Game 135 Wrap-Up: NYY 2 BAL 0

(Courtesy of the AP)

The Yankees got this hugely important weekend series against the Orioles started off right last night with an 8-5 win.  CC Sabathia wasn't very good again, but the offense picked him behind big hitting nights from Cano, Soriano, and Ichiro.  Every game is critically important at this stage and another win this afternoon would have been big.  The Bombers sent Ivan Nova to the mound as he continued to audition for a more important rotation role in 2014.  He was countered by Scott Feldman, one of the Orioles deadline pickups who's made a pretty smooth transition back to the AL and the meat grinder that is the AL East.

Game Notes:

- It was a very efficient start for Nova, who walked 6 in his last outing.  He gave up just 1 hit, immediately erased on a double play ball, and needed only 31 pitches to cruise through the first 3 innings.

- It didn't look like it was going to be as smooth for Feldman after he gave up a run in the bottom of the 1st on a pair of doubles by Brett Gardner and Robinson Cano.  He rebounded from that and worked the next innings hitless and scoreless.

- Nova continued to cruise through the middle innings.  He didn't give up his second hit until the 6th inning - a 2-out single by Manny Machado - and he immediately erased it with a second straight inning-ending strikeout.  68 pitches in 6 innings.

- The Yankees had chances to widen the lead with 2 runners on in the 5th and 6th innings.  A Derek Jeter GIDP and an Ichiro Suzuki flyout killed those chances and kept Nova's margin for error slim.

- Jeter repeated his double play to end the 7th, and it wasn't until Cano hit a solo HR to lead off the bottom of the 8th that Nova finally got an insurance run.

- Not that he really needed it.  Nova rolled through 8 scoreless on 89 pitches and finished off the CG SO by sitting down Machado, Chris Davis, and Adam Jones in order.  It truly was a masterful performance by Ivan.

Thank You, Joe

(Courtesy of the AP)

It took a while, but if last night was any indication Joe has finally figured out what he's got to do with CC Sabathia.  Sabathia was bad again last night, giving up 5 runs in 5.1 innings of work.  He gave up 3 2-out, run-scoring hits and an inexcusable 2-run home run to Danny Valencia in the 5th inning.  The offense got him the lead in the bottom of 5th and he promptly started to give it back in the 6th, at which point Joe came out to get him after just 86 pitches.  The bullpen gave the team a better chance to hold the lead and get the win they needed, and Joe made the right call to go to the 'pen instead of letting CC stay out there and "battle."  Good call, Joe.  Good call.

Friday Afternoon Linkapalooza: 8/30/13

College football is back, baby!  Love it.  Means the NFL is 1 week closer to starting and I'm 1 week closer to going home for Yanks-Sawx.  It's the 110th Harley-Davidson anniversary this weekend, which is a HYYYYYYUUUUUUUUUUUUUGE deal in the Milwaukee area.  With 100,000 bikers cruising around the area and concerts by the likes of Kid Rock, Toby Keith, and Skynyrd going on, I've already made the decision to barricade myself in my apartment all day tomorrow with a case of beer and the full CFB lineup on my TV.  The girlfriend is obviously psyched about that.  Now onto the links!

- On Monday, el duque of It Is High... figured out exactly how many games the Yankees could afford to lose for the rest of the way and still have a realistic shot at the playoffs.  Suck on it, Marchand.

- On Tuesday, Mike Axisa of RAB made the case for why Monday night's start should have been Phil Hughes' final one of the season.  We'll see if Joe decides to rearrange the rotation this weekend.

- SJK of NoMaas put one last sad coat of perspective on Phil Hughes' season and his time as a Yankee starting pitcher.  Definitely not going to miss those.

- William Juliano of The Captain's Blog analyzed the rotation's month-by-month performance in 2013 and commented on how the poorer recent performance is hurting their playoff chances.

- Ben Lindbergh of Grantland looked back at Derek Jeter's defensive career with a breakdown of some of his best and worst plays.  Long read, but worth checking out.

- On Wednesday, Michael Eder of IIATMS/TYA identified the mechanical changes Andy Pettitte's made to fuel his recent turnaround.

- Bryan Van Dusen of The Greedy Pinstripes wondered if the Yankees as presently constructed have enough to overtake their competition in the Wild Card race.

- Hunter Farman of Yanks Go Yard reopened the case on Mike Mussina's HOF candidacy with Moose set to be on the ballot next year.

- Rich Kaufman of Bronx Pinstripes reviewed Alfonso Soriano's career now that he's crossed the 400-HR threshold to see if he's worthy of HOF consideration.

- On Thursday, Chad Jennings of LoHud broke down the remaining schedule to give an idea of how the Yankees have done against their remaining opponents and what they have to do to make the playoffs.

- On Friday, Chris Mitchell of Pinstripe Pundits examined Ivan Nova's transition from groundball pitcher to strikeout pitcher.

- Jason Cohen of Pinstriped Bible broke down the numbers on Chris Stewart's passed balls to show one area where he hasn't been worth his weight in gold defensively.

This week's jam is "Albatross" by Corrosion of Conformity.  Sneaky catchy guitar riff and a tune that I think the Harley crew would enjoy too.  Closest I'm going to come to actually bonding with them this weekend.



Enjoy your weekends, everybody.

Nunez's MRI Clean, He's OK To Find A New Way To Get Hurt

The possibility of Derek Jeter being the only healthy shortstop on the 40-man roster no longer needs to be considered.  Eduardo Nunez had his injured knee MRI'd yesterday and the results came back negative for any tears or structural damage.  He's listed as day-to-day and for the time being the Yankees are covered as long as Jeter doesn't sprain or strain something else in the next few games.

More importantly than that, Nunez should be able to get healthy and back on the field in enough time to injure himself in ridiculous fashion one more time this season.  He's hurt himself taking a practice swing, he's hurt himself just running on a field, who knows what shenanigans will crop up next?  My money is on him accidentally kicking his batting helmet when it flies off his head running the bases, bruising his foot in the process, and then tripping over it and spraining his wrist when he falls.

Don't let me down, Eduardo.

(Courtesy of Pinstriped Bible)

Searching For The Cause Of Kuroda's Regression

(Courtesy of Getty Images)

Hiroki Kuroda's last 3 starts have been decidedly un-Hirok: 15 ER, 29 H, 5 HR in 16.2 IP.  The timing of this extreme regression obviously couldn't have been worse, and the Yankees need their new ace to right the ship sooner rather than later if they're going to have even the slightest chance of making a run in September.  Before he can do that, however, the source of the problem needs to be identified.  A comparison of his last 3 starts to the monster 5-game run he had in July sheds some light on what might be causing the downtrend.

Ichiro Hitting The Wall Too

Let this be a lesson to all you pro-Ichiro Suzuki fans out there who were calling me a hater and giving me crap for ragging on the decision to sign him to a 2-year deal.  When it comes to late-30s, slap-hitting outfielders with no patience and diminished bat speed, I know what I'm talking about.  Ichiro's current batting line (.268/.301/.353, .286 wOBA) is almost identical to the .276 and .281 wOBA values he generated in his final year and a half in Seattle, and a lot of it has to do with the incredibly weak August he's had.

In 88 August PA, Ichiro is hitting .221/.239/.244.  That's a woeful .216 wOBA and 27 wRC+, just 2 BB and 2 doubles in a full month's worth of work at the plate.  I don't care who you are, what you've done, or how good you used to be, that flat out ain't cutting the mustard for 2 years and $13 million.  Reaching the 4,000 hit plateau is an incredible accomplishment and a testament to Ichiro's career greatness, but that greatness is in the past and the Yankees are still on the hook for one more year of this.  They made a decision against logic and the season-long sample size results have been exactly what the numbers predicted.

If Ichiro would just take a few more walks, he could maximize the value that his speed still brings on the basepaths.  He's shown no signs of doing that though, and the Yankees are going to be left to figure out how to get the most out of him.  If this minuscule production continues in September, there's no way Ichiro can be an everyday outfielder next year.

Looking At The Roster Expansion Call-Up Candidates

In less than 3 days the regular season will move into its final month, and with the calendar page flip will come the yearly expansion of the active rosters.  The Yankees, unsurprisingly still battling a ton of injuries and still looking to make any marginal upgrade they can to improve their playoff chances, figure to be one of the teams most likely to call up a lot of players.  At least on paper they do.  There are plenty of players who could help the Yankees in some capacity down the stretch, it's just that so many of them happen to be among the injured.  I know, ain't that a B?  There really isn't as much available on the current 40-man as you might think, so here's a quick preview of who will, may, and may not get called up to the show this Sunday.

A-Rod First To Home? Do It

(Courtesy of MLB.com)

Rob, what's the deal?  Did your forget who was rounding third base last night?  Do you see how far away he is from the plate when the ball is practically in the catcher's glove already?  Come on, guy.  Alex Rodriguez wasn't going 1st to home last night on a Vespa and you waved him home like he was Benny "The Jet" Rodriguez in his prime.

Not sending Ichiro when he more than likely would have scored; sending A-Rod when there wasn't a snowball's chance he was going to score.  Can we clean it up a little in that third base coach's box, Rob?  This team has a hard enough time scoring runs as it is without you mangling your send/hold decisions.

P.S.- Did I just nitpick a minor in-game, heat-of-the-moment coaching decision in what ended up being a 5-run loss?  You bet your ass I did.  Nobody escapes the watchful AB4AR eye.

Game 133 Wrap-Up: TOR 7 NYY 2

(Good send, Rob... Courtesy of the AP)

Well that was ugly.  With Robinson Cano out of the lineup for the first time since 2012 and a struggling Hiroki Kuroda on the mound, the Yankees needed to win last night to save this series and avoid heading home to face the O's with the lights dimming on their postseason hopes again.  They didn't do that.  They didn't even come close.  Whether it's regression or fatigue or injury, Kuroda has nothing right now and he had nothing last night.  The game was out of reach before it really got going and the Yanks head into today's off-day needing to regroup.

Game Notes:

- The early signs from Kuroda were not positive.  He was missing up in the zone with his sinker and out of the zone with his splitter and he needed 30 pitches to get out of the 1st inning with 4 runs on the board.  A cross-up between he and Chris Stewart and a subsequent Stewart throwing error on a strikeout led to 2 of the runs and one of the more Bennie Hill music-worthy moments of the season.

- Edwin Encarnacion took Kuroda deep for a 2-run shot in the 2nd, a pair of singles and a sac fly notched a run in the 3rd, and it was 7-0 Jays.  There was really no reason for Kuroda to be in the game anymore at that point.

- Yanks had their best chance to make a game out of it in the top of the 4th when a pair of walks and an Alex Rodriguez single put runners on the corners with no outs and a run in.  Mark Reynolds plated a second run with a double but a dumb call by Rob Thomson to send A-Rod home from first backfired and stalled the inning.

- There wasn't much else to talk about after that.  The Yankee lineup was overmatched by Toronto starter Todd Redmond and his bullpen buddies.  They didn't advance a runner to second base after the 4th.

- Joe elected to let Kuroda work his full pitch and he got 2 more scoreless innings out of him.  Joba, Shawn Kelley, and Boone Logan finished things up.

2013: Year Of The HBP

(Courtesy of the AP)

(Originally published at IIATMS/TYA)

I'm sure the immediate reaction in Yankeeland to watching Robinson Cano take a fastball off the hand and leave the game in the 1st inning last night was not a fun one.  It was a near identical flashback to the J.A. Happ pitch that broke Curtis Granderson's forearm in ST, and I for one was almost a little relieved that I wasn't there to watch it happen live as it would have more than likely led to me making some kind of mean comment about Happ getting hit with another line drive.  Chalk it up as another one of the rare times when I'm glad I live in Wisconsin.

Wednesday Afternoon Food For Thought

Already in the 2013 Yankee season, we've seen:

- Francisco Cervelli play second base and Robinson Cano play shortstop in the same game

- Vernon Wells play every infield position except short and get 1 start at first base

- Lyle Overbay play 4 games in the outfield for the first time in his Major League career

- Alberto Gonzalez pitch

And after last night's injury scare to Cano, we can add "Mark Reynolds play second base" to that list.  He played the final inning at second last night as an injury replacement for the injury replacement, and naturally he turned the game-ending double play.  If you had any of those things picked as a prop bet before the season started,  you're a smarter person than I.

The Curtis Granderson Dilemma

(Courtesy of Getty Images)

There have been a lot of hitting headlines lately since the Yankees finally got their lineup upgraded to a competitive level.  Alfonso Soriano has hit 11 HR since being traded back to New York, Alex Rodriguez is a topic of discussion nearly every night and mainly because of his bat (.371 wOBA since coming off the DL), and Robbie Cano continues to shift the debate on what his contract should or should not be nightly with exploits at the dish.  Flying somewhat under the radar in that media storm is Curtis Granderson, whose been quietly productive and incredibly versatile since coming off the DL for the second time this season.

After last night's game, C-Grand is hitting .291/.412/.456 (.381 wOBA) in 97 August PA.  In 24 games back, Curtis has 23 hits, 17 walks, 3 home runs, 12 R scored, and 6 stolen bases.  He's started games in all 3 outfield positions and as the DH, has entered as a pinch hitter, and has hit 2nd, 4th, 5th, 6th, and 7th in the batting order.  He said all the right things before the season about doing whatever it took to help the team win when his center field spot no longer became his, and he's more than backed that up on the field since getting back.  In theory he should be doing everything to strengthen his value as one of the top free agent position players available after this season.  In actuality, it might not be that simple.

Andy Making A Late Season Charge

(Courtesy of Getty Images)

For the better part of this summer, Andy Pettitte has been more problem than solution.  The majority of his starts in June and July after coming off the DL were of the "5-6 IP, 4ish ER allowed" variety, and paired with the struggles of Hughes and CC helped hasten the team's fall in the playoff race.  His 7-run disaster against the White Sox earlier this month may have been the low point of the season, but after last night's excellent start it's looking like it also could have been the turnaround point for him.

Game 132 Wrap-Up: NYY 7 TOR 1

(Courtesy of Getty Images)

Last night's game was probably the first must-win game of the season for the Yankees.  3 losses in the last 4 games, offense sputtering again, and nothing of significance gained in the Wild Card race in the last week.  They couldn't afford to lock up a series loss to the lowly Blue Jays after sweeping them in the prior series if they wanted to be taken seriously as a Wild Card contender and they had a guy on the mound in Andy Pettitte who's pitched in more big games for this team over the years than anybody in decades.  He's no longer the big game Andy of old, at least his recent performance didn't suggest he was, but last night he put a lot of his old tricks on display in holding Toronto down to fuel a comfortably quasi-blowout.

Game Notes:

- Before we get to Andy, how about those 1st inning fireworks??  The Yankees started off with a Brett Gardner double and Derek Jeter RBI single to take a lightning quick 1-0 lead, then J.A. Happ hit Robinson Cano in the next at-bat.  Cano had to leave the game, and things were tense for a few innings waiting on the diagnosis, but there were no breaks and he's day-to-day with a contusion.

- With 2 on and nobody out after the Cano delay, Alfonso Soriano stepped in and demolished a 3-run home run to left field to make it 4-0.  In the first 4 batters of the game Andy had a 4-run cushion.

- That cushion was more than enough for Pettitte last night.  He retired 10 of the first 11 batters he faced and he had good life on both his 4-seamer and cutter.

- He put 2 runners on in the 4th and 5th innings, but worked around trouble with a couple of big strikeouts.  A pair of inning-ending GB double plays in the 6th and 7th and it was vintage Andy all over the place.

- The offense didn't need more runs, but that didn't stop them for tacking them on with too many home runs.  Soriano hit another to lead off the 3rd, Mark Reynolds yoked one to left to start the 6th, and Alex Rodriguez smoked on to center in the 7th.

- Pettitte left after 7 scoreless and Adam Warren handled the final 2 innings.  6 baserunners and 1 run, still rough going for the kid.

Yankees Running For Their Lives Lately

(Ballsy play.  Courtesy of Getty Images)

(Originally published at IIATMS/TYA)

I guess things were going to balance back out eventually, huh?  After breathing life into their dying season with a 2-week stretch that saw them go 11-3, the Yankees have lost 3 of their last 4 games and looked pretty bad doing it.  The rejuvenated offense that slugged its way to 8 or more runs in 5 of 7 games has now scored 3 or less in 4 straight, 5 or less in 7 straight, and times are starting to get desperate.  The Yankees are damn near must-win territory for the rest of their 31 remaining games and it's starting to show in how Joe manages the offense during this offensively lean stretch of games.  Suddenly the Yankees have become one of the biggest base stealing teams in baseball.

Seriously, When Is Austin Romine Going To Get The Starting Catcher Job?

(Courtesy of Getty Images)

It's been a little over a month since I pointed out the turnaround in Austin Romine's offensive game.  He started putting things together at the plate in July and finished with a stellar .333/.385/.500 batting line (.385 wOBA) in 26 plate appearances.  That performance has earned him a little more playing time in August - 37 PA in 10 games - and he hasn't missed a beat production-wise, hitting .310/.417/.448 (.381 wOBA) this month.  What's strange is that the dramatic increase in production at the plate has not earned Romine the same dramatic increase in PT.  The bulk of the work is still going to Chris Stewart, even as the trends for he and Romine are moving in completely different directions.

Jeter's Latest Return Goes Mostly Unnoticed

Was it just me or was Derek Jeter's return to the lineup last night not even a blip on the radar?  Other than typing his last name into the batting order, I didn't even think about him in terms of having an impact on the game.  Jeter made it easy to not be considered, going 0-3 at the plate with a walk, strikeout, and GIDP and not doing anything noteworthy defensively for better or worse.  The best thing you could say about last night is at least Jeter came through the game healthy.  That's how low the bar has been set for him.

After 3 attempted comebacks, the novelty of Jeter returning has worn off.  This entire season has been a wasted one for him - he's played more MiL rehab games than Major League games - and the bigger concern now is how this lost season and the nonstop leg issues will affect him in 2014.  Expecting Jeter to provide a boost to the team is almost empty hope at this point and that was more apparent last night than in any of his other previous comeback attempts.  If he can manage to finish the season on the field and not the DL, that's about the best we can hope for.

Game 131 Wrap-Up: TOR 5 NYY 2

(Courtesy of Getty Images)

The last time the Yankees faced R.A. Dickey, he was knocking Jayson Nix out for the year with a broken hand and getting taken yard late by Alfonso Soriano to mar an otherwise stellar pitching performance.  Phil Hughes was surprisingly effective his last time out too, so in theory something had to give last night.  Derek Jeter was back in the starting lineup and back in the #2 spot in the order behind Brett Gardner, giving the Yankees arguably the best 1-9 batting order they've had all season.  Crazy to be saying that in the 131st game, but this year hasn't exactly been business as usual.  What has been business as usual is Hughes pitching poorly and he got back to that last night to get this series started off on the wrong foot.

Game Notes:

- The Yankees smallballed their way to a run in the top of the 1st on a Brett Gardner leadoff single, a passed ball, and 2 groundouts.  They scored in a much more conventional way in the 5th on an Alex Rodriguez solo HR, his third since coming off the DL.

- In between those innings, Hughes gave up 2 runs of his own.  His command was back to its usual level, and too many runners on base (4 hits and 2 BB in 4 innings) allowed Toronto to capitalize in the 2nd and 3rd innings.

- Hughes created more trouble for himself in the bottom of the 5th, putting runners on the corners with 1 out, but it was Ichiro who really mucked things up.  For whatever reason, he mistimed his jump on a fly ball at the warning track and dropped it, allowing a run to score and runners to stay at the corners.

- Hughes never recovered from there, giving up an RBI double to the next batter and allowing another run to score on a sac fly before being removed with 2 outs in the inning for David Huff.  No leash for you!

- The Yankees tried to get something going in the late innings, putting a runner on in the 6th, 7th, and 8th and stealing more bases to get guys into scoring position.  They just couldn't come up with a hit when they needed to and went down without much of a fight.

- Give Huff credit where it's due.  He allowed just a single baserunner in 3.1 scoreless innings and struck out 5, preserving the rest of the bullpen for the rest of the week.

Jesus, Phil...

My thoughts exactly, Dr. Ian Malcolm.  My thoughts exactly.

When Is Joe Going To Shorten CC's Leash?

(Courtesy of the AP)

(Originally published at IIATMS/TYA)

In a scene that has become way too common for comfort this season, CC Sabathia failed to protect the lead the offense gave him on Saturday.  In a span of 4 batters and 16 pitches to start the bottom of the 6th, Sabathia gave up 3 runs on 3 hits and a walk, turning a 2-0 Yankee lead into a 3-2 deficit from which they would not come back.  Sabathia had allowed just 2 baserunners in the 5 previous innings, and his pitch count wasn't very high, but the decision to allow him to continue in that inning was questionable at best.  He left a sinker up on the leadoff hit and the walk to the next batter was on 4 pitches, all either 4-seam fastballs or sinkers that missed.  It was clear CC had lost his command, and with the go-ahead run stepping to the plate and the Yankees needing every win they can get it was probably the time to pull him.

Kuroda's Last Start A Cause For Concern?

(Courtesy of the AP)

If there's one pitcher in the rotation who you wouldn't expect to give up 4 HR in a game, it's Hiroki Kuroda.  Yet that's just what happened on Friday night in what was easily Hirok's worst start of the season.  It was the first time this season he's allowed more than 5 ER in a start, the second time in a row that he'd given up 9 or more hits, and the first time in over 57 IP that he'd given up even 1 homer let alone 4.  His command of all his pitches was inconsistent and the Tampa hitters looked locked into him from the 1st inning on.  It was not the kind of start the Yankees needed from their new ace as they try to cling to playoff hope.

Gardner Showing Signs Of Breaking Down

(Happier (and healthier?) times.  Courtesy of the AP)

While the rest of the lineup has been either ineffective or injured, Brett Gardner has joined Robbie Cano as one of the most consistent offensive presences this season and has been the second-most important member of the lineup behind Cano.  He's been a fixture at the top of the batting order, getting on base at a good clip and hitting for more power than usual.  He's also been struggling a bit recently after putting together 2 really hot months in May and June.  Gardner has just a .632 OPS, fueled mainly by a sub-.300 OBP, this month after posting a .634 in July.  That, and an increase in the number of off-days Joe has given him suggests Gardner might be hitting the physical wall with 30+ games remaining.

Jeter To Return Today, Claiborne Inexplicably Will Be Sent Down Again

The good news: Derek Jeter is scheduled to make his return to the lineup tonight in Toronto.  He went 1-3 with a single and an error in 7 innings at shortstop on Saturday, completing a 3-game rehab turn that saw him come through with no physical issues.  He still hasn't played a full game at short, and hasn't played more than a few consecutive games, but the Yankees can't afford to wait as long as they probably wanted to with Jayson Nix now on the DL and the team playing without a backup infielder.  Jeter's return allows the Yanks to move Eduardo Nunez back to the bench and back to that utility role for the time being.

The bad news: Preston Claiborne is once again the 25-man roster casualty needed to clear a spot for Jeter.  Despite 3 scoreless appearances in 4.2 IP since coming back up, and despite Joba Chamberlain continuing to be the most unreliable reliever in the 'pen, the decision has been made to send Claiborne back down.  It's a bizarro world call for sure.  There's no value in keeping Joba on the roster anymore, not at the expense of better pitchers.  But whatever, at least The Captain will be back on the field.

Game 130 Wrap-Up: NYY 3 TB 2

(Yankee pitching star of the day.  Courtesy of Getty Images)

The brakes have been put on the Yankees' turnaround in a big way this weekend.  They've been outhit, outpitched, and outmanaged by the Rays, and they came into this afternoon's series finale needing to get a win and salvage something from this series before moving on to take on Toronto again.  They had Ivan Nova on the mound, looking to get back to the ace-caliber performance he was turning in before he started to lose his command in his last 2 starts.  The command definitely didn't come back, at all, but Nova managed to keep the Yankees in the game and they managed to scratch out a much-needed extra inning win.

Game Notes:

- Nova put 4 men on base in the bottom of the 1st inning, 2 of them on walks, and an Evan Longoria RBI single gave Tampa the early lead.

- Robinson Cano got a good look at Tampa starter Alex Cobb's changeup when he singled in his first at-bat.  Cobb threw him another one to start off his second AB in the top of the 4th and Cano smacked it for a game-tying solo HR.

- Cano and Longoria drove their respective offenses as the teams traded runs in the 6th.  Cano doubled to score Ichiro and got thrown out trying to stretch at third base, and Longoria cracked a solo shot of his own to make it 2-2.

- Nova continued to walk batters as he pitched into the 7th, displaying little command of his fastball or curveball.  Like the last 2 times out though, he kept the Rays at 2 runs thanks to some timely strikeouts and double play balls before giving way to Shawn Kelley to end the 7th.

- The Yanks continued to put runners on base but never really turned anything into a real scoring chance.  The game moved to extra innings still tied at 2.

- Joe got 2 solid innings out of David Robertson to get to extras, then pieced the 10th together with Joba and Logan.  Alfonso Soriano doubled and stole third in the top of the 11th, then trotted home on a C-Grand sac fly to give New York the lead.

- It was "exit light, enter night" time in the bottom half and if you blinked you might have missed Mo's save.  6 pitches, 3 outs, game over, Yankees win.

Determining Nova's Role For 2014

(Courtesy of the AP)

(Originally published at IIATMS/TYA)

Ivan Nova picked up his 3rd straight win yesterday Tuesday afternoon and 5th since rejoining the rotation in late June.  For the second straight start it was more of a struggle for him than it had been in most of his previous outings.  He was just a touch off with his command in and around the strike zone, and with his transformation into a fastball/curveball pitcher that lack of command made him more hittable.  Last year a game like yesterday's would have ended in disaster for Nova.  As it is he put 11 men on base and gave up 4 ER, hardly eye-popping numbers.  He also gave all those runs up in the 2nd inning and recovered to pitch scoreless from then on into the 7th inning.  Considering the 2012 alternative, you'd have to call yesterday  Tuesday a good start for Nova.