Rivera Might Need Surgery

Mariano Rivera returned home early with a sore shoulder and news is starting to come out now about an MRI and possible arthroscopic surgery. Joe Girardi continues his stance of telling the media anything but the truth and invented a story about a “cranky body.” Don’t bother looking that one up in your medical textbooks. When later questioned about the comments, Girardi became annoyed and demonstrated his complete lack of media savvy.

The Carl Pavano era is likely over in NY, finishing with a final season ERA of 5.77. I’ve heard some talk about the Yankees re-signing him for a single year and in a sick way, it almost makes sense as the Yankees will be in desperate need of starting pitching next year. Fortunately, saner and cooler heads will prevail and there is zero chance Carl will be playing for the Pinstripers in the future.

Brett Gardner has been reading my blog and comments about his batting skills apparently. Last night he started proving me wrong by going 3 for 4 at the plate. I’d love to see Gardner emerge as a starter if he can bring his batting average up a bit. Last night was a good start. Keep it up Brett!

Mussina is the Rock Upon Which We Stand

It's hard to believe this is the same Mike Mussina we saw get absolutely shelled earlier in the season. The same Mussina that the Steinbrenners had to call out to the media.

Mike pitched like an all star, until he started feeling a little light headed, which is why Girardi went to the bullpen as soon as he did. Joba is pitching OK, Andy Pettitte has his good and not-so-good days, Ponson looks like he had one good game left in him and the glory days of Darrel Rasner are over. Thank god for Mussina.

Seriously, all it shows is how baseball is a game of streaks. Mussina was on a down streak earlier and now is on a tear. The key factor is that he tried to improve his game, tried to change his mechanics a bit and tried to make himself better. It's painful watching some guys do the same old thing day in and day out and fail. It's refreshing to see a guy who puts some time and effort into adapting and evolving his game.

Edwar Ramirez take some notes here. Everyone who's been in the league a while has you figured out. Lots of people say you've got talent but need to work on some of your other pitches and turn yourself into the all-star that you've the potential for.

In an ironic twist, Mariano Rivera came pretty close to blowing things, loading up the bases. Krazy Kyle, on the other hand, had his A game.

The Yankees offense was pretty poor despite eeking out the win. Brett Gardner sacrificed and the internet pundits are already singing his praises on high. With Johnny Damon out, the Pinstripers will need Gardner to step up but I'm not buying into the hype. Pete Abraham over at LoHud does a fantastic job of blogging the Bombers, but I'm just not on the same page with him (and many others) when it comes to Gardner. I hope he turns out to be the player many think he is, but somehow I'm seeing another guy who tries hard, shows good hustle, but just can't hit at the major league level. Please, Brett, prove me wrong!

Despite all of my criticisms, a win is a win. A win is just what the Yankees needed, especially against the Red Sox. At the end of the day, the team did exactly what it needed to do. Sure, Rivera struggled, but he stayed on top of things, threw strikes and got 3 outs. I don't care if every win is ugly, or just barely a win, as long as it's a win. Good job guys!

Another Ugly Loss

The Yankees couldn't get anything going at the plate. Melky Cabrera has turned into another Robinson Cano with a bat. He never could bunt, and it hurt the Yankees in the ninth inning when he grounded into a double play.

Internet minor league phenom Brett Gardner remains hitless in the big leagues this year, but was able to lay down a sacrifice bunt.

Derek Jeter sat out the game, and wasn't even called in to pinch hit in the ninth, when the Pinstripers had a man on first.

To confuse things even more, Girardi pulled Joba Chamberlain after 4.0 innings. Joba was pitching reasonably well, but had a 91 pitch count. In his last outing, the pitch count was well over 100 and it seems as if Girardi wanted to keep it lower today.

Long reliever Dan Giese was brought in again to pitch one inning. That's right, one inning. Girardi clearly doesn't believe in the concept of a long reliever. Except perhaps Ross Ohlendorf, who had a proven track record of failure with long outings.

Does this make sense to anyone? The purpose of a long reliever is especially for those instances when your starter comes out early and you now have a guy who can go three or four innings.

Instead Dave Robertson came in, pitched two solid innings followed by Veras, who threw a scoreless eighth.

Unforunately, Mariano Rivera had a bad night, giving up 3 hits and 1 run and giving Texas the go-ahead run.

Girardi baffles me sometimes with his roster moves (no Derek Jeter) his in game calls (leaving the slumping Melky in in the ninth) and his handling of pitchers. Despite all of that, I expect better from the offense. These guys need to score more runs plain and simple. They're just not getting the job done these days.

Wang, Rivera Back on Track

Chien Ming Wang once again looked like a reliable starter and Mariano Rivera returned to form. The good part about having an up and down season like the Yankees are going through is that almost every bad loss is quickly followed by a quality win.

Joe Girardi continues to dumbfound me, DHing Giambi and sitting Matsui so that he can play Wilson Betemit, who went 0 for 4 and had a fielding error. Joe's constant lineup shuffles are getting a bit tiresome at this point, especially when he sits a star for a defensive liability who can't hit.

Jose Veras finished out the 8th inning but had 2 walks on his way to getting 2 outs, which isn't particularly reassuring. Mariano Rivera gave up a hit but no runs and thankfully doesn't look like the last game bothered him too much.

Morgan Ensberg has been designated. I'm not sure if someone else will pick him up, he's a decent replacement player but not a guy you want starting every day.

The play of the day from last night's game had to be Jason Giambi's baserunning clinic. On a ball hit deep to right, Giambi tagged up at first and made it to second easily. If you haven't watched Giambi run full out, it's a spectacle to behold. If you watched the game you know exactly what I'm talking about, but if you didn't it's hard to explain other than to say it was hilarious. After the play the YES camera crew panned over to the stands where some of Jason's family was watching the game and even they were getting in on the fun, mimicking his running style.

On a serious note, that simple play showed that Jason had his head in the game and was willing to hustle a bit when needed, which is always a good thing.

Rivera Gives Up Another

Mariano Rivera, who had been nothing short of dominating in the first part of the season, gave up another big run this afternoon, failing to maintain a tie game and eventually contributing to a loss. With every win coming with some difficulty, seeing the best reliever in the game let one get out of the park is disheartening. Once again Mo looked like he took it hard, but should bounce back.

Mike Mussina had one of his best outings, going eight innings and only giving up two runs with no walks. Moose was extremely economical and only threw eighty nine pitches on the day. I personally thought it was a tough call to not let him pitch the ninth, but with Rivera available, I think Girardi made the right call, despite the results.

The offense was cold for the most part, and it's frustrating watching this team have it's ups and downs. The Yankees were cheated out of a run by the first base umpire, who completely blew a call when Melky Cabrera bunted and clearly beat the throw to first. The first base umpire probably had a bad angle, but the replay showed Melky safe by a large margin. Derek Jeter later walked and Bobby Abreu grounded out to first for the final out, a hit which likely would have gotten a run in.

Girardi made an odd move of Pinch hitting Posada for Molina in the eighth inning. Jorge got a hit, and then quickly was replaced by Moeller as a pinch runner. I can understand the pinch hitting, but putting in the pinch runner was a mistake. The extra utility Moeller provides as a runner doesn't outweigh the fact that you'd have Posada's bat if you needed it later. With two outs in the bottom of the ninth, the Yankees last chance fell to...Chad Moeller. If Posada had  been left in he would have had a chance at winning the game for the Yankees.

Another Clutch Walk-off Win

Johnny Damon was the big hero this Saturday afternoon. Final score 12-11 after a walk off ground rule double in the bottom of the ninth inning.

It was an up and down game from the beginning. Andy Pettitte gave up runs, the offense would score runs. Things looked particularly grim when Mariano Rivera gave up a home run in the ninth to put the Royals back on top.

Jose Veras had a decent 1.1 innings of relief, allowing only one hit.

The story of the day was Johnny Damon, who went 6 for 6 and got the game winning RBI. Damon also tacked on 4 RBIs for the day.

Jorge Posada was back and went 2 for 4, allowing one stolen base.

This was the second walk off win in three games for the Yankees. It's hard to make much of anything out of it, but I'm definitely glad they won. The last time they had an emotional walk-off win, they proceeded to lose the very next game. Now back at .500, let's hope the Yanks can stay in the black for a while.

The offense produced today, and had big hits when they needed it. The flip side is that the pitching staff blew quite a few leads. Pettitte couldn't hold on and even the invincible Mariano Rivera gave up one.

It was definitely an ugly win, but at least it's a win.

Nice hitting Johnny!

Some Bright Spots for Yankee Fans

The Yankees got a much needed win last night and the bad news is the offense still stinks. There were three positives that jumped out at me while watching the game.

Ian Kennedy pitched his best big league game of 2008. When you look a little more closely at the numbers, and those 4 walks to go along with the 4 strikeouts and 4 hits, and if you saw him get into some tight spots with bases loaded and only 1 out, he wasn't exactly in total control. Last night Kennedy pitched about as well as you would expect a number 5 guy to pitch. It was an improvement from every other outing he's given us, but he still needs a little work. In the first two innings he seemed to be more aggressive on the mound, but as the game wore on he seemed to be slipping more and more into his old self. In the end, it was a solid performance and something to build on. Kennedy is going to have to keep elevating his game quickly as soon Phil Hughes will be back and after that Joba will be moving in. Rasner has all but locked down his spot in the rotation and it's looking like Kennedy will be the odd man out.

Next up is Mariano Rivera. Flashback to the beginning of last year and I'll admit that Mo's struggles had me worried. I was fairly certain that the end game spiral of age had finally caught up with Rivera and his career was winding down. Mariano turned his season around and had a very respectable year. This year, he's playing the best baseball I've ever seen him play in his career. His ERA is down to .47 and his WHIP is .53. He's only allowed 1 run all year, has struck out 15 and hasn't walked a single batter. It's safe to say Rivera is the greatest closer in the history of the game and we're fortunate to be able to watch him continue to pitch at a masterful level. Last night it really struck home with me as I sat back and just said "Wow."

The biggest positive I saw last night and the thing that gave me the most hope for this team was Joe Girardi. Joe has been way too complacent lately and largely devoid of emotion. It was very encouraging to see him finally blow his stack and argue a call with an umpire, getting thrown out of the game. It was a long overdue move. Joe needs to occasionally show emotion, show his players that he's behind them, that he's got their backs. He also needs to show a little emotion toward his players too, but that's another story. Joe's antics (and I jumped out of my chair and hooted when he started kicking dirt) provided an emotional spark that the team needed and provided an immediate catalyst for the game winning hits later. I'm not saying Joe should do this all the time, but every once in a while it's a necessary evil. This was a very important move from Joe.

Another Disappointing Loss

Chien Ming Wang pitched well. Kyle Farnsworth gets the job done, Joba Chamberlain got himself out of a jam and Mariano Rivera finally gave up a run. Despite all around good pitching, the Yankees inability to score more than a single run in 11 innings proves to be their downfall as they lose 2-1 to the first place Tampa Rays.

Alberto Gonzalez was 0 for 2 on the night and then Girardi had Duncan and later Ensberg pinch hit. I don't quite understand the logic behind that move because Gonzalez has been hitting better than either of them. Granted, Alberto's numbers are only based on a few plate appearances but Duncan and Ensberg are generally poor hitters, with a little bit of power.

Jason Giambi went 2 for 2 and walked twice. Hideki Matsui's solo HR was the only score for the Yankees.

There really isn't much commentary to add here. The Yankees offense stunk. They only scored 1 run on 6 hits. This team needs to score more runs than this. The lack of production can't be blamed solely on injuries to guys like Rodriguez and Posada. The rest of the team needs to step it up and start hitting.

In other news, Goose Gossage affirmed for all the public that the game of baseball has passed him by and he's officially out of touch. The Chamberlain fist pump really isn't a big deal Goose, so just let it go.

Rasner Makes Strong Case to Stay

Darrel Rasner pitched well in his 2008 major league debut. Rasner landed in trouble early and gave up 2 runs in the first inning on a single and a 2 run home run. After that he got 3 quick outs in the second inning, pitched out of a jam with 2 on in the fourth and went 1, 2, 3 in the fifth inning. His total numbers were 6 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 4 SO, 1 HR, 76-49 Pit-Str.

I don't know what kind of roster shuffling we're going to see in the next few weeks, but I hope we get to see more of Rasner. With a few days off this month the Yankees could get by with four starters, but I have a feeling we'll see Igawa getting a few starts.

I'm a bit surprised Girardi didn't let Rasner throw a seventh inning, but the Yankees have nine guys in the bullpen and Joe had plenty of fresh arms to finish the last three innings of the game.

Ross Ohlendorf gave up 1 hit and no runs, as did Kyle Farnsworth. Mariano Rivera wasted little time getting the last three batters out in order.

I don't remember ever seeing Rivera pitch this well. He's just dominating as a closer.

The Yankees had plenty of offense. Derek Jeter had 4 hits and brought his average up to .313. Melky Cabrera had a nice 2 run home run and was followed by a solo shot from Robinson Cano. Cano went 1 for 4 and Giambi went 0 for 2 with a sacrifice fly. Bobby Abreu had 3 hits and drove in a run. The team LOB was 8, which is a respectable number, but could be a little better.

The big picture

This was a very good win for the Yankees and should do a lot to settle down restless fans (I can't be the only one). Darrel Rasner made a strong case to stay in the rotation or to serve as a long reliever. The Yankees offense came alive, delivering the type of scoring that makes you worry less about your pitchers.

The bullpen guys have looked good for a few days now. Ross Ohlendorf and Kyle Farnsworth both looked in control, throwing strikes and getting ahead in counts. I get the feeling Joe has a lot of confidence in these guys as long as he can limit them to one inning.

Bullpen Delivers

Mike Mussina pitched decently for 4 innings, was struggling in the fifth, but managed to get out with only giving up 2 runs. For Mussina, that's as good as it gets these days although ideally you'd like to see him be able to tough out another inning or two. Mussina and the Yankees intentionally walked the hot-hitting Victor Martinez with 2 men on base and it payed off. The Manny Ramirez incident still hangs heavy over Moose and the Yanks.

The bullpen was fantastic, pitching 4 scoreless innings. Albaladejo gave up a walk and a hit while Farnsworth, Chamberlain and Rivera retired the side in order during their respective innings on the mound.

It was interesting that Girardi only let each pitcher throw 1 inning out of the bullpen. In the past he hasn't been afraid to use Joba or Farnsworth for 2 innings. I'm not sure it would have been better to give one of them the day off and let someone pitch 2 innings in relief.  Perhaps Joba or Mo could have come in earlier if the others started struggling.

Mussina picked up the win and Rivera got hit 8th save of the season.

There were a few hits, but the Yankees got the hits when they needed them. Aaron Laffey pitched a no-hitter through 5 innings then came undone in the 6th. The Yankees strung together a few hits and walks to load the bases. A-Rod was then hit by a pitch and one run was forced in. Giambi and Matsui grounded out but drove in runs and Morgan Ensberg batted another run in with a weak single.

Johnny Damon came in to pinch hit for A-Rod (who was the DH tonight) in his next at bat. Girardi said afterward that it was a precautionary move but that A-Rod may sit out tomorrow's game.

I like seeing the Yankees hitting with runners in scoring position and not leaving too many runners on base. Tonight was one of those occasions where the Yankees took advantage of their opportunities.

Chris Stewart was called up from Scranton to back up Molina behind the plate if needed. It remains to be seen whether or not the Yanks will recall Moeller from waivers.

The Yankees have finished their grueling road trip and now have 18 or their next 25 games at home. They are 1 game over .500, 1 game out of first place and given everything that has happened, you have to be a little relieved. Phil Hughes will get the start tomorrow against Detroit's Kenny Rogers. Hughes' 7.85 ERA will be well matched against Rogers' 7.66.

Mussina Showing Trade Value?

The Yanks won 6-4 last night, beating the Chicago White Sox with the help of a good outing by Mike Mussina. Moose toughed out 7 innings, throwing 101 pitches, 66 for strikes. He gave up 4 hits, 2 runs, walked 1 and struck out 3. Mussina got worked deep into counts a few times, but came out and challenged some hitters early, getting ahead on the count and putting himself in the driver's seat. I'm wondering if this very nice performance will give Mussina some trade value, enticing some poor unsuspecting team to pick up the washed up veteran?

The bullpen had some troubles, apparently stunned at not having to come in early with Mussina on the mound. LaTroy Hawkins got the first batter out then couldn't find the plate with his fastball and walked the second batter. Hawkins then gave up a single to Orlando Cabrera and was pulled as Girardi brought in Billy Traber to face the left handed Jim Thome, who lit up Traber with a ground ball single to right. OK, not really, Traber did a fine job and the play was botched by the defensively inept Giambi. The official scorers should credit that earned run to Giambi rather than Yankee pitcers. Having seen enough and with the right handed Konerko coming to the plate, Girardi called for Mo. Rivera allowed one run to score on a sacrifice fly and quickly got the third out by getting Dye to pop one up. Mariano made quick work of three batters in the ninth to finish the game.

Mariano Rivera is on a tear this year. He had me worried at the start of the season last year, but this season, he is an absolute machine.

Guys like Hawkins can't be relied on to reliably get people out in pressure situations. If Girardi left him in, he may have ended up retiring the side without letting a run score, but you'd like to have one or two relievers who can be counted on to get a particular batter out. Hawkins and Traber didn't deliver this time.

Jorge Posada went 4 for 5 and there were no stolen base attempts. As a team the Yankees hit well, but I don't like the 11 LOB. Johnny Damon continues to deliver in the clutch, knocking in 2 runs.

A good win for the Yanks, an encouraging outing from Mussina and some offensive production. If only we could get this every game...

Textbook Win For Yankees Pitching

Chien Ming Wang showed that he is definitely the Bombers' ace this season. He pitched 6 solid innings, not allowing a hit until the 5th. Wang started the 7th but gave up 2 hits and Joba Chamberlain came in in relief. Chamberlain threw 2 innings, getting 6 outs facing 5 batters. Rivera was perfect in the 9th.

The Yanks offense didn't put too many runs on the board, but the two they had were enough. Despite 9 hits, they only scored on a Rodriguez double followed by a Matsui home run.

This is exactly the type of game you'd like to see more of from Yankees pitching. Eventually Joba will be in the starting rotation and hopefully he'll be responsible for some solid outings in the starting role later on.

Update: Joba threw several fastballs in the high nineties and one pitch topped out at over 100 mph!