Game 111: NYY vs. CHW — Monday’s media mania

As predicted, Monday was anything but a boring day, especially in what became the media circus of Chicago. And with all that, call it a distraction if you must, it’s curious as to whether the heated crowd was more excited to see the White Sox win or the Yankees lose (and lose poorly). And before you get distracted, let’s focus on the actual game.

Starter Andy Pettitte seemed to repeat Hughes’ outing yesterday, throwing his 75 pitches in just over 2 innings, allowing 11 hits and a walk, striking out 4 batters. And where he got in the most trouble was the 7 earned runs he allowed the White Sox to score. Four back-to-back singles, a sacrifice fly, and another single scored 3 runs very quickly for the White Sox in just the 1st inning. Then in the 2nd, two singles and a double score 2 more, and the White Sox are up 5-0. And in the 3rd, three singles, two strikeouts, and a walk, and the White Sox are up 6-0 with bases loaded. And the Yankees go to their bullpen, calling it quits on Pettitte’s night.

Preston Claiborne comes in again and proceeds to walk in another run before closing out the 3rd inning. His 4th inning goes much easier. Shawn Kelley does his part in the 5th and 6th inning fairly well, though he allowed an RBI double to add to the White Sox total in the 6th. Chamberlain threw a decent 7th inning, and Logan threw a rather flawless 8th inning (with two strikeouts).

But it’s the White Sox’s game tonight. The only offensive relief came in the 7th inning. Nunez and Stewart each single, and it’s Brett Gardner’s sacrifice fly scores Nunez. And that’s the only time a Yankee crossed the plate tonight, making the final score 8-1 Chicago. Maybe it was the media circus, maybe it was the change in the roster, maybe it was the rowdy crowd bent on jeering recent news stories over cheering for their own team, or maybe it was just a bad night all around.

Well, It certainly wasn’t the White Sox’s pitching or defense. Many of the Yankees 9 total hits were as a result of their sloppy defense. In fact, Alex Rodriguez’s first hit of the season in his first at-bat should have been an easy out, a fly ball that the outfielder mishandled. It was the Yankees defense that actually shone tonight, with plays by Cano, Rodriguez and Wells, and Nunez

Oh, and in case you’ve been hiding under a rock today, Alex Rodriguez is back in the Yankees’ lineup. Tonight, he was playing 3rd base again, batting 4th (or clean-up, as they call it). To make room to activate him, the Yankees placed Derek Jeter on the DL with his right calf strain, designated Brent Lillibridge for assignment, and recalled David Adams.

Okay, so MLB officially handed down their suspensions to players involved in the Biogenesis scandal. In case you forgot, Biogenesis was the anti-aging clinic in South Florida that is currently closed and under investigation for illegally prescribing and distributing human growth hormones and other performance enhancing drugs. The founder Anthony Bosch was also operating this clinic without a medical license. In late January, a Miami newspaper released a huge story, naming players and hand-written notes from the clinic, implicating the biggest PED-related scandal in nearly a decade. MLB has taken the majority of the year investigating on their own and collecting what evidence there is to see what the appropriate action should be taken against particular players, due to their involvement. Recently, the disgraced Bosch agreed to cooperate with MLB’s investigation because of the threat of a powerful lawsuit. So based on their investigation results, MLB informed the Players’ Association (the player’s union) and every named player and their legal team with a deadline to appeal or accept by Sunday evening. And today, they made a public statement with the rulings.

Today twelve players accepted a 50-game suspension, with another player accepting a longer suspension that began 2 weeks earlier. Francisco Cervelli was among those names, and though he has spent the majority of the year on the DL, he will continue the rest of the year out of pinstripes due to the suspension. The whole situation and its circumstances regarding Cervelli are still a little hazy and will continue to be so unless Cervelli himself desires to clarify the situation.

One name not listed among those players, but still listed as suspended was Alex Rodriguez. Technically, Rodriguez was issued a 211-game suspension that would begin on Thursday. This would take him out of the rest of the year and into 2014. I should note that suspensions are always without pay. But he is the sole player filing an appeal, which I imagine is more due to the lengthened sentence. MLB stated that his extended sentence was due to his “intent to obstruct and frustrate” the investigation. The appeal process could take anywhere from a few days to a couple of months. And in the mean time, Rodriguez is allowed to play baseball, until an arbitrator decides whether to uphold, reduce, or negate his suspension.

(More on the suspension and video of Rodriguez’s press conference today can be found here and here, and the full statement from the commissioner’s office is here. Please note that many other non-MLB sites, like one may find by Googling, are reporting on speculation or unnamed “sources”. And like I’ve said many times on here, this blog is for solid truthful facts only and the opinions based on those facts alone, and as such, I won’t link to or post any of those other reports/blogs/opinions. Be careful what you read/hear; a media circus doesn’t begin to describe the utter chaos of today.)

And until such a final ruling from the arbitrator or a public statement from Rodriguez’s or Cervelli’s camps (or an official MLB/Yankees statement) is made, there is nothing further to talk about on here. Yes, the game needs to be clean, and yes, those who cheat should be held accountable. But unless it’s your job to do either of those (and I mean, you have the title and pay of athlete or MLB executive), tonight the rest of us can rest a little easier knowing that tomorrow bring new opportunities for a fresh start and new beginning.

Oh, and in Chicago-related news, recently released Thomas Neal was picked up by the other Chicago team (the Cubs). The Cubs need a young talented outfielder and hopefully can make good use of his versatility and potential. After all, he had some good experience in pinstripes, and you know what they say: “once a Yankee…”

Go Yankees!

Game 103: TB vs. NYY — Last minute rally can’t save CC, even with Soriano again

CC Sabathia really didn’t have a very good night. In fact, this quickly became his 3rd game this season to give up 7 runs, a career high. Something just got him in the 2nd inning tonight, something that was just too much for the Yankees’ offense was too much to overcome. Sabathia threw 102 pitches in just 5 innings, allowing 9 hits, 7 runs, 3 walks, and 6 strikeouts.

But again it was the 2nd inning that the Rays just jumped ahead and never looked back — a double; a fly out advancing the runner to 3rd; a double scoring the runner; a pop up; a walk; a single scoring the lead runner; a bunt that should have been a 3rd out became a single, loaded the bases and scored another runner; another double scored 2 more runs; and a single scored a 6th run of the inning before they got that elusive 3rd out of the inning on the batter’s attempt to make his single a double. Needless to say, that wasn’t exactly the most encouraging inning for the Yankees. Sabathia allowed an RBI single in the 5th inning to add to the Rays’ lead at 7.

Adam Warren came into the game in the 6th inning for long-term relief, and did an excellent job with a minor exception. In the 7th inning, a single and walk set the stage for a 3-run home run to skyrocket the Rays to a 10 run score total.

But you can’t fault the Yankees for their efforts in the batter’s box. In the 3rd inning, Brent Lillibridge singled, advanced to 2nd on a wild pitch, and promptly scored (using some really amazing, and dare I say unexpected speed) on Austin Romine’s single. And there the Yankees sat, with their sole run until the 8th inning. Oh, they threatened quite a bit, prompting Tampa to exhaust their bullpen, using 6 pitchers through the entire game. But in the 8th inning, a 2-inning rally certainly made an effort to chip away at the Rays’ double-digits lead. Melky Mesa doubled, David Adams singled home Mesa, Alfonso Soriano (more on him later) grounded into a force out, and Chris Stewart doubled home Soriano. It was now 10-3 Rays, going into the 9th inning.

With one out, Lillibridge singles, Romine walks, Brett Gardner singles and loads the bases, Mesa singles and scores Lillibridge, Adams singles home Romine, Soriano grounds into another force out but scores Gardner, and a final ground out ends the game. This planted the attempted rally 4 runs shy of the Rays, ending the game at 10-6 Tampa.

I will say that the Rays barely out-hit the Yankees 12-11, those numbers alone explain why the Rays went through so many pitchers tonight. But it’s never how many hits you get, but how many times you cross home plate. And if it makes Yankees fans feel any better, after today’s games, Boston fell to Baltimore so Tampa’s win actually made them 1st place in the AL East. And as any Yankee fan will tell you, anyone’s better than Boston, especially if it can’t be you.

Now, for Soriano… that’s right, old Yankee fans, Sori’s back. The Yankees front office spent some time orchestrating a trade with the Cubs for Soriano to return back to his former team. They traded a pitching prospect for Sori, who waived his “no-trade” clause to be back in the Bronx. Soriano played for the Yankees from 1999-2003, where he was part of the trade with Texas the Yankees made for Alex Rodriguez. That’s right, if you’re following along at home, Rodriguez isn’t playing with the Yankees right now, but the guy he essentially replaced is back in action on the team. Soriano traded his infield position for an outfield/DH role, being as he is now 37 (it’s still the tradition to make a big deal about the age of the players, right?). And though he had a less-than-outstanding outing in his re-debut in pinstripes, he is still being seen as a better choice than some of the other options the club has.

But Soriano is a welcome sight in the Bronx, a reminder of good seasons and a great clubhouse rapport. Veterans certainly welcomed him home, and the great Yankee fan base certainly welcomed Sori home tonight. What makes it even more awesome is that Vernon Wells (who has been sporting #12 since signing with the Yankees this Spring) traded numbers with Soriano, so that Sori could have his old number back. So Sori donned #12, and Wells took #22. If anything at all, Soriano is certainly bringing out the best in his new teammates, and I have to say that a good clubhouse always makes for a better team than almost anything else.

And for those curious, the Yankees sent Thomas Neal to AAA Scranton to make room for Soriano on the 25-man roster, while the 40-man roster now sits at an even 40. The juggling of this roster this year must keep the cell phones and computer keyboards in near-perpetual motion. I certainly don’t envy their jobs in the least, and they’ve certainly been working overtime too many times this year already. And it’s not over yet with Jeter, Granderson, Nix, Phelps, Cervelli, and Rodriguez just itching to get back in the game as soon as humanly possible.

And while tonight’s game certainly wasn’t the most encouraging one to watch as a Yankees fan, the end of it certainly proved many of my previous posts right — “never, never, never give up” (thanks to Churchill for the quote). Even if you fail, you don’t want to feel like you just handed over the win without at least trying to win. I love that this year so many of the major plays and runs are being made by the guys you’ve barely heard of and least expect anything from. Because isn’t that what makes minor league ball or even little league special? Not the names, but the game itself and the players working their hardest and making every effort to just do their best in the hope that their best is something truly spectacular. Those are the guys that play the game right, and those are the guys I want to root for and cheer on and see succeed in life.

Go Yankees!

Game 102: NYY vs. TEX — Split shut out

Hiroki Kuroda is easily becoming one of my favorite current pitchers, and that’s saying a lot. But Kuroda’s ridiculously consistent performances certainly rank him as one of the most underrated pitchers in the league. At least in my opinion. Today’s outing was no exception, throwing an even 100 pitches over 7 full innings, allowing just 6 hits and a walk, keeping the Rangers from doing anything for the hot crowd in Arlington to cheer much about. David Robertson continued the scoreless-ness in the 8th, giving the ball to Mariano Rivera in the 9th to throw 11 pitches, earning his 33rd save of 2013. Texas was very effectively shut out of tonight’s game.

I should clarify. In order to be shut out, you must have some kind of offense to shut out the other team. In what began as a near pitchers’ duel, the Yankees found weakness toward the end of the Texas starter’s outing. First in the 6th inning, Austin Romine (defensively becoming a really reliable catcher) improved his lackluster batting average with a leadoff double, advancing to 3rd on Ichiro Suzuki’s sacrifice bunt. This allowed another unsuspecting Yankee, Brent Lillibridge, to hit a solid double and score Romine for the first run.

In the 8th inning, Robinson Cano’s double brought a pitching change, which Vernon Wells immediately found his pitch and singled, advancing Cano to 3rd. Eduardo Nunez hit into a force out, getting Wells at 2nd, but missing the double play and scoring Cano for the second (and final) run of the evening. The Yankees would split the series with Texas with tonight’s win of 2-0 New York.

In good injury-related news, Derek Jeter took some sprinting drills and fielding practice today, in addition to routine batting practice (something he’s been doing regularly since his return to the DL as part of his rehab). If all things check out medically, he seems to be right on track for a return some time this weekend. I can imagine he would have played today if he could have convinced everyone he was “just fine”.

I’m sitting in the city tonight, reflecting on current events of all sizes and significance, some baseball-related, most not even close. And I guess I’d love to just pronounce some kind of final statement on some of these stories and it would be over with and done. Life just doesn’t work that way. Much like baseball, life is rarely a perfectly orderly game. You get messy and dirty, you advance and retreat (often in the same play), you miss easy opportunities to make a difference, you end up at the wrong end of bad calls, your teammates don’t always do their job or want to work with you, you don’t always succeed, and you don’t always walk home a winner. So why do we keep coming back, day after day, year after year, season after season?

Because there’s always a chance that this year is the year that everything just magically lines up, that things just work right, and that at the end of the day, you’re not just the winners of a game, but the champions of the world. This might just be the year you take home that ring, adding that significance to part of who you are, and those memories of sweet victory to last you a lifetime.

Again, it always comes down to hope. And if we don’t have hope for something amazing, then what’s the point of it all. I mean, certain baseball clubs have been waiting years, decades, entire lifespans to even get close to the World Series, let alone walk away with the victory. But when they don’t get it, year after year, they don’t just close up shop and forget baseball. No, they regroup, develop new guys, re-strategize, and make plans for a trophy case. Because, much like the Red Sox learned in 2004, that day of victory will come, even if it takes 84 years to get to that day. The faithful never give up hope of better days, better seasons, and that magical moment of victory.

That one day…

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!

Game 96: NYY vs BOS — They don’t call it the “Green Monster” for nothing

Games at Fenway are never easy for the Yankees, which make wins ridiculously rewarding and losses ever so much more painful. Even when one team was just awful and the other team was just rocking their season, Boston-New York games are always the most stressful. Tonight was no exception. (Are we still allowed to blame the Babe Ruth trade for this? Or did that “curse” thing break off into a friendly rivalry in 2004?)

Starting pitcher Andy Pettitte had some trouble early in his game, allowing a solo homer and 2-run home run in the first two innings, respectively, to put Boston up 3-0 very quickly. By his exit during the 7th inning, Pettitte hit his 95 pitch mark giving up 6 hits and struck out 4 batters, holding the Red Sox to those 3 initial runs. But Kelley and Logan combined to close out this inning, allowing one of Pettitte’s hits to score in the process, which allowed the Red Sox a total of 4 runs scored for the game total. Claiborne kept Boston planted there for his inning, but the damage had been done, and there was not much offense to overcome Boston’s early lead.

This game was off in many ways, as it’s usually the middle of the game that’s the time that lags. But tonight, it was the middle of the game that was the most entertaining. In the 4th inning, Brett Gardner walks, and then steals 2nd base while Robinson Cano is batting. No big surprise there. But when Gardner went for 3rd, the Boston catcher totally missed the throw to 3rd, shooting the ball into left field, so Gardner easily jogged home to score the first Yankee run of the evening. Then the 5th inning, Lyle Overbay doubles and then Chris Stewart doubles and scores Overbay, the 2nd and final run the Yankees scored this evening. Final score 4-2 Red Sox.

And then, things got weirder. Gardner gets called out on strikes, but thinking it’s a low ball (it was), gets angry with himself and spikes his helmet. The umpire sees this as a personal offense and decides to eject Gardner, who looks at him and apologizes, but it’s took late. Ladies and gentlemen, this is a Brett Gardner ejection. I’m thinking this threw everyone off because Girardi came out to argue some in Gardner’s defense, and Gardner later apologized publicly for his unusual outburst. The last time Gardner was ejected was 3 years ago, almost to the day, and by the same umpire. (Personal note here: I’ve seen people not thrown out for way worse temper tantrums, and perhaps the less drastic thing would have been to let him walk it off between innings. I mean, this is Gardner here, not some regular hotheaded diva. Just saying…)

I’m telling you right now, the Green Monster does weird things to the Yankees. Does anyone else remember the series last year where Andruw Jones’ slump was non-existent and he played one of the best games since his days with the Braves? And in that same series, the Yankees were behind 9-0 and came back to win the game 15-9. Or when they have the best season of the decade and still get swept by the B-squad Red Sox? Fenway’s not called the “Green Monster” for nothing; it does weird stuff there. I’m just glad I’m not superstitious, or we’d really have some problems.

Anyway, injury news (Girardi’s personal take on the update here):

Derek Jeter was placed on the 15-day DL, forcing him to rest his Grade I quad strain at least until next Saturday (they back dated the DL to July 12, the day after he last played), but he was there in Boston with his team and worked out during BP. Cashman is fully aware that Jeter may not be ready to play next weekend, and Cashman is also fully aware that Jeter may not agree with him on that.

Alex Rodriguez is finally hitting his stride in the minor leagues during his rehab assignments, and the current assumption is that he will rejoin the team on Monday. With the rate and level that he’s playing, I don’t see why they won’t reactivate him next week, but I’ve also learned not to trust the major difference between the ideal and the reality.

Adding insult to injury (so to speak), Zoilo Almonte exited the game with a sprained ankle on a hard run down to first in the 6th inning. X-rays showed no break (they’re being very thorough any more with all these injuries), but sprained ankles are never fun to deal with and take a couple of weeks to fully heal, depending on the severity of the injury. Time on the DL for Almonte is coming and will be determined on an update before tomorrow’s game.

Well, to adjust for Jeter’s DL stint, the Yankees called up Brent Lillibridge from AAA Scranton, who has proven his versatility there, and started at 3rd base tonight. To make room, they released Brennan Boesch unconditionally, meaning he is now a free agent. Boesch has been plagued with injuries himself recently and hasn’t been able to contribute as much as the Yankees liked. But with health on his side, Boesch could see some playing time elsewhere. Unfortunately, the Yankees have a plethora of outfielders. It’s the infielders they can’t seem to keep healthy or find strong replacements.

I will say the nicest part about tonight’s game came early on when the Red Sox played “New York, New York” as a tribute for New York’s support during the dark days surrounding the Boston Marathon bombings. It was met with cheers and singing and camaraderie, something most of us aren’t used to seeing at a Yankees-Red Sox game, but something that brings back memories of kinship formed after 9/11. It’s times like that, with tributes like that, serving as reminders that rivalries are always transcended by the tenacity of the human spirit and the bond that deep down, we’re all just American baseball fans. Some of us may be wrapped in Yankee blue and others in Red Sox red, but still the American pastime is at our core and the humanity and compassion transcends any rivalry, even if for but a moment between innings.

Go Yankees!