Raining Yankees

The Red Sox got off to a slippery start against the Yankees on Friday night. The rain started coming down as soon as the game started, and everyone kept a watchful eye on the weather. There was lightening in the sky and lightening in the stadium, Yankee lightening! Nick Swisher started it off in the first inning with a long home run to left. His home run was followed by Curtis Granderson's homer to right. But wait! The Yanks weren't done there. Russell Martin went yard in the second inning as well, making it 3-0 Yankees. The Red Sox had seen enough. The third inning was all Red Sox as Ciriaco grounded tho shortstop and Aviles scored. It was 3-1 Yankees. Pedroia stepped in and homered to left, and Ciriaco and Ellsbury scored. The Red Sox had taken the lead and it was 4-3.

But wait, we all know the Yankees don't quit without putting up a fight! Phil Hughes, Robertson, and Soriano shut down the Red Sox. It was all Yankees after the third inning. Derek Jeter homered to left to tie the game, Jayson Nix singled to right, to score McGehee, and in the seventh inning Nick Swisher homered (yes, again!) to right center. The final score was 6-4 Yankees. What a game it was!

This was the 12th time that Nick Swisher hit a home run from both, the right and the left side in one game. The only other switch hitter that has done that more is Mark Teixeira with 13 times. Mark Teixeira is out of the lineup today for two straight days due to inflammation in his left wrist. The Teixeira - Padilla rivalry will have to wait until the next series. There is a possibility that he could play tomorrow.

The Yanks are on fire! It's going to be tough to stop them. Lester has a big job to do today. Phelps (3-3, 2.53 ERA) is up against Lester (6-10, 5.20 ERA). Hopefully Phelps can delver a good game and the Yankee offense will pick up right where it left off yesterday. Of course, go Yankees!

Preview: Yankee - Red Sox Series

It's that time again. The Red Sox are coming to the Bronx for a three game series. This series is crucial for the Red Sox as they are fighting for the wild card spot and are currently competing with two of the best teams, besides the Yanks, in the AL East, Baltimore and Tampa Bay. They really have to find their groove and start winning in order to clinch that wild card. How do they do it? First off, they need to shut the Bronx Bombers down. That is going to be a challenge for sure. The Yankees, who are in first place in the AL East couldn't be performing any better right now. They just won 3-4 during the series with the Rangers. Their offense was right on target. With David Ortiz and Middlebrooks on the DL, the Red Sox offense must pick up the slack, not to mention their pitching staff. The Red Sox pitching has been struggling and in order to shut the Yankees down, a team is going to need outstanding pitching.

For the series opener on Friday, it is Phil Hughes (11-10, 4.44 ERA) vs. Morales (3-3, 3.29 ERA). Phil Hughes has had his up's and down's but he was charged with the two most recent losses, prior to the loss to the Rangers yesterday. Although Hughes has been inconsistent, he has shown great potential. I think Phil Hughes is due for a win and I think he's going to get it in the series opener against the Red Sox. Hughes really dealt during his last matchup with the Red Sox on July 27th, earning the win, while Morales struggled against the Yankees on July 7th with a loss. Hughes will want to continue his success against the Sox and try to get this win, while Morales wants to get revenge. It will be a great pitching matchup!

Nick Swisher ha been on fire against the Red Sox this year. He is 11 for 26 (.423) with three home runs, three doubles, and twelve RBI's against the Sox this season. The Red Sox really need to keep an eye on Swisher because one wrong pitch and he can do a lot of damage. Jayson Nix and McGehee have been delivering for the Yanks as well. With A-Rod out, Chavez, Nix, and McGehee have really stepped up to the plate.

I think the series can go either way. The Yankees have been playing very well and have been very consistent (offense), but their pitching needs to become more consistent. The Red Sox are very eager and need to win this series in order to be considered for the wildcard so it will just come down to what team performs and what team doesn't. I really think the way that the Yankees have been playing, they could easily take the entire series, or     2-3. This is my favorite series, by far..Can't wait to see what happens! Of course, go Yanks!

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!

Tame Those Tigers Once, Tame Them Twice

The Yankees had a tough first couple of games against the Tigers, losing both and ultimately putting their first place standing into jeopardy. Last night we all saw the true Yankee team. They were right on target with their offense and CC Sabathia was dealing very tough pitches. The Yanks started off strong in the first inning. It all started with Eric Chavez, who singled to center to score Nick Swisher. Granderson was looking to leave his slump behind came up to bat and singled to right, which allowed Mark Teixeira to score to make it a 2-0 game. Granderson wasn't done there! He went yard in the third inning with a three run home run which made it 5-0. It was all Yankees throughout the first four innings when Swisher singled to right, scoring Jeter and Teixeira's sac fly to score Jeter to make it 7-0. Who would think the Tigers would come back? Great pitching, great offense for the Yanks..But they did. Boesch singled to center to get Detroit on the board. Before we all knew it, it was 7-3 Yankees. Ichiro reached on an infield single to first and Granderson scored which gave the Yankees an even bigger lead, but the Tigers weren't going to completely back down. The seventh inning was very long. The Tigers picked up four more runs to make it an 8-7 game. After watching their lead diminish the first two games against Detroit and losing I was thinking the same thing was about to happen last night too. The Yanks took over in the eighth and ninth innings, scoring two more runs which ultimately gave them a four run lead, and the final score was 12-8.

Today's matchup is between Kuroda (10-8) and Fister (6-7). I think the Yankees success last night definitely had to do with both their pitching and offense, but a key to their success early on in the game is to have shut out pitching. With a team like Detroit with great hitters like Cabrera, Kuroda cannot give them an easy pitch to take advantage of. If their pitching is on point and they continue their great base running and hitting, they will have no problems splitting this series! Let's go Yankees!

Small Setback? Hope so!

It’s been a rocky month so far for the Yankees. Although they’re leading the AL East with a 62-44 record, there is a great deal of competition for that first place spot, as well as for the wild card. It doesn’t take a lot for a team to lose a few games and slip back in the division. I hope that isn’t the case for the Yanks! I truly believe that they will get back on track and have consistent pitching and continue their awesome offense through the rest of August and hold onto first place.

My previous post talked about Ichiro and whether it was a good move for the Yanks or not. I think it was a great, strategic move. Although Suzuki is older, he is an ideal outfielder, which the Yankees needed with Brett Gardner out, and as Kevin Long, the Yankees hitting coach said, Ichiro is one of the best at always getting bat to ball. He extended his hitting streak to eleven yesterday against the Mariners, but it just wasn’t enough for the Yanks to take that game. They lost 1-0. Hiroki Kuroda pitched a great game, but the Yankee offense just couldn’t find it’s groove to overcome that 1-0 lead. Great pitching by both teams.

The Yanks played their best against the Red Sox, but it ultimately came down to two great teams, playing great at the time trying to get a win. The Red Sox are very hungry for any win they can get due to the wild card situation and how good and competitive each team is right now. My favorite game in the Yankee-Red Sox rivalry has to be when Padilla pitches. In both series this season Mark Teixeira got a home run against Padilla and that just makes me so happy! Even though Padilla might be a good pitcher, I don’t like him because of his reputation in the game. I love to see the Yanks get revenge on him, but it’s even better when Teixeira does because of their past! Go Mark!

It was a rough beginning to the three game set against the Orioles but the Yanks stopped them from sweeping and won the third game 12-3. Their offense was really happening that day! Typically a home run team, I am seeing more of the Yanks driving in more runs, especially Nick Swisher. Since coming back from his injuries he has really been hitting long drives and has more RBI’s as a result of it. That is what the Yanks need heading into the later part of the season. They can’t just rely on home runs (even though they do make a HUGE difference!). They have to be able to score more runs by getting base hits, which is what they’re starting to do much better as of late.

The Yanks have taken one out of two games so far in their matchup with the Mariners, and we will see what happens in the rubber game today. Garcia (2-2) will be on the mound for the Yankees, who will be up against Iwakuma (4-5). I have my doubts about Garcia on the mound, but hopefully his performances will improve. I still think Garcia should not be a starter but with Pettitte out, the Yankees really need all the backup for the starting rotation. Will the Yankees pick up and continue their awesome offense to help Garcia or will the inconsistency continue?

Lineup Adjustments

The good news..The Yanks took two out of three games in Seattle and Ichiro Suzuki got comfortable with his new team. The bad news.. A-Rod’s broken hand.   He was hit by a pitch from Felix Hernandez during Tuesday’s game against Seattle. What does this mean for the Yankees? It really couldn’t have come at a worse time. They have a day off today and are getting ready for a three game series against the Red Sox. The Yanks were talking about potential trades before the deadline to replace A-Rod, but Brian Cashman announced that they had found their answer shortly after trade discussions occurred. “Eric Chavez is the solution”, Cashman said. He explained that he is very comfortable with Eric Chavez filling in for A-Rod and that Jayson Nix, who has started to contribute for the Yanks is also a big help. They also called up Ramiro Pena to take a place on the bench in his absence. I don’t think they had a chance with Eduardo Nunez. When he has played third base in the past he has made several errors and during the second half, the most important time in baseball is not the time to test him.

The third baseman expected to be available to the Yankees by the trade deadline are Chone Figgins of the Mariners, Chase Headley of the Padres, Ty Wigginton and Placido Polanco from the Phillies but Cashman is doubtful that the Yanks will need to go there with Chavez, back up Nix, and Ramiro Pena. The Yankees are confident in their farm system which is why Cashman will most likely not take part in a trade deal. He would most likely not be able to strike a deal like he did for Ichiro Suzuki. That was very rare.

As a veteran, Chavez has been injury prone but Cashman expects him to play third every day and to handle it well. He is batting .269 with eight home runs and 20 RBI’s in 64 games this season. 

A-Rod is expected to be out for six-eight weeks. With their hot hitting, and stable pitching I think the Yankees will be able to hold on and remain at the top of both the AL and NL. Let’s go Yanks!

Ichiro Acquisition

After being swept by the Oakland A’s in a four game series, the Yankees were off to Seattle to face the Mariners in their last series of the west coast before returning home. They weren’t just playing Seattle, they were acquiring a Mariner. The Yanks announced the trade of Ichiro just hours before their first game in Seattle on Monday. Before we all knew it, Ichiro appeared in pinstripes on the field and got a very warm welcome from the Mariners fans. What sparked this trade? 

The Yankees were in a bind. They realized Brett Gardner might be out for the remaining season with an elbow injury and although Raul Ibanez and Andruw Jones have been great additions to the teams outfield, the staff had concerns about their speed and ages as it got closer to the end of the season. What better timing! Ichiro Suzuki of the Mariners asked to be traded to a contender – well, of course the Yanks are a contender so it seemed to be a perfect fit. The Mariners are in last place in the AL West with a 43-56 record while the Yankees are in first place in the AL East with a 58-39 record. WOW! What a contender for Ichiro to be traded to. The Yanks traded two minor league pitchers, DJ Mitchell and Danny Farquhar for Suzuki. He is currently in his last year of a five year, $90 million contract with the Mariners, but the Yankees will only pay $2.5 million of the remaining. Suzuki has been such a wonderful influence and a great player for the Mariners since he joined the team in 2001, “He deserves a chance to play for a contending team before the end of his magnificent career.”  “The Mariners should certainly not stand in his way,” Chief executive of the Mariners, Howard Lincoln said. Joe Girardi, manager of the NYY was thrilled with the news, stating “It’s a big day for us.”

Suzuki batted eighth in the Yankee lineup for his first two games as a Yankee. On Monday night the Yankees won 4-1 with Ichiro claiming his first base hit with the Yanks. That must have been extra special for him, especially at Safeco field against the Mariners. Tuesday the Yankees lost to the Mariners 4-2. The two teams are battling off in the rubber game this afternoon. Let’s see if the Yankees can remain at the top of the AL, with Texas trailing one win behind them.

The Ichiro trade seems like a no brainer, but the Yankees mentioned the age of Raul Ibanez, 40 and Andruw Jones, 35 as a possible issue towards the end of the season. Suzuki is 38 and although he is fast and has had much success, is his age a concern for the Yanks? Weigh in and let me know your thoughts!