Game 122: Yankees at Red Sox

2 weeks ago the Yankees began a 4 game series against the Red Sox at Yankee Stadium with a small 2.5 game lead in the AL East, we all know how that ended. Tonight the Yankees begin a 3 game series against the Red Sox in Boston, but instead of a 2.5 game lead, the Yankees hold a 6.5 game lead.While no Yankee team has missed out on the playoffs with a lead this big, this late into the season, I don’t consider any lead safe in the monstrous AL East. Still, the Yankees are in a great position, and no matter what happens in this series, the Yankees will still walk away in first place. I think the best way to get my point across is through a famous Yogi-ism, “It ain’t over till it’s over.” I digress, here is tonight’s starting lineup via Peter Abraham:

SS Derek Jeter

LF Johnny Damon

1B Mark Teixeira

3B Alex Rodriguez

DH Hideki Matsui

C Jorge Posada

2B Robinson Cano

RF Nick Swisher

CF Melky Cabrera

And on the mound, Andy Pettitte

Damaso who?

Yep, that’s right Damaso Marte has been recalled. I don’t expect you to remember the last time he pitched in a major league uniform (which happened to be April 25th in Boston), but you might remember that he recently reached the rehab deadline of 30 days where the Yankees had to bring him back up, of think of something else. Well, they decided to keep him down for so called “personal reasons”, at this point who knows if there is anything to that. Anyway, if Marte is truly healthy he could really be a huge addition to the Yankee bullpen, remember he was actually a very good pitcher. In case you are wondering, Ramiro Pena was optioned down to make room for Marte, now before you scratch your head or complain, consider this:

1. There is nobody in the bullpen who deserves a demotion, Robertson has been great lately, Coke is still valuable, and Mitre and Gaudin are necessary to rest the other starters, especially Joba.
2. With Jerry Hairston Jr. around, Ramiro Pena becomes unnecessary.
3. It’s already August 21st, on September 1st when rosters expand, Pena and many others will return.

No Damaso, it is not the glove's fault that you have been injured all year.

See, Joba is not babied.

Many people think Joba Chamberlain is babied, and they point to Nolan Ryan who is trying to change the way pitchers are handled. However, even Nolan Ryan’s organization (the Rangers) are being extra careful with one of their young pitchers. Neftali Feliz is being handled with the same rules as the Joba rules of 2007. Some people just don’t realize that orginazations need to be extra careful with their young pitchers, and not only think about the present, but think about the future.

Billy Wagner claimed by the Red Sox

You may or may not know that the Mets placed Billy Wagner on waivers, but anyway the important news is that the Red Sox claimed him. While Wagner is not young anymore, and is coming off a big injury, he could help a contender like the Red Sox or the Yankees. In case you are wondering the Yankees may have claimed Wagner as well, but the Red Sox get first dibs because the waiver system goes by record, meaning the teams with worse records gets a shot at a player before a team with a better record. Oh well, let’s just hope that either a)The Mets pull Wagner back and are stuck with him and his big contract or b)The Red Sox get Wagner and he stinks.

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Game 109: Red Sox at Yankees

Last night the Yankees picked up their first win of the season against the Boston Red Sox, tonight they go for their second and they will send out the following lineup via Pete Abe:

SS Derek Jeter

LF Johnny Damon

1B Mark Teixeira

3B Alex Rodriguez

DH Hideki Matsui

C Jorge Posada

2B Robinson Cano

RF Nick Swisher

CF Melky Cabrera

And on the mound, Allan James Burnett

Welcome back Ramiro, but why didn’t you bring Francisco with you?

Ramiro Pena has been recalled, and Anthony Claggett was optioned down to Scranton. It’s going to be nice to see Ramiro back, and Pena has been working on playing the outfield so he is now more versatile, but I can’t help but wonder do the Yankees really need him now that they have Hairston?

The Yankees acquire Chad Guadin

You probably already know this but just in case…The Yankees acquired Chad Gaudin from the San Diego Padres last night in exchange for a PTBNL. Gaudin will join the team on Sunday, and at that point a reliever is likely to be sent down. Supposedly the most likely candidates are David Robertson and Mark Melancon, who have both been pitching very well lately. If the Yankees are going to send one of the two aforementioned relievers down, my guess is that Melancon rides the shuttle to Scranton. But why are they the only candidates, what about Brian Bruney (or maybe they DL Bruney if he still isn’t “right”) or Ramiro Pena who as I mentioned above doesn’t seem to really be necessary. We will have to wait and see.

Clutchy McClutchbrera (hat tip to River Ave Blues for the name)

Just a little stat to throw at you to show how clutch Melky Cabrera is…in his career he is batting .311 in situations defined as “late and close” (the seventh inning or later with the batting team ahead by one, tied, or has the tying run on base, at bat or on deck) and in his career against the Red Sox he is batting .321 with 27 RBI’s.

Smoltz DFA’d

Earlier today the Red Sox DFA John Smoltz. To me it looks like his career might just be over, and he went out the hard way. Just think, John Smoltz last game was against the Yankees in the new Yankee Stadium and he got crushed. Now, who knows maybe somebody picks him up and he turns it around, he did put all this work into coming back from surgery so why stop now. But, by the sound of his post game interview, he sounds like someone who might be done. By the way, the Red Sox also DFA Billy Traber, they called up Junichi Tazawa, and they got Chris Woodward from Seattle to play short.

Game 77: Mariners at Yankees

Last night the Yankees defeated the Mariners by the score of 8-5. Going into the fifth the Yankees were leading 3-1, but Joba allowed 2 more runs to score and had to leave after just 5.1 innings. A-Rod hit a clutch 2 run home run int 7th to put the Yankees up 5-3. Then in the 8th Brian Bruney came in and allowed 2 runs, making it a tie game again, 5-5. Then in the bottom of the 8th the Yankees scored 3 runs, the big hit, a RBI double, coming off who else but Melky Cabrera’s bat. So going into the 9th the Yankees led 8-5, and Mariano Rivera picked up his 501th save to keep the score that way. Tonight the Yankees look to take game 2 of the series, and to clinch a series win. As the Yanks look for that win they send out the following lineup via PeteAbe:

SS Derek Jeter

LF Johnny Damon

1B Mark Teixeira

DH Alex Rodriguez

C Jorge Posada

2B Robinson Cano

RF Nick Swisher

CF Melky Cabrera

3B Cody Ransom

And on the mound, Andy Pettitte

Pena sent down

Ramiro Pena was optioned down to Scranton Wilkes-Barre tonight, which means Eric Hinske was probably officially put on the 25 man roster. At first I wondered, “If Hinske is here, why is Ransom playing third tonight?” Supposedly Hinske is not a good third baseman, despite the fact that Brian Cashman and Joe Girardi said Hinske can play third. Well, maybe he will pinch hit for Cody tonight.

What’s up with Joba?

River Ave Blues has a good article about Joba Chamberlain and his inconsistencies, including the velocity of his fastball. Check it out.

Coors Field East?

Tristan H. Cockcroft of ESPN has a story up about the new Yankee Stadium and all the home runs that have been hit there. According to him, 12 home runs have been hit at the new place that would not have been hit at the old place. However, what I find interesting is that he says that there have been 7 non-home runs hit in the new stadium, that would have been home runs in the old Yankee Stadium. So if his numbers are correct, the new stadium has only produced 5 extra home runs. You should read the full article for some very interesting information, here it is.

Yankees acquire Hinske

You gotta cut that goatee, Eric.

The Yankees have just acquired Eric Hinske from the Pirates. The Yankees sent Eric Fryer and Casey Erickson to the Bucs in exchange for Hinske and cash. Erickson and Fryer will not be missed, although Fryer did come over in the deal that sent Chase Wright to the Brewers. Still, both Fryer and Erickson were not considered real prospects. For the Pirates this move was really just a salary dump. Hinske’s 2009 contract is worth a total of 1.5 million, he supposedly has already earned 700,000$ and the remaining 800,000$ will be split between the Yankees and the Pirates.

Hinske will add depth to the Yankees. He can play left and right field, and he can play third and first base. Now with Hinske on the bench, the Yankees can give ARod, Teixeira, Swisher, and Damon a day off when needed. This doesn’t mean much, but Hinske was on both the 2007 World Series Champions, the Red Sox, and the 2008 AL Champions, the Rays. I really like this move because Hinske will provide some needed pop off the bench, and he allow some other guys to get regular days off.

Hinske will be in uniform tonight as the Yankees take on the Mariners, I wonder if he will get a start? Ramiro Pena will be optioned down to Scranton. The Yankees want Ramiro to get regular playing time to continue to develop. The other thing that is interesting is that according to Joel Sherman, Ramiro Pena will play some outfield down in the minors because the Yankees want to turn him into a super utility guy. Hmm…well we will just have to see, but I really do like the move to acquire Hinske.

Game 25: Red Sox at Yankees; When was the last time we saw a game?

 

Yesterday’s game was rained out. Today’s game could eventually be played, but it will definitely be a delayed start. The forecast does not look promising, but hopefully there is a “window.” 

Lineup via Peter Abraham (you can also check out the pre-game press conference on Pete’s blog)

SS Derek Jeter

LF Johnny Damon

1B Mark Teixeira

RF Nick Swisher

2B Robinson Cano

DH Jorge Posada

CF Melky Cabrera

C Jose Molina

3B Angel Berroa 

And on the mound, Phil Hughes

Side Notes

• Girardi callled Teixeira “gritty” in his pre-game press conference. I thought only the Red Sox were “gritty”? What is this blasphemy!
• Phil Hughes was scheduled to start yesterday, but he has been pushed back to tonight. I am not sure what the Yankees will be doing  with the rotation, but Aceves could factor into it for a spot start, I am not saying he will but it could be possible.
  

  "I wonder if I'll pitch tonight?"

   

• Alex Rodriguez played another extended Spring Training game today. He went 1-6 with a home run (it was probably un-clutch). He played the field for 7 innings, but somehow did not get to make a play. He could possibly return this Friday. Yay!
• I really don’t like that Berroa is playing today. It may be something personal, but I would rather see Pena out there. If it were up to me, Pena would play everyday (until Alex gets back) and Berroa would be a bench warmer. I just think that Pena’s defense would be worth more than anything Berroa can give us on offense.

Update 9:02

According to Peter Abraham, we will have baseball. First pitch is scheduled for 9:20.

Game 21: Yankees at Tigers

Lineup via Peter Abraham:

SS Derek Jeter

LF Johnny Damon

1B Mark Teixeira

DH Hideki Matsui

2B Robinson Cano

C Jorge Posada

RF Nick Swisher

CF Melky Cabrera

3B Ramiro Pena

And on the mound, Joba Chamberlain

Posada is back behind the plate after two days off with a sore hamstring. Melky and Ramiro both get starts for the 3rd night in a row. Hopefully, Joba can have a better start than his previous starts this year which have not been too great.

(Left to right) Joba Chamberlain, Ian Kennedy, Shelley Duncan, and Phil Hughes

ARod update

According to the Yankees official site, ARod could rejoin the team in 10 days.

Update 9:54
8-1 Yankees. Joba went 7. Hopefully the Yankees can put this game away, it’s the bottom of the 9th.

Game 20: Yankees at Comerica Park

Lineup via Peter Abraham

Yankees

SS Derek Jeter

LF Johnny Damon

1B Mark Teixeira

DH Hideki Matsui

2B Robinson Cano

RF Nick Swisher

CF Melky Cabrera

C Jose Molina

3B Ramiro “the glove” Pena

And on the mound making his 2009 MLB debut, Phil Hughes

Johnny Damon is still toughing it out battling a sore everything. According to Pete Abe, Jorge Posada has a sore hamstring therefore he is not playing. I guess that explains why he did not run out that double play last night. Melky is starting in center again, I guess Girardi feels he might get something more out of him than Gardner, in my opinion they are both poor options (even though I love Melky), but I think the Yankees should wait to see how the lineup fares with them once ARod is back, before they make any changes. Ramiro Pena is starting at third again, he deserves it after last night, and don’t think Berroa should ever see playing time with the Yankees as long as Pena is an option. Make sure you don’t miss my previous posts on the Yankees cutting their ticket prices, and ARod sliding for the first time.

Update 8:20
Going into the bottom of the 4th, it’s 0-0. Both Hughes and Edwin pitching well.

Game 19: Yankees at Tigers

Yankees lineup via Peter Abraham:

SS Derek Jee-tah

LF Johnny Damon

1B Mark Teixeira

DH Hit-Deki Matsui

2B Robinson Cano

RF Nick “the not so quick” Swisher

CF Melky “Leche” Cabrera

C Jose Molina

3B Ramiro Pena

And on the mound for the Yankees, Carsten Charles Sabathia

I guess Johnny is feeling better since that collision with the green monster. I see Jose is playing today, although I would rather him catch Hughes tomorrow. And finally, Pena is starting a third, yay!

Update 7:45
1-0 Tigers on a double + a single. Going into the bottom of the third. Verlander keeps throwing first pitch strikes, so how do the Yankees solve that? Oh yeah, swing at then until Verlander stops.

Update 9:30

Yankees lose 4-2. It looked like they could make a comeback in the 9th inning, but Jorge’s double play kind of killed it. Overall, CC pitched well but Verlander pitched better. At least it was a short game. Here is the box score.

Phil Hughes makes his MLB 2009 debut tomorow night against Edwin Jackson. You can catch the game on YES.