David Phelps' Big Chance

(Same expression in every picture of him.  And I like that.  Courtesy of Getty Images)

I've written about David Phelps a pretty fair amount this season.  I can't help it, I think he's an underrated pitcher and I'm fascinated by the way his season has gone down.  Phelps' 2012 campaign has been a continued series of fortunate opportunities created by unexpected circumstances affecting the rest of the pitching staff.  He got a 25-man roster spot out of Spring Training because of Michael Pineda's shoulder injury; he got a lot of early chances to show what he could do thanks to some horrific early outings by Ivan Nova and Phil Hughes; he got the chance to start because of Freddy Garcia's unfathomably bad start to the season and the Yankees not being able to wait for Andy Pettitte any longer; he's slowly worked his way up the leverage ladder out of the bullpen as other middle relievers have regressed.  Now he's got another chance to shine in a starting role because CC landed back on the DL.  It's been at the expense of others' misfortune, but Phelps himself has had some pretty good situational luck this year.

X-Rays On A-Rod & A-Pett Are A-OK

Via my girl Meredith Marakovits:

"X-ray showed fracture is healing ... Expects to long toss this week ... After that running would be next step b4 mound"

And from the lovely and talented Mike Axisa:

"An x-ray performed during a routine check-up showed that the broken bone in Alex Rodriguez‘s hand is healing well. ... A-Rod will shed the brace he’s been wearing and continue his rehab."

It's good to hear that both guys are healing well from their respective breaks, especially after Andy's little setback scare.  Pettitte was scheduled to start a long toss program this week and hopefully start to get some running in to test the ankle out, and The Horse has reportedly been taking some one-handed swings off a tee to stay fresh, but I'm still keeping my expectations tempered for now.  Both guys are pegged for a mid-September return at the earliest, and at their age they can't exactly just be thrown back into the fire.  They're both moving forward, but they both still have a long way to go.

Game 116 Wrap-Up: NYY 3-0

(Definitely earned that hug.  Courtesy of Getty Images)

There's almost no sense in recapping this game because the one and only story from it was how awesome Hiroki Kuroda was last night.  There's normal awesome, like he's been in his 2 or 3 best starts before this one, and then there's what he did last night.  Just absolute domination and total command of the game from start to finish.  He gave up 2 measly hits on the night against a stacked Rangers lineup, neither of which was hit hard at all, and just beat them to death with his slider.  Kuroda racked up 17 GB outs last night out of the 22 that were in play, 22 of the 27 total either on the ground or via the K, and only 5 balls in play left the infield.  Hiroki Kuroda was the absolute man last night, and all the Yankee lineup had to do to help him was have one inning where they scored a few runs.

Game Notes:

- Kuroda recorded his 2 walks on the night in the first 3 innings.  After the second one to Mitch Moreland, he retired the next 10 in order to keep a no-hitter intact through 6.

- Rangers' starter Matt Harrison showed that he wasn't an All Star for nothing and matched Kuroda's 0s through 6.  The only good chance the Yankees got against him was a bases loaded, 2 outs chance in the 3rd that ended with Curtis Granderson flying out.

- Kuroda lost the no-hitter in the 7th on an infield hit by Elvis Andrus that Jayson Nix actually made a nice play on.  From there, Kuroda calmly sat down the next 3 hitters, erased the next hit he gave up in the 8th with his second DP of the night, and killed any hope Texas had left.

- The Yankees only needed to score once and that was all they did in the 7th.  Alexi Ogando relieved Harrison with 1 out and lost an 8-pitch battle with Nick Swisher that ended up a Swish HR to right to make it 2-0.  Just for fun, Teix came up next and hit a solo shot of his own for the insurance.

- I wouldn't have blamed Joe if went with Rafael Soriano for the 9th.  In fact, that's what I wanted him to do.  No sense in playing games against a lineup that can turn a couple of mistakes into a tie game in a 5-pitch span.  But he trusted Kuroda and Hiroki didn't let him down, finishing the Rangers off in order in the 9th for the CG.

- By any measure, statistical, situational, opponential (not a word), or otherwise, that was the best Yankee pitching performance of the 2012 season.

The Fraud Sawx Have Done It

They've done it.  I'm actually impressed that it happened as early as it did.  I expected the downward spiral to take a lot longer than it has since I first started this blog in August of 2009, but it has officially happened on the afternoon of August 14, 2012.  The Bahhston Fraud Sawx have become so pathetic as a professional sports organization that it's almost not even fair or funny to try to make fun of them anymore.  The story that came out today is so perfect, so deliciously enjoyable if you're a Fraud Sawx hater like I am, that there's no need to comment on it.  You just sit back, read, and then laugh.

Derek Says HELLOOOOOOOOOWE!!

(Not an image I expected to see.  Courtesy of Getty Images)

See what I did there?  That's clever shit.  It's gold, Jerry.  Gold!

In all seriousness, I, like many others, was not excited about the prospects of Derek Lowe joining the Yankee pitching staff, even if it was as a temporary bullpen arm to help cover for the loss of CC Sabathia.  There wasn't much in his final days as a Cleveland Indian (10.03 ERA/5.45 FIP, 0.57 K/BB in 23.1 IP) to suggest that he was going to going to be anything more than a batting practice pitcher for the opposing team.  And despite his claims that he had "fixed" what was wrong, without actually seeing it in action it was hard to take that as gospel coming from an older, no-stuff guy like Lowe.

Life Without CC: Part Deux

(I feel ya, CC.  I'm pretty bummed about it too.  Courtesy of Getty Images)

Despite the idiotic argument of "yeah, but he hasn't been pitching like an ace this season" coming from the contingent of mouthbreathing Yankee fans and writers who have nothing better to do than stir the pot, there's no denying that CC Sabathia is the best and most important starting pitcher on the Yankee staff.  When he's healthy and in the rotation, a 4some of CC, Hiroki Kuroda, Ivan Nova, and Phil Hughes can be pretty formidable, even with Nova and Hughes pitching as inconsistently as they are right now.  When he's not, a top 3 of Kuroda, Nova, and Hughes is a bit suspect, especially with Nova and Hughes pitching as inconsistently as they are right now, and the lack of depth on the back end becomes a little more exposed.  That's why it's frustrating to see CC go back on the DL for a second time in less than 2 months after never once landing on it in his first 3 years in pinstripes.

Game 115 Wrap-Up: NYY 8 TEX 2

(Determined face!  Courtesy of The AP)

Well the Yankees finally got to reap the benefits of sending David Phelps back down to the Minors to be stretched out as a starter.  It was about 5-6 weeks too late to really be called a benefit, but that's just details.  Phelps sais he felt like he was good for 75-90 pitches before the game, and with Derek Lowe as his caddy in the bullpen it probably would have been a solid strategic move for Joe to let Phelps throw that many if he was pitching well.  As it turned out, Joe was smart enough to let Phelps pitch as deep as he could AND Lowe ended up pitching big innings well.  Who knew??

Game Notes:

- It was a shaky beginning for Phelps.  Some bad BABIP luck led to a Texas run and a 26-pitch 1st inning for him, and then David Murphy led off the 2nd with a solo HR to right to make it 2-0.  That pitch count was coming in a hurry.

- But then Phelps got his Andy Pettitte on and started picking guys off left and right.  He got Ian Kinsler at first to end the 2nd inning and Elvis Andrus at second with 2 on and just 1 out in the 3rd.

- It was at that point that the offense finally decided to show up.  They loaded the bases with 1 out against Ryan Dempster and then unloaded them on a Nick Swisher grand slam.  A walk and a couple more singles and they loaded them up again to push another run across on a Curtis Granderson sac fly.

- From there, Phelps was golden, working the 4th and 5th effortlessly.  He found the command of his 4-seamer a little better in those innings and really threw his curveball well.  After the start he had, to get through 5 and only give up 2 against that lineup is a job well done.

- The offense didn't stop once Phelps left.  Eric Chavez hit a leadoff solo HR in the 6th, showing that the few days off over the weekend didn't cool his hot streak.  Then a triple-double-single combo by Ichiro Suzuki, Derek Jeter, and Swish brought in 2 more in the 7th to make it 8-2.

- The story of the night was Derek Lowe.  There was reason to be wary of bringing him in with the way he pitched on his way out of Cleveland, but Lowe was money last night.  In 4 scoreless innings of work he got 4 groundball outs and 4 strikeouts, and his sinker and slider were both on.

- Whatever he said he figured out before coming back, it sure looked like Lowe knew what he was talking about last night.  The Yankees didn't need to use another bullpen arm for the rest of the game and cruised to the finish in the series opener.

Thoughts On Ichiro Since The Trade

(Still too early to call on this trade, right?  Courtesy of Dan Levine/EPA)

I thought the trade to bring Ichiro Suzuki to New York was a good one for the Yankees.  Not good in the sense that I thought he was suddenly not going to be 38 years old anymore and revert back to the way he played in his prime.  But it was good in that he gave the Yankee lineup exactly what it was missing on paper with Brett Gardner out, and I did think there was some legitimacy to the idea that he could step his play up a bit being out of baseball purgatory in Seattle and in the middle of a divisional playoff race in New York.  It's been 3 weeks since that trade was made now, so enough time has passed that, even with small sample sizes, I think I can attempt to talk intelligently about Ichiro in New York and what kind of impact he's had.

Game 114 Wrap-Up: TOR 10 NYY 7

(Damn 4th inning'll getcha.  Courtesy of The AP)

The Yankees hadn't swept a 3-game series in Toronto since early 2003, which is almost impossible to believe considering what the Yankees have been and what the Blue Jays have been in the time since, but it's true.  They had a chance to do it yesterday afternoon with Phil Hughes on the mound against J.A. Happ.  It was a matchup that should have heavily favored the Yankees on paper, even with Hughes coming off a short, rough outing in Detroit the last time he pitched.  But as they old saying goes, that's why they play the game.  There was plenty of offense in this one, just not enough from the Yankees' side to complete the sweep, and not nearly enough good pitching from Hughes.

Game Notes:

- Hughes wasted little time in making a mess of things, retiring the first 2 batters in the bottom of the 1st before giving up a 2-out double to Edwin Encarnacion and a follow-up single to somebody named David Cooped to give Toronto a 1-0 lead.

- Derek Jeter led off the game with a single for the Yankees, then Happ retired the next 11 batters he faced in order through the 4th, 12 if you include Jeter on a doube play in the 1st.  This game had one of those "let's just get the hell outta here" feels to it.

- That feel was strengthened greatly in the bottom of the 4th, when the Hughes meltdown commenced.  With the bases loaded and 2 outs, Hughes gave up a 2-run double to Rajai Davis, RBI single to Mike McCoy (???), and a 2-run bomb to Encarnacion to turn it into a 7-0 game.

- Casey McGehee got the Yanks on the board with an RBI double in the top of the 5th, but Ryota Igarashi, in the relieve Hughes after just 4 IP, gave up 3 more runs in the bottom half to balloon the lead to 10-1.

- Give credit to the Yankees for not completely folding their sails here.  They tried to battle back with HRs from Jeter and Robinson Cano in the 6th to make it 10-4, and scored 3 more runs in the 7th to pull within 10-7, but that was as close as they would get.

- Props to Davis for a fantastic catch at the wall on McGehee for the first out of the 7th.  If that goes over the wall, the Yanks really take the momentum there.

- Cody Eppley, Clay Rapada, and Joba Chamberlain finished the game off from the 'pen to at least ensure that Joe wouldn't have to use David Phelps, and the Yanks will have to wait until next time to try for that sweep.

Checking In With The AB4AR Sh*t List

It's been a staple of the sidebar of this site for quite some time now, but it hasn't been officially recognized in over 5 months.  That "it" is the AB4AR Shit List, the running list of things Yankee-related, and sometimes not, that are pissing me off.  It's a representation of my more irrational fan side, and the more immature early days of this site, but it's something that everybody can relate to on a personal level, and even if it's a few days too late now that the Yankees have started to turn things around (today's game aside), why not finish off our weekend with a little bit of hatred, huh?  I know I could certainly stand to blow off a little steam.

The long-updated list after the jump.  Hate, hate, hate, hate, hate!

Middle Innings Unkind To Phil

Here's Phil Hughes' combined line from his last 2 outings, including today's:

8.1 IP, 17 H, 11 ER, 1 BB, 7 K, 7 XBH

Here's his combined line from just the 4th and 5th innings in those 2 starts:

2.1 IP, 11 H, 10 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, 6 XBH

Without trying to dig too deep into such a small sample, I'll just be broad and say that's pretty fucking terrible.  For 2 consecutive starts now, each and every one of Hughes' issues (inefficiency with pitches, failure to put batters away, predictable pitch selection, poor location) has come to the surface the second time he gets through the order.  That's just not going to get it done, by any measure.  4-inning starts are acceptable in the GCL, not in the Majors.  Clean it up, guy.  That's a piss poor effort.

Game 113 Wrap-Up: NYY 5 TOR 2

(It was a good day for a return to form for Nova.  Courtesy of The AP)

It has not been a good go for Ivan Nova in the month of August.  He had gotten shelled in his last 2 starts before taking the mound in Toronto yesterday, to the point that it was almost universally agreed by bloggers and fans alike that he would benefit from being sent down to Triple-A to work on his issues if the Yankees had a replacement option for him available.  Things have been starting to trend back up for the Yanks after 2 straight wins in Detroit and a beatdown of Toronto on Friday night, so another Nova bombjob outing would have been a step back.  Fortunately, the good Ivan showed up yesterday afternoon.

Game Notes:

- The first time through the order was unkind for the Yankee offense, as they got very little going against former short-time Yankee Aaron Laffey.  Nova matched Laffey with 3 perfect innings of his own.

- The offense broke through in the top of the 4th, and once again it was with 2 outs.  Jayson Nix singled home Mark Teixeira to put the Bombers on the board, and newest Yankee Casey McGehee followed up with a 3-run HR to open the gap to 4-0.

- After a strong first 3, Nova stumbled a bit in a shutdown bottom of the 4th, giving up a pair of singles and a balk to give 1 run back to Toronto.  But he would recover to end the inning on a strikeout and a groundout.

- McGehee got the next scoring run started with a 1-out double in the top of the 6th, and came around to score on a Derek Jeter ground-rule double to make it 5-1.

- Nova was outstanding after the 4th, and pitched all the way into the 8th inning before tiring out and giving up another run.  His slider and curveball were absolutely dominant, and for the first time in a while he was able to keep them down in the zone.  Nova got 15 swinging strikes out of 66, K'd 10, and looked the best he has in over a month.

- D-Rob and Soriano finished things up for the win, and the Yankees have now won 4 games in a row.

- Jeter's RBI double in the 6th gave him 150 hits for the season for the 17th straight year, tying the MLB record for most consecutive 150-hit seasons with Hank Aaron.  Regardless of what anybody thinks about Jeter, that's an impressive record.

BREAKING NEWS: CC Going Back On The DL

Via Chad Jennings, CC Sabathia is going back on the 15-day disabled list after feeling soreness in his left elbow in his last few starts.

Apparently he first felt something after his start in Seattle and took an MRI that showed no structural damage, but the same soreness was there earlier this week against Detroit and was the likely cause for Joe removing him after just 94 pitches in the 7th inning.

Joe said the concern on the team's side was "pretty low-level" and this DL trip is more preventative than anything.  But that's the same thing we heard when Manny Banuelos and Jose Campos first hit the DL in the Minors this season and neither of them made it back.  Any time you're talking about soreness in a pitcher's pitching elbow, there has to be a bit more concern than the Yankees are letting on.  They just can't seem to shake the injury bug this year.

Sabathia was scheduled to start on Monday, so the Yankees need to come up with a replacement plan quickly.  As of right now, no starter has been named for that game in his place.

** UPDATE- 5:42PM- Via Marc Carig, David Phelps will start in CC's spot on Monday, with the newly-signed Derek Lowe backing him up out of the bullpen.  Smart move. **

Friday Afternoon Linkapalooza: 8/10

I'm playing in a charity golf tournament this afternoon.  That's noteworthy because I don't play golf.  At all.  I go out of my way to not play golf.  I hate golf.  Mainly because I suck at it, but also because there's nothing about it that appeals to me.  It's a sport that's built on patience and focus and mechanics, and nothing I was ever good at in sports (playing longpole defense on lacrosse, rebounding in basketball, dominating the Wario Stadium track in "Mario Kart 64") involves those things.

I'm playing in the tournament because I'm good friends with the family who's hosting, and also because it means I get to leave work early to go drive around in a golf cart and drink beers in the middle of the day.  The added bonus to leaving early today is that my boss won't be in the office next week, so it'll be fun to just bail before he has a chance to talk to me about what he needs me to do while he's gone and hopefully make him a little nervous while he's on vacation because he's too dumb to realize that I actually already run our department.

#humblebrag

Suck it, Corporate America!  I'm getting my chipping wedge on today.  Now onto the links!

- On Monday, Mike Newman of FanGraphs posted a very less-than-flattering scouting report on 2010 1st-round pick Cito Culver, even going so far as to suggest the Yankees would be better served converting him to a pitcher.

- William Juliano of The Captain's Blog had a solid pair of posts earlier this week.  On Monday, he re-evaluated the C-Grand trade based on 2012 performance and the new CBA.

- And on Wednesday, he looked for ways for the Yankees to optimize their lineup without A-Rod.

- On Tuesday, Andrew Corselli of Yanks Go Yard had an amusing, and pretty accurate, post pairing up Yankees with their "Breaking Bad" counterparts.  If you watch the show, you'll enjoy it.  If you don't, then something's wrong with you.

- On Wednesday, both Josh Norris and Mike Ashmore posted their interview with Mark Newman.  It's a great read with lots of interesting quotes from Newman  on a ton of Yankee prospects, and kudos to both Josh and Mike for a job well done.

- Steve Goldman of Pinstripe Alley commented on Ivan Nova's struggles with consistency this season and the role the Yankee defense might be playing in those struggles.

- Mike Axisa of RAB broke down some of Phil Hughes' key stats by month and pondered how Hughes should be handled for the remainder of the season.

- Greg Corcoran of Bronx Baseball Daily mused on some former Yankee outfield prospects who are having big seasons and wonders what could have been if they were all still in pinstripes.

- On Thursday, Mike Eder of TYA looked at Mark Teixeira's improved performance against the shift this season since he decided to abandon his opposite-field approach.

- El duque of It Is High... had an idea for an alternative option to sign as a base-stealing threat rather than risk bringing Brett Gardner back for the job as a pinch runner.

- William Tasker of IIATMS brought up a name who got away as a possible outfield option that could come in handy right now considering what the Yankees have done to address the loss of Gardner.

I had a song picked out for this week on Monday, and it's a kickass song, but that plan went out the window on Wednesday night because OH MY EFFING TEBOW THERE'S NEW DEFTONES OUT!!!!  Well, not officially.  It's just fan-shot concert footage of them debuting songs from their new album on tour, but still.  NEW DEFTONES, GUYZ!!!!  The sound quality blows, but I really don't give a damn.  I wouldn't be doing my duty as a diehard Deftones fan if I didn't substitute this for the song I originally had planned.



Enjoy your weekends, everybody.

Some Numbers From Detroit

(Joe wants some more numbers!  Courtesy of The AP)

Why, you ask?  Because that series was just bizarre and it warrants more conversation about it, that's why.

Game 111 Wrap-Up: NYY 4 DET 3

(Throw your motherf*ckin' hands up!!  Courtesy of The AP)

It was the final game of this series, it was the first afternoon game of this series, and it was the first time there was crummy weather for the series.  There's been tension building on the Yankees' side since Monday, tension caused by some questionable umpiring in their eyes, some HBP shenanigans on Wednesday, and the team's continued inability to make things easy on themselves.  The way Wednesday night's win went down probably didn't do much to ease that tension, and add that to the tension built up from the past 3 weeks and it was bound to come to a head at some point.  It came to that head in the bottom of the 5th yesterday afternoon, and it came to a head in a big way.

Game Notes:

- The Yankees kept their recent string of getting big 2-out hits going in the top of the 2nd, when Raul Ibanez tripled to center to score Eric Chavez and Ichiro followed up with an RBI single to score Ibanez to make it 2-0 New York.

- Hiroki Kuroda worked through the first 4 innings scoreless, and he looked sharper than he was his last time out.  He got some help on some bad baserunning by Miguel Cabrera in the 1st, and a "strike 'em out/throw 'em out" DP in the 3rd, but he was solid.

- Kuroda's 1 bad inning was the bottom of the 5th, and it was made worse by a very bad umpiring call by Tim Welke.  After giving up a double and 2-run HR to Alex Avila to tie the game, Kuroda sandwiched 2 GB outs around, you guessed it, an infield single.  Then the fireworks began...

- Andy Dirks hit a bloop down the left field line that Welke initially signaled foul.  Replays later showed that the ball DID hit chalk and was fair, but Ibanez checked up after seeing Welke's initial call and then had to scramble to chase after the ball when Welke changed the call to fair, which allowed a run to come around and score.

- Joe came out to argue, was told by Welke that Welke was "too quick" on his initial call, and then just lost it.  He yelled, he screamed, he got tossed, he yelled some more, he gestured, he ranted, he raved, he tried to protest the game, he threw his hat, and when he did finally leave the field he made an over-dramatized "fair/foul" signal while point to the line.  It was easily Joe's greatest blow-up in his Yankee tenure.

- It didn't do much to spark the Yankees, though, until the 8th inning rolled around.  Mark Teixeira got a belt-high 2-0 fastball from Joaquin Benoit that he crushed to right for a game-tying HR, and on the very next pitch Chavez took one the other way and over the wall for the go-ahead HR.

- With D-Rob out, David Phelps and Clay Rapada had to handle the Tiger order in the 7th and 8th, and after putting runners on the corners with 0 outs, Rafael Soriano retired the next 3 in a row to preserve a dramatic win.

Eric Chavez- Clubhouse Leader

There's no denying that Eric Chavez is nowhere near the player he used to be.  When your back has been through more wear and tear than Batman's after he got done getting his shit wrecked by Bane (spoiler alert), that's to be expected.  He looked about as washed up as a mid-30s player could in his first season with the Yankees in 2011, and I wasn't exactly jumping for joy at the idea of bringing him back again this season.

I'm very happy to say that I was dead wrong about Chavez and I'm even happier to eat any crow I deserve for my lack of faith.  Chavez has been both healthy (212 PA already, almost 40 more than last season) and incredibly productive (.284/.344/.511, .359) for the Yankees this season, and has been a key cog in helping overcome issues with injuries and underperformance around the corner infield spots.  And now he's added a new wrinkle to his resurgence in the form of being a clubhouse spokesperson.  Earlier in the week, Chavez spoke very candidly about the Yankees' recent struggles and his thoughts on the matter:

“There should be a high level of concern.  Anybody who says that there isn’t is lying. You’ve just got to win ballgames, and we’re not finding a way to do that, and it should be a concern. It’s that time of the year when, yeah, it’s a concern. We need to start playing good and winning games.”

And yesterday, after receiving a bit of backlash for his previous comment:

“We’ve been losing.  So if anybody’s comfortable with that — I know I wasn’t. We had a nine-game lead two weeks ago, and that’s gone. I just want to win. I just want to get back to the postseason, and I’d like to have the biggest lead we possibly can have to do it.”

While I don't necessarily agree with his comments about A-Rod's absence, I'm totally on board with everything Chavez said there and applaud him for speaking his mind.

C-Grand's Trends Are Packing His Bags For Him

(D'oh!  Courtesy of The AP)

I like Curtis Granderson.  I've written a lot of positive things about him since the great Kevin Long Swing Rebuild Project of 2010, and since then he's been arguably the Yankees' best position player not named Robinson Cano.  I think he was a great pickup for the Yankees given their needs at the time, and even as the value scales have started to tip away from his and the Yankees' favors as it relates to that trade this season, I still think it was the right move to make.  Granderson has been a very valuable and productive piece of the Yankee lineup over the last 2+ seasons, and barring serious injury he will likely continue to be valuable and productive through the remainder of his current contract.  That being said, I don't think it would be a wise move for the Yankees to re-sign C-Grand after the 2013 season, and I think the trends in his performance this season should be starting to open people's eyes as to why.

Game 110 Wrap-Up: NYY 12 DET 8

(CC didn't look too enthused about coming out either.  Courtesy of Getty Images)

I really don't want to be a downer about this, because the Yankees did win the game and that's all that matters at the end of the day.  But even when they win it seems like it's a struggle.  Up 7-0 in the 4th inning, with your ace on the mound cruising, and they manage to turn it into a 1-run game just 3 innings later.  The offense came back to life last night and absolutely pounded Anibal Sanchez with another new-look batting order, but the pitching on the Yankees' side was still suspect and the defense was sloppy so they're clearly not out of the woods yet.

Game Notes:

- The rearranged lineup didn't waste any time going to work.  With 2 outs and 2 on, Eric Chavez and Curtis Granderson singled back-to-back to give the Yankees an immediate 2-0 lead in the top of the 1st.

- Granderson kept the good vibes going from the 6-hole with a 3-run homer, his 30th of the season, in the top of the 3rd.  And yes, it was with 2 outs.

- The teams engaged in a little early-inning beanball war in the first 3 innings, which the Yankees lost 2-1 (Teix & Cano-Fielder) thanks to the bullshit umpire warning after the Cano shot, so that was fun.

- CC was money through the first 3 innings, giving up 0 runs and 1 hit, and recording 6 of his 9 outs either on the infield or in the catcher's glove, but he got a little shaky after getting a 7-0 lead in the middle innings, allowing 6 hits and 3 ER in the next 3 innings.

- Little surprising to see Joe yank CC after he just got Prince Fielder for the 2nd out of the 7th inning and was only at 94 pitches, but in fairness to him CC had given up 5 R in a little over 3 innings, bad defense or not.  I can understand a quick hook with the way the Yankee starters have given back runs lately.

- Of course D-Rob got dinked and dunked to death after coming in to relieve CC to make it an 8-7 game after 7 innings.  I wish I was making this shit up but that's been SOP for the Yankees over the past couple weeks.

- The teams traded runs in the final 2 innings, but the Yankees got the better of that with 4 to the Tigers 1, the dagger being Robinson Cano's RBI single in the 9th, and Rafael Soriano closed out the victory.

Shutdown Innings Much?

Everybody is in full-on catharsis mode today after another frustrating 1-run loss chock full of chances to turn it into a W.  That loss was the 8th 1-run loss in the Yankees' recent piss-poor 6-12 stretch dating back to that fateful 4-game series out in Oakland, and has cut their division lead down to 4.5 games (with a still respectable 5-game lead in the loss column).  Matt Imbrogno of TYA is spilling his frustrated guts, as is Mike Axisa of RAB.  One particular part of Mike's collection of observations stuck out to me, because it was something that popped into my head immediately last night when I saw that Phil Hughes had given up 2 runs in the bottom of the 4th after the offense had staked him to a 2-run lead in the top half:

"You know what else is annoying? The Yankees’ pitchers seem to give back every run the offense gives them in the span of an inning these days. Phil Hughes did it last night, Ivan Nova did it the night before, Nova did it again in spectacular fashion in his last start before that … the whole 'shutdown innings' thing seems to have gone out the window. This has become one unwelcome habit. Maintaining a lead for more than one inning should not feel like a miracle."

This thought has crept into my mind on more than on occasion over the last couple weeks, and last night was the tipping point.  I decided to check into just how often the Yankee pitchers have been giving runs back in shutdown innings during this 6-12 stretch to see how often it's been happening.

Game 109 Wrap-Up: DET 6 NYY 5

(Just didn't have the putaway stuff last night.  Courtesy of The AP)

Phil Hughes had a rough start to his season, the same way Ivan Nova did.  The difference is that Hughes has been able to make the necessary adjustments to both his mechanics and approach and has developed into a pretty reliable third starter as a result.  His last trip out to Detroit in early June was one of the crowning achievements of his professional career, as he stood toe-to-toe with Justin Verlander and outdueled him for a complete game win.  He was aggressive, located his pitches well, and finished hitters off.  Last night, some of those problems with finishing guys off came back and Hughes had a pretty short night as a result.

Game Notes:

- After squandering a Mark Teixeira leadoff single in the 2nd by hitting into a double play, the Yankees repeated that effort in the 4th with Derek Jeter and Robinson Cano.  Luckily Teix and Eric Chavez came through with a 2-out single and HR to put the Yanks on the board 2-0.

- Hughes got through the first 3 innings without issue, but as soon as he got the lead he coughed it back up in the bottom half of the 4th by giving up a Miguel Cabrera solo shot (his 2nd of the series) and a 2-out RBI double by Jhonny Peralta.

- Hughes threw 43 pitches through the first 3 innings, 42 in the 4th, and got the hook at 102 with 1 out in the 5th after he gave up 2 singles and a 2-run double to Cabrera to make it a 4-2 Detroit lead.  Hughes had 34 of his 69 strikes fouled off, which probably tired him out big time in the 4th, and the offense didn't do him any favors by only working 10 pitches out of Porcello in the top of the 5th.

- Boone Logan finished the 5th and Cody Eppley, in his first appearance in exactly a week, started off the 6th strong, but gave up a 2-out single and double to allow Detroit to extend the lead.  2-out hits will kill you, and the Yankee pitchers gave up a lot of them.

- The Yankees got one back in the top of the 7th on a pair of doubles by Nick Swisher (his 2nd of the night) and Ichiro Suzuki to make it 5-3.  Too bad the middle of the order couldn't help the cause.

- Joba looked shaky again and gave up a run in the bottom of the 8th, but the offense finally showed some pop in the 9th against Jose Valverde.

- Chavez singled, Raul Ibanez worked a hard-fought 2-out walk, Ichiro singled home a run, and Russell Martin doubled home Ibanez to put runners at 2nd and 3rd for Curtis Granderson.  C-Grand couldn't come through to complete the comeback, though, popping out to first to end it.  Ballgame over, Yankees lose.

Heads Up, Cody!!

This highlowlight is a pretty accurate visual representation of the kind of baseball the Yankees have been playing during this 2-week stretch of poor play.  Even the simple around-the-horn toss after an out becomes an adventure when Cody Eppley has his head down and Eric Chavez isn't paying attention and doesn't realize Eppley isn't paying attention.  The Yankees haven't been doing the little things lately and they managed to fuck up a little thing in spectacular fashion here.

The classic "oh shit" moment where you realize that whoever you were throwing something to isn't looking AFTER you've already thrown that something.

The follow up "oh shit" moment after whoever you were throwing the something to doesn't look up in time and gets plunked by that something.

Yankee baseball, ladies and gentlemen!  Heroes remembered.  Legends born.

(Screen caps courtesy of Deadspin)

Nova Has Fallen Off The Cliff

(Right now he really is Ivan The Terrible)

If you want to say it was the outing before, I'm not going to argue with you, but for my money last night's start was the culmination of Ivan Nova's season-long descent into shittiness.  It's a topic that hasn't gotten as much coverage as it rightfully should if you look at his numbers, mainly because there have always been bigger injury-related stories dominating the headlines or the team still managed to win the games in which he was pitching, but after July's problems and August's implosion it's making its rightful way to the front pages.

What made last night the culmination in my eyes was the fact that, for once, it wasn't a barrage of extra base hits off and over the wall that did Nova in.  Oh no, it was an endless string of well-struck singles through, over, and around the infield right into the waiting outfield gaps.  8 out of 11 batters that came to the plate in the 5th and 6th innings got base hits, 5 on fastballs, 2 on sliders, 1 on a hanging curve.  It's been easy to say that it was just the extra bases that were causing the problems and the results, and that a little BABIP luck would help even things out.  But last night killed that excuse and put the period on the end of the "Ivan Nova just hasn't been good at all this season" sentence.

Some Glimmers Of Light In The Injury-Filled Prospect Darkness

(Don't sleep on this guy.  Courtesy of Mike Ashmore)

This has not been a good season for the Yankee farm system.  EJ Fagan made that perfectly clear yesterday in his evaluation of the Manny Banuelos shutdown story, which was much more level-headed than mine.  By my count, the Yankees have seen 4 of their top 5, 5 of their top 8, and 7 of their top 12 prospects miss time with injuries this season, and have had another handful of their top 20 have fantastically bad years (see: Betances, Dellin or Bichette, Jr., Dante).  I guess the one good thing about all of this is that at least Jesus Montero hasn't gone over to Seattle and started becoming the next Miguel Cabrera, right?  But fear not, Yankee fans, because all hope is not lost.  The injured will return to full health at some point, and further down the prospect food chain there have been some strong performances in the Yankee system this year.  The names aren't as sexy as the ones filling up the disabled lists, but their results do provide a bit of comfort in the face of all the injury/regression devastation.

Game 108 Wrap-Up: DET 7 NYY 2

(Not a look of confidence.  Courtesy of The AP)

The great New York Yankee Mid-Summer Lineup Shuffle continued last night as they kicked off a series in Detroit against the Tigers.  Eric Chavez was back in at third base, Russell Martin was back at catcher after a day off, Raul Ibanez got the start in left field, and Ichiro Suzuki got a day at DH.  The top of the order remained the same as it had the last couple days, and they needed to produce something if the Yankees were going to beat Justin Verlander, a pitcher against whom they've had some success recently.  With the struggling Ivan Nova on the mound, the lineup was probably going to have to score a few more runs than usual off of Verlander to have a chance.

Game Notes:

- Nova looked pretty good getting Miguel Cabrera to ground into a DP to end the bottom of the 1st, but he threw a garbage changeup to Prince Fielder to start off the 2nd and from firsthand experience out in Milwaukee I can tell you that's a bad idea.  Fielder smoked it for a solo HR and a 1-0 Detroit lead.

- Nova moved quickly and efficiently through the Detroit lineup after the Fielder HR, at least until it came back around to Cabrera in the 4th.  He hit a solo HR to make it 2-0 Tigers and Nova responded by plunking Fielder before ending the inning with another DP ball.

- There wasn't much doing against Verlander through 4 innings, but Eric Chavez had his number.  He doubled to right to lead off the 3rd and got stranded to end the inning, and doubled to left to start the top of the 5th.

- Chavez's teammates picked him up the second time around, with a little help from a Verlander error.  Jeter singled him home to put the Yanks on the board, and Robinson Cano followed up with an RBI single of his own to tie the game at 2.

- Naturally, Nova imploded and gave the lead back with 5 straight singles in the bottom of the 5th.  He hung fastballs, hung breaking balls, and when it was all said and done it was 5-2 Tigers.

- A bushel full of hits and a couple more runs later, it was curtains for Nova in the 6th and officially another horrible start for him.  Joba relieved and got through the 7th, and actually looked good doing it (95-97 on the fastball, sharp slider), but that was an afterthought with a 5-run deficit.

- Verlander worked through the 8th, Jose Valverde handled the 9th, and that was all she wrote.  The Yankees didn't score an earned run in the game.