Michael Pineda Is The Least Slick Dude In The History Of Baseball

(Courtesy of MLB.com)

I mean come on, dude.  You know we live in a world of HD television cameras, right?  Did you think you weren't going to be checked?  Did you think slapping it on the side of your neck was going to make it less noticeable than it would be on your hand?  Please don't tell me you're stupid enough to think that nobody would notice because you're darker skinned.

I almost don't want to know what Pineda's explanation for this is because there simply can't be one that's not completely and utterly idiotic.  He might as well have jogged back out on the mound in the 2nd with pine tar under his eyes like eye black and under his chin like a fake goatee.  Just next level mental midgetry right there.  Dude deserved to get ejected and he deserves all 10 games of the suspension he's probably going to get.

P.S.- When Gerry West touched his neck and said "that's pine tar", my mind flashed back to that episode of "The Fresh Prince" where Will pretends to be Ashley's father and the teacher calls him out for having a fake mustache.  I would have given Pineda a small sliver of props if he would have hit Davis with the "No it's not!" response and just stood there.

Keith Law Scouts Low-A Charleston

Keith Law was back on the scouting road earlier this week and once again he got the chance to check out one of the Yankee farm teams in action.  This time it was the Low-A Charleston RiverDogs and Law filed a scouting report post on some of the players he saw for ESPN yesterday.

The stars of the show were 2013 1st rounder Aaron Judge and fast-rising starting pitching prospect Luis Severino.  Severino dominated in this start (5.2 shutout innings, 8 Ks) and Law called his 3-pitch mix "impressive", praising him for his fastball command and late life and his plus changeup.  He was less enthusiastic about Severino's slider and said he has a lot of work to do on his mechanics, noting that Severino needs "some mechanical adjustments to reach his above-average starter ceiling."

Judge also had himself a day in Law's presence, going 2-2 with a triple and 2 walks.  Law liked what he saw in Judge's stance and swing mechanics, saying "for a guy with long arms and a little bit of a bat wrap he's still quite short to the ball, with good hip rotation and loft in his finish for line-drive power."

Law also had some quick takes on Abi Avelino and Gosuke Katoh.  You can check those out in the whole article here (Insider-only).

The Good And Bad Of Tanaka In Four At-Bats

(Courtesy of the AP)

(Originally published at IIATMS/TYA)

You wouldn't be wrong to call last night the worst of Masahiro Tanaka's 4 outings thus far.  He was uneven with his command at times, he gave up a few 2-out hits, and he gave up back-to-back solo home runs in the bottom of the 4th on 2 badly missed fastballs.  You would be wrong, however,  if you called last night's outing a bad one.  Despite the inconsistencies and homers, Tanaka was efficient with his pitch count and worked into the 8th, allowing only those 2 runs, striking out 7 while walking nobody, and picking up his 3rd win of the year.

The Red Sox got their first look at Tanaka and they had to walk away impressed.  He showcased all his pitches again, mixing them up at all different times in the count, he threw a lot of early strikes to work from ahead or even in the count and keep the guessing game going on their end, and he registered double digit swinging strikes again with an even dozen.  Tanaka was very, very good again, and I thought he showed what makes him special and legitimate and also what things he still has to learn about facing MLB hitters in his first 4 encounters with Boston's 2 best hitters.

Game 20 Wrap-Up: NYY 9 BOS 3

(Courtesy of the AP)

Well that was fun, huh?  Some more excellent work by Masahiro Tanaka, a thorough beatdown of Jon Lester, a multi-hit homecoming for Jacoby Ellsbury, and a comfortable series-opening victory for the boys in pinstripes.  I'll take that for each game in the rest of this series, thank you very much.

Game Notes:

- It was clear from the get go that Lester didn't have it last night.  He gave up a leadoff triple to Ellsbury, 2 straight hits to Derek Jeter and Carlos Beltran, and it was 2-0 Yanks 3 batters into the game.

- They let him off the hook with a double play ball in the 2nd, but got right back to work in the 3rd with a trio of doubles by Soriano, Teix (yay!), and Big Mac to make it 4-0.

- Tanaka was stellar again and showed no ill effects of pitching in the big setting.  He made 2 mistakes to David Ortiz and Mike Napoli in the bottom of the 4th on misplaced sinkers that they hit for home runs, otherwise he was money.

- Those 2 runs didn't end up amounting to much for Boston.  A 2-out, 4-run rally in the 5th knocked Lester out and put the game out of reach.

- Just for good measure, Carlos Beltran smacked a solo shot to make it 9-2 in the 8th.  Dellin Betances gave up a meaningless run in a mop-up 9th.

The Potential Long-Term Effects Of Nova's Injury

(Courtesy of Getty Images)

(Originally published at IIATMS/TYA)

Ivan Nova's Saturday was already a bad one before the injury was announced.  He was up in the strike zone again, getting knocked around the park, and not giving his team much of a chance to win.  His early exit and subsequent UCL tear diagnosis was a stomach punch to him, a sobering blow to what had been a mostly positive start to the Yankee season, and a possible explanation for his early struggles on the mound.

With Nova now out of the picture for the near future and most likely the remainder of the season, the Yankees will have to find a way to cover for that loss.  They appear to have found a suitable replacement for the short-term in Vidal Nuno, but the baseball season is a long one and it's barely over 10% old.  More injuries are all but certain and it's the long-term ramifications of Nova's injury that are now the concern.  The ripple effect of losing Nova could extend from this past weekend into the final month of the season in a variety of ways, all of which the Yankees will have to consider and be prepared to address moving forward.

Thoughts On Nova's Injury

(That image hurts my elbow.  Courtesy of the AP)

Looking at his career history, maybe we should have seen this coming.  The partially torn UCL in Ivan Nova's right elbow that caused him to leave his last start early and landed him on the disabled list is not an isolated incident.  Nova has a history of arm injuries dating back to his early days as a Major Leaguer and a history of command and performance problems that seemed to be precursors to these arm injuries.  In a year where multiple pitchers are going down with major arm injuries each week and have been since late in Spring Training, Nova's name was the most probable of all the Yankee pitchers to get added to that list.

And yet there's still a level of shock that came with the announcement that he had suffered the UCL tear.  Maybe it was the hope that this was going to be the year Ivan put it all together.  Maybe it was the belief on a lot of people's parts (myself included) that he was going to take that next step this year.  Whatever it was, Nova's injury is a crushing blow and one that I fear could have a harmful effect on his career going forward.

Robertson Activated From The DL

Yankees announce RHP David Robertson activated from disabled list, LHP Cesar Cabral outrighted to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
— Bryan Hoch (@BryanHoch) April 22, 2014

With every death, there is rebirth.  With every season-ending UCL tear, there is a reliever returning from a short DL stint with a groin strain.  I honestly don't know if there's any truth to that statement, I haven't checked the numbers.  But the important thing is that the Yankee bullpen, which needs to step up in light of Nova going down, will get its most important piece back tonight.  David Robertson has recovered from his groin strain and has been activated off the 15-day.

Bryan Mitchell was sent back down to Double-A Trenton yesterday to clear a 25-man spot, so no roster move needs to be made today.  Matt Daley and Cesar Cabral were both DFA'd in the days prior as the bullpen got shuffled around, and both have reportedly cleared waivers to return to Triple-A.

First Big Test For Tanaka Tonight

(Courtesy of Getty Images)

We've seen him struggle a little bit early in games and then find his stuff and dominate late.  We've seen him handle 2 relatively deep and powerful divisional lineups with 2 completely different approaches and then watched him manhandle a shallower NL lineup.  In 3 starts, Masahiro Tanaka has been everything the Yankees and their fans hoped he would be.  He's been the best starter in the rotation and his early success provides a measurable amount of confidence that the team can absorb and overcome the loss of Ivan Nova.

Tonight he'll face his first "real" test as a Yankee when he takes the mound in Fenway to open another series with the Red Sox against their ace Jon Lester.  There's nothing on the line in the grand scheme of things, but like it or not, Yankee pitchers are always judged in part based on how they perform against the Sox.  The Sox were connected to Tanka this past offseason, albeit not nearly as closely as New York, and their fans will remember that and see Tanaka as another case of the big budget Yankees "stealing" a player away with their money.

The environment will be hostile, the lights will be bright, and the opposing lineup will have more than a few dangerous, experienced, smart hitters in it.  Tanaka's already aced his first few Major League quizzes.  He takes his first test tonight in his first true taste of the Yanks-Sox experience.  Based on what I've seen so far, I'm expecting him to score well.

Strong Starts For Some Top Pitching Prospects

Luis Severino (Low-A): 4 GS, 14.0 IP, 9 H, 3 ER, 5 BB, 19 K

Rafael DePaula (High-A): 3 GS, 14.1 IP, 9 H, 4 ER, 6 BB, 19 K

Manny Banuelos (High-A): 4 GS, 9.2 IP, 9 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 12 K

I haven't talked too much about prospects since the season began, but the Yankees getting good starts from arguably their top 3 pitching prospects definitely bears mentioning.  A lot of people soured quickly on DePaula when he struggled in Tampa last year and I didn't think that was fair.  He's looked much better so far in his return trip.  Severino got started off slow with light workloads, but he had the reins taken out him last night and he responded with 5.2 shutout innings, 8 K, and 0 BB.  ManBan actually tossed 3 scoreless appearances before giving up all 4 of his ER in his last outing.  More important than his results are how good his stuff and command has looked and they've both looked very good.

With 2nd-tier guys like Nik Turley, Jose Ramirez, Jose Campos, and Ty Hensley yet to start their seasons for a variety of health/injury-related reasons, it's good to see the Yanks getting something positive from the cream of their pitching prospect crop.  Once the weather warms up some more, I expect we'll see ManBan start to get moved back up towards Triple-A.

Ichiro Adjusting Well To New Lesser Role

Everybody knows I'm not an Ichiro guy.  I haven't wanted him around since the minute the Yankees re-signed him.  But even I have to admit that he's been an unexpectedly positive surprise early on this year.  After this weekend's split in Tampa, Ichiro is hitting .355/.355/.387 in 31 PA with 5 R scored and 1 stolen base.  He's played in 15 games, split almost evenly between starting outfielder and late-game defensive replacement or pinch runner.  Considering the inconsistency of his hitting opportunities, that .355 batting average is impressive, as are the 4 multi-hit games.

This performance does warrant a hefty SSS disclaimer.  Ichiro has yet to draw a walk this year and has a healthy 22.6% K rate.  His BABIP is also an incredibly high .458, and with his early spike in groundball contact (career high 73.9% GB rate), you can be sure that average is living higher thanks to some seeing eye balls through infield holes.  But you'll take that when you can get it from your 5th outfielder.  In Ichiro's case, you'll definitely take it when it comes with above-average baserunning and outfield defense that is still world class.  It may not be what he wants, but Ichiro is fitting into his new role nicely.

Monday Morning Food For Thought: Vidal Nuno, 5th Starter

(Courtesy of the AP)

5/13/13- 5 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 3 K
5/25/13- 6 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 2 K
5/30/13- 6 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 2 K
4/20/14- 5 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 6 K

It isn't a large or meaningful sample size by any stretch of the imagination, but Vidal Nuno does have a very good history as a Major League starter.  He allowed just 4 runs in 3 spot starts last May and stepped up to toss 5 shutout innings against a red hot Tampa Bay lineup yesterday.  With Ivan Nova on the DL and likely looking at season-ending TJS, the Yankees are going to need a full-time replacement in the starting rotation and right now Nuno looks like the best man for the job.  He's got a track record of being a strike thrower, he mixes pitches well, and his offspeed stuff is good enough to strike out Major League hitters.

The Yankee decision makers have today to look at other alternatives, but there really isn't much else to consider.  Adam Warren is a short reliever now, David Phelps isn't stretched out to nearly enough pitches to be a viable starting option, and there's nobody in Triple-A who's better than Nuno.  After 5 years in the Minors and a couple cups of coffee, Nuno looks like he's finally going to get his big chance.

Weekend News Recap

So how'd everyone's weekend go?  Mine started off fine with a trip to Madison with the girlfriend to celebrate our 1-year anniversary and it ended with me catching a nasty stomach virus, like a "no food or drink staying down, run to the bathroom every 20-30 minutes" kind of stomach virus (TMI).  That being the case, I wasn't able to fire the comp up to cover the happenings of the last day or so, but here's my way of making up for it.

- The Yanks got shellacked by the Rays on Saturday, 16-1 in another ugly outing for Ivan Nova and the bullpen.  Nova actually left the game early with an elbow problem and today it was reported that he has a partially torn UCL in his right elbow.

- That injury all but guarantees Tommy John Surgery for him and the end of his 2014 season.  The Yanks will have to replace him in the rotation and with Vidal Nuno pitching in a spot start today, he makes the most sense.

- Between the injury and the bullpen taking it on the chin again, the Yanks had to make some roster moves.  Preston Claiborne and Bryan Mitchell were called up to fortify the bullpen and replace Nova on the active roster.  Matt Daley was DFA'd.

Remodeled Bullpen Coming Soon

They haven't been bad often, but when they have the Yankee bullpen has been really bad this season.  The prime example of that is Cesar Cabral, who gave up 3 runs on 3 hits and 3 hit batsmen last night without recording an out.  That was enough of a nothing in his all-or-nothing performance trend to earn him a demotion, which came by way of DFA after the game.  Matt Daley was called up from Triple-A to take his place and could see action as early as tonight.

Because of the rainout earlier in the week, the Yankees will need a 6th starter for tomorrow's game.  All indications are that Vidal Nuno will get that start and when he does it will likely be his last appearance for the Major League club for a while.  David Robertson is scheduled to pitch in an ExST game today and if he does so without any problems, he'll likely be activated off the DL on Tuesday.  With Nuno needing a few days off after making a start, he's a shoo-in to get sent down to Triple-A to clear a 25-man spot for D-Rob.

Aaron Judge Says Hello

His was easily the most anticipated debut of the 2014 MiL season after a hamstring injury kept him off the field post-signing in 2013.  Aaron Judge finally showed why the other night with that massive home run over the scoreboard in left.  He's off to a solid start average (.298) and on-base-wise (.441, 20.3% BB rate).  All that was missing was the power.  Well not anymore.  Hopefully that was the start of some more moonshots for Judge and hopefully we see him get bumped up to High-A Tampa soon.  When you're built like an NBA power forward and you're walking in over 20% of your plate appearances, there's probably not much to be learned at the Low-A level.

Game 17 Wrap-Up: TB 11 NYY 5

(That's the look of a man who knows he's getting DFA'd if I've ever seen one.  Courtesy of the AP)

I guess the Yanks were due for another bullpen meltdown.  After getting out to an early lead behind Hiroki Kuroda, they slowly let the Rays back into the game in the middle innings.  Despite holding a 2-run lead heading into the bottom of the 7th, they couldn't hold on for a 6th straight win and instead ended up taking a near blowout loss thanks to some truly atrocious relief work.

Game Notes:

- They grabbed that early lead in the top of the 2nd against Tampa starter Erik Bedard.  2 singles and a botched fielder's choice loaded the bases with nobody out and Scott Sizemore unloaded them with a 3-run double.  A Brett Gardner RBI groundout plated Sizemore and made it 4-0.

- Kuroda looked pretty good through 3, working around putting the leadoff runner on 2 innings in a row thanks to a pair of timely double plays.  He cracked in the 4th though, giving up a walk, a single, and a 2-run double to James Loney, all with 2 outs.

- Command inconsistencies plagued Hirok through the next few innings.  His day ended before he could get out of the 6th when he couldn't finish off another 2-out situation and allowed another RBI hit to cut the lead to 4-3.

- The dormant offense woke up in the top of the 7th when Jacoby Ellsbury created a run by singling, stealing second base, and coming around on an Alfonso Soriano base knock.  That extra run should have been insurance for the 'pen.  It ended up being not nearly enough.

- Once again, it was a failure to finish off an inning that doomed the Yankees.  Matt Thornton gave up a single and handed the ball to Adam Warren with runners on the corners in the bottom of the 7th.  Warren let 3 runs score on 2 singles and a walk before ending the frame.

- It got even uglier in the 8th when Warren and Cesar Cabral combined for 5 more runs allowed.  Cabral didn't even retire a batter and hit 3.  You guessed it, all 5 runs came with 2 outs.  Tough to win with pitching like that.

Friday Afternoon Linkapalooza: 4/18/14

Doing Easter Sunday with the girlfriend's family this weekend.  It'll gives me the chance to meet her aunt who hooked me up with all my presale tickets for the Yanks-Brewers series next month (and pay her for said tickets), but it also poses a possible playoff hockey dilemma.  Rangers-Flyers Game 2 is Sunday at 11 AM Central, so I'm trying to figure out how to balance the necessary social interaction with the fam while still getting my Rangers fix in.  Now that Time Warner has eliminated CNBC from their basic cable package, I wasn't able to watch Game 1.  It's all terrible vexing.  Now onto the links!

- On Monday, Chad Jennings of LoHud pondered the second base situation in light of Brian Roberts' back injury and slow start.

- On Tuesday, el duque of It Is High... looked at the organizational depth at first base to see what the Yankees next move would be if both Teix and Kelly Johnson got hurt.

- Matt Bove of IIATMS/TYA broke down Brett Gardner and Jacoby Ellsbury's solid starts and how they're both living up to their new contracts early on.

- On Wednesday, Chris Mitchell of Pinstripe Pundits examined the downside to Kelly Johnson having to sub at first base.

- Joe Vitulli of Yanks Go Yard commented on Ichiro's hot start and how well he seems to be handling his new limited bench role.

- On Thursday, Vizzini of NoMaas provided plenty of valid reasons for why people should not freak out about CC Sabathia's start to the season.

- Mike Axisa of RAB analyzed the the Yankees' new shift strategy and how it's impacted their defensive effectiveness and their opponents' hitting performance against them.

- On Friday, Daniel Burch wondered what the Yankees will do with their infield when Brendan Ryan returns from the DL.  He's tagged Dean Anna as the odd man out.

It came to my attention that there has been a glaring lack of female artists on the Friday Jam mix.  In fact, I haven't had a chick on for the Friday Jam since June of 2012.  Let's rectify that, shall we?  Boom!  Little "Magic Man" right in your grillmix.  2 chicks at the same time.



Enjoy your Easter weekends, everybody.

The Talented Mr. Solarte

(Courtesy of Getty Images)

So Yangervis Solarte is really getting it done, huh?

- .373 batting average (2nd in AL)

- .444 wOBA (3rd in AL)

- 193 wRC+ (4th in AL)

- 19 hits (6th in AL)

- 7 doubles (2nd in AL)

The .429 BABIP is still unsustainably high, but there's reason to believe this is more than just Solarte getting lucky in a small sample size.  He's got a 10.3% BB rate and a 13.8% K rate, so he's displaying an understanding of the strike zone and some good contact skills.  He popped his first career home run last night too, and his .196 ISO is more than good enough to get it done in an everyday or bench role.  Eventually the BIP luck is going to turn and his numbers will go down.  For now though, he's fun to watch and he's giving the Yankees way more than they hoped for.  Strange to say, but he might be the most popular Yankee in town right now.

Bing, Bang, Boom

(Courtesy of Deadspin)

Poetry in motion right there.  Solarte (who's not a natural third baseman) with no hesitation going to the third base bag, Roberts with a quick turn at second, and Sizemore (who was playing his first career game at first base) with a nifty scoop at first.  It would have been ludicrous to suggest it at the time, but looking back on it now, that was probably the game.  Once Tampa came out of that inning with no runs, they didn't have a chance to keep up with the Yankee offense.

P.S.- I'd call this "amazing" but this is kinda CC's thing.  3rd triple play he's had turned behind him since joining the Yankees.  Wild stuff.

Game 16 Wrap-Up: NYY 10 TB 2

(Courtesy of Getty Images)

Everything was groovy for the Yankees heading into Tampa for a 4-game series against the Rays.  They were winners of 4 straight and 8 of 12 since the season-opening 1-2 series in Houston, their pitching staff was clicking on all cylinders, they had Derek Jeter back at shortstop, they got Brian Roberts back at second base, and they were planning to have Mark Teixeira back on Sunday.  Last night's series opener featured each team's big lefty, CC Sabathia for the Yanks and David Price for the Rays.  It was all Sabathia on this night.

Game Notes:

- Price wasn't close to anything resembling his best and the Yanks jumped on him early.  2 singles and a walk netted them a run in the top of the 1st, and a double, 2 triples (Roberts and Ellsbury), and another single got them 3 in the 2nd.

- CC was better than Price, but he needed some help to stay scoreless.  He got it in the 2nd when Yangervis Solarte started a triple play to end the inning.  He helped himself out by K'ing Desmond Jennings to strand 2 in the 3rd.

- Sabathia got another big help with a double play ball in the 4th, but with 2 outs Brian McCann let a ball get by him and the Rays got on the board.

- No matter.  McCann got the run back and then some when he and Alfonso Soriano hit back-to-back HR in the top of the 5th to make it a 6-1 Yankee lead.  Price wasn't beating guys with his fastball and he could not get his changeup down in the zone.

- The Yanks added 1 in the 6th and 1 in the 7th to put the game out of reach.  CC gave up another HR for his only ER of the night and exited after 7.  Dellin Betances was a little shaky behind him in the 8th, but a Solarte 2-run shot in the 9th sealed the deal.

Injury Updates: Teix, D-Rob, Ryan

Got a trio of updates on the injured Major Leaguers who are close to returning, courtesy of Chad Jennings:

Mark Teixeira- Played 3 innings in an ExST game this afternoon at the team complex and came through with no hamstring issues.  He's scheduled to play 5 innings tomorrow, a few on Saturday, and then rejoin the team Sunday.

David Robertson- Threw a 25-pitch bullpen session this afternoon and felt good.  He'll pitch in an ExST game on Saturday and if he comes through that fine he'll be activated on Tuesday.

Brendan Ryan- Apparently he's farther along than I released.  Joe said he's been taking swings and he could get into an ExST game on Saturday as well.  Because he missed so much time in ST, the Yanks will let him get more MiL ABs to get his timing back.  No exact timetable for his return, but it could be by early May.

Basking In The Good Pitching Afterglow

(Courtesy of Getty Images)

Quality of opponent being what it was, yesterday's doubleheader shutout was still a splendid performance by the Yankee pitching staff.  They got very good to outstanding outings from 2 25-year-old starters and some solid bullpen work from a bunch of mostly young and unheralded pitchers all working in higher-leverage roles thanks to the closer being on the DL.  It was a continuation of what has quickly been established as the norm for this group since the opening week of the season.  These guys can pitch, all of them, and they've been the driving force behind the Yankees' early success.

The Yanks open a weekend series tonight in Tampa with the 2nd best record in the American League, a place atop the AL East, and they've done it mainly on the back of their pitching staff while the new lineup continues to work out the kinks and find its way.  It's a very refreshing change of pace from where the rotation was early in the year last season, and I'd like to take a few moments to enjoy it.

Report: Teix Slated For 3 Rehab Innings Today

Mark Teixeira scheduled to play 3 innings tomorrow in Tampa, on track for activation Sunday.
— Bryan Hoch (@BryanHoch) April 17, 2014

 The next best bit of good news after the 2-0, double shutout, doubleheader sweep yesterday was the news above on Mark Teixeira.  He went to Tampa earlier in the week to ramp up his rehab work on his strained hamstring and based on this report, it sounds like he's going to be golden to come off the DL on Sunday as he originally planned.  Teix will play 3 innings in a MiL game today, most likely for the Tampa Yankees.  I'm not sure if it will be at first base or DH, but considering he participated in full batting practice and ran the bases yesterday, I'd say first is more likely.

Barring any setbacks after today's game, I expect the Yanks to play him in a few more rehab games through Saturday and then activate him for the series finale in Tampa on Sunday.  The wins yesterday were great, but don't forget that the offense only scored 5 runs in those 2 games.  They could definitely use Teix's presence and bat back in the lineup ASAP.

Game 15 Wrap-Up: NYY 2 CHC 0

(Courtesy of Getty Images)

Tanaka put the Cubs lineup in a body bag in game 1 of yesterday's doubleheader, carving them up with a sick mix of 4-seamers, sinkers, slide pieces, and splitsvilles.  He passed the baton to Michael Pineda for the second game, and Pineda picked up right where Tanaka left off.  There were 18 innings of baseball played by the Yankees and Cubs yesterday.  The Cubs didn't score a run in any of them.

Game Notes:

- The story early was missed opportunities for the lineup.  They couldn't capitalize on a 2 on/2 out situation in the 1st, they wasted a leadoff single in the 2nd, and they couldn't push a run across with runners on the corners and 1 out in the 3rd.

- Luckily for them, Big Mike was on his game again.  He cruised through the first 3 innings by retiring the first 7 batters he faced, then squashed a potential 2-out rally with a strike 'em out-throw 'em out double play to end the 4th.  His cutter looked good and he was using the changeup well against lefties.

- The Yanks finally broke through for a run in the bottom of the 4th when John Ryan Murphy and Brett Gardner strung together a pair of 2-out base hits.  Scott Sizemore, hitless in the first game, scored the run after a base knock of his own.

- Things got a little sticky for Pineda in the 5th when he put the first 2 runners on, but he worked out of the jam with a strikeout and a flyout and finished his night with 6 scoreless innings.  Another great outing.

- Sizemore scored the first run and he drove in the second in the bottom of the 5th.  It was another 2-out RBI single, all the offense the bullpen would need.

- The rested 'pen was solid in relief of Pineda.  David Phelps worked 1.1 scoreless, Matt Thornton got the 2 lefties he was brought in to face out, and Adam Warren picked up the save in the 9th.

Game 14 Wrap-Up: NYY 3 CHC 0

(Courtesy of Getty Images)

The bad weather yesterday threw a wrench into the Yankees' plans for this weekend.  But as far as this short 2-game series against the Cubs was concerned, all it did was serve to delay the inevitable.  Masahiro Tanaka made his 3rd start today, a half-day later than he was scheduled to, and he didn't show any ill effects of the delay.  In fact, he was downright supreme in his mastery of the Cub lineup.  Hmmmmm, who predicted that was going to happen?  Oh that's right!

Game Notes:

- He didn't have to wait long for run support.  Carlos Beltran, hitting in the 2-spot again with Jeter sitting for the day game, popped a solo HR in the bottom of the 1st to give the Yanks a quick 1-0 lead.

- Tanaka immediately made that lead stand up by retiring 15 of the 16 batters he faced after the 1st.  The lone baserunner came on a bunt single in the 2nd that required a replay overturn to count.  Outside of that, he shut the Cubs down with a sick mix of sinkers, 4-seamers, and splitters.

- The lineup didn't generate much more offense against Chicago starter Jason Hammel, but they did enough.  They loaded the bases in the 4th on a pair of singles and a Solarte walk and plated a run on a Dean Anna sac fly, then scored another in the 5th on a Brett Gardner leadoff double and a pair of groundouts.

- The 1 would have been fine for Tanaka.  He allowed a leadoff single in the 7th but then finished strong with 6 straight outs through the end of the 8th, including 3 consecutive strikeouts to give him 10 on the day.

- Shawn Kelley came on in the 9th for the save and once again handled it with relative ease.  1 hit, 1 strikeout on a slider to end things, and the Yankees had the first game of the day.

Hal Is Drinking The Small Sample Size Kool-Aid

(Courtesy of Getty Images)

(Originally published at IIATMS/TYA)

Yesterday's rainout gave everybody an extra day to process the first 13 games and form some more opinions on what this team needs right now.  Obviously the infield is the biggest area of concern, but not according to Hal Steinbrenner.  Speaking to reporters for what I believe is the first time since the regular season started, Hal shared his thoughts on the Yankees' current infield situation.  They were unanimously positive:

"I'm pretty content with our infield right now.  I think guys like Anna and Solarte have been pleasant surprises. Kelly Johnson has been good. Derek is healthy. So so far, so good. But it's early."

Nothing to really argue with there.  If I wanted to pick nits, I could say that calling Derek Jeter "healthy" when he just had to miss a few games due to a sore quad is a bit of a stretch, but I won't go there.  Hal's basically right about everybody he mentioned in that statement.  Anna and Solarte have been unexpected surprises, Johnson has been very good at the plate and better than anticipated at the corner infield spots, and Jeter has been relatively healthy and productive through 2 weeks.  But Teix is out, Cervelli is out, Brendan Ryan is out, and Brian Roberts will be out for a yet to be determined amount of time.  That should be enough injuries to put the Yankees in the market for some more infield help, right?  Wrong.