A Weekend to Forget...

The Yankees have to be scratching their heads following being swept by Boston this weekend. Sunday night’s game saw a lifeless effort by the Yankees which could be directly linked to how the first two games of the series played out. Friday night’s contest looked all but theirs as Mariano Rivera was one out away from closing out a 4-2 win for the Yankees. Instead he gave up a game tying 2-run homer to Jason Bay. The Yankees went on to lose the game in extra innings when Damaso Marte allowed a walk off home run by Kevin Youkilis.

Saturday’s game promised to be a pitcher’s match up of epic proportions as former teammates AJ Burnett and Josh Beckett went head to head. Burnett held up his part of the deal as he looked dominant through 3 innings. By that time Beckett had already allowed 6 runs and after 3 the Yankees led 6-0. The Red Sox would then mount a ridiculous comeback on Burnett and a parade of relievers as they scored in each and every subsequent inning and won the game 16-11. Burnett who looked so dominant through 3 looked lost over the next 2 frames and ended up allowing 8 earned runs over 5 innings.

After the heartbreaking losses that the Yankees endured on Friday and Saturday, they simply looked flat while being defeated 4-1 Sunday night. Andy Pettitte had little to no support by his teammates in the field and at the plate. Pettitte did not help his own cause very much either as he allowed an embarrassing moment when Jocoby Ellsbury stole home on the lefty.

Overall, it was a weekend to forget for the Yankees. Did I forget to mention that Brian Bruney and Cody Ransom both went down with injuries during the series as well? It’s on to Detroit now for the Yanks. They can sure use a dominant 8 inning performance from CC as the bullpen has been bruised and battered over the past 3 days. Let’s see if the hefty lefty can deliver a much needed win.

Yanks Defeat A's 5-3

A revamped Oakland lineup with newly acquired veterans such as Jason Giambi, Matt Holliday, Orlando Cabrera, and Nomar Garciaparra could not solve Andy Pettite over 7 innings last night. Pettitte scattered 9 hits and allowed just 2 runs. He has gone at least 7 innings in each of his three starts this season. He is the only Yankee starter to do so. Brett Gardner drove in two runs as did Johnny Damon, who hit the game’s only home run, which landed in the second deck in right (it was no cheapie). Mark Teixeira drove in the other Yankees run. Brian Bruney’s streak of 22 consecutive batters came to an end as he allowed a run on 2 hits in the 8th inning. Andy Pettitte and Mariano Rivera tied a record as Rivera saved a win for Pettitte for the 57th time. Wins and saves might not be the best way to quantify a pitcher’s effectiveness, but this record is a testament to the longevity and durability that both Pettitte and Rivera have displayed throughout their careers.

-CC Sabathia will start for the Yanks today, as they close out their first homestand. The A’s will counter with rookie lefty Brett Anderson. With a win the Yankees will go 4-2 on this homestand, not bad all things considered.

-Xavier Nady will not have to have season ending surgery after all. Instead he will rehab the strained ligament in his right elbow and should be back with the team for about a month or so.

-Chien Ming Wang, whose next start will be skipped, was sent down to Tampa to work on his mechanics as he tries to work out the kinks in his motion and delivery. The Yankees will also closely monitor his physical condition as Brian Cashman is not convinced that Wang is 100% healthy as the pitcher claims. The Yankees are 8-3 in games not started by Chien Ming Wang.

Yanks Salvage a Split

After an embarrassing game Sunday which once again saw Chien Ming Wang give the Yankees no shot at winning the game with another putrid effort. The Yankees looked favorite to win on Sunday when you looked at the pitching matchup.

It was AJ Burnett, who had been so good in his first two starts against Carl Pavano, who had struggled almost as badly as Wang has in his first two starts. Unfortunately, things weren't going as planned through six innings as the much hated Pavano and the Indians were leading 3-1. AJ Burnett clearly didn't have his best stuff as he walked 7 batters in his 6 1/3 innings of work, but he did keep the Yankees in the game. I don't know if it was Pavano stepping up his game to stick it to the Yanks or it was the Yankees hitters pressing a bit to try and beat Pavano, but the Yankees just couldn't get to Pavano in his six innings of work.

A series of quirky plays ensued in the 7th and 8th innings as the Yankees were able to get to the Indian bullpen and take the lead and secure a much needed 7-3 win. Jorge Posada hit a disputed pinch hit home run in the 7th, one which the Indians argued was interfered with by a fan. Instant replay was used and the home run was confirmed. The 8th inning saw the Yankees pull away with a broken bat bases clearing double by Cody Ransom in which Indian outfielder left fielder Shin Soo Choo simply did not play as it seemed to have been a catchable ball. Either way the Yankees will take it as a loss to Pavano would have just added fuel to the fire of the embarrassing effort on Satruday.
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Next up for the Yankees is a 3 game st with their old friend Jason Giambi and his Oakland A's. Andy Pettitte will start for the Yanks. The A's will counter with Dana Eveland. I'm sure the crowd will give a warm ovation for Giambi. His time in the Bronx had its up and downs. He never did live up to the promise of his mega money contract, but he was still a likeable figure despite all of his on the field and off the field struggles.

Jeter, Yanks Take Rubber Game

It was a night when the "old guard" came through as the Yankees took the rubber game in Tampa in a well-pitched, hard-fought 4-3 win. Derek Jeter singled in Ransom with the go-ahead run in the top of the ninth off of Rays closer Troy Percival. Andy Pettitte started, and pitched well over 7 1/3 innings of work, allowing 3 runs. Mariano Rivera closed out the game with a 1-2-3 ninth to secure the series and a winning road trip (5-4) to start off the year. Robinson Cano continued his hot hitting (.382) with a homer and a double. He looks like a changed man at the plate thus far. Next up is the home opener at the new stadium. More to come in a bit.

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Burnett Dominant in Win

He did it again. Following another atrocious start by Chien Ming Wang, AJ Burnett once again delivered a much needed win. He took a no hitter into the 7th last night and was just plain filthy. He had it all working; four seamer, two seamer, slider, and curve. He ended up going 8 innings allowing only 2 runs on 3 hits while striking out 9.

Last night also saw the return of Mark Teixeira. Teixeira drove in the eventual game winning run with a sac-fly in the eighth. Our boy Nick Swisher homered yet again. He ducked out of the way from a pitch thrown up and in by Matt Garza (who is just plain nasty) and proceeded to homer two pitches later. Is this guy hot or what? The captain also delivered a 3-run homer in the game with his patented opposite field swing. Brett Gardner hit a couple balls over the shallow outfielders, showing he has the ability to put more than just a slaptastic swing on the ball at times.

Burnett is now 2-0 as a Yankee. Both of his wins prevented a 3 game losing streak. We all knew the guy could pitch, that has never been in question. If he stays healthy and continues to grow as a pitcher, we could see a special season out of this guy.

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Next up is Andy Pettitte, who is looking to build on his dominant performance in KC. He will be countered by Andy Sonnanstine, who the Yankees have handled in the past. If the Yanks can pull out a win in today's game, they would go home with a 5-4 record on this season opening road trip. Not bad considering the way they started out in Baltimore to open the season.

Yanks Leave Sweep on the Table

This weekend's series could not have been going better. Friday's game saw Andy Pettitte looking as good as ever over 7 strong innings of work. The Yankees won the game 4-1 on the back of Pettite's strong effort. 

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It was more of the same on Saturday as CC toed the rubber looking to make up for his opening day hiccup. And makeup he did. He pitched 7 2/3 scoreless innings in another easy Yankee victory, this time by the score of 6-1. This game also saw continued hot production at the plate from Nick Swisher. Swisher went 2 for 3 with a homer and 3 RBI. The only downside was that Mark Teixeira was scratched from the lineup due to a sore wrist. 

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That brings us to today's finale with the Royals. Joba Chamberlain took the hill for his first start against Royals ace, Gil Meche. Joba pitched was shaky at times but got through six innings of work while allowing only one earned run. He was in line for the win as the Yankees took the lead from the Royals in the 7th, scoring 3 runs in the inning to put the score at 4-3. Damaso Marte started the eighth inning on the mound and breezed through two batters, throwing only 11 pitches. However, he was removed from the game in favor of Jose Veras right hander Billy Butler, and that is when the wheels started to fall off.  Veras walked the only batter he would face. Girardi then brought in Phil Coke to face switch hitter Brayan Pena, who was 0-3 batting left handed during the game. By bringing Coke in, Pena switched to the right side. Coke went on to allow a double, single, and another double consecutively and the Royals plated 3 runs.

In my view this was a case of over managing by our beloved skipper Joe Girardi. Why remove Marte after retiring the first two batters with relative ease? The two batters Marte retired were left handed, but Marte is very capable of getting right handers out. Is he only going to be used as a lefty specialist? Not only did he over manage with Marte, he did so with Veras. OK, it's not Joe's fault Veras walked Butler. However, it is his fault that he brought in Coke to allow Pena to turn around and hit right handed when he was struggling to hit left handed all day long. Why give a struggling switch hitter a fresh start on the other side of the plate when he had shown he was struggling batting left handed? Phil Coke has got terrific stuff, but is he any better than the proven vet, Marte? What makes Marte strictly a lefty specialist and Coke not? I'm going to give Joe the benefit of the doubt. It's still early. But, these are the types of losses that teams look back on in the end of the year saying, "We should have won that game."

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Next Stop, KC

The Yankees will kick off a three game set with the Royals today at 4pm. Andy Pettitte will toe the rubbber for the Bombers as Kansas City will counter with Sidney Ponson. The Royals have been tagged the sleeper pick this year in the American League and with good reason. They have a solid front end of the rotation with Zach Greinke, Gil Meche, and Kyle Davies. They are also strong in the backend of the bullpen with Juan Cruz and Joakim Soria. They also made some nice moves adding to their lineup this offseason with the aquisitions of Coco Crisp to play center and Mike Jacobs to play first. In a weak and wide open AL Central the Royals can definitely compete. If their opening series in Chicago (taking two of three) is an indicator, the Royals will be in the race this year.