Welp, it's all tied now in the AL East. The Yankees wasted good pitching and lost by the score of 5-3.

Wang was good, allowing 3 earned runs through 6 and 2/3. The bottom of the 6th was the big inning for the Sox, as they scored 3 runs. Wang induced a bases loaded ground ball to Jason Giambi. With Ortiz running home, he had time to throw. But, he threw it wild, bouncing it to Posada. This was followed by a sac fly that would have ended the inning - if Giambi had made the play - instead, it lead to another run being scored. Leiter would face Ortiz, walking him and Proctor would pitch the final 1 and 1/3 scoreless. All told, the Red Sox scored 5 runs on 4 hits and 7 walks.

The Yankees got 7 hits and 2 walks, led by Hideki Matsui's 3 for 4 day. He had 1 RBI. Jeter was 1 for 5 with a 2 run shot in the 7th. Cano was 2 for 4 with a run while Giambi had 1 hit and A-Rod scored a run. Sheffield, Posada, Sierra and Bernie were all hitless. Besides the Giambi error, the other thing that sticks out to me is Jorge Posada coming up with a man on third and 1 out two seperate times and failing to deliver 1 RBI. If Giambi makes the play and Posada gets 1 guy in - we win. Unfortunately, as I said... we wasted good pitching and now find ourselves tied for the division as a result. I can't say that I cared much for the home plate umpire, either.

If we're going to win, we're going to need to win 2 out of the next 3 games (including playoff). We win 2, we win division. We lose 2, we lose division. It's Randy and Wakefield (16-11, 3.96) tomorrow at 1:15 PM Eastern in what we have to look at as a must win. Deep breath, folks.

From MLB.com.

A related report: Patrick eager for Embree not to face Sox at all.

In Tuesday's game, Bernie collected hits number 2,214 and 2,215. This moved him into 4th all time on the Yankees hit list, behind Lou Gehrig (2,721), Babe Ruth (2,518) and Mickey Mantle (2,415). He is now right above Joe DiMaggio. Impressive. I can see him getting ahead of Mantle, if he manages to play two more years, which I don't believe to be impossible. I don't think it's likely, but it's possible. I don't see him reaching Babe, though.

Via Brian MacMillan.

The media are calling Small "Cinderella" now. I believe we know why that name is so fitting.

The Yankees lead the Red Sox by one game in the AL East. They lead the Indians by one game in the AL Wild Card. We are heading into the last weekend of the regular season with the Red Sox on the horizon. I would assume that none of us saw just how much Aaron Small would mean to the team right now, when he took the mound in July. I mean, if it wasn't Small last night, it would have been Wright. Think about it.

Aaron Small improved to 10-0 last night pitching a very effective game lasting 6 2/3 innings and giving up 2 runs on 4 hits.

He was helped along the way as Jason Giambi hit his 32nd Home Run of the season in the first to put the Yankees on top 3-0. The offense did a great job putting men in scoring position, with A-Rod stealing twice last night to raise his season total to 20.

Sturtze came into the game and promptly gave up 2 runs. Torre then had to use Gordon to finish off the eighth, then brought in Scott Proctor to finish the ninth.

I have some reservations about this upcoming series. I'll fill you in on them now.

Obi-Wang pitches tonight to start the series against the Sox. Then Randy Johnson pitches tomorrow verses Wakefield. Who does that leave for Sunday? Mussina. Oh boy. I see game seven of the ALCS all over again. Let's hope Moose can last longer than his last start going 1 2/3 innings. I don't want to see our post season hopes lying in the hands of a patchwork bullpen consisting of Wright, Leiter, Wayne Franklin..... yes, it gets that ugly.

Shawn Chacon goes on Monday at Yankee Stadium if there is a playoff game. If there is one bright spot about the rotation, then I guess that is it.

It's going to be a great series. Tonight Obi-Wang (8-4, 4.02 ERA) goes against David Wells (14-7, 4.47 ERA). Game time is 7:05pm ET on ESPN at Fenway.

The Red Sox traded two bodies for Mike Stanton. He can pitch in the final 4 games of the season, but not in the postseason.

According to Jim Bowden, they are "two young pitchers with good arms." Let's assume that's half true - how is Stanton's 4 game value that high?

Via Steve Lombardi.

In a comment over at WasWatching.com, Jen brought it to attention that Mo was leading the Cy Young Predictor at ESPN.com.

Take a look. Neat. He's got a bit of a lead over Colon. It was right last year. Could it be right this year? We'll see.

The Yankees are in command now in both the A.L. East and wild card races as they moved a game ahead of both the Red Sox and Indians after defeating the Orioles 2-1 at Camden Yards. Shawn Chacon pitched another gem as he gave up a run on only four hits in 6 and 2/3 innings. The Birds got off to an early lead after Javy Lopez launched a solo shot to left field in the 2nd inning. The Yankees tied the score in the 6th with A-Rod's 47th home run of the season. Derek Jeter put the Yankees on top in the 7th with a base hit that scored Jorge Posada. Mariano Rivera pitched a 1-2-3 9th inning to record his 43rd save.

Of course as is always the case in late Septemper and early October, the stars have aligned themselves in a way in which the Yankees could move ahead via the Red Sox getting destroyed at home by the long-since-done Toronto Blue Jays and the Indians losing a 1-0 game at home against the Devil Rays, who have one of the most horrid pitching staffs in baseball. Somehow I feel like even if every Yankee player went blind for the last week of the season, we'd still find a way to prevail in the end.

This win is significant because as I mentioned to Patrick, if the Yankees win just 2 of their remaining games, the Sox and Indians would both have to sweep the remainder of their schedules to knock us out of the postseason before Monday. Patrick pointed out that would be impossible since if we won 2 games, that would mean that the Red Sox would have to lose one because of the head-to-head this weekend. So 2-2 the rest of the way and the worst that we can do is have to play a tiebraker game. Also, last night's win guarantees we won't be trailing the Red Sox going into that final series at Fenway Park.

Tonight Aaron Small will try to become the first 10-0 pitcher in Yankees history and the Yankees will try to hold on to their lead in both the A.L. East and wild card races. Erik Bedard will be on the mound for the O's.

With his home run last night, A-Rod set the record for most home runs in a year by a right hander. From the article at MLB.com:


"... almost like a cartoon character." Not sure how people will take that one. But, I'm sure he meant nothing bad.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, if anyone deserved/deserves that contract, it was/it's A-Rod. Consistent performance. Looking at his numbers this year, if his batting average finishes where it is now (.319), that'll be his highest batting average in a season. Same for his OBA (.421). His OPS (1.031) would be his second highest. Last year was great, this year is incredible. He has delivered and then some.

From Tom Verducci's mail bag:

Perhaps you've noticed this. Bernie is hitting .251, as we all know. Not very good. But, he's hitting .297 with a .370 OBA when there are runners on. He's hitting .305 with a .385 OBA with runners in scoring position. He's hitting .339 with a .464 OBA with runners in scoring position and 2 outs. Men on, 2 outs? .300 with a .422 OBA. Bases loaded? .333. Man on third, less than 2 outs? .304. 30 of his 64 RBI have come with men on and 2 outs.

On the flip side, he's hitting .222 with no one on and no one out and .196 with no one on and 1 or 2 outs. He's hitting .206 with the bases empty.

It's funny (and quite odd to me) that he can be that bad when no one is on, yet that good when people are on. One thing is clear: you don't want to pitch around people to get to Bernie. He gets it done with people on base.

If the Yankees end up making the playoffs, here is what I would like the postseason roster (25 man) to consist of.

» Read More

The Yanks continued to do their victory dance on the doormats of the AL East, the Baltimore Orioles, in winning 11-3. It took until the fourth inning before the Yankee bats put six runs on the board. They tacked on another five in the sixth.

Leading the way offensively was A-Rod and Jason Giambi. A-Rod was 2 for 3 with 3 RBIs and 2 walks. Giambi connected on his 31st Home Run of the year and scored 3 RBIs of his own.

Randy Johnson tallied his 16th win of the year. He pitched six innings of shutout, before handing the ball over to Proctor, Felix Rodriguez, then Alan Embree pitched the last inning and gave up four hits and three runs.

Embree was kicked to the curb earlier this year by Boston, and quickly picked up by the Yankees. During his time with the Yankees he has sported a 8.31 ERA. In 13 innings pitched for the Yankees, he has given up 14 runs. That is just plain embarassing when the runs you give up are more than the innings you pitch.

Tonight the visiting Yankees play their 15th straight game. Mike "The Moose" Mussina (13-8, 4.20 ERA) takes the mound against Bruce Chen (12-10, 3.60 ERA). Game time is 7:05pm ET at Camden Yards.

Derek Jeter received exactly what he decribed as a "stupid letter."


It was detailed that the letter came from the Cleveland area from back in April.


I'm glad this story made it out. For one it makes everyone realize that there are crazy lunatics out there who write death threats for the most stupid things.

Second, baseball players are human too with real emotions. While they are on the field we can enjoy them for what they do on the field. We can see every action, and yes, we as Yankee fans can cheer and boo with the best of them of their onfield actions. But their lives off the field are private. And sadly, in New York, this is hardly ever the case. In the history of the Yankees many of the player's off field actions have made the front page. Some for the good and some for the bad.

Jeter is the measuring bar for class. He is our Captain. It wouldn't take a mountain of stupid letters to diminish what he has accomplished and will continue to for him, for us, and for baseball.

Jen over at NoSenseWorrying.com has posted some quick videos of various crowd chants, etc. that the fans did for Bernie. One more year.

Steve Lombardi posted some pictures from yearly Yankee rookie... hazing or whatever you want to call it ritual. This year? Cheerleaders. Good stuff.

The Yankees and Red Sox entered the day tied for first place in the American League East. And in my mind, one of them needs to take the AL East title to continue play in the post season. It's as simple as this: Who wants it bad enough?

It will take a total team effort. And this was more evident today than it was Saturday. Robinson Cano's 2-Run Homer in the seventh sent the Yanks well on their way for the victory. Gary Sheffield put the game further out of reach for the Blue Jays with his 3-Run blast in the eighth. The Yanks finished their final home stand with a 6-1 record.

Obi-Wang had a no hitter going into the fifth inning when he came apart. Eric Hinske hit a 2-Run homer to give the Blue Jays the lead. Aaron Hill provided further damage in hitting an RBI double in the same inning to give the Blue Jays a 3-1 lead. Derek Jeter came back with an RBI single in the fifth to close the gap, but A-Rod struck out to end the inning.

I watched today's game with my Dad and we both agreed on one particular point. We love Cano's bat, but anytime he touches the ball on defense we are scared silly. He's a rookie, and hopefully he will continue to mature and cut back on his errors. He's a dynamo at the plate when production is needed.

Another thing I wanted to point out was a glaring mistake by Luis Sojo waving around Cano in the fifth. It was considered a base running error on Cano's part, but in replays I could clearly see Sojo's arm waving him around. In the replay, he adruptly stopped when Cano was caught trying to stretch it to third.

Boston beat the stuffing out of the Orioles today to keep the AL East battle tied. I'm not surprised to see Baltimore lying on their back playing dead. It is beyond me why they let Lee Mazzilli go. Oh well, I'm glad they faded and are no longer an issue.

For the Yankees the battle continues tomorrow as Randy Johnson (15-8, 3.90 ERA) takes the mound on the road against the "playing dead" Baltimore Orioles. Rodrigo Lopez (14-11, 4.79 ERA) is the opposing pitcher, and I consider him the best pitcher on their staff right now. Game time is 7:05pm ET at Cameden Yards.

Just wanted to remind anyone who wanted to enter that the deadline to enter our giveaway is tomorrow (September 26, 2005) at 9:00 PM Eastern Time. Good luck.

Yanks' attendance surpasses 4 million:


Pretty cool.

Updating what was previously written, it appears that Sheffield will be heading back out to right.

For the second consecutive time, Jaret Wright exited early and the Yankees lost. In his last 2 starts, Wright has pitched 3 and 1/3 innings, allowing 6 earned runs on 11 hits and 2 walks. In this game, he'd only last 1 inning before being pulled in favor of Aaron Small. He managed to injure himself in the first, but remained into the second where he started off the inning by allowing 2 straight singles followed by a walk to load the bases with no outs. This brought Small in. He managed to get Vernon Wells to foul out before a Robinson Cano error lead to 2 runners scoring. A sacrifice fly scored another. And then it was over. All told, the Blue Jays scored 7 runs in the first 2 innings. And that is all they would score. And all they would need.

Wright not withstanding, the Yankee pitching was very good with Small (6 and 2/3) and Sturtze (1 and 1/3) combining for 8 innings of 0 earned run ball (4 hits in those 8 innings).

The Yankee offense just wasn't up to the task today. After scoring 2 in the 1st, thanks to an A-Rod home run (his 46th of the year, tying him with David Ortiz) that scored Jeter. A-Rod drove in another run in the second, scoring Bubba on a double. All quiet until the 6th where Jeter singled in Bernie to make it 7-4. And that's how it would end. Shame.

A-Rod lead the offense by going 2 for 3 with 2 walks and the aforementioned dinger and 3 RBIs (124 on the year). Jeter (1 for 2, 1 walk, 1 run, 1 RBI, 2 HBPs), Bubba (1 for 2, 1 run) and Bernie (1 for 4, 1 run) contributed, as well. Sheffield, Matsui and Sierra collected a hit apiece. Giambi, Posada and Cano were hitless.

Losing streaks aren't something that we can really afford right now, so hopefully Obi Wang (7-4, 4.03) can get us back on track. He'll go against Josh Towers (12-11, 3.78). Hopefully the offense can give him more than 4 runs.

Another Shawn Chacon start, another 8 innings of shutout baseball. This is the third - count it - third time he's thrown 8 innings scoreless in a start with the Yankees (11 starts total). With a 5 run lead, Torre decided that 111 pitches was enough for Chacon and Scott Proctor pitched a scoreless ninth to conclude the game.

The Yankee offense got going in a hurry, starting the bottom of the 1st inning with back to back jacks, care of D. Jeter and Robinson Cano. 2 hits and 2 walks later, it was 4-0 at the end of 1. The Yankees would add 1 more in the 7th, bringing the total up to 5 and that is where it would end, 5-0 Yankees.

Jeter was 1 for 2 (3 walks, HR), Cano was 2 for 5 (HR), A-Rod was 1 for 2 (2 walks, 2 runs), Matsui was 1 for 3 (2B, 1 run, 1 RBI), Posada was 2 for 3 (1 walk) and Tino was 1 for 4 (1 RBI). Matsui's double was number 43 on the year, a high for him in a season as a Yankee. Sheff, Bernie and Bubba all went 0 for 4.

Boston won and Cleveland is leading, so it looks like the Yankees will maintain pace. 1 game lead in the division, back half a game in the wild card. 9 games left. We'll get Jaret Wright against Scott Downs (3-3, 4.32) tomorrow at 1:05 Eastern.

Continuing what I posted yesterday, Bob Herzog at Newsday.com and Jack Curry at The New York Times start making the case for Mo. From the Curry article:


Mo has pitched 75 innings so far. With 10 games remaining, I'd expect him to reach 80 with a good possibility of him pitching more. So, let's say he reaches 81 and doesn't allow an earned run in any of those innings. That knocks his ERA down to 1.22. Let's say he reaches 45 saves and gets another win. 8-4, 45 saves, 81 innings, 1.22 ERA. I just did a quick check, so I may be wrong... but the three pitchers who have won the Cy Young with the least innings pitched are:

1. Rollie Ringers - 78 (1978) - 6-3, 1.04 ERA, 28 Saves
2. Dennis Eckersley - 80 (1992) - 7-1, 1.91 ERA, 51 Saves
3. Eric Gagne - 82 (2003) - 2-3, 1.20 ERA, 55 Saves

Mariano Rivera - 81 (2004) - 8-4, 1.22 ERA, 45 Saves

Via Pride of the Yankees.

Now, I am of two minds here. If we're talking David Ortiz and A-Rod, it's A-Rod. I just read an article that beautifully summed up my thoughts on the Ortiz vs. A-Rod argument. It was by none other than Conan the Barbarian at noMaas.org. Check it out.


But, I have another name to throw out there. Dreaming? Perhaps, perhaps. Mariano Rivera. I left a comment on an entry at WasWatching.com and got 3 positive responses. Basically, the thought here, as laid out by Jason O. over there... if the award is really relative value to the team, Rivera is ahead of A-Rod and Ortiz. If he finishes out the season strong, get's his ERA below 1.20, perhaps gets either 45 saves or a win or 2 more, what do you think? Let's see here...

Let's imagine that God is going to strike 5 random players with injuries - right now. They will be injured for the rest of the year, but be back next year and will be fine. You can pick 1 player that will be "safe". Who do you pick? Good arguments can be made for A-Rod, Jeter, Mariano. But, when you think about it, Mariano. Mariano is the reason we have a slight grasp on 1st place. Mariano is the difference maker with the Red Sox. He's the reason we're in the playoff hunt. Now, don't get me wrong. Without A-Rod? We could be out. Without Giambi's turnaround? Yep, could be. But, without Mariano? We're totally, totally screwed. (Edit: Rereading this, I'm kind of torn between Jeter and Mariano just because Jeter means so much, but the point stands). If fate had blessed the Red Sox with Mariano and us with Foulke, not only would we be out of the playoffs a bit ago, but last year wouldn't have been the first Red Sox World Series championship since 1918.

How important is Mo right now? Seriously. We have to throw him virtually every night. If we didn't have him now, forget about it. That's the MVP. He deserves serious consideration. He probably won't get it as there is a natural bias against pitchers - especially relief pitchers, that will keep him from getting it. But, Cy Young is more likely. He deserves even stronger consideration for that award. I mean, let's think about it. If you could trade Mo for this season for any starting pitcher in the AL that we don't already have - would you do it? I guess there are certainly arguments to make, but... for me, no. Mo's the guy.

Red Sox fans everywhere are falling back to Earth as their loss coupled with a 2-1 Yankee victory over the Orioles moved the Yankees into first place for the first time since mid-July with just 11 games to go. Matt Lawton's 2-run shot to right in the 2nd was the difference as Randy Johnson pitched a great game in front of some great defense, most noticeably by Alex Rodriguez, who made quite a few diving grabs at 3rd. The Unit gave us 8 big innings and allowed only one run on three hits. Mariano Rivera entered the game in the 9th and struggled a bit, but he recovered and was helped by some good defense as well as he recorded his 41st save of the season.

The Yankees moved into first place courtesy of a huge 8th inning collapse by Mike Timlin as the Red Sox blew a 4-2 lead and lost 7-4. Both the Yankees and the Red Sox have the same teams remaining on their schedules (Blue Jays and Orioles), as well as three games against each other.

The Indians, who are still of some significance to the Yankees since they only led the Red Sox by a half game, defeated the White Sox and remain a half game better than the Bombers. The Yankees stand a half game behind them and 3 behind the White Sox for home field throughout the playoffs.

Mike Mussina will make his return tonight after an injury to his elbow. His opponent will be Orioles' lefty Bruce Chen. Mussina hasn't pitched since August 29 and will only have two starts at most to get in shape for the postseason if the Yankees make it. However, the Yankees need him to pitch well tonight as every game counts down the stretch. Hopefully if he's a little rusty the bats will pick him up.

Yesterday it was reported that the Tampa bay Devil Rays bought out the contract for Lou Piniella.

This story tries to figure out where he would be headed next year.


I would think if Torre wants to come back next year he can. But I have doubts on Cash and Mel coming back. It would be curious to see if Joe would stick around if that was the case.


It's hard to see that now seeing that the Yankees just overtook Boston for the lead in the AL East. We will see how the rest of the season plays out.

The Yankees remained only a half game behind the Red Sox, who won 15-2 last night as they defeated the Orioles 12-9 in a rather sloppy contest. The Yankees jumped ahead 4-0 in the first after Jorge Posada launched a three-run homer and went ahead 9-3 in the second, but were outscored 6-3 the rest of the way. Aaron Small wasn't sharp, as he allowed 10 hits in just 5 innings and allowed 4 to cross home plate, but his record improved to 9-0. Gary Sheffield hit a grand slam and had 6 RBI for the game and Alex Rodriguez also homered. A-Rod's home run total of 44 is just one behind David Ortiz, who homered twice last night.

The Indians lost to the White Sox last night on a walk-off home run by Joe Crede. That puts the Yankees only a half game out of both the division and wild card races. The Yanks still trail the White Sox by 4 games for the best record in the A.L., but of course that is not nearly as significant as just qualifying for the postseason.

The Yankees are hot right now, but this was the second time since Friday that the bullpen failed to hold a huge lead. The Yankees lead Toronto 11-3 on Friday only to watch them close the gap to 11-10 before the Yankees finally stopped the bleeding. Last night the Yankees lead 10-3 at one point and only won 12-9. It's really inexcusable to have to use your closer in a game like that, let alone for the second time in a row in which they led a game by 7 or more runs.

The Yankees will once again look to take over the A.L. East or the wild card lead tonight as Randy Johnson goes up against Rodrigo Lopez. Johnson has not really proved himself as a Yankee so far this season, but if he is effective in these last couple weeks it will go a long way in solidifying his first season with the team.

The Staten Island Yankees have won their third New York-Penn Championship. Congrats to them.

Via Brian MacMillan.

Up until October 9, you are able to vote for Mo as the MLB Delivery Man of the Year.

Via MLB.com.

The Yankees are playing like its September. With a game and a half back from Boston, and running out of games, the Yankees and Baltimore were going into the 9th tied 2-2. Chien-Ming Wang pitched a brilliant game, going eight innings and giving up only two runs on seven hits. With the Unit being tossed out of his last start, and Wright getting injured from his, the bullpen needed some time to breathe.

Tino made an amazing catch in the 9th. With his back to the infield, he reached up and pulled down an over-the-shoulder grab. It reminds you why he is out there in the late innings with such fine defensive plays such as this one. Mo finished off the order, and sent the game into the bottom of the ninth.

Bubba Crosby, who already had an above average game, was playing right field for the injured Gary Sheffield. Bubba watched the first pitch go by as a ball, but the second one he promptly put it into the right field bleachers to end the game.

The Yanks pulled to within a half a game of the LEAD in the AL East. With 13 games remaining and the last three in Boston against the leaders, the Yanks are playing for the post season. They remained a game and a half back from the Indians in the Wild Card, who won against the struggling White Sox.

Tonight, Aaron "Biggie" Small (8-0, 3.28 ERA) hopes to come up BIG for the Yanks again taking the mound against Baltimore's John Maine (2-1, 3.27 ERA). They must keep rolling to stay at pace with Boston... or should I go ahead and say it? Take the lead. Game time tonight is 7:05pm ET at the Stadium.

SHEFF TO DH REST OF WAY:


Steve Lombardi says that Sheffield has looked bad. I haven't watched any games in a bit, so it's tough for me to comment. Has he?

What should we do? Bench Sheff?

I look at Sheffield's numbers and from September 13 on, he's hitting .391 (9 for 23 - all singles). His last extra base hit was August 31. Now, he may be in bad shape. I don't know, I haven't seen him. Perhaps that would change my opinion. But, from where I sit right now, something just seems wrong to me about taking his bat out of the lineup when we need to win. I mean, even if he's just getting singles... isn't a .300 hitter better than most anything we could stick in there? So, if he's not in there... I look for him at DH. Giambi is the 1B and I see Crosby being the RF.

Thoughts?

Via Steve Lombardi.

The Yankees chances of pulling closer to Boston ended with a shard of broken bat hitting Jaret Wright on the elbow. He pitched just 2 1/3 innings before being removed from the game. He had a bruise, and a small cut on the elbow, but nothing more. For the few innings he pitched he was not himself. He gave up three runs on five hits. Al Leiter took his place and only gave up a run in 3 2/3 innings. He was replaced by Tanyon Sturtze who gave up the last Toronto run. It was enough as they avoided the sweep.

It was also an unfortunate loss as Cleveland won, putting them further out of the wild card by another game. They trail by 1 1/2 games now.

The Yanks were still in the game, with Jeter having the last at bat and a chance to tie the game with Cano at second, or win the game with a home run. He did neither, and struck out looking.

The good news is the Yankees enter their final home stand with four games against the Orioles and three games against the Blue Jays. The Yankees need to keep within 2-3 games with their last series of the season coming against them. Fate will truly be in their hands. They have 14 more games till the end of the season.

Tomorrow night has Chein-Ming Wang (7-4, 4.18 ERA) taking on Baltimore's Erik Bedard (6-7, 3.82 ERA) at the Stadium. Game time is 7:05pm ET. Lets hope the Yanks get back on track and finish their home stand on a high note (and hopefully overtaking Boston in the standings).

We're going to give away a signed copy of Bat Boy: My True Life Adventures Coming of Age with the New York Yankees to a randomly selected YanksBlog.com visitor later this month. If you'd like to win, head over to the giveaway page and enter.

We randomly gave away a signed (by the author, Matthew McGough) copy of Bat Boy: My True Life Adventures Coming of Age with the New York Yankees to YanksBlog.com visitor James Varghese. Congrats!

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It was straight up Chac on Chac action today as Shawn Chacon took the hill for the Yankees with Gustavo Chacin going fo the Blue Jays. It would be a pitchers duel. The lone run in the game coming on a Bernie Williams RBI single (scoring Posada) in the 2nd. The Yankees finished with a total of 10 hits and 1 walk with the Blue Jays putting together 6 hits and 1 walk. Posada was 3 for 4, Bernie was 2 for 4 and Jeter, Giambi, Sheffield, Matsui and Sierra had a hit apiece. The 2nd (A-Rod) and 9th (Cano) were the only spots hitless.

Chacon was dynamite, going 8 innings and allowing no runs on just 4 hits and 1 walk. With a 1 run lead going into the 9th, who do we go to? Mo. No, wait... not Mo. He'd gone for 3 straight days, pitching a total and 3 and 1/3 innings. We were able to give him a day off and STILL win. Yay! Mr. Flash Gordon picked up the slack, but it was close. He allowed 2 singles to start the 9th before striking out Corey Koskie and inducing a game ending double play ball off the bat of Shea Hillenbrand. Still, nice work by the Flashman.

This marked the 3rd game this year in which the Yankees won by a score of 1-0 - the second time this month. The Yankees end the week 6-0.

Tomorrow will pit a current Yankee against a former Yankee as Jaret Wright (5-2, 5.37 or 3-0, 3.38 since returning from the DL) faces Ted Lilly (8-10, 5.61). Boston and Cleveland both play tonightat 7:05 Eastern.

For Randy Johnson, it was not meant to be. After allowing 3 runs in the 1st, he was tossed out for arguing balls and strikes in the 2nd inning with 2 outs. It was his shortest start in more than a decade.

The Yankees did all of their damage in innings 1 through 4. Giambi doubled in A-Rod in the 1st. Flaherty doubled in Cano in the 2nd. The 3rd and 4th innings are where the Yankees really did their damage. Cano hit a 3 run shot, bringing in Giambi and Matsui. And then Flaherty homers. Yes, Flaherty. His 2nd home run of the year and his 12th in 131 games with the Yankees. In the 4th, A-Rod would hit a 2 run homer, bringing Jeter around. With Giambi at 3rd and Sheffield at 1st, Matsui grounded into a fielders choice - Sheffield out, but Giambi safe at home. Cano brought him around on his second home run of the day.

Proctor relieved Johnson in the 2nd retired the first batter he faced with a runner on second. He would be solid in the 3rd and 4th innings, as well, failing to allow a runner to score. So, entering the bottom of the 5th, it was Yankees 11, Blue Jays 3. However, the Blue Jays refused to go quietly into the night.

» Read More

ESPN has named Mariano Rivera's 23 consecutive postseason saves as one of the 12 greatest pitching feats of the last 25 years.

The Yankees are playing like it is September, which is good to see, as they swept the Tampa Bay Devil Rays (did I ever think I would say "Devil Rays" and "sweep" in the same sentence this year??) on the road and picked up another game on the losing Boston Red Sox.

Aarron Small (8-0) pitched good enough to win in his worst start of the year. He gave up five runs on seven hits in 6 2/3 innings. Regardless, the Yankee bats were smoking last night.

Bubba Crosby, playing right field, went 3-5 with 2 RBI's and Robinson Cano went 3-5 with 6 RBI's. Both were at the bottom of the order, and did the damage that was enough to overcome Small's bad performance.

The Yankees are now 1 1/5 games behind Boston for the AL East lead. Shilling was drilled last night in their game against Oakland. They are also only a half a game behind the Cleveland Indians as they were idle last night. All of this amounts to some interesting baseball in the next few weeks.

Tonight Randy Johnson (14-8, 3.91 ERA) is on the mound for the visiting Yankees. They take on Toronto with their pitcher Dave Bush (5-8, 4.00 ERA). Game time is 7:07pm ET at the Rogers Centre.

Steve Lombardi reminded me of a post I made nearly a couple weeks ago.

Anyway, when Mike Vento got into the game, he became player number 51 and set the record.

The Yankees have actually won a series against the Devil Rays, as they won a back and forth 6-5 contest at Tropicana Field. The bullpen was very sharp as they gave us 2 and 2/3 innings without giving up a run. Chien-Ming Wang struggled a bit, going 6 and 1/3 and giving up 5 runs on 9 hits. The Indians and Red Sox both won, so the Yankees did not gain any ground on either race. However, the A's loss to the Indians puts them 2.5 games behind the Yankees in the standings.

The Yankees led 2-0 in the top of the 4th before the Devil Rays tied the score at two in the bottom of the inning. The Yankees regained a two-run lead in the 5th, but the D'Rays tied the score yet again in the bottom of the 5th. In the 7th, Derek Jeter launched a single into right field with the bases loaded and two outs to give the Bombers a 6-4 lead. The Yankees were finally able to hold that lead as Tampa Bay scored only once in the 7th and did not score again throughout. The Yankees used four relievers to hold the lead (Tanyon Sturtze threw only one pitch) and Mariano Rivera recorded his 38th save of the season.

Tonight Aaron Small will take his 7-0 record to the mound as he will face Seth McClung. McClung is 6-9 with a 6.32 E.R.A. in 31 appearances this season. He has made only 14 starts.

As it stood, we had only 20 games left to play. Down a game in the wild card standings and 3.5 behind the Red Sox, the Yankees entered Tampa Bay for what very well could be their toughest series remaining considering how they have played against the Devil Rays this season. The Yanks opened this series last night with a complete thrashing of the Rays, as they scored 5 in the 1st, 5 in the 2nd, and 7 runs in the 6th inning en route to a 17-3 victory. Bernie Williams had three hits on his birthday, Gary Sheffield made his return, and Jason Giambi launched his 30th home run before Joe Torre brought in a few bench players and September callups. Jaret Wright was solid after a rough first inning, giving up 3 runs on 5 hits in 7 innings.

The Red Sox, on the other hand, were the victims of a blowout at the hands of the Toronto Blue Jays, so the Yankees' victory allowed them to gain a game on Boston in the standings as they are now 2.5 games back. The Indians won over the Athletics, meaning they remain one game ahead of the Yankees for the wild card (tied in the loss column). However, Oakland's loss put them 1.5 games behind the Yankees in the standings.

One Yankee who did not have the greatest game of his career (or perhaps it will be) was rookie Mike Vento. In his Major League debut, he let a ball roll under his legs in right field and he also forgot how many outs there were, as he reached on a fielder's choice with one out, but began to head back into the dugout thinking that was the third out. Vento was tagged out before he could get back to first. Fortunately though for Vento and for the Yankees, the game was pretty much over before he entered and Derek Jeter was able to calm him down a bit and joke around with him in the dugout.

What is unfortunate for the Yankees, however, is that those 17 runs are not accumulative over the entire series, meaning they'll have to start over again tonight as Chien-Ming Wang goes up against Mark Hendrickson, who has become a nemesis of sorts for the Yankees. Perhaps we should send some sort of letter or petition to him asking him to reconsider resuming his basketball career.

Updating a previous entry, Derek Jeter was voted by the fans as the Marvin Miller Man of the Year Award finalist for the American League East. The other finalists are Mike Sweeney, Barry Zito, Andruw Jones, Albert Pujols and Todd Helton.

Major leaguers will select the winner - voting ends on Wednesday.

Via Brian MacMillan.

AL tie-breaker sites determined:


So, if we tie with Boston for the division or Oakland for the wild card, we'll have home field advantage in the tie breaker game. If we tie with Cleveland for the wild card, we'll have to go to Cleveland.

Via Steve Lombardi.

I'll be honest and admit that I didn't get a chance to see much of todays game. But, you can rest assured, it will be one that I'll definitely watch tomorrow on mlb.tv archive. What a great game, and much needed. They needed today's gutsy performance from the Unit and they got it, and then some.

Giambi's lone homer in the first was all that it took from the Yankees offense to get the win. A statement that is rare as they come these days with the Yanks pitching in constant shuffle. The long ball that Jason Giambi hit was just barely fair as it hooked the right field foul pole. Wakefield, had a career day himself striking out 12 Yankee bats.

Johnson himself struck out 8, walked 2 and gave up just one hit. He was replaced by Gordon in the eighth, and Rivera closed out the game for his 37th save. It marked 32 saves for Rivera against Boston in his career, the most saves against Boston in their history.

Tuesday night the Yankees hit the road and travel to Tampa to play the Devil Rays. Jaret Wright (4-2, 5.76 ERA) takes on Doug Waechter (5-9, 5.04 ERA). It has already been decided that the Yanks will have a losing record this season against the Devil Rays. What hasn't be decided is how the Yankees will play the remainder of their games against Tampa. Let's hope they come out with the same intensity as they do against Boston. Game time is 7:05pm ET at Tropicana field.

Ouch.

In the top of the 1st, after making 2 outs, Chacon walked Manny. Ortiz homered. 2-0 Red Sox. Nothing doing on either side until the 4th inning, which would be the big black mark.

It was a long top half. To start, John Olerud leads off with a home run. Mueller singles. Kapler singles. That's the end of Chacon's day (his line: 3 IP, 5 ER). In comes Felix Rodriguez. Tony Graffanino singles, but no runs score. This is where two critical mistakes were made - mistakes that put the game out of reach. F-Rod the pitching pitcher did his job on Renteria - he induced a slow roller that bounced perfectly back to him. No doubt double play ball. Unfortunately, F-Rod the defensive pitcher almost throws it away. Flaherty makes a nice catch and gets 1 out. Out goes F-Rod, in comes Leiter. Here is critical play number two. Leiter gets Ortiz to hit a lazy fly to left. Uh oh... Matsui's lost it in the sun, it looks like. Whatever it was, he misplayed it, first going back too far and then having to rush in. However, he still should have caught it - it hits his glove and goes out. Run scores, inning still alive. Right there is 3 outs. Plays we should have made and if we had made them, there would have only been 1 run scored in the 4th, instead of 6.

Unfortunately, that's not how it happened. After Matsui's error, Manny singled in a run. Then Trot Nixon singled in 2 more. Then Varitek comes up and hits a double play ball to end the inning. But, wait, no... Cano throws it into the seats on what was a very awkward play. I don't know how the ball got that far, but it did. And another run scored. Finally, Olerud comes up again and ends the inning.

Giambi hit number 28 in the bottom of the 4th. It was solo and that would make the score 8-1. All was quiet for the 5th, 6th and 7th innings before both teams (Renteria sacrificed Cora in and Bernie singled in Lawton) added a run. And that was all she wrote, as the Yankees lost 9-2.

Al Leiter actually pitched a good game, eating up 5 and 2/3 innings, allowing just 1 ER. Our pitching was good today. Our defense was terrible and (forgetting only 2 runs scored) that was the main problem. The Yankee offense came up with 6 hits, 2 by Cano and then 1 each by Jeter, Williams, Giambi and Matsui.

I look at tomorrow as a must win if we're going to have a shot at the division. Sure, we could win, but there will be a big difference between 3 games back and 5 games back with 20 to go. We need to win. And we'll place it on the guy that was supposed to be our rock, supposed to win the big games. That's Randy Johnson. He'll face Tim Wakefield (15-10, 4.05).

Also, you can vote for the Latino Legends Team.

A number of Yankees/former Yankees are on the ballot, including Alfonso Soriano, Tony Fernandez, Alex Rodriguez, Jose Cruz, Sr., Bernie Williams, Lefty Gomez, Jose Rijo, Luis Tiant and Mariano Rivera. Bert Campaneris and John Candelaria are also listed as possible write ins.

My ballot:

C - Ivan Rodriguez
1B - Rafael Palmeiro
2B - Rod Carew
3B - Edgar Martinez (kind of weak, not that he's a bad player, but he's been a DH for what seems like forever)
SS - Alex Rodriguez
OF - Roberto Clemente
OF - Sammy Sosa
OF - Bernie Williams
SP - Lefty Gomez
SP - Juan Marichal
SP - Luis Tiant
RP - Mariano Rivera (SHOCK!)

Congrats to Bernie on reaching 2,200 hits. Only Gehrig, Ruth, Mantle and DiMaggio have more in pinstripes.

Congrats to Derek for being nominated for the Marvin Miller Man of the Year Award. You can vote now, but hurry - the deadline is tomorrow.

Finally, congrats to Jorge for being nominated for the Roberto Clemente Award.

Via Steve Lombardi and Brian MacMillan and Brian MacMillan.

The Yankees have now entered the 2nd to last series of the season with the Red Sox, playing the 1st of the final 6 games. These 6 games are big. And we struck first. Lead by timely hitting and pitching, the Yankees beat the Red Sox 8-4.

Aaron Small remained undefeated, picking up his 7th win of the year and allowing 4 earned runs over 6 and 1/3 innings of work. After placing runners at 1st and 2nd with 1 out in the 7th, Torre went to Tanyon Sturtze, who promptly hit Manny Ramirez with a pitch. Exit Tanyon, enter Alan Embree, in his first appearance against his former team. An error by Cano later and a run has scored with the bases remaining loaded. Exit Embree, enter Flash who induces an inning ending double play off the bat of Jason Varitek. Big appearance. Gordon also took care of the 8th scoreless.

» Read More

Yesterday, Alex Rodriguez launched his site, AROD.COM.

With the site going live, Alex was asked questions by the fans, here are a few favorites:

The Yankees entered the game knowing that they had to win to keep their lead in the wild card. They were playing the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. A team in dead last in their division with a 58-82 record (21-50 on the road). A team that they just can't figure out this season.

The Yanks turned in another miserable performance losing against Mark Hendrickson. Hendrickson has the highest batting average against in the majors at .320. He also owned a 6.09 ERA, the fifth worst amongst starters. He pitched effective enough with most of the damage being done in the seventh inning.

The Yankees can't expect one big inning every game to get them through for the win. They seem to be in a daze at the plate, losing focus and aiming for the stands in long-ball fashion. Patience at the plate and hits are what I want.

Highlights for the Yanks were the return of Obi-Wang to the lineup from two months on the DL. He pitched 5 innings on 80 pitches giving up 3 runs. The combo of Wayne Franklin and Scott Proctor sends chills up my spine. It's not a matter of when or if they will give up runs, but more like the matter of how many.

Sierra broke out of his slump, and hit a two run homer in the seventh as that was the Yanks only inning of scoring for the night.

The Yankees are still in it being only 1/2 game out of the wild card and four games back from Boston. They have a legitimate shot, but seeing how they've played this year against Tampa Bay, you must wonder if they have it in their hearts to take it to the next level. Are they being motivated enough by their coaches and manager? That's a question that needs to be answered.

Tonight the Yankees have a crucial series (they all are at this point) in playing the Red Sox at the Stadium. Aaron "Biggie" Small (6-0, 2.42 ERA) takes on David "Boomer" Wells (12-6, 4.24 ERA). Game time is 7:05pm ET.

Tuesday night, the Yankees dropped an early 3-0 lead in an eventual loss to the Devil Rays. Last night, it was Tampa Bay who went ahead 4-0 early as the Yankees rallied from behind to beat the D'Rays 5-4. Jaret Wright allowed four first inning runs, but did not allow any more as he gave up 8 hits in 6 and 2/3.

Hideki Matsui drove in the first 3 runs for the Yankees. The first was on a solo home run off Doug Waechter in the 4th inning, and the next two came on a double in the 6th inning which scored Robinson Cano and Derek Jeter. The Yankees still trailed 4-3 in the bottom of the 8th with nobody on and two outs, but A-Rod singled into centerfield before Jason Giambi brought him home as well as himself with a two-run shot to right field. Mariano Rivera pitched a 1-2-3 9th inning to record his 36th save of the season.

Wow, who ever would've thought on July 1 when Jason Giambi had only 5 home runs that he could possibly be on his way to a 30 home run season? He's got 27 now with 24 games left on the schedule. He'd basically need a home run every eight games to reach 30. I'd say he's turned it around quite a bit since early in May when the Yankees were advising Giambi to accept a demotion to the minor leagues and even pondering just letting him walk away with the $80 million he was still owed on his contract. He's raised his batting average nearly 100 points since then.

Tonight's game is one to look forward to as rookie surprise Chien-Ming Wang makes his return to the rotation after being placed on the disabled list in July with a shoulder injury. His opponent will be the 6'9" former NBA forward Mark Hendrickson.

The Yankees got out to an early 3-0 lead in the 2nd inning last night against the Devil Rays, but failed to scrore the rest of the way as the Bombers fell short 4-3. Randy Johnson kept the Yankees in the game, going 6 1/3 innings and giving up 3 runs on 7 hits. Mariano Rivera recorded the loss as an error by Robinson Cano in the 9th allowed Joey Garthright to score the go-ahead run.

The Yankees are now 4-10 against the last place Devil Rays. You'd think that this would be a case of a talent-laden, playoff contending team like the Yankees simply sleeping on a team like Tampa Bay, but I really don't know if that is the case. Guys like Casey Fossum, Mark Hendrickson, and Scott Kazmir just pitch well against them. I really think that although the Yankees still should beat these guys, it's more a matter of the Devil Rays playing up to the competition than it is the Yankees playing down to their competition.

Tonight we'll get to see how Jaret Wright bounces back from his last start in which he took a liner off his collarbone and had to leave the game against the Mariners. He'll start tonight at the Stadium against the Devil Rays' Doug Waechter.

Steve Lombardi compares the similiarities in hit counts between Derek Jeter and Pete Rose. They're very close - of course, as he notes and I agree, I don't really see Jeter playing until he is 45. Anyway, he also mentioned this:


Oddly enough, I didn't realize that no one has reached 3,000 hits in the Yankee uniform. Looking it up, no one has reached 2,722, either, with Lou Gehrig being the highest at 2,721. If not for ALS, he probably would have been the first (and only) one to do it. Anyway, I'd love to see Jeter do that. Of course, he's currently 8th on the all time list, so we've got a ways to go.

Chien-Ming Wang will be back on the mound on Thursday where he'll face the Devil Rays. The rotation for the last game of the Devil Rays series and then for 3 games with the Red Sox will be Wang, Small, Chacon and Johnson.

First pitch to Derek Jeter, and he puts it into the stands for a home run. This set the game's tone and the Yankees clearly dominated the Oakland Athletics this evening in taking the win. In doing so, the Yanks assume sole possession of the AL Wild Card.

Oakland's Barry Zito lasted only a little over 3 innings as he gave up 6 runs on 9 hits. It was the shortest start of the season for Zito, and clearly the Yankees did what was needed in getting him to throw 50 pitches in the first two innings.

Chacon pitched another beauty, and bounced back after his last performance, with pitching 6 2/3 innings and giving up 2 runs on 5 hits. Gordon and Rivera finished the game.

There's no game tonight as the Yankees are travelling back home. Tomorrow night the Yanks take on the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Randy Johnson (13-8, 4.04 ERA) takes on Casey Fossum (8-11, 4.92 ERA) at the Stadium. Game time is 7:05pm ET.

The finalists for the American League Hank Aaron Award have been announced. They are A-Rod, Miguel Tejada, David Ortiz, Paul Konerko, Vladimir Guerrero and Mark Teixeira. Voting starts September 6.

Via Brian MacMillan.

On Friday, the Yankees tied the record for most players used a season (50) when Wil Nieves came into the game. We've got 27 games left to try and break it. The problem is that everyone currently on the roster has already played a game. Barring injury, we may just be stuck right where we are...

Via Brian MacMillan.

Well, it's not 12-0, but close enough. Replacing the injured Mike Mussina, Aaron Small was dyamite today, pitching his first career shutout en route to his 6th win of the year. Over 9 innings, he threw 112 pitches - striking out 3 while walking 2 and allowing 5 hits. His record improves to 6-0.

The Yankee bats supported him with 7 runs, including 5 2 out RBIs (3 from Giambi and 2 from A-Rod), on 9 hits and 4 walks. The offense was led by Giambi (1 for 4, 1 HR, 3 RBI), A-Rod (3 for 3, 1 run, 2 RBI) and Matsui (0 for 4, 0 BB, 2 RBI, 1 run - funny line right there). The other runs were scored by Sheffield, Posada, Cano and Crosby (who got the start in center). Cano added 2 hits of his own with Jeter, Posada and Crosby each coming out with 1 hit apiece.

Matsui's 2 RBI put him at 100 for the year. If he maintains this pace, he'll finish with his highest RBI total in a season as a Yankee, with room to spare. A-Rod's 2 put him at 108 and Giambi's HR marks number 26.

The Yankees are now in a 2 way (3 if Cleveland wins) tie for the Wild Card lead. Shawn Chacon will look to rebound against Barry Zito (12-10 with a 3.37 ERA) tomorrow at 8:05 PM Eastern.

Hello,

As I am sure you are aware, our country is now dealing with the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. This has and will affect many, many people. There is a lot of work to be done and people that need to be helped. In line with this, I wanted to put out a call to the users of this site to donate money to the charity of your choosing, if you are so inclined. If you don't know what charity to donate to, donate to the American Red Cross. Instapundit.com has a list of charities, as well. Please feel free to use the comments section of this entry to recommend a charity.

Thank you for reading.

Al Leiter couldn't get out of the first inning, giving up 6 earned runs over 2/3 of an inning pitched. Jorge De Paula (his first appearance of the year) would relieve him and eat up 5 and 1/3 innings, allowing 6 earned runs of his own, before giving way to Wayne Franklin, who pitched the final 2 innings scoreless and retired every batter he faced.

In the end, all the A's needed was 1 run because the Yankees couldn't even score that. The Yankees' 7 hits and 5 walks amounted to nil. Matt Lawton went 2 for 2 and was the only Yankee (or lineup spot) to pick up more than 1 hit. Jeter, Sierra, Womack, Posada and Cano were the other Yankees to pick up hits. Mark Bellhorn got 2 ABs playing shortstop and John Flaherty got some time at first. Wil Nieves got his first MLB action as a Yankee. 16 position players were used, as the starters were pulled as the game was deemed out of reach.

We now find ourselves 1 game back in the Wild Card race and 3.5 back in the division. Aaron Small (5-0, 3.03) returns to the rotation today, making his first start since August 10. He'll face Kirk Saarloos (9-6, 3.98). A win will give us a share of the Wild Card lead.

It's pretty much official. With Kevin Brown being placed on the 60 day DL, he looks to have thrown his final pitch for the Yankees - and perhaps for any team.

At the time of the trade, I felt it was a risk worth taking. Throw out salary because that has limited meaning here. Brown was coming off of a year in which he pitched 32 games, going 14-9 with a 2.39 ERA. He had thrown 211 innings. He had had injury trouble in the two years prior, but had performed very well overall. Weaver, on the other hand, had gone 7-9 with a 5.99 ERA and was 12-12 with a 5.34 ERA as a Yankee. Young with some potential? Possibly, but he simply hadn't performed well. Hindsight is always 20-20.

Since the trade:

Kevin Brown
35 games. 14-13 with a 4.95 ERA.

Jeff Weaver
62 games. 26-21 with a 4.10 ERA.

So, Weaver has vastly outperformed Brown while being younger and earning less money. Would he have done it in New York? Who knows, but I guess not. Kevin Brown has been a disappointment and, while the trade didn't work out in our favor, I can't say that it was really a terrible deal or any great ripoff because how Weaver would have performed in New York is anyones guess.

Jaret Wright was cruising along pitching into the sixth inning. The Yankees at that time were winning 1-0. Then Seattle's Raul Ibanez steps to the plate and hits a line-drive right off the collarbone of Wright, which then bounced off his neck. Wright left the game, then things just got worse.

Enter Tanyon Sturtze who was a terrific reliever until Joe and Mel decide to let him make an emergency start back in July, he hasn't been quite the same since then. Sturtze gave up the game tying single to tie the game 1-1. He also gave up a home run to Miguel Ojeda in the seventh as the Mariners went on to take the win.

Tests on Wright's shoulder and collarbone were negative, thankfully. Although I'm sure he will experience some stiffness in the coming days. Hopefully we won't miss a start.

Offensively the Yankees couldn't get it going. They left 8 men on base for the day.

Ramiro Mendoza did make an apperance today pitching the 8th inning and giving up two more runs. It was his first apperance since last year playing with Boston. A strange pickup, but it has been that way this year with the Yankees picking up Bellhorn and Embree. It'll be interesting to see if any other Boston leftovers will become Yankees.

The Yankees continue their west coast swing tomorrow night down in Oakland. They take on the Athletics in what will probably be a key matchup for the wildcard. Al Leiter (7-10, 5.75 ERA) takes on Danny Haren (11-10, 3.99 ERA). Both pitchers are pitching great now. With Mussina tapped to miss his next start, we must win this game! Game time is 10:05pm ET.

Steve Lombardi suggests:


I agree. George Steinbrenner is a Hall of Fame owner. Bob Sheppard is a Hall of Fame PA announcer.

The Yankees went 19-10 in August. Key performers:

Hot

Tom Gordon
13 games. 1-0, 0.68 ERA, 0.83 WHIP, .159 BAA.

Alex Rodriguez
29 games. .324 BA, 22 R, 7 2B, 12 HR, 24 RBI, .429 OBA, .733 SLG, 1.162 OPS.

Derek Jeter
28 games. .336 BA, 22 R, 6 2B, 2 3B, 2 HR, 11 RBI, .402 OBA, .872 OPS.

Aaron Small
6 games (2 started). 3-0, 2.42 ERA.

Cold

Robinson Cano
28 games. .207 BA (23 for 111), 10 R, 1 HR, 6 RBI, .252 OBA, .251 SLG, .513 OPS.

Mike Mussina
6 games. 2-2, 6.68 ERA, 1.58 WHIP, .313 BAA.

Tony Womack
20 games. .218 BA (12 for 55), 2 RBI, .214 OBA, .273 SLG, .487 OPS.

Tanyon Sturtze
13 games. 1-1, 1 save, 5.11 ERA, 1.78 WHIP.

Hideki Matsui
29 games. .254 BA, 14 R, 3 HR, 17 RBI, .310 OBA, .390 SLG, .700 OPS.

Last night's matchup between one of the best pitchers of the last 20 years against possibly one of the best for the next 20 years did not dissapoint. Mariners 19-year old rookie phenom Felix Hernandez was great, but 20th century legend Randy Johnson was not to be outdone as he gave up only three hits in 7 shutout innings en route to a 2-0 victory for the Yanks. Hernandez gave up only four hits in 8 innings himself, but two of those hits were home runs, one each to Robinson Cano and Gary Sheffield. Tom Gordon and Mariano Rivera both gave us solid outings out of the bullpen, and Rivera recorded his 35th save this season in 39 chances.

With the win, the Yankees remain 2.5 games behind Boston and they are now a full game ahead in the wild card race over the Angels. The Indians' loss to the Tigers pushed them to 1.5 games behind the Yankees. Hey, don't look now, but the Yankees are actually just 5.5 games behind the White Sox for the best record in the American League and home field advantage throughout the playoffs.

Does anybody still want to talk about how the Yankees can't pitch? This game was the Yankees' 10th shutout victory this season, tying them with Oakland for the most in the American League. That's almost a shutout for every seven victories. Not a bad ratio at all. I really don't understand why people still use that "The Yankees don't have the pitching" argument. They've really been for the most part pretty solid for the last month or two. The only problems we've had have been a few guys who have struggled in middle relief. But I'd much rather be in this position than in the Red Sox' position when it comes to pitching.

The Yankees will finish up this series in Seattle this afternoon as they try to take 3 out of 4 before heading to Oakland for a big series with the A's. The pitching matchup will feature Jaret Wright for the Yanks against Joel Pineiro.