Once More Unto the Breach for Jeter

Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more;
Or close the wall up with our English dead.
In peace there's nothing so becomes a man
As modest stillness and humility:
But when the blast of war blows in our ears,
Then imitate the action of the tiger;
Stiffen the sinews, summon up the blood,
Disguise fair nature with hard-favour'd rage;
Then lend the eye a terrible aspect;
Let pry through the portage of the head
Like the brass cannon; let the brow o'erwhelm it
As fearfully as doth a galled rock
O'erhang and jutty his confounded base,
Swill'd with the wild and wasteful ocean.
Now set the teeth and stretch the nostril wide,
Hold hard the breath and bend up every spirit
To his full height. On, on, you noblest English.
Whose blood is fet from fathers of war-proof!
-- William Shakespeare, opening lines, Henry V

Tonight, weather permitting, the New York Yankees shall play Derek Jeter's last home game.

It would be a terrible pity if the game gets rained out (and, at this writing, it still might), and last night's debacle was his last.

*

I'm 2 games behind in my blogging. On Tuesday night, the Yankees fell behind the Baltimore Orioles 4-0, and looked pathetic. Brandon McCarthy didn't have it, and the bats gave him little backup.

The Yankees clawed back, thanks in part to Brian McCann. He got 2 hits, including his 23rd home run of the season, to raise his batting average to... .235. Still pathetic, for the money the Yankees are paying him.

The Yankees could get no closer than 5-4. WP: Ubaldo Jimenez (6-9). SV: Zach Britton (36). LP: McCarthy (10-15).

*

Then, yesterday afternoon -- I don't know why it was an afternoon game when it wasn't a weekend day or a getaway day -- the Yankees were even worse. They gave Shane Greene a 3-0 lead after 3 innings, but, in the 4th, he completely imploded, allowing 6 runs.

Homers by Stephen Drew (his 7th, raising his average to .165), Chase Headley (his 13th, rasing his average to .242) and Mark Teixeira (his 22nd, raising his average to .219) were not enough. Orioles 9, Yankees 5. WP: Bud Norris (15-8). SV: Darren O'Day (4). LP: Greene (5-4).

With the loss, the Yankees were eliminated from postseason eligibility with 4 games to go. This is only the 3rd time since the Strike year of 1994 that the Yankees haven't made the Playoffs, and the 1st time since 1992-93 that we haven't made it in back-to-back full seasons.

*

The Orioles have clinched the American League Eastern Division, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim the AL West, the Washington Nationals the National League East, and the Los Angeles Dodgers the NL West, by virtue of beating their arch-rivals, the San Francisco Giants, last night.

The St. Louis Cardinals are likely to win the NL Central, while the AL Central remains up for grabs between the Detroit Tigers and Kansas City Royals. The Tigers have clinched at least a Wild Card berth. The Royals are likely to win at least the other Wild Card, making the Playoffs for the 1st time since 1985 -- 29 years. This would leave the Toronto Blue Jays, who haven't made it since winning the 1993 World Series, as the only current Major League Baseball team that has not made the Playoffs in the 21st Century. The Oakland Athletics are likely to win the other AL Wild Card, while the Seattle Mariners and Cleveland Indians still have remote chances. The Giants and the Pittsburgh Pirates have clinched the NL Wild Cards.

The Yankees? 51 postseason berths (not counting 1994, when they were in 1st place when the Strike ended the season), 48 1st-place finishes, 40 Pennants, and 27 World Championships.

The teams that are likely to play in this year's postseason? The Cardinals have won 11 titles, the A's 9 (if you count the 5 they won in Philadelphia), the Giants 7 (if you count the 5 they won in New York), the Dodgers 6 (if you count the 1 they won in Brooklyn), the Pirates 5, the Tigers 4, the Orioles 3, the Angels and Royals 1 each, the Nationals none (not even as the Montreal Expos).

If you only count what they've won in their current cities, between them, those 10 teams have won 36 World Series -- the Yankees have won 75 percent of that total all by themselves.

None of which helps the Yankees this season.

And so, the only pressure on the Yankees tonight -- presuming the game is played, and, at the moment, is still scheduled -- is to get a win in Derek Jeter's last home game.

Hiroki Kuroda is scheduled to start for the Yankees, Kevin Gausman for the Orioles.

Come on you Pinstripes. The only thing left to do it for is the Captain.

Because, after tonight, the next time we see Derek Jeter in a Yankee home uniform, it will be on Old-Timers' Day.

Yogi Called. He Said, "It's Over."

After last night's rain-forced doubleheader with the Baltimore Orioles at Camden Yards, I wouldn't have been surprised if Yogi Berra had called and said, "It's over."

The 1st game was bad enough. Brandon McCarthy pitched the 1st 7 innings, allowing no runs, 4 hits, and no walks. Dellin Betances was a little shaky in the 8th, David Robertson in the 9th and 10th. But after 10 innings, the O's hadn't scored.

Neither had the Yankees. It was pathetic: The New York Yankees should be able to score at least 1 run in 10 innings, especially at the Baltimore Bandbox.

Then, in the top of the 11th, Chris Young, the previous night's walkoff home run hero, struck again, with his 10th home run of the season (3rd as a Yankee). One-nil to the Bronx Bombers.

Then Joe Girardi thought, "You know what would be fun? Giving Uncle Mike a stroke by putting Adam Warren in to close this out."

And this is what Warren allowed: Walk, sacrifice bunt, hit-by-pitch, strikeout, walk, 2-RBI double.

Orioles 2, Yankees 1. WP: Brad Brach (7-1). No save. LP: Warren (3-6).

*

Whether the 1st game was our most depressing loss of the season or not, the 2nd game was probably the nail in the coffin for our postseason hopes.

The Yankees sent Bryan Mitchell, with all of 2 major league innings under his belt, out to start this game. He didn't pitch badly: 5 innings, 2 runs, 6 hits, 2 walks.

At this point, the Yankees only trailed 2-0. The game was still very much in reach, even for a Yankee team that can't hit water if it falls out of a fucking boat. (Yes, that was a Bull Durham reference.)

Then Girardi thought, "You know what would be fun? Not letting the kid who's cruising try to prove himself with a 6th inning. Let's wear out the bullpen again."

Josh Outman pitched a perfect 6th. Did Girardi leave him in, to prove his name apt? Is the Pope Buddhist? Girardi sent David Phelps out to pitch the 7th. Boy, has Phelps dropped off the map. He allowed 2 more runs, and the game, and the season, was essentially over.

Orioles 5, Yankees 0. WP: Bud Norris (13-8). No save. LP: Mitchell (0-1).

The Yankees only got 4 hits. In 19 innings yesterday, they scored exactly 1 run.

*

The Yankees are now 5 games out of the 2nd Wild Card berth, with 16 games to play. It's over. Done. Fugeddaboutit.

The series continues this afternoon. Shane Greene starts against Miguel Gonzalez.

For all the good it will do to play this game, and the 15 after it.

Yankees Embarrass Themselves On Derek Jeter Day

On Saturday, the Yankees bounced back, getting some runs against the Kansas City Royals. Martin Prado went 3-for-4, including 2 doubles. Ichiro Suzuki had 2 hits. So did John Ryan Murphy, returning to the team as a September callup. Five different Yankees had RBIs: Ichiro, Mark Teixeira, Jacoby Ellsbury, Carlos Beltran, and Derek Jeter.

Brandon McCarthy took the hint, and pitched well into the 7th inning. He's now 6-4 as a Yankee. The bullpen of Shawn Kelley, Dellin Betances and David Robertson pitched 2 2/3 perfect innings (no save).

Danny Duffy started for the Royals, but had to leave the game after throwing only 1 pitch, due to pain in his shoulder. Last year, he had surgery on his throwing elbow, so the Royals have reason to be concerned for his future as a pitcher. He was relieved by Liam Hendriks, and he only went 4 innings on virtually no notice (1-1).

Yankees 6, Royals 2.

*

Yesterday was Derek Jeter Day. On hand were his parents, his grandmother, his sister, his nephew, Reggie Jackson, Dave Winfield, Joe Torre, best friend Jorge Posada, Mariano Rivera, Bernie Williams, Paul O'Neill, David Cone, Tino Martinez, Tim Raines, Hideki Matsui, Commissioner-elect Rob Manfred (I guess Bud Selig had to attend a luncheon in Cleveland, a la Bowie Kuhn blowing off Hank Aaron for his 715th home run), former trainer Gene Monahan, Gerald Williams and Harold Reynolds (the last 2 as friends of Derek's, since Gerald didn't win anything as a Yankee and Reynolds never played for us) -- but, strangely, not Andy Pettitte. Only 3 of the Core Four were there.

Also on hand was Cal Ripken, the only man besides Jeter who could, legitimately, be called the greatest shortstop in American League history. And Michael Jordan was a guest. Presumably, he wanted to remind Jeter that, even if he's no longer working for the Yankees come November 1 -- or, more likely, come September 29 -- he still works for Nike and Gatorade.

Let the record show that the NBA made things easier for Jordan, and he won 6 titles; MLB made things harder for Jeter's team (by enabling their opponents to headhunt and use steroids, but not letting the Yankees do the same thing), and he still won 5 titles.

Obviously, since Derek's career statistics are not yet finalized, they couldn't give him his Monument Park Plaque. But neither did they officially retire his Number 2. Just as they didn't retire O'Neill's 21, even though no one (with a very brief, dubious exception) has worn it since he retired. They did retire Mariano's 42 while he was still active (albeit for 1 more week). It's clear that no future Yankee will ever have the guts to ask for Number 2; if any does, he might get released on the spot. So why not retire it now?

Derek's speech was short. He thanked his family, and his teammates collectively, mentioning only Torre and the Steinbrenner family by name. He added:

Lastly and most importantly, I want to thank you, the fans. Anyone who is here today, anyone who is at home watching, anyone who has ever been over the course, over the last 20 seasons, thank you very much. You guys have watched me grow up over the last 20 years. I've watched you, too. Some of you guys are getting older, too. I want to thank you for helping me feel like a kid the last 20 years.

In my opinion, I’ve had the greatest job in the world: I’ve had the chance to be the shortstop for the New York Yankees, and there’s only one of those.

I always felt as though my job was to try to provide joy and entertainment for you guys. But it can’t compare to what you’ve brought me, so for that, thank you very much.

He began to walk off, and hand off the microphone, then stepped back, and said, "And, hey, we've got a game to play!"

Always focused on the task at hand. That is Derek Jeter.

Unfortunately, his teammates didn't seem to get the message. As they so often do on celebration days, such as Old-Timers' Day and Monument Park dedications, they embarrassed their assembled greats.

Jeter got a hit -- Number 3,450 -- and so did Ellsbury, Beltran and Teixeira. But that was it. Yankee starter Shane Greene made a throwing error to allow a run in the 2nd, and he allowed another run on a single in the 3rd. The Yankees should have been able to overcome that, but they didn't. As on Friday night, they went out meekly.

Royals 2, Yankees 0.  WP: Yordano Ventura (12-9). SV: Wade Davis (2 -- both in this series). LP: Greene (4-3).

*

So, with 3 weeks left, just 21 games, the Yankees are 9 1/2 games behind the Baltimore Orioles in the American League Eastern Division, 9 in the loss column. Forget it: The O's have it wrapped up.

The Yankees are 4 1/2 games, 4 in the loss column, behind the Seattle Mariners for the 2nd AL Wild Card berth.

It looks bad. How bad? ESPN says that the Yankees currently have a 1.7 percent chance of making the Playoffs.

Missing the Playoffs in his last 2 seasons is bad by Derek Jeter's standards, but at least he's not as far out of it as Mickey Mantle was in his last 4.

If the current standings turn out to be the final ones, here's the Playoff picture:

AL: Seattle at Oakland, winner to face Anaheim; Kansas City vs. Baltimore.

NL: Pittsburgh at San Francisco, winner to face Washington; Los Angeles vs. St. Louis.

That's All We Got?

My home computer's difficulties have made updating this blog incredibly difficult. It's been 6 days since I could last do so.

So I start with the first game that I wasn't able to post: Last Wednesday, August 27, the 2nd game of a 3-game series in Detroit against the Tigers.

This was a good game. In fact, it contained the biggest inning the Yankees had in years, the 3rd inning, against David Price, the former Tampa Bay Rays ace that the Tigers thought would solidify their chance at the American League Pennant. Now, they're not even in 1st place in the AL Central. If the current standings hold, they'll be one of the AL Wild Cards.

The Yankees should have such problems, and no more.

Here's that 3rd inning:

Jacoby Ellsbury led off with a single. He stole 2nd.

Derek Jeter doubled him home. 1-0 Yankees.

Martin Prado singled Jeter over to 3rd.

Mark Teixeira doubled off the wall. Jeter scored. 2-0 Yankees.

Carlos Beltran singled. Prado scored. 3-0 Yankees.

Brian McCain singled. Teix scored. 4-0 Yankees.

Chase Headley singled, loading the bases with nobody out.

Brett Gardner grounded to short, too deep for a double play, and beat it out. Beltran scored. 5-0 Yankees. Five runs in, bases still loaded, still nobody out.

Francisco Cervelli singled. McCann scored. 6-0 Yankees. Six runs in, bases still loaded, still nobody out.

Price was relieved. His team wasn't. The Yankees had now batted around, all 9 men reaching base.

Ellsbury flew to left, a sacrifice fly. Finally, the 1st out. Headley scored. 7-0 Yankees.

Jeter flew to center. Gardner scored. 8-0 Yankees.

Prado grounded to 3rd, the Tigers finally stopping the bleeding.

For a fan who's spent the better part of 3 seasons wondering why the Bronx Bombers haven't been doing enough bombing, it was truly something to behold. And to wonder we can't do half that (4-run innings) more often.

The Tigers scored single runs in the 4th, 6th, 8th and 9th innings, but didn't get close. Yankees 8, Tigers 4.

WP: Shane Greene (4-1). No save. LP: Price (12-10).

*

The Yankees and Tigers played the rubber game of the series the next afternoon, and the Yankees went back into RISPfail mode. An Ellsbury single in the 3rd and a McCann single in the 4th drove in runs, but that was it. There were only 3 other hits. Hiroki Kuroda pitched well in vain, and Shawn Kelley blew a 2-2 tie in the bottom of the 9th, thanks to an RBI single by Alex Avila.

To make matters worse, 2 former Yankee pitchers benefited from the Yankees' ineptitude: Joba Chamberlain (in full mountain-man mode with that beard that he wasn't allowed to grow as a Yankee) and Phil Coke (the 2008-09 edition of the lefty reliever who the Yankees should never, ever bring in, although they won the 2009 World Series in spite of him).

Tigers 3, Yankees 2. WP: Coke (2-2). LP: Kelley (2-5). So we dropped 2 of 3 to the contending Tigers.

*

The Yankees then went to Toronto to play those pesky Blue Jays. On Friday night, they trailed 1-0 going into the 7th, and there was a feeling that the single Toronto run was going to hold up.

It didn't. It wasn't quite the 8-run outburst of 2 days earlier, but the Yankees got a nice rally going against Mark Buehrle, who'd pitched pretty well thus far. McCann doubled to deep right. Beltran walked. Brett Gardner hit a drive to deep right for another double, scoring McCann and Beltran. 2-1 Yankees. Ichiro Suzuki beat out an infield single. Buerhle was removed for Aaron Loup. Headley struck out. Then Joe Girardi ordered a double steal, and the Jays' catcher, former Yankee Dioner Navarro, threw it away. Gardner scored. 3-1. Then Ellsbury cranked one to right, his 14th home run of the season. 5-1.

Chris Capuano, pitching one of his best games all season, took that lead into the bottom of the 7th, but ran out of gas. Adam Warren finished the 7th, but couldn't finish the 8th.

Neither could Josh Outman, making his 1st Yankee appearance, a lefthander about to turn 30, and mediocre in the majors thus far, whom the Yankees just got in a waiver deal with the Cleveland Indians. "Outman." Great name for a pitcher! But bad uniform number: 48, the same number as was worn on the Yankees as Coke, "Kerosene Kyle" Farnsworth and Boone "Fucking" Logan!

Robertson had to get a 4-out save. But, get it he did. Yankees 6, Blue Jays 3. WP: Capuano (2-3). SV: Robertson (35). LP: Buehrle (11-9).

*

Saturday, August 30, is the anniversary of the birth of my grandfather, George Golden, born George Goldberg in 1906, grew up in The Bronx, and became a Yankee Fan, and made me one. If he had watched this game, he would have said, "Oh, woe is me, woe is me, and a gevalt!"

In the top of the 4th, after Gardner and Jeter struck out, Beltran was hit with a pitch, and Teix doubled him over to 3rd. But he couldn't score. Then McCann was hit with a pitch to load the bases. It was only 2-0 Toronto at this point, so if Prado could get a hit, who knows? But he popped up to 3rd.

Beltran walked in the 6th. Stephen Drew walked in the 7th. That was it. That was all the baserunners for the Yankees in the game: One hit, 2 walks, 2 hit batsmen.

I'm reminded of the line that Bob Uecker used when playing Harry Doyle, the hard-drinking Cleveland broadcaster in the Major League films. He looked at his scoresheet at the end of the game, and said, on the air, "That's all we got? One goddamned hit?" His partner covered the microphone and said, "You can't say 'goddamned' on the air!" And Doyle said, "That's okay, no one's listening anyway."

In a case like that, you can't even credit the opposing pitcher -- in this case, Drew Hutchinson. He's not that good. The Yankees simply didn't hit.

And so, that 2-0 Jays lead held up. (9-11). SV: Sanchez (1). LP: Pineda (3-3).

*

On Sunday, Brandon McCarthy was fine for 5 innings. Thereafter, he gave up  3 Toronto homers: To Jose "Joey Bats" Bautista (Isn't it about time somebody tested this guy for steroids?), Edwin Encarnacion (one of those guys who always seems to do well against the Yankees), and to former Yankee hero, now known steroid cheat, Melky Cabrera (his 16th of the season, his 4th against his former team).

Blue Jays 4, Yankees 3. WP: J.A. Happ (9-8). SV: Casey Janssen (20). LP: McCarthy (5-4 since joining the Yankees).

*

And so, with less than 4 weeks remaining in the regular season, with 27 games to go, the Yankees are 8 1/2 games (8 in the loss column) behind the Baltimore Orioles for the AL Eastern Division title. We are 4 games (3 in the loss column) behind the Tigers for the 2nd AL Wild Card slot.

And now, in the middle of a slump, the Yankees come home... to face the Boston Red Sox. True, The Scum are well out of the race, but they will do anything to beat the Yankees. Not "anything within the rules," but "anything."

These next 3 games could be very long -- not just officially.

Yanks Make It 5 Straight Before Last Night's Loss

On Monday night, the Yankees flew to Kansas City to play a rainout-makeup against the Royals. Michael Pineda continued his return from injury. Starting for KC was James Shields, the former Tampa Bay Rays ace who is the biggest reason the Royals are leading the AL Central and threatening for their 1st postseason berth in 29 years.

The teams traded single runs in the 4th inning -- the New York run coming on Stephen Drew's 6th home run of the season -- and the Yankees got another in the 5th. But the 7th inning was the decisive one. Martin Prado homered for the 2nd straight game, his 9th of the year, part of a 4-run outburst. Jacoby Ellsbury added a homer in the 9th, his 11th -- and some of you were afraid he wouldn't reach double figures all season.

The big lead meant that Joe Girardi could, more or less, rest the bullpen in spite of Pineda still working his way back up to full fitness. Pineda pitched into the 7th, and David Huff held the Royals scoreless the rest of the way.

Yankees 8, Royals 1. WP: Pineda (3-2). No save. LP: Shields (12-7).

*

And then the Yankees began the regularly-scheduled part of their roadtrip: 3 games in Detroit against the Playoff-contending Tigers, followed by 3 games in Toronto against the hopeless, but probably still pesky, Blue Jays.

Brandon McCarthy started for the Yankees. He was okay for 5 innings, but fell apart in the 6th. Rick Porcello was really on his game for the Tigers, allowing only 2 runs, both solo homers by Ellsbury (giving him 13 round-trippers on the season).

Tigers 5, Yankees 2. WP: Porcello (15-8). SV: Joe Nathan (28). LP: McCarthy (8-13).

*

With 32 games to go, the Yankees are 7 games behind the Baltimore Orioles in the AL East, and 3 1/2 games (3 in the loss column) behind the Seattle Mariners for the 2nd AL Wild Card spot.

It's still possible that the Yankees can make the Playoffs.

The series with the Tigers continues tonight at Comerica Park. Shane Greene starts for us, David Price for them.

Come on you Bombers!

McCarthy Masterpiece Snaps Yanks Out of It

On Wednesday night, the Yankees found a way to lose a 2nd straight game to the 2010s Houston Astros.

You're supposed to beat the crap teams. Not just when you're the New York Yankees, but when you're any team worth its salt.

Michael Pineda made his 2nd start after coming of the Disabled List, and this time Joe Girardi let him pitch 6 full innings. He allowed a run in the top of the 4th, but the Yankees tied the game with a home run in the bottom of the inning by Stephen Drew.

In the 5th, Ichiro Suzuki singled, stole 2nd, and advanced to 3rd on a Derek Jeter groundout. Jacoby Ellsbury put on the suicide squeeze, and not only did Ichiro score, but the play was to the plate, so Ellsbury got to 1st. But a Mark Teixeira groundout ended the threat.

Still, it was 2-1 Yankees going into the 7th inning. And Girardi let Pineda stay in.

Now he makes the opposite mistake: Leaving him in too long. It wasn't a mistake because of the risk to his arm, but because he got tired. He walked the leadoff man.

And then Girardi brings in David Huff. He got a strikeout, but then allowed a single.

And then Girardi, probably reading the damned binder again, pulls Huff for Esmil Rogers. He allowed 4 straight singles, to make it 5-2 Astros, before he finally struck out the last 2 batters.

Only the Yankee bullpen under Joe Girardi could strike out the side while allowing 4 runs and blowing the game.

The Yankees got 2nd & 3rd in the 7th, but Ellsbury struck out. And they got 1st & 2nd in the bottom of the 9th, bringing up the tying run. But it was Ellsbury again, and he flew out.

WP: Scott Feldman (7-9). SV: Jose Veras -- yes, the former Yankee (1). LP: Huff (2-1).

*

Going into yesterday afternoon, the Yankees were as bad as they've been all season. In order to have any real hope of the Playoffs, a win was necessary.

Brandon McCarthy started for the Yankees. Dallas Keuchel started for the Astros. Yes, a pitcher named Dallas started for Houston. (Reggie Cleveland pitched for several teams, but never for Cleveland or Cincinnati.)

What's stranger: That a Yankee game in the 21st Century lasted only 2 hours and 7 minutes, or that a Major League Baseball game in the 21st Century saw both starting pitchers pitch complete games?

McCarthy was masterful. He went the entire way, allowing no runs, just 4 hits, and no walks. He struck out 8, although that's just a footnote.

But you gotta give your pitcher runs, or it doesn't matter how good he is. Teix led off the 2nd inning with a single. Martin Prado doubled. Chase Headley doubled them home. Francisco Cervelli grounded out, pushing Headley to 3rd with only 1 out. Ichiro hit a sacrifice fly to get him home.

After that, it was the Brandon McCarthy Show. The Astros couldn't touch him. This guy, who was 1-10 on the season before the Yankees got him, has been fantastic. Even when he's lost for us, he's been more unlucky than ineffective. We Yankee Fans get on general manager Brian Cashman's case a lot, but this was a good pickup.

Yankees 3, Astros 0. WP: McCarthy (5-2 as a Yankee -- 6-12 overall). No save. LP: Keuchel (10-9).

*

The Yankees are 8 1/2 games behind the Baltimore Orioles in the American League Eastern Divison, and 4 games behind the Detroit Tigers for the 2nd AL Wild Card slot.

There are 27 games left. In other words, to win the Division, we would have to gain a game every 3 games; and to win the Wild Card, we would have to gain a game ever 7 games.

The former is incredibly unlikely. The latter is still possible.

Tonight, we begin a 3-game home series with the Chicago White Sox. Here are the projected starting pitchers:

* Tonight, 7:05:  Shane Greene vs. John Danks.

* Tomorrow, 1:05: Hiroki Kuroda vs. Scott Carroll.

* Sunday, 1:05: Chris Capuano vs. Chris Sale. (Yeah, forget about the Yankees winning that one.)

After that: A travel day, 3 games in Detroit, 3 in Toronto, a travel day, 3 at home to Boston, 3 at home to Kansas City, a day off, 3 at home to Tampa Bay, 3 in Baltimore, 3 in Tampa Bay, 4 at home to Toronto, 4 in Baltimore (Jeter's last home series unless we make the Playoffs), and we close the season with 3 in Boston (Jeter's last series period unless we make the Playoffs).

It's still possible. Come on you Pinstripes!

What the Yankees Are Doing Is Unacceptable

Losing 5 straight is bad enough. But losing 5-0 to the dessicated husk of the Tampa Bay Rays? The ghost of Mickey Mantle demands an explanation for this bullshit!

I don't blame Brandon McCarthy (4-2 since coming to the Yankees). He got into the 7th inning, and allowed only 2 earned runs. But a pair of Yankee errors made him the losing pitcher. (Alex Cobb was the winner for the Rays, 8-6.)

I blame the hitters, and hitting instructor Kevin Long, who really must go. He's been holding the Yankees back, especially from early 2012 onward.

The Yankees went down 1-2-3 in the 1st and the 6th. They wasted leadoff singles by Mark Teixeira in the 2nd and the 7th, Stephen Drew in the 3rd, Derek Jeter in the 4th and Chase Headley in the 5th. Thanks to a wild pitch, Jeter actually reached 2nd with nobody out. It was only 2-0 Tampa at that point, and the Yankees were very much in the game.

The Yankees had the bases loaded with 1 out in the 8th, when it was 4-0 and a home run would have tied the game, and had Jacoby Ellsbury and then Teix coming up. But both of them struck out. And then they went down 1-2-3 in the 9th.

Rays 5, Yankees 0. Do I credit the opposition here? No, because it isn't any good anymore. The Rays have had to struggle to get back to .500. (Soon, the Yankees will, too -- from the other direction!)

So who's to blame? Joe Girardi? Kevin Long? Larry Rothschild? Brian Cashman? Hal Steinbrenner? Hank Steinbrenner?

Something must be done. This is unacceptable.

The series continues today, a 4:10 PM start for the Fox Game of the Week broadcast. Shane Greene starts against Drew Smyly.

Yanks Trudge Into Biggest Series of Year After 2 Bad Losses

There was so much optimism in Yankeedom as the 2nd half of the season went on. It's mostly gone now.

Saturday, in addition to being the 2nd game of a 3-game home series against the Cleveland Indians, was Paul O'Neill Day. For some reason, Paulie Pinstripes did not get his Number 21 official retired. Here's the text of his Monument Park Plaque:

PAUL ANDREW O'NEILL
"THE WARRIOR"
NEW YORK YANKEES
1993-2001

AN INTENSE COMPETITOR AND TEAM LEADER,
O'NEILL WAS BELOVED FOR HIS RELENTLESS
PURSUIT OF PERFECTION. IN NINE SEASONS
WITH THE YANKEES, HE WON FOUR WORLD
SERIES AND MADE FOUR ALL-STAR TEAMS,
COMPILING A .303 BATTING AVERAGE WITH
185 HOME RUNS AND 858 RBIS. WAS ALSO
KNOWN FOR HIS STRONG ARM AND
RELIABLE GLOVE IN RIGHT FIELD.
WON 1994 AL BATTING CROWN
WITH A .359 AVERAGE.

DEDICATED BY THE
NEW YORK YANKEES
AUGUST 9, 2014

Then, as they did earlier this year when Tino Martinez and Goose Gossage got their Plaques, with some of their storied teammates on hand (in Paul's case: Tino, Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, David Cone, Jorge Posada, current manager Joe Girardi and former manager Joe Torre), the Yankees embarrassed their visiting legends.

Brandon McCarthy didn't pitch badly, but when your team doesn't score any runs, you're not going to win. It really pisses me off when people say, "Defense/Pitching wins championships." No. It doesn't. It never has, and it never will. All defense and pitching can do is hold off the opposition well enough to give your offense the chance to win.

McCarthy pitched into the 7th inning, allowing 2 runs on 7 hits and no walks, but the Yankees got only 5 hits all game long: Doubles by Jacoby Ellsbury and Brett Gardner, and singles by Ellsbury, Jeter and Ichiro Suzuki. Chase Whitley allowed an additional run, on a home run by Michael Brantley, but even when it was only 2-0, I never felt that the Yankees were going to win.

Indians 3, Yankees 0. WP: Corey Kluber (13-6). SV: Cody Allen (15). LP: McCarthy (7-11).

*

Then, yesterday, the Yankee bats looked even more anemic. Hiroki Kuroda didn't get out of the 5th inning, and it wouldn't have mattered if he had. Ellsbury singled in the 1st, Stephen Drew singled in the 2nd, and then there wasn't another baserunner until Mark Teixeira singled in the 7th.

Ichiro doubled in the 8th, and Ellsbury hit a home run in the 9th, his 10th homer of the season. That was it.

Indians 4, Yankees 1. WP: Carlos Carrasco (4-4). No save. LP: Kuroda (7-8).

*

So, now, there are 7 weeks left in the regular season, and here's how the AL East stands:

Baltimore 67-50, .573
Toronto 63-56, .529, 5 games behind, 6 in the loss column
YANKEES 61-56, .521, 6 back
Tampa Bay 57-60, .487, 10 back
Boston 52-65, .444, 15 back

Now, making up 6 games in 7 weeks doesn't sound too hard, but when you consider that the Yankees have allowed 25 runs more than they've scored, it makes you wonder how they're 5 games over .500, let alone in the race at all. For the 2nd AL Wild Card, we're 2 1/2 games back.

The good news is, the Yankees now have a chance to do something about it: We start a 3-game series against the 1st-place Baltimore Orioles. The bad news is, the same thing: The Orioles could pretty much bury us, at least as far as the Division is concerned.

Clearly, this is the biggest series of the season. If we can take at least 2 out of 3, there will be bigger series. If we don't... then, once the Wild Card race sees most of the other teams drop out, we'll see who we need to beat out, and that will be the biggest.

There is one new piece of optimism: On Wednesday, Michael Pineda will be activated from the Disabled List, and he will start against the Orioles.

Here are the projected pitching matchups for this series, with all 3 games having a scheduled start time of 7:05 PM:

* Tonight: Chris Capuano vs. Bud Norris.
* Tomorrow: Shane Greene vs. Wei-Yin Chen.
* Wednesday: Pineda vs. Chris Tillman.

And if you need a pick-me-up: Tomorrow at noon, the YES Network will be showing Game 1 of the 1996 World Series, the Jeffrey Maier Game. They're showing it because it was against this opponent, the Orioles.

Brandon McCarthy Outpitches Max Scherzer. Seriously.

The Yankees went into this 4-game series with the Detroit Tigers as serious underdogs: In addition to all their difficulties this season, the Tigers lead the AL Central, and, after the trading deadline, now have the last 3 AL MVPs and the last 3 AL Cy Young winners.

One of those Cy winners, the defending one, Max Scherzer, took the mound for them last night. For the Yankees... uh, Brandon McCarthy?

Well, McCarthy and 4 relievers -- Matt Thornton, Adam Warren, Shawn Kelley and David Robertson -- combined to allow not one single solitary earned run. The only Tiger run came in the 5th inning, as a result of an error by new 3rd baseman Martin Prado, a stolen base, and a single by Ian Kinsler.

Scherzer only allowed 2 runs himself, but, this time, the Yankees scoring only 2 runs was enough. Both came in the bottom of the 3rd: Ichiro Suzuki (remember him?) led off with a single, Brett Gardner (who must be exhausted from all those home runs) followed with another, and Derek Jeter (you may have heard of him) added another.

With the bases loaded and nobody out, logic dictated that runs would come home; 2012 to present Yankee experience suggested a massive "Yankee RISPfail."

There wasn't much RISPfail: Jacoby Ellsbury hit a sacrifice fly to get Ichiro home. Carlos Beltran lined out, but Brian McCann singled home Gardner.

That was it: Yankees 2, Tigers 1. WP: McCarthy (4-0). SV: Robertson (30). LP: Scherzer (13-4).

The series continues tonight. Hiroki Kuroda starts for the Yankees, while David Price, newly acquired from the dessicated husk of the Tampa Bay Rays' 2008-13 "dynasty," makes his first start for the Michigan club.

In other news, Shane Victorino of the Red Sox is having back surgery, and will be out for the season.

Funny, I really liked "The Flyin' Hawaiian" when he was a Phillie. Met fans called him a whole bunch of nasty names. I presumed it was because he made the Mets look like bums. (Not that they needed his help.) But now that he's on the Red Sox, I'm beginning to see their point.

Yankees Score 12 Runs. And It's Almost Not Enough.

Every now and then, the Yankees have one of those games that makes you say, "I wish they'd saved some of those runs for later." It usually happens when they're about to play the Red Sox, especially at Fenway Park.

And what's the next series on the Yankee schedule? Well, lookee what we have here: A trip to Boston to play the Red Sox at Fenway.

So what happened last night, against the Texas Rangers? The Yankees scored 12 runs.

Legend has it that, after a 1964 afternoon game in which the Mets beat the Chicago Cubs 19-1 -- wins were rare for them in their early years, never mind blowout wins -- a fan, unable to watch or listen to the game because he was at work, called up one of the New York newspapers (no Internet in those days) and asked how the Mets did. He was told, "Great, they scored 19 runs!" And the fan, who knew his Mets, asked, "Did they win?"

*

Last night, Brett Gardner continued his hot hitting by leading off the game with a home run, his 13th of the season. But the Rangers tagged Brandon McCarthy for 4 runs, and led 4-1 after 5.

Then came the 6th inning, perhaps the best Yankee inning of the season so far. Gardner led off again, off Ranger starter Nick Martinez, and doubled to right. Jeter beat out an infield singled. Jacoby Ellsbury popped up, but a wild pitch moved Gardner to 3rd and Jeter to 2nd.

Mark Teixeira returned from injury, and drew a walk to load the bases. Carlos Beltran singled Gardy and the Captain home. 4-3 Rangers. Brian McCann hit a sacrifice fly to get Teix home. Tie game. Chase Headley drew a walk.

That was enough for Ranger manager Ron Washington, as he brought Shawn Tolleson -- son of 1980s Yankee reserve and Rangers starting infielder Wayne Tolleson -- in to relieve Martinez. But Zoilo Amonte, back from the minors, singled home Beltran to give the Yankees the lead.

Brendan Ryan, who's been completely unreliable with the bat, doubled home Headley and Almonte. 7-4. Yankees. The Yanks had batted around, and Gardner came up again, and reached on an error. 8-4. Yankees.

The Yankees scored twice more in the 7th, and it was 10-4 Yankees. Surely, the Yankees weren't going to blow a 6-run lead with 9 outs to go.

J.P. Arencibia hit his 2nd home run of the game, a grand slam off Dellin Betances after Adam Warren loaded the bases. 10-8 Yankees.

Teixeira sent a Teix Message in the top of the 8th (18 homers in July is pretty good for a player who's been injured), and that made it 12-8 Yankees. Surely, the Yankees weren't going to blow an 4-run lead with 6 outs to go.

The Rangers closed to within 12-9 in the bottom of the 8th. Surely, the Yankees weren't going to blow a 3-run lead with 3 outs to go.

David Robertson came in to close it out. The 1st batter he faced was Arencibia. D-Rob struck him out.

But Leonys Martin singled. Robinson Chirinos walked, and was replaced by pinch-runner Daniel Robertson. Now the tying run was at the plate.

Rougned Odor grounded out to move the runners over. Shin-Soo Choo walked to load the bases. Now the tying run was on 1st, and the winning run was at the plate.

Elvis Andrus singled home Martin and Robertson. 12-11. Now the tying run was at 2nd, and the winning run was on 1st. And Joe Girardi had already used Warren, Betances and Chase Whitley. And who's left in the bullpen that would inspire confidence in a Yankee Fan? Nobody. Girardi was going to live or die with Robertson.

Robertson walked Alex Rios. Bases loaded. Now the tying run was at 3rd, the winning run at 2nd. Good thing there were 2 outs. Just 1 out to go. So near, and yet so far away.

That home run that Beltre had hit earlier? It was the 391st of his career. That's 1 more than Graig Nettles, 2 more than Johnny Bench. More than Joe DiMaggio, Yogi Berra, Johnny Mize, Jim Rice, Dwight Evans, Frank Howard and Dick Allen. And only a few less than Dale Murphy, Al Kaline and Duke Snider.

It was the 2,541st hit of his career. That's more than anyone has had in a Yankee uniform aside from Jeter, Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig.

And all he needed to at least tie the game, and probably win it, was a single.

I remembered the Yankee game of May 16, 2006. Playing at the old Stadium, they fell behind the Rangers 9-0 and 10-1, stormed back to 12-12 after 7, and trailed 13-12 in the bottom of the 9th, and won it 14-13 on a home run by Jorge Posada.

Could this game be the Rangers' revenge for that, as the 2010 American League Championship Series was their revenge for beating them in the Division Series of 1996, '98 and '99?

A big chunk of the Yankee section of the Twitterverse was saying this would be the worst Yankee loss of the season. Some were saying that, even if we held on, it would feel like a loss. I have to admit, if you score 12 runs, and the game is still in doubt with 1 out to go, you shouldn't brag about it.

Beltre hit a long fly ball to left field. Some of us were sure it was another grand slam.

Gardner stood on the warning track, and hauled it in. Ballgame over. Yankees win. Theeee Yankees win... barely.

WP: McCarthy (3-0). SV: Robertson (27). LP: Martinez (1-7).

*

The series with the Rangers concludes tonight. The starting pitchers are Hiroki Kuroda for the Yankees, and Colby Lewis for the Rangers.

Tomorrow is a travel day, and then comes the weekend series against the Boston Red Scum.

Meanwhile, right now, Yankee Stadium is hosting a preseason "friendly" between 2 of England's biggest soccer teams, Liverpool and Manchester City.

The Yankee Stadium Bleachers are probably the closest thing in American sports to The Kop at Liverpool's historic Anfield.

Fenway's bleachers? Considering the Fenway animals, it's more like the Stretford End at Manchester United's Old Trafford.

Yankees Win for the Nieces and Me

Today was a very special day. For the 1st time, my 7-year-old nieces watched an entire Yankee game with me.

Making it imperative that the Yankees win.

But before I get to that, I forgot to discuss last night's Yankee game.

*

So after playing 14 innings against the Texas Rangers the night before, last night the Yankees only played 5. So that's 19, which comes out to 2 full and change.

David Phelps started against Yu Darvish. I was not optimistic. But Phelps was very strong over his 5 innings: One run, 5 hits, no walks.

In the bottom of the 3rd, with the Rangers up 1-0, Francisco Cervelli was on 3rd, and Brett Gardner was up. Darvish committed a balk, and that sent Cervelli home with the tying run.

Darvish must have been rattled, because he gave up a home run to Gardner. Imagine if, before the season started, I had told you that Gardner would have more home runs than Jacoby Ellsbury. You'd have thought I was crazy. But it's true: Gardner has 10, Ellsbury 8... and Robinson Cano 7.

In the bottom of the 5th, with the Yankees still up 2-1, the rains came. The umpires waited over 2 hours before calling it. With the home team up in the bottom of the 5th, the game was official. Yankees win.

WP: Phelps (5-4). No save. LP: Darvish (9-6).

*

Now, for this afternoon's game. Brandon McCarthy started, and, using the cutter that the Arizona Diamondbacks told him to stop throwing, pitched 6 very strong innings. He only allowed 1 run, and that was partly due to an error by Brian Roberts.

Chase Headley, doing very nicely since the Yankees got him a couple of days ago, singled home Gardner in the 4th. In the 5th, Cervelli doubled home Ichiro Suzuki, advanced to 3rd on a Brendan Ryan bunt, and scored on a sacrifice fly from Ellsbury.

Joe Girardi brought Adam Warren in to pitch the 7th, and he gave up a home run to J.P. Arencibia. A guy batting .133, and he hit 2 home runs in this series. Then Girardi brought in Matt Thornton to pitch to 1 lefty. It just occurred to me now that he wears Number 48, the same number as Boone Logan, Girardi's previous "Save me, lefty!" But Thornton got out of it.

My niece Rachel kept calling Girardi "Joe DiMaggio." I had to remind her that DiMaggio was a long time ago. But she was much more into the game than Ashley was. She heard the announcers mention that Girardi was wearing a wristband in connection with something that his daughter Lina was doing. Lina is the same age as my nieces, and Rachel noticeably perked up every time the cameras showed Girardi and his wristband.

Dellin Betances pitched a scoreless 8th, and then the Yankees got an insurance run when Brian McCann doubled home Carlos Beltran. David Robertson walked a batter in the 9th, but finished it off.

Yankees 4, Rangers 2. WP: McCarthy (5-10). SV: Robertson (25). LP: Colby Lewis (6-8). Happy Uncle: Me. Happy Nieces: Ashley and Rachel. And the time of the game, a very nice 2 hours and 47 minutes.

*

So the Yankees have now won 6 out of 7 since the All-Star Break. They are just 2 1/2 games behind the Baltimore Orioles for 1st place in the American League Eastern Division, and they have the 2nd AL Wild Card berth -- pending the results of tonight's games. All this despite loads of injuries, including to 4 of the 5 opening week starters.

There's still quite a bit of baseball to be played, and anybody who counted the Yankees out is looking pretty silly right about now.

By the way, during the game, I saw a fan in the Stadium bleachers wearing a 2005 Arsenal home shirt -- with the O2 sponsorship.

Just over 48 hours from kickoff between Arsenal and the Red Bulls at Red Bull Arena, and the Gooners aren't merely coming to New York and New Jersey... they're here!

*

Hours until the Arsenal-Red Bulls match at Red Bull Arena: 48. Just 5 days after that, Red Bull Arena will also host Bayern Munich, perennially and again Champions of Germany, vs. C.D. Chivas of Guadalajara, perhaps the most legendary club of Mexico.

Days until the next Yankees-Red Sox series begins: 8, a week from tomorrow night, at 7:00 PM, at Fenway Park.

Days until the Red Bulls next play a "derby": 9, a week from Saturday, at 7:00 PM, home to the New England Revolution. So that's New York vs. New England in both MLB and MLS.

Days until the 2014-15 Premier League season begins: 23, on Saturday, August 16, with Arsenal at home to Southeast London club Crystal Palace. A little over 3 weeks.

Days until Rutgers plays football again: 35, on Thursday, August 28, at 10:00 PM (7:00 local), away to Washington State, at CenturyLink Field, home of the NFL Champion Seattle Seahawks. Just 5 weeks.

Days until the U.S. national soccer team plays again: 41, on Wednesday, September 3, a friendly, away to the Czech Republic in Prague. The Czechs have given the U.S. trouble before, including a 3-0 humiliation at the 2006 World Cup. But things are different now. There's also discussions about playing Ireland away later in the year.

Days until East Brunswick High School plays football again: 42, on Thursday, September 4, home to Woodbridge. Just 6 weeks. It's on a Thursday night, rather than a Friday night, because of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year.

Days until Rutgers makes its Big Ten Conference debut: 51, on Saturday, September 13, at 8:00 PM, against old enemy Penn State. A little over 7 weeks.

Days until Derek Jeter's last regular-season home game (barring injury): 63, on Thursday, September 25, against the Baltimore Orioles. Exactly 9 weeks.

Days until the next North London Derby between Arsenal and Tottenham: 65, on Saturday, September 27, at the Emirates Stadium. Just over a month.

Days until Derek Jeter's last regular-season game (barring injury): 66, on Sunday, September 28, against the Red Sox at Fenway Park.

Days until the Devils play again: 77. They open on Thursday, October 9, away to the Philadelphia Flyers. Just 11 weeks. They once again get screwed by Commissioner Gary Bettman and his schedulemakers, this time having to play 4 road games before their home opener, on Saturday, October 18, at 7:00 PM, vs. the San Jose Sharks.

Days until the Devils play another local rival: See the previous answer. The 1st game against The Scum is Tuesday night, October 21, at the Prudential Center. The 1st game against the Islanders is Saturday night, November 29, at the Nassau Coliseum. The Devils' last trip to Uniondale, before the Isles move to Brooklyn, is Monday night, December 15.

Days until Game 7 of the 2014 World Series -- the absolute latest you can ever again see Derek Jeter in a competitive game: 97, on Wednesday, October 29. A little over 3 months, and no more Jeter -- not as an active player, anyway.

Days until the next East Brunswick vs. Old Bridge Thanksgiving game: 126, on Thursday morning, November 27, at 10:00 AM. A little over 4 months.

Days until New York City FC make their Major League Soccer debut: Unknown, but a new MLS season usually begins on the 2nd Saturday in March, which would be March 14, 2015. That's 233 days. Under 8 months. Whether it will be a home game, and thus at the new Yankee Stadium, is yet to be determined.

Days until Alex Rodriguez is eligible to play for the Yankees again: 251 -- presuming, that is, that 2015's Opening Day is on April 1, and wouldn't it just work out that way, that A-Rod is again allowed to play a regular-season game for the Yankees on April Fool's Day? Anyway, that's a little over 8 months.

Days until the New York Islanders' last game at the Nassau Coliseum: 261, on April 11, 2015, at 7:00 PM, against the Columbus Blue Jackets. Under 9 months.

Days until the Islanders' first home game at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn: Unknown, but an NHL regular season usually begins on the 1st Friday in October, which would be October 2, 2015. That's 436 days. That's a little over 14 months. Or, to put it another way, "436 Sleeps Till Brooklyn." Until then, even with their 4 straight long-ago Stanley Cups, they're just a Small Club In Hempstead.

Days until Euro 2016 begins in France: 688, on Friday, June 10. Under 2 years.

Days until the next Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: 745, on Friday, August 5, 2016. A little over 2 years.

Days until the next World Cup begins in Russia: 1,418, on Friday June 8, 2018. Under 4 years.

As Bad As It's Looked, It Doesn't Look So Bad

So far, so good for the Yankees in the 2nd half. On Saturday afternoon, Brandon McCarthy got his 1st Yankee win, going 6 innings against the Cincinnati Reds, allowing 1 run on 6 hits and no walks. Plus 9 strikeouts. (1-0)

He was boosted by a home run by Carlos Beltran in the 2nd, an RBI single by Brett Gardner in the 3rd, a Gardner sacrifice fly in the 5th, an RBI single right after that by some guy named Derek Jeter, knocking Alfredo Simon out of the box (12-4), and a Kelly Johnson 2-RBI single and another Gardner sac fly in the 6th.

Yankees 7, Reds 1.

*

And then yesterday, Hiroki Kuroda pitched with the wisdom of a 39-year-old and the arm of a 27-year-old. He pitched into the 7th inning, allowing only 1 run, unearned, 3 hits, 2 walks and 6 strikeouts.

Back-to-back singles in the 5th inning by Jeter and Jacoby Ellsbury gave Kuroda a 2-1 lead, and he got a standing ovation when he left in the 7th.

But Todd Frazier hit one out for the Reds, a rare mistake this season for Dellin Betances. The game would go to the bottom of the 9th.

The Reds had Aroldis Chapman on the mound, the possessor of 97 saves these last 2 1/2 seasons, a 0.997 career WHIP, and a fastball that can reach 102 miles per hour.

But Ellsbury led off with a single to left. Then he stole 2nd. Then one of Chapman's blazing fastballs got away from Reds catcher Breyan Pena, who's no Johnny Bench, or Ernie Lombardi, or even Joe Oliver. Man on 3rd, nobody out, and the resurgent Mark Teixeira up.

But Chapman blew Teix away with a 101-MPH heater. And Brian McCann came up, and Chapman blew a 102-MPH heater past him for strike one, and I thought, "Uh-oh, here we go again: Yankee RISPfail. We're gonna lose this one in extra innings."

But McCann hit a popup to the right side. Reds 1st baseman Frazier, 2nd baseman Skip Schumaker, and right fielder Jay Bruce all had a chance at it.

Have you ever heard "The Story of Everybody, Somebody, Anybody and Nobody"? Once upon a time, there was a job to do. Everybody thought that Somebody would do it. Anybody could have done it. But Nobody did it.

The ball fell between 3 Reds, allowing Ellsbury to score the winning run on a cheap play. Who did the Reds think they were, the Mets?

(UPDATE: Frazier and Bruce would later play for the Mets. And Frazier and Chapman would later play for the Yankees.)

Reason Number 57 why the Mets are a joke: I said on Twitter that the Yankees won on a "Luis Castillo Play" -- and everybody knew exactly what I meant. Heck, it was even to the same general area (if not the same exact spot) of the field.

Yankees 3, Reds 2. A sweep of the Big Red Machine. WP: David Robertson (1-2). No save. LP: Chapman (0-3).

*

So here we are, with 10 weeks to go in the Major League Baseball season. Here's how things look:

The Yankees trail the Baltimore Orioles by 3 games in the American League Eastern Division. So do the Toronto Blue Jays, although the Yankees trail the O's by 3 in the loss column, while the Jays trail there by 4. The Boston Red Sox and Tampa Bay Rays are 7 1/2 back. So as bad as anyone has been, the Division race is, theoretically, still up for grabs by all 5.

The Yankees trail the Seattle Mariners by a game and a half, just 1 in the loss column, for the AL's 2nd Wild Card entry.

As bad as it's looked, it doesn't look so bad. If you'll pardon what would have been a Yogi-ism if Yogi Berra had thought of it first.

*

Tonight, the Yankees begin a 4-game home series against the Texas Rangers. Like all teams representing Dallas, and all teams called Rangers wearing blue shirts (whatever the country, whatever the sport), they suck.

Manager Ron Washington has an interesting coaching staff. He's got ex-Mets Dave Magadan and Tim Bogar. He's got Bobby Jones -- but not either of the 2 Bobby Joneses who pitched for the Mets in the 2000 World Series, the greatest World Series ever. He's got Bengie Molina, the eldest of the Molina brothers. He's got former Angels All-Star Gary Pettis. And his bullpen coach? Andy Hawkins, who on July 1, 1990 pitched 8 no-hit innings for the Yankees against the Chicago White Sox in the last game the Yankees ever played in Comiskey Park -- and lost due to his own walks and 3 awful 8th-inning errors. He didn't even get credit for the no-hitter, although he got credit for the complete game.

Here are the projected pitching matchups:

Tonight, 7:05 PM: Shane Green vs. Miles Mikolas.

Tomorrow, 7:05 PM: Chase Whitley vs. Nick Martinez.

Wednesday, 7:05 PM: David Phelps vs. Yu Darvish.

Thursday, 1:05 PM: McCarthy vs. Colby Lewis.

Come on you Pinstripes!

Teix's 2 Messages, Ellsbury in 14th, Win McCarthy's Debut

With Masahiro Tanaka going on the Disabled List -- joining CC Sabathia, Ivan Nova and Michael Pineda from the Yankees' original intended starting rotation, leaving only Hiroki Kuroda -- and with Vidal Nuno pitching 7 shutout innings for the Arizona Diamondbacks, the stage was set for the guy we got for Nuno, Brandon McCarthy, to have a bad outing in his Yankee debut, away to the Cleveland Indians last night.

Sure enough, in his 1st Yankee inning, he allowed 3 runs to a sub-.500 team -- which the Yankees have been this season, and will be again if this keeps up.

He settled down after that. In the top of the 4th, Mark Teixeira hit a home run. In the 5th, Jacoby Ellsbury doubled with one out. Derek Jeter singled him over to 3rd. Brian McCann got Ellsbury home with a sacrifice fly. And then Teix hit another one out, his 17th of the season, giving the Yankees a 4-3 lead. At the very least, Teix is hitting like he used to.

But then McCarthy allowed another run in the bottom of the 5th, and it was 4-4. Was it going to be one of those nights?

He got into the 7th, and got the 1st 2 outs. Then Joe Girardi took him out. Yet again, Girardi removed a pitcher who was, if not cruising, then at least getting outs. The pitch-count alarm in his binder must have gone off.

He used Matt Thornton to get the last out of the inning, then let Dellin Betances pitch only the 8th, then let Adam Warren pitch only the 9th. The game went to extra innings, and he let Adam Warren pitch only the 10th, then let Shawn Kelley pitch only the 11th.

Then he messed up the current starting rotation by putting new starter Chase Whitley on the mound for the 12th. He probably figured, "I don't know how long this game is going to go. It might go another 9 innings. So I might as well put a guy who can pitch 9 innings on the mound. Of course, my binder says never to pitch anyone for more than 7 innings, because I'm a wuss of a manager and I don't want to be blamed for a pitcher's arm going bad. Look at Tanaka: I let him pitch a couple of complete games, and now he's ruined. I'm an idiot. I'm a slave to this binder. I can't think for myself, so I let this binder to it for me."

Whitley pitched to 7 batters and got 6 of them out, so who's to say Girardi was wrong? Well, we'll find out how right he was when Whitley's spot in the rotation next comes up. Or maybe he'll get away with it, since Whitley's spot in the rotation next comes up during the All-Star Break.

With 2 out in the top of the 14th, it was, indeed, beginning to feel like one of those games. As in, "If we don't win this game now, we'll lose it." It's always worse to lose in extra innings than in regulation. A regulation loss is a waste of only 9 innings, not more.

Ellsbury hit a home run, his 6th of the season, to give the Yankees a 5-4 lead. This time, Girardi's binder said, "Bring in your closer." And David Robertson got the job done.

WP: Whitley (4-2). SV: Robertson (22). LP: Vinny Pestano (0-1).

The series concludes tonight, with David Phelps starting against T.J. House. Then 3 games in Baltimore, then the All-Star Break, and then the Yankees come home.

Big Moves, Big Score Was Barely Big Enough

This is how the Yankees' 2014 season has gone: On Saturday, against the Minnesota Twins at Target Field, they scored only 1 run, and, tantalizingly, it was almost enough; yesterday, they scored 9, and, frustratingly, it almost wasn't enough.

The Saturday game was started by David Phelps, leading Yankee Fans to produce reactions ranging from "Uh-oh" to "Oy vey" to "Aw, shit!" But he pitched 7 innings, allowing just 1 run on 3 hits and 2 walks. Shawn Kelley, who's also had his difficulties this season, pitched the 8th and the 9th, no problem. The game went to extra innings. Matt Thornton pitched the 10th, no problem.

How many Twins pitchers does it take to hold the 2014 Yankees to 1 run over 11 innings? Apparently, 6. Francisco Cervelli, subbing at catcher for the banged-up Brian McCann, got 2 hits, including the RBI single that drove home the only Yankee run in the 5th. Derek Jeter, Brian Roberts, Jacoby Ellsbury, Carlos Beltran and Ichiro Suzuki each got 1 hit. All 7 Yankee hits were singles, and only 1 drove in a run.

Thornton came out to pitch the bottom of the 11th. Chris Colabello led off with a double. Kendrys Morales hit a grounder that advanced him to 3rd with 1 out. Joe Girardi ordered Thornton to intentionally walk Josh Willingham to set up the double play -- or, at the very least, a forceout at home plate. But then Thornton hit Oswaldo Arcia with a pitch to load the bases.

The batter was Trevor Plouffe. Sounds like the name of a British General. He hit a grounder back to Thornton. He threw home for the force, and Colabello was out. But, on this day, Cervelli giveth, and Cervelli taketh away. Cervelli threw to 1st to complete the inning-ending double play, and his throw got past Mark Teixeira, and Morales scored the winning run.

Twins 2, Yankees 1. WP: Brian Duensing (2-2). No save. LP: Thornton (0-2).

True, Thornton set up the situation for the losing run. But he shouldn't be blamed. Had the Yankees scored so much as 2 runs in the 1st 9 innings, he wouldn't even have been in the game. And, to his credit, he did pitch a scoreless 10th.

*

Yesterday, the 2nd tour of duty in Yankeeland for Alfonso Soriano came to an end, as he was designated for assignment.

He gave the Yankees another half of a good season last year, with 17 home runs and 50 RBIs, and almost helped us get back into Playoff contention. This time around, however, he was batting just .221, only .204 against righthanded pitchers, with 6 homers and 23 RBIs. His trademark speed is gone: 1 of only 4 players to have a 40-homer-40-steal season, and the only one to do so without steroids, he's stolen just 1 base this season. He's 38 years old, and it shows.

He has 412 home runs. His career may be over.

That's sad. What's not sad is that the Yankees traded Vidal Nuno to the Arizona Diamondbacks.

You know the old saying: "Great trade! Who'd we get!"

Brandon McCarthy. He's a righthanded pitcher from Colorado Springs, like Goose Gossage, but that's the only reason to compare the 2 men. Today is his 31st birthday.

He made his big-league debut with the Chicago White Sox in 2005, although he was not on the postseason roster of that year's World Champions. On September 5, 2012, while with the Oakland Athletics, he took a line drive to the head off the bat of Erick Aybar of the Los Angeles Angels. While he managed to get back on his feet, he subsequently underwent surgery for 2 hours to relieve cranial pressure after CT scans revealed he suffered an epidural hemorrhage, a brain contusion and a skull fracture.

He's been 8-21 since, including losing 10 of his 1st 11 decisions this season. His ERA this year is 5.01, with an ERA+ of 75. However, he's won his last 2 starts in impressive fashion. It should also be noted that the Diamondbacks are currently tied with the Houston Astros for the worst record in the major leagues, so he hasn't had a lot of help.

He wore Number 32 in Oakland and Arizona. That number has been retired for Elston Howard, so he won't be wearing it with the Yankees. At this writing, he is still on the 40-Man Roster, not the 25-man Active Roster, and has not yet been assigned a number.

Also, he has a gorgeous wife, Amanda, who's a better Twitter writer than he is. She claims to have a dog (a Westie), but neither mentions any children.

*

The Yankees scored more runs in the 1st inning yesterday than they did in 11 innings the day before. Ricky Nolasco started for the Twins, and he had nothing, and the Yankees took advantage.

Brett Gardner led off the game with a walk. Jeter singled. Ellsbury flew out, getting Gardner to 3rd. Teixeira singled home Gardner. McCann returned to action, and I do mean action: He hit a double to right field that scored Jeter. It should have scored Teix as well, but he was thrown out at the plate.

The top of the 2nd began with 3 straight singles, by Roberts, Ichiro Suzuki and Kelly Johnson. Bases loaded, nobody out? Surely, there would be no Yankee RISPfail this time, right?

Well, Gardner popped up.

Someone mentioned on Twitter that bases loaded, nobody out has been the bane of the Yankees' existence.

That made me think of Bane, the Batman villain. I thought, "First, you will load the bases with nobody out. Then you will pop up. Then you will ground into a double play. Then... you have my permission to die. Or, at least, to be designated for assignment."

But Jeter remembered his Captain Clutch nickname, and hit a sacrifice fly to center field that got Roberts home. Is 1 run enough when you get bases loaded and nobody out? No. But Ellsbury realized that, and hit a screaming liner to right field, his 5th home run of the season. 6-0 Yankees.

The 4th began with singles by Ichiro and Johnson. Gardner flew out, but Jeter singled home Ichiro. Ellsbury grounded into a force play that eliminated Jeter, but also got Johnson home. Teixeira singled. McCann was up, and Anthony Swarzak, who had replaced Nolasco as the Twins' pitcher, balked Ellsbury home.

The Mets beat the Texas Rangers in an Interleague game, 8-4. Were both New York teams saving all these runs for a "Sunday dinner"?

9-0 Yankees. Surely, they couldn't blow this.

Hiroki Kuroda had been pitching well, but he faltered. With 1 out in the bottom of the 4th, he gave up a walk, a wild pitch, an error on his own throw, a double, an RBI double, and a 2-run homer. Just like that, it's 9-4.

He got into a jam in the 6th. Girardi replaced him with Adam Warren, who got out of it, but allowed another run in the 7th. 9-5.

Jim Miller replaced Warren in the 8th, and gave up a home run. 9-6.

David Robertson was given the ball to protect a 3-run lead and finish the Twins off in the 9th. He struck out Brian Dozier to start the inning. But he gave up a single to former Yankee tin glove/noodle arm Eduardo Nunez. Then he gave up a single to Chris Parmelee. And just like that, after having a 9-0 lead, now the tying run was at bat in the bottom of the 9th.

Oy...

Robertson struck out Willingham. Just 1 out to go.

Come on...

Arcia singled home NunE5. Now it's 9-7, the tying runs are on base, and the winning run is at the plate, in the form of Kurt Suzuki.

I can't look...

Suzuki grounded to short, and Jeter flipped to Roberts for the forceout.

Ballgame over. Yankees win. Theeeeeeee... whew... Yankees win.

WP: Kuroda (6-6). SV: Robertson (21). LP: Nolasco (5-7).

The Yankees took 3 out of 4 in Minnesota. They are 14-4 at Target Field since it opened in 2010.

*

So here we are, more than halfway through the season, 14 out of 26 weeks. Here's how the American League Eastern Division stands with 12 weeks to go:

The Baltimore Orioles lead the Division. The Toronto Blue Jays are 2 games back, the Yankees 3 1/2, but, due to a variance in the number of games played, both the Yanks and the Jays trail the O's by 3 in the loss column. The Tampa Bay Rays are 8 1/2 back, 10 in the loss column. And the Boston Red Sox are 9 back.

You'll notice I haven't included the Wild Card standings. This is because, beyond my usual stubbornness, the current AL East standings allow me to truthfully maintain that the Yankees are very much in the race for the Division title.

*

The Yankees' current roadtrip continues, first to Cleveland, then to Baltimore. Then comes the All-Star Break, with the Game also being in Minnesota, a week from tomorrow. After that, the Yankees have a well-deserved 10-game homestand, with Cincinnati (Interleague), Texas and Toronto.

As to the ASG: Jeter, as could be expected as a Yankee in his final season, was voted the starting shortstop for the American League. The managers select the pitchers, and John Farrell of the defending World Champion * Red Sox chose 2 Yankees, Masahiro Tanaka and Dellin Betances. No other Yankee was selected. None of the preceding should be considered a surprise. Robinson Cano of the Seattle Mariners was the only former Yankee selected. Every team is entitled to at least 1 selection, and the Mets' honoree is 2nd baseman Daniel Murphy.

Here are the projected pitching matchups for the Yankees-Indians series, with all 4 games slated for a 7:05 PM first pitch:

Tonight: Shane Greene, making his 2nd big-league appearance and 1st start, vs. Justin Masterson.

Tomorrow: Tanaka vs. Trevor Bauer.

Wednesday: McCarthy, in his first Yankee start, vs. Josh Tomlin.

Thursday: Phelps vs. T.J. House.

The Yankees have not yet set any starters for the following 3 games in Baltimore.