Games Joe Girardi's Pitching Mismanagement Has Cost the 2015 Yankees

Last night, I saw someone defend Joe Girardi on Twitter, telling me he'd done a great job, and should be named American League Manager of the Year.

As soon as the EMTs found the pieces of my exploded head, and put them back together, I got back online, and I told him that Girardi had blown 20 games with pitching mismanagement this season.

He didn't believe me. So I decided to find out if I was right.

Note that I'm not including bad hitting or defensive substitutions, either pre-game or in-game. Nor am I including leaving pitchers in too long -- because that's rare for him. I'm not even going to include games where he chose the wrong starting pitcher, like Chris Capuano.

Nor am I going to include games where Girardi and the pitchers he foolishly brought in got bailed out by later timely hitting. This is about games lost, not games won.

This list includes only games in which Girardi took a pitcher out too soon, and/or brought in the wrong reliever.

1. April 10. Girardi brings in Esmil Rogers and lets him pitch 4 2/3 innings. Boston Red Sox 6, Yankees 5 in 19 innings.

2. April 11. It's 2-1 Red Sox going into the 7th. Girardi brings in Chris Martin, and then Matt Tracy. Red Sox 8, Yankees 4. Major screwups on back-to-back days.

3. April 15. It's 3-2 Yankees going into the 6th. Nathan Eovaldi has thrown 101 pitches. He could have gone another inning. Girardi brings in David Carpenter, and he allows a home run to the first batter. He allows 2 more baserunners before Girardi replaces him with Justin Wilson, who allows 3 more runs. Girardi replaces him with Martin, who allows another run. Baltimore Orioles 7, Yankees 5.

3 major screwups in a span of 6 days.

4. April 29. It's 2-1 Tampa Bay Rays in the top of the 6th. Michael Pineda has allowed 2 baserunners in the inning, but has thrown only 93 pitches. Girardi panics, and brings in Wilson. Wilson gets the next out, and the Yankees tie the game in the bottom of the 6th.

But Girardi replaces Wilson with Carpenter for the 7th, thus using a pitcher he didn't have to use. Dellin Betances pitches the 8th, Andrew Miller the 9th and the 10th, and now Carpenter isn't available. Martin pitches the 11th, and allows no runs. But Girardi replaces him with Chasen Shreve. He allows 2 runners in the 12th, and 3 for a run in the 13th. That was at least 2 pitchers too mny. Rays 3, Yankees 2 in 13 innings.

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5. May 4. It's 1-0 Yankees over the Toronto Blue Jays in the bottom of the 8th. Chase Whitley pitched 7 shutout innings. He'd thrown only 90 pitches. But Girardi brought in Chris Martin. Jays 3, Yankees 1. This game is key, because it's the Jays that ended up as the team the Yankees chased for the American League Eastern Division title.

(UPDATE: Perhaps not as key as I thought it would be, as I thought, at this point, that the Yankees might lose the AL East by 1 game.)

6. May 19. It's 6-2 Yankees over the Washington Nationals in the bottom of the 5th. Nathan Eovaldi falls apart, and Girardi brings in Wilson, who stops the bleeding at 6-5. But, this being an Interleague game in a National League park, we're playing caveman baseball, with no designated hitter, and the pitcher has to bat, or else a pinch-hitter must be sent up.

Girardi pinch-hits for Wilson in the top of the 6th, and brings Carpenter in to pitch. Carpenter allows a tying home run. Girardi burns Shreve in the 7th, then uses Betances in the 8th and the 9th, and brings closer Miller in for the 10th, and he loses it. Nationals 8, Yankees 6 in 10 innings.

What difference would it have made it Girardi had let Wilson bat for himself? He certainly could have brought in a different pitcher in the 6th, or left Carpenter (despite the homer he allowed) instead of using Shreve to pitch to 1 batter in the 7th. This was 2 screwups in 1 game -- 2 screwups in 2 innings!

7. May 20. It's 2-2 with the Nats going into the bottom of the 7th. Adam Warren walks 2 batters. He's thrown 98 pitches. The pitcher's spot is not due up in the 8th. Girardi panics and pulls Warren anyway, and Wilson allows what turns out to be the winning run. Nationals 3, Yankees 2.

Major screwups on back-to-back days for the 2nd time in the season, 7 times overall, and we haven't even hit Memorial Day weekend yet.

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8. June 10. It's 4-2 Yankees over the Nats in the top of the 8th. Eovaldi had thrown 97 pitches in 7 innings. This was at home, with the DH. He had retired 6 of his last 7 batters. He was not tiring. He was not injured. There was no rational reason to take him out.

But he allowed a leadoff single in the 8th, and Girardi panicked, and took him out, and brought in Jacob Lindgren. Lindgren got 2 outs, then allowed a game-tying homer. Girardi brought Wilson in for the 9th, and then brought in the horrendous Chris Capuano in for the 10th. Capuano got through the 10th all right. But Girardi left him in for the 11th (which wouldn't have been necessary if he'd let Eovaldi finish the 8th). Nationals 5, Yankees 4.

Moral of the story: Trust Nathan Eovaldi, but never, ever trust Chris Capuano.

9. June 23. It's 6-6 with the Philadelphia Phillies going into the 9th. Sabathia didn't get out of the 5th. But Girardi has already used Branden Pinder for 1 batter, Shreve for 3, and Wilson for 5. He brings Betances in with 1 out in the 8th, but keeps him in for the 9th. Girardi follows Joe Torre's "rule" that you never bring your closer in to pitch a tie game. A stupid "rule." This was a rare occasion when Girardi left a pitcher in too long, after leaving 3 pitchers in for too little. Phillies 11, Yankees 6.

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10. July 7. It's 3-2 Yankees over the Oakland Athletics in the top of the 6th. Eovaldi has thrown 86 pitches. He gets the 1st out. Then Girardi inexplicably takes him out, and brings in Shreve, who gives up a game-tying homer.

Girardi uses Warren in the 7th, Wilson in the 8th, and Betances in the 9th. The game goes to extra innings, and Girardi keeps Betances in, instead of recognizing that Betances is only good for 1 inning, and Betances gives up a game-losing homer. A's 4, Yankees 3 in 10 innings.

10 screwups before the All-Star Break. On a pace for 20, just as I suggested.

11. July 30. It's 6-6 with the Rangers going to the bottom of the 9th. Sabathia did not have a good start. Girardi has already used Wilson for 4 batters, Betances for 7 (a blown save), and brought in Nick Goody to get the last out in the 8th. Instead of bringing in Miller for the 9th,Girardi leaves Goody in, and he walks the leadoff batter. That's when Girardi panics, and brings in Miller. Rangers 7, Yankees 6.

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12. August 7. It's 1-1 in the 7th with the Blue Jays. Eovaldi has thrown 112 pitches, and the last 2 batters have reached base. But 1 of those was on an error. He is not visibly tiring. Girardi replaces him with Wilson. Okay, maybe that was justifiable, as Wilson then got a strikeout.

But then, instead of leaving him in to try to finish the inning, Girardi replaces him, with Betances. Betances, in the 7th? He walks a batter, but gets out of it. He has trouble in the 8th, but gets out of it. Miller gets into trouble in the 9th, but gets out of it. Girardi brings Pinder in to pitch the 10th. Never bring Branden Pinder in to pitch the 10th inning. Or any other inning. Home run. Jays 2, Yankees 1.

I don't want to hear that the Yankees weren't hitting and wouldn't have won anyway: This one is on Girardi.

13. August 11. It's 1-1 with the Cleveland Indians after 6. Rookie sensation Luis Severino has thrown 97 pitches and has been superb. Girardi replaces him. This game goes 16 innings, and Girardi uses Shreve in the 7th, Betances in the 8th, Wilson in the 9th, Miller in the 10th (blowing a save after the Yankees had scored 2 runs in the top of the inning), Warren in the 11th, and then Bryan Mitchell in the 12th, 13th and 14th. Mitchell threw 60 pitches in his 3 innings, not a lot for a "long man."

That's 7 pitchers, 5 of whom -- Severino, Shreve, Wilson, Warren and Mitchell -- each could have gone at least 1 more inning.

Girardi brings Pinder in to pitch the 15th, and leaves him in to pitch the 16th. Well, he should be your last resort, but, as the saying goes, Girardi checked into that resort anyway. Pinder blew the game in the 16th. Indians 2, Yankees 1.

I won't blame Girardi for bringing in Miller when he did, and, certainly, the team should have found a way to score at least 2 runs within 9 innings, let alone within 16, thus preventing Pinder from screwing up the bottom of the 16th. But Girardi blew this one 6 separate times. It was a Tuesday night, otherwise you could say he blew it "six ways to Sunday."

14. August 21. It's 4-3 Indians after 8. The Yankees have just closed it to within 1. We've got the Indians on the ropes. We can win this in the 9th, if only we don't allow any more runs. Girardi brings in Wilson. Indians 7, Yankees 3.

True, we were already losing, but we had a very good chance to win it. Considering how many games I could have counted, but didn't, I have no qualms with including this one.

Interlude. August 23. It's 3-3 with the Indians in the 8th. Girardi had sent Alex Rodriguez up to pinch-hit for catcher John Ryan Murphy.

Then, Girardi, a lifelong Chicago Cubs fan who (aside from the Yankees from 1996 to 1999) spent his entire playing career in the NL (Cubs 1989-92 and 2000-02, Colorado Rockies 1993-95, St. Louis Cardinals 2003), and whose 1st managing job was in the NL (with the 2006 Florida Marlins), forgot that he's in the AL. He makes a double switch: He brings in Betances, and puts him in Murphy's spot in the order, and moves Brian McCann from DH to catcher, thus losing the DH.

Betances then gives the Indians the lead, but at least it was the right inning in which to pitch him, and it's still only 4-3 Indians. But now, we have 8 hitters in the lineup, not 9. That ends up not mattering, and the Indians do win 4-3.

I'm not including this as one of the games Girardi "blew" due to "pitching mismanagement." The game was lost mainly because Betances didn't get the job done on this occasion. But it shows just how bad a manager he's been this season. Seriously, if you can't even remember what League you're in, you shouldn't be managing in either major league.

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15. September 8. It's 1-1 with the Orioles after 8. Masahiro Tanaka has been fantastic. He's thrown 104 pitches. Girardi relieves him anyway, with Shreve. His 3rd pitch: Game-losing home run. Orioles 2, Yankees 1.

16. September 9. It's 3-3 with the Orioles in the 8th. Sabathia had a bad start. Girardi replaces him with Warren, who does fine through the 7th. This time, Girardi blows it because he left a reliever in too long, and Warren allows a home run in the 8th. Girardi replaces him with Nick Rumbelow, who allows 2 walks and a ground-rule double in the 9th. Orioles 5, Yankees 3.

For the 3rd time in the season, Girardi's pitching mismanagement has thrown away games on back-to-back days.

17. September 12. It's 4-4 with the Blue Jays. Pineda had a rough 5th, but has gotten the 1st out in the 6th. He's thrown 98 pitches. At the very least, he should be allowed to finish the inning.

Not according to Joe Girardi's Binder. Girardi goes into musical chairs again, bringing in Wilson for 4 outs, Betances for 4, and Miller for 6. Both teams score in the 8th, and it goes to extra innings, 5-5. Girardi brings Mitchell in to pitch the 11th, and the Jays score 4 runs. Jays 9, Yankees 5.

3 screwups in the span of just 5 days. And this latest one was in a game we absolutely had to win, because it was against those pesky Blue Jays.

18. September 15. It's 3-2 over the Rays. Girardi had started Warren, but let him pitch only 4 innings, 65 pitches. Is Warren a baby?

Girardi let James Pazos pitch to 3 batters, then brought in Rumbelow, who blew the lead. Not that it mattered, but he then blew through Shreve, Pinder, Mitchell and Martin. Rays 6, Yankees 3.

4 screwups in the span of just 8 days.

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4 games in April, 3 in May, 2 in June, 2 in July, 3 in August, 4 in September.

Total: 18.

I guessed that Girardi had blown 20 games with his pitching mismanagement -- that's only counting this season -- and I wasn't far off. And there's still time left to get the 19th and the 20th.

Think about it this way: If Girardi had blown "only" 14 of those games, and not the other 4, the Yankees would now be in 1st place by half a game.

If the Yankees don't at least advance to the American League Division Series, Girardi has to be fired.

Or, to put it another way: If the Yankees don't manage to overtake the Toronto Blue Jays for the AL East title, who do you want managing the Yankees in the Wild Card play-in game?

I don't know about you, but I don't want the guy who managed them in the 18 games mentioned above.

Yankees REALLY Mess With Texas, Then Come Down to Earth

The Yankees really messed with Texas on Tuesday night. Although, at first, it seemed like it would be the other way around.

It was like Super Bowl XXII, in 1988, when the Denver Broncos scored on their 1st play from scrimmage, tacked on a field goal, and Washington Redskins quarterback Doug Williams got hurt, with the Broncos leading 10-0... And then, as the Sports Illustrated article on the game was titled, "And the Rout Was On!"

Chris Capuano, as you may be aware, is a bum. He once won 18 games in a season for the Milwaukee Brewers, but that was 10 years ago. He missed the entire 2008 and '09 seasons due to injury, and since that 2005 season when he won 18, he hasn't had a plus-.500 season again.

He was 2-3 with a 4.25 ERA for the Yankees last year. This year, he's 0-4 with a 6.97 ERA. On Tuesday night, he allowed 5 runs and was replaced before he could get out of the 1st inning. Yesterday, he was designated for assignment. He will never disgrace the Pinstripes again.

5-0 Rangers. And the rout was on... the other way!

Top of the 2nd. Yankees batting against Rangers pitcher Martin Perez. Chris Young led off with a double. Chase Headley singled him home. John Ryan Murphy singled. Didi Gregorius was hit with a pitch, loading the bases with nobody out. Brendan Ryan doubled. Jacoby Ellsbury singled. Brett Gardner singled. Alex Rodriguez doubled. Tie ballgame.

Rangers manager Jeff Banister pulled Perez, and brought in Wandy Rodriguez. That worked for a moment, as he struck out Mark Teixeira. But now, the Yankees had batted around. Young drew a walk. Headley singled. Murphy struck out. But Gregorius hit a triple, and Ryan a double, making it 11-5 Yankees before Rodriguez struck out Ellsbury to finally stop the bleeding.

11 runs on 10 hits. There was a walk and a hit batsman. No errors. No home runs, either. Usually, in an inning anywhere near that big, there's at least 1 error and at least 1 homer.

There was a homer in the 3rd, a grand slam hit by Young, his 12th of the season. There was an error in the 4th, leading to the 16th Yankee run.

By this point, I wasn't the only Yankee Fan thinking, "Hey, guys, we're playing the Red Sox next week. Save some of those runs."

The 6th was another big inning. Gardner led off with a walk. A-Rod struck out. Teix was hit with a pitch. Young struck again, doubling home Gardner. Garrett Jones brought in to pinch-run for Tex. Headley sruck out, but Murphy singled. 19-5.

It wasn't over. In the 9th, Ellsbury opened by reaching 1st on that rare play, catcher's interference. And Gardner hit a home run, his 11th.

Diego Moreno relieved Capuano. It was only the 3rd major league game for the 28-year-old Venezuelan, all for the Yankees this season. Technically, it wasn't a start, but if it had been, the Yankees might have won 21-0. He pitched through the 6th, and allowed just 1 baserunner, a walk. He was brilliant. With CC Sabathia looking done, and Michael Pineda going back on the Disabled List (scratching him from tonight's start), we need another starter. Maybe he's the one.

Adam Warren pitched 3 perfect innings to close it out. Therefore, according to the rule, he gets credit for the save even though he came in with a 14-run lead. I guess the rulemaker figured, 3 innings is enough to wipe out even a 14-run lead. Certainly, nobody figured the Yankees would score 11 in the 2nd.

Yankees 21, Rangers 5. WP: Moreno (1-0). SV: Warren (1). LP: Perez (0-2).

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Last night's game wasn't nearly as much fun. Masahiro Tanaka did not have good stuff. He pitched 6 innings, allowing 4 runs on 9 hits and 3 walks.

Carlos Beltran led off the 2nd with a home run, and singles by Gregorius, Stephen Drew and Ellsbury led to another Yankee run that inning. But that 2-0 lead did not hold, as Tanaka gave back 3.

The Yankees did not score again. The Rangers did. Rangers 5, Yankees 2. WP: Colby Lewis (11-4). SV: Shawn Tolleson (18 -- son of former Ranger and Yankee infielder Wayne Tolleson).LP: Tanaka (7-4).

The series concludes tonight. CC goes against Yovani Gallardo. Then the Yankees had for a real baseball city, Chicago, to take on the White Sox, before coming home and facing The Scum.

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The trading deadline is in about 20 hours. The Rangers got Cole Hamels from the Phillies. The Toronto Blue Jays got David Price from the Detroit Tigers, thinking he's the last piece to get them into the Playoffs. (He's not.) The Pittsburgh Pirates got Tiger closer Joakim Soria.

The Washington Nationals got our old pal Jonathan Papelbon from the Phillies for a Double-A pitcher. That's how far Papelbum, and the Phillies, have fallen.

The Royals got Ben Zobrist from the Oakland Athletics and Johnny Cueto from the Cincinnati Reds, and didn't give much up either time. They are serious about defending the Pennant they won last year.

Well, this time, they'll have to go through the Yankees.

Yanks' Sweep of O's Followed by Phil Hughes-Led Disaster In Minnesota

So Ivan Nova took the mound for the Yankees on Wednesday night. His first game back from a year off for Tommy John surgery had been great. Every game since, considerably less so. The Yanks needed him to bounce back against the Baltimore Orioles.

The Yankees gave him a 3-run cushion in the 1st inning. A double by Jacoby Ellsbury started it, followed by an RBI single by Brett Gardner, a pop-up by Alex Rodriguez, and a home run by Mark Teixeira, the 24th "Teix Message" of the season. Then Brian McCann singled and Carlos Beltran drew a walk, and things were really looking good...but Chase Headley and Didi Gregorius struck out, stranding McCann and Beltran.

"Uh-oh," you might have thought, "those stranded runners could come back to haunt us."

Sure enough, in the top of the 3rd, Nova gave up a home run that made it 3-2 Yanks. But he settled down, and A-Rod hit one out in the 5th, his 20th homer of the year.

You know, for a couple of guys who are "washed-up" and "injury-prone," Teix and A-Rod are doing all right this season.

But in the 9th, Chris Davis homered off Andrew Miller to close it to within a run again, and it was worrying time. But Miller finished it off.

Yankees 4, Orioles 3. WP: Nova (2-3). SV: Miller (22). LP: Kevin Gausman (1-2).

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Then came the dreaded getaway day game, the dreaded day game after a night game (DGAANG). The Yankees handled it considerably better. Masahiro Tanaka allowed a run in the 2nd, then a pair of homers in the 8th -- but the fact that he was able to reach the 8th was a good sign, after his injury troubles.

Headley and Gregorius made up for the previous night's rally kill with a bases-loaded double and an RBI single, respectively, giving the Yankees a 4-0 lead. In the 2nd, Ellsbury led off with a home run, his 3rd of an injury-curtailed season. In the 3rd, Gregorius singled, so did John Ryan Murphy, Stephen Drew doubled home Gregorius, and a lineout by Ellsbury turned into a sacrifice fly as Murphy scored. That made it 7-1 Yankees. Ellsbury doubled home 2 more runs in the 5th.

Yankees 9, Orioles 3. WP: Tanaka (7-3). No save. LP: Ubaldo Jimenez (7-6). Attendance: 46,875, an extraordinary figure for a midweek afternoon game without Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera.

I guess people are starting to believe in the 2015 Yankees.

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That belief took a hit last night, though, as the Yankees began a roadtrip in Minneapolis, starting a 3-game series against the Minnesota Twins, who have tremendously bounced back from a bad season last year to being one of the few teams in baseball with a better record than the Yankees.

Our old friend Phil Hughes started for Minny. It always drives me crazy when a player, especially a pitcher, that the Yankees let get away does well against them. He pitched 7 innings, allowed 7 hits, but no walks, and no runs.

That's what Phil Hughes did last night. Remember Johan Santana, the guy the Yankees wouldn't trade Hughes to the Twins to get? What did he do last night? Whatever it was, it didn't involve playing baseball: He hasn't thrown a professional pitch since August 17, 2012, and has only pitched 117 innings since September 2, 2010. That's an average of about 23 innings per year for the last 5 years.

I would gladly have taken Hughes' performance from Michael Pineda last night. We didn't get it. The Twins shelled him, and Branden Pinder and the useless lump of mashed potatoes that goes by the name of Chris Capuano were no better. The Twins scored 5 runs in the 1st 4 innings, and the game was effectively over.

Singles by Gregorius and Drew, and a sac fly by Ellsbury, brought home the thinnest of consolations in the 9th inning. Twins 10, Yankees 1. WP: Hughes (9-6). No save. LP: Pineda (9-7).

The series continues tonight, at 7:10 PM Eastern Time, at Target Field. CC Sabathia starts for us, Tommy Milone for them.

Come on you Bombers!

Yanks Come Roaring Back On 9/11 Eve

It's difficult to have, and more difficult to generate, good feelings on September 11, especially as close as I am to New York City.

On September 11, 2001, I stood on an overpass over the New Jersey Turnpike, and saw the plume of black smoke rising from where the World Trade Center stood, and saw it trail off into the distance, seemingly forever.

Between the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and the field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, a currently official total of 2,977 victims died -- which now includes people who died from lung illnesses from breathing the toxic air at the rescue site.

The New York Tri-State Area's sports teams rallied around their community. Yankee center fielder Bernie Williams saw one woman at a relief station and said he didn't know exactly what was wrong, but she looked like she needed a hug.

A one-week delay was exactly what was needed. After that, we needed something to take our minds off the constant bombardment of images of destruction and death. We needed to be uplifted, and we were. While new games were not a priority, the people in these organizations proved that it is never "only a game."

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That said, the Yankees did have a remarkable win last night, which provides some good feelings.

It didn't look likely. Chris Capuano was tagged for 4 runs by the Tampa Bay Rays, and Joe Girardi lifted him before he could even get a 2nd out. Chase Whitley pitched through the 3rd inning, Preston Claiborne the 4th and the 5th, Adam Warren got through the 6th and the 1st 2 outs of the 7th, Dellin Betances finished the 7th and the 8th, and Esmil Rogers pitched the 9th.

Between them, they allowed 1 run on 7 hits and 3 walks in 8 2/3rds innings. And if we had gotten that from the Yankees' starter, we would have been thrilled.

Of course, if the situation were fully reversed, then our closer would have allowed 4 runs in 1/3rd of an inning.

Down 4-0 before we even came to bat, the situation looked grim. But Brian McCann hit a home run in the bottom of the 1st, his 18th of the season. He then singled home 2 runs in the 3rd, to make it 4-3 Tampa Bay. (This got his batting average up to .242.) Chris Young, whom we picked up last month as a free agent after the Mets dumped him, homered in the 4th, his 1st home run as a Yankee, his 9th overall this season. Tie ballgame.

The Yankees picked up 2 runs in the 5th, and 2 more in the 8th; RBI hits by Mark Teixeira, Chase Headley, Ichiro Suzuki, and... oh to be... Young again. 8-4.

Rogers allowed a home run to Evan Longoria in the 9th, but that was as close as the Rays got. Yankees 8, Rays 5.

WP: Claiborne (3-0), as he was the pitcher when the Yankees took the lead. No save, as Rogers had a 4-run lead when he entered the game as (as it turned out) the final Yankee pitcher. LP: Jake Odorizzi (10-12).

With 19 games left to play, the Yankees are 4 1/2 games behind the Detroit Tigers for the 2nd American League Wild Card berth.

The series concludes tonight, with Michael Pineda starting against Alex Cobb. The Mets will also be at home tonight, playing the Washington Nationals at Citi Field.

There's usually a few days a season when both teams are at home -- not counting Interleague games against each other, of course -- but this is the 1st time since the attack that both teams have been scheduled to play at home on a September 11. Either one or the other has played in The City on every September 11 since 2001, except in 2008. But this is only the 2nd time since the new Yankee Stadium opened in 2009 that the Yankees have been scheduled at home on the day.

Both teams will have special pregame ceremonies tonight.

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Hours until East Brunswick High School plays football again: 27, tomorrow night, away to Piscataway, a team we haven't beaten in 24 years. No, that's not a typo: Twenty-four years, nearly a quarter of a century. I had previously thought they were playing a week ago, a Thursday night, but that was a scrimmage, a preseason game.

Days until Arsenal play again: 2, this Saturday, 7:45 in the morning our time, home to Manchester City. The Gunners beat the Citizens 3-0 in the preseason Community Shield, the annual season lidlifter between the defending Premier League Champions (City) and the holders of the FA Cup (Arsenal). But neither side was exactly fielding its preferred starting lineup, and Arsenal have serious injury issues, and both teams struggled in their last League game. We'll see.

Days until the Red Bulls play again: 2, Saturday afternoon, at 3:00 PM, away to the Philadelphia Union, at PPL Park in Chester, Pennsylvania. Last night, they beat arch-rival D.C. United 1-0 on a 90th-minute goal by the usually useless Lloyd Sam. The Playoff race is heating up, and Metro really needed that goal to get those 3 points.

Days until the Red Bulls next play a "derby": The previous answer is the last one for this season, barring a Playoff matchup.

Days until Rutgers plays football again: 2, this Saturday at 8:00 PM, in their Big Ten Conference debut, home to old enemy Penn State. BEAT THE SCUM!

Days until Derek Jeter's last regular-season home game (barring injury): 14, on Thursday, September 25, against the Baltimore Orioles. Just 2 weeks, and (in all probability, and not counting Old-Timers' Games) Derek Jeter will never play at Yankee Stadium again.

Days until the next Yankees-Red Sox series begins: 15, on Friday, September 26, at 7:00 PM, at Fenway Park. It is the last series of the regular season, and will be Derek Jeter's last series against the Sox -- and probably his last against anybody.

Days until the next North London Derby between Arsenal and Tottenham: 17, on Sunday, September 28, at the Emirates Stadium.

Days until Derek Jeter's last regular-season game (barring injury): 17, on Sunday, September 28, against the Red Sox at Fenway Park.

Days until the Devils play again: 28. They open on Thursday, October 9, away to the Philadelphia Flyers. Just 4 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 first game against The Scum is Tuesday night, October 21, at the Prudential Center. The first 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 the U.S. national soccer team plays again: 29, on Friday, October 10, at 7:00 PM, a friendly, home to Ecuador, at Rentschler Field in Hartford, Connecticut. Under a month. The following Tuesday, they will play another Latin American team, Honduras, in a friendly at Florida Atlantic University's stadium in Boca Raton, Florida. There will be one more match in the calendar year, another friendly, against the Republic of Ireland at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin (built on the site of their former home, Lansdowne Road), on Tuesday afternoon (evening, local time), November 18.

Days until Game 7 of the 2014 World Series -- the absolute latest you can ever again see Derek Jeter in a competitive game: 48, on Wednesday, October 29. Under 7 weeks, and no more Jeter -- not as an active player, anyway.

Days until the next East Brunswick vs. Old Bridge Thanksgiving game: 77, on Thursday morning, November 27, at 10:00 AM. Only 11 weeks.

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 184 days. A little over 6 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: 202 -- 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 under 7 months.

Days until the New York Islanders' last game at the Nassau Coliseum: 212, on April 11, 2015, at 7:00 PM, against the Columbus Blue Jackets. Exactly 7 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 387 days. That's under 13 months. Or, to put it another way, "387 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: 639, on Friday, June 10. Under 21 months.

Days until the next Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: 696, on Friday, August 5, 2016. Under 23 months.

Days until the next World Cup begins in Russia: 1,369, on Friday June 8, 2018. Under 4 years.

Headley Homer Gives Us 2 of 3 vs. Sox, On to Royals

Last night was the rubber game of a 3-game series between the Yankees and the Boston Red Sox at Yankee Stadium II -- the last game Derek Jeter will ever play against the Red Sox at home.

Chris Capuano, the former Red Sock, started for us. Brandon Workman, who was 1-8 coming in, started for them. Neither got the decision.

David Ortiz, the big fat lying cheating bastard, hit 2 home runs, giving him 32 on the season. He's 39 years old.

It also gives him 37 career home runs against the Yankees. Incredibly, Big Sloppy isn't even close to the top 5 in most home runs against the Yankees. He's only 4th among Red Sox:

1. Jimmie Foxx, Philadelphia Athletics & Red Sox, 1930s: 70
2. Ted Williams, Red Sox, 1940s & '50s: 62
3. Manny Ramirez, Indians, 1990s & Red Sox, 2000s: 55 *
4. Carl Yastrzemski, Red Sox, 1960s & '70s: 52
5. Harmon Killebrew, Twins, 1960s: 47
6. Rafael Palmeiro, Rangers & Orioles, 1990s: 47 *
7. David Ortiz, Red Sox, 2000s & '10s: 37 *
8. Ken Griffey Jr., Mariners, 1990s: 36

The Sox led 4-3 going into the bottom of the 9th. With the Sox bringing in their closer, Koji Uehara, It looked like another lost game and another lost series in a lost season.

Mark Teixeira hit a home run. It tied the game.

Brian McCann hit the ball solidly to left field, but it was caught.

Chase Headley, one of the newest Yankees came up. He hit it out.

Ballgame over! Yankees win! Theeeeeeeeeeeeeeee Yankees win!

5-4! We beat The Scum, 5-4! We beat The Scum, 5-4! We beat The Scum, 5-4!

WP: Adam Warren, believe it or not (3-5). No save. LP: Uehara (6-5).

*

There are 24 games left to play. The Yankees are 9 1/2 games behind the Baltimore Orioles in the American League Eastern Division, 9 in the loss column. Forget that: The O's will win their 1st Division title in 17 years, and only their 2nd in the last 30.

But the Yankees are 4 games, only 3 in the loss column, behind the Detroit Tigers for the 2nd AL Wild Card spot.

Next comes a 3-game home series with the Kansas City Royals, currently leading the AL Central, and going for their first Playoff berth in 29 years, since they won their one and only World Series in 1985. With the Pittsburgh Pirates, whose drought went back to 1979, squeaking in last season, the Royals have now gone longer without making the Playoffs than any other team. (Next-worse is the Toronto Blue Jays, who haven't done it since 1993. Every other Major League Baseball team has made it at least once in the 21st Century.)

The projected starting pitchers are as follows:

Tonight, 7:05 PM: Michael Pineda vs. James Shields.

Tomorrow, 4:05 PM: Brandon McCarthy vs. Danny Duffy.

Sunday, 1:05 PM: Shane Greene vs. Yordano Ventura.

Come on you Pinstripes!

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 Sweep ChiSox, Including On Joe Torre Day

My apologies for the delay in posting again. The computers at my residence are running on a modem that isn't working right, making using them an incredibly annoying experience.

I'll cover the Yankees' weekend home series with the Chicago White Sox in this post, and the subsequent games in the next one.

On Friday night, the opposing starters were Shane Greene for the Pinstripes, and John Danks for the Pale House. Neither pitched especially well, neither got an out in the 6th inning, and neither figured in the decision.

Martin Prado hit a home run for the Yankees, his 8th of the season. But, going to the bottom of the 9th, this game was all tied up.

Ichiro Suzuki led off with a hit. Brett Gardner bunted him over to 2nd base. Up to bat, Captain Clutch, Derek Jeter.

Except he hit a very unclutch soft liner to the center fielder, the starter's brother, Jordan Danks. And Jacoby Ellsbury was intentionally walked to set up the double play.

But Mark Teixeira drew a most unintentional walk, loading the bases. And Prado came up again, and singled Ichiro home.

Yankees 4, White Sox 3. WP: David Robertson (2-4). No save. LP: Daniel Webb (5-4).

Yankee broadcaster John Sterling called the night's hero "The Prado the Yankees," a play on one of Lou Gehrig's nickname, the one that became the title of the movie about him, The Pride of the Yankees.

As his broadcast partner, Suzyn Waldman, would say, "Oh my goodness, goodness gracious."

*

Saturday afternoon was Joe Torre Day. The former manager got his Number 6 retired, and his Plaque for Monument Park. It reads as follows:

JOSEPH PAUL TORRE

NEW YORK YANKEES MANAGER, 1996-2007

WORLD CHAMPIONS, 1996, 1998-2000

A.L. PENNANTS, 1996, 1998-2000, 2001, 2003

HIS CALM APPROACH AND DIGNIFIED MANNER

PROVIDED THE FOUNDATION OF ONE OF THE

MOST SUCCESSFUL ERAS IN FRANCHISE HISTORY.

MANAGED THE YANKEES TO A

1,173-767-2 REGULAR SEASON RECORD

AND 76-47 POSTSEASON MARK,

LEADING THE CLUB TO THE PLAYOFFS

IN EACH OF HIS 12 SEASONS AT THE HELM.

IN 1998, GUIDED THE TEAM TO 125 TOTAL

VICTORIES, THE MOST SINGLE-SEASON WINS

BY ANY TEAM ALL TIME.

DEDICATED BY THE

NEW YORK YANKEES

AUGUST 23, 2014

On hand were Yogi Berra, Gene Michael, Reggie Jackson, Ron Guidry, and many of Torre's players: Paul O'Neill, Bernie Williams, David Cone, Tino Martinez, Jorge Posada, Hideki Matsui, and, of course, current manager Joe Girardi and Derek Jeter. Oddly, Mariano Rivera was not there; without him, as Yogi would say, Joe couldn't have thanked everyone for making this day necessary.

Also on hand were Joe's wife Allie, his children (most from his first marriage, but a daughter from his second), his grandchildren, and Soot Zimmer, Don's widow. Mel Stottlemyre sent a video message. (I'm a little concerned that he wasn't there: He didn't look ill, but he has battled cancer before.)

Joe's speech was long, but thoughtful, and hit all the right notes. Among the things he said was gratitude to George Steinbrenner for hiring him. Among the things he didn't say was that George need him as much as he needed George: Without each other, each man's legacy would be very different. George might still be the guy who built a Dynasty and let it fall apart, and the Yankees might still be without a title since 1978. Joe might still be a really good, but not quite Hall of Fame level, player, and a good but not great manager whose uniformed career ended a while ago, without ever winning a Pennant. Instead, together, along with Stick Michael, they built a new Dynasty.

Oh yes, there was a game. Hiroki Kuroda started for the Yankees, and he had good stuff. Carlos Beltran hit his 15th homer of the season in the 6th inning. No late heroics necessary this time.

Yankees 5, White Sox 3. WP: Kuroda (9-8). SV: Robertson (34). LP: Scott Carroll (5-8).

*

On Sunday afternoon, late heroics would be necessary. Chris Capuano started against ChiSox ace Chris Sale, so I was convinced a defeat was coming.

Instead, Capuano pitched decently, and Sale didn't have his best stuff. It was 4-3 Yanks going into the 9th, and it looked like we had the sweep. But Robertson decided he wanted a Tony Award, and gave us some drama. He blew the save.

So the game went to extra innings. David Huff pitched a scoreless 10th. The Yankees got 2 men on, and Girardi sent Brian McCann up to pinch-hit for Francisco Cervelli. (Had the game continued, McCann would also have taken Cervelli's place behind the plate.) Replacing a .278 hitter with a .235 hitter, albeit one with power. McCann had 14 home runs on the season.

Make it 15. McCann did, sending a screaming liner to the right-field corner. A true short-porcher. Sterling didn't even have time to go into, "It is high! It is far!" before realizing it was gone. Game-winning home run.

Yankees 7, White Sox 4. WP: Huff (4-1). No save. LP: Jake Petricka (0-3).

So the Yankees had now won 4 straight, and headed off on a roadtrip. I'll discuss that in my next post.

Astronomically Bad

So the Yankees returned home last night. Having a homestand against the Houston Astros and the Chicago White Sox should have been a good chance to win at least 4 out of 6, and make up ground in the American League Wild Card race.

After 4 innings, the Yankees led 2-0, thanks to a home run by Brian McCann. It was his 14th of the season, but he's batting only .235 with an on-base percentage of .290. He thinks he's on the old TV show: "It's a home run or nothing, here on Home Run Derby."

The Astros got a run in the 5th, and 3 in the 6th to take a 4-2 lead. Chris Capuano, to no one's surprise (except maybe Brian Cashman's), did not have it last night.

But in the bottom of the 6th, Martin Prado doubled home 2 runs to tie the game. So we went to the 9th tied 4-4.

But David Robertson allowed 2 runners, getting only 1 out, and then Chris Carter bombed a 436-foot home run to left field. True, it was his 30th of the year, but the fact that it came off our closer is bad.

Astros 7, Yankees 4. WP: Josh Fields (3-6). SV: Chad Qualls (14). LP: Robertson (1-4).

This game was, pardon the pun, Astronomically bad.

The Yankees are now 4 games behind the Detroit Tigers for the 2nd AL Wild Card. There are 39 games to go: We will have to make up 1 game in every 10 to have a chance.

The series continues tonight, with Michael Pineda starting for the Yankees (and, knowing Joe Girardi, he'll take him out after the 3rd innings with a 2-0 lead, and then use up the bullpen in losing 8-3), and Scott Feldman for the Astors.

Thus Endeth the Yankees' Chance of Winning the AL East in 2014

The Yankees needed to take at least 2 out of these 3 games against the 1st-place Orioles in Baltimore to have a serious shot at winning the American League Eastern Division this season.

They didn't win the opener, and are now 7 games behind the Orioles.

Chris Capuano was the Yankees' starting pitcher last night, and the Yankees got him a 3-1 lead after 2 innings, thanks to a Brett Gardner triple and a Derek Jeter groundout in the 1st, and a double steal in the 2nd that led to a throwing error that allowed both runners, Carlos Beltran and Chase Headley, to score.

But here were the Yankees' baserunners in innings 3 through 9: Beltran reached on an error in the 3rd, Jeter doubled in the 5th, Headley walked in the 6th, and Jacoby Ellsbury and Headley walked in the 8th. That's not much.

Meanwhile, Capuano allowed the O's to take the lead in the 5th, and Adam Warren in the 7th and the once-promising Chase Whitley in the 8th made things much worse.

Orioles 11, Yankees 3. WP: Bud Norris (10-7). No save. LP: Capuano (1-3).

Thus endeth the Yankees' chance (well, any serious chance) of winning the AL East in 2014.

The Yankees are still very much in the AL Wild Card race, though: The Anaheim Angels are solidly in the 1st slot, while the Detroit Tigers lead the 2nd, by 1 game over the Seattle Mariners, 2 over the Toronto Blue Jays, 3 over the Yankees, 5 over the Cleveland Indians and 6 over the Tampa Bay Rays.

But who's optimistic at this point? I am not.

Tonight's game has been rained out. No makeup date has been set as of this writing, although the Yankees do have one more trip to Baltimore this season, September 12 to 14. It does not, however, look like it will be made up tomorrow as part of a day-night doubleheader.

Strangest Yankee Season I've Ever Seen

This is the strangest season the Yankees have had in my lifetime. Winning games they shouldn't, losing games they should've had in the bag. Big-money guys getting hurt, who's-he guys coming through. And the Red Sox not being a factor at all (except when they rear their ugly heads across the dugout from us).

On Monday night, it was Brandon McCarthy vs. Max Scherzer in the opening game of a 4-games home series against the Detroit Tigers. That matchup seriously favored the Tigers -- but the Yankees won.

On Tuesday night, it was Hiroki Kuroda vs. David Price, until last week the ace of the Tampa Bay Rays, in his 1st Tiger start. I had a good feeling about it.

That good feeling lasted into the top of the 6th inning. The Yankees had a 3-1 lead, thanks to home runs by Brian McCann (his 12th of the season) and Martin Prado (his 1st as a Yankee).

But then former Yankee catching prospect Austin Romine homered, and the Tigers tied it in the 7th. And then Yankee RISPfail took over. The Yankees wasted a Prado double with 1 out in the 7th, went down 1-2-3 in the 8th, wasted a leadoff single and stolen base by Carlos Beltran in the 9th, stranded Derek Jeter on 1st in the 10th, and went down 1-2-3 in the 11th.

And how did Jeter get to 1st base in the 10th, you might ask? This big hulking Tiger reliever with an enormous beard, looking like an enormous twat, hit him with a pitch. His name? Joba Chamberlain. Yes, that Joba Chamberlain.

Here's how little Tiger manager Brad Ausmus (who succeeded Jim Leyland upon his retirement) trusts his bullpen: He let Price throw 112 pitches before bringing in Joba. Not a worrisome total in the days when pitchers, pitching coaches, managers and general managers weren't pussies. But today? It's considered a very high total. Oh, for the days when men were men.

Incredibly, this game went 12 innings with neither pitching staff walking a batter. Kuroda, Dellin Betances, Shawn Kelley, David Huff, Esmil Rogers, Rich Hill and Matt Daley went 11 innings, allowing 3 runs on 8 hits and no walks.

Joe Girardi kept Daley out there for the top of the 12th. At the time, it didn't seem like a bad move. And, if the Yankees had scored in the bottom of the 12th, it wouldn't have been a bad move. If the Yankees had scored 1 more run in innings 1 through 11, there wouldn't have been a 12th.

But Alex Avila, batting .220 and slugging .372, hit a home run off Daley. The Yankees went down 1-2-3 in the bottom of the inning.

Tigers 4, Yankees 3. WP: Joakim Soria (2-4). SV: Joe Nathan (23). LP: Daley (0-1).

*

So, naturally, about last night's game, with the starters being Chris Capuano vs. former MVP and Cy Young winner Justin Verlander, as they say in the Star Wars films, "I've got a bad feeling about this!"

Sure enough, the Tigers scored in the 1st inning. But it was only 1 run, and Capuano settled down after that. He didn't allow another run, only 5 hits and no walks into the 7th.

Chase Headley, who's turning out to be a nice pickup, hit a home run (his 2nd as a Yankee) in the 5th, and McCann hit one (his 13th) in the 7th -- both off Verlander, who's actually not having a very good season. Then the Yankees added insurance runs in the 8th, thanks to a Mark Teixeira single and a McCann groundout.

Adam Warren pitched the 7th and pitched the 8th, scoreless. Huff pitched a scoreless 9th to end it. Yankees 5, Tigers 1. WP: Warren (2-5). No save. LP: Verlander (10-10).

The series concludes this afternoon. Shane Greene starts for the Yankees, Rick Porcello for the Tigers.

Come on you Pinstripes!

Insufficient Hitting Again, But Is Tanaka On the Way Back?

The optimism that came from winning 7 of the 1st 8 after the All-Star Break has been vaporized. It's almost as if someone took a bat to it and hit it -- which is what the Yankees need to start doing to some pitched baseballs!

Chris Capuano made his 2nd Yankee start, and holding the Red Sox, even these Red Sox, to 4 runs over 6 innings and change at Fenway isn't terrible. (1-2).

But Anthony Raynaudo, the stereotypical "pitcher the Yankees have never seen before," made his major-league debut as the Boston starter, and over 6 innings allowed just 2 runs on 4 hits, for his 1st major league win (1-0). Let's hope it's his last against the Yankees.

Carlos Beltran hit his 13th home run of the season off Raynaudo. In the 8th inning, Derek Jeter hit his 3rd off Junichi Tazawa, and got a nice hand from the Sox fans. (Yeah, you better, especially now that he's got more hits than Carl Yastrzemski -- more than any living human except Pete Rose and Hank Aaron.)

But that was pretty much it, and Kohi Uehara closed it out for his 22nd save. Red Sox 4, Yankees 3.

Phooey.

Oh yeah: One of the few recognizable names on either side, aside from Jeter's, David Ortiz, drove in the 1st Boston run with a hit.

Still, the Yankees won't plunk him. Not even a soft landing in the fat-swaddled ribs.

Billy Martin demands an explanation for this bullshit.

I demand an explanation for the insufficient hitting. Do we blame Joe Giardi? Kevin Long? Brian Cashman? Randy Levine? Lonn Trost? Hal Steinbrenner? Hank Steinbrenner?

It's Fenway Park! You're supposed to score a shitload of runs!

Hopefully, they will today. The series continues at 4:05 PM on Fox Yankee-Haters' Channel. Shane Greene starts against Allen Webster.

*

Good Sign: Masahiro Tanaka is feeling better, according to Girardi:

"When we get home we'll see what the doctors say and what the next plan is for him, but I know he feels much, much better," Girardi said to Chad Jennings yesterday.

If this is true, then the overly optimistic "6 weeks" diagnosis may have been on the mark, and he could be back in 2 weeks.

If so, a Playoff berth, even the AL East title, is still very possible.

Yanks Cooled Off, But Teix Could Soon Return

Maybe, sometime this week, I'll do a report of Arsenal Day at Red Bull Arena. Not today.

When last I posted the result of a Yankee game, the Yanks had won 7 of 8 since the All-Star Break. Things were looking very good, with lots of nice momentum.

Aaaaaaaand it's gone. They've now lost 2 straight, at home, to those pesky Toronto Blue Jays.

On Saturday, while I was preparing for Arsenal Day, Chris Capuano made his Yankee debut. I certainly can't blame him for the Yankees losing: He went 6 innings, allowing just 2 runs on 5 hits, although he did walk 4. He left with the game tied 2-2, so if the team's job wasn't done, it was much more the offense's fault than the pitcher's.

Brian McCann hit a home run in the 4th inning (his 11th of the season), with Carlos Beltran aboard, to give the Yanks a 2-0 lead. But, yet again, Melky Cabrera hurt the Yankees, this time with a 5th-inning double that scored some guy who Met fans used to think was a better shortstop than Derek Jeter. (Jose Reyes. And he still isn't better.)

Shawn Kelley allowed a run in the 7th, before Matt Thornton settled things down. But Chase Whitley, who really should have been kept in the rotation, allowed 2 runs in the 9th, and Jeff Francis allowed another to make it 6-2.

The Yankees came back in the 9th, but it wasn't enough. Jacoby Ellsbury singled with one out, and Beltran knocked one out (his 12th homer) to make it 6-4, but that was it.

WP: Drew Hutchison (7-9). No save. LP: Kelley (1-3).

Blame the hitters. They blew it with men on 1st & 2nd in the 1st, the 5th and the 8th; and they blew it with man on 1st in the 3rd, again after the homer in the 4th, in the 6th and the 7th.

*

Shane Greene started yesterday, and didn't have good stuff. In less than 6 innings, he allowed 3 runs on 8 hits and 2 walks. Not bad, but the way the Yankees have hit most of the year, not good enough.

In the bottom of the 5th, with the Yankees down 2-0, Chase Headley and Francisco Cervelli, 2 guys the Yankees couldn't count on in the 1st half (because Headley was elsewhere and Cervelli was hurt), hit back-to-back home runs to tie it. It was Headley's 1st as a Yankee, and Cervelli's 1st of the season. The teams traded runs in the 6th, making it 3-3.

David Huff finished the 6th without further trouble for the Yankees. Dellin Betances got through the 7th, but allowed a run in the 8th before Adam Warren got out of it. But Beltran singled home Brett Gardner to forge yet another tie. It was 4-4 going to the 9th.

David Robertson got Reyes to ground out to open the inning. But Melky singled. (Look, the guy embarrassed the Giants with his PED use. He would have embarrassed us, and we didn't need that then, and we don't need that now. I am not saying we never should have gotten rid of Melky. I'm just saying that I don't like that he's hurt us with the Jays.)

D-Rob got the dangerous Jose Bautista to ground into a fielders choice. But he stole 2nd, and another ex-Yankee prospect, Dioner Navarro, singled him home. The Yanks meekly went down 1-2-3 in the bottom of the 9th.

(Navarro's never quite turned into a great player, but he did make the All-Star Team with the 2008 Rays, and he's done better, thus far, than that other recent catching prospect, Jesus Montero, who's been hurt most of this season.)

Jays 5, Yanks 4. WP: Aaron Sanchez (1-0). SV: Cam Janssen (16). LP: Robertson (1-3).

*

So, with 9 weeks left in the regular season, the Yankees are 4 games behind the 1st-place Baltimore Orioles. This is not a big deal -- certainly not so big a deal that we need to start paying more attention to the Wild Card race. But we must start scoring more runs.

Good news: Mark Teixeira has taken batting and fielding practice, and it is rumored that he will be in the lineup tomorrow night. Bad news: Until he does, whenever that is, the Yankees will still be, essentially, operating with a 24-man roster. And with 13 pitchers and 9 starting hitters, that means only 2 hitters on the bench.

Joe Girardi and Brian Cashman, please take note: This is not a recommended way to run your ballclub. You should have put Teix on the Disabled List, since he'll end up having been out at least 15 days anyway; and you don't need 13 pitchers. Joe: I repeat, you do not need 13 pitchers! Put down the damn binder and let a righthanded pitcher pitch to a lefthanded hitter! If he's good enough to pitch for the New York Yankees, he's good enough to pitch to anyone!

*

Tonight, the Yankees start a weeklong roadtrip. First, 3 games in Arlington against the Texas Rangers, then Thursday is a travel day, and then a weekend series against The Scum at Scumway Park in Scumtown.

All the Texas games are scheduled to start at 8:05 PM our time (7:05 theirs). Here are the projected pitching matchups:

* Tonight: David Phelps vs. Yu Darvish.
* Tomorrow: Brandon McCarthy vs. Nick Martinez.
* Wednesday: Hiroki Kuroda vs. Colby Lewis.

Come on you... uh, Bombers? Let's do some bombing! Like the YES Network promos are saying: Go deep, in the heart of Texas!

Yankees Get Another Pitcher, Beat Those Pesky Blue Jays

Before last night's game, the Yankees made another acquisition to boost their starting rotation, purchasing Chris Capuano from the Colorado Rockies.

This is not a long-term signing, as the lefthander from Springfield, Massachusetts -- Red Sox Nation, but also the hometown of early 1950s Yankee Legend Vic Raschi -- is about to turn 36. He missed all of 2008 and 2009 due to, yes, Tommy John surgery, and his career record is 74-84.

He was only with the Rockies for a few days, as they signed him after he was released by his home-State Red Sox. He's made 28 appearances this season, all in relief, but he's already been slotted in as today's Yankee starter. He'll wear Number 26.

Last night, in the opener of a 3-game home series against those pesky Toronto Blue Jays, Hiroki Kuroda settled down after a rough start. The Jays scored 3 runs, on a Jose Reyes single, a Melky Cabrera single, and a Jose Bautista home run, before Kuroda could even get a 2nd out in the 1st inning. But, the rest of the way, the Jays only got 1 run on 7 hits against the Yankee pitchers -- that 1 run coming on another home by "Joey Bats." (How come we never hear about him being tested for steroids?)

In the bottom of the 2nd, Brian Roberts got an infield single with the bases loaded, to get the Yankees on the board. Then Brett Gardner hit a sacrifice fly to score another. In the 3rd, the Yankees got home runs from Carlos Beltran (his 11th of the season, solo) and, believe it or not, Ichiro Suzuki (his 1st of the year, 3 runs).

It was 6-4 Yankees after 3 innings -- and yet, that was the final score. WP: Kuroda (7-6). SV: David Robertson (26). LP: Mark Buehrle (10-7).

The series continues this afternoon, with Capuano opposed by Drew Hutchison.

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And, in a little over 6 hours, the New York Red Bulls will host a friendly (exhibition game) against Arsenal. For the first time, I will get to see my favorite soccer team play live, and it's, as they say over there, "on my manor." It'll be Thierry Henry leading Metro against the Gunners, the club with whom he made his name.

Hopefully, within the next few years, I'll have enough money to go over to London and see them play at home.