It's a Walk Off

3 games. 3 Heroes. 3 consecutive walk off victories. The Yankees have done in the Twins in the most thrilling of fashions for 3 consecutive games. Tonight, they look to sweep the 4 game series with Andy Pettitte on the mound. First it was Melky, then it was A-Rod, followed by Johnny Damon. Who will be the hero tonight?

This Yankees Walk Off Party is Brought to you by Zoolander

A Successful Road Trip

After a brutal homestand that saw the Yankees lose 5 in a row including 2 to Red Sox and 2 to the Rays, the Yankees couldn’t have asked for much better returning home with a 4-2 road trip. The Toronto series couldn’t have started off any worse, but to be fair the Yankees really had no shot against Roy Halladay, who was 15-5 in his career against they Yankees coming into that start. After the series opening loss the Yankees came back to win the next two capped off by a 3-2 win last night.

CC Sabathia is finally looking like CC Sabathia. His last two outings have been brilliant (2ER in 17IP). It was also nice to see Hideki Matsui back in the lineup and contributing. Next up for the Yankees is their longest homestand of 2009. They will play 4 against Minnesota, 3 against Baltimore, and 3 against Philadelphia.

The Yankees need to take the positive momentum they have built over the past 6 games and carry it over to this homestand. In order to call it a success they need to win at least 6 out of the 10 contests. It all starts tonight as Phil Hughes looks to right himself against Francisco Liriano.

Damon Home Run Diverts Disaster

The weekend series with the O’s couldn’t have started any better. Alex Rodriguez made a triumphant and dramatic return to the field with a home run in his first time up at bat. Even better was CC Sabathia’s complete game shutout performance to give the Yankees a much-needed 4-0 victory. Coming off of such a high, Saturday’s game turned out to be a complete letdown. Phil Hughes had a disastrous start and the Yankees lost 12-5.

On Sunday they were on the verge of dropping 2 of 3 to the Orioles. Joba pitched well for the most part but had another first inning hiccup. The Yankees found themselves down 3-2 in the 7th, and after two men reached on consecutive infield singles Johnny Damon continued his amazing start to the season and belted a monumental 3 run home run. It was his 6th home run in his last 9 games. The Yankees went on to win the game 5-3.

Had it not been for Damon’s heroics the Yankees would have limped into Toronto to face the first place Jays after today’s off day. Instead, they are flying high and should go into Toronto and take 2 out of 3. Toronto, despite countless injuries in their starting rotation have rushed out of the gates to a 21-12 record. However, they have yet to face AL East opponents New York, Boston, and Tampa Bay. The pitching match ups for the series look like this:

Tuesday: RHP A.J. Burnett (2-0, 5.26) vs. RHP Roy Halladay (6-1, 3.29)
Wednesday: LHP Andy Pettitte (2-0, 5.26) vs. RHP Scott Richmond (4-1, 3.29)
Thursday: LHP CC Sabathia (2-3, 3.94) vs. LHP Brian Tallet (2-1, 4.95)

First game. First at-bat. First pitch.

Down Goes Posada

Just when you thought the injuries could not get any worse for this ball club, this happens. Jorge Posada, who was off to a fine start to the season left last night's game after aggravating a prior hamstring injury. He is to have an MRI today and will probably spend some time on the DL.

You can add Posada's name to a disabled list that already includes Damaso Marte, Cody Ransom, Brian Bruney, Chien-Ming Wang and Xavier Nady. Alex Rodriguez, may return from the DL this weekend, which would lighten the blow of Posada being out a bit. However, we all remember how much the Yankees were hurting when Jose Molina was forced into everyday action last season while Posada was out. Get well soon Jorge!

Bring on the Bo Sox

I know that it is still early in the season but this 2 game mini series with the Red Sox is a big one for the Yanks. After the 3 game sweep at Fenway last week, the Yankees should be looking for a measure of revenge in this series. The Red Sox are reeling a bit after dropping 3 of 4 over the weekend against Tampa. It will certainly help to have Nick Swisher back in the lineup. He was sorely missed in Saturday’s loss against the Angels.

Series Pitching Matchups:
Phil “The Thrill” Hughes will take the ball for the Yankees. He will be countered by Jon Lester.
Game 2 on Tuesday will see Joba Chamberlain against Josh Beckett.

Alfredo Aceves was called up from Scranton-Wilkes Barre.

Walk Off Winner!

This team shows no quit and has a late 90's Yankees feel to it. It sure looked bleak after the Angels went up 9-4 after 7 innings but guys like Melky Cabrera and Ramiro Pena continue to step up day after day with big hits. And after scoring 4 in the 8th the Yankees capped off the comeback in the 9th without making an out. They loaded up the bases on a walk by Teixeira, a hit by Matsui, and a hit by Cano, who extended his hitting streak to an amazing 18 games. Jorge Posada ran the count full against Angel's closer Brian Fuentes and hit the pay-off pitch into the left center field gap for a game winning hit. 

This team definitely has a never say die attitude that all championship clubs should have. CC Sabathia is on the mound tomorrow and after his last couple of starts he looks like he should be rounding into form. Yankee fans hope he turns in a solid performance tomorrow to extend their winning streak to a season best 5 games. Also, lets keep our fingers crossed on the condition of St. Nick Swisher, who left the game after being hit by a Jared Weaver pitch. It didn't look serious and hopefully we'll see Nick back in the lineup tomorrow.

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Joba Follows Phil Tonight

Joba Chamberlain will try to follow Phil Hughes’ good performance with one of his own as he starts tonight for the Yankees. Joba should try and incorporate the same type of game plan that Hughes and Molina used to tame the Tigers last night. Hughes had good velocity on his four-seamer and used it well along with his cutter to get ahead of the Tigers hitters early. This allowed him to use his knuckle curveball to keep the Tigers off balance all night long.

While Chamberlain doesn’t feature a cutter, he can use his slider in a similar manner. He can throw it just off the plate outside to righties and in off the plate in on lefties. Along with his four-seamer (which hopefully by now will be back where it should be), the slider will allow him to use the curveball as an out pitch against righties, and perhaps the changeup as an out pitch to lefties.

Chamberlain will be opposed by the promising 21 year old rookie Rick Porcello. Porcello, who is a native of Morristown, NJ is a hard throwing righty who also has an excellent breaking ball. The Yankee hitters will have their hands full with Porcello tonight.

Phil the Thrill

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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.

Hey Big Papi...SHUT UP!

For years Yankees fans saw Pedro Martinez and the Red Sox continually plunk Derek Jeter and others on numerous occasions with little to no retaliation. And for years Yankees fans thirsted for someone to step up to Red Sox hitters (mainly Ortiz and Ramirez) and pitch them inside. Yankees fans wanted to see their pitchers come inside not to target Red Sox hitters, but to back them off of the plate and establish the inside corner.

We finally have the pitcher we so deeply yearned for. Joba Chamberlain has come inside on Red Sox hitters regularly the past couple of seasons. And he has enjoyed great success against them because of it. Most notably, he out-dueled Josh Beckett in a 1-0 Yankee win in Fenway Park just last season. Chamberlain is well within his rights to throw inside. Although, it may seem that he has a strange fetish when it comes to seeing Kevin Youkilis hit the deck, Chamberlain has done nothing wrong.

That brings us to “Big Papi”, David Oritz. Ortiz was quoted in the New York Post talking about how Chamberlain should not continue to throw inside and particularly not throw inside on Kevin Youkilis. Here are the direct quotes:

“None of that, man--just play the game the way it’s supposed to be, and that’s about it.”

“This is a guy, as good as he is, and the next step for him will be to earn respect from everybody in the league. He’s not a bad guy, but when things like that happen, people get the wrong idea.”

Here is my issue with what Ortiz had to say. First, he plays on the same club with a guy who just last week tried to decapitate Bobby Abreu. Ortiz should look around in his own locker room before commenting on Chamberlain. Chamberlain never fired a ball at a batter's head, after the batter stepped out of the batter's box.

Second, as far as I can tell, Chamberlain is playing the game the way it’s meant to be played. While he did throw inside or behind Youkilis on numerous occasions, he never hit him. He has played the game the same way that winner’s such as Bob Gibson, Don Drysdale, and Tom Seaver played the game. As a power pitcher he must own the inside part of the plate and if he has to back hitters off a bit, he is well within his rights.

Thirdly, Ortiz couldn't be more off on the "respect" thing. Chamberlain shouldn’t be concerned with earning the respect of everyone in the league. His main concern is to win games for the New York Yankees. If he has to come inside, that is his right. The last thing he should think about when pitching is, “What if Youkilis doesn’t like me?”

Lastly, Ortiz needs to worry about himself, and his .220 batting average. This guy clearly has not been himself since Manny left. Whether, that is attributable to Manny leaving, being older, being fatter, whatever the case, Ortiz should shut his yap, and worry about his own game.

It could be that Big Papi is trying to gain a psychological edge over Chamberlain. If that is the case, it just shows that Ortiz the Red Sox don’t feel comfortable stepping in against Joba. If I were Joba, I would buzz Ortiz the first time he comes to bat (just knock him down, not to hit him) and give him a little wink afterwards, as to say “You are not telling me what to do.” “You are not my Papi.”

-Favad Ali

The Melk Man Delivers!

Melky Cabrera finished off today's marathon game with a two run walk off home run in the bottom of the 14th. It was Melky's second home run of the game. 

CC Sabathia is still having control issues to start off the season. He was curiously left in the game in the 7th having already surrendered 5 runs through the first 6 innings. He went on to give up the lead before giving way to 6 relievers who combined for 7 and 1/3 innings pitched while allowing only 3 hits.  

My apologies to Jose Veras, who was out of this world in relief. He went 3 and 1/3 innings and retired the last 10 men he faced, striking out 4 of them. He picked up the win.

BOX SCORE

Day off tomorrow. And then it's off to Boston for the Bombers. Joba Chamberlain will kick off the series on the mound for the Yanks. He will be opposed by Jon Lester. It should definitely be a good one.

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.

Trying to Explain the Right Field "Wind Tunnel"

I am no physicist. I couldn't tell you why there were 20 home runs hit in just four games at the stadium thus far with 14 of them hit to right field. Could it be that there is a wind tunnel phenomenon taking place in right field due to the open concourses and the shape of the upper deck? It has been a hot topic for the last couple of days and everyone seems to have their own interesting opinions on it.

-Accu-Weather.com has an interesting take on the possible wind tunnel effect taking place.

-ESPN's Buster Olney is convinced there is a problem that needs to be addressed immediately.

-CNBC's Darren Rovell think the home run boost could be extremely marketable for the Yanks.

While some of the homers hit looked like certain pop outs off the bat (Asdrubal Cabrera's grand slam off Anthony Clagget and Mark Teixeira's home run off Fausto Carmona come to mind), I would like to hold my judgement until we see this home run boom continue over a span of 20-30 games rather than just looking at 4.

-Favad Ali

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.
BOX

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's Homer Wins It

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New Stadium, New Hope

Today is the day. After a lengthy road trip, the Yankees are finally home. They will open their brand spanking new ballpark with all the pomp and circumstance that one would expect from the Yankees. Kelly Clarkson will sing the national anthem. There will also be a military performance of stars and stripes forever in honor of the opening of the original stadium in 1923 which had the same performance. Among those in attendance will be 40 former players including Reggie Jackson, Goose Gossage, Whitey Ford, Paul O'Neill, Bernie Williams, David Cone, and the list goes on and on. Yogi Berra, to no surprise will throw out the first pitch. There will be a few other special appearances at today's procession including Willie Randolph and of course, the boss, George Steinbrenner.

Mike Lupica writes that the opening of the new stadium will usher in a new era of Yankees baseball.

George King anticipates the opening ceremony to be done with the utmost of style.

Apparently, there will also be a game played today. CC Sabathia will take the mound and throw the first official pitch in new Yankee Stadium history. He will be facing his former team, the Cleveland Indians. Last year's Cy Young award winner, Cliff Lee will be pitching for the Indians. He is off to a slow start to the season as he is 0-2 with a 9.90 ERA in his first two starts of the year.

It should certainly be a memorable day the stadium. It should be a memorable season at the new stadium. Nothing would be better if the Yankees could take all of the enthusiasm and excitement the new stadium has brought and use it to propel them back to prominence and erase the memories of the last few seasons full of disappointment. The new stadium signifies a new beginning and a new hope.

-Favad Ali