Pinstripes Destiny

I can't believe the Yankees, who were once ten games ahead in the AL East are now tied for first place. The Yanks were unstoppable at one point, in such a good position, but as the weeks went on they slipped and are currently in a slump that can cost them a playoff spot. In my previous post I mentioned that I truly believe they are in a small slump that they will overcome in the series with the Rays, but so far it's not happening. Last night the Yanks offense started them off and gave Freddy Garcia a 2-0 lead to work with but it wasn't big enough. Garcia allowed five runs in five innings. The Yankees could not produce any offense after Cano's home run in the first inning. It is obvious that their offense is suffering, as well as their pitching. When they do have great pitching, like with CC Sabathia on Monday night, they couldn't deliver offensively, and when they start off with some offense to take the lead, the pitching can't keep up. It's a lose-lose situation. On top of the Yanks struggling, the Orioles are soaring, beating Toronto 10-0 last night. Tampa Bay is only 1.5 games behind both the Yankees and the Orioles. It is crucial that the Yankees win tonight. They are 10-14 right now.

Up until last night, no one saw any frustration or panic in the clubhouse, especially from Joe Girardi. He has remained calm, which would have the most positive effect on his players. Last night, Girardi was ejected by umpire Tony Randazzo over a third strike call. How can players not feel the pressure? After leading the AL east by ten games and now being tied for first place? The Yankees seem to be in a better place, both offensively and defensively when they relax and don't try too hard. As long as they see patience and get good vibes from the staff and Girardi, they should all calm down and work collectively together to play better.

"Since the divisional format was introduced in 1969, the Yankees have made the playoffs all 15 times they entered September with a division lead. They have essentially a month’s worth of games remaining to make sure this is not the season when a September swoon costs them a playoff spot." (NY Times)

Tonight's pitching matchup is Hiroki Kuroda (12-10, 3.04 ERA) vs. M. Moore (10-8, 3.58 ERA). Kuroda has been struggling for the Yankees. Last week Kuroda lost to the Orioles 6-1, following a loss to the Indians the week before. Hopefully he will get his confidence back up and start pitching like he is capable of to help give the Yankees a win in Tampa Bay. As always, go Yankees!

A Lot on the Line

With each game becoming more and more important, each team is striving to win more to ensure a spot in the playoffs. The Yankees are in first place in the AL East with a 73-52 record, but the Rays and Orioles are right behind them. The Rays were on a winning streak but the Oakland A's just beat them, by the skin of their teeth last night in a 5-4 win. Tampa Bay is now 3.5 games behind the Yankees, and the Orioles are 5 games behind. The closest the Rays were was earlier in the week when they were two games behind the Yankees (when they got swept by the White Sox). It is more important now than ever for the Yankees to hold onto their lead, and increase it when they can. CC Sabathia was activated from the DL last night and started against the Indians. He held them to one run and the Yankees won 3-1. In a loss to the White Sox, Ivan Nova injured his shoulder and was placed on the 15 day DL due to inflammation in his rotator cuff. Other than that, the Yanks have not seen any really bad injuries as of late that would prohibit them from performing their best. Considering who the Yankees lost for a long period of time, including the all time great closer, Rivera, they have performed very well. The Yanks have lost four of their great players, Andy Pettitte, Alex Rodriguez, Brett Gardner, and most importantly, their closer, Mariano Rivera, but with all the great players down, the Yankees have gotten the job done. Their record is superb, their offense has been great, their pitching has been stable, and the guys that have stepped up in the absence of ARod and Brett Gardner have been awesome. Both Pettitte, who fractured his left fibula, played catch on Friday and had no ill feeling and ARod, who fractured his left fibula, will be evaluated on Monday. An October return is possible, depending on what the doctors say on Monday.

Let's just talk about Jeter the Great for a second! In the past 27 games, since July 25th, his batting average is .381 (45 for 118) with six home runs and 16 RBI's. Three of the home runs have been hit in consecutive games, which is a first for Jeter.

Nick Swisher is also having a very productive season. This season his average is .273 with 19 home runs and 72 RBI's. Nick homered to right center in the seventh inning last night to give the Yanks a 3-1 lead, and the win.

Today's pitching matchup for the second game against the Indians is H. Kuroda (12-8, 2.96 ERA) against J. Masterson (9-11, 4.73 ERA). While both teams were on a losing streak (Yankees - 3, Indians - 9), the Yankees managed to pull through with CC on the mound dealing and great base running, along with Nick Swisher's home run. Let's see if the Yanks can come out with another win. Of course, let's go Yankees!

Tight Race

The race in the AL East is on. It is the most competitive right now with the Yankees (72-50) leading but Tampa Bay (68-54) is right behind them, and Baltimore (66-56) is six games behind. This is such a crucial time for the Yanks to continue to win, because one loss can put them in jeopardy of losing that first place spot. Teams like the Rays and Orioles are too good to slip behind. Tampa Bay has a five game winning streak and they are playing some of their best baseball right now. The Yankees have a tough schedule coming up with two more games against the White Sox, a series with the Indians, who are playing very well, and then they play the Blue Jays, and the Orioles. The White Sox are leading the AL Central with a record of 66-55, and came back last night to beat the Yanks. It was all Yankees until the fifth inning, when Chicago scored five runs. The Yankees and the White Sox battled it out in the fifth when the Yanks tied it and then took the lead to make it 6-5 but then Beckham homered to right and tied the game once again. From then on, it went downhill for the Yankees. Chicago scored three more runs, winning the game 9-6.

The White Sox scored five runs off of Garcia and Joba Chamberlain was booed off the mound when he gave up a leadoff home run to tie the game. "He has to be more consistent, he has to help us." Girardi said of Chamberlain. (nypost.com)

Derek Jeter has been a key to the Yankees success lately. He homered on Monday against the White Sox, and went 4 for 5 to raise his average to .398. "He just continues to have big days for us," Joe Girardi said. "That's what he's doing. It is pretty amazing." (ESPN.com)

Ivan Nova (11-6,, 4.76 ERA) is on the mound for the Yankees tonight against Liriano (4-10, 5.22 ERA). Nova has been inconsistent but he has shown signs of improvement over his last couple of outings. The Yankees need to get more wins on the board in order to stay in first place with a nice lead above Tampa Bay and the Orioles. Hopefully they can deliver. Of course, let's go Yankees!

Soaring Over the Blue Jays

The Yanks have arrived! After coming off of a split in Detroit and winning the last two games, the Yankees took on Toronto with confidence. I was hesitant to see Freddy Garcia pitch because of his recent inconsistencies but to my (and a lot of other peoples) surprise, he pitched a great game. Jeter, Suzuki, and Swisher all went 2-5, with Cano 2-4. The team's hitting has been unstoppable and right on target and hopefully it will continue throughout their series with the Blue Jays and continue into their series against the Rangers and the Red Sox.

Today's pitchers are Nova (10-6) and Laffey (3-2). Nova has had some struggles on the mound lately, losing two in a row, but here's hoping to him turning things around to give the Yanks a second win in Toronto. Since joining the Yankees, Ichiro has been right on target, a great addition to the team both offensively and defensively. Suzuki matched a career high with 5 RBI's. He is batting .269 in 17 games since being traded to the Yankees. Mark Teixeira has become much more consistent who homered for the second straight game. Nick Swisher has also been hitting very well, along with Ibanez. In last night's game, Joe Girardi opted to bring Ibanez in to hit for Andruw Jones which was a smart decision, as Raul gave the Yanks a 10-3 lead.

While Bautista is out on the DL, Encarnacion is batting .285, has 29 home runs, 75 RBI's, and 69 runs but has been struggling lately with 1-13 in his last four and he's 1-9 against Nova. The Blue Jays have lost four games in a row and are 13 games behind the Yankees in the AL East.

Let's see if the Yanks can continue their awesome offense and if Nova can turn his game around and help them win the second game of the series. Let's go Yankees!

Sweeeep!

The Blue Jays arrived in the Bronx hopeful, but they left discouraged after the Yanks swept the series. They won Monday, 6-3, yesterday, 6-1, and closed out the series today with a 6-0 win.

Phil Hughes got the start on Monday against the Jays. He had a very productive outing, considering he had a one out walk to Bautista in the sixth inning, but the Yankee offense was too much for the Blue Jays to handle. Raul Ibanez, who had been struggling for some time hit his tenth career grand slam in the eighth inning to tie the game. Ibanez has assisted the Yanks to win for the seventh time in nine games, according to ESPN. He has received much more playing time in left field since Brett Gardner was placed on the DL, which has most likely helped his numbers. Robinson Cano increased his hitting streak to 19. Way to go Robbie!

The first inning was crucial for the Yanks. It really set the tone for the entire game. It started out when Swisher singled to right, allowing Jeter to score, making it 1-0. Teixeira homered to left center and Swisher scored making it 3-0. But wait! The Yanks weren't done.. Andruw Jones came up to the plate and singled to right, and scoring was Robbie Cano. 4-0 Yanks and it was only the first inning? You got it! What an inning! The Blue Jays just couldn't catch a break. It started again for the Yankees in the bottom of the fourth. Jayson Nix started the offense off with a double, Russell Martin walked, Dewayne Wise hit a ground rule double to right and Nix scored making it 5-0. In the 6th inning Wise singled to center and Nix scored for the final time, making it 6-0. The game was cut short due to rain after the sixth inning.

The Yankees offense was unstoppable during the whole series but they couldn't have won without their pitchers. CC. Sabathia had just come off the DL and he had an amazing game. Kudos to CC for pitching on a 95 degree night too! Kuroda and Hughes also had very productive outings as well. Cano also ended the series with his career high 23 game hitting streak!

Other news: David Ortiz headed to the DL for injured right achilles tendon. The Red Sox will call Mauro Gomez up to fill his spot.

Tension is Building

The second half is well underway, go time! Injuries could not come at a worse time. Unfortunately, three teams got some bad news on Monday and injuries are hindering some teams' success. David Ortiz suffered a minor heel injury on Monday during the Red Sox game against the White Sox while circling the bases on Adrian Gonzalez's home run. Good news though! The MRI showed no sign of a rupture or tear. Ortiz has not been placed on the DL but will be out for a week and will get a second opinion in Miami this week.

It might be good news for the Red Sox, but the Blue Jays saw Jose Bautista, their leading home run hitter, take one of his huge swings against the Yankees, immediately clutching his wrist after and crouching down in pain. Blue Jays staff said x-rays showed no fracture, which they have further classified as a 'tendon injury' until an MRI is done. Bautista was initially placed on the 15 day DL and would be re-evaluated after the MRI results come back. News just came in that Bautista's MRI didn't show anything except irritation around the wrist. Right now he will take it day by day and the Blue Jays will keep a careful eye on him to evaluate his condition.

First baseman of the Reds, Joey Votto injured his knee while sliding into base and is undergoing surgery for a torn meniscus in his left knee. The Reds will be without him for three to four weeks.

Looks like this trifecta of injuries that all happened very close to each other are turning out to be minor injuries, good news to all the teams involved.

Soaring or Plummeting?

The Baltimore Orioles have thrown everyone for a loop early this season. Baltimore, who ended the 2011 season with a 69-93 record, at the bottom of the AL East is currently 18-9 and in first place in the AL East with a four game winning streak. What are the contributing factors? Well, the Orioles have a fantastic bullpen. Not only is it deep, but it's strong too. They have a great starting rotation which makes having a deep bullpen even better.

Jim Johnson has eight saves this season thus far and has not given up one run this season.

The Orioles also have great defense as well, with Adam Jones and Nick Markakis. Matt Wieters could potentially be the best catcher in baseball right now, leading the Orioles in home runs (he has seven already this season), 17 RBI's, and .391 for on base percentage.

They recently won 2-3 of their series against the Red Sox and 2-3 against the Yankees, but were just swept by the Rangers.

The Rangers are spectacular right now. They are leading the AL West at 20-10. Their hitting is spectacular, as well as their defense, and pitching. The Rangers have it all right now. Can they maintain their great start to the season? Time will tell!