New players, hoping for Spring

The bullpen has some relief of its own in the form of newly acquired Matt Thornton. Thornton, a 10-year veteran and All-Star, has played with the Mariners, White Sox, and most recently the Red Sox, will help the Yankees’ bullpen by way of his left-handed pitching style. With Boone Logan off to Colorado, the bullpen was very right-handed heavy and needed someone to provide the same level of consistency from the other side of the mound. They picked up Thornton to a 2-year, $7 million deal, which means other than a potential trade, (due to his “experience”) Thornton will probably retire in pinstripes. Never a bad way to end your career.

And to help fill in the hole in the middle of the infield, the Yankees picked up Brian Roberts on a 1-year, $2 million deal. Roberts may be familiar to Yankee fans as he’s played his entire major league career (all 13 years) with the Orioles. While not know for his power-hitting, Roberts is a more-than-capable defender and decent small-ball hitter, plus he can rotate through the 2nd base role with the other middle infielder players on the roster. Recent years have been fraught with injuries, but the Yankees still believe the 2nd baseman once considered one of the best in the league not so long ago is still there somewhere.

Of course, all this can change in the heartbeat known as Spring Training. Spring is when the veterans begin that routine of getting back into the daily level of play, and the young guys are chomping at the bit trying to prove their value and worth to the club. Last year, there were 88 players invited to Spring Training, and by the end of the regular season, the Bleacher Creatures had gone through over 50 new player names in Roll Call (or in the bullpen). And those guys chomping at the bit got their shot to be remembered, and so many of them were called upon to fill in the ever-revolving door that was the 2013 Yankees.

I don’t really hope for another rotating year because that means a lot of injuries, but I guess I hope for surprises. There’s something really fun about watching the younger guys and trying to peg who is going to make the big leagues, and who will probably spend their professional careers peaking in the farm system.

And somewhere on the field this March will be some kid who doesn’t know it yet, but will one day be visiting Cooperstown for his induction ceremony. He’ll be a name the baseball world repeats in their sleep with awe, and right now, he’s nobody special — just someone’s son, someone’s brother or cousin, maybe someone’s husband and father, someone’s good friend. Just another great kid who plays ball with the passion and heart of a champion. And with any luck, he’ll be a Yankee forever, memorialized in the pinstriped legacy, honored in the hearts and minds of New York fans yet to be born.

Because… why not? You just never know.

I can’t wait for Spring.

Go Yankees!

Ellsbury is a Yankee

Jacoby Ellsbury, the former rival Red Sox center fielder, will now be batting, fielding, and stealing bases for the Yankees. Today’s press conference in New York introduced Ellsbury to New York media as their new #22. Ellsbury and his wife Kelsey were welcomed into the Yankee family at their own press conference. Ellsbury signed his 7-year, $153 million deal, with an option for an 8th year. He expressed how he felt wanted and respected by the Yankees instantly, speaking with new teammates Jeter and Teixeira before making the decision to sign with the Yankees. And having just come off a World Series championship, Ellsbury is anxious to keep the ball rolling and adding to the Yankee center field legacy (a la DiMaggio, Mantle, Maris, and Williams).

Girardi, Cashman, and Steinbrenner expressed their gratitude and excitement with Ellsbury joining the club. Girardi even went on to gush about his speed around the bases, recalling him stealing every base at some point in his career, and saying he was glad that Ellsbury was no longer going to be a “thorn in their side”.

Other comments have been made regarding Ellsbury’s comment of feeling very “wanted” by the Yankees, as recently departed former Yankees have expressed their feelings of “unwantedness” by the Yankees. The Yankees have come out to say that they have a policy against signing players over age 30 to large 10-year contracts because of the natural decrease of productivity after that age. (Quick side note here: if you’re over 30, you know that “natural decrease” all too well and can probably imagine the rapidity at which a consistent elite level of playing might increase it.)

When asked about that player not feeling wanted by the Yankees, Cashman said, “I’m sorry he feels that way. I understand that that’s also usually a part of the process when things don’t go the way you want them to go from both ends.” Cashman said he would throw anything at him, “bouquets, bouquets, bouquets. I’ll throw him bouquets all he wants, but I couldn’t throw him [such a large contract].”

Yankees President Randy Levine used two examples of where a 10-year contract makes sense for the Yankees. In February 2001, they gave Jeter a 10-year contract; Jeter turned 27 that year, so that made sense. Levine went on to mention another current non-Yankee in his early-20’s who they might sign (as an example) to a 10-year contract when he becomes a free agent in his mid-20’s. This caused a bit of a stir through the MLB community as someone seemed to think Levine was trying to poach or sign the young player now. Levine apologized to the player’s current club and MLB saying that wasn’t his idea, but rather just using an example that made sense in that context.

Cashman also inferred there are still many things on the table as far as negotiations. The Yankees picked up a minor league pitcher for the Chris Stewart trade to the Pirates. There were some potential signings, but they have been signed elsewhere. Reliever Boone Logan signed with the Rockies, and Joba Chamberlain is on his way to Detroit. There are holes, but almost everyone agrees that the Yankees have one of the best starting rosters in the AL East, if not baseball. And while we’re only a few weeks from the end of 2013, there’s still a good portion of time before Spring Training, let alone Opening Day. The pieces are falling into place, and 2014 is going to be very interesting to watch.

Also, I just want to extend our thoughts and prayers to the students and families of the Colorado high school as they recover and heal from today’s horrific tragedy.

Go Yankees!

The free agency dance begins

I realize that the Yankees had a bit of a deadline with their potential free agents, but Monday seems to have been heavily laden with news for its public. Well, not really complete news, more like the beginning of news.

When looking at potential free agents coming off their roster, a club can make “qualifying offers” to agents they don’t want to let go. It’s usually seen as a sign that says “we’re still interested in you and retaining you even if we’re only offering a year contract to you”. Most players don’t take it and opt to go for bigger, longer contracts (even if it’s with the same club), and by doing so, they actually gift the club with a prime draft pick for the next draft (next July). Last year, Nick Swisher and Rafael Soriano were offered qualifying offers, both opted free agency, and both were signed pretty quickly elsewhere (Cleveland and Washington, respectively).

This year, they made offers to Robinson Cano, Curtis Granderson, and Hiroki Kuroda. There is a lot of speculation already as to what they’re each going to do, and I’ve been doing my own private speculating. But since I don’t speculate here, you’ll know if I’m right after the player deadline of November 11 to respond to the offer — they will either take it and sign for a year with the Yankees or refuse it and try for a better offer elsewhere. And honestly, I think we’ll be looking at three very different results for these guys.

Now, there were some people who didn’t get qualifying offers from the Yankees — Brendan Ryan, Kevin Youkilis, Mark Reynolds, Travis Hafner, Lyle Overbay, Phil Hughes, Joba Chamberlain, and Boone Logan. This means that all of these guys are now officially free agents, and their agents are probably busy exploring all options available to their clients. It will be interesting to see where everyone lands, and honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Yankees picked up a couple of these guys at least for a year or two.

Almost on the other spectrum of things, the National Baseball Hall of Fame has released its latest ballot and is to be voted on next month by the Veterans’ Committee. There are 12 men on that list that have had a major impact on baseball history, including Joe Torre, Billy Martin, and George Steinbrenner. I think in all Yankee fans’ minds all three should get at least the required 75% votes to walk into Cooperstown next year. The annual players ballot will be released later this month and will include the five players who didn’t make the it last year but had enough vote to carry over for this coming year and a whole slew of really amazing newcomers including former Yankees pitcher Mike Mussina.

Like I said, it’s really just a “beginning of news” kind of day. At first, it sounds like there’s news, but really it’s just  something that could develop into news someday soon. But when I think about it, baseball is always an evolving story. Even when a team wins the World Series, they have to spend the off-season rebuilding and focusing on developing their dynasty. The 2012 Giants, for example, barely made any changes last off-season and ended up holding up the bottom of the NL West in 2013; they figured “why mess with success?” and it backfired big time on them. So, now they’re working on figuring out what went wrong with their 2013 formula and what went right with 2012 and then how they can make 2014 work better for them.

And (not that I ever want to glorify the Yankees’ arch-rivals) then you have the Red Sox who were easily the worst team in 2012, fired their manager, shuffled their roster, picked up some prime guys from all over free agency, and somehow powered their way to the top of the AL and became World Series Champions just a few weeks ago. But now, the Red Sox are going to spend their entire 2014 season defending their title. This is actually good news for the Yankees because unlike almost every other team in the league only the Yankees know what it’s like to establish and maintain a dynasty. Is anyone else hoping 2014 starts a new dynasty?

Go Yankees!

Game 143: BOS vs. NYY — Wild Pitch Walk-off & the Rookies

Well, Derek Jeter may have watched from the dugout today, resting his sore ankle, but he certainly got a first-hand view of a really wild game to close out the weekend series against the Red Sox.

Looking to stop the bleeding, the Yankees turned to a reliable source for control, despite a recent slump in reliability. So it was Hiroki Kuroda to the mound. And today, in stark comparison to the other three games, both sides put up some really great pitching and made today’s game into quite a pitching match-up. And unlike the three previous outings, the final score was low and kept low. Maybe they were tired, maybe it’s late in the season, or maybe they actually had good pitching that kept any potential offensive rallies from being too potent.

Anyway, Kuroda threw a season high 117 pitches over 6 innings, allowing just 5 hits, 2 runs, 2 walks, and striking out 6 batters. Those two runs came as an RBI double in the 2nd and a sacrifice ground out in the 6th. His reputation through most of the year was a tight ship with minimal runs, and today he righted his ship and stayed the course. Unfortunately, he was not awarded the win, but more on that later.

Offensively, the Yankees trailed the Red Sox 1-0 until the 4th inning, when Mark Reynolds doubled in Rodriguez to tie up the game. In the next inning, Stewart, Ichiro, and Wells all on base with back-to-back-to-back singles and 2 outs, it’s Robinson Cano to double home 2 of them, raising the score to 3-1 Yankees. With the Red Sox score in the 6, the score sat at 3-2.

Finally back from an injury to his triceps, Shawn Kelley took over for Kuroda in the 7th and kept the Red Sox planted there. (Glad to see that he’s back to his usual form.) And going into the 8th, with much of their bullpen depleted from the weekend’s strain (or injuries), they had no choice really but to ask Mariano Rivera to do something big — try to get 6 outs, or go 2 full innings for the save. Rivera made it through the 8th unscathed, but gave up a lead-off solo home run in the 9th to blow the save and tie up the game. Three outs later, the Yankees have to pull magic out of the air to make this work. I think we all knew that if the Red Sox came up to bat again, they would walk away with the game. It was now or nothing.

Fortunately, it turned out to be “now” when Ichiro Suzuki singled. He then stole 2nd and advanced to 3rd on the second out of the inning. Down to their last out, the Yankees put all their hope in Alfonso Soriano, who would hopefully at least do something to score Ichiro, just 90 feet away at 3rd base. But instead of going after Soriano, the Red Sox pitcher threw a really bad wild pitch, which the speedy Ichiro saw coming and took off for home plate. Soriano never got to swing at a ball that at-bat, but he did get to help welcome in Ichiro as the team poured out of the dugout to celebrate. Rivera may have blown the save, but he ended up earning the win instead.

Fun history note: the last time the Yankees had a walk-off wild pitch win was September 27, 1977. They won 2-1 against Cleveland, when legendary catcher and team captain Thurman Munson scored on a wild pitch. Remember, they won the World Series that year — the first time in 15 years.

And the injury update…

Boone Logan is on the mend, receiving a cortisone shot today, and should be working his way back into the regular bullpen soon. David Robertson, with tendinitis in his shoulder, is also watching from the dugout; he will continue to rest and probably isn’t available this next week. Both pitchers are so needed in the reliever front, which means that the Yankees are (rightly so) being cautious and careful with their recovery time; the last thing they need is to rush them back for a little game, and then not be available for a really big one.

And despite what some headlines might scare you to believe, Derek Jeter is resting his ankle for a couple of days and hopes to also work his way back into the line up sometime during this road trip. And Chris Stewart was pulled from the game; he got a ball thrown at his left foot during an at-bat and left the game about half-way out with what they dubbed a “foot contusion” (most people just call it a bad bruise). He will be sore for a few days, but certainly able to play. Fortunately, this comes at a time when there are actual reserves for his position. Rookies, but still available nonetheless.

Rookies as music’s trend setters:
(l to r) Murphy, Cabral, Bang, Marshall, Adams, and Claiborne
(Justin Bieber, Rick James, Psy, Psy’s hype man, Vanilla Ice, & Billy Ray Cyrus)
via Yankees PR

Speaking of rookies, every year, most teams do a little ritual for “Rookie Hazing”. For the last few years, they have fallen on the travel day for their last major road trip. This means that lands on today. I should mention that every year there’s a theme. Last year was “Star Wars”, which meant rookies like David Phelps (who went as Princess Leia, complete with the cinnamon buns hairstyle) had to board the plane, check in the hotel, and be photographed as these characters.

This year, the theme seemed to be crazy music trends (or something like that). They are (from left to right in the picture): catcher JR Murphy (Justin Bieber), pitcher Cesar Cabral (Rick James), Ichiro’s translator Bang (Psy), pitcher Brett Marshall (Psy’s hype man), infielder David Adams (Vanilla Ice), and pitcher Preston Claiborne (Billy Ray Cyrus).

(Oh, and that is the Yankees’ clubhouse they are standing in, something you can only see if you know someone, part of the press corps, or take the official Stadium Tour. Also in the picture, you can see some of the veterans in the background, pretending they had nothing to do with this stunt.)

Go Yankees!

Game 141: BOS vs. NYY — No-decision ouch

Sometimes I have no idea what game some people are playing when I watch a game. Sometimes the flow of the game make it seem like I’ve watch several different games, even though four hours have been solely on a single game. (Four hours always means a Red Sox-Yankees game.)

Look, Andy Pettitte was actually pretty good tonight. His 100 pitches took him through 6 full innings, where he kept the Yankees’ early lead rolling. He allowed just 5 hits, 3 walks, 3 runs, and struck out a whopping 8 Boston batters. Those runs came as an RBI single in the 2nd, an RBI groundout in the 4th, and a solo home run in the 5th. He deserved the win tonight, as the most consistent pitcher that set foot on the mound (by either team), but he wouldn’t get it. Fortunately, due to how the stats are recorded, he didn’t take the loss either.

So, the Yankees struck often and early, earning a very nice lead over the Red Sox. In the 1st inning, Derek Jeter walked and then scored on Alfonso Soriano’s 2-run homer to the (where else?) left field seats; this was Soriano’s 30th home run of the season (between his time with the Cubs and the Yankees). Then in the 2nd, with Vernon Wells on board with a walk, it’s Eduardo Nunez that triples (though his helmet only made it to 2nd), easily scoring Wells; Nunez scores on Chris Stewart’s sacrifice fly. In the 4th, Reynolds and Stewart walked and scored on Brett Gardner’s triple. Then in the 5th, Wells’ single scores Cano, Nunez singles, Mark Reynolds’ single scores Wells, but Nunez gets caught in a slow run-down before surrendering to the tag-out trying for 3rd.

And it’s a beautiful 8-3 Yankees when Pettitte leaves the mound. And then it’s the evil of the 7th inning. The Yankees opt for Phil Hughes in the 7th, his first time out of the bullpen in a while. His pitches result in: a single, a fly out, another single, a walk, and an RBI single (8-4). So they decided to try Boone Logan, who promptly strikes out the Red Sox most feared hitter (this should be a good sign, but it’s not — it’s misdirection). Logan then gives up a grand slam, and suddenly the Red Sox are tied. With just two outs and 7 batters in the 7th inning, the Yankees have blown a 5 run lead. Logan gives up another single and is pulled from the game due to an injury (a tightness in his left biceps).

So they go to Preston Claiborne, who immediately responds with the final out of the 7th. He returns in the 8th to get another out, but then things got messy. A single, a 2-run homer (10-8 Boston), and a single force the Yankees to turn the game over to Joba Chamberlain. Chamberlain gets the second out, intentionally walks the big power bat, and unintentionally walks the next two batters (11-8 Boston). (I hate those kind of runs!) Another RBI single plants the Red Sox lead at 12-8. And the Yankees never recovered.

As of today, the Yankees signed Matt Daley to a major league contract, who spent the year in AAA Scranton. He was in the bullpen for the Rockies from 2008-2011 and spent 2012 recovering from rotator cuff surgery. To make room on the 40-man roster, Corban Joseph was moved to the 60-day DL after his shoulder surgery. Daley, who grew up in Queens, returned to his neighborhood tonight to pitch the 9th inning on the day he was promoted. He kept the Red Sox from adding to their total and struck out 2 of the 5 batters he faced. There was talk that his outing alone might have earned him a place in Yankee fans’ hearts by not allowing a single run — the first inning since Pettitte came out of the game.

Also, David Robertson was feeling stiff in his shoulder and an MRI revealed tendonitis. Robertson will be out 5-6 days. This could be the reason for his poor performance recently, and it really is a bummer overall because he’s been one of the most reliable things from the entire pitching staff. We wish him a quick healing, recovery, and return to all his “Houdini-ness”.

Two more games against the Red Sox, and fortunately for my personal sleep schedule (though I’m thinking some of the more vocal umpires will agree), I’m glad they’re both afternoon games. You just never know what can happen. Even when one team is just awful, the Yankees-Red Sox games are always tight and tense and worth the viewing. You just never know what’s going to happen. That’s why even as the Red Sox piled on the extra runs in the 8th, there was still hope that the Yankees bats would somehow find life against the Boston bullpen. It’s happened before; it will happen again; it just didn’t happen tonight.

Go Yankees!

Game 136: BAL vs. NYY — Like a rug pulled out from underneath

I hate writing about a loss. I don’t expect many people like writing about what is essentially a failure. And it’s worse when it turns out to be a major disappointment. I guess that’s where the feeling of having the rug pulled out from underneath you comes into play. No one likes to lose, and I’m guessing no one likes to be responsible for a loss. But in a game of statistics and averages, someone is always responsible for a loss.

Today that someone is definitely not starter Andy Pettitte. He threw a really outstanding 6 innings against the Baltimore Orioles, allowing just 5 hits and 3 strikeouts with his 86 pitches over that time frame. And what was awesome was that no Birds crossed the plate at all during those 6 innings. It’s one of the better outings I’ve seen from him in a long time, and it’s thoroughly disappointing that he couldn’t walk away with the win that was needed both by him (for his own personal stats) and even more by the team itself (because the AL East just isn’t stopping).

Now, before everything fell apart. The Yankees were cruising along pretty good. In the 3rd inning, Alfonso Soriano singled and scored Brett Gardner. And in the 4th inning, with 1 out, Mark Reynolds walks, Eduardo Nunez doubles, Chris Stewart walks to load the bases, and they walk Gardner to score a run (Reynolds), keeping the bases loaded. And Derek Jeter’s sacrifice fly scores Nunez. And the Yankees kept their lead 3-0.

Until the 7th inning…

So back-to-back singles in 7 pitches from Pettitte has the Yankees calling for replacement Shawn Kelley from the bullpen. (Perhaps it was a mutual decision, but I’m thinking with the way Pettitte was pitching, a couple of runs might have scored but I think overall the Yankees would have kept their lead. I could be wrong, and we’ll never know, but it’s nice to imagine a better outcome.)

Anyway, Kelley promptly gives up an RBI single and then a 3-run homer. The Orioles are now up 4-3. And there’s no outs. So they go to Boone Logan. He then gives up a single and a walk. Still no outs. Now on to Joba Chamberlain. His first batter pops up a foul bunt to Stewart. Finally an out. But then he allows another 3-run home run. 7-3 Orioles. 1 out.

Somehow, Chamberlain gets the next two batters out — striking out swinging and a soft groundout to 1st. But the damage is done, and the Yankees never recover. Chamberlain throws the 8th inning, keeping the damage to a minimum. And Huff and recent call-up Betances split the 9th. Final score: 7-3 Orioles. The loss is clearly Shawn Kelley’s — his 2nd of the season and a big loss for the Yankees.

Two interesting things happened today. One was another show of the defense (remember, the Yankees lost due to home runs, something way out of their control) — a really snazzy double play in the 6th (before everything fell apart). Actually, I think my favorite part of today’s defense was watching Pettitte’s response to every out they made (you’ll see it at the end of the linked video clip). And the other was Jeter’s RBI in the 4th. Now an RBI, especially a sacrifice fly, usually isn’t the cause of anything particularly noteworthy, but this actually placed Jeter above former teammate Bernie Williams on the Yankees All-Time RBIs list. He currently sits in 6th place at 1258, behind Gehrig, Ruth, DiMaggio, Mantle, and Berra (mighty big company there).

I have to say that watching Pettitte pitch and cheer on his team was definitely the highlight of the game for me. It reminded me of the 90s dynasty. Other than the win, the only thing(s) missing was the other 3 of the Core Four to back him up. Then it would be “deja vu all over again”… A little nostalgia in the midst of disappointment is sometimes needed to take the edge off.

And putting things in perspective, the Yankees still won the series. Now, on to the next series. I’m feeling like a sweep is in order.

Go Yankees!

Game 120: LAA vs. NYY — 3 out of 4 ain’t bad

It’s a real shame that starter Phil Hughes walks away with another loss because he actually pitched pretty good, at least as far as Phil Hughes has done this season. I said after yesterday’s game that the Yankees had already won the series against the Angels by taking the first 3 of this 4-game series. Perhaps, somehow, I subconsciously knew this wasn’t going to be their game today.

Hughes went a full 6 innings with his 104 pitches, allowing just 6 hits and a walk, and striking out 5 batters. He allowed only 3 runs — an RBI single in the 1st inning and a sacrifice fly and solo home run both in the 4th inning. If the Yankee pitches had kept it there, the Yankees would have won the game due to their last-minute rally. But they didn’t, so they didn’t.

In the 3rd inning, Brett Gardner managed to eke out a triple of a nice left field hit and then score on Alfonso Soriano’s single. And that was all the offense for most of the game from the Yankees. They sat at 3-1 Angels until the 8th inning.

Hughes was replaced by Shawn Kelley in the 7th, who after giving up a double in the 8th was replaced by Boone Logan, who quickly gets two outs. Logan intentionally walks one of their power hitters and then unintentionally walks the next batter to load the bases. The same guy who hit the solo home run off Hughes in the 4th then hits his 2nd home run of the game — a grand slam. And it’s suddenly 7-1 Angels. (Fun fact for all you Yankee fans: it’s Chris Nelson, who was briefly with the Yankees earlier this season, picked up from the Rockies but due to his low production was released and picked up by the Angels. Irony is something, isn’t it?)

With that single pitch, the Yankees reach into their bullpen and pull out Joba Chamberlain. (And really, a Hughes start isn’t complete without a Joba appearance.) His three batters doubled, singled home that runner (8-1), and then (mercifully) strike out for the final out of this messy inning.

Going into the bottom of the 9th, the Yankees have their last chance to put up better numbers than a measly single run today. So they make the effort. (The Angels start with a pitching change.) An out, Gardner walks, Soriano singles, (another pitching change) and Cano’s single scores Gardner (8-2). (Yet another pitching change.) Another out. And for the final rally effort, Vernon Wells doubles scoring Soriano and Cano (8-4).

Now to do my original math right, if Logan had gotten that final out instead of 2 walks and a grand slam, and the Yankees had their 9th inning rally, Wells’ double would have been the walk-off double and the series sweep. It’s amazing how a single pitch can alter a complete game outcome.

But isn’t that just life? A single decision along one road can forever alter the end result. And once that decision is made, there’s no going back. Perhaps that’s a simplified version of the consequences/rewards lesson we all learn as children that we develop as adults and consider “wisdom”. But it’s really the same thing we learned as children — that our decisions have long-term effects, sometimes for good, sometimes for bad. Sometimes we have better control over the decisions and sometimes we don’t.

But what makes you a better person is how you react to the outcome, whether good or bad. We don’t praise adults for reacting well to a bad outcome, but we’ll make note of a childish “sore loser” response to a bad outcome. That’s why players who spike their helmets or bats get booed by the crowd (and usually ejected from the games). And the bad winners, like the guys who show-off when they get a home run, get subjected to criticism. As a society, we like good winners and even better losers. Humility is always praised in adults, while the ego-driven diva is condemned. We’ll celebrate with good winners, and feel compassion for good losers. But society doesn’t tolerate show-offs or temper tantrums in adults, let alone in their children. As we have seen in many areas of life, the simplest decision can alter the outcome. So make wise decisions now, and be humble no matter what the outcome.

I have instant replay news. According to USA Today, MLB decided to approve the expanded instant replay across the league beginning in the 2014 season. This means that all plays during the game are up for questioning, except the strike zone. Apparently, they are stipulating some regulations on how many challenges a manager has during the game and when he can use those challenges. I don’t know if I fully understand or even agree with this idea, but they have 6 months to tweak and finalize those details. It will be interesting to see how it works in the guinea pig year that will be 2014 for the instant replays in baseball. (The YES network broadcasters discussed the details here.)

And maybe, just maybe, those guys on the bleachers at the football games will find something other than baseball being all “back in the Stone Age” to complain about our sport. Something like the uniforms or salaries or other such ridiculous nonsense that they have no control over.

Go Yankees!

Game 117: LAA vs. NYY — Pitching magic

I don’t know what else to call tonight’s short game but magic. Seriously, the pitchers were just amazing, but it was the most reliable pitchers that made tonight’s win possible. And while I must give credit where credit is due, the Angels’ starter went his full 8 innings, throwing just 101 pitches to Yankee batters, and really doing a rather outstanding job of keeping them from really jumping too far ahead of the visiting Angels.

But it was the Yankees’ starter Hiroki Kuroda that began the magic tonight. He went a full 8 innings, throwing 107 pitches, giving up just 3 hits and a walk, and striking out 7 batters. He kept the Angels completely scoreless. Seriously, they were not hitting much off the ever consistent Kuroda at all tonight. It’s really a shame that we don’t have a whole rotation of Kurodas.

Defensively, the Yankees helped Kuroda when he most needed them, like a sweet double play in the 7th inning.

Offensively, they were limited to just two runs. Eduardo Nunez singled in the 3rd inning and scored on a single by Brett Gardner (seriously, I can’t wait to see what’s next on his streak). Then in the 7th inning, with 2 outs, it’s Curtis Granderson that hits his 3rd home run of the season, very deep into the 2nd deck right field seats. So going into the 9th inning, the Yankees were up 2-0, with another win just within their reach.

Giving Rivera a much-needed night off tonight, Girardi summoned Boone Logan to face the first two batters, allowing a single and striking out the second batter. But to save the game, he turned to “Mr. Houdini” himself — David Robertson. But Robertson walked a batter, then allowed an RBI double. And the Angels were on the board, trailing the Yankees 2-1. Robertson then intentionally walked the next batter, loading the bases, with a single out. And the most tense moment of the evening had everyone on edge. But true to his nickname, Robertson proceeded to strike out the next two batters swinging (video: first, second). And all 30,000-ish fans in the stadium let out a collective sigh of relief.

I know that it’s said so much now that it’s about to cross that line into cliché, but it’s a really much-needed win for the Yankees once again. And really that it’s almost mid-August, every win matters. I used to just kind of keep an eye on where the other teams were, mainly to keep up with conversations with other friends and family who aren’t Yankee fans (yet). But now, as the season is entering it’s final third, every win/loss actually affects the Yankees in a new way. So I’m fully aware of what’s happening in not just the AL East, like I have been this whole season, but now I’m concerned with possible Wild Card competition.

It’s this last stretch where the good teams start hitting their stride and pushing themselves for that final finish line of the regular season (in baseball, that’s their division title), the bad teams almost seem to lose whatever steam they had now knowing there’s really no hope, the flash-in-the-pan teams to begin losing power and consistency, and the underdogs to begin their rise and sneak past their division leaders one by one to see if they can sneak in that photo finish. (And if you’re a horse racing fan like my mom, you’ll understand each of those metaphors with a deeper understanding.)

And (continuing my metaphor) I know all us Yankee fans are hoping that at the end of the race to the finish line, it’s the Yankees themselves that are standing in the Winner’s Circle, draped in roses… I mean, lifting their trophy. And not watching from their respective couches, hoping instead for 2014, like I’ll be doing come this October (unless a wonderful reader would like to gift me with postseason tickets, hint, hint).

But again, (back to the clichés), it’s a still a long season, and there’s still so many games to play. You just never know. And to borrow again from the great #8, “It ain’t over ’til it’s over.”

Go Yankees!

Game 114: DET vs. NYY — Surprise! Another blown save leads to a walk-off WIN

I don’t know if you’ve ever seen those probability graphs that record a game’s statistical probability of which team will win the game based on what happens throughout the game. This graph (and what it ended up being) was for some reason in my head from the time of Ivan Nova’s first pitch, Alex Rodriguez’s first Bleacher Creature Roll Call of the season, and the first Yankee run scored in the 1st inning. Well, we should mention that tonight’s game began with a 47 minute rain delay and kept everyone on edge until the last pitch, not from the weather but the ups and downs of the game.

Source: FanGraphs

Yes, Alex Rodriguez had his first game in Yankees Stadium since the postseason and his hip surgery. No, the Bleacher Creatures didn’t “snub him”. No, he wasn’t as productive as they needed him to be offensively. No, that really didn’t matter in the long run. And when I say long, I mean nearly 4 hours in front of sold-out Yankee (and a smattering of Detroit) fans. And yes, the Yankee win tonight ended a long Detroit Tiger winning streak.

First things first. Nova took the mound today and continued his reliability. I was talking with someone today about the Yankees rotation, and we agreed that it’s Kuroda and Nova who are really giving the Yankees the best starts, taking the glory away from the more veteran Yankees a bit. Nova’s 97 pitches took him through 7 innings, allowing 8 hits and 2 walks, striking out 7 batters. His only run was allowed in the 7th inning. He allowed a double to open the inning, which scored on an RBI single from last year’s Triple Crown winner and AL MVP Miguel Cabrera. (I have to say this: Cabrera’s such a good guy and a really good ball player that it’s hard to root against him at times, even though he was a bit of a thorn in the Yankees’ side tonight.)

The Yankees struck first and kept that lead solidly through most of the game. In the very first inning, Brett Gardner’s walk advanced him progressively to 3rd so he could easily score on Alfonso Soriano’s groundout. And they were up 1-0. In the bottom of the 3rd, Gardner and Ichiro Suzuki each singled, which made it really easy for both of them to score on Robinson Cano’s beautiful double (he ends up at 3rd on the late throw to home trying to get the out). And the Yankees were up 3-0.

By the time David Robertson came into the 8th to continued his magic, the Yankees still led 3-1 because of Nova’s great start and the Yankees really stellar defense. Ichiro may be marching towards 4000 hits in his professional career (between his time in Japan and time with MLB), but we cannot forget what an excellent outfielder he is, making so many ridiculously outstanding plays in right field tonight. And Cano planted firmly at 2nd base seemed to be like a magnet for infield ground balls, making all sorts of plays, from back-handed flips to your standard fielding drills to 1st base.

So when Mariano Rivera had a man on base and two outs in the top of the 9th inning, so many of us held our breath praying not to see a repeat of Wednesday’s blown save. But the man who he faced was (who else from Detroit?) Cabrera, who after fouling a ball off his own knee, took Rivera deep, slamming a 2-run homer into Monument Park over Gardner’s head. Blown save, tied game, extra innings.

Boone Logan and Shawn Kelley split the 10th inning, keeping the Tigers from threatening much. And into the bottom of the 10th inning they went, fans with bated breath (and half-empty stands — don’t people know it’s not over until you’ve heard Sinatra’s New York, New York play at least 3 times?)

Jayson Nix (in for Rodriguez at 3rd in the 9th inning) walks, and Curtis Granderson (in his first game back from his most recent DL stint) singles. A wild pitch advances both. A strikeout (1 out). Eduardo Nunez is intentionally walked (are they thinking his first home run this week might signal greater things?) to load the bases. Another strikeout (2 outs). And it’s Brett Gardner in for something magical. He sees what he likes on the second pitch that gets past both the Tigers 3rd baseman (Cabrera, by the way) and shortstop into left field for the RBI single. There is no out to be made with Nix crossing the plate and continuing his sprint to 1st base where Gardner is celebrated for his great walk-off. The Yankees win 4-3 in 10 innings, and Gardner is doused with yellow Gatorade, by teammates Soriano and Logan.

A much-needed win for everyone that very nicely overshadowed other media drama that certainly initially threatened to consume everyone’s conversation. No, tonight, the Yankees played really well (blown save aside), as a team, and celebrated as such. These are the kind of games I love watching; these are the ones you like to talk about for days, weeks, even years down the road. And why not? The perseverance of that 10th inning was just reflective of their effort the entire game, and that’s one of the many things kids can look up to these players and model in their own lives. You just keep playing until the last out (or walk-off run is scored, like tonight); you just don’t give up because you never know what can happen or who’s going to make the impossible spectacularly possible.

Also worth nothing, tonight the Yankees donned white-brimmed caps in association with New Era and the David C. Koch Foundation, an organization to help fight cancer. That style hat is usually seen during batting practice but was specially created (with moisture-wicking gear) to honor the partnership and bring awareness to cancer research. Yet another thing I love about these Yankees — always finding a way to give back and honor those who put in their time, money, and effort into making this world, our world a better place. Yet another thing we can teach the next generation…

(And in case you missed Derek Jeter on Jimmy Fallon last night, this was a fun clip from the show.)

Go Yankees!

Game 100: NYY vs. TEX — On the edge of my seat

When games start out exciting, they usually end up that way as well. When games start awful, that’s usually never a good sign. But when games start rather routine and don’t stay routine, it’s that nail-biting, edge-of-your-seat kind of action that gets your adrenaline pumping all the way to the last out. It’s only fitting that today’s game was rather exciting, or at least became that way, being as it’s the 100th game of the Yankees season. So it was nice not only to get a win, but a really exciting win.

I feel bad for starter Phil Hughes tonight. He started out so well, and then because of a fielding error (not his fault), a cascade of events suddenly led to the Yankees early lead crumbling all in the 6th inning. Here’s what happened: with 1 out, a fielding error by 3rd baseman Brent Lillibridge allowed a Ranger to reach 1st; a double scored the runner; a fly out advanced the baserunner to 3rd; and a single scored the runner. At this point, they pulled Hughes for Boone Logan, who promptly allowed a 2-run home run and a double. Bye-bye, Logan. Hello, Preston Claiborne. Claiborne is really stepping up in the bullpen, and tonight was no exception; he got the next 4 batters out. Joba Chamberlain became the set-up man in the 8th and actually set-up 2 rather spectacular plays for the ever-reliable, ever-amazing Brett Gardner. Chamberlain would also get tonight’s win, but let me explain.

It started out pretty good in the 3rd inning. Recent call-up Melky Mesa doubled (nice way to say hello in pinstripes this year) and then scored on Austin Romine’s double. Brett Gardner singled, moving Romine to 3rd. Ichiro Suzuki singles, moving Gardner to 2nd and scoring Romine. This no out inning ends pretty quickly with a double play and fly out. But the damage has begun, albeit rather routinely. In the 4th, Vernon Wells doubles and scored when Lillibridge hit into a fielder’s choice. And so the Yankees sat at 3 runs scored.

By the end of the 6th inning and the Rangers suddenly came alive, the score was 4-3 Texas. And so with their last shot at the game, in the 9th inning and one out, the Rangers walked Wells, advancing him to 2nd on a wild pitch. So when Eduardo Nunez saw a pitch he liked, he plowed it deep out to left-center field, scoring Wells easily, and landing very safely at 3rd for a triple. He’s so speedy that I think he would’ve made it home, but coming around 2nd, Nunez stumbled a bit and probably didn’t want to risk it. But that’s okay because Nunez jogged home on Lillibridge’s single. And the score was suddenly 5-4 Yankees.

So guess who was very quickly up in the visitor’s bullpen in Arlington. With cameras out and clicking, Metallica over the speakers, everyone on their feet and cheering, Mariano Rivera jogged to the mound for a quick 12 pitch bottom of the 9th for his 32nd save and a really fantastic Yankee win.

I know I say it a lot (but in baseball, how could you not?), but Yogi’s a very wise man — “It ain’t over ’til it’s over.” I imagine Yankee fans everywhere kicking themselves for giving up, walking out or changing the channel seeing the Rangers up 4-3 going into the 9th inning. “O, ye of little faith.” I mean, they’re the Yankees. “Anything’s possible.” (Now, enough clichés.)

You just never know…

Sometimes that hope and prayer works out for you in that last second ditch effort, the rally cap time. Sometimes it doesn’t. But does it mean you stop hoping that things will turn your way? Does it mean you can’t believe in the impossible? The problem with reality sometimes is that it makes so many of us cynical. The benefit (if you can call it that) of cynicism is you never have to be as disappointed as you could be because you’ve already set yourself up for the “what if”. But there is a measure of cynicism that still hopes for the better outcome.

Perhaps, instead we need to be a little more like the kids you see at the ballpark with their gloves, hoping and praying for a foul ball or a tossed ball from their favorite ball player on the way back to the dugout. They’re never afraid to wave their hands, glove and all, begging, pleading for a $6 baseball. They’re not afraid to look foolish or greedy or hopeful. It’s why the athletes love signing for kids because they understand that they will cherish the $6 ball because someone took the time to think of them and gift them with a special touch. A ball that may end up in a box in their mom’s attic one day, but for that brief moment, their world was changed for the better. They walked away with their own personal souvenir, and it’s a moment they won’t soon forget. That hope and that memory that one day they pass onto their sons, taking them to the ballpark with a glove, encouraging their sons to get a ball and go for it. Because it’s the hope for good things in life that push us forward, even when the current situation looks bleak or impossible.

Because at the end of the day, if baseball teaches us anything, anything really is possible.

Go Yankees!