New York Yankees! E-mail the
Team Manager
 
The 40th Pennant and 27th World
Championship!
2009 Post Season
AL East - Yankees (103-59) AL Central - Twins
(87-76) Twins (87-76) beat the Tigers
(86-77) in one game playin Tuesday at Minnesota 12 innings 6-5 tied at the
end of the 8th 4-4-and 10th 5-5-. AL West - Angels (97-65) AL Wild
Card - Red Sox (95-67)
NL East - Phillies - (93-69) third in a row! NL Central - Cardinals (91-71) NL West -
Dodgers (95-67) NL Wild Card - Rockies (92-70) West/Wild Card come down to the next to last
game!
AL Division Series Boston vs. Los Angeles A
3-0 sweep! Yankees 3-0
sweep! vs. Minnesota Game 1 Yankees
7-2 A-Rod gets 2 RBI breraking an 0-20 RISP
post season streak Jeter hits a home run (18th in post
season) Game 2 Yankees 4-3 in 11
innings This game had everything! Bad base
running, late hits, bad umpiring and two clutch homers in the 9th and
11th Burnett held the Twins to 1 run with 2 HBP and 5 walks, but survived.
The Twins scored 2 more off of Hughes and Mo! Blackburn held the Yanks to 1
hit through 5. Teixeira and A-Rod get the clutch hits/homer to tie in the 9th
off of Twins closer, Nathan. In the 10th, Posada gets a hit, Gardner pinch
ran, but got doubled off thrid on a Damon line drive. In the 11th, LF Ump
blows Mauer 'double', calling it foul! Lefty 'specialist', Marte fails to get
two lefies out. Robertson got out of a bases loaded no out jam to hold the game
at 3-3. Mark Teixeira, ends it with a walk off homer. A-Rod gets 5 RBI
in the two games so far. Game 3 Yankees
4-1 Pettitte and Povano both pitched well, the
Twins score 1 in the 6th, but the Yankees go ahead
on two homers in the 7th. In
the 8th another Jeter defensive play: runner on second, hit up the middle,
Jeter looks at third, sees the runner rounding third and throws home, Posada to
A-Rod, the runner is out going back to third. Another weird one, earlier:
runner on first, fly to right, Swisher can't get it, but throws the runner out
at second. NL Division Series Colorado
(1) vs. Philadelphia
(3) Game three postponed for snow, but will Sunday
night be OK? St. Louis vs. Los Angeles D 3-0
sweep! In the Twins/Yankees and Red Sox/Angels
series, the games were won by the closers not being able to do their jobs.
Nathan lost game two and failed to contain the Yankees in game three.
Papaelbam blew the save and lost the game in the 9th for
Boston.
I
don't get the game times for the champion series. Both will play games in LA
and the northeast. On the days that there are two games, why are the eastern
games played at night in the cold and the LA games at 1:00pm Pacific
Time? AL Champion Series Angels
(2) vs. Yankees (4)
Game 1: Yankees 4-1 -
Sabathia pitches 8 innings, 1 run, Mo saves it! A-Rod gets the first RBI with a
sac fly. Game 2: Yankees - 4-3 - 13
innings Burnett cruises through
4 and gets a 2 run lead, then loads the bases with walks and hit
batters loads the bases and allows the tying run on a wild pitch. The game
goes into the 11th when Aceves finally folds and
gives up
the go ahead run.. But A-Rod ties the game with a
homer! And the Yankees win in the 13th on an E4 with runners on first and
second. Hairston scores from second on an error and gets the pie. LOB:Yanks 12,
Angels 16. If Burnett hadn't wild pitched, the game would have ended 2-1 in
nine. Errors all over! Game 3: Angels 5-4 in
11. Good start, 3 Yankee homers get the lead
3-0 till the 6th, when Andy gives up a solo and 2 run homers to allow the game
to be tied. With all the pitching changes made in game 2, it's a wonder Girardi
left Pettete in the game. In the 7th he brings in
JAP named Joba and he gives up
a triple and a sac fly. Matsui walks, Gardner runs for him and is caught
stealing and then Posada hits a homer only tying the game. Bottom of the
11th, Hughes gives up a lead off double and Mo makes a throwing error to 3rd on
a sac bunt. Infield in and Tex gets the out at first and they walk Abreu. Two
put outs and an assist by Tex! Top of the 12th - nothing. Bottom of the 12th
Girardi takes Robertson out for Aceves with two out and he gives up a single
and double to end it. Sad managing. Game 4: Yankees
10-1 The umpiring stinks! Swisher called
safe on a pickoff, where he was out at second. Then later at third, called out
for leaving early on a sac fly, but he didn't. Is the umpire
correcting
a bad call. What was Posada thinking? First he doesn't score from
secod on a Cano double. Then he breaks for home on comeback to the pitcher,
both he and Cano are tagged off the base at third, but the umps only
call Posada out! Later Posada forgets the outs and almost leaves
the plate uncovered with a runner on third. Gardner pinch runs again and is
caught stealing again. Cano and Cabrara finally get RBI's. CC goes 8
innings and gives up 1 run on 5 hits! Finally an offensive
outburst! Game 5: Angels 7-6 The good news, Jeter and Damon get lead off hits. Then
everything went down hill, including the pie man giving up 4 runs before he got
an out. Then little happened on either side until the 7th when the Yankees
score 6 after 2 outs! Tex come through with the bases loaded and then Cano
follows with a triple. Yanks up 6-4. In fairness, Burnett had five good
innings, unfortunately they were 2-6. He was bad in the first and
seventh. What is Girardi thinking? Then Girardi
leaves Burnett in and he give up a hit and a walk, then he brings in
Marte. A bunt and then a ground out and it's a 1 run game. Hughes comes in
and walks the first batter. Then two more hits. Yanks down 7-6. Mo comes in
to keep it a one run game. Yanks load the bases on two walks and a hit batter,
Swisher pops out to end it. Is this a rerun of 2004? No! Game 6: Yankees 5-2 Pettitte 6.1
innings, then JAP named Joba
and Mo to close it out. This is the Yankees 40th
World Series. The
next two
teams combined don't have that many.
NL Champion
Series Dodgers (1) vs. Phillies
(4)
World
Series One of Three: I 95 I 5 Cross
Country via I78/70/40/10
it's an
I-95 (NJTP) WS!
 Phillies (2) vs.Yankees (4) Game 1: @ Yankees - Phillies 6-1 (first
post season loss at the new stadium) CC loaded the
bases in the first, but escaped. Then he set everyone else down not
named
Utley. Hughes comes in and walks the
first two batters. Marte gets the two
lefties, but Robertson walks one and gives up a hit scoring
two. Bruney blows it open in the 9th, giving two more runs. Jeter 3-4,
but the rest of the Yankees could do nothing against Cliff Lee - complete game.
A-Rod 3 K's Game 2: @ Yankees - Yankees
3-1 Pedro
Martinez vs. AJ Burnett, both
excellent, AJ left with a 2-1
lead. Jeter tries to bunt with 2 on and no out with 2 strikes. But
the umpire at first blows another call after Posada gets an RBI hit. But the
same ump blows a 1st and 2nd, 1 out and calls the double play. A-Rod 3 more
K's and 0-8. Howard 0-4 all K's Mo gets a 39 pitch 6 out
save. Game 3: @ Phillies - Yankees
8-5 Pettite gives up 3 runs in the 2nd on a
home run, a bases loaded walk and a sac fly. The sad thing is they couldn't get
the pitcher out on a sac bunt attempt. A-Rod gets out of his slump with a
reviewed
homer to right field, that hit the camera just over the fence. In
the 5th Pettitte gets the
tying RBI and scores the go ahead run on Damon's double. JAP named Joba and Marte each get 1-2-3
innings in the 7th and 8th. In between, Matsui gets a pinch hit
homer! Hughes comes in the 9th and gets the first out, but then a homer
making it a 3 run lead. Mo nails it on 5 pitches, but no
save! Game 4: @ Phillies - Yankees
7-4 CC is spotted 2 runs in the first, but
gives one back on a double by Utley. CC finally got him out in the 3rd. The
Phillies tied it at 2-2, but the Yankees got back on top 4-2. And Utley gets
CC again. CC pitches 6.2 innings and leaves leading 4-3 This time
JAP named Joba gives up a game
tying homer on a 3-2 pitch after strking out the first two batters. But he
strikes out the side anyway. Phillies closer
Brad Lidge comes
in with the score tied in the top of the 9th. Now the wierd play of the series:
with 2 out and no one on, Damon gets a hit, and with the overshift on Tex,
Damon steals second with the third baseman covering second, he pops up on the
slide and beats the third baseman to third getting credit for two stolen bases
on one play. Then A-Rod gets a
hit to put the Yankees back up 5-4. The Yankees score 2 more making it
7-4. Mo gets an eight pitch save and
Joba
got the win. Game 5: @ Phillies - Phillies
8-6 Girardi has
two choices: Go with AJ Buernett (on short rest) or Chad Gaudin
(hasn't pitched in weeks) against Cliff Lee, who shut the Yankees down in game
1. Either one as the negative of the opposing pitcher. However, if Burnett
loses, that leaves both Pettitte and Sabathia each on short rest to win one of
the two games at the stadium. If Gaudin loses, the Yankees have Burnett on full
rest for game 6 and Pettitte on full rest in game 7, with Sabathia as a back up
on short rest. What to do? It started well, the
Yankees scored a run in the first, but pieman again gave 3 back in the bottom
of the inning. Then he didn't last through the 3rd inning. So much for
Burnett on three days rest! The Yankees wind up scoring 5 runs on Lee, but
Burnett and the
bullpen
gave up 8runs. Phillies lead 8-5 by the 8th In the 9th, Posada and
Matsui each get hits, but
Jeter
bounces into a double play with Posada scoring. Deja vu - Damon
gets a two out single, but Tex K's, so no A-Rod heroics! Game 6: @ Yankees Yankees 7-3 Now the
Yankees are in the positon of having to win one of two at home, but with both
pitchers on three days rest. Pettitte vs. Marinez. Matsui gets a 2 run homer
and a bases loaded 2 RBI single for a 4-1 Yankee lead by the 3rd. The
Phillies score was on a center field carom played into a triple and a sac
fly. In the 5th, Matsui gets 2 more RBI on a double. In the 6th, Andy is
careful with Utley, but gives up a 2 run homer to Howard. 5.2 innings
JAP named Joba gets the 3rd
out in the 6th and 2 outs in the 7th, but then gives up a hit and a walk,
setting up Marte against Utely, 3 pitch K. Matsui batting in the 7th, has a
single double and a homer. The only way he'd hit a triple is if he beans an
outfielder with a fly ball and the other two can't get to the ball fast enough!
He K's. Mo comes in with 1 out in the 8th after Marte strikes out Howard. He
give up a double that Gardner was playing too shallow to get, but gets out of
the inning. Mo gets a 5 out 41 pitch non-save. Matsui series MVP! .615 BA, 3 HR, 8
RBI, with 6 RBI in clincher, tying the record with
Bobby
Richardson of the NYY in 1960.
The
Yankees win #27!
Andy Pettitte got the win in all three clinching
games of the post season.
Rivera was the only closer of the eight teams
that made the playoffs that did not blow a big game lead. That is what
separates him from all the rest. On
November 6, it's reported that he was pitching with his
right side hurting!
An
observation: the Fox Trax ball-strike indicator is useless, unless the umpires
learn the strike zone!
On November 6,
The U.S. House of Representatives honored
the Yankee Championship! House Resolution 893 The Official
Vote
2009 Season
Opening day! April 6 - In
Baltimore CC was so-so, giving up 6 runs in 4.1 innings. Yankees lose
10-5. Finally in the third game, everything comes together and the Yanks win
11-2.
Home Opener! April 16 - At the new
Yankee Stadium. Trivia: the Yankee catchers team up to hit the
last homer at the old and
first homer at the new Stadium. The
Veras and Marte imploded, allowing 9 runs and the Yanks lose 10-2. April 26 - The lost weekend in Boston. After Mo blows a
save in the bottom of the 9th Friday, allowing a tie game, it went down hill
from there! They score 11 runs, but lose on
Saturday and couldn't score more than one
run on Sunday. With injuries, they now have no 8th inning pitcher,
no 3rd baseman, and so-so pitching. May 2 -
With a still shaky bullpen, the Yankees manage to take 4 games in a row,
including an 8th and 9th inning come from behind win over the Angels on Friday
May 1. May 7 - So Torre has led the Dodgers to
a record 13-0 at home to start the season, Manny has failed a drug test and is
suspended 50 games. He said his doctor gave it to him, but he and his doctor
should have known better. Oh, the Yankees are officially in stinky town. No
offense again (but Long is praised as a great coach) and the bullpen is auwful
most of the time. And the Ynakees have given away
expensive
seats behind home plate and still can't fill them. May 8 - With the Yankees reeling and never having a lead
since mid game last Saturday, A-Rod comes to the plate for the first time with
two on and hits the first pitch for a
homer. CC then bears down and pitches a complete game
four hitter
to win for the first time in a week. May 17 -
Five wins in a row, three walk off wins, two in extra innings, all
comebacks! May 23 -Nine in a row, before facing
the Phillies the same week that the Mets face the Red Sox! The Yanks lose the
first, but pull the second out in the bottom of the 9th. A-Rod homers to tie
and Melky gets the gamer with Cano on second. In the same night, the Mets
beat Papelbaum and the Yanks beat
Lidge! May 24 - The Yankees again tie
the game off of Lidge. But the Yanks lose it in the 11th and can't make another
comeback. The good news, though they went 8-2 on the home stand and are in
3rd palce a game out. May 30 - The Mets and
Yankees are each in first place a ½ game up on their respective arch
rivals! June 1 - The Yankees set a major league
record of 18 straight games without an error. June
6 - So after that record, the Yankees commit at least one error in each
of the next five games, but the good news, they are in first place ½
game ahead of Boston. June 7 - Another come
from behind victory, this time Mo gets a 1-2-3 9th. On June 6th, Mo blew the
tie in the top of the 9th and took the loss. With Boston's loss, the Yankees
are back in 1st by ½ game (33-23). Joba belongs in the bullpen, today
he collapsed in the 6th and left losing 3-1. He either gives up runs in the
first or only goes 5+ innings. He had no decision in four of his last five
starts. And the Dodgers (39-19) have the best record in baseball (with Torre
and without Ramirez). June 11 - I was worried
about the come from behind victories, since they would come against weak
bullpens. Boston has a strong bullpen, and guess what,
7-0,
6-5 and 4-3 losses making 0-8 this year against Boston. Sad state of
affairs. Now the Mets over the weekend. The good news, next are 15 games
against NL east teams, six against the Mets. Should Matsui play the outfield in
the NL parks? He's got the lowest batting average, OBP, but is third in home
runs among the outfielders. June 12-14 vs. the
Mets June 12 - Game 1 - Yankees luck out
9-8. After Mo blows the tie game, the Yanks mount a 9th inning win on a
two
run error by Castillo at second! Joba Chaimberlain threw
100 pitches, one hit,
two runs, two
hit batters and five walks in four innings! June 13 - Game 2 -
Mets 6-2 The Yanks again can't beat a guy they've never seen before,
sad. June 14 - Game 3 - Yanks 15-0 (6 hits) A 9 run 4th inning knocks
Santana out of the game, the most he has ever given up. But A-rod come
this|close to hitting into a triple play on a liner that Cora caught on a
bounce, tagged Damon there and stepped on second to get the runner from first.
A-rod put on the speed and beat the relay. Then the Yankees scored more
runs. The crazy thing about baseball: in Boston Burnett was awful and
Beckett was great. Today it was reversed as the Phillie handed it to
Beckett. Yesterday the Yanks couldn't buy a hit, today they score 9 runs off
of the best pitcher in the NL. June 18 -
The Washington Nationals easy? Right! The Yankees manage to lose two out of
three, including the
first
shutout by the Nationals this season. What is it about the Yankees
going against pitchers they have never seen before? And this, days after giving
Santana his worst loss ever. Mid June thoughts:............................................. Joba has become a mediocre starter. His fastball is off, he
walks way too many and his first inning era over 7.00. He belongs in the
bullpen, where he can come into a close game, empty his tank in a inning or two
and turn it over to Mo. Then he can concentrate on becoming the next closer.
However if his arm and psyche have been damaged too much he may be just another
pitcher. More and more, I think that Girardi is on another planet. The
Yankees have to get better against good teams and MUST destroy bad
ones. Absolutely pathetic - after winning the Friday game in Florida, the
only hit by the Yankees in the first six innings on Saturday was by AJ Burnett!
Then they lose 2-1 on an error by Damon and DP grounders by
Jeter and
Cano. Things looked good when
Sabathia took the mound...until he had tightness in his biceps. Yanks lose
another to the NL east 6-5. Sad. June
23 - So finally Wang has a good outing, but the hitting has left the
team agian. The second shutout in a weak week. Then the bats woke up and
they took two games from Atlanta. June 26-28 vs. the
Mets at Citi Field June 26 - Game 1 - Yankees
9-1 CC was unhittable for 5. Sheffield hit a homer and then two other hits
and that was it . June 27 - Game 2 - Yankees 5-0 The Mets got 1 hit, 3
walks, and 10 strike outs Burnett went 7 innings, with Bruney and Robertson
taking one each. June 28 - Game 3 - Yankees 4-2 So Mo comes in and gets
the 3rd out in the 8th. Then with 2 on and K-Rod pitching, the Mets
intentionally walked
Jeter
to pitch to Mo, loading the bases. The Yankees were trying to
convince the Mets that someone would would be pinch hit for Mo. K-Rod walked Mo
giving him his first RBI, he's now 0-2 with one walk in 3 at bats, oh and that
was his 500th save. Wang pitched into
the 6th and got the win. At Citi Field, the Yankees held the Mets to 8 hits
3 runs. The Yankees take the season 5-1. The Yankees aren't out of
the woods yet. the Mets team they played were not 100% due to injuries. They
are 3 games behind Boston and won't face them again until August. Let's see
what happens.
July 4 - Tradition has it
that the team in 1st place on July 4 will win the pennant. But that was before
divisions and wild cards. The Yankees have the second best record in the AL
behind Boston and 3rd overall behind the
Dodgers. They
are 2nd in runs scored behind Tampa. In the race for NY, the Yankees are 7
games ahead of the Mets. July 5 - It's
confirmed, Joba is a JAP. He
had a 4-1 lead, got flustered on an error and left the game losing 8-4.
However, with some timely hitting, the Yanks pull another one out
10-8. Going into the All Star Break, the Yankees have
the third best record in baseball, but after sweeping the Twins, lose 3 to a
injured Angels team. In all three games the Yanks took the lead, and in two
games hit well, but the pitching fell apart. Joba is definately
JAP. Pettitte and CC both fell
apart in the first part of their games. I won't even talk about the bullpen
that couldn't buy an out. Maybe they need a rest. In the last game, what was
Girardi thinking?
Molina
can't hit,
Garder
can't steal first, and
Hinske can't
hit Lackey. But he puts all three into the line up and they lose 5-4.
The only good news, they loaded the bases in the 7th & 8th with no outs,
but failed to deliver. The
AL won again, with
Jeter going 0-2,
but scored two runs!
Mo
got the save.
July 17 - Back to
the race and the sweep the central division first place Tigers.
JAP Joba was very good on
Sunday. With Boston losing 2 of 3 to Toronto, the Yanks are 1 game back and
lead the wild card by 3½ games. They are also the first team to score
500 runs! If they can hold it all together! My cousin says:
There were more hits by Paul McCartney this weekend
in CitiField than has been all season. July 21 - Boston loses 4 of 5 and the Yankees win 5
since the break and take first place! July 23 -
White Sox pitcher Mark Buehrle threw a
perfect game in Chicago vs. the Tampa Bay Rays! He owes Dewayne Wise dinner for
a week at least for the home run saving catch in the 9th for the first out of
the inning. July 26 - I never expected
the Yankees to take all ten games in the home stand following the All Star
break, but the
pitcher that
the A's put up certainly made nine in a row possible, but he held the
Yanks to 1 run over seven. Then the A's Bullpen managed to stop another Yankee
comeback win, Jeter flied out as the winning run in the bottom of the ninth
after hitting a homer to get them within two runs of tying the game. Oh
well. They did win the last game making it 9-1 since the break! Boston was
4-6 in that stretch, so the Yankees are 2½ games in front, only 2 games
behind the Dodgers for best record. July 29 -
OK, so Joba is a pitcher! 8 innings, no runs, 3 hits, 2 walks, and 5K's.
But there's talk of limiting his innings. So with
Wong out for the
season what are the Yankees to do? Roy Halladay is being offered by
the Blue Jays,
but
is the price too high? The Yankees and Dodgers are tied for the
best record in baseball.
Did
David Ortiz and Manny
Ramirez cheating help Boston win in 2004? This has former
teammate Johnny Damon upset. Aug - 1 All
good things. . . The Yankees lose the first 3 games of the set against the
White Sox. The hitting with runners on base went south again. Pettitte was
great, but got no run spport, then the pitching from Mitre and Burnett and the
bullpen was awful. Why is Jeter swinging at the first pitch? He's done that
in the last few games. CC Sabathia has never lost a game to Mark
Buehrle. The last time the White Sox swept the Yankees in Chicago was after
the
Phil Linz
harmonica bus ride. Melky
Cabrera hits for the cycle! And the Yankees win 8-5, with Mo
getting his 30th save, 7th year in a row, joining 3 other
pitchers.
The showdown with Boston After a
dismal 0-8 stretch with the Red Sox, the Yankees
face them, but this time two different teams. They have reversed roles and
fortunes. The Sox are hurt, the Yanks are healthier. Big Papi, David Ortiz,
gave an explaination of his drug issue. Game
1: Thursday 8/6 - Yankees win 13-6 fallout: Smolts, the Boston starter is
released, Trabor is designated for assignment Game 2: Friday 8/7 - Yankees
win 2-0 in 15 innings! A-Rod hits his first homer in 70+ at bats to take the
walk off win. Game 3: 8/8 - Yankees win 5-0 First time since 2002 that
the Yankees shut out Boston two games in a row and shut them out for 24
innings. Sabathia was perfect for 5 innings. Game 4: 8/9 Yankees
5-2 Yankee pitchers held Boston scoreless for 31 innings until Coke gave up
a 2 run homer. But the Boston lead was short lived with two out back to back
homers from Johnny Damon and Mark Teixeira and 2 more runs on a hit by Swisher
in the 8th. Mo got the save, though he did have to pitch to the tying
run. The Yankees end the weekend in first place 6½
games in front of Boston and the best record in baseball by 2½
games! Aug - 11 - Joba is back in
JAP mode. Given a 3 run lead,
he gave it up and a homer made it 4-3. But the Yankees went ahead to stay on
back to back homers and hits in the
8th making it 7-4. Mo gave up a one out homer, but struck out
Marco
Scutaro as the tying run to end the game. Aug - 13 - Then on to the west coast: Seattle and
Oakland, then back to Boston! In Seattle the Yankees get off to the best
post All Star game start at 23-6. Then Jeter
breaks the
record for the most hits by a shortstop. But Joba is still in
JAP mode,
leaves the game down 4-3 after the 5th. Aceves battles a 13 pitch at bat
against Lopez to keep the game 4-3 in the 6th. However in the 7th, the bullpen
colapsed. The final 10-3. I guess you can't win them all. The Yankees remain
7½ games in front in the east, and 2½ games ahead for best
record. A month ago, the Yankees designated Bret Tomko for
assignment. He wound up in Oakland and . . . he beat Burnett and the Yankees
3-0! Burnett pitched the full 8 innings and was the victim of no offense and
shakey defense. Sabathia backed up Burnett with 8 innings of 2 run pitching
in a 7-2 win.
The showdown with Boston part
2 After catching half way back to make the record 4-8 against the Red Sox,
the Yankees faced them at Fenway. Game 1: Friday 8/21: Yankees 20-11 You can never
score enough runs! It was a slump buster, the pitching allowed it to get dicey.
The combined score was the most ever between the Sox and the Yanks. The second
highest was in 1903 with 19 between the Highlanders and the Americans. Game 2: Saturday 8/22: Boston 14-1 As good as Burnett was in
the game at the stadium, he stunk today! Seven runs in two innings and nine in
five. The bullpen stunk for five more runs and the offense disappeard. Swisher
hit a home run. Game 3: Yankees 7-4 Sabathia was great, three
earned runs, but some of that was due to dropped balls that went for hits. He
is 15-7, leading MLB. Beckett gave up five home runs to the Yankees, including
one from Jeter on the first pitch of the game.
The
Yankees leave Boston to return home 7½ games in front in the east and 3
games ahead for the best record in MBL. They are now 6-9 against Boston with
three to play in Yankee Stadium.
Poor
Poor Mets. They were down by two runs to the Phillies with runners on first and
second and no outs in the 9th. The runners break on the pitch and the hitter
lines into an
unassisted
triple play to end the
game at
second
base! Are there any ways they haven't yet found to
lose?
Aug - 13 - So they give Joba
extra rest, 9 days worth. He's still JAP, he gets a four run lead in the
second and gives it back plus three by the fourth. The Yankees almost make it
back with four in the ninth, but a line drive double play ends it! Though in all honesty, if Swisher hadn't bunted a foul pop for the
first out, the Yankees may have wound up with a METS ending, a triple play!
That would have been ironic. After Dandy Andy won one, Burnett struck
out 12 in 6 innings, but gave up a two out home run after walking two in the
4th. Then once again the bullpen fell apart. Yankees lose 7-5. Aug - 28 - If only Burnett were as consistant at
pitching as he is in throwing pies after a
walk
off wins.
Aug - 29 - Sergio Mitre
pitched a one hit one walk gem for 6 + innings. He left the game after being
hit by a shot back to the mound. Yankees win 10-1.
Aug - 30 - On the other hand, Joba, who is
JAP, didn't need a line drive
to be taken out of the game. He gave up 2 runs in 3 innings and was just taken
out to keep his innings down.
The Yankees sweep the White Sox to
maintain their 6 game lead in the AL East and a 5 game lead for the best
record in
MLB.
Sept - 1 - Burnett once
again follows a great
Andy
Pettitte game with a terrible game, giving up the lead three times in
five innings. But the Yankees pull it out 9-6 with five home runs.
Sept - 4 - JAP
named Joba allows
3 runs,
6 hits, 2 walks in 3 innings. Meanwhile
Halladay
was perfect for 4+ innings and
gave up 1
hit in the complete game.
Yanks lose
6-0. Oh the humility. Sept - 6 - So
they split the four games in
Toronto both the pitching and defense went
south, but with an 8 game lead, this is the time to get this out of
their systems.
Sept - 7 - Poor Derek Jeter,
three hits away from tying Gehrig for most hits as a Yankee, goes 0-4 in the
first game and then goes 0-2 in ONE INNING of the second game of a double
header. He finished the game 0-4 with a walk, an RBI and a run scored. Oh, the
Yankees win 11-1 and all of the starters had hits, but not the
captain!
Sept - 9 -
JAP named Joba allows a home
run to the first batter. Then gives up more hits, but strikes out the side in
the first. But is down 2-0 before the Yankees come up to bat. He only pitches
three innings! Jeter bunts for his first base hit in 14 at bats! Then gets a
ground rule double and a single to tie Gehrig at 2721 hits. But the Yankees are
still behind 2-0. Posada took care of that with a 3 run pinch hit home run.
Yankees win 4-2.
Sept - 11 - In Memoriam of the
WTC, the Pentagon and in Pennsylvania Jeter gets his 2722 hit, but
Marte gives up four runs, putting the Yankees down 7-4 against Baltimore. Then
Jeter hits into a double play to end the 6th. The Yankees lose to last place
Baltimore, 10-4 with another bullpen implosion. Sept -
12 - I wish the Yankees had gotten a pitcher, not a pie thrower. AJ,
once again gets a one run lead and in the next inning gives up a homer and
loads the bases with one out. Then Roberts hits a grand slam. Give me a
break. The Yankees lose this one 7-4, Jeter struck out swinging for the last
out...sad. Sept - 13 - After dropping two to
the last place Orioles, they pound them late for an 8 run 8th inning and win
13-3. Sept - 14 -
JAP named Joba actually pitches
well for 4
innings while the Yankees beat the Angels 5-3 in a makeup game in the
Bronx. Sept - 18 - Well it had to happen
sometime. AJ pitches a gem (one run in seven innings), but the Yankees can't
get more than two of their
own. You figure Mo in the bottom of the ninth is a lock on the game,
but with two outs he gives up a double and a homer to lose the game 3-2,
bummer. Boston is climbing back in it. Sept -
20 - Jeter and Damon got base hits in the top of the first, then
nothing. JAP named Joba gives
up three two out hits in the first inning 2-0 Seattle. In the second, the Yanks
go 1-2-3 and Joba gives up two more hits and
walks in
a run. Then a sac fly and and a three run homer by Griffey, the
Mariners are up 7-0. Joba lasted only
three
innings again! The Yankees lose 7-1, however
Mitre, from the
bullpen, held Seattle to NO additional runs for the remainder of the
game. Now they have to play the Angels. Sept -
22 - Finally with a win against the Angels in LA, the Yankees cliched at
least the wild card. Sept - 23 - AJ Burnett
came through again with a 2 run 11 strikeout game. The Yankees used their
C lineup and won the game
3-2, again showing the Angles that playing the Yanks on the west coast is no
longer a gimme! Yankees
take
the LA series 2-1.
The final showdown
with Boston - 2009 The Yankees enter the last
week of the season with a 5½ game lead and a magic number of 5 over
Boston. Win three and it's over! Game 1:
Friday 9/25: Yankees 9-5 JAP named
Joba pitches well and gets the win! Six innings, 5 hits, 3
runs. Game 2: Saturday 9/26: Yankees 3-0 Sabathia 1 hit through 7 - bad
news the Yanks were 0-13 with RISP before Damon in the 8th. Game 3: Sunday
9/27: 4-2 Cano gets his 200th hit. this is the first time since the 19th
century that a 2B-SS combo have each gotten 200 hits in the same
season. After dropping the first 8 games to Boston, they wind up with a 9-9
season series. That never happened before! The Yankees clinch
the AL East! The Yankees are the only team with 100 wins. Sept - 30 - To close out his season,
JAP named Joba once again
pitched only 3.2 innings and gave up 3 runs. It's sad what they did to him. The
Yankees tied the game, but poor play in the field led to another KC
run. Oct - 2 - I hope this is just the post
clinch let down. CC was awful facing Tampa trying for his first 20 win season.
He was rocked for
9
runs in 2.3 innings. Let's hope they are over this.
Oct - 2 - The Yankees, with an A-Rod 3 run homer, set a
new team record of 243 home runs. Then in the same inning, Tampa
intentionally
walks Teixeira to pitch to A-Rod and A-Rod delivers with a grand slam
(7 RBI in one inning - an AL record). Giving him 30 HR and 100 RBI after
missing 38 games for the hip surgery. Homers on his first and last pitch he
saw. In relief in the 7th, JAP named
Joba used only 7 pitches for three outs The Yankees finish with a
MLB best 103 - 59, with 244 homers and 915 runs scored.
Read about the
Post Season
2009 Preview
Sept 30 - no post season - Cashman
signs for at least three more years. Oct 7 -
Hitting coach Long is the only coach with a multi-year contract (corrected 10/10) that has a few years left on it. The hitting
was a collective 1.1 runs per game down from 2007. The top scoring team was
5.9/ 5.5 last year vs. this year, a loss of only .4 runs a game. While the
pitching wasn't terrible, the offense went missing with runners in scoring
position. Rumor has it that Mecham will be let go (or reassigned) in favor
of Willie Randolph. Summary of
Yankee player issues for
2009. Oct 15 - It's official, Bobby Meacham
will not return as third base coach in 2009. It seems to me the old saying,
If my kid misbehaves, discipline the kid in the next
seat. He was one of Girardi's choices for coaching and worked with Joe
in Florida. How do you blame him if the HITTERS weren't hitting with runners in
scoring position.
On
October 16, Tom Tresh passed away at the age of 71. He was the first
next Mickey Mantle I remember. He was Rookie of
the Year and hit WS homers off of Gibson and Koufax Rest in Peace, Tom.
Oct 16 - Andy Pettite says he
wants to play in 2009. Nov 4 - The Yankees
decline Giambi and Pavano options. Nov 5 - The
Yankees main need is C.C. Sabathia and a center fielder. Nov 6 - Tony Pena will be the bench coach in 2009, Rob
Thompson moves to third base and
Mick
Kelleher will coach at first. That should make the hitters hit better with runners in scoring
position. The Yankees declined Damaso Marte's option, but are in
negotiations with him to stay. On Nov. 12, they announced a 3 year $12 million
contract. Nov 13 -The Yankees traded Wilson
Betemit and two minor leaguers for firstbase/outfielder Nick Swisher who is a
lifetime .240 switch hitter. Nov 14 - The
Yankees offered C.C. Sabathia $140 million for six years, and that's before
negotiations began! Nov 19 -
Mike Mussina is retiring after his only 20 game
winning season. He's the first pitcher to retire after a 20 game winning season
since
Sandy Koufax (41 starts and 27-9) in 1966.
Hall of Fame, maybe. He is one of 20 pitchers with 100
games over .500. Sixteen of the others are in the HOF, but the other four
aren't eligible yet. So the quest for big pitchers continues. In
addition to C.C. Sabathia, they are looking at both A.J. Burnett and Derek
Lowe. Hal Steinbrenner was approved by the owners to head the Yankees in
fact, and immediately told Sabathia that the offer will not stand for
ever. Dec 10 - So, forever was about three
weeks. The Yankees and CC appear to have agreed to a $160 million, seven year
contract! Now the Yankees are going after Derek Lowe and AJ Burnett. To put
the Mets and Yankees new pitchers into perspective: Mets -
K-Rod: 3 years, 70 innings, $176,000 per inning Yankees - CC: 7 years, 200
innings, $115,000 per inning Dec 11 -
The Yankees trade Melky Cabrera for Mike Cameron (Brewers). Cameron will get
$10 million for one year (waiting on Austin Jackson to become
ready for the majors). But as of Dec 14
this is still on hold. But as of Dec 18 this is
will not happen. Dec 12 - The Yanks come to an
agreement with AJ Burnett and drop trying for Lowe. Reported $82 million five
years. Pettitte is mulling a final $10 million
offer. Dec 18 - With the Melky Cabrera for Mike
Cameron deal dead, rumor has it, the Yankees may go after Manny
Ramirez. Dec 23 - the Yankees sign Mark
Teixeira for eight years. He will play first base with Nick Swisher in the
outfield and backing up at first. Jan 26 - Andy
Pettitte agreed to a one year $5.5 million contract with incentives that could
bring the total to $12 million. Jan 28 - Our
old buddy Joe Torre writes a tell all book that so
far many folks panned as being harsh on some players and management of the
Yankees. Though I probably won't buy it for myself, from what
bad things I've heard, none of them seem to be
counter to my opinion of the players mentioned. One telling thing
I did
hear was the conflict between Lofton and Bernie Williams pertaining
to which would be on the All Star ballot. Bernie was put on it by a random
drawing (only one player per position could be included) and Lofton wanted
proof that the pick wasn't rigged! Feb 8 -
A-Fraud, as metioned in Torre's book turned into A-Roids when
Sports Illustrated announced that A-Rod
was one of 104 players who tested positive for steroids in 2003. These players
were the group that were tested as a preliminary to finding how widespread
steriods were in use in baseball. The current testing/penalty system was
implemented because this test show over 5% of the players tested positive.
These tests were supposed to be kept confidential, but the Players' Association
failed to destroy the samples and the associated list of players. The federal
probe into the BALCO case led to the samples/list being subpoenaed. In an
ESPN interview, he contradicted himself. At first he said he was sorry for
using steroids, but later said that he was unsure that he tested positve when
spoke on CBS 60 Minutes and said he never used steroids. Feb 18 - Stupid excuse or the
excuse was stupid? A-rod held the "I'm sorry and stupid"
press conference on the 17th. Most sports
writers and psychologists think he was insincere and incomplete in his
statement. He claimed youth (he was 24-27) and stupid for listening to his
cousin, who got over the
counter drugs from the Dominican Republic. They then injected them two or three
times a month for six months in each of the years. He claims he didn't know if
the treatments helped him or not, citing that his best years were before and
after (1999 and 2007) the three years in question (2001 to 2003). When asked if
his records should be expunged or his Hall of Fame potential should be denied,
he said it's not up to him to decide. He's also entitled to bonuses when he
reaches certain milestones in various offensive categories. It will be
interesting to see what he does with those bonuses when the time
comes. March 6 - Now
A-Rod is hurt and can't play in the
WBC
and perhaps a few weeks of the season. It started just after he reported
to the Dominican team. He was diagnosed with a cyst on his hip. He took an MRI
and they drained the cyst, but found a muscle tear. He'll be out for anywhere
from weeks to four months, depending on surgery or not. March 8 - A-Rod (Hip-Rod) elects
for surgery and will be out for 6 to 9 weeks. Return by June?
On
March, 25
Johnny Blanchard passed away at
76. He was one of the three catchers in 1961, who hit a collective 60 home
runs on the team that hit a record at that time of 241. At one time as part
time player, hit four homers in a
row over three games and came six inches from hitting a fifth.
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