Wrapping Up The Weekend

Good morning, Fackers. Hope your weekend was as relaxing as the Yanks' was. En route to a sweep of the Astros, the Bombers hardly trailed at all in three games - only in the early going and for just one third of an inning yesterday - and that latter gap was promptly erased by an RBI single by Nick Swisher and left behind indefinitely by a grand slam by Jorge Posada on Saturday afternoon.

Jorgie had a eventful weekend as he added another salami yesterday, making him the first Yankee to accomplish that feat in back to back games since Billy Dickey in 1939. He also returned behind the plate yesterday for the first time since May 16th, just before being placed on the DL with a stress fracture in his foot. While he was certainly fine on offense, Posada had to give up catching duties after the eighth inning. While he initially complained of "soreness", he later claimed he was just "fatigued". The former is quite concerning, but the latter is to be expected from a 38 year old who hasn't caught a full game in almost a month. Either way, the Yankees are obviously going to be careful about how often they put him behind the plate and the upcoming day off will certainly help him get past any pain or exhaustion.

Taking a step back, now seems like an appropriate time to reflect on what we earmarked as a significant stretch of games for the Yanks.

Heading into Memorial Day Weekend, the squad was starting down a 16 game stretch against the Indians, Orioles, Blue Jays and Astros and looking up at a 4.5 game deficit in the standings. At that point, we surmised that anything better than 10-6 during the soft stretch of the schedule would have been acceptable.

It turns out that the Yankees passed the test. Even though they dropped two of three to Toronto, they ripped through the last place cupcakes at 11-2, bringing their final tally to 12-4, outscoring their opponents 103-61. It was as good of a stretch as can be reasonably expected in the MLB.

Aside from the 13 run disaster (and more specifically, seven run seventh inning) against Cleveland, the pitching was excellent, holding foes to three runs or fewer 11 times. Phil Hughes picked up four victories over that time while Javy Vazquez won three and Sabathia and Pettitte each picked up two.

Of course, as was on display yesterday, putting up almost six and a half runs per game gives starting pitchers a little more cushion in their quest to pick up victories. The Yanks cranked out just about 10 hits and five walks per game and when you put that many men on base, good things are going to happen.

Good things like multi-run home runs, for instance. Of the 18 round-trippers the Yankees hit during this run, five of them have been grand slams (two by Posada this weekend and one each by Granderson, Cano and A-Rod) and just four of them have been solo shots. To put that in perspective, the Yanks had only hit one GS coming into the Cleveland series and over half of their homers to that point were solo shots.

While the Yankees were tearing through a soft portion of their schedule, the Rays began to fall back to earth. Since April 28th, they've gone 7-8 against the White Sox, Blue Jays, Rangers and Marlins. Certainly their slate of 15 games was much more difficult, having to play Toronto twice and face teams that aren't dragging their asses across last place in the division and all, but this is the schedule evening out in the long run.

The Rays' mediocre stretch also allowed Boston to play some catch up. The Sox are sitting just four games behind the two teams at the top and any talk of how there was no way they could make the playoffs now seems pretty foolish.

With four more series of interleague play in queue for all three teams, a lot could happen in the division over the next two weeks, much of it based on a completely unbalanced schedule. The three division rivals share only one common opponent - the Diamondbacks - over that time.

Wednesday Linkage

Did the Twins beat reporter actually devote a story on MLB.com to the squirrel that ran on the field last night? Yes she did. Watch the clip embedded on that page and hear one of the Twins' announcers rip a squirrel he supposedly saw at Yankee Stadium 15 years ago. Not kidding.

When last night's game resumes at 5:00 today, it will be on YES.

Old Hoss Radbourn can't believe it was suspended in the first place.

Over at Big League Stew, Curtis Granderson fielded some questions from fans about his conditioning during the offseason, life in New York, what he thought of the Yankees as a player for another team and his opinions on some of the more advanced stats being used today.

Granderson's rehab stint rolled on last night in Scranton as he went 0-3 with a strikeout. So far he's 4-14 (all singles) with one walk. He's going to take tomorrow off, play one last AAA game on Thursday and then join up with the Big League team on Friday back in New York.

Javy Vazquez's finger felt fine during his bullpen session yesterday and as of now, he's scheduled to make his start on Thursday.

Alfredo Aceves' rehab is not going as smoothly. He suffered a setback while throwing off flat ground yesterday and will be flying back to New York to be evaluated by team doctors.

A.J. Burnett is into acupuncture? According to Marc Carig, Burnett thinks it's helped him stay healthy and part of the process of him signing with the Yankees involved Brian Cashman hiring an acupuncture specialist to work for the team.

Hideki Irabu's downward spiral continues. Two years ago he drank 20 beers and assaulted a bartender when his credit card got rejected this time he got a DUI after he nearly hit a parked car.

The WSJ talked to Yanks' VP of Operations, Mark Newman about the state of the farm system.

The Red Sox have taken the first two games of their series against Tampa, the one last night by shutout, allowing just one hit (but 6 walks). The good news is that it brings Tampa back down to earth a bit, but the bad news is that the Sawx are creeping up on the Yanks, now just a game and a half back.

Larry from Wezen-Ball has had his eye on David Ortiz's glacial home run trots all year long and one of Papi's leisurely strolls around the bases finally broke the unprecedented 30 second barrier. By comparison, Adam Rosales, owner of the fastest trot of the season had already gotten back to home plate in the time that it took Ortiz to get to second. Rays players were questioned about the amazing anti-feat but no word on whether or not Papi knows how historically slow he is.

The New York Times cited a study about pairs of brothers that played in the Majors and found that 90% of the time, the younger one tried to steal more bases.

Loyal commenter Matt on Earth conducted a mock interview with Michael Kay.

At Baseball Analysts Jeremy Greenhouse examined the differences between a 90mph fastball and a 95mph one. According to Jeremy's findings, David Robertson actually has one of the very best 90mph heaters in the game, even if it hasn't helped him pitch respectably this year.

The Fightins comes through with some prime Youkenfreude.

Remember how U2 made Major League Baseball juggle their schedule because apparently it takes 10 fucking days to set up their stage? Oh, well Bono's having back surgery so it was all for naught. This makes me like U2 even less (if that's possible).

The Super Bowl is officially coming to New York in 2014. It took the full four ballots for the Meadowlands to secure the vote over Miami and Tampa Bay, which pretty much never happens. Joe Posnanski calls it a "Real Super Bowl" while Matt Ufford from Kissing Suzy Kolber gives the pussies who are complaining about the weather a stern talkin' to. I hope it snows two feet.

Wrapping Up The Weekend

Good morning, Fackers. After Friday night's game, it really seemed as if the Yankees had righted the ship. Javier Vazquez came up with a terrific performance and covered up the offense's difficulties cashing in all the baserunners they had accumulated. A narrow 2-1 victory seemed like it was a step towards taking the first installment of the 2010 Subway Series and an escape from the malaise that they had spent the last two weeks in. To boot, both the Red Sox and Rays had lost against the Phillies and Astros, respectively.

However, Saturday and Sunday did not go according to that plan. The Mets got excellent performances from Mike Pelfrey and Johan Santana and although their bullpen gave the Yankees a glimmer of hope in the late innings, the final two games of the series went to the team from Queens.

Outside of the two pitchers that picked up wins against the Bombers, the Mets rotation is in a state of disarray. Oliver Perez has been moved to the bullpen due to his ineffectiveness while John Maine and Jon Niese are both sidelined with injuries. It just so happened that the Yanks drew both of the Mets healthy and effective starters in a three game series and were on the losing end of two strong performances. It just seems like that's the way things are going for the Yanks as of late.

The Bombers have now dropped five of their last seven games and ten of the last 15. Even the excitement surrounding weekend's most notable bright spot, Vazquez, has to be tempered because he had to be taken from the game with an injury to his right index finger that he got while attempting to lay down a bunt. The Yankees pushed his bullpen session back until Tuesday and he is expected to make his regularly scheduled start against the Twins on Thursday. Still, there should be concern that the injury could affect his stuff when he takes the mound again.

While the Yankees were getting beaten by the Mets, the Red Sox and Rays both salvaged the last two games of their respective series, moving Tampa six games ahead of the Yankees and Boston just two and a half games back. Down in Philadelphia, the Sawx got eight shutout innings both from Daisuke Matsuzaka and Tim Wakefield in the final two games of the series to eek out a victory. The Rays did what they should have and came up with consecutive victories of 4-2 and 10-6 against the Astros.

No story of the Yankees current struggles would be complete without talking about the injuries they've suffered and for a while the bullpen was blowing every lead they got their hands on, but over the past week, their starting pitching has been the real culprit. The last time through the rotation, Burnett, Hughes, Pettitte and Sabathia have combined to give up 22 runs in 22 1/3 innings pitched.

Couple that with the fact that the Yanks are a combined 19-76 (.250) with runners in scoring position over the last seven games and went the entire series in Flushing without hitting a home run and you've got a recipe for a tough stretch of baseball.

As a frame of reference, the Yankees are still tied with the Twins for the second best record in the American League and have as many wins as any team in the NL, a testament mostly to how well they were playing early in the season. But between the bullpen implosions, the constant flow of injuries, the RISP struggles and the late inning comeback teases the last 15 games have been really tough to watch. Luckily, we know that none of those problems are going to last forever. It's just hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel right now.

Today is the team's first scheduled off day in two and a half weeks and hopefully they can collect themselves before they head out to Minnesota for yet another tough series against the Twins.

The Dirty Dozen

Good morning, Fackers. The Yankees have lost eight of their last twelve games. They started out this homestand with two wins but finished it just 3-4. They are only one game ahead of the Blue Jays.

Things are looking bleak heading into the Subway Series and the Yanks have, at one time or another during the last two weeks, been sabotaged by a lack of offense, poor starting pitching, bullpen implosions, defensive blunders, bad luck or any combination of the above. But, on the other hand, they've had all of those things working for them at one point or another over the last 12 games too.

Over the first five games of the skid, the Yanks' offense couldn't seem to get it going, averaging three runs per contest (including their only two scoreless efforts of the year) from the last game they played at Fenway on May 9th through the four game set in Detroit. Since then, though, the offense has scored 47 runs in seven games, just in time for their pitching staff to let them down. In the last five games, the Yanks have allowed 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 runs (although not in that order) due in part to poor starts by Andy Pettitte, A.J. Burnett and Phil Hughes but mostly to a series of meltdowns by the bullpen.

Add that all up and the Yankees have scored 62 runs while allowing 67 but have dropped 66% of their games during that span. Is that glass a third full or two thirds empty? I tend to think it's not quite as miserable as it has seemed.

Yes, the last four losses have been particularly painful. The Yanks finally let the Twins up off the mat at The Stadium. They blew two 5-0 leads against the Red Sox. They were out-pitched, out-slugged and out-defended and abused on the basepaths by the Rays. There's no hiding the fact that they are now five games back in the division and closer to the Red Sox than they are to Tampa.

However, this streak has come while the roster has been in a state of total disarray and the Yankees have been without, to varying extents, important contributors like Curtis Granderson, Nick Johnson, Jorge Posada and Alfredo Aceves. You could say that Curtis Granderson wasn't hitting well anyway, Nick Johnson isn't coming back, Frankie Cervelli has been filling in admirably and Alfredo Aceves wouldn't have stopped the bleeding out of the bullpen, but the Yankees will be stronger and more complete as the season moves on and those players return.

The Yankees were vulnerable during a tough stretch and paid the price. They played 12 games against what are likely four out of the five or six best teams in the American League without 25 players available on most nights, let alone their 25 best. It's tough to watch your team lose eight of of twelve regardless of the circumstances, but the Yankees were weak at the wrong time and got worked by some very good squads.

If you want to, you can see a team that has a terrible bullpen and isn't as good as their 25-14 record indicates. If you change your perspective a bit, however, you might see a club that is a little black and blue and just went through a brief stretch in the red.

Will Joe Girardi's Protest From Last Night Be Successful?

Via Marc Carig, in order for the Yankees to win their protest of last night's game, the commissioner's office would have to rule that the Manny Delcarmen getting unlimited time to warm up "adversely affected" the Yankees' chances to win the game:

In all protested games, the decision of the League President shall be final.
Even if it is held that the protested decision violated the rules, no replay of the game will be ordered unless in the opinion of the League President the violation adversely affected the protesting team’s chances of winning the game.

If the league does determine there was a detrimental effect, the game could be restarted from the point of the infraction. Considering that the Yankees were sitting on a five run lead at the time, there's a good chance that they could lock down the victory if given a second chance.

It's pretty clear that Sox pitching coach John Farrell signaled to the bullpen before telling the umpire that Beckett was hurt. Girardi isn't disputing whether the injury was valid, just that the call was made before the umpire was informed of the injury.

There is a ton of subjectivity involved here. How will the league interpret the word "adversely"? Delcarmen getting as much time as he needed to warm up obviously wasn't the reason that the Red Sox were able to come back, but it definitely helped them stop the bleeding to some extent. Getting to face a guy who was only allowed to throw eight warm up pitches would certainly have been an advantage for the Yankees, particularly if Francona chose to temporarily insert a position player instead. So by a strict definition, it did "adversely affect" their chances of winning the game, however infinitesimally.

Although it doesn't say it in the rule book, I'm guessing the commissioner will have the latitude to determine degrees of adversity. In other words, was the advantage the Yankees lost enough to warrant restarting the game from that point? Will Bud Selig take into account that the Yankees were winning by five runs at the time? Will he note that the Sox came all the way back and won by just one run? It's a logistical mess to restart the game and you'd have to assume that the league would lean towards avoiding it if the decision is close.

Bud Selig works in mysterious ways, but unfortunately, I'm pretty sure this one isn't going to get overturned.

Game 38 Recap

1. After Phil Hughes sat the Sox down in order in the first, the Yankees made it abundantly clear that this start would be nothing like Daisuke Matsuzka's last one. Before Dice-K could blink, the Bombers had loaded the bases with two singles by Derek Jeter and Brett Gardner and a walk to Mark Teixiera. A-Rod battled through a seven pitch at bat consisting of nothing by fastballs and after fouling two off, finally found one he liked. He served it into right center for a single and put the Yankees up 2-0.

Robinson Cano swung at the first pitch he saw and hit a deep, looping line drive to left. Jeremy Hermida went back after it but couldn't make the play and the ball caromed off the wall and back into the field. If nobody was on base, Cano could have easily made it to second, but A-Rod had to hold up to see if the ball was caught and was nearly passed by Cano. It went in the books as a RBI single.

Still with no one out, Francisco Cervelli lined a double into the gap in right center that scored A-Rod. Cano was sent home but a strong throw from Darnell McDonald and a solid block of the plate by Victor Martinez gave the Sox their first out of the inning. However, Cervelli advanced to third base on the play and scored on a sac fly by Marcus Thames. Add all of that up and the Yanks were ahead 5-0 after the first inning.

2. Kevin Youkilis led off the top of the second with a single, advanced to second on a wild pitch and scored on a two out single by Adrian Beltre, cutting the Yanks lead to 5-1.

3. The Yanks got that run back in the third. Brett Gardner worked a two out walk and Mark Teixeira drove him in with a double that looked like a home run off the bat. McDonald was fooled too as he got to the ball in time but overran it slightly and it hit off of his forearm as he neared the wall. 6-1 Yanks.

4. David Ortiz, who has now driven in seven runs in his past four games, lifted a sky high home run to the mezzanine level in right during the fourth inning that made it 6-2.

5. Phil Hughes got two easy outs to begin the fifth inning but the final out was much more elusive. Marco Scutaro fell behind 1-2, but fouled back three straight pitches before punching a single back up the middle. Dustin Pedroia also fell behind 1-2 before fouling off four in a row, taking a ball and serving a double to left. J.D. Drew came to the plate with men on second and third, promptly fell behind 0-2 but fought back and eventually hooked a ball around the right field foul pole to bring the Sox right back in it. 6-5 Yankees.

6. Cervelli flipped a two out single to center in the fifth and was driven in on a double by Thames. 7-5 Yanks.

7. Boone Logan began the sixth inning for the Yanks and the first thing he did was fall behind Victor Martinez 3-0. VMart took one for a strike but then mashed a home run to left field to bring the Sox within one run.

8. After pitching a scoreless seventh, Chan Ho Park came back on for the 8th and allowed the Sox to complete an improbable comeback. Drew led off with a single to right and the Fackin' Youkstah drilled a two run home run to left field to put the Sox ahead 8-7. Victor Martinez followed with another solo shot (this on over the Yanks' bullpen in right) and just like that, the Yankees were trailing by two runs with only six outs left to use up and bottom third of their line up due up.

9. Juan Miranda pinch hit in the eighth inning and brought the tying run to the plate when he worked a walk but Daniel Bard struck out Derek Jeter to end the frame.

Gardner led off the ninth inning with a slicing double just out of the reach of McDonald and Teixeira got the crowd going with a long, loud out on the warning track. Jonathan Papelbon didn't get off so easy with A-Rod. Alex was waiting for a fastball on the first pitch and absolutely blasted a homer into the Red Sox bullpen.

Cano flew out to deeeeep center and Papelbon hit Cervelli on the elbow with a pitch. Knowing that he was the only catcher available, Frankie was none too please, but he took his base without much of a scene. Then, like A-Rod, Marcus Thames was ready for a first pitch fastball and smashed it into the right field seats to give the Yankees their first walkoff win of the year. Final score: Yankees 11, Red Sox 9.

IFs, ANDs & BUTs

• Hughes was just one strike away three different times from escaping the fifth inning with a four run lead with a chance to throw another frame. Instead, he threw a combined 22 pitches to Scutaro, Pedroia and Drew and was chased from the game right then and there. he was still in line for the win until CHoP let the lead slip away in the 8th.
  
  
• Phil just didn't have his best stuff tonight, as only 5 of his 103 pitches were swinging strikes. His cutter was working to some extent but it came back to bite him. He threw 30 of them - 24 for strikes - but two of them left the park off the bats of Ortiz and Drew.
  
  
• PitchFX had Hughes throwing 21 two-seam fastballs, but I think they were actually four-seamers with too much arm-side run that fouled up the classification since Hughes doesn't throw a two-seamer, as far as I know. If so, it's an indication that his mechanics were slightly askew, and as Al Leiter likes to say, he wasn't "getting on top of his fastball" enough.
  
  
• With Victor Martinez due up in the 6th inning, Girardi went to Boone Logan, which was pretty odd considering that Martinez has been great against lefties this year and terrible against righties (and that Boone Logan sucks). Not to put too much stock in small sample size splits, but for switch hitters, since they have two different swings, it seems like they are more significant. That could have been a good enough reason to go to Chan Ho Park in the sixth instead of the seventh, but instead VMart jacked one off of Logan.
  
  
• Neither Joba Chamberlain nor David Robertson were available tonight, and that certainly led Joe Girardi to try to stretch two innings out of Park in his first appearance off of the DL. During his second inning is when the wheels really came off and Youk and Martinez hit back to back homers.
  
  
• Evening out some of the bad luck from his start in Detroit, Javy Vazquez picked up the win for facing one batter in the 9th.
  
  
• The double in the first inning brought Francisco Cervelli up to an unthinkable 11 for 14 with runners in scoring position on the season. That would be incredible for Albert Puljos, let alone a guy who was a below average hitter when he was in AA just a year ago.
  
  
• In the fifth inning, Phil Hughes threw a fastball to Youk inside and at knee level that sent him to the dirt in an effort to dodge it and drew a loud applause from the crowd.
  
  
• A.J. Burnett timed the walkoff pie perfectly. Thames was just beginning his interview with Kim Jones and just as he started to answer her first question, got slammed.
  
  
• I like Thames significantly more than I did before this game started. Funny how those things work.
  
  
• This was your typical Yankees-Red Sox game, checking in at 3:47 with 346 pitches thrown.

This had the potential to be a terribly frustrating loss but instead it was a thrilling victory. Matt was there, in the batter's eye seats and hopefully he'll have a little bit to share about his experience tomorrow. This mini-series should wrap up tomorrow at 7:05, but there is a chance that the weather may not cooperate.

Game 29 Recap

Hi Everyone. I am Jason from The Heartland writing a guest wrap for yesterday's 14-3 thrashing in Fenway. My apologies for the late post, but I had a heck of a time trying to write this last night, between Blogger's not saving my lengthy post, then not allowing me to log in when I already was logged in. Very frustrating. Anyhoo, thanks to Jay and Matt for the chance to pinch-hit. I have a little different style of game recaps than the Fack Youk authors, brought from my time formerly blogging at Heartland Pinstripes. Away we go with a wrap on a very long yet thoroughly enjoyable game.

The Yanks had an early opportunity to score runs, putting Jeter and Brett the Jet aboard in the first with infield singles and no out. Yet Pedroia made a wise move on Gardner's bunt single made the difference between a run and the eventual DP, for he backed up first on Martinez's poor throw. This kept Jeter and Gardner at first and second and, more importantly, the DP in order instead of giving them second and third, for Teixeira's grounder to second, which would have otherwise plated Jeter from third, instead resulted in a 4-6-3 DP. CC pitched out of initial trouble in the second for, after Youkilis and Lowell singled to open the inning, The Big Guy whiffed Drew on a nasty 2-2 slider, then induced Beltre to ground into an inning-ending 6-4-3 DP.

The Yanks got two in the third when Pena led off with a double, Jeter walked, Gardner bunted them over, Teixeira singled in Pena, and A-Rod singled in The Captain before Cano's own inning-ending DP pruned what portended to be a big rally. The Big Guy fanned Hall with a slider before allowing Darnell McDonald to homer over the monster on what appeared to me to be an unusually long home run trot, 2-1. After retiring Scutaro, C.C. then did the right thing, reared back, and brought his very best 98-mph fastball and spotted it right on Pedroia's left ass cheek, to me unquestionably in response for Beckett's wildness the night before. Initially, it cost the Yanks, for it extended the inning and Martinez subsequently homered to briefly give Boston a 3-2 lead. Yet I had absolutely no problem whatsoever with The Big Guy's action. Good.

The Yanks tied it in the top of the fourth when Swish walked and Beltre, as part of a miserable day in the field, threw away what should have been a 5-4-3 DP on Winn's grounder, giving them second and third. Frankie C. laced a single, but Winn was thrown out at home after Swish scored, with Frankie C. The RBI Machine taking second. Although he went to third on a wild pitch with one out, neither Pena nor Jeter plated him. Not to worry; the floodgate of runs blew wide open soon enough.

After C.C. worked a quick 1-2-3 fourth, including getting Hall looking on a vicious 97-mph heater, the Yanks commenced the ass whipping in the fifth. Teixeira ripped a one-out homer way deep in right center, 4-3 Yanks. A-Rod walked, Cano laced a single to center, Swish was caught looking on a slider that painted the outside black, Winn walked the bases loaded, and again, Frankie C. smoked a single to center to plate both A-Rod and Cano, with Winn, to me, unnecessarily getting caught in a rundown between second and third to allow Cano to score. I was initially bothered because it seemed that Cano would have no problem scoring, and Winn's self-sacrifice ended a good rally. Yet it ultimately didn't hurt, for C.C. and the bullpen allowed nothing more the rest of the way.

Their work, however, had to wait until after a rain delay of just over an hour, which occurred with Martinez facing a 2-2 count and two outs. This too irked me, for it had just begun to rain--and it started to rain hard--when I saw McClelland's hands go up to halt the action. I had hoped he would at least give C.C. the chance to get Martinez and therefore have a chance at the decision, but it seemed McClelland wanted an early crack at the post-game buffet. If nothing else, this gave me a chance to rip into the delicious roast turkey and stuffing we enjoyed last night. When the game resumed, Aceves entered and finished off Martinez. After Aceves exited with a stiff back and Logan came on, whiffing Hermida on a nasty slider, the Yankees finished off Boston with eight late runs to chase most of the "Fenway faithful" before a laughingly lackluster version of "Sweet Caroline."

Teixeira ripped a homer around Pesky's Pole to begin the seventh, 7-3 Yanks. A-Rod then singled and stole second and, after Cano whiffed, Swish singled to right, 8-3 Yanks. The rout was on in full force in the eighth with a magnificent, leave-no-doubt two-out rally. Gardner singled with one out and, after Teixeira was robbed of a hit on a nice diving grab by McDonald, A-Rod and Cano walked before Bard relieved Schoenweis and promptly allowed a single to Swish that plated Gardner and A-Rod, 10-3 Yanks. After Winn walked to re-load the bases, The RBI Machine that is Francisco Cervelli smoked yet another RBI single to center to sore Cano and Swish, 12-3 Yankees. On a personal note, even though he's well regarded and throws 100 mph, I just am not that impressed by Daniel Bard. The Yanks appear completely unfazed by him and, as they worked him over last night, all I could think of was JD and Teixeira hitting back-to-back homers off him last August 9th to cap the great four-game sweep in the Bronx. Sorry, kid. Try again next time.

With outfielder Jonathan Van Every in for the 9th to rest the rest of the beleaguered Boston bullpen, Jeter ripped a double to center and Teixeira absolutely destroyed a pitch off the middle of a light tower above the monster that was destined for Lansdowne, capping the scoring at a football-like 14-3.

What a job Frankie C. has done --5 RBI yesterday, batting .429. Three out of every seven at-bats Cervelli has had thus far this season have been hits. Plus, the guy has 12 RBI in just 42 at-bats; amazing job to let the Yanks not miss a beat as Jorge continues to rest. Teixeira broke out in a massive way, homering thrice and also driving in five to finally breach the Mendoza line. Jeter and Brett the Jet were each 2-5 and, combined with A-Rod's 2-2, three-walk day, the 1-4 spots (including Kevin Russo, who subbed in for A-Rod late) combined to go 10-19 with 9 runs and 6 RBI. Swish was 2-4 with 3 RBI, giving him 23 for the year to lead the team, and a .298 average. Swish to a certain degree has been overlooked, for the second straight year getting off to a strong start if not outright carrying the offense as he did last April. He's batted in several spots in the order--second, clean-up, sixth, seventh, and eighth--has played a good right field, and avoided streaky play with consistent productivity. Thank you again, Kenny Williams, for taking that steaming pile Wilson Betemit in exchange for Swish. Thank you too, Ozzie Guillen, for being an asshead and inspiring Swish to exact revenge on you.

C.C. had one rocky inning in an otherwise good start, failing to get the decision due to the rain delay and Girardi's understandable unwillingness to send him back out afterward. The bullpen allowed no runs in 4 1/3 innings of relief, with even Robertson not allowing any despite surrendering two singles.

Although Girardi said he wouldn't use him as his regular DH in Johnson's absence, I advocate Cervelli catching more often to allow Jorge to DH. Cervelli obviously does a strong job behind the dish and, with his hot bat, allowing him to keep the bottom of the lineup strong as Jorge returns should let the offense click even better.

With Tampa losing to the A's, the Yanks pulled within a half-game of first with their sixth consecutive win. Outscoring Boston 24-6 thus far this series, the Yanks go for the sweep tonight, with Burnett (4-0, 1.99 ERA) facing Lester (2-2, 3.93 ERA) on ESPN.

Despite a slew of injuries, the Yankees are hitting their stride, going 21-8 out of the gate backed by strong pitching (second-best team and starters' ERA in the AL) and, despite Teixeira, Johnson, and to a degree A-Rod's struggles, an offense starting to erupt. 24 runs the last two games has vaulted the offense to the top of the AL in runs with 175 (6.03/game). Not too shabby for the 2-3-4 spots starting more slowly than we might like.

Get the sweep tonight, Yankees. Happy Mother's Day to all the great moms out there!

Game 29: Been Caught Stealing

In the very first game of the 2008 season, Jorge Posada injured his shoulder when he slipped on a slick home plate while making a throw. It kept him out of the lineup for a few days, but he eventually returned and attempted to play through it. He landed on the DL from late April through early June, returned, then eventually underwent season ending surgery in mid-July.

While Posada was still trying to grind it out, the Yankees played an early season series at Fenway. In the series finale, the same game in which Phil Hughes turned in the poor start we referenced in yesterday's preview, Posada got the start as the DH. But as the Yankees found themselves trailing in the eighth inning and with an opportunity for a rally at hand, Joe Girardi pinch ran for Jose Molina. When the bottom half of the frame came around, Posada was forced behind the plate for the first time in five days. He was under strict orders not to throw.

It's doubtful that the Red Sox knew that, but it's obvious that they knew that Posada - never blessed with great run-stopping abilities in the first place - was nursing a shoulder issue. Coco Crisp led off with a single, and despite two throws to first, promptly stole second on the first pitch. Later in the inning Dustin Pedroia singled. He too successfully took off for second on the very first pitch. The Sox ran in every opportunity they had in Posada's one inning behind the plate. It was painful to watch.

Last year the Sox continued to run on the Yankees going 16 for 21 in stolen base attempts, including a curtain call inducing swipe of home by Jacoby Ellsbury on April 26th.

The Red Sox have had their own problems controlling the running game in recent years. They've allowed the most steals in the AL this year with 42, 55% more than the second place team, and are next to last in CS%. In 2009 they allowed the most stolen bases in the league, and were dead last again in CS%. The second to last place team was closer to fourth place, percentage wise, than they were to the Red Sox.

Just like the Sox weren't shy about exploiting Posada's weakness to years ago, the Yankees have taken advantage of their opportunities to run on the Sox of late. In the season's opening series they went four for five in stolen base attempts, including a steal of home by Brett Gardner. Last year, they were successful in 19 of 21 attempts against Boston, including a merciless seven for seven against Jason Varitek in a late September game.

The tide of The Series That Shall Not Be Named turned on a stolen base, and in the years since the two clubs have taken virtually every opportunity to run on each other. Why should they, when virtually no one is caught stealing?

Taking the mound today for the Sox is a guy who has been caught stealing, but not on the base paths. Clay Buchholz was notoriously arrested in 2004 for swiping and selling 29 laptops from his town's middle school. After bouncing up and down for parts of three seasons, Buchholz finally established himself in the Sox rotation during the second half of last year. He's pitched well through his first five starts, sporting a 2.97 ERA but his high WHIP (1.42) as well as his FIP (3.11) and xFIP (4.03) suggest he's gotten a bit lucky. His strand rate and BABIP are not out of the ordinary, but his HR/FB of just 3.3% is not something that will hold up over time. Buchholz has made three previous starts against the Yanks, two in 2008 and one last year, and they've touched him up the tune of 18 hits, 2 homers, 9 walks, and 10 runs in 15.2 innings.

CC Sabathia takes the hill for the Yankees. He has no known history of thievery, but he was a pretty angry guy yesterday. First, he lashed out at his fellow "209" resident Dallas Braden, calling him a clown and saying his argument was tired. Then, as Josh Beckett buzzed batter after batter in the sixth, CC got on the top step of the dugout to make his displeasure known. Sabathia has been excellent through his first six starts, with his only poor outing of the season coming when he allowed five runs through five and a third on Opening Night in Fenway. He's been masterful since then, with a 1.93 ERA over his last 37.1 IP. If there's any blemish on the Big Fella's record so far it's that both his walk and strikeout rates are as poor as they've been since 2003. In his first season as a Yankee, Sabathia posted a 2.22 ERA, 0.81 WHIP, and 31:6 K;BB ratio in 28.1 IP against Boston.

The weather was pretty nasty in Boston earlier today. The tarp came off the field, then was placed back on, but word is the game will start on time as it appears things will be nice enough come game time. What started as miserable morning here in CT has turned into a beautiful afternoon, so perhaps Beantown will have similar luck.

Today's game is on FOX with our friends Joe Buck and Tim McCarver. Perhaps we'll get lucky and someone will steal their microphones. Lastly, in the event this game runs late, Joe West wanted me to tell you all that coverage will switch to FX at 7:30 due to FOX's NASCAR commitment. This happened during that April series two years ago and FOX made the switch without any advanced notice. I was none too pleased about that.

I've been caught stealing once when I was five
I enjoy stealing, it's just as simple as that
Well, it's just a simple fact
When I want something I don't want to pay for it

I walk right through the door
Walk right through the door
Hey all right, if I get by, it's mine.
Mine all mine!

-Lineups-

Yankees:
Where to begin? As speculated this morning, Nick Johnson has been placed on the DL and Kevin Russo has been recalled. Jorge Posada is not in the lineup for the fourth straight day, and the sixth time in the last nine games. Word is he would have played today if not for the potential for a slick field. He's supposed to return tomorrow, but we've been hearing that for a few days now.

Robinson Cano was not in the initial line up, but after taking BP and the team decided he can give it a go. The order is looking pretty weak, so getting Cano back in there is an added bonus. Given his knee he'll DH in place of Marcus Thames, and Ramiro Pena will stay at second base. In Nick Johnson's absence it's Brett Gardner, not Nick Swisher, moving up to the two spot. Part of that is because the order needs Swish's pop in the middle with Posada and Granderson out. Most of it is because of all the stolen base stuff we talked about above. With the lineup a bit weaker than usual today, I expect the Yankees to try to use their legs to make up for some of the missing offense.

Johnson's MRI revealed an inflamed tendon in his wrist. He received a cortisone shot and will be out "several weeks". Commence gnashing of teeth and start the "Bring Up Montero" campaign.

Derek Jeter SS
Brett Gardner CF
Mark Teixeira 1B
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Robinson Cano DH
Nick Swisher RF
Randy Winn LF
Francisco Cervelli C
Ramiro Pena 2B

Red Sox:
This isn't exactly the "A" lineup for the Sox either. With a lefty on the mound, the Artist Formerly Known as Big Papi hits the bench in favor of Mike Lowell. Ditto for Jeremy Hermida, who gives way to Bill Hall in left field.

Marco Scutaro SS
Dustin Pedroia 2B
Victor Martinez C
Fack Youkilis 1B
Mike Lowell DH
J.D. Drew RF
Adrian Beltre 3B
Bill Hall LF
Darnell McDonald CF

Game 28: Station Blues

Twenty one months ago, the Yankees arrived in Boston for a three game weekend series, much like the one they will play this weekend. In the Friday night game, Boston sent Josh Beckett to the mound, just as they will tonight. He was opposed then by a young right hander from the Yankees, just as he will be tonight. Despite tossing seven innings of one run ball that night, Beckett was outdueled. Joba Chamberlain did him one better, going seven shutout innings of three hit, one walk ball, fanning nine Sox on the night. It was, and remains, the best start of Chamberlain's career.

Tonight Phil Hughes gets his crack at Beckett and the Sox. Hughes and Joba have been linked throughout their young careers. Both are former first round picks, Hughes in 2004, Chamberlain in the supplemental round two years later. Both made their much-heralded Major League debuts in 2007, Hughes as a starter in late April, Chamberlain as a set up man in mid-August. Both were counted upon to be key contributors in what proved to be a disappointing 2008 season, Hughes exiting with a stress fracture in his rib in late April, Chamberlain hitting the DL with a sore shoulder in early August. Both battled for the fifth starter spot in Spring Training this year, with Hughes emerging the victor.

They've also been a study in contrast thus far. Hughes is seen as poised and collected, Chamberlain as demonstrative and impulsive. Hughes took some time to find his footing as a Big Leaguer; Chamberlain burst on the scene with a storybook rookie campaign, earning instant celebrity. Hughes took some lumps as a starter before emerging as a dominant reliever last year and finding his way back to the rotation this season. Chamberlain debuted as a dominant reliever, experienced early success as a starter before scuffling through much of last year, and is back in his former set up job this season.

I'm not sure what bearing all of that has on tonight's game, other than that I'm hopeful Hughes can turn in a Fenway performance tonight that equals that of Chamberlain's there nearly two years ago. Given Hughes' success through his first four starts this year, there's no reason he can't turn in such performance tonight. At the very least, it should go better than Hughes' only other career start at the Fens, a two inning outing two years ago in which he allowed nine baserunners and seven runs, six earned. For his career, Hughes sports a 7.62 ERA and 1.92 WHIP in 13 IP against the Sawx, but he has struck out 15 batters over those frames.

The Yankees last saw Beckett on Opening Night, touching him up for eight hits, three walks, and five runs while forcing him to throw 94 pitches through just four and two thirds. He exited in line for the loss until Chan Ho Park let him off the hook. He pitched better in his second and third starts, but then got knocked around to the tune of 23 baserunners and 15 runs over 10 innings in his next two starts. He pitched well against Baltimore last Sunday, and enters tonight with a 6.31 ERA, 1.57 WHIP, and just one decision through his first six starts. His K/9 is the lowest it's been in his career, and his BB/9 is at its highest since his subpar first season in Boston. FIP and xFIP say Beckett should be better off than his traditional stats say, but even those numbers aren't too pretty for a guy who's supposed to be fronting the rotation of a contending team. Most of the Yankee regulars have had success against Beckett; they'll look to keep that going tonight.

The Yankees hearkened back to the days of flannel uniforms for their trip to Boston, heading down to the station in New Rochelle yesterday and hopping a three car private train up to Boston's South Station. Despite the spat of minor injuries of late, things have gone quite well for the Yankees since they last were in the Hub. They've won eight of nine series, have the second best record in baseball, and generally life is good. It would be tempting to say they're sitting on top of the world, but Tampa's still a game and a half in front, and as past seasons have taught us, where things are in May aren't always indicative of where things will be in October.

After a disastrous three game sweep at the hands of the Orioles left the Sox with the blues, Boston has taken four in a row and are back on the right side of .500. A series win this weekend would do a lot for their psyche and for that of their fanbase. Regardless of what happens over these next three games, both teams are going to have to work all the summer if they want to work this fall.

I went down to the station
Looked out in the yard
Get me some freight train
Work done got hard
But now she’s gone, but I don’t worry
Sittin’ on top of the world

I worked all the summer
Worked all the fall
Had to take Christmas
In my overalls
But now she’s gone, and I don’t worry
Sittin’ on top of the world

[Song notes: Another blues song, another song with a lengthy and storied history. "Sitting on Top of the World" was first recorded in 1930 by the Mississippi Sheiks, taking elements from earlier songs by Al Jolson, Tommy Johnson, and Leroy Carr and Scrapper Blackwell, whose "You Got to Reap What You Sow" featured old friend Tampa Red.

Sitting on Top of the World quickly became a cross-genre standard, covered by Charlie Patton, Big Bill Broonzy, Ray Charles, Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee, the legendary Howlin' Wolf, Bill Monroe, Carl Perkins, Memphis Slim, Doc Watson, Chet Atkins, John Lee Hooker, and numerous others. Once rock and roll exploded and artists started looking back at roots music, bands like the Grateful Dead and Cream performed the tune as well, and it continues to be performed by contemporary blues and roots artists like Robert Cray, Taj Mahal, Jack White and a host of others.

Growing up in the north Mississippi hill country, Luther and Cody Dickinson learned the tune from one their mentors, Othar Turner. When the brothers Dickinson joined with Chris Chew to form the North Mississippi Allstars, they included a version on their debut album of traditional hill country blues songs, Shake Hands with Shorty. Their version however, was dubbed "Station Blues", as that's how they learned it from Turner.

The performance above comes from NMA's 2004 appearance at Bonnaroo, dubbed the Hill Country Revue, and featuring Jim Dickinson, hill country legend R.L. Burnside, his son Duwayne - then a member of NMA, the Rising Star Fife and Drum Band, and R.L. Boyce - who emcees this particular performance. It's a lengthy clip, from the NMA documentary Do It Like We Used to Do. Turner had passed away at 95 a year earlier, and the band pays tribute to him by playing his "Shimmy She Wobble", made famous in Scorsese's Gangs of New York, as a segue into the song.]

-Lineups-

Yankees:
Jorge Posada is out for third consecutive game. Chad Moeller was not recalled, as previously speculated. However, pitcher Romulo Sanchez is up, with Greg Golson, on the roster for all of two games, being sent down. I'm not quite sure I understand this series of moves. I suppose with you can never have too deep of a bullpen for a series in Fenway Park, and with Sergio Mitre likely earmarked for a Tuesday spot start, the pen is a bit short.

Derek Jeter SS
Nick Johnson DH
Mark Teixeira 1B
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Robinson Cano 2B
Nick Swisher RF
Brett Gardner CF
Francisco Cervelli C
Randy Winn LF

Red Sox:
Courtesy of old friend Pete Abe

Marco Scutaro SS
Dustin Pedroia 2B
J.D. Drew RF
Kevin Youkilis 1B
David Ortiz DH
Adrian Beltre 3B
Jeremy Hermida LF
Jason Varitek C
Darnell McDonald CF

Marathon Monday Morning Matinee

Good morning Fackers. While the Yankees have an off day today, there are eight games happening over the course of the day. Amongst them are seven night games, and one morning game. Two days after finishing two games in one night, the Red Sox will play their annual Patriots' Day morning game, with the first pitch slated for 11:05. If the Rays manage a sweep, the Sox will suffer their fourth loss in a span of about forty two hours.

There are a number of things I miss about being a college student. Today is one of the days I miss the most. Patriots' Day gave us a three day weekend, and though we didn't need it, and excuse to party. That it happened just as the weather was getting nice and the school year was winding down was an added bonus. The cherry on top was that tailgating rules were in force, meaning that nearly all of Lower Campus at BC turned into one large outdoor party while the Boston Marathon trudged by on Commonwealth Avenue.

My junior and senior years, the Yankees were in town for the morning game. Though they didn't win either contest, it was still a treat to be able to watch a Yankee game while stranded in enemy territory. And of course, by the end of both of those seasons the Yankees had the last laugh over their rivals. Even the Yankee losses in those games didn't ruin the rest of the day's festivities for me. Jay and Joe were in attendance for the 2003 game and were treated to a Sox loss, even if Jay did have to watch it from behind a pole.

Though Patriots' Day isn't observed in Connecticut, it often fell during April vacation when I was growing up. Having a morning baseball game to watch on a day off from school was a nice break from the normal drudgery of whatever else was on TV on a weekday morning - even if it was a Red Sox game.


So as our New England neighbors observe the anniversary of the start of the American Revolution today, I'll tip my cap to them. I may not like their team, but as far as I'm concerned, the more hours of the day during which there is baseball to watch, the better.

Game 3 Recap

[WPA data via Fangraphs]

1. Dustin Pedroia led off the bottom of the third with a double to left. After retiring Victor Martinez and Kevin Youkilis, Andy Pettitte surrendered David Ortiz' first hit of 2010. His base hit to right plated Pedroia to give the Sox a 1-0 lead.

2. Scott Schoeneweis relieved John Lackey to start the seventh. Jorge Posada laced a one out double to center. Schoeneweis fanned Curtis Granderson for the third time in four career meetings between the two. Schoeneweis gave way to flame throwing Daniel Bard, but Nick Swisher was undeterred. He fouled off three straight fastballs, registering at 97, 97, and 99 MPH according to GameDay. On the fourth pitch of the at bat, Swisher pulled a single through the right side. J.D. Drew's throw was in time to get Posada, but Martinez could not handle it cleanly. After a less than graceful stumble past the plate, Jorgie went back to tag the dish and tie the score.

3. Leading off the top of the tenth, Granderson jumped on an 0-1 Jonathan Papelbon fastball and deposited it in the right field stands for his second home run as a Yankee.

4. Following consecutive walks to Brett Gardner, Derek Jeter, and Nick Johnson, Mark Teixeira hit a slow bouncer to short, allowing Gardner to score an insurance run on the fielder's choice.

IFs, ANDs & BUTs

• After marathon sessions in the series' first two games, tonight's game, despite being an extra inning affair, was the shortest of the series at 3:21


• Much of that had to with this being the lowest scoring game of the series, which in turn had to do with both Andy Pettitte and John Lackey, despite not factoring in the decision, turning in strong performances.


• The Yankees got a scare on the opening play of the bottom of the first, as a collision at first base between Pettitte and Jacoby Ellsbury knocked Pettitte to the ground, skinning his elbow and banging his head against the turf. He recovered, and eventually settled down, to scatter nine base runners and allow just one run over six frames


• Pettitte beaned Youk with a 90 MPH pitch in the bottom of the fifth. Derek Jeter took a 2-2 cutter in the elbow leading off the sixth. Neither was intentional, and the two plunkees and WBC teammates shared a laugh at first as Jeter took his base.


• Despite the strong performances from the starters, the pitching star of the game was the recently maligned Chan Ho Park. Park allowed just one hit on only 36 pitches over three scoreless innings. I was afraid that running him out for the ninth was pushing the envelope a bit, but Park delivered. He made five relief appearances of three innings in 2009.


• Despite his RBI, Mark Teixeira is now 0 for 12 on 2010. Nick Johnson is now 0 for 9. No word yet as to whether the media has questioned either about their horrendously slow starts.


• Derek Jeter grounded out to short twice; he did the same in both of the series' first two games and added a seeing eye single by the shortstop in game one.


• Randy Winn once again replaced Nick Swisher for defense, taking over in the bottom of the tenth. It annoyed me when this would happen last year as I felt Swisher was defensively superior to Johnny Damon. With Brett Gardner in left this year though, subbing for Swisher appears to be a prudent move, as Winn grades out extremely well as a right fielder.

Game 3: On To The Next One

Appropriately, the winner of the first series between the Yankees and Red Sox this season will be determined by who takes its third and final game. Each team has scored 13 runs so far (with the starting pitchers accounting for 9 of those and the bullpen the other 4), racked up 21 hits (6 going for doubles) and stolen two bases. The Yanks have hit three homers while the Sox have two and a triple. That's about as evenly matched as it gets.

The two teams won't meet again for another month so the victor of tonight's contest will get to hang on to the bragging rights for a pretty substantial amount of time.

The victim of several rainouts during Spring Training, Andy Pettitte won't have any weather-related issues in Fenway tonight. It was over 90 degrees in Boston today and although it will cool down by the time the first pitch is thrown, it will still be unseasonably warm. Pettitte's first appearance of the season

will be

his 35th start as a part of this unique rivalry and when asked about it earlier today had a hard time pretending he was especially excited for it.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, John Lackey will be taking part in the mania that is Yanks vs. Red Sox for the first time. Having pitched half of his games in southern California, the balmy conditions this evening should make Lackey feel right at home. Although he'll be getting eased into the rivalry as far at the weather is concerned, the 6'6" right hander is making his Sox debut against the Yankees and their best line up in front of a Fenway crowd with big expectations for their new highest paid player.

Lackey has faced the Yankees 7 times in the past 5 years between the regular season and the playoffs and has a 3.42 ERA with 40 strikeouts and 17 walks in those games.

For the first time in two years, Lackey will not begin the season on the DL. Despite the delayed debuts in '08 and '09, Lackey was still a valuable starter in those seasons, pitching a total of 340 innings with a 3.79 ERA. Lackey can probably expect his rate stats to take a hit as he settles into the AL East, but the biggest barrier to his success has always been his health and it appears he's off to a good start in that department.

So as Lackey dons a new uniform for the first time and turns the page to a new chapter in his career, the Yanks look to steal the final game of the set before moving on to face the Rays in Tampa. Let's do it.

-Lineups-

Yankees:

Brett Gardner makes his triumphant return to left field, after coming off the bench to go 1 for 2 last night. Curtis Granderson slides back down to 7th and everyone else is in their usual spots.

Jeter SS
Johnson DH
Teixeira 1B
Rodriguez 3B
Cano 2B
Posada C
Granderson CF
Swisher RF
Gardner LF

Red Sox:

Ellsbury LF
Pedroia 2B
Martinez C
Youkilis 1B
Ortiz DH
Beltre 3B
Drew RF
Cameron CF
Scutaro SS

Game 2 Recap

[WPA data via FanGraphs]

1. After reaching base on a high pop up that probably should have been fielded by Marcus Thames in the bottom of the first, Jacoby Ellsbury took off for second base in an 0-1 count. Jorge Posada's throw to second sailed wide right and Ellsbury ended up taking third base. He scored on a sac fly by the next batter, Kevin Youkilis, to put the Sox up 1-0. Giving away three free bases will do that to you.

2. Nick Swisher tied the game in the top of the second by driving in Robinson Cano on a double to right. The Yanks loaded the bases with one away but Curtis Granderson struck out and Derek Jeter grounded into a force play to end the inning.

3. In the bottom of the third, Ellsbury reached base again, this time leading off with a legitimate double. Two batters later, Victor Martinez took A.J. Burnett deep for a two run homer on a 0-1 fastball that caught too much of the plate before ending up in the Sox bullpen in right-center.

4. The Yanks came back in a big way, loading the bases against Jon Lester with no one out in the 5th. They plated three runs in the frame, one each on a fielders choice by Mark Teixeira, a double by A-Rod and a sac fly by Robinson Cano. This put them them ahead 4-3.

5. That lead was short lived as A.J. Burnett lost another battle against Victor Martinez in the 5th. Dustin Pedrioa had singled in the previous at bat and scored when Martinez lofted a double high off the Green Monster.

6. Hideki Okajima had runners on first and second with two outs in the top of the 8th when Derek Jeter came to the plate. For what seemed like the 6th or 7th time already this season, Jeter grounded out to softly to short, except this time he was bailed out by a poor throw from Marco Scutaro that Kevin Youkilis couldn't quite scoop. With the bases loaded, Nick Johnson worked a 5 pitch walk and drove in his first run of the season to give the Yanks a 5-4 lead.

7. Joe Girardi got to tinkering in the bottom half of the 8th when he started the inning with David Robertson, pulled him after he gave up a single to Youk and brought in Damaso Marte to face David Ortiz. Papi flied out to center and Joba Chamberlain was called on with Adrian Beltre due up.

At that point, Beltre was 2-3 with a walk on the night, but Joba shut him down, inducing a swinging strike three on a ball well off the plate low and away. J.D. Drew was due up next and stuck out swinging, the at bat culminating with whiffs over two perfectly placed sliders. Joba was sitting between 94 and 96 with his fastball and responded with an emphatic fistpump when he got out of the inning.

8. Robinson Cano dropped his bat as soon as he made contact with an 0-1 slider from Scott Atchinson and sure enough and that sucker found the seats down the right field line, giving Mariano Rivera an extra run to work with in the bottom of the 9th.

9. Mo didn't need that cushion, although he did allow a double to Marco Scutaro that landed between Curtis Granderson and Brett Gardner in left-center. He recorded one strikeout (Ellsbury) and induced two fly balls from Mike Cameron and Dustin Pedroia, the latter ending the game and giving the Yanks their first win of the season. FINALLY!

IFs, ANDs & BUTs

• Three times early in the game, Angel Hernandez declined to give time to hitters who asked for it in the box. This is likely related to the pace of play issue that the MLB is so concerned about.
  
  
• Speaking of which, my theory from earlier today is not holding up very well considering this game clocked in a snailish 3:48. That makes it 2 minutes longer than last night despite the fact that it wasn't on a national network and fewer runs were scored.
  
  
• Both starters were finished after 5 innings, each with 4 R. Only 3 of Burnett's were earned and gave up 7 hits, walked one and hit one batter. Lester allowed 5 hits, 3 walks and two HBP.
  
  
• Of the 94 pitches Burnett threw, only 1 was a changeup (which he was supposedly fine tuning in Spring Training), according to MLB data. That pitch was 89MPH, probably isn't enough of a differential off of his fastball to make it an effective pitch.
  
  
• Nick Johnson is hitting a perfectly stereotypical .000/.500/.000, the product of 4 walks and 1 HBP in 10 plate appearances.
  
  
• Marcus Thames went 0-1 with a walk and a strikeout against Jon Lester. Brett Gardner entered the game in the 6th inning as a pinch hitter and went 1 for 2, that hit coming as a single off of the lefty Okajima.
  
  
• Alfredo Aceves pitched two innings of relief and allowed just one baserunner (and that came on a throwing error by Derek Jeter).
  
  
• Five relievers combined for four scoreless innings. I guess this means Phil Hughes can stay in the rotation.
  
  
• The Yanks had three errors in total, the one I haven't mentioned yet came when Damaso Marte botched a pick off throw and allow Youk to advance to second.
  
  
• Randy Winn replaced Nick Swisher for defense in the 9th inning.
  
  
• When Mariano Rivera entered the game, he, Derek Jeter and Jorge Posada set a record as the only three teammates in any major American professional team sports to appear in a game together for 16 years straight.

Game 2: We Gotta Live Together

Coming off a tough loss in Fenway on Sunday night, the Yankees face an even tougher pitching match up against the Red Sox this evening. The true ace of the Sox staff, 26 year old left hander Jon Lester gets the call this evening while the Yanks counter with A.J. Burnett.

Lester is coming off of two straight seasons with 200+ innings and sub-3.50 ERAs. Although he started one fewer game in 2009 then in '08, Lester recorded 73 more strikeouts, jumping his K/9 from 6.5 to 10.0. Predictably, his FIP dropped almost an entire run from 4.08 to 3.13 as a result. There are a host of other factors of course, but the increased velocity he saw across the board probably helped generate more swings and misses.

During that same span, Lester continued to allow under one hit per inning and walk just under 3 per 9. Despite the dramatic increase in strikeouts, Lester's ERA actually increased a tick from 3.21 to 3.41 based mostly on an increase in his home run rate from an incredible 0.6 to a simply solid 0.9. As a lefty in Fenway, has done an admirable job of keeping the ball in the park, allowing significantly fewer long balls at home than on the road.

In order to combat the southpaw on the mound, Joe Girardi has elected to go with Marcus Thames over Brett Gardner.

Why this makes sense: The Green Monster makes it more likely that Thames' will do more damage on offense and less on defense. The small left field at Fenway means less ground for him to cover in the bottom halves of the innings and large, looming target for doubles and home runs in the tops.

Why it doesn't make sense: If anyone should be sitting against lefties (based on previous track records - which is clearly why Thames is getting the start), it should be Curtis Granderson. Gardner hasn't even had a chance to make a start against a lefty this year and Girardi is already sitting him. There is strong an argument to be made for playing both Granderson and Gardner because each can exploit the soft-throwing Victor Martinez if they get on base.

Perhaps Girardi will give Gardner some chances against lesser lefties or in parks with bigger outfields, but Thames gets his shot tonight.

While it might be advantageous to Thames, Fenway was not kind to Burnett last year as he gave up 22 runs in 12 2/3 innings over three starts. The last one of those was a 5 inning, 9 run shellacking on August 22nd that saw Burnett and Posada clash over pitch selection. Burnett was apparently intent on throwing his curveball while Posada thought the Sox hitters were waiting on it. Whether or not there was real animosity between them, Burnett made six more regular season starts and 5 in the postseason, none of which were caught by Posada.

This season, however, appears to be a different story. Burnett has been working with Posada all throughout Spring Training in an effort to get on the same page. Posada apparently endeared himself to Burnett by staying late to catch a simulated game after A.J.'s scheduled start against the Braves got rained out and together, they've been attempting to refine his changeup.

Burnett and Posada aren't the best match. Burnett's tendency to bury curveballs in the dirt doesn't mix well with Posada's 38 year old body. Apparently they have different ideas about what to throw to which hitters in certain counts. But now they Jose Molina is gone to Toronto, they've gotta do their best to figure it out how they can make their battery combination a successful one.

-Lineups-

Yankees:

Jeter SS

Johnson DH
Teixeira 1B
Rodriguez 3B
Cano 2B
Posada C
Swisher RF
Thames LF
Granderson CF

Red Sox:

Ellsbury LF
Pedroia 2B
Martinez C
Youkilis 1B
Ortiz DH
Beltre 3B
Drew RF
Cameron CF
Scutaro 2B

Shorter Yanks vs. Sox Games This Year?

The most common complaint about Yankees vs. Red Sox games - especially from fans of other teams - is that they take too long to complete. Those folks have a point. The average MLB game lasted 2 hours and 52 minutes in 2009 while Yankees games clocked in at 3:08 and Red Sox contests at 3:04. When the teams got together, it took them an average of 3:20 to declare a winner.

Major League Baseball, and in particular Bob Watson who is responsible for standards and on-field operations, has tried to tighten the screws on the teams in an effort to make the games shorter. Watson recently told Business Week, “We’ve created a monster. Will we ever get this under control? I don’t know”. (Of course, he isn't looking to cut back on the amount of time sold to advertisers which necessitates that commercial breaks last about two minutes and thirty seconds each, but that's a different issue for another day).

Might the Yankees and Red Sox have done Watson a favor with some of their offseason moves? Is it possible that because the way the teams are constructed this year, the games might naturally be a little shorter?

The reasoning for the games being shorter this year goes something like this: Both teams improved their starting pitching and defense. Better starting pitchers allow fewer baserunners which lead to fewer plate appearances. Solid starters also go deeper into games, meaning that there should be fewer pitching changes, each of which - if executed mid-inning - takes several minutes (unless it's Jonathan Papelbon, in which case it takes several hours). Improved defenses also turn more balls in play into outs, thereby eliminating at bats and conserving starter's pitch counts.

Of course, there are two sides to the equation. As the article Business Week points out, the Yankees and Red Sox saw the most pitches in baseball last year, largely as a function of the fact that they scored the first and third most runs in the game, respectively. The Yankees also added Nick Johnson who saw 4.36 pitches per plate appearance last year, third most in the MLB.

What the article didn't mention was the fact that last year's slate of Yanks/Sox games included a 5 and a half hour, 15 inning marathon and 9 inning games with final scores of 20-11, 16-11, 14-1 and 13-6. The Yanks scored 99 runs in those 18 games and the Sox plated 101, so it's not just mound visits, crotch adjustments and "talking to the ball" as Watson claims, that are taking up everyone's time.

Additionally, these games often air on national networks and the additional commercials on ESPN and FOX slow them down. God Bless America probably adds a couple of minutes to each game played at Yankee Stadium as well.

Sunday night's 3:46 affair was not the best start for my half-baked theory, but I'm willing to bet that there will be some regression towards the mean in terms of the duration of the games. I'm not sure if they will come all the way down to the Yanks' average mark of 3:08 but it's a good bet that the average length will be lower than 3:20 by the time all 18 games are in the books.

Game 1 Recap

[WPA data via FanGraphs]

[The chart above is based on WPA or Win Percentage Added. You can find a thorough explanation of it right here, but very quickly, it measures the general chance a team has of winning given the situation (score, inning, outs, baserunners). WPA tells the story of a game in a quick glance very efficiently. Above, you can tell that the Yanks were in control of the game from the outset but lost control of it late. (The numbers I've added correspond to points below)

You can find more interactive and complete versions of these charts and the data at FanGraphs and Baseball-Reference, but I though it might be nice to post a prettier-looking version here. As always, feedback is welcome in the comments.]

1. Jorge Posada and Curtis Granderson hit back to back homers off of Josh Beckett in the second inning to put the Yankees up 2-0. Posada's was just a cheapie off the Pesky Pole but Granderson launched over the Red Sox bullpen in right-center field. Nick Swisher and Brett Gardner added consecutive singles to give the Yanks four hits in a row, but the only runs they scored came on the solo homers.

2. The Yanks strung together a rally in the fourth that began with a double by Robinson Cano but it wasn't until there were two out that the they cashed in that run. Nick Swisher worked a walk. Brett Gardner and Derek Jeter followed that with consecutive singles, driving in two runs and leaving runners on the corners with Nick Johnson at the plate. Johnson fell in an 0-2 hole and Jeter took off for second. Foolishly, Victor Martinez tried to catch Jeter stealing but didn't, and allowed Gardner to swipe home in the process.

3. When Josh Beckett left the game with two outs in the top of the 5th inning, it appeared that he had been handily outpitched by CC Sabathia. Beckett had surrendered 5 runs and left runners on first and second base. Scott Schoeneweis escaped the inning without further damage but the Sox were down 5-1.

4. With a 5-2 lead, Sabathia began the sixth inning with a walk to Dustin Pedroia. Victor Martinez then doubled, setting the table for the Fackin' Youkstah. Youk sliced a ball down the right field line that Nick Swisher should have probably held to a double, but a poor line to the ball turned it into a three-bagger, equaling the number of triples Youkilis' had all of last season. Adrian Beltre singled home Youk two batters later to tie the game at 5.

5. The Yankees wasted little time in striking back. Like the Sox in the previous half inning, Mark Teixeira led off with a walk and Alex Rodriguez followed that with a double. Robinson Cano drove in Teix on a ground out and Jorge Posada followed that with a single, putting the Yanks up 7-5.

6. Their lead, however, would be short-lived. Chan Ho Park was called upon in the bottom of the 7th and gave up a single to Marco Scutaro then a two run homer to Dustin Pedroia. With the game now tied at 7, Park retired Victor Martinez but gave up a double to Youkilis. Joe Girardi called on Damaso Marte to face David Ortiz and he responded with a wild pitch that allowed Youk to advance to third. He and Jorge Posada got crossed up two pitches later and a catchable fastball rolled towards the backstop, allowing Youk to score and the Sox to take the lead.

7. Joe Girardi called on Joba Chamberlain to keep the game within 1 in the bottom of the 8th. Joba gave up a single to Cameron, a walk to Scutaro and an RBI single to Pedrioa to give the Sox an extra insurance run. He needed 29 pitches to record those three outs.

8. The Yanks brought the tying run to the plate in the 9th inning after Jorge Posada singled with two outs to keep their hopes alive. That allowed Curtis Granderson a shot at extending the game, but he grounded out to third. Granderson tasted both the highs and lows of the rivalry last night, hitting a homer in his first AB as a Yankee and making the last out of the game.

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Other thoughts:

• Marco Scutaro lined out into a double play during the third inning but it appeard that Mike Cameron was safe diving back to first base.
  
  
• Sabathia was in good shape heading into the sixth inning but seemed to lose the strikezone when he came back out to the mound, walking Pedroia on 5 pitches, falling behind Martinez 2-1 and Youkilis 3-0.
  
  
• The home run that Dustin Pedroia hit off of Chan Ho Park probably wouldn't have gotten out of Yankee Stadium, but the double that A-Rod hit in the previous half inning almost certainly would have.
  
  
• Curtis Granderson looked helpless against the first lefty he faced (Schoenewies) but worked a walk against the second (Okijima).
  
  
• Posada had a good night at the plate, but the passed ball that allowed Youkilis to score the go-ahead run was his fault, even if Marte crossed him up.
  
  
• The game lasted 3:46 and really started dragging towards the middle of it. Sure, 16 runs were scored but the pace was far from crisp.