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.

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!

Yankees Survive Late Fireworks

A win on the 4th of July is good. Then again, a win anytime is good.

The Yankees started Chase Whitley yesterday afternoon, against the Minnesota Twins at Target Field. He had nothing: In just 3 innings, he gave up 4 runs on 8 hits and a walk. From that point onward, however, the bullpen was quite strong: David Huff went 3 innings, followed by Adam Warren, Dellin Betances and David Robertson. They combined for 6 innings, allowing 1 run on 3 hits and no walks.

But the Yankees needed runs. This time, they got them. Leading off the game, Brett Gardner tripled, Brian Roberts doubled him home, Jacoby Ellsbury grounded him over to 3rd base, and Mark Teixeira doubled him home. A passed ball got Teix to 3rd, and Carlos Beltran got him home on a sacrifice fly. 3-0 Yankees before the Twins even got to bat.

But Brian Dozier homered as the 1st batter to face Whitley. 3-1 Yankees.

Francisco Cervelli led off the 2nd with a double. Kelly Johnson grounded him to 3rd, and Brendan Ryan got him home with a sac fly. Gardner walked, Roberts hit a ground-rule double, and Ellsbury singled them home. 6-1 Yankees, and it was only the bottom of the 2nd.

But the Twins chipped away, and chipped away, and with 2 outs in the bottom of the 8th, the Twins closed to within 6-5. D-Rob slammed the door, though.

WP: Huff (3-0). SV: Robertson (20). LP: Kyle Gibson (7-7).

The series continues this afternoon, with David Phelps starting against Yohan Pino.

*

Good news on 2 fronts for the Oakland Athletics. They made a deal to bring Jeff Samardzija and Jason Hammel in to pitch for them, in exchange for 4 players they won't miss, as they try to win their 3rd straight American League Western Division title. And they signed an extension that will keep them in the Oakland Coliseum through the 2024.

This doesn't mean the A's absolutely won't move before then. It does mean that the likelihood that they will is now significantly reduced. In the meantime, they can work out a deal to build a new ballpark in the East Bay, or perhaps one with the San Francisco Giants to get permission to do so in San Jose. But leave Northern California? That no longer looks likely at any time in the next 10 years.

Yesterday, the New York Red Bulls and the Houston Dynamo played to a 2-2 tie. Germany beat France to advance to the World Cup Semifinals. Brazil beat Colombia, but Brazil's biggest current star, Neymar, got hurt, and will miss the Semi and, if they win that, the Final. (Shades of Pele in 1962 -- but Brazil won the World Cup anyway.) Today, Argentina have eliminated Belgium, while the Netherlands will attempt to do the same to Costa Rica.

Three weeks exactly until the Red Bulls host Arsenal at Red Bull Arena. Just 21 days.

Carlos Belts Walkoff

Sometimes, you simply get shut down by the opposition, and there's nothing you can do.

Sometimes, there is something you can do about it.

Last night, in the opener of a 3-game home series against the Baltimore Orioles, the Yankees got a Jacoby Ellsbury single and stolen base, and a Mark Teixeira double, in the 1st inning... and then nothing over the next 7. No runs, just 6 hits.

Hiroki Kuroda was fine for 5 innings, but in the 6th, he tired, and allowed 2 runs. That shouldn't have mattered much, but, because the Yankees have had such trouble hitting the last year and a half, it did. The bullpen allowed another run, so it was 3-1 O's going to the bottom of the 9th. I had no hope.

O me of little faith. Brett Gardner led off with a single, and, just like that, the tying run was at the plate. And it was Derek Jeter, ol' Captain Clutch himself.

He struck out. Well, that's it, right?

That was not it. There were 2 outs to go. But Ellsbury flew out. Well, that's it, right?

That was not it. There was still 1 out to go. Yogi Berra taught us, "It ain't over 'til it's over." And in baseball, the game is never over until the last man is out.

The batter was Mark Teixeira. He worked a walk. Kelly Johnson was sent in to pinch-run for him. Now, the tying runs were on, with very good speed, and the winning run was at the plate.

The batter was Brian McCann. He smacked a line drive to center. It dropped for a hit. Gardner scored. 3-2 O's.

The batter was Carlos Beltran. Johnson on 2nd. Francisco Cervelli, finally back on the 25-man roster after so long injured, pinch-ran for McCann at 1st.

Infamously, Beltran left the bat on his shoulder to take a called 3rd strike, with the tying and Pennant-winning runs on base, to lose an NLCS Game 7 for the Mets.

That was 8 years ago. Last night, given a similar chance, he remembered he was now a Yankee.

Beltran belted one, a long drive to left field. It was high. It was far. It was... gone! 5-3 Yankees! And the Pinstripers went nuts at home plate as Beltran came home.

On WFAN, John Sterling was so excited, he forgot to say, "Ballgame over! Yankees win! Theeeeeeee Yankees win!"

WP: David Huff (2-0). No save. LP: Zach Britton (3-1).

With the win, the Yankees remain a game and a half behind the Toronto Blue Jays, even in the loss column.

The series continues this afternoon. Vidal Nuno (oy) vs. Bud Norris. And Tino Martinez gets his Monument Park Plaque.

One Damn Thing After Another

NOTE: Due to a glitch, this was the last post I was able to make until October 15, 2013.

Sometimes, there's a game that makes you think that this is it, the season is lost, there is no more hope.

Sometimes, there's a game that make you think that this is it, we're back in the race, anything is possible, baby!

Thursday night's series opener between the Yankees and the Red Sox was the former. And then the latter. And then the former again.

Oh well, "Tomorrow is another day, right?"

As the late great Yankee Fan (well, he wasn't a great Yankee Fan, but he was great and a Yankee Fan) George Carlin would have said, "No, today is another day. Tomorrow might be another day, but by the time you find out, it won't be tomorrow anymore, it'll be today."

"Baseball is a 19th Century pastoral game," Carlin liked to say. "Football is a 20th Century technological struggle." Clearly, when he said that for the 1st time, he wasn't thinking of the Yanks-Sox rivalry.

Well, Mark Twain -- born Samuel Langhorne Clemens, and Roger Clemens claims that he's related -- might have enjoyed Carlin's sense of humor, liberal use of profanity (something Twain said "provides a relief denied even to prayer), and innate misanthrophy. But he would have disagreed with Carlin on baseball being pastoral. Living his most successful years in Hartford, Connecticut, 101 miles from Fenway Park and 110 miles from Yankee Stadium, he wrote in 1889:

Base ball, which is the very symbol, the outward and visible expression of the drive, and push, and rush and struggle of the raging, tearing booming nineteenth century!

Twain lived in that century, before there even was a New York Yankees and a Boston Red Sox -- although he did see the New York Giants and the Boston Beaneaters, forerunners of today's San Francisco Giants and Atlanta Braves -- so he knew. And he would not have been surprised in the slightest to see the animosity between the teams' fans. He might even have enjoyed it.

But he certainly wouldn't have agreed that "Tomorrow is another day." He was quoted as saying, "Life is one damned thing after another."

He would have understood the Thursday and Friday games of this Yanks-Sox series.

Although, as a native of Hannibal, Missouri, he might have been more partial to the St. Louis Cardinals.

*

Going into the bottom of the 7th inning on Thursday night, all seemed lost for the Yankees. They were down 7-2. Jake Peavy, who won the 2007 National League Cy Young Award with the San Diego Padres, winner of 131 major league games against just 98 losses going into that game, twice an NL leader in both ERA and strikeouts (2005 and '07), and possessor of a career WHIP of 1.174, he was cruising for the Sox to whom the Chicago White Sox had traded him just before the deadline. Great pickup for The Scum.

To make matters worse, Ivan Nova didn't have it, and only pitched 4 innings. Preston Claiborne, who's also having a great year, was even worse, pitched to 5 batters and didn't get any of them out. And Adam Warren allowed the 7th Sox run. So that's why it looked hopeless going into the bottom of the 7th.

But Ichiro Suzuki led off the inning with a walk. Vernon Wells, pinch-hitting for catcher Chris Stewart, singled Ichiro over to 3rd.

No one knew it at the time, but the game was lost at that moment. Not because Wells was in the game, but because Stewart was out -- and because backup catcher Austin Romine would have to come in. Meanwhile, while Russell Martin, whom Yankee general manager Brian Cashman let go after 2 seasons, is batting just .239 for the Pittsburgh Pirates, he does have 13 home runs and 51 RBIs.

Red Sox manager John Farrell replaced Peavy with Matt Thornton. It didn't work: Brett Gardner singled Ichiro home.

Derek Jeter was up. Wells stole 3rd base. One of "the unwritten rules of baseball" is "Never make the first or third out at third base." (If you're an NCIS fan, it's not a Gibbs Rule. But it should be treated as if it were.) But, with nobody out, Wells stole 3rd base. He made it, but it was risky. Especially while still down by 5 runs. If the Yankees had been down by 1 run, maybe; but this isn't Fenway Park, with that close wall in left field: A single by Jeter would probably have scored Wells from 2nd. It would certainly have scored Wells from 3rd, and possibly also Gardner from 2nd -- except Garder, the fastest man on the team, didn't even try to steal 2nd. He probably could have gotten it.

Both decisions -- Wells' to steal 3rd, and Gardner's to not steal 2nd -- ended up not mattering, as Jeter drew a walk. Now Wells was on 3rd, Gardner on 2nd, and Jeter on 1st. And there was still nobody out.

The batter was Robinson Cano, whose 3rd inning double scored the 2 runs with which the Yankees came into the inning. He grounded to 2nd, and Dustin Pedroia threw to Stephen Drew to force Jeter out at 2nd, but Drew couldn't get the ball to 1st baseman Daniel Nava in time to get the double play. And even if he had, that would have meant 2 outs instead of 1, but Wells would still have scored. Now there were men on 1st & 3rd, 1 out, and it was 7-4 Sox.

Farrell took out Thornton, and brought in Junichi Tazawa.  ankee Fans will remember Tazawa as the man whose major league debut came on August 7, 2009, and consisted of pitching the bottom of the 14th inning and getting the 1st 2 outs in the bottom of the 15th, before Alex Rodriguez took him deep to win a previously scoreless game, 2-0. After spending all of 2010 and most of 2011 iun the minors, he has settled down to become a mainstay of the Boston bullpen.

But this time, Alfonso Soriano singled to right, scoring Gardner to make it 8-5. Curtis Granderson doubled to right, scoring Cano to make it 7-6.

Tazawa struck out A-Rod. Sure, now.

But Lyle Overbay singled to right, and suddenly, after it seemed so hopeless, now we had ourselves an 8-7 Yankee lead!

Somewhere, in that great press box in the sky, Mel Allen was yelling, "How about that!" And Phil Rizzuto was yelling, "I tell ya, Mel, this is unbelievable, these Yankees can get the clutch hits, holy cow!"

All the Yankees had to do was get 6 more outs, without allowing another run, and it would be their biggest win of the season.

David Robertson pitched a perfect 8th. Mariano Rivera came out for the 9th. He got David Ortiz, the big fat lying cheating bastard, to hit a line shot to Overbay at 1st base. One out. He got Nava to ground to Overbay. Two out. Two strikes on Mike Napoli. One strike to go. Typical Riveran piece of cake.

Napoli singled to center, and was replaced by pinch-runner Quintin Berry. So what, we still need only 1 more out. The batter was Stephen Drew.

Shades of Dave Roberts in Game 4 of the 2004 ALCS, Berry tried to steal 2nd. And Romine, behind the plate, tried to throw him out.

And failed. The ball sailed into center field, and Berry got to 3rd. And Stephen Drew singled to right, scoring Berry to tie the game.

Okay, if Romine had made a good throw and Berry had still been safe, had only gotten to 2nd, Drew's single might well have still tied the game. But Romine still fucked the game up more than Mo had. And even if he hadn't, Mo has earned a few passes. What has Romine ever earned?

What did that unwritten rule say about making the first or last out at 3rd base? It didn't say anything about making the 2nd out there. But in the bottom of the 9th, after Cano lined out, Soriano walked, stole 2nd, and then, when a Granderson single could have gotten him home, tried to steal 3rd, just as Wells had. Unlike Wells, he was easily out. And Granderson struck out to send the game to extra innings.

It was then that manager Joe Girardi decided he didn't want to win the game. Because he brought in Joba Chamberlain. Remember when we loved Joba? Remember when he was unhittable? Remember when he had great control? Remember when he was "only" 250 pounds? Well, those days are gone, probably forever. On the morning of September 29, the day after the regular season ends, hopefully, so is Joba. Thanks for helping us win the 2009 World Series, now, here's your hat, what's your hurry?

Joba got Will Middlebrooks to fly out to lead off the top of the 10th. Then he allowed a single to Jacoby Ellsbury. Ellsbury, stole 2nd. Shane Victorino, the "Flyin' Hawaiian," formerly of the Philadelphia Phillies' 2008-09 Pennant winners, singled him home. 9-8 Sox.

Joba got Pedroia to fly out, and then Girardi pulled him. For Boone Logan. Who was apparently in the game to A, pitch lefty-on-lefty to Ortiz; and B, make my head explode. Bringing in Boone Logan to pitch to David Ortiz is like putting Woody Allen in a boxing ring to fight Mike Tyson.

Apparently, Joba was unhappy with the strike-zone calls from home plate umpire Rob Drake. So 1st base umpire Joe West, the crew chief and one of the most hated umpires in the game -- not just for his incompetence but for the general perception that he's an asshole -- threw Joba out of the game. When he was already out of the game. I guess he wanted Joba out of the dugout, where he didn't want to hear Joba's whining. O the irony, since West has been known to have an off-field whine now and then.

Girardi ordered Logan to walk Ortiz intentionally, to set up a force play. Well, then what the hell was the point of bringing Logan in in the first place? Well, the next batter was Nava. Lefty hitter as well? Not quite: Switch-hitter. And Farrell called him back to the dugout and sent up Brandon Snyder, a righthanded hitter. So Logan's presence in the game is not only no longer necessary, but it's a liability. But Logan got Snyder to fly to center.

Bottom of the 10th. Koji Uehara pitching for Boston. Time for A-Rod to be clutch, right? Right. Well, you know that, and I know that, but A-Rod didn't know that: He popped up. Overbay and Ichiro struck out. The Sox won.

WP: Craig Breslow (5-2). SV: Uehara (18). LP: Chamberlain (2-1).

Absolutely crushing defeat for Boston (which they can afford) turned into absolutely crushing defeat for the Yankees (which we cannot.)

*

"Life is one damned thing after another," Twain said.  Or is it? Edna St. Vincent Millay, who lived in New York in the times of Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig and Joe DiMaggio, contradicted him: "Life isn't just one damn thing after another, it's the same damn thing over and over and over again."

Groundhog Day. Starring Bill Murray and Andie MacDowell. Except, in the Friday night game, there was nobody on the field who looked as good as Andie MacDowell, who still looks good enough to appear in L'Oreal cosmetics commercials at age 55. Because she's worth it.

The 2013 New York Yankees have not been worth it.

When the Saturday game began, I still wanted to kill Romine. When it ended, I no longer wanted to kill Romine. I did, however, go back to wanting to kill Logan.

Andy Pettitte pitched 6 innings, allowing 3 runs on 3 hits and 3 walks, striking out 8. He threw 100 pitches. A manager who had a clue would have left him in to pitch the 7th.

But Joe Girardi doesn't have a fucking clue. He decided this moment was the one in which to reintroduce Phil Hughes, who is having one of the worst seasons any Yankee pitcher has ever had, as a reliever.

The score was 8-3 in favor of the Yankees. Soriano had started the scoring with his 30th homer of the season in the 1st inning, of Felix Doubront, and the Yanks coasted from there. Surely, even the 2013 edition of Phil Hughes can't blow a 5-run lead, can he?

As it turned out, the answer was, "No, not by himself." Hughes allowed a single by David Ross. A flyout by Middlebrooks. A single by Victorino. A walk to Mike Carp to load the bases. An infield single by Pedroia.

8-4 Yankees. Bases loaded with 1 out. Ortiz coming up.

Girardi: "Duhhhh, gee, I don't know what to do here. I mean, here's Big Papi coming up. And I've got Hughes on the mound, I'd better take him out. But, duhhhh, who do I bring in? Do I bring in a pitcher who has proven he can get lefthanded hitters out? Or do I play the percentages and bring in Logan? Duhhhh, I'm too stupid to figure this out for myself, so I'm going to consult my binder!"

Binder: "Bring in Logan."

Girardi: "Duhhhh, okay."

Am I being too hard on Girardi?

Maybe: Logan struck the big fat lying cheating bastard out. So now the bases are still loaded, but there are 2 out.

Girardi: "Duhhhh, hey, it worked! It actually worked! Hey, maybe I should leave Logan in. After all, the next batter is Napoli, and he's righthanded, but, duhhhh, if Logan can get Big Papi out, he can get anybody out. I'm going to leave Logan in."

Logan: "Skip, are you kidding me? Well, I might as well do the best I can."

Every Red Sox fan in the world: "Yes! We've got the fucking Yankees now! Wicked pissah!"

Logan: "Don't think, Meat, just throw... "

Napoli: "Oh boy! Here comes a nice, juicy meatball! I'm going to hit it to the opposite field for a grand slam home run!"

Ichiro: "Uh-oh, here it comes. Well, no sweat, I can catch this. I got it. I got it. Uh-oh, no, I don't got it.  It's going over my head and into the seats. (Whatever is the Japanese version of, "Damn!")"

John Sterling: "Haddaya like that! The Red Sox have come all the way back to tie it, at 8 to 8. You know, Suzyn, you just can't predict baseball."

Suzyn Waldman: "Yes, you can, John. It was Boone Logan pitching to a righthanded power hitter." (Okay, John & Suzyn didn't really say that. As for the others, I can neither confirm nor deny.)

Me: "I don't believe it! How could that stupid Girardi leave that worthless fucking Logan in? To face a righthanded hitter! With power! The one time he doesn't consult that damn binder of his, and this happens? Fucking hell! I want that stupid Girardi fired! If George was still alive, and the way he was, he'd fire Girardi on the spot! He wouldn't even leave the game with a job, much less the Stadium! Come on, Hank and Hal, fire him now! And get rid of that fucking Logan, too!"

Girardi: "Duhhhh, what happened?"

Logan: "Eh, so what. Long as I'm lefthanded and Joe's the manager, I still got a job."

For the record, this season, Logan is slated to make $3,150,000. Let me spell that out: Three million, one hundred fifty thousand dollars. Or about $3.1 million more than he's worth.

Logan then allowed a single to Nava. Girardi finally saw enough. He pulled Logan for Claiborne, who got Drew to fly out to end the inning.

The Yankees went 1-2-3 in the 7th, including an inning-ending strikeout of one Alexander Emmanuel Rodriguez.

Claiborne had nothing in the 8th, allowing a 2-run homer to Victorino. Girardi pulled him for Joba.

That's right: Phil Hughes, Boone Logan, and Joba Chamberlain. The Three Stooges of the Yankee pitching staff, all within 1 inning. As an Arsenal fan, I had flashbacks of Manuel Almunia, Denilson (Pereira Neves) and Abou Diaby. (If you're an Arsenal fan, and you think Diaby is great when he's healthy, then you're stupid enough to be a Tottenham fan. Diaby sucks. Maybe he was good before the injuries, but he's been crap since. Hence, the analogy to Joba.)

Joba threw enough gasoline on the fire to make it 12-8 Boston at the end of the inning. The Yankees got Eduardo Nunez to 2nd and Stewart to 1st with two outs in the bottom of the 8th, but Gardner struck out. The bottom of the 9th was a Jeter groundout, a Soriano strikeout, and a Cano strikeout.

WP: Brandon Workman (5-2). No save. LP: Claiborne (0-2), but the real fault lies with Logan.  Logan's Litany of Losing: Game Number 34.

*

Just as I started by quoting comedy legends Mark Twain and George Carlin, now I quote comedy legend Bill Cosby: "You should never challenge 'worse.' Don't ever say, 'Things can't get any worse!' 'Worse' is rough!"

In this series, the Yankees have scored 8, 8 and 9 runs. And have lost 3 straight.

David Huff, who took Hughes' place in the rotation, got shelled today, allowing 9 runs, and didn't even get out of the 4th inning. Jim Miller and Brett Marshall, also rookie callups, weren't a lot better. Although Ichiro, Gardner, Nunez and Mark Reynolds hit doubles, and Gardner and Reynolds each had 2 RBIs, the Yankees were losing 12-3 going into the bottom of the 6th.

And then, they mounted another comeback. They scored 4 runs in the 6th, and 2 more in the 8th. It was 12-9! But Napoli hit another homer, and that was it: Sox 13, Yanks 9.

WP: John Lackey (9-12). No save necessary. LP: Huff (2-1).

Oh yeah: Jeter had to leave the game, having reaggravated the ankle injury he sustained last October. Who knows when he'll be back. Tomorrow? Next week? Next season? Oy...

*

So, going into tomorrow's series finale with The Scum, the Yankees are 11 games behind in the Division, 10 in the loss column -- as if that's worth caring about anymore. In the Wild Card race, the Yankees trail the Tampa Bay Rays by 3 games for the 2nd AL Wild Card -- 4 in the loss column. The elimination number is 9 for the Division, 19 for the Wild Card.

"Life is one damn thing after another." Or "Life is the same damn thing over and over."

Does it matter which it really is?

It's Pennant Race Time

Technical issues prevented me from posting over the Labor Day weekend. I am not happy about that.

But taking 3 out of 4 games over that stretch? Including 2 of 3 against the Baltimore Orioles, fellow contenders for the AL East title and the AL Wild Card spots? I'm okay with that.

On Friday night, CC Sabathia, again, did not pitch well. He didn't get through the 6th inning, allowing 5 runs (all earned) on 7 hits, although only 1 walk.

This time, though, the Yanks bailed the Big Fella out with runs, lots of them. Trailing 1-0 in the bottom of the 4th, with 2 out, Robinson Cano drew a walk, and Alfonso Soriano hit one out to give the Yanks a 2-1 lead. It was his 12th homer for the Yankees, his 29th overall.

The O's struck back in the top of the 5th, taking a 4-2 lead. But back-to-back doubles by Curtis Granderson and Mark Reynolds, a homer by Ichiro Suzuki (his 7th), a double by Austin Romine, a single by Brett Gardner, a walk by Derek Jeter, and a single by Cano made it 7-4 Yanks. The O's got a run back in the 6th, chasing CC, but the Yanks got that back in the 7th thanks to a 2-out rally: A Cano single, Soriano getting hit with a pitch, and Alex Rodriguez singling Cano home.

Yankees 8, Orioles 5. WP: Sabathia (12-11). SV: Mariano Rivera (39). LP: Miguel Gonzalez (8-7).

*

Saturday's game was the opposite: The Yankees got only 2 runs on 7 hits, but it was enough. In the 1st, Gardner doubled, Jeter moved him over with a groundout, and Cano doubled. Cano then led off the 8th with a home run (his 25th).

In between, Joe Girardi must have lost his Binder, because he allowed Ivan Nova to pitch a complete game. And it was a shutout. In the 2nd, Nova hit Adam Jones with a pitch and allowed a single to Matt Wieters. In the 4th, he hit Chris Davis. In the 6th, he allowed a single to Manny Machado. In the 8th, he walked J.J. Hardy. And in the 9th, he allowed a single to Nate McLough. That was all the baserunners he allowed, and nobody even got to 3rd base.

Yankees 2, Orioles 0. WP: Nova (8-4). No save necessary. LP: Scott Feldman (11-10).

Without Nova's revival, the Yankees would already be out of postseason contention.

*

On Sunday, I was pleased by Liverpool's 1-0 win over Manchester United, and, as they say in England, "chuffed" by Arsenal's 1-0 win over Tottenham. These 2 arch-rivalry games were, combined, a wonderful thing. Actually, either would have been a wonderful thing. But I would have accepted a Man U win over the Scousers, if Arsenal had also beaten The Scum (English soccer edition, not to be confused with the Boston Red Sox or the New York Rangers).

Then the Yankees had to go and mess it up. Or, more accurately, Shawn Kelley, Boone Logan and Joba Chamberlain had to go and mess it up.

The Yankees led 3-0 going into the top of the 7th, thanks to a Soriano RBI single in the 3rd, and a bases-loaded walk by Gardner and a sacrifice fly by Jeter in the 4th. Andy Pettitte had pitched 6 strong innings, and there was plenty of reason to believe the Yankees would win.

But Andy allowed a pair of singles to lead off the 7th, and suddenly the tying run was at the plate. Girardi must have found the damn Binder, because he took Andy out and he brought in Kelley. Now, I'm not that mad at Kelley: This was a rare bad outing for him. But Binder Boy Boone, and Joba? Surely, by now, Joe has learned not to trust those 2 in a close game.

I can tell what you're thinking: "No, Mike, he hasn't. And don't call me Shirley."

Looks like I picked the wrong week to quit blogging.

Behold the damage in the top of the 7th inning on Sunday:

* Michael Morse singles to lead off.

* Danny Valencia also singles.

* Girardi replaces Pettitte with Kelley. It is still 3-0 Yankees, but men on 1st & 2nd with nobody out.

* Wieters singles. Morse scores. 3-1 Yankees.

* Hardy hits one out. 4-3 Orioles.

* Girardi replaces Kelley with Logan. Whatever happens next, it can't be added to "Logan's Litany of Losing," right? Wrong: The O's only lead by 1 run, and 1 run can be overcome without much trouble. But if Logan makes things worse, it counts in the Litany, even if the Yankees don't score another run.

* Brian Roberts singles. A runner who is the responsibility of Logan.

* Nick Markakis draws a walk. Also the responsibility of Logan.

* Girardi finally realizes that the Binder doesn't know what the hell is going on, and replaces Logan... with Joba.

* Joba finally gets the inning's 1st out, getting Machado to pop up a bunt, which catcher Chris Stewart catches.

* Jones takes Joba deep. 7-3 Orioles. The 5th and 6th runs, the responsibility of Logan, leading to the 7th.

And that's the final score, as Joba got the last 2 outs, but the damage was done. WP: Kevin Gausman (2-3). No save. LP: Kelley (4-2). But the real loser is Girardi, who, again, panicked, and put in the wrong relievers.

Nevertheless, this game still counts as Game 33 in Logan's Litany of Losing. An update is necessary, and will soon follow.

*

I would be just fine with taking 2 of 3 from the Birds, if the 3rd wasn't lost in such crap fashion. Fortunately, there was a cure for what ailed me, and it was a Labor Day matinee, home to the Chicago White Sox, who are seriously struggling this season.

As bad as the top of the 7th was for the Yankees the day before, the bottom of the 8th yesterday was even better. But first, there was a 2-hour rain delay. When it ended, Girardi decided not to send Phil Hughes back out there, even though Hughes had pitched to 5 batters and gotten 4 of them out.

Joe turned to David Huff, who's been pretty good since coming over, including one long outing in relief of the insanely struggling Hughes. Huff went all the way to the 7th inning, allowing just 1 run on 5 hits and (I love seeing these words in connection with Yankee pitchers) no walks.

A Gardner double and a Jeter single gave the Yankees a 1-0 lead in the 1st, but that gave no indication as to the joy that was coming in the 4th. To wit:

* A-Rod leads off with a double.

* Vernon Wells (Remember him?) hits a deflected grounder that gets himself to 1st and A-Rod to 3rd.

* Curtis Granderson walks to load the bases with nobody out.

* Reynolds singles home A-Rod. Bases remain loaded. 2-0.

* Romine singles home Wells and Granderson. 4-0.

* Gardner doubles home Reynolds. 5-0.

* Jeter singles home Romine. 6-0.

* Finally, the ChiSox get the 1st out, as they pop Cano up.

* Soriano doubles home Gardner. 7-0.

* A-Rod comes to bat for the 2nd time in the inning. Sox catcher Josh Phegley drops a foul pop-up. Then A-Rod draws a walk.

* Wells grounds into a force play, except Adam Dunn -- a great slugger but strikes out too much and is a born DH but is playing 1st base, makes a throwing error, allowing home Jeter and Soriano. 9-0.

* Finally, Granderson and Reynolds ground into successive forceouts to end the carnage.

Isn't "carnage" a great word?

The Sox got on the board in the 7th with a Paul Konerko homer, the 432nd of his career. (You didn't know he had more career home runs than Yogi Berra, Joe DiMaggio, Jim Rice, Johnny Bench, Graig Nettles, Dale Murphy, Al Kaline, Duke Snider, David Ortiz, Billy Williams and Mike Piazza, did you?) But that was all the Pale Hose got.

Yankees 9, White Sox 1. WP: Huff (2-0). No save. LP: Jose Quintana (7-5).

*

The Yankees have 25 games left. They are 7 1/2 games out of 1st place in the AL East. They probably can't catch the Red Sox. They are 2 1/2 games out of the AL's 2nd Wild Card. They probably can catch either Tampa Bay or either Oakland and Texas, whichever ends up not winning the AL West.

We shall see. It's September. It's Pennant Race time.

Yeah, I know, it should be called "Playoff Race time." But I'm old-school, and there's just something about the word "Pennant."

Rain Delay Fun

We're in a rain delay. And we don't have Phil "the Scooter" Rizzuto to do rain delay riffs for us anymore. What to do, what to do...

Well, today is David Huff's birthday. We just passed the birthday of Yankee Legend Graig "Puff" Nettles. So...

HUFF

PUFF

BLOW YOUR HOUSE DOWN

THREE LITTLE PIGS

Ichiro, Sori & Huff, Good; Nix's Hand, Bad

There was bad news for the Yankees last night: Jayson Nix, the previous night's hero, was hit by a pitch and got his left hand broken. He could miss the rest of the season, thus taking away his occasionally good bat, his frequently good speed, and his reliable defense. (Translation: Losing Nix means more Eduardo Nunez. That's NunE6 or NunE5.)

The pitcher who hit him was R.A. Dickey. A knuckleballer. With no history of hitting batters on purpose. And with no history of animosity with the Yankees. So I think we can reliably call this an accident.

Of course, Dickey has another problem, one he didn't realize with the Mets in his Cy Young Award season last year, but that the Toronto Blue Jays' other 2 big acquisitions from the National League have also realized: Pitching in the American League is hard.

The Yankees made it 3 straight over those pesky Blue Jays, coming through with 2 runs in the bottom of the 8th to win, 4-2.

With yesterday having a rainout-forced doubleheader, the Yankees needed an emergency starter. Adam Warren, normally a reliever, pitched the 1st 3 innings, and was a little shaky, allowing 2 runs on 4 hits and 2 walks, including a home run to Josh Thole, who also came to Toronto in the Dickey deal, and hadn't hit a home run since April 29, 2012, and had a grand total of 7 in 1,118 career plate appearances before that.

(The Dickey deal got the Mets 4 players, 2 of whom, John Buck and Travis d'Arnaud, are helping them at the moment. Not much, because the Mets still stink, but those 2 are doing their part to clear the smell.)

David Huff came in, and pitched innings 4 through 8, and allowed no runs on just 1 hit -- albeit with 4 walks. If a single starter had done what Warren and Huff did -- 8 innings, 2 runs, 5 hits, 6 walks -- we'd have gladly taken it.

Huff got the win (1-0), and if this is what he's capable of, maybe we should consider him for the rotation. (Today is his 29th birthday, so he's not really a "prospect" anymore.) At the very least, we should consider making him our regular lefthanded reliever, so that we can finally give Boone Logan the unconditional release he has so richly earned.

Dickey didn't pitch badly, getting into the 8th having allowed just 2 runs, on an Austin Romine sacrifice fly in the 2nd and a Curtis Granderson single in the 3rd. But with 2 out in the bottom of the 8th, Cano singled, and Alfonso Soriano blasted a home run. (His 26th of the season, his 9th in just 101 plate appearances for the Yankees.) When Mariano Rivera came in and slammed the door for his 37th save, it made a losing pitcher out of Dickey (9-12).

Notable in this was a single in the bottom of the 1st by Ichiro Suzuki. It was the 2,722nd hit of his major league career, moving him past Lou Gehrig on the all-time list. Combined with what he did in Japan, that's an even 4,000.

Granted, the level of play in Japan is about at America's AAA ball, but, still, this makes Ichiro only the 3rd player ever to reach 4,000 hits combined between such a level and the major leagues. The other 2 are Ty Cobb and Pete Rose, and they weren't exactly good guys. Ichiro is as close as you can come, outside of Mariano and Derek Jeter, to being universally admired in baseball.

When he started out in North America, with the Seattle Mariners, he was hyped like crazy, and I said he wouldn't last. I called him "Fluky Suzuki." Boy, was I wrong: His lifetime batting average is .320, he topped out at .372, broke George Sisler's single-season record with 262 hits, 5 times has had at least 224 hits in a season, has a career OPS+ of 112, has stolen 470 bases, including 5 seasons with at least 40 steals, topping out at 56 in his rookie year, and has won 10 Gold Gloves.

They may not elect Hideki Matsui to the Baseball Hall of Fame based on his combined effort in America and Japan. With Ichiro, such a combination is not necessary: He's in based on what he did here. (Unless, of course, they find out he used steroids or that he bet on games. Both of those are incredibly unlikely.)

The 4-game set with the Jays concludes this afternoon, with Andy Pettitte starting against J.A. Happ, whom you might remember from the 2009 World Series against the Phillies. This will be Andy's 45th career start against the Jays, the most against any team. After the game, the Yankees head down to Tampa to take on the future Orlando, Carolina, Norfolk, Utah or Portland Rays -- or Montreal Expos.

Come on you Pinstripes!

Dangerous Comebackers

Sorry I haven't posted for 4 days. Couldn't be helped, due to a trip that I'll mention in a subsequent post. So some catching up to do.

On Thursday night, the Yankees lost to the Minnesota Twins, 8-2, preventing a 4-game sweep. On Friday night, the Yanks started a 4-game set at home against the Cleveland Indians, and won, 8-2.

Saturday afternoon's game was one to forget, but those who saw it never will, for the wrong reasons.

First came a rocket off the bat of Alex Rodriguez that went straight back to Indian pitcher David Huff, hitting him on the back of the head. He was down for 6 minutes, before being taken off the field on the stretcher. He managed to wave to the fans, and got a standing ovation.

He was released from the hospital that night, and found to have not sustained a concussion. Thank God, because it looked really bad on TV.

I thought about Herb Score. He was the Indians' "Phil Rizzuto," a former star who became a quirky broadcaster, and from Queens like the Scooter as well.

May 7, 1957, the same teams, Yanks and Indians, at the old Cleveland Municipal Stadium. Score has pitched 2 seasons in the majors, and with Bob Feller now retired, it looks like Feller to Score is going to be the pitching equivalent of DiMaggio to Mantle. Except Gil McDougald hits a line drive right up the middle, smacking Score in the eye. He's out for the season, and although he spent the rest of his life saying that it was an injury the following spring training that really derailed his career, everyone wondered. McDougald was never the same, either, and was so distraught over almost killing Score that he lost his hitting edge.

There was another game in 1995, at Jacobs Field, only this time it was the Yankees in the field. I don't remember the batter and the pitcher, but the pitcher just got his glove up in time to save himself. Rizzuto, in his first season as a broadcaster in '57, mentioned what happened to Score, and the camera caught him reaching out of the press box to get the attention of Score, in the next room of the box. Score, wearing headphones and not having access to the WPIX-Channel 11 transmission, was unaware of Rizzuto's words and gestures, but he had to be having flashbacks, too.

Anyway, back to Saturday afternoon. After A-Rod's comebacker off Huff, the Yanks took a 10-4 lead... and blew it. The Indians won the game, 13-11. That's another kind of "comebacker" that I didn't want to see. Stylistically, and competitively, this was one of the worst games in Yankee history.

Fortunately, yesterday afternoon, the Yanks won, 7-3, thanks to Mark Teixeira's 250th career home run and the pitching of A.J. Burnett.

As for today's game, well, that was involved enough to warrant its own post. Tomorrow.

UPDATE: Huff made his next start, showing no ill effects from the incident.. The Yankees acquired him in 2013, traded him to the San Francisco Giants the next season, and traded to get him back the same year, let his contract run out at the end of the season, and did not try to reacquire him. He played for both of the Los Angeles-area teams, and in 2017, at the age of 32, pitches in Korea's baseball league.

*

Days until the 2010 World Cup begins in South Africa: 11. U.S. vs. England the next day.

Days until Alex Rodriguez hits his 600th career home run: 34 (estimated). About 5 weeks.

Days until the World Cup Final: 41, July 11, at Johannesburg, South Africa. Just 6 weeks.

Days until the next Yankees-Red Sox series: 67, starting Friday night, August 6, at Yankee Stadium II.

Days until the new English Premier League season starts: 75.

Days until the first football game at the new Meadowlands Stadium (still unnamed): 77.

Days until Rutgers plays football again: 94. A little over 3 months.

Days until the first regular-season Giants game at the new Meadowlands Stadium: 104.

Days until the first regular-season Jets game at the new Meadowlands Stadium: 105.

Days until East Brunswick High School plays football again: 107.

Days until the Devils play another local rival: 131 (estimated).

Days until Rutgers and Army play the first college football game at the new Meadowlands Stadium: 138.

Days until the next East Brunswick-Old Bridge Thanksgiving clash: 178.

Days until Derek Jeter collects his 3,000th career hit: 353 (estimated).

Days until the Rutgers-Army football game at Yankee Stadium: 530.

Days until the last Nets game in New Jersey: 685 (estimated).

Days until the 2012 Olympics begin in London: 773.

Days until Alex Rodriguez collects his 3,000th career hit: 853 (estimated).

Days until Alex Rodriguez hits his 700th career home run: 1,124 (estimated).

Days until Super Bowl XLVIII at the Meadowlands: 1,343. (February 2, 2014, though the NFL might tinker with the schedule to move it to February 9 or February 16.)

Days until Alex Rodriguez hits his 756th career home run to surpass all-time leader Hank Aaron: 1,774 (estimated).

Days until Alex Rodriguez hits his 763rd career home run to become as close to a "real" all-time leader as we are likely to have: 1,798 (estimated).