Memo to the Yankee Brass:

We get it. He's good. He's dominating the league. Promote Kennedy already.

While you're at it...you might want to keep this guy in the back of your mind as well. He's loosening up in Tampa and Joba will be ready for that trip to AA real soon.

Also, speaking of double-A, not too shabby tonight ...and all season, Jeff. Not too shabby at all.

Oh, and anyone discouraged that the Yankees pick so late...well, those #1 picks don't always pan out...

Let me state right here that I love Baseball-Reference.com. I always have...but they have forced my love to a higher level. The additions of the play index, splits, gamelogs, etc. have essentially moved BR to my home page.

In any case, I just wanted to throw up some interesting streaks - make of them what you will.

A-Rod in his the first 18 games: .400/.453/1.053/1.506 with 7 2Bs, 14 Hrs and 34 RBI.
A-Rod in the next 33 games: .225/.345/.383/.728 with 4 2Bs, 5 HRs and 11 RBI. Can you imagine how much heat he'd be taking right now if he hadn't had such a hot start?

Robbie Cano over the last 13 games (coming off his lowest OPS point of the year): .346/.358/.615/.973 with 7 2Bs, 2 3Bs and 1 HR. Of course, this was all done mostly batting 8th or 9th - way to ride the hot hand Joe.

Bobby Abreu through the first five games: .348/.448/.478/.926 with 1 HR and 6 RBI.
Bobby Abreu in the following 44 games: .213/.293/.264/.557 with 1 HR, 16 RBI, 20 BB and 39 Ks.

Melky over the last 18 games (the last time his AVG was under .200): .273/.349/.455/.804 with 2 2Bs, 1 3B and 1 HR over 64 PA. I know it's not awesome but it is certainly a lot better than his first 24 games: .190/.235/.203/.438 with 1 2B in 87 PA. Still, it's encouraging...especially if with Giambi down, Damon sees more time at DH and you see a lot more of Melky in the field.

Peter Abraham reports that, according to Cashman, Phil will need 4-6 weeks of rehab. Allowing for time to get his arm ready to pitch, Abraham says we shouldn't expect him back before 8-10 weeks.

If you scratched out all the names in Wednesday night's box score and just looked at the numbers, you'd probably have no idea you just saw the same Yankee team that you've seen the first two months of the season. If this was "fill in the blank," You probably wouldn't have wrote "Robinson Cano" next to 4-4 with 3 doubles to Robinson Cano, and you probably wouldn't have guessed to put Jason Giambi next to the 3-4 and 3 RBI if you were guessing solely based on the rest of this month's games. And I suppose you wouldn't have put two runs and 3 hits in just over an inning with Brian Bruney, either.

But that's how the Yankees ended their 5-game losing streak, by getting help from players who, well, haven't been helping them much at all the last month or so. The Yankees got something else that I thought was crucial that they haven't been getting, which was an early lead as Johnny Damon led the game off with a home run and the Yankees tattooed rookie Jessie Litsch for 5 runs in the first as Litsch failed to record more than two outs in his first career start against the Yankees.

Tyler Clippard pitched 5 innings, was dominant for the first two and then started to get a little rattled in the next three. Clippard gave up two runs in the third and one in the fourth inning as the Blue Jays started to creep up on the Yanks and Yankee fans who were watching thought "Uh oh, here we go." In the end, though, Clippard's performance was really not that bad with a line of 3 runs on 4 hits and 3 strikeouts.

Brian Bruney inherited a 6-3 lead in the 6th and pitched a good 6th inning but gave up a two-run shot to Matt Stairs in the 7th that brought the Blue Jays within a run before Scott Proctor came in and stopped the bleeding. Proctor was a little shaky, however, in the bottom of the 8th and Mariano Rivera came in with two outs in (gasp!) a save situation. Mariano Rivera got Lyle Overbay to ground out with runners on 1st and 2nd to end the Jays' threat and preserve the 6-5 lead.

The Yanks blew it open in a very strange 9th inning. After already scoring a run on a base hit by Alex Rodriguez, the Yankees scored again on what looked to be a routine popup to third. Turns out A-Rod shouted something as he was rounding the bases, distracting Blue Jays' 3B Howie Clark, and the ball dropped in for an RBI single by Jorge Posada. It still only got worse from there for Toronto as Jason Giambi followed that up with a two-run single to put the Yankees up 10-5. Rivera pitched a scoreless 9th to pick up his 4th save of the season.

Say what you want about what A-Rod did there, but I was kind of glad to see it. You have to grab a win any way you can get it, especially in a season where you're losing games like the one they lost against the Mariners. Also, the play prompted a few Blue Jay players to throw a few words at A-Rod which actually got a somewhat fiery response (I read some lips; words not YanksBlog.com appropriate), which I think in a way is actually a good thing. It was good to finally see a Yankee show a little bit of fire and emotion, even if he did cheat a little bit.

Another thing I liked about this game was the way the Yankees hit with two outs. They have been missing opportunities all season, but today scored a total of 6 runs in the game with two outs in a game they won by 5. I think two-out hitting so far has been the main difference between this lineup and other recent Yankee teams.

The Yanks will get today off before heading to Boston for a three-game set. They could cut the Red Sox' lead to 10.5 games or could leave Fenway behind by as much as 16.5 (OK, I probably made that sound like 10.5 games is nothing). Probably best for the Yankees to approach this as three one-game sets as opposed to a three-game series.

I normally wouldn't talk about nonsense like this, but I guess it's going to be a story, so let's get it out of the way. The New York Post has this:


I guess I'd be interested to see the photos (not just the one on the cover - who hasn't walked behind a woman into an elevator?!), not that they would mean a lot necessarily, but really, when it comes to stuff like this - everyone needs to check themselves. With stories like these, I always issue caution. No one should jump to believe this. No one should be passing it along as some sort of absolute truth. Maybe if you're a fan of gossip, this is your cup of tea. But, gossip is gossip - it's not fact. The two can align sometimes, but they aren't mutually exclusive. The first reaction to something like this should be suspicion. This is a serious thing that impacts people's lives and it should be treated as such. It should not be something that you simply believe because of one news report, a questionable photo or two and some whisperings.

Recognize what you're reading. At this stage, you're reading gossip. I don't know if there is a list of gossip qualifiers out there, but here's one: you might be reading gossip if the write up contains terms like "mysterious, busty blonde", "gal pal", "cozy duo" and "snug pair of blue jeans". So, while I'm not saying it couldn't have happened (who knows), this is something that should be taken carefully.

Via Mike.

From MLB.com:

With their 3-2 loss last evening in Rogers Center, the Yankees wasted another great start by Andy Pettitte, who is easily one of the 5 best pitchers in the AL so far this year.

In the bottom first, Alex Rios was awarded second on Jeter's throwing error, a great play to stop the ball in the infield then a poor throw from #2's knees that sailed by Mientkiewicz. Rios then stole third, Posada had plenty of time to throw him out but dropped the ball on the transfer. Vernon Wells hit a deep grounder to Alex and Rios scored, 1-0.

(Offbeat plays like the above dominated this game....read on if you have an iron stomach)

Giambi reached on an infield single (!!??!?) in the top second, then stole second and went to third on a throwing error...this freakish game was just warming up.

For the next 5 full innings, Pettitte was simply dealing. He got out of the bottom 2nd and 3rd with double plays. All of his pitches were working but with a 91-92mph fastball, he was deadly. (Meanwhile, the offense was feeble, 1-7 with RISP)

Until the top 7th, when Giambi went the other way with authority to tie the contest 1-1. That's when the game became a Kafka short story and we all turned into insects....In the bottom of the 7th, Aaron Hill was on 1st and Frank Thomas on second. Jason Phillips grounded to Alex, who touched third for out #2 and then made a terrible throw to Phelps at first, it got away, and Hill took third base.
To review:

1) Phillips's ground ball was clearly going to go foul.
2) Alex missed an easy throw for the double play.

Then, with Pettitte focused on Royce Clayton, Hill crept off of 3rd and stole home: 2-1 Toronto. At that point I left Kafka and entered a David Lynch movie-like trance, because stealing home in the AL is pure surrealism. Bravo John Gibbons, an audacious move.

Once again, the Yankees did not fold the tent. Both Jetes and Alex reached on fielding errors. (totally out of character for this game, I know) Jorge's bloop just cleared the second baseman's glove and plated Jeter, 2-2. Giambi and Abreu could not deliver Alex from second.

Torre inserted Proctor into the game in the bottom 8th (not Bruney!!??!) and Toronto scored the winning run after a double and two sacrifices.

That was it. Hopefully tonight's game can be salvaged.

Steven White made his first start of the year at High-A Tampa after coming off the DL earlier this week. 6 and a third, 6 hits, 1 earned run, 1 walk and 6 Ks. Let's hope his arm stays healthy because when he's going well...he can be pretty good...trading chip good.

Also, Mitch Hilligoss got a hit (a 2-run double) in his final at-bat to tie the SAL record by hitting safely in his 35th straight game. Not too shabby, eh?

Finally, my guy Eric Duncan (and I say that because it seems like I'm the last guy who still likes Duncan as a prospect) went into tonight's game with a .234/.345/.339/.683 line. First off, that's not a bad OBP for such a bad average, especially with his problems against lefties (take a look at that .111 BABIP though). In addition, he's had a very encouraging 13 BBs and 4 Ks in his last 20 games so I fully expect the hits (and power) to start coming soon. I mean, he was named the Yankees' "Best Power Hitter" by Baseball America at one point for a reason, right? Well, hopefully, tonight will be the start of a good streak for the kid/trading chip. If nothing else, his 3-for-3 performance with 2 HRs makes his season line look quite a bit better: .252/.362/.402 for a .763 OPS (and I expect that SLG line to end up north of .450). It's not great...but it's getting better for the kid in his age 22 season at AAA.

This is my weekly recap of the performance of the YanksBlog.com teams in the Yankees Bloggers Fantasy Baseball League.

Last Week

In the biggest game of the week, it was the top ranked Mike (River Ave. Blues) against the second place James. Unfortunately, the final score didn't end up being all that close as Mike took the game, 8-2. Although both offenses were productive, Mike swept the offensive side with James' two victories coming in ERA and WHIP.

Mike's offense was led by Jason Bay, who turned in a 6 run, 2 home run, 10 RBI, .500 AVG week. Adrian Gonzalez also hit .500 to go along with 2 dingers, 5 runs and 4 RBI. On James' side, it was Miguel Tejada (5 runs, 3 HR, 8 RBI, .409 AVG) and Brian Roberts (5 R, 1 HR, 7 RBI, 4 SB, .429 AVG). Mike's pitching had 5 wins and 9 saves in comparison to James' 3 and 6. Mike picked up a win each from Smoltz, Hamels, Carmona, Felix Hernandez and Matsuzaka with Hamels striking out 16 for the week. Joe Nathan and Francisco Rodriguez each had 3 saves, Jeremy Accardo had 2 and Kevin Gregg picked up 1. James had wins from Penny, Jenks and Peavy with 2 saves coming from Wagner and Valverde and one a piece from Jenks and Soria.

In the "we are family" game, I defeated Seamus by the score of 8 to 1. Seamus' lone victory came in batting average (.291) with us tying in steals (4). I swept the pitching side as Seamus' pitchers combined for 2 wins, 1 save, 31 K's, a 6.87 ERA and 1.61 WHIP. Offensively, I have to give it to A-Rod, who had 5 runs, 2 homers, 3 RBI, 2 SBs and a (*cough*) .200 average. Prince Fielder had 3 homers on the week. Seamus' top offensive contributions came from Carlos Delgado with 5 runs, 2 HR, 6 runs batted in, 1 stolen base (?!) and a .360 AVG.

On the pitching side, I had 3 wins and 4 saves. My wins came from Pettitte, Kazmir and Zito and my saves all came from one man. Joe Borowski. Mo, Dotel and Street (DL) combined for 0 saves this week for my squad. Kazmir struck out 11. Seamus had wins from Brandon Webb (15 K's) and Jered Weaver and a save from Todd Jones.

Top 3 teams in the league:

1. Mike (51-26-3)
2. James (41-36-3)
T3. Ben (River Ave. Blues) (41-37-2)
T3. EJ (Pinstripe Potentials and Pending Pinstripes) (39-35-6)

This Week

James (2nd, 41-36-3) vs. Dave (Pride of the Yankees) (6th, 36-38-6).

Patrick (9th, 31-43-6) vs. Joseph (River Ave. Blues) (7th, 36-39-5).

Seamus (10th, 30-45-5) vs. Ben (T3rd, 41-37-2).

Peter Abraham reports that Clemens will start Monday vs. the White Sox.

Bryan Hoch talks about the posibilities for Clemens next start.

From the official site:

The Yankees fell into last place in the A.L. East last night with a 7-2 loss at Rogers Centre. The Yanks are now 12-14 in the month of May and stand 7.5 games behind a tough Tigers team for the A.L. wild card.

The Yankees managed three hits in the first seven innings against Toronto ace (did I say ace?...I meant rotation filler) Dustin McGowan before Matsui finally took him out of the game with a two-run shot in the 8th. The Yankee pitching wasn't much better as Matt DeSalvo struggled with his control, walking three and giving up three runs on five hits in 4 and 2/3. Ron Villone wasn't much better, giving up a bases loaded single and walking in a run. Greg Myers also allowed a two-run single to Aaron Hill.

Honestly to think that the Yankees sit only 7.5 games out of the wild card the way they're playing now is kind of relieving. Only thing is, if it weren't for the fact that their defecit in the division is already 13.5 games, I'd say that Detroit and Cleveland would be tougher teams to catch. Those might really be the two best teams in the American League.

Yanks will try to bounce back behind Andy Pettite tonight at 7 ET. The Blue Jays will be sending out Shaun Marcum.

Tomorrow evening I will be interviewed via phone for an online radio show called The Sports Docket on behalf of YanksBlog.com. The interview will be aired live at 7:30 p.m. Aceman & the Kwass will be conducting the interview and we will be covering issues such as the Yankees' early season struggles. It's pretty cool I think so anybody who wants to hear my voice can tune in because God knows I've heard it enough myself.

When you've just gotten swept by the LAAngels and have slipped to 6 games under .500, how do you show your fans that there's still some life in your team? You hold a team meeting. Oh, and you get shut down by a kid with a career 2-7 win loss record and a 6.80 ERA. Yeah, that's the ticket.

That's 13.5 games back now in the AL East but who's counting that anymore? It's 8.5 games back in the Wild Card race. And Roger? I don't know if he's the answer...since the starting pitching hasn't been all that bad. Yeesh.

I'm sure David will have In his impressions from the game later, but just to report on the performance - in his third Minor League start, this time at triple A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, Clemens threw 6 shutout innings, allowing just 2 hits and 2 walks while striking out 6. He threw 89 pitches including 58 for strikes.

Of course, as I write this, the Yankees are losing 3-0 to the Blue Jays in the 7th. Anything can happen - but for anything to happen, we have to actually win baseball games. Still, the Clemens start is encouraging and hopefully he'll make his debut against Boston later this week.

On Saturday morning I was reading our local newspaper and as I turned to the sports section, front and center was Roger Clemens. I proceeded to read the article and it mentioned that bullpen box and standing room only seats would be on sale beginning at 10am for Monday's game.

I raced up to the box office and secured two tickets for this afternoon's contest. Our papers' today say this will promise to be the single most covered sporting event in the history of Northeastern Pennsylvania.

ESPN will be broadcasting pitch-by-pitch and the number of press credentials requested is unprecedented. The question is my mind though is: will the "Rocket" be enough to resurrect a terrible season so far?

If all goes well today, the "Rocket should join the Yankee rotation sometime this coming weekend in Boston or perhaps he will be held back until Chicago.

However, he can only pitch once every five days and he can't help our anemic offense either. Hopefully his presence will energize a team that simply for most of the season to date has looked flat.

Whatever the case may be, Memorial Day baseball with the Rocket pitching will prove to be memorable regardless of the outcome.

The Yankees have hit the low point of a very disappointing season. They got swept at home by the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim on Sunday afternoon 4-3.

Mike Mussina had given up only two runs when he was yanked early in the sixth after walking the leadoff hitter. He was relieved by Scott Proctor, who allowed a double followed by a walk to load the bases. He then proceeded to walk two additional men in a row to force in the go ahead runs.

The Yankees got close in the bottom of the ninth when they put there first two runners on base with no outs. Melky Cabrera hit a shot to right which was caught but a run scored to cut the deficit to one run. Jeter was the last hope and he flew out deep to right center with the tying run on third.

The Yankees are now six games under .500 (the worst point of the season) and have fallen (count 'em) 12 1/2 games behind the rival Boston Red Sox.

The question will be asked more and more. Does Torre need to go? Will Cashman be right behind Torre? or Will both of them get the boot simultaneously?

Yankee fans are left to wonder!!

Update: Facts regarding Proctor's appearance fixed. Thanks mattymatty.

Alright, here's a nickname for our first baseman: Doug "Did You Mean" Mientkiewicz. Why, you ask? Well, think about the random fan trying to find the guy on Google. How many times do you think they see this?

From Ken Davidoff:


Teixeira, the winner of the last two AL 1B Gold Glove awards, is hitting .301 with a .385 OBA, 8 homers and 29 RBI. For his career, he is a .283 hitter with a .366 OBA. He's 27 years old. According to Cot's, he's making $6.4 million this year and $9 million next year.

It's worth pursuing because Teixeira is still a young guy and it'd be an upgrade. Of course, it always depends on the price. But, if we could pick him at a reasonable rate, we could do... whatever it is we can do with Doug Mientkiewicz. Of course, he's A-Rod's friend and he's over .300 for May, but he's hitting .235 overall and... he's not Mark Teixeira, to be sure.

From Joe Lapointe:

It's clear that something dramatic must happen to turn this season around. That is, if the season is not already past the point of rescue from a postseason perspective. The Yankees are on the brink of a free fall as they fell 5 games below .500 with a 3-1 loss vs. starting pitcher Kelvim Escobar. (who used to be an average relief pitcher for Toronto, and has been reborn as a starter in Anaheim. Or Los Angeles. Or Los Angeles of Anaheim. Wait a second, isn't Anaheim in Orange County? Whatever.)

The Angels did their damage in the first inning, and it was all that they needed. Gary Matthews, Jr. tripled in fresh face Willits and the perpetually frightening Vlad Guerrero. Casey Kotchman singled in Matthews, and that was the extent of the Angels' offense. After the rocky 1st, Wang surrendered only 3 hits over the next 7 full innings before Mariano took the ball in the 9th.

Escobar scattered six hits over seven full innings with the only Yankees run coming in the 4th as Mintkiewicz drove Alex in with a single. He was helped by a few good defensive plays but he was too much for the Yankees lineup.

At least Rivera looked good, mowing down the side in the top 9th...And then the ultimate flirtation in the bottom 9th when, with 2 outs, both Damon and Cabrera singled, putting the winning run at the plate in the form of Abreu. Bobby took four pitches, 1 ball and 3 consecutive strikes, to end the game. The final strike was easily 10-12 inches off the plate, and yet Abreu was called out. The call was so poor that the normally stoic Torre took the umpire to task in his postgame comments.

What's left to say? The Yankees season is now a series of one game must-win scenarios. If they can string 5 or 6 wins together, then we can begin to think about a longer term scenario.

Our final interview of the 2006-2007 Interviewing the Yankees Blogosphere season is with Peter Abraham of The LoHud Yankees Blog.

When you aren't doing something related to or depending on the Yankees, what are you up to?

I enjoy music a lot and spend a lot of time in the city seeing shows. I try and read as much non-fiction as I can make time for and I enjoy hanging out with my niece and nephew.

How long have you been blogging about the Yankees?

Since February of 2005.

What's the best and worst part of blogging?

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