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.

It's a Wash

Tonight's opener against Oakland has been postponed due to rain. No makeup date has been announced as of yet. Stay dry everyone.

This message was brought to you by Chien Ming Wang

What's Wang with Chien Ming?

There seems to be a whole mess of things that are hampering the performance of the once reliable righty. The laundry list of things for Wang and the Yankees to ponder include poor mechanics, lack of velocity, and lack of confidence. In three starts he has allowed 23 runs on 23 hits in just 6 innings. He has walked 6 batters while striking out only 2. His ERA for the year stands at 34.50 and he has a WHIP of 4.833. These numbers are truly staggering and the Yankees are extremely concerned about what to do with the struggling pitcher.

Courtesy of Yankees.com, here's Joe Giradi's take on the situation:

Girardi and his staff met on Sunday morning to discuss the possibility of skipping that start, which they could do without shifting anyone out of turn thanks to an off-day on Thursday. But they have not yet addressed the issue with Wang, and have not yet come to a final decision.

"We have had a lot of healthy discussion over this morning," Girardi said.

"We looked at a lot of video. We looked at where his hands were, the height of his leg kick, where his head is, if it's on line, the angle of his arm. We looked at everything. We just haven't had a chance to discuss it with him yet."

The Yankees and Wang both insist that he's completely healthy, despite the fact that his velocity in Saturday's game rested in the high 80s and low 90s -- a noticeable tick lower than the mid-90s sinkers he was firing throughout his two 19-win seasons. Girardi is not worried about Wang possibly tipping his pitches, because he has always thrown such a high percentage of sinkers.

Hitters usually knew what was coming, but they couldn't hit it anyway.

[My Take: The Yankees must find a way to allow Wang to work out the kinks without hurting his team any further. They cannot send him down to the minors as Wang is out of options. They could place him on the 15 day DL, while he doesn't seem to be physically injured, his psyche surely has to be hurting right now. Lastly, they could send him to the bullpen to become the long man and callup Phil Hughes, until Wang is able to regain his form. Either way, Wang's next start (in Boston) will probably be skipped as the rest of the rotation will not be affected because of Thursday's off day. The Yankees have their work cut out with this one and they better come up with a solution. You just simply cannot have a guy in your rotation who is an automatic loss each and every time he takes the mound.]

-Favad Ali

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.

The Legend of The Swish Continues to Grow

Another big night for newcomer Nick Swisher, as he not only hit his third home run of the season, he also pitched a scoreless inning and recorded a strikeout. 

In other news the Yankees were bombarded by the Rays as Chien Ming Wang has suddenly forgotten how to pitch. He was rocked once again, this time to the tune of 8 earned runs while recording only three outs. The Yankees went on to lose the game 15-5. Wang's ERA has ballooned to 28.93 (15 ER in 4.2 IP). Wang's ineffectiveness is a major cause for concern. You have to think if he continues to fire blanks in this fashion, we may see the return of Phil Hughes or even Ian Kennedy real soon.

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Another return seems imminent as there was an Alex Rodriguez sighting before the game. It's time to jump for joy! I am not by any means the biggest A-Rod fan/supporter/apologist etc. But I think all Yankee fans have seen enough of Cody Ransom...(.083/.154/.125)

Yanks Ready for Rays

The defending American League Champion Tampa Bay Rays will welcome the Yankees to the Trop for a 3 game set starting Monday night. Chien Ming Wang will look to bounce back from his poor first outing in Baltimore as he will be countered by left-hander Scott Kazmir. The Yankees will watch from the dugout as the Rays will be raising their American League East Champions and American League Champions Banners. This will be the third of four season openers the Yankees will take part in. The next and final one will be to open their season opener at the New Yankee Stadium against Cleveland later this week.

It will be interesting to see if the Yankees will show the same respect and class as they have in the past for Red Sox banner raising ceremonies. Mark Teixeira is not expected to start once again, as he is still hampered by that sore wrist. I’d like to see Joe Girardi give Ramiro Pena a start at third over Cody Ransom. Ransom has not been playing well both at the plate and in the field. At the very least, you should get better defense with Pena in the field. The Yankees are banking on Swisher and Cano to continue to carry the lineup in Teixeira’s absence. Otherwise, it could be a long day as Kazmir owned the Yankees to the tune of a 2-1 record with 1.06 ERA in 3 starts against the Bombers last season.

AJ, The Stopper?

Another game and another poor performance by a Yankee starter. Chien Ming Wang didn't fare much better than Sabathia did on Opening Day. The Yankees found themselves chasing the entire game as Wang could not get through 4 innings before allowing 7 runs. The Yankees will look to salvage a game from this series tomorrow afternoon . It will be up to AJ Burnett to make that happen.

Can AJ be the stopper? Well, we will soon find out. Burnett gets the ball tomorrow with the task of getting the Yankees their first win of the year and avoid an embarrassing sweep at the hands of the Orioles. The Yankees have gotten no length from game one and two starters, Sabathia and Wang. The offense found themselves in chase mode in both games, and you just cannot win many games that way. 

So, it's up to AJ, who can really make a great first impression if he can put forth a solid effort and deliver the Yankees their elusive first win of the season. The Orioles will counter with little known Alfredo Simon. I'm sure if Burnett can shut the O's down for at least the first few innings, the Yankees lineup should get some runs off of Simon. Either way this is a golden opportunity for Burnett and one that he should not let go to waste.

Yankees win Grapefruit League, Head North to Christen Stadium

The Yankees finished up their Grapefruit League schedule with a 9-5 win over the Phillies on Wednesday. CC Sabathia started the game in his final tune up before the regular season opener in Baltimore on Monday. Mark Teixeira and Hideki Matsui both homered in the game. The Yanks finished with a 22-10-1 spring record, tops in the Grapefruit League. To honor their achievement Commissioner Selig presented the Yankees with a basket of grapefruit after the game.

The Yankees will hold a special workout at the stadium today and have two exhibition games with the Cubs on Friday and Saturday. Chien Ming Wang will throw the first ever pitch at the new stadium at 7:05 Friday night. I for one cannot wait. We will have a special correspondent at the game who will take some exclusive photographs of the new stadium’s first game, which we will share with you. The season is upon us. I can almost taste it!

-Favad Ali

AJ Burnin' Up

For as long as AJ Burnett has been in the Majors, we have all heard about the stuff he possesses and his potential to be great. He is now 32 and his stuff and his potential have yet to translate into great success on the mound. He and the Yankees believe this is the year that it will happen. Burnett looked solid once again as the Yankees defeated the Red Sox 7-1 Tuesday night. He pitched into the sixth while allowing 1 run on 4 hits. His spring ERA in 4 starts is a stellar 1.20. Obviously, you can’t expect Burnett to pitch this spectacularly during the regular year, but everyone around Yankees camp believe he is primed for a solid first year with the club.

He has matured as a pitcher and learned a lot from former Blue Jay teammate Roy Halladay. AJ looks and works more like a pitcher rather than just a hard thrower compared to years gone by. Everyone knows about his fastball, but he has done an excellent job of mixing in his breaking pitches and changing speeds this spring. He has even been tutoring Chien Ming Wang, talking about mixing in more offspeed pitches to compliment his hard sinker. They key for AJ this year will be staying healthy. He has been injury plagued throughout his career and must stay off the DL as he and the rest of the Yankee starters will play a vital role in the team’s success this year.

-Favad Ali