDS, so that should tell you everything you need to know about where I stand on him.

That being said, when I saw the video of his post-verdict press conference yesterday, I did have one thought and one thought only that went through my head.

Singing The Songs Of The Unsung Bullpen Heroes

(Cody Who??? Courtesy of Getty Images)

Say what you will about the Yankees' organizational ability to successfully manage their young pitching prospects and build them into something useful, or their ability to scout and sign the right external free agent pitchers to strengthen their rotation.  Both of those track records are filled with their fair share of flops and failures, and any kind of reasonable criticism directed at them comes with some truth attached.  But if there's one thing the Yankees have done consistently well in recent years, it's find and implement good relief pitching from unexpected sources.  Internally, externally, sometimes seemingly out of nowhere.  The Yankees know how to get value from undervalued relief assets and the Cody Eppley-Clay Rapada tag team this season is just the latest example.

Game 66 Wrap-Up: NYY 6 ATL 2

(Fastball command is funny.  Courtesy of The AP)

After a long day at the office, I just didn't have another live blog in me for last night's game.  And with CC Sabathia back on the mound, I wanted to spend more time watching the game and really pay attention to his fastball to see if he had made any improvements with it.  Swish was still out of commish, and Raul got the night off with the lefty Mike Minor on the mound for Atlanta, so the lineup was a little short.  But Carsten was on his game, and Minor couldn't repeat the success that he had the last time out.

Game Notes:

- The Braves came into the game scoreless in their last 20 innings, and it took all of 4 pitches from CC to end that streak.  A leadoff triple to left-center for Michael Bourn and a groundout by Martin Prado and Atlanta led 1-0.

- That was all Atlanta would get, though, as CC worked out of the inning without further issue and needed just 26 more pitches to get through the first 3 frames.  The Braves helped by swinging early (4 1-pitch outs), but give CC credit for that too by being around the plate.

- Minor brought his pitching shoes to The Stadium last night, and matched CC out for out early.  He no-hit the Yanks the first time through the lineup, and through 4 innings had only allowed 1 baserunner.

- CC put the first 2 runners on in the 4th and got out of it, but he wasn't so lucky in the 5th.  Leadoff single by Jason Heyward, infield single off a deflection by Andrelton Simmons, and a 1-out RBI single from Bourn on a pretty good pitch and it was 2-0 Atlanta.

- Minor lost the no-hit bid in the 5th after giving up a leadoff single to A-Rod, and lost the shutout soon after.  Robinson Cano walked, and on a 3-0 pitch Russell Martin got the green light and lined a 1-out ground-rule double to left to score A-Rod and cut the lead in half.  Derek Jeter followed with a 2-out 2-run single to center after a great at-bat and the Yankees took a 3-2 lead.

- If Fredi Gonzalez wasn't regretting sending Minor out to start the bottom of the 6th when the inning started, he definitely was after Mark Teixeira took a hanging change from Minor and parked it in the left field bleachers to lead off the inning.

- You expect your ace to give you shutdown innings after you take a lead, and CC gave the Yankees 3 after they put runs on the board in the 5th, 6th, and 7th.  The 6th-8th innings were easily CC's best of the night; he threw a lot of strikes and got 4 Ks, plus 2 slick plays by Jeter and Cano to end the 7th and 8th innings and preserve a 5-2 Yankee lead.

- Another Robbie Cano HR for more insurance?  Why the hell not?

A Little Love For Sour Puss

By now it should be crystal clear to everybody that I am not, nor have I ever been a Rafael Soriano fan.  He hasn't pitched that great overall since joining the Yankees last season, at least not as well as his monstrosity of a contract would suggest he should be.  Because of that contract, and the fact that nobody in their right mind would give him that much on the open market, he's basically guaranteed to be back on the team as a big financial burden next year.  And he's just really not a very likable guy, definitely not the easiest to root for.

But I'll be damned if old Sour Puss hasn't stepped up the plate and done a bang-up job filling in as the team's closer since Mo and D-Rob went down.  Since becoming the "official" closer on May 10th, here's Soriano's line:

15 App., 13.1 IP, 13 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 12 K

Game 65 Wrap-Up: NYY 4 WAS 1

(Winnah!  Courtesy of The AP)

I scoffed when Ivan Nova said he wanted to get away from his new strategy that had made him a big strikeout pitcher and also a big XBH pitcher this season.  I thought he just needed to tighten up the command of his stuff in the zone and he could be a dominant pitcher.  Well what the hell do I know?  Since then, Nova has looked more like the version of himself he was in the second half of last season and he's been silly good in the process.  Yesterday, he put together another great start and got the Yankees their 2nd straight road sweep and 9th straight win in the process.

Game Notes:

- As they've done a lot during this recent hot streak, the offense got off to a fast start and got Nova an early lead.  Derek Jeter led off the game with a single, Curtis Granderson followed with a double, and the Yanks were in business with no outs in the 1st.  They only managed to score 1 run on a Mark Teixeira sac fly, but a 1st-inning lead is still a great thing to have.

- Nova made one mistake in the bottom of the 2nd, a fastball up to Adam LaRoche that he hit for a HR, but otherwise he was on his game early.  He got into trouble in the 3rd with runners on the corners and 1 out, but induced an inning-ending DP ball from Danny Espinosa to end the threat.

- The lineup put pressure on Edwin Jackson, but couldn't convert on their opportunities through 4 innings.  It wasn't until non-home run hitter Curtis Granderson led off the 5th with a HR that they regained the lead.

- As they did with Gonzalez and Zimmerman, the lineup worked Jackson out after 6, and once he left they struck.  Robinson Cano hit a 1-out HR off of reliever Tom Gorzelanny in the 7th, and Mark Teixeira doubled and came around to score on a passed ball to make it 4-1.

- Those 4 runs would be all Nova needed.  He was efficient, he got ahead in the count, and he did a good job of locating the ball down in the zone to get those GBs he loves.  He had the curveball working and really tried to use that as his out pitch, and was brilliant through 7.2 innings before giving way to Boone Logan in the 8th.

- RISP Fail will continue to be a talking point for the offense, and justifiably so after the team went 0-12 yesterday in that situation, but when you get the kind of outing they got from Nova, that masks a lot of problems.

- Sour Puss picked up his 4th straight save since the BS against the Mets last Sunday, and 2nd in as many days, in a clean 9th.

Super Nova Does It Again

Ivan Nova's stat line for the month of June after today's start:

- 22.2 IP, 16 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 15 K, 33 GB Outs, 3-0

Ivan The Great indeed.

Outfield Options: External

(Would you trade for this guy?  Courtesy of The AP)

I snapped to attention yesterday after finding out Nick Swisher left the game with a quad injury and looked at what internal moves the Yankees could make to cover themselves if Swish had to miss some time.  He's out of the lineup today, but the bone bruise to the quad doesn't seem like something that's going to keep him out for very long at all.  Still, it can't hurt to finish this exploration into potential OF replacements out, what with Brett Gardner still out for another month and the possibility of more injuries always looming.  If the Yankees do end up needing to look to the trade market to plug an outfield gap, here are some names that could draw their interest.

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.