Game 138 Wrap-Up: NYY 8 BAL 5

(Now would be a great time for this guy to heat up.  Courtesy of the AP)

Even when the Yankees win it's stressful.  They jumped out to a big lead early last night, and then held on through the final innings as Baltimore tried to slug their way back into the game.  The Yankee offense had seen Baltimore starter Wei-Yin Chen enough already this season to know what to expect from him.  That, combined with Chen's loss of command in the strike zone last night made it a very good night for an offense that's continuing to find its sea legs and getting back to being the dangerous group it's supposed to be.  With Chen struggling, the Yankees needed a good start from Phil Hughes and they got one.  For one day at least, the division lead is back in New York's possession.

Game Notes:

- Hughes got into trouble right off the bat, literally, when Nate McLouth doubled to put runners on second and third with 1 out in the 1st.  But Hughes retired Adam Jones and Matt Wieters to keep the scoreboard clear.

- The Yanks didn't strike until the 4th, but they did in a big way.  Nick Swisher and Robinson Cano got free passes and Russell Martin drove them in with a 3-run HR to get things started, then Steve Pearce followed up with a 2-run blast of his own to make it a 5-0 game.

- Alex Rodriguez fanned the flames in the 5th inning with a 2-run HR of his own, scoring Derek Jeter and chasing Chen from the game.  It was a good-looking power swing from The Horse, and encouraging sign that his hand is feeling is good.

- Hughes held the O's down in 2 shutdown innings after the 4th and 5th, but had his one bad inning in the 6th.  A Swish error at first and another McLouth double put runners on for Jones, and after being retired on a fastball previously, Jones was looking first-pitch heater all the way.  Hughes threw it and Jones hit it for a 3-run homer to get Baltimore back in the game 7-3.

- That could have been it for Hughes, but in a big gut check for him he sat down the next 3 Baltimore hitters in order to limit the damage in the inning.  He threw a bunch of changeups to get Mark Reynolds out (finally), and got Chris Davis swinging on The Slutter.

- After playing longball early, the Yankee offense backed down to base hits to score an insurance run in the 9th.  Jeter singled home Ichiro, his third hit of the night, to keep the cushion.

- Bullpen gave up a couple of homers in relief of Hughes to keep things just uncomfortable enough for Yankee fans, but they were both solo shots and New York hung on for the 8-5 win.

Friday Afternoon Linkapalooza: 9/7

Ahh, the beginning of the NFL season.  Such a wonderful time of year.  Don't worry, I'm not going to revert back to the early days of AB4AR and actually discuss NFL games in detail, but I am going to talk about how awesome it is to have football on TV for the entirety of each and every weekend for the next few months.  Concussion problems and Roger Goodell's dictatorship approach to being NFL commissioner aside, football is still the best spectator sport in the world and it gives me another excuse to be a lazy slob on the weekends.  "Sorry, guys, can't make it to that charity children's cancer walk tomorrow.  The game's on!!"  A wall-to-wall NFL session on Sunday will also be a welcome distraction from the increasingly frustrating New York Yankees.  I don't know if they're the national TBS game on Sunday or not, but I honestly might not even watch if they are.  Now onto the links!

- On Monday, George S. of Gutty Gritty Yankees lamented the fact that the Yankees passed on Yoenis Cespedes thanks to Hal Steinbrenner not being like his old man.  Cespedes would look good in pinstripes right now...

- DBurchHero of The Greedy Pinstripes made his case for why Chris Dickerson should get Andruw Jones' at-bats.  Hard to argue against that given what Jones has been doing at the plate (nothing).

- On Tuesday, Mike Axisa of RAB mused on CC Sabathia's continued lack of dominance in 2012, and what the causes for it could be.

- William Juliano of The Captain's Blog looked at just how pathetic the offense was during this recent slide and set the stage for a turnaround.

- On Wednesday, Chad Jennings of LoHud put a bow on the Yankees' low point of the season with this breakdown of their mid-week offensive numbers.  It's never good when Jayson Nix and Chris Dickerson are your best hitters, no matter the sample size.

- Mike Eder of TYA analyzed Phil Hughes' latest short outing and concluded that there are some signs that Hughes may be running out of gas this season.  That's not what the Yankees need right now with their rotation problems.

- Matthew B of Yankees Fans Unite wondered if it was fair to throw some blame Joe Girardi's way for the Yankees' semi-collapse in the last month.

- Alex Pugliese of Yanks Go Yard became the latest to make the "Yankees probably shouldn't re-up Curtis Granderson after next year" argument based on his 2012 results.

- On Thursday, William Tasker of IIATMS, inspired by some comments, attempted to get to the bottom of Russell Martin's horrific BABIP this season.

- Curtis Clark of Bronx Baseball Daily commented on the insane convergence of luck and statistical flukes that have led to the Baltimore Orioles' success.  You know, if you wanted to get even more frustrated with the Yankees' situation.

- On Friday, SteveB of Pride Of The Yankees had some strong opinions on the jobs that Kevin Long and Joe Girardi are doing right now, and peppered them with the dreaded "F" word.

- Josh Norris of Minor Matters is doing a bang-up job of covering the Trenton Thunder playoff series, so if you're into following the MiL playoffs you can't do much better than following Norris' coverage.

For this week's Friday Jam, we're going with "Goldie" by A$ap Rocky.  Dude's making a name for himself right now, and although I'm not quite sold on him and his whole crew there's just no way that anybody can deny this song's catchiness.  If I had the money, this video is exactly how I would live my life.  Enjoy.



Enjoy your weekends, everybody.

Some Friendly Suggestions For The Final 3 Weeks

These past 3 weeks have not been enjoyable as a Yankee fan or a writer.  There isn't much to be found in the way of positive talking points, and I feel like the Yankees' pathetic play has been taking its toll on me.  It's mentally and emotionally draining to watch the team play the same tired, sloppy, lifeless brand of baseball and then have to either stay up way later than I wanted to or drag my ass out of bed way earlier than I wanted to the next day to write about it.  So you know what?  Rather than sit here and agonize over the crummy bullpen or RISP Fail for the umpteenth time, I'm just going to offer up a few friendly ideas for what I think needs to be done in these last 3 weeks of the regular season.  Some of them could help the Yankees win more game, some might not, but at this point I'm fed up with watching the same things continue to happen and continue to generate the same results.  I fancy myself a pretty knowledgeable baseball guy, so maybe these suggestions are actually the keys to righting the ship.  They can't be any worse than the strategy Joe's already rolling with.

Game 137 Wrap-Up: BAL 10 NYY 6

(Just sit down.  All of you.  Courtesy of The AP)

The Yankees have been collecting bad losses like baseball cards since they went in the tank against the White Sox.  I mean some REALLY bad losses.  But last night's had to be the most devastating.  After salvaging a win against the Rays to regain the division lead outright before traveling to Baltimore, the Yanks came out last night and laid another big egg, this one with all the key ingredients to their recent sucktitude mixed in.  They got another poor starting pitching effort, the offense spent most of the game doing nothing, and had just 1 run to show for their efforts through 7 innings, and the bullpen collapsed in a big way.  There's still a lot of baseball to be played, but with the way this team is constructed and the way they're playing, it's hard to envision them making the playoffs, let alone hold on to win the division.

Game Notes:

- David Phelps got the ball against the Orioles for the second time in a week, and for the second time in a week he looked overmatched.  He gave up 3 consecutive singles in the bottom of the 1st to put Baltimore on the board, then gave up a 3-run HR to Matt Wieters to make it a 4-0 game.

- The Yankee offense picked up some hits against the returning Jason Hammel, but nothing substantial.  In the 3rd and 4th innings alone they recorded 5 hits, but all of them were singles, and there was only 1 run to show for the effort.

- Joe had the bullpen up in the 1st inning, but Phelps did manage to settle down a bit and give the Yankees a few innings.  He still wasn't very sharp, evidenced by the HR he gave up to the mighty Robert Andino in the 4th, but he didn't completely implode.

- Offense went back into hibernation after the 4th inning, but not without grounding into a few more double plays for the sake of appearances.  For some reason, Joe continues to refuse to pinch hit for his guys in lefty-on-lefty matchups, and Eric Chavez hit into a DP in the 6th as a result.

- Give the middle relief crew some credit.  They were asked to pitch multiple innings again, and the team of Clay Rapada, and Justin Thomas did alright getting through the 7th.  Joba gave up a HR, but looked better for the second straight outing.

- Just when it looked like you could turn the lights off on them, the offense found itself in the 8th.  With 2 outs Alex Rodriguez doubled home Nick Swisher to start the rally, and the next 5 batters reached base to tie the game at 6.  Curtis Granderson singled home a run and pinch hitter Chris Dickerson drew a bases-loaded walk against Pedro Strop to force in a run.

- The Yankees had new life, but it was quickly extinguished by what's supposed to be the reliable part of their bullpen.  I don't know when D-Rob decided to just abandon his curveball and try to be Mo throwing nothing but cutters but it needs to stop.  He gave up a HR to Adam Jones, a single to Wieters, and a HR to Mark Reynolds to push Baltimore back in front 9-6.

- Robertson gave way to Boone Logan, who gave up the Orioles' 6th (!!!!!!!) HR of the night to Chris Davis on his first and only pitch of the night.  From extreme high to extreme low in about 10 minutes.

The Season Starts Tonight

Enough is enough.  The Orioles and the Rays have had their fun.  They've been winning their cute little 1-run games and playing their smallball, and getting everybody at ESPN all hot bothered over them catching the big, bad Yankees in the division while the Yankees stepped on their collective dicks these past few weeks.  And that's all well and good.  It makes for some exciting TV and gives us bloggers more material to write about in the final month.

But play time is over.  It stopped last night, and starting tonight it's time to really see what these scrappy little teams have behind their cups.  The O's came in and beat up the Yankees in New York, now let's see them defend their home turf here in crunch time and prove they're really the better team now that the Yankees are starting to pick themselves up.

The vomit's already on the sweater, people.  It's been there since the Chicago series.  But the Yanks started doing some of the things they haven't been doing last night, and a second chance at putting the Orioles in their place is just what they need to really get going in the right direction heading into the postseason.  The Horse is back, Teix is getting better, Andy is throwing to live batters, and shit's about to get real in these final 3 weeks.  Fuck the Orioles, fuck the Rays, and fuck the Free World.  The 26-game season starts tonight and I hope the O's are ready for it.

If something's gonna happen with this AL East shit, it needs to happen now.



P.S.- I'm almost too white for my own good.

Is There Anything To Joe's Anti-Bunt Comments?

("Hmmmm, if only I had a binder that told me when to bunt... " Courtesy of The AP)

I touched on it in this morning's game recap, but I was quite surprised to read Joe Girardi's very blunt and straightforward comments on the Kevin Long "more bunting" suggestion from the night before.  Not because I don't partially agree with what Joe is saying; it's true that the Yankees, as presently constructed and even to a degree when their lineup is at full strength, aren't built to play the sac bunt game as a regular part of their offense.  My point of contention was with Joe's decision to be that blunt and in such open disagreement with his hitting coach during a time when the Yankees were already under fire for their poor play and lost division lead.  The timing of his comments just wasn't right.

Game 136 Wrap-Up: NYY 6 TB 4

(Pretty good looking swing.  Courtesy of The AP)

As if things couldn't get any more stressful in Yankeeland, Joe had to come out before the game last night and absolutely shit all over Kevin Long's life in response to Long's "more bunting" suggestion to help turn this offensive slump around.  Now the struggling Yankee bats had the added pressure of having to perform last night, on the road, against Matt Moore, a nasty left-hander on a hot streak, to not only prevent themselves from losing the division lead entirely, but also to potentially prevent the NY media from starting up a "Girardi vs. Long" feud in the papers.  Yeah, that's a recipe for success if I ever heard one.  At least they had Hiroki Kuroda on the mound to give them a fighting chance.

Game Notes:

- Kuroda got beat by classic TB run manufacturing for 1 in the bottom of the 1st, and had to overcome another Curtis Granderson botch job in center in the 2nd, but he looked pretty good early.

- Moore was dealing from the moment his feet touched the rubber, and he looked hellbent on getting to that 8-inning, 11-K mark I set him for him yesterday.  He struck out 6 of the first 9 batters he faced through the first 3.

- It took a second turn through the order for the lineup to strike, but when it did it did in a big way in the 4th.  Derek Jeter led off the inning with a single (again) and came around to score on an Alex Rodriguez RBI double.  A follow-up 2-run double from Russell Martin and the Yanks led 3-1.

- For the third straight start, Kuroda had his problems in the middle innings.  He did the same thing that killed Garcia the night before with 2 outs in the 5th and it cost him 2 runs.

- Then after Martin gave him a 4-3 lead with a solo HR in the 6th, he coughed it right back up by giving up a solo HR to Luke Scott in the bottom half.  Hiroki wasn't very sharp with his stuff, and definitely not nearly as efficient with his pitches.  101 in 6 innings was it for him.

- When Kevin Long talked about bunting more, I think the situation in the 7th was exactly what he was talking about.  2 on, no outs, Jayson Nix at the plate, and he lays one down to move the runners over.  Perfect.  And it paid off for 2 runs when Eliot Johnson threw the ball away on Jeter's grounder in the next at-bat.  Not flashy, but it got results.

- No funny business in the late innings.  Joe went with his bullpen A-team and they went 3 scoreless with 4 Ks to close out a much-needed W for the Bombers.  Amazing how leads tend to stay intact when you get good relief pitching!

No Time To Panic, Or The Perfect Time?

I don't think I'd rank it up there with Pulp Fiction or A Clockwork Orange on my list of all-time favorite movies, but gun to my head, I don't think there's any way I could come up with a top 10 and leave out Toy Story.  That movie is flat out awesome, and if you don't agree then you have less of a soul than even I.  Arguably the best scene in that movie is the scene shown above in which Woody and Buzz Lightyear, alone and exposed in the outside world for the first time, argue about how best to handle the situation.  Bizarre as it may seem, that scene lends itself well to explaining the predicament in which the Yankees currently find themselves, and whether or not it's time to panic.

In Case You Haven't Had Enough Slump Coverage...

There's these 2 shit-flavored tidbits to hold you over:

- The Yankees' team .332 OBP is their lowest since 1992

This point was talked about multiple times by the ESPN broadcast crew last night, and I think it's very telling to what's gone wrong with this offense lately and all season.  There aren't a lot of grinders in this lineup anymore; there aren't guys who work counts, foul balls off, take walks.  There's a lot of hackers and a lot more swings and misses.  Probably explains why the Yanks have hit so many home runs but likely won't finish with a single 100-RBI guy.

- The Yankees have had 6 hits or fewer in 5 straight games for the first time since 1990

I don't care who you are, what side of the plate you hit from, and how much good or bad BABIP luck you have, that's fucking awful.  Awful.  Mike Axisa pointed this out in his game recap on RAB this morning and I can't think him enough for contributing to my early morning depression.

Game 135 Wrap-Up: TB 5 NYY 2

(If this was supposed to fire the team up, it didn't work.  Courtesy of The AP)

The Yankees used their off day last Thursday to reorganize their rotation and get their top 4 starters lined up for the first 4 games of this all-important, all-Baltimore/TB 10-game span.  That moved backfired on them, as they'd gone 1-3 heading into last night's game, and they had the outright lead in the division on the line and essentially their 5th starter, Freddy Garcia, tasked with holding on to it last night.  Garcia had been shaky at best his last few times out, and his margin for error was very small with an ineffective bullpen and weak-hitting lineup backing him up, but a good outing could help stop the boat from rocking so violently.  Needing to be a stopper, Garcia just kept things right on a-rockin'.

Game Notes:

- The offense drew blood early.  Alex Cobb got 2 quick outs in the top of the 1st, but then Nick Swisher worked a 2-out walk and Robinson Cano, DHing a day after tweaking his hip, drove a 2-1 fastball out to left for a home run and 2-0 Yankee lead.

- Top 3rd, runners on first and second, Swish at the plate with a 2-0 count, what happens?  If you answered, "Swish strikes out swinging on the next 3 pitches and Cano grounds into an inning-ending double play," congratulations.  And go fuck yourself.

- It took Freddy just 9 pitches to get himself in trouble, but he worked out and only gave up 1 run in the process. He wasn't so lucky in the 3rd when he got 2 outs on 2 pitches, then walked Ben Zobrist and gave up a 2-run HR to Evan Longoria, repeating Cobb's mistake and giving Tampa a 1-run lead.

- Both Garcia and a few Yankee hitters were unhappy with Tony Randazzo's strike zone in the early innings, and it quickly came to a head at the end of the top of the 4th when Randazzo ejected Joe Girardi.  Joe charged out of the dugout and got his money's worth, but nothing positive came from it.

- The 5th inning has been Freddy's undoing the last 2 times he's pitched, and last night was no different.  With a pitch count in the 80s, he gave up back-to-back HRs to Desmond Jennings and B.J. Upton to make it 5-2, but at least he got through the inning this time, right?  Right??

- At least the offense was supporting him.  Oh wait, no they were disappearing again.  3 hits and 5 baserunners through the first 3 innings, just 1 hit, 1 baserunner, and 10 straight retired by Cobb after that.

- Derek Jeter broke up the hitless streak with 1 out in the 8th, but watched Curtis Granderson and Swish strike out to end the inning.  A measly A-Rod infield hit is all they could muster in the 9th, and the Yankees went down quietly again.

- If you want to try to put a positive spin on this, you could say at least A-Rod looked good and smooth at third base.  That's something I guess.

BOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!

Booooooooooo!!

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Another Look At The Underwhelming Offense

(One of many not getting it done presently.  Courtesy of The AP)

I'm not going to bother trying to tip toe around the facts, because we're all smart enough to know what they are.  The Yankees are an absolute mess right now.  They're 4-9 in their last 13 games, their division lead is down to just 1 game, they're in the middle of a 10-game stretch against the 2 teams closest to overtaking them for the AL East lead, and they're showing no signs of turning anything around.  The roster is a jumbled mess of banged up superstars, old guys finally having their flaws exposed after being forced to play more than they should have earlier in the season, and middle-of-the-pack players turning in inconsistent performances, and nowhere is that more apparent than in the 1-9 lineup card that Joe fills out every day.

AB4AR "Best Of The Month" Awards: August 2012

The Yankees started the month of August with a shrinking division lead and they finished August with a shrinking division lead, a lead that has shrunk down to practically nothing after their poor start to September.  As bad as things have been, the Yankees actually did play above-.500 baseball in August with a 15-13 record, but that does little to distract from the team's rapidly-deteriorating margin for error.  Plenty of players got hurt in August, continuing a trend that just won't go away, and those injuries appeared to finally catch up to the old Yankees this month, as the rest of the healthy troops couldn't rally to support their DL-stricken teammates.  But as always, there were some good moments and good performances from some, and that's what these "best of the month" posts are al about.  So forget about all the negativity and impending panic and just look back on the good times from last month.

Game 134 Wrap-Up: TB 4 NYY 3

(Once again, good but not great.  Courtesy of The AP)

The Orioles are the closest threat to the Yankees' slim division lead after taking 2 of 3 over the weekend, but the Rays have been no slouch right behind them.  Tampa isn't just playing for a Wild Card spot with their recent hot streak, they are very much in the discussion for the AL East crown and can make that discussion even more interesting with a series win over the stumbling, bumbling Bronx Bummers.  The Yankees had the right man on the mound to put the breaks on their skid in CC Sabathia yesterday afternoon, and a recent whipping boy across the way in James Shields.  A-Rod was back in the lineup,

Game Notes:

- Tough start for CC.  He got dinked and dunked to death in giving up an RBI single in the 2nd inning, then gave up a solo HR to B.J. Upton to start off the 3rd.

- After getting shut down the first time through the order, the Yankee lineup broke out for 3 runs off Shields in the top of the 4th.  The big hits were a Robinson Cano double and a Raul Ibanez RBI triple with some infield hits sprinkled in, including A-Rod's first hit off the DL.

- The Rays manufactured a run on a double steal and an RBI groundout in the 5th to tie the game back up, but they wouldn't have been able to if CC hadn't given up a walk and a base hit to start the inning.

- As they've done time and time again, the Yankee offense went completely off the grid after their 1 big inning.  Shields sat them down in order in the 5th and the 6th, and they wasted the 2 baserunners they did get in the 7th and 8th with immediate GIDPs.

- Sabathia was hardly the shutdown pitcher his team needed him to be yesterday, but he gave them a chance with 7 innings of 3-run ball.  I was surprised to see Joe go to him to start the 7th, but with the kind of middle relief he's gotten lately, a tired CC is a way better option and CC came up with arguably his best inning of the game.

- D-Rob came in to hold a 3-3 game in the bottom of the 8th and promptly gave up a leadoff single.  That one was erased by a nice call and great throw by Russell Martin to nail the pinch runner stealing, but Robertson did allow 2 more hits and steal after that to give Tampa the 1-run lead heading into the 9th.

- Joe played the bench game brilliantly in the 9th, pinch running Eduardo Nunez and getting a steal and pinch hitting Curtis Granderson for Martin against Rodney, but Granderson struck out and the division lead was down to 1.

Monthly Minor League Report (August): The Upper Levels

(Austin was the no-doubt best hitting prospect in the organization this year.  Courtesy of Mark LoMoglio)

The top 3 levels of the Yankee system, despite being arguably the most affected by injuries this season, have also been the source of the greatest success.  Both Triple-A Empire State and Double-A Trenton have won their divisions and will be participating in their respective postseasons, and High-A Tampa saw a lot of players on its roster at various points in the season who played very well and upped their prospect value as part of that team.  And even with the injuries hindering some of the big names up here, the Yankees still end the season with almost all of their prospect gems hidden somewhere in these 3 teams.  They aren't as top-heavy with MLB-ready talent as you'd like to see, but they have plenty of potential MLB talent that's getting closer.

The A-Horse Returneth

It's probably too early considering the minute amount of rehab innings he's played, and it's definitely seems more like another desperation/panic move influenced by the team's dwindling division lead, but no matter the reason, the Yankees have decided to bring Alex Rodriguez back and insert him into today's starting lineup.

I am very nervous, and very surprised, that the Yankees made this move after only 2 rehab games, neither of which are enough to draw a definitive conclusion on the condition of A-Rod's hand.  He DH'd in one game, played the field in the other, and did some side drills yesterday instead of playing a third game, which to me suggests that the hand is still not fully healed and nowhere near able to handle the stress of playing every day, be it in the field, just at the plate, or both.  But with the way the Yankee offense has looked lately, I guess the decision makers are thinking that even the presence of A-Rod in the cleanup spot is a better option than Andruw Jones or Eric Chavez at this point.  And you know what, even if the hand isn't fully healed I would have to agree with that logic.

Here's hoping this quick comeback doesn't lead to a follow-up DL stint.

Game 133 Wrap-Up: BAL 8 NYY 3

(Not the outing Phil had in mind.  Courtesy of Getty Images)

There probably hasn't been a win this season as big as the one the Yankees got on Saturday afternoon.  Down 2 runs late in the game, with a possible 1-game division lead on the line, and they did just enough to get the lead back and hold onto it to stabilize their slide for a day.  They had a chance to turn that into a series win and a much more comfortable 4-game lead yesterday, and had Phil Hughes and his excellent home start stats on the mound to try to get it done.  Their already short lineup was missing Curtis Granderson, who was resting his sore hamstring.  In his place was Chris Dickerson and the host of other lefty platoon bats.

Game Notes:

- Dickerson had a great season in Triple-A, mainly because he still has the ability to punish right-handed pitching.  In his first start this year in the show, he demonstrated that when he yanked a Chris Tillman cutter for a 2-out, 2-run HR in the bottom of the 2nd to get the Yankees on the board.

- Hughes was rolling early, mixing in his offspeed stuff (including The Slutter) well with his fastball, which he was commanding to both sides of the plate.  The first time through the order, he held the O's to just 1 baserunner and struck out 4.

- The Hughes Cruise looked like it was coming to an abrupt stop in the top of the 5th after Mark Reynolds fought back from a 1-2 count to CRUSH a HR to left to cut the lead in half.  But Phil worked around a couple of singles with a couple of big strikeouts to keep the damage to 1.

- Hughes' 5th-inning save was apparently just delaying the inevitable.  He lost his bite on his offspeed stuff and his command of his fastball in the 6th, and gave up 4 runs on a walk and 3 hits without retiring a batter.  Why he was left in to face Reynolds again is beyond me.

- There was no shortage of the Yankee offense shooting itself in the foot again in big situations, like back-to-back inning-ending double plays from Russell Martin and Derek Jeter in the 6th and 7th.  Jeter came up empty with RISP all day.

- Joe was forced to play mix and match with the bullpen bottom feeders after Hughes left (more on Joe later), and it didn't work out for him in the 8th.  5 pitchers combined to give up 3 ER on 3 hits and 2 walks to make it an 8-3 Baltimore lead.

- An Ichiro GIDP and a weak Andruw Jones flyout to right ended another ugly effort by the Yankees and cut the division lead back down to 2.

Monthly Minor League Report (August): The Lower Levels

(They just keep finding these great relief prospects.  Courtesy of MiLB.com)

With the big down year had by the top prospects in the upper levels of the Yankee system, the spotlight turned to the higher-profile kids in the lower parts.  The Austins, Williamses, and Sanchezes of the world got the lion's share of the coverage, and justifiably so.  Now that we've come to the later part of the MiL season, and the end of the road for some teams, those big names have been promoted and the focus turned to a different batch of players in the lower levels.  Some of them made good impressions, especially guys from this year's draft, but the major theme for the top hitting and pitching names down here this past month, and for most of this season, has been underperformance.

Game 132 Wrap-Up: NYY 4 BAL 3

(Somebody's glad to be back.  Courtesy of Getty Images)

The heat is getting turned up on the Yankees as they begin the final month of the regular season.  They've been mediocre for weeks now, lost a major chunk of their division lead in the process, and got their asses handed to them in the first game of a very key series against Baltimore on Friday night.  They weren't showing any signs of turning things around anytime soon, and called up a larger-than-expected group from Triple-A yesterday to try to bring some fresh arms and legs in to inject a little life into the club.  David Phelps was on the mound yesterday afternoon against Wei-Yin Chen, trying to do what Hiroki Kuroda couldn't the day before and get the Yankees back in the win column.

Game Notes:

- It wasn't a good start for Phelps, who didn't have nearly the command he's shown all season.  He walked 3, gave up 2 hits, and hit a batter on his way to allowing a run in each of the first 2 innings.  Only some well-timed double plays helped limit the damage.

- The Yanks had another injury scare when Curtis Granderson left after the bottom of the 2nd with hamstring tightness, but all indications are that it's nothing serious and he could play today.

- Phelps got through the 3rd in order, but started off the 4th by giving up a home run to Matt Wieters to make it 3-0 Baltimore.  He still wasn't locating, the lineup still wasn't hitting, and it looked like another beatdown in the making.

- Fortunately, Robinson Cano started the turnaround quickly in the bottom of the 4th by getting the Yankees on the board with a homer of his own.  It was just a solo shot, but with 2 outs and in an 0-2 count, it was a boost the Yankees needed.

- Phelps didn't make it out of the 5th, and it was up to the Yankee bullpen to hold the Orioles at 3.  Boone Logan was brought in to pitch the 6th and the 7th and he came up big, pitching around a walk, a hit, and an error to throw 2 goose eggs on the scoreboard.

- After laying dormant for most of the first 6 innings, the offense finally came alive with 2 outs in the 7th.  Jayson Nix drew a walk to put 2 runners on, Eduardo Nunez singled a run in on the first pitch he saw to make it 3-2, Ichiro and Derek Jeter walked to force in the tying run, and a fielding error by J.J. Hardy helped Nunez score the go-ahead run.  It wasn't pretty by any means, but it was enough.

- The Yankees switched to their better defensive lineup to preserve the lead, and D-Rob and Sour Puss did the job in the 8th and 9th.  Soriano looked especially nasty for the second straight time after his last blown save.

What The Yankees' First Batch Of Call-Ups Tells Me

September call-ups in baseball are a yearly tradition like no other, right up there with The Masters or The Super Bowl.  Today was the first day that teams could call players up to an expanded 40-man roster to finish the season, and the Yankees didn't waste any time going for reinforcements.  They brought up 6 guys - Francisco Cervelli, Eduardo Nunez, Cory Wade, Adam Warren, Justin Thomas, and Chris Dickerson- and DFA'd Ramiro Pena for a second time this season to make it happen.  Some of these moves were expected but there are a couple names on that list, Warren and Dickerson in particular, there were a bit surprising, at least to me.  Why, you ask?  I'll tell you why.

Game 131 Wrap-Up: BAL 6 NYY 1

(Courtesy of The AP)

No need to write an intro for this game.  Shit was pretty self-explanatory.

Game Notes:

- Bad Starting Pitching- Hiroki Kuroda pitched 8.1 innings, but he wasn't all that great in those innings.  He gave up 3 runs in the 2nd, which was all the Orioles needed, and 1 in the 6th.  2 HR allowed was Kuroda's undoing.

- Bad Relief Pitching- Derek Lowe managed to give up 4 hits and 2 more earned runs with 2 outs in the 9th to really put the game out of reach.

- Bad Hitting- The lineup went 5-32 as a team, with just 1 walk and 12 strikeouts.  Robinson Cano and Nick Swisher were a combined 0-8 with 6 Ks, and the team went 0-4 with RISP.

- Bad Managing- Joe decided to remove Kuroda with 1 out in the 9th to go to his awful middle relief corps even though Kuroda was at 99 pitches, and then didn't pinch hit for lefties Eric Chavez and Raul Ibanez against lefty Brian Matusz in the bottom of the inning.

- Yankee baseball!  Heroes remembered.  Legends born.

Friday Afternoon Linkapalooza: 8/31

We get paid bi-weekly at my company, which means 2 months out of the year there are months where I get 3 paychecks.  August happens to be one of those months, and today happens to be the payday for that glorious 3rd check, and I gotta tell ya, that's a great feeling.  For a non-commission-making cubicle monkey like myself, that 3rd check is like a brick of solid gold being placed into my hand.  Some of us from work have the company seats to tonight's Brewers-Pirates game, and if I had the time beforehand, I would stop at the bank and get my check converted into singles just so I could drag a garbage bag full of money into the stadium and go Pacman Jones on people's asses.  The 3rd check is license to spend, and I'm telling you right now, I'm going to stimulate the economy in a big way tonight.  Now onto the links!

- On Monday, Matt Duggan of Pinstripe Alley ditched the defensive ratings and just looked at Curtis Granderson's decrease in number of balls caught this season to show how poor he's been defensively.

- Brien Jackson of IIATMS explained why it's not out of the realm of possibility for the Yankees to end up in the same situation the Fraud Sawx were in before the big trade.

- On Tuesday, SJK of NoMaas reminded everybody of how horrid Derek Jeter's defense has been this season.  It's only fair to touch on that if we're going to praise him for how great he's been at the plate.

- On Wednesday, Mike Eder of TYA analyzed D-Rob's transformation into a more Mo-like pitcher.  There are certainly worse pitchers to emulate.

- Trevor Wolff of Sliding Into Home issued his "State of the System" Minor League address, and touched on guys like Tyler Austin and David Adams.

- On Thursday, William Juliano of The Captain's Blog talked about the importance of context when discussing the great art of sac bunting in relation to the Yankees' loss on Wednesday.

- Chris Carelli of Yanks Go Yard discussed the small deadline moves the Yankees made in place of a bigger one and how little of a positive impact those moves have had.

- The team of Mike Ashmore and Josh Norris posted another interview with Mark Newman, this one touching on selections for the Arizona Fall League and Dellin Betances.

- Ashmore also scored some interview time with Brian Cashman at the press conference to announce the contract extension with the Trenton Thunder.  Cashman talks about the new deal, September call-ups, and young guys who've impressed him this season.

- Fishjam25 of Yankees Fans Unite reviewed the lay of the land for the Yankees right now, and set the stage for this weekend's series against Baltimore.

- On Friday, Mike Axisa of RAB did his weekly mailbag, and I'm linking to it just for his take on the upcoming Rule 5 eligibility situation this offseason.  Some players worthy of protection are probably going to be left exposed.  It will be interesting to see if any teams take a shot at some of them.

This week's Friday jam is simple, straightforward, badass rock and roll.  Old school Metallica, perfect for a night of drinking PBR cans and trying to pretend that Brewers-Pirates is entertaining.



Enjoy your weekends, everybody.

Screw Pedro Feliciano And The Left Arm He Signed His 2-Year Deal With

(Used courtesy of Mike Ashmore)

As we move ever closer to roster expansion tomorrow, the biggest name on the list of potential call-ups is Pedro Feliciano.  The left-handed reliever hasn't pitched an inning for the Yankees since signing a 2-year, $8 million contract before last season, instead spending his time rehabbing a serious arm injury.  He's been on the rehab trail for some time now, allowing 2 ER with 8 K/3 BB in 6.1 IP over 7 appearances at various levels of the MiL system.  He's currently scheduled to make his next appearance today for SS Staten Island and then likely return to the Yankees' active roster.  It's a move that's never not going to happen, as this is exactly what roster expansions are all about.  But if I had my say in the matter, I'd tell Pedro to pound sand.

Gut Check Time For Phil Hughes

(No, not that gut)

Cue the John Cena music, because Phil Hughes' time is up and his time is now.  In his 7-year professional career, Hughes has been a 1st-round draft pick, a top-flight Yankee prospect, a top 5 blue chip prospect in all of baseball, a future ace, a promising young arm, an injury-prone question mark, a dominant reliever, an encouraging project, an out-of-shape failure, and now a solid middle-of-the-rotation contributor.  He's had enough ups and downs, changes to his role and pitching style, and injury problems to last an entire career and yet he's still only 26 years old.  Hughes has bounced back nicely in 2012 after last year's disaster, and he now finds himself rapidly approaching a crossroads in his career path as it relates to being a New York Yankee.

The Horse Is Getting Ready To Canter

Via Peter Botte of The NY Times:

"Alex Rodriguez will DH on Friday for Class-A Tampa, and if all goes well, he will play 3B there on Saturday."

Well polish your saddles, sharpen your spurs, and get ready to strap on the feed bag, folks, because The Horse is coming out of the stable!  News like this couldn't come at a better time.  This offense needs help in the worst way, and even an announcement of a middle-of-the-order bat getting back on the field is helpful.