The Yankees seem like they are secure to make the playoffs but A.J. Burnett doesn’t seem to be securing a playoff start. Let’s put it this way and like the saying goes, “He’s all over the place.” That’s his main problem, he cannot get it together, a serious case of control problems. This game really doesn’t exemplify my point but 80% percent of the others did. He’s 10-13 and could it could be worse if the Yankee offense didn’t save him in several of his no-decisions. In this Yankee loss against the resurrected Orioles, Burnett managed to pitch 7.0 innings but gave up 7 hits, 4 earned runs and walked 4 batters. The Yankees faced a red-hot Matusz and a strong bullpen performance which were hitless in three innings of work. Yanks lose 4-3. Box Scoreand Highlights
Rays vs the Red Sox:
BOSTON — David Ortiz has hit his share of home runs in Fenway Park. Now, he’s enjoying seeing younger players like Ryan Kalish come through.
Kalish hit a grand slam, Ortiz had a two-run shot and Jon Lester pitched six solid innings to lead the Boston Red Sox over Tampa Bay 12-5 Monday night, preventing the Rays from climbing closer in the AL East race.
“We have a lot of young guys coming in here that have talent,” Ortiz said, flashing a smile when he talked about Kalish, a rookie.Adrian Beltre added a solo homer for Boston, swept in a three-game series by the Chicago White Sox last weekend. Learn More. Watch all the Video of the game
The Yank 8 game winning streak has been snapped as Toronto win 7-3. Hughes started the game searching to improve his record and obtain his 17th victory with only 7 loses. Well, it was not to be and the Blue Jays made sure and slowly, like Chinese torture, two runs in the first, relax-nothing, then 2 more runs in the 3rd, rest-wait in the 4th, then one run each in the 5th and 6th. A total of six runs given up by Hughes who pitched 6.0 innings and gave up 7 hits, 3 of them homers. Mitre came in and gave up another run. Throughout these seven innings, the Yanks scored 3 runs only. It was A-Rod’s return after a 24 game absence. What can I say, you can’t win them all. Box Score and Highlights.
Standings:
Extra Story:
When the season started, I registered Yankeeology.com to the best “Ranking” website out there. The name of this very important and essential website is Technorati. It ranks Blogs and in different categories. Today I was looking around and discovered Yankeeology there. It is ranked #165 #159 in the “Baseball” Category. I am so happy with this result and would like to thank everyone who visits Yankeeology.com! This is the reason why I am now listed there. Of course, this is only the beginning and I plan to move up much more. It would be realistic if I could get in the top 20, that’s my goal. There are so many Yankee Blogs, that’s why, the competition is brutal, look here . Not easy but nobody said it would be. I will place a logo on the sidebar soon which will show the progress of Yankeeology.com, hopefully I can get in the top 100 before the season ends. Thank you for all your support!!!
The Yanks scored 20 games in the first two of the Oakland series.
In Game Two 9-3:
Hughes is now 16-6, amazing! Who would have thought that he would have a chance to win 20 games? He hasn’t been pitching his best in the last few starts but had good hitting behind him. In this game he pitched 5.0 innings, gave up 4 hits gave up 2earned runs. Swisher hit his 25th and Teixeira hit his 30th. Talk about Hughes, who would have thought that Swisher would be batting .295, 25 Homers and 80 RBI at this junction of the year? Here are all the offensive stats. Here’s the Box Score and the Highlights. More on the game from MLB:
NEW YORK — The Yankees have been pushing dates off their August calendar with some impatience. Whether it was injuries, inconsistency or an American League East race that never seemed to offer any respite, the month has certainly not qualified as their favorite.
But as September dawns, the Yankees can take comfort in entering the final push exactly where they came in. Mark Teixeira hit one of three New York homers in a rout of the Oakland Athletics, 9-3, on Tuesday, that helped the Yankees reclaim sole possession of first place in the AL East.
“That’s what August is all about — the dog days,” Teixeira said. “You’re going to have injuries, you’re going to have bumps and bruises. Guys are going to get tired. We came out of it still in first place, which is where we want to be. We’d love to be 10 games up, but this division is too tough.”…Read More
In Game One 11-5:
Moseley and Vazquez teamed up to give up 7 hits and 5 earned runs. Cano and Swisher both went 3 for 4 with three RBI a piece. Thames hit a three-run homer as they win the game 11-5. here’s the Box Score and the ESPN recap:
NEW YORK — Trevor Cahill hardly looked like a Cy Young Award contender against the New York Yankees.
Robinson Cano, Mark Teixeira and the Yankees tagged Cahill for the second time this season, emphatically ending the All-Star’s run of pitching excellence in an 11-5 rout of the Oakland Athletics on Monday night.”We were really sharp tonight. We didn’t chase many pitches, we did get him to elevate,” New York hitting coach Kevin Long said. “Tonight was one of those days where we were up for the task and answered everything he threw up there.”Marcus Thames hit a three-run shot to extend his home run streak and New York (81-50) got back-to-back long balls from Teixeira and Cano to move a season-best 31 games over .500. Nick Swisher added three hits and three RBIs, including a two-run double in the first inning that helped the Yankees erase a 3-0 deficit.Still, they couldn’t shake Tampa Bay atop the AL East. The Yankees and Rays, who beat Toronto 6-2, remained tied for first place for the eighth straight day.The Yankees said that’s the longest stretch that two major league teams have been tied for first this late in a season, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.Demoted starter Javier Vazquez (10-9) replaced Dustin Moseley in the fifth and earned his second win in three relief outings this year. Aided by Derek Jeter’s fine play at shortstop, Vazquez allowed one run and two hits while striking out six in the final 4 2-3 innings….Keep Reading
After all that scoring in the last two game someone had to come through with a great pitching performance. Nova did so as he went 5.2 innings, gave up 5 hits, only ONE earned run and struckout SEVEN. Great defense on both sides and Yanks come through. Box Scoreand Highlights.
More from MLB (Yankees Link):
CHICAGO — With a sellout crowd around him and one of the hottest offenses in the league standing 60 feet, six inches away from him all afternoon, Ivan Nova resorted to some simple guidance: Just pretend it’s Triple-A.
Nova could dominate hitters in Triple-A and well, according to his logic, “It’s the same baseball.” So why should the results be any different?
The zen of Nova appears to be catching on, after the 23-year-old right-hander picked up his first Major League win, shutting down that potent White Sox offense over 5 2/3 innings in the Yankees’ 2-1 rubber-game victory.
“No nerves. … No pressure at all,” Nova said of the start. “Just emotions.”
Nova, it seems, has a particular talent for insulating himself from the turmoil surrounding him, including the increasing uncertainty of the Yankees’ rotation and the third-largest crowd to see a baseball game on Chicago’s South Side this season…..Continue Reading
Game Two ( Yanks Win 12-9):
Game two was a real slugfest! The Yanks were down by a few runs, caught up and took a big lead only to almost blow it in the end. Thee White Sox play on a small field and the balls fly out regularly. There was a total of 7 homeruns in the game including Eduardo Nunez’ first of his promising career. Box Scoreand Highlights.
Here’s more from ESPN:
CHICAGO — CC Sabathia has picked up the Yankees several times this season with dominant performances on the mound.
Sabathia became the majors’ first 18-game winner, Marcus Thames hit two of New York’s four homers and the Yankees beat the Chicago White Sox 12-9 on Saturday night. Eduardo Nunez hit his first career homer and drove in four runs for New York, which remained tied with Tampa Bay for the AL East lead. Nick Swisher connected for a two-run drive and Robinson Cano had three hits.Nunez was called up from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre when Lance Berkman went on the disabled list Aug. 19. He has made five starts at third base in place of ailing Alex Rodriguez and is batting .333…...Read More
Game one (Yanks Lose 9-4):
Burnett now has the nickname “Tatoo” and it’s not because of the images on his arms. He earned this name because he gets “tattooed” whenever he loses and it’s exactly what happened here in game one of the series. He gave up 8 earned runs on only 8 hits and in 3.2 innings. Meanwhile Freddy Garcia was sharp, he gave up 2 earned runs on 5 hits and in 7.0 innings. Box Score
Here’s more from MLB.com:
CHICAGO — Credit the Blackhawks, the Bulls and the Bears for contributing to the White Sox 9-4 victory over the Yankees before 38,596 Friday at U.S. Cellular Field.
All four teams were represented in an electric pregame ceremony, recognizing Chicago as the only city to have won championships in all four major sports over the past 25 years.
The trophies for each title, including the White Sox 2005 World Series crown, were brought out in front of the seventh sellout this season. And the festivities ended with Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville throwing out the first pitch and United Center’s national anthem singer Jim Cornelison performing his world-renowned version.
Little did the crowd know how their raucous cheering and screaming through the anthem, a Blackhawks’ tradition at the United Center, would only warm them up for vocal support of the White Sox on this night…..Continue Reading
Hughes left the game very early as the Blue Jays smacked him around. That was 3.2 innings, 6 hits and 5 earned runs, ouch! Vernon Wells had a field day as he went 3 for 4 and drove in 4 out of the 6 runs. Box Score
From MLB-Yankee Link:
TORONTO — On display inside the home of Brett Cecil’s parents is a photograph of the pitcher when he was 6 months old. Baby Brett is wearing a white Yankees home uniform with dark blue pinstripes.
Cecil — now a fixture within the Blue Jays’ young starting rotation — shakes his head and laughs when he talks about the picture. He grew up outside Baltimore, but his family raised him to be a fan of the Yankees.
“I was brainwashed,” Cecil said with a smile.
On Wednesday night, Cecil turned in eight solid innings and defeated the team he cheered for throughout his childhood, helping the Blue Jays to a 6-3 victory at Rogers Centre. Toronto center fielder Vernon Wells aided Cecil’s effort by driving in four runs and ending a double shy of a cycle.
The Blue Jays (66-60) took two out of three in the latest set with their American League East rival, improving to 7-5 against the Yankees this season. Cecil boasts two wins and a no-decision in three outings against New York this year, and the 24-year-old lefty has fashioned a tidy 1.64 ERA in those starts……Continue Reading
The Yanks returned the favor to Bautista with 5 Bat-Delivered Homers. Moseley wins (4-2) 6.0 innings, 5 hits and 2 earned runs. Box Score
From ESPN:
TORONTO — Locked in a tight race with Tampa Bay in the AL East, the New York Yankees can’t afford any drop in production while slugger Alex Rodriguez is on the disabled list. That wasn’t a problem Tuesday night.
Curtis Granderson hit a three-run homer, Marcus Thames added a two-run drive and three other Yankees hit solo blasts as New York pounded the Toronto Blue Jays 11-5.”We have power in our lineup and we had production from a lot of people tonight,” manager Joe Girardi said.
Derek Jeter, Jorge Posada and Mark Teixeira also connected as the Yankees won for the sixth time in eight games.”We came swinging today,” Posada said. “We got a lot of good pitches to hit and we didn’t miss them.”Teixeira and Posada both went 4 for 5 with two RBIs, while Thames and Granderson both had three hits. New York’s 17 hits were one shy of its season high.”That was a true team effort tonight. We were just aggressive and we were swinging at good pitches,” Teixeira said.Teixeira, who leads the team in homers, has reached safely in 62 of 68 games, raising his average to .262. Continue Here
Bautista went two for three with 2 homers and 3 RBI. Just enough to beat the Yanks 3-2. Here’s the two-run homer and the solo for the lead. And with only three runs needed to beat the heavy powered Yankees there had to be some type of significant performance by the Blue Jay starting pitcher and there was. Morrow pitched 6.0 innings, gave up 4 hits and allowed only 2 earned runs. yanks lose and Nova’s debut was very good Box Score and Highlights
Extra Story:
From Zell’s Pinstripe Blog
Here’s a series of videos. This one is about winning and Billy Martin, checkout the rest here
NEW YORK — Robinson Cano said he doesn’t really see himself as an MVP. He might be the only one who still feels that way.
Cano drove in a career-high six runs on Sunday, with his fifth-inning grand slam propelling the Yankees to a 10-0 rubber game victory over the Mariners in the Bronx.
“He’s been amazing. He’s an outstanding player, and he’s been consistent for us all year long,” manager Joe Girardi said.
Girardi, who had earlier in the day said his players needed to step up with Alex Rodriguez on the disabled list, added that Cano went “a couple rungs up the ladder” on Sunday.
Cano came to the plate in the fifth with the Yankees clinging to a 1-0 lead and the bases loaded, courtesy of an intentional walk to Mark Teixeira. Facing left-hander Luke French, Cano launched the first pitch, a slider, into the bleachers in right field. The slam was the Yankees’ 10th this season, which ties a franchise record set in 1987.
“I was just, ‘OK, just get a good pitch that I can hit,’” Cano said of his reaction to seeing Teixeira walked intentionally. “That’s the approach every at-bat.”... Keep Reading
Game Two (Yanks Win 9-5):
NEW YORK — Eduardo Nunez will certainly remember his first big league hit, when he drove in the go-ahead run at Yankee Stadium in place of Yankees star Alex Rodriguez.
He might get a few more chances, too, now that A-Rod’s on the disabled list.Nunez singled in the seventh inning Saturday, breaking open a tie game and helping New York to a 9-5 win over the Seattle Mariners. The rookie had made two brief appearances since getting called up this week, but they were nothing like this, his first start.”I was so excited. I was so happy,” said the beaming 23-year-old infielder, who plans to give the ball he hit to his mom. “I’m the most excited I’ve been in my life.”The Yankees improved to 11-0 without Rodriguez in the lineup, according to STATS LLC, a record that should please manager Joe Girardi even if it doesn’t put him at ease. Rodriguez has been dealing with a strained left calf that finally became too much.”We’re going to play it safe,” Girardi said. “He’s not any worse than he was before, we’re just going to play it safe and know we’ll have a player in 15 days.”…Continue Recap
Game One (Yanks Lose 6-0):
NEW YORK — It was only the fourth inning, and already it had the makings of a long night for the Yankees. The bats weren’t doing much against Felix Hernandez, and now here came Joe Girardi sprinting to the mound.
A.J. Burnett glared down the hill and nodded, telling his manager that he was keeping his head in the game and would try to save the bullpen. He helped on that point, but the end results weren’t pretty as Burnett was booed departing a 6-0 loss to the Mariners.
Burnett has not strung three quality starts together at any point this season, a stat that remained unchanged Friday. Serving up two Russell Branyan homers among 12 hits that tied a career high, Burnett pledged to shake the rough outing off quickly.
“I’m not going to give up out there, no matter what happens,” Burnett said. “At this point in the season, it’s a matter of getting on track to get us to October. That’s what I worry about in my next start.”
The Yankees came away from Burnett’s last two starts — an Aug. 10 no-decision at Texas and a tough-luck loss Sunday at Kansas City — feeling as though they’d wasted some of his finest pitching this season…. Keep Reading
NEW YORK — The numbers emerging from the Yankees’ sixth-inning offensive explosion in Thursday afternoon’s 11-5 victory over the Tigers were impressive.
Thirteen Yankees came to the plate, 10 reached base and nine scored. All four Detroit pitchers allowed at least one run, and they combined to throw 55 pitches in a half-inning that lasted 35 minutes.
The Yankees, however, chose to focus on one thing only — the fact that they won the series, the first time they’ve done so in the month of August. It also put them in first place by a game over the Rays, who lost to the A’s, 4-3, on Thursday night.
“It’s good because we haven’t been winning series,” manager Joe Girardi said. “In our division, you need to win series. After losing the first one in kind of a heartbreaker, it was really good to see.”
The Yankees hadn’t won a series since they were in Cleveland the week before the Trade Deadline, losing two and splitting three others since then.
New York secured the victory largely because of that eventful bottom of the sixth, which began with the score deadlocked at two. After falling behind, 0-2, Mark Teixeira worked out a leadoff walk against Detroit starter Rick Porcello, who slumped his shoulders immediately following ball four….Read More
Game Three Yanks Win 9-5 :
NEW YORK — A cursory glance at the box score of the Yankees’ 9-5 victory over the Tigers on Wednesday night won’t reveal the underlying tension of a game that manager Joe Girardi admitted “got ugly.”
No, this was not your everyday 9-5 win, and it started with the first pitch thrown by Detroit starter Jeremy Bonderman.
The right-hander’s opening delivery in the bottom of the first caught Brett Gardner in the right calf. The intent seems innocuous on the surface, but less so considering that Gardner’s takeout slide of Carlos Guillen on the final play of Monday’s game landed Guillen on the disabled list Wednesday. The warnings issues to both benches by home-plate umpire Eric Cooper and Tigers manager Jim Leyland’s postgame response when asked if the pitch was intentional — “Next question” — didn’t help matters.
Leyland was eventually ejected seven innings later, arguing with Cooper after Chad Gaudin hit Miguel Cabrera in the back with... Continue Reading
Game Two Yanks Win 6-2:
Sabathia is getting into his groove! Just like he does at this time the year and every year. He is now 16-5 and is in contention to win a Cy Young Award. He went 7.0 innings, gave up 5 hits, 2 earned runs and strikes out NINE. the Yankee bats come alive. Box Score and Highlights
First Game Tigers (Win 3-1)
The Yankeeslose to the Tigers and are now tied in 1st place with the Rays. Berkman was out of the lineup (ankle), A-Rod and Swisher leave game and Vazquez gets hit hard. The Yankees are experiencing a little bad luck and their bats are cold and I mean, everyone is not hitting. Vazquez gets hit hard but Girardi took him out right away. Mitre, Woods and Joba pick up the slack but no hitting again. Box Scores and Recap
A four game series with the Royals is not exactly one important series in many circumstances and only apply in one only. The Yanks are only ONE game in front of the Rays and SIX in front of the Red Sox. So it is still important to win every series possible until the season is completely over. Yanks split a four-game series with Royals.
Game Four (Royals Win 1-0):
KC scored ONE run in the first inning and win the game 1-0, YEP! That was it but AJ Burnett pitched a beauty also:
KANSAS CITY — When it came to earning his first Major League win, Royals right-hander Bryan Bullington did it right. Almost perfectly.
There wasn’t much more that he could do other than pitch eight shutout innings, facing just one batter over the minimum, to humble the New York Yankees, 1-0, to the surprise of 26,012 fans on Sunday afternoon at Kauffman Stadium. He gave up just two hits and one walk.
Joakim Soria tied the Bullington bow with a perfect ninth inning for his 33rd save. And there they were, the mighty Yankees wrapped up as a gift for Kansas City.
“This is a good day, that’s for sure,” Bullington said. “It was a lot of fun, a long time in coming, and I really enjoyed it.”
Especially when it came over the team with the most wins in Major League Baseball…Continue Here
Standings:
Game Three (Yanks Win 8-3):
…..Rodriguez drove in five runs, taking over the major league RBIs lead with 97. He picked on three different pitchers for his deep drives in the hot, humid Midwestern air.After striking out on three pitches from Sean O’Sullivan in his previous at-bat, Rodriguez led off the sixth inning with a 412-foot shot against the Royals starter.Rodriguez added a two-run drive off Kanekoa Texeira in the seventh that carried 419 feet and put the Yankees on top 6-3.A-Rod connected in the ninth against Greg Holland for the most impressive drive, a 439-foot shot that landed in the water fountains in left field……. Continue, Box Score and Homer Highlights.
Game Two (Royals Win 4-3):
…..Butler’s drive on a 2-1 pitch from Dustin Moseley (2-2) hit the right-field pole and came moments before a 2 hour, 10 minute rain delay.”Off the bat, well, I knew I hit it good,” Butler said. “I thought it was a double off the wall. I thought it had a chance, but you never know at Kaufman Stadium. It was pretty high. I hit it good. It was slicing but I knew I didn’t slice it much and I got a little help from the wind.”Said Moseley, “I thought it was going to go foul.”So did Royals manager Ned Yost.”I didn’t even get up because I thought it was going to go foul,” Yost said…….ContinueandBox Score
Game One (Yanks Win 4-3):
KANSAS CITY — One thing the Yankees have learned about CC Sabathia is that their ace seems to love it when the heat is on, but the lefty’s cool under pressure doesn’t appear by accident.
Anticipating sweltering conditions at Kauffman Stadium, Sabathia started his preparation early and followed through, coming one out shy of his first route-going effort of the season as the Yankees defeated the Royals, 4-3, on Thursday.
“It’s just something you’ve got to deal with,” said Sabathia, who hurled his first pitch at 94 degrees with a heat index showing 106. “Everybody’s dealing with it. The hitters are dealing with it, so you just go out and put it out of your mind.” …..Continue
Things looked very bleak as Vazquez was hit hard and often giving up 6 earned runs on 8 hits in only 4.1 innings. By the end of the fifth the Yanks were down 6-1. But they started pecking away at the lead until they pushed Cliff Lee out of the game. Lee pitched 6.1 innings and gave up 8 hits with 4 earned runs. Not to hot and Yankees continued to come back and scored 2 runs in the top of the ninth to finally take the 7-6. Great game but it wasn’t so easy in the end as always for Mo as he gave up a lead off triple to Andrus but manage to squeeze out of it with the heart of the batting order, wow! Yanks get a split, the hard way. Box Score and Highlights
Standings:
First Game:
Yanks lose a tough one and with Mariano on the moundin a playoff atmosphere, well for Texas that is, as they seem to over exhaust themselves on a game winning hit by Murphy in the bottom of the ninth. Burnett pitched 7.0 innings with 6 hits and 3 earned runs. Pretty decent but not enough as the Rangers used 6 pitchers to hold the Yanks down to 3 earned runs total. Texas is a very good team but they are inexperience, this game can help them when they meet the Yankees again in the playoffs.Yanks Lose Box Score and Highlights
It was a pitcher’s duel as Hughes and Lester both pitched great as the score reflected, 2-1. Hughes pitched 6.0 innings, gave up 6 hits and two earned runs, They came in the 2nd inning and very cheaply. But that’s all Lester needed as he pitched 6.1 innings, 4 hits and no earned runs. The rest is history, Yanks lose but split with Boston, which means bad news for the Red Sox. They didn’t gain any games on the Yankees and there are 4 less games left for the season. Boston is finished and what happened to Beckett?? Yanks lose 2-1, Box Score and here’s a recap from MLB:
NEW YORK — Jon Lester had done his job, but the game — and Boston’s chances of escaping the Bronx with a split of this four-game series — was still hanging in the balance.
It came down to the two relievers the Red Sox have relied on most all season, and they got the job done, preserving a tense 2-1 victory over the Yankees on Monday.
First up was Daniel Bard, who masterfully escaped from a bases-loaded one-out jam in the eighth, striking out All-Stars Derek Jeter and Nick Swisher on six pitches, all heaters clocked at either 98 or 99 mph.
“That last pitch he threw me, at 99 mph, is not supposed to move like that,” said Swisher.
And when Bard faltered a bit in the eighth, giving up a mammoth bomb to Mark Teixeira and then allowing two more baserunners, Jonathan Papelbon was called on to register the game’s final four outs…..Continue Reading
Game Three:
Moseleypitched 6.1 innings, 6 hitsand2 earned runs. He pitched for Burnett who had back spasms before the game and was scratched. Great pitching performance and big hit for Jeter who passes “The Babe” and takes the lead in total hits as a Yankee. This article covers this game perfectly:
NEW YORK — Dustin Moseley was rifling through a mess of color-coded scouting reports on the Red Sox when his cell phone started buzzing, filling with supportive text messages from friends and family back home.
Seeing the right-hander on national television may have been an event in Moseley’s Arkansas neighborhood, but by the end of Moseley’s commanding spot start, he had all of Yankee Stadium cheering him on as well.
With scheduled starter A.J. Burnett sidelined with back spasms, Moseley moved up one day in the rotation and earned a standing ovation in an emergency situation, hurling 6 1/3 innings of two-run ball as New York pounded the Red Sox, 7-2, on Sunday at Yankee Stadium….Continue Reading
The Yanks and the Red Sox split the first two games of their four-game series. So both teams stay the same amount of games apart (6 games). Meanwhile Tampa Bay loses it’s 4th in a row and falls back to 1.5 as Toronto, behind Bautista continue to pound in the RBI. Tomorrow’s match up will be Burnett against Beckett and game time will be at 8 PM Eastern which means ESPN.
Review of Games
Game Two: Yanks Win 5-2
Sabathiacomes through again as he pitched 8.0 innings and gave up 6 hits and two earned runs. CC is now 14-5 with an ERA of 3.14, excellent! No homers in this game as the scoring went like this:
A-Rod was hit in batting practice and missed the game. Here’s more on the misfortunate injury:
Alex Rodriguez had taken his eyes off the field for just a split second during batting practice on Saturday, and that was all the time it took for a hot line drive to smash into the slugger’s left leg.
Rodriguez was hit by a batted ball during his infield preparation before the Yankees’ game against the Red Sox and had to be scratched from the lineup with a left leg contusion near the base of his shin. X-rays were negative and Rodriguez is listed as day-to-day.
“I was up close doing my infield-in work, which made it worse,” Rodriguez said after the Yankees’ 5-2 victory. “The ball came to me quicker. I never saw it. I just remember getting hit and I started jumping around like a rabbit.”
With Lance Berkman taking his cuts right-handed, Rodriguez was preparing to take ground balls at third base when a hard-hit one-hopper struck the slugger below the left knee...Continue Reading
We cannot place so much attention on Vazquez pitching arm in this game but we could direct it to the other arm where he holds the glove. Cervelli had a much tougher play on the ball and should have backed off. But pitchers are treated like royalty nowadays and should just stay back and get out of the way. All the tabloids focused too much on this error as they say it was the reason why the Red Sox scored 3 runs afterwords. Not exactly and for several reasons. First of all there was only one out and the Red Sox could have scored those 3 runs. If you look at the play by play for that at bat you see that:
what happened after and it looks like Vazquez could not throw any strikes. And when he did Scutaro doubled. That was the highlight of the game and the Yanks lose. Here’s the Box Score of the game
Baseball is all about numbers, we all know this. Take for example, let’s say you are watching a game on TV and listening to the broadcasters as they analyze the game and exchanging thoughts concerning the players that are on the field, either in their defensive position with a glove in their hand or in the batting box holding a bat. The conversation in the booth domineeringly revolves around numbers. The batting average, the slugging percentage, the pitcher’s count, the hitters count, how many hits in the last x amount of games, what’s the count, how many men on base, how many outs and so on, it’s all numbers. This is common knowledge and is the overwhelming criteria used in order to determine if any particular baseball player would be deserving of making it to Cooperstown, New York, the home of the Baseball Hall of Fame. This ranks the highest of all acknowledgments, so it must be handled in the most holiest manner. Of course, the odds are against everyone who puts the uniform on now and for those did in the past. Most players concentrate on winning the World Series and after all, this is the reason why they put the uniforms on in the first place. Winning is just as important and more so in many ways. This applies for any athlete, the spirit of competition, the fire inside to outperform the opponent, having the edge on your counterpart? Yes, I said “edge” they need that edge! Or do they? Well let’s define the term edge first.
Here’s an example, let’s take A-Rod when he was in Texas, where he played three complete years ( 2001, 2002, 2003) to and where he admittedly took steroids. In these three years only, he hit 156 Homeruns, 395 RBI and 569 hits. And who knows if he didn’t continue when he joined the Yanks, look at the numbers here. They dropped but not immediately, that’s for sure. A-Rod cheated and he admitted it but when did he admit it and why. It wasn’t voluntarily that’s for sure. He got snagged and then he admitted it. So what would had happen if he wasn’t caught? What would have happened if nobody was caught? Let’s look at it that way.
Let’s look at Rafael Palmeiro, so just in case one would feel I had something against A-Rod. I will use him as a comparison since he was caught cheating also and because he is Cuban-American like me and was one of my idols. Although he played 20 years and A-Rod has played 3 years less, Palmeiro is still ahead in two of the three most important stats (numbers again). He still has more hits and more RBI also. A-Rod has a very good chance to catch him in these categories but also has a better chance to make the Hall of Fame. But why? In my eyes if A-Rod makes the Hall of Fame then Palmeiro should also. What about Sosa? And Bonds? And Ramirez? And Ivan Rodriguez? If they go in, then Palmeiro should also. The numbers are there! Here’s an excellent website which I will be placing on my sidebar in the near future.
But if it’s all about the numbers that determines eligibility then none of them should be allowed to because they are a bunch of cheaters, that’s all they are. What really annoys me most is that they weren’t even cheating in order to make it to the Hall of Fame but did so just to make more money. If they really feel they belong then we should build a big building for them and name it “The Hall of Shame.” I kind of asked a question with the title of this article here. Well the answer is easy, the numbers mean EVERYTHING!
Have you ever heard of Willie Mays? I’m sure you have. Checkout his numbers, no steroids involved! His Stats and a video.
A-Rod finally hit his 600th homer and becomes the youngest player to reach the milestone. His homer helped the Yankees take a 2-0 lead in the first inning. Here are some articles concerning A-Rod’s 600th Homer:
From ESPN:
Rodriguez hit a two-run homer to straightaway center field in the first inning of a game against the Toronto Blue Jays, off Shaun Marcum. It came on a 2-0 pitch over the middle of the plate with Derek Jeter on first and two out.
At 35 years, 8 days, Rodriguez became the youngest player in history to join the 600 Club, and the seventh player in baseball history to reach the milestone.
He raised a hand slightly in triumph as he rounded first base, then completed his home run trot. He joined an elite club that includes Barry Bonds (762), Henry Aaron (755), Babe Ruth (714), Willie Mays (660), Ken Griffey Jr. (630) and Sammy Sosa (609). After Rodriguez, the next-youngest member of the 600 Club is its first — Ruth, at 36 years, 196 days.
“[I'm] definitely glad it’s over and I definitely enjoyed that moment and enjoyed the win,” he said after the game, a 5-1 Yankees victory that prevented a Toronto three-game series sweep. “We needed a win today … we needed to stop the bleeding a little bit. That’s a very good team over there.”..Continue
From MLB:
With 47,659 fans filling the seats, Derek Jeter on first base, two outs and a 2-0 count against Toronto’s Shaun Marcum in the first inning of Wednesday’s 5-1 Yankees win, Alex Rodriguez became the seventh and youngest man in Major League history to hit 600 home runs with a shot to center field. The baseball — specially branded with “A104″ — landed, perhaps fittingly, in the netting that guards Monument Park beyond Yankee Stadium’s center-field wall, where it was snatched by security guard Frankie Babilonia… Continue
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