Game 154 Wrap-Up: NYY 5 SF 1

(Courtesy of Getty Images)

As recently as 2011, if your buddy told you he had tickets to watch CC Sabathia and Tim Lincecum pitch you would have been pissed that he didn't you.  Today, you'd probably come up with an excuse to not watch Sabathia and Lincecum pitch if he did invite you.  It's been a quick transition to below-average for these 2 former Cy Young winners, and the jury is still out on whether either of them can or will turn it around going forward.  They were getting the ball for their teams last night to start Mariano Rivera's final homestand, and CC could have given him a going away present with a vintage Sabathia outing.

Game Notes:

- The Yanks got on the board early with another Alfonso Soriano home run.  He went the other way to lead off the bottom of the 2nd and parked one over the short fence in right.

- Sabathia danced around a pair of baserunners in each of the first 2 innings, but couldn't erase a leadoff walk in the top of the 3rd.  Juan Perez doubled in a run on a poorly-located sinker and the game was tied at 1.

- Both Sabathia and Lincecum settled themselves down after the 3rd and kept the game tied into the 7th.  They each gave up a hit here or a walk there, hardly the type of dominance they used to display on their best days, but 1 run in 6 innings from these guys these days is a big deal.

- The Yankees set themselves up nicely in the bottom of the 7th with an Eduardo Nunez single and stolen base, a Brendan Ryan HBP, and a big 2-out walk to Ichiro.  Alex Rodriguez strode to the plate, bad legs and all, to face former Yankee prospect George Kontos.

- Kontos threw him 4 straight fastballs and A-Rod timed up the last one just right to hit it out of the park to right-center and give the Yanks a 5-1 lead.  If they were still seriously in the playoff race, it would have been the biggest hit of the year by far.

- With a 4-run lead in the late innings, Joe went to his bullpen horses.  David Robertson coaxed a double play ball to start the 8th and struck out Buster Posey to end it, and Mo went 1-2-3 in the 9th without the ball ever leaving the infield.

Friday Afternoon Linkapalooza: 9/20/13

Mo is my clear cut sentimental favorite athlete right now because of his pending retirement, and he's easily my 2nd or 3rd favorite athlete all time, but in terms of entertainment and rooting for them to do well my top 2 guys right now are Alex Rodriguez and Johnny Manziel.  The 2 biggest heels in the American sports media and I can't get enough of them.  What does that say about me as a sports fan?  What does it say about me as a person?  I'd like to think it means I'm smart enough to not get caught up in ESPN's constant anti-A-Rod and anti-Manziel shitstorms and evaluate their transgressions rationally and objectively, but maybe it's more than that.  Maybe I just like rooting for the bad guy.  Maybe I am a bad guy.  Do I need to adopt my own heel blogging persona?  Lot to think about here, mainly how fantastic it would be if A-Rod and Manziel could somehow play on the same team.

- On Monday, Jason Evans of Yanks Go Yard asked if we'd be seeing Brendan Ryan back as the starting shortstop next year.  I certainly hope not, although I would prefer him over Nunez for the backup role.

- On Tuesday, Mike Axisa of RAB laid out the rationale behind the Hughes-Huff tandem starter format Joe's using for the 5th rotation spot.  Can't blame him for trying something different.

- Derek Albin of Pinstripe Pundits commented on Chris Stewart's historically brutal 2013 and the outside forces that combined to make that brutality possible.

- Greg Corcoran of Bronx Baseball Daily examined the holes on the 2014 roster and how Tyler Austin could fit into the roster construction plans.

- On Wednesday, EJ Fagan of IIATMS/TYA came up with a formula for measuring the best hitting environments for Minor Leaguers and applied that formula to show where the Yankees rank in organizationl hitting environment.  The results may surprise you and may provide an explanation to why they've failed to produce quality hitting prospects in recent years.

- Bryan Van Dusen of The Greedy Pinstripes commented on the disappointing final season results for Mo and Andy. You know both guys were envisioning a final playoff run when they decided to come back.

- SG of RLYW projected the postseason odds over the final 11 games assuming different winning records.  The chances didn't look good before the end of the Toronto series.

- On Thursday, William Juliano of The Captain's Blog ran through virtually all of the potential AL East postseason tiebreaker scenarios.  Hard to see the Yanks factoring into that picture after last night.

- On Friday, Chad Jennings of LoHud had all the details on this weekend's plans for Mo.

- Harlan Spence of Pinstriped Bible broke down Brett Gardner's 2013 season to show why he might not be an ideal candidate for a contract extension.

- El duque of It Is High... started firing off questions that need to asked about next season and still haven't been answered relative to this season.

- SJK of NoMaas continued to bang the drum about the below-average bats the Yankees acquired for multiple years.  People may not like it, but it's something that needs to be revisited time and time again.  No way that plan gels with Hal's commitment to fielding a championship-caliber team.

Got some new music for this week's jam, specifically the new Red Fang track "Blood Like Cream."  New album out next month, no reason to expect it to be any less rocking than the last one was.



Enjoy your weekends, everybody.

Andy Pettitte To Retire (Again) After This Season

From the man himself:

“I’m announcing my retirement prior to the conclusion of our season because I want all of our fans to know now—while I’m still wearing this uniform—how grateful I am for their support throughout my career. I want to have the opportunity to tip my cap to them during these remaining days and thank them for making my time here with the Yankees so special.

I’ve reached the point where I know that I’ve left everything I have out there on that field. The time is right. I’ve exhausted myself, mentally and physically, and that’s exactly how I want to leave this game.

One of the things I struggled with in making this announcement now was doing anything to take away from Mariano’s day on Sunday. It is his day. He means so much to me, and has meant so much to my career that I would just hate to somehow take the attention away from him.”

It's never as big a deal the second or third time around, but it's still newsworthy that another member of the Core Four is hanging 'em up.  This one is especially newsworthy simply because Andy, like Mo, proved he can still get it done this season and the Yankees could definitely use him in next year's rotation.  Oh well, that's 40% that needs to be replaced with Kuroda still up in the air.

Mo's Final (Home)Stand

(Courtesy of Getty Images)

Tonight marks the start of the final homestand of the 2013 season for the Yankees, and with it the all but certain final 6 home games of Mariano Rivera's career.  After 573 regular season games, 653.1 innings pitched, and over 2600 batters faced inside the hallowed walls of the old Yankee Stadium and fancy schmancy walls of the new Yankee Stadium, the finish line on Mo's long and illustrious career is in sight and the first big milestone is a mere 6 days away.

It was a surreal feeling watching him run out of the bullpen a few weekends ago, and I imagine that feeling will be 10 times greater this weekend.  Mo has pitched what comes out to over 72.5 full 9-inning games at Yankee Stadium, and now he's down to his final few innings.  All the cutters, all the strikeouts, all the broken bats.  Not many more of them left to see and it still doesn't feel quite real.

There is a ton of stuff planned to celebrate Mo's career and retirement this weekend and all of it should be spectacular.  But nothing will ever equal the awesomeness of just watching Mo work.  I know I'll be parked on my couch on Sunday afternoon, hoping to get one more chance to watch him jog out to "Enter Sandman" and close out a game.  There isn't much left for the Yankees to play for this season.  Making this weekend count with some wins and sending Mo out on the highest note possible should be the top priority.

Game 153 Wrap-Up: TOR 6 NYY 2

(Deuces, Toronto.  It's been real.  Courtesy of the AP)

The whole season in a nutshell last night.  Shaky starting pitching, minimal, inconsistent offense, and a leaky bullpen late when the team needed it the most.  Hiroki Kuroda got the latest start to save the season last night and he didn't pitch any better than he has been since mid-to-late August.  His lineup didn't give him much support and the fat lady is finishing up her scales before she takes the stage.

Game Notes:

- More bad than good from the offense early.  Alfonso Soriano ran himself out of a base hit to start the top of the 2nd, then Lyle Overbay ended it with a double play.  And Todd Redmond struck out the side in the 3rd around a, go figure, Chris Stewart 2-out double.

- Hirok danced out of trouble with a bizarre rundown double play to end the 1st and escaped 2 on in the 2nd, but he wasn't sharp.  He cracked on a leadoff single and Jose Reyes triple in the bottom of the 3rd and he let that run come around to score to make it 2-0 Toronto.

- It took a while again, but the Yankees got on the board late.  With 1 out in the 6th and 2 strikes, Redmond left a sinker belt high to Curtis Granderson and the Grandyman yoked it to a right for a home run to cut the lead in half.

- The momentum of that homer was short lived.  With 2 outs in the bottom half, Hirok gave up a solo shot of his own to Anthony Gose on a slider that just didn't get down enough.  He had struck out the previous 2 batters and looked like he was heading for a quick inning.  Crushing blow.

- I'm sure he felt he had his reasons, but Joe should have never brought Joba Chamberlain into a 2-run game in the 7th.  He did, and Joba gave up a leadoff walk, a single, and a monster 3-run home run to Adam Lind to make it a 6-1 game.  Death blow.

- Fitting ending for the offense.  They loaded the bases with 1 out with the heart of order in the top of the 9th and watched that turn into only 1 run as Vernon Wells and Lyle Overbay grounded out.

F*cking Joba...

(Courtesy of the AP)

After all you've done this year to keep this team in sight of the playoffs, you put the season in Joba Chamberlain's hands?  Joba's??  Joba's.

I don't even have anything I can write that can describe how little sense that makes, Joe.  It defies explanation.  There is no explanation for it.  It was the exact opposite of what you did the night before quick hooking D-Rob and it rendered that decision meaningless.  I thought you did a hell of a job this season, you've made me a fan.  But it's going to take a while to try to figure out what that was tonight.

Fucking Joba.

Do The Yankees Even Want D-Rob To Close Next Year?

(Courtesy of Getty Images)

(Originally published at IIATMS/TYA)

In case you hadn't heard, Mariano Rivera is retiring after the end of this season.  When he does, he'll leave the Yankees with a decision to make that they haven't had to consider for the last 17 years- who takes over for him and assumes the closer role in 2014?  The smart money all season has been on David Robertson, Mo's long time setup man, one of the best late-game relievers in baseball, and magna cum laude graduate of the Mariano Rivera School of Relief Pitching.  But last night something happened that brought that potential passing of the torch into question.

With 2 outs and a runner on second in the 8th, Joe came out to remove D-Rob and go to Mo.  Not only that, he came out in the middle of an at-bat after D-Rob had already thrown a pitch to yank him.  While it might not seem like much, it's another instance of Robertson not being shown a lot of faith as the heir apparent and it raises the question of whether the Yankees really do view him as Mo's successor.

Recent Offensive Drought Starts At The Top

Even with the win last night, it was another game of mostly non-existent offense from the Yankee lineup.  This has been the norm since they lost Brett Gardner to a strained oblique a week ago today.  They won that game against Baltimore, scoring 6 runs without Gardner, but since then their collective output has been as light as it was during the darkest offensive days of the summer.  5 games, 11 runs scored, 1-4 record.  That's not going to get it done in a playoff race regardless of how good or bad the pitching is.  We knew losing Gardner was going to be a big blow and the Yankees are feeling the sting.  They've been using Curtis Granderson in the leadoff spot since Gardner got hurt, and the results haven't been good.

Game 152 Wrap-Up: NYY 4 TOR 3

(Courtesy of the AP)

It's never a good thing when you hear or read the word "hope" repeatedly from a team struggling to win in professional sports.  After looking like dogshit all last weekend in Boston and dogshit on Tuesday night in Toronto, there was a lot of "hope" being thrown around in the Yankee locker room.  Andy Pettitte "hoped" his teammates were playing with a sense of urgency.  Alfonso Soriano "hoped" they could turn things around and start playing better last night.  When you're saying you're hoping things will happen and not saying that they will or acknowledging that you're going to make things happen, you're in big trouble.  For 7 innings last night, that hope didn't translate to anything on the field to help the team of Hughes & Huff, 5th Starters at Law.  Then the 8th inning happened and the Yankees saved their season for another day.

Game Notes:

- It was another good half-start for Phil Hughes.  He worked around a couple of doubles through 3 scoreless frames, which is all Joe's really looking for these days, and got the hook after giving up a double and a 2-run homer Colby Rasmus in the bottom of the 4th.

- David Huff replaced Hughes and promptly gave up a solo shot to the second batter he faced to make it a 3-0 Toronto lead.  He was money from there, however, working the 5th, 6th, and 7th innings in order and recording 6 of the 9 outs via the strikeout or groundout.

- More wasted early opportunities was the name of the game for the lineup.  They stranded 2 runners in the 1st and 4th innings against J.A. Happ, then went dormant against him through the 7th to extend their scoreless innings streak in the series.

- Happ came out to start the 8th and that might have been his undoing.  He gave up a leadoff double to Brendan Ryan, got pulled, and watched as the bullpen gave up hits to 4 of the next 5 batters to blow the lead.  Vernon Wells' 2-run double was the big go-ahead hit.

- I guess Joe wasn't very hopeful that David Robertson could handle himself in the 8th.  Despite getting the first 2 outs of the inning easily, Joe pulled D-Rob in the middle of an at-bat after a single and stolen base by Rajai Davis.  He really wanted Mo.

- Mo got out of the 8th and made it interesting in the 9th by giving up singles to the first 2 batters.  But he retired the next 3 without much trouble - thanks to some smart infield defense on a bunt attempt - and preserved a big win.

On Robbie Cano's 2013 MVP Candidacy

(Courtesy of the AP)

Robinson Cano has finished in the top 6 of the American League MVP voting in each of the last 3 seasons.  With a high of 3rd in 2010 and a low of 6th the next year, Cano has never been a true leading contender for MVP despite consistently being the best player at a premium position on a perennial playoff team.  Part of this is due to the ever-present MSM bias against the Yankees when it comes to awards and part of it is because there were always clear cut better candidates.  Overall, I'd say Cano has finished about where he should each year, with the general ranking maybe coming in a tick low.

Which brings us to 2013.  Cano is once again not the leading candidate and not seriously in the discussion as the best or most valuable player in the league, but he's right in the mix.  He's also not part of the traditional Yankee regular season machine that steamrolls everybody.  He's been the linchpin holding a borderline terrible baseball team together, a team that is somehow still mathematically in the playoff race with 11 games to go despite a -17 run differential.  If ever there was a time where his contributions were more valuable to his team, it's this season.  That being what it is, and his stats being what they are, where does Robbie fit into the AL MVP race?

Someone Tell The Fat Lady She's On In Five

(Courtesy of the AP)

(Originally published at IIATMS/TYA)

A little less than 6 weeks ago I buried the Yankees.  In a post that admittedly made me look a little dumb in retrospect, I took their brutal loss to the lowly White Sox and first reported team meeting of the season as signs that it was time to close up shop and end all hopes of that late season playoff charge ever happening.  They proved me wrong for the better part of the last 6 weeks, showing enough offensive firepower and a knack for getting big hits and big outs that hasn't been there for most of the year as they pulled their way back into a Wild Card race nobody seems interested in winning.  But the last 4 games - and the 7 total runs scored by the Yankees in those games - have exposed them as being true playoff pretenders, or rather re-exposed them for being the same team they've been all season.  They're old, they're injured, they're not very deep, and they're not very consistent.  Those qualities never add up to a postseason berth over the course of 162 games, and they don't appear as though they're going to buck that trend for the Bombers this season no matter how many more team meetings they have.

Wednesday Afternoon Food For Thought

Guys the Yankees decided they didn't want/need back this season:

Raul Ibanez- 28 HR, .354 wOBA, 0.6 fWAR in 463 PA
Nick Swisher- 20 HR, .335 wOBA, 2.3 fWAR in 585 PA
Russell Martin- 14 HR, .318 wOBA, 4.1 fWAR in 480 PA

Guys the Yankees chose as replacements for the departed:

Travis Hafner- 12 HR, .303 wOBA, -0.4 fWAR in 293 PA
Ichiro Suzuki- 7 HR, .282 wOBA, 1.2 fWAR in 528 PA
Vernon Wells- 11 HR, .286 wOBA, -0.2 fWAR in 434 PA
Chris Stewart- 4 HR, .259 wOBA, 0.3 fWAR in 323 PA

That's an almost 30-HR and 6+ WAR swing from 2012 to 2013.

Game 151 Wrap-Up: TOR 2 NYY 0

(Only mistake he made.  Courtesy of the AP)

Another big game, another night with Andy Pettitte on the mound.  As bad as their rotation is as a whole right now, the Yankees could at least take solace in the fact that they had their best out on the mound in a crucial game last night.  Andy's been the rock of the rotation for the better part of the last month, and he was at his best again last night against a Blue Jays team that the Bombers have owned this season.  But as has been the case many times before this season, Andy would have had to be better than perfect to get a win with the lack of offensive support he got.  It's tough to be perfect when you're 41, and it's tough to win games when you don't score runs.  Do the math.

Game Notes:

- The Yanks had no problem creating scoring chances with 2 outs against R.A. Dickey.  They loaded the bases in the top of the 1st and put 2 men on in the 2nd.  They just couldn't come through with the 1 hit to score a run and went through the first 4 innings scoreless.

- Andy matched Dickey 0 for 0 through 3 innings, working around a 1-out jam with runners on second and third in the 3rd.  He hung a slider to Colby Rasmus in the 4th that Rasmus jacked for a solo home run and the Jays were on the board.

- Those early missed opportunities loomed large heading into the final innings, as the Yankee lineup didn't muster a single hit off Dickey after the 4th .  11 consecutive retired before he gave way to the bullpen after 7 strong.

- Joe rode Andy into the 7th, and with 2 outs and Pettitte at 110 pitches he made the call to go righty-righty against Rajai Davis.  He went to Shawn Kelley, who promptly gave up a crushing solo HR to double the lead and waste another great Pettitte start.  Right decision, bad result.  That's baseball sometimes.

- A Lyle Overbay single in the 9th broke the hitless streak, but it didn't lead to anything.  The bats have gone ice cold just when the Yanks needed them the most, and the playoff hopes are on life support.

Logan Has Bone Spur In Elbow, OK To Pitch

Normally a face-to-face with Dr. James Andrews spells doom for your elbow.  Boone Logan got to be the exception to that rule in the case of his current injury.  Via Mark Feinsand, the official Andrews diagnosis is a bone spur in the back of his left elbow.  It will eventually require surgery, which Logan will have in the offseason, but he was cleared to return to game action and threw a long toss session today.

Obviously this is great news for Logan and the Yankees.  There are no ligament problems with his elbow and his offseason surgery shouldn't hinder his FA market value too badly, and the Yankees get another important piece of their bullpen puzzle back as they gear up for one last charge.  Expect to see Logan get another few days to throw and then rejoin the 'pen later this week.

2013 AB4AR Minor League Season Awards

The year on the calender changed, but the story stayed the same for the Yankee farm system in 2013.  A lot of injuries, a lot of inconsistent performances from the top prospects, and not a whole lot to get excited about from the 2 most recent drafts.  Depth is not the issue with the Yankee system right now.  They've got plenty of "good" prospects who could all find a way onto their roster in the next 1-3 years if ownership decides to keep the payroll down.  What they lack is a few or even 1 clear cut stud prospect who is absolutely going to be a future cornerstone of the team, and that became very apparent this year.  A lot of the names on this list aren't going to be the names you see in the top 5 of any Yankee prospect list, but they're the names who played the best and did the most to stand out in another pedestrian season for prospects.

Time To Make Some Hay

The Yankees went 4-7 on their 11-game AL East gauntlet, nearly sweeping the O's and then getting swept by the Sawx in the final 7 games.  That put them in a really deep hole with respect to the Wild Card race, but they've got an opportunity to climb out with their remaining schedule.

The Yanks have 12 games left, 6 home and 6 on the road.  They start off tonight in Toronto, against a team they've owned this season, before heading home for 3 against the San Francisco Giants, staying there for 3 against the Rays, and then finishing up on the road against the lowly Astros.  9 of the 12 remaining games are against sub-.500 teams and the other 3 are against the team they're chasing in the playoff race.  For as daunting a task as it is for them to come back and make the playoffs, that schedule does make it a bit easier.

89 wins is the number being thrown out as the key number to make the playoffs.  The Yankees need to go 10-2 in this last week plus to reach that number.  It's hard to see them sweeping the Rays, even at home, so they basically have to go 8-1 in those other 9 games to have a chance.  It's not impossible, but it is a longshot.  If there's one more run left in this tired, tattered group, it needs to start tonight in Toronto.

Bullpen Battered, Bruised, And Bad

(Courtesy of Getty Images)

(Originally published at IIATMS/TYA)

It's been the anchor of the pitching staff for years, but down the stretch of this season the Yankee bullpen has completely fallen apart.  After giving up 4 more runs in 4 innings of work last night, the 'pen finds itself with the worst ERA (6.69) and second worst FIP (5.31) in MLB since the start of September.  The collective -0.4 fWAR this month is 4th worst and a comparison of the HR-related stats shines a big bright light on the problem.  New York's 12 HR allowed by the bullpen this month is 5 more than the second highest total, accounting for almost 20% of the 64 hits they've given up and few key blown late game leads.  From steadying roster force to productivity fallout zone, the Yankee 'pen has joined the rotation and lineup as a major problem area at the worst possible time.

What To Think About CC's Future?

(Courtesy of the AP)

It was a weekend of rotation problems on full display for the Yankees.  Hiroki Kuroda continued to get killed on misplaced pitches in the strike zone and lack of offspeed bite on Friday.  Ivan Nova looked like an absolute mess on the mound last night, both physically and mentally if you subscribe to Orel Hershiser's way of thinking when looking at pitchers' body language.  But by far the biggest rotational black eye was the continued ineffectiveness of CC Sabathia on Saturday.  The big guy gave up 13 combined baserunners and 5 ER in 6 innings of work, the latest in a string of poor starts that stretches back months and has shown no signs of being corrected.

Sabathia's season ERA is up to 4.90, which ranks him 79th out of 83 MLB starters who've pitched enough innings to qualify for the ERA title.  His 4.12 FIP is not quite as bad, although it does place him firmly in the bottom third of qualified starters.  By most statistical measurements, Sabathia has been one of the worst starting pitchers in baseball this season, with the worst of his worst coming post-ASB.

There's no way to sugarcoat a 6.58/4.31 second half split, but what does this downtrend in Sabathia's 2013 performance say about his future?  Last night, SJK of NoMaas pointed to CC's K and BB rates as reasons to still believe in CC and expect a bounce back from him in 2013.  While it's a valid argument that shows he still has the stuff to pitch successfully, addressing the "how" of that bounce back is really the key to determining just how rapidly CC is going to continue to decline.

A-Rod's Legs Starting To Jeter Out On Him

For the second time in less than a week, Alex Rodriguez was removed from a game due to injuries to his legs.  Early last week it was the left hamstring that started to nag, forcing Joe to limit Alex to just a DH role for the rest of the week.  Last night it was his right calf that reportedly felt sore and caused him pain running the bases.  He was pinch hit for and removed from the game in the top of the 5th inning.

If this story sounds familiar, it's because it's almost exactly the same as what went down with Derek Jeter this season.  He came back from leg injuries without the proper amount of time to build up his leg strength and it led to further complications and the eventual end of his season.  Alex seems to be falling victim to the same fate after returning from his offseason hip surgery.  Like Jeter, A-Rod didn't have a lot of time to work his legs back into game shape.  Like Jeter, that lack of leg conditioning limited his ability to play the field and play every day.  And like Jeter, the compounding issues with his legs as a result of having to play through those ailments seems to be adding up to force A-Rod off the field.

He's been a tremendous and somewhat surprising boost to the lineup since coming off the DL, off-the-field circus aside.  Now A-Rod might finish the season and head into his offseason appeal battle on the sidelines instead of playing out what could be the final 12 games of his career.

Game 150 Wrap-Up: BOS 9 NYY 2

(Courtesy of Getty Images)

What a disappointing game to watch.  It never had the feel like the Yankees actually had a chance, even with Clay Buchholz struggling mightily with his fastball command.  The moment proved to be too big for Ivan Nova again, the lineup was punchless, and the bullpen made things even worse.  The full detailed game notes can be found below in the live blog; check out the rest of the game recap after the jump.

Yanks-Sawx Game 150 "Season On The Line" Live Blog

(Courtesy of the AP)

The Yankees enter play tonight 2.5 games behind the Tampa Bay Rays for the second Wild Card spot.  They're 3 games back in the loss column, so even though they wouldn't mathematically be eliminated with a series-sweeping loss at the hands of the Red Sox tonight, to be 4 down in the loss column with 12 to play would be a Herculean task for this team to undertake.  The Yankees need a win tonight to keep their postseason hopes alive and they needed something good to happen to get some positive vibes going.  Guys are hurt left and right, pitchers are tired, the offense is sputtering, so how about we get a good old fashioned live blog going tonight to start the vibing?  Here's the Yankee starting lineup:

1) Curtis Granderson- CF
2) Alex Rodriguez- DH
3) Robinson Cano- 2B
4) Alfonso Soriano- LF
5) Lyle Overbay- 1B
6) Mark Reynolds- 3B
7) Ichiro Suzuki- RF
8) Brendan Ryan- SS
9) Chris Stewart- C

And taking the ball for this critically important game is Ivan Nova.  How will his triceps hold up?  Will he be able to put Boston's hitters away and give Joe some length?  We'll see.  ESPN will be showing the pregame ceremony for Mo prior to first pitch, so check back around that time for the start of the live blog.

Marc Hulet's End-Of-Season Yankee MiL Recap

Marc Hulet of FanGraphs is on my favorite prospect evaluators in the baseball blogosphere.  He sees a lot of games, gives really detailed scouting reports from his firsthand game accounts, and has a strong statistical knowledge to tie tools and mechanics to future Major League projections.  He released his 2013 "Minor Review" report on the Yankee farm system and it's definitely worth checking out if you're a big time prospect hugger.

Highlights include Hulet naming High-A C/3B Peter O'Brien the "riser" of 2013 and Double-A OF Tyler Austin the "tumbler."  He praised 2013 2nd round pick 2B Gosuke Katoh for his plate discipline and "advanced bat," and pegged Low-A Charleston 1B Greg Bird the organization's sleeper.  That's a label being put on Bird by many despite his outstanding season at the plate, and it's one I agree with.  I was a little surprised to see Hulet so down on Austin though.  I was willing to give him more of a pass on his down year because of the injury problems and the negative park factor effects of hitting in Trenton's stadium.  Check out the whole article and more of Hulet's evaluations here.

Soriano's Thumb Leaves Lineup Status In Doubt

An already undermanned lineup took another hit just minutes before yesterday's game when Alfonso Soriano was scratched with a sprained thumb.  Apparently he hurt it making a defensive play on Thursday night and it didn't swell up on him until he woke up yesterday morning.  Soriano himself didn't seem all that concerned about it, and was hopeful he could play tonight if and when the swelling went down.  With no word yet on his status for tonight, all we can do for now is wait and hope.

If tonight's game isn't a must win, I don't know what is.  The Yankees have dropped 2 games to the Rays already this weekend and really can't afford to go down 5 in the loss column with 12 to play.  They need a W to salvage this series and keep their playoff hopes alive and they could use Soriano's bat back in the middle of the lineup to help make that happen.

The problem is where to play him.  If the thumb makes it too tough to play the field, Joe can't use Soriano at DH because of A-Rod's hamstring.  He's got too many walking wounded and not enough lineup spots to hide them.  You know, the usual.  Hopefully the swelling goes down enough that Soriano can play tonight.  If it doesn't, the Yankee lineup could be in trouble again.

Game 149 Wrap-Up: BOS 5 NYY 1

(The look of a beaten man.  Courtesy of the AP)

It's strange thinking about how much the feeling you have when CC Sabathia is starting has changed in just 1 year.  Last year there would have been nobody I wanted on the mound today more than CC, history at Fenway Park being what it is.  This year?  I didn't want him anywhere near the mound with a game of this magnitude hanging in the balance.  The Yankees lost a game to the Rays in the race for the second Wild Card spot last night, they couldn't afford to lose another.  4 games to make up in the loss column with 13 to play is a lot to overcome, and that's before you include the last-minute scratching of Alfonso Soriano with a thumb injury, so the Yankees needed Sabathia to not just not suck but pitch well and they needed to get a win to even the series back up.

Game Notes:

- Jon Lester only used 33 pitches to turn the lineup over in order through a perfect 3 innings.  His stuff looked good, the Yankee lineup was short again, and that put even more pressure on CC.

- CC pitched a clean 1st, then got burned on a Mark Reynolds throwing error in the bottom of the 2nd and it started to fall apart.  He started picking corners and missing for walks, misplacing fastballs in the strike zone for hits, and it led to 3 Boston runs in the next 2 innings to put the Yankees in a hole.

- A Curtis Granderson leadoff triple and a Robinson Cano RBI groundout got CC 1 run back in the 4th, which he promptly gave back to Boston in the bottom half after putting 2 runners on, getting a double play, then giving up a 2-out hit to Shane Victorino on a hanging slider.  More of the same from CC: inconsistent fastball location, missing badly in the strike zone, and no good putaway pitches.  Didn't help that he had J.R. Murphy making his first career start behind the plate.

- Joe got CC through 6 with another run against and pulled the plug.  Lester continued to handle the Yankee lineup with little difficulty through 7, and they were down to their final 6 outs with a 5-1 deficit.

- 1 more hitless inning against Lester and then a final one against lefty Franklin Morales.  A painfully quiet day from the lineup hurt the Yankees.  Tough to score when your leadoff man and cleanup hitter are both missing.

Phelps Activated, Could Step Right Into High-Leverage Bullpen Role

The Yankees made a key roster move this morning, activating David Phelps from the disabled list and transferring Derek Jeter to the 60-day DL to clear a roster spot.  Phelps has been out since July 6th with a right forearm strain that took much longer to return from than expected.  Given the current situation in the Yankee bullpen, his return couldn't have come at a better time.

Joe was working with next to nothing out there last night when he finally had to pull Hirok.  Mo and D-Rob were unavailable and Boone Logan is still out with elbow problems.  No disrespect to Cesar Cabral and Preston Claiborne, but they had no business being brought into a tie game at Fenway with major playoff implications on the line.  Had Phelps been around last night, chances are he would have gotten first crack after Kuroda.

Shawn Kelley has been up and down lately in the 7th inning job, Joba is Joba, and the rest of the healthy arms are either unproven or replacement level at best, so Joe could really use another solid 1-inning option ahead of the 8th and 9th.  Phelps has experience and has had success working out of the 'pen in his short Major League career, and his rehab from the forearm strain was limited to 1 and 2-inning appearances.  He's a perfect fit for a role that desperately needs to be filled and he'll be at the top of Joe's go-to list today if he needs to get some big outs before the 8th inning.