Posted by: David
Matsui and Cabrera homered and Bobby Abreu had three hits to lead the Yankees to an 8-5 win over the Kansas City Royals on Sunday afternoon at the stadium.
Mike Mussina was strong into the seventh only surrendering two runs. However, the bullpen of Bruney and Myers gave up three runs to make the game a save situation which Rivera was able to achieve.
The Yankees have now come within 1/2 game of the wild card lead and remain seven games behind the AL East leading Boston Red Sox.
The Yankees now go on the road to Toronto with an afternoon affair on Monday.
Mike Mussina was strong into the seventh only surrendering two runs. However, the bullpen of Bruney and Myers gave up three runs to make the game a save situation which Rivera was able to achieve.
The Yankees have now come within 1/2 game of the wild card lead and remain seven games behind the AL East leading Boston Red Sox.
The Yankees now go on the road to Toronto with an afternoon affair on Monday.
Posted by: Patrick
This is my weekly recap of the performance of the YanksBlog.com teams in the Yankees Bloggers Fantasy Baseball League.
Last Week
James (2nd place) took a 6-2 victory over Dave (Pride of the Yankees) (3rd place). They managed to tie in runs (31) and wins (3). Home runs (9 vs. 8) and RBIs (32 vs. 30) were also very close. Both of Dave's victories came on the offensive side, in stolen bases and batting average, as the two teams split the batting categories. James' offense was led by Garrett Atkins (4 R, 2 HR, 14 RBI, .375 AVG) while Dave's was led by Vladimir Guerrero (6 R, 4 HR, 9 RBI, 1 SB, .379 AVG). Hanley Ramirez chipped in 4 stolen bases to go along with 6 runs, 2 home runs, 4 runs batted in and a .333 average.
The pitching side is where James stormed ahead, taking saves, strikeouts, ERA and WHIP in convincing fashion. Wins came from Ted Lilly (11 Ks), Jose Valverde (8 Ks) and Jake Peavy (10 Ks) with saves from Bobby Jenks (2), Valverde (2), Billy Wagner and Joakim Soria. Kelvim Escobar had 9 Ks and Chad Billingsley had 8. Meanwhile, Dave's got victories out of Tom Glavine, Dan Haren (9 Ks) and Joaquin Benoit. His lone save came from Jason Isringhausen. Gil Meche struck out 8.
I topped Joseph (River Ave. Blues), 9-1. My offense produced a lot of runs, scoring 45, hitting 14 homers and driving in 44, even without the batting average (.293) to show it. Joseph's lone victory came in average, but stolen bases and strikeouts were also very close with both categories being decided by 1. Jorge Posada made the biggest mark on offense, scoring 8 runs, homering 3 times, driving in 7 and hitting .444. Hideki Matsui (9 R, 3 HR, 7 RBI, .348 AVG) had a huge week, as well. David Ortiz was huge on Joseph's side, hitting .478 with 9 runs, 3 home runs, 7 runs batted in and 1 stolen base (?!).
My pitching victories came from Andy Pettitte, Chuck James, Scott Kazmir (9 Ks) and Mark Buehrle. Manny Corpas (2), Mo and Joe Borowski picked up saves. Joseph got a 2 victory week from Erik Bedard with 17 strikeouts while both of his saves came from Jonathan Papelbon. Chris Capuano had 8 strikeouts, as well.
Finally, Ben (River Ave. Blues) defeated Seamus in a close one, 5-4. Wins (4) was the tied category with runs decided by 2, RBIs decided by 2 and batting average decided by 9 points. Seamus won the offense side by winning RBIs, stolen bases and average. David Wright was the biggest contributor for Seamus, hitting .409 with 7 runs, 1 home run, 2 runs batted in and 2 stolen bases. Ben's offense was led by Adam Dunn, who scored 5 runs, hit 3 homers, drove in 6 and hit .300.
The pitching side was Ben's, as he took saves, strikeouts and ERA. He got a 2 win week from John Lackey (and 10 Ks) to go along with wins from Chad Cordero and Brett Myers and saves from Cordero (2), Bob Wickman and Brad Hennessey. Seamus had a pair of 2 win weeks - one from Brandon Webb (11 Ks) and one from Mike Mussina (9 Ks). His single save was thrown by Todd Jones.
Top 3 teams in the league:
1. Mike (105-70-5) (River Ave. Blues) (congrats on being the first team to reach 100 wins)
2. James (95-74-11)
3. Ben (93-81-6)
This Week
James (2nd, 95-74-11) vs. Joseph (6th, 85-82-13)
Patrick (5th, 90-84-6) vs. Ben (3rd, 93-81-6) (yes, I finally have a winning record)
Seamus (10th, 68-101-11) vs. Jen (NoSenseWorrying.com) (T8th, 75-93-12)
Last Week
James (2nd place) took a 6-2 victory over Dave (Pride of the Yankees) (3rd place). They managed to tie in runs (31) and wins (3). Home runs (9 vs. 8) and RBIs (32 vs. 30) were also very close. Both of Dave's victories came on the offensive side, in stolen bases and batting average, as the two teams split the batting categories. James' offense was led by Garrett Atkins (4 R, 2 HR, 14 RBI, .375 AVG) while Dave's was led by Vladimir Guerrero (6 R, 4 HR, 9 RBI, 1 SB, .379 AVG). Hanley Ramirez chipped in 4 stolen bases to go along with 6 runs, 2 home runs, 4 runs batted in and a .333 average.
The pitching side is where James stormed ahead, taking saves, strikeouts, ERA and WHIP in convincing fashion. Wins came from Ted Lilly (11 Ks), Jose Valverde (8 Ks) and Jake Peavy (10 Ks) with saves from Bobby Jenks (2), Valverde (2), Billy Wagner and Joakim Soria. Kelvim Escobar had 9 Ks and Chad Billingsley had 8. Meanwhile, Dave's got victories out of Tom Glavine, Dan Haren (9 Ks) and Joaquin Benoit. His lone save came from Jason Isringhausen. Gil Meche struck out 8.
I topped Joseph (River Ave. Blues), 9-1. My offense produced a lot of runs, scoring 45, hitting 14 homers and driving in 44, even without the batting average (.293) to show it. Joseph's lone victory came in average, but stolen bases and strikeouts were also very close with both categories being decided by 1. Jorge Posada made the biggest mark on offense, scoring 8 runs, homering 3 times, driving in 7 and hitting .444. Hideki Matsui (9 R, 3 HR, 7 RBI, .348 AVG) had a huge week, as well. David Ortiz was huge on Joseph's side, hitting .478 with 9 runs, 3 home runs, 7 runs batted in and 1 stolen base (?!).
My pitching victories came from Andy Pettitte, Chuck James, Scott Kazmir (9 Ks) and Mark Buehrle. Manny Corpas (2), Mo and Joe Borowski picked up saves. Joseph got a 2 victory week from Erik Bedard with 17 strikeouts while both of his saves came from Jonathan Papelbon. Chris Capuano had 8 strikeouts, as well.
Finally, Ben (River Ave. Blues) defeated Seamus in a close one, 5-4. Wins (4) was the tied category with runs decided by 2, RBIs decided by 2 and batting average decided by 9 points. Seamus won the offense side by winning RBIs, stolen bases and average. David Wright was the biggest contributor for Seamus, hitting .409 with 7 runs, 1 home run, 2 runs batted in and 2 stolen bases. Ben's offense was led by Adam Dunn, who scored 5 runs, hit 3 homers, drove in 6 and hit .300.
The pitching side was Ben's, as he took saves, strikeouts and ERA. He got a 2 win week from John Lackey (and 10 Ks) to go along with wins from Chad Cordero and Brett Myers and saves from Cordero (2), Bob Wickman and Brad Hennessey. Seamus had a pair of 2 win weeks - one from Brandon Webb (11 Ks) and one from Mike Mussina (9 Ks). His single save was thrown by Todd Jones.
Top 3 teams in the league:
1. Mike (105-70-5) (River Ave. Blues) (congrats on being the first team to reach 100 wins)
2. James (95-74-11)
3. Ben (93-81-6)
This Week
James (2nd, 95-74-11) vs. Joseph (6th, 85-82-13)
Patrick (5th, 90-84-6) vs. Ben (3rd, 93-81-6) (yes, I finally have a winning record)
Seamus (10th, 68-101-11) vs. Jen (NoSenseWorrying.com) (T8th, 75-93-12)
Posted by: Patrick
Peter Abraham mentions that Giambi is on his way up to Toronto. He didn't get activated today, but may be activated tomorrow.
Abraham also mentions that reliever Scott Williamson has been released. Williamson was signed a couple weeks ago and had pitched in 4 games for Scranton, going 0-1 with a 9.82 ERA.
Michael Morrissey and George King had been reporting that Joba would be activated for today's game. But, it doesn't appear that that happened. Still, it could be soon.
Finally, the Boston Herald (via Y! Sports) is reporting that the Yankees have some interest in the recently released Bobby Kielty.
Abraham also mentions that reliever Scott Williamson has been released. Williamson was signed a couple weeks ago and had pitched in 4 games for Scranton, going 0-1 with a 9.82 ERA.
Michael Morrissey and George King had been reporting that Joba would be activated for today's game. But, it doesn't appear that that happened. Still, it could be soon.
Finally, the Boston Herald (via Y! Sports) is reporting that the Yankees have some interest in the recently released Bobby Kielty.
08/06: Myers DFAed; Brower Promoted
Posted by: Patrick
Mike Myers has been designated for assignment. Myers seemed to be a good guy, so I feel a little bad for him. He pitched well this year, overall: 3-0 with a 2.66 ERA, 1.33 WHIP and .247 BAA against in 55 games. His problem was that he pitched well against batters on the wrong side of the plate. Meant to get lefties out, he's been doing the opposite: righties are hitting .182 against him while lefties hit .312. Check out his home and away split:
Home: 2-0, 0.68 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, .208 BAA.
Away: 1-0, 6.43 ERA, 1.71 WHIP, .310 BAA.
Wow. Throw out the one game in June where he allowed 4 ER in 2 innings (the only game this season where he's allowed more than 1 ER) and his ERA drops to 1.86.
Anyway, in his place, we'll get Jim Brower, a 34 year old journey man who has pitched in the majors for Cleveland, Cincinnati, Montreal, San Francisco, Atlanta, Baltimore and San Diego. He's also been in the Texas and Florida organizations, as well. His best season in the majors would be 2004 when he pitched in 89 games for the Giants, going 7-7 with 1 save and a 3.29 ERA. At Scranton this season, he's 4-1 with 20 saves and a 1.65 ERA.
Home: 2-0, 0.68 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, .208 BAA.
Away: 1-0, 6.43 ERA, 1.71 WHIP, .310 BAA.
Wow. Throw out the one game in June where he allowed 4 ER in 2 innings (the only game this season where he's allowed more than 1 ER) and his ERA drops to 1.86.
Anyway, in his place, we'll get Jim Brower, a 34 year old journey man who has pitched in the majors for Cleveland, Cincinnati, Montreal, San Francisco, Atlanta, Baltimore and San Diego. He's also been in the Texas and Florida organizations, as well. His best season in the majors would be 2004 when he pitched in 89 games for the Giants, going 7-7 with 1 save and a 3.29 ERA. At Scranton this season, he's 4-1 with 20 saves and a 1.65 ERA.
Posted by: Patrick
Here's how Joba's two innings of work went yesterday:
In his 4 innings of relief work, he's faced the minimum number of batters - 12. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 walks, 10 strikeouts. Fire.
Via Peter Abraham.
Buffalo Top 7th
Pitcher Change: Joba Chamberlain replaces Steven White.
Mike Rose strikes out swinging.
Trent Durrington singles on a line drive to left fielder Kevin Reese.
On-field Delay.
With Yamid Haad batting, Trent Durrington caught stealing 2nd base, catcher Wil Nieves to shortstop Alberto Gonzalez.
Yamid Haad strikes out swinging.
Buffalo Top 8th
Joe Inglett strikes out swinging.
Asdrubal Cabrera strikes out swinging.
Ben Francisco strikes out swinging.
Pitcher Change: Joba Chamberlain replaces Steven White.
Mike Rose strikes out swinging.
Trent Durrington singles on a line drive to left fielder Kevin Reese.
On-field Delay.
With Yamid Haad batting, Trent Durrington caught stealing 2nd base, catcher Wil Nieves to shortstop Alberto Gonzalez.
Yamid Haad strikes out swinging.
Buffalo Top 8th
Joe Inglett strikes out swinging.
Asdrubal Cabrera strikes out swinging.
Ben Francisco strikes out swinging.
In his 4 innings of relief work, he's faced the minimum number of batters - 12. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 walks, 10 strikeouts. Fire.
Via Peter Abraham.
Posted by: Patrick
Peter Abraham:
Via Steve.
The Yankees have informed Major League Baseball that they are not interested in starting next season in Japan. It now appears that the Red Sox will play either the Athletics or Angels in Tokyo, then again on the West Coast.
There will be no side trip to China because of concerns about the weather and facilities. That venture could come in 2009.
The Yankees backed out for several reasons, including a commitment to play a charity game on or near the campus of Virginia Tech near the end of spring training.
There will be no side trip to China because of concerns about the weather and facilities. That venture could come in 2009.
The Yankees backed out for several reasons, including a commitment to play a charity game on or near the campus of Virginia Tech near the end of spring training.
Via Steve.
Posted by: Patrick
A-Rod finally got that huge gorilla off his back by hitting a 3 run HR for number 500. A big congrats to him. Hopefully, we can get back to the business of winning an MVP award now. Even with this little slump, coming into today, A-Rod still led the AL in home runs by 7 and RBI by 14. He's the only player in the game with 100 RBI (he has 105). Magglio Ordonez is next with 91.
Phil Hughes had a bit of a rocky return, throwing 92 pitches over 4 and 2/3 innings, allowing 6 ER on 7 hits, 2 walks and 5 strike outs. But, the pen was OK, allowing 2 ER in 4 and 1/3 IP. Myers, who relieved Hughes, allowed an RBI double (charged to Hughes) before retiring Alex Gordon to end the inning. Kyle gave up one of those earned runs (he wasn't brought in until we had a 5 run lead) and Villone gave up the other in the 9th. But, Bruney and Vizcaino pitched scoreless frames.
But, like I said, the Yankee O powered us through this one. 16 runs, 21 hits, 5 walks. Everyone who started reached base except for Johnny Damon, who had a rough day at the plate, going 0 for 6 and striking out 3 times. Everyone who started except Damon and Posada collected a hit, although Posada walked twice and scored 2 runs.
Jeter was 2 for 5 with 1 2B and 2 R, Abreu was 3 for 5 with 1 Hr, 4 R, 2 RBI and 1 BB (hitting .282), A-Rod was 3 for 4 with 1 HR, 3 R, 3 RBI, 1 BB and 1 SB, Godzilla was 3 for 4 with 1 2B, 2 R, 2 RBI and 1 BB, Cano was 4 for 5 with 1 2B, 1 3B (a HR short of the cycle), 2 R and 3 RBI, Wilson Betemit was 3 for 4 with 1 R and 3 RBI and Melky was 1 for 5 with 1 2B and 2 RBI.
Back to A-Rod, he becomes the youngest player ever to reach the 500 home run mark, beating Jimmie Foxx by 330 days.
With a win under our belt today, our attention now turns to the Tigers (who are half a game back to the Indians in the Central now and, as such, are the Wild Card leaders) and the Red Sox. The Sox have Matsuzaka going up against Jerrod Washburn of the Mariners while the Tigers have Jeremy Bonderman facing Javy Vazquez of the White Sox.
Tomorrow, we'll have Moose (6-7, 4.75) vs. Gil Meche (7-8, 3.70) at 1:05 PM ET.
Phil Hughes had a bit of a rocky return, throwing 92 pitches over 4 and 2/3 innings, allowing 6 ER on 7 hits, 2 walks and 5 strike outs. But, the pen was OK, allowing 2 ER in 4 and 1/3 IP. Myers, who relieved Hughes, allowed an RBI double (charged to Hughes) before retiring Alex Gordon to end the inning. Kyle gave up one of those earned runs (he wasn't brought in until we had a 5 run lead) and Villone gave up the other in the 9th. But, Bruney and Vizcaino pitched scoreless frames.
But, like I said, the Yankee O powered us through this one. 16 runs, 21 hits, 5 walks. Everyone who started reached base except for Johnny Damon, who had a rough day at the plate, going 0 for 6 and striking out 3 times. Everyone who started except Damon and Posada collected a hit, although Posada walked twice and scored 2 runs.
Jeter was 2 for 5 with 1 2B and 2 R, Abreu was 3 for 5 with 1 Hr, 4 R, 2 RBI and 1 BB (hitting .282), A-Rod was 3 for 4 with 1 HR, 3 R, 3 RBI, 1 BB and 1 SB, Godzilla was 3 for 4 with 1 2B, 2 R, 2 RBI and 1 BB, Cano was 4 for 5 with 1 2B, 1 3B (a HR short of the cycle), 2 R and 3 RBI, Wilson Betemit was 3 for 4 with 1 R and 3 RBI and Melky was 1 for 5 with 1 2B and 2 RBI.
Back to A-Rod, he becomes the youngest player ever to reach the 500 home run mark, beating Jimmie Foxx by 330 days.
With a win under our belt today, our attention now turns to the Tigers (who are half a game back to the Indians in the Central now and, as such, are the Wild Card leaders) and the Red Sox. The Sox have Matsuzaka going up against Jerrod Washburn of the Mariners while the Tigers have Jeremy Bonderman facing Javy Vazquez of the White Sox.
Tomorrow, we'll have Moose (6-7, 4.75) vs. Gil Meche (7-8, 3.70) at 1:05 PM ET.
08/04: Hughes, Henn, Bean
Posted by: Patrick
Peter Abraham reports that Phil Hughes has been activated for his start today, Sean Henn has been sent down to Scranton and and Colter Bean has been DFAed to make room for Phil on the 40 man.
Posted by: Patrick
Thanks to YankeesNumbers.com, we know the answer. Charlie "King Kong" Keller wore number 99 in 1952 when he returned to the Yankees for 2 games after playing 2 seasons in Detroit.
Who's the only Yankee to have a jersey number in the 80s? This one is a bit more recent: Ryan Thompson wore 88 in 2000. No Yankee has ever worn a number in the 70s. Besides that, all numbers 1-69 have been worn by at least one player.
How many jersey numbers have only been worn by 1 Yankee? The answer is 4. The numbers are 4 (Lou Gehrig), 69 (Alan Mills and then Thompson and Keller.
Who's the only Yankee to have a jersey number in the 80s? This one is a bit more recent: Ryan Thompson wore 88 in 2000. No Yankee has ever worn a number in the 70s. Besides that, all numbers 1-69 have been worn by at least one player.
How many jersey numbers have only been worn by 1 Yankee? The answer is 4. The numbers are 4 (Lou Gehrig), 69 (Alan Mills and then Thompson and Keller.
08/02: Steinbrenner and Beyond
Posted by: Patrick
Franz Lidz at Portfolio.com talks about his experience meeting George Steinbrenner in June, the future of the team and more.
Meanwhile, Forbes has an article titled "The dismantling of the Yankee empire" (bah), talking about the potential sale of YES, which could be done in order to ensure that the team will be able to stay in the Steinbrenner family.
Via Peter Abraham.
Meanwhile, Forbes has an article titled "The dismantling of the Yankee empire" (bah), talking about the potential sale of YES, which could be done in order to ensure that the team will be able to stay in the Steinbrenner family.
Via Peter Abraham.
